http://www.archive.org/details/captainbrandofce wiseuoft transcriber's note: a table of contents and list of illustrations have been added. text in italics is enclosed by _underscores_. text in bold face is enclosed by =equal signs=. specific changes to the text are listed at the end of the book. captain brand, of the "centipede." a pirate of eminence in the west indies: his loves and exploits, together with some account of the singular manner by which he departed this life. by harry gringo, (h. a. wise, u.s.n.), author of "los gringos," "tales for the marines," and "scampavias." "our god and sailors we alike adore, in time of danger--not before; the danger passed, both are alike requited: god is forgotten, and the sailor slighted." with illustrations. [illustration: captain brand.] new york: harper & brothers, publishers, franklin square. . entered, according to act of congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, by harper & brothers, in the clerk's office of the district court of the southern district of new york. contents chapter page part i i. spreading the strands ii. calm iii. high noon iv. sunset v. darkness vi. danger vii. the meeting and mourning viii. captain brand at home ix. captain and mate x. an old spaniard with one eye xi. conversation in pockets and sleeves xii. doctor and priest xiii. a manly fandango xiv. a pirates' dinner xv. drowning a mother to murder a daughter xvi. nuptials of the girl with dark eyes xvii. doom of doña lucia xviii. end of the banquet xix. fandango on one leg xx. business xxi. treasure xxii. pleasure xxiii. work xxiv. caught in a net xxv. the mouse that gnawed the net xxvi. the hurricane xxvii. the virgin mary xxviii. the ark that jack built part ii xxix. laying up the strands xxx. old friends xxxi. the commander of the "rosalie" xxxii. a splice parted xxxiii. the blue pennant in the cabin xxxiv. the devil to pay xxxv. and the pitch hot xxxvi. the chase xxxvii. the wreck of the "centipede" xxxviii. vultures and sharks xxxix. escondido xl. paul darcantel xli. instinct and wonder xlii. truth and terror xliii. peace and love xliv. snuff out of a diamond box xlv. lilies and sea-weed xlvi. parting xlvii. devotion xlviii. all alive again xlix. the rope laid up l. on a bed of thorns illustrations page captain brand frontispiece "when the wind comes from good san antonio" the pirates boarding the brig the night chase the pirate den the "panchita" "he touched the bell overhead as he spoke" a pirates' dinner the pirate's prey "a supernatural warning!" shriving a sinner "he crept forward on hands and knees" "a dull, heavy, booming roar" "see if you can not slip that pretty silk rope over my head" building the boat the united states frigate "monongahela" "queer old stick, that!" said the commodore and the pitch hot the stern chase "his right arm poised with clenched hand aloft," etc. the old water-logged launch "now captain brand knew what was coming" part i. chapter i. spreading the strands. "shout three times three, like ocean's surges, join, brothers, join, the toast with me; here's to the wind of life, which urges the ship with swelling waves o'er sea!" "masters, i can not spin a yarn twice laid with words of silken stuff. a fact's a fact; and ye may larn the rights o' this, though wild and rough my words may loom. 'tis your consarn, not mine, to understand. enough--" it was in the year of our lord eighteen hundred and five, and in the river garonne, where a large, wholesome merchant brig lay placidly on the broad and shining water. the fair city of bordeaux, with its great mass of yellow-tinted buildings, towers, and churches, rose from the river's banks, and the din and bustle of the great mart came faintly to the ear. the sails of the brig were loosed, the crew were hauling home the sheets and hoisting the top-sails with the clear, hearty songs of english sailors, while the anchor was under foot and the cable rubbing with a taut strain against the vessel's bluff bows. at the gangway stood a large, handsome seaman, bronzed by the sun and winds of about half a century, dressed in a square-cut blue jacket and loose trowsers, talking to the pilot--a brown little frenchman, in coarse serge raiment and large, clumsy sabots. the conversation between them was carried on partly by signs, for, in answer to the pilot, the other threw his stalwart arm aloft toward the folds of the spreading canvas, and nodded his head. "_fort bien! vite donc! mon capitaine_," said the pilot; "the tide is on the ebb; let us go. up anchor!" "ay, pilot!" replied the captain, pulling out his watch; "in ten minutes. the ladies, you know, must have time to say 'good-by.' isn't it so, my pilot?" the gallant little frenchman smiled in acquiescence, and, taking off his glazed hat with the air of a courtier, said, "_pardieu!_ certainly; why not? jean marie would lose his pilotage rather than hurry a lady." going aft to the raised cabin on the quarter-deck, the captain softly opened the starboard door, and looking in, said, in a kindly tone, "it is time to part, my friends; the pilot says we are losing the strength of the tide, so we must kiss and be off." two lovely women were sitting, hand clasped in hand, on the sofa of the transom. you saw they were sisters of nearly the same age, and a little boy and girl tumbling about their knees showed they were mothers--young mothers too, for the soft, full, rounded forms of womanhood, with the flush of health and matronly pride tinged their cheeks, while masses of dark hair banded over their smooth brows and tearful eyes told the story at a glance. they rose together as the captain spoke. "_adieu, chère rosalie!_ we shall soon meet again, let us hope, never more to part." "adieu, nathalie! adieu, dearest sister! adieu! adieu!" the loving arms were twined around each other in the last embrace; the tears fell like gentle rain, but with smiles of hope and trustfulness they parted. "ay," said the sturdy skipper, as he stood with eyes brimful of moisture regarding the sisters, "ay, trust me for bringing you together again. well do i remember when you were little wee things, when i brought you to france after the earthquake in jamaica; just like these little rogues here"--and he laid his brawny hands on the heads of the children, who clung to each other within the folds of their mothers' dresses; "but never fear, my darlings," he went on, "you will meet happily again. ay, that you shall, if old jacob blunt be above land or water." a boat which was lying alongside the brig shoved off; the little boy, who had been left on board, was held high above the rail in the arms of a sturdy negro, while the mother stood beside him, waving her handkerchief to the boat as it pulled rapidly away toward the shore. "man the windlass, lads!" cried the captain. "mister binks, brace round the head-yards, and up with the jib as soon as the anchor's a-weigh." the windlass clinked as the iron palls caught the strain of the cable, the anchor was wrenched from its oozy bed, the vessel's head fell off, and, gathering way, she moved quietly down the river garonne. chapter ii. calm. "it ceased: yet still the sails made on a pleasant noise till noon-- a noise like that of a hidden brook in the leafy month of june. till noon we quietly sailed on, yet never a breeze did breathe; slowly and smoothly went the ship, moved onward from beneath." the great lumbering brig, with yards square, main-sail hauled up, and the jib and trysail in the brails, lay listlessly rolling on the easy swell of the water, giving a gentle send forward every minute or so, when the sluggish sails would come with a thundering slap against the masts, and the loose cordage would rattle like a drum-major's ratan on a spree. the sea was one glassy mirror of undulations, shimmering out into full blaze as the rising sun just threw its rays along the crest of the ocean swell; and then, dipping down into the rolling mass, the hue would change to a dark green, and, coming up again under the brig's black counter, would swish out into a little shower of bubbles, and sparkle again joyously. away off in the distance lay the island of jamaica--the early haze about the mountain tops rising like a white lace veil from the deep valleys below, with here and there a white dot of a cluster of buildings gleaming out from the sombre land like the flicker of a heliotrope, and at intervals the base of the coast bursting forth in a long, heavy fringe of foam, as the lazy breakers chafed idly about the rocks of some projecting headland. nearer, too, were the dark succession of waving blue lines in parallel bars and patches of the young land wind, tipping the backs of the rollers in a fluttering ripple of cats'-paws, and then wandering sportively away out to sea. on board the brig, forward, were three or four barefooted sailors, in loose frocks and trowsers, moving lazily about the decks, drawing buckets of water over the side and dashing it against the bulwarks, while others were scrubbing and clearing up the vessel for the day. the caboose, too, began to show signs of life, and a thin column of smoke rose gracefully up in the calm morning air until it came within the eddying influence of the sails and top-hamper, when a bit of roll would puff it away in blue curls beyond. abaft stood a low, squat-built sailor at the wheel, his striped guernsey cap hanging on one of the spokes, and his body leaning, half asleep, over the barrel, which gave him a sharp twitch every now and then when the sea caught the rudder on the wrong side. near at hand, with an arm around an after top-mast backstay, and head resting over the rail, was the mate, mr. binks, with a spy-glass to his eye, through which he was peering at the distant hills of jamaica. presently, as he was about to withdraw the brass tube, and as the old brig yawed with her head inshore, something appeared to arrest his attention; for, changing his position, and climbing up to the break of the deck cabin, he steadied himself by the shrouds, and rubbing his eye with the sleeve of his shirt, he gave a long look through the glass, muttering to himself the while. at last, having apparently made up his mind, he sang out to the man at the wheel in this strain: "ben, my lad, look alive; catch a turn with them halliards over the lee wheel; and just take this 'ere glass and trip up to the fore-yard, and see what ye make of that fellow, here away under the eastermost headland." ben, without more ado, secured the spokes of the wheel, clapped his cap on his head, hitched up his trowsers, and, taking the glass from the mate, rolled away up the fore-rigging. meanwhile mr. binks walked forward, stopping a moment at the caboose to take a tin pot of coffee from the cook, and then, going on to the topsail-sheet bitts, he carefully seated himself, and leisurely began to stir up the sugar in his beverage with an iron spoon, making a little cymbal music with it on the outside while he gulped it down. he had not been many minutes occupied in this way when ben hailed the deck from the fore-yard. "on deck there!" "hallo!" ejaculated mr. binks. "i see that craft," cried ben; "she's a fore and after, sails down, and sweeping along the land. she hasn't got a breath of wind, sir." "very well," said mr. binks, speaking into the tin pot with a sound like a sheet-iron organ; "come down." as ben wriggled himself off the fore-yard and caught hold of the futtock shrouds to swing into the standing rigging, he suddenly paused, and putting the glass again to his eye, he sang out: "i say, sir! here is a big chap away off on the other quarter, under top-sails. there! perhaps ye can see him from the deck, about a handspike clear of the sun"--pointing with the spy-glass as he spoke in the proper direction. "all right!" said the mate, as he began again the cymbal pot and spoon music; "becalmed, ain't he?" "yes, sir; not enough air to raise a hair on my old grandmother's wig!" muttered ben, as he slowly trotted down the rigging. the sun came up glowing like a ball of fire. the land wind died away long before it fluttered far off from the island, and, saving the uneasy clatter at times of the loose sails and running gear, all remained as before. it was getting on toward eight o'clock, and while the cook was dishing the breakfast mess for the crew beneath an awning forward of the quarter-deck, the captain came up from his cabin below. the stalwart old seaman stepped to the bulwarks, and, shading his eyes with his hand from the glare, he took a broad glance over the water to seaward, nodded to the mate, and said, in a cheerful voice, "dull times, matey! no signs of a breeze yet, eh?" "no, captain," said mr. binks; "dead as ditch water; not been enough air to lift a feather since you went below at four o'clock. but we have sagged inshore by the current a few leagues during the night, and here's old jamaica plain in sight broad off the bow." "well, it's not so bad after all, a forty-four days' passage--so i'll tell my lady bird passenger." going to the latticed door of the deck cabin, the jolly skipper threw it wide open, clapped his hands together thrice, and then, placing them to his mouth like a speaking-trumpet, he bellowed out, in a deep, low roar, "heave out there, all hands! heave out, lady bird and baby! land ho!" there came a joyous note from a soft womanly voice within a screen drawn across the after cabin, mingled with a little cooing grunt from a child, and presently an inner door swung back, and the sweetest little tot of a boy came tumbling out into the open space, and sprang at once into the captain's arms. the little fellow buried his brown curly head into the old skipper's whiskers, and then, kicking up his fat naked legs, he laughed and chattered like a magpie. "aha! you young scamp, this small nose smells the oranges and cinnamon, eh? and dear lazy mamma shuts her pretty eyes, and won't look for papa, and so near home, too!" here madame rosalie's low sweet voice trilled out merrily in a slightly foreign accent, while the contralto tones vibrated on the ear like the note of a harp. "ah! _bon capitaine_, how could you deceive me? still, i forgive you for telling me last night that we were so far from kingston. when you know, too," she went on in her creole accent, "how i love and want to see my dear husband these last four years, since you carried him away in your good big ship. but never mind, my good friend, i shall pay you off one of these days; and now send, please, for banou to dress his little boy." scarcely had the worthy skipper reached a bell-rope near at hand, and given it one jerk, than the cabin door opened, and in stepped a brawny black, whose bare woolly head and white teeth and eyes glittered with delight. there was that about his face which indicated intelligence, courage, devotion, and humanity--those indescribable marks of expression which nature sometimes stamps in unmistakable lines on the skin, whether it be white or black. he was below the middle height, but the large head was set with a great swelling throat on the shoulders of a titan. his loose white and red striped shirt was thrown well back over his black and broad chest; and putting out a pair of muscular arms that seemed as massive and heavy as lignum vitæ, the boy jumped from the captain to meet them; and then sticking his little soft legs down the slack of banou's shirt, he ran his rosy fingers in his wool, and shouted with glee. "oho!" said the black, as he passed his huge arms around the little fellow, and smoothed down his scanty night-dress as if it were the plumage of a bird, "oho! little master henri loves his banou, eh? good, he take bath." bearing his charge out upon the quarter-deck beneath the awning, he pulled a large tub from under a boat turned upside down over the deck cabin; and then, while the young monkey had scrambled round to his back, and was beating a tattoo with his tiny fists on his shoulders, banou caught up a bucket and proceeded to draw water from over the side, which he dashed into the tub. when he had nearly filled the tub he felt around with his black paws as delicately as if he was about to seize a musquito, and, clutching the kicking legs with one hand, he spun the little fellow a somersault over his head, and skinning off at the same time his diminutive frock, plunged him into the sparkling brine, singing the while in a laughing chant: "dis is the way strong banou catch him, first he strip and den he 'plash him; henri he jump and 'cream for his moder, but banou lub him more dan his broder!" here the brawny nurse would souse him head over heels in the sparkling water, lift him up at every dip, rub his black nose all over him, making mock bites at the little legs and stomach; and, finally, holding him aloft, dripping, laughing, and struggling, go on with his refrain: "what will papa say when he sees him, picaninny boy dat is sure to please him? big banou he rub and dress him, but little henri he kick and pinch him!" all this time the men seated forward on the deck, pegging away deep into their mess-kids, would pause occasionally, shake their great tarry fingers at the imp, and chuckle pleasantly with their mouths full of lobscouse, as if the urchin belonged to them as individual property. "what a tidy little chap he'll make some of these days," said ben, "a-furlin' the light sails in a squall! my eye! wouldn't i like to live and see him!" "no, no, messmates," replied that worthy, as he crunched a biscuit and took a sip of coffee out of the pot, "that 'ere child will, some of these times, when he's growed a bit, be a-wearing gold swabs on his shoulders, and a-givin' his orders like a hadmiral of a fleet!" "quite right, my hearty! it'll never do for sich a knowin' little chub to spend his days along shore a-bilin' sugar-cane on a plantation, and a-footin' up accounts; for, ye mind, he was like the chip as was "'born at sea, and his cradle a frigate, the boatswain he nursed him true blue; he'll soon learn to fight, drink, and jig it, and quiz every soul of the crew!'" while these old salts were thus carving out a destiny for the youngster, the black gave him a final souse in the tub, and then holding him up to drain, as it were, for the last time, exclaimed, while his face lighted up with pleasure, "oho, my little massa! what will papa say to-morrow when he sees his brave henri?" "ah! how happy he will be, banou!" said the lovely mother, who had just come on deck, as she kissed the mouth of the young scamp, while the black wrapped and dried his little naked body in a large towel. "ah! yes, my mistress, we all will be happy once more to get home to master on the plantation." "tell me! tell me, good _capitaine_," said she, turning in a pretty coquettish way to the skipper, "when shall we get in port?" it was a sight to see her, in the loose white morning-gown folded in plaits about the swelling bosom, her slender waist clasped by a flowing blue sash, the dark brown satin bands of her hair confined by a large gold filigree pin, and half concealed by a jaunty little french cap, with the ribbons floating about her pear-shaped ears; and while her soft, dark hazel eyes were bent eagerly toward the solid old skipper, her round, rosy, dimpled fingers clasped a miniature locket fastened by a massive linked gold chain around her neck. ah! she was a sight to see and love! "tell me, _mon cher capitaine_ blunt, how many hours or minutes will it be before i shall behold my husband?" the good-natured skipper laughed pleasantly at the eagerness of his beautiful passenger, and opening his hands wide, he gave vent to a long, low whistle, and replied, "when the wind comes from good san antonio, my lady bird--when the sea-breeze makes--then the old brig will reel off the knots! but see! just now not a breath to keep a tropic bird's wings out. there, look at that fellow!" high up in the heavens, two or three men-of-war birds, with wide-spread pointed wings, and their swallow tails cut as sharp as knife-blades, were heading seaward, and every little while falling in a rapid sidelong plunge, as if in a vacuum, and then again giving an almost imperceptible dash with their pinions as they recovered the lost space and continued on in their silent flight. "that's a sure sign, madame rosalie," continued the skipper, "that the trade wind has blown itself out, and the chances are that this hot sun will drink up the flying clouds, and leave us in a dead calm till the moon quarters to-night. what say you, mr. binks? am i right?" "never know'd you to be wrong, sir," said the mate, with an honest intonation of voice, as he tried to stare the sun out of countenance in following the captain's glance. "_hélas!_" said the young mother, with a little sigh of sadness, as she stood peering over the lee rail to the green hills and slopes of the island, standing boldly out now with the lofty blue mountains cutting the sky ten thousand feet in mid-heaven; "so near, too; and he is thinking and waiting for us!" "come," exclaimed the skipper, heartily, "the youngster wants his breakfast!" [illustration: "when the wind comes from good san antonio, my lady bird--"] chapter iii. high noon. "no life is in the air, but in the waters are creatures huge, and terrible, and strong; the swordfish and the shark pursue their slaughters; war universal reigns these depths along. the lovely purple of the noon's bestowing has vanished from the waters, where it flung a royal color, such as gems are throwing tyrian or regal garniture among." high noon! still the stanch old brig bowed and dipped her bluff bows into the long, easy swell of the tropics; the round, flat counter sent the briny bubbles sparkling away in the glare of the noontide sun; the sails flapped and chafed against the spars and rigging, while the crew sheltered themselves beneath the awnings, and dozed on peacefully. off to seaward a few dead trade-clouds showed their white bulging cheeks along the horizon, and occasionally a fluttering blue patch of a breeze would skim furtively over the backs of the rollers; but long before they reached the brig they had expended their force, and expired in the boundless calm. not so, however, with the large sail that had been seen from the brig in the early morning. for, with a lofty spread of kites and a studding-sail or two, she at times caught a flirting puff of air, and when the sun had passed the zenith she had approached within half a mile or less of the brig. there was no mistaking the stranger's character. her taunt, trim masts, square yards, and clear, delicate black tracery of rigging, shadowed by a wide spread of snow-white canvas over the low, dark hull--which at every roll in the gentle undulations exposed a row of ports with a glance of white inner bulwarks--while the brass stars of her battery reflected sparks of fire from the blazing rays of the sun, showed she was a man-of-war. "she's one of our cruisers, i think, sir," said the mate, as he handed the spy-glass to the captain; "but ben here believes contrariwise, and says she is a french corvette." "have to try again, mr. binks; for, to my mind, she's an out-and-out yankee sloop-of-war. ay! there goes his colors up to the gaff! so up with our ensign, or else he'll be burning some powder for us." even while they were speaking a flag went rapidly up in a roll to the corvette's peak, when, shaking itself clear, it lay white and red, with a galaxy of white stars in a blue union, on the lee side of the spanker; while at the same instant a long, thin, coach-whip of a pennant unspun itself from the main truck, and hung motionless in the calm down the mast. her decks were full of men, standing in groups under the shade of the sails to leeward; and on the poop were three or four officers in uniform and straw hats. one of these last stood for some time gazing at the brig--one hand resting on the ratlines of the mizzen shrouds, and the other slowly swinging a trumpet backward and forward. presently an officer with a pair of gleaming epaulets on his shoulders mounted the poop ladder, touched his hat, and waved his hand toward the brig. a moment after-- "brig ahoy!" came in a sharp, clear, manly tone through the trumpet. "sir?" "what brig is that?" "the 'martha blunt!' named after my dear old wife, god bless her! and myself, jacob blunt, god bless me!" added the jolly skipper, in a sotto voce chuckle to the fair passenger who stood beside him. "where are you from, and where bound?" came again through the trumpet. "bordeaux, and bound to kingston. we have a free passport from sir robert calder and admiral villeneuve." there was a wave of the trumpet as the speaker finished hailing, and then touching his hat to the officer with the gold swabs, and pausing only a moment, he moved to the other side of the corvette's poop. "it would be no more nor polite in him to tell us what his name is, arter all the questions he's axed." "don't ye know, mr. binks," broke in the captain, "that the dignity of a man-of-war is sich that it wouldn't be discreet to tell no more than that she has a cargo of cannon balls, and going on a cruise any wheres? which ye may believe is as much valuable information as we might get out of our own calabashes without asking a question." "you are allers right, captain blunt, but i did not tax my mind to think when i spoke them remarks," said binks, deferentially. the cruiser, however, seemed more communicative than the mate gave her credit for, and a moment after the officer with the trumpet sang out, "this is the united states ship 'scourge,' from port royal, bound on a cruise! please report us." and again, after a few words apparently with the officer with the epaulets, the trumpet was raised to his lips, and he asked, "have you seen any vessels lately?" the skipper was on the point of answering the hail, when his mate said, "beg pardon, captain blunt, but ben and me made out a fore-and-aft schooner airly this morning, with sweeps out, pulling in under the outermost headland there," pointing with his horny finger as he spoke. "nothing, sir, but a small schooner at daylight sweeping to windward." "what?" came back in a clear, quick note from the corvette. "small fore-and-after, sir, with sails down and sweeps out, close under the land." in a moment two or three officers on the cruiser's deck put their heads together, several glasses were directed toward the now dim mirage-like shadow of the island, and the next instant the sharp ring of a boatswain's whistle was heard, followed by a gruff call of, "away there! ariels, away!" immediately a cluster of sailors, in white frocks and trowsers and straw hats, sprang over the ship's quarter to the davits; and then with a chirruping, surging pipe, a boat fell rapidly to the water. the falls were cast off, the cutter hauled up to the gangway, and soon an officer stepped over the side and tripped down to the boat. the white blades of the oars stood up on end in a double line, the boat pushed off, the oars fell with a single splash, and she steered for the brig. descending down into the gentle valley of the long swell, she would disappear for an instant, till nothing but the white hats and feather blades of the oars were visible; and again rising on the crest, the water flashed off in foam from her bows as she came dancing on. in a few minutes the coxswain cried, "way enough," and throwing up his hand with the word "toss," the cutter shot swiftly alongside; the boat-hooks of the bowmen brought her up with a sudden jar, and the next moment an officer with an epaulet on his right shoulder and a sword by his side stepped over the gangway. the skipper was there to receive him, to whom he touched his cap with his fore finger; but as his eye glanced aft he saw a lady, and he gracefully removed his cap and bowed like a gentleman to her. he was a man of about eight-and-twenty, with a fine, manly, sailor-like figure and air, and with a pair of bright, determined gray eyes in his head that a rascal would not care to look into twice. "i am the first lieutenant of the 'scourge,' sir," he said, turning to the skipper, "and if you will step this way, i'll have a few words with you." this was said in a careless tone of command, but withal with frankness and civility. the captain led him aft toward the taffrail, but in crossing the deck the little tot of a boy followed closely in his wake, and getting hold of the officer's sword, which trailed along by its belt-straps on the deck, he got astride of it, and seized on to the coat-skirts of the wearer. the little tug he gave caused the officer to turn round, and with a cheerful smile and manner he snatched the urchin up in his arms, kissed him on both cheeks, and as he put him down again and detached his sword for him to play with, he exclaimed, "what a glorious little reefer you'll make one of these days! won't you?" "_oui! oui! mon papa!_" said the little scamp, as he looked knowingly up in the officer's face. "excuse my little boy, sir," said his mother, who was in chase of him; and then turning to the child with a blush spreading over her lovely face, "it is not your papa, henri! papa is in kingston." "ah! madame, i love children. i had once a dear little fellow like this, but both he and his sweet mother are in heaven now. god bless them!" a flush of sadness tinged his cheeks, and he passed his hand rapidly across his eyes, as if the dream was too sad to dwell upon; but changing his tone, and while with one hand he patted the little fellow's head, he went on: "madame lives in jamaica?" "oh yes; i was born there, but my parents were destroyed by an earthquake when i was quite a little child, and this good captain here carried my sister and myself to france soon after, where monsieur--" here she hesitated and blushed with pleasure--"where i married my husband, who is a planter on the island. perhaps you may know monsieur jules piron?" "piron!" said the navy man, with warmth. "ay, madame, for as fine a fellow as ever planted sugar! know him? why, madame, it is only a week ago that a lot of us dined with him at his estate of escondido; you know it, madame? in the grand piazza which looks down the gorge. but he behaved very shabbily," said the officer, as his face lighted up gayly, "for he kept a spy-glass to his eye oftener than the wine-glass to his lips, in looking out seaward, and in talking of his wife and the little boy he had never seen." "oh, monsieur! you make me so happy," said the lovely woman, as with sparkling eyes and heaving bosom she cried, "banou! banou! this gentleman has just seen your good master." the black, who had been standing near and guarding every movement of his little charge, who was trailing the sword about the deck, immediately approached the officer, and, falling on his knees, seized his hand and drew it toward his face. "ah! madame, i see that kindness meets with a return as well from a dark as a fair skin," said the officer, in a low tone, as he gently withdrew his hand from banou's grasp. "but," he continued, turning toward the skipper, as the clear sound of the cruiser's bell struck his ear, "i must not forget what i came for." "you say, captain, that you saw a schooner at daylight, eh? this way, if you please"--as he raised his cap to madame piron and walked over to the other side of the deck. "what was she like?" "she was reported to me by the mate," replied jacob blunt. "please send for him." "oh! mr.--a'--" "binks, sir," said that individual, touching his hat and making an awkward scrape at a bow. "well, mr. binks, did you clearly make out the vessel you saw this morning under the land?" "can't say exactly, sir, as i did; but ben brown there was on the fore-yard, and he got a good squint at her." "ah! can i see the man?" the mate straightway went forward, and, after a few pokes about the lee waist, ben was roused out from under the jolly-boat and came rolling aft. "_you_ saw the schooner, eh?" said the lieutenant, as if he was in the habit of asking sharp questions and getting quick answers. "yes, sir," said the squat seaman, as he hitched up his knife-belt, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and took off his cap. "where?" "here away, sir," with a wave of his paw, "just clear of that bluff foreland where the gap opens with the blue mountain." "how was she rigged?" "bare sticks, sir, not much of a bowsprit, and no sail spread. i see her first by the flash of her sweeps in the rising sun, as she was heading about sou'-sou'-east into the land." "two masts, you say?" "ay, sir; but i thought as 'ow there was a jigger-like yard a-sticking out over her starn, though i wasn't sartin." "so!" said the lieutenant, in a musing tone, and with rather a grave face and compressed lip; "that will do; thank you, my man." then placing his hand on the skipper's shoulder, he drew him to one side, out of ear-shot, and said, "captain blunt, are you much acquainted in these latitudes?" "oh yes, sir, me and my old brig are regular traders here, from bordeaux to jamaica, and so home to england." "no treasure, i presume?" went on the officer, with a smile. "why, lieutenant, none to speak of, p'raps; just a handful of dollars and a guinea or two in the bag for a few sacks of sugar or coffee, or a pipe of rum, or sich like, on my own account." "well, my friend, there is probably nothing to fear, but if the breeze springs up, keep as close to the corvette as you can, and i shall ask the captain to keep a look-out for you during the night." "by the way"--the officer continued in a low tone as he moved toward the gangway--"in case any thing should happen, you had better hoist a lantern at your peak or in the main-rigging--we have sharp eyes for ugly customers, and one or two of them have been particularly troublesome of late hereabouts." turning for a moment to bid adieu to the fair lady passenger on the quarter-deck, and recovering his sword after a playful struggle with the youngster, he buckled it around his waist, and, stepping lightly over the side and into the boat, the oars fell with a single splash, and the cutter shot rapidly away toward the corvette. chapter iv. sunset. "light is amid the gloomy canvas spreading, the moon is whitening the dusky sails, from the thick bank of clouds she masters, shedding the softest influence that o'er night prevails. pale is she, like a young queen pale with splendor, haunted with passionate thoughts too fond, too deep; the very glory that she wears is tender, the very eyes that watch her beauty fain would weep." not a breath from the lungs of Æolus. the sun went down like a globe of fire; but just as it touched the horizon it flattened out into an oval disk, and, sinking behind a dead, slate-colored cloud, shot up half a dozen broad rose and purple bands, expanding as they mounted heavenward, and then fading away in pearly-tinted hues in the softening twilight until it mingled in the light of the half moon nearly at the zenith. there lay the island, too, now all clear again, with the blue tops of the mountains marked in pure distinct outline, and falling away from peak to peak on either hand, till the sea flashed up in sluggish creamy foam at the base. the man-of-war birds came floating in from seaward, high up, like black musquitoes, with their pointed wings wide spread and heading toward the land, but now with never a quiver to their silent pinions. a school of porpoises, too, broke water from the opposite direction, and, crossing and recrossing each other's track, came leaping and puffing over the gentle swells until they struck the brig's wake, when they wheeled around her bows, dashed off on a swift visit to the corvette, and then, closing up in watery phalanx, went gamboling, leaping, and breaking water again to windward. presently, along the eastern horizon, the banks of clouds, which had been lying dead and motionless all the sultry day, seemed to be imbued with life, and, separating in their fleecy masses, mounted up above the sea, and soon spread out, like a lady's fan, in all directions. "ho! ho!" shouted captain blunt, clapping his hands, "what said i, madame rosalie, when we saw the sun setting up his lee backstays a while ago? a breeze, eh? come, mr. binks, be wide awake! we shall be bowling off the knots before the watch is out." the mate caught the enthusiasm of the skipper, and, jumping up on the break of the deck cabin, he sang out, "d'ye hear there, lads? give us a good pull of the top-sail halliards, and round in them starboard braces a bit! that's your sort! well, the head-yards! that'll do with the main! up with the flying jib, and trim aft them starboard jib and staysail sheets! there! belay all." meanwhile the corvette, with her lofty dimity kissing the sky, caught the first light airs before the slightest ripple darkened the surface of the water; and with her helm a-starboard, and her after-yards braced sharp up, she silently swung round on her heel, while the spanker came flat aft, like a sheet of white paper, and with the head-sails trimmed, she slowly moved athwart the stern of the brig. the sharp whistles of the boatswain and his mates, piping like goldfinches, were the only sounds that were heard; and as the cruiser moved on in her course, the declining moon cast a mellow light over the folds of her canvas, and, like a girl in bridal attire, she threw a graceful shadow over the smooth and swelling waters away off to windward. the sails of the brig, which had begun to swell out in easy drooping lines, fell back again flat to the masts as the ship crossed her wake. but as the corvette passed, the officer of the watch on the poop raised his cap to the lovely woman who was standing out in graceful relief on the upper cabin deck, with her little boy held up beside her in the sturdy arms of the black, and placing the trumpet to his lips, said, in a distinct voice, as if addressing the skipper, "we shall go about at midnight. remember the directions i gave you this morning. _bon voyage, madame!_" he shook his trumpet playfully at the boy, who put out his chubby arms with delight to the speaker, and then hammered away with great glee on the crown of his bearer's head. "thank you, sir," said captain blunt, who was leaning over the rail; and then turning to his mate, he added, "them yankees, mr. binks, always treats a merchantman like gentlemen on the high seas, and i never knew one on 'em to turn their backs on friends or foes. what a pity they ever cut adrift from the old country! howsoever, matey, it can't be helped, and you had better up with the port studding-sails, hang out all the rags, and make the old drogher walk." now came the rippling breeze all at once over the sea, fluttering furtively for a minute or two, so as to make the top-sails of the brig swell out and then fall back in a tremulous shiver; but again bulging forward in a full-breasted curve, the vessel felt the tug, and began to dash the spray from her bluff bows till it fell away beyond the lee cathead in flying masses of foam. the studding-sail booms rolled out, the sailors busied themselves aloft in making the additional sail, and by-and-by the old brig floundered along, the bubbles gurgling out ahead in the ruffled water, tipping over astern as the crests broke on her quarter; at times plunging her bows into the rolling swell, but coming up sturdily again, and so on as before. meanwhile the corvette had edged away in a parallel course with the brig, running past her at first as if she were at anchor, when she let her topgallant-sails slide down to the caps, and, with the weather clew of her main-sail triced up, she held way with the brig a mile or more to windward. the moon was sinking well down in the west, and the clear, well-defined crescent was occasionally obscured by the light fleecy clouds moving under the influence of the trade wind, when, toward eight bells, the moon gave one pure white glimmer, threw a rippling flood of light over the waves, and sunk below the horizon. still the stars twinkled and the planets flamed out like young moons--masked at intervals by the darkening clouds as they swept overhead in heavy masses--and tinging the sea with shade, which would again break out in phosphorescent flashes as the waves caught the reflection. "now, madame rosalie," said the kind old skipper, "it is nearly midnight; take your last snooze in the old barky, and wake up bright and happy for port royal and--you know who, in the morning." the charming woman had been watching, with soul-rapt gaze, the lofty hills of jamaica from the last blaze of the setting sun, and until the moon too had vanished and left only a dim blue haze over the island. she started as the captain spoke, gave a deep sigh, kissed her hand to the good old skipper, said "_bon soir, mon ami_," and with a smile she entered her cabin. the black was seated within the partition of the apartment, near a small swinging cot, urging it gently to and fro, and watching over his little charge. "good-night, banou," she said, in patois french; "you may go to bed, and i will take care of my little boy." the black grinned so as to show his double range of white teeth beneath the rays of the cabin lamp, and without a word he moved silently away. the lady stood for a few moments gazing lovingly at the sleeping child, and then drawing the miniature from her bosom, she detached it with the chain from her neck, and after pressing it to her lips, she leaned softly over the cot and fastened it around the little sleeper. as light and zephyr-like as was the effort, it caused the little fellow to stir, and reaching out his tiny arms, while a baby smile played around the dimples of his cheeks, he clasped his mother's neck. ah! fond and devoted mother! that was the last sweet infantile caress your child was ever destined to give you! treasure it up in joy and sorrow, in sunshine and gloom, for long, long years will pass before you press him to your heart again! chapter v. darkness. "the busy deck is hushed, no sounds are waking but the watch pacing silently and slow; the waves against the sides incessant breaking, and rope and canvas swaying to and fro. the topmost sail, it seems like some dim pinnacle cresting a shadowy tower amid the air; while red and fitful gleams come from the binnacle, the only light on board to guide us--where?" on went the "martha blunt" with no fears of danger near. the bell struck eight, the watch had been called, and the captain, taking a satisfactory look all around the horizon, glanced at the compass, and, with a slight yawn, said, "well, mr. binks, i believe i'll turn in for a few hours; keep the brig on her course, and at daylight call me. it will be time enough then to bend the cables, for i don't think we shall want the anchors much afore noon to-morrow. where's the corvette?" "there she is, sir, away off on the port beam. she made more sail a few minutes ago, and now she appears to be edging off the wind, and steering across our forefoot. i s'pose she's enjoying of herself, sir, and exercisin' the crowds of chaps they has on board them craft." "well, good-night, matey"--pausing a moment, however, as the honest old skipper stepped down the companion-way, and half communing with himself, and then, with his head just above the slide, he added, "i say, mr. binks, there's no need, p'r'aps, but you may as well have a lantern alight and bent on to the ensign halliards there under the taffrail, in case you want to signalize the corvette. ah, banou! that you, old nigger? good-night!" so captain blunt went slowly down below, and at the same time the black went aft, coiled himself down on the deck, and made a pillow of the brig's ensign. mr. binks wriggled himself upon the weather rail, where, with a short pipe in his mouth, he kicked his heels against the bulwarks, and while the old brig plunged doggedly on, he indulged himself with a song, the air, however, being more like the growl of a bull-dog than a specimen of music: "if lubberly landsmen, to gratitude strangers, still curse their unfortunate stars; why, what would they say did they try but the dangers encounter'd by true-hearted tars? if life's vessel they put 'fore the wind, or they tack her, or whether bound here or there, give 'em sea-room, good-fellowship, grog, and tobaker, well, then, damme if jack cares where!" "what d'ye think of that, ben?" said mr. binks, as he finished his ditty, and sucked away on his pipe. "why, mr. mate," replied ben, as he gave the wheel a spoke or two to windward and glanced at the binnacle, "the words is first-rate, but it seems to me your singing gear is a bit out o' condition, and i thought you wos a prayin'; but the fact is," concluded ben, apologetically, "that whenever i hears grog and tobaker jined together, i likes to see them in my fist." "oh! you would, eh? well, shipmate, turn and turn about is fair play; so here, just take a pull at the pipe, and i'll step to the cuddy for the bottle, and we'll have a little sniffler all around!" saying this, mr. binks swung off the rail, handed ben the pipe, and after an absence of a few moments, he returned with a square case-bottle and a pewter mug. "now, ben," said he, "this 'ere is not a practice, as you know, i often is guilty of; but you bein' a keerful hand and a stiddy helmsman, and port here close aboard, i've no objections to take a toss with ye." then pouring out a moderate quantity of the fluid, the mate handed it to ben, who, taking the pipe out of his mouth, and with one hand on the king-spoke of the wheel and one eye at the compass-card, threw his head back and pitched the dram down his throat. "my sarvice to ye, sir!" said ben, as he smacked his lips and then shut them tight together, fearful lest a breath of the precious liquid might escape; "a little of that stuff goes a great ways." mr. binks hereupon measured himself off an allowance, and touching ben on the shoulder, raised the pewter to his lips. before, however, draining the cup, he tuned his pipes once more, and croaked forth in this strain: "while up the shrouds the sailor goes, or ventures on the yard, the landsman, who no better knows, believes his lot is hard. but jack with smiles each danger meets; casts anchor, heaves the log, trims all the sails, belays the sheets, and drink his can of grog!" "here comes the corvette, sir!" broke in ben, as he stood on tiptoe, holding on to the spokes of the wheel, and taking his eyes off the binnacle a moment to get a clear view over the rail. "here she comes, with her starboard tacks aboard, athwart our bow, and moving like an albatross!" the man-of-war had for an hour or more crept well to windward, and then, wearing round, she came down close upon the wind under royals, and her three jibs and spanker as flat as boards. as she whirled on across the brig's bow, a few cables' length ahead, the sharp ring of the whistles was again heard, and the moment after the head-sails fluttered and shook in the wind, the sheets and blocks rattled, and with a clear order of "main-sail haul!" the after-yards swung round like magic, the sails filled, and without losing headway the head-yards were swung, and she gathered way on the other tack. on she came, with the spray flying up into the weather leech of her fore-sail, the dark mazes of her rigging marked out in clear lines against her white canvas, and the watch noiselessly coiling up the ropes on her decks. as she pushed her sharp snout through the water, and grazed along the brig's lee quarter, an officer on the poop gave a rapid and searching glance around, peered sharply along the brig's deck, waved his trumpet to the mate, and resumed his rapid tramp to windward. in ten minutes after she had passed the brig's wake nothing was seen of her save a dark, dim outline; a light halo reflected on the water from her white streak, and an occasional luminous flash of foam as it bounded away from her lean bows. half an hour went by. the mate was sitting on the weather rail droning out an old sea-song to himself, and the four or five men of the watch were dozing away along the bulwarks. presently, however, ben, the helmsman, happened to let his eyes wander away from the compass-card for a moment, as he steadied the wheel by his legs and bit a quid from his plug of niggerhead to last him to suck for the remainder of the watch, when, glancing beneath the bulging folds of the lee clew of the main-sail, he clapped both hands again on the steering spokes, and shouted, "mr. mate, here's a sail close under our lee beam!" "where?" said binks. but, before he had fairly time to run over to the other side of the vessel and take a look for himself, a quick rattle of oars was heard as a boat grated against the brig's side, and, before you could think, a swarm of fellows started up like so many shadows above the rail. in five seconds they had jumped on the deck, ben fell like a bullock from a blow from the butt-end of a pistol, the helm was jammed hard down, the lee braces let fly, and, as the old brig gave a lurching yaw in bringing her nose to windward, the weather leeches shivered violently in the wind, and, taking flat aback, the studding-sail booms snapped short off at the irons, and, with the sails, fell slamming and thumping below. [illustration: the pirates boarding the brig.] meanwhile the mate had barely time to spring to the companion-way and sing out, "we're boarded by pirates, captain blunt!" when he, too, received an ugly overhand lick from a cutlass on his skull, and went senseless and bleeding down the hatchway like a scuttle of coals. at the first noise, however, the black banou sprang to his feet, and, as he caught a glimpse of the fellows swarming over the side, he snatched hold of the ensign halliards where the signal lantern had been bent on, and in an instant it was dancing away up to the gaff, shrouded from view to leeward of the vessel by the spread of the spanker. in another moment the black leaped to the deck cabin and darted through the door. but in less time than it has taken to tell it, the "martha blunt" had changed hands. there, on the quarter-deck, stood in groups some sixteen barefooted villains, in coarse striped gingham shirts, loose trowsers, and skull-caps, and all with glittering, naked knives or cutlasses, and pistols in their belts and hands. in the midst of this cluster of swarthy wretches, near the companion-way, stood a burly, square-built ruffian, with a pistol in his right hand, and his dexter paw pushing up a brown straw hat as he ran his fingers across his dripping forehead and a tangled mass of carroty, unshorn locks. there was a wisp of a red silk kerchief tied in a single knot around his bare bull neck; the shirt was thrown back, and exposed a tawny, hairy chest, as a ray of light flashed up from the binnacle. he looked--as indeed he was--the lowest type of a sailor scoundrel. his companions were of lighter build, and their dress, complexion, and manner--to say nothing of their black hair and rings in their ears--indicated a birth and breeding in other and hotter climes. "well, my lads," said the big fellow, who seemed to be in command, "the barkey is ours, and we've cheated that infarnal cruiser handsomely. go forward, pedro, and gag them lubbers, and then tell the boys to trim aft them jib sheets; and round in them after-braces, some of you, so we can keep way with the schooner and take things easy." here he laughed in a husky, spirituous, low chuckle, and then went on: "this will make up for lost time, _amigos_! _christo!_ there may be some ounces on board. but who's left in the boat, gomez?" this was addressed to a bow-legged, beetle-browed individual, with a hare-lip, which kept his face in a perpetual and skeleton-like grin, who hissed out from between his decayed front tusks, "_el doctor señor, con tres de nosotros._" "_bueno!_ all right; three of the chaps will do to look out for her; but tell the doctor to drop the boat astern, and veer him a rope from the gangway. there! that's well with the braces! keep her off a point; so--that'll do." as the orders were promptly obeyed, and the crew of the brig gagged, and the vessel surged slowly on her course, the same speaker turned to his men and said, "now, my hearties! let's have an overhaul of the skipper. hand him up here, will ye? or, never mind," he added, "i'll just step down and have a growl with him myself." as the mate pitched head foremost down the companion ladder, two of the pirates jumped after him, and, dealing him another cruel stab with a knife deep into the back, they passed on into the lower cabin. there was a brief struggle, the sound of voices mingled with curses and threats, and then all quiet again. in pursuance of his expressed purpose, the stout ruffian slewed himself round, took a sweep about the horizon, then sticking his pistol in its belt, he slowly descended the ladder, gave the wounded and dying mate a kick, and with a hoarse laugh entered the cabin. there, on a small sofa abaft, between the two stern air-ports, sat captain blunt. blood was trickling down in heavy drops from a lacerated bruise on his forehead; but, notwithstanding the swelling and pain of the wound, his features were calm, stern, and honest. on either side of him sat as villainous a brace of mongrel portuguese or spaniards as ever infested the high seas; and his arms were pinioned by a stout cord to the bolt above the transom. "my sarvice to you, sir!" said the leader of the gang, with a devilish smile of derision, as he stuck his arms akimbo and squirted some tobacco-juice from his filthy mouth across the cabin table at the pinioned prisoner. "i s'pose you know by this time that you're a lawful prise, captured by an hindependent constable of the west indies, notwithstandin' ye had sich safe escort and convoy all the arternoon?" here he chuckled, squirted more juice over the table, then dropped down on a sea-chest cleated to the deck, took off his hat, and scratched his yellowish red hair. the poor captain said not a word, but shook a great clot of blood from his brow. "well, now, my old hearty, the first thing for you to do is to poke out your manifest, and any other little matters of vallew ye may have stowed away; and be quick, mind ye, for you haven't much time to sail in this 'ere craft. howsoever, i s'pose ye can swim?" "you'll find the manifest and the ship's papers there, inside that instrument-box; and all the money in the vessel is in that locker; and i trust in heaven it may burn your hands to cinders, you devils!" "ho! smash my brains! keep a stopper on your jaw, or i'll squeeze your dead carcass through that 'ere starn port." the fellow rose as he spoke, and, stepping up to the narrow state-cabin near by, he jerked open the upper drawer of a small bureau affair, and pulling out a canvas bag, sealed at the mouth, tossed it on to the cabin table. the coin fell with the heavy dead sound peculiar to gold, and the ruffian, after taking it up again and weighing it tenderly, growled out, "this chink will do for a yapper, at any rate! so now let's have a peep at what the cargo consists on." then stepping a second time to the berth, he gave a kick to the instrument-box, the lid flew off, and diving in his fist he drew out a bundle of papers. once more seating himself at the table beneath the swinging lamp, he clumsily undid the papers and spread them before him. "what a blessed thing is edication," muttered he to himself, "and what a power o' knowledge reading 'riting does for a man!" putting his fat stumpy finger on each line of the manuscript as he slowly began to spell out the contents, he began, "man-i-fest of brig 'martha blunt'--ja-cob blunt, master:" here he paused, and, squirting more tobacco-juice over at the skipper, as if to attract his attention, he suddenly ejaculated, "hark ye! master blunt, what was the name of that man-o'-war vessel as was lyin' by you this morning?" "the 'scourge,'" replied the skipper, faintly, as he shook another great drop of blood from his brow. "the what? the 'scourge!' that yankee snake! smash my brains! d'ye know that that ship has been a hangin' about the north side of cuba for ever so long, interruptin' our trade? and you an englishman, to go and ax him to purtect ye! take that!" here he snatched a pistol from his sash, and, taking aim full at the skipper's breast, he pulled the trigger. fortunately, the weapon snapped and did not explode. the ruffian held it a moment in his hand, and then letting it rest upon the table, he said, with a horrible imprecation, "ye see you wos not born to be shot; but we'll try what salt water will do for ye by-and-by." taking out his knife at the conclusion of this speech, he picked the flint of his pistol, opened the pan, shook the priming, and then shoved the weapon back in his belt. the mention of the "scourge," however, had evidently caused him some trepidation, for when he resumed the perusal of the manifest it was in a hurried, agitated sort of way, and not at all at his ease. smoothing the papers again before him, he went on, making running commentaries as he read: "eighty-six cases of silks--light, and easily stowed away; twenty-nine tons bar iron; sixty-four sugar-kettles! it will help to sink the brig; forty pipes of bordeaux; two hundred baskets champagne; three hundred and fifty boxes of claret--sour stuff, i warrant you; two casks cognac brandy--but i say, you blunt," said the fellow, looking up, "where's your own private bottle? it's thirsty work spellin' out all this 'ritin', and my mouth's as dry as a land-crab's claws. howsoever," he continued, as he caught the glance of satisfaction which came over the swarthy faces of his companions beside the captain, "wait a bit, and we'll punch a hole in a fresh barrel presently." having run through the manifest, he opened another paper and exclaimed, "hallo! what have we here? list of passengers--madame rosalie piron and--ho! that's a french piece, i knows by the name. where is she? hasn't died on the v'yage, has she? d'ye hear there, ye infarnal blunt?" the captain's face was troubled, and his head dropped down on his breast without replying; but one of the scoundrels at his side struck him a brutal blow with the back of his knife-hilt on the mouth, and jerking up, he said, with an effort, "yes, we have a female passenger on board, with a helpless child; but i pray you, in god's name, to leave the innocent woman in peace. you've robbed and ruined me and my poor old wife--turn me adrift if you like, drown or hang me, but don't harm the poor lady." the tears blinded him as he spoke, and mingled with the bloody stream which trickled down his cheeks. the ruffian's ugly face and bloodshot eyes lighted up with a devilish and sinister satisfaction as the skipper began his appeal, but before he had well finished speaking he broke in, "avast your jaw! will ye? you'll have enough to look out for your own gullet, my lad, without mindin' any body else's; so turn to and say your prayers afore eight bells is struck, because there's sharks off jamaiky." then addressing his own scoundrelly myrmidons, he exclaimed, "look out sharp for that old chap, my lads, while i goes to sarch for the woman passenger!" as he turned, however, to leave the cabin, one of his subordinates began to rummage about in a locker, when the burly brute said, "tonio, don't get to drinkin' too airly, boy, for ye know it's agin the law till the prize is snug in harbor, or sunk, as the case may be." "_si, señor_," replied the man, with a nod and a grin, and he resumed his seat again; but no sooner had their leader left the cabin than a bottle and glasses were placed upon the table, and they fell to with a will, complimenting the bound and wounded prisoner by pitching the last drops from their tumblers into his face. chapter vi. danger. "what tale do the roaring ocean and the night wind, bleak and wild, as they beat at the crazy casement, tell to that little child? and why do the roaring ocean and the night wind, wild and bleak, as they beat at the heart of the mother, drive the color from her cheek?" in all this time so little noise had been made that even the watch below, in the brig's forecastle, were snoozing away without a dream of danger; though, had one of them shown his nose above the fore-peak, he would have either been knocked down and murdered like the mate, or, with a gag in his jaws, been hurled overboard. when the leader of the pirates stepped again on deck, he said to his companions, who were still clustered around the companion-way, "well, my boys, we have 'arned a good prize--a fine cargo of the real stuff--silks, wines, and what not, besides a few of the shiners!" here he jingled the bag of gold and dollars in his paws, and then threw it, with an easy, indifferent toss, on to the slide of the companion-way. "but what think ye, lads?" he continued, in a hoarse whisper, "there's a petticoat aboard! and, as sure as my name's bill gibbs, here goes for a look; for there's nothing like lamplight for the lovely creeturs!" as he slewed round on his bare feet to approach the entrance to the deck cabin, a move was made in the same direction by two or three of the wretches of his band; but, shoving them roughly back with his heavy fist, and clapping a hand to his belt, he said, in a threatening tone, "none o' that, my souls! i takes the first look myself; and if i think her beauty'll suit the chief, why--i shall be able to judge, ye know, whether she'll go furder on the cruise or swim ashore with the rest of the lubbers at daylight to jamaiky. keep your eye on the schooner, pedro, and don't make no more sail! d'ye hear?" "ay, ay, _si señor_!" quoth that worthy, as he and his followers fell sulkily back. it took but three strides for mr. bill gibbs to reach the cabin door, when, finding it hard to open, after several trials at the knob, he placed his burly shoulder against the edge of the panelwork, and, throwing his powerful weight upon it, the door yielded with a snap of the lock, and he pitched forward full length upon the cabin floor. the noise startled the lady within, and speaking as if half asleep, she called, "banou! banou! what is the matter?" "_mon dieu, madame!_ we are prisoners in the hands of pirates!" before more words were uttered, mr. bill gibbs, who by this time had regained his feet while giving vent to a volley of blasphemous curses, roared out as he beheld the black, "ho! nigger passengers, hay? a mounseer of color, as i'm a christian! i say, cucumber shins, is that 'ere woman as is talkin' as black as you be?" he was not left long in doubt concerning the color of the person he alluded to, for at the instant the stateroom door flew open, and the lovely woman, in her loose night-dress and hair streaming in brown, heavy silken tresses over her fair neck and shoulders, with a pale and terror-stricken face, stood before him. speechless with agony, she gazed at the coarse ruffian, who had, at the moment, reached the swinging cot which held the little boy, and while he was in the act of looking at the sleeping child, the mother uttered a fearful cry and the boy awoke. "sarvice, madam! don't be scared! come and take the little chap! i ain't goin' to hurt him--that is, if it be a him." the frightened mother, spell-bound at first, needed no second bidding, and, forgetful of her disheveled dress, sprang forward, and with outstretched arms, bare to the shoulder, was about to snatch her child. the pirate, however, with his red eyes gleaming with unholy fire, threw his great arm around the lovely woman's waist, and with a hoarse, fiendish chuckle of triumph, attempted to draw her toward him. but, quick as lightning, two black, sinewy paws clutched him with such a steel-like grip about the throat that his sacrilegious arm dropped by his side, and he was hurled violently back against the cabin bulkhead. then standing before him, the negro glared like an angry lion roused from his lair as he looked round inquiringly at his mistress. "ho!" sputtered the ruffian, as he pulled a pistol from his belt, "ho! you mean fight, do ye?" "_banou! mon pauvre banou!_" screamed the terrified woman. "yield! oh, sir, spare him! don't harm us, and we will give you all we possess!" the burly scoundrel hesitated a moment, and balanced the cocked pistol in his hand, as if undecided whether to blow the black's brains out on the spot where he stood; and then shoving the weapon back in his sash, and keeping a wary eye on his assailant, he exclaimed in an angry tone, "well, come here, then, my deary, and give us a kiss for this nigger's bad manners." moving forward as he spoke, he caught up the little boy from the cot, tore the gold chain and locket from his neck, which he thrust into his pocket, and shook him roughly at arm's length, in hopes, perhaps, of enticing the tender mother within his merciless grasp. but again the black interposed his heavy frame before his mistress. "what! at it again, are ye? well, then"--fumbling with his left hand for his pistol--"say your prayers, ye imp of darkness." the black seemed, however, in no mood for praying; and putting forth his slabs of arms like the paws of an alligator, he tried to grapple his foe by the throat. the cries of the mother now mingled with those of the child as he put out his little arms to shield his black protector. the ruffian, foiled in his purpose, with baffled rage evaded the negro by stepping to one side; and as he did so, he hurled the helpless child with great force from him. the large cabin windows at the stern were open to let in the breeze; and as the brig sank slowly down with her counter to the following waves, and gurgled up as the sea eddied and surged around the rudder, the faint, plaintive cry of the little boy arose above the seething waters--a light splash followed--and the mother had lost her child! "oh, monster!" cried the heart-broken woman. "oh, my boy! my boy! may heaven curse you forever!" as she sank down senseless on the deck. the awful howl of vengeance which burst from the deep lungs of banou came simultaneously with the report of the pirate's pistol, the bullet from which struck the black hard in the left shoulder; but putting out for the third time his sinewy arms, and this time with an iron grip that only left the ruffian time to yell with a stifled curse for help, he was hurled headlong, smashing through the latticed cabin door, and fell stunned upon the outer deck. in an instant half a dozen pistol balls whistled around the negro's head, and the knives of the pirates flashed from their sashes as they rushed forward to bury the blades in his body; but leaping to one side, and while two more bullets were driven into him, he seized an iron-shod pump brake from the bulwarks, and, with a mighty bound, whirled it once with the rapidity of thought high above his head, and brought it down on the leg of his prostrate foe. such was the force of the blow that it smashed both bones, and drove the white splinters through the brute's trowsers, where they gleamed out red and bloody by the light of the binnacle lamp. even then, wounded, and the blood flowing from several places, and though almost encircled in the grasp of the scoundrels, banou made good his retreat to the cabin, and planted his powerful body firmly against the door. with a volley of polyglot curses and yells in all languages, two or three of the pirates stopped to raise their fallen leader, while the others, leaving the wheel and vessel to herself, rushed in pursuit of the black. scarcely, however, had they made a step, when their ears were saluted by a stunning crash from a heavy cannon, and the peculiar humming sound of a round shot as it flew just above their heads between the brig's masts. there, within half a cable's length to windward, loomed up the dark hull of a large ship. the crew were evidently at quarters, with the battle lanterns lit and gleaming in the ports, while the rays shot up the black rigging and top-hamper, and spread out over the sails in fitful flashes as she slowly forged abreast the brig, with her main top-sail to the mast. for a minute not a sound was heard, though the decks were full of men, some with their heads poked out of the open ports beside the guns, or swarming along over the lee hammock-nettings and about the quarter boats; but the next instant there came in a voice of thunder through the trumpet, "what's the matter on board that brig?" there was no answer for a few seconds, until a choking voice, as if with a pump-bolt athwart the speaker's mouth, mumbled out, "we're captured by pi--" a dull, heavy blow cut short these words; and though the reply to the hail could hardly have been heard on board the ship, yet, as if divining the true state of the case, loud, clear orders were given-- "away, there, third and fourth cutters! away! spring, men!" then came the surging noise of the whistles as the falls dropped the boats from the davits; then the men, leaping down into cutters--silently and quick--no sound save the clash of a cutlass or the rattle of an oar-blade as they took their places and shoved off. again an order through the trumpet-- "clear away the starboard battery! load with grape! sail trimmers! stations for wearing ship! hard up the helm! fill away the main-yard!" the "scourge" had by this time forged ahead of the brig, her sails aback or shivering, as she came up and fell off from the wind, and the boats dancing with full crews toward her. no sooner, however, had the presence of the unwelcome stranger been made known on board the brig than the pirates seemed seized with a panic, and, without a second thought, they scudded to leeward, where their boat had been hauled alongside, and forgetful or indifferent for the fate of their companions below, though dragging the while their maimed comrade to the rail, they lowered him into the boat, jumped in themselves, and pulled away with all their strength toward the schooner near. they were not, however, a moment too soon; for as the last of the band disappeared, their places were supplied by a crowd of nimble sailors to windward, headed by an officer with his sword between his teeth as he swung over the bulwarks. the first sound which greeted the new-comers was from below, and from the throat of the honest skipper. down the open companion-way leaped the officer, with half a dozen stout, eager sailors at his heels, and dashed right into the lower cabin. there was the brave old skipper, with but one arm free, shielding himself and struggling--faint and well-nigh exhausted--from the knives of the drunken brace of rascals who had been left to guard him. a pistol in the hands of one of this pair was pointed with an unsteady aim at the officer as he entered, but the ball struck the empty rum-bottle on the table and flew wide of its mark; and before the smoke of the powder had cleared away, a sword and cutlass had passed through and through both their bodies, and they fell dead upon the cabin floor. while captain blunt found breath to give a rapid explanation of the trouble, and while the brig was once more got under control and the wounded cared for, we will take a look at the man-of-war and the part she bore in the business. at the first sound of the warning gun from the cruiser the schooner began to show life; and drawing her head sheets, she wore short round on her heel, with every thing ready to run up her fore and aft sails, and a stay-tackle likewise rove and hanging over the low gunwale to hook on to the boat and hoist it in the moment it came alongside. meanwhile the "scourge" had shot ahead of the brig, and wearing round her forefoot, with her starboard tacks on board, she emerged out beyond, like a hound just slipped from the leash. as she cleared the brig, the schooner lay with bare masts about three cables' length to windward, and the rattle of oars told that her boat had just scraped alongside. at that moment a clear, determined voice shouted through the trumpet, "level your guns! take good aim! fire!" a brilliant series of sheets of flame burst forth from the corvette's battery, lighting up the water and jet black wales, and away aloft to the great towering maze of rigging and sails to the trucks, with the topmen clustering to windward, and their very eyes and teeth lit up in the glare; then, too, the crews of the guns, in their trim frocks and trowsers; the marines on the top-gallant forecastle, with their firelocks and white cross-belts; and abaft a knot of officers on the poop, with night-glasses to their eyes, all standing out as clear as day in the sudden flashes from the cannon. then followed the concussive roar, and the next instant you could hear the hurtling rush of the iron hail as it flew singly or in bunches through the air, or skipped in its deadly flight from wave to wave, until it went crashing into the pirate's boat, slapping with heavy thumps against the schooner's side, or furrowing along her decks; while a shower of white splinters flew high over her low rail, and told how well the iron had done its bidding. then, with many a groan and imprecation, the shattered and sinking boat was cut adrift, and, a moment after, the sails of the vessel were spread, the sheets hauled flat aft, and, taking the breeze, she heeled over till her lee rail was all awash, and away she walked, right up to windward. but again came the clear, commanding tones on board the cruiser, mingled with the jumping of the crew and ramming home the charges in the guns: "load! round shot! run out! one point abaft the beam! fire as you bring the schooner to bear!" out belched the red flames; the heavy globes of iron, like so many black peas in daylight, sung their deadly note as they darted on their way, and the corvette gave a little heel to leeward as the shock of the explosion was felt. one shot dropped within fifty yards of the low hull of the schooner, bounded just clear of her after-deck, knocked off the head and shoulder of a man at the tiller, and then went skipping away over the water like a black foot-ball. another messenger cut off the schooner's delicate fore-top-mast as clean as a bit of glass, bringing down the gaff-top-sail, and, what was equally pleasant, the fellow who was setting it--pitching him over and over like a wheel, until he fell, a bruised and lifeless lump of jelly, on the oak bitts at the fore-mast. before, however, they were treated to another of these metallic doses, the pirates had got their craft in splendid trim; and with every stitch of her canvas spread, and tugging and straining, she rushed on with the heels of a race-horse, within three points of the wind. the "scourge," too, was now close hauled, her yards braced as fine as needles, and crowded with every inch of sail that would draw; while every ten minutes or so she would let slip two or more guns from a division at the chase. but the uncertain gloom of starlight, and the darkening effect of the passing trade-clouds, made the little vessel a very difficult object to see; and though one of the last balls struck her on the narrow deck, passed through that and the waterways, and out to windward, spoiling two of her timbers, and no end of planking, yet this was the last damage she received. her crew, also, had got as well as could be out of harm's way--both the sound and wounded--and were lying quietly as possible deep down in the vessel's run. when daylight broke the breeze began to slacken, but she was by this time hull down from the corvette, a long way beyond the reach of her long eighteens in the bow ports, and eating her way to windward, with no chance of being taken. [illustration: the night chase.] "it's no use," said the captain of the corvette to his first lieutenant, as they stood watching the receding chase. "we may as well give it up; she has the heels of us in this light wind, and will soon be out of sight. i think, however," continued the captain, with a smile, "that he'll remember the 'scourge' when he meets her again. this is the second time we have chased that fellow; and this heat, by the way the splinters flew, we must have peppered the skin off his back." shutting up the joints of the spy-glass which he held in his hand, he took hold of the man-ropes of the poop ladder, and as he put his feet on the steps, he said, "you can go about, mr. cleveland, and run down to the brig." chapter vii. the meeting and mourning. "moan! moan, ye dying gales! the saddest of your tales is not so sad as life! nor have you e'er began a theme so wild as man, or with such sorrow rife. "then, when the gale is sighing, and when the leaves are dying, and when the song is o'er, oh! let us think of those whose lives are lost in woes-- whose cup of grief runs o'er!" the afternoon following the night when the foregoing events transpired, the "martha blunt" sailed slowly along the sandy tongue of land which separates port royal from kingston, and dropped anchor in the harbor. as the cable rumbled out with a grating sound through the hawse-hole, and the crew aloft were furling the sails, a large, gayly-painted barge, pulled by a dozen blacks shaded by a striped awning, shot swiftly alongside. jabbering were those darkies, and clapping their hands, and shouting joyously. a rope was immediately thrown from the gangway of the brig, and a tall, handsome man, with a broad panama hat, loose white jacket and trowsers, sprang with a bound up the side, and leaped on deck. captain blunt stood there to receive him. a broad white bandage was passed around his head, and the tears trickled slowly down his bronzed and honest cheeks. just beyond him, under the shade of the awning, lay banou, stretched out at full length on a mattress; while ben, the helmsman, was kneeling beside him, fanning his hot and fevered face with his tarpaulin. a yard or two beyond, on a broad plank resting on trestles, lay the mate, mr. binks, cold and rigid in the grasp of death, with the union jack folded modestly over his corpse. the black breathed heavily and in pain; but when he caught sight of the gentleman as he stepped on deck, a deathly blue pallor came over his countenance, and, closing his eyes, the hot salt tears started in great drops from the lids. "my god! captain," said the gentleman, with a bewildering stare, "what's all this? what has happened?" the old skipper merely made a motion with his hand toward the cabin, and, leaning painfully against the rail, wept like a child. the gentleman's blood forsook his cheeks, and, with his knees knocking together, he staggered like a drunken man toward the cabin door. a few minutes later he emerged, bearing in his arms the sobbing, drooping form of his wife. starting from his close embrace for a moment as he bore her to the gangway, she gave one shuddering, terrified, searching gaze over the blue water to seaward, and then, with a wailing cry of agony, that would have shaken the hardest heart, she fell sobbing again into her husband's arms. the voices and joyous shrieks of the negroes in the barge alongside subsided into low moaning groans; four or five came up, and carefully lowered banou down; then all got into the boat, and she moved mournfully away toward the shore. chapter viii. captain brand at home. "from his brimstone bed at break of day, a-walking the devil is gone, to visit his snug little farm the earth, and see how his stock goes on." upon a broad, flat, rocky ledge, near a small, landlocked narrow inlet of one of the clustering twelve league keys on the south side of cuba, stood a red-tiled stone building, with a spacious veranda in front, covered by plaited matting and canvas curtains triced up all around. the back and one side of the building rested against a craggy eminence which overlooked the sea on both sides of the island, and commanded a wide sweep of reef and blue water beyond. a few clumps of cocoa-nut-trees and dwarf palms, with bare gaunt stems and tufted tops, stood out here and there along the rocky slopes, while lesser vegetation of cactus and mangrove bushes were scattered thickly over the island, cropping out with jagged edges of rock down to the sandy beaches of the sea-shore. a deep narrow inlet of blue water lay pure and still near the base of the rocky height, where, too, was a shelving curve of white sand, sprinkled about by a few mat sheds, while on the other side the rocks arose to an elevation of a hundred and fifty feet, forming a precipitous wall to the water. the inlet here took a sharp turn, scooped out in a secluded basin, and then narrowing to less than forty yards in width, it wound and twisted for a good mile in a thin blue channel to the open sea. half that distance farther out was a roaring ledge of white breakers, where the long swell came hammering on it, bursting up in the air in brightish green masses, and then tumbling over the reef and bubbling smoothly on toward the shore. on a level with the water no channel could be discerned through the ledge; but, looking down from the heights around the inlet, a narrow blue gateway was marked out, skirted on the surface by frothy crests of dead foam, and near where flocks of cormorants and gulls were riding placidly on the inner side of the ledge. the island itself was about two miles broad and seven long; and about midway of its width the inlet formed a forked strait, one branch finding its way to the north, between a low succession of sandy hummocks, where the water was too shallow to float a duck, and the other finding an outlet, scarcely a biscuit-toss wide, between two bluff rocks. with the trade wind this passage was safe and accessible; but on the change of the moon, with a breeze and swell from the south, the sea came bowling in, in boiling eddies and whirlpools, and it required a nerve of iron to attempt an entrance. just within this narrow mouth, on a flat beveled ledge of rock but a few feet above the water, was a small battery of two long eighteen-pounders, and two twenty-four pounder carronades mounted on slides and trucks, with platforms laid on a bed of sand. near by, beneath a low shed of tiles and loose stones, were a pile of round shot, nicely blacked, and some stands of grape and canister in canvas bags and cases, together with a large copper magazine of cartridges. seated a little way off on a low stool was a dingy spaniard with a telescope laid across his knees, which every little while he would raise to his eye and take a steady glance around the horizon to seaward. at other times he would roll and light a paper cigar, murmuring some low ditty to himself as he sent the smoke in volumes through his nose. a small brass bell hung beside the shed near the battery, together with a telegraphic card, which was connected by a wire strung on low posts, or hooked from rock to rock to the stone building away up at the basin. to return, however, to the building: the veranda rested on square rough masonry full twenty feet from the ground, which was loopholed for musketry, and with but one narrow slip of a doorway that fell like a portcullis, banded and strapped with bars and studs of wrought iron. within this stone inclosure was a large and roomy vault, half filled with cases, barrels, and packages, and at the upper angle was a narrow subterranean vaulted passage, barred also by an iron-bound door, which led to a succession of whitewashed chambers--dark, damp, and gloomy--and then on, in a fissure-like pathway, to another equally strongly secured outlet on the other side of the crag. leading to the veranda was a tautly-stretched rope ladder lashed to eye-bolts let into the natural rock below, and hooked on to the edge of the floor above. this was the only approach to the main floor of the building from the outside, though within were heavy trap-doors like the hatches of a ship, which communicated to the chambers beneath. the whole structure was of stone and tiles, roughly built, but yet strong and durable, and capable of resisting any assault, unaided by cannon, that could be brought against it. the floor was divided into four rooms, the smallest used for a kitchen, the next for a magazine of small arms, and the third a spacious bedchamber, which opened into a large square apartment facing the veranda, and which deserves more notice. [illustration: the pirate den.] the lofty ceiling came down with the slant, showing the bare red tiles and heavy square beams which supported the roof. in one of the stoutest of these beams was an eye-bolt and copper-strapped block, through which was rove a long green silk rope, with one end secured by a cleat on the wall, and the other dangling loose, and squirming, whenever a current of air struck it, like a long, slim snake. around the sides of the room, which were paneled with cedar, stood four or five quaint ebony armoires, and as many cabinets, clocks, and bookcases, with here and there a woman's work-stand, some of them curiously inlaid with pearl and silver. the walls were hung with a great number of pictures of all kinds of vessels--generally, however, of the merchant description--under full sail, with vivid light-houses in the distance, and combing breakers under the lee; and all portraying gallant crews and buoyant freights, which probably had never reached their destinations. among this gallery of marine display was a broad framing of the "flags of all nations;" and codes of signals, too, in bright colors, hung beside them. farther on, in a pretty panel by itself, surrounded by an edging of mother-o'-pearl, was a triple row of female miniatures, a number of them of great beauty, and many executed in excellent taste and art. in one corner was a large chart-stand, covered with rolls of maps and nautical instruments, while above were suspended, by white rope grummets, a pyramidal line of spy-glasses and telescopes of all sizes and make. near the centre of the apartment stood a large round dining-table, on which was laid things for a breakfast, a box of cigars, and a small silver pan of live coals. there were but two windows to this room, both hung with striped muslin curtains, the casements going to the floor, and looking out upon the veranda; and but two doors, one leading to the kitchen, and the other to the sleeping-chamber on the opposite side. presently this last door opened, and, pushing aside a blue gauze curtain which hung before it, an individual of about eight-and-twenty years of age stepped languidly into the room. he was a tallish man, over six feet in stature, rather spare in build, but with great breadth of shoulders, and though pale, apparently from long illness, yet he was evidently very active and muscular when his nerves were called into action. had it not been for a downward choleric curve to his large nose, and a little parting at the corners of his wide mouth and compressed lips, the face might have been thought handsome. the eyes were light blue, set close together, but hard and stony, with no ray of mercy or humanity in them. he wore no beard, and his light brown hair was thin and dry, and carefully parted at the side. he was dressed in a snow-white pair of loose drilling trowsers, cut sailor fashion, straw slippers, and silk stockings; and above he wore a brown linen jacket with large pearl buttons, and pockets. as he entered the room he held a delicate cambric handkerchief, with a fine lace border, in his hands, which he seemed to regard with curious interest as he lounged toward the windows of the veranda. "i wish i could remember," he muttered musingly to himself, "which of those sisters this bit of cambric belonged to, marked with an e.--ellen or eliza--hum! they _would_ die--silly things!--tried to stab me! ho! what fun! never left me even a miniature, either, for my collection. '_bueno!_' there's more fish in the sea--and under it too!" he concluded, with an unpleasant elevation of his eyebrows. by this time he had approached the open window, and, shoving the delicate fabric daintily in his pocket, he gave a slight yawn and looked out. before him lay the deep blue basin of the inlet, with a couple of boats hauled up on the shore; a few idle sailors moving about, or squatted beneath the sheds playing cards or sewing. without letting his eye rest more than a moment on this scene, he turned and gave a long, earnest gaze between an opening of the rocks to seaward. then, with an angry frown, he approached the table, poured out a cup of black coffee, threw rather than dropped in a lump of sugar, and sat himself down for his morning's meal. he had scarcely, however, gulped down his cup of coffee and choked after it a slice of toast, than he pushed away the breakfast things, snapped his teeth together like a steel clasp, biting a tooth-pick in twain by the effort; and then, tossing the pieces away, he dashed his hand into the cigar-box, extracted one, touched it to the pan of coals, and began to smoke savagely. at first the grateful smoke appeared to soothe his chafed spirit, for he threw himself lazily into a large cane-bottomed settee, and, stretching out his legs, seemed to enjoy the tranquil scene around him with uninterrupted pleasure. but soon a scowl darkened his face; he dropped his cigar on the floor, and springing to his feet as if touched by a galvanic battery, he snatched down a telescope from the wall, steadied it at the window-sash, and peered again long and anxiously to windward. he saw nothing, however, save the long, glassy, unbroken undulations of a calm tropical sea, rolling away off beyond the ledge under a burning sun; no sign of a breeze--not even a cat's-paw; and only now and then the leap of a deep-sea fish sparkling for a moment in the air, and some sluggish gulls and pelicans sailing and diving about the reef for their prey. shutting up the glass with a crash that made the joints ring, he strode to the settee, where hung several knotted bell-ropes, and, seizing one, gave it a sharp jerk. then putting his ear to an aperture in the wall, where was a hollow cane tube like the mouth of a speaking-trumpet, he listened attentively till a hoarse whisper uttered the word, "_señor._" putting his mouth to the tube, he said, "can you make out the 'centipede' from the crag station?" "not sure, sir, this morning; but last evening, at sunset, i saw a sail which i took to be her. the sea-breeze is just beginning to make, and if she's to windward of punta arenas she'll soon heave in sight." this colloquy was held in spanish; and when the signal-man had ceased speaking, the interlocutor lit another cigar mechanically, kicked a foot-stool out of his way like a foot-ball, and thus communed with himself as he rapidly paced between the table and the veranda: "fourteen weeks ago yesterday since the schooner was off matanzas; not a word of news to cheer me through all that cursed fever; the spring trade done, and the track deserted by this time!" then pausing in his walk, he stopped at the chart-stand, and unrolling a map, he went on: "where, in the devil's name, could she possibly have gone to? she might have been to cape horn and back before this. miserable fool that i was to trust the craft with that thirsty, thick-headed gibbs! _diavolo!_ he may have been captured, and if he has, i hope his neck has been stretched like a shred of jerked beef." even while he was talking a bell struck near the settee, and, putting his ear again to the tube, the hoarse voice said, "i can make her out now, _señor_. she's just caught the strong young breeze, and is, hull up, coming along with the bonnet off her fore-sail and a reef in her main-sail! there's a felucca to windward of her, which i take to be the 'panchita!'" "ah ha!" laughed the individual in the room. "the 'centipede' is safe, then; and i am to have the pleasure, too, of a visit from the tuerto, the mercenary old owl, with his account of sales and his greed. but let me once catch him foul, and, my one-eyed friend, i'll treat you to such a dance that you won't need shoes!" here he glanced with a meaning look at the silk rope swaying from the beam above his head, and the laugh of satisfaction which followed was not one a timid man would care to hear in a dark night; nor did it come from his heart, as any one might have discovered from the ferocious gleam of inward passion which shot out in the cold sparkle of his eyes and flitted away over his grating teeth. controlling his feelings, however, and stepping out on the veranda, he drew aside the curtains and sung out to the men in the huts, "one of you fellows, tell the boatswain i want him." the men started up, and a moment after a man in a blue jacket stood out from one of the sheds and threw up his hand to his straw hat. [illustration: the "panchita"] "get together the people! let run the cable at the alligator's mouth, and have three or four warps ready for the schooner when she passes the point! the 'panchita' is coming too, so look out, and have enough lines to tow both vessels in case the breeze fails. tell mr. gibbs to moor close under the other shore in the old berth, and to come to me when he's anchored! d'ye hear?" all this was said in a sharp tone of command, and by the alacrity with which the orders were executed the men seemed to be accustomed to a master who knew how to rule them. chapter ix. captain and mate. "so i hauled him off to the gallows' foot, and blinded him in his bags; 'twas a weary job to heave him up, for a doomed man always lags; but by ten of the clock he was off his legs in the wind, and airing his rags!" a couple of hours had passed since the occupant of the stone building had last spoken to his subordinates down at the inlet, but the interval he devoted to a minute inspection of weapons in the armory adjoining his bedroom. they were all in excellent order, of the best make, and very neatly arranged in stands and cases around the room. when he emerged again, after locking the door, he held an exquisite pair of small pistols inlaid with gold in his hand, which he gently polished with his cambric handkerchief, and then slipped them into his trowsers pockets. then he held short dialogues with the voice at the signal-station, and, without looking out of the window, he informed himself of what was doing outside, and what progress the vessels made toward their haven. when, however, the schooner poked her slim, low black bows, with her sails down, around the point, he gave one stealthy peep, or glare rather, at her. he took all in at that glance, from the patches of sheet-lead nailed over the shot-holes in her side, to the sawed-off stump of the fore-top-mast; and then he remarked the absence of the boat which was carried amidships, and the few men moving about her deck. ay! he took it all in with that one comprehensive glance, and when he had done, he raised his fore finger quivering with anger, and slowly and unconsciously passed it with an ominous gesture across his throat. soon was heard a sullen plunge as an anchor was let go, and the splashing of the warps upon the water as the stern of the "centipede" was being moored to the rocks, to make room for her companion the felucca, now shortly expected. "mr. gibbs is coming on shore, _señor_, and he seems to have a wooden leg," came through the tube. "the doctor is coming with him, and there is a little boy in the boat." "ho!" muttered the man in the saloon, "where was that brat picked up?" nothing more was said. the tall man lit a cigar, threw himself into an easy attitude on the settee, opened a richly-bound volume, and waited. ten minutes may have gone by when the trampling of feet was heard on the smooth rocks outside the building, and the voice of mr. gibbs exclaimed, "easy, will ye? doctor! don't ye see it tears the narves out of me to hobble with this broomstick-handle of a leg! there! stop a bit! how in thunder am i to climb this ladder? oh!" here a low howl of pain. "another shove. easy, old sawbones! so--give us another push, will ye? all right! there, that'll do." the next minute mr. bill gibbs stood on the broad piazza, and, with the assistance of a crutch, he hobbled to the entrance of the apartment, and only pausing to recover his wind and compose his features, he pulled off his straw hat and entered. "so ho! mr. gibbs," said the man on the settee, as the burly, lame ruffian darkened the entrance, laying the book down as he spoke, and waving his delicate handkerchief before him. "so ho! mr. gibbs, you've come back at last! delighted to see you. i am, 'pon my soul. ah! one of those stout pins gone? why, how's this? some little accident? santa cruz rum and a tumble down the hatchway, perhaps, eh? d'ye smoke? take a cheroot. put that bag on the table." all this was said in a gay, gibing tone, with an indifference and _sang froid_ that a tight-rope dancer might have been proud of; and as he ended, he threw a handful of cigars across the table, and pushed the pan of coals toward his visitor. before, however, gibbs had time to utter a word in reply, his companion, while lolling over the settee, caught up an opera-glass from the table, and, placing it to his eyes, went on: "ha! ho! the fore-top-mast of my pretty long-legged schooner is gone. pretty stick it was! i suppose, master gibbs, that _you_"--he nodded fiercely without removing the glass--"cut it up for that lovely new leg you've mounted. ay, my beauty!" again apostrophizing the vessel, which lay like a wounded bird in the calm inlet before him; "but where's my handsome barge, that used to cover the long gun? ho! stormy weather you've seen of late." during all this one-sided conversation gibbs had managed to wriggle his mutilated body on to a wicker chair, where he steadied himself with his crutch, evincing manifest signs of choler the while by running his fat fingers through the reddish door-mat of hair, hitching up his trowsers, and rapping nervously his timber stump of a leg on the floor, until at last, unable, apparently, longer to control himself, he burst out, with his bad face suffused with passion, "i say, captain brand, it's time to end them 'ere gibes. what's took place is unfortinate; but, howsoever, i has a bag of shiners and a wooden leg to show for it, and d----n the odds." "stop, stop, my bull-dog! don't be profane in my presence, if you please. we are both christians, you know, and friends too, i hope." this was said in a very precise, emphatic, and clear enunciation, and without apparent heat; and captain brand smiled too--but such a smile, as his wide mouth came down with a twitch at the corners, and left a sort of hole, where the cigar was habitually stuck, to see his teeth through. "and now, my friend, suppose you give me some little account of your cruise, and fill up, if you can, any chinks that i haven't seen through already," he concluded, throwing his legs again over the back of the settee, and elevating his eyebrows as the cigar smoke curled in spiral wreaths around his face. mr. gibbs hereupon settled himself more at ease in his chair, laid his crutch across his knees, and began: "i s'pose, sir, you got the news i sent in a letter from matanzas, after we'd been chased out of the nicholas channel by that yankee corvette?" captain brand nodded at the eye-bolt which held the green silk rope from the ceiling, as if calculating mentally the strain it would bear, merely as a matter of philosophical speculation, perhaps. "well, arter that--and a very tight race it was--we ran down to the behamey banks. there we picked up a yankee schooner loaded with shingles and lumber; and as the skipper was sarsy, i just made him and his crew walk one of his own planks, and then bored a couple of holes through his vessel, arter taking out some water which we stood in need of. you hasn't a drop of summut to drink, has you, captain brand? becase it makes my jaw-tackle dry to talk much." the captain merely motioned with a wave of his cambric handkerchief to an open liquor-case which stood on a cabinet near, and to which mr. gibbs hobbled; when, seizing a square flask of crystal incased in a network of frosted silver, he returned with it to the table. had mr. gibbs chosen he might have brought with the flask a small, thimble-shaped liqueur glass; but he did not, and contented himself with a china coffee-cup which stood on the tray before him. he seemed a little near-sighted too; and as he inverted the flask, gave no heed to the quantity of fluid he poured into the cup. but he took care, however, that it did not run over; and then, raising it with a trembling hand to his lips, he said, "my sarvice to you, captain brand," and tossed it down his capacious throat. the captain gave no response to this compliment, but as mr. gibbs put down the coffee-cup he said blandly, "thank you; but suppose you put that flask back in the case. i am rather choice with that brandy; it was a--given to me by a--person who was a--unfortunately hanged, and a--i rarely offer it a--the second time." puffing his cigar as he spoke in an easy manner, he then turned round to listen to mr. gibbs's narrative. becoming more genial as the brandy loosened his tongue, mr. gibbs continued: "well, sir, from the behameys we ran to leeward, nearly to the spanish main, in hopes, perhaps, of finding some stray fellow as was bound to europe; but we see nothing for days and days, and weeks and weeks, till finally the water fell short again, and we beats up and runs into santa cruz. there, as luck would have it, eboe pete and french tom got into a bit of a scrimmage up on a gentleman's plantation arter sunset, and was werry roughly handled by a patrol of sogers as happened to be near. i believe as how eboe pete died that night; and i heerd, too, that french tom had his skull cracked; and what does he go for to do but make a confession to the authorities that the 'centipede' was a pirate! "well, captain, the moment that information reached me, and seein' a sogers' boat gettin' ready, and the sogers running about the water-battery of the fort, than i just slips the cable, and runs out to sea like a bird; and, lord love ye, sir! the way they pitched round shot arter us was--was--" here master gibbs paused for a simile, and the captain observed with a hacking, cough-like laugh, "you saved the water-casks, though?" "why no, sir; and we was forced to go upon a 'lowance of a pint a water a man!" "ho!" rejoined the listener. "capital! didn't suffer, i hope? go on." "howsomever, i says to myself, the captain wants a good valy'ble cargo, and so we beats up again and stretches away back along the coast of jamaiky, on the look-out for any think that might be comin' that 'ere way. well, sir, d'ye see, airly one morning, as we was a lying as close as wax under the land, we spies a big brig becalmed off to seaward; but we diskivered at the same time that same yankee cruiser as was in chase of us off matanzas. i know'd as how you would be displeased at any risks being run, so we keeps clean and snug inshore, under a pint o' land, till set of sun, and until arter the moon went down. then the breeze sprung up fresh from the old trade quarter, and says i, now we'll make a dash at that 'ere drogher, and squeeze him as dry as bone-dust; more pertikerly, ye see, captain, since the corvette, arter dodgin' about him all day, had yawed off, and, with his port-tacks aboard, was beatin' to wind'ard." here mr. gibbs's auditor took the cigar from his mouth and rolled his light blue eyes at him, puffed a thick volume of smoke through the corner of his mouth, but said never a syllable. the narrator gave a wistful look at the brandy-flask, drained the last few drops from the coffee-cup, pushed out his timber leg, and resumed: "so you see, sir, as i was a sayin', i says to myself, i'll get the boat in the water with the lads, and, to make sure of all being conducted shipshape, i'll go myself." "oh!" said the captain, as his eyebrows went up and the corners of his mouth came down, with the faintest breath of a sardonic smile, while he lit a fresh cigar, "oh! you did!" "ay, sir! so we let the old drogher go bouncing on past us, at about the rate of five mile in four hours, when we crossed his wake under the jib, and then we ups with the fore and main-sail, got a pull of the sheets, and--" captain brand shook the point of his curved nose at the speaker, who checked himself, and, giving an emphatic rap with his crutch on the floor, went on with-- "beg parding, sir; but, lord love ye! we just walked up under his lee, and afore he know'd where he wos, we boarded him, knocked over two or three chaps, and had the skipper lashed down in his cabin as quick as winkin' and as quiet as could be. ay, sir, we had it all our own way; but during the scrimmage wot should i see (here he inclined his head out like a loggerhead turtle) but the lovelyest young 'oman as ever i clapped eyes on!" here his timber stump grated nervously on the floor. "says i, that's just the craft, with such a clean run and full bows, as would please captain brand"--at which that individual rolled round on his elbow and brought his eye to the opera-glass in the direction of the schooner. "she isn't there, captain!" parenthesized the narrator, following the motion with his head. "so i just fisted hold of her to hand her tenderly into the boat, with a bag of shiners as wos found on board, when, so help me---- --beg parding, sir--if a dwarfed giant of a nigger didn't take an overhand lick at me with an iron pump-break, and nearly cut this 'ere larboard pin in two pieces; and, smash my brains!" he continued, shaking his broad paw aloft with rage, "but what does i do, with all the pain from the clip that da--(beg parding, sir) give me, i slams away with a pistol bullet through the nigger's head--" "didn't i see a little boy on board the 'centipede?' perhaps i was mistaken, the sun blazes so fiercely, eh?" broke in captain brand, though the sun didn't blaze with a fiercer light than shot out of his deadly cold blue eyes. "ho, ay, sir! that young imp was a bitin' at my t'other leg like a bull terrier pup, while the nigger was attackin' me, and then he goes and crawls out of the cabin winders, and was fished out of the water by the chaps as wos towin' astarn in the boat." "oh, really! how very fortunate!" muttered the captain; "go on; don't stop, i pray you, master gibbs." "well, sir, i knows very little what happened arter this, for the young 'oman was a screamin' and our chaps a cursin' about the decks, when all of a sudden i fell off into a faint like, and the same time a heavy gun came slamming into our very ears; and there was that infarnal corvette agen bowlin' down within five cables' length of the brig, her battery all alight and the whistles a callin' away the boats, in as violent a haste as any think i can remember," said gibbs, as he paused to catch his breath. "you must have kept a sharp look-out, though?" but, without heeding this remark, the burly scoundrel went on-- "well, captain brand, the boys tumbled me over the side--" "not forgetting the little bag of shiners!" sneered his auditor. "tumbled me into the boat, sir, and then pulled like mad for the schooner. i know'd, d'ye mind, captain, or leastways i felt sartain we could show any think afloat our heels, and so away we scrambles aboard, and off we splits. but ye must see by this time, sir, the corvette had come down and rounded to on the weather beam of the drogher, acting like a screen for the schooner close under his lee. it wos only a minnit, though, while he was holding some jaw with those lubbers aboard the brig, before he filled away again, and wearing sharp round her bows, he diskivered us sartain. i don't think, as matters stood by this time, that our boat was a boat-hook's length from the schooner when i jist see a burst of red flashes from the man-o'-war's starboard ports, and heerd an officer roar out, 'give him the whole three divisions of grape!' when i'm da--your parding agin, sir; i'm blest if ever i heerd sich a rain of cold iron in all my sea-goin' experience. ay, sir, by g--gracious, sir, if about two bushels of them grape didn't riddle the barge like the nozzle to a watering-pot, and same time tore seven of our noble fellows all to rags--" "you saved the boat, of course?" suggested his companion, in a kind voice, but with a frightful sneer. "why, captain, we unfortinately lost her; for ye see, arter tumbling me aboard the schooner, and arter bailing nigh as much blood as water--" "capital! excellent! best joke i ever heard," broke in captain brand, with a hollow laugh of much enjoyment. "arter bailin' as much blood as water, and finding the man-o'-war was heaving in stays to slam another broadside into us, we cut the boat adrift, and then got the sheets flat aft, the gaff-top-sails up, and away we drove with a crackin' breeze right up to wind'ard, like a swordfish. lord love ye, sir! we walked away from the cruiser, a eatin' the wind out of him like a knife, and notwithstandin' he hove more nor forty round shot at us, he only knocked away the fore-top-mast and some other triflin' little damage about the hull, and"--he hesitated--"lascar joe's head." "that counts off about half your crew, eh?" said captain brand, smiling in his peculiar manner. "well, what next?" "why, sir, the next mornin' belize paul--as is part doctor, you know--said as how my leg was to come off below the knee, and arter givin' me a sip or two o' rum--" "bottle," interjected the captain, twisting the beak of his nose in a puff of smoke. "--rum, why, smash my brains, sir, if he didn't hack it off with a wood-saw!" "well, what next?" "then, sir, ye see, we run the schooner down cape cruz, where we kept werry snug and quiet till sich times as the old one-eyed diego judged the coast clear to return to head-quarters." "well, what then?" "that's all, captain brand!" concluded the narrator his garbled yarn, as he again had recourse to scratching the door-mat on his head, and cast a thirsty look at the brandy-flask. "that's all, is it?" hissed the man with the iron jaws, in a tone of concentrated passion, as he sprang with a single bound from the settee, and clutched master gibbs with both hands around his hairy throat until his face turned livid purple and his eyes started from the sockets. "that's all, is it, you drunken beast? that's all you have to tell after idling away the summer, losing anchors and boats, and more than half my crew, and bringing a hornet's nest down about our ears! that's all, is it? and what would you say, now, if i should order the doctor to cut off your other leg close behind your ears, you beast?" in the last stages of suffocation, the man was hurled on his back to the floor, and there lay, bleeding a torrent from his mouth and nose. his superior stood over him for a moment and put his hand in his trowsers pocket for a pistol, and then he glanced rapidly at the green rope squirming from the beams above; but, changing his purpose apparently, he strode back to the settee and shouted "babette!" presently the door opened from the passage leading to the kitchen, and there appeared a large, powerfully-made negro-woman, with her arms akimbo, and a pair of bloodshot eyes gleaming from beneath a striped madras turban wound round her head. "babette!" repeated the captain, resuming his seat and his habitual polite air and voice, "serve out a barrel of bordeaux and a beaker of old antigua rum to the 'centipede's' crew to drink my health; and i say, my beauty! have a pig or two killed; tell the boatswain to haul the seine, and have a good supper for all hands to-night. and, baba"--he went on as if he had just thought of something--"there's my friend gibbs lying there--i believe he has fallen down in a fit--be very careful of him--a bed in the vault--a little biscuit and water--he may be feverish when he wakes up, you know. and, babette, old girl, if you are in want of kindling wood, you may as well use that timber leg of our friend gibbs! i don't think he'll want it again. there! _doucement_, baba!" the negress gave a deep grunt of assent, and, seizing the senseless body lying on the floor, she dragged it out of the room. returning a few moments after, she wiped up the blood with a cloth dipped in hot water, and finally disappeared. chapter x. an old spaniard with one eye. "i fear thee, ancient mariner! i fear thy skinny hand! for thou art long, and lank, and brown, as is the ribbed sea-sand." "the 'panchita' has passed mangrove point," came in the hoarse whisper from the signal-man. "you can see her now from below, sir." captain brand put on a fine panama hat, and stepped out on the veranda, where, with a cigar in his mouth, he leaned over the balustrade, and kept sharp watch on every thing that was going on below him. in a few minutes a long pointed brown bowsprit protruded itself beyond the wall of rocks, followed by a great triangular lateen sail, bent to a yard a mile long, and tapering away like a fly-fishing-rod, where, at the end, was a short bit of yellow and red pennant. as her bows came into view they showed above a curved prow falling inboard, with a huge bunch of sheepskin for a chafing-mat on the knob, and a thin red streak along the wales, on a lead-colored ground, above her bottom, which was painted green. as more of her proportions came into the picture, you saw a stout stump of a mast, raking forward, with short black ropes of purchases for hoisting the single yard, and heavy square blocks close down to the foot of the mast. when this great sail had come out from the screen of rocks, another light stick of a mast stood up over the taffrail, with another lateen sail and whip-stalk of a yard, to which was bent the spanish colonial guarda costa flag. in fact, she was a spanish felucca all over, from stem to stern, and truck to water-line. a few dingy hammocks were stowed about halfway along her rail, and there were a good many men moving about her decks in getting the cable clear, and a lot more clinging like so many lizards along the bending yard, and all in some attempt at uniform dress, in readiness to roll up the sail when the anchor was down. there was a long brass gun, too, burnished like gold, on a pivot slide, with all its equipment, trained muzzle forward in front of the main-mast. no sooner had she sagged into the open basin, with her immense sail hanging flat and heavy in the light air, than a boat from the schooner boarded her, and presently she let go an anchor. there were a few coarse compliments and greetings exchanged between the crews of the two vessels, and some rough jokes made, as the last comer veered out the cable, rolled up his sails, and set taut his running gear in quite a tidy and man-of-war style. "go on board the felucca, josé, and give my compliments to don ignaçio, and say i shall be happy to see him," cried captain brand from the piazza to a man at the cove; "and tell him," continued he, "that i should have called in person, but i can't bear the hot sun since i caught the fever. take my gig." this was said in spanish, and when he had finished speaking he shaded his face behind the curtain and scowled. "you're a bird of ill omen, my one-eyed friend; but one of these days i'll wipe out old scores, and new ones too, perhaps," captain brand muttered to himself; and, from his murderous expression of face, he seemed just the man to carry out his threat. meanwhile, a light whale-boat of a gig, manned by four men and a coxswain, pushed off from the shore, and in three strokes of the oars she was alongside the felucca. the coxswain stepped over the low rail, and, walking aft, turned down a cuddy of a cabin, took off his hat, and delivered his message. a minute later he again got into the boat, and pulled to the cove, where he said to the captain, "don ignaçio says he'll come in his own boat when he's ready." "_bueno!_" was responded aloud; and then to himself: "don't ask or receive favors, eh? what an old file the brute is!" he said no more, but watched. presently a small man came up out of the cabin of the "panchita," but so very slow, and with such a quiet motion did he emerge, that one might suppose it was a wary animal rather than a human being. he was scrupulously neat in attire--a brown pair of linen trowsers, a marseilles vest with silver filigree buttons, an embroidered shirt-bosom with gold studs, and a dark navy-blue broadcloth coat, with standing collar and anchor gilt buttons. his head-gear was simply a white chip hat, with a very narrow brim and a fluttering red ribbon; but beneath it his coal-black hair behind was chopped as close as could be, leaving a single long and well-oiled ringlet on each side, which curled like snakes around a pair of large gold rings pendent from his ears. his complexion was dark, bilious, and swarthy, with a thin, sharp nose, and a million of minute wrinkles, all meeting above, at the corners, and under a small line of a mouth; quite like rays, in fact, and only relaxed when the lips parted to show a few ragged, rotten pegs of sharp teeth. but perhaps the most noticeable feature in his face was his eye--for he had but one--and the spot where the other is seen in the species was merely a red, closed patch of tightly-drawn skin, with a few hairs sticking out like iron tacks. his single eye, however, was a jet black, round, piercing organ, which seemed to do duty for half a dozen ordinary glims, and danced with a sharp, malevolent scrutiny, as if the owner was always in search of something and never found it, and every body and every thing appeared to slink out of its light wherever it glanced around. his age might have been any where from forty to sixty. as he stepped on deck, clear of the cuddy cabin hatch, his sinister optic played about in its socket--now scanning the long brass gun, the half-furled sails, the crew, the ropes, or taking a steady, unwinking glance at the midday sun, and then shining off to the shore, and sweeping in the "centipede," the little pool of blue water, and the mouth of the inlet. feeling apparently satisfied with the present aspect of affairs, he slowly pulled out a machero from his waistcoat pocket, plucked a cigarette from the case, and then proceeded deliberately to strike a light. even while performing this simple operation, his uneasy orb, like unto a black bull's-eye, traversed about in its habitual way; and when he raised the spark of fire with his brown, thin hand, and the claws of fingers loaded with rings, he seemed to be looking into his own mouth. nodding to a fellow who stood near, with a crimson sash around his waist, he inclined his eye toward the shore, blew out a thin wreath of smoke from his lungs--all the while his vigilant organ shining like a burning spark of lambent jet through the smoke--and merely said, "the boat!" in a moment a small cockle-shell of a punt was lowered from the stern of the felucca, when, stepping carefully in, he seized a scull, and with a few vigorous twists pushed her to the landing at the cove. during all these movements of the commander of the felucca captain brand was by no means an inattentive observer; and, indeed, he was so extremely critical that he stuck the tube of a powerful telescope through an aperture of the curtains around him, and not only looked at his cautious visitor, but he actually watched the expression of his uneasy eye, and almost counted every wrinkle--finely engraved as they were--on his swarthy visage; but, if captain brand's own visage reflected an index of his mind, he did not seem over and above pleased with what he saw. "has a bundle of papers under his arm! i can see the hilt of that delicate blade, too, sticking out from his wristband. ah! i've seen him throw that short blade from his coat-sleeve and strike a dollar at twenty yards! wonderful skill with knives you have, don ignaçio; but you never yet tried your knack with _me_! oh no, my tuerto--bird of ill omen that you are! we can't do without one another just yet, so let us wait and see what's in the wind!" soliloquizing these remarks, captain brand withdrew his telescope as the commander of the felucca approached, and, with a cheerful smile, waited to receive him. a few moments later the one-eyed individual mounted the rope-ladder stairway, carefully feeling the strands, however, and looking suspiciously around him as he stepped lightly on the piazza. "_ah! compadre mio!_" exclaimed captain brand, in spanish, as he seized his visitor by the flipper, and squeezed his fingers till the pressure on his valuable rings made him wince, as he was led into the large and spacious saloon, while at the same time the captain gave him a hearty slap between his narrow shoulders. "_ah! compadre!_ how goes the friend of my soul?" the small man gave no symptoms of joy at this warm greeting; but, screwing his wiry frame out of the captain's caresses, his eye flashed like a spark of fire quickly up and down and all around the apartment, as if making a mental inventory of the furniture, and not omitting his tall companion, from the crown of his head to the toes of his straw slippers, when he quietly remarked through his closed teeth, "_como estamos?_"--"how are we?" "ah, don ignaçio, _poco bueno, poco malo_! half and half. just getting well over that maldito attack of yellow jack." "hum! more bad than good. no? i've brought you some letters from the agent at havana." "thanks--thanks, my friend. ho! babette! babette! some anisette for don ignaçio. _presto!_ my good baba. there--that will do!" he said, merrily, as the liqueur and glasses were placed on the table. "and don't omit the turtle-soup for dinner, and tell lascar joe to make it. ah! i forget--the best cook i had--the devil's making soup of him now. however, do the best you can, my baba, and let us have dinner about sunset." then turning to his visitor, with a graceful bow and a laugh, he added, "and we'll have the doctor to join us, and tell how he cut off our poor friend gibbs's leg with a hand-saw. _dios! amigo!_ capital joke, 'pon my honor!" captain brand's honor! lord have mercy upon us! and he had very few jokes, and never told one himself. "hum!" replied the tuerto, in the pause of the conversation. "there's better jokes than that to hear. _mira!_ look!" with this brief rejoinder he threw a bundle of newspapers on the table, and, pulling out a packet of letters from a breast pocket, pitched it toward his host. then helping himself to a thimbleful of anisette, he took off his narrow-brimmed chip hat for the first time, polished up his eye a bit with the knuckle of his fore finger, and looked at his companion fixedly. "letters, i see, from our old friend moreno, at havana," said captain brand, as he sat down on the settee, and with a pretty tortoise-shell knife cut round the seals. "ah! what says he? 'happy to inform you,' is he? 'packages of french silks seized by custom-house on account of informal invoice and clearance.' why didn't the fool forge others, then? well, what next? 'schooner "reel," from barbadoes, with cargo of rum and jerked beef, wrecked going into principe, and crew thrown into prison on suspicion of being engaged in--' oh! ah! served them right, when i ordered them to st. jago--delighted they must be! 'bills for advances and stores now due, please remit, per hands of don ignaçio sanchez--'" here captain brand caught a ray from the one eye of his companion, which he returned with interest; and then laying the letters down on the table with the softest motion in life, he exclaimed, with a sigh, "not the best news in the world, as you say, _compadre_; all those rich goods, and those bags of coffee, and pipes of rum gone to the devil. but these are little accidents in our profession." "_como?_" said señor ignaçio, "_our_ profession?" shaking his fore finger before his paper cigar in a deprecating manner. "speak for yourself, _amigo_." "ah! true," the other went on--"my profession. the freedom of the seas, the toll of the tropics, the right of search, and all that sort of buccaneering pastime, is liable, you know, to the usual risks." here he inclined his head to one side and gave a slight clack to his lips, as if to illustrate in a humorous way a man choking to death with a knotted rope under his ear. "however, we must be more cautious in future and retrieve the past disasters, for there are still on the sea as good barks as ever floated." captain brand said this as if he were a merchant of large means and strict integrity, and was about to enter into some shrewd commercial speculation. "hum!" murmured señor ignaçio, while pouring out another little glass of anisette. "_amigo mio!_ you had better read the papers from havana before you talk of another cruise." "oh! delighted to read the news--quite refreshing to get a peep at the world after being cooped up here for months! another french revolution! bonaparte alive yet! a patriot war! nelson and villeneuve! all interesting." thus glancing rapidly over the prints, pausing at times at a paragraph that arrested his attention, then tossing a paper away and taking up another, till suddenly captain brand's hand shook with passion as he read aloud, [illustration: "he touched the bell overhead as he spoke, and, putting his mouth to the tube, asked, 'any thing in sight?'"] "his britannic majesty's squadron has been augmented on the west india station. the brig 'firefly,' corvettes 'croaker' and 'joker,' touched at nassau, new providence, on the d instant, bound to leeward. we also learn that the united states have fitted out a squadron of small vessels, called the musquito fleet, to search for the noted pirate brand, who has so long committed atrocities among the islands. he was last chased by the american corvette 'scourge,' off morant bay, on the east coast of jamaica, but escaped during the night. the following day a shattered boat was picked up, which had been cut adrift from the piratical schooner, containing several dead and dying bodies of the pirates. one of the latter gave such information to the captain of the 'scourge' as leads to the hope that brand's retreat may soon be discovered and his nest of pirates be destroyed. recent advices from principe state that a vessel loaded with valuable merchandise struck on the cavallo reef and went down. the crew, however, five in number, were rescued, but on landing were identified by the mate of the english bark 'trident' as a portion of the men who robbed that vessel and murdered the master and several of the passengers. our readers may remember that among the latter were two sisters, who leaped overboard and were drowned, to save themselves the horror of a more cruel fate. the men alluded to, who were wrecked in the brig off principe, were sent in chains to havana, and were yesterday publicly garroted in the plaza of moro castle." chapter xi. conversation in pockets and sleeves. "he holds him with his skinny hand: 'there was a ship,' quoth he. 'hold off! unhand me, graybeard loon!' eftsoons his hand dropp'd he." captain brand laid down the paper without a sign of outward emotion, and nodded his head several times at the one-eyed man facing him. he then extracted his perfumed handkerchief, examined the cipher in the corner, and waved it before his face. don ignaçio pulled out a red silk bandana, and polished his eye as if it were the lens of a spy-glass. at length the former spoke: "_amigo mio!_ the nets are spreading, but the fish are not in them yet!" "no, _amigo_!" "ah! _compadre, viento y ventura poca dura!_ the fair breezes have chopped round in our teeth. success, my friend, creates jealousy, envy, hatred, and malice. now here were we swimming along as quietly as sharks under water, only coming up for a bite occasionally, when on come those villainous swordfishes, and wish to drive us away." captain brand gave expression to this pious homily in a tone of virtuous reproach against the world at large, and as if he were a very much maligned and ill-used gentleman. he touched the bell overhead as he spoke, and, putting his mouth to the tube, asked, "any thing in sight?" "nothing, _señor_." "telegraph the man at the tiger-trap station to keep a bright look-out, and direct the gunner to keep the battery manned day and night! tell the boatswain to set taut the chain on the other side at the alligator's mouth!" don ignaçio gave a rather suspicious glimmer at his vessel as this last order was given, and smiled; that is, if a one-sided twitch to the wrinkles about the line of his mouth could be tortured into a smile. his companion seemed to divine what was passing in the don's mind, for he added politely, "the cable won't interfere with the 'panchita!'" "no, _amigo_; the felucca is anchored just _out_side of it." the tuerto was not a man to leave any thing to chance, and he had taken the precaution to be on the safe side of the pirates, either as friends or enemies. he had indeed been as near an approach to a pirate himself as could be, and had only abandoned the business for a profession quite as bad, where there was less risk and more profit. in other words, he was now a colonial officer in command of a guarda costa, winking--but without shutting his eye--at piracy whenever he was well paid for it; and he invariably was well paid for it, or else he made mischief. withal, he was as crafty and determined an old villain as ever sailed the west indies. he had amassed a large fortune, and owned several tobacco estates--pretty much all his wealth acquired by the easy trouble of holding his tongue. yet his greed was insatiable, and he probably would have sold the fingers from his hands, and his legs and arms with them--all, save his single black ball of an optic, which was invaluable to him--for doubloons. in fact, this feverish thirst after gold which always raged in his hot veins had induced him to pay captain brand a visit, and we shall see with what result. the truth is, however, that captain brand was the only man of his numerous villainous acquaintance afloat for whom he felt the least dread. he knew him to be bold, skillful, and wary, and so the don had a tolerably positive conviction that, should he play him false, his own neck might get a wrench in the garrote while he was throwing the noose for his coadjutor. to return, however, to the pair of worthies sitting in conclave in the pirate's saloon: the captain, resuming the conversation, observed in a careless tone, quite as if the subject under discussion was a mere ordinary matter, "when will this swarm of hornets be down upon us?" the spaniard blew a thick puff of smoke from his cigarette, and still holding it between his teeth, while his eye glittered through the murky cloud, he replied, "perhaps a fortnight, a little more or less. i left st. jago five days ago, with orders from the administrador to run down this side of the island, and procure information for the english consul." "any cruisers down that way?" "ay! the corvette 'scourge,' and the 'snapper' schooner; they arrived the night before i sailed." "did you happen to see their officers, _amigo_?" "_oh si!_ i had a long talk with the captain of the corvette at the custom-house." "holloa! and you told him--" "yes; i showed him a chart of the isle of pines, and pointed out how to get into the old hole." here the pair laughed short laughs, when brand continued his questions with, "and how did he take the bait?" "hooked him; for i heard him order his first lieutenant to be ready for weighing at daylight, and say that my description tallied with that of the dying man they picked up in the 'centipede's' boat," replied the tuerto, with a chuckle. "_bueno!_" exclaimed the pirate, as his face assumed an unwonted sternness, while he rested his cheek on his left hand with the elbow on the table, and slipped his right into the pocket of his trowsers. "_bueno! amigo mio!_ but how do i know but you may have made a little mistake, and described another haunt besides the island of pines, off in this direction?" there was the faintest click of a noise in the captain's pocket as he spoke, but not so faint but that it vibrated on the ear of the spaniard, and, pushing back his chair a foot or two from the table, he raised his right hand, the fore fingers and thumb slightly bent inward, but grasping a jewel-hilted knife, whose dim blue blade glimmered up the loose sleeve. there was nothing threatening apparently in the movement, though the two villains looked at each other with a cold, murderous, unflinching glare. the don was the first to break the silence; and he said, in a low, hissing tone, "_maldito!_ because i had a little account of plata to settle with you before the men-o'-war should roast you out. but beware, _capitano mio_! i left a little paper at st. jago with directions where to find me in case i did not return in a certain time." "ho, _compadre_, how very cautious with your friends! why, what has put such thoughts into your head? _diavolo!_ we have stood by one another too long to separate now. there, my hand upon it." saying this, captain brand's whole manner changed, and, drawing his hand from his pocket, he reached over toward his companion. the don, however, watched him narrowly, and his eye shot out a wary sparkle as he withdrew his hand, when, cautiously putting forth his own left, he touched his cold, thin brown fingers to those of the man before him. this operation ended, he quietly sipped a few drops of anisette, and rolled and lighted another paper cigar. "well, _amigo_, let us now proceed to business," said brand, gayly, "for dinner will soon be ready, and we have no time to lose. how stands the account?" "the papers are on board the felucca, and it will be more convenient, when the settlement is made, to come on board with the money. how would to-morrow morning do? there's no hurry." "just as you choose, friend of my soul! the doubloons, or the silk, or broadcloth are ready for you at any moment. pay you in any thing except the delicious wines of france. _bueno!_" he added, pulling out a splendid gold repeater, with a marquis's coronet on the chased back. "and now, _amigo_, accept this little token into the bargain." don ignaçio's fiery eye twinkled with greed, but it was only for a moment, when, giving a quick glance at the coronet and coat of arms, he waved his fore finger gently to and fro, and shook his head. "what! no? why, you know it once belonged to the captain general of cuba, old tol de rol de riddle rol--what was his name? he gave it me, you know, together with some other trinkets, for saving his life--a--you remember? very generous old gentleman--nobleman indeed--he was. may he live a thousand years, or more, if he can!" ay, don ignaçio did remember the circumstance attending that generous transaction, and he remembered to have heard, also, that the captain general made a present of all his money and jewels with the point of a broad blade quivering at his throat. he said nothing, however, in allusion to this interesting episode, but he smiled meaningly, and went on with his cigar. "not take it, eh? well, _amigo_, i must look you up something else; but now for dinner. babette, clear away for dinner. here are the keys of the wine-cellar. the best, my beauty, and plenty of it." then turning to his companion: "suppose we take a stroll to the tiger's trap; the sun is sinking, and a walk will give us an appetite for the turtle-soup--_vamanos!_" chapter xii. doctor and priest. "but soon i heard the dash of oars, i heard the pilots' cheer; my head was turned perforce away, and i saw a boat appear. "the pilot and the pilot's boy, i heard them coming fast; dear lord in heaven! it was a joy the dead men could not blast." while captain brand and don ignaçio sanchez walked pleasantly along the pebbly shore of the clear blue inlet to the tiger's trap, let us, too, saunter amid the habitations which sheltered the pirate's haunt. apart from the mat sheds of the shelly cove of the basin, where the "centipede" and "panchita" were anchored, there was a nest of red-tiled buildings which served the crew of the former vessel for a dwelling when in port. it was pleasantly situated on a little sandy plateau, within a stone's-throw of the water, and shaded by a cluster of palm-trees; while in the rear was a dense jungle of canes and bushes, through which led numerous paths to a small lagoon beyond. the buildings were of one story, constructed of loose stones, the holes plastered with yellow clay, with broad, projecting eaves extending over roughly-built piazzas. they stood in a double row, leaving a stone pavement yard between, where one or two cocoa-nut-trees lifted their slim trunks like sentinels on guard. two of the largest of these huts were mere shells inside, and used for mess-rooms, exposing the unhewn girders and roof above, but all whitewashed and tolerably clean. the floors were of rough mahogany boards, or heavy dark planks, and no doubt part of the cargo of some honduras trader who had fallen into the pirates' hands. around the sides of these mess-rooms were arranged small tables and canvas camp-stools, with eating utensils of every variety of pattern and value, from stray sets of french porcelain to common delf crockery. a large open chimney stood a little way off, where was a kitchen, in which the cookery was carried on, under the superintendence of a couple of old negroes. beyond the mess-rooms were the sheds used for sleeping apartments, with lots of hammocks of canvas and straw braid hanging by their clews from the beams, quite like the berth-deck of a ship of war. bags and sea-chests stood out from the walls, with bits of mirrors here and there, some with the glasses cracked, and others in square or round gilt frames. all, however, was arranged with a certain degree of order, and the floor was clean and well scrubbed. another detached building, much smaller than the rest, was divided by a board partition into two rooms. the first was used for a storeroom, and was filled with bread in barrels, bags of coffee and sugar, hams, dried fruits, beans, salt meats, and what not, but every thing in abundance, and apparently the very best the market of the high seas could produce. a strong door protected this repository, with a wrought iron bar and padlock. the other portion of the building was more habitable. there were chairs and tables; a couple of upright bookcases with glass doors, one filled with books, odd numbers of magazines, and old newspapers, and the other containing a multitude of vials, pots, and bottles of medicine--a small apothecary's shop, in fact, together with two or three cases of surgical instruments. two elegant bureaus, with rosewood doors and mouldings, like those furnished passenger ships to the east indies, stood against the wall at either side; and near to each, in opposite corners, were low iron bedsteads, without mattresses or bedding, and merely stretched with dressed and embossed leather. for pillows were chinese heel stools, and as for covering, the climate dispensed with it altogether. hanging against the wall were a couple of brace of pistols and two or three muskets, and on the table stood a square case-bottle of gin, some glasses, and a richly-bound breviary clasped with a heavy gold strap; but in no other part of these huts were fire-arms ever allowed, and very rarely was liquor served out in more than the usual daily half-gill allowance. seated at the table in the last room we have described were two men. one, the shorter of the two, was dressed in a long, loose bombazine cassock, girded about his waist by a white rope, which fell in knotted ends over his knees. around his open neck was hung a string of black ebony beads, hooked on to a heavy gold cross, which rested on his capacious breast, and which the wearer was continually feeling, and occasionally pressing to his lips. his face was dark and sensual--thick, unctuous lips, a flat nose, and large black eyes--while a glossy fringe of raven hair went like a thick curtain all around his head, only leaving a bluish-white round patch on the shaved crown. this individual was the padre ricardo, who, for some good reasons best known to himself, had left his clerical duties in his native city of vera cruz and taken service with captain brand. one of the reasons for leaving--and rather abruptly, too--was for thrusting a cuchillo into the heart of his own father, who had reported him to his superior for his monstrous licentiousness. the padre, however, always declared that he was actuated entirely by filial duty in killing his old parent, to save him the pain and disgrace which would have followed the exposure of his son! he still clung, though excommunicated, to the priestly calling, and prided himself upon his fasts and vigils, never omitting the smallest forms or penances, and saying mass from ave maria in the early morning to angelus at vesper time in the evening. for captain brand he was ready to shrive a dying pirate--and pretty busy he was, too, at times--or hear the confession of one with a troubled conscience in sound health; which, if important to the safety or well-being of the fraternity, he took a quiet opportunity of imparting to his superior in command. in these pursuits he not only made himself useful to captain brand, but he became more or less his confidant and adviser, and seemed to maintain his influence by ghostly advice over the superstitious feelings of the men. the padre, however, utterly detested the sea, and never touched his soft feet in the water if he could by any possibility avoid it; but since he had plenty to eat and drink on the island, and no end of prayers for his amusement when in charge of the haunt--as he was--to look out for the people who were left when the "centipede" sailed on a cruise, he thus passed the time in a delightfully agreeable manner. the companion who sat opposite to the padre was a tall, gaunt, cadaverous person, evidently of french extraction, with something kind and humane about his face, but yet the physiognomy expressed the utmost determination of character--such a heart and eye as could perform a delicate surgical operation without a flutter of nerve or eyelid, and who would stand before a leveled pistol looking calmly down the barrel as the hammer fell. his face was intellectual, and he never smiled. his whole appearance portrayed a thorough seaman. where he came from no one knew; nor did he ever open his lips, even to the captain, with a reason for taking service among his band. all known about him was that he landed from a slaver at st. jago, and was engaged by don ignaçio to serve professionally with brand in assisting the patriots on the spanish main. when, however, he reached the rendezvous of the pirates, and discovered that they were altogether a different sort of patriots than he had bargained for, he nevertheless made no objections to remain, and took the oath of allegiance, only stipulating that he should not be called upon to take an active part in their proceedings. here, then, he remained for nearly three years, attending to the sick or wounded, taking no interest in the accounts of the exploits of the freebooters around him--rarely, indeed, holding speech with any one save his room-mate, the padre, or occasionally a dinner or a walk with captain brand. on the last expedition, however, of the "centipede," he had been induced to go on board, so that he might become a check and guard over the brutal ruffian who had been placed temporarily in command; but, as we have already seen, his influence had been of little avail. there was yet another occupant of the room inhabited by the doctor and padre ricardo; and a low moaning cry caused the former to rise quietly from his chair and approach the low iron bedstead on his side of the lodging. there, beneath a light gauze musquito net, lay our poor little henri--his once round, rosy, innocent face now pale and thin, with a red spot on each cheek, and a dark, soft line beneath the closed eyes. uneasily he moved in his fitful slumber; and putting his little hands together as if in prayer, he murmured, "oh mamma, mamma!" beside the bed stood an unglazed jar of lemonade, together with a vial and a spoon. the doctor drew nigh, and, gently pushing aside the curtain, stood looking at the child for some minutes. presently the little sick boy feebly stretched out his delicate, thin limbs, and unclosed his eyes. oh! how dim, and sad, and touching was that look, as he gave a timid, half-wild stare, and then, closing the lids tight together, the hot drops bubbled out and coursed slowly down his tender cheeks. the doctor, with the gentleness of a woman, bent over him, and taking up his poor, limp little hand, he remained feeling the fluttering pulse and catching the hot breath on his dark cheeks. as if communing with himself, while a glow of compassion lighted up his careworn visage, he muttered, "by the great and good god, who hears me, if i save this child i will restore him to his heart-broken mother!" he sank down on his knees by the bedside as he made his vow, and letting the little hand rest on the bed, he buried his face in his large bony hands. what thoughts passed through that man's mind none but the almighty knows; but when he arose his stern features had resumed their wonted expression, and, pouring a little lemonade in a glass, he held it to the sleeper's lips. then moving noiselessly back to the table, he said, in a low tone, "padre, the boy will live. his fever is leaving him, and he will get well." "_ave maria! santissima!_" ejaculated the padre, crossing himself and kissing his cross; "i pray for him. you must give him to me, doctor. i will make him a little priest, and he shall swing the censer and chant the misericordia when i get the new chapel built." "time enough to think of that, _mi padre_, when he gets strong again. but just now all the prayers _you_ can say for him will do him no good, and so i hope you won't put yourself to the trouble." "_cierto, amigo_, doctor; but don't sneer at the prayers of the church. they do good; they ease the soul and soothe the pangs of purgatory." "ah! and how long do you expect to stop in purgatory?" "_ave purissima!_ what a question to ask your pious and devout padre ricardo!" "question the devil when you want fire," retorted the doctor, as he opened a book lying on the table before him, and put an end to the dialogue. his companion quietly helped himself to a measure of pure gin, and unclasped the covers of his richly-bound missal. scarcely, however, had their conversation ceased, when a hoarse hum of many voices was heard in the direction of the sheds without, mingled with shouts in all tongues and uproarious laughter. "_peste!_" said the doctor, looking out of an open window; "the people have knocked off work and are coming home to their supper. they seem to have brought some of the crew of the felucca with them too. we shall have a loud night of it, for the captain has sent them a pipe of wine and a barrel of rum to carouse with." "_pobre çitos!_ they have had a hard time of it during the summer--short of rum, and water too, i hear, and they need refreshment and repose. so many of my poor flock killed, too, by that savage american corvette, and i not near to administer the last consolations and holy rite!" sighed the padre, as he kissed the crucifix and bowed his head. "there is lascar joe, too, among the missing! he refused the sacrament, infidel as he was, the day before he sailed; but what turtle-soup he made!" the padre hereupon sighed deeply again, but whether for the loss of the lascar or the soup, no one knows. the noise without increased--the rattle of crockery, the clinking of glasses, the moving of feet, and all the sounds of hungry, boisterous sailors at table. soon, too, a shout or cheer would be heard, then a verse of a song, roars of laughter, and now and then the tinkle of a guitar struck by vigorous fingers in waltz or fandango. "_merçi!_" muttered the doctor, as he looked compassionately at the sick child on the bed; "those noisy wretches will, i fear, disturb the little boy, and it's as hot here too, padre, as the place we all are going to." "it _is_ warm, my son!" he replied, as his thick unctuous lips parted with a smile at his companion's allusion to another and a hotter place; "but i think our good _capitano_ would have a cot slung for my little priest in the saloon of the big building there. it is always cool on the crag, you know." "ah! perhaps he will," said the doctor, reflectively; "i'll see about it." stepping again to the bedside of the little sufferer, he laid a hand gently on his forehead, where the soft curls lay in confusion about his temples, and then quickly touching his pulse, he regarded him attentively for a few moments, while at the same time a light glow of perspiration came faintly over the innocent face and spread itself down the neck. "his fever is breaking! _grace à dieu!_" whispered the doctor to the padre; "his breath is regular and cool, and he is sleeping sweetly. now, if you like, we will go to see the captain, and, if he consents, i will carry the child when he wakes to the dwelling." the doctor carefully closed the door of the room as he and his companion stepped out into the open court-yard, and moved toward the spacious sheds beyond. chapter xiii. a manly fandango. "while feet and tongues like lightning go with--what cheer, luke? and how do, joe? dick laniard chooses meg so spruce, and buxom nell takes kit caboose." "now around they go, and around and around, with hop, skip, and jump, and frolicsome bound, such sailing and gliding, such sinking and sliding, such lofty curvetting and grand pirouetting, mix'd with the tones of a dying man's groans, mix'd with the rattling of dead men's bones." twilight had taken the place of the red sun, the stars came timidly out one by one, and then in sparkling clusters the brilliant constellations illumined the blue heavens as the rosy twilight faded again away. then the ripple of the inlet came with a tranquil musical sound upon the white pebbly beach, the lizards in the holes and crevices of the rocks began their plaintive wheetlings, the frogs and alligators joined in the chorus from the low lagoon in the distance, and the early night of the tropic had begun. but louder far than the hum of the insects and reptiles, and brighter than the lamps of heaven, arose the wild shouts and songs of the pirates carousing, where the torches and wax-lights lit up the scene of their orgies with the glare of day. the great mess-room was a blaze of light from candles and lamps, stuck in brackets or gilt sconces about the walls, or hanging awry in broken chandeliers from the lofty beams. the remains of their feast had been cleared away, and the tables were covered with bottles, cups, and glasses, with boxes of cigars and pans of lighted coals. at one end of the room was a large table, on which was laid a black cloth with a broad silver border--sometimes used by the padre on great occasions--and covered with cards and piles of mexican or spanish dollars. at the other end was a raised platform, where four or five swarthy fellows with guitars in their hands were strumming away in the clear rattling harmony of spanish boleros and dances, shrieking out at intervals snatches of songs in time to the music, or twirling the instruments around their heads in a frenzy of excitement. at the tables, too, were more of the excited band, vociferating with almost superhuman fluency in various languages their exploits, pausing occasionally amid the hubbub to clink their glasses together, and then chattering and yelling on as before. in the centre of the apartment were some half dozen of the same sort, either spinning around the floor in the waltz, or moving with a certain air of careless, manly grace one toward another in the gavotte or bolero. there were at the least some sixty or seventy of these fellows in the room together, most of them above the middle height, with finely-developed muscles, broad shoulders, bushy whiskers, and flowing hair. they came apparently from all climes, from africa to the mexican gulf, and their features and complexions partook of every imaginable type, from the light skin and florid complexion of the swede, to the low brow, oval olive cheek of the mediterranean, and the coal-black hue and flat nose of the bight of benin. their dress was uniform--frock collars cut square and thrown well back over their ample chests; their nether limbs incased in clean duck or brown linen trowsers, with silk sashes around their waists, and large gold rings in their ears. mingled here and there in the moving throng, or leaning over the large table with the black cloth cover, were a few fellows in the uniform rig of the guarda costa, in navy jackets and black silk belchers around their throats; but all were without weapons of any description, and were enjoying themselves each after his fancy. sentinels stood at the doors of the mess-room with drawn cutlasses over their shoulders, so that in case of a violent quarrel or row, in dance, drinking, or gaming, the culprits might be cared for. while the uproar was at its height, and the lofty tiled roof was ringing with the gay and ribald songs and shouts of the excited crowds, two persons appeared in the doorway at the middle of the room, and entered. in a moment, as the busy revelers beheld them, the dance ceased, the music of the guitars died away in a tinkling cadença, the glasses stopped clinking, the dollars no longer chinked, and the songs and shouts were hushed. you might have heard a _real_ drop for a minute, until one of the individuals who had entered slowly walked forward a few paces and threw his right hand aloft in salutation. then burst forth a hoarse, simultaneous shout of "_viva nuestro amigo! viva el capitano!_" captain brand did not pause until he had reached the centre of the great hall, where he stood calmly looking around upon the swarthy groups, who crowded about in circles at a respectful distance from him; and then amid the silence he spoke up, in a frank, off-hand manner, "well, my men, i am glad to see you all once more around me. you have not been so successful as i hoped, but we must take the good and ill luck as it comes, and i have no fault to find with you. the times, however, are bad enough; for i have certain news that our retreat here, where we have so long been hid, may be discovered"--the villains around held their breath and let their cigars lie dead in their mouths--"but," went on their commander, "i shall do all that is prudent in the circumstances for the benefit of all of us; and when we leave here you will still have me for your leader, with my head, heart, and blade ever ready to advise or protect you." as he stopped speaking another cheer arose: "_viva, nuestro amigo! viva! viva! el 'centipede' y el capitano! hasta muerto!_ long live the captain! we stand by you until death!" "thank you, my friends; i have but one more word to say. the men who have the relief at the signal-stations and the water-battery must keep sober. now go on again with the music." the captain, however, did not immediately quit the hall, but, while the revel began once more with all its enthusiasm, he moved amid the crowd of its adherents and said a cheerful word to many. "ah! pepe, your arm in a sling, eh! a graze of a grape-shot, eh? why, hans, you here! nothing can hurt _you_! well, monsieur antoine, how well thou art looking; and that pretty sweetheart of thine at st. lucie! bah! never look sad, man; thou shalt see her again. what, my jolly jack tar! an ugly scratch, that, across your jaw--a splinter, eh? never mind; a little plaster and half allowance of grog will put you all right again. so good-night, my friends. _adios!_" saying these words, all addressed to the individuals in their different languages, he gave a graceful wave of his hand and passed out of the building. as he rejoined his friend, the commander of the "panchita," who had waited at the threshold, while his wary glim of an eye searched the faces and read the thoughts of all the villains who clustered about the room--they both stepped out into the court-yard and sauntered pleasantly on toward the crag. they had not, however, proceeded many paces before they encountered the padre and the doctor. "ah!" exclaimed the captain, who was in advance, "how goes it with my doctor?" shaking his hand as he spoke. "oh, _mi padre_, how art thou?" turning to ricardo. "_salve!_ my son; not been so well this morning, with the old rheumatism in my head." "drunk!" said sententiously the doctor. then again with a gay laugh to the other, "well, my doctor, your first cruise has not been so pleasant in the 'centipede' as i hoped it might be, but the next may be more agreeable." "perhaps so, captain brand; but i shall have a word or two with you on that subject to-morrow; and, in the mean while, _señor_, i brought a little boy back with me who is ill from fever, and my quarters are so stifling hot, and the air from the lagoon is so bad, that i would like to stow him for a day or so, with your permission, in your quarters, where it is cooler." "certainly, doctor; why not? my house and all in it are at your service. by the way, i was about to ask you and the padre to dine with me and don ignaçio there. will you join us? yes? then let us move on, for dinner must be ready by this time, and it would be a sin to keep babette waiting." excusing himself for a few minutes, the doctor went for his sick charge, and returned with him in his arms to the pirate's dwelling. chapter xiv. a pirates' dinner. "but the best of the joke was, the moment he spoke those words which the party seemed almost to choke, as by mentioning noah some spell had been broke, and, hearing the din from barrel and bin, drew at once the conclusion that thieves had got in." when the guests had assembled in the pirate's saloon it was some minutes before their host appeared. when, however, he did step into the room from his private apartment adjoining, he was altogether a different man in outward appearance than in the early morning. in place of the loose sailor summer rig which he then wore, he was now attired as a gentleman of elegant fashion of the time in which we write. his lower limbs were clothed with flesh-colored silk stockings, and fitted into a pair of pointed toed pumps with buckles of brilliants that a duchess might have envied. a pair of white cassimere breeches, which set off to advantage his well-shaped leg, were tied in a dainty bow of rose-colored satin ribbon below the knee, and fitted him like a second skin. his waistcoat was of rose-colored watered silk, embroidered with silver, and which, with its flaps and ample proportions, was halfway hidden by a dress coat of green velvet. this last garment had a sort of navy cut, with standing collar richly laced with silver, gold buttons in a double row of the size of doubloons, with loose sleeves and cuffs heavily laced with silver also. his linen was of the most gossamer fineness, the collar thrown slightly back and confined by a single clasp of rubies the size of beans, while below was a frill of cambric ruffles sparkling with opal studs framed in diamonds. the ruffles, too, at his wrist were of the most beautiful point lace, secured by royal brilliants, and he was altogether a dandy of such princely magnificence that the courtiers of the days of the old french monarchy might have taken him for a study. his manner, likewise, was every way in keeping with his splendid attire; and the ease and grace with which he excused himself to his guests for keeping them waiting certainly denoted a knowledge of a higher order of breeding and society than that in which his lot had been cast. [illustration] from the very moment of his entrance, however, don ignaçio had measured him at a glance. his single glittering eye of jet had taken him in from the laced collar of his coat to the buckles of his shoes. not a jewel in his dress, from the flaming opals in his bosom to the brilliant stones at his wrists, and down to the sparkling clusters at his feet, did not his one uneasy optic drink in the flash and estimate the value. nay, he calculated by instinct the weight of the gold buttons on his coat and the price of the exquisite lace which fell in snowy folds about his hands. oh, a rare mathematician was don ignaçio! what greedy thoughts, too, passed through that little spaniard's brain! "ah!" thought he, "shall i take my debt in those priceless gems, each one the ransom of a princess, which the old captain general may one of these days reclaim? hola! no! or shall i receive more negotiable commodities in gold, cochineal, or silks? well! _veremos!_ we shall see!" the effect produced upon the good padre ricardo was altogether different. as the captain entered with all his glorious raiment upon him, he started back, and, bowing before him as if he were saint paul himself, he seized his superior's white hand, and kissed it with fervent devotion. not satisfied with this mark of respect, he raised his dingy paws, holding his crucifix before him, and murmured, in a sort of ecstasy, "_mi hico! mi capitano! que brillante!_"--"my son! my captain! what a brilliant being you are!" singularly in contrast, however, was the effect produced upon the doctor, who merely raised his dark eyes in an abstracted gaze, gave a careless and rather contemptuous nod of recognition, and then turned to examine one of the richly-inlaid cabinets which adorned the saloon. all these various phases of sympathy, attraction, or contempt flickered like a sunbeam into captain brand's reflecting brain, as, with a delicately-perfumed handkerchief in one hand, and a gold-enameled and diamond-incrusted snuff-box in the other, he bowed gracefully to his visitors, and seated himself at table. the table was now rolled out into the centre of the saloon, laid with a snowy-white damask cloth, and covered with the equipage for a banquet. at either corner were noble branches of solid silver candelabra, which would have graced an altar, as perhaps they had, and holding clusters of wax-lights, which shed their rays over the display below. in the centre arose a huge épergne of silver, fashioned into the shape of a drooping palm-tree, whose leaves were of frosted silver, and about the trunk played a wilderness of monkeys. beneath, around the board, were cut-glass decanters, flat bulbous flasks of colored bohemian glass, crystal goblets, delicate and almost shadowy wine-cups from venice, silver wine-coolers, all mingled in with a heterogeneous collection of rare china and silver dishes. such wines, too, as filled those vessels! not a prince or magnate in all the lands where the vine is planted could boast of so rare and exquisite a collection. pure, thin, rain-water madeira, full threescore years in bottle! pale, limpid port, whose color had long since gone with age, and left only the musk-like odor; flasks of johannisberg of pearly light; bottles of tokay for lips of cardinals; tall, slim stems of the taper flasks of the rhine; while the ruby hues of wine from the rhone stood clustering about amid pyramids of pine-apples, oranges, and bananas, and all loading the air of the saloon with their delicious fragrance. when the party had become fairly seated around the board, and while the host was bailing out the soup from an enormous silver tureen with a tea-cup--for it did not appear that he had ever been presented in the usual way with a ladle--fishing out the floating morsels of rich callipee, with the delicate frills of his sleeves turned back, he began the conversation in the castilian language: "well, _amigos_, we are taking our last feast together, i fear, on this little cluster of rocks, for a long time to come." "how!" exclaimed the padre, as he stuffed a wedge of turtle fat in his oily mouth, and opened his round black eyes to their fullest extent in manifest surprise. "_como, mi hico!_" he repeated, as he passed a dirty paw over his smooth chin, and looked inquiringly. "yes, holy father, our good friend don ignaçio here has brought us somewhat startling intelligence. capital soup, this. i shall give babette a dollar. yes, the eagles and vultures are after us; all the west india fleet; the lord only knows how many ships, and brigs, and gun-boats. glass of madeira with you, doctor?" wiping his thin lips with a corner of the damask table-cloth as he spoke; "and they have tampered, too, with my old friends the custom-house people. take away the tureen, babette--and, in point of fact, i shouldn't be the least surprised to see a swarm of those navy gentlemen off the reef here at any moment. a sharp knife, babette, for these teal--a duck should be cut, not torn. try that moselle, don ignaçio; i know your fancy for light wines. this was given me by a captain--'pon my soul, i forget his name; he had such a pretty wife, madame matilde," glancing at the frame of miniatures on the wall; "sweet creature she was; took quite a fancy for me, i believe, and might have been sitting here at this moment, but a--really i forget her other name. however, it makes no difference: the wine is called moselle." now be it here observed that don ignaçio drank very little wine or stimulants of any sort, and never by any chance a drop from any vessel which, with his single bright eye, he did not see his host first indulge in. this self-imposed sacrifice may have been owing to his diffidence, or modesty, or deference to captain brand, or, perhaps, other and private reasons of his own; but yet he never broke through that rule of politeness and abstemiousness. sometimes, indeed, he carried his principles so far as to refuse a meat or the fruits which his host had not partaken of, and always with a slow shake of his brown fore finger, as if he did not like even to smell the dish presented to him. "what! not even a sip of that nectar, _compadre mio_?" the compadre shook his digit, and observed that drinking nectar sometimes made people sick. the captain laughed gayly, and said, "bah! learning to drink does the harm, and not the art, when properly acquired." during all the foregoing interlude the doctor remained in his grave, calm humor, and only when the captain alluded to the lady whose husband's name escaped him did he show signs of interest. then his eye followed the look toward the miniature, and his jaws came together with a slight grating spasm. padre ricardo, however, was in excellent sympathetic spirits, eating and drinking like a glutton of all within his reach, and turning his full eyes at times, as if to a deity, upon his friend the captain. once he spoke-- "but, my son, you were talking of leaving this quiet retreat, where we have passed so many happy hours." "yes, friend of my soul! those fellows with commissions, and pennants at their mast-heads, and guns, and what not, seem determined to do us a mischief." the devout padre crossed himself, and pressed the crucifix to his greasy lips. "ay! they would no doubt arraign us before some one of their legal tribunals. put us in prison, perhaps; or maybe give us a slight squeeze in a rope or iron collar!" the padre groaned audibly, and dropped the wing of a teal he was gnawing, forgetting, strange as it may seem, to cross himself. "_hola, mi padre!_ cheer up! we are worth a million of dead men yet. the world is wide, the sea open, and with a stout plank under our feet and one of these fellows"--here he balanced a long carving-knife, dripping with blood-red gravy, in his hand--"in our belts, who can stop us?" there was the cold, ferocious-eyed gleam of a dying shark in the speaker's eyes as he went on with his carving; but the priest gave a jerk of trepidation with his chin, and appeared anxious to hear more. "don ignaçio, try a bit of this roast _guana_; it's quite white and tender. no? babette, give me some of that rabbit stew!" the one-eyed individual was likewise helped to some of that savory ragoût, and proceeded to pick the bones with much care and deliberation. "still _triste_, my _padre_! come, come, this will never do. join me in a bumper of this generous old port. _bueno!_ may we attain the same age! by the way, where did this rich stuff come from?" holding up the decanter between the light and his face as he spoke. don ignaçio's glittering optic pierced clear through the light ruby medium of the wine, cut-glass decanter and all, as he furtively watched his host, and was prepared to dodge in case the heavy vessel should slip out of the captain's hand. such things had happened, and might again; besides, a hard flint substance with a multitude of sharp projections, two or three inches thick and five or six pounds in weight, falling from a height on a man's head, might kill him. the don thought of all this, and twitched something up his sleeve with his hand under the table. but captain brand, it seemed, had no intention of smashing his elegant dinner set of glass, and putting down the decanter and raising a finger to his forehead, he said, "how did that wine come into my possession?" "somebody gave it to you, perhaps. _quien sabe?_ (who knows?)" suggested don ignaçio. without heeding the interruption, the captain's eye rested on the brilliant snuff-box on the table beside him, where the letter l was set in diamonds and blue enamel on the back, and catching it with a rap, his face lighted up, and as he took a pinch and passed the box to the padre, he exclaimed, "ah! now i remember, my old friend--the portuguese countess from oporto. _dios! de mi alma!_ (god of my soul!) what a stately beauty was her daughter!" here captain brand sneezed, and, drawing a delicately-perfumed lace handkerchief from his waistcoat pocket, blew his nose. meanwhile the box went round the table; padre ricardo took a huge pinch with his dirty fingers, and feasted his eyes upon the precious lid. the doctor scarcely gave the elegant bawble a glance as he helped himself. the don, however, examined it with the eye of a connoisseur, and not only that, but he threw a spark at the captain's flashy waistcoat, and thought he detected some other article in the capacious pockets vice the handkerchief. perhaps he may have been mistaken and perhaps not, though he was so very suspicious an old villain that he sometimes did his friends injustice. nor did he put his thin brown fingers, with the few grains of snuff he had dipped from the box, to his sheepskin nostrils till he had watched the effect it had produced on those around him. "ah! my friends, i remember distinctly now all about it," continued the captain, as he returned the kerchief and shook a few specks of the titillating dust from his point-lace sleeve; "it is about three years ago, just before you came to live with me, padre, that we fell in with a large ship bound to porto rico. she had been disabled in an awful hurricane, which had taken two of her masts clean off at the decks, and was leaking badly. we, too, had been a little hurt in the same gale, and having made a pretty good season, i was anxious to get back here and give the crews a rest. well, we made out the ship about an hour before sunset, and it was quite dark before we came up with her. there she lay, rolling like a log, though there was not much sea on, and we could hear her chain-pumps clanking, and saw the water spouting out from her scuppers as pure almost as it went into her hold. as we came up alongside they hailed me for assistance, and said the ship was sinking, and could not live till morning. "of course i could give them no actual assistance, situated as i was"--here the narrator smiled as he glanced round upon his guests--"it would have been simply absurd, you know, the idea of my putting men on board to keep her afloat for the nearest gibbet. bah! i did not dream of such ridiculous nonsense. however, i determined to make her a visit, and, if there should be any thing to save from the wreck in an undamaged condition, why, i should look around. "not too much of that port, _mi padre_; think of your rheumatism in the morning! doctor, you don't drink! "well, going on board, i found two lady passengers--the wife and daughter of an old judge of the island of porto rico, with half a dozen servants, who were all screaming, and praying, and beseeching me to save them--all but one, a tall, graceful girl, with a large india shawl wrapped around her shoulders, her white arms glancing through the folds, and a pair of dark, liquid, almond-shaped eyes, such as i had never before seen. the fact is, my friends, i had always before fancied blue. but there stood this girl, with eyes like a wounded stag, leaning up against the weather bulwarks near the open cabin door. "babette, take away all but the wine and fruit, and bring fire. pass that box this way, if you please, _compadre_! thank you." don ignaçio seemed to have an affection for the trifle, and had counted the brilliants over and over again, and made a mental calculation of their weight and value; and when he did move it as he was desired, his greedy eye followed it with fascination. "yes, it's very pretty, and i set a great store by it," parenthesized the host, as he resumed his tale: "the girl never screamed or even spoke, and, amid all the hubbub of a drunken skipper and a disorderly crew, she remained quiet and unmoved. to assure the people, i told them that i would stay by the ship and do what i could for them. at this the old lady clasped me around the neck, and kissed me, and blubbered over me more than ever she did, i imagined, to the old spanish judge, her husband--imploring me too, by all the saints she could think of, to take herself and daughter out of the sinking vessel at once. you may believe that i would much rather have been treated in that way by the lovely girl with the wonderful eyes instead of the fat, rancid old woman beside her; but there was no help for it just then, and so i consented, with all the professions of sympathy i could make, to do as she desired." here the captain lit a pure havana, and, after a few puffs and a sip of port, continued: chapter xv. drowning a mother to murder a daughter. "at last she startled up, and gazed on the vacant air with a look of awe, as if she saw some dreadful phantom there." "no sooner had i assured the old lady that i would transfer them to my vessel than her daughter made a step forward, and, letting her shawl fall upon the deck, she seized my hand with both of hers, and said, in a low contralto voice, "'heaven bless you, _señor_!' "by the cestus of venus, _caballeros_, the pressure of that girl's hand, and the deep, speaking look of gratitude she gave me out of her liquid eyes, quite did my business!" "and the señorita's too, i think," chimed in the one-eyed commander, as he wagged his uneasy head at the narrator. "_quien sabe?_" (who knows?) went on captain brand: "at all events, i raised her soft patrician hand to my lips and kissed it respectfully. ha! i noticed, too, as i released her round, slender fingers, that she wore a sapphire of great brilliancy--ay, here it is now. i keep it in remembrance of the girl." saying this, the host shook back the lace ruffles of his sleeve, and, crooking his little finger, exhibited the jewel to his guests. "go on, my son," said the padre, as his sensual face expressed his satisfaction at the recital--"_vamonos!_" "my holy father," responded the narrator, "beware of that wine-flask! you have grand mass to-morrow! it is the feast of our patron saint, you know." "_si! si! hijo mio!_ your padre is always ready," crossing himself in a half tipsy way as he spoke--"_vamonos!_" the doctor looked as cold as marble, and said not a word. "well, gentlemen," went on captain brand, "i soon got that ship in a tolerably wholesome state of command. i made my trusty old boatswain, pedillo, lock the fuddled skipper up sound and tight in his own stateroom, and the rest of my men took a few ropes' ends, and belted the lubbers of a crew until they went to work at the pumps with renewed vigor. i also insisted upon the scared male servants of the passengers lending a hand at that innocent recreation, for you see i had no intention of letting the ship go down--" "with the capitano brand in her," interrupted señor sanchez. "no, by no manner of means; for the ship, i felt, was settling fast, and i could hear the loose cargo, which had broken adrift below in the main hold, playing the devil's own game; smashing and crushing from side to side as the vessel rolled, and coming in contact with the stanchions and beams, with a surging swash of water, too, which told the tale without the trouble of breaking open the hatches. i took, however, the precaution to run my eye over the manifest to see if, perchance, there was any treasure in the after run or any where else, as, in case there had been, i should have made some little effort to get at it. however, there was nothing on board but wine, dried fruits, and heavy bale goods, not worth the time or trouble, in the aspect of affairs at that time, to save as much as a single cask or a drum of prunes. i glanced, too, at the clearance list, and saw that the names of the passengers were la señora luisa lavarona, and the señorita lucia, lady and daughter, with half a dozen orders and titles, of the judge in _puerto rico_. _bueno!_ roll me an orange, if you please, doctor! ah! _gracias_, thanks." the doctor rolled the orange, and, had it been a grape-shot or any other iron missile, its aim would have gone straight through the captain's body, just above his left waistcoat pocket. "in the mean while the old lady rushed around in a tremendous hurry, in and out of the cabin, losing her balance occasionally in the lurches, ordering her maids to pull out trunks and boxes on to the deck; then giving me a hug to relieve her feelings, and praying and crying between whiles in the most whimsical manner. not contented either with getting out a pile of luggage and chests that would have swamped a jolly-boat, she insisted upon waiting until a locker was broken open in the cabin pantry for the purpose of rescuing six cases of old port wine, which had been, she told me, sent as a present from the archbishop of lisbon to his friend the judge. at this juncture i persuaded her to send her daughter and a few light articles first on board my vessel, when the boat would then return for herself and the remainder of their property. accordingly, i carefully wrapped the lovely girl in shawls and cloaks, and got her over the side and down into my boat, pitched a few light caskets and cases in after the young beauty, and then, with a quiet word or two into pedillo's sharp ear, the boat shoved off. i suppose it may have been half an hour before my boat returned, and then i learned from the coxswain that he had shown his charge down into my private cabin, and she appeared as comfortable and resigned as possible. well, we made quick work of it now, tumbled a good many things into the boat, when i myself got in to receive the old lady and her retinue. by the way, among the articles were the boxes of wine--this is some of it"--tapping the decanter, now nearly empty from the attacks of the priest--"and in my opinion it does great credit to the taste and judgment of that venerable archbishop." "_ave, purissima!_" said the padre, with a hiccough; "i shall be a bishop myself one of these days. _ora pro nobis!_" "you'll be a cardinal," gibed in the doctor, "if swilling wine will do it." captain brand went on with his narrative: "where was i? oh! ah! we were waiting alongside the ship, with her lower chain-plates not a foot above water, for the donna to be hoisted over the rail, since she would not permit any of her attendants to precede her--though heaven knows they were anxious enough to do so. by this time, too, after my men had left the deck of the ship, the crew had somehow got hold of a barrel of wine, and, letting the pumps work themselves, were guzzling away in grand style. i began to lose patience at last, and shouted to the old lady to come at once, or i should be compelled to leave her. she merely leaned over the rail, however, and chattered forth that all she had in the world was at my service--of course, figuratively she meant--but she must stay another minute to find a jar of preserved ginger, which was her only cure for the cholic." "you didn't take the offer of the old lady as a figure of speech, i presume?" asked the doctor. "no!" muttered the one-eyed old wretch, with a sneer. "and that jar of ginger spared her any more attacks of cholic!" "_caballeros_, you are both right. i did accept the gift of her worldly goods in the frank spirit in which it was offered, without any reservation; and, to my almost certain knowledge, the señora lavarona was never more troubled with illness of any kind. "the fact was, that, finding the ship fast sinking, and her crew becoming boisterous and rebellious as the imminent danger burst upon them, they proposed, since their own boats were stove, to take possession of mine! that _was_ a joke, to be sure! a dozen drunken swabs, with naked hands, to capture ten of the old 'centipede's' picked men, with a pistol and knife each under their shirts; and"--here the speaker laughed heartily--"and captain brand beside them! _diavolo!_ what silly people there are in this world!" the good padre joined his superior in this ebullition of feeling, and seemed to enjoy the joke immensely, rolling his goggle eyes and head from side to side, kissing his crucifix, and exclaiming, with devotion, "_que hombre es eso!_"--"what a man he is!" [illustration: the pirate's prey.] "well, _señores_, the next minute we let go the painter and floated astern past the ship's counter, and a few strokes of the oar-blades sent us dancing away to leeward, where the schooner was lying with her main-sail up, and the jib-sheet hauled well to windward. we made no unnecessary noise in getting alongside, and it took no great time to get the boat clear, a tackle hooked on, and to swing her on board over the long gun. then we drew aft the sheets, set the fore-sail, and the 'centipede' was once more reeling off the knots on her course." "but the ship, my son?" "why, my padre, i was so busy attending to the schooner, and afterward going below to break the sad news to my lovely dark-eyed passenger of the loss of her mother, that i had no time to devote to the ship. pedillo, however, told me that he heard a good deal of frantic shrieking, and prayers, and cursing, with, for a little while, the renewed clank of the chain-pumps, but after that we had got too far to windward to hear more. about midnight, though, pedillo and some of the watch thought they saw a white shower of foam like a breaking wave, and a great commotion in the water, but that was all. so, you see, what really became of that old craft we do not positively know; though for a long time afterward i read the marine lists very attentively, yet i never saw any accounts of her arrival at her destination. "perhaps," added captain brand, with a peculiar smile, as he lit a fresh cigar, "her arrival may have escaped my notice, as i hope it may, though i think not." don ignaçio intimated, by waving his fore finger to and fro, that such a hope had no possible foundation in fact; and he stated, too, that he knew the underwriters had paid the full insurance on the missing ship. "ah! well, that seems to settle the matter, truly," murmured the captain, as if he had long entertained painful doubts on the subject, and now his mind was finally relieved. "but, _hico mio_! son of mine! _la señorita_--hiccough--with the almond-shaped eyes--_santissima!_--hic--how did she bear the--death of her--hic--mother?" "_por dios, padre!_ there was a scene which would have drawn tears from a--" "pirate," suggested the doctor. the padre blubbered outright, and his round, tipsy eyes nearly popped out of his head. "ay, _monsieur_, even from mine! but to go back a little. when i had got all snug on board the schooner, i went below, and moved softly on tiptoe along the passage to the door of my beautiful cabin. "you remember, _amigo_," said the narrator, turning toward don ignaçio, "how that cabin was fitted, and how much it cost to do it. i think you paid the bill for me? no?" oh yes, captain brand was quite right. don ignaçio remembered it well, and the bill was a thousand gold ounces, sixteen thousand hard silver dollars; and by no means dear at that, for the don never allowed any body to cheat _him_. "cheats himself, though, sometimes. don't charge more than the usual commission." the one-eyed usurer looked wicked at this remark, but he said nothing, being occupied at the moment rolling up a paper cigar with one hand, and wetting the brown fore finger of the other. "well, _caballeros_, i peeped through the lattice-work of the cabin door, and there reclined my pretty prize--i recall her as if it were yesterday--on one of the large blue satin damask lounges of the after transoms. her head rested on one of her round ivory arms, half hidden in the luxurious pillows; her shawl, too, was thrown back; and with a somewhat disordered dress, and a mass of glossy hair clustering in ringlets about her neck and white shoulders, i thought then, as i do now, that she was a paragon of loveliness. i saw her, as she thus reclined, by the light of a large shaded crystal lamp, which hung by silver chains from the cabin beams, and shed a rose-tinted effulgence over the whole apartment. when i first approached the door the girl was looking out of her own large liquid lamps, so superbly framed in a heavy fringe of dark lashes, in evident curiosity around the elegant cabin. her looks wandered from the turkey carpet on the floor to the beautiful silk hangings, that exquisite set of inlaid pearl ebony furniture, the display of knickknacks, and dresden porcelain panels of the sides, and, in fact, nothing seemed to escape her; and the good taste of the fittings evidently met her approbation. at times, too, she would turn her gaze out of the narrow little window of the stern, and peer anxiously over the vessel's wake, which by this time was skimming along like a wild duck, and leaving countless bubbles behind her. at the first sound i made, however, in opening the door, she started up and stepped forward to meet me. "'oh, _señor capitano_, _mi madre_! (my mother!) what detains her? we seem to be going very fast through the water!' "i gently took the girl's outstretched hands and led her back to the cushioned transom. then i told her, as kindly as i could, that i did all in my power to save her good mother, but that the crew had mutinied--they had taken possession of the unfortunate ship--great confusion existed--and as i feared, you know, that my own boat would be swamped by remaining longer alongside, i was compelled to leave her to her fate. "'but my mother, _señor_!' exclaimed the girl, with anguish; 'she was saved?' "'no, _señorita_,' i said, 'she went down with the ship; but the last words she uttered--that is to me--were to invoke a blessing on my head, and to consign all she possessed to my care.' the poor thing swooned away as i uttered these words, and it was a long time before she came to again. when she did, however, regain consciousness, tears came to her relief, and i did all i could to soothe her distress by telling her that, if the wind came fair, she would in the course of a few days be restored to her father." "but the wind didn't come fair, eh?" broke in don ignaçio, "and she didn't see--" "no, _amigo_, the wind held steady from the opposite quarter, and i thought it better not to beat up with a fished fore-mast, and all that--and a--she did _not_ see her father." captain brand here wet his thin lips with a few sips of wine, said, "babette, bring coffee!" and resumed his story. "when the girl became a little more calm i induced her to retire to my stateroom, where i left her to sob herself to sleep. don't spill that coffee, babette, and put the liqueurs on the table. there, that will do, old lady. "well, _señores_, the next morning my pretty prize was too ill to leave her room; but, as i handed her a cup of chocolate through the door curtains, she thanked me with much gratitude for what i had done, and knew that her dear father, the judge, would bless me." "so he will," snarled the one-eyed old rascal, "if he ever catches you, when he draws the black cap over your head." "possibly he may, though perhaps it will be some considerable time before he has that pleasure." "ah! _cuidado hico mio!_ take care of yourself, my son," hiccoughed the priest as he crossed himself. the captain gave a light laugh, sipped his coffee, and went on as if a dungeon, scaffold, and noose were the last things he ever thought of. "i amused myself during the day in looking over the trunks, caskets, and what not we had saved from the sinking trader--presented to me, as you know, by the old lady who was on board. there were, of course, a great quantity of ladies' dresses, and a good many jewels and trinkets; among the latter this fine snuff-box here, which our friend don ignaçio so much admires, and which i set aside as an especial testimonial of the old lady's regard. try another pinch, _amigo_? no? _bueno!_ i caused what i believed to be the daughter's elegant raiment to be placed in the after cabin. for three days i never even saw my pretty passenger, though i heard her low, sweet voice occasionally when i laid out something for her to eat in the adjoining cabin. she sang, too, some little sad songs with a voice which vibrated upon my ear like the notes of an Æolian harp sighing in the night wind. _dios!_ how i regretted then and afterward that i did not have a cabinet piano!" "presented to you," suggested the doctor. "yes, presented to me, so that she might have touched the keys with those ivory and rose-tipped fingers. "so the time passed, the schooner flying on under whole sails, the wind about two points free, and the weather as fine as silk. it was the fourth evening, i think, after parting with the oporto trader that i induced my fair passenger to come on deck and take a little breath of sea-air. you will observe, _caballeros_, that i did not make this suggestion in the daytime, because the 'centipede's' crew, you know, were rather numerous, and some of them not so handsome in point of personal looks as ladies at all times care to behold. besides, there were certain things about the decks--racks of cutlasses, lockers of musketry along the rail, and a long brass twelve-pounder, which is not altogether hidden by the boat, you know, and might have given rise to a little curiosity, or maybe suspicion, even in the mind of a girl, as to our character, pursuits, and so forth, which i should have been puzzled to answer. therefore i chose a clear starlight night to pay my homage, and accordingly i went below about four bells of the first watch to escort the little lady to the deck. she was dressed, and waiting for me in the cabin; and if i was so struck with her beauty when i first saw her, my heart thumped now against my ribs like a volley of musket-balls against an oak plank. she wore a black silk robe, such as spanish women wear at early mass, and around the back part of her head--where the hair was gathered in a glossy knot, and secured by a gold bodkin--fell the heavy folds of a black lace mantilla, the lower end fastened sash fashion around her lithe waist. she stepped, too, like a queen on a pair of slim, long, delicate feet, with arched ball and instep, as if she were in command of the schooner. "by my right arm!" exclaimed captain brand, shaking that member aloft in a glorious fit of enthusiasm, "i am quite sure she had conquered me, and that was more than half the battle! "well, i led her to the quarter-deck, where some cushions and flags had been placed for her near the weather taffrail, and where she sat down. the schooner was at the time under the two gaff-top-sails, the main boom and sheets eased off a little, those long masts, with the sticks above them running clear away up the sky, almost out of sight, bending like whalebone, and reeling over the long swell when the breeze freshened; and not a sound to be heard save now and then a light creak from the main boom as the broad white sail strained flat and taut over to leeward, or the rush of the water as it came hissing along from her sharp, clean bows, with a noise like a breeze through the leaves of a forest, away off over the counter into luminous sparkles as it swished out into our wake. the 'centipede' was indeed doing her best, and you all know what that is, when we have been chased many and many a time by some of the fastest cruisers going. "you remember, don ignaçio, how the 'juno' frigate nearly ran us under, and yet never gained a fathom on us in nine hours?" "ay, _amigo_; but, had she not carried away her fore-top-mast, in another hour there would have been nothing left of you afloat but a--hencoop perhaps." "_quien sabe, compadre?_ if hads had been shads you would have had fish for your breakfast," rejoined the narrator; and then throwing back the lappels of his green velvet coat with an air of gentlemanly satisfaction, he hooked his thumbs in the arm-holes of his fine waistcoat, and went on. "well, _señores_, the graceful girl beside me never spoke scarcely for half an hour. i divined, however, what her thoughts might have been in dwelling on the painful scenes she had recently witnessed, and i held my peace also; for, you see, i have had considerable experience with women, and i have ever found that a man loses more by talking than by remaining watchful and attentive." captain brand looked, as he gave utterance to this philosophical sentiment, as if he were a thirsty, cold-eyed tiger, lying in wait to spring upon an unwary passer-by. "yes, i waited, until at last she spoke. "'_capitano_,' she said, 'what a beautiful vessel you command, and how fast she sails!' "what i replied, my friends, is neither here nor there; but i sank down on the cushions beside the lovely girl, and poured out a torrent of passionate words--which i really felt, too, at the time--as i don't think i ever uttered before or since. she was a little startled and nervous at first, but after a while i saw her stately head droop to one side till it rested on my shoulder; i stole my arm around her yielding waist and clasped her to my breast." here captain brand looked as if the tiger had already sprung upon the passer-by, and was sucking the blood, with his claws buried deep into the carcass. "'_señor_,' she murmured, in the low, sweet, plaintive note of a nightingale, 'i am a young and inexperienced girl, of an old and noble family; you have saved my life; my mother is gone, and i have no one to advise with, and, if my dear father smiles upon my choice, i will marry you; but do not, i implore you, deceive me!'" "and you did not deceive her, i hope?" broke in the doctor, with a shiver of light from his determined eyes that was almost painful to see, so earnest and terrible it was, as he leaned forward with both of his clenched hands quivering nervously on the table. captain brand looked at the doctor with rather a suspicious stare, and letting his thumbs drop from his armpits till they rested on the flaps of his waistcoat pockets, he replied, in a careless tone, "oh no, _monsieur_, i never deceived--a--that is to say, intentionally deceived a woman in all my life!" "let us hear more, my son," said the priest, thickly, who had now woke up from a short nap. "_bueno, caballeros!_" continued the narrator, as he tossed off a thimbleful of maraschino from a wicker-bound square bottle after his coffee. "well, gentlemen, the young portuguese damsel, señorita lucia, and i sat there under the weather rail till the first faint streaks of early dawn in the tropics began to announce the coming of the gray morning. then she arose, and, leaning with a soft pressure on my arm, i took her to her cabin, kissed her sweet hands, and bade her good-night." at this stage of the narrative captain brand threw himself triumphantly back in his large manilla chair, and ran his white muscular hands through his dry light hair. ay! the tiger had clutched his prey. an unprotected, young, and lovely girl had been won and lost, and her palpitating heart was soon to be torn from her tender body. chapter xvi. nuptials of the girl with dark eyes. "with a pint and a quarter of holy water he made the sacred sign, and he dashed the whole on the only daughter of old plantagenet's line!" "but the count he felt the nervous work no more than any polygamous turk, or bold piratical skipper, who, during his buccaneering search, would as soon engage a 'hand' at church as a hand on board his clipper." the captain got up from his chair, stepped to the settee, and, pulling the signal-cord on the wall, held a short dialogue with the man at the station; then, saying in a low, sharp whisper through the tube, "a bright look-out, pedro!" he resumed his place at the table. the doctor had, in the mean while, got up and gone to the veranda, where, swinging in a yucatan grass hammock, shielded from the night wind, lay his little patient sleeping soundly. carefully closing the curtains again around him, he returned to his place. the padre was now all awake again, with his thick lips open, waiting for the captain to go on with his story. as for don ignaçio, he never stirred body or limb, but his eye traveled about perpetually, and he observed the movements of his companions all at the same time. still the hoarse roar of the pirates in their carouse arose from the covered sheds in the calm night, and the two solitary lights from each mast-head of the felucca and schooner twinkled above the basin of the inlet. "and now, _amigos_," began again captain brand, after he had assured himself that all was going on as he could wish without, "i shall inform you of the sequel of my adventure with the señorita lucia. the evening after the night on which i had declared my passion, we were seated at dinner in the after cabin. such a choice little dinner, too, as only our late friend, lascar joe, could prepare! poor fellow, he'll never make another of those famous curries, though, no doubt, he'll find fire and pepper enough where he is, if the devil chooses to employ him. what a neat hand he was, too, with that spiral-bladed malay creese of his! ah! well--we were sitting over the dessert, and i was relating to my pretty passenger some account of my early days, and of my lady mother and my old squire of a father, omitting, perhaps, some few uninteresting details--" here the old commander of the felucca cackled, and his black, beady eye glittered as the thought flashed through his head as to what details his villainous compeer had omitted. how he forged his old father's name, which brought down his gray hairs in sorrow and disgrace to the grave; and how his poor mother, too, died of grief, together with other bitter memories, all of which captain brand, the pirate, omitted to mention. "yes, i related likewise some of my early privateering adventures, when all the broad atlantic was alive with the fleets of france, england, and spain; how i was captured by a spanish brigantine"--omitting again to state that he got up a mutiny with the crew of that brigantine, poniarded the captain and mate in their sleep, and, assuming command of the vessel, changed her colors for a black flag, and began his career as a pirate in the caribbean sea--"and how i escaped. to all this she listened with great interest, her large eyes dilating, and her bosom swelling with sympathy as i proceeded, when suddenly the cabin door opened, and my ugly friend pedillo put his head in, and gave me a warning nod. "'what is it?' i said, rather sharply, to pedillo; 'and how dare you intrude inside my cabin?' i fear, too, that i came very near doing a mischief to my boatswain; for i am rather impulsive at times, and by the merest accident i happened to have a small pistol in my pocket." don ignaçio twitched his sleeve, and looked as if he believed such accidents as pistols being found in the narrator's pockets happened quite often. "'_señor_,' said pedillo, 'there are two sail standing out from the lee of culebra island, and one of them appears to be a large--' "i stopped any farther particulars from the lips of my subordinate by a motion of my finger, and then, kissing the hands of the girl, who was somewhat surprised at what had transpired, i left the cabin and jumped on deck. "the schooner was now running down through the virgin's passage between st. thomas and porto rico, with a fine breeze on the quarter, and the sun was just sinking behind the last-named island. i snatched a spy-glass from the rail, and looked ahead. there, sure enough, was a sixteen-gun brig on the starboard tack heading across our track, and a large frigate under single-reefed top-sails stretching away over to the opposite shores of culebra, while they were telegraphing bunting one with another as fast as the bright-colored flags could talk. and, as luck would have it, as i swept the glass round, what should i see but a long rakish corvette in company with a huge whale of a line-of-battle ship, with her double tier of ports glimmering away in the slanting rays of the sun, both on the wind, and coming out from under the lee of culebra point, just a mile or two astern of us. by the blood of barabbas, _caballeros_, we were in a trap for wolves, and the hounds were in full cry! i immediately, however, luffed the schooner up, and steered boldly for the frigate; and, as a puff of smoke spouted out from the lee bow of the admiral to windward, and before the boom of the gun's report reached us, i hoisted american colors. seeing this, the brig hove in stays, and, perhaps being ordered to board me, came staggering along on the other tack across our forefoot, while the frigate went round too, and held her wind toward her consorts to windward. now this was just the disposition which i wanted of the vessels, and it could not have been done better for my plans had i been the admiral of the squadron. in less than a quarter of an hour, the brig--and no great things she was, with a contemptible battery, as i could see, of short carronades--hove aback a little on the bow of the schooner, and gave us a warning of a twenty-four pound shot across our forefoot, to heave to also, at the same time hoisting the english ensign. "so ho!" ejaculated captain brand, as he twisted the point of his nose, accompanied by a malevolent scowl, "_señores_, i at once hauled flat aft the fore-sail, dropped the main peak, and put the helm up, as if to round to under the brig's stern; whereupon my man-of-war friend dropped a cutter into the water, and she had just shoved off in readiness to board me, when, before you could light a paper cigar, i ran up the main peak, got a pull of the sheets, and the 'centipede' was off again like a shark with his fin above water, heading for the narrow passage between culebra and crab islands. it was at least five minutes before that stupid brig could believe his eyes, and ten more before he got hold of the boat again, when she filled away and began to pop gun after gun at me as fast as he could bring his battery to bear! there was only one shot that skipped on board us, and that only smashed both legs of a negro, and then hopped off through the fore-sail to windward. "had i not had a good dinner that day and pleasant society on board"--how peculiarly the speaker smiled--"i should perhaps have taught that brig such a lesson that he would not have cared to report it to his admiral. but as i knew i had the heels of him, and as the rest of the squadron were now crowding all sail and keeping off in chase of me, i ordered pedillo, just by way of touching my hat and saying '_adios_,' to clear away the long gun and return the brig's salute. the shot struck him just forward the night-heads by the bowsprit, and by the way the splinters flew and his jib and head-sails came down, i knew i had crippled him for an hour at least. at the same time, to prevent any mistakes as to our quality, and to satisfy the admiral's curiosity, we hauled down the yankee colors and set our swallow-tailed flag!" "rather dark bunting! no?" edged in don ignaçio. "ay, _amigo_! as black as that eye of thine, though not half so murderous," retorted the pirate as he continued his narrative. "_bueno_, there came the whole of the squadron down after us, spitting out from their bridle ports mouthfuls of cold iron, which all went to the bottom of the virgin's passage, for not one came within a mile of the schooner; and then i led them such a dance through that intricate cluster of reefs and islets, that soon after dark they gave up the game, and i said '_buenos noches_' to them all!" here captain brand paused, made a careful selection of a beautifully turned trabuco cigar from the box, shouted to babette to produce some old santa cruz rum, sugar, lemons, and hot water--screeching hot, he said--at which the padre crossed himself; and then throwing his fine legs, incased in the lustrous silk stockings, on a chair beside him, and while his eyes gazed fondly on the brilliants sparkling in the buckles of his shoes, he resumed his tale. "when i went below again, after every thing had become quiet on deck, i found my stag-eyed sweetheart waiting to receive me! how superbly she looked as she made a movement from the cushions where she had been reclining, and exclaimed, "'oh, _señor_, what has happened, and what was the cause of all that noise of guns, and those cries of agony i heard above?' "'_querida lucia_, dearest,' i replied, 'we have been where there are--a--pirates, but fortunately have escaped, and the cries you heard were from one of my poor crew who got slightly wounded by a shot!' "'ah, _malditos piratos_! cursed pirates!' exclaimed the charming beauty, as she put both her hands in mine, 'and how thankful am i that you are not hurt! but, _querido mio_! dear one!' she went on, 'when shall we get to porto rico and _our_ dear father? we must be near, for i heard one of your sailors shout to you the name of the island!' "in reply, i told her that we had been near porto rico, but that--a--circumstances were such, on account of the dangerous pirates who infested those seas, that i felt obliged, for her safety--you understand--to run along by way of hispaniola--she not having a very clear idea of the position and geography of those parts--and that our cruise might probably be prolonged for a few days more." "and into h----, perhaps," said the doctor, with a hollow voice and a calm cold eye. "oh no, my friends, certainly nothing so bad as that. possibly to heaven! but, _quien sabe_? no one can tell! "however," pursued the captain, "i soon succeeded in allaying her apprehensions, and then i threw myself at her feet, and implored her to risk her father's displeasure and to marry me at once; that she knew her father was cold, stern, and obdurate, and should he frown upon my suit i should die of despair!" "_cierto!_" murmured ignaçio, with the grin of a skeleton. "i used these passionate appeals and many more, until at last the fond girl yielded her consent to my entreaties. "'but the priest, _querido mio_!' she exclaimed, as she rose and disengaged herself from my arms. i told her that i chanced to have one on board as a passenger, who would perform the ceremony. "and so i had," added captain brand, "or at least a very near approach to one, for my ugly boatswain, pedillo, had been bred up--as an acolyte--you comprehend--in the house of a rich old prelate of san paulo cathedral in trinidad, to whom pedillo, one fine morning, gave about eight inches of his cuchillo!" "_jesus maria!_" exclaimed padre ricardo, starting back with horror, and telling his beads. "ay, _mi padre_! pedillo assassinated the holy father, and plundered his cash-box besides; and so you see pedillo was just the man i wanted." don ignaçio nodded his wicked old head through a cloud of cigar smoke as a sign of approval. "accordingly, _señores_, the next day i made the trusty pedillo cut off all the bushy beard about his ugly face, and had the crown of his head shaved besides--quite like that round, oily spot there on the top of good ricardo's poll--and then he rigged himself out in a clerical gown, to which the trunks of my bride's old mother contributed, and, take my word for it, he was as proper and rascally a looking priest as could be found on the island of cuba. he performed the ceremony, too, by way of practice, on lascar joe and the second cook beforehand, with as much decorum and solemnity, and gave as pious a benediction, as his old trinidad uncle, the prelate, ever did. well, that evening we were married." "how many times has the _capitano_ been married?" grunted out don ignaçio. "why, let me reflect," as he threw his cold, icy look at the frame of miniatures on the opposite wall. "you mean, _compadre_, how often the ceremony has been performed. ah! i think on eleven occasions. no, it was only ten. madame mathilde had two husbands living when i made love to her, and declined to take a third. but then, you know, i have an affectionate disposition, and i can not set my heart against the fascinations of the sex." he gave vent to these moral sentiments as if he really meant them to be believed and generally adopted by his audience. "well, that same evening i was married to the beautiful señorita lucia lavarona, though i am sorry to say that pedillo did not perform his part of the business as well as i had expected of him, from his practice in the morning. he stammered a good deal, and when he raised the crucifix to the lips of the young girl, her innocent looks and maidenly majesty of deportment so struck my coadjutor with confusion that he let the crucifix fall to the deck at her dainty feet. this little incident caused me some displeasure; but, reflecting that the poet tells us 'a tiger, 'tis said, will turn and flee from a maid in the pride of her purity,' i said nothing to the abashed pedillo as i gave him back the emblem; but i favored him with a look, with my right hand in my pocket--this fashion." here the cold-blooded scoundrel dipped his thumb and fore finger into the flap of his waistcoat, while the commander of the "guarda costa" waved his brown digit before him, as if he knew what was there all the time. "ah! that restored my new-made priest to his senses, and he then got through the ceremony entirely to my satisfaction. "however," said captain brand, turning with lazy indifference toward padre ricardo, "ever after this i resolved not to take the risk of such another chance of failure, and this is the reason why i first sought your services." "_gracias à dios!_ thanks be to heaven, my son, that you found me!" said the sacrilegious wretch, as he bowed to his superior and sipped a glass of rum punch. "_vamonos!_ let us hear more." "at the conclusion of our nuptials, while i held my sweet lucia to my heart, and kissed her pale brow, and while tears of crystal drops, half in rapture and half in sorrow, dimmed her large, sparkling black eyes, she withdrew this royal sapphire from her slender finger, and gently placing the gem on mine--where you see it, _amigos_--she said, "'my dear and only love, this is the talisman of my race. it has been for ages in my family, and it has been the guardian of our hope and honor. receive it, friend of my heart, and be the protector of the young girl who yielded up to you her very soul!'" the doctor started as if he had been stung by a scorpion; but captain brand, heedless or inattentive to the movement, went on: "yes, _caballeros_, those were her very words; murmured, too, in her low contralto tones with a pure, lisping castilian accent, as she laid her stately head on my shoulder. "ay, those were rapturous moments; and it was in some degree--yes, i may say in truth--entirely her own fault that they did not last. "well, for some days--eight or ten, perhaps--with light baffling winds, we crept stealthily along the south side of st. domingo; but the weather was delightful, and the time passed on the wings of a zephyr. in the warm, soft evenings, with the moon or stars shedding their pearly gleams over the sea, she sat beside me on the deck of the schooner, watching with girlish interest the white sails above her head, or singing to me the sweet little sequidillas of her native land. and again, starting up from my arms, she would peep over the counter, trace the foam as it flashed and bubbled in our wake, or point to the track of a dolphin as he leaped above the luminous waves and went like a bullet to windward. "i flatter myself, _caballeros_, that there have been periods in my career on the high seas, or on land, and may be again, for aught i know," continued the elegant pirate, as he crossed his legs and threw back the lappels of his velvet coat, so as to expose the magnificence of his waistcoat, and the frills on his broad, muscular chest, "when men of high birth and breeding, and lovely women too of noble lineage, have not thought it beneath them to dine with or to receive the homage of--a--captain brand. "and, _por dios_!"--the narrator did not consider it unbecoming his cloth and profession to swear in a foreign language--"_por dios!_ _señores_, i have known the time, too, when i have played whist with a french prince of the blood and two knights of the golden fleece." "and you fleeced them? no?" muttered don ignaçio, with an envious glimmer from his greedy eye, as if no one had a right to rob the community but himself. "and not only that," continued the captain, rapidly, "but the daughter of an english peer of the realm once proposed to run away with me. ho! ho! yes, she actually proposed to elope with me; but as she was verging on fifty years, and only weighed fifty pounds, with never a pound in her pocket, i sighed my regrets. ay, great compliment it was, but i declined the honor. you yourself, _compadre_, must remember how i was received by the people on the buena vista villa at principe; how the obispo blessed me, the old general embraced me, and the beautiful marquesa, with the hour-glass waist, smiled on me." "_cierto!_" that astute old spaniard never forgot any thing, particularly a debt due to him; and he remembered, moreover, to have heard that when the noble _mi lord inglez_ left the villa one dark night, a good deal of plate, jewels, doubloons, and other valuable property disappeared with him. ay, the sly old fellow had a faint recollection as well of seeing a heavily-armed schooner running the gauntlet through the forts before daylight, and that she left a certain bag of gold ounces for him--don ignaçio sanchez--somewhere in a secret hole beneath a well-known rock inside the harbor. oh, a wonderful memory for matters of this nature had our rapacious one-eyed acquaintance! "yes," went on his partner in many a scene of pillage and crime, "i have every reason to know that i won the hearts, and purses too, sometimes, of some of the fine people i met in refined society. but yet there have been occasions when the game has gone against me--" don ignaçio's tenacious memory came again into play, and he looked back to the time when he himself had cleaned his profuse friend out of all his gains at the card-table, even to the buttons off his coat; but he gave no sign of remembrance of those days, and only blew a dense cloud of smoke from his thin yellow nostrils as the captain spoke. "--though those occasions have not been of frequent recurrence." the good padre ricardo at this juncture hoped that, by saint barnabas, luck might, in all time to come, befriend his son and patron; croaking, too, with a goblet of punch to his unctuous lips, "_vamonos!_ tell us more of the adorable doña lucia!" captain brand rapped his snuff-box, opened the diamond-crusted lid, took a dainty pinch, laid his cambric handkerchief over his kerseymere breeches, and resumed his narrative. "so passed the days, _caballeros_; and when, one morning, the high mountains back of port guantamano were reported to me, i felt a presentiment that my dream of bliss was drawing to a close. indeed, i might probably have remained at sea a week or two longer, but the men were getting a little impatient, and i thought it better to sacrifice my own pleasure to theirs. that day we caught a cracking breeze out of the windward passage, and toward midnight we came up with this little sandy island here. "the preparations for going into port excited the curiosity of my bride; for, poor thing! she believed we were bound into porto rico, and i had some trouble in inducing her to go below before we crossed the reef. _bueno!_ the coast was clear, the signals were all right, and an hour later the schooner had her anchor down and sails furled pretty much in the spot where she now lies moored. "while, however, we were sweeping up the inlet, i sent a boat ahead, with directions for my tidy old housekeeper, babette, to have every thing prepared to receive her new mistress. just then one of those terrible thunder-storms came up; heavy masses of clouds obscured the sky, followed by such double-barrel shocks and intensely vivid lightning as is only beheld in the tropics preceding the equinox. the rain, too, came along in horizontal sheets, driven by a squall which burst in fury over the island, and it seemed to me that all the devils from hell were howling and shrieking in the air. "shielded from the storm by a large boat-cloak, i carried my beautiful bride, with her face nestling on my breast, to the cove, and then i bore her into this fine saloon. "i shall never forget the sweet words she whispered, and the loving caresses she gave me on that little journey, even while the tempest almost dashed me to the ground, and the sharp flashes of lightning nearly blinded me. they were the last she ever lavished upon me." no sigh escaped the lips of this cold-blooded monster as he uttered these words; no sign of feeling for the ruin of a gentle girl whom he had betrayed to his piratical den of infamy and crime--whose dream of life was destroyed like a crushed rose-leaf, and all her hope gone from that moment. chapter xvii. doom of doÑa lucia. "i went into the storm, and mocked the billows of the tossing sea; i said to fate, what wilt thou do to me? i have not harmed a worm! "thy dim eyes tell a tale-- a piteous tale of vigils; and the trace of bitter tears is on thy beauteous face; beauteous, and yet so pale!" "thus it ever is, _caballeros_, and ever will be," went on captain brand, in rather a reflecting strain. "there is a point to begin and stop, and an end to joy as well as grief. we should, however, take the world as it comes and as it goes. i do, and so do you, _compadre_!"--pitching a cigar spear fashion at don ignaçio to attract his attention--"and, therefore, we should never look too far ahead, and live only for the present. "indulging then in this train of thought, as i set down my lovely burden here, and the cloak fell from her shoulders, i was prepared for any thing which might happen. i wore a slightly different costume at the time than that she had been accustomed to see me in, as i always do when i think there might be a chance of a surprise or trap laid for us in entering the inlet. so, instead of fine linen and velvet, i had on a red flannel shirt, canvas trowsers, with a cutlass slung to my side, and a pair of pistols in my belt. i don't think i appear handsome in that rig, but the fellows at my back somehow think it is becoming to me, especially when we are engaged in a hand-to-hand fight! what say you, _compadre_?" the don said nothing, and merely waved his fore finger, as if dress was not a matter to which he devoted much attention. he thought, however, that sleeves should be cut loose for knives when the pockets were not too small for pistols; but he uttered no word. "_bueno!_ there i stood"--pointing to the corner of the room as he spoke--"drenched with rain, and there stood my tall and lovely wife! "the saloon was brilliantly lighted; a profusion of plants and flowers were clustered here, there, and every where, on cabinets and tables, in striking contrast to the display exhibited yonder in that armory, where pikes, muskets, and knives were gleaming through the open door. "quick as the lightning which was piercing deep into the inmost crevices of the rocks and lighting up the crag without, lucia's dark eyes flashed around the apartment from floor to ceiling, from flower to blade, resting an instant on the frame of miniatures there--hers was not among the collection _then_; it is the one in the middle, doctor--" there were no knives on the table, or else, from the deadly look the doctor gave, he might have perhaps sprinkled the narrator's heart's blood on the floor. "--until at last her gaze of terror rested on _me_! no one, i fancy, can tell the power of spanish girls, who has never seen them when the whole passion of their souls, either in love or hate, comes pouring in a black blaze of jet from their gleaming eyes. "advancing a step toward me, with her white hands clasped together, she said, in a hurried, beseeching voice--and low as was the sound, i heard it distinctly during the crashing thunder which shook the rocks of the crag to their foundations-- "'_señor!_ where am i? my father! who--who--in the name of the blessed virgin, art _thou_?' "again giving a look of the utmost horror around the room, she pressed her hands to her eyes, and said, in the same low, distinct tone, "'speak, _señor_! for the love of our holy savior, speak!' "i felt that the girl had saved me, by her own instinctive perception, a world of painful explanations, and i replied, "'lucia! i divine that all farther concealments are useless; you are in the haunt of the most noted pirate of these seas, and that man stands before you.' "_caballeros!_" continued captain brand, "had my pretty prize swooned away, or fallen down in a fit, or gone into hysterics and torn her hair out by the roots, i should not have been greatly surprised; but she did none of those things. on the contrary, she became as calm as marble--frightfully so, in fact--and pushing back the bands of her magnificent tresses from her pale forehead, she raised her round white arm aloft, with her slender fore finger quivering like the tongue of a viper in mid air, and then poured forth such a torrent of awfully impressive words that i quailed before her. "yes, _señores_, i am no coward, take me when you will; but on this occasion i must honestly admit that i stood powerless before the gaze and gesture of that slight, delicately-formed woman. "'pirate--wretch--monster! may the curses of hell be heaped upon thee! murderer--betrayer! may thy heart be burned, and thy soul blasted forever!' "i need not pain you, _señores_, by reciting the cruel words that came hissing through her closed teeth, nor yet farther describe the terrible concentrated gaze of hate and fury which streamed from those gleaming eyes. suffice it to say, that though often afterward i was treated in the same manner, yet, on the occasion alluded to, i cut short the interview by summoning babette to see her mistress to her chamber, and then, glad to escape, i went out of the house and attended to the duties which required my presence." the padre, with his flat lips half open, eagerly drinking in--with his santa cruz punch--the words of his patron; the doctor, calm, unmoved now, and thoughtful; the one-eyed old rascal, still puffing his cigarettes and allowing no rest to his uneasy, suspicious optic, all sat listening, with each an interest peculiarly his own, to the fate of doña lucia. the narrator leisurely arose and held his hourly confab with the man at the signal-station, and then returning to his place, proceeded with his discourse: "i shall pass rapidly over, my friends, many little incidents of a rather unpleasant nature which occurred here, in this my rocky retreat, for some months after the interview which i have described. i tried every argument and persuasion i was master of to bring my proud bride to reason, but to all my entreaties she turned a cold and chilling stare of obdurate hate. day by day the intensity of her detestation grew stronger and stronger, and seemed to have become a part of her nature. yes; the gentle, yielding girl i had won on board the 'centipede' had now become as stern and unbending as a rock, and my controlling power over her mind and love was gone. i left her entirely to herself for some weeks, until one day i thought her passion might have subsided, and once more, attired in a rich and splendid suit, i came in here, as she sat like a marble statue at table. she never looked up at my entrance, but her eyes shone like stars as she mechanically went through the forms of the dinner laid before her. "'lucia!' i said, gayly. no answer by word or look. 'lucia! _querida mia!_' i repeated, and, sinking on one knee beside her, attempted to take her hand. "by all the saints, _señores_, that came near--very near--being the last time that i ever should kneel to a woman; for with a movement so sudden that i had barely time to leap aside, she snatched a long pointed carving-knife from the table and lunged full at my throat! the blade just grazed my jugular artery, inflicting a slight wound. but she never turned round to see the extent of her effort, and again sat calm and rigid at the table. "this was my last visit save one. i had long before abandoned these comfortable quarters entirely, and occupied the rooms you do, _mi padre_, out there among the men. in fact, my stern young bride was in entire command of the island; and even my good babette here stood in such awe of her that she always crossed herself when called to approach her mistress. "month by month matters went on in this way, until the rainy season had gone, and i was preparing for another cruise in the schooner; but hour by hour the consuming passion which flamed in the veins of lucia was doing its work. i sometimes beheld her standing out on the veranda, tall and stately as ever; and when the moon was at the full, it threw its light upon her wan and sunken cheeks, and thin, wasted frame. ay, there she stood, like an almost transparent statue of alabaster, with her dark eyes shining with an unearthly light, turned in one long tearless gaze upon the ledge and combing breakers to seaward. it was singular, too, the effect she produced even upon the horde of these brave fellows of mine, for no persuasion could induce a man of them to come within pistol-shot of that part of the house while she was thus keeping her nightly vigils. and as for pedillo, he acquired such a superstitious dread of the girl he had married, and lived in such a state of abject terror, that i had serious thoughts of shooting him through the head to avoid the contaminating influence he exercised over his comrades. "well, _caballeros_, late one saturday night, while the men were carousing and drinking success to the coming cruise--we were to sail on the following monday--and while i was returning from my usual stroll to the tiger's trap to see the battery in order and the look-outs wide awake, i met babette toddling along, nearly out of breath. "'what is it, old lady?' you know, _amigos_, that babette never spoke a word in her life, but she made signs to let me know that i was wanted at the crag, and that there was no time to be lost. i quickened my pace, and, preceded by babette, i once more darkened my own threshold. the curtains and hangings were all closely drawn in the saloon here, and it was dark as a tomb; but there was a light burning yonder in the passage leading to the chamber, and i made my way to the door. "i shall never forget what i saw, though i should like to, as it comes to me sometimes in the night, or when i am left much alone by myself." the pirate passed his hands over his eyes as if he saw something while he spoke, and then, letting his voice drop to an almost sepulchral pitch, he went on hurriedly: "i stood at the door, _caballeros_, and looked in. on the bed, which was drawn to the middle of the chamber to get the air through the narrow loopholed windows, with the gauze curtains falling square on all sides, lay lucia. her attenuated frame scarcely presented an uneven surface beneath the snowy sheet which covered it. her superb hair was spread in great black masses on the pillow, and her pale marble face reposed there like an ivory picture in an ebony setting. her eyes were wide open, large and luminous, and her thin delicate hands were clasped around a silver and pearl crucifix, which rested on her hollow breast. a single taper in a silver lamp threw a lurid, flickering ray about the room, and beside it was babette on her knees quivering with terror, while from one of the loopholed windows a broad white band of moonlight streamed directly across the pillow and face of the dying girl." captain brand's face assumed a deathly pallor, and, with his icy blue eyes fixed on vacancy, and his voice sunk to a hoarse whisper, he went on: "as i appeared in the portals of the door, lucia slowly raised her fore finger, and beckoned me to approach. i could no more have resisted the summons than if a chain cable to a frigate's anchor had caught me in its iron coils, and was dragging me to the bottom of the sea. i moved to the foot of the bed. "'_pirato!_' came from her slightly-parted lips, in her old low and distinct tones. '_pirato_, behold your cruel work! destroyer of mother and child--of soul and body--may the curses of a dying woman and her unborn child haunt you by day and by night!' i was dumb, and my pulse stopped beating. "'_ave maria purissima!_' were the last words that came in a sweet, pure whisper from her parted lips; she clasped the crucifix tighter, and the spirit departed. i tore aside the gauze net to lay my hand on her heart, when, on my soul! her right hand slowly relaxed its death-grasp on the crucifix, and, rising to a vertical line, with the fore finger pointing upward, quivered in the light of the waning moon, like, as it was, a supernatural warning! yes, that finger--" [illustration: "a supernatural warning! yes, that finger--"] "mamma! mamma!" came in a weak, plaintive voice from the piazza, while the villain, with his hands before him as if to shut out a frightful vision, and eyeballs starting from their sockets, was hoarsely whispering to his horror-stricken audience the last warning of the dead lucia. as the low moaning cry in the stillness which reigned around the saloon struck his ear, he sprang with a bound to his feet, and, quick as thought, with a pistol in each hand, he shouted, "who's there?" "it is the little sick boy, _señor_. do him no harm at your peril!" and the doctor stood towering before the pirate's leveled weapons. "_maldito_ on the brat! pshaw!" said captain brand, quieting down, and returning the pistols to his pockets. "how nervous i am! excuse me, _caballeros_. i was thinking of something else." chapter xviii. end of the banquet. "there was turning of keys, and creaking of locks, as he stalked away with his iron box. oh, ho! oh, ho! the cock doth crow, it is time for the fisher to rise and go. fair luck to the abbot, fair luck to the shrine! he hath gnawed in twain my choicest line; let him swim to the north, let him swim to the south, the _pirate_ will carry my hook in his mouth." in the pause which followed the dreadful episode just recounted by captain brand, the padre was occupied in pattering a prayer, counting his beads, and elevating his crucifix as if he was mumbling high mass at the altar. don ignaçio slowly waved his brown fore finger, and his single spark of glowing eye glared fiercely and fixedly at his host. a clammy sweat burst out on the pallid brow of the doctor, and his hands were clutched before him on the table like the jaws of a steel vice. and still the drunken shrieks and cheers of the piratical crew at the sheds arose wild and shrill in the calm night, making a gloomy echo for the banquet. the doctor was the first to break the awkward silence which pervaded the saloon. "_capitano!_" said he, in his habitual calm, deep voice, "with respect to what you said in the early part of the evening, of breaking up this establishment, what, may i ask, are your plans for the future?" "_gracias!_ _amigo_ doctor! thank you, my friend, for changing the conversation. my plans! eh! ah! well, they are these--" here captain brand's face assumed its usual expression; and entirely himself again, he went on to state, in a precise, business-like way, the views he had resolved upon for future action. "--to-morrow, gentlemen, is sunday. those boisterous fellows out there, after mass, will need rest all the day. on monday, however, i shall begin to change the rig of the schooner, fill up with provisions for a long cruise, take on board all the loose odds and ends we have stowed here, of course," he added, as he remarked an inquiring and a rather alarmed mercenary look from the tuerto's glim--"of course, after having squared up all claims of our _compadre_ there!" "hum!" croaked that sharp rascal, with a nod of satisfaction quite like an old raven. "then, _señores_, i shall burn or destroy the old sheds, and bury the cannon and heavy articles we can not find room for in the 'centipede;' when, if nothing happens, we shall trip anchor and spread our sails for sea! "babette! babette! really i believe that dear old negress has fallen asleep. babette! ah! there you are, my beauty! see if you can't give us a bowl of okra gumbo before we break up here!" babette had not been asleep. oh no! she had her ear to the door of the saloon, and was listening to the sad history of doña lucia, and when her master came to the final scene the old woman fell on her knees and shivered all over, where she remained until the sound of the captain's voice again called her to her duties. "and when we have left these quiet waters, my son!" broke in the padre, "what then?" the fact was, that the carnivorous and vinous father ricardo knew that his stomach was not suited for high winds and rough oceans, and was hoping that some scheme might be devised to allow him to remain tranquilly on the island. "why, holy padre, i propose to steer clear of the west indies by some unfrequented track, and, striking the broad atlantic, stretch down the coast of brazil. perhaps we may double cape horn, and see what those miserable patriots are fighting for in chili and peru; then maybe across the pacific, to the lovely islands and maidens of polynesia; so on to the china seas, where we may fall in with an outward-bound canton trader, or a galleon with a ton or two of silver on board--who knows?--there is plenty of blue water and fine ships every where; so we must be content." padre ricardo made the sign of the cross, kissed his thumb and fore finger, and, reaching his dirty paw over to the captain, shook hands with him. "ay, _amigos_!" continued the leader, without minding the friendly interruption; "yes, my friends, we shall, i trust, give the hounds in search of us the slip; and even should they scent out this retired little spot, they will have their trouble for their chase, and find nothing but a few stones and heaps of rubbish above ground." "they may find some little matters below, though," chimed in the commander of the felucca. "if they do," retorted the pirate, with a meaning scowl, "i'll put the spy who betrays it to such a torture as that he'll wish himself below ground when i come back here." "_cierto, amigo!_ no fear of that!" muttered the tuerto, with some little trepidation of manner. "_my_ papers are white." "captain brand," said the doctor, "my contract with you is nearly up, and since i only agreed--as you know--to enlist my professional services here on shore, i presume you will have no objections to permit me to depart with don ignaçio in the felucca." it would be difficult to say what caused the flush of passion which overspread the leader's face as he listened to this simple request, but it was full a minute before he replied, and then, having weighed the matter carefully in his mind, he said, in a precise and determined tone, in french, "_monsieur le docteur!_ the compacts that i have made with all those that have taken service with me have never been broken except by death. i can not, therefore, consider your request, and i shall expect you to sail with me in the schooner." then he added, quickly, as he noticed a certain haughty expression in his subordinate's face, "pardon me, _monsieur_; we had better not discuss this question now. suppose you see me on the morrow." "willingly, _señor_, and you will find my resolution unchangeable." rising as he spoke, he bowed to his companions at table, and saying "_buenas noches!_ (good-night!)" he passed from the saloon to the piazza. there he paused a moment, as if communing with himself, and then approaching the grass hammock where the sick boy was sleeping, he gently took the little fellow up in his arms. the child murmured "mamma, mamma!" and was borne away. captain brand followed the doctor with his searching, sharklike eyes until he had left the apartment, and there was something that denoted danger in the look; but he uttered no sound, and, placing a finger on his lip, he nodded meaningly to the padre. a moment after babette brought in the steaming gumbo soup, and the pirate's feast was nearly ended. don ignaçio waited until his companions had swallowed a goodly portion of the grateful mess, when he too refreshed himself. then making his salutations in his usual observant manner, he departed. he declined, however, the offer of his host's society to his boat, saying he had, he knew, half a dozen of the felucca's crew outside the building to guard his footsteps, and he would not put the _capitano_ to the trouble. when the padre rose to give his benediction to his patron, the captain took him impressively by the rope which girded his cassock about the loins, and giving it a sharp jerk or two, he said, "my holy father, i think we shall have a sad duty to perform to-morrow. our old friend gibbs has behaved badly, and i shall punish him. he is now in the capella dungeon. after early mass go and console him." the padre returned a meaning smile, crossed himself, and slowly left the pirate alone in his saloon. chapter xix. fandango on one leg. "god! 'tis a fearsome thing to see that pale wan man's mute agony-- those pinioned arms, those hands that ne'er shall be lifted again--not even in prayer! that heaving chest! enough; 'tis done! the bolt has fallen! the spirit is gone." day dawned in the east. the early spikes of morning shot up in rosy bands from behind the lofty hills of cuba and announced the coming of the sun. the inlet and basin, framed in by their rocky walls, were still clothed in the gloom of night, and dimly reflecting the fading stars on the calm unruffled surface where the schooner and felucca were moored. away off in the distance a dense white misty vapor hung flat and low over the lagoon and thickets of mangroves, with not a breath of air to disturb the noxious fog or quiver a leaf in the silent groves. the revels, too, of the drunken sailors had long since ceased; the sentinels, with their cutlasses in the sheaths, paced slowly to and fro before the doors of the sheds, and the look-outs at the signal-stations and battery peered through the early dawn to seaward; else not a sound or moving thing, save a teal or two fluttering with a sharp cry up and down the lagoon; the music of the tiny ripples lapping on the shelly beach; and the low roar, in a deep bass, breaking and moaning over the ledge beyond the island. such was the appearance of things where our scene is laid in the twelve league group of keys, on a sunday morning, in the year of our lord eighteen hundred and five. half a mile, perhaps, inland from the sheds where the sailors lived, and beneath the steep face of the ridge-like crag which split the island in two parts, stood a low chapel, built of loose stones nicely fitted together and roofed with tiles. a rough iron cross was fastened over the doorless entrance, and at the other end was a stone balustrade, with a rude painting of the virgin over the altar, on which stood four or five tall brass candlesticks and a lighted taper. outside the building was a narrow and secluded inclosure, surrounded by a low wall of coral rocks, with a few head-stones marked with black crosses--the graves of the pirates whose bones reposed beneath. at one end of this burial-place was still another subdivision, where stood ten upright flat white stones, on whose faces were rudely carved initial letters, with the years in which the eternal sleepers had been laid beneath the sand. far and near sprang up close and almost impenetrable thickets of cactus, whose sharp and pointed needle-shoots defied the passage of any thing more bulky than land-crabs and lizards. one or two narrow pathways had been cut out here and there, but they were overgrown again by the stubborn, hardy vegetation; and only with the risk of losing one's trowsers, and having one's legs cut in gashes, could a human being struggle through it. within the chapel kneeled a dozen or more of the "centipede's" crew, the coarse and sodden faces and uncombed locks, from their night's debauch, in striking contrast to the place and the apparent devoutness of manner in which they crossed themselves while the rites of the church were going on. before the altar stood padre ricardo, with his breviary on the chancel beneath the taper, and chanting forth from his deep lungs the services of the mass. in a few minutes the unholy hands and lips which performed the solemn ceremony ceased word and gesture, and with a sonorous benediction at the elevation of the host, and a tinkle of a bell, the sailors arose from their knees and again staggered back to the sheds, to slumber through the day. when all had gone, the padre clasped his missal, tucked it into his bosom, and making the sign of the cross with a genuflexion before the virgin, the sacrilegious wretch turned and left the chapel. pursuing the winding path which led to his own habitation for a certain distance, he then turned to the left, and carefully picking his way through the sharp cactus and spanish bayonets along the face of the crag, he stopped at a yawning fissure which gaped open in the rock. here, too, the same wiry vegetation had crept, and it was with great difficulty, and many an "_ave!_" and "_santa maria!_" that the padre succeeded in passing into the dark, rugged mouth of the cavern. "by the ashes of san lorenzo!" he muttered, "there are serpents and venomous insects in this pit of purgatory. oh, _misericordia_! what has pierced my leg? why should my son drag me through this hole? ah! blessed saint barnabas! a slimy reptile has crossed my instep!" feeling with his outspread hands in his fright, as he gradually made his way into the dripping cavern, getting narrower and lower as he proceeded, he at last, after stumbling prayerfully along for about a hundred and fifty yards, came to a loose pile of stones. here opened another low narrow fissure on the left, and, in some doubt, he was about to enter; but the noise he made by stepping on a stone was answered by the hissing warning of a serpent, and the scared padre fell back at his full length in a pool of stagnant slimy water. "_o madre di dios!_ i am stung by a cobra! holy virgin! my new cassock ruined too! _ave maria!_ light me out of this abode of the devil!" slowly recovering, however, from his fright, he once more regained his feet, and, after a few steps, which he was obliged to accomplish by scraping his crown against the jagged rocks above, his outstretched hands touched an iron-bound door. "_gracias à dios!_ thanks be to all the saints, i am here at last; but, alas! curses on me, i shall be obliged to return by the same path unless my son allows me to escape by the casa." cautiously searching with his fingers as he muttered these words, he touched a bolt, and, grasping it with both hands, drew it partly out like the knob of a bell. then, placing his ear to the door, he presently heard a rattling, creaking noise, as if a beam of timber, with pulley and chain, was being raised from behind the entrance. when the sound ceased the door yielded to the padre's sturdy shoulder, and there was just room to admit his portly body. here the passage was wider, the rock evidently chiseled away by the hands of man, and on one side was an artificial chamber, blasted out of the solid rock, with a narrow door with heavy iron bolts on the outside. at this opening the padre paused and listened. no sound caught his ear at first, but as he clutched the bolt and it grated back in its bands, he was saluted by such a volley of frightful curses as to make him start back and cross his ample breast. it was the voice of master gibbs, lying there on a low iron settle in the noisome dungeon, with not a ray of light to cheer him, and only a jug of water and some weevily biscuit to save him from starvation. all through the day and during the long, long hours of the awful night, in pain and suffering from his lopped-off limb and bruises, had he lain on his hard bed with clenched hands, blaspheming and impotently raging in his agony and despair. no prayer, however, dawned in his ruthless heart, or was breathed from his brutal lips; but curses upon curses came thick and fast, till his tongue refused to give them utterance, and he fell back in utter exhaustion. as the noise, however, of the bolt struck his ear, he clutched the stone water-jug from the floor, and hurled it, with a yell of execrations, toward the door, where the fragments fell with a clattering crash on the stone pavement. grinding his teeth in his frightful passion, he howled, "let me but once put these hands on your bloodstained carcass, and if the mother that bore ye will know her spawn again, my name's not bill gibbs! ha! you miserable swab, with your soft words and white hands! when i get out of this hole i'll blow you and your infarnal hounds to ----! give me fair play, and, even on one of my legs, i'll cut the cowardly heart out of you, captain brand! come in, will ye? ye son of the devil, and i'll bite the tongue out of your mouth by the roots!" [illustration: shriving a sinner.] here the hoarse and panting wretch again ceased his roarings, and the padre timidly opened the door. "ha! who's that? babette?" "no, my son, it is your good padre ricardo, come to console you." what the maimed villain replied to the priest, and what means the holy father took to allay the passion and assuage the sorrows of the man lying helpless in the dungeon, or whether successful in his mission, is not important to state in detail. an hour later, however, the priest seemed relieved in body and spirit as he retired from the loathsome hole, and shooting the bolt as he closed the door, cautiously felt his way along the dark and narrow passage. presently, as he turned an angle, a ray of light from the loopholes of the great stone vault beneath the pirate's dwelling lighted his pathway; and a moment after, with a hearty sigh of satisfaction, he seized a cord above his head and gave it a jerk. a bell sounded above, and then a large, square-hinged trap-hatch fell down, swinging gently to and fro from the beams above. at the same time the padre put his arms about a square wooden stanchion which supported the floor of the saloon, and then painfully sticking his toes in some deep-cut notches at the sides, he slowly began to mount upward. when, however, his oily shaved crown appeared nearly at the level of the floor, a vigorous grasp was laid on his shoulders, and he was pulled up like a flapping lobster and rolled into the apartment. it was captain brand who kindly assisted the holy father, and it was the captain's hollow laugh which saluted him in his torn and soiled raiment, as, with difficulty, he regained his perpendicular. "laugh not, _hijo mio_, at my sorrowful plight," said the bruised ricardo, with some asperity; "i have met with dangers of venomous serpents, and been stabbed cruelly by those villainous cactus." "but i raised the beam, my padre, the moment you made the signal." "you did, my son; but what i suffered in the cavern was as nothing to what i endured when i entered the dungeon of the english gibbs. _jesus maria_, what an infidel he is!" "you did not find his spirit subdued, then, by bread and water?" "far from it, my friend. he rages like a wild beast. he consigns your body and soul to everlasting torments! but, what is more impious still," went on the padre, as he crossed himself, "he damned your holy father, and hoped i would roast in hell!" "but he confessed, ricardo, and you gave him absolution?" "if calling me thief and assassin, and hurling his stone water-jug at my head, be confession and forgiveness of sins, the ceremony has been performed. ah! my son, he needs no more mercy in this world!" "of course not, my padre; and we will give him a short shrift and a long rope." "babette!" continued captain brand. "ah! my baba, you have not forgotten to feed our jolly gibbs there below? no? i thought not. well, then, it is sunday, you know; give him a pint of pure rum for his morning's draught. and, baba, my beauty, slip a pair of iron ruffles over his wrists, and then pass a cloth over those bloodshot eyes of his, and lug him here beneath this hatch. go down by your own ladder, and be quick, my baba, as i wish my breakfast presently!" all this was said in a cool and rather an affectionate tone, as captain brand sipped a spoonful or two of chocolate from a cup of dresden china. then turning to the padre, he said, "you would perhaps like a cordial, my father, to take the chill off your stomach? yes. you will find some capital curaçoa in that stand of bottles there." the padre, forgetful of the dignity of his calling, shuffled with indecent haste to the spot indicated, and, without going through the form of filling one of the diminutive thimble-shaped glasses in the stand, he boldly raised the silver-netted flask to his lips, and sucked away until it was nearly empty. then seating himself on the settee, he lugged out his illuminated missal and pored over its contents. captain brand occupied himself with opening the loop of the silk rope which fell from the ceiling, and securing the end firmly on the stout cleat at the wall. so passed the time until a noise beneath the room of a voice in anger, and a body bumped and dragged along, once more attracted the attention of those in the saloon. "oh ho! is that you, master gibbs?" exclaimed captain brand, in a cheerful voice. "you have risen early; but stop that profane language, my friend, or you will never see daylight again!" the maimed ruffian only muttered, "your friend, eh? blindfolded and manacled!" and then, apparently abashed by the cool, commanding tone of his superior, he held his peace. "well, you are quiet, my lad. now we'll see if we can't hoist you up here in the saloon." "thank ye, sir!" said gibbs, aloud; and then he muttered to himself, "let me jest get one grip of ye, and i'll show ye how quiet i'll be." "do you think we shall need assistance, my son?" whispered the padre into the ear of his patron. "_diavolo!_ no. i never wanted help in these little affairs, except in the case of that violent yankee whaler, who gave us much trouble, you know, and we were obliged to call pedillo," replied the captain, in the same low tone. then, raising his voice, he said, "hark ye, master gibbs! babette will lift you off the stones, and the padre and i will raise you up to the room here. you don't weigh so much as you did before you had your leg hacked off with a hand-saw--ho! and i dare say you are as light now as a dried stockfish! up with him, baba! there--steady! all right--here you are!" saying this, captain brand, with the assistance of the stout negress and the padre, raised the once burly ruffian, with a vigorous hoist that made him groan, to the floor of the saloon, where they laid him out at full length on his back. "wait a moment, my hearty, till the hatch is raised, and then we will raise you. unpleasant position, no doubt," continued captain brand, as the trap came up and was secured by a spring; "but then, you know, you _would_ have that pin of yours cut off, and somehow you have been so careless as to dispose of the nice leg you had the other day, made out of the spruce fore-top-mast of the 'centipede'--a very tough bit of a spar it was." here master gibbs grated his teeth and grinned hideously. the captain smiled like a demon, and, approaching the prostrate cripple, said cheerfully--ay, in a frank and hearty tone-- "now, my padre, place a comfortable chair for master gibbs, and we will help him to a seat." the considerate ricardo placed a large, roomy manilla chair on the fatal trap, and then aided his chief in lifting their victim to the position assigned him. as they performed this operation, the captain, with the gentleness of a tiger before he strikes his prey, and with a wink to the padre, lightly passed the noose of the silk rope over the ruffian's hairy throat, where it lay like a snake with its slack coil squirming at the back of the chair. "now, master gibbs, i am about to remove this bandage from your beautiful red eyes," said captain brand, in his cold, chilling, deliberate manner, "and if you so much as move when daylight shines before you, i'll blow your brains out." here the pirate leisurely cocked a pistol close to his subordinate's ear, removed the bandage, and laid the weapon on the table within reach. "no noise either, master gibbs!" continued captain brand, as he stirred up the remains of his chocolate and gulped it down; "for it is sunday morning, and we must respect the feelings of our padre. you were unkind to him, he tells me, just now, and even said some disrespectful things of me. what have _i_ done to vex you?" the manacled wretch tried to raise his horny hands to his face when the cloth was removed from his eyes, and rub those organs, while he glared suspiciously around; but the captain pointed with his white finger in a threatening way to the cocked pistol, and master gibbs let his hands fall again. "well, captain brand, i s'pose now you're going to treat me as a faithful man who has sarved under you ought to be treated; and i'm willin' to forgive what has passed." there was no look of forgiveness, however, in those brutal bloodshot eyes, nor much signs of repentance in those grinding teeth and compressed lips. "why, no, my gibbs, _i_ am _not_ going to treat you as a faithful man, but i tell you what i will do"--here the captain moved his chair nearer till his straw slipper touched the spring of the trap--"i will drink a glass of grog with you in forgetfulness of the past and forgiveness for the future." "thank ye, captain brand; i do feel dry. that stuff babette gave me a while ago didn't touch the right spot, and i'll be glad to jine you." "ah! _bueno_, my old friend; you _shall_ drink something that _will_ touch the right spot! what shall it be? you have only to name it." "i'll take a toss of that old brandy you gave me the other day, if it's the same to you, sir." "oh, master gibbs, it's all the same to me. delighted i am to oblige you! _padre mio!_ a glass of old cognac for our friend--a tumblerful; a wine-glass will do for me." the padre poured out the brandy as he was desired, handed the lesser glass to the captain, and the tumbler he placed in the locked hands of the victim. slowly and painfully the subdued ruffian raised the glass to his mouth, careful not to spill a drop; then, before draining it, he cleared his throat, while at the same time the captain rose to his feet, his right foot resting a little on the heel, and held the wine-glass before him. "now, then, master gibbs, for a toss that will touch the right spot." "ay, ay, captain!" said gibbs; "and here's forgiveness for the future." scarcely had the words been uttered, and the liquor began to gurgle down the hairy throat of the manacled wretch, than the pirate before him pressed his foot with a quick, nervous action on the spring. like a flash the trap fell, carrying chair and man with it. the hinges of the hatch creaked, the wicker-work chair fell with a bound on the stone floor below, the heavy beam overhead gave a jarring quiver as the strong silk rope brought up with a shuddering surge on the cleat where it was belayed at the wall, and with a gasping, choking cry of pain mingled with the ring of the shattered tumbler on the pavement, the ruffian of a hundred crimes fell full three feet, and hung struggling in the death agony. with almost superhuman force he raised his clenched hands and struck his forehead till the manacles were twisted like wire by the effort, spinning around too by the lopsided weight of his body, while the beam above yielded slightly to the strain, and the deadly cord, no longer squirming, but taut as a bar of iron, held the wretch in its knotted embrace, clasped tight around the throat. in a minute or two the hands ceased beating the inflamed face and head, and fell with a clank before the body; the legs gave a few convulsive twitches, a last and violent spasm shook the frame, and there master gibbs hung, a warm dead lump of clay. while this murderous business was going on, and the poor crippled wretch was struggling in the jaws of death, the padre was chanting with his profane tongue from his open breviary the _salve domine_, and his patron coolly took down a telescope and swept it over the blue water to seaward. when, however, after a quarter of an hour had elapsed, and the body of their victim gave no more signs of life, the captain laid down the telescope as the padre closed his missal, and remarked quietly, while glancing critically down at the suspended body, "he did not go off so easy as i had anticipated; his bull-neck is not broken, though the knot was perfectly well placed. however, he is stone dead, and we will lower him down. you, my padre, will bury him!" "_hijo mio!_ son of mine! spare me that troublesome duty. would you have me drag such a carcass through the cavern and consign him to consecrated earth, when he refused the last holy offers of salvation?" "_bueno_, my padre, i respect your feelings! you need not put him under the sand; take him merely to his late dungeon, and lay him decently on his bed." "thank you, my son; your orders shall be obeyed!" glad, apparently, to be relieved from farther exertion, though with manifest symptoms of disgust, the priest, more infamous even than the scoundrel he had assisted in hanging, clumsily descended the hatchway by the way he came up, and awaited the movements of his chief. the captain stepped to the wall, and, casting off the turns from the cleat, he slowly lowered the body down till it rested on the pavement. "unbend the rope from his neck, my padre, and hitch it on to that manilla chair. there--all right! you may return this way and breakfast with me." saying this, captain brand rounded up the chair, detached the silk rope, hung the loop in its accustomed place, and then waited the reappearance of his confederate. not many minutes elapsed before the padre, having performed the last rites, again ascended the stanchion, and was assisted above the floor by his chief. then both together got hold of a ring-bolt in the trap, drew it up and secured the spring, placing square bits of mahogany over the countersunk apertures, so as to prevent accidental falls or hangings of themselves. even while performing these mechanical operations, the priest puffed out an account of his proceedings below: how he had dragged the body to the dungeon; how, when there, he had inadvertently stumbled and fallen on the top of it; and that his lips--_maldito!_--came in contact with the open mouth of the late master gibbs; but when he had recovered from the horror of this frightful caress, he had said a short prayer and bolted the door. "you have done well, my padre; and now let us break our fast. babette, a couple of broiled snappers and a cold duck! be lively, old lady, for i have business to attend to after breakfast. _hola, mi padre_, will you wash your hands in water before sitting down? no! _bueno!_ i will myself take a dip all over." no, the oily ricardo never washed his hands, save wetting the tips of his fingers in holy water in the chapel; and, indeed, he rarely touched water in any quantity either outside or in; and it was with a look of surprise, not unmingled with contempt, that he beheld his patron retire for a bath. chapter xx. business. "he had rolled in money like pigs in mud, till it seemed to have entered into his blood by some occult projection; and his cheeks, instead of a healthy hue, as yellow as any guinea grew, making the common phrase seem true about a rich complexion." the business which captain brand alluded to when he was about to partake of breakfast with his friend the padre was, in the first instance, to arrange some matters in the way of payment of debts to his compadre, don ignaçio sanchez, commander of the colonial guarda costa felucca "panchita." accordingly, when he rose from table, and after a whispered dialogue and reports as to the state of affairs in and around the den and island from the men at the signal-stations, he summoned pedillo. when that worthy appeared below the veranda--for be it remembered that captain brand never permitted the inferior officials of his band to pollute his apartments, unless, perhaps, as in the case of his deceased subordinate, master gibbs, it was on urgent business--captain brand ordered his gig manned. pedillo threw up his hand in token of assent, and walked down to the brink of the basin to execute the command. then, after a few minutes, captain brand lit a cigar, dismissed the padre, put on his fine white panama straw hat, unlocked a strong cabinet with a secret drawer, glanced over a paper before him, and, making a rapid calculation, he caught up a heavy bag of doubloons, and left the house in charge of babette. the captain always told his guests that his fellows had such love and respect for him that he rarely locked up his property, and never placed a guard at his door. the truth was, that his fellows--scoundrels, miscreants, and villains as they were--stood in such fear and dread of their leader, that they were glad to keep out of his way. moreover, he never boasted or made any display before them, living on shipboard, as on shore, by himself, but always ready and terrible when the moment came for action; treating his crew, too, with the most rigid impartiality, adhering strictly to his promises and compacts with them, and never overlooking an offense. so captain brand left his dwelling in charge of his dumb housekeeper babette, and tripping down the rope ladder from the piazza in a clean suit of brown linen and straw slippers, his beardless face shaded by his broad-brimmed hat from the sun, and the bag of gold on his arm, he jauntily walked toward the cove. "ah! good morning, my doctor! glad to meet you! how are the sick? doing well, i hope!" "quite well, sir; but i was about to call upon you in relation to the conversation we had last evening, and--" "pardon me, _monsieur le docteur_, but i have been very busy this morning, and am now going to see don ignaçio on matters of importance"--here the elegant pirate took the cigar from his thin lips and held it daintily between his thumb and fore finger in the air--"and really, monsieur, i am very sorry to miss your visit. but," he added, with one of his usual smiles, "i shall be at leisure this afternoon, and in the cool of the evening we can take a stroll. what say you?" the doctor nodded. "apropos, _docteur_, suppose we have a little game of _monté_ afterward at your quarters. i never permit gaming in mine, you know. the padre will not object; and i am confident our _compadre_, the tuerto, will be delighted." "as you please, captain," replied the medico, with a cold, indifferent air and averted face. "i will join you in the promenade, and i shall be ready to receive you in the evening." "_hasta huego, amigo!_" said captain brand, as he again stuck his cigar between his teeth, waved his hand in adieu, and walked to his boat. "you don't love me, doctor," thought the pirate. "i don't fear you, captain," thought the doctor. it was a touch of high art the way this notorious pirate pitched the bag of gold toward his coxswain, crying, "catch that, pedillo!" and then the almost girlish manner in which he pattered about the beach and held up his trowsers, so that he might not even get his slippers damp. had that salt water been red blood, he would not have cared if his feet had been soaked in it. and then, too, the little exclamation of joy when he finally stepped into the stern-sheets, and sat down beneath the awning, while he stretched his smooth brown linen legs out on the cushions. oh, it was certainly a touch of high piratical art! "the old 'centipede' is looking a little rusty after her late cruise, pedillo!" throwing his head back to evade a curl of smoke, and casting his cold eyes like a rattle of icy hail at the coxswain. "but i am glad pedro took your place"--puff, puff--"that knife-stab prevented you, of course"--puff--"and we shall have her all tight and trig again in a day or two." "_si, señor!_" said pedillo, respectfully; "and how goes señor gibbs, _capitano_?" the _capitano_ rolled his icy eyes again at the coxswain, and replied, carelessly, "why, pedillo, our friend gibbs came to see me when the 'centipede' anchored, but almost before"--puff--"he had given me an account of his unfortunate cruise he fell down in a fit. the fact is, however"--puff, puff--"that, what with hard drinking and inflammation which set in on the stump of his lost leg, he has been in a very bad way"--puff--"quite in a dangerous condition indeed, requiring all my old babette's care and attention"--puff--"but this morning the good padre went to see him, and he told me a while ago that he left him without fever, and altogether tranquil." pedillo's wiry mustaches twirled of themselves. meanwhile the boat skimmed lightly over the basin, and as the captain ceased speaking she ran alongside of the felucca. don ignaçio, with his bright single eye in full burning power, and a cigarette between his wrinkled lips, was on the deck of the vessel to receive his visitor; and as he saw the coxswain follow his superior with a weighty bag under his arm, his glimmering orb became brighter, if possible--as if it was piercing through the thick canvas of the bag, and counting, ounce by ounce, the contents--and putting out his fore finger, it was grasped cordially by the white hand of captain brand. "_como se va?_ how goes it with my _compadre_? stomach and head all clear after our long dinner of yesterday?" the _compadre_ said that his head was particularly clear that morning, and as for his stomach he had not yet inquired; but if the _capitano_ had any doubts as to the former proposition, he had better step below and decide for himself. in accordance with this ambiguous invitation, the visitor and commander disappeared down the small cuddy in the afterpart of the felucca, where was a low, stifling hole of a cabin, dank with stale tobacco-smoke, and smelling awfully of rats and roaches. there was a little round table in the middle, and on one side was a single berth, with some dirty bedding, which had not been cleaned, apparently, since the vessel was built. light was shed from a skylight above. captain brand gave a sniff of disgust as he entered this floating sanctum of don ignaçio, but, without remark, seated himself on a canvas stool, and waved a perfumed cambric kerchief before his nose. commander sanchez, catching the inspiration, merely observed that it was a little close certainly, and not so spacious as the superb cabin of the schooner, and that sometimes, when lying in a calm off the lee side of cuba, it was hot enough to melt the tail off a brass monkey; but yet it was his duty, and he did not particularly mind it. hereupon captain brand requested don ignaçio to produce his papers, and they were presently laid upon the table. for a few minutes the pirate was absorbed in running his cold eyes over the accounts--making pencil-notes on the margins, and comparing them with a memorandum he took from his pocket; but at last he threw himself back and exclaimed, "_compadre_, the account of old moreno, at the havana, is correct to a real--three hundred and twelve doubloons and eight hard dollars. yours, however, has some few inaccuracies--double commissions charged here and there; all losses and sales charged to me, and all profits credited to you." don ignaçio spread out the palms of both his hands toward his companion, as if to exorcise such unjust charges from the brain of his confederate. "_o si, si, compadre!_ it is as i state, and you know it is true; but, nevertheless, a few dozens of ounces more or less makes no difference; and, to make short work, i am ready to pay. but," said captain brand, laying a hand on the heavy bag of money beside him, "though i am quite ready to cancel my debts in hard cash here on the spot, yet, as i am bound on a long cruise--heaven only knows where--i would prefer to keep the gold and pay you in something else." don ignaçio threw his head back and fixed his eye like a parrot on the captain, waiting to hear farther. "what have i on hand besides gold? well, there are a few bales of mexican cochineal, and english broadcloths, and some cases of french silks, which you can have at a fair market value; then there is all that collection of silver table-service, which you can take by weight; and, besides, lots of rare furniture, which you may set your own price upon--altogether much more than enough to pay moreno and you both. what say you, _compadre_? is it a bargain? or shall i carry the stuff with me, and run the chance of disposing of it on the spanish main?" it was a long time before the crafty old spaniard could make up his mind whether to receive his pay in a simple portable currency, or take more bulky matter, with the hope of making double the money by the operation. finally, however, his greed overcame his prudence, and he accepted the last proposition, with the understanding that the articles should be transferred to the felucca the next night. "ah!" said captain brand, with another sniff of disgust, as he spat on the dirty floor of the cabin, "i am glad the affair is settled, for i wouldn't remain another hour in this filthy hole for all the money you have cheated me out of, you old rascal." he said the last portion of this sentence to himself as he emerged from the cuddy. "but listen, _amigo_!" he continued, as they both reached the deck. "you will give me duplicate receipts on the part of señor moreno, so that i can forward one to him from the next port i visit. and, by the way, suppose you come on shore this afternoon for a stroll, and in the evening we will have a little game of _monté_--eh?" "_cierto!_ (certainly!)" returned the commander of the felucca; when captain brand, with his bag of gold intact under his arm, got into his boat and was pulled to the shore. chapter xxi. treasure. "gold! gold! gold! gold! bright and yellow, hard and cold, molten, graven, hammered, and rolled; heavy to get, and light to hold; hoarded, bartered, bought, and sold; stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled; price of many a crime untold-- gold! gold! gold! gold!" it was long past noon when the pirate returned to his island home, and the day was hot, for the sea-breeze had not made, and the tropical sun was pouring down its burning rays until the sand was roasting as in a furnace; the very rocks throwing off a trembling mirage of heated air, and the lagoon almost boiling under the fiery influence. the sailors, with aching heads and parched mouths, were swinging in their grass hammocks beneath the sheds; and, save the watchful vigilance of the men at the look-outs and battery, the little island was wrapped in repose. captain brand, however, was as cool as a cucumber; and regardless of the heat, and indifferent about _siesta_, he drew the curtains of the saloon, and took some active exercise. first, however, he desired his faithful babette to get out some camphor trunks and pack the contents of his splendid wardrobe. this operation was performed under the critical eye of captain brand himself, to which he personally lent his aid by stowing away, here and there, his caskets, trinkets, and treasures--those which had been presented to him by the unfortunate people who had the ill luck to make his acquaintance on the high seas, or in midnight forays on shore. then the captain opened and rummaged cabinets, bureaus, and bookcases, making liberal presents to his trusty housekeeper; and, turning from that occupation, he had all his table furniture spread before him, when he made careful estimates of the value of the silver, china, and glass. this concluded, captain brand ordered babette to furnish him a slight repast; and while it was preparing--the captain taking the precaution to bolt his handmaiden in her kitchen--he went quietly into his bedroom, and when he came out he bore heavy burdens in his muscular arms, all of which he laid conveniently near the trap in the floor. then letting the hatch swing softly down, he lowered the heavy articles by the silk rope, as he had master gibbs, though not so suddenly, going down himself as nimbly as a rat after them. in the vault beneath, captain brand struck a light and set fire to a torch, which blazed out luridly, and illumined the dark excavation and passages like day. going slowly on, with his burden in his arms, by the path by which we traced the padre, he came to the outer door, which opened into the fissure in the crag; and, after a vigorous effort, the beam was raised, and he passed out. once outside, he felt his way cautiously, stepping clear of the stagnant pools beneath, and guarding his head from the jagged rocks above; and then, lighting his way over the stones which had upset the equilibrium of don ricardo, he crept slowly into an aperture on the right. [illustration: "he crept forward on hands and knees, the blazing torch lighting up the damp and dripping rocks."] no serpents or venomous reptiles disturbed the pirate's progress; for, though there were plenty of them coiled or crawling near, yet their instinct probably taught them that he was a monster with a more deadly poison than themselves, and whose fangs were sharper, though his tongue did not hiss a note of warning. captain brand put down his burden and crept forward on hands and knees, the blazing torch lighting up the damp and dripping rocks, all green and slimy from the tracks of the snake and lizard. where the narrow fissure seemed to end by a wall of natural rock, the pirate rolled aside a large stone at the base, and scratching away the sand, a large copper lock was displayed, in which, after pushing aside the hasp, captain brand touched a spring, and it opened. then, exerting all the force of his powerful frame, a rough slab of unhewn rock yielded to the effort, and rose like a vertical door slung by a massive hinge at the top. placing the large stone at the opening, so as to prevent the slab falling to its place, the captain stood the torch within the opening, and went back for his burden; then he returned, and squeezed himself with it into a small excavated, uneven chamber, where he sat down. "nasty work," communed the pirate with himself, "but a safe place to lay up a penny for a rainy day! let me see. these two bags of doubloons, and the small one my gibbs brought me, with those three, there, of guineas, and those sacks of dollars, will make about ten thousand pounds. that will make me a nest-egg when i retire from the profession and return to scotland. they will have forgotten all my boyish follies by that time." captain brand alluded to forging his father's name, and other little peccadilloes of a similar nature. "and i may be elected to parliament--who knows? it is something of a risk, perhaps, to leave all this pretty coin here, but then it's a greater risk to carry it in the schooner"--he argued both ways--"and then, again, damp does not decay pure metal. but," thought captain brand, "suppose somebody should discover this little casket in the rock. ah! that's not probable, for no soul besides myself knows of it, and even the very man who made the door did not know for what it was intended; besides, he died long ago." captain brand had forgotten, in this connection, that the man who cut out the stone chamber and door, and fashioned the hinge and lock, took too much sugar in his coffee the morning the job was finished, and died in horrible convulsions before night. oh yes, that incident had entirely escaped his memory! captain brand, having now thoroughly reasoned the matter out, gave each of the bags lying on the sand a gentle kick to get a responsive echo from the coin; and then creeping out of the treasure-chamber, he withdrew the torch, removed the stone, and the heavy slab fell again into its place. then clasping the lock, covering it over with sand, and rolling back the stone, he seized the torch and quickly returned to the vault beneath his saloon. there, putting out the torch by rubbing it against the stone pavement until not a spark was left, by the sunlight, streaming through the loopholes around, he passed to one side and began removing the cases of cochineal, silks, and what not, near to the strongly-barred portcullis door, which opened toward the basin fronting his dwelling. it was hard work, but captain brand seemed to enjoy it; and even after he had arranged the packages intended for shipment in his _compadre's_ felucca, he began again. going to the farther corner of the vault, he stopped before a strong mahogany door, and taking a key from his pocket, unlocked and threw it wide open. it was as black as night inside, floored and lined with wood, and emitting a choking atmosphere of charcoal and sulphur. piled around the walls were some fifty or a hundred small barrels with copper hoops, and branded on the heads with the word "powder." unmindful of the odor and the rather combustible material around him, captain brand again resumed his work, and rolled a large number of the little barrels toward the doorway, near the merchandise already there, saying to himself the while, "i think that will about fill the 'centipede's' magazine, and we must make a proper disposition of the remainder." hereupon captain brand, actively bent upon the work of disposing of his treasures, rolled out a dozen or two more of the little barrels. strange to say, among the very few articles that were never presented to him, but actually bought of señor moreno, was this highly useful and indispensable material of powder, and he therefore set much store by it. and it was with a sigh of regret that the pirate stood the little barrels on their ends in a line across the great vault of the building, beneath kitchen, bedrooms, and saloon, and especially beside the square upright stanchions on which the interior of the building rested. not content with this, he took a copper hammer and knocked in all the heads of the little barrels, and then, with a scoop of the same metal, he dipped out large quantities of the black material, and poured thick trains of it from barrel to barrel, sometimes capsizing one, but always particularly cautious not to rasp a grain of it beneath his grass slippers and the pavement. then he took a piece of match-rope, and sticking one end deep into a barrel, he just poked the other end out of a loophole, to be in readiness whenever captain brand should deem proper to touch his lighted cigar to it. "there," said captain brand, "that piece of tow will burn about thirty or forty minutes, and then--stand from under!" ascending the hatchway again with the agility of a cat, he drew up and secured the trap, and in ten minutes afterward he was freshly attired in a nice pair of india panjammers, a grass cloth jacket and vest--with, of course, the usual knickknacks in his pockets--and seated at table, where his busy housekeeper had placed a broiled chicken and a bottle of old bordeaux before him. chapter xxii. pleasure. "but ever, from that hour, 'tis said, he stammered and he stuttered, as if an axe went through his head with every word he uttered. he stuttered o'er blessing, he stuttered o'er ban, he stuttered, drunk or dry; and none but he and the fisherman could tell the reason why." "babette," said captain brand, as he tapped a spoon against his coffee-cup and puffed his cigar, while the stout dumb negress was removing the remains of the light dinner, "babette, old girl, you know that we are going to leave here in a few days, and i should like to know whether you care to go with us or remain here on the island." the negress made a guttural grunt of assent, and nodded her head till the ends of her madras turban fluttered. "ho! you do, eh? well, my baba, i shall be sorry to leave you, for you will be very lonely here, and it may be a long, very long time before i come back." babette jerked her chin up this time, and did not grunt. "it's all the same, eh? old lady! well, i shall leave enough to eat to last you a lifetime; but you will have to change your quarters, my baba, and live in the padre's shed, for i--a--don't think this house will be inhabitable long after i am gone." the negress gave another grunt and nod of assent. "yes. well, old lady, the matter is decided, then; but, in case you should have any visitors here after we have gone, you won't take any trouble to describe what you have seen here? no! that shake of your head convinces me--not if they roast you alive?" the hideous sign of understanding that the woman expressed in her dumb way would have convinced any body without the trouble of uttering a word. "_bueno!_" said captain brand; "that will do for to-day." rising as he spoke, he stepped to a cabinet, slipped a large handful of doubloons in his trowsers pocket, put on his hat, and walked out. the sea-breeze swept over the island with its full strength, making the lofty cocoa-nuts bow their tufted tops, the palm-trees rustle their broad flat leaves and clash the stems together. the mangroves bent, too, before the wind, and the sand eddied up in tiny whirls amid the great expanse of cactus, while the vessels swung with taut cables to their anchors. even captain brand's hat nearly was blown off his dry light hair as he joined his _compadre_, don ignaçio, at the landing; and the sandy dust blinded--though only for a moment--that one-eyed individual's optic, and put out his cigarette as they struggled against the influence of the breeze. but yet they walked on in the direction of the sheds, and as they passed through the court-yard, where the men were lounging about in yawning groups or sitting under the piazza, playing cards--getting up and touching their hats as their chief passed--señor pedillo accosted him thus: "_capitano_, the people are thirsty, and desire a barrel of wine." "not a drop, señor pedillo--not so much as would wet the bill of a musquito! to-morrow at daylight let all hands be called, for we have work to do, and we must be quick to do it." pedillo slunk away, abashed by the positive tone of his commander; and captain brand, with his companion, passed on to the domicile of the padre and doctor. pausing at the open door of the shed, they looked in. the padre was lying flat on his back on his narrow bed, with his mouth wide open, and snoring like a key-bugle with leaky stops; while his beads and crucifix--misplaced emblems in contact with drunkenness and debauchery--were reposing on his ample chest. the doctor was sitting beside his own couch, whispering words of childish comfort to the little boy, whose pale cheeks and brown curls reposed on the pillow of the bed. the poor child's thin, limp fingers rested like the petals of a drooping lily in the dark, bony hand of his friend, and his dim hazel eyes were turned sadly toward him. "holloa, _amigos_!" shouted captain brand, in a hearty voice. "we are losing the glorious sea-breeze. _vamanos!_ let us take a stroll to the tiger's trap." hereupon captain brand entered the room, and gave the padre a violent tweak of the nose, at the same time puffing a volume of cigar-smoke into his beastly mouth, which combined effort brought the holy father to life in a trice, choking and sputtering, as he arose, a jargon of paternosters, which an indifferent hearer might have mistaken for a volley of execrations, so savagely were they uttered. "take a sip of geneva, my padre. there it is on the table. ah! do you call half a bottle a sip? well! come, doctor, let us be moving." down by the narrow gorge of the inlet, and over the smooth rocks and shelly shore, the party took their way, don ignaçio leading with the amiable priest, on whom he glared with his malevolent eye as if--he not being a person from whom money or its equivalent could be squeezed--the greedy old spaniard would like to transfix him with a glance. in the rear came captain brand and the doctor, the former as gay as a bird--of the vulture species--and his companion grave, severe, and preoccupied. stopping as they reached the tiger trap battery, where, after captain brand had made a close inspection of the guns, and held sharp confabs with the men who rose to receive him, he moved away a few steps, and, resting his body against the lee side of a projecting rock, removed the cigar from his frozen lips, and said, "the arguments you have urged, monsieur, and the views you entertain, have a certain amount of reason in them. it is true you were deceived in coming here, but yet you swore to remain and not betray us when you did come. well--ah! don't interrupt me; i divine what you are going to say--you did not know what our real character was. perhaps not. nevertheless, i can not consent to your going away with that old rascal, don ignaçio, there--that is, if he would take you, which i think he would not, as your presence on board might compromise him with the cuban authorities; and," went on captain brand, as he crossed his legs, and held his fine panama hat on his head as a ruffle of the sea-breeze shot around the rock, "with respect to your remaining here on the island, you will only have that dumb old beast of a babette for company; and it is highly probable that the english or american cruisers will be down upon you before a change of the moon, and they might--a--hang you, perhaps, for a pirate. ho! ho!" "if don ignaçio declines to take me, captain brand, of course i can not go in the felucca; but, let come what will, i am resolved not to sail in the 'centipede.'" the pirate regarded the doctor for a moment with a cold, freezing look, not wanting, however, in a partial glimmer of respect and admiration, as he thus resolutely stated his determination; and then, putting his finger lightly on the doctor's arm, as he saw don ignaçio and the padre draw near, he said impressively, in a low tone, "_monsieur le docteur_, do not make hasty resolutions. _i_ command here, and my will is law. i will turn the matter over, however, in my mind, and give you a final decision before we part to-night. now let us return. the sun is down, and the rocks are slippery." "well, _caballeros_, let us have a little social amusement," said captain brand, as he sat down at the table in the padre's and doctor's quarters, and wound up his splendid watch, the present from the captain general of cuba. "but bear in mind that we must break up at midnight, for our _compadre_ here has a multitude of articles to get on board his felucca to-night, and i must be astir at daylight." did captain brand think, while he turned the key of that gold repeater, of the bloodstained wretch he had put to death in the morning, who was lying stark and still in his narrow, damp resting-place, or of the poor little sufferer who had been torn from his heart-broken mother sleeping near him? oh no, certainly not. captain brand was thinking of a little game of monté. the padre lugged out a small store of dollars, and a gold ounce or two, and other stray bits of gold, down to quartitos or eighths of doubloons--all of it donations made him for remission of sins and absolutions, presented at one time and another from the pirates of his flock, such donations falling in pretty rapidly after a successful cruise, but dwindling away to most contemptible gifts long before his flock took to sea again. captain brand was very liberal to his crew, dividing a great deal of money with them, but, since he rarely visited any foreign ports, they had little chance of squandering it; and in the end it served merely as a gaming currency to play with, and eventually coming back to him as contributions for stores, ammunition, rigging, and so forth. the captain, therefore, was a large gainer by the operation, as most of the articles in eating and drinking, and the vessel's outfit, were--as we know--generally presented to him, so that he was enabled to stow away the cash for future gratification. don ignaçio sanchez was likewise a moneyed man, and came provided with a long pouch of solid gold, which he made into little piles before him of the exact size of those of the captain. the doctor, however, declined to play, and sat an indifferent spectator of the game. "let us begin, _señores_!" exclaimed the don, as he rapidly shuffled the cards, and his keen, black spark of fire lit up with animation at the rich prospect before him. "we are losing precious time. i'll be _banquero_! _vamanos!_" so they began. the cards were dealt, and the betting went on. the padre forgot breviary and beads in his excitement, and as his little pointings were swept away, he forgot, too, the sacred ejaculations he was wont to lard his discourse with, and he became positively profane. the captain won largely in the beginning, and jeered his _compadre_ with great zest and enjoyment; but that one-eyed, rapacious old spanish rascal was not in the least disturbed, and bided his time. at first the conversation was light and jovial, captain brand insisting upon the doctor describing minutely how he had hacked his friend gibbs's leg off with a hand-saw, laughing hugely thereat, and wiping the icy tears from his cold blue eyes with his delicate cambric handkerchief. then the fascinating game began to fluctuate, and the luck set back with a steady run into the piles of the banker. captain brand liked as little to lose his money as any other gambler in cards, stocks, or dice, and he was somewhat chafed in spirit; but what especially irritated him was losing it to that wrinkle-faced, one-eyed, greedy old scoundrel, with no possible hope of ever seeing a dollar of it again. as for the padre, he was dead broke; and since his friends would not lend him a real, and the banker did not play upon credit, he sat moodily by, and gloated over the winnings of the tuerto, cursing his own luck and that of his companions likewise. "ho!" growled captain brand, "_maldito a la sota!_ i have lost my last stake!" even while he spoke the poor little boy murmured in a sobbing voice, "mamma, _chère_ mamma!" and turned uneasily in his little nest from his fitful slumber. "that crying imp again!" said the now angry pirate, as he hurled the padre's half empty gin jug in the direction of the couch, which crashed against the wall, and fell in a shower of glass splinters over the little sleeper. the child gave one terrified shriek, and, starting from the bed in his little night-dress, now soiled and torn, he ran and threw himself on his knees before the doctor. another bottle was raised aloft by the long muscular arm of the pirate; but, before you could wink, that arm was arrested, and the missile twisted from his grasp. "for shame, you coward! don't harm the boy. he will die soon enough in this awful den without having his brains dashed out." "ho, _monsieur le docteur_!" muttered the villain, looking as if he would like to taste the heart's-blood of the resolute man who stood before him, as he pushed a hand into his waistcoat pocket, "do you presume to call names and oppose _my_ will?" but, controlling his passion with a violent contortion of face that would have made one's blood run cold to see it, he changed his tone and said, "nonsense, doctor; you seem to take rather a strong interest in the brat--possibly an injudicious one; but, since he is my prize, you know, by law, come--what will you give for him? ah! happy thought, we will play for him! there, deal away, _compadre_. _sota_ and _cavallo_! i take the knave again, and you ten doubloons against the boy on the horse." the doctor said not a word, but nodded assent, and seemed absorbed in the game. "_presto!_ turn the cards, you old sinner! quick! _por dios!_ horse has kicked me, and the knave loses! _monsieur_, the brat is yours!" then starting up, captain brand hastily pulled out his watch, and said, "_hola, caballeros_, the time is up! i must say good-night." don ignaçio's brown thin fingers, like a dentist's steel nippers, laid down the cards, and carefully picked up his winnings, even to the smallest bit of the precious metal, and dropped it piece by piece into his long pouch, following them each with his glittering eye, like a magpie peering into a narrow-necked bottle, and smiling with his wrinkled old lips as the dull chink of the coin fell upon his ear. when he had performed this operation, he tied up the mouth of the bag as if he was choking somebody to death; and then, twitching something which was partly hidden in his sleeve, he arose in readiness to go out. as, however, captain brand turned to follow his _compadre_, he looked carelessly toward the doctor, and said, "by the way, monsieur, i have made up my mind with respect to our conversation to-day, and you _shall_ remain on the island. no thanks. adieu. now, don ignaçio, if your men and boats are at the cove, we will make sharp work with your business. _vamanos!_" chapter xxiii. work. "skeleton hounds that will never be fatter, all the domestic tribes of hell, shrieking for flesh to tear and tatter, bones to shatter, and limbs to scatter, and who it is that must furnish the latter, those blue-looking men know well!" when the pirate stood in his saloon on the morning subsequent to the pleasurable events of the sunday previous, he, as well as his saloon, presented altogether a different aspect. the apartment had been stripped of all its rare and costly furniture, cabinets, candelabra, plate, china, and glass, and nothing of value was left save the camphor trunks on the floor, the cane-bottomed settee, a few chairs, and a table. all the beautiful things, ornamental as well as useful, had disappeared, even to the rich packages of merchandise in the great vault beneath. the late possessor, however, of all that worldly wealth did not appear to be at all discomposed, or to cherish the faintest pang of regret at his loss. in truth, he seemed to be relieved from an uncomfortable load of responsibility; and feeling assured, perhaps, that in roaming about the world he could collect a still more valuable collection--only give him time--and he would exercise his critical taste with every pleasing variety. it was thus he consoled himself as he stood there in his now denuded room, attired in a pair of coarse canvas trowsers, a red flannel shirt, with a short sharp hanger on his hip, and a double-barreled pistol in his belt--quite the costume in which he so singularly shocked doña lucia, whose lovely miniature once hung there on the wall in company with the other miserable victims of his lust. captain brand had just entered his dwelling, having been up and actively occupied ever since we last parted with him. now he had come for a cup of tea and dry toast; and, while babette was bringing that simple breakfast, the pirate stood, tall, erect, and powerful, with one muscular arm resting high above his head on the side of the doorway, and the other lying lightly on the shark's-skin hilt of his cutlass, looking out to seaward--a very model, as he was, of a cool, prudent, desperate villain. "ah! there you go, you crafty old miser, in your guarda costa! take care, my compadre, of that reef. if that felucca's keel touches one of those coral ledges there won't be a tooth-pick left of her in ten minutes. san antonio! but that was a close shave! how the sharks would rasp your bones, for there's no flesh on them! grazed clear, eh? _bueno!_ now you're in blue water, you rapacious scoundrelly old wretch, and make the most of it." captain brand waved his hand in adieu to the felucca, which, with the wind off shore, had crept through the coral gateway, and, with her great lateen sail and green glancing bottom, was rising and falling on the long swell as she slipped away to the eastward. he then gulped down his tea, made one or two savage bites at his toast, and again walked out to the veranda, descended the ladder, and took his course toward the basin. there, too, the scene had changed; and instead of the tranquil, shelly shore, only agitated by the musical rippling from the pure little inlet, the faint cry of a sea-gull, or the chirps of the lizards in the crevices of the rocks across the basin, those sounds had given place to the nimble feet and voices of busy sailors. the "centipede," also, had been towed from her moorings to a jetty which projected into the water from the shore, and there she lay, careened down, her keel half out of the water, with a dozen of her crew scrubbing her lean sides till the green-coated copper came flashing out in the sunlight like burnished gold. with her slanting masts lashed to the jetty, carpenters were engaged reducing the length of the fore-mast, and trimming out a spar for a new bowsprit. the long gun, with its carriage, lay near, and artisans were at work at a temporary forge, hammering out bolts and straps to replace those which were weakened by long service. on the shore, too, were a score or more of the piratical gang--spaniards, negroes, indians, italians, and who not--ferocious-looking scoundrels, busy as bees, splicing and knotting ropes, stretching new rigging, cutting running gear from the coils of hemp or manilla-grass rope, or making spun-yarn and chafing-mats; while beneath the low mat sheds hard by, sail-makers were stitching away with their shining needles, making a set of square sails for the changed rig of the "centipede," or repairing old sails. but this was not all; for in a shed beyond was the armorer, with a few hands, grinding pikes and cutlasses, and cleaning small arms; while farther still was the gunner and his mate, filling powder-cases for the long gun and swivels, and making up musket and pistol ball-cartridges. in the midst of all these busy throngs moved captain brand, hither and thither, from vessel to forge, from sails to rigging, giving clear, sharp directions in various languages--commendation here, reproof there--inspecting with his own cold eyes every thing; judging of all; quick, active, ready; never at a loss for an expedient, and urging on the work like a thorough-bred seaman as he was, who knew his own duty and how to make others do theirs. so went on the refitting of the "centipede," all through the burning hot tropical day; and while the half-exhausted crew took a respite in the scorching noon for dinner, still their leader toiled on. or, if he took a rest, it was in closely scrutinizing the progress made by his men, in puffing a cigar like to a small high-pressure engine, or in clambering up the steep face of the crag to the signal-station, where he would peer away in all directions around the island--never missing the glance of a pelican's pinion or the leap of a fish out of water. then he would return to the cove and begin anew the work. it was no longer the elegant captain brand, in knee-breeches, point-lace sleeves, and velvet doublet, seated at his luxurious table, groaning under splendid plate, fine wines, and brilliant wax-lights, and dispensing a profuse hospitality, but captain brand the pirate, in tarry rig, amid sailors, sails, and cordage, munching a bit of hard biscuit at times, or a cube of salt-junk out of a mess kid, but ever ready, never weary, and always up to the professional mark. at the first gray blush of dawn on the following day captain brand was astir again, and before the sun went down behind the waves the schooner "centipede" had been transformed into a brigantine, her fore-mast reduced, new standing rigging fitted for it, with a new bowsprit and head-booms, her rail raised four or five feet by shifting bulwarks, and a temporary house built on deck over the long gun. she was also painted afresh, with a white streak; and, with false head-boards on her bows to hide her snakelike snout of a cutwater, no one, unless in the secret, could have known that the clumsy box of a merchantman lying there was once the low, swift, piratical schooner which had made so notorious a name in the west indies. still the work was driven on with scarcely any intermission--a few hours' repose for the crew at night, and an hour for dinner in the day; but as for captain brand, he never slept at all--a doze for an hour or two, perhaps, on his settee in the saloon, and a cup of tea in the morning, with cigar-smoke, satisfied his frugal requirements. the next day, by noon, the water and stores were got on board the brigantine, her magazine stowed, the dunnage of the crew transferred from the sheds, the captain's camphor trunks on board and cabin in order, the sails bent, anchors on the bows, and, swinging to a hawser made fast to the rocks, the vessel was ready to put to sea at any moment. "pedillo," said captain brand, as his vigilant gaze took in all around him and then rested on the "centipede"--"pedillo, you may warp the vessel down to the mouth of the tiger's trap so soon as you've strewed some fagots ready for lighting in the sheds. when you get to the trap, tell the gunner to take a gang of hands and give that battery a good coat of coal tar, plug the vents of the guns, and bury carriages and all in the sand beside the magazine. tell him to destroy the powder, and pitch overboard all he can't conceal; and let him bear a hand about it, for we shall sail with the last of the sea-breeze toward sunset. "and, pedillo"--here the pirate's voice dropped to a whisper--"come back after the vessel is secured, and bring that maltese fellow without a nose with you. it will be as well, perhaps, for you to provide yourself with a few fathoms of raw-hide strips, as we may have occasion to use it. _quien sabe?_" señor pedillo's black wiry beard fairly bristled as he grinned understandingly at his superior; and, getting into a bit of a canoe at the jetty, he paddled off to the brigantine to execute his orders. meanwhile captain brand slowly bent his steps toward the house under the crag, and entered his spacious saloon for the last time. on the bare table, too, was his last dinner, served on a few odd dishes and cracked plates. "babette, old girl!" said he, as he sat down to this repast, "you have a bottle of good madeira, and a flask of hock left? no?" the negress shook her head violently, made the sign of the cross, and by other telegraphic motions gave her master to understand that padre ricardo had dropped in, drained both bottles, and then had reeled off on board the brigantine. "the drunken selfish beast!" muttered captain brand; "it will be the last taste of wine he will swallow for a long time." the pirate was quite correct in his schemes for the padre's reform, for the next copious draught the holy father imbibed was the briny salt water from the caribbean sea. "well, my baba, a drop of water, then! thank you, old lady. here's to your health while i am gone. there--you need not blubber so over my hand--good-by!" and so passed away from captain brand's sight the only creature in the wide world who loved him. chapter xxiv. caught in a net. "i closed my lids and kept them close, and the balls like pulses beat; for the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky, lay like a load on my weary eye, and the dead were at my feet." captain brand did not linger long over his frugal dinner, and when he had finished, as if he had not had enough exercise for the last three days, he began to walk with long nervous strides across the saloon. "he called me coward, did he? and dared to lay his hands on me! by my right arm, my creole doctor, i'll teach you not to call hard names again, and i'll paralyze your hands for all time to come." the pirate's jaws grated like a rusty bolt as he hissed out these murderous threats; but as his eye caught the squirming green silk rope as he swung round on his heel in his walk, he paused and muttered, "that bit of stuff may be of use. i'll take it by way of precaution." hereupon he rapidly unrove the cord and coiled it away in the bosom of his shirt. then looking at his watch, he said, "ho! the time approaches, and here comes pedillo." lighting a cigar, he left his dwelling for the last time; and, after pausing to hear a report from pedillo that his orders had been executed and the vessel all ready for sea, and whispering a few precise directions in return, captain brand mounted up the steep face of the crag again, and accosted the signal-man at the station. "any thing in sight?" "nothing to the eastward, _capitano_; but it has been a little hazy here away to the southward since meridian, and i can hardly see through it." "_bueno_, my man! give me the glass. you can go on board the brigantine. i'll take a last look myself." while the signal-man scrambled down the crag, captain brand rested the spy-glass on the trunk of the single cocoa-nut-tree, whose skeleton-like fingers of leaves rattled above his head like a gibbeted pirate in chains, and then he searched steadily along the hazy horizon. as he was about, however, to withdraw his eye from the tube, something--a mere dim speck--arrested his attention. quickly dropping the glass, and as rapidly rubbing the large lens and carefully adjusting the joints, he raised it again, as a backwoodsman does his rifle with an indian for a mark. for full five minutes the pirate stood as motionless as the crag beneath him, intently glaring through the tube at the speck in the distance. at last he let the glass fall at his side, and pulling out his watch with a jerk, he muttered to himself, "it is a large and lofty ship; but, should she be a cruiser after me, she will find the bird flown and the nest empty. ho, now for action!" springing down the precipitous declivity as he spoke, he paused a moment at a loophole of the vault beneath his dwelling, and puffing his cigar into a bright coal, he carefully twitched the match-rope which led to the train, opened the loose strands, and placed the fire to it. waiting an instant till he saw the nitre sparkle as it ignited, he moved away with long, swinging strides toward the sheds. there, glancing through the now deserted halls the crew had occupied, where quantities of fagots, and kindling-wood, and barrels of pitch were standing, he continued on till he came to the quarters of the doctor. the doctor was standing at the open door on the thatched piazza, looking quietly at the brigantine, whose sails were loosed, and the vessel hanging by a sternfast, with her head just abreast the tiger's trap. "ah! _monsieur le docteur_, i have merely called to bid you a final adieu before i go on board; and as i have a few moments left, and a few words to say, suppose you walk with me toward the chapel. _allons!_ there is a suspicious sail off there," waving his glass in the direction, "and i wish to take a good look at her." "doctor," continued captain brand, as they reached the little esplanade facing the graves and church, "you will have no one left here on our island save our dumb babette, and the chances are rather remote for your getting away, without, perhaps, some of the west india fleet should happen to drop in here, which i do not think probable. i rely, however, upon your keeping your oath, even if they do come, and not betraying the secrets you are acquainted with." the pirate said this in an off-hand, friendly way, as he had his glass leveled toward the sail he saw in the offing. "captain brand," replied the doctor, "i was deceived in coming here, as you well know; but i shall religiously keep my oath for the twenty years, as i swore to do. after that, if we both live so long, my tongue and arm shall speak and strike." the pirate stepped back a little as he shut up the joints of the spy-glass with a crash, and, with a scowl of hate and vengeance combined, he said, in a loud voice, while his cold eyes gleamed like a ray of sunlight on an iceberg, "and i, too, keep my oaths; and, without waiting twenty years, i strike now!" even while the treacherous villain spoke, two swarthy, sinewy scoundrels crept stealthily from within the chapel, and, with the soft, slimy movements of serpents, as their leader uttered the last word, they sprang at the back of the doctor, and wound their coils around him, twining strong strands of raw-hide rope about his arms, legs, and body. bound as in a frame of elastic steel, their victim was thrown, face downward, upon the sand. "be quick, pedillo! the time is flying! gomez, bring the corpse trestle from the chapel." in a moment a wooden frame with legs, and stretched across with a bed of light wire, which had been used to carry the mortal remains of the pirates--and the poor women, too, beside them--to their last resting-places, was brought out from the little church. then the bound victim was laid on it, face upward; again the hide thongs were passed in numerous plaits until the body was lashed firmly to the trestle. "place it on the edge of that rock there, with his head toward the cocoa-nut-tree. take this silk rope, gomez, and clove-hitch it well up the trunk. there, that will do. i myself will perform the last act of politeness." saying this, the pirate widened the noose of the cord, and, slipping it over the doctor's head, he placed the knot carefully under his left ear. the victim gave no groan or sigh, and his dark, luminous eyes were fixed on the blue sky above him in heaven. "_monsieur le docteur_," said captain brand, as he hurriedly looked at his watch and raised his hat, "i have but one word of caution to give you: if you struggle you will have your neck broken before you are stung to death! talk as much as you like; but, as babette is a long way off, and hard of hearing, i doubt if she comes to your assistance! adieu!" [illustration: "a dull, heavy, booming roar, that shook the crag to its base, announced the ruin of the pirates' den."] the retreating figures went leaping toward the inlet, and, as they rushed through the sheds, applied a torch to the combustible material deposited there, and then sprang on toward the tiger's trap. a few minutes afterward the doctor turned his eyes in that direction, and saw the sails of the brigantine sheeted home and run up like magic; and, taking the last breath of the sea-breeze on her quarter, the sternfast was cast off, and she slipped easily out of the gorge-like channel. still, as those dark stern eyes watched the receding hull of the "centipede," a sudden jar shook the island, a heavy column of white smoke rose from below the crag like a water-spout, and, spreading out like a palm-tree, came down in a deluge of timber, stones, and dust, while sheets of vivid flame leaped out from the gloom, and an awful peal, followed by a heavy, booming roar, that shook the crag to its base, announced the ruin of the pirate's den. at the same time the red fires gleamed in fitful flashes from the sheds, and, rapidly making headway, all at once burst forth in wild conflagration, till the whole nest was wrapped in flames. the shock of the explosion and the fires killed the wind, and a lurid pall of smoke and cinders hung like a gloomy canopy over the island. chapter xxv. the mouse that gnawed the net. "there passed a weary time. each throat was parched, and glazed each eye. a weary time! a weary time! how glazed each weary eye! when, looking westward, i beheld a something in the sky." as the powder vomited forth its dreadful thunder, and as the stones and timbers from the blasted den were hurled high in air, and scattered by the explosive whirlwind far and near, some of the splinters and fragments came down in dropping hail upon the red-tiled sheds and the doctor's dwelling. at the first shock the lonely child started up in his little bed, and while the earth rocked and the stones came pelting and crashing on the roof, he screamed, "mamma! mamma!" no loving echo came back to those innocent lips, and naught was heard save the crackling of the flame beyond, licking its tongue along the dry timber and roaring joyously as it was fed. "mamma! _chère_ mamma!" yet no answer, and still the savage flames came careering wildly on till the very stones of the court-yard cracked like slates, while the burning flakes and cinders loaded the air, and the eddying volumes of smoke reeled in dense clouds, and poured their suffocating breath into the room where the forsaken child was crying. one more panting, helpless cry, and the little fellow instinctively flew through the open doorway, where, blinded and choking with the devastating element around him, he staggered feebly beyond its influence. yet again a flurry of thick smoke lighted up the forked and vivid flames, and chased the child before it. oh, fond mother! in your poignant grief for the loss of your poor drowned boy, you were spared the agony of seeing him, even in imagination, struggling faintly before that tempest of fire and smoke, calling plaintively for her on whose tender bosom his head had rested, while his naked feet were cut and bruised by the sharp coral shingle beneath them. but onward and onward the boy wandered, and fortunately his footsteps took the path into a purer atmosphere which led toward the chapel. here he looked timidly around at the lurid glare behind him, and then entered the church and sank down exhausted, his feverish, smarting eyes closing in slumber on the hard pavement beneath the image of the virgin mary. then came the close and sultry night--no murmur of a land-wind to drive the smoky canopy away--the black cinders falling in burning rain on basin, thicket, and lagoon, till even the very lizards and scorpions hid themselves deep within the holes and crevices of the rocks. midnight came. the dim and silent stars were obscured by a veil of heavy clouds, and with a low, muttering sound of thunder, the vapory masses unclosed their portals, and the rain fell in torrents. the flames, now nearly satisfied with their work, leaped out occasionally from the fallen ruins, but were quenched by the tropical deluge, and smouldered away amid the charred and saturated timbers. then the thunder ceased, the lizards and scorpions came from their retreats, the teal fluttered over the lagoon, and the noise of the waves bursting over the reef came again to the ear. still there was no breath of air; the atmosphere was thick and damp; and out from the mangrove thickets and wide expanse of cactus, swarms of insects, musquitoes, and sand-flies in myriads went buzzing and singing in the sultry, murky night. so dragged on the weary hours until day broke again, and the sea-birds floated off seaward for their morning's meal, and the flying-fish skipped with their silvery wings from wave to wave, as the dolphins glittered in gold and purple after them below the blue water. no bright and blazing sun came over the hills of cuba to light up this picture, but all was blight and gloom, with murky masses of dead, still clouds hanging low down over the island. the little suffering boy, lying there on the coral pavement, with his head resting on the thin, delicate arm, with pale, sweet face turned half upward toward the virgin, gave a feeble cry and opened his eyes. he rose to a sitting posture, with his little hands resting on his lap and little ragged shirt. then, with his dim hazel eyes fixed upon the painting, while the tears coursed slowly down his pallid cheeks, he put forth his hands in a childish movement of supplication, and murmured again his tearful prayer, "mamma! mamma!" presently rising, he turned his feeble footsteps toward the doorway, and as his eye caught the stone bowl of holy water standing on its coral pedestal near the portal, he bent down his feverish head and slaked his parched lips. revived by this, he timidly looked out from the chapel, and shuddering as he beheld the gloomy wilderness around, he once more screamed in a thin piercing cry, "mamma! oh, _ma chère_ mamma!" that was the last sad wail for help for many and many a long year that those infant lips were destined to utter; and when he again called upon that dear name, his manly arms would clasp a joyful mother to his swelling heart. "henri!" came back like an echo in a clear shout to the shriek of the boy. "henri! henri!" was reiterated again and again, each time in a voice that seemed to split asunder the canopy of clouds above. the boy started and listened. "henri! henri! this way to your good friend the doctor! quick, my little boy!" now with the step of a fawn the child ran out upon the sharp sandy esplanade, and following the voice as he tripped lightly through the narrow pathway between the needle-pointed cactus, in a moment he stopped, with a look of horror, beside the trestle on which the bound and nearly naked man was stretched. ay, it was a sight to make a strong and stalwart man turn pale with sickness and horror, much less a baby-boy of three or four years old. there lay the man, all through the dreadful night, with swarms on swarms and myriads upon myriads of stinging insects, biting and sipping, and sucking his life-blood with distracting agony away. ah! think of the hellish torture often practiced by those bloody pirates upon their victims in the west indies! the bound man's eyes were closed, the lips and cheeks puffed and swollen out of all human proportions, and the inflamed body was one glowing red and angry surface. no needle could have been stuck where the venomous stings of a thousand sand-flies or musquitoes had not already sucked blood. ay, well might the child start back with horror! "it is your friend the doctor, henri," he said in french, still in a strong but kindly voice. "i can not see you, but get me a knife. no, my child, never mind--you can not find one; don't leave me." here the child timidly put his little hands out and brushed away the poisonous insects, and then touched the doctor's face. "ah! henri, see if you can not slip that pretty silk rope over my head; yes, that is the way--_doucement_--easily, my child! well, now, my henri, you are weak and sick, my poor little boy; but listen to me--yes, i feel your little hands on my eyes. well, bite upon that cord that goes across my throat. bite till it snaps asunder! i am nearly choking, little one; but don't cry." true, the strips of raw-hide, which had partially slackened in the rain that had washed the body of the victim, now began to tauten again in the sultry heat of the morning, and lay half hidden in the swollen throat, stomach, and limbs of the tortured sufferer. henri's sharp little teeth fastened upon the strand, biting and gnawing, until finally it was severed, and the doctor gave a great sigh of relief. [illustration: "ah! henri, see if you can not slip that pretty silk rope over my head."] "blessings on you, my poor boy!" he murmured, painfully. "now bite away on the strands which bind the arm. there! don't! don't hurry! rest a little, my child! ah! it is well!" again those sharp little teeth of a mouse had gnawed through the net which bound the lion-hearted man; the ends of the raw-hide drew back and twisted into spiral curls, and the right arm, though numbed and four times its original size, was free. "thanks be to god for all his mercies!" exclaimed the doctor, as with difficulty he raised his released arm to his face and pushed back the swollen lids from his closed eyes--"and to you, my little friend, for saving this wretched life!" waiting a few moments to recover his strength, the doctor made a mighty effort, and some of the coils whose strands had been cut by those little teeth yielded and gradually unrove, so as to leave the upper part of his body free. then, while the child was once more cutting the lashings of his feet, he himself unfastened the knots of his left arm, and by a vigorous effort he tore the net from off him and sat upright. clasping his numbed and swollen hands together, he turned his face and almost sightless eyes to heaven. "may this awful trial serve as a partial forgiveness of my sins, and make me a better man!" he paused, and laid his heavy arms around the child, while warm and grateful tears trickled down his cheeks. slowly, and like a drunken man, his feet sought the sand, and then, weak, trembling, and faint, he staggered along the path, the boy tripping lightly before him, till he fell exhausted on the floor of the chapel. "water, my henri! water!" the child scooped it out from the stone bowl with his tiny hands and sprinkled it on his friend's face. "there, that will suffice, my brave boy! lay your cheek to mine!" what a sight it was--that dark, swollen, yet powerful frame lying on the coral pavement, and the innocent child, like a dewdrop on the leaf of a red tropical flower, nestling close beside it! chapter xxvi. the hurricane. "'twas off the wash--the sun went down--the sea looked black and grim, for stormy clouds with murky fleece were mustering at the brim; titanic shades! enormous gloom! as if the solid night of erebus rose suddenly to seize upon the light! it was a time for mariners to bear a wary eye, with such a dark conspiracy between the sea and sky!" past a september noon. the great canopy of dark, murky clouds fell lower and lower, until they nearly touched the earth, wrapping as in a blanket the single cocoa-nut-tree on the crag, and shutting out the light and air of heaven as they settled over the noxious lagoon, the mangrove thickets, and pure inlet. the sea-birds came screaming in from seaward, fluttering their wide-spread wings in the sultry atmosphere, and alighting on the smooth rocks, where they furled their pinions and put their heads together. the flying-fish no longer skimmed over the waves, and the dolphin and shark sank deep down in the blue water, or lay still and quiet beside the coral groves. the rolling, swelling ocean of the tropic, with its glassy, greasy surface unruffled by the faintest air, rolled heavily on until it struck the coral ledge, when, with a dull, heavy roar, it broke over in creamy foam, and came sluggishly in to the sandy beach. there the tiny waves lashed the shelly strand, and all was still again. no sun; no breeze; and even the birds, and serpents, and insects gasped for breath. the fish below the sea, the animated nature above, and the very leaves and vines of the forests and thickets knew what was brewing in the great vacuum around. slowly and painfully the man in the chapel regained his feet, and with the child by the hand, moved on to the farthest corner by the rude altar, where he sank down again, and, clasping the boy to his heart, waited in breathless awe. as if the powder and flames had not done their destructive work, the wrath of heaven was to be poured out over the devoted den of the pirates. then came a bellowing roar as a current of wind swept over the sea, cutting a pathway in the blue water, and scooping it up in an impalpable mist, hurrying on to the low beach of the island, and tearing the sand and shells up in heaps--and then a lull. now, as if all the demons of winds had let loose their cavernous lungs from the four quarters of the earth, and like the shocks of artillery, volley upon volley, came the hurricane. the sea became one boiling, seething, hissing surface of foam, pressed and flattened by the weight of the tempest, which laid the black rocks bare on the ledge, and drove the water into both mouths of the inlet, until, with a crashing shock, it met in the basin, and broke over and over the cove, and high up the wall of rocks on the other side. two or three streams of whirlwind meeting, too, over the island, drove the lagoon hither and thither, catching up the white pond-lilies by their long stems, twisting off the dense thickets of mangroves by the roots, burrowing holes in the sandy beds of the cactus, and shearing off their flat, thorny leaves and needle points by the acre together; then a rushing whirl around the cocoa-nuts, bowing their tufted tops at first till they nearly touched the earth, when, the stout trunks snapping like glass, they would go pitching and tossing from base to crown, careering and dancing aloft, borne away with sand and mangrove, cactus, flowers, and sticks, into the flying clouds before the hurricane. then another lull; and from the opposite direction again thundered the terrible breath of the demons, sweeping thousands of sea-birds, with broken pinions, screaming amid the gale, hurling them against the crag, stripping the feathers from their crushed carcasses, and in a moment burying them a foot deep in clouds of sand. no more pauses or lulls now in the hurtling tempest; but with a steady, tremendous roar, which made the earth tremble, the rocks quake, and laid every vestige of vegetation flat to the ground, it came on mightier and mightier, and fiercer and fiercer, with black masses of never-ending clouds sweeping close down like dark midnight, as if heaven and earth had come together. all through the gloomy day and through the night this elemental war, with its legions of careering demons, continued to lash the sea and smite the land; until, as if satiated with vengeance, the clouds belched forth in red lightning, vomiting out peal upon peal of awful thunder as a parting salute, and then, moderating down to a hard gale from another quarter, broke away. the blue sky appeared, and the glorious sun once more came up in his majesty over the distant hills of cuba. chapter xxvii. the virgin mary. "a weary weed, tossed to and fro, drearily drenched in the ocean brine, soaring high and sinking low, lashed along without will of mine; sport of the spoom of the surging sea; flung on the foam, afar and near, mark my manifold mystery-- growth and grace in their place appear." with the boy clasped to his heart, the doctor sat beside the altar of the chapel during all the direful strife without, shielding his little charge from the clouds of fine sand and rubbish that every few minutes came swirling within the temple, dashing the padre's candlesticks into battered lumps of brass on the pavement, and tearing to atoms the votive offerings hung around the walls by the pirates. but, as if in mercy to the trustful souls lying there, the virgin mary still looked down in sweet pity upon them, and the little chapel stood unharmed. when at last, however, the hurricane's back was broken, and Æolus had reined up his maddened chargers and curbed their flying wings, and when all the demons of the wind had gone moaningly back to their caverns in the clouds, the doctor arose, and with the boy beside him, knelt devoutly before the altar while he uttered a fervent prayer of thanksgiving. "come, my henri, now we may go out and see if we can find something to eat and drink. you are weak and hungry, my poor little boy; but you shall not suffer much longer." that strong man, with the heart of a gentle woman, had no thought of how ill, and famished, and thirsty he himself was from the terrible torture he had endured. no, he only thought of the child who had saved him. in front of the chapel the sand and bushes were piled up in ridgy heaps, the coral wall around the cemetery had been thrown down, while the flat head-stones over the pirates' graves had disappeared entirely. not so, however, with the white slabs near by where those poor doomed women were lying; for the hurricane had spared their tombs, and a pall of pure white sand was sprinkled evenly over their remains. bending over them was the trunk of the cocoa-nut, with its top stripped and its leafless branches quivering in the wind; while from below them streamed out the long, thin green silk rope which had so often served captain brand, the pirate, for his private executions. near at hand lay the trestle on which the doctor had been stretched--caught by the base of the cocoa-nut column, and half buried in sand--while the cruel strips of raw-hide which had lashed the victim down were tied and twisted into a maze of complicated knots by the nimble fingers of the winds. the doctor started, and his half-closed eyes shot out gleams of anger as he beheld the unconscious implements designed for his torturing murder; and leaving the child at the doorway to the chapel, he sallied out, detached the rope, loosened the trestle from its sandy bed, and placed them in a corner of the chapel. then carefully picking his way, with the boy in his great arms, over the trees and débris which obstructed the pathway, he speedily reached the site on which had stood the sheds of the "centipede's" crew. fire, water, and wind had done their work effectually, though the fire had partially spared the detached storehouse and shed which he had shared with the infamous padre. all else was a ruin of loose blocks of stone, broken tiles, nearly buried in banks of sand. from a well in the once busy court-yard, and which had also escaped the devouring elements, the doctor drew a bucket or two of water, in which he slaked the boy's thirst and then his own, and afterward poured water over their bodies. then, from a still smouldering beam which puffed out at intervals a thin curl of smoke from beneath one of the sheds, he lit a fire in the court-yard, while from the wreck of the storeroom he succeeded in rescuing some hard biscuit and a ham. this last he tore in shreds, and placing them on sticks before the fire, they were thus enabled to make a hearty meal, first providing for the wants of the child, however--soaking the biscuit for him, as if it were his first duty on earth. again raising the boy in his arms, he passed from the ruined sheds and bent his steps toward captain brand's former dwelling. the road was heaped with shells and sand, strewed with shoals of dead fish and wounded or dying birds, while the wreck of a boat, mingled with the timbers and planks of the jetty to the basin, were lying pell-mell on the beach of the little cove. casting his eyes around in search of the once spacious dwelling, with its vaults, veranda, and saloon, he could hardly at first trace a vestige of the structure. the powder, more destructive even than the hurricane, had tossed walls and building into a confused heap of rubbish; then came the wind and sand on top of the rocks which had tumbled down by the concussion of the first explosion, and then the water, packing all together as if no habitation had ever existed there. the doctor walked slowly around until he came to the angle where the kitchen once was, and there, three fourths hidden beneath a mass of blackened stones and charred timber, peered forth the white skeleton of a human being. the flesh had been seared and burned from the face and skull by the instantaneous flash of the powder, and there lay the remains of babette, whitely bleached, as if she had been thrown a lifeless corpse on the sea-beach. a few yards below this frightful spectacle lay a number of shattered boxes and trunks, then a confused bundle of clothes, and a sandy saturated collection of kitchen utensils and crockery. yes, the poor dumb woman, the creature and witness of many a cruel scene, ignorant or uncertain of the warning given her by the master she loved, had fallen another tribute to his long list of victims. the doctor only waited long enough to select a few necessary articles from the heterogeneous heap before him, and then, with the child still clinging contentedly to his shoulder, he returned to the chapel. chapter xxviii. the ark that jack built. "good heaven, befriend that little boat, and guide her on her way! a boat, they say, has canvas wings, but can not fly away; though, like a merry singing-bird, she sits upon the spray." the land wind sighed and murmured; the sea-breeze wafted its rustling influence over the waves; the long swells broke over the ledge; the inlet flowed pure and limpid; and the gulls and sea-mews floated gracefully over the reef, as if a hurricane had never poured its baneful wrath upon it or the lonely island. day by day and week by week, the man and boy, getting each hour stronger and better, worked and worked. he with his great arms hewing and sawing, and the child attending upon him like a shadow. by great toil and exertion the doctor had succeeded in placing some of the timbers of the jetty together as launching-ways, and on the cradle he had laid the wreck of the old boat. then, with an old saw and some tools he found near the site of the mat sheds by the cove, he began to build the frail ark which was to carry him and the child from the hated island. from the storehouse, too, he obtained plenty of provisions to supply their wants, and old sails and rope he found in abundance. babette's collection of worldly wealth provided them with linen and clothing, together with utensils for eating and drinking; and he had made their dwelling in the little chapel clean and habitable. here they slept by night on an old sail, and soundly too, the sleep of repentance and innocence. with the early morning the man and the boy arose, and took their way to the cove. the little fellow was clean and tidy now, dressed in a little loose calico frock, and a queer contrivance of an old bonnet fashioned out of babette's gear, and on his feet were a pair of little canvas slippers, stitched for him by his protector. after a bath in the basin of the inlet the fire was kindled, and the simple breakfast prepared. then, while the strong man hewed, and sawed, and hammered beneath a temporary awning which covered the open workshop, the boy would pick up shells along the cove, or with a little rod and line, seated on a flat rock near by, jerk out fish from the basin to serve for dinner. sometimes he would wander about in search of nails and spikes for the boat, or gather sticks for the fire, but never out of hail, and never beyond the watchful eyes of his friend. yes, those watchful, kind eyes followed his slightest movements; and while the hammer was going in vigorous blows on the planks, or the axe chipping away a timber, his pleasant voice sang creole songs to the child, or encouraged his innocent prattle. a loaded musket, which, with some ammunition, he had dug out from the wreck of his old quarters, stood leaning against an upright post under the shade, and woe to the man or beast that might have dared to approach the boy! in the burning heat of the tropical day the labor ceased, and the child either lay on his back on the soft sand beneath the awning, kicking up his little legs, watching the small gulls as they skimmed across the basin, or, with his brown curly head resting on the doctor's knees, slept sweetly. happy and contented he was, too, with the return of health and strength; and if his budding memory looked back to her he had lost, and the recollection of his faithful banou, it was only for a moment, and, like a childish dream, it passed away. [illustration: building the boat.] every evening at sunset, when the work was done for the day, the doctor, with henri in his arms and the musket on his shoulder, would climb the crag, and peer all around the island; but never a sail did he see from the hour the "centipede" spread her canvas, while he lay helplessly bound on the trestle with the green noose around his neck. as the twilight faded, the sole human occupants of the island returned to the chapel, and when they had said a simple prayer, kneeling before the virgin, they laid themselves down on their canvas bed to rest till the dawn. many a silent hour in the watches of the tedious night did the doctor lie awake, while the cool sweet breath of the child fanned his cheek as he lay nestling beside him, pondering and wondering on the fate of his charge. he knew absolutely nothing about his history save that he had been pitched overboard from the brig the pirates were robbing; but what was the name or nation of the vessel, where from, or whither bound, he was in utter ignorance. he had questioned the leader gibbs on that occasion after the chase by the corvette, when he had lopped off the brute's leg; but, what with suffering and drink, the ruffian had either forgotten the brig's name, or feigned to, and all he could impart was the belief that she was an english trader. even from the boy, too, the doctor could elicit nothing of importance, though day by day he tried every means of leading the child's mind back to the past, but always with the same result. "_oui, ma chère mama! bon banou!_" and "_ma petite cousine, rosalie!_" these were the only words the little fellow had to link his fate with the future, and even they became fainter and fainter on his mind and tongue as the time passed on. with this delicate web around the destiny of the child, and that he spoke french, and had evidently been tenderly nurtured, the doctor was forced to be content. well, so the days and nights went by, and so the work went on, and the little ark began to assume a wholesome look, and to be capable of plowing the distant main. then, when she was planked up, with a gunwale on, and half-decked over forward, she was calked, and the seams payed with pitch. when all ready for launching, early one morning the doctor and the boy went gayly down to the cove. there, as the first golden rays of the rising sun shot athwart the inlet, henri stood up in the bows, and with a large pearl-shell of pure spring water, he waved his tattered bonnet round his curly locks, and with childish delight, as the vessel began to move, he emptied the shell of its sparkling treasure, shouting, as she slid off the ways into the basin, "_ma petite cousine rosalie!_" the builder, too, took off his hat and shouted, in his deep bass, till the rocks gave back the echo of "_rosalie! rosalie!_" thus was the ark launched and christened by her captain and crew, and there she rode on the basin, a little pinnace of about ten tons, which had been once used to carry anchors, chains, and stores about the harbor. a week or two more, and she was fitted with a single mast, stepped well in the bows, for a jib and one square lug-sail. then ballast in bags of sand was laid along her keelson, and a couple of breakers of fresh water got on board, together with a quantity of cooked salt meat and hard biscuit stowed away under the half-deck forward--where, too, was a cozy little nest of spare canvas, with an oakum pillow, for the boy! yes, there lay the good ship "rosalie," outward bound, with sails bent and gear rove, cargo on board, and waiting for a wind. meanwhile the doctor had tried her under sail, and satisfied himself that every thing worked well, and that she was in proper trim. then he moored her within a fathom from the shore, and waited for a moon to light him on his voyage. whither? carefully, too--like one who had passed a lifetime on the ocean, from the china seas to the broad atlantic, under the suns of the tropics as well as in the dim gloom of high latitudes--the doctor studied the clouds and watched their course, noting the flight of the birds in the air and the track of fish in the sea. at last the trade breezes began to blow regularly and steadily; the land winds, too, in the gray of the morning, fluttered timidly away out to sea, and the round pearly moon shone bright and mellow over rock and water. "to-morrow, my brave boy, we shall sail away from the island. ah! you clap your hands, eh? yes, we shall go to find mamma!" this was said as man and child stood for the last time on the lofty crag, while the former ranged his dark eyes scrutinizingly around the horizon. nothing in sight! once more to their chapel of refuge, where, for the first time in all their association, putting the child to sleep by himself, the doctor sat down on the trestle by the entrance, and, lighted by the brilliant moon, he caught up the tangled mazes of the hide net which had bound him, and sedulously applied himself to a task before him. any one who has seen the effect produced by a violent gale upon the tattered shreds of a shivered main-top-sail, bound up into the most tortuous knots that it is possible to conceive of, and so hard and solid that you might saw the canvas balls in slices like boards, may form some idea of the task the doctor had imposed upon himself to loosen the hide strands tied together by the furious fingers of the hurricane. patiently and quietly, with no sign of temper, he applied himself to the work, and with nothing but a sharp-pointed spike to aid his hands, he began to unravel, bit by bit, the laced knots and bunches of raw-hide, without ever cutting a strand, until, as the moon sank glimmering down, the tangled mass lay in clear coils beside him--though in several pieces, where it had been severed by the teeth of that little mouse purring behind the altar--and the task was done. then raising the trestle, he bore it within the altar, and with the now unraveled coil of hide, and the softer silk rope for a pillow, he again stretched himself upon what once had been his bed of torture. for what possible object all this labor had been undertaken, or for what future purpose--vague they must have been--no one but the persevering man who did it can tell; and there he lay, no sound coming from his compressed lips till the day dawned. then he arose, and, kneeling over the sleeping child, he again solemnly repeated the oath he had before taken in his hut-- "sleeping or waking, on land or sea, i devote the remainder of my wretched life to returning this lost child to his mother. so help me god!" the little boy stirred, as if the angels and the sweet virgin were whispering their protecting power over him, and, with a smile dawning upon his rosy, dimpled cheeks, he raised the lids from his bright hazel eyes, and put his fat round arms around the doctor's neck. if two great drops fell upon that upturned innocent little face from the dark full eyes bending over him, they were not tears of sorrow! oh, no! it was the dew of hope and trustfulness falling from the soul of a repentant sinner relying upon an all-wise providence. "come, my henri, say your little prayer of the morning, and we will go." the man had taught the child that little prayer which he himself had learned at his mother's knee. up again to the crag, and down to the shelly margin of the shore; and a long look the man gave at the ruin of shed and den, as he gently placed the child on a sand-bag in the stern-sheets of the ark. then he cast off the rope which held the vessel to the hated strand, hoisted the sail, and, as she bubbled along the inlet with the first sigh of the land wind, he stood at the helm with his bare head lighted up by the beams of the rising sun, and his lips moved in prayer. on, noiselessly through the tiger's trap sailed the little pinnace till she bowed her rugged cutwater in the yielding waves, and with her square lug-sail swelling gently to the freshening breeze, she held her course to sea. i question much if the stanch brigantine, named the "centipede," which had preceded her through this tiger's gorge, with all the ruffianly crew that manned her, and their villainous captain on her quarter-deck, stood half the chance of a prosperous voyage as the tiny ark, called the "rosalie," which followed, with her noble, brave commander, and his weak and boyish mate. who can tell? end of part i. part ii. chapter xxix. laying up the strands. "ever drifting, drifting, drifting on the shifting currents of the restless main, till in sheltered coves and reaches of sandy beaches, all have found repose again." it was in the year of our lord eighteen hundred and twenty-two, and in the broad and commodious harbor of kingston, a great mercantile haven, crowded with shipping from all parts of the commercial globe; landlocked by reef and ridge, with the rocks and heights crowned by frowning batteries of heavy cannon; while beyond were spread the lower and upper town, in masses of low two-story buildings, with piazzas, bright green jalousies, stately palm, tamarind, and cocoa-nut-trees waving above them. at the mouth of the harbor strait, where stands fort augusta, lay a magnificent double-banked american frigate, with a broad blue swallow-tailed pennant at her main, standing out stiff, like a dog-vane, from the lofty mast, as the ship rode to the strong sea-breeze. the stays and rigging came down from trucks, cross-trees, and tops in straight black lines, from the great length of lower masts and enormously square yards fore and aft; and from side to side, till they met the long majestic hull and taper head-booms; while below were two rows of ports, with the guns run out and the brass tompions gleaming in their muzzles. the awnings were spread in one flat extended sheet of white cotton canvas from bowsprit to taffrail, and from the wide-spread lower booms at the fore-chains boats were riding by their painters. within a cable's length of the frigate's black quarter lay a low rakish schooner, like a minnow alongside a whale, with a thin little coach-whip streaming from her main-mast head, a long brass gun amidships, and looking as trig and tidy as a french maid beside her portly mistress. the bell struck in twin notes _eight_ on board the frigate, echoed back from the pigmy schooner in a faint, double succession of tinkles; the whistles resounded from deck to deck in ear-splitting notes, surging and chirruping all together, and then suddenly ceasing with a rattling beat of a drum and a short bellow of "grog, ho!" between the guns of the main deck, and about the spar-deck battery forward of the main-mast, sat five hundred lusty sailors on the white decks around their mess-cloths, bolting hot pea soup after their grog, and chatting and laughing in a devil-may-care sort of a strain, as if the grub was good and the timbers sound, as they were, of the stanch frigate beneath them. no noise, no confusion, but just as polite and courteous, in their honest, seamanlike way, as half a legion of french dancing-masters, they whacked off the salt pork before them with their sheath-knives, munching the flinty biscuit, and all as happy and careless of the past and future as clams at high water. ay, there they clustered, those five hundred sailors, in their snowy duck trowsers and white, coarse linen frocks, with the blue collars laid square back over their broad shoulders, exposing their bronzed and hairy throats, wagging their jaws, and ready at any moment, at the tap of the drum, day or night, to spring to the guns, and make the battery dance a jig as the solid iron food went amid sheets of flame toward a foe. yes, and ready, too, in the gentle breeze or the howling tempest, to leap at the shrill pipe of the whistle from the busy deck or their snug hammocks, and, like so many monkeys, jump up the shrouds, lie out on the enormous yards while the frigate was plunging bows under in the tumultuous seas, grasp the writhing canvas in their sinewy paws, and wrap it up close and tight in the hempen gaskets. man-of-war sailors, for battle, or gale, or spree, every one of them. on board that little consort near were about forty more of the same sort, only older, more bronzed, and more deliberate and methodical in manner, sipping their pea pottage after blowing away the steam, cutting their pork after much reflection, and cracking their biscuit tranquilly. their conversation, too, was slow and dignified, each word well considered before it came out, and never interrupting one another in a yarn, as did the younger harum-scarum chaps in the big ship near. but yet those weather-beaten old sons of neptune, who had each one of them seen sights that would make your hair stand on end to think of, could handle that schooner when her low deck was buried waist-deep to the combings of the main hatch in angry water, and make that long tom amidships there spin round on its pivot, and never threw away idly one of its solid globular messengers. ay, trust them for that. then honor to them all, those gallant tars who have fought the battles of our country by sea and lake, and upheld those stars and stripes until they are respected to the uttermost ends of the earth! glory to them, ye wise legislators, who sit in council upon the nation's wealth and grandeur! think of the fearless arms that have shielded your otherwise unprotected shores when circled in a ring of dreadful fire from the guns of a haughty foe. [illustration: the united states frigate "monongahela."] and you, too, ye rich traders! whose valuable cargoes roll hither and thither over the trackless deep, cared for by those toiling tars who fight and bleed for the flag that waves o'er your treasure--in stinging gale, with frozen fingers, or under burning suns, with panting breasts--think of them when your noble ships come gallantly into your superb ports, and unlade their floating mines of wealth into your spacious warehouses, while you in your lordly mansions sip your wine! think of those arms grasping the shivering sail in the mighty tempest, in the black night, and the coarse fare they eat, the sometimes putrid water they drink, and the hard beds they lie upon, while you are reposing on downy pillows with your wives and little ones beside you! ah! take pity on the sailor, and scatter your shining gold over him in his distress. when the time comes, as come it may, when the cannon of a hostile fleet are thundering at your ports; when your lumbering craft are flying before the rapacious grasp of quick-heeled cruisers, and fiery bombs are hissing through the pure air, bursting in your marble palaces and blasting your stores of wealth to dust, _then_ you will turn with blanched faces to the sea, and wonder why you have so long forgotten the noble hearts and stalwart arms that once were thrown around you. but not before. on the flush quarter-deck of the frigate, by the raised signal lockers abaft, stood a bronzed old quarter-master, a spy-glass resting on his arm, through which every minute he peered around the harbor, giving an eye, too, occasionally to the half-hour glass, whose sands dribbled steadily into the lower bulb on the locker beside him. what cared he--no wife or child to cheer him! no cares save but to see that the ensign did not roll foul of the halyards, that the broad pennant blew out straight, that the half-hour glass did not need turning, and that no boat approached the frigate without his reporting it to the officer of the watch. naught else save, perhaps, whether the other old quarter-master, charley holmes, down below there on the gun-deck, had wiped from his lips the moisture of the midday grog, and would be up in time to take the relief while the pea soup was warm. nothing else. the lieutenant of the watch briskly paced the solid deck, scrubbed white as milk with lime-juice and molasses, the even seams between the planks glistening like the strands of a girl's raven tresses as his profane and rapid feet pressed upon them. what thought he in his careless walk, with the gleaming bunch of bullion on his right shoulder, sword by his side, white trowsers, and gilt eagle buttons on his navy-blue coat? he was thinking how his pittance of pay would support, in a scrimpy way, his poor mother and sister, who looked unto him as their only hope and refuge. and he thought, too, as he tramped that noble deck, made glorious by many a battle and victory in which he had borne a humble part, that his rich and powerful country would eventually reward him with increased pay and promotion. were the single dollar which lay alone in his trowsers pocket, and the light mist which arose off there beyond the apostles' battery, opposite port royal harbor, an evidence of one or a sign of the last aspiration? we hope not; but we shall see.[*] three or four midshipmen, too, pranced over that frigate's white quarter-deck, on the port side, in their blue jackets and duck trowsers. little gay madcaps they were, scarcely well into their teens, with little glittering toasting-forks of dirks dangling at their sides, and ready for any lark or mischief. and what thought those boyish imps of reefers? did they trace the flight of that tropic man-of-war bird, sailing high up in the heavens, heading seaward, away into the distant future, through clouds and sunshine, rain and storm? and did they think, as they fluttered along the deck, that their own career might lead them in that direction, toward the star of promotion which shone so brightly near at hand, and was never reached; or else, by a chance shot, to come tumbling down with a crippled pinion, and hobble out their lives on shore? no. those gay young blades, whose mothers were dreaming and sighing for them, had no reflections of that kind. they were chattering about the little frolic they had on their last liberty day, when the captain ordered them off to the frigate at sunset, and planning another for the week to come. happy little scamps, let them dance their careless thoughts away! "two bells, sir," said the quarter-master to the officer of the watch. "very good! young gentlemen, tell the boatswain to turn the hands to, and have the barge manned. let the first lieutenant and the marine officer know that the commodore is going to leave the ship. there, no larking on the quarter-deck, mr. mouse!" this last command was addressed to a tiny youngster who was hardly big enough to go without pantalettes, much less to wear a jacket and order half a hundred huge sailors about, any one of whom was old enough to be his great-grandfather. but yet that small lad did it, and could steer a boat, too, or fly about like a ribbon in a high wind up there in the mizzen-top, while the men on the yard were taking the last reef in the top-sail. "go down to the cabin, sir, and let the commodore and his friend know the boat is ready." down the ladder skipped mr. mouse, and while he was gone, the guard, in their white summer uniform and cross-belts, stood at ease, resting on their muskets on the quarter-deck, eight side-boys and the boatswain at the starboard gangway, with the first lieutenant and the officer of the watch standing near. presently there came up from the after cabin hatchway a fine, handsome man, in the very prime of life, in cocked hat, full-dress coat, a pair of gleaming epaulets, sword by his hip, and his nether limbs cased in white knee-breeches, silk stockings, and pumps. the one who followed him was apparently a much older man, with grizzled locks, a dark, stern face, and without epaulets. the first raised his hat as he stepped on the quarter-deck--not a thread of silver was seen in his dark hair--and then both bowed to the officers, who saluted them as they moved toward the gangway. the boatswain piped, the marines presented arms, the drum gave three quick rolls, and the commodore went over the gangway, preceded by his companion. ----- [*] this was written before the "pay bill" was passed. chapter xxx. old friends. "what though when storms our bark assail, the needle trembling veers, when night adds horror to the gale, and not a star appears? true to the pole as i to thee, it faithful still will prove-- an emblem dear of constancy, and of a sailor's love." the barge left the side of the frigate, a broad blue pennant with white stars on a staff at her bow, with fourteen handsome sailors to man her, all in clean white frocks and trowsers, with straw hats and flowing black ribbons around them, on which was stamped in gold letters, "monongahela." the double bank of white ash oars flashed in the rippling waves of the harbor as the barge was urged over the water, the current seething and buzzing under her bows, and bubbling into her wake as she flew on toward the town. in a mahogany box at the stern sat a bushy-whiskered coxswain, whose body swayed to the stroke of the oars, while his hand grasped the brass tiller as he steered amid the shipping. the commodore had settled himself down under the boat's awning on the snow-white covered cushions in the stern-sheets, and, with one foot resting on the elegant ash grating beneath, he began to talk to the grave gentleman who sat opposite to him. "it is many a long year since i last visited this superb harbor, but i remember it as if it were yesterday. you never were here before, i think? no? well, if any of the old set i once knew, when i was first lieutenant of the old 'scourge,' are yet alive, we shall have a pleasant time!" "one fine fellow," went on the commodore, "i know is. his name is piron. i had a note from him as soon as the frigate anchored yesterday, and i shall ask him to dine sociably with me on board this evening. i hope you will join us." the grave gentleman said that he had business which would detain him on shore all night. the barge swept up to the mole, the oars were thrown up at a wave of the coxswain's hand, and came into the boat on either side like shutting up a pair of fans, while the boat-hooks checked her way, and she remained stationary at the steps of the landing. the awning was canted, the commodore and his friend got out and mounted the stairway, while the boat's crew stood up with their hats off. on the mole were four or five people in light west india rig of brown and white, and broad guayaquil sombreros. "cleveland!" exclaimed a tall, handsome man, as he seized the commodore by both hands, "how glad we are to see you! here is tom stewart, and paddy burns, and little don stingo, attorneys, factors, and sugar-boilers, all of us delighted to welcome you back once more to jamaica!" crowding about the commodore, shaking hands and slapping one another on the back, standing off a step or two to see the effect of time on each other's appearance, laughing heartily with many a happy allusion to days gone by, those old friends and former companions, unmindful of the hot sun, stood there with their faces lighted up and talking all together. "and you are a commodore, eh! cleveland, with a broad pennant and a squadron? ah! we have kept the run of you, though. read all about that action you were in with the 'president,' and that bloody battle in the 'essex' and 'phebe' at valparaiso, with porter. and here you are again, safe and sound, and hearty!" "and you too, piron! the same as ever! not tired of cane-planting yet? but how is madame?" "lovely a girl as ever, cleveland, but never entirely got over that sad loss of the little boy, you know. however, she will be overjoyed to see you. she's been talking of you ever since we saw your appointment to the station fifteen months ago. apropos, we have her widowed sister with us, whose husband was killed at waterloo, and our little niece who came from france--all out there at the old place of escondido, where you must come and pass a week with us. nay, man, no excuse! the thing is arranged, and it would be the death of stingo, tom stewart, and paddy burns if you disappoint us." "well, piron, i am your man, but not for a day or two, until i have made some official calls here on the authorities. meanwhile, gentlemen, you all dine with me this evening on board the frigate, every mother's soul of you! coxswain, go on board and tell my steward to have dinner for six. stop at the schooner as you go off, and say to mr. darcantel that i shall expect him to join us. now, my friends, that matter is arranged, and we will all go off in the barge at sunset." "dry talking, isn't it, stingo?" said piron; "so, commodore, come, and we'll have a sip of sangaree and a deviled biscuit to keep our mouths in order. but, halloo! where is your friend, cleveland? that tall man in black? parson or chaplain, eh?" "no," replied the officer; "an old friend of mine, my brother-in-law, who takes a cruise with me occasionally; but he never goes in society, and has taken himself off, as he always does when we get in port. he is a glorious fellow, though, and i hope to present him to you yet. never mind him now." arm in arm went the blue coat and bullion, locked in white grass sleeves, along the busy quays, crowded with mule-carts and drays for stores or shipping. spanish dons, dapper frenchmen, burly john bulls, standing at warehouse and posadas, all with cigars in their teeth, which they puffed so lazily that the smoke scarcely found its way beyond the brims of their wide sombreros. negroes, too, with scanty leg gear, and still scantier gingham shirts, having bales, or boxes, or baskets of fruit on their heads, never any thing in their hands, chattering and laughing one with another as they danced and jostled along the busy mart; then through the hot, sandy ruts of streets, pausing now and then to shake hands with some old acquaintance beneath the overhanging piazzas; sedan-chairs moving about, with a negro in a glazed hat and red cockade at either end of the poles, in a long easy trot, as they bore their burdens of spanish matron, or english damsel, or maybe a portly old judge, or gouty admiral, on a shopping or business excursion to the port; so on to the upper town, where the dwellings stand in detachments by themselves--single or in pairs--with spacious balconies and bright green venetian blinds, all surrounded by gardens and vines; with noble tamarind-trees, and cocoa-nuts swaying their lofty trunks, and rattling their branches and leaves over the negro huts and offices below. here the party stopped, and, entering a house, were ushered into a cool, lofty room, where there were a lot of mahogany desks, and a single old clerk, who resembled a last year's dried lemon, with some few drops of acid juice for blood, perched up on a hard stem of a high stool, with four or five quill pens, like so many thorns, sticking out above his yellow leafy ears. "all by myself here, cleveland, as i told you. all my people are living out there at escondido. very little business doing just now, and paddy burns and tom stewart haven't had a suit or a fight for the last six months. inkstands dry, and my old clerk, clinker, there, has forgotten how to write english. "however," went on piron, as the party threw themselves back on the wicker arm-chairs, and enjoyed the breeze which fluttered merrily through the blinds, "the cellar isn't quite dry yet; and i say, clinker, suppose you tell nimble jack, or ring finger bill, to spread a little luncheon here, with a bottle or two of bordeaux, or something of that sort!" the dried, fruity old gentleman dropped off his branch at the desk like a withered nut, and then, with a husky kind of shuffle, betook himself off. [illustration: "queer old stick, that!" said the commodore.] "queer old stick, that!" said the commodore, as he unbuckled his sword and laid it on the table. "ah! he grew here, and will blow away one of these days. my father used to tell me that he looked just the same when he first sprouted as he does now. but he is a dear faithful old stump; and you must remember hearing, cleveland, of that frightful earthquake here in seventeen hundred and eighty-three, which killed so many people? yes? well, it was old clinker who saved my sweet wife that is now--and her sister; though he was nearly squeezed--drier, if any thing, than he is now--in doing it. he lay, you know, stingo, supporting the whole second story of the house for seven hours, pressed as flat as a tamarind-leaf, while they were getting those twin babies out of their cradle. yes, god bless him!" starting up, while a flush of feeling darkened his face--"but, what is more, he threw himself precisely where he did, as he saw the walls giving way, so that not a hair of those children should be injured when the beams came down. my father has told me since, that when they got a lever under the timber and wedged old clinker out, he gave a kind of cackle; but, in my opinion, he has not drawn a breath from that day to this. and, generally, he is a very taciturn old root, and rarely opens his rind; but latterly he talks a good deal about the earthquake; says he's sure there'll be another awful one before an interval of forty years has passed, and wants us to go away. no objection, however, to coming back when the thing is over, and then waiting forty years for another. don't laugh, you paddy burns, for if ever the '_tremblor_' gives you one little shake, you'll jump higher than you did when that ugly frenchman ran you through your waistcoat pocket, and you thought it was your midriff. now, tom stewart and don stingo, what are you grinning about? your teeth will chatter so fast at the next quake that you won't, either of you, be able to deliver a charge to the jury over a false invoice, or suck another drop of old antigua rum." "but really, piron," broke in the commodore upon this voluble harangue, "do you give heed to these barkings of that old clerk?" "why, yes, cleveland," replied piron, with rather a grave manner, "i do; and, moreover, my sweet wife rosalie out yonder, who has never got over her grief for the loss of our boy, regards every word old clinker says as so much prophecy; and the upshot of the business is, i have made up my mind to leave the island." "for where, my friend--back to france?" "no. since the war and the peace, with bonaparte at st. helena, france is no place for an englishman, even with a french father, and i am going to try america." "truly, piron, i am charmed to hear it. but what part of america?" "why, i've bought a fine sugar estate at a bargain in louisiana, and there we shall pass the remainder of our days." "he! he!" sniggled tom stewart, while don stingo and paddy burns cackled incredulously; but, at the same moment, ring finger bill and nimble jack, two jet-black persons, in loose striped gingham shirts and bare feet, with an attempt at a grave expression of thick-lipped coffee-coolers, the whites of their eyes turned up with becoming decorum, and preceded by the old twig of a clerk, who seemed to crackle in the sea-breeze as he again hung himself, stern on, to his stool of a trunk, entered the cool counting-house, bearing trays, fruits, and bottles, which they methodically arranged on the large table. "massa! him want small, red, plump snapper, make mizzible brile?" said nimble jack. "s'pose massa ossifa him pick shell of land-crab, wid crisp pepper for salad?" "no, no! put those cool water-monkeys on the table and be gone! come, clinker, take a bite with us!" leaving this pleasant party to sip their claret and water, and nibble their midday food, while they rambled back to the past or schemed into the future, we will return to the frigate. chapter xxxi. the commander of the "rosalie." "the handsomest fellow, heaven bless him! setting the girls all wild to possess him, with his dark mustache and his hazel eyes, and cigars in those pretty lips--" "that girl who fain would choose a mate, should ne'er in fondness fail her, may thank her lucky stars if fate should splice her to a sailor." "the 'rosalie's' gig coming alongside, sir," reported the quarter-master to the officer of the watch. "very well. a boatswain's mate and two side-boys. mr. rat, have the barge manned, and send her on shore for the commodore. mr. martin, tell the boatswain to call all hands to furl awnings." while these orders were being executed, the whistles ringing through the ship, the sailors lining the white hammocks, stowed in a double line, fore and aft, around the nettings of the frigate, in readiness to cast off the stops and lacings and let fall the awnings, the officer on deck stood near the gangway. at the same time there tripped up the accommodation-ladder, lightly touching the snowy man-ropes, a young fellow of about one-and-twenty, dressed in undress frock-coat, one epaulet, smooth white trowsers, and shoes. catching up his sword in his left hand as he reached the upper grating of the ladder, he took off his blue, gold-banded cap, and half bounded, with a springy step, on to the frigate's deck. observe him well, young ladies, as he stands there; for of all the scarlet or blue jackets on whose arm you have leaned and looked up at with your soft violet, blue, or dark eyes, you never saw a young fellow that you would sooner give those eyes, or those warm hearts too, throbbing under your bodices, or who would drive you wilder to possess him, than that gallant young sailor standing on the "monongahela's" deck. ay, observe him well, that tall, graceful youth, with a waist you might span with one of your short plump arms; those slim patrician feet, that might wear your own little satin slippers; then that swelling chest and those elegantly turned shoulders, which will take both of your arms, one of these days, to entwine and clasp around them! ah! but the round throat and chin, the smiling mouth, half hiding a double row of even teeth, with the merest moonshine of a mustache darkening the short upper lip, and then those large, fearless hazel eyes, sparkling with health and fun, shaded by a mass of chestnut curls, which cluster about his clear open forehead! ay, there he stands, "a king and a kingdom" for the girl who wins him! "well, harry, give us your fist, my boy! how do you get on aboard your prize? not so roomy as the old frigate, eh? and a little more work than when you were playing flag-lieutenant, eh? well, glad to see you, but can't stop to talk. so jump down below there in the wardroom; the mess are just through dinner, and yours won't be ready for an hour yet. come, bear a hand, or i'll let these awnings fall on your new gold epaulet." the new-comer tripped as lightly down the ladder to the gun-deck as mr. mouse, and making another dive down to the berth-deck, exchanging a rapid volley of pleasantry with the midshipmen in the steerage, he opened the wardroom door and entered. there, in a large open space, transversely dividing the stern of the ship, with rows of latticed-doored staterooms on either side, lighted by open skylights from above, with a barrel of a wind-sail coming down between the sashes, and every thing, from beams to bulkheads, painted a glistening white, and the deck so clean that you might have rubbed your handkerchief on it without leaving a stain on the cambric, around a large extension mahogany table stretching from side to side, the cloth removed, decanters and wine-glasses here and there, and water-monkeys in flannel jackets hanging like criminals from a gallows from the beams above, sat the wardroom mess of the frigate. "by all that's handsome, here's darcantel! why, harry, we are delighted to see you!" exclaimed half a dozen voices; "come, sit down here and take a glass of wine with us!" as the handsome young fellow entered the wardroom, all faces lighted up as they saw him. the old sailing-master, who seldom indulged in more than a scowl since he lost his right ear by the stroke of a cutlass in capturing the tender to the "plantagenet" seventy-four off the hills of navesink; the rigid old major of marines, who pipe-clayed his very knuckles, and wore a stiff sheet-iron padding to his stock to encourage discipline in the guard; the dear, kind old surgeon, who swallowed calomel pills by the pint, out of pure principle, and who lopped off limbs and felt yellow fever pulses all through the still watches of the hot nights with never a sign or look of encouragement; and the staid old chaplain, who had often assisted the surgeon and helped to fill cartridges, contributing his own cotton hose for the purpose when those government stores gave out in battle, and who never smiled, even when committing a marine to the briny deep; the purser, too, prim and business-like, looking as if he were a complicated key with an iron lock of his own strong chest, calculating perpetually the amount of dollars deposited in his charge, the total of pay to be deducted therefrom, and never making a mistake save when he overcharged the dead men for chewing tobacco; and the gay, young, roistering lieutenants, who never did any thing else but laugh, unmindful of navigation, pipe-clay, pills, parsons, or pursers, though standing somewhat in awe of the sharpish, exacting executive officer at the head of the table--all welcomed, each in his peculiar way, the bright, graceful young blade who dawned upon them. and not only the mess were cheered by his presence, but also a troop of clean-dressed sable attendants, whose wide jaws stretched wider, while the whites of their eyes seemed painfully like splashes of whitewash on the outside of the galley coppers, as they nudged one another and yaw-yaw'd quietly away aft there in the region of the pantry. "here, my salt-water pet, come and sit down by me, where all those old fellows can see you! steward, a wine-glass for mr. darcantel! what? you won't take a sip of tinta, and you can only stop a minute because you are to dine with your uncle the commodore, eh? well, i'll drink your uncle's health even if you don't!" said the first lieutenant, as he familiarly laid his hand on the young fellow's shoulder and drained his glass. "why, harry, what the deuce did you come down here for?" squeaked out the purser, as he unscrewed his lips into a pleasant smile. "you've put an end to that interesting account the master was giving us of how he lay inside sandy hook for six months with a glass to his--" "mouth," broke in the surgeon. "it was sam jones the fisherman, who was bound to sandy hook; but first upon the almanac a solemn oath he took-- that he would catch a load of clams!" "silence there, you roarer!" said the surgeon, as he popped a filbert into the wide mouth of the rollicking fourth lieutenant, which cut his song short off. "yes, harry, that's what you have done in coming here for a minute. but stay a week with us, and the master will tell it you again. we've heard it once or twice before." the old grizzled sea veteran scratched the remains of his ear, and growled jocosely while nodding to young darcantel. "ah! my dear boy, and i'll tell you how the surgeon and nipcheese there were entertained by a one-eyed old spaniard at st. jago." "let's hear it!" roared every body except the medico and purser. "out with it, master!" "well, messmates, when we were in the old 'scourge,' a long time ago, one day we anchored in st. jago de cuba." here the surgeon and purser smiled horribly, and implored the grizzled old navigator not to go on; every body had heard that old story; he might fall ill with the _vomito pietro_, and would require pills; or else there might be found a mistake in his pay account, and he would like, perhaps, to draw for the imaginary balance not due to him, and to drink his grog and scratch the remains of his old ear, or turn his attention to the load of clams waiting for him at sandy hook! but, for mercy's sake, don't repeat that silly, long-forgotten yarn! "well, messmates, in less than an hour after we had anchored in st. jago they went on shore, and made the acquaintance of a little thin, sharp old villain, with one eye, who invited them to make him a visit, and pass the evening on a fine estate he owned near the base of the copper hills, some distance--about four leagues, i believe--from the town. he was a most respectable person, very rich, and commanded a cuban guarda costa to boot. the _capitano_, don ignaçio sanchez--wasn't that his name, doctor? oh! you forget--all right! off they started with a guide, on hired mules; but when they pulled up at their destination they found the don wasn't there, though they were handsomely entertained by the señora--a comely, fat, and waspish body, with very few clothes on--who cursed her don for sending people to see her, and the visitors too for coming. however, as her guests had not dined, she fed them bountifully on a supper of the nastiest jerked beef and garlic they had ever smelled. you told me so, purser." both pills and purser had forgotten all about it, and thought it would be better to talk of something else; that there was plenty of good wine to drink in place of drying his lips on such dusty old rubbish. "well, messmates, after the supper the old lady demanded a little game of monté, and she insisted, too, on making herself banker, though she had no money on the table to pay with in case she lost--which she had no intention of doing. so she won every ounce, dollar, real, and centavo they had in their pockets! the doctor and purser told me they saw her cheat boldly; but yet she not only bagged all the money, but she won their mules into the bargain!" here those individuals confessed roundly--standing on the defensive--that the fat old señora had a false pack of cards always ready in her ample bosom, and had cheated them in the barest manner conceivable; but yet they had no appeal, and were inclined, out of gallantry for the sex, to behave like gentlemen, though she did drink aguardiente. "well, messmates, toward midnight that hospitable wife of the don began to abuse our friends for not bringing more cash with them when they visited ladies, and then fairly kicked them out of the house! yes, you both told me so when i lent you the money to pay the boatmen, after being obliged to tramp all the way back to the port on foot, nearly missing their billets in the old 'scourge.'" "go on, master! tell us all about it; don't stop!" "well, messmates, i was on deck while beating out of the channel, and just abreast the star castle i saw a boat with two gentlemen in the stern, stripped to a girt-line, and howling at rather than hailing the ship. bear in mind, doctor, the men refused to take either of you unless you gave them your coats and trowsers before shoving off. and don't you remember, hardy, how they yelled at us, and we thought they were deserters from that english gun-boat in st. jago? and how the captain arrested the pair of them when they got on board for going out of signal distance? this is the first time _i_ ever told this yarn," concluded the old navigator, tugging away at the lobe of his lost ear. the young lieutenants shouted, and the old major of marines, forgetful of his iron-stuffed stock, laughed till he nearly sawed his chin off, rubbing his chalky knuckles into his eyes the while. "but first upon the almanac a solemn oath he took-- that he would catch a load of clams--" "the barge is coming off, mr. hardy, with the pennant flying, sir!" reported a reefer, in the midst of the conversation, to the first lieutenant, as he shoved his bright face through the wardroom door. "very good, mr. beaver; but hark ye, sir! the next time you go ashore in the market-boat, look sharp that the men don't suck the monkey. three of them came off drunk this morning. and inform mr. rat and mr. mouse that if i see their heels on the cutter's cushions again, i'll take a better look at them from the main-top-mast cross-trees. you understand, sir? steward, a glass of wine for mr. beaver!" saying this, the executive officer, with harry darcantel, arose and went on deck to receive the commodore. chapter xxxii. a splice parted. "oh! for thy voice, that happy voice, to breathe its loving welcome now! fame, wealth, and all that bids rejoice, to me are vain! for where art thou?" "what is glory--what is fame? that a shadow--this a name, restless mortal to deceive. are they renown'd--can they be great, who hurl their fellow-creature's fate, that mothers, children, wives may grieve?" the drum rolled, the marines presented arms, the boatswain piped, the side-boys and officers took off their caps; and as the colors dropped with the last ray of sunset from the peak, and the broad blue day-pennant came fluttering down from the lofty main truck, commodore cleveland and his friends stood on the splendid deck of the flag-ship "monongahela." it must have been with conscious pride that the brave and loyal commander gazed around him on the noble frigate and her gallant crew. the white decks, the tiers of cannon polished like varnished leather, with the breechings and tackles laid fair and even over and around them; the bright belaying-pins, holding their never-ending coils of running gear--the burnished brass capstan--the great boom--board to the boats amidships with a gleaming star of cutlasses, reflecting a glitter on the ring of long pikes stuck around the main-mast near, all inclosed by the high and solid bulwarks; while towering above, like mighty leafless columns of forest pines, stood the lofty masts, running up almost out of sight to the trucks in the fading light, supported by stays and shrouds, singly and in pairs, and braided mazes--black, and straight, and taut--never a thread loose on rigging or ratlin--and spreading out as they came down in a heavy hempen net, till they disappeared over the rail, and were clenched and spliced, or seized and clamped to the bolts and dead-eyes of the chain-plates outside. holding up too, in mid-heaven, on those giant trunks--like a child its toys--the great square yards of timber branches, laying without a quiver, in their black lifts and trusses, with their white leaves of sails crumpled and packed in smooth bunts in the middle, and running away to nothing on either hand at the tapering yard-arms. grand and imposing is the sight. and well may you wonder, ye land lubbers, why all that mass of timber, sails, and cordage, with its enormous weight, does not crush with the giant heels of the masts through the bottom of the ship like unto an egg-shell, and tear the stanch live-oak frame to splinters! the commander of the frigate saw all this, and he beheld at the same time the clusters of happy sailors, sauntering with light step and pleasant faces up and down the waist and gangways; and he heard, too, the scraping of a fiddle on the forecastle, the shuffling, dancing feet, and the least notion of a jovial sea-song coming up from the gun-deck. yes, it must have been a glorious pride with which that gallant officer gazed around him from the quarter-deck of the magnificent frigate. did he say to himself, "i am monarch of this floating kingdom; my will is law; i say but the word, and those sails are spread and the ship moves to wherever i command. my subjects, too, who watch my slightest look and whisper, with that flag above, will pour broadside upon broadside--ay, they have!--from those terrible guns upon whoever dares to cross my track. yes. they will fight for me so long as there is a plank left in this huge ship to stand upon, and while there is a rope-yarn left to hold the ensign--ay! even until my pennant, nailed to the truck, sinks beneath the bloodstained waves?" did the commander think of all this? perhaps he did. and yet, in all the pride of rank and power, bravely won and maintained in many a scene of strife and deadly conflict, with visions of honest patriotism and ambition for the future, did his thoughts go back long years ago into the shadowy past, and was his spirit in the silent church-yard, where the magnolia was drooping over a grass-green grave? the sweet mother and her baby boy--the girl who had so fondly loved him, and the child who played about his knees--oh that they could have lived to share the wreaths of victory which were hung around his brow; that they could have lived to see the sword his country gave him, to twine but for one little moment their loving arms around his neck! no, the magnolia waves its white flowers over mother and boy, and they sleep on in their heavenly and eternal rest. did commodore cleveland, as a saddened flash of thought swept over his handsome face, while he stood on his quarter-deck, dwell on those scenes? yes, we know he did. by day and night, in war and peace, in gale or calm, on deck or at banquet, in dream and action, the girl and mother he so dearly loved was close clasped to his heart, and the child still playing at his knee. "gentlemen, let me make you acquainted with the first lieutenant, mr. hardy; and permit me also to present my nephew, mr. darcantel, captain, if you please, my friends, of the one-gun schooner 'rosalie,' formerly the slaver 'perdita,' cut out of a river on the gold coast by the young gentleman who stands before you." "rosalie! why that's the name of my niece," exclaimed piron; "and she is prettier and whiter than your trim little craft, sir. but you must come with the commodore to escondido, and judge for yourself. but, bless my soul! _you_ resemble our rosalie, even if your schooner don't. why, look at him, paddy burns!" don stingo, and tom stewart, and the paddy did look at him, and all shook hands with him, laughing the while at piron, and asking when old clinker looked for another earthquake. "come, piron, come, gentlemen, don't let us keep the soup waiting! by the way, mr. hardy, will you do me the favor to take a glass of wine with us after gun-fire?" "thank you." "suppose you bring little mouse with you; i like children; and perhaps you will excuse the younker from keeping his watch to-night? a little extra sleep in hammock won't hurt him, you know." and so commodore cleveland raised his hat, followed by the eyes of respect and devotion from officer and sailor, as he passed down the ladder and entered his spacious cabin. chapter xxxiii. the blue pennant in the cabin. "to bachelors' hall we good fellows invite to partake of the chase that makes up our delight." "ask smiling honor to proclaim what is glory, what is fame? hark! the glad mandate strikes the list'ning ear! 'the truest glory to the bosom dear, is when the soul starts soft compassion's tear.'" "now, gentlemen, let me get off this heavy coat and epaulets. there! all right, domino! put the sword in its case, and give me a white jacket. choose your own places, my friends. piron, sit here on my right; henri, take the foot of the table." these last words were said in french; whereupon piron started and whispered to the commodore, "by george, cleveland, is that youth's name henry, and does he speak french?" "hush, piron, he may hear you. his mother was french, and he speaks the language like a native. she died when he was a baby, and he doesn't like to allude to it. come, steward, we are all ready. serve the gumbo!" the cabin of the frigate was divided by a light lattice-work bulkhead in two parts, running from quarter to quarter of the vessel. the after part had a large sleeping stateroom on either side, resting on the quarter galleries, and opening on to another gallery which hung over the stern of the frigate. inside, in the open space, was a round table, cushioned lounges, a few chairs, with a bronze lamp pendent from a beam above, while taking the curve of the stern over the after windows was a range of bookcases, half hidden by the gilt cornice and curtains of the windows. the entire fittings and furniture of cabin and staterooms, including the neat brussels carpet on the deck, were elegant and useful, though by no means luxurious. the forward cabin, where no carpet graced the floor, was much more spacious. it took in the two after ports of the gun-deck; and the carriages and cannon within the sills of the ports were painted a marble white, as were the ropes, in covered canvas, that held them. in a recess forward was a large mahogany sideboard, or buffet, the top fitted with a framework for glasses and decanters, which were reflected from a large mirror let into the bulkhead. in the middle of this space was the dining-table, lighted by a pair of globe lamps hanging from above, while neat racks for bottles and water-jugs, moving on sliding brass rods, were also suspended from the paneled beams and carlines of the upper deck ceiling. on the right--the starboard side--was a door leading into a roomy pantry, where the steward and domino, and the servants of the commodore, bestirred themselves at dinner-time. "so, my friends," exclaimed the commodore, "you wish to hear what became of me after i last parted with you?" "by all means, cleveland! we are all dying to hear, and--" here piron's appeal was interrupted by the heavy report of a bow gun, which gave a slight, though almost imperceptible jar to the frigate. "smithereens! stingo! what noise is that?" exclaimed burns. "only the nine o'clock gun, sir," replied darcantel. "hech, mon!" said stewart, "ye needna upset ma glass of auld madeira in yer mickle fright, for i've seen the time when ye ha' laughed at the music in the report of a peestol and the ping of a bullet! but your nervous seestem seems to be unstrung ever since the sma' french dancing count untied the string o' your waistcoat with his rapeer." "you don't think, paddy, the commodore here is going to bang a forty-two pound shot into our stomachs after all the good prog he's filled them with?" added stingo, _sotto voce_, while the rotund milesian threw his head back and twinkled careless defiance at them all. just then the orderly swung the port-cabin door open, and standing up as rigid as a pump-bolt, with a finger to the visor of his stovepipe hat, in cross-belts and bayonet, he announced "lieutenant hardy and midshipman mouse!" "ah! hardy, glad to see you!" rising as he spoke; "squeeze in there between stewart and burns, or darcantel! here, gentlemen, let me exhibit to you mr. tiny mouse! don't move, piron; i'll make a place for him near me." saying this, the commodore took the lad affectionately by the hand, and as he sat him down on a chair at his elbow, and while the conversation went on with his guests, he said, in a kindly tone, "tiny, my dear, the first lieutenant tells me you are a good boy and attend to your duty. i hope you pay attention to your studies also, and write often to your dear mother. ah! you do? that is right; for you know you are her only hope since your brave father was killed. there, sir, you may swig a little claret, but don't touch those cigars." "come, cleveland! cleveland! you are forgetting your adventures, my boy!" "well, my friends, you shall hear them." chapter xxxiv. the devil to pay. "and how then was the devil dressed? oh! he was dressed in his sunday's best; his jacket was red and his breeches were blue, and there was a hole where the tail came through." "hairy-faced dick understands his trade, he stands by the breech of a short carronade, the linstock glows in his bony hand, waiting that grim old skipper's command!" "the last dinner i had in jamaica, and a very jolly one it was, as you all know, was out at escondido, where we kept it up so late that i only got on board the 'scourge' at daylight, in time to get her under way with the land wind. well, we were bound to windward, and for a week afterward we rolled about in a calm off morant bay, maybe twenty leagues off the island, and one morning we discovered a sail. she was a large merchant brig, heading any way, and bobbing about, as we were, in the calm. toward noon, however, a light air sprang up, and we got within hail, and i went on board to say a word or two to the skipper, for we had news before leaving kingston that that infamous pirate brand, in his long-legged schooner 'centipede,' had been seen off guadaloupe; and, in fact, we had actually chased him off matanzas three months before; so i was ordered to give the brig a warning, particularly as she had reported a suspicious craft in sight that same morning at sunrise. when i got on board of her i saw--" here piron placed both hands to his face as he leaned his elbows on the table, and the commodore, checking himself, hurried on: "ah! well, we kept the brig in sight all day, and ran round her once or twice in the evening, but toward midnight the trade wind freshened, and, as the coast seemed clear, and we were anxious to make up for lost time in the calm, we gradually came up to our course, and went bowling away to windward. "i remember going below at the time, and just as i was about to turn in, i heard a quarter-master sing out to hardy there, who was junior lieutenant of the ship, and who had the middle watch, that he saw a light going up to the brig's gaff. in five seconds i was on the poop, where i met the captain. "this is his only son, gentlemen, and a braver or more skillful seaman never trod a ship's deck," said the commodore, as he passed his hand affectionately over the boy's head, who was sitting beside him. but he forgot, perhaps, to say that he, cleveland, had stood by the father when he was struck dead by a cannon-shot, and that afterward he had the boy appointed a reefer, and, out of his own means, helped the widow to eke out her pittance of a pension. yes, cleveland forgot all that as he smoothed the youngster's soft hair, while, with the men around him, he drained his glass in silence to the memory of his departed friend and chief. then resuming, he went on: "in less than no time after the light was seen--for you must know, gentlemen, that it was an understood signal between us--the 'scourge' was flying off with a stiff breeze abaft the beam, the crew at quarters, and the boats ready to be lowered from the davits. when we ranged up alongside the brig, and even before, we felt certain that our misgivings would prove true, and so they did; and merely slamming a shot over her, and dropping a couple of armed boats into the water, we luffed round her bows, and there we saw that cursed schooner--venomous snake as she was--just hoisting her sails, and creeping away to windward. "we let her have two or three divisions of grape, and followed the dose up with round shot. i am sure we hit her, and that pretty hard, for we knocked away her fore-top-mast, and we saw the splinters fly in showers from her hull. however, she was well handled, and lying nearer the wind than the 'scourge,' when day dawned she was clear out of range, and leaving us every minute. so we up helm and ran down again to the brig, to see what mischief had been done and to pick up our boats. "ah! yes, you all know what had taken place, so i won't go over the details; but the same afternoon, after seeing the brig pointed straight for port royal, and while we were once more on our course, we fell in with a water-logged boat, in which were half a dozen dead and dying men. one, a mongrel indian from yucatan, who was frightfully torn by two or three grape-shot, before he died on board--as did all the others--gave us, in his confused dialect, some account of the pirate he had served under, and the haunt he frequented. as near as we could learn, the haunt was situated somewhere on the south side of cuba, on a rocky island having a safe and secure inlet; but as he did not know the latitude or longitude, we were left somewhat in the dark. the last words, however, the mangled wretch uttered, as the gasping breath was leaving his body, were, that the spot could be distinguished by a tall cocoa-nut-tree which grew from a craggy eminence in the middle of the island. we buried them all, pirates as they were, decently, and then we clapped on all sail on our course. "steward, another bottle of the old southside that mr. march sent me from madeira! here, domino, take mr. mouse up gently, and lay him down on my cot in the after cabin. dear little fellow, he is sound asleep; and mind you draw the curtains around him, lest he take cold from the draught of the stern windows!" rather a striking contrast this to the way captain brand, the pirate, treated the little henri in the den there in the doçe léguas. "well, gentlemen, for some weeks after these occurrences we sailed about the islands, touching here and there, until at last we arrived at the havana, took in stores and water, and then continued the cruise. the orders were to beat up the south side of cuba, where we expected to fall in with the musquito fleet and some english vessels, especially detailed to destroy two or three nests of pirates who had for some years swarmed in those seas and infested that coast. in the course of time we beat all around the south side of cuba, and at last dropped anchor in st. jago, where we learned from the english consular agent that five or six fellows, who had been wrecked on the carvalo reef, were identified as having been part of a piratical crew who had plundered an english vessel with a free passport bound to havana, and had been sent there in irons for trial. "the truth was, that the spanish colonial authorities had so long connived, winked at, or been indifferent to what was going on during the wars of the continent, that they allowed these piratical hordes to exist and thrive at their very doors. the matter had already been brought to the notice of the administrador of the port, and all other ports as far along the coast as cienfuegos, and in such a threatening manner, too, that the governor at st. jago, fearful of having his town blown down, exerted himself in the arrest of the rascals i have alluded to, and likewise in procuring information by dispatching guarda costas along the south side of the island. "accordingly, the very morning we anchored i went ashore with the captain of the custom-house, where we met the deputy administrador and a little withered, one-eyed old rascal, who was in the colonial service, and who professed to know the haunt, or at least he said he thought he did, of that notorious villain brand. "i remember distinctly spreading a chart before him, and while he traced with the end of his cigarette a course for the captain to steer by, i stood near, watching him narrowly. but the fact was, that he had the very sharpest spark of an eye set, or rather standing out, beside his nose that any body ever saw in a human being's head; and instead of me watching him, he seemed to be looking straight through me, and divining my thoughts and suspicions. however, the spot he pointed out, and the way he described it, with a cocoa-nut-tree on top of a rock, and the passage through the reef, so nearly corresponded with the confused account the yucatanese gave us before he died, that the captain was entirely convinced we were on the scent, though i myself was not more than half satisfied. the place indicated was near the isle of pines, three hundred miles off; but, to make the thing more plausible, that one-eyed old scoundrel was detailed to run along the doçe léguas cays, see what information he could pick up there, and then follow down after us. "that night, or early the next morning, we were off again, and ran down the coast, with a good offing to keep the wind, until we got to the ground, and passed in by cape st. francis, and doubled round into the bight of pines. there we fell in with a whole fleet of english and american cruisers and schooner craft, who informed us that they had searched every accessible spot where a man could walk dry-shod upon, from guayabos to the isle of mangles; that they had destroyed several old and deserted piratical nests, and hung two or three ostensible fishermen by way of wholesome warning to their allies the pirates; but that was all; and from what they had learned, there did not seem to have been an established retreat in that maze of cays and reefs for four or five years. "so you see we had our cruise for nothing, and then the captain agreed with me that we had both been most egregiously deceived by the spanish commander of the guarda costa. well, we hauled our wind once more, standing well out to sea, and after a tedious beat of some days we again edged in toward the coast, somewhere near the boca grande of the twelve league cays on the westernmost side. it was in the morning when we made the land, and, steering close in, we got a good slant off the shore, and kept the glasses going from the topmost cross-trees down all through the day. for my part, as hardy may perhaps remember, i scarcely took the glass from my eye for eight hours, and from the mizzen-top i feel quite sure that there were not many objects, from the size of a blade of grass to a mangrove bush, that i did not examine, from the coral reefs up to the rocky heights, let alone the cocoa-nut-tree that we were in search of. "toward afternoon, however, the weather came up hazy, the wind began to fall off, and the barometer began to exhibit very queer spasms indeed, rising with a sort of jerk at first, and then dropping down the tenth of an inch at a clip, with the atmosphere becoming close and sultry, and the men gasping about the decks as if we were about to choke at the next breath. it was during the hurricane months, and the indications certainly should have led us as far as our legs could carry us to open water, instead of being caught embayed perhaps with half a thousand reefs around us on what might prove a lee-shore; but, nevertheless, the captain decided to hold on till sunset, and then make an offing. the breeze still held in the upper sails, and so we slipped on in smooth water till about five o'clock, when i heard a fellow sing out from the main royal yard, "'on deck there! i can see a tall cocoa-nut-tree on an island here on the port bow!' "before the words were well out of his mouth i too caught the object, and i knew at the first glance that it was the spot we were looking for. at the same time the haze lighted up a bit, and we saw the ridge of rocks and every thing as the haunt of that pirate brand had been described to us. so, my friends, we were all alive once more on board the 'scourge,' and the captain resolved to dash in upon the scoundrel's nest before he could have time to leave it. "the engine was rigged and water spirted over the sails from the trucks down, to make the canvas hold the wind, and in an hour after we were within two leagues of the island, and just as the sun fell below the horizon we caught sight of the mast-heads of a large vessel sticking up over some bluff rocks near the bold shore. not five minutes later the hull of the craft came slowly out from the gap, under all sail, and we discovered her to be a long and rather lumbering-looking brigantine, painted lead-color, and bearing no resemblance to the schooner we had twice chased before. simultaneously, however, with her coming out into full view, as she rounded in her head-yards and got a pull of the main-sheet, with the breeze abeam and heading to the eastward, we beheld a great volume of white smoke spout up over the rock near the cocoa-nut-tree, with a vivid sheet of flame at the base, and before the vast column turned, like the crown of a palm-tree, in its descent, we were greeted by a dull, heavy roar, the concussion of which fairly made the 'scourge' tremble. then, as the white smoke partially broke away, an avalanche of rocks and timbers was scattered far and near, and nothing visible but a veil of dust and masses of heavy smoke. nearly at the same moment of this explosion wreaths of heavy black smoke arose from another spot nearer to the gap, lit up in the fading, hazy twilight with forked red fires, and soon after a great conflagration burst forth, swirling flakes of burning cinders all over the island, and casting a lurid glare upon the water around us." chapter xxxv. and the pitch hot. "he is born for all weathers; let the winds blow high or blow low, his duty keeps him to his tethers, and where the gale drives he must go. "the wind blew hard, the sea ran high, the dingy scud drove 'cross the sky, all was safe lashed, the bowl was slung, when careless thus ned halyard sung." said the commodore, with a knowing shake of his head, "ah! gentlemen, if the fellow, whoever he was, who was creeping away so nimbly in that lazy-looking brigantine, with english colors at the peak, had written down in detail what he had been doing on that secluded nook of an island, and sent the information off to us in a letter, we could have read it without breaking the seal. we could have told him that that little scoundrel with one eye had purposely misled us, and had given him warning to quit his strong-hold; and that he had hastily got his plunder and people on board his vessel, blown up and set fire to his nest, and that the brigantine he was now on board of was once upon a time the notorious schooner 'centipede!' yes, we knew all that by instinct." piron sat with his eyes fixed upon the speaker, taking in every word as it fell from his lips, the teeth set close together and the hand clenched which supported his head on the table. paddy burns and tom stewart, too, looked eagerly that way, as did harry darcantel, while hardy sipped his wine and puffed his cigar leisurely, as if he knew the tale by heart. "it had fallen nearly calm. a light air perhaps in the royals, though nothing down below. but as we hauled down our colors at sunset, which had been hoisted to let the fellow know who we were, down came his also. then there we both lay looking at each other. he knew by instinctive experience that we were the american corvette 'scourge,' mounting eighteen twenty-four-pounder carronades and two long eighteens in the bow ports; for the brigantine had once or twice determined their exact calibres, and that we were the fastest cruiser, with the wind a point or two free, that had been seen in the west indies for twenty years. [illustration] "yes, he knew all about us, but he was still a little in doubt whether we knew all about _him_. he lay--unfortunately, perhaps, for him--a little beyond the range of our long guns, or else he might have been spared a good deal of time and uneasiness, and we a long chase and considerable risk. ah! as the night came, the very fires he had kindled in his den on shore prevented his escape; for while the calm lasted the bright flames shone upon him with the glare of hell! there we lay all that night without moving a muscle or a mile until day dawned--and such a day as did dawn! "meanwhile the barometer had fallen an inch and a half, until the master began to believe the bulb leaked, and the mercury was dropping into the case. then, through the murky gloom of daylight, with the sea one flat greasy surface, with never the splash of a fish to disturb it, while the lowest whisper of the topmen aloft could be distinctly heard on deck, as if we were hung in the vacuum of an exhausted receiver where a feather would drop like a bullet, suddenly there came a sound from the direction of the cays. suppose, burns, you saw a forty-two pound shot coming toward you, and without you dodged quick, your head would be flying off with it in the same direction?" "whist, mon!" said stewart, with a groan, "dinna be calling up sic peectures of the brain, cleveland. paddy, there, ne'er thinks of ony meesals bigger than a peestol bullet." "well, my friends, we ran precisely a similar risk, though the cloudy embrasures over the island had not quite enough thunder to reach us. however, the brigantine knew what would follow as well as we did--better, perhaps--and before you could swallow that glass of wine she was stripped as bare as a bone, and down came her yards too, but keeping the sticks up, and spreading a patch of a storm staysail forward that you might apparently have put in your pocket. her decks and rigging were crowded with men while she was doing all this, but the moment it was done, and well done too, they ran into their holes below like so many rats, and we could only see a man or two left on deck near the helm. "all hands had been called on board the 'scourge' at four o'clock, and, with the exception of securing the battery, every thing was ready to make a skeleton of the ship the moment we saw the brigantine begin; for she was a wary fish, and we had no idea of letting her give us the slip the third time. i had the trumpet, however, and with the captain at my elbow, the instant he saw that the brigantine was once more rigged nearly in her old way, he gave me the word, 'now, cleveland, work sharp!' "with a hundred and twenty men aloft, jumping about like cats, the light sails, studding-sail booms, royal and top-gallant yards came down, the top-gallant masts after them, and the flying jib-boom rigged in. then the top-sails close reefed and furled with extra gaskets, and so with the courses; preventer braces clapped on, rolling tackles hooked, and the spare purchases set up by the lower pennants. meanwhile the divisions on deck had got hawsers over the launch amidships, the chains unbent, the anchors lashed down on the forecastle, and the quarter boats triced well inboard and secured with the davits. at the same time the light stuff from aloft was got below, the hammocks piped down, and the carpenters slapped the gratings on the hatches, and stood ready with the tarpaulins to batten them down. i never beheld a smarter piece of work done afloat--not even, hardy, in the 'monongahela.' "as i turned round an instant a hoarse, howling bellow struck my ear from the island, and i just caught a glimpse of the tall cocoa-nut-tree flying round and round in the air like an inverted umbrella with a broken stick; while at the same time the men from aloft had reached the deck, and, jumping to the battery, the guns were run in and housed, spare breechings and extra lashings passed, and life-lines rove fore and aft. after that, gentlemen, there was no farther need of a trumpet. "you all know pretty well what sort of a thing a hurricane is, and the one i speak of must, i think, have given you a touch of its quality here in jamaica." "ay, by the holy moses! we remember it well, bad luck to it; and so does tom stewart and piron there, for it didn't lave a stick of sugar-cane standing from montego bay to cape antonio." "yes," said stewart; "and to show ye what a piff of wind can do, the whirl of it caught up an eighteen-foot honduras plank, and laid it crosswise, like an axe, full seven inches into an old tamarind trunk standing in my garden, and then twisted off the ends like a heather broom! hech, mon, ye may see it there now any day!" piron was thinking of the barks that were driving before that hurricane, with no thought of the damage done to his own plantations. "well, then, i shall spare you all prolix description of it; and you need only fancy a ship blown every where and every how except out of water--now with the lower yard-arms cutting deep into the sea like rakes, the lee hammock-nettings under water, the stern boat torn away into splinters, the main-top-sail picked, bolt by bolt, from the yard until there was not a thread left, and the lee anchor twisted bodily out of its lashings and swept overboard! "then a lull, while the sea got up and the ship dashed down on the other side on her bow; then staggering back and making a stern-board till the water was plunged up in a deluge over the poop. recovering herself again, and almost quivering on her beam-ends, the guns groaning and creaking as the terrible strain came upon the breechings, with the shot from the racks bounding about the decks, dinting holes in the solid oak waterways big enough to wash your face in, and then hopping out of the smashed half-ports to leeward. the spar-deck up to your armpits in water, and every man of us holding on to the life-lines or standing rigging like grim death, while all the time the roaring, thundering yell of the hurricane taught us how powerless we were, by hand or voice, to cope with the winds when they were let loose in all their might and fury! "nor need i relate to you the scene presented below--mess-chests, bags, tables, crockery, flying from deck and beam to stanchion, smashing about in the most dangerous way, pell-mell, while the worst of the tempest lasted. but, gentlemen, the 'scourge' had a frame of live-oak, to say nothing of two or three acres of tough yellow-pine timber in her, a good deal of fibrous hemp to hold the masts up; and, moreover, she was well manned, and, though i say it myself, she had a skillful captain and thorough-bred officers, in whose sagacity the crew could rely, to manage that old 'scourge.'" "that she had," exclaimed hardy; "and the most skillful and the coolest of them all was the first lieutenant!" the "monongahela's" executive officer here bounced off his chair as if he was prepared to fight any man breathing who did not subscribe to that opinion. "well, my friends, that awful hurricane continued for about twenty hours, from late one morning till the beginning of the next. as for day, there was none; for the sea and black clouds made one long night of it. fortunately, too, we had been driven off shore, and when the murky gloom broke away, and we were able to look around, our first anxiety was to see what had become of the brigantine. "yes, and i truly believe, in all that turmoil of the elements, while we were on the brink of foundering and going down to old davy's locker, that there was not an officer or man, from the captain to the cook, who was not thinking of that pirate, and hoping that he might go down first. i myself, however, felt a sort of confidence, as i was held lashed on the poop to the mizzen rigging, that the brigantine might be caught and whirled about--so long as she was above water--by the same blows of the hurricane that beat upon the 'scourge;' and when the tornado broke, and some one sang out 'sail ho!' i knew by instinct it must be the 'centipede.'" chapter xxxvi. the chase. "with sloping masts and dipping prow, as who pursued with yell and blow still treads the shadow of his foe, and forward bends his head, the ship drove past, loud roared the blast, and southward aye we fled." "clap on more sail, pursue, give fire-- she is my prize, or ocean whelms them all." "so many slain--so many drowned! i like not of that fight to tell. come, let the cheerful grog go round! messmates, i've done. a spell, ho, spell!" "it was all hands again, gentlemen. the hurricane had settled down into a moderate gale from northeast, though it was some time before the awfully confused sea got to roll regularly. then we judged ourselves--for reckoning and observation had been out of the question--to be a long way south of jamaica, and even to the southward of the great pedro bank. we did not wait this time for the pirate to lead us in getting ready for a race, but we got up a bran-new suit of top-sails and courses out of the sail-room, and, so soon as the men could go aloft with safety, they were ordered not to unbend the few tattered rags still clinging to the yards, but to cut away at once. up went the top-sails and courses, and they were soon brought to the yards and set close-reefed, with a storm-jib to steady the ship forward. presently we gave her the whole fore-sail and main-sail, and i think that even then, for some hours, but one half the corvette's upper works could have been visible as she plunged through the angry heaving seas. "it left us dry enough, however, to pay some heed to the brigantine ahead of us. she was about four miles off, a little on our weather bow, and as she rode up--splendid sea-boat that she was--like a gull on the back of a mighty roller, we could see that her bulwarks--mere boards and canvas, probably--had been washed away, the house between her masts gone too, and, no doubt, her long gun, or whatever else had been lying hid under it. and now she was once more the schooner 'centipede,' long and sharp, and without any rail to speak of, so that we could see her deck from the stem to her taffrail at every lurch she made. the only difference in her appearance was a short fore-mast with cross-trees, and a top-mast for square sails. almost as soon as our top-sail sheets were hauled home, her own yards went up and the sail was spread, while with the bonnet off her fore-sail, the whole jib and a close-reefed main-sail, she went flying to the southward with the gale a point abaft the beam. [illustration: the stern chase.] "thus we went on, the sea getting more regular every hour, so that we could send up the top-gallant masts, get the yards across, shake a reef or two out, and put the 'scourge' in order. the schooner needed no encouragement from us, but cracked on more sail until her long main-mast reeled and bent over, as she came up on the breaking ridge of a wave, like a whip-stalk. by noon the clouds had gone, and left us a clear sky, with the gale going down into a full top-gallant breeze, sending the corvette along good eleven knots. we got an observation for latitude, and five hours later we determined the longitude and our position to be a few leagues to leeward of the sarrana keys, with that bird of a schooner before us heading for the musquito coast. "if _we_ had caught a cataract of water as it rolled over our bows in the morning, the schooner was taking _her_ bath in the afternoon, for occasionally, for five minutes at a time, there was nothing seen of her deck, and only the masts and broad white canvas above, like jury-sticks out of a raft. but when she did slide up with her low, long hull shooting clean out of water, till nearly half her keel, with the copper sheathing flashing in the sun, was visible, she looked like a dolphin making a spring after a shoal of flying-fish. and then on her narrow deck we could see a few fellows lashed about the fore-mast, and a couple more abaft steering her like a thread through a needle. "we began to gain upon her now, and whenever she kept a little away before the wind the gap between us closed more rapidly; for the ship could evidently outcarry the schooner, and, had the breeze freshened and the sea kept up, we could have run her under if her masts didn't go out of her, as we hoped and expected every minute they would. gradually, however, she watched her chance and hauled up till she brought the wind barely abeam, and steered true for the musketeers--a bad cluster of low keys nearly surrounded by as terrible ledges and reefs as any to be found in the caribbean sea. "her captain was evidently bent upon playing a desperate game, but, if he thought he would not find another ready to lay down the same stake, he was greatly mistaken! it was about sunset when we made the keys, and there we went--the schooner leading us about a mile--at a rate which would have made both vessels leap clear over the first ledge they struck, and perhaps have thrown summersaults of us into the bargain. i asked the captain, who had never left my side on the poop, if we should keep on. "'yes, sir,' he replied, 'so long as we have a gun and a plank to float it!' "and, by saint paul! we kept on. and there was not a soul on board the 'scourge,' from the drummer-boy up, who did not agree with the captain. how those villains on board the pirate relished this decision we could only surmise; but, at all risks, he held his course with a nerve that might have made the devil himself shudder. "by this time the sun was well down, and a brilliant moon was riding high in the heavens; but, as bright as it was, the fellow who commanded that schooner required an eye as keen as an albatross and a hand as steady as an iron bar to guide his craft in the direction he was going--too late for either of us to think of hauling off. "he must, too, have had a thorough knowledge of the reefs and keys, and trusted, perhaps, if he got clear himself, that the corvette, drawing eighteen feet water and ignorant of the channel, might touch something which would throw the game in his hands. our men had the ropes stretched along the decks and the battery clear on both sides, so as to be ready to wear, or tack, or fire, as our pilot ahead might require. "the reefs were to leeward of the string of low keys, which made the water comparatively smooth, though the wind still swept strongly over us and sang through the rigging; and it was here the 'centipede' entered, going like wild pigeons the pair of us. the outer reef had a fair, deep passage, and so had the next; but the inner one presented but one narrow gateway, scarcely wide enough for a ship to scrape through, with the whole reef one uninterrupted fringe of black pointed rocks and roaring white breakers, which toppled over, and boiled and eddied like a thousand whirlpools into the smoother water inshore. "as the 'centipede's' stern gave a sharp pitching jerk when she entered this boiling gorge, we saw, in the moonlight, her head-yards laid square, the fore and aft sails flowing in the sheets as she fell off with wide wings and the wind on her quarter, and flew down inside the reef. "five minutes after we too entered this maelstrom chasm, and, though the helm was hove hard up, and the after-sails shivered, yet, before the 'scourge's' bows, going at the rate she was, could turn the sharp angle of that water-gate, her port bilge grated against a coral ledge, and grooved and broomed the planks and copper away like so much sea-weed! but yet that slight graze never stopped us a hair's weight, and, with additional sail, we rushed after our pilot, mile after mile, through reef, ledge, breakers, inlets, and keys, now braced sharp up, and again going free, until at last the fellow, having run us a dance of full ten miles, once more emerged into the open water, close jammed on the wind, steering nearly due east. "there, hardy!" exclaimed the commodore, "i am tired of talking; suppose you take up the thread of the yarn. domino, another bottle of tinta!" chapter xxxvii. the wreck of the "centipede." "gun bellows forth to gun, and pain rings out her wild, delirious scream; redoubling thunders shake the main, loud crashing falls the shot-rent beam. the timbers with the broadsides strain; the slippery decks send up a steam from hot and living blood; and high and shrill is heard the death-pang cry!" "she struck where the white and fleecy waves looked soft as carded wool; but the cruel rocks they gored her side like the horns of an angry bull." piron turned his gaze toward the first lieutenant, moved away the full glasses of wine, which he had never raised to his lips since the commodore began, and, resting his bloodless cheek on his other hand, listened. "it's vera interesting indeed." "tear an' ages, boy! fire away!" quoth the scotchman and his milesian crony in a breath. hardy threw his arm over the shoulder of harry darcantel as if it was a pleasant corinthian column to lean upon, and breaking off the ashes of his cigar on the rim of a wine-glass which he had specially devoted to that purpose, he forthwith began: "i am quite confident, gentlemen, that i can not describe what afterward took place so well as commodore cleveland, but, at all events, i'll do my best. nor do i remember very distinctly the events of the night after we got out of the musketeers keys; for i was pretty well fagged out myself, and all of us who had the watch below turned in to take the first wink of sleep we could catch for forty hours. "the next morning, however, when i took the deck, i found the corvette under royals and flying-jib, with a fresh trade wind blowing from about east-northeast, and a smooth sea; though close hauled as we were, and going ten knots, the spray was flying well up the weather leech of the fore-sail. the 'centipede' was about a mile and a half ahead, jammed on the wind, and trying all she could to eat the wind out of us; but, as the commodore there said at the time, he had thrown that trick away when he cut off eight or ten feet of his fore-mast, and made a brigantine of the craft, so that he could not brace his head-yards sharper, or lie nearer the wind than we did. "i remember, also, that two or three of the officers and half a hundred of the sailors were very anxious to pitch shot at the chase from the long eighteen in the weather bridle port; but the captain refused, and said we might lose a cable's length or two in yawing off to fire, and it would be better to save the powder until we could slam a broadside into him. but all the while that 'centipede' was handled and steered in such a thorough seamanlike manner, and proved herself such a beautiful sea-boat, that i doubt if there was a man on board the 'scourge' who would not have given a year's pay to have taken her whole, and only expended a spare top-mast studding-sail halliards for the necks of her crew. "from the top-gallant forecastle we could see every thing that took place on the schooner's deck: sometimes a lot of fellows forward reeving some fresh gear, peering about the low bowsprit, or putting on a seizing to a traveler on the jib-stay; with a chap or two aloft stitching a chafing-mat on the lee backstays; and then aft a man shinning up the main shrouds with a tin pot hung around his neck, greasing the jaws of the main gaff, and twitching a wrinkle out of the gaff-top-sail, so that it would lie as flat as this dining-room table set on end. "but always, from the very first moment we descried her--before the hurricane and afterward--there were two fellows abaft by the taffrail. one a large fat man, in a long dark dress, who appeared at times to be leaning over the rail as if he were sea-sick; and the other a spare, tall-built fellow, who sat there with a quadrant in his hands and smoking cigars, measuring the distance between the two vessels as if he were a government surveyor, and especially appointed to make a hydrographical chart of the caribbean sea. occasionally, too, we could see him approach the binnacle, spread a chart on the deck at his feet, examine it closely with a pair of dividers in his hands, and then he would return to his seat on the taffrail, cigar in his mouth and quadrant to his eye as before. "nor were we idle on board the 'scourge;' for when the breeze lulled we slacked up the lower rigging and stays, got down all extra weight and hamper from the tops, sent the watch below to the berth-deck with a round shot apiece in their hammocks, moved a couple of carronades about the spar-deck till we got the ship in the best sailing trim, and then we went skipping and springing through the water with the elasticity of an india-rubber ball. "at noon the sailing-master reported the position of the ship to be two hundred and eighty miles from the nearest land, which was the darien coast. so all that day and all that night, with a moon to make a lover weep to see, we went bowling after our waspish consort in hopes before long of taking the sting out of her. no kite ever pursued its quarry with a keener eye than we did. no hound ever leaped after a wolf with the froth streaming from his jaws and blood-red thirsty eyes, than did the 'scourge' chase that infamous pirate. the delay only made our eyes sparkle and our teeth sharper in expectation; for we knew we would have our prey sooner or later, and it was only a bite and a pleasure deferred. "the next morning and all the day there was no change to speak of in our respective positions. the 'centipede' went skimming on over the water with every thread of canvas she could spread, reeling over on her side at times when the breeze freshened, while the spray flashed up joyously and sparkled in the sun, leaving a bubbling current of foam in her wake, which, before it had been entirely lost in the regular waves of the sea, the corvette's sharp bows would plunge into, and again make it flash high up to her fore-yard, and then go seething, and hissing, and kissing her black sides until it rippled around her rudder and was lost again in the wake astern. "and all the time that man sat with a cigar in his mouth on the pirate's taffrail, while commodore cleveland there stood with a spy-glass to his eye on the poop of the 'scourge.' "you may imagine, gentlemen," continued hardy, as he again knocked the ashes off his cigar, "that going to sea is attended with some few discomforts, such as battening down the hatches in a sirocco in the mediterranean off tripoli; a simoom in the china seas; a bitter northwest gale off barnegat, with the rigging and sails frozen as hard as an iceberg; but if a man can catch forty winks of sleep once in a while, whether in a hammock, or on an oak carronade slide with the breech of a gun for a pillow, he may manage to weather through it. but from the moment we first saw that pirate till we saw the last of him, neither the first lieutenant of the 'scourge' nor the commander of the 'centipede' once closed their eyes, unless--well, i won't anticipate." piron reached over his hand and shook that of his friend cleveland convulsively. "vera weel, mon! vera weel!" "he's the very man to do it!" said stewart and burns to stingo, nodding backward at the commodore. another striking contrast to the hand-shaking, virtuous compact between captain brand and his friend, the pious padre ricardo! i wonder if they are shaking hands now! probably not. "gentlemen," resumed hardy, as he shook the ashes level in his wine-glass, as if he wished to preserve them to clean his teeth with after smoking, "i will not detain you much longer. both vessels were making great speed, and long before sunset we had been keeping a bright look-out for the land. at last it was reported, trending all around both bows, low and with a trembling mirage of pines and mangroves looming up, and a multitude of rocky keys dead ahead. we were steering directly for las mulatas islands, a cluster then little known to any navigators save, perhaps, the buccaneers of the gulf of columbus, and perhaps, too, with the intention of running us just such another dance as our pilot had a night or two before. however, we were again all prepared to explore the unknown reefs; and, moreover, we got the starboard anchor off the bow, and bent the cables to that and the spare anchors amidships, so as to be all ready to moor ship in case our pilot required us to do so. and likewise the cutters were hanging clear from the davits--the same boats which had once before paid a complimentary visit to some of his friends--supposing he would like to entertain us in person. "the sun went down again in a fiery blaze, and with its last ray there slowly rose to the main truck of the pirate a swallow-tailed black flag, with a white skull and cross-bones in the dark field. it fluttered for a moment out straight and clear, and then twisted itself around the thin mast, never more to be released by hands or halliards! that was the last glimpse those pirates ever caught of the murderous symbol they had so often fought and sailed under; and it was the last sun that a good many aching eyes ever looked upon who were sailing there in that half league of blue water. the moon, however, was riding bright and beaming, as clear as a bell, overhead, and that was all the light we cared for. the 'centipede,' no doubt, would have preferred no moon at all, with a cloudy sky and a bit of a rain squall, to pursue the intricate navigation before her; but heaven arranged the atmospheric scenery otherwise. "'by the deep eight!' sang out the leadsman in the port chains. 'the mark five!' came from the opposite side. 'another cast, lads--quick!' 'and a half four!' 'six fathoms, sir!' "'we must have stirred up the sand, cleveland,' said the captain; but even as he spoke the man in the starboard chains cried, 'three fathoms, sir!' and while each instant we expected the ship to bring up all standing, and the masts to go by the board, the other leadsman sung out, joyfully, 'no bottom with the line, sir!' "well, we were safely through that bed of coral, doing, no doubt, some trifling damage to the tender shoots and branches, as we flew through a narrow channel, with the waves breaking and moaning on the sandy shores over the keys, out into deep water again. "four or five miles beyond stood out a bluff rock, looking in the moonlight like a dozing lion with his paws crossed before him, ready to bound upon any who should approach his lair in the dense jungle of pines and tangled thickets which stood up like a bristling mane on the ridge behind. "the 'centipede' was now but a short half-mile ahead of us, her deck alive with men, and manifestly ready for some desperate devilment. on her after rail, too, stood that man, tall and erect, his feet steadied by the cavil of the main boom, a spy-glass to his eye, and looking at the rocky lion now close aboard him, still with a cigar in his mouth; and we thought we could even see the thin puffs of smoke curling around his face. suddenly, too, we saw the spy-glass whirled around his head, and at the instant the vessel fell dead off before the wind, the great main-sail flew over with a stunning crash and clatter of blocks and sheets as the wind caught it on the other quarter, making the long switch of a mast to spring like a bow, while the weather-shrouds slacked up for a moment in bights, and then came back taut with a twang you might have heard a mile! we could now see, as the space opened behind the rock, another frightful jagged ledge, on which the rollers were heaving in liquid masses high up a precipitous rock, and where the channel was not a cable's length wide, leading into a foaming gloomy inlet, where not even the beams of the moon could penetrate! i heard the captain say, in his old decided way, "'now for it, cleveland! you take the battery, and i'll look out for the ship!' "then, gentlemen," said hardy, with unusual animation, as he waved his right arm aloft with an imaginary cutlass swinging over his head, "came the word 'fire!' "yes, the entire starboard broadside, round shot, grape, and canister, all pointed toward a centre, were delivered with one simultaneous shock--the hurricane a mere cat's-paw in comparison--which shook the corvette as if she had struck a rock, while the smoke and sheets of flame spouted out from the cannon, half hiding the black torrent which gushed forth from so many hoarse throats; and as the roar of the concussion was taken up in terrible echoes from the lion on the rock, a peppering volley of musket-balls from the marines on the poop and forecastle made a barking tenor to the music. "meanwhile the helm of the 'scourge' was hove hard down, and as she just swirled, by a miracle, clear of the ledge under our lee, and came up to the wind with the sails slamming and banging hard enough to send the canvas out of the bolt-ropes, the courses were clewed up, every thing aloft came down by the run; anchor after anchor went plunging to the bottom, and before the cables had fairly begun to fly out of the hawse-holes with their infernal jar and rattle, high above the sounds of flapping sails, snapping blocks, running chains, and what not, came another clear order, 'fire!' "then pealed out the port broadside at a helpless, dismasted hulk within two hundred yards of our beam, rolling like a worm-eaten log on the top of a ruffled broad roller, going to break, in ten seconds, on the ledge, whose pointed rocks stood up like black toothed fangs to grind its prey to atoms! but before the fangs closed upon it our own teeth gave it a shake; and as the breath of our bull-dogs was swept aft by the fresh breeze, we could see the sluggish mass almost rise bodily out of water as it was torn and split by the round iron wedges, the fragments flying up in dark, ragged strips and splinters with squirming ropes around them, looking, in the moonlight, like skeletons of gibbeted pirates tossed, gallows and chains, into the air, and then coming down in dips and splashes into the unforgiving water. "a minute later, all that was left of the shattered hull fell broadside into the open fangs of the ledge, which ground it with its merciless jaws into toothpicks. but in all the lively music and destruction going on around us--which takes longer to tell than to act--we heard no human voice save one, and that came in a loud, terrified yell amid the crunching roar of the ledge, "'_o madre! madre dolorosa!_' "this, gentlemen, was the last sound that came from the piratical schooner 'centipede.'" chapter xxxviii. vultures and sharks. "oh ho! oh ho! above! below! lightly and brightly they glide and go; the hungry and keen on the top are leaping, the lazy and fat in the depths are sleeping!" "ah! well-a-day! what evil looks had i from old and young; instead of the cross, the albatross about my neck was hung." when hardy had concluded his part of the tale, he stuck the stump of his cigar into the wine-glass of ashes, as if he had no farther use for either, moistened his throat with a bumper of tinta, and almost unconsciously passed his left arm around harry darcantel's neck. stingo drank two bumpers, as if he had a particularly parched throat; but paddy burns and tom stewart, strange to relate, never wet their lips, and passed their hands in a careless way across their eyes, as if there were moisture enough there--as, indeed, there was; feeling, as they did, in the founts of their own generous natures, for their dear friend who sat opposite. piron's head rested, face downward, on his outspread hands, and a few drops trickled through his close-pressed fingers, but they were not wine. and as he raised his head and looked around the board, where glowing, sympathizing eyes met his, he said, in a low, subdued voice, "i trust i may thank heaven for avenging the murder of our child!" even as he uttered these words, his gaze rested on the face of darcantel; and striking the table with a blow that made the glasses jingle, he started back, as he had done on the frigate's quarter-deck, and exclaimed, "great god! can it be possible that that boy was saved from the clutches of the drowned pirate!" not so fast, good monsieur piron--not so fast. your boy was saved, and captain brand was not drowned. so keep quiet for a time, and you shall not only see that bloody pirate, but hear how he departed this life; only keep quiet! paddy burns said, with a violent attempt at indignation, "wirra, ye spalpeen! is it thinking of old clinker and his 'arthquake ye are?" while tom stewart ejaculated, "heeh, mon! are you for breaking the commodoor's decanters and wine-glasses, in the belief that ye are the eerthquak yersel?" stingo, who was more calm, and a less excitable creole, merely murmured, "commodore, we want to hear more of what took place, and then what became of you for the past sixteen or seventeen years." "you shall hear more if you are not tired, gentlemen, though i have very little to add to what hardy has already related of the 'centipede.' steward, let the servants turn in; and brew us, yourself, a light jorum of antigua punch! now, then," said commodore cleveland, "i'm your man! "after we had scaled the guns on both sides of the 'scourge,' as hardy has told you, the captain thought it an unnecessary trouble to lower the boats to pick up the chips floating about the mouth of the channel; and, besides, it would have been a bit dangerous, since the sea was coming in savagely, boiling about the ship, with a very uncertain depth of water around and under us; and, moreover, we had our hands full the best part of the night in reeving new running-gear, bending a new sail or two that had flapped to pieces when every thing was let go by the run in coming to anchor. however, before morning, we were in cruising trim once more, and ready to cut and run in case it was expedient to lose our ground-tackle, and get out of what we afterward learned was the garotte gorge. but by sunrise the wind fell away into a flat calm, and with the exception of the long, triple row of rollers heaving in occasionally from seaward, we lay as snug and quiet as could be. "after breakfast the quarter boats were lowered, and hardy took one, and i got in the other, and we pulled in toward the jaws of the channel, between the lion rock and the ledge on the opposite side. "there were still a good many fragments of the wreck, which had escaped the reacting current out to sea, floating about on the water; some of the timbers, too, of the hull were jammed in the black gums of the ledge, shrouded in sea-weed and kelp, as if all had grown there together. farther on was part of the fore-mast and top-mast, swimming nearly in mid-channel, anchored as it were by one of the shrouds--twisted, perhaps, around a sharp rock below. the top-sail was still fast to the yards, hoisted and sheeted home, and laid in the water transversely to the masts, just as it fell under the raking fire of our first broadside, jerking over the main-top-mast with it. "a myriad of sea-birds, from mother carey's chickens to gulls and cormorants, and even vultures and eagles from the shore, were clustered on the wreck as thick as bees--screaming, croaking, and snapping at each other with their hard beaks and bills, while thousands more were hurrying in from seaward, and either swooped down over the ledge, or tried to find a place on the floating spars. "the gorge, too, was alive with barracoutas and sharks, leaping out of water, or with their stiff triangular fins cutting just above the surface, and sometimes even grazing the blades of the cutter's oars. i pulled slowly toward the wreck of the fore-mast, and hooked on to the reef-cringle of the fore-top-sail. the birds did not move at our approach, and one old red-eyed vulture snapped on the polished bill of the boat-hook, leaving the marks of his beak in the smooth iron. down in the clear green depths, too, the water was alive with ravenous fish, and we could see at times hundreds of them with their heads fastened on to some dark object, rolling it, and biting it, and pulling every way, with now and then the glance of a clean-picked bone shining white in the limpid water as the mass was jerked out of our sight. "the bowmen, however, attracted my attention, and one of them sang out, as he pointed with his finger, 'i say, mr. cleveland, here's the captain and his priest lying in the belly of the top-sail!' "i walked forward, while the men fired a few pistols to scare away the birds, and looked in. there, about a foot below the water, lay one drowned man and half the body of another, who had evidently been cut in twain by a twenty-four pound shot at the stomach, leaving only a few revolting shreds of entrails dangling beneath the carcass. the other corpse was a large, burly, fat man, wrapped in a black cassock, with a knotted rope to confine it at the midriff, and around his thick bare neck was a string of black beads, holding a gold and ebony crucifix, pendent in the water. the eyes of the one with half a body had been picked out by the gulls, but he still possessed a fang-like tusk, sticking through a hare-lip under a fringe of wiry mustache, which gave me a tolerable correct idea of his temper even without seeing his eyes. the truck and shivered stump of the main-top-mast, too, with the piratical flag still twisted around it, lay across his chest; but, as we approached, an eagle seized it in his beak, and, tearing it in tattered shreds, flew aloft, with the remains of the parted halliards streaming below his talons. "the large lump rolling slowly over beside him had the crown of the head shaved, and the mouth and eyes were wide staring open, as if it was chanting forth a misericordia for his own soul. as i stood gazing at these revolting objects, and while the men were firing pistols and slashing the oars and boat-hooks around to drive away the greedy birds, a huge pelican, unmindful of powder or ash, made one dashing swoop into the sail, and as he came up and spread his broad pinions--nearly as broad as the sail itself--he held in his pouch the crucifix from the padre's neck, and as he slowly flapped his great wings and sailed away, with the beads dropping pit-a-pat-pat on the glassy surface of the water, a cloud of cormorants, gulls, and vultures took after him to steal his plunder. "at the same time the sharks--many of them resting their cold, sharp noses on the very leech of the top-sail--waiting like hungry dogs for a bone, with a thousand more diving and cutting in the water beneath, at last cut through the canvas belly of the sail, and, before you could think, the floating corpses were within their serrated jaws. in another moment the bodies rose again to the surface outside the sail and wreck; then another dash from the monsters, and a greedy dive and peck from the birds; a few bubbles and shreds of black threads, and that was the last of those wretches until the sea shall give up its dead. "as for hardy, he pulled higher up the gorge, and examined the rocks and pools on both sides, but saw nothing living or dead, and we both returned to the ship." had dick hardy landed at the flat rock where the eddy swept in under the lion's paws, he might have seen the footprint of a man, with a straw slipper in it; and following the track a few yards farther, he would have passed his sword through a villain lying bleeding in a mangrove thicket; and found, too, in his belt, snugly stowed away, a lot of gleaming jewels, with a sapphire gem of priceless value on the finger of his bloody hand. but never mind, hardy! you will hear more of that man one of these days, and you will have no cause for regrets--though he will, perhaps; and, meanwhile, let him wander in quest of fresh villainies over spanish south america. "well, gentlemen," resumed commodore cleveland, "although i have doubts whether the mangled carcass we saw in the sail was the captain of that notorious 'centipede,' yet i felt confident at the time, and do now, that it was scarcely possible for him or a man of his crew to have escaped our fire and the water and rocks combined. so that evening, when the land-wind made, we tripped anchor and sailed away from the coast of darien." "come, my friends," said piron, in a low, tremulous voice, rising as he spoke, "we must not push cleveland too far to-night, for it is getting late, you know, and they keep early hours on board men-of-war." "no hurry, piron! i'll talk to you all night, if you have the patience to listen to me. no? then i'll have the boat manned." he touched a bell-rope which hung over his head, and the cabin door opened. "orderly, my compliments to the officer of the watch, and desire him to call away the barge." while some of the gentlemen in the forward cabin left the table, and stood about in groups chatting till the boat was reported, piron put his arm around the commodore's belt, and they moved aft into the starboard stateroom. little mouse was lying sound asleep on the elegant cot, with all his clothes on, but with a smile on his lips, and dreaming, maybe, of the dear widowed mother he would one of those days make proud of him. "cleveland, my old friend, tell me more of that young darcantel!" "hist! piron, don't wake little tiny! there's nothing to tell more than he is my adopted nephew, and the son of the gentleman who occupies that stateroom opposite. but when we go out to escondido i'll tell you about his father, who has led a very adventurous life." "well, good-night! you will bring young darcantel with you, and this little rogue, too, here in the cot. my wife and her sister will be delighted to see you all. good-night!" as the "monongahela's" bell struck eight for midnight, the commodore's guests got in the barge and pulled toward the shore. at the same time, a light gig, with handsome harry darcantel, went alongside the "rosalie," and commodore cleveland turned into his friend's cot opposite, leaving small mr. mouse to sleep his dream out till morning; while, as the barge ran up to the landing at kingston harbor, and a gold ounce was slipped into the old coxswain's honest paw, what did they all think about? good-night! chapter xxxix. escondido. "they bore her far to a mountain green, to see what mortal never had seen; and they seated her high on a purple sward, and bade her heed what she saw and heard; and note the changes the spirits wrought, for now she lived in the land of thought." "'twixt africa and ind, i'll find him out, and force him to restore his purchase back, or drag by the curls to a foul death, cursed as his life." hidden in a cleft of the hills of jamaica, fifteen hundred feet above that blue tropical sea below, on the brow of a cool valley, where that bounding stream of white water rushes from the tall peak in the sky in tiny cataracts, till it forms a pool there, held in by the smooth rim of rocks, where the cane-mill is lazily turning its overshot wheel, with the spray flying off in streaming mist, and the happy blacks stacking the sugar-cane in even fagots as they unlade the huge carts with solid wheels cut out of a single drum of a cotton-tree; the six or eight yoke of oxen ahead ruminating under the shade of the tropical foliage, with never a switch to their tails; while the lively young sea-breeze comes flurrying up the valley, whistling among the coffee bushes below, bending the standing cane on the slopes, rattling the tamarinds, cocoa-nuts, and plantains, and then climbing with noisy wings up the mountain, is lost with a whirl in the heavy cloud which obscures the lofty peak. below the mill, where the mule-path crosses the foaming torrent by the shaky bridge, which stands on cocoa-nut stilts, and never yet has been thrown down by an earthquake, nestling under a precipitous crag, stood the mountain seat of escondido. vines and parasitical plants, mingled with scarlet creeping geraniums, made a living wall of dewy green and red on the face of the hoary rock, falling over here and there at some projecting acclivity in leafy torrents, and then forming a glowing green cornice along the topmost edges of the height. the buildings stood on a flat esplanade below, looking down the gorge as from the apex of a triangle, and taking in the overseer's houses on the plantations, with their cone-shaped roofs, the fields of cane and coffee groves, the cataract between, down to the white snowy beach at the sea-shore, and the blue water crested by waves as far as the sight could reach. the main house was square--standing on stilts, too, like the shaky bridge--the lower part fenced in by straight bamboos, of one story, with a broad roomy veranda going all round, where half a dozen grass hammocks were slung between the windows which opened into the dwelling. a great airy saloon and dining-room faced the valley, while six or eight cool bedchambers looked out from the rear up at the green wall of the precipice, and down on the sparkling stream of the mill. but there were no loopholes for musketry, nor vaults and dungeons. the sun had long passed the tall peaks of the blue mountains above, and the shadows had fallen down the valley until even the patch of white pebbly cove at the shore had become dim; and no sounds were heard save the rustling of the sea-breeze, the splash of the torrent as it fell off from the rickety old wheel of the cane-mill, mingled with the shrill cries and songs of the negroes as they unloaded the carts. yes; but there _were_ other sounds--the low, sweet tones of women's voices--inside the villa of escondido. two lovely matrons were sitting within that lofty saloon, hand clasped in hand, and gazing with glowing pride upon a lovely girl, who waved lithe as a lily on its stem before them. it is about seventeen years since we last saw this charming trio. and now look at them, old bachelors, and tell me if, while old time has been scraping the hair off your own selfish heads, and pinching the noses, too, of the ancient maids beside you, has not the scything old wretch spared these lovely matrons? look at their rounded forms, those soft dimpled cheeks, and those bands of brown tresses, kissing the pear-shaped ears before they are looped up in one magnificent knot of satin at the back of the head. look at them, you miserable old procrastinators, and then kneel down before the ancient damsels you have sneered at, even if they have the pelican gout and a crow's-foot at the corners of their eyes! they are better than you are, any day; so bear a hand, send for the parson--and now stand back. but come here, my young gallants, and take a peep at that bordelaise demoiselle standing before those fair matrons. strange to say, she is nearly a blonde, with large blue eyes, so very blue that--fringed with lashes that cast a shade over the cheek--they seem almost black. then, too, that low, pure forehead, with great plaits of hair going round and round her elegant head like a golden turban, and thin hoops of rings quivering in the pearl-tipped ears. tall and waving in figure, as maidens are; with slim, arched feet, dimpled at the ankle; and round, tapering fingers too, with a wrist so plump and soft that no manacles of bracelets could press it without slipping off the ivory hand. dressed she was in a light mousseline, coyly cowering in loose folds around her budding bosom to the slender waist, where, clasped by a simple buckle of mother-o'-pearl, it fell flowing in gauzy, floating waves to her feet. look at her, my gallants, for she is rosalie! "they are coming to-day, my aunt; and uncle jules says that our dear old captain blunt has just arrived at kingston, and is coming with them." "what else, my daughter?" the girl held a letter before her face, maybe to hide a little blush which suffused her cheeks. "why, mamma, he writes that the spring-cart, with banou, was to start overnight with the 'traps'--that means trunks, i suppose--and that--" "what, rosalie?" "that there is a handsome young officer, the nephew of commodore cleveland--_merci_, mamma! some of uncle jules's nonsense!" no such great nonsense, after all, mademoiselle, when your uncle piron tells you to keep that fluttering little heart safe within your bodice, for there are thieves in blue jackets in the island of jamaica. strange, too, as she spoke--with her animated face, large blue eyes, and graceful, wavy figure--how much she resembled both those lovely women, with their darker coloring, who sat smiling sweetly upon her. "oh! here comes uncle banou. well, my good banou, what news of your master?" said madame piron, as she put out her hand to the black, who raised it respectfully to his lips. "he will be here with his friends at sunset, eh! and mademoiselle rosalie must place the gentlemen's things in their rooms, and see that the billiard-house has some cots made ready in it." "nothing more?" "no, madame." "_allons!_ rosalie, we have no time to lose." winding through the mazes of the tropical forest, over the broken stony road, leading through a brilliant labyrinth of wild fig and acacia, plume-like palms, white shafts of silk and cotton, and lance-wood, mahogany, and ebony, parasitical plants in green and red, with endless varieties of gay flowers strung and laced in superb festoons on trunk and branch; singing birds and paroquets making the forest alive; while, mingled with the delicious fragrance of orange-blossoms, cinnamon, and pimento, the fresh breeze wheeled through clump and leaf, changing the hues of plant and flower from white to crimson, green, purple, and gold, as nature painted them in gorgeous dyes. through this brilliant vegetation, along the uneven road, came the sound of horses' feet, with hearty shouts and laughter; and presently appeared a cavalcade, mounted on mules and horses, all making the forest ring with merriment. ahead came tom stewart, on a small, sure-footed pony; and beside him mr. tiny mouse, reefer, on a high mule, with a scrubbing-brush mane, looking like a fly pennant at the mast-head of the frigate, kicking his little heels into the old mule, as if that mule minded it even so much as to shake his long ears! then straggling in the centre were darcantel, stingo, and paddy burns; and behind them came a tall, muscular man, on a mettled barb, which he controlled by a touch of his little finger. and at his side, on the most diminutive of the donkey breed, with feet touching the ground, clung stout jacob blunt, the sailor, in a more dreadful trepidation than he had ever known on board his old teak-built brig, lying there in the roads of kingston; while the rear was brought up by piron and commodore cleveland. "now, you little madcap, look sharp when we turn the curve of the mountain, and you'll catch a peep at escondido; and don't you pinch that old mule again on her back, or she'll pitch you up into that silk cotton-tree." "if it pleases providence to restore me safely to my dear old 'martha blunt,' i'll take my davy never to sit astride of any d---- brute on four legs again!" this mild vow came from the lips of jacob blunt, and he honestly meant every word he said. "give us another jolly song, stingo; it will keep your throat clear for the claret." "for the sake of my old timbers, sir, and as you vally my wife's blessing, don't sing! there, you infarnal beast, you've yawed sharp up into this ere bush, and put my starboard glim out forever! i say, don spanisher, don't sing--_i'm_ going fast enough!" shouted the poor skipper, as he passed his paws around the little brute's neck, with his hat over his eyes. "colonel," said burns, as he reined up, and gave the perverse little donkey a cut with his whip, which elicited another hoarse roar from the old sailor as the animal half doubled himself up, and then ambled away like a yawl in a short sea, until he came up to the people ahead, when he stood stock-still and brayed maliciously, "have you another cigar, colonel? thankee! fine scenery this about here--never visited jamaica before? ye have been off the island, eh? it's a nate little spot piron has there, that it is; and the whole of us will be mighty sorry to lose him. is he going to lave? yes, he is; and, what is worse, he is going to take his swate wife and her sister. is the sister handsome? begorra! handsome? why, man, she's a beauty! and didn't i crack the elbow-joint of that ugly, abusive divil, peter growler, for saying he had seen a gray hair in her head, when i knew it was only a loose thread from her lace cap--and me in love with her all the time. bad luck to him! he's never fired a pistol since." here paddy burns's small eyes twinkled as he slowly raised the stock of his riding-whip at a slender lance-wood-tree about twelve yards off, and gave the lash a sharp crack. the person on the spirited barb almost unconsciously put his right hand in his pocket. take care, paddy burns; the colonel has a cool hand and a colder eye, and has made a study of pistols--cannon and swivels too, perhaps. knows the cutlass exercise as well, and has had considerable experience in bullets, knives, and ropes. has murdered women--lots of them. wouldn't stick at killing a child with a junk bottle. and as for men--pshaw! keep a bright look-out, paddy. why, he'd drown your mother if you had a sister to love. for didn't he drag his own old father and mother down to a dishonored grave? and do you think, you brave, honest little irishman, that he would sleep a wink the less sound for putting you to death? bah! man. shoot all the game you spring, but don't waste powder on a tiger or a shark. you would like to take a mutual shot with him, though? of course you would--who doubts it? but then, gentlemen fight gentlemen; and this colonel at your elbow is a scoundrel, miscreant, villain, assassin, and--pirate! so you can't take a crack at him, paddy burns. chapter xl. paul darcantel. "from the strong will, and the endeavor, that forever wrestles with the tide of fate; from the wrecks of hope far scattered, tempest shattered, floating waste and desolate." "well, piron, as i have told you, after the peace was made in , i had command of a brig, and took a cruise on the coast of brazil. after that i was appointed to a thirty-six gun frigate--the old 'blazer'--and went, for three years, to the east indies, and round home by the pacific. when we were paid off i made a tour in europe with that boy's father, dr. darcantel, and--" "but you promised to tell me, cleveland, something about him." "nothing easier; and, if we have half an hour before we get to escondido, i will give you all i know, in a general way, of his history. yes? well, then, darcantel is descended from one of the oldest and best creole families in our state of louisiana, and the plantations of my family and his father were contiguous to each other on the mississippi, some leagues up the coast above new orleans. we had the same tutor when we were children, and we grew up from infancy to boyhood together. he was passionate and ungovernable even as a child; but as he was the heir to a large estate, and his father dead, his weak mother humored and allowed no one to curb him. i myself, one of a numerous family, was put in the navy, and i went away on cruise after cruise, and did not get home again to the old plantation for full seven years. i was a man then, had seen some active service, and i held a commission as a lieutenant in the navy. "in the mean while, paul darcantel, who had taken, at the time i left, a strong fancy for medicine and surgery, had been sent to france to begin his studies. how he applied himself we do not know; but with a large letter of credit he spent a great deal of money; and we heard that, with great talents and wonderful skill in his profession, he was yet unfitted for close application, and plunged madly into the vortex of dissipation around him. i heard, too--or at least my brothers told me--that his extravagances had seriously impaired his fortune, and that his duels had been so numerous and desperate as to make his name dreaded even in paris. on one occasion, at a café, he had cut a bullying hussar's head clean off with his own sabre for knocking a woman down; and in another duel, where he had detected a french count cheating him at cards, he shot his nose off for a bet. with this unenviable reputation, and at the urgent solicitations of his agent, after years of absence he returned to his ancestral home. we met as of old--it was paul and henry--and though still the same restive, hot-headed spirit as he had ever been, he yet always listened patiently to what i said, and i could, in a manner, control him. he paid very little attention to his property, however, and when he did go to the city to consult with his factor or trustee, he got into some wild frolic, duel, and scrape, and came back worn out with fatigue and dissipation. he was a fine, stern-looking youth in those days, with great muscular power, which, even with the endurance put upon it by gaming and drinking, seemed not to be lessened. "after one of these visits to new orleans, where his long-forbearing agents had at last awakened him to a bitter sense of his delinquencies, and when mortgage upon mortgage were laid with all their shocking truth before him, he returned and came to me. with all his vices and faults, he was truthful and generous. he told me all, and how he would try to do better, and soothe the declining years of his too indulgent mother. "i always had great faith in the companion almost of my cradle, and i loved him, i think, better than my own brothers. well, he spread all his affairs before me, and in my little den of an outhouse on the plantation we both went systematically over the papers. we were two days and nights at the business; and when, at last, i showed him that he would still, with a little prudent economy, have a fair income, and eventually, perhaps, redeem his hereditary property, he burst out in a wild yell of delight, and hugged me in his arms. when he had put away the papers, i said, "'paul, you know i am engaged to be married, and i have not seen my sweetheart for two whole days; she has a sister, too, prettier than my fifine, whom you have never seen since we were boys together. come, will you go with me? we can pull ourselves across the river.' "he hesitated; and it would have been, perhaps, better had he refused to accompany me, for dreadful misery came of it." the commodore gave a deep sigh, and touched his horse with the spur. "i don't know, though, piron; there is a fate marked out for us all, and we should not exclaim against the decrees of providence. paul went with me across the river. there, on the bank, was a little bower of an old french-built stone house, where dwelt the last of a line of french nobility who dated back to the days of charlemagne. it was an impoverished family, consisting of a reckless brother and two sisters, who, with a few acres of sugar-cane and some old faithful servants, managed to make both ends meet, and to support the establishment in a certain air of elegance and comfort to which they had been accustomed. they were of a proud and haughty race--the brother a disdainful and imperious gentleman, smarting and brooding over the reverses of his family, and rarely visiting his neighbors. his sisters--and they were twins--were trustful, happy girls, and josephine had been my childish love." here cleveland bent over his saddle-bow, and if the quiet old horse he bestrode believed the large drops which fell upon his sleek neck came from the clouds, or the drooping foliage of the forest, that animal was never more deceived in his quadruped life. we know that fact, for it stands upon the angelic record. "well, my dear piron, as we entered the little saloon where fifine was seated at the piano, playing the sweet airs she had sung to me when a little bit of a girl, and her beautiful sister bending over a table near, absorbed in a book, while the candles under the glass shades lighted up her dark passionate eyes and brunette complexion, paul approached her. it was not love at first sight, because they had played together when children; but it was such a love as only begins and dies with man or woman. the brother came in soon afterward, but there was no love exchanged between him and paul, and they met in a manner which seemed to revive the early dislike they had entertained one toward the other in boyhood. "so the time passed, and in the course of a few months josephine and i were married, and our home was made on my own old place. still, night by night, in storm, calm, or freshet, paul pulled himself in a skiff across that mighty river, and we could see the lights shining to a late hour in the little bower. he had changed a great deal, for he loved with the whole force of his fiery and impetuous nature. pauline loved too, though still she feared him. the brother, however, bitterly opposed their union, and stormy scenes arose. josephine and i did all we could to put matters on a happy footing, but jacques, the brother, grew more determined as his sister refused to cast off her lover, till at last his feeling against him broke out into open scornful insult; and though paul still persisted in seeing pauline, yet we feared that the impetuous spirits of the two men would, at any moment, burst out into open violence. "darcantel, however, controlled himself, avoided as much as possible any altercations with jacques, applied himself to the duties of his plantation, and always promised me that he would wait and see if time would not induce the brother to give his consent to the marriage. meanwhile paul's mother died. a year passed. fifine gave me a little boy, who was called after me, and then i went again to sea. nearly three years later i returned, and the very night before i reached the plantation a dreadful tragedy had occurred. i might, perhaps, have prevented it had i been there, but it was ordered otherwise. "it seems that two days previously jacques wrote to paul--i saw the letter--and it was something painful to read; for he not only recapitulated his vices and follies, but he taxed him with being a ruined gambler, who had brought his mother in sorrow to the grave, and ended by swearing, in the most solemn manner, that if he dared again to speak to his sister or darken their doors, he would shoot him like a dog! "that evening, as usual, the skiff pursued its way across the river, and late at night when it returned there was a fluttering white dress in the stern. scarcely, however, had the skiff left the bank than a boat shoved out from the other side manned by four negroes, and came swiftly over in pursuit. what afterward transpired i heard from an old married couple of servants who had passed their lives with the family. it appears that paul, with pauline in his arms, had barely reached the hall of the great house, and was giving orders to close the doors, when jacques rushed in with a naked rapier in one hand and a pistol in the other. paul adjured him, by all he held sacred, not to attack him, as his blood was up, and, unarmed as he was, he would do him a mischief. pauline, too, implored him by a sister's love to desist; but seeing him still advance, as she partially shielded paul, she told him that the man she loved was her husband. "blinded with haughty rage, this last admission rendered him ungovernable, and he lunged with all his force at darcantel. paul parried his rapid passes, though receiving some sharp thrusts in his arm and shoulder, and still supporting his drooping, terrified wife on his left arm till, by a quick spring, he got within jacques's guard, and, seizing him by the wrist, wrenched the weapon from his grasp. this was enough to make the brother totally insane by passion from baffled revenge, when he leveled his pistol and fired. there was a faint cry with the report, and a groan from jacques as the sword went through his body and heart, till the hilt struck hard against his ribs as he fell, a dead man, on the marble pavement. but the bullet from his pistol had pierced the fair forehead of his sister, and she lay a bridal corpse in her husband's arms. it was horrible. "i spare you all the afflicting details, piron, and will only add that paul left the plantation that night, and when i got home i found an envelope post-marked 'new orleans,' inclosing a paper, which constituted me his sole executor, and leaving our little boy his heir. i had but a short leave of a month, and duty called me again away. it was on the anniversary of the day the tragedy occurred, after another long interval of four years in the 'scourge,' that i again returned, and then there was wailing and moaning in my own dwelling. my poor josephine had never recovered from the shock; she drooped away like a lily, her little boy by her side, and both died during my absence." what makes the strong man's eyelids quiver and voice tremble--those eyes that have looked calmly on death and carnage in every shape, with his deep, calm voice cheering on the men to battle at his side? ah! "it was midnight, and i walked out to the little grave-yard where my fathers had been buried, and bending my steps to a cluster of magnolias on a little mound by itself, i--i--a--kneeled down beside the sod where reposed all i had loved on earth! i do not know how long i remained there, but presently i heard a groan near by, and a tall man rose up from where he had been stretched, face downward, on the ground, and i beheld paul darcantel! i could hardly recognize him at first, for he seemed fifty years older than when we had last parted. "'cleveland,' he said, in a hollow, choking voice, 'forgive me! i am a changed, and, i trust, a better man. i have been drawn to this holy spot by the same errand which brought you hither, and though i did not expect to meet you, yet i am glad of it now. speak, and say you forgive me, and you will shed a ray of hope and salvation into the heart of one who will suffer unto the end! speak!' "old memories crowded around me, and i saw before me the child in the cradle, and with our arms round each other's necks as we played together. i forgot, for the moment, the sisters lying there--bride, mother, and baby-boy. the magnolias bowed their white flowers in the light of the waning moon, and we fell again into each other's arms. "after a time he said, 'my only friend, i have brought home with me a little helpless boy; he is named henry, after you, and will take the place of the lost little one lying here. whoever of us survives shall inherit that estate. come with me and look at him!' "he led me to the other mound, and there, beside the tree, a beautiful child lay calmly sleeping, wrapped in a sailor's jacket, with his curls escaping from a straw hat, and the head resting on one arm on the grave beneath him. "'be good to him,' paul went on, 'for the sake of those we have lost ourselves! his mother's name was rosalie.' "he stooped down as he said this, and, raising the boy in his arms, he kissed him passionately, and then put him gently in mine. 'let him kneel sometimes at this grave, my friend, and pray for me.' "in another moment paul darcantel had gone. the little fellow partly woke, and put his arms affectionately around my neck, and whispered 'mamma! mamma!' that dashing, brave young fellow ahead there was once that boy. "well, i took the child to the house, where my good mother and sisters went wild over him, and there he passed a happy boyhood. years went by, and he grew apace, the pride and delight of us all; and as he evinced the greatest fondness for me and the accounts i gave him of my life at sea, i had him appointed a reefer in the navy. since that he has seen a great deal of service; been distinguished in action; and, on shipboard as well as on shore, liked and respected by all who know him. "in the mean while his father went away, nobody knew whither, for years and years. he wrote to me, however, and to his son, from all parts of the world; and when i made the tour in europe i spoke about, darcantel was my companion. but while there he passed a retired life, never went into society, but visited every hospital in every sea-port from the mediterranean to aberdeen in scotland; for he is not only a surgeon, as i have reason to know, of wonderful skill, but a thorough-bred seaman too; and when he has been with me on board ship there is no one whose opinion of the weather, or other nautical matters, do i place greater reliance on. i could tell you of half a dozen times when his advice to me has saved serious damage. and during all these years darcantel's estates, under the careful supervision of my eldest brother, have been redeemed from their load of debt, and now he enjoys a noble income--or, rather, he spends nothing on himself, but devotes it to widows and orphans, and sick or worn-out sailors. "in the seventeen years which have gone by since he brought his child to me he has made several visits of a month or two's duration to the plantations, but only when henry was on leave from duty. then it was a pleasant sight to see them both together, and the touching air of affection which bound the youth to his father. henry, from a child, often went and prayed beside the grave under the magnolias, and to this day he believes that his own mother lies buried there. perhaps it is as well that he should cherish this early belief; for i may tell you in confidence, piron, that we believe there at home that he is the illegitimate offspring of some erring passion of darcantel, though none of us have ever learned it positively from his father's lips. he is not a person to be questioned by any one, not even by me; and as he seems anxious to throw a thick veil over the past, we never venture to draw it aside. "when, however, i was appointed to my present command, darcantel desired to sail with me, and see the west india islands, which he had not visited for an age. i was only too happy to have him, especially as harry there--whom i love like a father--was named to the little schooner he had cut out in africa on his last cruise, and ordered to join my squadron. but whenever we get into port his father goes quietly on shore; passes his time, i think, among the sailors of the foreign shipping, spending money freely among the deserving, and again coming back in his calm, stern way. he told me, however, piron, yesterday, that perhaps he might accept your kind invitation to come up here, though not for some days. by george!" said the commodore, "that must be escondido!" piron sighed as if a pleasant dream had vanished. chapter xli. instinct and wonder. "'ho! sailor of the sea! how's my boy--my boy?' 'what's your boy's name, good wife, and in what good ship sailed he?'" "through the night, through the night, in the saddest unrest, wrapped in white, all in white, with her babe on her breast, walks the mother so pale, staring out on the gale, through the night!" as the cavalcade trotted round the curve of the peak, and then walked the cattle down the steep zigzag road of the beautiful valley, the commodore said, "but, piron, tell me who that large man is with the black hair and blue eyes." "why, cleveland, all i know of him is that he landed at kingston in a vessel from the isthmus of panama, and is going to cuba on his way to england. he came to me, hearing that i was the consignee of old blunt's older brig, bound to new orleans, and so home, to know if he could be dropped at st. jago, where he has some property or debts to collect; and since the old skipper has no objection, he has taken passage in the brig when she goes with me and my family. i have since met him--he calls himself colonel lawton--at dinners of our set, and he seems to be an englishman or scotchman. tom stewart thinks the latter from his accent, and for his liking for snuff; but paddy burns differs, and believes he don't like snuff, but only takes it to show his splendid box. any way, he speaks all languages, spanish, french, italian, and english, and can talk slang in them all like a native. he has served, too, from his own account, with bolivar there on the spanish main; and he was with cochrane in that desperate affair of cutting out the 'esmeralda' in callao bay. a very amusing, entertaining vagabond he is, and i asked him to join us to make the acquaintance of my people on our last frolic to the valley; but, somehow, i am rather sorry that i gave him a passage with us in the brig, for i don't altogether like his looks." "neither do i, piron; his hair is too black for his light blue eyes. however, we must make the most of him." over the shaky bridge of the torrent, where jacob blunt prayed earnestly for martha blunt, and d----d his donkey as if he had never rocked on water before; mr. mouse, with a last tiny kick on the saddle-flaps of his lofty mule, tumbled off; colonel lawton swinging himself from the saddle of his barb as if he had been part of him; tom stewart, paddy burns, and don stingo sliding off any way; harry darcantel trying to descend in fine style, and failing miserably; piron and the commodore doing the thing leisurely; jacob blunt pulled off bodily; while the laughing blacks took the beasts and led them away. there were three pair of eyes that watched all this grace and clumsiness from the windows of the saloon. two pair of dark ones smiled, and the pair of blue opened until they seemed like azure globes, and then they closed until the fringe of chestnut lashes nearly hid them from sight. "colonel lawton, do me the favor to follow my old friend banou--you too, captain jacob, and lieutenant darcantel and mr. mouse; paddy burns and stingo, here, will show you your quarters in the old billiard-room. come, commodore, the rest of us will find quarters in the casa." an hour later the saloon and sala were all alight, and the sashes of the jalousies closed, for it was cool at times up there at escondido. there, too, stood the party of gentlemen, mr. mouse being a prominent figure in the background. then came a rustling of robes, and as the great folding doors swung open, the three ladies lit up the saloon in a halo of loveliness with brighter rays than were shed from the wax-lights in the chandelier. two fair hands were placed in those of cleveland, and the look which accompanied went back to the happy morning on the old brig's deck, away off there to sea. "oh, monsieur, i can not say how glad i am to see you once more! let me present you to my sister, madame nathalie delonde, and _our_ daughter. ah! my dear captain blunt, both your children before you again, and you have come to take us away." "colonel lawton, _ma chère_," said piron. "and, mesdames," said the commodore, "let me also present my nephew, lieutenant darcantel, and mr. mouse." what caused that woman to start as the girl took the tiny reefer by the hand, and impulsively clasped those white hands together, while her heart beat in yearning throbs, and her bosom rose and fell like billows by the shore? why did she then raise one hand to her fair neck, and, as if in a dream, feel for the golden links of the chain, with the other hand pressed to her panting heart for the locket which once reposed there? how was it that, bewildered by a mother's instinct, she gazed at the youth before her, and then turned her eyes hopelessly around in search of her husband in the crowd? "yes, madame. this is my nephew, henry darcantel." "ah! henri! excuse me, _monsieur_. i am charmed to see you!" why, now, did the touch of his hand make her heart beat faster, and send a thrill of joy through her frame? only be a little calm, madame, for a while longer, and don't be sad and ponder all night, like your good jules piron does habitually. wait; jules will tell you all _he_ knows when you are alone to-night. the doors of the sala were thrown open. the broad pennant leading with madame rosalie; the military chieftain marching beside madame nathalie, much to the animosity of paddy burns. then mr. mouse convoying mademoiselle, to the infinite disgust of the commander of the "rosalie," one-gun schooner, formerly the "perdita." but what made that old negro in spotless white, standing at the door, jerk his head back and open his great eyes till there was no black left in them? and why did he blunder about the table afterward, and pour wine over the colonel's richly-laced coat, while staring like an ogre at the young blue-jacket opposite? that old banou, perhaps, did not like to see his young mistress too much attended to by every gay scamp who came near her. oh no; of course not. but then, if that brawny negro in white had only known over whose arm and mutilated hand he was pouring light wine in his abstraction, he would have crammed that heavy cut decanter in powdered glass splinters down the chieftain's throat. there would have been claret of a different color spilled then--quantities of it. you needn't feel in your pockets, colonel, or look round the sala to see if perchance there is a green silk rope squirming from the ceiling. we don't keep any of those pretty things out at escondido. so go on with your dinner, you cold-eyed scoundrel, and tell all the lies you can to that lovely woman at your elbow; how you wanted to save bolivar's life, and it was saved without you. don't forget, either, to tell her how that patriot had you drummed out of his army, suspecting you of having assassinated the officer near you in the confusion of battle, and robbing him of his watch to replace the one presented to you by the captain general. paddy burns is watching you, colonel lawton, and that whole-souled little irishman is not the man to be trifled with. now remove the covers. but take care, banou--you nearly twitched off the military gentleman's hair. tom stewart saw it, and he noticed, too, a broad red seam, like the track of a musket bullet--honorable wound, no doubt--under your black glossy wig. mr. mouse had fallen desperately in love with the perfumed damsel beside him, and he knew she was up to her rose-tipped ears in love with him, oh! fifty fathoms deep; but his mother liked girls, and he would leave her half-pay! still he didn't forget his adoration for the roast duck; and he slyly swigged some madeira too, with a wary eye on the broad pennant through the flowers of the épergne. talked, too, did that reefer--ay, chattered--and said that the quiet young officer on her left was very well liked in the steerage, and commanded a pretty little craft named the "rosalie." she knew that before, did she? well, his father was a cold, stern man, but he was kind and generous, and had been very good to his poor mother, god bless him! commodore cleveland talked in a low tone, all through the dinner, to the lady who did not eat at the head of the table, but who occasionally rested her white hand, with a trustful reliance, on the great tanned-leather paw of jacob blunt, that honest mariner not wishing to talk to any body, man or woman. that ancient mariner was mentally cursing donkeys; speculating how he should get back to the "martha blunt" brig, in kingston harbor; and praying for martha blunt, wife, riding at single anchor near plymouth beach. piron took wine with every body, said a word or two all around the table, and talked to tom stewart about certain business matters connected with the plantation when he had gone. then came the last course, and the dessert of delicious fruits, which quite stopped mr. mouse's mouth, and even his palpitating heart ceased beating; while mademoiselle rosalie nibbled some lady-finger biscuit, and bent her graceful head to listen to the music of the earnest lips beside her. we told you, miss, how it would be; and, in spite of the warning, there you are--the color coming and going over your girlish cheeks, and never saying a word! "what a couple that would make!" thought madame nathalie. and what a resemblance in expression there is between them--he with his dark hair and eyes, and she fair and blue. be careful, my sweet rosalie! and so thought her sister and her sister's husband; stingo, too, old banou, and every one save tiny mouse, who had no rivals but rat, beaver, and martin, and he could take the wind out of their sails any day. the party of ladies rose from the table, and leaving the men--all except the captain of the "rosalie" and mr. mouse, who would have remained had he not seen a shake of the broad pennant's finger--went into the saloon. then there was a brilliant prelude on the piano, a touch of a guitar by stronger fingers, an air from an opera, a song or two, much conversation--while reefer mouse slept on the sofa--and coffee. then it was late; every one was fatigued, _bon soirs_ were said, and the party--coffee and all--separated. chapter xlii. truth and terror. "in slumbers of midnight the sailor-boy lay, his hammock swung loose at the sport of the wind; but watch-worn and weary, his cares flew away, and visions of happiness danced o'er his mind." "and how the sprites of injured men shriek upward from the sod; ay! how the ghostly hand will point to show the burial clod; and unknown facts of guilty acts are seen in dreams from god!" in a great square room, standing, as usual, on cocoa-nut stilts, which had once been used for a billiard-room, were half a dozen iron-framed cots, ranged along the walls, in which some of the escondido's guests were to bivouac. every thing, however, was tidy and comfortable; snow-white bedclothes and gauze musquito nets, lots of napkins and ewers, and things for bathing behind a screen of dimity curtains; and not forgetting a large table--vice the billiard-table--in the centre, on which stood plenty of sugar and limes, cinnamon and nutmeg, bottles and flasks, red and white, and--very little water, in jugs. the occupants of this bivouac had turned in, and the lights had been doused. conversation, however, was kept up, especially by the thin little voice of mr. mouse, who, having enjoyed a nap in the early evening, and having been danced and tumbled about on the trip to the lodge by harry darcantel, who was in tiptop condition, the reefer was as wide awake as a blackfish. don stingo chanted a few convivial airs and snored; so did jacob blunt, with a spluttering groan intermixed; and paddy burns fell off into a doze, saying blasphemous words addressed to the world at large, with a mutter against the military, hoping he might look at a bolivian patriot edgewise with a friend and companion of his, mr. joe manton, at his side; he would put an end to any more lies about charges of cavalry, and cutting out frigates in callao bay. that paddy burns would, though he didn't wear a wig and a large sapphire on the only finger he had left on his left hand, and with a diamond snuff-box, too! presented to you by a connection of your family, was it? take a pinch out of it? d---- him, no! begorra, the snuff is not lundy foot's, and the box is brass, sir, brass! "i say, mouse, keep quiet, will you, and let me go to sleep!" harry darcantel did not think of going to sleep; that was a fib he told the reefer; he wanted merely to shut his eyes and dream of--you know who--a tall, graceful girl with blue eyes and light hair, who looked at him once or twice such looks that there was no sleep for him for ever so long. what did she say? why, she never opened her pouting lips to show those even pearly teeth. she only looked out of those soft blue eyes. that was all! "mr. darcantel, i think of getting married." "the d---- you do! and who to, pray?" "why," said mr. mouse, as he rolled over and kicked the sheet off his slate-pencil built legs, "i haven't made up my mind; but do you know that that pretty girl up there at the big house has taken quite a fancy to me, and when you were presented to her mother she gave me _such_ a squeeze of the hand! oh my!" here mr. mouse's narrative was cut short by a pillow hitting him plump on the mouth, clean through his musquito net. "very charming young lady, mr. mouse," said a quiet voice, in a cool tone, on the other side of him; "she did seem to take a violent fancy to you." mr. mouse rolled over, and then, sitting up in his cot, replied, "yes, sir! and that was her mother sitting by you when the big nigger in white capsized the wine over your sleeve, and nearly pulled your a--hair off." look out, mr. mouse! if that man there beside you once gives a twitch at your curls, he'll pull something more than hair--perhaps a little scalp with it! "oh!" was the sound that came back. "yes, sir; and the other beautiful lady next the commodore is her sister. she had a son just mademoiselle's age, who was murdered by pirates off jamaica ever so many years ago, and commodore cleveland chased them in a ship he was first lieutenant of--my father commanded the ship--she was the old 'scourge.'" "hold your tongue!" came from the cot where the spare pillow was thrown from. "ho!" said the military chieftain; but if the room had not been so dark, the way his eyes opened and emitted an icy glare of surprise would have made tiny mouse shiver with cold. "oh dear, yes, colonel, i heard the commodore tell all about it the other night on board the frigate. he thought i was asleep, but i kept awake through the best part of it." "the best part of it?" "why, sir, how an old one-eyed spaniard deceived my father, and sent him on a fool's errand from st. jago down to the isle of pines, and afterward how the 'scourge' chased the piratical schooner in a hurricane for ever so long, clear away to the coast of darien, where they blew her out of water, and killed every scoundrel on board!" not every one, mr. mouse. there is the very greatest of those scoundrels grinding his teeth and glaring your way at your elbow. "what was the name of that cape, darcantel, where the schooner was destroyed? no, i won't be quiet; the colonel wants to hear all about it. there's a good fellow, tell me!" "garotte cape." the listener slowly raised the mutilated hand, and put the finger with the sapphire ring to his throat, evidently not liking the name of that cape, for it caused a choking sensation to utter it--"ho! cape garotte!" "yes, sir; and darcantel's father here once chartered a vessel, and went all the way down there to explore the place, and was gone fifteen months! wasn't he, darky?" said the boy, familiarly. "mouse, i tell you what it is, if you don't shut up that little flytrap of yours, i'll make rat lick you when you go on board!" "rat lick me?" said tiny, as he jumped straight up in the cot; "i gave him and martin a black eye apiece only on our last boat-duty day for saying your father, the doctor, had killed his brother-in-law in a duel!" "hush, my dear little fellow! you did a very foolish thing. there, say no more on that subject; it gives me pain, my tiny. so talk on as much as you like." "my dear friend," exclaimed the lad, in a broken voice; as he plunged through his net and put his arms around darcantel, "i wouldn't grieve you for the world; but do you suppose, little as i am, that i wouldn't fight for the doctor, who is so kind to me, and has done so much for my poor dear sweet mother?" here there was a sob as he wound his arms closer round his friend's neck, and cried like a child, as he was. "well, never mind, tiny; go to sleep, now! i am not angry. there, turn in!" "i won't speak another word to-night, harry, for any soul breathing--little fool that i am!" "i beg your pardon, monsieur," said the colonel, in french, with a slight quiver on his tongue, "but did your father really go all the way down to darien out of mere curiosity?" "yes, sir, he did go there to see if by any chance one of the pirates had escaped; and he traveled, too, a good deal about among the indians, making inquiries." "ho! and did he pick up any information there?" "why, sir, i am not positive, but i believe that he got a hint that a european had wandered over that country who had been wounded in the head and hand, and was almost naked; but the natives could give him but very meagre accounts. he continued on, however, down the isthmus, on the pacific side, by sea, as far as chili, when he went into the interior to peru, crossed the andes, and followed down the orinoco to para, when he sailed again for england." "oh! no other motive than curiosity?" "perhaps he had; for he once told me he had some old scores to settle with the man who commanded the pirate, and if he was alive he felt quite sure he would, one of those days, put him to death. my father, sir, is a very determined person, and never forgets an oath." "truly, monsieur, you interest me. but what sort of a man in appearance is your father--a doctor, i think you said?" "he is a tall gentleman of about fifty, sir, though he looks much older; for he has suffered deeply in early life, when my mother--a--died; but i shall have the pleasure of introducing him to you, colonel. he is now on board our frigate at kingston, and told me he would be up here to-morrow or the next day." "ah! thank you extremely, monsieur darcantel. i shall have--a--much curiosity to see him." no more words that night; but much thinking and moving of thin lips, and eyes staring in the dark, wide open. there was low grating of teeth, too! and a man lay in that large room on a narrow cot, surrounded by a gauze net; and, so far as mental torture went, it was not unlike a trestle net we once saw without gauze, where a gaunt frame was stretched, with myriads of sand-flies, musquitoes, and stinging insects sucking his heart's blood. sometimes the eyelids closed, as if they were a film of ice forming over the blue cold orbs within; and again the fabric cracked, and they were wide open once more. they could read, too, those frozen orbs; and like heavy flakes of snow falling on bloodstained decks, till it covered with a weight of lead the stark, stiff corpse beneath, they yet tried to pierce into the dark region beyond. and the heart beat with a slow and measured tramp, like a moose crunching through the sharp, treacherous crust of snow, and then stood stock-still! had a letter, traced with the fingers of an icicle, been congealed a hundred feet deep in the heart of a toppling iceberg on the coast of labrador, those eyes could have read it as clear as day! "you infamous pirate, captain brand!" it began--"the son of the man who destroyed the 'centipede' and her crew, and the boy whom your brutal mate tore from the mother you saw at dinner to-day, are near you! that calm, stern, determined doctor, too, whom you laced down on the trestle for poisonous insects to kill, has been on your track for the past seventeen years, and will soon hold you in his iron gripe! there will be no mercy then!" the eyes closed, the heart stopped beating, and the thin lips and tongue, as dry as cartridge-paper, now took up the strain, while the mutilated hand clutched convulsively, as if there were fifty fingers fingering knives and pistols. "shall i assassinate my old doctor, and run the risk of being arrested and hung? no! he thinks me dead, and i will go back to the island, redeem my treasure, and pass the remainder of my life tranquilly in the highlands of scotland!" don't be too sanguine, colonel lawton; for, though your ten thousand pounds in gold is still in the vault, yet there is don ignaçio sanchez, whose estates have been confiscated, and who has just got out of ten years' imprisonment in the moro of havana, glad to save his neck from the iron collar, and, without the little jewel-hilted blade up his sleeve, is now turning about to see how he may redeem his lost fortunes. don't be an hour too late, i pray you, captain brand, for that sharp eye of don ignaçio has already, perhaps, looked at the shiny cleft in the crag, and thinks he knows what lies hidden there! oh, _si_! nothing but mouldy beans and paper cigars to live upon for ten years, and fond of more substantial food, even though it were yellow greenish gold, mildewed by damp, but yet solid and refreshing. _cierto_--certainly! _quien sabe_--who knows? but be careful, don ignaçio! don't take your old wife with you on that projected expedition, for you have treated that old woman--who resembles a rotten banana--badly! you have won back in monté all she ever won by cheating, besides the half ounces you used to give her for the church--cheated her by drawing two cards at a time when you saw the numerals with that spark of an eye, and when you knew that she would win if you drew fairly! yes, you have, you old sinner, for more than two score of years! and she hates you now--though you don't think it--worse than you did captain brand! have an eye to that old banana! so passed that short night--long enough, however, for somebody--and before the fresh land-wind had woke up to creep down the valley, there was a mettled barb, with open nostrils, galloping up the broken road as if he had the devil on his back--as perhaps he had, or colonel lawton, or captain brand, possibly all three, but it makes very little odds to us. chapter xliii. peace and love. "and many a dim o'erarching grove, and many a flat and sunny cove; and terraced lawns, whose bright cascades the honeysuckle sweetly shades; and rocks whose very crags seem bowers, so gay they are with grass and flowers." it was a delightful breakfast with the merry party at escondido as they sat under the wide, cool piazza in the shade, with the sun throwing his slanting rays through the vines and clusters of purple grapes, and through the orange-trees, where the yellow fruit was fast losing its fragrant dew--all the men once more in summer rig, and the ladies in flowing muslin and tidy caps. "my dear," said piron to his wife, "we have lost one of our guests, colonel lawton; he went away at daylight this morning, and left a message to me, and compliments to you all, that business of importance, which he had forgotten, demanded his immediate return to kingston." there was no sorrow expressed by the lady or her fair sister, and even the men treated it with indifference, except mr. burns, who remarked, as he snapped a tooth-pick in twain, that, for his part, he was glad the fellow had gone; he didn't like his looks at all, though he did make himself so fascinating to the beautiful widow who sat next him. "ah! monsieur burns, think you i would prefer a scarlet coat when--" "you might get a blue!" broke in paddy, with a comical twinkle of his eye, as he winked in the direction of commodore cleveland, who sat opposite. "no, no," exclaimed the pretty widow, hastily, as she shook her finger at her despairing admirer, "that is not what i was going to say--when those red coats there from england killed my poor husband at quatre bras." "ah! yes, my dear--bad luck to them! but an irishman would never have been so cruel, you know, though, 'pon me sowl," went on paddy, as he stuck a fork in an orange and began to divest it of its peel, west india fashion, to present it to the matron beside him, "i fear i should like to kill any man who loved ye, madame nathalie, myself." "what a droll man you are, monsieur burns," replied the widow, laughing outright, "when you know you would prefer a jug of antigua punch, any day, to me. stop, now! didn't you say, at your grand dinner in kingston, that you would never allow a woman to darken your doors?" "i--a meant--a black woman, my dear; as true as me name's paddy burns, i did!" "what are you two laughing at, my sister?" "why, here is mr. burns making love to me at breakfast, and before night he will be abusing me for not pouring enough rum in his punch!" "that's his caractur, madame nathalie; for i, tom stewart, am the only person he ever loved, and he sometimes offers to shoot me for giving him unco' good advice." "howld yer tongue, ye divil ye! and you too, stingo, or the pair of ye shall niver taste another sip of the old claret. ye've ruined me cause entirely! but i'll lave ye me property, madame, when i'm gone." "he's been talking of going, nathalie," said piron, "for the last twenty years, and has left his estate to at least thirty women, to my certain knowledge; but he hasn't got off yet, and--" "tom stewart, ye miserable limb of the law! make out me will this very night." jacob blunt unclosed his salt-junk mouth, and roared out in a peal of laughter that would have shivered his old brig's spanker, and caused, perhaps, martha blunt, sposa, to have spanked him, jacob, had she heard and seen that mariner wagging his old bronzed face at the lovely woman facing him. mr. tiny mouse, who could not touch bottom on his high chair, with his little heels dangling about, forgetful of discipline, fairly kicked the broad pennant on the shins of his white ducks, screaming joyously; the three women made the piazza vibrate with their musical trills; stingo and stewart choked; cleveland and darcantel were amused; and old black banou looked at his master, and grinned till his double range of teeth seemed like a white wave breaking at the cove. and then paddy burns took up the chorus, and after one or two galway yells his friends took him up, thumped him smartly on the back, and stood him up against one of the posts of the piazza to have his laugh out. when he did, however, recover the power of speech, he wiped his eyes and looked around till they rested on madame nathalie, when, with his white napkin held up like a shield beside his rubicund visage, he spluttered, "by me sowl, tom stewart, i mane what i say; and paddy burns's word is his bond!" ay, and so it was, you generous, whole-souled milesian! and you did this time make a will. tom stewart and stingo witnessed it, with handsome legacies therein set forth; and when one night you tumbled down--well, we won't mention the particulars; but paddy kept his word. as the party rose from the breakfast table to get ready for a stroll down to the mill and around the plantation, one fair woman's hand was placed with a confiding, friendly clasp in that of monsieur burns; and then, as a graceful girl reached up to pull down her great flat straw hat from the post, paddy burns kissed her on the forehead, and she returned it too, as if she knew how to perform that ceremony even before people. mr. reefer mouse had some thoughts of getting jealous, and calling mr. burns out, at ten paces, ships' pistols, and all that sort of thing; but the round, red-faced gentleman kissed him too, declaring the while, as he held him aloft, that he was first-rate kissing--that he was; nearly as good as mademoiselle, which quite disarmed tiny's wrath, and then he hooked on to the damsel's delicate flipper, and tripped away with her down the valley. harry darcantel exchanged a nod--not of defiance--with paddy burns, as much as to hint that those were not dangerous kisses--oh, not at all; and passing his hand over his brown mustache, he followed after the couple before him. yes, harry, tiny's legs will get tired soon, and he will be hungry, and come back to old banou for luncheon, while you will be putting aside the coffee bushes, and imploring mademoiselle to keep her straw hat about her lovely face, and not to get tanned by the sun. and when she turns her humid eyes toward you, you begin to believe the sky is never so blue as those eyes! tom stewart, stingo, and burns never walked; they preferred lounging about the veranda, smoking cigars, and talking over the price of sugar and coffee, together with minor matters connected with factors' profits and suits at law. jacob blunt leaned over the bridge, thinking of the "martha blunts," brig and wife--not unfrequently confounding the two together--thinking this was to be his last voyage by land or sea, and that young binks, his mate, should take command, and steer that old teak-built vessel carefully--oh, ever so keerful--or else the old hulk might come to grief. piron and his wife going mournfully down the valley--she with her mother's eyes gazing far out to sea, and he with his strong arm around her, whispering words of consolation; both looking, night and morning, out over the blue water, from chamber and piazza, and seeing nothing but a breaking wave and a baby-boy drowning beneath it--nothing more! madame nathalie and cleveland went on gallantly ahead--he with his blue pennant flying, and she with a black silk widow's ribbon around the frill of her cap, and a broader band about that muslin waist--talking of those they had both lost years ago, and trusting they were in heaven, as they believed they were; hope to meet again themselves in louisiana, and see a great deal of one another in time to come--not a doubt of it! yes, the cruise was more than half over, and he was quite tired of the sea. she, however, thought the sea beautiful, and never tired of looking at it. true, not rolling on top of it all the time--liked to sleep without rocking. when the sea-breeze came fluttering up the gorge again, through the canes and the coffee-trees, and shaking up the superb foliage of the tropical forest, with the brilliant feathered tribes nestling close together on the lofty branches, and before the first salt breath had been exhaled in the clouds about the topmost peaks of the blue mountains, thousands of feet in the air, the party at escondido had again returned to the broad piazzas, where, with blinds open, and swinging in cool grass hammocks, the men took siesta, while the ladies sought the pretty bowers within. so passed one happy day, like the one gone before; and before the close of the week dr. darcantel joined the party, to take the place of colonel lawton; and a few days after old clinker crackled up, very dry and thorny, with parchment in his pockets to take inventories, and do musty business generally. then the fair women, escorted by the navy men, and the droger and stingo, took their departure for the town house and ships in kingston, leaving paddy burns, and tom stewart, and clinker with piron to close up matters, prior to his leaving the island. paul darcantel said he would remain with them likewise, since he had got through his business in spanish town and port royal, and wanted quiet. madame rosalie was the last to leave; and before her husband lifted her into the saddle, they stood together on the piazza, she looking with that still yearning gaze over the sea, and seeing nothing but breaking waves. that was the last look from escondido! chapter xliv. snuff out of a diamond box. "hark! a sound, far and slight, breathes around on the night; high and higher, nigh and nigher, like a fire roaring bright." "not a word to each other; we kept the great pace-- neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing our place; i turned in my saddle and made its girths tight, then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right; rebuckled the check-strap, chained slacker the bit, nor galloped less steadily, roland, a whit." another week rolled on. old clinker had pounded the parchment down as flat as last year's palm-leaves, rustling himself like the leaves of an old book, and began to squeeze out a few dry remarks about earthquakes. he at last got paddy burns, who was a round, fat man, with much blood in him, in such a state of excitement, by talking about cracks, and yawning chasms, and splits in the earth, clouds of dust, sulphureous smells, and beams falling down and pressing people to powder over their wine, that paddy declared he thought he was swallowing sawdust and eating dried codfish at every sip of antigua punch and suck of orange he took. tom stewart, likewise, said he couldn't sleep a wink for quaking, and had cut a slice clean out of his chin while shaving, because his glass shook by a slamming door, and he thought his time had come. darcantel said nothing, but he took a quiet fancy to old clinker, and talked for hours with him of the effect earthquakes had upon ships, and especially of general matters connected with the shipping interest, being withal very particular with regard to the appearance of the crews. piron looked grave, and heard the old clerk out, as if dried fruit were better than fresh, and limes sweeter than oranges. well, they were all sitting over their dessert at their last dinner at escondido, for they were all going to leave old clinker in the morning. [illustration: "his right arm poised with clenched hand aloft," etc.] "well, clinker," said piron, kindly, "don't let us talk any more about the earthquake. you told me yesterday that you had a note from colonel lawton, saying he would not take passage in the brig with us to new orleans, as his business obliged him to leave before we could sail?" clinker choked out something like "yes," as if it were the last sound a body could sigh with three or four hundred tons on his back. "i'm dooced glad to hear it, piron; for your military friend didn't enlist my fancy at all, and i don't believe any more of his patriot sarvice than i do in clinker's earthquake. that colonel is a baste; and if my words prove true, i'll lave a thousand pounds to old clinker there." paddy burns's words did prove true; and old clinker was with him when he gave a quake the earth had nothing to do with, it being entirely of an apoplectic nature; but he got the thousand pounds nevertheless. "for once in your life, burns, i agree with ye; and if that military mon went to shoot grouse with me in the hielands, i'd tramp behind him, and keep both barrels of me gun cocked. the devil take his black wig and his green eyes! and he passing himsel' aff for a scot, too! tut, mon!" "by the way, clinker," said piron, during a pause in the conversation, "if the colonel is not going with us, i must take him back his magnificent snuff-box he forgot when he left us so suddenly the other morning. here it is, with the letters of his name on it in brilliants. i thought it too valuable to send by one of the blacks, and i kept it to carry myself." how singular it was that the colonel should have forgotten his royal treasure! keep your wits about you, captain brand, or one of these days you'll be forgetting your pistols. "given to him by a connection of his family, was it, paddy? weel, mon, let's take a peench for the honor of sackveel street, and then push it along to meester darcantel." the doctor was sitting in his calm, grave way, listening to the disjointed words--like dry nuts dropping on the ground--from the shriveled lips of clinker; but as he abstractedly put his fingers in the box, and turned his eyes languidly as he pushed down the lid, he gave a bound from his chair--with the box clutched in his left hand--giving a jar to the room and table that even made clinker believe the forty-year earthquake had come before its time. standing there, with his tall, majestic figure, like a statue of bronze, his right arm poised with clenched hand aloft in a threatening attitude, his dark, grizzled locks bristling above his head, the black eyes flaming with an inhuman light, as if prepared to crush, with the power of a god, the pigmies around him, he said, in a deep low voice, which made the glasses ring and shudder, "who owns this bawble?" "it belongs to a colonel lawton who has been staying here!" exclaimed piron, quickly and hurriedly. "what sort of man?" came again from those terrible lungs, without relaxing a muscle of his frame. "a square-built, tallish fellow, of about feefty, with greenish-blue eyes, a black wig, and a glorious sapphire ring on the only finger of his left hand!" roared burns and stewart together. again came the jar of the earthquake to make the building, table, glasses, and all shake, as paul darcantel strode with his heels of adamant out of the sala and to the veranda; then a bound, which was heard in the room; and after five minutes' stupid silence banou appeared. the buckra gentleman had torn rather than led his master's barb from the stable, and scarcely waiting for a saddle, had thrown himself like an indian across his back. there! his master might hear the clattering of the hoofs up the steep. "the mon's daft--clean daft, mon!" "be me sowl, it's the only pair of eyes i iver wouldn't like to look at over me saw-handled friend, joe manton!" "he's taken the box with him," crackled clinker. but that was the last that paddy burns, or stewart, or clinker ever saw of man or box. piron rose and listened to the sound of the receding hoofs from the veranda; and when he resumed his place his lips were sealed for the night. _he_ saw, however, and the rest of them heard a good deal about the man and the box in time to come. did that blooded horse, as he dashed round the curve of the peak, with his thin nostrils blazing red in the dark night, know who his rider was, and on what errand he was bound? it was not snuff that distended those wide nostrils as he plunged down the broken road, through the close, deep forest, over rocks and water-courses, without missing a step with his sure, ringing hoofs; and mounting the sharp gorge beyond with the leap of a stag, his mane and tail streaming in the calm, thick night; the eyes lanterns of pursuing light, flashing out before his precipitous tread in jets of fire, as his feet struck the flinty stones, with a regular, enduring throb from his heaving chest, as an encouraging hand patted his shoulder and urged him onward. down the mountain again, with never a shy or a snort--the horse knowing the rider, and the man the noble beast; the lizards wheetling merrily, and the paroquets on the tree-tops waking up to chatter with satisfaction. then into the beaten track along by the sea-shore, the horse increasing his stride at every minute, the spume flying in flakes from his flaming nostrils, and the man bending to his hot neck, smoothing away the white foam, until, with a panting stagger, horse and rider stood still in the town of kingston. "here, my boys, rub this your master's horse down well, and walk him about the court-yard for an hour. there! take this between you!" one last pat of the steed's arched neck, a grateful neigh as the dark face pressed against his broad head, and paul darcantel strode away in the gray light of the morning. "gorra mighty! nimble jack, look at dis! bress my modder in hebben, it am one gold ounce apiece, sure as dis gemman's name ring finger bill! de lord be good to dat tall massa! him must hab plenty ob shiner to hove him away on poor niggers!" even while the tall man strode on toward the port, and as the happy blacks were chattering over their yapper, and walking the gallant steed up and down the paved court-yard, a dull, heavy-sailing spanish brigantine was slowly sagging past gallows point and the apostles' battery, when, creeping on by the frowning forts of port royal, she held her course to sea. very different sort of craft from the counterfeit brigantine, with clean, lean bows, slipping out from the tiger's trap one sultry evening before a hurricane, which went careering, with a sea-hound after her, down to the garotte gorge. different kind of a crew too; and captain brand must have remarked the contrast, with his keen, critical, nautical eye--that is, if he chanced to sail in both brigantines, as there is much reason for believing he did--with great disgust, on board the dirty, dumpy old ballahoo now just clear of drunkenman's cay, and heading alongshore for helshire point, bound for st. jago de cuba. chapter xlv. lilies and sea-weed. "oh leave the lily on its stem! oh leave the rose upon the spray! oh leave the elder bloom, fair maids, and listen to my lay!" "when descends on the atlantic the gigantic storm-wind of the equinox, landward in his wrath he scourges the toiling surges, laden with sea-weed from the rocks." by day and night, under sun or moon, and in breeze or calm--by the resounding shore--on the rippling water--in saloon and grove, picnicking and boating--under vine or awning--all around in the whirling waltz, the measured contra-danza--amid the tinkle of guitar or trill of piano, the rattle and crash of the full band on board the frigate--gently rocking on the narrow deck of the "rosalie," or down in the brig of teak, there was ever a white arm linked in the arm of blue--now timidly, then with a confiding pressure--now a furtive look of blue eyes into dark, then a fixed, steady gaze from the brown to the light--here a palpitating pause, and then the blue arms wound around the waving stem--two white arms clasping, with a passionate caress, the neck of the weed--and, yes! the lily floating on the white cheek of the pond had been caught by the strong weed, and with the reacting tide was going out to sea! ay! the sailor had won the maiden! but while the lily rocked hither and thither on the pond, with its blond leaves and petals of blue, and its pliant stem in danger at every tide, did the fond mothers watch it from the bank? that they did, thinking of the time when they were lilies of the pond themselves, with no fears of danger near. but at last it came, and, like blooming flowers, they swung to and fro in the rain, dropping a tear or two from their own rosy leaves--more in dewy sorrow than in fear--and waiting for sunshine; bending their beautiful heads of roses the while one toward another, peeping out with their dark violet eyes, and listening, as the wind shook them, with a tremble of apprehension, and clinging hopefully to the straight support on which they reclined. by day and night, in burning sun with not a drop to drink, and in the sultry night with no morsel of food to eat--through the searing sand in the streets and lanes, down by the quays--to every vessel in the crowded harbor--in every hotel and lodging-house in kingston--up and down spanish town--away off to port royal--occasionally going on board the frigate for gold, then on shore again--in ribald wassail and drunken dance, gaming hells especially, and low crimping houses, maroon and negro huts, and wretched haunts of vice--scattering gold like cards, dice, rum, and water--no end to it--in large yellow drops too--and still striding on, questioning, gleaming with those revengeful eyes--never resting brain or body, without drink or meat--went paul darcantel. oh, paul, that cowardly villain saw you from the very moment you took that pinch of snuff out of his blue enameled box--ay, even before, when you walked your mule slowly up the broken road, while a goaded barb was curbed back in the gloomy forest till you had passed, with his rider's finger in his waistcoat pocket. and in all your ceaseless wanderings, by day and night, that now timid, terror-stricken villain has been following you; dodging behind corners--under the well-worn cloths of monté banks--in the back rooms of pulperias--hiding in nests of infamy--every where and in all places steering clear of you. oh, paul! what a deceived man you are! and while you are doing all this, just turn your eyes out to the calm spot off montego bay, where that leaky old brigantine is bobbing about. the dirty, surly _capitano_ kicking and beating the hands from taffrail to bowsprit, particularly one great tall fellow, without a hat, and but a few dry thin hairs to shield his skull from the scorching sun; cursing him, as he puffs a cigarette, for being the most idle scoundrel of a skulk on board! but he--the scoundrel!--laughing with a hollow laugh up the sleeve of his filthy shirt, with never a dollar in his belt or an extra pair of trowsers in the forecastle, with bare feet, and still, cold eyes, now turned to green--eating nasty jerked beef and drinking putrid water--never sleeping for vermin--kicked and cuffed about the decks. but yet he smiled with a devilish satisfaction, paul, for he has escaped _you_, and was bound to st. jago de cuba! from there he would charter--steal, perhaps--a small boat, and run over to the doçe léguas cays, where there were ten thousand pounds in mildewed gold!--if nobody had discovered it, which was not probable--and he--the scoundrel!--would gather it up in bags, and slink away to some other part of the world. you must be very quick, captain brand, for the leaky brigantine does not sail so fast as the "centipede," and your ancient compadre, don ignaçio, is just out of prison. his old, fat, banana wife is very sorry for it, but that's none of your business. and you, doctor paul! don't you pity that flying, dirty wretch, with his mutilated hand, and soul-beseeching gaze out of those greenish frozen eyes, where a ray of mercy never entered, but whose icy lids fairly crack as your shadow stamps across them? no, not a ray of pity or mercy for the infamous villain; not even a twitch of the little finger of his bloody, mutilated white hand! no, not the faintest hope of pity! he shall die in such torments as even a pirate never devoted a victim. but you are worn out, darcantel; your prey has escaped you. the people think you mad, as you are, for revenge; and though your stride is the same, and your frame still as nervous as a galvanized corpse, yet flesh and blood can not stand it. go on board the "monongahela," and talk to that true friend whose counsels you have ever listened to since you were rocking in your cradle; or take that noble, gallant youth in your arms and console him--for he needs consolation--and think of the mouse who gnawed the net years and years ago. well, you will, paul darcantel; but before you do, you will step into that jeweler's shop and buy a trifle for old clinker there, out at escondido. you want a ring, the finest gem that can be found on the island of jamaica. there it is--its equal not to be bought in the whole west india islands, or the east indies either. "i gave a military man an ounce for the setting alone, but the sapphire-looking stone may be glass. he was going to sail the next morning in a spanish brigantine for st. jago de cuba, and wanted the money to pay his bill at the lodging-house adjoining. the señor might take it for any price he chose to put upon it." what made that old dealer in precious stones and trinkets turn paler than his old topaz face as he yelled frantically for his older creole wife? the señor had seized the ring as he broke his elbows through the glass cases which contained the time-honored jewelry, and dashed a yellow shower of heavy gold ounces over the floor of the little shop, smashing the glass door of that too in his exit! and when the little toddling fat woman appeared in the most indecent dress possible to conceive of, with scarcely time to light her paper cigar, she exclaimed, "_es lunatico, hombre! ay, demonio con oro!_ a crazy man--a demon with gold!" and forthwith she picked up the pieces and looked at them critically to be sure of their value. "_son buenos, campeche!_ all right, old deary; we'll have such a podrida to-day! baked duck, with garlic too! so shut the door. there's the ounce you gave the officer man for the ring, and i'll guard the rest." that old woman did, too; and that very night she won--in the most skillful way--from her shaky old topaz, in his tin spectacle setting, his last ounce, and locked all up in her own little brass-nailed trunk for a rainy season for them both, together with their daughter's pickaninnies. paul darcantel whirled and spun round the corners and along the sandy streets till he reached the landing, moving like a water-spout, and clearing every thing from his track. there he sprang into the first boat he saw, seized the sculls, despite the shrieks and gesticulations of the old nigger whose property it was, and who jumped overboard with a howl as if a lobster had caught him by the toe, and paddled into a neighboring boat, where, with the assistance of another ancient crony, they both let off volley upon volley of shrieks, which alarmed the harbor, while the boat went shooting like a javelin toward the men-of-war. however, those old stump-tailed african baboons found a gold ounce in their boat after it had been set adrift from the american frigate. what a jolly snapping of teeth over a tough old goose stuffed with onions that night, with two respectable colored ladies and a case-bottle of rum beside them! you can almost sniff the fragrant odor as it arises, even at this distance. i do, and shall, mayhap, many a time again, in lands where stuffed goose and comely colored ladies abound. chapter xlvi. parting. "the very stars are strangers, as i catch them athwart the shadowy sails that swell above; i can not hope that other eyes will watch them at the same moment with a mutual love. they shine not there as here they now are shining; the very hours are changed. ah! do ye sleep? o'er each home pillow midnight is declining-- may one kind dream at least my image keep!" there had been a small party on board the "monongahela" the night before to bid the commodore good-by--all old friends of both parties--the pirons, burns, stewart, stingo, and jacob blunt. clinker was not there, for he never went where it was damp, and if he got musty it must be from mildew on shore. the "martha blunt," under the careful management of young binks, the mate, with banou and all the baggage on board, was being towed by two of the frigate's boats down the harbor, with her yards mast-headed, all ready to sheet home the sails when the black pilot should say the land-wind would make and the passengers to come on board. the lights were twinkling from lattice and veranda in the upper and lower town, the lanterns of the french and english admirals were shining from the tops of their flag-ships, and the revolving gleams from the beacon on the pallissadoes point flickered and dazzled over the gemmed starlit surface of the water. the awning was still spread on the after-deck of the "monongahela;" and there, while the officer of the watch paced the forward part of the deck with the midshipmen to leeward, the sentries on the high platform outside and on the forecastle, the party of ladies and gentlemen stood silently watching and thinking. there is no need explaining their looks or their thoughts; we know all about them. how paddy burns and tom stewart, with little stingo, were going over the time, thirty years or more back, when with piron there, boys together, they all swam on the beach of that fine harbor. the old school-house, too, with the tipsy old master, who whacked them soundly, drunk or sober; their frolics at the fandangoes in spanish town; their transient separations in after life on visits to france or the old country; the hearty joy to meet again and drink jamaica forever. and now their companion in tropical heat and mountain shade was going to part with them, and sail away over that restless ocean, never, perhaps, to meet again! even old clinker, as he sat on his stem by the old worm-eaten desk, with his dried old lemon of a face lying in his leaves of hands--with no light in the dark, deserted old counting-house--looked out between his fibres of fingers and saw the cradle, with the sleeping twins within it, while the rafters pressed him as flat as the old portfolio before him. and now, as a drop or two of bitter juice exuded from his shriveled rind, he saw those lovely twins floating away, never more to be saved from an earthquake by old clinker. mr. mouse, likewise, was wide awake, and hopping about with a kangaroo step, a little in doubt why miss rosalie was so pale, why those blue eyes were so dim, and why she said to him "go away, little one," with a quivering, tremulous voice and hand. mouse told rat, and rat told martin and beaver, that the poor girl was in love with him, tiny, and that he would make it all right one of these days, when he got an epaulet on his little shoulder. softly, like the cool breath of a slumbering child, came a faint air from the land. the bell of the frigate, clanging in its brassy throat, struck for midnight. the sentinels on their posts cried "all's well!" the old brig was letting fall her top-sails, and the sound of the oars in the cutter's row-locks ceased. "cleveland," said piron, quietly, "while the ladies and our friends are getting into the barge, come down with me in your cabin. i wish to have a parting word with you." so they go down. "now, my dear friend, you have seen as well as i how wildly those young people are in love with each other; so has my wife and her sister; and, indeed, _my_ sweet rosalie seems more in love with him than our niece. i have not had the heart to put a thorn in the path of their happiness, and god grant it may all come right. but, cleveland, you know that we come from an old and noble stock, where the bar sinister has never crossed our escutcheon, and i can not yet make up my mind to an immediate engagement. this our niece has consented to--stop, cleveland, hear me out. i do not, however, carry my prejudices to any absurd extent, nor have i spoken on this subject to the girl, and only to her mother and my wife; but i wish you to explain the way we feel, in your own kind manner, to your friend's son. say to him what a trial it has been to us--how we all love him"--he pressed his handkerchief to his eyes--"and after he has learned all, if he still persists in urging his suit when the cruise is over, he shall have our consent and blessing. time may work changes in them both; and meanwhile i shall not mention the matter to our little rosalie, as we fear for the consequences." "spoken like a true father and a noble gentleman, my dear piron! i have thought as you and your excellent wife do on this matter; but, like you, i have not had the courage to give even a hint of warning to henry. i shall, however, break the matter gently to him, and send my coxswain for his father also, whom i have not seen for a week, and who, they tell me, has been raging about kingston ever since he ran away from you at escondido. his son loves him devotedly, and a word from him will do more than i could say in a lifetime." "the ladies are in the barge, commodore," squeaked midshipman mouse, as he popped his tiny head into the cabin. "very well, sir. and tell lieutenant darcantel that i wish to see him to-morrow morning, before church service. come, piron!" on the lower grating of the accommodation-ladder stood the commodore, with his first lieutenant, as the barge shoved off. "i am heartily obliged to you, commodore cleveland," said jacob blunt, "for your kindness to me; and if mr. hardy will permit, i'll give the boats' crews a glass of grog for their trouble in towing the old brig." certainly! jacob knew what was proper under the circumstances, and liked a moderate toss himself after a hard night's work as well as the lusty sailors in the boats, and the youngsters, rat and martin, who steered them. so the barge shoved off, with no other words spoken, though there were white handkerchiefs wet with women's tears, and red bandanas, too, somewhat moist; while following in the barge's wake went a light whale-boat gig, pulled by four old tars, who could make her leap, when they had a mind, half out of water, for it was in those brawny old arms to do it. but now they merely dipped the long oar-blades in the water, and could not keep up with the barge. they knew--those corrugated old salts--that their gallant, considerate young captain there in the stern-sheets, with the tiller-ropes in his hands, who steered so wildly about the harbor, had something more yielding than white-laced rope in his flippers; and that the sweet little craft under white dimity, with her head throwing off the sparkling spray as she lay under his bows, was in no hurry to go to sea--not caring much, either, to what port she was bound, so long as she found good holding-ground when she got in harbor with both bowers down, and cargo ready for another voyage--not she! finally, old jacob blunt, master, again in full command of brig "martha," with mr. binnacle binks catting the anchor forward, all sail made, sheets home, and every thing shipshape, with a fresh, steady land-wind, and a light gig towing astern, went steering out to sea, bound to new orleans by way of the windward passage. at the first ray of sunrise the gig's line was cast off; and with the waves breaking over her, those four old sons of daddy neptune bared their tattooed arms--illustrative of ships, anchors, and maidens--and bent their bodies with a will toward the harbor. "take keer, sir, if it's the same to you, or we'll be on that ledge off the ''postles' battery.' it looks jist like that 'ere reef in the vargin's passage as i was wunce nearly 'racked on, in the 'smasher,' sixteen-gun brig." "no fear, harry greenfield." "beg your parding, mr. darcantel, but that 'ere wessel you is heading for is that old clump of a spanish gun-boat; our craft is off here, under the quarter of the 'monongaheelee.'" "oh yes, charley; i see the 'rosalie.'" what made these old salts slew gravely round one to the other, as their sixteen-feet oars rattled with a regular jar in the brass row-locks, and shut one eye tight, as if they enjoyed something themselves? probably they were thinking of a strapping lass, in blue ribbons, who lived somewhere in a sea-port town long years ago. but yet they loved that young slip of sea-weed, whose head was bent down to the buttons of his blue jacket, his epaulet lopsided on his shoulder, his sword hilt downward, and his brown eyes tracing the lines of the ash grating where pretty feet had once rested, while he jerked the tiller-ropes from side to side, and his gig went wild by reef and point toward the "rosalie." when the gig's oars at last, in spite of her meandering navigation by her abstracted helmsman, trailed alongside the schooner, and while her crew were cracking a few biscuits and jokes on deck, with the sun high up the little craft's masts, her captain hurried down to his small cabin, and changed his rig for service on board the frigate. chapter xlvii. devotion. "to walk together to the kirk, and all together pray, while each to his great father bends-- old men and babes, and loving friends, and youths and maidens gay!" "farewell! farewell! but this i tell to thee, thou wedding-guest, he prayeth well who loveth well both man, and bird, and beast!" sunday morning in kingston harbor. the deep-toned bells from cathedral and church were wafted off from the town; the troops at park camp marching with easy tread to their chapel; matrons and maidens, with bare heads, fans, and mantillas, going along demurely; portly judges, factors, and planters trudging beside palanquins of their saxon spouses; negroes in white; creoles in brown, cigarettes put out for a time; while swinging censers and rolling sound of organs and chants, or prayers and sermons from kirk and pulpits, told how the people were worshiping god according to their several beliefs. on the calm harbor, too, and in port royal, lay the men-of-war, the church pennants taking the place of the ensigns at the peaks, the bells tolling, and the sailors--quiet, clean, and orderly--were attending divine service. on board the "monongahela" the great spar-deck was comparatively deserted--all save that officer with his spy-glassing old quarter-master, and the sentries on gangway and forecastle. the ropes, however, were flemished down in concentric coils, the guns without a speck of dust on their shining coats, the capstan polished like an old brass candlestick, and every thing below and aloft in a faultless condition. as harry darcantel came rather languidly over the gangway, and went down to the main deck, where the five hundred sailors in snowy-white mustering clothes were assembled, commodore cleveland beckoned to him with his finger as he stood talking at the cabin door to his first lieutenant. "hardy, i do not feel well this morning; make my excuses to the chaplain, and go on with the service. come in, harry. orderly, allow no one, not even the servants, to enter the cabin--except dr. darcantel, in case he should come on board." the stiff soldier laid his white-gloved finger on the visor of his hat. then the chaplain, standing on his flag-draped pulpit at the main-mast, with those five hundred quiet, attentive sailors seated on capstan-bars and match-tubs between the silent cannon, and no sound save his mild, persuasive voice, as he read the sublime service from the good lessons before him. then, after a short but impressive sermon, adapted to the comprehension of the honest tars around him, with a kindly word, too, for the sagacious officers who commanded them, he closed the holy book and delivered the parting benediction. as he began, a shore boat, in spite of the warning of the sentry at the gangway, came bows on to the frigate's solid side, and as she went dancing and bobbing back from the recoil of the concussion, a tall, powerful man leaped out of her, and, by a mighty spring, caught the man-ropes of the port gangway, and swung himself through the open port of the gun-deck. bowing his lofty head with reverential awe as the last solemn words of the benediction were uttered by the chaplain, he joined, in a deep, guttural voice, the word "amen," and strode on and entered the cabin. the curtains were closely drawn of the after cabin, even to shut out the first whisper of the young sea-breeze which was fluttering in from port royal; and there stood that noble officer, with his strong arm thrown around the gallant youth--the picture of abject woe--talking in his kind, feeling accents, trying to console him, painting the sky bright in the distance, and begging him, by all the love and affection he bore him through so many years, to be a man, and trust to his good conscience and his right arm to cleave his way through the clouds and gloom which surrounded him. "there, henry, you are calmer now. sit down here in my stateroom, and while you think of that fond girl, give a thought to that poor bereaved mother, madame rosalie, who loves you for the resemblance she thinks you bear to her little boy, who was murdered by pirates just seventeen years ago off this very island." "what do you say, cleveland?" said a voice behind him, with such deep, concentrated energy that the commodore fairly started. "what did you say about a lost child and a madame rosalie?" paul darcantel stood there in the softened crimson light, with his sinewy, bony hands upraised, his gaunt breast heaving, with unshorn beard and tangled, grizzly locks, the iron jaw half open, and his dark, terrible eyes gleaming with unearthly fire. "speak, harry cleveland! for the wife you have lost, speak!" "my dear, dearest friend, do be calm! why have you been so long away from me? i wanted you here, but you did not come. our poor boy has had _his_ first lesson in this world's grief, and i have felt obliged to tell him all--yes, every thing! that the grave he has so often wept over, under the magnolia, does not contain his mother; and that--" "merciful god!" said paul darcantel, sinking down on his knees, with his hands clasped together, while the first tears for more than twenty years streamed from his agonized eyes. "there is a providence in it all! that boy is not my son! i saved him from the pirate's grasp, and that woman must be his mother!" lower and lower the lofty head bent till it touched the deck, the bony hands clasped tight together, and those eyes--ah! those parched eyes--no longer dry! "paul, paul, what is this i hear? for the love of heaven and those angels who are waiting for us, speak again!" "my father--my more than father, i am not illegitimate, then! no such shame may cause your boy to blush for his mother?" while strong and loving arms raised the exhausted man from the deck, and while he becomes once more the same determined paul darcantel, and with hand grasped in hand is rapidly recounting unknown years of his existence, let us leave the cabin. chapter xlviii. all alive again. "among ourselves, in peace, 'tis true, we quarrel, make a rout; and having nothing else to do, we fairly scold it out; but once the enemy in view, shake hands, we soon are friends; on the deck, till a wreck, each common cause defends." down in the steerage, where a bare cherry table stood, and upright lockers ranged around, with a lot of half-starved reefers devouring their dinner--not near so good or well served as the sailors' around their mess-cloths on the upper decks--with a few urchins utterly regardless of steerage grub, and a dollar or two in their little fists, all nicely dressed in blue jackets and white trowsers, waiting for the hands to be turned to and the boats manned, to go on shore for a lark. abaft in the wardroom, two or three of the swabs, the surgeon's mates, and the jaunty young marine lieutenant were getting into their bullion coats and fine toggery, and buckling on their armor to do sad havoc among the planters' families in the evening, away there in upper kingston. as for the first lieutenant, the purser, the fleet surgeon, the sailing-master, and the old major of marines, they had been ashore before, and didn't care to go again; growling jocosely among themselves on board the frigate, and glad to get rid of the juvenile gabble. presently, and before the hands were turned to from dinner, the cabin bell rang so violently that the orderly's brass scale-plate fixtures on his leather hat fairly rang too as he opened the sacred door. "tell the first lieutenant i want him." the dismayed soldier forgot to lay his white worsted finger on his visor as he slammed to the door and marched out on the gun-deck. "mr. hardy, unmoor ship! hoist a jack at the fore and fire a gun for a pilot! get the frigate under weigh, sir, and be quick about it!" "ay, ay, sir!" as hardy rapidly passed his old cronies, who were tramping along the deck as he mounted the after-ladder, he said, with a nod, "by the lord! i haven't seen the commodore in such a breeze since he blew that pirate out of water at darien." in a minute the "monongahela's" bell struck two, and the boatswain and his mates, piping as if their hairy throats would split, roared out, "all hands!" and a moment later, "all hands unmoor ship!" "what does that mean?" said a cook of a mess to jim dreen, the old quarter-master, who had just come down from his watch. "mean? why, you lazy, blind duff b'iler, it means that i've lost my blessed dinner." "hallo!" says rat to beaver, "what's that? unmoor ship on my liberty day! i swear i'll resign!" no you won't, reefers, but you'll trip aloft as fast as your little legs will carry you--mouse in company--up to the fore, main, and mizzen tops, and squeak there as much as you like; but jump about and look sharp that nothing goes wrong, or mr. hardy will be down upon you like a main tack. bang from the bow port and the union jack at the fore! "god bless my soul, fellows, this is the most infernal tyranny i ever heard of!" came from the wardroom; "all of us engaged to dine and dance in kingston this evening, and--" "it's 'all hands up anchor, gentlemen!'" and away they all went. down went the mess-kids, and down came the awnings, and up came the boats to their davits; in went the bars to both capstans, the nippers clapped on, and the muddy cables coming in to the tunes of fifes; while above the running gear was rove, the sunday bunts to the sails cast off, and the five hundred sailors dancing about on the decks, spars, and rigging of that american double-banked frigate, as if they could always work her sails and battery to the admiration of their good commodore there, who was looking at them from the quarter-deck. "massa captan," said the shining ebony pilot, in his snowy suit, as he took off his fine white panama hat, "dis is de ole pilot, sa, peter crabreef--name after dat black rock way dere outside. suppose you tink ob beating dis big frigate troo de channel? unpossible, wid dis breeze!" "peter crabreef," said the old sailing-master, to whom these observations were addressed, "you had better not give such a hint to that gentleman there in the epaulets; for if you do, you'll never see mrs. crabreef again! you had better keep your wits about you, too, and plenty of water under the keel, for the commodore is fond of water!" "sartainly, massa ossifa! i is old peter, and never yet touch a nail of man-of-war copper battam on de reefs!" on board the pigmy black schooner near, half a dozen old salt veterans were squinting at the flag-ship and holding much deliberate speculation as to what all the row meant. old harry greenfield, however, with ben brown, who were the gunner and boatswain of the little vessel, observed that, "in the ewent of our bein' wanted, ye see, harry, it will be as well to have the deck tackle stretched along for heavin' in, and get the prop from under the main boom." even as they spoke, a few bits of square bunting went up in balls to the mizzen of the frigate, and, blowing out clear, said, as plain as flags could speak, "prepare to weigh anchor!" at the same moment the "rosalie's" gig came bounding like a bubble over the water with the tall gentleman beside the young commander in the stern-sheets. there was a great, nervous, bony hand now holding his, but with as an affectionate pressure as the soft dimpled fingers he himself had held the night before. gig not steered at all wild now, but going as straight as a bullet to the schooner. the stirring sounds of the fifes as the sailors danced round with the bars in the capstans, with a beating step to keep time to the lively music, were still heard on board the frigate, and then came from the forecastle, "the anchor's under foot, sir!" "pawl the capstan! aloft, sail-loosers! trice up! lay out! loose away!" almost at the instant came down the squeaks from aloft of, "all ready with the fore! the main! the mizzen!" "let fall--sheet home! hoist away the top-sails!" again were heard the quick notes of the fifes on both decks, and in less than five minutes more the anchors were catted, and the "monongahela," under a cloud of canvas, began to move. but where was the "rosalie," late "perdita," all this time? why, there she goes, with never a tack, through the narrow strait, lying over under the press of her white dimity like a witch on a black broomstick, as she shoots out to sea. and who is that tall man, on that narrow deck, clapping on to sheet and tackle, though there was no need of assistance, or skill, or seamanship to be displayed on board that craft, except by way of love of the thing? and why does he, during a pause when there was nothing more that could possibly be done, stand by the weather rail, shaking a great huge old seaman by both hands till he almost jarred the schooner to her keel?--ben brown, the helmsman, whom you have heard of on board the "martha blunt," who, by some accidental word he dropped near to the tall gentleman, caused that hand-grasping collision. it was not another five minutes before the other thirty-nine old sea-dogs knew all about every body, and where they were bound, and so on. they did not care a brass button for the thousand silver dollars they were to have from the tall gentleman--not they! they wanted merely to lay their eyes along that long tom amidships, and to have a cutlass flashing over their shoulders--so fashion! pistols and pikes! fudge! but where was the "martha blunt?" oh, that old teak brig was bouncing along past morant point, with a good slant from the southward, pretty much where she was some seventeen years before, with a few more passengers in her deck cabin, reading their bibles, and praying for those who go down to the sea in ships on that sabbath day--one looking with her sad eyes out of the stern windows, and another doing the same, and both thinking of the same boy who had been dashed out of one of those windows; and though both of them knew the other's thoughts, yet they did not dream they were thinking of the same person at the time. and where was the spanish brigantine, with the exacting _capitano_--who was a slaver in dull times--and his pleasant mate, who would think no more of sticking a knife into you than he did of kicking that skulking, icy-eyed sailor on board--detesting as he did the entire saxon race ever since cadiz was bombarded--and feeding him on rotten jerked beef? there were no prayers, only curses, on board that brigantine as she dropped anchor in st. jago that fine sunday morning. and where was our ancient one-eyed mariner, formerly in command of the colonial guarda costa felucca, the "panchita," named after his fat banana of a sposa? oh, the don--simply ignaçio now--had had a quiet confab with the deputy administrador all about some treasure which he knew was concealed, and where--for he had seen with his bright eye the light of a torch in a cleft of a crag--and he would go shares with that official if he would give him a little assistance. "_oh, cierto!_" why not? and there was an old launch, with a torn lateen sail, which columbus might have been proud to command; and, in this fine weather, he might sail back to port palos in her. oh yes! but, to keep all secret, he would merely take old pancha, his wife, for crew. and so, with a few bundles of paper cigars, and some dried fish and water--the only property they possessed, save his eye and a pack of cards, and those valuables rescued with difficulty--they sailed the night before the blessed sunday. _he_ never came back, though. no blame attributable to the eye--that was as bright and wary an old burning spark of suspicious fire as ever; but then old pancha held the cards, and this time she won. very singular it was, _cierto_. if ignaçio had not gone back again for another bag which was not there, why, the _sota_ of a knave being the next card--ah! we won't anticipate. but we are all alive yet, except those murdered women, whose white coral head-stones still stand up there in the cactus, and poor binks, and those slashing blades of the poisonous, many-legged "centipede," who were eaten by the sharks--all alive the rest of us, and wide awake! chapter xlix. the rope laid up. "the captain is walking his quarter-deck with a troubled brow and a bended neck; one eye is down the hatchway cast, the other turns up to the truck on the mast." "the breeze is blowing--huzza, huzza! the breeze is blowing--away, away! the breeze is blowing--a race, a race! the breeze is blowing--we near the chase." well, the positions of all hands were simply these. the icy-eyed man, without snuff-box, or ring on that mutilated flipper, with two under pockets in his shirt, and something in them, a pair of filthy old canvas trowsers, and no hanger by his side, where there had been so much hanging in the good old times, slipped overboard like a conger eel, and swam on shore at st. jago de cuba. without a _real_ of wages--for he was to work his passage--and because he didn't feel inclined to work, the _capitano_ in command assisted his agile subordinate to kick him all the voyage. had, however, the mate presented that cold eel his knife for a moment before he jumped overboard and squirmed to the shore, that cuchillo would have found a redder sheath than the crimson sash which usually held it. fortunately perhaps for the mate, he was not of a generous disposition, save with kicks and ropes'-ends, or else he might have regretted his philanthropy. so soon as the icy-blue man had congealed, as it were, in the sun until he was quite dry and frozen again, he slunk away to the ditch of the old fort, where he thawed till nightfall, and then entered the town; hanging round the pulperias, smacking and cracking his parched lips for a measure of aguardiente, only two centavos a cup, and not caring for that fine, generous, pale, amber-colored old port sent to him by the good archbishop of oporto! but, not having the copper centavos--though his own coppers stood so much in need of moisture--he continued to skulk on. presently, coming to the wide streets and to the outskirts of the town, he spied a large mule, ready caparisoned for the road, hitched to the door of a house, waiting for his owner to mount him. the icy green-eyed individual, disgusted for the time with blue salt water, and being, as we know, a capital cavalry-man--in dashing charges among the patriots, and caprioling also up the blue mountains to escondido--thought he would take another gallop on the dry ground, just to keep his hand and little finger in; so he quietly cast off the mule's painter, and flung his canvas legs over the beast as if he belonged to him. and so he did; for he told the man at whose place he passed an hour or two that night, and who thought he knew the master to whom the mule had once belonged, that it had been presented to him by an old friend, whose name--as had the mule's--escaped him. all this time the one-eyed man, with his banana woman, pancha, were creeping along the water part of the land--with the peak of tarquina in sight--toward cape cruz, bound round that peninsula, and so on to the doçe léguas cays; while the man on the mule navigated by the sierras del cobre of st. jago, steering by bridle for manzanillo, and then to take water again for the same secret destination. the cargo that both expected to take in there was about ten thousand pounds sterling in mildewed coin of various realms and denominations; but it was there, and would pass current any where. so they sailed and navigated. it was tedious work, though; and it took a week for the old launch with the torn sail to get into the tiger's trap--fine weather, and no sea--and there make fast to the rocks. at the same evening hour the mule with his passenger planted his fore feet, like a pair of kedges over his bows, in the fishing village near manzanillo, and foundered bodily, going down with his freight slap-dash in the mud. the passenger, however, escaped, and skulled along by the shore, where he fell in with a poor fisherman who was about to shove off in his trim, wholesome bark for professional recreation on the esperanza bank. glad was old miguel tortuga to have a strong man to assist him for the privilege of joining in a sip of aguardiente and catching a red snapper or two; so they jumped on board and spread the sail. had old miguel, however, seen the sharklike eyes of his assistant in the sunlight, or dreamed what a snapper was about to catch _him_, he would not have gone fishing that night, and it would have saved him much tribulation at daylight the next morning, when he was picked off a small rock by a fisher acquaintance of his from manzanillo. but we have nothing to do with old miguel; and need only say, to console him, that his stanch boat went safely through the blue gateway of the roaring ledge of white breakers, and late sunday night lay calmly in the inlet abreast captain brand's former dwelling. to go back again for a week, the "monongahela"--double-banked leviathan as she was--came plunging out to sea from kingston, every man and boy, from jack smith on her forecastle to bill pump in the spirit-room, and from richard hardy to tiny mouse, knowing from the first plunge the frigate made what they all sailed for. with her proud head toward the east, she went dashing on past the white horse rocks, and woe to the small angry waves which did not get out of her way, for she smashed them contemptuously in foaming masses from her majestic bows, sending them back in sparkling spray and bubbles to hiss their angry way to leeward in her wake. on she went, far off to sea, where the trade wind was strongest, disdaining gentle zephyrs near the land, with her great square yards swinging round at every watch while beating to windward--the tacks close down, yards as fine as they would lay, and the heavy sheets flat aft. every evening the surgeon, the purser, the chaplain, the major, and the old sailing-master were in the cabin, going over the chase of a certain pirate in a schooner "centipede" away down on the darien coast, with cape garotte there under their lee, and the vultures and the sharks grinding the bones and tearing the flesh of the half of a man with the tusk gleaming out of his wiry mustache; and the padre, with his eyes staring wide open, and the crucifix, borne away by the carnivorous birds of prey. all of those dreadful particulars, together with matters that had gone before--of a lost boy, a heart-broken mother, and a murdered mate, mr. binks, on board the brig "martha blunt"--the party at escondido, the snuff-box, and paul darcantel--all about him, too, from the tragedy on the plantation, his despair, and reckless life afterward, when he served in slavers, where he did something to allay the sufferings of the poor wretches; and afterward how he was trepanned to the "doçe léguas," went a cruise with mr. bill gibbs, whose leg he hacked off with a hand-saw, not knowing at the time about the locket; the little child he had saved; how that child had saved him from his torture on the trestle with his mouselike teeth; how he had wandered the wide world over searching and searching for the mother of that boy! and there the boy was--the manly, brave young fellow now--whom officers and sailors had always loved, flying away with the dark doctor--no longer darcantel, but harry piron--with his fond father and mother in the distance, and the sweet girl he adored with her blonde head resting in her mother's lap. [illustration: the old water-logged launch.] ay, every soul in the ship knew all about it, and talked of it, and drank to the happiness of the young couple--all save dick hardy, who moved energetically about the frigate's decks, with his eyes every where, below and aloft, prompt, sharp, and quick, quite like cleveland, there, beside him, when they were together in the old "scourge" during the hurricane, and chased, to her destruction, the "centipede." "sail ho!" sang out the man on the fore-top-sail yard. "where away?" "right ahead, sir. a brig on the starboard tack!" ay, the old "martha blunt" bouncing along under all sail, squaring off at the short-armed seas, and striking them doggedly, as she beat up for the windward passage between hayti and cuba. but there was an old sea-bruiser of a different build, who wore the belt in the west indies, and was after that sturdy old brig with teak ribs for a hearty set-to; and when she came up alongside, in the friendly sparring-match which ensued while both squared their main yards, and lay for an hour side by side, there was considerable conversation; so much talk, in fact--boats going to and fro, mingled with roars and shrieks, and clasping of hands on board the brig--never a sound on board the ship--that the blue pennant fluttered in such a way it was hard to tell whether it was jacob, or piron, or the sweet wife, or mademoiselle, or her lovely mother, who threw their arms around that pennant's truck. then yard-arm and yard-arm, the frigate with her canvas canopy of upper sails furled, and the brig in her best bib and tucker, they both filled away and moved side by side. for a day or two they went on, talking and laughing to one another in these friendly shakes of the hand over blue water, until one day, the brig being to windward, she came upon an old water-logged launch, with a broken mast and a torn sail hanging over her side. it fell calm, and jacob blunt ordered young binks to get into the yawl and tow the boat alongside, and to be smart about it; for the breeze might make so soon as the fog rose, and the commodore was not the man to be kept waiting in a big frigate. mr. binks was smart about it, and presently he returned--though there was no hurry, for the calm lasted a long time--with his water-logged prize. there was no human being in this prize; but when she came alongside, and a yard tackle was hooked on to let the water drain out of her, jacob blunt and the people on board gave a pleasant yell of astonishment. it was not the soiled pack of spanish cards, or the few bundles of saturated paper cigars floating about, which caused this excitement. no, it was several canvas bags lying there in the stern-sheets, strapped with strands of a woman's red petticoat to the empty water-cask beneath the thwarts; and not one of those canvas bags, or what was in them, injured in the least by salt water. very carefully were those bags--and they were weighty--lifted on board the brig, over the rail where the pirates swarmed some long years ago, on to the quarter-deck; and then there was another joyous shout from jacob blunt, as when he had hailed the trade wind in that long past time. "by all that's wonderful, here is my old bag of guineas, and some few spanish milled dollars! look at the mark, my darlings!" another weighty bag was set aside for mrs. timothy binks, and the rest were devoted, with some large doubloon reservations for crew, to martha blunt and jacob blunt in their declining years. then, the weather being still calm and foggy, jacob and his passengers went on board the double-banked frigate for church service, where they all prayed with much hope and thanksgiving for what had passed and what was to come; and then they went into the commodore's cabin, where they remained ever so long a time. let us go back this same week again--a very long seven days it has been for every body, particularly so for the icy-eyed man, who was extremely anxious, as he kicked and lashed his mule, and kept looking round the south side of jamaica, from portland point to pedro bluff and san negril, throwing a ray of cold frost there day and night, expecting that tall doctor to come striding along in that deep water, heading due north. and at last the dark figure hove in sight, in the schooner "rosalie"--the sweet little craft skimming exultingly over the seas, kissing them occasionally with both her dainty, glistening cheeks, reeling joyously over on her side, with her tidy dimity laced and spread in one flat sheet of white, while the slender arms bent like whalebone to the freshening breeze, and she left the dancing bubbles sparkling and flashing lovingly in her wake. two hundred miles to go, and the breeze fell from fresh to light, until at last, shrouded in a thick fog, one sunday morning, when there was no air at all, only a flat calm, the sea as smooth as a glass mirror with the quicksilver clouded. then out sweeps, my lads! ten of a side, and two of those bronzed old lads at each sweep! all except the two after ones, where ben brown and the tall doctor handled one apiece. thus, with sails down and bare arms, the light little "rosalie" continued gliding rapidly over the mirrored surface--a little ashamed of herself, perhaps, at being seen in such a scanty rig--while her commander guided her graceful course, and harry greenfield peered about forward to see that no harm should arrest her dainty footsteps. presently was heard the toll of a bell. the sweeps paused, the hide gromets resting on the thole-pins, and the water raining from their broad blades. "that must be a man-of-war off here on the quarter," exclaimed the young officer at the tiller, "ringing for church." the old seamen at the sweeps unconsciously took off their hats, wiped the sweat from their brows, and listened. "it can hardly be the 'monongahela,'" said ben, "though p'raps she took more of a breeze to wind'ard, off the island." still the schooner glided on noiselessly over the sea, until, a minute later, harry greenfield sang out, "port, sir! or we'll be plump into a vessel here ahead." the helm was put down, and the "rosalie" sheered off to starboard within a biscuit-toss of a large brig. "by my grandmother's wig!" said ben, "that's the old 'martha blunt!'" "henri," said paul darcantel, in french, in his deep voice, "the last request i shall ever make is to keep on. there is not a moment to lose!" "give way, men!" shouted the officer, in a decided tone, as the words came with a stifled gasp from his heaving breast, while the sigh that followed was drowned in the splash of the sweeps in the water as they again chafed in their gromets, and the foam flashed away from the blades astern. but there was another splash. a white object sprang with a bound over the brig's quarter, dipping below the surface of the calm sea, and when it came up, two great flippers, with a large black head between them, struck out like the paws of an alligator, breasting the water with a speed that soon brought him within a few fathoms of the schooner's low counter. then, seizing hold of the slack of the main sheet, which was thrown to him, he came up, hand over hand, as if he could tear the stern frame out of the schooner. a vigorous grasp caught him by one paw, and, with the other laid on the taffrail, he leaped on deck as if his feet had pressed a springboard instead of the yielding water. again, as in the olden time, he held his little henri aloft in his giant arms; but this time it was banou who was dripping from a souse, and not his little master. "give way, my souls! another thousand dollars if we get up to the key before dark!" said the deep, low tones of the tall doctor. "good lord!" roared a voice from on board the brig, now shut up again all alone in the fog--"if that old nigger has not gone and jumped overboard, my name's not binks!" "all right, mr. binks; banou is safe! send a boat on board the 'monongahela,' and report that the schooner 'rosalie' has passed ahead," went back in a clear note. it was some considerable time before binks could believe that he had not been hailed by david jones himself, for he had seen nothing, being at the time in the lower cabin reading his bible, and writing his name, "binnacle binks, master of brig 'martha blunt,'" on the fly-leaf; and he was only disturbed in this praiseworthy occupation by a heavy body plunging overboard, and by one of the drowsy crew, who had, with his comrades, been sleeping near, reporting that circumstance with his eyes half shut. then young binks took considerable more time to get a boat lowered, and send her, with the cabin-boy, to the large frigate close on his beam, whose bell had just struck seven. the boat, too, with four sleepy hands to pull her, took considerable time to find the ship, and then the whistles were piping to dinner, and all the good people from the brig, with the flag-officers, had retired to the commodore's cabin for luncheon. when jacob blunt heard the news, regardless of sherry and cold tongue, he himself got in his boat, leaving his passengers in an excited frame of mind, but rather comfortable on the whole, and returned to the teak bosom of his "martha." there he took young binks firmly by the shoulder, and walked him aft to the rail where his father--long since dead and murdered--had been used to sit and sing sailor ditties. then he impressively told him that "this 'ere sort of thing wouldn't do! even if he was a readin' the bible, which was all very good on occasion, sich as clear weather out on the broad atlantic; but in fog times, when schooners was creepin' about in among the antilles, and partick'larly off jamaiky or the south side of cuby, mates and men should be wide awake and lookin' every wheres. and harkee, binnacle! when you commands this 'ere old brig, or maybe a bran-new 'martha blunt,' and me and my old woman lying below together in narrow cabins, you must bear in mind these my words! well, my boy, don't rub that 'ere sleeve over your eyes no more, and it will be all right." young binks promised "that from that 'ere minnit he would never sit on no rails, or sip no grog, or even read his old mother's bible when he wos on watch, but always be as keerful as if there wos no lady passengers or children on board, or bags of shiners in the lower cabin stateroom--that he would! and his blessed old second father might take his davy he, young binks, would never be caught foul again." meanwhile the girlish schooner tripped away far out of sight, and when the fog lifted and the breeze came to blow it to leeward she was once more tidily dressed in snowy white, and splashing the water from her black eyes, as the last rays of the setting sun showed her the tiger's trap in the distance. "henri, my boy, put your arms around me again as you did when i lay in torture on the trestle on that island. have no fears for me; we shall meet again. there! now listen to me. here is a packet which i wish you to carry to porto rico with this letter. the old judge is alive, i think, to whom this letter is addressed, and it may perhaps soothe his declining years. i wish to take your little gig, with banou and ben brown--no more force--and if, as i believe, that villain has returned to his former haunt, i will fulfill my oath to its very letter. meanwhile, so soon as we have shoved off, while the breeze still holds, run down to the frigate--she is not three leagues off--and you will be in your yearning parent's arms, and those of the girl you love, before they sleep. there! i know you will think of me. farewell!" chapter l. on a bed of thorns. "an orphan's curse would drag to hell a spirit from on high; but oh! more horrible than that is the curse in a dead man's eye!" "o heaven! to think of their white souls, and mine so black and grim!" "ho, ho!" said captain brand, as he stretched out his straight legs in their canvas casings on the sand of the little cove, "safe and sound, and not a soul to share this nice supper of that good old man miguel! "ho, ho!" continued he; "here at last! no babette to cook for me--no 'centipede'--nothing but that stanch little boat presented me by that generous fisherman, who, i fear, is drowned by this time. well, let us enjoy ourselves! excellent real snapper this! sausage rather too much garlic perhaps; but the brown bread and the aguardiente unexceptionable. blaze away, my little fire; your sticks cost me much labor to dig out of my once comfortable house, but you are better than gunpowder any day. "just to think of the years that have passed! that great bank of sand there over the sheds, nearly as high as the crag, where my brave fellows once caroused; the young cocoa-nut springing up on the crag itself--not a vestige of my old habitation left, or the bright blades or pleasant guests to dine with me!" here there was something of the old cold murderous scowl on the captain's face as he twisted the point of his nose. "ah! yes, there may be my wary-eyed sanchez left, though the last i heard of him he was in the capilla dungeon of the moro. and that"--grating his teeth, and glaring with his icy eyes at the fire, as if those two blocks of ice would put it out--"cursed doctor who pursues me! "well, well, neither of those old friends are here yet, and before another sun sets i shall bequeath the old den to them both! ho, ho! with those solid bags of clinking metal, i shall leave them as much sand and rocks as they choose to walk over. what a sly devil i was to stow that treasure away for a rainy day! never told a living being! poisoned the fellow, too, who made the lock! capital joke, 'pon my soul!" this was the very last of the very few jokes that captain brand ever enjoyed. "and, now i think of it, i wonder if my thirsty old mate's bones are yet lying there in the vault. what _was_ his name? such a bad memory i have! oh! gibbs--bill gibbs--with one leg! ho, ho!" here captain brand drained some more aguardiente out of a cracked earthen pot, and slapped his fine legs with rapture. "and those dear girls who married me! lucia, too!" the dirty wretch started as the wing of a sea-bird swooped down over the pure inlet; and he thought he saw a white fore finger beckoning him on to his doom. "pshaw!" said he, smoothing down his filthy tattered shirt with the finger of his mutilated left hand, "how nervous i am! but what a bungle pedillo made of that marriage! and my good ricardo, too! what a feast the sharks must have had on his oily, well-fed carcass! misericordia! ho, ho! i believe i'll bid my friends good-night." captain brand stretched himself out at full length on the shelly strand, his boat secured by a clove-hitch round his right leg, which rode calmly in the little inlet; his bald head, with the few dry gray hairs on his temples, resting on miguel's sennit hat, and the thin scum of frosty eyelids drawn over his frozen eyes--cracking their covering at times--until at last the pirate, aided by fiery aguardiente, slept. a few late cormorants and sea-birds sailed over him in his fitful slumber, and uttered a cold cry, as if their pecking-time had not come yet, but would shortly, as they sought their silent retreats on the wall of rocks opposite. and captain brand dreamed, too--of the old laird, his father, in prison; his mother weeping over forged notes; the sleeping, unsuspecting people he had treacherously murdered; the pillages he had committed; the men he had slain in open conflict; those he had executed with his own private cord; the poor woman who had died in worse torments, when, indeed, even knife or pistol, rope or poison, would have been a mercy; the agony and sufferings of those who survived them; with all the concomitant horrors which make the blood run cold to think of, and which made the pirate's almost freeze in his veins--living years in minutes--did captain brand, as he lay there on the chill sand in his troubled nightmare of a sleep. "ah! _dios! dios!_" chattered the señora banana pancha, at the other outlet to the inlet, rolling over on the ledge of the rocks at the tiger's trap. "what has become of my ig--ig--naçio--the one-eyed old villain who has persecuted me for forty years? why did i cut the old launch adrift before i got in myself? and here i am alone and desolate on this cursed island, and my ig--ig--naçio--bless his spark of an eye--not come back to me! ah! _dios! dios!_ what has become of the little man? he will kill me, _cierto_, when he comes back and finds the boat gone with all the money, which nearly broke his thin back to bring here; but, _dios! dios!_ i am dying of thirst, and not a shred of dried fish or jerked beef has gone into my old mouth--" yes there has, doña pancha, for just then a piece of hawser-laid rope--rather dry, perhaps, for mastication--was placed across your crying mouth that you might bite upon, if you would only stop your old tongue. for while you were screaming on the rocks, and yelling for your ig--ig--naçio, who went back for the last bag of gold that wasn't there, a light gig glided in like a blackfish, and a bigger blackfish jumped up and stopped your old mouth, pancha, with that bit of hide rope. but if you will keep quiet, pancha, and not exorcise banou for the evil one, that old nigger will give you a cup of liquid not known in the devil's dominions, and treat you also to some white biscuit to nibble upon. ah! you will, eh? and tell all about that thin curl of smoke, which you believe to have been made by that coal-eyed ig--ig--naçio, away up there by the inlet? now keep quiet again, old lady banana; and while your screaming mouth is gagged, don't cut this small gig away, or else she may navigate herself out to sea, as did your ig's launch, and you be left desolate again. the tropical night was still; the lizards wheetled, the breakers roared on the outer ledge, the ripples washed musically on the shelly shores, the alligators flapped about on the surface of the lagoon, the insects buzzed around the mangrove thickets; and as the gray dawn of morning appeared, and the rain began to fall, a steaming hot mist arose, through which the sea-birds flapped their wings and sailed away in search of their morning's meal. the sharks and the deep-sea fish, however, lay still and motionless low down by the base of the reefs, and watched with their cold, round eyes. captain brand, too, arose, and, opening _his_ green-bluish eyes, smoothing his moulting feathers, and splashing his fins in the wet sand, took an observation. this was the rainy day for which captain brand had laid by all that money to spend it in! it was a monday morning--black monday for captain brand--when, after divesting his leg of the clove-hitch, he secured old miguel's boat to a large stone, and then, according to his own ancient practice, he clambered with difficulty up to the venerable crag. captain brand had no spy-glass, and there was a good deal of rain falling, but yet he thought he saw a large ship, a brig, and a small schooner in the offing. so captain brand scrambled down again, a good deal disconcerted, knowing it would be hours and hours before those vessels got up to the island, even were they so inclined; but, nevertheless, he bestirred himself. fortifying his inner man with the last half pint of aguardiente for breakfast, which quite refreshed him, he went to work. first, he took miguel's copper coffee-pot, into which he emptied that disciple of the net's shark-oil jug, which miguel himself used for a torch to attract the fish. then, with a strip of old canvas--part of one leg to captain brand's trowsers; to such straits was he reduced--seized like a ball on the end of a stick, and a match-box, he was all ready for black monday's work. captain brand, however, made one serious omission; he snugly stowed away his beautiful pistols in a locker of the boat to keep them dry, never having been wet but twice before in all his marine excursions--the first time at cape garotte, and the next when he jumped overboard from the brigantine at st. jago. he set great store by these valuable implements, for they had done him good service in time of need. miguel came into possession of them afterward, and sold them almost for their weight in gold. but, for the first time, captain brand forgot his personal friends and bosom companions. it was a great oversight; and he was extremely sorry when it was too late to go back for them. however, with the copper oil-pot dangling from his little finger, where the sapphire once shone, and the torch-stick in the other hand, he marched boldly over the sandy ridges toward the crag. but, captain brand, there had been three pairs of open eyes watching you through every mouthful of snapper you snapped, and every drop of fiery white rum you swallowed. ay! and while you tossed about on the shelly beach, with the red glow of the embers of the fire lighting up your cold-blooded, wrinkled face--while, twisting your nose, you muttered ho! ho's! of murderous satisfaction--there was not a bird that swooped over you, or a lizard on the rocks with jet beads of eyes, that watched you so sharply as did those attentive beholders from the crag. and when you made your observations from the young cocoa-nut clump, those watchers retired down the opposite side, and two of them clambered through a hole in the roof of the decaying little chapel, while the other moved to the little cemetery of coral gravestones, and there scooped a place in the sand and cactus behind the one cut with the letter l. captain brand meanwhile came on, picking his way through the dense cactus, which lacerated his legs, and sadly tore the remains of his loose canvas. the rain came down in torrents, the thunder growled and crashed as the tropical storm burst over the island; and just as a vivid sheet of forked lightning seemed to stride the crag, and the awful peal that followed shook it to its base, captain brand crept for shelter within the cleft of the rock, and sat down to prepare for a more extended research. he may have been gone twenty minutes; but when he again emerged the rain had ceased, the clouds were breaking away, and the gentle sea-breeze blowing, while captain brand looked a thousand years older. he seemed to have borrowed all the million of wrinkles from his compadre, in addition to those he already possessed. the thin lids of his frozen green--now quite solid--eyes had apparently exhaled by intense cold, and left nothing but a stony look of horror. what caused our brave captain to reel and stagger as he plunged with a bound out into the matted cactus, without his tattered hat, like a wolf flying from the hounds? had he trodden on a snake, or seen his compadre, or had that white finger waved him away? yes, all three. but the interview with his one-eyed compadre had shocked him most. on he came, driving the hot, wet sand before him, toward the padre ricardo's chapel. there he paused for breath, though it was only by a spasmodic effort that he could unclose his sheet-white lips, where his sharp teeth had met upon them, and held his mouth together as if he had the lockjaw, while he snorted through his nostrils. "ho!" he gasped, "the spying old traitor has sacked the cavern, and the gold must have gone in that launch i saw the night i came over the reef. ho! the traitor has found the torture i promised him; but i would like to have killed him a little slower." here captain brand, having regained some few faculties and energy, moved on beyond the church, till he came to the white coral headstone, where he stood still. it was his last walk on deck or sand! shading his still horror-stricken eyes by both hands, he glared to seaward. "ho, ho! there you are, my yankee commodore, with that old brig under convoy, and that pretty schooner! reminds me of my old 'centipede.' _bueno!_ there are other 'centipedes,' and i must begin the world anew. i am not old; here is my strong right arm yet; and who can stop me?" captain brand made these remarks in a loud tone, as if he wanted the whole world to hear him; and as if he had failed in early life, and come to a strong resolution to retrieve his past errors. as he waved his strong right arm aloft, while, in imagination, blood rained from the blade of his cutlass after cleaving the skull by a blow dealt behind the back of an unsuspecting skipper or mate, suddenly he paused, and the arm fell powerless at his side, where it hung dangling loose like a pirate from a gibbet on a windy night. he caught sight of the old broken cocoa-nut trunk to which he had hitched the green silk rope, with its noose around his victim's neck, and he endeavored to prevent himself falling to the sand. "ho!" he choked out, his jaws rattling like dry bones, "i see it all now. the column was snapped just where the rope was hitched, and the trestle must have been torn to pieces by the hurricane. ho, ho! that's the way my man escaped, to dog me all over the world. ho! i have no time to lose; he may be here at any moment." this was the last connected speech that captain brand ever made in this world, or in the world to come, perhaps, for at the last word paul darcantel rose in all his revengeful majesty before him. with folded arms he bent his dark, stern eyes upon the pirate, wherein the revenge of twenty years was gleaming with a concentrated power. "you palsied villain! the oath i took to you, and for which i have been accursed, expired yesterday! i took another myself, when we stood here last together, and i am come to fulfill that oath, and--strike!" his terrible voice and words came back in an echo from the crag, and they seemed with their intense energy to pierce and shrivel the man before him into sleet. and the pirate would have fallen had not two huge, black, lignum-vitæ paws grappled him about the body, pinioning his arms to his sides as if they had been bolted through and through, while at the same moment another pair of tough, sea-weed flippers wound a lashing round his straight legs, and they laid him gently down on the sandy esplanade. "the trestle, banou. and you, ben, bring the hide strands, the faded old cord, and that black altar-cloth!" the pirate lay on his back, his eyes wide open--for he could not shut them, since the lids had gone in frost--but the solid balls, light green now in the light, rolled from side to side. he recognized the old apparatus too, though it was in different hands than those of pedillo and his confederate; and he saw, also, that, though the pale green rope was rotten, yet his knowledge of nautical matters taught him that it yet might bear a taut strain, and that those coils of hide thongs never gave way by any amount of tugging, and he saw as well that they had been recently dipped in grease. but what was to be done with that rotten, moth-eaten old cloth, which the men used to play monté on on saturday nights in the sheds, and on which the good padre played _his_ cards likewise in the chapel? it was not to keep the cold air away from him, or shield his half-naked body from the poisonous insects. then what could it be for? "lift him up, men, and when you lash him down, leave only that little finger free!" ben brown squatted himself on a stone beside the bier, and with his cutlass unbuckled and laid on the sand, and sleeves rolled up, began his work as if he had a chafing-mat to make for the dead-eyes of the frigate's lower shrouds, and, though in a hurry, still intended to make a neat job of it. he had a small and rather sharp-pointed marline-spike, too, which he wore habitually, like a talisman, round his neck, and which stood him in hand in the intricate parts of his task. taking in at a glance the exact amount of hide stuff he required, he middled the coils, and passing each strand fair and square, his old bronzed arms went backward and forward, under and over--sometimes pricking a little hole by accident in the pirate's own thin hide as he passed the strips by the aid of his marline-spike, but always apologizing in his bluff, rough way, though without squirting tobacco-juice into his victim's face, as did mr. gibbs to jacob blunt. "beg pardon, ye infarnal pirate! but that stick will do ye no harm. it'll heal much sooner than the iron spike one of yer crew drove through both cheeks of my watch-mate when you gagged him on board the brig. "i say, old nigger, hand us a little more of that slush, will ye? this 'ere strand won't lie flat. thankee, old darkey! kitch hold on that lower end, will ye? and draw it square up between his pins, and straighten out that 'ere knee-joint a bit--so fashion. "i wouldn't hurt ye, you ugly villain, for a chaw of tobaccy. "warm work, shipmate! suppose you just toddle down to the boat for that 'ere grafted bottle lyin' in the starn sheets, and bring a tin pot of fresh water with you; the gentleman might be thirsty, you know. _i am_--benjamin brown, of sandy pint, seaman." so benjamin plaited captain brand, late of the "centipede," down on his bier; not a thong too little, or one in the wrong place. a strand between each of his toes, and the big ones turned up in quite an ornamental way, and worked around with a turk's-head knot. "breathin' works all reg'lar, too, no bit of hide bearin' an onequal strain over his bread-basket. throat and jaw-tackle in fair talkin' order, little finger free; and there, capting brand, jist let old ben reward ye, good for evil, ye child-murdering scoundrel, for the lick your mate gave him with the pistol on the head, by placing this soft pillow of green silk rope under your bare skull. there! a little this side, so as ye can look at your finger, while i pass this broad piece of stuff over your ear. don't ye look at me, ye infarnal scoundrel, or i'll let this 'ere copper spike slip into one of yer junk-bottle glims! "now," continued ben, "i'll take a spell till the doctor and the old nigger come back." ay, the job was done, and the mat over the dead-eyes of the shrouds! [illustration: "now captain brand knew what was coming."] during this neat and seamanlike operation paul darcantel wandered away on the tracks of the flying wolf till he came to the cleft in the rock. there he picked up and lighted the torch and stalked on. presently he came to the stones before the low cavern, and pushed his way in with the blazing torch before him. had paul darcantel had nerves, they would have shaken at what he saw; but having none to shake, he calmly fixed his eyes upon the sight. there lay the head of the ancient ignaçio, caught, as he tried to creep out of the treasure-chamber, by the falling of the stone slab. it must have been sudden, for the stump of a paper cigar was still seized in his wrinkled lips, while the snakelike curls twined about his ears, and his wary eye looked out with its usual suspicious intensity, and seemed to throw out a spark of fire in the reflection of the torch. rising from a coil in a slimy bed of sand before the head was a venomous serpent, with his graceful neck curved into the broad flat head, all like an ebony cane, straight, motionless, and elegant to the curved top--fascinated by that single living orb of the dead man. the human intruder left this well-matched pair to their own venomous devices, and winding his way on, he soon came to the open door to the vaults. a powerful kick smashed in the door of the dungeon, and while the rusty bolts were still ringing on the stone pavement, paul darcantel entered the loathsome chamber. he saw nothing at first save a few fragments of broken crockery and a rusty metal pot--not even a rat. but flaring the torch down upon the mouldy floor something sparkled in the light. this he snatched, and it was the long-lost locket and chain which had last rested around the baby-boy's neck. when the doctor strode back to the esplanade of the chapel he found benjamin brown and banou taking a friendly sip out of the tin pot. "well, sir," said ben, as he got on his pins and strapped on his cutlass, "there he is, sir! and as neat a piece of cross-lashing as ever i did. he looks as if he growed there, jist like a hawk-bill turtle a-bilin' in the ship's coppers, only he can't paddle about. "i did it marciful, too, sir, and tried to convarse with him, in case he had any presents to make to his friends. "why, sir, and would you believe it? i offered to pour a drop of grog--mixed or raw--down his tight mouth, but he never had the perliteness to thank me or ax me a question, but only looked wicked at me. consarn him! if he had only winked, i wouldn't mind it!" said ben, with much indignation; "but, howsever, i don't b'lieve he's any think to leave or any friends left!" but captain brand, though speechless without being tongue-tied, and unable to wink, still thought. and what did the doctor propose to do with him in case he was not to be stung to death by insects, sand-flies, musquitoes, and what not? "lift the trestle for the last time, men, and stand it here over this thick bed of cactus, so as the little finger may touch the letter on this white tomb-stone." now captain brand's doubts were relieved, and he knew what was coming. oh ho! ho! "there! that is right! now collect stones and rocks, and wall this trestle up solid to the edge of the frame, so that a hurricane can't loosen it." big banou went to work now, and presently his job was done--coral rocks, and loose head-stones of pirates, well packed down with sand, made the sides of the living tomb. then the black pall was drawn over the body, and they left the pirate to his inevitable doom. soon the three executioners reached the tiger's trap. "banou, take this locket and chain--ah! you know it well--to your young master. brown, the two thousand dollars will be placed in your and greenfield's hands for distribution among the schooner's crew; make a good use of it! tell the commodore that i shall take an old woman we have found here away with me in a stolen fisherman's boat to manzanillo, and within the year i shall be at home! there! shove off, my lads!" as the gig skimmed through the tiger's trap, paul darcantel, with the widow of ignaçio, sailed out by the alligator's mouth, and as they crossed that roaring ledge, the sun sank in its unclouded glory in the west, and the young moon, with its thin pearly crescent, looked timidly down upon the island. and the night passed, and the next and the next, with scorching days and blazing suns between them; while the mangrove, the palm, the cocoa-nut, and the cactus--ah! that luxuriant plant throve apace--shooting up its steel-pointed bayonets two inches of a night in thorny needles as thick as pins in a paper, growing clean through the hide of ox or man like blood, till their hard-edged leaves met resistance, when, turning flat side up, they put forth a score for one of the needle bayonets! no escape from them. from shoulder to heel one long, hopeless agony. the fierce sun flaming down, absorbed by the black pall of death! the moon glimmering in pale white rays of splendor through the moth-eaten holes upon the finger and the white tomb-stone! all the day and all the night! was it a dream, captain brand? no, a frightful reality! don't you feel a fresh thorn at every slow pulse of the heart they are aiming at? and don't you hear those dread croakings of gulls and cormorants flapping in the air, who have left their prey on the reef to join the vultures in their feast on the shore? you may almost catch the grating sounds of the rasping jaws of the sharks as they crowd into the inlet, and rest their cold noses on the shelly cove where you slept! flesh and blood, and pinions and beaks can endure it no longer. a cloud of carnivorous birds swoop down at last, snap the black pall in their talons and bills, and fly fighting and screaming away with it. another cloud, darker than the rest, light upon the body, and while the needle-points pierce the palpitating heart, and the breath flutters on the still clenched lips and nostrils, the eyes are picked out, and the flesh is torn piecemeal, hide strands and all, till nothing is left but a hideous white skeleton, with the long bony finger pointing to the letter l. the lizards wheetled on the rocks, the alligators lashed the lagoon amid the steaming mist of the mangrove roots; the sharks and birds returned to the reefs, the cocoa-nuts waved their tufted tops, the palms crackled in the shower and gale, and the pure inlet murmured musically on the shelly shore for years and years over and around the deserted key, until the whitened bones crumbled into dust, and were borne away by the four winds of heaven. * * * * * the hemp has been tarred and spread, the strands twisted, and the rope laid up. the knots have been turned in between good sailors and bad--between pirates and men-of-war's-men--and here harry gringo hauls down his pennant until his reading crew care again to take a cruise with him in blue water. the end. * * * * * standard works of =discovery and adventure in africa=. published by harper & brothers, franklin square, n. y. _sent by mail, postage pre-paid, on receipt of price._ _the amount of travel literature which harper & brothers have published relating to africa makes a curious list, and illustrates the bent of geographical and political examination for some time past. the octavos of burton, barth, livingstone, du chaillu, davis, and a number of other celebrated travellers, form a small library, all the result of the last few years' devotion to african exploration_--n. y. journal of commerce. =speke's africa.= journal of the discovery of the sources of the nile. by john hanning speke, captain h.m. indian army, fellow and gold medalist of the royal geographical society, hon. corr. member and gold medalist of the french geographical society, &c. with map and portraits, and numerous illustrations, chiefly from drawings by captain grant. vo, cloth, $ . =reade's savage africa.= western africa: being the narrative of a tour of equatorial, southwestern, and northwestern africa; with notes on the habits of the gorilla; on the existence of unicorns and tailed men; on the slave trade; on the origin, character, and capabilities of the negro, and of the future civilization of western africa. by w. winwood reade, fellow of the geog. and anthropological soc. of lond., and corr. member of the geog. soc. of paris. with illustrations and a map. vo, cloth, $ . =du chaillu's equatorial africa.= explorations and adventures in equatorial africa; with accounts of the manners and customs of the people, and of the chase of the gorilla, the crocodile, leopard, elephant, hippopotamus, and other animals. by paul b. du chaillu, corr. member of the amer. ethnological soc.; of the geog. and statistical soc. of new york, and of the bost. soc. of nat. hist. maps and numerous illustrations. vo, cloth, $ . =baldwin's african hunting.= african hunting from natal to the zambesi, including lake ngami, the kalahari desert, &c., from to . by william charles baldwin, f.r.g.s. with map, fifty illustrations by wolf and zwecker, and a portrait of the great sportsman. mo, cloth, $ . =andersson's okavango river.= the okavango river: a narrative of travel, exploration, and adventure. by charles john andersson, author of "lake ngami." with steel portrait of the author, numerous wood-cuts, and a map showing the regions explored by andersson, cumming, livingstone, burton, and du chaillu. vo, cloth, $ . =andersson's lake ngami.= lake ngami; or, explorations and discoveries during four years' wanderings in the wilds of southwestern africa. by charles john andersson. with numerous illustrations, representing sporting adventures, subjects for natural history, devices for destroying wild animals, &c. new edition. mo, cloth, $ . =livingstone's south africa.= missionary travels and researches in south africa; including a sketch of a sixteen years' residence in the interior of africa, and a journey from the cape of good hope to loando on the west coast; thence across the continent, down the river zambesi, to the eastern ocean. by david livingstone, ll.d., d.c.l. with portrait, maps, and numerous illustrations. vo, cloth, $ . =davis's carthage.= carthage and her remains: being an account of the excavations and researches on the site of the phoenician metropolis in africa and other adjacent places, under the auspices of her majesty's government. by dr. n. davis, f.r.g.s. profusely illustrated with maps, wood-cuts, chromo-lithographs, &c., &c. vo, cloth, $ . =burton's central africa.= the lake regions of central africa. a picture of exploration. by richard f. burton, capt. h.m.i. army; fellow and gold medalist of the royal geographical society. with maps and engravings on wood. vo, cloth, $ . =barth's north and central africa.= travels and discoveries in north and central africa. being a journal of an expedition undertaken under the auspices of h.b.m.'s government in the years - . by henry barth, ph.d., d.c.l. profusely and elegantly illustrated. complete in vols. vo, cloth, $ . =cumming's south africa.= five years of a hunter's life in the interior of south africa. with notices of the native tribes, and anecdotes of the chase of the lion, elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, rhinoceros, &c. by gordon cumming. with illustrations. vols. mo, cloth, $ . =wilson's western africa.= western africa: its history, condition, and prospects. by rev. j. leighton wilson, eighteen years a missionary in africa. with numerous engravings. mo, cloth, $ . mr. wilson, an american missionary, has written the best book i have seen on the west coast.--dr. livingstone, _rivershire, w. africa_, feb. , . =discovery and adventures in africa.= condensed abstracts of the narratives of african travellers. by professor jameson, james wilson, and hugh murray. mo, cloth, cents. =the life and adventures of bruce, the african traveller.= by major sir francis b. head. mo, cloth, cents. =lander's niger expedition.= journal of an expedition to explore the course and termination of the niger. with a narrative of a voyage down that river to its termination. by r. and j. lander. engravings. vols. mo, cloth, $ . =urquhart's pillars of hercules.= the pillars of hercules; or, a narrative of travels in spain and morocco in . by david urquhart, m.p. vols. mo, cloth, $ . =owen's voyages.= voyages to explore the shores of africa, arabia, and madagascar: performed under the direction of captain w. f. w. owen, r.n. vols. mo, cloth, $ . =mungo park's central africa.= travels of mungo park, with the account of his death, from the journal of isaaco, and later discoveries relative to his lamented fate, and the termination of the niger. mo, cloth, cents. =madagascar.= =the last travels of ida pfeiffer=: inclusive of a visit to madagascar. with an autobiographical memoir of the author. translated by h. w. dulcken. steel portrait. mo, cloth, $ . (uniform with ida pfeiffer's "second journey round the world"). =three visits to madagascar=, during the years - - . including a journey to the capital, with notices of the natural history of the country and of the present civilization of the people. by the rev. william ellis, f.h.s. with a map and wood-cuts from photographs, &c. vo, cloth, $ . * * * * * =harper's weekly for .= harper's weekly is devoted to art, literature, general information, and politics. it will contain a carefully condensed and impartial record of the events of the day, pictorially illustrated wherever the pencil of the artist can aid the pen of the writer. in politics it will advocate the national cause, wholly irrespective of mere party grounds. its essays, poems, and tales will be furnished by the ablest writers of both continents. a new novel, by mr. george augustus sala, entitled "quite alone," will, by special arrangement with the author, appear in the weekly simultaneously with its publication in mr. dickens's "_all the year round_." the publishers will see to it that the current volume shall justify the favorable opinions expressed by the loyal press upon the volume which has just closed. =extracts from notices by the press.= "harper's weekly is the best publication of its class in america, and so far ahead of all other weekly journals as not to permit of any comparison between it and any of their number. its columns contain the finest collections of reading matter that are printed. thus, if you look into the volume for , you will find that its stories, and miscellaneous articles, and poetry are from the minds of some of the leading writers of the time. its matter is of a very various character from elaborate tales and well-considered editorial articles to the airiest and briefest jests, good-humored hits at the expense of human follies, which proceed from the liveliest of minds. it is a vigorous supporter of the war--discussing all questions that concern the contest in which we are engaged with an amplitude of perception and a breadth of patriotism that place it very high indeed on the roll of loyal and liberal publications. its illustrations are numerous and beautiful, being furnished by the chief artists of the country. most of the illustrations are devoted to the war, including battle-pieces, scenes made renowned by great events there occurring, and portraits of eminent military and civil leaders. even a person who could not read a line of its letter-press could intelligently follow the history of the war through by going over the pictured pages of this volume,"--_evening traveller_ (boston.) "harper's weekly, besides being a literary paper of the first class--the only one among american or european pictorials with a definite purpose consistently and constantly carried out--is at once a leading political and historical annalist of the nation."--_the press_ (philadelphia). "harper's weekly.--in turning over its pages, we were struck anew with the fidelity with which it delineates passing events: a true picture of the times. the scenes of the war, portrayed by the graphic pencils of artists on the battle-field and in the camp, are re-produced in excellent wood-cuts with marvelous promptness and accuracy. the letter-press furnishes an appropriate accompaniment to the illustrations; presenting a pleasing variety, sprightly and entertaining. we can not wonder at the popularity of the _weekly_ when we observe the spirit and enterprise with which it is conducted."--_journal_ (boston). "harper's weekly for .--from a careful examination of this work, as it came out in it weekly form, we can honestly advise our readers to purchase the stately and pictured volume. we dare not say how many duodecimo volumes of matter, and of good and interesting matter, it contains. as a record of the events and opinions of the past year, and as literally a picture of the time, it has a permanent value, while its wealth of excellent stories and essays makes it an endless source of entertainment. the original editorial articles are of a very high order of merit, and relate to subjects which attract the attention of all intelligent and patriotic minds. soundness of thought, liberality of sentiment, and thorough-going loyalty find expression in the most exquisite english. altogether, we should say that _harper's weekly_ is a necessity in every household."--_the transcript_ (boston). "harper's weekly and magazine, with their immense circulation, are grandly loyal and influential. the _weekly_ especially has been true to the cause; and while it gives in admirable correspondence and accurate pictures a complete illustrated history of the war, with all its battles, incidents, and portraits of generals, it has splendidly enforced by argument and example its principles. closer reasoning is not to be found than that to which its editors might fairly challenge answer."--_city item_ (philadelphia). _notices of harper's weekly._ "harper's weekly, of which the seventh volume is now issued in neat, substantial binding, shows the industry and zeal with which the cause of the union has been maintained in its columns during the year . it has continued to increase the fervor of patriotic sentiment as well by its appropriate pictorial illustrations as by its able editorial leaders commenting on the events of the day. in its present shape, the journal furnishes copious materials for the history of the war, and can not fail to find a place in public and private libraries as an important volume for permanent reference."--_tribune_ (new york). "harper's weekly _for_ --a journal of the year, kept in the most interesting way; and as we turn over the pages we revive many now almost forgotten sensations, and see, bit by bit, how history has grown. the volume closed and bound up becomes history; but it would not be just to this publication to omit a remark on the influence which it has exerted during the year, and which it continues to exert. an illustrated journal like _harper's weekly_, which circulates, as we have heard, over one hundred and twenty thousand copies per week, chiefly among families, and which has probably a million of readers, has necessarily a great influence in the country. the _weekly_ has consistently and very ably supported the union, the government, and the great principles to develop which the union was founded. unlike most illustrated journals, _harper's weekly_ has displayed political and literary ability of a high order as well as artistic merit. its political discussions are sound, clear, and convincing, and have done their share to educate the american people to a right understanding of their dangers and duties. in its speciality--illustrations of passing events--it is unsurpassed; and many of the pictures of the year do honor to the genius of the artists and engravers of this country. thus complete in all the departments of an american family journal, _harper's weekly_ has earned for itself a right to the title which it assumed seven years ago, 'a journal of civilization.'"--_evening post_ (new york). harper's weekly.--this periodical merits special notice at the present time. there is probably no weekly publication of the country that equals its influence. more than one hundred thousand copies fly over the land weekly: they are read in our cars, steamboats, and families. our youth especially read them; and as _the_ family newspaper of the nation, its power over the forming opinions of the next generation of the american people is an important item. it is abundant, if not superabundant, in pictorial illustrations--a means of strong impression, especially on the minds of the young. both by its illustrations and its incessant discussion of the occurrences and questions of the war it is a "current history" and "running commentary" on the great event, and there is probably no literary agency of the day more effective in its influence respecting the war in the families of the common people. most happy are we then to be able to say that this responsible power is exerted altogether on the side of loyalty. no paper in the land is more outspoken, more uncompromising for the union, for the war, for even the policy of the president's "great proclamation." when the rebellion broke out we did the publishers the injustice of some anxious fears about their probable course on the subject. steadily have they kept up with the providential development of its events and questions; not only abreast of them, but, in important respects, ahead of them. no periodical press in the nation deserves better of the country for its faithfulness and "pluck" in all matters relating to the great struggle. and we should do it injustice were we not to add that, with its outright loyalty and bravery, it combines commanding ability. the editorial leaders which it continuously flings out against all political traitors and flunkies strike directly at their mark. they are evidently from pens both strong and polished. on even the astuter subjects of policy, finance, &c., it is eminently able. and it makes no mistake in supposing its readers capable of an interest and of intelligence in these respects. american families look keenly into such questions, and with such a really educational force as this paper wields, it is especially right and commendable that it seeks to elevate the common mind to the higher questions of the times. the american people will not fail to notice and to remember the courageous and patriotic course of _harper's weekly_ in these dark times of hideous treason, and of more hideous, because more contemptible, semi-treason.--_the methodist, n. y._ terms. one copy for four months $ one copy for one year two copies for one year "harper's weekly" and "harper's magazine" one year _an extra copy of either the weekly or magazine will be supplied gratis for every club of ten subscribers, at $ each; or, eleven copies for $ ._ * * * * * transcriber's note: the author's archaic spelling is preserved, including creative spanish spelling such as "guantamano" and "hasta huego". the author's punctuation style is preserved. hyphenation has been made consistent. in addition to making hyphenation consistent, the following changes were made to the original text: page : =escondide= standardized to =escondido= (why, madame, it is only a week ago that a lot of us dined with him at his estate of =escondido=) page : added quote (he continued, turning toward the skipper, as the clear sound of the cruiser's bell struck his ear, ="i must= not forget what i came for.") page : added tilde ("_el doctor =señor=, con tres de nosotros._") page : removed extra end quote from "ho!" (sputtered the ruffian, as he pulled a pistol from his belt, ="ho!= you mean fight, do ye?") page : removed accent from "e" ('_=bueno=!_' there's more fish in the sea--and under it too!) page : changed from single quote (="but= the best of the joke was, the moment he spoke) page : added accent (in the centre arose a huge =épergne= of silver, fashioned into the shape of a drooping palm-tree) page : added tilde ("and the =señorita's= too, i think,") page : removed dash from =money--you= (i wouldn't remain another hour in this filthy hole for all the =money you= have cheated me out of, you old rascal.) page : =hirtling= changed to =hurtling= (no more pauses or lulls now in the =hurtling= tempest) page : =epaulettes= standardized to =epaulets= (in cocked hat, full-dress coat, a pair of gleaming =epaulets=, sword by his hip, and his nether limbs cased in white knee-breeches) page : added quote (="well=, gentlemen, for some weeks after these occurrences we sailed about the islands) page : =mosquito= standardized to =musquito= (the orders were to beat up the south side of cuba, where we expected to fall in with the =musquito= fleet and some english vessels) page : =is= changed to =its= (a minute later, all that was left of the shattered hull fell broadside into the open fangs of the ledge, which ground it with =its= merciless jaws into toothpicks.) page : removed repeated "at all" (he didn't like his looks =at all=, though he did make himself so fascinating to the beautiful widow who sat next him) page : =believeing= changed to =believing= (as there is much reason for =believing= he did--with great disgust, on board the dirty, dumpy old ballahoo) page : =tholl-pins= changed to =thole-pins= (the sweeps paused, the hide gromets resting on the =thole-pins=, and the water raining from their broad blades.) none [illustration: a queen but yesterday. (see page .)] latitude ° a romance of the west indies in the year of our lord eighteen hundred and twenty _being a faithful account and true, of the painful adventures of the skipper, the bo's'n, the smith, the mate, and cynthia_ by mrs. schuyler crowninshield _author of where the trade winds blow_ illustrated by george gibbs [illustration] new york d. appleton and company copyright, , by d. appleton and company. _all rights reserved._ to c. s. c. contents. chapter page i.--our involuntary landing ii.--our first view of the natives iii.--we change our camp, and cynthia discovers a disturbing element iv.--the skipper makes a prayer v.--a mysterious flight vi.--the pirates return vii.--a villain meets his end and a prisoner escapes viii.--a living death ix.--i am rescued x.--the minion points a moral, although he does not adorn a tale xi.--the bo's'n hides the treasure xii.--the skipper again enacts the rÔle of chaplain xiii.--i commit the error of my life xiv.--we start out to lay a snare and fall into a trap xv.--we meet some strange acquaintances, are made prisoners, and lose our only means of rescue xvi.--the goat without horns xvii.--i meet an old friend and lose my all xviii.--we find a new abode, and zalee departs to seek succour xix.--we meet for the second time with "le bruit du gouffre," and i take another journey xx.--i meet with the terrible black king, and voluntarily assume a task to regain my liberty xxi.--i offend the king's foster brother, and am forced to take the consequences xxii.--we engage in battle, murder, sudden death, and--freedom list of illustrations. facing page a queen but yesterday _frontispiece_ pirates at play the skipper's marriage service the pythoness circled slowly around cynthia was standing on the very edge of the chasm _sans souci_, the palace of king christophe i placed my foot on his neck latitude °. the homestead, belleville, n. j. _september , ._ _dear son adoniah: in complying with your request that i jot down the facts with regard to my early experiences at the time when i was cast away, i have hardly known what to tell and what to leave untold. i could not relate to you the detailed occurrences of each day, though you will think that i have come quite near it, for it would have made a manuscript too large in size. i have told you much when we have been sitting by the fire on a winter evening, you with your leg on a chair, and little adoniah hanging round you trying to persuade you to "make grandpa stop," that you might tell him your more recent tale of interest of the battle of gettysburg. many a time, as we have been talking, i have seen your dear mother, always beautiful and always young--though she has been a grandmother now seven times, what with mary's children, and gertrude's, and yours--many a time i have seen her look at us disapprovingly, as if wondering what pleasure we can take in such gruesome tales, but i find that with most men adventure is as the breath of their nostrils, and that no matter what suffering they have undergone, they always hark back to the wild, exciting scenes of youth, forgetting the pain and dwelling only on the pleasure._ _miserable as i have been at times, and in some pretty tight places, too, now that we are all happily at home together, i would not exchange one of those experiences for a pot full of gold. i would not give away the remembrance of them any more than you would have blotted from your memory that fight in the wilderness, where you led so gallantly; any more than you would be willing to discard the scar on your leg, or the strap on your shoulder, the one gained because of the other._ _sometimes, as i sit on the settle at the door of the farmhouse, when the sun has gone down and twilight is coming on, i dream those days all over again. i see the buccaneers in the cave. i experience again the suffocation of the cage in which they left me for dead. i see before me as plainly as if i held it in my hand, with those wondrous eyes intact, and shining like two living balls of fire, that symbol of mysticism, the serpent ring. i see again the vaudoux dance and the long, light eyes of the pythoness, which fascinated while they struck terror to the very soul. i again take part in those sad and dreary burials at sea, in which the dear old skipper so revelled, and once more i find myself at christophe's court, with all its magnificence, all its barbarity, and all its horrors, and i wonder if any other life ever crowded so much into itself in so short a space of time. my letter must not be too long or tell too much in advance. i am not an author, son adoniah, nor do i wield the pen of a ready writer even for my children. this has been to me a laborious task, though at the same time a labour of love._ _if you should show these recollections to some of your friends, they will probably discredit the statement that anthropophagi have lived in the recent times of which i write, and so near our own coast. what would they say, i wonder, should they meet my friend, the late united states minister to the island, and learn from him that the dreadful practice existed not only at the date of which i write, but that it is actually extant, though more concealed, at the present day. and we pour our gold into old africa while new africa, where these awful crimes are rampant, is but twelve hundred miles from belleville!_ _finally, son adoniah, believe that i have set down nothing here which can not be substantiated by historians, by living witnesses, and by the published proceedings of courts of law._ _your affectionate father_, hiram jones. chapter i. our involuntary landing. i put my head down through the hatchway and called to cynthia to come on deck. i always called her cynthia to myself. what i said was: "come up, miss archer; i can see christophe's castle." "you can't!" she said. these words were uttered, i was convinced, more in astonishment than in contradiction. they issued from the funnel of a white cotton sunbonnet. the funnel appeared above the hatchcombings, then a pair of shoulders incased in blue dungaree followed suit, and, finally, the tall figure of miss cynthia archer emerged from the open hatchway and stepped lightly on to the deck. "where is it?" she asked. "i will answer that question if you will answer mine," i responded. "i was never good at guessing riddles," she said. "it's no riddle," returned i. "oh, the same old question!" hazarded cynthia. the handsome gray eyes looked out questioningly from the depths of the funnel. i nodded appealingly. "you've got me up here under false pretences," said cynthia. "i will go below again. i don't believe there is any castle." "there is, indeed, miss archer." i held the spyglass tightly under my arm. "i will show where if you will answer me." "the chronic question?" "yes, the chronic question." cynthia looked out at me, a world of sincerity shooting from her eyes. "to tell you the truth," said she, "jones is simply impossible! i couldn't, really! why, mr. jones, jones is synonymous with anonymous. and then _hiram_ jones!" she knew as well as i did myself what i wanted to ask her. i told her so. cynthia stood for a moment looking meditatively at me. "i don't know why i shouldn't, after all," said she in a musing tone. my heart leaped up into my throat. "i might call you 'j,'" she said. "and i might call you 'a,'" answered i. "'"a" was an archer and shot at a beau.'" "shot with a bow, you mean," said cynthia; "but, really, the words run, '"a" was an archer and shot at a frog.'" "thank you," said i. of course, she knew what i had in mind. i said it every time she came on deck. i made a point of it. i thought that she might get used to it after a while. "you haven't been up all day," said i reproachfully. "there's no variety in your conversation, mr. jones," said cynthia. "the parrot is much more interesting. but when you called down that christophe's castle was in sight, i thought that perhaps you were in your right mind once more." "if my present mind's wrong, i shall never be right," said i, as i hove the wheel over to larboard to keep the yankee blade on her course. "archer's so much prettier than jones," said cynthia in a dreamy, convincing tone. she reached out her hand and took the glass from me. her touch was like a magnet. i couldn't have held it back to save my life. she stepped to the rail and rested the barrel of the glass upon one of the ratlines. "now where's your castle?" she asked; and added, "how this ship rolls!" "the wind is falling light," i said. "seems to me we're farther in shore than we ought to be.--tomkins, did you keep her exactly on the course the captain gave you?" "yessir," said tomkins, without winking. "now where is it?" asked cynthia. i called one of the men to take the wheel and went to cynthia's side. i guided the glass very slowly to within a hair's breadth of the imposing structure, ran it hurriedly past, so that the view was all in a blur, then i searched slowly and carefully for the thing that we had passed by. cynthia was not long deceived. "give me that glass, mr. jones," she said with dignity. "i will find the citadel if it is there." "it is there, upon my soul!" said i. i saw that she was angry. "there! don't you see that big pile of stone?" "where?" "there! just there!" "is--that--christophe's castle? what--a--big--thing--it--is! why--mr.--jones--you--never--told--me--half! how--i--should--like--to--go--there!" "god forbid!" said i, and i shuddered. "hand me that glass!" said the skipper, who had tumbled up from below. he laid a heavy hand upon the spyglass and took it without ceremony. he could. he was her uncle. he could call her cynthia, too. i could only think it. the skipper wheeled about and looked out to sea. "here, you, mr. jones!" said the skipper, his gaze fixed on the stranger, "what did you do with that cook?" "the cook?" said i inquiringly. the skipper removed the glass from his eyes. "didn't i tell you that pudding wasn't fit to give to a dog?" "yes, you did, sir, but the man did his best. i thin----" "mr. jones, am i captain of this vessel, or am i not?" an acquiescent nod from me. "very well, then! you go below, mr. jones, and you take bill tomkins and the growler, and you take that pudding, and you put it in the brig, and you take that cook and you set him alongside of it, and you lock the door, and don't you let either of 'em come out until one of 'em's inside of the other!" "yes, sir," said i, and i went below to carry out his orders. i closed the door of the brig, leaving the cook sitting in the hot little place, looking ruefully at the nauseous mess that he had tried to force on the cabin table. i suddenly remembered something that i wanted done about the men's mess gear, and returned along the companion way. it was evident that i was not expected, for i heard some words, not overcomplimentary to myself, proceeding from the growler, who had lingered behind; and he added, calling out to the cook: "never mind, doctor,[a] you will be ashore in less than an hour." [a] a sailor's name for the cook. when i came on deck again the skipper had the glass glued to his eyes. "did he eat it?" asked the skipper. "no, sir, not yet," said i. "he'd just had his dinner." the skipper did not seem to listen to my answer. he handed the glass to me and pointed seaward. "don't like the looks of that vessel out there, jones. she's been crawling up on us for the last hour. looks as if she was trying to head us off. about three points forward of the beam now, i should say. isn't this vessel off her course, jones?" he walked over to the binnacle, and took a look at the compass. "no, you're right. but we certainly are farther in shore than i expected we would be. head her up, man, head her up!" "tomkins had the wheel while i was below," said i. "he said he kept her just as you told him. that stranger's flying the english flag." the skipper shook his head, looked at the union jack, and then over the side of the yankee blade. "didn't know there was any currents around here. strange! strange!" cynthia stood sniffing and wrinkling up her handsome nose. "what is it smells so sweet?" she asked. "the land," said i. "yes, i know, of course. but i never smelled land so sweet as this before. now, off martin----" "the wind has fallen light, captain," said i. "how monotonous you are," said cynthia, "not to call it----" "damn the wind!" said the skipper. he wet his finger in his mouth and held it up. "why don't you throw the cat overboard, and shoot an albatross?" questioned cynthia, who was versed in sea lore. "the cat was left behind at martinique," replied the skipper. "i guess with some of those girls jones was hanging round, and any fool knows that no one ever saw an albatross in these waters." "well, please don't damn the wind, uncle, while i'm on board." cynthia spoke with some asperity, and turned her back squarely on me. "you know very well you promised aunt mary 'zekel----" "damning the wind ain't anything; _want_ a blow!" said the skipper. "do we? why?" "that's our safety," growled he, with his eyes glued to the glass. "are you really afraid, uncle antony?" "well, no, not what you might call afraid. wouldn't be very agreeable to be taken prisoner just now. damn if i don't believe that's a letter of marque, that fellow!" i laughed. "don't be afraid, miss archer," i said; "there are no letters of marque nowadays." "oh, do let me see! i hope he is one. i never saw a letter of marque." the skipper growled in my ear, "pirates are just as bad." "will he take my cassava bread, and capture solomon?" "he'll capture you and the whole bilin' if we don't get ahead a little faster. i'd like to head her up. can't, till we pass those nubbles on the starboard bow. jones, we may have some tough work. you go below and get a bite, while i take the deck. may have to run." "where to?" asked cynthia. "ashore, i guess," answered the skipper. most girls would have fainted. "i'd better go below and pack my bag," said cynthia. she turned to me condescendingly. "i'll give you something, mr. jones, if you choose to come." choose to come! i would have followed her to a much warmer interior. the cabin was close and stuffy. there were some cushioned seats on either side of the table, just too far from it to allow one to eat comfortably. the most of my bread dropped, between my knees and rolled away on the deck. "what does he carry that ridiculous picture all around the world for?" i growled. cynthia turned and looked at the coloured picture of a falcon which hung in its frame at the end of the small cabin. "doesn't he look foolish? he's so out of drawing. he makes me seasick," said i. "it is an excellent picture," said cynthia. "and a plain yankee skipper coming to sea with a coat of arms and a motto. it's positively silly!" "it belongs to him just as much as his name does. i can't see why he shouldn't bring it. it isn't a coat of arms, either. you can't say such things to me about the hooded hawk, mr. jones, though i am not a schuyler exactly. but i have a great respect for the family." "and a latin text," i added. "don't talk with your mouth full, mr. jones. even the bird will be shocked. do you know what the motto means?" "it's latin," i answered. that was conclusive. at belleville we had other things to do besides study latin. she turned on her transom and surveyed the coat of arms, her head on one side, her handsome eyes screwed out of all shape. they rested upon a very fat bird holding with difficulty to a wrist to which it bore no proportion. the wrist was as large as the trunk of a tree. "aunt mary 'zekel did it," said cynthia. "uncle says it means, 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'--the motto, i mean." "well, so it is," i answered. "a bird in a white sunbonnet is worth----" "william brown is waiting at home on the dock for me," said cynthia, as she removed the sunbonnet. i sat silent and drained my cup. "have some more coffee, mr. jones?" she took my cup and replenished it. "i said that william brown is waiting on the dock for me." "he can't; a dock's a hole." "well, anyway, he's waiting." a short silence, during which she wrinkled her forehead. "wharf, then! william brown's----" "i should think brown was synonymous with synopsis," said i absent-mindedly. "some people have no dictionary knowledge," sniffed cynthia. "he is, really." "is what?" "waiting. we're going to keep house." "on what?" "what? on what?" "keep house on what?" "well, i'm going to begin with the parrot. that's what i got him for." "stew him first day. what'll you do next?" "i decline to talk with you," said cynthia, twisting huffily around on the old red plush cushion. "william may be very rich some day. his great aunt was a schuyler. he has a share in the belleville copper mines."[b] [b] it has been rumoured lately that there is a project on foot to resume the working of these mines.--author. "you still have faith in them, have you? now, miss archer, let me tell you----" plim! splash! the water was dashed through the open stern ports. "what was that?" said cynthia, rising. "a whale or a hurricane?" and then, as she sat looking questioningly at me, we heard a report. the report of a gun. this was followed by the pounding of the skipper's feet on the deck above our heads. cynthia ran out of the cabin door and up the companion way to the poop. i heard her calling as she went: "don't be afraid, uncle tony! i'm coming." "where's jones?" i heard him growl, as i followed close at his heels. "fainted away in the cabin." "damn coward!" "what's the matter?" said i. bill ware had let go the wheel, and the vessel was yawing round. we were in the trough of the sea. the captain seemed incapable through astonishment. i jumped to the wheel and got her on her course again. "that damn fellow fired at me across our bows. next he'll cut us amidships." "shouldn't wonder," said cynthia, "if he takes the stern for the bow." she stood looking calmly at the approaching vessel. "i should think he'd fire straighter than that. looks as if he had something in him." her acceptance of the situation threw the skipper into a towering rage. he stammered and stuttered. cynthia paid no attention to his angry words. "shall i take the wheel, uncle?" she asked. this seemed to bring the captain to his senses. "take the wheel, mr. jones." i had had it for a minute. "on deck, everybody!" the men came tumbling up in lively fashion. they could have heard our skipper on board the other vessel. "jump to the lee braces, men! brace everything sharp up! get a small pull of the spanker sheet! haul all the bow lines! let her luff! luff, you beggar! bring her close by the wind!" the captain stood, his chin raised in the air, his eyes on the yards. "well! the main yard!" the men ceased hauling, and belayed the braces. "well! the maintops'l yard. belay the lee braces!" "do you think we'll get ahead of that other ship?" said cynthia. i looked critically to windward. "no, i don't," said i. "then what will happen?" "depends on the other fellow; if----" "think we might weather the nubbles, mr. jones?" and then, before i could answer, "ready about!" he roared. "ay, ay, sir!" "he's bound to catch us on this tack," confided i into the funnel as i ran to my station. the men ran willingly to obey the orders; all but tomkins. "blank you, tomkins! why don't you move? got rheumatism, or what? why don't those sails fill? darn it all! we're in irons. no, there she goes! we're forging ahead. think i'll run for that cove when we tack again. might stand 'em off with two four-poun----" the skipper was interrupted. he stood with open mouth, from which no sound issued. we were all, as we stood, swayed slowly forward, then as slowly backward, with a motion that made me sick and dizzy. there was a shaking of the hull, an ominous creaking of the masts, as the yankee blade careened slightly and stood still. at that moment a shot struck the foremast, cutting it in two. it fell to leeward, a mass of splintered wood and tangled rigging. the crashing of the top into the water sent the foam flying over us. "he wants you to stop," said cynthia. "well, haven't i?" said the skipper dryly. "yes, you have certainly," answered cynthia in a tone of conviction. the skipper turned on cynthia in a sudden rage. "can't you cry or do something? why don't you act womanly. i wish to god you was home with your aunt mary 'zekel!" the skipper seemed to have lost his nerve. "what shall we do, jones? cut away the mast, i suppose." "better lower some boats, sir, at once," said i. "we're no match for them." cynthia had the glass raised to her eyes. "they're getting out a boat," she said. "let me see." the skipper seized the spyglass from cynthia so roughly that he pulled her sunbonnet from her head. she stood beside him bareheaded, the gentle tropic breeze blowing her hair into a thousand little brown rings. i ran close to her as i was hurrying to get the boats lowered. her mouth was set, as if she did not fancy her uncle's rough treatment. "he doesn't mean it, miss archer," i said in as sympathetic a tone as i could command. "he's worried and----" "you need not apologize to me for my uncle, mr. jones. we understand each other thoroughly." she went up to the old man and laid her hand upon his shoulder. he shook it off impatiently. "lower a boat, mr. jones!" he said. "lower a boat at once!" cynthia put on her sunbonnet to hide, i thought, her mortification. "i have given the order, sir," said i. "better lower two, sir. the men don't want to be captured any more than we do." "couldn't wish the stranger any worse luck than to capture them all, cook included," said the skipper with a scowl at the men. "i guess they did their best, captain," said i, in a louder voice than was necessary, with an eye to a possible future. "don't answer me, mr. jones! get a boat down!" "lay aft there to lower the dinghy! stand by!" "how can you worry uncle so, mr. jones, when you know how----" two or three of the men lay aft with alacrity at my order. among them was tomkins. he worked with a will. "where's ned chudleigh?" asked the skipper. "in the foc's'l, sir," said the bo's'n. "send him up here. on deck, everybody!" "says he's sick, sir." "sick, is he? guess he'll be sick before we've--why don't you get out that boat, you rascals?" "shall we lower a third one, captain?" said i. the shore looked inhospitable. we might as well be on the right side of the men. "bear a hand there, whatever you do! they've got their boat in the water. the men are climbing down the falls now. put a cask of salt pork under the thwarts, mr. jones, and a breaker of water." i gave the order, and added thereto a bag of hard bread, some coffee, tea, and sugar. i saw that the bo's'n was adding the necessary utensils. cynthia watched these preparations with disapproving mien. she came over to where i stood, her eyes flashing fire. "do you mean to tell me," she asked fiercely, "that you'll run from those letter-of-marque people without even a struggle? there are all my shells and that west indian dress of mine down in my box. do you intend to let them be taken without so much as----" "i'm not captain of this craft," said i, "but he's doing the only----" "don't hide your cowardice behind my poor old uncle. if no one else will do anything, i'll--get me a slow match; light it quickly, do you hear?" with a stamp of the foot at the cabin boy. "shall we put any blankets in the boat, mr. jones, sir?" asked the bo's'n. "something for the lady----" i ran down below into cynthia's cabin. even with all the hurry, confusion, and excitement of the moment, i did not fail to note the neatness of that white little room. i tore the blanket from the smoothly made bed and seized a pillow from its place. i stood looking around a moment to see if there was anything more that she might want. i saw on the dresser a little note-book, with a pencil slipped into the loops. this i put into my pocket with a picture done by a belleville artist of aunt mary 'zekel. another of a very meek-looking man, with his hair brushed forward over his ears, and a collar the points of which ran up nearly to his eyes, i took it to be william brown. this i detached from the hook on which it hung, and, going to the open port, i thrust my arm through and tossed it up in the air, hoping that cynthia would in this way look her last on the face of my rival. simultaneously with my toss of the picture there came a report from overhead, and i saw some fragments of shattered glass. i knew that the six-pounder on the poop had been fired. i hurried on deck, encumbered with the pillow and blanket. the smell of gunpowder was in the air. cynthia was standing defiantly by the gun. she had just dropped the slow match. the skipper was dancing in rage on the poop. "now you've done it! now you've done it!" he screamed. "you've made 'em so angry there's no telling what they'll do.--are the boats all ready, mr. jones?" "if we are going to run, we may as well show them a little yankee spirit first," said cynthia. "i wish i could make them hear me. i would tell them that the only man on board this vessel's a girl." i had picked up the glass and was trying to get a sight on the long boat. she was a little way from the end of the ship, and cynthia through sheer luck had struck her amidships. i saw that there were five or six men struggling to keep afloat. a boat was being lowered to pick them up. "seems to me now's our time to go," said the skipper. "just look at the guns on board that fellow!" he turned on cynthia, his face crimson, his eyes fierce and angry. "how dare you accuse me of being a coward?" he shook his fist in her face. "i'm thinking of you more than anybody. we haven't a ghost of a chance with those fellows if they're what i think they are. you may talk to jones there; he's weak enough to stand it, but by----" "mr. jones has taken the precaution to have a comfortable time, at all events," said cynthia, with a scornful glance at the blanket and pillow. "if you're really going ashore, uncle, i'll just step below and get my bag. i'm glad i packed it now." she disappeared down the companion way, and after a few moments, during which we were getting the jacob's ladder slung so that she could descend into the long boat, she came on deck again. a sound of stumbling and a banging of metal preceded her. when she appeared above the hatchcombings, i saw that she held a worked canvas bag in one hand and a large, square parrot's cage in the other. a shot from the stranger went over our heads at that moment, doing no damage beyond cutting away a few threads of rope, which fell upon the cage. "damn those britishers!" said the parrot. "they didn't do much that time--only cut off those irish pennants. that's a very sensible bird of yours, cynthy," said the skipper, who remembered the late war only too well. "i'm glad there are some brains on board," answered cynthia, "if only a bird's." "get in the boat and stop sassin' me!" ordered the skipper. i handed the blanket and pillow to the bo's'n, who placed them in the bow, thus making a comfortable seat. "you'd better go up in the bows," i said to cynthia, as i helped her down from the wobbling jacob's ladder. she stepped exactly on the middle of the seat. i never saw another girl step anywhere but on the gun'l. the skipper took the steering oar. "i'll keep the yankee blade between us and them," said he. "i haven't the slightest doubt of it," remarked cynthia gratuitously. i sat forward of the men, next to cynthia. "where's william brown?" i asked. we were about three boats' lengths from the ship. cynthia arose in her seat. "o uncle! wait!" she called; "i must go back a moment. i have forgotten something." the skipper paid no more attention than if she had not spoken. "not too short a stroke, bill," he said, "but strong, strong. am i keeping the yankee blade between us?" "you be, sir," answered the stroke. cynthia sat down, impelled to do so partly by the jerk of the oars and partly by the silence of her uncle. "i thought you never forgot him for a moment." "i never do. that was the only time all this voyage. if it hadn't been for you, mr. jones----" this sentence was subject to two constructions. i tried to look upon it as an admission. a shot fell over the yankee blade and pierced the water just behind us. "damn those britishers!" said the parrot. "i'll give you fifty dollars for that bird when you get him home, cynthy," said the skipper. "did you teach him that?" "_i!_" there was a world of wrath in cynthia's tones. "he was probably taught by the minion when he took the cage out to clean it." cynthia jumped excitedly to her feet. "oh! see there, mr. jones, they are firing on the flag! there goes a shot through it! i don't suppose they know we have left yet. the yankee careened so." it was true. our emblem, which we had left floating at the masthead, had been shot directly through the field, and some of the stars were carried away with the ball. cynthia wrung her hands. "uncle antony," she screamed, if that sweet voice could ever have been said to do anything so vulgar, "let us go back! don't you see? they have fired on the flag." "don't get flustered," said the skipper to the stroke. "steady and strong wins to-day. my niece's a little excitable." cynthia heard the words. she turned on me, her lips white with suppressed passion. "you know what the trouble with the english is, don't you, mr. jones?" "yes, i know of several failings they have; first, they----" she took the words out of my mouth. "they haven't a cowardly hair in their heads," she said. "i am ashamed to-day, for the first time in my life, of being an american." of course, she did not see that it would have been worse than foolhardy to remain, and i did not try to convince her. "i see a man on the foc's'l," said cynthia. "nonsense!" roared the skipper from the stern. "we ain't goin' back for anybody. they had their chance.--is there any one on board, bill?" "there is, sir." "what's his name when he's sober?" asked the skipper viciously. "ned chudleigh, sir." "didn't you call him?" "i did, sir," puffed bill. "why didn't he come, then?" "said he was _english_, sir; 'd _like_, to go back. waited a _purpose_ for them britishers. _wanted_ 'em to capture him." "i am afraid he has mistaken their nationality," said i. "damn the britishers!" remarked the parrot. "we have no quarrel with the british at present," i remarked. "what's your antediluvian bird talking about, miss archer?" "i should think that with two six-pounders in the waist, and a gun that none of you had the pluck to fire on the poop, you might have----" "too much noise in the bows!" growled the skipper. i was sitting in the bows, facing cynthia, as we left the yankee blade. i had watched the citadel on its far distant height grow lower and lower to the eye, and finally sink behind its seaward hills and masses of foliage. i noticed, however, that our course was laid in an almost direct line for it; a little to the left, but still so that the position of the castle was impressed upon my mind. as we neared the shore, white rocks began to show, and the water, from having been blue, of a dark and beautiful shade, began to fade into tints no less lovely. there were streaks of pale green upon darker green, streaks of yellow upon blue. this was caused by the depth or shallowness of the water which flowed between us and the white rocks. cocoanut tufts fringed the shore, and behind them were the various species of trees that thrive in the tropics. the gri-gri, the mahogany, reared their tall heads and vari-coloured leaves. masses of green of all shades clothed the hills, which sloped upward a short distance from the level of the beach. "o uncle! see those lovely pieces of coral! stop a moment, do, and let me get a piece to take home to aunt mary 'zekel." the stroke trailed his oar. "what are you about, bill tomkins, stopping for coral! i never saw a mite round here. you stop when i give the order.--don't be too much of a fool, cynthy! do you know we're running for our lives? look back at that yankee of ours, and see if there are any other----" "i see only one lonely man. he looks repentant, as well as i can make out. let's go back and--why, yes! there are some other people, too. they seem to----" "go slow there, ahead!" called out the skipper, standing up as he spoke. he held the steering oar firmly and looked for a landing place, trying vainly to see over the heads of those in the boat. "tom, jump up there in the bows, and see if you see any----" "there goes another piece of the flag! o uncle tony! they've almost shot our flag away." the spyglass dropped with a bump into the bottom of the boat, and cynthia put her hands inside the funnel and over her eyes, and burst into floods of tears. she did not cry like a young lady. she cried like a young cyclone. "damn those britishers!" shrieked the parrot. "yes, damn them, solomon dear! damn them again, since there's no one here to even----" her words ended in a rain of sobs. they issued from the sunbonnet wringing wet and soaked through. they might have come out of the washtub. she stood up the better to see the extent of her misery. "down in the bows! you will be overboard." "there comes the union jack! i see it over the yankee. that letter of marque's getting closer. shame on us all! oh, shame!" the grounding of the boat seated cynthia rather suddenly again in a manner which would have been undignified in any girl in the world but cynthia. the bow of our boat had not reached the shore. some of the men dropped overboard and tried to get her clear. she had grounded amidships. as they pushed, she swung round as if on a pivot. i joined the men. "we'll have to lighten the load," said i, and without more words i took cynthia in my arms and waded with her ashore. i set her high and dry on the beach. she surveyed me with anger and scorn glowering from her eyes. "your uncle was steering," i explained humbly, "and the men----" she cast a comprehensive glance at bill and tanby. "yes, i suppose you are better than----" "william brown will have to possess his soul in patience," said i. "do you think he'll wait?" "yes, he will, but he _will_----" "what! on that dock?" "yes, and i'll wait here." "i wouldn't; at least, not too long," hazarded i. "where's that kag of salt pork and that bag of hard bread?" roared the skipper. "is the breaker ashore?" "looks hospitable, don't it?" said i. she raised her eyes to the wooded heights above us, and then looked up along the coast. "i see the other boat has landed." i looked along the beach, and saw that the men were leaving the dinghy and were carrying some heavy weights high up on the beach. cynthia seated herself upon a rock. she deposited the cage on one side and the worked bag on the other. "jones," said the skipper, "i wish you'd keep the glass on those people out there while the men get the provisions up." i took the glass willingly and seated myself by cynthia. before i put my eyes to the glass, they rested upon the bag which reposed at cynthia's side. "i'm so glad i brought it," said she. "aunt mary 'zekel worked it for me." "it's a curious-looking bag," ventured i. "what are those funny-looking white things on the side, made of glass beads?" "there's nothing funny at all about that bag, mr. jones. that's our family plot." "your what?" "plot--our family plot. aunt mary 'zekel worked it for me. she said she thought it would be a pleasant reminder of home. that's her tomb in the middle. don't you see her initials: 'm. s. a.'--mary schuyler archer?" "is she inside of it?" "who? aunt mary 'zekel? mercy, no! she's just as much alive as you are. at least, she was when i left home. there's her tomb in the middle. uncle 'zekel's buried inside of it." i withdrew my eyes from the yankee blade. "isn't he rather heavy to carry round?" "don't be silly, mr. jones. his name's on the other side. it doesn't show on the bag. on the right you see antony's shaft, and then little peter's--there was always a peter in the family--and on the left comes gertrude, and then mary--aunt mary 'zekel's little girl. the beginning of that next one is for adoniah. she didn't have time to work that in." "oh, i see! she chose the time to depict the plot when a burial was in progress. there are the horses' tails." "how can you joke on such a solemn subject, mr. jones?" i dropped the glass at her evident displeasure, and it rolled down the slight declivity. "those are not horse tails, as you know very well. besides, they are green. any one can see that they are weeping willows. she didn't have time to work the trunks. she's going to do that when i come back. please do not add stupidity to your other failings, mr. jones." she moved the bag to a safe distance from me with a reverential and disappointed air. "where is that glass?" she said. every man on the beach ran for the spyglass. the cook got it first. "thank you, cook," she said, with a radiant smile. "you never looked at me as you did at that cook just now," i whispered under my breath. "the cook never presumes," she answered in a low tone. "lend me your shoulder, cook." the cook knelt on the beach with spartan firmness. i did not envy him his cushion of sharp and jagged rocks. i gloated with joy over the wince into which his features were twisted. the skipper turned and waved his arm at me. "come here, jones! one would think you were at a picnic, the whole of you." i walked over to where the skipper stood, fanning himself violently with his panama. "you told me to keep my eye on them, sir," said i. "hadn't that cook better build a fire?" "what! think he's hungry so soon?" with a grim smile. "we must husband our resources, mr. jones." "sounds just like a shipwreck," called cynthia, who had caught the skipper's words. "'husband our resources!' isn't that delightful!" "we've got no place to sleep to-night, sir," said i, pursuing my theme. "there are all sorts of crawlers in the bushes yonder. a fire will clear up the place, and will cool off before night." "you've got more sense than i credited you with," said the skipper. "cook, build a fire up there under those trees." the cook arose, joy and regret intermingled in his looks. "thank you, cook. i never rested the glass on so steady a shoulder." she had rested it on mine a hundred times. thus we each took our turn at the glass, and each told each other what we saw. "if they're looking for money, they'll be almighty disappointed," said the skipper in a low tone to his niece and myself. "i took all there was." then in an undertone, and with that rashness of statement that sometimes we live to regret, "i wish i could strike a flint in that magazine. what was that, mr. jones?" we saw a puff of smoke out at sea, and some moments later a report. "why should the british attack us, uncle?" asked cynthia. "i thought we were at peace now." i shook my head at the skipper. "don't know as they have," answered the old man for want of a better explanation. cynthia jumped from her seat and ran back to a slight ascent which rose above the beach. to the top of this she climbed, and, shadowing those wondrous eyes with her hand, gazed out to sea. "it's another vessel! an american, i am sure! yes, i can see the flag; probably a man-of-war. regular officers, of course. they won't know how to spell r-u-n--run!" "did you hear me tell you to stop sassin' me a while back? 'twas the best we could do. some one got us off our course on purpose. they tell me some one's got a haïtien wife down here." at these words cynthia, who at this time seemed to live to make me miserable, surveyed me with unconcealed scorn. "you had the wheel while uncle was taking his nap," said she. "i turned it over to tomkins a half hour before i called you, miss archer. i have never been here before, give you my word," said i. "i think they're leaving the yankee now," said the skipper. "when they take what they want and clear out, we can right her and get her on her course, and i'll take care how i get in these waters again." cynthia took the glass from her uncle without permission. "yes, they are," said she. "don't you see those black figures climbing over the bulwarks? there, to the right of the mainmast." "guess i must be looking through the other end," said the skipper. cynthia restored the magnifying medium with some reluctance. "my eyes are so much better than yours, uncle tony," she urged. "use 'em, then!" said the skipper shortly, as he screwed the glass to a focus. "yes, they certainly have gone. yes, by cracky! there goes another shot from the american." he ran a little higher up the hill to a better vantage point. we followed. "i can see 'em now over the bulwarks of the old yankee. they're pulling like satan for the britisher. hope the americans 'll knock ned chudleigh's head off!" he changed his focus, and fixed his gaze on the newcomer. "that last fellow's an american, sure! the other has turned his attention to him." as the skipper looked through the glass and reported what he saw, there were several shots interchanged between the two vessels. "hope they'll knock seven bells out of 'em!" "cook, send up a smoke. they will see us, perhaps, and take us off. are those our colours, mr. jones? perhaps you can make----" i almost snatched the glass from his hand. i raised it hurriedly to my eyes. "it's--yes--no--yes--it is--the----" "what a lucid description!" remarked cynthia. "don't devil the man, girl! can't you speak, jones? it's the----" "stars and stripes," said i. the skipper at this juncture snatched the glass from me. he fixed it upon a nearer point. "my god!" he ejaculated. chapter ii. our first view of the natives. the skipper's tone was reverent, but full of horror. we all, even to the cook, ran up to a higher spot to see what had so disturbed the old man. "you'll see it just as well from the beach," said the skipper. "they've set the old yankee afire!" it was true. we could not see very clearly for the smoke which the firing had made, but as we gazed anxiously, knowing what the entire loss of the ship would mean for us, we saw that smoke had begun to pour from the ports and hatches. first appeared the misty stream which the skipper had discovered, then it grew thicker. as we gazed, fascinated with the horrible spectacle, the flames began to shoot upward. they curled round the lower mast, they ran up the rigging, they licked their way up the shrouds. they ran aloft, and swallowed the crosstrees, first having eaten into the very tops. the smoke was thicker than ever, and made a dark background for the points and jets of flame, which leaped through its walls. and now, as we watched breathless, each one glued to his post, no word spoken between us, a long, low, ominous rumble came to our ears. there were two or three sharp cracks, the flames leaped to the sky, there was a final thunderous crash, and the air was a mass of flying timbers. i turned to look at the skipper. the glass had fallen unheeded from his fingers, the tears were dropping off the end of his nose. he winked hard, and took out a bandana and wiped his forehead to hide his emotion. "i suppose you think i'm an old fool to stand here and cry like a baby. perhaps you don't think i should feel anything to see my handsome ship go up in smoke." the old man's lips quivered. "she's been home and wife and children to me for a good many years, the old yankee blade has--yes, and a livin'. i ought to have stayed at home. i never should have tried it again. i was foolish; i deserted her; i never should have done it but for that damn' girl, who don't appreciate it any more----" cynthia's arms were round the old man's neck. "dear uncle tony! i do appreciate it. i do! i do! i didn't know you were doing it for me. i thought----" "and i thought they would leave, and we could perhaps get her afloat again. is there anything left of her, jones? i suspect we've seen the last of the old yankee blade." he turned and walked down the hill. i stooped and picked up the glass and handed it to cynthia. she turned it on the spot where the yankee had gone on the rocks. a dull, thick smoke overhung the place. on the hither side we could see a mass of wreckage. some large splinters of wood were floating in the water. we heard repeated shots, but the other vessels were obscured from view by the smoke which they themselves had made, as well as that which enveloped the wreck of the yankee. "i think there's a little of her left, uncle tony," said cynthia. "she seems to stand up on the rock, part of her. oh, if they could only see us! we haven't anything to signal with, not even an apron." she seized the sunbonnet from her head and waved it wildly in the air. "they must see us!" she said. "they must!" but her action was of no avail. our sight could not penetrate the smoke, and the vessels, even if their crews could have seen us, were too busy to notice us. cynthia waved until her arm dropped tired at her side. "we'll have to give it up, i suppose," she said. "good-bye, old yankee blade, good-bye!" and together we descended the hill. captain schuyler had turned his back on the ocean and was talking with the cook. "no use crying over spilt milk," i heard him say. the cook regarded him as surlily as he dared. the pudding lay heavy in his interior, mental and physical. "we'd better get some food ready and then put out the fire. no knowing who's lurking round." "why, uncle tony, isn't haïti a friendly country?" "friendly enough, girl, but we don't know what's happened since we were here before. might have had forty revolutions. these fellows are always revolutin'.--now, my men, stir round and beat out that fire! reckon the crawlers are all killed or scattered. come, men, stir your stumps! do you hear me?" the skipper looked round at the men. they were standing apart, conversing in low tones. they did not move at once. "isn't it exciting?" whispered cynthia, her eyes shooting out light from the funnel. "do you believe it's a mutiny? i hope it is. i never saw a mutiny. i believe they usually say: 'now look a-here, cap'n, we ain't a-goin' to stand this sort of thing! it's a-goin' to be share and share alike. there ain't no officers and there ain't no men. we're all equal on this here island.'" i laughed. "you must have read some very instructive books in your time, miss archer," i said. "yes, i have. i seem to know exactly what they are saying. don't you think i understand pretty well how they conduct a mutiny?" "yes--in books," i said. i laughed, more to disabuse her mind than anything else. i remembered a very pretty mutiny a few years back. for weeks i never slept without seeing those men strung up to the yard-arm with not a moment in which to say a prayer. i thought this a good time to advance myself a little in her favour, and at the same time make her forget the loneliness of her situation. i saw that the skipper seemed to be arguing with the sailors, and that he seemed to want no help from me. "i wish that i could express to you, miss archer, how really beautiful i think you. the english language is feeble to convey all that----" "when we get home, mr. jones," cynthia broke in, "i will lend you a book which contains all the adjectives you could possibly need----" i looked at her to see if she was in earnest. "it is called 'the complete idiot.' now do stop your nonsense and look at those sailors. what do you suppose they are saying to uncle?" i withdrew my gaze from her face and regarded the men as they stood in a group near the skipper. their attitude did savour somewhat of insubordination. we could not hear their words or the skipper's as he answered them. when they had finished, they proceeded to the glade where the fire had been kindled, and began to beat the bushes with a will. then, with brooms improvised of thickly leaved branches, they swept the place clean. "will that do, cap'n?" asked bill tomkins. "yes, i call that a pretty handsome clean up," answered the skipper. "now you men go and sit down upon the beach and i'll send you some food." they withdrew in a cluster, and sat down on the beach as directed. the cook, who had been broiling some pork, handed us our shares first, each slice on a piece of hard bread. then he served the men. cynthia took her ration and ate as heartily as the rest of us. "is it mutiny, uncle? i was never in a mutiny." "wasn't you, really? well, it is mutiny, if you like to call it so, cynthy.--give me some tobacco, cook; and you, minion, just run up the hill and see if those ships are in sight." the cook handed the skipper the tobacco with a look that expressed the wish that it had been gunpowder instead, and the thin young lad, who was at everybody's beck and call, ran as fast as his legs could carry him up to the little knoll. the skipper seated himself in the shade and puffed away. cynthia hung anxiously on every puff, every breath. "uncle, will you never speak? if you knew how interested i am----" captain schuyler sat, his pipe in his mouth, and talked one-sidedly between the puffs. "the idiots want to walk to cap haïtien," said the skipper. "i tell 'em it's worse than foolish, but they seem pretty determined. they say they can do it in two days' time. must be twenty miles or more, following the shore. they say they can bring back horses for the rest of us." "that's an excellent idea!" said cynthia. "i don't believe i shall get tired of pork in two days' time. i don't know about the third. have we enough food for two days, uncle?" "lord, yes! we'll get along a week easy.--what do you think, jones?" "i'd let 'em try it," said i. "of course, they'll never come back. i've seen 'em start off before this to bring aid and succour. they never returned, except in story-books." "if i was sure of that, i'd let 'em go mighty quick," said the skipper. "we're better off without 'em." he turned to the group. "how many of you want to go?" he raised his voice, so that it would carry to where they sat. tomkins stood up and answered respectfully: "all but the bo's'n and the minion, sir." there was a certain decision in tomkins' tone, which revealed the fact to me that they intended going, permission or not. "the cook, too?" asked cynthia. the cook looked down and shuffled his feet. "i can cook, cap'n, miss, sir, beggin' your pardon, ma'm, mr. jones," volunteered the bo's'n. "good enough!" said the skipper. "let cook fit you out with vittles, men. what have you got for water?" bill ware spoke up eagerly: "tomkins says as there's two or three springs on the way, sir----" "how does he know?" asked the astonished skipper. "been here before, sir, so he was a-tellin' us last night. says it's a puffec pair-o-dice." "oh, he does, does he?--so you've been here before, have you, tomkins?" tomkins looked daggers at bill ware. "yessir, i was here some years back." "know the coast pretty well?" "yessir, pretty well." "thought so," muttered the skipper in a low tone. "knew it better than i did." then aloud: "very well, my man. now do you think you can get horses from whoever's governor down there, and be back in a week?" "sartin sure, sir," answered tomkins unblushingly. while tomkins was speaking, the skipper was muttering under his breath, "better get rid of the rascals, anyway." "you don't think----" said i. "i do think----" said he. "what! wrecked the vessel?" asked cynthia breathlessly. "yes; drove her ashore." "why?" "hush!" said the skipper. "tomkins!" called cynthia. "for god's sake, cynthia, don't----" "miss archer, i'm usually called, sir! i believe in always going to the root of every matter." cynthia arose from her sitting posture. she stood tall and stately. her dignified air recalled to my mind a young woman by the name of portia, of whom i had once read somewhere. "be quiet!" said the skipper, pulling her skirt with a rough jerk. "sit down!" cynthia gently disengaged her skirt from the skipper's hand. she removed her sunbonnet, and with her pure face turned toward the sheepish tomkins, she looked like a very young daniel come to judgment. it was a strange scene, one which i shall never forget. the tropic shore, the shipwrecked crew, the young girl standing forth as the exponent of right--foolhardy, if you like, but fearless in her righteous indignation. she raised her hand, commanding the attention of the men. "tomkins," she said, "as you shall answer at the day of judgment, when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed, did you wreck the yankee blade?" the man shifted from one foot to the other, his head hanging down. he looked up with ferret eyes from under his sparse eyebrows. "'fore god----" began tomkins. "you are before god!" said cynthia sternly. he ground his feet restlessly, making little pools in the gravel of the shore. "o lord!" groaned the skipper helplessly. "well, then, miss, 'fore god, i didn't!" "remember you're on oath, tomkins. well, then, who did?" "beg his pardon, ma'm, it was mr. jones!" "_i!_" cynthia turned upon me a glance of most withering scorn and horror. "you hear what this honest sailor says, mr. jones?" "tell you how it was, ma'm," said tomkins. "i come on deck this mornin', long 'bout 'leven o'clock, and i see we was goin' straight for the land. skipper was below, you was below. mr. jones, he had the wheel. i says, 'fer gord's sake, mr. jones,' i says, 'what are you a-doin', sir?' he says, says he, 'you, tomkins, mind your da--, mind your busi----'" "shut up, tomkins!" said the skipper. "if you're goin', you'd better get ready." cynthia turned on me. "what could possess you to do such a thing?" "i was so anxious to get home to see william brown," said i. "haven't we had enough of this farce, miss archer?" the skipper laughed aloud, and i saw the backs of some of the men shaking. "don't be any more kinds of a fool than you can help, cynthy. sit down and keep cool until we can get rid of those rascals. thank god they've elected to go! the sooner they take up their march the better for all hands." "do you mean to tell me, uncle tony, that you don't believe tomkins on his oath?" "what!" the skipper's voice had the rising inflection. the word was uttered in a tone between a roar and an incredulous scream. "believe a sailor?" roared the skipper. "what are you talking about, cynthy? believe a sailor? o lord!" the men saw the skipper's amusement, and doubtless judged of the cause. "no use in threatening tomkins," he said in my ear. "better treat it as a joke, and let them go." "as you say, captain schuyler; but when mr. tomkins and i meet again, there will be a reckoning that he won't forget, i'll warrant." "perhaps he really thought so," said cynthia. "hadn't they better wait until morning? it's getting so late now. they might be lonely without us." "now, cynthy, don't you go and suggest any such a thing. we shan't be lonely without _them_. we shall be well rid of 'em, the lord knows.--here, you, cook, fry some pork for those lunatics! give 'em two days' rations, and let each man carry his own." while the cook was frying the pork, i noticed that the men were busy behind some guava trees at a little distance from the place where we were sitting. i had placed the pillow and blanket at the root of an enormous tree, and had made as comfortable a seat for cynthia and the skipper as my limited means would allow. the skipper had his coat off, and was fanning himself with his great panama hat. the sun was broiling down upon us, but cynthia looked as cool as a piece of ice from the passaic river. i never saw such a provoking girl. while every one else was sweltering, she appeared perfectly comfortable. i was trying to balance myself upon a rather sharp piece of rock and to keep the men in my eye at the same time. we could not see much of them. they were stooping down, with their backs toward us. the skipper turned lazily round. suddenly he straightened himself and glared at the group in the bushes. "what have you got there, bill ware?" shouted he. the skipper's tone of authority startled the men. they arose to a standing posture. bill ware turned his face toward us. "we've--we've found some guavas, sir, that's all. i'll bring you over some." "no, no, i'll come over. i don't know as i remember ever having seen guavas growing on----" but bill ware had started toward us with great alacrity. "don't come here, sir, for the lord's sake! the place is alive with scorpions." the skipper thought better of it, and waited until bill ware's arrival. the man walked across, holding something in his hand. when he came near, we discovered two very small and very unripe guavas. he came close to cynthia and handed the fruits to her. his face was very red. his breath was almost upon her cheek. she started back. "are those guavas? what a curious odour guavas have, uncle!" "i never noticed it," said he. "how queerly bill ware walks!" said cynthia, as she watched his return to his mates. "i never noticed it on board ship. i suppose he hasn't got his land legs on yet." the skipper raised himself and looked critically at the man. "those are the legs he always has on when he goes ashore," said he. i had my suspicions, and i saw that the skipper had his, but i did not want to frighten the girl and anger the men. besides, she might not be frightened. she seemed to think that she had been sent into this world to set things right, and no one knew what tack she might take next. the skipper took out his silver watch. "come, men, you'd better start! it's gettin' late. you'll want to pick out a good place for the night. it comes down in a minute in the tropics, you know.--cook, are you ready?" the men arose, turned one after the other, and came lingeringly out of the bushes. "are there any more of those guavas?" "it's a little early, sir," said tomkins. "they don't ripen well until the last of may." bill tomkins's tongue seemed thick and his speech halting. "well, it's time to start. cook'll give you your rations. come, now! good-bye, my men. don't forget to bring those horses. we shall expect you by daybreak on saturday." (we had gone ashore on a monday.) "yessir, you expect us, sir," answered tomkins. the men took their rations from the cook, then they one and all paid a last visit to the bushes to seek for a few more guavas before they left us, and then, with a hang-dog nod and touch of their caps, they took up their straggling march. we sat watching them as they moved westward in a wavering line. "it must be very hard work walking up that beach," said cynthia. "did you remark what a difficult time bill ware had to get pointed straight, uncle tony?" the skipper and i sat and watched them. there was no need to answer cynthia. the men made a line as straight as the fences which we were beginning to use about belleville. the idea came from virginia. we called them virginia rail fences. as the last man of them staggered round the point and was lost behind the trunks of the cocoanut grove, the skipper arose and approached the thicket where the mango tree stood. i followed a close second, and cynthia came behind. "i thought as much!" exclaimed the skipper. he had parted the bushes and stood looking downward. i gazed over his shoulder, and cynthia condescended to stand on tiptoe and cast her eyes over mine. "what is it, uncle tony?" asked she. "those blanked rascals! in the confusion, jones, do you see? broke into my store-room, of course. i wanted to bring some myself, but it's never safe with such a crew. got that at santo domingo for medicinal purposes. wish to heaven it would physic them all! darned if i don't! wish now i'd put arsenic in it." and then followed some language which i will not weary you by repeating. the skipper was not the most profane man that i ever sailed with, but in those days of which i write--days long past, ah me!--that is saying a great deal more than any one to-day would imagine. men, and particularly men who followed the sea, did not regard profanity as we do nowadays. cynthia was used to the skipper's ordinary looseness of speech, and, having heard it all her life, was astonished at very little that he said. i have learned to look upon such language with disgust, and i thank the refining influences of the day in which we live for making me see how much worse than silly it was, and, though i shall try to make the skipper's speech sound more like the skipper of modern times, still to make him seem at all the man that his friends knew him, i must occasionally point his marks as he himself pointed them. cynthia stood looking steadily at her uncle as his adjectived indignation poured forth. when his vocabulary was exhausted, he sat down on the ground, weak from his exertion. cynthia stood looking fixedly at him. then, as the enormity of his offence overcame him, he drew out his bandana and mopped his face. "beg pardon, cynthy, but you shouldn't have been here." cynthia fixed him with her glances as long as she could hold her tongue between her teeth, then turned and walked away with dignity. "now that girl's mad! and she'll go and tell mary 'zekel, and i promised mary 'zekel--where'd we better put that damn thing, anyway?" i aided the old man as he rolled the cask nearer our camping place, if the spot where we had deposited our few belongings could be called such. we had placed our cooking utensils--or the bo's'n had for us--the parrot's cage, and the mortuary bag in a secluded spot among the trees. there happened to be a depression in the earth near where we sat, up beyond the line of the beach in the soft earth. we tumbled the cask in and covered it well with leaves and branches. cynthia, whose curiosity would not allow her to remain longer away, had returned, and was watching our efforts. "if they come back, they will demand it," remarked cynthia. "what! those honest sailors?" inquired i. i was still sore from her ill treatment of me. cynthia's face, as much as i could see of it, was a brilliant crimson. "have they any weapons, uncle tony?" she asked, ignoring me entirely. "got pistols, i'll be bound, every man jack of 'em!--by the way, jones, what have we got in the way of firearms?" i threw back my thin coat and displayed a pistol stuck in my belt in either side. "oh!" exclaimed cynthia. "if i had known that you carried those murderous weapons, i should have refused to come ashore with you." "from the ship, or the boat?" i asked. she blushed again, and drooped her head so that i could see nothing but the white top of the funnel. "i've got a fine knife," said the skipper, "and so has the bo's'n. he has brought some ammunition ashore, and i've got my old musket, of course." "do you really suppose that we shall need all those dreadful things?" asked cynthia, her lips white and quivering. "and you're the girl who fired on the letter of marque?" said i, for want of a more non-committal name. "what sort of a girl are you, anyway?" here was an anomaly, indeed! a girl who had had the courage not only to defy her uncle and the whole ship's company, but to fire a gun which made a pretty good deal of noise when close to one's ear, afraid to listen to a simple discussion of weapons of defence! the skipper at this moment hitched himself up a little higher, and threw his whole weight against the trunk on which he was leaning. i heard a softy, mushy crumble, and his head and shoulders disappeared from view. i arose and ran to his aid, and at once clasped his outstretched hands and pulled with all my might. he finally, with my help, succeeded in regaining his position. he spluttered and coughed, his eyes and mouth full of the dust of decay. he rose to his feet and kicked viciously at the crumbling bark. a large piece fell inward, making an opening, into which a man could have squeezed himself. at that very moment, so mysterious are the ways of providence, there was a short, sharp whiz and ping, and a bullet struck the tree just above my head. i lost no time in looking for the cause of this assault, but only the thick green of the near wood rewarded my searching glance. i seized cynthia by the wrist and bent her almost to her knees. i forced her to push her way into the opening. "it may be an attack," i said, hurriedly, to the skipper. "go in quickly! i will follow." no one who has not seen the great trees of santo domingo and haïti can believe to what a grand extent they grow. i have heard of the so-called "big trees" of california. the only one which i have seen is one placed in the grounds of the smithsonian institution at washington. i made that trip with my wife lately. we were both of us a trifle infirm for so long a jaunt, but she agreed with me, and she has also been among the great trees of haïti, that nothing that she had ever seen, with the exception of this one curiosity, exceeded the size of those trees in the island. as yet we had not caught a glimpse of our secret foe. whether he had caught sight of us or not i did not know, but, as a second bullet whizzed past my head, i hastily secreted myself also within the hollow trunk. i whispered to cynthia to push over more to the side, and give room to her uncle and myself. i could hear the beating of her heart, i stood so near her. several bullets struck the tree, and one entered and dropped upon my foot. and now i heard some cries of anger. my curiosity became too much for me. i stood as near the opening as i could and placed my eye just over the edge of it. the voices grew louder, the bullets flew faster, and then from the bushes emerged a retreating party. their backs were toward us. they were firing as they retreated. they were dark men, but not of pure african type. they were unclothed, except for some trousers of white linen and a thin sort of shirt. they wore belts and carried the national weapon, the machete, stuck through the leather bands. "are you afraid of fainting?" i asked cynthia. "here, take a whiff of this." i had a little kit in my pocket which i had seized upon as i left the ship. i felt for the vial of sal-volatile, telling what it was by the smell of the cork, and pressing it into her hand. "faint!" she replied with scorn. "if i could only see something, i should enjoy it hugely." "it would not be safe," i whispered. "stand farther back. they may discover us, in any case." "stand farther in, cynthy," whispered the skipper. "i'd like nothing better than to join one side or the other, but i can't risk it with you here." i pushed my knife through the soft, spongy wood where the bullet had entered, and made the hole larger. here i could see, myself unseen. "do let me look, mr. jones," said cynthia. as any bullet which struck the tree might enter it, and she was in equal danger anywhere inside the tree, i saw no reason why she should not look if she felt so inclined. i gave up my place to her, and had to content myself with peeping through the large hole through which we had entered. the line of retreat was now changed, for i saw the haïtiens veer to the right, toward the beach, still firing as they retreated. there were yells and wild noises. the attacking party seemed close to us, and these sounds did not seem unfamiliar. as we gazed at this unexpected sight, we perceived that the retreating party had with, them a young girl. she was tied by the wrists to the belt of one of the men, who fired as he backed toward us. the girl did not struggle to free herself, but ran backward as the men ran. she seemed a not unwilling captive. the tall, thin mulatto would fire a shot, turn and pull his captive after him, then load and fire again. there was blood upon the girl's clothing and upon the clothes of her captors. "oh, that poor child!" whispered cynthia. "i must go out and take her away from that brute!" i barred the way. "it would be death for us all, perhaps," said i. "wait! the attacking party may be her friends. whatever we do, i beg of you keep concealed. that is your only safety." "don't be a fool, cynthy!" whispered the skipper hoarsely. "no one knows what's going to happen." and so prophetic were his words that, as we listened, we heard a thoroughly american whoop, participated in by several voices, and who should burst from the undergrowth, shouting as they came, but bill tomkins, followed by mccorkle, bill ware, the growler, hummocks, tanby, and all the rest of them. chapter iii. we change our camp, and cynthia discovers a disturbing element. the attacking party seemed to remember the little camp where they had remained for so short a time. as they advanced upon the haïtiens, they gazed around, as if the place were familiar to them, but at the same time they continued to come forward, and to fire as fast as they could load their pistols. they outnumbered the haïtiens, as they were thirteen and the haïtiens only four. as the haïtiens backed toward the shore and to the eastward of our shelter, we lost sight of them entirely. i took the skipper by the shoulders and drew him away from his position. i opened my knife and tried to pierce a hole through the tree on the side toward the water, so that i could follow the men with my eyes, but the wood was more firm than at the place where we had entered the cavity, and i could not manage it. we heard the sound of bullets rattling among the leaves, and fierce cries and oaths, mingled with long sobbing wails from the young captive, but we could now see nothing of the battle. it was exasperating to be obliged to remain in seclusion. we might have joined the attacking party, but, though no one enjoyed a scrimmage more than i, i reflected that if the captain or i should be killed the chances were that cynthia would be left at the mercy of the sailors or the haïtiens, and i could not decide in my own mind which would be the worst. the sailors were all very well so long as they had the eye and nerve of two men to oppose them, but if either one of us should be killed, the girl would be left with only one protector, and should anything befall him she might better be dead than to fall into the hands of the haïtiens or of that drunken crew of sailors. thinking of the haïtiens brought to my mind the keg of rum. i turned to the skipper--rather, to the place where i knew him to be--and said: "captain, we do not know what may happen. these brutes may return and find the cask, and we ought to have a little of that liquor." "no danger of their finding it," whispered the skipper. "well, perhaps not," said i. "but i think i had better steal out, now that they have passed by, and get what i can. where did the bo's'n put the cup?" "no need to look for that, jones; here's my flat bottle. i didn't fill it last time i used it. knew i had plenty on board. take this." i groped in the dark and my hand met the skipper's. i took the bottle from him and went to the opening in the tree. i put my head out cautiously and listened. shots were still being exchanged, though they sounded much farther away. i withdrew inside the tree again. "i think," said i, speaking aloud, "that if you and miss archer will lie close i can manage it." "i don't want any rum, of course," said cynthia, "but i am dying of thirst. do you think that you could manage to get to the breaker, mr. jones, and bring me a little water?" "where did they put the breaker?" i asked. "just up along the bed of that little dry creek. not more than a hundred feet away. directly back from the shore." "if it is a possibility, you shall have it," i answered. i advanced with caution from my hiding place. the trees were so thick to the eastward that i was now completely concealed from the two parties. i wanted much to follow them and discover, if possible, how the battle had waged, but cynthia wanted the water. that was enough for me. they might take it into their heads to return, and then we should again be imprisoned. without more ado i hastened back through the glade, and found the water breaker just where cynthia had told me it was. i found and filled one of our two cups and returned, carrying the water carefully, so that it would not spill. when i reached the place where the rum keg lay, i uncovered it. to my surprise, i found that the bung had fallen out. in the haste with which we had moved it we had not noticed this. i saw that much of the precious liquid had been lost. there was, however, enough and to spare. i placed my bottle upon the ground, raised the cask, and tipped it so that the bottle would fill. the position of the keg was awkward, and i lost much of the liquor. some large bees flew near and settled on the stones wet with the rum. the air was filled with the odour which they had noticed almost as soon as i had. i laid the keg down, bringing the bung right side up, and, having no stopper, i proceeded to fill the opening with leaves. these i gathered in handfuls, and stuffed them into the orifice. the mass that i squeezed together in my hand was not large enough to fill the hole, and the leaves fell inside the keg. this happened twice or more, but finally i seized a double handful and forced them into the bunghole, and pressed them compactly down. this time i was successful; then i took up the cup of water, and proceeded upon my way back to our refuge. i still heard distant shouts, and the sound of an occasional shot from a gun. there were voices from the water, as well as from the land. i wondered what new danger threatened us. when i got opposite the tree where cynthia and her uncle were concealed, i set the cup and the bottle upon the ground, and, crouching down, i stole toward the line of the beach. i passed from tree to tree with great care. finally i reached a vantage point where i could survey all the actors in the drama. the first thing i discovered was that our two boats were a hundred yards or so out on the waters of the bay, and that the foremost one only was occupied. the dinghy was being towed behind the long boat. there were two persons in the boat, and, as i shaded my eyes from the rays of the setting sun, which struck obliquely down the long beach, i managed to make out the bo's'n and the minion. the bo's'n was paddling slowly along with an easy motion, which did not seem to argue at all that he had any intention of leaving the island, and the minion was standing up in the stern sheets and executing what we should call nowadays a double shuffle or a breakdown. he made derisive motions toward those on shore, whistled and laughed unrestrainedly, patted his legs as we would if calling a dog, and, in fact, was so outrageous in his insults that he had worked the men into a perfect frenzy. i truly think that his life would not have been worth a moment's purchase had the sailors on shore been able to lay hands on him. the haïtiens were nowhere to be seen, and of the sailors there remained but nine. whether some of the men had pursued the haïtiens or whether they had been killed, i could not determine. i saw that bill tomkins, the acknowledged leader of the men, had the young girl in his possession. the cords were still around her wrists; the other ends he had twisted round his hand, as one holds the reins in driving a frisky horse. the girl had her hands over her eyes, and was weaving back and forth, as if in great agony of mind. if we had had the bo's'n and minion on our side, we might have attacked the sailors and rescued the girl. but the men were just enough inflamed with liquor to care nothing for the authority of either captain schuyler or myself, and i thought it more prudent to wait a little and see what resulted. for, terrible as it was to see that young girl in the clutches of those rough men, it would be death to us three to have them obtain possession of cynthia. i now saw that the men, with fists shaking in air, and uttering bitter and profane imprecations at the bo's'n and the minion, had turned their heads our way again. i retreated hastily, and picked up my bottle and the cup of water. i had hardly reached the hollow tree when i heard the sound of running footsteps, and just as i got safely inside they rushed past us, bill tomkins pulling the young captive after him. the poor child was forced to run with him, or to be dragged along the beach. the sailors ran straight for the mango tree, whooping and hallooing as they came. tomkins tied the cords which he held in his hand to a stout limb, thus fettering his captive, and then, with his comrades, proceeded to search the thicket. i knew at once for what they were searching. i heard some reference to "the old man," which i understood, of course. when they spoke of "the popinjay," i was at a loss to comprehend to whom they referred. bill tomkins seemed to take charge and give orders. he remained close to the tree and near his captive. there was blood upon his hands and clothes, and upon the young girl's skirt. the girl leaned against the tree in the most abject state of misery and fear. each time that tomkins moved she raised her large eyes to his in a frightened, imploring manner, as if begging for mercy. "i _must_ go and rescue that child!" whispered cynthia to me in fierce tones. i seized her wrists and held her in a viselike grasp. "you will do nothing of the kind," i whispered back. "we should be at the mercy of those ruffians. wait until the case gets desperate. they may mean to liberate her themselves." the men had always been fairly good sailors on board ship, and had been respectful to the officers during the voyage, but the enemy that a man takes into his mouth to steal away his brains had made them fiends. they ran about in a sort of frenzy, looking for the keg, uttering wild oaths and imprecations against the skipper and that "blanked popinjay," whom i was finally forced to mentally acknowledge was myself. i could see no way out of the difficulty. i hoped that they would resume their march along the coast, and yet i did not purpose that they should take the young girl with them. i thought that should they discover the keg, no bounds would be placed upon the excesses which they might commit. we watched them with anxiety through our vantage holes, and at last, just when we hoped that they had missed the keg, some one stumbled exactly upon it. my heart fell with a thump like lead as i heard hummocks's foot strike against the hoop. a shout of joy went up from the men which made me heartsick. even tomkins left his captive and joined the others. they threw themselves upon the ground one and all, and struggled like wild men for the first draught of the madly desired liquor. blows began to rain down, and pistols and machetes were drawn. i began to hope that they would kill, or at least maim each other sufficiently to allow of our capturing them with the aid of the bo's'n and the minion. but tomkins, seeing how things were going, interposed. he called a halt in an authoritative tone of voice. "belay there, boys!" he cried; "let's be fair. what do you say to drawing lots?" he stooped and picked some blades of grass, and broke them in different lengths. "somebody's got to drink first. you can't all drink to onct." as he spoke he arranged the blades between his fingers so that they appeared the same length. the men stopped quarrelling and faced tomkins. "shortest drinks first," said he. "step up, growls, and take a chance." growls drew a short blade, hummocks a shorter, bill ware a very short one, and, at last, the longest of all was left in tomkins's hand. the men crowded close together with an eagerness which should have been inspired by a more worthy motive. "it's bill ware," said tomkins; and, without wasting time unnecessarily, bill ware plumped himself upon the ground, his mouth to the bunghole. tomkins held a battered old watch in his hand, and kept his eyes fixed upon the second hand. "ten seconds apiece," said tomkins. "time!" he cried suddenly. bill ware had almost to be dragged from the keg by sheer force. "you, hummocks!" said tomkins and the scene was repeated. the thirsty crew had even a harder tussle to pull hummocks from the keg than they had with bill ware, ware himself tugging at hummocks's legs, while the rest endeavoured to unclasp his arms from the keg. "my turn," muttered growls, in that tone which had procured him his name. "time me, boys, but time me fair." "that cask's gettin' light," remarked tomkins in an anxious tone of voice. "it's just like a play," whispered cynthia. "i never saw a play but once. aunt mary 'zekel thinks it's wicked. it was a more refined play than this, but i consider this all very interesting." "what about the girl?" asked i. "i have not forgotten her," said cynthia. "i am hoping that those brutes will fall asleep; then i can go out and rescue her." "what, from those honest sailors?" i asked. i could not resist it. for some time i had been conscious of a distinct burning sensation in the palms of my hands. i could not account for it except that i had had my hands in salt water a great deal during the day, and, as we had been unprotected from the sun much of the time, i thought that the combination had affected them unpleasantly. however, no one had complained, and cynthia's skin was certainly much more tender than mine. my palms itched incessantly, and when i rubbed them to quiet this unpleasant sensation, the skin suddenly puffed up and my wrists pained me intensely. my fingers swelled, and the pains shot up to my shoulders. i bore it without a word, hoping that it would soon abate. i would not have had cynthia hear me complain for the entire world. i had been obliged to play the part of coward in her estimation too often during the last few hours to wish her to see another exhibition of that attribute from me. so when she whispered to me to pick up the blanket which had been trodden under foot, i seized the rough thing and handed it to her, though its contact seemed to scorch my flesh like living coals. i had fancied that the men might drink themselves into a state of insensibility, but i did not dream that this condition would overcome them so speedily. in a very few moments after they had taken each one his allotted amount of the rum, each man had rolled over on the grass and laid there like a log--all but tomkins, who was the last, according to lot, to be served. when he found that there was very little of the liquor remaining for him, he swore frightful oaths, and used such language as would have precipitated a general quarrel had not the rum taken an almost immediate effect upon those who had drank of it. his vile epithets fell upon unheeding ears so far as his mates were concerned, and, in fact, in a very few moments he, too, was breathing heavily. "i never did a kind action in my whole blamed life," snarled tomkins, "but what i got my come-uppance," and i must say that, painful as is the reflection, i have noticed much the same circumstance in my dealings with my fellow-men. before tomkins had ended his grumblings his utterance became thick, and he followed his comrades to the borderland of death. "do you think they're asleep?" whispered cynthia softly in my ear. eleven distinct and stertorous snores answered her more plainly than any assurances of mine could have done, and a twelfth, from the interior of our tree, chorussed them and made the round dozen. "poor dear uncle tony! i had forgotten all about him. i remember now that he has not spoken for some time," said cynthia in her gentlest voice. she felt for her pillow and then for the old man's head. "strike a light, mr. jones," she added, more kindly than she had spoken hitherto. i did as she requested, repeatedly striking my fire until she had made the unconscious skipper comfortable. when this was accomplished we stepped outside. although the sun was getting low, i found it difficult to face the glare and the heat after the darkness and cool seclusion of our hiding place. the young captive was still endeavouring to pull her hands loose from the cords. they were black and swollen. i say black, for, though the girl was a haïtien, she evidently had a mixture of french blood in her veins, being much lighter coloured than the men in whose custody we first discovered her. i thought that should she smile and her face recover from the storm of grief which had swept across it for the last half hour, she would be very pretty. she had soft, large eyes like a deer's, but they were swollen with crying, and her face was drawn with pain. cynthia emerged from the tree just after me. the girl, hearing the roll of a stone upon which i stepped, turned in a terrified way and confronted us. it was not to be wondered at that she should be horrified at seeing two persons whom she had not seen before, appear upon the now quiet scene. she raised her manacled arms to heaven and shrieked as if for aid, then threw herself upon the beach, and screamed and beat her head against the ground. the education of this child had taught her to fear the mysterious, and when the beautiful white girl emerged like a hamadryad from a tree in the depths of the forest, the child imagined her an avenging angel. what vengeance she intended to take upon a young girl of such tender years the girl herself had not knowledge enough to imagine. later developments taught us what she had feared. the poor child continued to wail and beat her head against the ground. i glanced at cynthia. her lovely eyes were dimmed with tears. at once she became all gentleness, all tenderness. she approached the girl slowly, as she would a frightened bird, holding out her hand and making soft, cooing noises. as she drew near, the girl shrank behind the tree, peering out with terrified eyes at this strange apparition. cynthia continued to advance, still making those sweet sounds. the prisoner trembled in every limb, and drew away as far as the cords would allow. she looked wildly over her shoulder, as if longing to escape. cynthia came nearer, and put out her hand. she laid it gently on the girl's shoulder, when the young savage twisted her head suddenly and with a snap like that of a wild beast buried her teeth in the tender flesh. a blow from my hand laid her sprawling. cynthia turned angrily on me, forgetful of her own pain. "don't you dare to interfere with me!" she said angrily. "i shall never get her confidence now." the haïtienne lay where i had thrown her, and watched our movements with glittering eyes. cynthia took me by the shoulder and marched me off to the hollow trunk, where the skipper lay snoring his antiphonal response to the louder snores of the sailors. then cynthia returned to the attack of kindness and humanity. the prisoner, seeing that i was quite gone, and that it was cynthia's wish that i should be gone, lay looking at her as she again approached her. this time cynthia knelt upon the ground, and, seemingly without fear, she stretched out her hand and gently stroked the captive's head. the girl did not renew her attack upon cynthia, but suffered her to stroke her head and coo and murmur over her. "bring me some water, mr. jones!" cynthia ordered. i stretched my hand inside the tree and felt for the cup; then i ran to the place where we had left the breaker of water. i drew some and carried it to cynthia. she took it from me, saying at the same time: "what is the matter with your hand?" "don't mind me!" i said shortly. by this time my fingers were puffed out of all semblance to their original shape, and when i endeavoured to move them the pain was intense. cynthia put the cup to the girl's lips. she shook her head and closed her lips tightly together. then cynthia drank a little of the water, and again held it toward the girl. this time she drained the water eagerly and to the last drop. "some more!" demanded cynthia, holding out the cup to me. when i had replenished it, cynthia took her handkerchief from her pocket, dipped it in the water, and bathed the girl's face and hands, whereupon the prisoner drew a long sigh of satisfaction. "bring me your knife, mr. jones," ordered cynthia. "if you free her, she will run away," protested i. "bring it at once!" responded cynthia. it was with difficulty that i opened the blade with my swollen fingers, but, after slipping the lanyard over my head, i managed to do so. then i walked with the open knife toward the pair. when the captive saw me coming she began to cry and scream and roll on the ground in an agony of terror. bill tomkins heard the cry, and turned over in his sleep, opened his eyes a crack or so, asked how the weather was, and went off again into a profound slumber. i argued that if he who had drank so little of the rum was thus stupefied, the others would not awake for many hours. "lay your knife within reach and go away again, mr. jones," said cynthia. i obeyed, as i was willing to obey her every word and gesture. as cynthia took the knife up from the stone where i had laid it, the girl sobbed and wailed and clutched at the grass. "go away," said cynthia; "quite away." i did as i was bid, and sat again at the foot of our sheltering tree. then cynthia, with motions and signs that she did not intend to injure her, drew near the captive, and, taking her unawares and with dexterous movement, inserted the point of the knife under first one and then the other of the cords, and the captive was free. the girl looked up in a dazed sort of surprise. cynthia smiled down on her as only the angels in heaven smile. then she again dipped the handkerchief in water and again cared for the swollen hands. the girl ceased her crying, knelt down and laid a caressing cheek on cynthia's feet, then sprang up and ran into the forest. "you have seen the last of her," said i. perhaps i was a little jealous of this new favourite. "if i have, you are to blame," said cynthia, "and i shall never forgive you." but i had prophesied falsely, for the child came back to us in a moment with her hands full of leaves. she gave them to cynthia, and by signs persuaded her to bind them on her own hands and wrists. the girl then stood up and beckoned to cynthia to follow her into the wood. they walked together a few steps. then she stopped and pointed to a strange arrow-shaped leaf. she shook her head and held up her hands as if in horror, and displayed various signs of fear. i noticed from where i stood the leaves to which she pointed. they were the same kind with which i stopped the bunghole in the keg. "the skipper did not need the arsenic," i muttered to myself as i surveyed the sleeping men. i went inside the tree and awoke the skipper. he turned over drowsily at first, and asked how we were heading, and if she was off her course. i shook him pretty roughly then, and he asked me how many bells. i answered, and truly, that it was four bells, and the dog watch. dog's watch, i might have said; i had certainly had one. i then hurriedly explained the situation to the skipper. "captain schuyler," i said, "i think we had better get away from here before these wretches wake up. there is no knowing what they may do. they may wake up sober and they may wake up drunk. they may possibly awake in a pleasant and friendly state of mind, but it's my opinion that they will be pretty vicious when they find the rum all gone and also that i have liberated that young girl." "what young girl?" asked the skipper. "the young girl they rescued from the haïtiens." "what haïtiens?" asked the skipper. i saw that it was no use to consult the skipper; he was hardly awake, and could not yet comprehend what had happened during the last hour. i left him with cynthia, to do what he could toward gathering up the articles hidden in the bushes, and ran down to the beach. i saw that the two boats were farther out than they had been, and, when i put my hands to my mouth and shouted my loudest to the bo's'n, i could but just make him hear. he and the boy laid to their oars with a will, but i soon perceived that they were making little progress. i saw the bo's'n drop his oars, stand up in the boat and gaze around him, and, as there was no one but the minion to help him row, it was plain that he could not overcome the current, which i now saw was taking the boats out to sea. i saw the bo's'n take a sight on shore and watch it for a moment, like a true sailor; then he shook his head, stepped to the stern, and, drawing the boats close together, he cut the painter short off at the bows and set the dinghy adrift. i was sorry to see this, but i knew that unless it was done we should lose both boats, and the bo's'n and boy as well. then the bo's'n sat down and began to pull with vigorous strokes, and soon the boat was quite near the shore. "beg your pardon, sir, mr. jones, but where's them crew?" i pointed over my shoulder, and made him understand that they were incapable of injuring us. he did not ask how this had come about, but pulled up to the beach. i saw that the boy was rowing with one hand; the other was bound up with a piece of cloth, and was bleeding a little, the result, probably, of the defiance which i had witnessed. the bo's'n had torn away a part of his shirt sleeve to bind up the boy's hand. this, i thought, argued well for us. i had fancied that i could trust the other men, and how mistaken i had been! this kind trait, however, in a man on whom we must depend more or less, gave me courage. "where are those haïtiens?" i asked. "dead, sir, as far's i know." "where is wilson?" "saw him fall--and tanby, too. guess they're all down the beach there together." i did not investigate. we had no time. it was growing late, and i wished to get away before the men should awaken. i hurried my little party together. they ran into the bushes, one and all, picking up and carrying what they could. captain schuyler and the bo's'n rolled the keg of pork and the breaker down to the water's edge; the boy held the boat while we deposited our few belongings therein. "if you'll take the bag, i'll carry the parrot," said cynthia. i lifted the mortuary receptacle from its hiding place among the leaves. "why, just look at that crab!" said cynthia. "that's a very good discovery. if we can find crabs, we'll----" i seized her by the arm, with horror, no doubt, in my look. i pushed her roughly toward the beach. "run," i said, "for god's sake!" "how rough you are!" said cynthia; but she ran a little way, as i impelled and commanded. i hastily set the parrot's cage on the ground and drew my pistol, and, difficult as it was, i pulled the trigger. i aimed straight at the black, hairy thing; but my bullet missed, and i seized up the cage, preparing for flight, when i saw the animal turn to crawl sluggishly away. i looked with astonishment at this movement of the tarantula, for it was that dread scourge of the tropic forest that cynthia had taken for a crab. i saw that it was moving from the spot where the rum had been spilled, and found in its low and halting pace additional reason to believe that the liquor which i had sought to protect with the leaves from evaporation i had unconsciously drugged, perhaps poisoned. there was nothing to do. i had no remedies, and such men, i argued, are better off, or rather we are better off with them dead than alive. i took a second shot at the tarantula, and this time i was successful. i had shot it through the body. the body was as large as an egg, the legs long and hairy, and the proboscis curved, pointed, and vicious-looking. cynthia's hurried departure had left me to carry the bag and the parrot. my hands were extremely sore, and, somehow or other, as i lifted the cage i swung it against a rock. the catch was loosened, the bottom fell out. in my nervousness i dropped the cage, and before i knew it i heard a voice over my head, saying, "there's no fool like an old fool!" here was a nice mess! cynthia's parrot gone! the pride of her heart sitting over my head in a tropic wood, where he could fly away, if he wanted to, hundreds of miles, and always find a resting place. "why don't you come, mr. jones?" it was cynthia's voice. i hastily picked up the cloth which always went with the cage, and which had covered the bird on its voyage ashore, threw it over the wire top, and covered the cage. i refastened the catch, and came stumbling down to the beach with my two burdens. "miss archer, you had better sit in the stern," said i, as i proceeded to place the cage in the bow. "i prefer the bow, thank you," said cynthia. i waded out in the water and set the cage in the stern sheets. at this cynthia began to climb over the seats. she reached the stern just as i removed the cage and waded with it back to the bow. at this cynthia stood up, preparing to move again. "sit down, cynthy; you can't crawl over me." "but, uncle tony, i want to hold solomon," said cynthia. "he gets so frightened without me." "he won't this time," i said. "besides, the yellow girl will have to come in here." we had left the stranger on the beach purposely until the last. she watched our preparations with interest, crouching on the beach, staring at every movement of cynthia's, and occasionally turning a look of horror in the direction of the men. when she was sure that cynthia was seated in the boat, and that she had no intention of returning, the girl stretched out her arms and said something which we could not understand. without more ado i took her up from the beach and placed her beside cynthia. a flock of parrots had settled in the mango tree, and cynthia looked at them with interest. i pushed the boat from shore and jumped in. as i did so i heard from the tree the words, "damn those britishers!" "how far off that sounds, mr. jones! was that solomon?" "i think it was, undoubtedly," said i. "it sounded up in that tree. do you think that perhaps while we were in hiding some wild parrots have come around and learned to speak as he does?" "it is barely possible," said i. "now, bo's'n, look out there; what are you doing? we don't want to run ashore too soon." "are we putting out to sea in an open boat, uncle?" "ask jones," growled the skipper. "he seems to be the captain of this expedition." i saw that the old man's feelings were hurt because i had not consulted him, but there had not been time. i felt that the party must obey my orders first and protest afterward. "i only want to run back along the beach a mile or so," i said, "to get away from the crew. the chances are that they'll think that we have tried to get to cap haïtien and follow along the coast; but from what i heard at santo domingo of christophe's latest didos, i don't believe we want to go to cap haïtien just now." "why, mr. jones! and you let the men go! they might all have been killed!" "just what i was hoping for," said i. "a little more lively with those oars, bo's'n; it's growing dark." "how quiet solomon is!" said cynthia. just then there came the distant words, "no fool like an old fool." "it certainly is among those parrots there," said the skipper. "yes, i think it is," said i. "i never heard of wild birds learning to talk so soon," said cynthia. "i don't believe you will get any one to believe it at home." "neither do i," said i. the night had come down upon us suddenly, but there was a fine line of light in the east, which betokened an early moonrise. as we looked out to sea, we could still perceive a faint glow round the wreck through the haze which overspread the water in that direction, but of other ships we saw none. we had forgotten about the fight between the pirate and the american while watching the fight on shore, and whatever had happened there was no one to tell us. i had hoped that the american would have sunk the pirate, and then we could have pushed out to him in our boats and gone home in one of our own bottoms, but the two vessels had vanished as completely as if they had never existed. it has seemed to me since that the privateer, as we called him, had tried to run away, and the american in chasing him had been led either very far out to sea or else round some point which hid them both from view. and now the moon, which had arisen many hours earlier, flooded the world. its light came across the water a beam of silver. our boat seemed always in its rays. this worried me somewhat, as i felt that we must be silhouetted against the eastern glow, and that any one on shore with hostile intent could follow us to our hiding place by simply walking along the beach. we kept rather close in shore on this account. when we had rowed about a mile and a half, we came to a little indentation, which i thought betokened the presence of a stream or rivulet from the hills. "what do you think of this place for a landing, captain?" asked i. "this isn't my expedition," said the skipper surlily. i wasted no words in explanation. i ordered the bo's'n to pull for the beach, and we were soon ashore. it was a pretty place, this, at which we had landed; an ideal one, i have thought since, for a modern picnic, but god forbid that any of the young women of the present day should have to go through what we had suffered, and what was to come, for the sake of finding so pleasant a picnic ground. we rowed the boat directly into the small inlet, and the bo's'n, the skipper, and i hauled her up a little way on the shelving beach. it was hard to know just what was best to do--whether to prepare for a land flight or for a sea flight. we took the stores out of the boat, but laid them near it, so that we could replace them at a moment's notice. we dared not build a fire, as the strange vessel might return, so eating some hard bread and drinking some water had to content us. we laid the blanket upon the ground and the pillow at its head. i motioned to cynthia to take her position there. she beckoned to the girl, who laid down by her. the skipper stretched himself at cynthia's feet, and the bo's'n, the minion, and i removed ourselves to a spot at a little distance. i laid awake the early part of the night, partly because i was anxious and worried, and partly because i was suffering a good deal from what i now felt sure was poison. if my simply touching those leaves had had that effect, i wondered what would be the result to the men of the yankee's crew. i laid on my back, looking up into the sky. the moon had set, the heavens were deep and dark, but studded with stars. the southern cross stood out beautiful and brilliant. i had seen it so many times when cruising in these waters, and here it was again to welcome me as an old friend. strange how one feels a personal right to, almost ownership of, these splendid works of god when again one meets them after a long or short separation. a swelling comes up in the heart and a pride in seeing again the thing which one has known for years, but which, so sad and persistent is fate, ignores us in return, unknown atoms that we are! it must have been much after midnight. i had dropped off into an uneasy slumber, when suddenly i was awakened by the sound of a stealthy footstep. a pebble rattled against another pebble; i raised myself upon my elbow. the stars were obscured by heavy black clouds, which had arisen after we had settled ourselves for the night. i saw nothing unusual among us. i could dimly distinguish some recumbent forms, and could trace the spot where cynthia and the stranger had laid themselves down. the skipper, if one could judge from the sounds, was enjoying his first sleep hugely. i have never seen a being with such a capacity for sleep. i did not disturb the old man, but turned quietly and raised myself to my feet. i looked in all directions, but there was nothing to be seen. i walked on tiptoe to where the skipper snored and dreamed probably of his lost yankee blade. i could dimly see one sleeping form, and from the position in which it lay i felt sure that it was cynthia. the rescued girl was nowhere to be seen. i returned to my sleeping place and laid myself down again and watched, lifting my head occasionally and scanning the edge of the wood and the near hill. finally my search was rewarded by seeing two forms come out from behind a clump of trees and stand a moment in earnest conversation. then one of the figures vanished from sight, and the other came without noise toward the camp. as it passed me by, i recognised the form and height of the young haïtien girl. she stepped lightly and quickly, making no noise as she went, and laid down again by cynthia without disturbing her. we were all awake early. when i opened my eyes i found that both cynthia and the girl were absent. in a few moments, however, they came toward us, cynthia fresh and smiling from her bath in the stream. one could follow this stream a hundred yards up toward the hills, and the bushes drooped, so that they made for the bather a perfect screen. the haïtien girl followed in cynthia's footsteps, like a devoted and faithful animal. the rest which she had obtained made her look almost handsome, and she had evidently imitated cynthia in bathing and in arranging her hair. cynthia had in her hand a large bunch of stems and flowers, behind which her head was nearly hidden. "do i look like birnam wood?" she called as she came toward us. "throw those down, i beg of you, miss archer," i shouted, "if you don't want your hands to look as mine do. it is most dangerous to pick flowers in any woods, and here----" cynthia continued arranging her flowers. "you should let lacelle show you where to get that remedy which she gathered for herself yesterday," said she. lacelle seemed to understand, for the moment that cynthia called her attention to my swollen hands she ran hastily toward the bank. again i urged, "do throw away those flowers." cynthia at my request flung them on the beach. as they fell, a strange metallic sound struck upon our ears. "i have thrown something away with them," said cynthia. "what can it be? i have no rings or jewellery. can it be my scissors or my thimble?" but a search of the interior of the little bag depending from her belt disclosed the fact that she was still in possession of those useful articles. i stooped over the weeds and, as well as i could, pulled the bunch apart. i searched among its leaves. upon the very central branch--a branch of thin wood with heavy green stems jutting out from either side--i discovered the cause of the strange sound. i found a large twisted circle of some dark metal, dull in some places, in others so bright that it hurt my eyes. the circle was made by the curving of the tail of a serpent, whose body formed the ring. where the seal is usually placed there was the head of an animal. it looked like the head of a sheep or a lamb. there were no horns, but ears were there, and laid back viciously close to the head. the eyes were formed of strange red gems, which glittered wonderfully in the morning sun. they seemed to shoot forth rays of light, and as i looked into them i fancied that they gave back an answering gleam of intelligence. there was a barbaric splendour about the trinket which attracted while it repelled. i wonder how cynthia could have broken the stem and not have seen the ring; but she said she was trying to keep her eye on the harbour, as she was convinced that shortly some ship would heave in sight, and she wished to be the first to see it. the strange trinket had evidently been dropped by its owner, and it had fallen circling just over the tender shoot of green. this sprout had grown into a stem, and the stem into a strong plant, and in growing had carried the bauble with it into the air. cynthia put it jokingly over her thumb. "you could almost get it over your hand," said the skipper. "it would make a splendid bracelet." "what a curious find!" i exclaimed. "how long do you suppose it has been there?" asked cynthia. "i can't say; since this stem began to sprout, anyway. this is may. say since march, or even earlier; you see that the stem is very well grown." "then the person who dropped it was here, on this very spot, in march," said cynthia. "oh, that does not follow at all," said the skipper, who had drawn near, much interested. "the ring might have laid there a long time before the stem decided to grow through it." "no," said i, "i don't agree with you. i think the ring was dropped by its owner exactly over the young and tender shoot, and it has had the strength----" "of mind----" interpolated cynthia. "or of purpose----" chimed in the skipper. a shriek interrupted our nonsensical parleying. the haïtienne had come shyly up to us, wondering doubtless what we had found to so interest us all. she had thrust her head forward into the circle close to cynthia's arm. the shriek that she gave utterance to was blood-curdling. it was between a howl and a wail. it chilled me through and through. the girl put her hand quickly to her heart, looked at each of us as if in great terror, and, turning, fled to the near woods. the bo's'n joined the group, and stood respectfully on the edge, waiting to ask if he should build a fire and prepare breakfast. he craned his long neck forward and looked over my shoulder at the curious bauble. when his eye lighted upon its barbaric strangeness, he drew a short, sharp breath and turned away, running in a different direction from that which the girl had taken; but before he started i heard his horrified voice mutter in distinct tones: "the goat without horns!" chapter iv. the skipper makes a prayer. the girl's strange behaviour did not surprise me. in the short time that she had been among us i had become quite used to her vagaries. i have spoken of her as a savage, but only as one would call any human being a savage, either black or white, who had attacked another as viciously as this girl had attacked cynthia. the girl was not a savage in the common acceptation of the term. she was of mixed blood, a french octoroon, probably from the country districts; at least so the simple chemisette and short skirt which comprised her costume would imply. her hair was black and wavy, her lips red, her teeth white and small. she was plump and prettily formed, and looked in reality like a girl of eighteen, though we afterward learned that she was just then in her fourteenth year. a large tree, which had fallen across the stream up near the cliff, formed a bridge over the deep little river. to this the haïtienne flew, and, springing upon its trunk, she crossed to the other side as if she had been a rope-walker. i watched her as she fled down the beach. i did not care when she returned to us, or, indeed, whether she came back at all, but the pangs of hunger were beginning to tell upon me, and the bo's'n was the only one who could assuage them. so i turned from contemplating the flying figure of the girl and gazed in the opposite direction. the bo's'n, too, was still running, as if pursued by some horrid nightmare. i watched until i saw that he had abandoned his pace, then ran slowly, then settled down into a walk, looking furtively over his shoulder the while, and finally stopped. i beckoned to him, but he shook his head. i started up the beach to meet him, but he began to run to the westward again. i returned to cynthia. "give that fellow up as a bad job," said i. "did you ever cook anything, miss archer?" "i can make calves'-foot jelly," said cynthia, "and oley-koeks. i always made those for christmas dinner at home." i looked around the shore scrutinizingly. "i don't see any little calf sticking up his feet to be chopped off--except the minion," i added, after a moment's survey of the sloping sand, where the cabin boy was disporting himself upon his back with his feet in the air. "i suppose oily what-you-call-'ems need butter and eggs----" "as i haven't the necessary materials, suppose i cook some pork," said cynthia. "i suppose"--looking quietly at me--"it isn't so very difficult. you will have to build a fire, you know, and wash the frying-pan and cut the pork." "and lay it in the spider and let it cook itself," said i. "i am sorry to put you to so much trouble." "don't mention it," said cynthia good-naturedly. "now, you know, by rights a piece of the old yankee should come floating ashore with a dozen fowls, a pail of milk, and a keg of butter planted safely on the upper side and----" "a barrel of flour," added i. "well, stranger things have happened----" "not much," said cynthia. this silly badinage served to while away the time while i cut the pork, made the fire, and started the breakfast on its way. i brought the water and hard bread, and then told cynthia that if she would watch the breakfast i would go and take a bath. i had something on my mind which depressed me greatly. when i took the parrot's cage ashore on the previous evening, i had hung it on the limb of a ceiba too high for cynthia to reach. that was very well for the night, but this was the next morning, and, like many another next morning, its light ushered in a day of reckoning. i had told cynthia, i am ashamed to say, that i would give solomon his food and water, and i am also humiliated to confess that i did actually fill the bird's cup and take it with a bit of hard bread to the secluded place which i had chosen for the scene of my base deception. let me state here, with the entire reliability of all explorers, that it was not entirely the fear of what cynthia would think of me for the part which i had played in what was to me a comedy, and which might prove to her a tragedy, but that i really could not bear the thought of seeing her sorrow when she first heard the dreadful news that solomon had escaped. i had often longed to wring the neck of the feathered brute, for he had repaid me, as many kindnesses are repaid in this world, by biting my finger to the bone when i had tried to tempt him with some dainty. however, cynthia loved him, and, notwithstanding his viciousness, i had tried to make friends with him for her sake. kick a man's dog, and he is done with you. ill treat a woman's parrot, and if that woman is the woman you adore, you had better be dead. i had left the cover drawn tightly over the cage, telling cynthia that it would protect the bird from the night dews, _facilis descensus averno_. little adoniah says that means tell one lie and you will have to tell a hundred. i had stuck to the letter of the truth, but i really cared very little whether the dews of evening or the deluges of the tropics descended in floods upon that wretched bird. when i left cynthia i walked directly up the bank of the stream, and was soon lost to sight behind the low foliage which fringed its western slope. so soon as cynthia could no longer see me, i struck to the right, and, circling round, i was again in the vicinity of the camp. i could see that her back was turned toward me as she stooped over the frying-pan, scorching her hands and face doubtless in doing this menial work. i went to the tree where the cage hung, reached up and pulled down the limb, seized upon the cage, loosened the catches, and quietly released the floor. this i laid upon the ground half upon edge, as if it had fallen so. i then returned to the stream and took my bath, which much refreshed me, and appeared in camp with my guilty heart thumping and my pulses ringing in my ears. the skipper was narrating a wonderful tale to cynthia, to which she was listening, as if she wished some confirmatory evidence before quite believing him. "oysters growing on trees!" cynthia exclaimed as i joined them. "uncle tony, you should not try to practice upon my credulity in that way, and you a member of the church in good and regular standing! but then you don't carry the deacons to sea with you, or----" the skipper asserted his discovery in loud and positive tones, which drowned cynthia's softer ones. "don't be a fool, girl! shows you never travelled. here's one now! see it? shell and all! here's where i broke it off the branch!" "well! it beats robinson crusoe," said cynthia. she turned to me. "do you believe it, mr. jones?" "it is nothing new," said i. "i will take a pail, if you like, and get some for breakfast." "i will go with you," said cynthia. "i know there's some catch about it. i never saw oysters growing on trees." "that's strange!" said the skipper with ill-concealed scorn; "since you have seen everything else in the whole blessed world----" "where are they, captain?" i inquired, interrupting the controversy. "along there, where that girl's standing. you go and get 'em, and i'll fry some more pork." i took the pail which the bo's'n had left near the fire and we started across the tree and along the beach in the direction which the haïtien girl had taken. when she saw cynthia approaching, she began to run with the fleetness of a deer. "i guess she's gone for good," i said. long before we reached the low mangrove growth we heard a curious snapping, like quick, sharp taps with a hammer. "click!" "click!" "click!" it sounded, until, as we drew close, the noise was confusing, and we had to raise our voices somewhat in speaking. we came to a little inlet, a sort of marshy place, where thousands of the low mangrove trees grew and pushed their roots and hooplike ends into the salt water. "now where are your trees?" asked cynthia. "why, there they are, those mangrove trees." "oh, you call those trees, do you? explosion of story number one." "story?" "i didn't like to call it by its real name," said cynthia, "as uncle tony told it. don't you think, mr. jones, that going to sea is very bad for the mor----" the conversation was taking too personal a turn. i pushed in among the hooplike roots. "see here!" i said, "and here! and here!" as i pulled the oysters from their holding places and threw them into the pail. all about us the shells were opening and shutting, as if they longed for the return of the tide, which was about two feet below them. "now that's exactly like so many of the stories one hears. i expected to stand under a very high tree and see you climb it as you would a hickory at home. i meant to stand under the branches and hold my dress and catch--oh, pshaw! why do i talk to you?" "you have too much imagination," said i. "just taste one before you begin to abuse us all so." "i am not abusing any one, mr. jones; i only said----" "halloo! halloo!" it was the skipper's voice. fearing that something of an unpleasant nature had occurred, we started quickly back again. "breakfast's ready," said the skipper, with his mouth full of pork. as i approached the camp i saw a signal in the distance. i discovered after a moment's scrutiny that it was a signal from the bo's'n. i beckoned him to come to me, but he only shook his head, and waved more wildly than before, pointing with sharp, quick jerks of his thumb over his shoulder to the westward. "are you going to see what that fool wants?" asked the skipper. "no," returned i. "i am tired of playing tag with the bo's'n and the haïtien girl. besides, i am famished." we sat down on the rocks and ate our salt pork from a plate made of hard bread. we washed it down with water from the spring at the base of the rocks, and i heard no remarks upon the coarse fare. cynthia said only that she had never known how good salt pork and ship's biscuits were, and that she should get aunt mary 'zekel to have them three times a week when she got home. "where's that minion?" asked the skipper, with his mouth full. as nothing was to be seen of the boy, we left his breakfast with the bo's'n's share and that reserved for the haïtien girl, and i started to go to the rescue of the bo's'n, who was still waving violently. i had taken but a few steps when i heard a call from cynthia. "mr. jones," she called, "bring me a biscuit before you go." my heart sank down like lead. in the pleasure of gathering the oysters and the walk which i had had with her alone i had forgotten that the day of reckoning was near at hand. i took a piece of bread from the cask and ran to meet her. "hungry again?" i asked, outwardly smiling. there was a singing in my ears. i could hardly see. "oh, no," said she in answer; "but 'a merciful man,' you know, and my poor beast must be starving." "yes, i think he is," said i. i forgot the bo's'n's signal; i forgot everything. i seated myself miserably on a stone and waited for the deluge. it came. i heard: "oh! oh! uncle! mr. jones, do come here; solomon's gone!" "we ought to sing the doxology," said the skipper to me in an undertone. he called to her in a well-simulated tone of regret: "oh, no, cynthy, it can't be possible!" so there were two cowards of us. "how can she tell? she can't reach the cage," said i. "how can you tell he's gone?" called the skipper, in tones whose joy was but poorly concealed. "you can't reach the cage." "i'm standing right under the cage, uncle; i can see right into it. o solomon, solomon! my dear, darling, beautiful bird!" "never knew she could look through a piece of tin. guess i'll go and see." i put my fingers in my ears and ran toward the bo's'n, who was still waving. the minion trotted along by my side. the strange thing about the minion was that, unlike most boys, he seldom spoke; i should have thought that he was dumb had it not been that occasionally, when hard pressed, he did open his childish lips and pour forth words of wisdom. there is an old saying that actions speak louder than words. the minion seemed to prefer to communicate his thoughts in this way. he pointed to the beach, where i still saw the bo's'n making his gestures. i turned and looked back to the camp. i put my hands to my mouth and hallooed to the skipper, who had emerged from the shadow of the trees. "it's a flag of truce, i think," said i. i saw the skipper shake his head and look despondently on the ground. what he said was: "o lord! those wretched sailors again." i wondered if he was correct in his surmise as i ran along toward where the bo's'n stood. when he saw that i was really coming, he dropped the flag of truce and put it on, for it was his shirt which he had fastened to a branch to use for this purpose. "how silly you are, bo's'n!" i said. "i can't be following you all over the island. you had better come back to the camp and behave like a christian." a look of horror overspread his face as i spoke of his return to the camp, but he shook his head and said: "i should not have called you, sir, mr. jones, sir, but i have discovered something. i thought you would like to know it." he turned and walked briskly away. "hold on!" i said. "i am tired of this tomfoolery. do you know what a hot morning it is?" "yessir, i know, sir," said the bo's'n. "come here, sir." the bo's'n's air of mystery overcame my desire to sit down in the shade. i followed where he led. "it's the result of the battle, sir," he explained. "what battle?" i asked, as i walked beside him. "the fight between the sailors and the haïtiens, sir." "you don't mean," i said, "that the sailors have come down here to----" "no, only those are here who were left here." he parted the shoreward bushes and revealed to me three men lying there. two of them were white men. they were our sailors wilson and tanby. the other was a haïtien. he was lying by a partly dug grave. indeed, so nearly ready was the grave that i had some thought of confiscating it for the body of one of our sailors. there were two other graves; at least, so i took them to be. they were finished, and their occupants were at rest under that wonderful leafy bower which only the tropics can afford. i thought that i heard a rustling in the bushes, and told the bo's'n my suspicions. the minion pointed to the thicket, and with a wild yell disappeared. one never knew what the minion would do. one always knew what he would say, and that was nothing. there seemed to be an air of mystery about this secluded spot. i watched the bushes, expecting the minion's return, and, as i watched, i felt that a pair of eyes was fixed on me. i pierced the undergrowth right and left with my gaze, but only the mompoja leaves moved languidly in the baby breeze which was now stirring, the precursor of a later wind. i followed the minion into the thicket, but saw no one. even the minion had vanished. it was a great relief to me to be able to act like a man with courage once more, instead of guarding my words for fear that they would agitate the being the dearest in the world to me. "did you see any one as you came along the beach, bo's'n?" said i. "no, sir, mr. jones, sir; i was not looking or thinking of any one when i stumbled right on them bodies. i was running to get away, sir." again the look of horror overspread his features, and he glanced backward over his shoulders toward the camp. i believe in always going to the root of a matter with the ignorant and superstitious. "now, bo's'n," i said, with an air of logical argument, "what should you see in that simple, plain, iron trinket--" but he stopped me with a gesture which was strangely authoritative from an inferior to a superior, and in hushed, scared tones he said: "don't speak of it, mr. jones. don't mention it, sir. don't think of it. make the young lady throw it away." "_make!_" "yessir, mr. jones, make her throw it away, sir." i laughed to reassure him, though i must acknowledge that i was impressed by his manner. my laughter had the effect of reassuring myself somewhat also. "shall i take the boat and row out and sink this dangerous bauble with its snake's body"--a tremor seemed to seize my listener, and he shook as if with a chill--"and its sheep's head?" "do not make fun of it, sir. you will be sor----" "we will go and get it, bo's'n, and you shall row me out while i----" "do not ask me to touch it, sir. there is doom in that sign." i noticed that he did not call it a ring, as i had done; and then he came close to me and looked into my eyes with impressive and beseeching earnestness, and said in a whisper: "you may take it out to sea, far, far out to sea, and drop it beneath the waves, but the storms will come, the waves will roll, and the breakers will dash it again on the shore. you may bury it in a pit so deep that you can hardly get yourself out again from its grave, but an earthquake will rumble beneath it and with its cracks will upheave it, and it will be here again. you may take it to the top of yonder mountain and lay it on the topmost peak, but the tempests will come and the hurricane will blow and will toss it again at your feet. she has found it, and it will follow her to the end--to the end." the mysterious tone of the man, the ghostlike voice in which he spoke, made me feel unpleasantly, although it was broad day and the sun was shining brightly. he seemed to be lifted out of himself, and to speak in a voice and tone not his own. i tried to laugh. i reasoned with myself thus. how utterly absurd that a man of little education, of the most ordinary ability, and, withal, a man holding that absurd position bo's'n of a merchant craft, should have an insight into mystical and occult things which none of the rest of us possess! but as he still stood staring at me, and directly into my eyes, as if he would read into the very depths of my mind, i began to have what is commonly called a creepy sensation. little shivers ran up my backbone, and i longed for other companionship. i cast a glance at the dead men, and felt that if i were to retain the strength to go for aid to bury them, the sooner i went the better for me. with difficulty i withdrew my gaze from the man's eyes. "come, come, bo's'n!" i said, forcing a laugh, "you are overwrought and nervous. come back with me, and i will give you my word that you shall not see the ring again while you remain with us." he stood gazing irresolutely out to sea. "it is no ring!" he muttered. "a circle, a sign, an emblem of horror--of dread--of vengeance!" "i am hungry, bo's'n," i said, dropping from the height to which he had raised me and endeavouring to drag him down with me. "you left your post, and miss archer is doing your work. i shall return for my breakfast, and then get the captain to come back here with me and bury our men. that will be only decent." these matter-of-fact statements brought the bo's'n down to earth again. "i see crumbs on your shirt front," said he. he spoke now in his natural voice. his eyes had lost their far-seeing look. i left him and ran back to the camp, calling him to follow. i told the skipper what he had found, also his strange and unreasonable terror of the ring. cynthia looked sad and downcast, but entered into this new subject with interest. "if he's afraid of the ring, i can conceal it," said she, "but don't ask me to throw it away. i wouldn't give it up now for the world." "for some reason," said i, "the man is half dead with fright. just hide it, miss archer, and i will tell the bo's'n that you have thrown it away." _another!_ people will tell you that it is only wicked women who lead men astray. here was the best and sweetest woman that i had ever known, and i had told three absolute falsehoods in less than an hour's time, and was ready to tell another--many others, in fact--should circumstances demand it. "i think it very wrong to tell a falsehood," said cynthia. "i never tell one"--a short pause--"_unless it is absolutely necessary_." meanwhile she was feeling under her collar. when her fingers came to view again, they held a little gold chain and locket. i looked at the locket curiously. "my lover's portrait," said cynthia, looking up at me with a saucy smile. she calmly and with patience prepared to pull apart the two pieces of the slide or clasp that held the delicate chain together. "this was my baby chain; i have worn it ever since i was a little thing.--how old, uncle tony?" the skipper blew his nose. "i remember my sister putting that chain on you before you could walk, cynthy," he said. "i remember she said it was big enough to grow in." "i have never taken it off but twice," said cynthia; "once to slip the locket on empty, and once to slip it on after i put the picture in it." "let us have a look at william," said i, chagrined that i had not destroyed the only likeness extant of that hated individual. "you shall see it some time," returned cynthia. "there!" she took the ring from her pocket, slipped the chain through the circle made by the serpent's body, and clasped it around her neck. "don't do it!" i remonstrated. "there may be something in the bo's'n's fears, after all." "nonsense!" laughed cynthia, as she tucked the ring down below her collar and rearranged her tie. her dress was still neat and fresh, but as i looked at her i wondered how long it would be before she would appear like other shipwrecked women. and now i beckoned to the bo's'n. he started and came haltingly up the beach. i cast my eyes on the loose pebbles at my feet for a moment and discovered what i wanted. as children we had often played with what we called lucky stones. a lucky stone was a little stone washed by the motion of the water into an open circle. the lucky stone that i picked up was a glittering piece of rock, and shone in the sun. "we can not spare the bo's'n's services," i said, "and he won't come back to camp until the ring is thrown away, so here goes." the bo's'n was nearing us slowly on the left, and the haïtien girl as reluctantly upon the right. when the bo's'n was perhaps a hundred feet away, i threw back my arm and hurled the pebble as far away as i could. it glittered as it flew through the air, and entered the water with a splash at about three hundred feet from the shore. i was considered a good thrower in my time. the bo's'n advanced now with more confidence, though he looked continually out into the bay at the concentric rings in the water, which were approaching the beach where we stood. "expect that fool is looking to see it bob up and swim ashore," laughed the skipper. the haïtien girl now returned also. she drew close to cynthia, and laid her cheek down on her skirt in a respectful way. "_li negue a peu_," she whispered. she looked at the place where the stone had gone down and shuddered. she shook her head several times. "_Ça, retou'! Ça retou'!_" she said. "i understand her talk a little, sir," volunteered the bo's'n. "i lived with a dominican, mr. jones, sir, for a year. i was with toussaint's army when he marched to haïti." that seemed ancient history to me, and i gazed on the bo's'n with respect. "it was then i learned about----" he broke off suddenly. "what did lacelle say, bo's'n?" asked miss archer. "she says the negro is afraid, miss. that's what she meant to say, miss. the haïtiens don't speak what they call the fine french, miss. it's half african and half french, miss." "captain," i said, "we are wasting a good deal of time over nothing, seems to me. there is something that we should do as soon as possible." i drew him aside and told him about the dead sailors. "come on," said the skipper readily. "bo's'n, you stay and watch the camp, and if any danger threatens, signal us." "what with, cap'n, sir?" "why, as you did before." the bo's'n became very red, looked at miss archer sheepishly, and said, "yessir." the minion had now appeared mysteriously from somewhere, and, after ordering him to stay with the party and help the bo's'n "clean up," we started. we pushed the boat into the water. the skipper took the steering oar and i took the sculls, and we pulled westward. when we arrived at our destination, i beached the boat and walked with the captain up the slope to where the dead sailors were lying. "dear! dear!" said the captain. "wilson and tanby! how natural they look! poor fellows! you'll never tumble up again to the sound of the bo's'n's whistle, my lads." "and he'll never pipe any more to your crew," said i, as i thought of the sleeping forms we had left behind us the night before. i stood looking about me. "captain, there's something queer about this place. it's uncanny, it seems to me. when i left the men here, a half hour ago, there were three--our two men and the haïtien, and two graves. now there is no haïtien, and three graves instead of two." "lord! you don't say so! well, i have seen queer things in my time, a sight of queer things. nothing ever surprises me. let's give the poor fellows a decent burial and get back to camp. i don't quite like leaving cynthy with that crazy bo's'n----" "we have no spades, captain," said i. he saw what i meant, for he turned and looked at the graves. "how's that?" he asked, jerking his head over his shoulder toward the water. "the only way now," i answered. we lifted the poor fellows and laid them gently in the bows side by side, and then pulled for the open water. the dinghy's painter was lying in the bottom of the boat, and as i rowed the skipper untwisted and split the rope. of course, i had known quite well why he lifted two heavy rocks from the beach and laid them under the thwarts. when i had rowed for about ten minutes, the skipper said, "way enough!" i trailed my oars, and together we prepared the men for the last sad rites. with one end of a rope around the body of each, and the other fastened securely around one of the rocks, we lowered them one after another into that deep over which for so many years they had sailed happy-go-lucky fellows. as they sank below the surface, the skipper shifted his squatting position into a kneeling one, raised his eyes to the blue above him, clasped his weather-beaten hands, and said: "oh, thou who holdest the oceans of the earth in the hollow of thy hands, hold these poor sailors, we pray thee, within thy tender keeping, and when the sea gives up its dead, good lord, and they are called aft to thy mast, where they must answer up, no shirking, remember the many trials and temptations of poor jack, dear father, and judge them _as_ sailors, and _not as human beings_!" "amen!" said i. chapter v. a mysterious flight. i could not restrain a smile, even at this most solemn moment, as i heard the skipper's ending. i sat looking at the water for a little--at the resting place of the men, which was marked for a short time by the bubbles which came to the surface; and then a light wind ruffled the water, and i closed my eyes, breathing a few words for the living as well as for the dead. when i opened them again, i had lost trace of those nameless graves for all time. as i rowed the boat swiftly toward shore, away from that scene of sadness, i pondered upon the situation. it seemed to me that the others had not considered seriously enough our strangely exceptional fate. in most accounts of shipwreck and adventure the castaways are left upon a desolate island with savages more or less gentle, who help and care for them; or else the natives are bloodthirsty wretches, who, if they come in contact with the shipwrecked people, are outnumbered and overcome. then a vessel heaves in sight at the right moment, and takes the unfortunates to home and happiness. there was the alternative of being shipwrecked upon an utterly desolate land, where provisions were few and enemies none. our case was not any one of these three. we had not been obliged to seek refuge upon a desert island, far from home and friends. on the contrary, we were but twelve hundred miles at the most from belleville, which was the centre of our world. the anxiety which filled my thoughts was caused by recent facts in our history, which followed each other rapidly through my mind, and which gave me reason to fear that if we could not quickly get safe passage away from the island something of a dangerous nature might befall us. that black monarch, "king henry of the north," as he chose to style himself, was at this time reigning over the island of haïti with resolute and powerful sway. no absolute monarch ever ruled a people with as decided and unbrooked a will as henri christophe. the french occupation, which had lasted about one hundred years, had been finally ended with the revolution of . toussaint l'ouverture had instigated and led the most bloody rebellion of modern times. the slave of the breda plantation, through insurrection, wars, and bloodshed, had become a great general, and so the dictator of the entire island known as santo domingo. it is an almost incredible fact that toussaint was a gentle and humane man, even though he rose against and massacred the whites that his people with him might throw off the yoke of slavery. had toussaint been alive at this day, i knew that we should have had nothing to fear, but his mantle had fallen upon other shoulders, and those who had succeeded him had lost sight of the primary cause of the uprising. like some other reformers, his path ran with blood, but it was either that or continued slavery for himself and his people. toussaint was the grand figure of the haïtien revolution. the marquis d'hermonas said of him, "god in this terrestrial globe could not commune with a purer spirit." it was well known that toussaint's enemies were treated with a gentleness and consideration which was abnormal in those days of bloodthirsty cruelty and excess. but at the time of which i write toussaint had died in the alps. the french, short-sighted as to a policy which should have urged upon them the recognition of toussaint as the best governor which the island could procure, instead of treating with him, and forming an honourable peace, decoyed him on board one of their ships. he was sent to france, where he died in the château de joux. his death was caused by alpine rigour, and it is hinted that it was aided by unnatural means. toussaint was a courageous general, a keen legislator, an astute philosopher, a good citizen, a generous enemy, and a faithful friend. had we but had such a man to turn to, i should have felt no fear, but there had been wars and bloodshed since toussaint's time. his generals, dessalines, christophe, and pétion, had continued the war with the greatest bitterness. they had driven out the french, who, however, had left their various mixed progeny behind them. that progeny, the product of two races, who despised their black mothers and hated their white fathers, were always at war with the blacks and whites alike. then dessalines, following the example of bonaparte, in , crowned himself emperor, saying, "i am the only noble in haïti." this would be laughable if the results had not been so disastrous and far reaching. then came the downfall of dessalines. then pétion was elected president. there were more conspirings, more treachery, and more bloodshed, and finally christophe crowned himself king. this was in , about ten years before the last cruise of the yankee blade. back from the coast, about eight to ten miles as the crow flies, upon a mountain height which overlooks the sea and land as far as the eye can reach, christophe had built his wonderful citadel, the tragic erection of which cost a life for each stone laid. this black prince lived in the greatest luxury and, as far as his light shone, in unbounded magnificence. no refusal was ever brooked by him. if a workman was ordered to accomplish the impossible, and the article desired was not forthcoming at the time set by the despot, the unfortunate being was dragged from his hiding place and hurled off the precipice of the citadel. i had heard that thirty thousand men had perished in this way. i remember now the words of a historian whose book i have lately read: "as long as a stone of this wall shall stand, so long will there remain a monument to one of the greatest savages and murderers who has ever disgraced god's earth." christophe's palace at "sans souci" was one of the wonders of the world. it would have graced any country; have reflected glory upon any people. the earthquake of ' damaged its fair beauty, but its remains stand to-day a proof of the power, the determination, and the inventive genius of that terrible black king. seated under a camaito tree, which spread its green shade over the marble terrace, this absolute monarch held court. no one dared to look upon his face. officers, soldiers, and prisoners alike trembled and hid their eyes as they knelt before him. if any one displeased or unconsciously thwarted the king, he was haled away to a dungeon, which generally meant death. is it wonderful, then, that i regarded our going to the interior of the island as little less than suicidal? we were in danger of lawless bands from the west and from the east, for there was discontent with the black king henri, and irresponsible parties of griffes and mulattoes, not to speak of outlawed whites who had no standing at home, were in hiding among the rocks and caves of that extraordinary formation known as the island of santo domingo. i had wondered how captain schuyler had dared to bring his niece with him on this cruise of the yankee blade, for the buccaneers were still pursuing helpless craft upon the high seas. they usually feared a close proximity to civilized lands, but carried on their nefarious business upon the open ocean, making sudden and unexpected dashes from the isle of pines, which was their stronghold. i think that i have written enough without going further into detail to show why, though we had been ashore barely twenty-four hours, i was anxious to escape from this place of horrors. these reflections ran through my brain in the space of a very few seconds, as thoughts will, and i trailed my oars and spoke. "captain schuyler," i said, "why did you run the risk of bringing your niece on such a dangerous voyage?" the skipper looked up at me for a moment, as if not comprehending my question. "god bless your soul! dangerous? dangerous? what do you mean, mr. jones?" "i consider it a very foolish thing, captain, to----" "what! mr. jones, do you know who you are speaking to, sir? this is mutiny, mr. jones, rank mutiny! rank----" "no, captain," i answered calmly and slowly, "it is no mutiny. i must speak my mind. i can not understand your action, with pirates still roaming the high seas----" "yes, yes, high seas," broke in the skipper; "but who ever dreamed of their coming so close to shore? why, i've been sailing these waters now for seven years, since i gave up the calcutta trade, and i never so much as saw a pirate craft. i've hugged the shore pretty close, it's true, and----pshaw, mr. jones, you're nervous! i recognise the signs. a man's always nervous when he's in love. i used to be; i----" "i am not unnecessarily nervous," said i. "your niece is a very beautiful young girl----" "do you think so?" said the skipper in a surprised tone. "why, do you know, jones, i never thought her even good-looking. you should have seen her aunt mary 'zekel at her age!" "i regret my loss," i said. "but that's neither here nor there----" "you are foolish, jones! you imagine things." "i suppose the loss of the yankee and the balls of those pirates are all in my fancy." "good god! no! i wish they were. i can't say that," answered the skipper, "but----" "hardly, i fancy," said i impatiently, "with the old yankee sunk and our party ashore, half of them dead, some of them buried, the others----" "don't go on so, jones. those men may not have been pirates. sometimes people pretend they are pi----" "don't split hairs, captain. i think if a britisher or an american should capture them, and knew what they done, they would give them a short shrift. i can't see how you can be so unimpressed with our dreadful situation." i looked up at the skipper and saw the tears welling over from his eyes. "don't scold me, jones," he said in a broken voice. "god knows i can't see my way clear to anything! tell me what you think best, and i'll do it." i saw that the old man's nerve was gone, and i suspected that with it had departed some of the good judgment for which he had been noted, i had heard, in years gone by. had i started from coenties slip with the ship, i should have remonstrated with him, if possible, for taking a young girl on so hazardous a voyage; but i had joined the ship at martinique, my own vessel having been lost off that island in a hurricane, of which more another time. the captain had quarreled with his mate, he had deserted, and i had taken the job, and glad to get it, too. my surprise was great when i found miss archer on board. i had always been pessimistic about her presence there, and now something like what i had anticipated had happened, and here was i left to care for a captain who was broken and old, and a young girl of my own nation, for whose welfare i found that i cared more than was good for my peace of mind, and a boy who was of no use except to give us an occasional laugh, and a bo's'n who went off into strange, mysterious attacks, and talked at such times miles over my head, as well as his own--a sublimated bo's'n, who, though entirely illiterate in his normal moments, in attacks such as i have described spoke like a professor; who one moment was soaring in the skies, and raving of things spiritual and supernatural, and the next moment was talking like the veriest old jacky that ever came out of a forecastle. i, too, was feeling upset with all that we had gone through, but i must keep my courage up if we were to escape from that accursed island. "jones, what do you say to rowing back up along the beach and seeing if those fellows are alive? we ought to bury them decently if they have died since yesterday." the skipper seemed suddenly to have developed a fancy for the rôle of chaplain. having tasted the pleasure of being in close communication with heaven, on a confidential footing, so to speak, with providence, the apologist and recommender of the dead of his crew, he hated to give up the job. i have noticed the same sort of frenzy in my wife at times. she (to speak mildly) used to dissipate, at certain seasons, in church meetings, going to wednesday evening and friday evening meetings, to noon prayer meetings, and three times to church. on sundays many's the time i've walked the floor with little adoniah schuyler second, while she was listening to reverend vandenwater thunder hell and damnation at the unrepentant. she has come in with an uplifted look on her face and an air of holy calm, which assured me that the next world held no place for such degenerates as myself. the reverend vandenwater demanded all her time and attention for the "refuge for the progeny of the bondsman." but the reverend vandenwater disappeared with the funds of the refuge, and she has not dissipated so extensively since. i used to tell her when she talked about the love of the lord that it was spelled with a "v," which at times created a coolness in the family. but i have digressed. i told the skipper that i thought we had been enjoying ourselves long enough away from the camp, and that we should now return as soon as possible. as i spoke, i rested for a moment on my oars and turned my head in the direction of the camp. "strange!" said i; "there's no one on the beach." the skipper stood up in the boat. "no," he said, "there isn't. perhaps they have gone a little farther into the shade." there were no figures moving about, no cynthia, no bo's'n, no minion. one never knew what lacelle would be up to, so i did not worry myself at not seeing her. i turned again to face the skipper, and all at once i perceived a strange vessel coming rapidly toward the coast, and as i looked, the french flag which she bore was supplemented by another. i could not believe my eyes. i did really rub them and look again. yes, it was true. the jolly roger fluttered for a moment at the masthead, and as suddenly was lowered to the rail. it confirmed my suspicions as to the pass to which the island had come, that a pirate craft could sail openly along the coast in broad daylight, displaying her signal of murder and death! that it was a signal to some one in waiting on the shore, i could not hesitate to believe. then, in what terrible danger were we and our party from an assault both on the land and on the water. we were, indeed, between the devil and the deep sea. "captain," said i, scrambling hastily over the middle seat, "take the other pair, for god's sake!" "what's the matter with the man?" exclaimed the captain, as i tumbled hastily into the bows and picked up the extra pair of oars. "just when one begins to feel peaceful and calm, communing with his maker, as it were, you----" "you'll commune with your maker sooner than you care to, captain," said i, "if you don't pick up those oars. that pirate's come back, or else it's another one. i saw the roger----" the skipper had by this time turned about, deliberately removed his coat, and taken up the oars. "what! that vessel? she's no more a pirate than you are." "i tell you i saw the crossbones as plain as i see your back. pull, captain, for the love of god!" the skipper did bend to his oars, but his mutterings were proof that he had little confidence in my judgment or eyesight. "just thinking peacefully of my latter end----" "you'll have your latter end closer in view, captain," said i, "if you don't pull like hell." my violent word brought him down from his heavenly flight, and pull he did, but we had quite a distance yet to go. "she's a beauty," said the skipper. "she's so long and low and rakish, but so was the yankee blade. not quite so much free board as the yankee, has she, now?" "captain, excuse me, but if you would pull more and talk less----" "well, i'll pull, mr. jones, i'll pull, but i'll remember your language, mr. jones, and when i get----" i looked over my shoulder as i rowed. "our people are nowhere to be seen, captain. do you think they could have noticed that signal?" "you are crazy, man, utterly and entirely out of your head. i told you that men in love were insane. they would never show that flag if they had it." "they know what they are about, sir," said i. "they wouldn't do it for fun. let us beach the boat and run for it." the skipper suddenly seemed to catch my fear. we beached the boat some hundred yards from the camp. "which way, jones?" "for the camp, cap'n, the camp! if you ever ran in your life, run now." i sped along the beach, taking it just where the retreating water had left the sand hard and firm, the skipper pounding along after me on his fat, short legs. i did not think of the danger of being seen by those on board the vessel, and, had i done so, i should have been sure that they were busy with their signals and their rounding to. as i ran, i turned my head now and then to watch the approach of the craft. she was a beautiful sight, the long, low schooner, all sails set, pointing directly for the shore. she ran so far in, that one would think that they meant to run directly up on the beach, but i argued that their confidence bespoke their knowledge of these waters. the wind had risen, and the trades were blowing freshly along, parallel with the shore line. we had reached the camp now. no one was to be seen. i turned for one more glimpse of the dreadful vessel, and as i looked she began to haul down her jibs. she rounded to, shot up head to wind, and lowered her foresail and dropped anchor pretty nearly together. "you see, she knows her ground," said i. the skipper looked blankly about him. there was no sign of any of our party. there was no trace of any of the provisions or of our occupation of the place except a broken leaf or two and the remains of the fire, and that was heaped with wet sand, which was fast drying between the embers and the sun. i called "cynthia! cynthia!" frantically, regardless of the proprieties or of what the skipper would think, or of her resentment if she heard me. there was no response. i ran here and there. i hallooed, i shouted, with no thought of whom else might hear. the four living, breathing human beings whom we had left at our camp had vanished out of life as if they had never existed! i ran anxiously through the undergrowth, and as i ran i stumbled over the one thing which the party in their flight or imprisonment, i knew not which, had forgotten. it was the spyglass, lying closely hidden under some large leaves that grew upon the bank of the stream. i took it up and pointed it at the strange vessel. her decks seemed alive with men. i saw that they were lowering some boats. they were coming ashore, then! we took turns in watching the movements of the crew, and discovered that they had got down two boats, and were preparing to lower a third. the first two were pulling directly for the cove or mouth of the stream. "comin' ashore for water, probably," said the skipper. "bo's'n has seen 'em probably, and has come down from his high horse long enough to hide the party. we're all right, jones. don't be so dreadful scared. they won't stay above half an hour." i devoutly hoped not. we now ran up the bank of the stream toward the face of rock which rose precipitately from the grass-grown valley. as i looked toward it, i could not fail to admire the beauty of its vine-covered precipice. on either side the hills sloped backward, but the cliff stood bold and vertical, like a verdure-covered fortress. behind those leafy hiding places the guns of an enemy might lie secure until the day of need. "cynthia! cynthia!" i shouted again. i never thought of calling any other name. "cynthia" was all that i wanted to find. as we neared the face of the rock we perceived that the stream ran exactly out from its centre, through which it had made in the ages past an archway for itself. we stooped and drank of it. it was cold, as if it had emerged from a glacier. i bathed my head and my hands. the skipper did the same. and then i took up my cry of "cynthia! cynthia!" i had begun to call now as a matter of habit, not at all as if i expected to obtain a response, and was looking around for a place where the skipper and i could secrete ourselves until the pirates had procured their water, when i heard a whistle or sort of chirrup from somewhere above. i raised my eyes toward the sheer straight wall of rock, and saw a human face looking down. it was forty feet over my head, but i knew it better than i knew any face in the world. it was the face of cynthia, smiling down on me as if we had never had any tiffs, as if no danger threatened, as if it were the most natural place for her to be, and, above all, as if she were glad to welcome me. i could see nothing of cynthia's body. her head only protruded from a mass of vines which covered the face of the rock, from vines rooted in a spot a hundred feet above her head, and falling to the ground where i stood. the skipper looked upward at the signal from cynthia. "always knew you was a tomboy, cynthy. but for the lord's sake, how did you climb up there?" "better hurry, uncle," answered cynthia; "they're getting near land." "but how?" asked the puzzled skipper. "how? i don't see any vine that'll hold my weight. besides, they'd see me climbin' up the face." "round to the right, your right, and up the hill!" it was cynthia's voice again, and we eagerly obeyed. we skirted the base of the ragged cliff. the last words that we heard from cynthia were, "the ceiba tree," and we took them as our guide. we pushed through the low underbrush and climbed the broken shale, sending down shovel loads of small stones at every step. it was hot work. i panted and dripped, and the poor skipper's face was the colour of fire. i was glad for both our sakes when we reached the ceiba tree and stood leaning against it, fanning ourselves with our hats. here we were concealed from the men in the boats by the trees that fringed the shore, and felt in no hurry to start on again. we were at a loss as to how to proceed farther when, as i looked about for a continuing path, a hand protruded from the bushes which grew against the cliff, and i saw some beckoning fingers. i pushed the skipper forward. he grasped the hand in his and disappeared. i heard what sounded like "atton." this might mean anything. i took it to be an order from lacelle, and that the word was spoken in her haïtien french, and was intended for "_attendez_." i was not and never have been a scholar of the french language, but one who follows the sea for a livelihood picks up more or less of the words of various nations, and i thought that i must be right in my surmise. so i waited. i did not think that they would leave me alone, and, if they did, i had no fear of the strangers coming up the hill in that blazing sun when they had landed merely for the purpose of securing water. as i leaned against the rock waiting for developments--for that developments of some kind must come i was certain--the hand was put forth again, and i was drawn within the recess. the bushes grew so close to the face of the cliff that i had left them behind me and had entered an archway of rock before i realized the change. the darkness and the cold of this strange interior were the more obvious because of our exertion under a fierce tropical sun, and they told me that i was treading a passage well surrounded by rock masses within the deep interior of the great cliff. i could see absolutely nothing, and i groped stumblingly along. as i walked i dragged the fingers of my left hand against the wall upon that side of me. the other was clasped in the hand of my leader. we proceeded some distance in this way upon a level, and then began to descend a sharp declivity. here my feet would have gone too fast for safety had not my guide restrained me with a grasp of iron. at the foot of this incline we found a level, along which we proceeded for some distance, and then we began to ascend again. our footsteps resounded hollowly as we felt along the mysterious way. among the strange feelings that surged like a flood through my being, the one which impressed me the most was the fact that one of my hands was held in a cold, moist grasp. it was held firmly and steadily. i withdrew my other hand from the wall and endeavoured to lay it suddenly upon the wrist of the leader. but it was as if my guide could penetrate the gloom, for as i attempted this my fingers were at once released, and i was left to grope alone. i struggled miserably for a moment, fearing to stand still, fearing to move, not knowing into what black abyss i might plunge at any moment; and then i shouted, "come back! come back!" terrible echoes answered me; but the hand, the horrible moist hand, was again laid upon mine, and i was being led _somewhere_, as before. my wish was to slide my fingers up along the arm of my guide and discover, if possible, what manner of being this was who led me. my manoeuvre had been foiled, however, and after two of these attempts i heard the words whispered softly in my ear, in tone of warning it seemed to me, "pe'nez gar'." then i resigned myself to being led blindly onward, feeling that i must trust to my leader or be lost. i wondered if i were to meet cynthia, or if this were some ghostly trap into which i had fallen. the air was full of mystery. i had heard weird tales of the old caves of santo domingo, of which haïti was a part, and of strange disappearances--of men with a spirit for adventure groping their way in those caverns and appearing never more to human eye. strange odours arose. the air seemed heavy and weighed down upon my head. i seemed to breathe the atmosphere of a charnel house. the blackness of darkness was upon me, but i resigned myself hopelessly to the leadership of that ghostly hand. i shudder now when i recall that mysterious contact. the very memory of it strikes a chill to my heart. my head whirls when i remember my stumbling and halting movement through that passage of dread, shivering with fear that the next step might dash me into an unfathomable pit. perhaps the skipper had already met his fate! cynthia was safe; at least, we had heard her voice. but was she not perhaps reserved for some terrible future, when we, her protectors, should be gone? with these agonizing thoughts in my mind, i groped and stumbled on. the ghostly presence was as elusive as the soap in the bath tub. when i endeavoured to clasp the hand with both of mine, and thought that i had my fingers on something tangible, they closed together upon themselves. i felt a pressure against my side, my back. my hand touched a cold form that it gave me a chill to feel, and i tried to prove to myself that it was no delusion; but even as i groped in the darkness the form eluded me, and i was alone. chapter vi. the pirates return. suddenly my guide had released my hand, and i was left to myself. i saw a faint glimmer of light ahead. and now i was conscious that there was no one in front of me. i faced quickly about. the blackness of darkness met my gaze. i hoped to discover what manner of guide mine had been, but i looked into the depths of an inky funnel, whose grim background outlined no mysterious or other form against its dreadful perspective. i turned in the direction of the ray again, and walked a few steps. as i proceeded, the light grew stronger. i heard voices and laughter, intermingled with the ripple of one gentle voice that i knew, and i walked ahead now with confidence, and emerged at last into a large open room. i perceived at once that all our party were assembled here. i thought that cynthia greeted me with some degree of pleasure. she held out her hand to me and asked me if my walk through the passage had not been intensely interesting. _interesting!_ i found that my entrance had interrupted cynthia's explanation to the skipper, which she now resumed. "we had nowhere to leave a message," said cynthia. "you know, uncle, that i should never have run away from any ordinary boat. i knew that you thought that we ought to hide if strangers came, and i was willing to go, of course, only i did hope that we might stay our week out, or at least while the pork lasted. when i saw the stars and stripes i called to the others and waved to you. you paid no sort of attention to me. you had your back to me, and were leaning over the boat so far that i thought you would go over into the water. i told the minion that you were looking, i thought, to see if there were any clams in these waters. and then the bo's'n came running and begged me not to wave to you, or to make any sign until we found out what sort of craft that was." "beg the lady's pardon," said the bo's'n, "but i have cruised in these waters before, and we didn't have no ladies, either." "well, well, cynthy, go on! go on! how did you find this place?" "well, then, i took up the glass. the bo's'n was flying round hiding our things. he rolled the casks some distance back among the underbrush. meanwhile i was looking through the glass, and when i saw the stars and stripes i must confess that i was a little disappointed, because i knew, uncle tony, you would want to leave at once. but, uncle, while i was looking, right across my field of vision there floated that horrible skull and crossbones. it was only for a second, but that was long enough for me. when i told the bo's'n what i had seen he could hardly believe me. he told lacelle that we must hide ourselves until we saw what the people in the boat intended to do. she took my hand and said, 'li negue pas peu',' and drew me into a running step along the bank of the stream." "yes, yes, cynthy; but how did you find this hiding place? it seems just hollowed by natur' a purpose." "that i can't tell you, uncle. we ran up the bank of the stream, and when we reached the straight face of the cliff lacelle turned to the right. she hurried along the base of the rock and skirted it. round the corner we went, and up that hill we flew. lacelle got over the ground like a young fawn, but it was rough climbing for me. then i asked the bo's'n to take my hand, and the minion took the other, and they pulled me up to the level under the ceiba tree." "and how did you find----" "wait, uncle, i can't tell all at once. she parted the bushes and pushed me some distance into the darkness, and then some one took my hand and led me along. i don't know who that was. i was so confused.--was it you, bo's'n?--and then----" "begging your pardon, miss," said the bo's'n, "i followed _you_." "we walked along the passage, uncle----" "so did we," said the skipper. "it's all very curious. did that girl--. by the way, why don't you ask the girl how you----" "how can i ask her anything, uncle?" "then how did you know her name?" "oh, i wish there was no more difficulty in learning her language than in learning her name. she just pointed to herself and said 'lacelle,' 'lacelle,' over and over. then she ran away. i called 'lacelle!' and she came running back, smiling. i'm sure that's very easy." "yes," said i. "i wish that we had no more difficult problem to solve." "well, it's a pretty nice kind of a hole," said the skipper, beaming upon us all contentedly. one who has not explored the island of santo domingo, with its western division of haïti, can form no idea of its wonderful formation. its gigantic cliffs rise in perpendicular grandeur from grassy or thickly wooded plains, in whose caves and recesses bandits have made their homes. there even the redoubtable captain kidd is said to have found a refuge! the place in which i found my friends was a grand chamber of about sixty feet in depth, measuring back from the face of the rock, and about forty feet in width. there was an opening across the front of perhaps twenty feet in width and nine or ten feet in height, but no one looking at it from the shore would perceive that the vines which trailed their masses of leaves across the opening concealed anything but the simple face of the rock. we had not dreamed that there was any opening in the cliff until we heard cynthia's whistle. the vines seemed to start from the top of the rock, fifty feet overhead, perhaps, from where we were concealed, and grow directly downward. when they reached the ground they fastened themselves in the rich earth with long-reaching fingers; then having made their holding good, began to climb upon themselves again to the very top of this lofty natural fort. there they had started fresh roots, and again the vine began to descend, making a new pilgrimage to earth. so back and forth it ran, its green vines hardening to woody stems, and then to the thickness of branches, curling and twisting upon one another, until the leaf screen had become hardly penetrable. i suppose that it would have been quite safe to have leaned one's entire weight against this natural lattice work, but prudence, the skipper, and i forbade. i looked around the interior of the chamber, and saw that it was formed like most caverns which i had seen in my time. there were projections of rock upon the sides and around the base of the walls, which might have been the work of nature or of man. perhaps nature, somewhat aided by man. as i stood facing the opening and the small hole which cynthia had made in the screen, i turned to scrutinize the wall upon my right, opposite where we had entered the cavern. it was about twenty feet in height. along the very top there were some small openings, or natural embrasures, and through these a faint light percolated. i should much have liked to climb to the top and see what was on the other side of our party wall, but i was helpless. there was no possible way of getting up there, and i withdrew my eyes disappointedly. at the back of the chamber in which we had taken refuge there were some large natural pillars of stone, grand, ragged, and uneven. as i glanced at these i saw that lacelle leaned thoughtfully against one of them, her gaze fixed upon cynthia with a tender and earnest expression, as if she wondered what could be done to save this beautiful and beloved creature. as i looked, i thought that i saw the skirt of the girl's dress twitched gently, as if some power other than i knew was urging her backward into the gloom; and as i gazed, the girl, obedient to the mysterious summons, melted from my sight. "the boats are getting nearer," called cynthia. "look, uncle, they are probably coming for water from our bathing place." the skipper took the glass from cynthia and rested it on one of the strong vines which twisted across the window of the cave. "two boats are pushing into the stream," the skipper informed us. "did you ever see such a fiendish looking lot of ruffians?" "do let me see, uncle. this is the most delightful thing that i ever experienced." "god grant that we can keep her in that frame of mind!" i whispered to the skipper. he gave me a look full of anxiety as he handed to cynthia the eagerly desired glass. "they are pulling up against the current. now they'll come to our bathing place for water," said cynthia. "oh, how i wish i had some!" "if they find our provisions we're done for," whispered the skipper in my ear. but, as providence willed, the men did not disembark upon our side of the stream, or rather the side where we had made our camp, but upon the other, or right bank, if the right bank of a stream is the same as that of a river, the one on your right when you are looking toward its mouth. they hauled their boats up on the shelving beach, and then the man in the stern stood up and gave orders. we could hear him now. he spoke in a singularly musical voice, in a sort of broken english. the others called him mauresco, as near as we could understand. it seems incredible that but a few years before the time when i was cast away the united states government, and the other reputable nations of the earth as well, were paying yearly tribute to the dey of algiers. and although peace had been declared in the year , it was a hollow one so far as the roaming bands of pirates were concerned. many of them made their refuge on the isle of pines, and were so strongly intrenched there that it seemed that no one had ever thought of trying to dislodge them. vessels started from american ports hoping to arrive at their destinations in spite of these maurauders, and that captain schuyler had not been annoyed by them in his southern voyages argues in favour of his luck, and not of his prudence. the skipper looked again. "those ain't empty casks," he said. he talked slowly, moving the glass about as he followed the movements of the landing party. "see how that one thumped down on the beach. i believe i heard it. bet a red herring to a sperm whale there's something in those casks!" "good santo domingo or jamaica rum, probably," said i. "maybe, in some of 'em." i wish that i could describe the strange appearance of those lawless men as they surrounded the casks and rolled them up on the beach. i thought it strange that blue, yellow, green, and purple predominated. there was also the shade which my wife calls pink, but of a rich or darker colour, red or crimson, there was none to be seen. i discovered the reason of this, however, when the third boat put her nose against the beach. "those fellows mean to make a night of it," said the skipper. "call me a soldier if they don't." "oh, i am so thirsty!" said cynthia again. she stood leaning against the wall of the cavern close to the opening, peering down, more, i thought, upon the water glancing below than at the strangers. i have been reading of late a very pretty tale written by a gentleman of the name of irving, and as i read of that wonderful palace of the moors called the alhambra, and of the lattice work across the windows from which the court beauties gazed forth, themselves unseen, my mind ran back over fifty years, and i saw cynthia again, as i saw her that morning, a fairer, sweeter beauty, looking down from her latticed window, than any houri who ever graced the court of boabdil of grenada. "don't worry about water, cynthy, child," said the skipper. "sorry you're thirsty, but they'll go away presently, and then you can have all you want. if they would only go off a little way, we could make a dash for the boats and row to floridy." "begging your pardon, sir, you forget the schooner, sir," said the bo's'n. "seem to have a good many men for the size of the schooner." the skipper remarked this as the boats were pushing into the stream. "i don't believe they are all crew." and one could see that they were not. the crew were well-fed-looking ruffians, dressed in picturesque fashion after the manner somewhat of their masters, but there were six or eight of the men in the boats who had little clothing, and that of the simplest sort. they looked sad and downcast, and one could see that they must be prisoners, even without discovering the ropes or heavy cords which tied their wrists to the rowlocks where they were seated. they gazed anxiously at the shore, as if they would be glad to rest for a while upon the sweet green grass. "how can they live so far off!" said cynthia, gazing down at the piratical crew in wonder. "far off from where?" i asked. "why, from belleville, of course." for the moment i had forgotten that belleville was the axis of the earth. "i wish to god they were nearer belleville and farther from us at this moment!" said i fiercely. "i wish that fool girl had never come away from belleville at all," whispered the skipper to me. he shook his head anxiously as he stood gazing at cynthia with a puzzled expression, as if to say, "what will become of her?" i could not withdraw my eyes from those strange men. from the moment my eye fell upon the one they called mauresco i hated him with a deadly hatred, and yet i think i never looked upon so comely a man. tall, well formed, with shoulders like an athlete, you did not take him for a large man, and yet after looking at others and turning again to him he seemed like a giant. after letting your gaze rest on him for a time, and then turning to the others again, they looked like pigmies, their heads contracted, their colour faded, their eyes small and dull. what there was in this man to so fascinate every one with whom he came in contact i do not know. i never got very near to him but on one occasion, and then but for the space of a few tragic moments, but i found that he left behind him wherever he passed a memory that would not die. mauresco was the finest of his boat's crew, as far as we could see. his coat, of some greenish colour, was thrown aside, and his fine white shirt was apparently his only covering above the waist. he wore trunk hose and half boots. upon his head was the broad straw hat of the tropics, and around his waist was a wide green sash, in which were stuck two or three knives. some pistols lay on the seats in the bows. i suppose that the men had disburdened themselves of these because of the heat of the day. in each boat there seemed to be a leader, or captain, who was dressed much as was mauresco. the costumes of the sailor men were a modification of his. "he's very handsome," said cynthia, her eyes glued to the glass. "for god's sake, don't speak so loud!" said i. "he looks like that picture of the moor we have at home, uncle. his voice is very sweet. i don't believe he would do us any harm. now suppose we throw ourselves upon his mercy, and----" "fool!" ejaculated the skipper, and, snatching the glass, he turned his back upon her. "if you speak a loud word," he whispered fiercely, "i'll throw you off the cliff." "i don't see how that would save my life," whispered cynthia to me; but her uncle's rough words and tones had the desired effect, and we spoke no more aloud. from the second boat there stepped a young boy of perhaps fourteen years. he had, i thought, a dazed, cowed look. the leader in the second boat was a bluff, red-faced englishman. he limped and was awkward in his movements, and i saw that he had a wooden leg. he got over the ground, however, as fast as most of the men, and his strength and power even with this drawback made him seem uncanny. he whistled and sang by snatches in a fine barytone voice, which would not have disgraced a concert stage. when this man was not whistling and singing, he was laughing and swearing, which proved a diversion, if not an agreeable one. as soon as the young man stood up in the boat, he looked anxiously at the burly man. "after you, my lord," said the burly man, bowing low. "i am nothing but plain jonas--captain jonas, at your service. it's so long since we had a real lord among us that we don't quite know how to treat him.--mauresco, rise up and greet my lord." the man we now knew as mauresco half arose and said in his musical voice, as he smiled and showed his handsome teeth: "i salute you, lord george." the boy had a rope round his wrist, which trailed after him as he walked. "let me remove that darby, my lord," said mauresco. he drew a crooked cimetar from his belt and rose into a sitting posture. the boy looked shrinkingly at the knife and advanced, trembling and pale. "oh, come, come! have courage, my lad!" said mauresco. he cut the rope and the boy was free. "am i to be left upon this island?" asked the boy, looking at mauresco anxiously. "and why should we leave lord george trevelyan upon this island? to wander to the interior, and tell king christophe that this is one of our stopping places?" "how am i to be killed, then? am i to be made to walk out upon that dreadful plank?" the boy shuddered, as if he had lately witnessed that dread execution. "tell me my fate, captain. i can bear it, only tell me." "no, no! we have another plan for you, lord george. we will take you back to the coast of england. we will stand in near the estate of your mother, the countess, some late evening. then you shall write her a letter asking the ransom that i shall dictate, unless, indeed, the admiral of the red demands more." "you mistake my position," said the boy. "my mother is not a rich woman, even though she has a title. she is not a countess, she----" "but your brother is a lord." "yes, but i am not. i have no money in my own right, and never shall have. if i had, i would promise it all to you if you would take me home or to any civilized land." "lady trevelyan could raise the money, and then----" "she could raise next to nothing, captain. the estates have been encumbered for years. she is trying to pay off the indebtedness before my brother comes of age; she----" "what would she say to sixty thousand pounds?" the boy's face blanched. "i may as well be frank with you, captain; she could not procure anything like that sum." "well, well, say forty thousand; we won't be particular about a little less. suppose, now, i should leave you here, lord george, with provisions for a certain length of time, in a safe place which i know of in this neighbourhood, and you give me a letter to your mother the countess, saying----" "it is useless," said the boy, hanging his head. "she could not give it to you." "i'm afraid, then, we'll have to do with you as we have with many a fellow twice your size. it would never do to let you go home and set the english law working against captain jonas, plain captain jonas." jonas laughed his burly, fat laugh. "not to speak of mauresco," he said, "handsome mauresco!" "but if i promise never to say a word to a soul of where i have been, whom i saw, what was said, when we----" "we've heard those promises afore," said captain jonas. "remember, mauresco? when we caught that damned spanish don, and all the promises he made, and then that infernal chase! no, no, boy--lord george, i should have said. we know too much about the faith of a prisoner of war." "my family have always been noted for their honour and faith!" the boy drew himself up with pride as he said these words. "i would die before i would tell if i promised not----" "that will be the case anyway," said mauresco with a careless laugh. "will you shoot me? will you make me walk that horr----" the boy shuddered and turned paler than he had been. "no, no, boy, on the word of the buccaneer, we have no such intention. we shall neither shoot you, hang you, nor make you walk the plank. don't be so anxious. you have got some fine stories into your head about us, but really at bottom we are the most humane of men.--aren't we, jonas? i beg pardon, captain jonas." "so they tell me," said jonas pleasantly. the third boat had now come into the cove, and had landed near the first two. the captain of the third boat was a squat, little red-faced man, with a hump on his back to make him seem smaller--in fact, he was a dwarf. his legs were bowed, his arms long. he had small ferret eyes and an ugly grin. "your fate will be decided by the admiral of the red," said mauresco, with a wave of the hand toward the newcomer. as the third boat grounded, in answer to the punting oars, the men on the bank, mauresco and captain jonas among them, arose from, their sitting postures and stood with an air almost of respect. the little man scrambled over the seats and tumbled himself down on the beach. "some of you fellows come and carry me," he said. "it's too damnably hot to walk." at a glance from mauresco three or four of the strongest of the men ran to the help of the admiral of the red and lifted him upon their shoulders. some one else ran to the boat and seized a boat cloak which lay in the stern sheets and placed it in the shade under a mahogany tree. the admiral of the red, or the red admiral, as he might better be called, gave each of the bearers a vicious kick as they deposited their share of him upon the ground; at which they laughed as if it were a delightful joke, and ran down to the boat to help land the admiral's belongings. "broach a keg!" squeaked the admiral. "we have just broached one," answered captain jonas. "it was rum," whispered the skipper to me. "i told you so. i'll take that sperm whale, if you please." i was glad that the skipper could joke under such horrible circumstances; it seemed to make our situation less hopeless. the admiral now squeaked for his horse pistol, and, while some one was concocting a drink for him out of various fiery compounds, he laid under the tree and amused himself in taking aim at the prisoners in the different boats. the men turned pale and shook as each shot flew over their heads or about their ears, and watched the admiral with apprehensive eye, and dodged as they saw him pull the trigger. they kept their hopeless gaze fixed upon him, not knowing at which boat or which man he intended to aim. "why don't they push the boats off and row for it?" whispered i indignantly. "can't, sir," answered the bo's'n. "even if they could jump out of the boats and push them off they must punt to the mouth of the stream, and they would be riddled with bullets before they got that far, sir. besides, you don't suppose, sir, those hellions would leave an oar where they could get it?" i looked where he pointed, and saw that the oars had all been taken from the boats and were piled together some distance from the little beach. we stood and watched those dreadful men for an hour or more. they were repulsive, but they fascinated those who had never been near persons of such notorious fame. i left cynthia to watch the pirates and joined the skipper. "captain," said i, when i could speak to him alone, "who brought you into this cavern?" "didn't notice exactly; that girl, i suppose. lacelle, they call her." "well, she didn't bring me in. she was here when i came. she was the first person i saw. they were all here. she and the bo's'n, cynthia, your niece, and the minion." "you've got fanciful, jones; who else could it be? answer me that." i did not answer him, but asked him another question. "did you notice, captain, when we went along the beach this morning, when we went to bury those men, i mean----" i stopped suddenly. "it doesn't seem only a day, does it--in fact, only a few hours--since that happened?" "hardly twenty-four hours since we came ashore," added the skipper. "well, you remember when we went along the shore, don't you?" the skipper nodded. "when we got to the place where the sailors were lying, there were three graves on the beach." "yes, what of that?" "i want you to corroborate my statement, that is all. when i left the spot with the bo's'n, you remember, when he was so afraid of the ring that your niece found----" the skipper nodded again. "well, when i left that place with the bo's'n there were two graves, another partly dug, and a dead haïtien lying on the edge of it. when i went back there with you there were three graves, as i have said, and no haïtien. how do you account for that?" "don't account for it at all," said the captain. "that's the way i account for it. the idee of your askin' me to account for anything in this devil's hole. if it was a little later in the day, and we were on board the old yankee, i should say you had been looking at the sun through the bottom of a glass. about those graves now," continued the skipper ruminatingly, "you remember what i said about a man in love, don't you?" the old man looked at me with his eyes half closed and a peculiar expression of countenance. "leaving the strangeness of the completed burial aside," said i, "can you explain why there were only three graves when there were four men concerned in carrying off lacelle?" "i'm not good at guessing riddles," answered the old man. "why should you care, anyway?" "well, captain," said i, "there's an air of mystery about things down here that i don't like. some strange compelling power seems to have taken forcible possession of all of us. whose hand was it that pushed out from between the leaves and beckoned to you? and when you had entered the darkness of the archway, so that you could not recognise its owner, who took your hand and led you into the cave?" "that girl, i told you," said the skipper. "that girl lacelle." "it wasn't the girl who guided me," said i. "her hand is small and plump, probably warm to the touch. the hand that held mine was long and thin, and very clammy and cold." "the devil!" ejaculated the old man. "no, i don't think it was the devil himself," said i. "it may have been one of his chief mates." i looked at the skipper, and saw that the beads of perspiration were standing on his forehead and running down the crack alongside his nose. "don't, man! you make the creeps go all over me. what's the use of being so damned unpleasant? ain't we uncomfortable enough without your ringin' the changes on ghosts and spooks and spectres?" "you may as well look the thing in the face," said i. "there's something uncanny about the place, and, though it has worked in our favour thus far, who knows what may be in store." "for god's sake, jones, let's get away, then! call cynthy and the others to come, and let's run for it." "where to?" inquired i. "we might run right into the arms of those villains. if even one of them were to see us, our secret would be theirs, and then farewell to hope." "no, that wouldn't do. i wouldn't have those wretches see cynthy for the world," said the skipper. "god forbid!" said i. my heart almost burst its bounds at the thought. "o captain schuyler!" i pleaded, "if you have a particle of power over that niece of yours, make her lie quiet until they are gone." "_make!_" said the skipper, with much the same emphasis that he had used a little while before. "there's something to be said for 'em after all," said the skipper in a low tone, gazing down contemplatively on the strangers. "they're probably married men. had to get away from home. don't suppose they can stand it." at this the bo's'n turned on the skipper with a determined air. his words let me into the secret of his life. "begging your pardon, cap'n schuyler, sir," he said, "but darned if you know everything, cap'n schuyler, sir! i've got a wife, and if she ain't a angel----" "darned if you know anything at all, sir," replied the skipper in a thunderous whisper, "except how to be insubordinate!" cynthia had withdrawn to one of the stone projections and was sitting there, her head leaning back against the wall. she looked pale and seemed faint. i went near her to see what i could do. she opened her eyes when she heard my footsteps on the rocky floor. "they mean to stay," she whispered. "how shall we ever get any water?" "i will get you some water," said i. this statement sounded extremely brave, but how was i to get it? cynthia's look of appeal and suffering pierced me to the heart. that she should really suffer for a sip of that water which we saw so plainly bubbling out of the cavern below our hiding place made me wretched. "if i had a cup," said i. i walked to the latticed window, where the skipper was again gazing down upon the pirates below. "what do you say," said i, "to our beginning a fusillade on those fellows and picking off all we can, and then rushing out and fighting the rest?" the skipper shook his head. "it won't do. we are only three--the boy don't count; he has no pistol, and we have little ammunition. they would discover and overpower us. and then my little cynthy----" the skipper sniffed and shook his head. "no, no, mr. jones, we had best lay by until they go. they must go soon. the sun is setting, and i'm sure they won't stay after dark. darned if i don't wish i had our six-pounder up here! i'd clear 'em out of there mighty quick." "have you a cup, captain?" said i. "only that flat bottle, and that's filled with rum," answered the skipper; "but when the sun's over the foreyard i intend to wet my whistle, and i'll ask you to join me, pirates or no pirates." "the sun's been over the foreyard this long time," said i, "but you can't drink clear liquor." at this moment lacelle issued from the archway at the back of the room. she held in her hand cynthia's funereal bag. she looked questioningly at cynthia, and laid her finger on the catch. cynthia nodded, lacelle pressed the spring, and handed the open bag to cynthia, who took from that wonderful receptacle a little silver cup. "my baby cup," she said, as she held it out to me. i looked at the engraved letters, and read: "_cynthia schuyler archer, june , ._" i laughed as i read the date aloud. "as bad as the family bible," said i. "for heaven's sake," urged the skipper, "go to the back of the cave if you mean to make so much noise. one of those wretches looked up here just now when you laughed." familiarity with danger always makes it appear less. i took the cup from cynthia's hand and started for the passage through which we had entered the cave. "oh, don't go!" said cynthia, but very faintly, i thought. "whatever you do, don't let 'em see you," said the skipper. "they must imagine themselves quite alone on the shore." "i think i can steal down this side of the cliff," said i, "and get through the underbrush to the shore of the stream. remember they are across on the other side, and they are sleepy after their liquor. the only persons who could see me would be the prisoners, and i don't believe they would give the alarm." "no, the last ones to," said the bo's'n. "if they could only get free, sir, we could, i believe, combine, sir, and kill those wretches and take the schooner, mr. jones, sir." "turn pirate yourself!" said cynthia with a look of horror at the poor bo's'n. "how can you suggest anything so wicked! i thought you were----" "don't be such a fool, cynthy! it would be a good job to rid the earth of those brutes." "o uncle! if you kill them, promise me that i shall not see it, especially that handsome one they call mauresco. i don't know but i could bear to see the admiral----" "her mother was a real bright woman, too," said the skipper, turning to me with an expression of scorn. "you wouldn't believe it, now would you?" cynthia now arose from her rock. "uncle," she said, "you have called me a fool several times to-day, and before these gentlemen. i don't mind it if it amuses you, but i do have clever inspirations at times. i have one now; a very bright idea has come to me. how would it do if i should go and get the water myself? if that handsome pirate should see me, he might release the young lord, and he would give us, i am sure, anything we asked. i think they usually respect a lady's wishes, don't you?" "no," said i, "not that i ever heard of." "girl, you will certainly drive me off my head," said the skipper. "talk about swearing! i'll--i'll--i'll--lazy, take that girl away!" the skipper's lips moved rapidly, and i saw that he was whispering a few oaths to point his remark. i turned and faced the blackness of the passage. i groped my way along, feeling certain that i could slip quietly down the slope, dip up a cupful of water, and return without being seen. there was a spice of adventure in all this, and i was not averse to showing cynthia that i was not quite so cowardly as i had been forced to appear. had i reflected a little, i might have wondered what use it would be to try to appear brave in the estimation of a girl who herself was not afraid to meet the pirates--in fact, rather courted such an encounter. my soul filled with inspiring thoughts, i started boldly into the passage. i had come safely to the chamber; naturally i could find my way to the outside by simply walking forward. i had reached the point where the passage descends sharply to the level when my hand was taken in another. this gave me a shock for a moment, and i uttered an involuntary exclamation. "a pa' peu," whispered a soft voice in my ear. the tone was reassuring, and i knew the tones were intended to convey the idea that i was to feel no fear. as i remember now, it seemed as if i were suddenly turned about at right angles with the way that i had been travelling, and then gently impelled from behind. after a little i saw a gleam of light at a distance. all at once curiosity impelled me, and i walked eagerly ahead, fear and distrust vanishing like the mist of the morning. i followed this new passageway, striking my flint as i went, lighting up the dismal place for a moment, and finding myself in blacker darkness when my light was gone. the spirit of discovery was now rampant within me, and i could not hold my feet, they ran unchecked. the light increased, the darkness became a little less overpowering as i proceeded, and finally i found myself walking in a sort of semi-daylight, which prefaced my coming to what seemed real light after the utter darkness which had enveloped me. the passage grew wider, there was better air, and all at once i came out upon a narrow gallery, with a wall of stone in front of me. a screen of vines like those before our cave hung from the noble arch overhead. they grew down from a nearly circular opening, and, trailing past the gallery, reached, some of them to the floor of the apartment on which the gallery looked. thus they concealed the narrow shelf and its occupant. i did not discover this at first, but the knowledge of it came to me gradually as i pursued my investigations. the gallery reminded me of a box at a theatre in barcelona, and i could not fail of being struck with the similarity. i pushed the vines aside and looked over the wall, which would have corresponded with the gallery rail nowadays. below me was a grand interior, much larger than the room in which our little party were secluded. the first thing that i noticed was a raised stone receptacle of some kind which was planted squarely in the centre of the great hall. "those pirates are a cleanly set," i said almost aloud. "that must be their bath tub. where, i wonder, do they get their water?" the receptacle rested upon several large stones, and thus was raised from the floor of the cavern. about the tub, as i named it in my mind, were some larger rocks, which i thought must be seats. there were great blocks of stone about the walls, which i thought might be used as tables, and around the base of the wall were stone seats, shaped like divans, such as i had noticed in the room where i had left cynthia. there were some slight signs of previous occupation, such as, what at that distance seemed, candle ends, and upon what i took to be a table was a cimetar, such as i had seen in the belt of mauresco. directly opposite me, but on a level with the floor, was an opening like a doorway, through which a pale light shone, and i noticed now that a little of god's sunlight pierced its way in from overhead. it was now that i raised my eyes to the roof and found that there was a second opening, through which the vines hung in masses, one or two long vines of ropelike appearance trailing upon the floor. lying upon the stone floor was a large lamp of antique construction. in the ring at its top was wound the end of the hanging vine. this i understood later. i now leaned over the gallery as far as i dared to see how high it was above the level of the floor. it seemed to me to be situated about thirty feet above the base of the wall, and i could discover no possible way by which it could be reached from below. i could almost touch the roof from where i stood as it curved over my head. as i raised myself up from this inspection i turned my head sidewise, when some strange objects met my view. at first i could not make out what manner of things these were. at the end of this great apartment there seemed to be several niches in the wall. they were upon my right, and i could not distinguish them distinctly from where i stood. so i moved to the left, my gallery curving slightly there, and, looking fixedly at them in the failing light, i comprehended what this grewsome sight meant. there were six niches. each niche, with the exception of one, had its occupant, and as i looked i perceived that they bore a resemblance to the human figure, some of them more strictly than others, but i knew now that these were some of the victims of those "handsome men" upon whose "mercy" cynthia wished us to throw ourselves. they were, in fact, the remains of human beings, whose last living hours had been spent within those dreadful walls. there were five, i think, as nearly as i can remember. one appeared almost as if he were still in life and able to speak and ask for help. his clothes were well preserved, and his figure and head were almost erect, his bearing almost proud. but the others were in most instances fleshless skeletons. the skin had dropped from their bones, the clothes hung in tatters about their shrunken forms, their teeth glistened in the last light of day. there must have been a strong wind without, and upon the eastern side of the cave where this great hall was situated, for it would force itself into the passages and through the crannies. the desolate figures were affected by its insistance. a head wobbled languidly here, a rag of cloth fluttered faintly there, then an entire body swayed as if weary only with its tiresome position for so long a time, and as if it would fain seat itself or lie down to rest. i gazed awestruck. i put my hands over my eyes, and, removing them, i looked again. there was a fiercer gust of wind, which rattled the jaws of some of the skeletons, and their teeth seemed to be almost hissing out words of appeal or of warning to me. i turned and fled back through the passageway, running as if for life, as if i, too, might be caught and left to die slowly in one of those empty niches. as i flew along i struck my light, but the flint fell from my fingers. i stooped and groped for it. i got myself confused and turned around, and in a second flight i found myself again in the hated gallery. here i pulled myself together and started afresh. as luck would have it, in my second flight through the tunnel my foot struck against my flint and steel. i groped and picked up the little chain that held them together, and this time i got out of the tunnel, for i stumbled up against a blank wall and knew that it must lead to our refuge. i struck a light, and found that my surmise was correct. the light also enabled me to see a bucket of water standing upon the floor of the passageway, and in it floated cynthia's silver cup. i must have dropped it in my haste to see where that passage would lead. i felt ashamed, but i remember that i was hardly curious as to how the water got there. i had so much more serious and terrible things to occupy my mind. when i reached the room with the lattice, as i shall call it now, to distinguish it from the others, i found that the skipper, the bo's'n, and the minion were alone. the two men were lying down to get a little sleep. the minion was hanging against the vines, still looking down at the men who had come ashore from the schooner. i set down my bucket, which was almost at once surrounded by the three, and they were minded to drink from the very pail itself, as there was but one cup. "we thought you would never come back. gad! what a time you have been! the minion thought the pirates had gobbled you sure," said the skipper. "where is miss archer?" said i. at that moment cynthia advanced with lacelle from between the pillars at the back. she gave me a welcoming smile, with which some reproach was mingled, and then bent over the pail and dipped the cold water from it with her cup. she handed it to lacelle. the girl pushed the cup away and made cynthia drink first. when all had finished, i took my share. "you haven't had any?" exclaimed cynthia. "how selfish we have all been! i thought you would get some at the stream." "how did you get our pail, mr. jones, sir?" asked the bo's'n. i did not wish to alarm cynthia. "oh, that's my secret!" said i. cynthia looked kindly at me now. "come with me, mr. jones," she said, "and see the charming room that lacelle has found for me." i followed the two back between the pillars, and after one or two turnings we came to a small room where cynthia was entirely secluded and quiet. here a faint light trembled down from overhead. i looked up and could see the branches of trees moving in the high wind, and behind them the red sky of sunset. along the wall ran one of those surprising benches of stone, and on this cynthia, or lacelle for her, had laid the blanket and placed the pillow. "who brought these up here?" i asked. "i can not say," said cynthia. "i found them here." there was not a sound in this remote spot. i judged that it was bounded at the back or west by the new passage through which i had gone on my voyage of discovery, by the entrance passage on the north, and by part of the great hall upon which i had looked down on the south. i had no way of proving this, but my bump of locality has always been good, and i thought that i understood the situation. i saw that there was but one way of entering this room, and made up my mind that so long as i had life and strength no living creature should pass beyond those stone pillars. "are you not hungry?" asked i. "not very," said cynthia. "we each took some hard bread when we left the camp. the bo's'n told us to. i have been nibbling on mine. i am very tired. perhaps we can all sleep for a while. i suppose when it is really sunset those men will go away, don't you? then we can go down to the shore again." i had my forebodings, but i answered nothing. when i returned to the outer room, the three whom i had left were standing close to the lattice and peering downward. "where can they be?" i heard the skipper say as i entered. "round there," said the minion, whose words were as rare if not as priceless as the pearls and rubies of speech in the fable. he motioned with his hand to the side of the hill on the east, opposite where we had climbed the slope. i stood as near the lattice work as i dared and scanned the grassy plain below. the boats with their prisoners were still beached on the shore of the stream. the guards sat under the trees ashore, keeping watch with pistols cocked. but the rest of the sailors, the two captains, the admiral, and the young englishman had disappeared as completely as if they had dropped into a bottomless pit. i wondered if they had gone to some secluded place known only to themselves, where they could make way with the lad unknown to their companions, the guard, and the prisoners. as we stood and surmised over the fact of their disappearance, we heard the sound of many footsteps and the sudden loud ring of heels upon the stone floor in the chamber next our own. i had just time to motion to the others to hug the party wall, and to lie down myself with my length stretched along the base of the partition, when the voice of captain jonas rang out with baffled tone: "where are they?" he shouted. "where are they? i thought they were here!" "lift me up! lift me up, so that i may see!" squeaked the admiral of the red. we lay as if we had been carved out of the very rock itself. there were shouts and oaths and runnings here and there, and scuffling of feet upon the dusty footway. there was a flicker of light through the embrasures against our farther wall, and thence came an order--a roar, rather--from captain jonas: "search the whole place! search every nook and corner! if it takes till midnight, the search must go on! they must be found!" chapter vii. a villain meets his end and a prisoner escapes. we had been discovered, then! i lay close against the partition wall. my heart thumped loudly against my ribs, so that it seemed as if the strangers must hear it and find out our hiding place. i looked at the others. the captain was crouched upon his knees, and the bo's'n and minion each were standing as near the partition wall as nature would permit. what a scraping of feet was there! lights flashed out, and there was a din of voices which threatened to conceal any specific expression which would be a guide to us. then came a command in the musical voice of the handsome mauresco. "silence!" he ordered. there was an attempt at quiet, but still the shuffling of feet and the low whispers were continued. "must the captain speak twice?" it was the high squeak of the admiral of the red. how that insignificant creature obtained control so great was to me an unsolvable mystery, but he certainly possessed it to an astounding degree over that lawless mob. suddenly the hush was so impressive that i feared to breathe. "a thousand louis to the man who finds them!" he said, and in those words i felt that our doom was spoken. we heard them beating the bush, as it were, searching for us, we felt sure. i expected every moment that they would rush away into the darkness, make a long _détour_ up over the crest of the hill, and descend to our entrance upon the other or western side. i rolled over and drew my knife from its ragged sheath, ready to sell my life dearly. i thought of cynthia as i lay there, and i wondered if we had better warn her. i hesitated to frighten her, and yet i felt that the time had come to put a knife into her hand and tell her to take her life with determination if need be. our case seemed hopeless. we three looked at each other. no one spoke. the din in the next chamber was so overpowering that we might have shouted, but the rest felt as i did--there was nothing to say. i saw them each examine their pistols as i had mine, and the bo's'n gave the minion one of his, at which the boy grinned with delight and nodded his head violently, but remained, as usual, silent. we heard the buccaneers still racing about. it seemed to me that they searched in small excavations in the walls. some seemed to run a little way inside a passage and then return, for we constantly heard the inquiry "found?" and the answer, "no, not yet." then suddenly they all trooped out, and we were left in quiet. we arose and walked to the entrance to our cavern. "they are coming over the hill," said the captain. i nodded, and there we stood and waited. i thought that i had discovered the secret of the great natural cave. it was evidently divided in an irregular fashion along its length, beginning at the water and running backward. there was an entrance upon the western side, which we had used, and one upon the eastern side, which the pirates had used. there was no connection between the two except from the gallery, where i had gone alone and had made the discovery of that dreadful hall of death. i hoped that as the pirates had not come up the western bank to our entrance, that they knew nothing of it. and i think now that the two or three who discovered it later did so by accident only, and for the first time. "why not meet them at the archway?" suggested i in a low tone. "it is narrow there. only one can enter at a time. we could kill each one as he came." "that's a good plan, mr. jones," whispered the bo's'n; "i'll lead, sir." "no," said the skipper, "i claim the right. thank god, i can fight, now that i am out of cynthy's sight!" it had grown dark in the cave, for we were on the northern side and night was coming on. somehow i got ahead as we stole into the passage, and groped our way along its black length. i felt carefully with my foot, dreading the sudden descent to the level. it came not so soon as i had thought, and i turned to warn the others. i did not now dare strike a light, for i feared that with each moment that passed we should hear those dreadful voices at the entrance to the passageway. we walked along the level, and mounted the incline which led to the archway. and now we did indeed hear voices. yes, our surmise had been correct. they had climbed up the hill, had rounded the back of the cave, and were coming to seek us. there were not many voices. "they have divided," whispered the bo's'n. "some are searching here, some in other places." we heard their footsteps coming down the hill. the rocks and shale made a great noise. there was but a faint light at the entrance, and i watched to see when one of our pursuers should force his entrance to our retreat. there was a scuffling outside upon the rough stones, and a figure stood in the doorway. i waited for him to advance, hoping to cut him down without a great noise. he came on for a few uncertain steps, when, quick as thought, there was a flash from over his head, a sickening cut, and the intruder rolled upon the ground without a groan. then i saw a figure busy over the fallen man. the body was pushed and pried against the wall, there was a final shove, and the dead man disappeared. all was still for a moment, then i heard a faint splash of water far underground. the strange figure had but just completed this ghastly work and had arisen when the darkening gleam at the entrance was shut out by a second stranger. he came groping his way into the passage. i heard him strike his flint. it was but a spark, and he tried to strike another; but that avenging hand was upon him, and he, too, was laid low. not without a struggle, however, but i did not dare to approach within range of that busy weapon which was doing its work unaided. again those unseen hands pushed and pried the slain man to the edge of the wall. it seemed to me that the hole was small and not high, for it was with difficulty that this second victim of our nemesis was crowded through. i learned this more by sound than by feeling, for the very slight, small thread of light which filtered down the passage showed me most dimly two blurred figures moving in combat and nothing more. "one of those prisoners got loose, i guess," whispered the captain. "he's killed two, anyway." and now the third intruder entered the passageway. in the tall, lithe figure i at once recognised mauresco. it was now so dark that i saw but a dim form, his musical voice aiding me in determining his identity. i heard the sound of his shuffling footsteps as he came on, feeling the way. he, too, struck a light. he was more successful than his predecessors, and for a moment a flare in the passage showed to us two figures in all their distinctness, the pirate and his enemy in ambush. it showed to him four determined men. with a yell of rage he raised his cimetar high in air; but now i watched my chance, for fear of killing our unknown friend. the figure next us sprang aside, and my bullet went through the dastardly heart, i hope, for he never spoke. i watched the archway for more spies, but these three seemed to be the only ones who had discovered its seclusion. we came, all three, to the assistance of our unknown deliverer, and crowded and pushed the great body through the opening at the base of the wall. i listened for the splash with pleasurable feelings. "if they were only all down there!" said the skipper in low tones. we waited in the semi-darkness for some twenty minutes or so, but no one else came. i put out my hand to thank our unseen and silent friend, but he had vanished. we stole to the entrance of the archway and looked out. all was quiet. if the pirates were still on shore, they had found some very secluded nook where we hoped they would remain until they went aboard their devilish craft. we now began to retreat to our latticed chamber. i softly whispered to the others to follow me. "we haven't much choice," whispered the captain. i knew that there were no pitfalls, for i had been over the ground twice, and if my excursion of discovery to the grand hall were counted, i had passed in all four times safely over almost the entire passage. we regained the chamber with no incident, and, after taking some water with a little of the skipper's rum, which we much required after the horrible encounter which we had been through, and eating each one a ship's biscuit, which the thoughtful bo's'n had brought with him, we laid ourselves down for our needed rest. we divided ourselves into three watches. the boy we thought too young. we could not trust him to keep awake. it was now eight o'clock. the bo's'n said that he would watch from eight to ten. i was to take the second watch from ten to twelve, and then the skipper was to be awakened and stand his watch from twelve until two. then i was to relieve him, and so on until morning. the bo's'n placed himself just outside the archway, with his face toward the passage. the skipper and i lay down just inside the opening, our pistols ready cocked and in order. i remember that in the second after i laid myself down lacelle came out from between the pillars of the archway with her finger on her lip, and approached the bo's'n. she whispered in his ear two words. they sounded like "li do'." the bo's'n said that he thought she intended to say "elle dort," which meant, he said, "the lady is asleep." i took his word for it, and turned my weary frame over with a lighter heart, to feel that cynthia was getting some rest after the anxieties and fatigues of the day. of what comes next in our history i almost hesitate to write, for fear that i shall not be believed; but i have often heard it said that truth is stranger than fiction, and so i have found in my adventurous life. should i sit me down to write a tale of fiction, i could not imagine anything more incredible than what befell us in our sojourn in that painful time when we were cast away, and so i have determined to recall all that i can of our dreadful experiences, than which nothing that i ever read has been more remarkable; although if i forget some of the incidents, it will be as well, for i feel that i can never hope to crowd into my story all the occurrences of our life upon the island. i had been asleep, then, about an hour, perhaps, that first sleep when waking at a twitch of the sleeve is next to impossible. i remember that i felt as if something were pulling at my arm. i was shaken and roughly rolled about, my head was gently pounded upon the rock floor of our cavern, and i recall that i drew myself away angrily and rolled over with my head upon my arm. i was drunk with sleep, and it was not until i felt myself taken by the ankles and pulled along the cavern for a few inches than i realized that some one was trying to awaken me. dragging a man's hair upward from his neck by hauling him along a stone floor is not conducive to a perfectly sound sleep, and i finally opened my eyes with, i am afraid, some words upon my lips which i certainly had not learned in the old dutch church at belleville. i put my hand to the back of my head where the smart was sorest, and sat up and opened my eyes. the bo's'n was standing over me with his finger raised, as if to say "hush!" he need not have told me to be silent. the skipper was snoring profoundly, the minion was nowhere to be seen. i saw from the bo's'n's look that something was afoot, and i tumbled up on my unsteady legs at his bidding and pulled myself together for whatever was to come. he uttered no word, but beckoned me to follow him, and together we began to traverse the passage which led to the outside, he groping his way ahead, i following. several times he stopped, and then i ran upon his heels. "keep your left hand on the wall, sir," he whispered, "and when you find an opening turn to the left, sir----" i understood his actions now, and did as he bade me. when, in groping along the wall, my hand suddenly left the damp stone and searched in air for something tangible to the touch, i turned sharply at a right angle, still following him, i was sure. i knew now that i was in the second passage which ran transversely across this great cave of many chambers, and that in some way the bo's'n had found the way to the grand hall which i had discovered for myself in the early afternoon. after we had walked some distance, groping in the dark, fearing to strike a light, i began to perceive the faint gleam that i had noticed before. i had been expecting it. at the same moment there fell upon my ear the distant murmur of voices. as we proceeded, they grew louder. there was a sound of gaiety and jolly laughter, and an occasional burst of song. i saw that the bo's'n was crouching as he went, and i did the same, though i saw no possible danger of discovery, as the gallery which i had explored in the afternoon was high up in the roof and was not connected with any other cave. as i was thinking thus, the bo's'n sat down on the floor of the passage and began to remove his shoes, motioning me to do the same. i had not been accustomed to take orders from a bo's'n, and so i whispered to him; but, with a "beggin' your pardon, sir," he motioned to me that i could either remove my shoes or return the way i came. i had already done as he suggested, but i was a little crusty as yet from my sudden awakening. however, no one could get put out with the bo's'n, he was such a mild-mannered man. i was soon bare-footed as he was, for we were prudent even in the midst of danger, and neither of us cared to use up his one and only pair of socks on the damp floor of the passage. the bo's'n had taken the lead, and he kept it. i crept along after him, feeling sure that our precautions were useless, as the buccaneers were making so much noise that it would require a great deal upon our part to betray our presence. the bo's'n entered the gallery and turned at once to the left, into the curve which i had discovered just before i left the place. we pushed along near the end. "go up farther!" i whispered, at the same time giving the bo's'n a shove with my elbow. "can't, sir, begging your pardon, sir," whispered the bo's'n in return. there was a faint light coming up from the centre of the great hall, and by its aid i discovered that there was some one in the extreme end of the balcony. "it's that dam' minion!" whispered the bo's'n. the minion was certainly ubiquitous, and he was quite as useless. how he had been foisted upon our party i could not see, not being perfectly conversant with the ways of providence. there seemed no moral for him to point, and i felt then as now that he certainly did not adorn a tale. that heaven had sent him into the world for some good purpose i wanted to believe, but what that purpose might be i was quite confident would never be discovered in my time. now, as usual, he was in the way, but i give the bo's'n credit for squeezing him into the corner and nearly crowding the life out of him. the minion had the proscenium box, so to speak. he had pulled the vines aside, and was looking down as calmly upon this villainous crew as if the flare from below was not striking directly upon his features. i pulled him down with a jerk of the shirt which threatened to split it across the shoulders. bringing the minion to the floor made more noise than i liked, and caused the bo's'n to look respectful daggers at me. the minion only grinned, but clutched madly at the rough edges of the rock which protruded into the gallery. when he arose again he kept well out of sight behind the lattice work of leaves. from the time that we entered the gallery the shouts and revelry had been deafening. i could with difficulty restrain myself from parting the vines widely, that i might look unrestrainedly down upon what i knew must be an exciting scene, for when i arose from my crawling posture and found a convenient eyehole between the leaves the strange sight upon which i gazed almost made my heart stand still. what shall i describe first? the glow which allowed us to see that which was going on beneath us, and threw its soft rays over the actors in this strange drama, was shed from the antique globe which i had discovered upon my first visit to this part of the cavern. then, however, it rested sidewise upon the floor. now it was raised so as to clear the head of a man, and swung safely from its rope of vine. i understood now that when last it was left to swing in the cave it had not been used for some time after, and the vine, growing during the absence of the band, had gradually laid the great perforated globe as gently upon the floor of the cave as could have been done by a woman's hand. a subdued and lovely light filtered through its metal arabesques and sent a soft glow through the grand interior of the cavern. a clear beam was cast upon the walls. it lighted up the skeletons in their niches, and gave to the teeth glistening in its rays a fixed and dreadful smile. the brightest gleam fell upon the central basin. the receptacle which i had noticed in the centre of the hall was now filled with some dark liquid. the fumes of this liquid were so overpowering as to leave no doubt in my mind as to its nature. as to the living occupants of this strange interior, i saw that most of those whom we had seen debark were present. one of the huge blocks of stone which i had supposed were used for tables had been rolled or pushed to near proximity of the central bowl. upon this great rock, which now partook of the nature of a throne, was seated the admiral of the red, his gnomelike figure and habiliments, which doubtless gave him his sobriquet, making him to appear like some grotesque figure from wonderland. captain jonas sat facing the admiral, but upon a lower seat, and the rest of the company were gathered about, giving respectful attention to their leader, who seemed about to speak. at a little distance, left quite to himself, stood the young englishman. he was pale and ghastly. his eyes had the hunted look of a man who is in the last stage of agony and despair. i thought that once or twice i saw his lips move. he glanced upward, as if he felt that his only friend was not an earthly one. again, i saw him turn his glance to the archway of the entrance, as if escape might not be in vain. but alas! in that doorway stood two ruffianly looking fellows, one on either side of the entrance. they leaned each one against the wall behind him, and held a great sword the like of which i had never seen. the point of the sword touched the opposite wall, and crossed the one held by the man facing, so that hope of escape, unless an angel came down from heaven to guide the way, was impossible. the remains of a coarse feast lay upon the table, but the chief interest seemed to circle round the magnificent jorum in the centre of the hall. each man held a cup in his hand, which swayed unsteadily because of his heavy potations. these cups were some of silver, some of pewter, and others of gold. the drinking cup which the admiral held was of gold, and so tall that he could almost drink from it as it rested upon his knee. i wondered at his being able to lift it, but his strength seemed enormous, which is, i believe, one of the attributes of dwarfs in general. [illustration: pirates at play.] upon a table--i called them tables, these blocks of stone--were heaped together incongruously, handsome articles of ware. they were mixed indiscriminately with common pots and pans and cooking utensils. standing among the articles of baser metal i noticed some pieces of a jewelled church service. there were drinking horns standing side by side with the most exquisite vases of silver, pewter cups and flagons cheek by jowl with the consecrated vessels. "where is mauresco? mauresco!" squeaked the admiral of the red. "he knew where our treasures were stored. bring mauresco, that i may array myself as befits my position!" "mauresco! mauresco!" the motley company took up the cry. the musical syllables rang through the vaulted cavern, and echoed back from the hollows and arches overhead. "mauresco! mauresco!" they rang, "mauresco!" the bo's'n and i looked at each other, then turned again to survey the extraordinary scene, as if we could not bear to lose a motion or a wave of the hand. there were some chests standing open on the floor, and several men ran at an order from the admiral and burrowed and groped among the handsome stuffs that partly trailed their lengths along the rock beneath them. they had been used, i thought, to enwrap the flagons and cups. but, search as they would, nothing came to light that had not already been placed in view of the band assembled. "mauresco alone possessed the secret," shouted jonas. "if you had only trusted me now," and in the tone one heard the plaint of long-standing jealousy, and we felt certain that, whatever the admiral might experience should he hear how mauresco had met his timely death, captain jonas would not shed half a tear. so it was treasure then that the buccaneers were seeking when they burst into the chamber next that in which we had taken refuge, and not ourselves. thank god for that! i judged from this that they had not discovered the dual nature of the cavern, and that when mauresco groped with curious fingers into our passageway he did it as an explorer, and not as one who had any positive knowledge. "mauresco must come soon," said the admiral. "meanwhile let lord george trevelyan step forth." the young man started and looked uneasily at the group. "let lord george trevelyan drink to the health of the admiral of the red!" roared captain jonas in his burly voice. the young englishman started again slightly, but did not advance. captain jonas fired a volley of oaths at the boy. he then drew his pistol from his belt and levelled it at the head of the young englishman, who did not wince. this seemed to make the wretch think better of his purpose, for he fired the weapon into the jorum instead. the liquor splashed and spouted up in jets, whereupon the admiral shouted in his thread of voice: "light it up! light it up! give it life! give it life!" several pistols were held close to the liquor and discharged into the inflammable mass, but it remained for one of the most zealous members of the crew to ignite the fluid with his flint, which he struck with success. the fumes flamed high and lighted up the cavern, shadowing the buccaneers upon the walls in a thousand fantastic shapes. "fill up! fill up!" squeaked the admiral of the red. the band crowded round the bowl, and dipped the liquid fire from its glowing surface. then they drank, as did their leader. "a song! a song!" roared captain jonas. "where is mauresco? handsome mauresco? he has a pretty pipe. bring mauresco. no one can sing like mauresco." "mauresco! no one can sing like mauresco!" "you'll never hear his pretty pipe again, thank god!" whispered i in the bo's'n's ear. "where can he be?" roared captain jonas; "and wiggins and the turk?" "so it was the turk and wiggins who went to keep mauresco company," said i again softly in the bo's'n's ear. "an' a murderous pair they was, sir, mr. jones, if ever i saw such," answered the bo's'n. "a song, meanwhile, good jonas," squeaked the admiral. "a song! you sing a stave nearly as well as mauresco. sing----" "i'll choose my song myself," said jonas gruffly, "or i won't sing at all. it was sung in ned england's day. brave ned england!" "choose it, then," said the admiral hotly, "but sing it. get one with a chorus, mind you, one with a chorus! we all like to roar a jolly chorus, hey, my lads?" "we do! we do! the admiral has spoke our minds, we do!" shouted the band in ragged unison. captain jonas emptied his glass, limped to the table where the admiral was seated, hitched himself up on the corner, crossed the leg fashioned by human hands over that made by his creator, and with fingers clasped held it there, as if he feared that it would walk off by itself. he then opened a mouth more renowned for size than beauty, and sang that song with which i have often sung you, when you were my little adoniah, to sleep, when mother had gone to wednesday evening meeting. i am good at catching a tune, and perhaps some of the words i have supplied; but i am sure that for villainy mine could never equal the viciousness of the words which issued from the lips of plain captain jonas. this was the song that he sang: [illustration: (music) "as i was a-sailin' down malabar coast."] malabar coast. as i was a-sailin' down malabar coast, i spies a fair wessel, a-lee, a-lee, of gallant good riggin' and sticks did she boast. we filled up our glasses and gave her a toast, for soon she'd belong, sir, to we, to we, for soon she'd belong, sir, to we. she signalled her name, and she ran up a rag of warious bright colours to see, to see. we didn't wait long, but without any brag, we hoisted the cross bones, the jolly black flag, and merrily sailed down a-lee, a-lee, and merrily sailed down a-lee. we gave her a shot or two over the bows, the wind moaned aloft and a-low, a-low; we was down on our luck, and our spirits to rouse, we started right in for a jolly carouse aboard of a wessel you know, all know, her name was the "cadogan snow." we piled up her silks and her wines on the decks as high as my head, sir, and higher, much higher, and when we had made her the sweetest of wrecks, we stopped all their mouths by just slitting some necks and took every thing that a gent could desire, then set the old barco afire. we forced some sweet ladies fair over the side, with many a jest and a lively prank. to old davy jones each relinquished his bride, and when they bewailed 'em, and mournfully cried, we started 'em out on a wery long plank-- they moaned and they groaned as they sank. captain jonas sang with spirit. when he reached the fifth line he waved his hands above his head, thus releasing his wooden leg, which waved also in midair. the rest joined in with a good will, and sang both the fifth and sixth line with so great a noise that i feared not only would they awaken cynthia, but mauresco, wiggins, and the turk as well. "that was the song ned england used to sing. brave ned england! merry ned england!" squeaked the admiral of the red. "we shall never look on his like in this world. he was a dare-devil dog, if ever there was one!" i watched young trevelyan as he stood alone, pale and dejected. when the chorus had ended, the admiral's thin voice was heard saying: "a shooting bout! a shooting bout!" the lad winced and closed his eyes. but it was not yet time for his torture to begin. "turn me round! turn me round!" was the admiral's next order. "i'll lead off." several of the admiral's followers ran to twist him in the right direction, which we found to be a position in which he faced the niches where the skeletons hung. "you see sir evylyn wulbur's left eye?" questioned the admiral. "the left eye for a thousand pounds!" "a thousand pounds! a thousand pounds!" shouted the band. crack! went the ball. there was a slight tremor of the frame, but the shining skull remained apparently uninjured. "a fine shot!" said captain jonas. "try the right eye, admiral." "the right eye," said the admiral, complying readily. crack! again. and through the right eye sped the unerring bullet. it flattened against the wall, and dropped with a chink to the floor of the niche. "don't want to riddle that head at the back," said jonas. "try another skull. the next man!" other marksmen levelled their weapons at other figures, and showed proof of skill such as i had never even imagined. one bullet only failed. it crushed in a skull between the eyes. "put him out! put him out!" squeaked the admiral. "he's ruined the chief justice for life!" at this witty sally there was a great roar. i wondered that the figures still stood, each one in his niche. i could not understand why this was so, or why they had not long ago fallen to the floor of the cave. when the disgraced marksman was thrust outside the archway, captain jonas slid down from his seat and limped to the centre of the hall. he bowed low to young trevelyan, with a certain sort of sneering deference which persons of his class usually feel for men of higher station. "would lord trevelyan like to try his hand at this very pretty game?" he asked. the lad raised his eye, in which at once there appeared a gleam of hope. he thrust out his hand for the weapon. the admiral laughed in his high key. "no, no!" he said. "that was not the meaning of captain jonas, plain captain jonas. he meant to reverse the order of things. he meant to inquire if lord george trevelyan would like to stand as a target. i promise you, my lord, you need feel no fear. we can shoot all round your body. put a bullet so close to your left ear that it will deafen you for a week. put one so close to your right ear that it will snap the drum merely from the concussion of the air. we will cut your pockets off one after the other, and touch neither your heart, your lights, or your liver. i myself can score a pathway through those golden curls on top of your very handsome head and never touch the scalp. i can--why, what's the matter with the young lord? chicken-livered, hey, my lord, hey?" trevelyan made no reply, but dropped his head lower upon his breast. the admiral drained his cup and handed it to one of the men that it might be replenished at the flaming bowl. "is it not time to finish this business?" asked the admiral, jerking his head in the direction of the lad. "we are waiting for mauresco, admiral." "yes, yes, the high priest, mauresco! the handsome high priest, mauresco! where can mauresco be? call mauresco! go and call mauresco! searching as usual for his lost bauble, perhaps." a dozen men ran to obey his orders. they disappeared through the archway, and there were cries of "mauresco!" "mauresco!" we heard shrill whistles and calls, but mauresco did not appear. i was glad that i knew the reason why. i saw that the lad turned his eyes ever toward the doorway, hoping probably that the watch would be relaxed, and once or twice i was almost tempted to cry out, "try it now, trevelyan, try it now!" the moment came at last, for it seemed to me that their potations had made the bandits somewhat careless. "go bring the sepulchre!" ordered the admiral. at these dreadful words the boy shrank to the wall and stood there, his face leaned against the inhospitable rock. two men now entered, bringing what, i could not determine, except that they walked about six feet apart, and that the something between them glinted in certain places in the lamplight, and made a jingling noise as they came. some of the ruffians were filling their flagons and cups, but as the two approached, bearing what the admiral had called the sepulchre, they all came forward and crowded around this new object of interest. the guards at the door had relaxed their watchfulness and were gazing with the rest. "now is the time," i whispered. "will he never----" a shout! another, and twenty more! a rush to the doorway! the lad had made a bolt for it and was gone! chapter viii. a living death. my determination was not taken before i was halfway down the passage. i felt myself running like the wind through the tunnel, my hand scraping the wall as i ran. i remember that it seemed to me possible that i could get to the aid of the young lad in the dark and bring him to our concealed retreat. i was bumping against the sides of the tunnel as these thoughts went through my brain, and when i came plump against the transverse wall of what i called the home passage i turned to the left, and was soon in the open air. i heard the footsteps of my companions, i was sure, but they did not follow me farther than the home tunnel. i remember the delicious smell of the fresh night air that filled my nostrils as i emerged from the cave. it seemed light outside after the blackness of the passage. i tore up the hill. i forgot my bare feet. i leaped, i ran as i never had done before, and then i heard a rustling among the leaves. he had doubled upon his pursuers. "here! here!" i shouted. "this way! this way!" i was now at the top of the hill. some one crashed through the underbrush. "where? which way?" he panted. i held my hand out to him. he seized it in his, for even in the darkness he knew me for a friend. "this way," i whispered, "this way. i will save you, lad. come! come!" i clasped his fingers tightly and together we raced for life, but there were the sounds of many feet in pursuit. i kept in mind always that, whatever happened, the buccaneers must not know the secret of our side of the cavern, and so i pulled him still up the hill and back into the deeper forest. but the lad was weak and ill from long confinement on ship-board, and my feet were bleeding and sore. we leaped with the strength that despair lends to weary frames, but the energy of revenge was upon our trail, and i felt the presence of my enemy behind me. i heard his heavy step treading almost upon my heels. i tried to double by bending low, but fate, the inexorable, was on the other side, and i fell, dragging the lad down with me. a rough hand caught at my shoulder, and then other hands were laid upon me, and i was held by those about me as if in a vise. i struggled to draw my pistol, and managed to cock it and lay my captor low, thank god! but, for one who had seized upon us, there were six or eight to hold us fast. we were turned about and marched back to the cavern. "the admiral will settle with you for that shot, my gentleman," said a rough voice. "i envy you very little," growled he. "that was 'the rogue,' next to mauresco, the admiral's favourite among us all." i had, indeed, got myself into a nice mess! all of my own deliberate choosing, too! how could i have been such a fool! the young lad must die doubtless, but why i should have elected to die with him i could not just then determine. while some of the men remained to look after the villain well named "the rogue" others haled the lad and me to the door which opened into the admiral's compartment. our captors pushed us into an archway much like the one which led to our latticed retreat. we passed along a short tunnel. the light from within became strong, and in a moment we were thrust in amid the company. i had hoped never to make their personal acquaintance, and i entered reluctantly. as we came in among them, the admiral and captain jonas gazed with delight at young trevelyan, and with more than amazement at me. "two!" shouted captain jonas, "when we expected but one. this is luck, great luck! what snare did you lay for this popinjay?" the name used by chance did not bring up to me the most pleasurable feelings. "faith, and begorra, i think that he was layin' of a snare for us, captain," answered my captor, a middle-aged irishman. "another!" the admiral craned his short neck forward. "and where did you come from, sir?" "you must have seen my boat as you landed. it was on the beach a quarter of a mile below the cove." "how did you get here? been paying a visit to christophe, perhaps, or have been trying to discover our----" "i am a shipwrecked sailor, sir," i answered. "my companions perished----" "ah! was yours the ship we fired? by george! it was a jolly blow up, though not as successful as i could wish." the admiral chuckled and shook with glee. "of what nation are you?" said he, as he turned suddenly on me. "i am an american, admiral," said i, not, i confess, without some slight tremors. he squeezed his eyes together and scrutinized me searchingly. "and how, pray you, do you know my title so well?" i pulled myself together. "have i not heard your men here addressing you, sir? is your title a secret?" "tut, tut, i am not accustomed to be answered back. an american, hey? so you thought englishmen and english manners not good enough for you rebels over there; you thought----" the blood flew to my face, and i blurted out hastily, regardless of my own safety: "is it english manners to capture a young lad like this and----" "ho! ho! so you take it upon yourself to question me? let me tell you that for a wink of the eye many a man has met with a worse death than shall be meted out to you, mr.----" "jones--hiram jones, sir," said i, "at your service." "none of your insolence, mr. hiram jones! perhaps we can show you that mr. hiram jones the american is not quite the great man that he thinks himself." i could not help wondering if the bo's'n and that tiresome minion were looking down upon me and listening to these threats and insults. it roiled my blood to imagine the minion's grin and his delight in what would seem to him nothing but a very pretty comedy. i glanced up toward the direction of the stone balcony, and i saw with great relief of mind that there was no sign of any opening at that spot near the roof, the vines seeming to grow flatly against the cavern wall. it looked from where i stood as if a flea could not have sheltered behind those masses of green. "there is no help for you there," grinned the admiral. "there is no opening from our audience chamber but the opening where you came in." i withdrew my eyes at this positive statement. thank god, they were ignorant of the dual nature of the cave! "and your party, where are they?" i wondered myself. i hoped that cynthia was sleeping quietly in her secluded chamber, and that the others were keeping watch at the doorway of the latticed room. "they are all lost, sir." "a rather lame statement. it was a lovely day when you came ashore." "that is true," i answered, "but they foolishly started to walk to the cape, and----" "enough! enough!" squeaked the admiral, pulling out his watch. "we can parley no longer." contrary to all that i had heard of pirates and their personal belongings, this watch was not encrusted with jewels. it was a plain silver watch, and undoubtedly had been chosen for its excellent time-keeping qualities. "it's growing very late; we must be off." he looked around the group. "stop drinking, some of you, and prepare the sepulchre!" i glanced at the young englishman. he was deathly pale, for he surmised as well as myself that it was his sepulchre of which this gnomelike brute spoke. captain jonas turned to a man standing near: "you hear what the admiral orders? bring the blacksmith!" "he is here, captain; he came with the cage." "the coffin, you mean!" roared the captain, with an ugly laugh which froze the blood in my veins. "the coffin! the sepulchre! the sarcophagus! the catafalque! where is the smith?" a stout, fair man stepped forward from the group. his face was gentle, and his kind blue eye contradicted the suspicion that he gloried in his ghastly profession. he gave a pitying glance at the lad--a friendly glance, i thought--then walked round behind the table where the admiral sat, and raised on end the mass of steel which i had seen brought into the cave when i was in the gallery. ah me! how long ago that seemed to me now! then, nothing was further from my thoughts than that i should ever become a nearer spectator of this fearful scene. the smith dragged the frame to the close proximity of one of the empty niches and spread it upon the ground. he pulled and pushed and coaxed the thing into shape until, as i looked, i saw that it assumed somewhat the figure of a human being. there was the skeleton cage for the head, the band for the throat, the rounding slope to encase the shoulders, the form of the trunk, the arms, the legs and feet--all, all were comprised in this instrument of confinement. i cast my eyes toward the skeletons hanging in the other niches, and discovered on nearer view that they, too, had each one his confining cage, and i knew now, for the first time, why the figures remained upright in these places hollowed out for them, and why they swayed with the gusts of fierce wind, never losing their balance and never falling from their terrible upright positions. there was a ring in the top of the mask, and to it was fastened a chain. it seemed to be a strong chain. the cage which the blacksmith was handling was almost bright in places, but those upon the figures in the niches were rusted and dull, which told me why i had not understood how these grim remains of men had remained for so long a time in their original attitudes. "is that about the size of the lord george trevelyan?" squeaked the admiral of the red. i looked at the lad. his eyes were glued with horror to the dreadful machine. they seemed to grow large and dilate. his eyelids opened and closed rapidly; he seemed on the verge of insanity. "and what about the ransom, lord george trevelyan?" the brutal villain added. "will you ask it now?" but while i looked the lad sank down in a heap upon the floor. "no time to dilly-dally with dead lords. shut him in! shut him in!" shouted captain jonas. i stood petrified with horror. i may truly say that all thought of self had flown. to see this boy, little more than a child, inclosed in this devilish contrivance, fastened there and left to die and rot piecemeal, was more than i could bear. my tongue, which has got me into so much trouble, as usual added to it in this instance. "admiral! captain jonas! you don't mean to leave that poor lad here to die alone?" the smith, who was slowly fastening the clasps of the cage around the unconscious form of the boy, looked up at me quickly with a warning glance, and i saw that i might have better kept quiet; but impulse has always been my bane. "oh, no! oh, no!" sneered the admiral. "he will have company--perhaps not the company that he has been accustomed to, but the company of--what did you tell me was your rating aboard the----" "yankee blade," said i haltingly. "i was the first mate, sir. i have friends at home and friends at christophe's court." i did not stick at a lie, since i had heard his tone. "they will----" "ah! will they? i fear not. unworthy as your position is, mr.--mr. jones--ah, yes, mr. hiram jones--you shall have the honour of bearing the lord george trevelyan company. thanks to me, mr. hiram jones, you will associate with a more exalted personage than it has yet been your lot to meet. another cage! another cage! bring another cage!" called out the admiral in excited tones. "we will see whether mr. hiram jones, late first mate of the yankee ship----" the smith left the unconscious boy, whom he had fastened in his living tomb, and approached the admiral respectfully. he glanced at me, hardly perceptibly. "there is no other cage, admiral. you ordered only one brought ashore." "no other cage? no other cage? hereafter, always bring two. one never knows what may turn up, what spies may be about----" i broke in. "i am no spy, admiral. i happened to be in your neighbourhood and met the lad running, and i----" "how about the death of the rogue? answer me that, mr. jones. you have shed the blood of----" i saw that my case was hopeless. the admiral could hardly wait now to give his orders. he interrupted himself, he was in such haste. "string him up! string him up! if you have no cage, put a rope round his throat and leave him hanging. string him up! string him up!" a wild shriek rang out through the lofty apartment. i knew the voice. it was cynthia's. then all was still. in an instant fifty torches were alight. "some one has discovered us!" cried the hoarse voice of captain jonas. "sarch the place! sarch the place! a thousand louis for the man who finds the spy!" ah! she would be found! she would be found! they would seize her and carry her away with them on their floating hell! "string him up! string him up!" shouted the admiral, excitedly, pointing fiercely at me. i saw, as if in a dream, that they had lifted the lad from the ground and had placed him in the niche, and that the blacksmith was engaged in riveting the chain at the top of the headpiece to a ring bolt in the roofing of the arch. truly these devils took much pains to be revenged upon their enemies, the world at large! i saw the smith's lips move, as if he were whispering something to the lad. his face had a pitiful expression, as if he would fain tender some help; but young trevelyan himself hung like a dead weight, and seemed unconscious of what was befalling him. at the admiral's order of "string him up!" one man had gone quickly for a rope which had been unbound from a coffer, and a noose was made and placed round my throat. the men ran, urging me along with them, looking overhead, as if to find a place where they could fasten their diabolical instrument of death. then the smith spoke, leaving the lad where he had placed him. he came forward, trying, it seemed to me, to appear as bloodthirsty as the rest. "the chief justice has hung for a long time, admiral," he said. "a hanging is quickly over. the other is a pleasant reminder of one's failings for some days to come. the agony of the chief justice has been finished now for some time. what do you say to taking his cage for this fellow who shoots our brave sailors as if they were dogs?" "well thought of! well thought of!" roared captain jonas, not waiting for the admiral to speak. "yes, it's well thought of!" chimed in the arbiter of my fate. "it is a tremenjous compliment," rejoined captain jonas, "i can tell you that, mr. hiram jones. any man can die by scragging. you can scrag yourself. but to be placed in an elegant house, which no less a person than a chief justice of england has occupied before you, to be in the distinguished company of the lord george trevelyan----" "come! come! stop this nonsense!" snarled the admiral. "fasten the fellow up, and let us be off! that frenchman will be along some time between this and dawn. put him in! put him in! where is mauresco? how long he lingers! he should be here to read the burial service. where is handsome mauresco?" "where he will never need service more!" shouted i, but at a nudge from the smith i did not repeat my scarce heeded words. the smith then laid me down upon the ground, and two great hulking fellows stood over me with pistols ready cocked. the smith left my side, and i heard a hammering and prying, and soon there was a fall and the rattle of something which caused a shudder to creep through my frame. i watched them, fascinated, as they unhooked the chain and removed the bolts with which the chief justice was fastened to the top and sides of his peculiar niche. i saw them open the rusty clasps and remove the skull and musty remains from the house that was to be mine. i heard the bones rattle, as if in protest, as the men threw the chief justice carelessly into a corner. i saw them remove a few bits of cloth and mould from the metal before they dragged the ghastly thing across the floor to where i lay. i saw them lay the cage upon the ground and open its clever mechanism, the trunk, the head, the legs, the arms, to make room for my wretched trembling body. i turned sick and faint as the wires which had pressed those mouldering bones were bound against my face and head. i smelled the charnel house upon that rusted frame; corruption was in the cage which inclosed me and in the air that i breathed. little time had been occupied in dispossessing the chief justice of his last home. i forgot myself long enough to turn my eyes upon the poor lad to see how he bore his dread ordeal. but he still hung limp and lifeless. perhaps he would awake later to the full horror of his living death. for me, i intended to retain my senses to the last. the smith knelt down beside me. he bent over my head, as if to arrange more properly the cage in which they had now laid me. "the ring at the top is weak," he whispered; and then, "forgive me; it is your life or mine." "i forgive you," i said aloud. the admiral and captain jonas set up a hearty roar, in which the others joined. "he forgives the smith," said captain jonas. "how very polite of mr. jones! of course, you feel better, smith?" "i want none of him or of his damned forgiveness!" said the smith, leaning again close to my ear. "the fastening is a little weak." aloud, "where is that other pincers?" there were shouts and a rush to find the pincers, during which he said in a whisper, his lips scarce moving: "a friend could release you. i will drop the tools." and then aloud: "it is meat and drink to me to trice up a yankee!" and now, as i was raised to my feet--rather to a standing posture, for i was so closely confined that i could move naught but my eyeballs--and as i was being carried to the remaining niche, the villains began their burial service. "if we but had mauresco here, our high priest mauresco," said the admiral regretfully. "i can say the service as well as mauresco!" shouted jonas with scorn. "give me half a chance." and then there was poured forth a stream of blasphemy more awful than any to which i had ever listened. if i must die, give me some tender and consoling thought to while away my hours while death is approaching. but this! i will not sully my pages with the vile words which fell from the lips of these godless men. it was a travesty upon the beautiful service of the church of england, and was so ingenious in its obscenity that i would fain forget it. thank god that i have forgotten it in a measure, but i do remember that, as i was being taken to that deadly niche in the wall, my whole soul revolted at what i could not but hear. "it is nothing, sir, when you get used to it," squeaked the admiral of the red. "you've heard of skinning eels? usage makes all the difference in the world." and then the old villain laughed his fiend's cackle, which set my teeth on edge. i suppose that i was deathly pale. "courage, my man, courage!" squeaked my torturer. "there is no pain about this last sweet suit of clothes. it fits as neatly as my own.--give him a jorum, smith, to calm his troubled nerves." need i say that i accepted the offer, and drained the cup which the smith held to my lips? he took that opportunity to murmur in my ear: "i may have a chance to get back. i will forget the tools, anyway." the liquor affected me no more than so much water. how i wished that the poor lad might also have swallowed some! however, perhaps it was better as it was. he had forgotten his misery. i felt them carry me to the niche and stand me there upon my feet; but this was mockery, as my toes only reached the narrow flooring. as the smith riveted the chain, he whispered other consolatory sentences to me, such as, "i must make it strong enough to hold you, otherwise you would fall on your face." and then to the admiral: "there, sir, how do you like sir popinjay now? isn't he a dainty sight?" to me, "if you have friends near, they must hold you firmly as they draw out the bolts." to the admiral, "he'll never move, sir, till the day of judgment." i must say that i was rather of his opinion. to me, "i'll let you down as low as i can." to the admiral, "a dead weight, sir, a very dead weight." "get a new joke, blacksmith, a new joke. that is as old as this hell of a cave itself." suddenly there was the sound of a gun. then another. they came from the direction of the sea. "come! come!" said the admiral. "there's the signal. you are slow, pennock, slow, slow!" "i must secure him well, sir." "perhaps they'll leave me behind," he whispered. but though my heart rose with hope at the thought, such was not to be my good luck. "come, smith, come! you seem very loath to part with your prisoner." the gun sounded again, then several in quick succession. "something beside a signal, sir," said the smith. "it's a fight, a sea fight." "take to your heels, all of you!" roared captain jonas. "they haven't enough men on board to work ship." "take me up! take me up!" squeaked the admiral. "all go ahead. i'll see ye all out." the smith loitered, pretending to gather up the silver flagons and cups that lay strewn about. "no time for that, pennock, no time for that! will you go on?" there was menace in the tone. it seemed to me as if i could not lose this my only friend--a friend made in the last ten minutes, it is true, but one who could save me when there was no one else to aid. i looked up at him imploringly; he sighed and gave me a glance which was at the same time encouraging and hopeless, a paradox which i explained to myself amid the confusion of my thoughts as if he said: "you see that i must go. but if i can, i will return and save you." "pick me up! pick me up!" squeaked the admiral of the red. the habit of obeying him was strong. he was seized and raised on the shoulders of two of the strongest of the band. a messenger burst into the hall. he was breathless. "the ship is attacked!" he shouted. "we must run for it!" now all was confusion, all was excitement. it was the devil take the hindmost. the pirates tumbled over each other in their haste to be gone. i could not but think how anxious they were to save their own worthless lives, while not giving a thought to our terrible fate. i heard constant sounds of firing and the noisy shouts of the buccaneers as they trooped out of the cavern and down the hill. the admiral saw them all leave, and was the last to go. as he reached the door, he turned and threw me some words over his shoulder. "don't tell christophe of us, dear mr. jones, and i shall ever be your friend. are we leaving you pretty comfortable? i am so glad. we'll take you down when we return next year. meanwhile, good night, and god bless you!" the bearers vanished through the archway, and i was left alone with those dread travesties on nature, and a young lad who perhaps had already joined the great majority. i cast a despairing glance at the shaded gallery. i called, i screamed in my agony; but i might have saved my strength, for the noise made by the pirates drowned my words. i seemed to be slipping, slipping, away out of life. i suddenly lost all hope. i began to fear a thousand things. i felt sure that the bo's'n and the minion would never dream of my being left in the great hall. if i were left behind, they would argue, why not come to them. they would see and hear the embarkation of the pirates, and would imagine that i had been taken with them or else killed and left on shore. the horror of that awful cave would be too much for a man of the bo's'n's nervous and exalted temperament. as he had flown from the mysterious ring, so had he also rushed from the cave. perhaps he would never even come and search for me. as to the minion, no trust could be placed in him. i wondered how long i could live, half standing, half hanging there. my feet were not resting upon the ground. the ball of my foot touched the stone beneath, and i found myself making constant and ineffectual efforts to get my entire foot into a position of rest. my weight was almost entirely on the cage. and now i felt that my throat was pressed by the band about it, and i feared that unless i kept myself constantly pushing upward with my toes that i was in danger of choking. i prayed for death. i wished to die then and there, and not hang until i should go stark mad from the horror of it all. suddenly i heard a slight movement, a rustling such as one might make in turning a dried leaf with the foot in the forest. my eyes were drawn slowly round to the place of sound. good god! had my terrors only just begun? was there more in life to drive one mad? upon the floor of the cave, at about ten yards distant, i saw what turned me to stone, what fascinated me, what held me to life, what made me pray god that if he had any pity he would strike quickly. the terror of the haïtien woods, the scourge of the haïtien caves, was upon me. slowly and surely it was making its way toward the place where i hung helpless. the great, black, hairy, terrible thing was shaping its course as directly for me as if i had it hooked to a string and was drawing it to my feet. i started, i jumped so that my cage quivered in every joint, and the rusty clasps squeaked and rattled. i shouted, but the words, a roar as they left my throat, dropped from my lips in a whisper. "help!" i cried, "help!" but i was like one in a nightmare, my tongue clave to the roof of my mouth, and there was no answering sound. nothing but the slow, measured crawl of the tarantula, as with calculating crablike motion it came slowly on and on. the lamp was burning low, the cave was getting almost dark, a fitting light for the ghastly and the terrible. it brought to my vision another dread form. beyond the black spider, from beneath the central bowl issued, with many a hiss and undulating movement, a long green serpent. i saw this only when the hairy beast turned as if to protest at the interruption. the snake coiled itself and raised its head. its tongue played in rapid darts from open fangs. there was a moment of rest for the tarantula, and then again it resumed its measured walk toward me. i hoped that the serpent would give the creature battle, and thus draw its attention from me; but as i gazed with eyes starting from their sockets, i saw that it uncoiled and took up its line of march also toward the wall of the dead, but parallel with the path of the tarantula. i tried to reason with myself as to which attack would be the least horrible to me. i found that my lips were moving, that i was uttering incoherent sentences! i wondered what i could be saying. the dread creatures were approaching nearer and nearer. i watched them while i could. i tried to shout again, hoping that the sound might frighten them if but for a moment, but my tongue refused to move. my mouth was dry as a plaster wall, all the blood in my body seemed surging to my head. they were coming, coming, slowly, slowly, but surely also, near and nearer! then i fell down, down, down into space, and, god be thanked! was no more. chapter ix. i am rescued. how long i was dead i can not say. it seemed like death, and i shall ever feel that i have tasted of that other life which will be my portion now before many years have passed away. i will not weary you, adoniah, with the experiences that seemed to be mine--the years in which i seemed to be floating through space. we will pass over the dreams and return to the stern reality. my first return to consciousness was to feel a strange sensation in my fingers. i seemed to be in a cramp. i tried to stretch out my foot, but i had no power over my muscles. it seemed as if my extremities were swollen to twice their size. i tried to feel for the side of my bunk. if i were in the yankee blade, it seemed so strange that there was no motion. we were in port, then! if so, why had i not been on deck to take my place on the fo'c'sl? what was that gasping, sighing sound that fell on my ear? it must be the water sobbing against the sides of the old barco. i tried again to move my foot. again there was no result, but a seasick motion of my body, a faint clink, as of metal. i endeavoured to open my eyes. the lids were closed as if glued together. if i could but get my hand up and pull at the lids. suddenly it came back to me. i was shut up in the devil's cavern, and the tarantula and serpent were making in a straight line for my helpless body. i was one of that deathly row of counterfeits which hung against the damp wall of the cave. i was alone with the dead, myself a corpse, shut off from human kind forever. as these thoughts jumbled chaotically through my mind, i turned my eyes to the floor beneath. the light had grown so dim, and the smoke of the oil so filled the cave, that it almost obscured my vision. i remember thinking if those fearful enemies were to strike, i hoped that they would not long delay. i was so tired, so tired. let death come quickly and end it all. but would death end it soon? would there not be suffering, the more intense from the poison of those denizens of the cavern than if my life were to slowly ebb away for want of food? i suddenly bore downward with all my weight. the band round my neck was tight. perhaps i could choke myself. but beyond a sensation as of suffocation, there was no answer from the friend on whom i called. death did not reply. had those ruffians killed my friends, and was i to hang here as he had hung who had been removed to make room for me? was i to be left to linger and rot, the flesh to drop from my bones, the threads of my clothing to fall in dust heaps around me? i tried to shout, but my tongue was swollen and filled my mouth. if i had been dead for so long, why had not the tarantula come closer to my helpless frame. perhaps they would not touch the dead. i struggled, my cage swayed and struck against the walls of my open coffin. i tried to spring up or down to make my weight drop heavily on one side or the other. perhaps the cage thus might fall. even if it killed me in so falling, such death were welcome. the cage might burst asunder. strange things of the kind had happened. i had heard many tales of adventure, but nothing more wonderful than this which had come to me. why, then, should not this incredible tale be carried on to the end? why should not my cage burst open and set me free, even if my friends were captured or dead? oh, for life! only life! that was all that i asked. only that god would set me free. i have made many bargains with god and have seldom kept my contract. man when in straits is prone to tempt his creator into making a bargain with him, promising on his part the relinquishment of this sin, that weakness, the doing of that good or the other charity, if god will only surrender his plan and let man act the part of providence for a while. i can not understand, with the doctrine of foreordination imbedded in the very fibres of my being, how god did really change any portion of his plans for me. but i wanted to be providence for a little. so i prayed and promised, and it seemed that he heard me. he kept his side of the compact, and i have broken mine a hundred times. the fitful gusts of wind blew through the cavern and rattled the dry forms hanging near, and blew the air from them to me. but they also brought to me the sound of voices. god bless them, whosever those voices might be! they meant human companionship and hope. the chamber was very dark, but i heard steps which groped and stumbled as they came. there was a shout. it was the skipper's voice, but i could not answer him. "he is not here," i heard him say. o my god! would they go away and leave me? thank heaven, that was not their purpose. i heard a fumbling, and flashes of light shot out; then all was dark again. and then they had come to the centre of the cave and had lighted the lamp. at first, the skipper did not discover where i hung. i heard an exclamation, and saw that he was regarding something almost beneath his foot. i turned my burning eyes to the spot from which he had sprung, and saw that my two enemies had met and had given battle. the serpent, swollen to three times its natural size, was coiled round its enemy, out of which it had crushed the life, receiving each one the death that it gave. and now that the tarantula and serpent were dead, and the skipper had come, and the lamp was again lighted, i seemed to have nothing more to worry about, and so i fainted. when i awoke i was lying on the ground, my head wet with water, my neck and collar soaked with the rum which the minion had tried to pour between my clinched teeth. he was still endeavouring to reach my stomach by the outside passage. i certainly think that a gallon of rum had been poured down my neck--in fact, i was bathed in that potent liquor, which probably saved me from taking an ague. "suz! suz! suz!" growled the captain. he clicked with his tongue like an old woman, as your aunt mary 'zekel used to. "you, minion, run and tell the bo's'n to come here at once!" "did," answered the minion. "doesn't he intend to obey my orders any more?" asked the captain. "he's in my pay." "how?" inquired the minion. "that's so!" said the captain. "i s'pose he saw a serpent or something in here. got a mark or something, 't makes him to act so. how'd ye find the mate, boy?" "lookin' for somepun," answered the minion, in the longest sentence that i had ever heard him utter. i felt kindly hands busied about me. it was so delightful that i lay there just to be taken care of. i felt the captain unclasping those rusty catches and saying his "suz! suz! suz!" over and over. "think o' bein' triced up and left for dead!" commented the captain. "'tain't bad," i heard the minion answer. "pirates is fine." "'tain't bad, ain't it?" said the skipper. "why, boy, hell's a garden party to it; that's what it is, a garden party, hell is. look there on the deck! see where those beasts were fightin' for the first bite of the mate. why in thunder don't this fellow come to?" "dead," said the minion laconically. i promptly shuddered and opened my eyes. i did not say what every fainting or resuscitated man says when he first opens his eyes. usually they ask, "where am i?" i knew where i was, so i gasped, "water!" upon this, action being easier and more agreeable than words to the minion, he ran to the bowl and redeluged me with liquor. "the lad," said i, partly raising myself on my elbow. "think he's dead, anyway. you come first, jones. now we'll try what we can do for him." i heard them go to the niche next my own and work over the lad's ingenious contrivance. "hold him up!" i heard the skipper say. "push back! push back!" then there was the sound of the working of tools, and finally i knew that they had released my companion. i was now sitting up, and watched all their motions. the minion bent over young trevelyan, pushing the skipper aside, who as promptly kicked him halfway across the cave. "when i want your help, i'll ask for it," remarked the skipper, which i thought rather ungrateful. "you don't know anything about this devilish contrivance." the minion, not at all abashed, nodded violently. "how do you know?" "saw 'em." "when?" "me and the lady." so it was "the lady's" shriek that i had heard as they were riveting my cage to the top of the arch. "what lady? my niece?" the minion nodded. "who brought her? you?" the minion nodded again. "you fool!" roared the skipper. "get out of my sight! do you know you've driven her raring, staring, stark mad?" the minion nodded again, as if such happenings were of daily occurrence. i smiled placidly. i suppose the contented smile which settled over my features seemed somewhat conceited to the skipper. "oh, you needn't grin, so mighty pleased and all," said the skipper to me. "my niece never could bear to look at suffering. it wasn't you she was worrying about. it would be just the same about any one." i looked crestfallen probably, but i managed to gasp out a few words. "how did you find me?" i said. "well, good lord! don't wonder you ask. this young devil wouldn't have troubled himself to tell. my niece couldn't tell. she was stark, staring, raving mad! crazy! is now, for that matter! the bo's'n has run away, the lord knows where! he came tearin' into the cave, long before those devils left, a-shoutin', 'the serpent! the serpent!' probably saw one. queer man to stay in the woods." i thought that the solution of the bo's'n's action lay in the fact that, like a historical gentleman named hobson, the bo's'n, as well as ourselves, had no choice. the minion had stolen near again, and was busy with the cage, and soon they rolled the young english lad out of his tomb and on to the dusty rock floor. "you go and see how my niece is, do you hear? and see if you can get lazy to come back for a minute with you." the minion sped away on mercury feet, and i crawled to the skipper's assistance. together we released the lad and made him comfortable. i will not weary you with details. suffice it to say that, after we had given him some of the liquor, he sat up, dazed, it is true, but thankful. he did not speak, but i saw that his cheek was wet. he was little more than a child, and it would have taken a much stouter heart than his to suffer what he had suffered and make no sign. i arose unsteadily to my feet and tried to aid the lad; but the skipper told me to go on ahead, saying that he would support young trevelyan. as we dragged ourselves to the entrance of the chamber, we met the minion coming in. "how is she?" asked the skipper anxiously. i was no less so. i gazed on him with bated breath. "dead----" drawled the boy. the skipper staggered against the wall of the cavern, throwing young trevelyan to the floor. "faint," said the minion, completing his sentence. i was weak, but i raised my foot and gave the young villain a vicious kick. "ain't to yet," added he, as he was propelled toward the opening. "hold your jaw!" roared the skipper. and then to me: "i want to get back to her, jones. help me, if you can." he then turned to the minion. "you go back and put out that light, do you hear?" said he. i have spent too long a time over these incidents, but it is no slight thing to have been to the gates of death in such company, and its dread experiences will remain with me while life shall last. i followed the skipper and his young charge over and down the hill, and, finding the opening, i entered. it was early morning now, and i easily discovered the archway. it was black as ever inside, but i pushed through the passage and, on entering our chamber, came face to face with the bo's'n. he started when he saw me. "what about miss archer?" said i. "is it really you, sir?" asked the bo's'n. "of course it is. where is she?" the bo's'n nodded toward the pillars at the back of the cave, and then looked at me scrutinizingly. "they didn't get you, then, did they, sir?" "yes, they got me fast enough," said i. "oh, the pirates! yes, sir. but _they_ didn't get you. i mean the----" the man fell a-trembling, his face turned ghastly pale. "what under heaven do you mean, bo's'n?" asked i. "i can not talk of it," he said. "i saw them open that hole before they left. when you ran from the gallery, i ran, too, but my curiosity was too great for me, and i sneaked back to the gallery. i saw 'em bring you in, sir, and i'd have tried to rescue you, mr. jones, but suddenly i saw those----" the man shook as if with an ague. "you mean the tarantula and the----" "don't mention the name, sir, don't! it's uncanny, sir! after that, sir, i couldn't return. you don't blame----" "you're no use at all, bo's'n. you might better have gone with the pirates. where are they, by the way?" "gone," said the bo's'n, with a return of his confident tone. "gone like the morning dew." i looked at him in amazement as he stretched his arm toward the latticed opening and waved it toward the sea. i remembered hearing the skipper speak of the bo's'n as "that dam poetry cuss!" what a broken reed he was! the skipper came slowly into the cave now, upholding and almost carrying the young english lad, and we turned our attention to him. lacelle came also from the back just then, and i asked her how cynthia was. she answered what sounded like "no compre," which the bo's'n translated as meaning "no comprehendy," and i suppose he was right. i never was much of a hand at foreign languages. the skipper went into his niece's room. he came back, looking very mournful. he shook his head sadly. "she don't move," said he. "she lays there just so." "it's that dam minion," said the bo's'n, "begging your pardon, sir. he took her on what he called a voyage. i suppose he meant of discovery. i heard her shriek way in here, and then the two came runnin', and i believe she's been so ever sence." the captain went to the window and parted the screen of leaves boldly. he saw me start, so short a time does it take for a habit to become fixed that it seemed to me as if we must still be cautious about the strangers below. "oh, you needn't be so terrible afraid!" said the skipper. "they went out in the night. there was lots of firing. i shouldn't wonder if something attacked 'em. we heard a great whooping, and they rushed right down the hill, as if some of those ghosts was after 'em. they scrambled into their boats in a mighty hurry, and we saw the flash of the powder as they fired, and then we saw two ships racing out to sea. one was running away from the other. don't know which, but, thank god, they're gone!" "yes, thank god!" said i. "did that dam' ghost fellow show you the way in again?" asked the skipper. "no," said i. "did me! i'm gettin' a little tired of him. think i'll shoot next time he comes round." "you might create a ghost instead of getting rid of one," said i warningly. "i don't think i'd shoot him. he seems a very kindly disposed ghost. he has done us only favours thus far." "that's so," said the skipper. "don't you want some rest?" in answer i stretched myself upon the ground. although it was early morning, there was little or no light in the cave. seeing me lie down, the bo's'n said that while i took a rest he would prepare some food. "i can go down the hill now, mr. jones, sir. there is nothing to fear." i was weary in mind and body, and i turned over to lay my head upon my arm. as i did so there came a faint sound as of a footstep, and i saw cynthia approaching. she seemed like herself. she walked with her eyes open, and advanced with confidence. i arose to my feet at once. "are you better?" i asked. "s-h-h-h!" said the skipper, his warning finger upraised. cynthia started at the sound of my voice, put her hand to her head, rubbed her eyes and opened them. they fell upon my face. a smile of recognition overspread her features as she raised her eyes to mine, when a shout of terror filled the chamber. it came from the bo's'n. the others sprang up, and with me followed with their gaze the direction of his pointed finger. we each, i think, emitted a sound of some kind, all but the english lad, who was still sleeping. i can see the bo's'n now, his hair standing on end, his arms raised across his forehead. cynthia fell back into my arms and pinioned me against the wall, for it was a sight which made the other occupants of the cave fall each one upon his face. chapter x. the minion points a moral, although he does not adorn a tale. those who have never passed through days of wearing suspense, days of anxiety, days when water was scarce and food more so, days when, as in my case and the lad's, we were in danger of death, and, in fact, were very near to his dread presence--i say that those who have never suffered these things can not imagine how wracked and torn one's nerves become with a combination of such disagreeables and horrors. the scarcity of food was not a horror, but certainly the experience in the great hall had been more than disagreeable. we were weakened mentally and physically, so that it is not to be wondered at that we all showed overpowering signs of terror at the sight which now met our eyes. the passage was dark in itself, but there stood a little way down, amid its sombre gloom, the skeleton of the chief justice. i had heard him tossed, a mass of bones, into the corner, and here he was, standing erect as he had been in life, come to ask me, doubtless, what i had done with that last house of which i had deprived him. you will wonder how we could discover him in that darkened interior. but he shone refulgent. he brought his light with him, as it were, and it seemed to flood his body, and glisten and scintillate from all his whitening bones. his teeth appeared to grin at us, as if he were enjoying the ghastly joke. his head waggled from side to side, and the sockets of his eyes emitted a fiendish light. his legs trembled and his toes touched the ground. they seemed to dance--a dance of death. the skipper and the bo's'n had fallen prone upon the floor of the cave. lacelle had shrieked and fled away, and i was left to support the form of the unconscious girl. suddenly the light was extinguished. i heard several sharp blows and a sobbing sigh. then a sound as if the skeleton himself was fleeing down the corridor in terror as great of us as ours of him. there was a rattling of bones, as if again they had sunk down into an inanimate heap. "for god's sake, let us get out of this accursed place!" whispered the skipper as the noise died away. the bo's'n raised his head and opened his eyes, as if he feared to see again the grewsome sight. the skipper crawled along the floor and whispered in my ear a second time: "for god's sake, let us get away!" "do you think i want to stay here, captain?" i asked. "you'd better give me that girl," suggested the skipper, rising. "i s'pose you don't mind holding----" i laid cynthia in the captain's arms. "she's pretty solid," said he, as her senseless form pressed with all its weight against his breast. "s'pose you help me carry her inside." without a word i put my arms around her shoulders. lacelle hovered near with a candle end. it looked to me like one of those i had seen in the great hall. we carried the dear girl through the archway and into her own chamber. we placed her upon the blanket and pillow which lacelle had got ready. as i laid her head gently down it turned to one side, the chain which i had seen slipped out of her neck band, and the serpent ring and the locket were exposed to view. the serpent's eyes emitted two red sparks--a baleful light it seemed, but i cared little for that. something else had caught my eye. something pleasurable at last amid all this misery. the locket had fallen open, and encircled within its golden rim i saw a face, one that i had not often seen, it is true, yet one that i recognised. it was my own. i motioned to the skipper to replace the chain and ring, for i knew that lacelle would take fright again at the sight of the strange bauble. i felt also that cynthia would be enraged if she learned that any one had seen the face within the locket. i snapped the cover to, even as i saw it, and then the skipper came to do what i asked of him. he stood between me and cynthia, and bending over her, he did what he chose--i did not see what, but i saw him put his hand to his waistcoat pocket, and i felt sure that he had abstracted that dread circle of mystery. when i returned to the cave, i found that the bo's'n had made a fire and was cooking some of the pork. there were no vessels to be seen, and we were for the moment safe. he and the skipper went boldly down to the shore and rolled the casks up to the cave. they brought water and all the things that we had carried ashore with us. "it is a much better place than the open beach," said the skipper. "we can sight all the vessels that come, and tell who are friends and who are foes." "it is not likely," said i, "that the buccaneers will return very soon, especially as they have had a sea fight, and if they do, they do not know that we are here, or anything about this side of the cave." "it's a good idea to stay here for the present," said the skipper. "and what of ghosts and skeletons?" asked i. "well, the place is haunted, that i know," said the old man, "but i'd rather stay here than to risk it on the shore. you don't know what's on that shore or who's comin' to meet you. i'd rather take my chances here a darn sight. rather take 'em with the spooks than with the revolutionists." "what do you think i've found, sir?" said the bo's'n, coming in just here. "begging your pardon for interruptin'." "lord knows!" said the skipper. "anything from a diamond as big as a hen's egg to a coach and four. anything's allowable for shipwrecked mariners like ourselves." the bo's'n looked sheepish and shuffled his feet about, a habit that seemed to grow on him. "do you remember, sir," he said, screwing up his eyes and turning his head to one side like a wise bird--"do you remember that hollow tree?" "'f course i do," said the skipper, not waiting for me to answer; "the tree where we lay hid while those murderous vil----" "beggin' your pardon, sir, it was not the tree to which i was alluding captain schuyler, mr. jones, sir. it's the tree near the stream, not on our side, but on the other side, sir--the tree where you can't see much of a hole, sir, with branches low down, cap'n, and big roots, mr. jones, sir, and----" "well! well! when you have finished with your addendas and appendixes, we'd like to hear what you really have to tell us." "cap'n, sir, mr. jones, beggin' your pardon, to be short, sir----" "_to be short!_" groaned the skipper, with a weary look at me. "in short, sir, that tree's full of the--most--mur--der--ous--lot--of--weapons--you--ever--see." "weapons!" roared the skipper. "yessir. chock-a-block, sir. the most mur-der-ous----" "wheugh!" ejaculated the skipper. "weapons!" said i. "it is a lucky find, bo's'n. they may be very useful to us. at all events, you had better go and get them and hide them up here in the cave. we don't know who may find them next." "mr. jones, you seem to have forgotten that i am the head of this expedition. please allow me to give orders on board this ship." "yes, sir," said i. "you seem to have forgotten who's paying you wages, mr. jones." "no, sir," said i, "i haven't." "who the devil is it, then?" asked the captain fiercely. "no one," said i. the captain opened his eyes and looked at me in a surprised manner. he then looked on the ground and shook his head meditatively. "that's so," said he in a tone of conviction. "it isn't the first time i've been reminded of it, either." and then he gave vent to a few choice expletives at my expense. "now, captain," said i, "it's time to stop talking about who's the head of this expedition. we didn't elect to come here. i lost my job when the old yankee went down. i am under your command, of course. god knows that i am out of a job, and that i shall not earn a stiver from the day before yesterday until i get back to god's country and get another billet. i am willing to do anything i can to help you and every one, and i know that, according to the rules of the sea, you have the ordering of me. anything you ask me i'll do if it's a possible thing; and i don't mind a decent order either, but i don't want to be shouted at as if i were a common sailor. of course, you're still the captain, we all recognise that, but the rest of us deserve a little consideration, too. we are all working for the common good, the bo's'n as much as the rest of us. what touches one touches all. of course, it is my duty and my pleasure to stand by you, but you have no more right to swear at me than i have to swear at you. and the next time you do it, captain schuyler, i shall pick up my hat, take my pistol, and walk." the captain listened to this long speech with astonishment. several times during its delivery he ejaculated "that's so!" under his breath. then he looked round at me piteously. "i'm an old man, mr. jones," he said with dignity. "i was brought up in a profane school. i have sworn all my life, but i suppose it is time to ease up a little. you know it was nothing personal, mr. jones; not at all, sir. you know what a habit is. it was just meant for emphasis, mr. jones. but if you object, i'll stop, of course. i don't know that i can stop altogether. if i should stop too short i might have a sort of delirium tremens in the way of swearing. now you know we might get round that, since you and the bo's'n object, by my taking it out in just a mild form, you know, on the minion." "he don't mind it," said i. "he'll think you're ill if you don't swear at him. he's had it all his life. he thinks it's the grammar you learned at school. i don't care for the minion, captain, but i do care for what you say before your niece. and then there's yourself! captain, think of yourself! you are an old man, or getting to be." "not so old, mr. jones," argued the skipper, as if there was time to talk the devil's language yet a while before the day of repentance should swoop down upon him. "and now that's settled," said the skipper, "why don't you damned miserable, worthless fellows go and get those weapons?" we started for the hollow tree. we had become so accustomed to the dark passage now that we ran along, one behind the other, with our hands against the wall. i must confess that i never passed through it that i did not feel a creepy sensation and a shrinking fear that our unknown guide might again try to aid me. but it seemed now as if he appreciated the fact that we had become used to the darkness and inequalities of the tunnel, and, though i shuddered at the thought of his approach, i might have spared myself all anxiety. he did not come. "where's that damn minion?" asked the skipper again. "can't find him, captain. but my advice is that you pay no attention to him. he'll come back much too soon for the rest of us." we three descended the hill together, and when we reached the level the bo's'n led us to the tree. it was, as he had said, full of murderous-looking weapons--knives and malay creases, which looked as if some pirate band had hidden them there; the machete of the spaniard side by side with the sword of damascus. they were all somewhat rusty, but in those days we did not have the appliances for sharpening that are in use nowadays, and we were not entirely lost without them. we drew these weapons of defence one after another from their hiding places. had we as many men as weapons, we could protect ourselves against a small army. "now i can get some of those mangoes and mamey apples, sir," said the gentle bo's'n, as he took from the pile a fine, sharp knife. he disappeared with these words, and only returned when he had climbed the trees and had cut more of these welcome additions to our table than he could carry. we had found various fruits which aided us much in disposing of our very plain fare, for in tropic lands one need never starve if he will only use his eyes, stretch out his hand, and take the gifts that the good god has strewn on beach, hill, and mountain. we carried the weapons up to the cave, adding to them some pistols which we had discovered concealed beneath them and some well-wrapped boxes of ammunition. "some one has hidden these here and forgotten them," said the skipper, "or else they couldn't get back." "perhaps, sir, those are what they were looking for, sir," ventured the bo's'n, "when they came rushing into the cave next our own, mr. jones, and said that they must find them, cap'n." "no," said i, "i am quite sure those were clothes of some kind, for i remember the admiral of the red said that he wished to be arrayed as befitted his position." "at all events," said the skipper, "they had not the slightest idee of our presence. it seems strange, when they have been here before, perhaps many times, that they didn't know of this side of the cave." "beggin' your pardon, sir, they have always been up on the other side, i s'pose, sir." "of course, of course! da--thank you, bo's'n, for your suggestion, thank you, thank you," with a deprecatory look at me. among the machetes and other weapons i discovered a small dagger of foreign workmanship. it must have been recently bought or taken from some one, for its sheath was in good condition--indeed, almost bright. the blade was long and thin, and very sharp. i almost feared to give it to cynthia, but later i did so, telling her that i hoped that the time would never come when she would be obliged to use it, but that if such time should come, i trusted her to take care of herself. she looked dubiously at me and said: "how can you be so bloodthirsty, mr. jones? do you suppose that i should be willing to kill several of those men just for a fancied grievance?" "oh, no!" said i. "when the grievance comes which i fear for you, it will not be a fancied one." "but i thought all you men were going to take care of me, mr. jones?" "we mean to," said i. "the good god letting us, but sometimes--well, at all event, promise me that you will always carry this, and i shall be satisfied. come, now, cynthia, i have not asked much of you." "that is true," said cynthia. "very well, then, i promise. it's a pretty toy. i think i'll give it to aunt mary 'zekel for a curiosity when i get home." my pages will be too full if i try to set down each time the bo's'n brought fruit in from the forest, or each time that i went along the beach and gathered oysters from their homes upon the mangrove roots. let it suffice that i say here that the forest and the sea yielded us food. if not luxurious food, still enough to support life, and that, with the fresh water from the spring below the cliff, from which we were now not cut off, and the rum which we gathered up later from the great bowl in the flagons and cups that we appropriated to our use, we managed to have eatables and drinkables enough while we remained in the cave. we were busy all that day in settling ourselves in our permanent abode. we cut branches and stripped the leaves from them, looked through them with care to see that there was no dangerous insect hidden beneath their shining green, and, piling the sticks and leaves against the inner wall, we made for ourselves beds, which, if not quite as comfortable as the bunks on board the old yankee, still were better than we had hoped to find when we were cast away. i had not seen cynthia since i had discovered the secret of the locket. the captain went sometimes to her chamber, and always brought the word that she could not be awakened. i was more than anxious, but i had no rights that others would recognise, and i did not dare suggest what i knew the skipper would not approve. i should have liked to carry the girl down the hill, and place her on the beach in the shade of the great trees and in sight of the sea, where the cool, fresh trade wind could blow across her face; but the skipper looked at me with so much apparent indignation at my interference, when i hinted at a supposititious case of the kind, that i held my peace. we all went to rest early. the bo's'n had made a most refreshing brew of coffee, and, after we drank it, we laid ourselves down, hoping at last for a solid night of rest and sleep. we were talking from one bed to the other as men--and they say women--will in those drowsy hours. "i haven't seen the minion to-day," said i. "nor i. the last i saw of the little devil was when i told him to put out the lamp in the cave." "he'll come soon enough to bother us," said i. just then there was a step upon the floor, and cynthia again emerged from between the pillars. she walked as she had before. "my baby chain," she said, "my baby chain?" the skipper arose at once and approached her. "why, cynthy, cynthy, girl," he said soothingly. "don't touch her, sir," whispered the bo's'n. "my baby chain, my baby chain," said cynthia in a strangely unfamiliar voice, fumbling at her neck the while. the skipper stepped quickly out to the passageway and felt in his pocket. he took something therefrom and returned some other thing to its keeping. while he was thus engaged, i noticed that the bo's'n watched him with dilated eyes. he seemed to shrink backward, into himself, as it were. a look of horror overspread his features. he whispered to me: "if i didn't know positive, sir, that you threw that--that--you know, sir, into the water, far, far out into the water----" "don't be a fool, bo's'n!" said i. "you say you saw me throw it out into the water, and, for my part, i don't think it has got legs to walk or arms to swim with. just imagine it paddling ashore and crawling up the bank----" "stop, sir, in god's name!" "my chain, my baby chain," said cynthia, still advancing. the skipper now turned and came our way. he had in his hand nothing more appalling than the chain and locket. he said, "why, cynthy girl, why, cynthy girl, why, cynthy!" he laid his hard old hand upon her arm as tenderly as her own mother could have done, and then he placed the chain round her neck and clasped it there. a satisfied look came over her features, she smiled, and laid her hand upon the locket. i wondered if she remembered that my face was there. "don't touch her, cap'n, sir," urged the bo's'n. but the deed was already done. the skipper had turned her gently round and had led her back to the pillars, where lacelle met her, and together they vanished in the gloom. "that thing's hereabouts somewhere," whispered the bo's'n in my ear. "well, if you will be a fool!" said i. "she's all right now, i think," said the old man. "hope she'll sleep and wake up all right." i noticed that the bo's'n shrank from the skipper as he came near--in fact, i had noticed it many times of late, and i was convinced that there was something in the mere presence of the ring which affected this man's mental attitude. "suppose we sleep now for a while?" suggested the skipper. he started to stretch himself near the bo's'n, but the man jumped to his feet. "i can't sleep," said he; "i'm wakeful. i will go out, sir, and take a stroll around." "look out for snakes!" murmured the skipper sleepily, in a teasing voice. the bo's'n shuddered and bounded from the cave. i wondered where between the skipper and the wilds of the forest the bo's'n would find rest for the sole of his foot. the young englishman, of whom we were taking care as we would of a baby, was lying on his couch of ferns in a remote corner. all that day one or the other of us played the part of nurse, and many a time i wished for the minion, only that he might take his share of such work. the lad was delicate to begin with, and god knows what he had suffered on board the pirate craft before they triced him up and left him for dead. i found from his later account that he had suffered from an affection of the lungs, and that his mother had sent him on a sea voyage to algiers, hoping that the change would benefit him. the ship had been captured off the coast of portugal, and was never heard of more. the lad knew her fearful fate. the boy and the smith, a servant from his mother's estate, were allowed to live, for what, god alone knows. they had been on board the pirate ship now for six months or more, and the lad had become weaker and more weak from the hardships that he had undergone and the coarse duties that he was obliged to perform. his being left to hang until he died in that devil's cavern was the final straw which broke his spirit. he knew of no possible succour from the cave of death. he could not hope for aid. he did not even know that i was to be left to bear him company. and what good that would have been, except that he could for a time have had some human companionship, i could not determine. i, on the contrary, knew that my friends were under the same roof with myself, and, though i did almost despair and become lost to living impressions through bodily terror of those horrid creatures which had been let loose upon me, still way down in my heart there was, i now know, a faint hope that some one would come to my rescue. thinking these thoughts caused me to arise and go to the place where the lad lay and put some water to his lips. he drank gratefully, but did not raise his lids nor look at me. and then, dead tired, i threw myself upon my couch of leaves. i had slept probably many hours when i was awakened by a touch on my shoulder. it was the bo's'n. he was kneeling beside me. his finger was on his lips as he glanced toward the skipper. he spoke to me in low tones. "i have something to show you, sir. it is such a curious sight, sir. do come." i turned over sleepily: "i'm tired of curious sights, bo's'n," i said. "where is it?" the bo's'n nodded toward the direction of the great hall. "it's over that way, sir." "good heavens! have you really awakened me to see more sights? i thought you were afraid to go there," said i. "there's nothing to be afraid of now, sir," he said. "do come, mr. jones, sir." "very well, bo's'n," said i, "but no farther than the gallery. i've had enough of the cave." "that's just where i was going to take you, sir." "suppose we waken the captain and take him along?" said i. "no, sir, i couldn't go then. in fact, sir, the captain has become so abhorrent to me, mr. jones, that sometimes i think i must separate from the party." "what under heaven do you mean?" "can't tell, sir; there is something about----are you sure, sir, that you _did_ throw that----" "if your own eyes are not sufficient witness," i began; and then, looking him square in the eye, "but tell me, bo's'n, why that simple ring----" "i beg you, sir," he said. "you do not fear the halls of death, the skeletons of what were living men, you do not fear----" "that is death, mr. jones," he said. "death--quiet, peaceful rest, without fear of a beyond. this is life--horrible, torturing life. that sickening, coiling body which will crush the very being out of one. those eyes with red flames of vision: they see the future. they know what will befall us, they gloat over our misery. as long as that thing, that dreadful presence, is even out there in the water, but so near, so near, we are fated! that it is which drew us upon the rocks! that it is which brought the pirates down upon us! that it was which put you in that cage of which you tell me! that it is which will hold us, and coil about us, and never let us go, man, woman, or child, until it has crushed the life from our bodies!" "but if you do not mind death, bo's'n, and you say not--if you do not mind leaving this world and----" "oh, sir, can not you see? it is the horror, the dread, the ever-recurring fear of evil, the tortured mind, looking forward to the torture of the body----" "no," i said, "i can not understand you at all. let us give it up, bo's'n; but if you are not afraid of one death, i don't see----" "my mother was a witness, was a witness----" the man's frame shook with some horror, i knew not what. "a witness to what?" i asked. in the bo's'n's eyes there began to appear a strange glare. all at once i began to feel that desire which overcomes most of us at times to possess another's secret. i fastened my eye upon the bo's'n's, and began to speak in a low and mysterious tone. "there was a serpent," i said, "a ghastly, writhing, coiling, deadly serpent. it crept out of the darkness, and began to move slowly. it came on, and on, and on----" i was looking steadily at the bo's'n as i said these words. suddenly his eyes dilated and stared wildly at the cavern wall; some flecks of foam appeared upon his lips, he writhed like the beast that i had been describing, and dropped in a heap upon the floor. there he lay motionless. "clearly," said i to myself, "i must not try this again." i felt certain that the man had had some dreadful experience. possibly it was something which had impressed the mother, and had left its mark upon the child. if i continue this sort of thing, i reasoned, it may injure the man more than any other illness could have done. we should need his services often, i knew, and in any case he was a gentle soul, on whom we could rely so far as his good will might go. i looked down upon the unconscious man with sorrow for my part in this sad state of things. i threw some water in his face and shook him gently, calling, "bo's'n! bo's'n!" he awoke after a few moments and sat up. he put his hand to his neck and felt the water upon his shirt. "i see how it is, sir," he said with an apologetic smile. "i have been off again, sir. oh, sir, if you wouldn't let me talk of it, i should not give way so." i was really remorseful to have teased this unoffending creature. "come along, bo's'n," i said, "and let us go and see your curious sight." the man's palms were turned outward before his face, as if to ward off some fearful sight. his eyes had that look which expresses all that the human eye can of dread. i took his hands in mine and pulled them down. "come along," said i, "before the skipper awakens." at this he arose and almost ran out through the archway. as soon as we had got well into the passageway the bo's'n seemed to recover himself. his tone became more natural, and he lapsed into the vernacular commonly employed on board ship. "careful, sir," he said, as he walked ahead. "it's the left hand you want to keep against the wall, so turn after me when you get into the passage that leads to the gallery. softly, please, sir, or we shall scare our bird." as we drew near the gallery, i heard pistol shots and what i thought were voices. my heart sank down a thousand fathoms below the soles of my shoes. could those wretches have returned? the lamp was lighted. it had not been extinguished, then, after all. or perhaps some one had relighted it, some one else who knew the secret of this dreadful place. i crept after the bo's'n and raised myself from the floor of the gallery as cautiously as he had done. i parted the leaves as gently. the first thing i noticed was that the liquor in the central bowl was bubbling fiercely. it must have been refreshed, for the spirit would have been burned off by this. upon the great block of stone from which the admiral had ruled and ordered a figure was seated. at first i could distinguish nothing but a blaze of light. rays seemed to dart from the body and shed their sparkles in every direction. they wavered, they scintillated, they gleamed, they flashed. they sent flecks of brilliancy here, there, everywhere! the body of the person on the throne was covered, in the first instance, by nothing but a thin under garment, and over this was what looked like a garment of jewels. almost every one has seen a suit of armour. no more completely were the knights of old encased in their coats of mail than was the person who sat upon the great block of stone enveloped in and encrusted with jewels and precious stones. the trunk was a mass of brilliant points of light. chains hung across the foundation of the wonderful dress, and from them flashed, in searching rays, all the colours that the rarest gems can give--red, blue, yellow, green, pale pink, and the fire of the diamond. each one glowed and sparkled and beamed, and made a central spot of light so bewildering, that our eyes were blinded by the sight. the feet of the figure were encased in jewelled shoes, which were pointed at the toe. a single great emerald glittered on each. from ankle to thigh the legs were clasped round with bands, anklets, and chains. there was a belt of gorgeous gems around the waist. the arms were bound with bracelets from wrist to shoulder. the short fingers were loaded with rings of all kinds. upon the head was an eastern sort of hat, jewelled from crown to brim, and in the front shone a star of diamonds, above which rose an aigrette of sparkling stones. in the centre of the star was set a gem so large that it might have graced the crown of the proudest potentate the world ever saw. every movement made by this remarkable figure lighted up the cavern like a thousand jets of gas. i can compare it to nothing else. we had nothing but lamps to compare it with in those days, and i said to myself, "i have never seen anything that would give a stranger to this gorgeous sight an idea of its magnificence." there was a tall gold flagon standing on the throne near the figure's feet. i saw the steam escaping. "he was down a-drawin' it, sir, when i was here before, sir," whispered the bo's'n. "his throat must be made of metal," said i. i saw the figure bend over and lift the flagon from its place by his feet. i saw the head thrown back and the scalding liquor put to the lips. i saw the wince of the body as some of it ran down. i watched the strange antics of this wild figure with bated breath, and not until i heard the words, given with all the pomp and air of command that a monarch would have used, "bring in the prisoners!" did i discover the identity of this marvel. i looked at the bo's'n to see if he also suspected the personality which underlay all this magnificence. he nodded his head. "yes, sir," he whispered. it was the minion, whose voice, seldom heard, was never forgotten. he raised the flagon again to his lips, he took a deeper draught, now that the liquor was losing some of its heat. it was a deep potation for so small a body, and then he squeaked in imitation of the admiral of the red: "turn me round! turn me round!" we watched this ridiculous child, wondering at his powers of imitation and art, the desire for display which lay buried beneath that utterly expressionless exterior. for want of a pirate band to turn him upon his throne, the minion twisted himself about so that he faced the niches in the wall. he drew a pistol from his jewelled belt. this i recognised as a spare one of mine. he cocked it and began firing at the skeletons. the bullets flew, not with the precision of those of the admiral of the red. he whom the minion had taken as his prototype would have put a bullet through the heart of so poor a copyist. "through the left eye, my jolly braves!" shouted the minion in, i must confess, a more hearty voice than that of the admiral. and at once he sent a bullet flying up to the arched roof. "through the right eye! the right eye for a thousand pounds!" roared the minion, and his bullet took a toe off one of the hapless skeletons. "our safety lies in the fact that he is turned the other way," whispered i. i shall never forget the glitter of that arm as it was raised to fire. with each movement it threw a band of light across our eyes which almost blinded us. the small back flashed in a thousand brilliant jets of flame, and made the cavern to seem as if it were illumined by the morning sun. "those are valuable jewels," i whispered to the bo's'n. "a fortune is there, bo's'n--a fortune for all of us. we must steal round and capture that young rascal and discover where he found them." i glanced at the bo's'n as i spoke. my glance was arrested by the utterly avaricious look which had come over his face at my words. his eyes seemed to swell from out their sockets, and even at that distance to gloat on the fortune of which i had told him. "let us go quickly, sir," he said, "before any one else gets there." as we left the gallery the lad had again raised the flagon to his lips, and was drinking deep of the potent fluid. the small body wavered, and i thought that the minion would not long preserve his dignity, for he was guzzling the clear liquor as if it were so much water. we pushed out through the tunnel and then through the home passage, and finally reached the hillside. my feet were lame and sore, and the bo's'n had to accommodate his pace to mine. we reached the top of the hill, and then descended as fast as i was able to walk. we entered the archway after a slow journey, and were at last within the great hall. we looked with amazement at the throne and then at each other. there was no shooting, there were no orders, no commands, no minion! we advanced cautiously until we got abreast of the rock. our eyes fell upon the same object at the same moment, and i for one was not surprised at what i saw. lying in a heap upon the floor, his brilliant form rolled ingloriously in the dust, lay the minion. by his side was the flagon, drained dry. rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and pearls, chains of gold and corselet bestudded with stones fit setting for an empress of the orient, encased the unconscious form of the young rascal. the minion was helplessly drunk. we rolled the sodden little heap over and looked into his face. he was breathing stertorously, and i feared for his life. not that the minion's life was of any possible use to any living being, but because of a prejudice, inborn in each one of us, against allowing a creature made in god's image to die without some attempt at succour. we unbuckled his belts and his bracelets, his collars and his anklets. we lifted the magnificent hat with its jewelled plume from the dust where it had tumbled. we drew from the childish and dirty fingers twenty or more gorgeous rings. we laid the gem-encrusted chains, the lockets, and watches with which he had decorated himself upon the rock which had been his throne. and then we bent down and raised the pitiful little figure. he did for once point a moral, this wretched mite of a cabin boy. his gorgeous trappings gone, shorn of what for the moment he dreamed was authority, though brief and suddenly terminated, he was simply a drunken little lad--his only clothing a very ragged and very dirty undershirt. chapter xi. the bo's'n hides the treasure our first thought was for the minion. although the magnificence of this grand fortune dazzled us, we saw that the lad was like to die from the amount of his potations, and felt him to be our first care. we carried him to the outer air, and down the hill we went, quite to the beach and close to the stream which issued from the archway in the rock. here we bathed his head and face with cold water. then we laid him in the shade, where the gentle breeze blew not too strongly upon him. his face was crimson, his body like a bed of coals, and i truly feared for his life. the bo's'n tore off his one remaining sleeve and drenched it with the cold water. this he laid upon the boy's forehead. he went often to him during the hours that he slept and continued this kind office, and perhaps it is to the bo's'n that the minion owes his life, and possibly the rest of us, arguing from cause to effect. there was no sail in sight, no creature or thing. the sweet breezes were laden with the spicy odours of that magic land, and they fell soft as a lady's fingers upon the rough skin of our weather-beaten faces. we now returned to the cave to gather up the jewels. when we came again to the place where we had disrobed the minion, we could hardly believe the evidence of our eyes. the mass of wealth was too overwhelming in its quantity, its variety, and its value for us to feel that the stones could be real or of great price. but close scrutiny forced me to believe that they were what we had at first thought, and i hastened to urge upon the bo's'n the necessity of secreting them at once. there were several reasons for this. in the first place, the buccaneers might return, and then we, instead of mauresco, should be their agents. in the next place, i had no intention that captain schuyler or lacelle, or even cynthia, should know of the presence of the jewels in the cave. the skipper loved to talk, and there were times when his tongue was more loosened than at others. furthermore, there was no knowing whom we might run across in this spot. no surmising what unwelcome guest was at present journeying to meet us, unknown to himself or to us, led on by that fate which rules the destinies of us all. i determined at once that this fortune, of which i could make no estimate, should be shared eventually by all alike. it would make us rich beyond what had ever been dreamed of the belleville copper mines. the secret was not my own; the bo's'n shared it. but a secret has no right to its name when it is shared by more than one person. i felt that i could trust the bo's'n. he would not, i knew, forget his promise to me, or, leaving that out of the question, his real personal interest in this great source of wealth. i had sometimes been known to talk in my sleep. i was nervous and irritable since my horrid experience in the cavern, and felt that it would be well for me to try to forget the fact of the existence of the jewels for the present, and act as if the discovery were the bo's'n's own. we stood by the table, picking up and turning over the various wonderful pieces studded with gems of all colours, shades, and degrees of brilliancy. "these must be what the pirates were searching for, mr. jones, sir," said the bo's'n. "yes," said i in answer. "evidently mauresco alone possessed the secret. that, after all, is the only way to have, or rather keep, a secret. i wonder now where we can stow these away until we can come for them in safety?" "what is your plan, sir, mr. jones?" asked the bo's'n. "well, bo's'n," said i, "i feel this way about these things. as whatever one of us suffers, the rest suffer, so whatever benefit one of us enjoys, all must share. if captain schuyler had found anything of value here, i should feel that you and i ought to share in it. now we have found these jewels, and----" "the minion rather, sir, begging your pardon, sir." "the minion doesn't count," said i, "though, of course, he shall have as much as is good for him. there is an enormous fortune there----" "yes, sir," said the bo's'n, with wandering gaze. "what are you looking for, bo's'n?" "only to see if there wasn't any more anywhere about, sir. it seems as if the boy might have forgotten some, or perhaps he didn't look----" i laughed aloud. "you avaricious old jacky!" said i. "here is as much as would buy the bank of england, and you are searching for more." the bo's'n looked down, abashed at my laughter. "don't mind my laughing, bo's'n," said i kindly. "we are born that way, all of us. i have not enough in my pocket to buy myself a pair of shoes, yet i feel just as you do. that hill of riches seems to have grown small since we came back and looked at it again. let's bury it out of sight before it vanishes altogether." the bo's'n stood gazing at the glittering mass. he shook his head. "how can we ever get it all to belleville?" he asked. "we can't get it there now, perhaps not for a long time," i answered. "listen, bo's'n. i want to talk quick before any one comes. when we get back home--it may be in a month from now, and it may be in a year--i want to fit out a vessel and come down and get this treasure and take it home. never any more going to sea for us, bo's'n, after that." "no, sir, that's so, sir," returned the bo's'n. "we shall have plenty of guns and plenty of sails. by that time, perhaps, the revolutions about here will be over. in any case, we must bury this fortune so that if those wretches come here again they will not be able to find it. one of us had better hide them, and not tell the other; not tell any one until the time comes to----" "i think i know a splendid place, sir, mr. jones, sir," said the bo's'n eagerly. "very well, bo's'n," said i. "it is in----" the bo's'n waited a moment and looked questioningly at me. "don't tell me, bo's'n, now don't. at least for the present. you hide them and tell me later." the bo's'n bent over the mass and began to make separate piles of the different articles, putting those of a kind together. "there's one thing i want to say right here, bo's'n," said i. "when we do fit out that ship, captain schuyler is to command her. i shall not agree to anything else." "that's right, sir," answered the bo's'n. "i shall be glad to have him. and you'll take me along, sir? i mean on the expedition, mr. jones?" "certainly, bo's'n. you are as much a part of it as i am myself. i'm sure you are much more a part of it, since i am letting you hide the jewels." "what do you think of putting----" the bo's'n waited again. "stop!" said i sharply. "i do not wish to know anything about them now." "suppose i take this watch to the captain?" i suggested. i took from the pile a plain watch. i knew that the skipper's had stopped since coming ashore. he had dropped it overboard, and, though he had recovered it, it was quite watersoaked. "certainly, sir; but why not take a finer one, mr. jones?" "no, no," said i. "we don't want the minion to suspect our having a hand in hiding the jewels. the watch must be the plainest that we can find, if it will only keep time, and as much like the captain's as possible." the timepiece which i selected had no key. i found another with a simple chain attached, and to this chain was fastened a key. i wound the watch, and found that it started off at once as if it had never stopped at all. "they must have taken this lately," said i. "would you like anything for yourself, sir?" asked the thoughtful bo's'n. "there is one gorgeous jewel, bo's'n," said i, "that i should like very much to take. it equals a small fortune," i pointed to a great diamond which, whatever we did with the mass of brilliant things, was ever uppermost. i have since that time in our one trip across the ocean seen some of the court jewels of england and germany, but i have never gazed upon anything to equal the size and brilliancy of that great globe of light. "there is a fortune in that diamond," said i. "did i say a small one? well, i mean a large one. it would make us all rich." "would it, sir?" asked the bo's'n. "yes," said i. "what a pity we can't take that or any of them with us! but, of course, the only thing for us to do is to hide them until more quiet times. if we are captured, we shall be searched." "you're right, mr. jones, sir," said the bo's'n. "perfectly right, as usual. we must hide them, as you say. i hope you won't forget me, sir, when you come to get them--on that expedition, i mean, mr. jones, sir." "forget you, my honest man!" exclaimed i, clapping the good soul on the back. "as soon forget my own mother. no, no, bo's'n, share and share alike, as i told you before;" for i had determined that, humble as the bo's'n was, he should derive as much benefit from the wonderful find as any of the rest of us. i passed my hand over the mass of rings which the bo's'n had been heaping together, rolling them about until i discovered the thing that i sought. "i think i should like this, bo's'n, if you say it's quite right." i held up to view a very little thread of gold, with a very small diamond caught in the top. "it's a poor thing, sir, for a gentleman, and rather small for your finger, sir, begging your pardon, sir." "no matter," said i. "it's all i want. now you!" "i what, sir?" "you choose something, bo's'n." "not now, sir. i will wait till we come to fetch 'em." by this time we had the jewels wrapped in four different parcels, which seemed to be the bo's'n's idea of arranging them. i let him have his way, for i saw that he had a definite idea of what to do with them, and i had puzzled my brains without finding any solution. "i think this is the place where they were, sir," said the bo's'n. he led me back to a little passage which i had not noticed before, and by the light of the still burning lamp we saw a flat stone lying upon the ground, and beside it lay the tools which the smith had left behind for my release. "there may be many such places hereabouts. that minion must have come here and peered and pried and poked about until he started the stone. gad, sir, he must have been nonplussed!" "shall we put them there again, bo's'n?" i asked. "no, sir. there are lots of places. hollow trees, places way up in the branches, deserted nests, real large mammoth ones. i might divide 'em, sir. places down on the shore far enough from the stream, so that if the sea robbers do come back they won't have an idea of looking there. i should like to tell you, sir, when i have got them hid away----" the bo's'n had wound the last thread of the fine brocade which he had been cutting for strings round the fourth bundle. "now i'll go," said i, "and good luck to you in finding a hiding place, only don't forget where it is." "i don't think i can forget, sir," said he. "i'll take a range, and i am sure not to forget." "promise me one thing, bo's'n," said i. "i am a very curious man. i do not really want to know where those jewels are to be hidden, and i want to be able to swear on my conscience that i know nothing of them. now promise me that, no matter how i try to worm your secret out of you, you will not tell me until we start for home. i should surely tell the skipper, and if miss archer asked me----" "yes, sir, i understand, sir; couldn't refuse, sir; would be done for, sir. very well, sir. i swear upon my honour that you shall not know anything about the hiding place until we are able to sail again, mr. jones, sir." i went out of the cave rather reluctantly, i must confess. "go far away, please, sir," called the bo's'n. "please go and sit in the latticed cavern with your back to the front wall, where you can't see me, mr. jones, sir, in case i need to walk along the shore, sir. i don't mean to say that i do mean to walk along the shore, sir, and i don't mean to say that i don't mean to walk along the shore, sir. i say this only in case i do want to walk along the shore, sir. i must go along the shore, sir, in any case to see about the minion, sir. i don't say i'm goin' to hide the jewels along the shore, sir, and i don't say i ain't a-goin' to hide the jewels on the shore, sir. i want to be perfectly truthful with----" i laughed aloud. "you ridiculous, honest old fool!" said i. "for heaven's sake, don't talk so everlastingly. i know now just where you intend to go, but i won't look, i promise you, and then i can say frankly that i know nothing about their hiding place if the question ever comes up." "you can, sir," said the bo's'n, with conviction in his tones. "i wonder if the question will ever come up, mr. jones, sir?" "i'll run now," said i, "for fear you'll tell me just which tree on the beach you mean to hide them in." "go quickly, sir," said the bo's'n, with distress in his voice, "and for heaven's sake don't allude to 'em again, or i shall tell, i know i shall." "perhaps you can't keep it from the others," said i anxiously. "don't have no fear of that, sir. you are the only person i am afraid of a-divulgin' to, mr. jones, sir." i ran hurriedly from the cave, my promise to the bo's'n being strong in my mind. as i was leaving the entrance, i came plump upon the skipper. i congratulated myself upon our lucky escape, and drew the old man away and up that side of the hill. "cynthy's awake," were the skipper's first words. "she's been askin' for you." asking for me! "for me?" said i, finding my voice. "tell that to a sea soldier, captain." "she has, honest ingun," said the skipper. "she woke up a while ago. i was sittin' by her, and she opened her eyes and she said--what do you think, jones?" "how can i tell," asked i, very red in the face. there was a buzzing in my ears. i waited an hour, it seemed to me, before the skipper continued: "she turned over and she opened her eyes." "you said that before, captain," urged i. "yes, yes, so i did. let's see, where was i? cynthy was asleep, you know, and i was sittin' by----" "please hurry a little faster, captain," said i. "i have something very important to tell you, as the head of this expedition, you know, sir." "shesaidhiramwhathaveyougottotellme," rattled off the skipper. i thought for a moment, and, saying the words over slowly to myself, i concluded that the skipper had volunteered the information that cynthia had said "hiram," and that he next had asked of me the question, "what have you got to tell me?" i gasped with bliss, but i controlled my voice and drew the watch from my pocket. "i found this," said i, "down there by the cave. i have noticed that yours doesn't go, and i thought perhaps you would like one that does." "you're dreadful kind," said the skipper in a pleased tone. he examined the watch, turning it over and round. "where did you find it?" he asked. "why, i just picked it up," said i, which was literally true. and then remembering first that cynthia had asked for me, and then that i had made a promise to the bo's'n, i dashed into the passage, the skipper following. when i reached the latticed chamber, i saw that young trevelyan had changed his position enough to be lying on cynthia's blanket, with his head on her pillow. he was very pale and coughed at times, which, however, did not seem to awaken him. cynthia herself was seated upon a projecting rock, occupied in mending her uncle's coat. the mortuary bag was gaping wide, and giving up, on demand, such necessaries as thread, needles, scissors, and the like. "oh, how do you do, mr. jones?" said cynthia, nodding carelessly. "what do you want of me?" asked i. cynthia looked up in innocent astonishment. "i?" she said. "yes; i thought you asked for me." "i asked for you? oh, no! what made you think that?" i did not reply, but seated myself flat upon the floor, with my back against the outer wall, as i had promised the bo's'n that i would. "how silly you look!" said cynthia. "i suppose i do," said i. "what made you think i asked for you, mr. jones?" "i don't think; i know." "how?" "your uncle told me so." "uncle! uncle! how could you? i never----" "not when you was awake, cynthy, girl. i know that. i didn't tell jones here you knew it.--what do you want to fluster a girl so for, jones?" cynthia was blushing furiously. "how can you make me so ridiculous, uncle?" "i don't say you knew it, cynthy." the skipper spoke slowly and with emphasis. "i never said you knew what you said. all the same, i am not deef yet. i was sittin' by you, cynthy, girl--you will acknowledge that, won't you? well, you just turned your head with the sweetest, prettiest smile, and you said, so soft i could hardly hear you, 'hiram'--just like that, 'hi-ram.'" "i have no doubt it was so soft you could not hear it.--i never--never said it in the world, mr. jones, never. i do not call mr. jones by his given name, such a name, such a name--i nev----" the rest of this incoherent sentence was lost. tears of shame filled her eyes and ran down her blushing cheeks. she dropped the coat, got up and went to the lattice, and looked out. i sat, my head against the wall, lost in the most pleasurable feelings. if it was true, she did like me a little, after all. there was no sound in the cave for some time but the gentle breathing of the young english lad. the skipper broke the silence and changed the subject by saying, "let's have a drink." "shan't we wait for the bo's'n, captain?" said i. "well, well, as you like," answered the skipper, a little impatiently. "you know this, jones: you're a short time living and a long time dead, and you'd better make all out of this life that you can." i saw that cynthia turned her tear-stained face my way, as if she endorsed this remark. but she withdrew her eyes at once when i returned her glance, and looked out to sea again. she stood gazing far out over the water. the morning was fresh and bright, a gentle wind rippled the surface of the wide bay. the tide was low. "uncle," she said, turning suddenly, "do you know that part of the yankee is there still? a good bit of her stands up out of the water." she handed the glass to the skipper, ignoring me by even so much as a glance. the old man put the glass to his eye. "you're right, cynthy, girl, you're right; you're perfectly right in what you say. she does stand up, a good deal of her. gad, how i should like to tread her deck again!" i looked at the skipper pityingly. poor old man! so little left in life, while i felt that mine was just beginning. as the skipper maundered along about the bark, and what good times he had had in her, and how she and they were gone forever, cynthia crossed the cave to where i still sat, wondering when the bo's'n would have finished his task on the shore. "you mustn't mind what uncle says," said she. "mind it!" i broke in. "i like----" "hush, mr. jones! no compliments, please. he has aged wonderfully, poor dear, since the yankee blew up. there isn't anything i wouldn't do to please him. i won't contradict him again. i ought not to have then--i'll try not to mind----" her face was pink, her eyes downcast. "gad! where is that bo's'n? i'd like my nip now. oh, there he is!--come, come, bo's'n, i want my toddy! i was just telling jones here that we're a short time living and----" i arose from my seat and looked at the bo's'n, asking my question by only raising my eyebrows. he nodded affirmatively. "help yourself, bo's'n," said the skipper. we all stood round, in the fashion of seafaring men, and drank the health of "the lady," and then "to you, captain," and then "to you, mr. jones," and then "to you, bo's'n." "give us a regular toast, bo's'n," said the skipper; "one of the old timers." the skipper filled his glass to the brim and waited. the bo's'n hemmed and hawed. "i don't know anything very new, sir, cap'n, sir," he said. "just the same old one i always knew." he hawed and hemmed again, bowed to miss archer, bowed to the captain, and bowed to me. he bowed to the recumbent form of the young englishman. after that he gave a comprehensive bow all round. then, with flushed cheeks and eyes staring straight ahead, he rattled off as a schoolboy would: "thewindthatblowsandtheshipthatgoesandthelassthatlovesasailorthat's prettystrongcap'nsir." we all drank to the bo's'n's toast, knowing it well from time immemorial. cynthia gazed in amaze at the bo's'n, as if he were speaking a new tongue. "now yours, captain," said i. the skipper cleared his throat, raised himself a little on tiptoe, and swayed back and forth with a swinging motion, to which his sing-song voice kept time: "_here's_ to all _them_ that love _this_, and _here's_ to all _those_, and _them_ that love _those_. and _those_ that love _them_ that love _this_." i can see them now as they stood there--the skipper, his face beaming with good nature; the bo's'n, bashful, but enjoying the privilege of drinking on an equality with his captain; cynthia, looking on, half amused. i see them against the background of that dim cavern, the sunlight flecking the floor and wall in spots, where it had pierced the lattice work of leaves. there was a human background also, composed of two figures, the sleeping lad, and lacelle who hovered ever near her rescuer and protector. and behind all we were conscious of a presence, we knew not quite what, but a kindly personality, which aided us with unobtrusiveness and in a thousand thoughtful ways. with all the privations that we suffered, with all the anxieties and troubles that we had to bear, there is still something which fascinates and draws me back to much that i experienced in those days--dead this many a year. the sweetest odours were wafted in through the leaves, the mocking-bird sang as nothing but a mocking-bird can sing, the vines swayed to and fro in the open window. glancing between, one perceived the wondrous blue water of the caribbean sea, dotted with the white caps of which the trade wind is ever lavish, and, above all the sounds of voices and singing of birds, there was the lap and swish of the fierce little waves as they rushed up over the shingle. it was may, the latter part of may, and the seasons, following round as our seasons at belleville do, brought each their variety of leaf and flower. if one leaned out of the natural window in the blazing sun, with the fresh wind blowing the hair awry, one's eyes rested on a slope of brilliant tropic colour, where creepers hung from the trees or threaded under and over fallen forest giants, or crept down the hill and made beds and masses of bloom too beautiful to be credited. great yellow velvet cups stood out from their background of green. lilies of white and crimson drooped from stems which glowed with life. had we been but free from care, and had cynthia possessed but the ordinary comforts to which she had been wonted, i should have asked for nothing better than to pass the rest of our days in this enchanting spot. we had drained our glasses dry. the skipper looked directly at the bo's'n's knees. "what do you wear your trousers at half mast for, bo's'n?" asked the skipper. the bo's'n looked down and tugged at his shrunken cotton legs. "for captain dacres, sir," replied he, with ready wit. "we're through mourning for him," said the captain. "run 'em up or haul 'em down." "they've shrunk to hell and gone, sir," said the bo's'n, with superfluous explanation. "and where's your toast, mr. jones?" asked the skipper in his most enticing voice. his glass was empty. "it's ready, sir, but my glass is dry." we all took a finger more, and i, looking over the rim of my pewter cup at cynthia, gave them "sweethearts and wives." cynthia expressed it as her conviction that we had all had quite enough, and replaced the bottle upon a ledge in the rock and then resumed her occupation of looking through the glass. "cynthy," said the skipper suddenly, "you must get married." cynthia started as if a bombshell had exploded in the cavern. she dropped the glass, so that i feared it had been broken as it thumped upon the stone flooring. "married, uncle? are you insane? married!" "i mean it, cynthy." the skipper wagged his head and drained his glass dry. cynthia drew herself up to her full height. she was only a slight young girl, dressed in a blue dungaree not much the better for her stay ashore, but if i ever saw dignity personified, it was then. "and to whom, uncle? to one of the pirates, to the ghost of the cave, to the minion, to this little english lad, or to yourself? i really don't see any one else i could possibly marry." "it isn't any of those," said the skipper, as if cynthia was quite as forgetful of my presence as she seemed. "you've missed one, cynthy; it's jones here," and he indicated me with a jerk of his short stub thumb over his shoulder in my direction. chapter xii. the skipper again enacts the rÔle of chaplain. i am writing the exact truth when i state it here as a fact that had the entire cave with its occupants slid down the hill and out into the waters of the bay, it would not have caused me more surprise or consternation. as for cynthia, she burst into tears. i turned and ran, but not too soon to hear the words: "so--so--mor--ti--tified. doesn't--ca--care--fo--for--me--at--atall. don't ca--care--for--hi--hi--him." i flew through the passage, up over the hill, and down the eastern slope. there i found the minion, still lying stupid and heavy. i bathed his hot head and moved him farther into the shade, whereupon he snarled at me, and asked me, as far as his limited vocabulary permitted, to attend to my own affairs. finding myself unwelcome, i looked about for occupation, loitered miserably up the beach, feeling that belleville was the place for me, after all. as i walked thus, gloomily thinking, i raised my eyes, and looking along the shore, i saw something white underneath a tree not a hundred feet away. i quickened my pace, and there, at the foot of an immense ironwood, i discovered a necktie. i at once recognised it as the bo's'n's. so this was the tree that he had climbed when he asked me not to look. there above me was desposited a part or the whole of our splendid treasure. i scanned the tree with curiosity. i saw some scratches upon the bark, and was pleased with myself to feel what a keen insight i possessed into the ways of man from the traces which i could procure in this way. i had heard of the bow street detectives, and i felt all at once that i might rank with the most clever among them. there were several large deserted nests in the tree, and i at once decided that these contained our hidden fortune. well, it was a very good place, for no one would ever dream that jewels were hidden up there in the ironwood. i was puzzled as to how the bo's'n had managed to get himself up the tree, but that he was a good climber i knew, going up any kind of rigging at all hours of the day or night and in any weather, and i felt that what would be a matter of much difficulty to most men would be merely child's play for the cat-like bo's'n. i stuffed the necktie into my pocket, with a good mind to give the bo's'n a few words of advice when we met. he had been careless beyond words, and if he must climb to hide the treasure, and if he must remove his neckerchief, why not put it into his own pocket, instead of forcing me to put it into mine? there was small need for the bo's'n to array himself in a neckerchief. in the first place, it was hot weather, and then a man with both shirt sleeves gone has no need of beautifying. i felt very cross toward the bo's'n for his carelessness as i wandered, not knowing where to go. i glanced toward the westward, and saw that the little boat was still there. she had been washed sideways against the beach. the heavy rock attached to the painter had held her there. i scanned the ocean; there was nothing to be seen but a small portion of the deck of the yankee blade standing up out of the water. this, of course, we could not see while the smoke hung round the wreck, and lately there had been so much to claim our attention that we had not thought of looking seaward. i crossed the stream on the great tree and ran down the beach toward the place where the boat lay. i was glad to see her again. i walked into the water and pushed and pulled and twisted her round, until finally i got her afloat. i climbed over the gun'l and paddled idly about, hardly knowing what to do with myself. i did not like to return to the cave. from cynthia's last words, i felt that she wanted never to see me again. i was very wretched and extremely mortified. i landed the boat in the cove and went slowly up the hill, and sat myself down under a tree in a most dejected frame of mind. i had been there but a few minutes when i heard a tramping through the underbrush, and the puffing of some animal, brute or human. i pulled out my pistol and looked to the priming, but in a moment i heard a snort which i knew, and saw the skipper making toward me as fast as his short legs could carry him. "don't shoot!" said the skipper; adding, with neither breath nor grammar, "it's me," another gasp to get his breath, and then the words, "she's consented." "whose consented to what?" roared i. "why, cynthy. she's consented to be married to you." "oh, she has, has she? well, then, captain schuyler, you can go and tell your niece that it usually takes two to make a bargain." "that's polite," returned the skipper. "ain't you ashamed of yourself after all the fuss i've had to get her to come round?" "ashamed!" returned i. "i should think you would be ashamed of yourself to propose such a thing;" and then, my feelings being too strong for me, i subsided with the brilliant exclamation, "the idea!" the skipper looked sheepish. "yes, it's all my idea," he began eagerly, but i cut him short. "are you really insane," said i, "or are you only feigning lunacy?" "i'm as sane as you are," said he, "and a great deal saner. imagine it"--he addressed a supposititious audience--"here's a man asked to marry a lovely young girl, plain but amiable----" "that's where you're wrong," said i. "she hasn't a plain hair in her head, and she's damned unamiable. go on and tell some more lies." "now think of his gettin' so mad as that--at an old man who only wants to do him a favour." "you've made me ridiculous, that's what you've done; you've made me a laughing stock, and i won't stand it, captain schuyler, i----" "oh, come, come, now, jones! i want to tell you my idea. i know just how much you love that girl, and i know just as well that she don't care two straws for you." "the devil you do!" said i sulkily. "but something's got to be done! that girl has only me, her old uncle, to look after her. i'm an old man, jones. perhaps i shan't be able to stand all that you young people may have to. if anything happens to me, i want to feel that cynthy has a protector." "i should always do my best to take care of your niece, captain schuyler," said i; "but how do you know she doesn't care two straws for me?" "why she says she doesn't, and any one can see it with half an eye. i reelly believe," said the skipper, pointing his remark with a very horny forefinger, "that she would like the bo's'n, or even the minion, better." "and yet you insult us both by asking us to marry each other." "no, i ain't. i'm asking _her_ to marry _you_. lord, jones, i ain't thinking of you. now, you see, it's this way, jones. you're more in her station of life. to be sure, you haven't the proud lineage of william brown--his mother's great aunt is a schuyler--but you're nearer to it than the bo's'n, besides which your position aboard the yankee blade was enough. and then, you know, it isn't a reel marriage. you can give each other up at any time. she expects firmly to marry william when she gets home. he'll be waitin' for her on the dock. i presume she's told you?" "yes, she has told me," said i. "you see, if you were married to cynthy, and anything should happen, and she needed a protector----oh, darn it all, jones, can't you see what i mean?" "what did you mean by saying that she has consented?" "why, she has, she reelly has. i put it to her in such a way that she says she sees my point, and she will go through the form of marriage----" "a hollow mockery!" i broke in. "i won't consent." "what, after all the trouble i've taken? you must, jones. you can't refuse a la----" "we have no clergyman," argued i. my heart thumped at the bare idea of standing up and holding cynthia's hand before witnesses. "i'm one," said the skipper, drawing himself up proudly, so that i began to think that his recently developed fad for playing chaplain was at the root of his desire for this marriage. "a captain is always a clergyman on the high seas." "on the high seas!" returned i, looking sarcastically round at the mossy hillside. "don't be a fool, jones! see there!" he parted the low-sweeping branches. i looked out to sea, where a little bit of the wreck showed over the white-capped surface of the water. he pointed with his short finger. "you see that deck there? that represents power, jones, one man power. i'm absolute monarch there, jones. i'm clergyman on those bits of planks, jones. there i'm prophet, jones. there i'm priest, jones, and there i'm king." "you are not," said i, my orthodox blood boiling in my veins. "you're an old blasphemer, captain schuyler!" "well, you'll see whether i am or not. i'm goin' to marry you to cynthy on that deck, just as sure as i sit here." "how did she happen to consent?" asked i, beginning to weaken at this delicious prospect. "all on my account," said the skipper. "now stop askin' questions and come along." i wondered why cynthia had consented. i could not understand it. as for me, my brain was on fire at the thought, and i made up my mind then and there that when the words were spoken that made cynthia mine william brown might stand on the dock and whistle for his bride until the millennium. i felt in my waistcoat pocket for the little ring. yes, there it was, quite safe. it would come into use more quickly than i had imagined. my thoughts were such happy ones that i arose with beaming face and started toward the cave. "oh, you needn't be in a hurry; she don't want you. besides, she's got her dress to wash. lazy's going to help her." "you told me to come," said i appealingly. "yes, because she told me to take you away out of her sight. promised her we'd take the boat and pull along the beach aways, and leave her free. the dress won't take long to dry in the sun and wind." so it was to be a mock marriage, after all! "i hope you've got some money, jones," said the skipper. "not that i am anxious for a rich husband for my niece, but it's always well----" i smiled consciously, feeling that the skipper would be perfectly satisfied with my share of the fortune hidden by the bo's'n for our mutual benefit. "i don't own the belleville copper mines, it is true," said i, "but what i own is rather more negotiable than their products. i will tell you a secret, captain, if you will promise me never to tell a soul, not even your niece." "honest ingun!" said the skipper. i leaned over and whispered in his ear in exultant tones: "i shall never need to go to sea after this trip, captain." i was just on the point of telling him more, but my promise to the bo's'n suddenly came to mind, and i shut my lips over my teeth as if they were screwed together. "the reason i ask you is this," said the skipper. "i shan't have anything to leave my niece, and my sister mary 'zekel is no better off than i am. you see," said captain schuyler, "there's usually a rich branch in a family and a poor one. i belong to the poor branch. we couldn't all be educated--money wouldn't hold out. i've got a brother who's fit to be a professor. nothin' he don't know. just as pleasant to me as if i was the most learned man in the world. that's the nice thing about the schuylers. none of 'em ashamed of their relations. my mother was a cousin of the general's. i suppose you think i've got no right to the name of schuyler, but i'd like to know who is nearer to a man than his own mother? suppose my father's name wasn't schuyler. i claim that i have just as much right to the hawk as if i was one of the rich ones, and my name is schuyler as well as my mother's. same blood runs in my veins. maybe a poor quality of blood, but it's got schuyler into it, and you can't get it out." the day passed with a combination of haste and speed that i have never known equalled. it dragged when i thought that the setting sun would see cynthia my wife. it flew when i thought how she would scorn me, flout me, and hate the very idea of being bound to me. "remember, jones, it's only a 'sort-of' bond, not actual marriage," said the skipper for the twentieth time as we pulled slowly along the shore, looking for a fresh supply of oysters. when we returned, late in the afternoon, cynthia was sitting on the shore clothed, but hardly in her right mind. i could not help pitying her, my poor dear! though she began to, as i had expected, flout me at once, not waiting, as most wives do, until after marriage. the blue dungaree had been washed, but it was streaked and wrinkled in places, and still damp in spots. a wave of pity welled up in my heart for this poor girl, who must consent to marry me, willy nilly. it seemed so brutal to force her into this thing. and yet i reflected that it was my portrait, of which i had caught a glimpse, hanging to her chain. "she says you may call her cynthy," whispered the skipper in my ear. i left him and walked up from the boat. "i'd start right in on it if i was you." cynthia sat on the shelving bank of the little stream, throwing pebbles into the sea. i started in bluntly, waiting for no preliminaries. "i understand," said i, "perfectly, that you are yielding to your uncle's wishes in this thing. i promise to treat you just as i have heretofore." had i not known for certain from the skipper, as well as from herself, that cynthia could never care for me, and that william brown had an irrevocable hold upon her affections, i should have thought that she looked a trifle disappointed. "it is hard," returned cynthia, "for a person to be forced upon a person by another person, when that person can't make the person that's forcing her on the other person understand that she don't care anything about the other person, or that the other person don't care anything about the person, but i don't see what we are to do about it." "whether i am forced upon you or not," said i, "i intend to tell you right here very plainly that you are not forced upon me. i have not the slightest intention of going through one of those ridiculous misunderstandings that one reads of in novels when one word can clear it up. what have i told you, cynthia, ever since i saw----" "miss archer, please." "your uncle said i might----" "oh, very well, then, go on," said cynthia wearily. "what have i told you since i first met you on board the yankee blade, miss cynthia, miss archer?" "no matter about the 'miss,'" she said. "you'll have the right to call me whatever you choose by sunset." "to call you wife," said i sentimentally. cynthia arose. "if you say that now, i'll go away," her face the colour of that sunset of which we had been speaking. i resumed. "i have told you ever since i first met----" "yes," said cynthia, with spirit, "and you told it to me a little too often, mr. jones. one of those girls at martinique told me all about you. she said that the handsome captain of the seamew had made love to her and had given her his picture." "which one was that?" said i. "were there so many?" "lot's of 'em," said i. cynthia arose with dignity. "i'm going in," she said. "why?" asked i, with all innocence. "and i shall tell uncle that this ridiculous marriage shall not take place." "just when you've washed your dress and all," said the skipper, coming up in time to hear this avowal. "sit down a moment, miss archer," i pleaded. "i'm goin' to get the witnesses," called back the skipper, as he walked quickly toward the hill. "tide's nearly down." "i've given my picture to a dozen girls, cynthia. girls are always asking for pictures, but as to loving any of those chocolate drops, i never really loved any but----" "heloïse grandpré!" broke in cynthia. so _she_ was the one! my conscience did prick me a little when i remembered certain veranda corners and vine-wreathed balconies, but, of course, i knew now that that had not been the real thing. none of them had ever been the real thing, and i had thought i would have died for some of those girls. it's just looking for a ship at sea. you go on deck and discover a distant sail upon the horizon. the vessel is hull down, and without the glass you can't be sure what she is. you watch her until she gets nearer and nearer. she comes up over the curve after a while, and you say, "pshaw! that's nothing but a schooner." you watch again for your full-rigged ship, and again you see a bit of sail down there against the gray, or the red, or the blue, and you say to yourself: "there she is this time for sure! just wait until she heaves in sight." up she comes again, and she isn't the one you're looking for, after all. again you go on deck. you haven't any glass, and that new bit of white over there on the edge of the world, against the golden glow, isn't any nearer than the others. but there's no mistaking _her_. you know her at first sight, and you don't need any glass, either, to tell you that it's your ship, and that she's coming home from sea to you, thank god! with all her priceless cargo in her hold, her sticks lofty and straight, and her swelling canvas as full of god's breeze and blessing as they can carry. so it was with me. i had been in love with forty different girls in forty different countries of forty different colours and forty different ages--there was a widow down at the cape of good hope. oh, good lord! how she did---- "i see that you have not forgotten her," said cynthia. i started, and returned suddenly from the cape of good hope. "no, and never shall, if she comes between us now." "i am not so easily taken in, mr. jones." "neither am i. i had hoped yesterday that at least you had grown to care for me a little. i saw a chain----" cynthia put her hand quickly to her neck. "you saw my chain?" "yes, while your uncle and i were carrying you." "my uncle and you! o mr. jones! carrying me?" in a tone as if to say, "what shall i hear next?" "yes, we were. the locket flew open, cynthia, and i saw----" "you saw william brown," said cynthia in a very dignified tone. "not at all," said i. "o cynthia! is it any wonder that i was encouraged?" cynthia was fumbling with her chain. she pulled the locket from its hiding place; a look of consternation overspread her face. "i've lost my ring!" she said. "what ring?" asked i. "oh, that curious serpent ring! it is probably in your sleeping chamber." she slid her nail under the edge of the case of the locket and opened it. "there!" she said triumphantly, holding the locket as far from her neck as the chain would allow. "who is that?" "shall i really say?" i asked, hesitating on her account. "say? of course! who is that? oh, i forgot! you never saw william brown." "no, i never did," said i, "except in a sickly looking picture that's giving some shark indigestion, i hope, by this time. but the picture that you do me the honour to wear is myself." "it isn't!" said cynthia flatly. "it is!" said i. "good heavens, no!" she snapped the slide of the chain apart, held the locket up before her eyes, gave one glance at the face, and then, with a quick movement of her hand, she tossed the locket into the stream. "why don't you throw it into the sea?" asked i. she answered carelessly, "oh, i think the stream will carry it down." cynthia sat in meditative pose for some moments. "now where could that have come from? oh, yes! i believe i know now. yes, that must be it. you see heloïse and i were comparing lockets one day just before i left martinique. i remember now that william brown's picture was always loose. it fell out. heloïse had this one of you, and somehow, as we were putting them back, they got exchanged. i remember heloïse admired william brown very much. she said she thought him the handsomest man she had ever seen. i can send heloïse this, and she will send me william." "mine's in the stream," said i. "did you know who the picture was meant for?" i asked. cynthia cast down her eyes. "i had seen you passing the hotel," she answered. "uncle told me that you were the new mate." i arose crestfallen. that perfidious heloïse! "then this absurd marriage is off?" said i. "well," said she, "you know what uncle is. he's set his heart--i hate to disapp----" "come and get your pork!" called the skipper. we went up to our early supper. "wonder what kind of weather we're goin' to have for the weddin'?" said the skipper. "it may rain," said i. "you know there was a rainbow this----" "now! now! now! none of _that_!" the skipper raised his hand as if in protest. "i know what you're agoin' to say, jones. everything that happens in the morning you must take warning about just because it rhymes. and everything that happens at night must be a sailor's delight because it rhymes. why, one of the worst harricanes that i ever knew happened to me off hatteras when we had had a rainbow the night before. ricketts was mate. he came up to me along about seven o'clock one evening and he says, 'cap'n schuyler, we are mighty lucky this trip. do you see that rainbow, sir?' 'what of it?' said i. i didn't fancy that fellow much. he wore a ring. well, the next morning it began to blow, and it blew so it nearly blew my teeth out. did blow the mate's hair off. it was a wig. i was glad of it. he shouldn't have been so presuming. had to go all the way to coenties slip with a red waistcoat buttoned round his head. another time, i remember, i had a young supercargo with me, taking a trip for his health. it wasn't a fair division. i know he made _me_ sick enough before we got through. i came on deck one morning, and he had the assurance to tell me that we would have fine weather now right down through the windward passage. "'how do you know?' said i. 'ever been there before?' "and then, if you'll reelly believe me, he projuced a book, with all those rhymes printed in it, and he read 'em aloud for my benefit. "'here's one, captain, that perhaps you've never seen.' and then he puffed out his chest and got up on a hawse block and read: "'evening red and morning gray sets the _teraveller_ on his way.' "'get off that hawse block!' said i. i threw the book overboard and kicked the supercargo down to leeward. 'you stay your own side the deck,' i said, 'and don't come here with your saws.' for just that moment there came along a squall which nearly took the sticks out of her, and we had just been experiencing 'evenin' red and mornin' gray,' 'when they made you a supercargo, mr. whiting,' said i, 'they spoiled a good loblolly boy.' "'a little knowledge is a very dangerous thing, captain schuyler, as perhaps you'll find out when you get home,' said he. "'don't answer back your betters, sir,' said i. 'i suppose you think you're a very superior cargo, but, if the underwriters ask my opinion, i shall tell 'em i consider you a blanked inferior one. get down there to leeward, where you belong!'" "was he handsome, uncle, that young supercargo of yours?" "well, not so's you'd notice it after i'd finished with him. it's astonishing how soon he lost his good looks.--i tell you, jones, it's all because of the rhyme. that's all poetry's written for. facts are not accounted of at all. rainbow at night, sailor's delight; rainbow at morning, take warning. did you ever hear such stuff?" "what became of the supercargo?" asked cynthia, who had listened, much interested. "i suppose you took off his head or something, uncle. you are so fierce." she laid her hand on the old man's back and patted his shoulder gently. "no, but his father took mine off. he was half owner, and i didn't sail for him any more after that trip. there was another idiot with me along in ' . if you wanted a proof that all the fools were not dead yet, there you had it. it was along back in ' , as i said. i was going from australia to singapore. we were running down our easting, making very fine weather. he comes to me one morning, and he says to me, 'cap'n, the cyclone is upon us!' "'oh, it is,' says i. 'i suppose you got that out of your poetry book. do you know that our cook's half black, mister superior cargo?' "'no, sir, i haven't seen him yet. is he, indeed?' says the fellow, with great interest. 'i never heard of one like that. where do they come from?' "'from the galley,' says i. "just then cook brought me some of the men's mess to taste. "'you said he was half black, sir,' said the supercargo, looking in the man's coal-black face. "'he isn't half white, is he?' says i. "tell you the truth, that fellow never understood me, and thought the whole voyage out to singapore that i had been lying to him." after our frugal meal was finished, the skipper led the way to the boat. cynthia was very pale during the trip, and i felt once or twice as if it were my duty to forbid the banns. as bridegroom, i was not allowed to pull, and the skipper, who had made his toilet by washing his face and running his fingers through his hair in preparation for his duties as clergyman, was not allowed to soil his hands on the oars, so that we were some time in getting out to the wreck. the bo's'n had to row the whole dead weight. i can see the boat now, the skipper and cynthia seated in the stern, lacelle on the seat athwart ships, close to them, the bo's'n pulling steadily at his oars, and i perched high up in the bow, feeling like a little boy at a picnic. it was quite a long row out to the wreck, and we were a very quiet party. the skipper seemed to be mumbling the marriage service over to himself. the evening was calm and still. the oars dipped gently in the water, and made blue and pink ripples, the only disturbing feature of the scene except, perhaps, the marriage. sweet odours came off from the shore, wafted how, i know not, for there was no breeze stirring. the moon was just rising, even before the sun had set, and her pale band ran undulating over the tiny wavelets that we made, and formed oblongs of silver and rose alternately. finally we arrived at the wreck. i saw the skipper's mouth working as he surveyed what had been his taut little vessel. no one spoke. it seemed more like a funeral than a wedding. the skipper was the first to step upon the charred deck. he stood there and waved his hand comprehensively in a circle, which included all that was left of the yankee blade. "here," said the skipper, with a twitching of the lip, "lies the sarco_pha_gus of all my hopes." "it ain't a reel cheerful weddin', mr. jones, sir, now is it, sir?" remarked the bo's'n in a whisper. "seein' as i ain't dressed, i think i'll send my regrets. somebody's got to be boatkeeper." "don't let your wardrobe trouble you," urged i. "i've got it in my pocket," and i handed the bo's'n his neckerchief. a strange look overspread the features of the bo's'n. if i had not been certain that my action ought to have provoked him, i should have said that he was pleased. but perhaps it was only at getting his neckerchief back again. at all events, he washed his hands, put on his neckerchief, took the painter in his fingers, and leaped on the deck. "now you go and stand right under all that's left of the stars and stripes," said the skipper to cynthia. "i can't see how she's to get there," said i. "the rail's almost under water, and it's very slippery." "can't help it. that's where you've got to stand.--here, bo's'n, i'll hold the painter, while you help miss archer over to the mast." "i can row her over in the boat," said the bo's'n, "and come back for her husband, sir. there's hardly room for two, but if they stand close i guess they'll manage it." the bo's'n's remarks were somewhat premature, but i held my peace and did not look at cynthia. accordingly, cynthia was rowed over to that part of the taffrail which showed a few inches of wet surface above the water line, and the bo's'n, having deposited her there, returned for me. we had to stand close, indeed. we could hardly hear the skipper as he began the service. he seemed so far away, standing with lacelle, cynthia's maid of honour, while my best man sat in the boat and kept her stern close to the wreck by backing water. i placed the little thread of gold on her finger at what i thought was the right moment. i was like a lad with a new penny to spend. it burned a hole in my pocket. "ahoy there!" shouted the skipper, breaking into the service and hailing me as if i were a foreign barkentine, "it ain't time yet." "it's my time," said i. "how's he to know, captain schuyler, sir?" called out the mate as he backed water. "he's never been married before." "how do you know?" roared the skipper back again. "a true sailor has a wife in every port." cynthia started and dropped my hand as if it had been a live coal. i seized her hand again, and held it as if it were all that i had to hold to in this world. she looked at me questioningly, as if she distrusted me, and i almost felt that we should never be friends again. truly, a pleasant beginning to our married life! [illustration: the skipper's marriage service.] i could not hear much of our wedding service, but i remember that it sounded extremely like that which the skipper had repeated over the two sailors whom he had buried not far from this very spot. i know that he asked us if we would take each other for man and wife, and i remember that he ended with, "and may god have mercy on your souls!" i have seen this printed as a joke since then, but it was no joke to me, only sad, dead earnest. then he piped up in his old lee-gangway voice, and sang the first verse of a missionary hymn, but because of this i felt none the less the solemnity of the occasion. i stood in silence, looking at the lovely girl whom i was taking for my wedded wife. she allowed me to hold her hand, as in duty bound. her trembling little paw was cold, and she stood gazing, not at me, but far out across the wide and desolate ocean. how long we should have remained thus i know not had not the skipper awakened us by bawling across the intervening swash of water: "you're married. do you hear, jones? you're married." cynthia spoke to me only once that evening. as we were left alone a few moments while lacelle and the skipper were getting into the boat, she turned to me and asked: "was that heloïse's ring?" "no," said i; "it was found in the cave." "perhaps that handsome pirate dropped it," said cynthia. "that makes it so much more interesting." chapter xiii. i commit the error of my life. we pulled ashore like anything but a wedding party. cynthia seemed depressed, and to see her so made me feel like a villain. the bo's'n still was stroke, and i laid to with a will in the bows. i reflected that i had probably touched cynthia's hand for the last time for some months to come. when we disembarked, lacelle waited for cynthia. she took her hand in hers and pressed it to her heart. she raised her eyes to cynthia's as a dog or other animal of lower intelligence might look at a master, as if to say: "is it as you wish? are they treating you as you should like to be treated?" at this, cynthia smiled and nodded her head, and patted lacelle's hand when the girl returned the smile in a satisfied way. we left the boat and walked up toward the cave, where we found the minion standing on the shore. he, however, was across the stream on the opposite side from us. i jumped into the boat again and went to fetch him. the minion now, instead of looking red and swollen, was pale and weary. he tumbled into the bows in a weak and dizzy sort of way, and got out as feebly when we reached the bank of our own side of the stream. "secret," whispered the minion in my ear. "very well," said i. "i will listen when i have the time. i am busy now." we all sat upon the beach enjoying the beauty of the late evening. the bo's'n made us some coffee, and with ship's biscuit, oysters, a small bit of pork, water from the arch beneath the rock, and some guavas and mangoes to top off with, we made an excellent meal. "you have given us a very nice supper, bo's'n," volunteered cynthia. "i find that a row like that gives one an appetite." "perhaps it was gettin' married, miss," remarked the bo's'n, "though it usually takes away the appetite, ma'm. this you know"--waving his hands comprehensively over the remains of the feast--"is the wedding breakfast, mrs. and mr. jones, sir." cynthia gave a start and glanced hurriedly at me. i must confess that it had never occurred to me that cynthia would take my name--that is, not since she said on board the yankee that "jones was impossible." she got very red, and turned away and walked with lacelle up the hill. the skipper was taking his usual glass. he poured out a double amount. he held the cup out to the minion, who, pale and headachy, was lying with his back to the dish of pork. "take some," said the skipper, with his favourite addition, "it won't do you any good." the minion for reply edged away and closed his eyes. we sat silent a while as the bo's'n washed his utensils and gathered up the remains of my wedding breakfast. the skipper was saying something about the horrors of the married state, when we heard the voice of cynthia calling to him. "what is it?" shouted back the skipper. then we heard a sentence which ended with "gone." "no, he's here." "who? young trevelyan?" "no, jones!--thought she'd like to come down and enjoy the moonlight, jones, if she knew you were gone." pleasant for the bridegroom of an hour! "listen, uncle." "well, i am listening; talk louder." and then came the words, "young trevelyan's gone." "oh, well, perhaps he's just taking a little stroll." the minion turned over and allowed two words to escape him: "run'd away." "how do you know?" asked the skipper; and then added, "but no one would believe you if you swore it on the westminster catechism." "in a boat." "now i know you're lyin'." the minion nodded his head, still weakly persistent, and then laid down again upon the grassy slope of the beach. "there ain't any boat hereabouts," said the bo's'n, "begging your par----" he stopped short and surveyed the minion contemptuously, "forgot it was you." "dinghy," said the minion. the captain arose lazily. "don't talk with that fool, bo's'n. i'm tired as three men. i'll go to bed." bed! poor skipper! the soft side of a rock was his bed. i followed the skipper shortly, and found him in close conversation with cynthia. "how can you be sure he's gone?" asked the skipper. "why, one proof is that my blanket and pillow are gone, too." "the ungrateful wretch!" said the skipper. "i don't believe he's ungrateful," said cynthia. "he never seemed ungrateful. perhaps the pirates came back and took him off. i wonder"--with a look in my direction--"if that handsome pirate was with them?" "no," said i. "you may quiet your mind on that point; he's gone where all good pirates go." "where?" asked cynthia. "to the nethermost hell," answered the skipper. "and i helped put him there." "of course, i don't believe you, uncle," said cynthia, "but----" "the minion seemed to know something," said the bo's'n. "suppose we ask him again." "torture wouldn't get more than two words out of him at a time," said i. "i can," said cynthia, with a triumphant glance at me. accordingly, cynthia proceeded again to the shore with her uncle to interrogate the minion. she gathered, after an hour's hard prodding and digging, interspersed with sudden roars mixed with a few judicious oaths from the skipper to give her inquiries point, that the minion awoke and found that he was quite alone. he raised up on his elbow and discovered our boat far out at sea. he supposed that it was our boat, as he saw several persons get out and on to the wreck. he laid down again, too dizzy to keep his eyes open any longer. he was aroused by a rustling in the grass, and turned over to see a man carrying the young englishman in his arms. the minion, afraid of nothing in heaven or hell, said "hi!" when the man turned his head, and the minion discovered that the intruder was no other than the smith, who had riveted the cages upon the lad and myself. the minion, with his limited vocabulary, managed to call the smith a thief, and asked him why he was stealing the boy; whereupon the smith asked him if his grandmother knew that he was in haïti. this enraged the minion to such an extent that he raised up on his elbow and threw stones at the smith. he was especially angry when he saw cynthia's pillow and blanket carried down and placed in the boat. the young man seemed to protest, but the smith told him that it was the rule in the british navy to obey first and protest afterward, and the lad seemed too weak to make much opposition. the smith helped himself to our biscuit and some of our water, taking one of our few utensils to carry it in. he also took a cup and got in and rowed away. "which way did he go?" asked cynthia. the minion pointed eastward. he furthermore informed cynthia that he saw a name upon the bow of the boat, and again when she started toward the east he saw the same name, and that he spelled it over to himself, and that he was sure that it was "yankee blade, no. ." "that's mighty curious," said the skipper, scratching his head. "and he tells me, uncle, that the man he calls the smith left a letter for you. he says it's in a place where you will find it first thing." "must be the rum bottle," said the skipper, with peculiar insight. and so it was, for he found the scrawl sticking in the cleft made in the cork. "paddon the libutty i takes," wrote the smith. "i opened a sawtchell and got this paper and penzill wen i found the lad wassent yere in the bigg cavern i sarched i had a fite with a big brown feller but but wen i tell im ime goan fer young trevelin he lets me in i see the brown feller goan in or i nevver shuld have find the place we had a fite outside meanin a shipes fite it was dawk i see the dingee floatin i slips overbord and swimms fer her i tears up one of the planks and paddels i lies by all day wen you go i come the is a british vessel down the coast ime a rowin fer her if i git her ill come fer you i take my recompens before hand in shipes biskits and rum the lady must excuse my takin her pillar my boys bad and needs em so wishin you luck and ill come if i git a chance no more at presens from yours till deth james taler penock." cynthia and lacelle disappeared during the reading of this finished epistle, and the skipper, bo's'n, and i were alone. i forgot to mention the minion. he counted somewhat now, as he had told us something of real consequence. before i lay down to sleep the bo's'n drew me confidentially aside. "the minion has been after me," said he in a low tone, "and he says he has found a cave full of jewels, and they're his property, and no one shan't touch 'em. he's goin' to declare it before us all, and call the skipper and god to witness his statement, and he says he'll blow on us to the government as soon as we get home if any of us touches a ring or a pin of it." "what did you tell him?" said i, rather alarmed, i must confess. "i told him he had been overcome with liquor in the cave, and that he imagined all those things. he swears it's so, and i swears it ain't, and that's where it is now. i thought of tyin' him up and not lettin' him go in the cave at all." "i wouldn't watch him," said i. "just let him go in if he wants to. i suppose you have removed all the traces, bo's'n?" "yes, sir," said the simple bo's'n. "i suppose you kept your promise to me, and sat with your back against the outer side of the cave?" "yes, bo's'n, i did," said i. "of course, i couldn't help finding your neckerchief, you know." "but i can trust you not to mention that, mr. jones, sir, to any one?" "oh, certainly, bo's'n, you need have no fear of my telling your--our secret." the night of my marriage was a very dark and gloomy one. i had been asleep but a short time when i was awakened by the skipper. the bo's'n was lying as far from us as he could get. his antipathy to the skipper had not abated, and at night especially he seemed afraid to come anywhere near him. he was sleeping heavily, poor man! most of the work came upon the bo's'n, and i'm afraid we did not appreciate his willingness as much as we should have done. "i have a favour to ask," whispered the skipper. "ask ahead," said i. "you've done me a service to-day, captain, which shall be a real one in time, or i'll know the reason why." "what's that?" asked the skipper in amazement. "well, no matter, if your memory's so short. now what can i do for you?" "i've been lyin' awake thinkin'," said the skipper. "so have i," i answered. "not what i was thinkin' of, i'll be bound," said the skipper. "man, as a usual thing, is so regardless of his fellow-man." the skipper nodded his head several times, as if he were the one considerate creature that god ever made. "man is selfish, man is occupied only with his own small affairs." "yes, sir," said i. "that is so." "i was thinkin' as i lay down to-night," continued the old man in a real wednesday-evening-meeting voice, "that those poor critters need a rest, too." "you mean the bo's'n and the minion?" said i. "yes, they do, we all do! you as much as the rest, captain." "if noses can speak," returned the skipper, "the bo's'n and the minion are getting all they need just at present. i'm speakin' of those poor soldiers of fortune who have been standin' up for years, perhaps." "soldiers of fortune?" i said inquiringly. "well, i call 'em so. and of a pretty bad fortune, too. now what i want of you is to come help me bury 'em." "oh, you mean the skeletons?" said i. "i do," said the skipper. i saw that the religious mania had got the weather side of him again. "what! now?" said i. "it's so late, and i want a little sleep, too." "i can not sleep until they are buried," said he. "poor things, with no rest for the soles of their feet. i shall sleep easier when they are under the sod." "we haven't any shovels, you know, captain," i remonstrated. "under the sod figgeratively speakin'," said the skipper. "we'll give 'em, as we did those two poor shipmates of ours, a burial at sea." "but i don't see any sense in it, captain. what is the hurry? why won't to-morrow do? i'm so tired of funerals and weddings and bones and other horrors of all sorts." i heard a faint exclamation, and looked up to see cynthia standing at the back of the cave. she had come to ask for some water. "tired of weddings and other horrors," murmured cynthia under her breath. i rose to my feet, ignoring her, and addressed myself to the skipper. "you'll be getting ordained next, captain," said i. "probably as soon as we get back to belleville." i saw the flutter of cynthia's dress as she vanished between the pillars, and then i turned to the captain. "come on!" said i. "i wonder how many more of these ghastly, ghostly things i'll have to do before i can get any rest." clearly the wedding upon the wreck had awakened the skipper's enthusiasm in regard to religious services as performed by him. i saw that cynthia had disappeared so soon as she made her observation upon my remark. well, why should i be silent and willing to ever play the part of a brow-beaten lover? i let her go without a word of protest or remonstrance. i felt that i had protested too much, like some lady of whom i had read in a book picked up in some of my various voyages, and i decided to protest no more--at least to her about my love for her. the night was overcast and dark. a slight rain was pattering on the leaves overhead. i discovered this as i emerged from the cave. i stumbled against the skipper, who had stopped and was holding his hand out to learn whether we had falling weather or not. "it's a horrid night to go, captain," said i, hoping that his religious fervour would weaken. "yes, it is," said the skipper, "but that makes my conscience all the more satisfied. it's a disagreeable thing to do, and we have a disagreeable night to do it in, but i shall feel so much better when it is well over. the more unpleasant our task, the more rewarded i shall feel." i saw that my remonstrances were of no avail, and i plucked up my resolve, opened wide my sleep-benumbed eyes, and prepared to play the game of follow my leader, as a soldier his general, an acolyte his priest, a sailor his captain. as i have hinted before, it was a real dissipation for him, and, oh, how he enjoyed it! we stumbled up the hill in the dark, bumping against trees and catching our feet in roots, even falling on our knees at times, and once we fell over each other and rolled down the hill. i was rather angry at this fad of the skipper's, but i kept my temper and struggled on up the slope, over the top, and down the other side to the entrance of the great hall. i struck fire and examined the lamp. the oil was gone. we could do nothing in that direction, as we had no more fluid that would burn. i made a little fire on the floor of the cave, though dry sticks were hard to find. while i was so engaged, the skipper was going through with his self-imposed task of taking the skeletons down from the niches where they hung. i remember that he had rather a difficult piece of work, for the dreadful things fell upon him with many a chink and rattle after he had unriveted the chain at the top of each arch. the skipper was a strong man for his height, and unaided, except by their own gravity, he took the grewsome bones down and laid them upon the floor. and now came the unpleasant part of the business to me. i had made a small torch of a pitchy sort of wood, that burns faintly for a while, and this i bound to my head with my handkerchief. the skipper lighted the torch at my head, then he stooped and raised one of the bodies from the floor of the cave. i took the feet of the grewsome burden, the skipper carrying the head. i preceded the old man. first we must ascend to the top of the hill, go over the crest, and then down on the western side, where our boat lay securely fastened. i was surprised at the weight of the bodies, but i recalled as a reason for this the presence of the cages, which we thought it best not to remove. they held the bones together, and kept them in position. i had found upon examination that in some of their visits the pirates must have had the bodies articulated, for in pirate crews were jacks of all trades, and thus at last i understood how the skeletons could stand there as they had for so long a time, the flesh and breath of life only wanting to make them again men in the image of god. the humour of the pirates evidently had been that the bodies should remain there forever, or until the cages dropped to pieces, and that might have occurred several generations hence. four trips we had to make to the beach, not to speak of returning to the great hall for our dead burdens. as we carried them down, down, over hummocks, through knee-deep leaves, across bare rock and shingle, the nature of our cargo oppressed me, and it seemed as if i must drop my share suddenly and flee to the cave and to the companionship of even the sleeping bo's'n and the more than useless minion. several times the skipper called to me that some one was walking between us. it is true that oftentimes it seemed as if the weight was very much lightened, but i was hampered and found it difficult to even turn my head. in fact, neither i nor the skipper could well let go after once we had started. "there's a brown fellow holding on to the middle of this lord," whispered the skipper loudly to me. "nonsense, captain!" spoke i. "it's eerie enough without your making it seem more so." "it's a fact! now i'm going to drop my end, and you'll see." accordingly, the skipper did release his hold, when, to my horror, the poor cage of bones came rattling to the earth. "lord! what a noise they make!" said the skipper. "well, i may be wrong. something's playing the devil with my eyesight lately." i felt like suggesting as a remedy the use of plain water at bedtime, but, though i had almost told the skipper that i was no longer under his orders, my feeling of discipline was so strong that i could not make up my mind to say anything more of a rude or personal nature. so i held my peace and struggled on with the weights on the downward trip, and barked my shins and stubbed my toes on the return to the cavern. at last they were all carried down to the shore--all those horrid, pitiful travesties on nature. i struck my flint that we might lift them into the boat. it lasted but a moment; so finally i made a little fire with what few dry sticks we could find, and by its light we placed the four bodies on the thwarts. when we arrived at the beach for the last time, i found a pile of bones huddled together, and by the remnant of clothing which was still attached to the form i discovered it to be the remains of the chief justice. i laid these bones by the others and got into the boat. the tiny fire that i had made upon the beach was our guide and beacon. strange to say, it began to glow brighter as we drew away from the shore, and i fancied that i saw a figure feeding the gentle flame and keeping it alight for us. we rowed for half an hour straight out to sea. the breeze was blowing fresh, but, beyond an occasional star, we had no sort of light. when, however, one has accustomed himself to going without a light at night, it is strange how well he can find his way. it has been my experience that it is never quite dark. i have heard of nights as black as erebus, and even darker places have been used as comparisons, but i have never found a night so black that a little glow was not visible. the phosphorus of the waves as they foam and curl is a slight aid, and a true mariner always feels that he can see enough in the blackest night that good god ever made. i rowed while the skipper busied himself in preparing the cages with their inclosures for final service. he must have been thinking of this for some time, for he had well-twisted and braided ropes made of some of the brocade ready to fasten to the cages, and he had placed rocks in the boat which had been selected with great care. in fact, he told me that he had aided nature in hollowing the depression round the middle of the stones, so that the rope could not slip. as we dropped the great parcels over the side there was a splash, a sudden tightening of the rope and a quick rush downward, followed by the meeting of the waters above. for my part i wanted to get over with the business as soon as possible. the skipper was going through all sorts of religious didos. i heard him mumbling part of the wedding service, mixed with the declaration of independence, which in those days we all thought it sacrilegious not to know. there was something holy about it to us, and it seemed very appropriate to me. but when the skipper ended with "ashes to ashes and dust to dust," i looked at the dark water which lapped against the boat and shook my head. the old man did not perceive it, and we rowed back to shore, i turning my head every now and then to see if the little spark of flame was still there. at last we reached the beach, and glad enough was i when we had fastened the boat safely and had again climbed upward to the cavern. my coming in awoke the bo's'n, for it was nearly morning now, still dark, but about half after three, as nearly as i could judge. the skipper had left me at the entrance of the cave, saying that he wished to go round to the great hall which had for so long been the tomb of those dead men and offer up some prayers. i argued with him that it was not after the manner of protestants to pray for the dead; but he turned away without more words, and i heard him scrambling up through the dark and solitary woods. i feared for the old man's mind; but i knew that nothing could turn him when once he took a notion into his head, so i entered the cave alone. the bo's'n was yawning and stretching his arms placidly. i was the only one to greet him as he awoke. "at last," said i, "i shall be glad to lie down, bo's'n. don't you disturb me in the morning until i can't sleep any longer." "yes, mr. jones, sir," said he. "mrs. jones has been in asking for her uncle, and when she saw that you wassent here, sir, she seemed much worried. she asked if any new comple--compli--well, something or other had arose." "bo's'n," said i, "i'm awfully sleepy, but i believe i will tell you where i have been. you will be glad to know that one horror is removed from this unpleasant place." "i shall, indeed, sir," said the bo's'n, beaming upon me a joyful smile. "i shall be glad to hear any good news, mr. jones. what is it, sir? do tell me." i was glad to be able to cheer this amiable soul, and, though overpowered with sleep, i began: "bo's'n, i was asleep a while back--yes, more than two hours ago--when the skipper came and awoke me and proposed something." "yes, sir," said the bo's'n interestedly. "i was really too tired, and i thought of calling you to help me, but i reflected that you were as tired as i, so i said i would aid in anything he wanted to do." "that was kind, sir," said the bo's'n. "it was like you, mr. jones. you can sleep now. i will see that no one wakes you." "so i went with him to----" "yes, sir, yes, sir," the bo's'n hurried me on breathlessly. "i'm wide awake now, sir, mr. jones, and it's so pleasant to hear something good once more. but don't let me interrupt you, mr. jones. do go on." "you will be glad, i know, bo's'n, and so will every one of our party, really glad. when i think of this night's work, i do not regret the wind, or the dark, or the drizzling rain." the bo's'n looked at me with impatience. "well, to return to the captain, he came and asked me to help him bury the skeletons." "the what!" roared the bo's'n. "skeletons, the skeletons, and we took them down----" "what!" roared the bo's'n again, in a tone somewhat between a squeal and a howl. "and we buried them----" "in the ground, i hope, sir!" "no, bo's'n, in a much safer place than the ground. a purer, sweeter place, the place where poor jack always wishes to lie. we buried them in the deep blue sea." my eye was moist, and i felt holy and poetic. "what--! what----! what----!" with each word the bo's'n's scream became more wild. "at sixty fathoms, i should think, bo's'n." now there was a faint "what?" i looked at the bo's'n. he was doubled up as if he had been taken with the colic. his arms clasped round his knees, he was weaving back and forth as if the agony that he suffered was excruciating in its intensity, and i doubt not from my own later attack that it was. he writhed, he groaned, he weaved, he wailed like a new-born infant. he roared like a lion, he gnashed his teeth and howled, he wept scalding tears. he rolled over and over in the dust of the cavern floor. he clutched his hair. his body shook as if he were in a rigor. "bo's'n! bo's'n!" i cried. "what is it? what can i do for you? there is a little rum left in the bottle--take this." i seized the bottle and tried to force some drops down his throat; but he shook himself away from me, scrambled to the other side of the cave, where he squatted in a corner, and glared at me as if he were a wild beast, and as if i had been one, too. "bo's'n! bo's'n!" i said to him encouragingly. but he sat doubled up in a heap, glowering at me with basilisk eye. he emitted at intervals howls of rage and pain, the like of which i had never heard equalled. i felt sure that he had suddenly gone out of his mind. "what have you done to the poor man, mr. jones?" asked cynthia. i turned to see her standing there. her hair had fallen down, and some of the wild fern of which we had made her bed was sticking in it, poor dear! "done to him? you forget yourself, miss archer." she started as i addressed her. i turned again to the bo's'n. "i don't like your looking at me in that way, bo's'n," said i. whereupon the bo's'n leaped into midair with a howl and a gnashing of the teeth at me. they were swift, sharp snaps, that made me jump higher even than he did himself. i looked about for a place of refuge. "they know a coward when they see one," said cynthia. "they are just like animals for the time being." she approached the bo's'n guardedly and held out her hand to him with a frightened look on her face. "here, bo's'n, bo's'n, good bo's'n," she said, as if coaxing a dog. "better go away, ma'm. i'm afraid i'll bite," snapped the bo's'n. cynthia jumped back with a little squeal. "come, no more of this nonsense!" said i. "get out!" said the bo's'n. "i don't like to have you speak so to me, bo's'n," said i. "it isn't pleasant, and it isn't respectful." "you'll find it a damned sight more disrespectful, sir, before i've done with you, mr. jones, sir," answered the bo's'n. "what is it, bo's'n? do tell me." by this time the bo's'n had his arms held tightly round his stomach, as if the pain was too great to bear. i walked across the floor of the cave and stretched out my hand to him, speaking in a soothing voice, and begging him to let me do something to make him easier. "don't come near me, mr. jones, sir," said the man. "i am afraid of what i shall do to you. i knew--i knew it! when you threw that--that--you know--in the water----" "if there has been mischief done, bo's'n, let me repair it," said i. "can you raise the dead?" asked the bo's'n in tones sepulchral. "you have driven the poor man crazy, mr. jones," said cynthia. i turned my back on her. i was very angry with the bo's'n and with her. "can you plunge to the bottom of the sea and bring up them corpses?" "no," said i; "of course not. why should i?" by this time the bo's'n had stopped howling and had taken on the sarcastic tone. "hope you took a range, sir," said he, surveying me with the most utter scorn. "why should i take a range? it was pitch dark. you couldn't see your hand before your face. i don't know where we were. we rowed half an hour, as near as i can judge, and then, after we had buried them, we turned round and rowed back again." by this time the bo's'n had collapsed entirely; he lay on the floor without moving. "do let me do something for you, bo's'n," said cynthia. at this the bo's'n rose to a sitting posture. "what you can do for me, mrs. jones, ma'm, is to go back to your room and stay there." "o bo's'n!" said cynthia, who had never been accustomed to find her presence unwelcome. "i can only pity you, ma'm, for havin' wrecked your young life on such a wuthless scandal as him." cynthia started, and looked at me as if the bo's'n knew more if he only chose to tell. i turned to the bo's'n, much enraged. "go quick, please, ma'm, i want to swear, and i can't wait many minutes." cynthia fled. then the bo's'n turned to me: "will you pardon me, sir, if i say, 'damn you, mr. jones!'?" i gazed in amaze at the usually placid bo's'n. "you will have to damn the captain, too, then," said i. "he planned the expedition, and i only helped him carry it out." "i hope he'll come in while i'm a blasphemin'," said the bo's'n. "i shall want him to get his full share." the captain had been standing in the shadow of the entrance listening to the bo's'n's ravings. he now entered and approached the man. "what's the matter with him?" he said, looking at me. "he's been working his jawing tackle for the last ten minutes steady." "i think his case is serious, captain," said i. "i really think he's lost his mind. he's been rolling round here like a madman." the captain turned his gaze on the bo's'n. "you said you hoped i'd come in," said he. "now don't put any stopper on that jawing tackle of yours; go right on. i shall know how to fix you, for it's mutiny, mr. bo's'n, and so you'll find out, rank mutiny!" "oh, is it?" said the bo's'n, with stony face and glittering eye. the bo's'n raised his finger in air and shook it at me. he then took a long breath and began, his hand shaking alternately at me and at the skipper. "damn you, sir, and damn you, sir, and damn you, sir, and damn you again, sir! do you hear me damning you, mr. jones, sir? and that damn cap'n, too, sir. do you know what you done, sir, damn you? do you know that all those watches, and all those sparklers, and all those rings, and all those chains, those emerals, and rubies, and saffirs, and tuppazes, and diminds, and jools you said was worth a king's ransom--all, all, all was inclosed and enwrapped and encompassed and secreted in them damn carcasses?" i fell upon the ground and writhed worse than the bo's'n had done. chapter xiv. we start out to lay a snare and fall into a trap. and now began a period of experiences which was perhaps the most trying of the three chapters which make up the story of this part of our lives. i have divided the time of our stay on the island into three portions. the second chapter begins with the page that i am now writing. for some days i had been reflecting upon the extreme seriousness of our situation. we should do perfectly well if left quite to ourselves, but how long would that state of affairs continue? even if the pirates did not return, which i felt that they might do at any time, some band of marauders might discover us. there was no reason that i knew of why the place might not be well known to others, and, if it were, they might prove this later to our discomfort. it seemed to me that in any case we ought to possess two places of retreat. our second home need not be far from the cave, and near enough the coast that we might see an american ship should one appear. indeed, we might continue to live in the cave if we so chose, but that we should construct a place of shelter to which we might flee if danger threatened us there, i considered absolutely necessary on our part. i think, however, that what first caused this plan to awake in my mind was the pallor of cynthia's look. sleeping in that close cavern, in the bowels of the earth, was not good for any of us, and if not beneficial to strong men who slept near the outer air, how much the worse for her in that inclosed and damp interior. after thinking over this idea of mine for several days, i broached the subject to the skipper. it seemed to strike an answering chord in his mind, and, as there was no one else to consult, we decided to begin at once. after breakfast we went prospecting. our little family accompanied us, with the exception of the minion. his movements none of us cared to control, for it made but little difference to us how he came or went. the bo's'n trailed along behind us, but he was limp and sad and so dejected that cynthia asked him several times if it would not be better to go back and lie down a while. he agreed with me, speaking in sad and reproachful tones, that the admiral of the red might return when he found mauresco missing, and a more thorough search of the caverns might reveal our presence. certainly if we continued to live there, having provided no place to which we could flee, we might suddenly be made to feel the weakness of such failure to reckon with the future. it was at this time that the bo's'n began to suffer from attacks of toothache. perhaps i should say face-ache. his cheek would suddenly swell up to the size of a large nut, and at such times he rolled upon the ground in an agony of pain. at these moments the poor man could not articulate distinctly. the attack would come on at the most inconvenient times. usually when the bo's'n was needed to aid in anything like an apprehended surprise, he was at the last moment found writhing in misery, his hand held to his face. the morning after my marriage, then, we started back into the forest with the determination to select a site for a house. cynthia had not looked at or spoken to me since she upbraided me in the cave, and i, having some spirit of my own, acted as if she did not exist. we carried with us the knives and machetes we had found. these had been well sharpened, and we hacked at the branches as we went along. our chief reward was the cabbage of the young palm, which grows beneath the tuft at the top of the tree, and is sweet and tender as a ripe chestnut from the belleville woods. as we walked that day there were constant rumblings and groanings beneath our feet, and there were cracklings and mutterings which made the deep wood seem an uncanny and eerie place. "_le bruit du gouffre!_" said lacelle, looking at the bo's'n. "_le bruit du gouffre!_" "how can i tell what she means?" said the bo's'n piteously. "i wish, mrs. jones, ma'm, you'd try to teach that savage a christian tongue." after looking about for some time, we at last pitched upon a little plateau or terrace with a gentle rise toward the eastward. this would hide our house from the sight of the cave. below us ran a tiny brook of clear water. we were far enough from the cave to feel quite secluded, and yet so near that we could easily know what was going on there. and now began the work of building our house. we cut young trees and saplings, we drove poles into the ground, and made what in this modern day we should call piles, and on this we laid our floor. we thatched our roof with branches--in short, we made a house much as the wild men of the forest have done from time immemorial, and the methods pursued need not be recounted here. we cleared a space about twelve feet each way round our house for better protection against insects. we built two rooms, one for cynthia and lacelle and the other for the rest of our party. a partition ran across the centre of this floor, and that some one might be able to get quickly to the next room, if one of its occupants called, we made a doorway between, and hung the opening thickly with leafy vines, so that a curtain impenetrable to the eye was thus formed. we were tired when the day's work was done. i felt sorry to see my poor girl working as she did, aiding in gathering leaves for her bed and lacelle's. but she laughed when her uncle protested, and said that she should not be happy unless she gave what help she could. we returned home over a way more direct than that by which we had come, and it was in a little hollow that cynthia discovered that which gave an additional horror to our stay in the island. she and lacelle had been walking ahead. suddenly she stopped and dropped to her knees. she gave a strange sort of cry and called to her uncle. her tones expressed such a mixture of feelings that i wondered what further could have happened. there was horror in the sound of her voice, and i thought that some terrible insect or beast was in her path. but with that note was intermingled one of pity and tenderness. we ran to her assistance. we found her bending over something upon the ground. as i came close to the bo's'n's heels i saw him leap aside, as if he had been stung, and strike into the wood with a howl as if in anguish. i came next, and there i saw, lying bound with ribbons of various colours and decorated as if for a festival, a little child of the same light shade as lacelle herself. lacelle had shrieked, and was holding her hands over her eyes one moment, looking fearfully over her shoulder the next, and pulling cynthia by the wrist, as if imploring her to flee. cynthia, however, refused to be hurried away from this novel and sad sight. novel, because finding a baby decked with ribbons in the depths of the forest is not a common occurrence. sad, because the tiny thing did not open its eyes and smile at us, nor did it move its hands and feet. cynthia laid her fingers upon the little creature. she shook her head. the child was stone cold. she felt round the heart, but there was no sign of life. the skipper looked at the little thing and then shook his head sadly. "the loup garou has been about," he whispered in my ear. i asked no questions. i knew all that i wanted to know of the loup garou with which the little children in haïti have been frightened from time immemorial. this time the threat had come true. i wondered why the child had been dropped among the leaves in this way, and could only argue that either its mother had discovered the horrible theft and had restolen the child, and was afraid to take it home for fear of vengeance, or else that the murderers had been surprised and had sent some trusty person as bad as themselves to hide the body deep in the woods and away from discovery. "what a strange thing," said cynthia, "that a mother should leave her baby decked for burial alone in this deep forest!" i knelt down and examined the babe, and now i discovered that it was so bound that it could not move. the contrast was so remarkable, the tiny corpse cold and stiff, bound with gay-coloured knots and bows, that i was struck dumb. the bo's'n's behaviour had perplexed me, but i was beginning to think the bo's'n somewhat out of his mind. i had also thought this of the skipper, though for quite a different cause. i expected each moment to hear him express the wish to give the poor babe a christian burial, so i took the child up in my arms and carried it hurriedly through the woods. i walked fast, the rest following at almost a running pace. there were now continued mutterings, and suddenly, as is sometimes the case in the island, a thunderbolt shot from a clear sky and split a great tree near. "run!" called the skipper, "run, the tempest is upon us!" the rumblings underground increased. the whole earth seemed to shake. i ran with the child to the great hall, the skipper going with the others to our own cave. when i reached the pirates' entrance i dashed in and along to the familiar apartment. one idea possessed me. i remembered the hole in the rock where the minion had found the jewels, and it seemed to me to be a fitting place of burial for the dead babe, besides which i wished to prevent the conducting of any more ceremonies by the skipper. i ran to the small passage which the bo's'n had discovered, placed the child in the square receptacle, and raised the stone and leaned it against the opening. i turned to flee from this place of horrors. running out, i met the minion in the passageway. "where are you going?" asked i. i heard something about "look" and "jools." "come out!" said i. "there is a tremendous storm brewing. no one knows what may happen." but the minion, intent, i knew, upon finding the fortune of which we had robbed him, pulled away from me and hurried into the cave. as i emerged from the entrance, there was a tremendous rush of wind. it whirled round and round, and then the entire globe seemed to be cracking open. such a crash i hope i may never hear until the day of judgment. the top of the cave seemed to break off and slide down. the dust and earth arose in a blinding cloud and nearly choked me. great splashes of rain fell like blows upon my face, and then there was another fearful gust of wind, and the water poured from the clouds like an ocean. it deluged me. it threw me upon the ground. the branches of the trees waved and shook and swashed up and down, and thrashed the grass and bushes beneath them. some of them were split off and were strewn upon the earth. some were carried straight over the bank and out to sea. some were whirled up in the air and came tumbling down upon other treetops. some were uprooted and laid low. i feared to move. i also feared to remain lying there. i knew not where the minion was. the thunder was bellowing beneath, above, around me. the lightning, it seemed to me, was playing among the very treetops over my head. i raised myself as well as i could. i advanced one step at a time. i clung to the branches and roots and vines. i was buffeted and blown about and slapped in the face and thrown again to the ground. sometimes a branch to which i clung for safety was wrenched from its parent stem as i held it, and before i could let go i was lifted from my footing. i crawled and crept and struggled on up one side of the hill, then down the other. the fury of the hurricane was greatest on the summit, and i wondered as i fought with the elements if i should ever see cynthia's face again. but perseverance and a strong clutch will sometimes overcome even a hurricane, and after a long bout i came off conqueror, and found myself within the welcome entrance to our side of the cave. here i sank down exhausted. fortunately the storm did not last long, but wore itself out like a mad person in a foaming rage. its passion exhausted, there was a sudden lull, and the setting sun shone placidly upon the wrack and devastation it had made. i had not been able to look at the water during the progress of the hurricane, but those who had reached the cave before me said that the ocean was swept with great masses and waves of foam. its direction being outward, the swells were not tossed upon the shore, which was an excellent thing perhaps for us. as i stood in the window where the vines were hung with a thousand sparkling diamonds, i looked in vain for the wreck. the yankee blade had at last found her resting place. she had slid off into the sea and had gone down to join her sailor lads. the hurricane had cut a path of about an eighth of a mile in width, and there devastation had been rampant. on either side of this trail of the fury of destruction, there was little evidence of the warring of the more passionate child of nature against his quiet and gentle brother. although our house stood not more than a half mile from the track of the tempest, beyond a severe tropic downpour from the eyes of mother nature over the violence of her wayward son, there was little evidence that the god of the wind had passed that way. when i lay down to sleep that night the minion was missing, but no one thought much about it. he always turned up again to the discomfort of every one, and much too soon. we decided to remove into our new house as soon as the forest had lost the dampness which the hurricane left behind. it does not take long in that tropic land for the sun to dry up the water left on the grass and leaves, and by afternoon we were ready to start for our new home. the bo's'n came to me before we left the cave and said that we were to be treated exactly as other shipwrecked mariners had been from time immemorial, for he said that some of the cargo of the vessel had come ashore, and that he had seen boxes and barrels floating in the water. we had no need to take the boat and pull out to meet this fresh supply of food, for the tide and regular wind of the trades washed them up anywhere from half a mile to a mile along the beach. when we had a spare moment we went down and rescued a box or a barrel. the boxes were for the most part water-soaked, but when they contained salt provisions it made little difference to us. a description of the food that came to us in this way, like manna from heaven, would only prove tiresome to all concerned. few shipwrecked people have died for want of food, and we were not an exception. we had enough and to spare, but husbanded our resources carefully, and thus we were never in absolute want. the first night that we spent in our new home was full of excitement in a pleasant way. the freshness of our beds of green, the odours of the sweet woods which had been so recently washed by the flood, the feeling that our abode was clean, that there were no horrors connected with it, and, above all, that in this secluded nook we should not be discovered, made the night a peaceful one to me. every one seemed refreshed when daylight broke, and each set himself to accomplish greater tasks than heretofore, during the coming day. the rainy season would soon be here, and we had no notion of being flooded out of our new home. so each one occupied his spare hours in bringing branches and leaves to add to the thatch. the fallen palms of which there were many, were of the greatest service, as the dried leaf of this royal tree is the thatch most used to roof the native houses. the bo's'n told us that in santo domingo they called it _yagua_. we made seats in and around the house for cynthia and lacelle, and the tough and strong vines made excellent hammocks when woven together. i heard cynthia asking for the minion as i left my bed. i did not go to meet and answer her, as i preferred my bath first, beside which, her treatment of me had been so cold and ungracious that i decided to let her make the first advances. i ran, then, through the wood and toward the cave. our constant journeys back and forth seemed to have created a path, so that we easily found our way. as i neared the cavern i saw that at the spot of my greatest danger the day before, the ground was uptorn as if a giant ploughshare had passed that way. great trees with enormous roots sticking high in air were lying strewn about. i had not seen this on my way to the new house, as we had gone to it in a more westwardly direction along the slope of the hill. i struggled through the debris and down along the pirates' side of the cavern. when i came to the entrance which led to the great hall, or the place where it should be, it had disappeared. a stupendous mass of rock and earth had fallen and blocked it entirely. and then suddenly i bethought me of emerging from the cavern yesterday and my meeting the minion at the entrance. yes, he had gone in, as i left the cavern, to look for his treasure, and there he must have been when the earthquake, or whatever it was, split off that great mass of rock. in that case, the lad must be imprisoned. i went close to the place and called, but there was no answer. i called louder. all was silence. then i bethought me of the gallery, and, though i was as tired of the cave as you must be by this, i ran quickly up the hill, crossed the grassy slope at the top, and flew down the other side. i entered our passageway, and, running through by feeling my way along the wall, i soon reached the gallery. i parted the vines in front of me and looked down at the interior. there i saw a surprising sight. instead of finding, as i expected, the minion alone, two figures were there--one a tall, light-coloured man, whom i at once recognised as the haïtien who had held lacelle captive by the rope on the day that our sailors attacked the party of natives. this, then, was the fourth man. his likeness to lacelle was very striking, and i at once made up my mind that he was her brother. what he had been intending to do with her i could not determine at the time. i watched to see if he offered the minion any violence, but, so far from anything of the kind, he seemed to be urging him to get up on the table, the former throne of the admiral. the minion, never noted for good manners, roared "no!" while the gentle haïtien urged him by mounting on the rock himself and holding out his hand encouragingly. he spoke to the minion in words which i could not understand, but their tone was so kind and gentle that i should have translated them to mean "come, now! get up here! i will save you. i shall not hurt you. do not be afraid!" i have, of course, no idea what the haïtien really said, but his manner showed that it was something of that kind, for finally the minion was persuaded to raise one foot to the table and allow the haïtien to aid him to stand upright upon it. i then saw that the haïtien had released the great lamp from the vines which hung from the opening in the central top of the cave. he took them in his hand and busied himself in tying them round the minion's waist. i watched, curious as to what the man intended, ready to call out and frighten him if he were to do the minion any injury--this from a sense of duty, as the minion was nothing but a very dead weight on the party. the haïtien gathered the vines in his hand and wound them round the boy's body. he twisted some of them like a seat and passed them between the minion's legs. yes, i appreciated now that he meant to provide for the minion's being hauled up from above. but who did he think would perform this act, when to all intents and purposes our party knew nothing as to what had befallen the minion? now, i reasoned, i can go to the top of the cavern, call the bo's'n or the skipper, and together we can draw the minion to the top. but i had no reason to do this, for as i watched i saw that the haïtien, having securely fastened the boy, had sprung with a great leap at the rope of vines, and, seizing it some inches above the minion's head, he began to raise himself hand over hand to the circular hole in the roof. i thought it now time for me to run to his assistance. i gave one look in the direction where i had laid the dead child. i saw that the stone was laid upon the ground, and i caught a glimpse of some bright ribbons protruding from the cavity. i turned and ran out through the passage and up the slope of the hill. the haïtien heard me coming. he turned and surveyed me with a frightened look, but he could not drop the minion, who was suspended like mahomet's coffin, and so perforce he must continue pulling the rope of vines out through the hole. i laid my hand on the rope, and together we drew the loblolly boy upward and out under the blue of heaven. i had my eye fixed on the haïtien, for i feared that he would try to escape me, and just as we had given the minion a secure foothold i slipped my hand suddenly over his fingers. he struggled to get free, but i smiled at him and made the same sort of sounds that i heard him make when urging the minion to let him rescue him, and after a while he ceased struggling and sat quiet beside me. the minion untied himself and walked off as if nothing had happened. if he felt at all grateful, he did not express this feeling in words. i wondered that the boy had not starved, as he had been alone in the cave, as far as i knew, for nearly two days; but when i perceived sticking from his pocket a large piece of well-browned fish, i felt sure that the haïtien had attended to his physical wants. and now the mystery about the strange presence was accounted for, and lacelle, who had learned to express herself in our language, though most brokenly, told us how she had come to be where we saw her at first. she had been captured by a party of blacks, for what purpose i will not now say. there were two of these blacks, and they had left her tied to a tree in the woods. her brother zalee and three other haïtiens had come to her rescue, had cut the rope, and were about to carry her away when a party of white men approached and gave battle. these were our wretched sailors, who had killed three of the haïtiens and returned to our camp with their prisoner. how their nefarious schemes were frustrated has already been told. zalee had not had the time to release lacelle when our sailors attacked him, and he retreated with his comrades, firing and running until the three were shot, and two of our sailors, the ones we buried in the sea, also were laid low. zalee had witnessed all that we had done for lacelle, as well as cynthia's kindness to her that first night when he buried the haïtiens. he communicated with lacelle and begged her to escape with him, but lacelle had fallen so desperately in love with cynthia that she would not leave her, and she persuaded zalee to remain near as a guardian spirit, he in his turn willing to do any menial service for the white people who had rescued his beloved sister, but also ready at a moment's notice to save her from danger. explanations are hateful both to him who writes and to him who reads. if you wonder why things were so, i will say only that i can not explain the motives which actuated people in that far-off land and time, and i can repeat only that i am setting down what happened with fidelity and to the best of my belief. and though some occurrences may seem unaccountable, i can only answer that they are facts, and there let all doubt end. we found zalee a most useful and friendly creature, and, after we knew him as a living personality, we were all much easier in our minds, for we felt sure that he knew the country and the methods of the people better than we, and that he would bring much valuable knowledge to our aid. we found that he had lived a few miles nearer le cap than the place where we first saw him; that he and his sister possessed a little hut in the forest; that they had often made an outing to the cave, and that was the cause of their familiarity with its construction. i found upon touching zalee's hands that they were moist and cold, a condition caused probably by his imperfect circulation, which was aided by his always keeping hidden in the damps of the cave. this condition of the young haïtien, while testifying to a highly nervous organization, aided, without intention on his part, the mystery of his touch and guidance through the cave. even after we discovered that zalee was a real personality he shrank from the light of day. his enemies had been many and his sorrows not few, so that he preferred to keep secreted, that should an enemy appear he could in some secret way, himself unseen, devise a mode of escape for his sister, if not for those of the rest of us, with whom he had so generously burdened himself. the skipper came to me that evening. "what's all this about rubies and diamonds and precious stones generally?" he asked of me. "who is talking about such absurd things?" said i. "why, that damn loblolly boy!" said the skipper. "he says he found a fortune in the cave, and that when he woke you said it was all nonsense; that then he went back to the place where he left them, and that some one had stuffed a dead baby in on top of 'em. but he says they are all there, and he calls me and god to witness that they are his." "i don't see what good they will do him," said i. "supposing they are there, the place is closed to us forever; but, captain, i am positive that there is nothing of the kind concealed in the cave. so let that end this nonsense." "dream, i suppose," ejaculated the skipper. i nodded my head. the minion was standing near, and heard the last part of our conversation. he jumped up and down with rage, he rolled on the ground, he bit the earth. we stood laughing at him for a few moments, and then went about some of the business that every camp has for workers at any moment. the minion was constantly stealing our lights, or flint and steel, our candles, which we had had in use for some time, a few of which we found among the pirates' stores. cynthia thought that there was some good in the boy, and insisted that if we were all of us somewhat kinder to the little wretch that he would respond to our teachings. she, with her unselfish generosity, began to teach the lad an hour each day, but i never saw that it improved him in the very least. on the contrary, it taught him a little more of the ways of people and things, and showed him how he could annoy us more frequently than before. thus we lived for some weeks. nothing unforeseen happened, and we were fairly comfortable. lacelle and zalee also were beginning to pick up a few words of english, and thus we could learn much from them that we found it impossible to know before. they seemed to have attached themselves to us permanently. but we had the best of the bargain. they ate little or nothing of our food, subsisting, as far as i could discover, upon the wild fruits, which zalee brought to us in abundance. added to this, they performed most of the menial services, so that the bo's'n said that he felt "like a gentleman onct more." when you were a little boy, adoniah, i remember that you asked your mother if she used thorns for pins when she was a little girl. children usually look upon their parents as having lived in past ages, and being of the antediluvian period. when you asked the question, i remember that i laughed heartily, if a little sadly, for it reminded me of the morning that i came down the hill to the brook and saw cynthia pinning up her gown. "i thought," said i, "that i heard a young woman complaining last evening that she had not one pin to her name." "that is very true," said cynthia, "but the bo's'n has kindly cut these for me from that young palm up there on the hill. it stands just by the smaller palm that i intend to take to aunt mary 'zekel." "oh, you intend to take her a present of a plant, do you?" "yes," said cynthia. "i wonder where i could get a pot." this conversation shows two things--one being the readiness with which cynthia fitted her wants to her circumstances, and the other the confidence she had in our soon being able to return to belleville. there came a night when we started out to lay snares for the cooing dove. these are a delicacy, and, cooked as lacelle could cook them, were always a delightful surprise for cynthia. we left her with lacelle, zalee, and the minion behind, and started, three of us, at about eleven o'clock at night. we struck to the eastward, hitherto a region unexplored by us. we did not fear to lose our way, as the shore line was always a guide, and when once we found the cave we could naturally find the new house. how sweet was the dying trade wind as it fanned our faces, for it was nearly on the turn. soon the land breeze would arise and blow gently all night from shore out to sea, until the boisterous trade of the morning reasserted its supremacy. we walked a long way without seeing or hearing anything, setting our snares in what seemed the most likely spots for capture, and then going ahead again. after we had been gone about an hour from camp, and as we sat resting under a tree, i thought that i heard a faint wail. i listened, and again it came. "do you hear it?" i whispered to the skipper. "what is that?" the skipper put one hand to his ear, as was his fashion, and turned as my finger pointed. "yes," he said, "i do hear something." the bo's'n seemed much perturbed. "perhaps it's a night owl, mr. jones, sir." "no," said i, "i should say it was a cooing dove, but they do not coo at this time of the night, rather toward morning." we sat there, listening breathlessly. one grows cautious in the forest of an inhospitable land, and we did not speak above our breath. what if it were some murderous natives calling thus to lure us on under cover of the night? perhaps they had discovered our whereabouts, and while we were drawing near them some of the party would skirt the forest and capture those we had left behind. my heart stood still at the thought, for, though cynthia and i exchanged no more than the merest commonplaces, still she was then, as she has ever been, the one woman in the world for me. again that wail, but louder than before. "it is a human being in distress," whispered the skipper. i nodded. the bo's'n's eyes were starting out of his head. we arose and crept cautiously in the direction of the sound, and, after walking a minute or so, a dark structure loomed up before us. it seemed a rude copy of a church. it had doors larger than those of an ordinary dwelling, and in front there were some hieroglyphics cut roughly in the wood and painted in various fantastic colours. upon the top of the roof, which was a few feet above our heads, there was an attempt at a cross. it looked altogether like a savage copy of a catholic church; and that it was, for the french brought the catholic religion to the island with them, and the africans had compounded it with their own savage worship. as we approached the edifice--if i may dignify it by a word used for much grander buildings--the wailing grew more distinct. just here i heard a stealthy step in the bushes, and, cautioning the others by a jerk of the sleeve and a "hist!" we stood silent. i saw a form emerging from the underbrush. my heart thumped loudly, for i recognised zalee; but as now he could speak a little in a very broken way, we found from him that all was quiet at the camp, and that he had only come to make sure that we had not lost our way. "what is that?" whispered the skipper, as the wail broke again upon his ear. zalee raised his hand, commanding silence. then he stooped and laid his lips to the crack between the palm board uprights. he called something in a sweet, low voice. it sounded like "kala?" the bo's'n asserted that it was intended for "qui est la?" we listened intently for an answer. there was a long, sobbing sigh and a thick muttering in answer. zalee gave a subdued and joyful cry and ran around to the back of the building. we followed him. here he found a place where some of the boards seemed loose. in fact, they had been purposely loosened, and, the building being so remote from all habitation, it had not been thought necessary to replace them. he pulled away the boards and crawled quietly through. i followed him, the skipper came next, and finally the bo's'n. we found ourselves in a sort of church. there was a fairly well-constructed desk on one side of the chamber, and an altar on the other. there were some rude seats behind the altar, some metal crosses standing about, with one or two wooden cages which looked like an attempted reproduction of the places where the catholics keep the holy sacrament. masses of red and yellow flowers festooned the pillars, and gave a barbaric strangeness to the scene. upon the walls was reproduced at small intervals a sort of copy of the ring which cynthia had found on the beach. sometimes it was the serpent, sometimes the goat's head, sometimes they were combined, the serpent body coiling round to meet the head of the goat, in so strange and natural though rude a resemblance to the symbol, that i could not but feel that the owner of the ring had had something more than a little to do with these barbarous people. zalee had produced and lighted the end of a candle. he hoarded these candle ends, and as i know that he got them from the great hall of the cave, so i have always suspected that he knew where the pirates kept their secret store. zalee seemed never to be without one when emergency demanded a permanent light. again that wailing cry and a restless movement somewhere in the interior. zalee was not at a loss. he at once approached the altar and raised a sort of hanging lid at the bottom. from thence he drew forth a boy of about eight years. the child had been so crushed and pushed into the receptacle that it was with difficulty that zalee pulled him from the place. the boy could not stand. his knees gave way, and he fell to the ground. his face was bathed with tears, and he moaned as if in pain. he clutched with his fingers at his rescuer, saying over and over, "zalee! zalee! sui bo," which the bo's'n told us that he thought was intended for "je suis bon," though how he knew i can not tell. the words seemed so unlike. zalee took the little one up in his arms. he was also decked with ribbons and flowers, the latter not fresh, which was proof that he had been there for some time. the bo's'n had fallen on his face upon the palm board flooring at the first sight of the child, and he muttered as before, "_the goat without horns!_" "that young one's trussed just like the baby we found," said the captain. trussed! the word brought before my mind's eye the times immemorial that i had watched the young ducks and turkeys bound in this way and ready for the spit, and i turned away sick and faint. zalee quickly cut the ribbons which bound the child and took him up in his arms. the boy clung to him with every sign of affection, which proved to the onlookers that the two were not strangers to each other. probably, i thought, he is some child who lives in the neighbourhood of zalee and whose family he knows well. zalee picked up all the ribbons and flowers that he had stripped from the child, and, going to the altar, he laid them upon it. then zalee lifted the boy in his arms. at that moment there was a pounding at the great doors which gave upon the forest glade. "le papaloi!" whispered the haïtien in a terrified voice, and rushed to the opening at the back of the building. through this he began to squeeze, holding the child in his arms. the sounds outside grew louder, there were shouts and howls and continued knockings. the child clung to zalee in terror, and zalee, no less terrified, hurriedly got himself through the opening. "we can't all get through," said the skipper. "look to your priming." i had heard queer tales of these people, and i feared what would befall us; but, knowing the weakness of the bo's'n, i pushed him through the open space. at that moment the door was burst asunder, and the skipper and i turned to confront an angry mob of about twenty men. chapter xv. we meet some strange acquaintances, are made prisoners, and lose our only means of rescue. the newcomers devoured us with a gaze of no less astonishment than that which we fixed on them. they carried torches, whose unsteady orange-black flare gave to their faces a fierce and savage appearance. their bodies were nearly naked, but their heads were bound with cloths of a strange shade of red. i hated to look at it, its colour was so suggestive. these men were very black. their eyes had the wild unreasoning stare of the gypsy eye. they surrounded us at once, waved their torches, and shouted something in concert. i took it to mean "what are you doing here?" each man carried, besides his torch, a weapon of some kind; either a knife or the machete of the spaniard, which had been in common use in the island for many years. they crowded close to us, and i recognised at once the fact that escape would be impossible. in front we should rush into the arms of the papaloi and his followers, and escape by the back it was hopeless to think of, for the bo's'n, i saw by a hurried glance, had had the decency to push the board back against the opening, and while we were thinking of even pulling those boards away we should be cut down. i had always heard that it was death to one who crept in unannounced and unaccredited to witness any of the hellish ceremonies of this sect, and i looked at the skipper and gave one despairing shake of the head. he said in a low voice: "it looks as if our number was made, jones, but i've been in tighter places than this down in the south seas." his reminiscences were drowned by the shouts of "papaloi! papaloi!" these words were uttered loudly in hoarse and discordant unison, and repeated again and again, "papaloi! papaloi!" the excitement was contagious. it thrilled me, and i found myself, utterly forgetful of our danger, standing on tiptoe and craning my neck to see this papaloi who awakened such enthusiasm. we looked for him as we would for some superior being. and now i perceived that in the distance, lights were beginning to dance among the trees. in a moment more there emerged from the gloom of the ground-sweeping branches, a procession of strange-looking beings. as they came they chanted a low minor song, which struck terror to my heart. no words can describe this chant. it was like the dread song of fate. all at once there was carried to us on the night wind the distant sound of a drum. its tum-tum-tuming was at first faint and subdued, but soon it grew louder and more loud, until its bu-r-r and roar rolled in thunder notes up among the trees. "le papaloi! le papaloi!" shouted the multitude. they waved their arms in the air and joined in with the drum. they sang their weird chant slowly, and with a sort of solemnity which impressed me with a horrid fascination. later i learned that the words of the song were: "we will beat the little drum. you will witness who will come. they will rise from out the ground at the ringing tum-tum's sound, papaloi, o! papaloi." the drum was a hollow piece of wood, probably made of a section of the stem of a well-grown tree. across one end was stretched the skin of some animal, brute or human, i could not tell which. the drum was carried between two men, who beat with their knuckles upon this vile instrument of torture to the senses. the tremor began almost imperceptibly. it sounded for some minutes before one awakened to the fact that it was the rolling of a drum that was heard. it increased by easy stages, until at last the sound was deafening, and hurt the ear as if with a physical pain. there seemed to be a fatal fascination in the sound of this savage music which had its birth in the far-distant land of dahomey. the moment that it fell upon the ear an uneasy look overspread the faces of those who heard its summons, and i have been told that its sectaries must follow its subtile suggestion whether they would or no. the whole social system was so interlarded with the barbarous practice to which it called that it became a boast among its votaries. in later years than those of which i write, a woman was tried for participating in one of the revolting vaudoux feasts. on her way to prison she looked at her captors and said: "only let me have my sacred drum. i will beat it on the way to prison, and you will see who will follow. from the lowest to the highest they will join, not only the poor and humble, but those in high places." and now, as the throng approached nearer, i saw that many of those composing it were almost unclothed except for the handkerchief round the head, always of that terrible shade which smelt of dark deeds. then the crowd opened, and i saw one walking alone. he, too, wore a red handkerchief round his forehead, but the rest of his body was also bound with many red cloths. around his waist was a brilliant blue band, which created a startling contrast, and his hair was knotted in a peculiar way, which i found was a characteristic of the priests of the vaudoux. upon the handkerchief which crossed his breast was embroidered in rough but effective manner a green serpent, body coiled, head raised ready to strike. as the procession approached the edifice where we were standing, the papaloi came forward with a slow and undulating pace. his look of surprise as his eyes fell upon us it would be difficult to describe. i heard him ask his followers one question. it was, "q' bagga' ça?" afterward, when i knew a little more of this remarkable mixture of the provincial french and the african, i found that these words, repeated often, were intended to mean, "quel bagage est cela?" the mob around us began to shake their heads in protest. there was a quick, short, decisive order, and then three or four of the men stepped behind us and began prodding us with their knives. thus we were forced into the open air and out into the glade in front of the church. i saw that the primary object of the visit to the church had been lost sight of for the time. i should have been glad to recall it to mind, for i felt sure that it had to do with the child whom zalee had rescued, but i had no way of making them understand me. you may think that was a selfish idea, but i felt that zalee and the boy had fled to some safe place of retreat. then again i argued against this first feeling of mine, for should i set them on the track of the child they might in roaming come across our new house and cynthia. i shuddered to think of this for a moment. as these thoughts for and against were running through my brain, we stood gazing at the astounding figure of our principal captor, and he stood stolidly staring at us. "handsome, ain't he?" remarked the skipper. he was certainly grotesque, and i felt for a moment as much inclined to laugh as ever i did in my life. perhaps it was well that the comical appearance of the papaloi had struck me, for he saw that i was not in abject fear, and, instead of giving an order that we should be run through on the spot, he shouted a hurried sentence, which certainly was not what i feared. we were made to face front, the skipper before and i behind him. some of the motley crowd led, the rest closed in upon us, and thus, the papaloi bringing up the rear, we started on our march through the wood. my position was most unpleasant. the skipper could not keep up the quick march which was forced upon me by those in the rear, and i was prodded in the legs and pricked in the calves until i could almost have prodded the skipper in turn. "do go ahead a little faster, captain," said i, "or they'll saw my legs in two." we walked for some distance along a level, and then began to ascend a slight rise toward the eastward. and now the drum began to beat again. the men all around us fell at once into a slow rhythmic sort of movement, in which only the upper part of their bodies moved, except for the fact that they were walking. the drum beat louder, and now i saw as we went up the hill that we came to an occasional guard or sentry posted at some tree by the roadside. this word i use for want of a better. i saw no path, but the route seemed well defined to the marching body of men. each sentry held a staff or long pennon, to the top of which was tied one of the hateful red cloths. each one whom we passed stood like a statue, never moving except to give the skipper and myself a look of scrutiny, in which triumph was mingled. and now others began to join our number. they seemed to rise from the very ground. i saw them lurking under the shadow of the trees. then they came by one and two quickly forward, and slipped into our ranks and proceeded with us on our march. "i hope you're pretty tender, jones, my boy," said the captain to me, "for i think our destination's the soup pot." i turned sick at his words. we had a chance for much quiet interchange of thought, for the singing and droning of the dreadful minor chant, repeated with additional words, covered any sound that we might make: "we are marching toward the east, to the holy serpent feast; to the worship of the true calinda, chica, and vaudoux, papaloi, o! papaloi." "get on! get on!" these words were spoken in my ear. i started. the skipper could not have spoken them, for he was in front of me. the words came from behind. who was it, then, who could communicate with me? i looked hurriedly round, but no one seemed to have noticed me. all those black wretches were singing, keeping time to the drum, whose minor cadence timed this dignified dance. and then as i walked along, hastening my steps, and pushing the skipper ahead a little to save my own shins, i seemed to be hearing familiar words among the din, something like the following ridiculous jargon: "don't you have no fear, i will save you, i am here. just put your faith and trust in me, you'll come out of this scot free," followed by the chorus, sung with gusto: "papaloi, o! papaloi." the poetry was not fine, the wording was ungrammatical, the verse halted and went quite lame in places, but i have never heard any lines before or since which gave me such unalloyed pleasure. was i dreaming, or had these words really been uttered? i scanned the faces near me, on the right, on the left. i turned completely round, but the black man behind gave me a gentle prick in the calves, and it was again "eyes front!" i will not repeat more of the ridiculous stuff. stupid it may have been, but it gave me hope and courage to feel that i had a friend near; that i was listening to my own blessed english, though it did have a twang of something that i had heard called cornish, or something else outlandish. it sent my spirits up almost to the seventh heaven. i determined to hold my place and my peace, and keep as close to the man behind me as circumstances would permit. many of those who joined us were women. they also fell into the rhythmic march, and so we swept, a great following, up the slope to a secluded spot in the wood. "they'll post their sentries now," i heard. i turned quickly, but there was no recognition in any of the faces near me. was i going out of my mind and imagining things? i pulled myself together. such a giving way to weakness would never do. i saw that the posting of the sentries had now begun around the glade through which we walked. i learned later that at the slightest sign of interference on the part of those in authority runners would come into the camp and the votaries would scatter. but in the times of which i write the vaudoux worship reigned almost unchecked. it was carried on secretly and at midnight, but so long as no one in the towns was disturbed, and none of their immediate relatives carried off for sacrifice, no protest was made. at the present day--the day in which i write--there is good reason to believe that vaudouism prevails more or less in haïti. it has been the subject of foreign inquiry, so that its sectaries are more prudent than they had any need of being in the year . we were now approaching a structure which had a character of its own. i can not tell you what feelings of horror thrilled through me as we reached the door. here the two men who led us advanced to the doorway and swept the devoted and curious crowd aside. we stood in two ranks, through which walked the papaloi. so intent were the people upon his movement that i might perhaps have found a moment when i could have plunged through the crowd and so escaped. i knew, however, that running was not the skipper's forte, and i could not leave the old man alone. but i must not take the entire credit to myself, for i, in fact, had become so interested in what was going forward that at times i almost forgot our alarming situation. the papaloi walked between the rows of his now silent followers and prostrated himself before the closed entrance of the long, low building in front of which we stood. suddenly the doors were pushed outward, and from where i stood i had a glimpse of the bizarre interior. at the end of the room was raised a sort of throne. this throne was covered with red--the same horrible deadly red. upon this throne sat two figures, those of a man and a woman. at first i saw but the woman, for she was robed in white, and beside her there was to all appearances a head only, but presently the person beside her moved, and i saw that he was clothed in the same obtrusive and suggestive colour which was so hateful to me. behind these two stretched a partition done in their same favourite shade. beyond, i knew not what! the papaloi bent low to the ground, and then advanced with the same undulating gait that i had before observed. i saw now that, great as he was in the eyes of the people, there were others much greater than he. i learned afterward, from one who was present, what was said during those momentous seconds that ticked, i thought, perhaps, my life away. the papaloi advanced slowly up the broad space, lined on each side by fantastic shapes. these figures had ranged themselves the length of the hall. they held their torches steadily in hand. the glare of this barbaric light shone on the throne, toward which they partly turned. when the papaloi had reached the throne he prostrated himself, and waited until permitted by a wave of the hand from the priestess, to arise. the person seated on the throne beside the priestess i found to be the senior papaloi. this priest was acting his rôle until return of the greatest of all. i found that the leading or grand papaloi had been lost to his followers for some months now, and that the senior papaloi, while jealous of the king of the sect, still feared him. for the grand papaloi had possessed great power with christophe, they told me, and the entire sect must sooner or later reckon with that powerful king. i could not discover whether christophe himself belonged to the vaudoux tribe, but that he protected his favourite minister, who had been grand papaloi, was well known to all the votaries of the different branches. when i became aware of these facts i can not exactly remember. they came to me gradually, and these and whatever else i learned that will make my story more clear to you i will set down, regardless of the time and place of my first knowledge of them. the senior papaloi surveyed the approaching priest impatiently. "where is the sacrifice?" he questioned in harsh tones. the papaloi, whom we had thought at first a man of great power, trembled and prostrated himself before the throne. he answered in a low voice and haltingly, as if he knew not whether he had done wrong or right: "o! great papaloi, the sacrifice is safe, but we found in the small temple some strangers, who would know our secrets, and we brought them to you before procuring the sacrifice." the papaloi smiled hideously. i have never, i think, seen such a travesty on nature as that papaloi of the vaudoux. "it matters not," said he; "we have another sacrifice here among us. bring the strangers forward!" whereupon two of our guards pushed us ahead of them, and we found ourselves walking up the long apartment in full sight of the whole multitude. there were lighted torches stuck in upright posts, and upon the walls i noticed everywhere, without being conscious that i was seeing them, those terrible symbols of vaudouism, the serpent and the goat's head. it shocked and horrified me to find the cross often represented. there was a sort of font at the entrance to the temple, and other signs and symbols of the catholic religion, and under this very cross of christ these blasphemers from dahomey carried on their horrid rites, thus debasing a christian religion, whose laws and tenets they broke a thousand times in each one of their hellish orgies. it was strange to see the fetish worship which the blacks brought from africa, mixed with some of the rites of the catholic church. i have heard it said that the good priests tried their hardest to eradicate the evil. when finally one of them found that a serpent was confined beneath the altar of a lonely country church, and he remonstrated unsuccessfully with those whose religion was a mixture of the fetish worship and what of the catholic form they could remember, he shook the dust of the place from his feet and went his way. he could not permit the serpent to defile the consecrated building in which he officiated, and the blacks would not relinquish their serpent god. this vaudoux sect called themselves "les mystères," and, indeed, their whole superstition is one of mystery, from the stealing of children and throwing them into a trance, to the concealment and final sacrifice. the human body is not used by them. it is only the cock, the goat, or the lamb that are offered up as a propitiation to the serpent god. members of this latter sect are not tainted with cannibalism, but are simply idol worshippers, not combining with their other wickednesses the slaying and eating of human bodies. that these members of the vaudoux sect can, many of them, throw one into a trance at will, i know to be a fact, for i have seen it too often to doubt it. i should like to give you some instances, but my account will be too long as it is, and i must refrain. when the sacred drum begins with its low monotonous "tum-tum-_tum_! tum-tum-_tum_!" the votaries begin to feel an uneasy stirring within them. they can not settle down to anything else until they have responded and have worshipped with the other sectaries or taken part in one of the dreadful orgies which i have heard described by an eyewitness, but can not relate. i shall describe only that which i witnessed. no pure woman or man would defile his or her pen with committing to paper the beastliness that follows, and which shows in its nakedness the nature of these animals, travesties made in god's image. as we started on our walk toward the throne, i heard a muttering beside me: "haven't you got anything to conjure with?" this sounded a reasonable request, but, beyond my pistol and my little appliances for snaring the cooing dove, i could think of nothing which would help me out. we approached the awful throne. at its foot we came to a halt, and stood there awaiting our sentence. "now they'll slug us on the head," said the skipper to me in an undertone. i raised my eyes to the occupants of the throne. i have commented upon the looks of the papaloi, but i was surprised to see that the woman at his side was of a much lighter shade, and was almost pretty. she was slight and, as i found afterward, for a woman very tall and exceedingly graceful. she gave one passing glance at the skipper, and then her gaze rested upon me. as she gazed i heard a hissing sound, and i looked down and around me to discover its source. the mamanloi looked upon me long, with a sort of trembling of the eyelids, which made me feel as if she were a species of serpent ready to spring upon me. at the same time her flickering, caressing glance did not make me afraid, rather it fascinated and disgusted me at the same moment. the lids of the mamanloi were long and narrow, and sleepy and nearly closed. the upper lid lay flat across the eyeball, which did not seem to protrude, as is usual. when she sleepily raised the eyelid, a sort of opaque green appeared, pale, but with a yellow light, that made one feel that this weird creature did indeed partake of the nature of the serpent which she worshipped. those oblong green eyes seemed to send forth a gleam which came to you, as the ray of a street lamp does at times, direct to your eye, and apparently to that of no one else. her lips were red, a vivid shade, and when she opened them her tongue, which outvied the trimmings that she wore, played back and forth and licked and caressed them as a serpent's might have done. i wondered, as i gazed spellbound at this baleful creature, whether she were woman, serpent, devil, or all three in one. the papaloi spoke hurriedly to the men who stood as guards for us. one of them shook his head, but the one next to me answered in a subdued tone, at the same time nodding his head. he did not look at me as he spoke. the papaloi again addressed him, and he then turned to me. "the old blackguard wants to know where you come from and where you are going. hadn't i better tell him that you are friends of christophe's? sooner or later he must reckon with christophe, and it's just as well to frighten him a little now." i looked up in astonishment. here was a man as black as any one present, speaking my dear native tongue, and, though it had a strange foreign burr as it fell from his lips, it was my own language, after all. "tell him what you like," said i. "you know best what to say. tell him anything at all. tell him i'm a king myself when i'm at home." "i don't believe that will have much effect, but i'll try it," said my black angel. he then bowed low to the papaloi. "this is a young prince, o great papaloi, of a very powerful country called amerique. it lies to the north of us. when he was sailing by our island he was wrecked upon the coast, and he and his old servant are trying to reach the citadel of christophe, to whom he is accredited." "aaaah?" drawled the papaloi, with an incredulous look at me. "he belongs to the northern order of the vaudoux," added the guard. "now he's stuck us," said the skipper, when our interpreter told me what he had said; but the old man nodded his head violently toward the throne notwithstanding, and said, "he does, honest ingun!" "they swear by all their gods, the inguns whom they worship, that they do belong to the most secret order of the vaudoux," said our interpreter, looking toward the throne. the mamanloi now opened her lips and spoke. her eyes rested on me with a look that i can describe in no other way than to call it a hungry look. this, i know, puts a ridiculous face on the matter when one is conversant with the methods of this dreadful sect, but i do not intend to have my meaning taken in a physical sense. i have never had a very exalted idea of my own powers of fascination. had i possessed such, i am confident that cynthia's treatment of me would have taken out of me any conceit of which i had ever been guilty. but i felt suddenly that, to use the common expression, this woman had taken a fancy to me, and, disgusting as the idea was to me, i intended to use the knowledge, as far as i could, to aid myself and the shipper. "if he is a prince, why do not his friends send for him, that he may return to his country amerique?" "they can not have heard the news yet, o! gracious mamanloi! his vessel came ashore only a very short time ago. since then he has been wandering, he tells me, trying to find the way to his friend, king christophe." it seems incredible that the natives of haïti should have known so little of our country as to imagine that we were still under the sway of kings and princes from whom we fought to free ourselves in ' . but when you reflect how little they know of us at the present day, and how less than little we know of them, you will not think it strange that in the year the blacks of the country districts had heard nothing of our ways, customs, manners, or even where our continent was situated. their only communication was with france. they were half french and half african, generally speaking, though there were modifications in the mixture of races. they were utterly ignorant, as what you will hear later will prove to you, and it is not a matter of wonder to me that they could be so easily gulled by my black friend. "have they anything to show that they are of our order?" suddenly a bright thought came to me. i looked at the interpreter. "if the gracious papaloi will allow us to retire to another apartment for a moment, i will prove to him that we are all that we say." i was to try an experiment. it might succeed, it might not, but there was a chance for us. the mamanloi had arisen. she stood tall and straight upon the step of the throne, her slim foot, just protruding through the opening at the side of her robe of white, covered in open beauty with a sandal of exquisite make. this creature's taste was, to the outward view, refined. i noticed some strange barbaric jewels upon her arms and neck. a blue and red girdle confined her slender waist, and about her head a red band was but a background to some flaming stones. she waved her graceful arm and pointed to the red partition behind the throne. she spoke in a soft, sweet voice. it gives me a chill even to think of it. she looked at me as she spoke with those sickeningly sweet glances. they made me feel that i might save myself, although in such case i should have to own her for a protector and a friend. "see that the doors are barred," she said, "and then escort the prisoners to the secret banquet hall." two men who stood near the throne disappeared at her command. they drew the red curtain a little way aside. we waited in suspense for their return. "i suppose the chopping block's in there," whispered the skipper to me. "i wonder what poor little cynthy 'll do!" this thought nearly unmanned me. "for heaven's sake, do try to keep up your courage some other way than by jesting, captain," said i. "this matter is really serious." "god knows it is!" said he. "of what are the prisoners talking?" demanded the senior papaloi, frowning angrily. "the young prince was admiring the jewels of the gracious mamanloi," answered our mysterious friend with much readiness. this answer had a good effect upon the mamanloi, for she sent to me from the throne one of those dreadful looks which gave me a nausea as i stood there. "i hope you've got something," said my friend. "some credentials or something. there'll be the devil to pay if you haven't. you are being treated with the greatest consideration. i never knew 'em to wait so----" and then turning to the throne: "i tell the prince, o! gracious papaloi, that the great christophe would have sent an escort to meet so honoured a guest long before this, had he known that the prince had been wrecked upon the island. they were sailing for le cap, o! gracious papaloi!" and now the men sent to unbar the doors of the interior department returned and signified to the papaloi that the chamber was in readiness. you may think that i started toward this room with anything but pleasurable feelings. how could i tell what these half savages intended doing; what violence they might commit? how did i not know that my interpreter was perhaps only amusing himself with us as he seemed to be amusing himself with the papaloi? how did i not know that he was in league with that horrid sect, and that if we left the open hall for the mysterious chamber we might be leaving all hope behind? but even while these thoughts were coursing through my brain i put on a bold front and said: "come along, captain." for an idea had come to me some moments since. seeing the serpent and the goat rudely but persistently hieroglyphed upon the walls, and finding in them a strong resemblance to the ring which cynthia had found upon the beach, and remembering the wonderful and curious workmanship of the strange bauble and its effect upon even well-balanced minds when they viewed it, a determination had come to me. the symbol was the thing that i could "conjure with." the mysterious circle was the credential with which i should win my way to favour and to safety. we stepped out boldly toward the opening between the folds of the red curtain. "you can't die but once, you know," said the skipper, ungrammatically forcible. "i told you you'd be a short time living and a long time dead, and i guess, jones, the long time's about to begin." with such cheerful prognostications did we proceed toward the opening. the red curtain was drawn but a little way, that the apartment into which we passed might not be exposed to the vulgar view. the fact only of our being allowed to pass into its secret precincts argued well, i thought, for the confidence placed in our statements, and yet as i entered the doorway i remember wondering whether there were not perhaps a swinging axe overhead which might descend upon us, one after the other, and leave us dead in the horrid interior. i shall never forget the appearance of that dreadful banqueting hall. but even before i thought of its appearance the odour which it retained, and which was forced upon my notice by my keen sense of smell, made me faint. i perceived now that the structure had been built against the side of the hill and that the rock had been hollowed out, or else that a natural cavern existed, for there were fireplaces cut in here and there against the hillside, and in them piles of wood were laid. in some of them were strong cranes, upon which hung enormous cauldrons. in others i noticed heavy iron spits. in two of the fireplaces i saw that the wood was blazing. in the great iron receptacles above the flame the water was boiling madly and suggestively. "that's where they cook long pig," whispered the skipper to me. i reeled and put my hand to my head. i had heard some tales of these people, but that i should ever get so near to taking part in their orgies i had never dreamed. i saw that there were rough tables standing along the wall between the fireplaces, and on them stood great bowls and tubs. just then i heard a crowing. it seemed to come from a corner of the apartment. the home-y sound gave me a little courage. all that i noticed flashed upon me in the short moment that i was whispering my ideas of procedure to the skipper. i took from my pocket my handkerchief, which lacelle had freshly washed that very day. the skipper's, fortunately, was also clean. "captain," said i, "do you notice there are snakes and the heads of goats everywhere about these buildings? i really believe that the bo's'n was right. there is something mysterious about that ring. i think that i can, as this black fellow says, conjure with it. come, now, let me have it. we will go out with a great flourish of trumpets, and declare that we are past masters in the arts of vaudoux." "i was never a dancer," said the skipper, "but i s'pose i could even dance to save my life." "i guess you'll have to try," i returned. "you've got to do your share, captain. i can't do this thing alone. bind your handkerchief round your head as i do," said i. "we belong to the white sect. don't forget that! now," i whispered, "where is the serpent ring? that is good enough to conjure with, i think. at last it's going to do us some good. let me have it." i held out an impatient hand. the skipper obediently slid his fingers into his waistcoat pocket. he began to feel for the ring. he pushed his hand down, down, down, and farther down into an opening on the right side of his nether garment. farther and farther he felt. he slapped his thighs, his breast, his waistband. he poked and pushed deeper and deeper, and the farther down he went, so my heart fell with the depth of his unrewarded search, for i saw the look of misery which overspread his face at each succeeding trial. his face showed but too plainly what was the cause of the trouble. the ring was gone! chapter xvi. the goat without horns. "i can't find it!" whispered the skipper. "the bo's'n said it would bring bad luck, and it has by not being here when it's wanted." i went close to the old man and began to pull and twitch his clothes about in my desperate desire to find the ring. "it's gone!" said the skipper. "no use looking! see there! there's where it must have slipped out of my pocket--that hole. wouldn't let poor little cynthy mend it. didn't know it was so big. suz! suz! suz! what a pity!" i am sure that i turned the colour of ashes, for the skipper said: "don't lose heart, jones, my boy! perhaps that black fellow who speaks english can get us out of it in some way. put a bold front on it, and act the american prince." _the american prince!_ i! with my ragged clothes and generally dishevelled air! i could have laughed had not our case seemed so utterly hopeless. the interpreter, who was standing by the curtain, looked inquiringly at me, and asked rather anxiously, i thought: "well, what have you got?" i shook my head sadly and despondently. "nothing!" said i. "good heavens! nothing, after all this fuss? i'm afraid you'll be worse off than before. can't you make love to the she-devil, or something? you'd better, mr. jones, for, let me tell you, your case is pretty serious." "who are you?" whispered i hastily, "and why do you take an interest in us? i see plainly that you know who we are." "i will tell you later," said our guard. "that is, if you haven't had your ears pickled by that time." "what can we do?" asked i anxiously. "don't worry, jones; it'll all come out right," said the skipper. this remark evinced a most cheerful spirit on the skipper's part, but i felt that it was one thing to make such an assertion and another thing to believe that it would come true. here the curtains were parted, and the extra guard came in to say that the priest and priestess were waiting impatiently for our proof, if we had any. alas! i shook my head miserably. "the prince has mislaid his credentials," said our black friend, "but i am quite sure that he will find them in some miraculous way." i personally had no such hope, and i followed the guard dejectedly back to the large chamber. we returned between the carefully drawn curtains, and i remember that even that foetid atmosphere, with the flaming torches and the shining black and dripping bodies, seemed sweet as a may morning compared with the horrible air of the banqueting hall. our interpreter explained our dilemma to the papaloi and his companion, but it was received with scorn and a horrible look of triumph. the mamanloi, i fancied, seemed somewhat disappointed, but, if this were so, she dare not show such feeling. "these are impostors," said the papaloi sternly. "let them stand aside until the holy dance is ended, and then we will decide upon their fate." we were then led to the side of the hall, but not far from the throne. i thought that possibly our captors feared that during the excitement of the dance we might burst through the crowd and escape. indeed, our guard advised us to try it, but he told us also that it had been attempted before, though unsuccessfully, and that the sentries would certainly be on the watch. it was curious to hear our interpreter roaring out the most secret messages. things that would naturally have been whispered, he shouted, which robbed them of their appearance of secrecy, and seemed to be, as he assured the papaloi that they were, orders from himself to us. for instance, when i heard his stentorian tones telling me that the old idiot on the red hawse block was blind in one eye, and that if i got on that side i would have a better chance to escape, i was really frightened. "oh, you needn't look so scared!" added the guard. "the old nigger doesn't know a word of anything but dahomey, mixed with a little french, and none of these rascals knows anything about a christian tongue." he then turned and made low obeisance to the papaloi. "i have asked the prince, as you told me, to stand farther back from the door. meanwhile, o most gracious papaloi, some miracle may happen to show you that he is a prince and no liar." now seeing that we were on the blacklist, the crowd gathered round and jostled us fiercely. "you tell them," said i to the guard, "that they'll be sorry for this a little later," at which our friend harangued the crowd, which for an answer laughed and made obscene gestures. "how dare these strangers intrude upon our sacred rites?" thundered the papaloi. "that nigger says," said the guard, turning to us, "that he wonders how you had the cheek to come in here." "tell him we didn't want to come," said i. "we came quite against our will." the papaloi said something more to our friend with superior voice and gesture. "he asks how you got into the temple." "by magic," answered i, wishing not to betray the very commonplace method by which we had entered, or by which our companions, who were not any too far away, had left. "he says he does not believe you," said the guard, "and that you must suffer the fate of the spy. but, first, the old monkey tells me that you shall witness a sacrifice which will only postpone your own for a little. you can be preparing, he says." "i told you we'd be a short time living," whispered the skipper mournfully in my ear. "what a pity you insisted on our hoarding up that rum so! i wish i had a little of it now." this monotonous remark of the skipper's set my nerves on edge. i had been conscious during this conversation and before it of a vicious hissing sound, and, though i had gazed earnestly about me whenever i heard it, there was no solution of its mysterious recurrence. i was now to know the cause. the priest arose and waved us aside, as if too much time had been given to our affairs. the only reason that i could imagine why he allowed us to remain as witnesses to his dreadful rites was that we should never go forth to tell the tale. this was not encouraging. he raised his hand and thundered forth to the waiting multitude the order: "release the god!" two men from the back of the hall now came forward and stopped at the foot of the throne. they opened the lid of a box that stood beneath it and made part of the lower step. for a moment the watching crowd saw no sign. and then as we looked there came slowly forth a green flat head, protruding eyes, and a darting tongue, which played back and forth in desperate wildness. the serpent crawled languidly from the box up the robe of the mamanloi. he left a slimy trail behind, which shone in the flare of the torches. the dreadful creature was about four feet in length and very large in circumference. it seemed lazy and sluggish, and, after climbing up to the mamanloi's neck, it wreathed itself round and hung there in flabby folds, occasionally laying its flat head against her cheek and letting its red tongue dart against her face, as if in affection. the sight made my flesh to creep. then the papaloi, still standing, raised himself to his extreme height and harangued the multitude. he told them that the serpent worship was the only true worship, and condemned all those who did not believe in its holy teachings to be stung by the fangs of the poisonous python. he raved and screamed for the space of a quarter hour. occasionally he shouted, "will you obey?" "as the papaloi has said! as the holy papaloi has said!" shouted the crowd in answer, bowing to the ground. then he began to intone the same weird chant that i had heard in the forest, the people joining in. and then began the dance. how shall i describe that dance? how call up before your imagination the murky interior, the reddish flare of the smoking torches, the shining black bodies, the glittering eyes, the look on every face which spoke not of the lofty aspirations of the human being, but of the low nature of the brute? if there was ever any ceremony that combined as a whole the horrible, the soul-sickening, the disgusting, and the fascinating, it was that dance of the serpent. the whole community joined in the fiendish movement, each and all trying as best he or she could to imitate the movements of the reptile. they wound themselves about, in and out, and round each other. they twisted, they squirmed, they wriggled, they crawled, and all the time the mamanloi sat gazing stolidly on like a sphynx. the serpent hissed and alternately caressed her cheek and bosom. sometimes it disappeared entirely within the folds of her dress, and then again its great head would protrude from the open front of her robe, and we heard the hissing repeated, and saw the tongue dart its flamelike points against the flesh of her throat. some of the dancers, the women especially, seemed to be overtaken by a wild state of frenzy. they circled themselves round the other dancers, regardless of sex. they even climbed with a snakelike motion up the posts which supported the roof. there they wriggled along the rafters or hung, glaring down on those below. their tongues protruded and played back and forth like a serpent's; their mouths emitted a hissing noise, which was deafening. i feared that with these awful sights and sounds i should lose my senses. of so bold an exhibition of the beastliness that still dwells in the earthly tenement i had never dreamed, and i hope that i may never be called upon to witness its like again. with much of it i will not soil these pages. suffice it to say that the worst passions were depicted, if not actually represented. i turned toward the skipper. the heavy drops were pouring from his brows. "by gad! jones, i'm sick," said he. when the dancers had worked themselves up to a state of insanity that was almost unbelievable, the papaloi suddenly called a halt. the noise did not stop at once. it seemed that the serpent habit had become chronic with the votaries. some of the women still clung to the rafters and refused to descend, sending forth an occasional hiss. but when the papaloi started a subdued and minor chant, they began to quiet down, and gradually dropped, limp and lifeless, to the ground. they reminded me, each one as he fell, of the leech as he drops heavy and clogged from overrepletion. that, however, was a phase of these diabolical orgies which was yet to come. far be it from me, adoniah, to wish to shock or horrify any one, especially those dear to me. you have asked for a truthful description of what i saw, and, though i can not give it all to you in these pages, i can come as near it as decency permits. perhaps you will say, nearer, and accuse me in your heart of having over-stepped the bounds of propriety and decency. if such be your feeling, do not let this cover fall into the hands of your children. it would unnecessarily shock and terrify them. there are many things happening in this world which they need not know. perhaps you had better decide when you read to them these remembrances that you will skip some portions, saying to them at certain pages, which you shall mark upon its first perusal by you, "your grandfather is not very clear at this stage, and i think that i had better relate to you what follows," or, "we will close the book for to-night, my child; i will tell you more to-morrow." on the morrow you may skip the obnoxious paragraphs. but for you, adoniah, i am setting down these things as they occurred, and what i promised, i am in duty bound to do. when you feel that i have described with too much realism that which i was forced to witness, you may also close the book. but my task is to finish to the bitter end, that perhaps at some not far distant day some earnest votary of our holy religion of christ may feel it his privilege to go as a missionary to this island of the western main, and with labour which shall not fail try to bring some soul from out the darkness and lead it into light, and show these benighted creatures what is really meant by that symbol to which they are accustomed, the cross of christ. you may say, however, "why should we succeed, where other christians have failed?" but i digress. "bring in the white cock!" shouted the papaloi. two men disappeared behind the curtain of red and returned with a handsome white cock, the one, probably, which i had heard crowing in homelike confidence. the priest seized the cock in his strong grasp. he now descended the steps of the throne. the mamanloi followed in his footsteps. their sandalled feet called back no answering sound from the earthen floor. the papaloi stalked majestically toward the central post which up-held the roof tree, and mounting upon a low step, he stood facing the multitude. he waved the helpless animal round and round his head, repeating rapidly, and with fierceness of demeanour, some species of incantation which i could not follow. he then began to beat the body of the unfortunate cock against the post. now, any man who has lived upon a farm, as i have at belleville, does not squirm at the killing of a fowl if necessity demands, but we perform the operation humanely and as quickly as time and dexterity will permit. to see that poor animal battered and hammered against the resisting wood, which was already stained red and black with previous ceremonies of the kind, made me shudder. i closed my eyes, but there was still that fearful thud in my ears. i can give no idea of the vengeful fury of the blows. just before the papaloi gave the animal what our black friend called the "final kew," it was struggling, though faintly, and when the papaloi raised a glittering knife on high i saw one poor leg thrust weakly outward, as if the helpless thing hoped even then to elude its slayer. the throat was slashed through with a clean cut, and the torture was over. [illustration: the pythoness circled slowly around.] during this scene the pythoness had been moving, circling slowly, with a flat shuffle of the feet, around the central post. her limbs and head were rigid, but the trunk moved in a thousand strange undulations. her body protruded in folds and wrinkles, as if the serpent were still concealed beneath the transparency of her gown. then, as the papaloi threw the head of the cock far from him, the priestess slowly glided beneath the uplifted body. she seemed in an ecstasy of religious fervour, and i saw that the serpent hung trailing down her back, its extremity reaching nearly to the floor. his upper part clung tenaciously round her neck; its loathsome mouth lay close to her ear. the pythoness threw her head backward, and came to a stand just underneath the body of the cock. her movements were so timed that the first drop of the warm blood fell within her open lips. it streamed down over her throat and breast and the spotless robe which she wore. the serpent gave a hiss of delight, then raised its flat head, opened its horrid jaws, and drank also. the people crowded up and ran close, and rubbed their hands and their heads against the red-stained gown. they thrust out their tongues in imitation of the serpent, and licked the colour from the white robe as fast as it fell. as fresh votaries took their places, the pioneers danced again in imitation of the movements of the pythoness herself. keeping head erect and limbs motionless, they forced the trunk to roll in waves and folds from chest to abdomen. how long this terrible scene continued i can not tell. i have given as little in words as will describe its awful character, and have omitted much which is important as to detail, which decency forbids me to set down. the papaloi and mamanloi had returned to the throne. she looked as if she had been in battle. there was a discussion, and finally an order was given. our guide, who had listened intently, told us that the sacrificial lamb was now to be brought. presently two enormous men, armed with long knives, entered from the banqueting hall. they led by the hands a little boy of tender years. he was clothed in white. he turned terrified eyes upon his jailors. our guide repeated to us the conversation which ensued. the papaloi leaned down toward the child, and, with a gloating smile on his hideous features, he asked: "what dost thou desire more than anything else in all the world?" the child's reply had evidently been taught to him, for he said in a low and trembling voice: "i desire a little virgin more than anything that the world affords."[c] [c] see sir spenser st. john. then appeared two other brutal-looking giants, and between them they led a little girl. she was also robed in white. "behold thy virgin!" shouted the papaloi. the two little ones were then seized and thrown upon their backs. we saw the knives descend. if shrieks there were, they were drowned by the noise of the drums and the enthusiastic shouts of the sectaries. i close the scene. it will remain with me until life ends. recalling these happenings across the space of many intervening years, i wonder at myself, as you are probably wondering at me, that i did not drop down and die with very horror of such sights. there was but one thing which sustained me. self-preservation is man's first law; all things become subservient to that end. the one thought that permeated every fibre of my being--and i doubt not that of the skipper also--was the hope of escape. these dark and dreadful scenes showed us not only what might be our fate, but in so doing urged us on to more strenuous efforts to prevent the ending of our lives as had ended the lives of the wretched little victims. there is sometimes more virtue in telling than in withholding. we send missionaries to africa. in god's name, let's send them nearer home, where iniquity of the vilest flourishes, and at our very doors! when the executioners had disappeared with their inanimate victims, the papaloi raised his hand, commanding silence. "say your prayers," said the skipper; "it's our turn now." "i'll never believe it," said i. "at least, i'll shoot off the old villain's head first, if you'll take the woman." "if we but had our pistols!" said the skipper. and then i, too, remembered that we had been stripped of our weapons in the banqueting hall. the papaloi then made an address which i will not repeat. it was concerning us, and spoke of us as imposters and spies. i felt that i had not long to live, and i commended myself to god. two of the executioners started toward us. i shrank as i saw them approaching. i, watching every movement, with nerves strung to the highest tension, saw that the mamanloi leaned over and whispered to the papaloi, whereupon he raised his hand again, and his voice rang through the bare interior. "the high priestess suggests that these spies shall see one more sacrifice to the serpent god before they, too, die for our faith." i know that it is not conceit which leads me to assert that i was confident that i caught a significant glance from the eyes of the priestess directed at me. it seemed to me that she wanted to gain time, and certainly every minute gained was a minute in our favour. the captain turned to me and said in a voice of bravado, which trembled as he spoke: "i hope you're tender, jones. now i fear i'm a little stringy or so. i certainly hope that i'll stick in that old villain's crop and choke him." i turned away impatiently. i was trembling as if with an ague, which i tried my best to conceal. i felt that this was not the time for lightness of speech. i looked about me to discover, if possible, an avenue of escape. but there was no break in the ranks of dark bodies which hemmed us in on every side. there was a stir about the throne. the mamanloi had again arisen. she stretched out her graceful arm and waved her hand toward the fateful curtain. she wreathed the serpent round her waist as a northern girl would have twisted a ribbon, and said in her sweet and dreadful voice: "bring in the final sacrifice--_the goat without horns_!" then i heard to begin a faint tapping of the drum. as it grew louder and louder, taking upon itself the weird and gloomy "tum-tum-_tum_, tum-tum-_tum_," the music of the savage, many voices caught up the refrain, and sang not unmusically, and shouted until the rafters rang: "_the goat without horns! the goat without horns!_" then we heard the shuffling of many feet, and a crowd came pushing in from the back of the throne. the mass of people which surrounded this latest victim was so impenetrable that i could not discover what manner of person they had brought with them. the crowd approached the throne and lifted to a standing posture on the cover of the serpent box, a form. it stood, its feet dabbled in the blood of the recent victims, and faced us. my breath was taken away. i absolutely could not believe my eyes. "is it?" i asked of the skipper. "it is," said he. it was the minion, as cool apparently as ever he had been. he turned to his jailors and uttered two words: "i'm tough!" said he. the captain looked at the minion critically. he was grimy to a degree, and more unkempt than even i had ever seen him. "i should hope they'd wash him first," said the captain, "if i was to have any of the pie." i could only adjudge the skipper's seeming lightness of vein to the fact that he had escaped death often just by the breadth of a hair, and i was convinced that he would never believe that his final hour had come until he was no longer conscious of the beating of his heart. our guard was called upon to translate the minion's words. the lad had not caught sight of us at first, but when the skipper gave an exclamation of horror at the probable fate of this poor boy, preceding ours by but a short time, he looked toward us with a grin upon his face. the skipper had apparently given up all thought of trying to please our captors. "boy," called he, "say a prayer, do, for the lord's sake! those devils are going to kill you. shall i pray for you?" the minion glared at his persecutors. consistent to his well-known character, he called across the heads beneath him, "i'll ha'nt 'em!" and then again, with a loquacity of which he was seldom guilty, he repeated, "i'll ha'nt 'em to the last!" the papaloi looked angry at this interruption, but the skipper thought it now of little use to temporize with the wretches. "boy," he shouted, "you have but a moment to live, and i s'pose you're human. is there any sin that you've committed that you want to confess? any whom you have wronged? any----" but the skipper stopped short, for as he spoke the minion put his hand into the pocket of his ragged old trousers, slowly drew it forth, and held up in the face of the astounded skipper the lost ring. i saw my advantage at once. i think that i heard the now loquacious minion declaring truthfully, "'tain't no use to me;" but i had broken through the crowd and was close to the step of the throne before the papaloi had realized what was happening. i had mounted to the very platform of the throne itself, regardless of the outraged looks of the papaloi, and, standing there, i held up the ring before the eyes of the dazed multitude. "_look and believe_," shouted i, "_the ring of the grand papaloi!_" my unknown friend echoed my words with a tone which left little doubt in the minds of his hearers. he shouted in african-french the words which fell upon astonished ears: "_la ba' du gran' papaloi! la ba' du gran' papaloi!_" i leaped from the throne. i held the symbolic circle high in the air. the eyes shot forth baleful gleams, which impressed even us men of the north with their wonderful brilliancy and power. to the ignorantly superstitious how much more convincing! i turned the dread symbol this way and that. i threw its red beams into the watching eyes of the crowds which surrounded us. they closed their trembling lids, and shook as if with a palsy. in as stern a voice as i could command i shouted again: "_behold the ring of the grand papaloi! behold! behold the ring of the grand papaloi!_" no one was more astonished than i myself at the effect which this ruse of mine produced. as i passed down the long space between the rows of sombre faces, i was surprised to see the bronzelike bodies waver and fall on the ground, as summer grain is blown over by a sudden storm of wind. the two upon the throne looked with amazement upon me. shouts were going up around us as i advanced of "_la ba' du gran' papaloi! la ba' du gran' papaloi!_" the sectaries covered their eyes with their hands and fell before me. the tide had turned. "it's working wonderful well, my boy," said the skipper, who had joined me. he began to shout in the same breath, "the ring of the great papaloi!" as we neared the throne again i saw that great terror, humility and consternation combined were shadowed forth from the faces of the priest and priestess. on that of the papaloi himself i perceived, creeping through the submission that fear develops, a look of the most malignant hate, but as i came nearer they both trembled, wavered, then arose, and, screaming with the rest, "_la ba' du gran' papaloi!_" they sank down at our feet. the excitement had been so much for me that i almost lost my hold for a time on consciousness; but i controlled myself, and stood erect and commanding, though trembling in every limb. this was the best thing that could have happened, for such fits of excitement are common among the sect, and show religious fervour. the skipper's apposite remarks aided me in keeping my senses. he drawled: "you've fetched 'em this time, jones," and then the absurd side of the whole performance came over me and helped me to keep from giving way to weakness. finding that the priest and priestess were overwhelmed by the sight of the ring, i turned to my black guide and roared out in stentorian tones: "what the devil's the matter with those savages?" "the lord knows," said he, bowing low with every sign of servility, "but you've got 'em jolly well scared this time. crash all hurricanes! but you're a smart one." here the captain turned to me and said: "s'pose we condescend to let those devils get up?" i waved my hand. "arise," said i, "noble priest and priestess, and resume your throne." this was translated to the papaloi and mamanloi by my guide, whereupon they arose and stood looking at us as if waiting permission to reseat themselves. "tell them," said i, turning to the guide, "that they may seat themselves upon the throne, but they must prepare one for us also." while the guard was repeating this to the great people, i said hurriedly to the skipper: "what a pity the bo's'n isn't here! the ring is some use, after all. what do you really think it is, captain, that makes them so servile?" "i think the grand papaloi, who lost it probably where cynthy found it, was a very great man, and that they tremble at the very sound of his name. he was protected, they say, by christophe." "perhaps, like some kings i have heard of," said i, "they think that he gave us the symbol as a safeguard. something like a signet ring." "but where is the grand papaloi himself?" asked the skipper. "thank you for reminding me," said i. "that's just what they may ask, so i must fix up a story." i then turned to the guard. "i have something to tell the priest and priestess," said i, "when our throne is prepared." it was not long before the followers of these vaudoux leaders had constructed a high seat for us. they brought some red cloth from the banqueting hall and began to cover it like the other; but i told the guide to say that in the higher vaudoux worship only white was used. strange to say, some one soon appeared with a large piece of cotton like a sheet. this was draped over our throne, and upon this we seated ourselves. i then turned to the guard who had interpreted for us, and said with all seriousness: "i suppose you do not belong to the sect in reality?" "belong!" said he. "i only did it as you do, to save my life." i did not intend to divulge our secret to this stranger, as i was not sure at what moment he might become unfriendly, and so i determined that he should believe us what we had pretended to be. "you seem to think that we are not really members of the vaudoux in north america," said i, "but there is where you are wrong, my friend." "and the captain?" broke in the guard. i looked at him in astonishment. "how do you know he is a captain?" asked i. "haven't i heard you call him so?" asked the guard. "i think not," answered i, wondering. "i want these people to know," said i, "that we are what we say; that the papaloi, the grand papaloi, has gone to north america. that there he has established his sect, and that in reality we were coming to visit christophe when we were cast away, as well as to inspect the temples here and discover if the rites are observed with all due formalities." "what bosh!" remarked our guide. "it is the truth," said i, "and whether you believe it or not it makes no difference to us, so you had better jump into our boat while you have the chance." "i fancy you've hit on the right thing," returned the guard. "i don't believe a word you say, but these idiots do, so i can do nothing now but follow and let you lead." this conversation was carried on openly. "the coke's comin' off your face," said the skipper. "hadn't you better go out and put some more on?" "it isn't coke," said the guard. "it is really a dye that i know of, to be found under the bark of a tree; but i do rub coke over it, and i'll just go into the kitchen, if i can, before they begin to cook the supper and repair damages." my soul turned sick at his reference, but i felt that there must be some way of our getting free before that last awful rite began. "am i much lighter?" asked our guide. "not much," said the skipper, "but if i was you i'd fix up a little." the guide turned to the priest and priestess, who were awaiting with curious looks the result of our conversation. "o great papaloi and you, gracious mamanloi, the high priest and prince, surnamed jo-nes, orders me to procure for him a glass of pure water from the holy spring." the mamanloi, whose affection for me had apparently increased so soon as she saw that i was an even greater man than the priest at her side, at once begged the guard to say that anything that we wished we had but to ask for. she begged him to hasten, as the ceremonies must be finished before morning cock crow. when she said those words the whole assemblage took up the words, "cock crow!" "cock crow!" and repeated them over and over again to the accompaniment of the drum. i have forgotten the words that they used, though i knew them at the time. i spoke to the minion hurriedly: "you stole that ring from the captain! confess at once, that they may know that it is ours." our interpreter was near. "if you want proof that the ring belongs to me," i said, "ask that young devil how he came possessed of it." "stole it!" said the minion, evidently no more averse to living than the rest of us. "from whom?" i demanded, with death in my eye. the minion nodded over my head toward the skipper, and, with a comical glance of the eye at me, said, "old man! me father!" our guard then turned to the priest and priestess. "o most gracious ones," he said, "these people are without doubt that which they claim to be. the sacrifice declares that he is the son of the servant of this grand young prince; that he stole the ring of the grand papaloi from his father, to whom the prince gave it for safe keeping." the guard turned to the skipper. "you'll have to admit he's your son," said he. "it's all very well to let you go, but they see that he's stolen the ring and----" "i'm everlastingly darned if i will!" blurted out the indignant skipper. forced to own paternity to the minion was beyond the elastic limit to which charity and devotion should be called upon to go. our guard now disappeared, the crowd making way for him because of reflected glory. he soon reappeared, however, with a skin much improved backward and a flagon of water. not to expose his little ruse, the skipper and i shared this between us. i thanked the guard with every expression of dignity and graciousness. "you can tell these devils," said i, "that now there is something required of _them_. they can see that we are what we declared ourselves to be. my servant's son has confessed his theft, which is proof enough for them. now comes our turn. they must prove to our satisfaction that they belong to the true vaudoux sect. this they can not do unless they are able to repeat to us the name of the grand papaloi who gave to me the ring. if they tell me this to my satisfaction, the grand papaloi, should he return, will hold them still in his favour; if not, they know, perhaps, the doom that awaits them." the guard translated these words to the priest and priestess, not, i believe, without some fear, but the communication seemed to have the desired effect. the mamanloi turned and looked at the papaloi, and he at her. there was a hurried consultation, and finally a sign of assent from the papaloi. the mamanloi beckoned the guard to draw near. she leaned over and put her lips to his ear. i saw him wince as the snake thrust his head in between, and was thankful that i was not in his place. the guard said the word over once or twice to the mamanloi to make sure that he understood it, and then with a look of recognition, which i thought strange at the time, he whispered the name in my ear. with a start of astonishment i in turn whispered it to the skipper. he, too, gave a look of surprise. "suz! suz! suz!" said he, "'s that so?" i arose with all the dignity that these surprising events left at my disposal, and said with a grand wave of the hand: "tell the priest and priestess that they are correct. that they have named the grand papaloi who is head of all the sects in amerique. but, alas! my faithful people, he is gone for a time. the great serpent god carried him away to the depths of the deepest wood. there he sits upon a golden throne, and will so sit until the day of reckoning for all. his mantle has fallen upon me. he left to me this sacred symbol. behold and adore!" and again i held the ring on high. the multitude fell upon their faces, and there were murmurs of "_le gran' papaloi! le gran' papaloi!_" but upon the lips of the pythoness i saw the muttering of another name and a look of regret in the eyes, and it was not strange to me, for the word which my sable guard had whispered in my ear was the name of mauresco! note.--papaloi and mamanloi are the haïtien corruption of the french words papa-roi and maman-roi. chapter xvii. i meet an old friend and lose my all. i had been conscious even during the tense strain under which i laboured that there was some stir in the hall. messengers had come hurriedly in and had approached the throne. the priest and priestess had seemed disturbed, and as my speech ended they both arose hurriedly. "arm yourselves!" shouted the papaloi; "the enemy is upon us!" you may imagine what a welcome interruption this was to me. at once all was confusion. the priestess disappeared into the red interior, i thought that probably she had some place of retreat among the caves, but the papaloi bravely drew his long knife from its sheath and bade his followers come to the rescue. the doors were opened, and the crowd rushed forth to meet the enemy. the scouts and runners had come in and had joined the throng, so that the numbers were well increased. "now's the time for us," said the guard to me. "we must appear to join in with these wretches, but, whatever we do, we shall be badly off if we stay with them, so i advise that we cut and run at the first opportunity." "tell them that we are with them," said i to the guard. the papaloi had rushed quickly forward, but not without a hurried glance at us. truth to tell, i could not bear that even these savages should discover me so soon in a lie, although it was a lie to save our lives. should we flee, that were proof positive that we had not taken that interest in the secret sect which our protestations had claimed for us. i caught up a machete and waved it over my head, and, though my words were not understood, my actions were. the skipper did not approve of keeping up the farce any longer. "it's all darn foolishness!" he said. "look to your chance, and run." "let's keep together," said the interpreter. "i want my pistols," said i. "let us get them." these words were spoken hurriedly between us as we dashed to the banqueting hall and forced aside the red curtain. an ancient crone, who looked more like a piece of parchment than anything that i had ever seen, was sitting before the fire busily employed. i will not give details, except to say that she was preparing for the feast. i heard a loud hiss. i looked toward the back of the cavern. it was lighted up by those fires of hell, and threw our forms upon the walls in a thousand weird shapes. i saw some red lips, the green light of those snakelike eyes, and the beckoning wave of a jewelled arm. i saw, too, that the heavy folds of the serpent were still coiled about the supple waist. i picked up my pistol, and that i did not turn it upon her was only because she bore the semblance of a woman. i turned hurriedly. i feared her almost as i would a sorceress, and together we three fled from that awful place of death. we followed the crowd as they rushed forward to meet the enemy's army. i learned from the guard that such fights were not infrequent; that the different communities were constantly warring against each other. these newcomers, we learned from the talk about us, were coming from the direction of the east, thank god! i saw the people with whom we were, boldly rushing on to meet them. whatever one might say about the sectaries of the vaudoux, one could not with truth call them cowards. "watch your chance," said our guard, "and when the opportunity offers make directly down the bank to the shore of the sea. if you are cut off there, let us meet in the cave." "what cave?" asked i. "the pirates' cave," said the guard. "the pirates' cave is closed," said i, wondering, i remember now, how this man knew of its existence. "closed by the hand of god!" at his look of astonishment, i added, "the earthquake." "is your side closed, too?" our side? then he knew of the cave. how strange! we said these words as we ran, shouting some unmeaning sentences. i saw that the papaloi turned his head once or twice to see if we were following him, and, as he found no change in our demeanour, he again rushed onward, and we followed. and now we heard the clash of arms in front and sharp battle cries. the invaders, i found from our guard, were the followers of an indignant father whose child was missing. some traitor had deserted to him, and had informed upon the papaloi. and though, probably, he would not have minded making his supper off the child of the papaloi, he preferred that his own offspring should not go to make a feast for him or those of his sect. i heard the howls of wild men in battle. i saw the papaloi set upon by two great warriors, who, i hope, tortured him a while before they put an end to him. it was every man for himself now, and i struck down the hillside. i was pursued a short distance, but under cover of night i got away, and was soon crunching the gravel of the seashore under foot. i ran right into the foaming breakers. i threw off my garments and flung them on the beach. i plunged into the delicious water. i swam out to sea. i dipped, i dove, i disported myself, i made a thousand brilliant drops leap high and shine with their glittering phosphorescence. i rolled, i wallowed, and drew the water, salt though it was, into my mouth and spat it out again, as if i would wash my interior, my mind as well as my body, from the foul stains with which i felt bedaubed and bedrabbled. as i thus refreshed myself, i heard a whistle. it came, of course, from the beach. "i wouldn't go out too far. you know there are sharks hereabouts," called a voice that i knew. i did not wait for the end of the sentence, but struck out hastily for shore, for i had just escaped from the jaws of one death, and had no wish to fall into the more literal ones of another. "where is the captain?" i asked. "i do not know," answered the guard. "i thought he was with you. but i am here, and i think i will get some of this stuff off me." he squatted down close to the water's edge and began to bathe and rub his face, nearly tearing the flesh at times. finally, he said with a tone of relief: "there!" i looked up at him. there was something familiar about the man, and i asked, wondering, "where have i seen you before?" "don't you know me?" he said. he struck a light and held it close to his face. it flickered and went out, but it had remained long enough to disclose his personality. it revealed to me the features of the smith. "you!" said i. "where is young trevelyan?" "on his way to england, thank god!" said the smith. "and how did that happen?" "well, it's a long story," said the smith, "and probably, as every one's else stories are very tiresome, this one is, too." "i should like much to hear----" i began. "i won't bother you with much," said the smith. "you know i took your boat. i suppose that young beggar who threw stones at me told you. but it was a fair prize--she was floating out at sea." "yes, we dragged it out of him somehow. he said you were going to join a british vessel somewhere down the----" "yes, that's true, too. didn't you find the note in the cork of the bottle?" "yes, we found that," said i. "i thought you would, from the captain's nose." "that's only sunburn," said i. "he's a very----" "excuse me, but we had better start. i can tell you as we walk along." "shan't we wait for the captain?" said i. "there's no chance of his finding us. see there!" he pointed to the great ball of red just showing its upper limb over the gray streak at the edge of the world. "we had better get away," said i. "come along," and we began to run toward the west. as we ran, the smith told me that he had come up with the ship of whose whereabouts he had heard the pirates speak, and put young trevelyan on board. that the next day he had been sent ashore for sand. that the day being fine, he had left the sailors in the boat and had started to walk to a tree, of which he knew, where the mamey apples were particularly fine; that while he was gone he heard firing; that he ran down hurriedly to the shore, and, to his dismay, discovered that the long boat was just nearing the ship. the boat's "recall" was fluttering at the masthead. two vessels outside seemed to be engaged in a fight. that so soon as the small boat reached the vessel the captain wore ship and stood down the coast, as if to avoid the sea fight, and the lord knew where she was heading for. they will care for young trevelyan and take him when they go home, if they ever do go, but the lord alone knows when that will be. "and you," said i, "how did you get in with these fiends?" "i have not much breath to tell you," said the smith. "you walk so fast, and it makes little difference. i knew that i should come across some such wretches sooner or later, and so i set about staining my face at once. i have been in the island before, nearer to l'arcahaye, a place on the other side of the island. there i learned the language, if you can call it so. i also learned to dance the _chica_ and the _calenda_. it was just for deviltry that i learned. to think that it should come to such good use! dear me! dear me!" i then recited to the smith our painful story, all the time hastening on, for i was anxious as to what might have happened at our new home. i asked how it was possible that the pirate mauresco had been a papaloi. he told me all about mauresco, or as much as he knew. he said that mauresco was a wild dare-devil, fond of adventure and hairbreadth escapes. that he had somehow been thrown among these people, coming to them accredited by the then gran' papaloi. that the mamanloi had become infatuated with his beauty. "and he _was_ a handsome devil!" said the smith. that the then gran' papaloi had died, and that mauresco, through his influence with the pythoness, had been made the grand papaloi; that he had ruled the sect as with a rod of iron, but that probably he had become sick of his bargain. "we picked him up off this very shore," said the smith. "i mean the admiral of the red did so, about five months ago. i remember to have heard him speak of a wonderful ring that he had possessed and had lost. he happened to tell me this, because he asked if i could not manage to make him another. he said he knew where there were precious stones in plenty. i recall his saying that he never could hope to find such jewels as made the eyes of the magic symbol, but that i could take my choice. the admiral of the red had stored many hundred pounds of coin and precious stones in the cavern; at least, he had given them to mauresco to hide away. he only knew the secret. it is my belief that he meant to slip away from those buccaneers some day, and come back and take the jewels for himself." "he will never do it now," said i, "for two reasons: in the first place, he is buried as deep as hell, and, in the second place, so are they." i then told the smith of our killing the three knaves. he drew a long breath over each period of my recital, and jerked out the words: "that's a good one!" as i spoke, i gazed out over the water, where our treasure was buried. the morning sun had flooded the ocean now, and everything was swept with its golden glow. and then, as i raised my eyes, i found that we were approaching the vicinity of the cave. "there," said i, "is the grave of your pretty friend mauresco." "you should thank him at least for dropping the ring," said the smith in answer. "i can understand why the papaloi did not want him back again. he, in that case, would have no more claim on the pythoness." and now we started to rise the hill. we had come quickly, walking on the wet sand just where it was hard set, and so escaping the brambles and rough gravel of the nearer shore. as we struggled up the steep ascent, my heart began to glow in my bosom at the thought of meeting cynthia. how would she meet me? would she notice me at all? she would have the little boy whom zalee had rescued. that would be a new interest for her. well, god bless her, poor soul! let her have any interest now and ever that would make her one tithe the happier. we were halfway up the slope. i stopped and turned to the smith. "there is something further that i must tell you," i said, "to prevent misunderstandings. the lady whom you will see here is my wedded wife. we were married by the captain of the yankee blade, by virtue of his position as captain, and on the deck of his ship on the high seas. for the present we are agreed not to consider ourselves as man and wife, except in name. but i want you to know this, and to know that whosoever harms or injures my wife in any way must reckon with me." "bless your soul!" said the smith, "i have a good wife of my own in cornwall. she is the keeper of the house of the lady trevelyan. i can not say that i have never looked at other women, or that other women have not looked at me. but i have never wronged my good wife in deed, thank god! i could not hope in any case, were it ever so, that a lady of the standing of your wife would do more than look at one in my station." "stop there!" said i. "i did not dream of such a thing, but i want it understood that this lady must be treated with all respect, the more because of her unfortunate condition, and that no word shall be spoken which shall offend her dignity." "she will get no such word from me," replied the smith. "thank the lord, i know a lady when i see one." the smith's cornish dialect was, i suppose, excellent. as i am an american, thank god! i can not pretend to say as to that. i can not speak the brogue, nor can i write it down, so that the smith's speech must go for as good as mine. there were many words that i did not know. i have heard that the english say of us that we in america speak the language of shakespeare and the bible. i know little of the former, which, god forgive me, i placed before the holy book, but if we do speak the language of that book, what better can they ask of us? i have sometimes wondered if any one has ever considered what an excellent thing it has been for our country that our pilgrim fathers did not hail from yorkshire, or from any counties but those where the purest english was spoken. imagine all america speaking like my friend the smith! thankful also should we be that these forefathers of ours had not remained so long in holland as to obliterate their good old english tongue. and let me say just here, adoniah, that no matter what misunderstandings we have had with the mother country in the days just passed, and no matter how misunderstood we are of them at the day in which i write, i see a coming time when all differences will be forgotten and when english-speaking people shall rule the globe. i have a way of digressing, son adoniah. you must pardon it. i asked the smith as we came along why we had seen no natives if there were so many in the neighbourhood. he said that these natives had all come from the eastward. that we ourselves had walked toward the eastward when we started out. that the temple was west of all the native homes on that part of the shore. that the vaudoux worshippers had come down from the back-lying districts, and from the southeast. that there had been an uprising against christophe, and, from what he could learn, that the people from the east, who were on christophe's side, had been told that the vaudoux sect who had captured us were inimical to christophe, and, without asking any questions, they had attacked them, their whereabouts and their collecting together having been discovered and told by one of their native spies. i never tried to understand why the people of the island rose against each other. they had been rising from time immemorial, and one tribe or hamlet had as good reason as another. sometimes it was because they did not like the french, who had ruled the island for a long time, and were part and parcel of it until toussaint's massacre. now they had returned to conquer it again. sometimes it was a fight by the blacks against the mulattoes, sometimes the griffe against the white, sometimes the quarteron against any one of the three. they had been subjected to french rule, and toussaint's rule, and dessaline's, and regaud's, and pétion's, and christophe's, and fifty others, and i learned from the smith that there was no settled conviction about anything. and as to one's duties toward his neighbour, it was summed up in one word, none! the smith told me that we had seen nothing as yet of the island, as we would discover later. i told him that my discoveries had been extended enough to suit me, and that my one hope was that we should find a ship standing off and on one fair morning ready to take us home. but the smith did not encourage me in this. he said that the cave was commonly supposed to be haunted, and that was why no one ever came near it but the pirates. even if they had heard the stories, they would not be afraid. if the ghosts of the people whom they had killed did not rise to haunt them, they need not fear the spirits of the island. as we talked we walked onward. now, as we rose the hill, we came to the place where the great rock had slid downward and closed the cavern door. "so that devil's hole is shut to the world," said the smith, "but there is another entrance." i said nothing. i was willing to let him believe that the gallery of which he knew nothing did not exist. we struck into the path at the top of the hill which led to the new house. i can not forget, even though i must recall it across the vast chasm of years, the feelings with which i approached the place where my dear girl was waiting for me. no, not waiting for me, that i knew; but she was there, and all that i asked was that she should be there alive and well. it seemed to me as if i had been away a year. so many events and happenings had been crowded into the night between the hour when we set out to snare the cooing doves and the present moment, that i could not believe that it was at the most, eight or nine hours since i had seen cynthia retire to her room with her constant and devoted companion lacelle. "see!" said i to the smith, as we walked along, "there is where we cut the palms for the laying of our floor. this is where we got the thatch." a little farther on: "that is where we cut the uprights, and it was of those straight young trees that we made our walls. up that slight ascent we go; 'tis but a few steps more, and then we are on the crown of the hill. there we may stand and look directly down upon our house." the poor smith was breathless, for my thoughts and desires sent my legs spinning ahead of him, and he could hardly keep up with me. yes, there was the old palm. now we had passed the ironwood. here, at last, was the mahogany which crowned the slope. "we shall have some breakfast, at all events," ejaculated the smith, "for i see even now the smoke of their fire." "down this way," said i; but even as i spoke i knew my disaster. we ran down the slope toward the open space that we had cleared with our eager hands, but a hotter, swifter hand had come to undo our work. i stood riveted to the spot. "is that your house?" asked the smith, with pity in his voice. "it was," said i. i fell back against a near tree, sick at heart and soul. the home which we had toiled so hard to make was gone. our house was in ashes. the place was desolate. chapter xviii. we find a new abode, and zalee departs to seek succour. the place was indeed desolate! i could not believe the evidence of my eyes. the uprights of our pleasant home were still charred and smoking; the palm board floor was red and glowing, and in some places it had fallen through. there was no sign of any of the utensils, no sign of the hammocks or the articles that we had fashioned to make life supportable in this tropic desert. a strange combination of words, but home is where the heart is. where my heart was at that moment i did not know, but i knew that the place where it was not, was a desert to me. imagine if you can the feelings to which i became at once a prey! my imagination ran riot. i thought of cynthia, fallen, perhaps, into hostile hands, carried away by some terrible barbarians, forced because of her beauty to become a priestess; put to death if she refused. i did not forget the little dagger that i had given her, and i hoped that she would not forget it if the time should come. _if the time should come!_ i turned sick at the thought. i must have shown my feelings in my face. "oh, it may not be so bad," said the smith. "while there's life there's hope, you know." "do you call _that_ life?" i answered; pointing to the smoking ruins. i threw myself upon the ground. i seemed to have lost my senses. i had no thought for my own safety. the same hostile hand which burned the house might have made us prisoners again, but that thought never came to me until the smith suggested it. even then i cared little. if cynthia was lost to me, it mattered not what became of me. "the only place for us," said the smith, "is the cave." "that cave again! i can not go there! do not ask it," i exclaimed. "we must," said the smith, "until we find out something about your friends, and whether they are really mur----" "oh, do not----" i said, putting my hands before my eyes. "well, better come with me," said the smith. i arose, and he led me like a blind man down the path toward the cave. we went through the passage as of old and reached the lattice chamber. here we found traces of late occupancy. there was some food placed in an accessible spot, and i also found upon the floor a little handkerchief of cynthia's. this i seized like a frantic man, and pressed to my heart and devoured with kisses. the smith smiled, but i cared nothing. "just fancy me kissin' the missis's handkerchief!" said he. "wouldn't she laugh!" possibly cynthia would have laughed, too, but i was so miserable that just to press her handkerchief to my lips gave me a little spark of comfort. we were famished, and we ate some of the food and left some for another time. at least, the smith did so. i took what he gave me, and he put the rest on a jutting ledge of rock. we were both tired with the excitement and long and wakeful night, and, following the smith's example, i lay down and soon forgot my misery in dreams--heavy sleep, rather, for i was too tired to dream. we slept the sleep of exhaustion. i judged it to be about six o'clock in the evening when i turned over. the smith was still breathing heavily. as i turned back to rest my tired head again, something bright caught my eye. i put out my hand to grasp the tiny thing. i could not really believe that i was awake. "i am dreaming," said i to myself, and pinched my arm to awake myself. but no! i was awake, and there in my hand lay the little gold locket, half open, and my own face peeped through the opening. i sat and thought. what could this mean? had some one found the locket down there in the stream? yes, undoubtedly some one had found it. who could that some one be? my heart told me at once. i had found cynthia's handkerchief in that very spot. she had, perhaps, laid down there to sleep. at all events, she had been there not long before. she it must have been who had dropped them. she it was who at some moment, unknown to the rest of the camp, had stolen away and had fished my phiz out of the little stream. the thought gave me courage. i drank some water from one of our pails standing near and lay down to sleep again, the locket held close to my cheek. i awoke to find some one standing in the room. the bright moonlight streamed in through the lattice of leaves, and i recognised the tall slight form of the haïtien, zalee. he bowed to me respectfully, and then went and laid his finger on the shoulder of the smith. the smith, who had slept certainly for the best part of fourteen hours, rolled over and stood at once upon his feet. "now bring on your cannibals!" said he. "i feel like a fighting cock." zalee looked anxiously around upon the floor. i thought that i knew what he was searching for, but i did not help him out. perhaps she had discovered her loss, and had sent him for the locket. the haïtien shook his head with a look as if much disappointed. then he took up the pail, beckoned to me to come, and together the smith and i left the cave, following in zalee's footsteps. i noticed that zalee did not seem at all surprised at the presence of the smith. then i argued that he had undoubtedly seen him before, at the time when he was unseen by us, and was to us a weird and ghostly personality. we followed docilely in the footsteps of zalee. he guided us up the hill and along the path that led to the ruins of the house. he stopped a moment by the remains of our home and shook his head, then stepped briskly onward. zalee walked very quickly. we could hardly keep pace with him. i argued that he wished to be far from the place before morning. there was little of incident in our trip. the same sweet odours filled the air, but as we got farther away from the coast we felt the breeze less, and finally there was none. now a gentle rain began to fall, and the wood was thick with a warm steam, which filled our eyes and nostrils and almost blinded us. the shadows in the wood were dark, and the great trees seen through the mist seemed like giants standing here and there to bar the way. we were all the time ascending, which made the journey a tiresome one. finally we came out upon a plateau, and here it was bare of trees. we could look over the lower hills and the treetops where our house had been. we marked its situation by the column of smoke which rose steadily upward straight into the air. the rain had stopped as suddenly as it came, the mist gradually cleared away, the moon had a chance to shine out, and we stood for a moment looking downward across the waters of the indentation that we called the bay and out to sea. then zalee led us back to a thick fringe of trees which skirted the lower hill. as we turned to face it i saw the great citadel of christophe, the grim and ghastly la ferrière, loom out upon its mountain prominence, and i shuddered as i looked, for we were at least six miles nearer than we had been at the cave. off to the left there was a steep precipice, and over this, in the uncertain light, i saw that many large birds hovered and swept downward. i looked inquiringly at the smith. "the precipice of the grand boucan," said he. i had heard of this place. so that was where king henry of the north flung his prisoners and servants when they did not succeed in pleasing him! i almost fancied that at that very moment i could see some poor wretch being hurled into the abyss which led to eternity. it was like a dreadful nightmare, and i turned away. "i pray that we shall never get any nearer to that black brute!" said i. zalee put his finger on his lip and beckoned us to follow him. we again took up our march. as we were nearing the next steep rise, suddenly he put his hand on my shoulder and forced me down among the weeds and underbrush. the smith did as he saw us do. in a few minutes there passed by us three tall men, griffe in shade. they carried enormous clubs, the most deadly bludgeons that i had ever seen. they were dressed in some light cloth, tied across their shoulders, and otherwise but for a clout were quite naked. they had large gold hoops in their ears, and upon the hand of each there glittered a thick silver ring. "the body guard of the king," whispered the smith. "i once saw one as a captive. i remember the dress." the men plunged down the hill with great strides. they carried their clubs with ease, and swung them in their hands as they walked. they moved with light step and fast, and were soon lost among the lower trees. i thanked heaven that we had managed to lie hid without being seen. on looking back, i saw that we had come past well-tilled fields, and that there were some native huts in the distance, and i wondered again why we had never seen any one until the night of the vaudoux dance. i supposed that what the smith said must be true, and that the natives were afraid of the cave, and so did not approach the vicinity of it. i had not noticed the cultivated land as we passed it by, because of the fog which had been so thick. also i was in such a state of nervous tension that i could think of nothing but when we should reach our little party. i almost dreaded the arrival, for i had become so inured to disappointments that i feared what each day and hour might have in store for us. and now i saw that we were approaching a steeper slope than any which had preceded it. in fact, we were confronted by a wall of rock, upon whose summit grew some trees, and at whose base a fringe of foliage dimly showed itself. as we approached these lower trees i saw that they were of stupendous size, and spread their enormous roots to a great distance. it was like a forest of giants, and one had to be careful in walking that he did not stumble over the great ridges which were made by the roots, and seriously hurt himself. we passed over a short sort of stubble, following zalee as he skirted round among the trees. at last he approached near to the face of the rock, where grew an enormous mahogany. to all appearance its bark was close to the wall, but as we drew nearer i saw him slip behind it. the moonlight was very bright, but i thought for a moment that we had lost him. i, too, slipped behind the tree, however, motioning the smith to follow me close, and there i found, facing me, a cavity in the rock. i involuntarily drew back. "another cave!" exclaimed i. again zalee's cold fingers closed on mine as in the old days when first we landed. i took the smith's hand in mine, and together we walked in a line through a black interior. i felt that we were ascending still, but i could see nothing. all that i could do was to trust to zalee. up, up, up, we went, until i felt that i could not drag one weary foot after the other; then we mounted a few natural steps and came out upon a level. i felt that we were taking a sharp turn to the left. the night breezes blew upon my face, and i began to see the stars overhead as we emerged from the passage upon an open plateau. it was a broad terrace of stone, half of it covered as with a roof by an overhanging rock, the rest bare of root or shrub. a wonderful view met my eye, and i drank it in with appreciative sighs, while wondering if cynthia were near me. i walked to the edge of the plateau and looked downward. there was a sheer precipice below me of perhaps five hundred feet. the plateau stood out from the rock behind it, whose sides were also precipitous, rising at the back a lofty wall of stone to the height of a thousand feet or more. nature had planted a great cube in front of the cliff, and we were upon the top of it. there was, apparently, no way of access or of egress except by the route over which we had come. i stood looking out over the distant water bathed in the moonlight, taking in the bird's-eye view, and wondering just where our cave and camp had stood. i walked to the right a distance perhaps of two hundred feet, and there i saw again those birds of evil swooping downward, and low in the valley beneath them and me i noticed some white specks glistening in the moonlight. the bones of christophe's victims! i gazed upward and caught sight of a corner of the wall of the great citadel, and i turned away my eyes with the dreadful apprehension that we might be forced some day to make its nearer acquaintance. it was a remarkable platform, this upon which i stood. i could see that there was no way of scaling the rock from below, as i had noticed that the precipice was undercut slightly at the base--a characteristic of many of the rocks of the island--thus giving no vantage ground for the foot. the rock above us sloped outward in the same manner over our heads. to climb it would be an impossibility, and i felt that i stood upon a pillar of rock isolated from the world. while i was musing thus, zalee touched me upon the arm. he beckoned also the smith, and we followed. we returned through the short passage. as we went he breathed an occasional "hist!" and stooped and laid his ear to the ground. i saw him so when once i struck a light. hearing nothing, he arose and proceeded, we following. suddenly we heard the sound of feet, and i felt his hand draw me suddenly downward. i fell to the ground, whispering a caution to the smith as i did so. there was a faint flicker as of the light of a torch. and as i lay there i heard footsteps passing the end of the passage, and voices busily talking. why the men did not turn into the passage where we were in hiding could only be accounted for by supposing that there were many such passages leading out of the grand one, and that the secret of the plateau was not known to others beside the haïtien. as soon as the sound of the footsteps had died away in the distance, zalee arose and went into the outer tunnel. there he listened intently. when satisfied that no one was coming, and that the strangers were gone, he returned to our first passage and struck a light. i then saw lying upon the ground a tall, thin stone, which he motioned to the smith and me to help him raise. this we did without much trouble, and we found that it fitted the opening into the passage almost perfectly--at all events, so well as not to be considered different from the other irregularities that i had noticed all along the walls. the haïtien then turned us about. he now lighted a small torch, and, zalee preceding us, we were soon upon the terrace again. i tried to ask for cynthia, but zalee only shook his head, laid it upon his hand as if sleepy, and advised us to rest, as the morning would soon break. this he did by pointing to the east and then to the moon, which was disappearing behind the grand boucan. i saw that argument was useless, especially as we could communicate only by signs, so we retreated to the wall far back under the overhanging rock, and were soon asleep. i awoke to find the sun streaming into my eyes and to hear a voice saying anxiously: "where is uncle, mr. jones?" i sat up and opened my eyes, to see cynthia standing before me. she was in the old blue dungaree dress, and stood silhouetted against the red sun of the morning like a young goddess. i shook my head sadly. "i do not know," said i. i thought that this would make trouble, and it did. "do you mean to say that you have left that old man alone down there?" "i mean to say nothing," returned i, "until you speak to me more properly." i found that i had said the right thing. you can't always be too subservient to a young woman, especially the woman who knows how you love her. she'll turn and rend you when you least expect it. she spoke more humbly now: "i only meant to ask where uncle is, mr. jones." "i haven't the least idea," said i. "we waited for him on the shore and in the woods. then we thought he had returned to the house, and we made for that. when we arrived there----" "yes, i know," said she. "zalee did it." "what! fired the house?" "yes. he said that there was fighting down the coast, and that if the people came our way we would not be safe. so he fired the house so that it would look as if an enemy did it, and he took us to the cave where----" "where you lost your handkerchief," said i. she blushed brightly. "oh, did you find it, mr. jones?" "yes," said i, "i found it," and i put the little white thing into her hand. "is--is--this all you--you found, mr. jones?" i knew that she was mine then, but i was merciful. i did not answer, but turned away and walked to the edge of the cliff, where zalee was beckoning to me. he was standing there, looking downward. on the plain, some three hundred feet below, stood a man. he was in the open, perhaps six hundred feet away as the crow flies. he was looking upward. he waved his hand, it seemed, as if in astonishment. zalee waved back to him. of this, however, i did not approve. lacelle came up at that moment. the smith followed. "tell him," i said, "that they will find us here if we show ourselves in this way." the smith made zalee understand this. he laughed, shook his head, and showed his white teeth. "he says you may show yourselves as much as you like; they have no idea how to get up here," said cynthia, who had joined us. "where is the bo's'n?" asked i. at that moment the bo's'n emerged from some concealment to the westward of where we were standing. in his arms he carried the little boy who had been rescued by zalee the night before. besides the child, he carried the spyglass. he had made the glass his special care. it stood to him in place of the family bible. the reverence that he felt for this useful article stood us in good stead. i took the glass. "i wonder what that savage wants," said i. "he wants to know how to get up here," said the smith. "can it be uncle?" asked cynthia. "no," said i; "he's as black as that funereal bag of yours. the only difference is he hasn't a white spot on him." the man waved and gesticulated. "i wouldn't show myself out on the edge of that terrace," said the smith. "they'll surely find a way up here if they see us." "zalee said there was no danger," said i; but i retreated, leaving the man gesticulating. "it's some ruse, i suppose," said the smith. i could not help crawling to the edge of the rock a little later, however, and peering through the leaves which fringed its extreme limit. the man was still looking upward. so he stood for a few moments, and then turned reluctantly, i thought, toward the path leading to the one up which we had clambered, and was lost in the thick undergrowth. "i think it extremely unsafe," said i. "i think we have tempted providence enough." "zalee is always right, mr. jones," said cynthia. "what do you think can have become of uncle?" "i think that he will go to the cave as we did, and that if zalee goes down again to-night he may find him." "but he can't go every night," said cynthia. "we were very much worried when he said that he must go last night. it is many miles from here--eight, perhaps. zalee went down hoping to find you all, and then you must remember that he and the bo's'n carried all our belongings up here the day and night before. and then he had the child to care for." "oh," said i, "i was wondering what had become of the boy." "what boy? oh, that little friend of zalee's. he seems to have found the child in the wood. lacelle seemed so glad to see him. wasn't it strange that such a child should be wandering all alone at that time of night. they have a queer way of treating children in this island." "they have, indeed!" said i. i saw that she knew nothing of the terrible practice which we had witnessed, and i had no intention of enlightening her. we then sat down to eat such food as the bo's'n had prepared, and the others resumed while doing so their surmises about the skipper. as for me, i had much to think of. our party had now been augmented by the presence of a little boy who could aid us in nothing, who must be taken care of at all hazards. and we had lost the cheery presence of the skipper. the minion, too, was gone, but he did not enter into my calculations, for i thought that, though we were well rid of him, he was a young man who would always come up smiling. i could not but wonder how long we were to remain here, and if zalee had any plan for us. it seemed so strange to suddenly be cast on the mercy and kindness of a half savage in the wilds of haïti that i could hardly help smiling. how long, i wondered, were we to remain perched on this isolated cliff waiting for some one to come to our aid. i asked cynthia what plans had been made, if any. she answered that lacelle had told her that zalee had a plan, and that he would tell it to us after supper. so that evening, when the work of the day was done, zalee told us of his plan. rather, he told lacelle. she communicated it to cynthia and the bo's'n together, and they in turn told me. zalee said that american ships sometimes came into the harbour of le cap. he had heard of them from his uncle, who once had been to the town. that no one seemed to know where america was, as they knew of nothing but france, and the chiefs and generals in the island, against whom they fought constantly. but zalee said that he had heard that coffee was sent to that far-off land america, and that if he could find a coffee vessel there, he would get the captain to take a letter to america for us. then perhaps they would send a ship for us from our home. i shook my head. "that seems a very uncertain way," said i. "we must have a consul there, and he is bound to help us if he hears our story. the only danger is that between all these contending parties and forces no one will consider himself responsible for our safety. should anything happen to us, they can all of them lay it on the other, which won't help our case at all. i believe the southern provinces are beginning to revolt against christophe already." when this was explained to zalee, he shook his head and said that his way was best. that "consite"[d] liked to stay at port au prince. the smith suggested that we should all start with zalee and try to reach le cap. [d] haïtien for consul. it seemed almost incredible that within fifteen or sixteen miles of us there might be an american of authority who could save us, and who undoubtedly would if he knew of our unhappy condition. yet the difficulty was to get a message to him. at the time of which i write there was no respect felt in the island for strangers. the haïtiens had overcome the french and were puffed up with pride of power, and nothing short of official authority would compass our ends. in the first place, the roaming bands which we might meet would not believe our story, and, in the second place, they could pretend to doubt it even if it sounded like truth in their ears. i might start and try to make the trip myself, but i could not expose cynthia to the unknown dangers of such a journey, and i could not leave her alone with these men, who were probably trustworthy, but whom to be certain of, i had not proved sufficiently. i turned to cynthia. her trials had told upon her. she looked thinner and more fragile than she had even a few days ago. i did not see how she was to compass the journey. i shook my head. there was, perhaps, a little moisture in my eye. "we had better stay here," said i. "i can see nothing else for it. then the consul can make a demand on christophe for us, and threaten him with the wrath of our government if he does not send us to le cap." not that i had much faith in that plan, either. "i would rather start," said cynthia. "why can't we, mr. jones?" "you could not do it. the natives are too uneasy. bands of rebels may be wandering in these woods. and then there is the captain. have you forgotten him?" "oh, no, of course not. i am afraid that i did forget for a moment. no, i can not leave uncle." i knew that her remaining would make no difference to the skipper, who, if he had not made a meal for some vaudoux chief, might be languishing in durance until they decided what to do with him. "we will do as zalee says," said i. "when does he purpose starting?" "as soon as he gets food enough collected to be able to leave us for three or four days," answered cynthia. the next few days we spent in collecting what food we could, and making it ready against the time when zalee should be gone. lacelle told us that he must make a slight détour, as he intended taking the little boy back to his mother. lacelle looked wistful when she told cynthia this, and i gathered that it was because her home was near that of the child; but at a cheering word from zalee she smiled again. she told cynthia that zalee had said that they must be wanderers until the island was more settled. that now no one knew which side to be on. that dessalines and regaud had been as bad as pétion, and that boyer was now warring against christophe, and if one could not decide which would prove the winning side, he had better secrete himself until these unhappy days were over. i had been curious, i must confess, as to where cynthia and lacelle were housed, but motives of delicacy kept me from asking. now cynthia turned to lacelle, and told her that she might show me the rooms which they occupied. upon the right side of the terrace a narrow path ran under an arch, and, passing this, one walked along the cliff for a few feet. the path crossed a broad crack in the rock and came to a small opening, which led to two natural caves. they were very small, one beyond the other, both facing the ocean, as did the terrace. one looked out from them as one does from an italian loggia. i did not more than glance at the entrance to the first one, but i saw that if our position was inaccessible, cynthia's was even more so. i have not told of the trickling stream that ran down outside of the terrace from the mountain heights above. certainly zalee would not have chosen a place of refuge where there was not a plentiful supply of water. and now came the time for zalee to start. i must confess that i saw him prepare to go with a heart full of forebodings. i wondered when he would return, if ever. but he turned to me with his sweet smile, showing his white even teeth, and taking lacelle's hand, laid it in mine with a bow that would have done honour to a courtier. it was if he had said: "i leave my all with you. i trust her with you. you can trust me to return." we had food prepared to last for five days at least. we should not starve. and we sat ourselves down to wait as well as we could for zalee's return. i had given him a note to the consul, written on a scrap of paper which cynthia had torn from the little note-book, and he started off with it, in its double case of paper, tied round his neck with a piece of cynthia's silk, and the little lad held safely in his arms. the child had frightened eyes, and i wondered if his reason was intact. he must have suffered terribly during the time that he was confined under the altar of the temple. he told lacelle that he was in a box with a serpent. that the creature coiled itself round his body. that he was there for three days and nights; that he saw the light come and go three separate times. i could hardly believe this, but zalee seemed to think it quite true. when i asked why the serpent did not injure the child zalee told me, through the string of interpreters, that the large serpents that are chosen as the gods of the vaudoux rites are harmless. this was at least one redeeming feature amid all the horrors of that dreadful practice. the bo's'n and i put the stone up against the opening after zalee's departure, and i must confess that i wondered who would remove it. something that happened during our stay in this new place i almost dread to tell you, and yet it is a more than solemn fact, and will show to you a tithe, perhaps, of the anxiety that our stay there caused me. one morning the smith and i had volunteered to secure some mangoes. i had heard cynthia express a wish for some, and she so seldom asked for anything but the simple food that we had to divide among us, that i decided to skirt down the hill to a tree of which i knew and bring some to the plateau. we listened at the door of our passage, and, hearing no sound, we removed the slab of stone and ran down the underground way, feeling the wall with our hands to guide us. when we reached the outer air we struck into the woods toward the west, and were soon at the mango tree. the smith was an expert climber, and so i allowed him to climb up among the great branches, while i stood below to catch the fruit. i caught all that i could as he dropped them, that they might not be bruised, and when i had collected what i thought a sufficient quantity i called to him to come down. "there are some fine ones out on that lower limb," said he. "i should like to get those for the lady, if you don't mind." i saw him crawling out on the long, strong limb. he laid along it like a serpent, and, as it was a lower limb, he was not far from the ground. all at once i heard an exclamation of horror, and the smith dropped from the branch. i ran to him, and found that he was bending over a figure lying among the grass and weeds. it was that of a young man of perhaps twenty years of age. he was lying on his back, his eyes staring upward. he was cold in death. how can i write the rest! from the region of the heart a tube or hollow sort of reed stood up perpendicularly in the air. no! i can not write it. the "loup garou" had been there before us, and without the excuse of the vaudoux rites! they had, indeed, been wolves to their own kind. vampires, i might say! i turned my head while the smith withdrew the tube and the sharp instrument at its end, which had made the incision. "first the trance," said the smith, "and then death! fortunately, the victims know nothing usually of the manner of their end." we had no way to dig a grave for the poor young fellow, so we carried him to a cleft in the rock of which i knew and dropped the body down. this terrible incident impressed me as nothing else (not even the sacrifice of the children) had. there was something so horrible in the fact of the young man meeting his fate alone in that deep, dark wood! i was ready to slay the first creature that i came across, but we met no one in returning, and got safely into the passageway and replaced the rock. then the horror of it all overcame me, and i dropped in the tunnel like a stone. chapter xix. we meet for the second time with "le bruit du gouffre," and i take another journey. i awoke at the touch which, i believe, would bring me back from death. it was cynthia. "how you _have_ slept!" said she. "i have been here several times to call you." i did not confess my weakness nor the cause for it. i arose at once, though my knees were weak and trembling, and followed cynthia out on to the terrace. "that man has come back," said cynthia. "i wonder you didn't meet him when you went to get the mangoes. what is the matter? how pale you turned all of a sudden!" i did not answer, but walked out to the edge of the rocky plateau. i looked downward and could see the man. he was standing in a little grassy glade, and was making motions as if he wished to communicate with us. he was very far below us, and we could hear no sound, although i thought that i saw him put his hands to his mouth as if to make a tube through which to call to us. i did not know what to do. zalee, our dependence, was gone. we had already been foolhardy in making even the short excursion that we had taken, and i did not dare further to tempt providence. as we looked down, the man continued waving. he seemed to have a branch of some kind in his hand. he wore almost no clothing, and limped as he moved about, seeming footsore and weary. "can it be uncle?" asked cynthia, with that womanly perception which was seldom wrong. "the captain is not black," said i. "no, it is not the captain. can it be zalee returned?" lacelle shook her head when we asked her this. she said that zalee would never go down there and make any sign or demonstration to attract the eyes of others to our hiding place. she thought that the stranger was some spy, who was trying to discover how we reached our present retreat. "he may be one of christophe's men come to seek us," she added. i still continued to gaze at the man, and he to beckon and wave eagerly at us. i wished in my heart that i knew just who he was--whether we ought to help him, or whether he was an enemy who would betray our hiding place, so that zalee upon his return would find us gone. and now i saw two men come out of the wood. they were persons of great stature, and carried clubs in their hands, and i recognised them even at that distance as two of christophe's body guard. as the stranger turned and saw them he started to flee, but they were upon him in a moment, whirling those terrible clubs round their heads and undoubtedly ordering him to stop. this he soon did, when i saw them come up with him and bend over him, for he seemed to have fallen from exhaustion or fright. i saw them busy themselves with him, and finally he was made to stand upon his feet and march ahead, the two driving him as if he had been an animal. they disappeared in the wood, and i saw them no more. cynthia was very sad and downhearted after this incident. "poor uncle may be treated in just the way that those negroes treated that black man," said she. her eyes filled with tears. i tried to comfort her with the assurance that the skipper must be far from that spot and in safe keeping. that perhaps he had walked to cap haïtien; but she did not smile, and i heard her in the recesses of our silent rock sobbing far into the night. i have said little of the wonderful vines that grow everywhere in this magic land. like those that grew downward from the centre of our first cave, they trailed long and strong from the rock overhead, reaching almost to the broad, flat surface which now made our floor. they grew downward also from our plateau toward the ground. at the place where they ended others started, i suppose, and i know that the growth was such that they overlapped, and that one standing below could not imagine the nature of the place where we had found refuge. the green of the mountain seemed to have no break. such was the assurance that zalee had given lacelle. the third evening after zalee's departure closed in sadly for all of us. it was difficult to be cheerful in our desolate situation, and my night dreams brought to me many a fearful thought and vision. there were distant mutterings of thunder, and again that same rumbling sound that we had heard the day before the hurricane had overcome us. "_le bruit du gouffre!_" said lacelle again, over and over, as she looked anxiously toward the eastward, where the thick clouds were gathering. before i lay down to sleep i heard cynthia calling to me. i went under the arch and stepped across the rift in the rock, which by only a few inches separated her from me. but even this was too much. somehow i was uneasy and nervous, and i met cynthia with the words: "i wish that you would come down to the terrace to sleep. somehow i don't like to have you so far away." cynthia's face flushed as she said: "i only wanted some water. i can't see why we are not as well off here as down on the terrace; certainly, as no one can come through the passage, we are all of us safe. but should any one find out our secret, they might take you off without discovering us at all." "i wonder how you would live then?" said i. "i wonder, too," said cynthia, casting down her eyes. i pondered over this, and asked myself whether i could take courage and whether her tone meant more for me than the words implied. finding cynthia stubborn, i went back and lay down again. some drops of rain had begun to fall, and i got as far back under the shelter of the overhanging rock as i could. here i was dry, as were the bo's'n and the smith. we lay near the western end, that the east wind might not drive the rain under our roof. i lay awake a long time listening to the storm. the wind had grown much higher, and was soughing and moaning round our eyrie. i had terrible impulses at times. i thought, what if i should crawl near the edge of the rock and throw myself off, and so end all this misery and anxiety! it seemed almost more than i could bear. no one would know but that i had fallen off in my sleep, and then this terrible question of how we were to get home to belleville, or to any civilized land, would be set at rest forever for me. the desire was so strong at times to end my life in this way, that once i arose and walked halfway to the edge of the cliff. but suddenly i awoke to the horror of what i intended doing. i thought of the cowardice of leaving cynthia to face the difficulties and dangers alone, and, with a flash of lightning to aid me, i ran back through the darkness to my shelter, and lay down and clutched at the rough projections of the wall and held to them with frantic grip, as if some being stronger than i were trying to drag me away. thank god, my will vanquished those evil thoughts, and, after giving thanks for my rescue, soul and body, i succumbed, exhausted with the battle which the two combatants had waged within me, and was asleep before i knew it. the rain poured down, the wind howled, but i slept on. i heard the faint rumblings of the "_bruit du gouffre_" through my dreams; then, all at once, it grew louder, there was a stupendous crash, and i sat up, the terrible sound still splitting my ears. gradually, with a rattle and a rumble, it died away. i felt a clutch upon my arm. "for god's sake, what was that?" said the bo's'n. his hand was trembling, his voice shook with terror. i found myself staring out under the edge of our roof, trying to see something in the darkness. i stood up. i groped about. "better keep quiet till we have some light," said the bo's'n. i struck my flint, but the flash only showed me the bo's'n's frightened, drawn face, and made the night blacker than ever. we heard constant rumblings and crashes all around us, but we waited for a few moments, and then during a lull heard cynthia's voice. i made a light again, and, holding to the rock, i crawled nearer to the place where she and lacelle were. "don't move!" i shouted. "stay in your cave until we have some light." "what was that, mr. jones?" she called. her voice trembled. "i can't tell now," said i. "try to sleep, and as soon as it is light i will come to you." "very well," called back cynthia, with as confident a tone as if she had been speaking down the stairs of her own house at home. whether she felt concerned or not she did not show it, and i felt that, whatever happened to us, she would put forth a brave front to the world, whatever world it might be with which she should come in contact. i did not sleep again. i lay listening to the bo's'n's snores and the smith's groans, and wondered when day would break. i had been lying wide awake for perhaps an hour when i again heard cynthia's voice. these were the words that she said: "mr. jones! mr. jones!" she called; "i don't know where to put my foot. i can't find any place to put my foot." i arose hastily at her first word. there was now a very faint streak of light in the east, a dull light which betokened a gloomy day. i could, however, see enough to walk safely, though it was like the dusk of a summer evening at home. i groped my way toward where i heard her voice. as i approached her retreat, i heard her call again: "i don't know where to put my foot!" i had my suspicion of what the matter might be. i struck my flint, and just in time for myself, for i found that i had come to a halt upon the edge of an open abyss of perhaps ten or twelve feet in width. the small crack which we had crossed with such unconcern had been the weak spot of our structure. the earthquake had torn out a mass of rock and had left cynthia and lacelle upon the other side, entirely isolated from the rest of us. the light increased now with every moment, and i saw to my horror that cynthia was standing on the very edge of the chasm. she had one arm round a young tree and one foot close to its base. with the other foot she was feeling down the side of the chasm, endeavouring to find a foothold. her fine hair was hanging down over her shoulders, her eyes were wide and staring, and as she felt--felt--felt--with the toe of her poor worn shoe, my heart stopped beating, i am sure, for a few seconds. i knew not what to do. the chasm was too great for me to leap, for she stood some feet above me. i did not dare to speak. my god! if there was ever a worse moment in any man's life, i should like to hear of it. again she called: "mr. jones! mr. jones! do come and help me. i can't find any place to put my foot." [illustration: cynthia was standing on the very edge of the chasm.] god in heaven! what should i do? can you imagine how my feelings overcame me when i saw lacelle issue from the sleeping chamber? her face was white and terrified. she came cautiously, and when she saw the great rift between the plateau and the place where she and cynthia stood, her lips became bloodless. her senses did not desert her, however. she laid her finger upon her lip and shook her head at me. then she reached out one hand and grasped the tree behind cynthia's standing place. she laid the other hand very, very gently on cynthia's arm. she slipped her fingers up toward the elbow, and gradually drew the girl toward her. for a moment i thought that cynthia was gone. she swayed slightly, and i feared to see her open her eyes and, perceiving the great chasm beneath her feet, dash headlong into it. but lacelle was equal to her task. i have sometimes wondered if she had magnetic power. for in a moment more cynthia had withdrawn her foot, had placed it on firm ground, and with lacelle was slowly ascending the gentle slope which led to her retreat. i fell backward upon the rock floor. my strength seemed gone. i lay there limp as a piece of seaweed, my face covered with my hands. the bo's'n turned over, took a long breath, and opened his eyes. the first thing that he saw was my recumbent figure, and that i was shaking in every limb. he knelt by me and took my hands from my face. "why, mr. jones, sir," said he, "ef you ain't cryin'!" perhaps i was, god knows! the great dread and the sudden relief had shaken me physically and mentally. the bo's'n brought me some water. when i could speak, "bo's'n," said i, "how are we going to get to her?" "who, sir?" asked the bo's'n. i lifted myself up on my feet like an aged man. the bo's'n arose with me. "look there!" said i, pointing to the abyss; "and she is on the other side." "does mrs. jones know it, sir?" asked the bo's'n. i started. it was some time since i heard the bo's'n speak of cynthia in that way. "no," said i, "i think not. lacelle does." "could you leap it, sir?" asked the bo's'n wistfully. "i don't see how i could," said i. "it isn't even like jumping down across a place that is as wide as that. it is not like jumping downward at all. i hardly think i could do it then. it must be anywhere from eight to ten feet wide. and, as you see, it is a little above us. no, i certainly could not do it." the bo's'n stepped back and looked critically up over the roof of our shelter. it was growing light--the light of a dull early morning. "i thought there might be some way of getting to them with the vines on the roof, but i see that it is straight up, up, up, sir. looks like there was no stop to it." "even if we could get up there, what good would it do them?" "suppose we go out into the passage and look for help." "who would help us? we should perhaps fall into the hands of some of these roaming savages. they might treat us well, and they might not. that is not to be thought of. suppose we met with some of those--oh, i forgot you were not with us! let us consult with the smith." the smith had slept through the entire storm. i now awoke him and told him what had befallen us. he seemed much concerned, and said that it looked serious. "but don't you be worried, mr. jones," said he. "i've been in tighter places than this." this reminded me forcibly of the skipper. "you may have been," said i, "but i don't think i have, much." and now i heard cynthia's voice calling to me again. i went to the edge of the chasm. there i found her standing on the other side, holding tight to the sapling. "don't come so near, for god's sake!" said i. she was looking blankly at the great abyss, as if she were dreaming. "how did it happen?" she said. "how does anything happen?" asked i. "as if we didn't have enough to worry us without having that piece of rock fall." "do you think that we can ever get back to you?" asked cynthia. "if you don't, i'll jump off the cliff," said i. "don't talk so foolishly, mr. jones," said cynthia, smiling at me. "while there's life, there's hope. perhaps there is another entrance to the terrace from where we are. if zalee were only here, he could tell us. he seems to know these mountains as if they were his own home, but i have asked lacelle if there is any other way out. she says that zalee said nothing about it." "don't you think she might prospect a little?" said i. "how do you mean?" asked cynthia. "why, walk up your little shelf as far back as it goes, and see if there is no way out for you. i feel so helpless." i wrung my hands nervously. "i can do nothing." "don't worry," said cynthia, looking brightly at me. "i am sure we shall find some way out of it. the only trouble is that i am dreadfully hungry." "we can throw you some food," said i. "and water?" "no, i'm afraid not. but it won't be long, i am sure, until we have devised some means of rescuing you." cynthia sat down on the rock and put her hands over her face. i thought that she was crying until i heard the laughter bubbling forth. "i really can not help it," she said. "do excuse me, but you look so woebegone. so many things have happened that i really am not at all afraid that we shan't get out of this as we have out of all our other troubles. now i'll go and send lacelle to see if she can find any opening." it was clear to my mind that cynthia knew nothing of her night's peril, and i thought that it was as well not to enlighten her. she disappeared inside her sleeping chamber, and soon after i saw lacelle issue from the archway and proceed up the slope. the rock ran back a very little way at this point--fifty feet, perhaps--and then the cliff shot upward again with the same irregular outward slope. i saw cynthia moving about in her cave. she seemed to be picking up her things. she looked out once, and nodded down the slope at me. "i'm packing," she called, a smile on her lips. poor soul! packing, indeed! i saw that she had the mortuary bag in her hand, and that she was placing her few belongings within it. she was kneeling down, finishing this work or else trying to make more, when i saw her start. i heard a faint scream, and looked up to see lacelle come flying down the hillside. cynthia went to meet her. i could see that they were talking, as was their custom, by signs and a few words. "she says there are enormous snakes up there," called cynthia. lacelle nodded her head violently, and rounded her arms to an enormous circle. "she says they are so big," said cynthia, imitating lacelle. "i don't believe they are harmful, ma'm," said the smith, joining me. "the papalois use 'em, and they are not poisonous." "what are those, mr. smith?" called cynthia. "papalois, i mean." i nudged the smith. "she knows nothing of those wretches," i said. "why under heaven can't you keep your tongue between your teeth?" "they are the books on snakes and such things, ma'm, which i have read about this da--this island." "oh!" said cynthia. "i'll tell her." she turned to lacelle and began to talk with lips and fingers, and then turned again to us. "she says some are and some are not. i'm sure i hope these are not." "if the snakes are poisonous, those ladies are on the wrong side of the fence," said the smith. the bo's'n now came toward us. he had a small parcel in his hand. it consisted of some birds' eggs, which he had boiled hard and had kept in a cool place within the passage, and some fruit. he made motions as if to throw it toward cynthia. "don't!" said she. "let me send you my bag." she stooped and picked from the ground a tough vine--behucca they call it in santo domingo; liano, in south america. she tied one end through the handles and prepared to swing the bag down and across the chasm. "hold fast to the other end!" shouted i, for an idea had struck me. so soon as i had received the end of the vine i asked: "how much more have you of the vine?" "oh, yards and yards." "well, let me have all that you can spare without letting go of the end." soon i had enough of the vine on my side of the chasm to more than reach back to cynthia. "take your end round the tree," said i, "and then throw it to me." she did as i told her. at first the vine fell short of the terrace, but she bravely pulled it back to her and tried again, and finally i was rewarded by catching the end in my hand. "now," said i, "if you can tie those ends securely together, we shall have a sort of endless chain." she did so, i holding the loop. then i put some food in the bag and fastened it to the vine, and we sent it over by pulling on the loop and letting the knot go round the tree. had i slipped the handles of the bag over the vine, it would only have slid down to us again. "i can send you some water in the same way," said i, "if the vine is strong enough." "there are plenty of vines," said the smith. "go and collect all you can find, you and the bo's'n," said i, for a new thought had struck me. the bo's'n and the smith now went to the arch of rock which covered our sleeping place and tore down from above great handfuls of the trailing creepers. some of them were so strongly rooted that we could not move them, but many came easily away from the earth, and soon the floor of the terrace was thickly strewn with them. i stooped over the precipice and tore up all that i could reach. "now," said i, "we will make a bridge." i told cynthia at once what we intended doing, and she seated herself with lacelle, and together they watched us at our work. i told the bo's'n and the smith to lay many strands of the vine on the floor and weave other vines in and out. "why can't we do that up here?" asked cynthia. "i am afraid you would not make them strong enough," said i; "but if you think you could, you might try." i felt that it would amuse them perhaps, and would make the time pass more quickly. we wove busily for an hour or two, and finally we had made eight or ten broad, closely filled mats. they were each about sixteen feet long. we wove them together two and two lengthwise, and then placed some on the top of others, thus making several layers. these we bound securely together, and when we had finished we found that we had woven a broad and strong platform, which i was sure would hold a much heavier weight than that of a slight young girl. "the most important thing now," said i, "is that you should secure it well on your side. see how we have fastened these strong vines to your end of the bridge. when we send it over you must tie these strands round those trees, two and two. fasten them very securely." "no slippery hitches," said the smith, "if you please, miss." "no granny knots, mrs. jones, ma'm," added the bo's'n. cynthia flushed as she always did when the bo's'n addressed her thus, and cast her eyes on the ground. we fastened the bridge to the rope of vine, and together cynthia and lacelle pulled it across. they then began to secure it to the tree. we three stood a few feet back from the edge of the chasm, bracing ourselves and holding our end of the bridge level and firm. the proceeding took some time. there were mistakes on their part and much instruction on ours. finally, however, the platform was ready. then my heart began to thump as if it would burst through my body. i wondered now if, after all our care, the bridge would hold cynthia. i suggested this doubt to the smith. "lord, yes!" he said. "you can hang by a single vine of good size. there ain't any fear of that. if they'll only look ahead and not downward, they will be all right." i need not reprolong my agony. it was wearing enough and anxious enough then. i could not bear to look as cynthia put her foot on the bridge. "try it first," i cried anxiously. "i am not afraid," said she. "i am sure that you would make it strong enough." cynthia then turned to lacelle, and asked her if she would like to go first, or if she, cynthia, should do so. lacelle was ready to do either. talk about bravery in men! i never saw anything to compare with those two women. for after all, though most people can usually stand a great and sudden shock, the test is, it seems to me, the bearing up under constant and wearing daily inconveniences, troubles, and anxieties. "i think i had better come first," said cynthia, "for if it holds me it will lacelle. she is lighter than i am." she turned and kissed the haïtienne and then stepped confidently out on the bridge. i shall never forget her as i saw her then. she had lost the pins with which she used to confine her hair, and it was constantly tumbling about her shoulders. she had no more than set her foot upon the ladder than down came that splendid golden veil. for a moment i was fearful that this would unnerve her, but, though the wind blew her fine hair about and across her eyes, she started boldly out on the narrow span. "hold out your hands," i shouted, "and balance yourself." she did as i told her. with heightened colour and wide eyes, her hair making a cloak about her lithe figure, she stepped quickly out on the bridge. it seemed ages to me, but it was in reality but a moment from the time that she started until i held her in my arms. she disengaged herself and bound up her hair. then lacelle started, and when she was safe i threw the bridge away. it dangled helplessly from the other side. i had no wish that cynthia should try it at night in one of those strange somnambulistic moments of hers. we made for cynthia and lacelle a sleeping place, laying down the vines which had remained after we had finished the bridge. after a long day, we ourselves retired within the passage, and all went to sleep early and soundly, thanking god that no greater dangers had come to us. our troubles seemed to come upon us usually at night. but i lay down on that evening feeling that for one space of seven or eight hours at least we might hope for rest of mind, if not of body. how delusive are such hopes! i was awakened by a slight exclamation, and turned over to find several figures standing between me and the moonlight, which shone on the terrace. as well as i could see, they were dressed in the costume which we had observed upon the three black men whom we had met on our journey to the cave. i sprang to my feet and rushed out on to the terrace, calling to the bo's'n and the smith to awake. they heard the terror in my tones and arose at once, if a little more sleepily than i. i found five men standing on the terrace looking down on cynthia and lacelle, who were asleep in each other's arms. i drew my pistol, but only a flash in the pan rewarded me, and i rushed at the men single-handed. i threw my body at one of them who was nearest the edge of the terrace, hoping by this means to push him over the steep fall of rock. he only laughed, and in turn seized me by the wrists. the men were giants, and, though i was accounted an athletic young fellow enough, i soon found myself lying on the ground, bound ankle and wrist, like a trussed chicken. i felt extremely awkward, and dreaded the moment when cynthia should awake and see me in this ridiculous position. it was an easy matter for the five men to overpower the sleepy smith and the bo's'n, and soon we were all lying on our backs, and cynthia and lacelle were at the mercy of the black wretches. perhaps you can imagine how i felt. i can not bear to think of it! the noise of our scuffling awoke cynthia, and her moving in turn awoke lacelle. i shall never forget the look of horror which my poor girl turned upon those five enormous creatures. they must have struck dread to her very soul with their black skins and glittering white teeth. they were armed with heavy bludgeons, such as i had seen in the hands of the three whom we had met on our way to the terrace that first night, and doubtless they were, some of them, the same. cynthia sprang at once to her feet, and, pointing to where i lay, demanded that i be released at once. she turned to lacelle and said: "tell them that this is my husband!" it was almost worth being pinioned there to hear that declaration, but lacelle shook her head as if she had not understood. as lacelle arose slowly, i heard her give an exclamation of surprise, and saw that she started as she looked toward the men. it seemed to me that a glance of recognition passed between one of them and the girl, but she quickly looked away again, and seemed to be as angry, though not as much terrified, as cynthia. she stood boldly out in the moonlight and asked the strangers what they wished, and what right they had to subject us to such indignities. one of them answered her in a rather long speech, in which i heard the name "christophe" several times. from this i judged that christophe had sent to capture us. i was quite right in my surmises, and i now found that zalee was not infallible in his judgment. we had shown ourselves carelessly upon the rock, and, when we least thought it, they had been spying upon us. orders had been given to search the passage thoroughly, and this was the result. it had always seemed strange to me that zalee alone should have possessed this secret, but i argued with myself that christophe was not a native of this country, rather of st. kitts first and santo domingo later, and that many of the people about him were not native haïtiens, but followers from other islands. the griffes listened to lacelle, showing their white teeth and smiling at her rage. then the biggest and stoutest, evidently the leader, began to speak. he often pointed to us, who were lying on the rock floor of the terrace, and then up toward the mountain or the entrance of the passageway. finally, lacelle turned to cynthia and began to translate. with the aid of the bo's'n and the smith, it was explained that some one had reported to king henry, as he often chose to call himself, that there was a party of foreigners wandering about down by the coast. that the three had been sent out to intercept us on the night that we met them; but, failing of their errand, christophe had sent them back again, and that now that they had found us, they had no intention of letting us go. "he told us not to harm the prisoners," said the spokesman. "the king likes to inflict most punishments himself." this was a pleasant outlook for us. i glanced at the bo's'n. his face was swollen to twice its natural size. he was lying on the ground moaning as if in great agony. i saw that he would be of little use to aid our escape, and turned my attention to the others. "he says that if you men will go quietly he will unbind your ankles, but not your hands. as for us, he knows that we can do nothing, so we are not to be bound at all," explained cynthia. of course, we promised. what else could we do? and so started out through the passage which had been the entrance to our latest home. we found the slab of stone laid carefully on edge along the wall of the passage. it was proof of the quiet manner in which these men had worked that we had heard nothing until they chose that we should be awakened. we started then, all five, with our five captors. the women stepped freely and at will, but we were told to walk steadily and not venture to turn round, or it would be the worse for us. we had nearly reached the passageway when cynthia uttered a hurried exclamation and ran back to the terrace. i also turned to rush after her. i feared that her troubles had driven her mad, and that she would throw herself off the cliff; but i was seized and turned to the right about by two strong fellows, while two more ran after cynthia. the fifth, the torch bearer, remained leaning unconcernedly against the wall. he it was who seemed to have known lacelle, and i saw his lips move and his eyes roll, as if he had communicated something to her worth knowing. in a moment or two cynthia came back, but the guards returned ahead of her. they were laughing, but looking behind them somewhat uneasily. when they came up to us, cynthia explained. "i only forgot my bag. i couldn't go without that, you know." she looked very determined, however, and i saw that if she carried her bag in one hand she held her little dagger in the other. the men could, i suppose, have disarmed her, but the little weapon was sharp and thin, and a man might get an ugly stab between the ribs before he had succeeded in subduing our young tigress. for i found that cynthia seemed to be developing new traits every day, and i felt certain that if one of those creatures had laid a finger upon her he would have been made very uncomfortable for a time, if not killed. "that's right," called i. "stick it into the brute if he offers to touch you." but this did not seem to be the intention of the men. they had been told to bring us to christophe's palace unharmed, and they evidently intended to carry out their instructions to the letter. [illustration: _sans souci_, the palace of king christophe, near millot, haiti, as it appeared about .] we walked, it seemed to me, all that night; for many hours, at any rate, and by tortuous routes. cynthia stepped bravely out at first, but, after an hour or so, she seemed to tire. at such times we sat and rested. our first hour was passed in walking through the tunnel, as well as numerous wonderful rooms and caverns, which made me wonder why the natives of the island do not make these shelters their homes. then we suddenly emerged upon the mountain side. here our guides allowed us to take a rest. the slope had been gentle, and we had not the hill to contend with. we then struck steeply downward, and pursued a path which the torch bearer seemed to know perfectly. there was only the light of his torch now to guide us, for the moon had gone down behind a western spur of the mountain, and the stars were effaced by the smoky red flare of the torch. we now entered the side of a hill, through one of those natural tunnels so frequently met with. here, after walking for a while, our guides stopped suddenly. "he says that we must have our eyes bound," said cynthia, when lacelle had communicated to us the order of the leader. "what bosh!" said the smith, turning rudely on the man. our captor paid no attention to the smith's words, which he had not understood, but took from the waist-bands of the guards some cloths. these he proceeded to bind round our foreheads. we knew that resistance was useless, but i wondered if this was only a new form of torture, and if we were to be blindfolded as the pirates had blindfolded their victims, only to be led to some fearful chasm where we should step off into space and eternity. each man now led one of us. at least i supposed so, for a hand was laid upon my arm and i was led along an uneven path. "where are you, cynthia?" called i, and i pulled up my bandage to look. i caught a glimpse of a prisoner and a captive, four pairs in all. i noticed that lacelle's guide was the torch bearer, and i took some comfort from this fact. i felt sure that she would be able to communicate with him in some secret way, and so give us all some aid. my bandage was rather roughly pulled down again, and we were halted. the leader made an address to us, which lacelle translated to cynthia and she to us. he said that if one of us again attempted to remove the cloth which bound our eyes that it would be much the worse for all of us. he then went round examining us, and tightened the other bandages, until i heard my poor girl cry out that she could not bear the pressure. you may imagine that i promised earnestly not to interfere with mine again. but before the guard had noticed that i was lifting the cloth i had caught a glimpse of that which no threats or brow beating could efface from my mind. before us and a little below where we had halted lay a lovely valley. it was now early morn, and a subdued rose-coloured light shed its soft rays adown the smiling vale and lighted up with its marvellous glow a nearer object. i saw a broad terrace, under which arches of marble curved, as if in support. i saw carved pillars and columns and doorways with vistas beyond. i saw open window ways with suggestions of luxury within. i saw fretted balustrades and broad stairways, and graceful statues standing in gardens such as i had read of in tales of babylonian days. in fact, i had taken in a comprehensive flash of beauty such as the imagination is powerless to conjure up. far above me, high up on the left, i caught sight of a black and frowning fortress, whose guns, mounted at each bastion and embrasure, gave proof at the initial glance of its utter impregnability. mine was but a momentary glimpse, and i was seized at once and my eyes bound to the verge of torture; but before them floated a vision of loveliness, with its contrast of grandeur and sublimity, and i knew that i had been gazing, if but for a fleeting moment, upon the palace and the citadel of the great christophe, king of the gem of the northern antilles. chapter xx. i meet with the terrible black king, and voluntarily assume a task to regain my liberty. our captors had spoken truthfully, and i now knew which way we were going. i was sorry that i could not reassure the others. i wanted to call out, but i feared what the result would be; so i walked wearily on, wondering if i was never to feast my eyes upon that lovely sight again, wondering when we should see the king, wondering how he would treat us, but wondering more than all when i should have speech of cynthia. i now felt that we were walking over a bare and more even flooring, and then that the sweet tropic breeze had been exchanged for the cool, damp air of one of those stone interiors to which i had become accustomed. my guide suddenly stopped. i heard the pushing back of a bolt. i listened for more sounds of the same kind. i heard none. oh, joy! only one door was opened. then i was not to be parted from cynthia. my guard removed the bandage from my eyes. i looked up joyfully to welcome the sight of cynthia once again. she was not there! there was no one with me but the guard himself. i had been separated from my friends, when, i knew not. oh, misery! what was i to do? how could i bear this of all troubles the greatest? the passageway from which i entered from the outer air was a stone hall rudely made. along the sides were rough doorways and battered-looking doors. one of these doors was opened, i was pushed inside, and the door was closed upon me. i turned and hammered upon it with my clenched fists. "let me out!" i called. "let me out! you can not mean to leave me here!" but there was no answer, except the retreating footsteps of him who had thrust me into this hateful prison. i pounded until i was weary, more because i was devoured with my rage than because i expected any response, and when i was exhausted with my futile efforts i threw myself on the floor, oblivious to everything but my sorrow. as i lay there, alternately groaning and raging, i did not at first hear the faint sound which after a long time was made to attract my attention. scratch, scratch, scratch, it went, but i did not heed it. it might be a rat, or some pestilent animal. i had not heard any footsteps in the corridor. i hoped that i should hear some more footfalls, but none came. all was as silent as the tomb. scratch, scratch, scratch, it came again. at last i awoke to the fact that this might be meant for me. "who is that?" i called. "it's me," answered the skipper's voice, grammarless, but, oh, how welcome! "good god!" i said; "it can't be you?" "but it is me," shouted the skipper, regardless of other ears, "darned if it ain't." for a moment i was too amazed to speak. "he's bagged the whole of us, hasn't he?" said the skipper. i looked to the back of the cell, the place where the sound seemed to come from. there i saw that the stone had sagged a little, and gave room for sound, if not for sight. "god bless you, captain!" said i. "how glad i am to see you again!" "you must have better eyes than i have. say, mr. jones, where is cynthy?" "she's somewhere near us," said i. and then in whispers, listening for every sound, i told the skipper what had happened as well as i could. "my poor little cynthy!" said the skipper, with a half sob. "how did they get you, captain?" i inquired. "they never would have had me if you had paid any attention to me. they gathered me up the very day after i waved to you, when you were up there on that cliff." "was that you?" i asked. "i never thought it. cynthia did suggest it, too." "god bless my girl!" said the skipper, with a wet voice. "how were we to know it was you?" said i. "you were as black as any of the blackest here." "that's so!" said the skipper in answer. "i forgot that." "but that man hadn't any clothes on," argued i, as if i must prove that the skipper had been somebody else. "neither had i," said the skipper. "naked as a new-born babe. that's proper to-day, i suppose, anyway. it's my birthday, sixty-sixth." poor old man! "what did they want with your clothes?" i asked, for the memory that i carried with me of the skipper's ancient raiment, worn and soiled with salt water and earth stains, did not make them seem very valuable, even to a haïtien. "they didn't want anything with my clothes," answered the skipper; "'twas me they wanted. but they stripped me to a gantlin' all the same. after that fight i tried to follow you, but three fellows seized me and took my clothes and threw them into the bush, and began to hurry me off to the first temple that we saw, where that little shaver was crying." "yes, i know," said i; "and then----" "well, the battle was going the other way. i wanted to run after you to the shore, but those men held me between them. in a little while we got near the temple, and i thought my last moment had come for sure, when who should pop out of the trees but some of these big black men, who christophe has for his body guard." "yes, yes," said i, hurrying him on. "and when they saw me they waved their clubs round their heads, and those forlorn little haïtiens ran away. then i gave the black men the slip, but they caught me again." "if they were so little----" suggested i. "yes, yes, i know what you would say, but they were three to one, and when they took away my clothes they took my pistol, my knife, and my machete. i did put a bullet through one fellow. he never kicked, but when i tried to reload they were upon me." i reflected also that the skipper was not so young as once he was, and that the night had been as tiresome and exciting to him as to the rest of us. "my, these stones are cold!" the skipper sneezed. "have you got that ring yet, jones?" "i haven't thought of it from that day to this." i slapped my hand to my throat. "yes, here it is." i took the great circle from the cord which held it round my neck and turned it over and over in my hand. the enormous red eyes shot forth rays like streams of blood. i have never seen anything before or since which shed so strange a light or made one feel so eerie. "you don't say anything," said the skipper. "i s'pose you're looking at that devil's ring and feeling all-overish." "yes," said i, "that is just exactly what i am doing." "my, these stones are hard!" the skipper groaned and sneezed again. "i wonder if they'll let me see cynthy. but here! hold on! i can't see her without any clothes." "perhaps they'll give you something before then," said i. i now heard footsteps approaching, and held my peace and feigned sleep. the door was opened and a glass of water and a large piece of cassava bread were pushed into my cell as far as the man's arms could go. then the door was closed and bolted on the outside. the skipper's door was then opened, and i heard the same sounds which had heralded the arrival of my breakfast. i heard the skipper mumbling some words, something between manhattan-dutch and susquehanna-indian, and he must have made some signs, for he told me that the man nodded his head as if he understood. we kept up a desultory conversation, the skipper and i, for an hour or more. i could not bear to hear him complain of the cold and hardness of the stones on which he sat. northerners imagine, i believe, that one never feels cold in that tropic clime, but in that supposition they are quite mistaken. the heat and the constant exudations from the skin thin the blood, and when one is out of the sun and in the dark interior of the earth a sudden chill comes trembling over one, creeping, creeping, creeping, until the whole body is in an ague, which nothing but a little raiment and plenty of sunshine can relieve. i judge that i had been in the cell for nearly an hour when i heard some hurried footsteps coming down the corridor. they stopped at my door. the bolt was withdrawn with a loud clatter, and two of the king's body guard stood in the doorway. "now i s'pose i'll never see you again," groaned the skipper. fearful that they would understand that we had been communicating and that we were friends, i made no reply, but looked round the cell, astonished at the sound of the voice. i addressed myself apparently to the guards in as fierce a tone as i could command. they thought me scolding at them, while my words were really addressed to the skipper. "be quiet, for heaven's sake!" said i. "they must not know that we are friends." my tone was so sharp and dictatorial, and i looked so squarely in the guard's eyes, that he began in a rough way to answer me, bowing slightly and beckoning me to follow. then i heard the skipper's voice in wonder: "why, mr. jones, are you speaking to me?" again i looked above, overhead, and round the walls of my room as if i were daft, and then fiercely at the guard. again i spoke to the skipper in my roughest way through these men, who could not understand a word. "don't be foolish, captain," i said, glaring at the guard and shaking my fists in their faces. "they think i am talking to them. i am shaking my fist almost against their black noses, but they don't know that i am talking to you. be careful, and don't, for heaven's sake, address me while they are here." i howled these words and danced up close, and glared at the tallest guard. "they will find us out surely. i'll tell you all about it when i get back, if they ever bring me back." "can't you lend me a trouser leg?" groaned the skipper. but i saw that an answer would be more than foolish, and so turned and followed my guides where they led. when i emerged from the corridor i found that i was facing toward the north. our captors had brought us a long way round, so that we should go to the buildings where the offices, prisons, and the like were situated. to go to the palace itself we must walk northward. i had heard of this palace of sans souci, but no words had been powerful enough to give me an adequate idea of its wonderful beauty and grandeur. it was situated at the head of its beautiful and fertile valley, surrounded at the back and sides by hills, which, from their immediate rise, seemed to attain to the dignity of great mountains. the grand roads which christophe had built and was still building ran down into the beautiful valley on their way to le cap. at the back of the palace there were gardens filled with rare flowers. fruits were here, sunny arbours, and shady groves. cascades of foaming water dashed downward from the neighbouring cliffs, and, caught at the base, were turned into irrigating channels or carried to the palace to supply its various needs. as i walked onward with my guard, i recalled the many facts that i had heard about the delights of this famous garden of the gods, and i wondered what manner of man it could be who could devise all this beauty during one phase of his existence, and fling helpless mortals to birds of prey at another. at times these phases were not many minutes apart, so that it seemed that the man must have a dual nature, and that two occupants--one an angel and another a devil--must occupy his tenement at one and the same time. i was thinking these thoughts as i passed onward with the guard. we walked along an open terrace, which would have seemed most grand to me, had not its beauties been effaced at every turn by something still more beautiful, and those in turn by something more wonderful still. we descended a broad flight of steps and came out upon another terrace. the air that blew about that terrace was heavenly. the blue overhead was deep and clear. trade-wind clouds flecked the sky in every direction. they came like a host of white horses over from the east, sailing steadily along, and disappeared in the west, their places only vacated to be taken by the myriads of others which came moving rapidly after. the breeze was sweet with the scent of fruit and flower. it seemed that with each new breath that came to me, upon its wings was wafted a fresh and delicious odour. the near hills were clad with vernal beauty. the marble balustrades which railed the terrace were overgrown with viridescent plant and flowering vine. birds sang in the branches of the camaito tree. such paradise a setting fit for the greatest and best monarch who ever lived and ruled on earth. it seemed as if some fair queen should inhabit this lovely place, as if even man, no matter how pure he might be, were not worthy of such exquisite surroundings. these thoughts came to me as i walked forward to the spot where the greatest tyrant of modern times sat awaiting me, in common with his other slaves; for i was a slave, if christophe chose to consider me as such--the slave of a man whose brutality was the wonder of those who had read tales of the borgias, of the cæsars, of nero himself. i had heard of his chaining human beings to his carriage wheels, i had heard of his throwing his unsuccessful labourers off the great cliff which skirted the citadel, and i had heard the revolting tale of a certain day when his dogs, being hungry, he ordered an arm cut from an unoffending prisoner and thrown to the ravenous beasts. imagine, if you can, my feelings when i reflected that this was the wretch to whose mercy fate had consigned me, and not only me, but cynthia. if i had fear for my own safety, imagine, if you can, the horror with which i thought of him as the jailer of cynthia. if i could only get speech of cynthia, i thought, i could manage to tell her something--to warn her in some way. but then, after all, what should i tell her other than she knew already? if i frightened her, it would be worse, perhaps, than to leave her some confidence in her captors. she was not in christophe's presence now, at all events, for i had been told that the king was attending to the business of the day at that moment. we passed many windows and openings, where i saw men in uniform, secretaries, cooks, coachmen, horses, carriages, and everything that the mind can conceive as necessary to the comfort and well being of a great ruler. we passed by some round towers, that i thought must be sentry boxes, and then the terrace widened out, and again we walked past some very grand and gorgeous apartments. i remember an impression of mirrors and gilding, and in the most spacious of the rooms i saw a throne of velvet and gold, a sceptre lying there, a crown, and everything more splendid than i had ever imagined a white king would have desired with which to adorn his greatness. i looked along the marble esplanade, and at the end of the vista which i was approaching i espied some forms. they were human beings, but they were kneeling upon the ground. the figure before whom they knelt was seated upon a high dais. over his head spread the famous camaito tree, which gave its name to the terrace. the figure was peculiarly dressed, and on his head he had a strange sort of military hat with fine gold lace binding the brim. in its front, among a tuft of ostrich plumes, blazed a diamond as fine as the one that i had taken from the cave and had unknowingly buried. as we approached, there were curious looks from the more privileged ones, who still had the manhood not to bow the knee to this tyrant king. perhaps they were favourites, but i noticed that many of those present hid their faces in their hands as if afraid to look upon the evidence of so much magnificence and power. as we approached the throne, the king waved a small gold sceptre which he held. i suppose that he said, "stand aside!" for the crowd blew apart in two straight lines, as if they were puppets. then my guard and i walked up between the rows, and i stood in the presence of the redoubtable christophe himself. the man was of gigantic stature, and as black as a coal. to see a man who had been nothing more than an african slave seated there, with all the pomp and power that the proudest nation of the earth could confer, caused me to gasp with astonishment. the king thundered something at my guard, who went down at once upon his knees and tried to drag me down with him, but i made up my mind on the spot that as i behaved so would i be treated, and, to preserve my dignity and make christophe feel, if possible, that i had a position of my own, i stood more erect than ever. my clothes were torn and ragged, my hair had grown long, my appearance was generally unkempt and wretched, but i stood as straight as would christophe himself had our positions been reversed. again he thundered some words at me, and the guard endeavoured to pull me to the ground; but i straightened myself, folded my arms, and looked proudly at this modern and literal black prince. then there was a cry for some one, and forty messengers went running. all the while i stood looking at the crowd and surveying the motley garments that they wore. there were prisoners from the south, dressed in rags that scarce covered their nakedness; there was that body guard of christophe's, garbed as i have described; there were the officers of the king's army, gorgeous in all the buttons and straps and gold lace that could be crowded into the space which their bodies occupied. while i thus gazed, i was conscious that some one had joined me. i did not turn until i heard some words whispered in my ear. "it's rather awkward for me," said the bo's'n. "i haven't met many kings." "call that nigger a king?" asked the smith's voice on the other side of me. here there was a commotion from the throne. christophe had arisen and was pointing excitedly at us, waving his arms and foaming at the mouth. he motioned with his hands, and said something which i supposed was intended for "down! down! kneel before the king! i am the king!" [illustration: i placed my foot on his neck.] the smith and the bo's'n seemed to understand what he intended to convey. they immediately plumped themselves down upon the hard pavement, in the hot glare of the sun; but i looked at them contemptuously, and only moved myself a little nearer to the camaito tree, and within its shade. "if you are willing to appear as slaves," said i to the men at my feet, "you may do so. as for me, i am an american prince, and so i shall remain." when the king saw that i stood while the others knelt, he began to look on me as something nearer equal with himself. the smith, catching the situation, turned to me and began to prostrate himself before me. the bo's'n, seeing the motions of the smith, imitated him. i waved my hand grandly, and walked to the lower step of the dais and asked for a seat. meanwhile i placed my foot upon the necks of the bo's'n and the smith alternately, who edged along after me and knelt humbly before me. just then a man came hurrying into the king's presence and prostrated himself before christophe. then he arose and looked inquiringly at the black monarch, as if to ask what was required of him, whether his head was to pay the forfeit for some transgression of which he was not conscious. it seemed that his tongue was the member required, and only that it should wag a little, for this was the court interpreter. the man turned to me and asked in fairly good english who i was and where i had come from. "i represent," said i, "all there is of royal blood in my country. i am the son of our ruler." when this was repeated to christophe, he spread his great lips in a hideous grin and asked what i supposed he cared for that. "tell the king," said i, "that i belong to a country a thousand times as large as this little haïti and santo domingo put together. we have great battle ships; we have subdued that immense country, england. what do you suppose they will do with you if you dare to harm a hair of my head?" "for heaven's sake, speak him fair!" groaned the bo's'n. "he may not harm a hair of your head," said the smith, "but the bloodthirsty old wretch won't care a hang if he chops ours off in the next half hour." i looked downward to where the two men knelt, their heads bent to the floor in abject terror. i could not but laugh to see them. "you have placed yourself in that ridiculous position," said i. "now you will have to bear the consequences." the king now asked if there was anything i could do to prove the truth of my statement. the old devil had a cunning leer, and i wondered what this might mean. i answered that if hating the french and english was not enough (i felt the smith wriggle under my foot as i said this), "i know of little else to recommend me unless it is my knowledge of magic." "how that fellow's lying!" murmured the smith. but, i added, that i was unaccustomed to being without clothes and a bath, and when those were supplied to me i could better collect my thoughts. the king looked astounded at this remarkable speech, and well he might. i doubt if any one had ever spoken with such frankness to christophe since he was a little slave on the plantations of st. kitts. he roared something to some guards standing near, and they approached me with much more respect than they had manifested at first, and motioned me with polite, if not servile bows along the terrace. i saw that the attitude which i had assumed had raised me at once in the estimation of the king, and i decided to preserve it. i left the smith and the bo's'n still kneeling, not knowing if they dare rise. i felt certain that i had all that i could do to take care of myself for the present, and that whatever i gained in respect from this black villain they would share as a part of my retinue. i was led from the terrace along a veranda toward the back of the palace. here i came upon a lovely flower garden, where singing birds swung above my head, and lakes reflected the leafy branches and the splendid cups of colour which overshadowed them. the bath was situated some distance back in this garden, and here i disported myself with such luxurious joy as no one can imagine who has not been a wanderer in the heated tropics away from fresh water. when i had bathed, i found clean towels lying on a stool at the door of the little rancho. the water, i should have said, ran through a sort of stone trough. there was a roof overhead, with jalousies to screen one from the sun and from too curious eyes; but, as nature's dress was at that time the most popular one to be found, it excited no interest. when i was ready to resume my clothes, i found a clean white costume awaiting me, and, robed in this, i felt once more that i was in my right mind, and the peer of any king that ever came out of dahomey. i was now led back to the terrace where the king was still conducting business before he set out to ride among his sugar plantations, to see that his people toiled, constantly and sufficiently enough, to keep his revenues up to the proper figure. upon my return i went close to the throne, regardless of the suggestion of my guard by nudges that i keep a little farther away from the august presence. the king turned upon me with almost a smile. i was certainly altered for the better. i assumed a very proud air, and looked around inquiringly for a chair. my guard, thinking that he knew my requirements, ran back into the crowd, and from the mass of hot and dishevelled prisoners he brought forth the smith and the bo's'n. he made them resume their humble attitudes at my feet. the bo's'n was quaking with fear. the men both knelt before me and placed their necks submissively under my foot. "hot isn't no word for it," said the smith. "i didn't ship for this," said the trembling bo's'n. "you may get a worse billet than this if you don't do as i tell you," said i hurriedly. "you must treat me as a great prince, and then perhaps i can help you. heaven knows i don't care to rest my foot on your neck!--it's most uncomfortable." the men subsided without a murmur, and i took the open cane chair that was brought me, with a contemptuous look at its humble proportions. our asides had not been noticed, for just here some prisoners were brought to the king for judgment, and every one was turning to see them approach. among them i discovered the skipper. so soon as i caught sight of him i bounded from my chair and ran and embraced him most affectionately. the skipper was very slightly clothed, and looked extremely uncomfortable. "what are you doing, jones?" he said. "don't make me ridiculous." "you'll feel much more ridiculous," said i, "if they take you out and shoot you, or if they copy the french method." "what's that?" asked the skipper, with a trembling voice, apparently oblivious that the court had stopped business and was gazing at us. "why, kneeling before a trench with fifty other fellows, and being shot with such good aim that they don't have to put you in your grave, only have to shovel the earth in. now, you're my uncle----" "what bosh are you talking! i am in no way related----" "very well, then, take your own course. i wanted to do what i can----" "i'll be anything if they'll take this infernal chain off my wrist; it blisters like hot coals." i turned to the interpreter and told him that, with the king's permission, i should like the chains removed from my uncle's arms--that he was the brother of the ruler of our country, who was my father. "we are not very far from your little island," said i. "it will not take my father many days to come here in one of his powerful war ships to carry us home." my look and tone seemed to convey much more than my words, as i intended that they should. the interpreter translated my speech to the king. he looked at me curiously for a moment, and then ordered the chains removed from the skipper's wrists. the skipper, now that his worst trouble was removed, began to clamour for even greater comforts. he looked about him critically, the condescension of his manner contrasting curiously with the scantiness of his apparel. "if the old beggar has another throne handy," said he, "i'll take it." these words were repeated to the king at my demand, with much halting and fear of consequences by the interpreter. i have always thought that christophe had experienced so much of servility, which is the most tiresome thing in the world, from his sycophants, that he was glad to hear some straightforward talk. possibly he felt that men who spoke so fearlessly and openly were even greater than they had declared themselves to be. whatever his reasons, he spoke hurriedly to the interpreter, and he in turn to a servant. a chair was brought at once. i kicked the smith and the bo's'n out of the way with all the hauteur that i could express in my manner. they bowed low and withdrew with smiling faces, but i noticed a glitter in the eyes of the bo's'n that was not to be lightly overlooked. "we have disturbed the gracious king long enough," said i, with my politest bow. "we will not interrupt again." wondering somewhat that we were not hurried to the citadel, or that our heads did not pay the forfeit at once, i saw the king settle down to the pursuance of his business matters. the next prisoner was a fine-looking young fellow, tall and straight, of much prouder appearance than any one there. "have you finished the crown that i gave you to make?" asked christophe. the prisoner, who had fallen upon his face, partly because he was pushed there by the guard, replied: "i have not, my lord king. the time given me was too short." "away with him to la ferrière! bind him upon the parapet until nightfall, and when the sun sets behind the citadel cut the cords and let him fall into the abyss. thus he will have a day to think over his failure and what success might have done for him. bring in the next prisoner!" the condemned man fell upon his face on the ground as if lifeless, and was dragged away. the next person to step forward was a woman of about forty years. she trembled in every limb, and threw herself upon the hard stone slabs, sobbing, crying, and praying for mercy. so it seemed to me, though i could judge only by her tears and her attitude of supplication. "have you finished the robe that i commanded for the queen?" asked christophe, in no gentle tones. "a little time! a little time, i pray thee, most noble king!" the interpreter was whispering the translation of these words in my ear. "you have had a month! to the dungeons with her!" said the king. the next prisoner who came forward was a middle-aged man. he shook as if with a palsy, but concealed his fear as well as possible. he knelt before the throne. "can you duplicate my ring?" asked christophe. "i think that i can with a little more time, great king," said the man. "i am working day and night. but if the king will not let me have the sacred symbol, how shall i duplicate it?" the words caused something to snap within my ear. i looked up anxiously. the king was glaring at the man with eyes of fire. he had thrust his hand into the very face of the prisoner, and on his great thumb i perceived for the first time a circle of grotesque make. it held a common likeness to the sacred symbol which cynthia had found. the moment that i caught a glimpse of the twisted serpent body i felt that i was safe. it was the very duplicate of the serpent ring that i had in my possession. christophe held the circle up to the multitude. "it is the ring that my favourite gave to me," he said, "my favourite mauresco, before he disappeared forever." "that mauresco fellow seemed to be a fascinating sort of chap," said the smith, who had edged near me, in an undertone. "i understand all he says, but i think it is better to keep that fact quiet." "i have already given you time enough," said the king. "remove the prisoner! throw him at once off the grand boucan!" i arose. "stop!" said i, "if it please your majesty. i come of a family who deal in magic. to make a ring like that is simple work. i will promise to make you one if you will in turn deign to pardon the prisoners who have offended you." when the interpreter had repeated my speech to christophe, he turned on me with an incredulous air. "that offer has been often made," he said, "but no one has ever performed it. mauresco, my prime minister, my counsellor, the grand papaloi of the north, had given me a ring, but i have lost it. the one that he wore he carried away. i am wearing a poor imitation. it was cunningly artificed by skilful hands. can you reproduce it?" i felt the cold snake ring dangling against my bosom as i spoke. christophe gazed at me with curiosity. "say to the king," said i, "that a bargain must be made. if i succeed in pleasing him with the symbol that i shall make, he in turn must promise to send me with my friends to the coast, where a ship will come for us to take us back to our good and great country." the king thought a moment. he smiled his diabolical smile. he nodded his head several times and spoke to the interpreter. "tell him," he said, "that i am quite willing to make the promise. they have all failed me, but the grand boucan never fails me." "i shall not fail," said i. i asked leave to take the symbol in my hands. the king beckoned me to approach. when i was close to the dais he held out the ring to me, but he did not give it into my hand. i looked at it with much curiosity. "may i take the circle in my hand?" i asked the interpreter. the interpreter in turn asked the king. christophe hesitated; then he gave a reluctant nod. i took the great ring from the hand of the king. i examined it curiously, and shook my head with a contemptuous air. the workmanship was crude. it did not compare in any way with the circle that thumped against my bosom. i gave the king's ring back to him with a smile of superiority. "how is it possible," asked i of the interpreter, "that a great monarch like king henry the first is willing to wear a thing of such unskilled workmanship?" a look of almost mortification overspread the face of the king as these words were translated to him. "explain!" said he to the interpreter. "the king's favourite, mauresco," said the interpreter, "presented the king with a ring. it was a wonderful circle of magic. its properties were supernatural. mauresco had brought it from the far east. its design was that of the serpent and the goat's head, much as you see it here in the imitation. while mauresco was here he wore a poor imitation of the symbol, something like the one which the king wears on his thumb to-day. the original ring was all-powerful. the king carried all before him. when he wore that sacred circle he was victorious in battle. the tribes of the island flocked to his standard, his generals were faithful. but one day mauresco was missing and the sacred circle of magic had changed to what you see it." finding that christophe's fortunes were on the wane, he deserted him, thought i. got tired of black royalty, and went to join the pirates. took the original and left the poor copy to console the king. ah! mauresco, had i known that you were so clever a villain, perhaps i might have spared your life just for admiration of you! perhaps i, too, would have come under your ban, and have been your willing servant like the rest of them. so you took the original, did you, mr. grand papaloi mauresco, and you dropped it on the seashore, and some one whom i know found it? and the symbol has supernatural or magic properties, has it? very well, then! it is i who possess that original. now we will see what this magic symbol will do for me and for her who found it. the king sat looking inquiringly at me. "i can reproduce the ring," said i. "not this parody on the original, but one so near the original that the king shall not know them apart." i returned to my seat without further explanation. "are there any more prisoners to come before me?" shouted christophe. but just here i heard feminine voices, and along the terrace i saw advancing three women. i saw that one was white, the other two of darker hue. they were all three dressed in flowing robes of white, and looked as cool as possible compared with the people surrounding the throne. at a little distance behind the three came several women who appeared like serving maids. i wondered who this white maiden could be. her fair skin shone out in contrast to that of the dark women with whom she walked. the two girls had entwined their arms around the white girl, but it seemed to me that the latter shrank somewhat from their caresses. a few steps nearer they came, and all at once i discovered that the white girl was cynthia. somehow i had never thought of her in anything but that old blue dungaree dress. as they approached i saw that she was as well clad as the maidens with whom she walked, only that the two girls wore quantities of jewellery, but cynthia wore only the fine flowing robe, cool and spotless. i looked for lacelle, but i did not see her. just here, as we were watching their approach, there came an interruption. i heard from overhead a strange but familiar voice. i arose at once and approached cynthia. the voice had given me an idea. i bowed low before her, and as i did so i contrived to whisper: "did you hear that voice? turn it to use, i will give you the key." and then as i raised my head there came again the words, "there's no fool like an old fool." i glanced upward to the low roof, and there sat solomon in all his glory. "damn the britishers!" said solomon. i now took cynthia by the hand and approached the throne. "your majesty," said i, "let me present to you my sister, who has been through all the trials and troubles that have overtaken us. she is an adept in the sort of magic that we know in our northern home. she is a peculiar favourite with birds and animals." i might have added, "with the greatest brutes of all, men," but i desisted. christophe smiled, as much at his favourite daughter as at what i had said. the dusky maidens approached and seated themselves on the steps of the throne and drew cynthia down beside them. i mumbled a few words so low that the interpreter could not distinguish them. "thank god, you are safe!" said i. "call the parrot, and pretend you never saw him before." and then aloud: "let my sister try her power, your majesty, on some animal here. a dog, perhaps, or a horse, or, oh!"--perceiving the parrot for the first time--"there is a strange bird. she may as well take him as an instance. call the bird!" said i to cynthia. she readily comprehended me. she arose from the low seat and walked a little way out to the edge of the tree. she held her fingers out to the bird and called in her peculiarly sweet cooing voice. solomon looked at her for a moment with his head on one side, and then flew straight toward her: but that was not the worst of it. about six or eight other parrots flew down also from the roof, and not only solomon but all of the number were calling and screaming raucously, "damn the britishers!" and "there's no fool like an old fool!" solomon, who had flown straight to cynthia, began to walk over her shoulder and climb up and down her dress, and, strange to say, the other birds, seeing the confidence with which solomon accomplished his supposed introduction, followed suit, so that cynthia had them billing and cooing in her ears, putting up their beaks to be kissed, calling, "kiss me!" or declaring that there was no fool like an old fool, until the clamour was deafening. cynthia was as much astonished as the rest of us, but she carried out my project with great cleverness. it is astonishing what solomon had taught those birds while he had been among them. i laughed heartily to hear them say again and again, singly and in concert, "damn the britishers!" even the king smiled. "they are most kind to me," said cynthia to me hurriedly; "only i'm sorry you said i was your sister." "why?" said i. "oh, i fear complications. the other would have been better, i think." the king now arose and motioned us all away. when the bo's'n passed me i saw that he had one of those sudden attacks which were unpleasant, ludicrous, but far from dangerous. he did look absurd with his cheek sticking out like a hickory nut, in fact, like two or three, and i could not help laughing. the king was angry at my laughing in his presence, and, to calm him, i was forced to ask him through the interpreter to recall the bo's'n. as soon as his eyes fell upon the man he laughed harder than i had done. to see christophe laugh was something worth living for. his great features twisted into a thousand contortions, and i felt that not only did he enjoy the absurdity of the spectacle, but that it was a real pleasure to him to see the sufferings of a fellow-creature. i was sorry for my part in this performance, but what else could i do. "no matter, bo's'n," said i cheerfully, "you'll laugh at this yourself some day." "you'll laugh the other side of your mouth, sir," mumbled the bo's'n angrily, looking so comical that i laughed afresh. this seemed to put christophe in a very good humour. to find me willing to laugh at suffering seemed to argue well for me, and he regarded me with some faint expression of esteem. "you ought to be satisfied if you are as well off as i can make you. there are a good many of us, but i intend that we shall share as much alike as your stupidity will allow," said i to the bo's'n. "you'll be sorry if you do," said the bo's'n gloomily. i found it difficult to understand him, he spoke so indistinctly, so i told him that i would send word to the king that i should like some remedy for my suffering servant. the bo's'n gave a gloomy shake of the head. "very well, sir," he said threateningly, "you'll be sorry, mr. jones, sir. now, i tell you, you'll be sorry! you've ruined one good plan, for heaven's sake don't put your finger too deep into another pie, sir." but as i retired from the terrace, and told him that i thought the king was disposed to treat us kindly unless we offended him in some way, i added, "i will try to get a change of clothes for each of you." "thank you," answered the smith; "i shall be glad of some." "won't have 'em, mr. jones, sir!" said the bo's'n. "won't have 'em, don't ask it of me! not on no account." "what nonsense!" said i. "of course, you will have them." "no, sir, don't ask me, please. you'll be sorry if you do, sir." "you're a lunatic!" said i. "you must be made comfortable. i shall do what i think best," and i followed my guard. i found that i was not to return to the cells below the terrace. i was taken to a garden at the back of the palace and lodged in a room looking out upon the mountain. cynthia, with a lingering glance at me, had disappeared with the two daughters of christophe, i knew not where. i found myself in a plain sort of room, which contained little more than the furniture needed for absolute use; but when i discerned among the articles upon the table a primitive sort of arrangement for heating, a blow pipe, some small tools, and some bits of darkish ore, which had been rudely twisted into some semblance of the ring, i recognised the fact that i was in the room of that unhappy workman who had left it that morning never to return, and that this was the workshop where i was to try my hand at fashioning a ring like the one that the black king wore upon his thumb. chapter xxi. i offend the king's foster brother, and am forced to take the consequences. when the door was closed upon me the first thing that i did was to feel for my precious ring. it was safe. i took it out and looked at it long and curiously. it had never seemed so hideous, so wonderful, so fascinating, or so absorbing to me as it did at that moment. i apostrophised it. i almost worshipped it. "you are some good, after all," said i. "there you lie in my hand, too big for anything but the thumb of a giant, looking at me with those great shining devil's eyes of yours, and hoping to get me into trouble; but i'll get you into trouble while you get me out of it, for i'll leave you with the greatest rapscallion of modern times." the red and glowing pupils gleamed with a long-reaching ray of light, thrown right into the centre of my blinking eyes, and, was i mistaken, or did i see one of them wink at me? i put the ring back under the breast of my shirt and got up and tried the door. it was, as i supposed, fastened. there was a couch in the room, and in the space outside i saw a hammock. it swung from corner to corner of the short veranda. "ah!" you may say, "why didn't you just go out on that veranda, and if it was on the first floor step out into the garden and so escape?" in the first place, if i could have escaped from this place, what had i to gain? i should leave cynthia behind. in the second place, i was not on the ground floor, but two flights from the ground, which is an unusual thing in a tropic-built house. from the picture which i made of the palace as it looked in those days, you can see that above the terrace itself there were two other stories. this brought my room on the third floor. i suppose you think that i might have risked dropping down into the garden, but of what use? however, there was no question as to that. i could not get out if i would. the veranda was surrounded by a lattice work of iron. i was inclosed in a cage, and, though not as confining a one as that in which the pirates had placed me, it was a cage all the same. i entered the veranda from the long french window of the room and lay down in the hammock. i had nothing with which to while away my time, and i lay thinking what the upshot of all this business was to be. as i reclined i heard voices. they came from the garden below me. i peered downward as well as i could through my wire lattice, and there i saw cynthia with the two dusky maidens hovering near. they overwhelmed her with their attentions, each one seeming to vie with the other in striving to show how much affection she could lavish on the white girl. as i watched them, they seemed to get angry with each other. i saw that it was jealousy, and i also saw that if cynthia was clever she could do more for herself than i could do for her. so i called as if i were singing. i sang an old-fashioned tune which my mother used to play on the ancient spinnet in summer evenings at home when the farm work was done. i sang these words, or words to this effect: "be careful what you do, dear one. you can work on their feelings. do not make one jealous of the other. find out who is the king's favourite, and, if you must anger either, let it be the other. i am here just above you. where are you lodged? can you send solomon with a line under his wing, or can you, in passing, tie a note to the thread which i shall lower close to the jasmine vine? do not answer, but do what you can to tell me where you are lodged." i saw cynthia start and look all around and above her at the rooms of the palace. the two princesses were quarrelling, and nearly coming to blows, so that cynthia could raise her eyes to my place of detention without being observed. i repeated my words. i added to them. i went further. i told her how much i loved her, and assured her that nothing but the most insuperable difficulties should part us. i saw that she understood me. she waited until i had finished, and then she walked to where one of the black belles had pushed the other into a flowering bank, and, approaching them with gentle step, she held out a hand to each, speaking sweetly and softly, as i knew that cynthia could do, though i had had little experience of it myself. her manner and words seemed to subdue them, and finally they were reconciled with each other and with her. as i lounged in my hammock after they had left the garden, the door of my room softly opened, and i found that a boy had entered. he had in his hand a tray, and on it were some sweets and a glass of a pale-coloured decoction, also a glass of water. he looked strangely familiar to me, and when he raised his liquid eyes to me i recognised lacelle. i found later that the torch bearer was an old friend of lacelle's and zalee's. that his mother was one of the women employed about the kitchens, and that he had taken the girl directly to her, and that she had disguised her in the clothes of one of the serving lads. christophe cared nothing about making a prisoner of the haïtienne; all that he wanted was the party of white people, whom he thought might be fomenting a revolution, or might be connected with the pirates who infested the isle of pines, and made those terrible dashes upon the unprotected coast. i often wonder what he would have thought had he known that his favourite mauresco had deserted him for the buccaneers themselves. but it was not within my province to tell of this, or, in fact, to talk of mauresco at all. so long as i was to reproduce the ring and thus get our freedom, it would be well for me to remain silent about mauresco, whose ring would be recognised at once should i own that i had ever even seen him. for christophe to know that mauresco had been killed by any of our party, would insure instant death for every one of us. i sat looking at lacelle while these thoughts ran through my mind. she was in no hurry to leave me, and seemed puzzling her brains as to how she should communicate with me. finally she stretched her hand toward the glass of yellow liquid, and, pointing to her mouth, she shook her head. i stretched my hand toward the glass with the pretended intention of drinking the liquid, when she bounded to the table and, with a look of horror, seized the glass and carried it out to the veranda. i watched her as she poured it down the stem of the vine which grew from the ground below. "a-ha!" i thought, "trying to poison or drug me. now, what for, i wonder? if lacelle can always bring my food, i shall feel safe," lacelle now handed me the dulces and the glass of water, and bade me eat and drink. this i did gratefully. then she pointed to the empty glass. there were two dead flies in the bottom of the glass and another one was just tumbling in, and several were strewn around upon the table. i nodded comprehendingly. she then, by signs, made me understand that i should eat nothing but what she brought me. i responded understandingly, and she took her tray and departed. after she had left the room, i found a piece of paper on the table. i opened it. a few lines from cynthia were there, written hurriedly, as if she had snatched a moment in secret. they ran thus: "do meet me in the garden, under the mahogany tree, at ten this evening. i have some thing to tell you." truth to tell, i had never seen cynthia's handwriting, but i was sure that it was a lady's hand, and that neither of my friends could form the letters so well or so delicately. also i flattered myself that cynthia really wanted to see me at last. i put the paper in my mouth and reduced it to pulp. not a very romantic thing to do with one's first approach to a love letter, but all things are fair in love or war, and this was a combination of both, i feared. i now went out into the veranda and lay down in the hammock, preparatory to taking a short sleep. the breeze blew softly through the vines, and soon i became drowsy, but not so soon as my captors had imagined that i should. i was still quite wide awake, though in a few moments i should have succumbed to the soothing nature of my surroundings, when i heard a faint click. it was at my door; of that i was certain. i watched the door through my almost closed eyelids, but to no end. no one approached me from my room. i feigned sleep and began to breathe regularly, and had almost begun to think my idea but fancy. still, my eyes were opened a tiny crack, and they happened, from my position, to rest upon the wire screen which separated mine from the veranda beyond. and as i looked, the netting separated, a square of it the size of a small door was pushed toward me, and through the opening thus made a short person entered. i had thought that a solid wall of wire inclosed and shut me in. it was a boy who approached the hammock where i lay. he was darker than lacelle, and was clothed as boys of the palace dressed, except that the body was much more covered than i remember to have noticed in the dress of the pages. the feet of the boy were covered with some sort of light shoe; the legs and arms were hidden from view, and only the head and the very woolly hair were visible. i caught a glimpse of this as he was turning to close the door as softly as might be. when he turned again, i was breathing as regularly as a little child. my hands were crossed upon my breast. i was at peace apparently with the world. the boy came near me and stood still and listened. nothing but my regular breathing broke the silence, except now and then the note of a mocking bird, than which no music on earth is sweeter, always excepting your mother's voice, adoniah. for a moment all was quiet, and then the boy stooped toward me. he took one of my hands in his and, removing it from my breast, laid it by my side. i suffered the hand to hang listless in his. then he took the other hand and as slowly and quietly laid that also by my side. he then laid his hand on my chest, feeling here and there. then i felt the button which closed my loose garment pulled gently, as if to detach it from the buttonhole, and--quick as thought i was out of my hammock and upon him! i seized him in my arms, and together we rolled over and over upon the floor. he was no match for me, and in a moment i had him between my knees. as i sat astride his helpless young body, i gazed and gazed, and then i began to laugh. i laughed long and heartily, for the black was rubbed off in streaks, and there was enough of the original colour showing forth for me to recognise the minion. as i tore the mat of wool from his head, the minion's well-shaved poll stood out red and shining. "so it is you!" said i. "i thought you had been eaten cold long ago." the minion grinned, but did not speak. "i've a great mind to throttle you," said i. "on second thoughts, i will, unless you tell me the truth about how you came here and what you want of me." by way of emphasizing my words, i gave the minion's thorax a vicious squeeze. he gagged and choked and struggled to get free. "not until you tell me how you came here and who sent you," said i threateningly. the minion made me understand, in his laconic speech, that if i would allow him to rise he would explain his actions. i got up and stood, as a precautionary measure, against the door through which he had entered my part of the veranda. i did not trust the young villain in the very slightest degree, but he was helpless, and so i waited until he spoke. by urging and prodding and threatening to choke him, and partly succeeding, i discovered that he had escaped from the vaudoux sect on the night of the fight. that he, unlike the rest of us, had sought the court. that christophe was so pleased with this that he took him into his service. that he had told christophe's spies that he hated the bo's'n and myself, and only wanted to get rid of us, and that he would aid our double taking off in any way most agreeable to the king. that he had always suspected the bo's'n and myself of having some of his jewels about our persons, and that the king had told him that if he found that we had some of them he would believe his story of his discovery in the cave, and that he would send a platoon of soldiers down to the coast to find the jewels and restore them to him. "i suppose you think he would give them to you," said i. "but your jewels are gone." and then i told him how the bo's'n had hidden them, and how the skipper and i had buried them in the sea. "and you will never see them again," said i. "but what enrages me against you is that you were willing to try to come upon me unawares. did the king order that drink for me?" the minion, by short and jerky sentences, conveyed to me the idea that he did not know that i had had a drink of anything, but that a grand officer had taken him aside and told him he would find me in a sound sleep, and that he could get the jewels that i wore concealed about me if he came in at once. the minion also told me that the liquor had probably been given to me that i might be taken to another place, away from all my friends, and that he had heard the king say that unless i completed the ring within four or five days i was to be thrown from the grand boucan, that my bones might bleach with those of the other unfortunates who lay by the thousands in that valley of horror. then i took the minion in my two hands and i shook him. i shook him until i thought that i should shake the teeth out of his head. "do you feel that, and that, and that?" asked i, as i gave him an extra shake. "now, the very first time that i catch you meddling with my affairs i shall not only shake the breath out of your lungs, but i'll beat the wind out of your spying little carcass. now go!" i opened the wire door and kicked the minion through into the next section of the veranda. he put up his black fists and began to cry, smearing the colouring matter all over his face until he looked so absurd that i could not refrain from laughing, angry as i was. while i stood there laughing at him, the farther door of the next compartment was opened and an arm in uniformed sleeve drew the lad in and closed the door and locked it. i returned to my own veranda, and soon i heard the wire door fasten with a click. i tried it, and found that i could not again open it. then upon my ear broke the sound of wails. sobs, groans, shrieks, and howls rent the air, and i laughed with fiendish glee. "you see what a nice time you'll have between them and me," i called as loudly as i could. "don't try it again, for there will be nothing to beat when i have got through with you." and now i turned over in my hammock and went to sleep. i argued, that if they really intended to kill me i had better get some sleep when and how i could, to be ready for--i knew not what. i awoke much refreshed. i saw from the long shadows in the garden below me that it must be later than i thought. i sprang from my hammock, determined to show some interest in the making of the ring, and thus deceive those who came to my chamber. i knew less than nothing about work such as this that i had offered to perform, but i decided to set about my fraudulent exhibit at once. i went to the door and tried to open it; as i had suspected, it was fastened on the outside. i then began to pound upon it. after making a tremendous noise, i heard the shuffling of feet, and an undersized negro turned the key and opened the door a crack. i jumped upon him and hurled him from the door, pushing it wide, whereupon i confronted three of christophe's famed body guard. so this was the way that they proceeded! i saw that they simply wanted to discover if i was one of the docile kind. i proved the contrary very quickly. i began to storm and rage. i pointed to the table within my room, and asked how i could follow the commands of the king if i were not allowed fire to ignite the wick of my lamp. i said that i had been pounding on the door for hours. what was the matter with their ears that they could not hear me? the men looked at me with astonishment. then they gave an order to the old negro, who quickly disappeared. while he was gone i worked myself into such a state of rage that my guard stood gazing open-mouthed. it was very exhausting, as when the person whom the old negro had been despatched to bring returned with him i was forced to repeat the entire performance, for this was the interpreter. after my rage was quite exhausted, and my arms ached painfully from my having thrashed them round my head like the arms of a windmill, the interpreter turned to the guard and told them what i desired. the old negro was sent for a light, and i closed my door with a bang in the face of the guard, and settled down to my work. i felt confident that i should be able to produce nothing, but i held the metal before the flame, put the pipe in my mouth, and began to blow. i did not dare take my ring from beneath my clothes, for i feared that in the corner of some adjacent room there was a spy set to watch me, and it was not part of my plan that christophe should know that i carried a ready-made symbol about with me. i found that the metal melted easily under the pipe. i allowed it to get partly cool, and then began to fashion it with my pincers into somewhat near the size and shape of the ring. i was much pleased with myself, and, after about an hour's work, i came to the conclusion that i had done pretty well for a novice. however creditable it was, i knew that that was not the sort of work that christophe wanted. he required the smooth polish, the delicate arabesque, the exquisite symmetry, the perfect setting of those wonderful eyes, the expression of the face half human, half grotesque, and with a beastliness of vision that i can not describe, but which seemed to permeate the whole. remembering lacelle's horror of the ring as a symbol, i covered it with my handkerchief, thinking that if she saw it when she came to serve me she would be so terrified that she might never come to my aid again. i wondered why christophe should care so much for the original ring--whether it was that blind devotion which every one who had ever come in contact with mauresco had shared for that hypnotic personality, or whether christophe himself was tainted with the love of fetish worship. this latter idea, however, was contradicted by the fact of his having built within his palace an anglican church. this much i surmised: the king evidently thought that the ring held some occult power, and i could account for his anxiety to possess one, the counterpart of mauresco's own, only on the supposition that he felt assured of its supernatural qualities. my stay in this delightful spot would have been satisfactory enough had i not been anxious about our future, and had i been able to see cynthia. each day when my guard came into my room he cast a scrutinizing glance at the table where the lamp and the metal lay, but i had always the handkerchief thrown over them, so that his curiosity was never rewarded. four days had now passed, and i had done little more than heat the metal and try to bend it into the shape of a circle, which bore no more resemblance to the original design than would any bit of carelessly twisted iron. this, as i have said, was the fourth day. i did not wish the task to seem too easily accomplished, as i might be suspected of producing a ring that i had stolen and not made. each morning when the old servant came in to bring me my breakfast i arose from the table, hurriedly blew out the lamp, threw my handkerchief over the awkward attempt at ring making, and seated myself on the balcony to sip my coffee and eat my bread. on this last morning i had grown a little careless, and had lost myself in speculations as to what a pleasure it would be to return once more to god's country, when i heard a chuckle. i jumped to my feet, but it was too late. the old man had twitched the handkerchief from the materials which i was pretending to use toward gaining my liberty. he held the ring in his grimy paw, and examined it as if he had every right in the world to do so. i sprang upon him and kicked him all across the chamber, and out into the passage, down which he ran howling with pain. the interpreter came to see me later, and explained to me in low tones that he was sorry that i had used such harsh measures, for the old man was a favourite with christophe--his half brother, in fact--and he feared for the result. "very well, then," said i. "let the result be what it will. i do not intend to be spied upon any longer. it is quite easy to make such a ring as the king wants, and that i will show you to-morrow morning if i may be taken before him." "if he lets you remain so long," said the good interpreter, sighing. in that sigh i thought that i read my doom. he looked with curiosity at my work, but shook his head. "they have all of them got as far as that," he said. "many much further. as an evidence, recall the ring which christophe wears upon his thumb. there has never been so good a one made, and yet it is as far from being the strange, mysterious thing that mauresco gave the king, as sunlight is different from starlight. that symbol which mauresco gave to the great christophe contained eyes of jewels, the like of which i believe have never been seen in this world. the symbol is said to have come from the far east, and to possess the power of magic. i hear that the king can not understand its failure to protect him since his favourite mauresco left him. i remember the day that mauresco took it from his finger and gave it to the king. mauresco's fingers were thin and bony. the ring was a mile too large. he wore it on his thumb, with a smaller and thicker ring to keep the symbol in place. he told the king that it would preserve him from all harm. that he would be successful so long as he should wear it or keep it near his person. mauresco had free entrance to the king's chambers at all times. sometimes he slept in the room adjoining that of the king. he often talked mysteriously of his being called hence at some near day, but he impressed christophe with the fact of the power of protection, even if he was forced to leave him, which the ring would possess for him. and there is undoubtedly that power in the ring of mauresco, wherever it may be at this day. after mauresco presented the king with the ring his successes began to be phenomenal. he was the victor in every battle that he fought, but since he awoke one morning to find mauresco gone, and to discover later, in looking at it closely, that his ring was not the symbol which mauresco had given him, he has been less successful. its effect upon his character has shown itself in a hundred different ways. he is more irritable. where formerly he threw one or two men from the grand boucan in the week, now there is rarely a day when some life does not pay the penalty." "irritable" i thought a rather modest word for the temper which induced this wholesale slaughter. i wondered why the interpreter should talk so familiarly with me, but i argued that he was glad to speak his native tongue once more. i discovered that he had been born in america of african parents. that in going to sea with his master, an old sea captain, the ship had been set upon by one of dessalines' vessels of war and sunk, the whites being drowned and killed. this one man swam ashore and had drifted into the army, and then, after various vicissitudes which it would require too long a time to recount, to christophe's palace. here he had been for ten years or more. his value as an interpreter was fully recognised, and he had been kept by christophe for this purpose. i had not seen anything of the queen in the short time that i was honoured by the king's hospitality. she was away, i heard from the interpreter, at a place called the "queen's delight." the king had many beautiful places among his possessions. they were cotton plantations, sugar estates, and the like. sometimes the black queen longed to escape from the magnificence which must have overwhelmed her, not to mention the presence of certain ladies whose neighbourhood made her life uncomfortable, if not unendurable. at such times she would go to "the victory," "the glory," "the king's beautiful view," "the queen's delight," or "the conquest." these places were at some distance from sans souci, but they were all situated in the "artibonite," one of the most beautiful and fertile valleys in the world. here the poor woman, whose devotion to the famous, as well as infamous, king was phenomenal (i judge from what i saw later), could live in peace, and, if she were alone, her solitude was at least undisturbed by jealousies, friction, or the sounds of misery which the black king caused each day by imperative orders, whose right was never questioned. the interpreter told me that the people were growing restless, that already there had been some revolutions about "le cap," and there was news of uprisings to the south of us. i looked to this as a means of rescue, but then, i argued, we may fall into hands as bad as, if not worse than, christophe's, and i dared not pray for a change. "i wonder why they allow you to talk so freely with me!" said i. "i seem to be a prisoner, and i can not understand why they should let you come in and talk with me in a language which they do not speak themselves." the interpreter shook his head. "i do not know," said he, "unless they want you to feel secure, and that they are friendly to you." it was growing dusk now, and the room and veranda were dark, but i could not help seeing that there was a slight movement on the porch outside. i found that it was a black servant who was engaged in raising the jalousies. his back was toward me, but i paid some attention to him. "do you think he intends to let me go," asked i, "or is the ring making only a pretense to kill me?" "i think----" but i had risen and had sprung out upon the balcony. not because i cared what i said myself, but because i did not want this poor fellow to get into trouble through me. the attitude of the servant was that of a listener, and i was upon him before he could turn round. "this place is like a box of surprises," said i, as i seized the listener. i dragged him into the room, and, striking a light, i found that i had the minion again within my grasp. i lighted the lamp and held it under his chin for want of a better mode of torture. "you young devil!" said i, "so it's you again, set to spy upon me, of course! they seem to have stained you for good this time. that dye will never rub off." at this the minion lifted up his voice and howled. "tell me where the captain is," said i, holding the lamp close under his snub nose. "dead!" roared the minion, drawing suddenly away from the flame. "of course, i know you are lying," said i. "i suppose the bo's'n and the smith, too, are dead." the minion nodded his head and added, "lady, too." i gave his nose a final scorch and ran him through the open door, took him out, and dropped him off the veranda next to mine. i did not care if i killed him. unfortunately for those whom the minion lived to plague, i heard him catch among the vines as he descended, and, after a rather rough fall, get up and limp off. "tell your master," i called after him, with fury in my tones, "that if he comes here i will serve him in the same way. do you think there is any truth in that young liar's words?" said i to the interpreter when i came back into the room. "oh, no," said he, "for i saw the rest of your party just before i came in here--i mean the m'sieus." "where were they?" i asked anxiously. the interpreter shook his head. "i hardly like to tell you," said he. "but you may as well know the truth first as last. they were tied on the backs of mules and were going up the mountain path." "what do you mean?" i breathlessly asked. "to the citadel," answered the interpreter, and added, "i wish, i do wish you had not said what you did just now." when the interpreter left me i was a prey to the saddest thoughts. could it really be that this black brute had taken my dear old skipper, the bo's'n, and the smith up to the citadel to dispose of them in his usual brutal way? i arose and walked to the veranda and looked out. the door opening into the next veranda was still flung wide, and i saw that i should have no trouble in climbing down where i had dropped the minion, so i walked to the rail and vaulted it. there was no one to bar my progress, and i got to the bottom very comfortably. i could only surmise that the door had been intrusted to the minion to open at will, and that he had been chosen to inform upon me as to my confidences with the interpreter. probably those who sent him thought that he was still spying upon me, and that when he returned it would be with a large budget of news. i walked softly to the back of the garden. i had no idea where the large mahogany tree might be situated, but made straight for the largest trunk that i could find, and, going round behind it, i discovered cynthia. she took my hand in hers and pressed it warmly, but she did not allow me to kiss her cheek, as i should like to have done. "i have been here every evening since i sent you that note," said she. "did you get it?" "yes," said i. "then why have you been so long in coming?" her tone was one of reproach. "you know that i would have come if it were possible," answered i. "do not waste the time in reproaches, cynthia. we may have but a moment. are they kind to you?" "yes; no one could be more devoted than the two daughters of the king. but, mr. jones----" she cast down her head and whispered hurriedly: "what do you think? the king wants me to marry his nephew." "who, that black brute?" "yes, the king." "thank god, he does not want you himself!" i blurted out. i was sorry and ashamed the moment that i said this, but to the cynthias of this world all things are pure. "why, he couldn't marry me!" said cynthia, raising those great innocent eyes to mine. "he has a wife already. that beautiful queen, the mother of those girls you saw me with. i have not seen her; she is away just now at one of the other palaces, but i hear on all sides of her loveliness and dignity. they tell me that she is more beautiful than ever cleopatra was, and that her colour is not much darker than that of the oriental queen. but i have very little time to speak with you. my friend is waiting for me over there beneath the acacia tree. she is keeping watch. she tells me that the king's plan is this: he wants a white princess here to show the world that he is the equal of any power. you know how the french have intermarried with these people, and christophe can not understand, i suppose, why we of the north should not fall at once into his plans. his daughter, the youngest, is really in love with her cousin. she hardly knows what to counsel me to do. christophe purposes to break up these family arrangements and marry me to the nephew and you to the daughter." "well," said i dejectedly, "you have the dagger, i suppose? but marry me to the daughter!" i shook with laughter. the whole thing seemed so perfectly ridiculous. "i don't see anything so very amusing in that," said cynthia in an offended tone. although i knew that christophe had a very beautiful queen, and also numerous attractive ladies about his court, i was very much afraid that he would take a fancy to cynthia himself; but happily this danger seemed not to have been thought of. "the girls have been very kind to me. the youngest one came to me in tears, and with lacelle's help--do you know that lacelle is here?" i nodded. "she told me this plan of her father's. she it was who brought me here this evening, and she says that she will do all in her power to aid me. she knows of a place where she can hide me, she says, but how to get me away later she does not know. she thinks that her cousin geffroy will aid her. she says when things get to the worst that she will take me to this hiding place. i have given her solomon for her kindness to me." "where is it?" i asked--"the hiding place that you speak of?" "i do not know," said cynthia mournfully. i was furious at the idea of that old wretch having made these plans for cynthia, but his plan for me struck me as most ludicrous, so that at one moment i was laughing convulsively and the next foaming at the mouth with rage. "dearest," i said, "whatever you do, keep friends with this girl, this daughter of christophe's. she will help you, i am sure. have you your dagger still?" she drew it from the folds of her dress. "if the worst comes to the worst," said i, "be sure and use it. unless they kill me, you must know that i am always trying to devise some scheme to rescue you." i felt for her hand. "do you wear our wedding ring, cynthia?" i heard a faint "yes." i pressed her fingers in mine, and found the little band that i had taken from the pirates' cave still there. i drew nearer. for one delicious moment she allowed her head to rest upon my shoulder. i pressed a kiss upon her cheek, the first that i had been allowed to give my own wife, and i arose as strong as hercules. "i can do anything now," said i. "i must tell you my secret hurriedly. i have told the king that i can make a ring like the one he wears, only it will be a ring of much more power. the ring that i have--the one you found on the beach--is, i am certain, the one which was lost by mauresco, his favourite, who gave it to christophe, and then stole it away again." "what! that handsome pirate?" asked cynthia. "yes, damn him!" said i, "and without apology, cynthia. now i am sure that you found that very ring--what they call the magic symbol. sometimes i think that there is something in their superstition about it. such eyes were never seen in human head! i thought of giving christophe that ring, and pretending that i had made it. if he believes that i can do so much, he may think that i can do still more. he may even take a fancy to me and make me his favourite." "yes, and marry you to one of those girls. no, hiram, i should not like that at all." to say that these words delighted me is superfluous. "then what shall i do with it, cynthia? shall i give it to you?" "n--n--no," said cynthia hesitatingly. "i suppose your plan is best, after all. where do you carry it?" "tied to a cord around my neck," said i. "they may come at night while you are asleep and take it. i have a needle stuck in my dress now, with a needleful of thread. i stuck it there on purpose, thinking that you might want a little sewing done. i have brought it every evening. do you know that i have been here every evening since i wrote to you? i took it out of aunt mary 'zekel's bag before i came out--the needle and thread, i mean." "bless you, dear!" said i. "my clothes are new, and i have no pockets. they saw to that. perhaps it would be as well to let you secure it somewhere, that i may not lose it, until the proper time comes to surprise the king." "when will that be?" asked cynthia. "to-morrow, i think. i have had time enough. the time was up yesterday." as i spoke i took the ring from beneath my shirt front and, breaking the cord, handed it to cynthia. it lay like a heavy weight in her hand, and, even though there was hardly a ray of light, the eyes shone with a glow almost luminous. "i can't think of any better place than the hem of your trouser leg," said she. "a very unromantic hiding place, but it is better to be safe than romantic." "i wish we could be both," said i. i agreed with cynthia in her view of the case. i stood up and rested my foot on the seat at the back of the tree. she took her needle and thread, and, almost entirely by feeling, she sewed the barbaric symbol into the hem. i thanked her, and told her that she must return now, so that no one need know where she had been. "before you go, cynthia, i must give you something of yours." "of mine?" asked cynthia in apparent amazement, but i could detect a tremor in her voice. "yes, i found it in the cave the morning that we returned from our dove hunt, and saw that the house was burned. it was on the floor, just where you lost your handkerchief." i took her palm in mine and slid the locket into it. "strange that i should have found it in the cave when i saw you throw it into the stream." "yes, it was strange," answered cynthia, with perfect calmness of tone; "but very curious things happen in this island i have discovered." just here i heard a sort of warning cry. cynthia arose hurriedly. "they are calling me," she whispered. "i must go at once." she pressed my hand affectionately, and i saw her glide away a little to where another figure joined her, and together they melted into the gloom. i sat down again to think over my last few moments with cynthia. i will not weary you with a lover's rhapsodies, but from what i have seen in your courting days, son adoniah, i know that you will understand how i felt, or something of it. no one can possibly understand exactly the feelings that come over a man placed as i was unless he has experienced a similar fate. here was i, meeting my dear girl by stealth in the gardens of a cruel and bloodthirsty monarch, no less a monarch because he was a black monarch, who had soldiers and slaves at his command against whom our little strength was as but an insect's. cynthia had left me to go i knew not where. she had told me in our short talk that the daughters of christophe would have loaded her with ornaments had she been willing. he might show her mercy because of these black princesses, but what if they should change toward her? the blacks are capricious at times. what if he should insist upon this hated marriage, and either bind her to his nephew or, angry at her refusal, hand her over to a worse fate, if anything could be worse? i hoped that if such were the alternative he would throw her from the great wall, and thus end all our misery. i began to think it time to return to my room, and was wondering if i could regain it in the same way that i came, when a hand was laid upon my shoulder, a heavy hand. there was a flash of light, and i saw a great griffe standing there, looking at me curiously. this man had a red turban round his head. around his loins he had another cloth of the same colour. the rest of his body was bare. i caught the flash of a weapon upraised to strike. i jerked myself away from the man, but he had me again in a moment. i struggled, i kicked, i vituperated. he did not strike with the weapon, and i judged at once that he had threatened me only to intimidate me. it was a rude awakening from the bliss of cynthia's kiss to the rough grasp of a man set to trap me. when i saw several more surrounding me, i gave up the unequal struggle and sank down on the seat under the mahogany tree. but the griffe rudely jerked me to my feet again, and told me, i suppose, that i was to accompany him. he pointed along a lovely alley, which was just beginning to show in the light of the newly risen moon. it was a beautiful path, and i could not help wondering if murder and death lurked at the end of it. i walked amid my captors, thinking that my road lay toward a stronger, more secure chamber, where i was to finish my self-imposed task. fool that i had been, to think that i could deceive such an astute savage as the great conqueror christophe! the odours of the night were sweet. the flowers nodded and swayed on every side. the green boughs drooped overhead and shaded the seats about the tree trunks, fit refuge for lovers, and i walked in the midst of six tall savages, each watching me with a wary eye, and each with a great knife drawn to cut me down should i attempt to flee. at the end of the alley we came to a halt. here were several mules ready bridled and saddled for mounting. three of the men mounted. then the three who remained standing on the ground placed me upon a fourth animal, and fastened me securely to the saddle. my hands, however, were left free. "wait a moment!" i cried, with desperate energy. "i have made the ring which the king ordered. i have it here. i can give it to his majesty at once. only let me see him. let me see the king. i must see king christophe! let me see him for a moment, or bring the interpreter. let me speak with the interpreter; he will tell the king." but i might as well have talked to the grim mountain above me. the men half laughed, half scowled, shook their heads, and prodded the beast on which i sat. the mule was started along a narrow causeway, where the slightest step to the right or left would have dashed us both into a dark and swiftly flowing stream. when we had crossed, i turned to look behind me. i found the three mounted men were following me. i tried to turn the mule, but i soon saw the utter futility of such an attempt. the path was extremely narrow, and i perceived that turning the mule about would be a most difficult manoeuvre, even were the animal willing, and my experience with the genus mule had led me to believe that he is never of his rider's mind. then of what avail to turn! i might dash one, even two, of the men off the steep fall in my own company, but i could not see what recompense that would be to me, and then i remembered the old skipper's words, "i've been in tighter places than this, my boy," and i resigned myself to the inevitable. up, up, up, we went, now winding through narrow defiles, again coming out on the sheer side of the mountain. there is a way of approach to the mountain top which is not so dangerous as the one which we pursued, and i know that it was in existence at that time, but i was conducted along a path which would have caused my eyes to start in terror from my head had i not felt certain that there was much worse to come. we are going to the citadel, i thought--that citadel about which cynthia and i jested one day not so long ago. i am to be thrown from the boucan, and shall either die going through the air or lie a mangled heap among those whitening bones. the vultures of the air will hover over me, they will swoop down upon me, they will try to peck out my eyes. i shall fight them as long as i can, if i am alive, if i have an arm that is not broken, and if i can draw my knife! i felt for my knife. it was gone! i knew not when i had lost it, whether when i had bathed and changed my clothes or whether it had fallen from its sheath since. i looked abroad on the wonderful night. no one was moving in that vast exterior but we four. it seemed as if i were alone, for i rode ahead of this singular cavalcade, and saw nothing but the wonderful panorama of the verdure-covered steeps, the wide-spreading ocean below, and the stars and moon above me. i trembled and shook so that i could hardly hold to my animal, for i discerned some few dark shapes still wheeling down below there whose cravings had not yet been satiated. "i shall be their next morsel," said i to myself. and as these thoughts passed through my brain i entered between two high walls, which spread as i advanced, and i found myself in an open courtyard. the gates had been flung wide at our approach, but as soon as we were within them they closed with a loud and ominous clang, and i was a prisoner within the frowning, stupendous walls of christophe's citadel, the terrible la ferrière. i remember little that followed. i tumbled rather than slid from the mule. i could hardly walk upon my stiffened legs, but i found that they must be put to use. we crossed the courtyard and entered a heavy door, which clanged to behind us, captive and captors alike. we traversed long halls, we passed dark interiors. we came out into open spaces, where in the brilliant light of the moon i saw again the open ocean, on which i imagined that white sails flecked the open, free waters. nearer were esplanades, where great cannon frowned and balls for their consumption were piled to the top of the different compartments. then into the dark interior again, again emerging into light, mounting stairs, descending them, and so on until we came at last to a door. it was hastily unlocked and i was pushed inside, my guards, following. for a moment i could see nothing, and then, as my eyes gathered strength, i perceived that i was not alone. a figure was crouching in the corner of the room. it arose with a sort of growl and stood upon its feet. it recalled to me at the moment the snarl of a dog whose bone is to be taken away from him. its back was to the little ray of moonlight that came through the open port. this being made a dash at us, all four, with an open knife. we started back. the guards laughed as they all three ran out, pulling the door to after them. i had seized upon the edge of the door, but it had slipped through my fingers. its closing click was like the answer of fate. i flung my back against it and faced the figure who stood in the middle of the room with his hand upraised, and in that hand a knife. chapter xxii. we engage in battle, murder, sudden death, and--freedom. you may be led to think, son adoniah, that events followed each other in a succession more rapid than natural, and that my story is what might be called by people of moderation a very sensational one, but that would be a mild term to apply to the experiences of our stay in the island. those were troublous times, and i can but give you a sketch of the crowded events of those terrible weeks. if ever any one whom you allow to peruse these memoirs, should pretend to doubt your father's word, take the book from him and close it, and let not his curiosity as to the "yarns" that i am spinning prevail upon you to deliver these pages again to his scrutiny. my sufferings and those of my companions were too great for me to tolerate for a moment that my word should be doubted. the end of the last page left me in a cell of the citadel alone with a strange man, upon whom i had been unwillingly thrust. my situation was not a cheerful one, especially as i heard the stranger muttering to himself in unintelligible jargon. it sounded like an attempt at english, and rather familiar to me. the place was dark, except for a slight ray of reflected light that came from some angle where the moonlight struck, and then glanced in at the one small embrasure, making a narrow line across the floor of the cell. i could see, silhouetted against the opening, a human figure, and that was all. i watched it, spellbound. it stooped and began to crawl slowly toward me. now i crouched and backed to a corner to elude it. it turned and came on again steadily toward my corner. as it reached the middle of the room, i saw the moonlight glance for a moment on the glittering blade. i shrank into myself with horror. the figure arose and stood as if to make a fresh start. there were more mutterings and the preparation for a dash at the intruder, but in the second that the head was raised to its natural height and the moonlight fell upon it i recognised a profile that i knew. it was the swollen cheek of the bo's'n! i called to him: "bo's'n! bo's'n! don't strike! it is i, the mate!" the bo's'n stood for a moment in astonishment, and then dropped upon his knees. he gave a gasp and a gurgle. i saw something roll, a ball of light, along the ray-swept floor. i was on my knees also before he could rise. i seized upon the brilliant thing. it was so large that my fingers would hardly close over it. it was wet and cold, and i turned my eyes toward the spot where the bo's'n stood again in the revealing ray. i saw that his toothache had left him as suddenly as it always had arisen. "so this is the swelling from which you have suffered so long and so continuously," said i, with, i must confess, a sneer in my voice. i opened my fingers, and together we looked down upon the great diamond which he had found among the pirates' jewels, and which would have made two of the famous koh-i-noor. "you ridiculous old fool!" said i, "you might have killed me, do you know that?" "you wouldn't have had my secret if i had, mr. jones, sir," snarled the bo's'n. "no, i shouldn't, and i suppose you think that you would have had an easy life of it. i should have haunted you as certainly as my name is hiram jones." the bo's'n snatched the gem quickly from my hand and backed into the corner of the cell. "i don't mean that you shall have it, mr. jones, sir. it's me that's carried it through all our troubles, pretending to have toothache and all. sometimes it was in my mouth and sometimes under my armpit, and do you think, sir, that i intends to share and share alike after all the trouble i have had, mr. jones, sir?" i was convinced that the bo's'n must be subdued again. the time had come. i raised my hands and began in an incantatory manner: "there was a serpent god," i said, in a dreamy tone, "with gleaming eyes. he twined and wound himself around in a slow, slow moving circle. he thrust out his forked red tongue. the head which he held within his own was the head of a goat! _a goat without horns!_ he half swallowed the goat. he squirmed and stretched and pressed his body round it, he squeezed its bones, crushed them--crushed them----" i gazed fixedly at the bo's'n. he was already shaking with horror. his eyes were glued to the wall behind me, he stood paralyzed and stiff. the diamond rolled from his hand and bounded to the corner of the cell. he shook as if in an ague, the cold drops stood upon his forehead, and then he fell to the floor, and his knife dropped from his hand. i seized upon the knife and turned to search for the jewel, when, to my horror, i beheld a real serpent gliding up the wall behind me. it had appeared to aid me at this critical moment. having been assured by the smith that most of the serpents in the island were harmless, i made a dash for it, and soon despatched it. i threw the hateful pieces out of the embrasure. the bo's'n still lay limp and white. "it's only what you deserve," said i to his deaf ears, "but i will provide myself with something now which will insure me safety while i sleep at least." i took the knife, and, kneeling on the floor, i pressed the point to the hem of my nether garment. i would rip the hem and disclose the symbol, but fate had been there before me. for the second time the ring had played me false. cynthia's sewing had not been of the surest, hampered as she was by the want of light. i felt sick at heart when i discovered my loss. my only chance of getting at christophe had flown. i tried to think where i could have lost the ring. remembering my struggles under the mahogany tree with the body guard, my frantic kicks and wild slashing at my foes, i could only imagine that i had dropped it there in my violent efforts to tear myself from the grasp of the black men. the bo's'n still lay dazed and helpless on the floor. he had not spoken a word, and did not seem to see me. i went at once to the corner where the jewel had rolled. there seemed to be a small hole of about four inches in diameter close to the floor. it ran under the thick partition wall; i thought that it was meant for a drain in case that water should get into the cell, or if the floor should be washed, which, i am sure, is a thing which as yet had never happened. i took the knife and poked and pried within the hole. it seemed to be a long hole and far-reaching. it was close to the level of the floor, so that i could not get my eyes far enough down to see if the diamond were hidden there. i first drove the knife into the cavity very nervously, i realize now, and anxiously. i seemed to hear a faint click, and i thought that the point of the knife touched something; but the article, whatever it was, had retreated to a greater distance, and, as i tried again and again to secure the treasure, i pushed it only farther away. i finally relinquished the search in great despair. i looked up at the wall. i saw some slight cracks in the rough masonry. i felt sure when the bo's'n came to he would not only demand the diamond, and accuse me of stealing it, but that he would again attack me with the knife. being a much taller man than he, i jumped up against the wall and drove the knife into a crack as far as i could push it. when i landed again upon my feet, the bo's'n was regarding me with glittering eye. i saw that the man was near losing his mind, and i feared that when he discovered that his jewel and his knife both were gone that i should find myself in a cell with a mad man. i retreated to a farthest corner of the room, and, with eyes that were dropping to with sleep, i sat myself down to watch the bo's'n. after a long sigh he winked violently several times, and then opened his eyes in a natural manner. the faint morning light was finding its way in through the port or small window. it would grow lighter now with every succeeding moment. "come, now, bo's'n," i said, "there is no use in our having any quarrel. i am as sorry for what has happened as you can be. i have managed to put myself out of danger from you." i pointed to where the knife stuck firmly between the two great stones. "i did not take your jewel. you dropped it yourself. it was when the serp----" i saw the bo's'n begin to tremble again and his eyes to quiver. "i shall not revert to anything painful. the diamond rolled just in there." i pointed to the hole which i had unsuccessfully probed. "we may be able to get something later with which to secure it--the diamond, i mean. but just at present there is no hope at all of such a result. now, wouldn't it be better for you and i to be friends? we are here alone together. we do not know where the skipper and the smith may be. i can not tell what will be the fate of----" i hesitated, and then boldly plumped out the words, "'my wife.' we are in about as doleful a plight as any two men in this world ever were, but i have often heard it said that 'while there's life there's hope.' now listen to me, bo's'n. you and i may as well be friends, for i can't see that at present we have any one else to depend on. i had no intention of taking your diamond, but it belongs to me as much as to you." "as to that, mr. jones, sir, it belongs to the minion as much as to either of us." "well, i don't know about that, but the captain and the others have an interest in it equal with ours. now, bo's'n, we may save the lives of all the party if we can get at that gem and offer it to christophe." "i'd rather trust to keeping it in my cheek, sir," said the bo's'n. "very well, that's your lookout, if you can get it." so saying, i lay upon the floor and slept. when i awoke i saw the bo's'n was sitting on the floor in the corner of the cell eating some coarse fare from a platter of metal which stood before him. i immediately demanded my share, and together we despatched all that the plate contained. the day dragged slowly, oh, so slowly! the only thing in the cell beside the bo's'n and myself was the knife. i had some slight thought of getting the knife down and playing a game by throwing the point at the cracks in the wall, but, after a scrutinizing look at the surly bo's'n, i decided to let well enough alone. i was his superior as to strength, but, should he once succeed in obtaining that weapon, i was not at all sure what would follow. the prospect of wealth, or else the loss of it, had changed the bo's'n's nature, and where once i had considered this man strange and queer, i had now come to the belief that he was really mad. i raised my eyes to the small opening in the wall, and began to wonder how i could reach it. as it was, i could see only the deep blue, and the trade-wind clouds drifting, drifting, drifting across my vision. one sees that which he longs for in the clouds brought by the trade wind, and as i watched there passed before my eyes a long procession of ships, full-rigged ships, with swelling sails; ships, high up on whose stern and prow stood, marked against the background of blue, guns of enormous calibre. the bows of these vessels were all pointed toward the north. they meant life and freedom. "bo's'n," said i, "you will see that there is no furniture of any kind in this cell. i should like very much to look from that little window up there. i can reach it very well with my hands, but i can't see out. would you mind letting me have the use of your back for a few minutes, bo's'n?" "certainly not, sir," said the bo's'n with the greatest politeness. whereupon he crouched down upon the floor and i stood upon his back. from the open port i had a splendid and extensive view. it was quite large enough for me to put my head out and look all about me, but i found, with regret, that my shoulders would not go through the opening. of course, my jailers knew this before i was placed in the casemate. i looked abroad, i looked to right, to left, and then i looked downward. i found that we were in a sort of square tower or bastion, and that we were, so to speak, in the second story. and as i gazed beneath me i saw a hand protrude from another port, perhaps, or some other opening. it was a woman's hand, and on the wedding finger i saw the ring that i had given to cynthia. the hand grasped a handkerchief, which it waved as if to attract attention. the hand, i saw, was cynthia's own. so she was incarcerated below me! i called softly, "cynthia! cynthia!" and then getting no response, i called louder. there was no one near. indeed, there was no esplanade or terrace surrounding our side of the fortress; only a sheer wall, which fell away to the depth of a hundred feet or more, until it reached the slope of the mountain where its foundation had been built. the fortress had been begun by the french upon the mountain-top called the "bishop's hat," and for the erection of the citadel they had selected the very crown and apex of the summit, where the land slopes steeply away on every side. "cynthia!" again i called. "do speak to me. it is i--hiram." whereupon the hand was withdrawn and cynthia's head emerged from the opening below. she turned her face to me as well as she could, and looked upward. "oh, is that you? how glad i am!" she exclaimed. "how strange that we should be so near each other!" "are you alone?" i asked anxiously. "yes, and likely to be. it seems that we were overheard last evening, and when i went back to speak to you for a moment i was seized upon. i did not dream that you were here. i thought that i was alone. your presence gives me hope, hiram." "dearest," said i, "it all seems rather hopeless to me, but there must be some way out of this." "zalee has returned," said cynthia. "lacelle told me after i left you. an american ship has started for manzanillo bay. it seems that is the name of the place where we were shipwrecked. it will wait there as long as possible, perhaps until we can make our escape." "our escape!" i echoed, "our escape from such walls as these!" "it seems that christophe takes the ground that we have come to start a revolution," said cynthia. "he is full of those excuses," said i. "start a revolution! three men, a young girl, and a boy!" i had wondered how he had dared throw americans, natives of so powerful a country as ours, into prison. i knew that he was very little informed with regard to our country, but i had thought that our representative at le cap would have rescued us in a very short time. "zalee found great disturbances down at the coast," said cynthia. "some of the mobs are shouting 'a bas christophe!' others are crying, 'vi' boyer!' general boyer is in town, and they are flocking to his standard. zalee tried to find the 'consite,' as he calls him, but he was at port au prince. but he saw an american bark in the harbour, and he swam off to her. her captain--bartlett is his name--seemed very kind and much interested in us. he told zalee that we could come down from the plateau to the shore when we saw the sails coming into the harbour, and that he would train his guns on the beach to protect his long boat, which he would send in for us. he thinks we are down there at the plateau now. he does not dream that we are up here on this terrible height, imprisoned by christophe. when zalee returned and found us gone, he understood at once what had happened, and came up to the palace, trusting to the torch bearer and the kitchen maid to protect him. zalee happened to know the cook on board the jenny bartlett. he is a haïtien, and through him zalee told the captain about our being secreted at the plateau. he is getting a cargo of sugar on board--the captain, i mean--and as soon as he is ready he will sail for the bay. he says that we must come as soon as we sight his vessel. he may be there in a day or two. o hiram! do you suppose that we can get away, and that if we do that we can get to the coast in time?" "you have given me a new hope," said i. "there must be some way found." "and, o hiram! i have such a strange thing to tell you----" bump! i fell to the floor of my cell. "you're getting pretty heavy, mr. jones, sir," said the bo's'n; "besides which, i hear footsteps coming along the corridor." i heard them myself, and arose and stood straight against the wall as the door was rudely opened and a small parcel was flung into the room. i recognised my handkerchief, and felt, as i picked the parcel up from the floor, that the lamp, blowpipe, and materials for making the ring had been sent after me. the soldier who looked in at the door said something in his mongrel tongue which i did not comprehend. then some food, consisting of cassava bread and coffee, was pushed in at the crack which was made by the opening, the door was closed, and we were alone again. i can not tell you how the days passed. suspense and misery were my portion. i wondered each day what the next would have in store for me, and each night what another night would bring. i feared, above all, for cynthia, and dreaded that those brutal soldiers would force some insult upon her or cause her some injury. my only happiness was in talking with her, and, as often as i could persuade him to do so, i stood upon the bo's'n's shoulders and conversed with her. i paid for this privilege by making over to the bo's'n each time a small share of my part in the great diamond. and i paid also in many a bump and bruise, for just as cynthia and i had come to the most interesting part of our conversation, and she had said to me, "o hiram! i always forget to tell you----" the bo's'n would let me fall, and would under no persuasion whatsoever allow me to remount his unwilling back. this, however, i took as a matter of course, and i would have gone through with much more than that to get speech, even once a day, with cynthia. you can imagine what a welcome diversion it made in the monotonous hours which comprised the days of our wretched existence. after some days of imprisonment, i asked to be allowed to take a bath. to a man who has had his plunge in the lovely rivers of the north or the salt waves of the sea every day of his life, the close confinement, with but a teacupful of water to bathe in, becomes unendurable. my jailer looked at me with surprise when i asked this favour, and, as he could speak a little english, he informed me that he could not understand my wishing to put my whole body into water; that for him it made him ill! however, he went off to proffer my request to the proper authorities, and, to my great joy, i was allowed the privilege that i asked--probably because it was thought that such an unusual method of procedure would end my life, and that they might as well get rid of me in that way as any other. imagine my joy when my guide informed me that i was to be allowed to bathe myself in the horse trough! he looked upon me as quite insane, but seemed to think that such mental failure was common to all english-speaking people, which i assured him was true. in his broken english he informed me that once an english admiral had come up from the coast to the palace to remain over night, and that he had brought his bath-tub with him. this was looked upon as a strange piece of infatuation. imagine my delight and pleasure when the guide opened my cell door and conducted me to the stable yard! i can not describe the numberless passages, corridors, apartments, and barracks through and by which we passed. it seemed to me to be the journey of a half hour. it would have been most interesting had i not been brimming over all the time with my plans for escape and wondering how we could manage to get to the sea. how often i regretted the leaving of the cave. the american captain could have taken us off in a half hour's time, and now, perhaps, when we reached the shore, he would have gone away. i suppose that i was ten minutes walking through the different hallways, but at last we came out into a rough, uneven yard, where there were mules, horses, hay in abundance under cover and in the open, and in the centre of the inclosure was a great trough of water, where i saw that the horses were allowed to drink. the stable yard was some distance below the crest of the hill, and i recalled that we had descended several flights of steps. i threw off my slight clothing and plunged into the trough, the soldiers looking on with astonishment, as much, perhaps, at my white skin as at my evident enjoyment of the delicious bath. they were, for the most part, dirty and ill dressed in soiled white linen, and i recommended to them in choice english not only a bath for themselves, but for their clothes as well. i dried myself in the sun, and then dressed again. as we mounted a flight of steps in the wall, before entering the fortress--or perhaps, i should say, its inclosed portion--i turned for a moment to look once again down into the smiling valley which stretched between me and liberty. below me, almost embowered in trees, lay the palace of sans souci, and winding along, with curves and turnings, ran the white and dusty road which led to le cap. as i stopped for a moment to breathe god's air, for perhaps the last time, i was surprised to see flames far below there in the fields, and now i found that the plains were ablaze, cotton as well as sugar fields. the cane sent up a thick smoke, and there came to us on a desultory breeze the rich, odourous smell of the burning sugar. i pointed this out to the guard who had brought me down to the stable yard. he nodded his head, and told me, as well as i could understand, that the fields had been burning for some days, that the rebels were encroaching from the coast, and that if they succeeded in reaching the citadel we should all be burned or shot. so this was the death reserved for us. capture by rebels no better than christophe himself! i took my last look at the melancholy but beautiful sight, and turned again toward what i now felt was to be my tomb. i had kept up my courage until that moment, but now, alas! it had flown in a breath. we walked again through many dark corridors, and i saw that we took this time a different turning. i was about to remonstrate with my guard as to this, when there was a sudden beating of a drum and a call to arms. he quickly opened a door and pushed me hurriedly into a room, the door slammed, and i looked up to find that i was confronting cynthia. i met her with a most disheartening sentence. "we can at least die together," said i. "why should we die at all?" asked cynthia, running to me with a little cry of joy. "the rebels are attacking christophe, and they will treat us even worse than he has." "how do you know?" asked cynthia. "i have just heard so from the guard who put me in here. of course, my being here is a mistake. he has brought me a story too low, but it is all the same now. we can die together." "i don't believe we shall die at all," said cynthia. "i'm dreadfully sorry now that i sent that diamond to the king." "what diamond?" asked i, almost knowing what she would say. "why, the morning that they brought me here i was kneeling there in the corner, praying that we might be saved if it was god's will. i had prayed long and earnestly, and was just rising from my knees, when i heard a curious little chick and rattle, and the most wonderful jewel that i ever imagined rolled out from that crack in the ceiling. it dropped almost into my hands. i have wanted to tell you every day, but you have always gone away so suddenly----" "so the bo's'n is doubly paid for his weak, unwilling back!" said i. cynthia, of course, did not understand these words, but continued: "i looked upon this as a special interposition of providence in my behalf, and when the young prince geffroy came up here two days ago i sent the diamond to the king, hoping that he would save us in exchange for it." i gasped in distress. "i don't believe he would keep his written pledge," said i, "and certainly if he had not promised you he would not save your life on account of the jewel if he wished to take it. why did geffroy come up here?" "he came to collect all the troops that could be spared. there has been an uprising----" "yes, yes, i know," said i. while i had been talking i heard distant sounds of firing, the sounds of shouts were borne upon the breeze, and then suddenly the boom of one of the guns of the citadel itself spoke out to remind those in the valley below, perhaps, that the stupendous fortress was still there, still faithful, still impregnable. i climbed up on the low seat which had been given cynthia, and found that i could just look over the ledge of the port. "how did you get up so high as to put your head out of the window?" asked i. "turned the bench on one end, of course," said cynthia. woman's wit again! i set the bench on end and looked out with ease. the valley was all aflame now. i should not have thought that the fires would spread so rapidly. at that very moment, had i but known it, christophe was seated under the great camaito tree, and as all the troops who remained faithful defiled before him he gave to each one a piece of money, and told them to go and fight the rebels for god and for king henry of the north. we spent the day thus and the long watches of the night. i watched while cynthia slept, and she watched while i took some rest. it was early morning when our cell door was thrown open and we were told to come out at once. we ran along the black and dingy halls, and, following the faint light which showed itself, as well as the sound of voices, we at last found ourselves upon the great esplanade. even though all was excitement and anxiety, i could not help taking in the wondrous beauty of the view. i seemed all at once to be perched in midair. i know now that i saw that grand body of water, manzanillo bay, stretching to the northward. to the right, in the dim distance, were la grange and monte cristo in their infancy; to the left, the stretch of land that led toward le cap. below us the fires were raging, and beyond the gate i saw a body of men advancing, not by the perilous path over which i had come, but along a fine road, which led winding down through the woods to sans souci itself. these soldiers had just emerged from the forest. they were of the rebel party. they swarmed up the hill and began their attack on the great gates of the fortress. it seemed hopeless to me, but i had no time to surmise anything, for i was there to aid, and i asked for instructions at once. all was excitement on the terrace. all the great cannon which could be moved had been wheeled across the esplanade, and their muzzles turned downward upon the advancing enemy. i now understood why we had been released. many of the soldiery had been called away to protect sans souci and the towns of the valley, so that every man in the fortress was needed to load and fire those eighteen- and twenty-four-pounders. they stood upon their mahogany carriages as firmly as if those carriages were made of iron. and here, among the defenders of the place, i came upon the skipper, the smith, and the bo's'n. cynthia rushed to her uncle's arms, and for a moment the two could not speak. then the old man said: "you must hide yourself, cynthy, girl." "no, uncle," she answered, "i can bring fire, or do anything that a man can, and so save you the time of a soldier. perhaps if we fight for christophe he will let us go." poor girl! the cry of the captive since the days of pharaoh, no greater tyrant than christophe himself! how shall i describe the confusion which reigned in the fortress? the wheeling of the guns into place, the belching forth of their loads of shot and shell, the shrieks of the wounded below the gate and under the walls, the hammering upon the masonry from the outside, the shouts of "they are here!" or, "they are attacking that sally port!" the rush of our handful of men to aid in the repulse, then the surging back as the attack came from another quarter. can you imagine anything so strange as the sight of a young girl among those rough soldiers of all shades, running here and there, bringing water to the overheated gunners, carrying fire to light the powder at the vent, encouraging her friends by words of cheer, even jumping upon the parapet in sight of all on both sides, and calling in her clear voice, "they are making a rush toward the southern gate, uncle!" or, "hiram, they are falling back! fire down the hill, and you will have them on this side!" all day long the sound of battle came to us. it rose from those plains of paradise which were being turned from gardens into shambles. gardens where in the past, the rose and the sangre de cristo lily had borrowed from the soil, watered with the blood of christophe's enemies, a colour as vivid as that of the streams which ran again to-day in crimson rivers adown the plain. sometimes the shriek of the great cannon ball sounded near to us, then again farther away; sometimes the clouds of smoke arose so that we could not see the plain, and anon the sweet trade wind, made only to send the good ship flying on her course, or in its baby breeze to caress the cheek of a gentle maid, parted the columns of smoke, and we saw flames bursting through the roofs of the dwellings of the valley, and caught a glimpse of contending armies as they advanced or retreated, won victory or succumbed to defeat. we fought there all the morning, but at last we found ourselves the victors, although with some loss on our side. our victory was owing to the small numbers of the attacking force, as well as to the impregnability of the fortress. the smith had been killed. he did not die at once, and cynthia sat with his head in her lap and gave him water until his lips stiffened, so that he could speak no more. he gave her messages for "the misses," and you have heard, son adoniah, how well she delivered them, going to england herself in ' , and to cornwall, where she saw young trevelyan again. but i am getting ahead of my story. the bo's'n, too, was wounded, and cynthia was bending toward him when suddenly he rolled over, helpless as he was, and away as far as he could get from his kind nurse. "is the bo's'n mad?" asked cynthia of me. i had gone to get them both some water, and was returning along the esplanade when i saw this motion of the bo's'n. "yes, on a certain subject," said i, and i laid my finger on the magic symbol, which i saw dangling from the opening at the throat of her dress. it was hanging upon the baby chain in company again with my portrait. but the eyes, those wondrous orbs of flame, were gone! it was upon that eyeless bit of mystery that you cut your teeth, adoniah, and all of your children after you. "i found it," said cynthia, "when i went back to the mahogany tree that evening. it was lying in the gravel. my foot struck something, and i stooped to pick it up, and found that it was that serpent ring." "that ring has had a strange history," said i. "hide it now, or the bo's'n will let you do nothing for him." "we can escape now, jones," said the skipper. "at least the enemy are dying or running away, and our captors seem to have followed suit. let us start at once." "we can't leave this poor man, uncle," said cynthia, pointing to the bo's'n. of course, we could not leave him! the dear girl was, as ever, right. i saw the disappointment of the skipper's face. "staying may imperil all our lives," he said; "but i suppose it's human to stay." "i think he'll be able to walk after a night's rest," said cynthia. "it's getting late now to make a start," said i. "the early morning will be better." "i shall have to start quite early," said cynthia. "i want to stop at the beach and get that palm for aunt mary 'zekel." we were almost alone on the esplanade. the soldiers had disappeared with their officers into the interior of the building. they seemed to have forgotten us, and we were left free to follow our own devices. it seemed so strange to be free once again, for habits are quickly formed, and not so quickly broken. i could not get accustomed to the fact that i was free as god's air, and that there was none to molest or to make me afraid. cynthia had not mentioned william brown to me now for some time, and i felt quite sure that whether he was glued to the dock in anticipation of her coming, or whether he had given up all hope, that the latter course would be wisest and best for william himself. "you mustn't forget the palm tree for aunt mary 'zekel," said cynthia. "there is the dearest little one down by the cave. i wonder if we shall go that way?" "whichever way we go, we must be cautious," said i. "i think that general boyer would protect us if we could find him, but the opposing parties will fight to-morrow as they did to-day, and they are between us and him. fortunately for us, the battle is waged at a distance back from the coast, and in front of sans souci." "mr. jones, sir," said the bo's'n, "zalee says we'll have to slip down to the right, sir. all the natives have rushed up to the different palaces for their share of the plunder, and the coast line is left almost deserted." "then i can certainly get the palm," said cynthia, sticking persistently to her point, as women will. "well, well, cynthy, girl," said the skipper impatiently, "if you want to try it, i'll see what we can do for you, but i reely can't see how you can bear to look at anything from this damn black kingdom ever again. if mary 'zekel so much as carries a palm-leaf fan to church along with her bunch of fennel, darn me if i don't throw it into the aisle!" as we were thus talking, some of the soldiers came hurrying from the interior of the fortress. their arms were heaped with loads of treasure. so greedy had they been that gold, silver, jewels, and glittering napoleons spilled from their clutches as they ran. following them came officers, themselves laden with booty. they fired upon the soldiers as they ran in front of them, calling to them to drop these treasures of christophe's, which they themselves were taking only to restore to the king. some of the plunderers dropped dead at our very feet. some turned and fired on their officers, saying that the game was over, and that they might as well have the spoil as boyer's men. they ran to the stable yard, and, mounting mules and horses, rode away, many of them with hands and sashes full of treasure. the officers returned again and again, each one carrying all that he could hold in his arms. they made bundles of the stuff and piled it upon the mules in the courtyard. they seemed to have forgotten us, and when they had seized all that they could find by breaking in, they, too, rode away down the mountain side, leaving us the sole inhabitants of that impregnable fortress, which, properly invested with men and munitions of war, would have withstood siege for a lifetime. we moved the bo's'n into the shade, and searched the place for food and drink. this we found in plenty. we washed our faces and hands clean from the grime of battle, and retreated to a far corner of the esplanade, which overlooked the palace, but where we were out of sight of the dreadful results of the carnage. there we rested in the cool, sweet air of evening. far, far away i could see a little fleck of white on the waters of the bay, which i thought might be the american ship waiting to take us back to belleville. but we could not go to-night. we could only watch and wait. the sun was sinking fast in the west, the night coming on apace. and now a strange and distant sound like the wail of the mourner broke the stillness of this peaceful evening hour. what new event this betokened i could not forecast. so much had come and gone that nothing out of heaven or hell would have caused me surprise. the moaning continued, and i went to the edge of the parapet to see what more there was of the unexpected. cynthia trembled and begged me not to go. the poor girl, so brave when courage was needed, was now nervous and anxious, and said many times, "oh, if we were only at the coast!" i stood at the edge of the parapet and looked downward. there came, winding along up through the forest, a funeral procession. so i could not help but judge, for four persons were carrying a hammock containing a heavy load between them, and several others walked behind. of those who followed, four were women and one was a man. there was an incongruousness about the procession, for behind the mourners lounged a small figure, who apparently was not at all interested in the sad group which preceded him. he halted and looked upward at the trees, and threw stones at the birds. i could but smile. it was total depravity exemplified in the person of the minion. i could not but feel a disappointment that he had not been captured, or slaughtered, or left behind in some way, but here he was, and we must make the best of him, which, indeed, was very little. the skipper had joined me, and was gazing curiously at the small procession as it wound upward toward the summit. "you might know it," said the skipper, looking wearily at the ubiquitous minion. "as usual, in everybody's mess and nobody's watch." as the mourners approached the great gates, which had been left open by the retreating soldiery, the wailing became louder, the women moaned and beat their bodies, raised their hands to heaven, as if calling maledictions down upon an enemy, and then again beat their breasts and wailed in long and solemn cadence, as if for a loved one gone. the procession entered the courtyard at a slow pace. the bearers rested their load, as if they must have a breathing spell; but almost at once, at an imperious signal from the foremost figure of the group, they again lifted their burden and walked upward until they came out upon the open esplanade. i saw now that zalee was among the carriers, and i also perceived that the burden which he aided in carrying was a very ponderous one. when the bearers had reached the centre of the esplanade, she who led, one of tall stature and graceful mien, ordered them with a gesture that was regal in its command, to rest their burden upon the ground. when this was done, and the bearers had withdrawn to a little distance, the four mourners surrounded the giant form and, bending low above it, wailed in despairing monotony. so he had come to this! that great king! for it was our enemy christophe himself thus come to an end of all his power! i saw lacelle among the few faithful who surrounded the family of the king, and as they withdrew at a respectful distance she and zalee caught sight of us. they came eagerly forward to greet us. they told us how christophe, finding that his enemies were upon him, had retired to his chamber, and almost within sight of the valley of dry bones, where thirty thousand of his victims lay, he had had the courage to take his own life, as ruthlessly as he had taken the lives of thousands. the interpreter was there, as well as lacelle's relatives--a poor little remnant of those who had served christophe while he was all-powerful. lacelle ran to cynthia and begged her not to leave her here; if she were going away, to take her with her. zalee pointed to the distant bay, and told us, through the interpreter, that the ship would be there, he thought, on the morrow; that the captain dared not tarry long for fear of a dash at his vessel by some of the pirates who infested the isle of pines. it was growing quite dark now. i had been conscious for some time that a figure was lingering in one of the angles of the wall looking our way. i spoke to cynthia. "i think that is your friend," said i. i motioned toward the shadow. cynthia uttered an exclamation and started toward the place. the girl stepped forth to meet her, and i recognised at once the young daughter of the king. "i wanted to see you once more," she whispered. "our lives are finished, but i wanted to say good-bye. oh, if i could but live in a country such as yours, where you are a princess, where there is no killing, no bloodshed! i remember nothing else in all my life!" and now the other sister approached. she opened her hand, and disclosed to cynthia's astonished eyes the diamond which she had sent as a gift to christophe but a few days before. "his last gift to my dear mother," she said. "he was a king, a great, great king, a powerful warrior, but his last thought was of her." cynthia closed the girl's fingers over the glittering gem. "it was god-given, after all," she said to me, "since it will be the fortune of those who would have saved us." the bo's'n, overhearing part of our conversation, expressed it as his opinion that we should at once demand the jewel from the daughter of the dead king. "o bo's'n!" said cynthia, "don't talk about money! that has brought much of this trouble upon us. let us once get home, and i care not if i live on a crust a day. let us get home, to free, god-fearing america!" "i'll see how i feel to-morrow, mrs. jones, ma'm," said the bo's'n stubbornly. the citadel was ours! the grand, great fortress, with its multitude of apartments and secret interiors, was as absolutely given over to us as if we had fought for its possession with the army who held it, and had vanquished its occupants. after the last one of the guard had disappeared, with all the booty that he could carry, we left the little band of mourners upon the terrace and went with the skipper in search of a comfortable shelter for cynthia. i found one apartment well secluded from the others, which seemed as if provided to withstand a siege--something which christophe had always apprehended. these rooms were designated as "the queen's chambers," and here we brought cynthia and lacelle, and for the first time in many long weeks the two were together in absolute comfort and safety, wrapped, i hoped, in dreamless sleep. the skipper ensconced himself in the sacred bed of the king, and the others of our party found lodgment both commodious and magnificent. as for me, the excitement of the day had told upon me. i felt smothered inside the walls, and could not forget so soon the hurried march of events. nor could i prevent myself from dwelling on the thought that we at last were free to go as we listed. it had all come about in a moment, as it were, by means which no man could have foreseen, and i mused upon this fact, and the evolving of what i had considered my wise and wily plans, and their defeat and overthrow by that providence who had but to say, "go! thou art bound no more." i sat myself down outside upon the terrace and leaned against the great stone wall, where from an angle i could overlook the palace of sans souci and the little town of millot, now black and smoke-stained, or charred and burned by fire. my eyes endeavoured to penetrate the cloud of war that overhung that valley, which smiled but yesterday, but beyond an occasional flame which shot upward from a still burning sugar house or the villa of some one of christophe's court, all was still. there was no clash of arms. the opposing warriors were resting from their days of slaughter, to begin afresh on the morrow. to me, as i sat, came zalee, and with many halting words, broken speech, and explanatory signs, he conveyed to me an astounding piece of news. if you will go back with me to the night of the burial of the skeletons, you will recall that the skipper had said to me, as we were carrying our grewsome burdens down the hillside, that there was a tall figure walking between us. i had felt unpleasantly over his words, but i found from what zalee told me that the skipper's eyesight had not been so uncertain as at the time i hoped it was. there had been a third person present with us, and that person was zalee himself. from a coign of vantage in the cavern, of which we were ignorant, he had observed the secreting of the jewels by the bo's'n. and surmising from the skipper's actions what his intentions were, he had joined us in the dark to render us another of those remarkable and generous services of which he had ever been so prodigal. as we left each poor bundle of bones upon the shore to return after another, zalee had busied himself in extricating the parcels of jewels from the interiors of the skeletons. three of these he rifled. the fourth naturally, as it was the last, and we did not return to the cavern, he could not secure. but, after all, there was a large part of the treasure--three quarters, at the very least--intact, and in some place of safe keeping, of which zalee knew. but to say that i scarce listened, is to tell the exact and unvarnished truth. our troubles and sorrows had been so great, our fears so overwhelming, that the one great possession of freedom was the only thing for which i cared. we were going home, safe as when we started, all but the poor smith, who, though not of our kith, kin, or people, had shared our hardships and had aided us with his knowledge and advice. i shook my head sadly, but with a well spring of hope rising in my breast. "let us talk no more of riches, or wealth, or gems, or jewels," i said. "all that we desire now is to get away from this savage land, to tread once more the deck of an american ship, to breathe the air of our free country, and see belleville once again." i lay all night out under the stars, scarce sleeping, scarce waking, in that strange, glad state which the sudden certainty of relief from anxiety brings. the morning was yet dark when i called the others. they came out one by one, with strange, dazed faces, but looking refreshed from their long hours' sleep. as we sat there waiting for day, we talked of home and the prospect of our soon seeing aunt mary 'zekel and belleville. zalee had said that he would guide us by a near way; he had begged that he and lacelle might accompany us to our country. they had found us better than their own country folk; he hoped to find our native land the same, and make it his. you know how they did accompany us, adoniah, and what faithful creatures they have proved themselves to us and to our children and our children's children. the end. the grey was in the east when we arose and started for the coast. as we came out upon the esplanade, one was there before us--one whose devoted watch had not ceased the long night through. her tall and regal figure was draped in sombre weeds. her face was covered, her hands were clasped upon her breast, her whole attitude an embodiment of uttermost despair. our faces, set toward home and happiness and love and life, were turned for one backward pitying glance, then faced our joy again. as we descended those shining slopes of verdure, which owned her queen but yesterday, we left her in the grandeur of that solitary mountain top to mourn over him who, in erecting his citadel, had, all-unknowing, builded for himself, tyrant though he was, a splendid and a lasting sepulchre. * * * * * d. appleton & co.'s publications. novels by maarten maartens. _the greater glory. a story of high life._ by maarten maartens, author of "god's fool," "joost avelingh," etc. mo. cloth, $ . . "until the appletons discovered the merits of maarten maartens, the foremost of dutch novelists, it is doubtful if many american readers knew that there were dutch novelists. his 'god's fool' and 'joost avelingh' made for him an american reputation. to our mind this just published work of his is his best.... he is a master of epigram, an artist in description, a prophet in insight."--_boston advertiser._ "it would take several columns to give any adequate idea of the superb way in which the dutch novelist has developed his theme and wrought out one of the most impressive stories of the period.... it belongs to the small class of novels which one can not afford to neglect."--_san francisco chronicle._ "maarten maartens stands head and shoulders above the average novelist of the day in intellectual subtlety and imaginative power."--_boston beacon._ _god's fool._ by maarten maartens. mo. cloth, $ . . "throughout there is an epigrammatic force which would make palatable a less interesting story of human lives or one less deftly told."--_london saturday review._ "perfectly easy, graceful, humorous.... the author's skill in character-drawing is undeniable."--_london chronicle._ "a remarkable work."--_new york times._ "maarten maartens has secured a firm footing in the eddies of current literature.... pathos deepens into tragedy in the thrilling story of 'god's fool.'"--_philadelphia ledger._ "its preface alone stamps the author as one of the leading english novelists of to-day."--_boston daily advertiser._ "the story is wonderfully brilliant.... the interest never lags; the style is realistic and intense; and there is a constantly underlying current of subtle humor.... it is, in short, a book which no student of modern literature should fail to read."--_boston times._ "a story of remarkable interest and point."--_new york observer._ _joost avelingh._ by maarten maartens. mo. cloth, $ . . "so unmistakably good as to induce the hope that an acquaintance with the dutch literature of fiction may soon become more general among us."--_london morning post._ "in scarcely any of the sensational novels of the day will the reader find more nature or more human nature."--_london standard._ "a novel of a very high type. at once strongly realistic and powerfully idealistic."--_london literary world._ "full of local color and rich in quaint phraseology and suggestion."--_london telegraph._ "maarten maartens is a capital story-teller."--_pall mall gazette._ "our english writers of fiction will have to look to their laurels."--_birmingham daily post._ novels by hall caine. uniform edition. _the christian._ $ . . "must be regarded as the greatest work that has yet come from the pen of this strong writer.... a book of wonderful power and force."--_brooklyn eagle._ "the public is hardly prepared for so remarkable a performance as 'the christian.'... a permanent addition to english literature.... above and beyond any popularity that is merely temporary."--_boston herald._ "a book that has assuredly placed its maker upon a pedestal which will last well-nigh forever.... powerful, thrilling, dramatic, and, best of all, intensely honest in its every line.... a truly wonderful achievement."--_cincinnati commercial tribune._ _the manxman._ $ . . "the book, as a whole, is on a rare level of excellence--a level which we venture to predict will always be rare."--_london daily chronicle._ "the most powerful story that has been written in the present generation."--_the scotsman._ "a singularly powerful and picturesque piece of work, extraordinarily dramatic.... a most powerful book."--_london standard._ _the deemster_. $ . . "hall caine has already given us some very strong and fine work, and 'the deemster' is a story of unusual power.... certain passages and chapters have an intensely dramatic grasp, and hold the fascinated reader with a force rarely excited nowadays in literature."--_the critic._ "fascinates the mind like the gathering and bursting of a storm."--_illustrated london news._ _the bondman._ new edition. $ . . "the welcome given to this story has cheered and touched me, but i am conscious that to win a reception so warm, such a book must have had readers who brought to it as much as they took away.... i have called my story a saga, merely because it follows the epic method, and i must not claim for it at any point the weighty responsibility of history, or serious obligations to the world of fact. but it matters not to me what icelanders may call 'the bondman,' if they will honor me by reading it in the open-hearted spirit and with the free mind with which they are content to read of grettir and of his fights with the troll."--_from the author's preface._ _capt'n davy's honeymoon._ $ . . "a new departure by this author. unlike his previous works, this little tale is almost wholly humorous, with, however, a current of pathos underneath. it is not always that an author can succeed equally well in tragedy and in comedy, but it looks as though mr. hall caine would be one of the exceptions."--_london literary world._ "it is pleasant to meet the author of 'the deemster' in a brightly humorous little story like this.... it shows the same observation of manx character, and much of the same artistic skill."--_philadelphia times._ by s. r. crockett. uniform edition. each, mo, cloth, $ . . _the standard bearer._ an historical romance. "mr. crockett's book is distinctly one of _the_ books of the year. five months of have passed without bringing to the reviewers' desk anything to be compared with it in beauty of description, convincing characterization, absorbing plot and humorous appeal. the freshness and sweet sincerity of the tale are most invigorating, and that the book will be very much read there is no possible doubt."--_boston budget._ "the book will move to tears, provoke to laughter, stir the blood, and evoke heroisms of history, making the reading of it a delight and the memory of it a stimulus and a joy."--_new york evangelist._ _lads' love._ illustrated. "it seems to us that there is in this latest product much of the realism of personal experience. however modified and disguised, it is hardly possible to think that the writer's personality does not present itself in saunders mcquhirr.... rarely has the author drawn more truly from life than in the cases of nance and 'the hempie'; never more typical scotsman of the humble sort than the farmer peter chrystie."--_london athenæum._ _cleg kelly, arab of the city. his progress and adventures._ illustrated. "a masterpiece which mark twain himself has never rivaled.... if there ever was an ideal character in fiction it is this heroic ragamuffin."--_london daily chronicle._ "in no one of his books does mr. crockett give us a brighter or more graphic picture of contemporary scotch life than in 'cleg kelly.'... it is one of the great books."--_boston daily advertiser._ _bog-myrtle and peat._ third edition. "here are idyls, epics, dramas of human life, written in words that thrill and burn.... each is a poem that has an immortal flavor. they are fragments of the author's early dreams, too bright, too gorgeous, too full of the blood of rubies and the life of diamonds to be caught and held palpitating in expression's grasp."--_boston courier._ "hardly a sketch among them all that will not afford pleasure to the reader for its genial humor, artistic local coloring, and admirable portrayal of character."--_boston home journal._ _the lilac sunbonnet._ eighth edition. "a love story, pure and simple, one of the old fashioned, wholesome, sunshiny kind, with a pure-minded, sound-hearted hero, and a heroine who is merely a good and beautiful woman; and if any other love story half so sweet has been written this year it has escaped our notice."--_new york times._ "the general conception of the story, the motive of which is the growth of love between the young chief and heroine, is delineated with a sweetness and a freshness, a naturalness and a certainty, which places 'the lilac sunbonnet' among the best stories of the time."--_new york mail and express._ gilbert parker's best books. uniform edition. _the seats of the mighty._ being the memoirs of captain robert moray, sometime an officer in the virginia regiment, and afterwards of amherst's regiment. illustrated, $ . . "another historical romance of the vividness and intensity of 'the seats of the mighty' has never come from the pen of an american. mr. parker's latest work may without hesitation be set down as the best he has done. from the first chapter to the last word interest in the book never wanes; one finds it difficult to interrupt the narrative with breathing space. it whirls with excitement and strange adventure.... all of the scenes do homage to the genius of mr. parker, and make 'the seats of the mighty' one of the books of the year."--_chicago record._ "mr. gilbert parker is to be congratulated on the excellence of his latest story, 'the seats of the mighty,' and his readers are to be congratulated on the direction which his talents have taken therein.... it is so good that we do not stop to think of its literature, and the personality of doltaire is a masterpiece of creative art."--_new york mail and express._ _the trail of the sword._ a novel. $ . . "mr. parker here adds to a reputation already wide, and anew demonstrates his power of pictorial portrayal and of strong dramatic situation and climax."--_philadelphia bulletin._ "the tale holds the reader's interest from first to last, for it is full of fire and spirit, abounding in incident, and marked by good character drawing."--_pittsburg times._ _the trespasser._ $ . . "interest.... almost bare of synthetical decoration, his paragraphs are stirring because they are real. we read at times--as we have read the great masters of romance--breathlessly."--_the critic._ "gilbert parker writes a strong novel, but thus far this is his masterpiece.... it is one of the great novels of the year."--_boston advertiser._ _the translation of a savage._ $ . . "a book which no one will be satisfied to put down until the end has been matter of certainty and assurance."--_the nation._ "a story of remarkable interest, originality, and ingenuity of construction."--_boston home journal._ _mrs. falchion._ $ . . "a well-knit story, told in an exceedingly interesting way, and holding the reader's attention to the end." some choice fiction. _evelyn innes._ a story. by george moore, author of "esther waters," etc. mo. cloth, $ . . "the marvelously artistic analysis of the inner life of this remarkable woman exercises a peculiar fascination for cultivated people.... there are splendid interpretations of wagner's best works, of the differences between ancient and modern music, of the weaknesses of agnosticism, and of the impossibility of finding happiness and freedom from misery in a life of sin. the manner of the doing is wonderfully fine. mr. moore's artistic treatment provokes one's admiration again and again.... it seems as if one could pass over no single sentence without losing something.... the appeal of the book is to the class of people best worth writing for, cultivated, intellectual people, who can appreciate something better than the commonplace stories which invariably come out right. its literary quality is high; there are very fine things about it, and one feels that 'evelyn innes' is the work of a master."--_boston herald._ "in 'evelyn innes' mr. moore joins to microscopic subtlety of analysis a sense of the profound and permanent things in human life which is rarely to be encountered anywhere save in works of great breadth.... the method is with mr. moore an affair of piercing and yet tender insight, of sympathy as well as science.... 'evelyn innes' will greatly strengthen the author's position. it speaks of a powerful imagination, and, even more, of a sane and hopeful view of human life."--_new york tribune._ "the book is one which, while in no respect dramatic, is still profoundly interesting.... it is bound to be read with ever wider attention being drawn to its merits as an elaborate mosaic of literary art, a deep study of human nature, a noble defense of the antiques of music, and altogether a praiseworthy contribution to the best works of the modern english realistic school."--_philadelphia item._ "assuredly to be accounted a work of art in an exacting field."--_london morning post._ "space is left us for almost unadulterated praise. this is the sanest, the most solid, the most accomplished book which mr. moore has written."--_london saturday review._ "virile and vivid. it has distinction and grace."--_san francisco call._ "sure to be widely read."--_brooklyn standard-union._ "fascinatingly written."--_cleveland plain dealer._ _kronstadt._ a romance. by max pemberton. illustrated. mo. cloth, $ . . "'kronstadt' is beyond measure superior in all respects to anything mr. pemberton has hitherto done. singularly original in its conception, the story is most cunningly and cleverly told. it grips the attention in the first paragraph, and whirls one irresistibly along through all the stirring incidents of its skillfully devised plot, giving one not an instant's rest until the splendid dramatic climax gives sudden relief."--_london daily mail._ "it is a profoundly interesting and exciting story.... the book has no dull pages in it."--_chicago inter-ocean._ "an exceedingly well-written story of adventure, original in plot, skillful in character drawing, and full of movement and color."--_washington times._ "there is a breathless interest about the tale which will not permit you to lay it aside until the whole adventure is mastered."--_brooklyn eagle._ fÉlix gras's romances. _the terror._ a romance of the french revolution. by fÉlix gras, author of "the reds of the midi." uniform with "the reds of the midi." translated by mrs. catharine a. janvier, mo. cloth, $ . . "if félix gras had never done any other work than this novel, it would at once give him a place in the front rank of the writers of to day.... 'the terror' is a story that deserves to be widely read, for, while it is of thrilling interest, holding the reader's attention closely, there is about it a literary quality that makes it worthy of something more than a careless perusal."--_brooklyn eagle._ "romantic conditions could hardly be better presented than in a book of this kind, and above all, in a book by félix gras.... the romance is replete with interest."--_new york times._ "there is genius in the book. the narrative throbs with a palpitation of virile force and nervous vigor. read it as a mere story, and it is absorbing beyond description. consider it as a historical picture, ... and its extraordinary power and significance are apparent."--_philadelphia press._ "the book may be recommended to those who like strong, artistic, and exciting romances."--_boston saturday evening gazette._ "many as have been the novels which have the revolution as their scene, not one surpasses, if equals, in thrilling interest."--_cleveland plain dealer._ _the reds of the midi._ an episode of the french revolution. by fÉlix gras. translated from the provençal by mrs. catharine a. janvier. with an introduction by thomas a. janvier. with frontispiece, mo. cloth, $ . . "i have read with great and sustained interest 'the reds of the south,' which you were good enough to present to me. though a work of fiction, it aims at painting the historical features, and such works if faithfully executed throw more light than many so called histories on the true roots and causes of the revolution, which are so widely and so gravely misunderstood. as a novel it seems to me to be written with great skill."--_william e. gladstone._ "patriotism, a profound and sympathetic insight into the history of a great epoch, and a poet's delicate sensitiveness to the beauties of form and expression have combined to make m félix gras's 'the reds of the midi' a work of real literary value. it is as far as possible removed from sensationalism; it is, on the contrary, subdued, simple, unassuming, profoundly sincere. such artifice as the author has found it necessary to employ has been carefully concealed, and if we feel its presence, it is only because experience has taught that the quality is indispensable to a work which affects the imagination so promptly and with such force as does this quiet narrative of the french revolution."--_new york tribune._ "it is doubtful whether in the english language we have had a more powerful, impressive, artistic picture of the french revolution, from the revolutionist's point of view, than that presented in félix gras's 'the reds of the midi.'... adventures follow one another rapidly; splendid, brilliant pictures are frequent, and the thread of a tender, beautiful love story winds in and out of its pages."--_new york mail and express._ d. appleton and company, new york. * * * * * transcriber's notes: punctuation has been corrected without note. archaic and alternate spellings have been retained with the exception of those noted below: page : "way" changed to "away" (to steal away his brains). page : "wobbed" changed to "wobbled" (a head wobbled languidly here). page : "millenium" changed to "millennium" (until the millennium). page : "skiper's" changed to "skipper's" (the monotonous remark of the skipper's). page : "plantatations" changed to "plantations" (to ride among his sugar plantations) +-------------------------------------------------+ |transcriber's note: | | | |obvious typographic errors have been corrected. | | | +-------------------------------------------------+ the right way the safe way, proved by emancipation in the british west indies, and elsewhere. by l. maria child. "the world is beginning to understand, that injuring one class, for the immediate benefit of another, is ultimately injurious to that other; and that to secure prosperity to a community, _all_ interests must be consulted."--_dr. davy._ new york: published and for sale at beekman street. . chapter i. the west indies before the abolition of slavery. it is a common idea that the british west indies were a mine of wealth before the abolition of slavery, and since that event have been sinking into ruin. to correct those erroneous impressions, i have carefully collected the following facts from authentic sources:-- official reports, returned to the british parliament, prove that the outcry about ruin in the west indies began long _before_ the abolition of slavery, and even before the abolition of the slave _trade_; and we ought, moreover, never to forget that this outcry related solely to the ruin of the _masters_; nobody expended a thought upon the ruin of their , laborers. as early as , a report to parliament stated that, in the course of the preceding twenty years, one hundred and seventy-seven estates in jamaica had been sold for the payment of debts; the cultivation of fifty-five had been abandoned; ninety-two were in the hands of creditors; and , executions, amounting to £ , , sterling ($ , , ), had been lodged in the provost marshal's office. in , the reports described the condition of the west india planters as one of "increasing embarrassment, and impending ruin." the reports in , , , , and , were still more lamentable. in , four years before emancipation, lord chandos presented to parliament a petition from west india planters and merchants, setting forth "the extreme distress under which they labored." in his speech, in support of the petition, he said, "they are reduced to a state in which they are obliged earnestly to solicit relief from parliament. it is not possible for them to stand up against such a pressure any longer." mr. bright said: "the distress of the west india colonies is unparalleled in the country. many families, who formerly lived in comparative affluence, are reduced to absolute penury." the west india reporter also quoted thus from a report on the commercial state of the colonies: "there are strong concurrent testimonies and proofs that, unless some speedy and efficient measures of relief are adopted, the ruin of a great number of the planters must inevitably take place." an able writer in the _edinburgh review_ informs us that, "in the small island of st. lucia an encumbered estate court was established in , and, small as that island is,[ ] in the first eighteen months, liabilities were recorded to the enormous amount of £ , , ($ , , ); _all debts incurred under slavery_. nor did that island stand alone. in each one of them the same state of things prevailed." the laborers were decreasing rapidly. the _edinburgh review_ declares: "what gave the death-blow to slavery, in the minds of british statesmen, was the appalling fact that the population returns, from only eleven of the colonies, showed that, in the course of twelve years, the slaves had decreased , . had similar returns been procured from the other seven colonies, they must have shown a decrease of little, if at all, less than , . had the same rate of decrease gone on, one century would have seen the extinction of slavery by the extinction of the slaves."[ ] production was also decreasing. a table of exports, in the appendix to mr. bigelow's work on jamaica, shows that, in the ten years ending , there was a decrease in that island, of , hogsheads of sugar, from the amount in the ten years ending with . in view of these, and similar facts, the _edinburgh review_ says: "plainly, the artificial, arbitrary interference of law with the freedom of man, and freedom of trade, was bringing about the extinction of the working-class, and was whirling their masters along to utter ruin." at the time when the planters were complaining of such excessive embarrassments, they had a monopoly of the sugar market in great britain, so close that not even the east india colonies were allowed to compete with them; a monopoly, which cost the consumers $ , , annually. they paid no wages to their laborers; and furnished them merely with rags to tie about their loins, and enough of coarse food to keep them in working condition. yet while they produced from a prolific soil the great staples of commerce, without paying for the labor, and with an enormous premium from the consumers in great britain, they were so nearly reduced to "ruin," that they were compelled "earnestly to solicit relief from parliament." a few facts will help to explain this apparent anomaly. in the first place, the system of slavery contravenes all the laws of human nature, and therefore contains within itself the seed of ultimate ruin. it takes away the motive power from the laborers, who naturally desire to shirk as much as possible of the work, which brings them no pay; consequently, overseers and drivers must be hired to force out of them their unwilling toil. it makes them indifferent to the destruction of property on estates, in whose prosperity they have no interest. it stimulates them to theft, by perpetual privations, from which they have no prospect of relief. it kills their ingenuity and enterprise, by rendering them utterly unavailing for any improvement in their own condition; while all their faculties are stupefied by the extreme ignorance in which they must necessarily be kept in order to be held in slavery. the effects on the white population are quite as injurious, though in a different way. slavery unavoidably renders labor a degradation, and consequently, it is a matter of pride with them to live in idleness. extravagance and dissipation follow of course. all, who have examined into the subject, are aware that intemperance, licentiousness, and gambling, are fearfully prevalent in slave-holding countries. one hint will suffice to suggest the immoral condition of the west indies, during slavery. it is a well-known fact that the white subordinates employed by planters were very liable to lose their situations if they married; because it was for the interest of the proprietors to have them live with slaves, and raise up laborers for the estates. as for the slaves, being regarded as animals, and treated like live-stock, they unavoidably lived like animals. modesty and self-respect were impossible to their brutalized condition. in this tract, i merely aim at presenting a _business_-view of the subject. therefore, i will not describe the cruelties, which were continually practised, and which kept the worst passions of both masters and slaves in perpetual excitement. the barbarities recorded were the same that always _must_ prevail, under a system of coerced labor and irresponsible power. in addition to the unavoidable expenses, and inevitable deterioration involved in the very nature of slavery, the west india planters had another difficulty to contend with. "nearly the whole of the sugar estates were owned by absentees, the greater part of whom never set foot in the islands." this involved the necessity of hiring managers and attorneys to look after the property. mr. bigelow computes the average annual expense of an estate to have been $ , , solely to pay for the absence of the proprietor. the rev. henry bleby, who was a missionary in the west indies before emancipation, and has resided there ever since, says: "let us look at the condition of a west india estate under slavery. there were four or five hundred slaves. true, there was little expended for their food; but their masters had to supply them with so many yards of cloth a year, and several other small articles. that was one item of expense. then, to superintend the labor of these slaves, there must be four bookkeepers, as they were called; one to superintend the still, another the boiling-house, another the cattle on the estate, and another, sometimes two or three others, to superintend the people in the field. all these had to be fed and salaried. then there was the overseer, with his harem, living at considerable expense out of the estate, and at a high salary. over all these was the attorney, who took his commission out of every thing the estate produced, and lived in the great house with his servants and harem. then there was the proprietor living with his family in princely style, in france or england. all this was to be drawn out of the produce of one estate! i should like to know whether there is any property that would not be brought to ruin, with so many living upon it, and out of it." everybody knows how property is cared for, when there are none but hirelings to look after it. all accounts of the west indies abound with the complaints of proprietors concerning the neglect, wastefulness, and fraud of their subordinates. accumulation of salaries being the principal object in view, one manager often superintended many estates. dr. davy, in his work on the west indies, speaks of twenty-three estates in montserrat, managed by one agent. he reports nineteen of them as "imperfectly cultivated," or "abandoned;" which is by no means surprising, under the circumstances. mr. bigelow met in jamaica, a gentleman who had come from england to ascertain why he was always sinking more and more money upon his estate. upon inquiry, he discovered that his manager lived sixty miles from the property, and had never seen it. with such drains upon their income, the proprietors were, of course, obliged to borrow money continually. year after year, a gambling game was carried on between them and the merchants of london. the merchant would advance money to the planter, on condition that all the produce of the estate should be consigned to his house, and that whatever was needed on the estate, in his line of business, should be bought of him. the merchant charged what price he pleased for his own articles, and took what commission he pleased for selling the produce. "thus," says mr. bigelow, "the planter's candle was burning at both ends." if there was a hurricane, or a severe drought, or an insurrection of the slaves, which caused a failure of the crops, the proprietor was obliged to mortgage his lands to get the necessary supply of money. thus a great many of the estates passed into the hands of british merchants, and had a heavy interest to pay in addition to other expenses. such was the state of things, when the british people, ignorant of this financial chaos, and actuated solely by motives of justice and humanity, started the idea of abolishing slavery. when the planters became aware that the measure might be carried, they met it with a furious storm of opposition. they characterized it as an "impertinent interference with their rights," and threatened to withdraw from the british government, unless the project were relinquished. still they petitioned for relief; any kind of relief, except from the destructive system, which had brought them to the verge of ruin. to _that_ they swore they never would submit. missionaries, who went to the west indies to impart religious instruction to the slaves, were assaulted with brickbats and imprisoned on false pretences. their houses were attacked, and their chapels demolished. a colonial union was formed, the object of which was to drive away every instructor of the negroes. those in england, who sought to help on the cause of emancipation, were hated with inconceivable intensity. women in the west indies expressed a wish to get hold of wilberforce "that they might pull his heart out." with these wrathful vociferations were mingled every form of lamentable prediction concerning the ruin "fanatical philanthropists" were bringing on the colonies. they said if their mad designs were carried into execution, the masters would all have their throats cut, and their houses burned. what they seemed especially concerned about was that "the negroes could not possibly take care of themselves." they were too lazy to work without the whip. they would abscond to the woods, and live there like animals. the few, who might be willing to work, would be robbed by the others; that would lead to continual fighting, and there would be prodigious slaughter. thousands also would die of disease, from want of the fostering care of their masters. in short, blacks and whites would all be swallowed up in one great gulf of swift destruction. the colonial press was, of course, on the side of slavery. there was all manner of suppression of truth, and propagation of every sort of falsehood on the subject. but through all these obstacles, the work of reform went slowly and steadily on. it took twenty years of hard labor and violent agitation to abolish the slave-_trade_; then eleven years, still more stormy, to abolish the _system_. but, at last, the act of emancipation was passed, and went into effect in . the slaves received nothing from the british government for centuries of unrequited toil. but £ , , ($ , , ) were paid to the masters, for ceasing to extort labor by the lash. that was called compensation. with the idea of preparing the bondmen for freedom, the act of emancipation was unfortunately clogged with an apprenticeship system, by which it was ordained that the emancipated laborers were to work six years for their masters, without wages, as before. but they were to work nine hours a day, instead of twelve; and were to have half of friday, and the whole of saturday, for themselves. the power of punishing was also taken from masters, and transferred to magistrates. household slaves were to become entirely free in , and field slaves in . men long accustomed to arbitrary power are not easily convinced that it is both right and politic to relinquish the exercise of it. moreover we are all, more or less, the creatures of custom and prejudice. therefore, it is not surprising that the great body of the planters were opposed to emancipation, until the eventful crisis had actually passed. up to the last month, they remonstrated, and threatened, and entreated the home government not to consign them to such inevitable destruction. many judicious and kindly men among them thought otherwise. they were convinced that the present system was certainly bringing ruin upon the colonies, and they felt persuaded that nothing worse could come in its place. their belief in the safety of emancipation was partly founded upon general principles of human nature, and partly upon their experimental knowledge of the docility of the negroes, when justly and humanely treated. but very few of these individuals dared, however, to express such opinions; for the community was in such an excited state, that they were sure to suffer for it, in some form or other. mr. james scotland, of st. john's, antigua, said to mr. thome: "whoever was known or suspected of being an advocate for freedom, became an object of vengeance, and was sure to suffer by a loss of business, if in no other way. every attempt was made to deprive my son of business, as a lawyer; and i was thrown into prison, without any form of trial, or any opportunity of saying one word in my own defence. there i remained, till discharged by the peremptory orders of the colonial secretary, to whom i appealed for relief. the opinions of the clergymen and missionaries, with the exception of a few of the clergy, were favorable to emancipation; but neither in their conduct, preaching, nor prayers, did they declare themselves openly, until the measure of abolition was determined on. the missionaries felt restrained by their instructions from home; and the clergy thought it did not comport with their order to take part in politics. i never heard of a single planter, who was favorable, until about three months before emancipation took place; when some few of them began to perceive that it would be advantageous to their interest." mr. thome, in his work on the west indies, says: "we were informed that, some time previous to the abolition of slavery, a meeting of the influential men in antigua was called at st. john's, to memorialize parliament against the measure of abolition. when the meeting convened, the hon. samuel o. baijer, who had been the champion of the opposition, was called upon to propose a plan of procedure. to the consternation of the pro-slavery meeting, their leader rose and spoke to the following effect: 'gentlemen, my previous sentiments on this subject are well known to you all. be not surprised to learn that they have undergone an entire change. i have not altered my views without deliberation. for several days past i have been making calculations with regard to the probable results of emancipation; and i have ascertained, beyond a doubt, that i can cultivate my estate at least one-third cheaper by free labor, than by slave labor.' the honorable gentleman proceeded to draw out the details of his calculations, and he presented an array of pecuniary considerations altogether new and imposing to the majority of the assembly. after he had finished his remarks, mr. s. shands, member of assembly, and a wealthy proprietor, observed that he entertained precisely the same views with those just expressed; but he thought the honorable gentleman had been unwise to utter them in so public a manner; for should these sentiments reach the ear of parliament, it might induce them to withhold compensation. colonel edwards, member of assembly, rose and said he had long been opposed to slavery, but had not dared to avow his sentiments." when the question came before the colonial assembly similar discussions ensued. the abolition of slavery was now seen to be inevitable. the only alternative presented to the colonists was the apprenticeship system, or immediate, unconditional emancipation. when the question came to this issue in the antigua assembly, both bodies _unanimously_ passed a bill in favor of _immediate emancipation_; on the ground that it was the wisest _policy_. the first of august, , was the day fixed by parliament for the abolition act to go into effect. as the time approached, a heavy cloud lowered over the minds of most of the white population. a merchant of st. john's told mr. thome that several american vessels which had lain in the harbor, weighed anchor on the st of july, through actual fear that the island would be destroyed on the following day; and they earnestly entreated the merchant to escape with them, if he valued his life. many planters believed it would be unsafe to go out in the evening, after emancipation. some timid families did not venture to go to bed on the night of the st. they waited anxiously for the hour of midnight, fearing that the same bell which proclaimed "liberty throughout the land, to _all_ the inhabitants thereof," would prove the signal for general conflagration, and massacre of the white inhabitants.[ ] footnotes: [ ] it is about as large as eight common new england towns. [ ] it must not be inferred from this statement that the system of slavery was more cruel in the west indies, than in other sugar-growing colonies and states. wherever _sugar_ is produced by slave-labor, there is always an awful destruction of negro life, owing to the severely hard pressure of work, continued night and day, during one particular season of the crops. [ ] there were in antigua, at that time, , whites; , slaves; and , free colored people. chapter ii. antigua, after immediate, unconditional emancipation. when the clock _began_ to strike twelve, on the st of july, , there were nearly , slaves in the island of antigua; when it _ceased_ to strike, they were all freemen! i extract from thome's west indies the following account of that glorious transition: "the wesleyans kept 'watch-night' in all their chapels. one of the missionaries gave us an account of the watch-meeting at the chapel in st. john's. the spacious house was filled with the candidates for liberty. all was animation and eagerness. a mighty chorus of voices swelled the song of expectation and joy; and, as they united in prayer, the voice of the leader was drowned in the universal acclamations of thanksgiving, and praise, and blessing, and honor, and glory to god, who had come down for their deliverance. in such exercises the evening was spent, until the hour of twelve approached. the missionary then proposed that when the cathedral clock should begin to strike, the whole congregation should fall on their knees, and receive the boon of freedom in silence. accordingly, as the loud bell tolled its first note, the crowded assembly prostrated themselves. all was silence! save the quivering, half-stifled breath of the struggling spirit. slowly the tones of the clock fell upon the waiting multitude. peal on peal, peal on peal, rolled over the prostrate throng, like angels' voices, thrilling their weary heart-strings. scarcely had the _last_ tone sounded, when lightning flashed vividly, and a loud peal of thunder rolled through the sky. it was god's pillar of fire! his trump of jubilee! it was followed by a moment of profound silence. then came the outburst! they shouted 'glory! hallelujah!' they clapped their hands, they leaped up, they fell down, they clasped each other in their free arms, they cried, they laughed, they went to and fro, throwing upward their unfettered hands. high above all, a mighty sound ever and anon swelled up. it was the utterance of gratitude to god, in broken negro dialect. "after this gush of excitement had spent itself, the congregation became calm, and religious exercises were resumed. the remainder of the night was spent in singing and prayer, in reading the bible, and in addresses from the missionaries, explaining the nature of the freedom just received, and exhorting the people to be industrious, steady, and obedient to the laws, and to show themselves in all things worthy of the high boon god had conferred upon them. "the first of august came on friday; and a release from all work was proclaimed, until the next monday. the great mass of the negroes spent the day chiefly in the churches and chapels. the clergy and missionaries, throughout the island, actively seized the opportunity to enlighten the people on all the duties and responsibilities of their new relation. we were assured that, in every quarter, the day was like a sabbath. a sabbath indeed! when 'the wicked ceased from troubling, and the weary were at rest.' many of the planters informed us that they went to the chapels where their own people were assembled, and shook hands with them, and exchanged hearty good wishes. "at grace hill, a moravian missionary station, the emancipated negroes begged to have a sunrise meeting on the first of august, as they had been accustomed to have at easter; and as it was the easter morning of their freedom, the request was granted. the people all dressed in white, and walked arm in arm to the chapel. there a hymn of thanksgiving was sung by the whole congregation kneeling. the singing was frequently interrupted by the tears and sobs of the melted people, until finally, they were overwhelmed by a tumult of emotion. the missionary, who was present, said the scene was indescribable. "planters and missionaries, in every part of the island, told us there was not a single dance, by night or day; not even so much as a fiddle played. there were no drunken carousals, no riotous assemblies. the emancipated were as far from dissipation and debauchery, as they were from violence and carnage. gratitude was the absorbing emotion. from the hill-tops and the valleys, the cry of a disenthralled people went upward, like the sound of many waters: 'glory to god! glory to god!' "dr. daniell, who has been long resident in antigua, and has the management of several estates, told us that after such a prodigious change in the condition of the negroes, he expected some irregularities would ensue. he anticipated some relaxation from labor, during the week that followed emancipation. but on monday morning, he found all his hands in the field; not one missing. the same day, he received a message from another estate, of which he was proprietor, that the negroes, to a man, had refused to go into the field. he immediately rode to the estate, and found the laborers, with hoes in their hands, doing nothing. accosting them in a friendly manner, he inquired, 'what is the meaning of this? how is it that you are not at work this morning?' they immediately replied, 'it's not because we don't want to work, massa; but we wanted to see you, first and foremost, to know what the _bargain_ would be.' as soon as that matter was settled, the whole body of negroes turned out cheerfully, without a moment's cavil. mr. bourne, manager of millar's estate, informed us that the largest gang he had ever seen in the field, on his property, turned out the week after the emancipation." in the days of slavery, it had always been customary to order out the militia, during the christmas holidays, when the negroes were in the habit of congregating in large numbers, to enjoy the festivities of the season. but the december after emancipation, the governor issued a proclamation, that, "_in consequence of the abolition of slavery_," there was no further need of taking that precaution. and it is a fact that there have been no soldiers out at christmas, from that day to this. the legislature of antigua subsequently passed "an act for the better organizing of the militia," the preamble of which reads thus: "whereas _the abolition of slavery_, in this island, renders it expedient to provide against an _unnecessary augmentation_ of the militia," etc. the public security and confidence were also strikingly indicated by the following military advertisement in : "recruits wanted! the freed men of antigua are now called upon to show their gratitude to king william, for the benefits he has conferred on them and their families, by volunteering their services as soldiers in his first west india regiment. by doing this, they will acquire a still higher rank in society, by being placed on a footing of perfect equality with the other troops in his majesty's service, and receive the same bounty, pay, clothing, rations, and allowances." testimony of planters in antigua, in . the rev. james a. thome, son of a slaveholder in kentucky, visited the british west indies in the autumn of , and returned to this country in the summer of . he published a book, soon after, from which i quote the following extracts:-- "we delivered a letter of introduction to mr. james howell, manager of thibou jarvis' estate. he told us that before emancipation took place, he had been strongly opposed to it; being exceedingly unwilling to give up his power of command. 'but,' said he, 'i shall never forget how differently i felt when freedom took place. i rose from my bed exclaiming, "i am free! i am free! i was the greatest slave on the estate; and now i am free."' he said that planters, who retained their harsh manner, did not succeed under the new system; but he never had any difficulty in managing his people. he found by experience that kindness and forbearance armed him with sufficient authority. the laborers on the estates he managed had been considerably reduced,[ ] but the grounds had never been in a finer state of cultivation than at present. he said there would be a failure of crops, not from any fault of the laborers, but on account of a drought more prolonged, than he had known for thirty-six years. he said, 'when my work is backward, i give it out in jobs; and it is always done in half the usual time. emancipation has almost wholly put an end to sulking, or pretending to be sick. that was a thing which caused a vast deal of trouble during slavery. every monday morning, regularly, i used to find ten or a dozen round the door, waiting for my first appearance, to beg that they might be let off from work, on account of sickness. it was seldom that one-fourth of them were really unwell; but every one maintained he was sick; and, as it was hard to contend with them, they were sent off to the sick-house. now, that is done away with. the hospitals on many estates are put to other uses. mine is converted into a chapel. at first, the negroes showed some disposition to put on airs of independence; but that soon disappeared. they are always respectful in their manners. in that particular, there has been mutual improvement. planters treat their laborers more like fellow-men, and that leads them to be respectful, in their turn. they have now a growing regard for character; a feeling unknown to them in the days of slavery. their religious and moral condition was formerly very low, notwithstanding the efforts of the missionaries; but now it is rapidly improving. "mr. armstrong, manager of fitch's creek estate, said to us: 'during slavery, i often used to lie sleepless in my bed, thinking of my dangerous situation; the only white person on the premises, far from help and surrounded by slaves. i have spent hours devising plans of defence, in case my house should be attacked by the negroes. i said to myself it would be useless to fire upon them. my only hope was to frighten the superstitious fellows, by covering myself with a white sheet, and rushing into the midst of them, like a ghost. but now i have the utmost confidence in my people. they have no _motive_ now to prompt them to insurrection. they show great shrewdness in every thing that concerns their own interest. they are very exact in keeping their accounts with the manager. to a stranger, it must be incredible how they contrive to live on such small wages.' mr. a. informed us that the spirit of enterprise, formerly dormant in antigua, had been roused since emancipation. planters were now beginning to inquire as to the best modes of cultivation, and to propose measures of general improvement. one of these measures was the establishment of free villages, in which the laborers from all the neighboring estates might dwell, by paying a small rent. real estate has risen, and mercantile business greatly improved. several missionaries were present while we talked with mr. a.; and the whole company heartily joined in assuring us that a knowledge of the actual working of abolition in antigua would be altogether favorable to the cause of freedom. they all agreed that the more thorough was our knowledge of the facts in the case, the more perfect would be our confidence in _immediate_ emancipation. "dr. ferguson, of st. john's called on us. he is a member of assembly, and one of the first physicians on the island. he said it had always appeared to him that if a man is peaceable while he is a slave, he would certainly be so when he was a freeman. but though he had anticipated beneficial results from the abolition of slavery, the reality had exceeded his most sanguine expectations. had it not been for the unprecedented drought, the island would now be in a state of prosperity unequalled in any period of its history. the mercantile business of the town had increased astonishingly. he thought stores and shops had multiplied in a ratio of ten to one. mechanical pursuits were likewise in a flourishing condition. a general spirit of enterprise was pervading the island. the streets and roads, in town and county, were much improved. the moral character of the white population was brightening; one proof of it was that the old custom of concubinage was becoming disreputable. emancipation was working admirably; especially for the planters. the credit of the island had decidedly improved. immediate freedom was infinitely better policy than slavery, or the apprenticeship either. "we visited green castle estate, about three miles from st. john's. the manager, samuel barnard esq., received us kindly. he had been on the island forty-four years, engaged in the management of estates. he is now the owner of one estate, the manager of two, and attorney for six. he has grown old in the practice of slave-holding, and has survived the wreck of the system. stripped of arbitrary power, he now lives among the freed people, who were once his slaves, in the house where his grandfather was murdered in his bed by his slaves. the testimony of such a man is invaluable. he said the transition from slavery to freedom was like passing suddenly out of a dark dungeon into the sunlight. he thought the assembly had acted wisely in adopting _immediate_ emancipation. the endless altercations and troubles of the apprenticeship system had thus been avoided. the negroes made no riot or disturbance when they received their freedom; and he had no difficulty about their working. some estates had suffered for a short time. there was a pretty general fluctuation, for a month or two, owing to the laborers leaving one estate and going to another; but that was because the planters overbid each other, to get the best hands. the negroes had a very strong attachment to their homes, and would rarely leave them, unless harshly treated. very few of his people had left him. there were some inconveniences connected with the present system, but they were incomparably less than those connected with slavery. "dr. daniell, manager of the weatherill estate, has long been a resident of antigua, and is thoroughly acquainted with its internal policy. he is a member of the council, owns an estate, manages another, and is attorney for six. being a prominent member of one branch of the body which gave immediate emancipation to the slaves, his testimony is entitled to great weight. he said, 'we all violently resisted abolition, when it began to be agitated in england. we regarded it as an outrageous interference with our property and our rights. but now we are rejoiced that slavery is abolished.' he did not think the system of apprenticeship had any tendency to prepare the slaves for freedom. the arbitrary control of a master could never be a preparation for freedom. sound, wholesome legal restraints were the only preparation. apprenticeship vexed and harrassed the negroes, and kept them in a state of suspense. the reflection that they had been cheated out of their expected liberty six years would sour their minds; and when they at last obtained freedom, they would be less likely to be grateful. the planters in antigua had secured the attachment of their people by conferring upon them immediate emancipation. there had been no deficiency of labor. estates throughout the island were never in more advanced condition. nothing was wanted but rain. he frequently employed his people by the job, for short periods, and always with gratifying results. the negroes accomplished twice as much as when they worked for daily wages, because they made more money. on some days they made three shillings; three times the ordinary wages. he managed them altogether by mildness, and found it extremely easy. he had quite as much influence over them, as he ever had during slavery. but where managers persisted in habits of arbitrary command, they failed. he had been obliged to discharge a manager from one of his estates, on account of his overbearing disposition. if he had not dismissed him, the people would have abandoned the estate. love of home was such a passion with negroes, that nothing but bad treatment could force them away. he did not know of more than one or two planters on the whole island, who did not consider emancipation a decided advantage to all parties. "dr. nugent, manager of lyon's estate, has long been speaker of the assembly, and is favorably known in europe as a man of science. no man in antigua stands higher. he owns one estate and manages another. he told us that, previous to emancipation, no man dared to express opposition to slavery, if he wished to maintain a respectable standing. planters might have their hopes but they could not make them public, without incurring general odium, and being denounced as enemies of their country. the most general prediction was that the negroes would not work after they were free; but time had proved there was no foundation for that apprehension. the estates were never in better order than at present. on account of the stimulus of wages, there was far less feigned sickness, than during slavery. the sick-house used to be thronged with real or pretended invalids; now the negroes don't go near it. the one on his estate was now used for a stable. he thought the capabilities of the blacks for education and for trades, were conspicuous. emancipation had proved a blessing to the masters, and as for the advantages to the slave, they were too obvious to need to be pointed out. insurrection or revenge was in no case dreaded; not even by those planters who had been most cruel. after slavery was abolished, there remained no _motive_ for rebellion. the expenses of cultivation were greatly diminished, and machinery and cattle more generally used than formerly. "mr. hatly, manager of frey's estate, told us the improved industry and efficiency of his people had encouraged him to bring several additional acres under cultivation. they did not require such constant watching as formerly. they took much more interest in the prosperity of the estate, than they did when they were slaves. he showed us his accounts for the last year of slavery, and the first year of freedom; they proved a reduction of expenses more than one-third. he said, 'the old habit of feigning sickness is broken up. during slavery, this was more or less the case every week, sometimes every day, and it was exceedingly annoying. one would come, carrying his arm on his hand, declaring it had such a mighty pain in it, he couldn't use the hoe no way; another would make his appearance with both hands on his breast, and, with a rueful look, complain of a great pain in his stomach; a third came limping along, with a dreadful _rheumatiz_ in his knees; and so on, for a dozen or more. it was in vain to dispute with them, though it was often manifest that nothing on earth ailed them. they would say, "ah, me, massa, you no tink how bad me feel. it's deep _in_, massa." but we have no feigned sickness now, and much less actual illness than formerly. my people now say they have no time to be sick. we formerly had strong prejudices against the plough; but now it is beginning to be extensively used, and we find it greatly reduces the necessary amount of labor. i have already seen such decided benefits growing out of the free labor system, that i never wish to see the face of slavery again. we are relieved from the painful task of flogging. formerly, it was nothing but whip, whip, whip. now we know no more of the lash.' "david cranstoun, esq., manager of athill's estate, and a magistrate, said to us: 'i get my work done better than formerly, and with incomparably more cheerfulness. i employ fewer laborers, but my estate was never in a finer state of cultivation. my people are always ready and willing to work. i occasionally employ them at jobs, and always with great success. when i give out a job, it is accomplished in half the time it would have taken, if paid by the day. on such occasions, i have known them turn out before three o'clock in the morning, and work by moonlight: and when the moon was not shining, they sometimes kindled fires among the dry cane leaves to work by. they would continue working all day, till four o'clock; stopping only for breakfast, and dispensing with the usual intermission from twelve to two. during slavery, the weekly expenses on the estate averaged £ ($ . ). after emancipation, they averaged £ ($ . ). the negroes are a remarkably temperate people. i have rarely seen one intoxicated. we have no cause to fear insurrections now. emancipation has freed us from all danger on that score. among the advantages of the present system is the greater facility of managing estates. it saves us from a world of trouble and perplexity. i have found that the negroes are easily controlled by law; more so, perhaps, than the laboring classes in other countries. i do not know of a single planter, who would be willing to have slavery restored. we feel that it was a great curse; a curse to the planter, as well as the slave.' "we breakfasted at the villa estate, within half a mile of st. john's. we found the manager less sanguine in his views of emancipation, than the planters generally were. this is easily accounted for. the estate is situated so near the seaport town, that his people have many temptations to leave their work, from which those on more distant estates are exempt. he admitted, however, that the danger of insurrection was removed, that crime was lessened, and the moral condition of society rapidly improving. "mr. bourne, manager of millar's estate, said: 'fearing the consequences of emancipation, i reduced my cultivation in ; but soon finding that my people would work as well as ever, i brought it up to the customary extent, the next year; and this year, i have added fifteen acres of new land. i have no hesitation in saying that, if i have a supply of cash, i can take off any crop it may please god to send. nothing but bad treatment ever makes the negroes leave estates on which they have been accustomed to live; and in such cases, a change of management has almost uniformly proved sufficient to induce them to return. they are decidedly less prone to be insolent now, than during slavery. the expense of managing estates has diminished one-third. before emancipation, very little was thought about expedients for saving manual labor; but many improvements have already been introduced, and more are suggested. emancipation has proved an incalculable blessing to the planters, by releasing them from an endless complication of responsibilities, perplexities, temptations, and anxieties; especially, because it has relieved them from the bondage of the whip. it was hard work to be a christian in the days of slavery. yes, i assure you, sir, it was _very_ hard to be a christian in those days.' "ralph higinbotham, esq., u. s. consul at antigua, in , bore the following testimony: 'the general conduct of the negroes has been worthy of much praise; especially considering the sudden transition from slavery to unrestricted freedom. their demeanor is peaceable and orderly. whatever may have been the dissatisfaction of the planters at the commencement of the present system, they are now well satisfied that their properties are better worked, and their laborers more contented and cheerful, than in the time of slavery.'" some difficulties always attend every change in the structure of society; but if the change is based on true principles, the difficulties are always temporary. they are like a stony pathway from a cavern into sunlight. so it proved in antigua. mr. james scotland, the venerable merchant already alluded to, said to mr. thome: "the troubles attending emancipation resulted almost entirely from the perseverance of the planters in their old habits of dominion. their pride was wounded by seeing their slaves elevated to equal rights, and they were jealous lest they should aspire to be on the same footing in all respects. in the early stage of freedom, they frequently used their power as employers to the annoyance and injury of their laborers. for the slightest misconduct, and sometimes without any reason whatever, the poor negroes were dragged before magistrates (who were planters, or the friends of planters), mulcted in their wages, fined otherwise, and committed to jail, or the house of correction. yet those harrassed people remained patient, orderly, and submissive. their treatment has now much improved; for the planters have happily discovered that they sacrificed their own interests by keeping the cultivators of their lands in agitation and suffering." testimony of magistrates and teachers, in antigua, in . mr. thome says: "the governor spoke to us unreservedly of the past and present condition of antigua, and stated various particulars in which the colony had been greatly improved by emancipation. he said planters from every part of the island assured him that the negroes were industriously disposed. they all conceded that emancipation had proved a blessing to the island, and he did not know a single individual who wished to return to the old system. he said that, during the recent christmas holidays, the police reports did not return a single case of arrest. he had been acquainted with the country districts in england, and travelled extensively in europe; and he had never yet found such a peaceable, orderly, law-abiding peasantry, as those of antigua. the great crime of the island, and indeed, of all the west india colonies, had been licentiousness; but they were certainly fast improving in that particular. "by invitation of the governor, we attended him to the annual examination of the parochial school in st. john's. he requested that all the children emancipated on the first of august, , might be called up. it was a most interesting and beautiful sight. nearly one hundred children, from black to the clearest white, who two years ago were slaves, stood there before us free. when we spoke to them of emancipation, their animated looks and gestures, and their lively tones in answering our questions, showed that they felt it was a blessing to be free. there was as much respectfulness, attention, and general intelligence, as we ever saw in scholars of the same age. his excellency expressed himself highly pleased with the appearance and proficiency of the school. turning to us, he said, in a tone of pleasantry, 'you see, gentlemen, these children have _souls_.' "teachers, missionaries, clergymen, and planters, uniformly testified that the negroes were as capable of receiving instruction as any people in the world; and it was confirmed beyond all doubt by facts we ourselves witnessed. we were happy to learn that the emancipated negroes manifested great anxiety for the education of their children. they encouraged them to go to school, and labored to support them, though they had strong temptation to detain them at home to work. they also contributed a small weekly sum for the maintenance of schools." concerning the moral condition of antigua, mr. thome furnishes a quantity of police reports, from which i quote the following, as fair samples of the whole: "st. john's, sept. . capital offences have much decreased in number, as well as all minor ones. the principal crimes lately submitted for the investigation of the magistrates seem to consist chiefly in trifling offences, and breaches of contract. "oct. . although instances do occur of breaches of contract, they are not very frequent; and, in many cases, i have been induced to believe that the offence has originated more in want of a proper understanding of the time, intent, and meaning of the contract into which the laborers have entered, than from the actual existence of any dissatisfaction on their part. "jan. . (immediately after the christmas holidays.) at this period, when several successive days of idleness occur among the laboring classes, i cannot but congratulate your honor on the quiet demeanor and general good order, which has happily been maintained throughout the island. during the holidays i had only one prisoner committed to my charge, and his offence was of a minor nature. "feb. . i beg leave to congratulate your honor on the vast diminution of all minor misdemeanors, and the total absence of capital offences. "sept. . the agricultural laborers continue a steady and uniform line of conduct, and, with some few exceptions, afford general satisfaction to their employers. every friend to this country, and to the liberties of the world, must view with satisfaction the gradual improvement in the character and behavior of this class of the community, under the constant operation of the local enactments. "jan. . (after the christmas holidays.) i cordially congratulate your excellency on the regular and steady behavior maintained by all ranks of society, at this particular season of the year. not one crime of a heinous nature has been discovered. i proudly venture to declare my opinion that in no part of his majesty's dominions has a population of , conducted themselves with more strict propriety, at this annual festival, or been more peaceably obedient to the laws. "feb. . crimes of any heinous nature are very rare among the laborers. i may venture to say that petty thefts, breaking sugar canes to eat, and offences of the like description, principally swell the calendars of our quarterly courts of sessions. in general, the laborers are peaceable, orderly, and civil; not only to those who move in higher spheres of life, but also to each other." the foregoing reports are all signed by "richard s. wickham, superintendent of police." testimony of clergy and missionaries in antigua in . rev. mr. jones, rector of st. phillips, said to mr. thome:--"the planters have always been opposed to improvements, until they were effected, and the good results became manifest. they first said that the abolition of the slave-_trade_ would ruin the colonies; next they said the abolition of _slavery_ would be the certain destruction of the islands; and now they deprecate the _education_ of the emancipated children, as a measure fraught with disastrous consequences. but emancipation has proved a great blessing to the people, and the planters in this part of the island are gratified with the working of the system. the benefits of education are extending, and religious privileges greatly increasing. there has been manifest improvement in the morals and manners of the children, since education has become general. with regard to marriage, there has been a complete revolution in the habits of the people. "the superintendent of the wesleyan mission informed us that the collection in the several wesleyan chapels, in , independent of occasional contributions to sunday schools, missionary objects, etc., amounted to more than $ , . besides giving liberally, according to their small means, to the bible society, the emancipated slaves formed several branch associations among themselves, for the circulation of the scriptures. the contributions from antigua and bermuda, the only two islands which had then adopted _entire_ freedom, were _double_ those from any other two islands. among the wesleyans, the freed negroes had formed four friendly societies, to help the aged and infirm, nurse the sick, and encourage sobriety and industry. in , they raised money themselves and expended for those objects £ currency ($ , ). in , they had £ ($ , ) in their treasury." to estimate this liberality properly, it must be remembered that the wages of these poor people was only a shilling a day, about twenty-four cents: and that they boarded themselves; also, that, until the last three years, they had received no wages at all for their labor. there was no public poorhouse in antigua; a fact highly creditable to the emancipated people. a report published by the wesleyan brethren, alluding to the emancipated slaves, says: "they always show a readiness to contribute to the support of the gospel. with the present low wages, and the entire charge of self-maintenance, they have but little to spare. parham and sion hill (taken as specimens) have societies composed almost entirely of rural blacks; about , in number. in , these contributed above $ , , in little weekly subscriptions; besides giving to special objects occasionally, and contributing for the support of schools." the west india association for advancement of christian faith, in its report for , makes a statement which shows that marriages in _one_ year, at that time, were _twice_ as numerous as in _ten_ years, during slavery. testimony of the emancipated slaves in antigua, in . mr. thome says: "a young negro, who had been a slave, rowed us across the harbor of st. john's. we asked him about the first of august, . he said: 'dar was more religious on dat day, dan you can tink of.' when we questioned him about the laws, he said the law was his friend. if there was no law to take his part, a strong man might knock him down; but now everybody feared the law. the masters _would_ sometimes slash a fellow, let him do his _best_; but the law never hurt anybody that behaved well. "we asked an old negro what he did on the first of august. he replied: 'massa, we went to church, and tank de lord for make a we all free.' "we asked two men, who were masons on an estate, how they liked liberty. they replied: 'o sir, it is very comfortable; very comfortable indeed. the day when freedom come, we was as happy as though we was just going to heaven. we used to think very much about being free; but we did not hope it would ever be, till death delivered us from bondage. now we've got free, we wouldn't sell ourselves for any money. the money would soon be gone; but freedom will last as long as we live.' we asked if they wouldn't be willing to sell themselves to a man they were sure would treat them well. they immediately replied: 'we should be willing to _serve_ such a man; but we wouldn't _sell_ ourselves to the best man in the world.' they said they were very desirous to have their children learn all they could, while they were young; for education was a great thing. "on our way to grace bay, we met some negro men at work on the road, and stopped to chat with them. we asked them if they danced on the first of august. they quickly replied, 'oh! oh! no fiddling _den_! no, me massa. all go to church _dat_ day.' one of them said, 'i always thought much about freedom, but i no hope eber to be free. one morning, bout four o'clock, i was walking along de road, all lone, and i prayed dat de saviour would make me free; for den i could be _so_ happy! i don't know what made me pray so; for i wasn't looking for de free; but in one month de free come.' they told us they worked a great deal better, since they were paid for it. i asked one of them whether he wouldn't be willing to be a slave again, if he could always be sure of a good master. he exclaimed: 'heigh! me massa! me nebber be slave, no more! a good massa a bery good ting; but freedom till better.' they told us it was a great blessing to have their children go to school. "an intelligent colored gentleman informed us that while the negroes were slaves, they used to spend, during the christmas holidays, all the money they got during the year; but now they saved it carefully, to buy small tracts of land for their own cultivation." at the examination of one of the schools, several women who worked on the estates, who had children in the school, put on their sunday's best, and went to hear the classes recite. when mr. thome spoke to one of them about the privileges her children enjoyed, her eyes filled with tears, and she replied, "yes, massa, we do tank de good lord for bring de free. never can be too tankful." she said she had seven children present, and it made her feel happy to have them learn to read. another said, when she heard the children reading so well, she wanted "to take de words out of da mouts, and put 'em in her own." she added, "i tell you, massa, it do my old heart good to come here." "old grandfather jacob, who had been a deacon in one of the moravian churches, told us of the dungeons in which the slaves used to be confined; and with much feeling, said his wife had once been put into a damp dungeon. some got sick there, and were never well afterward. he knew one that died there. he had been flogged twice for leaving his work to bury the dead. 'can't put we in dungeon _now_!' exclaimed grandfather jacob, with a triumphant look. 'no lick we! if dey no like we, tell we to go away; dat's all.' we asked if he was provided for by the manager. he said no, his children supported him. 'now, when ole man die, him children make coffin, and put him in de ground!' we asked whether it was not better for an old man to be a slave, so as to get food and clothing from the manager. he darted a quick look at us, and said, 'radder be free.' "mr. and mrs. möhne, moravian missionaries, told us that, though the low rate of wages was scarcely sufficient to support life, they had never seen a single individual, who desired to be a slave again. even the aged and infirm, who sometimes suffered, from neglect of the planters, and the inability of their relatives to provide adequately for them, expressed the liveliest gratitude for the great blessing the lord had given them. they would often say, 'missus, ole sinner just sinkin in de grave; but de good lord let me ole eyes see dis blessed sun."' footnote: [ ] this is accounted for, in many instances, by the women being withdrawn from field labor, to attend to their households; and by children being sent to school. chapter iii. the windward islands, during the apprenticeship--testimony of planters in barbadoes, in .[ ] mr. thome says: "soon after we arrived in barbadoes we visited mr. c., manager of lear's estate, about four miles from bridgetown. he had been a planter for thirty-six years. he was attorney for two other large estates, and had under his superintendence more than a thousand apprenticed laborers. he said, 'i often wished that slavery might be abolished, and other planters of my acquaintance had the same feelings; but we did not dare to express them. most of the planters were so violently opposed to emancipation, that even up to the st of july, they declared it could not and should not take place. now, these very men see and acknowledge the benefits which are resulting from the new system. slavery was a reign of terror. i have often started up from a dream in which i thought my room was filled with armed slaves. but all such fears have passed away. there is no _motive_ for insurrection now. on the first of august, , the people labored on the estates the same as usual. if a stranger had gone over the island, he would not have suspected that any change had taken place. i told my people, the day before, that under the new laws they were to turn out at six o'clock in the morning, instead of at five, as formerly. i did not expect they would go to work that day; but, at the appointed hour, they were all in the field; not one was missing. they do more work in the nine hours required by present laws, than they did in the twelve hours, exacted under slavery. they are more faithful, than when they were slaves. they take more interest in the prosperity of the estate, and in seeing that things are not destroyed. there is less theft, because they begin to have some respect for character. they can now appeal to the law for protection; and their respect for law is very great. they are always willing to work for me during their own time, for which i pay them twenty-five cents a day. i have planted thirty additional acres this year, and have taken a larger crop than i have ever taken. the island has never been under such good cultivation, and it is becoming better every year. real estate has increased in value more than thirty per cent. emancipation was a great blessing, to the master, as well as the slave. it was emancipation to _me_. you cannot imagine the responsibilities and anxieties that were swept away with the extinction of slavery. there are many annoying circumstances connected with slavery, which have a pernicious effect on the master. there is continual jealousy and suspicion between him and his slaves. they look upon each other as natural enemies. a perpetual system of plotting and counterplotting is kept up. flogging was a matter of course throughout the island, while slavery existed. it was as common to strike a slave, as to strike a horse. very often, it was merely because the master happened to be in an irritable mood, and the slave had no idea what he was punished for. i have myself, more than once, ordered slaves to be flogged, when i was in a passion, and after i was cool i would have given guineas not to have done it. i believe emancipation will save the souls of many planters. if it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, it is much harder for a planter. i sometimes wonder at myself, when i think how long i was connected with slavery; but self-interest and custom blinded me to its enormities. i lately met with a planter, who, up to the last of july, had maintained that the mother country could not be so mad as to take a step that would inevitably ruin her colonies. now, he would be the last man to vote for the restoration of slavery. he even wants to get rid of the apprenticeship, and adopt immediate, unconditional emancipation, as they did in antigua. such changes of opinion are very common among the planters. i think the expenses under apprenticeship are about the same as during slavery; but calculations i have made convince me that under an entirely free system, i could cultivate this estate for $ , a year less than it formerly cost. i have no doubt the negroes will work, when their freedom comes in . there may be a little excited, experimenting feeling, for a short time, but i am confident that things generally will move on peaceably and prosperously. the slaves were well acquainted with the efforts made in england for their emancipation. they used to watch the arrival of every packet with extreme anxiety. if parliament had refused to abolish slavery, there would have been a general insurrection. while there was hope, they waited peaceably for release; but if hope had been destroyed, slavery would have been buried in blood. the apprenticeship caused some dissatisfaction among them. they thought they ought to be entirely free, and they suspected that their masters were deceiving them. at first, they could not understand the conditions of the new system; and there was some murmuring among them; but they concluded it was better to wait six years more for the desired boon, than to lose it by revolt.' "samuel hinkston, esq., manager of colliton estate, and one of the local magistrates, gave an account similar in all respects, to that given by the manager of lear's. he had been a planter for thirty-six years, and was universally esteemed for his humane character, and close attention to business. he said his apprentices never refused to work in the hours required by law, and during their own time, they were always ready to work for him, for wages, whenever he needed them. when he had no occasion for them, they often let themselves out to work on other people's grounds. real estate had risen very much, and it was universally conceded that the island had never been under better cultivation. in every respect, the new system worked better than the old; but he looked forward with pleasure to the still better change that would come in . he believed unconditional freedom would remove all annoyances. his only regret was that it could not come sooner. "we were invited to visit col. ashby, an aged and experienced planter, who resides in the southernmost part of the island. he told us he had been a practical planter ever since . he had violently opposed abolition, and regarded the anti-slavery members of parliament with unmingled hatred. he thought no punishment, either in this life, or the life to come, was too bad for wilberforce. when he told us this, he exclaimed, 'but, oh, how mistaken i was about that man! i am convinced of it now. the abolition of slavery has proved an incalculable blessing.' he dwelt much on the trustiness and strong attachment of the negroes, when they were well treated. they were never disposed to leave their employer, unless he was intolerably passionate and hard with them. he said he avoided, as much as possible, carrying his apprentices before a special magistrate; and he always found it easy to settle difficulties himself by a conciliatory course." mr. thome was introduced to one planter, whose name he does not mention, probably because his neighbors gave him the character of having been a cruel master, during slavery. he retained the prejudices natural to that class of men. "he complained that the negroes were an ungrateful, perverse set; the more they were indulged, the more lazy and insolent they became. he said he knew that by his _own_ experience. one fault he had to find with all his apprentices, both in the house and in the field; they all held him to the letter of the _law_, and were always ready to arraign him before a special magistrate for any infraction of it. he also considered it a great grievance that women with young babies were unwilling to work in the field, as they did formerly; now 'they spent half their time taking care of their brats.' he however acknowledged that his apprentices were willing to work, that his estates were never under better cultivation, and that he could say the same for estates all over the island." dr. bell, a planter from demerara, was on a visit to barbadoes, and mr. thome made some inquiries concerning the results of abolition there. "he said the colony was now suffering for want of laborers; but after the apprentices were free, in , there would doubtless be increased emigration thither, from older and less productive colonies. the planters were making arrangements for cultivating sugar on a larger scale than ever before, and estates were selling at very high prices. every thing indicated the fullest confidence that the prosperity of the country would be permanent and progressive." mr. thome says: "we had repeated interviews with gentlemen, who were well acquainted with the adjacent islands; one of them was proprietor of a sugar estate in st. vincent's. they all assured us that in those islands there reigned the same tranquillity that we saw in barbadoes. sir evan mcgregor, governor-general of all the windward colonies, and of course thoroughly informed respecting their internal condition, gave us the same assurances. from these authentic sources, we learned enough to satisfy ourselves, that in all the colonies, conciliatory and equitable management has never failed to secure peace and industry." testimony of magistrates in barbadoes, in . mr. thome says: "the governor, sir evan mcgregor, told us he had been five years in the west indies, and had resided at antigua and dominica before he received his present appointment; he had also visited several other islands. he said that in no place he had visited had things gone on so quietly and satisfactorily, to all classes, as in antigua. the apprenticeship system was vexatious to both parties. it kept up a constant state of warfare between master and apprentice, and engendered bitter feeling on both sides. to some extent, that was the case in barbadoes; but it would doubtless pass away with the present impolitic system. he was so well satisfied that unconditional freedom was better, both for the masters and the laborers, that, if he had the power, he would emancipate every apprentice to-morrow. "hon. r. b. clarke, solicitor general, candidly owned that while abolition was pending in parliament, he had declared, publicly and repeatedly that it would ruin the colonies; but the results had proved so different, that he was ashamed of his forebodings. he said there were many fears about the first of august. he rose early that morning, and rode twelve miles over the most populous part of the island; and when he saw all the negroes peaceably at their work, he felt satisfied that all would go well." major colthurst, special magistrate, gave a written testimony to mr. thome, from which i extract the following: "the number of apprenticed laborers in my district, is , . in consequence of its vicinity to the large seaport of bridgetown, it is perhaps the most troublesome district in the island. in the more rural districts, not above half as many complaints are made to the magistrates. there has been no trouble in my district, occasioned by the apprentices refusing to work. they work manfully and cheerfully, wherever they are treated with humanity and consideration. i have never known an instance to the contrary. when the conductor of the estate is wanting in this respect, disinclination to perform their duties is the natural consequence; but the interference of the magistrate soon sets matters right. the number of complaints brought before me are much fewer than last year, and their character is also greatly improved. nine complaints out of ten are for small impertinences and saucy answers; which, considering the former and present condition of the parties, is naturally to be expected; but the number even of such complaints is much diminished. it is amazing how few material breaches of the law occur in so extraordinary a community. occasionally, there are a few cases of crime; but when it is considered that the population of this island is nearly as dense as that of any part of china, and wholly uneducated, either by precept or example, this absence of frequent crime excites our wonder, and is highly creditable to the negroes. i do not hesitate to say that perfect tranquillity exists in this colony, though passing through one of the most momentous changes, that ever took place in any age, or country; the passage of nearly , slaves from bondage to freedom. the apprentices are inclined to purchase their discharge; especially when misunderstandings occur with their masters. when they obtain it, they generally labor in the trades and occupations, to which they were previously accustomed, and conduct themselves well. they seldom take to drinking. indeed, the black and colored population are the most temperate people i ever knew. the experience of nearly forty years, in various public situations, confirms me in this very important fact." testimony similar to the above is adduced from a number of magistrates and police officers. they all agreed that vice and crime had diminished, and were diminishing; that the feeling of security was universal; that land was rising; and that even the most prejudiced planters would not return to the old system, if they could. testimony of clergy and missionaries in barbadoes, in . mr. thome says: "rev. edward elliott, the archdeacon at barbadoes, informed us that the number of clergymen and churches had increased since emancipation; religious meetings were more fully attended, and the instructions given manifestly had greater influence. increased attention was paid to education also. the clergy, and the moravian and wesleyan missionaries had put forth new efforts, and were opening schools in various parts of the island. before emancipation, the planters opposed education, and, as far as possible, prevented teachers from coming on their estates. now, they encouraged it in many instances, and where they did not directly encourage it, they made no opposition. he said the number of marriages had very much increased. he was convinced that no bad results would have followed, if entire freedom had been granted in , as in antigua. while slavery continued, people did fear insurrections; but he did not think five planters on the island had any fear now. "rev. mr. fidler, superintendent of the wesleyan missions, told us the methodists had been violently persecuted in barbadoes, during the reign of slavery. their chapel in bridgetown had been utterly demolished by a mob, and some of the missionaries obliged to fly for their lives. but things had very much altered since emancipation. several estates were now open to the missionaries, and churches were being built in various parts of the country. one man, who helped to pull down the chapel, had now given land to build a new one, and had offered the free use of one of his buildings, for religious meetings and a school, until it could be erected. "rev. mr. cummins, curate of st. paul's, in bridgetown, told us his sabbath school had greatly increased since emancipation. the negroes manifested an increasing desire for religious instruction, and he was convinced they had as much capacity for learning, as the whites. all the churches were now crowded, and there was an increasing demand for more. their morals had greatly improved; especially with respect to marriage. "we visited an infant school, connected with the episcopal church, established two weeks previous, for the children of the apprenticed laborers. the teacher, who has been for many years an instructor, told us he found them as quick to learn, as any children he ever taught. he had been surprised to see how soon the instructions of the schoolroom were carried home to the parents. the very first night, after the school closed, he heard the children repeating what they had been taught, and the parents learning the songs from their lips. "rev. mr. walton, from montserrat, told us the planters on that island were getting tired of the apprenticeship, and, from mere considerations of interest and comfort, were adopting free labor. there had been repeated instances of planters emancipating all their apprentices. he said a new impulse had been given to education. schools were springing up in all parts of the island. marriages were occurring every week. the planters now encouraged missionaries to labor among their people, and were ready to give land for chapels, which were fast multiplying." negro testimony in barbadoes, in . mr. thome says: "the tender of the sugar-mill at lear's was an old negro, with furrowed brow and thin gray locks. we asked him how they were getting along under the new system. he replied, 'bery well, massa, tank god. all peaceable and good.' 'then you like apprenticeship better than slavery?' 'great deal better, massa. we'se doing well, now.' 'you like apprenticeship as well as freedom, don't you?' 'oh, no, me massa. freedom till better.' 'what would you do, if you were entirely free?' 'we mus work, massa. all hab to work, when de free come. 'how are you treated now?' 'bery well, tank god. no flogging, no shutting up in dungeon, now.' 'but what makes you want freedom? you are so old, you couldn't enjoy it long.' 'me want to _die_ free, massa. it good ting to die free. and me want to see children free, too.'" footnote: [ ] the population of barbadoes was , whites; , slaves; , free colored people. chapter iv. testimony concerning the west indies, from to . joseph j. gurney, of england, visited the british west indies in . at st. christopher's, the solicitor general of the colony told him that a small estate on the island sold shortly before emancipation, with all the slaves on it, for £ , . he said, six years afterward, it would sell, without the slaves for £ , . mr. gurney adds: "this remarkable rise in the value of property is by no means confined to particular estates." "in this island, the negroes perform a far greater amount of work in a given time, than could be obtained from them under slavery. one of my informants said, 'they will do an infinity of work for wages.'" sir william colebrook, governor of antigua, and mr. gilbert, a clergyman, both gave the following testimony to mr. gurney: "at the lowest computation, the land, without a single slave upon it, is fully as valuable now, as it was, including all the slaves, before emancipation." mr. gilbert told mr. gurney that the compensation he received for his slaves, from the british government, was "a mere present put into his pocket; a gratuity, on which he had no reasonable claim. for his land, _without_ the slaves, was at least of the same value that it formerly was _with_ the slaves; and since emancipation, his profits had increased." at dominica, mr. gurney found the emancipated laborers "working cheerfully, and cheaply to their employers, as compared with slavery." concerning the islands he visited, mr. gurney says: "the change for the better, in the dress, demeanor, and welfare of the people, is prodigious. the imports are vastly increased. the duties on imports in st. christopher's were £ , more in than they were in ; and in , they were double what they were in , within £ . this surprising increase is owing to the demand, on the part of the freed laborers for imported goods; especially for articles of dress." in may, , dr. john davy, author of a work on the west indies, and brother of the celebrated sir humphrey davy, wrote from barbadoes, where he was residing, in official and professional employment, to the well-known mr. george combe, of edinburgh. the letter was published in _the liberty bell_, for , and i make the following extracts from it:-- "i could wish that those who still approve of slavery, or who may consider it a necessary evil, would pay a visit to the west indies, especially to this island, and witness the effects of emancipation. i am much mistaken if they would not go back satisfied that the abolition of slavery has here been, in every respect, advantageous; to the negroes, to the planters, and to the population generally. i have been in barbadoes very nearly a year, and i have conversed on the subject with proprietors of estates, who formerly owned slaves, with merchants, and with colored people, who had been slaves. among them all, there seemed to be but one feeling; that emancipation was a blessing, and that were it possible to bring back slavery, all would be opposed to it. "when slavery existed, there was always fear of insurrection, especially in times of danger, whether connected with war, or other calamities, such as fires and hurricanes. then, it was necessary to have a standing militia, always ready to act. it was necessary to have beacons and forts, to give the alarm and afford defence. now, there is a perfect feeling of security. the population is considered as one; bound together by common rights and common interests. the militia has been disbanded, and is not likely to be re-organized, except on a threatening of war. forts are no longer required. some of them have been dismantled and are forgotten. some are converted into stations for the police; a body chiefly composed of colored men. prior to abolition, from what i can learn, crime of every kind was more prevalent; especially robbery. then, there was always at large a certain number of runaway slaves, who supported themselves by nightly depredations, and, occasionally collecting into large parties, broke into and plundered the houses of the opulent. since the abolition of slavery, i have not heard of the murder of a white man, nor of any instance of revenge taken by the liberated for cruel treatment inflicted before liberation. i have not heard of any instances of house breaking, or of robbery, except of a petty kind, commonly designated as pilfering. the security, as to property, in which the opulent live here is remarkable. but it is not surprising, when we reflect on the easy condition of the people generally. want is almost unknown, beggars are almost unknown; yet there are no poor laws, and no provision made by law for the support of paupers. "the freed laborers are contented with a shilling sterling (twenty-four cents) a day for their work, men and women alike. this is sufficient to supply their wants, and to enable them to have some comforts, and even luxuries, where the ordinary articles of diet are cheap, and where most laborers have a portion of land, for which they pay rent. commonly, on every estate requiring over a hundred laborers, there is a village, where those who work on the estate reside. to be near their work is an advantage to both laborers and proprietors; and it being for the interest of the latter to attach the former to them, they are dealt with kindly and liberally. if other treatment is experienced, the laborers seek employment elsewhere, and have no difficulty in finding it. this, it must be admitted, is a happy change, and worth some pecuniary sacrifices; but it is doubtful whether it entailed any such. i have been assured by many managers of estates, well acquainted with the minute details of expenditure under the former and the present systems of slave labor and free labor, that free labor is more economical. i admit that in some of the islands, especially the smaller ones, the landed proprietors have been great sufferers, and their estates have become depreciated in a remarkable manner, owing to a new direction of labor. but i am disposed to think that their misfortunes have, in great part, been brought on themselves, by their injudicious conduct. in the first instance, they paid the freed laborers at a low rate, and thus tempted them to emigrate to the larger colonies, where higher remuneration was offered for labor; as in trinidad and demerara. next, they endeavored to keep them at home, by allowing them to have as much land as they chose, and to keep as many cattle as they chose, without payment. this did, indeed, keep them at home; but its tendency was to keep them from laboring on the estates of the proprietors. they found it more for their interest to cultivate land on their own account. "sometimes, a single fact will prove more convincing than a multiplicity of arguments. i will state one fact, of which i am assured on the best authority. _the value of land in barbadoes is so much increased since emancipation, that an estate will now sell for as much as it did formerly, when the slaves necessary for its cultivation were included in the purchase._ who would have believed this to be possible, before slavery was abolished? "now let us compare the moral condition of the population with what it was previous to emancipation. it is admitted that, in the time of slavery, planters, attorneys, managers, merchants, etc., were licentious. concubinage was common, and not held in discredit. there was a looseness of conduct and conversation, which could not fail to have an injurious effect on the mind. youth was particularly exposed to this degrading and enervating influence, when there was no check to indulgence, no call to exercise control; when too often a gentleman's house was a kind of brothel, and when instances occurred of planters keeping in slavery their own offspring by slave mothers. from what i have seen and heard, the higher classes of the white population now appear to be exemplary in their conduct. a natural change has also taken place with regard to the emancipated race. formerly, a colored woman esteemed it an honor to be the kept mistress of a white man. now, she considers it disreputable; and few such connections are found. marriage is more common among the black and colored people. the understanding is, that marriage is right, and concubinage wrong. there is still a good deal of irregular connection among them; the marriage tie is loose, and the senses little under the control of principle. but these remarks apply to the _older_ portion of the population, whose habits were formed in slavery, when the marriage ceremony was not permitted, and when chastity was not known, even by name. i believe they do not apply to the rising generation, a certain proportion of whom have come under the influence of moral and religious training. the children of the laborers manifest great facility in learning at school; and the men have great aptitude in learning whatever they take an interest in, belonging to their trades and occupations; such as the use of implements in husbandry, and improved methods in the useful arts." dr. davy states that three-fourths of the laborers in antigua had cottages of their own, and small freeholds. small as that island is, there were, at the time he wrote, about eighty-seven villages, all built by emancipated laborers, near the estates on which they were formerly chattels. he says: "it is a mistake, often committed, to suppose the african is by nature indolent, less inclined to work than the european. he who has witnessed, as i have, their indefatigable and provident industry, will be disposed perhaps to overrate, rather than underrate, the activity of the negroes." in , the governor of tobago published this statement: "i deny that the peasantry are abandoned to slothful habits. on the contrary, i assert that a more industrious class does not exist in the world; at least, when they are working for themselves." when louis philippe sent commissioners to the british west indies, to inquire into the state of things, with a view to emancipation in the french colonies, they published a report, from which i translate the following extract: "in guiana, some planters declare the impossibility of getting along with the existing system. others, on the contrary, assure us that they never want for laborers; they praise the assiduity of the blacks, and say they produce as much as under the former system. so much for the _old_ planters. but when we consult the _new_ planters, men who know coerced labor only by tradition, we find among _them_ entire unanimity. they all tell us that the labor is satisfactory, and that their agricultural operations succeed well." rev. henry bleby has been a missionary in the west indies for thirty years. he resided there before emancipation and since. on the st of august, , he delivered an address at abington, mass., from which i extract the following: "since i have been here, i have heard that emancipation is understood to have been a failure. i am prepared to give that statement an unqualified contradiction. in no sense whatever has the emancipation of the slaves in the british colonies proved a failure. i am at present laboring as a minister among the colored churches in barbadoes, and i can tell you that never, even in the most palmy lays of slavery, was there such prosperity as now. this year, a long drought has lessened the crop of sugar; yet they have raised more than double the amount of produce they ever raised under slavery; and with no greater amount of labor, than in the time of slavery. you cannot get an acre of land, in any part of the island, for less than four or five hundred dollars. in my own neighborhood an estate of not more than two or three hundred acres was sold for nearly $ , in your money; paid in cash. the case is the same in antigua, where i lived three years. a member of my own church there bought an estate, which was sold under a decree of chancery for $ , . he has taken off three valuable crops, which have more than repaid the original purchase money; and he has been offered $ , for the property, and refused to take it. _that_ is the kind of ruin that has come upon the west indies because of emancipation! "as for the moral condition of barbadoes, i believe the criminal statistics, for the last five or six years, would compare, without disadvantage, with any country under heaven. we seldom hear of any thing like serious crimes. intemperance is not prevalent among the people. i have a membership of seventeen hundred colored persons, and, during the last two years, i have not had one single case of intemperance reported to me. every sabbath our churches are crowded with people anxious to receive instruction. i know of no people in the world who will make such efforts, and exercise such self-denial, to obtain education for their children, as the people of barbadoes. one of my colored church members had just finished manufacturing his little portion of sugar, grown on part of the half-acre of land on which his house stood, and on which he raised provisions for his family; and he brought me six dollars in advance, as school fees for his four children the next twelve months. it is the only instance i ever knew of a man in _his_ condition pre-paying the education of his children for a year. it is a falsehood that emancipation has failed to improve the condition of the colored race. throughout the west indies, in every island, the condition of the people is incomparably superior to what it was in slavery. some say if it has not ruined the laborers, it has ruined the planters. i deny that statement, as plainly as i deny the other. emancipation proved a blessing, instead of a curse, to the proprietors. what i have told you concerning the prices of land are facts that speak volumes in regard to the sort of ruin brought upon british planters by emancipation." lord stanley, now earl of derby, in a despatch, dated february, , says: "experience has shown, what reason would anticipate, that the industry of the negro, like that of all mankind, is drawn out just in proportion to the interest he has in his labor." lord john russell declared in one of his public speeches: "none of the most inveterate opponents of our recent measures of emancipation allege that the negroes have turned robbers, or plunderers, or bloodthirsty insurgents. what appears from their statements is that they have become shopkeepers and petty traders, hucksters, and small freeholders. a blessed change this, which providence has enabled us to accomplish!" sir francis hincks, formerly prime minister of canada, is governor of the windward islands, which comprise barbadoes, st. vincent, grenada, st. lucia, and tobago. he is distinguished for financial ability, and practical good sense as a statesman. being on a visit to england, he was present at an anniversary meeting in london, august st, ; on which occasion, he offered the following resolution: "that, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the british colonies, this meeting joyfully records its satisfaction in the retrospect of that great act of national justice and sound policy; and emphatically affirm that the emancipated population of those colonies have triumphantly vindicated their right to freedom, and the justice of the act of emancipation, by the signal progress they have since made, morally, religiously, and politically." in speaking to this resolution, his excellency said: "it is not denied by anybody in the west indies that the good results of emancipation on the social condition of the people have been very great. in barbadoes, the progress has been especially marked. i know of no people of the laboring class anywhere, who have done so much for the education of their children, as the people of barbadoes; and results of the most gratifying character are to be seen in the social habits and mental acquirements of the people. i believe the planters themselves are convinced of the good results of emancipation. there can be no doubt in the minds of any, who investigate the subject, that slave labor is much dearer than free labor. i wish it to be understood that i have formed my opinion after full inquiry into the circumstances of every british colony, regarding which i could obtain information. "let me deal at once with the popular delusion that the african creole is naturally indolent; for that it _is_ a delusion, i have no doubt whatever. my opinion is in accordance with all that i have heard from the clergymen of the various protestant churches, as well as from those of the church of rome. it is likewise in accordance with the opinions expressed by the stipendiary magistrates generally, as i have found them in official documents. a barbadoes proprietor, who stands high in the estimation of all who know him, writes to me thus: 'there never was a greater mistake, than to suppose the negro will not work for hire. no man is more sensitive to that stimulus, or works more readily, more cheerfully, or more effectually, for the hope of reward. it is perfectly astonishing how much a negro can do, when he is under the influence of a wholesome stimulus; and how little he will do, when that is removed.'" gov. hincks said: "i willingly admit that there has been a considerable withdrawal of labor from sugar cultivation in some of the colonies, owing to a variety of causes. among those causes, i am inclined to think that, next to the _tenure of land_, the _insolvency of the proprietors_ has been the chief. i have never been able to trace an instance in which an estate has gone out of cultivation owing to want of _labor_; but i have heard of many cases in which estates have been abandoned for want of _capital_; and of some estates on which the laborers have been dismissed with wages several months in arrear. the only wonder is, that with such a land-tenure as that which exists in the west indies, a single laborer has remained on the sugar estates. it is a tenure by the month, subject to ejectment by the owner. if the tenant has notice to quit, while his crops are growing, he is obliged to take for them whatever price the proprietor appraises them at. if the tenant himself gives notice of intention to leave, he is obliged to sacrifice his crops altogether. the obvious tendency of this is to drive laborers from sugar cultivation to places where they can get land of their own. if i were proprietor of a sugar estate, i would devote one-fourth, or one-third, of the cane land on the estate to the laborers. i would give them a good tenure; for instance, leases renewable forever, with a right to buy, at such a number of years' purchase as might be agreed upon. i would make it the interest of my laborers to occupy, or buy, land near my cane lands, instead of at a distance. i would trust to their admitted sagacity to cultivate the product that would _pay_ them best. i would have a labor market at my door; and i would have the spare time of my laborers employed in growing a a product, which must be brought to my works to be manufactured. even if the result should be that all my land was rented or sold, i should still make ample profit by my manufactory. such, however, in my opinion, would not be the case. the large proprietor would still be the principal cultivator of the land, and the small one would combine labor on the estates with labor on his own land in growing the cane; as is the case in barbadoes. but this common-sense view of the subject has not been generally taken. in barbadoes alone so far as my knowledge extends, the laborers on the large estates cultivate the sugar cane on their own grounds; and this is one of the reasons why the laborers in barbadoes cannot be attracted elsewhere. there, the laborer is dependent on the proprietor for the manufacture of his little crop of canes, while the proprietor is dependent on him for labor, when it is required. this mutual dependence has produced the best results." when gov. hincks visited canada, april, , he received an address from the association for the education of the colored people. i make the following extract from his reply: "while it is my own deliberate opinion that a very large amount of labor now wasted in the west indies, or less profitably employed, could be obtained for the cultivation of sugar, i am not prepared to admit that the success of the great measure of emancipation is to be tested in this way. the true test, it seems to me, is the progress of the african race. the best proof of the industry of that race is that large numbers have acquired, and are acquiring, large properties. they are amenable to the laws, anxious for the education of their children, and good and loyal subjects to the queen. there is still vast room for improvement; but i certainly concur in the following statement by the lord bishop of barbadoes, a prelate esteemed and respected by all who have the advantage of his friendship: 'i certainly think we have great reason to say, especially in barbadoes, that the advantages resulting from the abolition of slavery have been quite as great as we could reasonably expect, in so short a time; much greater, indeed, than the most sanguine among us, i believe, ever anticipated.'" mr. charles tappan, of boston, visited the west indies, in the autumn of ; and in january, , gov. hincks wrote him a letter, dated barbadoes, in answer to some questions that had been addressed to him. it was published in the _national era_, and some other papers. i make the following extracts from it. "with regard to the complaint against the negroes, that they are indolent, and have abandoned the sugar plantations, i admit that, in several of the british colonies, the planters would generally vehemently maintain the correctness of the charge. i am, however, bound to affirm that, after a most patient investigation, i have been unable to arrive at such a conclusion. there is no doubt that the condition of the laboring class in barbadoes ought to be worse than in any of the other colonies; for land is exorbitantly dear, being from $ to $ an acre; while wages are from tenpence to a shilling (twenty-four cents) a day. there are only five working days in the week, except during crop time. with all these disadvantages, the small proprietors in barbadoes, those holding less than five acres of land, have increased in sixteen years, from about , to , . i doubt very much whether such a proof of industrious habits could be furnished with regard to a similar class of laborers in any other country in the world. i adduce this remarkable fact to prove that there has been no want of industry in this island, on the part of the creoles of african descent. "in all those colonies where the sugar estates have been partially abandoned, we must look to other causes than the indolence of the laborers. in all those colonies, land is abundant and comparatively cheap; and i need not remind any one acquainted with the settlement of land in america, that where land is abundant and cheap, labor will be scarce and dear. the negroes in guiana and trinidad pursue the same course as poor irish emigrants in canada, or the united states; they endeavor to get land of their own, and to become proprietors instead of laborers. unfortunately, the planters have never adopted a policy calculated to retain laborers on their plantations. at least, such is my opinion. i am fully convinced that the abandonment of the estates is more owing to the tenure, on which alone planters would lease land, than to any other cause. "in this island, there can be no doubt whatever, that emancipation has been a great boon to all classes. the estates are much better cultivated, and more economically. real estate has increased in price, and is a more certain and advantageous investment, than in the time of slavery. the proprietor of an estate, containing three hundred acres of land, twelve miles from the shipping port, informs me that the estate, during slavery, required two hundred and thirty slaves, and produced on an average, one hundred and forty hogheads of sugar. it is now worked by ninety free laborers, and the average product the last seven years has been one hundred and ninety hogheads. during slavery, this estate was worth £ , ($ , ); under the apprenticeship, it was sold for £ , ($ , ); the present proprietor purchased it a few years ago, for £ , ($ , ), which i have no doubt he could obtain for it at any moment. i could multiply instances, where the results have been similar. "the improvement which has taken place in the religious condition of all classes, and the progress of education, are quite equal to what could have been reasonably expected. you have yourself made the acquaintance of men, who were once slaves, who are now in independent circumstances, and enjoying a large share of public respect. it is impossible to compare the present statistics of crime with those during slavery; for then the great bulk of ordinary offences, such as petty thefts and assaults, were not brought before magistrates, but summarily punished by managers and overseers on the estates. that there is much greater security for person and property now, than during slavery, does not admit of a doubt." never was an experiment more severely tested, than that of emancipation in the west indies. it seems as if god intended to prove to the world that the vitality of freedom was indestructible. in addition to the general state of insolvency to which slavery had reduced the planters, and the difficulties attending the commencement of all great changes in the social system, there were an unusual number of fortuitous calamities. in , an earthquake made dreadful devastation in the leeward islands. out of one hundred and seventy-two sugar mills in antigua, one hundred and seventeen were demolished, or nearly so. a third of the houses in st. john's were flung down, and the remainder too much injured to be habitable. then came a hurricane which blew down churches, uprooted trees, destroyed a great many houses and huts, did immense damage to the sugar canes. and the crowning misfortune of all, was a series of severe droughts, year after year. between and , there were only two seasons when the crops did not suffer terribly for rain. under such a combination of disasters the anxieties and sufferings of west india proprietors must have been very severe indeed; and there, as elsewhere, there were plenty of people ready and eager to attribute all their troubles to emancipation. yet such is the recuperative power of freedom, that commissioners who went to guiana in , to inquire into the condition of things, reported: "every symptom of change for the better is apparent. cultivation has extended and crops increased. the laboring population are working more steadily, and evince signs of speedy improvement." in the first part of this tract it has been mentioned that in twelve years, during slavery, the laboring class in eleven of the islands had _decreased_ more than , . in the twelve years following emancipation, in ten colonies there was an _increase_ of more than , . that fact alone is a significant indication of the vast change for the better in their condition. the following statistics i copy from an able article in the _edinburgh review_, april, . they are quoted from the colonial reports:-- _barbadoes._ in ten years, "between and , increase of sugar exported, is , hogheads." the report for , states, "there has been more sugar shipped from this island this year, than in any one year since it has been peopled; and it is a remarkable fact that there will be more _laborers_' sugar made this year, than previously. by laborers' sugar is meant that raised by the negroes on their own patches of ground, and sent to the proprietor's mill for manufacture." the report for announces "vast increase in trade. so far the success of cultivation by free labor is unquestionable." report for : "a great increase in the value of the exports." "the large proportion of land acquired by the laboring classes furnishes striking evidence of their industry." _bahamas._ in , the governor reports, "a great and important change for the better," in the condition of the people; which he mainly attributes to "improved education." the rapidity with which these islands are advancing is indicated by the fact that the exports and imports increased in one year, from to , £ , ($ , . ). _grenada._ returns in and , show an increase of trade, amounting to £ , ($ , . ). report of : "contentment appears to pervade all classes of the community." "a proprietary body, of considerable magnitude and importance, has already risen from the laboring class." "state of the finances most satisfactory." "a greatly extended surface is covered by sugar cultivation." a considerable increase is noted in the exports of sugar, rum, and cocoa. some remarks on the want of labor. _antigua._--reports for : "satisfactory evidence is afforded, by the revenue returns, of increase of trade and mercantile business, consequent upon the revival of agricultural prosperity." (there had been a depression in consequence of a great fall in the price of sugar in .) _dominica._--report for : "the steady maintenance of production is full of promise as to the future." report for : "the exports show a considerable increase." "very considerable increase in revenue, and an equally marked improvement in the amount of imports." in the report for , the governor speaks of the growing independence of the laborers, manifested "in the small patches of canes, and little wooden mills here and there dotting the plains around." _guiana._--in , the governor reports that the fall in the price of sugar, in and (owing to the repeal of the tariff), was "so sudden and enormous, as to have almost annihilated the colony, at that crisis." but he goes on to state that "the revenue is now flourishing, population augmenting, education spreading, crime diminishing, and trade increasing." _montserrat._--in , the governor reports "increase of confidence, enterprise, and industry." "the improved and improving state of the community is allowed on all hands." "no island in these seas exhibits a more decisive tendency to social and moral regeneration and improvement. the rural population are quiet, contented, and orderly." _nevis._--(this is a very small island; about the size of a common new england town.) report for : "the roads appear as if the greater part of the population had new clothed themselves; and in the harbor, so often deserted, i now count ten ships of considerable burden." "there appears now to be at work an industrious spirit of improvement." _st. kitts._--report for : "a larger quantity of sugar is produced now than in the time of slavery" (though on a smaller area). report for : "the agricultural prospects of the island are most encouraging. its financial condition continues satisfactory; so do the education returns. attendance in schools is steadily increasing. crime is steadily diminishing. in one year, from to , trade increased £ , " ($ , . ). _st. lucia._--report for : "at no period of her history, has there been a greater breadth of land under cultivation, than at the present moment." between the four years ending , and the four years ending , the increase of sugar exported was , , pounds. _st. vincent._--in , the governor describes "a really sound and healthy state of the colony at present, and a cheering and promising prospect for the future." he describes the rising villages, the growing number of freeholders and leaseholders, and the steady progressive increase in the value of imports. in one year, from to , imports and exports increased £ , ($ , . ); and he expressly attributes it to "increased cultivation and prosperity." in , he describes the colony as "in a most satisfactory state." "agricultural operations largely extended." "anticipations of continued progress and prosperity fully realized." _tobago._--the accounts had been dismal in and ; but an improved financial system was adopted in , the result of which was a report in announcing a "marked improvement in the revenue returns." the governor describes the laborers as "well-behaved and industrious." _tortola._--this island, under slavery, exported , cwt. of sugar. now it exports none at all. but the change is wholly an advantage. it is remarkably well adapted for the raising of stock. "the people, with few exceptions, are owners of cattle, which they dispose of to great advantage." "the laborers appear fully sensible of the advantages of education to their children, and the latter manifest a great desire to benefit by the opportunities offered them." _trinidad_ is highly flourishing. in , the crop was the largest ever shipped from the island; and it has been extending since. the whole trade greatly increased since slavery. the report for speaks of "marked improvement in the cultivation of the sugar estates." export of sugar rose from an average of , cwt. under slavery, to , cwt. in the seven years ending . the writer in the _edinburgh review_ says: "these specific accounts of the several islands are borne out by the statistics and reports that relate to our west indies _en masse_. lest it should be thought that these extracts are carefully culled, to produce a particular impression, and that if the reader had the _whole_ reports before him, he would find complaints and lamentations, we may at once say that they appear to us to be fair samples of the views entertained by the governors, and also by other gentlemen acquainted with the west indies. the language of complaint is no longer heard. throughout these colonies, hope and congratulation seem to have taken the place of irritation and despair. in all cases, the later the report, the more gratifying it is found to be. "to men of business, one fact will seem almost enough by itself to show the sound commercial state of these colonies; viz., that, in the year , the colonial bank received bills from the west indies to the amount of more than £ , , ($ , , ); and less than £ , ($ , ) were returned. nor was there a single failure in the west india trade, during the severe commercial crisis of that year. furthermore, coffee, cotton, wool, sugar, rum, and cocoa, are all exported in increasing quantities. the total exports from great britain to the west indies in were valued at half a million more ($ , , ) than the average of the preceding ten years." mr. c. buxton made a speech in the british house of commons, march, , in which he said: "because labor is free, and trade is free, the west indies are now rising to a pitch of wealth and happiness unknown before. it would be impossible for me to lay before the house the immense mass of evidence, which demonstrates that fact. i am assured of it by mercantile men, i find it strongly set forth in the reports from the governors of the islands, and in the statistics furnished by the board of trade. in the four years between and , there has been an increase in the exports and imports of the west indies and guiana of £ , , ($ , , ). considering what mere specks these islands look on the map of america, it is astonishing that their trade to and fro, in the year , should actually amount to £ , , ($ , , ). it is altogether absurd to suppose this prosperity is owing to the immigration of a few thousand laborers; and in fact the islands which have received no immigrants are quite as flourishing as those that have. interested parties describe the negroes as barbarous and idle; but i find ample evidence that they are living in a high degree of industry and comfort; though i admit that they somewhat prefer working on freeholds they have purchased, to laboring for hire." the _edinburgh review_ concludes its array of evidence, by saying: "a long and thorough investigation of the case has borne us irresistibly to the conclusion that, merely as a dry question of _economy_, emancipation has _paid_; that it was an act of prudence, for which we, as a nation of shopkeepers, need not blush before that golden god, whom we are thought to worship so eagerly. slavery and monopoly were bearing the west indies to ruin. under free labor and free trade they are rising to wealth. they are yearly enriching us more and more with the wealth of their fertile soil. instead of being the plague of statesmen and the disgrace of england, they are becoming invaluable possessions of the british crown. never did any deed of any nation show more signally that to do right is the truest _prudence_, than the great deed of emancipation." chapter v. jamaica.[ ] i have placed jamaica in a section by itself, because emancipation has there worked less prosperously than elsewhere, and the reasons for it need some explanation. i have already mentioned causes which were bringing all the west indies to ruin, previous to emancipation. these operated as powerfully in jamaica as elsewhere. they were cursed with the same coercive system, which seems ingeniously contrived to make laborers lazy and shiftless, and to array them in the most stubborn opposition to their employers. there was among the white population the same haughty contempt for useful occupations, which inevitably brings extravagance and dissipation in its train. there was the same expensive retinue of attorneys, managers, and bookkeepers, with their mistresses, servants, and horses, to be supported out of the estate. there was the same neglect and fraud, arising from the absence of proprietors; for "nine-tenths of the land in jamaica was owned by absentees, mostly residing in england." there was the same injudicious system of apportioning the soil into large plantations, to the utter exclusion of small farmers; for slavery always renders the existence of a middling class impossible. there was the same desperate game of borrowing and mortgaging, ending in universal insolvency. mr. bigelow, one of the editors of the _new york evening post_, visited jamaica in , and carefully examined into the state of things. he says: "the island was utterly insolvent the day the emancipation bill passed. nearly every estate was mortgaged for more than it was worth, and was liable for more interest than it could possibly pay. it will not be disputed by any, who are at all informed on the subject, that the whole real estate under culture in jamaica, in , would not have sold for enough to pay off encumbrances. this fact must have been disclosed sooner or later, even if slavery had been permitted to continue. bankruptcy was inevitable; and the rapid depreciation of real estate would, of course, have been one of the first fruits of such a catastrophe. the emancipation act did not cause, it only precipitated, a result, which was inevitable. it compelled a balance to be struck between the debtors and the creditors, which revealed, rather than begat, the poverty which now no effort can conceal." the export tables show a decrease of sugar, in ten years, ending , of , hogsheads. these drawbacks jamaica had in common with the other colonies; except, perhaps, that the load of debt was somewhat heavier there than elsewhere. why then have her complaints been so much louder and more prolonged, than those of her neighbors? i think the strongest reason is to be found in the fact that the spirit of slavery was more violent and unyielding there than in the other colonies. there was more bitter hostility between masters and slaves; manifesting itself in shocking barbarities on one side, and frequent riots and insurrections on the other. there was a more furious opposition to abolition, and a more stubborn determination to make it operate badly, if possible. the great body of the planters had predicted ruin, and they seemed resolved that they _would_ be ruined, rather than prove false prophets. dr. coke, one of the missionaries, says: "the persecutions we have experienced in jamaica far exceed, _very_ far, all the persecutions we have experienced in all the other islands unitedly considered." those who opened their houses to these religious teachers, in many instances, narrowly escaped being stoned to death. rev. mr. bleby says: "being determined to perpetuate slavery, they resolved to do all they could to get rid of christianity, and keep their people in heathen darkness. the whole white population of jamaica banded themselves together in an association, which they called the colonial union; the avowed object of which was to drive every instructor of the negroes from the island. eighteen of our churches were levelled with the ground. they dragged the missionaries to prison, got false witnesses to swear against them, treated them with brutal violence, and did every thing they could to put an end to their labors." one of the methodist missionaries died in a dungeon, in consequence of the brutal treatment he had received from violent pro-slavery men. another cause for the slow progress of improvement in jamaica is assigned by the writer in the _edinburgh review_; viz., "the superlative badness of its government." taxation has been, and is oppressive, and the financial arrangements are said to be very injudicious. as late as , the governor, sir charles grey, declared, "there is no system or consistency whatever in the conduct of the financial affairs of the colony; nor any recognized organ of government, or legislature, which has the power to bring about effective and comprehensive changes." there was a small minority of planters and merchants, who regretted the violence and blind policy of the majority; but they would have risked their property, if not their lives, by venturing to express disapprobation. the excitement was prodigiously increased in , by a formidable attempt at insurrection, in consequence of the numerous meetings and inflamed speeches of the planters, from which the slaves got the idea that the british government had made them free, and that their masters were acting in opposition to it. such was the community into which the modified freedom called apprenticeship was ushered on the st of august, . in an address delivered in massachusetts, , the rev. mr. bleby said: "i was in jamaica when slavery was abolished. this day, twenty-four years ago, i stood up late at night in one of the churches under my charge. it was a very large church; and the aisles, the gallery stairs, the communion place, the pulpit stairs, were all crowded; and there were thousands of people round the building, at every open door and window, looking in. it was ten o'clock at night, on the st of july. we thought it right and proper that our christian people should receive their freedom, as a boon from god, in the house of prayer; and we gathered them together in the church for a midnight service. our mouths had been closed about slavery up to that time. we could not quote a passage that had reference even to _spiritual_ emancipation, without endangering our lives. the planters had a law of 'constructive treason,' that doomed any man to death, who made use of language tending to excite a desire for liberty among the slaves; and they found treason in the bible, and sedition in the hymns of watts and wesley; and we had to be very careful how we used them. you may imagine with what feelings i saw myself emancipated from this thraldom, and free to proclaim 'liberty to the captive, and the opening of prison doors to them that were bound.' i took for my text, 'proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof! it shall be a jubilee unto you.' a few minutes before midnight, i requested all the people to kneel down in silent prayer to god, as befitting the solemnity of the hour. i looked down upon them as they knelt. the silence was broken only by sobs of emotion, which it was impossible to repress. the clock began to strike. it was the knell of slavery, in all the british possessions! it proclaimed liberty to , human beings! when i told them they might rise, what an outburst of joy there was among that mass of people! the clock had ceased to strike, and they were slaves no longer! mothers were hugging their babes to their bosoms, old white-headed men embracing their children, and husbands clasping their wives in their arms. by and by, all was still again, and i gave out a hymn. you may imagine the feelings with which these people, just emerging into freedom, shouted--for they literally _shouted_, "'send the glad tidings o'er the sea! his chains are broke, the slave is free!'" the planters' state of mind, in . three years after this event, mr. thome visited jamaica. he constantly encountered men full of the old slave-holding prejudices. they gave doleful pictures of the ingratitude and laziness of the negroes. things were bad enough, they said, but they were sure they would be much worse when the laborers were entirely free, in . it was in vain to try to comfort them by telling them how well immediate emancipation had worked in antigua. they listened incredulously, and returned to their old statement, that negroes would not work, unless they were flogged. when they were freed, they would, of course, rob, murder, starve, do any thing, rather than labor. "there would be scenes of carnage and ruin, unparalleled in modern times." mr. thomson, one of the local magistrates of st. andrews, belonged to this old school, who up to the last moment had resisted any change of system. yet he wound up his direful predictions by denouncing slavery. he said man was naturally a tyrant, and it could not be denied that under slavery the most horrible cruelties had been practised. he admitted that he had formerly been very averse to sleeping on any of his estates in the country. if circumstances compelled him to spend a night there in the midst of his slaves, he not only bolted the door, but took the precaution to barricade it. now, he had no fears. one thing he was ready to say in favor of negroes; they were a very temperate people; it was a rare thing to see one of them drunk. similar admissions were made by other planters of the old school; but they all persisted in the opinion that there would be trouble, in , when the masters lost what restraining power they now had. the very best thing to be expected was that the negroes "would all retire to the woods, plant merely yams enough to keep them alive, and before long all retrograde into african barbarism." it is obvious that men so completely under the dominion of passion and prejudice were not likely to use power judiciously; and, unfortunately, the apprenticeship system, which was intended as a salutary preparation for freedom, proved nothing but a source of exasperation to both parties. it took from the slaves certain privileges, which the laws and customs had previously secured to them, and it did not compensate for this by giving them the stimulus and the advantages of wages. on the other hand, the new system fettered the masters, to a degree that kept them in a state of irritation, while it left them power enough to manifest their ill-temper by perpetual annoyances to their servants. in the preceding pages i have given the opinion of various planters and magistrates, that this system worked badly in all the colonies; but it was pre-eminently mischievous in jamaica, because there the disease of slavery was of a peculiarly malignant type. the laborers were no longer _property_; and, with hard masters, no _other_ claim to consideration remained when that was gone. they had made up their minds that the negroes would all quit work in , and all they cared for was to get all they could out of their bones and sinews _before_ that time. all children under six years old were unconditionally free. what consequence was it to the planters, whether "the little black devils" (as they called them) lived or died? among the apprenticed laborers was a mother, who was let out by her master. her child became alarmingly ill; and her employer said it was not his business to provide doctor or nurse. with the little sufferer in her arms, she went to her master for aid; but he turned her into the streets. it was the business of the people to take care of their own "brats," now. she obtained shelter in the house of a colored man, and there the child died before morning. a continual system of provocation was kept up. masters and their white subordinates would take produce from the provision-grounds of the apprentices without paying them. in fits of anger, they would sometimes destroy their little gardens, or take them away when the crops were growing. the magistrates were overwhelmed with complaints, most of them of a petty character. an overseer would call out, "work faster, you black rascal! or i'll strike you." if the apprentice answered, "you _can't_ strike me now," he was dragged before a magistrate, and punished for insolence. the fact that the power of punishment was transferred by law from master to magistrates proved very insufficient protection; for the magistrates were generally planters, or the friends of planters. if one of them manifested a disposition to be humane, or even just, toward the apprentices, machinations were immediately on foot to get him turned out of office. the result was, that a large proportion of them were unprincipled men, the mere selfish tools of despotism. the negroes expressed it concisely by saying: "if massa say flog 'em, he flog 'em; if massa say send 'em to de tread-mill, he send 'em." their common complaint of magistrates was, "dey be poisoned wid massa's turtle-soup;" that being their way of defining the influence of good dinners. one of the missionaries complained to mr. thome, of a whipping machine ingeniously contrived for torture, and placed very near his house. he said when news came that the governor was about to visit the village, the magistrate caused the machine to be removed and hidden among the bushes. mr. thome was present at a weekly court, where a just and humane magistrate presided. he says: "managers, overseers, and bookkeepers, all set upon him like bloodhounds on a stag. they seemed to gnash their teeth upon him in their impotent rage. he assured us that he met with similar indignities on most of the estates, every time he held his courts. from what we saw that day, we were convinced that only very fearless and conscientious men could be faithful magistrates in jamaica." mr. thome tells an anecdote related to him by the special magistrate in whose presence it occurred. it shows how hard it was, for men long accustomed to arbitrary power, to submit to the salutary restraints of law. the magistrate had fined a manager $ for various acts of oppression complained of and proved by his apprentices. the culprit requested permission to speak; which being granted, he broke forth, in an agony of passion, "o my god! has it come to this? is my conduct to be questioned by these people? is my authority to be interfered with by strangers? o my god! my god!" he fell back into the arms of one of his bookkeepers, and was carried out of court in a convulsion fit. the rev. james phillippo, who was a baptist missionary in jamaica for twenty years, says: "during the short period of two years, , apprentices received in the aggregate one quarter of a million of lashes; and fifty thousand other punishments by the tread-wheel, the chain-gang, and other modes of legalized torture. instead of diminution of the miseries of the negro population, there was a frightful addition to them; inducing a degree of discontent and exasperation never manifested even under the previous system. had it not been for the influence of the governor, the missionaries, and some of the special magistrates, it would probably have broken out into open and general rebellion." the negroes' state of mind, in . while mr. thome was travelling in the rural districts, he talked with many of the apprentices. he says: "they all thought the apprenticeship very hard; but still, on the whole it was rather better than slavery. then they were 'killed _too_ bad.' it was all slash, slash! now, they couldn't be flogged unless the magistrate said so. still, some masters were very hard; and many of the apprentices were so badly used, that they ran away into the woods. they should all be glad when freedom came. "they gave a heart-sickening account of the cruelties of the tread-mill. sometimes their wives were tied on the wheel when they were in a state of pregnancy. they suffered a great deal from that; but they couldn't help it. we asked why they didn't complain to the magistrates. they replied, that the magistrates wouldn't take any notice of their complaints; and besides, it only made the masters treat them worse. one of them said, 'we go to de magistrate, and den, when we come back, massa do all him can to vex us. he wingle (tease) us, and wingle us, and wingle us; de bookkeeper curse us and treaten us; de constable he scold us and call us hard names; and dey all try to make we mad; so we sometimes say someting wrong, and den dey take we to de magistrate for insolence.' "we asked them what they thought of the household slaves being free in , while _they_ had to remain apprentices two years longer. they said, 'it bad enough; but we know de _law_ make it so; and for peace' sake, we will be satisfy. but we murmur in we minds.' one of the magistrates told us that on several estates the house servants announced their determination to remain apprentices until the field hands were all free; giving as a reason, that they wanted all to have a jubilee together. "we inquired whether they expected to do as they pleased when they were free. they answered, 'we couldn't live widout de _law_. in other countries, where dey is free, don't _dey_ have de law?' we asked what they expected to do with the old and infirm. they said, 'we will support dem. dey brought us up when we was pickaniny, and now we come trong, we must take care of dem.' we asked whether they would work when they were free. they replied, 'in slavery time, we work, _even_ wid de whip; _now_ we work till better; what tink we will do when we _free_? _wont_ we work when we get _paid_!' it was said so earnestly, we couldn't help acknowledging ourselves convinced. some of them had to travel too far to market, to get back till sunday. one of them said to us with tears in his eyes, 'i declare to you, massa, if de lord only spare we to be free, we be much more 'ligious. we be wise to many more tings.'" favorable testimony of planters, in . "at amity hall, mr. kirkland, the manager of the estate, introduced us to his wife and several lovely children. it was the first and the last _family circle_ we saw in that licentious colony. the motley groups of colored children which we found on other estates, revealed the domestic manners of the planters. mr. kirkland considered the abolition of slavery a great blessing to the colony. he said the apprenticeship was a wretchedly bad system; but things moved smoothly on his estate. he said the negroes of amity hall had formerly borne the character of being the worst gang in the parish; and when he came to the estate, he found that half the truth had not been told of them. but they had become remarkably peaceful and subordinate. he said he looked forward to , with the most sanguine hope. he believed complete freedom would be the regeneration of the island. forty freemen would accomplish as much as eighty slaves. if any of the estates were abandoned by the laborers, it would be on account of the harsh treatment they received. he knew many cruel overseers, and he shouldn't be surprised if _they_ lost a part of their laborers, or all of them. "mr. gordon, the manager of williamsfield estate, is among the fairest specimens of planters. he has a naturally generous disposition, which, like that of mr. kirkland, has outlived the witherings of slavery. he informed us that his people worked as well as they had done under slavery; and he had every reason to believe they would do still better after they were completely free. he said he often hired his people on saturdays, and it was wonderful, with what increased vigor they worked when they were to receive wages. fifty free men would do as much as a hundred slaves. he condemned the driving system, which was resorted to by a great many planters. "andrew wright, esq., proprietor of green wall estate, was described to us as a very amiable, kind man, who was never known to quarrel with any person in his life. he had a hundred and sixty apprentices at work, and said they were as peaceable and industrious as he could wish. he said where there was trouble with the people, he believed it was owing to bad management. he was quite confident that his laborers would not leave him after . "mr. briant, manager of belvidere estate, said he had had no trouble with his apprentices. they did as much work, for the length of time, as they did during slavery; but the law allowed them a day and a half for themselves, and did not require them to work so early in the morning, or so late at night. he said the apprentices were not willing to work for their masters on saturday, for the customary wages, which were about a quarter of a dollar. upon inquiry, we ascertained that the reason was, they could make twice, or three times as much by cultivating their provision-grounds and carrying the produce to market. at night, when they couldn't work on their grounds, he said they worked very cheerfully for their masters. where there was mild management, he had no doubt the negroes would remain and work well. "in bath, we met with the proprietor of a coffee estate, who gave a very favorable account of his laborers. he said they were as orderly and industrious as he could desire; he had their confidence, and had no doubt he should retain it after they were entirely free. he felt assured that if the planters would only conduct in a proper manner, emancipation would prove a blessing to the whole colony." testimony of magistrates in . william h. anderson, esq., solicitor general, made a written statement, from which i extract the following: "a very material change for the better has taken place in the sentiments of the community, since slavery was abolished. religion and education were formerly opposed, as subversive of the security of _property_; now, they are encouraged, in the most direct manner, as its best support. many proprietors give land for schools and chapels; also subscriptions to a large amount. had the negroes been entirely emancipated in , they would have been much further advanced in , than they can be at the end of the apprenticeship, through which both masters and servants are laboring heavily. that the negroes will work, if moderately compensated, no candid man can doubt. their endurance for the sake of a very little gain is quite amazing; and they are very desirous to procure for themselves and families as large a share as possible of the comforts and decencies of life. i have not heard one man assert that it would be an advantage to return to slavery, even if it were practicable; and i believe the public begin to be convinced that slave labor is not the cheapest. in my opinion, the negroes are very acute in their perceptions of justice and injustice. they fully appreciate the benefits of equitable legislation, and would unreservedly submit to it, where they felt confidence in the purity of its administration. they are ardently attached to the british government, and would be so to the colonial, were it to indicate any purposes of kindness or protection toward them; but hitherto the enactments with reference to them have been almost wholly coercive. they are very desirous for education and religious instruction; no man who has attended to the matter can gainsay that. marriage was formerly unknown among them. their masters considered them as so many brutes for labor and increase, and i fear they came to regard themselves so. but now concubinage is becoming quite disreputable, and many are marrying those with whom they formerly lived in that relation. the partial modification of slavery has been attended with so much improvement in all that constitutes the welfare and respectability of society, that i cannot doubt there would be an increase of the benefits, if there were a total abolition of all the old restrictions." "cheney hamilton, esq., one of the special magistrates for port royal, said there were three thousand apprentices in his district. they were as quiet and industrious as they ever were, and were always willing to work in their own time for wages. the district was never under better cultivation. the masters were doing nothing for the education of the apprentices. their only object seemed to be to get as much work out of them as possible. the complaints brought before him mostly originated with the planters and were of a trivial nature, such as petty thefts and absence from work. he said if we would compare the complaints brought by overseers and apprentices against each other, we should see for ourselves which party was the most peaceable and law-abiding. real estate is more valuable than before emancipation. property is more secure, and capitalists, consequently, more ready to invest their funds." from the written testimony of e. b. lyon, esq., special justice, i extract the following: "the estates of the blue mountain valley, over which i preside, contain , apprentices. when i assumed the duties of a special magistrate, they were the most disorderly on the island. they were almost desperate from disappointment in finding their trammels under the new law nearly as burdensome as under the old, and their condition in many respects much more intolerable. but they submitted, in many instances, with the most extraordinary patience, to evils which were the more onerous, because inflicted under the affected sanction of a law, whose advent they expected would have been attended with a train of blessings. i succeeded in making satisfactory arrangements between the masters and apprentices; and no peasantry, in the most favored country on the globe, can have been more irreproachable in morals and conduct, than the majority of apprentices in that district, since the beginning of . it has been my pleasant duty to report to the governor, month after month, improvement in their manners and condition, and a greater amount of work than during slavery. that proprietors have confidence in the future is evinced by the expensive repair of buildings on various estates, the enlargement of works, and the high prices given for land, which would scarcely have commanded a purchaser at any price, during slavery. in my district, the apprentices are invariably willing to work on the estates for hire, during their own time. in no community in the world, is crime less prevalent. the offences brought before me are mostly of a trivial description; such as turning out late, or answering impatiently. in fact, the majority of apprentices on estates have quietly performed their duty and respected the laws. the apprenticeship has, i fear, retarded the rapidity with which civilization should have advanced, and sown the seeds of a feeling even more bitter than that which slavery had engendered." testimony of missionaries, in . rev. mr. crookes, of the wesleyan mission, said to mr. thome: "in many respects there has been a great improvement since the abolition of slavery. the obstacles to religious effort have been considerably diminished; but we owe that mainly to the protection of british law. i believe many of the planters would still persecute the missionaries, and tear down their chapels, if they dared. i abominate the apprentice system. at best, it is only mitigated slavery. i am convinced that immediate and entire emancipation would have been far better policy." the rev. jonathan edmonson, and rev. mr. wooldridge agreed in testifying that the planters generally, were doing "comparatively nothing to prepare the negroes for freedom." "their sole object seemed to be to get as much work as possible out of them before ." "their conduct was calculated to make the apprentices their bitter enemies." the wesleyan missionary at bath said: "there are some bad characters among the negroes, as there are everywhere, among all classes of people. but generally they are docile and well behaved. they are eager for instruction. after working all day, they come several miles to our evening schools, and stay cheerfully till nine o'clock. mothers with sucking babes in their arms stand, night after night, in our classes, learning the alphabet. if they can obtain even the leaf of a book they make it their constant companion. they are very easily won by acts of kindness. sometimes they burst into tears and say to the missionaries, 'massa _so_ kind! me heart full.'" mr. thome says: "while we were at garden river valley, we attended service in the baptist chapel, on the summit of a high mountain, overlooking the sea. seen from the valley below, it appears to topple on the brink of a frightful precipice. as we ascended the steep and winding road, we saw throngs of apprentices, coming from many miles round, in every direction. the men halted in the thick woods to put on their shoes, which they brought in their hands up the mountain, and the women to draw on their white stockings. mr. kingdon, the pastor asked us to address his people, and we cannot soon forget the scene that followed. we had scarcely uttered a sentence, expressive of our sympathy with their condition, and our interest in their temporal and spiritual welfare, before the whole audience began to weep. some sobbed, others cried aloud; insomuch that for a time we were unable to proceed. when we spoke of it afterwards to their pastor, he said, 'the idea that a stranger and a foreigner should take an interest in their welfare stirred the deep fountains of their hearts. they are so unaccustomed to hear such language from white people, that it fell upon them like rain on the parched earth.'" jamaica between and . as time passed on, the conviction deepened in the minds of magistrates, missionaries, and the more reflecting among the planters, that slavery, by its very nature, did not admit of any modification. the apprenticeship system proved "hateful to the slave, obnoxious to the master, and perplexing to the magistrates." some of the apprentices bought their time; and their orderly, industrious habits afterward confirmed the growing impression that entire emancipation was the _best policy_. the marquis of sligo, the humane and just governor of jamaica, was a large proprietor, and he manifested his sentiments by liberating all his apprentices. his example had great influence. public opinion was again roused in england. petitions from all classes poured into parliament, begging that the apprenticeship might be abolished; on the ground that the planters had violated the contract; that they did not use the system as a preparation for freedom, but for purposes of continued oppression. the result of these combined influences was that the field-laborers were not held in apprenticeship till , but were entirely emancipated, with the household slaves, on the first day of august, . rev. james phillippo, baptist missionary in jamaica, thus describes the day: "on the preceding evening, the missionary stations throughout the island were crowded with people, filling all the places of worship. they remained at their devotions till the day of liberty dawned, when they saluted it with joyous acclamations. then they dispersed through the towns and villages, singing 'god save the queen' and rending the air with their shouts: 'freedom's come!' 'we're free! we're free!' 'our wives and children are free!' during the day, the places of worship were crowded to suffocation. the scenes presented exceeded all description. joyous excitement pervaded the whole island. at spanish town, the governor, sir lionel smith, addressed the emancipated people, who formed a procession of , , and escorted the children of the schools, about , in number, to the government house. they bore banners and flags with various inscriptions, of which the following are samples. 'education, religion, and social order.' 'august first, ; the day of our freedom.' 'truth and justice have at last prevailed.' the children sang before the government house, and his excellency made a speech characterized by simplicity and affection, which was received with enthusiastic cheers. the procession then escorted their pastor to his house. in front of the baptist chapel were three triumphal arches, decorated with leaves and flowers, and surmounted by flags, bearing the inscriptions, 'freedom has come!' 'slavery is no more!' 'the chains are broken, africa is free!' the enthusiasm of the multitude was wound up to the highest pitch. they wanted to greet all the flags; many of which bore the names of their benefactors, 'sturge,' 'brougham,' 'sligo,' etc. the flags were unfurled, and for nearly an hour the air rang with exulting shouts, in which the shrill voices of the , children joined: 'we're free! we're free!' 'our wives and our children are free!'" several of the kindly disposed planters gave rural fêtes to the laborers. long tables were spread in the lawns; arches of evergreens were festooned with flowers; and on the trees floated banners, bearing the names of those who had been most conspicuous in bringing about this blessed result. songs were sung, speeches made, prayers offered, and a plentiful repast eaten. mr. phillippo says: "the conduct of the newly emancipated peasantry would have done credit to christians of the most civilized country in the world. they were clean in their persons, and neat in their attire. their behavior was modest, unassuming, and decorous in a high degree. there was no crowding, no vulgar familiarity, but all were courteous and obliging to each other, as members of one harmonious family. there was no dancing, gambling, or carousing. all seemed to have a sense of the obligations they owed to their masters, to each other, and to the civil authorities. the masters who were present at these fêtes congratulated their former dependents on the boon they had received, and hopes were mutually expressed that all past differences and wrongs might be forgiven. harmony and cheerfulness smiled on every countenance; and the demon of discord disappeared, for a season. on some of the estates where these festivals were held, the laborers, with few individual exceptions, went to work as usual on the following day. _many of them gave their first week of free labor as an offering of good-will to their masters._ thus the period, from which many of the planters had apprehended the worst consequences, passed away in peace and harmony. not a single instance of violence or insubordination, of serious disagreement or of intemperance, occurred in any part of the island." after this safe transition to a better state of things, the public were informed of no troubles in jamaica for several years, except deficiency of labor, and diminished production of sugar. pro-slavery presses, both in england and america, eagerly proclaimed these deficiencies as the results of emancipation. but enough has been already said to prove, to any candid and reflecting mind, that these effects were attributable to other causes. _first._ emancipation found nearly all the estates on the island heavily mortgaged; most of them for more than they were worth. the compensation money, received from the british government, was soon swallowed up, the planters hardly knew how. it helped them to pay off a portion of their long-accumulating arrears, but left them still involved in pecuniary difficulties. many of them had not money to pay for labor; and some, who had it, retained too much of the spirit of slave-holding to be scrupulous about paying the negroes for their work. rev. mr. bleby says: "i know hundreds of colored laborers in jamaica, who labored on the sugar plantations, and were defrauded of their wages. i knew a man who had a salary of one thousand pounds ($ , ) from an office under government, who employed two or three hundred laborers several months, then took the benefit of the insolvent act, and never paid them a cent. one of those great planting attorneys, who had fifty or sixty estates under his management, boasted to a friend of mine, that he made them profitable, by cheating the laborers out of half their wages, by one method or another. is it surprising that the colored people should prefer to raise produce on a few acres of their own, to working on the plantations without wages? i was in kingston when the railroad was made. it was done entirely by the colored people. the manager told me he could not desire laborers to work better. and what was the reason? every saturday night he paid them their wages." _second._ the tenure by which land was held was very precarious, as has already been explained by governor hincks. planters in such a perverse state of mind as many were in jamaica, were, of course, not slow to avail themselves of this instrument of oppression. when the emancipated laborers hired a hut and a bit of land on the estates where they had been accustomed to work, they were required to pay rent several times over. according to the statement of the rev. mr. bleby, "the employer, would say to the husband, 'you must pay in labor, for the rent of your house.' then he would say the same to the wife; and perhaps to other adult members of the family. thus they managed to get rent paid twice, and sometimes four times over." if the tenant expressed dissatisfaction, or gave offence in any way, or if his capricious landlord merely wanted to make him feel that he was still in his power, he was ejected at once, and obliged to take for his crops whatever the despotic employer saw fit to value them at. such tyrannical proceedings were common all over the island. if a majority of the planters had _intended_ to drive the negroes away from their estates, and force them "to skulk in the woods and live upon yams," as they had predicted, they could not have adopted a policy better suited to their purpose. the negroes, notwithstanding their strong local attachments, were driven from the sugar estates by these persecutions; but they did far better than "skulk in the woods, and retrograde to barbarism," as i shall presently show. rev. mr. phillippo, writing in , says: "the planters persisted in their designs, and, at last multitudes of laborers were compelled to sacrifice their feelings of attachment to their domiciles, and to establish themselves in freeholds of their own. hence, and from no other cause, arose those reports of insolence and idleness, so widely and perseveringly circulated against the peasantry. it is delightful to add that the injustice and impolicy of such conduct have now become generally manifest; so that the causes of mutual dissatisfaction are now, to a considerable extent, extinct." an intelligent gentleman in st. thomas said to mr. thome, "the planters have set their hearts upon the ruin of the island, and they will be sorely disappointed, if it shouldn't come." but this disappointment was in reserve for them, and no ingenuity of theirs could prevent it. as individuals, they suffered for their blind and narrow policy; but public prosperity began to move steadily onward. the lord bishop of jamaica, in a circular recommending the establishment of schools for the emancipated peasantry, dated november, , makes the following statement: "the peaceable demeanor of the objects of our instruction, and their generally acknowledged good behavior, are the natural fruits of being made better acquainted with the saving truths of the gospel; and no stronger proof can be given of their desire to obtain this knowledge than the fact that their choice in fixing their settlements is often influenced by the opportunities afforded for acquiring moral and religious instruction for themselves and their children." early in , sir lionel smith, governor of the island, made the following statement, in an official document: "i have sent numerous testimonies to england, to show that where labor has been encouraged by fair remuneration and kind treatment, it has nowhere been wanting." a part of the outcry concerning want of labor, and the depreciation of property arose from managers and attorneys, who conducted affairs for absentee proprietors. they wanted to buy estates themselves, at a low price; therefore, they irritated and discouraged the laborers, with the intention of driving them from the estates; and in some cases, they burned the sugar cane after it was gathered; giving as a reason that, from scarcity of labor, they could not convert it into sugar, except at prices which would entail a loss. the statements of such interested and unprincipled men were eagerly republished by pro-slavery papers in england and america; but, in this country, it was impossible for friends of freedom to procure any extensive republication of such testimony as the following, from the rev. d. s. ingraham, pastor of a church near kingston, jamaica, who visited the united states in , and gave the following written testimony for publication: "emancipation has greatly improved the value of all kinds of property. land near my residence, which sold for fifteen dollars an acre a short time before emancipation, has been sold recently for sixty dollars an acre; and had there been ten times as much for sale, it would have sold readily for that price. i know of much land that now _leases_ for more money in one year, than it would have _sold_ for under slavery. peace and safety have been promoted by emancipation. it was formerly thought necessary to have six regiments of soldiers, to keep the slaves in subjection, and also for the militia to meet monthly in each parish. since freedom was declared, half of the soldiers have been removed; and where i live, the militia have entirely ceased to muster.[ ] emancipation has diminished crime. jails formerly well filled, and often crowded, now have few tenants. a part of the house of correction in my parish is converted into a hospital, and the bloody old tread-mill is incrusted with rust. emancipation has promoted industry. a gentleman, who has been a planter in jamaica for twenty years, told me there was undoubtedly far more work done in the island now than ever before. indeed, any one can see that such is the case. wherever you look, you see the forests giving place to gardens and cornfields, and numbers of comfortable houses growing up under the hand of industry and perseverance. many villages have been built up entirely since freedom by those who were formerly slaves. a spirit of improvement has been called forth. roads and streets are being mcadamized; there are many new markets in different parts of the country. agricultural societies are forming; and ploughs are coming into use. an overseer lately told me that he now ploughed upland for canes at one dollar and seventy-five cents per acre, instead of paying fifteen dollars an acre, to have it dug up, as formerly. there is a universal desire for knowledge among the emancipated people. they often send twenty miles in search of a preacher, or teacher. they have come to me and pleaded with an eloquence that no christian could resist, saying: 'minister, _do_ come and see we! we all ignorant; and so much big pickaniny, that don't know nothing. _do_ try for get we a teacher! we will take care of him.'" joseph j. gurney, who visited jamaica in , says: "the imports of the island are rapidly increasing; trade improving; towns thriving; new villages rising up in every direction; property is much enhanced in value; well-managed estates are productive and profitable; expenses of management diminished; short methods of labor adopted; provisions cultivated on a larger scale than ever; and the people, wherever they are properly treated, are industrious, contented, and gradually accumulating wealth. above all, the morals of the community are improving, and education is rapidly spreading. "under slavery, two hundred slaves were supported on the papine estate; it is now worked by forty-three laborers. the estate of halberstadt used to support one hundred and seventy slaves; now fifty-four laborers do all the work required. the support of the slaves on this estate cost £ annually; the annual wages of the free laborers amount to £ s. d. "'do you see that excellent new stone wall round the field below us?' said a young physician. 'the necessary labor could not have been hired under slavery, or the apprenticeship, at less than thirteen dollars per chain; under freedom it cost only four dollars per chain. still more remarkable is the fact that the whole of it was built, under the stimulus of job-work, by an invalid negro, who, under slavery, had been given up to total inaction.' such was the fresh blood infused into the veins of this decrepit person by the genial hand of freedom, that he had executed a noble work, greatly improved his master's property, and realized for himself a handsome sum of money." dr. stewart said to mr. gurney, "i believe, in my conscience, that property in jamaica, _without_ the slaves, is as valuable as it formerly was _with_ them; and i believe its value would be doubled by sincerely turning away from all relics of slavery to the honest free working of a free system." a despatch from sir charles metcalfe, read in the house of commons, , declares: "the present condition of the peasantry of jamaica is very striking. they are much improved in their habits, and are generally well-ordered and free from crime. they subscribe for their respective churches, and are constant in their attendance on divine worship, wearing good clothes, and many of them riding on horses. they send their children to school, and pay for their schooling." "it appears wonderful how so much has been accomplished in the island, in building, planting, digging, and making fences. the number of freeholders, who have become freeholders by their own industry and accumulation, amounted in to , ." the _jamaica morning journal_ in february, , says: "it is gratifying to observe the impetus which has been given to agricultural and literary societies. we do not recollect ever to have seen such vigorous efforts put forth for the improvement of the people and of agriculture, as have been within the last few months." rev. mr. phillippo, writing in the same year, says: "the term indolent can only be applied to the black population in the absence of remunerating employment; and even then they work on their own provision-grounds. jamaica peasants are seldom seen lounging about, loitering along the roads, or spending their money at taverns and other similar places of resort. as for the great bulk of the people, making allowance for climate, no peasantry in the world can display more cheerful and persevering industry. in the time of slavery, unrestrained licentiousness was the order of the day. every estate and every negro hut was a brothel. now, marriage is the rule and concubinage the exception. although every trifling infraction of the laws (contrary to former usage) is now publicly known and punished by magistrates, empty jails, and the absence of serious offences from the calendar of the courts, are sufficient evidence of the general decrease of crime." the _jamaica morning journal_, march, , says: "our readers will be surprised and pleased to learn that for the last five days not a single prisoner has been committed to the cage in this city [kingston]. we record this fact with great pleasure, as we believe such a circumstance never before occurred since the building of the city." rev. mr. bleby says: "before i left jamaica (which was previous to ), no less than , colored people had become freeholders, as the fruit of their own industry. we are told these people will not work. how did they obtain these freeholds then? some of them have mahogany bedsteads and side-boards in their houses. how do they get such furniture, except as the result of their own toil?" jamaica after . now we are coming upon sad times. it has been stated that the west indies had the monopoly of sugar in the british market, at an immense cost to the consumers. this had frequently called out remonstrances from the british people; and in government repealed the tariff, which excluded other countries from competition. the result was a sudden and great fall in the price of sugar. "in , sugar sold in bond at s. a cwt. ($ . .) in , it had sunk to s. d. ($ . .") the result was many millions of dollars less in the receipts for their crops; and that was far from being the worst feature in the case. business in the west indies had for generations been carried on upon credit; and now credit was gone. the writer in the _edinburgh_ thus states the case: "the vast capital requisite for the production of sugar had been annually advanced by merchants in london, on the security of the crops. but, of course, when it was known that sugar had fallen so enormously in value, the merchants took fright, and the credit of the planter was gone. he was embarked in transactions on which a vast capital had been laid out, and which required a vast capital to carry them on; and capital he could not obtain." the suffering was dreadful. thousands of families accustomed to the luxuries of wealth were reduced to poverty, without any of the habits that would have enabled them to bear it bravely. their cry of distress resounded through the world. pro-slavery presses in england and america exultingly proclaimed, "behold the effects of emancipation?" and people without examining the subject, echoed the railing accusation. but one very important circumstance was overlooked; viz., that when this cry of distress arose, _slavery had been abolished fourteen years, and the apprenticeship had been abolished ten years_. by a little examination they might have ascertained that, previous to the repeal of the tariff, things were going on prosperously in the west indies; which is sufficiently indicated by the fact that just before the blow came, they had been making an outlay to produce larger crops; a circumstance which rendered the blow all the heavier. even jamaica, with all her wretched mismanagement and financial disorders, was _beginning_ to be prosperous, in consequence of emancipation, as we have shown. of the fall of property, subsequent to the repeal of the tariff some estimate may be formed from the following item. in , the la grange estate was sold for £ , ($ , ); and in the windsor forest estate sold for £ , ($ , ). in , both those estates sold together for £ , ($ , ). mr. bigelow, of the _new york evening post_, who visited jamaica in , says: "it is difficult to exaggerate, and still more difficult to define the poverty and industrial prostration of jamaica. the natural wealth and spontaneous productiveness of the island are so great, that no one can starve, and yet it seems as if the faculty of accumulation were suspended. the productive power of the soil is running to waste; the finest land in the world may be had almost for the asking; labor receives no compensation; and the product of labor does not seem to know the way to market." the soil still continued to be owned chiefly by absentees; an unincumbered estate of any size or value was hardly to be found; and since the depreciation of property, it was impossible to borrow money, to any considerable extent, on jamaica estates. mr. bigelow informs us that "jamaica imports, annually, , barrels of flour; , bushels of corn; , pounds of tobacco; and or , , feet of lumber and sawed stuff. they have magnificent forests, but not a sawmill on the island. even their bricks they import. they pay extravagant prices for articles, which could be cultivated in jamaica with the utmost ease and abundance. butter is ½ cts. a pound; milk ¾ cts. a quart; flour from sixteen to eighteen dollars a barrel; etc. nothing apparently can be more unnatural than for the people of this island, in their present poverty-stricken condition, to be paying such prices for daily food; yet nothing is more inevitable, so long as the land is held in such large quantities, and by absentee landlords. till recently, such a thing was never known as a small farm of fifty or a hundred acres to be put under culture for profit." as the planters and their advocates were continually complaining that wages were ruinously high, mr. bigelow made it a subject of special inquiry. he says: "to my utter surprise, i learned that the wages of men on the sugar and coffee plantations ranged from eighteen to twenty-four cents a day; and proportionably less for women and children. out of these wages the laborers have _to board themselves_. now, when it is considered that flour is eighteen dollars a barrel, eggs from three to five cents a piece, and ham twenty-five cents a pound, does not this cry of high wages appear absurd? was the wolf's complaint of the lamb, for muddying the stream below him, more unreasonable? are wages lower in any quarter of the civilized world? four-fifths of all the grain consumed in jamaica is grown in the united states, on fields where labor costs more than four times this price, and where every kind of provision, except fruit, is less expensive. the fact is, the negro cannot live on such wages, unless he ekes them out by stealing, or owns a lot of three or five acres. he is driven by necessity to purchase land and cultivate it for himself. he finds such labor so much better rewarded than that he bestows on the lands of others, that he naturally takes care of his own first, and gives his leisure to the properties of others. "of course, it requires no little energy and self-denial for a negro, upon such wages, to lay up enough to purchase a little estate; but if he does get one, he never parts with it, except for a larger or better one. i was greatly surprised to find the number of these colored proprietors already considerably over , , and continually increasing. when one reflects that only sixteen years ago there was scarcely a colored landholder on the island, it is unnecessary to say that this class of the population appreciate the privileges of free labor and a homestead far more correctly than might be expected; more especially when it is borne in mind that seven-tenths of them were born in slavery, and spent many years as bondmen. their properties average, i should think, about three acres. they have a direct interest in cultivating them economically and intelligently. the practice of planning their own labor, encouraged by the privilege of reaping its rewards, exerts upon them the most important educational influence; the results of which will soon be much more apparent than they now are." pro-slavery writers declare that these negro farmers have not raised five pounds of sugar a year for exportation. but does that prove they are lazy? where butter is ½ cts. a pound, eggs from three to five cents a piece, onions ½ cts. a pound, and other provisions at the same rate, they can turn their land to better account, than to enter into competition with sugar makers. when the same system is introduced that gov. hincks mentions in barbadoes, they will doubtless turn their attention to raising sugar canes. there is much evidence that there is no actual want of labor in jamaica, though it has doubtless been alienated from the large sugar plantations. firstly, by the harsh and unjust treatment of many of the planters. secondly, by the state of bankruptcy in which emancipation found them, and which rendered them unable to pay for work. thirdly, and probably the strongest cause for all, was the inability of the laborers to hire land on their estates, with any degree of security. mr. charles tappan, of boston, who visited jamaica in , says: "the alleged want of labor is a false cry. where labor is said to be deficient, it can be traced to causes within the planters' control to remove. of these, insufficient wages, unpunctual payment of the same, or no payment at all, are stated to be the chief." "in conversing with planters, i learned that laborers can easily be obtained for a fair compensation and kind treatment. but it is a fact that the emancipated much prefer to work on their own few acres of land." mr. s. b. slack, an old native resident of jamaica, writes thus to mr. tappan in : "with few exceptions the planters now acknowledge that emancipation was a blessing. some soreness was felt at the commencement; and it was manifested in the injudicious acts of ejecting laborers from the cottages they had occupied since infancy, and destroying their provision-grounds, which led them to purchase freeholds of their own, and thus become independent of their labor on the estates. but if the negroes are as lazy as they are represented, how is it that in the construction of a new road across the island more laborers can be obtained than are required? how is it that the water works company are sure to have competitors for employment? how does it happen that the railway company are equally well off for labor? the answer is, because the laborers are liberally and punctually paid; and they are willing to work, when they are sure to obtain the reward." sir charles grey, who was governor of jamaica, in , says: "there are few races of men who will work harder, or more perseveringly, than the negroes, when they are sure of getting the produce of their labor." the free villages, which have sprung up since emancipation are described by all travellers as a new and most pleasing feature in the scenery of the west indies. in the days of slavery, laborers generally lived in thatched hovels, with mud walls, thrown together without any order or arrangement. a few calabashes, a water jar, and a mortar for pounding corn, mainly constituted their furniture. as the women were driven into the fields to toil early and late, they had no time for household cleanliness. these negro dwellings looked picturesque in the distance, nestling among palm-trees and tamarind groves; but, like slavery itself, they would not bear a close inspection. as you came near them, the senses were offended by decaying vegetables, and nauseous effluvia. now, the laborers live in free villages, regularly laid out. the houses are small, many of them, built of stone or wood, with shingled roofs, green blinds, and verandahs, to shield them from the sun. most of them are neatly thatched, and generally plastered and whitewashed outside and in. they now have looking-glasses, chairs, and side-boards decorated with pretty articles of glass and crockery. each dwelling has its little plot of vegetables, generally neatly kept, and many of them have flower-gardens in front, glowing with all the bright hues of the tropics. in , mr. phillippo said that, by a rough estimate, the number of these villages in jamaica was about two hundred, and the number of acres of land purchased was not less than , . it was estimated that in the course of four years, the emancipated apprentices had paid £ , ($ , ) for land and buildings. and that was done when wages were from eighteen to twenty-four cents a day, out of which they boarded themselves! and these were the people who, the slave-holders were so sure would "skulk in the woods, and live on yams," rather than work, after they ceased to be flogged! the names of these villages give pleasant indication of the gratitude of the colored people toward their benefactors. they are called clarkson, wilberforce, buxton, brougham, macaulay, thompson, gurney, sligo, etc. the names given to their own little homes have almost a poetic interest, so touching and expressive is their simplicity. the following are samples: "happy retreat;" "thank god for it;" "a little of my own;" "liberty and content;" "thankful hill;" "come and see." joseph j. gurney visited clarkson town in the winter of , and has recorded that he was "delighted with its appearance, and with the manners, intelligence, and hospitality of the people." mr. phillippo, who was familiar with these villages, says: "the groups often presented are worthy of the painter's pencil, or the poet's song. amid the stillness of a sabbath evening, many families, after their return from the house of god, may be seen gathered together in the shadow of the trees, which overhang their cottages, singing hymns, or listening to the reading of the scriptures, with none to molest or make them afraid." mr. charles tappan says: "on landing at kingston, i must confess i was half inclined to believe the story so industriously circulated, that the emancipated slave is more idle and vicious than any other of god's intelligent creatures; but when i rode through the valleys and over the mountains, and found everywhere an industrious, sober people, i concluded all the vagabonds of the island had moved to the sea-shore, to pick up a precarious living by carrying baggage, begging, etc.; and such, upon inquiry, i found to be the fact. wherever i went in the rural districts, i found contented men and women, cultivating sugar cane, and numerous vegetables and fruits, on their own account. their neat, well-furnished cottages compared well with the dwellings of pioneers in our own country. i found in them mahogany furniture, crockery and glass ware, and shelves of useful books. i saw africans, of unmixed blood, grinding their own sugar cane in their own mills, and making their own sugar. i attended a large meeting called to decide the question about inviting a schoolmaster to settle among them. there was only one man who doubted the expediency of taking the children from work and sending them to school. one said: 'my little learning enabled me to see that a note, given to me in payment for a horse, was not written according to contract.' another said: 'i should have been wronged out of forty pounds of coffee i sold in kingston, the other day, if i hadn't known how to cipher.' another said: 'i shall not have much property to leave my children, but if they have learning, they can get property.' another said: 'those that can read will be more likely to get religion.' all these people had been slaves, or were the children of slaves. i saw no intoxicated person in jamaica; and when it is considered that every man there can make rum, it strikes me as very remarkable." here we have the germ of that middling class, which is the best reliance in every community, and which can never co-exist with slavery. the fall of sugar as we have said prostrated the west indies for a time; and no colony was so badly situated to sustain it as jamaica, with her overwhelming debts, her wretched management, her financial disorders, and her laborers alienated from the sugar estates by persistence in treating freemen as if they were slaves. lord sligo stated, in an official report, that many of the planters threw estates out of cultivation in , because they were so sure that the negroes would not work after the act of emancipation had passed. then, when the fall of sugar came in a great many planters were obliged to abandon their estates, from inability to borrow money to carry them on. mr. bigelow states that, in , there were , acres of sugar and coffee plantations abandoned to weeds and under-bush. but there is a recuperative power in free trade, as there is in free labor. the west indies soon began to rise from the severe but temporary pressure, occasioned by the repeal of the tariff. in some cases property passed out of the fettered hands of bankrupts to those, who being unincumbered, could take a fair start; while some of the old proprietors learned wisdom from experience, and managed more judiciously. even jamaica is coming in for her share in these beneficial changes. that her waste places are beginning to be restored is indicated by the following article from the _kingston morning journal_, : "on monday last, the roads leading to great valley estate presented a lively appearance. men and women, old and young, strong and weak, were all hastening toward a common point of attraction. gaudy handkerchiefs were flying from flagpoles, the people were singing and dancing, and every thing gave token of a day much honored by the peasantry. it was no wedding or merry-making. they were in working clothes, with hoes and pickaxes on their shoulders. from every track and by-path came individuals to increase the crowd. all seemed happy and in haste. all were sweeping toward the gate of the great valley works. we said to an old man, whose head was white with the frost of eighty winters: 'hallo! where are all these people going?' taking off his cap, he answered, 'me good buckra, me neber expect to see him great valley da rise. him goin' for 'tablish cane; make sugar agin. good for we all. eberybody for help.' 'but you are too old to do any thing.' 'da true, me massa. me no hab trong. but me must do someting. me fetch water. me heart trong, do me han' weak.' to another we said: 'where are you taking that cart-load of cane-tops to, my man?' 'to the great valley, sir. they are going to establish the sugar estate again; and i am carrying them all the cane-tops i have, to plant.' we said to a woman with a great bundle of cane-tops on her head, 'are you going to the great valley, too?' 'yes, sir. it's a great day for us all. everybody must help.' to another, who headed a group of seventy or eighty children, we said, 'where are you going, my friend?' 'i am the master of pondside school, sir. the girls and boys all begged a holiday, to carry cane-tops to the great valley, and help them dig cane-holes. a new proprietor has bought the estate, and everybody wants to help him.' 'but don't you think there will be difficulty in procuring labor?' 'no, sir, not a bit; if the people are treated honestly and kindly. the new proprietor has a kindly way with him, and treats the people encouragingly; and a kind word goes a great way with our people. but i must follow my scholars. you can hear by their noise that they have already joined the digging party, there where the flags are flying.' and sure enough the ringing sound of children's shouts and laughter was borne joyously on the breeze. "great valley is a noble estate of , acres, pleasantly situated between hills. it was formerly considered the second estate in the parish of hanover. now the works looked like some venerable ruin. windows broken, chimneys tumbling, roofs falling in, lightning-rod swinging to and fro, carts and trucks rotting in the middle of the yard, the noble tank filled up with weeds, among which wild ducks were floating. but these ruined walls are to be rebuilt. the solitary places, now musty with mould and decay, will soon be filled with a busy throng, and the pleasant perfume of sugar-boiling will replace the unwholesome vapors. it is a pleasant prospect; and seems an omen of more prosperous days for our island of jamaica." between and , there was an increase in exports to the amount of £ , ($ , . ). the governor, in his report for , says: "i feel more confident of the ultimate restoration of prosperity than i ever did before." the governor, in his speech at the opening of the legislature, , says: "a still progressive increase, both in the quantity of the staple exports, and in the amount of revenue derived from duties on articles of consumption, indicate a gradual improvement in the productive industry of the colony." he alludes to a succession of dry seasons, that have diminished the crops; and yet with that very serious drawback, the exports were increasing. he admits that complaints still came from the old plantations of a deficiency of continuous labor; which he says he can readily believe, from the "admitted fact that the portion of the agricultural peasantry, who, with their families, industriously and systematically apply themselves to the independent production of sugar, and other staples, is day by day increasing." when lord belmore, the governor in , said to the jamaica assembly, "depend upon it, gentlemen, the resources of this fine island will never be fully developed, until slavery is abolished," he gave them very great offence. the grandsons of the men he offended will see his prediction verified. even amid all the desolation and discouragement in , mr. bigelow says: "i made extensive inquiry, but i did not find a man upon the island who regretted the emancipation act, or who, if i may take their own professions, would have restored slavery, if it had been in their power." ernst noel, who writes from jamaica to the _new york times_, in the winter of , says: "it is an undoubted fact that the exportation of coffee in jamaica has declined from twenty-five and thirty millions to five and six millions; but it is also an undoubted fact that where one pound was used in the island prior to emancipation ten are used now. [every laborer has his cup of coffee now.] it is my firm conviction that there is no such great discrepancy between the amount _grown_ at the time of emancipation, and the amount now grown; especially when the extent of _exhausted_ coffee land is taken into account. the same statement will apply with much greater force to provisions of every description. it is undoubtedly true that most of the large coffee properties formerly in cultivation have been abandoned, or turned to other uses. coffee requires new land; and the clearance of fifty acres of wood is a herculean enterprise for coffee planters, among whom want of _capital_ prevails as much as among sugar planters. but whatever _large_ coffee planters may say about their profits and losses, it is a notorious fact that thousands and thousands of settlers grow the delicious berry to advantage; as any merchant engaged in the trade will be able to testify. they come to the towns and villages with one, two, six, or a dozen bags, and in this way many a cargo is made up for foreign ports." the same writer says that several experienced planters, to whom he proposed questions concerning investment of capital in that island, assured him that profits from ten to twenty per cent might be securely counted upon. note.--in mauritius, a fertile island in the indian ocean, belonging to great britain, the sugar crop, during the last ten years of slavery, averaged , , lbs. annually. during four years, after emancipation, beginning with , the average crop was , , lbs.; an increase of millions of pounds annually; nearly per cent in favor of free labor. footnotes: [ ] the population of jamaica, at the time of emancipation, was , whites; , slaves; , free colored people. [ ] during slavery, the military defence of the west indies annually cost england £ , , ($ , , ). for the single insurrection of , in jamaica, it cost the government $ , : and private property was destroyed, to the amount of $ , , . chapter vi. emancipation safe in every instance "right _never_ comes wrong." --_old maxim._ whenever immediate emancipation is urged, the "horrors of st. domingo" are always brought forward to prove it dangerous. this is one of numerous misstatements originating in prejudice, and afterward taken for granted by those who have not examined the subject. the first troubles between the white and black races in st. domingo were the result of oppressive and unlawful treatment of the free colored population, who were numerous, and many of them wealthy proprietors. the whites were determined to wrest from them certain rights which the french government had secured to them. the next troubles were occasioned by an attempt to _restore slavery_, after it had been for some years abolished. it was never the _granting_ of rights to the colored people that produced bloodshed or disturbance. all the disasters to the whites came in consequence of _withholding_ those rights, in the first instance, and afterward from a forcible attempt to _take them away_, after they had long been peacefully and prosperously enjoyed under the protection of french laws. in , the national assembly proclaimed liberty to all slaves under the dominion of france; more than , in number; and history shows that the measure proved safe. _in st. domingo emancipation was both peaceful and prosperous in its results._ col. malenfant, a slave-holder resident in the island at the time, published "a historical and political memoir of the colonies," in which he says: "after this public act of emancipation the negroes remained quiet, both in the south and west. there were estates which had neither owners nor managers upon them; yet upon those estates, though abandoned, the negroes continued their labors, where there were any of the inferior agents left to guide them; and where there was no white man, in any capacity, to take direction of affairs, they betook themselves to planting provisions. several of my neighbors, proprietors or managers, were in prison; and the negroes on their plantations were in the habit of coming to me to direct them in their work. if you will take care not to talk to them of the restoration of slavery, but to talk to them of freedom, you may with that word chain them to their labor. in the plain of the cul de sac, on the plantation gouraud, i managed four hundred and fifty laborers for more than eight months after liberty had been granted them. not one of them refused to work. yet that plantation was reputed to have been under the worst discipline, and the slaves the most idle of any in the plain. i inspired the same activity into three other plantations, of which i had the management. ninety-nine out of a hundred blacks are perfectly well aware that labor is the process by which they can obtain means to gratify their wants and their tastes; and therefore they are desirous to work." in describing the latter part of , col. malenfant says: "the colony is flourishing. the whites live peacefully and happily upon their estates, and the negroes continue to work for them." gen. lecroix, who published "memoirs for a history of st. domingo," speaks of wonderful progress in agriculture in . he says: "the colony marched, as by enchantment, toward its ancient splendor; cultivation prospered, and every day furnished perceptible proofs of progress." such was the effect of emancipation in st. domingo! in , gen. vincent, a proprietor of estates in st. domingo, went to france to lay before the government the plan of a new constitution for the island. he found napoleon bonaparte, then first consul, preparing to send out an armament to restore slavery in st. domingo. general vincent earnestly remonstrated against the expedition. he assured the consul that the negroes were orderly and industrious, and that every thing was going on peacefully and prosperously for all parties; that it was unnecessary, and therefore cruel, to attempt to reverse this happy state of things. but there was a class of old despotic planters who clamored for the restoration of the arbitrary power, which they had most cruelly abused. unfortunately, bonaparte considered it good policy to conciliate that class; and he persisted in his purpose. he tried to _restore slavery_, by military force, and the consequence was that the french were driven out of the island, with great bloodshed. in guadaloupe, where liberty was proclaimed at the same time as in st. domingo, the sudden transition took place with perfect safety. the reports from the governors, for successive years, bear testimony that the emancipated laborers were universally industrious and submissive to the laws. gen. lafayette, the consistent friend of human freedom, made a practical experiment of emancipation, as early as . in the french colony of cayenne, most of the soil belonged to the crown, and he was able to obtain it on easy terms. he expended $ , in purchasing land and slaves. he employed an amiable and judicious gentleman to take the management. the first thing the agent did, when he arrived in cayenne, was to call the slaves together, and in their presence burn all the whips and other instruments of punishment. he informed them that their owner, gen. lafayette had bought them for the purpose of enabling them to obtain their freedom. he then stated to them the laws and regulations by which the estate would be governed, and the pecuniary advantages that would be granted, according to degrees of industry. this stimulus operated like a charm. the energy of the laborers redoubled, and they were obedient to the wishes of their manager. he died from the effects of the climate. but when the slaves in all the french colonies were emancipated in , the laborers on this estate in cayenne waited upon the new agent, and said if the land still belonged to gen. lafayette they wished to resume their labor for him on the old terms, giving as a reason that they were "desirous to promote the interests of one who had treated them like men, and cheered their toil by making it a certain means of freedom." in the british authorities emancipated all the slaves in java. this also proved a complete success; as any one can ascertain by examining the account given by sir stamford raffles, who was governor of the island. at successive periods, between and , the south american republics, buenos ayres, chili, bolivia, peru, colombia and guatemala emancipated all their slaves. in some of those states means were taken for the instruction of young slaves, who were enfranchised on arriving at a certain age. in other states, slaves of all ages were emancipated after a certain date, fixed by law. in no one instance were these changes productive of any injury to life or property. in the british government emancipated all the slaves in cape colony. , hottentot helots were admitted by law to all the rights and privileges of the white inhabitants. the slave-holders in the colony remonstrated vehemently against this measure. they declared that the hottentots were stupid, sensual, brutal, vicious, and totally incapable of taking care of themselves. they predicted awful outrages, as the consequence of emancipating a horde of such degraded wretches. but the event proved quite otherwise. the poor creatures were grateful for their freedom, and tried to behave as well as they knew how. all went on as peaceably as before, as concerned the white inhabitants, and much _more_ peaceably, as concerned the blacks, who had previously suffered shocking barbarities at the hands of their masters. in the sunlight of freedom even the hottentots have been gradually emerging out of barbarism. year by year they pay more for british manufactures, because they wear calico and woollen cloth, instead of sheepskin mantles. they have horses and wagons, and flocks of their own, and their small weekly contributions to the missionary societies at the cape amount to many hundreds of dollars. from the time that mexico became independent of spain, in , there was an increasing conviction in the public mind, that the existence of slavery was inconsistent with their professed principles as a republic. this feeling soon manifested itself in laws. the prices of slaves were fixed by magistrates, and they were required to work, at stipulated wages, till they had paid for themselves. protective laws were passed, enabling the servants to work for others, if they were not justly and humanely treated by their masters. transfers of service might also take place to accommodate the masters; but never without consent of the servants. mr. ward, the british minister to mexico, in his work on that country, speaks very highly of the beneficial effects produced by these regulations. he says they gave a powerful stimulus to industry, and rapidly increased agricultural prosperity. a mississippi slave-holder, who went to reside in matamoras, was also so much pleased with the results of this experiment, that he wrote of it with enthusiasm, as an example highly important to the united states. he declared that the value of plantations was soon increased by the introduction of free labor. he says: "no one was made poor by it. it gave property to the servant, and increased the riches of the master." free labor commended itself so much in this process, that on september th, , president guerrero published the following decree: "being desirous to signalize the anniversary of mexican independence by an act of national justice and beneficence, we hereby declare slavery forever abolished in this republic. consequently, all those individuals who, until this day, have been considered slaves, are free!" no interruption of public peace or prosperity followed this just decree. in , , prize negroes received freedom in south africa; in one day. no difficulty or disorder occurred. all gained homes; and at night scarcely an idler was to be seen. in , the french government, after careful examination into the state of things in the british west indies, decreed immediate emancipation to all the slaves in their colonies. m. arago, formerly member of the provisional government, wrote thus, in : "much has been said of the ruin which the act of emancipation has scattered over our colonies. but it should be remembered that _they were in a deplorable condition for a long time previous. the chamber of deputies resounded daily with their lamentations._ extreme and utterly inadmissible measures for their _relief_ were continually proposed. the act of emancipation cut peacefully one of the most complicated questions our social state afforded. free labor has taken the place of slave labor without much resistance. so far, it has been attended with results sufficiently favorable, and these cannot fail to grow better." o. lafayette, grandson of general lafayette, member of the chamber of deputies, wrote thus, in : "in one day, as by the stroke of a wand, , human beings were snatched from the degradation, in which they had been held by former legislation, and resumed their rank in the great human family. and this great event occurred without any of those disorders and struggles, which had been threatened, in order to perplex the consciences of the friends of abolition." in , the bey of tunis prohibited the exportation or importation of slaves, and declared all children free that should be born in his dominions after december th, . in , he proclaimed that slavery was abolished entirely, "for the honor of god, and to distinguish man from the brute creation." to these measures he was greatly influenced by the british minister, sir thomas reade. not far from the same date, sweden proclaimed emancipation in the island of st. bartholomew, the only place under her dominion where slavery existed. christian viii. of denmark, and his queen, caroline, were so openly in favor of emancipation, that the price of slaves in their dominions became greatly reduced. the kind-hearted queen obtained a promise from the king that he would celebrate the anniversary of their silver wedding by a decree of universal emancipation. accordingly, on the th of july , it was proclaimed that all children born on or after that day should be free; and that all the slaves in the danish possessions, about , in number, should receive their freedom in . this was intended to give time to prepare for the change; but it worked badly. it made the negroes restless to hear of freedom without obtaining it; and this feeling was increased by intercourse with the neighboring french islands, where all had been proclaimed unconditionally free. the masters were opposed to emancipation, and not at all disposed to conciliate their laborers. in july, , local insurrections broke out. a good deal of property was destroyed, but few lives lost, except those of slaves who were executed. the panic produced caused a proclamation of immediate emancipation; since which there have been no insurrections, nor any fear of them. fifty dollars for each slave was awarded to the masters, who have never ceased to grumble against the government and against the negroes. such a transition, of course, could not take place without temporary evils and inconveniences. the effects of a system so bad as slavery cannot be suddenly outgrown, either by masters or servants. but improvement is more and more perceptible as years pass on. a gentleman writing from st. thomas to the _n. y. tribune_, september, , says: "the former owners are constantly complaining of the ignorance, faithlessness, and degradation of the negroes, without seeming to have any consciousness of the fact that they themselves have brought them to this very character and condition. whether their state is _at once_ bettered is not the decisive question, but whether they are in a condition where there is a chance for improvement. and for my own part, the respectability attained by many persons of color in this town, and the industry and capacity manifested by large numbers, in various employments, as artisans, clerks, bookkeepers, and public officials, give me a hope i never before entertained, of the certain advancement of the african race, wherever they shall become disembarrassed of the shackles of slavery, and of an unjust social prejudice." a boston gentleman, who visited santa cruz in the spring of , writes thus: "you would be delighted with the effects of emancipation, as we see them all round us, with abundant opportunities to examine them. the pay which the danish government has settled for voluntary labor sounds very low [five dollars a month]. but the artificial wants of the laborers are so few, and the necessaries of life are so easily supplied in this perpetual summer, that the thrifty and industrious have already succeeded in laying up enough to build comfortable little homes, and bring up their children to trades. the vice which had always been encouraged among them, for their masters' gain, carries its poison among them yet; but they are gradually acquiring a pride of matrimony. a noble young episcopal minister is laboring unweariedly for their moral and intellectual elevation, almost unaided by the white population, who look coldly upon his labors. the progress made in two years has been surprising indeed." in , the dutch abolished slavery in their west india colonies. the government paid a certain sum to the masters, and took the entire control of the slaves, who were to work till they repaid the sum advanced for their freedom. children under five years were free at once, and moderate prices were fixed by law for all the slave population, graduated according to their ages. as soon as the stipulated price was offered by any slave, he became a freeman. wages were also fixed by law; and in case any planters refused to submit to the prescribed regulations, rural settlements were formed where the colored people could find employment, under the superintendence of managers appointed by government, aided by colleagues who were elected by the laborers. of course, the success of this experiment will greatly depend on the good-temper and good judgment of the men who manage it. i have no means of ascertaining the degree of financial prosperity in the dutch west india colonies since emancipation began to take effect; but i know that _before the abolition of slavery, they were complaining of "ruin" and begging for "relief."_ the colony of surinam, _under slavery_, made this statement. "out of nine hundred and seventeen, plantations, six hundred and thirty-six have been totally abandoned. of the remainder, sixty-five grow nothing but wood and provisions." the small balance of estates not included in this description, were declared to be on the road to destruction. whether free labor works better results, time will show. but one thing is already certain; the transition was made with perfect safety. in , the dutch abolished slavery in all their east india possessions; where it had existed under a comparatively mild form. there was one very remarkable and beautiful feature in this transaction. the government offered an assessed compensation to the masters; but _many of them refused to take it, while others took it and gave it to the emancipated slaves, who had worked so many years without wages_. history proves that emancipation has _always_ been safe. it is an undeniable fact, that not one white person has ever been killed, or wounded, or had life or property endangered by any violence attendant upon immediate emancipation, in any of the many cases where the experiment has been tried. on the contrary, it has always produced a feeling of security in the public mind. chapter vii. concluding remarks. i appeal to candid readers whether i have not, in the preceding pages, fairly made out a case in favor of immediate emancipation. i have not advanced opinions, or theories; i have simply stated facts. in view of these facts, is it not unjust and irrational to persist in calling immediate emancipation a "fanatical" idea? leaving the obvious considerations of justice and humanity entirely out of the question, i ask whether experience has not proved it to be a measure of plain, practical good sense, and sound policy. the trouble in forming a correct estimate on this subject arises mainly from our proneness to forget that negroes are _men_, and, consequently, governed by the same laws of human nature, which govern all men. compulsion always excites resistance; reward always stimulates exertion. kindness has upon the human soul an influence as renovating as sunshine upon the earth; and no race is so much and so easily influenced by it as the negroes. jamaica overseers, blinded by the long habit of considering slaves as cattle, said to them, after they became apprentices, "work faster, you black rascal! or i'll flog you." that excited the apprentice to remind them they had no power to do it. the retort enraged the overseers; and the magistrate was called upon to punish the laborer for his insolence in expressing the feelings of a man. the antigua planters acted with more enlightened policy. they wisely gave up their power into the hands of the law. if they chanced to see a laborer rather dilatory, they said, "we expect better things of _freemen_:" and that simple appeal to their manhood, we are told, invariably quickened their motions, while it gratified their feelings. free labor has so obviously the advantage, in all respects, over slave labor, that posterity will marvel to find in the history of the nineteenth century any record of a system so barbarous, so clumsy, and so wasteful. let us make a very brief comparison. the slave is bought, sometimes at a very high price; in free labor there is no such investment of capital. the slave does not care how slowly or carelessly he works; it is the freeman's interest to do his work well and quickly. the slave is indifferent how many tools he spoils; the freeman has a motive to be careful. the slave's clothing is indeed very cheap, but it is provided by his master, and it is of no consequence to him how fast it is destroyed; the hired laborer pays more for his garments, but he has a motive for making them last six times as long. the slave contrives to spend as much time as he can in the hospital; the free laborer has no time to spare to be sick. hopeless poverty and a sense of being unjustly dealt by, impels the slave to steal from his master, and he has no social standing to lose by indulging the impulse; with the freeman pride of character is a powerful inducement to be honest. a salary must be paid to an overseer to compel the slave to work; the freeman is impelled by a desire to increase his property, and add to the comforts of himself and family. we should question the sanity of a man who took the main-spring out of his watch, and hired a boy to turn the hands round. yet he who takes from laborers the natural and healthy stimulus of wages, and attempts to supply its place by the driver's whip, pursues a course quite as irrational. when immediate emancipation is proposed, those who think loosely are apt to say, "but would you turn the slaves loose upon society?" there is no sense in such a question. emancipated slaves are restrained from crime by the same laws that restrain other men; and experience proves that a consciousness of being _protected_ by legislation inspires them with _respect_ for the laws. but of all common questions, it seems to me the most absurd one is, "what would you _do_ with the slaves, if they were emancipated?" there would be no occasion for doing _any_ thing with them. their labor is needed where they are; and if white people can get along with them, under all the disadvantages and dangers of slavery, what should hinder their getting along under a system that would make them work better and faster, while it took from them all motive to rebellion? it is often asked, "what is your plan?" it is a very simple one: but it would prove as curative as the prophet's direction, "go wash, and be clean." it is merely to stimulate laborers by wages, instead of driving them by the whip. when that plan is once adopted, education and religious teaching, and agricultural improvements will soon follow, as matters of course. it is not to be supposed that the transition from slavery to freedom would be unattended with inconveniences. all changes in society involve some disadvantages, either to classes or individuals. even the introduction of a valuable machine disturbs for a while the relations of labor and capital. but it is important to bear in mind that _whatever difficulties might attend emancipation would be slight and temporary; while the difficulties and dangers involved in the continuance of slavery are permanent, and constantly increasing_. do you ask in what way it is to be accomplished? i answer. that must finally be decided by legislators. it is _my_ business to use all my energies in creating the _will_ to do it; because i know very well that "where there is a _will_ there is a _way_;" and i earnestly entreat all who wish well to their country to aid me in this work. appendix. in which statements are brought down to the close of mr. bigelow, of the _new york evening post_, whose book is often quoted in the preceding pages, testifies to the condition of the british west india islands as late as . ten years later, mr. william g. sewell, of the _new york times_, visited those islands, and on his return published a book called, "the ordeal of free labor." it is written in a very candid spirit, and evinces careful observation. he has no disposition to conceal that temporary difficulties attend the transition from one system of labor to another; but he proves conclusively, that slavery brought increasing ruin, and freedom is bringing increasing prosperity. we subjoin a few brief extracts: imports. "between and , british guiana imported annually to the value of $ , , ; in , the imports of guiana were valued at $ , , . the annual imports of trinidad, between and , averaged in value $ , , ; in , they were valued at $ , , . the annual imports of barbadoes, during the same period, averaged in value $ , , ; in , they were valued at $ , , . the imports of antigua, during the same period, averaged $ , ; in , they were valued at $ , , . the total exhibit represents the annual import trade, before emancipation, as valued at $ , , ; and valued at the present time at $ , , ; or, _an excess of imports, under a free system, of the value of five millions, seven hundred and sixty thousand dollars_." exports. "for four years prior to emancipation, british guiana exported an annual average of , , lbs. of sugar; while from to , its annual average export rose to , , lbs. for four years prior to emancipation, trinidad annually exported an average of , , lbs. of sugar; while from to , its annual average export rose to , , lbs. four years prior to emancipation, barbadoes annually exported an average of , , lbs. of sugar; from to , its annual average export rose to , , lbs. four years prior to emancipation, antigua exported an annual average of , , lbs. of sugar; from to , its annual average export rose to , , lbs. the total exhibit is , , lbs. annually exported before emancipation, and , , lbs. annually exported now; or, _an excess of exports, with free labor, of seventy-seven millions, seven hundred thousand pounds of sugar_." "in the exports, i have made mention of sugar only; but if all other articles of commerce be included, and a comparison be instituted between the import and export trade of guiana, trinidad, barbadoes, and antigua, under slavery, and their trade under freedom, _the annual balance in favor of freedom will be found to have reached already fifteen millions of dollars, at the very lowest estimate_." "the increase of imports is to be attributed to the improved condition and ampler means of the peasantry developed by the dawn of freedom." effects of freedom on the laborers. "in barbadoes, within the last fifteen years, in spite of the extraordinary price of land and the low rate of wages, the small proprietors, holding less than five acres, have increased from to . a great majority of them were formerly slaves. this fact speaks volumes. it is certainly an evidence of industrious habits, and is a remarkable contradiction to the prevailing idea that the negro will work only under compulsion. that idea was formed and fostered from the habits of the negro as a _slave_. his habits as a _free man_, developed under a wholesome stimulus and settled by time, are in striking contrast to his habits as a slave. none are more ready than the planters themselves to admit that the free laborer is a better, more cheerful, and more industrious workman than the slave ever was under a system of compulsion. these are the opinions of men, who were themselves once violently opposed to freedom, and who still strive to keep the laboring classes in complete dependence; and they are opinions so universal that i have sought diligently, but in vain, to hear them contradicted." "in st. vincent, the returns for show that no less than persons were then living in their own houses, built by themselves since emancipation. within the last twelve years, from ten to twelve thousand acres have been brought under cultivation by small proprietors, owning from one to five acres, and growing arrow-root, provisions, and minor articles for export. the statistical returns from which i gather these figures further state that _there are no paupers on the island_." "in trinidad, there is, unquestionably, a certain amount of idleness and vagabondism among the creole laborers; but i see no evidence that these vices exist in larger proportion among them, than they would exist among any other class of laborers similarly situated. in leaving the estates, the great majority were actuated by a desire to better their circumstances, and to lead a more independent life. land was cheap and abundant, and they preferred to have their own property, rather than labor at low wages in a condition of precarious servitude. added to this, the course of the planters contributed greatly to the very evil which they dreaded, and from which they afterward so severely suffered. instead of endeavoring by liberal terms to induce the laborers to remain on the estates, they commenced, shortly after emancipation, a system of giving less wages, and exacting more work; and when the laborers retired from estate to field work, they were summarily ejected from the houses and lands they occupied on the estates, and their provision grounds were destroyed. the emancipated laborers had, therefore, no resource left but to separate themselves from the planting interest. five-sixths of them became proprietors of from one to ten acres, which they now own, and which they grow in provisions for themselves and families. to supply other wants, they give casual labor to the estates; but they are free of the estates, and can work for whom they deem the best paymaster. if any doubts that a very large number, a very astonishing number, of the emancipated laborers have become independent proprietors, let him look at the score of villages built up since abolition, and so thickly scattered throughout the cultivated districts of trinidad that it would be superfluous in me to point them out." "antigua hastened in advance of all other colonies to emancipate her slaves. she refused to believe in the virtues of an apprenticeship, or in the doctrine that her bondmen needed a purgatory to prepare them for freedom. her rulers were wise in their generation. they foresaw that with the substitution of free labor for slave labor much had to be learned, and much to be unlearned; that the success of the new system could only be determined by time and experience; and that an early start in the race was a point to be gained, not to be neglected. antigua has never had any cause to regret the independent course she then thought proper to pursue. * * * the improved condition of the peasantry is never doubted or questioned in the island itself, and it is well shown by the nature and extent of the imports during late years, as compared with their nature and extent before emancipation. from to , the average annual value of goods imported by antigua was £ , sterling; in , the island imported to the value of £ , sterling. during ten years preceding emancipation, the average number of vessels that annually entered the different ports of the island was , and the tonnage , . in , the number of vessels was , and the tonnage , . in , there were in the island villages, containing houses and inhabitants. all these villages were founded, and all these houses built, since emancipation. in , additional houses had been built, and the number of village residents had risen to , . at the same period, there were only paupers in the island. the planters of antigua avow, what is unquestionably true, that by the introduction of a cheaper system of labor, the island was saved, in , from impending ruin." "with regard to jamaica, i do not mean to say that the estates have anything like a sufficiency of labor. i merely wish to give point-blank denial to a very general impression, that the jamaica negroes will not work at all. nine out of ten rely principally upon their own properties for the support of themselves and their families; but they are willing, nevertheless, to work for the estates, or on the roads, when it does not interfere with necessary labor on their own lands. when the choice lies between the roads and the estates, it is not surprising that they should select the employer that _pays best and most regularly_. the jamaica negro gives as much labor, even to the sugar estates, as he consistently can, and it is no fault of his if he cannot give enough. they are a peaceable, law-abiding peasantry, with whom the remembrance of past wrongs has had so little weight that, from the day of emancipation until now, they have never dreamed of a hostile combination, either against their old masters, or the government under which they live; though in the time of slavery, insurrections were numerous and terrible. the condition of the jamaica peasants in is a standing rebuke to those who, wittingly or unwittingly, encourage the vulgar lie, that the african cannot possibly be elevated. the dissolute idlers, loafers, and vagabonds, that congregate in kingston and other towns, are as different from their country brethren, as the rowdy of new york city is different from the honest farmers of the state." comparative cheapness of free labor. "no barbadian planter, in , would hesitate to select free labor in preference to slave labor, as in his belief the more economical of the two. every planter in jamaica knows from his own books, if they go back far enough, that free labor is cheaper than slave labor. he knows that the cultivation of an acre of cane does not now cost him $ , when in other times it cost him $ . he knows that under slavery, the digging an acre of cane-holes cost from $ to $ , while under freedom it is from $ to $ . he knows that under one system per cent. of his laboring force were non effectives, and had to be fed and clothed like the rest; while under freedom no work is paid for that is not actually performed. he knows that a free laborer is not bought, and that the sum he would cost can be otherwise laid out at profitable interest. he knows that it is no longer necessary to make allowance of ten or even fifteen per cent. for death or depreciation. these are facts readily admitted, and whoever takes the trouble to think will see their force." "if i were asked to point out the chief obstruction to a satisfactory solution of the west india labor question, i should answer, without hesitation, want of confidence between employer and employed. the planters cling unwittingly to the shreds of the system of coercion in which they were once taught to believe. they do not yet recognize the overwhelming advantages of perfectly free labor; for they have checked its development, by imposing upon it some of the heaviest burdens of feudalism and of serfdom. they do not seem to reflect for a moment that the interest of a proprietor is to elevate, not to degrade, his laborer. they have misjudged the negro throughout, and have put too much faith in his supposed inferiority. after the important step of emancipation was taken, they did little to turn it to the best account." "i came to the west indies imbued with the american idea, that african freedom had been a curse to every branch of agricultural and commercial industry. i shall leave these islands overwhelmed with a very opposite conviction. i deny that the negroes lack industry, when by industry they can add to their means, or advance their prosperity. the more i saw, the more i became convinced that _debt and want of capital_, much more than want of _labor_, had led to the abandonment of so many estates; and be it always remembered, that _the burden of debt was incurred before freedom was tested_. freedom, when allowed fair play, has injured none of these colonies. it saved them from a far deeper and more lasting depression than any they have yet known. it was a boon conferred upon all classes of society; upon planter and laborer; upon commerce and agriculture; upon industry and education; upon morality and religion. if a perfect measure of success remains to be achieved, let not freedom be condemned; for the obstacles to overcome were great, and the workers were few and unwilling. if i can stimulate inquiry on a subject so important, and so widely misunderstood as the west india labor question, i shall have achieved all the success at which i have aimed." emancipation in the west indies. a public meeting was held at willis's rooms, london, on wednesday, feb. th, , to receive a report from e. b. underhill, esq., and the rev. j. t. brown, the deputation of the baptist missionary society, of their recent visit to the west indies. charles buxton, esq., m. p., took the chair at twelve o'clock. the chairman said it must be remembered that, in the time of slavery, whatever the island produced was exported; the food of the slaves consisting principally of salt fish and yams, their clothes and lodging being of the most wretched description. at the present time, however, the creoles were rapidly rising in their social and physical condition, and appropriated, to a great extent, the productions of the country for their own use. he would not anticipate the report of the deputation, but would simply add that, in his opinion, notwithstanding every discouragement, emancipation had proved itself, beyond all doubt, to be a good thing for jamaica, not only by producing glorious moral results, but by enormously enhancing the prosperity of the island. mr. underhill said mr. brown and himself proceeded towards the close of to the west indies. mr. brown spent, altogether, about six months in jamaica, and he (mr. underhill) about a year, in that and the other islands of the west indies; and therefore the statements they were prepared to make were the result of no rapid and cursory view, but of close investigation, followed out to the best of their ability. he would not attempt to make a speech calculated to move their feelings; but, having laid before them some bare facts, he would leave these facts to tell their own tale. he must admit that, at the first show of things, those who maintained that emancipation had failed had something in their favor. there could be no question that, with regard to jamaica, there had been a very considerable diminution in the exportation of the staple products of the country. the exportation of sugar had, for instance, declined from , , cwt. in --three years before the passing of the first act of emancipation--to , cwt. in . the exportation of rum also had declined from , puncheons in to , in . in coffee the reduction was still more manifest, since whereas in the island exported , , lbs., in it only exported , , lbs. he must also admit that upon entering the island of jamaica, the representations as to its decline struck one as being very truthful. on landing at kingston, one found a large city, the streets of which were either deep in mud or sand. the whole town appeared sadly neglected, and many large warehouses were wholly unoccupied, whilst beggars and drunkards abounded. the feeling of depression was still further increased upon reading the newspapers, or going into the country. estates, once flourishing, were desolate and uncultivated, and the buildings in every direction were rapidly falling into decay. but there were one or two circumstances which materially altered the first impression which this state of things produced on the mind. in the first place, while jamaica, to use a favorite expression, had been ruined, the west indies generally had prospered. it was a curious fact, for instance, that while the exportation of sugar for three years before emancipation had averaged from all the islands , , cwts., in it amounted to , , cwts., being only a diminution of , cwts., or about , hogsheads. it was obvious, therefore, that there was some other cause for the decay of jamaica. then, with regard to coffee, it must be remembered that ceylon had thrown an immense quantity of that commodity into the english market. for example, in ceylon exported , , lbs. of coffee, whereas sixteen years afterwards it actually exported , , lbs. (hear, hear.) that would partly account for the decline of the production of that commodity in jamaica. with regard to kingston, also, he learnt that instead of being, as it once was, a kind of central market for the spanish main, the merchants of the different ports in south america either stopped at st. thomas's island, or preferred to trade direct with europe, which would account largely for the appearance of kingston. it must also be remembered that the trade in kingston had changed from being principally wholesale to a retail character, so that while, on the one hand, it had suffered by the diminution of the former, it had gained by the increase of the latter. he would proceed to show what was the condition of the general population in jamaica. there were , people in the island, and dependant to a great extent on the cultivation of the land. these people were the slaves of former days, but were now the enfranchised peasantry, and it was only right to consider how emancipation had affected their interests. on this point he could at once say that their position had in every respect immensely improved. it had been said that the negroes were an idle lot of people, who squatted upon the land, and were quite content if they got a pumpkin to eat. but this was quite false. the first thing the negroes did was to leave the estates in great numbers. there were now but few estates on which they resided, and in those cases the planters had treated them as free men, and consequently secured their affections and services. a contrary line of treatment was pursued in the majority of instances, and that, together with want of capital wherewith to pay the wages weekly, had the effect of driving them away. the slaves who thus left the estates were compelled to seek other means of subsistence, but they did not "squat upon the land," as had been alleged--that is, settle upon it without paying rent. the circumstance that nearly every inch of land in jamaica was owned by some one made such a thing impossible. on the contrary, great numbers of the old slaves had purchased land, and it was an amazing fact that, at this moment, three-fifths of the cultivated land in jamaica was the _bona fide_ property of the blacks. (applause.) he held in his hand a return of one mission congregation, and there were some interesting facts contained in it which he would take the liberty of quoting. in that congregation there were seventy-three heads of families, of whom sixty-two were once slaves, which should be charitably considered when looking at the progress they have made in the arts of civilization and mental culture. it could not be expected that in twenty-one years all the old feelings and passions and moral taints of slavery would be removed from the land. these seventy-three families possessed among them acres of freehold land, and rented an average of two acres each besides. they possessed amongst them seventy horses or mules--a species of property negroes were very anxious to have. surely these facts proved that they were not "squatters," in the sense in which that word was used. the report of the hanover agricultural society strongly supported him in the conclusions to which he had arrived in reference to the negro population. that report stated that in six districts of the parish, containing four or five thousand people, there were proprietors, holding about , acres amongst them, which would be about five and a-half acres to each family. he valued the land possessed by the people at l. s. per acre, which was a much lower estimate than he might fairly put upon it. this would make , , l. as the price they had paid for the land. but they had not only bought land--they had built houses upon it. the cottages in which they lived during slavery had been destroyed, and he was thankful it was so. the people had built for themselves a better class of houses, at a cost which could not be less than l. per house, and he was very glad to say it was very rare to find more than one family in a house. that amounted at least to , l. their furniture would be very moderately valued at l. per house--about half the real value--making an additional , l.; and their carts, horses, mules, pigs, &c., could not be put at less than , l., which was, in fact, much under the mark. the next item was a very interesting one, namely, the value of the sugar-mills, and implements used in the production of sugar. there were sugar-mills in a portion of hanover alone, and there could not be less than , in the island of jamaica. these mills were valued by the hanover agricultural society at l. each. then, as to their clothes, they were as well dressed as the agricultural laborers of england, and every negro had at least one if not two suits. it was not true that the moral and respectable people were gaudily dressed. upon the whole, the clothes would be cheaply valued at l. per head--making , l. then, and lastly, there were deposits in the savings' banks to the extent of , l. the sum total of all this property, which had been accumulated since the emancipation, was , , l.--an estimate which he ventured to say was much below the mark. of course there were some idle and some ragged people among them, as, indeed, there were in every country on the face of the earth. but, at any rate, it would be very unfair to take kingston as a fair sample of the island. it only numbered , people out of a population of , , and it would never do to judge of a people by the minority. the annual value of the exports from jamaica, taking an average of three years, was , , l., including sugar, rum, coffee, and the other products of the island, but it must not be supposed that the whole of that was grown by white people. it might be purchased and owned by the whites, but the work had been done by black hands, and directed by black heads. he found that each family cultivated some land for itself--say an acre to each family. an acre would produce from l. to l. worth per annum; he had estimated it at l. the entire produce of this island would be , , l. per annum. was that an idle people? his calculations were checked in a very interesting way by those of the hanover agricultural society, to which he had previously alluded. that society estimated the average earnings of each family at l. per annum. the number of families was , , so that, according to the society, the annual earnings of the negroes in jamaica amounted to , , l., a conclusion nearly similar to his own, though he had arrived at it by a totally different process of calculation. another interesting feature was the decrease which had taken place in the importation of salt fish. in the days of slavery the yam and salt fish constituted the chief food of the people, but now there was a growing taste for fresh meat, and many planters were turning their property into pens for the breeding and fattening of cattle. one black man, who was formerly a slave, but who now carried on the business of butcher in one of the towns, told him that in christmas week he had killed nine head of cattle, and the returns of his business amounted to , l. a year, though there were two other butchers in the same town. in one town--the town which owed its existence almost entirely to mr. knibb--from five to seven head of cattle were slaughtered every week. all these things showed that the people were advancing in their social condition. a few facts might not be uninteresting with reference to the religious condition of the people. in the first place they had built chapels, quite independent of the established church, of which he could find no record showing their number. in connection with these chapels there were , communicants, or about one-eighth of the entire population. this itself was a very gratifying and rather unusual state of things. the number of people regularly attending these chapels was , , or about a fourth part of the population, and the sunday-schools contained about , children, or about a third of the children who were capable of attending school. lastly, they raised every year for religious purposes about , l. crime was rare in the west indies--he meant crime which brought men to the courts of law. he found from the published returns, that the number of men in prison during was , whilst the number in prison at one time in was only . that was not a very considerable number for so large a population. the people were very fond of cutlasses, and there was hardly a man who had not got one, but yet one scarcely ever heard of a cutlass being used to the injury of another man. men had been known to throw away their cutlasses when they have been quarrelling, lest they should be tempted to use them against each other--a circumstance which showed a great amount of self-control, and accounted for the unfrequency of great crimes. there was a rising feeling in favor of marriage, and an increasing respect for the marriage tie amongst the negroes since the abolition of slavery. true, the feeling was not yet so prevalent as could be wished, but the missionaries were doing all they could to encourage it. the question of education was one of vast importance in relation to the negro. the progress made in the island in this respect had been slight, but from a census taken by one of the missionaries at an interval of twenty-five years, he found that whereas just before freedom only three negroes in , could be found in one particular district that could read and write, at the next census , were able to do so. that showed that some progress had been made, but for all that the great want of jamaica was education. the conclusion he had come to was this, that though emancipation might have occasioned some difficulties to the planters, it had been an unmixed blessing to the people. he did not know a single drawback or qualification that need be made to that statement. should the planters continue in their present course, they also would reap the advantage in the general peace and security of the country, and in their own increased pecuniary gains. last of all, he believed the tide in jamaica was now turned, and that ordinary foresight, prudence, and care might make the island even more prosperous in years to come than it had ever been in the past. he recalled his visit to jamaica with sincere pleasure. he went with deep trembling, but had come away with a gladdened heart, satisfied--as he trusted the meeting was, after having the facts he had laid before it--that jamaica had not suffered from emancipation, but that its results, both to the people and to their country, would prove to be of the highest, most blessed, and most advantageous kind. (applause.) the rev. j. t. brown said he rose with a very great deal of pleasure to add a few words to those which his friend and colleague had addressed to the meeting. he concurred in the statements of his colleague as to the social results which had flowed from emancipation; and he could, if he had time, adduce many facts in their corroboration; but there were many doubtless in that meeting who felt, with him, that whilst the social welfare of a people was a good thing, yet that their religious welfare was paramount, and that if they could not have brought good tidings in that respect, they must have come home indeed with a heavy heart. one source of difficulty in judging of the state of jamaica was the fact that false reports of the land were circulated by disappointed planters, by bigots, by clever writers, and by disheartened missionaries. what the _times_ newspaper chose to say upon the subject was, to a great extent, matter of indifference, because every one knew what worth to attach to it; but when he saw a statement so utterly untrue as that contained in the "encyclopædia britannica,"--he did not impute wilful falsehood to the writer,--he was grieved indeed. that statement was to the effect that, during slavery, the dissenting ministers possessed great influence over the negro, but that the latter now preferred the established church, because it cost him nothing, though, in point of fact, he cared but little for either. this was altogether a misrepresentation. (great cheering.) one of the last persons who had contributed to this popular error was that clever writer of fiction, mr. trollope, who deserved to be described as a writer of fiction, not only as the author of "barchester towers" and "framley parsonage," but of the book he had published on the west indies. ("hear, hear," and laughter.) whenever persons in jamaica wished to represent a violent, prejudiced, and obstinate person,--one who judged as hastily of a religious body as mr. trollope judged of the baptists,--who would rather dance with a jew than pray with a baptist, when they wished to speak of a person of violent and prejudiced character, looking only at one side of a question, running and jumping through a country,--one, in fact, who was altogether untrustworthy,--they would say of him that he had been "trollopeing." (laughter.) that was the name mr. trollope had given to such a character in jamaica. but facts were facts, and, though mr. trollope avowed his dislike for statistics, there were some very stubborn ones which stared him in the face. in the first place, the people were orderly in their conduct--well governed and well behaved; persons and property were perfectly safe on the island, and serious crimes were very rare. the marriage tie was respected, and children respected their parents. these were facts which forcibly contrasted with the awful condition of society before the emancipation. again, the religious statistics of the country spoke loudly in favor of emancipation. they contributed largely towards the expenses of religious worship, and many attended punctually the means of grace. the european dissenting ministers on the island received l. per annum, and the native preachers, of whom there were sixteen, from l. to l. per annum. there were seventy-seven churches connected with the baptist body in the island; these included , communicants and , anxious inquirers; and although there were at times instances of false profession and cases of backsliding, yet the discipline of the churches was good, and their condition altogether in many respects furnished good examples for christian congregations at home. he could not forbear also paying a high tribute to the deacons and elders, who, taken upon the whole, were a fine body of christian disciples, and true helpers of the ministry. he was aware that there was a great deal of mental ignorance in the island, but even in that respect its condition had materially improved since the emancipation. he wished many of the persons now listening to him could have listened to the speeches of some of the christian negroes at some of their meetings in jamaica, and have marked the strong common sense and great intelligence which tumbled awkwardly out of their mouths; or could have heard their prayers, where beautiful thoughts and clear and holy aspirations struggled through their broken speech--indications of a mental vigor which only needed cultivation, and which even now commanded respect. the rev. william arthur then moved the following resolution:-- "that this meeting has heard with great pleasure the satisfactory account given by the deputation of the baptist missionary society of the results of emancipation in the west indies, and jamaica in particular, and of the progress made by the negro population in civilization, intelligence, and piety, and deem the great act of emancipation of , slaves, an act just and right in itself, as amply vindicated by the success which has attended it." he felt it to be a real honor to be asked to move this resolution, and he congratulated the baptist missionary society on having sent out so able a deputation to the west indies. their report was a most important one, and the more so at this juncture, when the attention of the people of america was anxiously directed to the results of emancipation in the west indies, and especially in jamaica. the friends of freedom had reason to be deeply thankful to mr. underhill for his careful and comprehensive inquiry into the real state of affairs. the rev. edward mathews, in seconding the resolution, said that he could testify from his own experience in the state of ohio that the facts adduced by the deputation would have much influence in america, and help forward the cause of emancipation there. captain mugford, or our salt and fresh water tutors, by w.h.g. kingston. ________________________________________________________________________ this is not a long book, but it is an absolutely delightful one. the tregellins had owned a large old house on a headland in cornwall. they had not lived there for some time, and had left it in the care of clump and his wife juno, west indians, while the family lived in bristol. tregellin senior decides that he will install some of his young relatives there, in the care of the clumps and two tutors, one of which, mr clare, has to deal with their academic needs, and the other, captain mugford, is to teach them watermanship. the date is early in the nineteenth century. there is also a brave and virtuous dog, ugly. the boys' sailing, swimming and rowing improve, and they rise to various challenges. eventually they all set off for a longer sailing and fishing expedition. but it all goes pear-shaped, as the weather turns very nasty, and they are marooned on a reef some way out to sea. clare is not on this expedition, but they need a way to alert him to where they are. it is ugly that saves the day. they had been using an old wrecked brig, high ashore in the bay, as a classroom, but unknown to them some smugglers have been using it as a base as well. open war breaks out, and things get nasty. read the book to find out what happens in the end. ________________________________________________________________________ captain mugford, or our salt and fresh water tutors, by w.h.g. kingston. chapter one. introductory. we belong to a cornish family of the greatest respectability and high antiquity--so say the county records, in which we have every reason to place the most unbounded confidence. the tregellins have possessed the same estate for i do not know exactly how long; only i suppose it must have been some time after noah disembarked from the ark, and, at all events, for a very long time. the estate of which i speak was in a wild part of the country, and not at that time very productive; but i believe that my father would not have parted with it for ten times its market value. it contained between four and five hundred acres of hill and dale, and rock and copse, and wood; its chief feature a lofty cape, which ran out for a considerable distance into the sea. on one side it was exposed to the almost unbroken sweep of the atlantic ocean; on the other it was washed by the tranquil waters of a deep bay, which formed a safe and picturesque harbour for numerous small craft which frequently took shelter there from press of weather when running up channel. that headland, where the happiest half-year of all my boyhood's days was passed, is now dotted with several pleasant summer residences; its acres are marked off by fences and walls, and variegated with the diverse crops of well-tilled fields, and on its bay-side are occasional small wharves for pleasure-boats. fifty years ago it was very different, and, (though, perhaps, i may be an old fogey and have that grey-hair fashion of thinking, with an expressive shrug, "ah, things are not as they were when i was a boy!") i must say, far more beautiful to my eyes than it is now. you have seen a bold, handsome-bearded, athletic sailor-fellow, with a manner combining the sunniness of calms, the dash of storms, and the romance of many strange lands about him. now, if our admired hero should abandon his adventurous profession, and settle down quietly into the civilised career of an innkeeper, or village constable, or shopman, or sedate church clerk, and we chanced to meet him years after his "life on the ocean wave," it would probably be to find a sober-faced gentleman, with forehead a little bald, with somewhat of a paunch, with sturdy legs and gaiters, perhaps with a stiff stock and dignified white collar--altogether a very respectable, useful citizen. but the eye and the heart could not find in our excellent acquaintance the fascination which so charmed us in our _friend_ the brave sailor. so with our cape: fifty years ago, in all its natural wildness; in the beauty of its lonely beaches strewn with pieces of shivered waterlogged spars and great rusty remnants of ship-knees and keels; in the melancholy of those strips of short brown heath on the seaside, disappearing in the white sand; in the frowning outlines of the determined rocks that like fortresses defied their enemy the ocean; in the roll of crisp pasturage that in unbroken swells covered the long backbone of the cape; in the few giant old trees, and, more than all, in its character of freedom, loneliness, and isolation, there was a savage charm and dignity that the thrift and cultivation, the usefulness and comfort of civilisation's beauty can never equal. my first sight of the old cape was when i was about nine years of age. my father took me with him in a chaise from bristol--two days' journey in those times; and i do not think now that my year's tour of europe, fifteen years after, was half as full of incident and delight as that my first expedition of a few hours. i can recall how the man at the toll-gate hobbled to us on his crutch; how my father chatted with him for a few moments; how, as we drove off, the man straightened himself on his crutch and touched the brim of his hat with the back of his hand. how well i remember the amazement with which i then heard my father say, "robert, that man lost his leg while fighting under the great duke in the peninsula." i thrust my head far out of the chaise to look well at my first live hero. that sight was romance enough for an hour. then the first glimpse of the top of the high cape, and my father's telling me that where i saw the haze beyond was the ocean, were sources of further reverie and mystery, dispelled, however, very suddenly when directly afterwards a wheel came off the chaise and pitched me into the road, with my father's small valise on my stomach. i remember the walk to the nearest house, which happened to be an inn, and how my father took off a large tumbler of ale, and gave me some biscuits and a glass of water. it occurred to me, i recollect, whether, when i became a man, i should be able to drink a full glass of ale and not be a drunkard, and whether my son would take biscuits and water and i not be conscious that he wanted to taste the ale. a thousand things more i remember--mere trifles in reality, but abounding in great interest to me on my first journey, which really then seemed of as much importance as captain cook's voyage around the world or mungo park's travels in africa. it was a delightful day, the most interesting chapter in my life up to that time--brimful of novelty, thought, and excitement--but i shall not write its events in detail. what i have already mentioned will do as a sample. late in the afternoon--it was the afternoon of a september day, the first fine one after a three days' storm--we reached the cape, just as the short sombre twilight of an autumn day settled down on land and sea. as the horse trudged laboriously along through the heavy piece of sand connecting the cape and the mainland, i was almost terrified by the great sound of waves, whose spray tossed up in vast spouts from every rocky head before us. the rush of waters, the rumbling of great stones receding with the current, the booming as of ships' broadsides--all these united to awe a little boy making his first acquaintance with the ocean. when we drove up to the house, which was the only habitation on the point, not a light was to be seen, and the dark stone walls were blacker than the night that had settled down so quickly on the land. my father said there was no use to knock, for that old juno lived in the back part of the house and was too deaf to hear us. so he led the horse round, and we went to the back windows. through them we saw our old black castellan nodding, pipe in mouth, over the fireplace. she had not heard the noise of our wheels, and it required a vigorous pounding on the heavy back-door before old juno, in much trembling, opened it to us. "oh my, massa tregellins, is dat you dis dark night! and clump, de ole nigger, gone to willage. lor, massa, how you did frighten me--and, oh my! thar's young massa bob!" juno had often come up to bristol to see us, and felt an engrossing interest in all of the family. she now led me into the house, and went as briskly to work as her rheumatic old limbs would allow, to make a good fire--piling on logs, blowing with the bellows, and talking all the while with the volubility of a kind old soul of fully sixty years of age. my father had gone to tie up the horse under the shed until clump should return and take care of him. clump was juno's husband, and her senior by many years. the exact age of negroes is always of unreliable tradition. the two had charge of the house, and were, indeed, rulers of the entire cape. clump cultivated vegetables sufficient for his wife and himself, and was also a skilful fisherman. his duties were to look after the copses and fences and gates, and to tend the numerous sheep that found a living on the cape; in which tasks juno helped him, besides keeping the old house free from ghosts and desolation--indeed, a model of neatness and coziness. i must now pause for a minute and describe how it happened that the two old negroes were living on that out-of-the-way farm in cornwall. my father had been a west indian proprietor, and had resided out in the west indies for many years. it was in the days when wilberforce and true and noble philanthropists who fought the battle of emancipation with him first began to promulgate their doctrines. my father, like most other proprietors, was at first very indignant at hearing of proceedings which were considered to interfere with their rights and privileges, and he was their strenuous opponent. to enable himself still more effectually to oppose the emancipists, he sent for all the works which appeared on the subject of emancipation, that he might refute them, as he believed himself fully able to do. he read and read on, and got more and more puzzled how to contradict the statements which he saw put forth, till at length, his mind being an honest and clear one, he came completely round to the opinion of the emancipists. he now conscientiously asked himself how, with his new opinions, he could remain a slaveholder. the property was only partly his, and he acted as manager for the rest of the proprietors. they, not seeing matters in the light in which he had been brought to view them, would not consent to free the slaves and, as they believed, not unnaturally, ruin the property as he desired. then he proposed having the negroes educated and prepared for that state of freedom which, he assured his partners, he was certain they would some day ere long obtain. they replied that slaves were unfit for education, that the attempt would only set them up to think something of themselves, and certainly spoil them, and therefore neither to this proposition would they agree. they were resolved that as the slaves were theirs by right of law--whatever god might have to say in the matter--slaves they should remain. at length my father determined, after praying earnestly for guidance, to have nothing personally to do with the unclean thing. had he been able to improve the condition of the slaves, the case would have been different; but all the attempts he made were counteracted by his partners and by the surrounding proprietors, who looked upon him in the light of a dangerous lunatic. he therefore offered to give up his share in the property, provided he might be allowed to emancipate some of the slaves. to this even they would not consent, as they were afraid he might select the most able-bodied, and thus deprive the ground of some of its best cultivators. he did his best for the poor blacks, but the law was on the side of his partners, and, to do them justice, they, blinded by their interests and the contempt in which they held the negro race, considered they were right, and that he was wrong. all they would do was to allow him to select ten negroes from among a certain number whom they pointed out, and they agreed to pay him over a sum of money for his share of the land. to this proposal he was compelled to agree, and as west india property was at that time considered of great value, he received a very handsome sum, yet it must be owned not half what he might properly have claimed. with this he returned to england, and, as he was a man who could not bear to be idle, he commenced business as a general merchant at bristol. shortly after that he married, and my brothers and sisters and i in due course came into the world. among the negroes he set free were clump and his sable partner juno, and so attached were they to him that they entreated that he would take them with him to england. clump was, properly speaking, a free man; for having in his younger days, after he had married juno, gone a short trip to sea, he was wrecked, and after meeting many adventures, finally pressed on board a man-of-war. he saw a good deal of service, (about which he was very fond of talking, by the by), and at last obtaining his discharge, or rather taking it, i suspect, with french leave--ever mindful of his beloved juno, he returned voluntarily to a state of slavery, that he might enjoy life with her. the navy in those days was not what it now is, and he had not been in the enjoyment of any large amount of freedom. he had, indeed, being a good-natured, simple-hearted fellow, been sadly put upon both in the merchant service and navy. it was always, he used to say, "clump, you don't want to go on shore, you stay and take care of the ship;" or, "clump, you stay in the boat while we just take a run along the quay for five minutes;" or, "clump, leave is no use to you, just let me have it instead of you;" or, "clump, rum is a bad thing for niggers. i'll drink your grog to-day, and if you just tip me a wink i'll take half of it to-morrow, and let you have the rest, or bill noakes'll have the whole of it, and you'll get none." clump and juno being intelligent, trustworthy people, my father, as i have said, put them in charge of the farm on the cape, which they in a short time learned to manage with great judgment. two other negroes he took into his service at bristol. one of them became his butler, and it would have been difficult to find his equal in that capacity. now a lesson may be learned from this history. my father did what he considered right, and prospered; his partners, neglecting to enlighten themselves as they might have done, persisted in holding their black fellow-creatures in abject slavery, refusing one of the great rights of man--a sound education. emancipation was carried, and they received a large compensation, and rejoiced, spending their money extravagantly; but the half-savage negroes whom they had neglected to educate refused to work. their estates were left uncultivated for want of labourers, and they were ruined. my father, managing his mercantile affairs wisely, was a prosperous man. his business on this visit was to see an adjoining property which had once belonged to the family, and which, being in the market, he hoped to repurchase. the house had been built as long back as - . it was of stone-- the rough stone, as it had been taken from the beaches and cliffs, of different shades and kinds. above the ground floor was only an attic storey; and the main part of the ground floor consisted of four large low rooms, panelled in wood, and with ceiling of dark, heavy beams. adjoining the rear of these, my grandfather had built a comparatively modern kitchen; but every fireplace in the old house preserved the generous cheerful style of ample spread and fire-dogs. from the great door of the main floor a narrow stairway, like cabin steps, led up, with quaintly carved banisters, to five real old-fashioned bedrooms, rising above to the ridge of the steep-sloping roof and its uncovered but whitewashed rafters. the windows were at least five feet above the floor, and had the many small panes we sometimes yet see in very old houses. no doubt it was a house of pretension in its day. when i was a boy it remained a precious ark of family legends and associations. how splendid it is to possess a house nearly three hundred years old. to-day nothing could induce me to exchange the walls of that dear old house for the handsomest residence in belgravia. a house can be built in a few months; but to make a home--that is beyond the craft and quickness of masons, carpenters, and architects. alone on that bold, sea-beaten cape, so sturdy, dark, and time-worn, it looked out always with shrewd, steady little window-eyes on the great troubled ocean, across which it had watched the pilgrim fathers sailing away towards the new home they sought in the western world, and many a rich argosy in days of yore go forth, never to return. it might have seen, too, the proud spanish armada gliding up channel for the purpose of establishing popery and the inquisition in protestant england, to meet from the hands of a merciful providence utter discomfiture and destruction. with satisfaction and becoming dignity, too, it seemed on fresh sunny mornings to gaze at the hundreds of sails dotting the sea, and bound for all parts of the globe, recalling, perhaps with some mournfulness, the days of its youth and the many other varied scenes of interest which it had witnessed on those same tossing billows from its lofty height. all through our supper, which was laid in the largest of the first floor rooms, did juno stand by, repeating the refrain-- "oh dat nigger, dat clump,--why he no come? and here's massa er waitten and er waitten; but clump, ole mon, he get berry slow--berry, berry slow. now massa bob, vy you laff at ole juno so?--hi! hi!" however, clump came at last; and when he beheld us, great and comical was his surprise. he dropped his basket to the floor, and, with battered hat in hand and both hands on his knees, stood for a moment and stared at us, and then his mouth stretched wide with joy and his sides shook with delight, while the tears trickled down from the wrinkled eyes to the laughing ivory. "tank de lord! tank de lord! clump lib to see his ole massa agin; and dat young gemmen,--vy, lem'me see! vy, sure as i'm dat nigger clump, ef dat ain't--massa drake?--no,--massa walter?--no,--vy juno, ole woman! dat are massa bob!" he took my hands and shook and squeezed them, saying over and over again, "massa bob am cum ter see de ole cradle. oh! hi hi!" chapter two. the dream confirmed by reality. three years elapsed before i saw the cape again. indeed the remembrance of that visit there, of a few days only, began to assume indistinctness as a dream, and sometimes as i thought of it, recalling the events of the journey there and back in the chaise, the wild scenery and the strange sound of the surf, the old dark house and the devoted black servants--sometimes, i say, as i thought of all these, as i loved to do when i settled myself in bed for the night, or when in summer i lay on my back in the grass looking up at the flying clouds, i would have to stop and fix my attention sharp, to be sure whether it ever had been a reality, or whether it might not be, after all, only a dream. i think my father was afraid of the fascination of the cape for us boys--afraid its charms, if we once partook of them freely, might distract our attention from the order and duties of school life. to be sure, we always went to the country with our parents for a month or six weeks, and enjoyed it exceedingly, laying up a stock of trout, squirrel, and badger stories to last us through the winter. but there was no other country, we imagined, like the cape; and as our father and mother never lived there, and rarely spent even a single night on the whole property, they thought it best, i suppose, that we should not run wild there and get a relish for what all boys seem to have, in some degree, by nature. i mean the spirit of adventure, and love of the sea. however, the good time came at last, or a reliable promise of it first, just fifty years ago this very february. we older boys--walter, sixteen years of age, drake, fourteen, and i, robert, twelve--were attending school at bristol, and were, as usual too in the winter evenings, at work over our lessons at the library table, when, on one never-to-be-forgotten evening, our father, who was sitting in an easy chair by the fire, suddenly asked, "boys, how would you like to pass next summer on the cape?" ah! didn't we three give a terrific chorus of assent? "jolly! magnificent! splendid!" we cried, while walter just quietly vaulted over half a dozen chairs, two or three at a time, backwards and forwards, till he had expended some of the animal vivacity stored up in abundance within him. drake, as usual when extremely pleased, tried to accomplish the rubbing of his stomach and the patting of his head both at the same time; and i climbed into the chair with my father, and patted his cheeks and thanked him with a fierce shake of the hands. "bob, boy, you are the only one of my youngsters who has been at the old place, and you must have painted it as a wonderful corner of the earth, that walter and drake should testify their pleasure in such eccentric ways.--and look here, walter: when you wish to turn acrobat again, let it not be in this library or over those chairs; choose some piece of green grass out of doors.--well, boys, _perhaps_ you can pass the summer at the cape. i do not promise it, but shall try to arrange it so if your mother is willing; but under the unfailing condition that you make good progress in your studies until that time." "shall we all be there together, father, and for the whole summer, and without any school? how delightful!" "not too fast, drake. without school? what an idea! why, in six months you would be as wild and ignorant as the sheep there. no; you shall have a strict tutor, who will keep you in harness, and help walter to prepare for going up next year to cambridge. but only you three will be there. i have some business in london, and i shall take your mother and aggie and charley with me." during those february evenings there were many more conversations on the same subject, full of interest to us boys, and finally it was fully decided by our father and mother that we should go in may, and stay there until autumn; that a certain mr clare should be our tutor, and that clump and juno should be our housekeepers and victuallers. never did a springtime appear longer and more wearisome. we counted every day, and were disgusted with march for having thirty-one of them. what greatly increased our impatience and the splendour of our anticipation was that, some time in march, our father told us that a brig had been cast away in a curious manner on the shore of the cape, and that he had purchased the wreck as it lay, well preserved and firmly held in the rocks above ordinary high-tide. he proposed, at some future time, to make use of it as a sort of storehouse, or perhaps dwelling for labourers. a shipwreck! a real wreck! and on our cape! stranded on the very shore of our robinson crusoe-like paradise! just imagine our excitement. the particulars of the wreck were as follows:--a brig of tons burden, on a voyage from south america to the thames, having lost her reckoning in consequence of several days' heavy gale and thick weather, suddenly made the light on the lizard, and as quickly lost it again in the fog which surrounded her. the captain, mistaking the light he had seen for some other well-known beacon, set his course accordingly. that was near nine o'clock in the evening. the wind and tide helped him on the course steered, and a little after midnight the misguided brig struck on a rock three-quarters of a mile south-west of our point of land. the wind had then increased to a gale, and was gathering new strength with every moment. in less than an hour the thumping and grating of the vessel's keel ceased, and then the captain knew that the rising tide had set him off the rock; but, alas! his good brig was leaking badly, and the fierce wind was driving her--whither the captain knew not; and in five minutes more, by the force of the wind and suction of the shore current, she was thrown high up on a rocky projection of our cape. one sailor was washed overboard by the breakers as she passed through them, and was dashed to death, probably in an instant, by the fierce waves. the next day, when the storm had abated, the body was found far above where the brig lay fastened immovably in the vice-like fissure of enormous rocks. twenty sovereigns, which perhaps the poor fellow had saved to bring home to his old mother, were found in a belt around his waist. the damaged cargo was removed, and the wreck sold at auction, my father being the purchaser. there was an old church situated on the summit of a neighbouring point of land, and to its now seldom used churchyard the body of the poor sailor was conveyed. his grave was one of the first points of interest to us when our visit to the cape commenced; and many a time that season did i sit and watch the brown headstone topping the bleakest part of the sea-bluff, and as the great voice of the sea, dashing and foaming on the stony beach beneath, sang in its eternal melancholy grandeur, i fancied long, long histories of what might have been that sailor's life; and i wondered sadly if the poor mother knew where her son's grave was, and whether she would ever come to look at it. on the stone was written:-- harry breese lies here, near where a cruel shipwreck cast him, march rd, : aged years, months, and days. rest in peace, poor body; thy shipmate, soul, has gone aloft, where thy dear captain, jesus, is. by the th may everything was prepared for our departure. on the next morning early we were to start in the stage-coach, and, what had lately added to our brilliant anticipations, harry and alfred higginson, two of our most intimate friends, were to go with us--to be with us all the summer, join our studies and our fun. but we were to separate from our father and mother, and from our dear sister aggie and the little charley--from all those dear ones from whom we had never been parted for a day and night before. we were to leave for half a year. all this, covered at first by the hopes and fancies we had built, and by the noise and activity of preparation, appeared then, when everything was packed, and we, the evening before the journey, drew our chairs about the tea-table. the prospect of such a magnificent time as we expected to have on the cape lost some of its brilliancy. indeed, i positively regretted that we were to go. we boys were as hushed as frightened mice. after tea, drake and i got very close to our mother on the sofa, but walter lounged nervously about, trying to appear, i think, as if such an affair--a parting for six months--were nothing to such a big fellow as he. aggie came and held my hand. when our father had taken his usual seat, he and our mother commenced to give us careful instructions how we were to regulate our time and conduct during our separation from them; we were directed about our lessons, clothes, language, and play; to be kind and patient with clump and juno; and very particular were our orders about the new tutor, mr clare, to whom we had been formally introduced a few days before, and we were required to promise solemnly that we would obey him implicitly in every respect. besides which our father delighted us very much by the information that he had engaged an old seaman, mugford by name, once boatswain of an indiaman, who had taken up his abode at the fishing town across the bay from our cape, to be with us often through the summer in our out-of-school hours; that he would be, as it were, our skipper--perhaps reside with us--and that he was to have full command in all our water amusements; he would teach us to swim, to row, and to sail. that last subject cheered us up a bit, and when i saw walter, who was still walking up and down the room, going through a pantomimic swim, striking out his arms in big circles, right and left, i commenced to smile, and drake to laugh outright. so our conference ended in good spirits. and then we all kneeled in family prayer, and that evening before the parting, as we kneeled and heard my father's earnest words, i realised fully, perhaps for the first time, how, more than parents or friends, god was our father; how, though we were going away from home and its securities, yet god was to be with us, stronger and kinder than any on earth, to guard and care for us. during the few days we had known mr clare, he had been with us constantly, but we had not decided whether to like him or not. he seemed pleasant, and was easy enough, both in his manners and conversation, but yet he had a calm and decided way that was rather provoking; as if to say, "i have read you through and through, boys, and can govern you as easily as possible." now we had no idea of resisting him; we intended to behave well, and therefore his manner rather nettled us. however, there was not much to object to. his appearance was certainly all right--a large, bright, manly face and hearty smile, and a strong, agile figure. we five boys had talked him over, and at the last balloting our votes were a tie, for walter declined to express an opinion yet whether mr clare was a "screw" or a "good fellow." harry higginson and drake voted "screw," whilst alfred and i said "good fellow." we must pass over the "goodbyes" of the next morning. let us imagine there were no wet eyes and sinking hearts. however it may have been, the big rumbling old stage-coach containing mr clare and five boys, and loaded well with trunks and boxes, rattled from our house in --- street at about six o'clock on that eighth morning in may, fifty years ago. our hearts cheered up with the growth of the sun. by ten o'clock we were very talkative; by one, very hungry. the contents of a basket, well-stored by our mother, and put in just as we were starting, settled that complaint. the afternoon was tedious, and we were not sorry when the coach dropped us at the quiet little country inn where we were to sleep. i need not describe the journey of the next day. we were too eager to get to its termination to care much for the beautiful scenery through which we passed. as the evening drew on the weather became chilly. ah! we were approaching the sea. by nine at night innumerable stars were twinkling over a dusky point of land which seemed to have waded out as far as possible into the indefinable expanse mirroring unsteadily a host of lights. a strong, damp, briny breath came up to us, and a vast murmur as if thousands of unseen, mysterious, deep-voiced spirits were chanting some wonderful religious service. "whoa!" with a heavy lurch the yellow post-chaise, in which we had performed the second day's journey, came to a stand. we had arrived before the old stone ark that was to be our home for half a year. chapter three. introduction to our salt tutor and the wreck. it was on wednesday night that we became the guests of clump and juno, and commenced our cape life. the next morning at breakfast--and what a breakfast! eggs and bacon, lard cakes, clotted cream, honey preserves, and as much fresh milk as we wanted--mr clare told us that we need not commence our studies until the next week; that we could have the remainder of this week as holidays in which to make a thorough acquaintance with our new world. our first wishes were to see the wreck and old mr mugford, whom we agreed to dub captain mugford; and so, immediately after breakfast, we started out with mr clare to find those items of principal interest. when we had got beyond a hillock and an immense boulder of pudding-stone, which stood up to shut out the beach view from the west side of the house, we saw the wreck, only about half a mile off, and hurried down to it. mr clare joined in the race and beat us, although walter pushed him pretty hard. the brig sat high up on the rocky cliff, where only the fullest tides reached it. the deck careened at a small angle, and the stern projected several feet beyond the rocks hanging over the sea. the bow pointed toward the house. the brig's foremast only was standing, to the head of which old mugford used to hoist, on all grand occasions, or on such as he chose to consider grand, a union jack or a red ensign, which had been saved from the wreck. the bowsprit was but little injured, and the cordage of that and of the foremast was there, and the shrouds--all of which had been replaced by old mugford, who, having made the wreck his residence by my father's wishes, restored to it some of the grace and order the good brig possessed before misfortune overtook her, and now it looked fit for either a sailor or a landsman--a curious mongrel, half ship, half house. by the stump of the mainmast there stood a stove-pipe projecting from the deck. when near the brig, which we always afterwards called by the name she had sailed under--_clear the track_--we hailed "brig ahoy!" in a moment the head and shoulders of the captain appeared above the companion-hatch, and his sonorous voice answered heartily, "ah! ahoy, my hearties: this is the good brig _clear the track_; come aboard." he cast over the side a rope-ladder, such as is in common use on board ships, and we climbed to the quarterdeck, over the stern-board of which, and covering the companion-hatch, there had been built a roof, or open cabin, making that part of the brig answer the same purposes as the porch of a house. there were benches along the sides, a spyglass hanging overhead in beckets, and a binnacle close by where the wheel had once stood. the captain, as we will henceforth call him, however, just then fixed our attention more than the strangely fitted--up wreck. he was short, only about five feet four in height, with very heavy, broad, straight shoulders, immense chest, long arms, very narrow, compact hips, and short, sturdy legs, much bowed. his features were large, straight, and determined, and with something of the bulldog in them, yet stamped with kindness, intelligence, and humour--a face that might be a terror to an enemy, as it was a surety to a friend. it was well bronzed by many a storm and tropical sun, and a dark beard grew on it, as the wild moss on the sea-rocks, in a luxuriant, disorderly manner. his hair was very thick, black, and glossy, only here and there flecked with the grey of age, and hung in curls that almost made his rough and powerful head even handsome. walter said that night that he was sure samson and neptune were relatives, for without doubt the captain was descended from both of them. with the jawbone of an ass he might put to flight a thousand philistines, and with a trident drive a four-in-hand of porpoises. we told that to the captain afterwards, when we got to know him well, and it tickled him greatly. he declared it was the finest compliment he had ever received, and took walter high in his favour from that moment. our new friend never wore either collar or vest. when not "on duty," as he expressed it, he went about in his shirt-sleeves. his breeches were of the ample sailor-cut, and hung from suspenders as intricate as a ship's rigging. his shirts were spotlessly white, and of very fine linen. a short black pipe was always in his mouth, or sticking its clay stem from a waist-band pocket. such, my dear boys, was captain mugford, whom we fellows dubbed "our salt tute," in contradistinction to mr clare, who was afterwards known as "our fresh tutor." as mr clare came over the brig's side, he said, with a bow, "captain mugford, i believe. these boys are to be both your crew and my scholars. i am their tutor, richard clare." "i am happy to see you, mr clare. give me your hand, sir. i hope our different commands will not clash." as the skipper shook hands, he looked mr clare all over at a glance, and smiled as if pleased with the inspection. "come here, boys; if i'm not out in my calculation, these boys will do to sail any craft on land or water! well, my hearties, we are often to be shipmates, so let's be friends to start with. i don't know your different names, boys, only that three of you are sons of my old and respected friend and owner--that's good enough--and you all look as if you hated lies and kept above-board." "these," said mr clare, laying his hands on harry's and alfred's shoulders, "are higginsons!" "higginsons? fancy i knew your father, young gentlemen--an honest man, and a kind man, and a true man, and a brave man, if he was john higginson; and brother of david higginson, under whom i once served, and a better sailor never stepped. as he died unmarried, i take you to be john higginson's sons. and if all you boys act as honest as you look, you need not care for shipwrecks of any kind--love or money, lands or goods, by land or by water." well, we thought the captain a brick. so he was. so he proved. we passed all the morning on the wreck. each one of its details was a new delight. the captain talked about the brig as if she were a human being in misfortune. an old invalid, he said--a veteran old salt laid up in a sailor's snug harbour; laid up and pensioned for the remainder of life, where it was able to overlook, by the side and in the very spray of its well-loved brine, the billows it had often gloried in. we went below to the captain's cabin and stateroom. there everything bore the marks of a sea habitation, and when hearing the dash of the waves on the shore and listening to the captain's talk, i could not help fancying myself on a voyage. not a nook or hole of that vessel but we explored, and numberless questions had each one of us to ask. mr clare seemed as much pleased and interested as we were. when at play, indeed, he was as heartily a boy as any of us. great was our astonishment--mr clare, however, was prepared for it-- upon going between decks, where the cargo had once been stored, to find ourselves in a _schoolroom_--a long, low schoolroom. thick glass windows, only about eighteen inches square, had been set in on each side, and protected with dead-lights to fasten tight in case a heavy surf should dash up so high, and the entire hold--where on many and many long voyages there had been stored, in darkness, spices, coffee, sugar, and perhaps gold and jewels--was now transformed to a schoolroom. there was a long table and there were globes and maps, shelves of books, and a blackboard. that schoolroom had, i am sure, none of the dulness and repulsiveness of other schoolrooms to us. no; it rather seemed a delightful place--an arabian nights' sort of study, with a romantic salty influence pervading it to comfort us at our tasks. we could take hold there of geography and history. mathematics in a vessel's hold, what was it but a foreshadowing of navigation? we felt no hostility to latin and greek, for we were but reading of foreign lands and strange people across the ocean in old times, the occurrences of which were but storm-cast hulks like our old brig. so low was our roof, the deck, that the crown of walter's cap touched it, and mr clare had to bend his neck when he moved about. the square, dwarf windows looked out on nothing but jagged rocks and rolling blue waves. away forward and aft our schoolroom was dark, and the distance between decks so narrowed that we could only explore those extremes of the hold by going on hands and knees--with the chance, too, of starting some big rat, an old grey navigator, perhaps, who, believing firmly in "don't give up the ship!" could not get over his surprise at seeing his once rolling and well-stored residence now stationary, and furnishing no better victuals than book-leaves, chalk, and sometimes the crumbs of a boy's lunch. i imagined the crew of old rats assembling beneath the globes at night, when a moon streamed through the small windows; and the captain, a surly grey fellow, with long whiskers and brown, broken grinders, taking his place on a greek lexicon, and then the speeches of inquiry and indignation shrilly uttered in the mass meeting. "long tails!"--would commence some orator with a fierce squeak--"long tails, long tails, i say! what in the name of all that's marine does this mean? cheese and spices! how things are changed. will this craft never sail, and our parents waiting for us in the new world over the sea! where is our `life on the ocean wave'? where is, i say, where `a home in the rolling deep'? can it be that our young are no longer to be nourished on sago, rice, or maize? alas! if it has come to that, i myself will gnaw the beard from the old curmudgeon who thinks he sleeps here safely. is the degradation of effeminate land rats, cheese-eaters, wharf robbers, stable vermin, to come upon us? fates forbid it! soon, perhaps, some fierce tabby may come to make our once brave hearts tremble. then, then,"--but i imagined the eloquence broken off there and giving place to a furious scamper, as perhaps old captain mugford, arrayed in a long nightshirt and red bandanna nightcap, would fling open his stateroom door and send a boot-jack flying amid the noisy, noxious animals. to think that our schoolhouse was on such a wild seashore--in a wrecked vessel, the same craft in which poor harry breese, who rested in the churchyard near by, had voyaged and been lost from--to have the smell of tar, and be surrounded by a thousand other sailor-like associations. what a glorious school-house, that old wreck by the ocean! what boy ever had a finer one! the afternoon of that first day of novelty on the cape i remember with minute distinctness. we strolled about the beaches and climbed the rocks, everything being marvellous and delightful to us. in the evening captain mugford came in, and mr clare and he talked whilst we boys listened. after the captain had gone, mr clare read the evening prayers to us, and that grand psalm, the one hundred and seventh. the words reached us with the noise of the waves they sang of:-- _they that go down to the sea in ships_, _that do business in great waters_. _these see the works of the lord_, _and his wonders in the deep_. _for he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind_, _which lifteth up the waves thereof_. _they mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths_: _their soul is melted because of trouble_. _they reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man_, _and are at their wit's end_. _then they cry unto the lord in their trouble_, _and he bringeth them out of their distresses_. _he maketh the storm a calm_, _so that the waves thereof are still_. chapter four. captain mugford's saturday lesson. with a new week commenced our studies--order in tasks and play taking the place of the licence and excitement of the first days of novelty. by mr clare's rule we reached our school-house in the wreck every morning at eight--that is, every morning except saturday and sunday. the brig's bell was our summons. captain mugford struck it as punctually as if the good order and safety of a large crew were dependent on his correctness. our school-hours continued until half-after one. the remainder of each day was our own, only subject to the general directions of mr clare and the instructions of captain mugford in boating. of course that was no task--rather the very best sport we had. mr clare grew fast in our good opinions. he was strict; but boys do not dislike strictness when it is mated with justice and guided by a firm and amiable disposition, as it was with our tutor. we soon got to see that mr clare, in his way, was as much of a _man_ as captain mugford, and that the captain respected him highly. the captain always liked to have an evening smoke with our tutor, and the boating excursions were much jollier when mr clare made one of the party, as he often did. he was our master in school, but only wished to be our companion in play. in every athletic exercise he excelled, and i dare say that was one great reason of the powerful influence he soon gained with us--for boldness, strength, and agility are strong recommendations to boyish admiration. about two weeks after the commencement of our cape life, as we were going to bed one night, "our fresh tute" became the subject of discussion; and our first opinions were changed by a vote, in which all but drake joined, that mr clare was a regular brick. drake had a prejudice against tutors that required more than two weeks to break up. he allowed that mr clare seemed a very respectable sort of fellow, but then he said-- "i can't join in all the praise you boys give him; now my idea of a `regular brick' is our `salt tute.' he's the sort of man for me. if captain mugford _only_ knew latin and greek!" mr clare was from the north of england. his parents being poor, he had obtained his education under difficulties, and did not enter college until he was twenty-three years of age. his parents had emigrated when he was a child to canada, where he had seen a good deal of wild life among the indians. for some cause his father returned--to take possession of a small property, i believe--and brought him with him. after the common country schooling he could pick up in winter, he began to prepare himself for college in the hours he was off work on his father's farm, or had to take from sleep. so he had a life of some difficulty and adventure; and now, in his own hours, he was studying to become a clergyman. notwithstanding such a boyhood of labour, his manners were good and agreeable, and no one would ever have guessed that his training until he went to college had been little above that of a farm servant. it was some time before we made acquaintance with the sailing-boat which had been provided by our father, for the first weeks of our new life were stormy and cold. what whetted our desire for a sail was that captain mugford would not even show us the boat. we would tease him, and guess at every mast we saw in the bay; but the captain only laughed, and put us off with such remarks as "keep your powder dry, my young hearties!" "avast heaving! the skipper is dumb." however, one fine morning the captain steered into our breakfast-room before all the fresh brown bread and clotted cream and eggs and bacon had been quite stowed away. "at it, ain't you, boys, with forecastle appetites? pitch in, old fellows; make the butter fly!" he had wished mr clare a good morning, sat down on a corner of a side-table, wiped his forehead with a great red silk handkerchief, and got his elbows well akimbo, before he directed the remark to us. there he sat shaking with a pleasant little interior rumble of laughter at our earnestness in the meal, and expressing his appreciation every few moments with, "well! that's jolly!" which remark each time portended another series of sub-waistcoat convulsions. he got through laughing as we finished breakfast, and then each of us went up for a shake of his hand. "your cargoes are in. when do you sail?" "o captain! can we sail to-day?" we all cried, for the joke and his unusually radiant face signified something better to come. "i have a fancy that way, if mr clare says yes. that's my business here this fine saturday. yes, mr clare? thank you! the youngsters are mad for a trip under canvas. you will go with us, sir, i hope? thank you again!--scamper, boys, for your caps! ha! ha! ha!--with your permission, mr clare, i will fill my pipe.--juno! juno! ah! there you are. do, like a good old woman, get me a coal out of your wood-fire-- just such a red, round piece of oak as clump always chooses." presently juno trudged smiling back, with a hot coal held in the tongs. "here, massa! here, capting, is de berry heart of de fire!" and laying it carefully in the bowl of his pipe--"dat, sar, will keep yer terbacker gwine all day." "thank you, marm juno! we shall try and bring you home some fish for dinner. a ninety-pound halibut, eh?" the captain having performed that operation so very necessary to his comfort, we all sallied forth for the long-anticipated sail. the cape was about three-quarters of a mile wide where our house stood-- it being on high ground, about halfway between the ocean and bay-side. the ground fell gradually in wavelike hillocks in both directions, and its chief growth was a short fine grass on which the sheep throve well. here and there we saw them in little companies of eight or ten, but before we could get within fifty yards they scampered off in a fright, so unaccustomed were they to strangers. soon we descried a boat with pennant flying at moorings just off the bay shore before us. that, the captain told us, was our "school-ship." "and now come, boys," said he, "let us see which one of you will be the best hand on watch when we sail a frigate together--let us see which one can first read the boat's name; it is on the pennant." at that distance we were all baffled. "well, try ten yards nearer; there, halt. now try." we all strained our eyes. i thought it read, _wave_. "no, robert, it is not _wave_.--come, boys, sharpen your eyes on the sides of your noses, and try again." "i can read it," shouted harry higginson, throwing up his hat. "_youth_! _youth_!--that's it." "yes, that's it. hurrah for you, master harry! i promote you on the spot captain of the maintop." we hurried down to a white sand-beach on which lay a punt. in that the captain pulled us, three at a time, out to the _youth_. when well under sail and standing out for more open water, our good skipper at the tiller, having filled his pipe, rolled up his sleeves, and tautened the sheet a bit, said-- "boys, this craft is yours, but i am commodore until each and all of you have learned to sail her as well as i can. may you prove quick to learn, and i quick to teach. but as i'm an old seadog, my pipe is out already. give us a light, shipmate?"--i was trying with flint and steel to strike a few sparks into our old tinder-box--"there!--puff--puff-- puff--that will do. i must talk less and smoke more." as the jolly captain got up a storm of smoke, slapped me a stinger on the knee, and winked at the pennant, mr clare jumped up, and swinging his hat, cried-- "boys, let's give cheers, three rousing cheers, for our brave boat, the _youth_, and her good master, captain mugford!" and didn't we give them!!! chapter five. bath bay lesson--the midnight council. june came before we had made acquaintance with all the corners of our little new world. every day it grew in interest to us, and, with the increasing fine weather, was the most beautiful spot on earth in our eyes. once a week one of us was allowed to go over to the town with clump, in his rowboat, and get letters from the post-office. that opportunity was always improved to purchase stores of groceries and other requisites. each one's turn to be commissary only came once in five weeks. clump enjoyed those trips as much as we did. he would have meat or other things to get for the table, but would always reach the boat first in returning, and when he saw his "young master?"--as he called each of us boys--coming down the wharf loaded with a week's supply of various things, the old darky would commence to grin and slap his sharp knees, the slaps growing quicker and the grin breaking into "yha! yha! yhi!" as we drew near enough to show him our different purchases. there was always a new pipe or a paper of tobacco for clump, which he would lay on the seat beside him, and then put out the oars and pull with long, slow sweeps for our neck, each swing accompanied by a grunt, which, however, did not break the conversation he carried on, chiefly telling us stories of my father when he came as a boy, which often lasted till we reached our destination. many a frolic and adventure would he thus relate with great gusto, and he had generally, too, some remembrance of my grandfather to repeat. about the twentieth of june, the water was warm enough to allow us to bathe, and then began that exercise, the most useful and most wholesome, and perhaps among the most manly that a boy can practise. walter and both the higginsons could swim. drake and i were beginners. captain mugford was our teacher. he chose a little bay within, as it were, the large bay on the neck end of our cape. bath bay, as we named it, was about two hundred and fifty yards long, and sixty to seventy yards wide. its shores were rocks, except at its bow end, where a soft beach sloped gradually for forty feet from the shore. about fifteen feet beyond our depth the captain had anchored a stationary staging, which was merely an old flatboat caulked and floored over. it had steps and ropes from its sides, and was intended as the first object to reach and rest on when we had learned to swim a dozen or more strokes. farther on, halfway the length of bath bay, was a large flat rock, which stood at high-tide two feet above water. its sides were almost perpendicular, and were made accessible in the same way as "youngster's wharf." by that name those who could already swim called our staging near the beach. leander's rock, for we had a name for everything, had a depth of nearly thirty feet, and a finer place for diving cannot be imagined. bath bay was shut in by its wall-like sides and a bluff behind the sand-beach from all the severe winds, but after a storm out at sea we would get an even swell that was very pleasant to float on. our time for bathing was between the close of school at half-after one and our dinner-hour, three. all through the season, until early in october, we never lost a bath unless rain was falling heavily, so greatly did we enjoy it under the captain's care. he would not have bathing-houses for us, as he said that the sun-bath after a swim was almost as good as the salt water itself. the captain was always near the swimmers, in his punt, that in case of accident his assistance might be immediate. boys, if you have ever read benjamin franklin's directions to those learning to swim, you will understand the methods our captain pursued to teach us. in his boat he was always dressed in bathing-clothes, and would often jump out to show us by example how to swim under water, how to float, how to dive, etcetera. i can assure you we enjoyed that sport as much as any we had, and before many weeks had passed we could all swim a few strokes. by the close of the season, i, the youngest pupil, could swim out to leander's rock, dive from it twenty feet deep, and swim ashore again easily. but more about bath bay, and our adventures there, hereafter. after our baths and juno's nice dinners we usually went to sail, and in a few weeks the captain let some of us take the helm, he sitting by to instruct us, and to remedy, if need be, any mistake of the young sailor who happened to be our skipper at the time. sometimes, instead of sailing, we would row in an excellent boat which we had for that purpose, and, four of us being at the oars, try how quick time we could make from point to point of the shore. with such practice, we made rapid improvements and by the middle of july could row a mile in twelve minutes; a month before we could only do that in twenty minutes. sometimes mr clare and the captain took oars in our boat; at other times they rowed against us in the captain's punt. that was glorious fun, and how we fellows did strive to beat our tutors, and often came very near it too--so near that we determined, if there was any merit in try, to do it yet. one night--it was about the nd of june, if my memory serves me--when we had gone up to our rooms for bed, and got undressed, walter, who had been very quiet ever since our row in the afternoon when our tutors contended with and beat us as usual, called us to order, that we might organise, he said, as a regular boat club. we answered, "good!" "good!" and each boy, putting a pillow on his footboard, took a senatorial seat--each boy arrayed in the flowing cotton nightgown. when silence ensued, walter addressed us in his energetic, determined way, but lowered his voice that not a whisper of our deliberations might reach the ears of mr clare, who was only separated from us by a partition. "fellows, we _must_ beat our tutes--we _must_ beat them, that is what i say. let's get our boat in good order immediately--let's call her the _pupil_--let's row every day, but not alongside of our adversary--no, no!--but where we can't be seen, and for two hard hours each day. and i move we have a coxswain, and that bob be the boy--he is small, quick, and cool. let's challenge our tutes to-morrow for a race." "agreed--agreed! hurrah!" we all shouted. "for a race, i say, on, let me see, the anniversary of the glorious battle of waterloo." "grand! splendid! hurrah!" were our interruptions again, and drake expressed his delight by taking the pillow from beneath him, and slinging it with tremendous speed at alf higginson's head, who in consequence fell off his perch like a dead squirrel from a pine-tree. alf fell heavily on his side, and we roared with laughter; but he was up in a moment, and rushed at drake with a bolster. walter, our dignified chairman, swooped down from his perch in a second, and catching the incensed alfred by the extremity of his flying robe, slung him under a bed. "order! order, boys!" he cried. "pretty fellows you are to hold a meeting. you, drake! pitch any more pillows, and we'll slide you out of the window. there, stop your racket! mr clare is up. before he comes hurry up and say, all together, `we will beat.'" "we will beat," was responded as fiercely as if life was at stake, and, as mr clare opened the door to ascertain what was the disturbance, five innocent boys were under blankets and apparently sleeping the deepest slumber. drake had even reached a regular bass snore. the moonlight streaming in the room, and which showed us a smile breaking irresistibly on mr clare's face, was not more placid than we. the door had hardly closed behind mr clare before harry higginson had sprung from his bed, and, almost on the space our tutor had stood a half second before, was enacting a ridiculous and vigorous pantomime of kicking our "fresh tute" from the room. as quickly the door opened again, and before harry could get a single limb in order, mr clare had him by the arm. but the whole affair was too humorous for even mr clare's dignity. he could only say "so you are the noisy one, henry higginson. you can get in bed now as quickly as you got out of it, and to-morrow, when the afternoon's study is done, recite to me fifty lines of virgil--from the twentieth to the seventieth line of the first book." with that, mr clare went from the room, and harry, with a low, long, whistled "phew," sought his bed disconsolately. the next day after lessons i, as coxswain, by walter's order, handed copies of the following note to captain mugford and mr clare:-- "cape ---, june , . "messrs. mugford and clare, "the oarsmen of the galley _pupil_ would hereby challenge the gentlemen of the boat _tutor_ to a race on the eighteenth of june, in bath bay waters. the course to be from youngster's wharf around leander's rock, and return. stakes to be--the championship of bath bay. the oarsmen of the _pupil_ would respectfully propose three p.m. as the hour for the race, and the firing of a gun the signal for the start. the oldest inhabitant, clump, offers his services as umpire, referee, judge, and signalman. "all which is submitted for the acceptance and concurrence of the gentlemen of the _tutor_. "(signed) walter tregellin, henry c. higginson, drake quincy tregellin, alfred higginson, _oarsmen_, "robert tregellin, _coxswain_." mr clare, when he read it, smiled and said he would see about it, and then turned to henry and asked him if he had learned those fifty lines yet. captain mugford was presented with his copy as he entered the house for dinner. "hu-um!" he said, as he took the note in the hand with his hat, and wiped his red, wet forehead with an immense silk handkerchief printed with the maritime flags of all nations. "a note! who writes me notes? some of your nonsense, boys, eh?" so he hitched up his trousers and sat down on the doorstep, placing the red handkerchief in his hat beside him. "let's see!" "good! good! that's very good. the middies have got their courage up. the idea of such a stiff old seadog racing with you youngsters!" "but you will though, won't you, captain, and make mr clare, too?" said harry. "perhaps, boys, if mr clare will join, and then we will make you smart. and i tell you what, young gentlemen, if you beat i'll give you a splendid malay race-boat that i have had stored in my ship-loft these three years." "hurrah! captain, we shall win the boat!" we all cried. "ha! ha! what boys for warm weather! you talk as brave as a west wind. but i smell juno's cooking; let's go in and talk it over with mr clare and a warm dish of stew." it was all settled to our satisfaction before dinner was over. mr clare enjoyed the thing as much as the captain, and declared they would have to practise together once a week. as for us, we never missed our two hours' pull every afternoon, rain or shine, blow high or blow low, until the all-important day proposed for the race. chapter six. dissensions in camp. for every afternoon of those beautiful june and july days we rowed for two hours, from five to seven. our studies were not relaxed in the morning, and our hours for swimming were regularly enjoyed, but the absorbing topic of thought and conversation was the approaching boat-race. twice on saturday afternoons we had seen captain mugford and mr clare pulling in their boat. they did not condescend to practise oftener, but we noticed that they worked in earnest when they did row. with the confidence of youth we feared not, feeling sanguine that we must beat them. there was a vein of discord, however, in our little colony. alfred higginson and my brother drake, who only differed by a few months in age, in other respects differed greatly, and had never been able, since our first acquaintance, to get along together. alfred higginson was of a nervous, sensitive disposition, quick in temper, and easily provoked. his tastes were fastidious. he was an excellent scholar, (much better than my brother drake), and very fond of reading. he entered fully into all our sports, but preferred fishing, sailing, and swimming to our rougher harder amusements. he drew excellently, landscape and marine views and figures. he was a healthy, active boy, and could beat us all in running. i have said his was a quick temper, but it was a forgiving one. if he laughed not as loud and often as many of us, he caused us to laugh oftener than any, for he had a quick dry humour and witty tongue. when it came to chaffing, he was always conqueror. my brother drake was entirely unlike alfred higginson. he was a hardy, rough, jolly boy, overflowing with fun and animal life, what is called a "regular boy." never quiet--laughing, singing, whistling all the time, heels over head in everything, pitching into his studies as irrepressibly as into his games, but with more success in the latter, though he was a fair student; better in his mathematics and other english studies than in the languages. the only reading he cared for was that of travel and adventure, voyages of whalemen and discoveries, histories of pirates, indian scenes, hunting stories, war histories, walter scott's novels, "gulliver's travels," and the unequalled "robinson crusoe." everything he could find about the crusaders he revelled in, and even went at latin with a rush when, caesar and nepos being put aside, the dramatic narrative of virgil opened to him, and the adventures of the trojan heroes became his daily lesson. but that he had to feed his interest, crumb by crumb, painfully gathered by dictionary and grammar, made him chafe. he enjoyed it, though, with all of us, when, after each day's recitation--after we boys had marred and blurred the elegance and spirit of virgil's eloquence with all sorts of laboured, limping translations, that made mr clare fairly writhe in his chair--our tutor would drop a word of commendation for walter's better rendering of the poem, and then read the lesson himself, and go over in advance the one for the next day. then the ribs and decks of our schoolroom in the wrecked brig melted away as the scenes of the aeneid surrounded us. the dash of the waves we heard was on the trojan shore, or the coast of latium, as we wandered with storm-tossed aeneas. or we walked the splendid court of dido, or were contending in battle with the warlike turnus for our settlement in latium. turnus and the fierce mezentius were drake's favourites. he never liked aeneas, who was always alfred higginson's hero. those readings were often disturbed by drake's exclamations. his overflowing, outspoken disposition could not be restrained when his interest was powerfully enlisted; and as mr clare read, in his clear, impassioned manner, some exciting passage, drake would shout out an exclamation of encouragement or satisfaction with a favourite warrior, and bring down his fist on the desk, as another favourite was discomfited or came to grief. i remember very well how often drake was reproved for such unseasonable enthusiasm, which always caused an after sarcasm or witticism from alfred higginson; and i distinctly recall how, notwithstanding the formality of school-hours, when we came to the single combat between aeneas and turnus, and the death of the latter, drake flung his book from the table, and shouted out in an angry voice, "i'll bet anything virgil tells fibs!" those readings were treats to all of us. drake having told captain mugford of them, and discussed the incidents that vexed him with the captain, got him so interested that he asked mr clare to allow him to come in at the close of our recitations. of course that favour was readily granted, and after that time the captain always made one of the auditors. he used to laugh and shake over drake's excitement, and yet entered into it himself, and i have seen salt drops running down his cheeks and mr clare's, as the latter rendered in a voice slightly trembling some of the pathetic passages in which virgil is so exquisitely beautiful. i am glad to write of those lessons in the old brig's carcass, for they are remembered so pleasantly. moreover, it came naturally in drawing my dear brother drake's character, and the effect of those heroical classics influenced, in a manner very quixotic, the crisis of the continued quarrel between drake and alfred higginson, to which we are coming. the great dissimilarity in the characters of the two was a reason for their want of sympathy and agreement, one with the other, but the causes of the open warfare which existed between them were the faults of each--the irritability, slight conceit, and stinging tongue of alfred higginson; the teasing practices, want of toleration for the feelings and peculiarities of others, and a certain recklessness of drake's. and yet they were both noble boys, with nothing false or ungenerous or underhanded about either of them. ever since we had come to the cape, their skirmishes of words and disagreement had been continual, and several more tangible collisions, where blows had been exchanged between them, were nipped in the bud by walter and the others of us, and once by the captain, who, wrought up by their quarrelsomeness, separated them pretty fiercely, and, holding each at arm's length, told them that, if there was any fighting to be done among his crew, he must have a hand in it. then he laughed one of his bars of rollicking "ha-has," and dropped the boys with the injunction that if they had another "mill," he should certainly let their fathers know. "now, boys, try if you cannot get along better, and when you have a quarrel again, bring it to mr clare or to me, and we will settle it better than your blows and frowns can do." you remember how drake knocked alfred from the footboard of his bed on the occasion of our night meeting to get up the boat-race. that was a good example of drake's reckless rudeness, proceeding merely from his boisterous disposition, but somehow those outbreaks were always directed to alfred, just as the rough points of alfred's disposition were sure to be turned to drake. that fall had hurt alfred, and from the date of the commencement of our boat-practice, the war between the two had waxed hotter and hotter. the contest seemed only to amuse harry higginson, but walter--our mentor, my conscientious, tender-hearted brother, who led us all in games as well as in lessons--worried over it, and each day he exhorted the two to govern their tempers, and, with great tact and decision, whenever he saw a storm brewing, managed to throw oil upon the waters. however, his influence did not heal up the difference, and in about a fortnight, a few days before the intended race, there occurred during our afternoon boat-practice a little row between the two antagonists, which proved a final skirmish before the severe but ludicrous battle which crowned the civil war. we were rowing in bath bay as usual, walter pulling the stroke oar, and harry higginson the bow, whilst drake and alfred held the intermediate positions, drake sitting behind alfred--that is, nearer the bow. i had my place at the tiller. alfred higginson had made a very ridiculous blunder in a french translation that morning. such a thing was unusual for him, and was such a comical one that it set the others of the class in a roar of laughter. drake was so extravagantly affected by alf's blunder that mr clare had to stop his laughter, which was half genuine and half pretence, by ordering him out of the room. even then we heard him ha-ha-ing outside. poor alfred was terribly mortified, and did not recover his composure even when the school-hours were over, and the first greeting he received, on emerging from the house, was from drake, who immediately mimicked alfred's mistake, and performed a variety of antics supposed to proceed from convulsions of mirth. on the way to the boat, drake continued to tease alfred. walter reproved him continually, and even took hold of him once to compel him to stop; but he was in one of his most boisterous moods, and was so very funny that he kept every one but alfred in shouts of laughter. but alfred lashed him with the bitterest satire, and, as they say, sometimes "made him laugh on the other side of his mouth," until by the time we had reached the bay drake had subsided into silence, and the tight closing of his lips, and quick walk, proved that alfred's sharp wit was more fatal than drake's broad fun. both of the boys rowed sullenly, and we all felt that a storm was brewing. in the final round, when we made the course at our best and timed the performance, so as to notice what improvement we were making, alfred caught a crab with his oar, in consequence of which the head of drake's oar hit him sharply in the back. the mortification of a miss stroke is enough to anger a boatman, but coming as it did after the morning's blunder in class, and made, too, a pain of the flesh by drake's blow, it was too much for alfred's temper, and as drake increased the irritation by calling him an "awkward lout," and then mimicking the blunder of translation with the accompaniment of a shout of laughter, alfred turned quickly, and hit his opponent a stinging blow in the face. in a moment the two boys grappled each other, and in a shorter period than it takes my pen to write it, the boat was upset, and we were all in the water. the combatants still clung to one another, and disappeared together. the adage, however, that "discretion is the better part of valour," enforced by such a deep, cold plunge, bore proof; for the irate youths came to the surface apart, and we all struck out for the rocks, distant about eighty yards. we climbed like half-drowned rats up the shore, where the fight was not resumed. its very strange continuation was postponed until the saturday after the boat-race, which must be reserved for another chapter. we, however, read then, in the faces of the discomfited antagonists, as plainly as you read here-- "to be continued." chapter seven. before the boat-race--clump's story. the _day_ before the eighteenth was a monday. in consideration of beginning a week's study to have it broken off again on tuesday, and because of the many preparations there were to make for the great day, mr clare gave us the two holidays. we had our swim and boat-practice on monday morning, and then set to work to make arrangements for the next day, every one taking a part with real zest. first the boat was carefully hauled up on the shore, and turned over on a way of joists we had prepared for her. the bottom was then carefully washed, and, after that, thoroughly rubbed with the sand-paper--about an hour's work, at which we all had a hand. having got the sides and keel beautifully smooth in that way, clump brought a kettle of pure grease, which was placed over a little fire of driftwood, and when the grease had become liquid, walter, with a large fine paint-brush, anointed the entire boat's bottom in a most painstaking manner. we boys stood by, entering into the operation, which was supposed to prove wonderfully efficacious in increasing our boat's speed, with great interest, and clump bent over the kettle, stirring the oil, and puffing at the short stern of his pipe eagerly. grouped with such absorbing concern about the body of the boat, walter moving slowly from stem to stern, and stern to stem, laying on the magic oil, (unctuous of victory to our noses), with steady sweeps, and the bent figure of black old clump beside the caldron, from which rose a curling smoke, we must have made a tableau of heathen offering sacrifice, or some other savage mystery. the all-important job was at length completed, and we left our ark of many hopes to rest until the exciting hour of the morrow. clump was a sharer in our great expectations. his heart was set upon our success. he had to fill his pipe again before we left the boat, and pulled at it nervously and wrinkled his black skin into countless puckers as he walked beside us, thinking of the vast interests at stake and listening to our excited conversation. as we left him to go over to the town for a small cannon we had borrowed to fire the signals, he touched walter on the sleeve, and said in the most slow and earnest manner, as he drew the pipe from his mouth and knocked its ashes on the ground-- "an i'se to be judge an' udder ting you'se talk of, massa walter, eh? an i'se to fire de gun, eh? w-a-all, i'se an ole nigger, an my heart ees shree-veled up like, i s'pose, but my gorry, young massas, ef you don't beat, old clump will jist loaden up do musket again an'--an'--an' _but_ 'is 'ed agin de rock! yah, fur sure!" having delivered himself of that tragical decision in a manner mixed of sadness and frenzy, he hobbled off, amidst our laughter and assurances that we should never allow him to injure the rock in that way, to consult with juno, and probably load his pipe again. no noble lord, with his thousands of pounds wagered on the derby or saint leger, or perhaps, rather, i should say on some of the crack yachts of the day, was ever half so excited as was this good old darky about our boat-race. under the escort of walter, harry, alfred, and drake, the cannon arrived in the afternoon, and, by their united efforts and the assistance of the captain, was mounted before sundown on a heavy piece of timber in the _clear the track's_ bow. by night the flags, ammunition, and many other necessaries for the morrow's undertaking were in order and readiness for service. after the day's work, and filled with anticipations of the eventful morrow, we felt no desire for our usual outdoor games that evening, but found seats on the great boulder beside our house, where mr clare was resting, and the captain was enjoying his smoke. old clump, too, having finished his tea and swept out juno's kitchen, loitered toward us with his comforter--the pipe--and edged up respectfully within hearing of our conversation. so we boys leaned on our elbows, looking out at the dimly defined water, sometimes lighted in streaks by gleams of phosphorescence where shoals of fish were jumping; or, stretched on our backs, we watched the shooting-stars hurrying with speed quick as thought from one part of the immeasurable blue to another; while our tutors talked earnestly of former times, and we heard the shrill calls of gulls and other sea birds, the occasional tender bleating of the lambs in the distant sheepfold, and the soft regular splash of a summer sea on the rocks, until the delicate young crescent had dozed slowly down to its bed in the ocean,--and we, profiting by example, sought slumber in the old dreamful attic. harry higginson was the first one up in the morning. he shook us to our senses, and whispered to get out of the house quietly, that we might call our tutors with the cannon's voice. that was an acceptable proposition, and we were soon stealing down the creaking stairs, shoes in hand. having put those on, seated by the door-stone, we started on a run for the _clear the track_. it was just light, the soft dawn of a warm summer's day--not yet half-past four. walter said he would bet old sol had already fired a gun in honour of the glorious battle won that day by england and her allies, but so far off we could not hear it. we got on board the wreck as carefully as we had quitted the house, and i, being delegated to descend to the captain's cabin and steal one of the flannel powder cartridges, was soon creeping by the snoring captain with my booty secured. it took but a moment to ram home the charge and pack it over with pockets full of wadding; and then harry, our gunner, touched it off. as the old brig shook with the report, alfred jumped to the bell, and the way that clanged was splendid. "boys," said drake, who was shaking with the fun, "can't you see old topgallant sail down below springing up in his berth with a lurch and cracking his head against the beams, and our dignified fresh tute jerking those long, thin legs out of bed, and wondering what's about to happen this fine morning, and old clump and juno groaning out `o de lord!' and knocking their black pates together as they both try to get out of bed at the same instant. how jolly!" an immense red bandanna handkerchief at that moment popped above the companionway--then a hearty, weather-marked face we well knew--then a portion of an ample east indian nightshirt, which threw up a pair of arms and fired off a couple of boarding-pistols. the discharge was followed by a stentorian "three cheers for the great and glorious battle won this day!--hip! hip! hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" in which we fellows joined with a yell. "ah! you young rascals have got before me this morning, but this afternoon it will be my turn--mine and mr clare's, you roystering middies!" and the captain popped down again to finish his toilet. we were soon joined by the captain, and a little while after by mr clare, who was in the best of spirits, complimented us on our display of zeal and patriotism, and touched off the old gun once himself--"for practice," he said. "but," continued the jolly old captain, having taken mr clare's arm, "suppose we visit ethiopia and see if a hot breakfast is not waiting for us there. these boys would rather stay here and load this cannon." "no sir, no sir!" replied harry, "we must load our own personal guns, for we mean to make our _report_ this afternoon." laughing over that threat to our tutors, we went with them to breakfast, which we found ready as soon as our morning prayers were read. clump brought in the dishes--clump in uniform--and i never saw a funnier figure in my life. the coat was once my grandfather's--a colonel of west india militia, i believe. now my grandfather had been a rather short man, but very broad and stout, particularly round the stomach. old clump was tall and thin as a spectre, so the epaulettes fell over his shoulders, the waist flapped loosely eight inches above his trousers, and the short swallow-tails did not sufficiently cover the spot which the venerable darky usually placed on the chair to hide a patch, the bigness of a frying-pan and of a different material from the breeches themselves, that juno's affectionate care had strengthened her liege lord's garments with--which garments, far more pastoral than military, and forced by suspenders as near the coat as clump's anatomy otherwise would allow, failed by three inches of woollen stocking to meet his shoes. when you think how comical the excellent, old, white-woolled darky appeared, remember, too, that he was perfectly unconscious, until our laughter startled him, that he was not becomingly attired. as our irrepressible appreciation of the fun was shouted out, clump did not realise at first that he was its cause, but when he did all the pride and alacrity died from his face in an instant. in a bewildered, palsied way he put down the dish he carried, and, heaving a sad sigh, drew himself up until the rheumatic spine must have twinged, and, fixing his eyes on some point far above our head, stood in motionless dignity. even mr clare had laughed, but, recovering equanimity immediately that he saw how deeply clump was wounded, he said: "boys, stop that laughing." he might have addressed his reproof to the captain, too, for he was in paroxysms, and had his face buried in the countless flags of that great red silk bandanna of his. "is it so very funny to see clump doing honour to a day once so big with the fate of england and the world? had the allies been beaten at waterloo, what might not have become of our beloved country? instead of napoleon being an exile in saint helena, he might have carried out his darling project of invading and humbling england to the dust. though he cares no more for the pope of rome than does the sultan of turkey or the shah of persia, he would probably have established popery with all its horrors and impositions, for the sake of more completely bringing our country into subjection to his will; and, once established, it would have been a hard matter to throw off its iron shackles. boys, you do not sufficiently value your privileges as englishmen and protestants--or rather, i should say, as inhabitants of this free and favoured island of great britain. we are free to read our bibles; we are free to worship god as we think fit; we are free to go and come as we list; we have a good constitution and good laws; we may think freely, speak freely, and act freely." "yes, massa clare; you may tell de young gemmen dey may laff freely too," broke in clump. "i laff freely, i know, when i first set foot on de english land. i no longer slave, i free man, and so dey may laff as much as dey likes at ole clump, perwided dey laffs wid him. i know one ting, dey would not have laff if dey had been in deir grandfather's coat when dis hole was made right through it into his arm." clump held up his right arm and showed the bullet-hole in the coat, and what he declared to be the stain of blood still on it; and he then continued in a triumphant strain-- "dis ole man clump was 'is body-sarvant: but clump was not ole den, and he follow his massa to de war--dat was long, long before dose young gemmen was born--afore dey was tinked of--and massa tregellin deir fader was young gemmen like dose, but more politer. we was sent wid de seamen to take de island of martinique; and so we landed and looked bery fierce, and de frenchmen thought we had come to eat dem; so dey say, no use fighting; and so, after firing a great many shot at us; but doing no harm, dey say when we land, `we give in, we no fight more.' so we take de island, and no one hurt except one man scratch anoder's nose wid his bagonet, and make blood come. when de generals and de admirals see we done so well, dey say we go and take anoder island; so we all sets sail for to take guadeloupe. some of de ships got in one day, some anoder, and anchored in grozier bay. ah, de enemy thought we come to eat him up, but dis time he stop. dere was de frigate _winchelsea_, of which lord garlies was de cap'en. he tun in, and bring his guns to bear on de shore, and under deir cover de soldiers and de bluejackets landed. dere was a high hill, wid de fort full of french soldiers on de top of it. `dere, my brave fellow, we have to go up dere,' said de kunnel. de seamen was commanded by cap'en robert faulkner. he bery brave man. i could just tall you how many brave tings he did; how he lash de bowsprit of de enemy to his own mainmast, and neber let her go till he took her, and den was shot through de heart in de hour of victory. well, de gen'ral say to us--`now, boys, we don't want firing, but just let de enemy feel de cold steel. dey don't like dat. soldiers, use bagonets. bluejackets, use your pikes and cutlashes.' `ay, ay, sir,' we shout; and den up de hill we go--up! up! de faster we go de better for us, for de french bullets come down peppering pretty sharp. we just near de top, and de enemy begin to look bery blue, when i see de kunnel's right arm drop--he was only a cap'en den--his sword fell from his hand, but he seize it wid de oder hand, and wave it above his head, shouting, `on, boys, on.' we reach de fort: de frenchmen fire wid de guns, and poke at us wid de pikes, and swear at us wid deir mouds, and grapeshot and musket-balls come rattling down about our heads; but dat no stop us; and on we went till we got into de fort, and trou de gates, and den de frenchmen, who had fought bery well, but could fight no more, rushed away. just den i see de kunnel look bery pale, just like one nigger when he frightened, and he goed round and round, and would hab fallen, but clump caught him in de arms, and den clump put him on de ground, and shouted for de doctor, and ran and got some water, and de doctors came and splashed water in de kunnel's face, and he oped his eyes, and he say, `tank you, clump.' yes, de kunnel, dis ole nigger's massa, tank him on de field of battle. when de dear massa got better, he one day take de coat and say to me, `here, clump, you and i went up dat hill, and it's a mercy we eber came down again. it's my belief if you hadn't got de water dat day to throw in my face, i should never have come round again; and so, clump, here, take dis coat, i'll gub tur you to r'member dis fite.' and now dese gemmen laff at deir gran'pa's coat! but black clump, ole nigger, _lub_ it! yaas, he'll lub it till he's 'posited in de bowels ob de arth." the remembrance of my grandfather and that proud day for clump, the keenness with which he had felt our rudeness, and the excitement of recital were, all together, too much for our good old castellan. the erectness of his figure gave way as he concluded, the enthusiasm in his features faded into dejection, and, as he turned from the table to leave the room, i saw a big drop, that had trickled down his wrinkled face, fall on his extended hand. the cruelty of boys is an idiosyncrasy in their otherwise generous character. of course there are mean boys, hard-hearted boys, cowardly boys; but boyhood is more generous, open, tender-hearted, daring, than manhood, yet its cruelty stands out a distinguishing trait. an old french teacher, loving children, wanting in dignity, broken in english, irritable in disposition; a sensitive young stranger, fresh from home, charming in innocence, sad with thoughts of a dear mother; a poor, frightened kitten, are all objects for boys' cruelty to gloat over. and so, too, on the oddities of that dear old clump, that excellent, noble-hearted old black man, who loved us with surpassing pride and tenderness, we delighted to prey on as vultures on a carcass, and yet, i am sure, we were neither vicious nor hard-hearted, but simply and entirely--boys. all this time, since our saturday afternoon, when the fight overset our boat, alfred higginson and drake had not spoken to one another. this eighteenth of june, even, drake did not wake alfred, but left others of us to do so. thrown together so intimately every minute of the day, and so often on the point of speaking--often almost necessitated to do so by circumstances, and frequently through forgetfulness--their unfortunate difficulty and enmity stole the freshness from their sports, and acted as a check and damper on the spirits of all our little company. however, the _finale_ was not far-distant, but it was postponed until after the boat-race. chapter eight. the regatta--the duel. by agreement we rested through the middle of the day, and, in place of our usual hearty dinner, took an early lunch. it was irksome, though, to be quiet when so excited, and when, too, a multitude of pastimes were suggested to our senses by the loveliness of that june day. mr clare and captain mugford had gone to fish in the race off the extreme point. when half-past one o'clock came, harry, who seemed the most impatient, proposed that we should go down to bath bay then, and wait there until three, the hour of the race. that we agreed to, but left directions with clump to hurry our tutors up as soon as they returned, and have them ready for the race. we had time to launch our boat carefully, and take a nice swim, before we descried our tutors, followed by clump with a long musket, descending the knoll toward us. so we hastened our dressing, and, when they reached the beach, were ready to receive them in our extemporised costume of blue shirts and white trousers. captain mugford was already in a perspiration from his walk, and, what we boys also noticed with delight, seemed somewhat blown. however, he was jolly, and, flourishing the ever active handkerchief, proposed to mr clare that they should row round leander's rock, and _let the boys follow them_! "but at a respectful distance, remember, boys!" we laughed scornfully at his chaff. harry touched his cap like a middy, and promised for our boat that it should keep at a _very_ "respectful distance." it took but a short time to complete preparations. our tutors threw off hats, coats, and vests, and tied handkerchiefs about their heads. then they lifted their boat into the water, and stood smiling at the excitement we could not help betraying. clump was on his way to youngster's wharf, where, at the proper moment, he was to give the signal for starting by firing the musket. a flag waved from leander's rock; another was flying over our heads. the clear water of the bay soused in impatient little ripples against the boats we stood ready to enter, as if to say, "well, why don't you come on?" and then, purling a few feet farther, skipped over the spar which was to be our goal. clump had reached youngster's wharf. seeing that, we entered our boats, seated ourselves carefully, balancing the oars ready to spring, and waited the signal. i alone could see clump; the oarsmen had their backs to him. the long gun was brought up to his shoulder, and his eyes fixed on us. i saw his finger twitch, and as the hammer fell, my body gave way to help the start. the oarsmen, with their eyes on mine, acted in sympathy, and every oar touched the water; but the old flintlock had only snapped. how our adversaries laughed! the old man sprang about on the rock like a wounded baboon. he was indignant at the failure. again we were in order. again i saw the musket brought up. bang! we were off, and were opposite youngster's wharf before the smoke had cleared from above clump's head. the boats were side by side then. notwithstanding the eagerness with which i swayed forward with every pull of the oars, and the frenzy that filled me, as in a moment more i saw our tutors' boat drawing slightly ahead, i had to laugh at the antics of clump, who was rushing from side to side of his floating staging, dancing up and down like a rheumatic lunatic, tossing his arms wildly about his uncovered head, his face a kaleidoscope of grimaces, while he shouted to each one of us by name, in encouragement, in entreaty, in fear: "oh, massa drake! pull, pull!" "massa walter! massa walter! dus you let 'em beat!" "day'se gwine ahead! oh dear! oh dear! oh dear!" his voice was lost in another moment. we were nearly half across the bay, and our tutors' boat a full length ahead. i saw that my crew were too excited to do their best, so i called to them: "boys, steady now! keep cool, cool. only think of what your arms are doing." "there, that's better already! we're gaining! hurrah! stick to it!" "come, boys," called mr clare. "come, we can't wait for you longer!" i believe that lent five pounds of extra strength to every arm in my boat. we were nearing leander's rock. ay! and we were steadily gaining on our tutors. they, too, saw that, but could do no better. having a steersman, gave our boat an advantage of rounding the rock closely. we gained distance. in five minutes we were thirty or forty feet ahead. but then, terrible to see, our adversaries made a spurt, and were coming up again, hand over hand. they gained, _gained_, gained, until their stern was opposite harry's oar-blade. i was almost wild with excitement. i called upon the boys, with every entreaty i could think of, to pull harder; urging on alfred, who was evidently the weakest oar, and whose strength seemed waning. but our tutors could not pull harder. they had done their best. could we but keep our speed. so we went, without widening or lessening the distance between us, for a hundred yards. but was it possible for us to hold out? how i prayed we might! we neared clump again. the comic sight cheered me. truly, if hopping about and entreaties could help us, what aid must that old nigger give us. i almost expected to see him soar off to us, he looked so like a crow taking flight. "fellows! keep a morsel of extra strength to use when we pass clump, then just let us put forth our utmost breath and strength for those forty yards. but don't let our tutes gain. look! look!" but they were coming up--only by inches, to be sure, but coming. we rushed past youngster's wharf. clump stretched out his body as if to pull us on. hurrah! hurrah! their bow is a foot beyond our stern. "hi! hi! hi! yah! yah! hurrah! hurrah! my young--" splash!!! clump had pitched in sure enough, head first. but there was no stop to our engines. our tutors were four feet behind; but they were working with a last hope and mad effort. "one more, boys!" cr-u-a-nk! we touched the spar, slid over its roundness as it sunk beneath our keel, and were on the soft beach--victors! we were crazy with joy, and completely used up. the boys jumped from the boat and threw themselves, laughing hysterically, on the sand. our tutors only said, in tones of mingled chagrin and exhaustion, "boys, we are beaten, well and fairly;" and they pushed off again to pick up clump. i do not know any successes or honours of after-life sweeter or more satisfying than that boat victory. until bedtime, we remained just tired and happy enough to sit quietly and talk over the events of the afternoon. in resuming study for the few days before saturday, we had in anticipation for that time a fishing party on the rocks, for bass, which were beginning to bite sharply, and for which our bait was lobster and the crabs that were found under the small rocks at low tide. in talking over the project together, drake said he would not go this time, but would wait to see our luck. alfred higginson expressed neither assent nor dissent with the general arrangement, and of course we supposed he was to be of our party, until saturday came and we were ready to start, poles, bait and basket in hand, when he was not to be found. we wondered at his disappearance, but had no time to hunt him up. drake was there to see us off. the captain and mr clare, who were going with us, told drake they thought that boat-race had proved too much for him. he laughed, but was not as ready at an answer as usual. indeed, he appeared rather low-spirited. however, we started on our excursion without a suspicion of the affair which prevented both fellows from joining it. it afterwards appeared that drake had addressed the following note to alfred higginson on the day before the boat-race:-- "cape ---, june , . "alfred higginson, "our quarrels have gone nearly far enough, disturbing the peace of our entire company, and increasing the irritation between us. let us conclude the dissension in a thorough and honourable way that may satisfy both and prove a final contest. after that i will agree to strive not to give offence to you, and also to bear silently whatever conceit and insults may escape you. perhaps we may become friends. but we cannot remain as we are. the blow you struck the other day _must_ be answered for. _i ask satisfaction_, and the incompleteness and vulgarity of a pugilistic encounter will not suit me. i propose, therefore, as we cannot resort to the regular duel of pistols, (for reasons so good and evident that i need not name them), that after the example of the ancients, whose history we are now daily reading, we have our combat. arms of their fashion our ingenuity can supply, not of the same materials, i know, but of wood, which should prove effective enough for our purposes. i propose saturday as the time, when those who might otherwise disturb our meeting are absent: and i propose the hold of the wreck as a suitable spot. your sense of honour will, of course, keep this affair secret, and i ask a speedy reply. "drake tregellin." only a warm, fierce, reckless-natured boy of fourteen could have hit upon such an absurdly quixotic way of deciding a quarrel. indian combats between red indians in the far west, the deeds of sir kenneth, saladin, and coeur de lion in his favourite "talisman," and the entire character of drake's reading, had joined with and gathered romance from his late study of virgil to misdirect an innate chivalry. alfred higginson's reply was also characteristic:-- "drake tregellin, "i have received your _cartel_. in my humble opinion nothing could be more stupid and silly than the resort you propose. i suppose you think your proposition very _grand_ and _chivalric_. it endangers the continuance of our stay on the cape; it rebels against the rule we are under here; and it would make our parents unhappy. its spirit of selfishness and indifference to everything but your own impulse is the same which causes and continues our quarrelling. but i shall be a fool with you this time. i have not the courage to balk your desire. i agree to the contest, if you agree to keep the peace after that. i suppose javelins and shields of wood are to be our weapons. what nonsense! but i shall be at hand, saturday, at the brig, when the others have gone fishing. "alfred higginson." about an hour after we had got settled on bass rocks, and just as we commenced catching fish, and i had a mighty fellow slashing my line about and trying to snap the pole, we heard the voice of some one calling to us in distress, and, turning, saw juno hurrying towards us as fast as her old limbs and breathless state would allow. she was chattering all the while, but it was impossible for us to understand the cause of her mission until she had come up to us and had taken a moment's rest. then, the tears springing from her eyes and terror in her voice, she exclaimed: "de yun' gem'men--massa drake, massa alf'fed, dey is fiteten and tarr'en one udder to pieces. dey is down dare in de ole ship and fire'en sticks and poke-en guns; an' oh lord, i fear dey is all dead now!" her excitement could no longer be contained, but broke forth in cries and ejaculations: "oh! oh! oh! marssaful hebbens! oh de lord, please top de yun' gem'men! massa clare, massa capting, ar'n't yous gwine? ar'n't yous gwine afore dey is done dead? dat dis ole woman mus' see such tings!" we also gleaned from her, that, hearing a noise at the wreck, as she was passing near by, she had scrambled on board the vessel and there seen the two boys engaged in a severe fight; that she had hurried off for clump, but could not find him; and that then she had run to where she knew we were; but we had to hasten her broken narrative to get at the whole matter, and then we all started for the wreck as fast as we could run, fearful that a tragedy was to meet our sight--that we might be too late to prevent it. what a sight met our eyes as we hurried down the stairs to the brig's schoolroom! chairs, desks, and tables had been pushed back against the sides to make room for the duel, and there, in the so-formed arena, the atmosphere of which was thick with disturbed dust, lay in common confusion a split shield, two swords, a padded glove, a splintered lance, and a torn cap. the weapons--the shield in particular--reflected skill upon clump or whatever carpenter had fashioned them. in some charge of one of the combatants, the round table, although intended to be in a place of safety, had been overturned, adding a globe, a streaming inkstand, and sundry books to the medley on the floor. but our astonishment culminated when we saw drake leaning back in mr clare's big chair in the farther end of the hold, his head bleeding, a sleeve torn off, and an expression of comically blended fatigue and dignified indifference in his face, while near the opposite side of the schoolroom, and on one side of the stairway we had descended, was alfred higginson lying on the floor, his head supported on an arm, his countenance the picture of pain and mortification. evidently the battle was over. the parties spoke not a word; and the first exclamation that came from us was harry's: "hillo! a real duel, and no one killed." our good captain, his face full of tenderness and anxiety, hurried to alf and lifted him up, but as he was so much hurt as to be only able to hobble a few steps, captain mugford lifted him in his arms and carried him on deck. "what is all this, my poor fellow?" asked the captain, as he got him on a bench there. "rather a long story, captain, but no one to blame but drake and me. he ain't much hurt, is he?" "that is what i want to ask you, alf. where is your pain?" "there, sir, in my side. it is only stiff and bruised, but don't touch it hard, please. there! where your hand is. and i believe my hand is somewhat cut." as it proved on examination by the doctor from the village, whom i brought over an hour afterwards, one of alf's ribs was broken and the palm of his left hand badly gashed. whilst the captain and harry higginson had attended to alfred, mr clare and walter took care of drake. he was very laconic in his replies to their questions, and made light of the injury; but he was faint from the wound in the head, and his sleeveless arm was so stiff as to be useless to him then. juno, who had found clump, joined us before we reached the house with our wounded comrades; but at the sight of drake's bleeding head and alfred carried in the captain's arms, juno's ejaculations recommenced, and clump followed, only wringing his hands in mute despair. of the particulars of the fight we never knew further than i have related. both of the principals in the affair hated to have it alluded to, and we spared their feelings. when we had got them comfortably settled in their rooms, mr clare called the remainder of us aside and enjoined upon us that we should not question drake and alfred, nor mention the matter in their presence; and that in the meantime he would decide with captain mugford what steps to take when the boys had recovered. in another week drake was as well as ever, but hardly as noisy and reckless as of old. alfred remained an invalid for some time longer. when both were perfectly recovered, mr clare called us all together in the brig's schoolroom one afternoon, and then addressed us, particularly the two combatants, in a manner that i can never forget--it was so sensible, so manly, so solemn. he pointed out the faults of each, which had fed the long quarrel and finally serious conclusion. he painted the wickedness of that duel, (for it could be called nothing else), and all such affairs, which in former times were ignorantly considered necessary and honourable. he told us in what he thought true manliness, courage, and _chivalry_ consisted. then, in a simple, touching way, he suggested higher thoughts--our duty to our father in heaven as brothers of one common family, and more than all of the example which our blessed lord and master set us while he was on earth--to forgive injuries--to overlook insults; and he spoke of charity as forbearance, and conquest as governing ourselves; and then begged us to join him in earnest entreaty to the holy spirit for the strength to practise that charity and make those conquests, to the source whence such virtues came, and to the ear which was never deaf to supplication. how simple and noble was that whole address! and i cannot forbear testimony to the fruitfulness of a christian practice such as that of our then tutor, dear mr clare. even thoughtless boys could not sneer at the constant manly practice of his life. we had to see that it gave the loftiest aims even to the smallest acts of his everyday life--that where he spoke one word he acted fifty in that service which ennobles the commonest deed. so that religion, which youth often regards as something whining and hypocritical, something only for the old and sick, we boys _began_ to look up to as something which, if we could only _partly_ understand, was, at the least, truly beautiful and noble. the lesson and bearing of mr clare on that occasion was enforced by the fact that as he concluded, captain mugford, rubbing the back of a rough hand on his cheek for some reason, got up and crossed the room to mr clare, whose hand he took in both his, and said-- "mr clare, i am but a rough, wicked old sailor, but the words you have spoken to these boys have touched an older boy than they, and i thank you--i thank you!" the parents of both drake and alfred were duly informed, by both mr clare and the boys themselves, of the affair. from that time drake and alfred were changed boys. the old dominant faults i have told of had now to _fight_ for sway and were generally mastered, whilst the conduct of one to the other grew generous and considerate, and the two boys became and ever afterward remained close friends. chapter nine. big fishing--a strange dissection. the dog-days and the sultriness of august extended some of their influence even in our fresh kingdom by the sea. the only exercise that tempted us was swimming, and that, by captain mugford's permission, we now enjoyed twice each day--before breakfast and after tea. what else is so delightful and health-giving? the header from the brown rock from whose sides wave the cool, green tresses of the sea! off, with a whoop, and hands above your head, as the sun pats tricklingly your back! off, with a spring, down head first through the deliciously cool, clear, bracing water, that effervesces about you in bubbles of sport. then, as the long delicate tendrils beneath swing like sirens' arms to welcome you, to arch the back and, leaving the alluring depths, rise through the dark water with the ease of an eagle on his wings until your head pops into the upper world of noise and sunlight again. the long, sharp, regular strokes now, every muscle stretching elastically and the whole frame electric with vigour and freshness--oh, how delicious! reeking with wet, we climb the rock, picking a spot where limpets are not, and sit in that glorious sunlight, each atom of which seems to melt into the blood. clasping our hands about our knees, we can watch the glory of the sun climbing higher and higher above the ocean, and, if we choose, fancy ourselves big grapes ripening on "lusitanian summers," until we are dry--which is too soon--and then with what overflowing spirits and ravenous appetites we go, like hunters, to the house! "come, marm juno, send in the eggs and bacon. we're as hungry as bears!" "he! he! he! how you yun' gemmen do go on. seems as ef you'se nebber git nuffen ter eat at hum. 'spects you'll git fat down 'ere! he! he!" but our studies did not slacken because of the warm weather. copying mr clare, we all worked with a will. there was not a laggard amongst us, i believe. there was a disposition to please one who had so grown in our affection and respect as even to have outstripped our dear old salt tute. he understood our youthful difficulties, sympathised with our interests, and, not limiting his duties to hearing us recite, taught us _how to study_. as august waned the fishing improved, and with the little fiddler or soldier crab we caught fish of three and four pounds instead of those of one and two pounds that had a month ago employed us. and then the striped bass, the _labrus lineatus_, the king of saltwater game fish-- what splendid sport they furnished! these last we caught, some of us with the pole and reel, some with the hand-line. but it was active work to throw out about sixty yards of line and then troll it quickly back through the eddies off the rocks, where the bass fed and sported. the captain was great at this; despising the pole and waving the bait round and round his head, he would throw it full a hundred yards to sea. i tell you it was exciting to hook a five or six pounder and have him make off with a lurch. pay out then, quick, quick, just keeping a "feel" of the fellow's mouth, and as he slacks his speed, tauten your line, and pull in with all your strength. slower now, as he begins to haul back. now look out; he is off again with a mightier spring and greater speed than before. pay out, quick and steady. so, again and again, his strength getting less and less, until you can tow him up to the rock, and your companion put the gaff in his ruddy gills. many a noble fish escaped; many a line and hook snapped in the warfare. sometimes a much larger fish would take hold, and two of us would have to pull on the line stretched like wire. during the season we took a seven-pounder, one of eight, and one of ten pounds, and captain mugford, alone on the rocks, one stormy morning, when we boys were in school, captured a royal fellow of twelve pounds, and brought it for our admiring gaze as we went to dinner. mr clare promised to beat that, but he never did. one saturday afternoon, about the last of august, just after a somewhat heavy gale, which had been blowing for a couple of days, we all repaired to bass rocks, though the sky was drizzling yet, and the spray of the waves dashed at every blow clear over our stand. it was apparently a splendid time for our friends, the labrus, but we did not get a bite. we persevered, however, fresh baiting the hooks, and throwing out again and again, with not a fin to flash after them through the curdled waters. harry higginson, having been very unlucky before this, losing several strong lines, had provided himself this time with one which, he said, could hold a hundred-pounder--the line consisting of two thick flaxen lines plaited together. he had it rigged on his pole. grown careless from the ill-luck we had met, he at length let his bait sink to the bottom, about thirty yards from the rocks, and got talking with the captain, who had given up fishing, and, with his sou'wester pulled about his ears, was taking a comfortable pipe in a crevice of the biggest rock. suddenly i heard a reel go clork--cle-erk cleerk! and saw harry's pole fall from his hands to the rock. he seized it in a second, but as he stopped the revolving of the reel, the pole bent, and he pulled back on it--snap! it was gone in the middle of the second joint. of course the line remained, and that he commenced pulling in, bestowing the while some pretty hard expressions on his bad luck, for it really seemed as if the once-hooked fish had gone off in safety. about ten yards of the line came in slack, and then it stopped. "fast to a rock! what luck!" cried harry, and then he commenced to jerk. as he turned to look at us, with an expression of sarcastic indifference, i saw the line straightening out again in a steady, slow way, as if it was attached to an invisible canal-boat. "hold fast," i cried; "look! you have got something. what can it be?" saying which, harry commenced to pull, but in vain--the prey went ahead. captain mugford had taken the pipe from his mouth as his attention was fastened by the strange manoeuvres of harry's game. things having come to such a bewildering pass, he put up his pipe and, shaking the folds of the sou'wester from about his head, sprung forward and took hold of the line with harry, but it still ran out through their hands. "seventeen seventy-six! what a whopper," exclaimed the captain. "we must let go another anchor--eh, harry?" "indeed! yes," replied harry. "look! he is stopping, and seems to be shaking the hook as a cat would a mouse. what can it be?" now the unknown took a tack towards us, and the line was gathered in and kept tight, and, as he began to go about on another course, his enemies took advantage of his momentary sluggishness to haul with considerable effect on the line. that brought the rascal right under the rocks. we could not see him; only the commotion of the water. being brought up with such a short turn maddened the fellow, and perhaps he began to realise what was giving him such a jaw-ache. at any rate, just then he showed his speed to the whole length of the line, rushing off like a locomotive, and cutting his enemies fingers to the bones. they held on, however, and were able to bring him to as his charge slackened. of course the others of us hauled in our lines and watched with eagerness the combat so exciting. we proffered advice of all kinds to the two fishers, which they did not heed but devised schemes as the moment required, and certainly they managed with great skill. you would have thought the captain was on deck in a hurricane, or repelling the boarders of a malay pirate. the pipe was jammed up to its bowl in the side of his mouth, and all he said came in jerks through his teeth. we were perfectly in the dark as to what the fish might be--whether an immense cod or halibut, or a princely bass. the fight went on for half an hour without any decided result. but after that the struggles of the fish occupied a smaller space, never taking more than half the line out now. he was nearer the surface too, and the quick slaps of a tremendous tail lashed the sea. "mr clare," called out captain mugford, "won't you twist two of the boys' lines together and bend them on that gaff? by the way, there is a hatchet with us, is there not? good! have that and the gaff ready. we are tiring the animal, whatever it is--a shark, i suspect." whilst we were carrying out the captain's orders, harry cried, "see, see! there is the whole length of him. yes, a shark. what a grand beast!" they were tiring him--worrying the strength and fierceness out of him. every turn was bringing him nearer the rock. every dash of his was weaker. but it must have been fully an hour from the first rush he made before he was brought exhausted alongside of the rocks, and the captain cried, "put in the gaff, mr clare--hard deep!" well was it that a strong line had been made fast to the gaff, for as its big hook struck him behind the gills, he uttered a sound like the moan of a child, and flapped off, the gaff remaining in him, into deep water. with the two lines and his exhausted state, it was comparatively easy to bring him to the rocks again, and then with blows of the hatchet we had soon murdered him. even then it was a job of some moment to get the body safely up the slimy and uneven rocks. at length our prey was well secured, and we stood about him in triumph. it was a shark, measuring five feet and three inches in length, and he must certainly have weighed nearly a hundred pounds. from the study mr clare made of the subject, we found that the name by which the shark is technically known is _squalidae_, which includes a large family fitly designated, as your latin dictionary will prove when you find the adjective _squalidus_--"filthy, slovenly, loathsome." it is a family of many species, there being some thirty or forty cousins; and the different forms of the teeth, snout, mouth, lips, and tail-fins, the existence or absence of eyelids, spiracles, (those are the apertures by which the water taken in for respiration is thrown out again), the situation of the different fins, etcetera, distinguish the different divisions of the common family. the cousin who, wandering about that stormy saturday, had frightened away the bass, and finally astonished himself by swallowing a fish-hook when he only thought to suck a dainty bit of his family's favourite delicacy, was known as the _zygaena_--so mr clare introduced him to us when his sharkship had grown so exceedingly diffident as not to be able to say one word for himself--a genus distinguished by having the sides of the head greatly prolonged in a horizontal direction, from which circumstance they are commonly known as the hammer-headed sharks. his teeth were in three rows, the points of the teeth being directed towards the corners of the mouth. the two back rows were bent down, and only intended, mr clare told us, to replace the foremost when injured. these horrible teeth were notched like a saw. i think the face, if so you might call it, of that piratical fish wore the most fearfully cruel and rapacious expression i had ever seen. that _zygaena_ family of the _squalidae_, (i think they sound more horribly devilish when called by their classical titles), is one dangerous to man, and it is very rare that a man-eating or man-biting shark is ever found on the english coast. i proposed to cut him open, and so we did. among the half-digested food, most of which was fish, i found something that at first looked like a leather strap. i seized it and pulled it out. surely there was a buckle. i washed and laid it out on the rock, while we all gathered about in great excitement to make out what our dead enemy had been preying on. there was no longer a doubt that it was a dog-collar--the collar of a medium-sized dog, perhaps a spaniel or terrier. there was a plate on it, which, with a little rubbing, we made to read, "david atherton, newcastle." how very strange! had the little fellow been washed overboard from some vessel? or had he swum off some neighbouring beach to bring a stick for his master? we could never discover any antecedents of any kind whatever to that mysterious sequel to "the romance of the poor young dog." was there a fond master mourning for him in newcastle, england, or in newcastle, pennsylvania? alas, poor dog! thou wert hastily snatched from this world--the ocean thy grave and a shark's belly thy coffin. thy collar hangs, as i write this, over my study table, and many a time has my old ponto sniffed at that relic of a fellow-dog, and his eyes grown moist as i repeated to him my surmises of the sad fate of david atherton's companion. mr clare told us a good deal about sharks. of the many varieties, the most hideous is the wolf-fish, (_anarrhicas lupus_). though much smaller than the white shark, he is a very formidable creature. he has six rows of grinders in each jaw, excellently adapted for bruising the crabs, lobsters, scallops, and large whelks, which the voracious animal grinds to pieces, and swallows along with the shells. when caught, it fastens with indiscriminate rage upon anything within its reach, fights desperately, even when out of the water, and inflicts severe wounds if not avoided cautiously. schonfeld relates this wolf-fish will seize on an anchor and leave the marks of its teeth in it, and steller mentions one on the coast of kamschatka, which he saw lay hold of a cutlass, with which a man was attempting to kill it, and break it to bits as if it had been made of glass. this monster is, from its great size, one of the most formidable denizens of the ocean; in the british waters it attains the length of six or seven feet, and is said to be much larger in the more northern seas. it usually frequents the deep parts of the sea, but comes among the marine plants of the coast in spring, to deposit its spawn. it swims rather slowly, and glides along with somewhat of the motion of an eel. the white shark is far more dreadful, from its gigantic size and strength; its jaws are also furnished with from three to six rows of strong, flat, triangular, sharp-pointed, and finely serrated teeth, which it can raise or depress at will. this brute grows to a length of thirty feet, and its strength may be imagined from the fact that a young shark, only six feet long, has been known to break a man's leg by a stroke of its tail. therefore, when sailors have caught a shark at sea, with a baited hook, the first thing they do when it is drawn upon deck is to chop off its tail, to prevent the mischief to be dreaded from its immense strength. hughes, the author of the "natural history of barbadoes," relates an anecdote which gives a good idea of the nature of this monster: "in the reign of queen anne a merchant ship from england arrived at barbadoes; some of the crew, ignorant of the danger of doing so, were bathing in the sea, when a large shark suddenly appeared swimming directly towards them. all hurried on board, and escaped, except one unfortunate fellow, who was bit in two by the shark. a comrade and friend of the man, seeing the severed body of his companion, vowed instant revenge. the voracious shark was seen swimming about in search of the rest of his prey, when the brave lad leaped into the water. he carried in his hand a long, sharp-pointed knife, and the fierce monster pushed furiously towards him. already he had turned over, and opened his huge, deadly jaws, when the youth, diving cleverly, seized the shark somewhere near the fins with his left hand, and stabbed him several times in the belly. the creature, mad with pain and streaming with blood, attempted vainly to escape. the crews of the ships near saw that the fight was over, but knew not which was slain, till, as the shark became exhausted, he rose nearer the shore, and the gallant assailant still continuing his efforts, was able, with assistance, to drag him on shore. there he ripped open the stomach of the shark and took from it the half of his friend's body, which he then buried together with the trunk half." the negroes are admirable swimmers and divers, and they sometimes attack and vanquish the terrible shark, but great skill is necessary. when sir brooke watson, as a youth, was in the west indies, he was once swimming near a ship when he saw a shark making towards him. he cried out in terror for help, and caught a rope thrown to him; but even as the men were drawing him up the side of the vessel, the monster darted after, and took off his leg at a single snap. fortunately for sea-bathers on our shores, the white shark and the monstrous hammer-headed _zygaena_ seldom appear in the colder latitudes, though both have occasionally been seen on the british coasts. the northern ocean has its peculiar sharks, but some are good-natured, like the huge basking shark, (_s maximus_), and feed on seaweeds and medusae and the rest, such as the _picked_ dog-fish, (_galeus acanthius_), are, although fierce, of too small a size to be dangerous to man. but the dog-fish and others, such as the blue shark, are very troublesome and injurious to the fisherman; though they do not venture to attack him, for they hover about his boat and cut the hooks from his lines. indeed, this sometimes leads to their own destruction; and when their teeth do not deliver them from their difficulty, the blue sharks, which hover about the coast of cornwall during the pilchard season, roll their bodies round so as to twine the line about them in its whole length, and often in such a way that mr yarrell has known a fisherman give up as hopeless the attempt to unroll it. this shark is very dangerous to the pilchard drift-net, and very often will pass along the whole length of net, cutting out, as if with shears, the fish and the net which holds them, and swallowing both together. chapter ten. ugly--plover, snipe, and rabbit shooting--a cruise proposed. recounting that last event reminds me of a well-beloved character in our cape days--one, too, that was destined to play an important part in our little drama. ugly was his name; trusty greatheart it should have been. ugly was a clipped-eared, setter-tailed, short-legged, long-haired, black-nosed, bright-eyed little mongrel. in limiting his ancestry to no particular aristocratic family, he could prove some of the blood of many. there were evident traces of the water-spaniel, the skye terrier, and that most beautiful of all the hound family--the beagle. i do not know what education ugly may have had in his earlier days, but i believe it to have been limited, though his acquirements were great. i believe him to have been a canine genius. he was as ready on the water as on the land. his feats of diving and swimming were remarkable; and a better rabbit-dog and more sagacious, courageous watchdog never lived. as to the languages, i will acknowledge he could speak none; but he understood english perfectly, and never failed to construe rightly any of mr clare's latin addresses--much better than ever walter could do. indeed, mr clare's commands to and conversations with ugly were always in latin. of his rare sagacity and unbounded affection there are proofs to be furnished further on in this narrative. harry higginson and walter had guns, and they alone of our number were allowed to use them. that exclusion never caused me any regrets, nor do i think it troubled alfred higginson, but it was a constant pain to drake. he loved a gun, and his most golden dream of manhood's happiness was the possession of a good fowling-piece. the prohibition of our parents, however, was so stringent in this particular that poor drake never sighted along the bright barrels nor even touched the well-oiled stocks but once while we were at the cape. there they stood, always ready, in a corner of our attic--where drake, alf, and i could not touch them, but ready at any time for the pleasure of walter and harry. walter was an accomplished shot, and harry was not a bad one. harry had not had the training of walter, whom my father had taught--not commencing with stationary objects, but with targets thrown in the air, and small, slow-winged birds as they flitted near the ground. my father had at first made him practise for a long time without caps, powder, or shot, merely in quickly bringing the stock close to the shoulder, and getting the eye directly behind the breech. when proficiency in that had become a mechanical habit, the gun was loaded, and then commenced the practice of shooting at moving objects. as the art of bringing the gun properly to the cheek had been so thoroughly mastered as to require no effort nor attention, walter could, when an object was thrown up, direct all his care to bringing the muzzle of the piece--the sight-- directly on that object. my father's reason for teaching him first to shoot at flying marks was to prevent the habit of dwelling long on an aim--that habit of following or _poking_ at the bird which ruins good shooting, and prevents the possibility of becoming a good snap shot. and so, afterwards, drake and i were taught; and boys who are learning to shoot will find, that by remembering and practising the method i have described, instead of commencing by taking long, deliberate aims at stationary objects, they will get ahead surprisingly fast, far outstripping those who learn by the latter way. in our rambles about the cape, ugly soon displayed his talent for rabbit-hunting. he would smell where bunny had been wandering and follow the track until he started miss long-ears from her covert, and then the fun began--the rabbit leaping off in frightened haste, running for life, winding and dodging about over the swells of the sparse grass hillocks, while ugly, mad with excitement, spread his long, low body down to the chase. how the little fellow would put in his nose close to the ground, staunch on the trail as the best-blooded hound, and making the air ring with his sharp but musical bark! i tell you that was fun! ugly always stuck to his game until he had run it to its burrow. he had not the speed to overtake it. the summer is not the proper season for rabbit-shooting; so walter, who was never to be tempted by the best chance of killing game even a day out of season, would not permit either harry or himself to shoot at the objects of ugly's furious energy until it was legitimate. that conduct of walter and harry was beyond ugly's comprehension. i have often seen him try to understand it. the chase having ended as usual in a safe burrow, i have noticed ugly--who, after a very short experience, had learned not to waste his time in vain digging--turn toward us with a waddling, disconsolate trot, and having approached a few rods, stop and sit down to revolve the puzzle over in his mind. he would look where the rabbit had housed himself, then drop his head, cock up an ear, and cast an inquiring glance toward us, as much as to say: "why, _do_ tell ugly why you did not shoot that old lap-ears? ah!" that operation he would repeat several times before rejoining us, and when he had come up he would cock his head first one side and then the other, and look into our faces with most beseeching questioning in those great, keen, brown eyes of his. then he would hang behind on our way home, evidently greatly distressed at his ignorance. never mind, good ugly! i believe you were fully rewarded for weeks of bewilderment when the time did come for knocking over bunnies. one afternoon, in returning from one of those rambles, we met our salt tute hurrying towards us in a great state of haste and perspiration. when near enough for his hoarse bass voice to reach us, he hailed-- "well, there you are, boys, at last! i have been hunting for you all over the cape for the last hour. ah! ugly, boy, are you glad to see the old captain trudging over the rabbit-ground? eh? shaggy boy! and you have been running the bunnies till you are blown, and your masters would not shoot--eh? well, no matter; the captain shall bring his marline-spike along some day, and help you bag them. but, my affectionate pup, do you take a turn in that tail, or you'll wag it off some windy day." so ugly sat down--a long, red, wet tongue hanging from the side of his mouth--and whipped the grass between the captain's boots with that restless tail until we came up. "why, captain mugford," said walter, "i did not know you ever wanted _us_." "no? well, i do though, just now. you see, boys, as to-morrow will be saturday, with every prospect of fair weather and a good breeze, i thought we might go on a cruise--start early, get our meals on board, run off to the fishing-grounds, and make a voyage of general exploration. and to do this we must get our traps aboard this evening, and see that everything is in order on board the _youth_." "good! nothing could suit us better, captain. i'll run to the house with the guns," said harry, "and we can all go at once off to the _youth_." "mr clare," continued captain mugford, "can't go with us, he says, but must walk over to q---town and spend the day. that's a pity, for i calculated on having a capital time all together, on a voyage like this one we propose." "well, we boys," said walter, "will ask him this evening to put off his visit. perhaps he may change his mind." when harry returned we went down to our cutter, all in great spirits on account of the fun proposed for the next day. getting on board, we mopped and swabbed her out well, overhauled the ropes and sails, and hauled down the pennant to take home with us for juno to mend where it had frayed out on the point. that work being completed, we went to the house for such provisions as we should want on our excursion. juno put up a large supply for one day--ground coffee, eggs, biscuit, cold mutton, a cold turkey, and several currant and apple pies, besides butter, salt, etcetera--and clump conveyed it down to the _youth_ for us on a wheelbarrow. the provisions were carefully stowed in the forepeak, and everything being arranged, we appointed ugly to act as a guard over our craft during the night. harry briefly explained it to him. "look here, ugly, you are to stay here to-night and look after the things. of course you are not to come ashore or leave duty for a minute. we shall be down early in the morning. be ready to receive us with proper ceremonies, for we are off on a cruise, old boatswain, to-morrow. look, ugly; i put your supper in this stern locker. do you see?" ugly was at first rather disappointed at the prospect of being separated from us for the night, but as harry's harangue proceeded and he began to comprehend the honour of the duty required aboard ship, he bristled up and grew as stiff and important as his inches would allow. he turned his nose to watch where the supper was placed, and then walked forward and took a seat on the bow assuming a comical air of "captaincy;" so pantomimic was it that captain mugford laughed aloud, and said: "well done, ugly; where, my fine fellow, did you learn quarterdeck airs?" "good-night, captain ugly," we cried, as we pushed for the shore in the punt. "good-night, boy; can't you say something, captain gruff?" at which address ugly rose up and, putting his forefeet on the larboard gunwale, barked three loud, clear notes, and we gave three laughing cheers as he returned to his post by the bowsprit. before going to bed that night, i went out in the kitchen to put a pair of my shoes to dry, and found clump and juno, as usual in the evenings, smoking and dozing over the fire. wondering at the amount of comfort these old folk seemed to find in tobacco, i asked clump why he smoked so much. "fur constellation, massa bob--fur constellation; dat's ol," he answered. "oh, that is it, clump--consolation, eh? well, i must get a pipe some time and try it," i said. "no, massa bob," joined in juno, who was knocking out the ashes from her pipe on the head of the fire-dog--"no, massa bob you'se munno 'moke. 'spects, ef you'se do, you find de way tur constollaton, dat ole clump talk of, cum tru much tribble-laison--he! he! he!" i had to laugh at the old woman's wit. as for clump, he rubbed his shins and "yaw-ha'd" over his wife's speech for five minutes. as i was going off to bed, juno called me back in a hesitating way, and said in a low, frightened voice: "massa bob, sum-how dis ole woman ees 'feared 'bout ter'morrow. you'se gwine sure?" "of course, juno," i replied. "and what are you afraid of? i would not stay at home for ten pounds." "dis chile's sorry--sorry," she continued, "but de lor' ees my strong 'an my sheel." she was speaking very slowly, and had bent over the fire to rake the ashes together. she went on muttering some more of the bible texts she always called on in any perplexity, until a new idea flashed to her from some uncovered ember, and she turned quickly, laughing in a low, shrill way, "he! he! he! woy'se ole juno afeer'd? he! he! he! 'spects it on'y debbil dat has tole lies to dis poor ole nigger when she's 'sleep." chapter eleven. a memorable cruise commences. we had nearly reached our cutter before the sun lifted its yellowish, red sphere, with just such an expression as a jolly, fat, old alderman accustomed to good cheer might present, on raising his head from the folds of a comfortable night's pillow. it looked about in a dim, bewildered way at first, as if trying to wake up and make out what was the matter--that dark, vast, heaving, rolling sea, the rocks and capes touched with light, and a great land behind them yet dark and undefined; all so quiet too; and the soft, pink mist that rolled away in smoke-like clouds--rolled away over the billowy surface of the ocean toward the land, and, frightened, perhaps, by that red apparition on the eastern horizon, faded from sight, or rose for shelter to the sky above. it was bravely up now; had mastered the situation, dispelled the night. the great honest face took a king's expression, and breathing bounty, warmth, and courage, blessed the scene it looked upon. then how the birds sang out, how sea and land grew beautiful and full of voice, how the clouds dressed their ranks and marched on their way. and the irrepressible exclamation came from all our boy lips at once, "how glorious!" ugly saluted us in a most vociferous manner, continuing his welcome from the time we left the shore to the moment we reached the yacht. "behold," said harry, "our rear-admiral waving his ta--i beg his honour's pardon--flag." yes--old ugly kept his tail going in utmost delight, whilst he ran from one end to the other of the gunwale, assuring us that all was safe. sure enough, everything was in good order, but the supper had not been eaten. it had been pulled out of the after-cabin and inspected--that was all. now ugly's supper consisted of two things he could never be induced to eat--ham and cold potatoes; and harry, from mischief--he knew, however, that the dog had had a hearty dinner--prepared those things purposely, supposing that ugly's daintiness would fail in a twelve hours fast. but no; there the edibles were untouched. "come here, sir," said harry to ugly; "now why have you not eaten this nice meal, eh?" ugly's answer was merely to turn his head one side and look out at the sea, as if very much interested in something he saw--so much so as not to be able to attend to what harry asked him. "you dainty rascal, come along and eat this meal; it is good enough for any dog." and harry put the despised victuals on another part of the deck, and, quite unintentionally, within a foot of the port scuppers. "here, ugly, eat it, sir, every bit of it." ugly's sensitive little spirit could not brook such a public mortification; but he was obedient in part. he approached the pieces slowly--in a dignified, contemptuous way--as he would have gone up to a cat, and, putting his nose to them, gave a push--away they flew into the sea. shouts of laughter greeted the act--harry's the loudest--and he completed his attempt at discipline by calling to ugly, "come here, thou pluckiest and smartest of dogs. if you won't eat sailors' rations, come feast at the officers' mess on the luxuries of the fleet. how will that do, eh, old fellow?" cutting him off, as he spoke, a fat slice of mutton. "another? well there! bread and butter? well, there is as much as you can eat;" and ugly stowed it all away, triumph beaming in his eyes and wagging from his tail. "come, boys, now," said the captain, "let's get under way. cast loose the sails, alfred and bob. drake, stand by to hoist the mainsail. walter, take the helm. i want you to act as sailing-master this morning. drake and i will get up the anchor. is the mainsail ready for hoisting?" "aye, aye, sir," replied drake. "then up with it. there--good!" "are your halliards all clear there, boys?" "aye, aye, sir," came from alf and bob. "hoist the jib, my hearties," cried the captain, as the anchor came up. "keep her head for the old church tower, walter. there--steady, steady." the captain and drake now secured the anchor, and the next order given was-- "now, alf, another pull on your main halliards. get them well up. all right? make fast." the captain lifted his hat and wiped with the bandanna his red forehead. then he shook out a reef in his suspenders, and threw back his coat. "by golly! my hearties, we are snug now, ship and cargo; and what an air to breathe! i only wish this was a good ship of twelve hundred tons or so, captain mugford the skipper, and we were all bound for calcutta together this splendid morning." "don't i--don't i," came from each of us in response. "now, my mates," called the captain again, "we'll go about presently, when we get abreast of that tanned-sailed fishing-boat there off the port bow, and then, walter, you can head her right out of the harbour. let her go south-east-by-east, and we'll about fetch in ten miles as nice a bank for cod and halibut as there is off the coast. it is a small spot to get on nicely, and difficult to drop on often in just the right place; but it's no riddle to me, and if this breeze freshens a bit, as i think it will with the young flood, you can get out your lines in about one hour. so now let's have breakfast--the little rear-admiral, you know, had his long ago." yes--and the consequential ugly was occupying a comfortable seat right under the jib, and only turned his head the least bit when he heard the captain's mention of him. "keep her full now, walter, ready to go about. let go the jib-sheet, bob; and now, down with your helm, walter!" the mainsail flapped twice. by that time the foresail had filled on the other tack. the cutter went about like a dancer on her heel, and we were off on the other tack, standing out of the harbour for the open sea ahead. then, the breakfast having been got out of the cuddy in the meanwhile, and arranged for our onset by drake, we seized cups, knives and forks, and were soon very busy. what a glorious thing to remember and marvel at, and wish back again, is a boy's appetite. and if any good old fellow is reading, who is not ashamed to recall those best of days--boyhood days--who is not ashamed to recall them, aye, with pride and smiles, let him think now of the suppers after saturday tramps, of the christmas and michaelmas dinners, and of meals like that i am describing, when, after two hours in the early morning air, bowling along in our cutter, the sea-breeze swelling out our lungs as it did the sails, with merry hearts and perfect digestions, we found real fun--true animal happiness--in good bread and butter, a leg of cold mutton, and a cup of coffee. and to see the best of good skippers--as our dear old salt tute was--let himself down in a right angle after that on the deck, his back against the weather-side of the mast, and, heaving a sigh of vast internal satisfaction, draw out his pipe slowly, as if it was a ceremony too precious to be hurried, and, having put it just right in his lips and lighted it, puff the first long sweet wreaths of smoke; ah! that was a picture of creature happiness. chapter twelve. good sport--an exciting sail--cast away. the absence of mr clare was the only drawback to our pleasure that morning. he had told us the evening before that he should probably return from his visit the same day, getting home about the time we expected to be back--about sundown, which at that date in september was at twenty minutes after six. he said, however, that possibly he might remain in q---town until after sunday morning service. when captain mugford had completed his smoke, by which time we had a fine steady breeze from the south-east, he rose from his luxurious position and took walter's place at the helm, saying-- "not a permanent removal, walter, but only until i can put the cutter just where i want her for fish. fifteen minutes more will do that; so you had better go forward to drake and get the anchor all ready to let go. you other boys can stand by the sails." the captain noted carefully the changing colour of the water as we drew over some bank, and he took bearings, too, from points on the land we had left nearly ten miles astern. in a few minutes he luffed a bit and sang out-- "down with your foresail! get in the jib." the bowsprit pointed right in the wind's eye, and the boom hung fore and aft, the sail empty, as the cutter lost her headway. "is that anchor ready?" "aye, aye, sir!" replied walter and drake. "let go! about five fathoms, is it?" called the captain. "about that!" the boys answered. "that's just what we want. make fast! now stow the mainsail, so that it won't be in the way of your lines, and fish. there, that will do! now, all to the lines! who'll have the first fish?" in a minute drake hauled that up--a cod--and the fun commenced. cod and bass, and now and then a halibut, as fast as we could bait and pull! there was soon a lively flopping in our craft, and now and then a dog-fish would take hold, much to our annoyance, for generally he broke the hook or line, or else, if we got him in, made such a furious lashing about our legs that we had to finish him with a hatchet. we lay at anchor there until we had had fishing enough. about two o'clock we stopped, having caught, as near as the captain could estimate, between one and two hundred pounds of cod, a dog-fish, and eleven sea-bass--not the striped bass, such as we took off the rocks with a troll line in rough water: that was the _labrax lineatus_; but the sea-bass, the _centropristes nigricans_, superior in title, but inferior in every other way to the striped bass. it was a job to pitch the fish together and out of the way, and then clean the blood, slime, and wet from our deck and get ready for making sail; but after some work it was done, and our lines stowed away. "now, boys," said the captain, "we will have dinner, and get under way again. as the wind has hauled around to the east, we will take our course for the north. i want to show you that shore, it is so bold and wild. with such a stiff wind i reckon we can run up ten miles nearly, and then turn about and get home _easily_ before dark. i say, boys, won't mr clare wish he had had a hand in catching that haul?" having finished the cold dinner with such an appetite as pleasure, exercise, and sea air give, we made sail and stood to the northward. the breeze was so fresh before long that the captain told us to take a reef in our mainsail. walter held the helm, and in little more than an hour we were sailing near the grand rugged shore that captain mugford had wished us to see. here and there, in little coves defended by rocky sides, were the cottages of fishermen, and then great headlands of cavernous stone dashed by the waves. again the shore fell to a lower level, and pines and other trees clustered together to defy the storms, and give pleasure to the eye. farther on, the roughness of the coast vanished for a few hundred yards to make place for a yellow sandy beach where was stretched a long seine. opposite that piece of strand, and close by our cutter's course stood a small stony island, bearing a single invalid old pine, from whose topmost branch a great bald eagle rose and hovered over our craft. then the shore grew again like an impregnable fortification, and made out to a sharp cape, on the point of which stood a lonely, snow-white lighthouse. "there, boys, we must go about now," said the captain, as we neared the cape. "but see how the wind has fallen. if it holds on in this way we shan't have enough to take us home before night. let's see what o'clock it is. that lighthouse is seventeen miles from the point of our own cape." the captain fumbled away at his waist-band--encircling a rotundity like that described of saint nicholas--and pulled out his immense gold turnip. "columbus' compass! twenty minutes to five! come, walter, haul in the mainsheet, and come up to the wind. are you ready to go about? well, down with the helm then. i'll tend the jib. those boys are so busy examining the fish that we will not interrupt them." "no, sir," i said, "we are ready for anything." "oh no, bob," replied the captain, "go on with your studies. there is nothing to do just now. walter, you may steer by the shore. but i don't like this slackening of the breeze, and it is drawing more to the south-west; we shall have it right ahead soon. the sun looks ugly, too. that murky red face foretells a row of some kind." "i hope that we shall get the _youth_ safe at her moorings before night comes, or a storm either--shall we not?" asked harry. "we'll hope so," answered captain mugford, who pulled out his pipe and filled it hard, continuing, "who'll hand me out a light from the cuddy?" i went in and struck one, and brought him a match, blazing famously. "thank, you," he said. "drake--just," (puff puff)--"just shake--oh! there goes that light!" i quickly brought him another--"just shake out--that--that--" (puff, puff). he had it all right now, the smoke coming in vast volumes; so he replaced his hat and removed the pipe from his teeth for a moment to complete the order-- "drake, just shake that reef out of the mainsail." "all right, sir!" said drake. i helped him; but in half an hour the wind, as the captain had foretold, was ahead, and not strong enough to fill the sails. fifteen or sixteen miles we were from home, with every indication that a heavy squall was to follow the calm settling down upon us. the dancing white caps of the morning had died away in a quiet, sullen sea, which only a land-swell moved. the sun had gone down to within a half-hour's distance of the horizon, shining on the distant western cliffs, whose variety, boldness, and ruggedness were magnified in outline and intensified in colouring by the heavy, yellowish-red glare which fell on them, and the sun's rays shot out in long forks, piercing the dark blue of the sea at all points in the western semicircle of our view. the atmosphere had grown warm--very warm for a september afternoon. we boys felt something portentous in the scene. the captain grew uncomfortable, too, no longer laughing heartily or joining in our talk. he kept his eyes on the sky, and smoked pipe after pipe. even ugly ceased napping beside walter, and, uttering a whining yawn, as if sleepy but uneasy, walked forward to the idle foresail, and stood there with extended nose to smell out, if he could, what was wrong. so we lay for nearly an hour, our only movement being with the outgoing tide, the sails flapping with the slow swell of the sea. but when the sun had disappeared the wind commenced to come, first in little puffs, now from one quarter and then from another. the gale would be on us in a moment. the captain took the helm then, and ordered us to stand by and be ready to tend the sails. "look out, too, for the swinging of that boom," he said, "and make ugly get out of the way and lie down somewhere." ugly, hearing that speech, did not wait for further commands, but stowed himself away at the foot of the mast. now the wind came in heavier puffs, and then in squalls from the east. "i hope it will settle there," spoke out the captain. "it is coming heavier, but i hope steady." he kept his eyes on all parts of the now lowering sky, and presently added-- "take two reefs in the mainsail and shift the jib! get the storm-jib up. now hook on. run it out. hoist away." that was done, no easy matter for novices in a heavy sea, and we flew away before the increasing gale. fortunately the night was not very dark, there being a quarter moon to throw its light through the rifts of clouds. how fast the sea got up! the wind grew heavier every moment. the mast of our little cutter creaked with each plunge, and the plunges were hard and quick. the scene was truly alarming, and we felt the danger of our situation. to be sure, we were comparatively safe if the gale should grow no worse; but it was increasing every moment in a manner that threatened in another hour to be too much for us. there was danger, too, that something might be carried away, or that, in the frothy sea and uncertain light, we might strike some of the sunken rocks that now and then stood off from shore like sentries. but the _youth_ leapt furiously onward from one mad wave to another, our good captain steering with a strong hand. the black, broken clouds rolled close to the sea, which seemed striving madly to swallow them; but on they flew with the screams of the wind. the thin moonlight, streaming unsteadily through the troops of clouds across the riven waves, had a ghastly effect--sometimes obscuring, sometimes exaggerating the terrors surrounding us. the shore, a mile to leeward, was to our sight only a bristling, indefinite terror; for there, where loomed the land we longed for, was the greatest peril--the line of fierce breakers that shouted their threats in terrible chorus. i suppose we boys were all much terrified. i _quailed_ with dread, for it was my first experience of a storm on the water, and its time and appearance were so imposing. one would never have suspected from captain mugford's manner that we were in any danger. his face was as calm and his hand as steady as if we were having the pleasantest sail imaginable; only the violence with which he smoked, ramming fingers full of tobacco into his pipe every few minutes, betokened any unusual excitement, but we knew how absorbed he was in his charge by his silence. we were speechless, too, holding on fast to the backstays or gunwale to keep our places in the desperate leaps and lurches the gallant little craft was making. ugly was soon thrown from his station, and, finding he could not keep legs or position anywhere unaided, went and ensconced himself between our skipper's legs. harder, heavier blew the wind, and wilder grew the sea, so that it seemed sometimes as if we must go over, and the bowsprit now buried itself in every billow. then the captain said to us in a calm, steady voice-- "boys, you must get another reef in the mainsail and lower the foresail. now, be careful and steady about it. there is no hurry. bob, you come here; the others can manage that work. you sit aft out of the way." i did as directed; and the orders were speedily carried out without accident. boatswain's half-acre reef, a low rock that stood out at sea, about three and a half miles south-east-by-east from our cape, now came in sight ahead of us to the windward. in the spectral light, and beaten on by the waves, it looked like some sea monster moving in the water. as we were going we should probably pass close to its lee side in about ten minutes, but the wind blew a tempest, and the sea increased so in a few minutes that our peril was terrible. for two hours we had battled-- though evidently the storm was soon to be the conqueror. several seas came aboard in angry haste, and the punt, which had been in tow all day, broke loose and was carried away. another sea, stronger than its fellows, suddenly struck us a tremendous blow. the cutter heeled over, so that the water boiled above the lee gunwale. the assaulting sea, too, broke up and over the weather-side, and drenched us all in its cataract. to increase our terror, a cry came from alfred, who had been tossed from his hold and nearly cast overboard, but he caught the backstay as our yet unconquered boat rose from the blow like some brave but wounded animal. the water was several inches deep about our feet, and the good _youth_ had lost half its buoyancy. then came the captain's voice again, steady and strong, but full of feeling-- "we'll get through it yet, lads, god protecting us," he sung out. "but all hands must try and do their duty. you know nelson's last general order--`england expects that every man this day will do his duty.' that same motto carried out has saved many a stout ship and rich cargo, and the neglect of it has lost many more. now, there's work for all of you. walter, do you rig the pump, and bob, do you help him, and the rest of you set to and bale. be smart, now. there are two skids and a bucket, or use your hats. anyhow, the boat must be cleared." he spoke deliberately, not to alarm us, but at the same time we all saw that there was no time to be lost. walter and i now got the pump to work, while the rest set to and baled away with might and main. i also joined them, using my hat as the captain advised, for walter could easily work the pump by himself. still, in spite of the excellent steering of the old skipper, the seas came tumbling in over the bows and sides also so rapidly that it was hard work for us to keep the boat clear. besides this, (notwithstanding her name, being an old boat), she strained so much that the seams opened and made her leak fearfully. it soon, indeed, became a question--and a very serious one--whether the boat could be kept afloat till we should reach our own harbour. we were now laying well up for the cape, though we were making what sailors call "very bad weather of it;" but, should the wind shift a little, and come more ahead, we might have a dead beat of several hours before us. we saw the skipper looking out anxiously at the reef i have described. a considerable portion, even at the highest tides, was several feet above water, and easily accessible. as the rock also afforded a shelter to numerous seafowl, which built their nests in its crevices, it would afford some security to a few human beings. still, during a gale such as was now blowing, the sea washed tumultuously round the rock, and rendered the landing--even on the lee side--not only difficult but dangerous. i, for one, did not at all like the condition of the boat; still, as the skipper had hitherto said nothing, i did not like to propose that we should try to land on the reef. the old man was silent for some time; he again scanned the reef, and then he turned his eyes to the distant shore. "boys," he said at last, "i wish you not to be alarmed. the boat may very possibly keep above water till we reach the cape, if you can bale out the seas as fast as they wash in; but i am bound to tell you that there is a risk of our being swamped if we were to meet such a sea as i have seen, under like circumstances, come rolling in. there lies boatswain's reef--in five minutes we may be safe upon it--but much depends on your coolness and courage. the most difficult and dangerous movement will be the leaping on shore. do you, walter, make a rope fast round the bits; unreeve the fore halliards, they will suit best, and are new and strong. that will do; secure them well, and coil the rope carefully, so that it may run out free of everything. now stand with the rope in your hand, and as i bring the boat up to the rock, do you leap out, and spring up to the upper part, where you will find a jagged point or more to which to make it fast. the rest of you, when the boat touches the rock, be ready to spring on shore; but remember, don't spring till i tell you. i'll call each of you by name, and the first on shore must stand by to help the others. there, i can't say more, except one word--be steady, and cool, and trust in god." walter did as directed, and we all stood watching the skipper's eye, that we might obey him directly he gave the word. it is a most important thing to have confidence in a commander. it is the great secret of england's success in most instances. although there may be many shortcomings, both her soldiers and sailors know that, in nine cases out of ten, they will be well and bravely led, and the officers know also that they will be thoroughly supported by the men. if they go ahead, there will never be a want of men to follow them, even to the cannon's mouth. on we dashed, amid the boiling, foaming seas. we had to continue pumping and baling as energetically as before. had we ceased, but for half a minute, it seemed as if the boat would to a certainty go down, even before we could reach the rock. captain mugford did not address us again, but kept his eyes watching, now the heavy seas which came rolling up on the weather bow, and now the black rock towards which we were standing. all the time we kept carefully edging away, till we were under the lee of the reef--of that part, however, over which the sea broke with great force. still, the water was smoother than it had been for some time. we stood on, continuing to bale. suddenly the captain cried out, "now, lads, to your feet, and be ready to spring on shore when i give the word." we all jumped up. walter stepped forward and took the rope in his hand, as he had been directed. the captain luffed up, and ran the boat alongside the rock; but there was still great way on her, and a tremendous crashing sound showed us that she had struck the rock below water. walter sprang on shore, drake and harry followed, and as he leapt to the top of the rock, followed to help him make fast the rope round one of its roughest projections. ugly sprang at the same time, and the rest of us went next--not a moment too soon. i was the last of the boys. the captain came close behind me. he was securing another rope round the mast, and, with the end of it in his hand, he leapt on to the rock. as he left the deck, the boat seemed to glide from under him. "haul, boys! haul! all together," he shouted. our united efforts, aided by the surging water, got the fast sinking boat on to a rock. there the boat lay, little better than a wreck; but we were safe. we now saw how anxious our good skipper had been, for, taking off his hat, and looking up to heaven, he exclaimed, with a fervour i did not expect, "thank god for his great mercy--they are all safe." chapter thirteen. night on the reef--our salt tute's sermon. our "salt tute" had gone through many a storm at sea; had once escaped, the only soul saved out of fifty-three, from a foundered bark, and endured five days' suffering, without bread or water, on a raft. but, as i heard him tell mr clare afterwards, he had never undergone an experience more painful than those two or three hours of gale in our little cutter. it was his affection for us boys; the reflection that he had proposed the pleasure sail, and the terrible sense of responsibility: those together had tried the old man's heart, head, and nerves, as they had never been tried before. among the exciting events of that night, one circumstance impressed me with astonishment, though it was but small matter perhaps for a boy to have noticed at such a time. it was that the captain several times expressed himself in terms of piety, and even ejaculated that prayer when our safety was secured. we had sometimes heard him swear before that, and had always noticed, in contrast to mr clare, his indifference to any religious service or subject; indeed, the only emotion we had ever seen him display with regard to such matters was on the occasion of mr clare's address after the combat between drake and alfred. it was eight o'clock when we landed on our little rocky island of deliverance. boatswain's reef was, as its name described, only half an acre in extent--a jagged, stony reef, raised but a few yards at its highest point above high-tide mark. very cold, somewhat anxious, and much exhausted, we found in a few moments the only shelter it afforded--a level place of sand and sea grass, about six yards square, defended on the south-west by a miniature cliff. there a lot of seaweed had accumulated, and the driftings of many gales collected. several barrel staves, a large worm-eaten ship's knee, part of a vessel's stern, with all but the letters "conq" obliterated, (the name had probably been _conqueror_, conquered now, as alfred observed, by old ocean); and many pieces and splinters of spar. the captain made the discovery with us, and immediately suggested that we should shelter ourselves there and light a fire. "thanks, boys, to the necessities of my pipe, i always have a tinder-box in my pockets. perhaps there are some not wet. here, hunt for them; i'll throw off my pea-jacket, for i must go to work and try to save something from the poor _youth_--our grub at least. i want you to stay where you are, out of the storm, and to get a good fire going. it may possibly show them on the cape that we are safe." "o captain!" exclaimed walter, "do let me help you. i don't want to sit here and do nothing but build a fire whilst you are at work and perhaps in danger." "come along, then, as you are the biggest and strongest--come along," replied the captain, and away they hurried to where our good old boat was groaning on the beach and pounding against rocks with every beat of the sea. she had been driven up too far to get off easily, but with a big hole in her bows it seemed probable that she would go to pieces before morning. the sky was black everywhere. the roar of wind and waves was tremendous. the spray dashed in sheets, at every blow of the sea, over our spot of defence, so that it was difficult to start a fire. we were successful, though, and its light showed the figures of the captain and walter, by the stranded boat, climbing on board through the froth of the surf; pitched up and down as she tossed and bumped; getting down the tattered sail and hauling it ashore; jumping on the beach again with coils of rope; saving all that could be saved. and then, the tide having risen high, both together left her for the last time, bearing, at much risk, the anchor with them, which they fastened in a cleft of the rocks, that when our dear old boat--the home of many and many a fine time--did break up, something might be left of her. we could not hear their voices, but saw the gestures for us to come and help, and in a few minutes we were all engaged carrying the rescued remnants up to our safe place. ugly helped. first he dragged a coil of rope and laid it beside the cliff; then he got hold of a loaf of bread which had dropped from among the other provisions, and carried that with some trouble but much pride. in the storm and darkness, only fitfully broken by the firelight, we ate our supper under what shelter the low cliff afforded. our boyish spirits were much subdued and awed by the peril we had passed through and the sombre scene about us. the meal being finished, we made some preparations for the night, fastening the sail, by the weight of large stones laid on one edge of it, to the top of the rock, and then bringing its other edge, the boom side, to the ground and steadying it there with pegs. in that way we constructed a kind of tent, in which we piled a bedding and covering of dry seaweed. the captain stood by the fire, smoking his pipe and watching our arrangements. when they were completed, and we boys, gratified with our success, began to declare our situation "rather jolly," he interrupted us somewhat abruptly in this way:-- "you chaps always say your prayers before you sleep, i dare say. if so, you'll not forget them to-night--will you?" "no, sir," we answered. "young shipmates, you remember how mr clare talked to you one day in the _clear the track_--eh? well, then, for the first time in nigh forty years--think of that, nigh _forty_ years--i said my prayers, the only ones i ever said, that my--mo--ther taught me; and somehow they came so clear to me that i felt like as if my--mo--ther was kneeling beside me. i ran away to sea, like the young fool that i was, when i was eleven years old. it was going on four years before i came back to my old home. i had forgotten my prayers. i tried hard to remember them, too, _then_, and some of the scripture stories and lessons my--mo--ther used to teach me; for she was--gone." his voice did not tremble, but he spoke very slowly, as if he wanted to speak out to us, and yet wished to do it without betraying the deep feeling that the events of the evening had intensified. each time before he spoke the words "my mother," he took the pipe from his mouth and hesitated a moment, as if to steady himself. somehow the old captain's voice was softer, i thought, than i had ever heard it before-- it may have been fatigue and the noises of the storm that made it sound so. his face, too, looked to me as if it had lost its hard lines and roughness--perhaps the firelight caused that to seem so. and those bold, sharp eyes of his were as gentle as my little sister aggie's. he continued:-- "hard times a youngster often has at sea, not in all ships, but in many, i tell you, and bad companions on every side. no gentle looks or kind words, but knocks and oaths. no time to read, and all that; hardly a chance to think. well, i was a bad one, and worse when i went back again, and had my--mo--ther no longer to love me, and no one anywhere in the world to care a button for rowly," (his christian name was roland). "i was a pretty reckless, hearty, devil-me-care fellow, i tell you. i could rough it and fight my way with the strongest, and never thought further ahead than the moment i was living in. so, for thirty years and more i knocked about the world, coming scot-free through a thousand dangers. yes, and i got ahead all the time and prospered, thinking mighty well of myself, my _good luck_, clear head, and tough arm. i never thought of god. i don't know but that i had almost forgotten that there was a god; at any rate, if i thought of him, it was with doubt and indifference. yet, boys, in all that time, `he cared for me, upheld me, _blessed me_.'" his words grew hurried and thick, his head was turned so i could not see his face, and the old black pipe had fallen from his fingers to the ground. ugly walked around and snuffed at it in amazement. but the captain went on:-- "now i feel it all--_how_ i _feel_ it--since i heard mr clare that day. nearly forty years deaf, but i hear god's voice within me _now_, louder and louder every day; and what has he done for us to-day? how he has spoken! ah! boys, you'll never be the old sinner i have been. `remember _thy_ creator in the days of thy youth.' part of the only hymn i can remember, of my mother's, has come again and again to my ear to-night--that-- "`god moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.' "i forget the rest, except-- "`trust him for his grace: behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face.' "boys! turn in now. i am on watch, and shall keep the fire going. turn in, i tell you." with those last words to finish his talk and order us to bed, his voice regained its sailor-like strength and roughness, but it melted again as he added-- "my dear old boys, we shall all pray to-night, eh? and from wiser and better hearts. _thank god_!" the last things i was conscious of that night were the whistling of the wind and the roaring of the waves, and the snapping and fizzing of the red embers, thus telling their stories to the storm of the brave ships of which they once formed parts. chapter fourteen. ugly volunteers--our fresh tute to the rescue! "poor old robinson crusoe! poor old robinson crusoe! they made him a coat of an old nanny-goat: i wonder how they could do so! with a ring a ting tang, and a ring a ting tang, poor old robinson crusoe." _mother goose_. the storm broke before morning, and a clear fresh september day opened on us castaways. there was no exertion of ours that could get us home, for our little cutter was a complete wreck, and we had but one of the many requisites for constructing a boat or raft--it consisted of the few planks and timbers of the wreck of the boat which still held together or had been washed upon the beach, and which, if we were not rescued before another morning, must be employed in feeding our fire. all the provisions we had taken with us on our day's voyage were consumed, except one loaf of bread and two pies, but a sufficient supply of the fish had been brought from the cutter to feed us for several meals. of water--the greatest necessity--there was not a drop on boatswain's half-acre. during the morning, the want of that became a pain, and before night any one of us would have given all he possessed for a single glass of cold water. captain mugford told us that now, for the fourth time in his life, he knew the suffering of thirst. we must wait to be discovered, to be rescued, and before that we _might die_ of thirst, for our island was only a low rock, and vessels going up and down channel kept generally too far from the reef to allow us to be seen by them on board. we could see our cape, and even the old house, but had no way of making signals, except by the fire at night. beautiful as was the day, it was one only of pain and anxiety to us. of the few sails we saw, not one came within three miles of us. where could mr clare be all this time? the sea fell so fast that by two o'clock in the afternoon it was smooth as a lake. harry higginson and i sat looking at it on a point of the reef, with ugly by our side. ugly's tongue hung dry from his mouth, and he panted for a drop of water, but he was pained, too, i am sure, because of our silence and dejection. watching our faces, as if wondering what he could do for us, he at length walked down to the waterline and looked across to the cape with a long whine. then he ran back and put his paws on harry's knee, as if he would have him say something. so harry patted his head and said, "yes, old boy, i wish we could get there." he sprang down again and commenced to bark, pointing his nose towards the cape. i called to him, "don't be a fool, ugly; your little bark can't reach them." he cried and ran back to harry, but in a second more, barking like fury, he ran to the water and swam off in the direction of our home. we called to him again and again, entreating and commanding his return; but he paid no attention to us, and swam on. we were filled with sorrow and alarm, for surely little ugly could not swim that distance--over three miles. we called to the captain and the boys, and in a few minutes we were all standing watching the progress of brave ugly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ what was going on at the cape all this time? mr clare did not return on saturday, and as night set in without our appearance, clump and juno got anxious. having, however, great confidence in the captain's care and skill, they were not so much alarmed as they might have been, supposing that he, seeing the approaching gale, had made some harbour, and that there we should stay until the weather changed. for some reason, both clump and juno supposed we had gone to the westward. that shore was broken by several bays and small rivers, and eleven miles westward was the fishing-village of ---. nevertheless, the good old people were somewhat alarmed, and sat up all night over their kitchen fire. by ten o'clock of the next day their fears had grown too troublesome to allow further inaction. clump pulled over in his punt to the village, across the bay. there he got some sailors to take a boat and go down the south coast to look for us, and gathering all the advice and surmises he could, (which were not consoling), from seafaring men he knew, returned to the cape. when juno heard clump's report, her distress was very great. as she groaned, and wiped her wet, shrivelled eyes with a duster, she said-- "lor' o' marsy! clump, ef harm's cum ter dem chiles ob massa tregellin--den--den--you berry me--berry dis ole 'ooman deep." "now, toff your mout, june--toff your mout! wen i'se done berry you, ou yer 'spects gwine 'posit clump en de bowels ob de arth, ay? he jist stay here and _tink_."--he did not mean _think_, but another word commencing with that unpronounceable _s_--"you'se fool, ole 'ooman; when you'se begin mittrut de lor', ay?" clump was so frightened himself that he had to talk pretty strong to his spouse. mr clare, after morning service in the church at q---town, where he had gone to hear a college friend preach, took advantage of the lovely autumn day to walk home, which was about ten miles. he made his way slowly, enjoying every foot of the road, little contemplating the shock he was to receive at his journey's end. he heard clump and juno's report without a word, only growing paler and paler. then he sat down and covered his face, and, after a moment of silence, asked the negroes certain questions as to the course they supposed us to have taken, as to the storm on the cape, etcetera, etcetera. he started off after that on a hard run for bath bay, where he jumped into a boat, and, pulling out into the greater bay, rowed with all his strength over to the village; but his inquiries there could gain no information, so he hired a small schooner-rigged boat and its owner to go out with him and hunt us up, or find some trace of our fate. mr clare could not be still whilst the boatman, who had to go up to his home first, was getting ready, but ordered him to make all haste and call for him off the cape, and then he jumped into his own boat again and recrossed to the cape. but the boatman took a long time in coming, mr clare walking up and down the cape in the meanwhile, a prey to the gloomiest apprehensions. it was nearly five o'clock before mr clare saw his boat drawing near. at the same moment he heard a scampering through the short, dry grass behind him, and the wheezing of some animal breathing thick and quick. turning, he saw, greatly to his surprise, ugly coming towards him as fast as he could run. poor little ugly was dripping with water, and completely blown and tired out--so tired that, when he had reached mr clare's feet, he could only lie down there and pant. mr clare knew there was some important reason for ugly's appearing in that manner, and though he did not suspect the exact state of the case, yet he lifted him in his arms and got on board the boat, which had now hauled in close to the rocks. "which way will're go, sir?" asked the grey, gruff boatman. "keep down south of the cape, near in shore. clump says they went west," answered mr clare. poor ugly had somewhat recovered by being wrapped up in mr clare's warm coat, and when he had put his nose into a pail of water that was on board, he kept it there until the bucket was empty, much to the surprise of both mr clare and phil grayson, the old boatman. further strengthened and refreshed by something to eat, ugly jumped up on the bow to see where they were going. he showed evident signs of disapprobation when he saw the boat steering west; running to the stern, he there stretched his nose out to the east, and barked furiously. mr clare, thinking from the negroes' assertions that he must be on the right track, could not understand ugly's uneasiness. how he had reached the cape, although it was evident he had been in the water somewhere, mr clare did not know, nor could he guess, of course, whence he had come. he only hoped that ugly had left us in safety, and had come in some way to get assistance. it was nearly dark, and the wind had gone down with the sun. soon the boat lay becalmed. ugly showed an unmistakable disposition to jump overboard, which, however, was partly quieted when he saw mr clare and old phil use the oars; but when they persevered on the westerly course, ugly, with an angry bark, sprang overboard and swam in an opposite direction. that movement proved to mr clare that they were going wrong, so the boat was turned and pulled in ugly's wake until he was overhauled and taken on board. he shook himself, wagged his tail frantically, and kissed the hands of both phil and mr clare. it was but slow progress with the oars against the ebb-tide. in about an hour, however, the first whiffs of the night-breeze came to fill the sails, and the oars were put in. they had rounded the cape, and old phil asked again-- "whar ne-e-ow, capting--in shore, you think, or straight ahead?" "near the shore, i should think, just br--" but mr clare's reply was interrupted by ugly's barking. skipper phil put the boat's head to the north-east, to get nearer in shore as mr clare had said, and--splash! ugly was overboard again and making for the east. "you see, phil," said mr clare, "you must get sailing-orders from ugly, not me; and, phil, i begin to be much encouraged by that dog's actions. he does not hesitate, but seems to have something important to do, and to feel confidence in his ability to do it." "that's so, capting," answered phil, as, having got the boat about, he belayed the sheets and put the other hand to the helm; "he's a clever animal, he is. it seems to me that ar dog understands talk like a christian. did you take notice h-e-ow he was overboard as quick as you spoke, afore i started a shut? but whar are we going?--that's what i want to know." "phil," interrupted mr clare, "what light is that flaring up away ahead there on your lee bow?" "by god, i see! the sails hid that--they did," phil grumbled, and bent down to see beneath the sails. he chuckled some time before he answered, and his chuckle grew to a laugh. "ha! ha! ha!--that ar light is on boatswain's reef, just as sure as my name is phil grayson. mr clare--hurrah!--your boys are safe." ugly, who had been lifted on board before that, joined his rejoicing bark to the skipper's merriment, and from the reef came a distant hallooing. the flames at the reef grew brighter and higher. the sparks flashed and flew up to the dark sky. the shouting increased to yells. the rescuers on the schooner answered; and as for ugly, the hero of our deliverance, he was almost frantic with delight. the first words that were distinguishable from the reef were-- "is that you, mr clare? have you any water on board?" "yes!" was responded. "oh! do hurry, then--we can't stand this any longer!" cried out harry. in two hours more as happy a boatload as ever floated was springing before a fresh breeze toward the cape. long before we touched shore our glad halloos had reached the old house, and lifted a heavy weight from the hearts of clump and juno. they met us on the rocks, and each one of us had to undergo an embrace from their sable excellencies, ay, excellencies indeed, in devotion and uprightness such as this world seldom sees surpassed. even captain mugford did not escape the ardour of the welcome; and whilst they hugged us the dear old negroes were crying like children, from joy. chapter fifteen. evenings on the wreck, with a story from the captain. the favourite season of girls is, i think, spring; and of boys, autumn. one is the time of dreams, flowers, and emotions; the other, the period of hopes, courage, and accomplishment. october, the fulness of autumn, with its cool, clear, bracing air; with its gathered crops, rustling leaves, and golden light: october, when days of furious storm are succeeded by weeks of hazy sunshine and muffled quiet; when the fish are fat but greedy; when quacking seafowl and game of every kind tempt the lovers of good sport-- ah! that is the time for boys. we fellows gulped it up as the hounds do their meat when distributed to them, for by the end of october we should finish our six months at the cape. this dashed our cup of happiness with regret, as the falling leaves and low winds moaning of winter touch october with a tint of sadness. but in one case, as in the other, the spice of regret was just what gave zest to the enjoyment of our pleasure. the days being so short, it got to be our habit to improve every one of our daylight hours, out of school, in the many sports which invited us, and to do our studying in the evenings. so every night, as soon as supper was finished, we repaired with mr clare to the schoolroom in the old brig. there would be a wood-fire crackling in the stove, and two shaded, bright lamps hanging over the tables. we took up our studies, and mr clare sat by, ready to answer questions or give explanations. when not busied with us he smoked and chatted with captain mugford, or read the papers and magazines. ugly had his place on a mat where he could hear and see all that was going on. generally, during some portion of the evening, the captain spread out his great red bandanna on his knees, and took a loud-snoring nap. every movement of our salt tute's was interpreted by some corresponding signal of the bandanna handkerchief. when perplexed, he wiped his forehead with it; when amused, it blew a merry peal on his nose; in moments of excitement or delight, it was snapped by his side; when sleepy, he spread it on his lap; and once, i remember, he suddenly stowed it away-- when much enraged by an impudent fellow who was shooting on our cape--in the stomach of his breeches instead of in the usual hind-pocket of his coat. the intruder seemed to understand the warlike signal, for he immediately stopped his insolence and made off. in fact, the captain's red bandanna was like the spanish woman's fan--a language in itself. one evening we all finished our lessons early and drew our stools about the stove. our salt tute was snoring bass and ugly treble, so we did not disturb their dreams, but talked in low voices to mr clare, until, whether intentionally or irresistibly i know not, drake gave a tremendous sneeze, so loud and shrill that ugly sprang to his legs with a loud bark, and the captain's head bounced from his chest and struck the back of his chair with a bang. "bless my heart!" said the captain, clutching the handkerchief from his knees, and commencing to wipe his head with it. "bless my soul, i rather think that i must have been napping. there you are, all laughing around the fire, whilst i have been dreaming of--well, never mind--days gone by--you may depend on that; but, ugly, what were your dreams about, eh?" "we should like to hear, though, something about those days gone by, captain," said mr clare, suspecting that the worthy old seaman was in the vein for story-telling. "it is a long time since you have spun us a yarn, and the boys have been much wishing for one." "ay, that we have, captain," we all sang out together; "we should like to hear something about those days gone by which you were dreaming of just now. we are sure from your countenance that there is something interesting; come, tell us all about it." "you'll be disappointed, then. it's curious, and that is all i can say in its favour," answered the skipper; "i was thinking, or dreaming rather, of a circumstance which i haven't thought of for many a year that i can remember, which occurred during my first voyage. however, i'll undertake to tell it you if, when i've done, mr clare will spin you one of his yarns. he can spin one better than i can. come, make him promise, and i will begin. if not, i'll shut up my mouth." on this, of course, we all turned on our fresh water tutor and attacked him. "come; mr clare, do promise us to give us one of your stories. something about your life in america; you saw a good many curious things out there in the backwoods, which we should like to hear. do promise us, now." thus appealed to, mr clare gave the desired promise; and on this the skipper, blowing his nose with his red bandanna, which he afterwards placed across his knees, began what i will call:-- the castaways. a tale of the caribbean sea. "land, ho! land, ho!" was shouted one morning, soon after daybreak, from the mast-head. i was on my first voyage to the west indies, in the good ship _banana_. "where away?" asked the captain, whom the sound called out of his berth on deck. "a little on the starboard bow," was the answer. the ship was kept away towards the point indicated, while the captain, with his glass slung on his back, went aloft. the passengers, of whom i forgot to say we had several, and all the crew, were on the lookout, wondering what land it could be. we found, after the captain came below and had consulted his chart, that it was a little rock or key to the southward of barbadoes. "we'll get a nearer look at them, in case any poor fellows may have been cast away there. i have known the survivors of a ship's company remain on them for weeks together, and in some instances they have died of starvation before relief has reached them." as we approached the rock all the glasses on board were directed towards it, to ascertain if there were signs of human beings there. the spot looked silent and deserted. "if there are any poor fellows there, how eagerly they will watch our approach--how anxious they will be lest we should sail away without looking for them," i said to myself. while these thoughts were passing through my mind, i heard the first mate say that he could make out something white on the shore, which he took for a tent or a boat's sail. as we drew nearer it became evident that there was a tent, but no human being was stirring that we could see. nearer still a boat was observed, drawn up on the rocks. on further inspection she was discovered to be a complete wreck. melancholy indeed was the spectacle which told so clearly its own story--how the shipwrecked mariners had been cast on the island in their boat--how they had gone on waiting for relief, and how at length famine had carried them off, one by one, till none remained. still our captain was not a man to quit the spot after so cursory an inspection. the ship, having got under the lee of the land, was hove to, and a boat was lowered. charley, another midshipman, or apprentice rather, and i formed part of her crew, while mr merton, our first officer, went in charge of her, accompanied by some of the passengers. it was a long, low, coral-formed island, with a white beach--a very untempting spot for a habitation in that burning climate. when we landed, mr merton told us to accompany him, leaving two other men in the boat. we followed close after him, with the boat's stretchers in our hands, proceeding along the beach, for the tent we had seen was some little distance from where we had landed. we had got within a hundred yards of it, when suddenly part of it was thrown back, and out there rushed towards us two figures, whose frantic and threatening gestures made us start back with no little surprise, if not with some slight degree of apprehension. they were both tall, gaunt men, their hair was long and matted, their eyes were starting out of their heads, and their cheeks were hollow and shrivelled. they looked more like skeletons covered with parchment than human beings. their clothes were in rags, and their large straw hats were in tatters, and, to increase their strange appearance, they had covered themselves with long streamers of dried seaweed, strings of shells, and wreaths of the feathers of wild birds. each of them flourished in his hand a piece of timber--a rib, apparently, of a boat. "who are you, who dare to come and invade our territory?" exclaimed one, advancing before the other. "away--away--away! we are monarchs and rulers here. this land is ours, won by our trusty swords and battle-axes. away, i say! or meet the consequences of your temerity." i was at first puzzled to know who the people could be, but our mate at once comprehended the true state of the case, and with great tact endeavoured to calm the strangers instead of irritating them, as many would have done. "don't be afraid that we are come to interfere with you, or to trespass on your territories, most mighty sovereigns, as you undoubtedly are," he answered, stopping short and holding up his hands. "just hear what i have to say. lower your weapons, and let us hoist a flag of truce." "granted, granted. spoke like a sensible man, most worthy ambassadors," exclaimed the person who had hitherto not said anything. and both, lowering their clubs, stood still, gazing inquiringly at us. i had never before seen the effect of a few calm words, and a steady, determined look, in tranquillising the fury of madmen. such were, undoubtedly, these unfortunate occupants of the island. "listen, then," continued mr merton. i had never before heard him say so much at a time. "you see yonder ship: she is bound on a far-distant trip, and on her way she called here on the chance of finding any one in distress who might need aid. should no one require it, she will at once take her departure. can you tell me if any people are residing on your island who may wish to leave it? at all events, you yourselves may have letters to send home. if you will at once get them ready, i will gladly be the bearer." the two unfortunate maniacs looked at each other with a bewildered look. the idea of writing home, and not going themselves, seemed to strike them forcibly. "home!" cried one, in a deep, hollow voice. "home! where is that?" "old england, i conclude," answered our mate. "you have many friends there who would be glad to see you--father, mother, sisters, wife and children; or perhaps one who has long, long been expecting you, and mourned for you, and wondered and wondered, till the heart grew sick, that you did not come--yet even now faithful, and believing against hope, fondly expects your return." mr merton had been skilfully watching the effect of his remarks. they were most successful. he had touched a chord which had long ceased to vibrate. again the two madmen looked inquiringly into each other's faces. "is it possible?" said one, touching his forehead. "has all this been an hallucination?" "norton, i do not longer doubt it," answered the other. "we have conjured up many wild fancies, but the sight of that ship and the sound of a countryman's voice have dispelled them. we are ready to go with you, friend." the person who had last spoken seemed at the first to be less mad than his companion. "i am glad of your decision, gentlemen, and the sooner we get on board the better. but tell me, did you come here alone? have you no companions?" "companions! yes, we had. we frightened them away. they fled from us." "where are they now?" asked the mate. "on the other side of the island," answered the least mad of the strangers. "they dare not approach us. perhaps you may find them. they will gladly go away. while you search for them we will prepare for our departure." "very well, gentlemen, we will return for you," answered mr merton, in his usual calm tone. it had a wonderful effect in soothing the irritation of the madmen. we took our way in the direction they pointed across the island. after walking and climbing some way over the uneven ground, we came in sight of a hut built of driftwood and pieces of wreck, almost hid from view in the sheltered nook of the rock. no one was moving about it. its appearance was very sad and desolate. "perhaps the unfortunate people are all dead," remarked charley to me. "i think, from what those two strange men down there said, they have not seen them for a long time." we went on, apprehending the worst. as we got nearer, we hallooed to warn anybody who might be there of our coming, so as not to take them by surprise. again we hallooed, and directly afterwards we saw the head of a man appear at an opening in the hut which served as a window, while he thrust out of it the muzzle of a musket. "hillo, mate! don't fire. we come as friends," shouted mr merton. the musket was speedily withdrawn, and a man appeared at the door of the hut, followed closely by another. there they both stood, closely regarding us with looks of wonder. as they saw us they called to some one inside, and two more men appeared at the door of the hut, stretching out their hands towards us. their clothes were in rags and tatters, and they had a very wretched, starved appearance. "are you come to take us from this?" inquired the man we had at first seen, in a hollow, cavernous voice. "i hope so, if you wish to go," answered the mate. "go! yes, yes, at once--at once!" shouted the poor wretches, in the same hollow tones. "we thought at first you were two madmen who are living on the opposite side of the island." mr merton told them that they need be no longer afraid of the madmen, and that as he had no time to remain, they must accompany him at once to the boat. the first speaker, who said that he was the mate of the vessel to which the rest belonged, replied that he was afraid none of them would be able to walk across the island, as they had scarcely any strength remaining, and that he believed a few days more would have finished their miseries. while mr merton and the mate were speaking, the rest beckoned us to come into the hut. heaps of empty shells and bones of fish showed what had been for long their principal food. some dried seaweed had served as their beds, and a tin saucepan appeared to have been their only cooking utensil, while a cask contained a very small supply of water. from their appearance, i do not think that they could have existed many days longer. the only weapon they had was the musket which had been presented at our approach, but the mate confessed that they had not a grain of gunpowder, but that he thought by showing it he might frighten away the madmen, for whom he mistook us. they had, consequently, been unable to shoot any of the birds which frequented the rock, though they had collected some eggs, which had proved a valuable change in their diet. as time pressed, mr merton urged them to prepare for their departure. having collected a few trifling articles, relics of their long imprisonment, they declared themselves ready to make the attempt to move. charley and i helped along the mate, who was the strongest, while mr merton and the two seamen who had accompanied us assisted the other three. even as it was, so weak were they, that without the utmost aid we could afford them they could not have crossed the island. they had frequently to sit down, and almost cried like children with the pain and fatigue they suffered. poor fellows! we had not stopped to ask any questions as to the particulars of their disaster, but as we went along the mate gave us some of the details. from the way he spoke, i saw that, though a very quiet, well-disposed young man, he was not one formed to command his fellow-men. he told us that his name was jabez brand. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "i was second mate of the _north star_, a large brig, bound from honduras to london. we had a crew of fifteen hands, all told. several gentlemen also took their passage in the cabin. among them were two brothers, messrs. raymonds, fine, tall, handsome men. they had made their fortunes out in the west indies, and were returning home, as they thought and said, to enjoy their wealth. how their money had been made i do not know, but it was said they were in no ways particular. be that as it may, they had very pleasant manners, and were very open and free in their talk. one thing i remarked, that they seemed to think that they were going to be very great people with all their wealth, when they got home. some of the other gentlemen, it seemed to me, fought rather shy of them, perhaps because, as it was said, they had supplied slave vessels with stores, or had had shares in them, which is not unlikely. the _north star_ was an old vessel, though, to look at her, you would not have supposed it, for she had been painted up and fitted out so as to look as good as new. she was not the first ship i have seen sent to sea which ought to have been sold for firewood. in our run out we had only had fine weather, so she was in no way tried. on this our return trip, we had not long left port when a heavy squall came suddenly off the land and carried away our mainmast, and, the wind continuing from the same quarter, we were unable to return. we had managed to rig a jury-mast and to continue our voyage, when another gale sprung up, and blowing with redoubled fury, the ship began to labour very much in the heavy sea which quickly got up. still, for a couple of days after this gale began, there did not seem to be much cause for apprehension, though the ship was making more water than usual. however, on the evening of the third day, finding the pumps not sucking as they ought to have done, i went down into the hold, and then, to my dismay, i found that the water was already over the ground tier of casks. i went on deck, and quietly told the captain. he turned pale, for he knew too well what sort of a craft we were aboard. however, he did not show any further signs of alarm, but told the first mate to call all hands to man the pumps, while he sent me below to tell the passengers that they would be required to lend a hand. we had been driven about, now in one direction, now in another, but were some way to the northward of the equator. the wind was at this time, however, blowing strong from the north-east, and to let both our pumps work we were obliged to put the ship right before it. "all hands worked with a will, for we knew that our lives depended on our exertions. even the messrs. raymonds set to; but while others were calm and collected, they were excited and evidently alarmed. i thought to myself what good will all their wealth be to them if the ship goes down? more than once i went below with a lantern to see if we were keeping the water under, but i saw too plainly that, in spite of all we were doing, it was gaining on us. we searched about to try and find out where the leak was, but we might as well have tried to stop the holes in a sieve. at midnight the water had risen halfway to the second tier of casks. still all hands worked on, hoping that by sunrise a sail might appear to take us off. i saw too plainly that the ship was sinking, but it was very important to have light, that we might see how best to launch the boats. day seemed very, very long in coming. the captain tried to cheer the people, but he must have known as well as any on board that perhaps none of us might live to see the sun rise over the waters. "all that night we laboured without a moment's rest. dawn came, and i went to the mast-head to learn if a sail was in sight. i scarcely expected to see one, yet i hoped against hope. not a speck could i discover on the clearly-defined circle of the horizon. the old ship was now fast settling down, and the sea was making a complete breach over her. to enable the water to run off the decks and to allow us to launch the boats, we cut away the stanchions and bulwarks between the fore and main rigging. such food and water as could be got at was then handed up on deck, ready to be placed in the boats. the crew did not wait the captain's orders to lower them. he seemed unwilling to abandon the ship till the last moment. there was a dinghy stowed in the longboat. while the men were getting it out a sea broke on board, and, dashing it against the spars, drove in the starboard bilge, and at the same time washed two of the poor fellows overboard. we then got the stores into the longboat. a warp was next passed over the port bow of the ship outside the fore-rigging, and then inboard again through the gangway, and secured to the bow of the boat, sufficient slack being left to allow her to go astern. however, just as we were launching the boat a sea struck her, and stove in two planks of the port bilge. i now thought that it was all up with us, for though there was the jollyboat, she could not carry half the number on board; still it was possible that we might get the planks back to their places and stop the leak; so, in spite of the accident to her, we managed by great exertions to launch her, and i, with some of the crew and passengers, jumped into her with buckets and began to bail her out. happily, the carpenter was one of the party. some blankets had been thrown into the boat, which he immediately thrust over the leak and stood on them, while he got ready a plank and some nails which he had brought with him. while he and i were working away the boat was shipping many seas, in consequence of the weight of the warp ahead; i sang out that we must have it shifted, and after a light rope had been hove to us and made fast, it was let go. meantime the quarterboat was lowered and several men got into her, but their painter was too short, and before they had got their oars into her she broke adrift and dropped astern. the men in her lifted up their hands for help; the captain, who was still on deck, hove them an oar, and we hove another, but they missed both of them, and before long a sea struck the boat and turned her over. it was very sad, for we could give her no help. we, meantime, in the longboat, were not in a very much better condition, for we were shipping a great deal of water. the captain now ordered us to haul up the boat, that the people might get into her; but while we were so doing, the roughness of the sea causing a sudden jerk on the rope, it parted, and we dropped astern. cries of despair rose from many of those on board when they saw what had occurred. we instantly got out our oars and endeavoured to pull up to the ship, but the quantity of water in her made all our efforts unavailing. to prevent the boat going down we were obliged to turn to and bail. away we drifted, every moment, increasing our distance from the ship, and lessening our hope of being able to return. there stood our late companions on the poop of the sinking ship, some waving to us, some shouting and imploring us to return. summoned by the captain, we saw that they then were endeavouring to form a raft. the thought that the lives of all on board depended mainly on our exertions stimulated us once more to attempt to pull up to them. we got out the oars, and while the landsmen bailed we pulled away till the stout ash-sticks almost broke. by shouts and gestures i encouraged the people; every muscle was stretched to the utmost--no one spared himself--but our strength could not contend with the fearful gale blowing in our teeth. the seas broke over us, and almost swamped the boat; still, if we could but hold our own, a lull might come before the ship went down. but vain were all our hopes; even while our eyes were fixed on the brig, her stern for an instant lifted up on a foam-crested sea, and then her bow, plunging downwards, never rose again. most of those who remained on board were engulfed with the wreck, but a few, springing overboard before she sank, struck out towards us. it would, indeed, have required a strong swimmer to contend with that sea. one after another the heads of those who still floated disappeared beneath the foaming waves, till not one remained; the other boats also had disappeared, and we were left alone on the waste of waters. the instant the brig went down a cry arose from some in our boat, so piercing, so full of despair, that i thought that some relations or dear friends of one of those who had escaped had been lost in her; but on looking again i discovered that it had proceeded from the two brothers i have spoken of. they had lost what they had set their hearts on--what they valued more than relations and friends--their long-hoarded wealth. there they sat, the picture of blank despair. i knew that it would never do to let the people's minds rest on what had occurred, so i cheered them up as best i could, and told them that i thought we should very likely be able to reach some port or other in four or five days. on examining our stores, i found that with economy they might hold out for nearly two weeks, and before that time i hoped we might reach some civilised place. i was more concerned with the state of our boat. she was originally not a strong one, and, what with the injury she received when launched from the sinking ship, and the battering she had since got, she had become very leaky. the crew, severely taxed as their strength had been, behaved very well, but two of our passengers gave signs of becoming very troublesome. i did not suspect at the time that their minds were going. at first they were very much cast down, but then one of them roused up and began to talk very wildly, and at last the other took up the same strain, and off they went together. they insisted on taking command, and having twice as much food served out to them as others got. at one time they wanted the boat to be steered to the northward, declaring that we should have no difficulty in reaching england. i had to hide the compass from them, and at last they were pacified under the belief that we were going there. each morning when they woke up they asked how much nearer they were to our native land. there were three other passengers--an old man, a lad, and an invalid gentleman. consumption had already brought him near the grave, still he lasted longer than the other two. the young boy died first; fear had told on his strength; then the old man died. i could not tell exactly where we were. we were always on the lookout for land, or a sail to pick us up. one morning at daybreak the man who had taken my place at the helm roused us up with the cry of `land! land ahead!' "`old england--old england!' shouted the madmen, springing up and waving their hands. "`my native land--my own loved home!' cried the invalid, sitting up as he awoke and gazing long and anxiously at the rock which rose out of the blue water before us. "drawing a deep sigh when he discovered his mistake, he sank back into his place. soon afterwards, finding that he did not stir, i was about to raise him up. there was no need for my so doing. he had gone to that long home whence there is no return. those who loved him on earth would see him no more. some of the people were in a very weak and sad condition. they had been sick on board--scarcely fit for duty. i knew what the land was--the rock we are now on; but, barren as it is, i thought it would be better to recruit our strength on shore than to attempt to continue our course to the mainland in our present condition. i therefore steered for it, and was looking out for a secure spot where i might beach the boat, when the madmen, growing impatient, seized the tiller and ran her on shore, where she now lies. we were nearly swamped, and everything in the boat was wetted. she also was so much injured that she was totally unfit again to launch, and we had no means of repairing her. however, we set to work to make things as comfortable as we could, and the first thing i did was to erect a tent to shelter the sick men from the rays of the sun. poor fellows, they did not long require it. three of them very soon died. we had now only six survivors of those who had escaped from the foundering ship. we were all getting weaker and weaker, except the madmen, who seemed to be endowed with supernatural strength. one day i, with the three seamen who remained, went out to collect shellfish and birds' eggs. i carried the only musket we had saved, having dried some gunpowder which i had in a flask. we had come back with a supply; but as we approached the tent we saw the two madmen standing in front of it, flourishing pieces of wood and swearing that we should not enter it, and that they were the kings of the country. some of our people wanted me to shoot them, but that, of course, i would not on any account do. i could not even say that our lives were threatened. i stopped and tried to reason with the poor men. at last they consented to give us up a saucepan and some of the provisions, and we, glad to be rid of their company, resolved to go to the other side of the island, and to build ourselves a hut from the driftwood which we had seen there in abundance. this we did, but we all have been growing weaker and weaker ever since, and had you not come to our rescue i do not think we should have held out much longer." the mate finished his account--on which, from what he afterwards told me, i have somewhat enlarged--just as we got up to the tent. the unhappy madmen stood in front of it waiting for us. though excited in their looks and wild in their conversation, they seemed perfectly prepared to accompany us. they looked with eyes askant at the mate and his three companions, but said nothing to them. "well, gentlemen, are you ready to proceed?" exclaimed mr brand as we got up to them. "certainly, noble mariners--certainly," answered one of them. "but stay, we have some freight to accompany us." and, going into the tent, they dragged out a sea-chest, which appeared to be very heavy. the mate looked surprised, and when they were not looking he whispered to me that he did not believe that the chest contained anything of value. he, however, had not an opportunity of speaking to mr merton, who told them that as soon as he had seen the people into the boat he would come back and help them along with their chest. this reply satisfied them, and they sat themselves down composedly on the chest while we helped the other poor men into the boat. as soon as this was done, two of our crew were sent back to bring along the chest. though strong men, they had no little difficulty in lifting it; but whether or not it was full of gold, no one could have watched over it more jealously than did the two madmen. it was very remarkable how completely they seemed inspired by the same spirit, and any phantasy which might enter the head of one was instantly adopted by the other. "there's enough gold there to buy the indies!" cried ben brown, a seaman, as he handed in the chest. "take care we don't let it overboard, mates, or the gentlemen won't forgive us in a hurry." "it is more than your lives are worth if you do so!" cried the madmen. "be careful--be careful, now." the boat was loaded, and we pulled away for the ship. our captain seemed somewhat astonished at the extraordinary appearance of the people we brought on board. the mate and other men of the lost vessel were carefully handed up. they were not heavier than children, but the messrs. raymonds would not leave the boat till they saw their chest hoisted up in safety. their first care on reaching the deck was about it, and, going aft to the captain, they begged he would be very careful where it was stowed. "stay! before these gentlemen lose sight of it let it be opened, that there may be no mistake about its contents," said mr merton. "what, and expose all our hoarded wealth to the eyes of the avaricious crew!" they cried out vehemently. "we shall be robbed and murdered for the sake of it, and this chest will be sent where many others have gone--to the bottom of the sea." "you are perfectly safe on board this ship, i trust, gentlemen," remarked our captain. "is the chest secured with a key?" "whether or not, with our consent never shall it be opened!" exclaimed one of the brothers. "then remember i can in no way be answerable for what is found in it when it is opened," observed the captain. what new idea came into the heads of the two brothers i do not know, but they instantly agreed that the chest should be opened. "call the carpenter," said our captain, who wanted to bring the matter to a conclusion, and who probably by this time had begun to suspect the sad condition of the two gentlemen. mr pincott, the carpenter, and one of his mates came aft, and made short work in opening the mysterious chest. those who claimed it as their property started back with looks of dismay. it was full to the brim of stones and sand and shells. again and again they looked at it; they rubbed their eyes and brows; they clutched it frantically and examined it with intense eagerness; they plunged their hands deep down among the rubbish; it was long before they appeared able to convince themselves of the reality; over and over again they went through the same action. at last one of them, the most sane of the two, drew himself up, and, pointing to the chest, said in a deep, mournful voice-- "captain, we have been the victims of a strange hallucination, it seems. we have not lost sight of that chest since we filled it. we thought that we had stored it with gold and precious stones. i know how it was. hunger, anxiety, hardships, had turned our brains. we had lost all-- all for which we had been so long toiling. we conjured up this phantasy as our consolation. is it not so, jacob?" the other brother thus addressed shook his head and looked incredulous. once more he applied himself to the examination of the chest. at last he got up, and looked long and fixedly at the other, as if to read the thoughts passing through his head. "you are right, brother simon," he said, after some time, in a deep, low, mournful voice; "it's dross--dross--all dross. what is it worse than what we have been working for? that's gone--all gone--let this go too--down--down to the bottom of the sea." again influenced by the same impulse, they dragged the chest to the side of the vessel, and with hurried gestures threw the contents with their hands over into the sea. it appeared as if they were trying which could heave overboard the greatest quantity in the shortest time. when they had emptied it, they lifted up the chest, and before any one could prevent them that also was cast into the sea. "there perish all memorial of our folly!" exclaimed the one who was called simon. "we shall have to begin the world anew. captain, where do you propose landing us? the sooner we begin the work the better." the captain told them that must depend on circumstances, but it was finally arranged that they were to be put on shore at barbadoes, where, after a long conversation together, they expressed a wish to be landed. the scene was a very strange one; the rapid changes of ideas, the quickly succeeding impulses, and the extraordinary understanding between the two. we found, however, that they were twins, and had always lived together, so that they seemed to have but one mind in common. i never met an officer who took so much interest in the apprentices-- indeed, in all the men under him. he took occasion to speak to me and charley of what had occurred. "how utterly incapable of affording satisfaction is wealth unless honestly obtained and righteously employed!" he remarked. "we have also before us an example of the little reliance which can be placed on wealth. these two poor men have lost theirs and their minds at the same time. their senses have been mercifully restored to them. it remains to be seen by what means they will attempt to regain their fortunes." i cannot say that mr merton's remarks made any very deep impression on me or charley at the time, though i trust they produced their fruit in after years. every kindness was shown the two poor men on board, and, as far as i could judge, they appeared to have become perfectly sane. the same kindness was also shown the mate and the other rescued seamen of the lost brig. we landed the mate and seamen, as well as the two brothers, at bridge town, in the island of barbadoes, but from that day to this i have never heard a word about them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ harry higginson, some time before the captain's yarn concluded, got up from his seat and went to the side of our cabin schoolroom and stood there, looking through a dead-light which was open to ventilate the room. he had remembered that it was about the time of the moon's rising, and went to watch it come up. as our salt tute finished, harry turned from his lookout, and, catching my eye, beckoned me to join him, and so i did. coming beside him, harry pointed and whispered--for the spell of the story still lingered over us, and no one seemed willing to break it roughly-- "what do you make of that, bob?" the big mellow moon was right before us, and, as one would say, about the height of a house, above the eastern horizon. its light silvered a path on the sea to us--a path that was bounded on one side by the bold, dark rocks of the southern shore of the cape, and whose limit to our right was as undefined as the undulating waters it was lost in. across the stretch of moonlight, and a half-mile from the wreck, i saw a lugger heading for a point that made the southern side of a snug little cove which afterwards got the name of "smuggler's cove." it was the sight of that boat at such a time coming towards the shore of our rough cape that caused harry's question to me. "singular--very singular," i answered; "we must watch that craft." mr clare called to us, "boys, what are you whispering about over there?" we wanted to keep watch quietly by ourselves, on the discovery which promised some interest, so we did not answer, and walter at that moment called on mr clare for his story. "well," said mr clare, "i promised a story as the only way of getting captain mugford's. i bought a great deal cheaply, and must pay now. in common honesty, therefore, i am bound to commence my story. i am afraid that i cannot make it as interesting as captain mugford's, inasmuch as his was about the sea, while mine relates to the land. however, i will begin." chapter sixteen. mr. clare's story. the year before i left canada, in the fall, as the autumn is called there, i started with a number of other young men in our neighbourhood, the county town of c---, to go about seventy-five miles up the ottawa, what is called lumbering. the winter work is cutting down the trees and getting them to the riverbank ready for the spring thaw, when they are gathered in rafts and floated down to a seaport. we went provided for six months' severe life in the snowbound forests. almost every man, too, took his gun or rifle. the journey to the site of our winter's encampment was made on foot; our clothes, provision, stoves, and cooking utensils being loaded on an ox-cart that accompanied us, the oxen being necessary to haul the timber to the river, as our work extended back. after a week's journey, we came to the spot selected for our winter's work, on a bend of the river, ten miles above where the m--- joins the ottawa. of course it is an utterly wild region there, never trodden except by hunters, and away beyond the usual search of lumbermen. i do not know why my uncle, the lumber-boss of our expedition, went sixty miles beyond ordinary timber-cuttings. perhaps it was to procure, on a special order, a remarkably fine choice of oak and pine, and that that spot had been marked by him in some hunting trip or indian survey as producing the finest timber in the colony. it was grandly beautiful there, where a valley, running at a right angle to the river's course, spread out at the bank to a semicircle, containing a hundred acres and more of most magnificent trees--a vast forest city, inhabited by immense patriarchs, grey-bearded with moss. their dignity and stateliness and venerable air were most impressive; and when they sang to the strong wind, chanting like the druids of old, even i, who had so long lived in a country of forests, was filled with awe. and we, pigmies of twenty and thirty years, had invaded this sanctuary to slay its lords, who counted age by centuries, and had lived and reigned here before our forefathers first trode the continent. the quietude and hazy light of indian summer floated through the aisles and arches of the solemn forest city as we first saw it--a leaf falling lazily now and then across the slanting beams of the setting sun--a startled caribou, on the discovery of our approach, hurrying from his favourite haunt with lofty strides. all else in the picture before us was silent and motionless. our winter's home! those lofty coverts to be levelled to a bare, stump-marked plane! the old vikings of the primeval forests, to be fashioned by the axe, to battle with the fury of the ocean, and reverberate with reports of hostile broadsides--to bear the flag of their country in peace and commerce, too, to far-distant lands--all as triumphantly as they had for ages wrestled only with the winds! you laugh, drake; and you are right, for i doubt if many of us thought then in that strain. no, there is not much sentiment among lumbermen, and as we regarded those mighty oaks and pines, it was principally with speculative calculation as to how many solid feet of prime timber "that 'ar thicket would yield." the first task was that of building log-houses--two for our twenty hands. in each was an immense chimney-piece, a cooking-stove, and a bed stretching the width of the house on the floor, with a mattress of hemlock boughs. the rifles and shotguns hanging over the wide fireplace, and a long pine table and rustic benches, completed the furniture of our houses. the oxen and a company of hounds and mongrels had their quarters in a low log barn between the houses. our supplies of fresh meat for the winter depended upon the good use of the firearms, and each week some one man of our number was detailed as hunter. that winter of proved the coldest ever remembered in america, but the long mild autumn gave no threats of the season that was to succeed it. before the first snow--which was, i remember, on november --our little forest colony was comfortably established, and a score of big trees laid stretched in the leaves. in our company were many fine, intelligent young men--all taught somewhat, some tolerably well educated. none had been to college. i little thought at that time of becoming a scholar and a clergyman. they were frank, generous, honourable fellows--honest and brave, but perfectly ungodly and reckless of heaven's displeasure or the life hereafter. after the day's labour, the evening was dissipated in card-playing, swearing, and hard drinking. many a scene of riot and orgies did those log-walls witness. such is generally the life in a lumber-camp: hard, wholesome labour in the day, loud revelling at night. the rough, adventurous life, with no home charm or female influence to refine or restrain, is probably the principal reason of such low practice of life in the lumberman's camp. the worst character in our company--and he happened to be in the same house with me--was a man of twenty-eight years of age, the son of a french father and american mother, and whose mother's grandfather had been an indian warrior of some renown in the early history of our province. in him were united the savageness of the red man, the gaiety of the frenchman, and the shrewdness of the yankee. he was a large, handsome, and immensely muscular man, with dark complexion, small straight features, quick black eyes, and long raven-coloured beard and hair that hung down to his shoulders. utterly wicked and unprincipled as he was, his merriment, off-hand and daring, lent him a certain fascination and popularity among us. he was very witty, his laugh was rich and constant, he sang well, and played in a dashing way the violin. every night he found some one to gamble with him. every night he drank a pint of whisky, and kept the cabin in an uproar. i greatly disliked this guyon vidocq; because he exerted a most baneful influence in our company, all of whom except the boss were younger than himself. the best man of our number was john bar, and a fine christian, cheerful-hearted fellow he was. although differing so widely from guyon vidocq, he, without any effort to do so, and indeed unconsciously, disputed the palm of popularity with him. he was an active, powerful man too, and though terribly pockmarked, had a most agreeable countenance. he could troll a pleasant stave, and loved, when off hunting or at work with his axe sometimes, to sing one of our c--- sunday hymns, and whenever there was a respectable party in the evening, instead of the usual rioting set, he would willingly give them "the fireside at home," "merrily row, the boat row," or any of the good old-fashioned songs, pure and inspiriting. not another of us was so cheerful and industrious as john bar. drinking, gambling, or swearing, he was never guilty of, and when the evening orgies commenced he generally spoke to me, and we went off together to visit at the other cabin, or, if they were as bad there, find a warm corner with our blankets in the log barn, and there chat away the hours until our companions had calmed down and turned into their bunks. john bar was not a meddler, nor what is contemptuously called, in such reckless societies as ours was, "a preacher;" but as he was loyal to his country, and loyal to his parents, he was far more loyal to his god. it would madden any _man_ to hear his mother's name profanely used; it made john bar's heart sick--yes, and i have seen him tremble with rage--when the name of his saviour was taken as an oath. sometimes then, and at other times when the wickedness in camp was rampant, he would break out in words of fire--words of fire that soon mingled with, and at last wholly changed to, words of love and entreaty. the others never resented these attacks, these living sermons that his overpowering sense of duty and outraged feeling made him speak. they felt the power of his influence, and acknowledged his goodness, for it was full of charity. even guyon vidocq resented not john bar's corrections. he laughed, uttered another oath, and took himself away. but, alone, his face grew dark and angry, for he feared the power of john's goodness, and _hated_ him. my turn as hunter did not come until december , and my companion from the other house was an old acquaintance of mine in c---. we had been schoolmates and near neighbours when boys, but since that he had been away at sea. he was a quiet, amiable young man, and one of the steadiest in our camp. sometimes such an expedition kept the hunters away for the entire week, and sometimes they would get separated. in either case the night's shelter was a rough one, and dependent for safety and comfort upon the man's ingenuity and hardihood. but where two could keep together, both the labour and danger of those night camps in the snow were lessened. as game was killed, it was stowed away in what hunters call a _cache_-- that is, a hole for hiding and securing what we wished from the depredations of wolves and other wild animals; and then the ox-cart, when it was practicable--but generally, in winter, a sled drawn by hand--was sent out to bring in the game. my companion, maine mallory, and i started together up the frozen river; we agreed to keep together, if possible, and for that reason i carried a rifle and he a double-barrelled shotgun of large bore for throwing buckshot. we were dressed as warmly as our exercise would allow, and had, strapped on our backs, blankets and snow-shoes. besides which, each one's wallet held five pounds of bread, pepper and salt, powder, shot, and bullets, and pipe and tobacco, not forgetting the most important of all, flint and steel. we proposed to follow up a branch of the ottawa to a lake south-east of mount k---, and there hunt with a party of very friendly indians, who had a most comfortable camp in a spot near the lake. they were collecting winter skins to send down by us in the spring for sale in montreal. our first day's journey was about twenty miles on the hard frozen river, covered with a crust of snow so stiff as to render snow-shoes unnecessary; but it was hard work, for the weather was bitterly cold. we shot--that is, maine mallory did--a couple of partridges and a rabbit for our suppers, and halted early in a hemlock wood, where there was a northerly shelter of rocks; indeed, a crevice in the rocks was almost a cave for us, a cave where we gathered quantities of hemlock for bedding, and built at its entrance a huge fire, which, by night--when we had cut wood enough to last until morning, and had cooked and eaten our game--had made a deep hot bed of ashes. it was so cold, though, that we feared to sleep much; each took a turn at napping whilst the other fed the fire. the wood was as quiet as the grave; not a breath of wind; no night-bird nor prowling animal; nothing but the fine crackling of the cold. when i watched, i almost _wished_ to see a wolf or bear--something to come in on the ghostly, silvered circle that the firelight illumined; something to start my congealing blood with a roar or spring. in the morning we took to the river course again, and went on, but resolved to try as hard as we could to reach the indians' camp before another night. it was twenty-seven miles, we calculated, but we did it; and about nine o'clock heard the yelping of the indian dogs that sounded our approach while we were yet half a mile from the camp. we knew the five indians there; two came out to learn who drew near. worn out and benumbed with cold, we gladly gave ourselves into their hands to be warmed and fed. they were well provided against severe cold, and soon made us comfortable; but we were too wearied the next day to do any hunting. the indians said the weather was growing colder every day, and the head-man, a middle-aged chief, called ollabearqui, or trick the bear, told with an ominous grunt, that when the cold "grow bigger and bigger and the winds stay asleep, then ollabearqui is afraid." on the second morning of our stay among the indians four of us went out after moose. two, mallory and an indian, were to go around a mountain to the eastward, and ollabearqui and i were to follow a valley which would bring us to the foot of the same mountain on the farther side, where we agreed to meet the others. a large, gaunt, savage-faced hound followed my indian companion. he and i had each a rifle. we went quickly and silently through the white-clothed forests for about four miles. at length, where the small fall of the valley stream was held in great ice-shackles by the severe cold, and only a little pool of six inches diameter kept alive just beneath the icicles, we came out of the woods to a rocky, bushy foot and projection of the bare, stone-marked mountain. we had advanced to follow its base a short distance when my indian companion, who had grown more careful and earnest lately, turned suddenly one side to a stiffly frozen covert of low bushes. the dog, before this most dull and dejected in his walk at his master's heels, now sprang ahead and into the bushes. in a moment he came out again with his nose close to the snow, and as he emerged raised his head and gave one short, fierce howl. ollabearqui spoke to him in the indian tongue, and the dog renewed his search, going back again to the little spring. the indian at the same time pointed to the ground for me to see a track, but no mark of any kind was visible to my eye--not a scratch or impression on the hard snow-crust. now the dog left the trees again and led us up the steep, rough side of the mountain--a most difficult path to climb, frozen as it was. one hundred and fifty feet or more up, the dog stopped before a mass of wildly piled rocks, and there barked loudly and angrily. we reached the spot, ollabearqui some minutes before me, and discovered the narrow mouth of a cavern, at which the hound was furiously digging. the indian cocked his rifle, saying, "panther! look out!" in a few moments the dog had made the hole big enough to admit his head and fore paws, and he attempted to crawl in, but at the same moment we heard a rumbling growl, like an infuriated cat's, but twenty times as strong, and the dog came out with a deep gash on the side of his head, cutting the mouth back a couple of inches. again his master ordered him in. this time he entered entirely, and then we listened to the furious noises of the two beasts, in a desperate struggle evidently. in ten minutes the commotion ceased, but the hound did not return. i peered into the cavern, but could see nothing. as i rose to my feet after the attempt, i saw ollabearqui, who had jumped to a point somewhat above the cavern's entrance, with his rifle at his shoulder. i looked where it pointed, and saw a tremendous panther-cat springing up the mountain-side--it had probably crawled out from some other opening of the cave. at the same moment i heard a report, and saw the beast roll forward on its breast, but as quick as a flash it rose again and dashed at the shooter. it was all done in a second, but i could see ollabearqui trying to draw his knife. the panther struck him, and he lost his footing and rolled backwards from the ledge on which he stood; the panther saved itself from the fall, but bounded back, from the mere force of the spring, i suppose, to the other side of the rock. the savage beast was not more than twelve yards from me, but seemed to be unconscious of my presence. stunned by the heavy fall, ollabearqui did not rise, and i saw the panther crawl around the ledge to spring on his prostrate foe. i brought up my rifle, and took deliberate aim at the animal's shoulder. i fired. the panther made one tremendous leap, and fell with a dying yell on ollabearqui's breast. i ran up, and, as i supposed, found the indian only bruised and stunned by his tumble. as i removed the dead beast from his body, ollabearqui grunted and uttered a laconic "good!" he then rose somewhat lamely, and he and i set about digging at the cave. soon we managed to pull out the dog, which was dead, and then, pushing the panther's corpse into the cavern, we stopped up both ends with heavy stones and went on, descending to a track through the forest again. the luck was all mine that day, for when we had nearly reached the point where we were to meet our fellow-hunters, we heard, at a long distance beyond, a noise that the maine hunter knows well--a dull, clacking noise, like the regular blows in a blacksmith's shop ever so far away. it was the trot of a moose. when at a slow pace they always strike their hoofs together in that way, as a horse overreaches. we drew behind some large trees, and, after ten minutes of anxious waiting, discerned a very large bull moose coming on a waddling trot towards us. he had probably been started by our companions, for he had his ears pointed back, and turned his neck every few minutes as if to catch some sound behind. he passed near ollabearqui first, at about eighty yards. there was only a click! ollabearqui's rifle had snapped. the moose, alarmed by the noise, increased his pace greatly, but came directly towards me, so that when i pulled trigger he was not farther off than twenty-five feet. he fell dead, a bullet right through his heart. my companion was not envious because of my good fortune. he scolded the erring rifle in his own language, and then said to me, "good! good! you white-man very big shoot--ugh!" we joined mallory and the other indian soon after. they had only killed a fox. together we made two sled-drags of the thickest, heaviest hemlock boughs, and loading the game--the panther-cat and fox on one sled, and the moose on the other-- pulled them to the indian camp. the weather was too bitterly cold for hunting. even the wild animals seemed not to go about any more than their wants required. so mallory and i decided to buy some more meat from the indians, and get them to go with us back to our lumbering station and help to carry the game on hand-sleds, which we could do with comparative ease on the river. the bargain was made, and ollabearqui and two other indians started with us the next morning, that we might reach our camp on the twenty-fourth, or on christmas morning. no doubt the hope of getting whisky from our men induced the indians to assent so readily to the proposition. the sled enabled us to take plenty of heavy furs and blankets for protection against the intense cold. mallory and i also made a gallon of strong coffee before leaving the indian camp; that we were able to heat three or four times a day, and would prove the greatest ally against the cold. we made a long march the first day--nearly thirty miles--but suffered greatly from the unusually severe weather; and if our red friends had not taken us to an indian mound to pass the night--which we used as a hut, packing all our furs against its stone sides and keeping up an immense fire in the centre, the smoke escaping where we removed a stone on the top--and had we not had the coffee to heat and drink continually, i really believe we should all have been frozen to death that terrible night. as it was, i remember it as the most painful and comfortless night i ever passed. the morning came, and we could stir about; but the sun seemed to give no warmth, and a light wind was blowing to make the cold more searching. for some reason i could not explain to myself, i felt strangely anxious to get home. in the fitful naps i had caught during the night i had suffered from most painful dreams; but all i could remember of them were the faces of guyon vidocq and john bar, and no sight of the camp or of the other men, only heaps of cinders where the log-houses stood. as soon as we had had our breakfast i urged my companions to get under way quickly. to my astonishment the indians answered, "us no go--us go back--so cold, ugh!--pipe of the great spirit gone out--us go back!" to our questionings and urgings they only grunted, shook their heads, and answered as before. so all mallory and i could do was to let the fellows take their way. we packed the game in the stone mound, and piled stones and brushwood against its entrance and smoke-hole; and then with our guns, and the jug of what was left of the coffee on a sling between us, we started on our way. that day's journey is a distressing remembrance. despite the cold, we advanced briskly enough until noon. then the wind grew stronger, whilst we got weak from the exposure. the cold increased. a numbness of mind and body was creeping over us, and our limbs were heavy to move. at about three we stopped, and in what shelter we could find, built a great fire; and heating the coffee as hot as we could swallow it, drank nearly all that remained, and ate a dinner. that strengthened and warmed us up enough to help us along until sunset. we were then only four or five miles from camp; but had not the wind gone down with the sun, we must have perished before reaching home, for from that time our sufferings increased, and both of us grew drowsy. several times mallory's halting steps stopped entirely, and he would have gone into the fatal sleep which precedes death from freezing, had i not shaken him and pushed and urged him. to me it was like walking in a sleep. i dragged along almost unconsciously, and yet knowing enough to keep the river track and move my legs. the fact that mallory was nearer death than i--which was shown by his constant attempts to lie down--kept me up. the sense of responsibility aroused my mind. i would implore him to try to walk for a little while longer, and then push him along again. about eight o'clock i got a fire going again, and made mallory drink, the last drop. i told him we were not more than half a mile from the cabins--that he must rouse up now, and strive with me to reach our friends. "was he willing to die," i asked, "just as we were on the threshold of safety?" the coffee helped him a little, but i had had none, so in that last struggle he was as strong as i. that half-mile was only accomplished after an hour's walking, and in every minute of that hour i felt that i could not make another effort. at length we staggered to the door of maine mallory's cabin, and were _saved_! john bar, who was in there, a refugee from the christmas eve frolic in our own cabin, rubbed my limbs, and poured cup after cup of strong coffee down my throat, and, when i was sufficiently recovered, gave me a good supper. the same was done for mallory. but even in the cabin, with two immense fires and warm clothing, it was difficult to keep warm. the water in the drinking pail, four feet from the stove, was one mass of ice. outside, that terrible night, the thermometer in montreal, i heard afterwards, fell to degrees below zero. with us there was no thermometer to mark the temperature, but it must have been lower. half of the gang of my log-house, including john bar, were spending the evening where i had sought shelter, too wearied to go a hundred yards farther to my own quarters. the other five, one of whom was guyon vidocq, were having a regular drinking and gambling bout in the other cabin. we heard their yells from time to time. at about eleven o'clock john bar left us to seek his bed. i doubted if he would find his bed very agreeable amid such an orgy as was reported to be going on under the other roof; so i, thoroughly enjoying the bright fire and new life after the exposure of the last few days, lingered a while longer, though utterly wearied, and answered the questions about our hunt. maine mallory had turned into bed long ago. but when my watch showed it was twelve, i got up to seek a night's sleep. as i stepped into the intensely cold air, i was actually startled by the solemnity and beauty of the scene; for the moon had risen since my return to camp, and flooded the winter scene in the most glorious radiance. the gigantic trees were magnified in the pure, clear light, and their dark shadows stretched far on the glistening snow. here and there were the fallen timbers mounded over by drifts. beyond, the white mountains faded away to the pale sky. not a sound, not a murmur of wind, not a voice to break the awful stillness. with great thankfulness for my deliverance from the stark death that had been so near me all day, i looked up to heaven and remembered the blessed birth eighteen centuries ago when jesus christ came to the earth as a little babe. turning my steps to the other log-house, i wondered to see no light, and was surprised, too, that the riot there had ceased by midnight. as i walked the hundred yards, the song of the heavenly hosts of old sounded in my heart: "glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!" drawing near the cabin, i was amazed to see the door stretched wide open, and no light within. instantly a dark foreboding fell upon me, and i remembered the fearful visions of the night before. what could it be that i was to encounter? i ran to the open door, and entered. no fire! only those few dull ashes. what did it mean? "boys," i cried, "boys, where are you?" no reply. "boys! langdon! vidocq! bar!" and there came from near me a stifled answer, as if the speaker was but half awake. trembling violently, i struck a match, and beheld john bar, lying almost at my feet in a bundle of furs, and a pool of blood by him, and four other figures in everyday garments, without any other covering, stretched in different attitudes on the floor--sleeping, i thought. yes, they were sleeping, but in death. where they had fallen in drunken stupor the ice-breath of death had stiffened them for his own. "is that you, clare? thank god! i am bleeding and freezing to death." "who harmed you, bar? tell me first--vidocq? i thought so. in a second we'll help you." quicker than i can write it, i had run to the other cabin, aroused the inmates, and we had all reached the fatal cabin. some of us carefully removed bar to the second house, whilst others chafed the bodies on the floor and poured warm drinks into their mouths to revive the spark of life, if it yet lingered. but they were frozen to death. the log-cabin in which my companions and i had lived for three months was now the lumberman's dead-house. there the four bodies were to rest until they could be moved to their graves. the next morning guyon vidocq's body was laid beside those of his companions. he had been found stretched dead on the riverbank. such was our christmas. it appeared that when john bar had gone to his cabin he found four of the inmates lying drunk on the floor, the fires expiring, and guyon vidocq in a delirium of intoxication pulling everything to pieces-- table, benches, etcetera--to pile them in the corner, and, then, as he said, light a real christmas bonfire. john bar immediately saw the danger that the poor creatures on the floor were in, and whilst he tried to get fires going in the stove and chimney-place as quickly as possible, he also exerted his influence to soothe guyon vidocq and make him cease his crazy work. but the presence of bar seemed to madden vidocq immediately. from the time the former entered the house, vidocq cursed him with every vile oath his drunken lips could frame, and, when bar attempted remonstrance and command, the infuriated maniac suddenly caught up a table knife, and plunged it in his opponent's side. then with a yell vidocq rushed from the house, leaving the door thrown back for the deadly cold to enter and complete his work. john bar said that he fell when the knife struck him; that he had strength to crawl to a pile of furs and blankets; that he even tried to cover his companions, but could not; that he called for help as long as he had voice; and that, when i entered, an hour after the assault, he had lost all consciousness. the bleeding had ceased, but the sleep of the frozen was falling on him. those events of christmas day broke up the lumber-camp. john bar was not dangerously wounded, and when we were able to carry him on a sled to the nearest settlement he quickly recovered. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "and now, boys, you have had your stories, so let's off to bed. captain mugford, ugly has gone to sleep over mine. he prefers sea narratives." but ugly heard his name, and broke off in the middle of a snore to come and put his paws apologetically on mr clare's knee. the sail harry and i had watched disappeared behind the point of rocks soon after mr clare commenced his story, and while waiting anxiously for her reappearance we listened with much interest to mr clare; and as he was finishing she came out again and stood to the south-west. determined to investigate the mystery ourselves, we said nothing to the others. by the time we reached the deck to take our way homeward the little sail was hardly distinguishable. as no one noticed it, harry and i went to bed, partners in a secret full of romance to us. chapter seventeen. an exciting discovery--the cove wins a name. the next morning, at breakfast, walter proposed that he and harry higginson should, after school, go down to the neck and shoot ducks, for clump had reported that he had seen several flying over the cape. our salt tute was at the table, and harry, in reply, turned to him and said-- "captain, won't you take my gun this afternoon and go with walter in my place? bob and i have a little secret service to attend to, which can't be postponed; so will you shoot the ducks for me?" "no, harry," the captain replied, "i shall not think of shooting here, where we have the hunter of the ottawa--the companion of ollabearqui, the slayer of moose and panther-cats--ha! ha! eh, mr clare?" "well, captain mugford, i will accept your kind offer, as i should like very much to have a few hours' shooting with walter. i shall try it; but a fowling-piece and birds on the wing are different things from a rifle and running game as large as those i used to practise on, and i imagine that walter will not commend me as the indian did," was mr clare's answer. after the morning lessons and dinner were over, harry and i stole off together to make an investigation of last night's mystery. we took our way to the cove, which was soon to win a name. although but three-quarters of a mile from our house, that part of the cape about the cove was the roughest and most inaccessible quarter in our possessions. i do not know that any of us ever climbed down to the water there before. the attractions in every other direction of fishing, bathing, shooting, and boating were so numerous that we had not carried our explorations in that direction. you may possibly remember there are places, sometimes within little more than a stone's-throw of your house, with which you never think of making acquaintance. just such a place was the cove. it did not invite us particularly. it was not on the route of any of our pleasure expeditions, and, as i have said, there were points of interest in every other direction. but just above the cove was a high knob-shaped piece of grass and shrubs, dotted with many slabs of sharp stones that stood up like tombstones, and made the knoll look so much like a grave yard that we used to call it "our cemetery." there the sheep liked to feed just before night. it was a favourite spot, where they often came for their evening bite. we crossed that, and commenced a scramble down a jagged, rocky declivity almost perpendicular. it reminded us of the cliffs in the islands of orkney and shetland, pictures of which, with the men suspended by ropes getting eggs from the nests that fill the crevices, have interested every boy in his geography book. with bruised hands and knees, and rather tattered trousers, we reached a ledge just above the high-tide mark. the cove was a perfect harbour. a boat there would be defended from every gale but a south-wester, and partly from that, whilst it would also be completely hidden unless from a boat right off the entrance of the cove, or unless some one peered over the dangerous cliff above; and what would one think of looking for in there? but we found enough to excite our astonishment. first there were a strand of rope and an oar on the narrow ledge, which we followed a couple of yards, and then saw an opening between two immense strata of stone. we looked in, and a ray of light that came through the fissure at the other extremity showed us a number of kegs, several bales of goods, sails, numerous coils of rope, and various other articles. we climbed in, and found also a rusty flintlock musket, standing between two barrels. if not as much frightened, we were as much astonished as robinson crusoe, when he discovered in the sand the print of a human foot. as hastily as the difficulties would allow, we climbed up the rocks, and hurried towards the house, talking eagerly with each other while we ran as to what those kegs and bales might contain. had they been hidden there by smugglers, or by whom? were they now our property? what was to be the result? out of breath we reached the house, to find for our audience only captain mugford. he was reading in the sitting-room, and put down his book to hear our exciting revelation. when we had told him all, he asked us not to go to the cove again, until mr clare and he had had time to act on the information we had given, and told us to caution the other boys in the same way if we met them before he did. "and now," said he, "i will go out and meet mr clare and walter--down on the neck, are they not? i have no doubt that the cave is the storehouse of smugglers." "smugglers!" we exclaimed. "yes," he answered, pulling on the pea-jacket that always came off in the house, and stowing his pipe in the breast-pocket. "yes, smugglers, good-for-nothing scoundrels! who enjoy the good laws of the country, and all the advantages which a settled government and established institutions give them, and yet play all sorts of tricks to avoid paying the required taxes to support that government; while they do their best to prevent honest, straightforward-dealing traders from gaining a livelihood. then, see to what an expense they put the country to keep up an army of coastguard men and a fleet of revenue vessels. there's the _hind_ sloop of war, with a crew of a hundred and twenty men, and some fifty cutters, large and small, with crews of from fifteen to forty men, on this south coast alone. if it wasn't for these idle rascals of smugglers, these men might be manning england's fleets, or navigating her merchantmen to bring back to her shores the wealth which makes her great and powerful. people talk of the government paying for all this. silly dolts that they are! it is not the government pays; it is they who pay out of their own pockets; and when they encourage smugglers, which they too often do, they are just increasing the amount of their own taxes; and if they don't feel the increase much themselves, they are cheating their neighbours, though they have the impudence to call themselves honest men. i have no patience with those who encourage smugglers, and would transport every smuggler who is caught to botany bay, and still think the fate too good for him." having thus delivered himself, our worthy nautical instructor strode out to meet our fresh tute. we took the news to clump and juno, who received it in mingled terror and amazement; and then we ran to find drake and alf, and pour it out to them. well, we had frequently heard about the doings of smugglers, but to have them burrowing on our cape, and be in a plot for their overthrow, were better than volumes of "flying dutchmen," "pirates of the gulf," "gulliver's travels," "roderick randoms," or even possibly of "robinson crusoes," and all other such made-up stories. here they were fresh; we had watched their boat the night before; we had just come from their cave; and there was plenty ahead to imagine. "hurrah for our cape!" said harry; "was there ever a jollier place for fun?" those days were palmy times for smugglers. high duties, in order to raise a revenue for carrying on the wars in which england had been engaged, had been placed on nearly all foreign articles. wines, spirits, tobacco, silks, laces, ribbons, and indeed a vast number of other manufactures, were taxed more than cent per cent on their value, and some, if i recollect rightly, two or three hundred per cent. in fact, the high duties acted as an encouragement to smugglers, foreigners as well as englishmen, and the whole coast swarmed with their luggers and other craft. sometimes large armed cutters were employed, and their bold crews did not hesitate to defend themselves if attacked by revenue vessels, and sometimes came off the victors. the most disgraceful circumstance connected with these transactions was, that there were large mercantile houses in london who in some instances actually employed the smugglers, and in others gave them direct encouragement by receiving the silks and ribbons and laces, and other goods of that description, and disposing of them openly as if they had paid duty. here, were men of wealth, and intelligence, and education, for the lust of gain inducing their fellow-men to commit a serious crime. they had relays of fleet horses, with light carts and wagons, running regularly to the coast, in which the smuggled goods were conveyed up to london. they bribed, when they could, the revenue men, and they had spies in every direction to give notice of the approach of those whom they could not bribe. they had lookout men on the watch for the approach of an expected smuggling vessel, and spots-men to select he best place on which she could run her cargo. they had also large parties on the beach, frequently strongly armed, to assist in landing the goods and to carry them up to the carts, or to the caves and other hiding-places, where they were stored when the carts were not in readiness. every stratagem and other device was employed to draw the revenue men and military away from the spot where it was proposed to run a cargo. sometimes a few goods, or bales of rubbish to look like goods, were landed in a particular spot, and allowed to fall into the hands of the coast guard, while the real cargo was being landed some miles away and rapidly conveyed up to london. when hard-pressed by a revenue vessel, if of a force too great to render fighting hopeless, the smuggling craft would throw the whole of her cargo overboard, so that when overtaken nothing contraband might be found in her. when the smugglers' cargo consisted of spirits, under such circumstances the casks, heavily weighted, were frequently, when in sight of land, dropped overboard, the landmarks on the shore being carefully taken. thus the smuggler could return, when not watched, and regain her cargo. sometimes the keen-eyed revenue officers had observed her proceedings when letting go the kegs, and on her return they could no longer be found. sometimes the hard-pressed smuggler had not time to sink her cargo, and the kegs, still floating, were made prizes of by the cutter. at other times they were captured when on the point of being landed, or when actually landed, and it was on these occasions that the fiercest battles took place between the smugglers, aided by their numerous coadjutors on shore, and the revenue officers. if the lives of any of the revenue officers were lost during these encounters, the smugglers who were seen to have fired, when captured, were hung, while the less criminal in the eye of the law were transported, or imprisoned, or sent to serve on board men-of-war. it is scarcely too much to say that a large portion of the coast population of england was engaged in this illicit traffic. it bred also a great amount of ill-feeling between them and the coast guard, whom they endeavoured to mislead, annoy, and injure by every means in their power. our worthy salt tutor had friends among the revenue officers, with whom he sided strongly; indeed, his natural good sense and right feeling would have prevented him from supporting a class of men who were so clearly acting against the laws of the country and all rules of right and justice. our tutors that evening held a consultation on board the brig, and decided that it was their duty to go over the next morning to inform the commander of the coast guard of the discovery harry and i had made, and to let him take the steps which he might consider necessary. we two, of course, for the time became perfect heroes of romance, and could talk of nothing else during the evening but of smugglers and smuggling adventures. captain mugford possessed a large amount of lore on that subject, some of which he produced, much to our edification. he gave us an account of the fight between the _peggy_ smuggling lugger and the _bramble_ king's cutter. three men were killed and five wounded on board the revenue cruiser, and a still greater number of smugglers lost their lives, though the lugger escaped on that occasion. she was, however, afterwards fallen in with by the very same cutter, when the smugglers showed fight at first; but so fiercely were they attacked by the brave commander of the cutter, that, their consciences making cowards of them, they yielded after a short struggle. it would have been difficult to convict the crew then on board of the murder of the cutter's people on the previous occasion, had not one of their number turned king's evidence. the captain and mate and two other men were accordingly hung, and the rest transported; but this summary mode of proceeding in no way put a stop to smuggling. the profits were too large, the temptations too great, to allow even the risk of being hung or transported to interfere with the traffic. one story led to another, and at length our skipper came out with one which was voted, by general acclamation, to be superior to all the others. i cannot pretend to give it in old mugford's language, so i present it in my own, keeping, however, closely to the facts he narrated. he called his tale: "jan johnson, the smuggler." some forty years ago, ay, more than that, i belonged for a few months to a revenue cruiser, on board which i volunteered, soon after my return from my second voyage, i think it was, or about that time. the cutter was stationed off this coast, and a hard life we had of it, for in those days the smuggling craft were large armed vessels, full of desperate men, who, when they could not outsail, more than once beat off the cruisers of the king. among the most daring of his class was a fellow called jan johnson, though from having at different times many other names, it was difficult from them to determine to what nation he belonged; indeed, it was suspected that he was an englishman born on this very coast, with every inch of which he was intimately acquainted. he seemed to take absolute delight in setting at defiance all laws of god and man, and, among many other acts of atrocity, he was strongly suspected of the murder of a revenue officer. the officer had, it appears, been the means of taking a valuable cargo of goods belonging to johnson, who some time after encountered him, when in discharge of his duty, near this place. it is supposed that the smuggler had attacked the unfortunate man, and, being by far the more powerful of the two, had grappled with him, and, plunging a long knife into his bosom, had thrown him over the cliffs. the next morning the body was discovered above high-water mark, with a knife known to belong to johnson close to it, and on the top of the cliffs were seen the impressions of men's feet, as if engaged in a fierce struggle. a handkerchief, similar to one the smuggler had been observed to wear, was found in the dead man's grasp, and at a late hour of the night he had been met without one round his throat. a reward was therefore offered for his apprehension, but notwithstanding the sharp lookout we kept for his craft at sea, and the vigilance of the revenue people on shore, he had hitherto escaped capture. he commanded at this time a large lugger, called the _polly_, a fast-sailing boat, which could almost eat into the wind's eye, and when going free nothing could hope to come up with her; so that our only chance of capturing her was to jam her in with the shore, or to find ourselves near her in a calm, when we might get alongside her in our boats. so daring was the smuggler that, though he well knew his life was at stake, he still continued to carry on his free trade with the coast, where he had many friends; yet, notwithstanding that his vessel was constantly seen, she was never approached except by those he trusted. it was towards the end of october--i remember the time well--the days were growing shorter, and the night-watches darker and colder, when, after cruising up and down a week or so at sea, in hopes of falling in with a prize, it came on to blow very hard from the south-west. our skipper was not a man to be frightened by a capful of wind, so, setting our storm sails, we stood off shore and faced the gale like men; for, do ye see, it is just such weather as this was that the smugglers choose to run across the channel, when they think no one will be on the lookout for them. towards evening, however, it came on to blow harder than ever, so that at last we were obliged to up with the helm, and run for shelter into harbour; but just as we were keeping away, a sea struck the cutter, carried away our stern boat, and stove in one of our quarter boats. in this squall the wind seemed to have worn itself out, for before we made the land it suddenly fell, and by daylight a dead calm came on, followed by a dense fog. our soundings told us that we were within a short distance of the coast, so that our eyes were busily employed in trying to get, through the mist, a sight of it, or of any strange sail which might be in the neighbourhood. at last, for an instant the fog lifted towards the north, like when the curtain of a theatre is drawn up, exposing close in with the land the white sails of a lugger, on which, as she rose and fell on the heavy swell remaining after the storm of the previous night, were now glancing the bright beams of the morning sun, exposing her thus more clearly to our view. before we could bring our glasses to bear, the fog again closed in, but every eye was turned in that direction to get another sight of her; we, doubtless, from our position, and the greater thickness of the mist round us, remaining hid from her view. "what think you, davis? which way shall we have the breeze when it does come?" asked our skipper of the old quartermaster, who was the oracle on such occasions. "why, sir, i should say, off the land; it looks clearer there away than it is out here." as the old man delivered himself of this opinion, he turned his one open eye towards the point he indicated: for, though he had two orbs, and they were piercers, he never used more than one at a time--we youngsters used to suppose, to give each alternately a rest. as he spoke, the fog once more opened a little. "and, what do you say to yonder craft?" continued the skipper. the old man's right eye surveyed her intently before he answered-- "i thought i knowed her, sir. as sure as we're alive she's the _polly_, with jan johnson on board." how he arrived at the latter conclusion we did not stop to consider. the words had an electric effect on board. "you are right, davis--you are right!" exclaimed our commander; then, in a tone of vexation, "and we have only one boat to chase her. if there comes a breeze, that fellow will sneak alongshore, and get out of our way. he calculated on being able to do so when he remained there, and no doubt has information that the revenue boats belonging to the station are sent off in other directions." every glass was now turned towards the direction where the smuggler was seen; for you must remember the mist quickly again hid her from us. our skipper walked over to where the carpenter was employed in putting the boat to rights; but soon saw that there was a good day's work or more before she could be made to swim. "it will never do to let that fellow--escape us!" he exclaimed briskly. "mr robertson," addressing his senior officer, a passed midshipman--an oldster in every sense of the word i then thought him,--"pipe the gig's crew away, with two extra hands, and let them all be fully armed. do you take charge of the ship; and if a breeze gets up, press every stitch of canvas on her, and stand after the lugger. that fellow may give us some work; and i intend to go myself." having given these orders, he dived into his cabin, and quickly reappeared, with his cocked hat on and his sword by his side. i belonged to the gig. the boat was, as you may suppose, quickly ready. the order was given to shove off, and away we pulled, with hearty strokes, in the direction of the lugger. the fog for some time favoured our approach towards the spot where we guessed she was to be found, for we could no more see her than the people on board could us. never, when roasting in the tropics under a burning sun, have i wished more earnestly for a breeze than we now did that the calm would continue till we could get alongside the long-looked-for craft. not a word was spoken above a whisper, though we knew that the splash of our oars in the water would soon betray our approach to the sharpened ears of the smugglers, even before they could see us. we redoubled, therefore, our efforts to get alongside, when a light air coming off the land much thinned the intervening mist, showing us the _polly_, with her largest canvas spread to catch the breeze, and now, as she loomed through the fog, appearing twice her real size, while her people clearly made us out. in a moment her sails were trimmed, her long sweeps were run out, and she was moving through the water, though not near so fast as we were pulling. "give way, my boys, give way," shouted our skipper, all necessity for silence being now removed. "give way, and the lugger is ours." with a hearty cheer the men bent to their oars and sent the boat flying through the calm blue water, casting aside the light sparkling foam which bubbled and hissed round her bows, as the story books about seagoing affairs say, such as you youngsters are so fond of reading. well, the breeze freshened, however, before long, and we found that, though still decreasing our distance from the lugger, we were not gaining on her as fast as when she first made us out. we had, however, got within about a quarter of a mile of her, when we saw a man jump on the taffrail, and wave his hat at us as if in derision. even at that distance, some of our people declared they recognised him as jan johnson, whom all of us knew well enough by sight. the next instant a skiff was launched from her decks, into which he jumped, and pulled as hard as he could towards the shore, to which he was already nearer than we were to him. here was a dilemma for our skipper. if we followed the outlaw, his lugger would very likely get away; and if we made chase after her, he would certainly escape, and she, probably, even if we came up with her, would not be condemned. the thought of the murdered man decided our commander, and in a moment the boat's head was turned towards the shore in chase of the skiff. away we went, as fast as six ash oars in stout hands could send us through the water, while johnson, still undaunted, continued his course; yet, in spite of his audacity, he well knew that it was with him a matter of life and death. it was indeed astonishing, when putting forth all his vast strength, how fast he sent along his light skiff; indeed, we gained but slightly on him in our six-oared galley, and we soon saw that he would reach the shore before we could overtake him. "give way, my lads, give way," shouted our skipper, though the men were straining every nerve to the utmost. "give way, and we shall soon be up with him." talk of the excitement of a stag-hunt! it is tame in comparison with the interest men take in the chase of a fellow-creature. there is something of the nature of the bloodhound, i suspect, in our composition which delights in the pursuit of such noble game. a few minutes more decided the point, a cry of vexation escaping us as his boat touched the shore, and, coolly drawing her up on the strand, he was seen to make towards the woods. "shall i bring him down, sir?" asked the seaman who sat in the sternsheets with a musket, marine fashion, between his knees. "no, no," was the answer. "we must take the fellow alive; he cannot escape us, if we put our best feet foremost." just as our boat's keel grated on the sand, johnson disappeared among the rocks and trees, and we could hear a shout of derisive laughter ringing through the wood. "after him, my boys, after him," shouted our skipper, as we all leaped on shore. "a five-pound note to the man who first gets hold of him." and, except a youth who was left in charge of the boat, away we all went, helter-skelter, in the direction the outlaw had taken. he made, it appeared, straight inland, for we could hear his shouts ahead of us as we rushed on, hallooing to each other from among the trees. not one of the party seemed inclined to get before the other--not so much that one was unwilling to deprive the other of the promised reward, but i suspect that no one was anxious to encounter johnson singlehanded, well armed as of course he was, and desperate as we knew him to be. our commander, being a stout man and short-winded, was soon left far behind, though, as he hurried on, puffing and blowing with the exertion he was using, his voice, as long as we could hear him, encouraged us in the pursuit. we had thus made good half a mile or more, when coming suddenly to the confines of the wood, or copse it might rather be called, a wide extent of open ground appeared before us, but not a trace of the fugitive could be perceived. some of the foremost ran on to a spot of high ground near at hand, whence they could see in every direction, but not a figure was moving in the landscape. in the meantime our skipper came up, and ordered us to turn back and beat about the wood. we had been thus fruitlessly engaged for some time, when we were recalled to the shore by a shout from one of our people, and, hastening down to the beach, we beheld, to our dismay, our own boat floating some way out in the bay, while johnson, in his skiff, was pulling towards his lugger, now creeping alongshore out of the reach of the cutter, which still lay becalmed in the offing. what was most extraordinary, the lad who had been left in charge of the boat was nowhere to be seen, and, as far as we could make out, he was neither in her nor in johnson's skiff. you may just picture to yourself our rage and disappointment; indeed, i thought, what from his exertions and excitement, our commander would have been beside himself with vexation. after we had stood for a moment, looking with blank astonishment at each other, he ordered us, in a sharp voice, some to run one way, some another, along the shore, in search of a boat by which we might get on board our galley, for she was too far off for anyone to attempt to swim to her. at last, some way on, we discovered, hauled up on the beach, a heavy fishing-boat, which with some work we managed to launch, and, by means of the bottom boards and a few pieces of plank we found in her, to paddle towards our gig. in our course, we picked up two of our oars which had been thrown overboard, and we were thus able to reach her sooner than we could otherwise have done. what could have become of our young shipmate? we asked each other; but not a conjecture could be offered. johnson could not have carried him off; he would not have ventured to have injured him, and the lad was not likely to have deserted his post. at last we got alongside the gig, and on looking into her we saw jim bolton, our young shipmate, stretched along the thwarts, to which he was lashed. at first we thought he was dead; but a second glance showed us that a gag, made out of a thole-pin and a lump of oakum, had been put into his mouth. on being released it was some time before he could speak. he then told us that he was sitting quietly in the boat, when suddenly a man sprang on him with a force which knocked him over, and before he could collect his senses he found himself lashed to the thwarts with a lump in his mouth which prevented him crying out, and the boat moving away from the shore, and that was all he knew about the matter. as jim bolton was very much hurt, we placed him in the fishing-boat with a midshipman who volunteered to look after him, and anchored her to await our return, while we with hearty goodwill pulled away in full chase of the smuggler. by this time, however, a fresh breeze had come off the land, which filled the sails of the lugger just as johnson sprang from his boat upon her deck, and before a breath of air had reached the cutter he had run her far out of sight, winding his way among those reefs yonder. seeing there was no chance of overtaking him in the gig, we pulled on board, and as soon as the uncertain air put the vessel through the water, we made chase in the direction we calculated the _polly_ would take. for some time we cruised up and down over the ground where we thought we might fall in with her, but could see nothing of her, and we then returned to take out the midshipman and jim, and to restore the boat to the fisherman. we, with several other cruisers, were employed for some weeks in looking out for johnson, but neither he nor the _polly_ was ever again heard of on this coast. ten years passed away, and i belonged to a brig in the west indies, that clime of yellow fevers and sugar-canes. in those days the slave-trade flourished, for, as we had not become philanthropists, we did not interfere with those whose consciences did not prevent them from bartering for gold their own souls and the blood of their fellow-creatures. there was, however, a particular craft we were ordered to look after which had made herself amenable to the laws, having gone somewhat out of the usual line of trade, by committing several very atrocious acts of piracy. she was commanded, it was said, by an englishman, a villain of no ordinary cast, who never intentionally left alive any of those he plundered to tell the tale of their wrongs. he sailed his vessel, a schooner carrying twelve guns, under spanish colours, though of course he hoisted, on occasion, those of any other nation to suit his purpose. we all knew both him and his schooner, for before her real character was suspected, we had for some days laid alongside her at the havanna, and were in consequence selected by the admiral to look out for her. we had been so employed for several weeks, when, one day towards noon, we made out a sail to the southward, towards which we ran down with a light northerly wind. as we neared her, which we rapidly did, we saw that she was a lofty ship--a merchantman evidently--and that she was not only not moving through the waters, but that her braces were loose, and her yards swinging about in every direction. not a soul was looking over her bulwarks when we came within hail, but the men in the tops sang out that they could see several people lying about the decks either asleep or dead. we ran almost alongside, when i was ordered to board her with one of the gigs. never shall i forget the scene which met my sight as i stepped on her decks; they were a complete shambles: a dozen or more men lay about in the after part of the ship, the blood yet oozing from deep gashes on their heads and shoulders, not one of them alive; while on the steps of the companion-ladder were two women, young and fair they appeared to have been, clasped in each other's arms, and both dead. on descending below, we discovered an old lady and a venerable, old gentleman on the deck of the state cabin with the marks of pistol bullets in their foreheads, while at the door of an inner cabin lay a black servant with his head completely twisted round. i will not mention all the sights of horror we encountered; the murderers seemed to have exerted their ingenuity in disfiguring their victims. there were several other dead people below, and at last, searching round the ship, we found stowed away in the forehold a seaman, who, though desperately wounded, still breathed. when brought on deck and a few drops of spirits were poured down his throat, he after some time came to himself, then told us that they had in the morning been attacked by a pirate, who, after they had made a desperate resistance, had carried them by boarding, when every soul in the ship was cut down or thrown into the sea except himself; that he, having fallen down the hatchway just before the pirates rushed on board, had stowed himself away amongst the cargo, and there after some time had fainted from loss of blood. while he lay there, he could hear the shrieks of his shipmates and the shouts and execrations of their butchers, he expecting, every instant, to share the fate of the rest. at last all was silent, the pirates made an ineffectual attempt to scuttle the ship, but were hurried off, probably, by seeing a sail which they mistook for us, or for some other cruiser. scarcely had the unfortunate fellow given this account, when the man at the mast-head of the brig hailed that there was a sail on the lee bow, and we were ordered forthwith to return on board. we all hoped that this might prove the pirate, for we were anxious to punish the miscreants. taking, therefore, the wounded man with us--for being, thanks to the yellow fever, already short of hands, we were compelled to abandon the ship--we made sail in chase. for some time we carried a fresh breeze with us, while the stranger, which we soon made out to be a large topsail schooner, lay almost becalmed; but before we got her within range of our guns the wind also filled her sails, and away she went before it with every stitch of canvas they could pack on her. we also used every means of increasing our rate of sailing; but though our brig was reckoned a remarkably fast vessel, we found that, since we had both the same breeze, we had not in any way decreased our distance from her. it was, however, a satisfaction to find that she did not outsail us before the wind, though there was every probability that, should she haul her wind, she would be able to do so; we therefore kept directly in her wake, to be ready to run down on her, on whichever tack she might haul up. at last, as the breeze freshened, we gained somewhat on her, when she hoisted spanish colours: she had hitherto shown none, but this did not prevent us from trying the range of our bow-chasers on her, to bring her to. several guns were fired without effect; at last a shot struck her main boom and severely wounded it. i never saw a better aim. after this, finding we lost ground by firing, we did not for another hour throw a single shot, nor had the schooner as yet returned our compliment, though she showed no inclination to heave to. away we bowled along before the breeze, throwing aside the now white-crested waves from our bows as we tore through the water. every brace was stretched to the utmost, our spars bent and cracked, but not a sheet was slackened, though our captain kept his glance anxiously aloft to see how long he might let them bear the pressure. again we overhauled her, and got her within range of our long guns, when a shot, directed more by chance, as the sea was running high, or, it might be said, a just providence weary of the miscreants, than by skill, killed the man at the wheel, and lodged in the mainmast. before another man could run to the helm the vessel yawed to port; the boom, already wounded, jibbed over and parted amidships, rendering the huge mainsail of no use, and creating much confusion on board. there was now no fear of her being able to haul her wind for some time, and coming up, hand over hand, with her, we ranged alongside. if we had before any doubts of her real character, we had now none, for the spanish ensign being hauled down, a black flag was hoisted at each mast-head, and the accursed pirate was confessed. the outlaws, doubtless knowing that victory or death alone awaited them, showed their dark symbols in the hopes of intimidating our men, and made up their minds to fight it out to the last. at the same moment they let fly their whole broadside, which, though it did some damage, served to warm up the blood of our people, and made them return it with a hearty good will. for half an hour or more, as we ran on, we thus continued exchanging broadsides, considerably thinning their crowded decks; but as some of our spars were wounded, our captain, fearing lest any being carried away, the enemy might escape, determined without delay to lay him on board, and to try the mettle of true men against their ruffian crew of desperadoes. after receiving her broadside and pouring in ours, we put our helm to port, for she was, you must know, on our starboard side, when, running our bow anchor into her fore chains, our grappling irons were thrown, and we had her fast. with a loud cheer, our boarders sprang to the forecastle, and on to the rigging of the enemy. never shall i forget, if i was to live as long again as i have done, which is not very likely, the set of ferocious countenances which met our sight as we rushed on board. it was fearful work we were about, but our blood was up, and there was no quarter asked or given on either side. we did not stop to think. the pirates knew that there was no pardon for them, and seemed determined to sell their lives dearly. our onset was too furious to be withstood, and in a minute we had cleared a small space on the schooner's decks abaft the foremast, but beyond that every foot was desperately disputed. we had gained some ground forward, when, from the after part of the vessel, a determined band, led by the captain, pressed us hard. twice we were driven back almost to our own ship, many of our men losing the number of their mess, but, finally, determined courage got the better of desperation. inch by inch we drove the pirates aft--the chief of them, to do him justice, keeping always in the front rank, and i believe he killed, with his own hand, more of our people than did all his crew together, though he himself did not receive a scratch. during all this time the marines kept up a hot fire, pikes and pistols were used through the ports, and such guns as could be brought to bear were fired from each of the ships. i have seen plenty of hard fighting, and let me tell you, my boys, though it is very fine reading about, it is very dreadful in reality; yet never in my life have i gone through hotter work, on a small scale, than i did that day--the vessels, too, all the time rolling and pitching tremendously, and tearing away each other's rigging; indeed, it is surprising we did not both founder on the spot. well, we at last managed to clear the fore part of the schooner, by cutting down some and driving others of the pirates overboard, but fifty fellows still held the after part of the deck, uttering fearful oaths and execrations--they continued fighting on--when the deck lifted; fearful shrieks arose, a loud, dull sound was heard, and many of the pirates were hurled into the air, their mangled remains falling among us. for an instant every hand seemed paralysed, and we looked round to see what would happen next; but the explosion had been only partial, and during the confusion the remainder of the band making a rush forward, we again set to at the bloody work, and drove them back. a second attempt to fire the magazine was made, and failed. we were, by this time, secure of victory, though the remnant of the pirates refused to yield. their captain, whom i have spoken of, i now saw leap into the main rigging, when, waving his bloody sword above his head, he hurled it with the fiercest imprecations among us, severely wounding one of our people, and then, with a look of despair not to be forgotten, he plunged into the raging ocean, where a troop of sharks were ready to devour him. at that moment it struck me that i had seen his features in times long passed, and i found afterwards i was right. when their leader was lost, the rest of the pirates submitted, and we had barely time to remove them, and to cut ourselves clear of the schooner, when, with the dying and dead on board, she went down; and on the spot where she had been, the hungry sharks were seen tearing their bodies in pieces, while the sea was tinged around with a ruddy hue. we afterwards fell in with the ship the pirates had attacked, for which we got a good round sum as salvage money, besides other substantial marks of the gratitude of the merchants in the west indies, for having destroyed one of the greatest pests their trade had for a long time known. the pirates were hung at port royal, in jamaica, and the evening before their execution, one of them, for reasons i will some day tell you, desired to see me. i visited him in his cell, and from him i learned that the chief of their band, whose dreadful death i had witnessed, the man who had led them into crime and ruin, was, as i suspected, jan johnson, the smuggler. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ the next morning mr clare and captain mugford went over to ---, where they found commander treenail, to whom they gave all the information they possessed about the smugglers' cave. he heard this account with surprise, for he did not suppose it possible that any spot of ground had remained in that neighbourhood unvisited by his people. however, he was a man of action; and immediately that he comprehended the facts of the case, he signalled from his residence to a cutter which lay off in the bay to get under way, and to wait for him to come on board. "you will accompany me, gentlemen," he said to our tutors; "and as soon as we can get the lads on board who discovered the cave to show us its entrance, we will lose no time in routing out these smuggling vagabonds." the old lieutenant commanding the cutter was waiting with his gig for captain treenail at the quay, and they, with our tutors, were quickly on board the _scout_. how proud harry and i felt when the _scout's_ gig pulled up to the wreck, and we were summoned to show the way to the smugglers' cave. we jumped with alacrity into the gig, feeling as if we had the whole weight and responsibility on our shoulders of leading some important expedition. captain treenail received us very kindly, and cross-questioned us minutely as to the whereabouts of the cave and the various articles we had found within it. the cutter, when rounding the cape, had kept some distance from the little bay near which the cave lay, so that, even had smugglers been on the watch near it, they would probably not have been alarmed; the captain had hopes, therefore, that not only their goods but they themselves would be taken. to make the matter more sure, it was arranged that one party, led by walter, who knew the cape as if he had been born on it, should go by land, accompanied by mr clare; while our salt tutor, with the rest of us, was to go in the cutter. five seamen, with a petty officer, formed the land party, all well armed. they were to proceed cautiously across the downs, watching the movements of the cutter, and keeping themselves as much as possible under cover, so as not to be seen by any smugglers who might be on the lookout. as soon as the boat which took them on shore returned, the cutter's foresail was let draw, and with a fresh breeze she stood out of our cove. our hearts beat quick as we glided rapidly on towards the scene of our proposed exploit. we might possibly soon be engaged in a scene of real fighting. there might be ten or perhaps even fifty smugglers concealed in the cave, with large stores of silks, and tobacco, and spirits; and if so, it was not likely that they would give in without striking some hard blows for their liberty. the breeze freshened, and our speed increased, though, as the wind was off the land, the water was smooth. every inch of canvas the cutter could carry was clapped on her, that we might have the better chance of taking the smugglers by surprise. she heeled over to the breeze till her lee gunwale was under water, while we stood holding on to the weather rigging, and looking out for the entrance to the little cove. we neared it at last. our hearts beat quicker than ever as we luffed up round a point which formed one of the sides of the little cove. sail was rapidly shortened, the foresail hauled down, the jib-sheet let fly, and in half a minute we were at anchor. the next instant the crew, already fully armed and prepared, flew to the falls, and two boats were lowered, into which they and we, with captain treenail, the commander, and one of the mates of the cutter, and our own salt tutor, immediately jumped. literally, before a minute had elapsed, two boats were pulling as fast as boats could pull for the shore. harry and i now felt ourselves of more consequence than we had ever been in our lives before. we were expected to show the way to the cavern, and therefore, as soon as the boats touched the shore, we leaped out, and, pointing to the spot where the mouth of the cavern was to be found, ran towards it along the beach at full speed, followed by the officers and men, who might have had better sea legs, but certainly had not such good shore legs as we possessed. we were some little way ahead of the rest, and our object must have been very evident to any persons acquainted with the existence of the cavern. just then the report of a firearm was heard, and a bullet whistled by us close to our ears. it did not stop us though, but made us dart on still more rapidly; and as we did so we saw a man climbing up the cliff above the cavern. had any of the men with muskets been with us, they might have shot him. he turned round for an instant, and shook his fist at us; but before our companions came up he had disappeared. it took some time before the seamen who volunteered to go managed to climb up the slippery rock to the mouth of the cavern. when once two or three had gained a footing, they let down ropes, by which the rest easily got up. the forlorn hope, as the first party might be called, then dashed into the cavern, expecting, perhaps, to meet with a hot fire of musketry. not a sound, however, was heard; no one appeared; on they boldly went. the smugglers might have had still more deadly intentions, and, it was possible, had prepared a mine to blow up anyone venturing into their cave. they were capable, according to our salt tutor's notion, of any atrocity. still the forlorn hope went on without meeting with any impediment. more seamen entered, led by captain treenail, and others followed, till we were all inside; and torches being lit, the cavern was thoroughly examined. not a human being was discovered, but the cave contained a far larger amount of bales of silks, and ribbons, and tobacco, and kegs of spirits, than we had supposed. it was, indeed, a far larger seizure than the coast guard on that station had ever before made. they were proportionably delighted, though they would have liked still more to have caught a dozen or two of smugglers, though not quite so valuable a prize as they would have been during the height of the war, when they would have been sent off to man our ships, and to fight the naval battles of old england. when we found that no one was inside we told captain treenail of the man we had seen climbing up the cliff. he instantly ordered some of the most active young men of the cutter's crew to go in chase; but after hunting about for some time, they could find no possible way of getting up, and therefore had to abandon the attempt. the next thing was to convey the captured goods to the cutter. this occupied some time, as there were literally several boatloads of goods, to the value, i fancy, of a couple of thousand pounds. it must have been vexatious in the extreme, to any of the smugglers witnessing our proceedings, to see their property thus carried off before their eyes. it must have made them vow vengeance against those who captured it, and against us especially, who, they must have suspected, had given the information respecting the cave. among the articles found in the cavern was a rusty old musket. the old lieutenant, mr mophead, commanding the cutter, was a curiosity. i should like to describe him. he was very fat and very short, and very red-faced, which is not surprising, considering the hot suns which had shone on that face of his, and the vast amount of strong liquor which he had poured down his throat. just as the last boatload had been got on board, walter and his party appeared, not having seen any smugglers. mr mophead politely invited him on board. as soon as the boats were hoisted up, and the cutter was once more under way, standing from harbour, mr mophead took the musket in his hand, and, approaching walter, said, with great form, "mr walter tregellin, with captain treenail's leave--and i am sure that he will give me leave--i beg to present to you this weapon, that you may hand it to your respected father. he may like to possess it, to remind him how the cutter _scout_, lieutenant mophead commander, was the means of relieving his property of a nest of smugglers, who would very soon, in my opinion, have taken possession of it." walter took the musket respectfully, though he could not help smiling; and our salt tutor blew his nose steadily for ten minutes. the same old musket my father afterwards gave to harry and me, the discoverers of the smugglers' cave; and harry relinquished all his rights in it to me. it hangs now in my study, not far from the dog-collar--another memento of those good old times. we got back to our own cove in a very short time, and we landing, the cutter returned, with her valuable cargo, to her usual port. clump, who had remained to take care of the house, informed us that he had been watching the downs above the cave, and that he had seen several men pass across the downs, and, running quickly, go towards the boat harbour often mentioned. they then jumped into a boat and pulled across the harbour to the village, where they disappeared. such was the termination of the adventure for that day; but the romance, unfortunately for us, had not come to an end. chapter eighteen. october sport--a black joke. only two weeks more! letters had come from our parents to us and to our tutors, saying that we must return to bristol on november the first. our great amusement at this time was shooting, as boating had become somewhat cold work. now and then we knocked down a few straggling wild fowl, which at that early season had incautiously approached our cape, not aware of the sportsmen residing on it. our tutors entered enthusiastically into the sport, borrowing guns from the town across the bay, and joining walter and harry every afternoon. we other fellows were also allowed to be there to take charge of ugly, who entered into the sport as warmly as any of us. we generally stayed on the neck until near sunset, and just as the rabbits were out for their supper, started for home. that was ugly's half-hour of sport, in which he was always sure to bring two or three rabbits round to the guns. mr clare could not shoot as well as walter, or even harry, at flying game, but he was first-rate at rabbits; let them jump as fast and high as they might, with ugly only ten feet behind, and if our fresh tute pulled on them; they were sure to fall. with the captain things went differently, much to our amusement; for our salt tute cared not how much we laughed at his failures, which all his shots were. he brought up his gun as if it were a harpoon, and always gave it a jerk, to help it shoot farther, when he pulled the trigger. the butt was seldom at his shoulder; and as he insisted upon putting immense loads in his gun, the results were sometimes disastrous to him and ridiculous to us. he often sprang back after a shot, as if he had been kicked by a horse, or wrung his hands, which had borne the recoil. his misses and misfortunes, however, never made him angry or dejected. after each failure, out came the red bandanna to wipe his brow, and as a shout of laughter greeted the performance, he would say calmly, with only a gleam of a smile, "so, boys, you think i missed, eh? well, _perhaps_ i did." clump and juno having been much alarmed and excited by the discovery of the smugglers, we boys determined to profit by their disquieted state of mind, and hatched a scheme to afford some fun. we watched an opportunity to put it in execution. the time came one evening when our tutors did not return with us to the house after the afternoon's shooting, but went to the _clear the track_, to chat and settle some other matters until tea-time at seven. delighted with the arrangement, we boys ran to the house, and, getting up into our attic, began to make preparations for the trick we had concocted. there was nothing very original in our plan, i must own, nor was it, i confess, a very grand or noble thing to try and frighten a couple of poor ignorant negroes, for such was the object just then of our plans and preparations. clump and juno had a wholesome dread of smugglers and of the acts of vengeance of which they were supposed to be capable. we therefore arranged to dress up so as to make ourselves look as formidable as possible, and then to appear suddenly before the old couple. for this purpose we brought up from the wreck all the boat cloaks, greatcoats, and pieces of canvas which we could find, and sou'westers and tarpaulin hats, not forgetting some pistols and rusty swords. besides these we laid in a store of pasteboard, and brown and coloured paper, and some laths, and string, and paint, and corks, and tow. with this abundant supply of materials we set to work to fabricate a variety of garments, such as we supposed smugglers would wear; at all events, such as were worn on the stage. we made a sufficient number of false noses to supply each of our faces, and long curling moustaches, which made those who wore them look very fierce. some had wigs with wonderfully long shaggy hair, and others beards of prodigious growth. the greatcoats and cloaks served for most of the party, with belts round their waists stuck full of daggers made of wood, and a real pistol or two. then we manufactured out of the canvas some high boots of huge proportions; the upper part capable of containing the whole of a man's personal luggage, and a day's supply of provender into the bargain. nothing could exceed, either, the wild and ferocious appearance of our hats. two of us wore black feathers in them, and two others were adorned with death's heads and cross bones: indeed, it must be confessed that we represented much more a band of pirates of two or three centuries back than a party of such smugglers as it was probable could be found on the british coast. besides the real swords we possessed, we manufactured some hangers out of wood, which we hung by sashes at our sides. in fact, our disguises were complete in every respect, and so fierce did we all appear, that i truly believe, had one of us met another in any gloomy, half-lighted place, both heroes would have run away. walter took an active part in all the arrangements, and being the tallest and well stuffed out, looked every inch of him a bold smuggler. it is wonderful what burnt cork and rouge and dark locks will effect in turning a mild, gentle-looking person into a fierce leader of outlaws. it was arranged that drake and i should go down first before dressing up, to prepare the way for the rest of the actors, then he was first to step out, and i was to follow, and get ready. all being at length prepared, we descended to the kitchen, and strolled in there in a tired way, as if we were just in the humour to listen to the old blackies' talk and receive their petting. clump, sitting bent over the fire to get light for his work, was cutting some tholes for the boat with his knife. "hi," he said, as he saw us enter, "dat's good fur sore eyes." and juno, taking the pipe from her mouth, greeted us with a long whiff of smoke, and-- "i'se glad you'se cum--getten dark an glum 'ere, only ole clump an me. what do yun massas shoot?" drake held up a couple of rabbits and three wild fowl. "oh! de gorry--all dem!--well, dis chile nebber sees de like; an you'se gwine ter gib dem ter clump agin--'spects so, all you'se don't want. de ole niggers be rich dis winter." clump, when he had got us seats, dusting the kitchen chairs with his long coat-tails, resumed his task, and as juno's garrulousness ran on, he shook his head and chuckled, and muttered and grinned, just as if he were behind the scenes and prompting her to amuse us. he always had that funny way of grimacing and conversing with himself gaily, whilst juno indulged in her talkative fits. he admired his old partner hugely. once, when travelling with my father, he heard at an assize some great lawyer make a speech, and said, when the orator had concluded-- "de'clar, massa, dat's fine; dis nigger nebber hear anyone speak like dat afore, 'cept--'cept juno." by-and-by, as juno's talk ran sluggishly, and the pipe required much picking and blowing, clump got up to put by his work and light a lamp. but that we forbid, saying the firelight was so much pleasanter. "dat's so," said juno, who had got her solace in good order again, and was all ready to start off on a new stream of jabber. "dat's so--clump not ole nuff ter know dat fire-lite more good dan lam-lite. hi! hi! he only chile yit." drake interrupted there, to turn the conversation into another channel, by saying that we should leave the old house soon to go back to bristol, and clump asked, having taken a seat on the wood-box directly under the trap-door, "an you'se glad--glad? 'spects de ole house git cole an dull to yous now; 'spects de yun massas want git home?" "well, no, clump," answered drake; "i don't want to go away--that is, we would not want to go if--if--if we had not been somewhat frightened this evening." juno, because of her deafness, did not plainly hear what drake had said, but she judged it in part from his manner and the assumed look of terror that he cast over his shoulder. so she bent forward anxiously, and asked him in a voice full of concern-- "wat's dat, massa drake--wat's dat you say?" drake drew nearer to her and repeated what he had said. "my hebbens, massa drake, wat did scar you?" "well, you see, aunt juno," replied drake, looking cautiously about him again in the darkness of the room--"bob and i were coming round at the back of the house, when we heard, or thought we heard, whispering, and on drawing nearer, we heard some fearful threats uttered; i cannot say what they were, they were so dreadful." "oh! don't talk so, massa drake, if dere was anybody, dey must be de smugglers, and dey will come to cut all our troats," exclaimed juno, looking cautiously round over her shoulder. i cannot say that even then, thoughtless as i was, i liked what drake had said, because he had told a positive falsehood, and it was no excuse to declare that it was said in joke. drake continued, his voice growing more and more tremulous every instant, as if with terror--"that's not all. as we crept away undiscovered, we heard the tramp of many feet coming up from the shore, and we shouldn't be surprised if at this very moment the house was surrounded by smugglers, come to carry us all off to foreign lands, to make slaves of us." "or to make soup of us," i cried out, wringing my hands. "oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" "what has become of walter and the rest, it is impossible to say," added drake. "too probably they have been already spirited away by the smugglers. oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" he exclaimed, and, jumping up, ran out as if to look for them. juno and clump were, it seemed, very much alarmed, both rolling their large eyes round and round till they grew bigger and bigger. certain noises outside increased the terror of the two poor souls, but i knew that they indicated impatience on the part of my companions. accordingly, exclaiming that i would bear it no longer, i too jumped up, and ran after drake. as neither of us returned, it was but natural that juno and clump should have supposed that we had been carried off by the smugglers. there the two poor souls sat, shivering and trembling with alarm, not daring to go out, for fear of finding their worst anticipations realised. at last, clump--who was really a brave fellow at heart, though just then overtaken by a nervous fit--got up, and, taking his old gun from over the mantelpiece, prepared to load it. several pair of sharp eyes had been watching proceedings from outside. now was the moment for action. led by walter, in we rushed, and then advanced with threatening gestures towards the old couple. we were afraid of uttering any sound, lest the well-known tones of our voices should have betrayed us. juno was at first the most alarmed. she did not scream or shriek, however, but, falling on her knees, appeared as if she was thus resolved to meet her death. poor old clump meantime stood gazing at us with an almost idiotic stare, till walter, advancing, gave him a slap on the back, sufficient, it must be owned, to rouse him up. at first, the blow adding to his overwhelming terror, he rolled over, a mere bundle of blackness, into the wood-box, nothing being visible to us but two long quivering feet and five black fingers. but in a moment after, with his still unloaded gun in his hand, he sprang up like a madman, jumped over the table, and, not trying to open the door, burst through the window, smashing half a dozen panes of glass. who should open the door just then and come in, as clump demolished the window and went out, but captain mugford! having left mr clare enjoying a nap on a sofa in the brig, he had come up to the house, and, hearing the frightful noises in the kitchen, rushed in there. so much was he prepared by the yells that escaped for some tragic scene of scalding or other accident, that it required two or three minutes before he could take in the meaning of the commotion. but when he recognised in the fierce smugglers a party of his young friends, and when he beheld juno's situation, and the shattered frame through which clump had struggled, he took the joke, and broke into the most elephantine convulsions of laughter that i ever heard or witnessed. for half a minute, at least, he shook and shook internally, and then exploded. an explosion was no sooner finished than the internal spasm recommenced, and so he went on until i really feared he might injure himself. after five minutes of such attack, he managed to draw out his bandanna and cover his face with it, and then, whilst we watched his figure shaking and quivering, we heard, like groans, from beneath the handkerchief, "oh ur-rh-ha--ar--uh! bless me!" when he took down his handkerchief and happened to see juno rising from her knees, he swelled up again like a balloon, and then eased off gradually in splutterings and moans as a dying porpoise. after which, he went and pacified juno, and tried to explain to her what a wicked trick we had been guilty of, and that the band of smugglers, after all, were only the boys she knew so well, and he proceeded to disrobe us, one by one, so that the old woman might comprehend the joke. and so she did, but she sat motionless for a time, until some portion of her usual composure returned; and then she got up with many a sigh and mutterings of "ki! ki! tink dat's wicked--frite ole juno so--oh lor!" but before tea was served, i heard her chuckling slyly, and turning towards us again and again as she poured the hot milk on the toast she was dishing up. we meantime were employed in peeling, and by degrees got restored to our usual appearance, and we then hurried up to our rooms to wash off the rouge and the marks of burnt cork with which our faces were covered. but the captain sat down and shook quietly for a long while, the tears rolling down his face, and his fingers opening and closing convulsively on the handkerchief. and when tea was quite ready, he went off to hunt up clump. mr clare came in soon after, but we had, by that time, got the better of the fun, and removed all traces of the commotion. when the captain joined us at the table, he had another laughing spasm before he could say or eat anything; but for the remainder of the evening he controlled himself pretty well, only breaking out about half a dozen times, and blowing his nose until it was very red and swollen. however, mr clare never heard of the way the poor negroes had been frightened by a practical joke, a thing he particularly disliked and had often spoken against. chapter nineteen. last days on the cape--a terrible night. and now, the time of our stay on the cape was drawing to a close. only three days more remained, and they were to be occupied in collecting our books, packing trunks, and all the unpleasant little duties that become so tedious and dispiriting when, like a drop curtain, they announce the end of the play. perhaps if the days of our cape life had been prolonged, we should have regretted the detention from home, and yearned for our dear parents, looking on the cape, that had already lost some of its attractions, as soon to become a dreary point beaten by winter winds and seas and drifted across by the snow. but because we _must_ go, therefore it was hard to go. what cannot be done, cannot be had, cannot be reached--that is just what the boy wants. as we could not yet actually realise the desolateness and barrenness of winter there, but only remember the delights and beauties of summer and autumn, we lost cheerfulness over the boxes and trunks, and sighed because of the brick walls, narrow streets, and toilsome school-work that were soon to bound our lives. on a wednesday we had been for our last afternoon's shooting on the moor. our tutors had walked round to return their guns to the lenders over in the town. we strolled to the house through the fast fading afternoon light, talking of the memorable events in our half-year just closing. "now, i think," said drake, "that our boat-race was the best fun of all." "i don't," alf answered, "though we had a good time then, i know; but what is there to compare with the cruise and shipwreck?--the excitement lasted so long and came out all right." "yes, it came out all right, but there was only a tight squeak that it did not go all wrong. i tell you what, fellows, i was horribly frightened that night, before we struck on boatswain's reef," said harry. each of us but walter added, "so was i." "walter, now you were frightened, too. own now!" continued harry. "no, i was not, really!" answered walter. "somehow i never feel afraid on the water; and i think it must be because i was born at sea, you know, when our father and mother were returning from the west indies. now if i had been behind a pair of runaway horses, instead of aboard a good boat, i might have got shaky, i daresay." "well, my opinion is," said i, "that just the best time of all was finding the smugglers' cave; but i am afraid that, after we are gone, they may come down hard on clump and juno, and when we have--" walter interrupted me with "nonsense, those fellows will know enough to keep hid or give the cape a wide berth after this. but talking about the good times we have had, i have enjoyed our shooting best of all, and so has ugly, i'll bet--haven't you, ugly?" to which our bright little dog answered as well as he could by barking an assent, and jumping before us to wag his tail energetically. "hallo!" harry exclaimed, stopping, as he spoke, to look off to sea; "there's a rakish-looking lugger--don't you see?--just there, to the south-east, near bass rocks. i wonder what she is after." "after?" answered drake, "why, probably running down to penzance." "i don't know about that," said harry, who continued to watch the vessel with much interest; "it looks to me as if she were running close in, to anchor." "well, let her anchor if she likes. there's nothing strange in that, when there's not wind enough to fly a feather;" and after a few moments more, in which we resumed our way to the house, drake continued-- "haven't our tutors proved splendid fellows? i think the captain is the finest old chap that i ever came across; and when mr clare is a clergyman i should like to go to his church--shouldn't feel a bit like going to sleep then." to which we all gave a cordial assent, and, having reached the house, turned in there with the prospect of having some fun with clump and juno before our tutors should return. i stood at the door a few minutes. sure enough harry was right. though it was too dark now to distinguish anything more than a hundred yards away, i heard the running out of a cable and then the lowering of the sails. "an odd place to anchor for the night," thought i, and so did ugly, who was beside me, for he gave a low, uneasy howl. juno was laying the plates for tea, as i went in. after teasing her for awhile i joined the other boys. soon juno came out to the kitchen, and when she commenced to fry the hasty-pudding, we induced clump to tell us some of his sea adventures, in the middle of which ugly set up a furious barking, and a moment afterwards there came a heavy rap at the front door. it was the first time there had been a knock at a door of our old house since we had been in it. clump, leaving his story unfinished, took a candle, and drake and i followed him into the dining-room, which he had to cross to get to the front door. but by the time we had entered the dining-room a stranger had walked into the hall, and had also proceeded to open the door opposite us. ugly, who was greatly incensed, jumped forward and took hold of a leg of the stranger's trousers. our visitor was a small, rough, ugly man, with a terrible squint in his eyes and a voice as unpleasant as his face. he had no collar, only a handkerchief about his neck, and wore a large, shaggy flushing jacket. his first act was to kick ugly halfway across the room, with the salutation: "take that, you damned cur, for your manners, damn you!" ugly made at him again fiercer than ever, but i caught him in time and held him. "wat will you 'ab, sir?" asked clump in a dignified voice. "what will i have, ay? i'll have that cur's life if he comes at me agin, and i want to know, old nigger, if,"--here the rough customer spit some tobacco-juice on the floor--"i want to know if you kin 'commodate four or five gents for the night, ay?" all of clump's spirit was aroused, and he stammered as he replied-- "no, mon; n-o-o-o! we dussen keeps no ho-o-o--hotel 'ere, we dussen. you'se find tabben ober end de town. dis am massa tre-gel--tre-gel-- massa tregellin's privet mansion." "ho! ho!" answered the man, slapping his hat down on his head and spitting again. "_massa_ tregellin's house, is it? look here, boys, you just tell your dad, when you see him, that he has got a foolish, consequential nigger and a mean, tumbledown affair of a hut, if it can't 'commodate some poor sailors. howsumever, i'll go back to my lugger, and bad luck to your _mansion_! old nig, look 'er here--perhaps we'll see each other again." he looked slowly all round the room, and went out, slamming the doors after him. fifteen minutes afterwards our tutors came in, and when they heard of our visitor captain mugford waxed wroth. "i wish i had been here," he exclaimed; "if i wouldn't have put that scoundrel off soundings in about half a splice! the impudent fellow, to attempt to lord it in that style in a gentleman's house. what do you think of it, mr clare, eh?" "oh, not much, captain mugford. the man was probably tipsy, and was of course a bully, or he would never have talked so before boys and a poor old negro. i am glad neither walter nor harry was in the room." "so am i, sir," said walter; "we were in the kitchen and came in when we heard the loud talking, just as the man slammed the doors in going out. we could have done nothing more than order him out." after tea we boys went into the kitchen again, leaving our tutors playing at chess, which mr clare was trying to teach captain mugford. that kitchen was a favourite resort of ours in the evenings, and clump and juno liked to have us there. there was a famous fire--three or four fresh logs singing over a red mass of coal; plenty of ashes; and a whistled tune with a jet of smoke right from the heart of each stick. the brass fire-dogs were extra bright, reflecting the blaze on all sides. some chestnuts and potatoes were roasting in the ashes, and clump had provided some cider to treat us to, this last night of ours on the cape. so we pulled our chairs close around the fire, clump sitting at one end, almost inside the chimney-place, smoking his pipe, and juno at the other end, also almost inside the chimney-place, and smoking, too, her pipe. hi! how they grinned, and chatted, and smoked. after awhile, when we had had a full hour of real fun, quizzing the old folks, telling stories, eating chestnuts and potatoes, drinking cider, and listening to stories of the west indies, walter and harry got up to clean their guns. "wen you'se cum 'ere nudder time, 'spect dese ole black folks be gwine 'way--be gwine 'crost de ribber jordan?"--exclaimed juno, with a long sigh. "now, don't talk in that way," said harry; "why, marm juno, you and clump will live to dance at my wedding; see if you don't; and now, juno, just give us a kettle of hot water, will you, to rinse out these gun-barrels with." when the guns were washed, dried, and rubbed off with oil, i said to clump, "have you got any bullets or buckshot?" "don't know, massa bob--'spects so, en my ole tool-box." "why," asked drake, "what are you going to do, bob, with bullets and buckshot?" clump was down on his knees in the closet, overhauling the tool-box he had spoken of. "well, drake, i'll tell you if clump finds the articles," i answered. "have you got any, clump?" "yah, massa, 'ere's a han'ful." "these bullets and buckshot," i continued, "are for walter and harry to load their guns with; for, just as sure as that fellow came here this afternoon, just so sure, i believe, he will be back here before morning with more like him." "what stuff," sang out walter, laughing; "what puts that in your head, bob?" "i don't know exactly what, walter, but i suspect it, and i have not liked to say anything about it before, because i was afraid of being laughed at. but the more i think of it, the more certain i am that the man who was here to-night is one of the band of smugglers who owned the goods taken through our means by the revenue men. there are others with him, and, mark my word, they have not come back for nothing. now do, fellows, load your guns. we needn't say anything and get laughed at, for the captain will surely laugh if we tell him my suspicions. you can take your guns upstairs, and then, if anything does happen before morning, you'll be all ready." "well, walter," said harry, "suppose we do--it's good fun at any rate to make believe that robbers, and outlaws, and smugglers, and all other sorts of odd visitors are coming--and--i cannot help owning that what bob says sounds probable. so here go two bullets for this barrel, and nine buckshot for the other. come, walt, load up! don't you shake in your boots already? ugh!" "it is curious that we should have pretended to be smugglers if smugglers really do come. probably that makes bob fancy they will come; still, i wish that we had not frightened the old people so," said walter, loading his gun; and a few minutes later mr clare opened the kitchen door and called us in to evening prayers. as they always did, clump and juno assembled with us in the dining-room. there was something very impressive in those few moments before the chapter for reading was found. there was the sound of the turning over of the bible leaves, and that of a light, pattering autumn rain without, (it had commenced after dark), besides the comfortable crackling of the wood-fire, and the occasional snapping of the fresh logs. the old, devoted, pious negroes; the rugged, benevolent captain, with an expression of thought and reverent waiting in his face; and we boys, so full of youth and spirits, sat thinking--soberly, and perhaps solemnly-- how neither sickness nor harm had come near us; what blessings of pleasure, health, and strength had waited on us all during half a year; how those dear ones separated from us had been preserved from suffering and calamity, and were hoping to meet us before another week had commenced; how the common ties and associations that had united us so happily and so long were soon to be sundered. those and many other-- some graver, some lighter--thoughts, in those few seconds, occupied our minds, whilst mr clare turned over the leaves beneath the table lamp, and then his clear, strong voice slowly and feelingly uttered the words: "i will say of the lord, _he is_ my refuge and my fortress: my god; in him will i trust. surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. he shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth _shall_ be _thy_ shield and buckler. thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday... because thou hast made the lord which is my refuge, even the most high, thy habitation... for he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone... he shall call upon me, and i will answer him. i will be with him in trouble: i will deliver him and honour him. with long life will i satisfy him, and show him my salvation." and when the prayers had ended, we separated quietly for our beds, the captain going off as usual to the brig. i turned the key in the hall-door as he went out--the first time such a thing had been done during our stay on the cape. ugly coiled himself up on the horsehair sofa in the dining-room, and in half an hour more, i suppose, every soul in the old house was asleep. i dreamed that a lot of rabbits were in a hole together and making a humming noise, which, i believed, was a whispering they were having together, and i wanted to hear what they said, but that ugly made such a barking i could not. i woke up, and, sure enough, ugly was very noisy in the room below, barking regularly and harshly. no one else in the house seemed to be disturbed. there was a placid snoring in the attic, a pattering of rain on the roof, and a splashing of water, as it ran off steadily in a stream to the ground. but in a minute or two, between ugly's barks i thought i heard something which recalled what i had been dreaming of, the rabbits whispering in their burrow. i listened. yes, some persons outside the house were talking together in low voices. i crawled to a window and looked out. there was an indistinct group of three or four persons standing by the rock, twenty yards from the house. their talk was only a murmur of different voices in discussion, sometimes louder, sometimes fainter; but as i watched, one of the group struck a light, and i saw in the flash four or five or more figures, and the face of the man who had entered the house in the evening, who was now holding a lantern to be lighted, and was also looking up at the house. it was a dark lantern, i suppose, for the light was shut up in some way after that. i shook each of the boys and told them to look out of the window, and then i ran into mr clare's room and woke him. when he saw that some sort of robbery or attack was to be made on the house, he exclaimed, "i hope they do not know that the captain is alone in the brig," and ran downstairs to bolt all the doors and windows as securely as they could be fastened, and awaken clump and juno, who slept in a little room off the kitchen. not a lamp was lighted in the house, but the smugglers had heard the noises made, and now, talking and swearing aloud, approached the door and turned the handle. being bolted within, they could not open it. "hullo! hullo! i say, you tregellin fellows, wake up!"--it was the voice we had heard before--"wake up and let us in?"--it sounded as if he turned to his companions then, and laughed and muttered something--"here's some decent sailor-boys as wants a drop and a bite, so wake up quick, boys and niggers!--let us in, i say, or we'll break open the doors, and break your bones into the bargain." at the conclusion of the speech, they all beat on the door and house with fists and sticks, and laughed loudly at their leader's joke. mr clare now went down the narrow, creaking stairs again to the big door they were pounding against so fiercely, and from behind its defence answered the summons. "men: this is a private house, and you must go away. you will get nothing here, and we are armed." "hurrah!" they answered without. i shall omit the terrible oaths with which they loaded every breath they spoke. "who are you, big voice?" "no matter," called out mr clare, "who i am. i suspect who you are, and we do not intend to let you get in here--that is all." "that's a lie--we'll be in in ten minutes and make your bass a squeak. if you don't open this 'ere door in a jiffy--we'll make grease-pots of you along with them niggers. look what we'll do with your castle--just what we have been doing with the old hulk down there on the rocks." as he spoke, the darkness in the house withdrew to the holes and corners, and flashes of red and white light shot into every window and played on the walls, reflected from the midnight sky that had suddenly kindled to a blaze. the outlaws had set the old wreck on fire--our dear old school-house. could the captain be there, sleeping yet? or had they killed him? ah! that doubt about captain mugford's safety magnified the danger of our own situation to our imaginations. if those outlaws could burn, in madness, such a harmless thing as the castaway brig, and could conquer such a powerful man as our salt tute, what might they not do here to us? the hour--the yelling and swearing and banging at the doors--the lurid glare flashing from the sky to show us each other's fear-stamped countenances--those united to bewilder and appal us boys at least. juno, too, was upstairs in our room, sitting on a low chair, perfectly silent, but overcome by dread. but clump, who now showed the courage he really possessed, was active with mr clare downstairs, strengthening every window and door. he was not afraid. his old spirit was aroused, and, in the defence of his dear master's children, he was anxious to prove his courage and fidelity. "harry," mr clare called up the stairs, "bring me your gun. i shall want that down here. you say it is all loaded and ready, eh? well, bring it down. walter, you keep yours upstairs, and all you boys remain there until it is necessary to come down; and now, walter, don't fire unless there is absolute necessity. the rascals can't burn this house unless they light the roof, and they can't stay here all night to do that, for the light of the _clear the track_ will bring over some of the townspeople. poor mugford! poor mugford! bob, you climb up to that little window in the south gable-end, and see if you can detect any movement about the wreck." harry handed him the gun, and i climbed to the lookout, relinquishing ugly, whom i had been holding, to juno's care. he had been ordered not to bark, so now he only panted fiercely and listened intently. the smugglers, after vain attempts at the front door--they could have smashed in the windows, shutters, latches, glass, and all, but their small size and height from the ground made them most dangerous to enter by when there were defenders within went round to the back of the house, and presently i heard a great ripping and banging of boards there, and mr clare's voice call quickly-- "if one inch of you enter there, i will fire--understand that." then we heard a shot, but knew by the report that it was not harry's gun, and drake called down the stairs, "clump, who fired?" "de smugglers, massa; one den shoot tru de winder at massa clare, but tank de lor, the scoundrel miss." just then i saw--and how the blood coursed with one cold sweep from my heart and back again--amid the hot flames of the burning wreck, captain mugford's figure. he sprang from the deck to the rocks and was rushing towards the house. i turned and called the good news, but found that juno and i were alone. the others, too much excited and interested in the contest to remain longer prisoners in the attic, had got on the stairway, and when i looked down on them walter was on the bottom step with his gun cocked. now many steps and the yelled-out blasphemy of the smugglers came round the house again to the front. though, as we knew afterwards, two remained to keep mr clare occupied there, whilst the three others were to try the windows again. captain mugford must be near. oh! that he could get here safely. ugly jumped by me, and, uttering a savage bark, sprang downstairs and past walter. he had escaped from juno's charge. as he flew about the rooms downstairs, a whole sash and shutter in the south-east room were driven in by a blow of an immense beam, and in another second half the body of a smuggler was above the window-sill. but with a tremendous leap ugly reached him and pinned him by the throat. they tumbled back together. then we heard a new voice--captain mugford's! "you cowards, you hang-dogs, you scum of the sea, you dark-hearted blackguards--take that! aye, villains!--and that!" two pistol shots were heard. harry jumped to open the door for captain mugford. walter stood ready beside him with the gun. i ran with drake to the open window, to see if harm had come to our dear salt tute, and alfred had hurried in to where mr clare was alone guarding the back-door and broken windows, for he had sent clump, not knowing of our being downstairs and of the captain's coming, to fight where we were. clump had a short iron bar in his hands. i saw the man whom ugly had gripped fallen on his knees and cutting our gallant little dog from his neck with a knife. one outlaw was stretched on the ground. another was struggling with the captain. he was a large, powerful fellow, and seemed to be getting the better of our now much-exhausted tutor. as i looked, the prostrate man rose, and both he and the one whom poor ugly-- now dead on the grass--had attacked came to help crush the captain. then the front door was flung open. walter fired, and the man who had killed our brave dog dropped the knife he held, and, clasping his left shoulder with his right hand, screamed out a terrible oath, and, yelling with pain, ran from the struggle. at the same moment--all these events, from the time captain mugford arrived until the door was opened to admit him, not occupying probably three minutes--the captain fell beneath his adversary, whose fingers clutched his throat, and the infuriated outlaw seemed determined to finish him. walter could not fire again without shooting the very one for whose safety alone he would fire. but clump jumped out with his iron bar and struck the assailant on the head. the captain was released just as i saw the other miscreant level a pistol at clump. i called, "oh, clump, clump, take care!" with the sound of my voice came the sharp, fatal crack of the pistol, and clump fell back--_dead_! two minutes more and all the smugglers were in full flight. the old, grey-headed, faithful, true-hearted clump was dead, and juno stretched unconscious on her husband's body. ugly, all hacked to pieces, lay in a pool of blood, yet gasping. captain mugford, wounded, bruised, and exhausted, sat on the doorstep. mr clare was leaning over clump with a hand on the pulseless heart. the burning wreck yet lighted the heavens, and the horrid scene at the very doorstep of our home of such a happy half-year. chapter twenty. a retrospect and farewell. it is fifty years ago and some months since that rainy, bloody, flame-lit october night. and now this cold, wintery, blustering midnight, i--the bob tregellin of my story--sit writing this concluding chapter. there is a coal-fire glowing hot in the grate. there are shelves and shelves of books; easy-chairs sprawling their indolent figures here and there; a curled-up bunch of fur purring in one; an old black setter-dog dreaming--as i can see by the whine in his quick breathing and the kicking of his outstretched legs--on a bearskin rug before the fire; and a circle of bright light from a well-shaded lamp falls about my table. yes--but i shall get up now for a minute and take down the old musket and dog-collar, the sight of which always vividly recalls those happiest months of my life--fifty years ago. as i replace them the storm without comes in a heavier, fiercer gust. i hear it rush in a whirl up the street. i see it almost lift the heavy curtains over the window, as if it would come in and rest itself. i hear it whistling through all the cracks and keyholes of the house-- whistling dismally. its voices, and the rumbling of a hack in some neighbouring street, remind me of storms i have heard, lying comfortably in my snug attic bed in the old house on the cape--the wind and the waves dashing up the rocky shore. that strong whiff disturbed pussy's and "the captain's" (so i have called my old setter friend) nap, for puss stands up on her morocco bed and arches her back like a horseshoe, and then springs, with a jolted-out "mew-r-r-r," right on my table, and proceeds to walk over this manuscript, carrying her tail up as if she wanted to light it by the gas and beg me then to touch it to my pipe and stop scribbling. so i shall presently. and the captain strolls up to lay his cold nose on my knee, slowly wag his silky tail, and look kindly into my face with those soft, big eyes, as if he would say, "come, master, don't be low-spirited." you are right, old fellow! i was somewhat sad about leaving the pleasant companionship i have held through my pen with brothers and friends of the old time, and a goodly number of those who are young now, while i am so no longer, except in memory and heart. youth has come back with these pages, and perhaps you are tired with me, but i--i shall never tire of the _young_--the glorious companionship of the pure, merry, brave hearts that look undaunted and without suspicion on the great road stretching far into the future, and fading only to reappear in mirages of splendour in a brilliant sky. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ there! i have smoked my pipe: and now, miss puss, stretch yourself in the chair again, and you, captain, resume that dream by the fire. i have got a few more lines to write before my invisible friends leave me. from that autumn night, , to this winter night of , no clue has ever been discovered to the murderers of faithful old clump. about christmas time of the same year juno closed her earthly eyes in the old cape house--to open them again, i fervently believe, in heaven. mr clare lives--a venerable clergyman in one of our great cities--his head and heart yet labouring earnestly in the great cause he serves. captain mugford sleeps in the home of his adoption--the ocean. five years after our six months together he sailed from bristol as boatswain of a splendid ship for the pacific. a fortnight after, he was spoken by a homeward-bound brig, and that was the last ever heard of honest roland mugford, or the ship he sailed in. i hope seas, winds, and undercurrents, however rough they may have been, left undisturbed the red bandanna and the short black pipe. and we feel sure that the mother's prayers were answered, and that the boy who ran away from her in his youth came back to her,--whither her memory was a beacon light-- the eternal harbour, unstirred by storms. walter is a man of eminence--a diplomatist--and harry a merchant, a cheerful, generous-hearted man, whose name is the synonym of honour, and whose hands "to do good, and to distribute, forget not." drake, who entered the army after travelling in every strange and dim corner of the globe--frozen up in the arctic seas, perspiring in the interior of africa, exploring among the western wilds of the rocky mountains, and doing other things adventurous in every out-of-the-way part--finally went with all his honest, hot zeal to india, where, fighting his country's battles, he spent many years of his life, and came back a general and one-legged man. now he _stumps_ about in this same library, but manages to take me travelling thousands of never-weary miles; and many and many a time do we walk, and shoot, and swim, and race, and fight over and over again that happy time at the cape. poor alfred--the best of all of us--died before his thirtieth year, nursed by a few devoted africans, at his missionary station in the southern atlantic. and i, whom the general calls "vieux moustache," have finished an old boy's story of "our salt and fresh water tutors." the end. http://www.ebookforge.net note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations and images of the original pages. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/ / / / / / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/ / / / / / -h.zip) the pirates of panama [illustration: "the man-of-war gave them chase"--_page _] the pirates of panama or the buccaneers of america a true account of the famous adventures and daring deeds of sir henry morgan and other notorious freebooters of the spanish main by john esquemeling _one of the buccaneers who was present at those tragedies_ edited and illustrated by george alfred williams [illustration] new york frederick a. stokes company publishers copyright, , by frederick a. stokes company all rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages. printed in the united states of america contents page ( ) introduction by george alfred williams xi ( ) the translator's preface to the first edition xv chapter i. the introduction--the author sets forth for the western islands, in the service of the west india company of france--they meet with an english frigate, and arrive at the island of tortuga chapter ii. a description of tortuga--the fruits and plants there--how the french first settled there, at two several times, and forced out the spaniards--the author twice sold in the said island chapter iii. a description of hispaniola--also a relation of the french buccaneers chapter iv. original of the most famous pirates of the coasts of america--famous exploit of pierre le grand chapter v. how the pirates arm their vessels, and regulate their voyages chapter vi. of the origin of francis lolonois, and the beginning of his robberies chapter vii. lolonois equips a fleet to land upon the spanish islands of america, with intent to rob, sack, and burn whatsoever he met with chapter viii. lolonois makes new preparations to take the city of st. james de leon; as also that of nicaragua; where he miserably perishes chapter ix. the origin and descent of captain henry morgan--his exploits, and the most remarkable actions of his life chapter x. of the island of cuba--captain morgan attempts to preserve the isle of st. catherine as a refuge to the nest of pirates; but fails of his design--he arrives at, and takes, the village of el puerto del principe chapter xi. captain morgan resolving to attack and plunder the city of puerto bello, equips a fleet, and with little expense and small forces takes it chapter xii. captain morgan takes the city of maracaibo, on the coast of neuva venezuela--piracies committed in those seas--ruin of three spanish ships set forth to hinder the robberies of the pirates chapter xiii. captain morgan goes to hispaniola to equip a new fleet, with intent to pillage again on the coast of the west indies chapter xiv. what happened in the river de la hacha chapter xv. captain morgan leaves hispaniola, and goes to st. catherine's, which he takes chapter xvi. captain morgan takes the castle of chagre, with four hundred men sent to this purpose from st. catherine's chapter xvii. captain morgan departs from chagre, at the head of twelve hundred men, to take the city of panama chapter xviii. captain morgan sends canoes and boats to the south sea--he fires the city of panama--robberies and cruelties committed there by the pirates, till their return to the castle of chagre illustrations "the man-of-war gave them chase" _frontispiece_ facing page pierre le grand commanding the spanish captain to surrender the ship "portugues made the best of his way to del golpho triste" "they boarded the ship with great agility" "lolonois, with those that remained, had much ado to escape aboard their boats" captain morgan recruiting his forces "being come to the place of the duel, the englishman stabbed the frenchman in the back" "morgan commanded the religious men and women to place the ladders against the walls" "they hanged him on a tree" "the fire-ship sailing before the rest fell presently upon the great ship" morgan dividing the treasure taken at maracaibo sacking of panama--"morgan re-entered the city with his troops" introduction this volume was originally written in dutch by john esquemeling, and first published in amsterdam in under the title of de americaeneche zee roovers. it immediately became very popular and this first hand history of the buccaneers of america was soon translated into the principal european languages. the first english edition was printed in . of the author, john esquemeling, very little is known although it is generally conceded that he was in all probability a fleming or hollander, a quite natural supposition as his first works were written in the dutch language. he came to the island of tortuga, the headquarters of the buccaneers, in in the employ of the french west india company. several years later this same company, owing to unsuccessful business arrangements, recalled their representatives to france and gave their officers orders to sell the company's land and all its servants. esquemeling then a servant of the company was sold to a stern master by whom he was treated with great cruelty. owing to hard work, poor food and exposure he became dangerously ill, and his master seeing his weak condition and fearing to lose the money esquemeling had cost him resold him to a surgeon. this new master treated him kindly so that esquemeling's health was speedily restored, and after one year's service he was set at liberty upon a promise to pay his benefactor, the surgeon, pieces of eight at such a time as he found himself in funds. once more a free man he determined to join the pirates and was received into their society and remained with them until . esquemeling served the buccaneers in the capacity of barber-surgeon, and was present at all their exploits. little did he suspect that his first hand observations would some day be cherished as the only authentic and true history of the buccaneers and marooners of the spanish main. from time to time new editions of this work have been published, but in many cases much new material, not always authentic, has been added and the result has been to mar the original narrative as set forth by esquemeling. in arranging this edition, the original english text only has been used, and but few changes made by cutting out the long and tedious description of plant and animal life of the west indies of which esquemeling had only a smattering of truth. but, the history of captain morgan and his fellow buccaneers is here printed almost identical with the original english translation, and we believe it is the first time this history has been published in a suitable form for the juvenile reader with no loss of interest to the adult. the world wide attention at this time in the isthmus of panama and the great canal connecting the atlantic with the pacific ocean lends to this narrative an additional stimulus. here are set forth the deeds of daring of the wild freebooters in crossing the isthmus to attack the cities, puerto bellow and panama. the sacking and burning of these places accompanied by pillage, fire, and treasure seeking both on land and on sea form exciting reading. _the buccaneers and marooners of america_ well deserves a place on the book shelf with those old world-wide favorites _robinson crusoe_ and the _swiss family robinson_. george alfred williams. the translator to the reader (of ). _the present volume, both for its curiosity and ingenuity, i dare recommend unto the perusal of our english nation, whose glorious actions it containeth. what relateth unto the curiosity hereof, this piece, both of natural and humane history, was no sooner published in the_ dutch original, _than it was snatch't up for the most curious library's of_ holland; _it was translated into_ spanish _(two impressions thereof being sent into_ spain _in one year_); _it was taken notice of by the learned academy of paris; and finally recommended as worthy our esteem, by the ingenious author of the_ weekly memorials for the ingenious, _printed here at_ london _about two years ago. neither all this undeservedly, seeing it enlargeth our acquaintance of natural history, so much prized and enquir'd for, by the learned of this present age, with several observations not easily to be found in other accounts already received from_ america: _and besides, it informeth us (with huge novelty) of as great and bold attempts, in point of military conduct and valour, as ever were performed by mankind; without excepting, here, either_ alexander the great, _or_ julius cæsar, _or the rest of the_ nine worthy's of fame. _of all which actions, as we cannot confess ourselves to have been ignorant hitherto (the very name of_ bucaniers _being, as yet, known but unto few of the_ ingenious; _as their lives, laws, and conversation, are in a manner unto none) so can they not choose but be admired, out of this ingenuous author, by whosoever is curious to learn the various revolutions of humane affairs. but, more especially by our_ english nation; _as unto whom these things more narrowly do appertain. we having here more than half the book filled with the unparallel'd, if not inimitable, adventures and_ heroick _exploits of our own country-men, and relations; whose undaunted, and exemplary courage, when called upon by our king and country, we ought to emulate._ _from whence it hath proceeded, that nothing of this kind was ever, as yet, published in_ england, _i cannot easily determine; except, as some will say, from some secret_ ragion di stato. _let the reason be as t'will; this is certain, so much the more we are obliged unto this present author, who though a stranger unto our nation, yet with that candour and fidelity hath recorded our actions, as to render the metal of our true english valour to be the more believed and feared abroad, than if these things had been divulged by our selves at home. from hence peradventure will other nations learn, that the english people are of their genius more inclinable to act than to write; seeing as well they as we have lived unacquainted with these actions of our nation, until such time as a foreign author to our country came to tell them._ _besides the merits of this piece for its curiosity, another point of no less esteem, is the truth and sincerity wherewith everything seemeth to be penned. no greater ornament or dignity can be added unto history, either humane or natural, than truth. all other embellishments, if this be failing, are of little or no esteem; if this be delivered, are either needless or superfluous. what concerneth this requisite in our author, his lines do everywhere declare the faithfulness and sincerity of his mind. he writeth not by hearsay, but was an eye witness, as he somewhere telleth you, unto all and every one of the bold and hazardous attempts which he relateth. and these he delivereth with such candour of stile, such ingenuity of mind, such plainness of words, such conciseness of periods, so much divested of rhetorical hyperboles, or the least flourishes of eloquence, so hugely void of passion or national reflections, as that he strongly perswadeth all-along to the credit of what he saith; yea, raiseth the mind of the reader to believe these things far greater than what he hath said; and having read him, leaveth onely this scruple or concern behind, that you can read him no longer. in a word, such are his deserts, that some persons peradventure would not stickle to compare him to the father of historians_, philip de comines; _at least thus much may be said, with all truth imaginable, that he resembleth that great author in many of his excellent qualities._ _i know some persons have objected against the greatness of these prodigious adventures, intimating that the resistance our_ bucaniers _found in_ america, _was everywhere but small. for the_ spaniards, _say they, in the_ west indies, _are become of late years nothing less, but rather much more degenerate than in_ europe. _the continual peace they have enjoyed in those parts, the defect of military discipline, and_ european _souldiers for their commanders, much contributing hereunto. but more especially, and above all other reasons, the very luxury of the soil and riches, the extreme heat of those countries, and influence of the stars being such, as totally inclineth their bodies unto an infinite effeminacy and cowardize of minds._ _unto these reasons i shall only answer in brief. this history will convince them to be manifestly false. for as to the continual peace here alleadged, we know that no peace could ever be established_ beyond the line, _since the first possession of the_ west-indies _by the_ spaniards, _till the burning of_ panama. _at that time, or few months before_, sir william godolphin _by his prudent negotiation in quality of embassadour for our most gracious monarch, did conclude at_ madrid _a peace to be observed even_ beyond the line, _and through the whole extent of the spanish dominions in the_ west-indies. _this transaction gave the spaniards new causes of complaints against our proceedings, that no sooner a peace had been established for those parts of_ america, _but our forces had taken and burnt both_ chagre, st. catherine, _and_ panama. _but our reply was convincing, that whereas eight or ten months of time had been allowed by articles for the publishing of the said peace through all the dominions of both monarchies in_ america, _those hostilities had been committed, not onely without orders from his majesty of_ england, _but also within the space of the said eight or ten months of time. until that time the spanish inhabitants of_ america _being, as it were, in a perpetual war with_ europe, _certain it is that no coasts nor kingdoms in the world have been more frequently infested nor alarm'd with the invasions of several nations than theirs. thus from the very beginning of their conquests in america, both_ english, french, dutch portuguese, swedes, danes, _curlanders, and all other nations that navigate the_ ocean, _have frequented the_ west-indies, _and filled them with their robberies and assaults. from these occasions have they been in continual watch and ward, and kept their_ militia _in constant exercise, as also their garrisons pretty well provided and paid; as fearing every sail they discovered at sea, to be_ pirats _of one nation or another. but much more especially, since that_ curasao, tortuga, _and_ jamaica _have been inhabited by_ english, french, _and_ dutch, _and bred up that race of_ hunts-men, _than which, no other ever was more desperate, nor more mortal enemies to the spaniards, called bucaniers. now shall we say, that these people, through too long continuation of peace, have utterly abolished the exercises of war, having been all-along incessantly vexed with the tumults and alarms thereof?_ _in like manner is it false, to accuse their defect of military discipline for want of_ european _commanders. for who knoweth not that all places, both military and civil, through those vast dominions of the_ west-indies, _are provided out of_ spain? _and those of the militia most commonly given unto expert commanders, trained up from their infancy in the wars of_ europe, _either in_ africa, milan, sicily, naples, _or_ flanders, _fighting against either_ english, french, dutch, portuguese, _or_ moors? _yea their very garrisons, if you search them in those parts, will peradventure be found to be stock'd three parts to four with souldiers both born and bred in the kingdom of_ spain. _from these considerations it may be inferr'd what little difference ought to be allowed betwixt the spanish souldiers, inhabitants of the_ west-indies, _and those of_ europe. _and how little the soil or climate hath influenced or caused their courage to degenerate towards cowardize or baseness of mind. as if the very same argument, deduced from the nature of that climate, did not equally militate against the valour of our famous bucaniers, and represent this to be of as degenerate metal as theirs._ _but nothing can be more clearly evinced, than is the valour of the_ american spaniards, _either souldiers or officers, by the sequel of this history. what men ever fought more desperately than the garrison of_ chagre? _their number being , and of all these, only thirty remaining; of which number scarce ten were unwounded; and among them, not one officer found alive? were not killed upon the spot at_ panama, _ at_ gibraltar, _almost as many more at_ puerto del principe, _all dying with their arms in their hands, and facing bravely the enemy for the defence of their country and private concerns? did not those of the town of_ san pedro _both fortifie themselves, lay several ambuscades, and lastly sell their lives as dear as any european souldier could do; lolonois being forced to gain step by step his advance unto the town, with huge loss both of bloud and men? many other instances might be produced out of this compendious volume, of the generous resistance the_ spaniards _made in several places, though fortune favoured not their arms._ _next, as to the personal valour of many of their commanders, what man ever behaved himself more briskly than the governour of_ gibraltar, _than the governour of_ puerto del principe, _both dying for the defence of their towns; than don alonso del campo, and others? or what examples can easily parallel the desperate courage of the governour of_ chagre? _who, though the_ palizda's _were fired, the terraplens were sunk into the ditch, the breaches were entred, the houses all burnt above him, the whole castle taken, his men all killed; yet would not admit of any quarter, but chose rather to die under his arms, being shot into the brain, than surrender himself as a prisoner unto the_ bucaniers. _what lion ever fought to the last gasp more obstinately than the governour of_ puerto velo? _who, seeing the town enter'd by surprizal in the night, one chief castle blown up into the air, all the other forts and castles taken, his own assaulted several ways, both religious men and women placed at the front of the enemy to fix the ladders against the walls; yet spared not to kill as many of the said religious persons as he could. and at last, the walls being scaled, the castle enter'd and taken, all his own men overcome by fire and sword, who had cast down their arms, and begged mercy from the enemy; yet would admit of none for his own life. yet, with his own hands killed several of his souldiers, to force them to stand to their arms, though all were lost. yea, though his own wife and daughter begged of him upon their knees that he would have his life by craving quarter, though the enemy desired of him the same thing; yet would hearken to no cries nor perswasions, but they were forced to kill him, combating with his arms in his hands, being not otherwise able to take him prisoner, as they were desirous to do. shall these men be said to be influenced with cowardize, who thus acted to the very last_ scene _of their own_ tragedies? _or shall we rather say that they wanted no courage, but fortune? it being certainly true, that he who is killed in a batel, may be equally couragious with him that killeth. and that whosoever derogateth from the valour of the_ spaniards _in the_ west-indies, _diminisheth in like manner the courage of the_ bucaniers, _his own country-men, who have seemed to act beyond mortal men in_ america. _now, to say something concerning_ john esquemeling, _the first author of this history. i take him to be a_ dutch-man, _or at least born in_ flanders, _notwithstanding that the spanish translation representeth him to be a native of the kingdom of_ france. _his printing this history originally in dutch, which doubtless must be his native tongue, who otherwise was but an illiterate man, together with the very sound of his name, convincing me thereunto. true it is, he set sail from_ france, _and was some years at_ tortuga; _but neither of these two arguments, drawn from the history, are prevalent. for were he to be a_ french-man _born, how came he to learn the_ dutch _language so perfectly as to prefer it to his own? especially that not being spoken at tortuga nor_ jamaica, _where he resided all the while._ _i hope i have made this english translation something more plain and correct than the spanish. some few notorious faults either of the printer or the interpreter, i am sure i have redressed. but the spanish translator complaining much of the intricacy of stile in the original (as flowing from a person who, as hath been said, was no scholar) as he was pardonable, being in great haste, for not rendring his own version so distinct and elaborate as he could desire; so must i be excused from the one, that is to say, elegancy, if i have cautiously declined the other, i mean confusion._ the pirates of panama the buccaneers of america chapter i _the introduction--the author sets forth for the western islands, in the service of the west-india company of france--they meet with an english frigate, and arrive at the island of tortuga._ we set sail from havre-de-grace in france, from whence we set sail in the ship called _st. john_, may , . our vessel was equipped with twenty-eight guns, twenty mariners, and two hundred and twenty passengers, including those whom the company sent as free passengers. soon after we came to an anchor under the cape of barfleur, there to join seven other ships of the same west-india company, which were to come from dieppe, under convoy of a man-of-war, mounted with thirty-seven guns, and two hundred and fifty men. of these ships two were bound for senegal, five for the caribbee islands, and ours for tortuga. here gathered to us about twenty sail of other ships, bound for newfoundland, with some dutch vessels going for nantz, rochel, and st. martin's, so that in all we made thirty sail. here we put ourselves in a posture of defence, having noticed that four english frigates, of sixty guns each, waited for us near aldernay. our admiral, the chevalier sourdis, having given necessary orders, we sailed thence with a favourable gale, and some mists arising, totally impeded the english frigates from discovering our fleet. we steered our course as near as we could to the coast of france, for fear of the enemy. as we sailed along, we met a vessel of ostend, who complained to our admiral, that a french privateer had robbed him that very morning; whereupon we endeavoured to pursue the said pirate; but our labour was in vain, not being able to overtake him. our fleet, as we sailed, caused no small fears and alarms to the inhabitants of the coasts of france, these judging us to be english, and that we sought some convenient place for landing. to allay their fright, we hung out our colours; but they would not trust us. after this we came to an anchor in the bay of conquet in brittany, near ushant, there to take in water. having stored ourselves with fresh provisions here, we prosecuted our voyage, designing to pass by the ras of fontenau, and not expose ourselves to the sorlingues, fearing the english that were cruising thereabouts. the river ras is of a current very strong and rapid, which, rolling over many rocks, disgorges itself into the sea, on the coast of france, in deg. min. latitude; so that this passage is very dangerous, all the rocks, as yet, being not thoroughly known. here i shall mention the ceremony, which, at this passage, and some other places, is used by the mariners, and by them called baptism, though it may seem little to our purpose. the master's mate clothed himself with a ridiculous sort of garment, that reached to his feet, and on his head he put a suitable cap, made very burlesque; in his right hand he had a naked wooden sword, and in his left a pot full of ink: his face was horribly blacked with soot, and his neck adorned with a collar of many little pieces of wood. thus apparelled, he commanded every one to be called who had never passed through that dangerous place before; and then, causing them to kneel down, he made the sign of the cross on their foreheads, with ink, and gave every one a stroke on the shoulders with his wooden sword. meanwhile, the standers-by cast a bucket of water upon each man's head; and so ended the ceremony. but that done, each of the baptized must give a bottle of brandy, placing it nigh the main-mast, without speaking a word; even those who have no such liquor not being excused. if the vessel never passed that way before, the captain is obliged to distribute some wine among the mariners and passengers; but as for other gifts, which the newly-baptized frequently offer, they are divided among the old seamen, and of them they make a banquet among themselves. the hollanders likewise, not only at this passage, but also at the rocks called berlingues, nigh the coast of portugal, in deg. min. (being a passage very dangerous, especially by night, when, in the dark, the rocks are not distinguishable, the land being very high) they use some such ceremony: but their manner of baptizing is very different from that of the french; for he that is to be baptized is fastened, and hoisted up thrice, at the mainyard's end, as if he were a criminal. if he be hoisted the fourth time, in the name of the prince of orange, or of the captain of the vessel, his honour is more than ordinary. thus every one is dipped several times in the main ocean; but he that is dipped first has the honour of being saluted with a gun. such as are not willing to fall, must pay twelve pence for ransom; if he be an officer, two shillings; and if a passenger, at their own pleasure. if the ship never passed that way before, the captain is to give a small rundlet of wine, which, if he denies, the mariners may cut off the stem of the vessel. all the profit accruing by this ceremony is kept by the master's mate, who, after reaching their port, usually lays it out in wine, which is drank amongst the ancient seamen. some say this ceremony was instituted by the emperor charles v. though it is not amongst his laws. but here i leave these sea customs, and return to our voyage. having passed the ras, we had very good weather, till we came to cape finis terræ: here a sudden tempest surprised us, and separated our ship from the rest that were in our company. this storm continued eight days; in which time it would move compassion to see how miserably the passengers were tumbled to and fro, on all sides of the ship; insomuch, that the mariners, in the performance of their duty, were compelled to tread upon them. this boisterous weather being over, we had very favourable gales again, till we came to the tropic of cancer. this tropic is an imaginary circle, which astronomers have invented in the heavens, limiting the progress of the sun towards the north pole. it is placed in the latitude of deg. min. here we were baptized a second time, as before. the french always perform this ceremony at the tropic of cancer, as also under the tropic of capricorn. in this part of the world we had very favourable weather, at which we were very glad, because of our great want of water; for that element is so scarce with us, that we were stinted to two half pints a man every day. about the latitude of barbadoes, we met an english frigate, or privateer, who first began to give us chase; but finding herself not to exceed us in force, presently got away: hereupon, we pursued her, firing several guns, eight-pounders, at her; but at length she escaped, and we returned to our course. soon after, we came within sight of martinico. we were bent to the coast of the isle of st. peter, but were frustrated by a storm, which took us hereabouts. hence we resolved to steer to gaudaloupe, yet we could not reach this island, by reason of the said storm; so that we directed our course to the isle of tortuga, being the very same land we were bound to. we passed along the coast of punta rica, which is extremely agreeable and delightful to the sight, being adorned with beautiful woods, even to the tops of the mountains. then we discovered hispaniola (of which i shall give a description), and we coasted about it till we came to tortuga, our desired port. here we anchored, july , in the same year, not having lost one man in the voyage. we landed the goods that belonged to the west-india company, and, soon after, the ship was sent to cal de sac with some passengers. chapter ii _a description of tortuga--the fruits and plants there--how the french first settled there, at two several times, and forced out the spaniards--the author twice sold in the said island._ the island of tortuga is situate on the north side of hispaniola, in deg. min. latitude; its just extent is threescore leagues about. the spaniards, who gave name to this island, called it so from the shape of the land, in some manner resembling a great sea-tortoise, called by them tortuga-de-mar. the country is very mountainous, and full of rocks, and yet thick of lofty trees, that grow upon the hardest of those rocks, without partaking of a softer soil. hence it comes that their roots, for the greatest part, are seen naked, entangled among the rocks like the branching of ivy against our walls. that part of this island which stretches to the north is totally uninhabited: the reason is, first, because it is incommodious, and unhealthy: and, secondly, for the ruggedness of the coast, that gives no access to the shore, unless among rocks almost inaccessible: for this cause it is peopled only on the south part, which hath only one port indifferently good: yet this harbour has two entries, or channels, which afford passage to ships of seventy guns; the port itself being without danger, and capable of receiving a great number of vessels. the inhabited parts, of which the first is called the low-lands, or low-country: this is the chief among the rest, because it contains the port aforesaid. the town is called cayona, and here live the chiefest and richest planters of the island. the second part is called the middle plantation: its soil is yet almost new, being only known to be good for tobacco. the third is named ringot, and is situate towards the west part of the island. the fourth and last is called the mountain, in which place were made the first plantations upon this island. as to the wood that grows here, we have already said that the trees are exceeding tall, and pleasing to the sight; whence no man will doubt, but they may be applied to several uses. such is the yellow saunder, which by the inhabitants is called bois de chandel, or, in english, candle-wood, because it burns like a candle, and serves them with light while they fish by night. here grows, also, lingnum sanctum, or guaiacum: its virtues are very well known, more especially to those who observe not the seventh commandment, and are given to impure copulations!--physicians drawing hence, in several compositions, the greatest antidote for venereal diseases; as also for cold and viscous humours. the trees, likewise, which afford gummi elemi, grow here in great abundance; as doth radix chinæ, or china root: yet this is not so good as that of other parts of the western world. it is very white and soft, and serves for pleasant food to the wild boars, when they can find nothing else. this island, also, is not deficient in aloes, nor an infinite number of the other medicinal herbs, which may please the curiosity of such as are given to their contemplation: moreover, for building of ships, or any other sort of architecture, here are found several sorts of timber. the fruits, likewise, which grow here abundantly, are nothing inferior, in quantity or quality, to what other islands produce. i shall name only some of the most ordinary and common: such are magnoit, potatoes, abajou apples, yannas, bacones, paquays, carosoles, mamayns, annananes, and divers other sorts, which i omit to specify. here grow likewise, in great numbers, those trees called palmitoes, or palmites, whence is drawn a certain juice which serves the inhabitants instead of wine, and whose leaves cover their houses instead of tiles. in this island aboundeth, also, the wild boar. the governor hath prohibited the hunting of them with dogs, fearing lest, the island being but small, the whole race of them, in a short time, should be destroyed. the reason why he thought convenient to preserve these wild beasts was, that, in case of any invasion, the inhabitants might sustain themselves with their food, especially were they once constrained to retire to the woods and mountains. yet this sort of game is almost impeded by itself, by reason of the many rocks and precipices, which, for the greatest part, are covered with little shrubs, very green and thick; whence the huntsmen have oftentimes fallen, and left us the sad remembrance of many a memorable disaster. at a certain time of the year there resort to tortuga large flocks of wild pigeons, and then the inhabitants feed on them very plentifully, having more than they can consume, and leaving totally to their repose all other sorts of fowl, both wild and tame; that so, in the absence of the pigeons, these may supply their place. but as nothing in the universe, though never so pleasant, can be found, but what hath something of bitterness with it; the very symbol of this truth we see in the aforesaid pigeons: for these, the season being past, can scarce be touched with the tongue, they become so extremely lean, and bitter even to admiration. the reason of this bitterness is attributed to a certain seed which they eat about that time, even as bitter as gall. about the sea-shores, everywhere, are found great multitudes of crabs, both of land and sea, and both sorts very big. these are good to feed servants and slaves, whose palates they please, but are very hurtful to the sight: besides, being eaten too often, they cause great giddiness in the head, with much weakness of the brain; so that, very frequently, they are deprived of sight for a quarter of an hour. the french having settled in the isle of st. christopher, planted there a sort of trees, of which, at present, there possibly may be greater quantities; with the timber whereof they made long-boats, and hoys, which they sent thence westward, well manned and victualled, to discover other islands. these setting sail from st. christopher, came within sight of hispaniola, where they arrived with abundance of joy. having landed, they marched into the country, where they found large quantities of cattle; such as cows, bulls, horses, and wild boars: but finding no great profit in these animals, unless they could enclose them, and knowing, likewise, the island to be pretty well peopled by the spaniards, they thought it convenient to enter upon and seize the island of tortuga. this they performed without any difficulty, there being upon the island no more than ten or twelve spaniards to guard it. these few men let the french come in peaceably, and possess the island for six months, without any trouble; meanwhile they passed and repassed, with their canoes, to hispaniola, from whence they transported many people, and at last began to plant the whole island of tortuga. the few spaniards remaining there, perceiving the french to increase their number daily, began, at last, to repine at their prosperity, and grudge them the possession: hence they gave notice to others of their nation, their neighbours, who sent several boats, well armed and manned, to dispossess the french. this expedition succeeded according to their desires; for the new possessors, seeing the great number of spaniards, fled with all they had to the woods, and hence, by night, they wafted over with canoes to the island of hispaniola: this they the more easily performed, having no women or children with them, nor any great substance to carry away. here they also retired into the woods, both to seek for food, and from thence, with secrecy, to give intelligence to others of their own faction; judging for certain, that within a little while they should be in a capacity to hinder the spaniards from fortifying in tortuga. meanwhile, the spaniards of the great island ceased not to seek after their new guests, the french, with intent to root them out of the woods if possible, or cause them to perish with hunger; but this design soon failed, having found that the french were masters both of good guns, powder, and bullets. here therefore the fugitives waited for a certain opportunity, wherein they knew the spaniards were to come from tortuga with arms, and a great number of men, to join with those of the greater island for their destruction. when this occasion offered, they in the meanwhile deserting the woods where they were, returned to tortuga, and dispossessed the small number of spaniards that remained at home. having so done, they fortified themselves the best they could, thereby to prevent the return of the spaniards in case they should attempt it. moreover, they sent immediately to the governor of st. christopher's, craving his aid and relief, and demanding of him a governor, the better to be united among themselves, and strengthened on all occasions. the governor of st. christopher's received their petition with much satisfaction, and, without delay, sent monsieur le passeur to them in quality of a governor, together with a ship full of men, and all necessaries for their establishment and defence. no sooner had they received this recruit, but the governor commanded a fortress to be built upon the top of a high rock, from whence he could hinder the entrance of any ships or other vessels to the port. to this fort no other access could be had, than by almost climbing through a very narrow passage that was capable only of receiving two persons at once, and those not without difficulty. in the middle of this rock was a great cavity, which now serves for a storehouse: besides, here was great convenience for raising a battery. the fort being finished, the governor commanded two guns to be mounted, which could not be done without great toil and labour; as also a house to be built within the fort, and afterwards the narrow way, that led to the said fort, to be broken and demolished, leaving no other ascent thereto than by a ladder. within the fort gushes out a plentiful fountain of pure fresh water, sufficient to refresh a garrison of a thousand men. being possessed of these conveniences, and the security these things might promise, the french began to people the island, and each of them to seek their living; some by hunting, others by planting tobacco, and others by cruizing and robbing upon the coasts of the spanish islands, which trade is continued by them to this day. the spaniards, notwithstanding, could not behold, but with jealous eyes, the daily increase of the french in tortuga, fearing lest, in time, they might by them be dispossessed also of hispaniola. thus taking an opportunity (when many of the french were abroad at sea, and others employed in hunting), with eight hundred men, in several canoes, they landed again in tortuga, almost without being perceived by the french; but finding that the governor had cut down many trees for the better discovery of any enemy in case of an assault, as also that nothing of consequence could be done without great guns, they consulted about the fittest place for raising a battery. this place was soon concluded to be the top of a mountain which was in sight, seeing that from thence alone they could level their guns at the fort, which now lay open to them since the cutting down of the trees by the new possessors. hence they resolved to open a way for the carriage of some pieces of ordnance to the top. this mountain is somewhat high, and the upper part thereof plain, from whence the whole island may be viewed: the sides thereof are very rugged, by reason a great number of inaccessible rocks do surround it; so that the ascent was very difficult, and would always have been the same, had not the spaniards undergone the immense labour and toil of making the way before mentioned, as i shall now relate. the spaniards had with them many slaves and indians, labouring men, whom they call matades, or, in english, half-yellow men; these they ordered with iron tools to dig a way through the rocks. this they performed with the greatest speed imaginable; and through this way, by the help of many ropes and pulleys, they at last made shift to get up two pieces of ordnance, wherewith they made a battery next day, to play on the fort. meanwhile, the french knowing these designs, prepared for a defence (while the spaniards were busy about the battery) sending notice everywhere to their companions for help. thus the hunters of the island all joined together, and with them all the pirates who were not already too far from home. these landed by night at tortuga, lest they should be seen by the spaniards; and, under the same obscurity of the night, they all together, by a back way, climbed the mountain where the spaniards were posted, which they did the more easily being acquainted with these rocks. they came up at the very instant that the spaniards, who were above, were preparing to shoot at the fort, not knowing in the least of their coming. here they set upon them at their backs with such fury as forced the greatest part to precipitate themselves from the top to the bottom, and dash their bodies in pieces: few or none escaped; for if any remained alive, they were put to the sword. some spaniards did still keep the bottom of the mountain; but these, hearing the shrieks and cries of them that were killed, and believing some tragical revolution to be above, fled immediately towards the sea, despairing ever to regain the island of tortuga. the governors of this island behaved themselves as proprietors and absolute lords thereof till , when the west-india company of france took possession thereof, and sent thither, for their governor, monsieur ogeron. these planted the colony for themselves by their factors and servants, thinking to drive some considerable trade from thence with the spaniards, even as the hollanders do from curacao: but this design did not answer; for with other nations they could drive no trade, by reason they could not establish any secure commerce from the beginning with their own; forasmuch as at the first institution of this company in france they agreed with the pirates, hunters, and planters, first possessors of tortuga, that these should buy all their necessaries from the said company upon trust. and though this agreement was put in execution, yet the factors of the company soon after found that they could not recover either monies or returns from those people, that they were constrained to bring some armed men into the island, in behalf of the company, to get in some of their payments. but neither this endeavour, nor any other, could prevail towards the settling a second trade with those of the island. hereupon, the company recalled their factors, giving them orders to sell all that was their own in the said plantation, both the servants belonging to the company (which were sold, some for twenty, and others for thirty pieces of eight), as also all other merchandizes and proprieties. and thus all their designs fell to the ground. on this occasion i was also sold, being a servant under the said company in whose service i left france: but my fortune was very bad, for i fell into the hands of the most cruel and perfidious man that ever was born, who was then governor, or rather lieutenant-general, of that island. this man treated me with all the hard usage imaginable, yea, with that of hunger, with which i thought i should have perished inevitably. withal, he was willing to let me buy my freedom and liberty, but not under the rate of three hundred pieces of eight, i not being master of one at a time in the world. at last, through the manifold miseries i endured, as also affliction of mind, i was thrown into a dangerous sickness. this misfortune, added to the rest, was the cause of my happiness: for my wicked master, seeing my condition, began to fear lest he should lose his monies with my life. hereupon he sold me a second time to a surgeon, for seventy pieces of eight. being with this second master, i began soon to recover my health through the good usage i received, he being much more humane and civil than my first patron. he gave me both clothes and very good food; and after i had served him but one year, he offered me my liberty, with only this condition, that i should pay him one hundred pieces of eight when i was in a capacity so to do; which kind proposal of his i could not but accept with infinite joy and gratitude. being now at liberty, though like adam when he was first created--that is, naked and destitute of all human necessaries--not knowing how to get my living, i determined to enter into the order of the pirates or robbers at sea. into this society i was received with common consent, both of the superior and vulgar sort, where i continued till . having assisted them in all their designs and attempts, and served them in many notable exploits (of which hereafter i shall give the reader a true account), i returned to my own native country. but before i begin my relation, i shall say something of the island hispaniola, which lies towards the western part of america; as also give my reader a brief description thereof, according to my slender ability and experience. chapter iii _a description of hispaniola.--also a relation of the french buccaneers._ the large and rich island called hispaniola is situate from degrees to degrees latitude; the circumference is leagues; the extent from east to west ; its breadth almost , being broader or narrower at certain places. this island was first discovered by christopher columbus, a.d. ; he being sent for this purpose by ferdinand, king of spain; from which time to this present the spaniards have been continually possessors thereof. there are upon this island very good and strong cities, towns, and hamlets, as well as a great number of pleasant country houses and plantations, the effects of the care and industry of the spaniards its inhabitants. the chief city and metropolis hereof is santo domingo; being dedicated to st. dominic, from whom it derives its name. it is situate towards the south, and affords a most excellent prospect; the country round about being embellished with innumerable rich plantations, as also verdant meadows and fruitful gardens; all which produce plenty and variety of excellent pleasant fruits, according to the nature of those countries. the governor of the island resides in this city, which is, as it were, the storehouse of all the cities, towns, and villages, which hence export and provide themselves with all necessaries for human life; and yet hath it this particularity above many other cities, that it entertains no commerce with any nation but its own, the spaniards. the greatest part of the inhabitants are rich and substantial merchants or shopkeepers. another city of this island is san jago, or st. james, being consecrated to that apostle. this is an open place, without walls or castle, situate in deg. latitude. the inhabitants are generally hunters and planters, the adjacent territory and soil being very proper for the said exercises: the city is surrounded with large and delicious fields, as much pleasing to the view as those of santo domingo; and these abound with beasts both wild and tame, yielding vast numbers of skins and hides, very profitable to the owners. in the south part of this island is another city, called nuestra sennora de alta gracia. this territory produces great quantities of cacao, whereof the inhabitants make great store of the richest chocolate. here grows also ginger and tobacco, and much tallow is made of the beasts which are hereabouts hunted. the inhabitants of this beautiful island of hispaniola often resort in their canoes to the isle of savona, not far distant, where is their chief fishery, especially of tortoises. hither those fish constantly resort in great multitudes, at certain seasons, there to lay their eggs, burying them in the sands of the shoal, where, by the heat of the sun, which in those parts is very ardent, they are hatched. this island of savona has little or nothing that is worthy consideration, being so very barren by reason of its sandy soil. true it is, that here grows some small quantity of lignum sanctum, or guaiacum, of whose use we say something in another place. westward of santo domingo is another great village called el pueblo de aso, or the town of aso: the inhabitants thereof drive great traffic with those of another village, in the very middle of the island, and is called san juan de goave, or st. john of goave. this is environed with a magnificent prospect of gardens, woods, and meadows. its territory extends above twenty leagues in length, and grazes a great number of wild bulls and cows. in this village scarce dwell any others than hunters and butchers, who flay the beasts that are killed. these are for the most part a mongrel sort of people; some of which are born of white european people and negroes, and called mulattoes: others of indians and white people, and termed mesticos: but others come of negroes and indians, and are called alcatraces. from the said village are exported yearly vast quantities of tallow and hides, they exercising no other traffic: for as to the lands in this place, they are not cultivated, by reason of the excessive dryness of the soil. these are the chiefest places that the spaniards possess in this island, from the cape of lobos towards st. john de goave, unto the cape of samana nigh the sea, on the north side, and from the eastern part towards the sea, called punta de espada. all the rest of the island is possessed by the french, who are also planters and hunters. this island hath very good ports for ships, from the cape of lobos to the cape of tiburon, on the west side thereof. in this space there are no less than four ports, exceeding in goodness, largeness, and security, even the very best of england. besides these, from the cape of tiburon to the cape of donna maria, there are two very excellent ports; and from this cape to the cape of st. nicholas, there are no less than twelve others. every one of these ports hath also the confluence of two or three good rivers, in which are great plenty of several sorts of fish very pleasing to the palate. the country hereabouts is well watered with large and deep rivers and brooks, so that this part of the land may easily be cultivated without any great fear of droughts, because of these excellent streams. the sea-coasts and shores are also very pleasant, to which the tortoises resort in large numbers to lay their eggs. this island was formerly very well peopled, on the north side, with many towns and villages; but these, being ruined by the hollanders, were at last, for the greatest part, deserted by the spaniards. the spacious fields of this island commonly are five or six leagues in length, the beauty whereof is so pleasing to the eye, that, together with the great variety of their natural productions, they captivate the senses of the beholder. for here at once they not only with diversity of objects recreate the sight, but with many of the same do also please the smell, and with most contribute delights to the taste; also they flatter and excite the appetite, especially with the multitudes of oranges and lemons here growing, both sweet and sour, and those that participate of both tastes, and are only pleasantly tartish. besides here abundantly grow several sorts of fruit, such are citrons, toronjas, and limas; in english not improperly called crab lemons. beside the fruit which this island produces, whose plenty, as is said, surpasses all the islands of america; it abounds also with all sorts of quadrupeds, as horses, bulls, cows, wild boars, and others, very useful to mankind, not only for food, but for cultivating the ground, and the management of commerce. here are vast numbers of wild dogs: these destroy yearly many cattle; for no sooner hath a cow calved, or a mare foaled, but these wild mastiffs devour the young, if they find not resistance from keepers and domestic dogs. they run up and down the woods and fields, commonly fifty, threescore, or more, together; being withal so fierce, that they will often assault an entire herd of wild boars, not ceasing to worry them till they have fetched down two or three. one day a french buccaneer showed me a strange action of this kind: being in the fields a-hunting together, we heard a great noise of dogs which has surrounded a wild boar: having tame dogs with us, we left them to the custody of our servants, being desirous to see the sport. hence my companion and i climbed up two several trees, both for security and prospect. the wild boar, all alone, stood against a tree, defending himself with his tusks from a great number of dogs that enclosed him; killed with his teeth, and wounded several of them. this bloody fight continued about an hour; the wild boar, meanwhile, attempting many times to escape. at last flying, one dog, leaping upon his back, fastened on his throat. the rest of the dogs, perceiving the courage of their companion, fastened likewise on the boar, and presently killed him. this done, all of them, the first only excepted, laid themselves down upon the ground about the prey, and there peaceably continued, till he, the first and most courageous of the troop, had ate as much as he could: when this dog had left off, all the rest fell in to take their share, till nothing was left. what ought we to infer from this notable action, performed by wild animals, but this: that even beasts themselves are not destitute of knowledge, and that they give us documents how to honour such as have deserved well; even since these irrational animals did reverence and respect him that exposed his life to the greatest danger against the common enemy? the governor of tortuga, monsieur ogeron, finding that the wild dogs killed so many of the wild boars, that the hunters of that island had much ado to find any; fearing lest that common substance of the island should fail, sent for a great quantity of poison from france to destroy the wild mastiffs: this was done, a.d. , by commanding horses to be killed, and empoisoned, and laid open at certain places where the wild dogs used to resort. this being continued for six months, there were killed an incredible number; and yet all this could not exterminate and destroy the race, or scarce diminish them; their number appearing almost as large as before. these wild dogs are easily tamed among men, even as tame as ordinary house dogs. the hunters of those parts, whenever they find a wild bitch with whelps, commonly take away the puppies, and bring them home; which being grown up, they hunt much better than other dogs. but here the curious reader may perhaps inquire how so many wild dogs came here. the occasion was, the spaniards having possessed these isles, found them peopled with indians, a barbarous people, sensual and brutish, hating all labour, and only inclined to killing, and making war against their neighbours; not out of ambition, but only because they agreed not with themselves in some common terms of language; and perceiving the dominion of the spaniards laid great restrictions upon their lazy and brutish customs, they conceived an irreconcilable hatred against them; but especially because they saw them take possession of their kingdoms and dominions. hereupon, they made against them all the resistance they could, opposing everywhere their designs to the utmost: and the spaniards finding themselves cruelly hated by the indians, and nowhere secure from their treacheries, resolved to extirpate and ruin them, since they could neither tame them by civility, nor conquer them with the sword. but the indians, it being their custom to make the woods their chief places of defence, at present made these their refuge, whenever they fled from the spaniards. hereupon, those first conquerors of the new world made use of dogs to range and search the intricatest thickets of woods and forests for those their implacable and unconquerable enemies: thus they forced them to leave their old refuge, and submit to the sword, seeing no milder usage would do it; hereupon they killed some of them, and quartering their bodies, placed them in the highways, that others might take warning from such a punishment; but this severity proved of ill consequence, for instead of fighting them and reducing them to civility, they conceived such horror of the spaniards, that they resolved to detest and fly their sight for ever; hence the greatest part died in caves and subterraneous places of the woods and mountains, in which places i myself have often seen great numbers of human bones. the spaniards finding no more indians to appear about the woods, turned away a great number of dogs they had in their houses, and they finding no masters to keep them, betook themselves to the woods and fields to hunt for food to preserve their lives; thus by degrees they became unacquainted with houses, and grew wild. this is the truest account i can give of the multitudes of wild dogs in these parts. but besides these wild mastiffs, here are also great numbers of wild horses everywhere all over the island: they are but low of stature, short bodied, with great heads, long necks, and big or thick legs: in a word, they have nothing handsome in their shape. they run up and down commonly in troops of two or three hundred together, one going always before to lead the multitude: when they meet any person travelling through the woods or fields, they stand still, suffering him to approach till he can almost touch them: and then suddenly starting, they betake themselves to flight, running away as fast as they can. the hunters catch them only for their skins, though sometimes they preserve their flesh likewise, which they harden with smoke, using it for provisions when they go to sea. here would be also wild bulls and cows in great number, if by continual hunting they were not much diminished; yet considerable profit is made to this day by such as make it their business to kill them. the wild bulls are of a vast bigness of body, and yet they hurt not any one except they be exasperated. their hides are from eleven to thirteen feet long. it is now time to speak of the french who inhabit great part of this island. we have already told how they came first into these parts: we shall now only describe their manner of living, customs, and ordinary employments. the callings or professions they follow are generally but three, either to hunt or plant, or else to rove the seas as pirates. it is a constant custom among them all, to seek out a comrade or companion, whom we may call partner in their fortunes, with whom they join the whole stock of what they possess towards a common gain. this is done by articles agreed to, and reciprocally signed. some constitute their surviving companion absolute heir to what is left by the death of the first: others, if they be married, leave their estates to their wives and children; others, to other relations. this done, every one applies himself to his calling, which is always one of the three afore-mentioned. the hunters are again subdivided into two sorts; for some of these only hunt wild bulls and cows, others only wild boars. the first of these are called bucaniers, and not long ago were about six hundred on this island, but now they are reckoned about three hundred. the cause has been the great decrease of wild cattle, which has been such, that, far from getting, they now are but poor in their trade. when the bucaniers go into the woods to hunt for wild bulls and cows, they commonly remain there a twelvemonth or two years, without returning home. after the hunt is over, and the spoil divided, they commonly sail to tortuga, to provide themselves with guns, powder, and shot, and other necessaries for another expedition; the rest of their gains they spend prodigally, giving themselves to all manner of vices and debauchery, particularly to drunkenness, which they practise mostly with brandy: this they drink as liberally as the spaniards do water. sometimes they buy together a pipe of wine; this they stave at one end, and never cease drinking till it is out. thus sottishly they live till they have no money left. the said bucaniers are very cruel and tyrannical to their servants, so that commonly they had rather be galley-slaves, or saw brazil wood in the rasphouses of holland, than serve such barbarous masters. the second sort hunt nothing but wild boars; the flesh of these they salt, and sell it so to the planters. these hunters have the same vicious customs, and are as much addicted to debauchery as the former; but their manner of hunting is different from that in europe; for these bucaniers have certain places designed for hunting, where they live for three or four months, and sometimes a whole year. such places are called deza boulan; and in these, with only the company of five or six friends, they continue all the said time in mutual friendship. the first bucaniers many times agree with planters to furnish them with meat all the year at a certain price: the payment hereof is often made with two or three hundredweight of tobacco in the leaf; but the planters commonly into the bargain furnish them with a servant, whom they send to help. to the servant they afford sufficient necessaries for the purpose, especially of powder and shot to hunt withal. the planters here have but very few slaves; for want of which, themselves and their servants are constrained to do all the drudgery. these servants commonly bind themselves to their masters for three years; but their masters, having no consciences, often traffic with their bodies, as with horses at a fair, selling them to other masters as they sell negroes. yea, to advance this trade, some persons go purposely into france (and likewise to england, and other countries) to pick up young men or boys, whom they inveigle and transport; and having once got them into these islands, they work them like horses, the toil imposed on them being much harder than what they enjoin the negroes, their slaves; for these they endeavour to preserve, being their perpetual bondmen: but for their white servants, they care not whether they live or die, seeing they are to serve them no longer than three years. these miserable kidnapped people are frequently subject to a disease, which in these parts is called coma, being a total privation of their senses. this distemper is judged to proceed from their hard usage, and the change of their native climate; and there being often among these some of good quality, tender education, and soft constitutions, they are more easily seized with this disease, and others of those countries, than those of harder bodies, and laborious lives. beside the hard usage in their diet, apparel, and rest, many times they beat them so cruelly, that they fall down dead under the hands of their cruel masters. this i have often seen with great grief. of the many instances, i shall only give you the following history, it being remarkable in its circumstances. a certain planter of these countries exercised such cruelty towards one of his servants, as caused him to run away. having absconded, for some days, in the woods, at last he was taken, and brought back to the wicked pharaoh. no sooner had he got him, but he commanded him to be tied to a tree; here he gave him so many lashes on his naked back, as made his body run with an entire stream of blood; then, to make the smart of his wounds the greater, he anointed him with lemon-juice, mixed with salt and pepper. in this miserable posture he left him tied to the tree for twenty-four hours, which being past, he began his punishment again, lashing him, as before, so cruelly, that the miserable wretch gave up the ghost, with these dying words: "i beseech the almighty god, creator of heaven and earth, that he permit the wicked spirit to make thee feel as many torments before thy death, as thou hast caused me to feel before mine." a strange thing, and worthy of astonishment and admiration! scarce three or four days were past, after this horrible fact, when the almighty judge, who had heard the cries of the tormented wretch, suffered the evil one suddenly to possess this barbarous and inhuman homicide, so that those cruel hands which had punished to death his innocent servant, were the tormentors of his own body: for he beat himself and tore his flesh, after a miserable manner, till he lost the very shape of a man; not ceasing to howl and cry, without any rest by day or night. thus he continued raving mad, till he died. many other examples of this kind i could rehearse; but these not belonging to our present discourse, i omit them. the planters of the caribbee islands are rather worse, and more cruel to their servants, than the former. in the isle of st. christopher dwells one named bettesa, well known to the dutch merchants, who has killed above a hundred of his servants with blows and stripes. the english do the same with their servants; and the mildest cruelty they exercise towards them is, that when they have served six years of their time (they being bound among the english for seven) they use them so cruelly, as to force them to beg of their masters to sell them to others, though it be to begin another servitude of seven years, or at least three or four. and i have known many, who have thus served fifteen or twenty years, before they could obtain their freedom. another law, very rigorous in that nation, is, if any man owes another above twenty-five shillings english, if he cannot pay it, he is liable to be sold for six or eight months. not to trouble the reader any longer with relations of this kind, i shall now describe the famous actions and exploits of the greatest pirates of my time, during my residence in those parts: these i shall relate without the least passion or partiality, and assure my reader that i shall give him no stories upon trust, or hearsay, but only those enterprises to which i was myself an eye-witness. chapter iv _original of the most famous pirates of the coasts of america--famous exploit of pierre le grand._ i have told you in the preceding chapters how i was compelled to adventure my life among the pirates of america; which sort of men i name so, because they are not authorized by any sovereign prince: for the kings of spain having on several occasions sent their ambassadors to the kings of england and france, to complain of the molestations and troubles those pirates often caused on the coasts of america, even in the calm of peace; it hath always been answered, "that such men did not commit those acts of hostility and piracy as subjects to their majesties; and therefore his catholic majesty might proceed against them as he should think fit." the king of france added, "that he had no fortress nor castle upon hispaniola, neither did he receive a farthing of tribute from thence." and the king of england adjoined, "that he had never given any commissions to those of jamaica, to commit hostilities against the subjects of his catholic majesty." nor did he only give this bare answer, but out of his royal desire to pleasure the court of spain, recalled the governor of jamaica, placing another in his room; all which could not prevent these pirates from acting as heretofore. but before i relate their bold actions, i shall say something of their rise and exercises; as also of the chiefest of them, and their manner of arming themselves before they put to sea. the first pirate that was known upon tortuga was pierre le grand, or peter the great. he was born at dieppe in normandy. that action which rendered him famous was his taking the vice-admiral of the spanish flota, near the cape of tiburon, on the west side of hispaniola; this he performed with only one boat, and twenty-eight men. now till that time the spaniards had passed and repassed with all security, through the channel of bahama; so that pierre le grand setting out to sea by the caycos, he took this great ship with all the ease imaginable. the spaniards they found aboard they set ashore, and sent the vessel to france. the manner how this undaunted spirit attempted and took this large ship i shall give you, out of the journal of the author, in his own words. "the boat," says he, "wherein pierre le grand was with his companions, had been at sea a long time without finding any prize worth his taking; and their provisions beginning to fail, they were in danger of starving. being almost reduced to despair, they spied a great ship of the spanish flota, separated from the rest; this vessel they resolved to take, or die in the attempt. hereupon, they sailed towards her, to view her strength. and though they judged the vessel to be superior to theirs, yet their covetousness, and the extremity they were reduced to, made them venture. being come so near that they could not possibly escape, they made an oath to their captain, pierre le grand, to stand by him to the last. 'tis true, the pirates did believe they should find the ship unprovided to fight, and thereby the sooner master her. it was in the dusk of the evening they began to attack; but before they engaged, they ordered the surgeon of the boat to bore a hole in the sides of it, that their own vessel sinking under them, they might be compelled to attack more vigorously, and endeavour more hastily to board the ship. this was done accordingly, and without any other arms than a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other, they immediately climbed up the sides of the ship, and ran altogether into the great cabin, where they found the captain, with several of his companions, playing at cards. here they set a pistol to his breast, commanding him to deliver up the ship. the spaniards, surprised to see the pirates on board their ship, cried 'jesus bless us! are these devils, or what are they?' meanwhile some of them took possession of the gun-room, and seized the arms, killing as many as made any opposition; whereupon the spaniards presently surrendered. that very day the captain of the ship had been told by some of the seamen that the boat which was in view, cruising, was a boat of pirates; whom the captain slightly answered, 'what then, must i be afraid of such a pitiful thing as that is? no, though she were a ship as big and as strong as mine is.' as soon as pierre le grand had taken this rich prize, he detained in his service as many of the common seamen as he had need of, setting the rest ashore, and then set sail for france, where he continued, without ever returning to america again." [illustration: "pierre le grand commanding the spanish captain to surrender the ship"--_page _] the planters and hunters of tortuga had no sooner heard of the rich prize those pirates had taken, but they resolved to follow their example. hereupon, many of them left their employments, and endeavoured to get some small boats, wherein to exercise piracy; but not being able to purchase, or build them at tortuga, they resolved to set forth in their canoes, and seek them elsewhere. with these they cruised at first upon cape de alvarez, where the spaniards used to trade from one city to another in small vessels, in which they carry hides, tobacco, and other commodities, to the havannah, and to which the spaniards from europe do frequently resort. here it was that those pirates at first took a great many boats laden with the aforesaid commodities; these they used to carry to tortuga, and sell the whole purchase to the ships that waited for their return, or accidentally happened to be there. with the gains of these prizes they provided themselves with necessaries, wherewith to undertake other voyages, some of which were made to campechy, and others toward new spain; in both which the spaniards then drove a great trade. upon those coasts they found great numbers of trading vessels, and often ships of great burden. two of the biggest of these vessels, and two great ships which the spaniards had laden with plate in the port of campechy, to go to the caraccas, they took in less than a month's time, and carried to tortuga; where the people of the whole island, encouraged by their success, especially seeing in two years the riches of the country so much increased, they augmented the number of pirates so fast, that in a little time there were, in that small island and port, above twenty ships of this sort of people. hereupon the spaniards, not able to bear their robberies any longer, equipped two large men-of-war, both for the defence of their own coasts, and to cruise upon the enemies. chapter v _how the pirates arm their vessels, and regulate their voyages._ before the pirates go to sea, they give notice to all concerned, of the day on which they are to embark; obliging each man to bring so many pounds of powder and ball as they think necessary. being all come aboard, they consider where to get provisions, especially flesh, seeing they scarce eat anything else; and of this the most common sort is pork; the next food is tortoises, which they salt a little: sometimes they rob such or such hog-yards, where the spaniards often have a thousand head of swine together. they come to these places in the night, and having beset the keeper's lodge, they force him to rise, and give them as many heads as they desire, threatening to kill him if he refuses, or makes any noise; and these menaces are oftentimes executed on the miserable swine-keepers, or any other person that endeavours to hinder their robberies. having got flesh sufficient for their voyage, they return to their ship: here they allow, twice a day, every one as much as he can eat, without weight or measure; nor does the steward of the vessel give any more flesh, or anything else, to the captain, than to the meanest mariner. the ship being well victualled, they deliberate whither they shall go to seek their desperate fortunes, and likewise agree upon certain articles, which are put in writing, which every one is bound to observe; and all of them, or the chiefest part, do set their hands to it. here they set down distinctly what sums of money each particular person ought to have for that voyage, the fund of all the payments being what is gotten by the whole expedition; for otherwise it is the same law among these people as with other pirates. no prey, no pay. first, therefore, they mention how much the captain is to have for his ship; next, the salary of the carpenter, or shipwright, who careened, mended, and rigged the vessel: this commonly amounts to one hundred or one hundred and fifty pieces of eight, according to the agreement. afterwards, for provisions and victualling, they draw out of the same common stock about two hundred pieces of eight; also a salary for the surgeon, and his chest of medicaments, which usually is rated at two hundred or two hundred and fifty pieces of eight. lastly, they agree what rate each one ought to have that is either wounded or maimed in his body, suffering the loss of any limb; as, for the loss of a right arm, six hundred pieces of eight, or six slaves; for the left arm, five hundred pieces of eight, or five slaves; for a right leg, five hundred pieces of eight, or five slaves; for the left leg, four hundred pieces of eight, or four slaves; for an eye, one hundred pieces of eight, or one slave; for a finger, the same as for an eye. all which sums are taken out of the common stock of what is gotten by their piracy, and a very exact and equal dividend is made of the remainder. they have also regard to qualities and places: thus the captain, or chief, is allotted five or six portions, to what the ordinary seamen have: the master's mate only two, and other officers proportionately to their employ: after which, they draw equal parts from the highest to the lowest mariner, the boys not being omitted, who draw half a share; because when they take a better vessel than their own, it is in the boys' duty to fire their former vessel, and then retire to the prize. they observe among themselves very good orders; for in the prizes which they take, it is severely prohibited, to every one, to take anything to themselves: hence all they take is equally divided, as hath been said before: yea, they take a solemn oath to each other, not to conceal the least thing they find among the prizes; and if any one is found false to the said oath, he is immediately turned out of the society. they are very civil and charitable to each other; so that if any one wants what another has, with great willingness they give it one to another. as soon as these pirates have taken a prize, they immediately set ashore the prisoners, detaining only some few, for their own help and service: whom, also, they release, after two or three years. they refresh themselves at one island or another, but especially at those on the south of cuba; here they careen their vessels, while some hunt, and others cruise in canoes for prizes. the inhabitants of new spain and campechy lade their best merchandize in ships of great bulk: the vessels from campechy sail in the winter to caraccas, trinity isles, and that of margarita, and return back again in the summer. the pirates knowing these seasons (being very diligent in their inquiries) always cruise between the places above-mentioned; but in case they light on no considerable booty, they commonly undertake some more hazardous enterprises: one remarkable instance of which i shall here give you. a certain pirate called pierre françois, or peter francis, waiting a long time at sea with his boat and twenty-six men, for the ships that were to return from maracaibo to campechy, and not being able to find any prey, at last he resolved to direct his course to rancheiras, near the river de la plata, in deg. and a half north latitude. here lies a rich bank of pearl, to the fishery whereof they yearly sent from carthagena twelve vessels with a man-of-war for their defence. every vessel has at least two negroes in it, who are very dextrous in diving to the depth of six fathoms, where they find good store of pearls. on this fleet, called the pearl-fleet, pierre françois resolved to venture, rather than go home empty; they then rid at anchor at the mouth of the river de la hacha, the man-of-war scarce half a league distant from the small ships, and the wind very calm. having spied them in this posture, he presently pulled down his sails, and rowed along the coast feigning to be a spanish vessel coming from maracaibo; but no sooner was he come to the pearl-bank, when suddenly he assaulted the vice-admiral of eight guns and sixty men, commanding them to surrender. the spaniards made a good defence for some time, but at last were forced to submit. having thus taken the vice-admiral, he resolved to attempt the man-of-war, with which addition he hoped to master the rest of the fleet: to this end he presently sunk his own boat, putting forth the spanish colours, and weighed anchor with a little wind which then began to stir, having with threats and promises compelled most of the spaniards to assist him: but so soon as the man-of-war perceived one of his fleet to sail, he did so too, fearing lest the mariners designed to run away with the riches they had on board. the pirate on this immediately gave over the enterprise, thinking themselves unable to encounter force to force: hereupon they endeavoured to get out of the river and gain the open seas, by making as much sail as they could; which the man-of-war perceiving, he presently gave them chase, but the pirates having laid on too much sail, and a gust of wind suddenly rising, their main-mast was brought by the board, which disabled them from escaping. this unhappy event much encouraged those in the man-of-war, they gaining upon the pirates every moment, and at last overtook them; but finding they had twenty-two sound men, the rest being either killed or wounded, resolved to defend themselves as long as possible; this they performed very courageously for some time, till they were forced by the man-of-war, on condition that they should not be used as slaves to carry stones, or be employed in other labours for three or four years, as they served their negroes, but that they should be set safe ashore on free land. on these articles they yielded with all they had taken, which was worth, in pearls alone, above , pieces of eight, besides the vessel, provisions, goods, &c. all of which would have made this a greater prize than he could desire, which he had certainly carried off, if his main-mast had not been lost, as we said before. another bold attempt like this, no less remarkable, i shall also give you. a certain pirate of portugal, thence called bartholomew portugues, was cruising in a boat of thirty men and four small guns from jamaica, upon the cape de corriente in cuba, where he met a great ship from maracaibo and carthagena, bound for the havannah, well provided with twenty great guns and seventy men, passengers and mariners; this ship he presently assaulted, which they on board as resolutely defended. the pirate escaping the first encounter, resolved to attack her more vigorously than before, seeing he had yet suffered no great damage: this he performed with so much resolution, that at last, after a long and dangerous fight, he became master of it. the portuguese lost only ten men, and had four wounded; so that he had still remaining twenty fighting men, whereas the spaniards had double the number. having possessed themselves of the ship, the wind being contrary to return to jamaica, they resolved to steer to cape st. anthony (which lies west of cuba), there to repair and take in fresh water, of which they were then in great want. being very near the cape abovesaid, they unexpectedly met with three great ships coming from new spain, and bound for the havannah; by these not being able to escape, they were easily retaken, both ship and pirates, and all made prisoners, and stripped of all the riches they had taken but just before. the cargo consisted in , weight of cocoa-nuts, the chief ingredient of chocolate, and , pieces of eight. two days after this misfortune, there arose a great storm, which separated the ships from one another. the great vessel, where the pirates were, arrived at campechy, where many considerable merchants came and saluted the captain; these presently knew the portuguese pirate, being infamous for the many insolencies, robberies and murders he had committed on their coasts, which they kept fresh in their memory. the next day after their arrival, the magistrates of the city sent to demand the prisoners from on board the ship, in order to punish them according to their deserts; but fearing the captain of the pirates should make his escape (as he had formerly done, being their prisoner once before) they judged it safer to leave him guarded on ship-board for the present, while they erected a gibbet to hang him on the next day, without any other process than to lead him from the ship to his punishment; the rumour of which was presently brought to bartholomew portugues, whereby he sought all possible means to escape that night: with this design he took two earthen jars, wherein the spaniards carry wine from spain to the west indies, and stopped them very well, intending to use them for swimming, as those unskilled in that art do corks or empty bladders; having made this necessary preparation, he waited when all should be asleep; but not being able to escape his sentinel's vigilance, he stabbed him with a knife he had secretly purchased, and then threw himself into the sea with the earthen jars before-mentioned, by the help of which, though he never learned to swim, he reached the shore, and immediately took to the woods, where he hid himself for three days, not daring to appear, eating no other food than wild herbs. [illustration: "'portugues made the best of his way to del golpho triste'"--_page _] those of the city next day made diligent search for him in the woods, where they concluded him to be. this strict inquiry portugues saw from the hollow of a tree, wherein he lay hid; and upon their return he made the best of his way to del golpho triste, forty leagues from campechy, where he arrived within a fortnight after his escape: during which time, as also afterwards, he endured extreme hunger and thirst, having no other provision with him than a small calabaca with a little water: besides the fears of falling again into the hands of the spaniards. he eat nothing but a few shell-fish, which he found among the rocks near the seashore; and being obliged to pass some rivers, not knowing well how to swim, he found at last an old board which the waves had driven ashore, wherein were a few great nails; these he took, and with no small labour whetted on a stone, till he had made them like knives, though not so well; with these, and nothing else, he cut down some branches of trees, which with twigs and osiers he joined together, and made as well as he could a boat to waft him over the rivers: thus arriving at the cape of golpho triste, as was said, he found a vessel of pirates, comrades of his own, lately come from jamaica. to these he related all his adversities and misfortunes, and withal desired they would fit him with a boat and twenty men, with which company alone he promised to return to campechy, and assault the ship that was in the river, by which he had been taken fourteen days before. they presently granted his request, and equipped him a boat accordingly. with this small company he set out to execute his design, which he bravely performed eight days after he left golpho triste; for being arrived at campechy, with an undaunted courage, and without any noise, he assaulted the said ship: those on board thought it was a boat from land that came to bring contraband goods, and so were in no posture of defence; which opportunity the pirates laying hold of, assaulted them so resolutely, that in a little time they compelled the spaniards to surrender. being masters of the ship, they immediately weighed anchor and set sail from the port, lest they should be pursued by other vessels. this they did with the utmost joy, seeing themselves possessors of so brave a ship; especially portugues, who by a second turn of fortune was become rich and powerful again, who was so lately in that same vessel a prisoner, condemned to be hanged. with this purchase he designed greater things, which he might have done, since there remained in the vessel so great a quantity of rich merchandise, though the plate had been sent to the city: but while he was making his voyage to jamaica, near the isle of pinos, on the south of cuba, a terrible storm arose, which drove against the jardines rocks, where she was lost; but portugues, with his companions, escaped in a canoe, in which he arrived at jamaica, where it was not long ere he went on new adventures, but was never fortunate after. nor less considerable are the actions of another pirate who now lives at jamaica, who on several occasions has performed very surprising things. he was born at groninghen in the united provinces. his own name not being known, his companions gave him that of roche brasiliano, by reason of his long residence in brasil: hence he was forced to fly, when the portuguese retook those countries from the dutch, several nations then inhabiting at brasil (as english, french, dutch, and others), being constrained to seek new fortunes. this person fled to jamaica, where, being at a stand how to get his living, he entered himself into the society of pirates, where he served as a private mariner for some time, and behaved himself so well, that he was beloved and respected by all. one day some of the mariners quarrelled with their captain to that degree, that they left the boat. brasiliano following them, was chosen their leader, who having fitted out a small vessel, they made him captain. within a few days after, he took a great ship coming from new spain, which had a great quantity of plate on board, and carried it to jamaica. this action got him a great reputation at home; and though in his private affairs he governed himself very well, he would oftentimes appear brutish and foolish when in drink, running up and down the streets, beating and wounding those he met, no person daring to make any resistance. to the spaniards he was always very barbarous and cruel, out of an inveterate hatred against that nation. of these he commanded several to be roasted alive on wooden spits, for not showing him hog-yards where he might steal swine. after many of these cruelties, as he was cruising on the coasts of campechy, a dismal tempest surprised him so violently, that his ship was wrecked upon the coasts, the mariners only escaping with their muskets and some few bullets and powder, which were the only things they could save. the ship was lost between campechy and the golpho triste: here they got ashore in a canoe, and, marching along the coast with all the speed they could, they directed their course towards golpho triste, the common refuge of the pirates. being upon his journey, and all very hungry and thirsty, as is usual in desert places, they were pursued by a troop of an hundred spaniards. brasiliano, perceiving their imminent danger, encouraged his companions, telling them they were better soldiers, and ought rather to die under their arms fighting, as it became men of courage, than surrender to the spaniards, who would take away their lives with the utmost torments. the pirates were but thirty; yet, seeing their brave commander oppose the enemy with such courage, resolved to do the like: hereupon they faced the troop of spaniards, and discharged their muskets on them so dextrously, that they killed one horseman almost with every shot. the fight continued for an hour, till at last the spaniards were put to flight. they stripped the dead, and took from them what was most for their use; such as were also not quite dead they dispatched with the ends of their muskets. having vanquished the enemy, they mounted on horses they found in the field, and continued their journey; brasiliano having lost but two of his companions in this bloody fight, and had two wounded. prosecuting their way, before they came to the port they spied a boat at anchor from campechy, well manned, protecting a few canoes that were lading wood: hereupon they sent six of their men to watch them, who next morning, by a wile, possessed themselves of the canoes. having given notice to their companions, they boarded them, and also took the little man-of-war, their convoy. being thus masters of this fleet, they wanted only provisions, of which they found little aboard those vessels: but this defect was supplied by the horses, which they killed, and salted with salt, which by good fortune the wood-cutters had brought with them, with which they supported themselves till they could get better. they took also another ship going from new spain to maracaibo, laden with divers sorts of merchandise and pieces of eight, designed to buy cocoa-nuts for their lading home: all these they carried to jamaica, where they safely arrived, and, according to custom, wasted all in a few days in taverns, giving themselves to all manner of debauchery. such of these pirates will spend two or three thousand pieces of eight in a night, not leaving themselves a good shirt to wear in the morning. my own master would buy sometimes a pipe of wine, and, placing it in the street, would force those that passed by to drink with him, threatening also to pistol them if they would not. he would do the like with barrels of beer or ale; and very often he would throw these liquors about the streets, and wet peoples' clothes without regarding whether he spoiled their apparel. among themselves these pirates are very liberal: if any one has lost all, which often happens in their manner of life, they freely give him of what they have. in taverns and alehouses they have great credit; but at jamaica they ought not to run very deep in debt, seeing the inhabitants there easily sell one another for debt. this happened to my patron, to be sold for a debt of a tavern wherein he had spent the greatest part of his money. this man had, within three months before, three thousand pieces of eight in ready cash, all which he wasted in that little time, and became as poor as i have told you. but to return brasiliano, after having spent all, was forced to go to sea again to seek his fortune. he set forth towards the coast of campechy, his common rendezvous: fifteen days after his arrival, he put himself into a canoe to espy the port of that city, and see if he could rob any spanish vessel; but his fortune was so bad, that both he and all his men were taken and carried before the governor, who immediately cast them into a dungeon, intending to hang them every one; and doubtless he had done so, but for a stratagem of brasiliano, which saved their lives. he wrote a letter to the governor, in the names of other pirates that were abroad at sea, telling them he should have a care how he used those persons he had in custody; for if he hurt them in the least, they swore they would never give quarter to any spaniard that should fall into their hands. these pirates having been often at campechy, and other places of the west indies in the spanish dominions, the governor feared what mischief their companions abroad might do, if he should punish them. hereupon he released them, exacting only an oath on them that they would leave their exercise of piracy for ever; and withal he sent them as common mariners, in the galleons, to spain. they got in this voyage, all together, five hundred pieces of eight; so that they tarried not long there after their arrival. providing themselves with necessaries, they returned to jamaica, from whence they set forth again to sea, committing greater robberies and cruelties than before; but especially abusing the poor spaniards, who fell into their hands, with all sorts of cruelty. the spaniards, finding they could gain nothing on these people, nor diminish their number, daily resolved to lessen the number of their trading ships. but neither was this of any service; for the pirates, finding few ships at sea, began to gather into companies, and to land on their dominions, ruining cities, towns, and villages; pillaging, burning, and carrying away as much as they could. the first pirate who began these invasions by land was lewis scot, who sacked the city of campechy, which he almost ruined, robbing and destroying all he could; and after he had put it to an excessive ransom, he left it. after scot came another named mansvelt, who invaded granada, and penetrated even to the south sea; till at last, for want of provision, he was forced to go back. he assaulted the isle of st. catherine, which he took, with a few prisoners. these directed him to carthagena, a principal city in neuva granada. but the bold attempts and actions of john davis, born at jamaica, ought not to be forgotten, being some of the most remarkable; especially his rare prudence and valour showed in the fore-mentioned kingdom of granada. this pirate, having long cruised in the gulf of pocatauro, on the ships expected to carthagena, bound for nicaragua, and not meeting any of them, resolved at last to land in nicaragua, leaving his ship hid on the coast. this design he soon executed; for taking eighty men out of ninety, which he had in all--and the rest he left to keep the ship--he divided them equally into three canoes. his intent was to rob the churches, and rifle the houses of the chief citizens of nicaragua. thus in the dark night they entered the river leading to that city, rowing in their canoes; by day they hid themselves and boats under the branches of trees, on the banks, which grow very thick along the river-sides in those countries, and along the sea-coast. being arrived at the city the third night, the sentinel, who kept the post of the river, thought them to be fishermen that had been fishing in the lake: and most of the pirates understanding spanish, he doubted not, as soon as he heard them speak. they had in their company an indian who had run away from his master, who would have enslaved him unjustly. he went first ashore, and instantly killed the sentinel: this done, they entered the city, and went directly to three or four houses of the chief citizens, where they knocked softly. these, believing them to be friends, opened the doors; and the pirates, suddenly possessing themselves of the houses, stole all the money and plate they could find. nor did they spare the churches and most sacred things; all of which were pillaged and profaned, without any respect or veneration. meanwhile, great cries and lamentations were heard of some who had escaped them; so that the whole city was in an uproar, and all the citizens rallied in order, to a defence; which the pirates perceiving, they instantly fled, carrying away their booty, and some prisoners: these they led away, that if any of them should be taken by the spaniards, they might use them for ransom. thus they got to their ship, and with all speed put to sea, forcing the prisoners, before they let them go, to procure them as much flesh as was necessary for their voyage to jamaica. but no sooner had they weighed anchor, when they saw a troop of about five hundred spaniards, all well armed, at the sea-side: against these they let fly several guns, wherewith they forced them to quit the sands, and retire, with no small regret to see these pirates carry away so much plate of their churches and houses, though distant at least forty leagues from the sea. these pirates got, on this occasion, above four thousand pieces of eight in money, besides much plate, and many jewels; in all, to the value of fifty thousand pieces of eight, or more: with all this they arrived at jamaica soon after. but this sort of people being never long masters of their money, they were soon constrained to seek more by the same means; and captain john davis, presently after his return, was chosen admiral of seven or eight vessels, he being now esteemed an able conductor for such enterprises. he began his new command by directing his fleet to the north of cuba, there to wait for the fleet from new spain; but missing his design, they determined for florida. being arrived there, they landed their men, and sacked a small city named st. augustine of florida. the castle had a garrison of two hundred men, but could not prevent the pillage of the city, they effecting it without the least damage from the soldiers or townsmen. chapter vi _of the origin of francis lolonois, and the beginning of his robberies._ francis lolonois was a native of that territory in france which is called les sables d'olone, or the sands of olone. in his youth he was transported to the caribbee islands, in quality of servant, or slave, according to custom; of which we have already spoken. being out of his time, he came to hispaniola; here he joined for some time with the hunters, before he began his robberies upon the spaniards, which i shall now relate, till his unfortunate death. at first he made two or three voyages as a common mariner, wherein he behaved himself so courageously as to gain the favour of the governor of tortuga, monsieur de la place; insomuch that he gave him a ship, in which he might seek his fortune, which was very favourable to him at first; for in a short time he got great riches. but his cruelties against the spaniards were such, that the fame of them made him so well known through the indies, that the spaniards, in his time, would choose rather to die, or sink fighting, than surrender, knowing they should have no mercy at his hands. but fortune, being seldom constant, after some time turned her back; for in a huge storm he lost his ship on the coast of campechy. the men were all saved, but coming upon dry land, the spaniards pursued them, and killed the greatest part, wounding also lolonois. not knowing how to escape, he saved his life by a stratagem; mingling sand with the blood of his wounds, with which besmearing his face, and other parts of his body, and hiding himself dextrously among the dead, he continued there till the spaniards quitted the field. they being gone, he retired to the woods, and bound up his wounds as well as he could. these being pretty well healed, he took his way to campechy, having disguised himself in a spanish habit; here he enticed certain slaves, to whom he promised liberty if they would obey him and trust to his conduct. they accepted his promises, and stealing a canoe, they went to sea with him. now the spaniards, having made several of his companions prisoners, kept them close in a dungeon, while lolonois went about the town and saw what passed. these were often asked, "what is become of your captain?" to whom they constantly answered, "he is dead:" which rejoiced the spaniards, who made bonfires, and, knowing nothing to the contrary, gave thanks to god for their deliverance from such a cruel pirate. lolonois, having seen these rejoicings for his death, made haste to escape, with the slaves above-mentioned, and came safe to tortuga, the common refuge of all sorts of wickedness, and the seminary, as it were, of pirates and thieves. though now his fortune was low, yet he got another ship with craft and subtlety, and in it twenty-one men. being well provided with arms and necessaries, he set forth for cuba, on the south whereof is a small village, called de los cayos. the inhabitants drive a great trade in tobacco, sugar, and hides, and all in boats, not being able to use ships, by reason of the little depth of that sea. lolonois was persuaded he should get here some considerable prey; but by the good fortune of some fishermen who saw him, and the mercy of god, they escaped him: for the inhabitants of the town dispatched immediately a vessel overland to the havannah, complaining that lolonois was come to destroy them with two canoes. the governor could very hardly believe this, having received letters from campechy that he was dead: but, at their importunity, he sent a ship to their relief, with ten guns, and ninety men, well armed; giving them this express command, "that they should not return into his presence without having totally destroyed those pirates." to this effect he gave them a negro to serve for a hangman, and orders, "that they should immediately hang every one of the pirates, excepting lolonois, their captain, whom they should bring alive to the havannah." this ship arrived at cayos, of whose coming the pirates were advertised beforehand, and instead of flying, went to seek it in the river estera, where she rode at anchor. the pirates seized some fishermen, and forced them by night to show them the entry of the port, hoping soon to obtain a greater vessel than their two canoes, and thereby to mend their fortune. they arrived, after two in the morning, very nigh the ship; and the watch on board the ship asking them, whence they came, and if they had seen any pirates abroad? they caused one of the prisoners to answer, they had seen no pirates, nor anything else. which answer made them believe that they were fled upon hearing of their coming. but they soon found the contrary, for about break of day the pirates assaulted the vessel on both sides, with their two canoes, with such vigour, that though the spaniards behaved themselves as they ought, and made as good defence as they could, making some use of their great guns, yet they were forced to surrender, being beaten by the pirates, with sword in hand, down under the hatches. from hence lolonois commanded them to be brought up, one by one, and in this order caused their heads to be struck off: among the rest came up the negro, designed to be the pirates' executioner; this fellow implored mercy at his hands very dolefully, telling lolonois he was constituted hangman of that ship, and if he would spare him, he would tell him faithfully all that he should desire. lolonois, making him confess what he thought fit, commanded him to be murdered with the rest. thus he cruelly and barbarously put them all to death, reserving only one alive, whom he sent back to the governor of the havannah, with this message in writing: "i shall never henceforward give quarter to any spaniard whatsoever; and i have great hopes i shall execute on your own person the very same punishment i have done upon them you sent against me. thus i have retaliated the kindness you designed to me and my companions." the governor, much troubled at this sad news, swore, in the presence of many, that he would never grant quarter to any pirate that should fall into his hands. but the citizens of the havannah desired him not to persist in the execution of that rash and rigorous oath, seeing the pirates would certainly take occasion from thence to do the same, and they had an hundred times more opportunity of revenge than he; that being necessitated to get their livelihood by fishery, they should hereafter always be in danger of their lives. by these reasons he was persuaded to bridle his anger, and remit the severity of his oath. now lolonois had got a good ship, but very few provisions and people in it; to purchase both which, he resolved to cruise from one port to another. doing thus, for some time, without success, he determined to go to the port of maracaibo. here he surprised a ship laden with plate, and other merchandises, outward bound, to buy cocoa-nuts. with this prize he returned to tortuga, where he was received with joy by the inhabitants; they congratulating his happy success, and their own private interest. he stayed not long there, but designed to equip a fleet sufficient to transport five hundred men, and necessaries. thus provided, he resolved to pillage both cities, towns, and villages, and finally, to take maracaibo itself. for this purpose he knew the island of tortuga would afford him many resolute and courageous men, fit for such enterprises: besides, he had in his service several prisoners well acquainted with the ways and places designed upon. chapter vii _lolonois equips a fleet to land upon the spanish islands of america, with intent to rob, sack and burn whatsoever he met with._ of this design lolonois giving notice to all the pirates, whether at home or abroad, he got together, in a little while, above four hundred men; beside which, there was then in tortuga another pirate, named michael de basco, who, by his piracy, had got riches sufficient to live at ease, and go no more abroad; having, withal, the office of major of the island. but seeing the great preparations that lolonois made for this expedition, he joined him, and offered him, that if he would make him his chief captain by land (seeing he knew the country very well, and all its avenues) he would share in his fortunes, and go with him. they agreed upon articles to the great joy of lolonois, knowing that basco had done great actions in europe, and had the repute of a good soldier. thus they all embarked in eight vessels, that of lolonois being the greatest, having ten guns of indifferent carriage. all things being ready, and the whole company on board, they set sail together about the end of april, being, in all, six hundred and sixty persons. they steered for that part called bayala, north of hispaniola: here they took into their company some french hunters, who voluntarily offered themselves, and here they provided themselves with victuals and necessaries for their voyage. from hence they sailed again the last of july, and steered directly to the eastern cape of the isle called punta d'espada. hereabouts espying a ship from puerto rico, bound for new spain, laden with cocoa-nuts, lolonois commanded the rest of the fleet to wait for him near savona, on the east of cape punta d'espada, he alone intending to take the said vessel. the spaniards, though they had been in sight full two hours, and knew them to be pirates, yet would not flee, but prepared to fight, being well armed, and provided. the combat lasted three hours, and then they surrendered. this ship had sixteen guns, and fifty fighting men aboard: they found in her , weight of cocoa, , pieces of eight, and the value of , more in jewels. lolonois sent the vessel presently to tortuga to be unladed, with orders to return as soon as possible to savona, where he would wait for them: meanwhile, the rest of the fleet being arrived at savona, met another spanish vessel coming from coman, with military provisions to hispaniola, and money to pay the garrisons there. this vessel they also took, without any resistance, though mounted with eight guns. in it were , weight of powder, a great number of muskets, and like things, with , pieces of eight. these successes encouraged the pirates, they seeming very lucky beginnings, especially finding their fleet pretty well recruited in a little time: for the first ship arriving at tortuga, the governor ordered it to be instantly unladen, and soon after sent back, with fresh provisions, and other necessaries, to lolonois. this ship he chose for himself, and gave that which he commanded to his comrade, anthony du puis. being thus recruited with men in lieu of them he had lost in taking the prizes, and by sickness, he found himself in a good condition to set sail for maracaibo, in the province of neuva venezuela, in the latitude of deg. min. north. this island is twenty leagues long, and twelve broad. to this port also belong the islands of onega and monges. the east side thereof is called cape st. roman, and the western side cape of caquibacoa: the gulf is called, by some, the gulf of venezuela, but the pirates usually call it the bay of maracaibo. at the entrance of this gulf are two islands extending from east to west; that towards the east is called isla de las vigilias, or the watch isle; because in the middle is a high hill, on which stands a watch-house. the other is called isla de la palomas, or the isle of pigeons. between these two islands runs a little sea, or rather lake of fresh water, sixty leagues long, and thirty broad; which disgorging itself into the ocean, dilates itself about the said two islands. between them is the best passage for ships, the channel being no broader than the flight of a great gun, of about eight pounds. on the isle of pigeons standeth a castle, to impede the entry of vessels, all being necessitated to come very nigh the castle, by reason of two banks of sand on the other side, with only fourteen feet water. many other banks of sand there are in this lake; as that called el tablazo, or the great table, no deeper than ten feet, forty leagues within the lake; others there are, that have no more than six, seven, or eight feet in depth: all are very dangerous, especially to mariners unacquainted with them. west hereof is the city of maracaibo, very pleasant to the view, its houses being built along the shore, having delightful prospects all round: the city may contain three or four thousand persons, slaves included, all which make a town of reasonable bigness. there are judged to be about eight hundred persons able to bear arms, all spaniards. here are one parish church, well built and adorned, four monasteries, and one hospital. the city is governed by a deputy governor, substituted by the governor of the caraccas. the trade here exercised is mostly in hides and tobacco. the inhabitants possess great numbers of cattle, and many plantations, which extend thirty leagues in the country, especially towards the great town of gibraltar, where are gathered great quantities of cocoa-nuts, and all other garden fruits, which serve for the regale and sustenance of the inhabitants of maracaibo, whose territories are much drier than those of gibraltar. hither those of maracaibo send great quantities of flesh, they making returns in oranges, lemons, and other fruits; for the inhabitants of gibraltar want flesh, their fields not being capable of feeding cows or sheep. before maracaibo is a very spacious and secure port, wherein may be built all sorts of vessels, having great convenience of timber, which may be transported thither at little charge. nigh the town lies also a small island called borrica, where they feed great numbers of goats, which cattle the inhabitants use more for their skins than their flesh or milk; they slighting these two, unless while they are tender and young kids. in the fields are fed some sheep, but of a very small size. in some islands of the lake, and in other places hereabouts, are many savage indians, called by the spaniards bravoes, or wild: these could never be reduced by the spaniards, being brutish, and untameable. they dwell mostly towards the west side of the lake, in little huts built on trees growing in the water; so to keep themselves from innumerable mosquitoes, or gnats, which infest and torment them night and day. to the east of the said lake are whole towns of fishermen, who likewise live in huts built on trees, as the former. another reason of this dwelling, is the frequent inundations; for after great rains, the land is often overflown for two or three leagues, there being no less than twenty-five great rivers that feed this lake. the town of gibraltar is also frequently drowned by these, so that the inhabitants are constrained to retire to their plantations. gibraltar, situate at the side of the lake about forty leagues within it, receives its provisions of flesh, as has been said, from maracaibo. the town is inhabited by about , persons, whereof four hundred may bear arms; the greatest part of them keep shops, wherein they exercise one trade or another. in the adjacent fields are numerous plantations of sugar and cocoa, in which are many tall and beautiful trees, of whose timber houses may be built, and ships. among these are many handsome and proportionable cedars, seven or eight feet about, of which they can build boats and ships, so as to bear only one great sail; such vessels being called piraguas. the whole country is well furnished with rivers and brooks, very useful in droughts, being then cut into many little channels to water their fields and plantations. they plant also much tobacco, well esteemed in europe, and for its goodness is called there tobacco de sacerdotes, or priest's tobacco. they enjoy nigh twenty leagues of jurisdiction, which is bounded by very high mountains perpetually covered with snow. on the other side of these mountains is situate a great city called merida, to which the town of gibraltar is subject. all merchandise is carried hence to the aforesaid city on mules, and that but at one season of the year, by reason of the excessive cold in those high mountains. on the said mules returns are made in flour of meal, which comes from towards peru, by the way of estaffe. thus far i thought good to make a short description of the lake of maracaibo, that my reader might the better comprehend what i shall say concerning the actions of pirates in this place, as follows. lolonois arriving at the gulf of venezuela, cast anchor with his whole fleet out of sight of the vigilia or watch isle; next day very early he set sail thence with all his ships for the lake of maracaibo, where they cast anchor again; then they landed their men, with design to attack first the fortress that commanded the bar, therefore called de la barra. this fort consists only of several great baskets of earth placed on a rising ground, planted with sixteen great guns, with several other heaps of earth round about for covering their men: the pirates having landed a league off this fort, advanced by degrees towards it; but the governor having espied their landing, had placed an ambuscade to cut them off behind, while he should attack them in front. this the pirates discovered, and getting before, they defeated it so entirely, that not a man could retreat to the castle: this done, lolonois, with his companions, advanced immediately to the fort, and after a fight of almost three hours, with the usual desperation of this sort of people, they became masters thereof, without any other arms than swords and pistols: while they were fighting, those who were the routed ambuscade, not being able to get into the castle, retired into maracaibo in great confusion and disorder, crying "the pirates will presently be here with two thousand men and more." the city having formerly been taken by this kind of people, and sacked to the uttermost, had still an idea of that misery; so that upon these dismal news they endeavoured to escape towards gibraltar in their boats and canoes, carrying with them all the goods and money they could. being come to gibraltar, they told how the fortress was taken, and nothing had been saved, nor any persons escaped. the castle thus taken by the pirates, they presently signified to the ships their victory, that they should come farther in without fear of danger: the rest of that day was spent in ruining and demolishing the said castle. they nailed the guns, and burnt as much as they could not carry away, burying the dead, and sending on board the fleet the wounded. next day, very early, they weighed anchor, and steered altogether towards maracaibo, about six leagues distant from the fort; but the wind failing that day, they could advance little, being forced to expect the tide. next morning they came in sight of the town, and prepared for landing under the protection of their own guns, fearing the spaniards might have laid an ambuscade in the woods: they put their men into canoes, brought for that purpose, and landed where they thought most convenient, shooting still furiously with their great guns: of those in the canoes, half only went ashore, the other half remained aboard; they fired from the ships as fast as possible, towards the woody part of the shore, but could discover nobody; then they entered the town, whose inhabitants, as i told you, were retired to the woods, and gibraltar, with their wives, children, and families. their houses they left well provided with victuals, as flour, bread, pork, brandy, wines, and poultry, with these the pirates fell to making good cheer, for in four weeks before they had no opportunity of filling their stomachs with such plenty. they instantly possessed themselves of the best houses in the town, and placed sentinels wherever they thought convenient; the great church served them for their main guard. next day they sent out an hundred and sixty men to find out some of the inhabitants in the woods thereabouts; these returned the same night, bringing with them , pieces of eight, several mules laden with household goods and merchandise, and twenty prisoners, men, women, and children. some of these were put to the rack, to make them confess where they had hid the rest of the goods; but they could extort very little from them. lolonois, who valued not murdering, though in cold blood, ten or twelve spaniards, drew his cutlass, and hacked one to pieces before the rest, saying, "if you do not confess and declare where you have hid the rest of your goods, i will do the like to all your companions." at last, amongst these horrible cruelties and inhuman threats, one promised to show the place where the rest of the spaniards were hid; but those that were fled, having intelligence of it, changed place, and buried the remnant of their riches underground, so that the pirates could not find them out, unless some of their own party should reveal them; besides, the spaniards flying from one place to another every day, and often changing woods, were jealous even of each other, so as the father durst scarce trust his own son. after the pirates had been fifteen days in maracaibo, they resolved for gibraltar; but the inhabitants having received intelligence thereof, and that they intended afterwards to go to merida, gave notice of it to the governor there, who was a valiant soldier, and had been an officer in flanders. his answer was, "he would have them take no care, for he hoped in a little while to exterminate the said pirates." whereupon he came to gibraltar with four hundred men well armed, ordering at the same time the inhabitants to put themselves in arms, so that in all he made eight hundred fighting men. with the same speed he raised a battery toward the sea, mounted with twenty guns, covered with great baskets of earth: another battery he placed in another place, mounted with eight guns. this done, he barricaded a narrow passage to the town through which the pirates must pass, opening at the same time another through much dirt and mud into the wood totally unknown to the pirates. the pirates, ignorant of these preparations, having embarked all their prisoners and booty, took their way towards gibraltar. being come in sight of the place, they saw the royal standard hanging forth, and that those of the town designed to defend their houses. lolonois seeing this, called a council of war what they ought to do, telling his officers and mariners, "that the difficulty of the enterprise was very great, seeing the spaniards had had so much time to put themselves in a posture of defence, and had got a good body of men together, with much ammunition; but notwithstanding," said he, "have a good courage; we must either defend ourselves like good soldiers, or lose our lives with all the riches we have got. do as i shall do who am your captain: at other times we have fought with fewer men than we have in our company at present, and yet we have overcome greater numbers than there possibly can be in this town: the more they are, the more glory and the greater riches we shall gain." the pirates supposed that all the riches of the inhabitants of maracaibo were transported to gibraltar, or at least the greatest part. after this speech, they all promised to follow, and obey him. lolonois made answer, "'tis well; but know ye, withal, that the first man who shall show any fear, or the least apprehension thereof, i will pistol him with my own hands." with this resolution they cast anchor nigh the shore, near three-quarters of a league from the town: next day before sun-rising, they landed three hundred and eighty men well provided, and armed every one with a cutlass, and one or two pistols, and sufficient powder and bullet for thirty charges. here they all shook hands in testimony of good courage, and began their march, lolonois speaking thus, "come, my brethren, follow me, and have good courage." they followed their guide, who, believing he led them well, brought them to the way which the governor had barricaded. not being able to pass that way, they went to the other newly made in the wood among the mire, which the spaniards could shoot into at pleasure; but the pirates, full of courage, cut down the branches of trees and threw them on the way, that they might not stick in the dirt. meanwhile, those of gibraltar fired with their great guns so furiously, they could scarce hear nor see for the noise and smoke. being passed the wood, they came on firm ground, where they met with a battery of six guns, which immediately the spaniards discharged upon them, all loaded with small bullets and pieces of iron; and the spaniards sallying forth, set upon them with such fury, as caused the pirates to give way, few of them caring to advance towards the fort, many of them being already killed and wounded. this made them go back to seek another way; but the spaniards having cut down many trees to hinder the passage, they could find none, but were forced to return to that they had left. here the spaniards continued to fire as before, nor would they sally out of their batteries to attack them any more. lolonois and his companions not being able to grimp up the baskets of earth, were compelled to use an old stratagem, wherewith at last they deceived and overcame the spaniards. lolonois retired suddenly with all his men, making show as if he fled; hereupon the spaniards crying out "they flee, they flee, let us follow them," sallied forth with great disorder to the pursuit. being drawn to some distance from the batteries, which was the pirates only design, they turned upon them unexpectedly with sword in hand, and killed above two hundred men; and thus fighting their way through those who remained, they possessed themselves of the batteries. the spaniards that remained abroad, giving themselves over for lost, fled to the woods: those in the battery of eight guns surrendered themselves, obtaining quarter for their lives. the pirates being now become masters of the town, pulled down the spanish colours and set up their own, taking prisoners as many as they could find. these they carried to the great church, where they raised a battery of several great guns, fearing lest the spaniards that were fled should rally, and come upon them again; but next day, being all fortified, their fears were over. they gathered the dead to bury them, being above five hundred spaniards, besides the wounded in the town, and those that died of their wounds in the woods. the pirates had also above one hundred and fifty prisoners, and nigh five hundred slaves, many women and children. of their own companions only forty were killed, and almost eighty wounded, whereof the greatest part died through the bad air, which brought fevers and other illness. they put the slain spaniards into two great boats, and carrying them a quarter of a league to sea, they sunk the boats; this done, they gathered all the plate, household stuff, and merchandise they could, or thought convenient to carry away. the spaniards who had anything left had hid it carefully: but the unsatisfied pirates, not contented with the riches they had got, sought for more goods and merchandise, not sparing those who lived in the fields, such as hunters and planters. they had scarce been eighteen days on the place, when the greatest part of the prisoners died for hunger. for in the town were few provisions, especially of flesh, though they had some, but no sufficient quantity of flour of meal, and this the pirates had taken for themselves, as they also took the swine, cows, sheep, and poultry, without allowing any share to the poor prisoners; for these they only provided some small quantity of mules' and asses' flesh; and many who could not eat of that loathsome provision died for hunger, their stomachs not being accustomed to such sustenance. of the prisoners many also died under the torment they sustained to make them discover their money or jewels; and of these, some had none, nor knew of none, and others denying what they knew, endured such horrible deaths. finally, after having been in possession of the town four entire weeks, they sent four of the prisoners to the spaniards that were fled to the woods, demanding of them a ransom for not burning the town. the sum demanded was , pieces of eight, which if not sent, they threatened to reduce it to ashes. for bringing in this money, they allowed them only two days; but the spaniards not having been able to gather so punctually such a sum, the pirates fired many parts of the town; whereupon the inhabitants begged them to help quench the fire, and the ransom should be readily paid. the pirates condescended, helping as much as they could to stop the fire; but, notwithstanding all their best endeavours, one part of the town was ruined, especially the church belonging to the monastery was burnt down. after they had received the said sum, they carried aboard all the riches they had got, with a great number of slaves which had not paid the ransom; for all the prisoners had sums of money set upon them, and the slaves were also commanded to be redeemed. hence they returned to maracaibo, where being arrived, they found a general consternation in the whole city, to which they sent three or four prisoners to tell the governor and inhabitants, "they should bring them , pieces of eight aboard their ships, for a ransom of their houses, otherwise they should be sacked anew and burnt." among these debates a party of pirates came on shore, and carried away the images, pictures, and bells of the great church, aboard the fleet. the spaniards who were sent to demand the sum aforesaid returned, with orders to make some agreement; who concluded with the pirates to give for their ransom and liberty , pieces of eight, and five hundred cows, provided that they should commit no farther hostilities, but depart thence presently after payment of money and cattle. the one and the other being delivered, the whole fleet set sail, causing great joy to the inhabitants of maracaibo, to see themselves quit of them: but three days after they renewed their fears with admiration, seeing the pirates appear again, and re-enter the port with all their ships: but these apprehensions vanished, upon hearing one of the pirate's errand, who came ashore from lolonois, "to demand a skilful pilot to conduct one of the greatest ships over the dangerous bank that lieth at the very entry of the lake." which petition, or rather command, was instantly granted. they had now been full two months in those towns, wherein they committed those cruel and insolent actions we have related. departing thence, they took their course to hispaniola, and arrived there in eight days, casting anchor in a port called isla de la vacca, or cow island. this island is inhabited by french bucaniers, who mostly sell the flesh they hunt to pirates and others, who now and then put in there to victual, or trade. here they unladed their whole cargazon of riches, the usual storehouse of the pirates being commonly under the shelter of the bucaniers. here they made a dividend of all their prizes and gains, according to the order and degree of every one, as has been mentioned before. having made an exact calculation of all their plunder, they found in ready money , pieces of eight: this being divided, every one received for his share in money, as also in silk, linen, and other commodities, to the value of above pieces of eight. those who had been wounded received their first part, after the rate mentioned before, for the loss of their limbs: then they weighed all the plate uncoined, reckoning ten pieces of eight to a pound; the jewels were prized indifferently, either too high or too low, by reason of their ignorance: this done, every one was put to his oath again, that he had not smuggled anything from the common stock. hence they proceeded to the dividend of the shares of such as were dead in battle, or otherwise: these shares were given to their friends, to be kept entire for them, and to be delivered in due time to their nearest relations, or their apparent lawful heirs. the whole dividend being finished, they set sail for tortuga: here they arrived a month after, to the great joy of most of the island; for as to the common pirates, in three weeks they had scarce any money left, having spent it all in things of little value, or lost it at play. here had arrived, not long before them, two french ships, with wine and brandy, and suchlike commodities; whereby these liquors, at the arrival of the pirates, were indifferent cheap. but this lasted not long, for soon after they were enhanced extremely, a gallon of brandy being sold for four pieces of eight. the governor of the island bought of the pirates the whole cargo of the ship laden with cocoa, giving for that rich commodity scarce the twentieth part of its worth. thus they made shift to lose and spend the riches they had got, in much less time than they were purchased: the taverns and stews, according to the custom of pirates, got the greatest part; so that, soon after, they were forced to seek more by the same unlawful means they had got the former. chapter viii _lolonois makes new preparations to make the city of st. james de leon; as also that of nicaragua; where he miserably perishes._ lolonois had got great repute at tortuga by this last voyage, because he brought home such considerable profit; and now he need take no great care to gather men to serve under him, more coming in voluntarily than he could employ; every one reposing such confidence in his conduct that they judged it very safe to expose themselves, in his company, to the greatest dangers. he resolved therefore a second voyage to the parts of nicaragua, to pillage there as many towns as he could. having published his new preparations, he had all his men together at the time, being about seven hundred. of these he put three hundred aboard the ship he took at maracaibo, and the rest in five other vessels of lesser burthen; so that they were in all six ships. the first port they went to was bayaha in hispaniola, to victual the fleet, and take in provisions; which done, they steered their course to a port called matamana, on the south side of cuba, intending to take here all the canoes they could; these coasts being frequented by the fishers of tortoises, who carry them hence to the havannah. they took as many of them, to the great grief of those miserable people, as they thought necessary; for they had great use for these small bottoms, by reason the port they designed for had not depth enough for ships of any burthen. hence they took their course towards the cape gracias à dios on the continent, in latitude deg. north, one hundred leagues from the island de los pinos. being at sea, they were taken with a sad and tedious calm, and, by the agitation of the waves alone, were thrown into the gulf of honduras: here they laboured hard in vain to regain what they had lost, both the waters and the winds being contrary; besides, the ship wherein lolonois was embarked could not follow the rest; and what was worse, they wanted provisions. hereupon, they were forced to put into the first port they could reach, to revictual: so they entered with their canoes into the river xagua, inhabited by indians, whom they totally destroyed, finding great quantities of millet, and many hogs and hens: not contented with which, they determined to remain there till the bad weather was over, and to pillage all the towns and villages along the coast of the gulf. thus they passed from one place to another, seeking still more provisions, with which they were not sufficiently supplied. having searched and rifled many villages, where they found no great matter, they came at last to puerto cavallo: here the spaniards have two storehouses to keep the merchandises that are brought from the inner parts of the country, till the arrival of the ships. there was then in the port a spanish ship of twenty-four guns, and sixteen pedreros or mortar-pieces: this ship was immediately seized by the pirates, and then drawing nigh the shore, they landed, and burnt the two storehouses, with all the rest of the houses there. many inhabitants likewise they took prisoners, and committed upon them the most inhuman cruelties that ever heathens invented; putting them to the cruellest tortures they could devise. it was the custom of lolonois, that having tormented persons not confessing, he would instantly cut them in pieces with his hanger, and pull out their tongues, desiring to do so, if possible, to every spaniard in the world. it often happened that some of these miserable prisoners, being forced by the rack, would promise to discover the places where the fugitive spaniards lay hid, which not being able afterwards to perform, they were put to more cruel deaths than they who were dead before. the prisoners being all dead but two (whom they reserved to show them what they desired), they marched hence to the town of san pedro, or st. peter, ten or twelve leagues from puerto cavallo, being three hundred men, whom lolonois led, leaving behind him moses van vin his lieutenant, to govern the rest in his absence. being come three leagues on their way, they met with a troop of spaniards, who lay in ambuscade for their coming: these they set upon, with all the courage imaginable, and at last totally defeated. howbeit, they behaved themselves very manfully at first; but not being able to resist the fury of the pirates, they were forced to give way, and save themselves by flight, leaving many pirates dead in the place, some wounded, and some of their own party maimed, by the way. these lolonois put to death without mercy, having asked them what questions he thought fit for his purpose. there were still remaining some few prisoners not wounded; these were asked by lolonois, if any more spaniards did lie farther on in ambuscade? they answered, there were. then being brought before him, one by one, he asked if there was no other way to town but that. this he did to avoid if possible those ambuscades. but they all constantly answered him they knew none. having asked them all, and finding they could show him no other way, lolonois grew outrageously passionate; so that he drew his cutlass, and with it cut open the breast of one of those poor spaniards, and pulling out his heart began to bite and gnaw it with his teeth, like a ravenous wolf, saying to the rest, "i will serve you all alike, if you show me not another way." hereupon, those miserable wretches promised to show him another way, but withal, they told him, it was extremely difficult, and laborious. thus to satisfy that cruel tyrant, they began to lead him and his army; but finding it not for his purpose as they had told him, he was forced to return to the former way, swearing with great choler and indignation, "mort dieu, les espagnols me le payeront. by god's death, the spaniards shall pay me for this." next day he fell into another ambuscade, which he assaulted with such horrible fury, that in less than an hour's time he routed the spaniards, and killed the greatest part of them. the spaniards thought by these ambuscades better to destroy the pirates, assaulting them by degrees, and for this reason had posted themselves in several places. at last he met with a third ambuscade, where was placed a party stronger, and more advantageously, than the former: yet notwithstanding, the pirates, by continually throwing little fire-balls in great numbers, for some time, forced this party, as well as the former, to flee, and this with so great loss of men, that before they could reach the town, the greatest part of the spaniards were either killed or wounded. there was but one path which led to the town, very well barricaded with good defences; and the rest of the town round was planted with shrubs called raqueltes, full of thorns very sharp pointed. this sort of fortification seemed stronger than the triangles used in europe, when an army is of necessity to pass by the place of an enemy; it being almost impossible for the pirates to traverse those shrubs. the spaniards posted behind the said defences, seeing the pirates come, began to ply them with their great guns; but these perceiving them ready to fire, used to stoop down, and when the shot was made, to fall upon the defendants with fire-balls and naked swords, killing many of the town: yet notwithstanding, not being able to advance any farther, they retired, for the present: then they renewed the attack with fewer men than before, and observing not to shoot till they were very nigh, they gave the spaniards a charge so dextrously, that with every shot they killed an enemy. the attack continuing thus eager on both sides till night, the spaniards were compelled to hang forth a white flag, and desired to come to a parley: the only conditions they required were, "that the pirates should give the inhabitants quarter for two hours." this little time they demanded with intent to carry away and hide as much of their goods and riches as they could, and to fly to some other neighbouring town. granting this article, they entered the town, and continued there the two hours, without committing the least hostility on the inhabitants; but no sooner was that time past, than lolonois ordered that the inhabitants should be followed, and robbed of all they had carried away; and not only their goods, but their persons likewise to be made prisoners; though the greatest part of their merchandise and goods were so hid, as the pirates could not find them, except a few leathern sacks, filled with anil, or indigo. having stayed here a few days, and, according to their custom, committed most horrid insolences, they at last quitted the place, carrying away all they possibly could, and reducing the town to ashes. being come to the seaside, where they left a party of their own, they found these had been cruising upon the fishermen thereabouts, or who came that way from the river of guatemala: in this river was also expected a ship from spain. finally, they resolved to go toward the islands on the other side of the gulf, there to cleanse and careen their vessels; but they left two canoes before the coast, or rather the mouth of the river of guatemala, in order to take the ship, which, as i said, was expected from spain. but their chief intent in going hither was to seek provisions, knowing the tortoises of those places are excellent food. being arrived, they divided themselves, each party choosing a fit post for that fishery. they undertook to knit nets with the rinds of certain trees called macoa, whereof they make also ropes and cables; so that no vessel can be in need of such things, if they can but find the said trees. there are also many places where they find pitch in so great abundance, that running down the sea-coasts, being melted by the sun, it congeals in the water in great heaps, like small islands. this pitch is not like that of europe, but resembles, both in colour and shape, that froth of the sea called bitumen; but, in my judgment, this matter is nothing but wax mixed with sand, which stormy weather, and the rolling waves of great rivers hath cast into the sea; for in those parts are great quantities of bees who make their honey in trees, to the bodies of which the honeycomb being fixed, when tempests arise, they are torn away, and by the fury of the winds carried into the sea, as is said. some naturalists say, that the honey and the wax are separated by the salt water; whence proceeds the good amber. this opinion seems the more probable, because the said amber tastes as wax doth. but to return to my discourse. the pirates made in those islands all the haste they possibly could to equip their vessels, hearing that the spanish ship was come which they expected. they spent some time cruising on the coasts of jucatan, where inhabit many indians, who seek for the said amber in those seas. and i shall here, by the by, make some short remarks on the manner of living of the indians, and their religion. they have now been above a hundred years under the spaniards, to whom they performed all manner of services; for whensoever any of them needed a slave or servant, they sent for these to serve them as long as they pleased. by the spaniards they were initiated in the principles of the christian faith and religion, and they sent them every sunday and holiday a priest to perform divine service among them; afterwards, for reasons not known, but certainly through temptations of the father of idolatry, the devil, they suddenly cast off the christian religion, abusing the priest that was sent them: this provoked the spaniards to punish them, by casting many of the chiefs into prison. every one of those barbarians had, and hath still, a god to himself, whom he serves and worships. it is a matter of admiration, how they use a child newly born: as soon as it comes into the world, they carry it to the temple; here they make a hole, which they fill with ashes only, on which they place the child naked, leaving it there a whole night alone, not without great danger, nobody daring to come near it; meanwhile the temple is open on all sides, that all sorts of beasts may freely come in and out. next day, the father, and relations of the infant, return to see if the track or step of any animal appears in the ashes: not finding any, they leave the child there till some beast has approached the infant, and left behind him the marks of his feet: to this animal, whatsoever it be, they consecrate the creature newly born, as to its god, which he is bound to worship all his life, esteeming the said beast his patron and protector. they offer to their gods sacrifices of fire, wherein they burn a certain gum called by them copal, whose smoke smells very deliciously. when the infant is grown up, the parents thereof tell him who he ought to worship, and serve, and honour as his own proper god. then he goes to the temple, where he makes offerings to the said beast. afterwards, if in the course of his life, any one injure him, or any evil happen to him, he complains to that beast, and sacrifices to it for revenge. hence it often comes, that those who have done the injury of which he complains are bitten, killed, or otherwise hurt by such animals. after this superstitious and idolatrous manner live those miserable and ignorant indians that inhabit the islands of the gulf of honduras; as also many of them on the continent of jucatan, in the territories whereof are most excellent ports, where those indians most commonly build their houses. these people are not very faithful to one another, and use strange ceremonies at their marriages. whensoever any one pretends to marry a young damsel, he first applies himself to her father or nearest relation: he examines him nicely about the manner of cultivating their plantations, and other things at his pleasure. having satisfied the questions of his father-in-law, he gives the young man a bow and arrow, with which he repairs to the young maid, and presents her with a garland of green leaves and sweet-smelling flowers; this she is obliged to put on her head, and lay aside that which she wore before, it being the custom for virgins to go perpetually crowned with flowers. this garland being received, and put on her head, every one of the relations and friends go to advise with others whether that marriage will be like to be happy or not; then they meet at the house of the damsel's father, where they drink of a liquor made of maize, or indian wheat; and here, before the whole company, the father gives his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom. next day the bride comes to her mother, and in her presence pulls off the garland, and tears it in pieces, with great cries and lamentations. many other things i could relate of the manner of living and customs of those indians, but i shall follow my discourse. our pirates therefore had many canoes of the indians in the isle of sambale, five leagues from the coasts of jucatan. here is great quantity of amber, but especially when any storm arises from towards the east; whence the waves bring many things, and very different. through this sea no vessels can pass, unless very small, it being too shallow. in the lands that are surrounded by this sea, is found much campechy wood, and other things that serve for dyeing, much esteemed in europe, and would be more, if we had the skill of the indians, who make a dye or tincture that never fades. [illustration: "'they boarded the ship with great agility'"--_page _] the pirates having been in that gulf three months, and receiving advice that the spanish ship was come, hastened to the port where the ship lay at anchor unlading her merchandise, with design to assault her as soon as possible; but first they thought convenient to send away some of their boats to seek for a small vessel also expected very richly laden with plate, indigo, and cochineal. meanwhile, the ship's crew having notice that the pirates designed upon them, prepared all things for a good defence, being mounted with forty-two guns, well furnished with arms and other necessaries, and one hundred and thirty fighting men. to lolonois all this seemed but little, for he assaulted her with great courage, his own ship carrying but twenty-two guns, and having no more than a small saety or fly-boat for help: but the spaniards defended themselves so well, as they forced the pirates to retire; but the smoke of the powder continuing thick, as a dark fog or mist, with four canoes well manned, they boarded the ship with great agility, and forced the spaniards to surrender. the ship being taken, they found not in her what they thought, being already almost unladen. all they got was only fifty bars of iron, a small parcel of paper, some earthen jars of wine, and other things of small importance. then lolonois called a council of war, and told them, he intended for guatemala: hereupon they divided into several sentiments, some liking the proposal, and others disliking it, especially a party of them who were but raw in those exercises, and who imagined at their setting forth from tortuga that pieces of eight were gathered as easy as pears from a tree; but finding most things contrary to their expectation, they quitted the fleet, and returned; others affirmed they had rather starve than return home without a great deal of money. but the major part judging the propounded voyage little to their purpose, separated from lolonois and the rest: of these one moses vanclein was ringleader, captain of the ship taken at puerto cavallo: this fellow steered for tortuga, to cruise to and fro in these seas. with him joined another comrade of his, by name pierre le picard, who seeing the rest leave lolonois, thought fit to do the same. these runaways having thus parted company, steered homewards, coasting along the continent till they came to costa rica; here they landed a strong party nigh the river veraguas, and marched in good order to the town of the same name: this they took and totally pillaged, though the spaniards made a strong resistance. they brought away some of the inhabitants as prisoners, with all they had, which was of no great importance, by reason of the poverty of the place, which exerciseth no other trade than working in the mines, where some of the inhabitants constantly attend, while none seek for gold, but only slaves. these they compel to dig and wash the earth in the neighbouring rivers, where often they find pieces of gold as big as peas. the pirates gaining in this adventure but seven or eight pounds weight of gold, they returned, giving over the design to go to the town of nata, situate on the coasts of the south sea, whose inhabitants are rich merchants, and their slaves work in the mines of veraguas; being deterred by the multitudes of spaniards gathered on all sides to fall upon them, whereof they had timely advice. lolonois, thus left by his companions, remained alone in the gulf of honduras. his ship being too great to get out at the reflux of those seas, there he sustained great want of provisions, so as they were constrained to go ashore every day to seek sustenance, and not finding anything else, they were forced to kill and eat monkeys, and other animals, such as they could find. at last in the altitude of the cape of gracias a dios, near a certain little island called de las pertas, his ship struck on a bank of sand, where it stuck so fast, as no art could get her off again, though they unladed all the guns, iron, and other weighty things as much as they could. hereupon they were forced to break the ship in pieces, and with planks and nails build themselves a boat to get away; and while they are busy about it, i shall describe the said isles and their inhabitants. the islands de las pertas are inhabited by savage indians, not having known or conversed with civil people: they are tall and very nimble, running almost as fast as horses; at diving also they are very dextrous and hardy. from the bottom of the sea i saw them take up an anchor of six hundredweight, tying a cable to it with great dexterity, and pulling it from a rock. their arms are made of wood, without any iron point; but some instead thereof use a crocodile's tooth. they have no bows nor arrows, as the other indians have, but their common weapon is a sort of lance a fathom and a half long. here are many plantations surrounded with woods, whence they gather abundance of fruits, as potatoes, bananas, racoven, ananas, and many others. they have no houses to dwell in, as at other places in the indies. some say they eat human flesh, which is confirmed by what happened when lolonois was there. two of his companions, one a frenchman and the other a spaniard, went into the woods, where having straggled awhile, a troop of indians pursued them. they defended themselves as well as they could with their swords, but at last were forced to flee. the nimble frenchman escaped; but the spaniard being not so swift, was taken and heard of no more. some days after, twelve pirates set forth well armed to seek their companion, among whom was the frenchman, who conducted them, and showed them the place where he left him; here they found that the indians had kindled a fire, and at a small distance they found a man's bones well roasted, with some pieces of flesh ill scraped off the bones, and one hand, which had only two fingers remaining, whence they concluded they had roasted the poor spaniard. they marched on, seeking for indians, and found a great number together, who endeavoured to escape, but they overtook some of them, and brought aboard their ships five men and four women; with these they took much pains to make themselves be understood, and to gain their affections, giving them trifles, as knives, beads, and the like; they gave them also victuals and drink, but nothing would they taste. it was also observable, that while they were prisoners, they spoke not one word to each other; so that seeing these poor indians were much afraid, they presented them again with some small things, and let them go. when they parted, they made signs they would come again, but they soon forgot their benefactors, and were never heard of more; neither could any notice afterwards be had of these indians, nor any others in the whole island, which made the pirates suspect that both those that were taken, and all the rest of the islanders, swam away by night to some little neighbouring islands, especially considering they could never set eyes on any indian more, nor any boat or other vessel. meanwhile the pirates were very desirous to see their long-boat finished out of the timber that struck on the sands; yet considering their work would be long, they began to cultivate some pieces of ground; here they sowed french beans, which ripened in six weeks, and many other fruits. they had good provision of spanish wheat, bananas, racoven, and other things; with the wheat they made bread, and baked it in portable ovens, brought with them. thus they feared not hunger in those desert places, employing themselves thus for five or six months; which past, and the long-boat finished, they resolved for the river of nicaragua, to see if they could take some canoes, and return to the said islands for their companions that remained behind, by reason the boat could not hold so many men together; hereupon, to avoid disputes, they cast lots, determining who should go or stay. [illustration: "'lolonois, with those that remained, had much ado to escape aboard their boats'"--_page _] the lot fell on one half of the people of the lost vessel, who embarked in the long-boat, and on the skiff which they had before, the other half remaining ashore. lolonois having set sail, arrived in a few days at the river of nicaragua: here that ill-fortune assailed him which of long time had been reserved for him, as a punishment due to the multitude of horrible crimes committed in his licentious and wicked life. here he met with both spaniards and indians, who jointly setting upon him and his companions, the greatest part of the pirates were killed on the place. lolonois, with those that remained alive, had much ado to escape aboard their boats: yet notwithstanding this great loss, he resolved not to return to those he had left at the isle of pertas, without taking some boats, such as he looked for. to this effect he determined to go on to the coasts of carthagena; but god almighty, the time of his divine justice being now come, had appointed the indians of darien to be the instruments and executioners thereof. these indians of darien are esteemed as bravoes, or wild savage indians, by the neighbouring spaniards, who never could civilize them. hither lolonois came (brought by his evil conscience that cried for punishment), thinking to act his cruelties; but the indians within a few days after his arrival took him prisoner, and tore him in pieces alive, throwing his body limb by limb into the fire, and his ashes into the air, that no trace or memory might remain of such an infamous, inhuman creature. one of his companions gave me an exact account of this tragedy, affirming that himself had escaped the same punishment with the greatest difficulty; he believed also that many of his comrades, who were taken in that encounter by those indians, were, as their cruel captain, torn in pieces and burnt alive. thus ends the history, the life, and miserable death of that infernal wretch lolonois, who full of horrid, execrable, and enormous deeds, and debtor to so much innocent blood, died by cruel and butcherly hands, such as his own were in the course of his life. those that remained in the island de las pertas, waiting for the return of them who got away only to their great misfortune, hearing no news of their captain nor companions, at last embarked on the ship of a certain pirate, who happened to pass that way. this fellow came from jamaica, with intent to land at gracias a dios, and from thence to enter the river with his canoes, and take the city of carthagena. these two crews of pirates being now joined, were infinitely glad at the presence and society of one another. those, because they found themselves delivered from their miseries, poverty, and necessities, wherein they had lived ten entire months. these, because they were now considerably strengthened, to effect with greater satisfaction their designs. hereupon, as soon as they were arrived at gracias a dios, they all put themselves into canoes, and entered the river, being five hundred men, leaving only five or six persons in each ship to keep them. they took no provisions, being persuaded they should find everywhere sufficient; but these their hopes were found totally vain, not being grounded on almighty god; for he ordained it so, that the indians, aware of their coming, all fled, not leaving in their houses or plantations, which for the most part border on the sides of rivers, any necessary provisions or victuals: hereby, in a few days after they had quitted their ships, they were reduced to most extreme necessity and hunger; but their hopes of making their fortunes very soon, animating them for the present, they contented themselves with a few green herbs, such as they could gather on the banks of the river. yet all this courage and vigour lasted but a fortnight, when their hearts, as well as bodies, began to fail for hunger; insomuch as they were forced to quit the river, and betake themselves to the woods, seeking out some villages where they might find relief, but all in vain; for having ranged up and down the woods for some days, without finding the least comfort, they were forced to return to the river, where being come, they thought convenient to descend to the sea-coast where they had left their ships, not having been able to find what they sought for. in this laborious journey they were reduced to such extremity, that many of them devoured their own shoes, the sheaths of their swords, knives, and other such things, being almost ravenous, and eager to meet some indians, intending to sacrifice them to their teeth. at last they arrived at the sea-coast, where they found some comfort and relief to their former miseries, and also means to seek more: yet the greatest part perished through faintness and other diseases contracted by hunger, which also caused the remaining part to disperse, till at last, by degrees, many or most of them fell into the same pit that lolonois did; of whom, and of whose companions, having given a compendious narrative, i shall continue with the actions and exploits of captain henry morgan, who may deservedly be called the second lolonois, not being unlike or inferior to him, either in achievements against the spaniards, or in robberies of many innocent people. chapter ix _the origin and descent of captain henry morgan--his exploits, and the most remarkable actions of his life._ captain henry morgan was born in great britain, in the principality of wales; his father was a rich yeoman, or farmer, of good quality, even as most who bear that name in wales are known to be. morgan, when young, had no inclination to the calling of his father, and therefore left his country, and came towards the sea-coasts to seek some other employment more suitable to his aspiring humour; where he found several ships at anchor, bound for barbadoes. with these he resolved to go in the service of one, who, according to the practice of those parts, sold him as soon as he came ashore. he served his time at barbadoes, and obtaining his liberty, betook himself to jamaica, there to seek new fortunes: here he found two vessels of pirates ready to go to sea; and being destitute of employment, he went with them, with intent to follow the exercises of that sort of people: he soon learned their manner of living, so exactly, that having performed three or four voyages with profit and success, he agreed with some of his comrades, who had got by the same voyages a little money, to join stocks, and buy a ship. the vessel being bought, they unanimously chose him captain and commander. with this ship he set forth from jamaica to cruise on the coasts of campechy, in which voyage he took several ships, with which he returned triumphant. here he found an old pirate, named mansvelt (whom we have already mentioned), busied in equipping a considerable fleet, with design to land on the continent, and pillage whatever he could. mansvelt seeing captain morgan return with so many prizes, judged him to be a man of courage, and chose him for his vice-admiral in that expedition: thus having fitted out fifteen ships, great and small, they sailed from jamaica with five hundred men, walloons and french. this fleet arrived, not long after, at the isle of st. catherine, near the continent of costa rica, latitude deg. min. and distant thirty-five leagues from the river chagre. here they made their first descent, landing most of their men, who soon forced the garrison that kept the island to surrender all the forts and castles thereof; which they instantly demolished, except one, wherein they placed a hundred men of their own party, and all the slaves they had taken from the spaniards: with the rest of their men they marched to another small island, so near st. catherine's, that with a bridge they made in a few days, they passed thither, taking with them all the ordnance they had taken on the great island. having ruined with fire and sword both the islands, leaving necessary orders at the said castle, they put to sea again, with their spanish prisoners; yet these they set ashore not long after, on the firm land, near puerto velo: then they cruised on costa rica, till they came to the river colla, designing to pillage all the towns in those parts, thence to pass to the village of nata, to do the same. the governor of panama, on advice of their arrival, and of the hostilities they committed, thought it his duty to meet them with a body of men. his coming caused the pirates to retire suddenly, seeing the whole country was alarmed, and that their designs were known, and consequently defeated at that time. hereupon, they returned to st. catherine's, to visit the hundred men they left in garrison there. the governor of these men was a frenchman, named le sieur simon, who behaved himself very well in that charge, while mansvelt was absent, having put the great island in a very good posture of defence, and the little one he had caused to be cultivated with many fertile plantations, sufficient to revictual the whole fleet, not only for the present, but also for a new voyage. mansvelt was very much bent to keep the two islands in perpetual possession, being very commodiously situated for the pirates; being so near the spanish dominions, and easily defended. hereupon, mansvelt determined to return to jamaica, to send recruits to st. catherine's, that in case of an invasion the pirates might be provided for a defence. as soon as he arrived, he propounded his intentions to the governor there, who rejected his propositions, fearing to displease his master, the king of england; besides, that giving him the men he desired, and necessaries, he must of necessity diminish the forces of that island, whereof he was governor. hereupon, mansvelt, knowing that of himself he could not compass his designs, he went to tortuga; but there, before he could put in execution what was intended, death surprised him, and put a period to his wicked life, leaving all things in suspense till the occasion i shall hereafter relate. le sieur simon, governor of st. catherine's, receiving no news from mansvelt, his admiral, was impatiently desirous to know the cause thereof: meanwhile, don john perez de guzman, being newly come to the government of costa rica, thought it not convenient for the interest of spain for that island to be in the hands of the pirates: hereupon, he equipped a considerable fleet, which he sent to retake it; but before he used violence, he writ a letter to le sieur simon, telling him, that if he would surrender the island to his catholic majesty, he should be very well rewarded; but, in case of refusal, severely punished, when he had forced him to do it. le sieur simon, seeing no probability of being able to defend it alone, nor any emolument that by so doing could accrue either to him, or his people, after some small resistance delivered it up to its true lord and master, under the same articles they had obtained it from the spaniards; a few days after which surrender, there arrived from jamaica an english ship, which the governor there had sent underhand, with a good supply of people, both men and women: the spaniards from the castle having espied the ship, put forth english colours, and persuaded le sieur simon to go aboard, and conduct the ship into a port they assigned him. this he performed and they were all made prisoners. a certain spanish engineer has published in print an exact relation of the retaking of this isle by the spaniards, which i have thought fit to insert here:-- _a true relation, and particular account of the victory obtained by the arms of his catholic majesty against the english pirates, by the direction and valour of don john perez de guzman, knight of the order of st. james, governor and captain-general of terra firma, and the province of veraguas._ the kingdom of terra firma, which of itself is sufficiently strong to repel and destroy great fleets, especially the pirates of jamaica, had several ways notice imparted to the governor thereof, that fourteen english vessels cruised on the coasts belonging to his catholic majesty. july , , news came to panama, that they were arrived at puerto de naos, and had forced the spanish garrison of the isle of st. catherine, whose governor was don estevan del campo, and possessed themselves of the said island, taking prisoners the inhabitants, and destroying all that they met. about the same time, don john perez de guzman received particular information of these robberies from some spaniards who escaped out of the island (and whom he ordered to be conveyed to puerto velo), that the said pirates came into the island may , by night, without being perceived; and that the next day, after some skirmishes, they took the fortresses, and made prisoners all the inhabitants and soldiers that could not escape. upon this, don john called a council of war, wherein he declared the great progress the said pirates had made in the dominions of his catholic majesty; and propounded "that it was absolutely necessary to send some forces to the isle of st. catherine, sufficient to retake it from the pirates, the honour and interest of his majesty of spain being very narrowly concerned herein; otherwise the pirates by such conquests might easily, in course of time, possess themselves of all the countries thereabouts." to this some made answer, "that the pirates, not being able to subsist in the said island, would of necessity consume and waste themselves, and be forced to quit it, without any necessity of retaking it: that consequently it was not worth the while to engage in so many expenses and troubles as this would cost." notwithstanding which, don john being an expert and valiant soldier, ordered that provisions should be conveyed to puerto velo for the use of the militia, and transported himself thither, with no small danger of his life. here he arrived july , with most things necessary to the expedition in hand, where he found in the port a good ship, and well mounted, called the _st. vincent_, that belonged to the company of the negroes, which he manned and victualled very well, and sent to the isle of st. catherine, constituting captain joseph sanchez ximenez, major of puerto velo, commander thereof. he carried with him two hundred and seventy soldiers, and thirty-seven prisoners of the same island, besides thirty-four spaniards of the garrison of puerto velo, twenty-nine mulattoes of panama, twelve indians, very dextrous at shooting with bows and arrows, seven expert and able gunners, two lieutenants, two pilots, one surgeon, and one priest, of the order of st. francis, for their chaplain. don john soon after gave orders to all the officers how to behave themselves, telling them that the governor of carthagena would supply them with more men, boats, and all things else, necessary for that enterprise; to which effect he had already written to the said governor. july , don john setting sail with a fair wind, he called before him all his people, and made them a speech, encouraging them to fight against the enemies of their country and religion, and especially against those inhuman pirates, who had committed so many horrid cruelties upon the subjects of his catholic majesty; withal, promising every one most liberal rewards, especially to such as should behave themselves well in the service of their king and country. thus don john bid them farewell, and the ship set sail under a favourable gale. the nd they arrived at carthagena, and presented a letter to the governor thereof, from the noble and valiant don john, who received it with testimonies of great affection to the person of don john, and his majesty's service: and seeing their resolution to be comfortable to his desires, he promised them his assistance, with one frigate, one galleon, one boat, and one hundred and twenty-six men; one half out of his own garrison, and the other half mulattoes. thus being well provided with necessaries, they left the port of carthagena, august , and the th they arrived in sight of st. catherine's towards the western point thereof; and though the wind was contrary, yet they reached the port, and anchored within it, having lost one of their boats by foul weather, at the rock called quita signos. the pirates, seeing our ships come to an anchor, gave them presently three guns with bullets, which were soon answered in the same coin. hereupon, major joseph sanchez ximenez sent ashore to the pirates one of his officers to require them, in the name of the catholic king his master, to surrender the island, seeing they had taken it in the midst of peace between the two crowns of spain and england; and that if they would be obstinate, he would certainly put them all to the sword. the pirates made answer, that the island had once before belonged unto the government and dominions of the king of england, and that instead of surrendering it, they preferred to lose their lives. on friday the th, three negroes, from the enemy, came swimming aboard our admiral; these brought intelligence that all the pirates upon the island were only seventy-two in number, and that they were under a great consternation, seeing such considerable forces come against them. with this intelligence, the spaniards resolved to land, and advance towards the fortresses, which ceased not to fire as many great guns against them as they possibly could; which were answered in the same manner on our side, till dark night. on sunday, the th, the day of the assumption of our lady, the weather being very calm and clear, the spaniards began to advance thus: the ship _st. vincent_, riding admiral, discharged two whole broadsides on the battery called the conception; the ship _st. peter_, that was vice-admiral, discharged likewise her guns against the other battery named st. james: meanwhile, our people landed in small boats, directing their course towards the point of the battery last mentioned, and thence they marched towards the gate called cortadura. lieutenant francis de cazeres, being desirous to view the strength of the enemy, with only fifteen men, was compelled to retreat in haste, by reason of the great guns, which played so furiously on the place where he stood; they shooting, not only pieces of iron, and small bullets, but also the organs of the church, discharging in every shot threescore pipes at a time. notwithstanding this heat of the enemy, captain don joseph ramirez de leyva, with sixty men, made a strong attack, wherein they fought on both sides very desperately, till at last he overcame, and forced the pirates to surrender the fort. on the other side, captain john galeno, with ninety men, passed over the hills, to advance that way towards the castle of st. teresa. meanwhile major don joseph sanchez ximenes, as commander-in-chief, with the rest of his men, set forth from the battery of st. james, passing the port with four boats, and landing, in despite of the enemy. about this same time, captain john galeno began to advance with the men he led to the forementioned fortress; so that our men made three attacks on three several sides, at one and the same time, with great courage; till the pirates seeing many of their men already killed, and that they could in no manner subsist any longer, retreated towards cortadura, where they surrendered, themselves and the whole island, into our hands. our people possessed themselves of all, and set up the spanish colours, as soon as they had rendered thanks to god almighty for the victory obtained on such a signalized day. the number of dead were six men of the enemies, with many wounded, and seventy prisoners: on our side was only one man killed, and four wounded. there were found on the island eight hundred pounds of powder, two hundred and fifty pounds of small bullets, with many other military provisions. among the prisoners were taken also, two spaniards, who had bore arms under the english against his catholic majesty: these were shot to death the next day, by order of the major. the th day of september arrived at the isle an english vessel, which being seen at a great distance by the major, he ordered le sieur simon, who was a frenchman, to go and visit the said ship, and tell them that were on board, that the island belonged still to the english. he performed the command, and found in the said ship only fourteen men, one woman and her daughter, who were all instantly made prisoners. the english pirates were all transported to puerto velo, excepting three, who by order of the governor were carried to panama, there to work in the castle of st. jerom. this fortification is an excellent piece of workmanship, and very strong, being raised in the middle of the port of a quadrangular form, and of very hard stone: its height is eighty-eight geometrical feet, the wall being fourteen, and the curtains seventy-five feet diameter. it was built at the expense of several private persons, the governor of the city furnishing the greatest part of the money; so that it cost his majesty nothing. chapter x _of the island of cuba--captain morgan attempts to preserve the isle of st. catherine as a refuge to the nest of pirates, but fails of his design--he arrives at and takes the village of el puerto del principe._ captain morgan seeing his predecessor and admiral mansvelt were dead, used all the means that were possible, to keep in possession the isle of st. catherine, seated near cuba. his chief intent was to make it a refuge and sanctuary to the pirates of those parts, putting it in a condition of being a convenient receptacle of their preys and robberies. to this effect he left no stone unmoved, writing to several merchants in virginia and new england, persuading them to send him provisions and necessaries, towards putting the said island in such a posture of defence, as to fear no danger of invasion from any side. but all this proved ineffectual, by the spaniards retaking the said island: yet captain morgan retained his courage, which put him on new designs. first, he equipped a ship, in order to gather a fleet as great, and as strong as he could. by degrees he effected it, and gave orders to every member of his fleet to meet at a certain port of cuba, there determining to call a council, and deliberate what was best to be done, and what place first to fall upon. leaving these preparations in this condition, i shall give my reader some small account of the said isle of cuba, in whose port this expedition was hatched, seeing i omitted to do it in its proper place. cuba lies from east to west, in north latitude, from to deg. in length one hundred and fifty german leagues, and about forty in breadth. its fertility is equal to that of hispaniola; besides which, it affords many things proper for trading and commerce; such as hides of several beasts, particularly those that in europe are called hides of havanna. on all sides it is surrounded with many small islands, called the cayos: these little islands the pirates use as ports of refuge. here they have their meetings, and hold their councils, how best to assault the spaniards. it is watered on all sides with plentiful and pleasant rivers, whose entries form both secure and spacious ports; beside many other harbours for ships, which along the calm shores and coasts adorn this rich and beautiful island; all which contribute much to its happiness, by facilitating trade, whereto they invited both natives and aliens. the chief of these ports are san jago, byame, santa maria, espiritu santo, trinidad, zagoa, cabo de corientes, and others, on the south side of the island: on the north side are, la havanna, puerto mariano, santa cruz, mata ricos, and barracoa. this island hath two chief cities, to which all the towns and villages thereof give obedience. the first is santa jago, or st. james, seated on the south side, and having under its jurisdiction one half of the island. the chief magistrates hereof are a bishop and a governor, who command the villages and towns of the said half. the chief of these are, on the south side, espiritu santo, puerto del principe, and bayame. on the north it has barracoa, and de los cayos. the greatest part of the commerce driven here comes from the canaries, whither they transport much tobacco, sugar, and hides, which sort of merchandise are drawn to the head city from the subordinate towns and villages. formerly the city of santa jago was miserably sacked by the pirates of jamaica and tortuga, though it is defended by a considerable castle. [illustration: "captain morgan recruiting his forces"--_page _] the city and port de la havanna lies between the north and west side of the island: this is one of the strongest places of the west indies; its jurisdiction extends over the other half of the island; the chief places under it being santa cruz on the north side, and la trinidad on the south. hence is transported huge quantities of tobacco, which is sent to new spain and costa rica, even as far as the south sea, besides many ships laden with this commodity, that are consigned to spain and other parts of europe, not only in the leaf, but in rolls. this city is defended by three castles, very great and strong, two of which lie towards the port, and the other is seated on a hill that commands the town. it is esteemed to contain about ten thousand families. the merchants of this place trade in new spain, campechy, honduras, and florida. all ships that come from the parts before mentioned, as also from caraccas, carthagena and costa rica, are necessitated to take their provisions in at havanna to make their voyage for spain; this being the necessary and straight course they must steer for the south of europe, and other parts. the plate-fleet of spain, which the spaniards call flota, being homeward bound, touches here yearly to complete their cargo with hides, tobacco, and campechy wood. captain morgan had been but two months in these ports of the south of cuba, when he had got together a fleet of twelve sail, between ships and great boats, with seven hundred fighting men, part english and part french. they called a council, and some advised to assault the city of havanna in the night, which they said might easily be done, if they could but take any of the ecclesiastics; yea, that the city might be sacked before the castles could put themselves in a posture of defence. others propounded, according to their several opinions, other attempts; but the former proposal was rejected, because many of the pirates, who had been prisoners at other times in the said city, affirmed nothing of consequence could be done with less than one thousand five hundred men. moreover, that with all these people, they ought first go to the island de los pinos, and land them in small boats about matamona, fourteen leagues from the said city, whereby to accomplish their designs. finally, they saw no possibility of gathering so great a fleet, and hereupon, with what they had, they concluded to attempt some other place. among the rest, one propounded they should assault the town of el puerto del principe. this proposition he persuaded to, by saying he knew that place very well, and that being at a distance from sea, it never was sacked by any pirates, whereby the inhabitants were rich, exercising their trade by ready money, with those of havanna who kept here an established commerce, chiefly in hides. this proposal was presently admitted by captain morgan, and the chief of his companions. hereupon they ordered every captain to weigh anchor and set sail, steering towards that coast nearest to el puerto del principe. here is a bay named by the spaniards el puerto de santa maria: being arrived at this bay, a spaniard, who was prisoner aboard the fleet, swam ashore by night to the town of el puerto del principe, giving an account to the inhabitants of the design of the pirates, which he overheard in their discourse, while they thought he did not understand english. the spaniards upon this advice began to hide their riches, and carry away their movables; the governor immediately raised all the people of the town, freemen and slaves, and with part of them took a post by which of necessity the pirates must pass, and commanded many trees to be cut down and laid cross the ways to hinder their passage, placing several ambuscades strengthened with some pieces of cannon to play upon them on their march. he gathered in all about eight hundred men, of which detaching part into the said ambuscades, with the rest he begirt the town, drawing them up in a spacious field, whence they could see the coming of the pirates at length. captain morgan, with his men, now on the march, found the avenues to the town unpassable; hereupon they took their way through the wood, traversing it with great difficulty, whereby they escaped divers ambuscades; at last they came to the plain, from its figure called by the spaniards la savanna, or the sheet. the governor seeing them come, detached a troop of horse to charge them in the front, thinking to disperse them, and to pursue them with his main body: but this design succeeded not, for the pirates marched in very good order, at the sound of their drums, and with flying colours; coming near the horse they drew into a semicircle, and so advanced towards the spaniards, who charged them valiantly for a while; but the pirates being very dextrous at their arms, and their governor, with many of their companions, being killed, they retreated towards the wood, to save themselves with more advantage; but before they could reach it, most of them were unfortunately killed by the pirates. thus they left the victory to these new-come enemies, who had no considerable loss of men in the battle, and but very few wounded. the skirmish lasted four hours: they entered the town not without great resistance of such as were within, who defended themselves as long as possible, and many seeing the enemy in the town, shut themselves up in their own houses, and thence made several shots upon the pirates; who thereupon threatened them, saying, "if you surrender not voluntarily, you shall soon see the town in a flame, and your wives and children torn to pieces before your faces." upon these menaces the spaniards submitted to the discretion of the pirates, believing they could not continue there long. as soon as the pirates had possessed themselves of the town, they enclosed all the spaniards, men, women, children, and slaves, in several churches, and pillaged all the goods they could find; then they searched the country round about, bringing in daily many goods and prisoners, with much provision. with this they fell to making great cheer, after their old custom, without remembering the poor prisoners, whom they let starve in the churches, though they tormented them daily and inhumanly to make them confess where they had hid their goods, money, &c., though little or nothing was left them, not sparing the women and little children, giving them nothing to eat, whereby the greatest part perished. pillage and provisions growing scarce, they thought convenient to depart and seek new fortunes in other places; they told the prisoners, "they should find money to ransom themselves, else they should be all transported to jamaica; and beside, if they did not pay a second ransom for the town, they would turn every house into ashes." the spaniards hereupon nominated among themselves four fellow-prisoners to go and seek for the above-mentioned contributions; but the pirates, to the intent that they should return speedily with those ransoms, tormented several cruelly in their presence, before they departed. after a few days, the spaniards returned, telling captain morgan, "we have ran up and down, and searched all the neighbouring woods and places we most suspected, and yet have not been able to find any of our own party, nor consequently any fruit of our embassy; but if you are pleased to have a little longer patience with us, we shall certainly cause all that you demand to be paid within fifteen days;" which captain morgan granted. but not long after, there came into the town seven or eight pirates who had been ranging in the woods and fields, and got considerable booty. these brought amongst other prisoners, a negro, whom they had taken with letters. captain morgan having perused them, found that they were from the governor of santa jago, being written to some of the prisoners, wherein he told them, "they should not make too much haste to pay any ransom for their town or persons, or any other pretext; but on the contrary, they should put off the pirates as well as they could with excuses and delays, expecting to be relieved by him in a short time, when he would certainly come to their aid." upon this intelligence captain morgan immediately ordered all their plunder to be carried aboard; and withal, he told the spaniards, that the very next day they should pay their ransoms, for he would not wait a moment longer, but reduce the whole town to ashes, if they failed of the sum he demanded. [illustration: "'being come to the place of duel, the englishman stabbed the frenchman in the back'"--_page _] with this intimation, captain morgan made no mention to the spaniards of the letters he had intercepted. they answered, "that it was impossible for them to give such a sum of money in so short a space of time, seeing their fellow-townsmen were not to be found in all the country thereabouts." captain morgan knew full well their intentions, but thought it not convenient to stay there any longer, demanding of them only five hundred oxen or cows, with sufficient salt to powder them, with this condition, that they should carry them on board his ships. thus he departed with all his men, taking with him only six of the principal prisoners as pledges. next day the spaniards brought the cattle and salt to the ships, and required the prisoners; but captain morgan refused to deliver them, till they had helped his men to kill and salt the beeves: this was performed in great haste, he not caring to stay there any longer, lest he should be surprised by the forces that were gathering against him; and having received all on board his vessels, he set at liberty the hostages. meanwhile there happened some dissensions between the english and the french: the occasion was as follows: a frenchman being employed in killing and salting the beeves, an english pirate took away the marrow-bones he had taken out of the ox, which these people esteem much; hereupon they challenged one another: being come to the place of duel, the englishman stabbed the frenchman in the back, whereby he fell down dead. the other frenchmen, desirous of revenge, made an insurrection against the english; but captain morgan soon appeased them, by putting the criminal in chains to be carried to jamaica, promising he would see justice done upon him; for though he might challenge his adversary, yet it was not lawful to kill him treacherously, as he did. all things being ready, and on board, and the prisoners set at liberty, they sailed thence to a certain island, where captain morgan intended to make a dividend of what they had purchased in that voyage; where being arrived, they found nigh the value of fifty thousand pieces of eight in money and goods; the sum being known, it caused a general grief to see such a small purchase, not sufficient to pay their debts at jamaica. hereupon captain morgan proposed they should think on some other enterprise and pillage before they returned. but the french not being able to agree with the english, left captain morgan with those of his own nation, notwithstanding all the persuasions he used to reduce them to continue in his company. thus they parted with all external signs of friendship, captain morgan reiterating his promises to them that he would see justice done on that criminal. this he performed; for being arrived at jamaica, he caused him to be hanged, which was all the satisfaction the french pirates could expect. chapter xi _captain morgan resolving to attack and plunder the city of puerto bello, equips a fleet, and with little expense and small forces takes it._ some may think that the french having deserted captain morgan, the english alone could not have sufficient courage to attempt such great actions as before. but captain morgan, who always communicated vigour with his words, infused such spirit into his men, as put them instantly upon new designs; they being all persuaded that the sole execution of his orders would be a certain means of obtaining great riches, which so influenced their minds, that with inimitable courage they all resolved to follow him, as did also a certain pirate of campechy, who on this occasion joined with captain morgan, to seek new fortunes under his conduct. thus captain morgan in a few days gathered a fleet of nine sail, either ships or great boats, wherein he had four hundred and sixty military men. all things being ready, they put forth to sea, captain morgan imparting his design to nobody at present; he only told them on several occasions, that he doubted not to make a good fortune by that voyage, if strange occurrences happened not. they steered towards the continent, where they arrived in a few days near costa rica, all their fleet safe. no sooner had they discovered land but captain morgan declared his intentions to the captains, and presently after to the company. he told them he intended to plunder puerto bello by night, being resolved to put the whole city to the sack: and to encourage them he added, this enterprise could not fail, seeing he had kept it secret, without revealing it to anybody, whereby they could not have notice of his coming. to this proposition some answered, "they had not a sufficient number of men to assault so strong and great a city." but captain morgan replied, "if our number is small, our hearts are great; and the fewer persons we are, the more union and better shares we shall have in the spoil." hereupon, being stimulated with the hope of those vast riches they promised themselves from their success, they unanimously agreed to that design. now, that my reader may better comprehend the boldness of this exploit, it may be necessary to say something beforehand of the city of puerto bello. this city is in the province of costa rica, deg. north latitude, fourteen leagues from the gulf of darien, and eight westwards from the port called nombre de dios. it is judged the strongest place the king of spain possesses in all the west indies, except havanna and carthagena. here are two castles almost impregnable, that defend the city, situate at the entry of the port, so that no ship or boat can pass without permission. the garrison consists of three hundred soldiers, and the town is inhabited by about four hundred families. the merchants dwell not here, but only reside awhile, when the galleons come from or go for spain, by reason of the unhealthiness of the air, occasioned by vapours from the mountains; so that though their chief warehouses are at puerto bello, their habitations are at panama, whence they bring the plate upon mules, when the fair begins, and when the ships belonging to the company of negroes arrive to sell slaves. captain morgan, who knew very well all the avenues of this city and the neighbouring coasts, arrived in the dusk of the evening at puerto de naos, ten leagues to the west of puerto bello. being come hither, they sailed up the river to another harbour called puerto pontin, where they anchored: here they put themselves into boats and canoes, leaving in the ships only a few men to bring them next day to the port. about midnight they came to a place called estera longa lemos, where they all went on shore, and marched by land to the first posts of the city: they had in their company an englishman, formerly a prisoner in those parts, who now served them for a guide: to him and three or four more they gave commission to take the sentinel, if possible, or kill him on the place: but they seized him so cunningly, as he had no time to give warning with his musket, or make any noise, and brought him, with his hands bound, to captain morgan, who asked him how things went in the city, and what forces they had; with other circumstances he desired to know. after every question they made him a thousand menaces to kill him, if he declared not the truth. then they advanced to the city, carrying the said sentinel bound before them: having marched about a quarter of a league, they came to the castle near the city, which presently they closely surrounded, so that no person could get either in or out. being posted under the walls of the castle, captain morgan commanded the sentinel, whom they had taken prisoner, to speak to those within, charging them to surrender to his discretion; otherwise they should all be cut in pieces, without quarter. but they regarding none of these threats, began instantly to fire, which alarmed the city; yet notwithstanding, though the governor and soldiers of the said castle made as great resistance as could be, they were forced to surrender. having taken the castle, they resolved to be as good as their words, putting the spaniards to the sword, thereby to strike a terror into the rest of the city. whereupon, having shut up all the soldiers and officers as prisoners into one room, they set fire to the powder (whereof they found great quantity) and blew up the castle into the air, with all the spaniards that were within. this done, they pursued the course of their victory, falling upon the city, which, as yet, was not ready to receive them. many of the inhabitants cast their precious jewels and money into wells and cisterns, or hid them in places underground, to avoid, as much as possible, being totally robbed. one of the party of pirates, assigned to this purpose, ran immediately to the cloisters, and took as many religious men and women as they could find. the governor of the city, not being able to rally the citizens, through their great confusion, retired to one of the castles remaining, and thence fired incessantly at the pirates: but these were not in the least negligent either to assault him, or defend themselves, so that amidst the horror of the assault, they made very few shots in vain; for aiming with great dexterity at the mouths of the guns, the spaniards were certain to lose one or two men every time they charged each gun anew. this continued very furious from break of day till noon; yea, about this time of the day the case was very dubious which party should conquer, or be conquered. at last, the pirates perceiving they had lost many men, and yet advanced but little towards gaining either this, or the other castles, made use of fire-balls, which they threw with their hands, designing to burn the doors of the castles; but the spaniards from the walls let fall great quantities of stones, and earthen pots full of powder, and other combustible matter, which forced them to desist. captain morgan seeing this generous defence made by the spaniards, began to despair of success. hereupon, many faint and calm meditations came into his mind; neither could he determine which way to turn himself in that strait. being thus puzzled, he was suddenly animated to continue the assault, by seeing english colours put forth at one of the lesser castles, then entered by his men; of whom he presently after spied a troop coming to meet him, proclaiming victory with loud shouts of joy. this instantly put him on new resolutions of taking the rest of the castles, especially seeing the chiefest citizens were fled to them, and had conveyed thither great part of their riches, with all the plate belonging to the churches and divine service. [illustration: "morgan commanded the religious men and women to place the ladders against the walls"--_page _] to this effect, he ordered ten or twelve ladders to be made in all haste, so broad, that three or four men at once might ascend them: these being finished, he commanded all the religious men and women, whom he had taken prisoners, to fix them against the walls of the castle. this he had before threatened the governor to do, if he delivered not the castle: but his answer was, "he would never surrender himself alive." captain morgan was persuaded the governor would not employ his utmost force, seeing the religious women, and ecclesiastical persons, exposed in the front of the soldiers to the greatest danger. thus the ladders, as i have said, were put into the hands of religious persons of both sexes, and these were forced, at the head of the companies, to raise and apply them to the walls: but captain morgan was fully deceived in his judgment of this design; for the governor, who acted like a brave soldier in performance of his duty, used his utmost endeavour to destroy whosoever came near the walls. the religious men and women ceased not to cry to him, and beg of him, by all the saints of heaven, to deliver the castle, and spare both his and their own lives; but nothing could prevail with his obstinacy and fierceness. thus many of the religious men and nuns were killed before they could fix the ladders; which at last being done, though with great loss of the said religious people, the pirates mounted them in great numbers, and with not less valour, having fire-balls in their hands, and earthen pots full of powder; all which things, being now at the top of the walls, they kindled and cast in among the spaniards. this effort of the pirates was very great, insomuch that the spaniards could no longer resist nor defend the castle, which was now entered. hereupon they all threw down their arms, and craved quarter for their lives; only the governor of the city would crave no mercy, but killed many of the pirates with his own hands, and not a few of his own soldiers; because they did not stand to their arms. and though the pirates asked him if he would have quarter; yet he constantly answered, "by no means, i had rather die as a valiant soldier, than be hanged as a coward." they endeavoured as much as they could to take him prisoner, but he defended himself so obstinately, that they were forced to kill him, notwithstanding all the cries and tears of his own wife and daughter, who begged him, on their knees, to demand quarter, and save his life. when the pirates had possessed themselves of the castle, which was about night, they enclosed therein all the prisoners, placing the women and men by themselves, with some guards: the wounded were put in an apartment by itself, that their own complaints might be the cure of their diseases; for no other was afforded them. this done, they fell to eating and drinking, as usual; that is, committing in both all manner of debauchery and excess, so that fifty courageous men might easily have retaken the city, and killed all the pirates. next day, having plundered all they could find, they examined some of the prisoners (who had been persuaded by their companions to say they were the richest of the town), charging them severely to discover where they had hid their riches and goods. not being able to extort anything from them, they not being the right persons, it was resolved to torture them: this they did so cruelly, that many of them died on the rack, or presently after. now the president of panama being advertised of the pillage and ruin of puerto bello, he employed all his care and industry to raise forces to pursue and cast out the pirates thence; but these cared little for his preparations, having their ships at hand, and determining to fire the city, and retreat. they had now been at puerto bello fifteen days, in which time they had lost many of their men, both by the unhealthiness of the country, and their extravagant debaucheries. hereupon, they prepared to depart, carrying on board all the pillage they had got, having first provided the fleet with sufficient victuals for the voyage. while these things were doing, captain morgan demanded of the prisoners a ransom for the city, or else he would burn it down, and blow up all the castles; withal, he commanded them to send speedily two persons, to procure the sum, which was , pieces of eight. to this effect two men were sent to the president of panama, who gave him an account of all. the president, having now a body of men ready, set forth towards puerto bello, to encounter the pirates before their retreat; but, they, hearing of his coming, instead of flying away, went out to meet him at a narrow passage, which he must pass: here they placed a hundred men, very well armed, which at the first encounter put to flight a good party of those of panama. this obliged the president to retire for that time, not being yet in a posture of strength to proceed farther. presently after, he sent a message to captain morgan, to tell him, "that if he departed not suddenly with all his forces from puerto bello, he ought to expect no quarter for himself, nor his companions, when he should take them, as he hoped soon to do." captain morgan, who feared not his threats, knowing he had a secure retreat in his ships, which were at hand, answered, "he would not deliver the castles, before he had received the contribution money he had demanded; which if it were not paid down, he would certainly burn the whole city, and then leave it, demolishing beforehand the castles, and killing the prisoners." the governor of panama perceived by this answer that no means would serve to mollify the hearts of the pirates, nor reduce them to reason: hereupon, he determined to leave them, as also those of the city whom he came to relieve, involved in the difficulties of making the best agreement they could. thus in a few days more the miserable citizens gathered the contributions required, and brought , pieces of eight to the pirates for a ransom of their cruel captivity: but the president of panama was much amazed to consider that four hundred men could take such a great city, with so many strong castles, especially having no ordnance, wherewith to raise batteries, and, what was more, knowing the citizens of puerto bello had always great repute of being good soldiers themselves, and who never wanted courage in their own defence. this astonishment was so great, as made him send to captain morgan, desiring some small pattern of those arms wherewith he had taken with much vigour so great a city. captain morgan received this messenger very kindly, and with great civility; and gave him a pistol, and a few small bullets, to carry back to the president his master; telling him, withal, "he desired him to accept that slender pattern of the arms wherewith he had taken puerto bello, and keep them for a twelvemonth; after which time he promised to come to panama, and fetch them away." the governor returned the present very soon to captain morgan, giving him thanks for the favour of lending him such weapons as he needed not; and, withal, sent him a ring of gold, with this message, "that he desired him not to give himself the labour of coming to panama, as he had done to puerto bello: for he did assure him, he should not speed so well here, as he had done there." after this, captain morgan (having provided his fleet with all necessaries, and taken with him the best guns of the castles, nailing up the rest) set sail from puerto bello with all his ships, and arriving in a few days at cuba, he sought out a place wherein he might quickly make the dividend of their spoil. they found in ready money , pieces of eight, besides other merchandises; as cloth, linen, silks, &c. with this rich purchase they sailed thence to their common place of rendezvous, jamaica. being arrived, they passed here some time in all sorts of vices and debaucheries, according to their custom; spending very prodigally what others had gained with no small labour and toil. chapter xii _captain morgan takes the city of maracaibo on the coast of neuva venezuela--piracies committed in those seas--ruin of three spanish ships, set forth to hinder the robberies of the pirates._ not long after their arrival at jamaica, being that short time they needed to lavish away all the riches above mentioned, they concluded on another enterprise to seek new fortunes: to this effect captain morgan ordered all the commanders of his ships to meet at de la vacca, or the cow isle, south of hispaniola, as is said. hither flocked to them great numbers of other pirates, french and english; the name of captain morgan being now famous in all the neighbouring countries for his great enterprises. there was then at jamaica an english ship newly come from new england, well mounted with thirty-six guns: this vessel, by order of the governor of jamaica, joined captain morgan to strengthen his fleet, and give him greater courage to attempt mighty things. with this supply captain morgan judged himself sufficiently strong; but there being in the same place another great vessel of twenty-four iron guns, and twelve brass ones, belonging to the french, captain morgan endeavoured also to join this ship to his own; but the french not daring to trust the english, denied absolutely to consent. the french pirates belonging to this great ship had met at sea an english vessel; and being under great want of victuals, they had taken some provisions out of the english ship, without paying for them, having, perhaps, no ready money aboard: only they gave them bills of exchange for jamaica and tortuga, to receive money there. captain morgan having notice of this, and perceiving he could not prevail with the french captain to follow him, resolved to lay hold on this occasion, to ruin the french, and seek his revenge. hereupon he invited, with dissimulation, the french commander, and several of his men, to dine with him on board the great ship that was come to jamaica, as is said. being come, he made them all prisoners, pretending the injury aforesaid done to the english vessel. this unjust action of captain morgan was soon followed by divine punishment, as we may conceive: the manner i shall instantly relate. captain morgan, presently after he had taken these french prisoners, called a council to deliberate what place they should first pitch upon in this new expedition. here it was determined to go to the isle of savona, to wait for the flota then expected from spain, and take any of the spanish vessels straggling from the rest. this resolution being taken, they began aboard the great ship to feast one another for joy of their new voyage, and happy council, as they hoped: they drank many healths, and discharged many guns, the common sign of mirth among seamen. most of the men being drunk, by what accident is not known, the ship suddenly was blown up, with three hundred and fifty englishmen, besides the french prisoners in the hold; of all which there escaped but thirty men, who were in the great cabin, at some distance from the main force of the powder. many more, it is thought, might have escaped, had they not been so much overtaken with wine. this loss brought much consternation of mind upon the english; they knew not whom to blame, but at last the accusation was laid on the french prisoners, whom they suspected to have fired the powder of the ship out of revenge, though with the loss of their own lives: hereupon they added new accusations to their former, whereby to seize the ship and all that was in it, by saying the french designed to commit piracy on the english. the grounds of this accusation were given by a commission from the governor of barracoa, found aboard the french vessel, wherein were these words, "that the said governor did permit the french to trade in all spanish ports," &c. "as also to cruise on the english pirates in what place soever they could find them, because of the multitudes of hostilities which they had committed against the subjects of his catholic majesty in time of peace betwixt the two crowns." this commission for trade was interpreted as an express order to exercise piracy and war against them, though it was only a bare licence for coming into the spanish ports; the cloak of which permission were those words, "that they should cruise upon the english." and though the french did sufficiently expound the true sense of it, yet they could not clear themselves to captain morgan nor his council: but in lieu thereof, the ship and men were seized and sent to jamaica. here they also endeavoured to obtain justice, and the restitution of their ship, but all in vain; for instead of justice, they were long detained in prison, and threatened with hanging. eight days after the loss of the said ship, captain morgan commanded the bodies of the miserable wretches who were blown up to be searched for, as they floated on the sea; not to afford them christian burial, but for their clothes and attire: and if any had gold rings on their fingers, these were cut off, leaving them exposed to the voracity of the monsters of the sea. at last they set sail for savona, the place of their assignation. there were in all fifteen vessels, captain morgan commanding the biggest, of only fourteen small guns; his number of men was nine hundred and sixty. few days after, they arrived at the cabo de lobos, south of hispaniola, between cape tiburon and cape punta de espada: hence they could not pass by reason of contrary winds for three weeks, notwithstanding all the utmost endeavours captain morgan used to get forth; then they doubled the cape, and spied an english vessel at a distance. having spoken with her, they found she came from england, and bought of her, for ready money, some provisions they wanted. captain morgan proceeded on his voyage till he came to the port of ocoa; here he landed some men, sending them into the woods to seek water and provisions, the better to spare such as he had already on board. they killed many beasts, and among others some horses. but the spaniards, not well satisfied at their hunting, laid a stratagem for them, ordering three or four hundred men to come from santo domingo not far distant, and desiring them to hunt in all the parts thereabout near the sea, that so, if the pirates should return, they might find no subsistence. within few days the same pirates returned to hunt, but finding nothing to kill, a party of about fifty straggled farther on into the woods. the spaniards, who watched all their motions, gathered a great herd of cows, and set two or three men to keep them. the pirates having spied them, killed a sufficient number; and though the spaniards could see them at a distance, yet they could not hinder them at present; but as soon as they attempted to carry them away, they set upon them furiously, crying, "mata, mata," _i.e._, "kill, kill." thus the pirates were compelled to quit the prey, and retreat to their ships; but they did it in good order, retiring by degrees, and when they had opportunity, discharging full volleys on the spaniards, killing many of their enemies, though with some loss. the spaniards seeing their damage, endeavoured to save themselves by flight, and carry off their dead and wounded companions. the pirates perceiving them flee, would not content themselves with what hurt they had already done, but pursued them speedily into the woods, and killed the greatest part of those that remained. next day captain morgan, extremely offended at what had passed, went himself with two hundred men into the woods to seek for the rest of the spaniards, but finding nobody, he revenged his wrath on the houses of the poor and miserable rustics that inhabit those scattering fields and woods, of which he burnt a great number: with this he returned to his ships, somewhat more satisfied in his mind for having done some considerable damage to the enemy; which was always his most ardent desire. the impatience wherewith captain morgan had waited a long while for some of his ships not yet arrived, made him resolve to sail away without them, and steer for savona, the place he always designed. being arrived, and not finding any of his ships come, he was more impatient and concerned than before, fearing their loss, or that he must proceed without them; but he waiting for their arrival a few days longer, and having no great plenty of provisions, he sent a crew of one hundred and fifty men to hispaniola to pillage some towns near santo domingo; but the spaniards, upon intelligence of their coming, were so vigilant, and in such good posture of defence, that the pirates thought not convenient to assault them, choosing rather to return empty-handed to captain morgan, than to perish in that desperate enterprise. at last captain morgan, seeing the other ships did not come, made a review of his people, and found only about five hundred men; the ships wanting were seven, he having only eight in his company, of which the greatest part were very small. having hitherto resolved to cruise on the coasts of caraccas, and to plunder the towns and villages there, finding himself at present with such small forces, he changed his resolution by advice of a french captain in his fleet. this frenchman having served lolonois in the like enterprises, and at the taking of maracaibo, knew all the entries, passages, forces, and means, how to put in execution the same again in company of captain morgan; to whom having made a full relation of all, he concluded to sack it the second time, being himself persuaded, with all his men, of the facility the frenchman propounded. hereupon they weighed anchor, and steered towards curasao. being come within sight of it, they landed at another island near it, called ruba, about twelve leagues from curasao to the west. this island, defended by a slender garrison, is inhabited by indians subject to spain, and speak spanish, by reason of the roman catholic religion, here cultivated by a few priests sent from the neighbouring continent. the inhabitants exercise commerce or trade with the pirates that go or come this way: they buy of the islanders sheep, lambs, and kids, which they exchange for linen, thread, and like things. the country is very dry and barren, the whole substance thereof consisting in those three things, and in a little indifferent wheat. this isle produces many venomous insects, as vipers, spiders, and others. these last are so pernicious, that a man bitten by them dies mad; and the manner of recovering such is to tie them very fast both hands and feet, and so to leave them twenty-four hours, without eating or drinking anything. captain morgan, as was said, having cast anchor before this island, bought of the inhabitants sheep, lambs, and wood, for all his fleet. after two days, he sailed again in the night, to the intent they might not see what course he steered. next day they arrived at the sea of maracaibo, taking great care not to be seen from vigilia, for which reason they anchored out of sight of it. night being come, they set sail again towards the land, and next morning, by break of day, were got directly over against the bar of the said lake. the spaniards had built another fort since the action of lolonois, whence they now fired continually against the pirates, while they put their men into boats to land. the dispute continued very hot, being managed with great courage from morning till dark night. this being come, captain morgan, in the obscurity thereof, drew nigh the fort, which having examined, he found nobody in it, the spaniards having deserted it not long before. they left behind them a match lighted near a train of powder, to have blown up the pirates and the whole fortress as soon as they were in it. this design had taken effect, had not the pirates discovered it in a quarter of an hour; but captain morgan snatching away the match, saved both his own and his companions' lives. they found here much powder, whereof he provided his fleet, and then demolished part of the walls, nailing sixteen pieces of ordnance, from twelve to twenty-four pounders. here they also found many muskets and other military provisions. next day they commanded the ships to enter the bar, among which they divided the powder, muskets, and other things found in the fort: then they embarked again to continue their course towards maracaibo; but the waters being very low, they could not pass a certain bank at the entry of the lake: hereupon they were compelled to go into canoes and small boats, with which they arrived next day before maracaibo, having no other defence than some small pieces which they could carry in the said boats. being landed, they ran immediately to the fort de la barra, which they found as the precedent, without any person in it, for all were fled into the woods, leaving also the town without any people, unless a few miserable folks, who had nothing to lose. as soon as they had entered the town, the pirates searched every corner, to see if they could find any people that were hid, who might offend them unawares; not finding anybody, every party, as they came out of their several ships, chose what houses they pleased. the church was deputed for the common corps du guard, where they lived after their military manner, very insolently. next day after they sent a troop of a hundred men to seek for the inhabitants and their goods; these returned next day, bringing with them thirty persons, men, women, and children, and fifty mules laden with good merchandise. all these miserable people were put to the rack, to make them confess where the rest of the inhabitants were, and their goods. among other tortures, one was to stretch their limbs with cords, and then to beat them with sticks and other instruments. others had burning matches placed betwixt their fingers, which were thus burnt alive. others had slender cords or matches twisted about their heads, till their eyes burst out. thus all inhuman cruelties were executed on those innocent people. those who would not confess, or who had nothing to declare, died under the hands of those villains. these tortures and racks continued for three whole weeks, in which time they sent out daily parties to seek for more people to torment and rob, they never returning without booty and new riches. captain morgan having now gotten into his hands about a hundred of the chief families, with all their goods, at last resolved for gibraltar, as lolonois had done before: with this design he equipped his fleet, providing it sufficiently with all necessaries. he put likewise on board all the prisoners, and weighing anchor, set sail with resolution to hazard a battle. they had sent before some prisoners to gibraltar, to require the inhabitants to surrender, otherwise captain morgan would certainly put them all to the sword, without any quarter. arriving before gibraltar, the inhabitants received him with continual shooting of great cannon bullets; but the pirates, instead of fainting hereat, ceased not to encourage one another, saying, "we must make one meal upon bitter things, before we come to taste the sweetness of the sugar this place affords." next day very early they landed all their men, and being guided by the frenchman abovesaid, they marched towards the town, not by the common way, but crossing through the woods, which way the spaniards scarce thought they would have come; for at the beginning of their march they made as if they intended to come the next and open way to the town, hereby to deceive the spaniards: but these remembering full well what lolonois had done but two years before, thought it not safe to expect a second brunt, and hereupon all fled out of the town as fast as they could, carrying all their goods and riches, as also all the powder; and having nailed all the great guns, so as the pirates found not one person in the whole city, but one poor innocent man who was born a fool. this man they asked whither the inhabitants were fled, and where they had hid their goods. to all which questions and the like, he constantly answered, "i know nothing, i know nothing:" but they presently put him to the rack, and tortured him with cords; which torments forced him to cry out, "do not torture me any more, but come with me, and i will show you my goods and my riches." they were persuaded, it seems, he was some rich person disguised under those clothes so poor, and that innocent tongue; so they went along with him, and he conducted them to a poor miserable cottage, wherein he had a few earthen dishes and other things of no value, and three pieces of eight, concealed with some other trumpery underground. then they asked him his name, and he readily answered, "my name is don sebastian sanchez, and i am brother unto the governor of maracaibo." this foolish answer, it must be conceived, these inhuman wretches took for truth: for no sooner had they heard it, but they put him again upon the rack, lifting him up on high with cords, and tying huge weights to his feet and neck. besides which, they burnt him alive, applying palm-leaves burning to his face. [illustration: "'they hanged him on a tree'"--_page _] the same day they sent out a party to seek for the inhabitants, on whom they might exercise their cruelties. these brought back an honest peasant with two daughters of his, whom they intended to torture as they used others, if they showed not the places where the inhabitants were hid. the peasant knew some of those places, and seeing himself threatened with the rack, went with the pirates to show them; but the spaniards perceiving their enemies to range everywhere up and down the woods, were already fled thence farther off into the thickest of the woods, where they built themselves huts, to preserve from the weather those few goods they had. the pirates judged themselves deceived by the peasant, and hereupon, to revenge themselves, notwithstanding all his excuses and supplication, they hanged him on a tree. then they divided into parties to search the plantations; for they knew the spaniards that were absconded could not live on what the woods afforded, without coming now and then for provisions to their country houses. here they found a slave, to whom they promised mountains of gold and his liberty, by transporting him to jamaica, if he would show them where the inhabitants of gibraltar lay hid. this fellow conducted them to a party of spaniards, whom they instantly made prisoners, commanding this slave to kill some before the eyes of the rest; that by this perpetrated crime, he might never be able to leave their wicked company. the negro, according to their orders, committed many murders and insolencies upon the spaniards, and followed the unfortunate traces of the pirates; who eight days after returned to gibraltar with many prisoners, and some mules laden with riches. they examined every prisoner by himself (who were in all about two hundred and fifty persons), where they had hid the rest of their goods, and if they know of their fellow-townsmen. such as would not confess were tormented after a most inhuman manner. among the rest, there happened to be a portuguese, who by a negro was reported, though falsely, to be very rich; this man was commanded to produce his riches. his answer was, he had no more than one hundred pieces of eight in the world, and these had been stolen from him two days before by his servant; which words, though he sealed with many oaths and protestations, yet they would not believe him, but dragging him to the rack, without any regard to his age of sixty years, they stretched him with cords, breaking both his arms behind his shoulders. this cruelty went not alone; for he not being able or willing to make any other declaration, they put him to another sort of torment more barbarous; they tied him with small cords by his two thumbs and great toes to four stakes fixed in the ground, at a convenient distance, the whole weight of his body hanging on those cords. not satisfied yet with this cruel torture, they took a stone of above two hundred pounds, and laid it upon his belly, as if they intended to press him to death; they also kindled palm leaves, and applied the flame to the face of this unfortunate portuguese, burning with them the whole skin, beard, and hair. at last, seeing that neither with these tortures, nor others, they could get anything out of him, they untied the cords, and carried him half dead to the church, where was their corps du guard; here they tied him anew to one of the pillars thereof, leaving him in that condition, without giving him either to eat or drink, unless very sparingly, and so little that would scarce sustain life for some days; four or five being past, he desired one of the prisoners might come to him, by whose means he promised he would endeavour to raise some money to satisfy their demands. the prisoner whom he required was brought to him, and he ordered him to promise the pirate five hundred pieces of eight for his ransom; but they were deaf and obstinate at such a small sum, and instead of accepting it, beat him cruelly with cudgels, saying, "old fellow, instead of five hundred, you must say five hundred thousand pieces of eight; otherwise you shall here end your life." finally, after a thousand protestations that he was but a miserable man, and kept a poor tavern for his living, he agreed with them for one thousand pieces of eight. these he raised, and having paid them, got his liberty; though so horribly maimed, that it is scarce to be believed he could survive many weeks. others were crucified by these tyrants, and with kindled matches burnt between the joints of their fingers and toes: others had their feet put into the fire, and thus were left to be roasted alive. having used these and other cruelties with the white men, they began to practise the same with the negroes, their slaves, who were treated with no less inhumanity than their masters. among these slaves was one who promised captain morgan to conduct him to a river of the lake, where he should find a ship and four boats, richly laden with goods of the inhabitants of maracaibo: the same discovered likewise where the governor of gibraltar lay hid, with the greatest part of the women of the town; but all this he revealed, upon great menaces to hang him, if he told not what he knew. captain morgan sent away presently two hundred men in two settees, or great boats, to this river, to seek for what the slave had discovered; but he himself, with two hundred and fifty more, undertook to go and take the governor. this gentleman was retired to a small island in the middle of the river, where he had built a little fort, as well as he could, for his defence; but hearing that captain morgan came in person with great forces to seek him, he retired to the top of a mountain not far off, to which there was no ascent but by a very narrow passage, so straight, that whosoever did attempt to gain the ascent, must march his men one by one. captain morgan spent two days before he arrived at this little island, whence he designed to proceed to the mountain where the governor was posted, had he not been told of the impossibility of ascent, not only for the narrowness of the way, but because the governor was well provided with all sorts of ammunition: beside, there was fallen a huge rain, whereby all the pirates' baggage and powder was wet. by this rain, also, they lost many men at the passage over a river that was overflown: here perished, likewise, some women and children, and many mules laden with plate and goods, which they had taken from the fugitive inhabitants; so that things were in a very bad condition with captain morgan, and his men much harassed, as may be inferred from this relation: whereby, if the spaniards, in that juncture, had had but fifty men well armed, they might have entirely destroyed the pirates. but the fears the spaniards had at first conceived were so great, that the leaves stirring on the trees they often fancied to be pirates. finally, captain morgan and his people, having upon this march sometimes waded up to their middles in water for half, or whole miles together, they at last escaped, for the greatest part; but the women and children for the major part died. thus twelve days after they set forth to seek the governor they returned to gibraltar, with many prisoners: two days after arrived also the two settees that went to the river, bringing with them four boats, and some prisoners; but the greatest part of the merchandise in the said boats they found not, the spaniards having unladed and secured it, having intelligence of their coming; who designed also, when the merchandise was taken out, to burn the boats: yet the spaniards made not so much haste to unlade these vessels, but that they left in the ship and boats great parcels of goods, which the pirates seized, and brought a considerable booty to gibraltar. thus, after they had been in possession of the place five entire weeks, and committed an infinite number of murders, robberies, and such-like insolencies, they concluded to depart; but first they ordered some prisoners to go forth into the woods and fields, and collect a ransom for the town, otherwise they would certainly burn it down to the ground. these poor afflicted men went as they were sent, and having searched the adjoining fields and woods, returned to captain morgan, telling him they had scarce been able to find anybody, but that to such as they had found they had proposed his demands; to which they had answered, that the governor had prohibited them to give any ransom for the town, but they beseeched him to have a little patience, and among themselves they would collect five thousand pieces of eight; and for the rest, they would give some of their own townsmen as hostages, whom he might carry to maracaibo, till he had received full satisfaction. captain morgan having now been long absent from maracaibo, and knowing the spaniards had had sufficient time to fortify themselves, and hinder his departure out of the lake, granted their proposition, and made as much haste as he could for his departure: he gave liberty to all the prisoners, first putting every one to a ransom; yet he detained the slaves. they delivered him four persons agreed on for hostages of what money more he was to receive, and they desired to have the slave mentioned above, intending to punish him according to his deserts; but captain morgan would not deliver him, lest they should burn him alive. at last, they weighed anchor, and set sail in all haste for maracaibo: here they arrived in four days, and found all things as they had left them; yet here they received news from a poor distressed old man, whom alone they found sick in the town, that three spanish men-of-war were arrived at the entry of the lake, waiting the return of the pirates: moreover, that the castle at the entry thereof was again put into a good posture of defence, well provided with guns and men, and all sorts of ammunition. this relation could not choose but disturb the mind of captain morgan, who now was careful how to get away through the narrow entry of the lake: hereupon he sent his swiftest boat to view the entry, and see if things were as they had been related. next day the boat came back, confirming what was said; assuring him, they had viewed the ships so nigh, that they had been in great danger of their shot, hereunto they added, that the biggest ship was mounted with forty guns, the second with thirty, and the smallest with twenty-four. these forces being much beyond those of captain morgan, caused a general consternation in the pirates, whose biggest vessel had not above fourteen small guns. every one judged captain morgan to despond, and to be hopeless, considering the difficulty of passing safe with his little fleet amidst those great ships and the fort, or he must perish. how to escape any other way, by sea or land, they saw no way. under these necessities, captain morgan resumed new courage, and resolving to show himself still undaunted, he boldly sent a spaniard to the admiral of those three ships, demanding of him a considerable ransom for not putting the city of maracaibo to the flames. this man (who was received by the spaniards with great admiration of the boldness of those pirates) returned two days after, bringing to captain morgan a letter from the said admiral, as follows:-- _the letter of don alonso del campo y espinosa, admiral of the spanish fleet, to captain morgan, commander of the pirates._ "having understood by all our friends and neighbours, the unexpected news that you have dared to attempt and commit hostilities in the countries, cities, towns, and villages belonging to the dominions of his catholic majesty, my sovereign lord and master; i let you understand by these lines, that i am come to this place, according to my obligation, near that castle which you took out of the hands of a parcel of cowards; where i have put things into a very good posture of defence, and mounted again the artillery which you had nailed and dismounted. my intent is, to dispute with you your passage out of the lake, and follow and pursue you everywhere, to the end you may see the performance of my duty. notwithstanding, if you be contented to surrender with humility all that you have taken, together with the slaves and all other prisoners, i will let you freely pass, without trouble or molestation; on condition that you retire home presently to your own country. but if you make any resistance or opposition to what i offer you, i assure you i will command boats to come from caraccas, wherein i will put my troops, and coming to maracaibo, will put you every man to the sword. this is my last and absolute resolution. be prudent, therefore, and do not abuse my bounty with ingratitude. i have with me very good soldiers, who desire nothing more ardently than to revenge on you, and your people, all the cruelties, and base infamous actions, you have committed upon the spanish nation in america. dated on board the royal ship named the _magdalen_, lying at anchor at the entry of the lake of maracaibo, this th of april, . "don alonso del campo y espinosa." as soon as captain morgan received this letter, he called all his men together in the market-place of maracaibo, and after reading the contents thereof, both in french and english, asked their advice and resolution on the whole matter, and whether they had rather surrender all they had got to obtain their liberty, than fight for it. they answered all, unanimously, they had rather fight to the last drop of blood, than surrender so easily the booty they had got with so much danger of their lives. among the rest, one said to captain morgan, "take you care for the rest, and i will undertake to destroy the biggest of those ships with only twelve men: the manner shall be, by making a brulot, or fire-ship, of that vessel we took in the river of gibraltar; which, to the intent she may not be known for a fireship, we will fill her decks with logs of wood, standing with hats and montera caps, to deceive their sight with the representation of men. the same we will do at the port-holes that serve for the guns, which shall be filled with counterfeit cannon. at the stern we will hang out english colours, and persuade the enemy she is one of our best men-of-war going to fight them." this proposition was admitted and approved by every one; howbeit, their fears were not quite dispersed. for, notwithstanding what had been concluded there, they endeavoured the next day to come to an accommodation with don alonso. to this effect, captain morgan sent to him two persons, with these propositions: first, that he would quit maracaibo, without doing any damage to the town, or exacting any ransom for the firing thereof. secondly, that he would set at liberty one half of the slaves, and all the prisoners, without ransom. thirdly, that he would send home freely the four chief inhabitants of gibraltar, which he had in his custody as hostages for the contributions those people had promised to pay. these propositions were instantly rejected by don alonso, as dishonourable: neither would he hear of any other accommodation, but sent back this message: "that if they surrendered not themselves voluntarily into his hands, within two days, under the conditions which he had offered them by his letter, he would immediately come, and force them to do it." no sooner had captain morgan received this message from don alonso, than he put all things in order to fight, resolving to get out of the lake by main force, without surrendering anything. first, he commanded all the slaves and prisoners to be tied, and guarded very well, and gathered all the pitch, tar, and brimstone, they could find in the whole town, for the fire-ship above-mentioned; then they made several inventions of powder and brimstone with palm leaves, well annointed with tar. they covered very well their counterfeit cannon, laying under every piece many pounds of powder; besides, they cut down many outworks of the ship, that the powder might exert its strength the better; breaking open, also, new port-holes, where, instead of guns, they placed little drums used by the negroes. finally, the decks were handsomely beset with many pieces of wood, dressed up like men with hats, or monteras, and armed with swords, muskets, and bandeleers. the fire-ship being thus fitted, they prepared to go to the entry of the port. all the prisoners were put into one great boat, and in another of the biggest they placed all the women, plate, jewels, and other rich things: into others they put the bales of goods and merchandise, and other things of bulk: each of these boats had twelve men aboard, very well armed; the brulot had orders to go before the rest of the vessels, and presently to fall foul with the great ship. all things being ready, captain morgan exacted an oath of all his comrades, protesting to defend themselves to the last drop of blood, without demanding quarter; promising withal, that whosoever behaved himself thus, should be very well rewarded. with this courageous resolution they set sail to seek the spaniards. on april , , they found the spanish fleet riding at anchor in the middle of the entry of the lake. captain morgan, it being now late and almost dark, commanded all his vessels to an anchor, designing to fight even all night if they forced him to it. he ordered a careful watch to be kept aboard every vessel till morning, they being almost within shot, as well as within sight of the enemy. the day dawning, they weighed anchor, and sailed again, steering directly towards the spaniards; who seeing them move, did instantly the same. the fire-ship sailing before the rest fell presently upon the great ship, and grappled her; which the spaniards (too late) perceiving to be a fire-ship, they attempted to put her off, but in vain: for the flame seizing her timber and tackling, soon consumed all the stern, the fore part sinking into the sea, where she perished. the second spanish ship perceiving the admiral to burn, not by accident, but by industry of the enemy, escaped towards the castle, where the spaniards themselves sunk her, choosing to lose their ship rather than to fall into the hands of those pirates. the third, having no opportunity to escape, was taken by the pirates. the seamen that sunk the second ship near the castle, perceiving the pirates come towards them to take what remains they could find of their shipwreck (for some part was yet above water), set fire also to this vessel, that the pirates might enjoy nothing of that spoil. the first ship being set on fire, some of the persons in her swam towards the shore; these pirates would have taken up in their boats, but they would not ask or take quarter, choosing rather to lose their lives than receive them from their hands, for reasons which i shall relate. [illustration: "'the fire-ship, sailing before the rest, fell presently upon the great ship'"--_page _] the pirates being extremely glad at this signal victory so soon obtained, and with so great an inequality of forces, conceived greater pride than they had before, and all presently ran ashore, intending to take the castle. this they found well provided with men, cannon, and ammunition, they having no other arms than muskets, and a few hand granadoes: their own artillery they thought incapable, for its smallness, of making any considerable breach in the walls. thus they spent the rest of the day, firing at the garrison with their muskets, till the dusk of the evening, when they attempted to advance nearer the walls, to throw in their fire-balls: but the spaniards resolving to sell their lives as dear as they could, fired so furiously at them, that they having experimented the obstinacy of the enemy, and seeing thirty of their men dead, and as many more wounded, they retired to their ships. the spaniards believing the pirates would next day renew the attack with their own cannon, laboured hard all night to put things in order for their coming; particularly, they dug down, and made plain, some little hills and eminences, when possibly the castle might be offended. but captain morgan intended not to come again, busying himself next day in taking prisoners some of the men who still swam alive, hoping to get part of the riches lost in the two ships that perished. among the rest, he took a pilot, who was a stranger, and who belonged to the lesser ship of the two, of whom he inquired several things; as, what number of people those three ships had in them? whether they expected any more ships to come? from what port they set forth last, when they came to seek them out? he answered, in spanish, "noble sir, be pleased to pardon and spare me, that no evil be done to me, being a stranger to this nation i have served, and i shall sincerely inform you of all that passed till our arrival at this lake. we were sent by orders from the supreme council of state in spain, being six men-of-war well equipped, into these seas, with instructions to cruise upon the english pirates, and root them out from these parts by destroying as many of them as we could. "these orders were given, upon the news brought to the court of spain of the loss and ruin of puerto bello, and other places; of all which damages and hostilities committed here by the english, dismal lamentations have often been made to the catholic king and council, to whom belongs the care and preservation of this new world. and though the spanish court hath many times by their ambassadors complained hereof to the king of england; yet it hath been the constant answer of his majesty of great britain, that he never gave any letters patent, nor commissions, for acting any hostility against the subjects of the king of spain. hereupon the catholic king resolved to revenge his subjects, and punish these proceedings: commanded six men-of-war to be equipped, which he sent under the command of don augustine de bustos, admiral of the said fleet. he commanded the biggest ship, named _n. s. de la soleda_, of forty-eight great guns, and eight small ones. the vice-admiral was don alonso del campo y espinosa, who commanded the second ship called _la conception_, of forty-four great guns, and eight small ones; besides four vessels more, whereof the first was named the _magdalen_, of thirty-six great guns, and twelve small ones, with two hundred and fifty men. the second was called _st. lewis_, with twenty-six great guns, twelve small ones, and two hundred men. the third was called _la marquesa_, of sixteen great guns, eight small ones, and one hundred and fifty men. the fourth and last, _n. s. del carmen_, with eighteen great guns, eight small ones, and one hundred and fifty men. "being arrived at carthagena, the two greatest ships received orders to return to spain, being judged too big for cruising on these coasts. with the four ships remaining, don alonso del campo y espinosa departed towards campechy to seek the english: we arrived at the port there, where, being surprised by a huge storm from the north, we lost one of our ships, being that which i named last. hence we sailed for hispaniola, in sight of which we came in a few days, and steered for santo domingo: here we heard that there had passed that way a fleet from jamaica, and that some men thereof had landed at alta gracia; the inhabitants had taken one prisoner, who confessed their design was to go and pillage the city of caraccas. on this news, don alonso instantly weighed anchor, and, crossing over to the continent, we came in sight of the caraccas: here we found them not, but met with a boat, which certified us they were in the lake of maracaibo, and that the fleet consisted of seven small ships, and one boat. "upon this we came here, and arriving at the entry of the lake, we shot off a gun for a pilot from the shore. those on land perceiving we were spaniards, came willingly to us with a pilot, and told us the english had taken maracaibo, and that they were now at the pillage of gibraltar. don alonso, on this news, made a handsome speech to his soldiers and mariners, encouraging them to their duty, and promising to divide among them all they should take from the english: he ordered the guns we had taken out of the ship that was lost to be put into the castle, and mounted for its defence, with two eighteen-pounders more, out of his own ship. the pilots conducted us into the port, and don alonso commanded the people on shore to come before him, whom he ordered to repossess the castle, and reinforce it with one hundred men more than it had before its being taken. soon after, we heard of your return from gibraltar to maracaibo, whither don alonso wrote you a letter, giving you an account of his arrival and design, and exhorting you to restore what you had taken. this you refusing, he renewed his promises to his soldiers and seamen, and having given a very good supper to all his people, he ordered them not to take or give any quarter, which was the occasion of so many being drowned, who dared not to crave quarter, knowing themselves must give none. two days before you came against us, a negro came aboard don alonso's ship, telling him, 'sir, be pleased to have great care of yourself; for the english have prepared a fire-ship, with design to burn your fleet.' but don alonso not believing this, answered, 'how can that be? have they, peradventure, wit enough to build a fire-ship? or what instruments have they to do it withal?'" this pilot having related so distinctly these things to captain morgan, was very well used by him, and, after some kind proffers made to him, remained in his service. he told captain morgan, that, in the ship which was sunk, there was a great quantity of plate, to the value of forty thousand pieces of eight; which occasioned the spaniards to be often seen in boats about it. hereupon, captain morgan ordered one of his ships to remain there, to find ways of getting out of it what plate they could; meanwhile, himself, with all his fleet, returned to maracaibo, where he refitted the great ship he had taken, and chose it for himself, giving his own bottom to one of his captains. then he sent again a messenger to the admiral, who was escaped ashore, and got into the castle, demanding of him a ransom of fire for maracaibo; which being denied, he threatened entirely to consume and destroy it. the spaniards considering the ill-luck they had all along with those pirates, and not knowing how to get rid of them, concluded to pay the said ransom, though don alonso would not consent. hereupon, they sent to captain morgan, to know what sum he demanded. he answered, that on payment of , pieces of eight, and five hundred beeves, he would release the prisoners and do no damage to the town. at last they agreed on , pieces of eight, and five hundred beeves to victual his fleet. the cattle were brought the next day, with one part of the money; and, while the pirates were busied in salting the flesh, they made up the whole , pieces of eight, as was agreed. but captain morgan would not presently deliver the prisoners, as he had promised, fearing the shot of the castle at his going forth out of the lake. hereupon he told them he intended not to deliver them till he was out of that danger, hoping thus to obtain a free passage. then he set sail with his fleet in quest of the ship he had left, to seek for the plate of the vessel that was burnt. he found her on the place, with , pieces of eight got out of the work, beside many pieces of plate, as hilts of swords, and the like; also a great quantity of pieces of eight melted and run together, by the force of the fire. captain morgan scarce thought himself secure, nor could he contrive how to avoid the shot of the castle: hereupon he wished the prisoners to agree with the governor to permit a safe passage to his fleet, which, if he should not allow, he would certainly hang them all up in his ships. upon this the prisoners met, and appointed some of their fellow-messengers to go to the said governor, don alonso: these went to him, beseeching and supplicating him to have compassion on those afflicted prisoners, who were, with their wives and children, in the hands of captain morgan; and that to this effect he would be pleased to give his word to let the fleet of pirates freely pass, this being the only way to save both the lives of them that came with this petition, as also of those who remained in captivity; all being equally menaced with the sword and gallows, if he granted them not this humble request. but don alonso gave them for answer a sharp reprehension of their cowardice, telling them, "if you had been as loyal to your king in hindering the entry of these pirates, as i shall do their going out, you had never caused these troubles, neither to yourselves nor to our whole nation, which hath suffered so much through your pusillanimity. in a word, i shall never grant your request, but shall endeavour to maintain that respect which is due to my king, according to my duty." [illustration: "morgan dividing the treasure taken at maracaibo"--_page _] thus the spaniards returned with much consternation, and no hopes of obtaining their request, telling captain morgan what answer they had received: his reply was, "if don alonso will not let me pass, i will find means how to do it without him." hereupon he presently made a dividend of all they had taken, fearing he might not have an opportunity to do it in another place, if any tempest should rise and separate the ships, as also being jealous that any of the commanders might run away with the best part of the spoil, which then lay much more in one vessel than another. thus they all brought in according to their laws, and declared what they had, first making oath not to conceal the least thing. the accounts being cast up, they found to the value of , pieces of eight, in money and jewels, beside the huge quantity of merchandise and slaves, all which purchase was divided to every ship or boat, according to her share. the dividend being made, the question still remained how they should pass the castle, and get out of the lake. to this effect they made use of a stratagem, as follows: the day before the night wherein they determined to get forth, they embarked many of their men in canoes, and rowed towards the shore, as if they designed to land: here they hid themselves under branches of trees that hang over the coast awhile, laying themselves down in the boats; then the canoes returned to the ships, with the appearance of only two or three men rowing them back, the rest being unseen at the bottom of the canoes: thus much only could be perceived from the castle, and this false landing of men, for so we may call it, was repeated that day several times: this made the spaniards think the pirates intended at night to force the castle by scaling it. this fear caused them to place most of their great guns on the land side, together with their main force, leaving the side towards the sea almost destitute of defence. night being come, they weighed anchor, and by moonlight, without setting sail, committed themselves to the ebbing tide, which gently brought them down the river, till they were near the castle; being almost over against it, they spread their sails with all possible haste. the spaniards perceiving this, transported with all speed their guns from the other side, and began to fire very furiously at them; but these having a very favourable wind, were almost past danger before those of the castle could hurt them; so that they lost few of their men, and received no considerable damage in their ships. being out of the reach of the guns, captain morgan sent a canoe to the castle with some of the prisoners, and the governor thereof gave them a boat to return to their own homes; but he detained the hostages from gibraltar, because the rest of the ransom for not firing the place was yet unpaid. just as he departed, captain morgan ordered seven great guns with bullets to be fired against the castle, as it were to take his leave of them, but they answered not so much as with a musket shot. next day after, they were surprised with a great tempest, which forced them to cast anchor in five or six fathom water: but the storm increasing, compelled them to weigh again, and put to sea, where they were in great danger of being lost; for if they should have been cast on shore, either into the hands of the spaniards or indians, they would certainly have obtained no mercy: at last, the tempest being spent, the wind ceased, to the great joy of the whole fleet. while captain morgan made his fortune by these pillagings, his companions, who were separated from his fleet at the cape de lobos, to take the ship spoken of before, endured much misery, and were unfortunate in all their attempts. being arrived at savona, they found not captain morgan there, nor any of their companions, nor had they the fortune to find a letter which captain morgan at his departure left behind him in a place where in all probability they would meet with it. thus, not knowing what course to steer, they concluded to pillage some town or other. they were in all about four hundred men, divided into four ships and one boat: being ready to set forth, they constituted an admiral among themselves, being one who had behaved himself very courageously at the taking of puerto bello, named captain hansel. this commander attempted the taking of the town of commana, on the continent of caraccas, nigh sixty leagues to the west of the isle de la trinidad. being arrived there, they landed their men, and killed some few indians near the coast; but approaching the town, the spaniards having in their company many indians, disputed the entry so briskly, that, with great loss and confusion, they were forced to retire to the ships. at last they arrived at jamaica, where the rest of their companions, who came with captain morgan, mocked and jeered them for their ill success at commana, often telling them, "let us see what money you brought from commana, and if it be as good silver as that which we bring from maracaibo." chapter xiii _captain morgan goes to hispaniola to equip a new fleet, with intent to pillage again on the coast of the west indies._ captain morgan perceived now that fortune favoured him, by giving success to all his enterprises, which occasioned him, as is usual in human affairs, to aspire to greater things, trusting she would always be constant to him. such was the burning of panama, wherein fortune failed not to assist him, as she had done before, though she had led him thereto through a thousand difficulties. the history hereof i shall now relate, being so remarkable in all its circumstances, as peradventure nothing more deserving memory will be read by future ages. captain morgan arriving at jamaica, found many of his officers and soldiers reduced to their former indigency, by their vices and debaucheries. hence they perpetually importuned him for new exploits. captain morgan, willing to follow fortune's call, stopped the mouths of many inhabitants of jamaica, who were creditors to his men for large sums, with the hopes and promises of greater achievements than ever, by a new expedition. this done, he could easily levy men for any enterprise, his name being so famous through all those islands as that alone would readily bring him in more men than he could well employ. he undertook therefore to equip a new fleet, for which he assigned the south side of tortuga as a place of rendezvous, writing letters to all the expert pirates there inhabiting, as also to the governor, and to the planters and hunters of hispaniola, informing them of his intentions, and desiring their appearance, if they intended to go with him. these people upon this notice flocked to the place assigned, in huge numbers, with ships, canoes, and boats, being desirous to follow him. many, who had not the convenience of coming by sea, traversed the woods of hispaniola, and with no small difficulties arrived there by land. thus all were present at the place assigned, and ready against october , . captain morgan was not wanting to be there punctually, coming in his ship to port couillon, over against the island de la vaca, the place assigned. having gathered the greatest part of his fleet, he called a council to deliberate about finding provisions for so many people. here they concluded to send four ships and one boat, with four hundred men, to the continent, in order to rifle some country towns and villages for all the corn or maize they could gather. they set sail for the continent towards the river de la hacha, designing to assault the village called la rancheria, usually best stored with maize of all the parts thereabouts. meanwhile captain morgan sent another party to hunt in the woods, who killed a huge number of beasts, and salted them: the rest remained in the ships, to clean, fit, and rig them, that, at the return of their fellows, all things might be in a readiness to weigh anchor and follow their designs. chapter xiv _what happened in the river de la hacha._ these four ships setting sail from hispaniola, steered for the river de la hacha, where they were suddenly overtaken with a tedious calm. being within sight of land becalmed for some days, the spaniards inhabiting along the coast, who had perceived them to be enemies, had sufficient time to prepare themselves, at least to hide the best of their goods, that, without any care of preserving them, they might be ready to retire, if they proved unable to resist the pirates, by whose frequent attempts on those coasts they had already learned what to do in such cases. there was then in the river a good ship, come from carthagena to lade with maize, and now almost ready to depart. the men of this ship endeavoured to escape; but, not being able to do it, both they and the vessel fell into their hands. this was a fit purchase for them, being good part of what they came for. next morning, about break of day, they came with their ships ashore, and landed their men, though the spaniards made good resistance from a battery they had raised on that side, where, of necessity, they were to land; but they were forced to retire to a village, whither the pirates followed them. here the spaniards rallying, fell upon them with great fury, and maintained a strong combat, which lasted till night; but then, perceiving they had lost a great number of men, which was no less on the pirates' side, they retired to secret places in the woods. next day the pirates seeing them all fled, and the town left empty of people, they pursued them as far as they could, and overtook a party of spaniards, whom they made prisoners, and exercised with most cruel torments, to discover their goods. some were forced, by intolerable tortures, to confess; but others, who would not, were used more barbarously. thus, in fifteen days that they remained there, they took many prisoners, much plate and movables, with which booty they resolved to return to hispaniola: yet, not content with what they had got, they dispatched some prisoners into the woods to seek for the rest of the inhabitants, and to demand a ransom for not burning the town. they answered, they had no money nor plate; but if they would be satisfied with a quantity of maize, they would give as much as they could. the pirates accepted this, it being then more useful to them than ready money, and agreed they should pay four thousand hanegs, or bushels of maize. these were brought in three days after, the spaniards being desirous to rid themselves of that inhuman sort of people. having laded them on board with the rest of their purchase, they returned to hispaniola, to give account to their leader, captain morgan, of all they had performed. they had now been absent five weeks on this commission, which long delay occasioned captain morgan almost in despair of their return, fearing lest they were fallen in to the hands of the spaniards; especially considering the place whereto they went could easily be relieved from carthagena and santa maria, if the inhabitants were careful to alarm the country. on the other side, he feared lest they should have made some great fortune in that voyage, and with it have escaped to some other place. but seeing his ships return in greater numbers than they departed, he resumed new courage, this sight causing both in him and his companions infinite joy, especially when they found them full laden with maize, which they much wanted for the maintenance of so many people, from whom they expected great matters under such a commander. captain morgan having divided the said maize, as also the flesh which the hunters brought, among his ships, according to the number of men, he concluded to depart; having viewed beforehand every ship, and observed their being well equipped and clean. thus he set sail, and stood for cape tiburon, where he determined to resolve what enterprise he should take in hand. no sooner were they arrived, but they met some other ships newly come to join them from jamaica; so that now their fleet consisted of thirty-seven ships, wherein were two thousand fighting men, beside mariners and boys. the admiral hereof was mounted with twenty-two great guns, and six small ones of brass; the rest carried some twenty; some sixteen, some eighteen, and the smallest vessel at least four; besides which, they had great quantities of ammunition and fire-balls, with other inventions of powder. captain morgan having such a number of ships, divided the whole fleet into two squadrons, constituting a vice-admiral, and other officers of the second squadron, distinct from the former. to these he gave letters patent, or commissions to act all manner of hostilities against the spanish nation, and take of them what ships they could, either abroad at sea, or in the harbours, as if they were open and declared enemies (as he termed it) of the king of england, his pretended master. this done, he called all his captains and other officers together, and caused them to sign some articles of agreement betwixt them, and in the name of all. herein it was stipulated, that he should have the hundredth part of all that was gotten to himself: that every captain should draw the shares of eight men for the expenses of his ship, besides his own. to the surgeon, beside his pay, two hundred pieces of eight for his chest of medicaments. to every carpenter, above his salary, one hundred pieces of eight. the rewards were settled in this voyage much higher than before: as, for the loss of both legs, fifteen hundred pieces of eight, or fifteen slaves, the choice left to the party, for the loss of both hands, eighteen hundred pieces of eight, or eighteen slaves: for one leg, whether right or left, six hundred pieces of eight, or six slaves: for a hand, as much as for a leg; and for the loss of an eye, one hundred pieces of eight, or one slave. lastly, to him that in any battle should signalize himself, either by entering first any castle, or taking down the spanish colours, and setting up the english, they allotted fifty pieces of eight for a reward. all which extraordinary salaries and rewards to be paid out of the first spoil they should take, as every one should occur to be either rewarded or paid. this contract being signed, captain morgan commanded his vice-admirals and captains to put all things in order, to attempt one of these three places; either carthagena, panama, or vera cruz. but the lot fell on panama, as the richest of all three; though this city being situate at such a distance from the north sea as they knew not well the approaches to it, they judged it necessary to go beforehand to the isle of st. catherine, there to find some persons for guides in this enterprise; for in the garrison there are commonly many banditti and outlaws belonging to panama and the neighbouring places, who are very expert in the knowledge of that country. but before they proceeded, they published an act through the whole fleet, promising, if they met with any spanish vessel, the first captain who should take it should have for his reward the tenth part of what should be found in her. chapter xv _captain morgan leaves hispaniola and goes to st. catherine's, which he takes._ captain morgan and his companions weighed anchor from the cape of tiburon, december , . four days after they arrived in sight of st. catherine's, now in possession of the spaniards again, as was said before, to which they commonly banish the malefactors of the spanish dominions in the west indies. here are huge quantities of pigeons at certain seasons. it is watered by four rivulets, whereof two are always dry in summer. here is no trade or commerce exercised by the inhabitants; neither do they plant more fruits than what are necessary for human life, though the country would make very good plantations of tobacco of considerable profit, were it cultivated. as soon as captain morgan came near the island with his fleet, he sent one of his best sailing vessels to view the entry of the river, and see if any other ships were there, who might hinder him from landing; as also fearing lest they should give intelligence of his arrival to the inhabitants, and prevent his designs. next day, before sunrise, all the fleet anchored near the island, in a bay called aguade grande. on this bay the spaniards had built a battery, mounted with four pieces of cannon. captain morgan landed about one thousand men in divers squadrons, marching through the woods, though they had no other guides than a few of his own men, who had been there before, under mansvelt. the same day they came to a place where the governor sometimes resided: here they found a battery called the platform, but nobody in it, the spaniards having retired to the lesser island, which, as was said before, is so near the great one, that a short bridge only may conjoin them. this lesser island was so well fortified with forts and batteries round it, as might seem impregnable. hereupon, as soon as the spaniards perceived the pirates approach, they fired on them so furiously, that they could advance nothing that day, but were content to retreat, and take up their rest in the open fields, which was not strange to these people, being sufficiently used to such kind of repose. what most afflicted them was hunger, having not eat anything that whole day. about midnight it rained so hard, that they had much ado to bear it, the greatest part of them having no other clothes than a pair of seaman's trousers or breeches, and a shirt, without shoes or stockings. in this great extremity they pulled down a few thatched houses to make fires withal; in a word, they were in such a condition, that one hundred men, indifferently well armed, might easily that night have torn them all in pieces. next morning, about break of day, the rain ceased, and they dried their arms and marched on: but soon after it rained afresh, rather harder than before, as if the skies were melted into waters; which kept them from advancing towards the forts, whence the spaniards continually fired at them. the pirates were now reduced to great affliction and danger, through the hardness of the weather, their own nakedness, and great hunger; for a small relief hereof, they found in the fields an old horse, lean, and full of scabs and blotches, with galled back and sides: this they instantly killed and flayed, and divided in small pieces among themselves, as far as it would reach (for many could not get a morsel) which they roasted and devoured without salt or bread, more like ravenous wolves than men. the rain not ceasing, captain morgan perceived their minds to relent, hearing many of them say they would return on board. among these fatigues of mind and body, he thought convenient to use some sudden remedy: to this effect, he commanded a canoe to be rigged in haste, and colours of truce to be hanged out. this canoe he sent to the spanish governor, with this message: "that if within a few hours he delivered not himself and all his men into his hands, he did by that messenger swear to him, and all those that were in his company, he would most certainly put them to the sword, without granting quarter to any." in the afternoon the canoe returned with this answer: "that the governor desired two hours' time to deliberate with his officers about it, which being past, he would give his positive answer." the time being elapsed, the governor sent two canoes with white colours, and two persons to treat with captain morgan; but, before they landed, they demanded of the pirates two persons as hostages. these were readily granted by captain morgan, who delivered them two of the captains for a pledge of the security required. with this the spaniards propounded to captain morgan, that the governor, in a full assembly, had resolved to deliver up the island, not being provided with sufficient forces to defend it against such an armada. but withal, he desired captain morgan would be pleased to use a certain stratagem of war, for the better saving of his own credit, and the reputation of his officers both abroad and at home, which should be as follows:--that captain morgan would come with his troops by night to the bridge that joined the lesser island to the great one, and there attack the fort of st. jerome: that at the same time all his fleet would draw near the castle of santa teresa, and attack it by land, landing, in the meanwhile, more troops near the battery of st. matthew: that these troops being newly landed, should by this means intercept the governor as he endeavoured to pass to st. jerome's fort, and then take him prisoner; using the formality, as if they forced him to deliver the castle; and that he would lead the english into it, under colour of being his own troops. that on both sides there should be continual firing, but without bullets, or at least into the air, so that no side might be hurt. that thus having obtained two such considerable forts, the chiefest of the isle, he need not take care for the rest, which must fall of course into his hands. these propositions were granted by captain morgan, on condition they should see them faithfully observed; otherwise they should be used with the utmost rigour: this they promised to do, and took their leave, to give account of their negotiation to the governor. presently after, captain morgan commanded the whole fleet to enter the port, and his men to be ready to assault, that night, the castle of st. jerome. thus the false battle began, with incessant firing from both the castles, against the ships, but without bullets, as was agreed. then the pirates landed, and assaulted by night the lesser island, which they took, as also both fortresses; forcing the spaniards, in appearance, to fly to the church. before this assault, captain morgan sent word to the governor, that he should keep all his men together in a body; otherwise, if the pirates met any straggling spaniards in the streets, they should certainly shoot them. this island being taken by this unusual stratagem, and all things put in order, the pirates made a new war against the poultry, cattle, and all sorts of victuals they could find, for some days; scarce thinking of anything else than to kill, roast, and eat, and make what good cheer they could. if wood was wanting, they pulled down the houses, and made fires with the timber, as had been done before in the field. next day they numbered all the prisoners they had taken upon the island, which were found to be in all four hundred and fifty-nine persons, men, women, and children; viz., one hundred and ninety soldiers of the garrison; forty inhabitants, who were married: forty-three children, thirty-four slaves, belonging to the king; with eight children, eight banditti, thirty-nine negroes belonging to private persons; with twenty-seven female blacks, and thirty-four children. the pirates disarmed all the spaniards, and sent them out immediately to the plantations to seek for provisions, leaving the women in the church to exercise their devotions. soon after they reviewed the whole island, and all the fortresses thereof, which they found to be nine in all, viz., the fort of st. jerome, next the bridge, had eight great guns, of twelve, six, and eight pounds carriage; with six pipes of muskets, every pipe containing ten muskets. here they found still sixty muskets, with sufficient powder and other ammunition. the second fortress, called st. matthew, had three guns, of eight pounds each. the third, and chiefest, named santa teresa, had twenty great guns, of eighteen, twelve, eight, and six pounds; with ten pipes of muskets, like those before, and ninety muskets remaining, besides other ammunition. this castle was built with stone and mortar, with very thick walls, and a large ditch round it, twenty feet deep, which, though it was dry, yet was very hard to get over. here was no entry, but through one door, to the middle of the castle. within it was a mount, almost inaccessible, with four pieces of cannon at the top; whence they could shoot directly into the port. on the sea side it was impregnable, by reason of the rocks round it, and the sea beating furiously upon them. to the land it was so commodiously seated on a mountain, as there was no access to it but by a path three or four feet broad. the fourth fortress was named st. augustine, having three guns of eight and six pounds. the fifth, named la plattaforma de la conception, had only two guns, of eight pounds. the sixth, by name san salvador, had likewise no more than two guns. the seventh, called plattaforma de los artilleros, had also two guns. the eighth, called santa cruz, had three guns. the ninth, called st. joseph's fort, had six guns, of twelve and eight pounds, besides two pipes of muskets, and sufficient ammunition. in the storehouses were above thirty thousand pounds of powder, with all other ammunition, which was carried by the pirates on board. all the guns were stopped and nailed, and the fortresses demolished, except that of st. jerome, where the pirates kept guard and resistance. captain morgan inquired for any banditti from panama or puerto bello, and three were brought him, who pretended to be very expert in the avenues of those parts. he asked them to be his guides, and show him the securest ways to panama, which, if they performed, he promised them equal shares in the plunder of that expedition, and their liberty when they arrived in jamaica. these propositions the banditti readily accepted, promising to serve him very faithfully, especially one of the three, who was the greatest rogue, thief, and assassin among them, who had deserved rather to be broken alive on the wheel, than punished with serving in a garrison. this wicked fellow had a great ascendant over the other two, and domineered over them as he pleased, they not daring to disobey his orders. captain morgan commanded four ships and one boat to be equipped, and provided with necessaries, to go and take the castle of chagre, on the river of that name; neither would he go himself with his whole fleet, lest the spaniards should be jealous of his farther design on panama. in these vessels he embarked four hundred men, to put in execution these his orders. meanwhile, himself remained in st. catherine's with the rest of the fleet, expecting to hear of their success. chapter xvi _captain morgan takes the castle of chagre, with four hundred men sent to this purpose from st. catherine's._ captain morgan sending this little fleet to chagre, chose for vice-admiral thereof one captain brodely, who had been long in those quarters, and committed many robberies on the spaniards, when mansvelt took the isle of st. catherine, as was before related; and therefore was thought a fit person for this exploit, his actions likewise having rendered him famous among the pirates, and their enemies the spaniards. captain brodely being made commander, in three days after his departure arrived in sight of the said castle of chagre, by the spaniards called st. lawrence. this castle is built on a high mountain, at the entry of the river, surrounded by strong palisades, or wooden walls, filled with earth, which secures them as well as the best wall of stone or brick. the top of this mountain is, in a manner, divided into two parts, between which is a ditch thirty feet deep. the castle hath but one entry, and that by a drawbridge over this ditch. to the land it has four bastions, and to the sea two more. the south part is totally inaccessible, through the cragginess of the mountain. the north is surrounded by the river, which here is very broad. at the foot of the castle, or rather mountain, is a strong fort, with eight great guns, commanding the entry of the river. not much lower are two other batteries, each of six pieces, to defend likewise the mouth of the river. at one side of the castle are two great storehouses of all sorts of warlike ammunition and merchandise, brought thither from the island country. near these houses is a high pair of stairs hewn out of the rock, to mount to the top of the castle. on the west is a small port, not above seven or eight fathoms deep, fit for small vessels, and of very good anchorage; besides, before the castle, at the entry of the river, is a great rock, scarce to be described but at low tides. no sooner had the spaniards perceived the pirates, but they fired incessantly at them with the biggest of their guns. they came to an anchor in a small port, about a league from the castle. next morning, very early, they went ashore, and marched through the woods, to attack the castle on that side. this march lasted till two of the clock in the afternoon, before they could reach the castle, by reason of the difficulties of the way, and its mire and dirt; and though their guides served them very exactly, yet they came so nigh the castle at first, that they lost many of their men by its shot, they being in an open place without covert. this much perplexed the pirates, not knowing what course to take; for on that side, of necessity, they must make the assault: and being uncovered from head to foot, they could not advance one step without danger: besides that, the castle, both for its situation and strength, made them much doubt of success. but to give it over they dared not, lest they should be reproached by their companions. at last, after many doubts and disputes, resolving to hazard the assault and their lives desperately, they advanced towards the castle with their swords in one hand, and fire-balls in the other. the spaniards defended themselves very briskly, ceasing not to fire at them continually; crying withal, "come on, ye english dogs! enemies to god and our king; and let your other companions that are behind come on too, ye shall not go to panama this bout." the pirates making some trial to climb the walls, were forced to retreat, resting themselves till night. this being come, they returned to the assault, to try, by the help of their fire-balls, to destroy the pales before the wall; and while they were about it, there happened a very remarkable accident, which occasioned their victory. one of the pirates being wounded with an arrow in his back, which pierced his body through, he pulled it out boldly at the side of his breast, and winding a little cotton about it, he put it into his musket, and shot it back to the castle; but the cotton being kindled by the powder, fired two or three houses in the castle, being thatched with palm-leaves, which the spaniards perceived not so soon as was necessary; for this fire meeting with a parcel of powder, blew it up, thereby causing great ruin, and no less consternation to the spaniards, who were not able to put a stop to it, not having seen it time enough. the pirates perceiving the effect of the arrow, and the misfortunes of the spaniards, were infinitely glad; and while they were busied in quenching the fire, which caused a great confusion for want of water, the pirates took this opportunity, setting fire likewise to the palisades. the fire thus seen at once in several parts about the castle, gave them great advantage against the spaniards, many breaches being made by the fire among the pales, great heaps of earth falling into the ditch. then the pirates climbing up, got over into the castle, though those spaniards, who were not busy about the fire, cast down many flaming pots full of combustible matter, and odious smells, which destroyed many of the english. the spaniards, with all their resistance, could not hinder the palisades from being burnt down before midnight. meanwhile the pirates continued in their intention of taking the castle; and though the fire was very great, they would creep on the ground, as near as they could, and shoot amidst the flames against the spaniards on the other side, and thus killed many from the walls. when day was come, they observed all the movable earth, that lay betwixt the pales, to be fallen into the ditch; so that now those within the castle lay equally exposed to them without, as had been on the contrary before; whereupon the pirates continued shooting very furiously, and killed many spaniards; for the governor had charged them to make good those posts, answering to the heaps of earth fallen into the ditch, and caused the artillery to be transported to the breaches. the fire within the castle still continuing, the pirates from abroad did what they could to hinder its progress, by shooting incessantly against it; one party of them was employed only for this, while another watched all the motions of the spaniards. about noon the english gained a breach, which the governor himself defended with twenty-five soldiers. here was made a very courageous resistance by the spaniards, with muskets, pikes, stones, and swords; but through all these the pirates fought their way, till they gained the castle. the spaniards, who remained alive, cast themselves down from the castle into the sea, choosing rather to die thus (few or none surviving the fall) than to ask quarter for their lives. the governor himself retreated to the corps du gard, before which were placed two pieces of cannon: here he still defended himself, not demanding any quarter, till he was killed with a musket-shot in the head. the governor being dead, and the corps du gard surrendering, they found remaining in it alive thirty men, whereof scarce ten were not wounded: these informed the pirates that eight or nine of their soldiers had deserted, and were gone to panama, to carry news of their arrival and invasion. these thirty men alone remained of three hundred and fourteen wherewith the castle was garrisoned, among which not one officer was found alive. these were all made prisoners, and compelled to tell whatever they knew of their designs and enterprises. among other things, that the governor of panama had notice sent him three weeks ago from carthagena, that the english were equipping a fleet at hispaniola, with a design to take panama; and, beside, that this had been discovered by a deserter from the pirates at the river de la hacha, where they had victualled. that upon this, the governor had sent one hundred and sixty-four men to strengthen the garrison of that castle, with much provision and ammunition; the ordinary garrison whereof was only one hundred and fifty men, but these made up two hundred and fourteen men, very well armed. besides this, they declared that the governor of panama had placed several ambuscades along the river of chagre; and that he waited for them in the open fields of panama with three thousand six hundred men. the taking of this castle cost the pirates excessively dear, in comparison to what they were wont to lose, and their toil and labour was greater than at the conquest of the isle of st. catherine; for, numbering their men, they had lost above a hundred, beside seventy wounded. they commanded the spanish prisoners to cast the dead bodies of their own men from the top of the mountain to the seaside, and to bury them. the wounded were carried to the church, of which they made an hospital, and where also they shut up the women. captain morgan remained not long behind at st. catherine's, after taking the castle of chagre, of which he had notice presently; but before he departed, he embarked all the provisions that could be found, with much maize, or indian wheat, and cazave, whereof also is made bread in those ports. he transported great store of provisions to the garrison of chagre, whencesoever they could be got. at a certain place they cast into the sea all the guns belonging thereto, designing to return, and leave that island well garrisoned, to the perpetual possession of the pirates; but he ordered all the houses and forts to be fired, except the castle of st. teresa, which he judged to be the strongest and securest wherein to fortify himself at his return from panama. having completed his arrangements, he took with him all the prisoners of the island, and then sailed for chagre, where he arrived in eight days. here the joy of the whole fleet was so great, when they spied the english colours on the castle, that they minded not their way into the river, so that they lost four ships at the entry thereof, captain morgan's being one; yet they saved all the men and goods. the ships, too, had been preserved, if a strong northerly wind had not risen, which cast them on the rock at the entry of the river. captain morgan was brought into the castle with great acclamations of all the pirates, both of those within, and those newly come. having heard the manner of the conquest, he commanded all the prisoners to work, and repair what was necessary, especially to set up new palisades round the forts of the castle. there were still in the river some spanish vessels, called chatten, serving for transportation of merchandise up and down the river, and to go to puerto bello and nicaragua. these commonly carry two great guns of iron, and four small ones of brass. these vessels they seized, with four little ships they found there, and all the canoes. in the castle they left a garrison of five hundred men, and in the ships in the river one hundred and fifty more. this done, captain morgan departed for panama at the head of twelve hundred men. he carried little provisions with him, hoping to provide himself sufficiently among the spaniards, whom he knew to lie in ambuscade by the way. chapter xvii _captain morgan departs from chagre, at the head of twelve hundred men, to take the city of panama._ captain morgan set forth from the castle of chagre, towards panama, august , . he had with him twelve hundred men, five boats laden with artillery, and thirty-two canoes. the first day they sailed only six leagues, and came to a place called de los bracos. here a party of his men went ashore, only to sleep and stretch their limbs, being almost crippled with lying too much crowded in the boats. having rested awhile, they went abroad to seek victuals in the neighbouring plantations; but they could find none, the spaniards being fled, and carrying with them all they had. this day, being the first of their journey, they had such scarcity of victuals, as the greatest part were forced to pass with only a pipe of tobacco, without any other refreshment. next day, about evening, they came to a place called cruz de juan gallego. here they were compelled to leave their boats and canoes, the river being very dry for want of rain, and many trees having fallen into it. the guides told them, that, about two leagues farther, the country would be very good to continue the journey by land. hereupon they left one hundred and sixty men on board the boats, to defend them, that they might serve for a refuge in necessity. next morning, being the third day, they all went ashore, except those who were to keep the boats. to these captain morgan gave order, under great penalties, that no man, on any pretext whatever, should dare to leave the boats, and go ashore; fearing lest they should be surprised by an ambuscade of spaniards in the neighbouring woods, which appeared so thick as to seem almost impenetrable. this morning beginning their march, the ways proved so bad, that captain morgan thought it more convenient to transport some of the men in canoes (though with great labour) to a place farther up the river, called cedro bueno. thus they re-embarked, and the canoes returned for the rest; so that about night they got altogether at the said place. the pirates much desired to meet some spaniards or indians, hoping to fill their bellies with their provisions, being reduced to extremity and hunger. the fourth day the greatest part of the pirates marched by land, being led by one of the guides; the rest went by water farther up, being conducted by another guide, who always went before them, to discover, on both sides the river, the ambuscades. these had also spies, who were very dextrous to give notice of all accidents, or of the arrival of the pirates, six hours, at least, before they came. this day, about noon, they came near a post called torna cavallos: here the guide of the canoes cried out, that he perceived an ambuscade. his voice caused infinite joy to all the pirates, hoping to find some provisions to satiate their extreme hunger. being come to the place, they found nobody in it, the spaniards being fled, and leaving nothing behind but a few leathern bags, all empty, and a few crumbs of bread scattered on the ground where they had eaten. being angry at this, they pulled down a few little huts which the spaniards had made, and fell to eating the leathern bags, to allay the ferment of their stomachs, which was now so sharp as to gnaw their very bowels. thus they made a huge banquet upon these bags of leather, divers quarrels arising concerning the greatest shares. by the bigness of the place, they conjectured about five hundred spaniards had been there, whom, finding no victuals, they were now infinitely desirous to meet, intending to devour some of them rather than perish. having feasted themselves with those pieces of leather, they marched on, till they came about night to another post, called torna munni. here they found another ambuscade, but as barren as the former. they searched the neighbouring woods, but could not find anything to eat, the spaniards having been so provident, as not to leave anywhere the least crumb of sustenance, whereby the pirates were now brought to this extremity. here again he was happy that had reserved since noon any bit of leather to make his supper of, drinking after it a good draught of water for his comfort. some, who never were out of their mothers' kitchens, may ask, how these pirates could eat and digest those pieces of leather, so hard and dry? whom i answer, that, could they once experiment what hunger, or rather famine, is, they would find the way as the pirates did. for these first sliced it in pieces, then they beat it between two stones, and rubbed it, often dipping it in water, to make it supple and tender. lastly, they scraped off the hair, and broiled it. being thus cooked, they cut it into small morsels, and ate it, helping it down with frequent gulps of water, which, by good fortune, they had at hand. the fifth day, about noon, they came to a place called barbacoa. here they found traces of another ambuscade, but the place totally as unprovided as the former. at a small distance were several plantations, which they searched very narrowly, but could not find any person, animal, or other thing, to relieve their extreme hunger. finally, having ranged about, and searched a long time, they found a grot, which seemed to be but lately hewn out of a rock, where were two sacks of meal, wheat, and like things, with two great jars of wine, and certain fruits called platanoes. captain morgan, knowing some of his men were now almost dead with hunger, and fearing the same of the rest, caused what was found to be distributed among them who were in greatest necessity. having refreshed themselves with these victuals, they marched anew with greater courage than ever. such as were weak were put into the canoes, and those commanded to land that were in them before. thus they prosecuted their journey till late at night; when coming to a plantation, they took up their rest, but without eating anything; for the spaniards, as before, had swept away all manner of provisions. the sixth day they continued their march, part by land and part by water. howbeit, they were constrained to rest very frequently, both for the ruggedness of the way, and their extreme weakness, which they endeavoured to relieve by eating leaves of trees and green herbs, or grass; such was their miserable condition. this day at noon they arrived at a plantation, where was a barn full of maize. immediately they beat down the doors and ate it dry, as much as they could devour; then they distributed a great quantity, giving every man a good allowance. thus provided, and prosecuting their journey for about an hour, they came to another ambuscade. this they no sooner discovered, but they threw away their maize, with the sudden hopes of finding all things in abundance. but they were much deceived, meeting neither indians nor victuals, nor anything else: but they saw, on the other side of the river, about a hundred indians, who, all fleeing, escaped. some few pirates leaped into the river to cross it, and try to take any of the indians, but in vain: for, being much more nimble than the pirates, they not only baffled them, but killed two or three with their arrows; hooting at them, and crying, "ha, perros! a la savana, a la savana."--"ha, ye dogs! go to the plain, go to the plain." this day they could advance no farther, being necessitated to pass the river, to continue their march on the other side. hereupon they reposed for that night, though their sleep was not profound; for great murmurings were made at captain morgan, and his conduct; some being desirous to return home, while others would rather die there than go back a step from their undertaking: others, who had greater courage, laughed and joked at their discourses. meanwhile, they had a guide who much comforted them, saying, "it would not now be long before they met with people from whom they should reap some considerable advantage." the seventh day, in the morning, they made clean their arms, and every one discharged his pistol, or musket, without bullet, to try their firelocks. this done, they crossed the river, leaving the post where they had rested, called santa cruz, and at noon they arrived at a village called cruz. being yet far from the place, they perceived much smoke from the chimneys: the sight hereof gave them great joy, and hopes of finding people and plenty of good cheer. thus they went on as fast as they could, encouraging one another, saying, "there is smoke comes out of every house: they are making good fires, to roast and boil what we are to eat;" and the like. at length they arrived there, all sweating and panting, but found no person in the town, nor anything eatable to refresh themselves, except good fires, which they wanted not; for the spaniards, before their departure, had every one set fire to his own house, except the king's storehouses and stables. they had not left behind them any beast, alive or dead, which much troubled their minds, not finding anything but a few cats and dogs, which they immediately killed and devoured. at last, in the king's stables, they found, by good fortune, fifteen or sixteen jars of peru wine, and a leathern sack full of bread. no sooner had they drank of this wine, when they fell sick, almost every man: this made them think the wine was poisoned, which caused a new consternation in the whole camp, judging themselves now to be irrecoverably lost. but the true reason was, their want of sustenance, and the manifold sorts of trash they had eaten. their sickness was so great, as caused them to remain there till the next morning, without being able to prosecute their journey in the afternoon. this village is seated in deg. min. north latitude, distant from the river chagre twenty-six spanish leagues, and eight from panama. this is the last place to which boats or canoes can come; for which reason they built here storehouses for all sorts of merchandise, which to and from panama are transported on the backs of mules. here captain morgan was forced to leaves his canoes, and land all his men, though never so weak; but lest the canoes should be surprised, or take up too many men for their defence, he sent them all back to the place where the boats were, except one, which he hid, that it might serve to carry intelligence. many of the spaniards and indians of this village having fled to the near plantations, captain morgan ordered that none should go out of the village, except companies of one hundred together, fearing lest the enemy should take an advantage upon his men. notwithstanding, one party contravened these orders, being tempted with the desire of victuals: but they were soon glad to fly into the town again, being assaulted with great fury by some spaniards and indians, who carried one of them away prisoner. thus the vigilancy and care of captain morgan was not sufficient to prevent every accident. the eighth day in the morning captain morgan sent two hundred men before the body of his army, to discover the way to panama, and any ambuscades therein: the path being so narrow, that only ten or twelve persons could march abreast, and often not so many. after ten hours' march they came to a place called quebrada obscura: here, all on a sudden, three or four thousand arrows were shot at them, they not perceiving whence they came, or who shot them: though they presumed it was from a high rocky mountain, from one side to the other, whereon was a grot, capable of but one horse or other beast laded. this multitude of arrows much alarmed the pirates, especially because they could not discover whence they were discharged. at last, seeing no more arrows, they marched a little farther, and entered a wood: here they perceived some indians to fly as fast as they could, to take the advantage of another post, thence to observe their march; yet there remained one troop of indians on the place, resolved to fight and defend themselves, which they did with great courage till their captain fell down wounded; who, though he despaired of life, yet his valour being greater than his strength, would ask no quarter, but, endeavouring to raise himself, with undaunted mind laid hold of his azagayo, or javelin, and struck at one of the pirates; but before he could second the blow, he was shot to death. this was also the fate of many of his companions, who, like good soldiers, lost their lives with their captain, for the defence of their country. the pirates endeavoured to take some of the indians prisoners, but they being swifter than the pirates, every one escaped, leaving eight pirates dead, and ten wounded: yea, had the indians been more dextrous in military affairs, they might have defended that passage, and not let one man pass. a little while after they came to a large champaign, open, and full of fine meadows; hence they could perceive at a distance before them some indians, on the top of a mountain, near the way by which they were to pass: they sent fifty men, the nimblest they had, to try to catch any of them, and force them to discover their companions: but all in vain; for they escaped by their nimbleness, and presently showed themselves in another place, hallooing to the english, and crying, "a la savana, a la savana, perros ingleses!" that is, "to the plain, to the plain, ye english dogs!" meanwhile the ten pirates that were wounded were dressed, and plastered up. here was a wood, and on each side a mountain. the indians possessed themselves of one, and the pirates of the other. captain morgan was persuaded the spaniards had placed an ambuscade there, it lying so conveniently: hereupon, he sent two hundred men to search it. the spaniards and indians perceiving the pirates descend the mountain, did so too, as if they designed to attack them; but being got into the wood, out of sight of the pirates, they were seen no more, leaving the passage open. about night fell a great rain, which caused the pirates to march the faster, and seek for houses to preserve their arms from being wet; but the indians had set fire to every one, and driven away all their cattle, that the pirates, finding neither houses nor victuals, might be constrained to return: but, after diligent search, they found a few shepherds' huts, but in them nothing to eat. these not holding many men, they placed in them, out of every company, a small number, who kept the arms of the rest: those who remained in the open field endured much hardship that night, the rain not ceasing till morning. next morning, about break of day, being the ninth of that tedious journey, captain morgan marched on while the fresh air of the morning lasted; for the clouds hanging yet over their heads, were much more favourable than the scorching rays of the sun, the way being now more difficult than before. after two hours' march, they discovered about twenty spaniards, who observed their motions: they endeavoured to catch some of them, but could not, they suddenly disappearing, and absconding themselves in caves among the rocks, unknown to the pirates. at last, ascending a high mountain, they discovered the south sea. this happy sight, as if it were the end of their labours, caused infinite joy among them: hence they could descry also one ship, and six boats, which were set forth from panama, and sailed towards the islands of tavoga and tavogilla: then they came to a vale where they found much cattle, whereof they killed good store: here, while some killed and flayed cows, horses, bulls, and chiefly asses, of which there were most; others kindled fires, and got wood to roast them: then cutting the flesh into convenient pieces, or gobbets, they threw them into the fire, and, half carbonaded or roasted, they devoured them, with incredible haste and appetite; such was their hunger, as they more resembled cannibals than europeans; the blood many times running down from their beards to their waists. having satisfied their hunger, captain morgan ordered them to continue the march. here, again, he sent before the main body fifty men to take some prisoners, if they could; for he was much concerned, that in nine days he could not meet one person to inform him of the condition and forces of the spaniards. about evening they discovered about two hundred spaniards, who hallooed to the pirates, but they understood not what they said. a little while after they came in sight of the highest steeple of panama: this they no sooner discovered but they showed signs of extreme joy, casting up their hats into the air, leaping and shouting, just as if they had already obtained the victory, and accomplished their designs. all their trumpets sounded, and drums beat, in token of this alacrity of their minds: thus they pitched their camp for that night, with general content of the whole army, waiting with impatience for the morning, when they intended to attack the city. this evening appeared fifty horse, who came out of the city, on the noise of the drums and trumpets, to observe, as it was thought, their motions: they came almost within musket-shot of the army, with a trumpet that sounded marvellously well. those on horseback hallooed aloud to the pirates, and threatened them, saying, "perros! nos veremos," that is, "ye dogs! we shall meet ye." having made this menace, they returned to the city, except only seven or eight horsemen, who hovered thereabouts to watch their motions. immediately after the city fired, and ceased not to play their biggest guns all night long against the camp, but with little or no harm to the pirates, whom they could not easily reach. now also the two hundred spaniards, whom the pirates had seen in the afternoon, appeared again, making a show of blocking up the passages, that no pirates might escape their hands: but the pirates, though in a manner besieged, instead of fearing their blockades, as soon as they had placed sentinels about their camp, opened their satchels, and, without any napkins or plates, fell to eating, very heartily, the pieces of bulls' and horses' flesh which they had reserved since noon. this done, they laid themselves down to sleep on the grass, with great repose and satisfaction, expecting only, with impatience, the dawning of the next day. the tenth day, betimes in the morning, they put all their men in order, and, with drums and trumpets sounding, marched directly towards the city; but one of the guides desired captain morgan not to take the common highway, lest they should find in it many ambuscades. he took his advice, and chose another way through the wood, though very irksome and difficult. the spaniards perceiving the pirates had taken another way they scarce had thought on, were compelled to leave their stops and batteries, and come out to meet them. the governor of panama put his forces in order, consisting of two squadrons, four regiments of foot, and a huge number of wild bulls, which were driven by a great number of indians, with some negroes, and others, to help them. the pirates, now upon their march, came to the top of a little hill, whence they had a large prospect of the city and champaign country underneath. here they discovered the forces of the people of panama, in battle array, to be so numerous, that they were surprised with fear, much doubting the fortune of the day: yea, few or none there were but wished themselves at home, or at least free from the obligation of that engagement, it so nearly concerning their lives. having been some time wavering in their minds, they at last reflected on the straits they had brought themselves into, and that now they must either fight resolutely, or die; for no quarter could be expected from an enemy on whom they had committed so many cruelties. hereupon they encouraged one another, resolving to conquer, or spend the last drop of blood. then they divided themselves into three battalions, sending before two hundred bucaniers, who were very dextrous at their guns. then descending the hill, they marched directly towards the spaniards, who in a spacious field waited for their coming. as soon as they drew nigh, the spaniards began to shout and cry, "viva el rey!" "god save the king!" and immediately their horse moved against the pirates: but the fields being full of quags, and soft underfoot, they could not wheel about as they desired. the two hundred bucaniers, who went before, each putting one knee to the ground, began the battle briskly, with a full volley of shot: the spaniards defended themselves courageously, doing all they could to disorder the pirates. their foot endeavoured to second the horse, but were constrained by the pirates to leave them. finding themselves baffled, they attempted to drive the bulls against them behind, to put them into disorder; but the wild cattle ran away, frighted with the noise of the battle; only some few broke through the english companies, and only tore the colours in pieces, while the bucaniers shot every one of them dead. the battle having continued two hours, the greatest part of the spanish horse was ruined, and almost all killed: the rest fled, which the foot seeing, and that they could not possibly prevail, they discharged the shot they had in their muskets, and throwing them down, fled away, every one as he could. the pirates could not follow them, being too much harassed and wearied with their long journey. many, not being able to fly whither they desired, hid themselves, for that present, among the shrubs of the sea-side, but very unfortunately; for most of them being found by the pirates, were instantly killed, without any quarter. some religious men were brought prisoners before captain morgan; but he, being deaf to their cries, commanded them all to be pistolled, which was done. soon after they brought a captain to him, whom he examined very strictly; particularly, wherein consisted the forces of those of panama? he answered, their whole strength consisted in four hundred horse, twenty-four companies of foot, each of one hundred men complete; sixty indians, and some negroes, who were to drive two thousand wild bulls upon the english, and thus, by breaking their files, put them into a total disorder: beside, that in the city they had made trenches, and raised batteries in several places, in all which they had placed many guns; and that at the entry of the highway, leading to the city, they had built a fort mounted with eight great brass guns, defended by fifty men. captain morgan having heard this, gave orders instantly to march another way; but first he made a review of his men, whereof he found both killed and wounded a considerable number, and much greater than had been believed. of the spaniards were found six hundred dead on the place, besides the wounded and prisoners. the pirates, nothing discouraged, seeing their number so diminished, but rather filled with greater pride, perceiving what huge advantage they had obtained against their enemies, having rested some time, prepared to march courageously towards the city, plighting their oaths to one another, that they would fight till not a man was left alive. with this courage they recommenced their march, either to conquer or be conquered; carrying with them all the prisoners. they found much difficulty in their approach to the city, for within the town the spaniards had placed many great guns, at several quarters, some charged with small pieces of iron, and others with musket bullets; with all these they saluted the pirates at their approaching, and gave them full and frequent broadsides, firing at them incessantly; so that unavoidably they lost at every step great numbers of men. but these manifest dangers of their lives, nor the sight of so many as dropped continually at their sides, could deter them from advancing, and gaining ground every moment on the enemy; and though the spaniards never ceased to fire, and act the best they could for their defence, yet they were forced to yield, after three hours' combat. and the pirates having possessed themselves, killed and destroyed all that attempted in the least to oppose them. the inhabitants had transported the best of their goods to more remote and occult places; howbeit, they found in the city several warehouses well stocked with merchandise, as well silks and cloths, as linen and other things of value. as soon as the first fury of their entrance was over, captain morgan assembled his men, and commanded them, under great penalties, not to drink or taste any wine; and the reason he gave for it was, because he had intelligence that it was all poisoned by the spaniards. howbeit, it was thought he gave these prudent orders to prevent the debauchery of his people, which he foresaw would be very great at the first, after so much hunger sustained by the way; fearing, withal, lest the spaniards, seeing them in wine, should rally, and, falling on the city, use them as inhumanly as they had used the inhabitants before. chapter xviii _captain morgan sends canoes and boats to the south sea--he fires the city of panama--robberies and cruelties committed there by the pirates, till their return to the castle of chagre._ captain morgan, as soon as he had placed necessary guards at several quarters within and without the city, commanded twenty-five men to seize a great boat, which had stuck in the mud of the port, for want of water, at a low tide. the same day about noon, he caused fire privately to be set to several great edifices of the city, nobody knowing who were the authors thereof, much less on what motives captain morgan did it, which are unknown to this day: the fire increased so, that before night the greatest part of the city was in a flame. captain morgan pretended the spaniards had done it, perceiving that his own people reflected on him for that action. many of the spaniards, and some of the pirates, did what they could, either to quench the flame, or, by blowing up houses with gunpowder, and pulling down others, to stop it, but in vain: for in less than half an hour it consumed a whole street. all the houses of the city were built with cedar, very curious and magnificent, and richly adorned, especially with hangings and paintings, whereof part were before removed, and another great part were consumed by fire. there were in this city (which is the see of a bishop) eight monasteries, seven for men, and one for women; two stately churches, and one hospital. the churches and monasteries were all richly adorned with altar-pieces and paintings, much gold and silver, and other precious things, all which the ecclesiastics had hidden. besides which, here were two thousand houses of magnificent building, the greatest part inhabited by merchants vastly rich. for the rest of less quality, and tradesmen, this city contained five thousand more. here were also many stables for the horses and mules that carry the plate of the king of spain, as well as private men, towards the north sea. the neighbouring fields are full of fertile plantations and pleasant gardens, affording delicious prospects to the inhabitants all the year. [illustration: "'morgan re-entered the city with his troops'"--_page _] the genoese had in this city a stately house for their trade of negroes. this likewise was by captain morgan burnt to the very ground. besides which building, there were consumed two hundred warehouses, and many slaves, who had hid themselves therein, with innumerable sacks of meal; the fire of which continued four weeks after it had begun. the greatest part of the pirates still encamped without the city, fearing and expecting the spaniards would come and fight them anew, it being known they much outnumbered the pirates. this made them keep the field, to preserve their forces united, now much diminished by their losses. their wounded, which were many, they put into one church, which remained standing, the rest being consumed by the fire. besides these decreases of their men, captain morgan had sent a convoy of one hundred and fifty men to the castle of chagre, to carry the news of his victory at panama. they saw often whole troops of spaniards run to and fro in the fields, which made them suspect their rallying, which they never had the courage to do. in the afternoon captain morgan re-entered the city with his troops, that every one might take up their lodgings, which now they could hardly find, few houses having escaped the fire. then they sought very carefully among the ruins and ashes, for utensils of plate or gold, that were not quite wasted by the flames: and of such they found no small number, especially in wells and cisterns, where the spaniards had hid them. next day captain morgan dispatched away two troops, of one hundred and fifty men each, stout and well armed, to seek for the inhabitants who were escaped. these having made several excursions up and down the fields, woods, and mountains adjacent, returned after two days, bringing above two hundred prisoners, men, women, and slaves. the same day returned also the boat which captain morgan had sent to the south sea, bringing three other boats which they had taken. but all these prizes they could willingly have given, and greater labour into the bargain, for one galleon, which miraculously escaped, richly laden with all the king's plate, jewels, and other precious goods of the best and richest merchants of panama: on board which were also the religious women of the nunnery, who had embarked with them all the ornaments of their church, consisting in much gold, plate, and other things of great value. the strength of this galleon was inconsiderable, having only seven guns, and ten or twelve muskets, and very ill provided with victuals, necessaries, and fresh water, having no more sails than the uppermost of the mainmast. this account the pirates received from some one who had spoken with seven mariners belonging to the galleon, who came ashore in the cockboat for fresh water. hence they concluded they might easily have taken it, had they given her chase, as they should have done; but they were impeded from following this vastly rich prize, by their gluttony and drunkenness, having plentifully debauched themselves with several rich wines they found ready, choosing rather to satiate their appetites than to lay hold on such huge advantage; since this only prize would have been of far greater value than all they got at panama, and the places thereabout. next day, repenting of their negligence, being weary of their vices and debaucheries, they set forth another boat, well armed, to pursue with all speed the said galleon; but in vain, the spaniards who were on board having had intelligence of their own danger one or two days before, while the pirates were cruising so near them; whereupon they fled to places more remote and unknown. the pirates found, in the ports of the island of tavoga and tavogilla, several boats laden with very good merchandise; all which they took, and brought to panama, where they made an exact relation of all that had passed to captain morgan. the prisoners confirmed what the pirates said, adding, that they undoubtedly knew where the galleon might then be, but that it was very probable they had been relieved before now from other places. this stirred up captain morgan anew, to send forth all the boats in the port of panama to seek the said galleon till they could find her. these boats, being in all four, after eight days' cruising to and fro, and searching several ports and creeks, lost all hopes of finding her: hereupon they returned to tavoga and tavogilla; here they found a reasonable good ship newly come from payta, laden with cloth, soap, sugar, and biscuit, with , pieces of eight; this they instantly seized, without the least resistance; as also a boat which was not far off, on which they laded great part of the merchandises from the ship, with some slaves. with this purchase they returned to panama, somewhat better satisfied; yet, withal, much discontented that they could not meet with the galleon. the convoy which captain morgan had sent to the castle of chagre returned much about the same time, bringing with them very good news; for while captain morgan was on his journey to panama, those he had left in the castle of chagre had sent for two boats to cruise. these met with a spanish ship, which they chased within sight of the castle. this being perceived by the pirates in the castle, they put forth spanish colours, to deceive the ship that fled before the boats; and the poor spaniards, thinking to take refuge under the castle, were caught in a snare, and made prisoners. the cargo on board the said vessel consisted in victuals and provisions, than which nothing could be more opportune for the castle, where they began already to want things of this kind. this good luck of those of chagre caused captain morgan to stay longer at panama, ordering several new excursions into the country round about; and while the pirates at panama were upon these expeditions, those at chagre were busy in piracies on the north sea. captain morgan sent forth, daily, parties of two hundred men, to make inroads into all the country round about; and when one party came back, another went forth, who soon gathered much riches, and many prisoners. these being brought into the city, were put to the most exquisite tortures, to make them confess both other people's goods and their own. here it happened that one poor wretch was found in the house of a person of quality, who had put on, amidst the confusion, a pair of taffety breeches of his master's, with a little silver key hanging out; perceiving which, they asked him for the cabinet of the said key. his answer was, he knew not what was become of it, but that finding those breeches in his master's house, he had made bold to wear them. not being able to get any other answer, they put him on the rack, and inhumanly disjointed his arms; then they twisted a cord about his forehead, which they wrung so hard that his eyes appeared as big as eggs, and were ready to fall out. but with these torments not obtaining any positive answer, they hung him up by the wrists, giving him many blows and stripes under that intolerable pain and posture of body. afterwards they cut off his nose and ears, and singed his face with burning straw, till he could not speak, nor lament his misery any longer: then, losing all hopes of any confession, they bade a negro run him through, which put an end to his life, and to their inhuman tortures. thus did many others of those miserable prisoners finish their days, the common sport and recreation of these pirates being such tragedies. captain morgan having now been at panama full three weeks, commanded all things to be prepared for his departure. he ordered every company of men to seek so many beasts of carriage as might convey the spoil to the river where his canoes lay. about this time there was a great rumour, that a considerable number of pirates intended to leave captain morgan; and that, taking a ship then in port, they determined to go and rob on the south sea, till they had got as much as they thought fit, and then return homewards, by way of the east indies. for which purpose they had gathered much provisions, which they had hid in private places, with sufficient powder, bullets, and all other ammunition: likewise some great guns belonging to the town, muskets, and other things, wherewith they designed not only to equip their vessel, but to fortify themselves in some island which might serve them for a place of refuge. this design had certainly taken effect, had not captain morgan had timely advice of it from one of their comrades: hereupon he commanded the mainmast of the said ship to be cut down and burnt, with all the other boats in the port: hereby the intentions of all or most of his companions were totally frustrated. then captain morgan sent many of the spaniards into the adjoining fields and country to seek for money, to ransom not only themselves, but the rest of the prisoners, as likewise the ecclesiastics. moreover, he commanded all the artillery of the town to be nailed and stopped up. at the same time he sent out a strong company of men to seek for the governor of panama, of whom intelligence was brought, that he had laid several ambuscades in the way by which he ought to return: but they returned soon after, saying they had not found any sign of any such ambuscades. for confirmation whereof, they brought some prisoners, who declared that the said governor had had an intention of making some opposition by the way, but that the men designed to effect it were unwilling to undertake it: so that for want of means he could not put his design in execution. february , , captain morgan departed from panama, or rather from the place where the city of panama stood; of the spoils whereof he carried with him one hundred and seventy-five beasts of carriage, laden with silver, gold, and other precious things, beside about six hundred prisoners, men, women, children and slaves. that day they came to a river that passes through a delicious plain, a league from panama: here captain morgan put all his forces into good order, so as that the prisoners were in the middle, surrounded on all sides with pirates, where nothing else was to be heard but lamentations, cries, shrieks, and doleful sighs of so many women and children, who feared captain morgan designed to transport them all into his own country for slaves. besides, all those miserable prisoners endured extreme hunger and thirst at that time, which misery captain morgan designedly caused them to sustain, to excite them to seek for money to ransom themselves, according to the tax he had set upon every one. many of the women begged captain morgan, on their knees, with infinite sighs and tears, to let them return to panama, there to live with their dear husbands and children in little huts of straw, which they would erect, seeing they had no houses till the rebuilding of the city. but his answer was, "he came not thither to hear lamentations and cries, but to seek money: therefore they ought first to seek out that, wherever it was to be had, and bring it to him; otherwise he would assuredly transport them all to such places whither they cared not to go." next day, when the march began, those lamentable cries and shrieks were renewed, so as it would have caused compassion in the hardest heart: but captain morgan, as a man little given to mercy, was not moved in the least. they marched in the same order as before, one party of the pirates in the van, the prisoners in the middle, and the rest of the pirates in the rear; by whom the miserable spaniards were at every step punched and thrust in their backs and sides, with the blunt ends of their arms, to make them march faster. a beautiful lady, wife to one of the richest merchants of tavoga, was led prisoner by herself, between two pirates. her lamentations pierced the skies, seeing herself carried away into captivity often crying to the pirates, and telling them, "that she had given orders to two religious persons, in whom she had relied, to go to a certain place, and fetch so much money as her ransom did amount to; that they had promised faithfully to do it, but having obtained the money, instead of bringing it to her, they had employed it another way, to ransom some of their own, and particular friends." this ill action of theirs was discovered by a slave, who brought a letter to the said lady. her complaints, and the cause thereof, being brought to captain morgan, he thought fit to inquire thereinto. having found it to be true--especially hearing it confirmed by the confession of the said religious men, though under some frivolous exercises of having diverted the money but for a day or two, in which time they expected more sums to repay it--he gave liberty to the said lady, whom otherwise he designed to transport to jamaica. but he detained the said religious men as prisoners in her place, using them according to their deserts. captain morgan arriving at the town called cruz, on the banks of the river chagre, he published an order among the prisoners, that within three days every one should bring in their ransom, under the penalty of being transported to jamaica. meanwhile he gave orders for so much rice and maize to be collected thereabouts, as was necessary for victualling his ships. here some of the prisoners were ransomed, but many others could not bring in their money. hereupon he continued his voyage, leaving the village on the th of march following, carrying with him all the spoil he could. hence he likewise led away some new prisoners, inhabitants there, with those in panama, who had not paid their ransoms. but the two religious men, who had diverted the lady's money, were ransomed three days after by other persons, who had more compassion for them than they had showed for her. about the middle of the way to chagre, captain morgan commanded them to be mustered, and caused every one to be sworn, that they had concealed nothing, even not to the value of sixpence. this done, captain morgan knowing those lewd fellows would not stick to swear falsely for interest, he commanded every one to be searched very strictly, both in their clothes and satchels, and elsewhere. yea, that this order might not be ill taken by his companions, he permitted himself to be searched, even to his very shoes. to this effect, by common consent, one was assigned out of every company to be searchers of the rest. the french pirates that assisted on this expedition disliked this new practice of searching; but, being outnumbered by the english, they were forced to submit as well as the rest. the search being over, they re-embarked, and arrived at the castle of chagre on the th of march. here they found all things in good order, excepting the wounded men whom they had left at their departure; for of these the greatest number were dead of their wounds. from chagre, captain morgan sent, presently after his arrival, a great boat to puerto bello, with all the prisoners taken at the isle of st. catherine, demanding of them a considerable ransom for the castle of chagre, where he then was; threatening otherwise to ruin it. to this those of puerto bello answered, they would not give one farthing towards the ransom of the said castle, and the english might do with it as they pleased. hereupon the dividend was made of all the spoil made in that voyage; every company, and every particular person therein, receiving their proportion, or rather what part thereof captain morgan pleased to give them. for the rest of his companions, even of his own nation, murmured at his proceedings, and told him to his face that he had reserved the best jewels to himself: for they judged it impossible that no greater share should belong to them than two hundred pieces of eight, per capita, of so many valuable plunders they had made; which small sum they thought too little for so much labour, and such dangers, as they had been exposed to. but captain morgan was deaf to all this, and many other like complaints, having designed to cheat them of what he could. at last, finding himself obnoxious to many censures of his people, and fearing the consequence, he thought it unsafe to stay any longer at chagre, but ordered the ordnance of the castle to be carried on board his ship; then he caused most of the walls to be demolished, the edifices to be burnt, and as many other things ruined as could be done in a short time. this done, he went secretly on board his own ship, without giving any notice to his companions, and put out to sea, being only followed by three or four vessels of the whole fleet. these were such (as the french pirates believed) as went shares with captain morgan in the best part of the spoil, which had been concealed from them in the dividend. the frenchmen could willingly have revenged themselves on captain morgan and his followers, had they been able to encounter him at sea; but they were destitute of necessaries, and had much ado to find sufficient provisions for their voyage to jamaica, he having left them unprovided for all things. the end * * * * * transcriber's notes: obvious punctuation errors were corrected. this text uses both main-mast and mainmast; french-man and frenchman; sea-side and seaside; such-like and suchlike. page xiii, "robinsoe" changed to "robinson" (robinson crusoe) page xx, "west-indies" was removed from the italics to match rest of usage (dominions of the_ west-indies) page xxi, "soudiers" changed to "souldiers" (either souldiers or) page xxi, "fortifie" moved into italics to match rest of usage (_both fortifie themselves) page , "of" changed to "or" (or china root) page , "chief" changed to "chiefs" (of the chiefs) page , "fish" changed to "flesh" (eat human flesh) page , "el" changed to "el" (of el puerto del) page , "then" changed to "than" (courage than ever) the history of mary prince, a west indian slave. related by herself. with a supplement by the editor. to which is added, the narrative of asa-asa, a captured african. "by our sufferings, since ye brought us to the man-degrading mart,-- all sustain'd by patience, taught us only by a broken heart,-- deem our nation brutes no longer, till some reason ye shall find worthier of regard, and stronger than the colour of our kind." cowper. london: published by f. westley and a. h. davis, stationers' hall court; and by waugh & innes, edinburgh. . preface. the idea of writing mary prince's history was first suggested by herself. she wished it to be done, she said, that good people in england might hear from a slave what a slave had felt and suffered; and a letter of her late master's, which will be found in the supplement, induced me to accede to her wish without farther delay. the more immediate object of the publication will afterwards appear. the narrative was taken down from mary's own lips by a lady who happened to be at the time residing in my family as a visitor. it was written out fully, with all the narrator's repetitions and prolixities, and afterwards pruned into its present shape; retaining, as far as was practicable, mary's exact expressions and peculiar phraseology. no fact of importance has been omitted, and not a single circumstance or sentiment has been added. it is essentially her own, without any material alteration farther than was requisite to exclude redundancies and gross grammatical errors, so as to render it clearly intelligible. after it had been thus written out, i went over the whole, carefully examining her on every fact and circumstance detailed; and in all that relates to her residence in antigua i had the advantage of being assisted in this scrutiny by mr. joseph phillips, who was a resident in that colony during the same period, and had known her there. the names of all the persons mentioned by the narrator have been printed in full, except those of capt. i---- and his wife, and that of mr. d----, to whom conduct of peculiar atrocity is ascribed. these three individuals are now gone to answer at a far more awful tribunal than that of public opinion, for the deeds of which their former bondwoman accuses them; and to hold them up more openly to human reprobation could no longer affect themselves, while it might deeply lacerate the feelings of their surviving and perhaps innocent relatives, without any commensurate public advantage. without detaining the reader with remarks on other points which will be adverted to more conveniently in the supplement, i shall here merely notice farther, that the anti-slavery society have no concern whatever with this publication, nor are they in any degree responsible for the statements it contains. i have published the tract, not as their secretary, but in my private capacity; and any profits that may arise from the sale will be exclusively appropriated to the benefit of mary prince herself. tho. pringle. _ , solly terrace, claremont square_, _january , ._ p. s. since writing the above, i have been furnished by my friend mr. george stephen, with the interesting narrative of asa-asa, a captured african, now under his protection; and have printed it as a suitable appendix to this little history. t. p. the history of mary prince, a west indian slave. (related by herself.) i was born at brackish-pond, in bermuda, on a farm belonging to mr. charles myners. my mother was a household slave; and my father, whose name was prince, was a sawyer belonging to mr. trimmingham, a ship-builder at crow-lane. when i was an infant, old mr. myners died, and there was a division of the slaves and other property among the family. i was bought along with my mother by old captain darrel, and given to his grandchild, little miss betsey williams. captain williams, mr. darrel's son-in-law, was master of a vessel which traded to several places in america and the west indies, and he was seldom at home long together. mrs. williams was a kind-hearted good woman, and she treated all her slaves well. she had only one daughter, miss betsey, for whom i was purchased, and who was about my own age. i was made quite a pet of by miss betsey, and loved her very much. she used to lead me about by the hand, and call me her little nigger. this was the happiest period of my life; for i was too young to understand rightly my condition as a slave, and too thoughtless and full of spirits to look forward to the days of toil and sorrow. my mother was a household slave in the same family. i was under her own care, and my little brothers and sisters were my play-fellows and companions. my mother had several fine children after she came to mrs. williams,--three girls and two boys. the tasks given out to us children were light, and we used to play together with miss betsey, with as much freedom almost as if she had been our sister. my master, however, was a very harsh, selfish man; and we always dreaded his return from sea. his wife was herself much afraid of him; and, during his stay at home, seldom dared to shew her usual kindness to the slaves. he often left her, in the most distressed circumstances, to reside in other female society, at some place in the west indies of which i have forgot the name. my poor mistress bore his ill-treatment with great patience, and all her slaves loved and pitied her. i was truly attached to her, and, next to my own mother, loved her better than any creature in the world. my obedience to her commands was cheerfully given: it sprung solely from the affection i felt for her, and not from fear of the power which the white people's law had given her over me. i had scarcely reached my twelfth year when my mistress became too poor to keep so many of us at home; and she hired me out to mrs. pruden, a lady who lived about five miles off, in the adjoining parish, in a large house near the sea. i cried bitterly at parting with my dear mistress and miss betsey, and when i kissed my mother and brothers and sisters, i thought my young heart would break, it pained me so. but there was no help; i was forced to go. good mrs. williams comforted me by saying that i should still be near the home i was about to quit, and might come over and see her and my kindred whenever i could obtain leave of absence from mrs. pruden. a few hours after this i was taken to a strange house, and found myself among strange people. this separation seemed a sore trial to me then; but oh! 'twas light, light to the trials i have since endured!--'twas nothing--nothing to be mentioned with them; but i was a child then, and it was according to my strength. i knew that mrs. williams could no longer maintain me; that she was fain to part with me for my food and clothing; and i tried to submit myself to the change. my new mistress was a passionate woman; but yet she did not treat me very unkindly. i do not remember her striking me but once, and that was for going to see mrs. williams when i heard she was sick, and staying longer than she had given me leave to do. all my employment at this time was nursing a sweet baby, little master daniel; and i grew so fond of my nursling that it was my greatest delight to walk out with him by the sea-shore, accompanied by his brother and sister, miss fanny and master james.--dear miss fanny! she was a sweet, kind young lady, and so fond of me that she wished me to learn all that she knew herself; and her method of teaching me was as follows:--directly she had said her lessons to her grandmamma, she used to come running to me, and make me repeat them one by one after her; and in a few months i was able not only to say my letters but to spell many small words. but this happy state was not to last long. those days were too pleasant to last. my heart always softens when i think of them. at this time mrs. williams died. i was told suddenly of her death, and my grief was so great that, forgetting i had the baby in my arms, i ran away directly to my poor mistress's house; but reached it only in time to see the corpse carried out. oh, that was a day of sorrow,--a heavy day! all the slaves cried. my mother cried and lamented her sore; and i (foolish creature!) vainly entreated them to bring my dear mistress back to life. i knew nothing rightly about death then, and it seemed a hard thing to bear. when i thought about my mistress i felt as if the world was all gone wrong; and for many days and weeks i could think of nothing else. i returned to mrs. pruden's; but my sorrow was too great to be comforted, for my own dear mistress was always in my mind. whether in the house or abroad, my thoughts were always talking to me about her. i staid at mrs. pruden's about three months after this; i was then sent back to mr. williams to be sold. oh, that was a sad sad time! i recollect the day well. mrs. pruden came to me and said, "mary, you will have to go home directly; your master is going to be married, and he means to sell you and two of your sisters to raise money for the wedding." hearing this i burst out a crying,--though i was then far from being sensible of the full weight of my misfortune, or of the misery that waited for me. besides, i did not like to leave mrs. pruden, and the dear baby, who had grown very fond of me. for some time i could scarcely believe that mrs. pruden was in earnest, till i received orders for my immediate return.--dear miss fanny! how she cried at parting with me, whilst i kissed and hugged the baby, thinking i should never see him again. i left mrs. pruden's, and walked home with a heart full of sorrow. the idea of being sold away from my mother and miss betsey was so frightful, that i dared not trust myself to think about it. we had been bought of mr. myners, as i have mentioned, by miss betsey's grandfather, and given to her, so that we were by right _her_ property, and i never thought we should be separated or sold away from her. when i reached the house, i went in directly to miss betsey. i found her in great distress; and she cried out as soon as she saw me, "oh, mary! my father is going to sell you all to raise money to marry that wicked woman. you are _my_ slaves, and he has no right to sell you; but it is all to please her." she then told me that my mother was living with her father's sister at a house close by, and i went there to see her. it was a sorrowful meeting; and we lamented with a great and sore crying our unfortunate situation. "here comes one of my poor picaninnies!" she said, the moment i came in, "one of the poor slave-brood who are to be sold to-morrow." oh dear! i cannot bear to think of that day,--it is too much.--it recalls the great grief that filled my heart, and the woeful thoughts that passed to and fro through my mind, whilst listening to the pitiful words of my poor mother, weeping for the loss of her children. i wish i could find words to tell you all i then felt and suffered. the great god above alone knows the thoughts of the poor slave's heart, and the bitter pains which follow such separations as these. all that we love taken away from us--oh, it is sad, sad! and sore to be borne!--i got no sleep that night for thinking of the morrow; and dear miss betsey was scarcely less distressed. she could not bear to part with her old playmates, and she cried sore and would not be pacified. the black morning at length came; it came too soon for my poor mother and us. whilst she was putting on us the new osnaburgs in which we were to be sold, she said, in a sorrowful voice, (i shall never forget it!) "see, i am _shrouding_ my poor children; what a task for a mother!"--she then called miss betsey to take leave of us. "i am going to carry my little chickens to market," (these were her very words,) "take your last look of them; may be you will see them no more." "oh, my poor slaves! my own slaves!" said dear miss betsey, "you belong to me; and it grieves my heart to part with you."--miss betsey kissed us all, and, when she left us, my mother called the rest of the slaves to bid us good bye. one of them, a woman named moll, came with her infant in her arms. "ay!" said my mother, seeing her turn away and look at her child with the tears in her eyes, "your turn will come next." the slaves could say nothing to comfort us; they could only weep and lament with us. when i left my dear little brothers and the house in which i had been brought up, i thought my heart would burst. our mother, weeping as she went, called me away with the children hannah and dinah, and we took the road that led to hamble town, which we reached about four o'clock in the afternoon. we followed my mother to the market-place, where she placed us in a row against a large house, with our backs to the wall and our arms folded across our breasts. i, as the eldest, stood first, hannah next to me, then dinah; and our mother stood beside, crying over us. my heart throbbed with grief and terror so violently, that i pressed my hands quite tightly across my breast, but i could not keep it still, and it continued to leap as though it would burst out of my body. but who cared for that? did one of the many by-standers, who were looking at us so carelessly, think of the pain that wrung the hearts of the negro woman and her young ones? no, no! they were not all bad, i dare say; but slavery hardens white people's hearts towards the blacks; and many of them were not slow to make their remarks upon us aloud, without regard to our grief--though their light words fell like cayenne on the fresh wounds of our hearts. oh those white people have small hearts who can only feel for themselves. at length the vendue master, who was to offer us for sale like sheep or cattle, arrived, and asked my mother which was the eldest. she said nothing, but pointed to me. he took me by the hand, and led me out into the middle of the street, and, turning me slowly round, exposed me to the view of those who attended the vendue. i was soon surrounded by strange men, who examined and handled me in the same manner that a butcher would a calf or a lamb he was about to purchase, and who talked about my shape and size in like words--as if i could no more understand their meaning than the dumb beasts. i was then put up to sale. the bidding commenced at a few pounds, and gradually rose to fifty-seven,[ ] when i was knocked down to the highest bidder; and the people who stood by said that i had fetched a great sum for so young a slave. [footnote : bermuda currency; about £ sterling.] i then saw my sisters led forth, and sold to different owners; so that we had not the sad satisfaction of being partners in bondage. when the sale was over, my mother hugged and kissed us, and mourned over us, begging of us to keep up a good heart, and do our duty to our new masters. it was a sad parting; one went one way, one another, and our poor mammy went home with nothing.[ ] [footnote : let the reader compare the above affecting account, taken down from the mouth of this negro woman, with the following description of a vendue of slaves at the cape of good hope, published by me in , from the letter of a friend,--and mark their similarity in several characteristic circumstances. the resemblance is easily accounted for: slavery wherever it prevails produces similar effects.--"having heard that there was to be a sale of cattle, farm stock, &c. by auction, at a veld-cornet's in the vicinity, we halted our waggon one day for the purpose of procuring a fresh spann of oxen. among the stock of the farm sold, was a female slave and her three children. the two eldest children were girls, the one about thirteen years of age, and the other about eleven; the youngest was a boy. the whole family were exhibited together, but they were sold separately, and to different purchasers. the farmers examined them as if they had been so many head of cattle. while the sale was going on, the mother and her children were exhibited on a table, that they might be seen by the company, which was very large. there could not have been a finer subject for an able painter than this unhappy group. the tears, the anxiety, the anguish of the mother, while she met the gaze of the multitude, eyed the different countenances of the bidders, or cast a heart-rending look upon the children; and the simplicity and touching sorrow of the young ones, while they clung to their distracted parent, wiping their eyes, and half concealing their faces,--contrasted with the marked insensibility and jocular countenances of the spectators and purchasers,--furnished a striking commentary on the miseries of slavery, and its debasing effects upon the hearts of its abettors. while the woman was in this distressed situation she was asked, 'can you feed sheep?' her reply was so indistinct that it escaped me; but it was probably in the negative, for her purchaser rejoined, in a loud and harsh voice, 'then i will teach you with the sjamboc,' (a whip made of the rhinoceros' hide.) the mother and her three children were sold to three separate purchasers; and they were literally torn from each other."--_ed._] my new master was a captain i----, who lived at spanish point. after parting with my mother and sisters, i followed him to his store, and he gave me into the charge of his son, a lad about my own age, master benjy, who took me to my new home. i did not know where i was going, or what my new master would do with me. my heart was quite broken with grief, and my thoughts went back continually to those from whom i had been so suddenly parted. "oh, my mother! my mother!" i kept saying to myself, "oh, my mammy and my sisters and my brothers, shall i never see you again!" oh, the trials! the trials! they make the salt water come into my eyes when i think of the days in which i was afflicted--the times that are gone; when i mourned and grieved with a young heart for those whom i loved. it was night when i reached my new home. the house was large, and built at the bottom of a very high hill; but i could not see much of it that night. i saw too much of it afterwards. the stones and the timber were the best things in it; they were not so hard as the hearts of the owners.[ ] [footnote : these strong expressions, and all of a similar character in this little narrative, are given verbatim as uttered by mary prince.--_ed._] before i entered the house, two slave women, hired from another owner, who were at work in the yard, spoke to me, and asked who i belonged to? i replied, "i am come to live here." "poor child, poor child!" they both said; "you must keep a good heart, if you are to live here."--when i went in, i stood up crying in a corner. mrs. i---- came and took off my hat, a little black silk hat miss pruden made for me, and said in a rough voice, "you are not come here to stand up in corners and cry, you are come here to work." she then put a child into my arms, and, tired as i was, i was forced instantly to take up my old occupation of a nurse.--i could not bear to look at my mistress, her countenance was so stern. she was a stout tall woman with a very dark complexion, and her brows were always drawn together into a frown. i thought of the words of the two slave women when i saw mrs. i----, and heard the harsh sound of her voice. the person i took the most notice of that night was a french black called hetty, whom my master took in privateering from another vessel, and made his slave. she was the most active woman i ever saw, and she was tasked to her utmost. a few minutes after my arrival she came in from milking the cows, and put the sweet-potatoes on for supper. she then fetched home the sheep, and penned them in the fold; drove home the cattle, and staked them about the pond side;[ ] fed and rubbed down my master's horse, and gave the hog and the fed cow[ ] their suppers; prepared the beds, and undressed the children, and laid them to sleep. i liked to look at her and watch all her doings, for hers was the only friendly face i had as yet seen, and i felt glad that she was there. she gave me my supper of potatoes and milk, and a blanket to sleep upon, which she spread for me in the passage before the door of mrs. i----'s chamber. [footnote : the cattle on a small plantation in bermuda are, it seems, often thus staked or tethered, both night and day, in situations where grass abounds.] [footnote : a cow fed for slaughter.] i got a sad fright, that night. i was just going to sleep, when i heard a noise in my mistress's room; and she presently called out to inquire if some work was finished that she had ordered hetty to do. "no, ma'am, not yet," was hetty's answer from below. on hearing this, my master started up from his bed, and just as he was, in his shirt, ran down stairs with a long cow-skin[ ] in his hand. i heard immediately after, the cracking of the thong, and the house rang to the shrieks of poor hetty, who kept crying out, "oh, massa! massa! me dead. massa! have mercy upon me--don't kill me outright."--this was a sad beginning for me. i sat up upon my blanket, trembling with terror, like a frightened hound, and thinking that my turn would come next. at length the house became still, and i forgot for a little while all my sorrows by falling fast asleep. [footnote : a thong of hard twisted hide, known by this name in the west indies.] the next morning my mistress set about instructing me in my tasks. she taught me to do all sorts of household work; to wash and bake, pick cotton and wool, and wash floors, and cook. and she taught me (how can i ever forget it!) more things than these; she caused me to know the exact difference between the smart of the rope, the cart-whip, and the cow-skin, when applied to my naked body by her own cruel hand. and there was scarcely any punishment more dreadful than the blows i received on my face and head from her hard heavy fist. she was a fearful woman, and a savage mistress to her slaves. there were two little slave boys in the house, on whom she vented her bad temper in a special manner. one of these children was a mulatto, called cyrus, who had been bought while an infant in his mother's arms; the other, jack, was an african from the coast of guinea, whom a sailor had given or sold to my master. seldom a day passed without these boys receiving the most severe treatment, and often for no fault at all. both my master and mistress seemed to think that they had a right to ill-use them at their pleasure; and very often accompanied their commands with blows, whether the children were behaving well or ill. i have seen their flesh ragged and raw with licks.--lick--lick--they were never secure one moment from a blow, and their lives were passed in continual fear. my mistress was not contented with using the whip, but often pinched their cheeks and arms in the most cruel manner. my pity for these poor boys was soon transferred to myself; for i was licked, and flogged, and pinched by her pitiless fingers in the neck and arms, exactly as they were. to strip me naked--to hang me up by the wrists and lay my flesh open with the cow-skin, was an ordinary punishment for even a slight offence. my mistress often robbed me too of the hours that belong to sleep. she used to sit up very late, frequently even until morning; and i had then to stand at a bench and wash during the greater part of the night, or pick wool and cotton; and often i have dropped down overcome by sleep and fatigue, till roused from a state of stupor by the whip, and forced to start up to my tasks. poor hetty, my fellow slave, was very kind to me, and i used to call her my aunt; but she led a most miserable life, and her death was hastened (at least the slaves all believed and said so,) by the dreadful chastisement she received from my master during her pregnancy. it happened as follows. one of the cows had dragged the rope away from the stake to which hetty had fastened it, and got loose. my master flew into a terrible passion, and ordered the poor creature to be stripped quite naked, notwithstanding her pregnancy, and to be tied up to a tree in the yard. he then flogged her as hard as he could lick, both with the whip and cow-skin, till she was all over streaming with blood. he rested, and then beat her again and again. her shrieks were terrible. the consequence was that poor hetty was brought to bed before her time, and was delivered after severe labour of a dead child. she appeared to recover after her confinement, so far that she was repeatedly flogged by both master and mistress afterwards; but her former strength never returned to her. ere long her body and limbs swelled to a great size; and she lay on a mat in the kitchen, till the water burst out of her body and she died. all the slaves said that death was a good thing for poor hetty; but i cried very much for her death. the manner of it filled me with horror. i could not bear to think about it; yet it was always present to my mind for many a day. after hetty died all her labours fell upon me, in addition to my own. i had now to milk eleven cows every morning before sunrise, sitting among the damp weeds; to take care of the cattle as well as the children; and to do the work of the house. there was no end to my toils--no end to my blows. i lay down at night and rose up in the morning in fear and sorrow; and often wished that like poor hetty i could escape from this cruel bondage and be at rest in the grave. but the hand of that god whom then i knew not, was stretched over me; and i was mercifully preserved for better things. it was then, however, my heavy lot to weep, weep, weep, and that for years; to pass from one misery to another, and from one cruel master to a worse. but i must go on with the thread of my story. one day a heavy squall of wind and rain came on suddenly, and my mistress sent me round the corner of the house to empty a large earthen jar. the jar was already cracked with an old deep crack that divided it in the middle, and in turning it upside down to empty it, it parted in my hand. i could not help the accident, but i was dreadfully frightened, looking forward to a severe punishment. i ran crying to my mistress, "o mistress, the jar has come in two." "you have broken it, have you?" she replied; "come directly here to me." i came trembling; she stripped and flogged me long and severely with the cow-skin; as long as she had strength to use the lash, for she did not give over till she was quite tired.--when my master came home at night, she told him of my fault; and oh, frightful! how he fell a swearing. after abusing me with every ill name he could think of, (too, too bad to speak in england,) and giving me several heavy blows with his hand, he said, "i shall come home to-morrow morning at twelve, on purpose to give you a round hundred." he kept his word--oh sad for me! i cannot easily forget it. he tied me up upon a ladder, and gave me a hundred lashes with his own hand, and master benjy stood by to count them for him. when he had licked me for some time he sat down to take breath; then after resting, he beat me again and again, until he was quite wearied, and so hot (for the weather was very sultry), that he sank back in his chair, almost like to faint. while my mistress went to bring him drink, there was a dreadful earthquake. part of the roof fell down, and every thing in the house went--clatter, clatter, clatter. oh i thought the end of all things near at hand; and i was so sore with the flogging, that i scarcely cared whether i lived or died. the earth was groaning and shaking; every thing tumbling about; and my mistress and the slaves were shrieking and crying out, "the earthquake! the earthquake!" it was an awful day for us all. during the confusion i crawled away on my hands and knees, and laid myself down under the steps of the piazza, in front of the house. i was in a dreadful state--my body all blood and bruises, and i could not help moaning piteously. the other slaves, when they saw me, shook their heads and said, "poor child! poor child!"--i lay there till the morning, careless of what might happen, for life was very weak in me, and i wished more than ever to die. but when we are very young, death always seems a great way off, and it would not come that night to me. the next morning i was forced by my master to rise and go about my usual work, though my body and limbs were so stiff and sore, that i could not move without the greatest pain.--nevertheless, even after all this severe punishment, i never heard the last of that jar; my mistress was always throwing it in my face. some little time after this, one of the cows got loose from the stake, and eat one of the sweet-potatoe slips. i was milking when my master found it out. he came to me, and without any more ado, stooped down, and taking off his heavy boot, he struck me such a severe blow in the small of my back, that i shrieked with agony, and thought i was killed; and i feel a weakness in that part to this day. the cow was frightened at his violence, and kicked down the pail and spilt the milk all about. my master knew that this accident was his own fault, but he was so enraged that he seemed glad of an excuse to go on with his ill usage. i cannot remember how many licks he gave me then, but he beat me till i was unable to stand, and till he himself was weary. after this i ran away and went to my mother, who was living with mr. richard darrel. my poor mother was both grieved and glad to see me; grieved because i had been so ill used, and glad because she had not seen me for a long, long while. she dared not receive me into the house, but she hid me up in a hole in the rocks near, and brought me food at night, after every body was asleep. my father, who lived at crow-lane, over the salt-water channel, at last heard of my being hid up in the cavern, and he came and took me back to my master. oh i was loth, loth to go back; but as there was no remedy, i was obliged to submit. when we got home, my poor father said to capt. i----, "sir, i am sorry that my child should be forced to run away from her owner; but the treatment she has received is enough to break her heart. the sight of her wounds has nearly broke mine.--i entreat you, for the love of god, to forgive her for running away, and that you will be a kind master to her in future." capt. i---- said i was used as well as i deserved, and that i ought to be punished for running away. i then took courage and said that i could stand the floggings no longer; that i was weary of my life, and therefore i had run away to my mother; but mothers could only weep and mourn over their children, they could not save them from cruel masters--from the whip, the rope, and the cow-skin. he told me to hold my tongue and go about my work, or he would find a way to settle me. he did not, however, flog me that day. for five years after this i remained in his house, and almost daily received the same harsh treatment. at length he put me on board a sloop, and to my great joy sent me away to turk's island. i was not permitted to see my mother or father, or poor sisters and brothers, to say good bye, though going away to a strange land, and might never see them again. oh the buckra people who keep slaves think that black people are like cattle, without natural affection. but my heart tells me it is far otherwise. we were nearly four weeks on the voyage, which was unusually long. sometimes we had a light breeze, sometimes a great calm, and the ship made no way; so that our provisions and water ran very low, and we were put upon short allowance. i should almost have been starved had it not been for the kindness of a black man called anthony, and his wife, who had brought their own victuals, and shared them with me. when we went ashore at the grand quay, the captain sent me to the house of my new master, mr. d----, to whom captain i----had sold me. grand quay is a small town upon a sandbank; the houses low and built of wood. such was my new master's. the first person i saw, on my arrival, was mr. d----, a stout sulky looking man, who carried me through the hall to show me to his wife and children. next day i was put up by the vendue master to know how much i was worth, and i was valued at one hundred pounds currency. my new master was one of the owners or holders of the salt ponds, and he received a certain sum for every slave that worked upon his premises, whether they were young or old. this sum was allowed him out of the profits arising from the salt works. i was immediately sent to work in the salt water with the rest of the slaves. this work was perfectly new to me. i was given a half barrel and a shovel, and had to stand up to my knees in the water, from four o'clock in the morning till nine, when we were given some indian corn boiled in water, which we were obliged to swallow as fast as we could for fear the rain should come on and melt the salt. we were then called again to our tasks, and worked through the heat of the day; the sun flaming upon our heads like fire, and raising salt blisters in those parts which were not completely covered. our feet and legs, from standing in the salt water for so many hours, soon became full of dreadful boils, which eat down in some cases to the very bone, afflicting the sufferers with great torment. we came home at twelve; ate our corn soup, called _blawly_, as fast as we could, and went back to our employment till dark at night. we then shovelled up the salt in large heaps, and went down to the sea, where we washed the pickle from our limbs, and cleaned the barrows and shovels from the salt. when we returned to the house, our master gave us each our allowance of raw indian corn, which we pounded in a mortar and boiled in water for our suppers. we slept in a long shed, divided into narrow slips, like the stalls used for cattle. boards fixed upon stakes driven into the ground, without mat or covering, were our only beds. on sundays, after we had washed the salt bags, and done other work required of us, we went into the bush and cut the long soft grass, of which we made trusses for our legs and feet to rest upon, for they were so full of the salt boils that we could get no rest lying upon the bare boards. though we worked from morning till night, there was no satisfying mr. d----. i hoped, when i left capt. i----, that i should have been better off, but i found it was but going from one butcher to another. there was this difference between them: my former master used to beat me while raging and foaming with passion; mr. d---- was usually quite calm. he would stand by and give orders for a slave to be cruelly whipped, and assist in the punishment, without moving a muscle of his face; walking about and taking snuff with the greatest composure. nothing could touch his hard heart--neither sighs, nor tears, nor prayers, nor streaming blood; he was deaf to our cries, and careless of our sufferings. mr. d---- has often stripped me naked, hung me up by the wrists, and beat me with the cow-skin, with his own hand, till my body was raw with gashes. yet there was nothing very remarkable in this; for it might serve as a sample of the common usage of the slaves on that horrible island. owing to the boils in my feet, i was unable to wheel the barrow fast through the sand, which got into the sores, and made me stumble at every step; and my master, having no pity for my sufferings from this cause, rendered them far more intolerable, by chastising me for not being able to move so fast as he wished me. another of our employments was to row a little way off from the shore in a boat, and dive for large stones to build a wall round our master's house. this was very hard work; and the great waves breaking over us continually, made us often so giddy that we lost our footing, and were in danger of being drowned. ah, poor me!--my tasks were never ended. sick or well, it was work--work--work!--after the diving season was over, we were sent to the south creek, with large bills, to cut up mangoes to burn lime with. whilst one party of slaves were thus employed, another were sent to the other side of the island to break up coral out of the sea. when we were ill, let our complaint be what it might, the only medicine given to us was a great bowl of hot salt water, with salt mixed with it, which made us very sick. if we could not keep up with the rest of the gang of slaves, we were put in the stocks, and severely flogged the next morning. yet, not the less, our master expected, after we had thus been kept from our rest, and our limbs rendered stiff and sore with ill usage, that we should still go through the ordinary tasks of the day all the same.--sometimes we had to work all night, measuring salt to load a vessel; or turning a machine to draw water out of the sea for the salt-making. then we had no sleep--no rest--but were forced to work as fast as we could, and go on again all next day the same as usual. work--work--work--oh that turk's island was a horrible place! the people in england, i am sure, have never found out what is carried on there. cruel, horrible place! mr. d---- had a slave called old daniel, whom he used to treat in the most cruel manner. poor daniel was lame in the hip, and could not keep up with the rest of the slaves; and our master would order him to be stripped and laid down on the ground, and have him beaten with a rod of rough briar till his skin was quite red and raw. he would then call for a bucket of salt, and fling upon the raw flesh till the man writhed on the ground like a worm, and screamed aloud with agony. this poor man's wounds were never healed, and i have often seen them full of maggots, which increased his torments to an intolerable degree. he was an object of pity and terror to the whole gang of slaves, and in his wretched case we saw, each of us, our own lot, if we should live to be as old. oh the horrors of slavery!--how the thought of it pains my heart! but the truth ought to be told of it; and what my eyes have seen i think it is my duty to relate; for few people in england know what slavery is. i have been a slave--i have felt what a slave feels, and i know what a slave knows; and i would have all the good people in england to know it too, that they may break our chains, and set us free. mr. d---- had another slave called ben. he being very hungry, stole a little rice one night after he came in from work, and cooked it for his supper. but his master soon discovered the theft; locked him up all night; and kept him without food till one o'clock the next day. he then hung ben up by his hands, and beat him from time to time till the slaves came in at night. we found the poor creature hung up when we came home; with a pool of blood beneath him, and our master still licking him. but this was not the worst. my master's son was in the habit of stealing the rice and rum. ben had seen him do this, and thought he might do the same, and when master found out that ben had stolen the rice and swore to punish him, he tried to excuse himself by saying that master dickey did the same thing every night. the lad denied it to his father, and was so angry with ben for informing against him, that out of revenge he ran and got a bayonet, and whilst the poor wretch was suspended by his hands and writhing under his wounds, he run it quite through his foot. i was not by when he did it, but i saw the wound when i came home, and heard ben tell the manner in which it was done. i must say something more about this cruel son of a cruel father.--he had no heart--no fear of god; he had been brought up by a bad father in a bad path, and he delighted to follow in the same steps. there was a little old woman among the slaves called sarah, who was nearly past work; and, master dickey being the overseer of the slaves just then, this poor creature, who was subject to several bodily infirmities, and was not quite right in her head, did not wheel the barrow fast enough to please him. he threw her down on the ground, and after beating her severely, he took her up in his arms and flung her among the prickly-pear bushes, which are all covered over with sharp venomous prickles. by this her naked flesh was so grievously wounded, that her body swelled and festered all over, and she died a few days after. in telling my own sorrows, i cannot pass by those of my fellow-slaves--for when i think of my own griefs, i remember theirs. i think it was about ten years i had worked in the salt ponds at turk's island, when my master left off business, and retired to a house he had in bermuda, leaving his son to succeed him in the island. he took me with him to wait upon his daughters; and i was joyful, for i was sick, sick of turk's island, and my heart yearned to see my native place again, my mother, and my kindred. i had seen my poor mother during the time i was a slave in turk's island. one sunday morning i was on the beach with some of the slaves, and we saw a sloop come in loaded with slaves to work in the salt water. we got a boat and went aboard. when i came upon the deck i asked the black people, "is there any one here for me?" "yes," they said, "your mother." i thought they said this in jest--i could scarcely believe them for joy; but when i saw my poor mammy my joy was turned to sorrow, for she had gone from her senses. "mammy," i said, "is this you?" she did not know me. "mammy," i said, "what's the matter?" she began to talk foolishly, and said that she had been under the vessel's bottom. they had been overtaken by a violent storm at sea. my poor mother had never been on the sea before, and she was so ill, that she lost her senses, and it was long before she came quite to herself again. she had a sweet child with her--a little sister i had never seen, about four years of age, called rebecca. i took her on shore with me, for i felt i should love her directly; and i kept her with me a week. poor little thing! her's has been a sad life, and continues so to this day. my mother worked for some years on the island, but was taken back to bermuda some time before my master carried me again thither.[ ] [footnote : of the subsequent lot of her relatives she can tell but little. she says, her father died while she and her mother were at turk's island; and that he had been long dead and buried before any of his children in bermuda knew of it, they being slaves on other estates. her mother died after mary went to antigua. of the fate of the rest of her kindred, seven brothers and three sisters, she knows nothing further than this--that the eldest sister, who had several children to her master, was taken by him to trinidad; and that the youngest, rebecca, is still alive, and in slavery in bermuda. mary herself is now about forty-three years of age.--_ed._] after i left turk's island, i was told by some negroes that came over from it, that the poor slaves had built up a place with boughs and leaves, where they might meet for prayers, but the white people pulled it down twice, and would not allow them even a shed for prayers. a flood came down soon after and washed away many houses, filled the place with sand, and overflowed the ponds: and i do think that this was for their wickedness; for the buckra men[ ] there were very wicked. i saw and heard much that was very very bad at that place. [footnote : negro term for white people.] i was several years the slave of mr. d---- after i returned to my native place. here i worked in the grounds. my work was planting and hoeing sweet-potatoes, indian corn, plantains, bananas, cabbages, pumpkins, onions, &c. i did all the household work, and attended upon a horse and cow besides,--going also upon all errands. i had to curry the horse--to clean and feed him--and sometimes to ride him a little. i had more than enough to do--but still it was not so very bad as turk's island. my old master often got drunk, and then he would get in a fury with his daughter, and beat her till she was not fit to be seen. i remember on one occasion, i had gone to fetch water, and when i was coming up the hill i heard a great screaming; i ran as fast as i could to the house, put down the water, and went into the chamber, where i found my master beating miss d---- dreadfully. i strove with all my strength to get her away from him; for she was all black and blue with bruises. he had beat her with his fist, and almost killed her. the people gave me credit for getting her away. he turned round and began to lick me. then i said, "sir, this is not turk's island." i can't repeat his answer, the words were too wicked--too bad to say. he wanted to treat me the same in bermuda as he had done in turk's island. he had an ugly fashion of stripping himself quite naked, and ordering me then to wash him in a tub of water. this was worse to me than all the licks. sometimes when he called me to wash him i would not come, my eyes were so full of shame. he would then come to beat me. one time i had plates and knives in my hand, and i dropped both plates and knives, and some of the plates were broken. he struck me so severely for this, that at last i defended myself, for i thought it was high time to do so. i then told him i would not live longer with him, for he was a very indecent man--very spiteful, and too indecent; with no shame for his servants, no shame for his own flesh. so i went away to a neighbouring house and sat down and cried till the next morning, when i went home again, not knowing what else to do. after that i was hired to work at cedar hills, and every saturday night i paid the money to my master. i had plenty of work to do there--plenty of washing; but yet i made myself pretty comfortable. i earned two dollars and a quarter a week, which is twenty pence a day. during the time i worked there, i heard that mr. john wood was going to antigua. i felt a great wish to go there, and i went to mr. d----, and asked him to let me go in mr. wood's service. mr. wood did not then want to purchase me; it was my own fault that i came under him, i was so anxious to go. it was ordained to be, i suppose; god led me there. the truth is, i did not wish to be any longer the slave of my indecent master. mr. wood took me with him to antigua, to the town of st. john's, where he lived. this was about fifteen years ago. he did not then know whether i was to be sold; but mrs. wood found that i could work, and she wanted to buy me. her husband then wrote to my master to inquire whether i was to be sold? mr. d---- wrote in reply, "that i should not be sold to any one that would treat me ill." it was strange he should say this, when he had treated me so ill himself. so i was purchased by mr. wood for dollars, (or £ bermuda currency.)[ ] [footnote : about £ . s. sterling.] my work there was to attend the chambers and nurse the child, and to go down to the pond and wash clothes. but i soon fell ill of the rheumatism, and grew so very lame that i was forced to walk with a stick. i got the saint anthony's fire, also, in my left leg, and became quite a cripple. no one cared much to come near me, and i was ill a long long time; for several months i could not lift the limb. i had to lie in a little old out-house, that was swarming with bugs and other vermin, which tormented me greatly; but i had no other place to lie in. i got the rheumatism by catching cold at the pond side, from washing in the fresh water; in the salt water i never got cold. the person who lived in next yard, (a mrs. greene,) could not bear to hear my cries and groans. she was kind, and used to send an old slave woman to help me, who sometimes brought me a little soup. when the doctor found i was so ill, he said i must be put into a bath of hot water. the old slave got the bark of some bush that was good for the pains, which she boiled in the hot water, and every night she came and put me into the bath, and did what she could for me: i don't know what i should have done, or what would have become of me, had it not been for her.--my mistress, it is true, did send me a little food; but no one from our family came near me but the cook, who used to shove my food in at the door, and say, "molly, molly, there's your dinner." my mistress did not care to take any trouble about me; and if the lord had not put it into the hearts of the neighbours to be kind to me, i must, i really think, have lain and died. it was a long time before i got well enough to work in the house. mrs. wood, in the meanwhile, hired a mulatto woman to nurse the child; but she was such a fine lady she wanted to be mistress over me. i thought it very hard for a coloured woman to have rule over me because i was a slave and she was free. her name was martha wilcox; she was a saucy woman, very saucy; and she went and complained of me, without cause, to my mistress, and made her angry with me. mrs. wood told me that if i did not mind what i was about, she would get my master to strip me and give me fifty lashes: "you have been used to the whip," she said, "and you shall have it here." this was the first time she threatened to have me flogged; and she gave me the threatening so strong of what she would have done to me, that i thought i should have fallen down at her feet, i was so vexed and hurt by her words. the mulatto woman was rejoiced to have power to keep me down. she was constantly making mischief; there was no living for the slaves--no peace after she came. i was also sent by mrs. wood to be put in the cage one night, and was next morning flogged, by the magistrate's order, at her desire; and this all for a quarrel i had about a pig with another slave woman. i was flogged on my naked back on this occasion: although i was in no fault after all; for old justice dyett, when we came before him, said that i was in the right, and ordered the pig to be given to me. this was about two or three years after i came to antigua. when we moved from the middle of the town to the point, i used to be in the house and do all the work and mind the children, though still very ill with the rheumatism. every week i had to wash two large bundles of clothes, as much as a boy could help me to lift; but i could give no satisfaction. my mistress was always abusing and fretting after me. it is not possible to tell all her ill language.--one day she followed me foot after foot scolding and rating me. i bore in silence a great deal of ill words: at last my heart was quite full, and i told her that she ought not to use me so;--that when i was ill i might have lain and died for what she cared; and no one would then come near me to nurse me, because they were afraid of my mistress. this was a great affront. she called her husband and told him what i had said. he flew into a passion: but did not beat me then; he only abused and swore at me; and then gave me a note and bade me go and look for an owner. not that he meant to sell me; but he did this to please his wife and to frighten me. i went to adam white, a cooper, a free black, who had money, and asked him to buy me. he went directly to mr. wood, but was informed that i was not to be sold. the next day my master whipped me. another time (about five years ago) my mistress got vexed with me, because i fell sick and i could not keep on with my work. she complained to her husband, and he sent me off again to look for an owner. i went to a mr. burchell, showed him the note, and asked him to buy me for my own benefit; for i had saved about dollars, and hoped, with a little help, to purchase my freedom. he accordingly went to my master:--"mr. wood," he said, "molly has brought me a note that she wants an owner. if you intend to sell her, i may as well buy her as another." my master put him off and said that he did not mean to sell me. i was very sorry at this, for i had no comfort with mrs. wood, and i wished greatly to get my freedom. the way in which i made my money was this.--when my master and mistress went from home, as they sometimes did, and left me to take care of the house and premises, i had a good deal of time to myself, and made the most of it. i took in washing, and sold coffee and yams and other provisions to the captains of ships. i did not sit still idling during the absence of my owners; for i wanted, by all honest means, to earn money to buy my freedom. sometimes i bought a hog cheap on board ship, and sold it for double the money on shore; and i also earned a good deal by selling coffee. by this means i by degrees acquired a little cash. a gentleman also lent me some to help to buy my freedom--but when i could not get free he got it back again. his name was captain abbot. my master and mistress went on one occasion into the country, to date hill, for change of air, and carried me with them to take charge of the children, and to do the work of the house. while i was in the country, i saw how the field negroes are worked in antigua. they are worked very hard and fed but scantily. they are called out to work before daybreak, and come home after dark; and then each has to heave his bundle of grass for the cattle in the pen. then, on sunday morning, each slave has to go out and gather a large bundle of grass; and, when they bring it home, they have all to sit at the manager's door and wait till he come out: often have they to wait there till past eleven o'clock, without any breakfast. after that, those that have yams or potatoes, or fire-wood to sell, hasten to market to buy a dog's worth[ ] of salt fish, or pork, which is a great treat for them. some of them buy a little pickle out of the shad barrels, which they call sauce, to season their yams and indian corn. it is very wrong, i know, to work on sunday or go to market; but will not god call the buckra men to answer for this on the great day of judgment--since they will give the slaves no other day? [footnote : a dog is the nd part of a dollar.] while we were at date hill christmas came; and the slave woman who had the care of the place (which then belonged to mr. roberts the marshal), asked me to go with her to her husband's house, to a methodist meeting for prayer, at a plantation called winthorps. i went; and they were the first prayers i ever understood. one woman prayed; and then they all sung a hymn; then there was another prayer and another hymn; and then they all spoke by turns of their own griefs as sinners. the husband of the woman i went with was a black driver. his name was henry. he confessed that he had treated the slaves very cruelly; but said that he was compelled to obey the orders of his master. he prayed them all to forgive him, and he prayed that god would forgive him. he said it was a horrid thing for a ranger[ ] to have sometimes to beat his own wife or sister; but he must do so if ordered by his master. [footnote : the head negro of an estate--a person who has the chief superintendence under the manager.] i felt sorry for my sins also. i cried the whole night, but i was too much ashamed to speak. i prayed god to forgive me. this meeting had a great impression on my mind, and led my spirit to the moravian church; so that when i got back to town, i went and prayed to have my name put down in the missionaries' book; and i followed the church earnestly every opportunity. i did not then tell my mistress about it; for i knew that she would not give me leave to go. but i felt i _must_ go. whenever i carried the children their lunch at school, i ran round and went to hear the teachers. the moravian ladies (mrs. richter, mrs. olufsen, and mrs. sauter) taught me to read in the class; and i got on very fast. in this class there were all sorts of people, old and young, grey headed folks and children; but most of them were free people. after we had done spelling, we tried to read in the bible. after the reading was over, the missionary gave out a hymn for us to sing. i dearly loved to go to the church, it was so solemn. i never knew rightly that i had much sin till i went there. when i found out that i was a great sinner, i was very sorely grieved, and very much frightened. i used to pray god to pardon my sins for christ's sake, and forgive me for every thing i had done amiss; and when i went home to my work, i always thought about what i had heard from the missionaries, and wished to be good that i might go to heaven. after a while i was admitted a candidate for the holy communion.--i had been baptized long before this, in august , by the rev. mr. curtin, of the english church, after i had been taught to repeat the creed and the lord's prayer. i wished at that time to attend a sunday school taught by mr. curtin, but he would not receive me without a written note from my master, granting his permission. i did not ask my owner's permission, from the belief that it would be refused; so that i got no farther instruction at that time from the english church.[ ] [footnote : she possesses a copy of mrs. trimmer's "charity school spelling book," presented to her by the rev. mr. curtin, and dated august , . in this book her name is written "mary, princess of wales"--an appellation which, she says, was given her by her owners. it is a common practice with the colonists to give ridiculous names of this description to their slaves; being, in fact, one of the numberless modes of expressing the habitual contempt with which they regard the negro race.--in printing this narrative we have retained mary's paternal name of prince.--_ed._] some time after i began to attend the moravian church, i met with daniel james, afterwards my dear husband. he was a carpenter and cooper to his trade; an honest, hard-working, decent black man, and a widower. he had purchased his freedom of his mistress, old mrs. baker, with money he had earned whilst a slave. when he asked me to marry him, i took time to consider the matter over with myself, and would not say yes till he went to church with me and joined the moravians. he was very industrious after he bought his freedom; and he had hired a comfortable house, and had convenient things about him. we were joined in marriage, about christmas , in the moravian chapel at spring gardens, by the rev. mr. olufsen. we could not be married in the english church. english marriage is not allowed to slaves; and no free man can marry a slave woman. when mr. wood heard of my marriage, he flew into a great rage, and sent for daniel, who was helping to build a house for his old mistress. mr. wood asked him who gave him a right to marry a slave of his? my husband said, "sir, i am a free man, and thought i had a right to choose a wife; but if i had known molly was not allowed to have a husband, i should not have asked her to marry me." mrs. wood was more vexed about my marriage than her husband. she could not forgive me for getting married, but stirred up mr. wood to flog me dreadfully with the horsewhip. i thought it very hard to be whipped at my time of life for getting a husband--i told her so. she said that she would not have nigger men about the yards and premises, or allow a nigger man's clothes to be washed in the same tub where hers were washed. she was fearful, i think, that i should lose her time, in order to wash and do things for my husband: but i had then no time to wash for myself; i was obliged to put out my own clothes, though i was always at the wash-tub. i had not much happiness in my marriage, owing to my being a slave. it made my husband sad to see me so ill-treated. mrs. wood was always abusing me about him. she did not lick me herself, but she got her husband to do it for her, whilst she fretted the flesh off my bones. yet for all this she would not sell me. she sold five slaves whilst i was with her; but though she was always finding fault with me, she would not part with me. however, mr. wood afterwards allowed daniel to have a place to live in our yard, which we were very thankful for. after this, i fell ill again with the rheumatism, and was sick a long time; but whether sick or well, i had my work to do. about this time i asked my master and mistress to let me buy my own freedom. with the help of mr. burchell, i could have found the means to pay mr. wood; for it was agreed that i should afterwards, serve mr. burchell a while, for the cash he was to advance for me. i was earnest in the request to my owners; but their hearts were hard--too hard to consent. mrs. wood was very angry--she grew quite outrageous--she called me a black devil, and asked me who had put freedom into my head. "to be free is very sweet," i said: but she took good care to keep me a slave. i saw her change colour, and i left the room. about this time my master and mistress were going to england to put their son to school, and bring their daughters home; and they took me with them to take care of the child. i was willing to come to england: i thought that by going there i should probably get cured of my rheumatism, and should return with my master and mistress, quite well, to my husband. my husband was willing for me to come away, for he had heard that my master would free me,--and i also hoped this might prove true; but it was all a false report. the steward of the ship was very kind to me. he and my husband were in the same class in the moravian church. i was thankful that he was so friendly, for my mistress was not kind to me on the passage; and she told me, when she was angry, that she did not intend to treat me any better in england than in the west indies--that i need not expect it. and she was as good as her word. when we drew near to england, the rheumatism seized all my limbs worse than ever, and my body was dreadfully swelled. when we landed at the tower, i shewed my flesh to my mistress, but she took no great notice of it. we were obliged to stop at the tavern till my master got a house; and a day or two after, my mistress sent me down into the wash-house to learn to wash in the english way. in the west indies we wash with cold water--in england with hot. i told my mistress i was afraid that putting my hands first into the hot water and then into the cold, would increase the pain in my limbs. the doctor had told my mistress long before i came from the west indies, that i was a sickly body and the washing did not agree with me. but mrs. wood would not release me from the tub, so i was forced to do as i could. i grew worse, and could not stand to wash. i was then forced to sit down with the tub before me, and often through pain and weakness was reduced to kneel or to sit down on the floor, to finish my task. when i complained to my mistress of this, she only got into a passion as usual, and said washing in hot water could not hurt any one;--that i was lazy and insolent, and wanted to be free of my work; but that she would make me do it. i thought her very hard on me, and my heart rose up within me. however i kept still at that time, and went down again to wash the child's things; but the english washerwomen who were at work there, when they saw that i was so ill, had pity upon me and washed them for me. after that, when we came up to live in leigh street, mrs. wood sorted out five bags of clothes which we had used at sea, and also such as had been worn since we came on shore, for me and the cook to wash. elizabeth the cook told her, that she did not think that i was able to stand to the tub, and that she had better hire a woman. i also said myself, that i had come over to nurse the child, and that i was sorry i had come from antigua, since mistress would work me so hard, without compassion for my rheumatism. mr. and mrs. wood, when they heard this, rose up in a passion against me. they opened the door and bade me get out. but i was a stranger, and did not know one door in the street from another, and was unwilling to go away. they made a dreadful uproar, and from that day they constantly kept cursing and abusing me. i was obliged to wash, though i was very ill. mrs. wood, indeed once hired a washerwoman, but she was not well treated, and would come no more. my master quarrelled with me another time, about one of our great washings, his wife having stirred him up to do so. he said he would compel me to do the whole of the washing given out to me, or if i again refused, he would take a short course with me: he would either send me down to the brig in the river, to carry me back to antigua, or he would turn me at once out of doors, and let me provide for myself. i said i would willingly go back, if he would let me purchase my own freedom. but this enraged him more than all the rest: he cursed and swore at me dreadfully, and said he would never sell my freedom--if i wished to be free, i was free in england, and i might go and try what freedom would do for me, and be d----d. my heart was very sore with this treatment, but i had to go on. i continued to do my work, and did all i could to give satisfaction, but all would not do. shortly after, the cook left them, and then matters went on ten times worse. i always washed the child's clothes without being commanded to do it, and any thing else that was wanted in the family; though still i was very sick--very sick indeed. when the great washing came round, which was every two months, my mistress got together again a great many heavy things, such as bed-ticks, bed-coverlets, &c. for me to wash. i told her i was too ill to wash such heavy things that day. she said, she supposed i thought myself a free woman, but i was not; and if i did not do it directly i should be instantly turned out of doors. i stood a long time before i could answer, for i did not know well what to do. i knew that i was free in england, but i did not know where to go, or how to get my living; and therefore, i did not like to leave the house. but mr. wood said he would send for a constable to thrust me out; and at last i took courage and resolved that i would not be longer thus treated, but would go and trust to providence. this was the fourth time they had threatened turn me out, and, go where i might, i was determined now to take them at their word; though i thought it very hard, after i had lived with them for thirteen years, and worked for them like a horse, to be driven out in this way, like a beggar. my only fault was being sick, and therefore unable to please my mistress, who thought she never could get work enough out of her slaves; and i told them so: but they only abused me and drove me out. this took place from two to three months, i think, after we came to england. when i came away, i went to the man (one mash) who used to black the shoes of the family, and asked his wife to get somebody to go with me to hatton garden to the moravian missionaries: these were the only persons i knew in england. the woman sent a young girl with me to the mission house, and i saw there a gentleman called mr. moore. i told him my whole story, and how my owners had treated me, and asked him to take in my trunk with what few clothes i had. the missionaries were very kind to me--they were sorry for my destitute situation, and gave me leave to bring my things to be placed under their care. they were very good people, and they told me to come to the church. when i went back to mr. wood's to get my trunk, i saw a lady, mrs. pell, who was on a visit to my mistress. when mr. and mrs. wood heard me come in, they set this lady to stop me, finding that they had gone too far with me. mrs. pell came out to me, and said, "are you really going to leave, molly? don't leave, but come into the country with me." i believe she said this because she thought mrs. wood would easily get me back again. i replied to her, "ma'am, this is the fourth time my master and mistress have driven me out, or threatened to drive me--and i will give them no more occasion to bid me go. i was not willing to leave them, for i am a stranger in this country, but now i must go--i can stay no longer to be so used." mrs. pell then went up stairs to my mistress, and told that i would go, and that she could not stop me. mrs. wood was very much hurt and frightened when she found i was determined to go out that day. she said, "if she goes the people will rob her, and then turn her adrift." she did not say this to me, but she spoke it loud enough for me to hear; that it might induce me not to go, i suppose. mr. wood also asked me where i was going to. i told him where i had been, and that i should never have gone away had i not been driven out by my owners. he had given me a written paper some time before, which said that i had come with them to england by my own desire; and that was true. it said also that i left them of my own free will, because i was a free woman in england; and that i was idle and would not do my work--which was not true. i gave this paper afterwards to a gentleman who inquired into my case.[ ] [footnote : see page .] i went into the kitchen and got my clothes out. the nurse and the servant girl were there, and i said to the man who was going to take out my trunk, "stop, before you take up this trunk, and hear what i have to say before these people. i am going out of this house, as i was ordered; but i have done no wrong at all to my owners, neither here nor in the west indies. i always worked very hard to please them, both by night and day; but there was no giving satisfaction, for my mistress could never be satisfied with reasonable service. i told my mistress i was sick, and yet she has ordered me out of doors. this is the fourth time; and now i am going out." and so i came out, and went and carried my trunk to the moravians. i then returned back to mash the shoe-black's house, and begged his wife to take me in. i had a little west indian money in my trunk; and they got it changed for me. this helped to support me for a little while. the man's wife was very kind to me. i was very sick, and she boiled nourishing things up for me. she also sent for a doctor to see me, and he sent me medicine, which did me good, though i was ill for a long time with the rheumatic pains. i lived a good many months with these poor people, and they nursed me, and did all that lay in their power to serve me. the man was well acquainted with my situation, as he used to go to and fro to mr. wood's house to clean shoes and knives; and he and his wife were sorry for me. about this time, a woman of the name of hill told me of the anti-slavery society, and went with me to their office, to inquire if they could do any thing to get me my freedom, and send me back to the west indies. the gentlemen of the society took me to a lawyer, who examined very strictly into my case; but told me that the laws of england could do nothing to make me free in antigua[ ]. however they did all they could for me: they gave me a little money from time to time to keep me from want; and some of them went to mr. wood to try to persuade him to let me return a free woman to my husband; but though they offered him, as i have heard, a large sum for my freedom, he was sulky and obstinate, and would not consent to let me go free. [footnote : she came first to the anti-slavery office in aldermanbury, about the latter end of november ; and her case was referred to mr. george stephen to be investigated. more of this hereafter.--ed.] this was the first winter i spent in england, and i suffered much from the severe cold, and from the rheumatic pains, which still at times torment me. however, providence was very good to me, and i got many friends--especially some quaker ladies, who hearing of my case, came and sought me out, and gave me good warm clothing and money. thus i had great cause to bless god in my affliction. when i got better i was anxious to get some work to do, as i was unwilling to eat the bread of idleness. mrs. mash, who was a laundress, recommended me to a lady for a charwoman. she paid me very handsomely for what work i did, and i divided the money with mrs. mash; for though very poor, they gave me food when my own money was done, and never suffered me to want. in the spring, i got into service with a lady, who saw me at the house where i sometimes worked as a charwoman. this lady's name was mrs. forsyth. she had been in the west indies, and was accustomed to blacks, and liked them. i was with her six months, and went with her to margate. she treated me well, and gave me a good character when she left london.[ ] [footnote : she refers to a written certificate which will be inserted afterwards.] after mrs. forsyth went away, i was again out of place, and went to lodgings, for which i paid two shillings a week, and found coals and candle. after eleven weeks, the money i had saved in service was all gone, and i was forced to go back to the anti-slavery office to ask a supply, till i could get another situation. i did not like to go back--i did not like to be idle. i would rather work for my living than get it for nothing. they were very good to give me a supply, but i felt shame at being obliged to apply for relief whilst i had strength to work. at last i went into the service of mr. and mrs. pringle, where i have been ever since, and am as comfortable as i can be while separated from my dear husband, and away from my own country and all old friends and connections. my dear mistress teaches me daily to read the word of god, and takes great pains to make me understand it. i enjoy the great privilege of being enabled to attend church three times on the sunday; and i have met with many kind friends since i have been here, both clergymen and others. the rev. mr. young, who lives in the next house, has shown me much kindness, and taken much pains to instruct me, particularly while my master and mistress were absent in scotland. nor must i forget, among my friends, the rev. mr. mortimer, the good clergyman of the parish, under whose ministry i have now sat for upwards of twelve months. i trust in god i have profited by what i have heard from him. he never keeps back the truth, and i think he has been the means of opening my eyes and ears much better to understand the word of god. mr. mortimer tells me that he cannot open the eyes of my heart, but that i must pray to god to change my heart, and make me to know the truth, and the truth will make me free. i still live in the hope that god will find a way to give me my liberty, and give me back to my husband. i endeavour to keep down my fretting, and to leave all to him, for he knows what is good for me better than i know myself. yet, i must confess, i find it a hard and heavy task to do so. i am often much vexed, and i feel great sorrow when i hear some people in this country say, that the slaves do not need better usage, and do not want to be free.[ ] they believe the foreign people,[ ] who deceive them, and say slaves are happy. i say, not so. how can slaves be happy when they have the halter round their neck and the whip upon their back? and are disgraced and thought no more of than beasts?--and are separated from their mothers, and husbands, and children, and sisters, just as cattle are sold and separated? is it happiness for a driver in the field to take down his wife or sister or child, and strip them, and whip them in such a disgraceful manner?--women that have had children exposed in the open field to shame! there is no modesty or decency shown by the owner to his slaves; men, women, and children are exposed alike. since i have been here i have often wondered how english people can go out into the west indies and act in such a beastly manner. but when they go to the west indies, they forget god and all feeling of shame, i think, since they can see and do such things. they tie up slaves like hogs--moor[ ] them up like cattle, and they lick them, so as hogs, or cattle, or horses never were flogged;--and yet they come home and say, and make some good people believe, that slaves don't want to get out of slavery. but they put a cloak about the truth. it is not so. all slaves want to be free--to be free is very sweet. i will say the truth to english people who may read this history that my good friend, miss s----, is now writing down for me. i have been a slave myself--i know what slaves feel--i can tell by myself what other slaves feel, and by what they have told me. the man that says slaves be quite happy in slavery--that they don't want to be free--that man is either ignorant or a lying person. i never heard a slave say so. i never heard a buckra man say so, till i heard tell of it in england. such people ought to be ashamed of themselves. they can't do without slaves, they say. what's the reason they can't do without slaves as well as in england? no slaves here--no whips--no stocks--no punishment, except for wicked people. they hire servants in england; and if they don't like them, they send them away: they can't lick them. let them work ever so hard in england, they are far better off than slaves. if they get a bad master, they give warning and go hire to another. they have their liberty. that's just what we want. we don't mind hard work, if we had proper treatment, and proper wages like english servants, and proper time given in the week to keep us from breaking the sabbath. but they won't give it: they will have work--work--work, night and day, sick or well, till we are quite done up; and we must not speak up nor look amiss, however much we be abused. and then when we are quite done up, who cares for us, more than for a lame horse? this is slavery. i tell it, to let english people know the truth; and i hope they will never leave off to pray god, and call loud to the great king of england, till all the poor blacks be given free, and slavery done up for evermore. [footnote : the whole of this paragraph especially, is given as nearly as was possible in mary's precise words.] [footnote : she means west indians.] [footnote : a west indian phrase: to fasten or tie up.] supplement to the history of mary prince. by the editor. leaving mary's narrative, for the present, without comment to the reader's reflections, i proceed to state some circumstances connected with her case which have fallen more particularly under my own notice, and which i consider it incumbent now to lay fully before the public. about the latter end of november, , this poor woman found her way to the office of the anti-slavery society in aldermanbury, by the aid of a person who had become acquainted with her situation, and had advised her to apply there for advice and assistance. after some preliminary examination into the accuracy of the circumstances related by her, i went along with her to mr. george stephen, solicitor, and requested him to investigate and draw up a statement of her case, and have it submitted to counsel, in order to ascertain whether or not, under the circumstances, her freedom could be legally established on her return to antigua. on this occasion, in mr. stephen's presence and mine, she expressed, in very strong terms, her anxiety to return thither if she could go as a free person, and, at the same time, her extreme apprehensions of the fate that would probably await her if she returned as a slave. her words were, "i would rather go into my grave than go back a slave to antigua, though i wish to go back to my husband very much--very much--very much! i am much afraid my owners would separate me from my husband, and use me very hard, or perhaps sell me for a field negro;--and slavery is too too bad. i would rather go into my grave!" the paper which mr. wood had given her before she left his house, was placed by her in mr. stephen's hands. it was expressed in the following terms:-- "i have already told molly, and now give it her in writing, in order that there may be no misunderstanding on her part, that as i brought her from antigua at her own request and entreaty, and that she is consequently now free, she is of course at liberty to take her baggage and go where she pleases. and, in consequence of her late conduct, she must do one of two things--either quit the house, or return to antigua by the earliest opportunity, as she does not evince a disposition to make herself useful. as she is a stranger in london, i do not wish to turn her out, or would do so, as two female servants are sufficient for my establishment. if after this she does remain, it will be only during her good behaviour: but on no consideration will i allow her wages or any other remuneration for her services. "john a. wood." "london, august , ." this paper, though not devoid of inconsistencies, which will be apparent to any attentive reader, is craftily expressed; and was well devised to serve the purpose which the writer had obviously in view, namely, to frustrate any appeal which the friendless black woman might make to the sympathy of strangers, and thus prevent her from obtaining an asylum, if she left his house, from any respectable family. as she had no one to refer to for a character in this country except himself, he doubtless calculated securely on her being speedily driven back, as soon as the slender fund she had in her possession was expended, to throw herself unconditionally upon his tender mercies; and his disappointment in this expectation appears to have exasperated his feelings of resentment towards the poor woman, to a degree which few persons alive to the claims of common justice, not to speak of christianity or common humanity, could easily have anticipated. such, at least, seems the only intelligible inference that can be drawn from his subsequent conduct. the case having been submitted, by desire of the anti-slavery committee, to the consideration of dr. lushington and mr. sergeant stephen, it was found that there existed no legal means of compelling mary's master to grant her manumission; and that if she returned to antigua, she would inevitably fall again under his power, or that of his attorneys, as a slave. it was, however, resolved to try what could be effected for her by amicable negotiation; and with this view mr. ravenscroft, a solicitor, (mr. stephen's relative,) called upon mr. wood, in order to ascertain whether he would consent to mary's manumission on any reasonable terms, and to refer, if required, the amount of compensation for her value to arbitration. mr. ravenscroft with some difficulty obtained one or two interviews, but found mr. wood so full of animosity against the woman, and so firmly bent against any arrangement having her freedom for its object, that the negotiation was soon broken off as hopeless. the angry slave-owner declared "that he would not move a finger about her in this country, or grant her manumission on any terms whatever; and that if she went back to the west indies, she must take the consequences." this unreasonable conduct of mr. wood, induced the anti-slavery committee, after several other abortive attempts to effect a compromise, to think of bringing the case under the notice of parliament. the heads of mary's statement were accordingly engrossed in a petition, which dr. lushington offered to present, and to give notice at the same time of his intention to bring in a bill to provide for the entire emancipation of all slaves brought to england with the owner's consent. but before this step was taken, dr. lushington again had recourse to negotiation with the master; and, partly through the friendly intervention of mr. manning, partly by personal conference, used every persuasion in his power to induce mr. wood to relent and let the bondwoman go free. seeing the matter thus seriously taken up, mr. wood became at length alarmed,--not relishing, it appears, the idea of having the case publicly discussed in the house of commons; and to avert this result he submitted to temporize--assumed a demeanour of unwonted civility, and even hinted to mr. manning (as i was given to understand) that if he was not driven to utter hostility by the threatened exposure, he would probably meet our wishes "in his own time and way." having gained time by these manoeuvres, he adroitly endeavoured to cool the ardour of mary's new friends, in her cause, by representing her as an abandoned and worthless woman, ungrateful towards him, and undeserving of sympathy from others; allegations which he supported by the ready affirmation of some of his west india friends, and by one or two plausible letters procured from antigua. by these and like artifices he appears completely to have imposed on mr. manning, the respectable west india merchant whom dr. lushington had asked to negotiate with him; and he prevailed so far as to induce dr. lushington himself (actuated by the benevolent view of thereby best serving mary's cause,) to abstain from any remarks upon his conduct when the petition was at last presented in parliament. in this way he dextrously contrived to neutralize all our efforts, until the close of the session of ; soon after which he embarked with his family for the west indies. every exertion for mary's relief having thus failed; and being fully convinced from a twelvemonth's observation of her conduct, that she was really a well-disposed and respectable woman; i engaged her, in december , as a domestic servant in my own family. in this capacity she has remained ever since; and i am thus enabled to speak of her conduct and character with a degree of confidence i could not have otherwise done. the importance of this circumstance will appear in the sequel. from the time of mr. wood's departure to antigua, in , till june or july last, no farther effort was attempted for mary's relief. some faint hope was still cherished that this unconscionable man would at length relent, and "in his own time and way," grant the prayer of the exiled negro woman. after waiting, however, nearly twelve months longer, and seeing the poor woman's spirits daily sinking under the sickening influence of hope deferred, i resolved on a final attempt in her behalf, through the intervention of the moravian missionaries, and of the governor of antigua. at my request, mr. edward moore, agent of the moravian brethren in london, wrote to the rev. joseph newby, their missionary in that island, empowering him to negotiate in his own name with mr. wood for mary's manumission, and to procure his consent, if possible, upon terms of ample pecuniary compensation. at the same time the excellent and benevolent william allen, of the society of friends, wrote to sir patrick ross, the governor of the colony, with whom he was on terms of friendship, soliciting him to use his influence in persuading mr. wood to consent: and i confess i was sanguine enough to flatter myself that we should thus at length prevail. the result proved, however, that i had not yet fully appreciated the character of the man we had to deal with. mr. newby's answer arrived early in november last, mentioning that he had done all in his power to accomplish our purpose, but in vain; and that if mary's manumission could not be obtained without mr. wood's consent, he believed there was no prospect of its ever being effected. a few weeks afterwards i was informed by mr. allen, that he had received a letter from sir patrick ross, stating that he also had used his best endeavours in the affair, but equally without effect. sir patrick at the same time inclosed a letter, addressed by mr. wood to his secretary, mr. taylor, assigning his reasons for persisting in this extraordinary course. this letter requires our special attention. its tenor is as follows:-- "my dear sir, "in reply to your note relative to the woman molly, i beg you will have the kindness to oblige me by assuring his excellency that i regret exceedingly my inability to comply with his request, which under other circumstances would afford me very great pleasure. "there are many and powerful reasons for inducing me to refuse my sanction to her returning here in the way she seems to wish. it would be to reward the worst species of ingratitude, and subject myself to insult whenever she came in my way. her moral character is very bad, as the police records will shew; and she would be a very troublesome character should she come here without any restraint. she is not a native of this country, and i know of no relation she has here. i induced her to take a husband, a short time before she left this, by providing a comfortable house in my yard for them, and prohibiting her going out after to o'clock (our bed-time) without special leave. this she considered the greatest, and indeed the only, grievance she ever complained of, and all my efforts could not prevent it. in hopes of inducing her to be steady to her husband, who was a free man, i gave him the house to occupy during our absence; but it appears the attachment was too loose to bind her, and he has taken another wife: so on that score i do her no injury.--in england she made her election, and quitted my family. this i had no right to object to; and i should have thought no more of it, but not satisfied to leave quietly, she gave every trouble and annoyance in her power, and endeavoured to injure the character of my family by the most vile and infamous falsehoods, which was embodied in a petition to the house of commons, and would have been presented, had not my friends from this island, particularly the hon. mr. byam and dr. coull, come forward, and disproved what she had asserted. "it would be beyond the limits of an ordinary letter to detail her baseness, though i will do so should his excellency wish it; but you may judge of her depravity by one circumstance, which came out before mr. justice dyett, in a quarrel with another female. * * * * * "such a thing i could not have believed possible.[ ] [footnote : i omit the circumstance here mentioned, because it is too indecent to appear in a publication likely to be perused by females. it is, in all probability, a vile calumny; but even if it were perfectly true, it would not serve mr. wood's case one straw.--any reader who wishes it, may see the passage referred to, in the autograph letter in my possession. t. p.] "losing her value as a slave in a pecuniary point of view i consider of no consequence; for it was our intention, had she conducted herself properly and returned with us, to have given her freedom. she has taken her freedom; and all i wish is, that she would enjoy it without meddling with me. "let me again repeat, if his excellency wishes it, it will afford me great pleasure to state such particulars of her, and which will be incontestably proved by numbers here, that i am sure will acquit me in his opinion of acting unkind or ungenerous towards her. i'll say nothing of the liability i should incur, under the consolidated slave law, of dealing with a free person as a slave. "my only excuse for entering so much into detail must be that of my anxious wish to stand justified in his excellency's opinion. "i am, my dear sir, yours very truly, john a. wood. "_ th oct. _." "_charles taylor, esq._ _&c. &c. &c._ "i forgot to mention that it was at her own special request that she accompanied me to england--and also that she had a considerable sum of money with her, which she had saved in my service. i knew of £ to £ , at least, for i had some trouble to recover it from a white man, to whom she had lent it. "j. a. w." such is mr. wood's justification of his conduct in thus obstinately refusing manumission to the negro-woman who had escaped from his "house of bondage." let us now endeavour to estimate the validity of the excuses assigned, and the allegations advanced by him, for the information of governor sir patrick ross, in this deliberate statement of his case. . to allow the woman to return home free, would, he affirms "be to reward the worst species of ingratitude." he assumes, it seems, the sovereign power of pronouncing a virtual sentence of banishment, for the alleged crime of ingratitude. is this then a power which any man ought to possess over his fellow-mortal? or which any good man would ever wish to exercise? and, besides, there is no evidence whatever, beyond mr. wood's mere assertion, that mary prince owed him or his family the slightest mark of gratitude. her account of the treatment she received in his service, _may_ be incorrect; but her simple statement is at least supported by minute and feasible details, and, unless rebutted by positive facts, will certainly command credence from impartial minds more readily than his angry accusation, which has something absurd and improbable in its very front. moreover, is it not absurd to term the assertion of her _natural rights_ by a slave,--even supposing her to have been kindly dealt with by her "owners," and treated in every respect the reverse of what mary affirms to have been her treatment by mr. wood and his wife,--"the _worst_ species of ingratitude?" this may be west indian ethics, but it will scarcely be received as sound doctrine in europe. . to permit her return would be "to subject himself to insult whenever she came in his way." this is a most extraordinary assertion. are the laws of antigua then so favourable to the free blacks, or the colonial police so feebly administered, that there are no sufficient restraints to protect a rich colonist like mr. wood,--a man who counts among his familiar friends the honourable mr. byam, and mr. taylor the government secretary,--from being insulted by a poor negro-woman? it is preposterous. . her moral character is so bad, that she would prove very troublesome should she come to the colony "without any restraint." "any restraint?" are there no restraints (supposing them necessary) short of absolute slavery to keep "troublesome characters" in order? but this, i suppose, is the _argumentum ad gubernatorem_--to frighten the governor. she is such a termagant, it seems, that if she once gets back to the colony _free_, she will not only make it too hot for poor mr. wood, but the police and courts of justice will scarce be a match for her! sir patrick ross, no doubt, will take care how he intercedes farther for so formidable a virago! how can one treat such arguments seriously? . she is not a native of the colony, and he knows of no relation she has there. true: but was it not her home (so far as a slave can have a home) for thirteen or fourteen years? were not the connexions, friendships, and associations of her mature life formed there? was it not there she hoped to spend her latter years in domestic tranquillity with her husband, free from the lash of the taskmaster? these considerations may appear light to mr. wood, but they are every thing to this poor woman. . he induced her, he says, to take a husband, a short time before she left antigua, and gave them a comfortable house in his yard, &c. &c. this paragraph merits attention. he "_induced her to take a husband_?" if the fact were true, what brutality of mind and manners does it not indicate among these slave-holders? they refuse to legalize the marriages of their slaves, but _induce_ them to form such temporary connexions as may suit the owner's conveniency, just as they would pair the lower animals; and this man has the effrontery to tell us so! mary, however, tells a very different story, (see page ;) and her assertion, independently of other proof, is at least as credible as mr. wood's. the reader will judge for himself as to the preponderance of internal evidence in the conflicting statements. . he alleges that she was, before marriage, licentious, and even depraved in her conduct, and unfaithful to her husband afterwards. these are serious charges. but if true, or even partially true, how comes it that a person so correct in his family hours and arrangements as mr. wood professes to be, and who expresses so edifying a horror of licentiousness, could reconcile it to his conscience to keep in the bosom of his family so _depraved_, as well as so _troublesome_ a character for at least thirteen years, and confide to her for long periods too the charge of his house and the care of his children--for such i shall shew to have been the facts? how can he account for not having rid himself with all speed, of so disreputable an inmate--he who values her loss so little "in a pecuniary point of view?" how can he account for having sold _five other slaves_ in that period, and yet have retained this shocking woman--nay, even have refused to sell her, on more than one occasion, when offered her full value? it could not be from ignorance of her character, for the circumstance which he adduces as a proof of her shameless depravity, and which i have omitted on account of its indecency, occurred, it would appear, not less than _ten years ago_. yet, notwithstanding her alleged ill qualities and habits of gross immorality, he has not only constantly refused to part with her; but after thirteen long years, brings her to england as an attendant on his wife and children, with the avowed intention of carrying her back along with his maiden daughter, a young lady returning from school! such are the extraordinary facts; and until mr. wood shall reconcile these singular inconsistencies between his actions and his allegations, he must not be surprised if we in england prefer giving credit to the former rather than the latter; although at present it appears somewhat difficult to say which side of the alternative is the more creditable to his own character. . her husband, he says, has taken another wife; "so that on that score," he adds, "he does her no injury." supposing this fact be true, (which i doubt, as i doubt every mere assertion from so questionable a quarter,) i shall take leave to put a question or two to mr. wood's conscience. did he not write from england to his friend mr. darrel, soon after mary left his house, directing him to turn her husband, daniel james, off his premises, on account of her offence; telling him to inform james at the same time that his wife had _taken up_ with another man, who had robbed her of all she had--a calumny as groundless as it was cruel? i further ask if the person who invented this story (whoever he may be,) was not likely enough to impose similar fabrications on the poor negro man's credulity, until he may have been induced to prove false to his marriage vows, and to "take another wife," as mr. wood coolly expresses it? but withal, i strongly doubt the fact of daniel james' infidelity; for there is now before me a letter from himself to mary, dated in april , couched in strong terms of conjugal affection; expressing his anxiety for her speedy return, and stating that he had lately "received a grace" (a token of religious advancement) in the moravian church, a circumstance altogether incredible if the man were living in open adultery, as mr. wood's assertion implies. . mary, he says, endeavoured to injure the character of his family by infamous falsehoods, which were embodied in a petition to the house of commons, and would have been presented, had not his friends from antigua, the hon. mr. byam, and dr. coull, disproved her assertions. i can say something on this point from my own knowledge. mary's petition contained simply a brief statement of her case, and, among other things, mentioned the treatment she had received from mr. and mrs. wood. now the principal facts are corroborated by other evidence, and mr. wood must bring forward very different testimony from that of dr. coull before well-informed persons will give credit to his contradiction. the value of that person's evidence in such cases will be noticed presently. of the hon. mr. byam i know nothing, and shall only at present remark that it is not likely to redound greatly to his credit to appear in such company. furthermore, mary's petition _was_ presented, as mr. wood ought to know; though it was not discussed, nor his conduct exposed as it ought to have been. . he speaks of the liability he should incur, under the consolidated slave law, of dealing with a free person as a slave. is not this pretext hypocritical in the extreme? what liability could he possibly incur by voluntarily resigning the power, conferred on him by an iniquitous colonial law, of re-imposing the shackles of slavery on the bondwoman from whose limbs they had fallen when she touched the free soil of england?--there exists no liability from which he might not have been easily secured, or for which he would not have been fully compensated. he adds in a postscript that mary had a considerable sum of money with her,--from £ to £ at least, which she had saved in his service. the fact is, that she had at one time dollars in cash; but only a very small portion of that sum appears to have been brought by her to england, the rest having been partly advanced, as she states, to assist her husband, and partly lost by being lodged in unfaithful custody. finally, mr. wood repeats twice that it will afford him great pleasure to state for the governor's satisfaction, if required, such particulars of "the woman molly," upon incontestable evidence, as he is sure will acquit him in his excellency's opinion "of acting unkind or ungenerous towards her." this is well: and i now call upon mr. wood to redeem his pledge;--to bring forward facts and proofs fully to elucidate the subject;--to reconcile, if he can, the extraordinary discrepancies which i have pointed out between his assertions and the actual facts, and especially between his account of mary prince's character and his own conduct in regard to her. he has now to produce such a statement as will acquit him not only in the opinion of sir patrick ross, but of the british public. and in this position he has spontaneously placed himself, in attempting to destroy, by his deliberate criminatory letter, the poor woman's fair fame and reputation,--an attempt but for which the present publication would probably never have appeared. * * * * * here perhaps we might safely leave the case to the judgment of the public; but as this negro woman's character, not the less valuable to her because her condition is so humble, has been so unscrupulously blackened by her late master, a party so much interested and inclined to place her in the worst point of view,--it is incumbent on me, as her advocate with the public, to state such additional testimony in her behalf as i can fairly and conscientiously adduce. my first evidence is mr. joseph phillips, of antigua. having submitted to his inspection mr. wood's letter and mary prince's narrative, and requested his candid and deliberate sentiments in regard to the actual facts of the case, i have been favoured with the following letter from him on the subject:-- "london, january , . "dear sir, "in giving you my opinion of mary prince's narrative, and of mr. wood's letter respecting her, addressed to mr. taylor, i shall first mention my opportunities of forming a proper estimate of the conduct and character of both parties. "i have known mr. wood since his first arrival in antigua in . he was then a poor young man, who had been brought up as a ship carpenter in bermuda. he was afterwards raised to be a clerk in the commissariat department, and realised sufficient capital to commence business as a merchant. this last profession he has followed successfully for a good many years, and is understood to have accumulated very considerable wealth. after he entered into trade, i had constant intercourse with him in the way of business; and in and , i was regularly employed on his premises as his clerk; consequently, i had opportunities of seeing a good deal of his character both as a merchant, and as a master of slaves. the former topic i pass over as irrelevant to the present subject: in reference to the latter, i shall merely observe that he was not, in regard to ordinary matters, more severe than the ordinary run of slave owners; but, if seriously offended, he was not of a disposition to be easily appeased, and would spare no cost or sacrifice to gratify his vindictive feelings. as regards the exaction of work from domestic slaves, his wife was probably more severe than himself--it was almost impossible for the slaves ever to give her entire satisfaction. "of their slave molly (or mary) i know less than of mr. and mrs. wood; but i saw and heard enough of her, both while i was constantly employed on mr. wood's premises, and while i was there occasionally on business, to be quite certain that she was viewed by her owners as their most respectable and trustworthy female slave. it is within my personal knowledge that she had usually the charge of the house in their absence, was entrusted with the keys, &c.; and was always considered by the neighbours and visitors as their confidential household servant, and as a person in whose integrity they placed unlimited confidence,--although when mrs. wood was at home, she was no doubt kept pretty closely at washing and other hard work. a decided proof of the estimation in which she was held by her owners exists in the fact that mr. wood uniformly refused to part with her, whereas he sold five other slaves while she was with them. indeed, she always appeared to me to be a slave of superior intelligence and respectability; and i always understood such to be her general character in the place. "as to what mr. wood alleges about her being frequently before the police, &c. i can only say i never heard of the circumstance before; and as i lived for twenty years in the same small town, and in the vicinity of their residence, i think i could scarcely have failed to become acquainted with it, had such been the fact. she might, however, have been occasionally before the magistrate in consequence of little disputes among the slaves, without any serious imputation on her general respectability. she says she was twice summoned to appear as a witness on such occasions; and that she was once sent by her mistress to be confined in the cage, and was afterwards flogged by her desire. this cruel practice is very common in antigua; and, in my opinion, is but little creditable to the slave owners and magistrates by whom such arbitrary punishments are inflicted, frequently for very trifling faults. mr. james scotland is the only magistrate in the colony who invariably refuses to sanction this reprehensible practice. "of the immoral conduct ascribed to molly by mr. wood, i can say nothing further than this--that i have heard she had at a former period (previous to her marriage) a connexion with a white person, a capt. ----, which i have no doubt was broken off when she became seriously impressed with religion. but, at any rate, such connexions are so common, i might almost say universal, in our slave colonies, that except by the missionaries and a few serious persons, they are considered, if faults at all, so very venial as scarcely to deserve the name of immorality. mr. wood knows this colonial estimate of such connexions as well as i do; and, however false such an estimate must be allowed to be, especially when applied to their own conduct by persons of education, pretending to adhere to the pure christian rule of morals,--yet when he ascribes to a negro slave, to whom legal marriage was denied, such great criminality for laxity of this sort, and professes to be so exceedingly shocked and amazed at the tale he himself relates, he must, i am confident, have had a farther object in view than the information of mr. taylor or sir patrick ross. he must, it is evident, have been aware that his letter would be sent to mr. allen, and accordingly adapted it, as more important documents from the colonies are often adapted, _for effect in england_. the tale of the slave molly's immoralities, be assured, was not intended for antigua so much as for stoke newington, and peckham, and aldermanbury. "in regard to mary's narrative generally, although i cannot speak to the accuracy of the details, except in a few recent particulars, i can with safety declare that i see no reason to question the truth of a single fact stated by her, or even to suspect her in any instance of intentional exaggeration. it bears in my judgment the genuine stamp of truth and nature. such is my unhesitating opinion, after a residence of twenty-seven years in the west indies. "i remain, &c. "joseph phillips." _to t. pringle, esq._ "p.s. as mr. wood refers to the evidence of dr. t. coull in opposition to mary's assertions, it may be proper to enable you justly to estimate the worth of that person's evidence in cases connected with the condition and treatment of slaves. you are aware that in , mr. m'queen of glasgow, in noticing a report of the "ladies' society of birmingham for the relief of british negro slaves," asserted with his characteristic audacity, that the statement which it contained respecting distressed and deserted slaves in antigua was "an abominable falsehood." not contented with this, and with insinuating that i, as agent of the society in the distribution of their charity in antigua, had fraudulently duped them out of their money by a fabricated tale of distress, mr. m'queen proceeded to libel me in the most opprobrious terms, as "a man of the most worthless and abandoned character."[ ] now i know from good authority that it was _upon dr. coull's information_ that mr. m'queen founded this impudent contradiction of notorious facts, and this audacious libel of my personal character. from this single circumstance you may judge of the value of his evidence in the case of mary prince. i can furnish further information respecting dr. coull's colonial proceedings, both private and judicial, should circumstances require it." "j. p." [footnote : in elucidation of the circumstances above referred to, i subjoin the following extracts from the report of the birmingham ladies' society for :-- "as a portion of the funds of this association has been appropriated to assist the benevolent efforts of a society which has for fifteen years afforded relief to distressed and deserted slaves in antigua, it may not be uninteresting to our friends to learn the manner in which the agent of this society has been treated for simply obeying the command of our saviour, by ministering, like the good samaritan, to the distresses of the helpless and the desolate. the society's proceedings being adverted to by a friend of africa, at one of the public meetings held in this country, a west indian planter, who was present, wrote over to his friends in antigua, and represented the conduct of the distributors of this charity in such a light, that it was deemed worthy of the cognizance of the house of assembly. mr. joseph phillips, a resident of the island, who had most kindly and disinterestedly exerted himself in the distribution of the money from england among the poor deserted slaves, was brought before the assembly, and most severely interrogated: on his refusing to deliver up his private correspondence with his friends in england, he was thrown into a loathsome jail, where he was kept for nearly five months; while his loss of business, and the oppressive proceedings instituted against him, were involving him in poverty and ruin. on his discharge by the house of assembly, he was seized in their lobby for debt, and again imprisoned." "in our report for the year , we quoted a passage from the th report of the society for the relief of deserted slaves in the island of antigua, in reference to a case of great distress. this statement fell into the hands of mr. m'queen, the editor of the glasgow courier. of the consequences resulting from this circumstance we only gained information through the leicester chronicle, which had copied an article from the weekly register of antigua, dated st. john's, september , . we find from this that mr. m'queen affirms, that 'with the exception of the fact that the society is, as it deserves to be, duped out of its money, the whole tale' (of the distress above referred to) 'is an abominable falsehood.' this statement, which we are informed has appeared in many of the public papers, is completely refuted in our appendix, no. , to which we refer our readers. mr. m'queen's statements, we regret to say, would lead many to believe that there are no deserted negroes to assist; and that the case mentioned was a perfect fabrication. he also distinctly avers, that the disinterested and humane agent of the society, mr. joseph phillips, is 'a man of the most worthless and abandoned character.' in opposition to this statement, we learn the good character of mr. phillips from those who have long been acquainted with his laudable exertions in the cause of humanity, and from the editor of the weekly register of antigua, who speaks, on his own knowledge, of more than twenty years back; confidently appealing at the same time to the inhabitants of the colony in which he resides for the truth of his averments, and producing a testimonial to mr. phillips's good character signed by two members of the antigua house of assembly, and by mr. wyke, the collector of his majesty's customs, and by antigua merchants, as follows--'that they have been acquainted with him the last four years and upwards, and he has always conducted himself in an upright becoming manner--his character we know to be unimpeached, and his morals unexceptionable.' (signed) "thomas saunderson john d. taylor john a. wood george wyke samuel l. darrel giles s. musson robert grant." "st. john's, antigua, june , ." in addition to the above testimonies, mr. phillips has brought over to england with him others of a more recent date, from some of the most respectable persons in antigua--sufficient to cover with confusion all his unprincipled calumniators. see also his account of his own case in the anti-slavery reporter, no. , p. .] i leave the preceding letter to be candidly weighed by the reader in opposition to the inculpatory allegations of mr. wood--merely remarking that mr. wood will find it somewhat difficult to impugn the evidence of mr. phillips, whose "upright," "unimpeached," and "unexceptionable" character, he has himself vouched for in unqualified terms, by affixing his signature to the testimonial published in the weekly register of antigua in . (see note below.) the next testimony in mary's behalf is that of mrs. forsyth, a lady in whose service she spent the summer of .--(see page .) this lady, on leaving london to join her husband, voluntarily presented mary with a certificate, which, though it relates only to a recent and short period of her history, is a strong corroboration of the habitual respectability of her character. it is in the following terms:-- "mrs. forsyth states, that the bearer of this paper (mary james,) has been with her for the last six months; that she has found her an excellent character, being honest, industrious, and sober; and that she parts with her on no other account than this--that being obliged to travel with her husband, who has lately come from abroad in bad health, she has no farther need of a servant. any person wishing to engage her, can have her character in full from miss robson, , keppel street, russel square, whom mrs. forsyth has requested to furnish particulars to any one desiring them. " , keppel street, th sept. ." in the last place, i add my own testimony in behalf of this negro woman. independently of the scrutiny, which, as secretary of the anti-slavery society, i made into her case when she first applied for assistance, at , aldermanbury, and the watchful eye i kept upon her conduct for the ensuing twelvemonths, while she was the occasional pensioner of the society, i have now had the opportunity of closely observing her conduct for fourteen months, in the situation of a domestic servant in my own family; and the following is the deliberate opinion of mary's character, formed not only by myself, but also by my wife and sister-in-law, after this ample period of observation. we have found her perfectly honest and trustworthy in all respects; so that we have no hesitation in leaving every thing in the house at her disposal. she had the entire charge of the house during our absence in scotland for three months last autumn, and conducted herself in that charge with the utmost discretion and fidelity. she is not, it is true, a very expert housemaid, nor capable of much hard work, (for her constitution appears to be a good deal broken,) but she is careful, industrious, and anxious to do her duty and to give satisfaction. she is capable of strong attachments, and feels deep, though unobtrusive, gratitude for real kindness shown her. she possesses considerable natural sense, and has much quickness of observation and discrimination of character. she is remarkable for _decency_ and _propriety_ of conduct--and her _delicacy_, even in trifling minutiæ, has been a trait of special remark by the females of my family. this trait, which is obviously quite unaffected, would be a most inexplicable anomaly, if her former habits had been so indecent and depraved as mr. wood alleges. her chief faults, so far as we have discovered them, are, a somewhat violent and hasty temper, and a considerable share of natural pride and self-importance; but these defects have been but rarely and transiently manifested, and have scarcely occasioned an hour's uneasiness at any time in our household. her religious knowledge, notwithstanding the pious care of her moravian instructors in antigua, is still but very limited, and her views of christianity indistinct; but her profession, whatever it may have of imperfection, i am convinced, has nothing of insincerity. in short, we consider her on the whole as respectable and well-behaved a person in her station, as any domestic, white or black, (and we have had ample experience of both colours,) that we have ever had in our service. but after all, mary's character, important though its exculpation be to her, is not really the point of chief practical interest in this case. suppose all mr. wood's defamatory allegations to be true--suppose him to be able to rake up against her out of the records of the antigua police, or from the veracious testimony of his brother colonists, twenty stories as bad or worse than what he insinuates--suppose the whole of her own statement to be false, and even the whole of her conduct since she came under our observation here to be a tissue of hypocrisy;--suppose all this--and leave the negro woman as black in character as in complexion,[ ]--yet it would affect not the main facts--which are these.-- . mr. wood, not daring in england to punish this woman arbitrarily, as he would have done in the west indies, drove her out of his house, or left her, at least, only the alternative of returning instantly to antigua, with the certainty of severe treatment there, or submitting in silence to what she considered intolerable usage in his household. . he has since obstinately persisted in refusing her manumission, to enable her to return home in security, though repeatedly offered more than ample compensation for her value as a slave; and this on various frivolous pretexts, but really, and indeed not unavowedly, in order to _punish_ her for leaving his service in england, though he himself had professed to give her that option. these unquestionable facts speak volumes.[ ] [footnote : if it even were so, how strong a plea of palliation might not the poor negro bring, by adducing the neglect of her various owners to afford religious instruction or moral discipline, and the habitual influence of their evil _example_ (to say the very least,) before her eyes? what moral good could she possibly learn--what moral evil could she easily escape, while under the uncontrolled power of such masters as she describes captain i---- and mr. d---- of turk's island? all things considered, it is indeed wonderful to find her such as she now is. but as she has herself piously expressed it, "that god whom then she knew not mercifully preserved her for better things."] [footnote : since the preceding pages were printed off, i have been favoured with a communication from the rev. j. curtin, to whom among other acquaintances of mr. wood's in this country, the entire proof sheets of this pamphlet had been sent for inspection. mr. curtin corrects some omissions and inaccuracies in mary prince's narrative (see page ,) by stating, . that she was baptized, not in august, but on the th of april, ; . that sometime before her baptism, on her being admitted a catechumen, preparatory to that holy ordinance, she brought a note from her owner, mr. wood, recommending her for religious instruction, &c.; . that it was his usual practice, when any adult slaves came on _week days_ to school, to require their owners' permission for their attendance; but that on _sundays_ the chapel was open indiscriminately to all.--mary, after a personal interview with mr. curtin, and after hearing his letter read by me, still maintains that mr. wood's note recommended her for baptism merely, and that she never received any religious instruction whatever from mr. and mrs. wood, or from any one else at that period beyond what she has stated in her narrative. in regard to her non-admission to the sunday school without permission from her owners, she admits that she may possibly have mistaken the clergyman's meaning on that point, but says that such was certainly her impression at the time, and the actual cause of her non-attendance. mr. curtin finds in his books some reference to mary's connection with a captain ----, (the individual, i believe, alluded to by mr. phillips at page ); but he states that when she attended his chapel she was always decently and becomingly dressed, and appeared to him to be in a situation of trust in her mistress's family. mr. curtin offers no comment on any other part of mary's statement; but he speaks in very favourable, though general terms of the respectability of mr. wood, whom he had known for many years in antigua; and of mrs. wood, though she was not personally known to him, he says, that he had "heard her spoken of by those of her acquaintance, as a lady of very mild and amiable manners." another friend of mr. and mrs. wood, a lady who had been their guest both in antigua and england, alleges that mary has grossly misrepresented them in her narrative; and says that she "can vouch for their being the most benevolent, kind-hearted people that can possibly live." she has declined, however, to furnish me with any written correction of the misrepresentations she complains of, although i offered to insert her testimony in behalf of her friends, if sent to me in time. and having already kept back the publication a fortnight waiting for communications of this sort, i will not delay it longer. those who have withheld their strictures have only themselves to blame. of the general character of mr. and mrs. wood, i would not designedly give any _unfair_ impression. without implicitly adopting either the _ex parte_ view of mary prince, or the unmeasured encomiums of their friends, i am willing to believe them to be, on the whole, fair, perhaps favourable, specimens of colonial character. let them even be rated, if you will, in the very highest and most benevolent class of slave-holders; and, laying everything else entirely out of view, let mr. wood's conduct in this affair be tried exclusively by the facts established beyond dispute, and by his own statement of the case in his letter to mr. taylor. but then, i ask, if the very _best_ and _mildest_ of your slave-owners can act as mr. wood is proved to have acted, what is to be expected of persons whose mildness, or equity, or common humanity no one will dare to vouch for? if such things are done in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?--and what else then can colonial slavery possibly be, even in its best estate, but a system incurably evil and iniquitous?--i require no other data--i need add no further comment.] the case affords a most instructive illustration of the true spirit of the slave system, and of the pretensions of the slave-holders to assert, not merely their claims to a "vested right" in the _labour_ of their bondmen, but to an indefeasible property in them as their "absolute chattels." it furnishes a striking practical comment on the assertions of the west indians that self-interest is a sufficient check to the indulgence of vindictive feelings in the master; for here is a case where a man (a _respectable_ and _benevolent_ man as his friends aver,) prefers losing entirely the full price of the slave, for the mere satisfaction of preventing a poor black woman from returning home to her husband! if the pleasure of thwarting the benevolent wishes of the anti-slavery society in behalf of the deserted negro, be an additional motive with mr. wood, it will not much mend his wretched plea. * * * * * i may here add a few words respecting the earlier portion of mary prince's narrative. the facts there stated must necessarily rest entirely,--since we have no collateral evidence,--upon their intrinsic claims to probability, and upon the reliance the reader may feel disposed, after perusing the foregoing pages, to place on her veracity. to my judgment, the internal evidence of the truth of her narrative appears remarkably strong. the circumstances are related in a tone of natural sincerity, and are accompanied in almost every case with characteristic and minute details, which must, i conceive, carry with them full conviction to every candid mind that this negro woman has actually seen, felt, and suffered all that she so impressively describes; and that the picture she has given of west indian slavery is not less true than it is revolting. but there may be some persons into whose hands this tract may fall, so imperfectly acquainted with the real character of negro slavery, as to be shocked into partial, if not absolute incredulity, by the acts of inhuman oppression and brutality related of capt. i---- and his wife, and of mr. d----, the salt manufacturer of turk's island. here, at least, such persons may be disposed to think, there surely must be _some_ exaggeration; the facts are too shocking to be credible. the facts are indeed shocking, but unhappily not the less credible on that account. slavery is a curse to the oppressor scarcely less than to the oppressed: its natural tendency is to brutalize both. after a residence myself of six years in a slave colony, i am inclined to doubt whether, as regards its _demoralizing_ influence, the master is not even a greater object of compassion than his bondman. let those who are disposed to doubt the atrocities related in this narrative, on the testimony of a sufferer, examine the details of many cases of similar barbarity that have lately come before the public, on unquestionable evidence. passing over the reports of the fiscal of berbice,[ ] and the mauritius horrors recently unveiled,[ ] let them consider the case of mr. and mrs. moss, of the bahamas, and their slave kate, so justly denounced by the secretary for the colonies;[ ]--the cases of eleanor mead,[ ]--of henry williams,[ ]--and of the rev. mr. bridges and kitty hylton,[ ] in jamaica. these cases alone might suffice to demonstrate the inevitable tendency of slavery as it exists in our colonies, to brutalize the master to a truly frightful degree--a degree which would often cast into the shade even the atrocities related in the narrative of mary prince; and which are sufficient to prove, independently of all other evidence, that there is nothing in the revolting character of the facts to affect their credibility; but that on the contrary, similar deeds are at this very time of frequent occurrence in almost every one of our slave colonies. the system of coercive labour may vary in different places; it may be more destructive to human life in the cane culture of mauritius and jamaica, than in the predial and domestic bondage of bermuda or the bahamas,--but the spirit and character of slavery are every where the same, and cannot fail to produce similar effects. wherever slavery prevails, there will inevitably be found cruelty and oppression. individuals who have preserved humane, and amiable, and tolerant dispositions towards their black dependents, may doubtless be found among slave-holders; but even where a happy instance of this sort occurs, such as mary's first mistress, the kind-hearted mrs. williams, the favoured condition of the slave is still as precarious as it is rare: it is every moment at the mercy of events; and must always be held by a tenure so proverbially uncertain as that of human prosperity, or human life. such examples, like a feeble and flickering streak of light in a gloomy picture, only serve by contrast to exhibit the depth of the prevailing shades. like other exceptions, they only prove the general rule: the unquestionable tendency of the system is to vitiate the best tempers, and to harden the most feeling hearts. "never be kind, nor speak kindly to a slave," said an accomplished english lady in south africa to my wife: "i have now," she added, "been for some time a slave-owner, and have found, from vexatious experience in my own household, that nothing but harshness and hauteur will do with slaves." [footnote : see anti-slavery reporter, nos. and .] [footnote : ibid, no. .] [footnote : ibid, no. .] [footnote : ibid, no. , p. ; no. , p. .] [footnote : ibid, no. , p. ; no. , p. .] [footnote : anti-slavery reporter, nos. , , and .] i might perhaps not inappropriately illustrate this point more fully by stating many cases which fell under my own personal observation, or became known to me through authentic sources, at the cape of good hope--a colony where slavery assumes, as it is averred, a milder aspect than in any other dependency of the empire where it exists; and i could shew, from the judicial records of that colony, received by me within these few weeks, cases scarcely inferior in barbarity to the worst of those to which i have just specially referred; but to do so would lead me too far from the immediate purpose of this pamphlet, and extend it to an inconvenient length. i shall therefore content myself with quoting a single short passage from the excellent work of my friend dr. walsh, entitled "notices of brazil,"--a work which, besides its other merits, has vividly illustrated the true spirit of negro slavery, as it displays itself not merely in that country, but wherever it has been permitted to open its pandora's box of misery and crime. let the reader ponder on the following just remarks, and compare the facts stated by the author in illustration of them, with the circumstances related at pages and of mary's narrative:-- "if then we put out of the question the injury inflicted on others, and merely consider the deterioration of feeling and principle with which it operates on ourselves, ought it not to be a sufficient, and, indeed, unanswerable argument, against the permission of slavery? "the exemplary manner in which the paternal duties are performed at home, may mark people as the most fond and affectionate parents; but let them once go abroad, and come within the contagion of slavery, and it seems to alter the very nature of a man; and the father has sold, and still sells, the mother and his children, with as little compunction as he would a sow and her litter of pigs; and he often disposes of them together. "this deterioration of feeling is conspicuous in many ways among the brazilians. they are naturally a people of a humane and good-natured disposition, and much indisposed to cruelty or severity of any kind. indeed, the manner in which many of them treat their slaves is a proof of this, as it is really gentle and considerate; but the natural tendency to cruelty and oppression in the human heart, is continually evolved by the impunity and uncontrolled licence in which they are exercised. i never walked through the streets of rio, that some house did not present to me the semblance of a bridewell, where the moans and the cries of the sufferers, and the sounds of whips and scourges within, announced to me that corporal punishment was being inflicted. whenever i remarked this to a friend, i was always answered that the refractory nature of the slave rendered it necessary, and no house could properly be conducted unless it was practised. but this is certainly not the case; and the chastisement is constantly applied in the very wantonness of barbarity, and would not, and dared not, be inflicted on the humblest wretch in society, if he was not a slave, and so put out of the pale of pity. "immediately joining our house was one occupied by a mechanic, from which the most dismal cries and moans constantly proceeded. i entered the shop one day, and found it was occupied by a saddler, who had two negro boys working at his business. he was a tawny, cadaverous-looking man, with a dark aspect; and he had cut from his leather a scourge like a russian knout, which he held in his hand, and was in the act of exercising on one of the naked children in an inner room: and this was the cause of the moans and cries we heard every day, and almost all day long. "in the rear of our house was another, occupied by some women of bad character, who kept, as usual, several negro slaves. i was awoke early one morning by dismal cries, and looking out of the window, i saw in the back yard of the house, a black girl of about fourteen years old; before her stood her mistress, a white woman, with a large stick in her hand. she was undressed except her petticoat and chemise, which had fallen down and left her shoulders and bosom bare. her hair was streaming behind, and every fierce and malevolent passion was depicted in her face. she too, like my hostess at governo [another striking illustration of the _dehumanizing_ effects of slavery,] was the very representation of a fury. she was striking the poor girl, whom she had driven up into a corner, where she was on her knees appealing for mercy. she shewed her none, but continued to strike her on the head and thrust the stick into her face, till she was herself exhausted, and her poor victim covered with blood. this scene was renewed every morning, and the cries and moans of the poor suffering blacks, announced that they were enduring the penalty of slavery, in being the objects on which the irritable and malevolent passions of the whites are allowed to vent themselves with impunity; nor could i help deeply deploring that state of society in which the vilest characters in the community are allowed an almost uncontrolled power of life and death, over their innocent, and far more estimable fellow-creatures."--(notices of brazil, vol. ii. p. - .) * * * * * in conclusion, i may observe that the history of mary prince furnishes a corollary to lord stowell's decision in the case of the slave grace, and that it is most valuable on this account. whatever opinions may be held by some readers on the grave question of immediately abolishing colonial slavery, nothing assuredly can be more repugnant to the feelings of englishmen than that the system should be permitted to extend its baneful influence to this country. yet such is the case, when the slave landed in england still only possesses that qualified degree of freedom, that a change of domicile will determine it. though born a british subject, and resident within the shores of england, he is cut off from his dearest natural rights by the sad alternative of regaining them at the expence of liberty, and the certainty of severe treatment. it is true that he has the option of returning; but it is a cruel mockery to call it a voluntary choice, when upon his return depend his means of subsistence and his re-union with all that makes life valuable. here he has tasted "the sweets of freedom," to quote the words of the unfortunate mary prince; but if he desires to restore himself to his family, or to escape from suffering and destitution, and the other evils of a climate uncongenial to his constitution and habits, he must abandon the enjoyment of his late-acquired liberty, and again subject himself to the arbitrary power of a vindictive master. the case of mary prince is by no means a singular one; many of the same kind are daily occurring: and even if the case were singular, it would still loudly call for the interference of the legislature. in instances of this kind no injury can possibly be done to the owner by confirming to the slave his resumption of his natural rights. it is the master's spontaneous act to bring him to this country; he knows when he brings him that he divests himself of his property; and it is, in fact, a minor species of slave trading, when he has thus enfranchised his slave, to _re-capture_ that slave by the necessities of his condition, or by working upon the better feelings of his heart. abstractedly from all legal technicalities, there is no real difference between thus compelling the return of the enfranchised negro, and trepanning a free native of england by delusive hopes into perpetual slavery. the most ingenious casuist could not point out any essential distinction between the two cases. our boasted liberty is the dream of imagination, and no longer the characteristic of our country, if its bulwarks can thus be thrown down by colonial special pleading. it would well become the character of the present government to introduce a bill into the legislature making perpetual that freedom which the slave has acquired by his passage here, and thus to declare, in the most ample sense of the words, (what indeed we had long fondly believed to be the fact, though it now appears that we have been mistaken,) that no slave can exist within the shores of great britain. narrative of louis asa-asa, a captured african. the following interesting narrative is a convenient supplement to the history of mary prince. it is given, like hers, as nearly as possible in the narrator's words, with only so much correction as was necessary to connect the story, and render it grammatical. the concluding passage in inverted commas, is entirely his own. while mary's narrative shews the disgusting character of colonial slavery, this little tale explains with equal force the horrors in which it originates. it is necessary to explain that louis came to this country about five years ago, in a french vessel called the pearl. she had lost her reckoning, and was driven by stress of weather into the port of st. ives, in cornwall. louis and his four companions were brought to london upon a writ of habeas corpus at the instance of mr. george stephen; and, after some trifling opposition on the part of the master of the vessel, were discharged by lord wynford. two of his unfortunate fellow-sufferers died of the measles at hampstead; the other two returned to sierra leone; but poor louis, when offered the choice of going back to africa, replied, "me no father, no mother now; me stay with you." and here he has ever since remained; conducting himself in a way to gain the good will and respect of all who know him. he is remarkably intelligent, understands our language perfectly, and can read and write well. the last sentences of the following narrative will seem almost too peculiar to be his own; but it is not the first time that in conversation with mr. george stephen, he has made similar remarks. on one occasion in particular, he was heard saying to himself in the kitchen, while sitting by the fire apparently in deep thought, "me think,--me think----" a fellow-servant inquired what he meant; and he added, "me think what a good thing i came to england! here, i know what god is, and read my bible; in my country they have no god, no bible." how severe and just a reproof to the guilty wretches who visit his country only with fire and sword! how deserved a censure upon the not less guilty men, who dare to vindicate the state of slavery, on the lying pretext, that its victims are of an inferior nature! and scarcely less deserving of reprobation are those who have it in their power to prevent these crimes, but who remain inactive from indifference, or are dissuaded from throwing the shield of british power over the victim of oppression, by the sophistry, and the clamour, and the avarice of the oppressor. it is the reproach and the sin of england. may god avert from our country the ruin which this national guilt deserves! we lament to add, that the pearl which brought these negroes to our shore, was restored to its owners at the instance of the french government, instead of being condemned as a prize to lieut. rye, who, on his own responsibility, detained her, with all her manacles and chains and other detestable proofs of her piratical occupation on board. we trust it is not yet too late to demand investigation into the reasons for restoring her. _the negro boy's narrative._ my father's name was clashoquin; mine is asa-asa. he lived in a country called bycla, near egie, a large town. egie is as large as brighton; it was some way from the sea. i had five brothers and sisters. we all lived together with my father and mother; he kept a horse, and was respectable, but not one of the great men. my uncle was one of the great men at egie: he could make men come and work for him: his name was otou. he had a great deal of land and cattle. my father sometimes worked on his own land, and used to make charcoal. i was too little to work; my eldest brother used to work on the land; and we were all very happy. a great many people, whom we called adinyés, set fire to egie in the morning before daybreak; there were some thousands of them. they killed a great many, and burnt all their houses. they staid two days, and then carried away all the people whom they did not kill. they came again every now and then for a month, as long as they could find people to carry away. they used to tie them by the feet, except when they were taking them off, and then they let them loose; but if they offered to run away, they would shoot them. i lost a great many friends and relations at egie; about a dozen. they sold all they carried away, to be slaves. i know this because i afterwards saw them as slaves on the other side of the sea. they took away brothers, and sisters, and husbands, and wives; they did not care about this. they were sold for cloth or gunpowder, sometimes for salt or guns; sometimes they got four or five guns for a man: they were english guns, made like my master's that i clean for his shooting. the adinyés burnt a great many places besides egie. they burnt all the country wherever they found villages; they used to shoot men, women, and children, if they ran away. they came to us about eleven o'clock one day, and directly they came they set our house on fire. all of us had run away. we kept together, and went into the woods, and stopped there two days. the adinyés then went away, and we returned home and found every thing burnt. we tried to build a little shed, and were beginning to get comfortable again. we found several of our neighbours lying about wounded; they had been shot. i saw the bodies of four or five little children whom they had killed with blows on the head. they had carried away their fathers and mothers, but the children were too small for slaves, so they killed them. they had killed several others, but these were all that i saw. i saw them lying in the street like dead dogs. in about a week after we got back, the adinyés returned, and burnt all the sheds and houses they had left standing. we all ran away again; we went to the woods as we had done before.--they followed us the next day. we went farther into the woods, and staid there about four days and nights; we were half starved; we only got a few potatoes. my uncle otou was with us. at the end of this time, the adinyés found us. we ran away. they called my uncle to go to them; but he refused, and they shot him immediately: they killed him. the rest of us ran on, and they did not get at us till the next day. i ran up into a tree: they followed me and brought me down. they tied my feet. i do not know if they found my father and mother, and brothers and sisters: they had run faster than me, and were half a mile farther when i got up into the tree: i have never seen them since.--there was a man who ran up into the tree with me: i believe they shot him, for i never saw him again. they carried away about twenty besides me. they carried us to the sea. they did not beat us: they only killed one man, who was very ill and too weak to carry his load: they made all of us carry chickens and meat for our food; but this poor man could not carry his load, and they ran him through the body with a sword.--he was a neighbour of ours. when we got to the sea they sold all of us, but not to the same person. they sold us for money; and i was sold six times over, sometimes for money, sometimes for cloth, and sometimes for a gun. i was about thirteen years old. it was about half a year from the time i was taken, before i saw the white people. we were taken in a boat from place to place, and sold at every place we stopped at. in about six months we got to a ship, in which we first saw white people: they were french. they bought us. we found here a great many other slaves; there were about eighty, including women and children. the frenchmen sent away all but five of us into another very large ship. we five staid on board till we got to england, which was about five or six months. the slaves we saw on board the ship were chained together by the legs below deck, so close they could not move. they were flogged very cruelly: i saw one of them flogged till he died; we could not tell what for. they gave them enough to eat. the place they were confined in below deck was so hot and nasty i could not bear to be in it. a great many of the slaves were ill, but they were not attended to. they used to flog me very bad on board the ship: the captain cut my head very bad one time. "i am very happy to be in england, as far as i am very well;--but i have no friend belonging to me, but god, who will take care of me as he has done already. i am very glad i have come to england, to know who god is. i should like much to see my friends again, but i do not now wish to go back to them: for if i go back to my own country, i might be taken as a slave again. i would rather stay here, where i am free, than go back to my country to be sold. i shall stay in england as long as (please god) i shall live. i wish the king of england could know all i have told you. i wish it that he may see how cruelly we are used. we had no king in our country, or he would have stopt it. i think the king of england might stop it, and this is why i wish him to know it all. i have heard say he is good; and if he is, he will stop it if he can. i am well off myself, for i am well taken care of, and have good bed and good clothes; but i wish my own people to be as comfortable." "louis asa-asa." "_london, january , _." albert ross' romances a new edition at a popular price albert ross is a brilliant and wonderfully successful writer whose books have sold far into the millions. primarily his novels deal with the sex-problem, but he depicts vice with an artistic touch and never makes it unduly attractive. gifted with a fine dramatic instinct, his characters become living, moving human beings full of the fire and passion of loving just as they are in real life. his stories contain all the elements that will continue to keep him at the head of american novelists in the number of his admirers. mr. ross is to be congratulated on the strength as well as the purity of his work. it shows that he is not obliged to confine his pen to any single theme, and that he has a good a right to be called the "american eugene sue" or the "american zola." _ mo, cloth. price per volume, cents._ black adonis, a garston bigamy, the her husband's friend his foster sister his private character in stella's shadow love at seventy love gone astray moulding a maiden naked truth, the new sensation, a original sinner, an out of wedlock speaking of ellen stranger than fiction sugar princess, a that gay deceiver their marriage bond thou shalt not thy neighbor's wife why i'm single young fawcett's mabel young miss giddy g.w. dillingham co. publishers new york a new sensation, by albert ross. author of "thou shalt not," "his private character," "speaking of ellen," "in stella's shadow," "their marriage bond," etc. new york: copyright, , by _g.w. dillingham co., publishers._ [_all rights reserved._] contents. chapter page i. lady typewriter wanted ii. outlining the scheme iii. an evening at koster and bial's iv. "you are a hopeless scamp" v. meeting miss marjorie vi. "do you really want me?" vii. getting ready for my journey viii. "a woman i like very well" ix. a private dining room x. "once there was a child" xi. a theft on board ship xii. a little game of cards xiii. bathing in the surf xiv. "oh! this naughty boy!" xv. wesson becomes a nuisance xvi. "it is from a girl" xvii. a struggle on the balcony xviii. our night at martinique xix. "it is a strange idea" xx. new work for my typewriter xxi. "you were in my room?" xxii. too much excitement xxiii. a wedding ring xxiv. the brutal truth xxv. "with his wife, of course" xxvi. behind the bars xxvii. "i pressed them to my lips" to my readers. it is a common question of my correspondents, "are your novels ever founded on fact?" sometimes; not often. this one is. a year ago i had an attack of neurasthenia, as did "donald camran." i did not die, nor go to an insane asylum, both of which items of "news" appeared in the daily papers from one end of the country to the other; but i wasn't exactly well for awhile. in january of this year i made my second trip to the caribbean islands and wrote this novel among the scenes i have described. before going i advertised in the new york herald "personal" column for a typewriter to accompany me as private secretary. i received more than a hundred letters from women who desired the situation and interviewed quite a number of them. i decided, however, to go alone. (if the reader doesn't believe me i refer him to the passenger lists of the "madiana" and "pretoria.") the basis of this story, however, grew out of the advertisement and answers. "marjorie" and "statia" have a genuine existence, and so have many of the other characters in this tale. i have used real people as an artist does his models, taking a little from one, a little from another, and a great deal from the vivid imagination with which nature has endowed me. i hope the result will be satisfactory to my friends, who have waited double the usual time for this novel. my health seems wholly recovered and unless something unforeseen occurs my stories will continue to appear each july and january, as they have for the past ten years. this is the nineteenth volume of the "albatross series." i again send a too indulgent public my warmest thanks for their appreciation. very truly, albert ross. cambridge, mass., may, . a new sensation. chapter i. lady typewriter wanted. "a new sensation--that is what you need," said dr. chambers, wisely. "yes, that is what you want, above all things," assented harvey hume. "a new sensation--it would be the making of you!" cried tom barton, with enthusiasm. i agreed with them all. my brain was exhausted with my long illness and responded feebly to the new strength that was returning to my body. it was much easier, however, for people to discover the remedy i needed than to find the right way to apply it. they would never have united in prescribing the same kind of "sensation." what one would suggest would be opposed by the others; and had they come to a united decision in the matter their ideas might not have suited me at all. i was in a condition when it is not easy to make up the mind to anything. after long reflection, i decided to go and propose marriage to statia. i had never offered my hand to any woman and it seemed as if that ought to give me at least a diversion, which was something. not that i intended to make the offer lightly. i had as lief get married as anything else. i was sick to death of idleness--nothing could well be worse than doing nothing, day after day. but when i had carried out my plan, i left statia in greater despondency than ever. for she refused me pointblank--something that had not entered into my calculations. she did it, too, in anything but an agreeable manner, as it then seemed to me. if the reader of these lines has ever gone through a period of insomnia in its most acute form, he will understand the condition in which it leaves a fellow. when tom's sister laughed me out of court, as one might say, even though she did it with the highest expressions of good will, i was ready for anything desperate. "you are a silly fellow," she said, as if i were a five years' old child and she my governess. "what kind of a husband do you think you would make? look back over the last five years of your life and see how much of it does you credit. you think i don't know what you have been up to, and perhaps it is best for me that i don't know all of it; but i am sure, at least, that you have undertaken nothing serious, and that every hour has been practically wasted. a girl has got to have something different in a partner on whom she is to rely for life. and that tale of your physician's advice is worse than all. i am not going to let myself for a hospital. your health is broken on account of your persistent violation of all hygienic rules. you have no right to quarter yourself on a strong, well girl like me until you can bring something better than you now have to offer." i was too provoked at her manner, even more than at her words, to reply with much patience. i said, ill-manneredly, i must now admit, that if i did not have my old physique, it was only a question of time when it would return, and that i certainly had something else that many a young man would gladly take in exchange for beef and brawn. "oh, _that_ for your fortune!" she said, snapping her fingers disdainfully. "i am not talking of marrying your grandfather, who gathered the dollars you think of such moment. wealth is a good thing only when harnessed to the right horses. the man that marries me must have a better recommendation. i would give more for a character of sterling merit, a disposition to conquer the difficulties of life, than for all your cash. if the will of aleck camran had not tied up his savings, you would have made ducks and drakes of the whole of it before this time." i was angry at myself for arguing with her. she had a great deal of assurance to address me in that manner, i thought. "will or no will, i have a certainty of five thousand dollars a year till i am thirty," i retorted. "how many of the brave young chaps you talk about can gain as much as that? and when i am thirty i get possession of the entire estate, a quarter of a million now, and more when that time comes. but i am not going to debate the matter with you. you are a coquette, statia barton, and have had your amusement with me. some day, when you hear i have gone to the devil, a little remorse may touch your heart. i don't care a rap now whether i live or die." she paled at the concluding sentence. "don't add crime to your follies," she said, in a low tone. "existence does not end with this brief life on earth. when you have time to reflect, you will be ashamed of your present state of mind. if there is anything i can do for you, short of sacrificing my whole future--" "i know," i responded, sarcastically. "you are willing to be 'a sister' to me!" "i am, indeed!" she answered, fervently. "it's what you need much more than a wife. you accuse me of coquetry, because i have tried to treat you as--well--as the closest friend of my brother tom. i fear your experience with women has not fitted you to be a good judge of their actions." "they are pretty much alike," i snarled. "selfish to the core, when you get at their true natures. all this talk amounts to nothing. so, i'll say good-by, for as soon as i can get my things packed i'm going to get out of the country." she seemed genuinely distressed, and like the soft fellow i always was where her sex is concerned i found myself relenting. "dr. chambers advises travel," i explained, in a gentler tone. "his exact prescription was, 'marry the nicest girl you know, then take a journey to some place where you can forget the troubles through which you have passed.' if i can't carry out the first part, i can the last." statia's face lit up. "and am i--really--the 'nicest girl you know,' that you came so straight to me with your proposal?" she asked. "i thought so an hour ago," i responded, growing gloomy again. "i've intended for two years to ask you sometime, though i didn't think it would be so soon. i supposed you knew what was on my mind, and it never occurred to me that, instead of accepting my offer, you would play the schoolma'am with me. but let it go now. i believe i shall live through it, after all. that cursed insomnia leaves a man ready for the blues on the slightest provocation. the sooner i get out of this part of the world the better." she asked if i had decided where to go, and i told her i had not. i thought the best thing was to get on the sea as soon as i could and keep out of sight of land for awhile. "i don't think you ought to go alone," she said, thoughtfully. "perhaps you would undertake to chaperone me," i suggested, mischievously. "no. it would be too great a responsibility. but, seriously, you should have some one. you are not in a condition to make a long journey alone." i felt that as well as she. but of all my friends i could think of no one to fill the bill, and i told her so. "tom would go, if he could," she said. "he would lose a year in his classes, though, which is a serious matter. can you not hire some capable young man, who would act as an assistant and companion combined?" if i was sure of anything it was that i wanted nothing of that kind. a servant was all right, and there were lots of fellows who would make good travelling companions, but a man who could combine the two qualities would be unbearable. "there's another alternative you haven't thought of," i remarked, catching at an idea. "what would you say to a typewriter?" "there are many young men in that business who would be glad to go with you," was her reply. "hang young men! if i take a typewriter it will be a young woman," i retorted. "oh, don't glare at me in that frigid way. there are respectable young women enough without letting your thoughts run wild. uncle dugald has been trying to get me to resume work on the family genealogy, which i was plodding through when i was knocked out by that confounded illness. i have all of the notes on hand. supposing i advertise for a young woman of good moral character to assist a literary man, one that is willing to travel. don't you think i might secure the right sort of person in that way?" "good moral character!" she echoed, her lip curling. "and what do you think her character would resemble when she returned with you from your journey?" i replied that it would be something like that of a vestal virgin, as near as i could prognosticate. and i demanded where she got the notion that i was a menace to the purity of any young creature who might decide to trust herself in my company. "the idea is too silly to talk of seriously," she answered. "oh, i don't know," said i. "the more i think about it, the better i like the thing. some of these typewriter girls are not bad looking. many are well educated. a good salary ought to overcome their objections to travel, especially at this season of the year, when new york is under the dominion of the ice king. i shall put an advertisement in the 'personal' column of the herald, next sunday." statia tried to pretend that she thought me simply fooling, but it was evident that she was not as sure on that point as she would like to be. if there was nothing else to be gained by the conversation, i was at least getting even with her to some degree for the disappointment she had caused me a few minutes earlier. "you will do nothing of the sort," she said. "come, don, don't be an idiot. i can hardly find patience to discuss the senseless thing. if you weren't such a reckless boy, i should know you were only joking. you shall not leave the room until you promise to drop this nonsense." i liked her, in spite of her cruel conduct; yes, i liked her very much; and it did me an immense amount of good to sense the taint of jealousy in her words and manner. "statia barton," i replied, taking a step that brought me to her side, "it all lies with you. again i ask you to be my wife and go with me on the journey my doctor declares i must take at once. if you refuse to guard and protect me you have no right to say that some one else shall be prevented from doing so." she trembled, and i thought she was about to relent. my heart gave a quick bound, only to be stilled by her answer. "your conduct in this matter confirms all my previous suspicions," she replied, and her voice was unsteady. "i am merely, in your mind, a toy to be used as occasion requires. if i refuse to lend myself to that object you have only to find another. now, donald camran, i am a little too proud to take that sort of place. marriage, in my mind, is rather more sacred than it seems to be in yours. you evidently have no idea how near you are to insulting me, which makes it easier to forgive the slight. i thank you for the honor"--she pronounced the word in an ironical manner--"that you have offered and decline it absolutely. further, i withdraw all my advice, since it evidently is useless to offer any. advertise for your lady typewriter, make your arrangements with her, and go your way. and now excuse me, as i have to dress for a walk." i didn't really want to hurt her feelings, and it was too evident that i had done so. i asked meekly if she would let me wait in the parlor till she was ready and escort her to her destination. "no," she answered, with more determination that i had ever heard in her tone. "i prefer to say good-by to you here." i liked her immensely, in spite of all, and was sorry that anything should make a break between us, but i had no idea of crawling on my knees for any woman alive. i took up my overcoat, that lay on a chair--i was as much at home in tom barton's house as in my own lodgings--and put it on. then i took my gloves, my hat and cane, said "good-by," with great formality, and left the house. i preferred to walk, for although the air was frosty, there was heat enough in my veins. block after block was traversed in an aimless way, for i had no destination in particular. all at once, i noticed a group of people staring into a window, and realized that i had reached the up-town building of the new york herald. for several seconds i tried to remember what there was about that building to interest me. it was one of the results of my illness that memory had become treacherous. it frequently happened that i met intimate friends and could not tell their names if i were to be hanged. i slackened my pace, and cudgeled my brain, as the saying is, for some moments. it was the herald building--i knew that well enough. what did i want there? suddenly, glancing into the business office, it all came back to me and i entered. the idea i had suggested to statia as a joke began to strike me as a rather good thing. i would insert an advertisement for a female typewriter, if only to spite statia barton! dr. chambers had almost forbidden me to travel alone. i had a right to select my companion, and it was the business of no one--least of all of a woman who had thrown me over--whether the person i chose wore pantaloons or petticoats. going to one of the desks i took up a pen, dipped it in ink, and tried to indite a suitable announcement. my hand shook, for i had not recovered a quarter of my normal strength. when i had written the first line it would have puzzled the best copy-holder in the office above to decipher it. i tore it up, took a second piece of paper and began again. when i had written the advertisement at last it did not suit me, and once more i essayed the task with new construction. other men and several women were using the desks about me, and i glanced at them to see if any nervousness was visible on their countenances. there appeared to be none, however, which fact made my own sensations harder than ever to bear. several times i fancied that the clerks behind the wire guards were watching me, that they had managed in some mysterious manner to see over my shoulder, and were laughing at my efforts. still i hated to give up beaten. it is a part of my nature to carry out any task which i have attempted, no matter how insignificant. i took the pen once more and finally completed with difficulty the following: typewriter wanted--to travel in the tropics for the winter. duties light, salary satisfactory. machine furnished. address--herald up-town. just as i was about to take this to one of the clerks, an extremely pretty young woman came to the desk i was using and attracted my attention. she had a pair of solitaire diamonds in her beautiful ears and half a dozen costly rings on her pretty fingers. she wore a tastily trimmed hat, with veil, a well fitting seal coat and a plaided silk skirt of subdued colors. i judged her to be the wife or daughter of some wealthy man, who had come to advertise for a maid or cook. with a few quick strokes of the pen, in a hand that i saw was clear and bold, she completed her writing and stepped quickly to the nearest counter. i followed her; and as there was already one customer engaging the attention of the clerk, i plainly saw the notice she had written, as she held it daintily against her muff. its purport was as follows: a young lady, stranger in the city, beautiful of face and form, years of age, suddenly thrown on her own resources, wishes the acquaintance of elderly gent. the clerk looked up and nodded to the fair creature, when her turn came. he had evidently seen her there before. "you have forgotten again," he said, smiling. "object matrimony." "so, i have," she answered, in mellifluous tones. "it seems so silly, you know." "a rule of the office," he responded, adding the words for her. "dollar and a half." she took a twenty dollar bill from a purse and received the change as if it was hardly worth picking up. it was evident that much sympathy need not be wasted on this young "stranger," and that the "resources" on which she was "thrown" were likely to be amply sufficient. "one twenty," said the clerk, to me. "business personals, of course. i will write the word 'lady' before 'typewriter,' if that is what you mean. it may save annoyance. sunday? very well." he gave me my change and i withdrew to make room for others, who were already crowding for recognition. it was only thursday, but it was something to have done the thing. after months of insomnia it is hard to make up one's mind. delighted that i had taken the first step, i bought a paper from one of the boys at the door and went home to study the steamship routes. chapter ii. outlining the scheme. the most intimate masculine friend i had in the world was statia's brother, tom barton. we seemed to have become attached for the reason that a story reminded some one of an event--because we were so different. tom was not the kind of chap, however, to trust with such a plan as i had just been maturing. not only was he virtuous--which may be forgiven in a young man of good qualities--but he would never have liked me had he suspected a thousandth part of the peccadilloes of which i had been guilty. tom was my friend, but never my confidant. for a fellow to share the present secret, there was no one like harvey hume. i was reasonably sure that harvey would tell me i was contemplating a ridiculous move; indeed i more than half suspected that to be the case. but he would content himself with pointing out the silliness of the plan, leaving it to my own judgment what to do afterward. tom, on the contrary, would have told statia all about it, not imagining, of course, that i had done so; then he would have gone to my uncle dugald and set him on my track. if these means failed to bring me to my senses, i am not sure but he would have applied for an inquirendo to determine my sanity; all with the best intentions in the world and a sincere desire to promote my moral welfare. tom is a fellow who would jump off a steamer in mid-ocean to save me, should i fall overboard while in his company, and never think, until he found himself on the way to the bottom, that i could swim, while he could not even float a little bit. he is as decent a chap as it has ever been my privilege to know, and as much to be avoided on certain occasions as a fer-de-lance. at any rate, my recent tilt with his sister did not make me particularly anxious to see any person who bore her family name. so i went to harvey hume. harvey is, or professes to be, a lawyer. one of our mutual friends once got credit for a _mot_ that really didn't amount to much, when a third party inquired if harvey had yet been 'admitted to the bar,' by replying that he had been admitted to every bar in greater new york, although he had always failed to pass. whatever might be said of him, he was a thoroughbred. the spanish inquisition could not have drawn a secret out of him. the worst he would do if he disapproved of my scheme was to tell me so, and i had a wild anxiety to talk it over with some one. "halloa, old fellow!" he cried, as i entered his door. "devilish glad to see you. take one of these cigars, draw up here, put your feet beside mine on the desk, and tell me how you are." accepting the invitation in both its phases i responded that i was improving every day, and that i believed myself nearly, if not quite, out of the woods. "of course, you are," he replied, jovially. "and now you are out, will you get back again, or take a friend's advice and stay out?" "i don't even know how i got in," i remarked, dolefully. "when i see a chap like you in the enjoyment of all the health and spirits in the world it seems unfair that i should be knocked down in the way i was. why, all the drinking i've done since i was born wouldn't satisfy you for half a year." harvey blew a cloud of smoke to the ceiling and winked knowingly. "rats!" he responded. "i only drink just enough to lubricate my mucous membrane. if you had drunk oftener and done some other things less, you would be in as fit shape as i am. it was plain to me for a long time that you would bring up where you did. no fellow can live on the edge of his nerves month after month without paying the piper, sooner or later." "well," i said, "i'm through with it now, at all events. lovely woman has got to get along without me, in the old way, for a long time to come. dr. chambers has given me a scare, and i'm going to profit by it." "good!" exclaimed harvey, with warmth. "yes," i continued, smiling inwardly at the scheme i was about to divulge, "the sort of female creature with which i have spent my time and cash is to be banished from my waking and my sleeping dreams. i am going to take ship for some foreign port, and remain away till i am sure of my resolutions." hume leaned over and took my hand in his own. my esteem for him rose with the action, which spoke more than words, but i went on with my story. "the doctor will not hear of my going alone, however," i pursued, "and--" "and he's quite right," he interpolated. "so i have advertised for a companion to make the trip. you don't seem to have conceived any plan for me, so i've invented one of my own." my friend interrupted again to compliment me on the common sense of the move. "you see, the genealogy of the camran family that my uncle has set his heart on gives me an excuse to secure the services of a companion in the guise of a typewriter. it takes off the feeling that i require a nurse, while practically providing the very same thing, in the event that one is needed." hume nodded frequently, in approval. i was evidently rising rapidly in his estimation as a young man whose common sense had returned after a long vacation. "i hope you'll find the right sort of fellow," he said. "you ought to, if you've worded the advertisement right. the last time i put in such a notice, the time i got the man i now have--there was half a peck of answers." taking up a pen, and putting my feet nearer the floor, i wrote a copy of the announcement i had left at the herald office, and passed it to my friend. "how do you think that will do?" i inquired, gravely. he read it, sniffed once or twice and then threw it on the floor. "you are a good deal of a fool, but not such a d----d one as that!" he said. "it's exactly what i have done," was my reply. "when the answers come in i shall expect you to help me pick out the prizes." he laughed, refusing at first to be drawn into what he thoroughly believed a trap to catch him. then he studied my face and grew doubtful. "anybody but you, don, might get some fun out of this. if you really have put such an ad. in the paper, the best thing you can do is to turn the entire lot of replies over to me, for investigation after you have left the country. but," he grew very sober, "to prance around among that sort of stuff yourself--at this time--would almost certainly put you back where you were last winter, with less chance than ever of recovery." it was a much rougher way of putting it than i had expected, and, to tell the truth, there was something creepy in the suggestion. "your generosity is fully appreciated," i replied, with some dignity, "but i cannot think of exposing you to such terrible dangers. on reflection i do not think it best to trouble you in this matter. it would be a source of never-ending regret were i to return from abroad, and learn that you had taken my old place in the sanitarium." hume threw the butt of his finished cigar into a cuspidor and lit another one nonchalantly. "don't you really see the difference?" he asked, when he found the weed drawing satisfactorily. "to me the adventures that might grow out of meeting a dozen or a hundred pretty women would result in nothing worse than passing some agreeable evenings. i never lost my head over one of the sex, and i never shall. if mr. donald camran could say as much, i would tell him to carry out his intention. but, i leave it to you, my dear boy, to prophesy the result, if you go into this thing." i told him, with some mental misgivings, to be sure, that i had learned my lesson during the year that was past. no woman could make me lose my head again. at the same time i had not gotten over my admiration for the sex, and i saw no reason to do so. "i'm beginning to believe you're not fooling," said hume, after studying my countenance again. "now, tell me precisely what your game is. let us have the scheme, just as it lies in your mind and, if there's a redeeming feature about it, trust me as a true friend to say so." we had at last reached the point i had hoped for, and i complied without hesitation. "i am acting primarily on the advice--almost on the orders--of dr. chambers. he wants me to take a sea voyage. he advises me strongly not to go alone. then uncle dugald hints every time i see him that i ought to recommence the genealogy as soon as i feel able. a good stenographer would make that task an easy one. the reason i purpose taking a lady instead of a man--but you will certainly laugh if i tell you." my friend responded gravely that he would promise to do nothing of the sort. "well," i continued, "it is this: and you may laugh at me if you like. i have led a life as regards women that i now think worse than idiotic. i have followed one after another of them, from pillar to post, falling madly in love, troubling my mind, worrying over the inevitable separations, getting the blues, losing heart, all that sort of thing; then, beginning over again with a new charmer, and pursuing the inevitable round. i have never been intimately acquainted with a pure, honest girl of the better classes, except one, who, this morning, refused my offer of marriage. i have no feminine relations except a couple of old aunts. i need sadly to be educated by a woman who will not hold out temptation. i believe a few months in the society of such a woman, away from old associations, will make another man of me." when i think of it now i wonder that harvey, with his keen sense of the ludicrous, did not burst into a laugh, in spite of his promise. but he took my serious story with equal seriousness and bowed gravely. "what is to keep you from falling in love with your secretary, when you and she are practically alone, miles and miles from all the people you both know?" "i intend to secure a promise from her, before we start, that she will repel, absolutely, the slightest familiarity on my part. i shall fix a salary that will be an object. if she allows me to forget the position toward her that i have chosen, she is to be sent home on the next steamer, with a month's advance wages." harvey bowed again, with the same gravity as before. he pulled at his cigar, but it had gone out and he did not relight it. "i have never talked so freely with you before," i went on to say, "and there is no other person on earth with whom i would do so. a year ago, as you are aware, i was stricken suddenly with that damnable thing called neurasthenia. for two months i had insomnia in the worst form that a man can have it and live. sleepy from noon to noon, i only secured thirty minutes of unconsciousness in each twenty-four hours. figure the situation to yourself. at nine o'clock every night i fell asleep; at half past nine i awoke, and there was not a wink again until nine the next night. i gave up all expectation of recovery, and the most disheartening things i heard were the predictions of dr. chambers, that i would ultimately get well. "finally they sent me to the sanitarium, where with treanol and bromides i was lulled to unconsciousness for several hours at a time. i would not consent to take opium in any form, even if the refusal killed me. a month passed. the artificial sleep induced brought me little strength, but it helped in a way. then i went to the hot springs of north carolina, with a valet. my sleeping capacity had returned, and i ceased to use the incentives previously found necessary; but my appetite, poor enough before, deserted me there. for breakfast i actually had to force down the single cup of coffee that formed the repast. at lunch i did not go to the table. for dinner my menu never varied--a few spoonfuls of soup and a small dish of iced cream. "the days dragged horribly. somehow in the absence of real courage i developed a dogged determination that i would live. when i reached new york on my return north, i had too little strength to write a letter or to sit upright for more than a few moments. but the worst was over, and i knew it. it had become only a question of time. step by step i have advanced until you see me as i am to-day." my friend listened intently. "and you don't want to fall into the old slough again," he remarked. "no, and i never will," i said, with earnestness. "now, listen: i realize that i was a year ago a slave to certain vices. yes, let us give them the unconventional name. if i go off alone to some distant part of the world, what is to prevent my beginning again on the old road and ending where i did before? i could take a male companion, but do you imagine he would have any influence with me if i started to go wrong? at best he would be but a servant. if he tried to stand in the way of anything i wanted, the result is certain; he would get his walking papers _de suite_. i have no mother, no sister. the only woman i ever thought of marrying has coldly declined my offer. let me go in the company of a woman that is what she should be, and i will return a different man altogether." still hume did not laugh. i was more grateful for this consideration than i can describe, for i was really very much in earnest. i was like the drowning man, clutching at what seemed to me a life-preserver. "how old are you?" asked hume. "twenty-five?" "twenty-four." "what age would you prefer your secretary to be?" "about the same. i could not endure an old maid, and i do not wish to undertake the care of a child." "won't it be hard to find a woman of twenty-four years with the skill and judgment that your situation seems to require?" "we shall see. some of these girls who are obliged to earn their living develop wonderful self-possession." he nodded, as if he could not dispute this. "well, don," he said, after a thoughtful pause, "i am going to be candid with you. the scheme you have outlined would be considered, as you must know, by nine-tenths of our friends, as absolutely senseless. to me it really has some points in its favor, if it can be carried out. you have left the advertisement for insertion? very well. if you like to trust me so far, bring a batch of your answers here next tuesday and we will go over them together. there will be a certain per centum that we shall both agree are not worth attention. we will classify the others, and pick out a dozen or so to look up. my time, my services, are at your disposal. the law is not pressing me particularly just now, and i shall be glad if i can be of use to anybody." i accepted the proposition with delight. "and now," added hume, "come over and get a drink." but this i was obliged to decline. i had made a solemn promise to dr. chambers, nearly a year before, that there were two things from which i would refrain for twelve whole months; and one of them was drinking anything of an alcoholic nature between meals, or stronger than claret even then. this i explained to harvey, with the additional information that i had not broken my pledge and that the time specified would expire within three weeks. "meet me on the day it is up and let me see you quaff your first manhattan," he said, laughingly. "if i have good luck i shall be far away, on the briny," i answered. "i shall begin very gingerly, wherever i am. i would rather shoot myself to-night than get into the condition i was when chambers squeezed that promise out of me. he said the other day that when i entered his office i had eyes like those of a dead fish and so little pulse he could hardly distinguish it." "he is quite correct," said hume. "i saw you about the same time, and i thought, as i live, that you were a goner. you're all right now, though, and--upon my soul!--i hope you'll keep so. the charms of bacchus are not your worst danger, venus, my boy, is the lady you want to keep shy of." "don't i know that?" i answered. "confound her and all her nymphs!" "well, good day," he said, taking my hand in his and putting the other on my shoulder affectionately. "tuesday i shall look for you, remember, with a dray load of letters from the fair maidens of this metropolis!" chapter iii. an evening at koster & bial's. before i actually engaged passage to any foreign port i thought it wise to pay a parting visit to good dr. chambers. it was six months since i had last called on him, for finding that i was gaining in every way i did not care to fill myself up with medicines. his advice about abstinence from things hurtful had been religiously followed, and i presented the outward appearance of a man in fairly good health when he came into his office and took my hand. between us there has grown up a feeling warmer than generally, i am afraid, exists between physician and patient. i am intensely grateful for the skill that changed me from a desponding invalid to one so nearly the opposite in spirits, and the odd five dollar bills i have paid seem no equivalent for the great boon he conferred upon me. in plain terms, he saved my life and more. he redeemed me from a sort of hell which i think the old romancers would have substituted for their fire and brimstone had they ever had personal experience of it, as a means of deterring the sinful from their ways. money cannot pay for such service, and i shall feel an affection for dr. chambers as long as memory remains to me. if you have the pleasure of his acquaintance, you know that the doctor is probably the handsomest man in new york. he has a good physique that has not degenerated into mere muscle and brawn; a fine color which does not lead you to suspect that too much old port and brandy is responsible for it. his hair is nearly white, though he has hardly seen fifty years, and has no other sign of age. his mustache and imperial would do credit to a trooper and yet has not that bovine appearance shown in portraits of the late victor immanuel. his manner is delightful, his voice musical, though by no means effeminate. i ascribe my cure partly to a perfect confidence in his powers with which he inspired me on our very first meeting. he is not one to make rash predictions, to tell you that he will bring you around all right in a week; but rest on his superior powers with the confidence of a child and the result will justify your faith. no physician can cure a man against his will or without his assistance. go to dr. chambers with your heart open, tell him no more lies than you would tell your confidential attorney, obey every injunction he gives you, summon whatever of courage is left in your failing heart, take his medicines according to direction. if you do that and die, be sure your time has come and that no mortal could bring about a different result. if you recover, as you probably will, be honest and ascribe the result as much to the doctor's intuitive knowledge of persons as to his eminent acquaintance with the best medical discoveries. one of the nervine preparations that he gave me is manufactured in paris, and i have heard jealous physicians say that no one here knows the precise formula by which it is compounded; which is, it appears, a technical violation of the rules of the medical society, and consequently "unprofessional." if dr. chambers cures his patients by the help of this remedy, and other physicians let theirs perish, his course is certainly preferable from a layman's point of view. he has proved the efficacy of the article. whether it be composed of one thing or another, or whatever be the proportions of the mixture, is of little interest to the one it benefits and less still to the victims of more scrupulous practitioners, after they have passed from earth for want of it. there is a great deal of nonsense in the medical profession and the establishment of set rules to meet all cases is bound to result in disaster. i asked dr. chambers to re-examine me in a general way, and to say, when he had finished, whether he saw any reason why i should not go at once on an ocean voyage. he devoted the better part of an hour to this task and ended with the declaration that the sooner i went the better my plan was. "i have urged you before to take a long journey to some interesting place," he reminded me. "at this time of year a warm country is better than a frigid or even a temperate one. you will thus secure a natural action of the skin on account of the perspiration, much better than any turkish bath, which is at best only a makeshift. you will be able to partake of tropical fruits in their best state, fresh from the trees and vines. your mind will be stimulated in a healthful manner. the voyage will do you great good. all i insist on now is that you do not go alone. while you have made immense progress you must run no risks. a bright, cheerful companion to fill in a dull hour is very necessary. and, although i believe the year for which i interdicted some of your habits has about expired, it does not follow that you are to plunge into excesses. use the common sense you have been acquiring. take all your pleasures sparingly. still consider yourself a convalescent. i don't want you coming here again in the shape you were last winter." i assured him that there was no danger; that i had learned my lesson well; and that i would make a sensible use of my liberty. then, when he had added that i need carry very little medicine--and that only for emergencies--and made me promise to write him once in a month or so, in a friendly way, i grasped his hand warmly and took my leave. if he had been a woman i would certainly have kissed him. he will never know, unless he happens to read these lines, how near my eyes came to filling with grateful tears. the next thing was a visit to my uncle, dugald camran, that staid old bachelor, who still possesses the virtues of our scotch ancestry, that i have put so often to shame. he has charge of my father's estate, which he manages with the same acumen that he handles his own, and which is as safe in his hands as in that of the bank of england. between my uncle and me there has been much good will, but very little confidence. our relations have been little more than business ones. he has no curiosity apparently as to my personal conduct, and i would be the last to wish him to know what it has been in some respects. he attributed my late illness, as did most of my other acquaintances, to over-study, and i had no intention of undeceiving him. there was no attempt on his part to influence me in any way, when i gave up my course at yale without graduating. he only said that i was the best judge. he could see well enough that i was not cut from the same piece as the rest of the camrans, staid, methodical getters together of money as they are. probably, bad as things went, he would have made them no better had he interfered. his is not a nature that could understand mine. when i became twenty-one years of age he handed over without demur the ten thousand dollars that my father's testament said was to be given me on that date, and although he knew well that i had not a penny of it left at the end of a twelve-month he never uttered a word against my folly. he was, as far as appeared, an automatic machine to obey the provisions of the will. for nine years to come there was the five thousand a year for me, either in lump annual sums or monthly, as i might prefer. with the knowledge that i could not retain my hold on anything in the shape of money i decided to take it in the safer way. my illness had enabled me, in spite of the special expense to which it subjected my purse, to get a couple of thousand ahead, which i was foolish enough to think did me credit. as a matter of fact, i was never extravagant in the necessaries of life, and might have gained a reputation as a very careful fellow had i not fallen into habits that sent my change flying like geese feathers in a storm. uncle dugald listened without approval or disapproval to my statement that i was going on a sea voyage, which i took pains to say was advised by dr. chambers. in spite of our relation he evidently regarded me much as the cashier of my bank did when i presented a check--if there was a balance to my credit, all right; if there was none i should meet with a polite refusal. it was not necessary for this canny scot to turn to his books to see how my balance stood. his head was full of figures and if a fire had destroyed every account he had, i believe he could have restored his ledgers accurately from memory alone. "i shall want a letter of credit," i said, "and i shall be obliged if you will attend to the matter for me. i suppose it is necessary to deposit the amount with the firm on which the letter is drawn." "that is the customary way," he answered, "but i can arrange it a little better to your advantage, by guaranteeing payment through my banker. that will save interest on the money. what size shall the letter be?" my uncle had no idea of being responsible for a penny beyond the amount in his hands, out of my annual allowance. ah, well, that would be more than enough, probably. at the worst, my income was accumulating, and at the end of a few months i could send to him for another letter, if i remained away so long. so i told him to get a credit for $ and send it to my lodgings at his convenience. then having asked after the health of my two maiden aunts, with whom he lived--as if i cared whether they were sick or well; they never had bothered about me when i was at the worst of my long illness!--i took my departure. that evening i studied the advertisements of the steamship lines, both in the herald and in the commercial advertiser. there were excursions going to the mediterranean, which presented most attractive prospectuses, but they did not convince me that they were what i wanted. i never liked travelling by route, preferring to leave everything open for any change of mind. there were the usual lines to england, france and germany, but i had seen those countries several years earlier, just before entering college, and according to my recollection they were anything but restful. the particular temptations i was to avoid were rather too plenty on the other side of the atlantic to trust myself there. i was more inclined toward some of the south american countries, till i happened to read in a despatch that yellow fever had broken out there, and i knew that those quarantines were something to be avoided at all hazards. thinking of quarantines suddenly brought back the memory of a trip i had taken three years earlier to the windward and leeward islands, where i had been detained in the most comfortable quarantine station in the world--the one at st. thomas. i smiled to recall the discouraged feeling with which i and my travelling acquaintances heard, at the little town of ponce, in porto rico, that we would have to be detained under guard fifteen days when we reached st. thomas; how we had the blues for twenty hours; how the indigo darkened, when we were taken from our steamer and landed from a row boat, bag and baggage, at the foot of a long path that led up to the station. and then the revulsion of feeling when we found the cosiest of homes awaiting us! the hearty welcome of eggert, the quarantine master and lighthouse keeper; the motherly smile of his wife; the cheery welcome of his daughter, thyra; the bright little faces of thorwald, his son, and of the baby, ingeborg; even the rough growl of "laps," the danish hound, had no surliness about it. then the comfortable beds in the little rooms, curtained from all obnoxious insects; the five o'clock sea baths in the morning, inside the high station fence that we must not pass; the meals an epicure need not have scoffed at; our first acquaintance with a dozen varieties of the luscious fish that abound in that part of the caribbean. i remembered them all, as if it were yesterday, and at this juncture that meant but one thing: i must see st. thomas again, if only to determine whether that fortnight was a dream or a reality. the craze which this decision inspired brought to my mind the fact that i was still liable to excitements from which i must free myself. the great desideratum for which i must strive above all things was repose. it was mere suicide to go wild over everything that happened to please me for the moment. the chance was more than even that if my feelings ran away with me over the delights of the antilles i would awake the next morning with an aversion to that part of the world. it was one of the penalties of my illness that the pendulum of a wish could not swing violently in one direction without swinging just as far in the other. i was afraid this would be the result in the present instance; and i sent for a ticket to koster & bial's, while i went to take my dinner at the club, in order to get a diversion that would be effective. among the entertainments presented at the great vaudeville house that evening was the startling sensation known as "charmion," and i was not sorry to see it, even though i had to hold my breath during part of the exhibition. at the risk of relating what a large number of readers must already know, i will describe briefly the act given by the young woman appearing under that title. when the curtain rose nothing was visible except a trapeze about twenty feet above the stage, and a rope hanging loosely beside it. presently there entered a woman in full street costume, who inserted one hand nonchalantly in a ring at the end of the rope and was drawn lightly to the trapeze. here she sat comfortably for an instant; and then, as if by accident, fell backward and hung head down by one leg, bent at the knee. her gown and skirts naturally dropped in a mass over her head, leaving the hosiery and minor lingerie in full exposure, with a liberal supply of what was undoubtedly silken tights, but was meant to simulate the flesh of her lower limbs, in full view. for a second she remained in this posture, and then regained her seat on the trapeze, smoothing her skirts into place, with a pretended air of chagrin at what was intended to be considered her accidental fall. next, with a bit of pantomime which indicated that concealment of her charms was useless after what had happened, "charmion" stood up on the trapeze and began deliberately to disrobe, in full view of the audience, composed nearly equally of well garbed men and women, and completely filling the house. she took off first her immense "picture hat," black with great ostrich plumes, and let it fall into a net spread beneath her. then she slowly unbuttoned her basque and removed it, exposing some very shapely arms and shoulders. next came the corset, followed by a delicious rubbing with the hands where the article had closed too tightly around the form. the skirts tumbled to the feet, then the remaining garments, and the woman stood in her long black stockings, blue garters encircling the lower portion of the thighs. at this stage i noted a special expectancy in the occupants of the front seats--men leaning forward, with outstretched hands--the cause of which was soon apparent. the fair occupant of the trapeze seated herself, untied her garters and, with a moment of hesitation, cast them, one after the other, into the crowd, where they were seized by the most agile or most lucky of the spectators, and retained as souvenirs. then came, last of all, the hose themselves, and the actual work of the performer as a trapeze artist began in earnest. i will do charmion the credit of admitting that her act was truly wonderful. suspended first by the insteps and then by nothing, apparently, but her heels, she passed easily from one round of a horizontal ladder to another, backward and forward, hanging head down in mid-air. but it was easy to see that the marvellous exhibition of skill was not what had drawn the immense audience. it was the risqué undressing which had done that. so far as i can learn, she had gone several paces beyond anything in this line hitherto permitted in any reputable american theatre. for myself i am glad i saw it, though i would not care to see it again. i was like the young lady who consented after some demur to take a ride on a very steep toboggan slide. "i wouldn't have missed it for a thousand dollars!" she exclaimed to her escort. "let us try again," he suggested. "not for a million!" she responded, with equal fervor. if such things are to be allowed in metropolitan theatres, i want to "size up," by that means, the taste of what are called the respectable men and women of my time. but i certainly felt a dizziness in the brain when that corset came off in the presence of a thousand individuals who seemed to represent a fairly average respectability of our women. i saw young girls of seventeen or eighteen there, middle-aged matrons and several elderly ladies, and i did not detect in a single face the agitation i knew showed in my own. perhaps i may ascribe my extra nervousness to the neurasthenia from which i had so recently recovered. while at this point i hope i may be pardoned a word in reference to the growing taste among our theatrical audiences for what was once called indecent exposure. our elders relate that new york nearly had a fit when, in the late sixties, the first "black crook" company opened its doors at niblo's. to see women in flesh-colored tights reaching to the hips was so awful that only eye-witnesses would believe it possible, and to make sure it actually occurred, everybody had to go. then came the "british blondes," who wore longer tights, and filled them in a more satisfactory manner than those who had preceded. soldene followed, with a new and startling sensation, in sara, the skirt dancer, who pulled her underclothing up to her forehead, to the delight and scandal of the bald-headed row--just as a hundred others do now without attracting special attention. the demand kept ahead of the supply of indelicacy. dancers vied with each other in so garbing their lower limbs as to give the impression that they were partially nude, and mrs. grundy merely bought spectacles of increased power and engaged a front seat. then came the "living picture" craze. as clement scott said in his london paper, "we are told that these women are covered with a tightly fitting, skin-like gauze, but this is a matter of information and belief and not of ocular demonstration." the nymph at the fountain stood night after night, like her marble prototype, with the water running down her breasts and dropping from the points thereof. she refused to follow beaumont and fletcher's advice, to-- "hide, oh, hide those hills of snow that thy frozen bosom bears, on whose tops the pinks that grow are of those that april wears." venus rose from the sea, with all the appearance of absolute nudity. the glorious curves of the tempter of tannhauser were revealed in their fullness to cultured audiences. the north star came down that men might admire her shapeliness, while the three graces proved byron's words:-- "there is more beauty in the ripe and real than all the nonsense of their stone ideal." and then a daring manager went all this one better. he posed his women as bronze figures, with nothing between them and the gaze of the audience but bronze powder. the sensation lasted but a short time, spectators not caring for mulatoes when there were white forms to be seen at the same price. next came the "wedding night," which i saw in paris, and which still seems to me comparatively sweet and innocent--and it was suppressed, perhaps for that very reason. and now we have "charmion"--meat for strong minds, but not, i fear, for the average young man. what will come next? i would not dare predict, but really within ten years we may expect anything. "the leaves are falling--even the fig leaves," says george meredith. they have fallen long ago from most of the male statues in european galleries, and there at least i am in accord with the sculptors. perfect nudity never stirred the beast in any sane man. why should we not have afternoon or evening receptions by professional models in their native undress? it would be better for morality than the ingenious titillation of the senses induced by your edwinas and your charmions! confound charmion, any way! she spoiled a night for me that i needed for refreshing sleep. in my brief snatches of slumber i was with those silly fellows in the front rows, clutching wildly in the air for the garters she flung from her perch above our heads. chapter iv. you are a hopeless scamp. without even waiting for letters at the herald office, in answer to my advertisement, i went on saturday morning to cook & son's, on broadway, and engaged two staterooms on the steamship "madiana," of the quebec ss. company's line, to sail january . i found that i could secure both rooms, and, if it proved that i needed but one, the amount of passage money paid in advance--one hundred dollars--could be applied to mine alone. this pleased the remnant of scotch blood left in my veins, for my relations have always said i "favored" my mother's side of the family, and she was a native of france. though careless enough with money, i did not wish to pay for a stateroom that nobody would occupy, and there was a possibility that i would go alone, after all. the clerk, an affable fellow, promised to hold the extra room until the th of january, and to write me when it became necessary to put up the balance of the price or surrender the rights i had in it. i thought, on the whole, it was a sensible business transaction. "what name shall i register for the lady's room?" he asked, taking up a pen. "i am uncertain," i said, hesitating. "there are several of the family, and i don't know which it will be finally." "i will call it 'miss camran,' then," he said. there seemed no objection to this, and he wrote the name in his book. arming myself with a handful of literature about the islands, that he gave me, and which contained little information i was not already possessed of, i went back to my rooms and took a look at my wardrobe. i decided that i should want one or two new suits, of the very coolest texture, besides thin underclothing, some outing shirts, a couple of pairs of light shoes, etc. on monday i began a search for these things, and found them with more difficulty than i anticipated. in midwinter few new york tradesmen are able to furnish thin clothing with celerity, and my time was growing short. i visited half a dozen shops before i could get fitted with shoes of the right weight, for instance. there were long hunts for underflannels and hose. the tailors offered me anything but thin weights, until i persisted and would not be put off, and then i had to select the goods by sample. with some extra light pajamas, a gauzy bathrobe, a lot of new collars and cuffs, and an extra dozen of colored bosom shirts, i thought myself at last nearly ready. i urged upon each dealer the necessity of sending his articles at the earliest possible moment, thinking it wisest to deceive him a little about the day i was to sail. the event proved this the only way i succeeded in getting them all delivered in season. it was with more excitement than was good for me that i took a hansom on tuesday morning, at an early hour, and drove to the up-town office of the herald. i expected a number of answers to my advertisement and wanted to take them home as expeditiously as possible. nor was i disappointed. the clerk handed me out not less than a hundred and fifty envelopes, when i presented the card that had been given me, and he was kind enough to tie them in bundles at my request. twenty minutes later i was in my sitting room, the door locked for fear of intrusion, and tearing open one after another with the hunger of curiosity. the first five or six were not at all satisfactory. they contained little beside requests for "further particulars," and had a business-like air that did not suit my mood. then came one that was interesting enough to be put in the reserve pile from which the final decision was to be made. perhaps i may as well give it now in its entirety: dear mr. --[that was the number the herald had assigned me]--although your announcement does not state your sex, i feel justified in assuming that you are a man. "lady" typewriter! well, as far as i know i answer that description, and now for the situation. "to travel in the tropics?" i certainly have no objection to doing that, provided--! you say the "duties are light." certainly that sounds encouraging. what do they consist of--actual typewriting or keeping dull care from drawing wrinkles on your manly brow? typewriters are called upon to do such strange things in these days. the individual whose bread i now earn seems to consider that he has a right (in consideration of twelve dollars per week) to kiss me whenever he takes a fancy, which is the reason why i am seeking another employer, who, if he has the same tastes, may have a more attractive mouth for the purpose. how long is your journey to last and what pay do you intend to offer? i am twenty-six years of age, not specially ill looking, and have a good temper unless angered. i won't say much about my ability on the machine, for i presume that is a secondary consideration. send your reply--if you think me worth it--to no. -- east sixteenth street, but don't call in person unless you wish to have an interview with a gouty uncle or a frightfully jealous cousin. ever yours, alice brazier. n.b. if you take me off with you, i shall let neither of them know where i have gone. this was bright and breezy, at least. the next one that i laid aside was as follows: dear sir:--i am a southern girl, if one who has reached the age of may so call herself. i have a good education and am refined in manner. i have no doubt i can fill all the requirements of the position you offer, and would be pleased to have you call, wednesday afternoon, between two and four, at my lodgings, or on any other afternoon you may name. please grant me at least an interview. very truly, marjorie may. no. -- w. th street. i read all the others, to the last one; but these two had attracted my attention so thoroughly that the rest palled on my taste. some were too plainly sent by the ordinary class of immoral women, who had taken this manner of making an acquaintance. one stated that she had the finest form in new york, which she would be happy to exhibit for my approval, in all its chaste splendor. another had "lost her job" in a big department store, and would "appreciate the true friendship of a man who could spare $ or $ a week." another frankly owned herself to be a "grass widow," who on the whole preferred one "friend" to twenty and offered me the first chance to fill that permanent position. three or four were apparently school-girls who were tired of the wholesome restraints of home and wanted to run away with any man who would pay their bills. one declared herself to be years of age, an expert typewriter, and warned me against taking a "giddy young thing" on my journey when one of her assured character could be obtained. she added that her reason for desiring a change was that her employer was a scandalous person, whose goings-on with a younger typewriter with whom she had to associate were "awful." and she enclosed as a clincher an autograph letter from her pastor, recommending her to "any christian gentleman" needing a reliable assistant. several were either married to men whose whereabouts were at present unknown or had been divorced. one admitted in a burst of frankness that she had "trusted a professed friend too far" and did not care what became of herself. all of which was rather amusing in its way, but brought me no nearer to the goal of my desire--a bright, cheerful companion for the voyage i was about to undertake. i examined the entire lot before i recollected the agreement i had made with harvey hume. then i gathered up all the letters (except my two favorites)--for i did not mean to show these to any one--and started for his office in the middle of the afternoon. harvey was in, of course; not that he had any clients or expected any, but because those were his office hours and he had nowhere else to go in particular. he was evidently glad to see me, especially when he espied my package, for he scented something to dispel his ennui. we withdrew into his private office and he closed the door. "any prizes?" he asked, jocosely. "you can decide for yourself," i answered. "they are entirely at your disposal." "humph!" he grunted, as he laid down the first one. "i wouldn't pay that girl's fare to coney island, judging by her capacity as a letter writer." then he struck the communication from the forty-two-years-old damsel and gravely proceeded to show why she was the one i had best select. after awhile he asked leave to retain two or three, that he thought might be of use to him, and that i quite agreed were of none whatever to me. when he had read over about half of the entire number, he pushed the rest aside. "rot and rubbish!" he exclaimed. "that's what i call them," i answered. "you've given up your plan?" he said, inquiringly. "by no means. but there's nothing very appetizing in that trash." "how will you find anything better?" "oh, i've a scheme. when it develops i may let you in, but not just at this stage." i wanted to tantalize him a bit. "you asked to see this stuff and i've obliged you." just at this moment tom barton came in, and harvey threw a newspaper over the heap of letters, lest it should attract his attention and arouse his suspicions. it was quite needless, for tom never suspected anything in his life. we talked over a few trifles for fifteen minutes and then, as tom said he must be going, i walked out into the hall with him. "i'm going home early," he remarked. "statia hasn't felt very well for the past day or two, and i am a little worried about her." i was sincerely sorry to hear it. my chagrin over the things she said to me had modified a good deal and i entertained at that moment only the kindest feelings toward her. "i wish you would come up to dinner to-night," said tom, wistfully. "i think that would brighten her up if anything can. she's not ill, but merely out of sorts. come, that's a good fellow." i had as lief go there as anywhere and i consented without more demur. there was something in the dog-like attachment of tom for me that was touching, and in a few days more i would be gone from him for months. as for his sister, i was sure she couldn't bother me more than i could her. i had the two letters in my pocket. if she tried any of her games, i would read them to her. statia was unquestionably pale that evening when, after some delay, she came into the parlor to greet me. but she assumed a cheerful air and, when tom went up stairs and left us alone, inquired if i had carried out my plan of advertising for a companion on my voyage. "not only have i advertised," i said, pointedly, "but i have received over a hundred answers. from that number i have picked out several, among which i have no doubt i shall find what i want. in fact, i have secured two staterooms on the madiana, that sails for the windward islands on the th, so certain am i that i shall need them both." there was not much color in her face before, but what little there was left it; which i attributed to her disappointment at the ill success of her predictions. "are you really going to carry out this senseless project?" she asked. "i can hardly believe you such a reckless fellow." "why is it reckless?" i inquired, boldly. "i need a typewriter. some young woman needs a situation. dr. chambers says it will not do for me to travel alone, and he believes a journey to the tropics the best thing for my health. i'd like to know what ideas you have in that head of yours. i don't mind the reflections you cast upon me, but i object to your attacking the character of a young lady who is to become my employee." she avoided the point and asked if i was willing to let her see the answers i had received. she added that sometimes a woman's intuitions were better than a man's judgment and that she might save me from getting entrapped. i laughed at her ingenious stratagem, and drew the two letters that i had laid aside from my coat pocket. "it is almost like ill faith," said i, "but as you will not even see the handwriting, and can never know the identity of the writers, i am going to read two of these letters to you. they are the best of the lot, so far as i can judge, and i have no doubt one of them will be the lucky applicant." she composed herself as well as she could, though the nervous fit was still on her, while i read slowly, pausing between the sentences, each of the letters given in full in the earlier part of this chapter. "which of them do you imagine it will be?" she inquired, when i had finished. "i must at least see them before i can answer that. the first one (the one signed 'alice') is the brightest, and indicates a jolly nature that i would like to cultivate; but there is something in the other that i fancy, also. a sort of melody in a minor key. i shall not be content until i see the original." statia twisted the tassels on the arms of the chair she sat in. "you are a hopeless scamp!" she said, reddening. "why do you pretend to me that you have the least intention of doing any sensible work with the assistance of these women, or that you believe either what an honest girl should be?" "come, that's going too far!" i replied. "no, it's not," she persisted, earnestly. "it is right that i should say these things to you. you are the most intimate friend of--my brother. you have no mother, no sister, no one to advise you. this plan, which you are entering upon with such a gay heart, may result in dragging you down to the depths, and perhaps your companion, if she be not already in that category. don, if you ever cared for tom--for any of us--stop this thing now!" i was so astounded at the plainness of her insinuation that i could not reply for some moments. she sat opposite to me, her head thrown forward, her lips parted, her eyes slowly filling with tears. "you had your chance," i responded, not very politely, it must be admitted. "if you had answered in the affirmative the question i asked you last week this could never have happened. since you throw me back on myself, you have no right to prevent me going my own way." she dropped her face in her open hands, to recover her equanimity. when she looked up again she appeared much calmer. "don," she said, tenderly, "you must not be so impetuous. give up this plan and perhaps--some day--i--" "it is too late," i replied, understanding her very well. "i will never ask any woman a second time the question i asked you. be decent, statia. you make too much of a little thing. if there had been anything very wicked in my mind, do you think i would have come here to tell you about it? let us drop the subject, and be good friends for the short time that remains before i go. why, there's less than a fortnight left." she nodded, attempted to smile, and finding that she made a poor show at it, left the room to prepare herself for dinner. when the meal was served, however, we missed her old joviality. she did not speak unless spoken to, and tom, after trying in vain to engage her in conversation, declared that she must go to see dr. chambers the very next morning. "you'll get into the state that don did last winter," he said, half jestingly, "if you keep on. he began with just a plain, ordinary attack of the blues, and see where it landed him. yes, you certainly must go to see chambers. i never knew you like this before, and there's nothing on earth to cause it." when i mentioned, soon after we rose from the table, that i had an engagement at my rooms--a fiction, by-the-by--tom said if i was going to walk he would go part way with me. i was glad to breathe the pure cold air of december and listen to the chatter of the honest fellow, while at the same time escaping from that house, that had nearly sent me again into the doldrums. chapter v. meeting miss marjorie. the next morning was an awfully long one. i had decided to call on miss may in the afternoon, "between the hours of two and four," as she had stipulated. although i had never seen her and had no description of what she was like, i already hoped she would be the one to make my coming journey agreeable. i had the old impetuosity, you will see, that absence of calm deliberation that had sent me to a sanitarium and nearly to my grave. if i intended to take a train scheduled to start for any given point at ten i was always in the station without fail at half past nine, stamping my feet at the closed gate, with alternate glances at my watch. if i had an engagement of special interest for a friday, the tuesdays, wednesdays and thursdays dragged horribly. it had been explained to me fully by dr. chambers that i must reform this by my own exertions and that drugs could but assist me in a slight degree. still breaking away from the habits of years is not an easy thing, and in spite of all i could do i had the old nervousness that day. at about eleven o'clock, having exhausted the charms of breakfast, the morning papers and several cigars, i thought of a plan to get rid of an hour or more, and taking my coat, hat and cane, i walked down to cook's office to see if anything new had transpired with regard to the trip of the "madiana." there was a rumor in the journal that yellow fever had broken out in jamaica, one of the points where i wanted to touch, and although the source of the news did not particularly recommend it, i thought it well to inquire what the agent had heard in relation to the matter. as i entered the office my attention was attracted by a quiet appearing man of about thirty, dressed in black and wearing a white tie, who was evidently contemplating the same journey as myself. now a man wearing a white tie may be either a clergyman, a gambler or a confidence man, and i had no faith in my ability to decide which of those eminent professions this particular person was most likely to adorn. he glanced up from a prospectus which he was examining, as i entered, and made way for me at the counter. for reasons which i could not explain i liked the man at first sight. if he was a rogue, i reasoned, it was no more true of him, probably, than of most men, and there was no reason to suppose that he had any design in going to the west indies other than to recuperate his health, which appeared rather delicate. if, on the contrary, he was any sort of clergyman i would be delighted with his companionship. when the agent introduced us to each other, as he did a few minutes later, i discovered that the white tie had no especial significance, being merely a fad or fancy; for mr. wesson informed me that he was a hardware merchant from boston, with a slight tendency to bronchitis, and was going south to escape february and march, which are usually injurious to persons affected by that complaint in the eastern states. i learned from the agent that the "madiana" was filling up rapidly, and that there were now no entire staterooms unoccupied, except two or three containing four berths. mr. wesson had no choice but to share the room of some one who was already on the list, and at the time i came in he was making natural inquiries as to the other passengers, in the hope of selecting a congenial roommate. the agent told him what he could about those whom he had personally seen, but the information was necessarily meagre. "it may not seem specially important," remarked mr. wesson, in an affable manner, to me, "who occupies the other berth, for a few weeks on a steamer, but i happened on one occasion to get a very disagreeable companion, and ever since i have tried to use caution. i should have entered my name earlier, and thus have secured an entire room, as you have done, but i waited a long time before deciding whether to come this way or another. now, i am just a little too late to get a room by myself, unless i wish to pay three fares for one person, which candidly i do not feel like doing." i suggested that unless the boat was very much crowded, which i did not anticipate, an arrangement for a change of cabin could doubtless be made in case the first one proved unbearable. with the remark that this was true, mr. wesson decided to take the remaining berth in a room not far from mine, in the after part of the ship, which had the advantage of being removed from all the smells of the cook's galley, as well as the dumping of ashes, which often annoys people quartered amidships at a very early hour in the morning. i asked the agent for a list of the passengers, so far as he was able to give them, desiring to see if there were any names of people who knew me, and devoutly hoping there were none. mr. wesson and i went over them together, and made a simultaneous announcement that the entire lot were strangers to us. they had come from the west, the north, the south, hardly any from new york, and only one from boston, a strange thing when every traveller knows that bostonians rival chicagoans in being found in all sorts of places. "i often think," said mr. wesson, with a smile, "of the odd fate that brings fifty or hundred people together on a steamer, where neither sees a single familiar face except those he has brought with him; and before the voyage is ended the miniature world is like the larger one outside, with its strong likes and dislikes, its petty jealousies, its small talk, its gauging of character and capacity. give me a month at sea with a man, and i think i can figure him up pretty well." i agreed with him to a great extent, but remarked that there was always the disadvantage that the "man" might "figure us up" at the same time. i said further that i had found some most delightful companions on board ship who had proved insufferable bores when encountered later on terra firma. "your extra berth is reserved still," said a clerk, coming forward and addressing me, "the one in the opposite stateroom. i don't wish to hasten you, but the list is filling up very fast." "you won't have to wait but a day or two more, i think," was my reply. "hold it till saturday, unless you hear from me. perhaps i may be able to tell you positively to-morrow." "if the lady is willing to have another share the room with her," he said, "i have an application that i can fill at once. a very pleasant young woman, too, if i may be allowed to judge. she is to be accompanied by her uncle, and as he is not entirely well he is anxious to have her as near him as possible." i answered that i must ask a little delay before deciding that question. i told him i had three cousins, and as i could not yet say which would go i could not tell whether she would consent to share her cabin with another person. if i could arrange it, i would gladly do so. "you are to have a travelling companion, then," remarked mr. wesson. "excuse me for saying i envy you. mrs. wesson expected to go with me, but the doctor has forbidden it. she is quite frail, and he fears the seasickness she is almost sure to have. i made a canvass of my female relations that are eligible, and one after another found reasons for declining. i am not used to travelling alone, and i don't fancy it in the least. one of the pleasantest things in visiting foreign parts is to have some one along to share the pleasures." as we parted he asked me if i would exchange cards, and i readily did so. i already felt better acquainted with him that i am with some men whom i have known for months. "if you find you are to bunk with a specially ugly customer," i said, in parting, "take my other berth. you can keep it for an 'anchor to windward,' as our distinguished statesman from maine might have said. i don't think you and i will quarrel." he thanked me profusely, and it was plain that the suggestion was the very one he would have made himself, had he felt warranted in doing so. he mentioned that he would be at the imperial for several days and asked me, if i found it convenient, to dine with him there some evening before he returned to boston; which i told him i would try to do. it was now lunch-time and i thought with exultation of the closeness of the hour when i might call at the lodging of miss marjorie may on forty-fifth street, and see the lady whom i had already surrounded with the most charming attributes of which a young and impulsive mind could conceive. that i might be disappointed i had also thought, in a vague way, but i had little apprehension on that score. i went over to the club, and partook of a light repast. then i looked at my watch and found that, if i walked slowly, i need not reach the number at which i was to call before two o'clock. but i did not walk slowly. it still lacked ten minutes of the hour when i found myself in front of the residence. i took a turn down seventh avenue, and through forty-fourth street, to dispose of the remaining minutes. then, with my heart beating in a way that dr. chambers would not have approved--and for which i could give no sensible reason--i climbed the tall steps and rang the bell. a colored servant answered, after what seemed ages, and when i asked if miss may was in, invited me to walk into the parlor. she then requested my card, and i had nearly given it to her, when i recollected that it was not my intention to reveal my true name, at this stage. i said i had forgotten my card case and that she need only say it was the gentleman from the herald. during the next ten minutes i did my best to compose my nerves, for i dreaded exhibiting their shaky condition to one in whose presence i would need all my firmness. the room was darkened, and i could see the objects in it but dimly, while the windows, being tightly curtained, afforded me no relief in that direction. "why does she not come?" i said to myself, over and over. "if she wanted the situation for which she wrote, a little more celerity of movement would be becoming." i rose and walked up and down the room. the minutes lengthened horribly. i grew almost angry at the delay and had half a mind to drop the whole business, when i heard a low voice at the door, and saw the outlines of a graceful young form. "i am miss may," said a bright voice, that i liked instantly. "if you don't mind coming up stairs i think we can see each other better." mind coming up stairs! i would have climbed to the top of the world building, never minding the elevator. "certainly," i responded, and i followed her up two long flights, and into a front chamber, where in the bright light i saw her distinctly for the first time. the reader will expect--certainly the feminine reader--a description of the sight that met my eyes, and how can i give it? a relation of that sort always seems to me but a modified version of the record of a prisoner at a police station, where he is put under a measuring machine, stood on scales and pumped as to his ancestry and previous record as a criminal. the impression made on me at that moment by miss may was wholly general. she was not handsome, in the ordinary acceptation of that term, but very engaging. her smile put me much at my ease. i could have told you no more, had you met me that evening. all that i knew or cared to know, before i had taken the chair to which she motioned me, was that out of the million women in greater new york, i would choose her, and only her, were they presented for my approval one by one. she was evidently waiting for me to begin the conversation, after the manner of a discreet young woman in the presence for the first time of a possible employer. i made the excuse that the stairs were long, to explain my shortness of breath. for i found it very difficult to talk. she was kind enough to admit that the stairs were hard. she also made some allusion to the weather, and to the unseasonableness of the temperature, for although it was at the very end of the year there had been hardly any snow and very little cold. this helped me along and finally i managed to reach the business on hand. "i have received a great many answers to my advertisement," i said, "and a certain number seem to have been sent in a spirit of mischief rather than seriousness. i hope that was not the case with yours." she shook her head and smiled faintly. "how shall we begin, then?" i asked. "shall i submit a few questions to you, or would you rather put some queries of your own?" "as you please," she said, and i noted that there was a confidence in her manner that seemed at variance with her appearance. "perhaps i may inquire, to commence with, what are the duties of the position." i hesitated a moment, feeling my breath coming shorter, and this time i had not the stairs to fall back upon as an excuse. "i have recently recovered from a severe illness," i finally managed to say, "although you might not guess it from my appearance. i may as well admit that while i have use for the services of a typewriter in some work i wish to do, i need quite as much an intelligent person to travel with me--as--a--" "companion?" she interpolated, quickly. "well, yes, perhaps that is as good a word as any. my physician says i ought not to go alone. i have the literary work to do. under all the circumstances a combination of assistant in that respect and friendly companionship seems advisable." she bowed affably, doing her best to put me at my ease. "you are a younger man than i expected," she said. "i hope that is not a serious objection," i remarked, "for i see no way to overcome it at present. i want this considered as a business matter--in a way. i should pay a regular salary, and give you the best of travelling accommodations. i am only twenty-four, and you wrote me that you are twenty-two, but i cannot understand how the addition of fifty years to either of those ages would make my proposition more agreeable." she bowed again, still pleasantly, and inquired what sort of work i was engaged on. i told her, after which she asked what machine i preferred to use. this i left to her, although i mentioned that i owned a hammond, which had the advantage of being more easily carried than some. she said she had never used that machine, but could easily learn. "only give me three or four days alone with it," she smiled. "and now, as these things must all be settled, what salary do you wish to pay?" i wonder what salary i would not have paid, at that moment, rather than hear her decline the position on the ground that it was insufficient, but i realized that i must not seem over-anxious. "i would prefer you to name the price," i replied, "i do not think we shall quarrel on that score." "when do you wish me to leave the city?" was her question. "i have already engaged berths in the 'madiana,' of the quebec ss. line, which will leave her dock on the north river, jan. th next." "berths? you have engaged two?" "it was necessary to secure them. i have determined that i will not go alone. the list is filling up and i had to put down the names." "what names?" she asked. "you can hardly have given them mine." i was getting more and more at my ease. i said i had registered for "self and friend," with the understanding that the "friend" would be a lady. "ah!" she said. "now, how do you intend that i shall travel--if it is decided that i am to go?" she did not redden as she asked the question, and i do not know why i did. "as my cousin," i answered. "it is my belief, miss may," i added, "that you will find this journey very charming, if you go about it right. to be registered simply as my secretary, which will come as near as anything to the fact, or not to be given any title at all, might arouse silly gossip among the other passengers. a relationship of the kind i suggest will still idle tongues and make your position more agreeable." she thought a little while and then said, suddenly: "you--you are not married, i suppose?" "not in the least," i replied, smiling. "there is hardly time for much preparation," was her next observation. "what kind of clothing should i need?" "after the first few days, about the same as you would want here in august. i am not well versed in ladies' attire, but i should say that a travelling dress of some very thin material would be the first requisite; then a 'best' dress or two of very light weight; a liberal supply of articles" (i stammered slightly) "that need laundering, as there may be a fortnight at a time when washing cannot be obtained; thin shoes, slippers, walking boots suitable for summer, two or three hats--and--" i paused to think if i had omitted anything--"an umbrella and parasol." she laughed as i finished. a sweet, engaging laugh that made me resolve that i would kidnap her and convey her on board by force in case she refused to go. "no gloves?" she inquired, archly. "no cape, no--" "oh, there are doubtless a lot of kickshaws that will occur to you," i admitted, "that i need not mention. i am pretty sure that i do not even know the names of all of them. on january th and th the weather will be winter, on the th, th and th spring, and the rest of the time till may midsummer. i don't know as i can give you any better guide." she said she would make an overhauling of her last year's clothing and see where she stood; which led me to ask, with, i fear too much anxiety in my tone, if she had, then, decided to go. "have you decided?" she replied, parrying the question. "you cannot have seen all the women who sent replies. perhaps you will yet find one more suitable for your purpose. it is only fair to both of us to leave the matter open for a day or two." "no," i answered, shaking my head decidedly. "as you said a few moments ago, the time is very brief for any one to get ready. let us settle the matter now. and if you wish any part of your salary advanced--on account of the immediate expense you will have to assume--we shall have no difficulty in arranging that matter." she grew thoughtful, and finally begged me to give her till the following morning, at least. she promised to send a messenger to my address before noon. i did not like the idea, but i could say nothing in opposition without appearing unreasonable, and ended by consenting to it. "i passed some months in the part of the world to which i am now going, three years since," i said, to strengthen her resolutions in favor of the journey, "and i can assure you that the voyage, from beginning to end, is simply delightful. the caribbean is truly a summer sea; the antilles are beautiful to look at, charming in flora and delicious in atmosphere. then think of the escape you will have from the freezing and thawing of a new york spring. i promise to treat you with all consideration, and as for the labor you are to do, it will be very light indeed. if there is anything i have omitted, consider it included. i am sure," i added, as i rose to go, "that you will never be sorry for the chance that brings us into each other's company." "oh," she answered, with superb frankness, "i have no fear that i shall not like you, or that you will treat me in any manner unbecoming a gentleman. i only wish to think the matter over. in the meantime let me thank you for the partiality with which you view my application." she insisted on going to the street door with me, where i bade her good-by without more ado, fearful that if i talked much longer i should say something foolish. "to-morrow morning, then, i am to get your letter," i said, handing her a card on which i had previously written an address that would do for the present--"david camwell, lambs club." "and to-morrow afternoon, at two again, i shall return to complete our arrangements." as she bowed an affirmative, i lifted my hat and left her there; wondering why i had not chosen the klondike for my vacation, so near the boiling point was every drop of blood in my veins. chapter vi. "do you really want me?" i did not sleep well, that night, and as i tossed from one side of my bed to the other, i began to fear that the insomnia from which i had escaped, and whose return i so much dreaded, would fasten itself on me once more. during the long, still hours i had many moments when i was inclined to give up my plan of travelling in the company of a charming young woman, and even to drop the entire trip itself. i imagined my condition in a far land, with no physician at hand who understood my case or had the history of my illness. only one who has known the horrors of sleepless months can conceive the terror which a possible renewal of its symptoms inspired. the mere thought of meeting my fair correspondent had deranged my arterial circulation. the sight of her, our conversation, though carried on in the quietest manner, had thrown my heart out of equipoise, speaking physically. what would happen when she and i were alone together for weeks and weeks? she was very pretty--there was no doubt of that. she was also marvellously self-contained, and in a conflict of desires would certainly prove the stronger. was it not the part of common prudence to "foresee the evil and hide?" i had almost decided to adopt this course, when the sleep which had evaded me descended and for four hours i was blissfully unconscious. it was nearly eight o'clock when i awoke, and with returning reason all the fears of the night vanished. i could only count the minutes now before the expected message would arrive--that message, i assured myself, which would confirm the hopes i so fondly cherished. not a single doubt remained of the perfect wisdom of the double journey i had planned. i thought again of dr. chambers' advice not to travel alone; of uncle dugald's wish that the "genealogy" should be pushed to completion as rapidly as possible; of the advantage of having with me a constant companion, to while away the inevitable hours of loneliness. i raised miss may to the highest pedestal as a young lady of excellent attributes and delightful personality. whatever happened, i would not go alone. if miss may failed me, i would fall back on miss brazier. if she also proved obdurate or unsatisfactory, i would go through my other answers and try again. but i came back always to the original point. it was miss may i wanted, miss may i meant to have. why should i not induce her to go? she needed a situation, or she would not have written for it. she had seen me and expressed herself candidly in my favor. there could hardly be anything now in the way, except the financial aspect of the case, and i was prepared to meet her on any ground she chose to name. i lingered as long over my breakfast as possible, to kill the time, and read the morning papers, advertisements and all. especially closely did i scan the "professional situations wanted," thinking perhaps there might be among them one from which i could fashion another "string to my bow." most of the advertisers that morning were, however, either german governesses, or elderly ladies who wished positions in private families. there were several professional models, who would "pose" for the figure at from one to two dollars an hour. in my desperation i almost resolved to turn painter and carry one of these off with me, if worse came to worst. anything was better than making the journey alone, in my present state of mind. a knock at the door startled me, and to my faint "come in," a boy responded, wearing the uniform of a messenger. i looked at him like one in a dream, as he walked across the carpet and handed me an envelope. was there anything to pay? i inquired, and when he responded in the negative, i put a silver dollar into his hand for himself. did i wish him to wait for an answer? no, i did not. i wished him to get out of the room as soon as possible, and to close the door behind him; which he proceeded at once to do. for what seemed hours, and yet did not probably exceed ten minutes, i held that envelope in my hand, before i found courage to open it. laugh at me, ye who will, your siege with nervous prostration has evidently not yet arrived. no prisoner awaiting the decision of a governor as to whether his sentence of death is to be commuted could lay greater stress on the contents of a message. i wanted miss may to take that journey with me, as i had never wanted anything else. her decision undoubtedly lay within that bit of paper. i stared at the name i had given her, written in a bold, and still feminine hand, strong, clear, handsome. i turned the envelope over and noted the sealing wax with the impress of some sort of stamp which i could not entirely make out. and at last, with shaking fingers, i took up my paper cutter and made the requisite incision which released the note within. my dear mr. camwell--[this was the way it read]--since you were here yesterday i have given a great deal of thought to the matter of which we spoke. it is a little more serious than i imagined when i answered your advertisement, and i am somewhat in doubt even now what i ought to say. ["when a woman hesitates, she is lost!" came to my mind.] will you pardon me for being perfectly frank, [pardon her? i would pardon her anything but a refusal] in relation to a few personal matters? i wish to tell you my exact situation, and then i will leave it to you to decide. [joy! it was coming.] i am at present employed by a man--excuse me if i do not say gentleman--who pays me what i consider the liberal salary of twenty dollars a week, my services occupying only a portion of the morning hours. for reasons which i need not give in full i find the place very distasteful. in fact, had i been able to afford it, i would have resigned the position long ago. i am, however, entirely dependent upon my exertions for a livelihood, and not only that, there is another who looks to me for a certain amount of help, which i cannot, nor do i wish to withhold. when i read your notice in the herald it seemed to contain two opportunities that i would be glad to secure. one was to change my situation, the other to absent myself from the city for a time, where i would escape annoyances which have become almost unbearable. now, on the other hand, as i told you when here, you are a much younger man that i expected to see. it is a little difficult to believe--you will excuse my frankness--that you wish my companionship from a purely business standpoint; indeed, you admitted that one of your reasons was a disinclination to travel alone. you cannot deny that a trip such as you contemplate, taken in my company, would subject me to unpleasant suspicions from any person we might happen to meet, who has known me before or should discover that the relationship claimed between us is a false one. a girl who has her way to make in this world cannot always listen to mrs. grundy, but there are certain precautions which she can hardly be excused from taking. how can i best protect my good name, if i accept your generous offer? that is one of the prime questions you must help me to settle. again, while, in a friendly journey like the one suggested, the matter of compensation seems almost impertinent, in the present case it cannot be treated as such. were my circumstances what i could wish them, i would gladly make the journey without thinking of payment; candidly, i do not feel that the services i might render you would justify me ordinarily in accepting money for them. necessity, it has well been said, knows no law. i have never learned how to live and assist those depending on me without cash, that brutal desirability. you have expressed a willingness to pay a salary in addition to travelling expenses, and i, if i go, shall be compelled to accept it, reluctant though i am to do so. on looking over my wardrobe i find that there are more things required than i supposed when you were here. when you call this afternoon i will make that matter plainer by exhibiting exactly what i have suitable to the climate to which you are going. i do not wish to influence you in the least, and i beg that if my needs are greater than you desire to supply, you will say so without fear. all of the money i could spare was expended very recently for winter garments, of which i have a supply suitable to a girl in my station. i had no warning that i should be asked to exchange them at this season for others suitable to a tropical clime. if i do so, i know no source from which the cost can come except your purse. there! could anything be more candid than this straightforward statement? if i see you at my room this afternoon, i shall understand that you appreciate the candor with which i write, and are willing to accede to my requests. if there is a doubt in your mind as to the advisability of doing so, it will be best for us both that you do not come. i shall comprehend and leave the field open to some happier girl, who may be able to accept your generous offer without these disagreeable preliminaries. yours, m.m. no. -- west forty-fifth street. i was all impatience till i read the very latest line, fearing there would be some qualification that i could not meet. when i found that it had resolved itself into a question so easily solved i sprang up and shouted in glee. she would go! she was going! my dream was to become a reality! seizing a sheet of paper i began to write a note in response to the one i had received. she might get it only a short time before the hour of two, but it would prepare her for my coming, and clinch the bargain a little sooner. for five minutes i wrote rapidly, and when i stopped to peruse the lines i tore up the sheet. had she been my sweetheart for ages i could hardly have used more extravagant language than i had been guilty of on that first page. would i never learn the first principles of common sense? i had begun with the words, "my darling marjorie," and gone on to state that "your sweet letter fills me with supreme happiness;" "i shall not breathe until once more i am in your loved presence. "already i contemplate those heavenly hours when you and i will sail out upon the seas of elysium," was another sample sentence, a type of the others. i paused in the rapid walk that i took up and down my room to look in my mirror, and was almost frightened at what i saw there. my cheeks were suffused with unusual color, my eyes dilated, my hair dishevelled, where i had run my nervous hands through it. my collar was rumpled, my tie disarranged, and in a room where the mercury was not above seventy the beads of perspiration stood on my forehead. dame! i went to the bath-room that formed a part of my little suite, let the icy water run till it filled the bowl and bathed my hands and face in it. slowly i dried them with the towel, and then applied bay rum in liberal quantity. i realized disagreeably for the hundredth time how that awful neurasthenia had left its traces upon me, and that if i was ever to wholly recover i must regain control of my emotions. with this in view i again seated myself at my desk and indited the following: dear miss may:--it is with much satisfaction that i have perused your letter. the amount necessary to purchase the articles you need shall be left entirely to you. i will furnish whatever sum you decide upon. i will be at your lodging promptly at two. if there is anything else that occurs to you, please consider yourself at full liberty to mention it then. in the meantime i am going to cook's office to pay the balance on the two rooms, as the time for doing so will soon expire. your friend, d.c. it was pretty sensible, i thought, as i read it over; a sort of medium between the cold tone of an ordinary employer and the unrestrained ardor of a happy boy. i was glad, however, to get out of doors and breathe the frosty air, for my temperature was still excessive. at cook's i learned that several new names had been booked, and that there would soon be no more room, as things were going. "i have given mr. wesson the upper berth in your room, subject to your approval," added the clerk. "he has a positive dread of bunking with an absolute stranger and he says you made him a conditional promise." "that's all right," i said, pleased at the news. "i am sure we shall get along together finely. you may register the berth in the opposite room, that you have reserved for me, in the name of 'miss m. may.' i have finally prevailed upon my cousin to go." while he was entering the name, i wrote a check for the balance, upon receiving which the clerk handed me the tickets, from new york to st. thomas. "hadn't you better book for the entire cruise?" he asked. "i don't believe you will care to remain at st thomas longer than the day the madiana is to be there." "oh, yes, i shall," i answered. "i stayed on the island three weeks the last time, and found it delightful. probably i shall join some of your later cruises, but i must go unhampered." "supposing when you are ready to take one of the other boats you find every cabin full?" he asked, in a good-natured way. "that's a risk i must run. the royal mail comes every fortnight, and there are three or four steamers a week, of one kind or another, at st. lucia. there are ways enough to keep moving and i am unlimited as to time." "well, if i don't see you again," he said, with that affability that only one of cook & son's clerks can assume, "i wish you a very pleasant voyage." "i am sure to have that," i replied. i wondered if he would doubt it if he knew all! before leaving i purchased several books about the caribbean, for the purpose of giving them to miss may. there was "english in the west indies," as entertaining as a romance, though in some respects hardly more reliable; stark's "history and guide to barbados and caribbee islands," better than nothing, in the absence of a really desirable work on the subject; and half a dozen paper covered documents, issued by the quebec ss. company, a perusal of which revealed so many discrepancies as to make one doubt whether the line actually ran any boats to that part of the world. with these under one arm i went over to the "lambs" and partook of a brace of chops and some musty ale. then, after smoking a cigar, i found the clock indicating that i might with safety begin my second pilgrimage to the mecca of my ambition. crossing broadway, great was my astonishment, and very small my satisfaction, to come suddenly upon miss statia barton. she was looking undeniably pretty in her fur turban and cloth jacket, but she had no charms for me at that moment and i was sorry to lose the few seconds necessary to be courteous to her. "have you deserted us entirely?" she asked, with a constrained smile. "tom said this morning he hadn't seen you for nearly a week." "my time is much occupied," i answered. "you know it is but a few days now before i sail." had i been less full of another subject i should certainly have noticed that the coldness of my manner hurt her, and i hope i am not brute enough to do that intentionally. but, i did not think of such a thing then, nor till a long, long time after. "have you arranged the--the other matter?" she asked, with short breath. "excuse me. we can gain nothing by talking on that subject," said i. "then your charmer has decided not to go with you?" she said, interrogatively, but with a hard little laugh. "i thought it would come to that." i was foolish enough to take out miss may's letter and hold it up. "on the contrary, since you insist on knowing," i answered, "here is the final decision, and it is in favor of the plaintiff." her eyes opened as the conviction that i was telling the truth forced itself upon her. she was evidently not pleased. "mr. camran," she said, in tones as clear and cutting as ice, "i asked you a moment ago why you had not been to my home. i now say you need never call there again, as far as i am concerned, and i shall endeavor to have my brother write you to the same effect." "don't put tom to so much trouble," i replied, stung by her manner. "i have business too important and too pleasant to allow much time for mere duty calls." lifting my hat, an action that she did not see, as her eyes were bent on the sidewalk, i resumed my stroll. i should have been more annoyed at the occurrence if another subject had not so fully filled my head. the clocks struck two before i reached the number i sought, and i walked more rapidly. "miss may said you were to come to her room at once," said the colored servant, when she recognized my features. needing no second invitation i mounted the stairs. her door stood slightly open and as i entered, without knocking, she rose from a low rocker and came toward me. i could not have resisted had i been liable to execution for the offense; i met her in the middle of the apartment and held out both my hands. in the most unaffected and delightful manner she extended her own and i clasped them. "it is settled, then?" i cried. "you are going!" "take a seat," she said, releasing herself composedly. "there are still a few things that i must talk over with you." the blood rushed back upon my heart, leaving my face pale. i was very glad to get the support of the arm-chair to which she motioned me. "i have recently been ill, as i told you," i said in pleading tones, "and doubts, whatever their nature, are trying to me. tell me only this--you are going?" she breathed deeply for several seconds and then, with her head slightly on one side, looked at me. "do you really want me to?" she asked, gently. chapter vii. getting ready for my journey. she could not know the pain she gave me by her evasions, that was the excuse i found for her. the dread that after all she intended to disappoint me pressed like a heavy weight upon my brain. she must have seen something in my face that alarmed her, for she asked if i would like a glass of water--or wine. when i replied in the negative she came at once to the preliminaries that were in her mind. "i am going, of course," she said. "that is, if you think it worth while to grant all the demands i find necessary. i shall be glad when this disagreeable part of our bargain is ended, and i believe you will be equally, if not more so." "what is it now?" i inquired, rather querulously. "what do you want? come to the point, i beg, without further delay." she turned to a mirror, and with a brush that lay on the bureau pushed back the hair that was half tumbling over her face--hair that was light and yet not blonde; hair that matched well with her blue-gray eyes and her regular features. "it is not so easy as you may think to detail these things," she said, when her face was again turned toward me. "i have to depend on myself for my living, but i hate to assume the guise of a beggar. still, as i told you in the first place, my purse is practically empty. there are many articles needed if i am to go with you, that i would not otherwise want at this season of the year. they will cost money. i--" "all that was settled in my letter to-day," i interrupted. "have you not received it?" "yes, i received the letter, and i want to thank you for its kindness of tone. as i understand it, you offer to advance me what i need to prepare for the journey. this, i presume, is to be deducted from my salary, which under ordinary circumstances, would be quite acceptable. but, as i told you, i have another to support, and i have to rely upon my weekly stipend for that purpose." for a moment i doubted the girl. was she after all an adventuress who meant to get what she could in advance, and disappear when the time of departure came? no man likes to be made the victim of a schemer. i do not care any more for a few dollars than the average of my fellows, but the thought of having them cheated out of me is not pleasant to contemplate. i imagined my chagrin if i should go sailing off to the caribbean with the reflection that i had been the victim of a smooth-tongued woman--i, who had been through the same mill, and ought to have learned something. "i see my suggestion does not please you," came in low tones from my companion. "i was a little afraid it would not. i am such a stranger that i cannot wonder if you distrust me. well, i have no desire to influence you. i have told you my situation." rousing myself from my reverie i looked earnestly into the fair young face. "marjorie," i began; "may i call you 'marjorie?'" "as you please." "i am sure, as i gaze into your eyes, that i trust you implicitly. the recollection of a woman whom i once trusted to my sorrow came between us for an instant, that is all. i am going to believe in you without the slightest mental reservation, but i want to say just one thing. if i discover that i am again deceived it will not be the paltry cash i shall mind. i shall only regret the new wrench to my confidence in the honesty of your sex. what you will need in the present emergency will have but little effect on my income. i would willingly make you a present of it, if no plan such as i have in mind were a part of the contract. marjorie," i continued, leaning toward her and taking up one of her hands respectfully, "i trust you perfectly. tell me how much money you wish and i will bring it within an hour. as the expense is caused entirely on my account, i have no idea of deducting a cent of it from your salary, which, if agreeable will be the same you already receive, twenty dollars a week. while i shall not promise too much, let me add that this will not be the extent of your compensation, by any means, if we get along together as well as i hope. now, my dear girl, say there are no more lions in my path and that your last stipulation is agreed to." she did not answer at once and her delay filled me with the most disagreeable forebodings. "i want to go," she said, at last; and it was something that she did not compel me to release her hand. "i want to go, very much indeed. only, you must not expect--" she paused again--"anything more than--" "do not distress yourself," i replied, divining what was in her mind. "i am going to the west indies. until the importation of coal begins at newcastle, no one will dream of taking a woman on such a journey for an improper purpose." she brightened visibly, and although she released my hand at the same moment she did it in a way that implied naught of distrust. "it is a peculiar arrangement, though, take it altogether, is it not?" she asked, softly. "you are a man with, i judge, some knowledge of the world. what would your masculine friends say if you told them your plan? would they believe in the innocence of your motive, as you ask me to do?" i told her that my masculine friends were like others of their sex, i presumed, and might put the worst construction on anything, if they chose. there was not one of them to whom i had imparted my secret, and there would be none. i had looked over the "madiana's" passenger list and seen no familiar name. there was not a chance in ten thousand that any person on the boat would know me, and if they did, there was a practical impossibility that they would know my family. i promised the most perfect discretion while on board, desiring as much as she to avoid exciting suspicion. would she, i asked her, be any better off if i had proved what she imagined when she answered my advertisement--an elderly gentleman with rheumatism and green glasses? the proverb that there is no fool like an old fool might answer that question. as she had remarked in her letter, mrs. grundy could not arrange the lives of all her friends, and the best thing was to satisfy one's own self. this seemed to please her, for she dropped the subject and asked particulars about the amount of baggage that each passenger was allowed to carry; which put me in better spirits, for it indicated that her face was at last turned toward the morning. i told her that a steamer trunk for the stateroom, a handbag, and a larger trunk to put in the hold was what i intended to take for myself, and i thought she would need the same. i asked if she had the articles, saying that, if she had not, i would be glad to order them sent to her. "i have only a small trunk--it has managed hitherto to hold what things i have," was her reply. "then, with your permission, i will procure the entire outfit," i said. "now, about the clothing and that sort of stuff. how much cash shall you require?" she drew a long breath, and conceiving that she was afraid to name a sum i came again to the rescue. "i will bring you two hundred and fifty dollars this afternoon," i said. "that ought to take you through." indeed, i thought the amount very liberal, and supposed she would say that it was even more than she expected. she did nothing of the kind, however, but only nodded acquiescence. "there is something i was to ask you," i said, remembering what mr. cook's clerk had requested. "the berths are getting scarce on the 'madiana'--and the agent wishes to know if you are willing to have another person share your room." the young woman drew herself up and surveyed me with a cold expression. it was several seconds before i divined its cause, and then i had sense enough to pretend not to notice. "a passenger who is going to occupy a room in that part of the boat wants, if possible, to have his niece near him," i continued. "she will take the upper berth, if you are willing, in your cabin, but it rests with you. i have arranged for the entire room." her icy features relaxed and she was herself again. "i am quite willing," she answered. "in fact, had i known you intended to reserve an entire room for me i should have protested. of course, it adds to the expense and i would rather have some one there than not. are you going to occupy your room alone?" i told her about wesson, and she endorsed my action unreservedly. "where a trip cost so much, there is no need of adding to the expense," she said, thoughtfully. "i want to say another thing: as i am putting you to so much cost, you need not feel obliged on my account to stop at the highest priced hotels, when we are on shore. anything comfortable and respectable will satisfy me." i laughed as i responded that the best hotels in the caribbean were neither very dear nor very luxurious. i would take her where i should have gone had i been alone and i hoped she would find herself "comfortable," as she expressed it, at all of them. i glanced at my watch at this juncture and suggested that perhaps i had best be going. if she was to do any shopping that day she would have to receive the "needful" very soon. "oh, to-morrow will do for the shopping," she replied. "if it is convenient you may send the money to-night, but i could not make much progress after this hour of the day. i shall probably have to get my suits ready made and submit to alterations. there is very little time left us now." there was a partnership in this expression that pleased me greatly. i said as i rose that i hoped no new doubts would creep into her head, for i felt as if the journey we were to make together had actually begun. "i cannot conceive of a reason to change my mind, unless it comes from some action of yours," said miss may. "and i feel quite certain there will not be any." "you may be positive of it," i replied. "i will go now to order the trunks, which may not, however, arrive before morning. as to the money, i will send it by a messenger as soon as possible. au revoir." "au revoir," she said. "let me add one thing more before you go. i am very grateful for the kindness you are showing me, more so than i fear i make plain, and as far as lies in my power i will endeavor to prove it." "don't mention it," i said, affected by her words. "all the obligation has been and will continue to remain on my side. expect me saturday afternoon." i had again escaped without yielding to a temptation to do something foolish, for which i thanked my stars. it was with positive elation that i walked toward sixth avenue. the dream was coming true. she was going with me. nothing would come between us now! i went without delay to my bank and drew four hundred dollars in fifty dollars bills, three hundred of which i enclosed in an envelope and sent at once to miss may, by a district messenger. i thought it would drive another nail in the transaction to increase the amount i had promised, and fifty dollars was to me, in this connection, like a brass farthing to a millionaire. taking a passing car i rode to macy's, where i purchased a large and a small trunk of compressed bamboo, covered with cloth of imitation leather, the lightest and strongest trunk that human ingenuity has yet invented. the larger one had several trays and a hat box, and was pronounced by the salesman the very latest thing. the bag gave me more trouble, but i settled at last on a tasty affair, with special arrangements for toilet articles, which was to be its main object of use, and heard to my delight that all of the things would be delivered without fail that very evening. on returning to my room i picked up the letters received from the herald office and read them over again, laughing occasionally at something particularly amusing. what a lot of silly women there must be in new york, when a modest "personal" like mine had set so many of them spoiling good stationery with such nonsense. the only two worth giving any thought to were those from marjorie and miss brazier. a whimsical notion struck me to write to "alice" and tell her how near she had been to winning the "prize" in my case. in the course of fifteen minutes i had produced the following letter: my dear miss brazier:--as there were but two answers to my herald advertisement (out of nearly as many hundred) worth noticing, and as yours was one of them, i may be pardoned for telling you that your hated rival has been secured by me for my tropical trip. had you given me the least chance to discover your excellencies, it might quite as likely have been your fate to accompany me, so you will see how very narrow was your escape. having recently recovered from a long illness (whence the necessity of a southern voyage) i had no desire to meet your angry relatives, and i have yet to learn how to gauge a young lady's personality by mail. so you put yourself out of the running to begin with. i am sure, however, it will please you to know that another has satisfied herself with my proposals and is now engaged in preparations to accompany me to a warmer clime. she is not only "all my fancy painted her," but more. as near as i can tell in the absence of actual measurements, she is about s feet inches in height, well made, full chested, with a face to dream about, bluish gray eyes and hair of a rather light shade. but this description fails utterly to convey an adequate idea of her exquisite charm. i am to pay her--imagine making a pecuniary arrangement with an houri!--twenty dollars a week and expenses, only; except that the wardrobe which she finds it necessary to purchase for a climate averaging deg. at this season, is also to be charged to me. was ever so much given for so little? i shall certainly insist on her accepting a nice little purse of "conscience money" on her return, if we decide, on mature reflection, to terminate our contract at that time. now, be magnanimous and write me a note of congratulation; i am sure you have a kind heart and will be glad all my correspondents did not threaten me with gouty and quick tempered uncles in case i wished to call on a purely business errand. very truly, david camwell, lambs club. new york, dec. , . i summoned a district messenger, by a call in my room, and dispatched this to east sixteenth street, though why i did not put it in the mail i do not know. there was certainly no haste required. the steward of the club would send an answer, if one was received, without delay, for i had given him my pseudonym, and he was too wise to ask questions. that night i dreamed i was at st. thomas; that marjorie had somehow changed into the quarantine keeper's daughter; and that laps, the danish dog, was proceeding to tear her in pieces, when i interfered and treated him as samson did the lion in the hebrew tale. the girl had fainted in my arms and, i was calling wildly upon heaven to restore her senses, when a servant, up late, woke me by knocking on my door and inquiring if i wished for anything. i searched for a bootjack to throw at the fellow's head, and not finding it in the dark, i threw a few uncomplimentary expletives instead. but sleep had vanished for that night, and after taking a cold bath i threw myself on a sofa, where with a pipe in my mouth i spent the long hours till morning drawing pictures of the happiness so soon to be mine. chapter viii. "a woman i like very well." the first thought that struck me when i was ready for breakfast was that my new secretary ought to terminate her arrangement with that disagreeably affectionate employer and keep open house during each entire day and evening for my benefit. the mornings that were to elapse before the sailing of the "madiana" would be terribly dull. i had tried to make it clear to miss may that her salary had already begun to be reckoned and i did not see why she should carry on two business engagements at the same time. when i rose from the table on which my coffee and eggs had been spread, it was to receive a letter which had passed through the lambs club and was undoubtedly a reply to the one i had sent miss brazier on the previous day. it would at least entertain me for a few moments to know what that apparently lively young lady had to say: dear sir:--[it began--coldly enough, i thought] your communication has been duly received and its contents noted. although it is unlikely, and certainly, on my part, not desired, that we shall ever meet, i must inform you that my answer to your advertisement was written purely in fun and without the least idea of accepting your remarkable proposition. i will add that i am surprised that you have succeeded in inducing any woman of the least respectability to undertake such a journey, and i fear that your impression of her high character will receive some severe wrenches before your return. it must require unusual "nerve" to start off for several months with an unmarried man (or a married one, for that matter) putting ones self at his mercy, for that is what it amounts to. when the individual is wholly unknown to the woman who is to accompany him--when he may, for all she knows, be a "jack, the ripper"--the foolhardiness of the idea grows on one. i am sure i do not envy your companion, though it is by no means certain but you, and not she, will be the most swindled in the affair. i conjure you, however, though a total stranger, that if your friend proves to be merely a misguided girl of good intentions, you will not soil your soul with the greatest guilt of which a man can be capable. remember, if your thoughts are dishonorable, that you have or have had a mother, perhaps a sister, whose memory should make you pause before you inflict irreparable ruin on one of the same sex. yours sincerely, a.b. new york, dec. , . a strange letter, i thought, take it altogether. i read it over slowly for the second time. the first few lines indicated disappointment, and a perusal of the remaining portion did not remove this impression, entirely. the final sentences sobered me. the reflections they induced were certainly not exhilarating. although i have no sister and cannot remember my mother, i have a great veneration for my lost parents, and there is no string so susceptible of influence on my actions as the one this writer touched. i made a new resolution that i would carry myself like a gentleman in the truest sense of the word with miss may. i had been honest in the expressions i used when talking the matter over with harvey hume. the earnest admonitions of dr. chambers had not been without effect. i meant to prove by this journey that i was capable of being in the close companionship of a young lady without becoming either a brute or a don juan. looking at it even from the standpoint of an enlightened selfishness i was sure to get more satisfaction in a voyage with a woman whom i could respect than with one who assumed the role of a cyprienne. loose creatures are to be found in plenty in the caribbee islands, as well as in new york. a sweet, true, honest, intelligent bit of femininity was quite another thing, and infinitely to be preferred, from any sensible view. marjorie! so far as my uncertain mind could do so i pledged to her a purity of intercourse such as a man might give to his affianced sweetheart. i had folded the letter up and put it in my pocket when a visitor was announced, no less a person than tom barton. he came toward me with a distressed look on his honest countenance and it was plain that he was far from being at ease. "don," he said, paying no attention to my motion toward a chair, "what is the trouble between you and statia? i can't believe you have done anything intentionally to set her so against you, and yet--" "sit down and don't get excited," i responded quickly, deciding to dispose of the matter in the calmest way. "have you had your coffee? if not, let me ring for another pot. you don't seem well this morning, old boy." "i'm not well," he said, in a dispirited tone, taking the chair at last. "but you can make me so with one word. last night statia came to me with her eyes full of tears. 'tom,' she said, 'if you love me i want you to promise never to see donald camran again.' 'never to see don!' i exclaimed, unable to believe my ears. 'yes,' said she, 'i've told him i don't wish him to call here and i want you to write him to the same effect.' you may imagine what a staggerer that was. there's not another fellow in the world of whom i wouldn't rather she'd have said that. i tried to get her to give some reason--any reason, or the hint of one--but it was no use. she only cried the harder, and when at last i went to bed, i tell you i didn't get much sleep. tell me, don, what it means." "it seems you didn't make your sister the promise," i replied. "and you were quite right. the whim of a girl should not come between stanch friends like us." that did not satisfy him, however. he murmured that we had been good friends--that he couldn't bear to think we should ever be otherwise--but he wanted to understand what his sister meant. as she wouldn't tell him, he had come to ask that favor of me. "supposing i don't care to say anything about it," i replied, quietly. "if statia is set on keeping the wonderful secret, how can you expect me to divulge it?" he struggled a moment with this idea, for tom was always slow in grasping abstruse problems. "you'll have to help me clear up the mystery," he said, at last. "i've only got one sister, don, and she and i are all there are to the family now. if it comes to losing my sister or my best friend, i must stand by statia." i felt a chill going over my flesh as he spoke. i liked tom, and i liked statia--yes, in spite of the silly meeting of the day before. it was better to back down a little than to lose such friends. "what a serious matter you make of it!" i exclaimed. "you ask me what is the trouble between statia and me. well, the fact is, i hardly know. she met me in broadway yesterday and wanted to make me promise something that i could not see--to be candid--was any affair of hers. when i declined, as courteously as i knew how, she flew at me with the statement that i need never call at her house again. i had no choice in the matter, tom, not the least. i wouldn't do anything to justify her in talking to me in that way, if i could help it, but one must retain a few of his personal rights, you know." "and what was it about?" asked tom, very earnestly. "it was about a woman. a woman i like very well, and who happens to be going on the same steamer i am to the tropics. there! the terrible secret is out." tom studied the answer a long time, but evidently could make nothing of it. "statia has always liked you immensely, don," he said. "i've been almost jealous of you sometimes. she wouldn't go against you all of a sudden without what seemed to her a strong reason." "and i like statia," was my reply. "yes, in spite of the ugly attitude she has chosen to take toward me. why, tom--i don't know but, under the circumstances, i ought to tell you--i asked her only a week ago to marry me." "ah!" he exclaimed, in a mixture of happiness and pain, that was very touching. "yes, and she refused positively. i was disappointed, you may believe, for i had thought she entertained a decided feeling in my favor, and would have asked long before except for that illness of mine. her attitude might have thrown me back into the doctor's hands, for my head is not yet any too strong, but i managed to crush down my thoughts and bear up under it. i hope it's not wrong to tell you this, old chap, but i don't think i ought to let you go off with wrong impressions of me." he shook his head in mute dismay. "the other woman--the one you and she were speaking about," he said. "who is she? it seems as if the key to the whole trouble was there." "now, tom," i replied, "you have no right to ask me a question like that and i shall have to decline to bring the name of a third person into this discussion. i have the greatest regard for you and the highest respect for statia. if you decide to throw me over, the responsibility must rest where it belongs." "would you--would you come round to the house and talk it over with both of us together?" he asked, after a long pause. "it troubles me more than i can tell you. would you come over, say tuesday evening?" "yes," i said, smilingly, "if statia writes me a letter asking me to do so." "she must write it," he said, brightening. "i can't have our friendship broken up like this. shall you be at home all day?" i answered that i would be there just before dinner, at least, to receive any communication that might be sent, and tom, taking my hand in his hearty grasp for the first time since he had been in the room, said 'good-by' and left me, evidently much relieved. i was by no means as certain as he that statia would make any such back-down. i have noticed that women are more apt than men to stick to a position they have once taken, even after they find that the mistake is on their side. but, i really hoped some avenue would be opened for a reconciliation without my having to go on bended knees to either of them, which i saw no reason for doing. i had told tom all it would be safe to tell. he was so immaculate in all his thoughts of women that there was no saying how my plan, if fully presented, would strike his mind. i certainly did not mean to risk it. it was a day that had begun disagreeably and i was looking forward to at least a pleasant afternoon, when a note from miss may came, to dash that prospect to the ground. here it is: my dear mr. c.:--i fear you have undertaken a larger contract than you anticipated when you began. to be plain, the amount you left in my hands will hardly suffice to provide all the necessaries for a lady travelling as your relation and equal. if you are satisfied i will consent, though i am sure i would not have done so at first, to go as your ward, merely,--as a young woman whom you have promised some friend to see on her journey to a point where she is to be a governess or whatever you like to say. in that case you will not be disgraced if i do not dress very well. i cannot endure the thought of being suspected; and a lady such as you wish me to appear would have three or four gowns suitable for appearing at table, with at least a little jewelry--of which, alas! i have practically nothing. i write you this with a heavy heart, for i fear you will begin to consider me a nuisance, but i hope you will understand. i went out this morning and priced several gowns, but finding that the money you left me would be exhausted before the really necessary things were obtained, i returned to my room without breaking one of the banknotes. please reply by messenger, stating what you think it best to do. if i am going to cost you more than you wish to expend, tell me so frankly and i will release you from every obligation. i resigned my other position last night, but am certain my old employer will gladly take me back if i have to ask it. ugh! that is the most disagreeable thought in connection with this entire matter! understand, i am ready to go with you--i want to go--and i leave the position i am supposed to occupy to your own judgment. if i am to pass as a governess, in whom you have no special interest, you may return me half of the money enclosed and i shall find it amply sufficient. if i am to be your "cousin," i fear it will have to be doubled. please do not decide in a way you will regret. i am obliged to leave the city on an early train, to remain over new years with friends, but shall expect you tuesday at any hour after ten. that is, if you wish to see me again. yours faithfully, m.m. p.s. the trunks and bag are splendid. of course, i shall hold them subject to your orders if you decide to drop our arrangement. i looked at the six fifty dollar bills lying on the table, where they had fallen from the envelope. the messenger boy looked at them also, as if he half wished he had run away with the package instead of delivering it. his presence disturbed me and i told him to walk around the block, returning in a quarter of an hour. this he hesitated to do and i shoved a two dollar bill into his fist, as a guarantee of my good faith. what a criss-cross of ideas piled upon my brain when i was alone! at one instant i said to myself that miss may was a schemer, who had determined to "play me for a sucker,"--to use a common, though not over delicate expression. she had been indiscreet in returning my cash; i would put it in my pocket and forget her. on the other hand, the thought of going south alone was enough to madden me. i did not care two straws that the cost of the trip would be doubled, if it possessed the charming features i had allowed myself to paint. the woman's going into the country for two whole days when the question was unsettled was also most exasperating. if i could proceed immediately to her room and talk with her face to face it would be easier to decide. the fifteen minutes passed, the boy returned, and i was still in a quandary. finally, when the young imp presented himself in a business-like attitude, i seized a pen and wrote as follows: _destroy the note i sent a moment ago and substitute this one._ dear miss may:--["dear" does not mean anything at the beginning of a letter]--i am very sorry to learn that you feel it necessary to be absent over monday, as i have many things to say to you. perhaps, as you can do nothing in the meantime, it is best to let the matter rest till tuesday morning, when i will call, promptly at ten, and we will decide everything. yours, d.c. the boy took this note, when it was sealed and addressed, and disappeared like magic. he had hardly gone when i wished i had sent a letter of different purport. there was an awful possibility that miss may would take the chance i had undoubtedly offered, to give up the whole idea of going. she had certainly not seemed as enthusiastic as i could wish. i ran to a window, threw it open, and would have whistled to the boy, but he was nowhere to be seen. it was like a matter of life and death to me then. ringing in a call i took my pen again and indited the following: dear marjorie:--for so you said i might call you:--i return the money that you sent back to me. keep it till i meet you tuesday morning at ten, when i will come prepared with a sum which will certainly meet every demand you can put upon it. you are wiser than i about feminine apparel and could not please me better than by the forethought you display. it is with great regret that i learn you are to be absent over sunday and monday, when i had hoped to pass some pleasant hours with you, but i cheerfully yield to your arrangement. within a few days there will be no other friends to distract your attention from one who will prove himself the truest of them all. sincerely yours, d.c. no. -- thirty-fourth street. i procured a large envelope and took it into the bedroom, where i could re-insert the bank bills without danger of arousing the cupidity of young mercury. with a lead pencil i added to the note a request that the recipient would send just a line by bearer to show that my message had arrived safely, and saw the boy depart, feeling that i had at last done the sensible thing. whether this proved to be the case i will leave the reader to judge when he has finished this volume. chapter ix. a private dining room. saturday evening was dull enough, being only brightened by a pencilled note from miss may, reading simply, "money received. will see you tuesday." i went over to the lyceum theatre to a play called "the tree of knowledge," which i now believe one of the brightest things produced on the american stage in years, though i was too full of other thoughts to appreciate it at the time. it was an attempt to shift the burden of blame that has rested in all fiction on the shoulders of the man, to that of the woman, and was so far rather welcome to me. we are a bad lot, as a rule, i am afraid, but some allowance should be made for a case like the one in the play, where a well intentioned young fellow is used as a football by a girl who does not care if his life is ruined, so long as she accomplishes her designs. i remember being somewhat surprised at the apparent approval of the fine audience, but that may have been due in a measure to the delightful acting of the various parts. i had not been to the lyceum for a long time and did not remember to have seen the "wronged young man" before, but he made a most favorable impression on me as more natural and less stagey than the average. the "villain,"--the masculine one--was an excellent actor, also. as for the "wicked" woman, i thought, if marjorie failed me, i would give her an invitation to spend the rest of the winter in the caribbean. sunday was weariness itself. i poured over the newspapers, took a walk, managed to get a short nap, for i was tired, ate my lunch, and then, to fill up the time, wrote a letter to miss brazier, in defense of myself from the severe attack that unknown young woman had made. it was a silly proceeding, but i liked to write about marjorie, even to one wholly unknown, and this is what i said, as near as i can remember it: dear alice (ben bolt):--i feel justified in calling you "alice," now it is settled that you are not to be my companion for long and (to you, doubtless) weary weeks, a liberty i should never have dreamed of taking had you decided to go. i do not know in what way i have offended you, which i judge by your letter to be the case, but as the children say, "if i've done anything i'm sorry for, i'm glad of it." (of course i don't mean exactly that.) the reason i write this is to ask you to dine with me (in a highly respectable public dining room--no cabinet particulaire, mind!) some evening before the th, when i am to sail. if you will do this, i will fill your shell-like ears with such an account of your rival that you will acquit her of intending any of the horrors you intimate. she is neither, i believe, a sinful creature nor a dunce--just a sweet, strong-minded, trusting seeker after change and rest. and i don't like your insinuations, either, about my own moral character. if you knew me, i should not blame you so much, but as you don't--it's simply reprehensible. i have no intention of "soiling my soul," or that of any other person, but if that awful event happens (i wonder how i would look with a soiled soul!) you will be to blame. if you really thought i was in danger, why did you not do the patriotic thing and offer to go in her place? that would have disposed of the s--s--possibility. now, if you have not already thrown this down in a rage--i judge you to be a woman of the most fiendish temper!--let me be sensible for just one moment. i am recovering slowly from a long illness and am as harmless as a dove. i have, honestly, some work for a typewriter to do, and my physician has advised me to take one. the young lady who has agreed to go is not the sort you seem to imagine. she has consented only after the most distressing stipulations in regard to my conduct--all of which were entirely unnecessary, by the way. i am to file a bond to return her to new york by may st in absolutely perfect condition. come and dine with me, alice dear, and have your doubts removed. i won't bite you, nor offer the slightest familiarity, upon my word! name your hotel and, provided it is of undoubted respectability, i will meet you there at any hour you choose, after p.m., or i will send a carriage for you. i only wish i could bring 'marjorie'--isn't it a perfectly sweet name! one sight of her soulful eyes would say more than all my protestations. unhappily she is out of town, and i am afraid she wouldn't like to be exhibited, if she were here. you'd best come. yours fraternally, d. camwell. the lambs, dec. , . it didn't seem too funny, when i read it over, as i thought it would, but i sent it to east sixteenth street by a messenger that i summoned, telling him to bring an answer, if there was any, and to return for his pay, if there was none. he came back in half an hour, saying that a boy at the house took the letter up stairs, presumably to miss b., and returned in a few minutes stating that she would reply by mail. as this exhausted all the fun i could expect out of that matter for the day, i went over to the club and lounged away the afternoon. it was nine o'clock and i had only been at home for a few minutes when a note came from statia barton. it was written in a very cool strain, but its contents were unexpectedly agreeable, for all that. statia said she was afraid she had been a little too severe, and that, as it distressed tom very much to have a general falling out, she had made it up with him. she had nothing to take back in what she had said relating to a certain matter, (what woman ever took back anything?) but was willing to admit that it was, really, my personal affair and that she had no right to control my conduct. she believed it best, on the whole, that we should see each other as little as possible before i went away, but she did not wish, on reflection, to make trouble between her brother and his friend. if tom wanted me to come to spend an evening with him, she hoped i would do it, and she promised to keep out of my way. it was a queer mixture, take it altogether, but i was very glad to receive it. the calming effect on my general condition was such that when i went to bed, i slept for nearly seven hours without interruption, something i had not done for the previous fortnight. monday, on account of new years, was as dull as sunday. when i awoke with the exultant knowledge that it was at last tuesday morning, i sprang from bed joyfully. filling my tub with water as it ran from the street pipe, i plunged into its icy depths. rising again i repeated the operation half a dozen times, until the effect on my entire body was of a healthy glow, and then proceeded to dress with care. i was long in selecting a necktie, for one thing, and tried three pairs of cuff-links before i was content. my coffee was barely tasted, and the newspapers were scanned as if in a dream. all the time, mind you, i was trying my best to obey the injunction of dr. chambers to avoid the least excitement. i persuaded myself that i was simply happy and that no injurious effect could be apprehended from a merely contented frame of mind. i did not stop to think that i was pursuing a short road to the nervous prostration from which i had emerged, and which had its origin in the same lack of control i was exhibiting. tom barton called about eight o'clock and, as he entered the room, came straight to me with his right hand extended. i took it heartily in mine, glad that the chasm between us was bridged at last. "dear old fellow," he said, with strong feeling, "forgive me for anything disagreeable i said, the other day. i feel now that i misjudged you. let us end that matter and when you come to my house this evening, tell me exactly what route you are going to take, so i can arrange where to write you." i promised to come if i could, and if that was impossible, to send a message to account for my absence. i told him i had bought a set of small maps which would show my route perfectly and that i hoped for frequent communications with him. neither of us said anything about statia, for i think he felt as i did that we should get along better without bringing in her name. he was obliged to leave after a brief call. as soon as he was out of sight i donned my out-door garments and proceeded by round-about stages toward miss may's residence. the hands of my watch pointed to ten exactly, when i rang her bell. it is considered a virtue, i believe, to be prompt at an appointment. the woman who attended the door dampened my ardor somewhat, however, by informing me that miss may had not yet returned. she suggested that i go at once to the lady's room and make myself comfortable till she came, which must be very soon. i walked slowly up the stairs, which seemed longer than ever, oppressed with a new series of doubts. perhaps she would not come at all. perhaps she had taken my three hundred dollars and fled to parts unknown. perhaps--oh! the ugly things that came into my head between the lower hall and the door of that empty room. i turned the knob and entered. somehow the sight of the things that belonged to her began to mollify me. there was the chair in which she had been seated when i saw her last--happy chair! there was the dressing table, the brush and comb she used, the glass into which she had looked with her beautiful blue-gray eyes. yes, and masquerading as a cabinet, yet deceiving no one for a second, was the folding bed that had often received her lovely form, with her head pillowed in happy slumber. it was something to be in the room she occupied, to see the furniture she used. i seated myself in her chair--the one i had seen her in--but almost instantly rose and walked about. my nerves were too much on edge to permit me to remain long without motion of some kind. at the end of half an hour i began to grow incensed again. she had made the appointment for ten o'clock. she knew from previous experience that i would keep it to the moment. trains from the suburbs ran frequently enough. did she consider me merely a puppet, to be played with? between half-past ten and eleven i was a hundred times on the point of descending the stairs and leaving the house, ending the whole affair. but i didn't. she came about ten minutes past eleven, with many expressions of regret at having kept me waiting. the timepiece at the house of her friend had broken its mainspring, or something of the sort, and with the carelessness of a woman she had forgotten to wind her watch the evening before. the family were all deceived by the fact that the sky was cloudy. when she reached her station the train had just gone and she was obliged to wait three-quarters of an hour for another. as soon as she alighted in new york, she took a cab and bade the driver hasten. had i been waiting very long? i did not know, at that instant, whether i had been a minute or a week, and i did not care. it was enough that i was again in her presence--that she had actually arrived. i begged her to say nothing more about it. "i have kept the cab," she said, looking me full in the face, "thinking you might be kind enough to go with me to the shops and help me pick out my things. if it isn't asking too much--" i assured her it would give me the greatest pleasure to accept the invitation and that i had no engagement so important as helping her to get ready for our journey. with a smile, she took off her hat and arranged her hair at the mirror, with a few passes of the brush and comb. then she put it on again and said she was quite ready. "drive to altman's," she said to the cabman, as she stepped inside the vehicle. we were together, side by side. had we been on the way to the steamer nothing could have exceeded my delight. these preliminaries all tended in that direction, however, and i was fain to curb my haste and content myself with the present. "i think you ought to see what it costs to dress a young woman who is going to masquerade as the cousin of a gentleman of means," said miss may, as we turned the corner. "i want you to decide on each article, since the expense is to come out of your pocket. i must say another thing also, at this time. i shall not consider as my own anything i need to buy. i am merely in the position of an actress whose wardrobe is to be provided by her manager. whenever our engagement terminates i will return every article to you in as good shape as possible." i was staggered by the suggestion, as well as impressed by the sentiment that led her to make it. "what could i do with a lot of gowns--and--lingerie?" i inquired, helplessly. "they would be a veritable drug on my hands." "they could be altered," she said, thoughtfully. "i shall be very careful of them." "altered!" i cried. "for whom?" "for the next typewriter you may happen to engage." i laughed to conceal the disagreeable feeling which the thought gave me. "as a joke that is stupendous," i said, "but, if you don't mind, i would rather you would be funny on some other subject." she relapsed into silence, something after the manner of a child who has been chidden, which did not add to my ease. i had no idea of scolding her. luckily we were soon at altman's. i had come provided with plenty of money that time. the cash she had brought was exhausted when we left this place and we did not seem to have got much for it, either. a milliner was next visited, where the price of the few articles purchased was forgotten in my admiration of the charming appearance marjorie made in her new headgear. then we drove to another establishment, where she was obliged to hide herself from view for three-quarters of an hour, with a bill of eighty-five dollars as the result. she explained that she had got nothing she could possibly avoid, when it was considered that we might be several weeks at a time without a laundress, and i said the only fear i had was that she would buy too little. a boot shop came next in order, where i had a jealous pang as one of the salesmen fitted her with various articles in his stock, all suitable for a warm climate, at a total cost of forty dollars. and then we drove about, from glove shop to perfumer's, from umbrella maker to fan dealer, from this to that, and the hands on my watch showed that it was nearly five o'clock. "i think that is about all for to-day," said miss may, drawing a long breath. "you must be glad it's over." "not at all," i replied. "isn't it about time, though, that we had something in the way of refreshment?" (she had declined several offers to lunch during the preceding five hours.) "mayn't i tell the driver now to take us to a restaurant?" she consented, after a little thought, and also said she would leave the place to me. when i suggested the hotel martin, she thought a little longer, and then surprised me with a request that i would get a private room. "impossible," i said, when i could catch my breath. "they will assign no party of two to a room alone." she blushed, which was not surprising. i had put her in the position of wishing to break a puritanic rule of which she had never heard. i mentioned several other places, and we finally agreed on one some distance up-town, at which i told her the regulation against a single couple dining alone did not apply. she was rather tired and leaned back in the carriage in a manner that showed it. i studied her face as much as i could without appearing to stare, but it was wholly expressionless. "you are very good to me," she said, after a long pause. "and you are very kind to me," i answered. "what a lot of money we have spent to-day," she added. "aren't you sorry yet?" "no," i answered, smiling. "not yet." "i shall need almost nothing more," she said, "to appear in a garb that will not disgrace you. nothing, but a little jewelry, i think." i said we would go to-morrow and attend to that, or she could go alone if she preferred, and send the bills to me. "it must be lovely to have all the money one wants," she remarked, dreamily. "to order whatever you please without stopping to see if you can afford it." "yes," i assented. "you can do that?" said miss may, putting one of her gloved hands on my arm. "within a reasonable limit. my wants are seldom extravagant." "why," she asked, slowly, "is the world arranged so unevenly? why are some provided with all they want, and more, while others have to study each item of actual necessity?" "that is a deep question, that i would not like to settle in my present state of hunger," i replied, at which she smiled and sat up in the carriage. "we are luckily near the end of our route. i think i had best dismiss the cab and get another one when we leave." she agreed and then asked if i had any objection to her donning a veil. it was all right, of course--dining in a private room with her employer--but it might not seem so to a casual passer, who would possibly recognize her face at some future period. a woman had to be so particular. i cut her explanations short by saying that i did not object to the idea, but quite approved of it; at which she put on the veil, which to my consternation was blue and quite opaque. i did not wish to let any difference of opinion come between us, but i reflected that if one of my friends saw me, with a woman veiled like that, his conclusions would be anything but pleasing. there is such a thing as going too far. we were shown to a nice little room, where the waiter came near getting himself into trouble by informing me with needless severity that it was not permitted to lock the door. miss may did not seem to hear what he said. she was removing her blue veil at a little glass that hung on the wall. when she took the chair opposite to me and accepted the menu at my hands, she looked so charming that i had to put a veritable westinghouse brake on my arms. chapter x. once there was a child. the meal that we ordered was well cooked and well served, and being provided with that best of all sauces, hunger, i did it full justice. our conversation seemed, however, rather dull, and there was not that flow of spirits that i expected when we entered the place. miss may seemed absorbed in thought, though she declared, when i rallied her on the point, that she was not down hearted, but very happy to be there. occasionally when footsteps were heard in the corridor she started nervously, which led me to suppose that she feared intrusion. i thereupon remarked that while it was against the rules to bolt the door of the room, i believed a good-sized tip would secure the privilege; to which she replied, with a vehemence i could not understand, that she would not hear of such a thing. one might imagine she suspected me of an intention to murder her, so earnest was her protest. "oh, i would much rather leave it unlocked," i said. "i was only trying to please you." she made no answer, and i found my spirits, always mercurial, beginning to sink a little. noticing my dejection, she came to my rescue and soon had me all right again. we talked of the journey, she asking many particulars of my former visit to the caribbean islands. she had never been at sea for more than a few hours and wondered if she was liable to that malady so much to be dreaded, seasickness. i assured her it was not nearly as bad as it was painted and told of my own slight experiences in that line, years before. my companion ate and drank sparingly. she declined my proposal to order champagne, and mixed her claret and apollinaris like a veritable tyro in restaurant dining. this rather pleased me, on the lookout as i was for indications that she might be other than she seemed. she had every mark of the true lady, and i was well prepared to believe it, when i learned, some days later, of the station in which she had been born and in which her childhood was passed. "i have been thinking," she remarked, after one of her long pauses; "would it not be best for me, to take your family name? i wish, above all things, to avoid suspicion." "i fear we are a little too late for that," i replied. "i was obliged to give your name to the agent and he has already placed it on the passenger list." "will that list get into the newspapers?" she asked, nervously. "i presume so." "then you must manage to have my name changed, at all hazards. my old employer would use every means to annoy me if he discovered where i am going." "it is only recorded as 'miss m. may,'" i said. "surely there is more than one person of that name in the world." she shook her head and bit her lips in distress. "it must be changed," she repeated. "it will not do to give him the slightest clue. he imagines himself 'in love'--heaven help me!--and i dare not risk it. any name you like, but my own." "what can he do?" i inquired. "you don't think i would let him annoy you, when you were under my protection." "he can do many things. no, there is no way but to alter the name. tell the agent the lady you expected is not going--that she has been taken ill--and that another is to fill her place. do not argue, do not hesitate, or i shall be compelled, even now, to give up the journey. and that," she added, seeing my sober face, "you know well i would not like to do." this was enough to settle the matter and i said i would give the agent in the morning any name she desired. "i would like it the same as your own," she said, thoughtfully. "it might save infinite trouble. just record me as miss m. camwell. is there any reason against that?" yes, there was one and it occurred to me. the name, which i had decided to use, was so near my own that uncle dugald would be likely to see it, not to say anything about hume, tom barton and statia. they might lay the twisting of donald camran into "david camwell" to the carelessness of copyist and printer, but their suspicions would certainly be aroused if they saw next to my name that of a "miss" camwell. "i will change your name in some way," i answered, after a long pause, "but i see dangers in the plan you propose, nearly as great as in the present one." i then gave her an inkling of my fears, saying i did not wish any sharp friend to guess what i was doing, which was possible with two such uncommon names in just a position on an alphabetical list. she did not seem satisfied, but raised no objection when i asked her if i might call her miss m. carney, which i thereupon decided to do. it was rather dull, take it altogether, the dinner, but when we were again in a cab and rolling toward forty-fifth street, miss may brightened, like the close of a cloudy day, just before the sun sinks into the obscurity of the western sky. she put one of her hands on mine, quite as if the act was a wholly thoughtless one, but it sufficed to cheer me up. she even volunteered a prophesy that we would be good friends and contented fellow voyagers. before we reached her door she asked me at what hour i would call on the morrow, quite as if anxious to see me. after a little debate i decided upon three in the afternoon. that would give her the entire morning with her dressmaker, for necessary alterations in the garments she had purchased. she did not seem to notice particularly when i raised the gloved hand i held and pressed it to my lips at parting. it was an act that any lady might pardon, and she probably thought nothing of it. "to-morrow, then, at three," she said, smiling at me from the curbstone. "yes. don't keep me waiting," i answered, remembering the morning. "i will try not to; these dressmakers are so unreliable, though. you--you wouldn't rather i would come to your rooms? perhaps there is another of those rules we have been running across, against it. if there is none, and you prefer--" i said i approved of the idea highly and that i was at liberty to invite to my apartment any person i pleased. "you spoke of a machine that i have never used," said miss may, tentatively. "if you have one there, as a sort of excuse--" "i have one," said i. "although it won't be needed for that purpose. you remember the number, -- west thirty-fourth." she nodded and spoke to my driver, repeating it to him. then with another of her bright smiles she waved me good-by and ascended the steps, while i was driven away. "henry," i was saying ten minutes after, to the hall boy, "i expect a young lady to-morrow, between three and four, who will ask for mr. camwell." "there isn't any mr. camwell in the house, sir," said the boy. "there will be at that hour. he will be in my rooms. you may not see him enter and you may not see him leave, but he will be here. all you have to do is to say 'yes, ma'am,' to the lady and bring her to my door." "i understand," said henry, with a wholly superfluous grin, that showed how little common sense the average hall-boy possesses. "no, you don't understand anything," i responded, snappishly. "do as i order and you'll lose nothing. make the least mistake and i will see that you get your notice." he responded meekly that he would be careful and then handed me a letter, which i saw was from miss brazier. he also said that mr. barton had called and expressed surprise when he heard that i had left no word for him. poor tom! it came to my recollection all at once that i had promised to spend the evening at his house, or send him a note if unable to do so. well, i would write him an apology before i went to sleep. this is what miss brazier said: dear mr. camwell:--i wish i could understand you, but the riddle grows harder and harder. sometimes you seem a combination of don quixote, mephistopheles and hector greyburn. at one moment i believe you the greatest wretch alive; at the next i ascribe your sentiments to the buoyancy of youth and convince myself that you are at heart an honorable man. as to dining with you, i must deny myself that pleasure. i do not believe you would "bite" me, nor am i afraid your levity would turn my head. i can merely say that dining with a stranger is not in accord with my habits and that i see no sufficient reason to make your case an exception. i would be glad to see your "marjorie," though, were that feasible, but this also i must forego. now, as a last word--for my correspondence may weary you--remember that true happiness in this life does not consist in the mere gratification of every passing whim, and that the path you have before you may contain thorns as well as roses. if you return to america with your conscience void of offence toward god and your companion you will have accomplished something of which you may well be proud. won't you write me just a line when you are again at home, to say that my petition has been answered. your true friend, a.b. jan. , . sobered more than i could account for by reading this letter, i sat for a long time in silence. then, after writing a brief note to tom, excusing my neglect, i sought my pillow, or in plain english, went to bed. my first act in the morning after coffee was to go to cook's and alter the name of may to that of carney, as well as change my own to "david camwell," for which i gave a satisfactory reason to the clerk. he told me that he could omit both names from the list sent to the newspapers, if i desired, and i decided that this was, on the whole, the better way. on leaving i had an idea that pleased me, no less than to visit tiffany's and purchase a little jewelry for marjorie. it would be pleasant to see her eyes light up as i put it into her hand. taking a broadway car, i soon reached the shop i sought, and emerged a few minutes later with a pair of diamond eardrops, a ring of turquoise and small diamonds, and another of chased gold without a stone. each was enclosed in a tasty case. i was much pleased that the selection had been made so easily. miss may arrived at my room nearly on time, with a fine color in her cheeks, due to the fact that she had walked some distance. she was undeniably good-looking and my heart warmed as i thought of the long companionship we were to have together. she was a little tired, she said, from standing for the dressmaker's measurer, and dropped into my largest chair with a very fetching air of fatigue. as soon as i could without seeming in haste i produced the case containing the turquoise ring and presented it for her inspection. "i took the liberty," i remarked, "of buying this, to fill the vacant place on one of your fingers. if it does not fit, you can take it back for alteration; or if it does not please you tiffany will exchange it." she took it out languidly and found that it fitted very well. she was not as delighted as i had supposed she would be, but her tired feeling probably accounted for that. "it is very pretty," she said, "and you are very kind." then i opened the case containing the plain ring and she found a suitable position for that also. when i showed her the eardrops she grew more interested and on trying them on declared them "perfectly sweet." "i used to have some very like them," she said, with a sigh, "but that was long ago. how very good you are. are you not tired of the expense i cause you?" i assured her that i was not, in the least. "i do not own a piece of jewelry in the world," she added, "except a wedding ring, that belonged to my mother." "and these," i corrected her by saying. "no. these are not mine. they are merely part of the make-up for the rôle i am to play. you shall have them all back again when the curtain is rung down." she took out her purse, and drew forth the ring of which she had spoken. placing it on her wedding finger she held it out to me. "don't i look quite like a married woman?" she asked, smilingly. "quite," i assented, "and a very sweet bride you make, too." "have you the typewriting machine here?" she asked, ignoring my compliment. "i wish to see what it is like." i put the machine on a table, arranging it for her inspection. it was an original hammond, which i prefer to the universal keyboard. she drew up a chair and listened intently while i explained its workings, showing how the capitals and figures are produced with the same set of keys as the lower case letters. i showed the working of the ribbon, the arrangement of the alarm bell and all the other points needed by one who had never operated that style. when i had finished and inserted a sheet of paper she began carefully to write a sentence, encouraged occasionally by my guidance when the unfamiliar location of the keys caused her to pause. "i shall be able to use it as rapidly as the remington, in a week," she said, when she finished the sheet. "it is not nearly as hard as i imagined." she left the table and resumed her seat in the chair, where we fell into a conversation that lasted several hours. she counted with me the days that remained and was glad they were so few. she said she could think of nothing more that she needed before starting: yes, the jewelry was quite sufficient. she put back each piece in the case it had come in, asking me to keep them till we were ready to go. "you are sure you will not be sorry for what you are doing?" she asked, after a time. "how can i, if you enjoy the journey?" was my reply. she shrugged her shoulders prettily and said it was time to leave. she declined with many thanks an invitation to dine with me again, making a light excuse, and with a friendly grasp of the hand took her departure. it had been agreed that she would call for a short time each afternoon that remained. when i had become chilled at the vacancy her absence made in the room i went over to the table and looked at what she had written on the machine. it was a pleasure even to see the lines her fair hands had made, and i withdrew the sheet she had covered as if it were something sacred. glancing over it i noted to my surprise, that the lines had not been written with accidental meaning--that it contained a message for my eyes and heart. there were naturally slight errors caused by the writer's unfamiliarity with the instrument, but no ambiguity of any kind. and this is what the message said to me: * * * * * once there was a child, who had been reared in comfort, almost in luxury, in the fairest part of the fair state of maryland. at the age of sixteen a cruel fate deprived her of both parents. the guardian to whom her small means were intrusted proved false and in another year she was left to face poverty alone. almost stunned by her misfortunes, this child found it necessary to provide herself with some means of subsistence, for even sorrow must have bread. she learned the art of stenography and typewriting; and after attaining sufficient speed in these branches went to a large city and sought a situation. luckily she found one, though for a long time the pay was very small and she could no more than support life in the poorest manner. later a place was offered her with a largely increased stipend, and the cloud seemed about to lift a little. but her new employer soon unmasked his soul and disclosed himself a wretch. the girl could hardly breathe in his presence, but she resolved to endure his attentions as long as they were bearable, hoping for relief from some unknown source. when the purpose of her employer became all too plain, and she was on the point of despair; when advertisement after advertisement had been answered and nothing secured; when she had advertised, herself, and found by the replies received that the majority of the situations promised nothing better than the one she was unable to endure--there came a ray of light. a gentleman, or what seemed to be one, sought an interview in reference to a most novel proposition. he wanted her to accompany him, alone, on a long journey; announced his willingness to provide her with an outfit suitable for a member of his family, which she was to profess to be; and assured her that behind this offer there was lurking no sinister design such as she at first suspected. her situation had grown desperate. slowly she came to the decision to trust this man. she grew to believe that there might be one who could give these things with an honest mind and a pure purpose. she accepted the situation, if such it might be called; purchased the necessary clothing; donned the jewelry he provided; gave her trust into his hands, and sailed with him on the ship he selected. he was only twenty-four years of age, she but twenty-two. she had not concealed from him that she was poor and nearly friendless. he was rich and what is called a man of the world. what will happen to the girl on that journey? * * * * * there can be but two possibilities. either the man will prove the kind friend he has represented and they will return able to look the world in the face without a blush--that is one of them. or somewhere beneath the blue waters of the caribbean sea the fishes will gnaw the flesh of a woman who is drowned--that is the other. let neither delude themselves, when the hour of temptation comes. there is no possibility outside these two. * * * * * i rose and paced the floor in remorse for my ill-spent life, in sympathy for the unhappy creature whose fears clouded the pleasure i meant to share with her. if there had been, away down in the lowest depths of my wild nature, the slightest thought of wrong to marjorie may, it was crushed out of sight by that pathetic appeal. crushed out of sight, yes! but there are seeds that put forth life with the dust of years piled above them. chapter xi. a theft on board ship. the time before the date set for the sailing of the madiana passed slowly enough, but contained little that is worth recording at length. miss may took another dinner with me, though not in the same restaurant as before, she expressing a preference for another in a different part of the city. she came to my room daily about half the time and i went to hers the rest, for our afternoon talks. her gowns were fitted, her baggage made ready; and she sent the trunks out to have the initials "m.c." marked upon them, to consort with her new title. as the date of sailing approached she grew visibly nervous, saying repeatedly that she would be glad when the ocean waves lay between us and manhattan island, in which sentiment i concurred heartily. on the day before our departure she expressed a wish to go to the wharf alone, rather than have me come for her, giving as a reason that she did not like the people at her lodgings to connect us in that move. this seemed sensible and i agreed without demur. i had long since ceased to have any suspicion of her and felt as certain that we would meet at the steamer as that the boat would sail. the evening before the day i was to go, i passed with tom barton at his house. it was the second time i had been there within a week. in some way tom fixed it so that statia consented to dine with us. she did the best she could, i suppose, to act as usual, but made a poor show of it to eyes as watchful as mine. i got a minute alone with her by accident and tried my best to cheer her up. "i wish you would write me a line or two while i am gone," i said. "if you send to st. thomas by the th, i ought to get it before i leave there. the mails are fearfully slow in that part of the world, but they do arrive eventually. i will let you know how i am getting on, if you wish it, besides what i send to tom. i'm not going to let you quarrel with me any longer." she said without much enthusiasm that she would be glad to have me write, and that perhaps she would do so herself. i did not care to press the matter, thinking it best to leave it that way. on the morning of the th i went early to the steamer, inspected the cabins i had engaged and made arrangements with the head porter to reserve a good place for my steamer chairs on the after-deck. i was rather pleased with the accommodations, for i had not expected too much. driving back up-town i secured my letter of credit and did a last bit of shopping. an hour before the time the vessel was to slip her moorings i was again on board, not wishing miss may to arrive and find me absent. as the passengers arrived, one after another, i looked into their faces to see if there was a familiar one, but there was none, until mr. wesson came. i exchanged a few words with him about the arrangement of things in the room we were to occupy jointly. when he left, my attention was attracted to a woman, just coming up the plank, whom i certainly had seen before. an elderly man walked just behind her, and as she turned to speak to him i judged they were together. it was some time before i remembered where i had seen that face, and when it flashed upon me i could not restrain a low whistle. she was the woman who had advertised in the herald "personal" column that she desired the acquaintance of an "elderly gent," describing herself as "beautiful of face and form," with her "object matrimony." well, she seemed to have found what she sought and i hoped the "gent" was also not disappointed. i did not believe that the ceremony of marriage had been performed between them, but perhaps a temporary arrangement was equally pleasing to both. one of the stewards took their hand baggage and descended with it, showing them to their rooms. miss may, arrived finally. i did not recognize her at first, heavily veiled as she was, though happily without the blue article she had worn to the restaurant. i rose and escorted her to her cabin, where she seated herself on the sofa and tried to recover her breath, which i could not see she had any reason to lose. as soon as she could speak she asked which was my room; when i told her, she begged me to wait there a few minutes. rather distressed by her manner i could, nevertheless, do nothing but comply. after what seemed an endless time i heard her voice, speaking my name in low tones, and went to see what she wanted. "don't come in!" she said, opening the door slightly. she spoke hardly above a whisper and yet in a way that conveyed an imperative prohibition. "has the boat started yet?" "no," i answered. "i think it will go in a few moments." "will you inquire if my baggage has been brought on and have the smaller trunk sent down here as soon as possible?" "you ought to come on deck and see the start," i said. "that is one of the interesting things of a voyage like this." "oh, no!" she said. "i am feeling faint--i don't know what is the matter--doubtless i shall be better in a few minutes. i am going to lie down and see if that makes me more comfortable. go on deck and amuse yourself. i shall try to get a nap." seeing that i hesitated she looked pleadingly into my eyes. "please go!" she said. i went, swallowing my disappointment. the boat had commenced to move and i witnessed the usual waving handkerchiefs, tearful eyes, loud good-bys, and that sort of thing. the elderly gentleman with his well-formed, matrimonially-inclined lady was apparently enjoying the scene, for both of them looked happy. mr. wesson smiled as i approached and uttered some commonplace remark, as he made room for me by his side. each moment the distance between the madiana and her late moorings widened; presently we were well out in the river and proceeding down the bay. wesson suggested a walk on the deck and as we were both well wrapped up i saw no objection. i remarked what a wonderful thing it was, how soon our heavy clothing would be discarded. ice and snow to-day and summer garments day after to-morrow. "that is due to the gulf stream, of course," he replied. "yes. in two days any passenger not actually an invalid can bathe with pleasure in water pumped from the ocean." wesson expressed his surprise at this statement. we fell to talking of the islands we were to visit, he appearing deeply interested in all i had to say. the time was thus occupied until the first dinner bell rang, when i excused myself to go and look after my "cousin." miss may answered the knock by saying that she had already asked the stewardess to bring her a cup of tea and would want nothing more. she would try to get upon the deck to-morrow, if the water was sufficiently smooth, but at present she was quite unable to move. i was to be at ease about her and not allow her condition to interfere with my enjoyment. as there seemed no help for it, i went back to the deck and soon descended with the others to the dining table. i thought it an odd fate that the "elderly gent" with his matrimonially-inclined companion should be seated at the same table with myself and mr. wesson, but odd things happen continually on shipboard and this voyage was to prove the rule. there were just eight of us assigned to that table, a married couple and one man travelling singly, besides those mentioned. before we separated i took a printed list of the passengers, such as had been generally distributed, bearing on the reverse side a map of the windward islands, and requested those present to mark their names, that i might know them better. wesson and i marked ours first. the "elderly gent" put his cross against two names reading matthew howes and miss nellie howes, the married couple endorsed the names of mr. and mrs. h.g. stone and the single passenger claimed the title of robert edgerly. the seats had been assigned by the steward with written cards on each plate, and mr. edgerly, who sat at my left, took up that of miss carney. "we have still another messmate, who has not made her appearance," he said, to the table in general. "miss m. carney." "the lady is not feeling well and will not appear to-night," i said. "i believe she occupies the stateroom with me," said miss howes, to my surprise. "she is evidently not used to the sea, for she was taken ill before the steamer left the dock." "miss carney is my cousin," i explained, forced into it by the inquiring eyes of mr. howes, who evidently connected us in some way. "she was not very well before we started, is in fact taking the journey mainly for her health. i hope she will feel able to be out to-morrow." with the freedom that sometimes prevails in parties thrown together at a steamer table the conversation then became general, and before we rose i knew that mr. edgerly claimed albany as his home and mr. and mrs. stone, montpelier, vt.; while mr. and miss howes said they resided in binghamton. it helps very much in remembering people to get a city or town tacked on to their names, and i wrote the locations on my passenger list. it was a dull evening, in spite of the fact that i passed it in the smoking room, where considerable cheap wit was bandied about and my fellow-passengers got acquainted with each other and with me. the push-button was kept busy until the steward in charge of that department gave signs of exhaustion. i drank very little, though i paid for several rounds, after the fashion of most americans, who think such proceedings necessary to preserve their self-respect. at last, when there was nothing else to do, i went to my cabin and to bed. before breakfast i saw the stewardess and asked her to learn how miss carney was and whether she would be at the table. she soon returned with the information that the lady thought it best not to leave her room, and that she wished me to procure her a list of the passengers. this i did, marking the addresses of those who sat at our table, and scrawling a bit of advice on the margin, recommending her to make her appearance on deck during the forenoon as the sea was remarkably smooth. after leaving the table i took a novel called "his foster sister," which somebody told me had a reference to the islands, and seeking my steamer chair became absorbed in its contents. in a short time mr. edgerly came along and dropped into my second chair in a friendly way. he also had a book and it was some time before we engaged in conversation beyond the customary greetings. my first impression of edgerly was decidedly favorable. he was apparently a jolly sort of chap, ready for a joke or story and not inclined to be a bore. we got along together famously until about eleven o'clock, when miss may came slowly up the companion way, with the stewardess to assist her. edgerly saw her before i did and sprang to offer her his arm. as she looked into his face and detected that it was that of a stranger, she drew back, but he reassured her in low tones. "you must permit me to help you to your chair," he said, "which i have just vacated. it's evident you cannot reach it without aid." by this time i had arrived at her side and miss may took my arm, leaning very heavily upon it. i was surprised to find her so weak and as soon as she was seated i asked if there was anything i could order to give her strength. "no," she replied, faintly. "i shall be better soon. please wrap the rug around me." the stewardess had the rug on her arm and at my request placed it over the lady's skirts, tucking in the ends about her feet. she wore her cloak and a steamer cap, and seemed provided against the coolness of the air, which was still marked. when the stewardess had gone, and edgerly also, for he disappeared at once, i waited for miss may to speak again, but she lay with closed eyes so long that i grew uneasy. "there is a doctor among the passengers," i said. "i think when you go below, you had best let him see you. i am alarmed at your condition." she raised herself and surveyed the decks in every direction. then she took a less recumbent position. "who is the man that came to me at the top of the stairs?" she asked, in a whisper. "his name is edgerly and he is from albany. i never saw him till yesterday." "he has called at the office of my last employer, and i am afraid he recognized me. did he say anything to intimate it?" "no," i answered. "there is not one chance in a thousand that he remembers you. i never in my life have looked closely enough at a stenographer to know her if we met outside." "i hope he doesn't," she said, uneasily. "i felt so sure there would be no one here who had ever seen me!" "his chair is next yours at the table," i remarked. "if he intimates that your face is known to him you have only to convince him that he is mistaken." "i want that seat changed," she said, earnestly. "can't you sit between us? i--i can't explain why, but i don't like him. what business had he to offer me his arm?" i laughed at the serious way she regarded the matter, saying he had only done as any gentleman might, but added that i would certainly put her between myself and mr. wesson, if she preferred. "and who is mr. wesson?" she asked. "my room-mate, that i told you about. he is a splendid fellow." "can you see him anywhere at this moment?" she asked, looking around. "yes--he is there, talking with the second officer--the man with the white cap. if he comes this way i will present you." she said there was no need of haste, that she did not wish to meet the passengers any more than was absolutely necessary; when we went to the table would be quite time enough. "mr. camwell," she added, after a pause, "you can't imagine how i feel. if i had dreamed i should experience such sensations i never would have come." "what sensations?" i asked, rather shortly, for i thought she might consider my feelings a little. "the sensation of being a deceiver of those about me; the shame of passing for what i am not; the dread of somehow being exposed for what i am." i grew angrier as she proceeded. "if you were not ill," i said, "i should be out of patience with you. what awful crime have you committed? you are travelling in a perfectly respectable way, with a respectable party of people; occupying a room with a lady; acting in a rational manner except for these vagaries, which i must ask you to suppress. to be sure the name assigned you on the passenger list is not your own, but plenty of people travel incognito, even princes and dukes, for that matter. you make a mountain out of a molehill. your whole journey will be ruined--and mine, if you care anything about that--if you go on as you have begun." she begged my pardon humbly, saying she would do her best to amend her conduct in the future. and, as usual, the moment she took this attitude, i repented of my hard words and assured her i had no intention of being too critical. "the lady who occupies the room with me is very agreeable," was her next observation. "she offered to do anything she could to relieve my head last night, and this morning she bathed it with cologne for half an hour." "she sits opposite us at the table," i said. "with her uncle." "i am glad of that. i feel quite acquainted with her now." then she assayed a question of the sort that eminate from women. "don't you think her very handsome?" "she's not bad looking," i admitted. "i call her magnificent. such a face and form do not often go together." i wanted to reply, "so she said in her advertisement," but i merely nodded. "there is another woman on this boat that i would not exchange for a thousand of her," i said, presently, in a low voice. "point her out to me," said miss may. "i would like to know what your ideal is." "look in your mirror," i responded. "why do you think it necessary," she asked, frowning, "to pay me that kind of compliment?" "i think it necessary to refrain from doing so, but sometimes i grow forgetful." she saw that i was very sober again. "if you meant what you say, it would not be so wicked," she replied, gently. "you know very well that i mean it." "mr. camwell," she said, leaning very close to me, "we are obliged to lie to outsiders, in the contract we have assumed. let us always tell the truth to each other." "if i told you the truth," i responded, gloomily, "you would not sit where you are. you would find strength to walk down those stairs and back to your room alone." she grew slightly paler, though her cheeks were waxen enough before. "then do not tell it to me just now," she replied, with an attempt at a laugh. "i would rather remain on deck where the air is purer." when the lunch bell rang i advised miss may to take her repast where she was, promising to send a steward to her with a bill of fare. it pleased me to learn when i came back that she had made quite a meal and was feeling considerably better. * * * * * the succeeding two days contained nothing of high importance, but there were several little things that deserve to be chronicled. the first time marjorie came to the table and was introduced by me to the others as "miss carney," i fancied that a smile rested lightly on the features of miss howes, for which i could not account. marjorie was seated between mr. wesson and me, and i saw with pleasure that they seemed likely to be good friends. it was desirable in the interest of our general plan that she and i should not act as if there was no one else in the world. stone and his wife were quiet people, who rarely spoke unless first addressed. edgerly was good-natured but not obtrusive. the most of the talk, therefore, at table, came from mr. and miss howes, wesson and myself. we got to be at last a rather jolly party. carrying out my plan, now that miss may had apparently recovered from her indisposition, i left her alone a good deal, or rather with one or more of the others as her companion on deck. they aroused in her an interest in the trip, for which i was glad. edgerly probably talked with her the least of all, and she told me he never mentioned having seen her before. miss howes was her most constant companion, quite naturally, when it is considered that they roomed in one cabin. but on the third day out, just before dinner time, miss may came to me with a distressed face that showed unusual perturbation. she was actually trembling and her eyes looked as if she had been weeping. "a terrible thing has happened!" she said, when i followed her to a place where no one could overhear us. "i would not tell you if i could help it, but you will have to know." then, in response to my inquiring look, she added, "some one has entered my stateroom and robbed me!" as far as she could learn, nothing had been taken but her turquoise ring, but the feeling that her effects were unsafe agitated her greatly. in response to questions she said she had left the ring on a little rack above the washbowl, when she washed her hands for lunch, as she had done twice before. she was absolutely certain where she put it, but had made a thorough search of her handbag, the only other place it could have been. i told her not to get excited, but to ask the stewardess, whom i would send to her when she went down again, if she had seen it. i remarked, also, that i believed a theft on that line under such conditions was of extremely rare occurrence, and that she had best quiet her nerves until an investigation could be made. "but it was your ring--it really belonged to you--" she stammered, "and i feel ever so much worse than if it were my own." "that is mere casuistry," i replied, "but, if it pleases you to call all your things mine, of course, you will continue doing so. whosever it is, we must do our best to recover it." at dinner miss may whispered to me that the stewardess had made a diligent search, but without effect. the meal passed rather dully. miss may was pale and distraught. i sympathized with her, though the value of the lost article was not great. i wished i had some of the intuition of a monsieur lecoq that i might place the offence on the right person and relieve the strain i could not help feeling. it must be one of the stewards, who were continually in and out of the adjacent rooms, or a fellow passenger. in either case something of the ease and comfort of the voyage was lost. a mosquito who enters your room at night is not as large as a lion nor on the whole quite as dangerous; but he can, if he chooses, banish sleep from your eyes. that confounded ring made a lot of trouble. i began to suspect everybody on board. the stewardess promised to say nothing of the occurrence, and i at first followed the same course. the only one i did tell, and that the next day, was mr. wesson, and the contribution he made to the case was merely a depressed shake of the head and a long-drawn sigh. chapter xii. a little game of cards. the reader will doubtless have come to the conclusion that i was by this time tired of my bargain and wished miss marjorie may had never come across my path. on the contrary i was well satisfied with the way things were going, in the main. the ocean has a charm for me that nothing else can equal. the bracing effect of the sea air was being felt in every fibre of my frame. miss may's coolness was not of a kind to annoy me seriously, and much better than the opposite extreme would have been. there was nothing like a breach between us. she was merely allowing me to get the full benefit of my voyage. i had never, at any time, feared that i would experience trouble in passing my time while on shipboard. my dread was of the days to be spent ashore, and for these she would be with me to divert my mind. the matter of the stolen ring was a mere incident of travel, and might have happened anywhere. the intrinsic value of the article was small. it would not be hard to replace it. miss may asked me the day after the ring was missed if i knew anything about her roommate. she said it in a way that showed suspicion and set me to thinking. "miss howes" had plenty of jewelry of her own, and was hardly likely to purloin the turquoise; but i knew her to be rather "off color," and more open to suspicion than a woman of different character. i asked capt. fraser, the commander of the boat, what the record of the stewardess was, without leading him to guess my object, and when he told me i dismissed all thoughts against her. it might have been miss howes, it might have been one of the stewards. i urged miss may to think of it as little as possible. but this was not to be. miss howes told her during the day that she also had lost some jewelry, taken from a bag that, more careful than miss may, she had locked. the article consisted of a bracelet of the value of $ , and was a serious affair. miss may was obliged to relate her own misfortune, and mr. howes, when the matter was brought to his attention, went straight to the captain with the news. a vigorous questioning followed of all the steward's staff, but without result. there was nothing to clear up the mystery. miss howes being certain that her bag was locked made the theft seem that of an expert, who was provided with keys. her "uncle" thought it best after that to put the bag into his own steamer trunk, which had a peculiar lock that he did not believe could be opened except by force. before night i discovered that a diamond stud, the only valuable jewel i ever wore, had been taken from my own room, but when i could not tell. i had not worn it on the trip, nor indeed for some time previous, and had carried it along merely because it happened to be in a small box with some cuff-studs and collar buttons. i locked my trunk after that, but said nothing about the loss. the next morning when marjorie reported, with tears, that her earrings had also disappeared, i comforted her as well as i could, but i felt that both of us had been culpably careless in leaving our valuables about so loosely. wesson learned of the loss of these jewels and said in a quiet way that he was going to try to unearth the rascal. he spent hours at a time in our room, listening for approaching steps in that part of the steamer, besides interviewing the ladies at length. i thought he acted as if suspicion might fall on himself, occupying quarters so near the scene of the theft, but this was of course ridiculous. miss may had now made the acquaintance of several passengers, and had little need of my companionship. i got into the habit of spending considerable time in the smoking room, where cigars and cards were the attraction, besides an occasional story from a passenger. of course, i played in a few games, sometimes for fun and oftener for a small stake. my luck is usually good, and i began to be pointed out as a man ahead of the game. one evening, on a very low limit indeed, i retired $ ahead, though at the last i really tried my best to lose. edgerly, who was on the opposite side, and had given up considerable of this coin, was one of the best-natured fellows i had ever seen. he was equally jolly whether luck was on his side or against him. i chummed with him more than with any of the other passengers, now that wesson had gone into the business of amateur detective. sometimes when i was with miss may, edgerly would come and sit by us, addressing an occasional remark to her. she had not learned to like him, however, and he did not find it very agreeable. "miss carney has never forgiven me for offering to assist her that day she came on deck," he said to me, once. "i meant well enough, i'm sure. i knew that she was in your party, for i saw you when you came on board, and i thought it as easy to help her as to call your attention to her presence." i made light of the matter, saying that my cousin was of a very retiring disposition and made few acquaintances when travelling. in talking with her afterwards i asked her to treat my friend as politely as she could, as i felt that she injured his feelings. "if he was a true gentleman he never would complain of such a little thing," she answered, coldly. "but, of course, i am in your service--" "then do as i ask," i replied, shortly. "the next time he comes to speak to either of us, don't act toward him like a she-bear." she promised meekly to obey; and an hour later, when i went to look for my steamer chair i found edgerly in it, apparently on very good terms with his neighbor. they were laughing over something at the moment, which seemed to please both mightily. rejoiced at the change i did not make my proximity known, but went back to the smoking room. that evening the fact that we were to see our first land the next day was the general topic of conversation. several of us who had made the voyage before were airing our wisdom, when edgerly entered the smoking room and, slapping me a shade too familiarly on the back, asked if i was ready to give him his revenge for the times i had worsted him at poker. he was too evidently under the influence of liquor and i did not like to play with him while in that condition. when i made an excuse, however, the albanian looked so downhearted that i altered my decision and said i would play him for anything from a glass of soda up. there was no need of putting our stakes on the table, as we were both supposed to be gentlemen. all i wanted was to leave the steamer at st. thomas with none of his cash in my pocket. in this i succeeded, as will appear, even better than i could have hoped. in a quick succession of plays edgerly convinced me that he had a hand which he could rely on. before i hardly realized it, i had over $ in the game. i heard a low whisper at my elbow. it was from wesson and conveyed a warning to drop out at the earliest opportunity. edgerly noticed what was up as quickly as i, and neither of us relished the interference. at that instant my opponent raised me $ and having three aces i called. edgerly's face lit up with joy as he exhibited a straight flush of diamonds, king at the head. success had transformed my quiet friend. he put his hand on the cash which i counted out to him, uttering an exultant yell, as he gathered it up, $ . his exultation, or at least his manner of showing it, was quite out of place, i thought, in a game between friends; but i merely rose, and remarking that i would now take my evening stroll and smoke on deck, went out. the moon was at its full. in my admiration for its beautiful effect on the sea i forgot for the moment the folly of which i had just been guilty. but wesson soon joined me, as was his nightly custom, and began to talk of what had just occurred. "some other topic of conversation would please me better," i responded. "it is not a delightful reflection that one has been drawn into a course against which his better judgment distinctly warned him." "but the man is a fraud," he persisted. "he did not win your money honestly, and if i were you i would make him give it back." "pshaw!" said i. "he's the better player, that's all. i lost my head and got over-excited. now, we must drop the subject, as i wish to think of it no more." seeing that i was determined, wesson obliged me and nothing more was said about the unpleasant matter. the next morning edgerly was not at the breakfast table. some time later, as i was walking the deck, he came toward me, with a good-natured greeting, though his face bore evidence of the foolish amount of liquor he had swallowed the night before. "i'm afraid," he said, "that i won more of your money yesterday than i intended. i was astounded this morning when i counted what i had in my pocket. you must let me return at least a part of it. in a gentleman's game--" i interrupted with the statement that i had no fault to find and that i should not listen to any proposition of that nature. my pride was hurt by a suggestion that i would crawl out of the result of my own acts. "oh, well, if you insist," he said, in a disappointed tone. "i am disgusted with myself for getting in that condition, which is something i seldom do. there is one thing you must do, however. let me give you back the cash in exchange for a check or note. i would not for anything leave you short of ready money on a trip like this, and i know travellers seldom think it necessary to carry a great deal about them." i had not thought of that, but it did occur to me as he spoke that with two persons in my party, and a journey without fixed limits, i might, as he said, run short before i reached home again. there was nothing lowering to my pride in exchanging my check for the money he had won. i thanked mr. edgerly and said, on reflection, that if it really made no difference to him, i would write him a check for whatever sum he pleased to exchange. and i proceeded to do so for $ , as he named that figure. wesson came up just as we parted, but i did not think it necessary to inform him of what had taken place. to tell the truth i did not exactly like the air of protector that he was putting on over me of late. it seemed impertinent when he warned me to leave the card table, just before my heavy loss, for i would rather a hundred times have dropped the amount than exhibit myself as a craven before my fellow passengers. nor did i fancy his characterization of edgerly as a sharper. i saw nothing to justify the assertion. he had taken his losses like a man when the luck ran my way, and no one, so far as i was aware, had indicated that i stacked the cards. i resolved to show wesson, if he interfered any more in my affairs that i resented his conduct. he was a well meaning fellow and i had no wish to quarrel with him; but there are limits to forbearance. "have you told any one on the steamer that you are going to leave at st. thomas?" miss may asked me, soon after breakfast, when the outlines of the island were in view. "the purser has our tickets. why?" "if we could get away without any of the passengers knowing, i would be very glad. i hate good-bys. everybody will go ashore. let us be the last to leave, and put our baggage in a separate boat." i thought her reason a strange one, but she was to be my sole companion for a long time now, and i wished to please her in every way. i responded that i would do as she said, and even ask the purser not to mention my intention to any one. the warm clasp she gave my hand would have repaid me for a much greater effort to suit her. her eyes shone with a new happiness and her cheeks, which had been pale ever since the boat left new york, took on a faint tinge of color. lunch was served just before landing and at the table edgerly asked me what there was to see on the island. i mentioned the points of particular interest, which to tell the truth are few, though the town of charlotte amélie is in itself well worth a visit. "i shall spend the day with old friends," i added. "i feel quite like a resident here." only those who have sailed into this harbor will appreciate its special beauties. i had been a warm friend of the project of annexing the danish islands, consisting, besides st. thomas, of st. croix and st. john, to the possessions of the united states, ever since i was here before. while neither a jingo nor a land grabber, the value of st. thomas from a naval standpoint is so apparent to one who will stop and think that i have hardly patience to argue the matter with opponents of the scheme. if the united states is to maintain a navy, an occasional coaling station somewhere away from the coast is of prime importance; and these islands are offered us for an insignificant sum by denmark, who with her crippled commerce has no longer any use for them. st. thomas has a harbor that can accommodate a great number of vessels, a floating dock, immense coal wharves, skilled artisans for the repair of ships, and a conformation from which could be made a small gibraltar with reasonable expense. the trans-atlantic cable lands here, giving communication with all parts of the world. in case of a war with any european country the possession of st. thomas would be of incalculable value to us. however much one may love peace, it is poor policy in these days to be unprepared for a conflict. china is the latest instance of a great country that finds itself open to the assaults of any fifth-rate power. when it was first proposed to sell st. thomas to the american nation (in , i believe) a vote of the inhabitants showed but opposed to the plan. no european government has expressed the slightest objection to the purchase. i only hope that before this story is published a bill to that effect will have been signed by president m'kinley. "aren't you going ashore?" asked mr. wesson, as he passed down the stairs to a rowboat, in which the howes, "uncle" and "niece," and edgerly were already seated. just then i heard my name called by a voice from an approaching skiff--my right name, this time. "camran!" came the voice. it was awkward, but i must try to explain it as an error, in case anybody noticed. it was edward moron, agent of the line, whose acquaintance i had made in my former visit. i would have known his white helmet and dundreary whiskers anywhere, but at the moment he was most inconvenient. i waved my walking stick in reply, and as soon as he could get on board he grasped my hand. excusing myself from miss may for a moment, i followed him some steps away. "confound you!" i said, "my name is not camran, but camwell." "it used to be 'camran,' i'll take my oath to that," he replied. "but, whatever name it is, how are you? going to stop here, i hope." "till evening," i answered, for i feared if i told him the truth he might tell it to other passengers, who would be sure to run across him. "now, answer me a question. is eggert's place in quarantine?" it was not, for which i was profoundly grateful. if i was to stay in st. thomas at all i wanted to stay at the quarantine station, where i had been before--the only quarantine in the world where a man is happier inside than out. i went to tell miss may that we could go to eggert's, and then to ask my stateroom steward to have my baggage brought on deck. "i don't want you to tell anybody that i leave the boat here," i said, flourishing a five dollar bill in his face. "now, mind!" he promised. the baggage came duly up and two boats were engaged to take us directly to eggert's. with the lightest heart i had known for a year, i helped my fair companion down and heard the oars of our negro boatmen splash in the waters of the harbor. chapter xiii. bathing in the surf. there was something really delightful in the way eggert received me. (i am not going to put "mister" before his name--even his wife does not do that, in ordinary conversation.) he heard "laps," the dog, barking violently and came to the veranda to ascertain the reason. "do you know me?" i asked. "know you!" he said, grasping both my hands heartily, and looking from me to miss may. "of course, i know you. where did you come from? i am so happy to see you again!" i introduced my "cousin," and he gave her as cordial greeting as he had given me. "why, even laps knows you," he said, as the dog barked and capered around us. "mother will be very glad to see you. you came on the madiana? how good you were to think of us and come out here!" mrs. eggert soon appeared and answered my numerous questions. the eldest daughter was married and lived in the town. the children had gone there to spend the day, but would soon return. of course we were going to remain to dinner. when i said we might stay a week or more, it was plain that we were very welcome. rooms were assigned us, on one of the verandas, i having my old one, by special request, and miss may the one next to mine. eggert walked up and down with me, smiling broadly and talking of the old days when our party was quarantined there. there never was another party like it, he insisted. he produced a large photograph that he had taken of the entire group, with donkeys and negroes in the foreground. "this was your room," he said, indicating it. "mr. a---- had the next one, mr. h---- the next, mr. mapp the other, and so on. we never had a party like that before or since. you were all so good natured and had such a good time!" i responded that he did very well for us, which aided in our enjoyment, and that i had not thought of staying at a hotel unless his place was quarantined; which pleased him mightily. when miss may retired to her room to arrange her dress, eggert asked me slyly if she was to be the future mrs. camran. this reminded me that i had reached a fork of the road, where i must either take this whole family into my secret or explain my change of name to my companion. the latter was decided upon as the most feasible. when she emerged and drew a chair to the edge of the veranda to admire the prospect of land and sea i told her that henceforth she must call me by a new name. she looked inquiringly into my face. "do you remember suggesting on the steamer," i asked, "that as we had to lie to others we ought to tell the truth among ourselves? well, my name is camran, not camwell. the family here will call me by that name, and as there is no need of deceiving you, i will admit that it is the correct one." "but why," she asked, "did you use the other? was it because you were afraid to trust me?" "remember how little i knew you," i said. "quite as well as i knew you," she replied, reproachfully. "and have you told me the entire truth in all things?" she reddened deeply. "your name, then, is david camran--am i right now?" she asked. "donald camran," i corrected. "that is my real name and henceforth you may call me so; unless we come across any of the madiana's passengers, in which case consistency will compel you to use the old one." miss may seemed agitated by my last remark. "how can we meet them?" she asked. "is not our separation from them final?" "it is supposed to be; but how can we tell that some may not follow our example and stop off at one of the islands? in that case it is quite possible we may encounter them as we proceed on our journey." she did not seem to like the idea, but remained silent for some minutes. "does any person, on the madiana, know that the name in the passenger list is not your true one?" she said, finally. "yes. mr. wesson knows; and mr. edgerly." she put her hand over her mouth with a quick motion, as if to suppress a scream. "how could you tell those casual acquaintances what you concealed from me?" she said, hoarsely. "what difference can it make? i was introduced to wesson in the office of the steamship agent, some time before we sailed, as i remember telling you. we exchanged cards. when he afterwards saw the way my name was spelled on the list he asked me how it happened and i ascribed it to a printer's error. i added, that as all the passengers would probably call me camwell, it was easier for him to do so than to explain the mistake to fifty people." "yes," said miss may, slowly. "and--edgerly?" i thought she was awfully pressing, but i wanted to keep on good terms with her and i proceeded to account for his knowledge also. "well, miss inquisitive, edgerly's case was like this: he won a small sum of money from me at poker and was kind enough to offer to refund it, and take my check for the amount. thinking i might want the ready money to buy you a paper of pins or something of that sort i accepted his proposal with thanks. of course, he asked what right i had to sign the name of donald camran to the check, and of course, i told him of the agent's 'error' on the passenger list. there! is there anything else you would like to know?" saying this i took the hand nearest me in mine, to show that my bantering was entirely good natured, and was surprised to find it quite cold. "marjorie!" i exclaimed. "you are ill!" she smiled faintly and admitted that she had a slight chill. i persuaded her to take a hot drink and went at once to prepare it. when i returned she had gone to her room and was bathing her face with cologne water. her hair, which she had combed with care half an hour earlier, was much disarranged and her eyes were swollen. "come in and sit down," she said. then, as i hesitated, she added, "oh, you can leave the door open." the door was a frame affair covered with mosquito bar, there being nothing more seclusive in the house. cold weather never reaches st. thomas at any time of year. i explained to her that to leave the door open was to invite the intrusion of insects. "i am going to lie down," she replied. "my head aches." she drank part of the liquid i had brought. "we can't be prudish," she said, then. "the door is practically open at all times, for it is free to admit light and sound. are you afraid to be alone with me? perhaps you had best send for one of the servants to guard you." "or laps?" i suggested, laughing. i entered and took a chair, while she arranged herself upon the bed, with pillows to prop her up into a half-sitting posture. "don," she began. "you will let me call you don?" "you can call me what you please," i said. "don or anything else that begins with d. 'dear' or 'darling,' if that suits you better." i could not make her smile. "are you very, very sorry you took me with you?" she asked, earnestly. "not very, very." "but--you wish you hadn't?" i shook my head decidedly. "of what use am i to you?" she asked. "women were never made to be of use," i answered. "they are like bouquets, meant to fill the atmosphere with beauty and fragrance." "and--do i do that--for you?" i kissed the fingers she placed in mine. the smile came to her face at last. "i shall be ready to begin the typewriting to-morrow," she said. "i understand the machine now, i think, well enough." (she had practiced on it in her cabin on the madiana, several days, for some hours.) "i shall be glad when i am doing a little to earn the salary you pay me." i made a grimace. the confounded record of my family's descent was far from interesting me at that moment. "you earn more than your salary every hour," i said. "i am immensely in your debt already. by the way, i must pay you what i owe, before the sum gets any larger. it is quite three weeks and you have had nothing." i counted out sixty dollars in gold coin and she took it without a word. she was always doing something strange and i had ceased to wonder. i had imagined that she would say it was too much--or that i had reckoned the date of service too far back, or something of that kind. "would you bathe my head a little?" she asked, indicating the cologne. i bathed her forehead, and found it as much too hot as her hands were too cold. it had a soothing effect on me, as well as on her, this action. it made me feel as i had not felt before, that our fortunes were really for the time running in the same mold. "perhaps you could sleep a little before dinner," i suggested, after a time. "let me leave you to try." she thanked me and before my hand left her, she put it gratefully to her lips. she did not kiss it, but rather breathed upon it a sigh of appreciation. thorwald and ingeborg had just arrived from town and it was evident that the former's claim that he remembered me was founded on fact. the little girl was too young at my former visit to recollect anything about it, but she seemed to know me in a way and nodded when her mother asked if she did not remember my face in the photograph that hung in the dining room. thorwald was now nine and about the finest specimen of a little man i have ever seen. his father could not conceal his pride in the boy, and i did not blame him. "ah, i am very happy with that little fellow!" he said, repeatedly. i looked over the harbor just before dinner was served and saw the madiana getting under way, bound for st. croix (or santa cruz, as we are more apt to call it.) eggert rigged his powerful telescope for me in the doorway, where i could see without being seen. i easily picked out the passengers who were on deck. mr. and miss howes and mr. edgerly were in one group. they were talking earnestly, and i guessed that miss may and myself were quite likely the subject of their conversation. i imagined them wondering whether our stay on shore was the result of design or accident. i hoped howes was getting his money's worth and that his "niece" was satisfied with the fish she had caught with her herald hook. as far as i could judge neither of them had thus far repented of their bargain. i could hardly believe the lady had taken miss may's ring, that she had entered my room and walked off with my shirt-stud. there was a big difference, it seemed to me, between a love affair based on natural law and a deliberate theft. the mysterious disappearance of the jewelry would probably never be accounted for and i certainly cared very little about it. my companion came to the table, but ate sparingly. the meal suited me to perfection, especially the fresh fish, drawn that day from the caribbean, which swarms in the most appetizing varieties. the butter came in tins from denmark, and was not bad. there was a ragout, some cakes, plenty of oranges and "figs," as the small yellow bananas are called in the islands, good black coffee and cheese, and a fine _petit verre_ of brandy to top off with. eggert and his wife dined with us at my earnest request. the quarantine master filled up the time with little reminiscences of my former stay, which he remembered much better than i. he pointed to the exact spot where each of the "famous party" sat at the table and laughed himself nearly into a fit as he spoke of the jokes mapp played on the good-natured haytian jew we had named from his home town--"puerta plata." one of the guests of that day was the grandson of an american president and another the son of an american senator, but that did not harm either. a more diversified party, it is safe to say, were never placed together in a quarantine, or made the time pass in livelier fashion. when dinner ended the madiana was out of sight. miss may's headache had vanished and she passed the evening with me on the veranda, inspecting the stars through the telescope. they seemed brighter and larger than in america and what knowledge i had of their names and locations (gained principally three years before from the grandson of the president, who was an amateur astronomer of no mean acquirements) i imparted freely. "you seem ever so much better in health than when we left new york," said my companion. "i am," was my reply. "the sea always does wonders for me. i have lost entirely the nervous feeling i had before we started." "i wish i could say as much," she said. "i dread, for instance, going to bed alone in this strange place. those shadows dancing on the grass almost terrify me." "i will get eggert to put a lock on your door," i said. "he must have one somewhere and he is an excellent carpenter." she shuddered till her teeth chattered. "not for the world!" she said. "i could not sleep with the door locked. i should feel as if i were choking. there is always a chance that one may be taken ill and have to call for help. with a locked door, what could i do? no, no! i will conquer my fears, which i admit are foolish ones." "the station is surrounded by a high fence," i said, "and the gate cannot be unbarred from the outside. you are perfectly safe. my room is close by. if the slightest thing alarms you, you have only to speak." she breathed with difficulty. it was plain that her terrors were genuine. "you will come--if i call you?" she asked. "assuredly." "do you sleep as lightly as that?" "i sleep like a child, as a general thing; but my name spoken by your voice will wake me instantly." we went to her door, where she parted from me with little ceremony and in twenty minutes i was unconscious. the night passed without the summons from her that i half expected. in the morning she admitted that after some delay she had gone to sleep and enjoyed a good rest. among the articles we brought was a bathing suit for each of us, for i remembered the pleasant beach at the foot of the rocks. at five o'clock, to escape the burning rays of the sun which rises soon after, miss may came from her room, looking as pretty as can be imagined. her sleeveless arms were even rounder than i had anticipated, and her low-cut vest told a pleasant tale. the long black hose were filled symmetrically and the short skirt revealed just enough to make the picture enchanting. "you look wonderfully well in that costume," she said, evidently to anticipate what i was going to say. so i contented myself with replying, "and you." the water was quite warm enough and we enjoyed the surf hugely. what i did enjoy however, was the sight of a man on the veranda of eggert's, apparently awaiting our return. no less a person, in short, than mr. wesson, our late fellow passenger, whom we supposed forty miles away at st. croix! chapter xiv. "oh! this naughty boy!" as has been intimated once or twice before, i had modified to some degree the liking i at first entertained for mr. wesson. he interfered in my affairs rather more than was to my taste. i had never placed myself under his guardianship. he had no right to advise or to warn me on any subject whatever. as i beheld him on the veranda at eggert's i saw in his presence a new impertinence which i was far from relishing. if there had been any way to avoid him i would have done so gladly. of course miss may had no means of knowing what was in my mind. she therefore waved her hand to wesson as soon as she recognized his face and on coming nearer gave him a cordial welcome. "well, this is a surprise!" he exclaimed, glancing from one of us to the other. "you did not tell me you intended to stop at st. thomas and i supposed you still on the madiana." "how comes it you are here, yourself?" i asked, pointedly. "i do not recollect that you expressed any intention of leaving the boat." "did i not?" he asked, as if surprised. "i could have sworn i did until you spoke. i certainly made you talk about this island, for hours at a time, and i thought you understood it. i feel almost as well acquainted with mr. eggert and his family, through your descriptions, as if i had actually been here before. being an early riser i inquired the way this morning, at the hotel du commerce, and walked out to see the place you had made so attractive. one of the darkies let me in at the gate, and here i am." it was plain enough now. he had supposed i understood his intention, though he had never, i was sure, put the statement into words. he had as much right there as i, if it came to that. there was really no reason why i should treat him uncivilly. miss may went on to her room and i waited a moment before going to mine. "now you are here," i said, "you will of course take breakfast with me--or at least coffee, if you are in too much haste to wait longer." "i'm not in the least haste," he responded, "and i accept your invitation with great pleasure." "i've found an old friend here, mr. eggert," i said, as that individual appeared in a doorway. "we came on the madiana together." asking eggert to entertain him for a little while i went to dress. miss may heard me come in and spoke through the thin partition between our rooms. "you didn't act overjoyed to see mr. wesson," she said. "no. he's a sort of 'third person makes a crowd,' you know." "you're a selfish fellow. but wasn't that bath delightful!" "perfection. did i overstate it, when i described it to you yesterday?" "not in the least--ough!" "what is the matter?" "i've stuck a pin in my finger." "i'm _so_ sorry!" then followed sounds which indicated that the finger was being placed in her mouth to assuage the pain. "what a pity you are not a girl!" she said, a little later. "you could help dress me and save a lot of trouble." "i could help dress you without that awful alternative," i replied. "i am like the pilot in the story, i know every rock in the harbor." "oh, i've no doubt. look out, like that same pilot, you're not wrecked on one of them some day." "can you manage a string tie?" i asked, as a more important subject was forced on my attention. i always made a mess of that operation and this morning my luck was worse than usual. "easily," she said. "do you want me to fix yours?" "i wish you would." "i will, with pleasure," she said. "come in here when you are ready; or, shall i come there?" "for goodness' sake don't come just yet!" i exclaimed, thinking i heard her step. "i am not at all prepared. in fact that tie is about the only article of dress i have on." "don't be afraid," came the mocking tones. "i am in much the same situation. fifteen minutes from now we will both be ready, and then i shall be at your service." after several minutes of silence i inquired whether any more pins had proved unruly. "no, i'm getting on pretty well. say, can you get at your soap?" "why, do you want some?" "yes." "how can i get it to you?" "put on your morning gown and come to my door." i did so, with the cake of soap in my hand and met my companion, somewhat similarly arrayed, holding out a bare arm. she did look to my eyes at that moment wonderfully pretty. "come, marjorie," i said, dropping into the affectionate form, "you might let me in for a minute or two. you don't know how becoming that attire is." "i know all about it. i've been looking in the glass. hurry up and finish dressing. i will meet you on the veranda." wesson came along at that moment with eggert and smiled. i resented that smile. it meant a hundred things that he had no right to surmise; besides, they weren't true. "it is perfectly lovely here," he commented, to eggert as much as to me. "my friend camwell has not misrepresented it in the least." "camran," corrected eggert, for which i could have punched his head. were they going to argue that point over between them? "camran, i should have said," corrected wesson. "could i make arrangements to come out here and board while i remain on the island?" "damn!" i exclaimed, under my breath, but marjorie heard me through the partition. "what is the matter?" she asked, sympathetically. "has something pricked you, too?" "yes," i said, for the couple on the veranda had moved out of hearing. "something i don't like. what do you think that confounded wesson is saying to eggert?" "i don't know." "he wants to come out here and board." "well, that idea does credit to his judgment." "but it will put me to lots of bother." "i don't see how." "why, if he moves out here, you and i will have to move up to the town." she digested this statement for a while, during which she put the finishing touches to her toilet. then she asked if i was in suitable condition for her to come to my door. "come and see," i retorted. "i've got on much more than either of us had when we strolled down to the beach an hour ago. i think i heard somebody say yesterday that there was no need of being too prudish." "but at that time i wasn't feeling well." "and at this time i'm feeling devilish bad, myself." she came slowly, with little stops, at which she renewed her inquiries and asked for fuller information. when she finally arrived i proved to be completely dressed with the exception of the tie and a morning coat, and we had a laugh together. "you didn't really mean that you would leave here just on account of mr. wesson's coming?" she said, interrogatively, as she arranged the tie. "yes," i replied, holding up my head to give her fingers full play. her breath was in my nostrils, sweet breath that made me think of meadows and new-mown hay. "what harm can he do us?" "he'll be continually in the way." "he seems very polite always." "that's just the trouble," i snarled. "if he would only get ugly i could have it out with him in a minute. if he would keep at one end of the veranda while we were at the other, all would be well. he won't do that. he'll be good natured, sociable, all that sort of hateful thing. the quarantine grounds measure only five acres and there's not room enough here for any other man, while it is your residence." she was so near that i could have snatched a kiss before she could stop me. i would almost as soon have bitten her. "eggert?" she said, tentatively. "he's got to go, too, then?" "no, i make an exception of eggert. but wesson--i simply can't have him here. either he must go, or i shall." we had passed the coffee hour, forgetting it in the pleasure of the bath and the labor of dressing. the regular breakfast was now announced. i determined to be as agreeable to wesson as i could, but i did not think eggert need to have placed him on the other side of marjorie, next to her. still, how was he to know? "i have been talking with our host about coming out here for awhile," said wesson, as we were breakfasting. "it is ever so much pleasanter than in the town." he must have seen, in spite of my efforts, that i did not enthuse over the idea, for all i could say was "ah," and wait for him to proceed. "i hardly think i will do it, though," wesson went on to say, eyeing me narrowly. "i have a very comfortable room at the hotel. if you don't mind my coming out for a stroll occasionally"--he looked alternately at miss may and at me--"i think it would help me get over my lonesomeness." marjorie did not wait to consult me, but said she was sure he would always be welcome. she added that some literary work she and i had to do would keep us very busy for the present. to my joy, wesson settled his plans on the spot, as he had outlined them. we were to be left alone, after all. soon after rising from the table wesson started back to town. i hoped as i saw his form disappear that he did not think i had been discourteous in not endorsing his scheme to make my life a burden. "now," said marjorie, brightly, as he vanished through the gate, "let us get to work. you can't imagine how happy i shall be to find myself of use after this long vacation." i got out the memoranda required, from the bottom of a trunk, and arranged the writing machine on a little "dressmaker's table" which i had brought, folded up in a tray. it was exactly the right height, and took up hardly more room than a chess board--i mean the table, of course. for an hour i tried to put the genealogy in shape, and then threw it up with an exclamation of disgust. "confound the thing! i'm going to drop it for to-day," i said. "it's dryer than dust." marjorie obediently put away the machine at my suggestion, saying that perhaps we would begin again after lunch. i told her that the next three hours after lunch were sacred to morpheus, and that we were now in a region where it was impossible to resist the drowsy god with impunity. we drew our rocking chairs together and talked, and i was very happy. sometimes i took one of her hands in mine. it was very sweet to have her there. "it is going to be dull for you," i suggested, after a time. "whenever you can bear it no longer say so, and we will move on." "i am in your employ," she answered, "and shall stay or go, as you bid me." "marjorie," i exclaimed, suddenly, "have you ever been in love?" "i would rather talk on some other subject," she replied, soberly. "then i know you have. tell me, is he living? is he still single? do you expect to marry him?" she closed her mouth tightly and i knew no way to open it. "i am such a foolish fellow!" i added. "does it surprise you to learn that? i don't want you to love any one, or even to think of any one while you are with me. i want you to like me very much indeed." she turned her face toward me and surveyed me leisurely with those blue-gray eyes. "i do like you," she said, kindly, "but--" "you think i demand too much for my twenty dollars a week," i said, with an attempt to be merry. "i know i do. i realize that my contract with you was for typewriting services. there is no doubt you can hold me to that bond if you so elect. all i want to say is, i am like most contractors--and mean to better my bargain, if i can." "what do you want?" she asked, in clear, distinct tones. "we have agreed not to lie to each other. what do you want?" i rose and looked out upon the sea. a tiny sail was visible in the distance. "i want a closer friendship with you," i replied, after studying the form of words. "i think we are pretty close friends already," she said. "i would not have believed, had i been told by some fortune-teller in new york, that in ten days we would be on such perfectly intimate terms." i resumed my seat and stretched my arms above my head. "why, this--this is nothing!" i said. "i was afraid you would take that view of it," she answered, soberly, "and i hope you will permit me to resume the position called for in what you term our 'contract.'" i was alarmed by her words and the way she spoke them. she might take a notion to carry that idea into effect, and what a dull existence i would have then. "you certainly agreed to act as a 'companion' to me," i reminded her. "and though i have been much more than that, you are still discontented! i have acted as if i had known you for years; in fact, that is exactly the way i feel. you may think me forward--i fear you do--but i have only tried to be natural. you talk to me as to a friend; i reply in the same strain. you take my hand in yours; i do not withdraw it. you call me to arrange a tie; i come as freely as if you were my brother. my head aches; i ask you into my chamber, lie down and submit to your manipulations with the cologne. if all this means nothing to you, as you say, it means very much to me. it means that i like you, trust you, believe you what you claimed to be--when you first told me of this plan--a gentleman." she had put me in the dock and was reading a sort of left-handed indictment, to which i had no intention of pleading guilty. "listen, marjorie," i replied. "you must not misunderstand. if any cloud comes between us it will not originate with me, knowingly. if you knew the life i have led hitherto--which you never will--you would realize what an ungovernable chap i am, and how much forbearance you are going to need. i am perfectly contented. if i can make you happy on this journey my greatest object will be accomplished. tell me how i can best secure that result?" "by not talking about it," she said, with a smile. "and by remembering at all times that the greatest chivalry is due a woman who has placed herself absolutely in your power--to make or mar her life." "if you would only give me one kiss when you say that so prettily," i began-- "breaking the rules already?" said miss may, with an admonishing finger. "oh, this naughty boy! what shall be done with him?" chapter xv. wesson becomes a nuisance. it did not seem as if we were likely to have any serious trouble. after a couple of days we actually got down to work on the family tree and began to make some progress. miss may showed an astonishing aptitude on the unfamiliar instrument, as well as a grasp of the subject we were trying to put into shape. her white fingers flew over the keys, her quick mind suggested improvements in my phraseology, and she never exhibited the slightest sign of fatigue. once at it we made a regular thing of working from seven in the morning till eleven, except for a fifteen minute rest, and made the progress that such devotion warranted, to the immense satisfaction of us both. those days were much alike. we always rose in time to take our ocean plunge at five and the bath never grew less exhilarating. we took coffee at half past five, breakfast at half past six, lunch at twelve, slept from one till four; strolled about the grounds or up to the town--or took a boat ride till seven; dined; talked nonsense on the veranda or played a game of whist with eggert and his wife till ten, and then went to bed. on sunday we went to church, for miss may wanted to go and i could not let her go alone. she had a nice little prayer book which she carried in a most becoming way and she was certainly the prettiest woman in the house. wesson was there and looked devotional, though his eyes wandered in our direction more than i liked. i began to have an incipient jealousy of the man. it got to be almost a regular thing that he came out to breakfast. sometimes he stayed and talked with eggert for an hour after miss may and i had fastened ourselves down to work. eggert liked him, which was natural, for he was always bringing something for the children. he had a cigar case, too, that was at anybody's call, filled with havanas that were mighty good and had paid no duty, st. thomas being a free port. then, of course, he paid for his breakfasts, no doubt liberally. one evening when i walked up to town alone, i found him on my return chatting with miss may in altogether too confidential a manner. i wondered how long he intended to stay at st. thomas. he acted quite as if he had been naturalized there. well, we should certainly see the last of him on february th, when the "pretoria" would arrive and bear us away. wesson stayed to dinner, though i don't know that any one invited him--probably he found the item in his bill. but he went early to town, which was better than nothing. that evening something strange happened. i was looking over a small stock of books that eggert kept in a case. there was not much choice, for the subjects were mostly dry ones, though i don't know as he will thank me for saying so. i happened to light on the only modern work in the lot, after a long hunt, and brought it to the lamp. it was entitled "our rival, the rascal," if i do not mistake, and was made up of letter-press and illustrations relating to prominent criminals of the day, the work of some heads of a police department, i believe. on the principle of any port in a storm it was worth spending a half hour over. i asked eggert where he got it and he said it had been given him by a quarantined american not many months before. he looked over my shoulder for awhile as i turned the leaves, and commented openly on the villainy in the great world outside his quarantine fence and little lighthouse, with an air of simplicity that was charming. there were the lineaments of bank robbers, murderers, sneak thieves, shoplifters, etc., by the score, evidently photographed in some cases against their will, with a sketch of the career that entitled each to this dizzy seat of fame. once in awhile i recognized a name, that had appeared in the newspapers, but the majority were rascals with whom i was wholly unfamiliar. marjorie was working with a needle at the other end of the room, talking in a low tone with mrs. eggert. it occurred to me presently that the book might interest her, and i asked her to come to me. mrs. eggert went to see about some household duty and miss may and i were left quite alone. "are you interested in criminology?" i asked my companion, as she took the chair by my side. "if you are, here is entertainment for you." she stared at me vacantly, and when i turned one of the pages to her she caught at her throat as if choking. "oh, this is awful!" she gurgled. "how could you show a thing like that to me?" "my darling," i protested, soothingly, "i did not know you would feel that way. this is a book that eggert has just lent me and i thought it might interest you." "it is horrible!" she said, going to the open door as if for air. "the one glance i took was quite enough. what good can it do to print the faces of those unhappy people? it seems like catching a rat in a trap and bringing it out for dogs to tear." she shut her eyes and stood there, still panting. what a nervous organism she had, to be sure! "i will put it back on the shelf," i said, "and you shall never think of it again. i seem fated to wound your tender feelings. dear little girl, you know i do not mean to." but it was she who would not drop the subject. "it is shameful to print such a book," she repeated. "it is like a proposal made just before we left america, to publish the names on the pension roll." i had an opinion on the latter suggestion, decidedly in its favor. so i explained that it was feared there were names on the list that ought not to be there and believed that a publication of the roll would result in weeding these out. "and at the same time expose the honest poverty of half a million brave men!" she said. "all my people were on the southern side, but i admire courage and devotion, wherever it is found. to expose the recipient of these pensions merely in the hope of detecting a few dishonest ones is shameful! so with that awful book. some of the men pictured there may be trying to redeem themselves. what chance will they have with their faces exhibited everywhere? oh, don, don! you seem a tender hearted man. how can you endorse such a wicked, cruel thing?" i said i did not wish to argue the matter, but i understood from the preface that only persons belonging to the criminal class by profession were pictured in the book. the miserable man who had made his one error was not in the list at all. "but who can tell," she said, growing earnest, "that even some you mention have not repented of their acts and are trying to redeem themselves? did you never read these words of shakespeare? "why, all the souls that were were forfeit once, and he that might the vantage best have took found out the remedy!" we went to the other side of the veranda, where the moon was shining beautifully, and took chairs side by side. i gradually succeeded in turning my companion's thoughts from the disagreeable trend into which i had brought them, and for several hours we discussed other matters. we spoke in low tones, for after a short time we were the only persons awake on the premises. we both grew to feel the spell of the queen of night, nowhere more lovely than over the caribbean. our hands wandered together and i felt strange thrills that made me wish i were even closer to the lovely being at my side. in spite of the promises i had made--to her and to myself--i could not help talking nonsense. "what harm would it do," i said, at o'clock, "when i leave you at your door at night, if you gave me just a little--a very little--kiss? it would sweeten my slumbers, i am sure, and it wouldn't hurt you." "it would sweeten your slumbers--perhaps," she replied, soberly. "and it would drive mine away entirely. do you think that a fair transaction?" i chose to answer that i thought she was acting cruelly and added that if she was going to treat me in that way i would go to bed at once. she was evidently agitated by my manner, for when we reached her door she stopped. "i am going to tell you something," she said, impressively. "yes, at the risk of lowering myself in your estimation, unless you bid me pause." "how can i, when i do not know what you are going to say?" i demanded. "then you wish to hear it?" i nodded, curious to learn what was in her mind. looking with eyes that scintillated into mine she said, impressively, "don, you cannot possibly want that kiss more than i want to give it!" "well," i answered, delighted at her communication. "what prevents you? i promise, on my honor, not to scream--nor even to tell." "if i leave you to decide," said miss may, with lips that whitened at the words, "what will you advise me?" a chilly breeze swept along the veranda. the figure of statia barton came across my vision, with her finger uplifted in warning. out on the ocean i saw a wave that was transparent and beneath it a beautiful figure, cold and dead. i raised one of her hands to my lips and breathed a sigh upon it. i was quieted so easily! "good night," i said, with emotion. "good night," she replied. "you do not--no, you do not hate me?" i had turned away, but i faced her again. "i am--afraid--i love you," i said. "it was not in the compact, i did not mean to do it, but i'm afraid--i love you." she entered her door and i passed to my room. pulling off my clothes at haphazard i threw them on a chair and donned my pajamas. the bed was hard. i turned every way to no purpose. sleep would not come. at last i sat up, then opened my door noiselessly and stepped barefooted upon the veranda. marjorie's light was still burning. the objects in her room showed with perfect distinctness through her screen door. i paused as if petrified at the sight before me. in her white nightrobes she was kneeling by the bedside, her face buried in her hands. it was beauty prostrate before its god, doubtless uttering a petition that he would protect her from evil. i paced up and down the veranda noiselessly for half an hour. when i paused again before miss may's door, the light was extinguished and i could see nothing. "marjorie," i whispered. "yes, don." "forgive me. i will not offend you again." "yes, don. would--would you like to come in and bathe my head? it aches a little." "i cannot, marjorie. shall i call mrs. eggert?" "her hands are not like yours." it was a severe struggle, but i told her i must not come in-that if she would think a minute she would see i must not. she said "very well," and we exchanged good-nights. i went to my couch very proud of the victory i had won over myself--prouder than it seems to me now i should have been. we must both have slept some, for i was aroused by hearing laps barking, and marjorie had not made her appearance when the hands of my watch pointed to half past five. she told me through the partition that she did not feel like bathing that morning, and i decided to omit the bath myself. the barking of laps was caused by the arrival of mr. wesson, whom i blamed without much reason for the headache i had awakened with. the fellow irritated me exceedingly and i made up my mind to get away from the island without waiting for the pretoria, if there was any feasible way to do it. chapter xvi. it is from a girl. the arrival of letters, both for myself and miss may, the next day, made me forget everything else till mine were read and answered. i had not looked for them so soon and do not know yet what course they took to reach us. it is supposed to be a rule of the postal department to forward all mail by the most expeditious route, but previous experience in the caribbean had taught me that the rule is reversed there in most cases. eggert brought the things to us, having had sense enough to inquire at the office when he knew a steamer was in. miss may had taken the precaution to have hers addressed "care miss m. carney," after i told her she would be weighted with this title, and her friends supposed, no doubt, that the unfamiliar name represented the proprietress of a hotel or boarding house. she gave a joyful cry as i held two letters out to her, made the usual feminine inquiry if that was all, and retired to a corner by herself to read them, like a dog with a bone. the first letter i opened was from tom barton, the second from his sister. tom's was merely a recital of the latest happenings that he thought might interest me, and expressions of hope that i would derive great benefit from my cruise. statia's was a homily on the beauty of holiness and a sermon on the alleged fact that wicked deeds are often punished nearer home than in that subterranean place of extreme heat of which most moderns have begun to doubt. she was evidently in about the same frame of mind as when i last saw her, but i was too glad to know that she cared enough about me to write at all to be severely critical. i liked statia. she filled a place in my heart that had been vacant before--a sort of sisterly place, as near as i can tell--and i resolved while reading to curb my tendency to joke when i answered her and take a weight off her mind if i could. the next letter was a formal one from uncle dugald, reading like an official document. and the only remaining one was--of all things--from miss alice brazier, who had adopted my suggestion and renewed her injunctions at the expense of a five cent stamp. i expected something from harvey hume, and when i looked over the odd packages of printed matter i detected his handwriting on several of them. like mary of old, he had chosen the better part, and had contributed as much to my happiness as either of the others. six daily papers and three magazines, besides a new novel, bore his fist on their wrappers, and he had broken the laws of the postoffice by scribbling on stray corners certain "god bless you's!" for which i hope he will be forgiven. "do you want to read a letter i have received, warning me against you?" i asked, laughingly, going to where miss may sat. "or perhaps, to state it more accurately, warning you against me; at least, warning us against each other." she looked rather startled at my first observation and held out her hand for the missive as i finished. i sat down beside her, prefacing an actual exhibition of the note from miss brazier by a reminder that i had informed her early in our acquaintance of the lady's answer to my herald advertisement. she read the note through, as i held it in my hands, and when she had finished wore a very sober face. "this seems to amuse you," she said, regarding me with a strange look. "i do not see why it should. the person who wrote that is actuated by the sincerest regard for your welfare. it would have been much better for you had you taken her on this journey instead of me." "but," i answered, lightly, "it would not have been half so well for you, which is why i did not do it. i want you to understand that i am not here for my own health, but yours. as for alice brazier, she wrote me, when she found i would not take her, anyway--that she was surprised at the 'nerve' of the successful applicant." "i am surprised at it myself," said miss may, refusing to laugh. "i grow more and more surprised at it every day." "i suppose you wish me to believe you are sorry," i said, bridling just the least bit. "no, my dear don," she replied, gently, "i am very glad i came. it is not that which troubles me. it is the thought that some day it will end." "that thought would spoil the pleasure of life itself," i said, much mollified nevertheless. "i would advise you not to become a monomaniac. take some of these papers and get into touch again with the planet on which we used to live." she looked them all over, scanning the dates. "why, who sent you these ancient things?" she said. "the very latest is dated january th." "well, did you expect yesterday morning's?" i asked. "have you forgotten that we are some little distance from manhattan island?" she smiled at last, as the recollection of our situation with regard to news came over her, and thanking me, began to look over the papers, beginning with the day after we left. i took the next one and for some time this occupied us. when either encountered anything of general interest there was an interruption, followed by prolonged silence. "are you going to answer that letter of miss brazier's?" miss may asked, all of a sudden. "why? would you?" "yes; in a very formal way." was she attacked with incipient jealousy of this unknown one, even while she approved of her counsel? "all right," i said. "i will let you dictate the words." "what other letters did you get?" she inquired. i showed them to her. she wanted to know what each contained; and when i spoke of statia, though i did not mention her name, the same smouldering fire flashed up slightly as in miss brazier's case. "who is that lady?" she asked. "the sister of my dearest masculine friend." "why does she write to you?" "for the same reason as the other girl, to give me good advice." she had to ask the next question. "is there no love affair between you?" "not the slightest. i did not think she would even condescend to write a line." miss may drew a long breath, and then, as if ashamed of the interest she had shown, buried her face in the newspaper. "if you have finished with your cross-questionings," i remarked, "i will take a hand. who are your letters from?" she clung to the envelopes as if she feared i would try to wrest them from her. "a friend," she answered, frigidly. "two friends, at least. one is directed in the handwriting of a man. now, marjorie, i am not going to permit that sort of thing. i draw the line at male correspondents while you are travelling with me." hesitating an instant she laid the envelope of which i spoke in my lap. "read it," she said, looking me full in the eyes. "not unless you wish me to," i answered. "i do wish it." "really?" "yes." "i must refuse to oblige you, for the first time, and i hope the last. i would not read that letter, under any circumstances," i replied. "then i will read it to you," said miss may, and she read as follows: dear marjorie:--i hope you are well and happy in that far-off land, with the gentleman who has engaged you as secretary, and that you have had no cause to regret accepting his offer. i have no great fears for you, believing that a wise girl will so conduct herself as to disarm the most persistent man, if temptation comes. if mr. camwell is all you believed him when last i saw you, your journey must be a continuous delight. if he proves the contrary i shall be sorry, for he can make your path a miserable one, but my confidence in you will be unshaken. the other girls all send love and best wishes. i shall look anxiously for the first letter from you. mr. barnard, the cashier, has promised to address my envelope and put on the right stamp. your friend, helen. i glanced at the writing, which was certainly that of a woman, and again at the envelope, quite as surely in the penmanship of a man. "it is from a girl who used to write in the same office as i," said miss may. "now you must hear the other one." but this i absolutely refused to do. she was putting me in a position i did not covet. i said i had some letters to write and would go to my room for awhile. miss may did not press her point further, but said she would take the time to answer her own letters, if i did not need her. for the next hour i pushed my pen over the stationery, replying to the missives i had received, and also sending brief notes to several of my other friends. when this was finished i went to miss may's door to speak to her, and found her absent. looking over the veranda railing i saw her at some distance, frolicking with laps, the dog, apparently having recovered her spirits, which were rather low when i left her. glancing back into her room i noticed that a letter she had just written lay open upon the table. to save my soul i could not resist going in, taking it up and reading it. my curiosity about her was intense. there might be something in this letter, either to confirm my belief in her or to dash it to the ground. at any rate, though the act was repulsive to my nature, i could not help taking advantage of the opportunity. dear helen [was the way the letter read]:--many thanks for your sweet note. i am glad to say i can set your mind at rest at once regarding my fate. mr. c. is one of the kindest men i ever knew. i have lost the apprehension which i had in regard to him during the first few days of our voyage and am as happy as i hoped to be when i told you of the engagement. i only wish you could have seen him before we sailed. you would not wonder i was so pleased to go, though, of course, i had to hide my feelings when talking with him about it. i will try to describe him to you. he is rather above the medium height, four or five inches taller than i, i should think. his hair is brown. he wears a mustache, but no beard--a nearly blonde mustache that adds a charm to a sensitive and finely cut mouth. his eyes are hazel. he is slightly pale, owing to the illness of which i told you, but he has gained immensely since we started. when he smiles i never saw a more engaging countenance; when he is troubled the clouds are like those of a summer sky, and the first puff of wind blows them away. i do not mean to tell you he is perfect in everything. he has not led the best life always, i am afraid, and with a different woman for his constant companion there might be a another story to tell. but when he shows signs of getting unruly, i never fail to quiet him with the right word. he is a gentleman, after all, and i am sure he will never be else than that to me. helen, dear, i must tell you a great secret. i have all i can do to prevent myself falling head over ears in love with the man. if i were an unscrupulous young woman i believe i could make him care a great deal for me. as i look at it, such a course would be wholly disreputable. he is impulsive and might say things he would regret later in his life. so i keep my heart as quiet as i can, in his presence. he will not guess what i have confided to you and what i never shall tell to another. if i were of his social grade--if i could have retained the position in which i was born, he would be my ideal as a husband. such thoughts, alas! are not for your poor friend, marjorie. st. thomas, w.i., jan. , . my hand trembled so before i had half read this letter that i could not make out the lines. i had to put it down to finish it. twice i crept to the door to see if miss may was still on the lawn, playing with laps. she was there, absorbed in her amusement and i finally finished it unchallenged. then i left the room and went to my own, where i fell from sheer weakness upon my bed. marjorie loved me! the reflection was overpowering. she was battling not only against me but against her own affections. i was absolutely dumfounded. what a train of thought swept through my heated brain! at one instant i resolved to offer her my hand in marriage that very day and have the ceremony performed in the evening, by one of the clergymen of charlotte amelie, with eggert and his wife as witnesses. at the next i planned a slow campaign to win her, which, with the evidence in my possession, could have but one result. the slower way would bring the most pleasure, if i could persuade myself to patience. again, the vision of my uncle dugald rose before me, mutely protesting against an alliance with one of whom i knew practically nothing. then tom barton and statia joined the procession, shaking their heads dolefully. miss may's voice at my door aroused me to a sense of my condition and i bade her come in, if she was not afraid. she came quietly, removing as she did so her straw hat. a steamer had just entered the harbor, she said, that i might like to see. i always wanted to inspect each craft, and she supposed i would not like to miss this one. i sat up and listened to her in a half daze. how little she knew that the burning secret under her calm exterior was already in my possession. "marjorie! marjorie!" i could only repeat the name in the joy of my discovery; repeat it to myself, lock it in the recesses of my inmost bosom. i bathed my face, after which she took my brush and arranged my hair for me. how delicious her hands on my head! some day they would be mine, and forever! i suffered her to lead me out of doors and set me a chair before the telescope, which she arranged to command a view of the incoming steamer. eggert came while we were there, with a little trouble on his mind. the book that had annoyed marjorie so--that copy of "our rival, the rascal," had disappeared from his bookcase, and he wanted to know if either of us had seen it. miss may shook her head with disgust, while i responded that i had left it on the table the night he showed it to me, and had never picked it up again. eggert turned to the steamer i was watching through the glass and said he had known for an hour what it was--his seaman's eye had told him that when only the tops of her smokestacks were visible. it was going down the islands, he said, and would make its next stop at st. croix. an idea sprang into my head. here was an opportunity to escape the daily visits of mr. wesson! i asked how soon she would leave. eggert said probably in an hour. "we must pack our things at once, then," i exclaimed. "i have reasons for wanting to get to st. croix to-day, and this is a chance not to be missed." eggert pleaded with me to wait for the pretoria, as i had first intended, but i would not listen. i wanted action; the excitement of departure was just the thing in my state of mind. miss may dutifully went to her chamber and put her things in their receptacles, coming afterward to mine and helping me appreciably. the covers were down, the keys turned in the locks, the typewriting machine in its bag, and everything ready in thirty minutes. as i left my room my attention was attracted to miss may, who was talking earnestly with some one from the adjoining veranda. i soon saw that little thorwald was below, with a handsome mongoose in a trap, which he was exhibiting to her with much pride. "what are you going to do with that poor creature?" she asked the lad. "going to kill him," he answered, in his sharp, clear way. "why do you want to kill that helpless thing?" "why i want to kill the mongoose?" he repeated. "you better ask why the mongoose want to kill my chickens. no, that little mongoose will never trouble my chickens any more." "will you sell him to me?" she asked, earnestly. "you want to buy a mongoose?" asked the boy, incredulously. "no, you can never tame him. he will only bite you. see:" (he put down the trap and pushed a stick into the wire cage, which the animal bit ferociously.) "i don't think you want to buy that mongoose." "but i do want to buy him," she insisted. "i will give you a dollar for him." (it is a strange fact that the terms of trade are generally spoken of in united states money in these islands, even where the only coins are european.) "you will give me a dollar for the mongoose?" said thorwald's bright voice. "yes, i will gladly give you a dollar for him." "you may have him," said the child, hanging up the cage and receiving the money, evidently hardly able to credit his eyes. "but the mongoose is not worth one cent." taking the trap to the ground on the other side of the house, miss may lost no time in releasing the little prisoner from his bondage, whereupon he vanished with all speed in the shrubbery. she gave thorwald his dollar, and as she came to where i stood, there were tears in her bright eyes. i kissed the children hastily, handing them at the same time some small pieces of silver, settled my bill, directed the negroes who were summoned about the baggage, said good-by to everybody, from the master to the scullery maid, and started down the long path to the boat. in ten minutes more we were being rowed toward the steamer, and a quarter of an hour later were safe on board. as soon as our chairs were arranged on deck and we had dropped into them i felt the old weakness coming on. i could not endure such a strain without showing evidence that i had not yet wholly recovered my form. i asked a steward who happened to pass, to get me a brandy-and-soda. "close your eyes and try to sleep," said my companion, soothingly, as to a sick child. "you have been overdoing for the last hour." i took her hand and tried to obey her. that dear little hand on which i would one day put the symbol of a love to last through eternity! chapter xvii. a struggle on the balcony. it was something to be free at last from wesson. while i had nothing definite that i could bring against the man, he was in my way. i wanted to be alone with marjorie. not literally alone, for wherever we went there were people near by, of course; but alone as far as any one who had ever known us was concerned. as we approached st. croix, my mercurial spirits began to rise again. when we were once more on shore, and domiciled in the second class hostelry to which we were shown, i could have danced with glee. i could hardly refrain from giving vent to my feelings in a yell that would no doubt have astonished the quiet town as if a cannon had been discharged. all through this part of the world the native population speak in tones so low that a foreigner has to listen intently to know what is being said. it is charming after you get used to it; one wonders how northerners got into a habit of screaming when discussing the common events of the day. a negro or colored person (colored is only used here for people of mixed race) will address another a hundred feet away in as low a tone as the ordinary american would use at as many inches. i got partially into the same habit before i left the islands. i only wish i had retained it and could persuade my friends to do likewise. "what is there to do here?" asked marjorie, as we sat in the evening on the balcony that projected from the house. "nothing whatever," i replied. "unless it be to make love, and that, you will remember, is forbidden by our agreement." she bit her lips, acted as if she were going to say something, and suppressed it, whatever it was. "if you wish the stipulation removed," i continued, gaily, "there is no better opportunity than this. i believe i could make love, after my long abstinence, in a way that would do me credit." she turned and surveyed my face for some seconds. "in the same way you have often made love before, i presume," she said, finally; "and with the same degree of sincerity." "no," i said, growing sober. "i have never loved a woman till recently. the others were idle fancies. they lasted, on the average, a week, while this--" "might last a month?" she interrupted. "or an eternity." "i think we had best talk of something else," she said, uneasily. "in the morning we must begin our work, bright and early. i suppose there will be no beach bathing here, and we can commence before coffee if you wish. i want to be of all possible use while we are together." "you will never leave me, marjorie," i answered, "if i am allowed to set the time of your departure. don't think, i beg, that i would say these things if i did not mean them. i want you for my true and loving wife--understand, that is what i mean--wife; and something tells me that, when you think it over, you will grant my wish." she flushed until her neck was as rosy as her cheek. several very long breaths came and went to stir her matchless bosom. she seemed as if strangling for an instant and recovered her equanimity with difficulty. "mr. camwell--" she began. "'don,'" i corrected. "no, not at this moment," she answered. "do you recollect to whom you are speaking? i am a nearly friendless girl--who has trusted herself to your manhood and honor. i am far from my home, if indeed i can truly claim to have one; you know nothing about me. it is madness if you mean what you say. it is villainy of the deepest dye if you do not mean it." "we shall have to call it madness, then," i replied, smiling at the thought that i knew her heart in spite of all her efforts to conceal its true pulsations. "i might fall at your feet, declaim my story after the manner of a stage hero, all that sort of thing. i believe it best to tell you what i have to say in the plain, sincere tone that a matter of great moment should be spoken. i love you, marjorie! i have loved you since the minute my eyes rested on your face. i shall love no other woman while life remains to me. i offer you my hand in sincere and honest affection, and may god--" she half rose from her chair and lifted a hand deprecatingly. "don't say that!" she interpolated, with distress in her tone. "i will believe you without the oath. but, i cannot listen. it is impossible. you must not--you must not--" "my darling," i said, leaning toward her, and speaking lower than any native of st. croix, "i know i have surprised you, by coming to the point in such an unconventional and sudden fashion. we will say no more about it--to-night." "neither to-night, nor ever," she replied, earnestly. "oh, why have you done this? we were such good friends; and now, it never can be the same again!" there were tears in her eyes, and at sight of them my resolution to remain cool took wings. rising, i clasped the shrinking form in my arms, and poured into her ears the love that was consuming me. i said the only answer i would ever listen to from her was "yes." i would wait, if need be, but i must have it. never, never, should she separate from me. the love i had to offer was that of a lifetime. "i am not a poor man, either," i added, trying to weight my proposition with all the things that would count. "i can give you a home of comfort, even luxury. the days for you to toil in disagreeable offices are ended. the time when you will count your money to see if you can afford the necessaries of life is past. we will go on long journeys, to interesting lands. your existence shall be, as far as i can make it so, a dream of happiness. marjorie, believe me! i want to hear your sweet lips say the word that will make this world a heaven--now!" instead of being influenced by my passionate flow of language, she seemed only to shrink further and further away. i saw at last that, in some manner i could not understand, i was actually frightening her. alarmed at her appearance i quickly released my hold and stood there, a very confused figure, panting with the excess of my emotions. marjorie seemed fainting and in my alarm i begged her to let me go and summon assistance. "no," she whispered. "but you will stop--you will say no more? you may, if you will be so kind, get me--a--glass--of water. i shall be better--presently." it took a long time to get the simple thing she wanted. there are no bells in the house, to begin with. the principal ambition of west india servants is to keep out of sight and hearing, lest they might be asked to do something. when one was at last found he could produce nothing colder than water that had stood in a jug since dinner. this would not do and, by the time he had found the ice, at least ten minutes must have passed. bringing the glass of water with all speed to the balcony, great was my disgust to find that a man had reached there before me and was even then engaged in conversation with my late companion. he had come upon the balcony from the public sitting room and was trying to persuade the lady to let him fetch something from his own chamber that he promised would speedily restore her. when he turned to meet me i was filled with positive rage. for the man was none other than my old fellow passenger, edgerly! "where the devil did you come from?" i demanded, hotly. "i hope i have done no harm," he answered, in an apologetic voice that made me feel as if i ought to punch my own head instead of his, which was my original intention. "i happened to step out on this balcony and seeing that the lady was ill offered to assist her. that is all." he was always offering to assist her, it seemed to me, as i recalled the time when he flew to the companionway of the steamer with the same end in view. "i think i will go in now, if you don't mind," said marjorie, wearily, after she had sipped the water i brought. "i was overcome by--by the heat--i think, but i am much better." thinking that edgerly might wish to "assist her" again i made haste to offer her my arm; but she declined it with a faint smile, saying she had no need of help. her window was open and she left the balcony as she had entered it, closing the glass doors after her. "you were not very polite to me, a moment ago," said edgerly, in clear, cutting tones. "i thought it the part of a gentleman not to notice it while the lady was present, but now i am obliged to express my opinion of you; which is," he paused a moment, looking me squarely in the eye, "that you are a cur!" i grappled with him almost before the words were out of his mouth. we went down together in a heap, his hand at my throat, mine at his. i would have thrown him over the railing, or he would have thrown me, in an instant more. a voice interrupted us--the voice of miss may, through her window. "mr. camwell, will you kindly call a chambermaid," she said. it was like the sudden appearance of a flag of truce in the midst of a battle. edgerly muttered something about seeing me at another time, and released his hold. i did the same, remarking that i was at his service whenever he pleased. we both rose. edgerly entered the sitting room, lifting his hat ironically as he vanished. i entered my own chamber, reaching the hall in that way. finding the woman, i sent her to miss may, telling her to knock at my door when she had executed the lady's requests. then i threw myself into a chair, and realized for the first time how inadequate my weakened physical strength was to cope with a well man like edgerly. had not that voice separated us, i would now have been lying, either dead or mangled, on the stone pavement, twelve feet below! when i thought the matter over, i could see i had been in the wrong. the fellow had done nothing that deserved my abuse, in the first place, and the epithet he had hurled at me was in a measure justified by my conduct. it was now too late, however, to consider the origin of the quarrel. blows had been exchanged, threats had been passed, we had agreed to settle the matter later. it was not in my disposition to crave the pardon of a man under those circumstances. if he carried out his evident purpose of trying to trash me, i would have to meet him. the fact that i was still in effect an invalid--that i was not in condition for such a game--was no excuse, nor did i intend to avail myself of it. i felt pretty certain that, within a given number of hours, i would be very lucky if i knew myself in the glass. the chambermaid came to say that "miss carney" would like to see me after a short time had passed. i therefore made myself as presentable as possible, bathing my heated face, brushing my hair and arranging a necktie that had got sadly out of place. when twenty minutes had elapsed, i went to marjorie's door and knocked softly. she came and opened it just enough to see who was there, but instead of asking me to enter said she had found, on reflection, that she did not need anything and believed the best course for her was to retire. she evidently either knew or suspected what had occurred and wanted to see if i bore evidence of having been injured. "very well; good-night," i said, in answer to her suggestion. "good-night," she answered. and, "god bless you!" she added, fervently. "my love!" i murmured, hoping she would relent and give me a longer interview, but she shook her head with a sad smile and closed the door. i heard the key turn in the lock and, realizing that it was useless to remain longer, re-entered my own chamber and prepared for sleep. in the midst of a sound slumber, for the events of the evening did not much disturb my rest, i suddenly came to consciousness. a figure, distinct enough, stood between me and the window. the bright night of the tropics made the principal objects in the room look almost as clear as day. half doubting whether i were really awake i sprang up, when a low voice made me pause. "hush! not a sound," said the voice. "it is only i." the window was wide open, showing where she had entered, for it was marjorie that spoke. "i was nervous, and could not sleep, and on going upon the balcony i found your window unfastened." the wonder that she had entered overpowered every other sentiment. how could it be true that this girl, who had nearly fainted with fear when i merely put an arm around her, had come in the night within my bedroom, clad, as i plainly saw, in the garments of slumber. i stretched my arms toward her, but she moved away. what an incomprehensible creature she was! "do not stir," she continued, earnestly, and with a trembling tongue. "i tried to make you hear me, without entering, but you slept too soundly. it is not well--it is not safe--to sleep with your window unfastened. i thought you ought to know. that is all. good-night." she was moving toward the exit and i called after her softly. "marjorie!" i said. "come here a little while before you leave." she turned her white face--whiter in the pale moonlight than i had ever seen it--toward me, still moving slowly away. "and you," she whispered, "are the man who told me, only a few hours ago, that you wanted me for your wife!" "i do, my darling!" i replied, with all the fervor i could put into the words. "i mean no more than i say when i ask to touch your cheek with my lips, your hand even, the hem of your gown." she was gone; and as i sat there i reflected for the second time that evening what an ass i had been. marjorie had taken what i thought a harmless request and turned it into an insult. i cursed anew the damnable training i had had in the field of love-making. it had me as unfit to win the heart of a pure and virtuous maiden as a brigand. the worst was, she had gone to her chamber with the thought still on her mind that i was a liar of the meanest stripe. after professing a pure love i had, at the first opportunity, she imagined, showed the emptiness of my pretence, the falseness of my heart. sleep fled this time from my eyes, and no wonder. i propped my head high with pillows and resigned myself to wakefulness and moody thoughts till daybreak. as soon as it was light i took stationery from my trunk and wrote an impassioned letter to my beloved, that she might see, before we met again, how terribly she had misjudged me. i told her the story as it really was--my sudden awakening, the longing that possessed me for some recognition from the being to whom all my life's love had been pledged. i detailed the sickness of heart with which i realized how woefully my object was misapprehended. i touched on the absence of sleep that followed my error, and in closing begged her to write me just a word to say that i was forgiven, before i underwent the agony of meeting her unjustly accusing eyes. this i signed, "your husband that is to be--that must be--with all respect and love." it was almost as great a shock as if she had refused to read my note when the maid whom i summoned to deliver it, brought me a tiny sheet of paper bearing these words: "of course you are forgiven, my dear boy. i understood it all a minute after i left you. sorry you took it to heart. if you wish to please me do not allude to it when we meet." from some remarks that i heard below stairs i gathered that edgerly had left the house, taking his baggage with him, before the early breakfast was served. a little later i learned that he had gone to a town on the opposite side of the island where the capital is located. i therefore came to the conclusion that he had decided not to push his intention of mauling me at present. probably, i reflected, he did not realize how easy a victim i was likely to be in the present condition of my health. we passed the rest of the time while at st. croix in morning work, midday siestas, evening drives and after dinner talks. marjorie succeeded in keeping the conversation away from the delicate ground of the former occasion, but she did not succeed in eliminating the subject from my mind. knowing from the letter i had read at eggert's, that she cared much for me, i was not to be dissuaded from my intention of taking her home, either as my actual or my promised bride. the security i felt gave me willingness to wait. what i needed now was to strengthen the affection she had admitted until it was too strong for her to resist longer. no shadow came between us during the week that remained before the coming of the pretoria, on which we were to embark for another voyage. we heard the boat had arrived on the morning of the th of february, and would leave late in the evening. i engaged a carriage to drive us to a distant point, so that we might go on board too late to meet any of the americans with whom the steamer was sure to be filled. that day was one of unalloyed happiness. alas! that so soon my troubles were to break out afresh! i had arranged with the local agent to secure me the requisite berths and he brought the tickets to the hotel at night when we returned. there was only one unpleasant feature about them--he had not been able to secure a place for the lady very near me--but we had no right to expect anything else, and marjorie seemed disposed to make the best of it. at eleven o'clock we were rowed out with our baggage and shown to our rooms. reaching mine, i turned up the electric light and started as i saw the face of mr. wesson in that lower berth. "the devil!" i could not help exclaiming, aloud. it seemed to partially waken him, for he turned over and muttered something indistinguishable, immediately relapsing again into sound sleep. i said to myself that this was decidedly too much. i would be d--d if i would sleep there. when i had donned my pajamas, therefore, i went up to the deck above and passed the night on the cushions of the music room, of which i was the only tenant. chapter xviii. our night at martinique. of course i had to meet wesson in the morning; and as i could assign no reason for the distrust which i felt, i had to choose between giving him the cut direct and putting on an air of coolness without a real affront. i encountered him on deck, before i had been down to dress, as i went out to take a view of the island of st. kitts. he murmured something about being glad to see me again, but did not attempt a prolonged conversation. he evidently had not yet ascertained that i was his roommate. slightly uneasy to have miss may so far from me i went as soon as i was dressed to her door and knocked. she was awake and in response to an inquiry said she would be up to breakfast. luckily she had been given a room alone, due perhaps to a small inducement i had sent in a note left with the agent the day before. as i stood outside i chafed at the restrictions she continually put upon me; and yet i knew very well i had no right to complain. what earthly business had i in the room of a young, unmarried woman, before she was out of bed? the fact that i had been in more than one under similar circumstances did not count in a case like this. the scornful words of my darling came back to me--the expression she had used at st. croix. i must put better control on my wild thoughts or i would yet do something she might regard as unpardonable. the table to which we were assigned in the salon had no especial interest. the other people had become acquainted from their nine days' voyage together and clearly looked upon us as interlopers. for this i was not sorry. beyond necessary requests to "pass" the butter or the ice, i had nothing to say to them nor they to me; while miss may's mouth was sealed entirely to conversation. the succeeding days would have been insufferably dull but for the presence of my idol, as i had been to all the islands on my voyage of three years previous. to show them to her with the confidence of an old traveller was in itself a charm not to be despised. we went ashore together at st. kitts, and drove extensively; took our turtle dinner at antigua, where i was much grieved to hear that mr. fox, the american consul, with whom i had formerly been acquainted, had died shortly after my previous visit. he was one of the pleasantest men i ever met and an honor to the civil service. a new consul, bound to guadaloupe, was on board, with his wife--a chicago man with a french name and the unusual ability to speak the language of the place to which he was accredited. he struck me as much better educated than the average consul and withal a good fellow. in his party, much of the time, were two charming young ladies from alleghany city, whose father, a german, was taking a well earned vacation from his duties as cashier of a bank there. had there been any place in my mind that was not filled with marjorie, i should certainly have tried to become better acquainted with these girls. i also made a smoking room acquaintance with three delightful fellows, a mr. t----, from indianapolis, a mr. s----, from greensburg, and a mr. h----, from brockton, mass. the first was an attorney; the second engaged in the theatrical business, and the third a license commissioner. i should be sorry to think i had seen either for the last time. at dominica i went ashore very early and engaged two horses for a ride into the mountains, making arrangements with an individual who seemed (actually) to rejoice in the cognomen of "mr. cockroach." he announced himself to me as the owner of that title with evident pride and when we came off after breakfast had ready two of as mean animals, judging by appearance, as could be imagined. they endured the long climb, however, remarkably well, and were as easy to sit as a rocking chair. marjorie unbent herself more than usual when we were in the heart of the hills, with no one near, for the black boy who was supposed to follow us on foot had a way of cutting across the fields and keeping out of sight nearly all the time. the island of dominica is very beautiful and i remembered enjoying this ride greatly on my previous visit. the vegetation is thoroughly tropical. the excessive moisture caused by rains which occur daily through most of the year gives to everything a luxuriance not exceeded north of the equator, i believe. the mountain path by which we went is too narrow in most places to ride abreast, but wherever we could get side by side i managed to do so. at such times the sense of companionship was thrillingly delicious, and while i dared not risk offending by becoming too familiar, i managed to play the discreet lover and was very happy. i thought i was certainly improving. there had been a time, not so very long before, when i would have planted myself in the lady's way, and exacted tribute before letting her by, trusting to her forgiveness after the deed was done. i would have given much to have dared the same thing now, but the thought did not seriously enter my head. i was certainly growing better under my excellent teacher. there was one point at which i had a jealous pang, so ridiculous that i think it only right to detail the occurrence. we went out of our way to view a sulphur pit, where the evil one or some of his satellites have apparently secured an opening to the air from the very bottomless pit itself. the atmosphere is charged with fumes, while the deposit bubbles and froths in a way to strike terror into the heart of an infidel. to get a near view, one must be carried across a small stream by a couple of negroes, or--take off his shoes and stockings and wade. miss may looked somewhat aghast at both propositions, and i allowed the boys to carry me over first, to show her how safe the process was. but, though it might be safe, it was clearly not graceful, for they handled a human being quite as if he were a sack, thinking their duty done if they got him across without dropping him in the brook. she said, at first, that she believed she would rather wade and sat down to take off her boots. then, when it came to the hosiery and her fingers had begun to wander toward the fastenings, she had another period of doubt, calling to me to know if there was really anything worth seeing. finally putting on her boots again, she directed the negroes how to make a sort of "cat's-cradle" chair and arrived safely in that manner. it was then that i had my pang. for she put both her fair arms around the neck of the bearers to steady herself in transit. "i shall insist on being one of your porteurs, on your return," i said, as she was placed on her feet. "if you are going to put your arms around the neck of any man in this island it must be myself." she tried to laugh off the idea, a little nervously, saying she had more confidence in those experienced fellows on the slippery stones than she had in me. i persisted a little longer, till it became evident my expressions were not agreeable. in returning she managed to steady herself by merely touching the shoulders of her bearers, and brought back the smile to my face by calling my attention to the fact, with a comic elevation of her eyebrows. i helped her mount her horse and all the way from there she was kindness itself. on the whole the day was the most delightful i had passed since leaving america. she was to be my wife! this thought was uppermost in my mind. she must be my wife! i would think of nothing but that blissful culmination. it was not the time now to press for an affirmative answer. i must make myself more and more agreeable, more indispensable to her. when the hour came that she was about to leave me--when the alternative presented itself to her mind of going back to her unpleasant struggle for bread or becoming the consort of a man she had admitted was not distasteful to her--i had no fear of the result. the next stop after dominica is martinique and here i intended to make a stay of a month at least. my tickets were only purchased as far as this point. our baggage was taken ashore and, as far as appeared, we had bidden a permanent farewell to the good ship pretoria. again, however, my plans were to be altered. the hotel des bains at st. pierre, is not by any means a first-class house, but there is something quaint about it that to me has a certain charm. the meals are served in the french style and not at all bad. the beds are immense affairs, and i never yet saw a bed that was too big. in the centre of what might be called the patio, so spanish is the architecture of the building, is a fish-pond, giving an air of coolness to the entire place. the patois of the servants is pleasing to my ear. i entered the house in high spirits, remembering a delightful visit there in the former time. the mulatto proprietor recognized me, as did his slightly lighter colored wife, presiding over her duties as only a woman of french extraction can. "a large room with two beds, i presume?" asked the proprietor, in french, bowing affably to miss may. "he asks if we wish a large room with two beds," i said translating his words into english, smilingly, but she evidently did not consider the joke worth laughing at. so i said that we wished two rooms, as near together as possible. madame looked up. she was searching, evidently, for the wedding ring that was absent from marjorie's finger, to explain my decision. a servant was called to attend to us and presently we were established in very comfortable quarters. as i wanted miss may to see the island as soon as possible, a carriage was summoned immediately, in which we took the road to fort de france, where we viewed the statue of the empress josephine, erected to commemorate the fact that she was born in that vicinity. we had a nice lunch at a hotel there and took rooms to secure the siesta to which we had both grown accustomed. then we drove back to st. pierre, and arrived at the hotel des bains in season for dinner. the carnival, which lasts here for four or five weeks, had already begun. the streets were crowded with masquers and sounds of strange music filled the air. there was something very odd in this imitation by the negro race of the frivolities of the latin countries of europe as a precedent of the forty days of lent. miss may viewed it with me from the balcony of a restaurant until nearly ten o'clock. a number of the steamer people were also there and i fancied we were the object of more than ordinary attention from their eyes. after reaching the hotel again i asked miss may if she would mind being left alone for an hour or so, while i went to see a peculiar dance. i assured her that the house was absolutely safe. she made no objection and i went with a party of pretoria people--no women--to witness the spectacle of which i had heard so much. it was not half as entertaining as i had expected, but there were several girls of the métisse variety that well repaid me for going. the métisse is a mixture of races, the original carib prevailing, one of the most fetching types extant. they were dressed becomingly, in thin gowns, of which silk was at least one of the textures used. on their heads were party-colored handkerchiefs, draped as only a martinique beauty can drape them. at the risk of being thought extravagant in my statement i must say they appeared to me strikingly handsome, both in their faces and their lithe figures. i was told that each of those i saw was the mistress of some well-to-do merchant of the place and strictly true to her lover. the dance was not of a kind one would wish to take his sisters to see, but it was evident the negroes put a less libidinous interpretation upon it than the caucasian visitors. it was one, however, where "a little goes a long way," and before twelve i was in my room at the hotel. i had just lit the lamp when i was surprised to hear a knock at the door and opened it to find miss may standing there, with an anxious expression on her face. "don't undress," she said, in a slightly shaking voice. "i have been full of all sorts of fears since you went away. i want you to sit up awhile and talk to me." i accepted the amendment, as they say in deliberative bodies, with the greatest pleasure, for i would rather sit up with her than to sleep on the softest down ever made into a couch. she went to the window, which was innocent of glass, and threw open the wooden shutters. "what did you hear to disturb you, a mouse?" i asked, jocularly. "i don't know. the place is full of creepy sounds. the noise in the street continues and every step in the corridors makes the boards creak. did you enjoy your dance?" "not specially," i said. and then i told her of the métisse women i had seen, praising their appearance. she did not seem to notice what i was saying. she acted as if in constant fear of something unpleasant. "you do not care to talk as much as you thought you did," i remarked. "no. i was tired and sleepy, but i did not like to be alone. why can't i--there wouldn't be any harm, would there?--lie on this smaller bed just as i am, and you can get your sleep over yonder?" conflicting sentiments filled my brain as i listened. what a strange woman she was! alarmed at the least approach on my part, when we were on a steamer deck, a veranda or in a carriage; and now proposing to drop to slumber in my very bedroom, as if it were nothing at all! a dim suspicion that she meant more than she said forced itself upon me at first. was i deceiving myself by paying too much attention to her protestations? had she run away merely for the sake of being pursued? the best method to prove the truth or falsity of this was to take her strictly at her word, which i decided to do. i told her that the room and everything in it was at her disposal, as she very well knew. she might lie on one bed, or the other, or the floor, or sit in a chair. it was unfortunate that in this house, as i had already learned, there were no rooms with communicating doors, or i would get our quarters changed. she thanked me, as if i was doing her a particular favor, and, curling herself up as she had suggested, was soon, to all appearances, sound asleep. then the thoughts she had communicated to me, about the strange noises in the house, entered my own head. i tossed on my pillow, from side to side, sat up and lay down again a hundred times. there were mice enough in the building to satisfy a cat for a year, if noises went for anything. late lodgers perambulated the halls, met each other and whispered in tones much more disturbing than loud voices would have been. somebody, doubtless a servant, entered the next room, the one marjorie had occupied, and moved about there, as if in stocking-feet. she had left her lamp lighted and this individual blew it out, as i could tell from certain signs. when this was done he went away, but returned again presently, repeating the operation several times. all the nerves in my body quivered with the strain. i looked at my watch every half hour, by the light of the moon that shone clearly through the open window. i thought i must awaken my companion; the loneliness was becoming unbearable. nothing but shame prevented me--shame and a disinclination to disturb her calm and regular breathing. at last i grew a little calmer. and the next i knew marjorie was standing by my side, with one of her hands on my forehead and saying in whispers that if i was going to take breakfast i would have to think of getting up. it was after ten o'clock and i had slept the sleep of a tired man for seven hours! chapter xix. it is a strange idea. the immediate result of the strange proceedings of the night was that miss may asked me, before we had finished breakfast, whether i cared much about remaining in st. pierre. she approached the subject with some timidity, saying she did not like to have me make any change in my programme on her account, but added that she would be very glad if i could, without too much sacrifice, go back to the pretoria and make the break in my journey at some other point. "why, my dear girl," i answered, immediately, "if you don't wish to stay here i shall never dream of asking you to do so. pack up whatever things you have taken from your trunks and we will return to the steamer." she was gratified and showed it so in every line of her expressive face that i was more than repaid for my decision. "you are quite willing?" she said, interrogatively. "entirely. where would you suggest that we stop, barbados? that is the next port where there is a fairly good hotel." after a little discussion we settled upon barbados and began the labor of packing. i sent a boy off to the steamer with a request to the purser to give me a berth in some other stateroom than the one i previously had, and to reserve miss may's room for her. i did not mean to get in with wesson again if i could help it. that afternoon we spent at the market, which is the most interesting i have ever seen, until the time came to go on board. "as we may have to tell a falsehood to some inquisitive person," i said, when we were in the rowboat, "let us tell the same one. fear of yellow fever quarantine is what led us to change our mind about remaining in martinique; you understand?" "yes," said marjorie, dreamily. "we were to lie to outsiders, if necessary, and always tell the truth to each other." "are you doing that as faithfully as you promised?" i asked. "what do you mean?" she asked, with a violent start. "nothing that should induce you to tip the boat over, as you just came near doing," i replied. "i merely asked a question." "you must believe i am deceiving you in some way, or you would not use that expression," she said, eyeing me narrowly. "i have a great deal more confidence in you than you have in me," was my answer. "you can say this--knowing where i passed last night!" she said, reproachfully. "oh, i don't mean that sort of confidence," i remarked. "i mean the confidence that would make you promise to spend every night as long as you live under the same guardianship." a little sigh came from the lips of my companion, which had whitened suddenly; the kind of sigh that might mean almost anything. the boatmen were too busy to listen to us, even had they understood a word of english, which they did not. "marjorie," i whispered, for i could not resist the desire to hear her say it, "don't you care for me, just a little bit?" "please!" was the only word she vouchsafed, and i heeded the request. we came to the steamer's side, meeting many astonished gazes. i gave the requisite directions to the porters who came down the ladder for the baggage. the purser had assigned me another room, as requested, which was something. wesson lifted his hat and said "good-afternoon," when we met, but that was all. if he guessed that i had managed to avoid rooming with him by a set plan he made no remark. the purser of the pretoria is young, handsome and obliging. his father, a custom-house officer from canada, was making a tour on the boat and struck me as a fine type. i learned that another of his sons was a member of the dominion parliament. capt. mckenzie came up to say he was glad i was going to be on his ship a little longer, which was agreeable, to say the least. i had noticed the captain before, though i did not get well acquainted with him. he was the sort of man one likes to meet, straightforward, intelligent, understanding his business thoroughly. he knows how to treat the ladies among his passengers equally well, too, instead of devoting all his time to a favored group, like so many sea captains. this in itself is enough to make him a marked man in my memory. the only place we had to call before reaching the island of barbados was at st. lucia, where there was little to interest us on shore, but where i was glad to see a troop-ship just arrived from africa, with a cargo of wives (more or less) of black troops that were serving near sierra leone, each one accompanied by a parrot and monkey, beside several small children. the british government had taken them from the west indies to africa with their lords (i mean the women) and was now returning them a little in advance of their dusky partners. i asked half a dozen at random if they had ever been legally married and the reply in every case was "no, suh," delivered with a certain pride. the west indian negro has not yet added matrimony to his list of virtues. early on the morning of the day our vessel anchored off greytown, which is the capital of barbados, i found on deck mr. "eddie" armstrong, manager of the marine hotel, ready to answer questions in relation to that hostelry. "eddie" told me that he had just the sort of rooms i required for myself and "miss carney," and put me under obligations by refraining from cheap insinuations, which nine men out of ten in his position would have made. later he saw us through the custom-house with expedition and sent us in a carriage to the marine, which is two miles from the centre, in a breezy and roomy location, just enough removed from the noise of the sea waves. miss byno, at the hotel counter, greeted me with a precise copy of the smile she had worn three years before, while mr. pomeroy, the proprietor, said he was glad to see me, exactly as if he meant it. our apartment consisted of a sitting room and two connecting chambers on the second floor, which were clean, airy and cosy. it was the nearest to "house-keeping," as i remarked to miss may, of any place we had found. "we must resume our genealogy to-morrow," she said, as she opened the table and set up the typewriting machine. "we have neglected it dreadfully." "no," i answered, for i had been developing a new plan. "i am going to lay that ponderous history on the shelf for the present and ask you to aid me in another and more interesting task. the family tree is in such shape that it can afford to rest awhile and i am sick to death of it." then, as the anxious look came into her face--the look that came so easily when i said anything that lacked explicitness--i continued: "don't laugh at me, but i am going to begin, to-morrow, a--novel!" "a--novel!" she repeated, wonderingly. "do you write novels?" "i am going to write one, with your help," i said, decidedly. "it won't be exactly a novel, either, because it will be based on fact, pretty nearly all fact--in fact. what would you say to a novel based on the very trip we are making?" she was lost in thought for some minutes. "are you serious?" she asked, finally. "entirely." "but, do you think it would be interesting--to--any one else?" "i am sure of it. of course i shall suppress our real names, but the rest i mean to put in print precisely as it has occurred. if i am not mistaken it will make the hit of the summer season." she was silent again. "doesn't an author have to know--before he begins his story--how it will end?" she asked, after awhile. "i suppose he does. i certainly know how this one will." "how?" "the hero will marry the heroine, make her the happiest woman on earth, and they will live contentedly ever after." "hardly exciting enough, i fear, to suit the popular taste," she commented. "a story, like a play, should have a 'villain.'" i laughed and said i would use wesson for that character. i could, if necessary, invent some disreputable things and attach them to his pseudonym. "and how shall you describe me?" she asked, demurely. "you will have to wait and see. i shall make one important stipulation. your part of this writing will be merely mechanical unless i call for aid. it is to be my story, not yours." "it is a strange idea," she said, watching my face. "really, i think you had best keep on with your family tree. i am getting quite interested in the alexanders and colins who preceded the dugalds and the donalds." "no, i am determined," was my reply. "we will leave those aged gentlemen in their graves and begin the true history of the marjories and the dons. there will be time enough for both before you and i end our partnership." she responded dutifully at last that she was at my disposal, as far as the use of her time was concerned. it was agreed that on the very next morning the novel would be begun. "and you must not interrupt me, either with approval or disapproval?" i said. "for whatever is written i alone will be responsible." "that will be hard, when, as i suppose, you will discuss me more or less," she said, with a bewitching pout. "how do i know you will not make me out the most disreputable female that ever lived? but i promise. in fact, i don't see as there is anything else i can do. i am working for wages and i might as well offer to alter a business letter as a story in which i am merely an amanuensis." "i shall carry our original contract into the novel," i said. "there will be no falsehood. if i have suspected any person, or repented of my suspicions--if i have resolved not to fall in love, and afterwards done so--it will be all there. i shall record what has transpired with the accuracy of a kodak, even if, like the sensitive plate, it has to be taken into a dark room for development." "such a story ought to interest two persons at least," she said. "i hope you intend to send me a copy or let me know where i can buy one." "every bookseller in the country will have it," i replied, "and the sale will be phenomenal. you didn't think i brought you out here just to throw away money, did you? i expect to make a fortune out of the portrait i am going to draw." she laughed lightly and we closed the subject for the time, quite agreed upon it. before we went out she surprised me by asking if it would be convenient to let her have a little money, for i supposed she had the sixty dollars previously paid her, still in her purse. she had never expended a penny that i knew of, except the dollar she gave thorwald. however, i said she could have any sum she liked; and she asked with some hesitation, if i could spare as much as a hundred dollars. she wanted to send it home and would consider it a great accommodation if i could pay her as far in advance as that would be. she said she would try not to ask me again for anything until we returned to new york. we took a carriage and went to the barbados branch of the colonial bank, where i could draw money on my letter of credit--if i was willing to wait long enough. i have visited various branches of that bank in the tropics and i will challenge any institution on earth to vie with it in slowness of waiting upon customers. i stood at least five minutes at the counter before any of the numerous clerks who sat on high stools condescended to notice me. then one did see that i was there, and whispered to his nearest neighbor in a way that showed he thought it a rather good joke. two or three men who seemed of an upper grade of clerks passed near enough for me to speak to them, but none deigned the least reply. after this had gone on until it grew rather monotonous i addressed the entire institution, from president to office boy, with a request to tell me if i was in a deaf and dumb asylum. the youngest clerk thereupon made his way slowly--nobody in the colonial bank could move otherwise--to where i stood and mildly inquired if i wished for anything. i told him that, strange as it might appear, i did. i said i wanted $ , and i wanted it d--(that is to say, very) quick. i said i was only going to stay in the island three or four weeks more and i wanted the money to pay my hotel bill when i left. he did not seem to grasp the idea exactly, but he did go to the farthest man in the room and direct his attention to me by pointing, after which he resumed his seat at his desk. the farthest man, in a way that showed he had a deep grudge against me for disturbing him, came more slowly than the first one across the room and asked me if i wanted anything. i threw my letter of credit on the counter and said what i had already said to the other, adding for emphasis the name of the deity to my previous observation. the clerk took the letter and went away with it. for some time he was engaged in exhibiting the thing to various clerks, all of whom regarded it with wonder, as if it was a piece of papyrus from some egyptian tomb. at last he found a chap who took the letter of credit from him and divided the next five minutes between reading it with care and looking at me over his spectacles; having done which the latter clerk came to the counter where i stood and asked what denominations of money i would like. i told him, with some warmth (the thermometer stood at in the room) that i would like part of it in hardshell baptist and the rest in african methodist episcopal, or any other old thing, but that i did want it in a hurry. he might give me a draft that could be used in new york for $ of it, and the rest in sovereigns, in case he should decide, on reflection, to give me anything at all. these remarks he met with a vacant stare, but took from his desk, when he had again reached it, two pieces of paper, which he filled with duplicate statements, after the manner of his kind. reading these over several times, to make sure he had committed no error, he took them to another man (apparently a sort of manager or director) who pretended, as long as he could, not to see his subordinate or to guess that he wished to attract his attention. afraid, i suppose, to speak, the clerk finally coughed mildly behind his hand, at which the manager glared at him fiercely, and reaching out for the papers, studied them for a long time. when satisfied (though you wouldn't have thought it to look at him) he wrote something on each and the clerk returned to me. if i should detail the manner in which that fellow tried to evade giving me my money, now that he had a chance to do so, i fear i would not be believed. it ended, however, in my being sent to a cashier and getting what i wanted. tired and hungry i returned to my carriage and was driven back to the marine hotel with marjorie. "here is your cash, or rather what can be used to get it," i said, drawing a long breath and handing her the draft. "when you have written your name on the back it will be good anywhere." "i don't know how to show my gratitude," she answered, her face flushing. "excuse me. you know very well, but you refuse," i replied. "now, here is something for you to think of. all the wicked things you do, the cruelties you practice, are to be spread before the novel reading public of america! that ought to soften your hard heart. you know 'all the world loves a lover,' but there is no proverb to fit a thoroughly heartless girl." "i would like you much better if you would not say such things," she pouted. "you speak as if you did like me a little, even now," i responded. "like you!" she exclaimed. "that's just it. i like you ever and ever so much. how can i help it, when you are so kind to me? i like you and i want to continue to like you, mr. camran. i wish i could think you would never learn to dislike me." as i began an impassioned declaration that the day would never dawn, she started violently and bit her lips till the teeth marks showed plainly. in another instant i saw what had caused her mental disturbance; two men were looking at us from a street car that was trying with some success to reach the hill by the hotel before we did. those men were robert edgerly and horace wesson. "don't let him get you into trouble," she whispered, between her closed lips. "i heard him threaten you at st. croix. oh, how did he get here!" she referred, of course, to edgerly. chapter xx. new work for my typewriter. it was plain that these two men had become closer friends than they appeared to be when on the madiana. wesson's pretence of regard for me did not sort with this affiliation with a fellow against whom he had been at such pains to warn me. they both seemed disconcerted at our meeting and i learned later that they had decided to stop at different houses. edgerly registered at the sea view, a small hotel situated about a quarter mile from the marine, while wesson came boldly to the latter hostelry and took a room there. however, as i did not own the house, i was not at liberty to prevent him living where he liked. i made up my mind to avoid him and let it go at that. it began to be apparent that his movements were influenced in a large degree by my own. i wondered if he meant to dog me from island to island during the rest of my journey. on the day following my arrival i began to dictate to miss may the novel of which i had spoken, or rather a correct transcript of the proceedings that had brought me where i was. you already know the story, and if you care to read it again you have only to turn to the first chapter of this volume and begin at the point where she did. it took me the whole of that forenoon to finish the opening instalment, as i wanted to put it into a shape that would not necessitate its being re-written. miss may proved a splendid amanuensis and, as requested, made no comments till the lunch hour arrived, though i could not help seeing that she was filled with interest as well as vivid curiosity. when i began to allude to statia and to detail her conversations with me, my typewriter's face was at times suffused with pink. i fancied, when i came to the place where i asked statia to be my wife, that marjorie was about to refuse to continue, but she merely drew a very long breath and let her nimble fingers touch the requisite keys. when tom's sister declined my offer i heard a light sigh that i took to mean relief. the tale of my visit to the herald office and of writing the advertisement clearly interested her. she wrote rapidly when i told about the handsome woman who wished the acquaintance of an elderly gentleman, on whom to lavish her beautiful face and form, with her "object matrimony." when i said we would let that chapter suffice for the day she sat back from the table and uttered an uneasy little laugh. "it's not so bad," she was kind enough to say. "i may have to change my mind about your project. but are you going on as you have begun, exposing every thought--making the world your confidant. i am afraid few people could afford to do that." "precisely," i said. "men have written fiction so vividly that people have believed it truth. i am going to write truth in such a manner that people will take it for excellent fiction. yes, i shall follow othello's advice, 'nothing extenuate nor set down aught in malice.' it is a camera you are operating, my dear, not a typewriting machine." that afternoon we took a long drive, to farley hill, which point is said to be nine hundred feet above the sea. i was tranquil enough now. we were alone except for the driver, whose back was toward us. the long stretches of sugar cane made a pleasing prospect. every individual we met, mostly people of various degrees of negro lineage, addressed us pleasantly. the trade-winds from the east, that blow over barbados six months in the year, brought ozone to our lungs and coolness to our faces. the road for the entire distance was smooth and hard. it was one of the most delightful drives i had ever taken and there was nothing to mar the occasion. we passed the evening after dinner in our joint sitting room, with the windows wide open and retired early. "you are the most honest man i ever met," said miss may, the next morning, when she was in the midst of her work. she had just written this paragraph: i have led a life as regards women that i now think worse than idiotic. i have followed one after another of them, from pillar to post, falling madly in love, getting the blues, losing heart, all that sort of thing. i have never been intimately acquainted with a pure, honest girl of the better classes, except one. "was there ever another man who would put such things about himself in cold type?" "but, listen," i said, defensively. "see what follows: i need sadly to be educated by a woman who will not hold out temptation. i have an idea that a few months passed abroad, in the society of such a woman, will make another man of me. "marjorie, my life, i was right. it has made another man of me. i shall never be what i was before--never as long as i breathe." she shook her head, half doubtfully, but declined to discuss the subject further. when she came to hume's question, "what is to keep you from falling in love with your secretary?" she seemed troubled until she had received the answer i gave him, declaring that my "secretary" would be sent home with a month's advance wages if she allowed me to forget that i was merely her employer. then she broke the rule we had adopted, and i could not blame her. "you are evidently of a forgetful nature," she said. "the promise you made your friend does not agree with some of the foolish things you have tried to say to me." "but, my angel, i had not met you when i made that assertion. i was speaking of an imaginary woman. men are not expected to do impossible things. besides, you do not realize how very ill i had been. i think we shall get on better if you will reserve your comments till the end of each chapter, when i shall be delighted to hear as many as you like." she returned good naturedly to the machine, and recorded the balance of the chapter that is numbered two in this volume. when i said we had done enough for one day, she answered that she thought a little work in the afternoon would hurt neither of us; and that, for her part, she would be glad to begin again after lunch. it was plain that she was becoming interested and wanted to get on as fast as possible. pleased at this, i consented to her plan. it was only half past eleven when she stopped and a rest of two or three hours would put us both right again. "i don't think i realized you had been so terribly ill," she said, taking a rocker and placing herself at ease. "i don't like to talk much about it, or even to think of it," was my reply, "but you may be sure it was hard enough. i would rather endure any pain than the awful depression that accompanies neurasthenia. when i recovered it seemed as if i had died and been resurrected. my old life was gone and i did not wish to recall it. the new one was full of new possibilities and dreams. how happy i shall be when they are all fulfilled!" "and were you so very--very wicked?" she asked, constrainedly. "i cannot believe it when i look at you. vice ought to leave some distinguishing mark, but your face is as innocent as a babe's." "you are very kind to say so. but i want to talk about that still less than about my illness. both of them have come to an end." "let us trust so," she said, gently. how gently and sweetly she did say it! the third chapter, which we did that day before taking our drive, called for no interruption on her part with one exception, and that was because she did not quite catch one word. it was in relation to the letter of credit that i had brought. "did you say two thousand?" she asked, "or three?" "two thousand," i answered, and she went on rapidly, talking down the words as they fell from my lips. the account of charmion's performance at koster and bial's disturbed her visibly, but she went bravely to the end. "do you really mean that this exposure took place in a new york theatre, at a regular performance?" she asked, when i said that was the end. "exactly as described." "it is shameful!" she exclaimed, angrily. "if women had charge of the theatres such things would not be permitted." "you forget," i replied, "that half the audience were women--ladies, if you please." she bit her lip. "you ought not to put it in the story, at any rate," she said. "it will only encourage people with debased minds to go to view it." "by the time my book is published there will probably be an entire change of programme," said i. (i wonder if there will.) another drive, another chatty evening, another morning, and we went on again. miss may smiled occasionally as i told of my preparations for making this voyage and of engaging a berth for her before i had even received her reply to my advertisement in the herald. then she listened with interest to the letter (the first one) i received from miss brazier, breaking our rule enough to remark, "that's a bright girl." i took her own reply from my pocket to give it verbatim, upon which she said-- "have you kept that all this time? tear it up now and throw it in the wastebasket." "tear it up?" i echoed. "money wouldn't buy that little note!" when the end of the fourth chapter was reached, and we took our noonday rest, she spoke at some length about statia. she wanted me to tell her more than appeared in the story. that was the kind of woman one could admire, she declared. "and yet, how can i judge a girl who has always been under the watchful eye of a kind father or brother?" she added, thoughtfully. "who can say what evil might have crept into her life, had she been compelled to face the cruel world and fight for her bread?" "but you have done that," i protested, "and are to-day as sweet and pure as if all the fathers and brothers on earth formed your guard." she turned on me suddenly. "how do you know?" she demanded. "you know nothing whatever about me. oh, mr. camran, there are things in my life that would make a novel even more interesting than this one of yours. but i could not sit down and expose my errors as you do. i could not! no, i could not!" i said that all the errors of her young life must be wholly in imagination. she was like some child at a first confession, trying to magnify a baby fault into goods big enough for its new market. she made no reply, but went silently into her chamber where she remained till lunch time. when she came out the matter had slipped my mind and did not recur to me till long afterward. the fifth chapter occupied us during most of the afternoon. miss may showed great interest when mr. wesson appeared on the scene and much more when she herself was first presented. my intense anxiety to meet her seemed to strike her as odd, for she uttered little "oh's" and "ah's" when i described our first meeting. when she came to the expression "she was not handsome," she said "i should think not!" in a tone of disdain. at the end of the chapter she had to talk about it as usual. "well, it is something to see one's photograph, as it appears to another," she said, smiling. "i don't understand, though, how i managed to produce such a favorable impression. i really had little idea i should be the successful applicant when you left my room that day. i wasn't even certain that i ought to accept, if you offered it to me. i had never heard of an arrangement exactly like it. we were strangers to each other. i had a place that i detested, but how could i be sure you would prove a more considerate employer than the one i was to leave? had it not been for my desperate plight i must have told you frankly that i could not go." "you are not sorry--yet?" i whispered. "oh, no! and you can prevent my ever being sorry, if you will." it was useless to begin the old argument. i went down to see if the carriage was ready. wesson sat in the hallway, where the draft of air was strongest, and did not see me until i was close to him. when he realized my proximity he closed the book in his hands with a bang and looked much confused. but he had not performed the action quickly enough for his purpose. i had seen what he was reading: it was a copy of "our rival the rascal," undoubtedly the one eggert had missed just before we left st. thomas. i said nothing, but i thought a great deal. a man who would steal one thing would steal another. if wesson had carried off that book from the dining room of my host eggert-- a mile from the hotel i decided to convey to my companion's mind the suspicions that filled my own. "you remember that book i had one evening at eggert's--the book you did not wish to look at," i began. "that horrible thing!" she exclaimed, with a shiver, nodding an affirmative. "just before we left eggert's, you know, he missed the volume. nobody had been in the house except you and me, and wesson. eggert knew me too well to suspect that i would be guilty of such a theft, and yet he was puzzled. why, marjorie, what is the matter with you?" my last expression was called forth by a strange look on the face of my companion. she fell against me as if too weak to sit up, and yet her eyes were open and not devoid of intelligence. "my darling!" i cried. "you are ill. let us return at once." "no," she said, in a whisper. "it is only temporary. but please say nothing more about the book. if anybody took it--ugh!--it must have been by accident." "but, my dear," i explained, when she seemed more comfortable, "you must let me tell you of a discovery i have made. i saw that book--" rousing herself with difficulty miss may looked me in the eyes like a sleep-walker. "don!" she said, vehemently. "don! sometimes you tell me you love me! how can you then persist in this torture! i cannot bear to think of that book, to hear it spoken of! you may call me foolish, and probably i am. there are women who are afraid of snakes, lizards, rats; not one of those creatures could disturb my nerves. but when i think of men that live by crime, that rob and steal--and murder--it is as if the hands of one of them was on my own throat!" soothingly i promised to be careful in the future--sadly i spoke my regrets at the pain i had caused her. i knew too well the vagaries of ill-balanced nerves not to understand that they require no reason to set themselves on edge. i bade the driver cut our ride short and we drove back to the hotel in nearly perfect silence. but i could not help my thoughts. if wesson had stolen that book, what was there to show that he had not stolen my diamond, and those of marjorie and of miss howes? what could i think but, with his almost exclusive opportunities on the steamer, he was the guilty man? i recalled his offer to watch from our cabin, his assumption of the rôle of a sleuth-hound--undoubtedly to deceive me. what was he doing at barbados unless to watch for another chance to ply his profession? the more attention i gave to the matter the clearer everything grew. undoubtedly wesson was, on general principles, much more than a match for me in shrewdness, but when i started to do a thing i usually accomplished it. i resolved that if he was the thief, i would trace his work home to him and make him restore the fruits of his larceny. chapter xxi. "you were in my room." letters that came the next morning were hardly read, so interested was i in my plan to entrap my sly fellow passenger. they were from tom and statia barton and from a club friend who had obtained my address from tom. statia's had a tone of melancholy that she seemed trying to conceal. tom's was full of cheer, with wholesome advice about keeping well now i had got into that condition. they had received my first letters, mailed at st. thomas, and congratulated me on escaping what both persisted in calling the dangers of the sea. how to expose the knavery of wesson--that was all i could think of consecutively. i told miss may that i would not dictate to her that morning and she took the opportunity to drive down town, to do, as she said, a little shopping. wesson also took a carriage about the same time and i heard him tell the clerk, miss byno, he would probably be gone till noon at least. when they were both out of sight i began to haunt the vicinity of the boston man's room, which was on the same floor as mine, though much further down the corridor. when no one was near i tried the door, in a foolish hope that he might have left it unlocked, which, of course, he had not done. if i could get ten minutes alone there i believed i should discover something. at the same time i realized that i was running considerable risk. should i be discovered in the chamber of another man, rummaging among his things, the fact that i suspected him of having robbed me would be a poor excuse in the eyes of a magistrate. still, anxious to convince myself, i was ready to dare even the danger of arrest and punishment. it was a very dangerous proceeding, as i now view it, and only to be justified by success. at the time, nothing could have dissuaded me from my purpose. as i strolled back to my own room a chambermaid met me, with a bunch of keys in her hand, and she went directly to mr. wesson's apartment. for the next twenty minutes, she remained there, engaged in the customary work of her profession, and then came out and began to turn the key in the lock behind her. this was my time, if ever. hastening to her side i told her in low tones that i wished to play a little joke on my friend who occupied the room and wanted her to leave the door unlocked for an hour or so, or until i called her. to emphasize my desire i exhibited a sovereign and put it into the hand which she held doubtfully toward me. "i only want to go in a little while," i repeated, trying to force a laugh. "it will be all right. don't say a word to any one." the woman looked at the coin, representing a month's wages to her, as if to make sure it was genuine. it probably never entered her head that my intention was other than the one i stated. it was not likely that a gentleman of my cloth would have a felonious design or carry it out in this manner. i had only to add that if it was discovered that the door was unlocked i would take all the blame, and the woman slunk away without a word. the first thing i noticed after entering and locking the door behind me was the copy of "our rival, the rascal," that had been stolen from the quarantine station. it lay on a table and i took it up with interest. on the fly leaf was written eggert's name and address, proving conclusively that it was the one i supposed. the baggage in the room consisted of a steamer trunk and a "dress-suit case," both of which were locked. a moment later i had tried both locks with keys from my pocket and found--to my joy--that the one on the trunk yielded to the pressure. i felt awfully uncomfortable, to tell the truth, as i lifted the lid of that trunk. i glanced at the door, wondering if some prying eye might be at the key-hole. getting a towel from the rack i covered the aperture. the blinds at the window were shut, so there was no other place from which i could be observed, if i except the high heaven above, and the rectitude of my purpose justified me there, in my belief. carefully i lifted the articles in the receptacle, one by one. they were the ordinary things to be expected in the possession of a gentleman travelling. i had nearly relinquished my search when a little packet wrapped in brown paper, attracted my notice. taking it up i pinched it carefully for an instant, and then, becoming excited, untied the string. how my heart did beat! for there lay before my eyes the bracelet stolen from miss howes, the earrings that miss may had worn and the stud purloined from my bag! everything, in short, that we had lost, except the little turquoise ring. i put that package in my pocket, shut and locked the trunk, and was preparing to quit the room when i heard a turn at the handle of the door. who could be there, at that time of day? was it possible wesson had given up his drive? or had the chambermaid returned with some article needed? the fumbling continued for another minute and then a distinct, though rather low knock followed. i call it low, for subsequent judgment so deems it, but at the time it was as loud to my ears as a pistol shot. still i kept quiet, for there was nothing to be gained by jumping from the frying pan into the fire. if it was wesson i fancied i had a card to play that would prevent his putting me to much trouble. if it was any one else they would certainly leave when they received no answer to their summons. the person outside renewed the knock two or three times and then moved slowly away. as soon as the noise of his steps ceased i opened the door cautiously and stepped out. it took several seconds before i could remove the key from the inside and put it in the aperture toward the hall. before i could turn it, i was more than disgusted to see a face peering around the nearest corner and taking in the whole proceeding. it was the face of robert edgerly! "well, well!" he said, coming toward me and leering in an exasperating way. "i took the liberty of calling you a cur the last time we met, but i didn't think--" he stopped and laughed provokingly. "it makes very little difference what you think," i retorted, white with anger. "i can explain this to the only person interested, whenever he chooses to inquire. as he seems to be a friend of yours, you may tell him so, if you see him first, with my compliments." he strode toward me threateningly, his right hand wandering toward his hip pocket. "have a care!" he said. "you pretend to be a gentleman, and i find you a sneak-thief. give me another word and i will denounce you to the proprietor of the hotel!" perhaps he had a right to assume that air. i was not in a very creditable position; but i did not think of this till afterward. he had called me names, had threatened me with violence in the most contemptuous manner. i sprang at his throat with my right hand extended to grasp it and had i succeeded i fear his lease of life would have been short. he was, however, too agile for me. springing backward he drew a revolver, and the sight of that steelly barrel with five cartridges behind it stopped my headlong course like magic. "not quite so fast as you were, eh!" he said, between his teeth. "you know a little joker when you see one. now, turn your face the other way, put your hands to your side like a whipped boy, and march to the end of the corridor. i will follow you; and when i feel sure you are not up to some scurvy trick--of which i quite believe you capable--i will let you crawl to your room and continue the wonderful genealogy of the idiots from whom you sprung." i had thought rapidly since he first produced the weapon. i had no anxiety to be murdered. he had the "drop" on me beyond question. my own revolver was in the bottom of one of my trunks, not even loaded. discretion was the better part of valor then, if ever since the world was made. had he not uttered his closing sentence i would have submitted to the humiliation he outlined. but i have a reverence for my ancestors of the camran race that amounts almost to worship. so far as i can learn i am the only scion of the house who has lowered that distinguished name. to have them dubbed "idiots" was more than i could bear, and i would have died in their defense as cheerfully as any of the alexanders whose bones whitened the battle-fields of ancient days. with a curse i again threw myself upon edgerly and so quickly that he had no time to discharge his weapon. we had a fierce struggle on the floor of the hall, which i soon saw was going against me. physically i was still, with my long illness behind me, no match for my adversary. he was much the cooler of the two and i knew that he was merely waiting till he could get one hand free from my clasp to turn that revolver against my body. in fact, he had nearly succeeded in doing this. i saw a smile of satisfaction creeping over his features and realized that nothing but a miracle could save me. we had not made enough noise to attract attention and no one happened to come along the corridor. the miracle arrived, however, or i should in all probability not be writing these lines. i heard a springing step behind me, saw a form bending over both of us and a strong hand wrenching the pistol from edgerly's grasp. then a voice that i recognized as that of wesson said: "come, gentlemen, this is carrying your disagreements a little too far." we rose to our feet, both pretty well winded. then, to complicate the situation still more, miss may appeared in the hallway. she stopped humming a light air, as she saw us, and turned deathly pale, as was her habit when alarmed. "hush! say nothing," whispered wesson, to both of us at once. "not a word, remember!" i thought it very wise of him and was more than willing to follow his advice. but edgerly was not so easily quieted. "i caught this fellow creeping out of your chamber," he said, without mincing matters. "yes," he added, as if he thought he might be contradicted, "there is the key he used in the lock now." wesson looked strangely at me. "i have no doubt mr. camwell can explain his conduct," he said, and again i noticed the thoughtfulness he used, in referring to me by the name i had registered at cook's office. "if he will consent to accompany me to my room for a few minutes i shall be glad to hear anything he has to say." edgerly sneered again. "camwell!" he echoed. "why, that isn't even his right name. it will do to travel under, but when he signs checks he writes at the end the words, 'donald camran.'" "how do you know that?" asked wesson, in a startled way. "you are making some grave charges." "he tells the truth," i interposed, anxious to end the scene. "the name he gave is my right one. why i used the other is a private matter. i shall be glad to accede to your suggestion, mr. wesson, and hold an interview with you in private." "if you and miss carney will excuse us, then--" said wesson, tentatively. "miss carney!" echoed edgerly, with a laugh that made me half inclined to try conclusions with him again, now that we were less unevenly matched. "miss carney! ha, ha!" wesson was evidently watching us, prepared to interfere again, should it be necessary. he managed to end the affair by a display of finesse, asking edgerly to meet him at two o'clock at the sea view house, and saying pleasantly to miss may that he would keep me but a few minutes. i saw the other two going in opposite directions before i followed the bostonian into his room, which seemed the only thing i could do after what he had heard about me. "well?" said wesson, good naturedly, when he had closed the door and, at my suggestion, locked it. "you were in my room? yes. do you care to tell me why? i leave it entirely to you, mr. camran. if you choose to tell, well and good. if not i shall be perfectly satisfied." his courtesy was complete and, knowing what i did, seemed to me well advised. "mr. wesson," i said, "you have just saved me from a disagreeable and possible dangerous situation. that man had a loaded revolver--i had nothing. he is in the best of health; i, as you know, have recently recovered from a long illness. had you appeared two minutes later it is no exaggeration to say you would probably have found a dead man on that floor." "in that case i am glad i came when i did," he replied, affably. "what was the row about?" i told him briefly of the previous encounter on the balcony at st. croix and the incentives to the present affair. "strange!" he answered. "there doesn't seem much to found a murderous attack on in those two things, does there? had you never met him before this trip?" "never." "how did he know your right name?" i explained the exchange of my check for the cash he won of me in the smoking room of the madiana. a peculiar look came into wesson's face. "that was about five weeks ago," he said, musingly. "about that." he covered his eyes with one hand a few moments as if in deep thought. when he looked up he had regained the pleasant expression with which the interview began. "now, about your being in my room, mr. camran. do you wish to say anything in regard to that?" i took from my pocket the package i had found in his trunk and silently held it up for his inspection. "you intend to retain those things, i presume," he said, with excessive politeness. "with your permission," i answered, not to be outdone in courtesy by a thief. "certainly," he said. "and the bracelet, will you do me the favor to find some way in which it may be returned to the owner?" what a cool rascal he was! i could not help admiring his _sang froid_, the like of which i had never seen or heard of. "the shirt stud, i think is yours," he went on, affably, "and the earrings belong to your cousin? yes, that was my impression. let me, if i may be so bold, advise you to keep them under better surveillance in the future. now, that i may not be blamed by miss carney for keeping you too long, let me say that if you have finished we will call this interview at an end, except for one question. do you intend to do anything disagreeable about the matter?" still as cool as an iceberg, as unruffled as a bank of pansies. "i shall do nothing," i answered. "the service you rendered a few moments ago puts me under a great obligation. rest assured, sir, you have nothing to fear from me." he walked hospitably to the door and opened it. "you had best avoid another rupture with mr. edgerly," he said, in a friendly tone. "he is quick tempered and, as you have well observed, you are not strong enough to contend with him. as to pistols, he is a dead shot. he can knock a penny off a wall at two hundred paces." i thanked him for his advice and went to find miss may, whom i was not surprised to discover in an excited state, and bathed in tears. "oh," she cried, when she saw me, "let us return to new york as soon as we can! you have had nothing but trouble ever since i have been with you. take me to america and end this unfortunate agreement of ours. i knew you and that man would have trouble again. if the other one had not appeared you would now be dead, and he--" her sobbing broke out again, terrifically. all at once it occurred to me that the news of the recovered jewels would partially comfort her. "marjorie," i said, "marjorie, my love! there is a silver lining to the cloud to-day, a golden lining, a diamond lining. yes," as she looked intently at me through her tears, "i know where my stud is, and your earrings, and miss howes'--" instead of giving the joyful cry i expected my companion uttered a long wail and lay limp in the arms i stretched out to catch her. i cursed my indiscretion and, laying her gently on a sofa, rang for aid. chapter xxii. too much excitement. it seemed as if i never would learn that my companion could not bear sudden surprises, or mysterious hints. her delicate nature took alarm at the least departure from the conventional. before the arrival of the servant i was tempted to imprint on her pale cheeks the kisses she had always denied me, but a spark of manliness still left in my composition prevented. her swoon was but momentary. before the slow bell boy could arrive she had roused herself and begged me to admit no one, saying she would be all right again in a few moments. realizing that i had probably rung already, she asked me to make some excuse to the servant when he arrived and not to open the door wide enough for him to see her. when the boy had come and gone i began my apologies in the most profuse way. "do not excuse yourself, i beg," she answered. "i was very foolish. you speak of being a convalescent, but you will begin to think i am the invalid. i will try my best not to disturb you again." she was very sober and though she was able to sit upright i saw that her strength was returning but slowly. she would not go down to lunch when the bell rang, and i sent her up a little toast and tea, which she barely touched. as the evening approached i asked if she felt able to drive, but she said if i did not mind she would rather i would go alone, and i complied with her suggestion. on my return two hours later, she was up and about, with a little of the old color in her face. i connected her improved state, in a certain way, with information that i received later from mr. armstrong, that edgerly had left the island on a steamer bound directly for new york. her anxiety lest he and i should come again into collision was thus abated. in fact, i had never seen her so bright at dinner as she was that day, her appetite good and her manner actually vivacious. the next day being sunday we went to a church not far from the hotel, where i was struck as before by the devotional bearing of my companion. not being an episcopalian, i have always considered it quite a feat to know just when to kneel and to rise, to find the place in the prayer book, to stand and sit at the right places. i watched miss may carefully, doing exactly as she did, though, i am afraid, the effort detracted from the religious effect on my mind. when the affair was over we walked back to the marine and went over to the little park, called for some unknown reason "hastings rocks," the entrance of which is guarded by a black cerberus who demands a penny from each visitor. here we sat and looked out on the sea, and my mind reverted to edgerly, now a hundred miles or so to the north of us. if wesson had only accompanied him, i thought, there would be nothing to disturb the even tenor of my life. why did he continue to remain at the hotel? he could not hope to rob us again; and he must know that the promise i had given him would not tie my tongue if any other guest of the house should report that his valuables were missing. perhaps he was waiting now for some steamer bound to south america or colon. i sincerely hoped that, if this was so, the boat would arrive at an early date. monday i rose very early, and in pursuance to an arrangement made the previous night, took a carriage before breakfast with miss may. we drove in our bathing suits and bath robes to a beach about a mile up the road, where we had a delicious bath in the surf. the sight of her again in that attire aroused all the masculine forces in me and made me resolve anew that i would win her for my life mate if there was any possibility of so doing. a more exquisite shape it has never been my fortune to meet, and i must confess i am not exactly an amateur at that business. she seemed wholly oblivious of the effect her charms created, but declared with bright eyes that there was no pleasure in the world half as great as bathing in salt water of that temperature. after breakfast the typewriting machine was put in use again and that day, urged on by miss may's statement that she was just in the trim for work, we accomplished what are catalogued as the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of the book you are reading. marjorie was plainly interested to a high degree now in every word that i gave her to write. the tale of the excited night i passed after first meeting her, my half-formed resolves to give up the plan of taking a companion on my voyage, the celerity with which i changed my mind the following morning, upon awakening, the reception of the next letter she sent me, with my comments thereon, kept her as entertained as if the story had indeed been fiction. she laughed a little when i admitted starting the letter in reply beginning "my darling, i cannot breathe until once more i am in your loved presence," and paused to remark that she had never known a man so excitable and uncontrollable. my meeting with statia on broadway seemed to affect her strongly. all her sympathies were evidently with that young lady, for she shook her head and uttered several sighs as i told how we parted after her withdrawal of the invitation to call at her house. then came the chapter in which my amanuensis had said at last, "i am going, of course," with the stipulations she had made, her cheeks blushing, as to the conduct she would demand from me. marjorie smiled again at the letter i wrote to alice brazier, in which i tried to describe my "secretary," and the dream i had that night, but she grew as sober as possible when i read the second letter from miss brazier, adjuring me to treat my fellow voyager with courtesy and honor. the solemn resolutions i made to comply with this request pleased her, as did the story of tom barton's visit to my rooms and his plan for a _modus vivendi_ between statia and me. then she had to copy, at my dictation, her own long letter explaining why, if she was to travel as my relation, more money than i had given her would be required. at the end she commented aloud on what she called the mercenary tone of that note. "you had a good many doubts of me, first and last," she added. "first only," i reply, "not last. i'd like to know what could make me doubt you now." the chapter ended (the ninth chapter) with the sentence before the one that now closes it and miss may rose from her long task with a sigh of relief. tuesday, both of us being still in excellent trim, the dictation was resumed. that day she finished the tenth, eleventh and twelfth chapters, smiling at the right places and looking pensive when there was occasion. once she interpolated, "i like that tom barton--he is made of true metal," which naturally pleased me. the nervous wait i had at her rooms made her shake her head in a way that meant much, and the excessive joy with which i greeted her when she did come sobered her considerably. "have you not drawn the long bow a little here?" she asked, pausing. "you need not think it necessary to stretch your sensations just because the object of them happens to be their recorder." "if anything i have understated them," i replied, "language is wholly inadequate to describe the constant anxiety i felt till you were actually on board the madiana. but proceed. if i get on that strain i shall never be able to finish." my account of our shopping, with our subsequent visit to the restaurant, made her remark that i was a close observer. she said there was not a thought in her head that i had not photographed. "who but a born novelist," she said, "would have deemed it worth while to tell that i objected to having the door of our little dining-room locked?" "it is merely to show the reader another proof of your excessively proper conduct," i replied, "and give him an opportunity to appreciate your true character." "you have mistaken your vocation, after all," she said. "you would make a splendid detective. not even the smallest thing escapes you. you make me think of a hunter on a trail. a broken twig, a nearly indiscernible print on the moss, a leaf brushed aside, show you where the creature has passed." "the only wild creatures i have ever hunted were 'dears,'" i answered, laughing. "don't you think such earnestness in the chase deserves its full reward?" "the reward is all very well for the hunter," she said, solemnly, "but for the deer there is only the bullet and the knife." she had cornered me there. instead of trying to straighten out the muddle i went on with my work. miss may was plainly affected when i told of the remorse i had felt for my ill-spent life, after reading the note she had left on the typewriting machine at her first visit to my rooms. the concluding paragraph of the tenth chapter, as it now appears, had not been written then. wednesday we did but one chapter--the eleventh. i noticed that my companion appeared fatigued when it was finished and i refused to let her continue. she was intensely surprised when i identified miss howes. i detected a repellant shrug of the shoulders as she realized the kind of woman who had occupied the stateroom with her during her voyage from new york to st. thomas. she showed great interest when i described my fellow passengers at table, and grew white when i came to the point of the larceny of her earrings. fearing that i would excite some unpleasant memory i made no comment whatever on the occurrence beyond what was in the ms. she was writing. she wanted very much to continue her work, but i would not listen. she was too evidently ill. there is a limit to what even the best natured amanuensis can perform with impunity. when we went on, the next day, i tried to give out my dictation in a slower manner, to conserve marjorie's force, but it was a difficult thing to do. her speed was naturally great and i had got into the habit of speaking in much my ordinary manner. she told me twenty times that i might dictate more rapidly, and her fingers flew over the keys at a speed that astonished me. all she would consent to do was to let me order a glass of wine, from which she sipped occasionally. she declared that my "novel" was so diverting that she was anxious to get as far along as possible. the description of my games of cards with edgerly caused her to have frequent recourse to the wine, but the meeting with eggert and his family came to relieve the strain. she grew uneasy again when i told of sitting by her bed and bathing her forehead; and reddened like a peony when i remarked how lovely she appeared in her bathing costume that morning we took our first bath on the beach of the quarantine station. "must you put in such things as that?" she asked, pleadingly. "i think it spoils what was getting to be a very entertaining story." "i can leave out nothing," i answered. "really, marjorie, you cannot conceive how rapturously beautiful--" she shivered as if a cold wind had blown on her. "are you dictating?" she asked. "i think we had best keep to the text." "then do not attempt to go outside your path and province," i said. "once more, this is my story, not yours, remember. here is something that will interest you." i gave her the concluding paragraph of that chapter--the one recording the sudden and unexpected appearance of mr. wesson. she went on very quietly after that, though the frequent allusions to my growing affection disturbed her visibly. every evening after our work we went for a drive. on most of these occasions we met somewhere on the road a blue-eyed man and a brown-eyed woman, riding in a cart, drawn by two horses, hitched tandem. i often wonder what has become of them; whether they have decided to go through the world tandem--one in front of the other--or side by side, as i used to see them there. sometimes they rode bicycles, which they handled equally well. when the darkness settled their lamps were lit, according to the local laws, and the lanterns looked like fireflies as they spun along the hard roads. perhaps that is what froude saw which made him say in his book that there are fireflies in barbados--who can tell? the woman was rather handsome, with a well rounded form, and a mouth made for kisses, though she assured me once that none had ever rested there. if true, it is a sad case of luscious fruit going to waste on a tree well worth climbing. with the exception of the following sunday we worked every day. miss may was getting more and more used to hearing her every act recorded and made few interruptions. i warned her when i came to the episode of the book on criminology and she steadied her nerves and went through it like a heroine. she did demur a little--hesitating and flashing an appealing look at me--when i came to her admission that she wanted to kiss me quite as much as i wished her to do so, and she breathed heavily when i told what had caused me to decide that, even if permitted, i must refuse the boon. when i reached the place where i had to admit reading the letter she wrote to her friend helen she stopped short and we looked for some seconds at each other. "that is the only really dishonorable thing i have known of you," she said, reproachfully. "i do not defend it," was my reply; "but i would not give up the happiness it caused me for all the world." "you surely cannot remember that letter, word for word!" "i believe i can give it literally." "if you have any doubt, i will get the original for you," she said. "when i came to read it over i thought it wiser not to send it. i wrote another in its stead and kept the one you saw--as a warning for the future." she arose, went to her bedroom, procured the letter, and brought it to me. "but it came from your heart, my love," i said, bending toward her. "that is what gives it value. and all this time you have been pretending that my slightest sentiment of affection must be repelled. have you forgotten our compact, dear one? we were only to lie to outsiders, never to each other. marjorie, once more, listen to me. i love you! i want you for my wife. here, with this confession before us, need we go on longer without a definite understanding? why not say that little word that will make me the happiest man who breathes?" i had not uttered all this without many attempts on her part to stop the flow of words. when i finished she turned her chair directly toward me and spoke with firmness, though her face was as white as i had ever seen it. "mr. camran, you are taking an unfair advantage. having violated the privacy of my room and read the letter i wrote to an intimate friend, you now seek to make that act the basis for renewing a suit i have told you more than once cannot succeed. ah, no! there are reasons stronger than i care to make known why i cannot be your wife. i beg you do not give me the pain of compelling me to say this again. i will repeat, if you desire, the words i wrote to my friend: 'it is all i can do to prevent myself falling head over ears in love with this man.' "yes," she continued, "that was true--that is true. it is all i can do; but i can do it, i have done it, i shall continue to do it! mr. camran, i esteem you beyond the power of language to express. your kindness, your consideration, your generosity have affected me wonderfully. some day you will know to what extent. but there can be no relation between us nearer than the one we now occupy. never, never, never!" she had covered every point, but like suitors the world over i would not believe her. "answer me a few questions," i said. "yes, in justice to my proposal, which i cannot but feel does honor to both of us. do you mean to say that your final declination of my offer is based on the fact that i read your private correspondence?" "no, it would have been the same without that," she answered. "let me add that i forgive you freely for what you did in that respect." "is it because--i want to understand perfectly--you think it dishonorable to wed a man richer than you, whose acquaintance you made in an unusual way?" she shook her head in negation. "is there, then, anything that you have heard, or suspect, against my reputation?" again she shook her head decidedly. i took up her letter and read: if i were of his social grade--if i could have retained the position in which i was born, he would be my ideal. such thoughts, alas! are not for your poor friend, marjorie. "those words mean something," i said, earnestly. tears came into her eyes. "mr. camran, do you think it is fair to press me like this?" she asked, with a sob. "there is an adage," i replied, "that all is fair in love. to give you up means to shatter my existence. i have been a reckless boy. with you as my wife i would make a worthy man--worthy of you, of myself, of the noble line from which i sprung. i fear, and i say it deliberately, that if i lose you i shall sink again into the depths from which i have escaped." "all that," she said, gently, "you said when your friend statia gave you the same answer i am compelled to give now." "it is jealousy!" i exclaimed, excitedly. "you are angry because i asked her, before i had even seen you! very well. but, understand what you are doing! i cannot go through the agony i suffered a year ago." she sprang up, as if to ward off an impending danger, and came so near that her face was within six inches of mine. i looked her squarely in the eyes. "you cannot fascinate me in that way!" i cried, bitterly. "you have ruined a man who has taken you from poverty and given you for two months, at least, the life of a lady. don't put your hands on me!" as she attempted to touch my shoulder. "i have finished with you. take the advance payment you have had and go to your home, if you have one. but, remember, by your own agreement, the clothes in which you stand belong to me. take them off before you leave this room, give them up, or i will strip them from you by force!" i do not know that i am quoting my exact words, but i am sure this was the sentiment that, in my rage, i expressed. at the moment i hated the woman more than i had loved her a few minutes before. "you shall have them, every one," answered miss may, without the least trace of excitement. "i will go immediately to the village and buy just enough articles of dress to make me fit to take passage to america. all i had from you shall be packed in the trunks you bought and left behind." "and the jewelry," i added, still blind with my disappointment, for she had received and was wearing it again. "take those rings from your hands, those diamonds from your ears. they are mine, remember. that was our agreement. i broke into wesson's trunk and reclaimed them. they are mine!" at the mention of wesson she paled even more than before, but complied with my request, laying the articles on the table before me, one by one. "good-by," she said, softly, going toward the door that led to her chamber. like an avalanche the horror of what i was doing swept over me. i rose, clutched wildly at the air, and fell, not unconscious, but with a deathly nausea. the next moment a woman's form was kneeling by my side and my head was raised to the support of a woman's arm. "forgive me--oh! forgive me!" was murmured convulsively in my ear. chapter xxiii. a wedding ring. for the next week i was a very sick man. i remember almost nothing of what happened, except that i was in bed and that miss may was nursing me with all the care a mother gives an infant. yes, i remember another thing--that mr. wesson came several times to my bedside and conversed in low tones with my companion and with a physician whom somebody had summoned. i was too weak to think much about it, or i should certainly have objected to his presence, but i knew in a dim way that he was there. afterwards i began slowly to regain my memory and my strength. my first attempts to engage in conversation were discouraged. mr. pomeroy, the proprietor of the house, came in and said sympathetically that if i wanted to get on my feet soon i must be very quiet. "eddie" armstrong, the manager, whom i had grown to like immensely, said the same thing. i obeyed their injunctions for several days more; but one morning i awoke so strong in heart that i announced my purpose of rising, though all the doctors in christendom--or even in barbados--forbade it. miss may hesitatingly brought my bath wrap and assisted me to sit up in bed. one movement upon my feet, however, had more effect than all her persuasions. i must wait a little longer. she propped me up and gave me a strengthening drink that was waiting upon a table. then she sat by my side and, at my request, read extracts from some newspapers that she had obtained in the reading room below. the news was all about a possible war with spain, on account of the blowing up of the warship "maine," in havana harbor. i grew indignant at the hot-heads in my country who were willing to plunge two nations in the horrors of war without waiting to see if a catastrophe could be honorably averted. when the reading was finished i lay passive for a long time and then my thoughts reverted to the scene that preceded my illness. "i am very, very sorry!" i murmured, drawing marjorie toward me by the hand which she allowed to rest in mine. "sorry? for what?" "my cruelty to you." she bade me think no more of what had passed, declaring that the blame, if any, was her own, and that, at least, i must not talk about it for the present. her manner soothed me more than words and i lay very still, fondling the hand i held and occasionally murmuring grateful expressions. they came to me gradually--all the hateful things i had said and done; and i contrasted them, to my discredit, with the thoughtful care she was giving me. the love that had vanished during my anger returned ten-fold. the doctor came and looked wise. i would be able to sit up in a day or two, he said. good nursing was what i most required now; as if i didn't know that as well as he! and i had the best nurse in the world--the one i wanted above all others. could i only be assured i never would lose her! on the third day i refused to heed longer the advice not to talk. i had too much to say that i wanted marjorie to hear. "if you really wish me to be quiet," i said, "you can stop me very easily. tell me you will be my wife when we return to new york. only say 'yes' and i will not speak another word." she leaned over the bed, pushing my hair back gently with her soft white hand. "only that one word, marjorie; only that one! and then we will both be still." "when--we return--to new york," she answered, slowly, with a pause between the syllables, "i have--something--of great importance to--tell you. if--after that--you persist in your question--i--i--" "that is enough," was my joyful reply. "you will leave it to me? dear girl, i ask no more. god bless and keep you!" i fell asleep early that evening and did not waken once till the sun had risen. then the medicine she had given me showed its efficacious power. i was quite able to rise and even to take my breakfast at the table in the sitting-room with her. once started on the road to recovery each hour showed a rapid gain. in another day i was taken for a short drive. the next i remained dressed from morning till night, though i reclined part of the time on a sofa. and i could think of nothing but returning to the united states. the sooner the better now, when the wish of my life was to be granted there. marjorie showed herself a woman of wonderful capacity in more ways than one. she arranged with the colonial bank officials to have a draft all ready for me to sign when i drove up one day for money, thus saving what must have proved a weary wait. she bought new steamer chairs, the others having been left carelessly on the pretoria. she paid the hotel bill and made all arrangements for our departure, having taken pains to learn which steamer would take us away the soonest. we were to go on a royal mail boat, "the don," (happy omen!) to jamaica, being sure of plenty of american steamers from that point. on the day we were to depart i was nearly as strong as ever. bidding farewell with some regrets to all the guests i knew, to the proprietor, the manager, miss byno and the brown-eyed bicyclist, i entered the carriage with really a light heart. i was going again on a voyage with marjorie; going, though the route might be slightly circuitous, to a land where she and i were to be indissolubly united. is it any wonder i was happy? the crowd of boatmen that assailed us at the water's edge nearly carried me off my feet. money is too scarce in barbados to make the possible gain of a dollar a light matter. one of the men caught me, however, by the name of his craft, which he repeated loudly. "here yo' is, massa; de marjorie, dat's yo' boat, massa!" i engaged him on the spot and a black patrolman scattered the horde of disappointed applicants. our baggage and ourselves filled the little boat, but we knew we were safe. off we started for the big black steamer, near which i could discern the american man-of-war "cincinnati," bringing a leap of patriotic blood to my heart. home? we were almost at home now, with the stars and stripes floating so near us! the "don" and the "marjorie." what could be more propitious? "i hope you won't scold me, don," said marjorie, in a low voice, "but i have taken a liberty that perhaps i should have spoken about beforehand." "take any liberty you like, sweetheart," i answered. "i am yours now, to do what you please with." she drew off one of her gloves and advancing a hand asked me to inspect it. after doing so for a minute i told her i saw nothing except the dearest hand in the world; upon which i took it up and kissed it. "don't you notice that i am wearing another ring?" she said, flushing. she certainly was: a gold ring at that and a plain one. it was on her wedding finger, too. my first thought was that she had summoned a minister and married me during my illness. this was too good to be true and i at once dismissed it. "you are not yet quite well," she explained, demurely, "and i shall have to be in your cabin frequently. i thought it best to avoid attracting notice, and as i had that ring of my mother's--i just--put it on." how sweet it was of her; how confiding! "but our names on the passenger list?" i said. "that is all arranged. we are mr. and mrs. camwell." it was bliss enough for one day. nothing but the purest thoughts regarding her could enter my head now. she was to be my wife! the next morning she arranged a pleasant way to pass the time. our cabin was very large and roomy, and she said she could go on with my "novel" quite as well there as on shore. she made me recline on my berth, which had no other above it, and dictation was therefore done entirely at my ease. it was undoubtedly better for me to keep my mind actively employed, and the task to which i set myself was a most agreeable one. my darling recorded the lines i gave her, with rapidity, and made very few audible comments that day, although it was evident from the tell-tale expression of her mobile countenance that she was keenly alive to each situation i detailed. the lines that seemed to affect her most were those wherein i confessed the depth, the sincerity and the purity of the love that had sprung up in my heart. she could not complain that i was misrepresenting her own part in these affairs, for i thought no alteration could improve a straightforward statement of the real facts as they appeared to me. she winced a little--i thought more about that afterwards--when i referred to seeing wesson in my stateroom on the pretoria and again when i spoke of meeting him in close converse with edgerly in barbados. the nearest she came to a full stop was when i related the reasons i had for believing wesson stole the book from eggert and was more than likely the thief who had taken the jewels, but after a second her fingers flew over the keys as usual. the waters through which we were passing were smooth as any millpond. i have never seen so calm a sea, and my tranquil mind sorted with it perfectly. there was nothing that could add to my happiness. i believed each revolution of the steamer's screw brought me nearer the goal of my ambition, the possession of my lovely companion as my true and lawful bride. in the meantime i was producing what i had no doubt would give me a successful embarkation on the sea of literary fame, a voyage i had long aspired to take. during the three days the "don" occupied in going from greytown to kingston we accomplished much. marjorie gasped several times when i came to the chapter that detailed my entrance into wesson's room and my success in finding the packet containing the missing diamonds. as i told of my interview with the rascal she grew as pale as chalk, but she did not entirely stop her writing. at last we came to the time when the "novel" itself was begun and she brightened enough to say that we were walking now in our own tracks. but, at the bald revelation of the things i had said to her when i lost my temper, and demanded back the very clothes she wore, she protested. "you are unjust to yourself to put that literally in your story," she said, pleadingly. "your readers will never feel the extent of your provocation. it makes you appear a very detestable character." "it must go in--exactly as it happened," i answered. "i had no valid excuse for the contemptible things i did. the public will consider it all a piece of fiction. i think it necessary to show the extent to which i lost my reason when i believed i had lost you. it is much safer in a novel to abuse the 'hero' than the 'heroine.'" seeing that nothing would move me she went on as i dictated and when the boat was due to arrive at jamaica the next day we had reached the very words you are now reading. i had apparently recovered my strength entirely. that night i slept as soundly as if i had never known illness or mental trouble. in the morning we went early upon deck to see the entrance to the harbor and had a pleasant talk with captain tindall, one of those affable and handsome men that england produces in such numbers and assigns to this duty all over the world. inquiry had convinced me that there was but one suitable place to stay at in kingston--the myrtle bank hotel--and the result proved the wisdom of my choice. while open to some slight criticism--as what hotel is not?--it was on the whole a delightful home to us during our brief stay. there being no more work to do at present i occupied the hours in talks, walks and drives with marjorie, happy as the butterflies among the roses in the pretty park which separates the hotel from the shore. we went one day to visit a camp of soldiers in the suburbs, on another to the constant spring hotel, situated six miles from town in a mountain nook, to castleton gardens and hope gardens, beautiful for situation and high culture, with lovely roads leading to each. again, we took the train to spanish town and drove to bog walk, as pretty a bit of scenery as one could desire. and later we passed several days at mandeville, some fifty miles or so away, a village perched among the hills feet above the sea, where the scent of coffee flowers and orange blossoms fairly filled the delicious air and the thermometer recorded a degree of heat more grateful than that to be found in the lowlands. i noted the mercury at when i went to bed, at when i rose, and at when the sun was in the zenith. i really do not know another spot more charming in any land, in march or april. besides this we visited montpelier, montego bay and port antonio, seeing at the latter place a steamer of the boston fruit company setting sail for the hub with an immense cargo of bananas and oranges. the country thereabout is one field of those fruits, combined with the stately cocoanut palms, while a short distance away tobacco is grown that rivals the famed product of unhappy cuba. on the th we bade farewell to the island, with genuine regret on my part at least, and took the little "beta" of the halifax line for bermuda. before we left kingston a batch of letters was received, some for each of us, and i did not attempt to annoy marjorie this time by prying into her correspondence. my confidence in her was now at its highest point. she did not write any answers, nor did i, as we were so soon to reach home. after three days in bermuda we started for america. i saw that, for some reason, she wanted to return, and with the hope that filled my breast i had no wish to prolong our absence. it was agreed that we would have to separate when we touched land, she to go to her old lodgings and i to mine, but i stipulated that we were to meet again within a very few days and that she was to write me when to expect her. as i saw her enter her carriage, with her baggage strapped behind, i held myself well in hand, though the wish to embrace her at parting nearly overpowered me. "you will write as soon as possible?" i said, interrogatively. "yes," she answered. "i will write; and then, if you still insist, i will come to you." if i still insisted! i did not believe as i saw her wheels disappear in the street that anything could change the resolutions i held so dear! chapter xxiv. the brutal truth. three days passed--three awfully slow days, though i visited harvey hume and tom barton, spent every evening at the theatre, and loafed away many hours at the club, where the boys made me tell them of the islands i had visited and asked my opinion over and over, (as if it amounted to anything) in relation to the probability of a war between the united states and spain. i refused to enlighten harvey at the time in reference to his question whether i had not been quite as happy "without my secretary" as if i had taken one. i said i would have something to tell him one of these days and that he must be content until that time came. tom was the same dear fellow as of yore, but statia, who came in to welcome me, was as sphynx-like as on the eve of my departure. i also had to run in a moment on my uncle dugald, who gave me his hand in his old, impassive manner, and expressed the opinion that i looked better, on the whole, than when i went away. a brief call on dr. chambers completed my list. i thought that excellent gentleman looked a trifle disappointed when i called his attention to my improved physique and said i was as well as i had ever been in my life. i have no wish to do him an injustice, for it was certainly a feather in his cap when he raised me out of the slough of despond and made me fit to travel at all; but it is only natural if professional men are not filled with special delight at announcements that their services are no longer required. on the third evening there came a packet from miss may--at last! an awfully big packet, which set me to wondering what it could possibly contain. i thought as i received it from the messenger that it would have answered for a presidential message to congress on the cuban situation, with all the correspondence that had passed between the united states and spain since the blowing up of the warship. it may be believed i lost no time in tearing open the paper that encircled the missives. inside i found a small envelope marked "open first," and a larger one inscribed, "read this only after you have read the other carefully." all this was so deliberate and so much like a deep plan that i was far from my ease when i complied with the request and cut the smaller envelope. and the reader may well believe that my sensations were not of a very enviable nature when i read these lines: my dear mr. camran: i know no easy way to break the truth i am obliged to send. if you have any doubt of being able to bear a shock without medical attendance do not read what i have placed in the other envelope until you have summoned your physician. i fear it will not be pleasant reading, but you must have the truth. at least, i must keep my promise now of lying only to others and not to you. with this warning, i subscribe myself, for the last time, yours, m.m. april th, . i was surprised at the calmness with which i saw all my hopes blown to the winds in a single paragraph. curiosity was the most pronounced feeling in my mind at the moment. i took a long breath, steadied my nerves for an instant, and then opened the larger envelope. there were typewriter sheets, twelve in number, done, apparently, on a remington machine. and this is what i read: * * * * * prepare yourself to hear the worst about me, my dear friend, for your imagination could hardly make me out a greater scamp than i am. know then, to begin with, your companion in the caribbean was a well-known criminal, whose entire trip with you was planned for the purpose of fraud. if she failed to accomplish that end you must ascribe it to a weak yielding to sentimental considerations, of which she should--from a professional standpoint--be heartily ashamed. if you have survived this statement, read on, and i will be more explicit. i am what is known to the police as a "confidence woman." my usual game is to beguile persons of the opposite sex into "falling in love" with me and then fleece them out of as large a sum as i can do with safety to myself. i may add, without egotism, that i have been fairly successful in this, my chosen field. if you care to get another copy of that book i stopped you from reading at st. thomas, "our rival, the rascal," you will find on one of its pages a fairly accurate portrait of your humble servant, though the name affixed is not by any means the one i thought it wise to give you. one of my favorite methods of making the acquaintance of probable victims is through the advertising columns of newspapers. i have found no better medium for the purpose than the "personals" in the new york herald; it is generally to be supposed that a masculine individual who will use that column or reply to anything contained therein is good game for my purpose. naturally my attention was attracted to your announcement that you wanted a typewritist to accompany you to the west indies for the winter. i wrote as modest and taking an answer as i knew how and the fact that it proved most attractive to you out of a hundred you received justified my judgment. the next thing was to hold you fast, when you came to see me, and here again i flatter myself that i evinced the right sort of talent. i sized you up at the start for what you were--a good-natured, easily-led gentleman of means, who would answer very well for my purpose. now, see how i proceeded: to have accepted your offer at once would have been to awaken your suspicions. i knew better than that, and i played what is technically known as a waiting game. as i look back on our primary interviews and correspondence i do not see a wrong step on my part. i wrote you that i could be seen "only between the hours of two and four," to give you the impression that i was no ordinary girl who would go anywhere, or with any one, and whom you could lead with a thread. you were to come at my hours; i knew you would like that. you came, but it was i who saw and conquered. you told me at once that you had engaged berths for two on the madiana. this showed that you were not likely to back out, but i did not take your word alone. i had a friend verifying your statement at cook's office within an hour after you left my room. had i told you that i would go, that afternoon, you would have had a chance to think it over and perhaps to change your mind. it is the fleeing bird that attracts the attention of the hunter. you gave me the name of "david camwell, lambs club," which before i slept that night i had turned into donald camran, from a list of members which i was easily able to procure. i learned that donald camran was rich; that he was considered erratic; that he answered your description in personal appearance; and that he had been, as you said, recently ill. the next time you adopt a false name do not use your own initials. nine-tenths of the people who do this slip up on that banana peel. when you left my room, that first afternoon, i was as certain you would return as that the sun would rise on the following day. the chapters of the "novel" you afterwards dictated to me prove how entirely accurate i was in my estimates. i take much pride, also, in the second letter i sent you, for i covered my "fly" with attractive colors to dazzle your eye and meet every point likely to arise in your mind. my card was to convince you that i was the very proper young lady i professed to be. to do this without acting the silly prude was a task fit only for such thoroughly trained hands as mine. next i spoke of the matter of compensation, to convince you that i was really a working girl and not a mere adventurer. you had plenty of means and the price of my weekly stipend was not likely to alarm you. as it would really be necessary for me to have considerable money to make a suitable appearance i gently hinted something in relation to that matter, leaving it, however, to your own judgment what should be done. i believe i may claim that in the composition of that letter i showed decided talent. at any rate it accomplished its purpose. when your answer came i knew that i was going. i would not have paid five dollars to be assured of that. but when you returned to me i still had to pretend a little doubt--not too much, that would have spoiled everything. i left it to you to say whether, after all, you really wanted me to take the journey, doing it in a way that alarmed your fears lest you were going to lose me. i had to keep "the scent warm," as the saying is. the rushing way in which you bought my trunks and sent me the first installment of cash would have removed my doubts, had any remained. i then thought i might as well get clothed while i was about it and sent the third letter, which we may call "exhibit c." in that i appealed to the chivalrous part of your nature, arousing your sympathies, and yet without putting myself for one instant in the rôle of a mendicant. "if i am to go i am unwilling to disgrace you"--that was all there was to it. again i was justified by the result. you came as soon as i would let you--i had "gone out of town over new years," you remember, and you showered another lot of bankbills on my head. now here is just where a less experienced person would have made her mistake. seeing how easily you could be induced to disgorge, she would have hinted at expenditures that would have caused a revolt even in your generous brain. i came late on purpose that tuesday morning (i had only been a couple of blocks away) in order to work up the fever that i knew was latent in you. i suggested that you go to the shops, knowing that you would grasp at the chance to occupy so close a position to me as the cab would afford. at altman's i pretended to be shocked at some of the prices, so that you would pronounce them the extremity of cheapness. (how could you do anything else?) and i hinted bashfully at the question of jewelry, knowing that you would send me all i could reasonably expect, as you did the next day. then i went to dine with you in a private room, primarily because i was nearly starved to death, secondarily because i knew it would fasten you to me the closer. i put on that awful blue veil to give you the impression that i had never done such a thing before, when as a matter of fact the waiter who served us knows my face as well as he does his mother's, if he has one. he knew enough to conceal that fact, however, as i am certain, from previous experience, every waiter in that house would have done. now we come to one of the fine points. you did not forget to mention in your description of that evening how i refused to have the door of our _cabinet particulaire_ locked, which you were kind enough to ascribe to maidenly modesty on my part. the fact is, ever since i was imprisoned three years ago for two months, awaiting trial for one of my schemes that went awry, the thought of a turned key on any room i occupy drives me into fits. in that at least i was honest. the scare you gave me in proposing to lock that door took away my appetite to such an extent that i ate, as you have recorded, very sparingly of the excellent dinner. you may remember that i showed similar trepidation at st. thomas, when you suggested that mr. eggert might lock the door of my bedroom. it was enough like a jail with the high fence around the grounds, and i never felt quite easy till we had left the place. i really did not take one good breath there, so vivid is my recollection of the horrible days when high walls and locked doors meant imprisonment. i don't suppose i shall explain everything you will wish to know, but i shall do my best. the next thing that occurs to me is that i refused to allow you to register my name on the madiana's passenger list as "miss may." as this was merely a _nom de guerre_ you will wonder why i objected to its going into print. the fact is that my husband--yes, i am married, and by a minister of the church, too--did not like to have me take that journey without going with me on the boat, while i was sure it was much better for him to remain away. he has no jealousy, as you will immediately imagine--he knows me too well to be guilty of such a senseless thing. i love him with all my soul; and i can take care of myself, if it comes to that, against the persuasions or the force of any living man. he merely wanted to be with me, just as you would want to be with your wife, if you had one and loved her. i knew he was not always a safe companion in a game of this kind, that he had a quick temper and was lacking in judgment in any case where i was concerned; and i told him plainly that this was my affair, that i should manage it alone, if at all, and i should not tell him where you and i were going. as he knew your name, having made the inquiries at your club, he would have a double chance to discover us if he saw mine anywhere in print, and "miss may" was a title he knew i had once before assumed. so i got you to change it to "carney" in hopes to throw him off the track. he proved too shrewd for me, however, as you will agree when i mention that he travelled on the steamer with us under the name of "edgerly." i may as well tell you at this point that the "cruel employer" to whom i alluded so often was a creature of my imagination, and that all the typewriting i have ever done has been for my own profit and amusement in schemes like the present one. if you had recorded me as "miss camwell" i meant to work another racket on you. i expected to institute a suit for breach of promise on my return, not one to be taken to court, but only to use as a lever to pry a few thousands out of your pocket; i would have done this if you had not, contrary to all precedent, made me an honorable offer of your hand, which spoiled my plan in an unforeseen manner. it was with this in view that i went to your rooms several times before we sailed. it is always handy to have evidence ready in a case of this kind and hallboys are excellent witnesses if wanted. don't you think i am a lovely girl, now? and aren't you sorry i am not free to wed. what a charming wife i would make for a man like you! well, to resume, i played what i thought a good card by saying that i should only accept the things you paid for as "the costuming of my part" and return them to you when the show was over. it didn't cost anything to say that and i knew you never would accept them. the little screed that i left on the typewriter at your room was not a bad stroke, either. i flatter myself it was a fair piece of english composition, and although it contained not a word of truth, it answered just as well. it made you think of me with more respect than if you had supposed me a mere waif of the streets. you wondered--didn't you?--why i went to my cabin on the steamer and remained there for part of two days after it started. perhaps you can guess the reason now. i had seen my husband on deck and not being anxious to meet him any sooner than could be helped i kept out of his way. before i did come up i received a note from him, by one of the stewards, detailing the course he intended to adopt, which was simply to act as if he had never seen or heard of me in his life. i could not help a slight uneasiness, though, at his presence, for he is not always as shrewd as a husband of mine should be. i was rather displeased that he had come in spite of my advice; and i felt afraid that he would hamper my movements even if he did not destroy my plans. what made me suspect that man wesson i do not know, unless it was instinct. the moment i set my eyes upon him i put him down for an enemy. i wrote a few lines to my husband, telling him to watch, but he answered that my suspicions were groundless, another proof how much clearer are my intuitions than his. wesson was always prying around. i had some conversations on deck with him when you left me alone, but could come to no positive conclusion except that i wished he was somewhere on shore. i didn't really guess what he was up to until we had landed at st. thomas. chapter xxv. "with his wife, of course." i leave the reader to imagine my feelings, [it is camran writing now] as i read these lines, if he can. to describe them is more than i am able to do. suffice it to say that i read on and on, like one fascinated, and there was no sign of the collapse i might have expected from the dreadful revelations. the catastrophe was too immense to be met in any ordinary way. * * * * * you will now need no confession of mine [continued this strange ms.] to inform you who purloined miss howes' bracelet and your shirtstud. who stole my own jewelry might be a harder riddle, so i will make haste to say that i did that also. it was the easiest way to prevent suspicion falling on my head, though it can hardly be said to have been entirely successful, as mr. howes never had the least doubt of my guilt. i knew that from the first, by the freezing manner he immediately adopted toward me and the chilling way in which his "niece," or friend, as she afterwards proved, used me until i left the boat. i ought to say here that common thefts are not in my line, and that i regret having been drawn into the commission of these acts. my husband urged the deed upon me, and rather than let him run the risk of doing it himself--which he threatened--i yielded to his importunities. he had embarked with very little ready money, on account of recent ill luck at the faro table, and dreaded being stranded in some foreign port without enough to complete his voyage. i was, as you know, powerless to aid him much in any other way. you will naturally inquire why, if this is true, my husband returned to you the money he won at cards, taking your check instead. he did so because i insisted upon it. i told him, at the rate he was going, we should be high and dry on the reefs before we got back to america. there was little sense in killing a goose (i meant you, my dear donald) that was likely to lay golden eggs for a long time if properly tended. wesson worried you at eggert's, didn't he? well, he worried me a great deal more. i had an instinctive fear of him and was at my wits' end to give a reason. i knew also that my husband was waiting for me at st. croix and wished to consult him in regard to several matters. i wished to get away from eggert, the two or three fainting fits i had there were simulated for the purpose of inducing you to cut your stay as short as possible. i wanted you to make the proposal to leave and at last succeeded. i let you kiss the ends of my fingers; and sometimes i pretended to reciprocate your affection, though i could hardly keep from laughing in my sleeve. do you remember the time you bathed my forehead with cologne? i could hardly control my risibles at the pathetic figure you made. oh! it was really too amusing. i took the sea bath every morning, not because i cared for it, but in order to awake your fancies and bind you tighter to my triumphal car. the lovely, silly things you said to me! now, about that book: i saw it long before you did and tried to think of some plan to keep it out of your way. you might notice the similarity in features between miss ---- and myself, if you were allowed to pore over its pages. i had another fear, too, even stronger, for i believe i could have convinced you that the resemblance was merely accidental: i dreaded wesson's sharp eyes if once they got hold of that volume. so it was i--not he, of course--that put the book out of the way, and it was only by my carelessness that he afterwards got his hands on it. i had ceased to have the slightest fear of you; of course, i never had any for myself--i mean, there was nothing about you to endanger the wifely duty i owed to my dear, unhappy husband. you could be handled as easily as a kitten, by touching your sentimental side. do you recall looking in at my screen door and seeing me in the attitude of prayer? why, i had posed in that position, night after night, waiting for you to come! when i asked you to enter, a little later, i knew as well as that i breathed what your answer would be. there never was another man so easy to control. then there was the letter i received from my dear friend helen. all arranged for, copied from one i had left with her--before i sailed--just on purpose for you. i forced that card on you as nicely as any conjurer could have done it, didn't i? and my answer--which you entered my room and read--(excuse me while i go behind the door and smile) that was cooked up for your eyes in the same way. i didn't know that you would go into the room, although i hoped so, but if you hadn't you would have been given the letter to mail, with the unsealed envelope turned so as to attract your attention, and you never would have been able to resist a peep, never. how did you like my description of your beauty? the blonde mustache, the "hazel eyes," the "engaging countenance?" if i had been as silly as that letter indicated, it would not have taken a very gay lothario to accomplish his designs on me. your reiterated offers of marriage convinced me that i could pull that string whenever i was ready. that i have not pulled it is due to the "weak yielding" of which i spoke at the beginning of this letter. professionally, i repeat, it was an error. i could have got a nice little pot out of you if i had kept along that line. but i am not the only member of my "firm" who has weak moments. my husband could not keep himself quiet in that hotel at st. croix, when everything depended on his remaining out of sight. he had to stand in the sitting room and listen to your protestations of affection, until i was frightened out of my wits, for i know what an excitable fellow he is. it is one thing to have your wife let another man make love to her--for a legitimate purpose--and quite another to overhear the burning declarations. i had to play the fainting gag again, in order to send you after water, and--do the best i could--my husband would not run when he heard your returning step. i was in mortal fear that he would kill you and only by the best diplomacy of which i was mistress did i send him away. even then he had not finished. i went into your room at midnight, do you recollect? to keep him from entering there. not altogether to save you from injury--though i would have done that, too--but for fear of the legal entanglements into which his rashness might bring him. and in the morning you sent me that sweet letter of apology! whenever i get the blues i shall only have to take that out and read it. it was so funny! i am afraid you are getting tired of this story, but you might as well have it all. it will cure your complaint called "love," that you have had so severely, if anything will, and that ought to be one comfort. my husband was on the steamer with us when we left st. croix, and--where, do you suppose? in the stateroom with his wife, where a true man should be, of course. i smuggled him in there and kept him hid till we reached barbados, if you please. but the night you and i stayed at martinique, i had a terrible fear that he would come ashore and do something silly. he kept insisting that he had an account which he must settle, sooner or later, with you. so, if you remember, i went into your bedroom and stayed all night, for i knew he would trust me, and that he would not try to touch you in my presence. in the morning you took me back to the steamer, as i had intended you should; and that night and the next i slept again in the arms i love. it was he who was prowling around the hotel des bains, who played the part of mice and ghosts. disguised so that no one on the pretoria recognized him he made his way to land and back again. it wasn't a bad trick, considering. at barbados i made him go to the sea view hotel instead of the marine, though with the greatest difficulty. he is so hard to manage when he sets his mind on anything. it was distinctly foolish for him to be seen walking the street with wesson, for you need never have known he had gone further down the islands than st. croix. then why should he come to the marine in broad daylight, and get into that row, that nearly spilled all the milk? i love the man, i tell you, but i must criticise such conduct. where did wesson get the jewelry? will be the next question in your mind. all i know is that our mutual friend "edgerly" pawned the lot at martinique for four hundred francs and afterwards sold the ticket for more, like a dunce! to the proprietor of the hotel des bains. that is an indication of where wesson got hold of the swag. but why did he let you take it from him without making the least resistance? this is another riddle which you must discover for yourself. i can't fathom it. if you are trying to find anything in my favor because i forgave your insulting language at the time you bade me give up the clothing you had bought, strike it out of your mind. i was merely doing the prudent thing in keeping you quiet until you paid my expenses back to the united states. as to the clothing i knew very well you would never ask for it, in your senses, nor get it, if you did. i finished the work you asked me to do, with the typewriter, to understand exactly how each item in this account seemed to you at the time. now, once more, my dear donald, where does this leave you and me? i might remain in new york without the slightest fear you would molest me, either in person or through the law. no man would like to have this story printed, with his real name, in the daily newspapers; now, would he? neither is it likely that your fondness for your marjorie (ha, ha!) will long outlive the confessions she has so freely made. but i am not going to remain in this city. the haunts that have known me will know me no more. i am going far away, with my husband--my darling husband--and i can promise that your eyes have gazed upon both of us for the very last time. why, now, did i give up attacking your bank account when such a good opportunity still remained? i will tell you, candidly. there are sportsmen, many of them, i trust, who would not shoot a fawn that stood still at their approach. i never supposed there was a man with whom a woman could travel as i travelled with you, who would not give cause to bleed him with a good conscience by the outrageousness of his conduct. i thought, of course, you would be like the rest. in that case the fountains of mercy would have dried up in my bosom and i would have taken the last dollar i could wrench from you without the slightest compunction. it was a game i believed infallible. i had found it, more than once, to work like a charm. there are usually only three moves: st, to convince the male animal that i am pure and wish to remain so; d, to put myself where he believes he can insult me with impunity; d, the insult. i only wanted one move toward the third play on your part to pick you financially to pieces. you did not make it, and i could go no farther. if this leniency of mine is a deadly sin i can only pray that the temptation to commit another like it will not come to me soon. and now, my very dear friend, i must say good-by. take it altogether, my two months with you have not been unhappy ones. on your part, if you have learned your lesson well, the investment you have made ought to yield a fair dividend. forget me, if you can, forgive me at any rate. i have already given up my lodgings, so you need not seek me there. my address is for the present a secret. yours sincerely, "marjorie." donald camran, esq., the lambs. * * * * * i had finished the entire story and yet i sat upright, with my senses all about me. i was going to bear it very well, after all. a knock was heard upon the door of my apartment. the hallboy entered when i bade him do so and handed me a card, with the statement that the gentleman wished to see me on very important business. the name on the card was unknown to me, but i bade the boy send the owner up. it might prove a diversion and anything was welcome that would take my mind from marjorie. i rose and was about to greet the new comer in the usual terms when a sight of his face stopped me. "mr. wesson, what does this mean?" i asked, angrily. "it means," said the person, with all his old coolness, "that mr. wesson has disappeared from the scene, and that i am plain martin daly, of the blinkerdon police, at your service." staggered to the last degree i scanned his card again. it read, "m. daly, boston." "what do you want of me?" i asked, still standing and allowing him to do the same. "in the first place," he answered, "perhaps you will permit me to take a chair. in the second, you may be kind enough to read a letter which i have brought." he took the chair, without waiting for my permission and i received the letter, which i saw at once was addressed in the handwriting of my uncle dugald. my dear nephew [it read]:--this will introduce detective daly of the blinkerdons, who, at my request, has been for eight or nine weeks attending to matters of importance to you. he will show you his bill for services and expenses, which i would suggest deserves your early consideration. if you decline, for any reason, to pay the bill, kindly let me know at once, that i may give him my own check for the amount. yours, etc., dugald camran. new york, april th, . i opened the bill, which had fallen upon the table, and read the following: donald camran, esq., to martin daly, dr. to services ninety days at $ per day $ . to expenses of travel, etc., . to cash paid pawnbroker at martinique and holder of ticket . -------- $ . "what the devil does this mean, sir?" i demanded, very red in the face. "it means," said mr. daly, affably, "that your uncle engaged me to make the west indian voyage in your company and protect you from any designing persons. the price per day was the one he himself fixed, and is somewhat less than i am in the habit of receiving. a desire to visit that part of the world induced me to accept the lower rate. the expenses, i hardly think you will deny, have been kept very reasonable." i reddened more than ever. "in plain english, sir, you have been dogging my footsteps, and desire me to foot the bill." "you or your uncle--it is all the same to me," he responded, quite unruffled. "i think you have had some narrower escapes, sir, than you yet realize." with miss may's confession lying before me on the table i could not well doubt that. still the shame of my position was no less galling. "we can postpone the consideration of that little matter for the present, if you desire," continued daly, for such i must now call him. "what is of more pressing importance, is the examination of jack hazen, or robert edgerly, as you knew him, which is set down for day after to-morrow." "what!" i cried, startled out of myself. "oh, i forgot. you know the check for $ that you gave him when he buncoed you on the madiana? well, he raised that to $ , and was arrested while trying to collect that sum at your bank. after you told me you had given him the check i had just time to stop the swindle by cable." edgerly arrested? poor marjorie! that was all i could think of. "he is an old offender," continued daly, "and will get a sweetener this time. at what hour can i expect you to-morrow at the district attorney's office? twelve o'clock will suit me. twelve? all right. i see you are busy. good day, mr. camran." he was gone and i sat there alone with my reflections. it may readily be guessed they were not agreeable. the only thing i was sure of was that i should pay daly's bill at once, if i had the requisite balance to my credit in the bank; and that i wished he had been in a warmer place than barbados before he ever interfered in my affairs. chapter xxvi. behind the bars. why should i blame poor daly for doing what his profession and the law he followed dictated plainly? why should i blame my uncle dugald for putting me under guardianship, after i was supposed to have reached the years of discretion? these are indeed pregnant questions. if the reader has had neurasthenia and only partially recovered, he will know that the victim of that malady needs no legitimate reason for any fancies that possess him. it is plain to me--now--that in sending daly on my track, my uncle was acting the part of a considerate and thoughtful relation. it is equally clear to me--now--that the conduct of daly, from first to last, deserves the highest praise. instead of demurring for an instant at his bill i would have done well to add $ to it as a present. at the moment he was to me like a blistering plaster, making me think of nothing but the irritation and pain. it is little consolation to be told, under any circumstances, that one has played the part of a fool. i went to dinner at the club moodily, and on returning to my apartments set myself to consuming as many cigars as possible in a given time. they were cigars i had bought from a kingston manufacturer and were decidedly better than many sold under the name of "havanas," since the troubles began in cuba. i must have smoked at least twenty of them before i paused, put on my hat and light overcoat, and went out of doors, to see if the open air would have any effect in clearing the mist that hung over my brain. i walked aimlessly for some time, in various directions, and found myself standing opposite my own windows an hour after i began. i wondered if i would be able to sleep if i went into the house. unconsciousness was the thing most to be desired, it seemed to me. as i had about come to the conclusion to try it, a low voice called my name and its tones filled me with a thrill that was indescribable. "mr. camran!" "yes," i replied, laconically. "i know," said the voice, and i saw the outlines of the figure i remembered so well, "i know--that i have no right--to appeal to your pity--or to ask your aid. i have, unfortunately--no other resource--and--i beg you--as you hope for mercy at the bar of heaven--give me--a few minutes--where i can speak to you--in private." that form was bent, the tears in that voice were real; she was not acting now. "will you come up to my rooms?" i asked. "i should be so thankful!" "come, then." we went in together, astonishing the hallboy somewhat, for to do myself justice, he had never seen me enter at that time of the evening so accompanied. when we were in my sitting room, and the door shut--i did not turn the key, remembering her aversion to locked doors--she began to speak, slowly and tremblingly: "i am overcome with shame--i am plunged in a despair that only you can lighten. i know well--that i deserve nothing--at your hands. i--i have robbed you, insulted you--done everything to earn your hatred and contempt; and yet--" "and yet," i interrupted, for her attitude touched me deeply, "and yet--you have not succeeded in earning either." she sprang up with the evident intention of threwing herself at my feet, but i caught her by the hands--those hands whose touch had given me such delight only a week ago! how cold they were! "let us come to the point," i said, when she was again seated. "your husband is in jail; you found it out after you sent me that confession; and you want me to free him." she rocked herself backward and forward. "you have known what it is to love," she moaned. "you have not known what it is to be wedded. that man is my very life! if they condemn him to a long term in prison they will, at the same time, condemn me to death. i realize how little right i have to appeal to you--but there is no other way. if you testify against us, we are ruined irreparably. oh, mr. camran--don!--if there is one bright memory in your heart in all the days you and i passed together, let that one plead now for a most unhappy woman!" i did not want her to suffer. i had no desire to punish her. had she been unmarried i would have offered her my hand again--yes, after all i knew! "it was not by my wish that your husband was arrested," i said, gently. "in fact, i only learned of it an hour ago." "but you can save him--you, and you alone!" she cried. "what does it mean to you, the money you have lost by us? the check you gave him was never paid, not even the sum for which you wrote it. i know--i know he struck you, he tried to kill you--i know it all! but you escaped unharmed. as for me, i swear to send to-morrow every article you bought--yes, i will get even the money you have paid for my passage and hotel bills. every penny shall be put into your hands before noon--if you will have mercy on us." "marjorie," i answered, "i do not know what i can do, but let me assure you i will do all i can. if any act of mine will set your husband at liberty you may rely on me to perform it." she seemed hardly able to believe that she heard aright. she laughed through her tears, discordantly. "you will do this!" she exclaimed. "you are in earnest? and what are your stipulations? oh! remember how little i have left of womanly honor, and ask nothing i cannot grant." a whiteness had come to her lips at the sudden thought that alarmed her. "i only ask," i answered, shakingly, "that you carry out the purpose of which you spoke in your last letter; that of going far away from this part of the world--where i shall never set eyes on you again. you are to me like a dream that is past: a beautiful dream i must blot from my brain. within a week i shall have forgotten the thorns and recall only the perfume of roses. a year later i hope to forget the roses themselves. marjorie, you are the wife of another man. you are, by your own admission, a woman with whom it would be suicide to link my life. but i love you yet. no, do not start. this is my last word on that subject. after all, you have done something for me. from this day the love of woman will never be esteemed a light thing in my mind. a young roué has had a shock that he will not forget. his idle search for pleasure is ended. i shall be another and a better man--even because i have known you." "and you will save jack?" she said, entreatingly. "i will do all i can--'perjure myself like a gentleman'--if necessary. i think you may be sure of having him set free within a very few days." "what can i do to thank you?" she asked, the tears streaming again from her eyes. "nothing," i said, after a moment of hesitation. for a second i had thought of asking one pure kiss, on the lips. i knew, before the next second had passed that she would refuse it, though her husband's freedom depended on the issue. "nothing," i repeated. as she rose and held out her hands to me in the attitude of parting, i affected not to see the movement. "good-by," i said, huskily. "no; say no more. good-by." at the door to which i allowed her to go alone, she had an instant of doubt. "you would not be so cruel as to deceive me?" she said, trembling. i waved my hand in a negative, but i could not trust myself to speak. i was afraid, terribly afraid, that if she did not go at once i should clasp her, willing or unwilling, in my arms, and crush her mouth with my own. and that i would not have done for the world. * * * * * as early the following morning as i could expect to find harvey hume in his office i was there. having nothing whatever to do, as usual, he drew me into a private room, closed the door and asked to what he was indebted for a call at that hour. "i want to consult you on a legal matter," i said, gravely. "now, do not get excited, for you will need all your wits. listen!" i told him that a man was lying in jail under the charge of having raised the figures on a check of mine; that it was my desire that the man should go free; and that i wanted him to tell me how to accomplish that result. "he is unjustly accused?" he said, interrogatively. "whether he is or not doesn't matter. i want him set at liberty." hume thought deeply for some moments. "did you give him the original check?" he asked. "yes." "then, of course, you remember the figures it bore at that time." "i wouldn't like to swear to them," i said, evasively. "they can't convict him unless you do, if he is well defended." "but," i said, "i don't want him tried at all. i want him released now. isn't there some way to accomplish that?" harvey thought a little longer and finally said he would arrange it. he was to go at once to the jail and unveil his scheme to "edgerly," and afterwards turn up about noon at the district attorney's office. as the clocks were striking twelve i met daly on the steps of the courthouse. he complimented me on my promptness, with a keen look that showed he scented his prey. as we were entering the room of the dispenser of justice, hume came along and addressed me. "i say, camran," he remarked, careful that daly should hear every word, "i am engaged to appear for a poor chap who is up for raising a check of yours. i was just going in to see the district attorney. i must say, the man seems as innocent of wrong as any fellow i ever met." "will you kindly introduce me to this gentleman?" asked daly of me. when this was done, he informed hume that hazen was a well known sharper and that in the present case there was no doubt whatever of his guilt. "mr. camran gave him a check for $ to settle the balance of a game of cards that i will swear was a swindle, for i watched it; and when the check was brought into the bank it had been raised to $ . luckily i got word that the check had been given in time to put the bank people on their guard by cable and he was arrested on the spot." "is this true?" asked the lawyer, of me. "i don't know," i responded, carelessly. "i gave him a check--certainly--but for what amount i am absolutely unable to swear. i was confused at the time--a little put out, naturally--" daly was surveying me with a look of rage. "so you're going to throw it up, are you?" he asked, gutturally. "and one of the prettiest cases i ever worked on, too." "i will mail you the amount of your bill this afternoon," i said, impudently. "the amount of my--" he repeated, dolefully. "yes; but the gain to my reputation that would have resulted--who will compensate me for that? gad, i'll never take hold of another case that has a woman in it! they can knock over the best of us. you can let your check-raiser go, for all of me," he said to the district attorney, as that gentleman came to the threshold. "the evidence seems to have petered out." mr. hume and i talked the matter over with the official, explained the part he took in the affair, and it was arranged that the case would not be brought before the grand jury at all. "i want to say i think you've played it a little low down on a man that interfered to save your life," said daly to me, as he left the building. "but i'll watch for that fellow and you can bet i'll get him on something yet before he dies." i had no wish to argue with him. he was undoubtedly right, from his standpoint. it was enough for me to know i had succeeded in accomplishing what would put the roses into marjorie's cheeks once more. chapter xxvii. "i pressed them to my lips." i was very lonesome for a few weeks after my return. this it was that took me so often to the house occupied by the bartons. tom was immensely glad to see me, at all times, and statia, though still very sober in my society, began to treat me with her old kindness. one day, when hazen was out of jail, and undoubtedly far away from the city, i asked statia if she would like to hear a diary of my journey to the west indies. she hesitated a little, saying finally that her answer would depend a great deal on what the diary contained. i told her how i had put the entire affair, from the beginning, into shape for publication and what i wanted was her opinion of my scheme. while there were many things that might not reflect great credit on me, there was nothing, i believed, that it would be improper for her to hear. she thought a little longer and then asked if she might not read it for herself instead of having it read to her. i accepted the amendment, being in fact glad she suggested it, and brought miss may's ms. to her the very next morning. when a couple of days had passed tom dropped in to say that his sister would like to see me, if i found it convenient to run over. in another hour i was in her presence. she met me with a frown on her pretty face and stood for a minute regarding me silently. "don, have you told the whole truth in that manuscript?" she asked, then. "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me!" i responded with upraised hand. "it is an awful avowal, take it altogether," she said, soberly. "i almost wish you had not brought it to me. i never shall feel quite the same after this. how could a woman of that description so affect a man like you?" "i am not going to discuss that," i answered. "is it worth publishing, that's the point? i have altered every name, you see, so no one not in the secret will recognize a single person involved. it's a rather unusual collection of occurrences, don't you think?" she assented with a nod to the last proposition, and said as for the literary "market" she supposed in its present state it was not over squeamish. "the success of the season is 'quo vadis,'" she added, "and i wasn't able to read half of it. there is at least a lesson to be learned from this experience of yours, if men will only heed the warnings." "thank you," i said, with polite irony, though i didn't agree with her about sienkiewicz' great work. "can you think of anything i might add, to round out the tale, as it were?" a flush came into her face and a slight smile to the corners of her mouth. "yes. you might say that 'statia' admitted to you afterwards that the letters signed 'alice brazier' were her own, copied by a friend in the handwriting of the latter and sent from her residence." my surprise, which was complete, turned the smile into a little laugh at my expense. "and you might say also," she continued, "that during your absence with 'marjorie,' your friend 'tom's' sister was taking lessons in typewriting and became quite proficient in that art. and that she told you, whenever you wanted to take another journey, and needed assistance in literary work, she would apply for the position rather than have you made the victim of any designing creature of her sex." "statia!" i cried, "you have entirely forgiven me?" "entirely," she said. "i couldn't wish you any greater punishment than you have endured." a month passed and one day a box addressed to me was brought to my door by an expressman, with the charges prepaid from some point beyond the rockies. wonderingly i saw it opened and then, at the first glance into the interior, i told the boy who plied the hammer that i would unpack it myself. it contained the entire outfit that "marjorie" had bought with my money--the jewelry included. there were the hats which had adorned her fair head; the gowns that had been draped around her graceful body; the shoes, the hosiery, the lingerie--everything! i took them out slowly, one by one. i pressed them to my lips, letting teardrops fall on each separate article. i could only think of what i had lost--of what, in truth, i had never gained. i put the articles away, finally, locking them securely from all prying eyes. this little note was found in the box, pinned to a scarf: my dear friend:--although you told me you did not want to take your things back, i shall feel better to send them to you. it leaves me in your debt only for the other expenses of my voyage, and perhaps the typewriting i did will in some measure compensate for that. long ago you must have recovered from the tender sentiment with which you used to insist i inspired you, and i hope have also learned to think of me with less aversion than you felt at the last. if i might be permitted to give advice it would be offer your hand and heart to 'statia barton.' you need a wife; i am sure, she would make an excellent one. farewell; this time, forever! m.m. recovered from my love for you? not yet, marjorie, not yet. that will come in time, i trust, but it is still too soon. offer my hand to statia? i would not insult that noble girl again with such a worthless gift. as for my heart, it has not come back to me, and i do not know as it ever will. * * * * * "well," said mr. cook, the senior partner of the dillingham company, as i signed the contract which gave him the right to publish this "novel,"--"you've had what the doctor prescribed, at least." "a new sensation," he explained, as i looked at him inquiringly. the end. special note: if this should meet the eyes of mr. mathew howes of binghamton, or miss howes, they are hereby informed that a diamond bracelet is awaiting its owner at the lambs club. d.c. the popular novels of may agnes fleming the actress' daughter. a changed heart. edith percival. a fateful abduction. maude percy's secret. the midnight queen. norine's revenge. pride and passion. queen of the isle. sharing her crime. the sisters of torwood. wedded for pique. a wife's tragedy. a wronged wife. mrs. fleming's stories have always been extremely popular. their delineations of character, lifelike conversations, the flashes of wit, their constantly varying scenes and deeply interesting plots combine to place their author in an enviable position, which is still maintained despite the tremendous onrush of modern novelists. no more brilliant or stirring novels than hers have ever been published, and, strange as it may seem, the seeker after romance today reads these books as eagerly as did our mothers when they first appeared. _all published uniform, cloth bound. price, cents each, and sent free by mail, on receipt of price by_ g.w. dillingham company publishers new york the fascinating novels of celia e. gardner broken dreams (in verse). compensation (in verse). her last lover. rich medway's two loves. stolen waters (in verse). tested. terrace roses. twisted skein (in verse). a woman's wiles. won under protest. these stories are as far removed from the sensational as possible, yet in matter as well as style, they possess a fascination all their own. the author makes a specialty of the study of a woman's heart. their tone and atmosphere are high; the characterizations good; the dialogue bright and natural. her books have had an enormous sale. _ mo. cloth bound. price, cents each, and sent free by mail, on receipt of price by_ g.w. dillingham company publishers new york the charming novels of julie p. smith blossom bud. courting and farming. kiss and be friends. the married belle. the widower. chris and otho. his young wife. lucy. ten old maids. widow goldsmith's daughter. julie p. smith's books are of unusual merit, uncommonly well written, cleverly developed and characterized by great wit and vivacity. they have been extremely popular, and they still retain to a great degree their former power to charm. her pictures of farm life and of rural conditions are wholesome and finely done. the human interest is never lacking from her stories. _all published uniform, cloth bound. price, cents each, and sent free by mail, on receipt of price by_ g.w. dillingham company publishers new york transcriber's note: obvious typographical and printer errors have been corrected without comment. in addition to obvious errors, the following changes have been made: page : removed the word "be" from the phrase "... who is to be become my employee...." leaving, "... who is to become my employee...." page : changed "profoundedly" to "profoundly" in the phrase, "i was profoundly grateful...." page : changed "an" to "as" in the phrase, "... your face is as innocent as a babe's." other than the above, no effort has been made to standardize internal inconsistencies in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, etc. the author's usage is preserved as found in the original publication. generously made available by the google books library project (https://books.google.com) note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original map. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) images of the original pages are available through the google books library project. see https://books.google.com/books?id=ir naaaaqaaj&hl=en [illustration: map of the caribbean sea] the west indies and the spanish main. by anthony trollope, author of "barchester towers," "doctor thorne," "the bertrams," etc. london: chapman & hall, , piccadilly. . [the right of translation is reserved.] london: printed by william clowes and sons, stamford street contents. chapter i.--introductory ii.--jamaica--town iii.--jamaica--country iv.--jamaica--black men v.--jamaica--coloured men vi.--jamaica--white men vii.--jamaica--sugar viii.--jamaica--emperor soulouque ix.--jamaica--government x.--cuba xi.--the passage of the windward islands xii.--british guiana xiii.--barbados xiv.--trinidad xv.--st. thomas xvi.--new granada, and the isthmus of panamá xvii.--central america. panamá to san josé xviii.--central america. costa rica--san josé xix.--central america. costa rica--mount irazu xx.--central america. san josé to greytown xxi.--central america. railways, canals, and transit xxii.--the bermudas xxiii.--conclusion the west indies and the spanish main. chapter i. introductory. i am beginning to write this book on board the brig ----, trading between kingston, in jamaica, and cien fuegos, on the southern coast of cuba. at the present moment there is not a puff of wind, neither land breeze nor sea breeze; the sails are flapping idly against the masts; there is not motion enough to give us the command of the rudder; the tropical sun is shining through upon my head into the miserable hole which they have deluded me into thinking was a cabin. the marine people--the captain and his satellites--are bound to provide me; and all that they have provided is yams, salt pork, biscuit, and bad coffee. i should be starved but for the small ham--would that it had been a large one--which i thoughtfully purchased in kingston; and had not a kind medical friend, as he grasped me by the hand at port royal, stuffed a box of sardines into my pocket. he suggested two boxes. would that i had taken them! it is now the th january, , and if i do not reach cien fuegos by the th, all this misery will have been in vain. i might as well in such case have gone to st. thomas, and spared myself these experiences of the merchant navy. let it be understood by all men that in these latitudes the respectable, comfortable, well-to-do route from every place to every other place is viâ the little danish island of st. thomas. from demerara to the isthmus of panamá, you go by st. thomas. from panamá to jamaica and honduras, you go by st. thomas. from honduras and jamaica to cuba and mexico, you go by st. thomas. from cuba to the bahamas, you go by st. thomas--or did when this was written. the royal mail steam packet company dispense all their branches from that favoured spot. but i was ambitious of a quicker transit and a less beaten path, and here i am lying under the lee of the land, in a dirty, hot, motionless tub, expiating my folly. we shall never make cien fuegos by the th, and then it will be eight days more before i can reach the havana. may god forgive me all my evil thoughts! motionless, i said; i wish she were. progressless should have been my word. she rolls about in a nauseous manner, disturbing the two sardines which i have economically eaten, till i begin to fear that my friend's generosity will become altogether futile. to which result greatly tends the stench left behind it by the cargo of salt fish with which the brig was freighted when she left st. john, new brunswick, for these ports. "we brought but a very small quantity," the skipper says. if so, that very small quantity was stowed above and below the very bunk which has been given up to me as a sleeping-place. ugh! "we are very poor," said the blue-nosed skipper when he got me on board. "well; poverty is no disgrace," said i, as one does when cheering a poor man. "we are very poor indeed; i cannot even offer you a cigar." my cigar-case was immediately out of my pocket. after all, cigars are but as coals going to newcastle when one intends to be in cuba in four days. "we are very poor indeed, sir," said the blue-nosed skipper again when i brought out my solitary bottle of brandy--for i must acknowledge to a bottle of brandy as well as to the small ham. "we have not a drop of spirits of any kind on board." then i altered my mind, and began to feel that poverty was a disgrace. what business had this man to lure me into his stinking boat, telling me that he would take me to cien fuegos, and feed me on the way, when he had not a mouthful to eat, or a drop to drink, and could not raise a puff of wind to fill his sails? "sir," said i, "brandy is dangerous in these latitudes, unless it be taken medicinally; as for myself, i take no other kind of physic." i think that poverty on shipboard is a disgrace, and should not be encouraged. should i ever be on shore again, my views may become more charitable. oh, for the good ship 'atrato,' which i used to abuse with such objurgations because the steward did not come at my very first call; because the claret was only half iced; because we were forced to close our little whist at p.m., the serjeant-at-arms at that hour inexorably extinguishing all the lights! how rancorous were our tongues! "this comes of monopoly," said a stern and eloquent neighbour at the dinner-table, holding up to sight a somewhat withered apple. "and dis," said a grinning frenchman from martinique with a curse, exhibiting a rotten walnut--"dis, dis! they give me dis for my moneys--for my thirty-five pounds!" and glancing round with angry eye, he dropped the walnut on to his plate. apples! and walnuts!! what would i give for the 'atrato' now; for my berth, then thought so small; for its awning; for a bottle of its soda water; for one cut from one of all its legs of mutton; for two hours of its steam movement! and yet it is only now that i am learning to forgive that withered apple and that ill-iced claret. having said so much about my present position, i shall be glad to be allowed to say a few words about my present person. there now exists an opportunity for doing so, as i have before me the spanish passport, for which i paid sixteen shillings in kingston the day before i left it. it is simply signed pedro badan. but it is headed don pedro badan calderon de la barca, which sounds to me very much as though i were to call myself mr. anthony trollope ben jonson. to this will be answered that such might have been my name. but then i should not have signed myself anthony trollope. the gentleman, however, has doubtless been right according to his spanish lights; and the name sounds very grand, especially as there is added to it two lines declaring how that don pedro badan is a caballero. he was as dignified a personage as a spanish don should be, and seemed somewhat particular about the sixteen shillings, as spanish and other dons generally are. he has informed me as to my "talla," that it is alta. i rather like the old man on the whole. never before this have i obtained in a passport any more dignified description of my body than robust. i certainly like the word "alta." then my eyes are azure. this he did not find out by the unassisted guidance of personal inspection. "ojos, blue," he suggested to me, trying to look through my spectacles. not understanding "ojos," i said "yes." my "cejas" are "castañas," and so is my cabello also. castañas must be chestnut, surely--cejas may mean eyebrows--cabello is certainly hair. now any but a spaniard would have declared that as to hair, i was bald; and as to eyebrows, nothing in particular. my colour is sano. there is great comfort in that. i like the word sano. "mens sana in corpore sano." what has a man to wish for but that? i thank thee once more, don pedro badan calderon de la barca. but then comes the mystery. if i have any personal vanity, it is wrapped up in my beard. it is a fine, manly article of dandyism, that wears well in all climates, and does not cost much, even when new. well, what has the don said of my beard? it is poblada. i would give five shillings for the loan of a spanish dictionary at this moment. poblada! well, my first effort, if ever i do reach cuba, shall be made with reference to that word. oh; we are getting into the trade-winds, are we? let Æolus be thanked at last. i should be glad to get into a monsoon or a simoom at the present moment, if there be monsoons and simooms in these parts. yes; it comes rippling down upon us with a sweet, cool, airy breeze; the sails flap rather more loudly, as though they had some life in them, and then fill themselves with a grateful motion. our three or four sailors rise from the deck where they have been snoring, and begin to stretch themselves. "you may put her about," says the skipper; for be it known that for some hours past her head has been lying back towards port royal. "we shall make fine track now, sir," he says, turning to me. "and be at cien fuegos on the th?" i demanded. "perhaps, sir; perhaps. we've lost twenty-four hours, sir, doing nothing, you know." oh, wretched man that i am! the conveyance from cien fuegos to the havana is but once a week. the sails are still flopping against the yard. it is now noon on the th of january, and neither captain, mate, crew, nor the one solitary passenger have the least idea when the good brig ---- will reach the port of cien fuegos; not even whether she will reach it at all. since that time we have had wind enough in all conscience--lovely breezes as the mate called them. but we have oversailed our mark; and by how much no man on board this vessel can tell. neither the captain nor the mate were ever in cien fuegos before; and i begin to doubt whether they ever will be there. no one knows where we are. an old stove has, it seems, been stowed away right under the compass, giving a false bias to the needle, so that our only guide guides us wrong. there is not a telescope on board. i very much doubt the skipper's power of taking an observation, though he certainly goes through the form of holding a machine like a brazen spider up to his eye about midday. my brandy and cigars are done; and altogether we are none of us jolly. flap, flap, flap! roll, roll, roll! the time passes in this way very tediously. and then there has come upon us all a feeling not expressed, though seen in the face of all, of utter want of confidence in our master. there is none of the excitement of danger, for the land is within a mile of us; none of the exhaustion of work, for there is nothing to do. of pork and biscuits and water there is, i believe, plenty. there is nothing tragic to be made out of it. but comic misery wears one quite as deeply as that of a sterner sort. it is hardly credible that men should be sent about a job for which they are so little capable, and as to which want of experience must be so expensive! here we are, beating up the coast of cuba against the prevailing wind, knowing nothing of the points which should guide us, and looking out for a harbour without a sea-glass to assist our eyes. when we reach port, be it cien fuegos or any other, the first thing we must do will be to ask the name of it! it is incredible to myself that i should have found my way into such circumstances. i have been unable not to recount my present immediate troubles, they press with such weight upon my spirits; but i have yet to commence my journeyings at their beginning. hitherto i have but told under what circumstances i began the actual work of writing. on the th of november, , i left the port of southampton in the good ship 'atrato.' my purposed business, o cherished reader! was not that of writing these pages for thy delectation; but the accomplishment of certain affairs of state, of import grave or trifling as the case may be, with which neither thou nor i shall have further concern in these pages. so much it may be well that i should say, in order that my apparently purposeless wanderings may be understood to have had some method in them. and in the good ship 'atrato' i reached that emporium of travellers, st. thomas, on the nd of december. we had awfully bad weather, of course, and the ship did wonders. when men write their travels, the weather has always been bad, and the ship has always done wonders. we thought ourselves very uncomfortable--i, for one, now know better--and abused the company, and the captain, and the purser, and the purveyor, and the stewards every day at breakfast and dinner; not always with the eloquence of the frenchman and his walnut, but very frequently with quite equal energy. but at the end of our journey we were all smiles, and so was the captain. he was tender to the ladies and cordial to the gentlemen; and we, each in our kind, reciprocated his attention. on the whole, o my readers! if you are going to the west indies, you may do worse than go in the 'atrato.' but do not think too much of your withered apples. i landed at st. thomas, where we lay for some hours; and as i put my foot on the tropical soil for the first time, a lady handed me a rose, saying, "that's for love, dear." i took it, and said that it should be for love. she was beautifully, nay, elegantly dressed. her broad-brimmed hat was as graceful as are those of ryde or brighton. the well-starched skirts of her muslin dress gave to her upright figure that look of easily compressible bulk, which, let 'punch' do what it will, has become so sightly to our eyes. pink gloves were on her hands. "that's for love, dear." yes, it shall be for love; for thee and thine, if i can find that thou deservest it. what was it to me that she was as black as my boot, or that she had come to look after the ship's washing? i shall probably have a word or two to say about st. thomas; but not now. it is a niggery-hispano-dano-yankee-doodle place; in which, perhaps, the yankee-doodle element, declaring itself in nasal twang and sherry cobblers, seems to be of the strongest flavour; as undoubtedly will be the case in many of these parts as years go on revolving. that nasal twang will sound as the bocca romana in coming fashionable western circles; those sherry cobblers will be the falernian drink of a people masters of half the world. i dined at the hotel, but should have got a better dinner on board the 'atrato,' in spite of the withered apples. from st. thomas we went to kingston, jamaica, in the 'derwent.' we were now separated from the large host of spaniards who had come with us, going to peru, the spanish main, mexico, cuba, or porto rico; and, to tell the truth, we were not broken-hearted on the occasion. spaniards are bad fellow-travellers; the spaniard, at least, of the western hemisphere. they seize the meats upon the table somewhat greedily; their ablutions are not plentiful; and their timidity makes them cumbersome. that they are very lions when facing an enemy on terra firma, i do not doubt. history, i believe, tells so much for them. but half a gale of wind lays them prostrate, at all hours except feeding-time. we had no spaniards in the 'derwent,' but a happy jovial little crew of englishmen and englishwomen--or of english subjects rather, for the majority of them belonged to jamaica. the bad weather was at an end, and all our nautical troubles nearly over; so we ate and drank and smoked and danced, and swore mutual friendship, till the officer of the board of health visited us as we rounded the point at port royal, and again ruffled our tempers by delaying us for some thirty minutes under a broiling sun. kingston harbour is a large lagune, formed by a long narrow bank of sand which runs out into the sea, commencing some three or four miles above the town of kingston, and continuing parallel with the coast on which kingston is built till it reaches a point some five or six miles below kingston. this sandbank is called "the palisades," and the point or end of it is port royal. this is the seat of naval supremacy for jamaica, and, as far as england is concerned, for the surrounding islands and territories. and here lies our flag-ship; and here we maintain a commodore, a dock-yard, a naval hospital, a pile of invalided anchors, and all the usual adjuncts of such an establishment. some years ago--i am not good at dates, but say seventy, if you will--port royal was destroyed by an earthquake. those who are geographically inclined should be made to understand that the communication between port royal and kingston, as, indeed, between port royal and any other part of the island, is by water. it is, i believe, on record that hardy subs, and hardier mids, have ridden along the palisades, and not died from sun-stroke in the effort. but the chances are much against them. the ordinary ingress and egress is by water. the ferry boats usually take about an hour, and the charge is a shilling. the writer of these pages, however, has been two hours and a quarter in the transit. chapter ii. jamaica--town. were it arranged by fate that my future residence should be in jamaica, i should certainly prefer the life of a country mouse. the town mice, in my mind, have but a bad time of it. of all towns that i ever saw, kingston is perhaps, on the whole, the least alluring, and is the more absolutely without any point of attraction for the stranger than any other. it is built down close to the sea--or rather, on the lagune which forms the harbour, has a southern aspect, and is hot even in winter. i have seen the thermometer considerably above eighty in the shade in december, and the mornings are peculiarly hot, so that there is no time at which exercise can be taken with comfort. at about a.m., a sea breeze springs up, which makes it somewhat cooler than it is two hours earlier--that is, cooler in the houses. the sea breeze, however, is not of a nature to soften the heat of the sun, or to make it even safe to walk far at that hour. then, in the evening, there is no twilight, and when the sun is down it is dark. the stranger will not find it agreeable to walk much about kingston in the dark. indeed, the residents in the town, and in the neighbourhood of the town, never walk. men, even young men, whose homes are some mile or half-mile distant from their offices, ride or drive to their work as systematically as a man who lives at watford takes the railway. kingston, on a map--for there is a map even of kingston--looks admirably well. the streets all run in parallels. there is a fine large square, plenty of public buildings, and almost a plethora of places of worship. everything is named with propriety, and there could be no nicer town anywhere. but this word of promise to the ear is strangely broken when the performance is brought to the test. more than half the streets are not filled with houses. those which are so filled, and those which are not, have an equally rugged, disreputable, and bankrupt appearance. the houses are mostly of wood, and are unpainted, disjointed, and going to ruin. those which are built with brick not unfrequently appear as though the mortar had been diligently picked out from the interstices. but the disgrace of jamaica is the causeway of the streets themselves. there never was so odious a place in which to move. there is no pathway or trottoir to the streets, though there is very generally some such--i cannot call it accommodation--before each individual house. but as these are all broken from each other by steps up and down, as they are of different levels, and sometimes terminate abruptly without any steps, they cannot be used by the public. one is driven, therefore, into the middle of the street. but the street is neither paved nor macadamized, nor prepared for traffic in any way. in dry weather it is a bed of sand, and in wet weather it is a watercourse. down the middle of this the unfortunate pedestrian has to wade, with a tropical sun on his head; and this he must do in a town which, from its position, is hotter than almost any other in the west indies. it is no wonder that there should be but little walking. but the stranger does not find himself naturally in possession of a horse and carriage. he may have a saddle-horse for eight shillings; but that is expensive as well as dilatory if he merely wishes to call at the post-office, or buy a pair of gloves. there are articles which they call omnibuses, and which ply cheap enough, and carry men to any part of the town for sixpence; that is, they will do so if you can find them. they do not run from any given point to any other, but meander about through the slush and sand, and are as difficult to catch as the musquitoes. the city of havana, in cuba, is lighted at night by oil-lamps. the little town of cien fuegos, in the same island, is lighted by gas. but kingston is not lighted at all! we all know that jamaica is not thriving as once it throve, and that one can hardly expect to find there all the energy of a prosperous people. but still i think that something might be done to redeem this town from its utter disgrace. kingston itself is not without wealth. if what one hears on such subjects contains any indications towards the truth, those in trade there are still doing well. there is a mayor, and there are aldermen. all the paraphernalia for carrying on municipal improvements are ready. if the inhabitants have about themselves any pride in their locality, let them, in the name of common decency, prepare some sort of causeway in the streets; with some drainage arrangement, by which rain may run off into the sea without lingering for hours in every corner of the town. nothing could be easier, for there is a fall towards the shore through the whole place. as it is now, kingston is a disgrace to the country that owns it. one is peculiarly struck also by the ugliness of the buildings--those buildings, that is, which partake in any degree of a public character--the churches and places of worship, the public offices, and such like. we have no right, perhaps, to expect good taste so far away from any school in which good taste is taught; and it may, perhaps, be said by some that we have sins enough of our own at home to induce us to be silent on this head. but it is singular that any man who could put bricks and stones and timber together should put them together in such hideous forms as those which are to be seen here. i never met a wider and a kinder hospitality than i did in jamaica, but i neither ate nor drank in any house in kingston except my hotel, nor, as far as i can remember, did i enter any house except in the way of business. and yet i was there--necessarily there, unfortunately--for some considerable time. the fact is, that hardly any europeans, or even white creoles, live in the town. they have country seats, pens as they call them, at some little distance. they hate the town, and it is no wonder they should do so. that which tends in part to the desolation of kingston--or rather, to put the proposition in a juster form, which prevents kingston from enjoying those advantages which would naturally attach to the metropolis of the island--is this: the seat of government is not there, but at spanish town. then our naval establishment is at port royal. when a city is in itself thriving, populous, and of great commercial importance, it may be very well to make it wholly independent of the government. new york, probably, might be no whit improved were the national congress to be held there; nor amsterdam, perhaps, if the hague were abandoned; but it would be a great thing for kingston if spanish town were deserted. the governor lives at the latter place, as do also those satellites or moons who revolve round the larger luminary--the secretaries, namely, and executive officers. these in jamaica are now so reduced in size that they could not perhaps do much for any city; but they would do a little, and to kingston any little would be acceptable. then the legislative council and the house of assembly sit at spanish town, and the members--at any rate of the latter body--are obliged to live there during some three months of the year, not generally in very comfortable lodgings. respectable residents in the island, who would pay some attention to the governor if he lived at the principal town, find it impossible to undergo the nuisance of visiting spanish town, and in this way go neither to the one nor the other, unless when passing through kingston on their biennial or triennial visits to the old country. and those visits to spanish town are indeed a nuisance. in saying this, i reflect in no way on the governor or the governor's people. were gabriel governor of jamaica, with only five thousand pounds a year, and had he a dozen angels with him as secretaries and aides-de-camp, mortal men would not go to them at spanish town after they had once seen of what feathers their wings were made. it is like the city of the dead. there are long streets there in which no human inhabitant is ever seen. in others a silent old negro woman may be sitting at an open door, or a child playing, solitary, in the dust. the governor's house--king's house as it is called--stands on one side of a square; opposite is the house of the assembly; on the left, as you come out from the governor's, are the executive offices and house of the council, and on the right some other public buildings. the place would have some pretension about it did it not seem to be stricken with an eternal death. all the walls are of a dismal dirty yellow, and a stranger cannot but think that the colour is owing to the dreadfully prevailing disease of the country. in this square there are no sounds; men and women never frequent it; nothing enters it but sunbeams--and such sunbeams! the glare from those walls seems to forbid that men and women should come there. the parched, dusty, deserted streets are all hot and perfectly without shade. the crafty italians have built their narrow streets so that the sun can hardly enter them, except when he is in the mid heaven; but there has been no such craft at spanish town. the houses are very low, and when there is any sun in the heavens it can enter those streets; and in those heavens there is always a burning, broiling sun. but the place is not wholly deserted. there is here the most frightfully hideous race of pigs that ever made a man ashamed to own himself a bacon-eating biped. i have never done much in pigs myself, but i believe that pigly grace consists in plumpness and comparative shortness--in shortness, above all, of the face and nose. the spanish town pigs are never plump. they are the very ghosts of swine, consisting entirely of bones and bristles. their backs are long, their ribs are long, their legs are long, but, above all, their heads and noses are hideously long. these brutes prowl about in the sun, and glare at the unfrequent strangers with their starved eyes, as though doubting themselves whether, by some little exertion, they might not become beasts of prey. the necessity which exists for white men going to spanish town to see the governor results, i do not doubt, in some deaths every year. i will describe the first time i was thus punished. spanish town is thirteen miles from kingston, and the journey is accomplished by railway in somewhat under an hour. the trains run about every four hours. on my arrival a public vehicle took me from the station up to king's house, and everything seemed to be very convenient. the streets, certainly, were rather dead, and the place hot; but i was under cover, and the desolation did not seem to affect me. when i was landed on the steps of the government-house, the first idea of my coming sorrows flitted across my mind. "where shall i call for you?" said the driver; "the train goes at a quarter past four." it was then one: and where was he to call for me? and what was i to do with myself for three hours? "here," i said; "on these steps." what other place could i name? i knew no other place in spanish town. the governor was all that was obliging--as governors now-a-days always are--and made an appointment for me to come again on the following day, to see some one or say something, who or which could not be seen or said on that occasion. thus some twenty minutes were exhausted, and there remained two hours and fifty minutes more upon my hands. how i wished that the big man's big men had not been so rapidly courteous--that they had kept me waiting for some hour or so, to teach me that i was among big people, as used to be done in the good old times! in such event, i should at any rate have had a seat, though a hard one, and shelter from the sun. but not a moment's grace had been afforded me. at the end of twenty minutes i found myself again standing on those glaring steps. what should i do? where should i go? looking all around me, i did not see as much life as would serve to open a door if i asked for shelter. i stood upon those desolate steps till the perspiration ran down my face with the labour of standing. where was i to go? what was i to do? "inhospitalem caucasum!" i exclaimed, as i slowly made my way down into the square. when an englishman has nothing to do, and a certain time to wait, his one resource is to walk about. a frenchman sits down and lights a cigar, an italian goes to sleep, a german meditates, an american invents some new position for his limbs as far as possible asunder from that intended for them by nature, but an englishman always takes a walk. i had nothing to do. even under the full fury of the sun walking is better than standing still. i would take a walk. i moved slowly round the square, and by the time that i had reached an opposite corner all my clothes were wet through. on i went, however, down one dead street and up another. i saw no one but the pigs, and almost envied them their fleshlessness. i turned another corner, and i came upon the square again. that seemed to me to be the lowest depth of all that fiery pandemonium, and with a quickened step i passed through but a corner of it. but the sun blazed even fiercer and fiercer. should i go back and ask for a seat, if it were but on a bench in the government scullery, among the female negroes? something i must do, or there would soon be an end of me. there must be some inn in the place, if i could only find it. i was not absolutely in the midst of the great sahara. there were houses on each side of me, though they were all closed. i looked at my watch, and found that ten minutes had passed by since i had been on my legs. i thought i had wandered for an hour. and now i saw an old woman--the first human creature i had seen since i left the light of the governor's face; the shade i should say, meaning to speak of it in the most complimentary terms. "madam," said i, "is there an inn here; and if so, where may it be?" "inn!" repeated the ancient negress, looking at me in a startled way. "me know noting, massa;" and so she passed on. inns in jamaica are called lodging-houses, or else taverns; but i did not find this out till afterwards. and then i saw a man walking quickly with a basket across the street, some way in advance of me. if i did not run i should miss him; so i did run; and i hallooed also. i shall never forget the exertion. "is there a public-house," i exclaimed, feverishly, "in this ---- place?" i forget the exact word which should fill up the blank, but i think it was "blessed." "pubberlic-house, massa, in dis d----m place," said the grinning negro, repeating my words after me, only that i know _he_ used the offensive phrase which i have designated. "pubberlic-house! what dat?" and then he adjusted his basket on his head, and proceeded to walk on. by this time i was half blind, and my head reeled through the effects of the sun. but i could not allow myself to perish there, in the middle of spanish town, without an effort. it behoved me as a man to do something to save my life. so i stopped the fellow, and at last succeeded in making him understand that i would give him sixpence if he would conduct me to some house of public entertainment. "oh, de vellington tavern," said he; and taking me to a corner three yards from where we stood, he showed me the sign-board. "and now de two quatties," he said. i knew nothing of quatties then, but i gave him the sixpence, and in a few minutes i found myself within the "wellington." it was a miserable hole, but it did afford me shelter. indeed, it would not have been so miserable had i known at first, as i did some few minutes before i left, that there was a better room up stairs. but the people of the house could not suppose but what every one knew the "wellington;" and thought, doubtless, that i preferred remaining below in the dirt. i was over two hours in this place, and even that was not pleasant. when i went up into the fashionable room above, i found there, among others, a negro of exceeding blackness. i do not know that i ever saw skin so purely black. he was talking eagerly with his friends, and after a while i heard him say, in a voice of considerable dignity, "i shall bring forward a motion on de subject in de house to-morrow." so that i had not fallen into bad society. but even under these circumstances two hours spent in a tavern without a book, without any necessity for eating or drinking, is not pleasant; and i trust that when i next visit jamaica i may find the seat of government moved to kingston. the governor would do kingston some good; and it is on the cards that kingston might return the compliment. the inns in kingston rejoice in the grand name of halls. not that you ask which is the best hall, or inquire at what hall your friend is staying; but such is the title given to the individual house. one is the date-tree hall, another blundle's hall, a third barkly hall, and so on. i took up my abode at blundle hall, and found that the landlady in whose custody i had placed myself was a sister of good mrs. seacole. "my sister wanted to go to india," said my landlady, "with the army, you know. but queen victoria would not let her; her life was too precious." so that mrs. seacole is a prophet, even in her own country. much cannot be said for the west indian hotels in general. by far the best that i met was at cien fuegos, in cuba. this one, kept by mrs. seacole's sister, was not worse, if not much better, than the average. it was clean, and reasonable as to its charges. i used to wish that the patriotic lady who kept it could be induced to abandon the idea that beefsteaks and onions, and bread and cheese and beer composed the only diet proper for an englishman. but it is to be remarked all through the island that the people are fond of english dishes, and that they despise, or affect to despise, their own productions. they will give you ox-tail soup when turtle would be much cheaper. roast beef and beefsteaks are found at almost every meal. an immense deal of beer is consumed. when yams, avocado pears, the mountain cabbage, plaintains, and twenty other delicious vegetables may be had for the gathering, people will insist on eating bad english potatoes; and the desire for english pickles is quite a passion. this is one phase of that love for england which is so predominant a characteristic of the white inhabitants of the west indies. at the inns, as at the private houses, the household servants are almost always black. the manners of these people are to a stranger very strange. they are not absolutely uncivil, except on occasions; but they have an easy, free, patronizing air. if you find fault with them, they insist on having the last word, and are generally successful. they do not appear to be greedy of money; rarely ask for it, and express but little thankfulness when they get it. at home, in england, one is apt to think that an extra shilling will go a long way with boots and chambermaid, and produce hotter water, more copious towels, and quicker attendance than is ordinary. but in the west indies a similar result does not follow in a similar degree. and in the west indies it is absolutely necessary that these people should be treated with dignity; and it is not always very easy to reach the proper point of dignity. they like familiarity, but are singularly averse to ridicule; and though they wish to be on good terms with you, they do not choose that these shall be reached without the proper degree of antecedent ceremony. "halloo, old fellow! how about that bath?" i said one morning to a lad who had been commissioned to see a bath filled for me. he was cleaning boots at the time, and went on with his employment, sedulously, as though he had not heard a word. but he was over sedulous, and i saw that he heard me. "i say, how about that bath?" i continued. but he did not move a muscle. "put down those boots, sir," i said, going up to him; "and go and do as i bid you." "who you call fellor? you speak to a gen'lman gen'lmanly, and den he fill de bath." "james," said i, "might i trouble you to leave those boots, and see the bath filled for me?" and i bowed to him. "'es, sir," he answered, returning my bow; "go at once." and so he did, perfectly satisfied. had he imagined, however, that i was quizzing him, in all probability he would not have gone at all. there will be those who will say that i had received a good lesson; and perhaps i had. but it would be rather cumbersome if we were forced to treat our juvenile servants at home in this manner--or even those who are not juvenile. i must say this for the servants, that i never knew them to steal anything, or heard of their doing so from any one else. if any one deserves to be robbed, i deserve it; for i leave my keys and my money everywhere, and seldom find time to lock my portmanteau. but my carelessness was not punished in jamaica. and this i think is the character of the people as regards absolute personal property--personal property that has been housed and garnered--that has, as it were, been made the possessor's very own. there can be no more diligent thieves than they are in appropriating to themselves the fruits of the earth while they are still on the trees. they will not understand that this is stealing. nor can much be said for their honesty in dealing. there is a great difference between cheating and stealing in the minds of many men, whether they be black or white. there are good shops in kingston, and i believe that men in trade are making money there. i cannot tell on what principle prices range themselves as compared with those in england. some things are considerably cheaper than with us, and some much, very much dearer. a pair of excellent duck trousers, if i may be excused for alluding to them, cost me eighteen shillings when made to order. whereas, a pair of evening white gloves could not be had under four-and-sixpence. that, at least, was the price charged, though i am bound to own that the shop-boy considerately returned me sixpence, discount for ready money. the men in the shops are generally of the coloured race, and they are also extremely free and easy in their manners. from them this is more disagreeable than from the negroes. "four-and-sixpence for white gloves!" i said; "is not that high?" "not at all, sir; by no means. we consider it rather cheap. but in kingston, sir, you must not think about little economies." and he leered at me in a very nauseous manner as he tied his parcel. however, i ought to forgive him, for did he not return to me sixpence discount, unasked? there are various places of worship in kingston, and the negroes are fond of attending them. but they love best that class of religion which allows them to hear the most of their own voices. they are therefore fond of baptists; and fonder of the wesleyans than of the church of england. many also are roman catholics. their singing-classes are constantly to be heard as one walks through the streets. no religion is worth anything to them which does not offer the allurement of some excitement. very little excitement is to be found in the church-of-england kingston parish church. the church itself, with its rickety pews, and creaking doors, and wretched seats made purposely so as to render genuflexion impossible, and the sleepy, droning, somnolent service are exactly what was so common in england twenty years since; but which are common no longer, thanks to certain much-abused clerical gentlemen. not but that it may still be found in england if diligently sought for. but i must not finish my notice on the town of kingston without a word of allusion to my enemies, the musquitoes. let no european attempt to sleep there at any time of the year without musquito-curtains. if he do, it will only be an attempt; which will probably end in madness and fever before morning. nor will musquito-curtains suffice unless they are brushed out with no ordinary care, and then tucked in; and unless, also, the would-be-sleeper, after having cunningly crept into his bed at the smallest available aperture, carefully pins up that aperture. your kingston musquito is the craftiest of insects, and the most deadly. chapter iii. jamaica--country. i have spoken in disparaging terms of the chief town in jamaica, but i can atone for this by speaking in very high terms of the country. in that island one would certainly prefer the life of the country mouse. there is scenery in jamaica which almost equals that of switzerland and the tyrol; and there is also, which is more essential, a temperature among the mountains in which a european can live comfortably. i travelled over the greater part of the island, and was very much pleased with it. the drawbacks on such a tour are the expensiveness of locomotion, the want of hotels, and the badness of the roads. as to cost, the tourist always consoles himself by reflecting that he is going to take the expensive journey once, and once only. the badness of the roads forms an additional excitement; and the want of hotels is cured, as it probably has been caused, by the hospitality of the gentry. and they are very hospitable--and hospitable, too, under adverse circumstances. in olden times, when nobody anywhere was so rich as a jamaica planter, it was not surprising that he should be always glad to see his own friends and his friends' friends, and their friends. such visits dissipated the ennui of his own life, and the expense was not appreciable--or, at any rate, not undesirable. an open house was his usual rule of life. but matters are much altered with him now. if he be a planter of the olden days, he will have passed through fire and water in his endeavours to maintain his position. if, as is more frequently the case, he be a man of new date on his estate, he will probably have established himself with a small capital; and he also will have to struggle. but, nevertheless, the hospitality is maintained, perhaps not on the olden scale, yet on a scale that by no means requires to be enlarged. "it is rather hard on us," said a young planter to me, with whom i was on terms of sufficient intimacy to discuss such matters--"we send word to the people at home that we are very poor. they won't quite believe us, so they send out somebody to see. the somebody comes, a pleasant-mannered fellow, and we kill our little fatted calf for him; probably it is only a ewe lamb. we bring out our bottle or two of the best, that has been put by for a gala day, and so we make his heart glad. he goes home, and what does he say of us? these jamaica planters are princes--the best fellows living; i liked them amazingly. but as for their poverty, don't believe a word of it. they swim in claret, and usually bathe in champagne. now that is hard, seeing that our common fare is salt fish and rum and water." i advised him in future to receive such inquirers with his ordinary fare only. "yes," said he, "and then we should get it on the other cheek. we should be abused for our stinginess. no jamaica man could stand that." it is of course known that the sugar-cane is the chief production of jamaica; but one may travel for days in the island and only see a cane piece here and there. by far the greater portion of the island is covered with wild wood and jungle--what is there called bush. through this, on an occasional favourable spot, and very frequently on the roadsides, one sees the gardens or provision-grounds of the negroes. these are spots of land cultivated by them, for which they either pay rent, or on which, as is quite as common, they have squatted without payment of any rent. these provision-grounds are very picturesque. they are not filled, as a peasant's garden in england or in ireland is filled, with potatoes and cabbages, or other vegetables similarly uninteresting in their growth; but contain cocoa-trees, breadfruit-trees, oranges, mangoes, limes, plantains, jack fruit, sour-sop, avocado pears, and a score of others, all of which are luxuriant trees, some of considerable size, and all of them of great beauty. the breadfruit-tree and the mango are especially lovely, and i know nothing prettier than a grove of oranges in jamaica. in addition to this, they always have the yam, which is with the negro somewhat as the potato is with the irishman; only that the irishman has nothing else, whereas the negro generally has either fish or meat, and has also a score of other fruits besides the yam. the yam, too, is picturesque in its growth. as with the potato, the root alone is eaten, but the upper part is fostered and cared for as a creeper, so that the ground may be unencumbered by its thick tendrils. support is provided for it as for grapes or peas. then one sees also in these provision-grounds patches of coffee and arrowroot, and occasionally also patches of sugar-cane. a man wishing to see the main features of the whole island, and proceeding from kingston as his head-quarters, must take two distinct tours, one to the east and the other to the west. the former may be best done on horseback, as the roads are, one may say, non-existent for a considerable portion of the way, and sometimes almost worse than non-existent in other places. one of the most remarkable characteristics of jamaica is the copiousness of its rivers. it is said that its original name, xaymaca, signifies a country of streams; and it certainly is not undeserved. this copiousness, though it adds to the beauty, as no doubt it does also to its salubrity and fertility, adds something too to the difficulty of locomotion. bridges have not been built, or, sad to say, have been allowed to go to destruction. one hears that this river or that river is "down," whereby it is signified that the waters are swollen; and some of the rivers when so down are certainly not easy of passage. such impediments are more frequent in the east than elsewhere, and on this account travelling on horseback is the safest as well as the most expeditious means of transit. i found four horses to be necessary, one for the groom, one for my clothes, and two for myself. a lighter weight might have done with three. an englishman feels some bashfulness in riding up to a stranger's door with such a cortége, and bearing as an introduction a message from somebody else, to say that you are to be entertained. but i always found that such a message was a sufficient passport. "it is our way," one gentleman said to me, in answer to my apology. "when four or five come in for dinner after ten o'clock at night, we do think it hard, seeing that meat won't keep in this country." hotels, as an institution, are, on the whole, a comfortable arrangement. one prefers, perhaps, ordering one's dinner to asking for it; and many men delight in the wide capability of finding fault which an inn affords. but they are very hostile to the spirit of hospitality. the time will soon come when the backwoodsman will have his tariff for public accommodation, and an arab will charge you a fixed price for his pipe and cup of coffee in the desert. but that era has not yet been reached in jamaica. crossing the same river four-and-twenty times is tedious; especially if this is done in heavy rain, when the road is a narrow track through thickly-wooded ravines, and when an open umbrella is absolutely necessary. but so often had we to cross the waag-water in our route from kingston to the northern shore. it was here that i first saw the full effect of tropical vegetation, and i shall never forget it. perhaps the most graceful of all the woodland productions is the bamboo. it grows either in clusters, like clumps of trees in an english park, or, as is more usual when found in its indigenous state, in long rows by the riversides. the trunk of the bamboo is a huge hollow cane, bearing no leaves except at its head. one such cane alone would be uninteresting enough. but their great height, the peculiarly graceful curve of their growth, and the excessive thickness of the drooping foliage of hundreds of them clustered together produce an effect which nothing can surpass. the cotton-tree is almost as beautiful when standing alone. the trunk of this tree grows to a magnificent height, and with magnificent proportions: it is frequently straight; and those which are most beautiful throw out no branches till they have reached a height greater than that of any ordinary tree with us. nature, in order to sustain so large a mass, supplies it with huge spurs at the foot, which act as buttresses for its support, connecting the roots immediately with the trunk as much as twenty feet above the ground. i measured more than one, which, including the buttresses, were over thirty feet in circumference. then from its head the branches break forth in most luxurious profusion, covering an enormous extent of ground with their shade. but the most striking peculiarity of these trees consists in the parasite plants by which they are enveloped, and which hang from their branches down to the ground with tendrils of wonderful strength. these parasites are of various kinds, the fig being the most obdurate with its embraces. it frequently may be seen that the original tree has departed wholly from sight, and i should imagine almost wholly from existence; and then the very name is changed, and the cotton-tree is called a fig-tree. in others the process of destruction may be observed, and the interior trunk may be seen to be stayed in its growth and stunted in its measure by the creepers which surround it. this pernicious embrace the natives describe as "the scotchman hugging the creole." the metaphor is sufficiently satirical upon our northern friends, who are supposed not to have thriven badly in their visits to the western islands. but it often happens that the tree has reached its full growth before the parasites have fallen on it, and then, in place of being strangled, it is adorned. every branch is covered with a wondrous growth--with plants of a thousand colours and a thousand sorts. some droop with long and graceful tendrils from the boughs, and so touch the ground; while others hang in a ball of leaves and flowers, which swing for years, apparently without changing their position. the growth of these parasite plants must be slow, though it is so very rich. a gentleman with whom i was staying, and in whose grounds i saw by far the most lovely tree of this description that met my sight, assured me that he had watched it closely for more than twenty years, and that he could trace no difference in the size or arrangement of the parasite plants by which it was surrounded. we went across the island to a little village called annotta bay, traversing the waag-water twenty-four times, as i have said; and from thence, through the parishes of metcalf and st. george, to port antonio. "fuit ilium et ingens gloria." this may certainly be said of port antonio and the adjacent district. it was once a military station, and the empty barracks, standing so beautifully over the sea, on an extreme point of land, are now waiting till time shall reduce them to ruin. the place is utterly desolate, though not yet broken up in its desolation, as such buildings quickly become when left wholly untenanted. a rusty cannon or two still stand at the embrasures, watching the entrance to the fort; and among the grass we found a few metal balls, the last remains of the last ordnance supplies. but port antonio was once a goodly town, and the country round it, the parish of portland, is as fertile as any in the island. but now there is hardly a sugar estate in the whole parish. it is given up to the growth of yams, cocoas, and plantains. it has become a provision-ground for negroes, and the palmy days of the town are of course gone. nevertheless, there was a decent little inn at port antonio, which will always be memorable to me on account of the love sorrows of a young maiden whom i chanced to meet there. the meeting was in this wise:-- i was sitting in the parlour of the inn, after dinner, when a young lady walked in, dressed altogether in white. and she was well dressed, and not without the ordinary decoration of crinoline and ribbons. she was of the coloured race; and her jet black, crisp, yet wavy hair was brushed back in a becoming fashion. whence she came or who she was i did not know, and never learnt. that she was familiar in the house i presumed from her moving the books and little ornaments on the table, and arranging the cups and shells upon a shelf. "heigh-ho!" she ejaculated, when i had watched her for about a minute. i hardly knew how to accost her, for i object to the word miss, as standing alone; and yet it was necessary that i should accost her. "ah, well: heigh-ho!" she repeated. it was easy to perceive that she had a grief to tell. "lady," said i--i felt that the address was somewhat stilted, but in the lack of any introduction i knew not how else to begin--"lady, i fear that you are in sorrow?" "sorrow enough!" said she. "i'se in de deepest sorrow. heigh-ho me! well, de world will end some day," and turning her face full upon me, she crossed her hands. i was seated on a sofa, and she came and sat beside me, crossing her hands upon her lap, and looking away to the opposite wall. i am not a very young man; and my friends have told me that i show strongly that steady married appearance of a paterfamilias which is so apt to lend assurance to maiden timidity. "it will end some day for us all," i replied. "but with you, it has hardly yet had its beginning." "'tis a very bad world, and sooner over de better. to be treated so's enough to break any girl's heart; it is! my heart's clean broke, i know dat." and as she put both her long, thin dark hands to her side, i saw that she had not forgotten her rings. "it is love then that ails you?" "no!" she said this very sharply, turning full round upon me, and fixing her large black eyes upon mine. "no, i don't love him one bit; not now, and never again. no, not if he were down dere begging." and she stamped her little foot upon the ground as though she had an imaginary neck beneath her heel. "but you did love him?" "yes." she spoke very softly now, and shook her head gently. "i did love him--oh, so much! he was so handsome, so nice! i shall never see such a man again: such eyes; such a mouth! and then his nose! he was a jew, you know." i had not known it before, and received the information perhaps with some little start of surprise. "served me right; didn't it? and i'se a baptist, you know. they'd have read me out, i know dat. but i didn't seem to mind it den." and then she gently struck one hand with the other, as she smiled sweetly in my face. the trick is customary with the coloured women in the west indies when they have entered upon a nice familiar, pleasant bit of chat. at this period i felt myself to be sufficiently intimate with her to ask her name. "josephine; dat's my name. d'you like dat name?" "it's as pretty as its owner--nearly." "pretty! no; i'se not pretty. if i was pretty, he'd not have left me so. he used to call me feeny." "what! the jew did." i thought it might be well to detract from the merit of the lost admirer. "a girl like you should have a christian lover." "dat's what dey all says." "of course they do: you ought to be glad it's over." "i ain't tho'; not a bit; tho' i do hate him so. oh, i hate him; i hate him! i hate him worse dan poison." and again her little foot went to work. i must confess that it was a pretty foot; and as for her waist, i never saw one better turned, or more deftly clothed. her little foot went to work upon the floor, and then clenching her small right hand, she held it up before my face as though to show me that she knew how to menace. i took her hand in mine, and told her that those fingers had not been made for threats. "you are a christian," said i, "and should forgive." "i'se a baptist," she replied; "and in course i does forgive him: i does forgive him; but--! he'll be wretched in this life, i know; and she--she'll be wretcheder; and when he dies--oh-h-h-h!" in that prolonged expression there was a curse as deep as any that ernulphus ever gave. alas! such is the forgiveness of too many a christian! "as for me, i wouldn't demean myself to touch de hem of her garment! poor fellow! what a life he'll have; for she's a virgo with a vengeance." this at the moment astonished me; but from the whole tenor of the lady's speech i was at once convinced that no satirical allusion was intended. in the hurry of her fluttering thoughts she had merely omitted the letter "a." it was her rival's temper, not her virtue, that she doubted. "the jew is going to be married then?" "he told her so; but p'raps he'll jilt her too, you know." it was easy to see that the idea was not an unpleasant one. "and then he'll come back to you?" "yes, yes; and i'll spit at him;" and in the fury of her mind she absolutely did perform the operation. "i wish he would; i'd sit so, and listen to him;" and she crossed her hands and assumed an air of dignified quiescence which well became her. "i'd listen every word he say; just so. every word till he done; and i'd smile"--and she did smile--"and den when he offer me his hand"--and she put out her own--"i'd spit at him, and leave him so." and rising majestically from her seat she stalked out of the room. as she fully closed the door behind her, i thought that the interview was over, and that i should see no more of my fair friend; but in this i was mistaken. the door was soon reopened, and she again seated herself on the sofa beside me. "your heart would permit of your doing that?" said i; "and he with such a beautiful nose?" "yes; it would. i'd 'spise myself to take him now, if he was ever so beautiful. but i'se sure of this, i'll never love no oder man--never again. he did dance so genteelly." "a baptist dance!" i exclaimed. "well; it wasn't de ting, was it? and i knew i'd be read out; oh, but it was so nice! i'll never have no more dancing now. i've just taken up with a class now, you know, since he's gone." "taken up with a class?" "yes; i teaches the nigger children; and i has a card for the minister. i got four dollars last week, and you must give me something." now i hate baptists--as she did her lover--like poison; and even under such pressure as this i could not bring myself to aid in their support. "you very stingy man! caspar isaacs"--he was her lost lover--"gave me a dollar." "but perhaps you gave him a kiss." "perhaps i did," said she. "but you may be quite sure of this, quite; i'll never give him anoder," and she again slapped one hand upon the other, and compressed her lips, and gently shook her head as she made the declaration, "i'll never give him anoder kiss--dat's sure as fate." i had nothing further to say, and began to feel that i ought not to detain the lady longer. we sat together, however, silent for a while, and then she arose and spoke to me standing. "i'se in a reg'lar difficulty now, however; and it's just about that i am come to ask you." "well, josephine, anything that i can do to help you--" "'tain't much; i only want your advice. i'se going to kingston, you see." "ah, you'll find another lover there." "it's not for dat den, for i don't want none; but i'se going anyways, 'cause i live dere." "oh, you live at kingston?" "course i does. and i'se no ways to go but just in de droger"--the west indian coasting vessels are so called. "don't you like going in the droger?" i asked. "oh, yes; i likes it well enough." "are you sea-sick?" "oh, no." "then what's the harm of the droger?" "why, you see"--and she turned away her face and looked towards the window--"why you see, isaacs is the captain of her, and 'twill be so odd like." "you could not possibly have a better opportunity for recovering all that you have lost." "you tink so?" "certainly." "den you know noting about it. i will never recover noting of him, never. bah! but i tell you what i'll do. i'll pay him my pound for my passage; and den it'll be a purely 'mercial transaction." on this point i agreed with her, and then she offered me her hand with the view of bidding me farewell. "good-bye, josephine," i said; "perhaps you would be happier with a christian husband." "p'raps i would; p'raps better with none at all. but i don't tink i'll ever be happy no more. 'tis so dull: good-bye." were i a girl, i doubt whether i also would not sooner dance with a jew than pray with a baptist. "good-bye, josephine." i pressed her hand, and so she went, and i never saw nor heard more of her. there was not about my josephine all the pathos of maria; nor can i tell my story as sterne told his. but josephine in her sorrow was i think more true to human nature than maria. it may perhaps be possible that sterne embellished his facts. i, at any rate, have not done that. i had another adventure at port antonio. about two o'clock in the morning there was an earthquake, and we were all nearly shaken out of our beds. some one rushed into my room, declaring that not a stone would be left standing of port royal. there were two distinct blows, separated by some seconds, and a loud noise was heard. i cannot say that i was frightened, as i had not time to realize the fact of the earthquake before it was all over. no harm was done, i believe, anywhere, beyond the disseverance of a little plaster from the walls. the largest expanse of unbroken cane-fields in jamaica is at the extreme south-east, in the parish of st. george's in the east. here i saw a plain of about four thousand acres under canes. it looked to be prosperous; but i was told by the planter with whom i was staying that the land had lately been deluged with water; that the canes were covered with mud; and that the crops would be very short. poor jamaica! it seems as though all the elements are in league against her. i was not sorry to return to kingston from this trip, for i was tired of the saddle. in jamaica everybody rides, but nobody seems to get much beyond a walk. now to me there is no pace on horseback so wearying as an unbroken walk. i did goad my horse into trotting, but it was clear that the animal was not used to it. shortly afterwards i went to the west. the distances here were longer, but the journey was made on wheels, and was not so fatiguing. moreover, i stayed some little time with a friend in one of the distant parishes of the island. the scenery during the whole expedition was very grand. the road goes through spanish town, and then divides itself, one road going westward by the northern coast, and the other by that to the south. i went by the former, and began my journey by the bog or bogue walk, a road through a magnificent ravine, and then over mount diabolo. the devil assumes to himself all the finest scenery in all countries. of a delicious mountain tarn he makes his punch-bowl; he loves to leap from crag to crag over the wildest ravines; he builds picturesque bridges in most impassable sites; and makes roads over mountains at gradients not to be attempted by the wildest engineer. the road over mount diabolo is very fine, and the view back to kingston very grand. from thence i went down into the parish of st. anns, on the northern side. they all speak of st. anns as being the most fertile district in the island. the inhabitants are addicted to grazing rather than sugarmaking, and thrive in that pursuit very well. but all jamaica is suited for a grazing-ground, and all the west indies should be the market for their cattle. on the northern coast there are two towns, falmouth and montego bay, both of which are, at any rate in appearance, more prosperous than kingston. i cannot say that the streets are alive with trade; but they do not appear to be so neglected, desolate, and wretched as the metropolis or the seat of government. they have jails and hospitals, mayors and magistrates, and are, except in atmosphere, very like small country towns in england. the two furthermost parishes of jamaica are hanover and westmoreland, and i stayed for a short time with a gentleman who lives on the borders of the two. i certainly was never in a more lovely country. he was a sugar planter; but the canes and sugar, which, after all, are ugly and by no means savoury appurtenances, were located somewhere out of sight. as far as i myself might know, from what i saw, my host's ordinary occupations were exactly those of a country gentleman in england. he fished and shot, and looked after his estate, and acted as a magistrate; and over and above this, was somewhat particular about his dinner, and the ornamentation of the land immediately round his house. i do not know that fate can give a man a pleasanter life. if, however, he did at unseen moments inspect his cane-holes, and employ himself among the sugar hogsheads and rum puncheons, it must be acknowledged that he had a serious drawback on his happiness. country life in jamaica certainly has its attractions. the day is generally begun at six o'clock, when a cup of coffee is brought in by a sable minister. i believe it is customary to take this in bed, or rather on the bed; for in jamaica one's connection with one's bed does not amount to getting into it. one gets within the musquito net, and then plunges about with a loose sheet, which is sometimes on and sometimes off. with the cup of coffee comes a small modicum of dry toast. after that the toilet progresses, not at a rapid pace. a tub of cold water and dilettante dressing will do something more than kill an hour, so that it is half-past seven or eight before one leaves one's room. when one first arrives in the west indies, one hears much of early morning exercise, especially for ladies; and for ladies, early morning exercise is the only exercise possible. but it appeared to me that i heard more of it than i saw. and even as regards early travelling, the eager promise was generally broken. an assumed start at five a.m. usually meant seven; and one at six, half-past eight. this, however, is the time of day at which the sugar grower is presumed to look at his canes, and the grazier to inspect his kine. at this hour--eight o'clock, that is--the men ride, and _sometimes_ also the ladies. and when the latter ceremony does take place, there is no pleasanter hour in all the four-and-twenty. at ten or half-past ten the nation sits down to breakfast; not to a meal, my dear mrs. jones, consisting of tea and bread and butter, with two eggs for the master of the family and one for the mistress; but a stout, solid banquet, consisting of fish, beefsteaks--a breakfast is not a breakfast in the west indies without beefsteaks and onions, nor is a dinner so to be called without bread and cheese and beer--potatoes, yams, plaintains, eggs, and half a dozen "tinned" productions, namely, meats sent from england in tin cases. though they have every delicacy which the world can give them of native production, all these are as nothing, unless they also have something from england. then there are tea and chocolate upon the table, and on the sideboard beer and wine, rum and brandy. 'tis so that they breakfast at rural quarters in jamaica. then comes the day. ladies may not subject their fair skin to the outrages of a tropical sun, and therefore, unless on very special occasions, they do not go out between breakfast and dinner. that they occupy themselves well during the while, charity feels convinced. sarcasm, however, says that they do not sin from over energy. for my own part, i do not care a doit for sarcasm. when their lords reappear, they are always found smiling, well-dressed, and pretty; and then after dinner they have but one sin--there is but one drawback--they will go to bed at o'clock. but by the men during the day it did not seem to me that the sun was much regarded, or that it need be much regarded. one cannot and certainly should not walk much; and no one does walk. a horse is there as a matter of course, and one walks upon that; not a great beast sixteen hands high, requiring all manner of levers between its jaws, capricoling and prancing about, and giving a man a deal of work merely to keep his seat and look stately; but a canny little quiet brute, fed chiefly on grass, patient of the sun, and not inclined to be troublesome. with such legs under him, and at a distance of some twenty miles from the coast, a man may get about in jamaica pretty nearly as well as he can in england. i saw various grazing farms--pens they are here called--while i was in this part of the country; and i could not but fancy that grazing should in jamaica be the natural and most beneficial pursuit of the proprietor, as on the other side of the atlantic it certainly is in ireland. i never saw grass to equal the guinea grass in some of the parishes; and at knockalva i looked at hereford cattle which i have rarely, if ever, seen beaten at any agricultural show in england. at present the island does not altogether supply itself with meat; but it might do so, and supply, moreover, nearly the whole of the remaining west indies. proprietors of land say that the sea transit is too costly. of course it is at present; the trade not yet existing; for indeed, at present there is no means of such transit. but screw steamers now always appear quickly enough wherever freight offers itself; and if the cattle were there, they would soon find their way down to the windward islands. but i am running away from my day. the inspection of a pen or two, perhaps occasionally of the sugar works when they are about, soon wears through the hours, and at five preparations commence for the six o'clock dinner. the dressing again is a dilettante process, even for the least dandified of mankind. it is astonishing how much men think, and must think, of their clothes when within the tropics. dressing is necessarily done slowly, or else one gets heated quicker than one has cooled down. and then one's clothes always want airing, and the supply of clean linen is necessarily copious, or, at any rate, should be so. let no man think that he can dress for dinner in ten minutes because he is accustomed to do so in england. he cannot brush his hair, or pull on his boots, or fasten his buttons at the same pace he does at home. he dries his face very leisurely, and sits down gravely to rest before he draws on his black pantaloons. dressing for dinner, however, is _de rigeur_ in the west indies. if a black coat, &c., could be laid aside anywhere as barbaric, and light loose clothing adopted, this should be done here. the soldiers, at least the privates, are already dressed as zouaves; and children and negroes are hardly dressed at all. but the visitor, victim of tropical fashionable society, must appear in black clothing, because black clothing is the thing in england. "the governor won't see you in that coat," was said to me once on my way to spanish town, "even on a morning." the governor did see me, and as far as i could observe did not know whether or no i had on any coat. such, however, is the feeling of the place. but we shall never get to dinner. this again is a matter of considerable importance, as, indeed, where is it not? while in england we are all writing letters to the 'times,' to ascertain how closely we can copy the vices of apicius on eight hundred pounds a year, and complaining because in our perverse stupidity we cannot pamper our palates with sufficient variety, it is not open to us to say a word against the luxuries of a west indian table. we have reached the days when a man not only eats his best, but complains bitterly and publicly because he cannot eat better; when we sigh out loud because no horace will teach us where the sweetest cabbage grows; how best to souse our living poultry, so that their fibres when cooked may not offend our teeth. these lessons of horace are accounted among his satires. but what of that? that which was satire to augustine rome shall be simple homely teaching to the subject of victoria with his thousand a year. but the cook in the jamaica country house is a person of importance, and i am inclined to think that the lady whom i have accused of idleness does during those vacant interlunar hours occasionally peer into her kitchen. the results at any rate are good--sufficiently so to break the hearts of some of our miserable eight hundred a year men at home. after dinner no wine is taken--none, at least, beyond one glass with the ladies, and, if you choose it, one after they are gone. before dinner, as i should have mentioned before, a glass of bitters is as much _de rigeur_ as the black coat. i know how this will disgust many a kindly friend in dear good old thickly-prejudiced native england. yes, ma'am, bitters! no, not gin and bitters, such as the cabmen take at the gin-palaces; not gin and bitters at all, unless you specially request it; but sherry and bitters; and a very pretty habit it is for a warm country. if you don't drink your wine after dinner, why not take it before? i have no doubt that it is the more wholesome habit of the two. not that i recommend, even in the warmest climate, a second bitter, or a third. there are spots in the west indies where men take third bitters, and long bitters, in which the bitter time begins when the soda water and brandy time ends--in which the latter commences when the breakfast beer-bottles disappear. there are such places, but they must not be named by me in characters plainly legible. to kiss and tell is very criminal, as the whole world knows. but while on the subject of bitters, i must say this: let no man ever allow himself to take a long bitter such as men make at ----. it is beyond the power of man to stop at one. a long bitter duly swiggled is your true west indian syren. and then men and women saunter out on the verandah, or perhaps, if it be starlight or moonlight, into the garden. oh, what stars they are, those in that western tropical world! how beautiful a woman looks by their light, how sweet the air smells, how gloriously legible are the constellations of the heavens! and then one sips a cup of coffee, and there is a little chat, the lightest of the light, and a little music, light enough also, and at nine one retires to one's light slumbers. it is a pleasant life for a short time, though the flavour of the _dolce far niente_ is somewhat too prevalent for saxon energies fresh from europe. such are the ordinary evenings of society; but there are occasions when no complaint can be made of lack of energy. the soul of a jamaica lady revels in a dance. dancing is popular in england--is popular almost everywhere, but in jamaica it is the elixir of life; the medea's cauldron, which makes old people young; the cup of circe, which neither man nor woman can withstand. look at that lady who has been content to sit still and look beautiful for the last two hours; let but the sound of a polka meet her and she will awake to life as lively, to motion as energetic, as that of a scotch sportsman on the th of august. it is singular how the most listless girl who seems to trail through her long days almost without moving her limbs, will continue to waltz and polk and rush up and down a galopade from ten till five; and then think the hours all too short! and it is not the girls only, and the boys--begging their pardon--who rave for dancing. steady matrons of five-and-forty are just as anxious, and grave senators, whose years are past naming. see that gentleman with the bald head and grizzled beard, how sedulously he is making up his card! "madam, the fourth polka," he says to the stout lady in the turban and the yellow slip, who could not move yesterday because of her rheumatism. "i'm full up to the fifth," she replies, looking at the ms. hanging from her side; "but shall be so happy for the sixth, or perhaps the second schottische." and then, after a little grave conference, the matter is settled between them. "i hope you dance quick dances," a lady said to me. "quick!" i replied in my ignorance; "has not one to go by the music in jamaica?" "oh, you goose! don't you know what quick dances are? i never dance anything but quick dances, quadrilles are so deadly dull." i could not but be amused at this new theory as to the quick and the dead--new at least to me, though, alas! i found myself tabooed from all the joys of the night by this invidious distinction. in the west indies, polkas and the like are quick dances; quadrilles and their counterparts are simply dead. a lady shows you no compliment by giving you her hand for the latter; in that you have merely to amuse her by conversation. flirting, as any practitioner knows, is spoilt by much talking. many words make the amusement either absurd or serious, and either alternative is to be avoided. and thus i soon became used to quick dances and long drinks--that is, in my vocabulary. "will you have a long drink or a short one?" it sounds odd, but is very expressive. a long drink is taken from a tumbler, a short one from a wine-glass. the whole extent of the choice thus becomes intelligible. many things are necessary, and many changes must be made before jamaica can again enjoy all her former prosperity. i do not know whether the total abolition of the growth of sugar be not one of them. but this i do know, that whatever be their produce, they must have roads on which to carry it before they can grow rich. the roads through the greater part of the island are very bad indeed; and those along the southern coast, through the parishes of st. elizabeth, manchester, and clarendon, are by no means among the best. i returned to kingston by this route, and shall never forget some of my difficulties. on the whole, the south-western portion of the island is by no means equal to the northern. i took a third expedition up to newcastle, where are placed the barracks for our white troops, to the blue mountain peak, and to various gentlemen's houses in these localities. for grandeur of scenery this is the finest part of the island. the mountains are far too abrupt, and the land too much broken for those lovely park-like landscapes of which the parishes of westmoreland and hanover are full, and of which stuttlestone, the property of lord howard de walden, is perhaps the most beautiful specimen. but nothing can be grander, either in colour or grouping, than the ravines of the blue mountain ranges of hills. perhaps the finest view in the island is from raymond lodge, a house high up among the mountains, in which--so local rumour says--'tom cringle's log' was written. to reach these regions a man must be an equestrian--as must also a woman. no lady lives there so old but what she is to be seen on horseback, nor any child so young. babies are carried up there on pillows, and whole families on ponies. 'tis here that bishops and generals love to dwell, that their daughters may have rosy cheeks, and their sons stalwart limbs. and they are right. children that are brought up among these mountains, though they live but twelve or eighteen miles from their young friends down at kingston, cannot be taken as belonging to the same race. i can imagine no more healthy climate than the mountains round newcastle. i shall not soon forget my ride to newcastle. two ladies accompanied me and my excellent friend who was pioneering me through the country; and they were kind enough to show us the way over all the break-neck passes in the country. to them and to their horses, these were like easy highroads; but to me,--! it was manifestly a disappointment to them that my heart did not faint visibly within me. i have hunted in carmarthenshire, and a man who has done that ought to be able to ride anywhere; but in riding over some of these razorback crags, my heart, though it did not faint visibly, did almost do so invisibly. however, we got safely to newcastle, and our fair friends returned over the same route with no other escort than that of a black groom. in spite of the crags the ride was not unpleasant. one would almost enlist as a full private in one of her majesty's regiments of the line if one were sure of being quartered for ever at newcastle--at newcastle, jamaica, i mean. other newcastles of which i wot have by no means equal attraction. this place also is accessible only by foot or on horseback; and is therefore singularly situated for a barrack. but yet it consists now of a goodly village, in which live colonels, and majors, and chaplains, and surgeons, and purveyors, all in a state of bliss--as it were in a second eden. it is a military paradise, in which war is spoken of, and dinners and dancing abound. if good air and fine scenery be dear to the heart of the british soldier, he ought to be happy at newcastle. nevertheless, i prefer the views from raymond lodge to any that newcastle can afford. and now i have a mournful story to tell. did any man ever know of any good befalling him from going up a mountain; always excepting albert smith, who, we are told, has realized half a million by going up mont blanc? if a man can go up his mountains in piccadilly, it may be all very well; in so doing he perhaps may see the sun rise, and be able to watch nature in her wildest vagaries. but as for the true ascent--the nasty, damp, dirty, slippery, boot-destroying, shin-breaking, veritable mountain! let me recommend my friends to let it alone, unless they have a gift for making half a million in piccadilly. i have tried many a mountain in a small way, and never found one to answer. i hereby protest that i will never try another. however, i did go up the blue mountain peak, which ascends--so i was told--to the respectable height of , feet above the sea level. to enable me to do this, i provided myself with a companion, and he provided me with five negroes, a supply of beef, bread, and water, some wine and brandy, and what appeared to me to be about ten gallons of rum; for we were to spend the night on the blue mountain peak, in order that the rising sun might be rightly worshipped. for some considerable distance we rode, till we came indeed to the highest inhabited house in the island. this is the property of a coffee-planter who lives there, and who divides his time and energies between the growth of coffee and the entertainment of visitors to the mountain. so hospitable an old gentleman, or one so droll in speech, or singular in his mode of living, i shall probably never meet again. his tales as to the fate of other travellers made me tremble for what might some day be told of my own adventures. he feeds you gallantly, sends you on your way with a god-speed, and then hands you down to derision with the wickedest mockery. he is the gibing spirit of the mountain, and i would at any rate recommend no ladies to trust themselves to his courtesies. here we entered and called for the best of everything--beer, brandy, coffee, ringtailed doves, salt fish, fat fowls, english potatoes, hot pickles, and worcester sauce. "what, c----, no worcester sauce! gammon; make the fellow go and look for it." 'tis thus hospitality is claimed in jamaica; and in process of time the worcester sauce was forthcoming. it must be remembered that every article of food has to be carried up to this place on mules' backs, over the tops of mountains for twenty or thirty miles. when we had breakfasted and drunk and smoked, and promised our host that he should have the pleasure of feeding us again on the morrow, we proceeded on our way. the five negroes each had loads on their heads and cutlasses in their hands. we ourselves travelled without other burdens than our own big sticks. i have nothing remarkable to tell of the ascent. we soon got into a cloud, and never got out of it. but that is a matter of course. we were soon wet through up to our middles, but that is a matter of course also. we came to various dreadful passages, which broke our toes and our nails and our hats, the worst of which was called jacob's ladder--also a matter of course. every now and then we regaled the negroes with rum, and the more rum we gave them the more they wanted. and every now and then we regaled ourselves with brandy and water, and the oftener we regaled ourselves the more we required to be regaled. all which things are matters of course. and so we arrived at the blue mountain peak. our first two objects were to construct a hut and collect wood for firing. as for any enjoyment from the position, that, for that evening, was quite out of the question. we were wet through and through, and could hardly see twenty yards before us on any side. so we set the men to work to produce such mitigation of our evil position as was possible. we did build a hut, and we did make a fire; and we did administer more rum to the negroes, without which they refused to work at all. when a black man knows that you want him, he is apt to become very impudent, especially when backed by rum; and at such times they altogether forget, or at any rate disregard, the punishment that may follow in the shape of curtailed gratuities. slowly and mournfully we dried ourselves at the fire; or rather did not dry ourselves, but scorched our clothes and burnt our boots in a vain endeavour to do so. it is a singular fact, but one which experience has fully taught me, that when a man is thoroughly wet he may burn his trousers off his legs and his shoes off his feet, and yet they will not be dry--nor will he. mournfully we turned ourselves before the fire--slowly, like badly-roasted joints of meat; and the result was exactly that: we were badly roasted--roasted and raw at the same time. and then we crept into our hut, and made one of these wretched repasts in which the collops of food slip down and get sat upon; in which the salt is blown away and the bread saturated in beer; in which one gnaws one's food as adam probably did, but as men need not do now, far removed as they are from adam's discomforts. a man may cheerfully go without his dinner and feed like a beast when he gains anything by it; but when he gains nothing, and has his boots scorched off his feet into the bargain, it is hard then for him to be cheerful. i was bound to be jolly, as my companion had come there merely for my sake; but how it came to pass that he did not become sulky, that was the miracle. as it was, i know full well that he wished me--safe in england. having looked to our fire and smoked a sad cigar, we put ourselves to bed in our hut. the operation consisted in huddling on all the clothes we had. but even with this the cold prevented us from sleeping. the chill damp air penetrated through two shirts, two coats, two pairs of trousers. it was impossible to believe that we were in the tropics. and then the men got drunk and refused to cut more firewood, and disputes began which lasted all night; and all was cold, damp, comfortless, wretched, and endless. and so the morning came. that it was morning our watches told us, and also a dull dawning of muddy light through the constant mist; but as for sunrise--! the sun may rise for those who get up decently from their beds in the plains below, but there is no sunrising on helvellyn, or righi, or the blue mountain peak. nothing rises there; but mists and clouds are for ever falling. and then we packed up our wretched traps, and again descended. while coming up some quips and cranks had passed between us and our sable followers; but now all was silent as grim death. we were thinking of our sore hands and bruised feet; were mindful of the dirt which clogged us, and the damp which enveloped us; were mindful also a little of our spoilt raiment, and ill-requited labours. our wit did not flow freely as we descended. a second breakfast with the man of the mountain, and a glorious bath in a huge tank somewhat restored us, and as we regained our horses the miseries of our expedition were over. my friend fervently and loudly declared that no spirit of hospitality, no courtesy to a stranger, no human eloquence should again tempt him to ascend the blue mountains; and i cordially advised him to keep his resolution. i made no vows aloud, but i may here protest that any such vows were unnecessary. i afterwards visited another seat, flamstead, which, as regards scenery, has rival claims to those of raymond lodge. the views from flamstead were certainly very beautiful; but on the whole i preferred my first love. chapter iv. jamaica--black men. to an englishman who has never lived in a slave country, or in a country in which slavery once prevailed, the negro population is of course the most striking feature of the west indies. but the eye soon becomes accustomed to the black skin and the thick lip, and the ear to the broken patois which is the nearest approach to english which the ordinary negro ever makes. when one has been a week among them, the novelty is all gone. it is only by an exercise of memory and intellect that one is enabled to think of them as a strange race. but how strange is the race of creole negroes--of negroes, that is, born out of africa! they have no country of their own, yet have they not hitherto any country of their adoption; for, whether as slaves in cuba, or as free labourers in the british isles, they are in each case a servile people in a foreign land. they have no language of their own, nor have they as yet any language of their adoption; for they speak their broken english as uneducated foreigners always speak a foreign language. they have no idea of country, and no pride of race; for even among themselves, the word "nigger" conveys their worst term of reproach. they have no religion of their own, and can hardly as yet be said to have, as a people, a religion by adoption; and yet there is no race which has more strongly developed its own physical aptitudes and inaptitudes, its own habits, its own tastes, and its own faults. the west indian negro knows nothing of africa except that it is a term of reproach. if african immigrants are put to work on the same estate with him, he will not eat with them, or drink with them, or walk with them. he will hardly work beside them, and regards himself as a creature immeasurably the superior of the new comer. but yet he has made no approach to the civilization of his white fellow-creature, whom he imitates as a monkey does a man. physically he is capable of the hardest bodily work, and that probably with less bodily pain than men of any other race; but he is idle, unambitious as to worldly position, sensual, and content with little. intellectually, he is apparently capable of but little sustained effort; but, singularly enough, here he is ambitious. he burns to be regarded as a scholar, puzzles himself with fine words, addicts himself to religion for the sake of appearance, and delights in aping the little graces of civilization. he despises himself thoroughly, and would probably be content to starve for a month if he could appear as a white man for a day; but yet he delights in signs of respect paid to him, black man as he is, and is always thinking of his own dignity. if you want to win his heart for an hour, call him a gentleman; but if you want to reduce him to a despairing obedience, tell him that he is a filthy nigger, assure him that his father and mother had tails like monkeys, and forbid him to think that he can have a soul like a white man. among the west indies one may frequently see either course adopted towards them by their unreasoning ascendant masters. i do not think that education has as yet done much for the black man in the western world. he can always observe, and often read; but he can seldom reason. i do not mean to assert that he is absolutely without mental power, as a calf is. he does draw conclusions, but he carries them only a short way. i think that he seldom understands the purpose of industry, the object of truth, or the results of honesty. he is not always idle, perhaps not always false, certainly not always a thief; but his motives are the fear of immediate punishment, or hopes of immediate reward. he fears that and hopes that only. certain virtues he copies, because they are the virtues of a white man. the white man is the god present to his eye, and he believes in him--believes in him with a qualified faith, and imitates him with a qualified constancy. and thus i am led to say, and i say it with sorrow enough, that i distrust the negro's religion. what i mean is this: that in my opinion they rarely take in and digest the great and simple doctrines of christianity, that they should love and fear the lord their god, and love their neighbours as themselves. those who differ from me--and the number will comprise the whole clergy of these western realms, and very many beside the clergy--will ask, among other questions, whether these simple doctrines are obeyed in england much better than they are in jamaica. i would reply that i am not speaking of obedience. the opinion which i venture to give is, that the very first meaning of the terms does not often reach the negro's mind, not even the minds of those among them who are enthusiastically religious. to them religious exercises are in themselves the good thing desirable. they sing their psalms, and believe, probably, that good will result; but they do not connect their psalms with the practice of any virtue. they say their prayers; but, having said them, have no idea that they should therefore forgive offences. they hear the commandments and delight in the responses; but those commandments are not in their hearts connected with abstinence from adultery or calumny. they delight to go to church or meeting; they are energetic in singing psalms; they are constant in the responses; and, which is saying much more for them, they are wonderfully expert at scripture texts; but--and i say it with grief of heart, and with much trembling also at the reproaches which i shall have to endure--i doubt whether religion does often reach their minds. as i greatly fear being misunderstood on this subject, i must explain that i by no means think that religious teaching has been inoperative for good among the negroes. were i to express such an opinion, i should be putting them on the same footing with the slaves in cuba, who are left wholly without such teaching, and who, in consequence, are much nearer the brute creation than their more fortunate brethren. to have learnt the precepts of christianity--even though they be not learnt faithfully--softens the heart and expels its ferocity. that theft is esteemed a sin; that men and women should live together under certain laws; that blood should not be shed in anger; that an oath should be true; that there is one god the father who made us, and one redeemer who would willingly save us--these doctrines the negro in a general way has learnt, and in them he has a sort of belief. he has so far progressed that by them he judges of the conduct of others. what he lacks is a connecting link between these doctrines and himself--an appreciation of the fact that these doctrines are intended for his own guidance. but, though he himself wants the link, circumstances have in some measure produced it as he judges others, so he fears the judgment of others; and in this manner christianity has prevailed with him. in many respects the negro's phase of humanity differs much from that which is common to us, and which has been produced by our admixture of blood and our present extent of civilization. they are more passionate than the white men, but rarely vindictive, as we are. the smallest injury excites their eager wrath, but no injury produces sustained hatred. in the same way, they are seldom grateful, though often very thankful. they are covetous of notice as is a child or a dog; but they have little idea of earning continual respect. they best love him who is most unlike themselves, and they despise the coloured man who approaches them in breed. when they have once recognized a man as their master, they will be faithful to him; but the more they fear that master, the more they will respect him. they have no care for to-morrow, but they delight in being gaudy for to-day. their crimes are those of momentary impulse, as are also their virtues. they fear death; but if they can lie in the sun without pain for the hour they will hardly drag themselves to the hospital, though their disease be mortal. they love their offspring, but in their rage will ill use them fearfully. they are proud of them when they are praised, but will sell their daughter's virtue for a dollar. they are greedy of food, but generally indifferent as to its quality. they rejoice in finery, and have in many cases begun to understand the benefit of comparative cleanliness; but they are rarely tidy. a little makes them happy, and nothing makes them permanently wretched. on the whole, they laugh and sing and sleep through life; and if life were all, they would not have so bad a time of it. these, i think, are the qualities of the negro. many of them are in their way good; but are they not such as we have generally seen in the lower spheres of life? much of this is strongly opposed to the idea of the creole negro which has lately become prevalent in england. he has been praised for his piety, and especially praised for his consistent gratitude to his benefactors and faithful adherence to his master's interests. on such subjects our greatest difficulty is perhaps that of avoiding an opinion formed by exceptional cases. that there are and have been pious negroes i do not doubt. that many are strongly tinctured with the language and outward bearing of piety i am well aware. i know that they love the bible--love it as the roman catholic girl loves the doll of a madonna which she dresses with muslin and ribbons. in a certain sense this is piety, and such piety they often possess. and i do not deny their family attachments; but it is the attachment of a dog. we have all had dogs whom we have well used, and have prided ourselves on their fidelity. we have seen them to be wretched when they lose us for a moment, and have smiled at their joy when they again discover us. we have noted their patience as they wait for food from the hand they know will feed them. we have seen with delight how their love for us glistens in their eyes. we trust them with our children as the safest playmates, and teach them in mocking sport the tricks of humanity. in return for this, the dear brutes give us all their hearts, but it is not given in gratitude; and they abstain with all their power from injury and offence, but they do not abstain from judgment. let his master ill use his dog ever so cruelly, yet the animal has no anger against him when the pain is over. let a stranger save him from such ill usage, and he has no thankfulness after the moment. affection and fidelity are things of custom with him. i know how deep will be the indignation i shall draw upon my head by this picture of a fellow-creature and a fellow-christian. man's philanthropy would wish to look on all men as walking in a quick path towards the perfection of civilization. and men are not happy in their good efforts unless they themselves can see their effects. they are not content to fight for the well-being of a race, and to think that the victory shall not come till the victors shall for centuries have been mingled with the dust. the friend of the negro, when he puts his shoulder to the wheel, and tries to rescue his black brother from the degradation of an inferior species, hopes to see his client rise up at once with all the glories of civilization round his head. "there; behold my work; how good it is!" that is the reward to which he looks. but what if the work be not as yet good? what if it be god's pleasure that more time be required before the work be good--good in our finite sense of the word--in our sense, which requires the show of an immediate effect? after all, what we should desire first, and chiefly--is it not the truth? it will avail nothing to humanity to call a man a civilized christian if the name be not deserved. philanthropy will gain little but self-flattery and gratification of its vanity by applying to those whom it would serve a euphemistic but false nomenclature. god, for his own purposes--purposes which are already becoming more and more intelligible to his creatures--has created men of inferior and superior race. individually, the state of an esquimaux is grievous to an educated mind: but the educated man, taking the world collectively, knows that it is good that the esquimaux should be, should have been made such as he is; knows also, that that state admits of improvement; but should know also that such cannot be done by the stroke of a wand--by a speech in exeter hall--by the mere sounds of gospel truth, beautiful as those sounds are. we are always in such a hurry; although, as regards the progress of races, history so plainly tells us how vain such hurry is! at thirty, a man devotes himself to proselytizing a people; and if the people be not proselytized when he has reached forty, he retires in disgust. in early life we have aspirations for the freedom of an ill-used nation; but in middle life we abandon our protégé to tyranny and the infernal gods. the process has been too long. the nation should have arisen free, at once, upon the instant. it is hard for man to work without hope of seeing that for which he labours. but to return to our sable friends. the first desire of a man in a state of civilization is for property. greed and covetousness are no doubt vices; but they are the vices which have grown from cognate virtues. without a desire for property, man could make no progress. but the negro has no such desire; no desire strong enough to induce him to labour for that which he wants. in order that he may eat to-day and be clothed to-morrow, he will work a little; as for anything beyond that, he is content to lie in the sun. emancipation and the last change in the sugar duties have made land only too plentiful in jamaica, and enormous tracts have been thrown out of cultivation as unprofitable. and it is also only too fertile. the negro, consequently, has had unbounded facility of squatting, and has availed himself of it freely. to recede from civilization and become again savage--as savage as the laws of the community will permit--has been to his taste. i believe that he would altogether retrograde if left to himself. i shall now be asked, having said so much, whether i think that emancipation was wrong. by no means. i think that emancipation was clearly right; but i think that we expected far too great and far too quick a result from emancipation. these people are a servile race, fitted by nature for the hardest physical work, and apparently at present fitted for little else. some thirty years since they were in a state when such work was their lot; but their tasks were exacted from them in a condition of bondage abhorrent to the feelings of the age, and opposed to the religion which we practised. for us, thinking as we did, slavery was a sin. from that sin we have cleansed ourselves. but the mere fact of doing so has not freed us from our difficulties. nor was it to be expected that it should. the discontinuance of a sin is always the commencement of a struggle. few, probably, will think that providence has permitted so great an exodus as that which has taken place from africa to the west without having wise results in view. we may fairly believe that it has been a part of the creator's scheme for the population and cultivation of the earth; a part of that scheme which sent asiatic hordes into europe, and formed, by the admixture of nations, that race to which it is our pride to belong. but that admixture of blood has taken tens of centuries. why should we think that providence should work more rapidly now in these latter ages? no englishman, no anglo-saxon, could be what he now is but for that portion of wild and savage energy which has come to him from his vandal forefathers. may it not then be fair to suppose that a time shall come when a race will inhabit those lovely islands, fitted by nature for their burning sun, in whose blood shall be mixed some portion of northern energy, and which shall owe its physical powers to african progenitors,--a race that shall be no more ashamed of the name of negro than we are of the name of saxon? but, in the mean time, what are we to do with our friend, lying as he now is at his ease under the cotton-tree, and declining to work after ten o'clock in the morning? "no, tankee, massa, me tired now; me no want more money." or perhaps it is, "no; workee no more; money no 'nuff; workee no pay." these are the answers which the suppliant planter receives when at ten o'clock he begs his negro neighbours to go a second time into the cane-fields and earn a second shilling, or implores them to work for him more than four days a week, or solicits them at christmas-time to put up with a short ten days' holiday. his canes are ripe, and his mill should be about; or else they are foul with weeds, and the hogsheads will be very short if they be not cleansed. he is anxious enough, for all his world depends upon it. but what does the negro care? "no; me no more workee now." the busher (overseer; elide the o and change v into b, and the word will gradually explain itself)--the busher, who remembers slavery and former happy days, d----s him for a lazy nigger, and threatens him with coming starvation, and perhaps with returning monkeydom. "no, massa; no starve now; god send plenty yam. no more monkey now, massa." the black man is not in the least angry, though the busher is. and as for the canes, they remain covered with dirt, and the return of the estate is but one hundred and thirty hogsheads instead of one hundred and ninety. let the english farmer think of that; and in realizing the full story, he must imagine that the plenteous food alluded to has been grown on his own ground, and probably planted at his own expense. the busher was wrong to curse the man, and wrong to threaten him with the monkey's tail; but it must be admitted that the position is trying to the temper. and who can blame the black man? he is free to work, or free to let it alone. he can live without work and roll in the sun, and suck oranges and eat bread-fruit; ay, and ride a horse perhaps, and wear a white waistcoat and plaited shirt on sundays. why should he care for the busher? i will not dig cane-holes for half a crown a day; and why should i expect him to do so? i can live without it; so can he. but, nevertheless, it would be very well if we could so contrive that he should not live without work. it is clearly not nature's intention that he should be exempted from the general lot of adam's children. we would not have our friend a slave; but we would fain force him to give the world a fair day's work for his fair day's provender if we knew how to do so without making him a slave. the fact i take it is, that there are too many good things in jamaica for the number who have to enjoy them. if the competitors were more in number, more trouble would be necessary in their acquirement. and now, just at this moment, philanthropy is again busy in england protecting the jamaica negro. he is a man and a brother, and shall we not regard him? certainly, my philanthropic friend, let us regard him well. he _is_ a man; and, if you will, a brother; but he is the very idlest brother with which a hardworking workman was ever cursed, intent only on getting his mess of pottage without giving anything in return. his petitions about the labour market, my excellently-soft-hearted friend, and his desire to be protected from undue competition are--. oh, my friend, i cannot tell you how utterly they are--gammon. he is now eating his yam without work, and in that privilege he is anxious to be maintained. and you, are you willing to assist him in his views? the negro slave was ill treated--ill treated, at any rate, in that he was a slave; and therefore, by that reaction which prevails in all human matters, it is now thought necessary to wrap him up in cotton and put him under a glass case. the wind must not blow on him too roughly, and the rose-leaves on which he sleeps should not be ruffled. he has been a slave; therefore now let him be a sybarite. his father did an ample share of work; therefore let the son be made free from his portion in the primeval curse. the friends of the negro, if they do not actually use such arguments, endeavour to carry out such a theory. but one feels that the joke has almost been carried too far when one is told that it is necessary to protect the labour market in jamaica, and save the negro from the dangers of competition. no immigration of labourers into that happy country should be allowed, lest the rate of wages be lowered, and the unfortunate labourer be made more dependent on his master! but if the unfortunate labourers could be made to work, say four days a week, and on an average eight hours a day, would not that in itself be an advantage? in our happy england, men are not slaves; but the competition of the labour market forces upon them long days of continual labour. in our own country, ten hours of toil, repeated six days a week, for the majority of us will barely produce the necessaries of life. it is quite right that we should love the negroes; but i cannot understand that we ought to love them better than ourselves. but with the most sensible of those who are now endeavouring to prevent immigration into jamaica the argument has been, not the protection of the jamaica negro, but the probability of ill usage to the immigrating african. in the first place, it is impossible not to observe the absurdity of acting on petitions from the negroes of jamaica on such a pretence as this. does any one truly imagine that the black men in jamaica are so anxious for the welfare of their cousins in africa, that they feel themselves bound to come forward and express their anxiety to the english houses of parliament? of course nobody believes it. of course it is perfectly understood that those petitions are got up by far other persons, and with by far other views; and that not one negro in fifty of those who sign them understands anything whatever about the matter, or has any wish or any solicitude on such a subject. lord brougham mentions it as a matter of congratulation, that so large a proportion of the signatures should be written by the subscribers themselves--that there should be so few marksmen; but is it a matter of congratulation that this power of signing their names should be used for so false a purpose? and then comes the question as to these immigrants themselves. though it is not natural to suppose that their future fellow-labourers in jamaica should be very anxious about them, such anxiety on the part of others is natural. in the first place, it is for the government to look to them; and then, lest the government should neglect its duty, it is for such men as lord brougham to look to the government. that lord brougham should to the last be anxious for the welfare of the african is what all men would expect and all desire; but we would not wish to confide even to him the power of absolutely consummating the ruin of the jamaica planter. is it the fact that labourers immigrating to the west indies have been ill treated, whether they be portuguese from madeira, coolies from india, africans from the western coast, or chinese? in jamaica, unfortunately, their number is as yet but scanty, but in british guiana they are numerous. i think i may venture to say that no labourers in any country are so cared for, so closely protected, so certainly saved from the usual wants and sorrows incident to the labouring classes. and this is equally so in jamaica as far as the system has gone. what would be the usage of the african introduced by voluntary contribution may be seen in the usage of him who has been brought into the country from captured slave-ships. their clothing, their food, their house accommodation, their hospital treatment, their amount of work and obligatory period of working with one master--all these matters are under government surveillance; and the planter who has allotted to him the privilege of employing such labour becomes almost as much subject to government inspection as though his estate were government property. it is said that an obligatory period of labour amounts to slavery, even though the contract shall have been entered into by the labourer of his own free will. i will not take on myself to deny this, as i might find it difficult to define the term slavery; but if this be so, english apprentices are slaves, and so are indentured clerks; so are hired agricultural servants in many parts of england and wales; and so, certainly, are all our soldiers and sailors. but in the ordinary acceptation of the word slavery, that acceptation which comes home to us all, whether we can define it or no, men subject to such contracts are not slaves. there is much that is prepossessing in the ordinary good humour of the negro; and much also that is picturesque in his tastes. i soon learned to think the women pretty, in spite of their twisted locks of wool; and to like the ring of their laughter, though it is not exactly silver-sounding. they are very rarely surly when spoken to; and their replies, though they seldom are absolutely witty, contain, either in the sound or in the sense, something that amounts to drollery. the unpractised ear has great difficulty in understanding them, and i have sometimes thought that this indistinctness has created the fun which i have seemed to relish. the tone and look are humorous; and the words, which are hardly heard, and are not understood, get credit for humour also. nothing about them is more astonishing than the dress of the women. it is impossible to deny to them considerable taste and great power of adaptation. in england, among our housemaids and even haymakers, crinoline, false flowers, long waists, and flowing sleeves have become common; but they do not wear their finery as though they were at home in it. there is generally with them, when in their sunday best, something of the hog in armour. with the negro woman there is nothing of this. in the first place she is never shame-faced. then she has very frequently a good figure, and having it, she knows how to make the best of it. she has a natural skill in dress, and will be seen with a boddice fitted to her as though it had been made and laced in paris. their costumes on fête days and sundays are perfectly marvellous. they are by no means contented with coloured calicoes; but shine in muslin and light silks at heaven only knows how much a yard. they wear their dresses of an enormous fulness. one may see of a sunday evening three ladies occupying a whole street by the breadth of their garments, who on the preceding day were scrubbing pots and carrying weights about the town on their heads. and they will walk in full-dress too as though they had been used to go in such attire from their youth up. they rejoice most in white--in white muslin with coloured sashes; in light-brown boots, pink gloves, parasols, and broad-brimmed straw hats with deep veils and glittering bugles. the hat and the veil, however, are mistakes. if the negro woman thoroughly understood effect, she would wear no head-dress but the coloured handkerchief, which is hers by right of national custom. some of their efforts after dignity of costume are ineffably ludicrous. one sunday evening, far away in the country, as i was riding with a gentleman, the proprietor of the estate around us, i saw a young girl walking home from church. she was arrayed from head to foot in virgin white. her gloves were on, and her parasol was up. her hat also was white, and so was the lace, and so were the bugles which adorned it. she walked with a stately dignity that was worthy of such a costume, and worthy also of higher grandeur; for behind her walked an attendant nymph, carrying the beauty's prayer-book--on her head. a negro woman carries every burden on her head, from a tub of water weighing a hundredweight down to a bottle of physic. when we came up to her, she turned towards us and curtsied. she curtsied, for she recognized her 'massa;' but she curtsied with great dignity, for she recognized also her own finery. the girl behind with the prayer-book made the ordinary obeisance, crooking her leg up at the knee, and then standing upright quicker than thought. "who on earth is that princess?" said i. "they are two sisters who both work at my mill," said my friend. "next sunday they will change places. polly will have the parasol and the hat, and jenny will carry the prayer-book on her head behind her." i was in a shoemaker's shop at st. thomas, buying a pair of boots, when a negro entered quickly and in a loud voice said he wanted a pair of pumps. he was a labouring man fresh from his labour. he had on an old hat--what in ireland men would call a caubeen; he was in his shirt-sleeves, and was barefooted. as the only shopman was looking for my boots, he was not attended to at the moment. "want a pair of pumps--directerly," he roared out in a very dictatorial voice. "sit down for a moment," said the shopman, "and i will attend to you." he did sit down, but did so in the oddest fashion. he dropped himself suddenly into a chair, and at the same moment rapidly raised his legs from the ground; and as he did so fastened his hands across them just below his knees, so as to keep his feet suspended from his arms. this he contrived to do in such a manner that the moment his body reached the chair his feet left the ground. i looked on in amazement, thinking he was mad. "give i a bit of carpet," he screamed out; still holding up his feet, but with much difficulty. "yes, yes," said the shopman, still searching for the boots. "give i a bit of carpet directerly," he again exclaimed. the seat of the chair was very narrow, and the back was straight, and the position was not easy, as my reader will ascertain if he attempt it. he was half-choked with anger and discomfort. the shopman gave him the bit of carpet. most men and women will remember that such bits of carpet are common in shoemakers' shops. they are supplied, i believe, in order that they who are delicate should not soil their stockings on the floor. the gentleman in search of the pumps had seen that people of dignity were supplied with such luxuries, and resolved to have his value for his money; but as he had on neither shoes nor stockings, the little bit of carpet was hardly necessary for his material comfort. chapter v. jamaica--coloured men. if in speaking of the negroes i have been in danger of offending my friends at home, i shall be certain in speaking of the coloured men to offend my friends in jamaica. on this subject, though i have sympathy with them, i have no agreement. they look on themselves as the ascendant race. i look upon those of colour as being so, or at any rate as about to become so. in speaking of my friends in jamaica, it is not unnatural that i should allude to the pure-blooded europeans, or european creoles--to those in whose veins there is no admixture of african blood. "similia similibus." a man from choice will live with those who are of his own habits and his own way of thinking. but as regards jamaica, i believe that the light of their star is waning, that their ascendency is over--in short, that their work, if not done, is on the decline. ascendency is a disagreeable word to apply to any two different races whose fate it may be to live together in the same land. it has been felt to be so in ireland, when used either with reference to the saxon protestant or celtic roman catholic; and it is so with reference to those of various shades of colour in jamaica. but nevertheless it is the true word. when two rivers come together, the waters of which do not mix, the one stream will be the stronger--will over-power the other--will become ascendant and so it is with people and nations. it may not be pretty-spoken to talk about ascendency; but sometimes pretty speaking will not answer a man's purpose. it is almost unnecessary to explain that by coloured men i mean those who are of a mixed race--of a breed mixed, be it in what proportion it may, between the white european and the black african. speaking of jamaica, i might almost say between the anglo-saxon and the african; for there remains, i take it, but a small tinge of spanish blood. of the old indian blood there is, i imagine, hardly a vestige. both the white men and the black dislike their coloured neighbours. it is useless to deny that as a rule such is the case. the white men now, at this very day, dislike them more in jamaica than they do in other parts of the west indies, because they are constantly driven to meet them, and are more afraid of them. in jamaica one does come in contact with coloured men. they are to be met at the governor's table; they sit in the house of assembly; they cannot be refused admittance to state parties, or even to large assemblies; they have forced themselves forward, and must be recognized as being in the van. individuals decry them--will not have them within their doors--affect to despise them. but in effect the coloured men of jamaica cannot be despised much longer. it will be said that we have been wrong if we have ever despised these coloured people, or indeed, if we have ever despised the negroes, or any other race. i can hardly think that anything so natural can be very wrong. those who are educated and civilized and powerful will always, in one sense, despise those who are not; and the most educated and civilized and most powerful will despise those who are less so. euphuists may proclaim against such a doctrine; but experience, i think, teaches us that it is true. if the coloured people in the west indies can overtop contempt, it is because they are acquiring education, civilization, and power. in jamaica they are, i hope, in a way to do this. my theory--for i acknowledge to a theory--is this: that providence has sent white men and black men to these regions in order that from them may spring a race fitted by intellect for civilization; and fitted also by physical organization for tropical labour. the negro in his primitive state is not, i think, fitted for the former; and the european white creole is certainly not fitted for the latter. to all such rules there are of course exceptions. in porto rico, for instance, one of the two remaining spanish colonies in the west indies, the peons, or free peasant labourers, are of mixed spanish and indian blood, without, i believe, any negro element. and there are occasional negroes whose mental condition would certainly tend to disprove the former of the two foregoing propositions, were it not that in such matters exceptional cases prove and disprove nothing. englishmen as a rule are stouter than frenchmen. were a french falstaff and an english slender brought into a room together, the above position would be not a whit disproved. it is probable also that the future race who shall inhabit these islands may have other elements than the two already named. there will soon be here--in the teeth of our friends of the anti-slavery society--thousands from china and hindostan. the chinese and the coolies--immigrants from india are always called coolies--greatly excel the negro in intelligence, and partake, though in a limited degree, of the negro's physical abilities in a hot climate. and thus the blood of asia will be mixed with that of africa; and the necessary compound will, by god's infinite wisdom and power, be formed for these latitudes, as it has been formed for the colder regions in which the anglo-saxon preserves his energy, and works. i know it will be said that there have been no signs of a mixture of breed between the negro and the coolie, and the negro and the chinese. the instances hitherto are, i am aware, but rare; but then the immigration of these classes is as yet but recent; and custom is necessary, and a language commonly understood, and habits, which the similitude of position will also make common, before such races will amalgamate. that they will amalgamate if brought together, all history teaches us. the anglo-saxon and the negro have done so, and in two hundred years have produced a population which is said to amount to a fifth of that of the whole island of jamaica, and which probably amounts to much more. two hundred years with us is a long time; but it is not so in the world's history. from to a.d. is a vast lapse of years; but how little is the lapse from the year to the year , dating from the creation of the world; or rather, how small appears such lapse to us! in how many pages is its history written? and yet god's races were spreading themselves over the earth then as now. men are in such a hurry. they can hardly believe that that will come to pass of which they have evidence that it will not come to pass in their own days. but then comes the question, whether the mulatto is more capable of being educated than the negro, and more able to work under a hot sun than the englishman; whether he does not rather lose the physical power of the one, and the intellectual power of the other. there are those in jamaica who have known them long, and who think that as a race they have deteriorated both in mind and body. i am not prepared to deny this. they probably have deteriorated in mind and body; and nevertheless my theory may be right. nay, i will go further and say that such deterioration on both sides is necessary to the correctness of my theory. in what compound are we to look for the full strength of each component part? should punch be as strong as brandy, or as sweet as sugar? neither the one nor the other. but in order to be good and efficient punch, it should partake duly of the strength of the spirit and of the sweetness of the saccharine--according to the skill and will of the gnostic fabricator, who in mixing knows his own purposes. so has it even been also in the admixture of races. the same amount of physical power is not required for all climates, nor the same amount of mental energy. but the mulatto, though he has deteriorated from the black man in one respect, and from the white in another, does also excel the black man in one respect, and also excel the white in another. as a rule, he cannot work as a negro can. he could not probably endure to labour in the cane-fields for sixteen hours out of the twenty-four, as is done by the cuban slave; but he can work safely under a tropical sun, and can in the day go through a fair day's work. he is not liable to yellow fever, as is the white man, and enjoys as valid a protection from the effects of heat as the heat of these regions requires. nor, as far as we yet know, have galileos, shakespeares, or napoleons been produced among the mulattos. few may probably have been produced who are able even to form an accurate judgment as to the genius of such men as these. but that the mulatto race partakes largely of the intelligence and ambition of their white forefathers, it is i think useless, and moreover wicked, to deny; wicked, because the denial arises from an unjust desire to close against them the door of promotion. let any stranger go through the shops and stores of kingston, and see how many of them are either owned or worked by men of colour; let him go into the house of assembly, and see how large a proportion of their debates is carried on by men of colour. i don't think much of the parliamentary excellence of these debates, as i shall have to explain by-and-by; but the coloured men at any rate hold their own against their white colleagues. how large a portion of the public service is carried on by them; how well they thrive, though the prejudices of both white and black are so strong against them! i just now spoke of these coloured men as mulattos. i did so because i was then anxious to refer to the exact and equal division of black and white blood. of course it is understood that the mulatto, technically so called, is the child of parents one of whom is all white and the other all black; and to judge exactly of the mixed race, one should judge, probably, from such an equal division. but no such distinction can be effectually maintained in speaking, or even in thinking of these people. the various gradations of coloured blood range from all but perfect white to all but perfect black; and the dispositions and capabilities are equally various. in the lower orders, among those who are nearest to the african stock, no attempts i imagine are made to preserve an exact line. one is at first inclined to think that the slightest infusion of white blood may be traced in the complexion and hair, and heard in the voice; but when the matter is closely regarded one often finds it difficult to express an opinion even to oneself. colour is frequently not the safest guide. to an inquirer really endeavouring to separate the races--should so thankless a task ever be attempted--the speech, i think, and the intelligence would afford the sources of information on which most reliance could be placed. but the distinction between the white and the coloured men is much more closely looked into. and those are the unfortunate among the latter who are tempted, by the closeness of their relationship to europe, to deny their african parentage. many do, if not by lip, at any rate by deed, stoutly make such denial; not by lip, for the subject is much too sore for speech, but by every wile by which a white quadroon can seek to deny his ancestry! such denial is never allowed. the crisp hair, the sallow skin, the known family history, the thick lip of the old remembered granddam, a certain languor in the eye; all or some, or perhaps but one of these tells the tale. but the tale is told, and the life-struggle is made always, and always in vain. this evil--for it is an evil--arises mainly from the white man's jealousy. he who seeks to pass for other than he is makes a low attempt; all attempts at falsehood must of necessity be low. but i doubt whether such energy of repudiation be not equally low. why not allow the claim; or seem to allow it, if practicable? "white art thou, my friend? be a white man if thou wilt, or rather if thou canst. all we require of thee is that there remains no negro ignorance, no negro cunning, no negro apathy of brain. forbear those vain attempts to wash out that hair of thine, and make it lank and damp. we will not regard at all, that little wave in thy locks; not even that lisp in thy tongue. but struggle, my friend, to be open in thy speech. any wave there we cannot but regard. speak out the thought that is in thee; for if thy thoughts lisp negrowards, our verdict must be against thee." is it not thus that we should accept their little efforts? but we do not accept them so. in lieu thereof, we admit no claim that can by any evidence be rejected; and, worse than that, we impute the stigma of black blood where there is no evidence to support such imputation. "a nice fellow, jones; eh? very intelligent, and well mannered," some stranger says, who knows nothing of jones's antecedents. "yes, indeed," answers smith, of jamaica; "a very decent sort of fellow. they do say that he's coloured; of course you know that." the next time you see jones, you observe him closely, and can find no trace of the ethiop. but should he presently descant on purity of blood, and the insupportable impudence of the coloured people, then, and not till then, you would begin to doubt. but these are evils which beset merely the point of juncture between the two races. with nine-tenths of those of mixed breed no attempts at concealment are by any means possible; and by them, of course, no such attempts are made. they take their lot as it is, and i think that on the whole they make the most of it. they of course are jealous of the assumed ascendency of the white men, and affect to show, sometimes not in the most efficacious manner, that they are his equal in external graces as in internal capacities. they are imperious to the black men, and determined on that side to exhibit and use their superiority. at this we can hardly be surprised. if we cannot set them a better lesson than we do, we can hardly expect the benefit which should arise from better teaching. but the great point to be settled is this: whether this race of mulattos, quadroons, mustes, and what not, are capable of managing matters for themselves; of undertaking the higher walks of life; of living, in short, as an independent people with a proper share of masterdom; and not necessarily as a servile people, as hewers of wood and drawers of water? if not, it will fare badly for jamaica, and will probably also fare badly in coming years for the rest of the west indies. whether other immigration be allowed or no, of one kind of immigration the supply into jamaica is becoming less and less. few european white men now turn thither in quest of fortune. few anglo-saxon adventurers now seek her shores as the future home of their adoption. the white man has been there, and has left his mark. the creole children of these europeans of course remain, but their numbers are no longer increased by new comers. but i think there is no doubt that they are fit--these coloured people, to undertake the higher as well as lower paths of human labour. indeed, they do undertake them, and thrive well in them now, much to the disgust of the so-esteemed ascendant class. they do make money, and enjoy it. they practise as statesmen, as lawyers, and as doctors in the colony; and, though they have not as yet shone brightly as divines in our english church, such deficiency may be attributed more to the jealousy of the parsons of that church than to their own incapacity. there are, they say, seventy thousand coloured people in the island, and not more than fifteen thousand white people. as the former increase in intelligence, it is not to be supposed that they will submit to the latter. nor are they at all inclined to submission. but they have still an up-hill battle before them. they are by no means humble in their gait, and their want of meekness sets their white neighbours against them. they are always proclaiming by their voice and look that they are as good as the white man; but they are always showing by their voice and look, also, that they know that this is a false boast. and then they are by no means popular with the negro. a negro, as a rule, will not serve a mulatto when he can serve a european or a white creole. he thinks that the mulatto is too near akin to himself to be worthy of any respect. in his passion he calls him a nigger--and protests that he is not, and never will be like buckra man. the negroes complain that the coloured men are sly and cunning; that they cannot be trusted as masters; that they tyrannize, bully, and deceive; in short, that they have their own negro faults. there may, doubtless, be some truth in this. they have still a portion of their lesson to learn; perhaps the greater portion. i affirm merely that the lesson is being learned. a race of people with its good and ill qualities is not formed in a couple of centuries. and if it be fated that the anglo-saxon race in these islands is to yield place to another people, and to abandon its ground, having done its appointed work, surely such a decree should be no cause of sorrow. to have done their appointed work, and done it well,--should not this be enough for any men? but there are they who protest that such ideas as these with reference to this semi-african people are unpatriotic; are unworthy of an englishman, who should foster the ascendency of his own race and his own country. such men will have it as an axiom, that when an englishman has been master once, he should be master always: that his dominion should not give way to strange hands, or his ascendency yield itself to strange races. it is unpatriotic, forsooth, to suggest that these tawny children of the sun should get the better of their british lords, and rule the roast themselves! even were it so--should it even be granted that such an idea is unpatriotic, one would then be driven back to ask whether patriotism be a virtue. it is at any rate a virtue in consequence only of the finite aspirations of mankind. to love the universe which god has made, were man capable of such love, would be a loftier attribute than any feeling for one's own country. the gentile was as dear as the jew; the samaritans as much prized as they of galilee, or as the children of judah. the present position and prospects of the children of great britain are sufficiently noble, and sufficiently extended. one need not begrudge to others their limited share in the population and government of the world's welfare. while so large a part of north america and australia remain still savage--waiting the white man's foot--waiting, in fact, for the foot of the englishman, there can be no reason why we should doom our children to swelter and grow pale within the tropics. a certain work has been ours to do there, a certain amount of remaining work it is still probably our lot to complete. but when that is done; when civilization, commerce, and education shall have been spread; when sufficient of our blood shall have been infused into the veins of those children of the sun; then, i think, we may be ready, without stain to our patriotism, to take off our hats and bid farewell to the west indies. and be it remembered that i am here speaking of the general ascendancy, not of the political power of these coloured races. it may be that after all we shall still have to send out some white governor with a white aide-de-camp and a white private secretary--some three or four unfortunate white men to support the dignity of the throne of queen victoria's great-grandchild's grandchild. such may be, or may not be. to my thinking, it would be more for our honour that it should not be so. if the honour, glory, and well-being of the child be dear to the parents, great britain should surely be more proud of the united states than of any of her colonies. we britishers have a noble mission. the word i know is unpopular, for it has been foully misused; but it is in itself a good word, and none other will supply its place. we have a noble mission, but we are never content with it. it is not enough for us to beget nations, civilize countries, and instruct in truth and knowledge the dominant races of the coming ages. all this will not suffice unless also we can maintain a king over them! what is it to us, or even to them, who may be their king or ruler--or, to speak with a nearer approach to sense, from what source they be governed--so long as they be happy, prosperous, and good? and yet there are men mad enough to regret the united states! many men are mad enough to look forward with anything but composure to the inevitable, happily inevitable day, when australia shall follow in the same path. we have risen so high that we may almost boast to have placed ourselves above national glory. the welfare of the coming world is now the proper care of the anglo-saxon race. the coloured people, i have said, have made their way into society in jamaica. that is, they have made a certain degree of impression on the millstone; which will therefore soon be perforated through and through, and then crumble to pieces like pumice-stone. nay, they have been or are judges, attorneys-general, prime ministers, leaders of the opposition, and what not. the men have so far made their way. the difficulty now is with the women. and in high questions of society here is always the stumbling-block. all manners of men can get themselves into a room together without difficulty, and can behave themselves with moderate forbearance to each other when in it. but there are points on which ladies are harder than steel, stiffer than their brocaded silks, more obdurate than whalebone. "he wishes me to meet mrs. so-and-so," a lady said to me, speaking of her husband, "because mr. so-and-so is a very respectable good sort of man. i have no objection whatever to mr. so-and-so; but if i begin with her, i know there will be no end." "probably not," i said; "when you once commence, you will doubtless have to go on--in the good path." i confess that the last words were said _sotto voce_. on that occasion the courage was wanting in me to speak out my mind. the lady was very pretty, and i could not endure to be among the unfavoured ones. "that is just what i have said to mr. ----; but he never thinks about such things; he is so very imprudent. if i ask mrs. so-and-so here, how can i keep out mrs. such-a-one? they are both very respectable, no doubt; but what were their grandmothers?" ah! if we were to think of their grandmothers, it would doubtless be a dark subject. but what, o lady, of their grandchildren? that may be the most important, and also most interesting side from whence to view the family. "these people marry now," another lady said to me--a lady not old exactly, but old enough to allude to such a subject; and in the tone of her voice i thought i could catch an idea that she conceived them in doing so to be trenching on the privileges of their superiors. "but their mothers and grandmothers never thought of looking to that at all. are we to associate with the children of such women, and teach our daughters that vice is not to be shunned?" ah! dear lady--not old, but sufficiently old--this statement of yours is only too true. their mothers and grandmothers did not think much of matrimony--had but little opportunity of thinking much of it. but with whom did the fault chiefly lie? these very people of whom we are speaking, would they not be your cousins but for the lack of matrimony? your uncle, your father, your cousins, your grandfather, nay, your very brother, are they not the true criminals in this matter--they who have lived in this unhallowed state with women of a lower race? for the sinners themselves of either sex i would not ask _your_ pardon; but you might forgive the children's children. the life of coloured women in jamaica some years since was certainly too often immoral. they themselves were frequently illegitimate, and they were not unwilling that their children should be so also. to such a one it was preferable to be a white man's mistress than the wife of such as herself; and it did not bring on them the same disgrace, this kind of life, as it does on women in england, or even, i may say, on women in europe, nor the same bitter punishment. their master, though he might be stern enough and a tyrant, as the owner of slaves living on his own little principality might probably be, was kinder to her than to the other females around her, and in a rough sort of way was true to her. he did not turn her out of the house, and she found it to be promotion to be the mother of his children and the upper servant in his establishment. and in those days, days still so near to us, the coloured woman was a slave herself, unless specially manumitted either in her own generation or in that immediately above her. it is from such alliances as these that the coloured race of jamaica has sprung. but all this, if one cannot already boast that it is changed, is quickly changing. matrimony is in vogue, and the coloured women know their rights, and are inclined to claim them. of course among them, as among us at home, and among all people, there are various ranks. there are but few white labourers in jamaica, and but few negroes who are not labourers. but the coloured people are to be found in all ranks, from that of the prime minister--for they have a prime minister in jamaica--down to the worker in the cane-fields. among their women many are now highly educated, for they send their children to english schools. perhaps if i were to say fashionably educated, i might be more strictly correct they love dearly to shine; to run over the piano with quick and loud fingers; to dance with skill, which they all do, for they have good figures and correct ears; to know and display the little tricks and graces of english ladies--such tricks and graces as are to be learned between fifteen and seventeen at ealing, clapham, and homsey. but the coloured girls of a class below these--perhaps i should say two classes below them--are the most amusing specimens of jamaica ladies. i endeavoured to introduce my readers to one at port antonio. they cannot be called pretty, for the upper part of the face almost always recedes; but they have good figures and well-turned limbs. they are singularly free from _mauvaise honte_, and yet they are not impertinent or ill-mannered. they are gracious enough with the pale faces when treated graciously, but they can show a very high spirit if they fancy that any slight is shown to them. they delight to talk contemptuously of niggers. those people are dirty niggers, and nasty niggers, and mere niggers. i have heard this done by one whom i had absolutely taken for a negro, and who was not using loud abusive language, but gently speaking of an inferior class. with these, as indeed with coloured people of a higher grade, the great difficulty is with their language. they cannot acquire the natural english pronunciation. as far as i remember, i have never heard but two negroes who spoke unbroken english; and the lower classes of the coloured people, though they are not equally deficient, are still very incapable of plain english articulation. the "th" is to them, as to foreigners, an insuperable difficulty. even josephine, it may be remembered, was hardly perfect in this respect. chapter vi. jamaica--white men. it seems to us natural that white men should hold ascendency over those who are black or coloured. although we have emancipated our own slaves, and done so much to abolish slavery elsewhere, nevertheless we regard the negro as born to be a servant. we do not realize it to ourselves that it is his right to share with us the high places of the world, and that it should be an affair of individual merit whether we wait on his beck or he on ours. we have never yet brought ourselves so to think, and probably never shall. they still are to us a servile race. philanthropical abolitionists will no doubt deny the truth of this; but i have no doubt that the conviction is strong with them--could they analyze their own convictions--as it is with others. where white men and black men are together, the white will order and the black will obey, with an obedience more or less implicit according to the terms on which they stand. when those terms are slavery, the white men order with austerity, and the black obey with alacrity. but such terms have been found to be prejudicial to both. each is brutalized by the contact. the black man becomes brutal and passive as a beast of burden; the white man becomes brutal and ferocious as a beast of prey. but there are various other terms on which they may stand as servants and masters. there are those well-understood terms which regulate employment in england and elsewhere, under which the poor man's time is his money, and the rich man's capital his certain means of obtaining labour. as far as we can see, these terms, if properly carried out, are the best which human wisdom can devise for the employment and maintenance of mankind. here in england they are not always properly carried out. at an occasional spot or two things will run rusty for a while. there are strikes, and there are occasional gluts of labour, very distressing to the poor man; and occasional gluts of the thing laboured, very embarrassing to the rich man. but on the whole, seeing that after all the arrangement is only human, here in england it does work pretty well. we intended, no doubt, when we emancipated our slaves in jamaica, that the affair should work in the same way there. but the terms there at present are as far removed from the english system as they are from the cuban, and are almost as abhorrent to justice as slavery itself--as abhorrent to justice, though certainly not so abhorrent to mercy and humanity. what would a farmer say in england if his ploughman declined to work, and protested that he preferred going to his master's granary and feeding himself and his children on his master's corn? "measter, noa; i beez a-tired thick day, and dunna mind to do no wark!" then the poorhouse, my friend, the poorhouse! and hardly that; starvation first, and nakedness, and all manner of misery. in point of fact, our friend the ploughman must go and work, even though his o'erlaboured bones be tired, as no doubt they often are. he knows it, and does it, and in his way is not discontented. and is not this god's ordinance? his ordinance in england and elsewhere, but not so, apparently, in jamaica. there we had a devil's ordinance in those days of slavery; and having rid ourselves of that, we have still a devil's ordinance of another sort. it is not perhaps very easy for men to change devil's work into heavenly work at once. the ordinance that at present we have existing there is that _far niente_ one of lying in the sun and eating yams--"of eating, not your own yams, you lazy, do-nothing, thieving darkee; but my yams; mine, who am being ruined, root and branch, stock and barrel, house and homestead, wife and bairns, because you won't come and work for me when i offer you due wages; you thieving, do-nothing, lazy nigger." "hush!" will say my angry philanthropist. "for the sake of humanity, hush! will coarse abuse and the calling of names avail anything? is he not a man and a brother?" no, my angry philanthropist; while he will not work and will only steal, he is neither the one nor the other, in my estimation. as for his being a brother, that we may say is--fudge; and i will call no professional idler a man. but the abuse above given is not intended to be looked on as coming out of my own mouth, and i am not, therefore, to be held responsible for the wording of it. it is inserted there--with small inverted commas, as you see--to show the language with which our angry white friends in jamaica speak of the extraordinary condition in which they have found themselves placed. slowly--with delay that has been awfully ruinous--they now bethink themselves of immigration--immigration from the coast of africa, immigration from china, coolie immigrants from hindostan. when trinidad and guiana have helped themselves, then jamaica bestirs itself. and what then? then the negroes bestir themselves. "for heaven's sake let us be looked to! are we not to be protected from competition? if labourers be brought here, will not these white people again cultivate their grounds? shall we not be driven from our squatting patches? shall we not starve; or, almost worse than that, shall we not again fall under adam's curse? shall we not again be slaves, in reality, if not in name? shall we not have to work?" the negro's idea of emancipation was and is emancipation not from slavery but from work. to lie in the sun and eat breadfruit and yams is his idea of being free. such freedom as that has not been intended for man in this world; and i say that jamaica, as it now exists, is still under a devil's ordinance. one cannot wonder that the white man here should be vituperative in his wrath. first came emancipation. he bore that with manful courage; for it must be remembered that even in that he had much to bear. the price he got for his slave was nothing as compared with that slave's actual value. and slavery to him was not repugnant as it is to you and me. one's trade is never repugnant to one's feelings. but so much he did bear with manly courage. he could no longer make slave-grown sugar, but he would not at any rate be compelled to compete with those who could. the protective duties would save him there. then free trade became the fashion, and protective duties on sugar were abolished. i beg it may not be thought that i am an advocate for such protection. the west indians were, i think, thrown over in a scurvy manner, because they were thrown over by their professed friends. but that was, we all know, the way with sir robert peel. well, free trade in sugar became the law of the land, and then the jamaica planter found the burden too heavy for his back. the money which had flown in so freely came in such small driblets that he could make no improvement. portions of his estate went out of cultivation, and then the negro who should have tilled the remainder squatted on it, and said, "no, massa, me no workee to-day." and now, to complete the business, now that jamaica is at length looking in earnest for immigration--for it has long been looking for immigration with listless dis-earnest--the planter is told that the labour of the black man must be protected. if he be vituperative, who can wonder at it? to speak the truth, he is somewhat vituperative. the white planter of jamaica is sore and vituperative and unconvinced. he feels that he has been ill used, and forced to go to the wall; and that now he is there, he is meanly spoken of, as though he were a bore and a nuisance--as one of whom the colonial office would gladly rid itself if it knew how. in his heart of hearts there dwells a feeling that after all slavery was not so vile an institution--that that devil as well as some others has been painted too black. in those old days the work was done, the sugar was made, the workmen were comfortably housed and fed, and perhaps on his father's estate were kindly treated. at any rate, such is his present memory. the money came in, things went on pleasantly, and he cannot remember that anybody was unhappy. but now--! can it be wondered at that in his heart of hearts he should still have a sort of yearning after slavery? in one sense, at any rate, he has been ill used. the turn in the wheel of fortune has gone against him, as it went against the hand-loom weavers when machinery became the fashion. circumstances rather than his own fault have brought him low. well-disciplined energy in all the periods of his adversity might perhaps have saved him, as it has saved others; but there has been more against him than against others. as regards him himself, the old-fashioned jamaica planter, the pure blooded white owner of the soil, i think that his day in jamaica is done. the glory, i fear, has departed from his house. the hand-loom weavers have been swept into infinite space, and their children now poke the engine fires, or piece threads standing in a factory. the children of the old jamaica planter must also push their fortunes elsewhere. it is a thousand pities, for he was, i may still say is, the prince of planters--the true aristocrat of the west indies. he is essentially different as a man from the somewhat purse-proud barbadian, whose estate of two hundred acres has perhaps changed hands half a dozen times in the last fifty years, or the thoroughly mercantile sugar manufacturer of guiana. he has so many of the characteristics of an english country gentleman that he does not strike an englishman as a strange being. he has his pedigree, and his family house, and his domain around him. he shoots and fishes, and some few years since, in the good days, he even kept a pack of hounds. he is in the commission of the peace, and as such has much to do. a planter in demerara may also be a magistrate,--probably is so; but the fact does not come forward as a prominent part of his life's history. in jamaica too there is scope for a country gentleman. they have their counties and their parishes; in barbados they have nothing but their sugar estates. they have county society, local balls, and local race-meetings. they have local politics, local quarrels, and strong old-fashioned local friendships. in all these things one feels oneself to be much nearer to england in jamaica than in any other of the west indian islands. all this is beyond measure pleasant, and it is a thousand pities that it should not last. i fear, however, that it will not last--that, indeed, it is not now lasting. that dear lady's unwillingness to obey her lord's behests, when he asked her to call on her brown neighbour, nay, the very fact of that lord's request, both go to prove that this is so. the lady felt that her neighbour was cutting the very ground from under her feet. the lord knew "that old times were changed, old manners gone." the game was almost up when he found himself compelled to make such a request. at present, when the old planter sits on the magisterial bench, a coloured man sits beside him; one probably on each side of him. at road sessions he cannot carry out his little project because the coloured men out-vote him. there is a vacancy for his parish in the house of assembly. the old planter scorns the house of assembly, and will have nothing to do with it. a coloured man is therefore chosen, and votes away the white man's taxes; and then things worse and worse arise. not only coloured men get into office, but black men also. what is our old aristocratic planter to do with a negro churchwarden on one side, and a negro coroner on another? "fancy what our state is," a young planter said to me; "i dare not die, for fear i should be sat upon by a black man!" i know that it will be thought by many, and probably said by some, that these are distinctions to which we ought not to allude. but without alluding to them in one's own mind it is impossible to understand the state of the country; and without alluding to them in speech it is impossible to explain the state of the country. the fact is, that in jamaica, at the present day, the coloured people do stand on strong ground, and that they do not so stand with the goodwill of the old aristocracy of the country. they have forced their way up, and now loudly protest that they intend to keep it. i think that they will keep it, and that on the whole it will be well for us anglo-saxons to have created a race capable of living and working in the climate without inconvenience. it is singular, however, how little all this is understood in england. there it is conceived that white men and coloured men, white ladies and coloured ladies, meet together and amalgamate without any difference. the duchess of this and lord that are very happy to have at their tables some intelligent dark gentleman, or even a well-dressed negro, though he may not perhaps be very intelligent. there is some little excitement in it, some change from the common; and perhaps also an easy opportunity of practising on a small scale those philanthropic views which they preach with so much eloquence. when one hobnobs over a glass of champagne with a dark gentleman, he is in some sort a man and a brother. but the duchess and the lord think that because the dark gentleman is to their taste, he must necessarily be as much to the taste of the neighbours among whom he has been born and bred; of those who have been accustomed to see him from his childhood. there never was a greater mistake. a coloured man may be a fine prophet in london; but he will be no prophet in jamaica, which is his own country; no prophet at any rate among his white neighbours. i knew a case in which a very intelligent--nay, i believe, a highly-educated young coloured gentleman, was sent out by certain excellent philanthropic big-wigs to fill an official situation in jamaica. he was a stranger to jamaica, never having been there before. now, when he was so sent out, the home big-wigs alluded to, intimated to certain other big-wigs in jamaica that their dark protégé would be a great acquisition to the society of the place. i mention this to show the ignorance of those london big-wigs, not as to the capability of the young gentleman, which probably was not over-rated, but as to the manners and life of the place. i imagine that the gentleman has hardly once found himself in that society which it was supposed he would adorn. the time, however, will probably come when he and others of the same class will have sufficient society of their own. i have said elsewhere that the coloured people in jamaica have made their way into society; and in what i now say i may seem to contradict myself. into what may perhaps be termed public society they have made their way. those who have seen the details of colonial life will know that there is a public society to which people are admitted or not admitted, according to their acknowledged rights. governor's parties, public balls, and certain meetings which are semi-official and semi-social, are of this nature. a governor in jamaica would, i imagine, not conceive himself to have the power of excluding coloured people from his table, even if he wished it. but in barbados i doubt whether a governor could, if he wished it, do the reverse. so far coloured people in jamaica have made their footing good; and they are gradually advancing beyond this. but not the less as a rule are they disliked by the old white aristocracy of the country; in a strong degree by the planters themselves, but in a much stronger by the planters' wives. so much for my theory as to the races of men in jamaica, and as to the social condition of the white and coloured people with reference to each other. now i would say a word or two respecting the white man as he himself is, without reference either to his neighbour or to his prospects. a better fellow cannot be found anywhere than a gentleman of jamaica, or one with whom it is easier to live on pleasant terms. he is generally hospitable, affable, and generous; easy to know, and pleasant when known; not given perhaps to much deep erudition, but capable of talking with ease on most subjects of conversation; fond of society, and of pleasure, if you choose to call it so; but not generally addicted to low pleasures. he is often witty, and has a sharp side to his tongue if occasion be given him to use it. he is not generally, i think, a hard-working man. had he been so, the country perhaps would not have been in its present condition. but he is bright and clever, and in spite of all that he has gone through, he is at all times good-humoured. no men are fonder of the country to which they belong, or prouder of the name of great britain than these jamaicans. it has been our policy--and, as regards our larger colonies, the policy i have no doubt has been beneficial--to leave our dependencies very much to themselves; to interfere in the way of governing as little as might be; and to withdraw as much as possible from any participation in their internal concerns. this policy is anything but popular with the white aristocracy of jamaica. they would fain, if it were possible, dispense altogether with their legislature, and be governed altogether from home. in spite of what they have suffered, they are still willing to trust the statesmen of england, but are most unwilling to trust the statesmen of jamaica. nothing is more peculiar than the way in which the word "home" is used in jamaica, and indeed all through the west indies, with the white people, it always signifies england, even though the person using the word has never been there. i could never trace the use of the word in jamaica as applied by white men or white women to the home in which they lived, not even though that home had been the dwelling of their fathers as well as of themselves. the word "home" with them is sacred, and means something holier than a habitation in the tropics. it refers always to the old country. in this respect, as in so many others, an englishman differs greatly from a frenchman. though our english, as a rule, are much more given to colonize than they are; though we spread ourselves over the face of the globe, while they have established comparatively but few settlements in the outer world; nevertheless, when we leave our country, we almost always do so with some idea, be it ever so vague, that we shall return to it again, and again make it our home. but the frenchman divests himself of any such idea. he also loves france, or at any rate loves paris; but his object is to carry his paris with him; to make a paris for himself, whether it be in a sugar island among the antilles, or in a trading town upon the levant. and in some respects the frenchman is the wiser man. he never looks behind him with regret. he does his best to make his new house comfortable. the spot on which he fixes is his home, and so he calls it, and so regards it. but with an englishman in the west indies--even with an english creole--england is always his home. if the people in jamaica have any prejudice, it is on the subject of heat. i suppose they have a general idea that their island is hotter than england; but they never reduce this to an individual idea respecting their own habitation. "come and dine with me," a man says to you; "i can give you a cool bed." the invitation at first sounded strange to me, but i soon got used to it; i soon even liked it, though i found too often that the promise was not kept. how could it be kept while the quicksilver was standing at eighty-five in the shade? and each man boasts that his house is ten degrees cooler than that of his neighbours; and each man, if you contest the point, has a reason to prove why it must be so. but a stranger, at any rate round kingston, is apt to put the matter in a different light. one place may be hotter than another, but cool is a word which he never uses. on the whole, i think that the heat of kingston, jamaica, is more oppressive than that of any other place among the british west indies. when one gets down to the spanish coast, then, indeed, one can look back even to kingston with regret. chapter vii. jamaica--sugar. that jamaica was a land of wealth, rivalling the east in its means of riches, nay, excelling it as a market for capital, as a place in which money might be turned; and that it now is a spot on the earth almost more poverty-stricken than any other--so much is known almost to all men. that this change was brought about by the manumission of the slaves, which was completed in , of that also the english world is generally aware. and there probably the usual knowledge about jamaica ends. and we may also say that the solicitude of englishmen at large goes no further. the families who are connected with jamaica by ties of interest are becoming fewer and fewer. property has been abandoned as good for nothing, and nearly forgotten; or has been sold for what wretched trifle it would fetch; or left to an overseer, who is hardly expected to send home proceeds--is merely ordered imperatively to apply for no subsidies. fathers no longer send their younger sons to make their fortunes there. young english girls no longer come out as brides. dukes and earls do not now govern the rich gem of the west, spending their tens of thousands in royal magnificence, and laying by other tens of thousands for home consumption. in lieu of this, some governor by profession, unfortunate for the moment, takes jamaica with a groan, as a stepping-stone to some better barataria--new zealand perhaps, or frazer river; and by strict economy tries to save the price of his silver forks. equerries, aides-de-camp, and private secretaries no longer flaunt it about spanish town. the flaunting about spanish town is now of a dull sort. ichabod! the glory of that house is gone. the palmy days of that island are over. those who are failing and falling in the world excite but little interest; and so it is at present with jamaica. from time to time we hear that properties which used to bring five thousand pounds a year are not now worth five hundred pounds in fee simple. we hear it, thank our stars that we have not been brought up in the jamaica line, and there's an end of it. if we have young friends whom we wish to send forth into the world, we search the maps with them at our elbows; but we put our hands over the west indies--over the first fruits of the courage and skill of columbus--as a spot tabooed by providence. nay, if we could, we would fain forget jamaica altogether. but there it is; a spot on the earth not to be lost sight of or forgotten altogether, let us wish it ever so much. it belongs to us, and must be in some sort thought of and managed, and, if possible, governed. though the utter sinking of jamaica under the sea might not be regarded as a misfortune, it is not to be thought of that it should belong to others than britain. how should we look at the english politician who would propose to sell it to the united states; or beg spain to take it as an appendage to cuba? it is one of the few sores in our huge and healthy carcase; and the sore has been now running so long, that we have almost given over asking whether it be curable. this at any rate is certain--it will not sink into the sea, but will remain there, inhabited, if not by white men, then by coloured men or black; and must unfortunately be governed by us english. we have indulged our antipathy to cruelty by abolishing slavery. we have made the peculiar institution an impossibility under the british crown. but in doing so we overthrew one particular interest; and, alas! we overthrew also, and necessarily so, the holders of that interest. as for the twenty millions which we gave to the slave-owners, it was at best but as though we had put down awls and lasts by act of parliament, and, giving the shoemakers the price of their tools, told them they might make shoes as they best could without them; failing any such possibility, that they might live on the price of their lost articles. well; the shoemakers did their best, and continued their trade in shoes under much difficulty. but then we have had another antipathy to indulge, and have indulged it--our antipathy to protection. we have abolished the duty on slave-grown sugar; and the shoemakers who have no awls and lasts have to compete sadly with their happy neighbours, possessed of these useful shoemaking utensils. make no more shoes, but make something in lieu of shoes, we say to them. the world wants not shoes only--make hats. give up your sugar, and bring forth produce that does not require slave labour. could the men of jamaica with one voice speak out such words as the experience of the world might teach them, they would probably answer thus:--"yes; in two hundred years or so we will do so. so long it will take to alter the settled trade and habit of a community. in the mean time, for ourselves, our living selves, our late luxurious homes, our idle, softly-nurtured creole wives, our children coming and to come--for ourselves--what immediate compensation do you intend to offer us, mr. bull?" mr. bull, with sufficient anger at such importunity; with sufficient remembrance of his late twenty millions of pounds sterling; with some plain allusions to that payment, buttons up his breeches-pocket and growls angrily. abolition of slavery is good, and free trade is good. such little insight as a plain man may have into the affairs around him seems to me to suffice for the expression of such opinion. nor will i presume to say that those who proposed either the one law or the other were premature. to get a good law passed and out of hand is always desirable. there are from day to day so many new impediments! but the law having been passed, we should think somewhat of the sufferers. planters in jamaica assert that when the abolition of slavery was hurried on by the termination of the apprentice system before the time first stipulated, they were promised by the government at home that their interests should be protected by high duties on slave-grown sugar. that such pledge was ever absolutely made, i do not credit. but that, if made, it could be worth anything, no man looking to the history of england could imagine. what minister can pledge his successors? in jamaica it is said that the pledge was given and broken by the same man--by sir robert peel. but when did sir robert peel's pledge in one year bind even his own conduct in the next? the fact perhaps is this, that no one interest can ever be allowed to stand in the way of national progress. we could not stop machinery for the sake of the hand-loom weavers. the poor hand-loom weavers felt themselves aggrieved; knew that the very bread was taken from their mouths, their hard-earned cup from their lips. they felt, poor weavers! that they could not take themselves in middle life to poking fires and greasing wheels. time, the eater of things, has now pretty well eaten the hand-loom weavers--them and their miseries. must it not be so also with the jamaica planters? in the mean time the sight, as regards the white man, is a sad one to see; and almost the sadder in that the last three or four years have been in a slight degree prosperous to the jamaica sugar-grower; so that this question of producing sugar in that island at a rate that will pay for itself is not quite answered. the drowning man still clings by a rope's end, though it be but by half an inch, and that held between his teeth. let go, thou unhappy one, and drown thyself out of the way! is it not thus that great britain, speaking to him from the high places in exeter hall, shouts to him in his death struggles? are englishmen in general aware that half the sugar estates in jamaica, and i believe more than half the coffee plantations, have gone back into a state of bush?--that all this land, rich with the richest produce only some thirty years since, has now fallen back into wilderness?--that the world has hereabouts so retrograded?--that chaos and darkness have reswallowed so vast an extent of the most bountiful land that civilization had ever mastered, and that too beneath the british government? and of those who are now growing canes in jamaica a great portion are gentlemen who have lately bought their estates for the value of the copper in the sugar-boilers, and of the metal in the rum-stills. if to this has been added anything like a fair value for wheels in the machinery, the estate has not been badly sold. some estates there are, and they are not many, which are still worked by the agents--attorneys is the proper word--of rich proprietors in england; of men so rich that they have been able to bear the continual drain of properties that for years have been always losing--of men who have had wealth and spirit to endure this. it is hardly necessary to say that they are few; and that many whose spirit has been high, but wealth insufficient, have gone grievously to the wall in the attempt. and there are still some who, living on the spot, have hitherto pulled through it all; who have watched houses falling and the wilderness progressing, and have still stuck to their homes and their work; men whose properties for ten years, counting from the discontinuance of protection, have gradually grown less and less beneath their eyes, till utter want has been close to them. and yet they have held on. in the good times they may have made five hundred hogsheads of sugar every year. it has come to that with them that in some years they have made but thirty. but they have made that thirty and still held on. all honour at least to them! for their sake, if for that of no others, we would be tempted to pray that these few years of their prosperity may be prolonged and grow somewhat fatter. the exported produce of jamaica consists chiefly of sugar and rum. the article next in importance is coffee. then they export also logwood, arrowroot, pimento, and ginger; but not in quantities to make them of much national value. mahogany is also cut here, and fustic. but sugar and rum are still the staples of the island. now all the world knows that rum and sugar are made from the same plant. and yet every one will tell you that the cane can hardly be got to thrive in jamaica without slave labour; will tell you, also, that the land of jamaica is so generous that it will give forth many of the most wonderful fruits of the world, almost without labour. putting these two things together, would not any simple man advise them to abandon sugar? ah! he would be very simple if he were to do so with a voice that could make itself well heard, and should dare to do so in jamaica. men there are generally tolerant of opinion on most matters, and submit to be talked to on their own shortcomings and colonial mismanagement with a decent grace. you may advise them to do this, and counsel them to do that, referring to their own immediate concerns, without receiving that rebuke which your interference might probably deserve. but do not try their complaisance too far. do not advise them to give over making sugar. if you give such advice in a voice loud enough to be heard, the island will soon be too hot to hold you. sugar is loved there, whether wisely loved or not. if not wisely, then too well. when i hear a jamaica planter talking of sugar, i cannot but think of burns, and his muse that had made him poor and kept him so. and the planter is just as ready to give up his canes as the poet was to abandon his song. the production of sugar and the necessary concomitant production of rum--for in jamaica the two do necessarily go together--is not, one would say, an alluring occupation. i do not here intend to indulge my readers with a detailed description of the whole progress, from the planting or ratooning of the cane till the sugar and the rum are shipped. books there are, no doubt, much wiser than mine in which the whole process is developed. but i would wish this much to be understood, that the sugar planter, as things at present are, must attend to and be master of, and practically carry out three several trades. he must be an agriculturist, and grow his cane; and like all agriculturists must take his crop from the ground and have it ready for use; as the wheat grower does in england, and the cotton grower in america. but then he must also be a manufacturer, and that in a branch of manufacture which requires complicated machinery. the wheat grower does not grind his wheat and make it into bread. nor does the cotton grower fabricate calico. but the grower of canes must make sugar. he must have his boiling-houses and trash-houses; his water power and his steam power; he must dabble in machinery, and, in fact, be a manchester manufacturer as well as a kent farmer. and then, over and beyond this, he must be a distiller. the sugar leaves him fit for your puddings, and the rum fit for your punch--always excepting the slight article of adulteration which you are good enough to add afterwards yourselves. such a complication of trades would not be thought very alluring to a gentleman farmer in england. and yet the jamaica proprietor holds faithfully by his sugar-canes. it has been said that sugar is an article which for its proper production requires slave labour. that this is absolutely so is certainly not the fact, for very good sugar is made in jamaica without it. that thousands of pounds could be made with slaves where only hundreds are made--or, as the case may be, are lost--without it, i do not doubt. the complaint generally resolves itself to this, that free labour in jamaica cannot be commanded; that it cannot be had always, and up to a certain given quantity at a certain moment; that labour is scarce, and therefore high priced, and that labour being high priced, a negro can live on half a day's wages, and will not therefore work the whole day--will not always work any part of the day at all, seeing that his yams, his breadfruit, and his plantains are ready to his hands. but the slaves!--oh! those were the good times! i have in another chapter said a few words about the negroes as at present existing in jamaica, i also shall say a few words as to slavery elsewhere; and i will endeavour not to repeat myself. this much, however, is at least clear to all men, that you cannot eat your cake and have it. you cannot abolish slavery to the infinite good of your souls, your minds, and intellects, and yet retain it for the good of your pockets. seeing that these men are free, it is worse than useless to begrudge them the use of their freedom. if i have means to lie in the sun and meditate idle, why, o my worthy taskmaster! should you expect me to pull out at thy behest long reels of cotton, long reels of law jargon, long reels of official verbosity, long reels of gossamer literature--why, indeed? not having means so to lie, i do pull out the reels, taking such wages as i can get, and am thankful. but my friend and brother over there, my skin-polished, shining, oil-fat negro, is a richer man than i. he lies under his mango-tree, and eats the luscious fruit in the sun; he sends his black urchin up for a breadfruit, and behold the family table is spread. he pierces a cocoa-nut, and, lo! there is his beverage. he lies on the grass surrounded by oranges, bananas, and pine-apples. oh, my hard taskmaster of the sugar-mill, is he not better off than thou? why should he work at thy order? "no, massa, me weak in me belly; me no workee to-day; me no like workee just 'em little moment." yes, sambo has learned to have his own way; though hardly learned to claim his right without lying. that this is all bad--bad nearly as bad can be--bad perhaps as anything short of slavery, all men will allow. it will be quite as bad in the long run for the negro as for the white man--worse, indeed; for the white man will by degrees wash his hands of the whole concern. but as matters are, one cannot wonder that the black man will not work. the question stands thus: cannot he be made to do so? can it not be contrived that he shall be free, free as is the englishman, and yet compelled, as is the englishman, to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow? i utterly disbelieve in statistics as a science, and am never myself guided by any long-winded statement of figures from a chancellor of the exchequer or such like big-wig. to my mind it is an hallucination. such statements are "ignes fatui." figures, when they go beyond six in number, represent to me not facts, but dreams, or sometimes worse than dreams. i have therefore no right myself to offer statistics to the reader. but it was stated in the census taken in that there were sixteen thousand white people in the island, and about three hundred thousand blacks. there were also about seventy thousand coloured people. putting aside for the moment the latter as a middle class, and regarding the black as the free servants of the white, one would say that labour should not be so deficient but what, if your free servants don't work; unfortunately know how to live without working? the political question that presses upon me in viewing jamaica, is certainly this--will the growth of sugar pay in jamaica, or will it not? i have already stated my conviction that a change is now taking place in the very blood and nature of the men who are destined to be the dominant classes in these western tropical latitudes. that the white man, the white englishman, or white english creole, will ever again be a thoroughly successful sugar grower in jamaica i do not believe. that the brown man may be so is very probable; but great changes must first be made in the countries around him. while the "peculiar institution" exists in cuba, brazil, porto rico, and the southern states, it cannot, i think, come to pass. a plentiful crop in cuba may in any year bring sugar to a price which will give no return whatever to the jamaica grower. a spare crop in jamaica itself will have the same result; and there are many causes for spare crops; drought, for instance, and floods, and abounding rats, and want of capital to renew and manure the plants. at present the trade will only give in good years a fair profit to those who have purchased their land almost for nothing. a trade that cannot stand many misfortunes can hardly exist prosperously. this trade has stood very many; but i doubt whether it can stand more. the "peculiar institution," however, will not live for ever. the time must come when abolition will be popular even in louisiana. and when it is law there, it will be the law in cuba also. if that day shall have arrived before the last sugar-mill in the island shall have been stopped, jamaica may then compete with other free countries. the world will not do without sugar, let it be produced by slaves or free men. but though a man may venture to foretell the abolition of slavery in the states, and yet call himself no prophet, he must be a wiser man than i who can foretell the time. it will hardly be to-morrow; nor yet the next day. it will scarcely come so that we may see it. before it does come it may easily be that the last sugar-mill in poor jamaica will in truth have stopped. chapter viii. jamaica--emperor soulouque. we all remember the day when mr. smith landed at newhaven and took up his abode quietly at the inn there. poor mr. smith! in the ripeness of time he has betaken himself a stage further on his long journey, travelling now probably without disguise, either that of a citizen king or of a citizen smith. and now, following his illustrious example, the ex-emperor soulouque has sought the safety always to be found on english territories by sovereigns out of place. in january, , his highness landed at kingston, jamaica, having made his town of port au prince and his kingdom of hayti somewhat too hot to hold him. all the world probably knows that king soulouque is a black man. one blacker never endured the meridian heat of a tropical sun. the island, which was christened hispaniola by columbus, has resumed its ancient name of hayti. it is, however, divided into two kingdoms--two republics one may now say. that to the east is generally called st. domingo, having borrowed the name given by columbus to a town. this is by far the larger, but at the same time the poorer division of the island. that to the west is now called hayti, and over this territory soulouque reigned as emperor. he reigned as emperor, and was so styled, having been elected as president; in which little change in his state he has been imitated by a neighbour of ours with a success almost equal to his own. for some dozen years the success of soulouque was very considerable. he has had a dominion which has been almost despotic; and has, so rumour says, invested some three or four hundred thousand pounds in european funds. in this latter point his imitator has, i fear, hardly equalled him. but a higher ambition fired the bosom of soulouque, and he sighed after the territories of his neighbours--not generously to bestow them on other kings, but that he might keep them on his own behoof. soulouque desired to be emperor of the whole island, and he sounded his trumpet and prepared his arms. he called together his army, and put on the boots of bombastes. he put on the boots of bombastes and bade his men meet him--at the barleymow or elsewhere. but it seems that his men were slow in coming to the rendezvous. nothing that soulouque could say, nothing that he could do, no admonitions through his sternest government ministers, no reading of the mutiny act by his commanders and generals, would induce them actually to make an assault at arms. then soulouque was angry, and in his anger he maltreated his army. he put his men into pits, and kept them there without food; left them to be eaten by vermin--to be fed upon while they could not feed; and played, upon the whole, such a melodrama of autocratic tricks and fantasies as might have done honour to a white nero. then at last black human nature could endure no more, and soulouque, dreading a pit for his own majesty, was forced to run. in one respect he was more fortunate than mr. smith. in his dire necessity an english troop-ship was found to be at hand. the 'melbourne' was steaming home from jamaica, and the officer in command having been appealed to for assistance, consented to return to kingston with the royal suite. this she did, and on the nd of january, soulouque, with his wife and daughter, his prime minister, and certain coal-black maids of honour, was landed at the quays. when under the ægis of british protection, the ex-emperor was of course safe. but he had not exactly chosen a bed of roses for himself in coming to jamaica. it might be probable that a bed of roses was not easily to be found at the moment. at kingston there were collected many haytians, who had either been banished by soulouque in the plenitude of his power, or had run from him as he was now running from his subjects. there were many whose brothers and fathers had been destroyed in hayti, whose friends had perished under the hands of the tyrant's executioner, for whom pits would have been prepared had they not vanished speedily. these refugees had sought safety also in jamaica, and for them a day of triumph had now arrived. they were not the men to allow an opportunity for triumph to pass without enjoying it. these were mostly brown men--men of a mixed race; men, and indeed women also. with soulouque and his government such had found no favour. he had been glad to welcome white residents in his kingdom, and of course had rejoiced in having black men as his subjects. but of the coloured people he had endeavoured in every way to rid himself. he had done so to a great extent, and many of them were now ready to welcome him at kingston. kingston does not rejoice in public equipages of much pretensions; nor are there to be hired many carriages fit for the conveyance of royalty, even in its decadence. two small, wretched vehicles were however procured, such as ply in the streets there, and carry passengers to the spanish town railway at sixpence a head. in one of these sat soulouque and his wife, with a british officer on the box beside the driver, and with two black policemen hanging behind. in another, similarly guarded, were packed the countess olive--that being the name of the ex-emperor's daughter--and her attendants. and thus travelling by different streets they made their way to their hotel. one would certainly have wished, in despite of those wretched pits, that they had been allowed to do so without annoyance; but such was not the case. the banished haytians had it not in their philosophy to abstain from triumphing on a fallen enemy. they surrounded the carriages with a dusky cloud, and received the fugitives with howls of self-congratulation at their abasement. nor was this all. when the royal party was duly lodged at the date-tree tavern, the ex-haytians lodged themselves opposite. there they held a dignity ball in token of their joy; and for three days maintained their position in order that poor soulouque might witness their rejoicings. "they have said a mass over him, the wretched being!" said the landlady of my hotel to me, triumphantly. "said a mass over him?" "yes, the black nigger--king, indeed! said a mass over him 'cause he's down. thank god for that! and pray god keep him so. him king indeed, the black nigger!" all which could not have been comfortable for poor soulouque. the royal party had endeavoured in the first instance to take up their quarters at this lady's hotel, or lodging-house, as they are usually called. but the patriotic sister of mrs. seacole would listen to no such proposition. "i won't keep a house for black men," she said to me. "as for kings, i would despise myself to have a black king. as for that black beast and his black women--bah!" now this was certainly magnanimous, for soulouque would have been prepared to pay well for his accommodation. but the ordinary contempt which the coloured people have for negroes was heightened in this case by the presumption of black royalty--perhaps also by loyalty. "queen victoria is my king," said mrs. seacole's sister. i must confess that i endeavoured to excite her loyalty rather than her compassion. a few friends were to dine with me that day; and where would have been my turtle soup had soulouque and his suite taken possession of the house? the deposed tyrant, when he left hayti, published a short manifesto, in which he set forth that he, faustin the first, having been elected by the free suffrages of his fellow countrymen, had endeavoured to govern them well, actuated by a pure love of his country; that he had remained at his post as long as his doing so had been pleasing to his countrymen; but that now, having discovered by sure symptoms that his countrymen desired to see him no longer on the throne, he voluntarily and immediately abdicated his seat. from henceforth he could only wish well to the prosperity of hayti. free suffrages of his people! ah, me! such farces strike us but as farces when hayti and such like lands are concerned. but when they come nearer to us they are very sad. soulouque is a stout, hale man, apparently of sixty-five or sixty-eight years of age. it is difficult to judge of the expression of a black man's face unless it be very plainly seen; but it appeared to me to be by no means repulsive. he has been, i believe, some twelve years emperor of hayti, and as he has escaped with wealth he cannot be said to have been unfortunate. chapter ix. jamaica--the government. queen, lords, and commons, with the full paraphernalia of triple readings, adjournments of the house, and counting out, prevails in jamaica as it does in great britain. by this it will be understood that there is a governor, representing the crown, whose sanction or veto is of course given, as regards important measures, in accordance with instructions from the colonial office. the governor has an executive committee, which tallies with our cabinet. it consists at present of three members, one of whom belongs to the upper house and two to the lower. the governor may appoint a fourth member if it so please him. these gentlemen are paid for their services, and preside over different departments, as do our secretaries of state, &c. and there is a most honourable privy council, just as we have at home. of this latter, the members may or may not support the governor, seeing that they are elected for life. the house of lords is represented by the legislative council. this quasi-peerage is of course not hereditary, but the members sit for life, and are nominated by the governor. they are seventeen in number. the legislative council can of course put a veto on any bill. the house of assembly stands in the place of the house of commons. it consists of forty-seven members, two being elected by nineteen parishes, and three each by three other parishes, those, namely, which contain the towns of kingston, spanish town, and port royal. in one respect this house of commons falls short of the privileges and powers of our house at home. it cannot suggest money bills. no honourable member can make a proposition that so much a year shall be paid for such a purpose. the government did not wish to be driven to exercise the invidious power of putting repeated vetos on repeated suggestions for semi-public expenditure; and therefore this power has been taken away. but any honourable member can bring before the house a motion to the effect that the governor be recommended himself to propose, by one of the executive committee, such or such a money bill; and then if the governor decline, the house can refuse to pass his supplies, and can play the "red devil" with his excellency. so that it seems to come pretty nearly to the same thing. at home in england, crown, lords, and commons really seem to do very well. some may think that the system wants a little shove this way, some the other. reform may, or may not be, more or less needed. but on the whole we are governed honestly, liberally, and successfully; with at least a greater share of honesty, liberality, and success than has fallen to the lot of most other people. each of the three estates enjoys the respect of the people at large, and a seat, either among the lords or the commons, is an object of high ambition. the system may therefore be said to be successful. but it does not follow that because it answers in england it should answer in jamaica; that institutions which suit the country which is perhaps in the whole world the furthest advanced in civilization, wealth, and public honesty, should suit equally well an island which is unfortunately very far from being advanced in those good qualities; whose civilization, as regards the bulk of the population, is hardly above that of savages, whose wealth has vanished, and of whose public honesty--i will say nothing. of that i myself will say nothing, but the jamaicans speak of it in terms which are not flattering to their own land. i do not think that the system does answer in jamaica. in the first place, it must be remembered that it is carried on there in a manner very different from that exercised in our other west-indian colonies. in jamaica any man may vote who pays either tax or rent; but by a late law he must put in his claim to vote on a ten shilling stamp. there are in round numbers three hundred thousand blacks, seventy thousand coloured people, and fifteen thousand white; it may therefore easily be seen in what hands the power of electing must rest. now in barbados no coloured man votes at all. a coloured man or negro is doubtless qualified to vote if he own a freehold; but then, care is taken that such shall not own freeholds. in trinidad, the legislative power is almost entirely in the hands of the crown. in guiana, which i look upon as the best governed of them all, this is very much the case. it is not that i would begrudge the black man the right of voting because he is black, or that i would say that he is and must be unfit to vote, or unfit even to sit in a house of assembly; but the amalgamation as at present existing is bad. the objects sought after by a free and open representation of the people are not gained unless those men are as a rule returned who are most respected in the commonwealth, so that the body of which they are the units may be respected also. this object is not achieved in jamaica, and consequently the house of assembly is not respected. it does not contain the men of most weight and condition in the island, and is contemptuously spoken of even in jamaica itself, and even by its own members. some there are, some few, who have gotten themselves to be elected, in order that things which are already bad may not, if such can be avoided, become worse. they, no doubt, are they who best do their duty by the country in which their lot lies. but, for the most part, those who should represent jamaica will not condescend to take part in the debates, nor will they solicit the votes of the negroes. it would appear from these observations as though i thought that the absolute ascendency of the white man should still be maintained in jamaica. by no means. let him be ascendant who can--in jamaica or elsewhere--who honestly can. i doubt whether such ascendency, the ascendency of europeans and white creoles, can be longer maintained in this island. it is not even now maintained; and for that reason chiefly i hold that this system of lords and commons is not compatible with the present genius of the place. let coloured men fill the public offices, and enjoy the sweets of official pickings. i would by no means wish to interfere with any good things which fortune may be giving them in this respect. but i think there would be greater probability of their advancing in their new profession honestly and usefully, if they could be made to look more to the colonial office at home, and less to the native legislature. at home, no member of the house of commons can hold a government contract. the members of the house of assembly in jamaica have no such prejudicial embargo attached to the honour of their seats. they can hold the government contracts; and it is astonishing how many of them are in their hands. the great point which strikes a stranger is this, that the house of assembly is not respected in the island. jamaicans themselves have no confidence in it. if the white men could be polled, the majority i think would prefer to be rid of it altogether, and to be governed, as trinidad is governed, by a governor with a council; of course with due power of reference to the colonial office. let any man fancy what england would be if the house of commons were ludicrous in the eyes of englishmen; if men ridiculed or were ashamed of all their debates. such is the case as regards the jamaica house of commons. in truth, there is not room for a machinery so complicated in this island. the handful of white men can no longer have it all their own way; and as for the negroes--let any warmest advocate of the "man and brother" position say whether he has come across three or four of the class who are fit to enact laws for their own guidance and the guidance of others. it pains me to write words which may seem to be opposed to humanity and a wide philanthropy; but a spade is a spade, and it is worse than useless to say that it is something else. the proof of the truth of what i say with reference to this system of lords and commons is to be found in the eating of the pudding. it may not perhaps be fair to adduce the prosperity of barbados, and to compare it with the adversity of jamaica, seeing that local circumstances were advantageous to barbados at the times of emancipation and equalization of the sugar duties. barbados was always able to command a plentiful supply of labour. but it is quite fair to compare jamaica with guiana or trinidad. in both these colonies the negro was as well able to shirk his work as in jamaica. and in these two colonies the negro did shirk his work, just as he did in jamaica; and does still to a great extent. the limits of these colonies are as extensive as jamaica is, and the negro can squat. they are as fertile as jamaica is, and the negro can procure his food almost without trouble. but not the less is it a fact that the exportation of sugar from guiana and trinidad now exceeds the amount exported in the time of slavery, while the exportation from jamaica is almost as nothing. but in trinidad and guiana they have no house of commons, with mr. speaker, three readings, motions for adjournment, and unlimited powers of speech. in those colonies the governments--acting with such assistance as was necessary--have succeeded in getting foreign labour. in jamaica they have as yet but succeeded in talking about it. in guiana and trinidad they make much sugar, and boast loudly of making more. in jamaica they make but very little, and have not self-confidence enough left with them to make any boast whatsoever. with all the love that an englishman should have for a popular parliamentary representation, i cannot think it adapted to a small colony, even were that colony not from circumstances so peculiarly ill fitted for it as is jamaica. in canada and australia it is no doubt very well; the spirit of a fresh and energetic people struggling on into the world's eminence will produce men fit for debating, men who can stand on their legs without making a house of legislature ridiculous. but what could lords and commons do in malta, or in jersey? what would they do in the scilly islands? what have they been doing in the ionian islands? and, alas! what have they done in jamaica? her roads are almost impassable, her bridges are broken down, her coffee plantations have gone back to bush, her sugar estates have been sold for the value of the sugar-boilers. kingston as a town is the most deplorable that man ever visited, unless it be that spanish town is worse. and yet they have lords and commons with all but unlimited powers of making motions! it has availed them nothing, and i fear will avail them nothing. this i know may be said, that be the lords and commons there for good or evil, they are to be moved neither by men nor gods. it is i imagine true, that no power known to the british empire could deprive jamaica of her constitution. it has had some kind of a house of assembly since the time of charles ii.; nay, i believe, since the days of cromwell; which by successive doctoring has grown to be such a parody, as it now is, on our home mode of doing business. how all this may now be altered and brought back to reason, perhaps no man can say. probably it cannot be altered till some further smash shall come; but it is not on that account the less objectionable. the house of assembly and the chamber of the legislative council are both situated in the same square with the governor's mansion in spanish town. the desolateness of this place i have attempted to describe elsewhere, and yet, when i was there, parliament was sitting! what must the place be during the nine months when parliament does not sit? they are yellow buildings, erected at considerable expense, and not without some pretence. but nevertheless, they are ugly--ugly from their colour, ugly from the heat, and ugly from a certain heaviness which seems natural to them and to the place. the house itself in which the forty-seven members sit is comfortable enough, and not badly adapted for its purposes. the speaker sits at one end all in full fig, with a clerk at the table below; opposite to him, two-thirds down the room, a low bar, about four feet high, runs across it. as far as this the public are always admitted; and when any subject of special interest is under discussion twelve or fifteen persons may be seen there assembled. then there is a side room opening from the house, into which members take their friends. indeed it is, i believe, generally open to any one wearing a decent coat. there is the bellamy of the establishment, in which honourable members take such refreshment as the warmth of the debate may render necessary. their tastes seemed to me to be simple, and to addict themselves chiefly to rum and water. i was throwing away my cigar as i entered the precincts of the house. "oh, you can smoke," said my friend to me; "only, when you stand at the doorway, don't let the speaker's eye catch the light; but it won't much matter." so i walked on, and stood at the side door, smoking my cigar indeed, but conscious that i was desecrating the place. i saw five or six coloured gentlemen in the house, and two negroes--sitting in the house as members. as far as the two latter men were concerned, i could not but be gratified to see them in the fair enjoyment of the objects of a fair ambition. had they not by efforts of their own made themselves greatly superior to others of their race, they would not have been there. i say this, fearing that it may be thought that i begrudge a black man such a position. i begrudge the black men nothing that they can honestly lay hands on; but i think that we shall benefit neither them nor ourselves by attempting with a false philanthropy to make them out to be other than they are. the subject under debate was a railway bill. the railway system is not very extended in the island; but there is a railway, and the talk was of prolonging it. indeed, the house i believe had on some previous occasion decided that it should be prolonged, and the present fight was as to some particular detail. what that detail was i did not learn, for the business being performed was a continual series of motions for adjournment carried on by a victorious minority of three. it was clear that the conquered majority of--say thirty--was very angry. for some reason, appertaining probably to the tactics of the house, these thirty were exceedingly anxious to have some special point carried and put out of the way that night, but the three were inexorable. two of the three spoke continually, and ended every speech with a motion for adjournment. and then there was a disagreement among the thirty. some declared all this to be "bosh," proposed to leave the house without any adjournment, play whist, and let the three victors enjoy their barren triumph. others, made of sterner stuff, would not thus give way. one after another they made impetuous little speeches, then two at a time, and at last three. they thumped the table, and called each other pretty names, walked about furiously, and devoted the three victors to the infernal gods. and then one of the black gentlemen arose, and made a calm, deliberate little oration. the words he spoke were about the wisest which were spoken that night, and yet they were not very wise. he offered to the house a few platitudes on the general benefit of railways, which would have applied to any railway under the sun, saying that eggs and fowls would be taken to market; and then he sat down. on his behalf i must declare that there were no other words of such wisdom spoken that night. but this relief lasted only for three minutes. after a while two members coming to the door declared that it was becoming unbearable, and carried me away to play whist. "my place is close by," said one, "and if the row becomes hot we shall hear it. it is dreadful to stay there with such an object, and with the certainty of missing one's object after all." as i was inclined to agree with him, i went away and played whist. but soon a storm of voices reached our ears round the card-table. "they are hard at it now," said one honourable member. "that's so-and-so, by the screech." the yell might have been heard at kingston, and no doubt was. "by heavens they are at it," said another. "ha, ha, ha! a nice house of assembly, isn't it?" "will they pitch into one another?" i asked, thinking of scenes of which i had read of in another country; and thinking also, i must confess, that an absolute bodily scrimmage on the floor of the house might be worth seeing. "they don't often do that," said my friend. "they trust chiefly to their voices; but there's no knowing." the temptation was too much for me, so i threw down my cards and rushed back to the assembly. when i arrived the louder portion of the noise was being made by one gentleman who was walking round and round the chamber, swearing in a loud voice that he would resign the very moment the speaker was seated in the chair; for at that time the house was in committee. the louder portion of the noise, i say, for two other honourable members were speaking, and the rest were discussing the matter in small parties. "shameful, abominable, scandalous, rascally!" shouted the angry gentleman over and over again, as he paced round and round the chamber. "i'll not sit in such a house; no man should sit in such a house. by g----, i'll resign as soon as i see the speaker in that chair. sir, come and have a drink of rum and water." in his angry wanderings his steps had brought him to the door at which i was standing, and these last words were addressed to me. "come and have a drink of rum and water," and he seized me with a hospitable violence by the arm. i did not dare to deny so angry a legislator, and i drank the rum and water. then i returned to my cards. it may be said that nearly the same thing does sometimes occur in our own house of commons--always omitting the threats of resignation and the drink. with us at home a small minority may impede the business of the house by adjournments, and members sometimes become loud and angry. but in jamaica the storm raged in so small a teapot! the railway extension was to be but for a mile or two, and i fear would hardly benefit more than the eggs and fowls for which the dark gentleman pleaded. in heading this chapter i have spoken of the government, and it may be objected to me that in writing it i have written only of the legislature, and not at all of the mode of governing. but in truth the mode of government depends entirely on the mode of legislature. as regards the governor himself and his ministers, i do not doubt that they do their best; but i think that their best might be much better if their hands were not so closely tied by this teapot system of queen, lords, and commons. chapter x. cuba. cuba is the largest and the most westerly of the west indian islands. it is in the shape of a half-moon, and with one of its horns nearly lies across the mouth of the gulf of mexico. it belongs to the spanish crown, of which it is by far the most splendid appendage. so much for facts--geographical and historical. the journey from kingston to cien fuegos, of which i have said somewhat in my first chapter, was not completed under better auspices than those which witnessed its commencement. that perfidious bark, built in the eclipse, was bad to the last, and my voyage took nine days instead of three. my humble stock of provisions had long been all gone, and my patience was nearly at as low an ebb. then, as a finale, the cuban pilot who took us in hand as we entered the port, ran us on shore just under the spanish fort, and there left us. from this position it was impossible to escape, though the shore lay close to us, inasmuch as it is an offence of the gravest nature to land in those ports without the ceremony of a visit from the medical officer; and no medical officer would come to us there. and then two of our small crew had been taken sick, and we had before us in our mind's eye all the pleasures of quarantine. a man, and especially an author, is thankful for calamities if they be of a tragic dye. it would be as good as a small fortune to be left for three days without food or water, or to run for one's life before a black storm on unknown seas in a small boat. but we had no such luck as this. there was plenty of food, though it was not very palatable; and the peril of our position cannot be insisted on, as we might have thrown a baby on shore from the vessel, let alone a biscuit. we did what we could to get up a catastrophe among the sharks, by bathing off the ship's sides. but even this was in vain. one small shark we did see. but in lieu of it eating us, we ate it. in spite of the popular prejudice, i have to declare that it was delicious. but at last i did find myself in the hotel at cien fuegos. and here i must say a word in praise of the civility of the spanish authorities of that town--and, indeed, of those gentlemen generally wherever i chanced to meet them. they welcome you with easy courtesy; offer you coffee or beer; assure you at parting that their whole house is at your disposal; and then load you--at least they so loaded me--with cigars. "my friend," said the captain of the port, holding in his hand a huge parcel of these articles, each about seven inches long--"i wish i could do you a service. it would make me happy for ever if i could truly serve you." "señor, the service you have done me is inestimable in allowing me to make the acquaintance of don ----." "but at least accept these few cigars;" and then he pressed the bundle into my hand, and pressed his own hand over mine. "smoke one daily after dinner; and when you procure any that are better, do a fastidious old smoker the great kindness to inform him where they are to be found." this treasure to which his fancy alluded, but in the existence of which he will never believe, i have not yet discovered. cien fuegos is a small new town on the southern coast of cuba, created by the sugar trade, and devoted, of course, to commerce. it is clean, prosperous, and quickly increasing. its streets are lighted with gas, while those in the havana still depend upon oil-lamps. it has its opera, its governor's house, its alaméda, its military and public hospital, its market-place, and railway station; and unless the engineers deceive themselves, it will in time have its well. it has also that institution which in the eyes of travellers ranks so much above all others, a good and clean inn. my first object after landing was to see a slave sugar estate. i had been told in jamaica that to effect this required some little management; that the owners of the slaves were not usually willing to allow strangers to see them at work; and that the manufacture of sugar in cuba was as a rule kept sacred from profane eyes. but i found no such difficulty. i made my request to an english merchant at cien fuegos, and he gave me a letter of introduction to the proprietor of an estate some fifteen miles from the town; and by their joint courtesy i saw all that i wished. on this property, which consisted altogether of eighteen hundred acres--the greater portion of which was not yet under cultivation--there were six hundred acres of cane pieces. the average year's produce was eighteen hundred hogsheads, or three hogsheads to the acre. the hogshead was intended to represent a ton of sugar when it reached the market, but judging from all that i could learn it usually fell short of it by more than a hundredweight. the value of such a hogshead at cien fuegos was about twenty-five pounds. there were one hundred and fifty negro men on the estate, the average cash value of each man being three hundred and fifty pounds; most of the men had their wives. in stating this it must not be supposed that either i or my informant insist much on the validity of their marriage ceremony; any such ceremony was probably of rare occurrence. during the crop time, at which period my visit was made, and which lasts generally from november till may, the negroes sleep during six hours out of the twenty-four, have two for their meals, and work for sixteen! no difference is made on sunday. their food is very plentiful, and of a good and strong description. they are sleek and fat and large, like well-preserved brewers' horses; and with reference to them, as also with reference to the brewers' horses, it has probably been ascertained what amount of work may be exacted so as to give the greatest profit. during the remainder of the year the labour of the negroes averages twelve hours a day, and one day of rest in the week is usually allowed to them. i was of course anxious to see what was the nature of the coercive measures used with them. but in this respect my curiosity was not indulged. i can only say that i saw none, and saw the mark and signs of none. no doubt the whip is in use, but i did not see it. the gentleman whose estate i visited had no notice of our coming, and there was no appearance of anything being hidden from us. i could not, however, bring myself to inquire of him as to their punishment. the slaves throughout the island are always as a rule baptized. those who are employed in the town and as household servants appear to be educated in compliance with, at any rate the outward doctrines of, the roman catholic church. but with the great mass of the negroes--those who work on the sugar-canes--all attention to religion ends with their baptism. they have the advantage, whatever it may be, of that ceremony in infancy; and from that time forth they are treated as the beasts of the stall. from all that i could hear, as well as from what i could see, i have reason to think that, regarding them as beasts, they are well treated. their hours of labour are certainly very long--so long as to appear almost impossible to a european workman. but under the system, such as it is, the men do not apparently lose their health, though, no doubt, they become prematurely old, and as a rule die early. the property is too valuable to be neglected or ill used. the object of course is to make that property pay; and therefore a present healthy condition is cared for, but long life is not regarded. it is exactly the same with horses in this country. when all has been said that can be said in favour of the slave-owner in cuba, it comes to this--that he treats his slaves as beasts of burden, and so treating them, does it skilfully and with prudence. the point which most shocks an englishman is the absence of all religion, the ignoring of the black man's soul. but this, perhaps, may be taken as an excuse, that the white men here ignore their own souls also. the roman catholic worship seems to be at a lower ebb in cuba than almost any country in which i have seen it. it is singular that no priest should even make any effort on the subject with regard to the negroes; but i am assured that such is the fact. they do not wish to do so; nor will they allow of any one asking them to make the experiment. one would think that had there been any truth or any courage in them, they would have declared the inutility of baptism, and have proclaimed that negroes have no souls. but there is no truth in them; neither is there any courage. the works at the cuban sugar estate were very different from those i had seen at jamaica. they were on a much larger scale, in much better order, overlooked by a larger proportion of white men, with a greater amount of skilled labour. the evidences of capital were very plain in cuba; whereas, the want of it was frequently equally plain in our own island. not that the planters in cuba are as a rule themselves very rich men. the estates are deeply mortgaged to the different merchants at the different ports, as are those in jamaica to the merchants of kingston. these merchants in cuba are generally americans, englishmen, germans, spaniards from the american republics--anything but cubans; and the slave-owners are but the go-betweens, who secure the profits of the slave-trade for the merchants. my friend at the estate invited us to a late breakfast after having shown me what i came to see. "you have taken me so unawares," said he, "that we cannot offer you much except a welcome." well, it was not much--for cuba perhaps. a delicious soup, made partly of eggs, a bottle of excellent claret, a paté de foie gras, some game deliciously dressed, and half a dozen kinds of vegetables; that was all. i had seen nothing among the slaves which in any way interfered with my appetite, or with the cup of coffee and cigar which came after the little nothings above mentioned. we then went down to the railway station. it was a peculiar station i was told, and the tickets could not be paid for till we reached cien fuegos. but, lo! on arriving at cien fuegos there was nothing more to pay. "it has all been done," said some one to me. if one was but convinced that those sleek, fat, smiling bipeds were but two legged beasts of burden, and nothing more, all would have been well at the estate which we visited. all cuba was of course full of the late message from the president of the united states, which at the time of my visit was some two months old there. the purport of what mr. buchanan said regarding cuba may perhaps be expressed as follows:--"circumstances and destiny absolutely require that the united states should be the masters of that island. that we should take it by filibustering or violence is not in accordance with our national genius. it will suit our character and honesty much better that we should obtain it by purchase. let us therefore offer a fair price for it. if a fair price be refused, that of course will be a casus belli. spain will then have injured us, and we may declare war. under these circumstances we should probably obtain the place without purchase; but let us hope better things." this is what the president has said, either in plain words or by inference equally plain. it may easily be conceived with what feeling such an announcement has been received by spain and those who hold spanish authority in cuba. there is an outspoken insolence in the threat, which, by a first-class power, would itself have been considered a cause for war. but spain is not a first-class power, and like the other weak ones of the earth must either perish or live by adhering to and obeying those who will protect her. though too ignoble to be strong, she has been too proud to be obedient. and as a matter of course she will go to the wall. a scrupulous man who feels that he would fain regulate his course in politics by the same line as that used for his ordinary life, cannot but feel angry at the loud tone of america's audacious threat. but even such a one knows that that threat will sooner or later be carried out, and that humanity will benefit by its accomplishment. perhaps it may be said that scrupulous men should have but little dealing in state policy. the plea under which mr. buchanan proposes to quarrel with spain, if she will not sell that which america wishes to buy, is the plea under which ahab quarrelled with naboth. a man is, individually, disgusted that a president of the united states should have made such an utterance. but looking at the question in a broader point of view, in one which regards future ages rather than the present time, one can hardly refrain from rejoicing at any event which will tend to bring about that which in itself is so desirable. we reprobate the name of filibuster, and have a holy horror of the trade. and it is perhaps fortunate that with us the age of individual filibustering is well-nigh gone by. but it may be fair for us to consider whether we have not in our younger days done as much in this line as have the americans--whether clive, for instance, was not a filibuster--or warren hastings. have we not annexed, and maintained, and encroached; protected, and assumed, and taken possession in the east--doing it all of course for the good of humanity? and why should we begrudge the same career to america? that we do begrudge it is certain. that she purchased california and took texas went at first against the grain with us; and englishmen, as a rule, would wish to maintain cuba in the possession of spain. but what englishman who thinks about it will doubt that california and texas have thriven since they were annexed, as they never could have thriven while forming part of the mexican empire--or can doubt that cuba, if delivered up to the states, would gain infinitely by such a change of masters? filibustering, called by that or some other name, is the destiny of a great portion of that race to which we englishmen and americans belong. it would be a bad profession probably for a scrupulous man. with the unscrupulous man, what stumbling-blocks there may be between his deeds and his conscience is for his consideration and for god's judgment. but it will hardly suit us as a nation to be loud against it. by what other process have poor and weak races been compelled to give way to those who have power and energy? and who have displaced so many of the poor and weak, and spread abroad so vast an energy, such an extent of power as we of england? the truth may perhaps be this:--that a filibuster needs expect no good word from his fellow-mortals till he has proved his claim to it by success. from such information as i could obtain, i am of opinion that the cubans themselves would be glad enough to see the transfer well effected. how, indeed, can it be otherwise? at present they have no national privilege except that of undergoing taxation. every office is held by a spaniard. every soldier in the island--and they say that there are twenty-five thousand--must be a spaniard. the ships of war are commanded and manned by spaniards. all that is shown before their eyes of brilliancy and power and high place is purely spanish. no cuban has any voice in his own country. he can never have the consolation of thinking that his tyrant is his countryman, or reflect that under altered circumstances it might possibly have been his fortune to tyrannize. what love can he have for spain? he cannot even have the poor pride of being slave to a great lord. he is the lacquey of a reduced gentleman, and lives on the vails of those who despise his master. of course the transfer would be grateful to him. but no cuban will himself do anything to bring it about. to wish is one thing; to act is another. a man standing behind his counter may feel that his hand is restricted on every side, and his taxes alone unrestricted; but he must have other than hispano-creole blood in his veins if he do more than stand and feel. indeed, wishing is too strong a word to be fairly applicable to his state of mind. he would be glad that cuba should be american; but he would prefer that he himself should lie in a dormant state while the dangerous transfer is going on. i have ventured to say that humanity would certainly be benefited by such a transfer. we, when we think of cuba, think of it almost entirely as a slave country. and, indeed, in this light, and in this light only, is it peculiar, being the solitary land into which slaves are now systematically imported out of africa. into that great question of guarding the slave coast it would be futile here to enter; but this i believe is acknowledged, that if the cuban market be closed against the trade, the trade must perish of exhaustion. at present slaves are brought into cuba in spite of us; and as we all know, can be brought in under the american stars and stripes. but no one accuses the american government of systematically favouring an importation of africans into their own states. when cuba becomes one of them the trade will cease. the obstacle to that trade which is created by our vessels of war on the coast of africa may, or may not, be worth the cost. but no man who looks into the subject will presume to say that we can be as efficacious there as the americans would be if they were the owners of the present slave-market. i do not know whether it be sufficiently understood in england, that though slavery is an institution of the united states, the slave-trade, as commonly understood under that denomination, is as illegal there as in england. that slavery itself would be continued in cuba under the americans--continued for a while--is of course certain. so is it in louisiana and the carolinas. but the horrors of the middle passage, the kidnapping of negroes, the african wars which are waged for the sake of prisoners, would of necessity come to an end. but this slave-trade is as opposed to the laws of spain and its colonies as it is to those of the united states or of great britain. this is true; and were the law carried out in cuba as well as it is in the united states, an englishman would feel disinclined to look on with calmness at the violent dismemberment of the spanish empire. but in cuba the law is broken systematically. the captain-general in cuba will allow no african to be imported into the island--except for a consideration. it is said that the present captain-general receives only a gold doubloon, or about three pounds twelve shillings, on every head of wool so brought in; and he has therefore the reputation of being a very moderate man. o'donnel required twice as large a bribe. valdez would take nothing, and he is spoken of as the foolish governor. even he, though he would take no bribe, was not allowed to throw obstacles in the way of the slave-trade. that such a bribe is usually demanded, and as a matter of course paid, is as well known--ay, much better known, than any other of the island port duties. the fact is so notorious to all men, that it is almost as absurd to insist on it as it would be to urge that the income of the queen of england is paid from the taxes. it is known to every one, and among others is known to the government of spain. under these circumstances, who can feel sympathy with her, or wish that she should retain her colony? does she not daily show that she is unfit to hold it? there must be some stage in misgovernment which will justify the interference of bystanding nations, in the name of humanity. that rule in life which forbids a man to come between a husband and his wife is a good rule. but nevertheless, who can stand by quiescent and see a brute half murder the poor woman whom he should protect? and in other ways, and through causes also, humanity would be benefited by such a transfer. we in england are not very fond of a republic. we would hardly exchange our throne for a president's chair, or even dispense at present with our house of peers or our bench of bishops. but we can see that men thrive under the stars and stripes; whereas they pine beneath the red and yellow flag of spain. this, it may be said, is attributable to the race of the men rather than to the government. but the race will be improved by the infusion of new blood. let the world say what chance there is of such improvement in the spanish government. the trade of the country is falling into the hands of foreigners--into those principally of americans from the states. the havana will soon become as much american as new orleans. it requires but little of the spirit of prophecy to foretell that the spanish rule will not be long obeyed by such people. on the whole i cannot see how englishmen can refrain from sympathizing with the desire of the united states to become possessed of this fertile island. as far as we ourselves are concerned, it would be infinitely for our benefit. we can trade with the united states when we can hardly do so with spain. moreover, if jamaica, and the smaller british islands can ever again hold up their heads against cuba as sugar-producing colonies, it will be when the slave-trade has been abolished. till such time it can never be. and then where are our professions for the amelioration, and especially for the christianity of the human race? i have said what is the religious education of the slaves in cuba. i may also say that in this island no place of protestant worship exists, or is possible. the roman catholic religion is alone allowed, and that is at its very lowest point. "the old women of both sexes go to mass," a spaniard told me; "and the girls when their clothes are new." but above all things it behoves us to rid ourselves of the jealousy which i fear we too often feel towards american pretension. "jonathan is getting bumptious," we are apt to say; "he ought to have--" this and that other punishment, according to the taste of the offended englishman. jonathan is becoming bumptious, no doubt. young men of genius, when they succeed in life at comparatively early years, are generally afflicted more or less with this disease. but one is not inclined to throw aside as useless, the intellect, energy, and genius of youth because it is not accompanied by modesty, grace, and self-denial. do we not, in regard to all our friends, take the good that we find in them, aware that in the very best there will be some deficiency to forgive? that young barrister who is so bright, so energetic, so useful, is perhaps _soi-disant_ more than a little. one cannot deny it. but age will cure that. have we a right to expect that he should be perfect? and are the americans the first bumptious people on record? has no other nation assumed itself to be in advance of the world; to be the apostle of progress, the fountain of liberty, the rock-spring of manly work? if the americans were not bumptious, how unlike would they be to the parent that bore them! the world is wide enough for us and for our offspring, and we may be well content that we have it nearly all between us. let them fulfil their destiny in the west, while we do so in the east. it may be that there also we may establish another child who in due time shall also run alone, shall also boast somewhat loudly of its own doings. it is a proud reflection that we alone, of all people, have such children; a proud reflection, and a joyous one; though the weaning of the baby will always be in some respects painful to the mother. nowhere have i met a kinder hospitality than i did at cien fuegos, whether from spaniards, frenchmen, americans, or englishmen; for at cien fuegos there are men of all these countries. but i must specify my friend mr. �---. why should such a man be shut up for life at such an outlandish place? full of wit, singing an excellent song, telling a story better, i think, than any other man to whom i have ever listened, speaking four or five languages fluently, pleasant in manner, hospitable in heart, a thorough good fellow at all points, why should he bury himself at cien fuegos? "auri sacra fames." it is the presumable reason for all such burials. english reader, shouldst thou find thyself at cien fuegos in thy travels, it will not take thee long to discover my friend �---. he is there known to every one. it will only concern thee to see that thou art worthy of his acquaintance. from cien fuegos i went to the havana, the metropolis, as all the world knows, of cuba. our route lay by steamer to batavano, and thence by railway. the communication round cuba--that is from port to port--is not ill arranged or ill conducted. the boats are american built, and engineered by englishmen or americans. breakfast and dinner are given on board, and the cost is included in the sum paid for the fare. the provisions are plentiful, and not bad, if oil can be avoided. as everything is done to foster spain, spanish wine is always used, and spanish ware, and, above all things, spanish oil. now spain does not send her best oil to her colonies. i heard great complaint made of the fares charged on board these boats. the fares when compared with those charged in america doubtless are high; but i do not know that any one has a right to expect that he shall travel as cheaply in cuba as in the states. i had heard much of the extravagant charges made for all kinds of accommodation in cuba; at hotels, in the shops, for travelling, for chance work, and the general wants of a stranger. i found these statements to be much exaggerated. railway travelling by the first class is about ½_d._ a mile, which is about _d._ a mile more than in england. at hotels the charge is two and a half or three dollars a day. the former sum is the more general. this includes a cup of coffee in the morning, a very serious meal at nine o'clock together with fairly good catalan wine, dinner at four with another cup of coffee and more wine _ad libitum_, bed, and attendance. indeed, a man may go out of his hotel, without inconvenience, paying nothing beyond the regular daily charge. extras are dear. i, for instance, having in my ignorance asked for a bottle of champagne, paid for it seventeen shillings. a friend dining with one also, or breakfasting, is an expensive affair. the two together cost considerably more than one's own total daily payment. thus, as one pays at an hotel whether one's dinner be eaten or no, it becomes almost an insane expense for friends at different hotels to invite each other. but let it not be supposed that i speak in praise of the hotels at the havana. far be it from me to do so. i only say that they are not dear. i found it impossible to command the luxury of a bedroom to myself. it was not the custom of the country they told me. if i chose to pay five dollars a day, just double the usual price, i could be indulged as soon--as circumstances would admit of it; which was intended to signify that they would be happy to charge me for the second bed as soon as the time should come that they had no one else on whom to levy the rate. and the dirt of that bedroom! i had been unable to get into either of the hotels at the havana to which i had been recommended, every corner in each having been appropriated. in my grief at the dirt of my abode, and at the too near vicinity of my spanish neighbour--the fellow-occupant of my chamber was from spain--i complained somewhat bitterly to an american acquaintance, who had as i thought been more lucky in his inn. "one companion!" said he; "why, i have three; one walks about all night in a bed-gown, a second snores, and the other is dying!" a friend of mine, an english officer, was at another house. he also was one of four; and it so occurred that he lost thirty pounds out of his sac de nuit. on the whole i may consider myself to have been lucky. labour generally is dear, a workman getting a dollar or four shillings and twopence, where in england a man might earn perhaps half a crown. a porter therefore for whom sixpence might suffice in england will require a shilling. a volante--i shall have a word to say about volantes by-and-by--for any distance within the walls costs eightpence. outside the walls the price seems to be unconscionably higher. omnibuses which run over two miles charge some fraction over sixpence for each journey. i find that a pair of boots cost me twenty-five shillings. in london they would cost about the same. those procured in cuba, however, were worth nothing, which certainly makes a difference. meat is eightpence the english pound. bread is somewhat dearer than in england, but not much. house rent may be taken as being nearly four times as high as it is in any decent but not fashionable part of london, and the wages of house servants are twice as high as they are with us. the high prices in the havana are such therefore as to affect the resident rather than the stranger. one article, however, is very costly; but as it concerns a luxury not much in general use among the inhabitants this is not surprising. if a man will have his linen washed he will be made to pay for it. there is nothing attractive about the town of havana; nothing whatever to my mind, if we except the harbour. the streets are narrow, dirty, and foul. in this respect there is certainly much difference between those within and without the wall. the latter are wider, more airy, and less vile. but even in them there is nothing to justify the praises with which the havana is generally mentioned in the west indies. it excels in population, size, and no doubt in wealth any other city there; but this does not imply a great eulogium. the three principal public buildings are the opera house, the cathedral, and the palace of the captain-general. the former has been nearly knocked down by an explosion of gas, and is now closed. i believe it to be an admirable model for a second-rate house. the cathedral is as devoid of beauty, both externally and internally, as such an edifice can be made. to describe such a building would be an absurd waste of time and patience. we all know what is a large roman catholic church, built in the worst taste, and by a combination of the lowest attributes of gothic and latin architecture. the palace, having been built for a residence, does not appear so utterly vile, though it is the child of some similar father. it occupies one side of a public square or pláza, and from its position has a moderately-imposing effect. of pictures in the havana there are none of which mention should be made. but the glory of the havana is the paseo--the glory so called. this is the public drive and fashionable lounge of the town--the hyde park, the bois de boulogne, the cascine, the corso, the alaméda. it is for their hour on the paseo that the ladies dress themselves, and the gentlemen prepare their jewelry. it consists of a road running outside a portion of the wall, of the extent perhaps of half a mile, and ornamented with seats and avenues of trees, as are the boulevards at paris. if it is to be compared with any other resort of the kind in the west indies, it certainly must be owned there is nothing like it; but a european on first seeing it cannot understand why it is so eulogized. indeed, it is probable that if he first goes thither alone, as was the case with me, he will pass over it, seeking for some other paseo. but then the glory of the paseo consists in its volantes. as one boasts that one has swum in a gondola, so will one boast of having sat in a volante. it is the pride of cuban girls to appear on the paseo in these carriages on the afternoons of holidays and sundays; and there is certainly enough of the picturesque about the vehicle to make it worthy of some description. it is the most singular of carriages, and its construction is such as to give a flat contradiction to all an englishman's preconceived notions respecting the power of horses. the volante is made to hold two sitters, though there is sometimes a low middle seat which affords accommodation to a third lady. we will commence the description from behind. there are two very huge wheels, rough, strong, high, thick, and of considerable weight. the axles generally are not capped, but the nave shines with coarse polished metal. supported on the axletree, and swinging forward from it on springs, is the body of a cabriolet such as ordinary cabriolets used to be, with the seat, however, somewhat lower, and with much more room for the feet. the back of this is open, and generally a curtain hangs down over the open space. a metal bar, which is polished so as to look like silver, runs across the footboard and supports the feet. the body, it must be understood, swings forward from these high wheels, so that the whole of the weight, instead of being supported, hangs from it. then there are a pair of shafts, which, counting from the back of the carriage to the front where they touch the horse at the saddle, are about fourteen feet in length. they do not go beyond the saddle, or the tug depending from the saddle in which they hang. from this immense length it comes to pass that there is a wide interval, exceeding six feet, between the carriage and the horse's tail; and it follows also, from the construction of the machine, that a large portion of the weight must rest on the horse's back. in addition to this, the unfortunate horse has ordinarily to bear the weight of a rider. for with a volante your servant rides, and does not drive you. with the fashionable world on the paseo a second horse is used--what we should call an outrider--and the servant sits on this. but as regards those which ply in the town, there is but one horse. how animals can work beneath such a yoke was to me unintelligible. the great point in the volante of fashion is the servant's dress. he is always a negro, and generally a large negro. he wears a huge pair--not of boots, for they have no feet to them--of galligaskins i may call them, made of thick stiff leather, but so as to fit the leg exactly. the top of them comes some nine inches above the knee, so that when one of these men is seen seated at his ease, the point of his boot nearly touches his chin. they are fastened down the sides with metal fastenings, and at the bottom there is a huge spur. the usual dress of these men, over and above their boots, consists of white breeches, red jackets ornamented with gold lace, and broad-brimmed straw hats. nothing can be more awkward, and nothing more barbaric than the whole affair; but nevertheless there is about it a barbaric splendour, which has its effect. the great length of the equipage, and the distance of the horse from his work, is what chiefly strikes an englishman. the carriage usually holds, when on the paseo, two or three ladies. their great object evidently has been to expand their dresses, so that they may group well together, and with a good result as regards colour. it must be confessed that in this respect they are generally successful. they wear no head-dress when in their carriages, and indeed may generally be seen out of doors with their hair uncovered. though they are of spanish descent, the mantilla is unknown here. nor could i trace much similarity to spanish manner in other particulars. the ladies do not walk like spanish women--at least not like the women of andalusia, with whom one would presume them to have had the nearest connection. the walk of the andalusian women surpasses that of any other, while the cuban lady is not graceful in her gait. neither can they boast the brilliantly dangerous beauty of seville. in cuba they have good eyes, but rarely good faces. the forehead and the chin too generally recede, leaving the nose with a prominence that is not agreeable. but as my gallantry has not prevented me from speaking in this uncourteous manner of their appearance, my honesty bids me add, that what they lack in beauty they make up in morals, as compared with their cousins in europe. for travelling _en garçon_ i should probably prefer the south of spain. but were i doomed to look for domesticity in either clime--and god forbid that such a doom should be mine!--i might perhaps prefer a cuban mother for my children. but the volante is held as very precious by the cuban ladies. the volante itself i mean--the actual vehicle. it is not intrusted, as coaches are with us, to the dusty mercies of a coach-house. it is ordinarily kept in the hall, and you pass it by as you enter the house; but it is by no means uncommon to see it in the dining-room. as the rooms are large and usually not full of furniture, it does not look amiss there. the amusements of the cubans are not very varied, and are innocent in their nature; for the gambling as carried on there i regard rather as a business than an amusement they greatly love dancing, and have dances of their own and music of their own, which are peculiar, and difficult to a stranger. their tunes are striking, and very pretty. they are fond of music generally, and maintain a fairly good opera company at the havana. in the pláza there--the square, namely, in front of the captain-general's house--a military band plays from eight to nine every evening. the place is then thronged with people, but by far the majority of them are men. it is the custom at all the towns in cuba for the family, when at home, to pass their evening seated near the large low open window of their drawing-rooms; and as these windows almost always look into the streets, the whole internal arrangement is seen by every one who passes. these windows are always protected by iron bars, as though they were the windows of a prison; in other respects they are completely open. four chairs are to be seen ranged in a row, and four more opposite to them, running from the window into the room, and placed close together. between these is generally laid a small piece of carpet. the majority of these chairs are made to rock; for the creole lady always rocks herself. i have watched them going through the accustomed motion with their bodies, even when seated on chairs with stern immovable legs. this is the usual evening living-place of the family; and i never yet saw an occupant of one of these chairs with a book in her hand, or in his. i asked an englishman, a resident in the havana, whether he had ever done so. "a book!" he answered; "why, the girls can't read, in your sense of the word reading." the young men, and many of those who are no longer young, spend their evenings, and apparently a large portion of their days, in eating ices and playing billiards. the accommodation in the havana for these amusements is on a very large scale. the harbour at the havana is an interesting sight. it is in the first place very picturesque, which to the ordinary visitor is the most important feature. but it is also commodious, large, and safe. it is approached between two forts. that to the westward, which is the principal defence, is called the morro. here also stands the lighthouse. no englishman omits to hear, as he enters the harbour, that these forts were taken by the english in albemarle's time. now, it seems to me, they might very easily be taken by any one who chose to spend on them the necessary amount of gunpowder. but then i know nothing about forts. this special one of the morro i did take; not by gunpowder, but by stratagem. i was informed that no one was allowed to see it since the open defiance of the island contained in the last message of the united states' president. but i was also informed--whisperingly, in the ear � that a request to see the lighthouse would be granted, and that as i was not an american the fort should follow. it resulted in a little black boy taking me over the whole edifice--an impudent little black boy, who filled his pockets with stones and pelted the sentries. the view of the harbour from the lighthouse is very good, quite worth the trouble of the visit. the fort itself i did not understand, but a young english officer, who was with me, pooh-poohed it as a thing of nothing. but then young english officers pooh-pooh everything. here again i must add that nothing can exceed the courtesy of all spanish officials. if they could only possess honesty and energy as well as courtesy! by far the most interesting spot in the havana is the quay, to which the vessels are fastened end-ways, the bow usually lying against the quay. in other places the side of the vessel is, i believe, brought to the wharf. here there are signs of true life. one cannot but think how those quays would be extended, and that life increased, if the place were in the hands of other people. i have said that i regarded gambling in cuba, not as an amusement, but an occupation. the public lotteries offer the daily means to every one for gratifying this passion. they are maintained by the government, and afford a profit, i am told, of something over a million dollars per annum. in all public places tickets are hawked about. one may buy a whole ticket, half, a quarter, an eighth, or a sixteenth. it is done without any disguise or shame, and the institution seemed, i must say, to be as popular with the europeans living there as with the natives. in the eyes of an englishman new from great britain, with his prejudices still thick upon him, this great national feature loses some of its nobility and grandeur. this, together with the bribery, which is so universal, shows what is the spirit of the country. for a government supported by the profits of a gambling-hell, and for a governor enriched by bribes on slaves illegally imported, what englishman can feel sympathy? i would fain hope that there is no such sympathy felt in england. i have been answered, when expressing indignation at the system, by a request that i would first look at home; and have been so answered by englishmen. "how can you blame the captain-general," they have said, "when the same thing is done by the french and english consuls through the islands?" that the french and english consuls do take bribes to wink at the importation of slaves, i cannot and do not believe. but cæsar's wife should not even be suspected. i found it difficult to learn what is exactly the present population of cuba. i believe it to be about , , , and of this number about , are slaves. there are many chinese now in the island, employed as household servants, or on railways, or about the sugar-works. many are also kept at work on the cane-pieces, though it seems that for this labour they have hardly sufficient strength. these unfortunate deluded creatures receive, i fear, very little better treatment than the slaves. my best wish for the island is that it may speedily be reckoned among the annexations of the united states. chapter xi. the passage of the windward islands. in the good old days, when men called things by their proper names, those islands which run down in a string from north to south, from the virgin islands to the mouth of the orinoco river, were called the windward islands--the windward or caribbean islands. they were also called the lesser antilles. the leeward islands were, and properly speaking are, another cluster lying across the coast of venezuela, of which curaçoa is the chief. oruba and margarita also belong to this lot, among which, england, i believe, never owned any.* [*the greater antilles are cuba, jamaica, hayti, and porto rico, though i am not quite sure whether porto rico does not more properly belong to the virgin islands. the scattered assemblage to the north of the greater antilles are the bahamas, at one of the least considerable of which, san salvador, columbus first landed. those now named, i believe, comprise all the west india islands.] but now-a-days we britishers are not content to let the dutch and others keep a separate name for themselves; we have, therefore, divided the lesser antilles, of which the greater number belong to ourselves, and call the northern portion of these the leeward islands. among them antigua is the chief, and is the residence of a governor supreme in this division. after leaving st. thomas the first island seen of any note is st. christopher, commonly known as st. kitts, and nevis is close to it. both these colonies are prospering fairly. sugar is exported, now i am told in increasing, though still not in great quantities, and the appearance of the cultivation is good. looking up the side of the hills one sees the sugar-canes apparently in cleanly order, and they have an air of substantial comfort. of course the times are not so bright as in the fine old days previous to emancipation; but nevertheless matters have been on the mend, and people are again beginning to get along. on the journey from nevis to antigua, montserrat is sighted, and a singular island-rock called the redonda is seen very plainly. montserrat, i am told, is not prospering so well as st. kitts or nevis. these islands are not so beautiful, not so greenly beautiful, as are those further south to which we shall soon come. the mountains of nevis are certainly fine as they are seen from the sea, but they are not, or do not seem to be covered with that delicious tropical growth which is so lovely in jamaica and trinidad, and, indeed, in many of the smaller islands. antigua is the next, going southward. this was, and perhaps is, an island of some importance. it is said to have been the first of the west indian colonies which itself advocated the abolition of slavery, and to have been the only one which adopted complete emancipation at once, without any intermediate system of apprenticeship. antigua has its own bishop, whose diocese includes also such of the virgin islands as belong to us, and the adjacent islands of st. kitts, nevis, and montserrat. neither is antigua remarkable for its beauty. it is approached, however, by an excellent and picturesque harbour, called english harbour, which in former days was much used by the british navy; indeed, i believe it was at one time the head-quarters of a naval station. premising, in the first place, that i know very little about harbours, i would say that nothing could be more secure than that. whether or no it may be easy for sailing vessels to get in and out with certain winds, that, indeed, may be doubtful. st. john's, the capital of antigua, is twelve miles from english harbour. i was in the island only three or four hours, and did not visit it. i am told that it is a good town--or city, i should rather say, now that it has its own bishop. in all these islands they have queen, lords, and commons in one shape or another. it may, however, be hoped, and i believe trusted, that, for the benefit of the communities, matters chiefly rest in the hands of the first of the three powers. the other members of the legislature, if they have in them anything of wisdom to say, have doubtless an opportunity of saying it--perhaps also an opportunity when they have nothing of wisdom. let us trust, however, that such opportunities are limited. after leaving antigua we come to the french island of guadaloupe, and then passing dominica, of which i will say a word just now, to martinique, which is also french. and here we are among the rich green wild beauties of these thrice beautiful caribbean islands. the mountain grouping of both these islands is very fine, and the hills are covered up to their summits with growth of the greenest. at both these islands one is struck with the great superiority of the french west indian towns to those which belong to us. that in guadaloupe is called basseterre, and the capital of martinique is st. pierre. these towns offer remarkable contrasts to roseau and port castries, the chief towns in the adjacent english islands of dominica and st. lucia. at the french ports one is landed at excellently contrived little piers, with proper apparatus for lighting, and well-kept steps. the quays are shaded by trees, the streets are neat and in good order, and the shops show that ordinary trade is thriving. there are water conduits with clear streams through the towns, and every thing is ship-shape. i must tell a very different tale when i come to speak of dominica and st. lucia. the reason for this is, i think, well given in a useful guide to the west indies, published some years since, under the direction of the royal mail steam-packet company. speaking of st. pierre, in martinique, the author says: "the streets are neat, regular, and cleanly. the houses are high, and have more the air of european houses than those of the english colonies. some of the streets have an avenue of trees, which overshadow the footpath, and on either side are deep gutters, down which the water flows. there are five booksellers houses, and the fashions are well displayed in other shops. the french colonists, whether creoles* or french, consider the west indies as their country. they cast no wistful looks towards france. they marry, educate, and build in and for the west indies, and for the west indies alone. in our colonies it is different. they are considered more as temporary lodging-places, to be deserted as soon as the occupiers have made money enough by molasses and sugar to return _home_." [*it should be understood that a creole is a person born in the west indies, of a race not indigenous to the islands. there may be white creoles, coloured creoles, or black creoles. people talk of creole horses and creole poultry; those namely which have not been themselves imported, but which have been bred from imported stock. the meaning of the word creole is, i think, sometimes misunderstood.] all this is quite true. there is something very cheering to an english heart in that sound, and reference to the word home--in that great disinclination to the idea of life-long banishment. but nevertheless, the effect as shown in these islands is not satisfactory to the _amour propre_ of an englishman. and it is not only in the outward appearance of things that the french islands excel those belonging to england which i have specially named. dominica and st. lucia export annually about , hogsheads of sugar each. martinique exports about , hogsheads. martinique is certainly rather larger than either of the other two, but size has little or nothing to do with it. it is anything rather than want of fitting soil which makes the produce of sugar so inconsiderable in dominica and st. lucia. these french islands were first discovered by the spaniards; but since that time they, as well as the two english islands above named, have passed backwards and forwards between the english and french, till it was settled in that martinique and guadaloupe should belong to france, and dominica and st. lucia, with some others, to england. it certainly seems that france knew how to take care of herself in the arrangement. there is another little island belonging to france, at the back of guadaloupe to the westward, called marie-galante; but i believe it is but of little value. to my mind, dominica, as seen from the sea, is by far the most picturesque of all these islands. indeed, it would be difficult to beat it either in colour or grouping. it fills one with an ardent desire to be off and rambling among those green mountains--as if one could ramble through such wild, bush country, or ramble at all with the thermometer at . but when one has only to think of such things without any idea of doing them, neither the bushes nor the thermometer are considered. one is landed at dominica on a beach. if the water be quiet, one gets out dryshod by means of a strong jump; if the surf be high, one wades through it; if it be very high, one is of course upset. the same things happen at jacmel, in hayti; but then englishmen look on the haytians as an uncivilized, barbarous race. seeing that dominica lies just between martinique and guadaloupe, the difference between the english beach and surf and the french piers is the more remarkable. and then, the perils of the surf being passed, one walks into the town of roseau. it is impossible to conceive a more distressing sight. every house is in a state of decadence. there are no shops that can properly be so called; the people wander about chattering, idle and listless; the streets are covered with thick, rank grass; there is no sign either of money made or of money making. everything seems to speak of desolation, apathy, and ruin. there is nothing, even in jamaica, so sad to look at as the town of roseau. the greater part of the population are french in manner, religion, and language, and one would be so glad to attribute to that fact this wretched look of apathetic poverty--if it were only possible. but we cannot do that after visiting martinique and guadaloupe. it might be said that a french people will not thrive under british rule. but if so, what of trinidad? this look of misery has been attributed to a great fire which occurred some eighty years since; but when due industry has been at work great fires have usually produced improved towns. now eighty years have afforded ample time for such improvement if it were forthcoming. alas! it would seem that it is not forthcoming. it must, however, be stated in fairness that dominica produces more coffee than sugar, and that the coffee estates have latterly been the most thriving. singularly enough, her best customer has been the neighbouring french island of martinique, in which some disease has latterly attacked the coffee plants. we then reach st. lucia, which is also very lovely as seen from the sea. this, too, is an island french in its language, manners, and religion; perhaps more entirely so than any other of the islands belonging to ourselves. the laws even are still french, and the people are, i believe, blessed (?) with no lords and commons. if i understand the matter rightly, st. lucia is held as a colony or possession conquered from the french, and is governed, therefore, by a quasi-military governor, with the aid of a council. it is, however, in some measure dependent on the governor of barbados, who is again one of your supreme governors. there has, i believe, been some recent change which i do not pretend to understand. if these changes be not completed, and if it would not be presumptuous in me to offer a word of advice, i would say that in the present state of the island, with a negro-gallic population who do little or nothing, it might be as well to have as much as possible of the queen, and as little as possible of the lords and commons. to the outward physical eye, st. lucia is not so triste as dominica. there is good landing there, and the little town of castries, though anything but prosperous in itself, is prosperous in appearance as compared with roseau. st. lucia is peculiarly celebrated for its snakes. one cannot walk ten yards off the road--so one is told--without being bitten. and if one be bitten, death is certain--except by the interposition of a single individual of the island, who will cure the sufferer--for a consideration. such, at least, is the report made on this matter. the first question one should ask on going there is as to the whereabouts and usual terms of that worthy and useful practitioner. there is, i believe, a great deal that is remarkable to attract the visitor among the mountains and valleys of st. lucia. and then in the usual course, running down the island, one goes to that british advanced post, barbados--barbados, that lies out to windward, guarding the other islands as it were! barbados, that is and ever was entirely british! barbados, that makes money, and is in all respects so respectable a little island! king george need not have feared at all; nor yet need queen victoria. if anything goes wrong in england--napoleon coming there, not to kiss her majesty this time, but to make himself less agreeable--let her majesty come to barbados, and she will be safe! i have said that jamaica never boasts, and have on that account complained of her. let such complaint be far from me when i speak of barbados. but shall i not write a distinct chapter as to this most respectable little island--an island that pays its way? st. vincent is the next in our course, and this, too, is green and pretty, and tempting to look at. here also the french have been in possession but comparatively for a short time. in settling this island, the chief difficulty the english had was with the old native indians, who more than once endeavoured to turn out their british masters. the contest ended in their being effectually turned out by those british masters, who expelled them all bodily to the island of ruatan, in the bay of honduras; where their descendants are now giving the anglo-american diplomatists so much trouble in deciding whose subjects they truly are. may we not say that, having got rid of them out of st. vincent, we can afford to get rid of them altogether? kingston is the capital here. it looks much better than either roseau or castries, though by no means equal to basseterre or st. pierre. this island is said to be healthy, having in this respect a much better reputation than its neighbour st. lucia, and as far as i could learn it is progressing--progressing slowly, but progressing--in spite even of the burden of queens, lords, and commons. the lords and commons are no doubt considerably modified by official influence. and then the traveller runs down the grenadines, a petty cluster of islands lying between st. vincent and grenada, of which becquia and cariacou are the chief. they have no direct connection with the mail steamers, but are, i believe, under the governor of barbados. they are very pretty, though not, as a rule, very productive. of one of them i was told that the population were all females. what a paradise of houris, if it were but possible to find a good mahommedan in these degenerate days! grenada will be the last upon the list; for i did not visit or even see tobago, and of trinidad i have ventured to write a separate chapter, in spite of the shortness of my visit. grenada is also very lovely, and is, i think, the head-quarters of the world for fruit. the finest mangoes i ever ate i found there; and i think the finest oranges and pine apples. the town of st. georges, the capital, must at one time have been a place of considerable importance, and even now it has a very different appearance from those that i have just mentioned. it is more like a goodly english town than any other that i saw in any of the smaller british islands. it is well built, though built up and down steep hills, and contains large and comfortable houses. the market-place also looks like a market-place, and there are shops in it, in which trade is apparently carried on and money made. indeed, grenada was once a prince among these smaller islands, having other islands under it, with a governor supreme, instead of tributary. it was fertile also, and productive--in every way of importance. but now here, as in so many other spots among the west indies, we are driven to exclaim, ichabod! the glory of our grenada has departed, as has the glory of its great namesake in the old world. the houses, though so goodly, are but as so many alhambras, whose tenants now are by no means great in the world's esteem. all the hotels in the west indies are, as i have said, or shall say in some other place, kept by ladies of colour; in the most part by ladies who are no longer very young. they are generally called familiarly by their double name. betsy austen, for instance; and caroline lee. i went to the house of some such lady in st. georges, and she told me a woful tale of her miseries. she was kitty something, i think--soon, apparently, to become kitty of another world. "an hotel," she said. "no; she kept no hotel now-a-days--what use was there for an hotel in st. georges? she kept a lodging-house; though, for the matter of that, no lodgers ever came nigh her. that little granddaughter of hers sometimes sold a bottle of ginger beer; that was all." it must be hard for living eyes to see one's trade die off in that way. there is a feminine accomplishment so much in vogue among the ladies of the west indies, one practised there with a success so specially brilliant, as to make it deserving of special notice. this art is one not wholly confined to ladies, although, as in the case with music, dancing, and cookery, it is to be looked for chiefly among the female sex. men, indeed, do practise it in england, the west indies, and elsewhere; and as thalberg and soyer are greatest among pianists and cooks, so perhaps are the greatest adepts in this art to be found among the male practitioners;--elsewhere, that is, than in the west indies. there are to be found ladies never equalled in this art by any effort of manhood. i speak of the science of flirting. and be it understood that here among these happy islands no idea of impropriety--perhaps remembering some of our starched people at home, i should say criminality--is attached to the pursuit. young ladies flirt, as they dance and play, or eat and drink, quite as a matter of course. there is no undutiful, unfilial idea of waiting till mamma's back be turned; no uncomfortable fear of papa; no longing for secluded corners, so that the world should not see. the doing of anything that one is ashamed of is bad. but as regards flirting, there is no such doing in the west indies. girls flirt not only with the utmost skill, but with the utmost innocence also. fanny grey, with her twelve admirers, required no retired corners, no place apart from father, mother, brothers, or sisters. she would perform with all the world around her as some other girl would sing, conscious that in singing she would neither disgrace herself nor her masters. it may be said that the practice of this accomplishment will often interfere with the course of true love. perhaps so, but i doubt whether it does not as often assist it. it seemed to me that young ladies do not hang on hand in the west indies. marriages are made up there with apparently great satisfaction on both sides; and then the flirting is laid aside--put by, at any rate, till the days of widowhood, should such evil days come. the flirting is as innocent as it is open, and is confined to ladies without husbands. it is confined to ladies without husbands, but the victims are not bachelors alone. no position, or age, or state of health secures a man from being drawn, now into one and now into another circean circle, in which he is whirled about, sometimes in a most ridiculous manner, jostled amongst a dozen neighbours, left without power to get out or to plunge further in, pulled back by a skirt at any attempt to escape, repulsed in the front at every struggle made to fight his way through. rolling about in these charybdis pools are, perhaps, oftenest to be seen certain wearers of red coats; wretches girt with tight sashes, and with gilding on their legs and backs. to and fro they go, bumping against each other without serious injury, but apparently in great discomfort. and then there are black-coated strugglers, with white neck-ties, very valiant in their first efforts, but often to be seen in deep grief, with heads thoroughly submersed. and you may see gray-haired sufferers with short necks, making little useless puffs, puffs which would be so impotent were not circe merciful to those short-necked gray-haired sufferers. if there were, as perhaps there should be, a college in the west indies, with fellowships and professorships,--established with the view of rewarding proficiency in this science--fanny grey should certainly be elected warden, or principal, or provost of that college. her wondrous skill deserves more than mere praise, more than such slight glory as my ephemeral pages can give her. pretty, laughing, brilliant, clever fanny grey! whose cheeks ever were so pink, whose teeth so white, whose eyes so bright, whose curling locks so raven black! and then who ever smiled as she smiled? or frowned as she can frown? sharply go those brows together, and down beneath the gurgling pool sinks the head of the red-coated wretch, while with momentary joy up pops the head of another, who is received with a momentary smile. yes; oh my reader! it is too true, i also have been in that pool, making, indeed, no wilful struggles, attempting no leander feat of swimming, sucked in as my steps unconsciously strayed too near the dangerous margin; sucked in and then buffeted about, not altogether unmercifully when my inaptitude for such struggling was discovered. yes; i have found myself choking in those charybdis waters, have glanced into the circe cave. i have been seen in my insane struggles. but what shame of that? all around me, from the old patriarch dean of the island to the last subaltern fresh from chatham, were there as well as i. chapter xii. british guiana. when i settle out of england, and take to the colonies for good and all, british guiana shall be the land of my adoption. if i call it demerara perhaps i shall be better understood. at home there are prejudices against it i know. they say that it is a low, swampy, muddy strip of alluvial soil, infested with rattlesnakes, gallinippers, and musquitoes as big as turkey-cocks; that yellow fever rages there perennially; that the heat is unendurable; that society there is as stagnant as its waters; that men always die as soon as they reach it; and when they live are such wretched creatures that life is a misfortune. calumny reports it to have been ruined by the abolition of slavery; milk of human kindness would forbid the further exportation of europeans to this white man's grave; and philanthropy, for the good of mankind, would wish to have it drowned beneath its own rivers. there never was a land so ill spoken of--and never one that deserved it so little. all the above calumnies i contradict; and as i lived there for a fortnight--would it could have been a month!--i expect to be believed. if there were but a snug secretaryship vacant there--and these things in demerara are very snug--how i would invoke the goddess of patronage; how i would nibble round the officials of the colonial office; how i would stir up my friends' friends to write little notes to their friends! for demerara is the elysium of the tropics--the west indian happy valley of rasselas--the one true and actual utopia of the caribbean seas--the transatlantic eden. the men in demerara are never angry, and the women are never cross. life flows along on a perpetual stream of love, smiles, champagne, and small-talk. everybody has enough of everything. the only persons who do not thrive are the doctors; and for them, as the country affords them so little to do, the local government no doubt provides liberal pensions. the form of government is a mild despotism, tempered by sugar. the governor is the father of his people, and the governor's wife the mother. the colony forms itself into a large family, which gathers itself together peaceably under parental wings. they have no noisy sessions of parliament as in jamaica, no money squabbles as in barbados. a clean bill of health, a surplus in the colonial treasury, a rich soil, a thriving trade, and a happy people--these are the blessings which attend the fortunate man who has cast his lot on this prosperous shore. such is demerara as it is made to appear to a stranger. that custom which prevails there, of sending to all new comers a deputation with invitations to dinner for the period of his sojourn, is an excellent institution. it saves a deal of trouble in letters of introduction, economizes one's time, and puts one at once on the most-favoured-nation footing. some may fancy that they could do better as to the bestowal of their evenings by individual diplomacy; but the matter is so well arranged in demerara that such people would certainly find themselves in the wrong. if there be a deficiency in georgetown--it is hardly necessary to explain that georgetown is the capital of the province of demerara, and that demerara is the centre province in the colony of british guiana; or that there are three provinces, berbice, demerara, and essequibo, so called from the names of the three great rivers of the country--but if there be a deficiency in georgetown, it is in respect to cabs. the town is extensive, as will by-and-by be explained; and though i would not so far militate against the feelings of the people as to say that the weather is ever hot--i should be ungrateful as well as incredulous were i to do so--nevertheless, about noonday one's inclination for walking becomes subdued. cabs would certainly be an addition to the luxuries of the place. but even these are not so essential as might at the first sight appear, for an invitation to dinner always includes an offer of the host's carriage. without a carriage no one dreams of dragging on existence in british guiana. in england one would as soon think of living in a house without a fireplace, or sleeping in a bed without a blanket. for those who wander abroad in quest of mountain scenery it must be admitted that this colony has not much attraction. the country certainly is flat. by this i mean to intimate, that go where you will, travel thereabouts as far as you may, the eye meets no rising ground. everything stands on the same level. but then, what is the use of mountains? you can grow no sugar on them, even with ever so many coolies. they are big, brown, valueless things, cumbering the face of the creation; very well for autumn idlers when they get to switzerland, but utterly useless in a colony which has to count its prosperity by the number of its hogsheads. jamaica has mountains, and look at jamaica! yes; demerara is flat; and berbice is flat; and so is essequibo. the whole of this land is formed by the mud which has been brought down by these great rivers and by others. the corentyne is the most easterly, separating our colony from dutch guiana, or surinam. then comes the berbice. the next, counting only the larger rivers, is the demerara. then, more to the west, the essequibo, and running into that the mazarony and the cuyuni; and then, north-west along the coast, the pomeroon; and lastly of our own rivers, the guiana, though i doubt whether for absolute purposes of colonization we have ever gone so far as this. and beyond that are rolled in slow but turbid volume the huge waters of the orinoco. on its shores we make no claim. though the delta of the orinoco is still called guiana, it belongs to the republic of venezuela. these are our boundaries along the south american shore, which hereabouts, as all men know, looks northward, with an easterly slant towards the atlantic. between us and our dutch friends on the right hand the limits are clear enough. on the left hand, matters are not quite so clear with the venezuelians. but to the rear! to the rear there is an eternity of sugar capability in mud running back to unknown mountains, the wildernesses of brazil, the river negro, and the tributaries of the amazon--an eternity of sugar capability, to which england's colony can lay claim if only she could manage so much as the surveying of it. "sugar!" said an enterprising demerara planter to me. "are you talking of sugar? give me my heart's desire in coolies, and i will make you a million of hogsheads of sugar without stirring from the colony!" now, the world's supply, some twelve years ago, was about a million hogsheads. it has since increased maybe by a tenth. what a land, then, is this of british guiana, flowing with milk and honey--with sugar and rum! a million hogsheads can be made there, if we only had the coolies. i state this on the credit of my excellent enterprising friend. but then the coolies! guiana is an enormous extent of flat mud, the alluvial deposit of those mighty rivers which for so many years have been scraping together earth in those wild unknown upland countries, and bringing it down conveniently to the sea-board, so that the world might have sugar to its tea. i really think my friend was right. there is no limit to the fertility and extent of this region. the only limit is in labour. the present culture only skirts the sea-board and the riversides. you will hardly find an estate--i do not think that you can find one--that has not a water frontage. this land formerly belonged to the dutch, and by them was divided out into portions which on a map have about them a euclidical appearance. let a b c d be a right-angled parallelogram, of which the sides a b and c d are three times the length of the other sides a c and b d. 'tis thus you would describe a demerara property, and the q. e. d. would have reference to the relative quantities of sugar, molasses, and rum producible therefrom. but these strips of land, though they are thus marked out on the maps with four exact lines, are presumed to run back to any extent that the owner may choose to occupy. he starts from the water, and is bounded on each side; but backwards! backwards he may cultivate canes up to the very andes, if only he could get coolies. oh, ye soft-hearted, philanthropic gentry of the anti-slavery society, only think of that; a million hogsheads of sugar--and you like cheap sugar yourselves--if you will only be quiet, or talk on subjects that you understand! the whole of this extent of mud, beyond the present very limited sugar-growing limits, is covered by timber. one is apt to think of an american forest as being as magnificent in its individual trees as it is huge in its extent of surface. but i doubt much whether this is generally the case. there are forest giants no doubt; but indigenous primeval wood is, i take it, for the most part a disagreeable, scrubby, bushy, sloppy, unequal, inconvenient sort of affair, to walk through which a man should be either an alligator or a monkey, and to make much way he should have a touch of both. there be no forest glades there in which uncivilized indian lovers walk at ease, with their arms round each other's naked waists; no soft grass beneath the well-trimmed trunk on which to lie and meditate poetical. but musquitoes abound there; and grass flies, which locate themselves beneath the toe-nails; and marabunters, a villanous species of wasp; and gallinippers, the grandfathers of musquitoes; and from thence up to the xagua and the boa constrictor all nature is against a cool comfortable ramble in the woods. but i must say a word about georgetown, and a word also about new amsterdam, before i describe the peculiarities of a sugar estate in guiana. a traveller's first thought is about his hotel; and i must confess, much as i love georgetown--and i do love georgetown--that i ought to have coupled the hotel with the cabs, and complained of a joint deficiency. the clarendon--the name at any rate is good--is a poor affair; but poor as it is, it is the best. it is a ricket, ruined, tumble-down, wooden house, into which at first one absolutely dreads to enter, lest the steps should fail and let one through into unutterable abysses below. all the houses in georgetown are made of wood, and therefore require a good deal of repair and paint. and all the houses seem to receive this care except the hotel. ah, mrs. lenny, mrs. lenny! before long you and your guests will fall prostrate, and be found buried beneath a pile of dust and a colony of cockroaches! and yet it goes against my heart to abuse the inn, for the people were so very civil. i shall never forget that big black chambermaid; how she used to curtsy to me when she came into my room in the morning with a huge tub of water on her head! that such a weight should be put on her poor black skull--a weight which i could not lift--used to rend my heart with anguish. but that, so weighted, she should think that manners demanded a curtsy! poor, courteous, overburdened maiden! "don't, sally; don't. don't curtsy," i would cry. "yes, massa," she would reply, and curtsy again, oh, so painfully! the tub of water was of such vast proportions! it was big enough--big enough for me to wash in! this house, as i have said, was all in ruins, and among other ruined things was my bedroom-door lock. the door could not be closed within, except by the use of a bolt; and without the bolt would swing wide open to the winds, exposing my arrangements to the public, and disturbing the neighbourhood by its jarring. in spite of the inconvenient difficulty of ingress i was forced to bolt it. at six every morning came sally with the tub, knocking gently at the door--knocking gently at the door with that ponderous tub upon her skull! what could a man do when so appealed to but rush quickly from beneath his musquito curtains to her rescue? so it was always with me. but having loosed the bolt, time did not suffice to enable me to take my position again beneath the curtain. a jump into bed i might have managed--but then, the musquito curtain! so, under those circumstances, finding myself at the door in my deshabille, i could only open it, and then stand sheltered behind it, as behind a bulwark, while sally deposited her burden. but, no. she curtsied, first at the bed; and seeing that i was not there, turned her head and tub slowly round the room, till she perceived my whereabouts. then gently, but firmly, drawing away the door till i stood before her plainly discovered in my night-dress, she curtsied again. she knew better than to enter a room without due salutation to the guest--even with a tub of water on her head. poor sally! was i not dressed from my chin downwards, and was not that enough for her? "honi soit qui mal y pense." after that, how can i say ought against the hotel? and when i complained loudly of the holes in the curtain, the musquitoes having driven me to very madness, did not they set to work, sunday as it was, and make me a new curtain? certainly without avail--for they so hung it that the musquitoes entered worse than ever. but the intention was no less good. and that waiter, david; was he not for good-nature the pink of waiters? "david, this house will tumble down! i know it will--before i leave it. the stairs shook terribly as i came up." "oh no, massa," and david laughed benignly. "it no tumble down last week, and derefore it no tumble down next." it did last my time, and therefore i will say no more. georgetown to my eyes is a prepossessing city, flat as the country round it is, and deficient as it is--as are all the west indies--in anything like architectural pretension. the streets are wide and airy. the houses, all built of wood, stand separately, each a little off the road; and though much has not been done in the way of their gardens--for till the great coming influx of coolies all labour is engaged in making sugar--yet there is generally something green attached to each of them. down the centre of every street runs a wide dyke. of these dykes i must say something further when i come to speak again of the sugar doings; for their importance in these provinces cannot well be overrated. the houses themselves are generally without a hall. by that i mean that you walk directly into some sitting-room. this, indeed, is general through the west indies; and now that i bethink me of the fact, i may mention that a friend of mine in jamaica has no door whatsoever to his house. all ingress and egress is by the windows. my bedroom had no door, only a window that opened. the sitting-rooms in georgetown open through to each other, so that the wind, let it come which way it will, may blow through the whole house. for though it is never absolutely hot in guiana--as i have before mentioned--nevertheless, a current of air is comfortable. one soon learns to know the difference of windward and leeward when living in british guiana. the houses are generally of three stories; but the two upper only are used by the family. outer steps lead up from the little front garden, generally into a verandah, and in this verandah a great portion of their life is led. it is cooler than the inner rooms. not that i mean to say that any rooms in demerara are ever hot. we all know the fine burst with which scott opens a certain canto in one of his poems:-- breathes there the man, with soul so dead, who never to himself hath said, this is my own, my native land? * * * if such there breathe, go, mark him well. at any rate, there breathes no such man in this pleasant colony. a people so happily satisfied with their own position i never saw elsewhere, except at barbados. and how could they fail to be satisfied, looking at their advantages? a million hogsheads of sugar to be made when the coolies come! they do not, the most of them, appeal to the land as being that of their nativity, but they love it no less as that of their adoption. "look at me," says one; "i have been thirty years without leaving it, and have never had a headache." i look and see a remarkably hale man, of forty i should say, but he says fifty. "that's nothing," says another, who certainly may be somewhat stricken in years: "i have been here five-and-fifty years, and was never ill but once, when i was foolish enough to go to england. ugh! i shall never forget it. why, sir, there was frost in october!" "yes," i said, "and snow in may sometimes. it is not all sunshine with us, whatever it may be with you." "not that we have too much sunshine," interposed a lady. "you don't think we have, do you?" "not in the least. who could ask more, madam, than to bask in such sunshine as yours from year's end to year's end?" "and is commerce tolerably flourishing?" i asked of a gentleman in trade. "flourishing, sir! if you want to make money, here's your ground. why, sir, here, in this wretched little street, there has been more money turned in the last ten years than--than--than--" and he rummaged among the half-crowns in his breeches-pocket for a simile, as though not a few of the profits spoken of had found their way thither. "do you ever find it dull here?" i asked of a lady--perhaps not with very good taste--for we englishmen have sometimes an idea that there is perhaps a little sameness about life in a small colony. "dull! no. what should make us dull? we have a great deal more to amuse us than most of you have at home." this perhaps might be true of many of us. "we have dances, and dinner-parties, and private theatricals. and then mrs. ----!" now mrs. ---- was the governor' wife, and all eulogiums on society in georgetown always ended with a eulogium upon her. i went over the hospital with the doctor there; for even in demerara they require a hospital for the negroes. "and what is the prevailing disease of the colony?" i asked him. "dropsy with the black men," he answered; "and brandy with the white." "you don't think much of yellow fever?" i asked him. "no; very little. it comes once in six or seven years; and like influenza or cholera at home, it requires its victims. what is that to consumption, whose visits with you are constant, who daily demands its hecatombs? we don't like yellow fever, certainly; but yellow fever is not half so bad a fellow as the brandy bottle." should this meet the eye of any reader in this colony who needs medical advice, he may thus get it, of a very good quality, and without fee. on the subject of brandy i say nothing myself, seeing how wrong it is to kiss and tell. excepting as regards yellow fever, i do not imagine that demerara is peculiarly unhealthy. and as regards yellow fever, i am inclined to think that his satanic majesty has in this instance been painted too black. there are many at home--in england--who believe that yellow fever rages every year in some of these colonies, and that half the white population of the towns is swept off by it every august. as far as i can learn it is hardly more fatal at one time of the year than at another. it returns at intervals, but by no means regularly or annually. sometimes it will hang on for sixteen or eighteen months at a time, and then it will disappear for five or six years. those seem to be most subject to it who have been out in the west indies for a year or so: after that, persons are not so liable to it. sailors, and men whose work keeps them about the sea-board and wharves, seem to be in the greatest danger. white soldiers also, when quartered in unhealthy places, have suffered greatly. they who are thoroughly acclimatized are seldom attacked; and there seems to be an idea that the white creoles are nearly safe. i believe that there are instances in which coloured people and even negroes have been attacked by yellow fever. but such cases are very rare. cholera is the negroes' scourge. nor do i think that this fever rages more furiously in demerara than among the islands. it has been very bad in its bad times at kingston, jamaica, at trinidad, at barbados, among the shipping at st. thomas, and nowhere worse than at the havana. the true secret of its fatality i take to be this:--that the medical world has not yet settled what is the proper mode of medical treatment. there are, i believe, still two systems, each directly opposite to the other; but in the west indies they call them the french system and the english. in a few years, no doubt, the matter will be better understood. from georgetown, demerara, to new amsterdam, berbice, men travel either by steamer along the coast, or by a mail phaeton. the former goes once a week to berbice and back, and the latter three times. i went by the mail phaeton and returned by the steamer. and here, considering the prosperity of the colony, the well-being and comfort of all men and women in it, the go-ahead principles of the place, and the coming million hogsheads of sugar--the millennium of a west indian colony--considering all these great existing characteristics of guiana, i must say that i think the governor ought to look to the mail phaeton. it was a woful affair, crumbling to pieces along the road in the saddest manner; very heart-rending to the poor fellow who had to drive it, and body-rending to some of the five passengers who were tossed to and fro as every fresh fragment deserted the parent vehicle with a jerk. and then, when we had to send the axle to be mended, that staying in the road for two hours and a half among the musquitoes! ohe! ohe! ugh! ugh! it grieves me to mention this, seeing that rose colour was so clearly the prevailing tint in all matters belonging to guiana. and i would have forgiven it had the phaeton simply broken down on the road. all sublunar phaetons are subject to such accidents. why else should they have been named after him of the heavens who first suffered from such mishaps? but this phaeton had broken down before it commenced its journey. it started on a system of ropes, bandages, and patches which were disgraceful to such a colony and such a governor; and i should intromit a clear duty, were i to allow it to escape the gibbet. but we did reach new amsterdam not more than five hours after time. i have but very little to say of the road, except this: that there is ample scope for sugar and ample room for coolies. every now and then we came upon negro villages. all villages in this country must be negro villages, one would say, except the few poor remaining huts of the indians, which are not encountered on the white man's path. true; but by a negro village i mean a site which is now the freehold possession of negroes, having been purchased by them since the days of emancipation, with their own money, and for their own purposes; so that they might be in all respects free; free to live in idleness, or to do such work as an estated man may choose to do for himself, his wife, his children, and his property. there are many such villages in guiana, and i was told that when the arrangements for the purchases were made the dollars were subscribed by the negroes so quickly and in such quantities that they were taken to the banks in wheelbarrows. at any rate, the result has been that tracts of ground have been bought by these people and are now owned by them in fee simple. it is grievous to me to find myself driven to differ on such points as these from men with whose views i have up to this period generally agreed. but i feel myself bound to say that the freeholding negroes in guiana do not appear to me to answer. in the first place it seems that they have found great difficulty in dividing the land among themselves. in all such combined actions some persons must be selected as trustworthy; and those who have been so selected have not been worthy of the trust. and then the combined action has ceased with the purchase of the land, whereas, to have produced good it should have gone much further. combined draining would have been essential; combined working has been all but necessary; combined building should have been adopted. but the negroes, the purchase once made, would combine no further. they could not understand that unless they worked together at draining, each man's own spot of ground would be a swamp. each would work a little for himself; but none would work for the community. a negro village therefore is not a picturesque object. they are very easily known. the cottages, or houses--for some of them have aspired to strong, stable, two-storied slated houses--stand in extreme disorder, one here and another there, just as individual caprice may have placed them. there seems to have been no attempt at streets or lines of buildings, and certainly not at regularity in building. then there are no roads, and hardly a path to each habitation. as the ground is not drained, in wet weather the whole place is half drowned. most of the inhabitants will probably have made some sort of dyke for the immediate preservation of their own dwellings; but as those dykes are not cut with any common purpose, they become little more than overflowing ponds, among which the negro children crawl and scrape in the mud; and are either drowned, or escape drowning, as providence may direct. the spaces between the buildings are covered with no verdure; they are mere mud patches, and are cracked in dry weather, wet, slippery, and filthy in the rainy seasons. the plantation grounds of these people are outside the village, and afford, i am told, cause for constant quarrelling. they do, however, also afford means of support for the greater part of the year, so that the negroes can live, some without work and some by working one or two days in the week. it may perhaps be difficult to explain why a man should be expected to work if he can live on his own property without working, and enjoy such comforts as he desires. and it may be equally difficult to explain why complaint should be made as to the wretchedness of any men who do not themselves feel that their own state is wretched. but, nevertheless, on seeing what there is here to be seen, it is impossible to withstand the instinctive conviction that a village of freeholding negroes is a failure; and that the community has not been served by the process, either as regards themselves or as regards the country. late at night we did reach new amsterdam, and crossed the broad berbice after dark in a little ferryboat which seemed to be perilously near the water. at ten o'clock i found myself at the hotel, and pronounce it to be, without hesitation, the best inn, not only in that colony, but in any of these western colonies belonging to great britain. it is kept by a negro, one mr. paris brittain, of whom i was informed that he was once a slave. "o, si sic omnes!" but as regards my experience, he is merely the exception which proves the rule. i am glad, however, to say a good word for the energies and ambition of one of the race, and shall be glad if i can obtain for mr. paris brittain an innkeeper's immortality. his deserts are so much the greater in that his scope for displaying them is so very limited. no man can walk along the broad strand street of new amsterdam, and then up into its parallel street, so back towards the starting-point, and down again to the sea, without thinking of knickerbocker and rip van winkle. the dutchman who built new amsterdam and made it once a thriving town must be still sleeping, as the new york dutchman once slept, waiting the time when an irruption from paramaribo and surinam shall again restore the place to its old possessors. at present life certainly stagnates at new amsterdam. three persons in the street constitute a crowd, and five collected for any purpose would form a goodly club. but the place is clean and orderly, and the houses are good and in good repair. they stand, as do the houses in georgetown, separately, each surrounded by its own garden or yard, and are built with reference to the wished-for breeze from the windows. the estates up the berbice river, and the canje creek which runs into it, are, i believe, as productive as those on the coast, or on the demerara or essequibo rivers, and are as well cultivated; but their owners no longer ship their sugars from new amsterdam. the bar across the berbice river is objectionable, and the trade of georgetown has absorbed the business of the colony. in olden times berbice and demerara were blessed each with its own governor, and the two towns stood each on its own bottom as two capitals. but those halcyon days--halcyon for berbice--are gone; and rip van winkle, with all his brethren, is asleep. i should have said, in speaking of my journey from demerara to berbice, that the first fifteen miles were performed by railway. the colony would have fair ground of complaint against me were i to omit to notice that it has so far progressed in civilization as to own a railway. as far as i could learn, the shares do not at present stand at a high premium. from berbice i returned in a coasting steamer. it was a sleepy, dull, hot journey, without subject of deep interest. i can only remember of it that they gave us an excellent luncheon on board, and luncheons at such times are very valuable in breaking the tedium of the day. and now a word as to the million hogsheads of sugar and as to the necessary coolies. guiana has some reason to be proud, seeing that at present it beats all the neighbouring british colonies in the quantity of sugar produced. i believe that it also beats them all as to the quantity of rum, though jamaica still stands first as to the quality. in round numbers the sugar exported from guiana may be stated at seventy thousand hogsheads. barbados exports about fifty thousand, trinidad and jamaica under forty thousand. no other british west indian colony gives fifteen thousand; but guadaloupe and martinique, two french islands, produce, one over fifty thousand and the other nearly seventy thousand hogsheads. in order to make this measurement intelligible, i may explain that a hogshead is generally said to contain a ton weight of sugar, but that, when reaching the market, it very rarely does come up to that weight. i do not give this information as statistically correct, but as being sufficiently so to guide the ideas of a man only ordinarily anxious to be acquainted in an ordinary manner with what is going on in the west indies. i would not, therefore, recommend any member of parliament to quote the above figures in the house. some twelve years ago the whole produce of sugar in the west indies, including guiana and excluding the spanish islands, was , hogsheads. the amount which i have above recapitulated, in which the smaller islands have been altogether omitted, exceeds , . it may therefore be taken as a fact that, on the whole, the evil days have come to their worst, and that the tables are turned. it must however be admitted that the above figures tell more for french than for english prosperity. in these countries sugar and labour are almost synonymous; at any rate, they are convertible substances. in none of the colonies named, except barbados, is the amount of sugar produced limited by any other law than the amount of labour to be obtained, and in none of them, with that one exception, can any prosperity be hoped for, excepting by means of immigrating labour. what i mean to state is this: that the extent of native work which can be obtained by the planters and land-owners at terms which would enable them to grow their produce and bring it to the market does not in any of these colonies suffice for success. it can be worth no man's while to lay out his capital in jamaica, in trinidad, or in guiana, unless he has reasonable hope that labouring men will be brought into those countries. the great west indian question is now this: is there reasonable ground for such hope? the anti-slavery society tells us that we ought to have no such hope--that it is simply hoping for a return of slavery; that black or coloured labourers brought from other lands to the west indies cannot be regarded as free men; that labourers so brought will surely be ill-used; and that the native negro labourer requires protection. as to that question of the return to slavery i have already said what few words i have to offer. in one sense, no dependent man working for wages can be free. he must abide by the terms of his contract. but in the usually accepted sense of the word freedom, the coolie or chinaman immigrating to the west indies is free. as to the charge of ill usage, it appears to me that these men could not be treated with more tenderness, unless they were put separately, each under his own glass case, with a piece of velvet on which to lie. in england we know of no such treatment for field labourers. on their arrival in demerara they are distributed among the planters by the governor, to each planter according to his application, his means of providing for them, and his willingness and ability to pay the cost of the immigration by yearly instalments. they are sent to no estate till a government officer shall have reported that there are houses for them to occupy. there must be a hospital for them on the estate, and a regular doctor with a sufficient salary. the rate of their wages is stipulated, and their hours of work. though the contract is for five years, they can leave the estate at the end of the first three, transferring their services to any other master, and at the end of the five years they are entitled to a free passage home. if there be no hardship in all this to the immigrating coolie, it may, perhaps, be thought that there is hardship to the planter who receives him. he is placed very much at the mercy of the governor, who, having the power of giving or refusing coolies, becomes despotic. and then, when this stranger from hindostan has been taught something of his work, he can himself select another master, so that one planter may bribe away the labourers of another. this, however, is checked to a certain degree by a regulation which requires the bribing interloper to pay a portion of the expense of immigration. as to the native negro requiring protection--protection, that is, against competitive labour--the idea is too absurd to require any argument to refute it. as it at present is, the competition having been established, and being now in existence to a certain small extent, these happy negro gentlemen will not work on an average more than three days a week, nor for above six hours a day. i saw a gang of ten or twelve negro girls in a cane-piece, lying idle on the ground, waiting to commence their week's labour. it was tuesday morning. on the monday they had of course not come near the field. on the morning of my visit they were lying with their hoes beside them, meditating whether or no they would measure out their work. the planter was with me, and they instantly attacked him. "no, massa; we no workey; money no nuff," said one. "four bits no pay! no pay at all!" said another. "five bits, massa, and we gin morrow 'arly." it is hardly necessary to say that the gentleman refused to bargain with them. "they'll measure their work to-morrow," said he; "on thursday they will begin, and on friday they will finish for the week." "but will they not look elsewhere for other work?" i asked. "of course they will," he said; "occupy a whole day in looking for it; but others cannot pay better than i do, and the end will be as i tell you." poor young ladies! it will certainly be cruel to subject them to the evil of competition in their labour. in guiana the bull has been taken by the horns, as in jamaica it unfortunately has not; and the first main difficulties of immigration have, i think, been overcome. for some years past, both from india and from china, labourers have been brought in freely, and during the last twelve months the number has been very considerable. the women also are coming now as well as the men, and they have learned to husband their means and put money together. such an affair as this--the regular exodus, that is, of a people to another land--has always progressed with great rapidity when it has been once established. the difficulty is to make a beginning. it is natural enough that men should hesitate to trust themselves to a future of which they know nothing; and as natural that they should hasten to do so when they have heard of the good things which providence has in store for them. it required that some few should come out and prosper, and return with signs of prosperity. this has now been done, and as regards guiana it will not, i imagine, be long before negro labour is, if not displaced, made, at any rate, of secondary consequence in the colony. as far as the workmen are concerned, the million hogsheads will, i think, become a possibility, though not perhaps in the days of my energetic hopeful friend. both the coolies and the chinamen have aptitude in putting money together; and when a man has this aptitude he will work as long as good wages are to be earned. "crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa, &c." we teach our children this lesson, intending them to understand that it is pretty nearly the worst of all "amors," and we go on with the "irritamenta malorum" till we come to the "spernere fortior." it is all, however, of no use. "naturam expellas furcâ;" but the result is still the same. nature knows what she is about. the love of money is a good and useful love. what would the world now be without it? or is it even possible to conceive of a world progressing without such a love? show me ten men without it, and i will show you nine who lack zeal for improvement. money, like other loved objects--women, for instance--should be sought for with honour, won with a clean conscience, and used with a free hand. provided it be so guided, the love of money is no ignoble passion. the negroes, as a class, have not this aptitude, consequently they lie in the sun and eat yams, and give no profitable assistance towards that saccharine millennium. "spernere fortior!" that big black woman would so say, she who is not contented with four bits, if her education had progressed so far. and as she said it, how she would turn up her african nose, and what contempt she would express with her broad eyes! doubtless she does so express herself among her negro friends in some nigger patois--"pernere forshaw." if so, her philosophy does but little to assist the world, or herself. there is another race of men, and of women too, who have been and now are of the greatest benefit to this colony, and with them the "spernere fortior" is by no means a favourite doctrine. there are the portuguese who have come to demerara from madeira. i believe that they are not to be found in any of the islands; but here, in guiana, they are in great numbers, and thrive wonderfully. at almost every corner of two streets in georgetown is to be seen a small shop; and those shops are, i think without exception, kept by portuguese. nevertheless they all reached the demerara river in absolute poverty, intending to live on the wages of field labour, and certainly prepared to do their work like men. as a rule, they are a steady, industrious class, and have proved themselves to be good citizens. in the future amalgamation of races, which will take place here as elsewhere in the tropics, the portugee-madeira element will not be the least efficient. i saw the works on three or four sugar estates in demerara, and though i am neither a sugar grower nor a mechanic, i am able to say that the machinery and material of this colony much exceed anything i have seen in any of our own west indian islands; and in the point of machinery, equals what i saw in cuba. everything is done on a much larger scale, and in a more proficient manner than at--barbados, we will say. i instance barbados because the planters there play so excellent a melody on their own trumpets. in that island not one planter in five, not one i believe in fifteen, has any steam appliance on his estate. they trust to the wind for their motive power, as did their great-great-grandfather. but there is steam on every estate in guiana. the vacuum pan and the centrifugal machine for extracting the molasses are known only by name in barbados, whereas they are common appliances in demerara. there two hundred hogsheads is a considerable produce for one planter. here they make eight hundred hogsheads, a thousand, and twelve hundred. a barbados man will reply to this that the thing to be looked to is the profit, or what he will call the clearance. the sugar-consuming world, however, will know nothing about this, will hear nothing of individual profits. but it will recognize the fact that the demerara sugar is of a better quality than that which comes from barbados, and will believe that the merchant or planter who does not use the latest appliances of science, whether it be in manufacture or agriculture, will before long go to the wall. looking over a sugar estate and sugar works is an exciting amusement certainly, but nevertheless it palls upon one at last. i got quite into the way of doing it; and used to taste the sugars and examine the crystals; make comparisons and pronounce, i must confess as regards barbados, a good deal of adverse criticism. but this was merely to elicit the true tone of barbadian eloquence, the long-drawn nasal fecundity of speech which comes forth so fluently when their old windmills are attacked. but the amusement, as i have said, does pall upon one. in spite of the difference of the machinery, the filtering-bags and centrifugals in one, the gadsden pans in another, and the simple oscillators in a third--(the barbados estate stands for the third)--one does get weary of walking up to a sugar battery, and looking at the various heated caldrons, watching till even the inexperienced eye perceives that the dirty liquor has become brown sugar, as it runs down from a dipper into a cooling vat. i wonder whether i could make the process in any simple way intelligible; or whether in doing so i should afford gratification to a single individual? were i myself reading such a book of travels, i should certainly skip such description. reader, do thou do likewise. nevertheless, it shall not exceed three or four pages. the cane must first be cut. as regards a planted cane, that is the first crop from the plant--(for there are such things as ratoons, of which a word or two will be found elsewhere)--as regards the planted cane, the cutting, i believe, takes place after about fourteen months' growth. the next process is that of the mill; the juice, that is, has to be squeezed out of it. the cane should not lie above two days before it is squeezed. it is better to send it to the mill the day after it is cut, or the hour after; in fact, as soon indeed as may be. in demerara they are brought to the mill by water always; in barbados, by carts and mules; in jamaica, by waggons and oxen; so also in cuba. the mill consists of three rollers, which act upon each other like cogwheels. the canes are passed between two, an outside one, say, and a centre one; and the refuse stalk, or trash (so called in jamaica), or magass (so called in barbados and demerara), comes out between the same centre one and the other outside roller. the juice meanwhile is strained down to a cistern or receptacle below. these rollers are quite close, so that it would seem to be impossible that the cane should go through; but it does go through with great ease, if the mill be good and powerful; but frequently with great difficulty, if the mill be bad and not powerful; for which latter alternative vide barbados. the canes give from sixty to seventy per cent. of juice. sometimes less than sixty, not often over seventy. the juice, which is then of a dirty-yellow colour, and apparently about the substance of milk, is brought from the mill through a pipe into the first vat, in which it is tempered. this is done with lime, and the object is to remedy the natural acidity of the juice. in this first vat it is warmed, but not more than warmed. it then runs from these vats into boilers, or at any rate into receptacles in which it is boiled. these in barbados are called taches. at each of these a man stands with a long skimmer, skimmering the juice as it were, and scraping off certain skum which comes to the top. there are from three to seven of these taches, and below them, last of all, is the boiler, the veritable receptacle in which the juice becomes sugar. in the taches, especially the first of them, the liquor becomes dark green in colour. as it gets nearer the boiler it is thicker and more clouded, and begins to assume its well-known tawny hue. over the last boiler stands the man who makes the sugar. it is for him to know what heat to apply and how long to apply it. the liquor now ceases to be juice and becomes sugar. this is evident to the eye and nose, for though the stuff in the boiler is of course still liquid, it looks like boiled melted sugar, and the savour is the savour of sugar. when the time has come, and the boiling is boiled, a machine suspended from on high, and called a dipper, is let down into the caldron. it nearly fits the caldron, being, as it were, in itself a smaller caldron going into the other. the sugar naturally runs over the side of this and fills it, some little ingenuity being exercised in the arrangement. the dipper, full of sugar, is then drawn up on high. at the bottom of it is a valve, so that on the pulling of a rope, the hot liquid runs out. this dipper is worked like a crane, and is made to swing itself from over the boiler to a position in which the sugar runs from it through a wooden trough to the flat open vats in which it is cooled. but at this part of the manufacture there are various different methods. according to that which is least advanced the sugar is simply cooled in the vat, then put into buckets in a half-solid state, and thrown out of the buckets into the hogsheads. according to the more advanced method it runs from the dipper down through filtering bags, is then pumped into a huge vacuum pan, a utensil like a kettle-drum turned topsy-turvy, a kettle-drum that is large enough to hold six tons of sugar. then it is reheated, and then put into open round boxes called centrifugals, the sides of which are made of metal pierced like gauze. these are whisked round and round by steam-power at an enormous rate, and the molasses flies out through the gauze, leaving the sugar dry and nearly white. it is then fit to go into the hogshead, and fit also to be shipped away. but in the simpler process, the molasses drains from the sugar in the hogshead. to facilitate this, as the sugar is put into the cask, reeds are stuck through it, which communicate with holes at the bottom, so that there may be channels through which the molasses may run. the hogsheads stand upon beams lying a foot apart from each other, and below is a dark abyss into which the molasses falls. i never could divest myself of the idea that the negro children occasionally fall through also, and are then smothered and so distilled into rum. there are various other processes, intermediate between the highly-civilized vacuum pan and the simple cooling, with which i will not trouble my reader. nor will i go into the further mystery of rum-making. that the rum is made from the molasses every one knows; and from the negro children, as i suspect. the process of sugar-making is very rapid if the appliances be good. a planter in demerara assured me that he had cut his canes in the morning, and had the sugar in georgetown in the afternoon. fudge! however, was the remark made by another planter to whom i repeated this. whether it was fudge or not i do not know; but it was clearly possible that such should be the case. the manufacture is one which does not require any delay. in demerara an acre of canes will on an average give over a ton and a half of sugar. but an acre of cane ground will not give a crop once in twelve months. two crops in three years may perhaps be the average. so much for the manufacture of sugar. i hope my account may not be criticised by those who are learned in the art, as it is only intended for those who are utterly unlearned. but if looking over sugar-works be at last fatiguing, what shall i say to that labour of "going aback," which guiana planters exact from their visitors. going aback in guiana means walking from the house and manufactory back to the fields where the canes grow. i have described the shape of a demerara estate. the house generally stands not far from the water frontage, so that the main growth of the sugar is behind. this going aback generally takes place before breakfast. but the breakfast is taken at eleven; and a demerara sun is in all its glory for three hours before that. remember, also, that there are no trees in these fields, no grass, no wild flowers, no meandering paths. everything is straight, and open, and ugly; and everything has a tendency to sugar, and no other tendency whatever, unless it be to rum. sugar-canes is the only growth. so that a walk aback, except to a very close inquirer, is not delightful. it must however be confessed that the subsequent breakfast makes up for a deal of misery. there is no such breakfast going as that of a guiana planter. talk of scotland! pooh! but one has to think of that doctor's dictum--"the prevalent disease, sir? brandy!" it seems, however, to me to show itself more generally in the shape of champagne. there is one other peculiar characteristic of landed property in this colony which i must mention. all the carriage is by water, not only from the works to the town, but from the fields to the works, and even from field to field. the whole country is intersected by drains, which are necessary to carry off the surface waters; there is no natural fall of water, or next to none, and but for its drains and sluices the land would be flooded in wet weather. parallel to these drains are canals; there being, as nearly as i could learn, one canal between each two drains. these different dykes are to a stranger similar in appearance, but their uses are always kept distinct. nor do these canals run only between wide fields, or at a considerable distance from each other. they pierce every portion of land, so that the canes when cut have never to be carried above a few yards. the expense of keeping them in order is very great, but the labour of making them must have been immense. it was done by the dutch. one may almost question whether any other race would have had the patience necessary for such a work. i was told on one estate that there were no less than sixty-three miles of these cuttings to be kept in order. but the gentleman who told me was he to whom the other gentleman alluded, when he used our old friend, mr. burchell's exclamation. there can be no doubt but that these guiana planters know each other. on the whole, i must express my conviction that this is a fine colony, and will become of very great importance. our great thunderer the other day spoke of the governance of a sugar island as a duty below a man's notice; as being almost worthy of contempt. we cannot all be gods and forge thunderbolts. but we all wish to consume sugar; and if we can do in one of our colonies without slaves what cuba is doing with slaves, the work i think will not be contemptible, nor the land contemptible in which it is done. i do look to see our free cuba in guiana, and even have my hopes as to that million of hogsheads. i have said, in speaking of jamaica, that i thought the negro had hardly yet shown himself capable of understanding the teaching of the christian religion. as regards guiana, what i heard on this matter i heard chiefly from clergymen of the church of england; and though they would of course not agree with me--for it is not natural that a man should doubt the efficacy of his own teaching--nevertheless, what i gathered from them strengthens my former opinions. i do think that the guiana negro is in this respect somewhat superior to his brother in jamaica. he is more intelligent, and comes nearer to our idea of a thoughtful being. but still even here it seems to me that he never connects his religion with his life; never reflects that his religion should bear upon his conduct. here, as in the islands, the negroes much prefer to belong to a baptist congregation, or to a so-called wesleyan body. that excitement is there allowed to them which is denied in our church. they sing and halloa and scream, and have revivals. they talk of their "dear brothers" and "dear sisters," and in their ecstatic howlings get some fun for their money. i doubt also whether those disagreeable questions as to conduct are put by the baptists which they usually have to undergo from our clergymen. "so-called wesleyans," i say, because the practice of their worship here is widely removed from the sober gravity of the wesleyan churches in england. i have said that the form of government in guiana was a mild despotism, tempered by sugar. the governor, it must be understood, has not absolute authority. there is a combined house, with a power of voting, by whom he is controlled--at any rate in financial matters. but of those votes he commands many as governor, and as long as he will supply coolies quick enough--and coolies mean sugar--he may command them all. "we are not particular to a shade," the planters wisely say to him, "in what way we are governed. if you have any fads of your own about this or about that, by all means indulge them. even if you want a little more money, in god's name take it. but the business of a man's life is sugar: there's the land; the capital shall be forthcoming, whether begged, borrowed, or stolen;--do you supply the labour. give us coolies enough, and we will stick at nothing. we are an ambitious colony. there looms before us a great future--a million hogsheads of sugar!" the form of government here is somewhat singular. there are two houses--lords and commons--but not acting separately as ours do. the upper house is the court of policy. this consists of five official members, whose votes may therefore be presumed to be at the service of the governor, and of five elected members. the governor himself, sitting in this court, has the casting vote. but he also has something to say to the election of the other five. they are chosen by a body of men called kiezers--probably dutch for choosers. there is a college of kiezers, elected for life by the tax-payers, whose main privilege appears to be that of electing these members of the court of policy. but on every occasion they send up two names, and the governor selects one; so that he can always keep out any one man who may be peculiarly disagreeable to him. this court of policy acts, i think, when acting by itself, more as a privy council to the governor than as a legislative body. then there are six financial representatives; two from berbice, one from town and one from country; two from demerara, one from town and one from country; and two from essequibo, both from the country, there being no town. these are elected by the tax-payers. they are assembled for purposes of taxation only, as far as i understood; and even as regards this they are joined with the court of policy, and thus form what is called the combined court. the crown, therefore, has very little to tie its hands; and i think that i am justified in describing the government as a mild despotism, tempered by sugar. so much for british guiana. i cannot end this crude epitome of crude views respecting the colony without saying that i never met a pleasanter set of people than i found there, or ever passed my hours much more joyously. chapter xiii. barbados. barbados is a very respectable little island, and it makes a great deal of sugar. it is not picturesquely beautiful, as are almost all the other antilles, and therefore has but few attractions for strangers. but this very absence of scenic beauty has saved it from the fate of its neighbours. a country that is broken into landscapes, that boasts of its mountains, woods, and waterfalls, that is regarded for its wild loveliness, is seldom propitious to agriculture. a portion of the surface in all such regions defies the improving farmer. but, beyond this, such ground under the tropics offers every inducement to the negro squatter. in jamaica, dominica, st. lucia, and grenada, the negro, when emancipated, could squat and make himself happy; but in barbados there was not an inch for him. when emancipation came there was no squatting ground for the poor barbadian. he had still to work and make sugar--work quite as hard as he had done while yet a slave. he had to do that or to starve. consequently, labour has been abundant in this island, and in this island only; and in all the west indian troubles it has kept its head above water, and made sugar respectably--not, indeed, showing much sugar genius, or going ahead in the way of improvements, but paying twenty shillings in the pound, supporting itself, and earning its bread decently by the sweat of its brow. the pity is that the barbadians themselves should think so much of their own achievements. the story runs, that when europe was convulsed by revolutions and wars--when continental sovereigns were flying hither and thither, and there was so strong a rumour that napoleon was going to eat us--the great napoleon i mean--that then, i say, the barbadians sent word over to poor king george the third, bidding him fear nothing. if england could not protect him, barbados would. let him come to them, if things looked really blue on his side of the channel it was a fine, spirited message, but perhaps a little self glorious. that, i should say, is the character of the island in general. as to its appearance, it is, as i have said, totally different from any of the other islands, and to an english eye much less attractive in its character. but for the heat its appearance would not strike with any surprise an englishman accustomed to an ordinary but ugly agricultural country. it has not the thick tropical foliage which is so abundant in the other islands, nor the wild, grassy dells. happily for the barbadians every inch of it will produce canes; and, to the credit of the barbadians, every inch of it does so. a barbadian has a right to be proud of this, but it does not make the island interesting. it is the waste land of the world that makes it picturesque. but there is not a rood of waste land in barbados. it certainly is not the country for a gipsy immigration. indeed, i doubt whether there is even room for a picnic. the island is something over twenty miles long, and something over twelve broad. the roads are excellent, but so white that they sadly hurt the eye of a stranger. the authorities have been very particular about their milestones, and the inhabitants talk much about their journeys. i found myself constantly being impressed with ideas of distance, till i was impelled to suggest a rather extended system of railroads--a proposition which was taken in very good part. i was informed that the population was larger than that of china, but my informant of course meant by the square foot. he could hardly have counted by the square mile in barbados. and thus i was irresistibly made to think of the frog that would blow itself out and look as large as an ox. bridgetown, the metropolis of the island, is much like a second or third rate english town. it has none of the general peculiarities of the west indies, except the heat. the streets are narrow, irregular, and crooked, so that at first a stranger is apt to miss his way. they all, however, converge at trafalgar square, a spot which, in barbados, is presumed to compete with the open space at charing cross bearing the same name. they have this resemblance, that each contains a statue of nelson. the barbadian trafalgar square contains also a tree, which is more than can be said for its namesake. it can make also this boast, that no attempt has been made within it which has failed so grievously as our picture gallery. in saying this, however, i speak of the building only--by no means of the pictures. there are good shops in bridgetown--good, respectable, well-to-do shops, that sell everything, from a candle down to a coffin, including wedding-rings, corals, and widows' caps. but they are hot, fusty, crowded places, as are such places in third-rate english towns. but then the question of heat here is of such vital moment! a purchase of a pair of gloves in barbados drives one at once into the ice-house. and here it may be well to explain this very peculiar, delightful, but too dangerous west indian institution. by-the-by, i do not know that there was any ice-house in kingston, jamaica. if there be one there, my friends were peculiarly backward, for i certainly was not made acquainted with it. but everywhere else--at demerara, trinidad, barbados, and st. thomas--i was duly introduced to the ice-house. there is something cool and mild in the name, which makes one fancy that ladies would delight to frequent it. but, alas! a west indian ice house is but a drinking-shop--a place where one goes to liquor, as the americans call it, without the knowledge of the feminine creation. it is a drinking-shop, at which the draughts are all cool, are all iced, but at which, alas! they are also all strong. the brandy, i fear, is as essential as the ice. a man may, it is true, drink iced soda-water without any concomitant, or he may simply have a few drops of raspberry vinegar to flavour it. no doubt many an easy-tempered wife so imagines. but if so, i fear that they are deceived. now the ice-house in bridgetown seemed to me to be peculiarly well attended. i look upon this as the effect of the white streets and the fusty shops. barbados claims, i believe--but then it claims everything--to have a lower thermometer than any other west indian island--to be, in fact, cooler than any of her sisters. as far as the thermometer goes, it may be possible; but as regards the human body, it is not the fact. let any man walk from his hotel to morning church and back, and then judge. there is a mystery about hotels in the british west indies. they are always kept by fat, middle-aged coloured ladies, who have no husbands. i never found an exception except at berbice, where my friend paris brittain keeps open doors in the city of the sleepers. these ladies are generally called miss so-and-so; miss jenny this, or miss jessy that; but they invariably seemed to have a knowledge of the world, especially of the male hotel-frequenting world, hardly compatible with a retiring maiden state of life. i only mention this. i cannot solve the riddle. "davus sum, non oedipus." but it did strike me as singular that the profession should always be in the hands of these ladies, and that they should never get husbands. as a rule, there is not much to be said against these hotels, though they will not come up to the ideas of a traveller who has been used to the inns of switzerland. the table is always plentifully supplied, and the viands generally good. of that at barbados i can make no complaint, except this; that the people over the way kept a gray parrot which never ceased screaming day or night. i was deep in my jamaica theory of races, and this wretched bird nearly drove me wild. "can anything be done to stop it, james?" "no, massa." "nothing? wouldn't they hang a cloth over it for a shilling?" "no, massa; him only make him scream de more to speak to him." i took this as final, though whether the "him" was the man or the parrot, i did not know. but such a bird i never heard before, and the street was no more than twelve feet broad. he was, in fact, just under my window. thrice had i to put aside my theory of races. otherwise than on this score, miss caroline lee's hotel at barbados is very fair. and as for hot pickles--she is the very queen of them. whether or no my informant was right in saying that the population of barbados is more dense than that of china, i cannot say; but undoubtedly it is very great; and hence, as the negroes cannot get their living without working, has come the prosperity of the island. the inhabitants are, i believe, very nearly , in number. this is a greater population than that of the whole of guiana. the consequence is, that the cane-pieces are cultivated very closely, and that all is done that manual labour can do. the negroes here differ much, i think, from those in the other islands, not only in manner, but even in form and physiognomy. they are of heavier build, broader in the face, and higher in the forehead. they are also certainly less good-humoured, and more inclined to insolence; so that if anything be gained in intelligence it is lost in conduct. on the whole, i do think that the barbados negroes are more intelligent than others that i have met. it is probable that this may come from more continual occupation. but if the black people differ from their brethren of the other islands, so certainly do the white people. one soon learns to know a--bim. that is the name in which they themselves delight, and therefore, though there is a sound of slang about it, i give it here. one certainly soon learns to know a bim. the most peculiar distinction is in his voice. there is always a nasal twang about it, but quite distinct from the nasality of a yankee. the yankee's word rings sharp through his nose; not so that of the first-class bim. there is a soft drawl about it, and the sound is seldom completely formed. the effect on the ear is the same as that on the hand when a man gives you his to shake, and instead of shaking yours, holds his own still. when a man does so to me i always wish to kick him. i had never any wish to kick the barbadian, more especially as they are all stout men; but i cannot but think that if he were well shaken a more perfect ring would come out of him. the bims, as i have said, are generally stout fellows. as a rule they are larger and fairer than other west indian creoles, less delicate in their limbs, and more clumsy in their gait. the male graces are not much studied in barbados. but it is not only by their form or voice that you may know them--not only by the voice, but by the words. no people ever praised themselves so constantly; no set of men were ever so assured that they and their occupations are the main pegs on which the world hangs. their general law to men would be this: "thou shalt make sugar in the sweat of thy brow, and make it as it is made in barbados." any deviation from that law would be a deviation from the highest duty of man. of many of his sister colonies a barbadian can speak with temper. when jamaica is mentioned philanthropic compassion lights up his face, and he tells you how much he feels for the poor wretches there who call themselves planters. st. lucia also he pities, and grenada; and of st. vincent he has some hope. their little efforts he says are praiseworthy; only, alas! they are so little! he does not think much of antigua; and turns up his nose at nevis and st. kitts, which in a small way are doing a fair stroke of business. the french islands he does not love, but that is probably patriotism: as the french islands are successful sugar growers such patriotism is natural. but do not speak to him of trinadad; that subject is very sore. and as for guiana--! one knows what to expect if one holds a red rag up to a bull. praise guiana sugar-making in bridgetown, and you will be holding up a red rag to a dozen bulls, no one of which will refuse the challenge. and thus you may always know a bim. when i have met four or five together, i have not dared to try this experiment, for they are wrathy men, and have rough sides to their tongues; but i have so encountered two at a time. "yes," i have said; "the superiority of barbados cannot be doubted. we all grant that. but which colony is second in the race?" "it is impossible to say," said a. "they are none of them well circumstanced." "none of them have got any labour," said b. "they can't make returns," said a. "just look at their clearances," said b; "and then look at ours." "jamaica sugar is paying now," i remarked. "jamaica, sir, has been destroyed root and branch," said a, well pleased; for they delight to talk of jamaica. "and no one can lament it more than i do," said b. "jamaica is a fine island, only utterly ruined." "magnificent! such scenery!" i replied. "but it can't make sugar," said b. "what of trinidad?" i asked. "trinidad, sir, is a fine wild island; and perhaps some day we may get our coal there." "but demerara makes a little sugar," i ventured to remark. "it makes deuced little money, i know," said a. "every inch of it is mortgaged," said b. "but their steam-engines," said i. "look at their clearances," said a. "they have none," said b. "at any rate, they have got beyond windmills," i remarked, with considerable courage. "because they have got no wind," said a. "a low bank of mud below the sea-level," said b. "but a fine country for sugar," said i. "they don't know what sugar is," said a. "look at their vacuum pans," said i. "all my eye," said b. "and their filtering-bags," said i. "filtering-bags be d----," said a. "centrifugal machines," said i, now nearly exhausted. "we've tried them, and abandoned them long ago," said b, only now coming well on to the fight. "their sugar is nearly white," said i; "and yours is a dirty brown." "their sugar don't pay," said a, "and ours does." "look at the price of our land," said b. "yes, and the extent of it," said i. "our clearances, sir! the clearances, sir, are the thing," said a. "the year's income," said b. "a hogshead to the acre," said i; "and that only got from guano." this was my last shot at them. they both came at me open-mouthed together, and i confess that i retired, vanquished, from the field. it is certainly the fact that they do make their sugar in a very old-fashioned way in barbados, using wind-mills instead of steam, and that you see less here of the improved machinery for the manufacture than in demerara, or cuba, or trinidad, or even in jamaica. the great answer given to objections is that the old system pays best. it may perhaps do so for the present moment, though i should doubt even that. but i am certain that it cannot continue to do so. no trade, and no agriculture can afford to dispense with the improvements of science. i found some here who acknowledged that the mere produce of the cane from the land had been pressed too far by means of guano. a great crop is thus procured, but it appears that the soil is injured, and that the sugar is injured also. the canes, moreover, will not ratoon as they used to do, and as they still do in other parts of the west indies. the cane is planted, and when ripe is cut. if allowed, another cane will grow from the same plant, and that is a ratoon; and again a third will grow, giving a third crop from the same plant; and in many soils a fourth; and in some few many more; and one hears of canes ratooning for twenty years. if the same amount and quality of sugar be produced, of course the system of ratooning must be by far the cheapest and most profitable. in i believe most of our colonies the second crop is as good as the first, and i understand that it used to be so in barbados. but it is not so now. the ratoon almost always looks poor, and the second ratoons appear to be hardly worth cutting. i believe that this is so much the case that many barbados planters now look to get but one crop only from each planting. this falling off in the real fertility of the soil is i think owing to the use of artificial manure, such as guano. there is a system all through these sugar-growing countries of burning the magass, or trash; this is the stalk of the cane, or remnant of the stalk after it comes through the mill. what would be said of an english agriculturist who burnt his straw? it is i believe one of the soundest laws of agriculture that the refuse of the crop should return to the ground which gave it. to this it will be answered that the english agriculturist is not called on by the necessity of his position to burn his straw. he has not to boil his wheat, nor yet his beef and mutton; whereas the barbados farmer is obliged to boil his crop. at the present moment the barbados farmer is under this obligation; but he is not obliged to do it with the refuse produce of his fields. he cannot perhaps use coals immediately under his boilers, but he can heat them with steam which comes pretty much to the same thing. all this applies not to barbados only, but to guiana, jamaica, and the other islands also. at all of them the magass or trash is burnt. but at none of them is manure so much needed as at barbados. they cannot there take into cultivation new fresh virgin soil when they wish it, as they can in guiana. and then one is tempted to ask the question, whether every owner of land is obliged to undertake all the complete duties which now are joined together at a sugar estate? it certainly is the case, that no single individual could successfully set himself against the system. but i do not see why a collection of individuals should not do so. a farmer in england does not grow the wheat, then grind it, and then make the bread. the growing is enough for him. then comes the miller, and the baker. but on a sugar estate, one and the same man grows the cane, makes the sugar, and distils the rum; thus altogether opposing the salutary principle of the division of labour. i cannot see why the grower should not sell his canes to a sugar manufacturer. there can, i believe, be no doubt of this, that sugar can be made better and cheaper in large quantities than in small. but the clearance, sir; that is the question. how would this affect the clearance? the sugar manufacturer would want his profit. of course he would, as do the miller and the baker. they complain greatly at barbados, as they do indeed elsewhere, that they are compelled to make bad sugar by the differential duty. the duty on good sugar is so much higher than that on bad sugar, that the bad or coarse sugar pays them best. this is the excuse they give for not making a finer article, and i believe that the excuse is true. i made one or two excursions in the island, and was allowed the privilege of attending an agricultural breakfast, at which there were some twenty or thirty planters. it seems that a certain number of gentlemen living in the same locality had formed themselves into a society, with the object of inspecting each other's estates. a committee of three was named in each case by the president; and this committee, after surveying the estate in question, and looking at the works and stock, drew up a paper, either laudatory or the reverse, which paper was afterwards read to the society. these readings took place after the breakfast, and the breakfast was held monthly. to the planter probably the reading of the documents was the main object. it may not be surprising that i gave the preference to the breakfast, which of its kind was good. but this was not the only breakfast of the sort at which i was allowed to be a guest. the society has always its one great monthly breakfast; but the absolute inspection gives occasions for further breakfasts. i was also at one of these, and assisted in inspecting the estate. there were, however, too many barbadians present to permit of my producing my individual views respecting the guiana improvements. the report is made at the time of the inspection, but it is read in public at the monthly meeting. the effect no doubt is good, and the publicity of the approval or disapproval stimulates the planter. but i was amused with the true barbadian firmness with which the gentlemen criticised declared that they would not the less take their own way, and declined to follow the advice offered to them in the report. i heard two such reports read, and in both cases this occurred. all this took place at hookleton cliff, which the barbadians regard as the finest point for scenery in the island. the breakfast i own was good, and the discourse useful and argumentative. but as regards the scenery, there is little to be said for it, considering that i had seen jamaica, and was going to see trinidad. even in barbados, numerous as are the negroes, they certainly live an easier life than that of an english labourer, earn their money with more facility, and are more independent of their masters. a gentleman having one hundred and fifty families living on his property would not expect to obtain from them the labour of above ninety men at the usual rate of pay, and that for not more than five days a week. they live in great comfort, and in some things are beyond measure extravagant. "do you observe," said a lady to me, "that the women when they walk never hold up their dresses?" "i certainly have," i answered. "probably they are but ill shod, and do not care to show their feet." "not at all. their feet have nothing to do with it. but they think it economical to hold up their petticoats. it betokens a stingy, saving disposition, and they prefer to show that they do not regard a few yards of muslin more or less." this is perfectly true of them. as the shopman in jamaica said to me--in this part of the world we must never think of little economies. the very negroes are ashamed to do so. of the coloured people i saw nothing, except that the shops are generally attended by them. they seemed not to be so numerous as they are elsewhere, and are, i think, never met with in the society of white people. in no instance did i meet one, and i am told that in barbados there is a very rigid adherence to this rule. indeed, one never seems to have the alternative of seeing them; whereas in jamaica one has not the alternative of avoiding them. as regards myself, i would much rather have been thrown among them. i think that in all probability the white settlers in barbados have kept themselves more distinct from the negro race, and have not at any time been themselves so burdened with coloured children as is the case elsewhere. if this be so, they certainly deserve credit for their prudence. here also there is a king, lords, and commons, or a governor, a council, and an assembly. the council consists of twelve, and are either chosen by the crown, or enjoy their seat by virtue of office held by appointment from the crown. the governor in person sits in the council. the assembly consists of twenty-two, who are annually elected by the parishes. none but white men do vote at these elections, though no doubt a black man could vote, if a black man were allowed to obtain a freehold. of course, therefore, none but white men can be elected. how it is decided whether a man be white or not, that i did not hear. the greater part of the legislative business of the island is done by committees, who are chosen from these bodies. here, as elsewhere through the west indies, one meets with unbounded hospitality. a man who dines out on monday will receive probably three invitations for tuesday, and six for wednesday. and they entertain very well. that haunch of mutton and turkey which are now the bugbear of the english dinner-giver do not seem to trouble the minds or haunt the tables of west indian hosts. and after all, barbados--little england as it delights to call itself--is and should be respected among islands. it owes no man anything, pays its own way, and never makes a poor mouth. let us say what we will, self-respect is a fine quality, and the barbadians certainly enjoy that. it is a very fine quality, and generally leads to respect from others. they who have nothing to say for themselves will seldom find others to say much for them. i therefore repeat what i said at first. barbados is a very respectable little island, and considering the limited extent of its acreage, it does make a great deal of sugar. chapter xiv. trinidad. no scenery can be more picturesque than that afforded by the entrance to port of spain, the chief town in the island of trinidad. trinidad, as all men doubtless know, is the southernmost of the west indian islands, and lies across the delta of the orinoco river. the western portion of the island is so placed that it nearly reaches with two horns two different parts of the mainland of venezuela, one of the south american republics. and thus a bay is formed closed in between the island and the mainland, somewhat as is the gulf of mexico by the island of cuba; only that the proportions here are much less in size. this enclosed sea is called the gulf of paria. the two chief towns, i believe i may say the two only towns in trinidad are situated in this bay. that which is the larger, and the seat of government, is called the port of spain, and lies near to the northern horn. san fernando, the other, which is surrounded by the finest sugar districts of the island, and which therefore devotes its best energies to the export of that article, is on the other side of the bay and near the other horn. the passages into the enclosed sea on either side are called the bocas, or mouths. those nearest to the delta of the orinoco are the serpent's mouths. the ordinary approach from england or the other islands is by the more northern entrance. here there are three passages, of which the middle is the largest one, the boca grande. that between the mainland and a small island is used by the steamers in fine weather, and is by far the prettiest. through this, the boca di mona, or monkey's mouth, we approached port of spain. these northern entrances are called the dragon's mouths. what may be the nautical difference between the mouth of a dragon and that of a serpent i did not learn. on the mainland, that is the land of the main island, the coast is precipitous, but clothed to the very top with the thickest and most magnificent foliage. with an opera-glass one can distinctly see the trees coming forth from the sides of the rocks as though no soil were necessary for them, and not even a shelf of stone needed for their support and these are not shrubs, but forest trees, with grand spreading branches, huge trunks, and brilliant coloured foliage. the small island on the other side is almost equally wooded, but is less precipitous. here, however, there are open glades, and grassy enclosures, which tempt one to wish that it was one's lot to lie there in the green shade and eat bananas and mangoes. this little island in the good old days, regretted by not a few, when planters were planters, and slaves were slaves, produced cotton up to its very hill-tops. now i believe it yields nothing but the grass for a few cattle. our steamer as she got well into the boca drew near to the shore of the large island, and as we passed along we had a succession of lovely scenes. soft-green smiling nooks made themselves visible below the rocks, the very spots for picnics. one could not but long to be there with straw hats and crinoline, pigeon pies and champagne baskets. there was one narrow shady valley, into which a creek of the sea ran up, that must have been made for such purposes, either for that, or for the less noisy joys of some paul of trinidad with his creole virginia. as we steamed on a little further we came to a whaling establishment. ideas of whaling establishments naturally connect themselves with icebergs and the north pole. but it seems that there are races of whales as there are of men, proper to the tropics as well as to the poles; and some of the former here render up their oily tributes. from the look of the place i should not say that the trade was flourishing. the whaling huts are very picturesque, but do not say much for the commercial enterprise of the proprietors. from them we went on through many smaller islands to port of spain. this is a large town, excellently well laid out, with the streets running all at right angles to each other, as is now so common in new towns. the spaces have been prepared for a much larger population than that now existing, so that it is at present straggling, unfilled, and full of gaps. but the time will come, and that before long, when it will be the best town in the british west indies. there is at present in port of spain a degree of commercial enterprise quite unlike the sleepiness of jamaica or the apathy of the smaller islands. i have now before me at the present moment of writing a debate which took place in the house of commons the other day--it is only the other day as i now write--on a motion made by mr. buxton for a committee to inquire into the british west indies; and though somewhat afraid of being tedious on the subject of immigration to these parts, i will say a few words as to this motion in as far as it affects not only trinidad, but all those colonies. of all subjects this is the one that is of real importance to the west indies; and it may be expected that the sugar colonies will or will not prosper, as that subject is or is not understood by its rulers. i think i may assume that the intended purport of mr. buxton's motion was to throw impediments in the way of the immigration of coolies into jamaica; and that in making it he was acting as the parliamentary mouthpiece of the anti-slavery society. the legislature of jamaica has at length passed a law with the object of promoting this immigration, as it has been promoted at the mauritius and in a lesser degree in british guiana and trinidad; but the anti-slavery society have wished to induce the crown to use its authority and abstain from sanctioning this law, urging that it will be injurious to the interests of the negro labourers. the "peculiar institution" of slavery is, i imagine, quite as little likely to find friends in england now as it was when the question of its abolition was so hotly pressed some thirty years since. and god forbid that i should use either the strength or the weakness of my pen in saying a word in favour of a system so abhorrent to the feelings of a christian englishman. but may we not say that that giant has been killed? is it not the case that the anti-slavery society has done its work?--has done its work at any rate as regards the british west indies? what should we have said of the anti-corn-law league, had it chosen to sit in permanence after the repeal of the obnoxious tax, with the view of regulating the fixed price of bread? such is the attempt now being made by the anti-slavery society with reference to the west indian negroes. if any men are free, these men are so. they have been left without the slightest constraint or bond over them. in the sense in which they are free, no english labourer is free. in england a man cannot select whether he will work or whether he will let it alone. he, the poor englishman, has that freedom which god seems to have intended as good for man; but work he must. if he do not do so willingly, compulsion is in some sort brought to bear upon him. he is not free to be idle; and i presume that no english philanthropists will go so far as to wish to endow him with that freedom. but that is the freedom which the negro has in jamaica, which he still has in many parts of trinidad, and which the anti-slavery society is so anxious to secure for him. it--but no; i will give the society no monopoly of such honour. we, we englishmen, have made our negroes free. if by further efforts we can do anything towards making other black men free--if we can assist in driving slavery from the earth, in god's name let us still be doing. here may be scope enough for an anti-slavery society. but i maintain that these men are going beyond their mark--that they are minding other than their own business, in attempting to interfere with the labour of the west indian colonies. gentlemen in the west indies see at once that the society is discussing matters which it has not studied, and that interests of the utmost importance to them are being played with in the dark. mr. buxton grounded his motion on these two pleas:--firstly, that the distress of the west indian planters had been brought about by their own apathy and indiscretion. and secondly, that that distress was in course of relief, would quickly be relieved, without any further special measures for its mitigation. i think that he was substantially wrong in both these allegations. that there were apathetic and indiscreet planters--that there were absentees whose property was not sufficient to entitle them to the luxury of living away from it, may doubtless have been true. but the tremendous distress which came upon these colonies fell on them in too sure a manner, with too sudden a blow, to leave any doubt as to its cause. slavery was first abolished, and the protective duty on slave-grown sugar was then withdrawn. the second measure brought down almost to nothing the property of the most industrious as well as that of the most idle of the planters. except in barbados, where the nature of the soil made labour compulsory, where the negro could no more be idle and exist than the poor man can do in england, it became impossible to produce sugar with a profit on which the grower could live. it was not only the small men who fell, or they who may be supposed to have been hitherto living on an income raised to an unjustly high pitch. ask the gladstone family what proceeds have come from their jamaica property since the protective duty was abolished. let lord howard de walden say how he has fared. mr. buxton has drawn a parallel between the state of ireland at and after the famine and that of the west indies at and after the fall in the price of sugar, of which i can by no means admit the truth. in the one case, that of ireland, the blow instantly effected the remedy. a tribe of pauper landlords had grown up by slow degrees who, by their poverty, their numbers, their rapacity, and their idleness, had eaten up and laid waste the fairest parts of the country. then came the potato rot, bringing after it pestilence, famine, and the encumbered estates court; and lo! in three years the air was cleared, the cloud had passed away, and ireland was again prosperous. land bought at fifteen pounds the acre was worth thirty before three crops had been taken from it. the absentees to whom mr. buxton alludes were comparatively little affected. they were rich men whose backs were broad enough to bear the burden for a while, and they stood their ground. it is not their property which as a rule has changed hands, but that of the small, grasping, profit-rent landlords whose lives had been passed in exacting the last farthing of rent from the cottiers. when no farthing of rent could any longer be exacted, they went to the wall at once. there was nothing like this in the case of the west indies. indiscretion and extravagance there may have been. these are vices which will always be more or less found among men living with the thermometer at eighty in the shade. but in these colonies, long and painful efforts were made, year after year, to bear against the weight which had fallen on them. in the west indies the blow came from man, and it was withstood on the whole manfully. in ireland the blow came from god, and submission to it was instantaneous. mr. buxton then argues that everything in the west indies is already righting itself, and that therefore nothing further need be done. the facts of the case exactly refute this allegation. the four chief of these colonies are barbados, british guiana, trinidad, and jamaica. in barbados, as has been explained, there was no distress, and of course no relief has been necessary. in british guiana and trinidad very special measures have been taken. immigration of coolies to a great extent has been brought about--to so great an extent that the tide of human beings across the two oceans will now run on in an increasing current. but in jamaica little or nothing has yet been done. and in jamaica, the fairest, the most extensive, the most attractive of them all; in jamaica, of all the islands on god's earth the one most favoured by beauty, fertility, and natural gifts; in jamaica the earth can hardly be made to yield its natural produce. all this was excellently answered by sir edward lytton, who, whatever may have been his general merits as a secretary of state, seems at any rate to have understood this matter. he disposed altogether of the absurdly erroneous allegations which had been made as to the mortality of these immigrants on their passage. as is too usual in such cases arguments had been drawn from one or two specially unhealthy trips. ninety-nine ships ride safe to port, while the hundredth unfortunately comes to grief. but we cannot on that account afford to dispense with the navigation of the seas. sir edward showed that the coolies themselves--for the anti-slavery society is as anxious to prevent this immigration on behalf of the coolies, who in their own country can hardly earn twopence a day, as it is on the part of the negroes, who could with ease, though they won't, earn two shillings a day--he showed that these coolies, after having lived for a few years on plenty in these colonies, return to their own country with that which is for them great wealth. and he showed also that the present system--present as regards trinidad, and proposed as regards jamaica--of indenturing the immigrant on his first arrival is the only one to which we can safely trust for the good usage of the labourer. for the present this is clearly the case. when the coolies are as numerous in these islands as the negroes--and that time will come--such rules and restrictions will no doubt be withdrawn. and when these different people have learned to mix their blood--which in time will also come--then mankind will hear no more of a lack of labour, and the fertility of these islands will cease to be their greatest curse. i feel that i owe an apology to my reader for introducing him to an old, forgotten, and perhaps dull debate. in england the question is one not generally of great interest. but here, in the west indies, it is vital. the negro will never work unless compelled to do so; that is, the negro who can boast of pure unmixed african blood. he is as strong as a bull, hardy as a mule, docile as a dog when conscious of a master--a salamander as regards heat. he can work without pain and without annoyance. but he will never work as long as he can eat and sleep without it. place the coolie or chinaman alongside of him, and he must work in his own defence. if he do not, he will gradually cease to have an existence. we are now speaking more especially of trinidad. it is a large island, great portions of which are but very imperfectly known; of which but comparatively a very small part has been cultivated. during the last eight or ten years, ten or twelve thousand immigrants, chiefly coolies from madras and calcutta, have been brought into trinidad, forming now above an eighth part of its entire population; and the consequence has been that in two years, from , namely, to , its imports were increased by one-third, and its exports by two-thirds! in other words, it produced, with its coolies, three hogsheads of sugar, where without them it only produced one. the difference is of course that between absolute distress and absolute prosperity. such having hitherto been the result of immigration into trinidad, such also having been the result in british guiana, it does appear singular that men should congregate in exeter hall with the view of preventing similar immigration into jamaica! this would be altogether unintelligible were it not that similar causes have produced similar effects in so many other cases. men cannot have enough of a good thing. exactly the same process has taken place with reference to criminals in england. some few years since we ill used them, stowed them away in unwholesome holes, gave them bad food for their bodies and none for their minds, and did our best to send them devilwards rather than godwards. philanthropists have now remedied this, and we are very much obliged to them. but the philanthropists will not be content unless they be allowed to pack all their criminals up in lavender. they must be treated not only as men, but much better than men of their own class who are not criminal. in this matter of the negroes, the good thing is negro-protection, and our friends cannot have enough of that. the negroes in being slaves were ill used; and now it is not enough that they should all be made free, but each should be put upon his own soft couch, with rose-leaves on which to lie. now your sybarite negro, when closely looked at, is not a pleasing object. distance may doubtless lend enchantment to the view. as my sojourn in trinidad did not amount to two entire days, i do not feel myself qualified to give a detailed description of the whole island. very few, i imagine, are so qualified, for much of it is unknown; there is a great want of roads, and a large proportion of it has, i believe, never been properly surveyed. immediately round port of spain the country is magnificent, and the views from the town itself are very lovely. exactly behind the town, presuming the sea to be the front, is the savanah, a large enclosed, park-like piece of common, the race-course and hyde park of trinidad. i was told that the drive round it was three english miles in length; but if it be so much, the little pony which took me that drive in a hired buggy must have been a fast trotter. on the further side of this lives the governor of the island, immediately under the hills. when i was there the governor's real house was being repaired, and the great man was living in a cottage hard by. were i that great man i should be tempted to wish that my great house might always be under repair, for i never saw a more perfect specimen of a pretty spacious cottage, opening as a cottage should do on all sides and in every direction, with a great complexity as to doors and windows, and a delicious facility of losing one's way. and then the necessary freedom from boredom, etiquette, and governor's grandeur, so hated by governors themselves, which must necessarily be brought about by such a residence! i could almost wish to be a governor myself, if i might be allowed to live in such a cottage. on the other side of the savanah nearest to the town, and directly opposite to those lovely hills, are a lot of villa residences, and it would be impossible, i imagine, to find a more lovely site in which to fix one's house. with the savanah for a foreground, the rising gardens behind the governor's house in the middle distance, and a panorama of magnificent hills in the back of the picture, it is hardly within the compass of a man's eye and imagination to add anything to the scene. i had promised to call on major ----, who was then, and perhaps is still, in command of the detachment of white troops in trinidad, and i found him and his young wife living in this spot. "and yet you abuse trinidad," i said, pointing to the view. "oh! people can't live altogether upon views," she answered; "and besides, we have to go back to the barracks. the yellow fever is over now." the only place at which i came across any vestiges of the yellow fever was at trinidad. there it had been making dreadful havoc, and chiefly among the white soldiers. my visit was in march, and the virulence of the disease was then just over. it had been raging, therefore, not in the summer but during the winter months. indeed, as far as i could learn, summer and winter had very little to do with the matter. the yellow fever pays its visit in some sort periodically, though its periods are by no means understood. but it pays them at any time of the year that may suit itself. at this time a part of the savanah was covered with tents, to which the soldiers had been moved out of their barracks. the barracks are lower down, near the shore, at a place called st. james, and the locality is said to be wretchedly unhealthy. at any rate, the men were stricken with fever there, and the proportion of them that died was very great. i believe, indeed, that hardly any recovered of those on whom the fever fell with any violence. they were then removed into these tents, and matters began to mend. they were now about to return to their barracks, and were, i was told, as unwilling to do so as my fair friend was to leave her pretty house. if it be necessary to send white troops to the west indies--and i take it for granted that it is necessary--care at any rate should be taken to select for their barracks sites as healthy as may be found. it certainly seems that this has not been done at trinidad. they are placed very low, and with hills immediately around them. the good effect produced by removing them to the savanah--a very inconsiderable distance; not, as i think, much exceeding a mile--proves what may be done by choosing a healthy situation. but why should not the men be taken up to the mountains, as has been done with the white soldiers in jamaica? there they are placed in barracks some three or four thousand feet above the sea, and are perfectly healthy. this cannot be done in barbados, for there are no mountains to which to take them. but in trinidad it may be done, quite as easily, and indeed at a lesser distance, and therefore with less cost for conveyance, than in jamaica. at the first glance one would be inclined to say that white troops would not be necessary in the west indies, as we have regiments of black soldiers, negroes dressed in zouave costume, specially trained for the service; but it seems that there is great difficulty in getting these regiments filled. why should a negro enlist any more than work? are there not white men enough--men and brothers--to do the somewhat disagreeable work of soldiering for him? consequently, except in barbados, it is difficult to get recruits. some men have been procured from the coast of africa, but our philanthropy is interfering even with this supply. then the recruiting officers enlisted coolies, and these men made excellent soldiers; but when interfered with or punished, they had a nasty habit of committing suicide, a habit which it was quite possible the negro soldier might himself assume; and therefore no more coolies are to be enlisted. under such circumstances white men must, i presume, do the work. a shilling a day is an object to them, and they are slow to blow out their own brains; but they should not be barracked in swamps, or made to live in an air more pestilential than necessary. my hostess, the lady to whom i have alluded, had been attacked most virulently by the yellow fever, and i had heard in the other islands that she was dead. her case had indeed been given up as hopeless. on the morning after my arrival i took a ride of some sixteen miles through the country before breakfast, and the same lady accompanied me. "we must start very early," she said; "so as to avoid the heat. i will have coffee at half-past four, and we will be on horseback at five." i have had something to say as to early hours in the west indies before, and hardly credited this. a morning start at five usually means half-past seven, and six o'clock is a generic term for moving before nine. so i meekly asked whether half-past four meant half-past four. "no," said the husband. "yes," said the wife. so i went away declaring that i would present myself at the house at any rate not after five. and so i did, according to my own very excellent watch, which had been set the day before by the ship's chronometer. i rode up to the door two minutes before five, perfectly certain that i should have the pleasure of watching the sun's early manoeuvres for at least an hour. but, alas! my friend had been waiting for me in her riding-habit for more than that time. our watches were frightfully at variance. it was perfectly clear to me that the trinidadians do not take the sun for their guide as to time. but in such a plight as was then mine, a man cannot go into his evidence and his justification. my only plea was for mercy; and i hereby take it on myself to say that i do not know that i ever kept any lady waiting before--except my wife. at five to the moment--by my watch--we started, and i certainly never rode for three hours through more lovely scenery. at first, also, it was deliciously cool, and as our road lay entirely through woods, it was in every way delightful. we went back into the hills, and returned again towards the sea-shore over a break in one of the spurs of the mountain called the saddle; from whence we had a distant view into the island, as fine as any view i ever saw without the adjunct of water. i should imagine that a tour through the whole of trinidad would richly repay the trouble, though, indeed, it would be troublesome. the tourist must take his own provisions, unless, indeed, he provided himself by means of his gun, and must take also his bed. the musquitoes, too, are very vexatious in trinidad, though i hardly think that they come up in venom to their brethren in british guiana. the first portion of our ride was delightful; but on our return we came down upon a hot, dusty road, and then the loss of that hour in the morning was deeply felt. i think that up to that time i had never encountered such heat, and certainly had never met with a more disagreeable, troublesome amount of dust, all which would have been avoided had i inquired over-night into the circumstances of the trinidad watches. but the lady said never a word, and so heaped coals of fire on my head in addition to the consuming flames of that ever-to-be-remembered sun. as trinidad is an english colony, one's first idea is that the people speak english; and one's second idea, when that other one as to the english has fallen to the ground, is that they should speak spanish, seeing that the name of the place is spanish. but the fact is that they all speak french; and, out of the town, but few of the natives speak anything else. whether a parisian would admit this may be doubted; but he would have to acknowledge that it was a french patois. and the religion is roman catholic. the island of course did belong to france, and in manners, habits, language, and religion is still french. there is a roman catholic archbishop resident in trinidad, who is, i believe, at present an italian. we pay him, i have been told, some salary, which he declines to take for his own use, but applies to purposes of charity. there is a roman catholic cathedral in port of spain, and a very ugly building it is. the form of government also is different from that, or rather those, which have been adopted in the other west indian colonies, such as jamaica, barbados, and british guiana. as this was a conquered colony, the people of the island are not allowed to have so potent a voice in their own management. they have no house of commons or legislative assembly, but take such rules or laws as may be necessary for their guidance direct from the crown. the governor, however, is assisted by a council, in which sit the chief executive officers in the island. that the fact of the colony having been conquered need preclude it from the benefit (?) of self-government, one does not clearly see. but one does see clearly enough, that as they are french in language and habits, and roman catholic in religion, they would make even a worse hash of it than the jamaicans do in jamaica. and it is devoutly to be hoped, for the island's sake, that it may be long before it is endowed with a constitution. it would be impossible now-a-days to commence a legislature in the system of electing which all but white men should be excluded from voting. nor would there be white men enough to carry on an election. and may providence defend my friends there from such an assembly as would be returned by french negroes and hybrid mulattoes! a scientific survey has just been completed of this island, with reference to its mineral productions, and the result has been to show that it contains a very large quantity of coal. i was fortunate enough to meet one of the gentlemen by whom this was done, and he was kind enough to put into my hand a paper showing the exact result of their investigation. but, unfortunately, the paper was so learned, and i was so ignorant, that i could not understand one word of it. the whole matter also was explained to me verbally, but not in language adapted to my child-like simplicity. so i am not able to say whether the coal be good or bad--whether it would make a nice, hot, crackling, christmas fire, or fly away in slaty flakes and dirty dust. it is a pity that science cannot be made to recognize the depth of unscientific ignorance. there is also here in trinidad a great pitch lake, of which all the world has heard, and out of which that indefatigable old hero, lord dundonald, tried hard to make wax candles and oil for burning. the oil and candles, indeed, he did make, but not, i fear, the money which should have been consequent upon their fabrication. i have no doubt, however, that in time we shall all have our wax candles from thence; for lord dundonald is one of those men who are born to do great deeds of which others shall reap the advantages. one of these days his name will be duly honoured, for his conquests as well as for his candles. and so i speedily took my departure, and threaded my way back again through the bocas, in that most horrid of all steam-vessels, the 'prince.' chapter xv. st. thomas. all persons travelling in the west indies have so much to do with the island of st. thomas, that i must devote a short chapter to it. my circumstances with reference to it were such that i was compelled to remain there a longer time, putting all my visits together, than in any other of the islands except jamaica. the place belongs to the danes, who possess also the larger and much more valuable island of santa cruz, as they do also the small island of st. martin. these all lie among the virgin islands, and are considered as belonging to that thick cluster. as st. thomas at present exists, it is of considerable importance. it is an emporium, not only for many of the islands, but for many also of the places on the coast of south and central america. guiana, venezuela, and new granada, deal there largely. it is a depôt for cigars, light dresses, brandy, boots, and eau de cologne. many men therefore of many nations go thither to make money, and they do make it. these are men, generally not of the tenderest class, or who have probably been nursed in much early refinement. few men will select st. thomas as a place of residence from mere unbiassed choice and love of the locale. a wine merchant in london, doing a good trade there, would hardly give up that business with the object of personally opening an establishment in this island: nor would a well-to-do milliner leave paris with the same object. men who settle at st. thomas have most probably roughed it elsewhere unsuccessfully. these st. thomas tradesmen do make money i believe, and it is certainly due to them that they should do so. things ought not, if possible, to be all bad with any man; and i cannot imagine what good can accrue to a man at st. thomas if it be not the good of amassing money. it is one of the hottest and one of the most unhealthy spots among all these hot and unhealthy regions. i do not know whether i should not be justified in saying that of all such spots it is the most hot and the most unhealthy. i have said in a previous chapter that the people one meets there may be described as an hispano-dano-niggery-yankee-doodle population. in this i referred not only to the settlers, but to those also who are constantly passing through it. in the shops and stores, and at the hotels, one meets the same mixture. the spanish element is of course strong, for venezuela, new granada, central america, and mexico are all spanish, as also is cuba. the people of these lands speak spanish, and hereabouts are called spaniards. to the danes the island belongs. the soldiers, officials, and custom-house people are danes. they do not, however, mix much with their customers. they affect, i believe, to say that the island is overrun and destroyed by these strange comers, and that they would as lief be without such visitors. if they are altogether indifferent to money making, such may be the case. the labouring people are all black--if these blacks can be called a labouring people. they do coal the vessels at about a dollar a day each--that is, when they are so circumstanced as to require a dollar. as to the american element, that is by no means the slightest or most retiring. dollars are going there, and therefore it is of course natural that americans should be going also. i saw the other day a map, "the united states as they now are, and in prospective;" and it included all these places--mexico, central america, cuba, st. domingo, and even poor jamaica. it may be that the man who made the map understood the destiny of his country; at any rate, he understood the tastes of his countrymen. all these people are assembled together at st. thomas, because st. thomas is the meeting-place and central depôt of the west indian steam-packets. that reason can be given easily enough; but why st. thomas should be the meeting-place of these packets,--i do not know who can give me the reason for that arrangement. tortola and virgin gorda, two of the virgin islands, both belong to ourselves, and are situated equally well for the required purpose as is st. thomas. i am told also, that at any rate one, probably at both, good harbour accommodation is to be found. it is certain that in other respects they are preferable. they are not unhealthy, as is st. thomas; and, as i have said above, they belong to ourselves. my own opinion is that jamaica should be the head-quarters of these packets; but the question is one which will not probably be interesting to the reader of these pages. "they cannot understand at home why we dislike the inter-colonial work so much," said the captain of one of the steam-ships to me. by inter-colonial work he meant the different branch services from st. thomas. "they do not comprehend at home what it is for a man to be burying one young officer after another; to have them sent out, and then to see them mown down in that accursed hole of a harbour by yellow fever. such a work is not a very pleasant one." indeed this was true. the life cannot be a very pleasant one. these captains themselves and their senior officers are doubtless acclimated. the yellow fever may reach them, but their chance of escape is tolerably good; but the young lads who join the service, and who do so at an early age, have at the first commencement of their career to make st. thomas their residence, as far as they have any residence. they live of course on board their ships; but the peculiarity of st. thomas is this; that the harbour is ten times more fatal than the town. it is that hole, up by the coaling wharves, which sends so many english lads to the grave. if this be so, this alone, i think, constitutes a strong reason why st. thomas should not be so favoured. these vessels now form a considerable fleet, and some of them spend nearly a third of their time at this place. the number of englishmen so collected and endangered is sufficient to warrant us in regarding this as a great drawback on any utility which the island may have--if such utility there be. but we must give even the devil his due. seen from the water st. thomas is very pretty. it is not so much the scenery of the island that pleases as the aspect of the town itself. it stands on three hills or mounts, with higher hills, green to their summit, rising behind them. each mount is topped by a pleasant, cleanly edifice, and pretty-looking houses stretch down the sides to the water's edge. the buildings do look pretty and nice, and as though chance had arranged them for a picture. indeed, as seen from the harbour, the town looks like a panorama exquisitely painted. the air is thin and transparent, and every line shows itself clearly. as so seen the town of st. thomas is certainly attractive. but it is like the dead sea fruit; all the charm is gone when it is tasted. land there, and the beauty vanishes. the hotel at st. thomas is quite a thing of itself. there is no fair ground for complaint as regards the accommodation, considering where one is, and that people do not visit st. thomas for pleasure; but the people that one meets there form as strange a collection as may perhaps be found anywhere. in the first place, all languages seem alike to them. one hears english, french, german, and spanish spoken all around one, and apparently it is indifferent which. the waiters seem to speak them all. the most of these guests i take it--certainly a large proportion of them--are residents of the place, who board at the inn. i have been there for a week at a time, and it seemed that all then around me were so. there were ladies among them, who always came punctually to their meals, and went through the long course of breakfast and long course of dinner with admirable perseverance. i never saw eating to equal that eating. when i was there the house was always full; but the landlord told me that he found it very hard to make money, and i can believe it. a hot climate, it is generally thought, interferes with the appetite, affects the gastric juices with lassitude, gives to the stomach some of the apathy of the body, and lessens at any rate the consumption of animal food. that charge cannot be made against the air of st. thomas. to whatever sudden changes the health may be subject, no lingering disinclination for food affects it. men eat there as though it were the only solace of their life, and women also. probably it is so. they never talk at meals. a man and his wife may interchange a word or two as to the dishes; or men coming from the same store may whisper a syllable as to their culinary desires; but in an ordinary way there is no talking. i myself generally am not a mute person at my meals; and having dined at sundry tables d'hôte, have got over in a great degree that disinclination to speak to my neighbour which is attributed--i believe wrongly--to englishmen. but at st. thomas i took it into my head to wait till i was spoken to, and for a week i sat, twice daily, between the same persons without receiving or speaking a single word. i shall not soon forget the stout lady who sat opposite to me, and who was married to a little hooked-nosed jew, who always accompanied her. soup, fish, and then meat is the ordinary rule at such banquets; but here the fashion is for the guests, having curried favour with the waiters, to get their plates of food brought in and put round before them in little circles; so that a man while taking his soup may contemplate his fish and his roast beef, his wing of fowl, his allotment of salad, his peas and potatoes, his pudding, pie, and custard, and whatever other good things a benevolent and well-fee'd waiter may be able to collect for him. this somewhat crowds the table, and occasionally it becomes necessary for the guest to guard his treasures with an eagle's eye;--hers also with an eagle's eye, and sometimes with an eagle's talon. this stout lady was great on such occasions. "a bit of that," she would exclaim, with head half turned round, as a man would pass behind her with a dish, while she was in the very act of unloading within her throat a whole knifeful charged to the hilt. the efforts which at first affected me as almost ridiculous advanced to the sublime as dinner went on. there was no shirking, no half measures, no slackened pace as the breath became short. the work was daily done to the final half-pound of cheese. cheese and jelly, guava jelly, were always eaten together. this i found to be the general fashion of st. thomas. some men dipped their cheese in jelly; some ate a bit of jelly and then a bit of cheese; some topped up with jelly and some topped up with cheese, all having it on their plates together. but this lady--she must have spent years in acquiring the exercise--had a knack of involving her cheese in jelly, covering up by a rapid twirl of her knife a bit about an inch thick, so that no cheesy surface should touch her palate, and then depositing the parcel, oh, ever so far down, without dropping above a globule or two of the covering on her bosom. her lord, the israelite, used to fight hard too; but the battle was always over with him long before the lady showed even a sign of distress. he was one of those flashy weedy animals that make good running for a few yards and are then choked off. she was game up to the winning-post. there were many animals running at those races, but she might have given all the others the odds of a pound of solid food, and yet have beaten them. but then, to see her rise from the table! well; pace and extra weight together will distress the best horse that ever was shod! over and above this i found nothing of any general interest at st. thomas. chapter xvi. new granada, and the isthmus of panamÁ. it is probably known to all that new granada is the most northern of the republics of south america; or it should rather be said that it is the state nearest to the isthmus, of which indeed it comprehends a considerable portion; the territory of the gulf of darien and the district of panamá all being within the limits of new granada. it was, however, but the other day that new granada formed only a part of the republic of columbia, the republic of which bolivar was the hero. as the inhabitants of central america found it necessary to break up their state into different republics, so also did the people of columbia. the heroes and patriots of caracas and quito could not consent to be governed from bogotá; and therefore three states were formed out of one. they are new granada, with its capital of bogotá; venezuela, with its capital of caracas, lying exactly to the east of new granada; and ecuador--the state, that is, of equator--lying to the south of new granada, having its seaport at guayaquil on the pacific, with quito, its chief city, exactly on the line. the district of columbia was one of the grandest appanages of the spanish throne when the appanages of the spanish throne were grand indeed. the town and port of cartagena, on the atlantic, were admirably fortified, as was also panamá on the pacific. its interior cities were populous, flourishing, and, for that age, fairly civilized. now the whole country has received the boon of utopian freedom; and the mind loses itself in contemplating to what lowest pitch of human degradation the people will gradually fall. civilization here is retrograding. men are becoming more ignorant than their fathers, are learning to read less, to know less, to have fewer aspirations of a high order; to care less for truth and justice, to have more and more of the contentment of a brute,--that contentment which comes from a full belly and untaxed sinews; or even from an empty belly, so long as the sinews be left idle. to what this will tend a prophet in these days can hardly see; or rather none less than a prophet can pretend to see. that those lands which the spaniards have occupied, and to a great extent made spanish, should have no higher destiny than that which they have already accomplished, i can hardly bring myself to think. that their unlimited fertility and magnificent rivers should be given for nothing; that their power of producing all that man wants should be intended for no use, i cannot believe. at present, however, it would seem that providence has abandoned it. it is making no progress. land that was cultivated is receding from cultivation; cities that were populous are falling into ruins; and men are going back into animals, under the influence of unlimited liberty and universal suffrage. in emancipation from slavery was finally established in new granada; and so far, doubtless, a good deed was done. but it was established at the same time that every man, emancipated slave or other, let him be an industrial occupier of land, or idle occupier of nothing, should have an equal vote in electing presidents and members of the federal congress, and members of the congress of the different states; that, in short, all men should be equal for all state purposes. and the result, as may be supposed, is not gratifying. as far as i am able to judge, a negro has not generally those gifts of god which enable one man to exercise rule and masterdom over his fellow-men. i myself should object strongly to be represented, say in the city of london, by any black man that i ever saw. "the unfortunate nigger gone masterless," whom carlyle so tenderly commiserates, has not strong ideas of the duties even of self-government, much less of the government of others. universal suffrage in such hands can hardly lead to good results. let him at any rate have first saved some sixty pounds in a savings-bank, or made himself undoubted owner--an easy thing in new granada--of a forty-shilling freehold! not that pure-blooded negroes are common through the whole of new granada. at panamá and the adjacent districts they are so; but in the other parts of the republic they are, i believe, few in number. at santa martha, where i first landed, i saw few, if any. and yet the trace of the negroes, the woolly hair and flat nose, were common enough, mixed always with indian blood, and of course to a great extent with spanish blood also. this santa martha is a wretched village--a city it is there called--at which we, with intense cruelty, maintain a british consul, and a british post-office. there is a cathedral there of the old spanish order, with the choir removed from the altar down towards the western door; and there is, i was informed, a bishop. but neither bishop nor cathedral were in any way remarkable. there is there a governor of the province, some small tradesman, who seemed to exercise very few governing functions. it may almost be said that no trade exists in the place, which seemed indeed to be nearly dead. a few black or nearly black children run about the streets in a state almost of nudity; and there are shops, from the extremities of which, as i was told, crinoline and hats laden with bugles may be extracted. "every one of my predecessors here died of fever," said the consul to me, in a tone of triumph. what could a man say to him on so terribly mortal a subject? "and my wife has been down in fever thirteen times!" heavens, what a life! that is, as long as it is life. i rode some four or five miles into the country to visit the house in which bolivar died. it is a deserted little country villa or chateau, called san pedro, standing in a farm-yard, and now containing no other furniture than a marble bust of the dictator, with a few wretchedly coloured french prints with cracked glass plates. the bust is not a bad one, and seems to have a solemn and sad meaning in its melancholy face, standing there in its solitary niche in the very room in which the would-be liberator died. for bolivar had grand ideas of freedom, though doubtless he had grand ideas also of personal power and pre-eminence; as has been the case with most of those who have moved or professed to move in the vanguard of liberty. to free mankind from all injurious thraldom is the aspiration of such men; but who ever thought that obedience to himself was a thraldom that could be injurious? and here in this house, on the th december, , bolivar died, broken-hearted, owing his shelter to charity, and relieved in his last wants by the hands of strangers to his country. when the breath was out of him and he was well dead, so that on such a matter he himself could probably have no strong wish in any direction, they took away his body, of course with all honour, to the district that gave him birth, and that could afford to be proud of him now that he was dead;--into venezuela and reburied him at caracas. but dying poverty and funeral honours have been the fate of great men in other countries besides columbia. "and why did you come to visit such a region as this?" asked bolivar, when dying, of a frenchman to whom in his last days he was indebted for much. "for freedom," said the frenchman. "for freedom!" said bolivar. "then let me tell you that you have missed your mark altogether; you could hardly have turned in a worse direction." our ride from santa martha to the house had been altogether between bushes, among which we saw but small signs of cultivation. round the house i saw none. on my return i learnt that the place was the property of a rich man who possessed a large estate in its vicinity. "but will nothing grow there?" i asked. "grow there! yes; anything would grow there. some years since the whole district was covered with sugar-canes." but since the emancipation in it had become impossible to procure labour; men could not be got to work; and so bush had grown up, and the earth gave none of her increase; except indeed where half-caste indians squatted here and there, and made provision grounds. i then went on to cartagena. this is a much better town than santa martha, though even this is in its decadence. it was once a flourishing city, great in commerce and strong in war. it was taken by the english, not however without signal reverses on our part, and by the special valour--so the story goes--of certain sailors who dragged a single gun to the summit of a high abrupt hill called the "papa," which commands the town. if the thermometer stood in those days as high at cartagena as it does now, pretty nearly through the whole of the year, those sailors ought to have had the victoria cross. but these deeds were done long years ago, in the time of drake and his followers; and victoria crosses were then chiefly kept for the officers. the harbour at cartagena is singularly circumstanced. there are two entrances to it, one some ten miles from the city and the other close to it. this nearer aperture was blocked up by the spaniards, who sank ships across the mouth; and it has never been used or usable since. the present entrance is very strongly fortified. the fortifications are still there, bristling down to the water's edge; or they would bristle, were it not that all the guns have been sold for the value of the brass metal. cartagena was hotter even than santa martha; but the place is by no means so desolate and death-like. the shops there are open to the streets, as shops are in other towns. men and women may occasionally be seen about the square; and there is a trade,--in poultry if in nothing else. there is a cathedral here also, and i presume a bishop. the former is built after the spanish fashion, and boasts a so-called handsome, large, marble pulpit. that it is large and marble, i confess; but i venture to question its claims to the other epithet. there are pictures also in the cathedral; of spirits in a state of torture certainly; and if i rightly remember of beatified spirits also. but in such pictures the agonies of the damned always excite more attention and a keener remembrance than the ecstasies of the blest. i cannot say that the artist had come up either to the spirit of fra angelico, or to the strength of orcagna. at cartagena i encountered a family of native ladies and gentlemen, who were journeying from bogotá to peru. looking at the map, one would say that the route from bogotá to buena-ventura on the pacific was both easy and short. the distance as the crow flies--the condor i should perhaps more properly say--would not be much over two hundred miles. and yet this family, of whom one was an old woman, had come down to cartagena, having been twenty days on the road, having from thence a long sea journey to the isthmus, thence the passage over it to panamá, and then the journey down the pacific! the fact of course is that there are no means of transit in the country except on certain tracks, very few in number; and that even on these all motion is very difficult. bogotá is about three hundred and seventy miles from cartagena, and the journey can hardly be made in less than fourteen days. from cartagena i went on to the isthmus; the isthmus of panamá, as it is called by all the world, though the american town of aspinwall will gradually become the name best known in connexion with the passage between the two oceans. this passage is now made by a railway which has been opened by an american company between the town of aspinwall, or colon, as it is called in england, and the city of panamá. colon is the local name for this place, which also bears the denomination of navy bay in the language of sailors. but our friends from yankee-land like to carry things with a high hand, and to have a nomenclature of their own. here, as their energy and their money and their habits are undoubtedly in the ascendant, they will probably be successful; and the place will be called aspinwall in spite of the disgust of the new granadians, and the propriety of the english, who choose to adhere to the names of the existing government of the country. a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and colon or aspinwall will be equally vile however you may call it. it is a wretched, unhealthy, miserably situated but thriving little american town, created by and for the railway and the passenger traffic which comes here both from southampton and new york. that from new york is of course immensely the greatest, for this is at present the main route to san francisco and california. i visited the place three times, for i passed over the isthmus on my way to costa rica, and on my return from that country i went again to panamá, and of course back to colon. i can say nothing in its favour. my only dealing there was with a washerwoman, and i wish i could place before my readers a picture of my linen in the condition in which it came back from that artist's hands. i confess that i sat down and shed bitter tears. in these localities there are but two luxuries of life, iced soda-water and clean shirts. and now i was debarred from any true enjoyment of the latter for more than a fortnight. the panamá railway is certainly a great fact, as men now-a-days say when anything of importance is accomplished. the necessity of some means of passing the isthmus, and the question as to the best means, has been debated since, i may say, the days of cortes. men have foreseen that it would become a necessity to the world that there should be some such transit, and every conceivable point of the isthmus has, at some period or by some nation, been selected as the best for the purpose. this railway is certainly the first that can be regarded as a properly organized means of travelling; and it may be doubted whether it will not remain as the best, if not the only permanent mode of transit. very great difficulty was experienced in erecting this line. in the first place, it was necessary that terms should be made with the government of the country through which the line should pass, and to effect this it was expedient to hold out great inducements. among the chief of these is an understanding that the whole line shall become the absolute property of the new granadian government when it shall have been opened for forty-nine years. but who can tell what government will prevail in new granada in forty-nine years? it is not impossible that the whole district may then be an outlying territory belonging to the united states. at any rate, i should imagine that it is very far from the intention of the american company to adhere with rigid strictness to this part of the bargain. who knows what may occur between this and the end of the century? and when these terms were made there was great difficulty in obtaining labour. the road had to be cut through one continuous forest, and for the greater part of the way along the course of the chagres river. nothing could be more unhealthy than such work, and in consequence the men died very rapidly. the high rate of wages enticed many irishmen here, but most of them found their graves amidst the works. chinese were tried, but they were quite inefficacious for such labour, and when distressed had a habit of hanging themselves. the most useful men were to be got from the coast round cartagena, but they were enticed thither only by very high pay. the whole road lies through trees and bushes of thick tropical growth, and is in this way pretty and interesting. but there is nothing wonderful in the scenery, unless to one who has never before witnessed tropical forest scenery. the growth here is so quick that the strip of ground closely adjacent to the line, some twenty yards perhaps on each side, has to be cleared of timber and foliage every six months. if left for twelve months the whole would be covered with thick bushes, twelve feet high. at intervals of four and a half miles there are large wooden houses--pretty-looking houses they are, built with much taste,--in each of which a superintendent with a certain number of labourers resides. these men are supplied with provisions and all necessaries by the company. for there are no villages here in which workmen can live, no shops from which they can supply themselves, no labour which can be hired as it may be wanted. from this it may be imagined that the line is maintained at a great cost. but, nevertheless, it already pays a dividend of twelve and a half per cent. so much at least is acknowledged; but those who pretend to understand the matter declare that the real profit accruing to the shareholders is hardly less than five-and-twenty per cent. the sum charged for the passage is extremely high, being twenty-five dollars, or five pounds for a single ticket. the distance is under fifty miles. and there is no class but the one. everybody passing over the isthmus, if he pay his fare, must pay twenty-five dollars. steerage passengers from new york to san francisco are at present booked through for fifty dollars. this includes their food on the two sea voyages, which are on an average of about eleven days each. and yet out of this fifty dollars twenty-five are paid to the railway for this conveyance over fifty miles! the charge for luggage, too, is commensurately high. the ordinary kit of a travelling englishman--a portmanteau, bag, desk, and hat-box--would cost two pounds ten shillings over and above his own fare. but at the same time, nothing can be more liberal than the general management of the line. on passengers journeying from new york to california, or from southampton to chili and peru, their demand no doubt is very high. but to men of all classes, merely travelling from aspinwall to panamá for pleasure--or, apparently, on business, if travelling only between those two places,--free tickets are given almost without restriction. one train goes each way daily, and as a rule most of the passengers are carried free, except on those days when packets have arrived at either terminus. on my first passage over i paid my fare, for i went across with other passengers out of the mail packet. but on my return the superintendent not only gave me a ticket, but asked me whether i wanted others for any friends. the line is a single line throughout. panamá has doubtless become a place of importance to englishmen and americans, and its name is very familiar to our ears. but nevertheless it is a place whose glory has passed away. it was a large spanish town, strongly fortified, with some thirty thousand inhabitants. now its fortifications are mostly gone, its churches are tumbling to the ground, its old houses have so tumbled, and its old spanish population has vanished. it is still the chief city of a state, and a congress sits there. there is a governor and a judge, and there are elections; but were it not for the passengers of the isthmus there would soon be but little left of the city of panamá. here the negro race abounds, and among the common people the negro traits are stronger and more marked than those either of the indians or spaniards. of spanish blood among the natives of the surrounding country there seems to be but little. the negroes here are of course free, free to vote for their own governors, and make their own laws; and consequently they are often very troublesome, the country people attacking those in the town, and so on. "and is justice ultimately done on the offenders?" i asked. "well, sir; perhaps not justice. but some notice is taken; and the matter is smoothed over." such was the answer. there is a spanish cathedral here also, in which i heard a very sweet-toned organ, and one magnificent tenor voice. the old church buildings still standing here are not without pretence, and are interesting from the dark tawny colour of the stone, if from no other cause. i should guess them to be some two centuries old. their style in many respects resembles that which is so generally odious to an englishman's eye and ear, under the title of renaissance. it is probably an offshoot of that which is called plateresque in the south of spain. during the whole time that i was at panamá the thermometer stood at something above ninety. in calcutta i believe it is often as high as one hundred and ten, so that i have no right to speak of the extreme heat. but, nevertheless, panamá is supposed to be one of the hottest places in the western world; and i was assured, while there, that weather so continuously hot for the twenty-four hours had not been known during the last nine years. the rainy season should have commenced by this time--the early part of may. but it had not done so; and it appeared that when the rain is late, that is the hottest period of the whole year. the heat made me uncomfortable, but never made me ill. i lost all pleasure in eating, and indeed in everything else. i used to feel a craving for my food, but no appetite when it came. i was lethargic, as though from repletion, when i did eat, and was always glad when my watch would allow me to go to bed. but yet i was never ill. the country round the town is pretty, and very well adapted for riding. there are large open savanahs which stretch away for miles and miles, and which are kept as grazing-farms for cattle. these are not flat and plain, but are broken into undulations, and covered here and there with forest bushes. the horses here are taught to pace, that is, move with the two off legs together and then with the two near legs. the motion is exceedingly gentle, and well fitted for this hot climate, in which the rougher work of trotting would be almost too much for the energies of debilitated mankind. the same pace is common in cuba, costa rica, and other spanish countries in the west. off from panamá, a few miles distant in the western ocean, there are various picturesque islands. on two of these are the depôts of two great steam-packet companies, that belonging to the americans which carries on the trade to california, and an english company whose vessels run down the pacific to peru and chili. i visited toboga, in which are the head-quarters of the latter. here i found a small english maritime colony, with a little town of their own, composed of captains, doctors, engineers, officers, artificers, and sailors, living together on the company's wages, and as regards the upper classes, at tables provided by the company. but i saw there no women of any description. i beg therefore to suggest to the company that their servants would probably be much more comfortable if the institution partook less of the monastic order. if, as is probable, this becomes one of the high-roads to australia, then another large ship company will have to fix its quarters here. chapter xvii. central america--panamÁ to san josÉ. i had intended to embark at panamá in the american steam-ship 'columbus' for the coast of central america. in that case i should have gone to san juan del sur, a port in nicaragua, and made my way from thence across the lake, down the river san juan to san juan del norte, now called greytown, on the atlantic. but i learnt that the means of transit through nicaragua had been so utterly destroyed--as i shall by-and-by explain--that i should encounter great delay in getting across the lake; and as i found that one of our men-of-war steamers, the 'vixen,' was immediately about to start from panamá to punta-arenas, on the coast of costa rica, i changed my mind, and resolved on riding through costa rica to greytown. and accordingly i did ride through costa rica. my first work was to make petition for a passage in the 'vixen,' which was accorded to me without difficulty. but even had i failed here, i should have adhered to the same plan. the more i heard of costa rica, the more i was convinced that that republic was better worth a visit than nicaragua. at this time i had in my hands a pamphlet written by m. belly, a frenchman, who is, or says that he is, going to make a ship canal from the atlantic to the pacific. according to him the only paradise now left on earth is in this republic of costa rica. so i shipped myself on board the 'vixen.' i had never before been on the waters of the pacific. now when one premeditates one's travels, sitting by the domestic fireside, one is apt to think that all those advancing steps into new worlds will be taken with some little awe, some feeling of amazement at finding oneself in very truth so far distant from hyde park corner. the pacific! i was absolutely there, on the ocean in which lie the sandwich islands, queen pomare, and the cannibals! but no; i had no such feeling. my only solicitude was whether my clean shirts would last me on to the capital of costa rica. and in travelling these are the things which really occupy the mind. where shall i sleep? is there anything to eat? can i have my clothes washed? at panamá i did have my clothes washed in a very short space of time; but i had to pay a shilling apiece for them all round. in all these ports, in new granada, central america, and even throughout the west indies, the luxury which is the most expensive in proportion to its cost in europe is the washing of clothes--the most expensive, as it is also the most essential. but i must not omit to say that before shipping myself in the 'vixen' i called on the officers on board the united states frigate 'merrimac,' and was shown over that vessel. i am not a very good judge of ships, and can only say that the officers were extremely civil, the sherry very good, and the guns very large. they were coaling, the captain told me, and he professed to be very much ashamed of the dirt. had i not been told so i should not have known that the ship was dirty. the 'merrimac,' though rated only as a frigate, having guns on one covered deck only, is one of their largest men-of-war, and has been regarded by them, and by us, as a show vessel. but according to their own account, she fails altogether as a steamer. the greatest pace her engines will give is seven knots an hour; and this is felt to be so insufficient for the wants of the present time, that it is intended to take them out of her and replace them by a new set as soon as an opportunity will allow. this will be done, although the vessel and the engines are new. i mention this, not as reflecting in any way disgracefully on the dockyard from whence she came; but to show that our admiralty is not the only one which may have to chop and change its vessels after they are built. we hear much--too much perhaps--of the misfortunes which attend our own navy; but of the misfortunes of other navies we hear very little. it is a pity that we cannot have some record of all the blunders committed at cherbourg. the 'merrimac' carries the flag of flag-officer long, on whom also we called. he is a fine old gentleman, with a magnificent head and forehead, looking i should say much more like an english nobleman than a yankee sailor. flag-officer long! who will explain to us why the americans of the united states should persist in calling their senior naval officers by so awkward an appellation, seeing that the well-known and well-sounding title of admiral is very much at their disposal? when i returned to the shore from the 'merrimac' i had half an hour to pack before i again started for the 'vixen.' as it would be necessary that i should return to panamá, and as whatever luggage i now took with me would have to be carried through the whole of costa rica on mules' backs, it became expedient that i should leave the greater part of my kit behind me. then came the painful task of selection, to be carried out with the thermometer at ninety, and to be completed in thirty minutes! to go or not to go had to be asked and answered as to every shirt and pair of trousers. oh, those weary clothes! if a man could travel as a dog, how delightful it would be to keep moving from year's end to year's end! we steamed up the coast for two days quietly, placidly, and steadily. i cannot say that the trip was a pleasant one, remembering how intense was the heat. on one occasion we stopped for practice-shooting, and it behoved me of course to mount the paddle-box and see what was going on. this was at eleven in the morning, and though it did not last for above an hour, i was brought almost to fainting by the power of the sun. punta-arenas--sandy point--is a small town and harbour situated in costa rica, near the top of the bay of nicoya, the sail up the bay is very pretty, through almost endless woods stretching away from the shores to the hills. there is, however, nothing majestic or grand about the scenery here. there are no andes in sight, no stupendous mountains such as one might expect to see after coming so far to see them. it is all pretty quiet and ordinary; and on the whole perhaps superior to the views from the sea at herne bay. the captain of the 'vixen' had decided on going up to san josé with me, as at the last moment did also the master, san josé being the capital of costa rica. our first object therefore was to hire a guide and mules, which, with the assistance of the acting english consul, we soon found. for even at punta-arenas the english flag flies, and a distressed british subject can claim protection. it is a small village lying along a creek of the sea, inside the sandy point from whence it is named. considerable business is done here in the exportation of coffee, which is the staple produce of costa rica. it is sent chiefly to england; but it seemed to me that the money-making inhabitants of punta-arenas were mostly americans; men who either had been to california or who had got so far on their road thither and then changed their minds. it is a hot, dusty, unattractive spot, with a yankee inn, at which men may "liquor," and a tram railroad running for twelve miles into the country. it abounds in oysters and beer, on which we dined before we started on our journey. i was thus for the first time in central america. this continent, if it may be so called, comprises the five republics of guatemala, honduras, san salvador, nicaragua, and costa rica. when this country first broke away from spanish rule in , it was for a while content to exist as one state, under the name of the republic of guatemala; as it had been known for nearly three hundred years as a spanish province under the same denomination--that of guatemala. after a hard tussle with mexico, which endeavoured to devour it, and which forty years ago was more prone to annex than to be annexed, this republic sat itself fairly going, with the city of guatemala for its capital. but the energies and ambition of the different races comprised among the two million inhabitants of central america would not allow them to be governed except each in its own province. some ten years since, therefore, the five states broke asunder. each claimed to be sovereign and independent. each chose its own president and had its own capital; and consequently, as might be expected, no part of the district in question has been able to enjoy those natural advantages with which providence has certainly endowed it. to these states must be added, in counting up the countries of central america, british honduras, consisting of belize and the adjacent district, and the mosquito coast which so lately was under british protection; and which is--. but here i must be silent, or i may possibly trench upon diplomatic subjects still unsettled. my visit was solely to costa rica, which has in some respects done better than its neighbours. but this has been owing to the circumstances of its soil and climate rather than to those of its government, which seems to me to be as bad as any can be which deserves that name. in costa rica there certainly is a government, and a very despotic one it is. i am not much given to the sins of dandyism, but i must own i was not a little proud of my costume as i left punta-arenas. we had been told that according to the weather our ride would be either dusty or muddy in no ordinary degree, and that any clothes which we might wear during the journey would be utterly useless as soon as the journey was over. consequently we purchased for ourselves, in an american store, short canvas smock-frocks, which would not come below the saddle, and coarse holland trousers. what class of men may usually wear these garments in costa rica i cannot say; but in england i have seen navvies look exactly as my naval friends looked; and i flatter myself that my appearance was quite equal to theirs. i had procured at panamá a light straw hat, with an amazing brim, and had covered the whole with white calico. i have before said that my beard had become "poblada," so that on the whole i was rather gratified than otherwise when i was assured by the storekeeper that we should certainly be taken for three filibusters. now the name of filibuster means something serious in those localities, as i shall in a few pages have to explain. we started on our journey by railroad, for there is a tramway that runs for twelve miles through the forest. we were dragged along on this by an excellent mule, till our course was suddenly impeded by a tree which had fallen across the road. but in course of time this was removed, and in something less than three hours we found ourselves at a saw-mill in the middle of the forest. the first thing that met my view on stepping out of the truck was a solitary englishman seated on a half-sawn log of wood. those who remember hood's whims and oddities may bear in mind a heart-rending picture of the last man. only that the times do not agree, i should have said that this poor fellow must have sat for the picture. he was undeniably an english labourer. no man of any other nation would have had that face, or worn those clothes, or kicked his feet about in that same awkward, melancholy humour. he was, he said, in charge of the saw-mill, having been induced to come out into that country for three years. according to him, it was a wretched, miserable place. "no man," he said, "ever found himself in worse diggings." he earned a dollar and a half a day, and with that he could hardly buy shoes and have his clothes washed. "why did he not go home?" i asked. "oh, he had come for three years, and he'd stay his three years out--if so be he didn't die." the saw-mill was not paying, he said; and never would pay. so that on the whole his account of costa rica was not encouraging. we had been recommended to stay the first night at a place called esparza, where there is a decent inn. but before we left punta-arenas we learnt that don juan rafael mora, the president of the republic, was coming down the same road with a large retinue of followers to inaugurate the commencement of the works of the canal. he would be on his way to meet his brother-president of the next republic, nicaragua, at san juan del sur; and at a spot some little distance from thence this great work was to be begun at once. he and his party were to sleep at esparza. therefore we decided on going on further before we halted; and in truth at that place we did meet don juan and his retinue. as both costa rica and nicaragua are chiefly of importance to the eastern and western worlds, as being the district in which the isthmus between the two americas may be most advantageously pierced by a canal--if it be ever so pierced--this subject naturally intrudes itself into all matters concerning these countries. till the opening of the panamá railway the transit of passengers through nicaragua was immense. at present the railway has it all its own way. but the subject, connected as it has been with that of filibustering, mingles itself so completely with all interests in costa rica, that nothing of its present doings or politics can be well understood till something is understood on this canal subject. sooner or later i must write a chapter on it; and it would almost be well if the reader would be pleased to take it out of its turn and get through it at once. the chapter, however, cannot well be brought in till these, recording my travels in costa rica, are completed. don juan mora and his retinue had arrived some hours before us, and had nearly filled the little hotel. this was kept by a frenchman, and as far as provisions and beer were concerned seemed to be well kept. our requirements did not go beyond these. on entering the public sitting-room a melodiously rich irish brogue at once greeted my ears, and i saw seated at the table, joyous in a semi-military uniform, the o'gorman mahon, great as in bygone unemancipated days, when with head erect and stentorian voice he would make himself audible to half the county clare. the head was still as erect, and the brogue as unexceptionable. he speedily introduced us to a brother-workman in the same mission, the prince polignac. with the president himself i had not the honour of making acquaintance, for he speaks only spanish, and my tether in that language is unfortunately very short. but the captain of the 'vixen' was presented to him. he seemed to be a courteous little gentleman, though rather flustered by the magnitude of the work on which he was engaged. there was something singular in the amalgamation of the three men who had thus got themselves together in this place to do honour to the coming canal. the president of the republic, prince polignac, and the o'gorman mahon! i could not but think of the heterogeneous heroes of the 'groves of blarney.' "there were nicodemus, and polyphemus, oliver cromwell, and leslie foster."* [*i am not quoting the words rightly i fear; but the selection in the true song is miscellaneous in the same degree.] "and now, boys, ate a bit of what's going, and take a dhrop of dhrink," said the o'gorman, patting us on the shoulders with kind patronage. we did as we were bid, ate and drank, paid the bill, and went our way rejoicing. that night, or the next morning rather, at about a.m., we reached a wayside inn called san mateo, and there rested for five or six hours. that we should obtain any such accommodation along the road astonished me, and of such as we got we were very glad. but it must not be supposed that it was of a very excellent quality. we found three bedsteads in the front room into which the door of the house opened. on these were no mattresses, not even a palliasse. they consisted of flat boards sloping away a little towards the feet, with some hard substance prepared for a pillow. in the morning we got a cup of coffee without milk. for these luxuries and for pasturage for the mules we paid about ten shillings a head. indeed, everything of this kind in costa rica is excessively dear. our next day's journey was a very long one, and to my companions very fatiguing, for they had not latterly been so much on horseback as had been the case with myself. our first stage before breakfast was of some five hours' duration, and from the never-ending questions put to the guide as to the number of remaining leagues, it seemed to be eternal. the weather also was hot, for we had not yet got into the high lands; and a continued seat of five hours on a mule, under a burning sun, is not refreshing to a man who is not accustomed to such exercise; and especially is not so when he is unaccustomed to the half-trotting, half-pacing steps of the beast. the spaniard sits in the saddle without moving, and generally has his saddle well stuffed and padded, and then covered with a pillion. an englishman disdains so soft a seat, and endeavours to rise in his stirrup at every step of the mule, as he would on a trotting horse at home. in these hispano-american countries this always provokes the ridicule of the guide, who does not hesitate to tell the poor wretch who is suffering in his pillory that he does not know how to ride. with some of us the pillory was very bad, and i feared for a time that we should hardly have been able to mount again after breakfast. the place at which we were is called atenas, and i must say in praise of this modern athens, and of the three modern athenian girls who waited on us, that their coffee, eggs, and grilled fowl were very good. the houses of these people are exceedingly dirty, their modes of living comfortless and slovenly in the extreme. but there seems to be no lack of food, and the food is by no means of a bad description. along this road from punta-arenas to san jose we found it always supplied in large quantities and fairly cooked. the prices demanded for it were generally high. but then all prices are high; and it seems that, even among the poorer classes, small sums of money are not valued as with us. there is no copper coin. half a rial, equal to about threepence, is the smallest piece in use. a handful of rials hardly seems to go further, or to be thought more of, than a handful of pence with us; and a dollar, eight rials, ranks hardly higher in estimation than a shilling does in england. at last, by the gradual use of the coffee and eggs, and by the application, external and internal, of a limited amount of brandy, the outward and the inward men were recruited; and we once more found ourselves on the backs of our mules, prepared for another stage of equal duration. these evils always lessen as we become more accustomed to them, so that when we reached a place called assumption, at which we were to rest for the night, we all gallantly informed the muleteer that we were prepared to do another stage. "not so the mules," said the muleteer; and as his words were law, we prepared to spend the night at assumption. our road hitherto had been rising nearly the whole way, and had been generally through a picturesque country. we ascended one long severe hill, severe that is as a road, though to a professed climber of mountains it would be as nothing. from the summit of this hill we had a magnificent view down to the pacific, again, at a sort of fortress through which we passed, and which must have been first placed there by the old spaniards to guard the hill-passes, we found a very lovely landscape looking down into the valley. here some show of a demand was made for passports; but we had none to exhibit, and no opposition was made to our progress. except at these two places, the scenery, which was always more or less, pretty, was never remarkable. and even at the two points named there was nothing to equal the mountain scenery of many countries in europe. what struck me most was the constant traffic on the road or track over which we passed. i believe i may call it a road, for the produce of the country is brought down over it in bullock carts; and i think that in south wales i have taken a gig over one very much of the same description. but it is extremely rude; and only fit for solid wooden wheels--circles, in fact, of timber--such as are used, and for the patient, slow step of the bullocks. but during the morning and evening hours the strings of these bullock carts were incessant. they travel from four till ten, then rest till three or four, and again proceed for four or five hours in the cool of the evening. they are all laden with coffee, and the idea they give is, that the growth of that article in costa rica must be much more than sufficient to supply the whole world. for miles and miles we met them, almost without any interval. coffee, coffee, coffee; coffee, coffee, coffee! it is grown in large quantities, i believe, only in the high lands of san josé; and all that is exported is sent down to punta-arenas, though by travelling this route it must either pass across the isthmus railway at a vast cost, or else be carried round the horn. at present half goes one way and half the other. but not a grain is carried, as it should all be carried, direct to the atlantic. when i come to speak of the road from san josé to greytown, the reason for this will be understood. the bivouacs made on the roadside by the bullock drivers for their night and noon accommodation are very picturesque when seen filled by the animals. a piece of flat ground is selected by the roadside, about half an acre in size, and close to a river or some running water. into this one or two hundred bullocks are taken, and then released from their carts. but they are kept yoked together to prevent their straying. here they are fed exclusively on sugar-canes, which the men carry with them, and buy along the road. the drovers patiently cut the canes up with their knives, and the beasts patiently munch them. neither the men nor the animals roar, as they would with us, or squabble for the use of the water-course, or curse their own ill luck or the good luck of their neighbours. drivers and driven are alike orderly, patient, and slow, spending their lives in taking coffee down to punta-arenas, and in cutting and munching thousands of sugar-canes. we passed some of those establishments by moonlight, and they looked like large crowded fairs full of low small booths. the men, however, do not put up tents, but sleep out in their carts. they told me that the soil in costa rica was very favourable to the sugar-cane, and i looked out to see some sugar among the coffee. but not a hogshead came that way. we saw patches of the cane growing by the roadside; but no more was produced than what sufficed for the use of the proprietor himself, and for such sale as the traffic on the road afforded. indeed, i found that they do not make sugar, so called, in costa rica, but import what they use. the article fabricated is called by them "dulce." it comes from their hands in ugly round brown lumps, of the consistency of brick, looking, in truth, much more like a large brickbat than any possible saccharine arrangement. nevertheless, the canes are fairly good, and the juice as sweet as that produced in first-rate sugar-growing soils. it seemed that the only use made of this "dulce," excepting that of sweetening the coffee of the peasants, is for distillation. a spirit is made from it at san josé, called by the generic name of aguardiente; and this doubtless would give considerable impulse to the growth of sugar-canes but for a little law made on the subject by the present president of the republic. the president himself is a cane-grower, and by this law it is enacted that the only person in costa rica entitled to supply the distillery with dulce shall be don juan mora. now, don juan mora is the president. before i left the country i came across an american who was desirous of settling there with the view of producing cocoa. "well," said i, "and what do you think of it?" "why, i like the diggings," said he; "and guess i could make things fix well enough. but suppose the president should choose to grow all the cocoa as well as all the gin! where would my cacao-plants be then?" at a discount, undoubtedly. these are the effects on a country of despotism in a small way. on my way into san josé i got off my mule to look at an old peasant making dulce, or in other words grinding his sugar-canes by the roadside. it was done in the most primitive manner. one bullock turned the mill, which consisted of three vertical wooden rollers. the juice trickled into a little cistern; and as soon as the old man found that he had enough, he baled it out and boiled it down. and yet i imagine that as good sugar may be made in costa rica as in british guiana. but who will put his capital into a country in which the president can pass any law he pleases on his own behalf? in the neighbourhood of san josé we began to come across the coffee plantations. they certainly give the best existing proof of the fertility and progress of the country. i had seen coffee plantations in jamaica, but there they are beautifully picturesque, placed like hanging gardens on the steep mountain-sides. some of these seem to be almost inaccessible, and the plant always has the appearance of being a hardy mountain shrub. but here in costa rica it is grown on the plain. the secret, i presume, is that a certain temperature is necessary, and that this is afforded by a certain altitude from the sea. in jamaica this altitude is only to be found among the mountains, but it is attained in costa rica on the high plains of the interior. and then we jogged slowly into san josé on the third day after our departure from punta-arenas. slowly, sorely, and with minds much preoccupied, we jogged into san josé. on leaving the saw-mill at the end of the tramway my two friends had galloped gallantly away into the forest, as though a brave heart and a sharp pair of spurs would have sufficed to carry them right through to their journey's end. but the muleteer with his pony and the baggage-mule then lingered far behind. his heart was not so brave, nor were his spurs apparently so sharp. the luggage, too, was slipping every ten minutes, for i unfortunately had a portmanteau, of which no muleteer could ever make anything. it has been condemned in holy land, in jamaica, in costa rica, wherever it has had to be fixed upon any animal's back. on this occasion it nearly broke both the heart of the muleteer and the back of the mule. but things were changed as we crept into san josé. the muleteer was all life, and led the way, driving before him the pack-mule, now at length reconciled to his load. and then, at straggling intervals, our jibes all silenced, our showy canters all done, rising wearily in our stirrups at every step, shifting from side to side to ease the galls "that patient merit of the unworthy takes"--for our merit had been very patient, and our saddles very unworthy--we jogged into san josé. chapter xviii. central america. costa rica--san josÉ. all travellers when entering unknown towns for the first time have felt that intense interest on the subject of hotel accommodation which pervaded our hearts as we followed our guide through the streets. we had been told that there were two inns in the town, and that we were to go to the hotel san josé. and accordingly we went to it. it was quite evident that the landlord at first had some little doubt as to the propriety of admitting us; and but for our guide, whom he knew, we should have had to explain at some length who we were. but under his auspices we were taken in without much question. the spaniards themselves are not in their own country at all famous for their inns. no european nation has probably advanced so slowly towards civilization in this respect as spain has done. and therefore, as these costa ricans are spanish by descent and language, and as the country itself is so far removed from european civilization, we did not expect much. had we fallen into the hands of spaniards we should probably have received less even than we expected. but as it was we found ourselves in a comfortable second-class little german inn. it was german in everything; its light-haired landlord, frequently to be seen with a beer tankard in hand; its tidy landlady, tidy at any rate in the evening, if not always so in the morning; its early hours, its cookery, its drink, and i think i may fairly add, its prices. on entering the first town i had visited in central america, i had of course looked about me for strange sights. that men should be found with their heads under their shoulders, or even living in holes burrowed in the ground, i had not ventured to hope. but when a man has travelled all the way to costa rica, he does expect something strange. he does not look to find everything as tame and flat and uninteresting as though he were riding into a sleepy little borough town in wiltshire. we cannot cross from dover to ostend without finding at once that we are among a set of people foreign to ourselves. the first glance of the eye shows this in the architecture of the houses, and the costume of the people. we find the same cause for excitement in france, switzerland, and italy; and when we get as far as the tyrol, we come upon a genus of mankind so essentially differing from our own as to make us feel that we have travelled indeed. but there is little more interest to be found in entering san josé than in driving through the little wiltshire town above alluded to. the houses are comfortable enough. they are built with very ordinary doors and windows, of one or two stories according to the wealth of the owners, and are decently clean outside, though apparently rather dirty within. the streets are broad and straight, being all at right angles to each other, and though not very well paved, are not rough enough to elicit admiration. there is a square, the pláza, in which stands the cathedral, the barracks, and a few of the best houses in the town. there is a large and tolerably well-arranged market-place. there is a really handsome set of public buildings, and there are two moderately good hotels. what more can a man rationally want if he travel for business? and if he travel for pleasure how can he possibly find less? it so happened that at the time of my visit to costa rica sir william ouseley was staying at san josé with his family. he had been sent, as all the world that knows anything doubtless knows very well, as minister extraordinary from our court to the governments of central america, with the view of settling some of those tough diplomatic questions as to the rights of transit and occupation of territory, respecting which such world-famous clayton-bulwer treaties and cass-yrrisari treaties have been made and talked of. he had been in nicaragua, making no doubt an equally famous ouseley-something treaty, and was now engaged on similar business in the capital of costa rica. of the nature of this august work,--for such work must be very august,--i know nothing. i only hope that he may have at least as much success as those who went before him. but to me it was a great stroke of luck to find so pleasant and hospitable a family in so outlandish a place as san josé. and indeed, though i have given praise to the hotel, i have given it with very little personal warrant as regards my knowledge either of the kitchen or cellar. my kitchen and cellar were beneath the british flag at the corner of the pláza, and i had reason to be satisfied with them in every respect. and i had abundant reason to be greatly gratified. for not only was there at san josé a minister extraordinary, but also, attached to the mission, there was an extra-ordinary secretary of legation, a very prince of good fellows. at home he would be a denizen of the foreign office, and denizens of the foreign office are swells at home. but at san josé, where he rode on a mule, and wore a straw hat, and slept in a linendraper's shop, he was as pleasant a companion as a man would wish to meet on the western, or indeed on any other side of the atlantic. i shall never forget the hours i spent in that linendraper's shop. the rooms over the shop, over that shop and over two or three others, were occupied by sir w. ouseley and his family. there was a chemist's establishment there, and another in the possession, i think, of a hatter. they had been left to pursue their business in peace; but my friend the secretary, finding no rooms sufficiently secluded for himself in the upper mansion, had managed to expel the haberdasher, and had located himself not altogether uncomfortably, among the counters. those who have spent two or three weeks in some foreign town in which they have no ordinary pursuits, know what it is to have--or perhaps, more unlucky, know what it is to be without--some pleasant accustomed haunt, in which they can pretend to read, while in truth the hours are passed in talking, with some few short intervals devoted to contemplation and tobacco. such to me was the shop of the expelled linendraper at san josé. in it, judiciously suspended among the counters, hung a panamá grass hammock, in which it was the custom of my diplomatic friend to lie at length and meditate his despatches. such at least had been his custom before my arrival. what became of his despatches during the period of my stay, it pains me to think; for in that hammock i had soon located myself, and i fear that my presence was not found to be a salutary incentive to composition. the scenery round san josé is certainly striking, but not sufficiently so to enable one to rave about it. i cannot justly go into an ecstasy and sing of pelion or ossa; nor can i talk of deep ravines to which the via mala is as nothing. there is a range of hills, respectably broken into prettinesses, running nearly round the town, though much closer to it on the southern than on the other sides. two little rivers run by it, which here and there fall into romantic pools, or pools which would be romantic if they were not so very distant from home; if having travelled so far, one did not expect so very much. there are nice walks too, and pretty rides; only the mules do not like fast trotting when the weight upon them is heavy. about a mile and a half from the town, there is a savanah, so-called, or large square park, the hyde park of san josé; and it would be difficult to imagine a more pleasant place for a gallop. it is quite large enough for a race-course, and is open to everybody. some part of the mountain range as seen from here is really beautiful. the valley of san josé, as it is called, is four thousand five hundred feet above the sea; and consequently, though within the tropics, and only ten degrees north of the line, the climate is good, and the heat, i believe, never excessive. i was there in april, and at that time, except for a few hours in the middle of the day, and that only on some days, there was nothing like tropical heat. within ten days of my leaving san josé i heard natives at panamá complaining of the heat as being altogether unendurable. but up there, on that high plateau, the sun had no strength that was inconvenient even to an englishman. indeed, no climate can, i imagine, be more favourable to fertility and to man's comfort at the same time than that of the interior of costa rica. the sugar-cane comes to maturity much quicker than in demerara or cuba. there it should be cut in about thirteen or fourteen months from the time it is planted; in nicaragua and costa rica it comes to perfection in nine or ten. the ground without manure will afford two crops of corn in a year. coffee grows in great perfection, and gives a very heavy crop. the soil is all volcanic, or, i should perhaps more properly say, has been the produce of volcanoes, and is indescribably fertile. and all this has been given without that intensity of heat which in those southern regions generally accompanies tropical fertility, and which makes hard work fatal to a white man; while it creates lethargy and idleness, and neutralizes gifts which would otherwise be regarded as the fairest which god has bestowed on his creatures. in speaking thus, i refer to the central parts of costa rica only, to those which lie some thousand feet above the level of the sea. along the sea-shores, both of the atlantic and pacific, the heat is as great, and the climate as unwholesome as in new granada or the west indies. it would be difficult to find a place worse circumstanced in this respect than punta-arenas. but though the valley or plateau of san josé, and the interior of the country generally is thus favourably situated, i cannot say that the nation is prosperous. it seems to be god's will that highly-fertile countries should not really prosper. man's energy is brought to its highest point by the presence of obstacles to be overcome, by the existence of difficulties which are all but insuperable. and therefore a scotch farm will give a greater value in produce than an equal amount of land in costa rica. when nature does so much, man will do next to nothing! those who seem to do best in this country, both in trade and agriculture, are germans. most of those who are carrying on business on a large scale are foreigners,--that is, not spanish by descent. there are english here, and americans, and french, but i think the germans are the most wedded to the country. the finest coffee properties are in the hands of foreigners, as also are the plantations of canes, and saw-mills for the preparation of timber. but they have a very uphill task. labour is extremely scarce, and very dear. the people are not idle as the negroes are, and they love to earn and put by money; but they are very few in number; they have land of their own, and are materially well off. in the neighbourhood of san josé, a man's labour is worth a dollar a day, and even at that price it is not always to be had. it seems to be the fact that in all countries in which slavery has existed and has been abolished, this subject of labour offers the great difficulty in the way of improvement. labour becomes unpopular, and is regarded as being in some sort degrading. men will not reconcile it with their idea of freedom. they wish to work on their own land, if they work at all; and to be their own masters; to grow their own crops, be they ever so small; and to sit beneath their own vine, be the shade ever so limited. there are those who will delight to think that such has been the effect of emancipation; who will argue,--and they have strong arguments on their side,--that god's will with reference to his creatures is best carried out by such an order of things. i can only say that the material result has not hitherto been good. as far as we at present see, the struggle has produced idleness and sensuality, rather than prosperity and civilization. it is hardly fair to preach this doctrine, especially with regard to costa rica, for the people are not idle. that, at least, is not specially their character. they are a humdrum, contented, quiet, orderly race of men; fond of money, but by no means fond of risking it; living well as regards sufficiency of food and raiment, but still living very close; anxious to effect small savings, and politically contented if the security of those savings can be insured to them. they seem to be little desirous, even among the upper classes, or what we would call the tradespeople, of education, either religious or profane; they have no enthusiasm, no ardent desires, no aspirations. if only they could be allowed to sell their dulce to the maker of aguardiente,--if they might be permitted to get their little profit out of the manufacture of gin! that, at present, is the one grievance that affects them, but even that they bear easily. it will perhaps be considered my duty to express an opinion whether or no they are an honest people. in one respect, certainly. they steal nothing; at any rate, make no great thefts. no one is attacked on the roads; no life is in danger from violence; houses are not broken open. nay, a traveller's purse left upon a table is, i believe, safe; nor will his open portmanteau be rifled. but when you come to deal with them, the matter is different. then their conscience becomes elastic; and as the trial is a fair one between man and man, they will do their best to cheat you. if they lie to you, cannot you lie to them? and is it not reasonable to suppose that you do do so? if they, by the aid of law, can get to the windy side of you, is not that merely their success in opposition to your attempt--for of course you do attempt--to get to the windy side of them? and then bribes are in great vogue. justice is generally to be bought; and when that is in the market, trade in other respects is not generally conducted in the most honest manner. thus, on the whole, i cannot take upon myself to say that they are altogether an honest people. but they have that kind of honesty which is most essential to the man who travels in a wild country. they do not knock out the traveller's brains, or cut his throat for the sake of what he has in his pocket. generally speaking, the inhabitants of costa rica are of course spanish by descent, but here, as in all these countries, the blood is very much mixed: pure spanish blood is now, i take it, quite an exception. this is seen more in the physiognomy than in the colour, and is specially to be noticed in the hair. there is a mixture of three races, the spanish, the native indian, and the negro; but the traces of the latter are comparatively light and few. negroes, men and women, absolutely black, and of african birth or descent, are very rare; and though traces of the thick lip and the woolly hair are to be seen--to be seen in the streets and market-places--they do not by any means form a staple of the existing race. the mixture is of spanish and of indian blood, in which the spanish no doubt much preponderates. the general colour is that of a white man, but of one who is very swarthy. occasionally this becomes so marked that the observer at once pronounces the man or woman to be coloured. but it is the colouring of the indian, and not of the negro; the hue is rich, and to a certain extent bright, and the lines of the face are not flattened and blunted. the hair also is altogether human, and in no wise sheepish. i do not think that the inhabitants of costa rica have much to boast of in the way of personal beauty. indeed, the descendant of the spaniard, out of his own country, seems to lose both the manly dignity and the female grace for which old spain is still so noted. some pretty girls i did see, but they could boast only the ordinary prettiness which is common to all young girls, and which our friends in france describe as being the special gift of the devil. i saw no fine, flaming, flashing eyes; no brilliant figures, such as one sees in seville around the altar-rails in the churches: no profiles opening upon me struck me with mute astonishment. the women were humdrum in their appearance, as the men are in their pursuits. they are addicted to crinoline, as is the nature of women in these ages; but so long as their petticoats stuck out, that seemed to be everything. in the churches they squat down on the ground, in lieu of kneeling, with their dresses and petticoats arranged around them, looking like huge turnips with cropped heads--like turnips that, by their persevering growth, had got half their roots above the ground. now women looking like turnips are not specially attractive. i was at san josé during passion week, and had therefore an opportunity of seeing the processions which are customary in roman catholic countries at that period. i certainly should not say that the costa ricans are especially a religious people. they are humdrum in this as in other respects, and have no enthusiasm either for or against the priesthood. free-thinking is not the national sin; nor is fanaticism. they are all roman catholics, most probably without an exception. their fathers and mothers were so before them, and it is a thing of course. there used to be a bishop of costa rica; indeed, they never were without one till the other day. but not long since the father of their church in some manner displeased the president: he had, i believe, taken it into his sacred head that he, as bishop, might make a second party in the state, and organize an opposition to the existing government; whereupon the president banished him, as the president can do to any one by his mere word, and since that time there has been no bishop. "and will they not get another?" i asked. "no; probably not; they don't want one. it will be so much money saved." looking at the matter in this light, there is often much to be said for the expediency of reducing one's establishment. "and who manages the church?" "it does not require much management. it goes on in the old way. when they want priests they get them from guatemala." if we could save all our bishoping, and get our priests as we want them from guatemala, or any other factory, how excellent would be the economy! the cathedral of san josé is a long, low building, with side aisles formed by very rickety-looking wooden pillars--in substance they are hardly more than poles--running from the ground to the roof. the building itself is mean enough, but the internal decorations are not badly arranged, and the general appearance is neat, orderly, and cool. we all know the usual manner in which wooden and waxen virgins are dressed and ornamented in such churches. there is as much of this here as elsewhere; but i have seen it done in worse taste both in france and italy. the façade of the church, fronting the pláza is hardly to be called a portion of the church; but is an adjunct to it, or rather the church has been fixed on to the façade, which is not without some architectural pretension. in new granada--columbia that was--the cathedrals are arranged as they are in old spain. the choir is not situated round the altar, or immediately in front of it, as is the custom in christian churches in, i believe, all other countries, but is erected far down the centre aisle, near the western entrance. this, however, was not the case in any church that i saw in costa rica. during the whole of passion week there was a considerable amount of religious activity, in the way of preaching and processions, which reached its acme on good friday. on that day the whole town was processioning from morning--which means four o'clock--till evening--which means two hours after sunset. they had three figures, or rather three characters,--for two of them appeared in more than one guise and form,--each larger than life; those, namely, of our saviour, the virgin, and st. john. these figures are made of wax, and the faces of some of them were excellently moulded. these are manufactured in guatemala--as the priests are; and the people there pride themselves on their manufacture, not without reason. the figures of our saviour and the virgin were in different dresses and attitudes, according to the period of the day which it was intended to represent; but the st. john was always represented in the dress of a bishop of the present age. the figures were supported on men's shoulders, and were carried backwards and forwards through every portion of the town, till at last, having been brought forth in the morning from the cathedral, they were allowed at night to rest in a rival, and certainly better built, though smaller church. i must notice one particularity in the church-going population of this country. the women occupy the nave and centre aisle, squatting on the ground, and looking, as i have said, like turnips; whereas the men never advance beyond the side aisles. the women of the higher classes--all those, indeed, who make any pretence to dress and finery--bring with them little bits of carpet, on which they squat; but there are none of those chairs with which churches on the continent are so commonly filled. it seemed that there is nothing that can be called society among the people of san josé. they do not go out to each other's homes, nor meet in public; they have neither tea-parties, nor dinner-parties, nor dancing-parties, nor card-parties. i was even assured--though i cannot say that the assurance reached my belief--that they never flirt! occasionally, on sundays, for instance, and on holidays, they put on their best clothes and call on each other. but even then there is no conversation among them; they sit stiffly on each other's sofas, and make remarks at intervals, like minute guns, about the weather. "but what _do_ they do?" i asked. "the men scrape money together, and when they have enough they build a house, big or little according to the amount that they have scraped: that satisfies the ambition of a costa rican. when he wishes to amuse himself, he goes to a cock-fight." "and the women?" "they get married early if their fathers can give them a few ounces"--the ounce is the old doubloon, worth here about three pounds eight shillings sterling--"and then they cook, and have children." "and if the ounces be wanting, and they don't get married?" "then they cook all the same, but do not have the children,--as a general rule." and so people vegetate in costa rica. and now i must say a word or two about the form of government in this country. it is a republic, of course, arranged on the model plan. a president is elected for a term of years,--in this case six. he has ministers who assist him in his government, and whom he appoints; and there is a house of congress, elected of course by the people, who make the laws. the president merely carries them out, and so utopia is realized. utopia might perhaps be realized in such republics, or at any rate the realization might not be so very distant as it is at present, were it not that in all of them the practice, by some accident, runs so far away from the theory. in costa rica, don juan rafael mora, familiarly called juanito, is now the president, having been not long since re-elected (?) for the third time. "we read in the 'gazette' on tuesday morning that the election had been carried on saturday, and that was all we knew about it." it is thus they elect a president in costa rica; no one knows anything about it, or troubles his head with the matter. if any one suggested a rival president, he would be banished. but such a thing is not thought of; no note is taken as to five years or six years. at some period that pleases him, the president says that he has been re-elected, and he is re-elected. who cares? why not juanito as well as any one else? only it is a pity he will not let us sell our dulce to the distillers! the president's salary is three thousand dollars a year; an income which for so high a position is moderate enough. but then a further sum of six thousand dollars is added to this for official entertainment. the official entertainments, however, are not numerous. i was informed that he usually gives one party every year. he himself still lives in his private house, and still keeps a shop, as he did before he was president. it must be remembered that there is no aristocracy in this country above the aristocracy of the shopkeepers. as far as i could learn, the congress is altogether a farce. there is a congress or collection of men sent up from different parts of the country, some ten or dozen of whom sit occasionally round a table in the great hall; but they neither debate, vote, nor offer opinions. some one man, duly instructed by the president, lets them know what law is to be made or altered, and the law is made or altered. should any member of congress make himself disagreeable, he would, as a matter of course, be banished; taken, that is, to punta-arenas, and there told to shift for himself. now this enforced journey to punta-arenas does not seem to be more popular among the costa ricans than a journey to siberia is among the russians. such is the model republic of central america,--admitted, i am told, to be the best administered of the cluster of republics there established. this, at any rate, may certainly be said for it--that life and property are safe. they are safe for the present, and will probably remain so, unless the filibusters make their way into the neighbouring state of nicaragua in greater numbers and with better leaders than they have hitherto had. and it must be told to the credit of the costa ricans, that it was by them and their efforts that the invasion of walker and the filibusters into central america was stopped and repelled. these enterprising gentlemen, the filibusters, landed on the coast of nicaragua, having come down from california. here they succeeded in getting possession of a large portion of the country, that portion being the most thickly populated and the richest; many of the towns they utterly destroyed, and among them granada, the capital. it seems that at this time the whole state of nicaragua was paralyzed, and unable to strike any blow in its own defence. having laid waste the upper or more northern country, walker came down south as far as rivas, a town still in nicaragua, but not far removed from the borders of costa rica. his intention, doubtless, was to take possession of costa rica, so that he might command the whole transit across the isthmus. but at rivas he was attacked by the soldiery of costa rica, under the command of a brother of don juan mora. this was in , and it seems that some three thousand costa ricans were taken as far as rivas. but few of them returned. they were attacked by cholera, and what with that, and want, and the intense heat, to which of course must be added what injuries the filibusters could do them, they were destroyed, and a remnant only returned. but in the different states of central america joined themselves in a league, with the object of expelling these filibusters. i do not know that either of the three northern states sent any men to rivas, and the weight of the struggle again fell upon costa rica. the costa ricans and nicaraguans together invested rivas, in which five hundred filibusters under walker for some time maintained themselves. these men were reduced to great straits, and might no doubt have been taken bodily. but the central americans also had their difficulties to contend with. they did not agree very well together, and they had but slender means of supporting themselves. it ended in a capitulation, under which walker and his associates were to walk out with their arms and all the honours of war; and by which, moreover, it was stipulated that the five hundred were to be sent back to america at the expense of the central american states. the states, thinking no doubt that it was good economy to build a golden bridge for a flying enemy, did so send them back; and in this manner for a while central america was freed from the locusts. such was the capitulation of rivas; a subject on which all costa ricans now take much pride to themselves. and indeed, honour is due to them in this matter, for they evinced a spirit in the business when their neighbours of nicaragua failed to do so. they soon determined that the filibusters would do them no good;--could indeed by no possibility do them anything but harm; consequently, they resolved to have the first blow, and they struck it manfully, though not so successfully as might have been wished. the total population of central america is, i believe, about two millions, while that of costa rica does not exceed two hundred thousand. of the five states, guatemala has by far the largest number of inhabitants; and indeed the town of guatemala may still be regarded as the capital of all the isthmus territories. they fabricate there not only priests and wax images, but doctors and lawyers, and all those expensive luxuries for the production of which the air of a capital is generally considered necessary. the president of guatemala is, they say, an indian, nearly of pure descent; his name is carrera. i have spoken of the army of costa rica. in point of accoutrement and outward show, they are on ordinary days somewhat like the troops that were not fit to march through coventry. they wear no regimentals, and are only to be known when on duty by a very rusty-looking gun. on sundays, however, and holidays they do wear a sort of uniform, consisting of a neat cap, and a little braiding upon their best clothes. this dress, such as it is, they are obliged to find for themselves. the clothing department, therefore, is not troublesome. these men are enrolled after the manner of our militia. the full number should be nine thousand, and is generally somewhat above six thousand. of this number five hundred are kept in barracks, the men taking it by turns, month by month. when in barracks they receive about one shilling and sixpence a day; at other times they have no pay. i cannot close my notice of san josé without speaking somewhat more specially of the range of public buildings. i am told that it was built by a german, or rather by two germans; the basement and the upper story being the work of different persons. be this as it may, it is a handsome building, and would not disgrace any european capital. there is in it a throne-room--in england, at least, we should call it a throne; on this the president sits when he receives ambassadors from foreign countries. the velvet and gilding were quite unexceptionable, and the whole is very imposing. the sitting of congress is held in the same chamber; but that, as i have explained, is not imposing. the chief produce of costa rica is coffee. those who love statistics may perhaps care to know that the average yearly export is something under a hundred thousand quintals; now a quintal weighs a hundred pounds, or rather, i believe, ninety-nine pounds exact. chapter xix. central america. costa rica--mount irazu. in the neighbourhood of san josé there is a volcanic mountain, the name of which is irazu. i was informed that it still smoked, though it had discontinued for the present the ejection of flames and lava. indeed, the whole country is full of such mountains. there is one, the monte blanco, the summit of which has never yet been reached--so rumour says in costa rica--far distant, enveloped among other mountains, and to be reached only through dense aboriginal forests, which still emits, and is always emitting fire and burning floods of molten stones. different excursions have been made with the object of ascending the monte blanco, but hitherto in vain. not long since it was attempted by a french baron, but he and his guide were for twenty days in the woods, and then returned, their provisions failing them. "you should ascend the monte blanco," said sir william ouseley to me. "you are a man at large, with nothing to do. it is just the work for you." this was sir william's satire on the lightness of my ordinary occupations. light as they might be, however, i had neither time nor courage for an undertaking such as that; so i determined to satisfy myself with the irazu. it happened, rather unfortunately for me, that at the moment of my arrival at san josé, a large party, consisting of sir william's family and others, were in the very act of visiting the mountain. those, therefore, who were anxious to see the sight, and willing to undergo the labour, thus had their opportunity; and it became impossible for me to make up a second party. one hope i had. the secretary of legation had not gone. official occupation, joined to a dislike of mud and rough stones, had kept him at home. perhaps i might prevail. the intensity of that work might give way before a week's unremitting labour, and that sybarite propensity might be overcome. but all my eloquence was of no avail. an absence of a day and a half only was required; and three were spent in proving that this could not be effected. the stones and mud too were becoming worse and worse, for the rainy season had commenced. in fact, the secretary of legation would not budge. "le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle," said the secretary of legation; whereupon he lighted another cigar, and took a turn in the grass hammock. now in my mind it must be a very bad game indeed that is not worth the candle; and almost any game is better than no game at all. i was thus in deep trouble, making up my mind to go alone, or rather alone with my guide;--for the due appreciation of which state of loneliness it must be borne in mind that, as i do not speak a word of spanish, i should have no possible means of communication with the guide,--when a low and mild voice fell upon my ear, offering me its proprietor as my companion. "i went up with sir william last week," said the mild voice; "and if you will permit me, i shall be happy to go with you. i should like to see it twice; and i live at cartago on the way." it was quite clear that the owner of the voice was sacrificing himself, and offering to repeat this troublesome journey merely out of good nature; but the service which he proposed to render me was too essential, and i could not afford to reject the offer. he lived in the country and spoke spanish, and was, moreover, a mild, kind-hearted little gentleman, very suitable as a companion, and not given too pertinaciously to a will of his own. now the secretary of legation would have driven me mad half a score of times during the journey. he would have deafened me with politics, and with such politics too! so that on the whole i knew myself to be well off with the mild voice. "you must go through cartago," said the mild voice, "and i live there. we will dine there at the inn to-morrow, and then do a portion of our work the same evening." it was so arranged. i was to be with him the next day at three, with a guide and two mules. on the next morning it rained provokingly. i ought to have started at twelve; but at that time it was pouring, and neither the guide nor the mules showed themselves. "you will never get there," said the secretary of legation, looking up to the murky clouds with a gleam of delight. "the game is never worth such a candle as that." "i shall get there most assuredly," said i, rather sulkily, "let the candle cost what it may." but still the mules did not come. men have no idea of time in any country that is or has been connected with spain. "yes, señor; you said twelve, and it is now only two! well, three. the day is long, señor; there is plenty of time. vaminos? since you are in such a hurry, shall we make a start of it?" at half-past two o'clock so spoke--not my guide, for, as will be seen by-and-by, he never spoke at all--but my guide's owner, who came accompanying the mules. in huge hurry, with sundry mute exclamations, uttered by my countenance since my tongue was unintelligible, and with appeals to my watch which should have broken the man's heart as i thrust it into his face, i clomb into my saddle. and then a poor-looking, shoeless creature, with a small straw hat tied on to his head by a handkerchief, with difficulty poised himself on the other beast "vamos," i exclaimed, and trotted down the street; for i knew that in that direction lay the road to cartago. "god be with you," said the secretary of legation. "the rainy season has set in permanently, i know; but perhaps you may have half an hour of sunshine now and again. i hope you will enjoy yourself." it was not raining when i started, and in fact did not rain again the whole afternoon. i trotted valiantly down the street, knowing my way so far; but at the bottom of the town the roads divided, and i waited for my guide. "go on first," said i, pointing along the road. but he did not understand me, and stood still. "go on," said i, getting behind his mule as though to drive him. but he merely stared, and shuffled himself to the other side of the road. "cartago," i shouted, meaning that he was to show me the way there. "si, señor," he replied; and backed himself into the ditch out of my way. he was certainly the stupidest man i ever met in my life, and i believe the secretary of legation had selected him on purpose. i was obliged to choose my own road out of two, and luckily chose the right one. had i gone wrong, i doubt whether the man would have had wit enough to put me right. i again trotted on; but in a quarter of an hour was obliged to wait, for my attendant was behind me, out of sight, and i felt myself bound to look after my traps, which were fastened to his mule. "come on," i shouted in good broad english as soon as i saw him. "why the mischief don't you come on?" and my voice was so pitched, that on this occasion i think he did understand something of what i meant. "co-o-ome along," i repeated, as he gently drew up to me. and i hit his mule sharply on the crupper with my stick. "spur him," i said; and i explained what i meant by sticking my own rowels into my own beast. whereupon the guide showed me that he had no spurs. now if there be one rule of life more strictly kept in costa rica than another, it is this, that no man ever mounts horse or mule without spurs. a man in england would as soon think of hunting without breeches. no muleteer was ever seen without them. and when a mule is hired, if the hirer have no saddle, he may chance to have to ride without one; but if he have no spurs, he will always be supplied. i took off one of my own, which, by-the-by, i had borrowed out of the secretary of legation's establishment, and offered it to the man, remembering the well-known doctrine of hudibras. he then showed me that one of his hands was tied up, and that he could not put the spur on. consequently i was driven to dismount myself, and to act equerry to this knight. thrice on the road i had to do so, for twice the spur slipped from off his naked foot. even with this i could not bring him on. it is four leagues, or about sixteen miles, from san josé to cartago, and with all my hastening we were three hours on the road. the way lay through a rich and finely-cultivated country. the whole of this is now called the valley of san josé, and consists, in truth, of a broad plateau, diversified by moderate hills and valleys, but all being at a considerable height; that is, from three to four thousand feet above the sea. the road also is fairly good; so good that a species of omnibus runs on it daily, there being some considerable traffic between the places; for cartago is the second town in the republic. cartago is now the second town, but not long since it was the capital. it was, however, destroyed by an earthquake; and though it has been rebuilt, it has never again taken its former position. its present population is said to be ten thousand; but this includes not only the suburbs, but the adjacent villages. the town covers a large tract of ground, which is divided into long, broad, parallel streets, with a large pláza in the middle; as though it had been expected that a fine utopian city would have sprung up. alas! there is nothing fine about it, and very little that is utopian. lingering near the hotel door, almost now in a state of despair, i met him of the mild voice. "yes; he had been waiting for three hours, certainly," he mildly said, as i spurred my beast up to the door. "now that i was come it was all right; and on the whole he rather liked waiting--that is, when it did not result in waiting for nothing." and then we sat down to dinner at the cartago hotel. this also was kept by a german, who after a little hesitation confessed that he had come to the country as a filibuster. "you have fallen on your legs pretty well," said i; for he had a comfortable house, and gave us a decent dinner. "yes," said he, rather dubiously; "but when i came to costa rica i intended to do better than this." he might, however, remember that not one in five hundred of them had done so well. and then another guide had to be found, for it was clear that the one i had brought with me was useless. and i had a visit to make; for my friend lived with a widow lady, who would be grieved, he said, if i passed through without seeing her. so i did call on her. i saw her again on my return through cartago, as i shall specify. with all these delays it was dark when we started. our plan was to ride up to an upland pasture farm at which visitors to the mountain generally stop, to sleep there for a few hours, and then to start between three and four so as to reach the top of the mountain by sunrise. now i perfectly well remember what i said with reference to sunrises from mountain-tops on the occasion of that disastrous visit to the blue mountain peak in jamaica; how i then swore that i would never do another mountain sunrise, having always failed lamentably in such attempts. i remember, and did remember this; and as far as the sunrise was concerned would certainly have had nothing to do with the irazu at five o'clock, a.m. but the volcano and the crater made the matter very different. they were my attractions; and as the mild voice suggested an early hour, it would not have become me to have hesitated. "start at four?" "certainly," i said. "the beds at the potrero"--such was the name they gave the place at which we stopped--"will not be soft enough to keep us sleeping." "no," said the mild voice, "they are not soft." and so we proceeded. our road was very rough, and very steep; and the night was very dark. it was rough at first, and then it became slippery, which was worse. i had no idea that earth could be so slippery. my mule, which was a very fine one, fell under me repeatedly, being altogether unable to keep her footing. on these occasions she usually scrambled up, with me still on her back. once, however, near the beginning of my difficulties, i thought to relieve her; and to do so i got off her. i soon found my mistake. i immediately slipped down on my hands and knees, and found it impossible to stand on my feet. i did not sink into the mud, but slipped off it--down, down, down, as if i were going back to cartago, all alone in the dark. it was with difficulty that i again mounted my beast; but when there, there i remained let her fall as she would. at eleven o'clock we reached the potrero. the house here was little more than a rancho or hut; one of those log farm buildings which settlers make when they first clear the timber from a part of their selected lots, intending to replace them in a year or two by such tidy little houses; but so rarely fulfilling their intentions. all through costa rica such ranchos are common. on the coffee plantations and in the more highly-cultivated part of the country, round the towns for instance, and along the road to punta-arenas, the farmers have a better class of residence. they inhabit long, low-built houses, with tiled roofs and a ground floor only, not at all unlike farmers' houses in ireland, only that there they are thatched or slated. away from such patches of cultivation, one seldom finds any house better than a log-built rancho. but the rancho had a door, and that door was fastened; so we knocked and hallooed--"dito," cried the guide; such being, i presume, the familiar sobriquet of his friend within. "dito," sang out my mild friend with all his small energy of voice. "dito," shouted i; and i think that my voice was the one which wakened the sleepers within. we were soon admitted into the hut, and found that we were by no means the first comers. as soon as a candle was lighted we saw that there were four bedsteads in the room, and that two of them were occupied. there were, however, two left for my friend and myself. and it appeared also that the occupiers were friends of my friend. they were german savants, one by profession an architect and the other a doctor, who had come up into the woods looking for birds, beasts, and botanical treasures, and had already been there some three or four days. they were amply supplied with provisions, and immediately offered us supper. the architect sat up in bed to welcome us, and the doctor got up to clear the two spare beds of his trappings. there is a luck in these things. i remember once clambering to the top of scafell-pike, in cumberland--if it chance to be in westmoreland i beg the county's pardon. i expected nothing more than men generally look for on the tops of mountains; but to my great surprise i found a tent. i ventured to look in, and there i saw two officers of the engineers, friends of my own, sharpening their knives preparatory to the dissection of a roast goose. and beside the goose stood a bottle of brandy. now i always looked on that as a direct dispensation of providence. walking down the mountain that same evening to whitehaven, i stopped at a small public-house on the side of enerdale, and called for some whisky and water. the article produced was not good, and so i said, appealing to an elderly gentleman in black, who sat by the hobside, very contemplative. "ah," said he; "you can't get good drink in these parts, sir; i know that so well that i generally bring a bottle of my own." i immediately opened a warm conversation with that gentleman. he was a clergyman of a neighbouring parish; and in a few minutes a magnum of port had made its appearance out of a neighbouring cupboard. that i thought was another dispensation of providence. it was odd that they should have come together; but the facts are as i state them. i did venture on a glass of brandy and water and a slight morsel of bread and meat, and then i prepared to throw myself on the bed immediately opposite to the doctor's. as i did so i saw something move inside the doctor's bed. "my wife is there," said the doctor, seeing the direction of my eyes. "oh!" said i; and i at once became very moderate in the slight change which i made in my toilet. we were to start at four, and at four precisely i woke. as my friend had said, there was little to tempt me to sleep. the great drawback to the comfort of these ranchos is the quantity of dirt which continually falls out of the roof into one's eyes. then the boards are hard of course, and of course, also, they are infested with vermin. they tell you indeed of scorpions and centipedes, of preternatural wasps, and musquitos as big as young ostriches; but i found none of these large-looming beasts of prey. of beasts of a smaller size i did find more than plenty. at four i was up, but my friend was very unwilling to stir. it was long before i could induce the mild voice to make itself heard in any way. at that time it was fine, but it was long before i could get the muleteer. when i had done so, and he had thrown their grass to the beasts, it began to rain--of course. "it rains like the d----" said i, very crossly. "does it?" said the mild voice from the bed. "i am so sorry;" and in half a second he was again in the land of dreams. the doctor snored; but from the furthest remote comer i could see the eye of the doctor's wife looking out at me. it was between six and seven when we started. at that time it was not raining, but the clouds looked as like rain as the secretary of legation could have desired. and the two germans were anything but consolatory in their prophecies. "you'll not see a stick or a stone," said the architect; "you'd better stop and breakfast with us." "it is very dangerous to be wet in the mountains, very dangerous," said the doctor. "it is a bad morning, certainly," pleaded the mild voice piteously. the doctor's wife said nothing, but i could see her eyes looking out at the weather. how on earth was she to get herself dressed, it occurred to me then, if we should postpone our journey and remain there? it ended in our starting just two hours after the prescribed time. the road up from the potrero is very steep almost the whole way to the summit, but it was not so muddy as that we had passed over on the preceding evening. for some little way there were patches of cultivation, the ground bearing sweet potatoes and indian corn. then we came into a tract of beautiful forest scenery. the land, though steep, was broken, and only partially covered with trees. the grass in patches was as good as in an english park, and the views through the open bits of the forest were very lovely. in four or five different places we found the ground sufficiently open for all the requirements of a picturesque country house, and no prettier site for such a house could well be found. this was by far the finest scenery that i had hitherto seen in costa rica; but even here there was a want of water. in ascending the mountain we saw some magnificent forest trees, generally of the kind called cotton-trees in jamaica. there were oaks also--so called there--very nearly approaching our holm-oak in colour and foliage, but much larger than that tree is with us. they were all more or less covered with parasite plants, and those parasites certainly add greatly to the beauty of the supporting trunk. by degrees we got into thick forest--forest i mean so thick that it affords no views. you see and feel the trees that are close to you, but see nothing else. and here the path became so steep that we were obliged to dismount and let the beasts clamber up by themselves; and the mist became very thick, so much so that we could hardly trace our path; and then the guide said that he thought he had lost his way. "people often do come out and go back again without ever reaching the crater at all, don't they?" said the mild voice. "very often," said the guide. "but we won't be such people," said i. "oh no!" said the mild voice. "not if we can help it." "and we will help it. allons; andiamos; vamos." the first word which an englishman learns in any language is that which signifies a determination to proceed. and we did proceed, turning now hither and now thither, groping about in the mist, till at last the wood was all left behind us, and we were out among long grass on a mountain-side. "and now," said the guide, "unless the mist clears i can't say which way we ought to go." the words were hardly out of his mouth when the mist did clear itself away altogether from one side of us. looking down to the left, we could see far away into the valleys beneath, over large forests, and across a lower range of hills, till the eye could reach the cultivated plateau below. but on the other side, looking up to a mountain higher still than that on which we stood, all was not only misty, but perfectly dark and inscrutable. the guide however now knew the spot. we were near the summit of irazu, and a further ride of a quarter of an hour took us there; and indeed here there was no difficulty in riding. the side of the hill was covered with grass, and not over steep. "there," said the mild voice, pointing to a broad, bushy, stumpy tree, "there is the place where lady ouseley breakfasted." and he looked at our modest havresack. "and we will breakfast there too," i answered. "but we will go down the crater first." "oh, yes; certainly," said the mild voice. "but perhaps--i don't know--i am not sure i can go exactly down into the crater." the crater of the volcano is not at the top of the mountain, or rather it is not at what is now the top of the mountain; so that at first one has to look down upon it. i doubt even whether the volcano has ever effected the absolute summit. i may as well state here that the height of the mountain on which we were now standing is supposed to be , feet above the sea-level. luckily for us, though the mist reached to us where we stood, everything to the left of us was clear, and we could look down, down into the crater as into a basin. everything was clear, so that we could count the different orifices, eight in number, of which two, however, had almost run themselves into one; and see, as far as it was possible to see, how the present formation of the volcano had been brought about. it was as though a very large excavation had been made on the side of a hill, commencing, indeed, not quite from the summit, but very near it, and leaving a vast hole--not deep in proportion to its surface--sloping down the mountain-side. this huge excavation, which i take to be the extent of the crater, for it has evidently been all formed by the irruption of volcanic matter, is divided into two parts, a broken fragment of a mountain now lying between them; and the smaller of these two has lost all volcanic appearance. it is a good deal covered with bush and scrubby forest trees, and seems to have no remaining connection with sulphur and brimstone. the other part, in which the crater now absolutely in use is situated, is a large hollow in the mountain-side, which might perhaps contain a farm of six hundred acres. not having been able to measure it, i know no other way of describing what appeared to me to be its size. but a great portion of this again has lost all its volcanic appendages; except, indeed, that lumps of lava are scattered over the whole of it, as they are, though more sparingly, over the mountain beyond. there is a ledge of rock running round the interior of this division of the excavation, half-way down it, like a row of seats in a roman amphitheatre, or an excrescence, if one can fancy such, half-way down a teacup. the ground above this ledge is of course more extensive than that below, as the hollow narrows towards the bottom. the present working mouth of the volcanic, and all those that have been working for many a long year--the eight in number of which i have spoken--lie at the bottom of this lowest hollow. this i should say might contain a farm of about two hundred acres. such was the form of the land on which we looked down. the descent from the top to the ledge was easy enough, and was made by myself and my friend with considerable rapidity. i started at a pace which convinced him that i should break my neck, and he followed, gallantly resolving to die with me. "you'll surely kill yourself, mr. trollope; you surely will," said the mild voice. and yet he never deserted me. "sir william got as far as this," said he, when we were on the ledge, but he got no further. "we will do better than sir william," said i. "we will go down into that hole where we see the sulphur." "into the very hole?" "yes. if we get to windward, i think we can get into the very hole. look at the huge column of white smoke; how it comes all in this direction! on the other side of the crater we should not feel it." the descent below the ledge into my smaller farm was not made so easily. it must be understood that our guide was left above with the mules. we should have brought two men, whereas we had only brought one; and had therefore to perform our climbing unassisted. i at first attempted it in a direct line, down from where we stood; but i soon found this to be impracticable, and was forced to reascend. the earth was so friable that it broke away from me at every motion that i made; and after having gone down a few feet i was glad enough to find myself again on the ledge. we then walked round considerably to the right, probably for more than a quarter of a mile, and there a little spur in the hillside--a buttress as it were to the ledge of which i have spoken--made the descent much easier, and i again tried. "do not you mind following me," i said to my companion, for i saw that he looked much aghast. "none of sir william's party went down there," he answered. "are you sure of that?" i asked. "quite sure," said the mild voice. "then what a triumph we will have over sir william!" and so saying i proceeded. "i think i'll come too," said the mild voice. "if i do break my neck nobody'll be much the worse;" and he did follow me. there was nothing very difficult in the clambering, but, unfortunately, just as we got to the bottom the mist came pouring down upon us, and i could not but bethink me that i should find it very difficult to make my way up again without seeing any of the landmarks. i could still see all below me, but i could see nothing that was above. it seemed as though the mist kept at our own level, and that we dragged it with us. we were soon in one of the eight small craters or mouths of which i have spoken. looking at them from above, they seemed to be nearly on a level, but it now appeared that one or two were considerably higher than the others. we were now in the one that was the highest on that side of the excavation. it was a shallow basin, or rather saucer, perhaps sixty yards in diameter, the bottom of which was composed of smooth light-coloured sandy clay. in dry weather it would partake almost of the nature of sand. many many years had certainly rolled by since this mouth had been eloquent with brimstone. the place at this time was very cold. my friend had brought a large shawl with him, with which over and over again he attempted to cover my shoulders. i, having meditated much on the matter, had left my cloak above. at the present moment i regretted it sorely; but, as matters turned out, it would have half smothered me before our walk was over. we had now nothing for it but to wait till the mist should go off. there was but one open mouth to this mountain--one veritable crater from which a column of smoke and sulphur did then actually issue, and this, though the smell of the brimstone was already oppressive, was at some little distance. gradually the mist did go off, or rather it shifted itself continually, now ascending far above us, and soon returning to our feet. we then advanced between two other mouths, and came to that which was nearest to the existing crater. here the aperture was of a very different kind. though no smoke issued from it, and though there was a small tree growing at the bottom of it,--showing, as i presume, that there had been no eruption from thence since the seed of that tree had fallen to the ground,--yet the sides of the crater were as sharp and steep as the walls of a house. into those which we had hitherto visited we could walk easily; into this no one could descend even a single foot, unless, indeed, he descended somewhat more than a foot so as to dash himself to pieces at the bottom. they were, when compared together, as the interior of a plate compared to that of a tea-caddy. now a traveller travelling in such realms would easily extricate himself from the plate, but the depths of the tea-caddy would offer him no hope. having walked round this mute volcano, we ascended to the side of the one which was now smoking, for the aperture to this was considerably higher than that of the last one mentioned. as we were then situated, the smoke was bearing towards us, and every moment it became more oppressive; but i saw, or thought i saw, that we could skirt round to the back of the crater, so as not to get its full volume upon us; and so i proceeded, he of the mild voice mildly expostulating, but always following me. but when we had ascended to the level of the hole the wind suddenly shifted, and the column of smoke dispersing enveloped us altogether. had it come upon us in all its thickest mass i doubt whether it would not have first stupefied and then choked us. as it was, we ran for it, and succeeded in running out of it. it affected me, i think, more powerfully than it did my companion, for he was the first to regain his speech. "sir william, at any rate, saw nothing like that," said he, coughing triumphantly. i hope that i may never feel or smell anything like it again. this smoke is emitted from the earth at the bottom of a deep hole very similar to that above described. the sides of it all round are so steep that it is impossible to make even an attempt to descend it. by holding each other's hands we could look over into it one at a time, and see the very jaws in the rock from which the stream of sulphur ascends. it comes out quite yellow, almost a dark yellow, but gradually blanches as it expands in its course. these jaws in the rock are not in the centre of the bottom of the pit, but in a sharp angle, as it were, so that the smoke comes up against one side or wall, and that side is perfectly encrusted with the sulphur. it was at the end of the orifice, exactly opposite to this, that we knelt down and looked over. the smoke when it struck upon us, immediately above this wall, was hot and thick and full of brimstone. the stench for a moment was very bad; but the effect went off at once, as soon as we were out of it. the mild voice grasped my hand very tightly as he crept to the edge and looked over. "ah!" he said, rejoicing greatly, "sir william never saw that, nor any of his party; i am so glad i came again with you. i wonder whether anybody ever was here before." hundreds doubtless have been, and thousands will be. nine out of every ten men in london, between the ages of fifteen and fifty, would think little of the trouble and less of the danger of getting there; but i could not interfere with the triumph of my friend, so i merely remarked that it certainly was a very singular place. and then we had to reascend. it was now past eleven o'clock, and as yet we had had no breakfast, for i cannot call that cup of coffee which we took at starting a breakfast, even though the german architect handed to each of us from out of his bed a hunch of beef and a crust of bread. luckily the air was clear for a while, so that we could see what we were about, and we began to climb up on the side opposite to that by which we had descended. and here i happened to mention that miss ouseley had commissioned me to get two bits of lava, one smooth and the other rough--unfortunately, for at once the mild voice declared that he had found two morsels which would exactly suit the lady's taste. i looked round, and, lo! there was my small friend with two huge stones, each weighing about twenty pounds, which, on the side of the mountain, he was endeavouring to pack under his arms. now, the mountain here was very steep and very friable; the burnt shingle slipped from under our feet at every step; and, to make matters worse, we were climbing in a slanting direction. "my dear fellow, it would kill you to carry those lumps to the top," i said; "do not think of it." but he persevered. "there were no lumps of lava such as those," he said, "to be found at the top. they were just what miss ouseley wanted. he thought he would be able to manage with them. they were not so very heavy, if only the ground did not slip so much." i said what i could, but it was of no avail, and he followed me slowly with his sore burden. i never knew the weather change with such rapidity. at this moment the sun was bright and very hot, and i could hardly bear my coat on my shoulders as i crept up that hill. how my little friend followed with his shawl and the lava rocks i cannot conceive. but, to own the truth, going down hill suits me better than going up. years and obesity tell upon the wind sooner than they do on the legs--so, at least, it is with me. now my mild friend hardly weighed fifteen ounces, while i--! and then, when we were again on the ridge, it began to rain most gloriously. hitherto we had had mist, but this was a regular down-pour of rain--such moisture as the secretary of legation had been praying for ever since we started. again and again the mild voice offered me the shawl, which, when i refused it, he wrapped round the lumps of lava, scorning to be drier than his companion. from the summit to the ledge we had come down fast enough, but the ascent was very different. i, at any rate, was very tired, and my friend was by no means as fresh as he had been. we were both in want of food, and our clothes were heavy with wet. he also still carried his lumps of lava. at last, all raining as it was, i sat down. how far we might still be from the top i could not see; but be it far or be it near, nature required rest. i threw myself on the ground, and the mild voice not unwillingly crouched down close to me. "now we can both have the shawl," said he, and he put it over our joint shoulders; that is, he put the shawl on mine while the fringe hung over his own. in half a minute we were both asleep, almost in each other's arms. men when they sleep thus on a mountain-side in the rain do not usually sleep long. forty winks is generally acknowledged. our nap may have amounted to eighty each, but i doubt whether it was more. we started together, rubbed our eyes, jumped to our feet, and prepared ourselves for work. but, alas! where was the lava? my impression is that in my sleep i must have kicked the stones and sent them rolling. at any rate, they were gone. dark and wet as it was, we both went down a yard or two, but it was in vain; nothing could be seen of them. the mild voice handed me the shawl, preparing to descend in their search; but this was too much. "you will only lose yourself," said i, laying hold of him, "and i shall have to look for your bones. besides, i want my breakfast! we will get other specimens above." "and perhaps they will be just as good," said he, cheerfully, when he found that he would not be allowed to have his way. "every bit," said i. and so we trudged on, and at last reached our mules. from this point men see, or think that they see, the two oceans--the atlantic and the pacific--and this sight to many is one of the main objects of the ascent. we saw neither the one ocean nor the other. we got back to the potrero about three, and found our german friends just sitting down to dinner. the architect was seated on his bed on one side of the table arranging the viands, while the doctor on the other scooped out the brains of a strange bird with a penknife. the latter operation he performed with a view of stuffing, not himself, but the animal. they pressed us to dine with them before we started, and we did so, though i must confess that the doctor's occupation rather set me against my food. "if it be not done at once," said he, apologizing, "it can't he done well;" and he scraped, and scraped, and wiped his knife against the edge of the little table on which the dishes were placed. what had become of the doctor's wife i do not know, but she was not at the potrero when we dined there. it was evening when we got into cartago, and very tired we were. my mind, however, was made up to go on to san josé that night, and ultimately i did so; but before starting, i was bound to repeat my visit to the english lady with whom my mild friend lived. mrs. x---- was, and i suppose is, the only englishwoman living in cartago, and with that sudden intimacy which springs up with more than tropical celerity in such places, she told me the singular history of her married life. the reader would not care that i should repeat it at length, for it would make this chapter too long. her husband had been engaged in mining operations, and she had come out to guatemala with him in search of gold. from thence, after a period of partial success, he was enticed away into costa rica. some speculation there, in which he or his partners were concerned, promised better than that other one in guatemala, and he went, leaving his young wife and children behind him. of course he was to return very soon, and of course he did not return at all. mrs. x---- was left with her children searching for gold herself. "every evening," she said, "i saw the earth washed myself, and took up with me to the house the gold that was found." what an occupation for a young englishwoman, the mother of three children! at this time she spoke no spanish, and had no one with her who spoke english. and then tidings came from her husband that he could not come to her, and she made up her mind to go to him. she had no money, the gold-washing having failed; her children were without shoes to their feet; she had no female companion; she had no attendant but one native man; and yet, starting from the middle of guatemala, she made her way to the coast, and thence by ship to costa rica. after that her husband became engaged in what, in those countries, is called "transit." now "transit" means the privilege of making money by transporting americans of the united states over the isthmus to and from california, and in most hands has led to fraud, filibustering, ruin, and destruction. mr. x----, like many others, was taken in, and according to his widow's account, the matter ended in a deputation being sent, from new york i think, to murder him. he was struck with a life-preserver in the streets of san josé, never fully recovered from the blow, and then died. he had become possessed of a small estate in the neighbourhood of cartago, on the proceeds of which the widow was now living. "and will you not return home?" i said. "yes; when i have got my rights. look here--" and she brought down a ledger, showing me that she had all manner of claims to all manner of shares in all manner of mines. "aurum irrepertum et sic melius situm!" as regards her, it certainly would have been so. for a coined sovereign, or five-dollar piece, i have the most profound respect. it is about the most faithful servant that a man can have in his employment, and should be held as by no means subject to those scurrilous attacks which a pharisaically moral world so often levels at its head. but of all objects of a man's ambition, uncoined gold, gold to be collected in sand, or picked up in nuggets, or washed out of earth, is, to my thinking, the most delusive and most dangerous! who knows, or has known, or ever seen, any man that has returned happy from the diggings, and now sits contented under his own fig-tree? my friend mrs. x---- was still hankering after the flesh-pots of egypt, the hidden gold of the central american mountains. she slapped her hands loudly together, for she was a woman of much energy, and declared that she would have her rights. when she had gotten her rights she would go home. alas! alas! poor lady! "and you," said i, to the mild voice, "will not you return?" "i suppose so," said he, "when mrs. x---- goes;" and he looked up to the widow as though confessing that he was bound to her service, and would not leave her; not that i think they had the slightest idea of joining their lots together as men and women do. he was too mild for that. i did ride back to san josé that night, and a most frightful journey i had of it. i resumed, of course, my speechless, useless, dolt of a guide--the man whom the secretary of legation had selected for me before i started. again i put my spur on his foot, and endeavoured to spirit him up to ride before me, so that i might know my way in the dark; but it was in vain; nothing would move him out of a walk, and i was obliged to leave him. and then it became frightfully dark--pitch dark as men say--dark so that i could not see my mule's ears. i had nothing for it but to trust to her; and soon found, by being taken down into the deep bed of a river and through deep water, that we had left the road by which i had before travelled. the beast did not live in san josé i knew, and i looked to be carried to some country rancho at which she would be at home. but in a time sufficiently short, i found myself in san josé. the creature had known a shorter cut than that usually taken. chapter xx. central america--san josÉ to greytown. my purpose was to go right through central america, from ocean to ocean, and to accomplish this it was necessary that i should now make my way down to the mouth of the san juan river--to san juan del norte as it was formerly called, or greytown, as it is now named by the english. this road, i was informed by all of whom i inquired, was very bad,--so bad as to be all but impracticable to english travellers. and then, just at that moment, an event occurred which added greatly to the ill name of this route. a few days before i reached san josé, a gentleman resident there had started for england with his wife, and they had decided upon going by the san juan. it seems that the lady had reached san josé, as all people do reach it, by panamá and punta-arenas, and had suffered on the route. at any rate, she had taken a dislike to it, and had resolved on returning by the san juan and the serapiqui rivers, a route which is called the serapiqui road. to do this it is necessary for the traveller to ride on mules for four, five, or six days, according to his or her capability. the serapiqui river is then reached, and from that point the further journey is made in canoes down the serapiqui river till it falls into the san juan, and then down that river to greytown. this gentleman with his wife reached the serapiqui in safety; though it seems that she suffered greatly on the road. but when once there, as she herself said, all her troubles were over. that weary work of supporting herself on her mule, through mud and thorns and thick bushes, of scrambling over precipices and through rivers, was done. she had been very despondent, even from before the time of her starting; but now, she said, she believed that she should live to see her mother again. she was seated in the narrow canoe, among cloaks and cushions, with her husband close to her, and the boat was pushed into the stream. almost in a moment, within two minutes of starting, not a hundred yards from the place where she had last trod, the canoe struck against a snag or upturned fragment of a tree and was overset. the lady was borne by the stream among the entangled branches of timber which clogged the river, and when her body was found life had been long extinct. this had happened on the very day that i reached san josé, and the news arrived two or three days afterwards. the wretched husband, too, made his way back to the town, finding himself unable to go on upon his journey alone, with such a burden on his back. what could he have said to his young wife's mother when she came to meet him at southampton, expecting to throw her arms round her daughter? i was again lucky in having a companion for my journey. a young lieutenant of the navy, fitzm---- by name, whose vessel was lying at greytown, had made his way up to san josé on a visit to the ouseleys, and was to return at the same time that i went down. he had indeed travelled up with the bereaved man who had lost his wife, having read the funeral service over the poor woman's grave on the lonely shores of the serapiqui. the road, he acknowledged, was bad, too bad, he thought, for any female; but not more than sufficiently so to make proper excitement for a man. he, at any rate, had come over it safely; but then he was twenty-four, and i forty-four; and so we started together from san josé, a crowd of friends accompanying us for the first mile or two. there was that secretary of legation prophesying that we should be smothered in the mud; there was the consul and the consul's brother; nor was female beauty wanting to wish us well on our road, and maybe to fling an old shoe after us for luck as we went upon our journey. we took four mules, that was one each for ourselves, and two for our baggage; we had two guides or muleteers, according to bargain, both of whom travelled on foot. the understanding was, that one mule lightly laden with provisions and a pair of slippers and tooth-brush should accompany us, one man also going with us; but that the heavy-laden mule should come along after us at its own pace. things, however, did not so turn out: on the first day both the men and both the mules lagged behind, and on one occasion we were obliged to wait above an hour for them; but after that we all kept in a string together, having picked up a third muleteer somewhere on the road. we had also with us a distressed british subject, who was intrusted to my tender mercies by the consul at san josé. he was not a good sample of a britisher; he had been a gold-finder in california, then a filibuster, after that a teacher of the piano in the country part of costa rica, and lastly an omnibus driver. he was to act as interpreter for us, which, however, he did not do with much honesty or zeal. our road at first lay through the towns of aredia and barba, the former of which is a pleasant-looking little village, where, however, we found great difficulty in getting anything to drink. up to this, and for a few leagues further, the road was very fair, and the land on each side of us was cultivated. we had started at eight a.m., and at about three in the afternoon there seemed to be great doubt as to where we should stop. the leading muleteer wished to take us to a house of a friend of his own, whereas the lieutenant and i resolved that the day's work had not been long enough. i take it that on the whole we were right, and the man gave in with sufficient good humour; but it ended in our passing the night in a miserable rancho. that at the potrero, on the road to the volcanic mountain, had been a palace to it. and here we got into the forest; we had hitherto been ascending the whole way from san josé, and had by degrees lost all appearance of tillage. still, however, there had been open spaces here and there cleared for cattle, and we had not as yet found ourselves absolutely enveloped by woods. this rancho was called buena-vista; and certainly the view from it was very pretty. it was pretty and extensive, as i have seen views in baden and parts of bavaria; but again there was nothing about which i could rave. i shall not readily forget the night in that rancho. we were, i presume, between seven and eight thousand feet above the sea-level; and at night, or rather early in the morning, the cold was very severe. fitzm---- and i shared the same bed; that is, we lay on the same boards, and did what we could to cover ourselves with the same blankets. in that country men commonly ride upon blankets, having them strapped over the saddles as pillions, and we had come so provided; but before the morning was over i heartily wished for a double allowance. we had brought with us a wallet of provisions, certainly not too well arranged by sir william ouseley's most reprehensible butler. travellers should never trust to butlers. our piece de résistance was a ham, and lo! it turned out to be a bad one. when the truth of this fact first dawned upon us it was in both our minds to go back and slay that butler: but there was still a piece of beef and some chickens, and there had been a few dozen of hard-boiled eggs. but fitzm---- would amuse himself with eating these all along the road: i always found when the ordinary feeding time came that they had not had the slightest effect upon his appetite. on the next morning we again ascended for about a couple of leagues, and as long as we did so the road was still good; the surface was hard, and the track was broad, and a horseman could wish nothing better. and then we reached the summit of the ridge over which we were passing; this we did at a place called desenganos, and from thence we looked down into vast valleys all running towards the atlantic. hitherto the fall of water had been into the pacific. at this place we found a vast shed, with numberless bins and troughs lying under it in great confusion. the facts, as far as i could learn, were thus: up to this point the government, that is don juan mora, or perhaps his predecessor, had succeeded in making a road fit for the transit of mule carts. this shed had also been built to afford shelter for the postmen and accommodation for the muleteers. but here don juan's efforts had been stopped; money probably had failed; and the great remainder of the undertaking will, i fear, be left undone for many a long year. and yet this, or some other road from the valley of san josé to the atlantic, would be the natural outlet of the country. at present the coffee grown in the central high lands is carried down to punta-arenas on the pacific, although it must cross the atlantic to reach its market; consequently, it is either taken round the horn, and its sale thus delayed for months, or it is transported across the isthmus by railway, at an enormous cost. they say there is a point at which the atlantic may be reached more easily than by the present route of the serapiqui river; nothing, however, has as yet been done in the matter. to make a road fit even for mule carts, by the course of the present track, would certainly be a work of enormous difficulty. and now our vexations commenced. we found that the path very soon narrowed, so much so that it was with difficulty we could keep our hats on our heads; and then the surface of the path became softer and softer, till our beasts were up to their knees in mud. all motion quicker than that of a walk became impossible; and even at this pace the struggles in the mud were both frequent and uncomfortable. hitherto we had talked fluently enough, but now we became very silent; we went on following, each at the other's tail, floundering in the mud, silent, filthy, and down in the mouth. "i tell you what it is," said fitzm---- at last, stopping on the road, for he had led the van, "i can't go any further without breakfast." we referred the matter to the guide, and found that careblanco, the place appointed for our next stage, was still two hours distant. "two hours! why, half an hour since you said it was only a league!" but what is the use of expostulating with a man who can't speak a word of english? so we got off our mules, and draped out our wallet among the bushes. our hard-boiled eggs were all gone, and it seemed as though the travelling did not add fresh delights to the cold beef; so we devoured another fowl, and washed it down with brandy and water. as we were so engaged three men passed us with heavy burdens on their backs. they were tall, thin, muscular fellows, with bare legs, and linen clothes,--one of them apparently of nearly pure indian blood. it was clear that the loads they carried were very weighty. they were borne high up on the back, and suspended by a band from the forehead, so that a great portion of the weight must have fallen on the muscles of the neck. this was the post; and as they had left san josé some eight hours after us, and had come by a longer route, so as to take in another town, they must have travelled at a very fast pace. it was our object to go down the serapiqui river in the same boat with the post. we had some doubt whether we should be able to get any other, seeing that the owner of one such canoe had been drowned, i believe in an endeavour to save the unfortunate lady of whom i have spoken; and any boat taken separately would be much more expensive. so, as quick as might be, we tied up our fragments and proceeded. it was after this that i really learned how all-powerful is the force of mud. we came at last to a track that was divided crossways by ridges, somewhat like the ridges of ploughed ground. each ridge was perhaps a foot and a half broad, and the mules invariably stepped between them, not on them. stepping on them they could not have held their feet. stepping between them they came at each step with their belly to the ground, so that the rider's feet and legs were trailing in the mud. the struggles of the poor brutes were dreadful. it seemed to me frequently impossible that my beast should extricate himself, laden as he was. but still he went on patiently, slowly, and continuously; splash, splash; slosh, slosh! every muscle of his body was working; and every muscle of my body was working also. for it is not very easy to sit upon a mule under such circumstances. the bushes were so close upon me that one hand was required to guard my face from the thorns; my knees were constantly in contact with the stumps of trees, and when my knees were free from such difficulties, my shins were sure to be in the wars. then the poor animal rolled so from side to side in his incredible struggles with the mud that it was frequently necessary to hold myself on by the pommel of the saddle. added to this, it was essentially necessary to keep some sort of guide upon the creature's steps, or one's legs would be absolutely broken. for the mule cares for himself only, and not for his rider. it is nothing to him if a man's knees be put out of joint against the stump of a tree. splash, splash, slosh, slosh! on we went in this way for hours, almost without speaking. on such occasions one is apt to become mentally cross, to feel that the world is too hard for one, that one's own especial troubles are much worse than those of one's neighbours, and that those neighbours are unfairly favoured. i could not help thinking it very unjust that i should be fifteen stone, while fitzm---- was only eight. and as for that distressed britisher, he weighed nothing at all. splash, splash, slosh, slosh! we were at it all day. at careblanco--the place of the _white-faced pigs_ i understood it to mean;--they say that there is a race of wild hogs with white faces which inhabit the woods hereabouts--we overtook the post, and kept close to them afterwards. this was a pasture farm in the very middle of the forest, a bit of cleared land on which some adventurer had settled himself and dared to live. the adventurer himself was not there, but he had a very pretty wife, with whom my friend the lieutenant seemed to have contracted an intimate acquaintance on his previous journey up to san josé. but at careblanco we only stopped two minutes, during which, however, it became necessary that the lieutenant should go into the rancho on the matter of some article of clothes which had been left behind on his previous journey; and then, again, on we went, slosh, slosh, splash, splash! my shins by this time were black and blue, and i held myself on to my mule chiefly by my spurs. our way was still through dense forest, and was always either up or down hill. and here we came across the grandest scenery that i met with in the western world; scenery which would admit of raving, if it were given to me to rave on such a subject. we were travelling for the most part along the side of a volcanic mountain, and every now and then the declivity would become so steep as to give us a full view down into the ravine below, with the prospect of the grand, steep, wooded hill on the other side, one huge forest stretching up the mountain for miles. at the bottom of the ravine one's eye would just catch a river, looking like a moving thread of silver wire. and yet, though the descent was so great, there would be no interruption to it. looking down over the thick forest trees which grew almost from the side of a precipice, the eye would reach the river some thousand feet below, and then ascend on the other side over a like unbroken expanse of foliage. of course we both declared that we had never seen anything to equal it. in moments of ecstasy one always does so declare. but there was a monotony about it, and a want of grouping which forbids me to place it on an equality with scenery really of the highest kind, with the mountains, for instance, round colico, with the head of the lake of the four cantons, or even with the views of the upper waters of killarney. and then, to speak the truth, we were too much engulfed in mud, too thoughtful as to the troubles of the road, to enjoy it thoroughly. "wonderful that; isn't it?" "yes, very wonderful; fine break; for heaven's sake do get on." that is the tone which men are apt to adopt under such circumstances. five or six pounds of thick mud clinging round one's boots and inside one's trousers do not add to one's enjoyment of scenery. mud, mud; mud, mud! at about five o'clock we splashed into another pasture farm in the middle of the forest, a place called san miguel, and there we rested for that night. here we found that our beef also must be thrown away, and that our bread was all gone. we had picked up some more hard-boiled eggs at ranchos on the road, but hard-boiled eggs to my companion were no more than grains of gravel to a barn-door fowl; they merely enabled him to enjoy his regular diet. at this place, however, we were able to purchase fowls--skinny old hens which were shot for us at a moment's warning. the price being, here and elsewhere along the road, a dollar a head. tea and candles a ministering angel had given to me at the moment of my departure from san josé. but for them we should have indeed been comfortless, thirsty, and in utter darkness. towards evening a man gets tired of brandy and water, when he has been drinking it since six in the morning. our washing was done under great difficulties, as in these districts neither nature nor art seems to have provided for such emergencies. in this place i got my head into a tin pot, and could hardly extricate it. but even inside the houses and ranchos everything seemed to turn into mud. the floor beneath one's feet became mud with the splashing of the water. the boards were begrimed with mud. we were offered coffee that was mud to the taste and touch. i felt that the blood in my veins was becoming muddy. and then we had another day exactly like the former, except that the ground was less steep, and the vistas of scenery less grand. the weather also was warmer, seeing that we were now on lower ground. monkeys chattered on the trees around us, and the little congo ape roared like a lion. macaws flew about, generally in pairs; and we saw white turkeys on the trees. up on the higher forests we had seen none of these animals. there are wild hogs also in these woods, and ounces. the ounce here is, i believe, properly styled the puma, though the people always call them lions. they grow to about the size of a newfoundland dog. the wild cat also is common here, the people styling them tigers. the xagua is, i take it, their proper name. none of these animals will, i believe, attack a man unless provoked or pressed in pursuit; and not even then if a way of escape be open to him. we again breakfasted at a forest clearing, paying a dollar each for tough old hens, and in the evening we came to a cacao plantation in the middle of the forest which had been laid out and settled by an american of the united states residing in central america. this place is not far from the serapiqui river, and is called padregal. it was here that the young lieutenant had read the funeral service over the body of that unfortunate lady. i went with him to visit the grave. it was a spot in the middle of a grass enclosure, fenced off rudely so as to guard it from beasts of prey. the funeral had taken place after dusk. it had been attended by some twelve or fourteen costa rican soldiers who are kept in a fort a little below, on the banks of the serapiqui. each of these men had held a torch. the husband was there, and another englishman who was travelling with him; as was also, i believe, the proprietor of the place. so attended, the body of the englishwoman was committed to its strange grave in a strange country. here we picked up another man, an american, who also had been looking for gold, and perhaps doing a turn as a filibuster. him too the world had used badly, and he was about to return with all his golden dreams unaccomplished. we had one more stage down to the spot at which we were to embark in the canoe--the spot at which the lady had been drowned--and this one we accomplished early in the morning. this place is called the muelle, and here there is a fort with a commandant and a small company of soldiers. the business of the commandant is to let no one up or down the river without a passport; and as a passport cannot be procured anywhere nearer than san josé, here may arise a great difficulty to travellers. we were duly provided, but our recently-picked-up american friend was not; and he was simply told that he would not be allowed to get into a boat on the river. "i never seed such a d----d country in my life," said the american. "they would not let me leave san josé till i paid every shilling i owed; and now that i have paid, i ain't no better off. i wish i hadn't paid a d----d cent." i advised him to try what some further operation in the way of payment would do, and with this view he retired with the commandant. in a minute or two they both returned, and the commandant said he would look at his instructions again. he did so, and declared that he now found it was compatible with his public duty to allow the american to pass. "but i shall not have a cent left to take me home," said the american to me. he was not a smart man, though he talked smart. for when the moment of departure came all the places in the boat were taken, and we left him standing on the shore. "well, i'm darned!" he said; and we neither heard nor saw more of him. that passage down the serapiqui was not without interest, though it was somewhat monotonous. here, for the first time in my life, i found my bulk and size to be of advantage to me. in the after part of the canoe sat the master boatman, the captain of the expedition, steering with a paddle. then came the mails and our luggage, and next to them i sat, having a seat to myself, being too weighty to share a bench with a neighbour. i therefore could lean back among the luggage; and with a cigar in my mouth, with a little wooden bicher of weak brandy and water beside me, i found that the position had its charms. on the next thwart sat, cheek by jowl, the lieutenant and the distressed britisher. unfortunately they had nothing on which to lean, and i sincerely pitied my friend, who, i fear, did not enjoy his position. but what could i do? any change in our arrangements would have upset the canoe. and then close in the bow of the boat sat the two natives paddling; and they did paddle without cessation all that day, and all the next till we reached greytown. the serapiqui is a fine river; very rapid, but not so much so as to make it dangerous, if care be taken to avoid the snags. there is not a house or hut on either side of it; but the forest comes down to the very brink. up in the huge trees the monkeys hung jabbering, shaking their ugly heads at the boat as it went down, or screaming in anger at this invasion of their territories. the macaws flew high over head, making their own music, and then there was the constant little splash of the paddle in the water. the boatmen spoke no word, but worked on always, pausing now and again for a moment to drink out of the hollow of their hands. and the sun became hotter and hotter as we neared the sea; and the musquitoes began to bite; and cigars were lit with greater frequency. 'tis thus that one goes down the waters of the serapiqui. about three we got into the san juan. this is the river by which the great lake of nicaragua empties itself into the sea; which has been the channel used by the transit companies who have passed from ocean to ocean through nicaragua; which has been so violently interfered with by filibusters, till all such transit has been banished from its waters; and which has now been selected by m. belly as the course for his impossible canal. it has seen dreadful scenes of cruelty, wrong, and bloodshed. now it runs along peaceably enough, in its broad, shallow, swift course, bearing on its margin here and there the rancho and provision-ground of some wild settler who has sought to overcome "the whips and scorns of time-- the oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely," by looking for bread and shelter on those sad, sunburnt, and solitary banks. we landed at one such place to dine, and at another to sleep, selecting in each place some better class of habitation. at neither place did we find the owner there, but persons left in charge of the place. at the first the man was a german; a singularly handsome and dirty individual, who never shaved or washed himself, and lived there, ever alone, on bananas and musk-melons. he gave us fruit to take into the boat with us, and when we parted we shook hands with him. out here every one always does shake hands with every one. but as i did so i tendered him a dollar. he had waited upon us, bringing water and plates; he had gathered fruit for us; and he was, after all, no more than the servant of the river squatter. but he let the dollar fall to the ground, and that with some anger in his face. the sum was made up of the small silver change of the country, and i felt rather little as i stooped under the hot sun to pick it up from out the mud of the garden. better that than seem to leave it there in anger. it is often hard for a traveller to know when he is wished to pay, and when he is wished not to pay. a poorer-looking individual in raiment and position than that german i have seldom seen; but he despised my dollar as though it had been dirt. we slept at the house of a greytown merchant, who had maintained an establishment up the river, originally with the view of supplying the wants of the american travellers passing in transit across the isthmus. the flat-bottom steamers which did some five or six years since ply upon the river used to take in wood here and stop for the night. and the passengers were wont to come on shore, and call for rum and brandy; and in this way much money was made. till after a time filibusters came instead of passengers; men who took all the wood that they could find there--hundreds of dollars' worth of sawn wood, and brandy also--took it away with them, saying that they would give compensation when they were established in the country, but made no present payment. and then it became tolerably clear that the time for making money in that locality had passed away. they came in great numbers on one such occasion, and stripped away everything they could find. sawn wood for their steam-boilers was especially desirable, and they took all that had been prepared for the usual wants of the river. having helped themselves to this, and such other chattels as were at the moment needed and at hand, they went on their way, grimly rejoicing. on the following day most of them returned; some without arms, some without legs, some even without heads; a wretched, wounded, mutilated, sore-struck body of filibusters. the boiler of their large steamer had burst, scattering destruction far and near. it was current among the filibusters that the logs of wood had been laden with gunpowder in order to effect this damage. it is more probable, that being filibusters, rough and ready as the phrase goes, they had not duly looked to their engineering properties. at any rate, they all returned. on the whole, these filibusters have suffered dire punishment for their sins. at any rate, the merchant under whose roof we slept received no payment for his wood. here we found two men living, not in such squalid misery as that independent german, but nevertheless sufficiently isolated from the world. one was an old swedish sailor, who seemed to speak every language under the sun, and to have been in every portion of the globe, whether under the sun or otherwise. at any rate, we could not induce him to own to not having been in any place. timbuctoo; yes, indeed, he had unfortunately been a captive there for three years. at mecca he had passed as an arab among the arabs, having made the great pilgrimage in company with many children of mahomet, wearing the green turban as a veritable child of mahomet himself. portsmouth he knew well, having had many a row about the head. we could not catch him tripping, though we put him through his facings to the best of our joint geographical knowledge. at present he was a poor gardener on the san juan river, having begun life as a lieutenant in the swedish navy. _he_ had seen too much of the world to refuse the dollar which was offered to him. on the next morning we reached greytown, following the san juan river down to that pleasant place. there is another passage out to the sea by the colorado, a branch river which, striking out from the san juan, runs into the ocean by a shorter channel. this also has been thought of as a course for the projected canal, preferable to that of the san juan. i believe them to be equally impracticable. the san juan river itself is so shallow that we were frequently on the ground even in our light canoe. and what shall i say of greytown? we have a consul-general there, or at least had one when these pages were written; a consul-general whose duty it is, or was, to have under his special care the king of mosquitia--as some people are pleased to call this coast--of the mosquito coast as it is generally styled. bluefields, further along the coast, is the chosen residence of this sable tyrant; but greytown is the capital of his dominions. now it is believed that, in deference to the feelings of the united states, and to the american reading of the clayton-bulwer treaty, and in deference, i may add, to a very sensible consideration that the matter is of no possible moment to ourselves, the protectorate of the mosquito coast is to be abandoned. what the king will do i cannot imagine; but it will be a happy day i should think for our consul when he is removed from greytown. of all the places in which i have ever put my foot, i think that is the most wretched. it is a small town, perhaps of two thousand inhabitants, though this on my part is a mere guess, at the mouth of the san juan, and surrounded on every side either by water or impassable forests. a walk of a mile in any direction would be impossible, unless along the beach of the sea; but this is of less importance, as the continual heat would prevent any one from thinking of such exercise. sundry americans live here, worshipping the almighty dollar as americans do, keeping liquor shops and warehouses; and with the americans, sundry englishmen and sundry germans. of the female population i saw nothing except some negro women, and one white, or rather red-faced owner of a rum shop. the native population are the mosquito indians; but it seems that they are hardly allowed to live in greytown. they are to be seen paddling about in their canoes, selling a few eggs and chickens, catching turtle, and not rarely getting drunk. they would seem from their colour and physiognomy to be a cross between the negro and the indian; and such i imagine to be the case. they have a language of their own, but those on the coast almost always speak english also. my gallant young friend, fitzm----, was in command of a small schooner inside the harbour of greytown. as the accommodation of the city itself was not inviting, i gladly took up my quarters under his flag until the english packet, which was then hourly expected, should be ready to carry me to colon and st. thomas. i can only say that if i was commander of that schooner i would lie outside the harbour, so as to be beyond the ill-usage of those frightful musquitoes. the country has been well named mosquitia. there was an american man-of-war and also an english man-of-war--sloops-of-war both i believe technically--lying off greytown; and we dined on board them both, on two consecutive days. of the american i will say, speaking in their praise, that i never ate such bacon and peas. it may be that the old hens up the serapiqui river had rendered me peculiarly susceptible to such delights; but nevertheless, i shall always think that there was something peculiar about the bacon and peas on board the american sloop-of-war 'st. louis.' and on the second day the steamer came in; the 'trent,' captain moir; we then dined on board of her, and on the same night she sailed for colon. and when shall i see that gallant young lieutenant again? putting aside his unjust, and i must say miraculous consumption of hard-boiled eggs, i could hardly wish for a better travelling companion. chapter xxi. central america--railways, canals, and transit. how best to get about this world which god has given us is certainly one of the most interesting subjects which men have to consider, and one of the most interesting works on which men can employ themselves. the child when born is first suckled, then fed with a spoon; in his next stage, his food is cut up for him, and he begins to help himself; for some years after that it is still carved under parental authority; and then at last he sits down to the full enjoyment of his own leg of mutton, under his own auspices. our development in travelling has been much of the same sort, and we are now perhaps beginning to use our own knife and fork, though we hardly yet understand the science of carving; or at any rate, can hardly bring our hands to the duly dexterous use of the necessary tools. we have at least got so far as this, that we perceive that the leg of mutton is to be cooked and carved. we are not to eat hunks of raw sheep cut off here and there. the meat to suit our palates should be put on a plate in the guise of a cleanly slice, cut to a certain thickness, and not exceeding a certain size. and we have also got so far as this, that we know that the world must be traversed by certain routes, prepared for us originally not by ourselves, but by the hand of god. we were great heroes when we first got round the cape of good hope, when we first crossed the atlantic, when we first doubled cape horn. we were then learning to pick up our crumbs with our earliest knives and forks, and there was considerable peril in the attempt. we have got beyond that now, and have perceived that we may traverse the world without going round it. the road from europe to asia is by egypt and the isthmus of suez, not by the cape of good hope. so also is the road from europe to the west of america, and from the east of america to asia by the isthmus of central america, and not by cape horn. we have found out this, and have, i presume, found out also that this was all laid out for us by the hands of the creator,--prepared exactly as the sheep have been prepared. it has been only necessary that we should learn to use the good things given us. that there are reasons why the way should not have been made absolutely open we may well suppose, though we cannot perhaps at present well understand. how currents of the sea might have run so as to have impeded rather than have assisted navigation, had the two americas been disjoined; how pernicious winds might have blown, and injurious waters have flowed, had the red sea opened into the mediterranean, we may imagine, though we cannot know. that the world's surface, as formed by god, is best for god's purposes, and therefore certainly best for man's purposes, that most of us must believe. but it is for us to carve the good things which are put before us, and to find out the best way in which they may be carved. we may, perhaps, fairly think that we have done much towards acquiring this knowledge, but we certainly know that there is more yet to be done. we have lines of railways from london to manchester; from calais across france and all the germanies to eastern europe; from the coast of maine, through the canadas, to the central territories of the united states; but there are no lines yet from new york to california, nor from the coast of the levant to bombay and calcutta. but perhaps the two greatest points which are at this moment being mooted, with reference to the carriage about the world of mankind and man's goods, concern the mode in which we may most advantageously pass across the isthmuses of suez and panama. these are the two land obstacles in the way of navigation, of direct water carriage round the earth's belt--obstacles as they appear to us, though in truth so probably locks formed by the almighty for the assistance of our navigation. for many years, it is impossible to say how many, but for some few centuries as regards panama, and for many centuries as regards suez, this necessity has been felt, and the minds of men in those elder days inclined naturally to canals. in the days of the old kings of egypt, antecedent to cleopatra, attempts were made to cut through the sands and shallow lakes from the eastern margin of the nile's delta to the red sea; and the idea of piercing central america in some point occurred to the spaniards immediately on their discovering the relative position of the two oceans. but in those days men were infants, not as yet trusted with the carving-knife. the work which unsuccessfully filled the brains of so many thoughtful men for so many years has now been done--at any rate to a degree. railways have been completed from alexandria on the mediterranean to suez on the red sea, and from panama on the pacific, to aspinwall or colon on the caribbean sea. these railways are now at work, and passengers are carried across with sufficient rapidity. the isthmus of suez, over which the line of railway runs for something over two hundred miles, creates a total delay to our indian mails and passengers of twenty-four hours only, and the lesser distance of the american isthmus is traversed in three hours. were rapidity here as necessary as it is in the other case--and it will doubtless become so--the conveyance from one sea to the other need not create a delay of above twelve hours. but not the less are many men--good and scientific men too--keenly impressed with the idea that the two isthmuses should be pierced with canals, although these railways are at work. all mankind has heard much of m. lesseps and his suez canal. on that matter i do not mean to say much here. i have a very strong opinion that such canal will not and cannot be made; that all the strength of the arguments adduced in the matter are hostile to it; and that steam navigation by land will and ought to be the means of transit through egypt. but that matter is a long way distant from our present subject. it is with reference to the transit over the other isthmus that i propose to say a few words. it is singular, or perhaps if rightly considered not singular, that both the railways have been constructed mainly by anglo-saxon science and energy, and under the pressure of anglo-saxon influence; while both the canal schemes most prevalent at the present day owe their repute to french eloquence and french enthusiasm. m. lesseps is the patron of the suez canal, and m. belly of that which is, or is not to be, constructed from san juan del norte, or greytown, to the shores of the pacific. there are three proposed methods of crossing the isthmus, that by railway, that by canal, and a third by the ordinary use of such ordinary means of conveyance as the land and the waters of the country afford. as regards railway passage, one line being now open and at work, has those nine points in its favour which possession gives. it does convey men and goods across with great rapidity, and is a reality, doing that which it pretends to do. its charges, however, are very high; and it would doubtless be well if competition, or fear of competition, could be made to lower them. five pound is charged for conveying a passenger less than fifty miles; no class of passengers can cross at a cheaper fare; and the rates charged for goods are as high in comparison. on the other side, it may be said that the project was one of great risk, that the line was from its circumstances very costly, having been made at an expense of about thirty-two thousand pounds a mile--i believe, however, that a considerable portion of the london and birmingham line was equally expensive--and that trains by which money can be made cannot run often, perhaps only six or seven times a month each way. it is, however, very desirous that the fares should be lowered, and the great profits accruing to the railway prove that this may be done. eventually they doubtless will be lowered. the only other line of railway which now seems to be spoken of as practicable for the passage of the isthmus is one the construction of which has been proposed across the republic of honduras, from a spot called port cortez, in the bay of honduras, on the northern or atlantic side, to some harbour to be chosen in the bay of fonseca, on the southern or pacific side. mr. squier, who was chargé d'affaires from the united states to central america, and whose work on the republics of central america is well known, strongly advocates this line, showing in the first place that from its position it would suit the traffic of the united states much better than that of panama; as undoubtedly it would, seeing that the transit from new york to california, viâ panama, must go down south as far as latitude ° north; whereas, by the proposed route through honduras it need not descend below lat. ° north, thus saving double that distance in the total run each way.* mr. squier then goes on to prove that the country of honduras is in every way suited for the purposes of a railway; but here i am not sure that he carries me with him. the road would have to ascend nearly three thousand feet above the sea-level; and though it may be true that the grades themselves would not be more severe than many that are now to be found on railways in full work in other countries, nevertheless it must be felt that the overcoming such an altitude in such a country, and the working over it when overcome, would necessarily add greatly to the original cost of the line, and the subsequent cost of running. the panama line goes through a country comparatively level. then the distance across honduras is one hundred and fifty miles, and it is computed that the line would be two hundred miles: the length of the panama line is forty-seven or forty-eight miles. [*not that we may take all that mr. squier says on this subject as proved. his proposed route for the traffic of the united states is from the western coast of florida to the chosen port, port cortez, in honduras; and he attempts to show that this is pretty nearly the only possible passage in those seas free from hurricanes and danger. but this passage is right across the gulf of mexico, and vessels would have to stem the full force of the gulf-stream on their passage down from florida. in all such matters where a man becomes warm on a scheme he feels himself compelled to prove that the gods themselves have pointed out the plan as the only one fit for adoption, as the only one free from all evil and blessed with every advantage. we are always over-proving our points.] the enormous cost of the panama line arose from the difficulty of obtaining the necessary sort of labour. the natives would not work as they were wanted, and europeans died there; so that, at last, labour was imported from the coast of new granada. at the high level named as the summit of the honduras route, the climate would no doubt be comparatively mild, and labour easy to be borne; but near the coast of the bays, both of honduras and fonseca, the heat would be as great as at aspinwall and panama, and the effects probably the same. as regards our british traffic, the route by the isthmus of panama is the better situated of the two. looking at a map of the world--and it is necessary to take in the whole world, in order that the courses of british trade may be seen--it does not seem to be of much consequence, as regards distance, whether a bale of goods from london to sydney should pass the isthmus by honduras or panama; but in fact, even for this route, the former would labour under great disadvantages. a ship in making its way from honduras up to jamaica has to fight against the trade winds. on this account our mail steamer from belize to jamaica is timed only at four miles an hour, though the mail to honduras is timed at eight miles an hour. this would be the direct route from the terminus of the honduras line to europe, and matters would be made only worse if any other line were taken. but the track from panama to jamaica is subject to what sailors call a soldier's wind; even working to st. thomas, and thereby getting a stronger slant of the trade winds against them, our mail steamers can make eight or nine miles an hour. as regards our trade to chili and peru, it is clear that honduras is altogether out of our way; and as regards our coming trade to frazer river and vancouver's island, though the absolute distance, via honduras, would be something shorter, that benefit would be neutralized by the disadvantageous position of the bay of honduras as above explained. but the great advantage which the panama line enjoys is the fact of its being already made. _it has the nine points which possession gives it._ its forty-eight miles cost one million six hundred thousand pounds. it cannot be presumed that two hundred miles through honduras could be made for double that sum; and seeing that the honduras line would be in opposition to the other, and only be used if running at fares lower than those of its rival, i cannot see how it would pay, or where the money is to be procured. i am not aware that the absolute cost of the proposed line through honduras has been accurately computed. as regards the public interest, two lines would no doubt be better than one. competition is always beneficial to the consumer; but in this case, i do not expect to see the second line made in our days. that there will in future days be a dozen ways of commodiously crossing the isthmus--when we have thoroughly learned how best to carve our leg of mutton--i do not at all doubt. it may be as well to state here that england is bound by a treaty with honduras, made in , to assist in furthering the execution of this work by our countenance, aid, and protection, on condition that when made, we britishers are to have the full use of it; as much so, at least, as any other people or nation. and that, as i take it, is the sole and only meaning of all those treaties made on our behalf with central america, or in respect to central america--clayton-bulwer treaty, new ouseley treaty, and others; namely, that we, who are desirous of excluding no person from the benefits of this public world-road, are not ourselves to be excluded on any consideration whatever. and may we not boast that this is the only object looked for in all our treaties and diplomatic doings? is it not for that reason that we hold gibraltar, are jealous about egypt, and resolved to have perim in our power? is it not true that we would fain make all ways open to all men? that we would have them open to ourselves, certainly; but not closed against any human being? if that, and such like, be not what our diplomatists are doing, then i, for one, misunderstand their trade. so much for the two railways, and now as to the proposed canals. here no happy undertaking can boast of the joys of possession. no canal is as yet open carrying men and goods with, shall we say, twenty-five per cent. profit on the outlay. ah, that is an elysium which does not readily repeat itself. oh, thou thrice happy colonel totten, who hast constructed a railway resulting in such celestial beatitude! the name of canals projected across the isthmus has been legion, and the merits of them all have in their time been hotly pressed by their special advocates. that most to the north, which was the passage selected by cortes, and pressed by him on the spanish government, would pass through mexico. the line would be from the gulf of campechay, up the river coatzacoalcoz, to tehuantepec, on the pacific. this was advocated as lately as , but has now, i believe, been abandoned as impracticable. going south down the map, the next proposition of which i can find mention is for a canal from the head of the lake of dulce through the state of guatemala; the lake or gulf of dulce being at the head of the gulf of honduras. this also seems to have been abandoned. then we come to the proposed honduras railway, of which mention has been made. next below this we reach a cluster of canals, all going through the great inland lake of nicaragua. this scheme, or one of these schemes, has also been in existence since the times of the early spaniards; and has been adhered to with more or less pertinacity ever since. this lake of nicaragua was to be reached either direct by the river san juan, or by entering the river san juan from the ocean by the river colorado, which is in effect a branch of the san juan; the projected canal would thus ascend to the lake. from thence to the pacific various passages for egress have been suggested; at first it was intended, naturally, to get out at the nearest practicable point, that being probably at san juan del sur. they have san juans and san josés quite at pleasure about these countries. then came the grand plan of the present french emperor, bearing at least his name, and first published, i think, in ; this was a very grand plan, of course. the route of "transit" was to be right up the lake of nicaragua to its northern point; there the canal was to enter the river tipitapa, and come out again in the northern lake of managua; from thence it was to be taken out to the pacific at the port of realejo. this project included the building of an enormous city, which was to contain the wealth of the new world, and to be, as it were, a new constantinople between the two lakes; but the scheme has been abandoned as being too costly, too imperial. and now we have m. belly's scheme; his scheme and pamphlet of which i will say a few words just now, and therefore i pass on to the others. the line of the river chargres, and from thence to the town of panama--being very nearly the line of the present railway--was long contemplated with favour, but has now been abandoned as impracticable; as has also the line over the isthmus of darien, which was for a while thought to be the most feasible, as being the shortest. the lie of the land, however, and the nature of the obstacles to be overcome, have put this scheme altogether out of the question. next and last is the course of the river atrato, which runs into the gulf of darien, but which is, in fact, the first of the great rivers of south america; first, that is, counting them as commencing from the isthmus. it runs down from the andes parallel to the coast of the pacific, and is navigable for many miles. the necessary surveys, however, for connecting this river with the pacific have never yet been made; and even if this plan were practicable, the extremely low latitude at which the pacific ocean would be reached would make such a line bad for our trade, and quite out of the question for the chief portion of the american "transit." it appears, therefore, that there are insuperable objections to all these canal routes, unless it be to some route passing through the lake of nicaragua. by reference to a map of central america it will be seen that the waters of this lake, joined to those of the san juan river, comprise the breadth of nearly the whole isthmus, leaving a distance not exceeding twenty miles to be conquered by a canal. at first sight this appears to be very enticing, and m. belly has been enticed. he has been enticed, or at any rate writes as though this were the case; anything worded more eloquently, energetically, and grandiloquently, than his pamphlet in favour of this route i have not met, even among french pamphlets. m. felix belly describes himself as a "publiciste," and chevalier of the order of saint maurice and lazarus, and of the order of medjidie. as such he has made a convention with don thomas martinez, president of the republic of nicaragua, and with don juan rafael mora, president of the republic of costa rica, in accordance with which he, chevalier belly, is to cut a canal or water-route for ships through the territories of those potentates, obtaining thereby certain vast privileges, including the possession of no small portion of those territories, and the right of levying all manner of tolls on the world's commerce which is to pass through his canal. and the potentates above named are in return to receive from m. belly very considerable subsidies out of these tolls. they bind themselves, moreover, to permit no other traffic or transit through their country, securing to m. belly for ninety-nine years the monopoly of the job; and granting to him the great diplomatic privilege of constituting his canal, let it be here or there, the boundary of the realms of these two potentates. what strikes me with the greatest wonder on reading--not the pamphlet, for that is perhaps more wonderful in other respects--but the articles of the convention, is, that these three persons, the potentates aforesaid and the chevalier, should have among them the power of doing all this; or that they should even have had the power of agreeing to do all this; for really up to this period one seems hardly to have heard in england much about any one of them. that there should be presidents of these two republics is supposed, as there are also, doubtless, of san salvador and venezuela, and all the other western republics; but it is to be presumed that as presidents of republics they can have themselves no more power to give away a ninety-nine years' possession of their lands and waters than can any other citizen. mr. buchanan could hardly sell to any englishman, however enterprising, the right of making a railway from new york to san francisco. the convention does certainly bear two other signatures, which purport to be those of the ministers of foreign affairs attached to those two republics; but even this hardly seems to give us a sufficient guarantee of power. what if we should put our money into the canal, and future presidents should refuse to be bound by the agreement? but m. belly's name stands on his side alone. no foreign minister or aide-de-camp is necessary to back his signature. the two potentates having agreed to give the country, he will agree to make the canal--he, m. belly, publiciste and chevalier. it is to cost altogether, according to his account, , , francs--say, four million eight hundred thousand pounds sterling. of a company, chairman, and directors we hear nothing. we cannot find that the shares are in the market. probably they may be too valuable. on our own stock exchange the matter does not seem to be much known, nor do we perceive that it is quoted among french prices. nevertheless, m. belly has the four million eight hundred thousand pounds already in his breeches-pockets, and he will make the canal. i wonder whether he would drain london for us if we were to ask him. but wonderful as is the fact that these three gentlemen should be about to accomplish this magnificent undertaking for the world, the eloquence of the language in which the undertaking is described is perhaps more wonderful still. "on the first of may, , at rivas, in nicaragua, in the midst of a concourse of circumstances full of grandeur, a convention was signed which opens to civilization a new view and unlimited horizons. the hour has come for commencing with resolution this enterprise of cutting the isthmus of panama. ... the solution of the problem must be no longer retarded. it belongs to an epoch which has given to itself the mission of pulling down barriers and suppressing distances. it must be regarded, not as a private speculation, but as a creation of public interest--not as the work of this people or that party, but as springing from civilization itself." then m. belly goes on to say that this project, emanating from a man sympathetic with the cause and a witness of the heroism of central america, namely himself, possesses advantages--which of course could not attach to any scheme devised by a less godlike being. it may be seen that i have no great belief in the scheme of m. belly; neither have i in many other schemes of the present day emanating from englishmen, americans, and others. but it is not that disbelief, but my admiration for french eloquence which urges me to make the above translation. alas! i feel that i have lost so much of the gallic fragrance! the parisian aroma has escaped from the poor english words! is not this peculiar eloquence used in propagating all french projects for increased civilization? from the invention of a new constitution to that of a new shirt is it even wanting? we, with our stupid, unimaginative platitudes, know no better than to write up "eureka" when we think we have discovered anything; but a frenchman tells his countrymen that they need no longer be mortals; a new era has come; let them wear his slippers and they will walk as gods walk. how many new eras have there not been? who is not sick of the grandiloquence of french progress? "now--now we have taken the one great step. the dove at length may nestle with the kite, the lamb drink with the wolf. men may share their goods, certain that others will share with them. labour and wages, work and its reward, shall be systematized. now we have done it, and the world shall be happy." well; perhaps the french world is happy. it may be that the liberty which they have propagated, the equality which they enjoy, and the fraternity which they practise, is fit for them! but when has truly mighty work been heralded by magniloquence? did we have any grand words from old george stephenson, with his "vera awkward for the cou"? was there aught of the eloquent sententiousness of a french marshal about the lines of torres vedras? was luther apt to speak with great phraseology? if words ever convey to my ears a positive contradiction of the assertion which they affect to make, it is when they are grandly antithetical and magnificently verbose. if, in addition to this, they promise to mankind "new epochs, new views, and unlimited horizons," surely no further proof can be needed that they are vain, empty, and untrue. but the language in which this proposal for a canal is couched is hardly worth so much consideration--would be worth no consideration at all, did it not come before us now as an emblem of that which at this present time is the most pernicious point in the french character; a false boasting of truth and honesty, with little or no relish for true truth and true honesty. the present question is whether m. belly's canal scheme be feasible; and, if feasible, whether he has or can attain the means of carrying it out. in the first place, it has already come to pass that the convention signed with such unlimited horizons has proved to be powerless. it is an undoubted fact that it was agreed to by the two presidents; and as far as one of them is concerned, it is, i fear, a fact also that for the present he has sufficient power in his own territory to bind his countrymen, at any rate for a time, by his unsupported signature. don juan rafael mora, in costa rica, need care for no congress. if he were called dictator instead of president, the change would only be in the word. but this is not exactly so in nicaragua. there, it seems, the congress has refused to ratify the treaty as originally made. but they have, i believe, ratified another, in which m. belly's undertaking to make the canal is the same as before, but from which the enormous grant of land, and the stipulations as to the boundary line of the territories are excluded. in m. belly's pamphlet he publishes a letter which he has received from lord malmesbury, as secretary of state for foreign affairs--or rather a french translation of such a letter. it is this letter which appears to have given in central america the strongest guarantee that something is truly intended by m. belly's project. both in the pamphlet, and in the convention itself, repeated reference is made to the french government; but no document is given, nor even is any positive assertion made, that the government of the emperor in any way recognizes the scheme. but if this letter be true, and truly translated, lord malmesbury has done so to a certain extent. "and i am happy," says the letter, "to be able to assure you that the stipulations of the treaty made between great britain and the united states, commonly called the clayton-bulwer treaty, are in my opinion applicable to your project, if you put it in execution."* and then this letter, written to a private gentleman holding no official position, is signed by the secretary of state himself. m. belly holds no official position, but he is addressed in his translation of lord malmesbury's letter as "concessionnaire du canal de nicaragua." [*see note to page , th edition. i have not happened to meet with any earlier edition of the work.] such a letter from such a quarter has certainly been very useful to m. belly. in the minds of the presidents of the republics of central america it must have gone far to prove that england at any rate regards m. belly as no adventurer. there are many of the clauses of the convention to which i should have imagined that the english secretary of state for foreign affairs would not have given an assent, although he might not be called on to express dissent. in the th article it is stipulated that during the making of the canal--which if it were to be made at all would be protracted over many years--two french ships of war should lie in the lake of nicaragua; it having been stipulated by art. that no other ships of war should be admitted; thus giving to france a military occupation of the country. and by art. it is agreed that any political squabble relative to this convention should be referred to a tribunal of seven; two to be named by the company, and one each by france, england, the united states, nicaragua, and costa rica. it is, i imagine, hardly probable that the english government would send one member to such a tribunal, in which france would have three voices to her one, two of which voices would be wholly irresponsible. of course the letter does not bind lord malmesbury or any secretary for foreign affairs to the different articles of the convention; but if it be a genuine letter, i cannot but think it to have been imprudent.* [*m. belly speaks of his convention as having been adopted by france, england, and the united states. "adopted, as it already is, by the united states, by england, and by france, and as it soon will be by the contracting powers of the treaty of paris, it will become"--the saviour of the world, &c. &c. what basis there is for this statement, as regards france and the united states, i do not know. as regards england, i presume lord malmesbury's letter affords that basis.] the assistance of lord malmesbury has been obtained by the easy progress of addressing a letter to him. but to seduce the presidents of central america a greater effort has been made. they are told that they are the wisest of the earth's potentates. "carrera, of guatemala, though an indian and uneducated, is a man of natural genius, and has governed for fifteen years with a wisdom which has attracted to him the unanimous adherence of his colleagues." "don juan mora, of costa rica, the hero of rivas, has not had to spill a drop of blood in maintaining in his cities an order much more perfect than any to be found in europe. he is a man, 'hors de ligne,' altogether out of the common; and although he counts scarcely forty years, but few political examples of old europe can be compared to him." and as for general martinez, president of nicaragua, "since he has arrived at the direction of affairs there, he would have healed all the wounds of the country--had not the fatal influence of north american spirit paralyzed all his efforts." what wonder that presidents so spoken of should sign away their lands and waters? but presuming all political obstacles to be removed, and that as regards the possession of the land, and the right of making a canal through it, everything had been conceded, there remain two considerable difficulties. in the first place, the nature of the waters and land, which seems to prohibit the cutting of a canal, except at an expense much more enormous than any that has been ever named; and secondly, the amount of money to be collected, even if m. belly's figures be correct. he states that he can complete the work for four million eight hundred thousand pounds. from whence is that sum to be procured? as regards the first difficulty, i, from my own knowledge, can say nothing, not being an engineer, and having seen only a small portion of the projected route. i must therefore refer to m. belly's engineer, and those who hold views differing from m. belly. m. belly's engineer-in-chief is m. thomé de gamond, who, in the pamphlet above alluded to, puts forward his calculations, and sends in his demand for the work at four million eight hundred thousand pounds. the route is by the river san juan, a portion of which is so shallow that canoes in their course are frequently grounded when the waters are low, and other parts of which consist of rapids. it then goes through the lake, a channel through which must be dredged or cleared with gunpowder before it can carry deep-sea ships, and then out to the pacific by a canal which must be cut through the mountains. there is nothing in the mere sound of all this to make a man, who is ignorant on the subject as i and most men are, feel that the work could not be done for the sum named. but before investing cash in the plan, one would like to be sure of the engineer, and to know that he has made his surveys very accurately. now it appears that m. thomé de gamond has never set foot in central america; or, if he has done so now--and i do not know whether he has or has not--he never had done so when he drew out his project. nor, as it would appear, has he even done his work, trusting to the eyes and hands of others. as far as one can learn, no surveys whatsoever have been taken for this gigantic scheme. the engineer tells us that he has used marine charts and hydrographical drawings made by officers of various nations, which enable him to regard his own knowledge as sufficiently exact as far as shores and levels of the rivers, &c., are concerned; and that with reference to the track of his canal, he has taken into his service--"utilisé"--the works of various surveying engineers, among them colonel child, the american. they, to be sure, do leave him at a loss as to the interior plateau of the mosquito country, and some regions to the east and south of the lake--the canal must enter the lake by the south-east;--but this is a matter of no moment, seeing that all these countries are covered by virgin forests, and can therefore easily be arranged! gentlemen capitalists, will you on this showing take shares in the concern? the best real survey executed with reference to any kindred project was that made by colonel child, an officer of engineers belonging to the united states. i believe i may say this without hesitation; and it is to colonel child's survey that m. belly most frequently refers. but the facts, as stated by colonel child, prove the absolute absurdity of m. belly's plan. he was employed in by an american company, which, as it went to the considerable expense of having such work absolutely done, was no doubt in earnest in its intentions with reference to a canal. colonel child did not actually report against the canal. he explained what could be done for a certain sum of money, leaving it to others to decide whether, in effecting so much, that sum of money would be well laid out. he showed that a canal seventeen feet deep might be made--taking the course of the san juan and that of the lake, as suggested by m. belly--for a sum of thirty-one millions of dollars, or six million two hundred thousand pounds. but when the matter came to be considered by men versed in such concerns, it was seen that a canal with a depth of only seventeen feet of water would not admit of such vessels as those by which alone such a canal could be beneficially used. passengers, treasure, and light goods can easily be transhipped and carried across by railway. the canal, if made at all, must be made for the passage of large vessels built for heavy goods. for such vessels a canal must hold not less than twenty-five feet of water. it was calculated that a cutting of such depth would cost much more than double the sum needed for that intended to contain seventeen feet--more, that is, than twelve million four hundred thousand pounds. the matter was then abandoned, on the conviction that no ship canal made at such a cost could by any probability become remunerative. in point of time it could never compete with the railway. colonel child had calculated that a delay of two days would take place in the locks; and even as regards heavy goods, no extreme freight could be levied, as saving of expense with them would be of much greater object than saving of time. that this decision was reached on good grounds, and that the project, then, at any rate, was made bonâ fide there can, i believe, be no doubt. in opposition to such a decision, made on such grounds, and with no encouragement but that given by the calculations of an engineer who has himself made no surveys, i cannot think it likely that this new plan will ever be carried out the eloquence even of m. belly, backed by such arguments, will hardly collect four million eight hundred thousand pounds; and even if it did, the prudence of m, belly would hardly throw such an amount of treasure into the san juan river. as i have before said, there appears to have been no company formed. m. belly is the director, and he has a bureau of direction in the rue de provence. but though deficient as regards chairmen, directors, and shareholders, he is magnificently provided with high-sounding officials. then again there comes a blank. though the corps of officers was complete when i was in costa rica, at any rate as regards their names, the workmen had not arrived; not even the skilled labourers who were to come in detachments of forty-five by each mail packet. the mail packets came, but not the skilled labourers. shortly before my arrival at san josé, there appeared in the journal published in that town a list of officers to be employed by m. felix belly, the director-general "de la compañie del canal atlantico-pacifico." the first of these is don andres le vasseur, minister plenipotentiary, veteran officer of the guard imperial, commander of the legion of honour, and knight of the order of st. gregory. he is secretary-general of the direction. then there are other secretaries. in the first place, prince polignac, veteran officer of the cavalry of the cazadores in africa, &c. he at any rate is a fact! for did i not meet him and the o'gorman mahon--nicodemus and polyphemus--not "standing naked in the open air," but drinking brandy and water at the little inn at esparza? "arcades ambo!" the next secretary is don henrique le vasseur. he is dibujador fotografo, which i take to mean photographical artist; and then don andres l'heritier; he is the private secretary. we next come to the engineers. with reference to geology and mineralogy, m. belly has employed don josé durocher, whose titles, taken from the faculty of science at rennes, the legion of honour, &c., are too long to quote. don eugénio ponsard, who also is not without his titles, is the working engineer on these subjects. and then joined to them as adjutant-engineer is don henrique peudifer, whose name is also honoured with various adjuncts. the engineers who are to be intrusted with the surveys and works of the canals are named next. there are four such, to whom are joined five conductors of the works and eight special masters of the men. all these composed an expedition which left southampton on the th of february, ,--or which should so have left it, had they acted up to m. belly's promises. then by the packet of the nd of march, , there came--or at least there should have come, for we are told that they sailed--another expedition. i cannot afford to give all the names, but they are full-sounding and very honourable. among them there was a maker of bricks, who in his own country had been a chief of the works in the imperial manufactory of porcelain at sèvres. having enticed him from so high a position, it is to be hoped that m. belly will treat him well in central america. there are, or were, hydrographical engineers and agricultural engineers, master carpenters, and masters of various other specialties. i fear all these gentlemen came to grief on the road, for i think i may say that no such learned troops came through with the mail packets which left southampton on the days indicated. then by the following steamers there would, it is stated, be despatched in succession an inspector of telegraphs, an engineer for making gas, an engineer to be charged with the fabrication of the iron way, an agriculturist-in-chief, a scientific commission for geology, mineralogy, meteorology, and natural history in general. and attached to all the engineers will come--or now long since should have come--the conductors of works and special masters of men, who are joined with them in their operations. these are to consist principally of veteran soldiers of the engineers and the artillery. these gentlemen also must, i fear, have been cast away between southampton and st. thomas, if they left the former port by either of the two mail steamers following those two specially indicated. i think i may say positively that no such parties were forwarded from st. thomas. the general inspection of the works will be intrusted ultimately to a french and to an english engineer. the frenchman will of course be m. thomé de gamond. the englishman is to be "mr. locke, member of parliament." if, indeed, this latter assertion were true! but i think i may take upon myself to say that it is untrue. all the above certainly sounds very grand, especially when given at full length in the spanish language. out there, in central america, the list is effective. here, in england, we should like to see the list of the directors as well, and to have some idea how much money has been subscribed. mankind perhaps can trust m. belly for much, but not for everything. in the month of may don juan rafael mora, the president of costa rica, left his dominions and proceeded to rivas, in nicaragua, to assist at the inauguration of the opening of the works of the canal. when i and my companion met him at esparza, accompanied by nicodemus and polyphemus, he was making this journey. m. belly has already described in eloquent language how on a previous occasion this potentate condescended to leave his own kingdom and visit that of a neighbour; thus sacrificing individual rank for the benefit of humanity and civilization. he was willing to do this even once again. having borrowed a french man-of-war to carry him from punta-arenas, in his own territories, to st. juan del sur, in the territory of nicaragua, he started with his suite, of whom the prince and the o'gorman were such distinguished members. but, lo! when he arrived at rivas, a few miles up from san juan del sur--at rivas, where with gala holiday triumph the canal was to be inaugurated--the canal from whence were to come new views and unlimited horizons--lo! when he there arrived, no brother-president was there to meet him, no m. belly, attended by engineers-in-chief and brickmakers from sèvres, to do him honour. there was not even one french pupil from the polytechnic school to turn a sod with a silver spade. in lieu of this, some custom-house officer of nicaragua called upon poor don juan to pay the usual duty on bringing his portmanteau into rivas. other new views, and other unlimited horizons had, it seems, been dawning on m. belly. one of the first words of which a man has to learn the meaning on reaching these countries is "transit." central america can only be great in the world--as egypt can be only great--by being a passage between other parts of the world which are in themselves great. we englishmen all know crewe; crewe has become a town of considerable importance, as being a great railway junction. men must reach crewe and leave crewe continually, and the concourse there has rendered labour necessary; labourers of all sorts must live in houses, and require bakers and grocers to supply them. so crewe has grown up and grown important; and so will central america become important. aspinwall--colon, as we call it--has become a town in this way within the last ten years. "transit" in these parts means the trade of carrying people across central america; and a deal of "transit" has been done and money made by carrying people across nicaragua by way of the great lake. this has hitherto been effected by shallow-bottomed boats. i will say one word or so on the subject when i have done, as i very soon shall have done, with m. belly. now it is very generally thought that m. belly when he speaks of this canal means "transit." there can be no question but that a great carrying trade might be opened, much to the advantage of nicaragua, and to the advantage of costa rica also though not to the same extent. if all this canal grandiloquence would pave the way to "transit," might it not be well? what if another agreement could be made, giving to m. belly and his company the sole right of "transit" through nicaragua, till the grand canal should be completed--a very long lease; might not something be done in this way? but don juan mora there, don juan of costa rica, that man altogether "hors de ligne," grand as he is, need know nothing about this. let him, left quite in darkness as to this new view, these altered unlimited horizons, go to rivas if he will, and pay his custom dues. it may be that i have written at too great length, and with an energy disproportionate to the subject, on this matter of the nicaraguan canal scheme. i do not know that the english public generally, or at any rate that portion of it which may perhaps read my book, is very deeply interested in the subject. we hear now and then something of the clayton-bulwer treaty, and a word or two is said about the panama route to australia, but the subject is not generally interesting to us, as is that of the passage through egypt. we can reach australia by another and a shorter route; and as for vancouver's island and frazer river, they as yet are very young. but the matter will become of importance. and to a man in central america, let his visit to that country be ever so short, it becomes at once important. to me it was grievous to find a work so necessary to the world as this of opening a way over the isthmus, tampered with, and to a degree hindered by a scheme which i cannot but regard as unreal. but unreal as it may be, this project has reached dimensions which make it in some way worthy of notice. a french ship of war was sent to take the president mora and his suite on their unfortunate journey to rivas; and an english ship of war was sent to bring them back. the extension of such privileges to the president of a republic in central america may be very well; but men, seeing on what business this president was travelling, not unnaturally regarded the courtesy as an acknowledgment of the importance of m. belly's work. i do not wish to use hard names, but i cannot think that the project of which i have been speaking covers any true intention of making a canal. and such schemes, if not real, if not true in the outward bearings which they show to the world, go far to deter others which might be real. and now i will say nothing further about m. belly. as i have before stated, there was some few years since a considerable passenger traffic through central america by the route of the lake of nicaragua. this of course was in the hands of the americans, and the passengers were chiefly those going and coming between the eastern states and california. they came down to greytown, at the mouth of the san juan river, in steamers from new york, and i believe from various american ports, went up the san juan river in other steamers with flat bottoms prepared for those waters, across the lake in the same way, and then by a good road over the intervening neck of land between the lake and the pacific. of course the panama railway has done much to interfere with this. in the first place, a rival route has thus been opened; though i doubt whether it would be a quicker route from new york to california if the way by the lake were well organized. and then the company possessing the line of steamers running to aspinwall from new york has been able to buy off the line which would otherwise run to greytown. but this rivalship has not been the main cause of the total stoppage of the nicaraguan route. the filibusters came into that land and destroyed everything. they dropped down from california on realejo, leon, manaqua, granada, and all the western coast of nicaragua. then others came from the south-eastern states, from mobile and new orleans, and swarmed up the san juan river, devouring everything before them. there can be no doubt that walker's idea, in his attempt to possess himself of this country, was that he could thus become master of the passage across the isthmus. he saw, as so many others have seen, the importance of the locality in this point of view; and he probably felt that if he could make himself lord of the soil by his own exertions, and on his own bottom, his mother country, the united states, would not be slow to recognize him. "i," he would have said, "have procured for you the ownership of the road which is so desirable for you. pay me, by making me your lieutenant here, and protecting me in that position." the idea was not badly planned, but it was of course radically unjust. it was a contemplated filching of the road. and walker found, as all men do find, that he could not easily get good tools to do bad work. he tried the job with a very rough lot of tools; and now, though he has done much harm to others, he has done very little good to himself. i do not think that we shall hear much more of him. and among the worst of the injuries which he has done is this disturbance of the lake traffic. this route has been altogether abandoned. there, in the san juan river, is to be seen one old steamer with its bottom upwards, a relic of the filibusters and their destruction. all along the banks tales are told of their injustice and sufferings. how recklessly they robbed on their journey up the country, and how they returned back to greytown--those who did return, whose bones are not whitening the lake shores--wounded, maimed, and miserable. along the route traders were beginning to establish themselves, men prepared to provide the travellers with food and drink, and the boats with fuel for their steam. an end for the present has been put to all this. the weak governments of the country have been able to afford no protection to these men, and placed as they were, beyond the protection of england or the united states, they have been completely open to attack. the filibusters for a while have destroyed the transit through nicaragua; and it is hardly matter of surprise that the presidents of that and the neighbouring republics should catch at any scheme which proposes to give them back this advantage, especially when promise is made of the additional advantage of effectual protection. it is much to be desired, on all accounts, that this route should be again opened. here, i think, is to be found the best chance of establishing an immediate competition with the panama railway. for although such a route will not offer the comfort of the panama line, or, till it be well organized, the same rapidity, it would nevertheless draw to it a great portion of the traffic, and men and women going in numbers would be carried at cheaper rates; and these cheaper rates in nicaragua would probably at once lessen the fares now charged by the panama railway. competition would certainly be advantageous, and for the present i see no other opening for a competitive route. a railway along the banks of the san juan would, i fear, be too expensive. the distance is above one hundred and fifty miles, and the line would be very costly. but a line of rails from the lake to the pacific might be made comparatively at a small outlay, and would greatly add to the comfort and rapidity of the passage. to us englishmen it is a matter of indifference in whose hands the transit may be, so long as it is free, and open to all the world; so long as a difference of nationality creates no difference in the fares charged or in the facilities afforded. for our own purposes, i have no doubt the panama line is the best, and will be the route we shall use. but we should be delighted to see a second line opened. if mr. squier can accomplish his line through honduras, we will give him great honour, and acknowledge that he has done the world a service. in the mean time, we shall be very happy to see the lake transit re-established. chapter xxii. the bermudas. in may i returned from greytown and the waters of the san juan to st. thomas, spending a few days at aspinwall and panama on my journey, as i have before explained; and on this occasion, that of my fourth visit to st. thomas, i was happy enough to escape without any long stay there. my course now lay to the bermudas, to which islands a steamer runs once a month from that disagreeable little depôt of steam navigation. but as this boat is fitted to certain arrivals and despatches, not at st. thomas, but at halifax, and as we reached st. thomas late on the night of the day on which she should have sailed, and as my missing that vessel would have entailed on me another month's sojourn, and that a summer month, among those islands, it may be imagined that i was rather lively on entering the harbour;--keenly lively to ascertain whether the 'delta,' such is the name of the bermuda boat, was or was not gone on her mission. "i see her red funnel right across the harbour," said the chief officer, looking through infinite darkness. i disbelieved him, and accused him of hoaxing me. "look yourself," said he, handing me his glass. but all the glasses in the world won't turn darkness into light. i know not by what educational process the eyes of sailors become like those of cats. in this instance the chief officer had seen aright, and then, after a visit to the 'delta,' made at a.m., i went to bed a happy man. we started the next day at p.m., or rather i should say the same day, and i did no more than breakfast on shore. i then left that favoured island, i trust for the last time, an island which i believe may be called the white man's grave with quite as much truth as any place on the coast of africa. we steamed out, and i stood on the stern taking a last look at the three hills of the panorama. it is certainly a very pretty place seen from a moderate and safe distance, and seen as a picture. but it should be seen in that way, and in no other. we started, and i, at any rate, with joy. but my joy was not of long duration, for the 'delta' rolled hideously. screw boats--propellers as the americans call them with their wonted genteel propriety--always do roll, and have been invented with the view of making sea passages more disagreeable than they were. did any one of my readers ever have a berth allotted to him just over the screw? if so, he knows exactly the feeling of being brayed in a mortar. in four days we reached bermuda, and made our way into st. george's harbour. looking back at my fortnight's sojourn there it seems to me that there can be no place in the world as to which there can be less to be said than there is about this island,--sayings at least of the sort in which it is my nature to express itself. its geological formation is, i have no doubt, mysterious. it seems to be made of soft white stone, composed mostly of little shells; so soft, indeed, that you might cut bermuda up with a handsaw. and people are cutting bermuda up with handsaws. one little island, that on which the convicts are established, has been altogether so cut up already. when i visited it, two fat convicts were working away slowly at the last fragment. but i am no geologist, and can give no opinion favourable or otherwise as to that doctrine that these islands are the crater of an extinct volcano; only, if so, the seas in those days must have held a distance much more respectful than at present. every one of course knows that there are three hundred and sixty-five of these islands, all lying within twenty miles in length and three in breadth. they are surrounded too by reefs, or rocks hidden by water, which stretch out into the sea in some places for eight or ten miles, making the navigation very difficult; and, as it seemed to me, very perilous. nor am i prepared to say whether or no the bermudas was the scene of ariel's tricksy doings. they were first discovered in , by bermudez, a spaniard; and shakespere may have heard of them some indistinct surmises, sufficient to enable him to speak of the "still vexed bermoothes." if these be the veritable scenes of prospero's incantations, i will at any rate say this--that there are now to be found stronger traces of the breed of caliban than of that of ariel. strong, however, of neither; for though caliban did not relish working for his master more keenly than a bermudian of the present day, there was nevertheless about him a sort of energy which is altogether wanting in the existing islanders. a gentleman has lately written a book--i am told a very good book--called "bermuda as a colony, a fortress, and a prison." this book i am sure gives accurately all the information which research could collect as to these islands under the headings named. i made no research, and pretend only to state the results of cursory observation. as a fortress, no doubt it is very strong. i have no doubt on the matter, seeing that i am a patriotic englishman, and as such believe all english fortifications to be strong. it is, however, a matter on which the opinion of no civilian can be of weight, unless he have deeply studied the subject, in which case he so far ceases to be a civilian. everything looked very clean and apple-pie; a great many flags were flying on sundays and the queen's birthday; and all seemed to be ship-shape. of the importance to us of the position there can be no question. if it should ever come to pass that we should be driven to use an armed fleet in the western waters, bermuda will be as serviceable to us there, as malta is in the mediterranean. so much for the fortress. as to the prison i will say a word or two just now, seeing that it is in that light that the place was chiefly interesting to me. but first for the colony. snow is not prevalent in bermuda, at least not in the months of may and june; but the first look of the houses in each of its two small towns, and indeed all over the island, gives one the idea of a snow storm. every house is white, up from the ground to the very point of the roof. nothing is in so great demand as whitewash. they whitewash their houses incessantly, and always include the roofs. this becomes a nuisance, from the glare it occasions; and is at last painful to the eyes. they say there that it is cleanly and cheap, and no one can deny that cleanliness and economy are important domestic virtues. there are two towns, situated on different islands, called st. george and hamilton. the former is the head-quarters of the military; the latter of the governor. in speaking of the place as a fortress i should have said that it is the summer head-quarters of the admiral in command of the halifax station. the dock-yard, which is connected with the convict establishment, is at an island called ireland; but the residence of the admiral is not far from hamilton, on that which the bermudians call the "continent." i spent a week in each of these towns, and i can hardly say which i found the most triste. the island, or islands, as one must always say--using the plural number--have many gifts of nature to recommend them. they are extremely fertile. the land, with a very moderate amount of cultivation, will give two crops of ordinary potatoes, and one crop of sweet potatoes in the year. most fruits will grow here, both those of the tropics and of the more northern latitudes. oranges and lemons, peaches and strawberries, bananas and mulberries thrive, or _would_ thrive equally well, if they were even slightly encouraged to do so. no climate in the world probably is better adapted for beetroot, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. the place is so circumstanced geographically that it should be the early market-garden for new york--as to a certain small extent it is. new york cannot get her early potatoes--potatoes in may and june--from her own soil; but bermuda can give them to her in any quantity. arrowroot also grows here to perfection. the bermudians claim to say that their arrowroot is the best in the world; and i believe that none bears a higher price. then the land produces barley, oats, and indian corn; and not only produces them, but produces two, sometimes three crops a year. let the english farmer with his fallow field think of that. but with all their advantages bermuda is very poor. perhaps, i should add, that on the whole, she is contented with her poverty. and if so, why disturb such contentment? but, nevertheless, one cannot teach oneself not to be desirous of progress. one cannot but feel it sad to see people neglecting the good things which are under their feet. lemons and oranges there are now none in bermuda. the trees suffered a blight some year or two since, and no effort has been made to restore them. i saw no fruit of any description, though i am told i was there in the proper season, and heard much of the fruit that there used to be in former days. i saw no vegetables but potatoes and onions, and was told that as a rule the people are satisfied with them. i did not once encounter a piece of meat fit to be eaten, excepting when i dined on rations supplied by the convict establishment. the poultry was somewhat better than the meat, but yet of a very poor description. both bread and butter are bad; the latter quite uneatable. english people whom i met declared that they were unable to get anything to eat. the people, both white and black, seemed to be only half awake. the land is only half cultivated; and hardly half is tilled of that which might be tilled. the reason of this neglect, for i maintain that it is neglect, should however be explained. nearly all the islands are covered with small stunted bushy cedar trees. not cedars such as those of lebanon, not the cedar trees of central america, nor those to which we are accustomed in our gardens at home. in bermuda they are, as i have said, low bushy trees, much resembling stunted firs. but the wood, when it can be found large enough, is, they say, good for shipbuilding; and as shipbuilding has for years been a trade in these islands, the old owners of the property do not like to clear their land. this was all very well as long as the land had no special virtue--as long as a market, such as that afforded by new york, was wanting. but now that the market has been opened there can be no doubt--indeed, nobody does doubt--that if the land were cleared its money value would be greatly more than it now is. every one to whom i spoke admitted this, and complained of the backwardness of the island in improvements. but no one tries to remedy this now. they had a governor there some years ago who did much to cure this state of things, who did show them that money was to be made by producing potatoes and sending them out of the island. this was sir w. reid, the man of storms. he seems to have had some tolerably efficient idea of what a governor's duty should be in such a place as bermuda. to be helped first at every table, and to be called "your excellency," and then to receive some thousands a year for undergoing these duties is all very well; is very nice for a military gentleman in the decline of years. it is very well that england can so provide for a few of her old military gentlemen. but when the military gentlemen selected can do something else besides, it does make such a difference! sir w. reid did do much else; and if there could be found another sir w. reid or two to take their turns in bermuda for six years each, the scrubby bushes would give way, and the earth would bring forth her increase. the sleepiness of the people appeared to me the most prevailing characteristic of the place. there seemed to be no energy among the natives, no idea of going a-head, none of that principle of constant motion which is found so strongly developed among their great neighbours in the united states. to say that they live for eating and drinking would be to wrong them. they want the energy for the gratification of such vicious tastes. to live and die would seem to be enough for them. to live and die as their fathers and mothers did before them, in the same houses, using the same furniture, nurtured on the same food, and enjoying the same immunity from the dangers of excitement. i must confess that during the short period of my sojourn there, i myself was completely overtaken by the same sort of lassitude. i could not walk a mile without fatigue. i was always anxious to be supine, lying down whenever i could find a sofa; ever anxious for a rocking-chair, and solicitous for a quick arrival of the hour of bed, which used to be about half-past nine o'clock. indeed this feeling became so strong with me that i feared i was ill, and began to speculate as to the effects and pleasures of a low fever and a bermuda doctor. i was comforted, however, by an assurance that everybody was suffering in the same way. "when the south wind blows it is always so." "the south wind must be very prevalent then," i suggested. i was told that it was very prevalent. during the period of my visit it was all south wind. the weather was not hot--not hot at least to me who had just come up from panama, and the fiery furnace of aspinwall. but the air was damp and muggy and disagreeable. to me it was the most trying climate that i had encountered. they have had yellow fever there twice within the last eight years, and on both occasions it was very fatal. singularly enough on its latter coming the natives suffered much more than strangers. this is altogether opposed to the usual habits of the yellow fever, which is imagined to be ever cautious in sparing those who are indigenous to the land it visits. the working population here are almost all negroes. i should say that this is quite as much a rule here as in any of the west indies. of course there are coloured people--men and women of mixed breed; but they are not numerous as in jamaica; or, if so, they are so nearly akin to the negro as not to be observed. there are, i think, none of those all but white ladies and gentlemen whose position in life is so distressing. the negroes are well off; as a rule they can earn _s._ _d._ a day, from that to _s_. for exceptional jobs, men cannot be had under a dollar, or _s._ _d_. on these wages they can live well by working three days a week, and such appears to be their habit. it seems to me that no enfranchised negro entertains an idea of daily work. work to them is an exceptional circumstance, as to us may be a spell of fifteen or sixteen hours in the same day. we do such a thing occasionally for certain objects, and for certain objects they are willing to work occasionally. the population is about eleven thousand. that of the negroes and coloured people does not much exceed that of the whites. that of the females greatly exceeds that of the males, both among the white and coloured people. among the negroes i noticed this, that if not more active than their brethren in the west indies, they are at least more civil and less sullen in their manner. but then again, they are without the singular mixture of fun and vanity which makes the jamaica negro so amusing for a while. these islands are certainly very pretty; or i should perhaps say that the sea, which forms itself into bays and creeks by running in among them, is very pretty. the water is quite clear and transparent, there being little or no sand on those sides on which the ocean makes its entrance; and clear water is in itself so beautiful. then the singular way in which the land is broken up into narrow necks, islands, and promontories, running here and there in a capricious, half-mysterious manner, creating a desire for amphibiosity, necessarily creates beauty. but it is mostly the beauty of the sea, and not of the land. the islands are flat, or at any rate there is no considerable elevation in them. they are covered throughout with those scrubby little trees; and, although the trees are green, and therefore when seen from the sea give a freshness to the landscape, they are uninteresting and monotonous on shore. i must not forget the oleanders, which at the time of my visit were in full flower; which, for aught i know, may be in full flower during the whole year. they are so general through all the islands, and the trees themselves are so covered with the large straggling, but bright blossoms, as to give quite a character to the scenery. the bermudas might almost be called the oleander isles. the government consists of a governor, council, and house of assembly; king, lords, and commons again. twenty years ago i should thoroughly have approved of this; but now i am hardly sure whether a population of ten or twelve thousand individuals, of whom much more than half are women, and more than half the remainder are negroes, require so composite a constitution. would not a strict governor, with due reference to downing street, do almost as well? but then to make the change; that would be difficulty. "we have them pretty well in hand," a gentleman whispered to me who was in some shape connected with the governing powers. he was alluding, i imagine, to the house of assembly. well, that is a comfort. a good majority in the lower house is a comfort to all men--except the minority. there are nine parishes, each returning four members to this house of assembly. but though every parish requires four members, i observe that half a clergyman is enough for most of them. but then the clergymen must be paid. the council here consists chiefly of gentlemen holding government offices, or who are in some way connected with the government; so that the crown can probably contrive to manage its little affairs. if i remember rightly gibraltar and malta have no lords or commons. they are fortresses, and as such under military rule; and so is bermuda a fortress. independently of her purely military importance, her size and population is by no means equal to that of malta. the population of malta is chiefly native, and foreign to us;--and the population of bermuda is chiefly black. but then malta is a conquered colony, whereas bermuda was "settled" by britons, as the word goes. that makes all the difference. that such a little spot as bermuda would in real fact be better without a constitution of its own, if the change could only be managed, that i imagine will be the opinion of most men who have thought about the matter. and now for the convict establishment. i received great kindness and hospitality from the controller of it; but this, luckily, does not prevent my speaking freely on the matter. he had only just then newly arrived from england, had but now assumed his new duties, and was therefore neither responsible for anything that was amiss, or entitled to credit for what had been permanently established there on a good footing. my own impression is that of the latter there was very little. in these days our penal establishments, and gaol arrangements generally, are, certainly, matters of very vital importance to us. in olden times, and i include the last century and some part of this among olden times, we certainly did not manage these matters well. our main object then was to get rid of our ruffians; to punish them also, certainly; but, as a chief matter, to get rid of them. the idea of making use of them, present or future use, had hardly occurred to us; nor had we begun to reflect whether the roguery of coming years might not be somewhat lessened by curing the rogues--by making them not rogues. now-a-days, we are reflecting a good deal on this question. our position now has been all altered. circumstances have done much to alter it; we can no longer get rid of the worst class of criminals by sending them to botany bay. botany bay has assumed a will of its own, and won't have them at any price. but philanthropy has done more even than circumstances, very much more. we have the will, the determination as well as the wish, to do well by our rogues, even if we have not as yet found the way; and this is much. in this, as in everything else, the way will follow the will, sooner or later. but in the mean time we have been trying various experiments, with more or less success; forgiving men half their terms of punishment on good behaviour; giving them tickets of leave; crank-turning; solitary confinement; pietising--what may be called a system of gaol sanctity, perhaps the worst of all schemes, as being a direct advertisement for hypocrisy; work without result, the most distressing punishment going, one may say, next to that of no work at all; enforced idleness, which is horrible for human nature to contemplate; work with result, work which shall pay; good living, pound of beef, pound of bread, pound of potatoes, ounce of tea, glass of grog, pipe of tobacco, resulting in much fat, excellent if our prisoners were stalled oxen to be eaten; poor living, bread and water, which has its recommendations also, though it be so much opposed to the material humanity of the age; going to school, so that life if possible may be made to recommence; very good also, if life would recommence; corporal punishment, flogging of the body, horrible to think of, impossible to be looked at; spirit punishment, flogging of the soul, best of all if one could get at the soul so as to do it effectually. all these schemes are being tried; and as i believe that they are tried with an honest intent to arrive at that which is best, so also do i believe that we shall in time achieve that which is, if not heavenly best, at any rate terrestrially good;--shall at least get rid certainly of all that is hellishly bad. at present, however, we are still groping somewhat uncertainly. let us try for a moment to see what the bermuda groping has done. i do not in the least doubt that the intention here also has been good; the intention, that is, of those who have been responsible for the management of the establishment. but i do not think that the results have been happy. at bermuda there are in round numbers fifteen hundred convicts. as this establishment is one of penal servitude, of course it is to be presumed that those sent there are either hardened thieves, whose lives have been used to crime, or those who have committed heavy offences under the impulse of strong temptation. in dealing with such men i think we have three things to do. firstly, to rid ourselves of them from amongst us, as we do of other nuisances. this we should do by hanging them; this we did do when we sent them to botany bay; this we certainly do when we send them to bermuda. but this, i would say, is the lightest of the three duties. the second is with reference to the men themselves; to divest them, if by any means it may be possible, of their roguery; to divest them even of a little of their roguery, if so much as that can be done; to teach them that trite lesson, of honesty being the best policy,--so hard for men to learn when honesty has been, as it were, for many years past out of their sight, and even beyond their understanding. this is very important, but even this is not the most important. the third and most important object is the punishment of these men; their punishment, sharp, hard to bear, heavy to body and mind, disagreeable in all ways, to be avoided on account of its odiousness by all prudent men; their condign punishment, so that the world at large may know and see, and clearly acknowledge,--even the uneducated world,--that honesty is the best policy. that the first object is achieved, i have said. it is achieved as regards those fifteen hundred, and, as far as i know, at a moderate cost. useful work for such men is to be found at bermuda. we have dockyards there, and fortifications which cannot be made too strong and weather-tight. at such a place works may be done by convict labour which could not be done otherwise. whether the labour be economically used is another question; but at any rate the fifteen hundred rogues are disposed of, well out of the way of our pockets and shop windows. as to the second object, that of divesting these rogues of their roguery, the best way of doing that is the question as to which there is at the present moment so much doubt. as to what may be the best way i do not presume to give an opinion; but i do presume to doubt whether the best way has as yet been found at bermuda. the proofs at any rate were not there. shortly before my arrival a prisoner had been killed in a row. after that an attempt had been made to murder a warder. and during my stay there one prisoner was deliberately murdered by two others after a faction fight between a lot of irish and english, in which the warders were for some minutes quite unable to interfere. twenty-four men were carried to the hospital dangerously wounded, as to the life of some of whom the doctor almost despaired. this occurred on a day intervening between two visits which i made to the establishment. within a month of the same time three men had escaped, of whom two only were retaken; one had got clear away, probably to america. this tells little for the discipline, and very little for the moral training of the men. there is no wall round the prison. i must explain that the convicts are kept on two islands, those called boaz and ireland. at boaz is the parent establishment, at which live the controller, chaplains, doctors, and head officers. but here is the lesser number of prisoners, about six hundred. they live in ordinary prisons. the other nine hundred are kept in two hulks, old men-of-war moored by the breakwaters, at the dockyard establishment in ireland. it was in one of these that the murder was committed. the labour of these nine hundred men is devoted to the dockyard works. there is a bridge between the two islands over which runs a public road, and from this road there are ways equally public, as far as the eye goes, to all parts of the prison. a man has only to say that he is going to the chaplain's house, and he may pass all through the prison,--with spirits in his pocket if it so please him. that the prisoners should not be about without warders is no doubt a prison rule; but where everything is done by the prisoners, from the building of stores to the picking of weeds and lighting of lamps, how can any moderate number of warders see everything, even if they were inclined? there is nothing to prevent spirits being smuggled in after dark through the prison windows. and the men do get rum, and drunkenness is a common offence. prisoners may work outside prison walls; but i remember no other prison that is not within walls--that looks from open windows on to open roads, as is here the case. "and who shaves them?" i happened to ask one of the officers. "oh, every man has his own razor; and they have knives too, though it is not allowed." so these gentlemen who are always ready for faction fights, whose minds are as constantly engaged on the family question of irish _versus_ english, which means protestant against catholic, as were those of father tom maguire and mr. pope, are as well armed for their encounters as were those reverend gentlemen. the two murderers will i presume be tried, and if found guilty probably hanged; but the usual punishment for outbreaks of this kind seems to be, or to have been, flogging. a man would get some seventy lashes; the governor of the island would go down and see it done; and then the lacerated wretch would be locked up in idleness till his back would again admit of his bearing a shirt. "but they'll venture their skin," said the officer; "they don't mind that till it comes." "but do they mind being locked up alone?" i asked. he admitted this, but said that they had only six--i think six--cells, of which two or three were occupied by madmen; they had no other place for lunatics. solitary confinement is what these men do mind, what they do fear; but here there is not the power of inflicting that punishment. what a piece of work for a man to step down upon;--the amendment of the discipline of such a prison as this! think what the feeling among them will be when knives and razors are again taken from them, when their grog is first stopped, their liberty first controlled. they sleep together, a hundred or more within talking distance, in hammocks slung at arm's length from each other, so that one may excite ten, and ten fifty. is it fair to put warders among such men, so well able to act, so ill able to control their actions? "it is a sore task," said the controller who had fallen down new upon this bit of work; "it is dreadful to have to add misery to those who are already miserable." it is a very sore task; but at the moment i hardly sympathized with his humanity. so much for the bermuda practice of divesting these rogues of their roguery. and now a word as to the third question; the one question most important, as i regard it, of their punishment. are these men so punished as to deter others by the fear of similar treatment? i presume it may be taken for granted that the treatment, such as it is, does become known and the nature of it understood among those at home who are, or might be, on the path towards it. among the lower classes, from which these convicts do doubtless mostly come, the goods of life are chiefly reckoned as being food, clothing, warm shelter, and hours of idleness. it may seem harsh to say so thus plainly; but will any philanthropical lover of these lower classes deny the fact? i regard myself as a philanthropical lover of those classes, and as such i assert the fact; nay, i might go further and say that it is almost the same of some other classes. that many have knowledge of other good things, wife-love and children-love--heart-goods, if i may so call them; knowledge of mind-goods, and soul-goods also, i do not deny. that such knowledge is greatly on the increase i verily believe; but with most among us back and belly, or rather belly and back, are still supreme. on belly and back must punishment fall, when sinners such as these are to be punished. but with us--very often i fear elsewhere, but certainly at that establishment of which we are now speaking--there is no such punishment at all. in scale of dietary among subjects of our queen, i should say that honest irish labourers stand the lowest; they eat meat twice a year, potatoes and milk for six months, potatoes without milk for six, and fish occasionally if near the shore. then come honest english labourers; they generally have cheese, sometimes bacon. next above them we may probably rank the inhabitants of our workhouses; they have fresh meat perhaps three times a week. whom shall we name next? without being anxious to include every shade of english mankind, we may say soldiers, and above them sailors; then, perhaps, ordinary mechanics. there must be many another ascending step before we come to the bermuda convict, but it would be long to name them; but now let us see what the bermuda convict eats and drinks every day. he has a pound of meat; he has good meat too, lucky dog, while those wretched bermudians are tugging out their teeth against tough carcasses! he has a pound and three ounces of bread; the amount may be of questionable advantage, as he cannot eat it all; but he probably sells it for drink. he has a pound of fresh vegetables; he has tea and sugar; he has a glass of grog--exactly the same amount that a sailor has; and he has an allowance of tobacco-money, with permission to smoke at midday and evening, as he sits at his table or takes his noontide pleasant saunter. so much for belly. then as to back, under which i include a man's sinews. the convict begins the day by going to chapel at a quarter-past seven: his prayers do not take him long, for the chaplain on the occasion of my visit read small bits out of the prayer-book here and there, without any reference to church rule or convict-establishment reason. at half-past seven he goes to his work, if it does not happen to rain, in which case he sits till it ceases. he then works till five, with an hour and a half interval for his dinner, grog, and tobacco. he then has the evening for his supper and amusements. he thus works for eight hours, barring the rain, whereas in england a day labourer's average is about ten. as to the comparative hardness of their labour there will of course be no doubt. the man who must work for his wages will not get any wages unless he works hard. the convict will at any rate get his wages, and of course spares his sinews. as to clothes, they have, and should have exactly what is best suited to health. shoes when worn out are replaced. the straw hat is always decent, and just what one would wish to wear oneself in that climate. the jacket and trousers have the word "boaz" printed over them in rather ugly type; but one would get used to that. the flannel shirts, &c., are all that could be desired. their beds are hammocks like those of sailors, only not subject to be swung about by the winds, and not hung quite so closely as those of some sailors. did any of my readers ever see the beds of an irish cotters establishment in county cork? ah! or of some english cotter's establishments in dorsetshire, wiltshire, and somersetshire? the hospital arrangements and attendance are excellent as regards the men's comfort; though the ill-arrangement of the buildings is conspicuous, and must be conspicuous to all who see them. and then these men, when they take their departure, have the wages of their labour given to them,--so much as they have not spent either licitly in tobacco, or illicitly in extra grog. they will take home with them sixteen pounds, eighteen pounds, or twenty pounds. such is convict life in bermuda,--unless a man chance to get murdered in a faction fight. as to many of the comforts above enumerated, it will of course be seen that they are right. the clothes, the hospital arrangements, and sanitary provision are, and should be, better in a prison than they can, unfortunately, be at present among the poor who are not prisoners. but still they must be reckoned among the advantages which convicted crime enjoy. it seems to be a cruel task, that of lessening the comforts of men who are, at any rate, in truth not to be envied--are to be pitied rather, with such deep, deep pity! but the thing to look to, the one great object, is to diminish the number of those who must be sent to such places. will such back and belly arrangements as those i have described deter men from sin by the fear of its consequences? why should not those felons--for such they all are, i presume, till the term of their punishment be over--why should they sleep after five? why should their diet be more than strong health requires? why should their hours of work be light? why that drinking of spirits and smoking of tobacco among men whose term of life in that prison should be a term of suffering? why those long twelve hours of bed and rest, spent in each other's company, with noise, and singing, and jollity? let them eat together, work together, walk together if you will; but surely at night they should be separated! faction fights cannot take place unless the fighters have time and opportunity to arrange them. i cannot but think that there should be great changes in this establishment, and that gradually the punishment, which undoubtedly is intended, should be made to fall on the prisoners. "look at the prisoners' rations!" the soldiers say in bermuda when they complain of their own; and who can answer them? i cannot understand why the island governor should have authority in the prison. he from his profession can know little or nothing about prisons, and even for his own work,--or no work, is generally selected either from personal favour or from military motives, whereas the prison governor is selected, probably with much care, for his specialities in that line. and it must be as easy and as quick for the prison governor to correspond with the home office as for the island governor to correspond with the colonial office. there has undoubtedly been mischief done by the antagonism of different authorities. it would seem reasonable that all such establishments should be exclusively under the home office. chapter xxiii. conclusion. from bermuda i took a sailing vessel to new york, in company with a rather large assortment of potatoes and onions. i had declared during my unlucky voyage from kingston to cuba that no consideration should again tempt me to try a sailing vessel, but such declarations always go for nothing. a man in his misery thinks much of his misery; but as soon as he is out of it it is forgotten, or becomes matter for mirth. of even a voyage in a sailing vessel one may say that at some future time it will perhaps be pleasant to remember that also. and so i embarked myself along with the potatoes and onions on board the good ship 'henrietta.' indeed, there is no other way of getting from bermuda to new york; or of going anywhere from bermuda--except to halifax and st. thomas, to which places a steamer runs once a month. in going to cuba i had been becalmed, starved, shipwrecked, and very nearly quaranteened. in going to new york i encountered only the last misery. the doctor who boarded us stated that a vessel had come from bermuda with a sick man, and that we must remain where we were till he had learnt what was the sick man's ailment. our skipper, who knew the vessel in question, said that one of their crew had been drunk in bermuda for two or three days, and had not yet worked it off. but the doctor called again in the course of the day, and informed us that it was intermittent fever. so we were allowed to pass. it does seem strange that sailing vessels should be subjected to such annoyances. i hardly think that one of the mail steamers going into new york would be delayed because there was a case of intermittent fever on board another vessel from liverpool. it is not my purpose to give an englishman's ideas of the united states, or even of new york, at the fag end of a volume treating about the west indies. on the united states i should like to write a volume, seeing that the government and social life of the people there--of that people who are our children--afford the most interesting phenomena which we find as to the new world;--the best means of prophesying, if i may say so, what the world will next be, and what men will next do. there, at any rate, a new republic has become politically great and commercially active; whereas all other new republics have failed in those points, as in all others. but this cannot be attempted now. from new york i went by the hudson river to albany, and on by the new york central railway to niagara; and though i do not mean to make any endeavour to describe that latter place as such descriptions should be--and doubtless are and have been--written, i will say one or two words which may be of use to any one going thither. the route which i took from new york would be, i should think, the most probable route for englishmen. and as travellers will naturally go up the hudson river by day, and then on from albany by night train,* seeing that there is nothing to be seen at albany, and that these trains have excellent sleeping accommodation--a lady, or indeed a gentleman, should always take a double sleeping-berth, a single one costs half a dollar, and a double one a dollar. this outlay has nothing to do with the travelling ticket;--it will follow that he, she, or they will reach niagara at about a.m. [*it would be well, however, to visit trenton falls by the way, which i did not do. they are but a short distance from utica, a town on this line of railway.] in that case let them not go on to what is called the niagara falls station, but pass over at a station called the suspension bridge--very well known on the road--to the other or canada side of the water, and thence go to the clifton hotel. there can be no doubt as to this being the site at which tourists should stop. it is one of those cases in which to see is to be sure. but if the traveller be carried on to niagara falls station, he has a long and expensive journey to make back; and the united states side of the water will be antagonistic to him in doing so. the ticket from albany to niagara cost me six dollars; the carriage from niagara to the clifton hotel cost me five. it was better to pay the five than to remain where i was; but it would have been better still to have saved them. i mention this as passengers to the falls have no sort of intimation that they should get out at the suspension bridge; though they are all duly shaken out of their berths, and inquired of whether or not they be going west. nothing ever disappointed me less than the falls of niagara--but my raptures did not truly commence for the first half-day. their charms grow upon one like the conversation of a brilliant man. their depth and breadth and altitude, their music, colour, and brilliancy are not fully acknowledged at the first moment. it may be that my eye is slow; but i can never take in to its full enjoyment any view or any picture at the first glance. i found this to be especially the case at niagara. it was only by long gazing and long listening that i was able to appreciate the magnitude of that waste of waters. my book is now complete, and i am not going to "do the falls," but i must bid such of my readers as may go there to place themselves between the rocks and the waters of the horse-shoe fall after sunset--well after sunset; and there remain--say for half an hour. and let every man do this alone; or if fortune have kindly given him such a companion, with one who may leave him as good as alone. but such companions are rare. the spot to which i allude will easily make itself known to him, nor will he have any need of a guide. he will find it, of course, before the sun shall set. and, indeed, as to guides, let him eschew them, giving a twenty-five cent piece here and there, so that these men be not ruined for want of custom. into this spot i made my way, and stood there for an hour, dry enough. the spray did reach my coat, and the drops settled on my hair; but nevertheless, as a man not over delicate, i was dry enough. then i went up, and when there was enticed to put myself into a filthy oil-skin dress, hat, coat, and trousers, in order that i might be conducted under the falls. under the falls! well i had been under the falls; but still, wishing to see everything, i allowed myself to be caparisoned. a sable conductor took me exactly to the spot where i had been before. but he took me also ten yards further, during which little extra journey i became soaking wet through, in spite of the dirty oil-cloth. the ducking cost me sixty cents, or half a crown. but i must be allowed one word as to that visit after sunset; one word as to that which an obedient tourist will then see. in the spot to which i allude the visitor stands on a broad safe path, made of shingles, between the rock over which the water rushes and the rushing water. he will go in so far that the spray rising back from the bed of the torrent does not incommode him. with this exception, the further he can go the better; but here also circumstances will clearly show him the spot. unless the water be driven in by a very strong wind, five yards make the difference between a comparatively dry coat and an absolutely wet one. and then let him stand with his back to the entrance, thus hiding the last glimmer of the expiring day. so standing he will look up among the falling waters, or down into the deep misty pit, from which they reascend in almost as palpable a bulk. the rock will be at his right hand, high and hard, and dark and straight, like the wall of some huge cavern, such as children enter in their dreams. for the first five minutes he will be looking but at the waters of a cataract,--at the waters, indeed, of such a cataract as we know no other, and at their interior curves, which elsewhere we cannot see. but by-and-by all this will change. he will no longer be on a shingly path beneath a waterfall; but that feeling of a cavern wall will grow upon him, of a cavern deep, deep below roaring seas, in which the waves are there, though they do not enter in upon him; or rather not the waves, but the very bowels of the deep ocean. he will feel as though the floods surrounded him, coming and going with their wild sounds, and he will hardly recognize that though among them he is not in them. and they, as they fall with a continual roar, not hurting the ear, but musical withal, will seem to move as the vast ocean waters may perhaps move in their internal currents. he will lose the sense of one continued descent, and think that they are passing round him in their appointed courses. the broken spray that rises from the depth below, rises so strongly, so palpably, so rapidly, that the motion in every direction will seem equal. and then, as he looks on, strange colours will show themselves through the mist; the shades of gray will become green and blue, with ever and anon a flash of white; and then, when some gust of wind blows in with greater violence, the sea-girt cavern will become all dark and black. oh, my friend, let there be no one there to speak to thee then; no, not even a heart's brother. as you stand there speak only to the waters. so much for niagara. from thence, i went along lake ontario, and by the st. lawrence to montreal, being desirous of seeing the new tubular railway bridge which is being erected there over the st. lawrence close to that town. lake ontario is uninteresting, being altogether too large for scenery, and too foggy for sight-seeing if there were anything to see. the travelling accommodation, however, is excellent. the points of interest in the st. lawrence are the thousand islands, among which the steamer glides as soon as it enters the river; and the rapids, of which the most singularly rapid is the one the vessel descends as it nears montreal. both of these are very well, but they do not require to be raved about. the canadian towns at which one touches are interesting as being clean and large, and apparently prosperous;--also as being english, for we hardly reach the french part of canada till we get down to montreal. this tubular bridge over the st. lawrence, which will complete the whole trunk line of railway from portland on the coast of maine, through the two canadas, to the states of michigan and wisconsin, will certainly be one of the most wonderful works of scientific art in the world. it is to consist of different tubes, resting on piers placed in the river bed at intervals sufficient to provide for the free navigation of the water. some of these, including the centre and largest one, are already erected. this bridge will be over a mile and a half in length, and will cost the enormous sum of one million four hundred thousand pounds, being but two hundred thousand pounds short of the whole cost of the panama railway. i only wish that the shareholders may have as good a dividend. from montreal i went down lake champlain to saratoga springs, the great resort of new yorkers when the weather in the city becomes too hot for endurance. i was there late in june, but was very glad at that time to sit with my toes over a fire. the country about saratoga is by no means pretty. the waters, i do not doubt, are very healthy, and the hotels very good. it must, i should think, be a very dull place for persons who are not invalids. from saratoga i returned to new york, and from new york sailed for liverpool in the exceedingly good ship 'africa,' captain shannon. i have sailed in many vessels, but never in one that was more comfortable or better found. and on board this most comfortable of vessels i have now finished my book, as i began it on board that one, of all the most uncomfortable, which carried me from kingston in jamaica to cien fuegos in the island of cuba. {transcriber's note: the spelling and punctuation in the original are inconsistent. no corrections have been made except those that have been noted explicitly at the end of the etext. the maps referred to on the title page and after the dedication were not present in the original.} a svmmarie and trve discovrse of sir frances drakes vvest indian voyage. vvherein were taken, the townes of _saint iago, sancto domingo, cartagena, and saint augustine_. with geographicall mappes exactly describing each of the tovvnes vvith their scituations, and the maner of the armies approching to the vvinning of them: diligently made by baptista boazio. [illustration] printed at london by roger ward dvvelling vpon lambard hill, neere olde fish-streete. . [illustration: decorative page header] to the right honorable robert d'evrevx, earle _of essex and evve, viscovnt_ of hereford and bourchier, lord ferrers of chartley, bourchier, and louaine, maister of the queenes maiesties horse, and knight of the most honorable order of the garter. t. c. vvisheth increase of all honour and happinesse. _right honorable, hauing by chaunce recouered of late into my handes (after i had once lost the same) a copie of the discourse of our late west indian voyage, which was begun by captaine bigges; who ended his life in the said voyage after our departure from _cartagena_, the same being afterwardes finished (as i thinke) by his lieutenant maister croftes, or some other, i know not well who. now finding therein a most true report of the seruices and other matters which happened in the said voyage, the sight whereof is wonderfully desired of manie honest and well disposed persons. i haue presumed to recommend the publishing thereof, vnto your lordships protection and fauour, for these two causes. the one, for that your lordships honourable disposition is in the knowledge of all men that know your selfe, most thirstingly affected to embrace in your owne person, the brauest enterprises, if the time would once afford anie such fit occasion, as might be agreeable to her maiesties resolution: who wisely (and long may she do it) gouerneth all thinges to the greatest aduantage of her selfe and people. the other, because my selfe hauing bene a member in the said actions, and was lieutenant of maister carleils owne companie, whereby i can well assure the truth of this report: i thought it my bounden duetie, hauing professed my seruice to your lordship before all men, to dedicate the same rather vnto your lordship then vnto any other. and although it be now a yeare and a halfe sithence the voyage ended, whereby some man will say, that it is now no new matter: yet the present time considered, how doubtfull some of our meaner sort of people are of the spanish preparations, i thinke this discourse a verie fit thing to be published, that they may see what great victories a fewe english men haue made vpon great numbers of the spaniardes, euen at home in their owne countries. the beholding whereof will much encourage those, who by fame and bare wordes are made to doubt much more then there is cause why they should. vpon which point, as there may be much said: so my selfe being no discourser, do desire to be held excused therein; and therefore doe onely commend the trueth of this report vnto your lordship: which will be also auowed by diuers captaines that were in the said voyage. and so in all humblenesse do take my leaue, readie to do your lordship all faithfull seruice._ your lordships souldier and humble seruant thomas gates. [illustration: decorative page header] _¶ the reader must vnderstand, that this discourse was dedicated, and intended to haue bene imprinted somewhat before the comming of the spanish fleete vpon our coast of england: but by casualtie the same was forgotten and slacked for a time of some better leasure._ the order and maner for the true placing _of the mappes in this booke_. { s'. iago in fol. . { s'. domingo in fol. . place the mappe of { cartagena in fol. . { s'. augustine in fol. . [illustration] [illustration: decorative page header] a svmmarie and trve discovrse of sir francis _drakes west indian voyage_, wherein were taken the tovvnes of saint iago, _sancto domingo, cartagena_, and saint augustine, this vvorthie knight for the seruice of his prince and countrie, hauing prepared his vvhole fleete, and gotten them downe to plimmouth in deuonshire, to the number of fiue and twentie saile of ships and pinnaces, and hauing assembled of souldiours and marriners to the number of two thousand and three hundred in the vvhole, embarqued them and himselfe at plimmouth aforesaid, the twelfth day of september . being accompanied vvith these men of name and charge, vvhich hereafter followe. maister christopher carleill lieftenant generall, a man of long experience in the vvarre as vvell by sea as land, and had formerly carried high offices in both kindes in many fightes, vvhich he discharged alvvaies verie happilie, and with great good reputation. anthonie povvell sergeant maior. captaine mathevve morgan, and captaine iohn sampson, corporals of the field. these officers had commaundement ouer the rest of the land captaines, vvhose names hereafter follovve. captaine anthony plat. captaine edvvard winter. captaine iohn goring. captaine robert pevv. captaine george barton. captaine iohn merchant. captaine william cecill. captaine walter bigs. captaine iohn hannam. captaine richard stanton. captaine martine frobusher viceadmirall, a man of great experience in sea faring actions, & had caried chiefe charge of many shippes himselfe, in sundry voyages before, being novv shipped in the primrose. captaine francis knollis, rieradmirall in the gallion leicester. maister thomas venner captaine in the elizabeth bonaduenture vnder the generall. maister edvvard winter captaine in the aide. maister christopher carleill the lieftenant generall, captaine in the tygar. henry white captaine of the sea dragon. thomas drake captaine of the thomas. thomas seelie captaine of the minion. baily captaine of the barke talbot. robert crosse captaine of the barke bond. george fortescute captaine of the barke bonner. edward carelesse captaine of the hope. james erizo captaine of the vvhite lion. thomas moone captaine of the francis. iohn riuers captaine of the vantage, iohn vaughan captaine of the drake. iohn varney captaine of the george, iohn martin captaine of the beniamin. edward gilman captaine of the skout. richard haukins captaine of the galliot called the ducke. bitfield captaine of the svvallowe. after our going hence, which vvas the fourteenth of september, in the yeare of our lord, one thowsand fiue hundred eightie and fiue: & taking our course towardes spaine, vve had the winde for a fewe daies somevvhat skant, and sometimes calme. and being arriued neere that part of the coast of spaine, vvich is called the moores, vvee happened to espie diuerse sailes, vvich kept their course close by the shore, the vveather being faire and calme. the generall caused the vizeadmirall to goe vvith the pinnaces vvell manned to see vvhat they vvere, vvho vpon sight of the said pinnaces approching neere vnto them, abandoned for the most part all their shippes (being frenchmen) laden all vvith salt, and bound homewardes into france, amongst vvhich shippes (being all of small burthen) there was one so vvell liked, vvhich also had no man in her, as being brought vnto the generall, he thought good to make stay of her for the seruice, meaning to pay for her, as also accordingly performed at our returne: vvhich barke vvas called the drake. the rest of these shippes (being eight or nine) vvere dismissed vvithout any thing at all taken from them. who beeing aftervvardes put somevvhat further off from the shore, by the contrarietie of the vvinde, vve happened to meete vvith some other french shippes, full laden vvith newland fish, beeing vpon their returne homewarde from the saide new found land: vvhom the generall after some speech had vvith them, (and seeing plainely that they vvere frenchmen) dismissed vvithout once suffering any man to goe aboord of them. the day follovving standing in vvith the shore againe, vve discried an other tall ship of twelue score tunnes or theraboutes, vpon vvhom maister carleill the lieuetenant generall being in the tygar, vndertooke the chase, vvhome also anon after the admirall follovved, and the tygar hauing caused the saide straunge shippe to strike her sayles, kept her there without suffering anye bodie to goe aboorde vntill the admirall vvas come vp: vvho foorthwith fending for the maister, and diuerse others of their principall men, and causing them to be seuerally examined, found the shippe and goodes to be belonging to the inhabitantes of saint sebastian in spaine, but the marriners to bee for the most parte belonging to saint iohn de lvce, and the passage. in this ship was greate store of dry nevvland fish, commonly called vvith vs poore iohn, vvhereof aftervvards (being thus found a lavvfull prize) there vvas distribution made into all the shippes of the fleete, the same being so new and good, as it did verie greatly bestead vs in the whole course of our voyage. a day or two after the taking of this ship, vve put in within the isles of bayon, for lacke of fauourable vvind, where we had no sooner anckered some part of the fleete, but the generall commaunded all the pinnaces with the ship boates to be manned, and euerye man to be furnished with such armes as vvas needefull for that present seruice; vvhich being done, the generall put himselfe into his galley, vvhich was also well furnished, and rowing towardes the citie of bayon; with intent, and the fauour of the almightie to supprise it. before we had aduaunced one halfe league of our way, there came a messenger beeing an english marchant from the gouernour, to see what straunge fleete we were, who came to our generall, and conferred a while with him, and after a small time spent, our generall called for captaine sampson, and willed him to goe to the gouernour of the citie, to resolue him of two pointes. the first, to knowe if there were any warres beetweene spaine and england. the second, vvhy our merchantes with their goodes were imbarred or arrested. thus departed captaine sampson with the saide messenger to the citie, vvhere he found the gouernour and people much amazed of such a suddaine accident. the generall with the aduice and counsell of maister carliell his lieuetenant generall, who was in the galley with him, thought not good to make any stand, till such time as they were within the shot of the citie, wher they might be ready vpon the returne of captaine sampson, to make a suddaine attempt if cause did require before it were darke. captaine sampson returned with his message in this sort. first, touching peace or warres the gouernour said he knevve of no warres, and that it lay not in him to make any, he being so meane a subiect as hee vvas. and as for the stay of the marchantes with their goodes, it vvas the kinges pleasure, but not with intent to endommage any man. and that the kinges conter commaundement vvas (vvhich had bene receiued in that place some seauennight before) that english marchants vvith their goods should be discharged: for the more verifying vvhereof, he sent such marchants as vvere in the tovvne of our nation, who traffiqued those parts; vvhich being at large, declared to our generall by them, counsell vvas taken vvhat myght best be done. and for that the night approched, it vvas thought needefull to land our force, vvhich vvas done in the shutting vp of the day, and hauing quartered our selues to our most aduantage, vvyth sufficient gard vpon euery straight, vve thought to rest our selues for that night there. the gouernour sent vs some refreshing, as bread, vvine, oyle, apples, grapes, marmalad and such lyke. about midnight the vveather beginnes to ouercast, insomuch that it vvas thought meeter to repaire aboord, then to make any longer abode on land, and before vve could recouer the fleete, a great tempest arose, vvhich caused many of our ships to driue from their anker hold, and some vvere forced to sea in great peril, as the barke talbot, the barke hawkins, and the speedewell, vvhich speedewel onely vvas driuen into england, the others recouered vs againe, the extremitie of the storme lasted three dayes, vvhich no sooner beganne to asswage, but maister carleill our lieutenant generall, vvas sent vvith his ovvne ship and three others: as also vvith the galley and vvith dyuers pinnaces, to see vvhat he might do aboue vigo, vvhere he tooke many boates and some caruels, diuersly laden vvith thinges of small value, but chiefly vvith houshold stuffe, running into the high countrey, and amongst the rest, he found one boate laden vvith the principal church stuffe of the high church of vigo, vvhere also vvas their great crosse of siluer, of very fayre embossed vvorke, and double gilt all ouer, hauing cost them a great masse of money. they complayned to haue lost in all kind of goods aboue thirtie thowsand duckets in this place. the next day the general vvith his vvhole fleete vvent vp from the isles of bayon, to a very good harbour aboue vigo, vvhere maister carleill stayd his comming, asvvell for the more quiet riding of his ships, as also for the good commoditie of fresh vvatering, vvhich the place there did afoord full vvell. in the meane time the gouernour of gallisia had reared such forces as he might, his numbers by estimate vvere some two thowsand foot, and three hundred horse, and marched from bayon to this part of the countrey, vvhich lay in sight of our fleete, vvhere making stand, he sent to parle vvith our generall, vvhich vvas graunted by our generall, so it might be in boates vpon the vvater: and for safetie of their persons, there vvere pledges deliuered on both sides, vvhich done, the gouernour of gallisia put him selfe vvith two others into our vice-admirals skiffe, the same hauing bene sent to the shore for him. and in like sort our generall in his owne skiffe, vvhere by them it vvas agreed, vve should furnish our selues vvith fresh vvater, to be taken by our owne people quietly on the land, and haue all other such necessaries, paying for the same, as the place vvould affoord. vvhen all our businesse vvas ended, vve departed, and tooke our vvay by the islands of canaria, vvhich are esteemed some three hundred leagues from this part of spaine, and falling purposely vvith palma, vvith intention to haue taken our pleasure of that place, for the full digesting of many thinges into order, and the better furnishing our store vvith such seuerall good thinges as that affoordeth very abundantly, vve vvere forced by the vile sea gate, vvhich at that present fell out, and by the naughtinesse of the landing place, being but one, and that vnder the fauor of many platformes, vvell furnished vvith great ordinance, to depart vvith the receipt of many their canon shot, some into our ships, and some besides, some of them being in very deede full canon high. but the onely or chiefe mischiefe, vvas the daungerous sea surge, vvhich at shore all alongest, plainly threatned the ouerthrovv of as many pinnaces and boates, as for that time should haue attempted any landing at all. novv seeing the expectation of this attempt frustrated by the causes aforesaid, vve thought it meeter to fall vvith the isle ferro, to see if vve could find any better fortune, and comming to the island, vve landed a thousand men in a valley vnder a high mountaine, vvhere we stayed some two or three houres, in which time the inhabitants, accompanied vvith a yong fellovv borne in england, who dwelt there with them, came vnto vs, shewing their state to be so poore, that they were all readie to starue, which was not vntrue: and therefore without any thing gotten, we were all commaunded presently to imbarke, so as that night we put off to sea south southeast along towards the coast of barbarie. vpon saterday in the morning, being the thirteenth of nouember, we fell with cape blancke, vvhich is a lovve lande and shallowe vvater, where vvee catched store of fish, and doubling the cape, we put into the bay, where wee found certaine french shippes of warre, whom we entertained with great courtesie, & there left them. the after noone the whole fleete assembled, vvhich was a little scattered about their fishing, and put from thence to the isles of cape verde, sailing till the sixteenth of the same moneth in the morning, on which day we discryed the island of saint iago, & in the euening we anckered the fleete betweene the towne called the plaie or praie and saint iago, where we put on shore a thowsand men or more, vnder the leading of maister christopher carleill lieuetenant generall, who directed the seruice most like a wise commaunder. the place where wee had first to march did affoord no good order, for the ground was mountaines and full of dales, being a marueilous stonye and troublesome passage, but such vvas his industrious disposition, as hee woulde neuer leaue, vntill wee had gotten vppe to a faire plaine, vvhere we made stand for the assembling of the armie. and when vve vvere all gathered together vpon the plaine, some two litle miles from the towne, the lieuetenant general thought good not to make attempt till day light: because there vvas not one that could serue for guide or giuing knovvledge at all of the place. and therefore after hauing vvell rested, euen halfe an hovver before day, he commaunded the armie to be deuided into three speciall partes, such as he appointed, vvhereas before vvee had marched by seuerall companies, being thereunto forced by the naughtinesse of the vvay as is aforesaid. now by the time we wer thus raunged into a very braue order, daylight began to appeare, and being aduaunced hard to the vvall, we saw no enemie to resist, whereupon the lieutenant generall appointed captaine sampson with thirtie shot, and captaine barton with other thirtie, to goe downe into the tovvne vvhich stood in the valey vnder vs, and might verie plainly be viewed all ouer from that place vvhere the vvhole army vvas novv arryued and presently after these captaines vvas sent the great ensigne, vvhich had nothing in it but the plaine english crosse, to be placed tovvardes the sea, that our fleete might see saint georges crosse florish in the enemies fortresse. order vvas giuen that all the ordinance throughout the towne, and vpon all the platformes, vvhich vvas aboue fifty peeces al ready charged, should be shot off in honor of the queenes maiesties coronation day, being the seuententh of nouember, after the yearly custome of england, which was so aunswered againe by the ordinance out of all the ships in the fleete which novv was come neere, as it was straunge to heare such a thondering noise last so long together. in this meane while the lieutenant general held still the most part of his force on the hill top, till such time as the tovvne was quartered out for the lodging of the whole armie, which being done euery captaine toke his owne quarter, and in the euening was placed such sufficient gard vpon euerie part of the tovvne that vve had no cause to feare any present enemie. thus we continued in the citie the space of fourteene daies, taking such spoiles as the place yelded, which were for the most part, wine, oyle, meale, and some such like thinges for victuall, as vineger, oliues, and some such other trash, as marchandise for their indian trades. but there was not founde any trasure at all, or any thing else of vvorth besides. the scituation of sainct iago is somewhat strange, in forme like to a triangle, hauing on the east and west sides two mountaines of rocke and cliffie, as it were hanging ouer it, vpon the top of which two mountaines was builded certaine fortifications to preserue the towne from any harme that might be offered, as in this plot is plainly shevved. from thence: on the south side of the towne is the maine sea, and on the north side, the valley lying betweene the foresayd mountaines, wherein the towne standeth: the said valley and towne both do grow verie narrow, insomuch that the space betweene the two cliffes of this ende of the towne is estimated not to be aboue tenne or twelue score ouer. in the middest of the valley commeth dovvne a riueret, rill, or brooke of fresh vvater, which hard by the sea side maketh a pond or poole, vvhereout our ships were vvatered vvith verie great ease and pleasure. somewhat aboue the towne on the north side betweene the two mountaines, the valley vvaxeth somewhat larger then at the townes end, vvhich valley is vvholie conuerted into gardens and orchardes well replenished vvith diuers sorts of fruicts, herbes and trees, as lymmons, orenges, suger canes, cochars or cochos nuts, plantens, potato roots, cocombers, small and round onions, garlike, and some other thinges not now remembred, amongst vvhich the cochos, nuts and plantens are very pleasant fruicts, the said cochos hauing a hard shell and a greene huske ouer it, as hath our vvalnut, but it farre exceedeth in greatnesse, for this cochos in his greene huske is bigger then any mans two fistes, of the hard shell many drinking cups are made here in england, and set in siluer as i haue often seene. next within this hard shell is a vvhite rine resembling in shew verie much euen as any thing may do, to the vvhite of an egge vvhen it is hard boyled. and vvithin this vvhite of the nut lyeth a vvater, vvhich is vvhitish and very cleere, to the quantitie of halfe a pint or there abouts, vvhich vvater and white rine before spoken of, are both of a very coole fresh tast, and as pleasing as any thing may be. i haue heard some hold opinion, that it is very restoratiue. the planten grovveth in cods, somewhat like to beanes, but is bigger and longer, and much more thicke together on the stalke, and vvhen it waxeth ripe, the meate vvhich filleth the rine of the cod becommeth yellovv, and is exceeding sweet and pleasant. in this time of our being there, hapned to come a portingall to the westermost fort, vvith a flag of truce, to vvhom captaine sampson was sent vvith captaine goring, vvho comming to the said messenger, he first asked them vvhat nation they vvere, they aunswered englishmen, he then required to knovv if warres vvere betweene england and spaine, to vvhich they aunsvvered that they knew not, but if he would go to their generall he could best resolue him of such particulars, and for his assurance of passage and repassage, these captaines made offer to ingage their credits, which he refused for that he vvas not sent from his gouernor. then they told him, if his gouernor did desire to take a course for the common benefite of the people and countrie, his best way vvere to come and present him selfe vnto our noble and mercifull gouernor sir frances drake; vvhereby he might be assured to finde fauor, both for him selfe and the inhabitantes. othervvise within three dayes vve should march ouer the land, and consume vvith fire all inhabited places, and put to the svvord all such liuing soules as vve should chaunce vpon: so thus much he tooke for the conclusion of his answere, and departing, he promised to returne the next day, but vve neuer heard more of him. vpon the foure and twentieth of nouember, the generall accompanied vvith the lieutenant generall and sixe hundred men, marched foorth to a village tvvelue miles vvithin the lande, called s. domingo, vvhere the gouernor and the bishop vvith all the better sort vvere lodged, and by eight of the clocke vve came to it, finding the place abandoned, and the people fled into the mountaines: so vve made stand a vvhile to ease ourselues, and partly to see if any vvould come to speake to vs. after vve had vvell rested our selues, the generall commaunded the troupes to march away homewardes, in vvhich retreat the enemie shewed them selues, both horse and foote, though not such force as durst encounter vs: and so in passing some time at the gase vvith them, it vvaxed late and towards night, before vve could recouer home to saint iago. on monday the six and twentieth of nouember, the generall commaunded all the pinnaces vvith the boates, to vse all diligence to imbarke the armie into such ships as euery man belonged. the lieutenant generall in like sort commaunded captaine goring and lieutenant tucker, with one hundred shot to make a stand in the market place, vntill our forces were wholly imbarked, the vize-admiral making stay vvith his pinnace and certaine boats in the harbour, to bring the said last companie aboord the ships. also the generall willed forthwith the gallie with two pinnaces to take into them the companie of captaine barton, and the companie of captaine bigs, vnder the leading of captaine sampson, to seeke out such munition as vvas hidden in the ground, at the towne of pray or play, hauing beene promised to be shewed it by a prisoner, vvhich was taken the day before. the captaines aforesaid comming to the play, landed their men, and hauing placed the troupe in their best strength, captaine sampson tooke the prisoner, and willed him to shevve that he had promised, the vvhich he could not, or at least vvould not: but they searching all suspected places, found two peeces of ordinance, one of yron, an other of brasse. in the after noone the generall anckered the rest of the fleete before the plaie comming him selfe a shore, vvilling vs to burne the tovvne and make all hast a boorde, the which was done by sixe of the clocke the same day, and our selues imbarked againe the same night, and so we put off to sea southwest. but before our departurre from the towne of saint iago, we established orders for the better gouernment of the armie, euery man mustered to his captaine, and othes ministred to acknowledge her maiestie supreame gouernour, as also euery man to doe his vttermost endeuour to aduaunce the seruice of the action, and to yeeld due obedience vnto the directions of the general and his officers. by this prouident counsell, and laying downe this good foundation before hand, all thinges went forward in a due course, to the achieuing of our happie enterprise. in all the time of our being here, neither the gouernour for the king of spaine, (which is a portugall) neither the bishop, whose authoritie is great, neither any of the inhabitantes of the towne, or island euer came at vs (which we expected they should have done) to intreate vs to leaue them some part of their needfull prouisions, or at the least, to spare the ruining of their towne at our going away. the cause of this their vnreasonable distrust (as i doe take it) vvas the fresh remembrance of the great wronges they had done to olde maister william havvkins of plimmouth, in the voyage he made foure or fiue yeares before, when as they did both breake their promise, and murthered many of his men, whereof i iudge you haue vnderstood, and therfore needlesse to be repeated. but since they came not at vs, vve left written in sundrie places, as also in the spitle house, (vhich building was onely appointed to be spared) the great discontentment and scorne we tooke at this their refraining to come vnto vs, as also at the rude maner of killing, and sauage kinde of handling the dead body of one of our boyes found, by them stragling all alone, from whome they had taken his head and heart, and had stragled the other bowels about the place, in a most brutish and beastly maner. in reuenge vvhereof at our departing vve consumed vvith fire all the houses, asvvell in the countrey vvhich vve savv, as in the tovvne of s. iago. from hence putting ouer to the west indies, we vvere not many dayes at sea, but there beganne amongst our people such mortalitie, as in fevv dayes there vvere dead aboue tvvo or three hundred men. and vntill some seuen or eight dayes after out comming from s. iago, there had not died any one man of sicknesse in all the fleete: the sicknesse shevved not his infection vvherevvith so many vvere stroken, vntill vve vvere departed thence, and then seazed our people vvith extreme hote burning and continuall ague, vvhereof some very fevv escaped vvith life, and yet those for the most part not vvith out great alteration and decay of their vvittes and strength for a long time after. in some that died vvere plainly shevved the small spottes, vvhich are often found vpon those that be infected vvith the plague, vve vvere not aboue eighteene daies in passage betvvene the sight of sainct iago aforesaid, and the island of dominica, being the first islande of the west indies that vve fell vvithall, the same being inhabited vvith sauage people, vvhich goe all naked, their skin coloured vvith some painting of a reddish tavvney, very personable and handsome strong men, vvho doe admit little conuersation vvith the spaniardes: for as some of our people might vnnderstand them, they had a spaniard or tvvaine prisoners vvith them, neither do i thinke that there is any safetie for any of our nation, or any other to be vvithin the limits of their commaundement, albeit they vsed vs very kindly for those fevve houres of time vvhich vve spent vvith them, helping our folkes to fill and carie on their bare shoulders fresh vvater from the riuer to our ships boates, and fetching from their houses, great store of tobacco, as also a kinde of bread vvhich they fed on, called cassado, verie white and sauerie, made of the rootes of cassania. in recompence whereof, wee bestovved liberall revvardes of glasse, coloured beades, and other things, which we had found at sainct iago, vvherewith (as it seemed) they rested verie greatlie satisfied, and shevving some sorrowfull countenance vvhen they perceaued that vve vvoulde depart. from hence vve vvent to another island westward of it, called sainct christophers island, wherein vvee spent some daies of christmas, to refresh our sicke people, and to cleanse and ayre our ships. in vvhich island vvere not any people at all that vve could heare off. in vvhich time by the generall it vvas aduised and resolued, vvith the consent of the lieftenant generall, the vice-admirall, and all the rest of the captaines to proceed to the great island of hispaniola, as vvel for that we knevve our selues then to bee in our best strength, as also the rather allured thereunto, by the glorious fame of the citie of s. domingo, being the ancientest and chiefe inhabited place in al the tract of countrey ther aboutes. and so proceeding in this determination, by the vvay vvee met a small frigot, bound for the same place, the vvhich the vice-admirall tooke, and hauing duelie examined the men that vvere in her, there vvas one founde by vvhome vve vvere aduertised, the hauen to be a barred hauen, and the shore or land thereof to be vvell fortified, hauing a castle thereupon furnished vvith greate store of artillerie, vvithout the danger vvhereof, vvas no conuenient landing place vvithin ten english miles of the citie, to vvhich the saide pilote tooke vpon him to conduct vs. all thinges being thus considered on, the vvhole forces vvere commaunded in the euening to embarke themselues into pinnaces, boates, & other small barkes appointed for this seruice. our souldiers being thus imbarked the generall put himselfe into the barke francis as admirall, and all this night we lay on the sea, bearing small saile vntill our arriuall to the landing place, which vvas about the breaking of the day, and so we landed, being newyears day, nine or ten miles to the westwardes of that braue citie of s. domingo: for at that time nor yet is knowen to vs, any landing place, vvher the sea surge doth not threaten to ouerset a pinnace or boat. our general hauing seene vs all landed in safetie, returned to his fleete, bequeathing vs to god, and the good conduct of maister carliell our lieuetenant generall: at which time, being about eight of the clocke, we began to march, and about noone time, or towards one of the clocke we approched the towne, where the gentlemen and those of the better sort, being some hundred and fiftie braue horses or rather more, began to present themselues, but our small shot plaied vpon them, which were so sustained with good proportion of pikes in all partes, as they finding no part of our troope vnprepared to receiue them (for you must vnderstande they viewed all round about) they were thus driuen to giue vs leaue to proceed towardes the tvvo gates of the tovvne, vvhich vvere the next to the seavvard. they had manned them both, and planted their ordinance for that present, and sudden alarum vvithout the gate, and also some troopes of small shot in ambuscado vpon the hievvay side. we deuided our vvhole force, being some thousand or tvvelue hundred men into tvvo partes, to enterprise both the gates at one instant, the lieftenant generall hauing openly vovved to captaine povvell (vvho led the troope that entered the other gate) that vvith gods good fauour he vvould not rest vntill our meeting in the market place. their ordinance had no sooner discharged vpon our near approch, & made some execution amongst vs, though not much, but the lieftenant generall began foorthvvith to aduaunce both his voice of encouragement, and pace of marching, the first man that vvas slaine vvith the ordinance being verie neere vnto himselfe, and thereupon hasted all that he might to keepe them from the recharging of the ordinance. and notvvithstanding their ambuscadoes, vve marched or rather ranne so roundly into them as pell mell vve entered the gates, and gaue them more care euery man to saue himselfe by flight, then reason to stand any longer to their broken fight, we foorthwith repaired to the market place, but to be more truely vnderstood a place of verye faire spatious square grounde before the great church, vvhether also came as had bene agreed captaine povvell with the other troope, which place vvith some part next vnto it, we strengthened with barricados, and there as the most conuenient place assured our selues, the citie being farre to spacious for so small and weary a troope to vndertake to garde. somevvhat after midnight they vvho had the garde of the castle, hearing vs busie about the gates of the saide castle, abandoned the same: some being taken prisoners, and some flying away by the help of boates, to the other side of the hauen, & so into the country. the next day vve quartered a little more at large, but not into the halfe part of the tovvne, and so making substantiall trenches, and planting all the ordinance that ech part vvas correspondent to other, we held this towne the space of one moneth. in the vvhich time happened some accidents more then are vvell remembred for the present, but amongst other thinges it chanced that the generall sent on his message to the spaniardes a negro boy with a flagge of vvhite, signifiing truce, as is the spaniardes ordinarie manner to doe there, vvhen they approch to speak to vs, vvhich boy vnhappily vvas first met withall, by some of those who had bene belonging as officers for the king in the spanish galley, vvhich vvith the tovvne vvas lately fallen into our hands, vvho vvithout all order or reason, and contrary to that good vsage vvherevvith vvee had entertained their messengers, furiouslie stroke the poore boy through the bodie vvith one of their horsemens staues, with vvich vvound the boy returned to the generall, and after he had declared the maner of this wrongfull crueltie, died forthvvith in his presence, vvherewith the generall beeing greatly passioned, commaunded the prouost martiall, to cause a couple of friers, then prisoners, to be caried to the same place where the boy was stroken, accompanied with sufficient gard of our soldiers, and there presently to be hanged, dispatching at the same instant another poore prisoner, vvith this reason wherefore this execution vvas done, and vvith this message further, that vntill the partie vvho had thus murthered the generals messenger, vvere deliuered into our handes, to receaue condigne punishment, there should no day passe, vvherein there should not two prisoners be hanged, vntill they were all consumed vvich vvere in our handes. whereupon the day following, he that had bene captaine of the kinges galley, brought the offendor to the townes ende, offring to deliuer him into our hands, but it was thought a more honourable reuenge, to make them there in our sight, to performe the execution themselues, vvhich vvas done accordingly. during our being in this towne, as formerly also at s. iago there had passed iustice vpon the life of one of our owne companie for an odious matter: so here likewise was there an irish man hanged, for the murthering of his corporall. in this time also passed manie treaties betweene their commissioners and vs, for ransome of their citie, but vpon disagreements, we still spent the early mornings in firing the outmost houses; but they being built verie magnificently of stone, vvith high loftes, gaue vs no small trauell to ruine them. and albeit for diuers daies together, we ordained eche morning by day breake, vntill the heat began at nine of the clocke, that two hundred mariners did nought else but labour to fier and burne the said houses vvithout our trenches, vvhilest the souldiers in a like proportion stood foorth for their gard: yet did we not or could not in this time consume so much as one third part of the towne, vvhich towne is here plainly described and set forth in this map. and so in the end, what wearied with firing, and vvhat hastened by some other respects, we were contented to accept of fiue and twentie thousand duckets, of fiue shillings sixe pence the peece, for the ransome of the rest of the towne. amongst other things which happened and were found at s. domingo, i may not omit to let the world know one very notable marke and token, of the vnsatiable ambition of the spanish king & his nation, vvich was found in the kings house, vvherein the chiefe gouernor of that citie and countrey is appointed alwaies to lodge, vvhich vvas this: in the comming to the hall or other romes of this house, you must first ascend vp by a faire large paire of staires, at the head of vvhich staires is a handsome spatious place to vvalke in, somewhat like vnto a gallerie, vvherein vpon one of the vvals, right ouer against you as you enter the said place, so as your eye can not escape the sight of it, there is described and painted in a very large scutchion, the armes of the king of spaine, and in the lower part of the said scutchion, there is likewise described a globe, containing in it the whole circuite of the sea and the earth, vvhereupon is a horse standing on his hinder part vvithin the globe, and the other fore part vvithout the globe, lifted vp as it vvere to leape, vvith a scroll painted in his mouth, vvherein vvas written these vvordes in latin _non sufficit orbis_: which is as much to say, as the world suffiseth not, vvhereof the meaning vvas required to be knowen of some of those of the better sort, that came in commission to treat vpon the ransome of the tovvne, who would shake their heades, and turne aside their countenance in some smyling sort, without answering any thing, as greatly ashamed thereof. for by some of our companie it vvas told them, that if the queene of england vvould resolutely prosecute the warres against the kinge of spaine, he should be forced to lay aside that proude and vnreasonable reaching vaine of his, for he should finde more then inough to do, to keepe that vvhich he had alreadie, as by the present example of their lost towne they might for a beginning perceaue vvell inough. now to the satisfying of some men, who maruel greatly that such a famous and goodly builded citie so vvell inhabited of gallant people, very brauely apparelled (vvhereof our souldiers found good store for their reliefe) should afoord no greater riches then vvas found there, vvherein it is to be vnderstood that the indian people, which were the naturals of this vvhole island of hispaniola (the same being neare hand as great as england) were many yeares since cleane consumed by the tyrannie of the spaniards, vvhich vvas cause, that for lacke of people to vvorke in the mines, the gold and siluer mines of this island are vvholy giuen ouer, and thereby they are faine in this island to vse copper money, whereof vvas found verie great quantitie. the chiefe trade of this place consisteth of suger and ginger, which groweth in the island, and of hides of oxen and kine, vvhich in this wast countrey of the island are bred in infinite numbers, the soile being verie fertile: and the said beasts are fed vp to a verie large growth, and so killed for nothing so much, as for their hides aforesaid. wee found here great store of strong wine, sweete oyle, vineger, oliues, and other such like prouisions, as excellent vvheate meale packed vp in wine pipes and other caske, and other commodities likewise, as vvollen and linnen cloth, and some silkes, all which prouisions are brought out of spaine & serued vs for great releese. there vvas but a little plate or vessell of siluer, in comparison of the great pride in other thinges of thys towne, because in these hote countreyes they vse much of these erthen dishes finely painted or varnished, vvich they call parsellina, and is had out of the east india, and for their drinking, they vse glasses altogether, whereof they make excellent good and faire in the same place. but yet some plate we founde, and many other good thinges, as theyr hosholde garniture very gallant and rich, vvhich had cost them deere, although vnto vs they vvere of small importance. from s. domingo we put ouer to the maine or firme land, and going all alongest the coast, vve came at the last in sight of cartagena, standing vpon the sea side so neare as some of our barks in passing alongst, approched vvithin the reach of their culuerin shot, vvhich they had planted vpon certaine platformes. the harbour mouth lay some three miles tovvard the westvvard of the town, vvhereinto we entered about three or foure of the clocke in the afternoone vvithout any resistance, of ordinance, or other impeachment planted vpon the same. in the euening vve put our selues on land tovvardes the harbour mouth, vnder the leading of maister carleill our lieftenant generall, vvho after he had digested vs to march forvvard about the midnight, as easily as foote might fall, expresselye commaunding to keepe close by the sea vvash of the shore for our best and surest vvay, whereby we vvere like to goe through, and not to misse anye more of the vvay, vvhich once vve had lost within an hower after our first beginning to march, through the slender knowledge of him that tooke vpon him to be our guide, whereby the night spent on, which otherwise must haue bene done by resting. but as we came vvithin some tvvo miles of the towne, their horsemen which vvere some hundred, met vs, and taking the alarum, retired to their townevvard again vpon the first volley of our shot that vvas giuen them: for the place where vve encountred being vvoody and bushie euen to the water side, was vnmeet for their seruice. at this instant vve might heare some peeces of artillerie discharged, with diuers small shot tovvardes the harbour, vvhich gaue vs to vnderstand, according to the order set downe in the euening before by our generall, that the vice-admirall accompanied with captaine venner, captaine white, and captaine crosse, vvith other sea captaines, and vvith diuers pinnaces and boates should giue some attempt vnto the litle fort standing on the entrie of the inner hauen, neere adioining to the tovvne, though to small purpose, for that the place vvas stronge, and the entrye verie narrovve vvas chained ouer: so as there coulde be nothing gotten by the attempt, more then the giuing of them an alarum on that other side of the hauen being a mile and a halfe from the place where vve novve vvere. in which attempt the vice-admirall had the rudder of his skiffe stroken through with a saker shot, and litle or no harme receaued else where. the troopes being novve in their march, half a myle behither the tovvne or lesse, the ground we were on grew to be straight, and not aboue fiftie paces ouer, hauing the maine sea on the side of it, and the harbour water or inner sea (as you may tearme it) on the other side, vvhich in this plot is plainely shewed. this straight was fortified cleane ouer with a stone vvall and a ditch without it, the saide wall being as orderly built vvith flanking in euery part, as can be set dovvne. there vvas onely so much of this straight vnvvalled, as might serue for the issuing of the horsemen, or the passing of carriage in time of neede: but this vnvvalled part vvas not vvithout a very good barricado of vvine buts or pipes, filled vvith earth, ful and thick as they might stand on end one by another, some part of of them standing euen vvithin the maine sea. this place of strength vvas furnished of sixe great peeces, demi-culuerins, and sakers, vvhich shot directlie in front vpon vs as vve approched. novve vvithout this vval vpon the inner side of the streight, they had brought likevvise tvvo great gallies vvith their provvesse to the shore, hauing planted in them eleuen peeces of ordinance vvhich did beate all crosse the straight, and flanked our comming on. in these tvvo gallies vvere planted three or foure hundred small shot, and on the land in the garde onely of thys place, three hundred shot and pikes. they in this their full readinesse to receiue vs, spared not their shot both great and small. but our lieftenant generall, taking the aduantage of the darke (the day light as yet not broken out) approched by the lovvest ground, according to the expresse direction vvhich himselfe hadde formerlie giuen, the same being the sea vvash shore, vvhere the vvater vvas somevvhat fallen, so as most of all their shot vvas in vaine. our lieftenant generall commaunded our shot to forbeare shooting vntill vve vvere come to the vvall side, and so vvith pikes roundlie together vve approched the place, vvhere vve soone found out the barricadoes of pipes or buts, to be the meetest place for our assault, vvhich notvvithstaning it vvas vvell tempted by vs: dovvne vvent the buts of earth, and pell mell came our svvordes and pikes together, after out shot had first giuen their volley, euen at the enemies nose. our pikes vvere somevvhat longer then theirs, and our bodies better armed, for very fevve of them vvere armed, vvith vvhich aduantage out svvordes and pikes grevv to hard for them, and they driuen to giue place. in this furious entrie, the lieutenant generall slue vvith his ovvne hands, the chiefe ensigne bearer of the spaniards, vvho fought verie manfullie to his liues end. we follovved into the towne vvith them, and giuing them no leasure to breath, vve vvanne the market place, albeit they made head, and fought a while before vve got it, and so vve being once seazed and assured of that, they were content to suffer vs to lodge vvithin their towne, and themselues to goe to their vviues, vvhome they had caried into other places of the countrey before our comming thither. at euerie streetes end they had raised verie fine barricadoes of earth workes, vvith trenches without them, as well made as euer vve savve any vvorke done: at the entring whereof vvas some litle resistance, but soone ouercome, it vvas vvith fewe slaine or hurt. they had ioyned vvith them many indians, vvhome they had placed in corners of aduantage, all bovve men, vvith their arrovves most villanously empoisoned, so as if they did but breake the skinne, the partie so touched died vvithout great marueill: some they slevve of our people with their arrowes, some they likevvise mischieued to death vvith certaine prickes of small stickes sharply pointed, of a foot and a halfe long, the one end put into the ground, the other empoisoned, sticking fast vp, right against our comming in the vvay, as we should approch from our landing tovvardes the towne, vvhereof they had planted a vvonderfull number in the ordinarie way, but our keeping the sea vvash shore, missed the greatest part of them verie happilie. to ouerpasse many particular matters, as the hurting of captaine sampson at svvord blovves in the first entring, vnto vvhom was committed the charge of the pikes of the vantgard by his lot and turne, as also of the taking of alonso brauo the chiefe commaunder of that place by captaine goring, after the said captaine had first hurt him vvith his sword, vnto vvhich captaine vvas committed the charge of the shot of the said vantgard. captain winter vvas likewise by his turne of the vantgard in this attempt, vvhere also the liefetenant generall marched himselfe, the saide captaine winter through a great desire to serue by land, hauing nowe exchanged his charge by sea with captaine cecill for his band of footemen. captaine povvell the sergeant maior hadde by hys turne, the charge of the foure companies vvhich made the battaile. captaine morgan, who at s. domingo was of the vantgard, had now by turne his charge vpon the companies of the riergard. euerie man asvvell of one part as of another, came so vvillinglie on to the seruice, as the enemie vvas not able to endure the furie of such hote assault. we staied here sixe weekes, and the sicknesse with mortalitie before spoken off, still continuing among vs, though not vvith the same fury as at the first, and such as were touched vvith the said sicknesse, escaping death, very fevv or almost none could recouer their strength, yea many of them vvere much decayed in their memorie: insomuch that it vvas growen and ordinarie iudgement, when one was heard to speake foolishlie, to say he had bene sicke of the calentour, vvhich is the spanish name of their burning ague: for as i tolde you before, it is a very burning and pestilent ague. the originall cause thereof, is imputed to the euening or first night aire, which they tearme _la serena_, vvherein they say and holde very firme opinion, that who so is then obroad in the open aire, shall certainly be infected to the death, not being of the indian or naturall race of those countrey people: by holding their watch, vvere thus subiected to the infectious ayre, vvhich at sainct iago vvas most dangerous and deadly of al other places. with the inconuenience of continuall mortalitie, vve vvere forced to giue ouer our entended enterprise, to goe with nombre de dios, and so ouerland to pannama, vvhere vve shoulde haue stroken the stroke for the treasure, and full recompence of our tedious trauailes. and thus at cartagena vve tooke our first resolution to returne homewards. but vvhile vve vvere yet there, it happened one day, that our vvatch called the sentinell, vpon the church steeple, had discouered in the sea a couple of small barkes or boates, making in with the harbour of cartagena, whereupon captaine moone and captaine varney, vvith iohn grant the maister of the tyger, and some other sea men, embarqued themselues in a couple of small pinnaces, to take them before they should come nigh the shore, at the mouth of the harbour, least by some stragling spaniardes from the land, they might be vvarned by signes from comming in, which fel out accordingly, notvvithstanding all the diligence that our men coulde vse: for the spanish boates, vpon the sight of our pinnaces comming tovvardes them, ran themselues a shore, and so their men presently hid them selues in bushes hard by the sea side, amongst some others that had called them by signes thyther. our men presently vvithout any due regard had to the qualitie of the place, and seeing no man of the spaniardes to shew themselues, aboorded the spanish barkes or boates, and so standing all open in them, were suddenly shot at by a troope of spaniards out of the bushes, by vvhich volley of shot there vvere slaine captaine varney, vvhich died presently, and captaine moone, vvho died some fevve dayes after, besides some foure fiue others that vvere hurt: and so our folkes returned without their purpose, not hauing any sufficient number of souldiers, vvith them to fight on shore. for those men they carried were all marriners to rowe, fevve of them armed, because they made account with their ordinance to haue taken the barkes vvell enough at sea, which they might ful easily haue done, without any losse at all, if they had come in time to the harbour mouth, before the spaniards boats had gotten so neare the shore. during our abode in this place, as also at s. domingo, there passed diuerse curtesies betvveene vs and the spaniardes, as feasting, and vsing them with all kindnes, and fauour: so as amongst others there came to see the generall, the gouernor of _cartagena_, vvith the bishop of the same, and diuerse of other gentlemen of the better sort. this towne of _cartagena_ wee touched in the out parts, and consumed much vvith fire, as we had done sainct domingo vpon discontentmentes, and for want of agreeing with vs in their first treaties touching their ransome, which at the last vvas concluded betvvene vs, should be a hundred and ten thousand duckettes for that which vvas yet standing, the ducket valued at fiue shillings sixe pence sterling. this towne though not halfe so big as s. domingo, giues as you see, a farre greater ransome, being in verye deede of farre more importance, by reason of the excellencie of the harbour, and the situation thereof, to serue the trade of nombre de dios and other places, and is inhabited with farre more richer merchantes. the other is chiefly inhabited with lawyers & braue gentlemen, being the chiefe or highest appeale of their suites in lawe of all the islandes about it, and of the maine lande coast next vnto it. and it is of no such accompt as cartagena, for these and some other like reasons, which i could giue you, ouer long to be novv vvritten. the vvarning which this tovvne receaued of our coming tovvardes them, from s. domingo, by the space of twentie daies before our arriuall hither, was cause that they had both fortified and euery vvay prepared for their best defence. as also that they had caried and conuayed away all their treasure and principall substance. the ransome of an hundred and tenne thousand duckets thus concluded on, as is aforesaid, the same being written, and expressing for nothing more then the tovvne of cartagena, vpon the payment of the said ransome, we left the said tovvne, and drevv some part of our souldiers into the priorie or abbey, standing a quarter of an english mile belovv the tovvne vpon the harbour water side, the same being vvalled vvith a wall of stone, vvhich vve told the spaniards vvas yet ours, and not redeemed by their composition: vvhereupon they finding the defect of their contract, vvere contented to enter into another ransome for all places, but specially for the said house, as also the blocke house or castle, vvhich is vpon the mouth of the inner harbour. and vvhen vve asked as much for the one as for the other, they yelded to giue a thousand crownes for the abbey, leauing vs to take our pleasure vpon the blocke house, vvhich they said they vvere not able to ransome, hauing stretched them selues to the vttermost of their powers: and therefore the said blocke house vvas by vs vndermined, and so vvith gunne powder blowen vp in peeces. while this latter contract vvas in making, our whole fleete of ships fell dovvne towardes the harbour mouth, vvhere they ankered the third time, and employed their men in fetching of fresh vvater aboord the ships for our voiage homevvardes, which vvater vvas had in a great vvell, that is in the island by the harbour mouth, which island is a verie pleasant place as hath bene seene, hauing in it many sortes of goodly and verie pleasant fruicts, as the orenge trees and others, being set orderly in walkes of great length together. insomuch as the vvhole island being some two or three miles about, is cast into groundes of gardening and orchards. after sixe vveeks abode in this place, vve put to sea the last of march, where after tvvo or three dayes a great ship vvhich vve had taken at s. domingo, and thereupon vvas called the new yeares gift, fell into a great leake, being laden with ordinance, hides, and other spoiles, and in the night shee lost the companie of our fleete, vvhich being missed the next morning by the generall, he cast about vvith the whole fleete, fearing some great mischance to be happened vnto her, as in verie deede it so fell out, for her leake vvas so great, and her men were all tyred vvith pomping. but at the last hauing found her and the barke talbot in her companie, vvhich staied by great hap vvith her, vvas readie to take their men out of her, for the sauing of them. and so the generall being fully aduertised of their great extremitie, made saile directlie back againe to cartagena with the vvhole fleete, where hauing staied eight or tenne daies more, about the vnlading of this ship, and the bestovving thereof and her men, into other ships, vve departed once againe to sea, directing our course towards the cape s. anthonie, being the eastermost part of cvba, vvhether vve arriued the seuen and twentieth of aprill. but because fresh vvater could not presently be found, we weyed anker and departed, thinking in few daies to recouer the mattances, a place to the eastward of havana. after we had sailed some fourteene dayes, we vvere brought to cape s. anthonie againe, thorough lacke of fauorable winde: but then our scarcity vvas growen such, as neede made vs looke a little better for vvater, vvhich vve found in sufficient quantitie, being in deede as i iudge, none other then raine vvater nevvly fallen, and gathered vp by making pittes in a plot of marrish ground, some three hundred pases from the sea side. i do vvrong if i should forget the good example of the generall at this place, vvho to encourage others, and to hasten the getting of fresh vvater aboord the ships, tooke no lesse paine him selfe then the meanest, as also at s. domingo, cartagena, and all other places, hauing alvvaies so vigilant a care and foresight in the good ordering of his fleete, accompanying them, as it is said, with such vvonderfull trauell of bodie, as doubtlesse had he bene the meanest person, as he vvas the chiefest, he had yet deserued the first place of honour: and no lesse happie do we accompt him, for being associated with maister carleill his lieutenant generall, by whose experiences, prudent counsell, and gallant performance, he atchiued so many and happie enterprises of the warre, by vvhom also he was verie greatly assisted, in setting downe the needefull orders, lawes, and course of iustice, and for the due administration of the same vpon all occasions. after three daies spent in watering our ships, vve departed now the second time from the cape of s. anthonie the thirteenth of may, and proceeding about the cape of florida, we neuer touched anie where, but coasting alongst florida, and keeping the shore still in sight, the eight and twentieth of may early in the morning, vve descried on the shore a place built like a beacon, vvhich vvas in deede a scaffold vpon fowre long mastes, raised on ende for men to discouer to the seaward, being in the latitude of thirtie degrees, or verie neare thereunto. our pinnaces manned, and comming to the shore, we marched vp alongst the riuer side, to see vvhat place the enemie held there: for none amongst vs had any knowledge thereof at all. here the generall tooke occasion to march vvith the companies him selfe in person, the lieutenant generall hauing the vantgard, and going a mile vp or somewhat more by the riuer side, vve might discerne on the other side of the riuer ouer against vs, a fort, which newly had bene built by the spaniards, and some mile or there about aboue the fort, vvas a litle towne or village without walls, built of vvoodden houses, as this plot here doth plainlie shevv: we forthwith prepared to haue ordinance for the batterie, and one peece vvas a litle before the euening planted, and the first shot being made by the lieutenant generall him selfe at their ensigne, strake through the ensigne, as vve afterwardes vnderstood by a french man, vvhich came vnto vs from them. one shot more vvas then made, which strake the foote of the fort vvall, which vvas all massiue timber of great trees like mastes. the lieutenant generall vvas determined to passe the riuer this night vvith fovvre companies, and there to lodge him selfe intrenched as neare the fort, as that he might play vvith his muskets and smallest shot vpon any that should appeare: and so afterwards to bring and plant the batterie vvith him, but the helpe of marriners for that sudden to make trenches could not be had, vvhich vvas the cause that this determination vvas remitted vntill the next night. in the night the lieutenant generall tooke a litle rowing skiffe, and halfe a dozen vvell armed, as captaine morgan, and captaine sampson, vvith some others besides the rowers, and went to view vvhat gard the enemie kept, as also to take knowledge of the ground. and albeit he went as couertly as might be, yet the enemie taking the _alarum_, grevv fearefull that the whole force was approching to the assault, and therefore vvith all speede abandoned the place after the shooting of some of their peeces. they thus gone, and he being returned vnto vs againe, but nothing knowing of their flight from their fort, forthwith came a french man being a phipher (who had bene prisoner vvith them) in a litle boate, playing on his phiph the tune of the prince of orenge his song, and beeing called vnto by the gard, he tolde them before he put foote out of the boate, vvhat he vvas him selfe, and hovv the spaniardes were gone from the fort, offering either to remaine in handes there, or els to returne to the place with them that vvould goe. vpon this intelligence the generall, the lieftenant generall, vvith some of the captaines in one skiffe, and the vice-admirall vvith some others in his skiffe, and tvvo or three pinnaces furnished of souldiours vvith them, put presently ouer tovvardes the fort, giuing order for the rest of the pinnaces to follovve. and in our approch, some of the enemie bolder then the rest, hauing stayed behinde their companie, shot off tvvo peeces of ordinance at vs: but on shore we vvent, and entered the place without finding any man there. when the day appeared, we found it built all of timber, the walles being none other but whole mastes or bodies of trees set vppe right and close together in manner of a pale, vvithout any ditch as yet made, but who intended with some more time, for they had not as yet finished all their worke, hauing begun the same some three or foure monethes before: so as to say the trueth, they had no reason to keepe it, being subiect both to fire and easie assault. the platforme vvhereon the ordinance lay, vvas whole bodies of long pine trees, whereof there is great plentie, layed a crosse one on another, and some litle earth amongst. there vvas in it thirteene or fourteene greate peeces of brasse ordinance, and a chest vnbroken vp, hauing in it the value of some two thousande poundes sterling, by estimation of the kinges treasure, to pay the souldiers of that place vvho vvere a hundred and fiftie men. the fort thus vvonne, vvhich they called s. iohn fort, and the day opened, vve assayed to go to the tovvne, but could not by reason of some ryuers and broken ground vvhich was betweene the tvvo places: and therefore enforced to imbarke againe into our pinnaces, vve vvent thither vpon the great maine riuer, which is called as also the tovvne by the name of s. avgvstine. at our approching to land, there vvas some that began to shevve themselues, and to bestovve some fevv shot vpon vs, but presently vvithdrevv themselues. and in their running thus avvay, the sergeant maior finding one of their horses readie sadled and bridled, tooke the same to follovv the chase, and so ouergoing all his companie, vvas (by one laied behind a bush) shot through the head, and falling dovvne therevvith, vvas by the same and tvvo or three more, stabbed in three or foure places of his bodie with swords and daggers, before any could come neer to his reskue. his death vvas much lamented, being in very deed an honest vvise gentleman and a souldier of good experience, and of as great courage as any man might be. in this place called s. avgvstine, vve vnderstoode the king did keepe as is before saide, one hundred and fifty souldiers, and at another place some dozen leagues beyond to the northvvards, called s. helena, he did there likevvise keepe an hundred and fifty more, seruing there for no other purpose, then to keepe all other nations from inhabiting any part of al that coast, the gouernement vvherof vvas committed to one pedro melendez marquesse, nephevv to that melendez the admirall, vvho had ouerthrovven maister iohn havvkins in the bay of mexico some fifteene or sixteene yeares agoe. this gouernour had charge of both places, but vvas at this time in this place, and one of the first that left the same. here it vvas resolued in full assembly of captaines, to vndertake the enterprise of s helena, and from thence to seeke out the inhabitation of our english countreymen in virginia, distant from thence some sixe degrees northvvard. when we came thvvart of sainct _helena_ the shols appearing dangerous, and we hauing no pilot to vndertake the entrie, it was thought meetest to goe hence alongst. for the admiral had bene the same night in foure fadome and a halfe three leagues from the shore: and yet we vnderstood by the help of a knowne pilot, there may and doeth goe in ships of greater burthen and draught then any wee had in our fleete. wee passed thus alongest the coast harde aboorde the shore, which is shallowe for a league or tvvo from the shore, and the same is lovve and broken land for the most part. the ninth of iune vpon sight of one speciall great fire (which are very ordinarie all alongst this coast, euen from the cape florida hither) the generall sent his skiffe to the shore, where they found some of our english countrey men (that had bene sent thither the yeare before by sir walter raleigh) and brought on aboord, by vvhose direction wee proceeded along to the place, vvhich they make their port. but some of our shippes beeing of great draught vnable to enter, we anckered all without the harbour in a vvilde road at sea, about two miles from shore. from whence the generall wrote letters to maister ralfe lane, being gouernour of those english in virginia, and then at his fort about six leagues from the rode in an island, which they call roanoac, wherein is specially he shewed how ready he was to supply his necessities and wants, which he vnderstood of, by those he had first talked withall. the morrowe after maister lane himselfe and some of his companie comming vnto him, with the consent of his captaines he gaue them the choice of tvvo offers, that is to say: either he woulde leaue a ship, a pinnace, and certaine boates with sufficient maisters and mariners, together furnished vvith a monethes victuall to stay and make farther discouerie of the countrey and coastes, and so much victuall likevvise that might bee sufficient for the bringing of them all (being an hundred and three persons) into england if they thought good after such time, with any other thing they vvould desire, and that he might be able to spare. or else if they thought they had made sufficient discouerie alreadie, and did desire to returne into england, he would giue them passage. but they as it seemed, being desirous to stay, accepted verie thankfully, and with great gladnesse that which vvas offred first. whereupon the ship being appointed and receaued into charge, by some of their ovvne companie sent into her by maister lane, before they had receaued from the rest of the fleete, the prouision appointed them, there arose a great storme (vvhich they said vvas extraordinarie and verie strange) that lasted three daies together, and put all our fleete in great danger, to be driuen from their ankering vpon the coast. for vve brake many cables, and lost manie ankers. and some of our fleete which had lost all (of vvhich number was the ship appointed for maister lane and his companie) vvas driuen to put to sea in great danger, in auoyding the coast, and could neuer see vs againe vntill we met in england. manie also of our small pinnaces and boates vvere lost in this storme. notwithstanding after all this, the generall offered them (with consent of his captaines) another ship with some prouision, although not such a one for their turnes, as might haue bene spared them before, this being vnable to be brought into their harbour. or else if they vvould, to giue them passage into england, although he knevv he should performe it vvith greater difficultie then he might haue done before. but maister lane vvith those of the chiefest of his companie he had then with him, considering vvhat should be best for them to doe, made request vnto the generall vnder their handes, that they might haue passage for england: the vvhich being graunted, and the rest sent for out of the countrey and shipped, we departed from that coast the eighteenth of iune. and so god be thanked, both they and we in good safetie arriued at portesmouth the eight and twentieth of iuly , to the great glorie of god, and to no small honour to our prince, our countrey, and our selues. the totall value of that which was gotten in this voyage, is estimated at three score thousand pounds, vvhereof the companies vvhich haue trauelled in the voyage were to haue twentie thousand pounds, the aduenturers the other fortie. of which twentie thousand pounds (as i can iudge) will redound some sixe pound to the single share. we lost some seuen hundred and fiftie men in the voiage. the men of name that died and were slaine in this voiage as i can presently call to my remembrance, are these. captaine powell. captaine varney. captaine moone. captaine fortescute. captaine bigges. captaine cecill. captaine hannam. captaine greenefield. thomas tucker a lieutenant. alexander starkey a lieutenant. maister escot a lieutenant. maister waterhouse a lieutenant. maister nicholas winter. maister alexander carleill. maister robert alexander. maister scroope. maister iames dier. maister peter duke. with some other, vvho for hast i can not so suddenly thinke on. the ordinance gotten of all sortes brasse and iron were about two hundred and fortie, whereof the two hundred and some more were brasse, and were thus founde and gotten. in s. iago some two or three and fiftie peeces. in s. domingo about foure score, whereof was verie much great ordinance, as vvhole cannon, dimi-cannon, culuerins, and such like. in cartagena some sixtie and three peeces, and good stoore likewise of the greater sort. in the fort of s. avgvstine vvere fourteene peeces. the rest vvas iron ordinance, of vvhich the most part vvas gotten at s. domingo, the rest at cartagena. _pag. . lin. . recharging._ _pag. . lin. . of ordinance._ _pag. . lin. . pannama._ {transcriber's notes: the corrections indicated by the three errata notes have been made: 'keepe them from the reaching of the ordinance' corrected to 'keepe them from the recharging of the ordinance' on page . 'vvithout any resistance, or ordinaunce,' corrected to 'vvithout any resistance, of ordinance,' on page . 'and so ouerland to pannania' corrected to 'and so ouerland to pannama' on page . the following corrections to obvious typographical errors have also been made: 'nnd therefore doe onely commend the trueth' changed to 'and therefore doe onely commend the trueth' in the dedication. 'slacked for a time of some better leasure,' changed to 'slacked for a time of some better leasure.' after the dedication. 'captaine in the elizabeth bonaduentnre' changed to 'captaine in the elizabeth bonaduenture' on page . 'willed him to goe to to the gouernour of the citie' changed to 'willed him to goe to the gouernour of the citie' on page . 'maister carleill our lieuteuant generall' changed to 'maister carleill our lieutenant generall' on page . 'on mnnday the six and twentieth of nouember' changed to 'on monday the six and twentieth of nouember' on page . 'being some hun dred and fiftie braue horses' changed to 'being some hundred and fiftie braue horses' on page . the word 'hundred' was split over a line break without a hyphen. 'vwich was found in the kings house' changed to 'vvich was found in the kings house' on page . 'the gronnd we were on grew to be straight' changed to 'the ground we were on grew to be straight' on page . 'our lieftenant generall com maunded our shot' changed to 'our lieftenant generall commaunded our shot' on page . the word 'commaunded' was split over a line break without a hyphen. 'fought a while beforevv egot it' changed to 'fought a while before vve got it' on page . 'when onewas heard to speake foolishlie' changed to 'when one was heard to speake foolishlie' on page . 'full recompence of our tedious tranailes' changed to 'full recompence of our tedious trauailes' on page . 'raken the barkes vvell enough at sea' changed to 'taken the barkes vvell enough at sea' on page , by reference to the catchword on the previous page. 'built of vvoodden houses,,' changed to 'built of vvoodden houses,' on page . 'then any wee had in our fleete,' changed to 'then any wee had in our fleete.' on page . one contraction has been expanded: in 'to the number of fiue and twentie saile of ships' on page , the 'm' in 'number' was represented by a horizontal line over the 'u' in the original. } sir francis drake revived by philip nichols editor: philip nichols preparer's note this text was originally prepared from a edition, published by p f collier & son company, new york. it included this note: faithfully taken out of the report of master christopher ceely, ellis hixom, and others, who were in the same voyage with him by philip nichols, preacher reviewed by sir francis drake himself set forth by sir francis drake, baronet (his nephew) sir francis drake revived introductory note sir francis drake, the greatest of the naval adventurers of england of the time of elizabeth, was born in devonshire about . he went to sea early, was sailing to the spanish main by , and commanded a ship under hawkins in an expedition that was overwhelmed by the spaniards in . in order to recompense himself for the loss suffered in this disaster, he equipped the expedition against the spanish treasure-house at nombre de dios in , the fortunes of which are described in the first of the two following narratives. it was on this voyage that he was led by native guides to "that goodly and great high tree" on the isthmus of darien, from which, first of englishmen, he looked on the pacific, and "besought almighty god of his goodness to give him life and leave to sail once in an english ship in that sea." the fulfilment of this prayer is described in the second of the voyages here printed, in which it is told how, in , drake passed through the straits of magellan into waters never before sailed by his countrymen, and with a single ship rifled the spanish settlements on the west coast of south america and plundered the spanish treasure-ships; how, considering it unsafe to go back the way he came lest the enemy should seek revenge, he went as far north as the golden gate, then passed across the pacific and round by the cape of good hope, and so home, the first englishman to circumnavigate the globe. only magellan's ship had preceded him in the feat, and magellan had died on the voyage. the queen visited the ship, "the golden hind," as she lay at deptford and knighted the commander on board. drake's further adventures were of almost equal interest. returning from a raid on the spaniards in , he brought home the despairing virginian colony, and is said at the same time to have introduced from america tobacco and potatoes. two years later he led the english fleet in the decisive engagement with the great armada. in he set out on another voyage to the spanish main; and in the january of the following year died off porto bello and was buried in the waters where he had made his name as the greatest seaman of his day and nation. to the high and mighty charles the first, of great britain, france, and ireland, king, all the blessings of this, and a better life. most gracious sovereign, that this brief treatise is yours, both by right and by succession, will appear by the author's and actor's ensuing _dedication_. to praise either the mistress or the servant, might justly incur the censure of _quis eos unquam sanus vituperavit_; either's worth having sufficiently blazed their fame. this present loseth nothing, by glancing on former actions; and the observation of passed adventures may probably advantage future employments. caesar wrote his own commentaries; and this doer was partly the indictor. neither is there wanting living testimony to confirm its truth. for his sake, then, cherish what is good! and i shall willingly entertain check for what is amiss. your favourable acceptance may encourage my collecting of more neglected notes! however, though virtue, as lands, be not inheritable; yet hath he left of his name, one that resolves, and therein joys to approve himself. your most humble and loyal subject, francis drake [bart.] the dedicatory epistle, intended to queen elizabeth written by sir francis drake, deceased. to the queen's most excellent majesty, my most dread sovereign. madam, seeing divers have diversely reported and written of these voyages and actions which i have attempted and made, every one endeavouring to bring to light whatsoever inklings or conjectures they have had; whereby many untruths have been published, and the certain truth concealed: as [so] i have thought it necessary myself, as in a card [chart] to prick the principal points of the counsels taken, attempts made, and success had, during the whole course of my employment in these services against the spaniard. not as setting sail for maintaining my reputation in men's judgment, but only as sitting at helm, if occasion shall be, for conducting the like actions hereafter. so i have accounted it my duty, to present this discourse to your majesty, as of right; either for itself being the first fruits of your servant's pen, or for the matter, being service done to your majesty by your poor vassal, against your great enemy: at times, in such places, and after such sort as may seem strange to those that are not acquainted with the whole carriage thereof; but will be a pleasing remembrance to your highness, who take the apparent height of the almighty's favour towards you, by these events, as truest instruments. humbly submitting myself to your gracious censure, both in writing and presenting; that posterity be not deprived of such help as may happily be gained hereby, and our present age, at least, may be satisfied, in the rightfulness of these actions, which hitherto have been silenced: and your servant's labour not seem altogether lost, not only in travels by sea and land, but also in writing the report thereof (a work to him no less troublesome) yet made pleasant and sweet, in that it hath been, is, and shall be for your majesty's content; to whom i have devoted myself [and] live or die. francis drake [knight]. january , [i.e., ]. to the courteous reader honest reader, without apology, i desire thee, in this ensuing discourse, to observe, with me, the power and justice of the lord of hosts, who could enable so mean a person to right himself upon so mighty a prince; together with the goodness and providence of god very observable in that it pleased him to raise this man, not only from a low condition, but even from the state of persecution. his father suffered in it, being forced to fly from his house, near south tavistock in devon, into kent: and there to inhabit in the hull of a ship, wherein many of his younger sons were born. he had twelve in all: and as it pleased god to give most of them a being upon the water, so the greatest part of them died at sea. the youngest, who though he was [went] as far as any, yet died at home; whose posterity inherits that, which by himself and this noble gentleman the eldest brother, was hardly, yet worthily gotten. i could more largely acquaint thee, that this voyage was his third he made into the west indies; after that [of] his excellent service, both by sea and land, in ireland, under walter, earl of essex; his next, about the world; another, wherein he took st. jago, cartagena, st. domingo, st. augustino; his doings at cadiz; besides the first carrack taught by him to sail into england; his stirrings in eighty-seven; his remarkable actions in eighty-eight; his endeavours in the portugal employment; his last enterprise, determined by death; and his filling plymouth with a plentiful stream of fresh water: but i pass by all these. i had rather thou shouldest inquire of others! then to seem myself a vainglorious man. i intend not his praise! i strive only to set out the praise of his and our good god! that guided him in his truth! and protected him in his courses! my ends are to stir thee up to the worship of god, and service of our king and country, by his example! if anything be worth thy consideration; conclude with me, that the lord only, can do great things! francis drake [bart.] sir francis drake revived calling upon this dull or effeminate age, to follow his noble steps for gold and silver. as there is a general vengeance which secretly pursueth the doers of wrong, and suffereth them not to prosper, albeit no man of purpose empeach them: so is there a particular indignation, engrafted in the bosom of all that are wronged, which ceaseth not seeking, by all means possible, to redress or remedy the wrong received. insomuch as those great and mighty men, in whom their prosperous estate hath bred such an overweening of themselves, but they do not only wrong their inferiors, but despise them being injured, seem to take a very unfit course for their own safety, and far unfitter for their rest. for as esop teacheth, even the fly hath her spleen, and the emmet [ant] is not without her choler; and both together many times find means whereby, though the eagle lays her eggs in jupiter's lap, yet by one way or other, she escapeth not requital of her wrong done [to] the emmet. among the manifold examples hereof, which former ages have committed to memory, or our time yielded to sight: i suppose, there hath not been any more notable then this in hand; either in respect of the greatness of the person in whom the first injury was offered, or the meanness of him who righted himself. the one being, in his own conceit, the mightiest monarch of all the world! the other, an english captain, a mean subject of her majesty's! who (besides the wrongs received at rio de [la] hacha with captain john lovell in the years and ) having been grievously endamaged at san juan de ulua in the bay of mexico, with captain john hawkins, in the years and , not only in the loss of his goods of some value, but also of his kinsmen and friends, and that by the falsehood of don martin henriquez then the viceroy of mexico; and finding that no recompense could be recovered out of spain, by any of his own means, or by her majesty's letters; he used such helps as he might, by two several voyages into the west indies (the first with two ships, the one called the _dragon_, the other the _swan_, in the year : the other in the _swan_ alone in the year , to gain such intelligences as might further him, to get some amends for his loss. on whitsunday eve, being the th of may, in the year , captain drake in the _pascha_ of plymouth of tons, his admiral [flag-ship]; with the _swan_ of the same port, of tons, his vice-admiral, in which his brother john drake was captain (having in both of them, of men and boys seventy-three, all voluntarily assembled; of which the eldest was fifty, all the rest under thirty: so divided that there were forty-seven in the one ship, and twenty-six in the other. both richly furnished with victuals and apparel for a whole year; and no less heedfully provided of all manner of munition, artillery, artificers, stuff and tools, that were requisite for such a man-of-war in such an attempt: but especially having three dainty pinnaces made in plymouth, taken asunder in all pieces, and stowed aboard, to be set up as occasion served), set sail, from out of the sound of plymouth, with intent to land at nombre de dios. the wind continued prosperous and favourable at northeast, and gave us a very good passage, without any alteration or change: so that albeit we had sight ( rd june) of porto santo, one of the madeiras, and of the canaries also within twelve days of our setting forth: yet we never struck sail nor came to anchor, nor made any stay for any cause, neither there nor elsewhere, until twenty-five days after; when ( th june) we had sight of the island guadaloupe, one of the islands of the west indies, goodly high land. the next morning ( th june), we entered between dominica and guadaloupe, where we descried two canoes coming from a rocky island, three leagues off dominica; which usually repair thither to fish, by reason of the great plenty thereof, which is there continually to be found. we landed on the south side of it, remaining there three days to refresh our men; and to water our ships out of one of those goodly rivers, which fall down off the mountain. there we saw certain poor cottages; built with palmito boughs and branches; but no inhabitants, at that time, civil or savage: the cottages it may be (for we could know no certain cause of the solitariness we found there) serving, not for continual inhabitation, but only for their uses, that came to that place at certain seasons to fish. the third day after ( st july), about three in the afternoon, we set sail from thence, toward the continent of _terra firma_. and the fifth day after ( th july), we had sight of the high land of santa marta; but came not near the shore by ten leagues. but thence directed our course, for a place called by us, port pheasant; for that our captain had so named it in his former voyage, by reason of the great store of those goodly fowls, which he and his company did then daily kill and feed on, in that place. in this course notwithstanding we had two days calm, yet within six days after we arrived ( th july) at port pheasant, which is a fine round bay, of very safe harbour for all winds, lying between two high points, not past half a cable's length over at the mouth, but within, eight or ten cables' length every way, having ten or twelve fathoms of water more or less, full of good fish; the soil also very fruitful, which may appear by this, that our captain having been in this place, within a year and few days before [i. e., in july, ] and having rid the place with many alleys and paths made; yet now all was so overgrown again, as that we doubted, at first, whether this was the same place or not. at our entrance into this bay, our captain having given order to his brother what to do, if any occasion should happen in his absence, was on his way, with intent to have gone aland with some few only in his company, because he knew there dwelt no spaniards within thirty-five leagues of that place. [santiago de] tolou being the nearest to the eastwards, and nombre de dios to the westwards, where any of that nation dwelt. but as we were rowing ashore, we saw a smoke in the woods, even near the place where our captain had aforetime frequented; therefore thinking it fit to take more strength with us, he caused his other boat also to be manned, with certain muskets and other weapons, suspecting some enemy had been ashore. when we landed, we found by evident marks, that there had been lately there, a certain englishman of plymouth, called john garret, who had been conducted thither by certain english mariners which had been there with our captain, in some of his former voyages. he had now left a plate of lead, nailed fast to a mighty great tree (greater than any four men joining hands could fathom about) on which were engraven these words, directed to our captain. captain drake if you fortune to come to this port, make haste away! for the spaniards which you had with you here, the last year, have bewrayed this place, and taken away all that you left here. i depart from hence, this present th of july, . your very loving friend, john garret. the smoke which we saw, was occasioned by a fire, which the said garret and his company had made, before their departure, in a very great tree, not far from this which had the lead nailed on it, which had continued burning at least five days before our arrival. this advertisement notwithstanding, our captain meant not to depart before he had built his pinnaces; which were yet aboard in pieces: for which purpose he knew this port to be a most convenient place. and therefore as soon as we had moored our ships, our captain commanded his pinnaces to be brought ashore for the carpenters to set up; himself employing all his other company in fortifying a place (which he had chosen out, as a most fit plot) of three-quarters of an acre of ground, to make some strength or safety for the present, as sufficiently as the means he had would afford. which was performed by felling of great trees; bowsing and hauling them together, with great pulleys and hawsers, until they were enclosed to the water; and then letting others fall upon them, until they had raised with trees and boughs thirty feet in height round about, leaving only one gate to issue at, near the water side; which every night, that we might sleep in more safety and security, was shut up, with a great tree drawn athwart it. the whole plot was built in pentagonal form, to wit, of five equal sides and angles, of which angles two were toward the sea, and that side between them was left open, for the easy launching of our pinnaces: the other four equal sides were wholly, excepting the gate before mentioned, firmly closed up. without, instead of a trench, the ground was rid [laid bare] for fifty feet space, round about. the rest was very thick with trees, of which many were of those kinds which are never without green leaves, till they are dead at the root: excepting only one kind of tree amongst them, much like to our ash, which when the sun cometh right over them, causing great rains, suddenly casteth all its leaves, viz., within three days, and yet within six days after becomes all green again. the leaves of the other trees do also in part fall away, but so as the trees continue still green notwithstanding: being of a marvellous height, and supported as it were with five or six natural buttresses growing out of their bodies so far, that three men may so be hidden in each of them, that they which shall stand in the very next buttress shall not be able to see them. one of them specially was marked to have had seven of those stays or buttresses, for the supporting of his greatness and height, which being measured with a line close by the bark and near to the ground, as it was indented or extant, was found to be above thirty-nine yards about. the wood of those trees is as heavy or heavier than brazil or _lignum vitae_; and is in colour white. the next day after we had arrived ( th july), there came also into that bay, an english bark of the isle of wight, of sir edward horsey's; wherein james ranse was captain and john overy, master, with thirty men: of which, some had been with our captain in the same place, the year before. they brought in with them a spanish caravel of seville, which he had taken the day before, athwart of that place; being a caravel of _adviso_ [despatch boat] bound for nombre de dios; and also one shallop with oars, which he had taken at cape blanc. this captain ranse understanding our captain's purpose, was desirous to join in consort with him; and was received upon conditions agreed on between them. within seven days after his coming, having set up our pinnaces, and despatched all our business, in providing all things necessary, out of our ships into our pinnaces: we departed ( th july) from that harbour, setting sail in the morning towards nombre de dios, continuing our course till we came to the isles of pinos: where, being within three days arrived, we found ( nd july) two frigates of nombre de dios lading plank and timber from thence. the negroes which were in those frigates, gave us some particular understanding of the present state of the town; and besides, told us that they had heard a report, that certain soldiers should come thither shortly, and were daily looked for, from the governor of panama, and the country thereabout, to defend the town against the cimaroons (a black people, which about eighty years past [i.e., ] fled from the spaniards their masters, by reason of their cruelty, and are since grown to a nation, under two kings of their own: the one inhabiteth to the west, and the other to the east of the way from nombre de dios to panama) which had nearly surprised it [i.e., nombre de dios], about six weeks before [i.e., about th june, ]. our captain willing to use those negroes well (not hurting himself) set them ashore upon the main, that they might perhaps join themselves to their countrymen the cimaroons, and gain their liberty, if they would; or if they would not, yet by reason of the length and troublesomeness of the way by land to nombre de dios, he might prevent any notice of his coming, which they should be able to give. for he was loath to put the town to too much charge (which he knew they would willingly bestow) in providing beforehand for his entertainment; and therefore he hastened his going thither, with as much speed and secrecy as possibly he could. to this end, disposing of all his companies, according as they inclined most; he left the three ships and the caravel with captain ranse; and chose into his four pinnaces (captain ranse's shallop made the fourth) beside fifty-three of our men, twenty more of captain ranse's company; with which he seemed competently furnished, to achieve what he intended; especially having proportioned, according to his own purpose, and our men's disposition, their several arms, viz., six targets, six firepikes, twelve pikes, twenty-four muskets and calivers, sixteen bows, and six partisans, two drums, and two trumpets. thus having parted ( rd july) from our company: we arrived at the island of cativaas, being twenty-five leagues distant, about five days afterward ( th july). there we landed all in the morning betimes: and our captain trained his men, delivering them their several weapons and arms which hitherto he had kept very fair and safe in good caske [casks]: and exhorting them after his manner, he declared "the greatness of the hope of good things that was there! the weakness of the town, being unwalled! and the hope he had of prevailing to recompense his wrongs! especially now that he should come with such a crew, who were like-minded with himself; and at such a time, as he should be utterly undiscovered." therefore, even that afternoon, he causeth us to set sail for nombre de dios, so that before sunset we were as far as rio francisco. thence, he led us hard aboard the shore, that we might not be descried of the watch house, until that being come within two leagues of the point of the bay, he caused us to strike a hull, and cast our grappers [grappling irons], riding so until it was dark night. then we weighed again, and set sail, rowing hard aboard the shore, with as much silence as we could, till we recovered the point of the harbour under the high land. there, we stayed, all silent; purposing to attempt the town in the dawning of the day: after that we had reposed ourselves, for a while. but our captain with some other of his best men, finding that our people were talking of the greatness of the town, and what their strength might be; especially by the report of the negroes that we took at the isle of pinos: thought it best to put these conceits out of their heads, and therefore to take the opportunity of the rising of the moon that night, persuading them that "it was the day dawning." by this occasion we were at the town a large hour sooner than first was purposed. for we arrived there by three of the clock after midnight. at that time it fortuned that a ship of spain, of tons, laden with canary wines and other commodities, which had but lately come into the bay; and had not yet furled her spirit-sail (espying our four pinnaces, being an extraordinary number, and those rowing with many oars) sent away her gundeloe [? gondola] towards the town, to give warning. but our captain perceiving it, cut betwixt her and the town, forcing her to go to the other side of the bay: whereby we landed without impeachment, although we found one gunner upon the platform [battery] in the very place where we landed; being a sandy place and no key [quay] at all, not past twenty yards from the houses. there we found six great pieces of brass ordinance, mounted upon their carriages, some demy, some whole-culvering. we presently dismounted them. the gunner fled. the town took alarm (being very ready thereto, by reason of their often disquieting by their near neighbours the cimaroons); as we perceived, not only by the noise and cries of the people, but by the bell ringing out, and drums running up and down the town. our captain, according to the directions which he had given over night, to such as he had made choice of for the purpose, left twelve to keep the pinnaces; that we might be sure of a safe retreat, if the worst befell. and having made sure work of the platform before he would enter the town, he thought best, first to view the mount on the east side of the town: where he was informed, by sundry intelligences the year before, they had an intent to plant ordnance, which might scour round about the town. therefore, leaving one half of his company to make a stand at the foot of the mount, he marched up presently unto the top of it, with all speed to try the truth of the report, for the more safety. there we found no piece of ordnance, but only a very fit place prepared for such use, and therefore we left it without any of our men, and with all celerity returned now down the mount. then our captain appointed his brother, with john oxnam [or oxenham] and sixteen other of his men, to go about, behind the king's treasure house, and enter near the eastern end of the market place: himself with the rest, would pass up the broad street into the market place, with sound of drum and trumpet. the firepikes, divided half to the one, and half to the other company, served no less for fright to the enemy than light of our men, who by this means might discern every place very well, as if it were near day: whereas the inhabitants stood amazed at so strange a sight, marvelling what the matter might be, and imagining, by reason of our drums and trumpets sounding in so sundry places, that we had been a far greater number then we were. yet, by means of the soldiers of which were in the town, and by reason of the time which we spent in marching up and down the mount, the soldiers and inhabitants had put themselves in arms, and brought their companies in some order, at the south-east end of the market place, near the governor's house, and not far from the gate of the town, which is the only one, leading towards panama: having (as it seems) gathered themselves thither, either that in the governor's sight they might shew their valour, if it might prevail; or else, that by the gate they might best take their _vale_, and escape readiest. and to make a shew of far greater numbers of shot, or else of a custom they had, by the like device to terrify the cimaroons; they had hung lines with matches lighted, overthwart the western end of the market place, between the church and the cross; as though there had been in a readiness some company of shot, whereas indeed there were not past two or three that taught these lines to dance, till they themselves ran away, as soon as they perceived they were discovered. but the soldiers and such as were joined with them, presented us with a jolly hot volley of shot, beating full upon the full egress of that street, in which we marched; and levelling very low, so as their bullets ofttimes grazed on the sand. we stood not to answer them in like terms; but having discharged our first volley of shot, and feathered them with our arrows (which our captain had caused to be made of purpose in england; not great sheaf arrows, but fine roving shafts, very carefully reserved for the service) we came to the push of pike, so that our firepikes being well armed and made of purpose, did us very great service. for our men with their pikes and short weapons, in short time took such order among these gallants (some using the butt-end of their pieces instead of other weapons), that partly by reason of our arrows which did us there notable service, partly by occasion of this strange and sudden closing with them in this manner unlooked for, and the rather for that at the very instant, our captain's brother, with the other company, with their firepikes, entered the market place by the eastern street: they casting down their weapons, fled all out of the town by the gate aforesaid, which had been built for a bar to keep out of the town the cimaroons, who had often assailed it; but now served for a gap for the spaniards to fly at. in following, and returning; divers of our men were hurt with the weapons which the enemy had let fall as he fled; somewhat, for that we marched with such speed, but more for that they lay so thick and cross one on the other. being returned, we made our stand near the midst of the market place, where a tree groweth hard by the cross; whence our captain sent some of our men to stay the ringing of the alarm bell, which had continued all this while: but the church being very strongly built and fast shut, they could not without firing (which our captain forbade) get into the steeple where the bell rung. in the meantime, our captain having taken two or three spaniards in their flight, commanded them to shew him the governor's house, where he understood was the ordinary place of unlading the moiles [mules] of all the treasure which came from panama by the king's appointment. although the silver only was kept there; the gold, pearl, and jewels (being there once entered by the king's officer) was carried from thence to the king's treasure house not far off, being a house very strongly built of lime and alone, for the safe keeping thereof. at our coming to the governor's house we found the great door where the mules do usually unlade, even then opened, a candle lighted upon the top of the stairs; and a fair gennet ready saddled, either for the governor himself, or some other of his household to carry it after him. by means of this light we saw a huge heap of silver in that nether [lower] room; being a pile of bars of silver of, as near as we could guess, seventy feet in length, of ten feet in breadth, and twelve feet in height, piled up against the wall, each bar was between thirty-five and forty pounds in weight. at sight hereof, our captain commanded straightly that none of us should touch a bar of silver; but stand upon our weapons, because the town was full of people, and there was in the king's treasure house near the water side, more gold and jewels than all our four pinnaces could carry: which we should presently set some in hand to break open, notwithstanding the spaniards report the strength of it. we were no sooner returned to our strength, but there was a report brought by some of our men that our pinnaces were in danger to be taken; and that if we ourselves got not aboard before day, we should be oppressed with multitude both of soldiers and towns-people. this report had his ground from one diego a negro, who, in the time of the first conflict, came and called to our pinnaces, to know "whether they were captain drake's?" and upon answer received, continued entreating to be taken aboard, though he had first three or four shot made at him, until at length they fetched him; and learned by him, that, not past eight days before our arrival, the king had sent thither some soldiers to guard the town against the cimaroons, and the town at this time was full of people beside: which all the rather believed, because it agreed with the report of the negroes, which we took before at the isle of pinos. and therefore our captain sent his brother and john oxnam to understand the truth thereof. they found our men which we left in our pinnaces much frightened, by reason that they saw great troops and companies running up and down, with matches lighted, some with other weapons, crying _que gente? que gente?_ which not having been at the first conflict, but coming from the utter ends of the town (being at least as big as plymouth), came many times near us; and understanding that we were english, discharged their pieces and ran away. presently after this, a mighty shower of rain, with a terrible storm of thunder and lightning, fell, which poured down so vehemently (as it usually doth in those countries) that before we could recover the shelter of a certain shade or penthouse at the western end of the king's treasure house, (which seemeth to have been built there of purpose to avoid sun and rain) some of our bow-strings were wet, and some of our match and powder hurt! which while we were careful of, to refurnish and supply; divers of our men harping on the reports lately brought us, were muttering of the forces of the town, which our captain perceiving, told them, that "he had brought them to the mouth of the treasure of the world, if they would want it, they might henceforth blame nobody but themselves!" and therefore as soon as the storm began to assuage of his fury (which was a long half hour) willing to give his men no longer leisure to demur of those doubts, nor yet allow the enemy farther respite to gather themselves together, he stept forward commanding his brother, with john oxnam and the company appointed them, to break the king's treasure house: the rest to follow him to keep the strength of the market place, till they had despatched the business for which they came. but as he stepped forward, his strength and sight and speech failed him, and he began to faint for want of blood, which, as then we perceived, had, in great quantity, issued upon the sand, out of a wound received in his leg in the first encounter, whereby though he felt some pain, yet (for that he perceived divers of the company, having already gotten many good things, to be very ready to take all occasions, of winding themselves out of that conceited danger) would he not have it known to any, till this his fainting, against his will, bewrayed it: the blood having first filled the very prints which our footsteps made, to the great dismay of all our company, who thought it not credible that one man should be able to spare so much blood and live. and therefore even they, which were willing to have ventured the most for so fair a booty, would in no case hazard their captain's life; but (having given him somewhat to drink wherewith he recovered himself, and having bound his scarf about his leg, for the stopping of the blood) entreated him to be content to go with them aboard, there to have his wound searched and dressed, and then to return on shore again if he thought good. this when they could not persuade him unto (as who knew it to be utterly impossible, at least very unlikely, that ever they should, for that time, return again, to recover the state in which they now were: and was of opinion, that it were more honourable for himself, to jeopard his life for so great a benefit, than to leave off so high an enterprise unperformed), they joined altogether and with force mingled with fair entreaty, they bare him aboard his pinnace, and so abandoned a most rich spoil for the present, only to preserve their captain's life: and being resolved of him, that while they enjoyed his presence, and had him to command them, they might recover wealth sufficient; but if once they lost him, they should hardly be able to recover home. no, not with that which they had gotten already. thus we embarked by break of day ( th july), having besides our captain, many of our men wounded, though none slain but one trumpeter: whereupon though our surgeons were busily employed, in providing remedies and salves for their wounds: yet the main care of our captain was respected by all the rest; so that before we departed out of the harbour for the more comfort of our company, we took the aforesaid ship of wines without great resistance. but before we had her free of the haven, they of the town had made means to bring one of their culverins, which we had dismounted, so as they made a shot at us, but hindered us not from carrying forth the prize to the isle of _bastimentos_, or the isle of victuals: which is an island that lieth without the bay to the westward, about a league off the town, where we stayed the two next days, to cure our wounded men, and refresh ourselves, in the goodly gardens which we there found abounding with great store of all dainty roots and fruits; besides great plenty of poultry and other fowls, no less strange then delicate. shortly upon our first arrival in this island, the governor and the rest of his assistants in the town, as we afterwards understood, sent unto our captain, a proper gentleman, of mean stature, good complexion, and a fair spoken, a principal soldier of the late sent garrison, to view in what state we were. at his coming he protested "he came to us, of mere good will, for that we had attempted so great and incredible a matter with so few men: and that, at the first, they feared that we had been french, at whose hands they knew they should find no mercy: but after they perceived by our arrows, that we were englishmen, their fears were the less, for that they knew, that though we took the treasure of the place, yet we would not use cruelty toward their persons. but albeit this his affection gave him cause enough, to come aboard such, whose virtue he so honoured: yet the governor also had not only consented to his coming, but directly sent him, upon occasion that divers of the town affirmed, said he, 'that they knew our captain, who the last two years had been often on our coast, and had always used their persons very well.' and therefore desired to know, first, whether our captain was the same captain drake or not? and next, because many of their men were wounded with our arrows, whether they were poisoned or not? and how their wounds might best be cured? lastly, what victuals we wanted, or other necessaries? of which the governor promised by him to supply and furnish us, as largely as he durst." our captain, although he thought this soldier but a spy: yet used him very courteously, and answered him to his governor's demands: that "he was the same drake whom they meant! it was never his manner to poison his arrows! they might cure their wounded by ordinary surgery! as for wants, he knew the island of _bastimentos_ has sufficient, and could furnish him if he listed! but he wanted nothing but some of that special commodity which that country yielded, to content himself and his company." and therefore he advised the governor "to hold open his eyes! for before he departed, if god lent him life and leave, he meant to reap some of their harvest, which they get out of the earth, and sent into spain to trouble all the earth!" to this answer unlooked for, this gentleman replied, "if he might, without offence, move such a question, what should then be the cause of our departing from that town at this time, where was above tons of silver ready for the fleet, and much more gold in value, resting in iron chests in the king's treasure house?" but when our captain had shewed him the true cause of his unwilling retreat aboard, he acknowledged that "we had no less reason in departing, than courage in attempting:" and no doubt did easily see, that it was not for the town to seek revenge of us, by manning forth such frigates or other vessels as they had; but better to content themselves and provide for their own defence. thus, with great favour and courteous entertainment, besides such gifts from our captain as most contented him, after dinner, he was in such sort dismissed, to make report of what he had seen, that he protested, "he was never so much honoured of any in his life." after his departure, the negro formentioned, being examined more fully, confirmed this report of the gold and the silver; with many other intelligences of importance: especially how we might have gold and silver enough, if we would by means of the cimaroons, whom though he had betrayed divers times (being used thereto by his masters) so that he knew they would kill him, if they got him: yet if our captain would undertake his protection, he durst adventure his life, because he knew our captain's name was most precious and highly honoured by them. this report ministered occasion to further consultation: for which, because this place seemed not the safest; as being neither the healthiest nor quietest; the next day, in the morning, we all set our course for the isle of _pinos_ or port plenty, where we had left our ships, continuing all that day, and the next till towards night, before we recovered it. we were the longer in this course, for that our captain sent away his brother and ellis hixom to the westward, in search of the river of chagres, where himself had been the year before, and yet was careful to gain more notice of; it being a river which trendeth to the southward, within six leagues of panama, where is a little town called venta cruz [venta de cruzes], whence all the treasure, that was usually brought thither from panama by mules, was embarked in frigates [sailing] down that river into the north sea, and so to nombre de dios. it ebbeth and floweth not far into the land, and therefore it asketh three days' rowing with a fine pinnace to pass [up] from the mouth to venta cruz; but one day and a night serveth to return down the river. at our return to our ships ( st august), in our consultation, captain ranse (forecasting divers doubts of our safe continuance upon that coast, being now discovered) was willing to depart; and our captain no less willing to dismiss him: and therefore as soon as our pinnaces returned from chagres ( th august) with such advertisement as they were sent for, about eight days before; captain ranse took his leave, leaving us at the isle aforesaid, where we had remained five or six days. in which meantime, having put all things in a readiness, our captain resolved, with his two ships and three pinnaces to go to cartagena; whither in sailing, we spent some six days by reason of the calms which came often upon us: but all this time we attempted nothing that we might have done by the way, neither at [santiago de] tolou nor otherwhere, because we would not be discovered. we came to anchor with our two ships in the evening [ th august], in seven fathom water, between the island of charesha and st. bernards [san bernardo]. our captain led the three pinnaces about the island, into the harbour of cartagena; where at the very entry, he found a frigate at anchor, aboard which was only one old man; who being demanded, "where the rest of his company was?" answered, "that they were gone ashore in their gundeloe [? gondola or ship's boat], that evening, to fight about a mistress:" and voluntarily related to our captain that, "two hours before night, there past by them a pinnace, with sail and oars, as fast as ever they could row, calling to him 'whether there had not been any english or frenchmen there lately?' and upon answer that, 'there had been none!' they bid them 'look to themselves!' that, within an hour that this pinnace was come to the utterside [outside] of cartagena, there were many great pieces shot off, whereupon one going to top, to descry what might be the cause? espied, over the land, divers frigates and small shipping bringing themselves within the castle." this report our captain credited, the rather for that himself had heard the report of the ordnance at sea; and perceived sufficiently, that he was now descried. notwithstanding in farther examination of this old mariner, having understood, that there was, within the next point, a great ship of seville, which had here discharged her loading, and rid now with her yards across, being bound the next morning for santo domingo: our captain took this old man into his pinnace to verify that which he had informed, and rowed towards this ship, which as we came near it, hailed us, asking, "whence our shallops were?" we answered, "from nombre de dios!" straightway they railed and reviled! we gave no heed to their words, but every pinnace, according to our captain's order, one on the starboard bow, the other on the starboard quarter, and the captain in the midship on the larboard side, forthwith boarded her; though we had some difficulty to enter by reason of her height, being of tons. but as soon as we entered upon the decks, we threw down the grates and spardecks, to prevent the spaniards form annoying us with their close fights: who then perceiving that we were possessed of their ship, stowed themselves all in hold with their weapons, except two or three yonkers, which were found afore the beetes: when having light out of our pinnaces, we found no danger of the enemy remaining, we cut their cables at halse, and with our three pinnaces, towed her without the island into the sound right afore the down, without [beyond the] danger of their great shot. meanwhile, the town, having intelligence hereof, or by their watch, took the alarm, rang out their bells, shot off about thirty pieces of great ordnance, put all their men in a readiness, horse and foot, came down to the very point of the wood, and discharged their calivers, to impeach us if they might, in going forth. the next morning ( th august) our ships took two frigates, in which there were two, who called themselves king's _scrivanos_, the one of cartagena, the other of veragua, with seven mariners and two negroes; who had been at nombre de dios and were now bound for cartagena with double [? duplicate] letters of advice, to certify them that captain drake had been at nombre de dios, had taken it; and had it not been that he was hurt with some blessed shot, by all likelihood he had sacked it. he was yet still upon the coast; they should therefore carefully prepare for him! after that our captain had brought out all his fleet together, at the _scrivanos'_ entreaties, he was content to do them all favour, in setting them and all their companies on shore; and so bare thence with the islands of st. bernards, about three leagues of the town: where we found great store of fish for our refreshing. here, our captain considering that he was now discovered upon the chieftest places of all the coast, and yet not meaning to leave it till he had found the cimaroons, and "made" his voyage, as he had conceived; which would require some length of time, and sure manning of his pinnaces: he determined with himself, to burn one of the ships, and make the other a storehouse; that his pinnaces (which could not otherwise) might be thoroughly manned, and so he might be able to abide any time. but knowing the affection of his company, how loath they were to leave either of their ships, being both so good sailers and so well furnished; he purposed in himself by some policy, to make them most willing to effect that he intended. and therefore sent for one thomas moone, who was carpenter in the _swan_, and asking him into his cabin, chargeth him to conceal for a time, a piece of service, which he must in any case consent to do aboard his own ship: that was, in the middle of the second watch, to go down secretly into the well of the ship, and with a spike-gimlet, to bore three holes, as near the keel as he could, and lay something against it, that the force of the water entering, might make no great noise, nor be discovered by a boiling up. thomas moone at the hearing hereof, being utterly dismayed, desired to know "what cause there might be, to move him to sink so good a bark of his own, new and strong; and that, by _his_ means, who had been in two so rich and gainful voyages in her with himself heretofore: if his brother, the master, and the rest of the company [numbering ] should know of such his fact, he thought verily they would kill him." but when our captain had imparted to him his cause, and had persuaded him with promise that it should not be known, till all of them should be glad of it: he understood it, and did it accordingly. the next morning [ th august] our captain took his pinnace very early, purposing to go a fishing, for that there is very great store on the coast; and falling aboard the _swan_, calleth for his brother to go with him, who rising suddenly, answereth that "he would follow presently, or if it would please him to stay a very little, he would attend him." our captain perceiving the feat wrought, would not hasten him; but in rowing away, demanded of them, "why their bark was so deep?" as making no great account of it. but, by occasion of this demand, his brother sent one down to the steward, to know "whether there were any water in the ship? or what other cause might be?" the steward, hastily stepping down at his usual scuttle, was wet up to his waist, and shifting with more haste to come up again as if the water had followed him, cried out that "the ship was full of water!" there was no need to hasten the company, some to the pump, others to search for the leak, which the captain of the bark seeing they did, on all hands, very willingly; he followed his brother, and certified him of "the strange chance befallen them that night; that whereas they had not pumped twice in six weeks before, now they had six feet of water in hold: and therefore he desireth leave from attending him in fishing, to intend the search and remedy of the leak." and when our captain with his company preferred [offered] to go to help them; he answered, "they had men enough aboard, and prayed him to continue his fishing, that they might have some part of it for their dinner." thus returning, he found his company had taken great pain, but had freed the water very little: yet such was their love to the bark, as our captain well knew, that they ceased not, but to the utmost of their strength, laboured all that they might till three in the afternoon; by which time, the company perceiving, that (though they had been relieved by our captain himself and many of his company) yet they were not able to free above a foot and a half of water, and could have no likelihood of finding the leak, had now a less liking of her than before, and greater content to hear of some means for remedy. whereupon our captain (consulting them what they thought best to be done) found that they had more desire to have all as he thought fit, than judgement to conceive any means of remedy. and therefore he propounded, that himself would go in the pinnace, till he could provide him some handsome frigate; and that his brother should be captain in the admiral [flag-ship] and the master should also be there placed with him, instead of this: which seeing they could not save, he would have fired that the enemy might never recover her: but first all the pinnaces should be brought aboard her, that every one might take out of her whatever they lacked or liked. this, though the company at first marvelled at; yet presently it was put in execution and performed that night. our captain had his desire, and men enough for his pinnaces. the next morning ( th august) we resolved to seek out some fit place, in the sound of darien, where we might safely leave our ship at anchor, not discoverable by the enemy, who thereby might imagine us quite departed from the coast, and we the meantime better follow our purposes with our pinnaces; of which our captain would himself take two to rio grande [magdalena], and the third leave with his brother to seek the cimaroons. upon this resolution, we set sail presently for the said sound; which within five days [ st august], we recovered: abstaining of purpose from all such occasion, as might hinder our determination, or bewray [betray] our being upon the coast. as soon as we arrived where our captain intended, and had chosen a fit and convenient road out of all trade [to or from any mart] for our purpose; we reposed ourselves there, for some fifteen days, keeping ourselves close, that the bruit of our being upon the coast might cease. but in the meantime, we were not idle: for beside such ordinary works, as our captain, every month did usually inure us to, about the trimming and setting of his pinnaces, for their better sailing and rowing: he caused us to rid a large plot of ground, both of trees and brakes, and to build us houses sufficient for all our lodging, and one especially for all our public meetings; wherein the negro which fled to us before, did us great service, as being well acquainted with the country, and their means of building. our archers made themselves butts to shoot at, because we had many that delighted in that exercise, and wanted not a fletcher to keep our bows and arrows in order. the rest of the company, every one as he liked best, made his disport at bowls, quoits, keiles, etc. for our captain allowed one half of the company to pass their time thus, every other day interchangeable; the other half being enjoined to the necessary works, about our ship and pinnaces, and the providing of fresh victuals, fish, fowl, hogs, deer, conies, etc., whereof there is great plenty. here our smiths set up their forge, as they used, being furnished out of england, with anvil, iron, coals, and all manner of necessaries, which stood us in great stead. at the end of these fifteen days ( th september), our captain leaving his ship in his brother's charge, to keep all things in order; himself took with him, according to his former determination, two pinnaces for rio grande, and passing by cartagena but out of sight, when we were within two leagues of the river, we landed ( th september), to the westward on the main, where we saw great store of cattle. there we found some indians, who asking us in friendly sort, in broken spanish, "what we would have?" and understanding that we desired fresh victuals in traffic; they took such cattle for us as we needed, with ease and so readily, as if they had a special commandment over them, whereas they would not abide us to come near them. and this also they did willingly, because our captain, according to his custom, contented them for their pains, with such things as they account greatly of; in such sort that they promised, we should have there, of them at any time what we would. the same day, we departed thence to rio grande [magdalena], where we entered about three of the clock in the afternoon. there are two entries into this river, of which we entered the western most called _boca chica_. the freshet [current] is so great, that we being half a league from the mouth of it, filled fresh water for our beverage. from three o'clock till dark at night, we rowed up the stream; but the current was so strong downwards, that we got but two leagues, all that time. we moored our pinnaces to a tree that night: for that presently, with the closing of the evening, there fell a monstrous shower of rain, with such strange and terrible claps of thunder, and flashes of lightning, as made us not a little to marvel at, although our captain had been acquainted with such like in that country, and told us that they continue seldom longer than three-quarters of an hour. this storm was no sooner ceast, but it became very calm, and therewith there came such an innumerable multitude of a kind of flies of that country, called mosquitoes, like our gnats, which bit so spitefully, that we could not rest all that night, nor find means to defend ourselves from them, by reason of the heat of the country. the best remedy we then found against them, was the juice of lemons. at the break of day ( th september), we departed, rowing in the eddy, and hauling up by the trees where the eddy failed, with great labour, by spells, without ceasing, each company their half-hour glass: without meeting any, till about three o'clock in the afternoon, by which time we could get but five leagues ahead. then we espied a canoe, with two indians fishing in the river; but we spake not to them, lest so we might be descried: nor they to us, as taking us to be spaniards. but within an hour after, we espied certain houses, on the other side of the river, whose channel is twenty-five fathom deep, and its breadth so great, that a man can scantly be discerned from side to side. yet a spaniard which kept those houses, had espied our pinnaces; and thinking we had been his countrymen, made a smoke, for a signal to turn that way, as being desirous to speak with us. after that, we espying this smoke, had made with it, and were half the river over, he wheaved [waved] to us, with his hat and his long hanging sleeves, to come ashore. but as we drew nearer to him, and he discerned that we were not those he looked for: he took his heels, and fled from his houses, which we found to be, five in number, all full of white rusk, dried bacon, that country cheese (like holland cheese in fashion, but far more delicate in taste, of which they send into spain as special presents) many sorts of sweetmeats, and conserves; with great store of sugar: being provided to serve the fleet returning to spain. with this store of victuals, we loaded our pinnaces; by the shutting in of the day, we were ready to depart; for that we hastened the rather, by reason of an intelligence given us by certain indian women which we found in those houses: that the frigates (these are ordinarily thirty, or upwards, which usually transport the merchandise, sent out of spain to cartagena from thence to these houses, and so in great canoes up hence into nuevo reyno, for which the river running many hundred of leagues within the land serveth very fitly: and return in exchange, the gold and treasure, silver, victuals, and commodities, which that kingdom yields abundantly) were not yet returned from cartagena, since the first alarm they took of our being there. as we were going aboard our pinnaces from these storehouses ( th september), the indians of a great town called villa del rey, some two miles distant from the water's side where we landed, were brought down by the spaniards into the bushes, and shot arrows; but we rowed down the stream with the current (for that the wind was against us) only one league; and because it was night, anchored till the morning, when we rowed down to the mouth of the river, where we unloaded all our provisions, and cleansed our pinnaces, according to our captain's custom, and took it in again, and the same day went to the westward. in this return, we descried a ship, a barque, and a frigate, of which the ship and frigate went for cartagena, but for the barque was bound to the northwards, with the wind easterly, so that we imagined she had some gold or treasure going for spain: therefore we gave her chase, but taking her, and finding nothing of importance in her, understanding that she was bound for sugar and hides, we let her go; and having a good gale of wind, continued our former course to our ship and company. in the way between cartagena and tolou, we took [ th september] five or six frigates, which were laden from tolou, with live hogs, hens, and maize which we call guinea wheat. of these, having gotten what intelligence they could give, of their preparations for us, and divers opinions of us, we dismissed all the men; only staying two frigates with us, because they were so well stored with good victuals. within three days after, we arrived at the place which our captain chose, at first, to leave his ship in, which was called by our captain, port plenty; by reason we brought to thither continually all manner store of good victuals, which we took, going that way by sea, for the victualling of cartagena and nombre de dios as also the fleets going and coming out of spain. so that if we had been two thousand, yea three thousand persons, we might with our pinnaces easily have provided them sufficient victuals of wine, meal, rusk; _cassavi_ (a kind of bread made of a root called yucca, whose juice is poison, but the substance good and wholesome), dried beef, dried fish, live sheep, live hogs, abundance of hens, besides the infinite store of dainty fresh fish, very easily to be taken every day: insomuch that we were forced to build four several magazines or storehouses, some ten, some twenty leagues asunder; some in islands, some in the main, providing ourselves in divers places, that though the enemy should, with force, surprise any one, yet we might be sufficiently furnished, till we had "made" our voyage as we did hope. in building of these, our negro's help was very much, as having a special skill, in the speedy erection of such houses. this our store was much, as thereby we relieved not only ourselves and the cimaroons while they were with us; but also two french ships in extreme want. for in our absence, captain john drake, having one of our pinnaces, as was appointed, went in with the main, and as he rowed aloof the shore, where he was directed by diego the negro aforesaid, which willingly came unto us at nombre de dios, he espied certain of the cimaroons; with whom he dealt so effectually, that in conclusion he left two of our men with their leader, and brought aboard two of theirs: agreeing that they should meet him again the next day, at a river midway between the cabecas [cabeza is spanish for headland] and our ships; which they named rio diego. these two being very sensible men, chosen out by their commander [chief], did, with all reverence and respect, declare unto our captain, that their nation conceited great joy of his arrival, because they knew him to be an enemy to the spaniards, not only by his late being in nombre de dios, but also by his former voyages; and therefore were ready to assist and favour his enterprises against his and their enemies to the uttermost: and to that end their captain and company did stay at this present near the mouth of rio diego, to attend what answer and order should be given them; that they would have marched by land, even to this place, but that the way is very long, and more troublesome, by reason of many steep mountains, deep rivers, and thick brakes: desiring therefore, that it might please our captain to take some order, as he thought best, with all convenient speed in this behalf. our captain considering the speech of these persons, and weighing it with his former intelligences had not only negroes, but spaniards also, whereof he was always very careful: as also conferring it with his brother's informations of the great kindness that they shewed him, being lately with them: after he had heard the opinions of those of best service with him, "what were fittest to be done presently?" resolved himself with his brother, and the two cimaroons, in his two pinnaces, to go toward this river. as he did the same evening, giving order, that the ship and the rest of his fleet should the next morning follow him, because there was a place of as great safety and sufficiency, which his brother had found out near the river. the safety of it consisted, not only in that which is common all along that coast from tolou to nombre de dios, being above sixty leagues, that it is a most goodly and plentiful country, and yet inhabited not with one spaniard, or any for the spaniards: but especially in that it lieth among a great many of goodly islands full of trees. where, though there be channels, yet there are such rocks and shoals, that no man can enter by night without great danger; nor by day without discovery, whereas our ships might be hidden within the trees. the next day ( th september) we arrived at this river appointed, where we found the cimaroons according to promise: the rest of their number were a mile up, in a wood by the river's side. there after we had given them entertainment, and received good testimonies of their joy and good will towards us, we took two more of them into our pinnace, leaving our two men with the rest of theirs, to march by land, to another river called rio guana, with intent there to meet with another company of cimaroons which were now in the mountains. so we departed that day from rio diego, with our pinnaces, towards our ship, as marvelling that she followed us not as was appointed. but two days after ( th september), we found her in the place where we left her; but in far other state, being much spoiled and in great danger, by reason of a tempest she had in our absence. as soon as we could trim our ship, being some two days, our captain sent away ( th september) one of his pinnaces, towards the bottom of the bay, amongst the shoals and sandy islands, to sound out the channel, for the bringing in of our ship nearer the main. the next day ( th september) we followed, and were with wary pilotage, directed safely into the best channel, with much ado to recover the road, among so many flats and shoals. it was near about five leagues from the cativaas, betwixt an island and the main, where we moored our ship. the island was not above four cables in length from the main, being in quantity some three acres of ground, flat and very full of trees and bushes. we were forced to spend the best part of three days, after our departure from our port plenty, before we were quiet in this new found road, which we had but newly entered, when our two men and the former troop of cimaroons, with twelve others whom they had met in the mountains, came ( rd september) in sight over against our ship, on the main. whence we fetched them all aboard, to their great comfort and our content: they rejoicing that they should have some fit opportunity to wreak their wrongs on the spaniards; we hoping that now our voyage should be bettered. at our first meeting, when our captain had moved them, to shew him the means which they had to furnish him with gold and silver; they answered plainly, that "had they known gold had been his desire; they would have satisfied him with store, which, for the present, they could not do: because the rivers, in which they sunk great store (which they had taken from the spaniards, rather to despite them than for love of gold) were now so high, that they could not get it out of such depths for him; and because the spaniards, in these rainy months, do not use [are not accustomed] to carry their treasure by land." this answer although it were somewhat unlooked for, yet nothing discontented us, but rather persuaded us farther of their honest and faithful meaning toward us. therefore our captain to entertain these five months, commanded all our ordnance and artillery ashore, with all our other provisions: sending his pinnaces to the main, to bring over great trees, to make a fort upon the same island, for the planting of all our ordnance therein, and for our safeguard, if the enemy, in all this time, should chance to come. our cimaroons ( th september) cut down palmito boughs and branches, and with wonderful speed raised up two large houses for all our company. our fort was then made, by reason of the place, triangle-wise, with main timber, and earth of which the trench yielded us good store, so that we made it thirteen feet in height. [fort diego.] but after we had continued upon this island fourteen days, our captain having determined, with three pinnaces, to go for cartagena left ( th october), his brother, john drake, to govern these who remained behind with the cimaroons to finish the fort which he had begun: for which he appointed him to fetch boards and planks, as many as his pinnaces would carry, from the prize we took at rio grande, and left at the cativaas, where she drove ashore and wrecked in our absence: but now she might serve commodiously, to supply our use, in making platforms for our ordnance. thus our captain and his brother took their leave; the one to the eastward, and the other to the cativaas. that night, we came to an isle, which he called spur-kite land, because we found there great store of such a kind of bird in shape, but very delicate, of which we killed and roasted many; staying there till the next day midnoon ( th october), when we departed thence. and about four o'clock recovered a big island in our way, where we stayed all night, by reason that there was great store of fish, and especially of a great kind of shell-fish of a foot long. we called them whelks. the next morning ( th october), we were clear of these islands and shoals, and hauled off into the sea. about four days after ( th october), near the island of st. bernards, we chased two frigates ashore; and recovering one of these islands, made our abode there some two days ( th- th october) to wash our pinnaces and to take of the fish. thence we went towards tolou, and that day ( th october) landed near the town in a garden, where we found certain indians, who delivered us their bows and arrows, and gathered for us such fruit as the garden did yield, being many sorts of dainty fruits and roots, [we] still contenting them for what we received. our captain's principal intent in taking this and other places by the way, not being for any other cause, but only to learn true intelligence of the state of the country and of the fleets. hence we departed presently, and rowed towards charesha, the island of cartagena; and entered in at bocha chica, and having the wind large, we sailed in towards the city, and let fall our grappers betwixt the island and the main, right over against the goodly garden island. in which, our captain would not suffer us to land, notwithstanding our importunate desire, because he knew, it might be dangerous: for that they are wont to send soldiers thither, when they know of any men-of-war on the coast; which we found accordingly. for within three hours after, passing by the point of the island, we had a volley of a hundred shot from them, and yet there was but one of our men hurt. this evening ( th october) we departed to sea; and the day following ( th october), being some two leagues off the harbour, we took a bark, and found that the captain and his wife with the better sort of passengers, had forsaken her, and were gone ashore in the gundeloe: by occasion whereof we boarded without resistance, though they were well provided with swords and targets and some small shot, besides four iron bases. she was tons, having ten mariners, five or six negroes, great store of soap and sweet meat, bound from st. domingo to cartagena. this captain left behind him a silk ancient [flag] with his arms; as might be thought, in hasty departing. the next day ( th october), we sent all the company ashore to seek their masters, saving a young negro two or three years old, which we brought away; but kept the bark, and in her, bore into the mouth of cartagena harbour, where we anchored. that afternoon, certain horsemen came down to the point by the wood side, and with the _scrivano_ fore-mentioned, came towards our bark with a flag of truce, desiring of our captain's safe conduct for his coming and going; the which being granted, he came aboard us, giving our captain "great thanks for his manifold favours, etc., promising that night before daybreak, to bring as much victuals as they would desire, what shift so ever he made, or what danger so ever incurred of law and punishment." but this fell out to be nothing but a device of the governor forced upon the _scrivano_, to delay time, till they might provide themselves of sufficient strength to entrap us: for which this fellow, by his smooth speech, was thought a fit means. so by sun rising, ( th october), when we perceived his words but words, we put to sea to the westward of the island, some three leagues off, where we lay at hull the rest of all that day and night. the next day ( th october), in the afternoon, there came out of cartagena, two frigates bound for st. domingo, the one of , the other of tons, having nothing in them but ballast. we took them within a league of the town, and came to anchor with them within sacre shot of the east bulwark. there were in those frigates some twelve or thirteen common mariners, which entreated to be set ashore. to them our captain gave the greater frigate's gundeloe, and dismissed them. the next morning ( st october) when they came down to the western point with a flag of truce, our captain manned one of his pinnaces and rowed ashore. when we were within a cable's length of the shore, the spaniards fled, hiding themselves in the woods, as being afraid of our ordnance; but indeed to draw us on to land confidently, and to presume of our strength. our captain commanding the grapnell to be cast out of the stern, veered the pinnace ashore, and as soon as she touched the sand, he alone leapt ashore in their sight, to declare that he durst set his foot aland: but stayed not among them, to let them know, that though he had not sufficient forces to conquer them, yet he had sufficient judgment to take heed of them. and therefore perceiving their intent, as soon as our captain was aboard, we hauled off upon our grapner and rid awhile. they presently came forth upon the sand, and sent a youth, as with a message from the governor, to know, "what our intent was, to stay upon the coast?" our captain answered: "he meant to traffic with them; for he had tin, pewter, cloth, and other merchandise that they needed." the youth swam back again with this answer, and was presently returned, with another message: that, "the king had forbidden to traffic with any foreign nation for any commodities, except powder and shot; of which, if he had any store, they would be his merchants." he answered, that "he was come from his country, to exchange his commodities for gold and silver, and is not purposed to return without his errand. they are like, in his opinion, to have little rest, if that, by fair means, they would not traffic with him." he gave this messenger a fair shirt for a reward, and so returned him: who rolled his shirt about his head and swam very speedily. we heard no answer all that day; and therefore toward night we went aboard our frigates and reposed ourselves, setting and keeping very orderly all that night our watch, with great and small shot. the next morning ( nd october) the wind, which had been westerly in the evening, altered to the eastward. about the dawning of the day, we espied two sails turning towards us, whereupon our captain weighed with his pinnaces, leaving the two frigates unmanned. but when we were come somewhat nigh them, the wind calmed, and we were fain to row towards them, till that approaching very nigh, we saw many heads peering over board. for, as we perceived, these two frigates were manned and set forth out of cartagena, to fight with us, and, at least, to impeach or busy us; whilst by some means or other they might recover the frigates from us. but our captain prevented both their drifts. for commanding john oxnam to stay with the one pinnace, to entertain these two men-of-war; himself in the other made much speed, that he got to his frigates which he had left at anchor; and caused the spaniards, (who in the meantime had gotten aboard in a small canoe, thinking to have towed them within the danger of their shot) to make the greater haste thence, than they did thither. for he found that in shifting thence, some of them were fain to swim aland (the canoe not being able to receive them) and had left their apparel, some their rapiers and targets, some their flasks and calivers behind them; although they were towing away of one of them. therefore considering that we could not man them, we sunk the one, and burnt the other, giving them to understand by this, that we perceived their secret practices. this being done, he returned to john oxnam; who all this while lay by the men-of-war without proffering to fight. and as soon as our captain was come up to these frigates, the wind blew much for the sea, so that, we being betwixt the shore and them, were to a manner forced to bear room into the harbour before them, to the great joy of the spaniards; who beheld it; in supposing, that we would still have fled before them. but as soon as we were in the harbour, and felt smooth water, our pinnaces, as we were assured of, getting the wind, we sought, with them upon the advantage, so that after a few shot exchanged, and a storm rising, they were contented to press no nearer. therefore as they let fall their anchors, we presently let drop our grapner in the wind of them; which the spanish soldiers seeing, considering the disadvantage of the wind, the likelihood of the storm to continue, and small hope of doing any good, they were glad to retire themselves to the town. but by reason of the foul and tempestuous weather, we rode therein four days, feeling great cold, by reason we had such sore rains with westerly wind, and so little succour in our pinnaces. the fifth day ( th october) there came in a frigate from the sea, which seeing us make towards her, ran herself ashore, unhanging her rudder and taking away her sails, that she might not easily be carried away. but when we were come up to her, we perceived about a hundred horse and foot, with their furniture, come down to the point of the main, where we interchanged some shot with them. one of our great shot passed so near a brave cavalier of theirs, that thereby they were occasioned to advise themselves, and retreat into the woods: where they might sufficiently defend and rescue the frigate from us, and annoy us also, if we stayed long about her. therefore we concluded to go to sea again, putting forth through _boca chica_, with intent to take down our masts, upon hope of fair weather, and to ride under the rocks called _las serenas_, which are two leagues off at sea, as we had usually done aforetime, so that they could not discern us from the rocks. but, there, the sea was mightily grown, that we were forced to take the harbour again; where we remained six days, notwithstanding the spaniards grieved greatly at our abode there so long. they put ( nd november) another device in practice to endanger us. for they sent forth a great shallop, a fine gundeloe, and a great canoe, with certain spaniards with shot, and many indians with poisoned arrows, as it seemed, with intent to begin some fight, and then to fly. for as soon as we rowed toward them and interchanged shot, they presently retired and went ashore into the woods, where an ambush of some sixty shot were laid for us: besides two pinnaces and a frigate warping towards us, which were manned as the rest. they attempted us very boldly, being assisted by those others, which from out of the wood, had gotten aboard the gundeloe and canoe, and seeing us bearing from them (which we did in respect of the _ambuscado_), they encouraged themselves and assured their fellows of the day. but our captain weighing this their attempt, and being out of danger of their shot from the land, commanding his other pinnace to be brought ahead of him, and to let fall their grapners each ahead of the other, environed both the pinnaces with bonnets, as for a close fight, and then wheaved [waved] them aboard him. they kept themselves upon their oars at caliver-shot distance, spending powder apace; as we did some two or three hours. we had only one of our men wounded in that fight. what they had is unknown to us, but we saw their pinnaces shot through in divers places, and the powder of one of them took fire; whereupon we weighed, intending to bear room to overrun them: which they perceiving, and thinking that we would have boarded them, rowed away amain to the defence they had in the wood, the rather because they were disappointed of their help that they expected from the frigate; which was warping towards us, but by reason of the much wind that blew, could not come to offend us or succour them. thus seeing that we were still molested, and no hope remained of any purchase to be had in this place any longer; because we were now so notably made known in those parts, and because our victuals grew scant: as soon as the weather waxed somewhat better (the wind continuing always westerly, so that we could not return to our ships) our captain thought best to go ( rd november) to the eastward, towards _rio grande_ [magdalena] long the coast, where we had been before, and found great store of victuals. but when after two days' sailing, we were arrived ( th november) at the villages of store, where before we had furnished ourselves with abundance of hens, sheep, calves, hogs, etc.; now we found bare nothing, not so much as any people left: for that they, by the spaniards' commandments, had fled to the mountains, and had driven away all their cattle, that we might not be relieved by them. herewith being very sorry, because much of our victuals in our pinnaces was spoilt by the foul weather at sea and rains in harbour. a frigate being descried at sea revived us, and put us in some hope for the time, that in her we should find sufficient; and thereupon it may easily be guessed, how much we laboured to recover her: but when we had boarded her, and understood that she had neither meat nor money, but that she was bound for _rio grande_ to take in provision upon bills, our great hope converted into grief. we endured with our allowance seven or eight days more, proceeding to the eastward, and bearing room for santa marta, upon hope to find some shipping in the road, or limpets on the rocks, or succour against the storm in that good harbour. being arrived; and seeing no shipping; we anchored under the western point, where is high land, and, as we thought, free in safety from the town, which is in the bottom of the bay: not intending to land there, because we knew that it was fortified, and that they had intelligence of us. but the spaniards (knowing us to be men-of-war, and misliking that we should shroud under their rocks without their leave) had conveyed some thirty or forty shot among the cliffs, which annoyed us so spitefully and so unrevengedly, for that they lay hidden behind the rocks, but we lay open to them, that we were soon weary of our harbour, and enforced (for all the storm without and want within) to put to sea. which though these enemies of ours were well contented withal, yet for a farewell, as we came open of the town, they sent us a culverin shot; which made a near escape, for it fell between our pinnaces, as we were upon conference of what was best to be done. the company advised that if it pleased him, they might put themselves aland, some place to the eastward to get victuals, and rather hope for courtesy from the country-people, than continue at sea, in so long cold, and great a storm in so leaky a pinnace. but our captain would in no wise like of that advice; he thought it better to bear up towards rio de [la] hacha, or coricao [curacao], with hope to have plenty without great resistance: because he knew, either of the islands were not very populous, or else it would be very likely that these would be found ships of victual in a readiness. the company of the other pinnace answered, that "they would willingly follow him through the world; but in this they could not see how either their pinnaces should live in that sea, without being eaten up in that storm, or they themselves able to endure so long time, with so slender provision as they had, viz., only one gammon of bacon and thirty pounds of biscuit for eighteen men." our captain replied, that "they were better provided than himself was, who had but one gammon of bacon, and forty pounds of biscuit for his twenty-four men; and therefore he doubted not but they would take such part as he did, and willingly depend upon god's almighty providence, which never faileth them that trust in him." with that he hoisted his foresail, and set his course for coricao; which the rest perceiving with sorrowful hearts in respect of the weak pinnace, yet desirous to follow their captain, consented to take the same course. we had not sailed past three leagues, but we had espied a sail plying to the westward, with her two courses, to our great joy: who vowed together, that we would have her, or else it should cost us dear. bearing with her, we found her to be a spanish ship of above tons, which being wheaved [waved] amain by us, despised our summons, and shot off her ordnance at us. the sea went very high, so that it was not for us to attempt to board her, and therefore we made fit small sail to attend upon her, and keep her company to her small content, till fairer weather might lay the sea. we spent not past two hours in our attendance, till it pleased god, after a great shower, to send us a reasonable calm, so that we might use our pieces [i. e., bases] and approach her at pleasure, in such sort that in short time we had taken her; finding her laden with victuals well powdered [salted] and dried: which at that present we received as sent us of god's great mercy. after all things were set in order, and that the wind increased towards night, we plied off and on, till day ( th november), at what time our captain sent in ellis hixom, who had then charge of his pinnace, to search out some harbour along the coast; who having found out a little one, some ten or twelve leagues to the east of santa marta, where in sounding he had good ground and sufficient water, presently returned, and our captain brought in his new prize. then by promising liberty, and all the apparel to the spaniards which we had taken if they would bring us to water and fresh victuals; the rather by their means, we obtained of the inhabitants (indians) what they had, which was plentiful. these indians were clothed and governed by a spaniard, which dwelt in the next town, not past a league off. we stayed there all day, watering and wooding, and providing things necessary, by giving content and satisfaction of the indians. but towards night our captain called all of us aboard (only leaving the spaniards lately taken in the prize ashore, according to our promise made them, to their great content; who acknowledged that our captain did them a far greater favour in setting them freely at liberty, than he had done them displeasure in taking their ship), and so set sail. the sickness which had begun to kindle among us, two or three days before, did this day shew itself, in charles glub, one of our quarter-masters, a very tall man, and a right good mariner; taken away, to the great grief both of captain and company. what the cause of this malady was, we knew not of certainty, we imputed it to the cold which our men had taken, lying without succour in the pinnaces. but however it was, thus it pleased god to visit us, and yet in favour to restore unto health all the rest of our company, that were touched with this disease; which were not a few. the next morning ( th november) being fair weather, though the wind continued contrary, our captain commanded the _minion_, his lesser pinnace, to hasten away before him towards his ships at fort diego within the cabecas [headlands] to carry news of his coming, and to put all things in a readiness for our land journey, if they heard anything of the fleet's arrival by the cimaroons; giving the _minion_ charge if they wanted wine, to take st. bernards in their way, and there take in some such portion as they thought good, of the wines which we had there hidden in the sand. we plied to windwards, as near as we could, so that within seven-night after the _minion_ departed from us, we came ( nd november) to st. bernards, finding but twelve _botijos_ of wine of all the store we left, which had escaped the curious search of the enemy, who had been there; for they were deep in the ground. within four or five days after, we came ( th november) to our ship, where we found all other things in good order; but received very heavy news of the death of john drake, our captain's brother, and another young man called richard allen, which were both slain at one time ( th october), as they attempted the boarding of a frigate, within two days after our departing from them. the manner of it, as we learned by examination of the company, was this. when they saw this frigate at sea, as they were going towards their fort with planks to make the platforms, the company were very importunate on him, to give chase and set upon this frigate, which they deemed had been a fit booty for them. but he told them, that they "wanted weapons to assail; they knew not how the frigate was provided, they had their boats loaded with planks, to finish that his brother had commanded." but when this would not satisfy them, but that still they urged him with words and supposals: "if you will needs," said he, "adventure! it shall never be said that i will be hindmost, neither shall you report to my brother, that you lost your voyage by any cowardice you found in me!" thereupon every man shifted as they might for the time: and heaving their planks overboard, took them such poor weapons as they had: viz., a broken pointed rapier, one old visgee, and a rusty caliver: john drake took the rapier, and made a gauntlet of his pillow, richard allen the visgee, both standing at the head of the pinnace, called _eion_. robert took the caliver and so boarded. but they found the frigate armed round about with a close fight of hides, full of pikes and calivers, which were discharged in their faces, and deadly wounded those that were in the fore-ship, john drake in the belly, and richard allen in the head. but notwithstanding their wounds, they with oars shifted off the pinnace, got clear of the frigate, and with all haste recovered their ship: where within an hour after, this young man of great hope, ended his days, greatly lamented of all the company. thus having moored our ships fast, our captain resolved to keep himself close without being descried, until he might hear of the coming of the spanish fleet; and therefore set no more to sea; but supplied his wants, both for his own company and the cimaroons, out of his aforesaid magazine, beside daily out of the woods, with wild hogs, pheasants, and guanas: continuing in health (god be praised) all the meantime, which was a month at least; till at length about the beginning of january, half a score of our company fell down sick together ( rd january, ), and the most of them died within two or three days. so long that we had thirty at a time sick of this _calenture_, which attacked our men, either by reason of the sudden change from cold to heat, or by reason of brackish water which had been taken in by our pinnace, through the sloth of their men in the mouth of the river, not rowing further in where the water was good. among the rest, joseph drake, another of his brethren, died in our captain's arms, of the same disease: of which, that the cause might be the better discerned, and consequently remedied, to the relief of others, by our captain's appointment he was ripped open by the surgeon, who found his liver swollen, his heart as it were sodden, and his guts all fair. this was the first and last experiment that our captain made of anatomy in this voyage. the surgeon that cut him open, over-lived him not past four days, although he was not touched with that sickness, of which he had been recovered about a month before: but only of an over-bold practice which he would needs make upon himself, by receiving an over-strong purgation of his own device, after which taken, he never spake; nor his boy recovered the health which he lost by tasting it, till he saw england. the cimaroons, who, as is before said, had been entertained by our captain in september last, and usually repaired to our ship, during all the time of our absence, ranged the country up and down, between nombre de dios and us, to learn what they might for us; whereof they gave our captain advertisement, from time to time; as now particularly certain of them let him understand, that the fleet had certainly arrived in nombre de dios. therefore he sent ( th january) the _lion_, to the seamost islands of the cativaas, to descry the truth of the report: by reason it must needs be, that if the fleet were in nombre de dios, all frigates of the country would repair thitherward with victuals. the _lion_, within a few days descried that she was sent for, espying a frigate, which she presently boarded and took, laden with maize, hens, and pompions from tolou; who assured us of the whole truth of the arrival of the fleet: in this frigate were taken one woman and twelve men, of whom one was the _scrivano_ of tolou. these we used very courteously, keeping them diligently guarded form the deadly hatred of the cimaroons; who sought daily by all means they could, to get them of our captain, that they might cut their throats, to revenge their wrongs and injuries which the spanish nation had done them; but our captain persuaded them not to touch them, or give them ill countenance, while they were in his charge; and took order for their safety, not only in his presence, but also in his absence. for when he had prepared to take his journey for panama, by land; he gave ellis hixom charge of his own ship and company, and especially of those spaniards whom he had put into the great prize, which was hauled ashore to the island, which we termed slaughter island (because so many of our men died there), and used as a storehouse for ourselves, and a prison for our enemies. all things thus ordered, our captain conferring with his company, and the chiefest of the cimaroons, what provisions were to be prepared for this great and long journey, what kind of weapons, what store of victuals, and what manner of apparel: was especially advised, to carry as great store of shoes as possible he might, by reason of so many rivers with stone and gravel as they were to pass. which, accordingly providing, prepared his company for that journey, entering it upon shrove-tuesday ( rd february). at what time, there had died twenty-eight of our men, and a few whole men were left aboard with ellis hixom to keep the ship, and attend the sick, and guard the prisoners. at his departure our captain gave this master straight charge, in any case not to trust any messenger, that should come in his name with any tokens, unless he brought his handwriting: which he knew could not be counterfeited by the cimaroons or spaniards. we were in all forty-eight, of which eighteen only were english; the rest were cimaroons, which beside their arms, bare every one of them, a great quantity of victuals and provision, supplying our want of carriage in so long a march, so that we were not troubled with anything but our furniture. and because they could not carry enough to suffice us altogether; therefore (as they promised before) so by the way with their arrows, they provided for us competent store from time to time. they have every one of them two sorts of arrows: the one to defend himself and offend the enemy, the other to kill his victuals. these for fight are somewhat like the scottish arrow; only somewhat longer, and headed with iron, wood, or fish bones. but the arrows for provision are of three sorts, the first serveth to kill any great beast near at hand, as ox, stag, or wild boar: this hath a head of iron of a pound and a half weight, shaped in form like the head of a javelin or boar-spear, as sharp as any knife, making so large and deep a wound as can hardly be believed of him that hath not seen it. the second serveth for lesser beasts, and hath a head of three-quarters of a pound: this he most usually shooteth. the third serveth for all manner of birds: it hath a head of an ounce weight. and these heads though they be of iron only, yet are they so cunningly tempered, that they will continue a very good edge a long time: and though they be turned sometimes, yet they will never or seldom break. the necessity in which they stand hereof continually causeth them to have iron in far greater account than gold: and no man among them is of greater estimation, than he that can most perfectly give this temper unto it. every day we were marching by sun-rising. we continued till ten in the forenoon: then resting (ever near some river) till past twelve, we marched till four, and then by some river's side, we reposed ourselves in such houses, as either we found prepared heretofore by them, when they travelled through these woods, or they daily built very readily for us in this manner. as soon as we came to the place where we intended to lodge, the cimaroons, presently laying down their burdens, fell to cutting of forks or posts, and poles or rafters, and palmito boughs, or plantain leaves; and with great speed set up the number of six houses. for every of which, they first fastened deep into the ground, three or four great posts with forks: upon them, they laid one transom, which was commonly about twenty feet, and made the sides, in the manner of the roofs of our country houses, thatching it close with those aforesaid leaves, which keep out water a long time: observing always that in the lower ground, where greater heat was, they left some three or four feet open unthatched below, and made the houses, or rather roofs, so many feet the higher. but in the hills, where the air was more piercing and the nights cold, they made our rooms always lower, and thatched them close to the ground, leaving only one door to enter in, and a louvre hole for a vent, in the midst of the roof. in every of these, they made four several lodgings, and three fires, one in the midst, and one at each end of every house: so that the room was most temperately warm, and nothing annoyed with smoke, partly by reason of the nature of the wood which they use to burn, yielding very little smoke, partly by reason of their artificial making of it: as firing the wood cut in length like our billets at the ends, and joining them together so close, that though no flame or fire did appear, yet the heat continued without intermission. near many of the rivers where we stayed or lodged, we found sundry sorts of fruits, which we might use with great pleasure and safety temperately: mammeas, guayvas, palmitos, pinos, oranges, lemons, and divers other; from eating of which they dissuaded us in any case, unless we eat very few of them, and those first dry roasted, as plantains, potatoes, and such like. in journeying, as oft as by chance they found any wild swine, of which those hills and valleys have store, they would ordinarily, six at a time, deliver their burdens to the rest of their fellows, pursue, kill and bring away after us, as much as they could carry, and time permitted. one day as we travelled, the cimaroons found an otter, and prepared it to be drest: our captain marvelling at it, pedro, our chief cimaroon, asked him, "are you a man of war, and in want; and yet doubt whether this be meat, that hath blood?" herewithal our captain rebuked himself secretly, that he had so slightly considered of it before. the third day of our journey ( th february), they brought us to a town of their own, seated near a fair river, on the side of a hill, environed with a dyke of eight feet broad, and a thick mud wall of ten feet high, sufficient to stop a sudden surpriser. it had one long and broad street, lying east and west, and two other cross streets of less breadth and length: there were in it some five or six and fifty households; which were kept so clean and sweet, that not only the houses, but the very streets were very pleasant to behold. in this town we saw they lived very civilly and cleanly. for as soon as we came thither, they washed themselves in the river; and changed their apparel, as also their women do wear, which was very fine and fitly made somewhat after the spanish fashion, though nothing so costly. this town is distant thirty-five leagues from nombre de dios and forty-five from panama. it is plentifully stored with many sorts of beasts and fowl, with plenty of maize and sundry fruits. touching their affection in religion, they have no kind of priests, only they held the cross in great reputation. but at our captain's persuasion, they were contented to leave their crosses, and to learn the _lord's prayer_, and to be instructed in some measure concerning god's true worship. they kept a continual watch in four parts, three miles off their town, to prevent the mischiefs, which the spaniards intend against them, by the conducting of some of their own coats [i.e., cimaroons], which having been taken by the spaniards have been enforced thereunto: wherein, as we learned, sometimes the spaniards have prevailed over them, especially when they lived less careful; but since, they [watch] against the spaniards, whom they killed like beasts, as often as they take them in the woods; having aforehand understood of their coming. we stayed with them that night, and the next day ( th february) till noon; during which time, they related unto us diverse very strange accidents, that had fallen out between them and the spaniards, namely one. a gallant gentleman entertained by the governor of the country, undertook, the year last past ( ), with soldiers, to put this town to the sword, men, women, and children. being conducted to it by one of them, that had been taken prisoner, and won by great gifts; he surprised it half an hour before day, by which occasion most of the men escaped, but many of their women and children were slaughtered, or taken: but the same morning by sun rising (after that their guide was slain, in following another man's wife, and that the cimaroons had assembled themselves in their strength) they behaved themselves in such sort, and drove the spaniards to such extremity, that what with the disadvantage of the woods (having lost their guide and thereby their way), what with famine and want, there escaped not past thirty of them, to return answer to those which sent them. their king [chief] dwelt in a city within sixteen leagues southeast of panama; which is able to make , fighting men. they all intreated our captain very earnestly, to make his abode with them some two or three days; promising that by that time, they would double his strength if he thought good. but he thanking them for their offer, told them, that "he could stay no longer! it was more than time to prosecute his purposed voyage. as for strength, he would wish no more than he had, although he might have presently twenty times as much!" which they took as proceeding not only from kindness, but also from magnanimity; and therefore, they marched forth, that afternoon, with great good will. this was the order of our march. four of those cimaroons that best knew the ways, went about a mile distance before us, breaking boughs as they went, to be a direction to those that followed; but with great silence, which they also required us to keep. then twelve of them were as it were our vanguard, other twelve, our rearward. we with their two captains in the midst. all the way was through woods very cool and pleasant, by reason of those goodly and high trees, that grow there so thick, that it is cooler travelling there under them in that hot region, than it is in the most parts of england in the summer time. this gave a special encouragement unto us all, that we understood there was a great tree about the midway, from which, we might at once discern the north sea from whence we came, and the south sea whither we were going. the fourth day following ( th february) we came to the height of the desired hill, a very high hill, lying east and west, like a ridge between the two seas, about ten of the clock: where [pedro] the chiefest of these cimaroons took our captain by the hand, and prayed him to follow him, if he was desirous to see at once the two seas, which he had so long longed for. here was that goodly and great high tree, in which they had cut and made divers steps, to ascend up near unto the top, where they had also made a convenient bower, wherein ten or twelve men might easily sit: and from thence we might, without any difficulty, plainly see the atlantic ocean whence now we came, and the south atlantic [i.e., pacific ocean] so much desired. south and north of this tree, they had felled certain trees, that the prospect might be the clearer; and near about the tree there were divers strong houses, that had been built long before, as well by other cimaroons as by these, which usually pass that way, as being inhabited in divers places in those waste countries. after our captain had ascended to this bower, with the chief cimaroon, and having, as it pleased god, at that time, by reason of the brize [breeze], a very fair day, had seen that sea, of which he had heard such golden reports: he "besought almighty god of his goodness, to give him life and leave to sail once in an english ship, in that sea!" and then calling up all the rest of our [ english] men, he acquainted john oxnam especially with this his petition and purpose, if it would please god to grant him that happiness. who understanding it, presently protested, that "unless our captain did beat him from his company, he would follow him, by god's grace!" thus all, thoroughly satisfied with the sight of the seas, descended; and after our repast, continued our ordinary march through woods, yet two days more as before: without any great variety. but then ( th february) we came to march in a champion country, where the grass groweth, not only in great lengths as the knot grass groweth in many places, but to such height, that the inhabitants are fain to burn it thrice in the year, that it may be able to feed the cattle, of which they have thousands. for it is a kind of grass with a stalk, as big as a great wheaten reed, which hath a blade issuing from the top of it, on which though the cattle feed, yet it groweth every day higher, until the top be too high for an ox to reach. then the inhabitants are wont to put fire to it, for the space of five or six miles together; which notwithstanding after it is thus burnt, within three days, springeth up fresh like green corn. such is the great fruitfulness of the soil: by reason of the evenness of the day and night, and the rich dews which fall every morning. in these three last days' march in the champion, as we past over the hills, we might see panama five or six times a day; and the last day ( th february) we saw the ships riding in the road. but after that we were come within a day's journey of panama, our captain (understanding by the cimaroons that the dames of panama are wont to send forth hunters and fowlers for taking of sundry dainty fowl, which the land yieldeth; by whom if we marched not very heedfully, we might be descried) caused all his company to march out of all ordinary way, and that with as great heed, silence, and secrecy, as possibly they might, to the grove (which was agreed on four days before) lying within a league of panama, where we might lie safely undiscovered near the highway, that leadeth from thence to nombre de dios. thence we sent a chosen cimaroon, one that had served a master in panama before time, in such apparel as the negroes of panama do use to wear, to be our espial, to go into the town, to learn the certain night, and time of the night, when the carriers laded the treasure from the king's treasure house to nombre de dios. for they are wont to take their journey from panama to venta cruz, which is six leagues, ever by night; because the country is all champion, and consequently by day very hot. but from venta cruz to nombre de dios as oft as they travel by land with their treasure, they travel always by day and not by night, because all that way is full of woods, and therefore very fresh and cool; unless the cimaroons happily encounter them, and made them sweat with fear, as sometimes they have done: whereupon they are glad to guard their _recoes_ [i.e., recuas, the spanish word for a drove of beasts of burden; meaning here, a mule train] with soldiers as they pass that way. this last day, our captain did behold and view the most of all that fair city, discerning the large street which lieth directly from the sea into the land, south and north. by three of the clock, we came to this grove; passing for the more secrecy alongst a certain river, which at that time was almost dried up. having disposed of ourselves in the grove, we despatched our spy an hour before night, so that by the closing in of the evening, he might be in the city; as he was. whence presently he returned unto us, that which very happily he understood by companions of his. that the treasurer of lima intending to pass into spain in the first _adviso_ (which was a ship of tons, a very good sailer), was ready that night to take his journey towards nombre de dios, with his daughter and family: having fourteen mules in company: of which eight were laden with gold, and one with jewels. and farther, that there were two other recuas, of fifty mules in each, laden with victuals for the most part, with some little quantity of silver, to come forth that night after the other. there are twenty-eight of these recuas; the greatest of them is of seventy mules, the less of fifty; unless some particular man hire for himself, ten, twenty, or thirty, as he hath need. upon this notice, we forthwith marched four leagues, till we came within two leagues of venta cruz, in which march two of our cimaroons which were sent before, by scent of his match, found and brought a spaniard, whom they had found asleep by the way, by scent of the said match, and drawing near thereby, heard him taking his breath as he slept; and being but one, they fell upon him, stopped his mouth from crying, put out his match, and bound him so, that they well near strangled him by that time he was brought unto us. by examining him, we found all that to be true, which our spy had reported to us, and that he was a soldier entertained with others by the treasurer, for guard and conduct of this treasure, from venta cruz to nombre de dios. this soldier having learned who our captain was, took courage, and was bold to make two requests unto him. the one that "he would command his cimaroons which hated the spaniards, especially the soldiers extremely, to spare his life; which he doubted not but they would do at his charge." the other was, that "seeing he was a soldier, and assured him, that they should have that night more gold, besides jewels, and pearls of great price, then all they could carry (if not, then he was to be dealt with how they would); but if they all found it so, then it might please our captain to give unto him, as much as might suffice for him and his mistress to live upon, as he had heard our captain had done to divers others: for which he would make his name as famous as any of them which had received like favour." being at the place appointed, our captain with half his men [ english and cimaroons], lay on one side of the way, about fifty paces off in the long grass; john oxnam with the captain of the cimaroons, and the other half, lay on the other side of the way, at the like distance: but so far behind, that as occasion served, the former company might take the foremost mules by the heads, and the hindmost because the mules tied together, are always driven one after another; and especially that if we should have need to use our weapons that night, we might be sure not to endamage our fellows. we had not lain thus in ambush much above an hour, but we heard the _recuas_ coming both from the city to venta cruz, and from venta cruz to the city, which hath a very common and great trade, when the fleets are there. we heard them by reason they delight much to have deep-sounding bells, which, in a still night, are heard very far off. now though there were as great charge given as might be, that none of our men should shew or stir themselves, but let all that came from venta cruz to pass quietly; yea, their _recuas_ also, because we knew that they brought nothing but merchandise from thence: yet one of our men, called robert pike, haven drunken too much _aqua vitae_ without water, forgot himself, and enticing a cimaroon forth with him was gone hard to the way, with intent to have shown his forwardness on the foremost mules. and when a cavalier from venta cruz, well mounted, with his page running at his stirrup, passed by, unadvisedly he rose up to see what he was: but the cimaroon of better discretion pulled him down, and lay upon him, that he might not discover them any more. yet by this, the gentleman had taken notice by seeing one half all in white: for that we had all put our shirts over our other apparel, that we might be sure to know our own men in the pell mell in the night. by means of this sight, the cavalier putting spurs to his horse, rode a false gallop; as desirous not only himself to be free of this doubt which he imagined, but also to give advertisement to others that they might avoid it. our captain who had heard and observed by reason of the hardness of the ground and stillness of the night, the change of this gentleman's trot to a gallop, suspected that he was discovered, but could not imagine by whose fault, neither did the time give him leisure to search. and therefore considering that it might be, by reason of the danger of the place, well known to ordinary travellers: we lay still in expectation of the treasurer's coming; and he had come forward to us, but that this horseman meeting him, and (as we afterwards learnt by the other recuas) making report to him, what he had seen presently that night, what he heard of captain drake this long time, and what he conjectured to be most likely: viz., that the said captain drake, or some for him, disappointed of his expectation, of getting any great treasure, both at nombre de dios and other places, was by some means or other come by land, in covert through the woods, unto this place, to speed of his purpose: and thereupon persuaded him to turn his _recua_ out of the way, and let the other _recuas_ which were coming after to pass on. they were whole _recuas_, and loaded but with victuals for the most part, so that the loss of them were far less if the worst befell, and yet they should serve to discover them as well as the best. thus by the recklessness of one of our company, and by the carefulness of this traveller; we were disappointed of a most rich booty: which is to be thought god would not should be taken, for that, by all likelihood, it was well gotten by that treasurer. the other two _recuas_ were no sooner come up to us, but being stayed and seized on. one of the chief carriers, a very sensible fellow, told our captain by what means we were discovered, and counselled us to shift for ourselves betimes, unless we were able to encounter the whole force of the city and country before day would be about us. it pleased us but little, that we were defeated of our golden _recua_, and that in these we could find not past some two horse-loads of silver: but it grieved our captain much more, that he was discovered, and that by one of his own men. but knowing it bootless to grieve at things past, and having learned by experience, that all safety in extremity, consisteth in taking of time [i. e., by the forelock, making an instant decision]; after no long consultation with pedro the chief of our cimaroons, who declared that "there were but two ways for him: the one to travel back again the same secret way they came, for four leagues space into the woods, or else to march forward, by the highway to venta cruz, being two leagues, and make a way with his sword through the enemies." he resolved, considering the long and weary marches that we had taken, and chiefly that last evening and day before: to take now the shortest and readiest way: as choosing rather to encounter his enemies while he had strength remaining, than to be encountered or chased when we should be worn out with weariness: principally now having the mules to ease them that would, some part of the way. therefore commanding all to refresh themselves moderately with such store of victuals as we had here in abundance: he signified his resolution and reason to them all; asking pedro by name, "whether he would give his hand not to forsake him?" because he knew that the rest of the cimaroons would also then stand fast and firm, so faithful are they to their captain. he being very glad of his resolution, gave our captain his hand, and vowed that "he would rather die at his foot, than leave him to the enemies, if he held this course." so having strengthened ourselves for the time, we took our journey towards venta cruz, with help of the mules till we came within a mile of the town, where we turned away the _recuas_, charging the conductors of them, not to follow us upon pain of their lives. there, the way is cut through the woods, above ten or twelve feet broad, so as two _recuas_ may pass one by another. the fruitfulness of the soil, causeth that with often shredding and ridding the way, those woods grow as thick as our thickest hedges in england that are oftenest cut. to the midst of this wood, a company of soldiers, which continually lay in that town, to defend it against the cimaroons, were come forth, to stop us if they might on the way; if not, to retreat to their strength, and there to expect us. a convent [monastery] of friars, of whom one was become a leader, joined with these soldiers, to take such part as they did. our captain understanding by our cimaroons, which with great heedfulness and silence, marched now, but about half a flight-shot before us, that it was time for us to arm and take us to our weapons, for they knew the enemy was at hand, by smelling of their match and hearing of a noise: had given us charge, that no one of us should make any shot, until the spaniards had first spent their volley: which he thought they would not do before they had spoken, as indeed fell out. for as soon as we were within hearing, a spanish captain cried out, "hoo!" our captain answered him likewise, and being demanded "_que gente?_" replied "englishmen!" but when the said commander charged him, "in the name of the king of spain, his master, that we should yield ourselves; promising in the word and faith of a gentleman soldier, that if we would so do, he would use us with all courtesy." our captain drawing somewhat near him said: "that for the honour of the queen of england, his mistress, he must have passage that way," and therewithal discharged his pistol towards him. upon this, they presently shot off their whole volley; which, though it lightly wounded our captain, and divers of our men, yet it caused death to one only of our company called john harris, who was so powdered with hail-shot, (which they all used for the most part as it seemed, or else "quartered," for that our men were hurt with that kind) that we could not recover his life, though he continued all that day afterwards with us. presently as our captain perceived their shot to come slacking, as the latter drops of a great shower of rain, with his whistle he gave us his usual signal, to answer them with our shot and arrows, and so march onwards upon the enemy, with intent to come to handy-strokes, and to have joined with them; whom when we found retired as to a place of some better strength, he increased his pace to prevent them if he might. which the cimaroons perceiving, although by terror of the shot continuing, they were for the time stept aside; yet as soon as they discerned by hearing that we marched onward, they all rushed forward one after another, traversing the way, with their arrows ready in their bows, and their manner of country dance or leap, very singing _yo peho! yo peho_ and so got before us, where they continued their leap and song, after the manner of their own country wars, till they and we overtook some of the enemy, who near the town's end, had conveyed themselves within the woods, to have taken their stand at us, as before. but our cimaroons now thoroughly encouraged, when they saw our resolution, brake in through the thickets, on both sides of them, forcing them to fly, friars and all! although divers of our men were wounded, and one cimaroon especially was run through with one of their pikes, whose courage and mind served him so well notwithstanding, that he revenged his own death ere he died, by killing him that had given him that deadly wound. we, with all speed, following this chase, entered the town of venta cruz, being of about forty or fifty houses, which had both a governor and other officers and some fair houses, with many storehouses large and strong for the wares, which brought thither from nombre de dios, by the river of chagres, so to be transported by mules to panama: beside the monastery, where we found above a thousand bulls and pardons, newly sent from rome. in those houses we found three gentlewomen, which had lately been delivered in nombre de dios; because it hath been observed of long time, as they reported to us, that no spaniard or white woman could ever be delivered in nombre de dios with safety of their children but that within two or three days they died; notwithstanding that being born and brought up in this venta cruz or panama five or six years, and then brought to nombre de dios, if they escaped sickness the first or second month, they commonly lived in it as healthily as in any other place: although no stranger (as they say) can endure there any long time, without great danger of death or extreme sickness. though at our first coming into the town with arms so suddenly, these ladies were in great fear, yet because our captain had given straight charge to all the cimaroons (that while they were in his company, they should never hurt any woman nor man that had not a weapon in his hand to do them hurt; which they earnestly promised, and no less faithfully performed) they had no wrong offered them, nor any thing taken from them, to the worth of a garter; wherein, albeit they had indeed sufficient safety and security, by those of his company, which our captain sent unto them, of purpose to comfort them: yet they never ceased most earnestly entreating, that our captain would vouchsafe to come to them himself for their more safety; which when he did, in their presence reporting the charge he had first been given, and the assurance of his men, they were comforted. while the guards which we had, not without great need, set, as well on the bridge which we had to pass over, as at the town's end where we entered (they have no other entrance into the town by land: but from the water's side there is one other to carry up and down their merchandise from their frigates) gained us liberty and quiet to stay in this town some hour and half: we had not only refreshed ourselves, but our company and cimaroons had gotten some good pillage, which our captain allowed and gave them (being not the thing he looked for) so that it were not too cumbersome or heavy in respect of our travel, or defence of ourselves. a little before we departed, some ten or twelve horsemen came from panama; by all likelihood, supposing that we were gone out of this town, for that all was so still and quiet, came to enter the town confidently: but finding their entertainment such as it was; they that could, rode faster back again for fear than they had ridden forward for hope. thus we having ended our business in this town, and the day beginning to spring, we marched over the bridge, observing the same order that we did before. there we were all safe in our opinion, as if we had been environed with wall and trench, for that no spaniard without his extreme danger could follow us. the rather now, for that our cimaroons were grown very valiant. but our captain considering that he had a long way to pass, and that he had been now well near a fortnight from his ship, where he had left his company but weak by reason of their sickness, hastened his journeys as much as he might, refusing to visit the other cimaroon towns (which they earnestly desired him) and encouraging his own company with such example and speech, that the way seemed much shorter. for he marched most cheerfully, and assured us that he doubted not but ere he left that coast, we should all be bountifully paid and recompensed for all those pains taken: but by reason of this our captain's haste, and leaving of their towns, we marched many days with hungry stomachs, much against the will of our cimaroons: who if we would have stayed any day from this continual journeying, would have killed for us victuals sufficient. in our absence, the rest of the cimaroons had built a little town within three leagues off the port where our ship lay. there our captain was contented, upon their great and earnest entreaties to make some stay; for that they alleged, it was only built for his sake. and indeed he consented the rather, that the want of shoes might be supplied by means of the cimaroons, who were a great help unto us: all our men complaining of the tenderness of their feet, whom our captain would himself accompany in their complaint, some times without cause, but some times with cause indeed; which made the rest to bear the burden the more easily. these cimaroons, during all the time that we were with burden, did us continually very good service, and in particular in this journey, being unto us instead of intelligencers, to advertise us; of guides in our way to direct us; of purveyors, to provide victuals for us; of house-wrights to build our lodgings; and had indeed able and strong bodies carrying all our necessaries: yea, many times when some of our company fainted with sickness of weariness, two cimaroons would carry him with ease between them, two miles together, and at other times, when need was, they would shew themselves no less valiant than industrious, and of good judgment. from this town, at our first entrance in the evening, on saturday ( nd february), our captain despatched a cimaroon with a token and certain order to the master: who had, these three weeks, kept good watch against the enemy, and shifted in the woods for fresh victual, for the relief and recovery of our men left aboard. as soon as this messenger was come to the shore, calling to our ship, as bringing some news, he was quickly fet[ched] aboard by those which longed to hear of our captain's speeding: but when he showed the toothpike of gold, which he said our captain had sent for a token to ellis hixom, with charge to meet him at such a river though the master knew well the captain's toothpike: yet by reason of his admonition and caveat [warning] given him at parting, he (though he bewrayed no sign of distrusting the cimaroon) yet stood as amazed, lest something had befallen our captain otherwise than well. the cimaroon perceiving this, told him, that it was night when he was sent away, so that our captain could not send any letter, but yet with the point of his knife, he wrote something upon the toothpike, "which," he said, "should be sufficient to gain credit to the messenger." thereupon, the master looked upon it, and saw written, _by me, francis drake_: wherefore he believed, and according to the message, prepared what provision he could, and repaired to the mouth of the river of tortugos, as the cimaroons that went with him then named it. that afternoon towards three a clock, we were come down to that river, not past half-an-hour before we saw our pinnace ready come to receive us: which was unto us all a double rejoicing: first that we saw them, and next, so soon. our captain with all our company praised god most heartily, for that we saw our pinnace and fellows again. we all seemed to these, who had lived at rest and plenty all this while aboard, as men strangely changed (our captain yet not much changed) in countenance and plight: and indeed our long fasting and sore travail might somewhat forepine and waste us; but the grief we drew inwardly, for that we returned without that gold and treasure we hoped for did no doubt show her print and footsteps in our faces. the rest of our men which were then missed, could not travel so well as our captain, and therefore were left at the indian new town: and the next day ( rd february) we rowed to another river in the bottom of the bay and took them all aboard. thus being returned from panama, to the great rejoicing of our company, who were thoroughly revived with the report we brought from thence: especially understanding our captain's purpose, that he meant not to leave off thus, but would once again attempt the same journey, whereof they also might be partakers. our captain would not, in the meantime, suffer this edge and forwardness of his men to be dulled or rebated, by lying still idly unemployed, as knowing right well by continual experience, that no sickness was more noisome to impeach any enterprise than delay and idleness. therefore considering deeply the intelligences of other places of importance thereabouts, which he had gotten the former years; and particularly of veragua, a rich town lying to the westward; between nombre de dios and nicaragua, where is the richest mine of fine gold that is on this north side: he consulted with his company touching their opinions, what was to be done in this meantime, and how they stood affected? some thought, that "it was most necessary to seek supply of victuals, that we might the better be able to keep our men close and in health till our time came: and this way easy to be compassed, because the frigates with victuals went without great defence, whereas the frigates and barks with treasure, for the most part were wafted with great ships and store of soldiers." others yet judged, "we might better bestow our time in intercepting the frigates of treasure; first, for that our magazines and storehouses of victuals were reasonably furnished, and the country itself was so plentiful, that every man might provide for himself if the worst befell: and victuals might hereafter be provided abundantly as well as now: whereas the treasure never floateth upon the sea, so ordinarily as at this time of the fleets being there, which time in no wise may be neglected." the cimaroons being demanded also their opinion (for that they were experienced in the particularities of all the towns thereabouts, as in which some or other of them had served), declared that "by veragua, signior pezoro (some time their master from whom they fled) dwelt; not in the town for fear of some surprise, but yet not far off from the town, for his better relief; in a very strong house of stone, where he had dwelt nineteen years at least, never travelling from home; unless happily once a year to cartagena, or nombre de dios when the fleets were there. he keepeth a hundred slaves at least in the mines, each slave being bound to bring in daily, clear gain (all charges deducted) three pesos of gold for himself and two for his women ( s. d. the peso), amounting in the whole, to above pounds sterling each day: so that he hath heaped a mighty mass of treasure together, which he keepeth in certain great chests, of two feet deep, three broad, and four long: being (notwithstanding all his wealth) bad and cruel not only to his slaves, but unto all men, and therefore never going abroad but with a guard of five or six men to defend his person from danger, which he feareth extraordinarily from all creatures. "and as touching means of compassing this purpose, they would conduct him safely through the woods, by the same ways by which they fled, that he should not need to enter their havens with danger, but might come upon their backs altogether unlooked for. and though his house were of stone, so that it could not be burnt; yet if our captain would undertake the attempt, they would undermine and overthrow, or otherwise break it open, in such sort, as we might have easy access to his greatest treasure." our captain having heard all their opinions, concluded so that by dividing his company, the two first different sentences were both reconciled, both to be practised and put in use. john oxnam appointed in the _bear_, to be sent eastward towards tolou, to see what store of victuals would come athwart his half; and himself would to the westward in the _minion_, lie off and on the _cabecas_, where was the greatest trade and most ordinary passage of those which transported treasure from veragua and nicaragua to the fleet; so that no time might be lost, nor opportunity let slip either for victuals or treasure. as for the attempt of veragua, or signior pezoro's house by land, by marching through the woods; he liked not of, lest it might overweary his men by continual labour; whom he studied to refresh and strengthen for his next service forenamed. therefore using our cimaroons most courteously, dismissing those that were desirous to their wives, with such gifts and favours as were most pleasing, and entertaining those still aboard his ship, which were contented to abide with the company remaining; the pinnaces departed as we determined: the _minion_ to the west, the _bear_ to the east. the _minion_ about the _cabecas_, met with a frigate of nicaragua, in which was some gold, and a genoese pilot (of which nation there are many in those coasts), which had been at veragua not past eight days before. he being very well entreated, certified our captain of the state of the town, and of the harbour, and of a frigate that was there ready to come forth within few days, aboard which there was above a million of gold, offering to conduct him to it, if we would do him his right: for that he knew the channel very perfectly, so that he could enter by night safely without danger of the sands and shallows, though there be but little water, and utterly undescried; for that the town is five leagues within the harbour, and the way by land is so far about and difficult through the woods, that though we should by any casualty be discovered, about the point of the harbour, yet we might despatch our business and depart, before the town could have notice of our coming. at his being there, he perceived they had heard of drake's being on the coast, which had put them in great fear, as in all other places (pezoro purposing to remove himself to the south sea!): but there was nothing done to prevent him, their fear being so great, that, as it is accustomed in such cases, it excluded counsel and bred despair. our captain, conferring with his own knowledge and former intelligences, was purposed to have returned to his ship, to have taken some of those cimaroons which had dwelt with signior pezoro, to be the more confirmed in this point. but when the genoese pilot was very earnest, to have the time gained, and warranted our captain of good speed, if we delayed not; he dismissed the frigate, somewhat lighter to hasten her journey! and with this pilot's advice, laboured with sail and oars to get this harbour and to enter it by night accordingly: considering that this frigate might now be gained, and pezoro's house attempted hereafter notwithstanding. but when we were come to the mouth of the harbour, we heard the report of two chambers, and farther off about a league within the bay, two other as it were answering them: whereby the genoese pilot conjectured that we were discovered: for he assured us, that this order had been taken since his last being there, by reason of the advertisement and charge, which the governor of panama had sent to all the coasts; which even in their beds lay in great and continual fear of our captain, and therefore by all likelihood, maintained this kind of watch, at the charge of the rich gnuffe pezoro for their security. thus being defeated of this expectation, we found it was not god's will that we should enter at that time: the rather for that the wind, which had all this time been easterly, came up to the westward, and invited us to return again to our ship; where, on sheere thursday ( th march), we met, according to appointment, with our _bear_, and found that she had bestowed her time to more profit than we had done. for she had taken a frigate in which there were ten men (whom they set ashore) great store of maize, twenty-eight fat hogs, and two hundred hens. our captain discharged ( th march) this frigate of her lading; and because she was new, strong, and of a good mould, the next day ( st march) he tallowed her to make her a man-of-war; disposing all our ordnance and provisions that were fit for such use, in her. for we had heard by the spaniards last taken, that there were two little galleys built in nombre de dios, to waft the chagres fleet to and fro, but were not yet both launched: wherefore he purposed now to adventure for that fleet. and to hearten his company he feasted them that easter day ( nd march) with great cheer and cheerfulness, setting up his rest upon that attempt. the next day ( rd march) with the new tailored frigate of tolou, and his _bear_, we set sail towards the cativaas, where about two days after we landed, and stayed till noon; at what time seeing a sail to the westward, as we deemed making to the island: we set sail and plied towards him, who descrying us, bare with us, till he perceived by our confidence, that we were no spaniards, and conjectured we were those englishmen, of whom he had heard long before. and being in great want, and desirous to be relieved by us: he bare up under our lee, and in token of amity, shot off his lee ordnance, which was not unanswered. we understood that he was tetu, a french captain of newhaven [havre] a man-of-war as we were, desirous to be relieved by us. for at our first meeting, the french captain cast abroad his hands, and prayed our captain to help him to some water, for that he had nothing but wine and cider aboard him, which had brought his men into great sickness. he had sought us ever since he first heard of our being upon the coast, about this five weeks. our captain sent one aboard him with some relief for the present, willing him to follow us to the next port, where he should have both water and victuals. at our coming to anchor, he sent our captain a case of pistols, and a fair gift scimitar (which had been the late king's of france [henry ii.], whom monsieur montgomery hurt in the eye, and was given him by monsieur strozze). our captain requited him with a chain of gold, and a tablet which he wore. this captain reported unto us the first news of the massacre of paris, at the king of navarre's marriage on saint bartholomew's day last, [ th august, ]; of the admiral of france slain in his chamber, and divers other murders: so that he "thought those frenchmen the happiest which were farthest from france, now no longer france but frensy, even as if all gaul were turned into wormwood and gall: italian practices having over-mastered the french simplicity." he showed what famous and often reports he had heard of our great riches. he desired to know of our captain which way he might "compass" his voyage also. though we had seen him in some jealousy and distrust, for all his pretence; because we considered more the strength he had than the good-will he might bear us: yet upon consultation among ourselves, "whether it were fit to receive him or not?" we resolved to take him and twenty of his men, to serve with our captain for halves. in such sort as we needed not doubt of their forces, being but twenty; nor be hurt by their portions, being no greater than ours: and yet gratify them in their earnest suit, and serve our own purpose, which without more help we could very hardly have achieved. indeed, he had men, and we now but ; his ship was above tons, and our frigate not , or pinnace nothing near tons. yet our captain thought this proportionable, in consideration that not numbers of men, but quality of their judgements and knowledge, were to be the principal actors herein: and the french ship could do not service, or stand in any stead to this enterprise which we intended, and had agreed upon before, both touching the time when it should take beginning, and the place where we should meet, namely, at rio francisco. having thus agreed with captain tetu, we sent for the cimaroons as before was decreed. two of them were brought aboard our ships, to give the french assurance of this agreement. and as soon as we could furnish ourselves and refresh the french company, which was within five or six days (by bringing them to the magazines which were the nearest, where they were supplied by us in such sort, as they protested they were beholding to us for all their lives) taking twenty of the french and fifteen of ours with our cimaroons, leaving both our chips in safe road, we manned our frigate and two pinnaces (we had formerly sunk our _lion_, shortly after our return from panama, because we had not men sufficient to man her), and went towards rio francisco: which because it had not water enough for our frigate, caused us to leave her at the cabecas, manned with english and french, in the charge of robert doble, to stay there without attempting any chase, until the return of our pinnaces. and then bore to rio francisco, where both captains landed ( st march) with such force as aforesaid, and charged them that had the charge of the pinnaces to be there the fourth day next following without any fail. and thus knowing that the carriages [mule loads] went now daily from panama to nombre de dios; we proceeded in covert through the woods, towards the highway that leadeth between them. it is five leagues accounted by sea, between rio francisco and nombre de dios; but that way which we march by land, we found it above seven leagues. we marched as in our former journey to panama, both for order and silence; to the great wonder of the french captain and company, who protested they knew not by any means how to recover the pinnaces, if the cimaroons (to whom what our captain commanded was a law; though they little regarded the french, as having no trust in them) should leave us: our captain assured him, "there was no cause of doubt of them, of whom he had had such former trial." when we were come within an english mile of the way, we stayed all night, refreshing ourselves, in great stillness, in a most convenient place: where we heard the carpenters, being many in number, working upon their ships, as they usually do by reason of the great heat of the day in nombre de dios; and might hear the mules coming from panama, by reason of the advantage of the ground. the next morning ( st april), upon hearing of that number of bells, the cimaroons, rejoiced exceedingly, as though there could not have befallen them a more joyful accident chiefly having been disappointed before. now they all assured us, "we should have more gold and silver than all of us could bear away:" as in truth it fell out. for there came three _recuas_, one of mules, the other two, of each, every [one] of which carried lbs. weight of silver; which in all amounted to near thirty tons. we putting ourselves in readiness, went down near the way to hear the bells; where we stayed not long, but we saw of what metal they were made; and took such hold on the heads of the foremost and hindmost mules, that all the rest stayed and lay down, as their manner is. these three _recuas_ were guarded with forty-five soldiers or thereabouts, fifteen to each _recua_, which caused some exchange of bullets and arrows for a time; in which conflict the french captain was sore wounded with hail-shot in the belly, and one cimaroon was slain: but in the end, these soldiers thought it the best way to leave their mules with us, and to seek for more help abroad. in which meantime we took some pain to ease some of the mules which were heaviest loaden of their carriage. and because we ourselves were somewhat weary, we were contented with a few bars and quoits of gold, as we could well carry: burying about fifteen tons of silver, partly in the burrows which the great land crabs had made in the earth, and partly under old trees which were fallen thereabout, and partly in the sand and gravel of a river, not very deep of water. thus when about this business, we had spent some two hours, and had disposed of all our matters, and were ready to march back the very self-same way that we came, we heard both horse and foot coming as it seemed to the mules: for they never followed us, after we were once entered the woods, where the french captain by reason of his wound, not able to travel farther, stayed, in hope that some rest would recover him better strength. but after we had marched some two leagues, upon the french soldiers' complaint, that they missed one of their men also, examination being made whether he were slain or not: it was found that he had drunk much wine, and over-lading himself with pillage, and hasting to go before us, had lost himself in the woods. and as we afterwards knew, he was taken by the spaniards that evening: and upon torture, discovered unto them where we had hidden our treasure. we continued our march all that and the next day ( nd and rd april) towards rio francisco, in hope to meet with our pinnaces; but when we came thither, looking out to sea, we saw seven spanish pinnaces, which had been searching all the coast thereabouts: whereupon we mightily suspected that they had taken or spoiled our pinnaces, for that our captain had given so straight charge, that they should repair to this place this afternoon; from the cabecas where they rode; whence to our sight these spaniards' pinnaces did come. but the night before, there had fallen very much rain, with much westerly wind, which as it enforced the spaniards to return home the sooner, by reason of the storm: so it kept our pinnaces, that they could not keep the appointment; because the wind was contrary, and blew so strong, that with their oars they could all that day get but half the way. notwithstanding, if they had followed our captain's direction in setting forth over night, while the wind served, they had arrived at the place appointed with far less labour, but with far more danger: because that very day at noon, the shallops manned out, of purpose, from nombre de dios, were come to this place to take our pinnaces: imagining where we were, after they had heard of our intercepting of the treasure. our captain seeing the shallops, feared lest having taken our pinnaces, they had compelled our men by torture to confess where his frigate and ships were. therefore in this distress and perplexity, the company misdoubting that all means of return to their country were cut off, and that their treasure then served them to small purpose; our captain comforted and encouraged us all, saying, "we should venture no farther than he did. it was no time now to fear: but rather to hasten to prevent that which was feared! if the enemy have prevailed against our pinnaces, which god forbid! yet they must have time to search them, time to examine the mariners, time to execute their resolution after it is determined. before all these times be taken, we may get to our ships, if ye will! though not possibly by land, because of the hills, thickets, and rivers, yet by water. let us, therefore, make a raft with the trees that are here in readiness, as offering themselves, being brought down the river, happily this last storm, and put ourselves to sea! i will be one, who will be the other?" john smith offered himself, and two frenchmen that could swim very well, desired they might accompany our captain, as did the cimaroons likewise (who had been very earnest with our captain to have marched by land, though it were sixteen days' journey, and in case the ship had been surprised, to have abode always with them), especially pedro, who yet was fain to be left behind, because he could not row. the raft was fitted and fast bound; a sail of a biscuit sack prepared; an oar was shaped out of a young tree to serve instead of a rudder, to direct their course before the wind. at his departure he comforted the company, by promising, that "if it pleased god, he should put his foot in safety aboard his frigate, he would, god willing, by one means or other get them all aboard, in despite of all the spaniards in the indies!" in this manner pulling off to the sea, he sailed some three leagues, sitting up to the waist continually in water, and at every surge of the wave to the arm-pits, for the space of six hours, upon this raft: what with the parching of the sun and what with the beating of the salt water, they had all of them their skins much fretted away. at length god gave them the sight of two pinnaces turning towards them with much wind; but with far greater joy to them than could easily conjecture, and did cheerfully declare to those three with him, that "they were our pinnaces! and that all was safe, so that there was no cause of fear!" but see, the pinnaces not seeing this raft, nor suspecting any such matter, by reason of the wind and night growing on, were forced to run into a cover behind the point, to take succour, for that night: which our captain seeing, and gathering (because they came not forth again), that they would anchor there, put his raft ashore, and ran by land about the point, where he found them; who, upon sight of him, made as much haste as they could to take him and his company aboard. for our captain (of purpose to try what haste they could and would make in extremity), himself ran in great haste, and so willed the other three with him; as if they had been chased by the enemy: which they the rather suspected, because they saw so few with him. and after his coming aboard, when they demanding "how all his company did?" he answered coldly, "well!" they all doubted that all went scarce well. but he willing to rid all doubts, and fill them with joy, took out of his bosom a quoit of gold, thanking god that "our voyage was made!" and to the frenchmen he declared, how their captain with great pain of his company, rowed to rio francisco; where he took the rest in, and the treasure which we had brought with us: making such expedition, that by dawning of the day, we set sail back again to our frigate, and from thence directly to our ships: where, as soon as we arrived, our captain divided by weight, the gold and silver into two even portions, between the french and the english. about a fortnight after, when we had set all things to order, and taking out of our ship [the _pascha_] all such necessaries as we needed for our frigate, had left and given her to the spaniards, whom we had all this time detained, we put out of that harbour together with the french ship, riding some few days among the cabecas. in the meantime, our captain made a secret composition with the cimaroons, that twelve of our men and sixteen of theirs, should make another voyage, to get intelligence in what case the country stood; and if it might be, recover monsieur tetu, the french captain; at leastwise to bring away that which was hidden in our former surprise, and could not then be conveniently carried. john oxnam and thomas sherwell were put in trust for his service, to the great content of the whole company, who conceived greatest hope of them next our captain; whom by no means they would condescend to suffer to adventure again, this time: yet he himself rowed to set them ashore at rio francisco; finding his labour well employed both otherwise, and also in saving one of those two frenchmen that had remained willingly to accompany their wounded captain. for this gentleman, having escaped the rage of the spaniards, was now coming towards our pinnace, where he fell down on his knees, blessing god for the time, "that ever our captain was born; who now, beyond all his hopes, was become his deliverer." he being demanded, "what was become of his captain and other fellow?" shewed that within half an hour after our departure, the spaniards had overgotten them, and took his captain and other fellow: he only escaped by flight, having cast away all his carriage, and among the rest one box of jewels, that he might fly the swifter from the pursuers: but his fellow took it up and burdened himself so sore, that he could make no speed; as easily as he might otherwise, if he would have cast down his pillage, and laid aside his covetous mind. as for the silver, which we had hidden thereabout in the earth and the sands, he thought that it was all gone: for that he thought there had been near two thousand spaniards and negroes there to dig and search for it. this report notwithstanding, our purpose held, and our men were sent to the said place, where they found that the earth, every way a mile distant had been digged and turned up in every place of any likelihood, to have anything hidden in it. and yet nevertheless, for all that narrow search, all our men's labour was not quite lost, but so considered, that the third day after their departure, they all returned safe and cheerful, with as much silver as they and all the cimaroons could find (viz., thirteen bars of silver, and some few quoits of gold), with which they were presently embarked, without empeachment, repairing with no less speed than joy to our frigate. now was it high time to think of homewards, having sped ourselves as we desired; and therefore our captain concluded to visit rio grande [magdalena] once again, to see if he could meet with any sufficient ship or bark, to carry victuals enough to serve our turn homewards, in which we might in safety and security embark ourselves. the frenchmen having formerly gone from us, as soon as they had their shares, at our first return with the treasure; as being very desirous to return home into their country, and our captain as desirous to dismiss them, as they were to be dismissed: for that he foresaw they could not in their ship avoid the danger of being taken by the spaniards, if they should make out any men-of-war for them, while they lingered on the coast; and having also been then again relieved with victuals by us.--now at our meeting of them again, were very loath to leave us, and therefore accompanied us very kindly as far up as st. bernards; and farther would, but that they durst not adventure so great danger; for that we had intelligence, that the fleet was ready to set sail for spain, riding at the entry of cartagena. thus we departed from them, passing hard by cartagena, in the sight of all the fleet, with a flag of st. george in the main top of our frigate, with silk streamers and ancients down to the water, sailing forward with a large wind, till we came within two leagues of the river [magdalena], being all low land, and dark night: where to prevent the over shooting of the river in the night, we lay off and on bearing small sail, till that about midnight the wind veering to the eastward, by two of the clock in the morning, a frigate from rio grande [magdalena] passed hard by us, bearing also but small sail. we saluted them with our shot and arrows, they answered us with bases; but we got aboard them, and took such order, that they were content against their wills to depart ashore and to leave us this frigate: which was of tons, loaded with maize, hens, and hogs, and some honey, in very good time fit for our use; for the honey especially was notable reliever and preserver of crazed people. the next morning as soon as we set those spaniards ashore on the main, we set our course for the cabecas without any stop, whither we came about five days after. and being at anchor, presently we hove out all the maize a land, saving three butts which we kept for our store: and carrying all our provisions ashore, we brought both our frigates on the careen, and new tallowed them. here we stayed about seven nights, trimming and rigging our frigates, boarding and stowing our provision, tearing abroad and burning our pinnaces, that the cimaroons might have the iron-work. about a day or two before our departure, our captain willed pedro and three of the chiefest of the cimaroons to go through both his frigates, to see what they liked; promising to give it them, whatsoever it were, so it were not so necessary as that he could not return into england without it. and for their wives he would himself seek out some silks or linen that might gratify them; which while he was choosing out of his trunks, the scimitar which captain tetu had given to our captain, chanced to be taken forth in pedro's sight: which he seeing grew so much in liking thereof, that he accounted of nothing else in respect of it, and preferred it before all that could be given him. yet imagining that it was no less esteemed of our captain, durst not himself open his mouth to crave or commend it; but made one francis tucker to be his mean to break his mind, promising to give him a fine quoit of gold, which yet he had in store, if he would but move our captain for it; and to our captain himself, he would give four other great quoits which he had hidden, intending to have reserved them until another voyage. our captain being accordingly moved by frances tucker, could have been content to have made no such exchange; but yet desirous to content him, that had deserved so well, he gave it him with many good words: who received it with no little joy, affirming that if he should give his wife and children which he loved dearly in lieu of it, he could not sufficient recompense it (for he would present his king with it, who he knew would make him a great man, even for this very gift's sake); yet in gratuity and stead of other requital of this jewel, he desired our captain to accept these four pieces of gold, as a token of his thankfulness to him, and a pawn of his faithfulness during life. our captain received it in most kind sort, but took it not to his own benefit, but caused it to be cast into the whole adventure, saying, "if he had not been set forth to take that place, he had not attained such a commodity, and therefore it was just that they which bare part with him of his burden in setting him to sea, should enjoy the proportion of his benefit whatsoever at his return." thus with good love and liking we took our leave of that people, setting over to the islands of [ ? ], whence the next day after, we set sail towards cape st. antonio; by which we past with a large wind: but presently being to stand for the havana, we were fain to ply to the windward some three or four days; in which plying we fortuned to take a small bark, in which were two or three hundred hides, and one most necessary thing, which stood us in great stead, viz., a pump! which we set in our frigate. their bark because it was nothing fit for our service, our captain gave them to carry them home. and so returning to cape st. antonio, and landing there, we refreshed ourselves, and besides great store of turtle eggs, found by day in the [sand], we took turtles by night. we powdered [salted] and dried some of them, which did us good service. the rest continued but a small time. there were, at this time, belonging to cartagena, nombre de dios, rio grande, santa marta, rio de la hacha, venta cruz, veragua, nicaragua, the honduras, jamaica etc., above frigates; some of a tons, others but of or tons, but the most of or tons, which all had intercourse between cartagena and nombre de dios. the most of which, during our abode in those parts, we took; and one of them, twice or thrice each: yet never burnt nor sunk any, unless they were made out men-of-war against us, or laid as stales to entrap us. and of all the men taken in these several vessels, we never offered any kind of violence to any, after they were once come under our power; but either presently dismissed them in safety, or keeping them with us some longer time (as some of them we did), we always provided for their sustenance as for ourselves, and secured them from the rage of the cimaroons against them: till at last, the danger of their discovering where our ships lay being over past, for which only cause we kept them prisoners, we set them also free. many strange birds, beasts, and fishes, besides fruits, trees, plants, and the like, were seen and observed of us in this journey, which willingly we pretermit as hastening to the end of our voyage: which from this cape of st. antonio, we intended to finish by sailing the directest and speediest way homeward; and accordingly, even beyond our own expectation, most happily performed. for whereas our captain had purposed to touch at newfoundland, and there to have watered; which would have been some let unto us, though we stood in great want of water; yet god almighty so provided for us, by giving us good store of rain water, that we were sufficiently furnished: and, within twenty-three days, we passed from the cape of florida, to the isles of scilly, and so arrived at plymouth, on sunday, about sermon time, august the th, . at what time, the news of our captain's return brought unto his, did so speedily pass over all the church, and surpass their minds with desire and delight to see him, that very few or none remained with the preacher. all hastened to see the evidence of god's love and blessing towards our gracious queen and country, by the fruit of our captain's labour and success. _soli deo gloria._ finis. the story of the nations. the west indies. [illustration: reception of spaniards by arawaks. (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] the west indies and the spanish main by james rodway _second impression_ london t. fisher unwin paternoster square mdcccxcix copyright by t. fisher unwin, (for great britain). copyright by g.p. putnam's sons, (for the united states of america). introduction. the story of the west indies and spanish main is one to stir the hearts of many nations. the shores of the caribbean sea have been the scene of marvellous adventures, of intense struggles between races and peoples, of pain, trouble, and disaster of almost every description. no wonder that the romance writer has laid his scenes upon its beautiful islands and deep blue waters, for nowhere in the world, perhaps, could he find such a wealth of incident. from "robinson crusoe" to marryat's genial stories, and down to "westward ho!" and "treasure island," old and young have been entranced for many generations with its stories of shipwrecks, pirates, sea-fights, and treasure-seekers. yet with all this the field has not been exhausted, for hardly a year passes without a new romance dealing more or less with the "indies." under this name of the indies the islands and continent were first known to the spaniards, and it was not until some years had passed that the mainland received the name of _terra firma_. the string of islands facing the atlantic were the antilles, so called from a traditional island to the west of the azores, marked on maps and globes of the fifteenth century. this "bow of ulysses," as froude called the islands, was divided into the greater and lesser antilles, the latter being also known as the caribbees, from their original inhabitants. other divisions were made later into windward and leeward islands, but these differed so much in the descriptions of different nations that it would be as well to leave them out of the question. perhaps the best way would be to name the whole the antilles or west indian islands and divide them, in going from north to south, into the bahamas, the greater antilles, and the caribbees. when we think of these beautiful islands and shores they recall those of that other "great sea" which was such a mighty factor in the development of greece and rome, phoenicia and carthage, venice and genoa. as ulysses and Æneas wandered about the mediterranean, so the early voyagers sailed along the coasts of the caribbean sea and the gulf of mexico in fear of anthropophagoi, amazons, giants, and fiery dragons. as the indies were the scene of struggles between great nations and the raids of buccaneers, so also was the mediterranean a battlefield for christian and turk, and a centre for piracy. reports of golden cities, pearls and emeralds in profusion, and wealth that passed all description, led the spaniards to explore every island and river, until the cannibals became less alarming. yet their sufferings were terrible. hurricanes sunk their frail craft on the sea and earthquakes wrung their very souls on land. starvation, with its consequent sickness and death, destroyed one party after another, but they still went on. the discovery of the riches of mexico and peru led them to look for other rich nations, and to travel thousands of miles on the mainland, guided by the reports of the indians. undaunted by suffering and failure, they would often try again and again, perhaps only to perish in the attempt at last. the treasures of the indies made spain the greatest nation in europe. with her riches she could do almost anything. other nations bowed down before her, and she became sovereign of the seas and mistress of the world. no matter how it was obtained, gold and silver flowed into her coffers; what did she care that it was obtained by the bloody sweat of the poor indians? then came envy and jealousy. why should spain claim the whole of the new world? england, holland, and france began to dispute her supremacy and determined to get a share of the good things. the "invincible domination" of spain led her to declare war against england, with the result that the hardy sea-dogs of that time began to worry the fat galleons at sea, and to pillage the treasure depôts on the main. and here we must mention that there were two important places in the indies where spain was most vulnerable--the mona passage between hispaniola and porto rico and the isthmus of darien. through the first came the outward fleets with supplies, and on their return with gold and silver, while on the isthmus was the depôt for merchandise and the great treasure store. at these two points the enemy congregated, either as ships of war, buccaneers, corsairs, or pirates, and in their neighbourhood some of the most bitter struggles took place. there was no peace in the indies, whatever might nominally be the case in europe. englishmen's blood boiled at the atrocities of the spaniards, but we are afraid it was not love for the oppressed alone that made them massacre the spaniards whenever they got an opportunity. the poor indian received but a scant measure of justice from these very people, when as a matter of convenience they required possession of the caribbee islands. other nations took possession of smaller islands, unoccupied by spain, and from these centres continued their raids, as privateers in war, and as pirates at other times. sometimes they were united among themselves against the common enemy, sometimes at war with each other. france and holland against england, england and holland against france--nothing but quarrels and fighting. now an island changed hands, and again it was restored or recaptured. the planters were never sure of being able to reap their crops, and often had literally to superintend the estate work, armed with sword and arquebuse, while their black and white slaves cultivated the soil. now the west indies became the great training ground for three maritime nations--england, france, and holland. spain lost her prestige, and the struggle lay among her enemies for over a century. at first the three disputants for her place were equally matched; then holland dropped behind, leaving england and france to fight it out. the struggle was a very close one, which only ended with the fall of napoleon, and it was in the caribbean sea where the great check to france took place. here rodney defeated de grasse, and here nelson and many another naval officer gained that experience which served them so well in other parts of the world. here also was the scene of that great labour experiment, the african slave-trade. the atrocities of the spaniards caused the depopulation of the greater antilles, and led to the importation of negroes. whatever may be said against slavery, there can hardly be any question that the african has been improved by his removal to another part of the world and different surroundings. true, he has not progressed to the extent that was expected by his friends when they paid such an enormous sum for his enfranchisement; still, there are undoubtedly signs of progress. the white colonists in the west indies never settled down to form the nucleus of a distinct people. since the emancipation the islands have been more and more abandoned to the negroes and coloured people, with the result that although the government is mostly in the hands of the whites, they are in such a minority as to be almost lost. in cuba there appears to be such a feeling of patriotism towards their own island that probably we shall soon hear of a new republic, but elsewhere in the islands our hopes for the future must lie in the negroes and coloured people. on the mainland the original inhabitants were not exterminated as in the large islands, and consequently we have there a most interesting process in course of accomplishment--the development of one or more nations. here are the true americans, and as the gaul was merged in the frank, and the briton in the saxon, so the spaniard has been or will ultimately be lost in the american. at present the so-called spanish republics are in their birth-throes--they are feeling their way. through trouble and difficulty--revolution and tyranny--they have to march on, until they become stronger and more fitted to take their places among other nations. out of the struggle they must ultimately come, and it will be a most interesting study for those who see the result. in hispaniola we have also a nation in the course of development--an alien race from the old world. more backward than the americans, the africans of haïti are struggling to gain a position among other nations, apparently without any good result. the nation is yet unborn, and its birth-throes are distressing. we look upon that beautiful island and feel sad that such a paradise should have fallen so low. as a race the negro has little of that internal power that makes for progress--he must be compelled to move on. some are inclined to look upon him as in the course of degenerating into the savage, but we, on the contrary, believe him to be progressing slowly. in the islands belonging to european nations the influence of the dominant power is visible in the negro even when he has no trace of white blood. the french, english, or dutch negro may be recognised by his manners, and even features. in some places east indians and chinese have been imported, but these stand alone and make little impression. they are aliens as yet, and take little part in the development of the colonies. latterly the west indies have sunk into neglect by europe. except for the difficulties of the planters their history is almost a blank sheet. few know anything about the beautiful islands or the grand forests of the mainland. even the discovery of gold in guiana, which goes to confirm the reports of ralegh, three centuries ago, is only known to a few. ruin and desolation have fallen upon them since the peace of and the emancipation. even the negro--the _protégé_ of the benevolent--is no longer the object of interest he once was. cane sugar is being gradually ousted by that from the beet, and hardly anything has been done to replace its cultivation by other tropical products. yet the islands are still as lovely as they were four centuries ago, and on the continent is a wealth of interest to the naturalist and lover of the beautiful. now and again a tourist goes the round of the islands and publishes the result in a book of travel; but the countries are out of the track of civilisation and progress. possibly if the panama or nicaragua canal is ever finished things may be a little better, but at present the outlook is very dismal. in attempting to compress the story of the west indies and spanish main within the covers of one volume we have undertaken a task by no means easy. every island and every province has its own tale, and to do them all justice would require a hundred books. every west indian will find something missing--some event unmentioned which is of the greatest importance to his particular community. this is only to be expected, yet we believe that the reader will get a fairer idea of their importance when they are comprehended in one great whole. the photo block illustrations are from negatives prepared by mr. thomas b. blow, f.l.s. contents. i. page the spaniards and their victims - the native americans--the arawak and the carib--their independent spirit--their country--the character of the spaniard--he wants to convert the natives to christianity--"a ton of gold"--first spanish settlers in hispaniola--they ravage the island and are entirely cut off--the second colony oppresses the indians--repartimientos--cruelties to the indian slaves--decrease of the population--slave-hunting in other islands and on the main--resistance of the cannibals--decline of hispaniola. ii. the quest for "el dorado" - treasure-seeking and its dangers--alonzo de ojeda--the proclamation to the indians--disastrous voyage of valdivia--a cannibal story--"el dorado," the gilded one--the german knights--ambrosio de alfinger--george of spires--nicholas fedreman and others--pedro de ursua and lope de aguirre--pedro de acosta--diego de ordas and juan martinez--the quest and its dangers. iii. "singeing the spaniard's beard" - the papal bull of partition--english and french seamen in the indies--raids on the spanish possessions--master william hawkins goes to brazil--the caribs friendly to the enemies of spain--john hawkins carries negroes from africa--francis drake's attack on nombre de dios--the simaroons--drake captures the panama train--john oxenham--andrew barker--drake's second voyage--he captures st. domingo and carthagena--last voyage of drake and hawkins--death of drake--exploits of other adventurers. iv. ralegh and the first british colonies - "letters patent" to ralegh--"el dorado" again--ralegh's first voyage to guiana--keymis and berrie--the dutch in guiana--charles leigh founds a settlement--robert harcourt's colony--ralegh's imprisonment--he is released to again visit guiana--disastrous results--roger north's colony--king james's want of policy--changes after his death--st. christopher's and barbados--north's colony again--the bahamas--the french and dutch settlements--rise of the dutch--the french and english at st. christopher's. v. buccaneers, filibusters, and pirates - the buccaneers of hispaniola--tortuga--bay of campeachy--privateers turning pirates--pierre legrand--captains de basco and brouage--captain lawrence--montbar the "exterminator"--lolonois--morgan storms and captures panama--he settles down in jamaica--van horn--raid on the south sea--lionel wafer's journey across the isthmus. vi. war in the young colonies - spanish raids--effects of the "great english revolution"--the caribbee islands in revolt--cavaliers and roundheads in barbados--charles the second declared king--lord willoughby arrives with a commission from the fugitive--persecution of the roundheads--sir george ayscue sent out with a fleet to reduce barbados--the island blockaded--its surrender--surinam held for the king--cromwell and spain--the expedition to st. domingo--capture of jamaica--colonisation of the island--the council for foreign plantations. vii. the planters and their slaves - first adventurers not agriculturalists--slaves wanted--negroes imported--sugar--cotton--tobacco--first plantations--kidnapping-- prisoners transported--english slave-trade--comparative cost of negroes and whites--rebels--story of henry pitman--condition of the bond-servants--life of the planter--dangers of the voyage--jamaica--slavery in africa--treatment of the west indian slave. viii. the struggle for supremacy - trade disputes between england and holland--war--the buccaneers employed--repulse of de ruyter at barbados--capture of dutch colonies by english--the french drive the english from st. kitt's--abortive attempts for its recapture--peace of breda--the value of the buccaneers to jamaica--character of the three nations now contending for supremacy--case of surinam--english refused permission to leave with their slaves--war again--peace of westminster and the exodus from surinam--case of jeronomy clifford--sir henry morgan represses buccaneering--another war--du casse and the corsairs--jacques cassard--curious position of berbice--cassard takes curaçao--his downfall. ix. the struggle for the darien trade - carthagena and porto bello fairs--the trade of the isthmus--the joint-stock mania--william paterson and the darien scheme--caledonia and new edinburgh founded--destruction of the colony--the _assiento_ contract--the great south sea bubble--vain attempts of the english to obtain free trade with the spanish provinces--attacks on the logwood cutters of campeachy--war with spain--contraband traders and their losses--captain jenkins' ear--another war with spain--admiral vernon takes porto bello--his failure at carthagena--english exploits. x. slave insurrections and bush negroes - sufferings of the planters from war--barbados alone as having never fallen to the enemy--internal difficulties--ferocity of slaves and cruelty of their punishments--the maroons of jamaica and bush negroes in guiana--slave insurrections--abortive plots in barbados--troubles in jamaica--revolt in antigua--the great slave insurrection in berbice--the whites driven from the colony--haunts of the guiana bush negroes--surinam in continual fear of their raids--expeditions sent against them--treaties--great insurrection in jamaica and suppression of the maroons. xi. the sovereignty of the seas - downfall of spain--england and france--contraband traffic of the dutch and danes--advantages of neutrality--the jews in the islands--they support the buccaneers--the great war--england against the world--admiral rodney--his abortive fights with de guichen--the training of his fleet--he captures st. eustatius and confiscates private property--capture of demerara--outcry against rodney--british disasters--rodney appears again--his decisive victory over de grasse--peace and its results--the great struggle with france and her allies--british supremacy--peace of amiens--war again--nelson in the west indies--the american war--decline of the plantations from the abolition of the slave-trade. xii. downfall of hispaniola - results of the french revolution--the friends of the blacks--the rights of man--civil disabilities of free coloured people--agitation in the french colonies--james ogé--demand of the coloured people for equal rights--civil war in hispaniola--"perish the colonies"--great slave insurrection--the whites concede equal rights, but the convention revokes their original decree--truce broken--the struggle renewed--devastation of the colony--the british expedition and its failure--toussaint l'ouverture--slavery abolished--it is re-established by napoleon--treachery to l'ouverture and the negroes--dessalines and christophe declare the independence of hayti--massacre of the whites--the empire and republic. xiii. emancipation of the spanish main - influence of the french revolution on spanish america--miranda vainly attempts to rouse venezuela--revolution at caracas--simon bolivar--struggle for independence--atrocities of both parties--bolivar proclaims extermination to the royalists--spanish successes--the british legion--devastation of the country--the columbian republic--guatemala. xiv. abolition of slavery - agitation against slavery by the quakers--abolition of the african slave-trade--effects of this on the plantations--condition of the slave--registration--rising in barbados--the protestant missionaries arrive--opposition of the planters--ordinance against preaching and teaching slaves passed in jamaica--the anti-slavery party in england--amelioration of the condition of the slave--insurrection in demerara--prosecution and conviction of the rev. john smith--emancipation in the british colonies--its effect on colonies of other nationalities--insurrection at st. croix--total abolition of slavery in the west indies. xv. results of emancipation - ruin of the planters--difficulty of procuring labour--abolition of the differential duties--immigration--barbados an exception when ruin fell on the other colonies--labour laws in french, danish, and dutch colonies--another insurrection in st. croix--race prejudice causes riots in demerara--insurrection at jamaica--confederation riot at barbados. xvi. the isthmus transit schemes - nelson's expedition to the san juan--miranda's project--importance of a canal--central america--effects of the discovery of gold in california--the panama railway--canal projects--darien again--the _times_ and the nicaragua project--ship railway--lesseps and the panama canal--difficulties of the work--its downfall--character of lesseps--the nicaragua canal. list of illustrations. page .--reception of spaniards by arawaks. from gottfried's "reisen" _frontispiece_ .--reception of spaniards by caribs. from gottfried's "reisen" .--a corner of paradise. the victoria regia .--_en route_ to the goldfields of guiana. passing the rapids of the essequebo .--worrying the natives with dogs. from gottfried's "reisen" .--a modern alluvial gold washing .--suicides. from gottfried's "reisen" .--a guiana river. the tumatamari falls .--inhabitants of the spanish main. from colijn's "reisen" .--"el dorado." from gottfried's "reisen" .--negro woman returning from market .--negro barber .--negro family on holiday .--negresses gossiping .--ralegh in trinidad. from gottfried's "reisen" .--gold hunting. from gottfried's "reisen" .--carib attack on a settlement. from gottfried's "reisen" .--st. kitt's. from andrews' "west indies" .--a surinam planter. from stedman's "surinam" .--a negro festival. from edwards' "west indies" .--voyage of the sable venus. from edwards' "west indies" .--slaves landing from the ship. from stedman's "surinam" .--map of _terra firma_. from gottfried's "reisen" .--a rebel negro. from stedman's "surinam" .--the execution of breaking on the rack. from stedman's "surinam" .--march through a swamp. from stedman's "surinam" .--trelawny town. from edwards' "west indies" .--pacification of the maroons. from edwards' "west indies" .--view of part of hispaniola. from andrews' "west indies" .--la guayra on the main. from andrews' "west indies" .--the first of august. from madden's "west indies" .--a relic of the slavery days--old slave buying fish .--negress, guiana .--negress fish-sellers, guiana .--chinese wood-carrier .--east indian coolie .--east indian coolie family .--coolie barber .--east indian coolie girl .--coolie women, british guiana .--coolie vegetable sellers, british guiana .--east indian coolies, trinidad .--east indian coolie, trinidad .--trinidad coolies .--barbados. from andrews' "west indies" .--st. lucia. from andrews' "west indies" .--atlantic entrance to darien canal. from cullen's "darien canal" .--europe supported by africa and america. from stedman's "surinam" [illustration] the west indies. i. the spaniards and their victims. when the early writers spoke of america as the new world, _mundus novus_, they could hardly have appreciated the full meaning of the name. true, it was a new world to them, with new animals, new plants, and a new race of mankind; but the absolute distinctness of everything, especially in the tropical regions, was not understood. with our fuller knowledge the ideas of strangeness and novelty are more and more impressed, and we are ready to exclaim, yes! it is indeed a new world. unlike those of the eastern hemisphere, the peoples of the west are of one race. apart from every other, the development of the american indian has gone on different lines, the result being a people self-contained, as it were, and unmodified until the arrival of the european. the american is perhaps the nearest to the natural man, and his character is the result of nature's own moulding. when compared with the european or asiatic he seems to be far behind, yet the civilisation of peru and mexico was in some respects in advance of that of their conquerors. this was brought about by a dense population which forced men into collision with each other--in other parts of the continent and on the islands they were more isolated and therefore less civilised. in the forest region of the spanish main, and on the west indian islands, the communities were, as a rule, very small and isolated one from another. a kind of patriarchal system prevented much communication, and inter-tribal disputes were a bar to union. every community distrusted every other, and even when one tribe fought against its neighbour there were few attempts to bring the sections together against the common enemy. on the coasts and islands of the caribbean sea, at the time of their discovery, lived two distinct peoples, the arawaks and the caribs. there were also a few other tribes of minor importance, such as the warrows, but these made little impression, and may therefore be left out of consideration. the remnants of the two great stocks still exist in guiana and at the mouth of the orinoco, living to-day in much the same manner as they did when the country was first discovered by the spaniards. four centuries ago the greater antilles were exclusively inhabited by arawaks, and the lesser by caribs. the arawak, as his name implies, was more or less an agriculturalist--a meal-eater, a cultivator of vegetables, mainly cassava. from the poisonous root of this plant bread, drink, and a preservative sauce for meat, were prepared, so that, with game or fish, it formed the staff of life. the probable course of his migration was from yucatan or mexico to the south-east, terminating in guiana, and from thence north through the whole of the antilles. when columbus arrived people of this stock filled the larger islands and the bahamas, but along the coast and in the island of trinidad they disputed the occupation of the territories with the caribs. in porto rico also the caribs had become aggressive, and even in hispaniola the arawaks had to defend their shores against that warlike people. if we believe the accounts of the spaniards the inhabitants of the greater antilles were not altogether a savage people. whether they had destroyed all the larger game, or whether they found none on their arrival, the fact remains that they were agriculturalists rather than huntsmen. they were, however, expert in fishing, and built great canoes with sails, in which they carried on their operations even in comparatively rough water. their provision grounds were highly praised by the spaniards in language that could hardly apply to little clearings like those in the guiana forest. in them were grown, besides cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, and maize, while other things such as cotton and tobacco were also largely cultivated. the natives had also acquired several arts besides that of canoe building, which, when we consider their want of proper implements, was almost wonderful. cotton was spun and woven into cloth for their scanty garments, gold cast and hammered into figures and ornaments, and wood and stone idols and weapons were also carved. all this was done with stone implements, even to the work of hollowing great logs for their canoes, and shaping planks. we read of axe-heads made of _guanin_, an alloy of gold and copper, and also of attempts to make similar tools of silver, but these were very rare, and could hardly have been utilised to any good purpose. when we appreciate the labour and pains taken in excavating a large canoe, with only fire and the stone adze, we can see that these people were by no means idle. nor were they altogether wanting in appreciation of art, for the figures on their baskets and pottery were beautifully true geometrical patterns, and their so-called idols, although grotesque and rude, often striking. on the mainland the arawaks lived in small communities, only electing a war-chief as occasion required--in haïti the cacique seems to have been leader and ruler as well. and here we must mention the most striking characteristic of the american indian--his utter abhorrence of anything like coercion. even in childhood his parents let him do as he pleases, never attempting to govern him in any way. it followed therefore that neither war-captain nor cacique had any real power to compel them to a course they disliked, and that discipline was entirely wanting. the traveller in guiana at the present day can thoroughly understand this trait of character, for he has to take it into account if he wishes to get their assistance. they must be treated as friends, not as servants, and the greatest care taken not to offend their dignity, unless he wishes to be left alone in the forest. [illustration: reception of spaniards by caribs. (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] they quarrelled little among themselves, and only fought against the caribs; they were peaceable, kind, and gentle, so hospitable to strangers that columbus could hardly say enough in their favour. "a better race there cannot be," he declared to his sovereigns, and this opinion was confirmed by all who came into contact with them. in fact if you do nothing to offend him, the arawak of to-day is the same quiet and gentle fellow who met the voyagers on their arrival at guanahani. the caribs were a stronger race, and had probably followed the same track as the arawaks in a later migration. at the time of the discovery they appear to have driven the more gentle race from the smaller islands south of porto rico, and had taken their women as wives. all along the coast the two tribes fought with each other, but on account of the greater stretch of country there was nothing like the extermination which took place in the lesser antilles. the arawaks retired up the rivers and creeks, leaving their enemies to take possession of the coast, which they did to such good purpose that the spaniards were unable to get a footing in guiana. all the early writers agree that the caribs were man-eaters--in fact the word cannibal seems to have been derived from their name. in the smaller islands they had eaten all the men of the gentler tribe, and now made periodical raids on the larger, from whence they carried off prisoners to be cooked and devoured at leisure. these raids led to combinations on the part of the inhabitants of haïti and porto rico, and hitherto they had been successful in preventing anything like an occupation of these islands by their enemies. whether these successes would have continued is doubtful; the arrival of the spaniards upset everything. the carib was not so entirely dependent on the produce of the soil as the meal-eater. he was a hunter and fisherman, but above everything else a warrior. his women had provision grounds like those of the arawak, possibly because they came from that stock. the carib's hunting grounds were circumscribed and poor, and his craving for meat could only be appeased in one way--by eating his enemies. probably this made him all the more fierce and bloodthirsty, as a flesh diet is certainly more stimulating than one of fish and starchy tubers. if the arawak was impatient of control, the carib was even more independent. the former would pine away and die under coercion, the latter refused absolutely to be a slave. he would die fighting for his liberty, but never admit that he was conquered. it was not he who welcomed the spaniards to the west indies--on the contrary, he did everything possible to prevent their landing on his shores. his so-called treachery caused many difficulties to the new-comers, but taken altogether he was much respected by them as a foe worthy of their steel. these two peoples lived in a country which columbus described as a veritable paradise--in fact he thought he had discovered the site of the garden of eden. into this beautiful world he let loose a band of robbers and murderers, to depopulate and make it a wilderness. they were the product of an entirely different environment--a continent in which every man's hand was against that of his neighbour. for a long time spain had been a battlefield, on which the most warlike instincts of mankind came to the front. her soldiers understood the advantages of discipline, and would follow their leaders wherever anything was to be gained, yet at the same time they were individuals, and as such fought for their own hands as well. [illustration: a corner of paradise. the victoria regia.] like the rest of christendom spain was very religious, and after treasure-seeking, the adventurers of that nation meant to convert the heathen. the cross was erected everywhere on landing, and religious services held to pray for help in their undertakings. if the cruelties that followed were not quite in accordance with christ's teachings we must put it down to the manners and customs of the age. ignorance was really the great characteristic of that period, and the brilliancy of the few only shone out the brighter because of the dark background. the majority were steeped in superstition, and almost entirely dominated by their passions. columbus was continually harping upon the desirability of making the natives of the new world christians. "your highness," he said, in one of his letters, "ought to rejoice that they will soon become christians, and that they will be taught the good customs of your kingdom." he took nine of them to spain, on his return from the first voyage, who were baptized and taught the spanish language. the king and queen told him to deal lovingly with those in the indies, and to severely punish any who ill-treated them. more were sent to spain and allowed to go back for the purpose of "gaining souls." columbus, however, did not altogether agree with his sovereigns--his project was to send enough as slaves to pay the expenses of his expeditions, and he actually shipped four lots for that purpose. but ferdinand and isabella would not have this, and even went so far as to prohibit the deportation of the caribs notwithstanding the admiral's argument that they were unworthy of the royal clemency, because they ate men and were enemies of the friendly arawaks. [illustration: en route to the goldfields of guiana. passing the rapids of the essequebo.] how the new world was discovered in has been told so often that it is hardly necessary to repeat the story. haïti, named hispaniola or little spain, was chosen from the first as the island on which a settlement should be planted. here columbus left thirty-nine colonists under the command of diego de arana, and under the protection of the great cacique guacanagari. he "trusted to god" that on his return he would find a ton of gold and a large quantity of spices, with the proceeds of which his sovereigns might undertake the conquest of jerusalem from the infidels. a ton of gold! this was the whole end and aim of his expedition. everything else was subordinate to this. he had seen the natives wearing gold ornaments, and found that the precious metal could be gathered from certain streams on the island. but, could he estimate the amount of labour required to procure such an enormous quantity, by people who had no other appliances than baskets? this alone was enough to bring trouble upon the peaceful island. but this was not all. the colonists quarrelled among themselves, interfered with the indian women, went hunting for gold all over the country, took it wherever it could be found, and stole provisions when their friends did not bring them enough. not satisfied with the district of the friendly cacique, they ravaged that of caonabo, the carib chieftain of another clan, a man of a different stamp. he resented the insults at once by attacking the spaniards, who, notwithstanding the assistance of their allies, were utterly exterminated. when columbus arrived, instead of a ton of gold, he found nothing but the blackened ruins of the fort and houses. this should have been a lesson to the spaniards, but unfortunately it only led to further quarrels. the new-comers did not intend to cultivate the soil; their main object was treasure, and they expected the natives to provide them with food. and here we must mention the fact that the people of tropical climes _never_ have any store of provisions laid up--this is only necessary where winter prevails for half the year. it follows therefore that however liberal they may feel towards strangers, their supplies being restricted to their own wants leave little to give away. up to a certain point the indian gives freely, but when this means privation to himself he withholds his hand. the want of a full appreciation of this fact caused great trouble in many of the early settlements, and in some cases led to their destruction. the natives promised food supplies; but when they found themselves starving, naturally withheld further assistance. the settlers considered this a breach of faith, and made incursions on the provision grounds, taking what they wanted, and seriously injuring the crops. this the indians resented, and deadly quarrels ensued, which ended in their driving out the colonists or deserting the place altogether. in the latter case the food supply was necessarily cut off, and often led ultimately to the abandonment of the colony. to the kindly people of hispaniola the new-comers were gods, and their horses and cattle preternatural creatures. while wondering and admiring, they were at the same time frightened at these out-of-the-way men and animals, especially when the soldiers exhibited themselves on horseback. at first they thought them immortal, and were disagreeably surprised when they fell before the army of caonabo. but even the proverbial worm will turn, and soon the oppressions of the second colonists drove the poor haïtians to resist. to labour in the field was beneath the dignity of the adventurous treasure-seekers--the natives must supply them with provisions. what they had brought from spain was soon spoilt in such a hot climate--no one had yet learned how to pack for long voyages. they must get food, and what was the good of having thousands of people, and acres of cultivated land in their neighbourhood, if the natives did not bring in as much as was required? at first they were supplied willingly, but when the results of this profuse hospitality began to tell upon themselves, the poor haïtians withheld their hands. then the spaniards began complaining to the cacique, who, however, had no real authority over his people in a matter of this kind, and therefore could do nothing. driven by want the spaniards made incursions on the provision grounds, where they spoilt as much as they took away, and left a waste behind. sometimes they met with resistance, and the defenders were cut down without mercy. the spoilers only wanted an excuse for fleshing their swords; they were even anxious to show their powers, and make the natives feel that at last they had masters. [illustration: worrying the natives with dogs. (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] before two years had passed the spaniards were beset with difficulties. the indian looked despairingly at his wasted fields, and refused to cultivate them any longer. why should he plant for others when he himself was starving? some fled into the mountains and forests of the interior, others died of want. this naturally told upon the white men, who had not yet learnt that they must cultivate the soil if they wanted its produce. they could not demean themselves to this, but must have the power to compel the inhabitants and owners of this beautiful island to work for them. the home authorities knew what was going on, and did their best according to their lights to provide a remedy. at first they gave large tracts of land to the settlers, _repartimientos_ as they were called, but what was the use of these if their owners could get no labourers? then to every grant was allotted a certain number of indians as slaves, and thus the cruel system that ultimately depopulated the greater antilles and the bahamas was introduced. those who were not allotted as slaves were compelled to pay tribute. in the neighbourhood of the gold-washings this was to consist of a little bellful of gold; in other places of an arroba ( lbs.) of cotton, once a quarter for every person above the age of fourteen. metal tokens to hang upon the neck were given as receipts, and when these were absent the people were severely punished. thus this gentle and independent race was enslaved. [illustration: a modern alluvial gold washing.] even with modern appliances and the use of quicksilver, gold-washing is a most precarious business; what then could it have been here with nothing but a basket and gourd? columbus had such exaggerated ideas that, when he saw the gold-washings of cibao, he came to the conclusion they were the ophir of the bible; from his reports the king and queen thought nothing of demanding this small tribute. to the indian, however, the gleaning of the tribute meant the labour of days and weeks, and when there were so many seekers it was found utterly impossible for each to gather his amount. then they ran away, and were hunted with dogs, brought back, and compelled to wash the gravel under surveillance, subject to the pricks of a sword if they were not active enough. but, even with all this, the returns were not equal to what was expected, and the tribute had ultimately to be abandoned. however, it was stated that as much as the value of a million crowns per annum was extracted during the best years, at a cost of pain and suffering awful to contemplate. [illustration: suicides. (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] the cotton tribute had also to be abandoned, and even the _repartimientos_ were not a success. if they had been willing, the natives could hardly have performed steady work, and as slaves they were almost valueless. in their natural condition they laboured when they chose, wasting time as we should say with little good result. now their masters demanded heavy tasks which prevented their working on their own provision grounds, and yet provided little or nothing in the way of rations. hundreds died of starvation; thousands committed suicide. some jumped from high precipices; they hanged, stabbed, drowned, and poisoned themselves; mothers destroyed their babes to save them from the misery of living. if caught in such attempts they were flogged, had boiling water or melted lead poured over them, and were otherwise tortured until death came to their relief. their cruel masters, however, rarely wished to kill them outright--they were too valuable. no, they must break down this dogged, stubborn spirit--treat them as horses and mules, until they bent themselves to the yoke. it was left for bands of soldiers on foraging expeditions to kill in mere wantonness. a company would be travelling through the island and come upon a village, where perhaps they stopped for a short rest. the people looked on, admiring their shining armour and weapons, wondering what sort of creatures these were that so quietly cropped the grass and shrubs. one of the soldiers would take out his sword, feel its keen edge, and think what a pity it was that the weapon should be used so little. behind him comes a little boy. the temptation is great; in a moment the sharp weapon flashes and the child lies dead. the indians fly, and the whole party follows, chasing and slaughtering to their heart's content, not knowing nor caring why. in a few minutes fifty are killed, the soldiers return to their bivouac, and if they inquire into the matter at all pass it off as a good jest. is it any wonder that the population decreased to a wonderful degree in a few years? the sugar-cane had been introduced by columbus on his second voyage, and labour was soon required for cultivating this and other crops. as long as slaves were procurable the planters throve, and as by that time hispaniola had become the great centre of the indies, the settlers were in a fair way to make fortunes. but the decrease in the population became alarming, and something had to be done; then, new settlers were continually arriving who also wanted slaves. it followed, therefore, that some of the more audacious of the adventurers took up the trade of kidnapping the indians from other islands and the mainland. a host of disappointed treasure-seekers had ransacked every shore, and were now well prepared for the business of man-hunting. the first people to suffer were those who so kindly welcomed columbus on his arrival--the gentle inhabitants of the bahamas. they were even more peaceful than the haïtians, because they had not suffered from carib invasions. when the slave hunters told them to come to the south and live with their ancestors, they willingly allowed themselves to be carried off to suffer like their neighbours. some ran away and got to the northern shores of hispaniola, where they stretched out their hands to their beautiful homes and then died of grief. having entirely depopulated the smaller islands, and being prevented from kidnapping the people of cuba, porto rico, and jamaica, by the settlers on those islands, they tried the caribbees. here they met their match. no longer was it the gentle arawak whom they encountered, but the ferocious cannibal. like his foes he had been trained in war for many generations. not only did he refuse to work for the stranger, but even went so far as to oppose his landing. on his islands was little to attract the treasure-seeker, and if he would not submit to be a slave, nothing was to be gained by interfering with him. this the spaniard found out by bitter experience. a few vessels were wrecked on these inhospitable shores, the crews of which escaped to land only to be killed and eaten, after being tortured with all the ingenuity of the savage. even a landing for fresh water had to be made in the most cautious manner, and the carriers protected by a strong guard. no doubt the caribs had heard of the white man's cruelties from their arawak prisoners, and were therefore all the more ready to repel their invasions. this was particularly noticeable later when the english and french arrived and found them by no means so ferocious as the spaniards had reported. possibly they knew these people to be enemies to their foes, and were therefore all the more ready to be friendly as long as no attempts were made to oppress them. hispaniola rose to some importance very quickly, and almost as quickly declined. the settlers depopulated the island, and then complained of the want of labourers. the gold-seekers went elsewhere, and mexico and the isthmus of darien became of more importance. some writers have attempted to give the number of indians exterminated in the early years of the sixteenth century, but little reliance can be placed on their statistics. generally, they range from one to three millions, but it is doubtful whether even the lowest figure is not too high. yet, when we read the statement of columbus that crowds of people (in one place two thousand) came forth to meet him, and his description of the large area of cultivated land, as well as the broad and good roads, it is not difficult to conceive that a million people lived in these great islands. with the destruction of the labourers down fell the plantations. cattle had been introduced and throve wonderfully; now they ran wild over the islands, especially hispaniola, until they became innumerable. on the abandoned provision grounds of the indians they found a virgin pasturage. hogs also took to the woods, and increased even faster than the cattle. at first there were neither huntsmen nor carnivorous animals to check this wonderful development. the once domesticated animals recovered some of the powers and capacities of their wild ancestors, and only required enemies to assist in bringing out other latent characters. and these were not long wanting. large and powerful hounds had been imported from spain to hunt the runaway indians, and now that their occupation was gone, they also took to the woods and savannahs. like their ancestors and cousins, the wolves, they combined into packs and fought the cattle and hogs. both hunters and hunted became stronger and fiercer--the dogs learnt how best to attack, and their prey to defend themselves. it was a struggle like that between the cannibals and meal-eaters--nature's method of preserving the balance of life. this equalisation no doubt would have been the result had not man interfered; how this happened we must leave to another chapter. [illustration] [illustration] ii. the quest for "el dorado". ophir was not found in the islands, and the bands of adventurers went over to _terra firma_ or the mainland to continue the search. along the coast of guiana and venezuela they again came across the gentle arawak and ferocious carib, the latter making himself respected everywhere, while his poor-spirited fellow-countryman was alternately caressed and plundered. in every place the spaniards found gold ornaments, and every tribe told them that the precious metal was only obtainable in some far distant country. the haïtians sent columbus to the south in search of the _guanin_ country, and it was there he discovered the coast of paria and the delta of the mighty orinoco. but he was not fated to come across the treasure cities of the indies. others followed to at last conquer mexico and peru, but even then it was generally believed that nations existed who had more riches to be plundered than those of the inca and montezuma. to find these golden regions the voyagers wandered in every direction, contributing much to the knowledge of the coasts and rivers, but always coming back disappointed. the horrors of this search can hardly be appreciated nowadays. the ships were so small and ill-found that we should hardly care to use them for coasters, yet in them these pioneers crossed the atlantic and encountered the hurricanes of the west indies. decked only at bow and stern, the waves dashed into the hold and wetted the provisions, while the sun poured down upon the water casks and burst their wooden hoops. the butter and cheese stank, the flour in sacks became mouldy, and the bacon and salt fish putrid. then the hull of the vessel was unprotected, and the teredo, or ship worm, bored it through and through, until nothing but careening and caulking could save the poor craft from sinking. when we understand the privations and dangers of this navigation we are not surprised that the adventurers often came to grief, but rather wonder that any of them survived. living in the west indies, we have often thought of the pain and suffering it would produce if we were compelled to walk or sit in the burning sun armed as were the soldiers at that period. we can hardly believe that they wore steel body armour, yet the evidence is too strong to be refuted. true, they gave it up afterwards in favour of quilted cotton, but before they did so how hot they must have felt! we can fancy the sentry standing exposed to the full blaze of the sun, his helmet and breastplate burning hot and his woollen underclothing saturated with perspiration. then there would be the open boat ascending a river. the occupants dared not row in the shade for fear of cannibals shooting at them with poisoned arrows from the thicket, and out in the river they must have felt as if in a furnace. even with our white clothing and light hats a long journey in an open boat when the sun is high often ends in fever, and almost invariably in a headache. the neck and backs of the hands get blistered, and become sore, the glare on the water dazzles the eye, and we feel faint. in one of the accounts of such a boating expedition on a river in guiana we read of the men finding some yellow plums floating on the water, and of their being much refreshed by them. we also have come across these hog-plums when almost exhausted by a long exposure on the open river, and when even our negro steersman was nodding as he held the paddle. suddenly we came to our destination, the mouth of a creek, and were under an arcade of vegetation, beneath which the plums floated on the cool dark water. the men of the sixteenth century must have been stronger than ourselves, or they could hardly have endured such pain and privation. they lay down on the bare earth night after night, and on board ship went to sleep on naked planks. as they could endure pain and discomfort, so also could they inflict it on others. the rough seamen learnt to bear hardships which blunted their feelings of humanity and made them inclined to torture others. when in the hands of the cannibals they were almost as stoical as the savage himself, their ruling passion being a desire for revenge. if cruelly treated by one tribe they retaliated on others; in the same way the indians killed one party of spaniards to avenge the insults of their countrymen. this led to a great deal of trouble and made the voyages of the treasure-seekers dangerous to all. however free from blame one party might be, they were liable to suffer for previous wrong-doings and they in turn left behind them injuries to be avenged on the next comers. [illustration: a guiana river. the tumatamari falls.] and then, how very audacious these adventurers were! alonzo de ojeda was perhaps the most striking example of utter recklessness in face of danger. in he entered the harbour of carthagena in spite of a warning that its shores were inhabited by a ferocious tribe who fought with palm-wood swords and poisoned arrows. it was even stated that the women mingled in the battle, and could use the bow and a kind of lance. these people had been irritated by another party of spaniards, and on sight of the vessels were up in arms at once. however, ojeda was undaunted, and landed at once with his men and some friars, who had been sent to convert the indians. in front stood the enemy brandishing their weapons, and prepared for the first hostile movement. yet, even under these critical circumstances, he ordered the usual proclamation to be read to the indians in a language of which they knew nothing. he, alonzo de ojeda, servant of the most high and mighty sovereigns of castile and leon, conquerors of barbarous nations, notified them that god had given st. peter the supreme power over the world, which power was exercised by the pope, who had given all that part of the world to these sovereigns. they were called upon to acknowledge this sovereignty at once, which, if they refused to do, he would bring upon them the horrors of war, desolation to their houses, confiscation of their property, and slavery to their wives and children. [illustration: inhabitants of the spanish main. (_from colijn's "reisen."_)] while one of the friars read this address the savages stood on the defensive, no doubt wondering what the delay meant. ojeda knew not their language, and they took little notice of his signs of amity. as they still brandished their weapons, the intrepid adventurer led on an attack, calling the virgin to his aid, and in a few minutes put them to flight, killing a few and taking others prisoners. not content with this, he followed them through the forest to their village, and after a deadly fight, drove them out and burnt their dwellings. still undaunted, he went on to another village, which he found deserted, but while his men were searching for plunder he was attacked by the enemy in overwhelming numbers. all his followers were killed, and he himself wounded with a poisoned arrow, yet he managed to escape into the forest to suffer hunger and thirst in addition to the pain of his wound. meanwhile his men on board the ships were wondering what had become of their leader and his party. they were afraid to venture far into the woods on account of the yells and shouts of the indians, who were celebrating their triumph. at last, however, they commenced a search, and found their captain in a mangrove swamp, lying on a tangle of roots, speechless and dying of hunger, yet still clutching his naked sword and bearing his buckler. notwithstanding all this, he ultimately recovered, to go on as eagerly as ever in making fresh conquests. later, the proclamation to the indians was interpreted to them, sometimes eliciting replies very much to the point. when the bachelor enciso went in search of the country of zenu, where gold was so plentiful that it could be collected in the rainy season in nets stretched across the river, he was opposed by two caciques, to whom the paper was read. they listened courteously, and, when it had been expounded, said they were quite willing to admit that there was one god, the ruler of heaven and earth, whose creatures they were. but as to the pope's regency and his donation of _their_ country to the king of spain, that was another thing altogether. the pope must have been drunk when he gave away what was not his, and the king could only have been mad to ask him for the territory of others. they, the caciques, were the rulers of these territories, and needed no other sovereign: if their king came to take possession they would cut off his head and stick it on a pole, as they did the heads of their other enemies, at the same time pointing to a row of grisly skulls impaled close by. their arguments, however, were useless, for enciso attacked, routed them, and took one of the caciques prisoner. the accounts of the early voyagers are full of such examples of audacity as well as of endurance of suffering. the perils of the sea were as great as those of the land, but few voyages were as disastrous as that of valdivia, who in sailed from darien for hispaniola. when in sight of jamaica, his vessel was caught in a hurricane and driven upon some shoals called the vipers, where it was dashed to pieces. he and his twenty men barely escaped with their lives in a boat without sails, oars, water, or provisions. for thirteen days they drifted about, until seven were dead and the remainder helpless. then the boat stranded on the coast of yucatan, and the poor wretches were captured by indians, to be taken before their cacique. they were now put into a kind of pen to fatten for the cannibal festival. valdivia and four others were taken first, and the horror produced on their comrades led them to risk everything and break out of their prison in the night. having succeeded in reaching the forest, they were almost as badly off, for no food could be had, and they dared not run the risk of going near the villages. almost perishing with hunger, they at last reached another part of the country, to be again captured, and kept as slaves. finally they all died except two, one of whom at last escaped to tell the tale almost by a miracle. one of the stories is suggestive of "robinson crusoe." in niño and guerra sailed from spain in a bark of fifty tons, and, while exploring the gulf of paria, came across eighteen carib canoes filled with armed men. the savages assailed them with flights of arrows, but the sudden boom of the cannon frightened them away at once. one canoe, however, was captured, in which they took a carib prisoner, and found an arawak captive lying bound at the bottom. on being liberated, the arawak informed the spaniards, through their interpreter, that he was the last of seven who had been taken by the cannibals. the other six had been killed and eaten one after another, and he had been reserved for the next evening meal. the spaniards, incensed against the man-eater, gave him into the hands of the arawak, at the same time handing him a cudgel, leaving his enemy unarmed. immediately the arawak sprang upon him, knocked him sprawling, trod his breath out of his body, and at the same time beat him with his fist until nothing but a shapeless corpse remained. but, not yet satisfied, he tore the head off and stuck it on a pole as a trophy. after the conquest of mexico and peru had rewarded cortez and pizarro, others wished to be equally fortunate. from the indians came reports of golden countries in the interior, and land expeditions were projected. these reports grew into shape, and at last a quest as romantic as that for the holy grail, led one adventurer after another on and on, to starvation, sickness, and death. the germ of the story of "el dorado," the lake of golden sands, and the glittering city of manoa, appears to have first arisen in new granada. here was the lake of guatavita, and before the arrival of the spaniards this was the scene of an annual religious festival. to the genius of the lake the cacique of the neighbouring district offered a holy sacrifice on a certain day. in the morning he anointed his body with balsam, and then rolled himself in gold dust until he became a "gilded king." then, embarking in a canoe with his nobles, he was paddled to the centre of the lake, crowds of people thronging its shores and honouring him with songs and the din of rude instrumental music. offerings to the god of the lake were made from the canoe, gold, emeralds, pearls, and everything precious being scattered upon the water. finally, the cacique jumped in himself and washed the gold from his body, while the people shouted for joy. to wind up the festival a great drinking bout was held, when canoesful of piwarree, the indian's beer, were drunk, and every one made merry. such was the tradition--for the ceremony had been discontinued half a century before--which had so impressed itself over the northern shores of south america, as to be told from the amazon to the isthmus of darien. "el dorado" was gilded every morning, and his city was full of beautiful golden palaces. it stood on the edge of the great salt lake parima, the sands of which were composed of the precious metal. some went so far as to say that they had seen the glittering city from a distance, and were only prevented from reaching it by the peculiar difficulties of the way. not to mention tigers and alligators, starvation and sickness, there were "anthropophagoi and men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders," besides amazons and fiery dragons. wherever the story was told the golden city was located at a far distance, and it seemed ever to recede before the eager seekers. they sought it in the forest and on the savannah, over the lofty peaks of the andes, and along the banks of the mighty rivers. the whole of the spanish main was explored, and places then visited which have hardly been seen again by the white man down to the present date. the quest began in new granada, and from thence it shifted to venezuela. the most daring seekers were german knights, the welsers of augsburg. they had received charters from charles the fifth, under which they were empowered to found cities, erect forts, work mines, and make slaves of the indians. one of their representatives, ambrosio de alfinger, set out in , accompanied by two hundred spaniards, and a larger number of indians, laden with provisions and other necessaries. on the journey the party committed such brutalities upon the poor natives that the reports afterwards helped to fire the blood of englishmen, and make them bitterly cruel. to prevent the bearers from running away they were strung together on chains, running through rings round their necks. if one of them dropped from sickness or exhaustion, his head was cut off, the ring loosened, and thus the trouble of interfering with the chain saved. if he were to be left behind, it did not matter whether he was alive or dead. at one place on the river magdalena the frightened natives took refuge on some islands, but the spaniards swam their horses across and killed or took prisoners the whole of them. from their cacique alfinger got booty to the value of sixty thousand dollars, with which he sent back for further supplies. but, although he waited for a year his messengers did not return, and the company were reduced to such straits that many died for want of bare food. but the indians fared much worse, for their provision grounds were utterly destroyed, and what with murders and starvation the surrounding country was quite depopulated and desolate. even alfinger had to give up waiting for his supplies and move on at last, for these had been utilised by his lieutenant on an expedition of his own. the party eked out a bare subsistence with wild fruits and game. if they found a village they plundered it of everything it contained, dug up the provisions from the fields, and left the survivors of the massacre to starve. not that they themselves were in a much better plight; fever, the result of want and exposure, carried them off in continually increasing numbers. at last they got into a mountain region, and the poor naked bearers were frozen to death. descending again they encountered stronger and fiercer tribes, by whom they were defeated, the cruel alfinger himself dying two days afterwards from his wounds. a small remnant only returned after two years' absence, leaving a track of pain and suffering to make their memory accursed for many generations. george of spires now fitted out a great expedition of three hundred infantry and two hundred cavalry, which started in . they also went a long distance into the interior, braving hardships and dangers almost incredible. jaguars carried off their horses, and even went so far as to attack and kill several of the indian bearers and one spaniard. like their predecessors, they also encountered savage indians, and died of starvation and sickness. after journeying fifteen hundred miles from the coast they had to return unsuccessful; but as their leader was less cruel than alfinger, the losses of the party were not so great. instead of dying on the journey he lived to become governor of venezuela. nicholas fedreman followed the last party with supplies, but took them to go treasure-seeking on his own account. he wandered about for three years, and at last returned with some wonderful stories which induced others to continue the search. herman de quesada also travelled about for a year, and returned like his predecessors. then philip von huten, who had gone already with george of spires, fitted out a great expedition. his party was at one time so utterly famished that they had to eat ants, which they captured by placing corn cobs near the nests of these little creatures. they travelled in a great circle without knowing where they went, and at the end of a year came back to the place from whence they had started. hearing, however, of a rich city called macatoa, von huten started again, and found streets of houses with about eight hundred inhabitants, but no treasure. the people here sent him on farther, with their tales of the omaguas, a warlike people living away in the south. on he went for five days, and at last came upon what he thought must be the golden city. it stretched away as far as the eye could reach, and in the centre was a great temple. but, although the little party charged gallantly down a hill and into the town, the omaguas came out in such force that they had to retreat, bearing their wounded leader in a hammock. continually harassed by indians, they at last got back, to tell such stories of the dangers of the quest that the omaguas seem to have been afterwards left alone. our account of the search for "el dorado" is necessarily short and imperfect, as it would be impossible even to enumerate all the expeditions. there is one, however, that was so tragic and awful, that, although it was fitted out in peru, it must yet be mentioned in the story of the spanish main. [illustration: "el dorado." (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] notwithstanding the enormous quantities of gold and silver found in peru, the crowds of needy treasure-seekers who went to that country gave some trouble to the viceroy, who appears to have been willing to get rid of them at any cost. whether he purposely sent them on a "wild goose chase," or whether he really believed the "el dorado" story, is doubtful, but it is certain that he thought it prudent to give them employment in some way, to prevent mischief in his province. the expedition was put in command of pedro de ursua, and was intended to go down the amazon in search of treasure cities. embarking on the river huallaga, in the year , they had hardly passed the mouth of ucayali before ursua found he had a most unprincipled gang of scoundrels under his command. a little farther down the river they mutinied, under the leadership of lope de aguirre, and murdered ursua and his lieutenant, appointing guzman as captain. being dissatisfied, however, with their new commander, they also killed him a little later, together with most of his adherents. now aguirre became leader--a ruffian whose character was of the blackest. father pedro simon delineates his features and character, making him out to be a very devil. he was about fifty years of age, short of stature and sparsely built, ill-featured, his face small and lean, his beard black, and his eyes as piercing as those of a hawk. when he looked at any one he fixed his gaze sternly, particularly when annoyed; he was a noisy talker and boaster, and when well supported very bold and determined, but otherwise a coward. of a very hardy constitution, he could bear much fatigue, either on foot or horseback. he was never without one or two coats of mail or a steel breastplate, and always carried a sword, dagger, arquebuse, or lance. his sleep was mostly taken in the day, as he was afraid to rest at night, although he never took off his armour altogether nor put away his weapons. simon said he had always been of a turbulent disposition; a lover of revolts and mutinies; an enemy to all good men and good actions. such was the tyrant or traitor aguirre--virtually a madman--who now became the leader of a band of wretches like-minded to himself. they journeyed down the mighty river, now and again murdering one or another of the party, on the least suspicion of their dislike to their proceedings, and ill-treating the natives everywhere. aguirre was not ashamed to boast that he had murdered a woman--not an indian, but a beautiful spanish lady, who had accompanied her lover on this arduous journey. donna inez de altienza, a young widow, fell passionately in love with ursua, who was brave, generous, and handsome; and loath to part with him, she undertook the hitherto unheard-of journey of thousands of miles in a strange and savage country. no fears or terrors daunted this devoted woman until after the death of her lover. aguirre then picked a quarrel on the ground that her mattress was too large for the boat, and she also was murdered. the spanish poet, castellanos, thus laments the cruel deed:-- "the birds mourned on the trees; the wild beasts of the forest lamented; the waters ceased to murmur; the fishes beneath the waters groaned; the winds execrated the deed when llamoso cut the veins of her white neck. wretch! wert thou born of woman? no! what beast could have such a wicked son? how was it that thou didst not die in imagining a treason so enormous? her two women, 'midst lamentation and grief, gathered flowers to cover her grave, and cut her epitaph in the bark of a tree-- 'these flowers cover one whose faithfulness and beauty were unequalled, whom cruel men slew without a cause.'" whether aguirre reached the mouth of the amazon is doubtful--the evidence is in favour of his getting out of that river into the rio negro, and from thence into the orinoco. however this may have been, he arrived at last in the gulf of paria and proceeded to the island of margarita. here, true to his character, he and his men commenced to plunder and kill the inhabitants, going so far as to defy the local authorities and even the king of spain himself. to even enumerate the deeds of this band of outlaws would fill a chapter, but we cannot omit giving an extract from aguirre's letter to his king, one of the most curious productions ever written:-- "i firmly believe that thou, o christian king and lord, hast been very cruel and ungrateful to me and my companions for such good service, and that all those who write to thee from this land deceive thee much, because thou seest things from too far off. i and my companions, no longer able to suffer the cruelties which thy judges and governors exercise in thy name, are resolved to obey thee no longer.... hear me! o hear me! thou king of spain. be not cruel to thy vassals.... remember, king philip, that thou hast no right to draw revenues from these provinces, since their conquest has been without danger to thee. i take it for certain that few kings go to hell, only because they are few in number; if they were many, none of them would go to heaven. for i believe that you are all worse than lucifer, and that you hunger and thirst after human blood; and further, i think little of you and despise you all; nor do i look upon your government as more than an air bubble.... "in the year the marquis of canete entrusted the expedition of the river of amazons to pedro de ursua, a navarrese, or, rather, a frenchman, who delayed the building of his vessels till . these vessels were built in the province of the motilones, which is a wet country, and, as they were built in the rainy season, they came to pieces, and we therefore made canoes and descended the river. we navigated the most powerful river in peru, and it seemed to us that we were in a sea of fresh water. we descended the river for three hundred leagues. this bad governor was capricious, vain, and inefficient, so that we could not suffer it, and we gave him a quick and certain death. we then raised don fernando de guzman to be our king.... because i did not consent to their evil deeds they desired to murder me. i therefore killed the new king, the captain of his guard, his lieutenant-general, four captains, his major-domo, his chaplain who said mass, a woman, a knight of the order of rhodes, an admiral, two ensigns, and five or six of his servants. i named captains and sergeants, but these men also wanted to kill me, and i hanged them. we continued our course while this evil fortune was befalling us, and it was eleven months and a half before we reached the mouths of the river, having travelled for more than a hundred days over more than fifteen hundred leagues. this river has a course of two thousand leagues of fresh water, the greater part of the shores being uninhabited, and god only knows how we ever escaped out of that fearful lake. i advise thee not to send any spanish fleet up this ill-omened river, for, on the faith of a christian, i swear to thee, o king and lord, that if a hundred thousand men should go up, not one would escape.... "we shall give god thanks if, by our arms, we attain the rewards which are due to us, but which thou hast denied us; and because of thine ingratitude i am a rebel against thee until death." he and his band of outlaws ravaged the settlements of venezuela for some time, until at last, on a promise of pardon, all left him save llamoso, the murderer of lady inez. aguirre had a daughter, a girl of twelve to fourteen, and when he found that all was lost he resolved to kill her. they were living at a country house, and when llamoso brought the news of the desertion of his men, he snatched up a loaded arquebuse and rushed into his child's room, saying, "commend thyself to god, my daughter, for i am about to kill thee, that thou mayest not be pointed at with scorn, nor that it be in the power of any one to call thee the daughter of a traitor." a woman snatched the weapon from his hand, but, drawing his poniard, he stabbed the girl in the breast, saying, "die! because i must die!" rushing then to the door, he found the house surrounded by spanish soldiers, who compelled him to surrender, and almost immediately took him out to be shot. this put an end to treasure-seeking on the amazon, but the search for "el dorado" had been going on and was still continued along the banks of the orinoco. the first attempt to reach the golden city by this river appears to have been made by pedro de acosta about the year , but after most of his men had been killed and eaten by the cannibals, he was compelled to abandon his project. after him came diego de ordas, the following year, whose expedition became afterwards famous. he, however, found nothing himself, although he went as far as the mouth of the caroni--it was from one of his men that the "el dorado" story was gleaned. by some accident the whole of the gunpowder was exploded, and this being attributed to the negligence of the munitioner, juan martinez, he was sentenced to be put in a canoe, without paddles or food, and allowed to drift at the mercy of the current. what became of the culprit was not known, but some months afterwards a strange white man was brought by some indians to margarita. he was wasted by sickness, naked, and apparently destitute, but, through the kindness of a ship-captain, he got a passage to porto rico, and was there placed in a religious house, under the care of some dominican friars. here he became worse, but when on the point of death he presented his friends with two gourdsful of gold beads to pay for the repose of his soul; he also declared himself to be juan martinez, and told the wonderful story of his adventures. after being cast adrift, the canoe floated down the stream until evening, when it attracted the attention of some indians, who paddled out from the shore and rescued martinez from his perilous situation. these were guianians, who had never before seen a white man, and therefore resolved to take him to their king as a curiosity. he was, however, blind-folded to prevent his seeing the direction they were taking, and led on and on, through forest and over mountain, for fifteen days, until a great city was reached. arriving here at noon, his bandage was taken off, and martinez feasted his eyes upon a great plain covered with houses, the roofs of which glittered in the sun as if made of gold. as far as his eye could reach stretched this marvellous assemblage of palaces. in the centre dwelt the great king, but, although the party travelled the whole of that and the next day, they did not reach the palace until evening. here martinez was well treated, and allowed to walk about the city, but not beyond it. he remained for seven months, saw the great lake on the shore of which the city of manoa stood, and handled its golden sands. however, he was not content to remain, and after repeated petitions to be allowed to depart, was at last furnished with guides and as much gold as they could carry. arrived at the orinoco, the cannibals fell upon the party, stole all the treasure save that hidden under some provisions in the two gourds, and left them destitute. after enduring many privations martinez, however, got a passage in an indian canoe to margarita, from whence he expected to go to spain and report his discovery to the king. what amount of truth, if any at all, was contained in the story is doubtful. it does not appear to have been told at once, but gradually leaked out, becoming more marvellous as it spread over the west indies. adventurers flocked to the orinoco, and at least a score of expeditions went in search of "el dorado." under the command of bold adventurers one party after another entered into the forest, some never to return or to be heard of again. the remnant sometimes came back starving, and broken down with sickness. we read of one juan corteso that he marched into the country, but neither he nor any of his company did return again. gaspar de sylva and his two brothers sought el dorado, but fell down to trinidad, where all three were buried. jeronimo ortal, after great travail and spending all his substance, died on a sudden at st. domingo. father iala, a friar, with only one companion and some indian guides, returned with gold eagles, idols, and other jewels, but when he essayed to pass a second time was slain by indians. alonzo de herera endured great misery, but never entered one league into the country; he also was at last slain by indians. antonio sedenno got much gold and many indian prisoners, whom he manacled in irons, and of whom many died on the way. the tigers being fleshed with the dead carcases assaulted the spaniards, who with much trouble hardly defended themselves from them. sedenno was buried within the precincts of the empire of the gilded king, and most of his people perished likewise. augustine delgado came to an indian cacique, who entertained him with kindness and gave him rich jewels, six seemly pages, ten young slaves, and three nymphs very beautiful. to requite these manifold courtesies he took all the gold he could get and all the indians he could lay hold on, to sell for slaves. he was afterwards shot in the eye by an indian, of which hurt he died. and so we might go on to tell of the thousands of people murdered and tens of thousands carried off as slaves; every gold ornament was stolen, provision grounds destroyed, and the forest tracks strewn with the corpses of those who had been massacred, and marked out by the graves of their murderers. sometimes treasure and slaves were recaptured and no one left to tell the tale, but more often a few escaped to fight over the booty and perhaps be hanged as mutineers on their return. the men of that age were undoubtedly great--great warriors, great ruffians, great villains. only here and there can we distinguish a good man like las casas, who did his very best for the indians against the opposition of the settlers and the lukewarmness of the spanish court. he was horrified at the atrocities in the indies, but the kings wanted their tithes and cared little how they were obtained. "get it honestly if you can, but get it," seems to have been their motto, and it was not for many years that anything like humanity was shown, and then only by a few priests. [illustration] [illustration] iii. "singeing the spaniard's beard." on the discovery of the indies, ferdinand and isabella at once applied to pope alexander the sixth to secure the rights of spain in the new countries against every other nation, but more especially against portugal. accordingly, the celebrated "bull of partition" was issued on the th of may, , giving, conceding, and assigning for ever, to them and their successors, all the islands and mainlands already found or that might be discovered in future, to the west of a line, stretching from the north to the south poles, a hundred leagues from the azores or cape de verde islands, provided they were not in the possession of any other christian prince. the sovereigns were commanded to appoint upright, god-fearing, skilful, and learned men to instruct the inhabitants in the catholic faith, and all unauthorised persons were forbidden to traffic on or even approach the territories. if they did so they would incur the indignation of almighty god and of the blessed apostles peter and paul. such was the gist of the document under which the enormities mentioned in the preceding chapters were committed. portugal, except for some disputes about brazil, accepted this arrangement, but the other great nations of europe, especially england, disputed it from the very beginning. nevertheless, the governments, as long as they were at peace with spain, took no active part in the matter, but left the work to individuals, even going so far in some instances as to disclaim their responsibility for piracies committed beyond the seas. english and french seamen, hearing of the treasure continually imported into spain, soon found their way to the new world, and as early as the year precautions had to be taken against them. orders were sent to build castles on the coasts and strong houses, not only for defence against the cannibals, who continued to ravage the larger islands, but to protect the settlements from french corsairs who had already commenced their depredations. the tract of the spanish fleets led them first to st. domingo, and thence on to the isthmus of darien or panama, where at first the chief port was nombre de dios. at these two points it was of great importance that fortifications should be erected, and this was done in the first half of the sixteenth century. an english merchant named thomas tison seems to have been the first of our nation who went to the west indies, but he got his goods sent from bristol to spain. in king henry viii. fitted out the _dominus vobiscum_ and another vessel for those parts, but little is known of their course. it was, however, reported that they went to porto rico, and got there a cargo of brazil wood, and then proceeded to st. domingo, where permission was asked to trade. after waiting for the license two days the spanish batteries fired upon them, driving them off to go back to porto rico, where the inhabitants were more friendly. from this time the corsairs and rovers became more numerous and audacious every year. some went trading among the indians of the mainland, others, more bold, forced their goods upon the spanish settlements under threats of pillage. in the inhabitants of havana paid seven hundred ducats to a french corsair to save the city, and because later the pirate was chased by three spanish vessels, which he captured, he returned and exacted a second ransom. in there was a gallant fight in the harbour of santiago de cuba, between a spaniard and a french corsair. the two vessels fought with each other the first day until sunset, when a truce was agreed to, and civilities exchanged between the captains. they sent each other presents of wine and fruit, were very friendly, and mutually agreed to fight only by day with swords and lances. artillery, they agreed, was an invention of cowards--they would show their valour, and the one who conquered should have the other's vessel. the second day they fought again until evening without either being conquered, and again they exchanged courtesies. that night, however, the spanish captain, diego perez, sent to the people of the city asking if they would compensate him for the loss of his ship if the corsair got the better of him; if they agreed to do this he would risk his life in their service. were he not poor and without any other property, he would not have asked them, and as they would be gainers by his victory, he did not think his request at all extravagant. but the authorities refused to pledge themselves to anything, leaving perez to fight for his own honour, life, and property. the battle continued the whole of the third day, each giving the other time for rest and refreshment, yet neither was conquered, although many had fallen on both sides. after similar courtesies the fight went on next morning, and when evening came the frenchman promised to continue it next morning. feeling, however, that the spaniard was likely to get the better of him, he slipped his cable in the night and made off, leaving perez to grieve at the drawn battle. the same year havana was sacked and burnt, and three years later both english and french did great injury to the spanish trade. even portugal did not escape, but when complaints were sent to the king of france, he said he intended to follow those conquests and navigations which by right belonged to him. in five french vessels captured the pearl-fishing fleet near the main, which the owners were compelled to ransom; at the same time they were forced to buy seventy negroes from the captors. the frenchmen then took santa martha and got a thousand ducats as ransom. one raid after another took place until the spaniards were at their wits' ends. forts were built, _guarda-costas_ stationed, and other precautions taken, but the depredations and forced traffic still continued. they cruelly punished all who fell into their hands, and this led to retaliation, not only for their own injuries, but to avenge the slaughter of the innocent natives. about the year master william hawkins made three long and famous voyages in the ship _paul_. hakluyt said he went to brazil--a thing very rare in those days to our english nation. he became so friendly with the indians that one of their kings came to england in his vessel, and was exhibited to king henry, who marvelled to see this savage representative of royalty. unfortunately the poor fellow died on the return voyage, which made hawkins fear for the white hostage he had left behind. however, his explanation was accepted, and his man given back unharmed--a result all the more pleasing, as he knew so little of the language, and might easily have been misunderstood. this is an example of the good feeling of these people towards englishmen and all who treated them fairly. even the cannibals became more gentle under good treatment, and would allow the enemies of spain to land on their shores without opposition. by this time the natives of the greater antilles were gone, and with them the thousands of captives from the mainland. then began the importation of negroes, first from spain, where the portuguese had sold a fair number during the previous century, and then from africa. spain could not send and fetch the negroes on account of the papal bull, which reserved the savage countries east of the line to portugal. it followed, therefore, that, as spain claimed the indies, so her sister country claimed the whole of africa--a claim as little respected by other nations as that of her neighbour. [illustration: negro woman returning from market.] hearing that there was a good market for negroes in the west, captain (afterwards sir) john hawkins, in , got up an expedition to supply this demand. with three vessels of , , and tons respectively, he sailed to sierra leone, and partly by the sword and partly by other means, got three hundred slaves, whom he carried to hispaniola. here he had a reasonable sale, probably forced, for he trusted the spaniards no farther than he thought prudent, considering his strength. his returns were so good, however, that he not only loaded his own vessels with hides, ginger, sugar, and some pearls, but also freighted two hulks to send to spain. [illustration: negro barber] [illustration: negro family on holiday.] this success induced him to make another venture on a larger scale with the _jesus_ of lubeck, of , and three other vessels of , , and tons. he sailed for africa in october, , to kidnap slaves, yet all the time he was very religious in a way. his orders concluded with the commands to "serve god daily; love one another; preserve your victuals; beware of fire; and keep good company"--_i.e._, do not stray from others of the fleet. at several places he took negroes by force, losing a few of his men in the fights, and with a good number set off for the west indies. fortunately, he said, although they were in great danger from a gale on this voyage, they arrived without many deaths of either the negroes or themselves. for "the almighty god, who never suffereth his elect to perish, sent us, on the th of february ( ), the ordinary breeze." [illustration: negresses gossiping.] the first land they sighted was dominica, where they watered, and then went on to margarita, the governor of which island refused them permission to trade. they then tried several other places, including hispaniola and cumaná, but also without success. at barbarota they forced the people to traffic, and here they were joined by captain bontemps, a french corsair, with whom they went to curaçao, and forced a hundred slaves upon the inhabitants. finally they went to rio de la hacha and defeated a body of spanish troops, after which the remainder of hawkins' cargo was freely sold. in his third voyage, on which he started in october, , hawkins was accompanied by francis drake and several other gentlemen adventurers. he took a similar course to that of his former voyages, joined some african chiefs in storming a town, and received, as his share of the booty, five hundred prisoners, with whom he again sailed for the indies. the alarmed spaniards dared not refuse to trade, and consequently he soon sold his negroes at a good profit. on his return, however, he was caught in a storm near the coast of florida and had to take shelter in the harbour of vera cruz, where at first his vessels were taken for a spanish fleet then daily expected. under this mistake several influential persons came on board, two of whom were retained as hostages. next day the spanish fleet, consisting of thirteen sail, arrived, and on board one of them was the new viceroy of mexico. from this high authority hawkins got permission to repair his ships, victual, and refit, provided the english kept themselves to a small island in the harbour, for the due performance of which they gave twelve hostages. but the spaniards were not prepared to let their enemies off so easily, and made preparations for a surprise. hawkins, becoming suspicious, sent to inquire about certain shady transactions, and was at once attacked by something like a thousand men. the spaniards sunk three of his vessels, seriously damaged the fourth, and left him with only one leaky ship in which to find his way home. a great number of his men were killed and others captured, the prisoners to be taken to mexico and there cruelly used. two of them--miles philips and job hortop--managed to escape and return to england, where they gave long accounts of their sufferings, the latter comparing himself to his namesake the patriarch. as for hawkins, in speaking of his return voyage, he said, that "if all the miserable and troublesome affairs of this sorrowful voyage should be perfectly and thoroughly written, there should need a painful man with his pen, and as great a time as he had that wrote the lives and deaths of the martyrs." this disaster put an end to hawkins' slave-trading, but made no impression on the other adventurers to the indies. francis drake now took up the quarrel, and in the year "singed the spaniard's beard" to some purpose. knowing already something of the state of affairs near the isthmus, he resolved to gain his spurs in that direction. he cared not for a forced trade in negroes, but virtually went in for piracy, for although the relations of the mother countries were at that time somewhat strained, war had not yet been declared. drake sailed straight for nombre de dios, the treasure port, arrived suddenly before the inhabitants had any warning, and landed a hundred and fifty men in the night. suddenly the town was roused to the fact that the enemy were in possession, and as the people ran off to the forest, they asked each other what was the matter. unfortunately for drake, however, through a misunderstanding, the english were alarmed and took to their vessels, so that all the advantage of the surprise was lost. undaunted by this failure, he determined to attempt something even more audacious--the capture of the panama train. we have already seen that african slaves had been imported in considerable numbers; we have now to mention that on the continent they often escaped into the forest. here they lived like the indians, and were often in friendship with them, going under the name of simerons, or afterwards maroons. always at enmity with the masters whom they had deserted, they were a terror to the settlers on account of their continual raids on the plantations. drake determined to get the assistance of these people, which was freely given, and he was enabled to traverse the pathless forest and to lie in wait for the train of mules carrying gold and silver from panama to nombre de dios. this he captured, but, on account of the difficulties of the way, was obliged to leave the silver behind, and content himself with the gold. then he attacked some merchants, burnt their goods to the value of two hundred thousand ducats, and got safely back to his ships just as the dilatory spaniards sent out three hundred men for his capture. it was on this excursion that he saw the great south sea, and determined to carry english ships into that immense spanish preserve. how he carried out his resolve, and appeared suddenly off the peruvian coast five years later, is a story we must leave, as it belongs to another part of the new world. when drake returned to plymouth the news of his adventures, and the more substantial evidence of the gold he had brought, roused others to follow his example. among them was one john oxnam, or oxenham, who has been immortalised by kingsley in "westward ho!" arriving at the isthmus in , in a vessel of tons, he went to an out-of-the-way river, and hid his bark among the great trees. landing with his seventy men, he went in search of the simerons, who took him to a river which flowed into the south sea, where a pinnace was built. in this the english pulled down to the pacific, with the intention of capturing one of the treasure ships coming to panama. they succeeded so far as to get sixty thousand dollars in gold from one bark, and a hundred thousand from another. not yet satisfied, they went to the pearl islands, attacked the negro divers, and took a few pearls, with which they at last returned up the river. unfortunately for oxenham the negroes of the pearl islands carried the news of his presence to panama, and in two days four boats with a hundred men were sent in pursuit. they found the two barks, which had been released, and from their captains learnt where the englishmen had gone. following up the river they were at a loss when they came to three branches, but spying some freshly plucked feathers floating down one of the streams, they followed that until they came upon the pinnace. six men were on guard, one of whom was killed, but the other five escaped and gave the alarm to their comrades. pursuing their track through the forest the spaniards found the store of treasure hidden away under boughs of trees. with this they would have gone back had not oxenham attacked them with two hundred simerons before they reached their boats. being more skilful in bush fighting than the english, the spaniards repulsed the party, killing eleven and taking seven prisoners, from whom they learnt that the delay was caused by the difficulty of transporting the treasure. now the news was sent to nombre de dios, and the authorities there found the english vessel and brought her away, thus cutting off the means of escape for those still lurking in the forest. then an expedition was sent in search of them, and they were found building canoes. some were sick and could make no resistance, the others fled and took refuge with the negroes, by whom they were ultimately betrayed and taken to panama. here oxenham was interrogated as to his authority for the raid, and was obliged to admit that he had not his queen's license. all except five boys were executed, the men at once, and the officers a little while afterwards at lima. thus ended one of the most audacious attacks on the spaniards which only failed through a little want of calculation. hakluyt, who wrote the account, said the enemy marvelled much to see that although many frenchmen had come to these countries, yet never one durst put foot upon land; only drake and oxenham performed such exploits. when the news reached spain the king was so alarmed that he sent out two galleys to guard the coast, which in the first year after their arrival took six or seven french vessels, and put a stop to their piracies for a time. there was another class of raids in the indies, of which that of andrew barker, of bristol, was an example. he, and one captain roberts, going to trade in the canary islands, had their goods confiscated, and were put in prison, from which roberts escaped and barker was ultimately discharged. to recoup his losses and revenge himself, barker fitted out several vessels in , in which he went trading to the main, and afterwards committed acts of piracy. he took a small vessel off margarita and a frigate near carthagena, from which he got five hundred pounds' weight of gold and some emeralds. now, following the example of drake, he landed on the isthmus to get help from the simerons, but could find none. then, from the unhealthiness of the climate, most of his men fell sick, and eight or nine died, which made him give up this part of his project. embarking again he took another spanish vessel with some gold, but after that the party got into difficulties. barker quarrelled with his ship-master, and one of the vessels became so leaky that they had to let her sink, first removing the cargo into the last spanish prize. they, however, captured another vessel with a hundred pounds of silver and some provisions, but after that the crews mutinied and put barker ashore with some others, where they were attacked by spaniards, and nine, including the captain, killed. the mutineers then went on to truxillo, which they surprised, but could find no treasure, and were soon driven to flight by a spanish vessel. on their way home the spanish vessel sunk, carrying down two thousand pounds' worth of their booty, and on their arrival at plymouth they were imprisoned as accessories to their captain's death. although none were executed, yet, says the worthy hakluyt, "they could not avoid the heavy judgment of god, but shortly after came to miserable ends." open war soon came, and culminated in the invasion of england by the "invincible armada" of . no longer could there be any question of the queen's license, and in drake, now sir francis, fitted out a great fleet to cripple the power of spain in the indies. the spanish authorities were no longer unprepared, but ready to give him a warm reception all along his expected course. the fleet consisted of twenty-five vessels, with two thousand three hundred men, among whom could be found many whose names are famous in the annals of queen elizabeth. at the cape de verde islands they burnt the town of santiago in revenge for the murder of a boy, and after this baptism of fire, proceeded to the island of st. christopher's, where they landed the sick, cleaned their vessels, and spent christmas. leaving at the end of december, on the st of january, , they arrived off hispaniola with the intention of attacking st. domingo. the english landed about ten miles distant from that city, marched upon the spaniards unawares, and took it by surprise, notwithstanding every preparation that had been made, and the careful watch for enemies from the sea. drake demanded a large ransom, and because it was not paid at once, commenced to demolish the buildings, which brought the inhabitants to their senses and made them offer the sum of , ducats (about £ , ), which he accepted. from thence the fleet sailed to carthagena, where no opposition was made until the troops landed, when a great struggle took place in the streets. the spaniards had erected barricades, behind which they succeeded in doing some execution, but only delayed the surrender for a short time. after a portion of the town had been burnt, , ducats were paid as ransom for the remainder, and after a few less brilliant exploits, the fleet went back to england, being thus hurried on account of sickness among the men. otherwise, drake had intended to capture nombre de dios and panama, but from this disability had to be content with booty to the amount of £ , , which would mean something like a quarter of a million at the present value of money. he arrived in time to help in repelling the armada, and this invasion kept most of the english about their own shores for a year or two. in , when there were no longer any fears of a spanish landing, drake determined on another voyage, and this time with sir john hawkins. getting together six of the queen's ships and twenty-one other vessels, they arrived safely at the caribbee islands, where hawkins became sick and died. drake then went on to porto rico and attacked the capital, but could do nothing more than capture a few vessels from under the guns of the forts. going to the main he captured rio de la hacha and a fishing village named rancheria. these he held for ransom, but was dissatisfied with the number of pearls offered by private persons, the governor refusing to give anything, and burnt both town and village. santa martha was also taken, and then nombre de dios, but he found that the treasure had been removed, the inhabitants taking to the forest when they heard his fearful name. sir thomas baskerville took seven hundred and fifty men to go over to panama, but returned much discouraged by the difficulties of the road. drake finally burnt nombre de dios and every vessel in the harbour down to the smallest boats. after that, sickness began to tell upon the expedition, and drake himself was stricken with dysentery. when on the point of death he rose from his bed, put on his full dress of admiral, called his men and gave them a farewell address, then, sinking down exhausted he died immediately afterwards. several captains and other important officers also died, and they even lost the chief surgeon; after that, nothing was left but to return home. off cuba they were attacked by a spanish fleet of twenty vessels, sent out to intercept them, with which they kept up a running fight until the enemy were left behind. on their arrival in england in may, , the sad news of the death of drake overshadowed all the glory of the expedition. in spain, however, it was published for general information, and the people congratulated each other that at last their enemy was gone. henry savile, in his "libel of spanish lies," said "it did ease the stomachs of the timorous spaniards greatly to hear of the death of him whose life was a scourge and a continual plague to them." no wonder that the news was so grateful, for none was so daring, and no name like that of drake ever came to be used as a bogey with which to frighten their children. yet there were many gallant adventurers in the indies at that very time. sir robert dudley and sir walter ralegh were both at trinidad in , and for several years before and after the english rovers were plentiful in the gulf of mexico. in the _content_ was successfully defended against six spanish men-of-war, and the galleons were obliged to sail in large squadrons. what with the dangers of storms and the enemy, it was stated that of a hundred and twenty-three vessels expected in spain during that year, only twenty-five arrived safe. the number of rovers became at last so great that plunder was difficult to obtain. the spanish settlers were in continual fear, and naturally took every precaution against their enemies, hiding the treasure on the least alarm, and taking to the forest. the french corsairs were not far behind the english, although as yet they had no proper licenses, and only fought for their own hands. latterly, also, the dutch and flemings had arrived, and although mainly occupied in trading, they did not hesitate to fight on occasion, especially when attempts were made to prevent their traffic. while under the rule of charles the fifth they had been free to go to and from the indies, and no doubt use the knowledge thus gained to further their own interests since their revolt. like the english, they were at enmity with spain, but there was also another bond of union--both were protestant. queen elizabeth assisted holland in gaining her independence, and therefore at this period the relations between english and dutch were very cordial. but the fellow-feeling of enmity to spain made even the french corsair unite with the two others, so that pirates, privateers, and traders all combined against the common foe. [illustration] [illustration] iv. ralegh and the first british colonies. the first grant made by queen elizabeth for a settlement in america was given to sir humphrey gilbert in , but the father of english colonisation was sir walter ralegh. although considered a rover, or pirate, by the spaniards, he was of a different type to drake, hawkins, and the other adventurers of the sixteenth century. not only was he famous as a brave warrior, but at the same time as one of the most learned men of his time; as enterprising in the arts of peace as on the battlefield. the "letters patent" to walter ralegh, esquire, dated the th of march, , may be considered as the first charter of the english colonies. under them he was empowered to discover, occupy, and possess barbarous countries not actually in the possession of any christian prince, or inhabited by christian people, on condition that he reserved to her majesty a fifth of all the gold and silver found therein. he was also given all the rights of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and empowered to govern and make laws as long as these laws did not conflict with those of the mother country, or with the true christian faith of the church of england. under this charter the first settlement in virginia was undertaken, and thus england threw down the gauntlet in the face of spain. however, ralegh did not confine himself to north america--there were other countries not in the actual possession of any christian prince, the most notable being guiana. ralegh had heard the story of "el dorado" and of the failures of the many german and spanish knights. he would succeed where they had failed. englishmen had displayed their mettle in the indies--if the treasures of peru and mexico had raised their enemy to be "mistress of the world" and "sovereign of the seas," why should not he also find other golden countries for the benefit of his virgin queen and country? because two rich provinces had been discovered, it did not follow that there were no others; on the contrary, the rumours of "el dorado" were so many that they could not be treated with contempt. and then the natives of the "great wild coast," although cannibals, were friendly to the english, who had always treated them fairly, and there they had the advantage over spain. the country was open to them, although strictly guarded against their rivals. the stories had been lately revived by the expeditions of antonio de berrio, governor of trinidad and guiana, who had made explorations of the river orinoco, and possibly exaggerated his reports for the purpose of getting settlers. captain popham took some letters from a spanish vessel in , wherein were found accounts of the "nueva dorado," which were spoken of as incredibly rich. ralegh saw these, and was induced by their reports and his own knowledge of the indies, which he had gained in working at his colonisation schemes, to go out and look up the matter. the occupation of guiana, he said, had other ground and assurance of riches than the voyages to the west indies. the king of spain was not so impoverished as the english supposed by their taking two or three ports, neither were the riches of peru or new spain to be picked up on the sea-shore. the burning of towns on the coast did not impoverish spain one ducat, for it was within the country that the land was rich and populous. therefore england should endeavour to get possession of this yet unspoiled country, instead of wasting her energies on adventures that were of no real benefit, and that hardly touched the real source of her enemy's greatness. ralegh arrived at trinidad in march, , and as a matter of precaution captured the spanish town of st. joseph, and the governor, de berrio, from whom he heard more stories of el dorado. here also he began those conciliatory measures with the natives which characterised all his dealings. he released five chiefs, who had been imprisoned in chains and tortured by dropping melted fat on their bodies, and thus gained their friendship. unlike other adventurers he thought it necessary to excuse himself for burning st. joseph, which he did in rather quaint language. considering that if he entered guiana by small boats and left a garrison of the enemy at his back, he "should have savoured very much of the ass," he took the place, and at the instance of the natives set it on fire. [illustration: ralegh in trinidad. (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] now began a weary voyage up the orinoco, first through the delta, which is such a maze that they might have wandered for months without getting into the main river had they not secured an indian pilot. exposed alternately to burning sun and drenching showers in open boats, they toiled against the powerful stream. ralegh everywhere tried his best to ingratiate himself with the indians, succeeding so well that his name became known over the whole of guiana. he told them that he had been sent by a great queen, the powerful cacique of the north, and a virgin, whose chieftains were more numerous than the trees of the forest. she was an enemy to the spaniards, had freed other nations from their oppression, and had now sent to rescue them. to confirm his statement he gave each cacique a coin so that they could possess the queen's likeness, and these were treasured and even worshipped for a century afterwards. everywhere he heard of el dorado, but it was always receding farther and farther, until his men became so disheartened that he had to rouse them by saying that they would be shamed before their comrades if they gave up so easily. however, after reaching the mouth of the caroni and getting specimens of gold ore, he had to return without doing more than locating the city of manoa several hundred miles to the east of his farthest point. this was done in so exact a manner that the great lake of parima, as large as the caspian sea, was retained upon the maps of south america down to the beginning of the present century. his ore was probably stream quartz, and in representing it as taken from the rock he probably reported what the indians had told him. when, therefore, he said that the assay gave its value as £ , a ton, there is no reason to suppose a mistake or untruth, for pieces quite as valuable may still be picked up. his "discoverie of guiana" is such a mixture of close and accurate observation with the hearsay of the indians, that it is difficult in some cases to separate truth from fiction. yet, although historians have charged him with wilful lying, there can be no doubt of his good faith. it has been left to the present century to prove that gold-mines exist on the site of the fabled el dorado, for it is there that the well-known caratal diggings are situated. ralegh asked the people of england to judge for themselves. he had spent much time and money, with no other object than to serve his queen and country. when they considered that it was the spaniard's gold which endangered and disturbed all the nations of europe, that "purchaseth intelligence, creepeth into councils and setteth bound loyalty at liberty," they would see the advantage of these provinces he had discovered. guiana was a country that had never yet been sacked, turned, or wrought. the face of the earth had not been torn, nor the virtue and salt of the soil spent by manurance; the graves had not been opened for gold, the mines not touched with sledges, or the images pulled down from the temples. it was so easily defensible that it could be protected by two forts at the mouth of a river, and thus the whole empire be guarded. the country was already discovered, many nations won to her majesty's love and obedience, and those spaniards who had laboured on the conquest were beaten, discouraged, and disgraced. if her majesty took up the enterprise, he doubted not that after the first or second year there would be a contractation house for guiana in london, with larger receipts than that for the indies at seville. such was ralegh's dream. another peru to be conquered, and england to be raised to the highest point of wealth and importance. but unfortunately he could get no assistance to carry out the grand project. yet he was undoubtedly sincere, for did he not send out two expeditions under captains keymis and berrie the following year, to assure the indians that he had not forgotten them? keymis found one tribe keeping a festival in honour of the great princess of the north, and anxiously waiting for the return of gualtero, which name, by the by, was similar to their word for friend. they made fires, and, sitting in their hammocks, each man with his companion, they recounted the worthy deeds and deaths of their ancestors, execrating their enemies most spitefully, and magnifying their friends with all the titles of honour they could devise. thus they sat talking and smoking tobacco until their cigars (their measure of time) went out, during which they were not to be disturbed, "for this is their religion and prayers which they now celebrated, keeping a precise fast one whole day in honour of the great princess of the north, their patron and defender." the explorations of ralegh and his captains were published all over europe, with the result that attention was generally drawn to guiana. already some dutchmen had been trading on the coast for many years, and it was even reported that they had established a post in the river pomeroon, the centre of the province of caribana. as early as flemings had settled at araya on the coast of venezuela, where they collected salt and were left undisturbed as long as the netherlands belonged to spain. ralegh seems to have purposely ignored the presence of these people in guiana, probably to prevent any question of prior rights on the part of a friendly nation. but, after all, the dutchmen could only have been there on their own responsibility, and their temporary occupation had no meaning from a national point of view. now that guiana was made known, vessels of other nationalities went trading along the coast, everywhere meeting with a hearty welcome from the indians as long as the visitors were not spanish. they were only so many additions to their friends--their enemies were confined to trinidad and the orinoco, leaving the whole coast of guiana to its rightful owners. in fact, the spaniards could no more subdue the caribs of the main than they could those of the islands. only in trinidad, where the arawak was employed against the cannibal, was a settlement made possible. ralegh was unable to carry out his great project, but others were not backward in attempting to settle in the country. first came charles leigh, who in founded a colony in the river oyapok, which failed partly from the lack of assistance from england and partly from too great a dependence on the promises of the indians to supply food. sickness followed on starvation, leigh died, and a mutiny took place, after which the survivors got back to europe in a dutch trader, which fortunately arrived when all hope of succour had been abandoned. robert harcourt followed to the same river in , like leigh, getting promises of assistance from the indians by using the name of ralegh. with their consent he took possession of the country, "by twig and turf," in the name of king james. this ceremony was performed by first cutting a branch from a tree, and then turning up a sod with the sword, thus claiming everything in and on the earth. harcourt's colony lasted several years, and in he received from james the first a grant of all that part of guiana lying between the rivers amazons and essequebo, on the usual condition of the fifth of all gold and silver being handed over to the king. in the same year the dutch trading factory at kyk-over-al on the river essequebo was established, and this was probably the reason why the english grant made that river the boundary of their possessions, leaving the hollander to establish himself between the essequebo and the orinoco. meanwhile, in , poor ralegh had been tried on a charge of aiding and abetting the plot to raise arabella stuart to the throne of england, on the death of queen elizabeth. any one who reads the account of his trial will perceive at once the absurdity of the charge, yet ralegh was convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. however, even with all his hatred for the knight, king james dared not carry out the sentence, but instead, kept him imprisoned in the tower. here ralegh still hankered after the treasures of guiana, and in he made a proposition to the government to send captain keymis to find the rich gold mine which had been pointed out to him by an indian. if keymis should live to arrive at the place and fail to bring half a ton or more of that rich ore of which he had shown a sample, ralegh himself would bear all the expense of the journey. "though," said he, "it be a difficult matter of exceeding difficulty for any man to find the same acre of ground again, in a country desolate and overgrown, which he hath seen but once, and that sixteen years since--which were hard enough to do upon salisbury plain--yet that your lordships may be satisfied of the truth, i am contented to adventure all i have (but my reputation) upon keymis's memory." this proposition was rejected, and the poor knight lingered on in the tower, attended during part of the time by two guiana indians, harry and leonard regapo. in , however, he at last recovered his liberty on condition that he went to guiana and brought back gold, but at the same time the king refused to pardon him. nevertheless he took up the matter with an amount of enthusiasm which showed his entire confidence in its ultimate success. all his own money and as much of his wife's as could be spared was spent in fitting out the expedition, and he also got contributions from many of his friends. the king even went so far as to give him a commission to undertake a voyage to the south parts of america, or elsewhere in america, inhabited by heathen and savage people, with all the necessary rights of government and jurisdiction; yet with all this the old sentence hung over his head. the expedition of fourteen vessels started in march, , but even from the commencement the voyage was disastrous. first a gale was encountered, which drove the fleet to take refuge in cork harbour, where it lay until august. this seems to have put a damper on the commander, who now began to realise how much depended on his success. he was twenty-two years older than when he went on his first voyage to guiana, and most of those years he had spent in captivity. is it any wonder that when the excitement attendant on his release had gone off he became sick and utterly prostrated? such was his condition when the fleet arrived at cayenne, where he went to look for his indian boy harry, who had gone back to his people and was now wanted as interpreter. so low was ralegh's condition that he had to be carried ashore, and although he soon became a little better under a course of fresh meat and fruits, he never wholly recovered. so great was his weakness, both of mind and body, that he deputed keymis to lead the party up the orinoco, while he rested at cayenne; in a few days he would go on to trinidad and wait there until they returned. keymis accordingly went on, accompanied by young walter ralegh, a number of other gentlemen, and four hundred soldiers. they arrived at the site of the supposed gold mine without accident, but found that since the first expedition some spaniards had built "a town of sticks, covered with leaves," and this stood in the way of their approach to the mine. possibly keymis now thought of his master's expression in regard to st. joseph, and did not care to "savour of an ass" by leaving the enemy to interfere with his work. he therefore attacked this town of st. thome, and set it on fire. unfortunately young ralegh was killed in the fight, and the thought of how he could tell this bad news preyed upon the mind of keymis until all relish for gold-seeking was lost. the spaniards took to the bush, from whence they sallied forth on any small party of the english, and ultimately put them into a state of confusion. the mine could not be found, the adventurers began to complain that they had been fooled, and keymis was so troubled that he seemed neither to know nor care anything about treasure-seeking. ralegh had meanwhile arrived in the gulf of paria, where he received the news of the burning of st. thome and the death of his son from some indians. presently keymis arrived, utterly dejected, to find his master broken down and more woe-begone than himself. ralegh said he was undone, and that keymis was entirely to blame. not even a sample of ore--the king would believe him a liar and a cheat. then, this attack on a spanish town! did not keymis remember that these were not the days of the virgin queen, when to "singe the spaniard's beard" was worthy of praise? did he not know that james was friendly with the king of spain and wanted to get from him a princess for his son henry? [illustration: gold hunting. (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] keymis had been the intimate friend of ralegh through all his troubles. he had remained faithful even when threatened with the rack at the time of the trial. as a kind of steward he had administered the prisoner's estate, and was a trusted friend and confidant of the family. he had seen young walter grow up to manhood, and now through his fault the youth had been killed. for the first time the bereaved father was angry with his captain; perhaps if keymis died the whole blame would be laid upon his shoulders, and ralegh be exonerated. he went to the cabin allotted to him, loaded a pistol, shot himself, and then, as he feared the wound was not mortal, finished the suicide by driving a long knife into his heart. thus died poor keymis, but unfortunately this did not make any difference to his master. if ralegh had been prepared to throw all the responsibility on his lieutenant, the king could only be satisfied with treasure. even if james had been inclined to over-look the affair, the spanish ambassador would not condone such an offence. he is said to have rushed into the royal presence with the cry of "piracy! piracy! piracy!" at the same time demanding the immediate capture and punishment of the raiders. it followed, therefore, that ralegh was arrested immediately on his return, and finally executed under the old sentence, but by decapitation instead of hanging. his last days were passed with resignation and fortitude. his old spirit was entirely broken, and although he petitioned the king for grace and pardon, he did so in a hopeless way. he had many sympathisers, and to satisfy them the king's printers issued a little book entitled "a declaration of the demeanour and carriage of sir walter raleigh," obviously inspired by the king himself. here was a thing unheard of before or since; a sovereign excusing himself for his actions! if anything were required to prove the prisoner's innocence, this was sufficient. did james want to salve his own conscience, or was it intended to satisfy those who clamoured on account of the injustice of the execution? no doubt many of the old sea dogs who had served under drake and hawkins were still living, and remembered when plymouth bells rang at the news of fresh arrivals from the indies. "but now, forsooth, you must not burn down a thatched hovel without a great to-do being made." if spain wanted peace, why did her people murder a ship's company in cold blood a little while before? out upon it! the good old days had passed and england was going to ruin. however, even king james's sneaking friendship for spain could not keep back colonisation altogether. something like moderation was introduced, and only pirates pure and simple kept up the old traditions. as for the king he hardly knew how to steer, what with the petitions for reprisals from english seamen on the one hand, and complaints of the spanish ambassadors on the other. the result of this want of policy is well shown in the case of roger north one of the adventurers in the last expedition of ralegh, who, in , wished to re-establish the colony in the oyapok, which had virtually sunk to nothing. an association called the amazon company was formed, and, notwithstanding spanish protests, the king granted "letters patent," under which north got up an expedition in four vessels. then the spanish ambassador began to storm, and the weak king revoked the patent, calling upon the members of the company to renounce their rights. north, who had been warned that something was going on, hurried up his preparations, and was off so quickly that he sailed on the th of april, , fifteen days before the proclamation revoking his license was published. on his return in january following he was arrested and sent to the tower, where he remained until july. meanwhile his cargo from guiana was seized on the ground that it had been obtained from spanish possessions, but with all his willingness to oblige spain the king could not get the case proven. it followed, therefore, that north was released, and his goods restored, but as the cargo was mainly tobacco it had become much damaged by neglect. this detention of north, and the consequent delay in sending out supplies to the oyapok, led to the downfall of the infant colony. hearing nothing from england the settlers became disheartened, and if it had not happened that dutch traders arrived there occasionally they would have been starved. even as it was one left after another until few remained, and when, six years later, "the company of noblemen and gentlemen of england for the plantation of guiana" was formed, the settlement had to be commenced anew. however, some of those who left carried the english flag to the island of st. christopher's, where a settlement was commenced in by thomas warner. thus, as ralegh was the father of english colonisation, so his beloved guiana became the parent of the british west indies. james the first died in march, , and with him went the english subservience to spain, never to be restored. during his reign british enterprise had been kept back; now it broke down all obstructions. true, new england and bermuda were settled during his reign, but they owed little to him or his government. as soon as the royal obstructionist was dead, colonisation schemes came to the front. before even a month had passed, on the th of april, john coke came forward with a proposition to incorporate a company for the defence and protection of the west indies, for establishing a trade there, and for fitting out a fleet to attack the spanish settlements. about the same time, also, the attorney-general made some "notes" on the advantages derived by the spaniards and dutch from their west indian trade, showing that it was neither safe nor profitable to england for them to remain absolute lords of those parts, and suggesting that the new king should entertain the matter and openly interpose, or else permit it to be done underhand; then if it prospered he could make it his own at pleasure. what was done in these particular cases does not appear, but that a new policy was introduced is certain. in september following the case of st. christopher's was brought before the privy council, which apparently confirmed what had been done, in taking possession of the island. in the "information" laid over it was stated that thomas warner had discovered that island, as well as nevis, barbados, and montserrat, and had begun the planting and colonising of these islands, until then only inhabited by savages. king charles was asked to take them under his royal protection and grant thomas warner their custody as his lieutenant, with the usual powers of jurisdiction. the result was not altogether to the liking of the petitioners, ralph merrifield and thomas warner, for in july, , a grant of all the caribbees was made to the earl of carlisle. this was sweeping enough, however, to suit those who wanted english colonies, however it ignored the rights of the first settlers in st. kitt's and barbados, which latter island had been settled a few months after the first. now, also, roger north came forward with his story and got the revoked patent renewed, so that he could go on with the settlement in the oyapok. for a time it did very well, but the tide had turned in favour of the islands, and guiana was soon abandoned to the dutch and french. the most important of the two islands first colonised was barbados, which, fortunately for her comfort, never suffered from such calamities as befel the sister island of st. christopher's. as far as the english were concerned barbados was discovered by a vessel going out to leigh's settlement, in guiana, in . a pillar was erected with the inscription, "james, king of england and this island," but nothing was done in the way of a settlement until immediately after warner commenced planting in st. kitt's. the most intimate connection existed between barbados and guiana from the earliest times, as in fact it does to the present day, for captain powell, the commander of the little company of pioneers, sent to his dutch friend, groenwegel, in essequebo, for a party of arawak indians to teach the new-comers how to plant provisions, cotton, and tobacco. in another group of islands was added by the granting of a patent to the "governor and company of adventurers for the plantation of the islands of providence, henrietta, and the adjacent islands." under this charter possession was taken of the bahamas, but little was done in the way of settling them for about a century. thus west indian colonisation was commenced, and claims made to all the smaller islands on behalf of england. but it is not to be supposed that france and holland were going to let everything go by default--on the contrary, they soon began to settle in some of the very islands which had been granted to the earl of carlisle. the dutch, as we have seen, were traders from the beginning, preferring the so-called contraband traffic with the natives and spanish colonists to anything like the raids of english or french. yet, in their plodding way they went on steadily, and as early as the year took possession of the island of st. eustatius. when the spaniards awoke to the fact that the dutch were injuring their trade, they began to enforce all the old prohibitions and seized the smugglers. but the hollander commenced to feel his power, and gave his enemy several lessons, which made him feel that the united provinces with their symbol of a bundle of darts were not to be despised. in the dutch took the capital of porto rico, and in their west india company was formed with territorial and trading rights over all the unoccupied countries of africa and america. suddenly as it were the despised hollander became a power in the west indies, and the company was soon strong enough to conquer brazil, which it must be remembered was, with portugal and all her colonies, then in the hands of spain. about the year piet heyn destroyed a spanish fleet in mataça bay, cuba, the booty from which was something enormous. altogether, the west india company was said to have captured vessels, mainly off the coast of america, the prize money from which amounted to thirty million guilders (£ , , ), while the damage to spain was at least six times as much. now also the french began to claim their share. in mons. d'enambuc went on a piratical expedition to the caribbean sea, but without any intention of founding a colony. however, off the cayman's islands he was attacked by a spanish galleon of much superior force, and although he succeeded at last in driving her off, his vessel was so crippled that he had to put into st. christopher's for repairs. here he found warner already established, and with him a few frenchmen. on account of his condition and the beauty of the island, he became inclined to settle, and as the english and french were then on good terms, warner saw no objection. the consequence was that st. kitt's became divided between the two nationalities, with results in the future most disastrous to both. at first, however, the assistance of the french was very welcome. the caribs were still a power in the smaller islands and gave a great deal of trouble to the young colony. at first they were friendly, but when the settlers wished to oppress them by taking away their lands and compelling them to supply provisions, open war began. hearing from an indian woman that a conspiracy was forming to destroy all the white men, warner determined to be beforehand with them. he massacred a hundred and twenty of the men, took the women as slaves, and drove the remainder off the island. but these powerful savages were by no mean conquered, for those who escaped soon came back with three or four thousand of their friends from neighbouring islands, and at first it appeared as if the whites would have been utterly exterminated. by a supreme effort of both french and english, however, this great invasion was repelled, the defenders killing about two thousand, and capturing fifteen large periaguas, with a loss to themselves of about a hundred, most of whom died from poisoned arrows. this was a bond of union between french and english, and warner and d'enambuc amicably divided the island between them. [illustration: carib attack on a settlement (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] [illustration] v. buccaneers, filibusters, and pirates. now that settlements were commenced the old system of piracy was somewhat discountenanced by the home governments, and many of the adventurers began to become a little more civilised. but there was still a large number of them who became known as buccaneers, filibusters, freebooters, marooners, and brethren of the coast, who continued to worry the spaniards, and even to attack other nationalities on occasion. they had taken to the trade, and, when no longer able to carry it on in a quasi-legitimate manner, did so on their own lines. the claim of spain to the whole of america was the great cause of offence. had she been content with what her people could occupy, there would have been little trouble, but the "dog in the manger" policy could hardly be recognised by other nations. it followed, therefore, that when complaints were made to france and england of the ravages on the spanish coasts, the sovereigns told the king of spain to protect his own shores, disclaiming on their own parts any responsibility whatever. the earliest accounts of the buccaneers are confused with those of the french corsairs, of which mention has been already made. they sailed along the coast from one island to another, trading a little, capturing spanish vessels, fighting the guarda-costas, and now and again repairing to some out-of-the-way place to put their ships in order or even to assist the caribs in their raids. the advantages of combination were soon felt, and with these also the necessity for places of rendezvous. even the english adventurers became accustomed to obtain wood and water from dominica, but this island was not conveniently situated for the french corsairs. they wanted an uninhabited place near enough to hispaniola and the track of the spanish vessels for them to be quickly pounced upon and for the corsairs to as quickly escape. then there must be a food supply, and on the great island of hispaniola were countless herds of wild cattle which ranged over a wilderness utterly depopulated. the palmy days of the hispaniola planter were over, and although he imported negro slaves to some extent, he was virtually ruined. one after another left for the newly discovered countries on the main, and for peru and mexico, leaving the island to a few merchants and wealthy planters, who found it to their interest to remain. hispaniola was little more than a house of call on the road to the treasure countries, which meant that although the port of st. domingo was fortified, the greater portion of the island was open to any one who chose to occupy it. salt was a scarce commodity in those times, but it could be obtained in some of the smaller islands, notably tortuga, which for that reason became the resort of the buccaneers. but the indians had learnt how to preserve meat without this useful substance, by smoking it over a fire of green branches and leaves. even europeans knew something of this process, although we believe they never preserved their beef and bacon entirely without salt as did the indians their game. the process was very simple. four sticks with forked ends were pushed into the ground, and on these uprights a sort of rack of other sticks was laid to make an open platform, where the pieces of meat were laid above a fire until well dried and impregnated with smoke. this stage was called a boucan, or barbecue, and from their using it to prepare supplies for their voyages the corsairs became known as buccaneers. there were no tinned provisions in those days, nor had the proper means of keeping food on long voyages been yet perfected. it followed, therefore, that a food supply in the indies had to be provided, and the spaniards unintentionally did good service to their enemies by placing hogs on most of the islands to breed and be available in emergencies. it is obvious that the hunting of semi-wild animals and curing their meat required time, and for that reason a division of labour was initiated. while one party went cruising in search of spanish vessels, another ranged the country to capture and prepare the supplies against their return. thus a rendezvous became necessary, and in time plantations were established in this neighbourhood to gradually develop into a settlement. now and again the spaniards discovered these places, but as they were generally of little value, their loss was of no importance; if destroyed the buccaneers could easily escape to another locality. when the enemy burnt their vessels, they easily built canoes with which they soon captured others and became as strong as before. the hunters grew to like their hardy life with its perfect liberty, and became so inured to the climate and open air as to be utterly unlike the effeminate planters. they were even little subject to the diseases of the country, and could live for months at a time on nothing but meat. as for clothes, they made these from the skins of animals, and all they really required from outside was powder and lead for their firearms. they became known as the brethren of the coast from their custom of each choosing one comrade as a bosom friend and brother. everything gained by either was common to both, and the company were very strict in enforcing their law against unfaithfulness in a companion, or unfair dealing in any way among themselves. sometimes they marooned a culprit by leaving him alone on some small island to die of hunger, or perhaps to become a "crusoe" for many years. the wounded received compensation according to a fixed tariff, from the common stock or from contributions; thus the loss of an arm was valued at five hundred crowns, and other mutilations at corresponding rates. as the attacks of the spaniards became more common, the small bands united, and division of labour became more exact. some were hunters of wild boars, others of cattle, a few became planters, but the main body were always sea rovers. at first the hunters were on good terms with the spanish planters and entered into engagements to supply them with meat. a party would go off into the interior and stay away for months at a time, eventually returning with large supplies borne on the backs of their horses. during all this time they lived in rough shelters which could be erected in an afternoon, and were much exposed to the vicissitudes of the weather. now they made up for their long term of privation by carousing to their hearts' content, and when drunk, often fought and killed each other. in the settlements there were generally a few women, and these often became the cause of contentions; there were also bond-servants who were treated most cruelly. sometimes they made incursions on the spanish settlements, which led to stronger efforts for their extermination that at last considerably reduced their numbers. in fact, had it not been for the continual accessions they would soon have died out, or have given up their trade and settled down as planters. hispaniola became at last almost untenable, for the spaniards, unable to find any other way of putting them down, organised several hunting parties with the view to utterly destroy the wild cattle and thus deprive them of their means of living. not that this was easily done, for it took many years, during which the hunting parties from both sides fought and killed each other, committing enormities which made the quarrel all the more bitter. about the year a party of buccaneers captured the island of tortuga from the spaniards, the garrison of twenty-five men surrendering without a blow. here was now the grand rendezvous of the french, for which it was perfectly suitable from its proximity to the food supply and the track of the spanish vessels. it was situated on the north of the western portion of hispaniola, and not very well suited for plantations, although good tobacco was grown there. there were, however, plenty of sea fowl and turtle to be had, as well as their eggs, which formed a large portion of the diet of the inhabitants. this island became a veritable pandemonium--the sink of the west indies. it was the place of call for rovers of all nations, the market for their booty, and the storehouse for everything in the way of supplies. the merchants pandered to the tastes of their customers, and drinking and gambling went on continually. but in it was surprised by the spaniards, who began to be alarmed at this nest of pirates at their very doors. they chose a time when most of the rovers were away on a cruise, and the buccaneers gone hunting in hispaniola. all they captured were killed--even those who surrendered being hanged as pirates. only a few escaped by hiding among the rocks and bushes to come forth after the enemy had left, which they did without leaving a garrison. a grand attempt to expel the hunters from the main island was now organised, in which a corps of five hundred lancers ranged the island in bands of fifties. many of the buccaneers were killed, but the remainder combined together under an englishman named willis and again took possession of tortuga. from this rendezvous near hispaniola the main passages between the islands were under observation, but a similar station was required near the isthmus, and this was established about in the bay of campeachy. like that at tortuga its beginnings are lost in obscurity. at first one or more of the small islands or keys was used on occasion--later fortifications were erected, and a watch always kept for the enemy. the excuse for the settlement was the logwood trade, but this did not become of much importance until after the english conquest of jamaica. like the true buccaneers these pirates were fond of hunting, but their game was principally indians, whom they attacked and carried off from the main, the men to sell to the plantations and the women to keep for themselves. when they arrived after a cruise and sold their booty, they would have a jolly time with drinking, gambling, and firing of guns, until the island would seem to be the habitation of devils rather than human beings. there were also other pirate resorts, notably the virgin islands and the bahamas, but these were generally used only by one company, and never rose to the position of general resorts. it is to these that most of the romances refer, but the stories of pirate and treasure islands rarely have much foundation in fact. how privateers became pirates is well shown by a case that occurred in the latter half of the seventeenth century. a vessel went cruising from the carolinas, and after being out for eighteen months had gained so few prizes that the crew began to complain. after discussing the situation, they resolved to try the south sea, where they hoped to find the spaniards less prepared. meeting with very bad weather at the entrance of the strait of magellan, they were, however, obliged to turn back, and then the majority decided to become pirates. eight men who refused to agree were marooned on the island of fernando po, their late comrades leaving them a small boat in which they expected to be able to get to some english colony. the vessel left, and commenced her piratical work at once by capturing a portuguese ship larger than herself, the crew being brought and landed on the same island. in the night the portuguese made off, taking with them the englishmen's boat as well as their own, leaving the eight privateers to do the best they could. however, they were not easily daunted, and at once began to cut down trees and build a sloop of four tons, which they finished in six weeks, meanwhile living on sea fowl and their eggs, which were plentiful. finally they sailed for tobago, but missing that island got to tortuga, where they arrived almost perishing with hunger and thirst, having had nothing to eat or drink for six days. even then they were not discouraged, but after resting awhile, set sail in the same boat for new england, passing along the spanish islands, often unable to land for water on account of the enemy, and lying under cover of the mangroves, to be almost devoured by mosquitoes. even with all this care they were taken at last, stripped, thrust down in the hold of a spanish _guarda-costa_, and finally kept as slaves in the island of cuba. in the early years of the seventeenth century few of the adventurers had any commissions, but as the mother countries began to establish settlements, letters of marque were granted when there was a war. the corsairs and pirates then became privateers, only to go back to their old trade when peace was nominally restored. some played fast and loose with these commissions, sometimes having both french and english at the same time, either to be used according to circumstances. the french governors went so far as to sell these documents signed and sealed, but without names, so that they passed from hand to hand ready to be filled up when the pirate wished to escape the yard-arm. the young colonies were too weak to incur their displeasure--in fact they were glad to encourage their visits, as the settlers could always pick up good bargains when they sold their booty. yet, with all that, there was a dread of them, even among their own countrymen, which prevented that feeling of safety which best consists with the progress of a colony. we can say little of individuals, as there were so many, but we may mention a few of the most striking characters and their daring exploits. they inspired such dread among the spaniards that at last the latter hardly dared to defend themselves against them, but on their approach immediately surrendered. if the cargo was rich, quarter was granted, but if otherwise, or anything was found secreted, the whole company, officers, crew, and passengers, were forced to leap overboard. pierre legrand with his twenty-eight men once attacked a great spanish galleon, and before going alongside scuttled his own vessel so that it sunk as the pirates leapt on to the enemy's deck. with no possibility of retreat the men fought like devils and quickly got possession of the galleon, with the usual result. when other nations had compelled respect from spain their vessels were sometimes chartered to carry rich cargoes, which thus sailed under the protection of another flag. but the pirates were not to be cheated so easily, for they had their spies on the look-out, and often managed to glean information. on one occasion captains michael de basco and brouage heard of two dutch vessels leaving carthagena with treasure and at once followed, attacked and captured them. exasperated at being beaten by a force much smaller than their own, the dutch captains told michael that he could not have overcome them if he had been alone. "very well," said the audacious frenchman, "let us begin the fight again, and captain brouage shall look on. but if i conquer i will not only have the spanish silver you carry, but your own ships as well." the dutch were not inclined to accept this challenge, but made off as soon as they could after the treasure had been taken into the pirate vessels, fearing they might otherwise lose their opportunity. captain lawrence was once unexpectedly overtaken by two spanish sixty-gun ships, the crews of which numbered fifteen hundred. addressing his men, he said--"you have experience enough to be aware of your danger, and too much courage to fear. on this occasion we must avail ourselves of every circumstance, hazard everything, and attack and defend at the same time. valour, artifice, rashness, and even despair itself must now be employed. let us fear the disgrace of a defeat; let us dread the cruelty of our enemy; and let us fight that we may escape him." after he was applauded with loud cheers, lawrence took aside one of the bravest of his men, and in the presence of all, gave him strict orders to fire the gunpowder at a given signal, thus telling them plainly they must fight or be blown up. meanwhile the enemy had approached very close, and lawrence, ranging his men on both sides of the vessel, steered between the two great monsters, firing a broadside on either hand as he passed, which they could not return for fear of damaging each other. he did not succeed in capturing them, but they were so demoralised by his determined attitude, and the number of killed and wounded, that they were glad to make off. montbar was a frenchman who had heard of the atrocities of the spaniards and the exploits of the buccaneers, and determined to go out to the west indies to join in the fray. on his voyage from france he met a spanish vessel which he attacked and boarded with a sabre in his hand. passing twice from bow to stern, he carved his way through the enemy, entirely reckless of danger, and by his example animated his comrades until the vessel was taken. then standing apart while the spoil was being divided, he gloated with savage pleasure over the corpses that lay on the deck. arrived at hispaniola he heard from the buccaneers that they could do little in the way of planting because of the continual attacks on their settlements. "why then," said montbar, roughly, "do you tamely submit to such insults?" "we do not!" they answered; "the spaniards have experienced what kind of men we are, and therefore take advantage of the time when we go hunting. but we are going to join with some of our companions, who have been even worse treated than ourselves, and then we shall have hot work." "if such be the case let me lead you," said montbar, "not as a commander, but first in the post of danger." they were quite willing to have him as leader, and the very same day he went at the head of a party to find the enemy. meeting a small body of spaniards he rushed upon them with such fury that hardly one escaped, and this at once justified them in their choice. he afterwards became such a terror all over the west indies as to be known as "the exterminator." lolonois was another ruffian, who commenced his career by taking a spanish frigate with only two canoes and twenty-two men. this vessel had sailed from havana especially to put down the buccaneers, and had on board a negro executioner who was engaged to hang the prisoners. hearing this from the negro, lolonois ordered all the spaniards to be brought before him, and going down the line, he struck off one head after another, licking his sword after each blow. he afterwards went to port au prince, where four vessels were fitting out for his capture. these he took and threw all their crews into the sea, except one man, whom he sent to the governor of havana with the news, and a warning that he would treat the governor himself in the same way if he had the opportunity. after this he ran the best prizes aground and sailed for tortuga in the frigate, where he joined michael de basco. with four hundred and forty men this worthy pair sailed for the main, where they plundered the coast of venezuela, set fire to gibraltar, and held maracaybo for ransom. they carried off all the crosses, pictures, plate, ornaments, and even bells from the churches, with the intention of using them in a great cathedral to be erected on tortuga. although the buccaneers were mostly french they were not confined to that nationality. the famous or notorious captain morgan was a welshman, who began his career in the west indies as a bond-servant. one of his greatest exploits was the capture of porto bello, which had taken the place of nombre de dios after that town had been burnt by drake. he even out-did drake and every other adventurer before him by storming panama, from whence he obtained a very rich booty. here he fell in love with a spanish lady, who, however, threatened to stab herself rather than yield to his embraces. even when he tried the gentlest measures which such a ruffian could think of, she still refused to yield, so that he had ultimately to comply with the wishes of his companions and leave her. panama was burnt, the retreat across the isthmus safely performed without any serious misadventure, and morgan sailed away to jamaica with the lion's share of the plunder. in this great expedition the buccaneers of all nations united to form a combination hitherto unknown. but, as this was the first time that such a thing had occurred, so also was it the last. as for morgan his career was ended; his comrades charged him with treachery and made it unsafe for him to come within their reach. he therefore settled down in jamaica, made himself right with the authorities there and in england, was knighted by king charles the second, and professed now to have a great dislike to piracy. on two occasions sir henry morgan became acting governor of jamaica, and in that capacity did his best to discountenance buccaneering. in a great expedition was organised at tortuga by van horn, a fleming, noted for his courage and ferocity. in the heat of an engagement he would pace the deck, and urge his men to fight by shooting any one who even flinched from a ball. he thus made himself a terror to cowards and the admiration of the brave; like montbar, gaining the respect and confidence of his followers. like the french leader also, he was careless about his own share of the booty, leaving everything to his men, which naturally increased his popularity. with twelve hundred men in six vessels he sailed for vera cruz, and surprised the town at night. most of the inhabitants took refuge in the churches, and the buccaneers posted sentries with barrels of gunpowder in front of each, giving orders to blow up the buildings on the least sign of an attempt to escape. after plundering the houses they demanded about half a million pounds from the prisoners as ransom for their lives and liberties. this was not obtained, however, for while waiting the collection a large body of troops was seen approaching from the interior, and a fleet of seventeen vessels came into the harbour from spain. yet the buccaneers were determined to get something towards the ransom, and to this end seized fifteen hundred slaves, with which they quietly sailed away in defiance of the enemy, promising to call again for the balance of the ransom. the spanish fleet let them pass without firing a single gun, and they went back to tortuga, there to spend a year in rioting and carousing. when their money was all spent they resolved to try the most arduous of adventures, a raid on the ports of the great south sea. and it happened curiously that at that very time the english pirates were getting ready for a similar venture, without either having knowledge of that of the other party. about four thousand men were engaged, some going by way of the straits of magellan and others across the isthmus. the english and french met, and at first agreed to work together, but for want of one leader who could command and be respected by both parties, the expedition proved almost a failure. possibly also the french had not forgotten morgan's treachery, and this caused distrust and prevented any cordial feeling. those who travelled across the isthmus stole boats on the other side, and with them captured larger vessels, until this little frequented sea became almost as dangerous to spanish ships as the caribbean. most of the smaller ports were surprised, and even guayaquil was captured, mainly because they were not provided with forts and other defences. in fact, the people were so unacquainted with war and so wrapped up by the supposed security of their position, that even when the alarm was given little could be done. silver became so common that nothing but gold, pearls, and precious stones would satisfy the spoilers, yet with all their easy conquests they got little real benefit. some died of sickness, and many from the results of drunkenness and debauchery. the storms of cape horn and the straits wrecked several vessels, and drowned both spoil and spoilers, while those who attempted to return by land were equally unfortunate. they died in the bush of fever and dysentery, or were cut off by ambuscades of the enemy, often losing their booty if they escaped with their lives. what a journey across the isthmus really meant at that time is well exemplified in the case of lionel wafer. in he was a surgeon on board an english vessel under captain sharp, one of those privateers who went cruising in the south sea. after spending some time there the party divided, one portion deciding to cross overland, and the other to continue the cruise. wafer went with those who intended crossing the isthmus, the whole numbering forty-four white men and three indians. they marched from the pacific shore one afternoon, and towards night arrived at the foot of a hill, where they put up several rough sheds. rain had already begun to fall--such rain as is only known in the tropics--and they had to crouch under these imperfect shelters until midnight, with streams of water running down their backs and rivulets flowing about their feet. by morning they felt less discomfort and were glad to warm their chilled limbs by walking up the hill. here they came upon an indian path which led to a village, where they were gratified with food and a drink made of indian corn. after resting awhile they agreed with one of the indians to guide them on the next day's journey, and that night rested in the village. next morning they went on again, and at mid-day arrived at an indian hut, the owner of which was so morose and surly that at first he refused to have anything to do with them. after they had spoken kindly and asked him to guide them on their journey, he roughly answered that he was prepared to lead them to the spanish settlements. this of course would never do, and they offered him beads, money, axes, and knives to gain his good-will, but all without effect, until a sky-blue petticoat was dangled before the eyes of his wife. this turned the scale, for her persuasions being added to theirs, he at last consented to procure a guide, excusing himself from the task on the plea that he was lame from a cut. he wished to detain them with him for the day, as it still rained, but they were in so great a dread of being discovered by the enemy that, having obtained the guide, they marched three miles farther before stopping for the night. on the fourth morning the weather was fairer, and they travelled for twelve miles over hills and through slushy morasses, crossing one river after another to the number of about thirty. rain poured down again in the afternoon and during the greater part of the night, so that they had much ado to keep their fires from going out. what with the discomforts of their situation, the want of proper food, and the chilliness preceding intermittent fever, they even forgot for the time their fears of the spaniards. however, as the sun rose they went on again until, after travelling seven miles through the forest, they reached the hut of a spanish indian, who supplied them with yams, sweet potatoes, and plantains, but no meat except the flesh of two monkeys, which they gave to the weak and sickly. while resting here wafer met with an accident. one of the company, in drying some gunpowder on a silver plate, carelessly placed it near the fire where he was sitting, with the result that it exploded and tore the skin and flesh from one of his thighs, rendering him almost helpless. he had a few medicines in his knapsack and dressed the wound as well as he could under the circumstances, but rest and proper food were needed, and these he could not have. the consequence was that, after struggling along with the others until he sank down exhausted and suffering from excruciating torture, he was left behind with two sick men at an indian village, where they were presently joined by two others who had broken down. observing the condition of wafer's wound, the indians treated it with a poultice of chewed herbs on a plantain leaf, and in twenty days it was healed. nevertheless, although they did him this kindness, they were not over civil, but on the contrary treated the five white men with contempt, throwing them their refuse provisions as if they were dogs. one young indian proved kinder, and got them some ripe bananas now and then, but the others were annoyed because the main body had compelled some inhabitants of the village to go with them as guides against their will. the weather was then so bad that even the indians considered travelling almost impossible, and this annoyed them all the more, especially when the guides did not return. day after day passed, and the indians becoming more incensed at the non-arrival of their people, began to think of avenging themselves on wafer and his comrades. thinking that the guides had been murdered, they determined to burn them to death, and even went so far as to erect a great pile of wood for the purpose. but almost at the last moment their chief interposed, and offered to send away the englishmen in charge of two guides. accordingly they set out, their only food supply a little dry indian corn, and their only resting-place at night the wet ground, still exposed to drenching rains which fell every day. the third night they went to sleep on a low mound, and in the morning woke to find it a little island with water extending as far as their eyes could reach. to add to their trouble, the indian guides had disappeared, leaving them to remain here without shelter and almost starved for three days. then the waters fell and they commenced the weary work of steering to the north by means of a pocket compass--a task the difficulty of which can only be appreciated by one who has attempted it. however, they soon reached the bank of a deep river, the stream of which was rushing along like a mill race. here a lately-felled tree lying across showed them where their comrades had passed, and they commenced to climb over astride as the trunk was so slippery. one of the party was so weak and so overburdened by four hundred pieces of eight (silver dollars) that he fell, and was immediately carried down the stream out of sight. giving him up as lost, the four survivors went wandering about, looking for the footprints of their comrades, but could find no trace of them, probably on account of the floods. fearing a mistake, they again crossed the river and recommenced the search on the other side, where they were surprised to come upon their lost companion sitting on the bank, which he had managed to gain by grasping the bough of a tree as he was borne swiftly past. finding no signs of a trail, they again went on working with the compass as before. on the fifth day they had nothing to eat but a few wild berries, and the day following arrived at another great river where not even a tree lay across to give them a passage. they had only their long knives, but with them they set to work and cut down bamboos, with which rafts were made by binding the sticks with bush-ropes. they had just finished and were resting awhile, when a terrible storm came on. the rain fell as if from a cascade, thunder rolled and lightning flashed, accompanied by a sulphurous odour which almost choked them. there was no shelter but the trees of the forest, and the fire was put out at once, leaving these half-starved wretches to shiver and shake with ague all through the afternoon and up to midnight. then the waters began to rise, and in the darkness--that total absence of light under the canopy of foliage, where two men sitting together only know of each other's presence by feeling, for the din of the elements is absolutely deafening--wafer began to appreciate the fact that the swirl of the flood had reached his feet. with no possibility of communicating with the others, he felt his way to a hollow silk-cotton tree, into which he crawled, and climbed upon a heap of debris that stood in the centre. here he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, or more probably, perhaps, fainted. when he awoke he said it was impossible for words to paint the terrors that overwhelmed his mind. the water reached to his knees, notwithstanding that the mound was five feet above the ground level, and he was afraid it would reach still higher. however, as the sun rose the flood went down, and presently he was glad to crawl out and stretch his chilled limbs. but he was all alone, and at first thought his comrades had been drowned. he shouted, but no answer came back, except the echo of his own voice. giving way to despair, he threw himself on the buttress of a tree, from which condition he was roused by the appearance of first one and then another, until the little company was again complete. they also had found similar refuges and now came to look after their rafts. but the bundles of canes had become water-logged and useless, so they resolved to retrace their steps if possible to the indian village. on their way they unfortunately missed shooting a deer which lay beside the path, and had nothing to eat but macaw berries and the pith of a tree. seeing the track of a wild hog they followed that, and ultimately came upon two provision fields. but even with this prospect of food they were so much depressed that, although perishing with hunger, they were afraid to venture near the indian huts, and lingered about for some time. however, at last wafer summoned enough courage to go into one of them, when almost immediately he was so affected by the close atmosphere and the odour of some meat cooking over the fire, that he fainted. the kindly indians assisted in his recovery, and gave him something to eat, when he was pleasantly surprised to find there the very same guides on whose account he and his comrades had been nearly roasted to death. on telling them where the others were, the indians went out and brought back three, but had to carry food to the fourth before he could gain enough strength to walk the short distance. here they were treated with the greatest humanity and tenderness, and after resting a week they again started with four guides, to reach the same river that had before checked their progress, in one day. here, finding a canoe, they proceeded up stream until, arriving at the dwelling of the chief who had saved them from torture, they were told it was impossible to go on in such weather. wafer and his companions stopped here for several months--in fact the chief wished to retain them altogether. as a physician, wafer was respected and loved; but at last, wishing to depart, by repeated importunities and the promise to come back with some good hunting-dogs, and then to marry the chief's daughter, he was at last furnished with guides. over high mountains, along the edges of precipices, and through dense forests they toiled until they came to a river flowing north, on which they embarked, and reached the shores of the gulf of darien two days later. here they were overjoyed to find an english vessel, the crew of which gave them a hearty welcome, making up to some extent for their long and perilous journey. [illustration] [illustration] vi. war in the young colonies. at the beginning of the seventeenth century spain was nominally at peace with the other great powers, except the netherlands, which had not yet come to the front. by the treaty of queen elizabeth made up the english quarrel, and in even holland was conceded a truce for nine years. thus amity was supposed to exist, and the raids of licensed privateers came to an end. yet there was "no peace beyond the line." not to mention corsairs and pirates, the english were as determined on their part to get a share of america as were the spaniards to keep them out if possible. the founders of virginia were resolute to lose their lives rather than abandon so noble a colony. even king james dared not give it up, although in and the following year there was a hot contention with the spanish secretary of state on the matter. spain was discontented that the colony should have the royal sanction, and at the same time demanded its removal, accompanying this with a threat to drive out the settlers, as well as those in the bermudas. but james could not admit the papal bull, and as the english were firm, the claimants of the whole of america contented themselves with protests. in the west indies, however, spain went farther. here she had undoubtedly the right by discovery, although not by actual possession, save in the greater antilles. the weak english king who succeeded the strong-minded tudor princess was not prepared to contest the spanish supremacy here, but simply answered the complaints against english adventurers by disclaiming all responsibility. neither england nor france had officially taken the ground that only actual possession created territorial rights, but many englishmen were clamouring loudly to that effect. we have already noticed in another chapter james's policy, or want of policy, and the change which took place a few weeks after his death--we have now to deal with the results of that alteration. in hostilities were renewed between spain and the netherlands, but even during the nominal truce the dutch invaded margarita, and demolished the fort, but without, however, taking actual possession. when the truce was over hostilities were recommenced with a vigour that rather astonished spain, for in the interval the netherlands had progressed wonderfully. in , the year of his accession, charles the first entered into a treaty, offensive and defensive, with the united provinces, which of course brought england into collision with spain, and open war began again in the west indies. in a fleet of thirty-five vessels under don frederic de toledo conquered the island of st. christopher's and removed most of the english settlers, only a few of whom managed to escape to the mountains, while the french got off in two of their vessels. the french refugees suffered a great deal from the want of preparation for their hurried flight, and arrived at the island of st. martin's perishing with hunger and thirst. here they dug holes in the sand and obtained a supply of brackish water, which was so unwholesome that some died from drinking it in excessive quantities. after the spaniards left they returned to st. christopher's to find a few english, who, annoyed at their desertion, wanted to keep the island to themselves, but the french were too numerous and soon took possession of their old quarters. in the dutch took possession of tobago, and two years later of curaçao, which latter island soon became their great stronghold in the west indies, and the principal depôt for the contraband traffic with venezuela. at that time no spanish vessels went to this part of the main, but finding that the trade was of some importance to the dutch, the authorities now granted licenses to drive their rivals out of the market. but the spanish traders could not compete with the hollanders, and this so annoyed the authorities that they determined to extinguish smuggling at any cost. this they were unable to do by catching the delinquents, but they could punish those who dealt with them. the result was the infliction of heavy fines and confiscation, with disgraceful punishments, from which many were ruined. yet with all that the trade was so lucrative to both parties that neither was inclined to give it up--the dutch took care of themselves, while cheap commodities could generally command a market, whatever the risk. the fact was the mother country imposed so many restrictions, and exacted such heavy fees for licenses, that the cost of an article was doubled or trebled as compared with that of the hollander. in a french association was incorporated under the title of "the company of the islands of america." they appointed the sieurs d'enambuc and du rossy to settle the islands of st. christopher's and barbados as well as others situated at the "entrance of peru." nothing was done at barbados, as the english were already in possession, but in examinations of dominica, martinique, and guadeloupe were made, which ended in the two latter islands becoming french colonies in . meanwhile, in november, , a treaty was signed at madrid between england and spain, after which peace was supposed to again prevail. nothing was said about the west indies, probably because spain knew that further protests were useless. hardly had this been settled before, in , france declared war against the common foe, and her corsairs could now legally carry on their work of pillage and destruction. in the island of st. martin's, which had been partly occupied by french and dutch, was captured by spaniards, who expelled the inhabitants and replaced them by a strong garrison. in the same year colonel jackson, with a force from the english islands, captured santiago de la vega in jamaica, and plundered it of everything valuable, after which, in retaliation, the island of new providence, one of the bahamas, was captured by spain. neither place was, however, occupied by the captors, who only did as much damage as they could and then left. almost from the commencement of their settlements the french had quarrelled among themselves, but until the struggle which ended in the execution of charles the first, there had been few difficulties in the english islands. the barbadians, it is true, protested against the claim of the earl of carlisle, in which they were joined by the people of st. kitt's, but this was settled without disturbance. now, however, the effects of "the great rebellion" began to be felt across the seas, and disaffection towards the parliament, and loyalty to the king, were promoted by a number of royalists who had fled from the disturbance in the mother country. in the west indies were virtually in revolt against the parliament, and on the th of september an embargo was declared in england against vessels bound for the caribbee islands, bermuda, and virginia. this was followed on the th by an act prohibiting all commerce with these colonies because of their rebellion against the commonwealth. virginia and the bermudas had declared for king charles the second after the execution of his father, and sent emissaries to barbados for the purpose of inciting them to join in the revolt. [illustration: st. kitt's. (_from andrews' "west indies."_)] at the commencement of that year barbados was in a state of ferment, waiting only for the spark which would plunge the island into civil war. even at this early period the inhabitants of little england, as it is called, were very loyal, and had something of the conceit which has characterised them ever since. true, there were "roundheads" on the island, but hitherto party differences had been put in the background--now they were brought into prominence. when the agent of the bermudians asked that barbados should declare for the king, the majority were in favour of the project, but, as a matter of course, the others, who were of considerable importance, refused. at first the royalists went so far as to advocate the banishment of their opponents, but were unable to find any reasonable excuse for such a high-handed proceeding. however they brought in an act to imprison all who went to a conventicle, or who seduced others from repairing to the public congregation or from receiving the holy sacrament. for a second offence the penalty was forfeiture of all lands, goods, chattels, and debts by those whom they called "the enemy to the peace of the island." this was to have been published on april , , and kept secret until proclaimed, to prevent trouble. but it appears that colonel codrington, a member of the assembly, divulged it in his cups, for which he was fined twenty thousand pounds of sugar, and banished from the island. a deputation of parliamentarians then waited upon the governor, to enter their protest against the new law, and were asked to leave the matter in his hands, as he had to deal with "violent spirits." finally, the proclamation was delayed, on the ground that there were many errors in the copy, and the two parties stood at bay. on the rd of april the roundheads petitioned the governor to issue his writ for a new assembly, on the ground that the present body had sat for its full term. this he agreed to do, and thus alienated the cavaliers, who said he was a most emphatic roundhead and enemy to the king. handbills and posters now began to be circulated calling attention to the "damnable designe" of the independents, of which, they said, colonel drax, "that devout zealot (of the deeds of the devil, and the cause of that seven-headed dragon at westminster), is the agent." one of the writers declared that he should think his best rest but disquiet until he had sheathed his sword in the bowels of the same obnoxious personage. the cavaliers were still adding to their numbers by the arrival of more refugees, while colonel drax and his friends fell into the background. the new-comers had mostly been ruined by the civil war, and were naturally desirous of doing something to retrieve their fortunes; it followed, therefore, that anything that led to the confiscation of the estates of the obnoxious party would be to their advantage. the cavaliers set to work to rouse the island by going about on horseback, fully armed, everywhere challenging those they met to drink the health of charles the second and confusion to the independent dogs. this, with the rumours of a roundhead plot and the various manifestoes, induced the governor to issue a proclamation declaring that in future if any persons spread such scandalous papers they would be proceeded against as enemies of the public peace, at the same time forbidding any one to take up arms in a hostile manner. this produced little effect, for the leader of one of the roving bands, colonel shelley, refused to disband. on this the governor issued commissions to raise a militia for the preservation of order, but by the time that a hundred men had been collected an alarm went forth that the cavaliers were advancing on bridgetown. this was the st of may, and by that time the cavaliers were prepared to act. their leader was colonel walrond, who, on being sent for by the governor, and saying they had no evil intention, was allowed to depart. however, they took possession of the town, and then came forward with the demand that all independents and other disturbers of the peace should be at once disarmed. to this the governor agreed, provided the well-affected should vouch for their safety. they also stipulated that the magazine on the bridge should be put under their protection, that those who obstructed the peace and laboured to ruin the loyal colonists should be punished, that twenty persons whose names they gave should be forthwith arrested, and that the governor should speedily call together the assembly to try them; meanwhile they refused to disperse until these things were done. the governor could do nothing but accede to these demands, but even then there was something more which they considered the climax--"that our lawful soveraigne charles the second be instantly in a solemn manner proclaimed king." this staggered the governor, who said it was a matter for the general assembly, in which opinion he got them at last to agree. however, they were not yet content, but insisted that at the dissolution of the present assembly only such men as were known to be well-affected to his majesty and conformers to the church of england should be chosen and admitted. after that they must be promised an "act of oblivion" for the lawful taking up of arms, safe-conduct for all officers on legislative business, and, finally, that the governor must come to them without the companionship of any disaffected person and put himself under their care. all this was perforce agreed to, and on the rd of may charles the second was declared king of england, &c., as well as of barbados, and at the same time the book of common prayer was proclaimed to be the only pattern of true worship. behind all this was a fact which no one mentioned, but which probably everybody knew--on the th of april lord willoughby had arrived in the harbour, bearing a commission as governor of the caribbee islands, from the fugitive king charles and the earl of carlisle. no doubt the whole demonstration was got up on his account, the cavaliers wanting to have the king proclaimed first, so that there should be no difficulty about the commission. everything was ready now, and nothing was heard but uproarious drinking of his majesty's health, the cavaliers going from house to house and compelling others to follow their example. as for lord willoughby, he left the governor to carry out the stipulated measures, while he went to look after the other islands under his jurisdiction. now the royalists of barbados began to persecute the leaders of the obnoxious party, beginning with the twenty they had named to the governor. some, seeing their danger, had got off to england, but those who remained were sentenced to pay a million pounds of sugar and to be banished. then nearly a hundred others were indicted and ordered to leave before the nd of july, while all their commissions of the peace or in the militia were cancelled. wives were banished with their husbands, and unless the estate-owners humbly submitted, paid their fines, and appointed well-affected persons as attorneys, their properties were confiscated. yet with all that, when an attempt was made to get to the bottom of the rumoured plot, no trace of it could be found. some of the more moderate of the royalists even began to doubt whether they were not going too far, but they salved their consciences by saying that everything was done in the interest of the king. when the news arrived in england it created a great stir. in november some merchants and planters interested in the island asked for permission to make reprisals on their own account. they wanted licenses to trade there with five or six able ships, and letters of marque to use in case of obstruction, or a refusal to comply with certain demands. these demands were to repeal all acts dishonourable to the commonwealth, to renounce obedience to charles stuart, to acknowledge the supreme authority of the parliament, to banish certain "active incendiaries in the late troubles," and, finally, to recall those who had suffered, so that they might enjoy the same rights as the other inhabitants. a further petition asked for the removal of lord willoughby in favour of edward winslow, a man of approved fidelity to the commonwealth. the parliamentary government did not adopt these proposals, as they intended to reduce the island in a regular manner. in january, , a fleet was made ready for this purpose, but being employed in the reduction of the scilly islands, it could not be got ready for the west indies until june following. meanwhile lord willoughby had returned, and was doing his best to conciliate the barbadians of both parties. he did not altogether approve of what had been done, but repealed the acts of sequestration, thus putting the inhabitants in good spirits for the expected invasion. it was rumoured that prince rupert was coming out from marseilles, and this made things appear brighter, encouraging them to put their forts in order. the english fleet did not actually leave plymouth until the th of august. it was under the command of sir george ayscue, who took six or seven merchant vessels under convoy, probably those referred to in the petition. he reached barbados on the th of october, when as yet no news had been heard of prince rupert; in fact, that great seaman had been dissuaded from crossing the atlantic. fourteen dutch vessels were captured in carlisle bay, the sudden arrival of the fleet preventing their escape. willoughby had some six thousand foot and four hundred horse stationed at different parts of the island, and was determined to hold it for the king, looking forward daily to see prince rupert arrive. he had heard from a dutch vessel that the king was marching on london with an army of scots: this also tended to make his resistance all the more stubborn. from a few roundheads, who managed to come off in the night, ayscue learnt this, but he was as equally determined to subdue the island as willoughby was to defend it. on being called upon to surrender the island for the use of the parliament of england, the governor replied that he acknowledged no supremacy over englishmen save the king and those having commissions from him, directing the letter to the admiral on board his majesty's ship the _rainbow_. he also said that he had expected some overtures of reparation for the hostile acts upon the ships in the bay. after this defiance nothing was left but to prepare first for a strict blockade, and then to effect a landing. the strength on shore was too great for any open attack, and ayscue managed to send a proclamation addressed to the freeholders and inhabitants, urging them to accept in time his offers of peace and mercy. in answer to this the assembly met and passed a declaration to "sticke to" lord willoughby and defend the island to the utmost. in england a great deal of interest was felt in the struggle, and the demand for news of the expedition created a supply giving circumstantial accounts of what had _not_ taken place. one of them was headed, "bloody news from the barbados, being a true relation of a great and terrible fight between the parliament's navie, commanded by sir george ayscue, and the king of scots' forces under the command of the lord willoughby; with the particulars of the fight, the storming of the island, the manner how the parliament's forces were repulsed and beaten off from carlisle bay and the block house, and the number killed and wounded." and all this before any attempt had been made beyond the blockade! on the receipt of the news of the battle of worcester, ayscue sent another flag of truce to give willoughby the information, saying that he did so as a friend rather than as an enemy. he was acting in that quality, by stating the true condition of england, and leaving him and his friends to judge of the necessity for due obedience to the state of england; otherwise they would be swallowed up in the destruction so shortly and inevitably coming upon them. in reply, willoughby said he had never served his king so much in expectation of prosperity as in consideration of duty, and that he would not be the means of increasing the sad affliction of his majesty by giving up that island. to this ayscue rejoined, that if there were such a person as the king, willoughby's retention of that place signified nothing to his advantage, and therefore the surrender could be small grief to him. he well knew the impossibility of the island subsisting without the patronage of england, and the admiral's great desire was to save it from ruin and destruction. as willoughby refused to surrender, ayscue determined to attack the hole or james's town, which he did on the nd of november, beating off its defenders, taking thirty prisoners, and spiking the four guns of the fort. on the st of december the fleet which had been sent to reduce virginia arrived, and on the temporary addition of this force, ayscue again sent to willoughby, as he stated, for the last time. in reply he was told that the assembly would consider the matter in two or three days, but this reply did not please the admiral, so he tried to hurry up the decision by landing at speight's town. against the stubborn opposition of twelve hundred men he stormed and took the fort, which he held for two days, ultimately retiring, however, after burning the houses, demolishing the fortifications, and throwing the guns into the sea. after that the correspondence was continued, ayscue entreating willoughby to spare the good people of the island the horrors of war. to this the governor replied, that they only took up arms in their own defence; the guilt of the blood and ruin would be at the doors of those who brought force to bear. then the virginia fleet sailed for its destination, and ayscue recommenced hostilities by again occupying speight's town. by this time, however, there was a party on the island in favour of peace, and they began to bestir themselves, thus making the royalists more determined. they put forth a proclamation inviting the inhabitants to endure the troubles of war for a season, rather than by base submission to let the deceitful enemy make them slaves for ever. but the roundheads now began to assemble under colonel modiford at his house, to the number of six hundred men, who declared for the parliament, and threatened to bring willoughby to reason, the admiral going so far as to visit them surreptitiously to read his commission. hearing of this, willoughby got two thousand four hundred men together and appeared near the house, but did not venture to attack it, as by this time he had become somewhat disheartened. this brought things to a crisis, and on the th of january arrangements were made for a commission from both sides to make arrangements for terms. after a great deal of hesitation on the part of the admiral, the capitulation was at last signed, the articles being exceedingly favourable both to the inhabitants and lord willoughby. so lenient were they that ayscue had to excuse himself to the home authorities for fear that he might have been misunderstood. they were, in short, liberty of conscience, continuation of the old government, and of the old courts of justice, no taxation without consent of the assembly, no confiscations, all suits to be decided on the island, no acts of indemnity, no oaths against their consciences, a temporary cessation of all civil suits, and finally that lord willoughby should retain all his private property in the islands as well as in surinam, with full liberty to go to england. these articles were signed on the th of january, , and the "storm in a teapot" came to an end, the barbadians proudly boasting that they had been able to defy the mighty power of the commonwealth. most of the leaders were banished from the island, some going to surinam, where a colony had been established by lord willoughby soon after his arrival in barbados. among them was major byam, who became governor, and virtually held the settlement for the king until he came to his own again. this is all the more curious because cromwell knew the circumstances, yet made no effort to bring the people under submission. at first the settlers established a little commonwealth of their own, with major byam as president, but when his term had expired, instead of giving place to another he declared he had a commission as governor from the king, although he refused to show the document to any one. with enough royalists to back him, he thus held office until the restoration, notwithstanding the complaints of the parliamentary faction and their requests to the home authorities for redress. meanwhile, early in england went to war with the dutch, and this seriously interfered with the trade of that nationality in the west indies. the navigation act was another blow to them, although it could not yet be enforced altogether. cromwell made himself respected in such a manner that peace with holland was restored in april, , thus leaving him free to carry out his designs against the old enemy--spain. since queen elizabeth's time the english governments had done little in the way of worrying the spaniards, although pirates had been busy almost without intermission. now, however, cromwell was at liberty, and he began to see that they wanted a little correction to prevent their having too much of their own way in america. the spanish ambassador was cringing enough when he saw what a powerful leader had arisen, and did his best to avert the impending storm. it is even stated that he assured the protector of his master's friendship, and declared that if he took the crown of england spain would be first in her approval. cromwell was not to be mollified by soft speeches; he had got peace at home, and was determined to have it across the seas as well. he was quite willing to arrange for a treaty, but it must be on his own terms, not at the dictation of spain. a commission was appointed to meet the ambassador and discuss the grounds of the agreement, and they began at once with the west indies. a long list of depredations was produced for which the english demanded satisfaction before going farther. the english had been treated as enemies wherever the spaniards met them in the west indies, even when going to and from their own plantations, notwithstanding the former treaty, and the commission insisted on a proper indemnity. the english must be free to trade everywhere--in fact the old claim of spain to the whole of america must be finally abandoned. the spanish ambassador replied that the inquisition and trade to the west indies were his master's two eyes, and that nothing different from the practice of former times could be permitted. on hearing this cromwell, seeing that neither indemnity for the past nor promises of amendment in the future could be obtained, prepared for war, and commenced by fitting out an expedition to conquer hispaniola. in december, , we find the first mention of a special service under the command of generals penn and venables, and early in the following year the fleet sailed for barbados. with five thousand men from england, and as many from the west indies, the expedition arrived near st. domingo on the th of april, , frightening the inhabitants so much that they fled to the woods on its approach. however, the affair was so badly managed that no benefit accrued from following the example of drake, which appears to have been the object of the leaders. like the great elizabethan hero, they landed at a distance from the town with the intention of marching along the shore, but instead of landing ten miles off they went as far as thirty. for four days the troops wandered through the mangrove bushes, without guides, and even without provisions, thus giving the runaway spaniards time to rally from their fright and come out after them. weary, entangled in the swamps, and utterly unfit to cope with an enemy, the english became an easy prey; the slaughter was considerable, and it was even stated that those killed were mostly shot in the back while trying to escape. unwilling to attempt anything further in hispaniola, penn and venables took off the dispirited remnant and sailed for jamaica, hoping to do something there to prevent failure altogether. not that there were any laurels to be gained in that direction, for the inhabitants only numbered three thousand, and half of these were negro slaves. a few shots were fired, and then the inhabitants took to flight, leaving the english in possession of the island. a capitulation was agreed upon with the old spanish governor, who was brought in a hammock to sign it, but many of the people took to the woods with their slaves, and refused to be bound by the articles. a body of two thousand men was then sent to scour the interior and bring them back, but they could find nothing save great herds of wild cattle. afterwards, in pure wantonness, the churches and religious buildings were demolished, the cattle killed or driven far away, and the provision grounds devastated, with the result that the invaders were soon starving. in less than a month two thousand were sick, many had died, and the remainder had become mutinous. altogether the whole affair was so badly managed that cromwell became almost mad at the news, and sent both commanders to the tower on their return. however, jamaica was captured, and for the first time in the history of the west indies a spanish possession went into the hands of another nation. some thought the island of no importance as compared with hispaniola--it was certainly of little value to the spaniards. however, a few english people foresaw something of its future importance, and did their best to develop the island. in october cromwell issued a proclamation offering certain advantages to settlers from the other islands, or from england, so that it might be occupied as soon as possible. it stated that by the providence of god jamaica had come into the possession of the state, and that they were satisfied of its fertility and commodiousness for trade; it had therefore been resolved to plant it. to this end it was made known to the people of the english islands and colonies the encouragements offered to those who removed their habitations there within two years from the th of september, . twenty acres of land would be granted to every adult, and ten for each child, they would have freedom to hunt wild cattle and horses, be given the privilege of mining except for gold and silver, and freedom from taxes for three years. it resulted from this that many planters from barbados and st. kitt's went over, and in a very few years jamaica was more prosperous than it had ever been while in the possession of spain. in november, , cromwell ordered the scotch government to apprehend all known idle masterless robbers and vagabonds, male or female, and to transport them there, and at the same time the council of state ordered that a thousand girls and as many young men should be enlisted in ireland for the same purpose. as for the adventurers who went with the expedition, they were reported as being so lazy "that it could not enter into the heart of any englishman that such blood should run in the veins of his countrymen"--they were so unworthy, slothful, and basely secure, out of a strange kind of spirit desiring rather to die than live. as for planting, little was done by them, although every possible inducement and encouragement was given. meanwhile letters of marque were issued to privateers for the west indies, which drove the spaniards to send their treasure from peru to buenos ayres, a route that had been abandoned since the time of queen elizabeth. now also they began to make efforts for the recovery of jamaica, and in may, , thirty companies of infantry, under the command of the late governor, landed on the north side of the island. here in a small harbour they entrenched themselves, and built a little fort before their presence became known to the english. however, governor d'oyley at last heard of the invasion, but it was nearly two months after their arrival before he could proceed to approach them by sea. when he arrived, however, with seven hundred and fifty men, he at once stormed their fortress and drove them to their vessels, in which they fled to cuba. this put an end to the matter; but the old governor returned, and lived with the remnant of the spaniards and their slaves in the mountains. now at last even the pope had to acknowledge other sovereignty than that of spain, and this he did in a letter to father fontaine, of the dominican mission, on the th of july, . therein he acknowledged the king of france as ruler of the conquests and colonies his subjects had made in the american islands. thus was the bull of partition at last cancelled by the successor of its original promulgator, and the ground for the exclusive claim to america cut away. at this time france was also at war with spain, but the following year a treaty was signed, and in , on the restoration of charles the second, peace was restored with england. at the first private audience of the spanish ambassador with the king, he delivered a memorial demanding the restoration of jamaica to his master, on the ground that it had been taken by his rebel subjects, contrary to the treaty between the two crowns. instead of doing this, however, charles despatched a vessel with letters to the governors of the caribbee islands, asking them to encourage all persons willing to transplant themselves to the larger islands. at the same time the royal african company, the great slave-trading corporation of that time, was asked to make jamaica its headquarters for the sale of negroes. then it was arranged to send women from england to be wives for the planters, newgate and bridewell to be spared as much as possible, so that poor maids might have a chance, with whom it was stated that few english parishes were unburdened. on the st of december, , king charles the second made a move which must be considered as of the greatest importance to the development of the british colonial empire--he founded the "council for foreign plantations," which later developed into the colonial office. this council were to inform themselves of the state of the plantations and of how they were governed, keeping copies of all grants in a book. they were to write to every governor asking for exact accounts of their proceedings, the nature of their laws and government, as well as statistics. they must establish a correspondence with the colonies, so that the king might be informed of all complaints, their wants, what they cultivated, their commodities, and their trade, so that all might be regulated upon common grounds and principles. they must adopt means for rendering them and england mutually helpful, and bring them into a more uniform government, with a better distribution of justice. especial care was to be taken for the execution of the navigation act, and consideration given to the best means of providing servants, to which end care was to be taken that no persons were forced or enticed away by unlawful means. those willing to be transported were, however, to be encouraged, and a legal course was to be settled for sending over vagrants and others who were noxious and unprofitable in england. learned and orthodox ministers were also to be sent, and instructions given for regulating and repressing the debaucheries of planters and servants. the council were also to consider how the natives and slaves might be invited to, and made capable of, baptism in the christian faith, and finally to dispose of all matters relating to the good government, improvement, and management of the plantations. thus england commenced her great career of colonisation, the results of which we see to-day. while taking all due account of virginia and new england, we cannot but note that it was in the west indies where the "prentice hand" was first tried. jamaica was the main object of these provisions--to that island the king's attention had been specially directed, and it was here that many difficulties had to be encountered before it could be made a worthy appendage of the crown. most of the other islands were in the hands of private persons or companies, while this was under the control of the state. no matter that the island had been annexed by rebels, charles the second was determined to hold it fast for england, in spite of all the protests of spain. [illustration] vii. the planters and their slaves. when the first european adventurers went to the west indies, serfdom was still common in spain. the peasantry were, as a rule, bound to the soil, and could neither be taken away by their lords nor remove at their own will. the consequence was that only soldiers, mariners, and free men from the towns took part in the first expeditions. the townsmen had mostly been brought up to the trades of their fathers, and were hardly fit to cultivate the land even in spain, much less, therefore, were they suited to the tropics. they could not demean themselves by performing anything so servile, but must get their land cultivated by others. as the serfs were not available, first indians and then negro slaves and white bond-servants were employed. we have seen how the indians were exterminated, and how the first planters in hispaniola were ruined by the want of labour. even the spanish priests could see that the poor arawak's nature was quite distinct from that of the european peasant. the serf had been kept under subjection for centuries; his father and grandfather had worked in the fields, and he must do the same. the armourer, the mason, and the weaver carried on their trades, because they had been born into the respective guilds as it were. the indians, on the contrary, were free, and had always been so; yes, more free than any people in the old world. they died, and the planter had to look elsewhere for his labour supply. then commenced the cry which has been continually rising from the plantations ever since--more servants! more slaves! more coolies! [illustration: a surinam planter. (_from stedman's "surinam."_)] for many years the portuguese had been kidnapping negroes on the west coast of africa. by their connection with morocco they had learnt that the natives of the interior were brought to and openly sold in the moorish towns--possibly they themselves had purchased some of them. to bring home a number after every voyage to the coast was therefore nothing strange, nor was it anything novel to sell them in portugal to help pay the expense of the voyage. from portugal to spain this negro slavery spread, until it became fairly common in both countries. when the cry for labourers came over the atlantic--even before the extermination of the natives--a few negroes were sent out. finding them more docile and better able to endure hard labour than the indians, more were called for, the benevolent priests also urging the matter to save the remnant of the arawaks. the demand created a supply, and soon the portuguese found themselves embarked in a lucrative trade, of which they commanded the monopoly. thus began a traffic which has been unreservedly condemned by the most enlightened of humanity, and praised alone by those whose very livelihood depended upon it. [illustration: a negro festival. (_from edwards' "west indies."_)] on his second voyage columbus carried the sugar cane, which was destined to have such an influence for good and evil on the west indies. its produce was at first known as a kind of honey, and recognised as an expectorant and comforting medicine. now it had made its way into the kitchens of the great, where it was considered as one of the spices, and with them became more and more used every year. in early times the cane was cultivated on the warmer shores of the mediterranean, and, after their discovery, in the canary and cape de verde islands. at the period of the discovery of america sugar was sold at about eightpence a pound, equivalent to something like three shillings nowadays. as the demand continued to increase large plantations were laid out in hispaniola, until it became the staple product of the colony. cotton was known in the old world, but as yet had hardly come into use in europe. in the west indies it was generally cultivated in a small way by every native, and on being forwarded to spain, the "tree wool," as it was called, soon came into use. then came another product, tobacco, which was quite new at that time, although probably known in the far east. it seemed strange to the new-comers that people should carry firebrands in their mouths, and at first they took tobacco-smokers for juggling fire-eaters, until they also learnt the sustaining power of the "weed." this soon took place, and by the year tobacco was well known in spain and italy. probably also the dutch knew it quite as early, for it was in the netherlands that it became more quickly appreciated than in any other country, probably on account of its particularly comforting properties in marshy districts. soon afterwards jean nicot introduced it into france, and probably master hawkins brought samples into england from brazil, although ralegh is stated to have been the first english smoker. towards the end of the sixteenth century its use became so common all over europe that popes and churchmen thundered their curses against the "filthy habit," and later poor king james wrote his "counterblast to tobacco," which only had the effect of making it better known. [illustration: voyage of the sable venus. (_from edwards' "west indies."_)] here at the beginning were two commercial products which grew well in the west indies, with a doubtful third to come to the front as soon as it became known. as yet coffee had not been introduced--this followed in the next century. notwithstanding the large profit on sugar the spaniard would not labour in the field, and in the end the plantations became fewer and fewer until only one or two were left. this falling off tended to keep up the price, and although the dutch bought much cotton and tobacco from the indians of the main, and the portuguese began to grow sugar in brazil, the supply was always limited. there was room for more plantations, and the first people to take advantage of this opening were the english. their many different colonies in guiana all commenced planting with tobacco: virginia and the bermudas did the same. all through the reign of james the first, however, the trade was obstructed in so many ways that a great deal of their produce was sent to the netherlands and thus escaped the english duties. probably also the smuggling of tobacco, so notorious at a later period, began at this time, as the dutch were always noted free-traders, not only on the spanish main, but in europe as well. [illustration: slaves landing from the ship. (_from stedman's "surinam."_)] like the spaniards, the english adventurers were soldiers and sailors, and therefore did not work in the field. subject to the raids of the european claimants of the territory as well as the incursions of ferocious cannibals, they went about literally with pistols in their belts and swords at their thighs. now they had to show a good face to some buccaneer company, and anon to fight the french or dutch when war broke out. later, when there was no fear of enemies from without, they had a continual dread of slave insurrections. it followed, therefore, that the planter was always on the alert, and, even if he felt inclined, could do little in the way of cultivation. in england serfdom had virtually come to an end, and the agricultural labourer might go where he pleased. but the love of country, the unknown but magnified perils of a sea voyage, and stories of cruel spaniards and man-eating caribs, prevented many from going to the indies, notwithstanding the great inducements offered. the english planters found it difficult to get negroes, as their enemy controlled the trade. as for the indians, they had to deal with cannibals whose women cultivated small clearings, but resented anything like coercion, while no labour whatever could be got from the men. something had to be done. if the english labourer would not come willingly, he might be kidnapped, and the carrying out of this work led to the organisation of bands of ruffians, who went sailing along the coasts, especially of scotland and ireland, to pick up likely fellows wherever they found opportunity. however, this caused such an outcry that extraordinary efforts were made on the part of the government to put down "spiriting," as it was called. in june, , the council for foreign plantations considered the best means of encouraging and furnishing people for the colonies, and they thought that felons condemned for small offences, and sturdy beggars, might be sent. they had several complaints of men, women, and children being spirited away from their masters and parents, and later the mayor of bristol and the lord mayor of london petitioned the king for authority to examine ships, with the view of finding out whether the passengers went of their own free will. it was stated that husbands forsook their wives, wives fled from their husbands, children and apprentices ran away, while unwary and credulous persons were often tempted on board by men-stealers. many who had been pursued by hue and cry for robberies, burglaries, and breaking prison, also escaped to the plantations. certain persons, called spirits, inveigled, and by lewd subtleties enticed, away young persons, whereby great tumults and uproars were raised in london, to the breach of the peace and the hazard of men's lives. these abuses led to an order in council, published in september, , for registering persons going voluntarily, and commissions were given to the lord high admiral and the officers of the ports to establish registration offices and give certificates. yet the spiriting still went on, for in april, , sir anthony ashley cooper was asked to move the house of commons to make the offence capital. his petitioner, said he, had found one lost child, and after much expense and trouble, freed him, but there were several others in the same ship, and other ships in the river at the same work. even if the parents found their children, they could not recover them without money, and he was sure that if such a law were passed the mercy to these innocents would ground a blessing on those concerned in introducing it. this act was finally passed on the st of march, , punishing the spirits with death without benefit of clergy. there were, however, other means of procuring servants. in , when cromwell took drogheda by storm, about thirty prisoners were saved from the massacre to be shipped to barbados, and in seven or eight thousand scots, taken at the battle of worcester, were reserved for a similar fate. after the restoration, however, there was an intermission in such supplies, and the planters began to look to newgate and bridewell for their labour supply. the supply was by no means equal to the demand, for the agents in london of the planters of virginia, barbados, st. christopher's, and other islands were equally clamorous for their share. as for king charles the second, he granted the prisoners as a privilege to his favourites, and even mistresses, who generally sold it to the highest bidder. the agent must have had influence to get into the presence of the holder, say of a hundred prisoners sentenced to transportation, and this was only obtainable by largess to door-keepers and servants. then came the trouble of obtaining delivery from the prison authorities, and here again fees were demanded. in one case that is recorded the amount paid to the gaoler of newgate was fifty-five shillings a head. but even now the trouble was only beginning. the prisoners were supposed to be delivered at the door of the gaol, and the planter was under a heavy bond not to allow one to escape. he must account for each by a certificate of death on the voyage or of landing in barbados, on penalty of five hundred pounds for every one missing. it followed, therefore, that a sufficiently strong guard had to be provided, and provision made for attempts at rescue by the prisoners' friends. even this was not all, for the concession simply granted a certain number, and it rested with the gaoler to palm off the old, weak, and infirm on those who were at all wanting in liberality. then, at the best the prisoners were hatters, tailors, and haberdashers, rather than agricultural labourers, many of whom ultimately proved valueless. if a large number was available, and there were several applicants, the competition became quite spirited--every one wanted his pick before the others, and the gaoler made the best of the occasion, leaving those to whom he allotted the refuse to curse their evil fortune. up to the passing of the navigation act the dutch had been free to trade with english colonies, and had brought a fair number of negroes; and afterwards the king established the royal african company to prevent the supply being cut off. the average price of the african was then about £ or , pounds of sugar, but the dutch sold their slaves for a little less, which led the planters to evade the navigation act when they had opportunities. the white bond-servant was valued at about , pounds of sugar, very little less than the slave for life, although he had generally but five years to serve. the cost of transport was about £ per head; it followed, therefore, that if the london agent got his prisoners cheap he made a good profit. there was also another way of making money in this business. some of the gaol-birds had friends who were willing to pay good sums on consideration that the convict should be virtually freed on his arrival. many a sum of fifty pounds was obtained in this way, sometimes without helping the bond-servant in the least. how were the relations to prove that the promise had not been fulfilled, and if they did so what redress could be obtained? they certainly could not go to law, as the whole transaction was illegal. we have seen how charles the second tried to people jamaica with free settlers, but this did not prevent the transportation of criminals. in four young men, who had been convicted of interrupting and abusing a preacher, were whipped through the streets of edinburgh and afterwards sent to barbados, and in some of the rye house plotters were reprieved on condition that they served ten years in the west indies. when these plotters arrived in jamaica, the governor, "by his majesty's command," directed the assembly to pass an act "to prevent all clandestine releasements or buying out of their time," so that their punishment should not be evaded. but it was after the monmouth rebellion, in , that the greatest deportation took place. the miserable followers of the duke were executed by judge jeffreys until even his thirst for blood was somewhat slackened, when the remainder were sent to the plantations. the story of one of these unfortunates gives such a graphic picture of the life of a bond-servant that we cannot do better than give an outline of the "relation of the great sufferings and strange adventures of henry pitman, surgeon to the late duke of monmouth." having been taken prisoner after the battle of sedgemoor, he was committed to ilchester gaol, had his pockets rifled, his clothes torn off his back, and was remanded until the wells assizes. while in gaol he was inveigled into telling all he knew, by promises of pardon, and then his acknowledgments were treated as a confession. those who pleaded not guilty on the first day of the trial were convicted and executed the same afternoon; others who confessed were equally condemned. after two hundred and thirty had been hanged the remainder were ordered to be transported to the caribbee islands, of whom pitman was one. with some others, including his brother, he was disposed of to an agent who took £ from his friends to set him free on his arrival at barbados. the legislative assembly of that island, however, in consequence of the "most horrid, wicked, and execrable rebellion," lately raised, and because many of the rebels had been transported for ten years, passed a special act, under which they were bound to serve, notwithstanding any bargain to the contrary. if they attempted to escape they were to be flogged, and burnt in the forehead with the letters "f.t.," meaning "fugitive traitor." by this law pitman's hopes were frustrated, and, utterly disheartened, he was not inclined to work at his profession for the master to whom he had been sold. although the status of a surgeon was not then as high as it is now, it was yet a great downfall to practise the profession on rations of five pounds of salt beef or fish per week, with nothing else but corn meal. as for the fees, which were large, the master pocketed them, leaving pitman to endure the discomforts of a tropical residence and semi-starvation as best he could. on one occasion he refused to go on with his work, and for this he was beaten by his master until the cane used was broken in pieces. then the master became bankrupt, and, with his brother, pitman was sent back to the merchant to whom they had been first consigned. here his brother died of the hardships he had experienced, and pitman resolved to escape, notwithstanding the risk of attempting such a thing. having made the acquaintance of a poor man who was willing to help, he got a consignment of goods from his friends in england, with which to raise the means. a boat was purchased for twelve pounds; but this led to inquiries, as the buyer was known to be poor, and his creditors began to come down upon him. however, pitman contributed enough to satisfy them, meanwhile postponing his departure until suspicion had been lulled. on the evening of the th of may, --this being a holiday, when most of the people were revelling--he and seven other bond-servants got safely off in their open boat, with a small supply of provisions and water, a few tools, a compass, and a chart. they intended to make for the dutch island of curaçao, six hundred miles distant; but even before they were out of carlisle bay their frail craft began to leak, and they had to tear up their clothes to stop the gaping seams. at sunrise they were out of sight from the land, but so enervated by sea-sickness that some would willingly have gone back. however, they went on as best they could, with nothing but their hats to bale out the water, which still continued to trickle into the boat. they were a little more comfortable as the sun rose, but when night came a gale arose which kept them employed baling for their lives. to add to their difficulties the rudder broke, and they had to steer with an oar. five days passed in this manner, the refugees hardly able to get an hour's rest for the baling and continual fear that the boat would sink if left alone. on the sixth morning they saw margarita, but could not land on account of the rocky shore, which nearly wrecked them on their making the attempt. sheering off, they next day sighted saltatudos island, one of the dry tortugas, where they met a boat manned with privateers, who treated them very kindly, and wanted them to join their company. to this, however, pitman and his companions would not agree, and this annoyed the privateers, who burnt their boat and virtually kept them as prisoners. when they went on a cruise the refugees were left in charge of four men, and had much ado to find enough turtle to keep them from starving. after remaining here for three months an english privateer arrived, and, at their request, took them on to new providence, to which the inhabitants had just returned after being driven off by spaniards. pitman at last got to amsterdam, and from thence to england, where the revolution had just taken place, and his friends had succeeded in obtaining a free pardon. the white bond-servant, being under a short engagement, was generally worked to his utmost capacity. no matter if he died before the end of his term as long as he paid for the expense incurred. but englishmen were no more inclined to be slaves then than they are now, and the planters of st. kitt's found them so troublesome to manage that they soon became afraid of buying, and showed a preference for negroes. some of the english servants committed suicide, and it is recorded that a pious master told one of them, who had expressed his intention of destroying himself, that he trusted that god would give him more grace, than, for a short term of trouble in this life, to precipitate himself into hell. even in the earliest times some of the planters were absentees, living in england. the system was always more or less fortune-hunting, the whole end and aim being to get rich and return to the old country. there were, as we have seen, many difficulties and dangers to encounter, and not the least of the drawbacks was the want of good society. we who live in an age when there is daily communication with the whole world, can hardly conceive how entirely these pioneers were cut off from their friends. the long voyage was full of discomfort, and at the best uncertain as to its termination. the words still found on bills of lading, "the act of god or the queen's enemies," had a meaning then hardly appreciable by the present generation. barbary pirates and french corsairs ranged the channel; in the broad atlantic storms shook the crazy vessels to pieces; and when they escaped these dangers, it was often to fall into the hands of the buccaneers when in sight of their destination. then there were hurricanes on both sea and land, and earthquakes on some of the islands. vessels were sunk in harbour, houses blown away, and sugar buildings torn down. as for the negro huts, they were carried off altogether, and the crops injured so as to become useless. then, perhaps, when the planter had strained himself to the utmost to put things straight, another tornado would put him in a worse plight than before. yet with all this the planter struggled on, generally doing his best to carry the traditions and fashions of the mother country into his new home. we have already noticed barbados, and how it was affected by the "great rebellion." many other examples might be noted had we sufficient space. the planter was nearly always a gentleman, even if he had begun his career as a transported rebel. some were gallants, and dressed in the extreme of london fashion, often living beyond their means. others were merchants, trading with their own vessels, and selling their surplus goods for produce to make up cargoes. with their own sugar, and as much as they could procure from others, they filled their ships for the homeward voyage, and in return got enough merchandise for trading. these were the fortune-hunters, who were always looking forward to that happy time when, with money in their pouches, they could once more settle down in merry england. the old country was always "home," as it is still for the west indian, although perhaps neither himself nor his parents ever saw it--then it was the will-o'-the-wisp that drove him to endure all the discomforts of a life in the tropics, often to die of fever before his work was hardly begun. while jamaica was under the dominion of spain little was done to develop the island. the indians were exterminated, as in hispaniola, to be replaced by wild cattle and horses, and fifteen hundred negroes were introduced to cultivate provision grounds. from these, passing vessels, which called in on their way to mexico, got their supplies. as yet it was not a rendezvous for buccaneers, and taken altogether it was quite insignificant. thousands of white men and tens of thousands of negroes were required before it became the important island which ultimately rivalled hispaniola. however, although the spaniard was driven out he left his sting behind in the shape of his slaves, who took to the mountains, to be afterwards known as maroons, and to worry the english colonists for over a century. and here, as we are dealing with the planter and his labour supply, we must say something of the negro slaves, to whom the west indies were indebted for their very existence as european colonies. unlike the american, the african had known slavery for ages. prisoners taken in war were kept in servitude as a matter of course; debtors were slaves to their creditors, and even children were sold by their parents. yet there were great differences between the tribes--the coromantees, for example, were particularly troublesome, and the foulahs often dangerous. the first slave-traders took their cargoes from the more northern coasts, and from this cause, perhaps, as well as the want of proper supervision in the indies, runaways, or simerons, were mentioned at very early periods. later, the trade was carried on in a particularly judicious manner, and the more docile tribes selected, to be sold in the colonies as "prime gold coast negroes." in their native countries these people were all virtually slaves to their chiefs, and as such were liable to be sold at any time. the authority was unlimited; the slightest offence meant slavery; death was the only alternative. often when, for some reason or other, the negro was rejected by the trader, he was executed at once. adultery was punished by the sale of both offenders, and debtors could be sold by their creditors. bryan edwards, author of a history of the west indies, took much pains to procure information from the slaves themselves, through an interpreter; and as they had no reason to misrepresent their cases, we can safely give the outlines of one. the most interesting story is, perhaps, that of the boy adam, a congo, about fourteen years of age when he was brought to jamaica. his country was named sarri, and was situated a long distance from the coast. while walking one morning through a path, about three miles from his native village, the boy was captured by one of his countrymen. with his prisoner the man hid himself in the woods during the whole of the day, and at night stole away from the neighbourhood, going on like this for a whole month. then he came to the country of another tribe, where he sold the boy for a gun, some powder and shot, and a little salt. his new owner afterwards sold adam for a keg of brandy to another black man who was going about collecting slaves, and when twenty had been collected they were taken to the coast and sold to a jamaica captain. of the five-and-twenty interrogated by bryan edwards, fifteen frankly declared that they had been born in slavery, and were sold to pay the debts, or bartered to supply the wants, of their owners. five were secretly kidnapped in the interior, and sold to black merchants; the other five fell into the hands of the enemy in some of those petty wars which were continually going on, when, if there had been no market for their sale, they would almost certainly have been killed. it is hardly necessary to state that in giving these statements we are not attempting the impossible task of vindicating slavery either of the black or white man. it would be well, however, if, in mitigation of the offence against the negro, his former condition were taken into consideration, and the undoubted fact that he was better treated by the west india planter than by his own countrymen. his lot was by no means so hard as slavery had been to the indian and white bond-servant. he did not sink under the hardships of a life of toil in the burning sun, but was happy in his way, and in most cases better off than his descendant, the west indian peasant of to-day. he was certainly treated as a domestic animal, but his value was always high enough to prevent anything like ill-usage. there were certainly people who could be cruel to their negroes, as there are yet men so low as to brutally flog valuable horses, but that such were common is a statement utterly without foundation. as a well-kept animal, the planter took a pride in him, fed and doctored him, patted him on the back, and proudly showed him to his friends. all this appears very degrading to humanity, but after all the negro did not see it in that light. on the contrary, he took a pride in exhibiting his strong muscles and in showing the "buccras" what a fine nigger massa had got. the slave of the rich planter, like the horse of the english gentleman, was undoubtedly very comfortable. first, he was a picked lot--the healthiest, strongest, and most suitable for his work--one of those "pieces d'india," as the best negroes were called by the traders. then, as an expensive chattel, everything was done to make him still more valuable, and to prevent his deteriorating. but unfortunately there was another class--the miserable, broken-down creatures sold cheap as refuse lots to poor white men or even to slaves. yes, the slaves bought their diseased fellow-countrymen, to work on their own allotments, treating them as the costermonger sometimes does his donkey. half-starved, hard-worked, and covered with sores, they lingered in misery until death came to make them free. some were so disfigured with yaws, or leprosy, that none but a negro could bear the sight of them; these were kept out of the way and treated worse than mangy dogs. [illustration] [illustration] viii. the struggle for supremacy. by the time of the dutch war of the pretensions of spain to the exclusive possession of the indies had been entirely ignored. now began the great struggle of other nations for supremacy, and the position of "sovereign of the seas," the islands and guiana becoming scenes of contention between english, french, and dutch. to these struggles is greatly due the positions the naval powers of the world hold to-day, and especially that of britain. as it was mainly a demand for free trade which led to so many attacks on the spanish possessions, so it was now the same question which led to the struggle between the two great mercantile nations which succeeded spain and portugal, as these had followed venice and genoa. in the west indies there was no line of demarcation between these new powers, and consequently their interests often clashed, but on the whole the colonists were favourable to the dutch, and did all they could to evade the navigation act. early in preparations were made in barbados to repel an expected invasion by the dutch. vessels were ordered to keep together and protect each other, and men-of-war were sent out to afford convoy. already the english buccaneers had been somewhat discountenanced by the home government, although they were generally encouraged by the colonies, especially jamaica, which derived considerable advantage from their sales of booty. now that there was a demand for all the forces that could be gathered together, the governor of that island gave the rovers letters of marque, under which they were empowered to ravage the dutch colonies. at st. eustatius they succeeded in carrying off everything portable, including nine hundred slaves, and even such heavy articles as sugar coppers and stills. de ruyter made an attempt on barbados on the th of april, but the people there made such a stand that he had to retire. he commenced the attack at ten o'clock in the morning with his fourteen vessels, but by three in the afternoon the fleet was so much damaged that he was forced to move away his own ship, with a hole in her side "as big as a barn-door." he then went on to montserrat and nevis, where he captured sixteen ships, but did not take either of the islands. in guiana, the english from barbados captured the dutch trading factory in the river essequebo, as well as the young sugar colony in the pomeroon, and in retaliation the dutch took surinam. in january, , france joined the netherlands, and an english fleet was sent out to protect barbados, which now began to feel alarmed at the possible result of such a powerful combination. then came the critical period for the island of st. kitt's, which, as we have before stated, had been divided between english and french, the former holding the middle portion with the enemy on either side. as soon as the news of the declaration of war arrived, the relations between the two nationalities, which had often before been much strained, became ruptured. the english governor, watts, gave his rival three days' notice, and prepared to attack him, with the assistance of five hundred men from nevis, and two hundred buccaneers. general de la salle, on the french side, asked and obtained forty-eight hours' longer grace, and took advantage of this to steal into the english territory with a large body of horse and foot, as well as a mob of negroes armed with bills and hoes. the slaves also carried firebrands, and were said to have been promised, in return for their assistance, freedom, english women as wives, and the liberty to plunder and burn. at the town of st. nicholas a gentlewoman with three or four children, on trying to escape, was forced back into her blazing house and kept there until the whole family were burnt to death. a party of english, who advanced to check their progress, was overwhelmed by the number of the enemy and driven back, thus leaving them to advance over the island with fire and sword. governor watts took things so coolly, that colonel morgan (not the famous sir henry), who led the buccaneers, went to rouse him, and found he was lounging about in dressing-gown and slippers. presenting a pistol to his breast, morgan called the governor a coward and a traitor, at the same time swearing he would shoot him dead if he did not at once take his place at the head of the forces. the contingent from nevis had already gone over to the french quarter near sandy point, and, after a hard struggle, had taken the post, when the governor at last followed behind. coming up late his men fired on the mingled french and english, indiscriminately slaughtering both. after that everything was confused, neither party distinguishing friend from foe, with the result that the governor, colonel morgan, several other officers, and most of the english, were killed. after that the main body of the french arrived, driving before them a confused mob of women and children, who ran shrieking to their friends for help. nothing remained for the english now but to fly or sue for quarter, and the french became masters of the whole island, with a body of prisoners twice as numerous as themselves. in a petition was forwarded to charles the second on behalf of several thousand distressed people, lately inhabitants of st. christopher's. in this it was stated that the island had been one of the most flourishing colonies--the first and best earth that ever was inhabited by englishmen among the heathen cannibals of america. they prayed that a colony so ancient and loyal, the mother island of all those parts, the fountain from whence all the other islands had been watered with planters, might not remain in the hands of another nation. since the surrender they had been continually oppressed, until thousands had left for other parts. many had sold their estates for almost nothing, and had been stripped and plundered at sea of the little they had saved. if the inhumanities of the french nation were examined, their bloody and barbarous usage of the indians, their miserable cruelties to prisoners of war, all nations would abhor their name. they would make christians grind their mills instead of cattle, leave thousands to starve for want, and send other thousands to uninhabited lands. in lord willoughby, who had gone back to barbados on the restoration of charles the second, fitted out an expedition to recapture st. kitt's, but his fleet encountered a hurricane, and neither his vessel nor one of his company was ever heard of again. the following year his nephew, henry willoughby, made an unsuccessful attempt for the same object. on the th of may of the same year a fight took place between the english and french fleets off nevis. on the english side were ten men-of-war and one fire-ship, while the enemy had more than double that number. one of the english vessels was blown up, but, undaunted by this disaster, they drove the enemy before them to the very shores of st. kitt's, where they took shelter under the guns of basse-terre. peace was signed at breda in july, . the gains of territory by any one of the three nations were not considerable, and the result went to prove that england could hold her own against the only two powers who were able to dispute her supremacy. during the war she had captured new amsterdam (now new york) from the dutch, and they in turn had taken surinam. as it was agreed with holland that both parties should retain what was then in their possession, surinam was virtually exchanged for what is now the capital of the united states. antigua and montserrat, which had been taken by the french, were now restored to england, and st. christopher's returned to its former condition, but without the least prospect of the two nationalities ever being again on friendly terms. now that the war was over the trade of the privateers came to an end, and further efforts were made to make them settle down. having received orders to discountenance them, the governor of jamaica deputed colonel cary to report on the matter. cary thought they should not be discouraged, as already harm had been done to jamaica by such attempts, and in the future the want of their help might be prejudicial. on the news that the commissions against the spaniards were called in, several english privateers resolved never to return to jamaica, unless there was a war, but in future to carry on their operations from tortuga. to divert them from injuring the spaniards, the governor had, during the late war, appointed cary to treat with them for the reduction of curaçao, to which they at first consented, but afterwards disagreed. if, said cary, they had two of his majesty's nimble fifth-rate frigates, they would be able to keep the privateers to their obedience, observe the enemy's movements, and guard their own coasts from rovers. there was no profitable employment for the privateers against the french and dutch; these fellows, being people that would not be brought to plant, must prey upon the spaniard, whether they were countenanced at jamaica or not. there was such an inveterate hatred of the english in those parts by the spaniard, that he would not hear of trade or reconciliation, but, on the contrary, inhumanly butchered any of the islanders he could cowardly surprise. the french interest daily increased in the caribbees, hispaniola, and tortuga, and if this was suffered to grow it would in a short time prove of dangerous consequence. here we have plain speaking. it was not to the interest of england for the pirates to become too closely connected with the french, as they would then be helping to build up the prosperity of a nation that might any day become our enemy. as for the rovers themselves, they cared little or nothing for the interests of their country; they were willing to plunder the spanish possessions because they got something worth having; with those of the french and dutch it was another thing. it is evident that cary troubled himself but little as to how a cargo was obtained as long as jamaica profited by the transaction. we may here also call attention to the differences between the characters of the nations which now commenced a great struggle for mastery in these parts. the dutch were, above everything else, an association of traders, and although they could fight on occasion, they hardly ever went out of their way to pick a quarrel. their wars with england were brought about by mercantile disputes, the first two, as we have already seen, mainly on account of the navigation acts. the english, "the nation of shopkeepers," were naturally rival traders, but they did not altogether confine themselves to traffic, being rather inclined to alternate or mix it up with something like piracy. such transactions as those of hawkins were not carried on by any other nation, the hollander being more inclined to take advantage of the swiftness of his fly boat than the metal of his guns. the french were rarely traders, for even their plantations were largely supported by buccaneering. when, after a peace, some of the rovers settled down for a time, they were always ready to abandon their fields at the first rumour of a war. england thus stood between the two others as a stumbling-block; she interfered with the trade of the one and offended the dignity of the other; thus coming in for many blows, which only made her all the more able to resist and conquer. the character of the dutchman is well shown in the curious difficulty which hastened a third breach of the peace with england in . in a fleet from the netherlands captured surinam, and forced the authorities of the colony to capitulate on favourable terms. by these articles the inhabitants were at liberty to sell or transport, when or where they pleased, all or any part of their possessions. after the peace, a few went to barbados, but the majority found it difficult to dispose of their plantations, and therefore remained in hopes of a better market on the arrival of new dutch settlers. at that time the dutchmen were few and mostly poor; they had been ruined by the war, and in many cases driven from their settlements by the english. it followed, therefore, that there were no buyers, and the plantation owners, trusting to the capitulation, decided to wait rather than abandon their flourishing properties. in june, , the dutch governor issued a proclamation calling upon all the english who intended to leave to give notice within six months, after which a like term was given them to dispose of their goods, when they might leave for english colonies under free passes from the authorities of both nations. in case they were unable to sell their slaves, the governor would take them over at the market price, but only those negroes who had been in their possession at the rendition of the colony could come under this arrangement. at first sight this looked very fair, but the english saw at once that something was wrong. in the first place they understood that under the capitulation they were free to take away all their property, including slaves, and at the then market prices they saw that a forced sale would be a serious loss. although not expressly intimated, they also understood that the governor meant they were not to carry them away, and this at once caused much dissatisfaction. things were, however, in such a critical state that little notice was taken of the proclamation; in fact, the people had not as yet made up their minds what to do. such a sacrifice as was required from those who had flourishing properties, naturally made them hesitate; and when the english government inquired about the matter, they were told by the dutch authorities that the people were so well satisfied that they intended to remain. such was, however, not the case, and when the year of grace had expired, and they were virtually prevented from leaving with or without their negroes, they sent memorials to king charles the second asking for his interference. it was another case of egyptian bondage; the dutch would not let the people go--except a few of the poorest. it can easily be understood that it was not very pleasant to lose the best colonists and have nothing left but a lot of abandoned plantations. this would have been a poor exchange for new york, and it is evident that the dutch knew very well what they were doing, and had the welfare of surinam at heart. but, in face of the capitulation, they were undoubtedly wrong, and when they began to oppress the english for claiming their rights, they went a great deal too far. when major bannister, who had been acting governor under the english, protested against this, he was arrested and transported to holland, where he obtained his release only by the intervention of the english ambassador. then complaints were made to the dutch government, but it was two years before permission was granted for commissioners from england to go out and transport those who wanted to leave. even then secret orders were sent to put every possible obstruction in their way, which was done by bringing suits for debt, and otherwise putting the english in positions which made it impossible for them to wind up their affairs. it followed, therefore, that only a few more went away, carrying with them the prayers of the more important to be delivered from such bondage. matters now came to a crisis. other questions had arisen between the two powers, notably some in connection with the eastern trade, and the refusal of holland to honour the english flag. war broke out in , and this time the french joined england against the dutch, who had to stand alone. french and english buccaneers were let loose to plunder the colonies, and they made the seas so dangerous that hardly one of the enemy's vessels could show herself in the west indies. the dutch colonies were thus cut off, and even the settlements of essequebo and berbice had to go without their usual supplies. this deprivation caused much dissatisfaction among the garrison of the latter colony, and led to a mutiny, which resulted in the incarceration of the governor, who was not released until next year, when the belated supplies arrived. spain was also involved in the war the following year, and thus all the nations interested in the west indies were fighting at once--holland and spain against france and england. the french buccaneers had already gained a footing on hispaniola; now they attempted to get possession of the whole island, but could not succeed. however, they went on to trinidad, which had always been a spanish island, and plundered it of a hundred thousand dollars. the spanish and dutch colonies suffered greatly, but englishmen by no means escaped altogether. as an example of their treatment by the enemy, the case of john darbey is interesting. in april, , he and six others were taken by a dutchman from a small english vessel, while sailing from st. thomas to antigua, and carried to havana. there they were kept in irons for five weeks, and then set to work as slaves on the fortifications. after enduring great misery for three months, they were removed to work on board a ship, which was captured by the french off st. domingo, when they were of course released, and finally carried to jamaica. here they told of the sufferings they had endured and witnessed--the story of which more and more embittered the english feeling against spain. on one occasion darbey had seen eight men brought in from a new england bark, who afterwards attempted to escape. they marched along the shore hoping to attract the notice of some friendly vessel, but the governor sent a party of soldiers in pursuit, and they were all murdered at once save the master, who was brought back, executed, and his head stuck on a pole. he also saw the commander of a man-of-war bring in a new england vessel and hang five men at the yard-arm, where the corpses were used as targets by him and his officers. the same captain wanted himself and several other englishmen to sail with them, but because they indignantly refused, he deliberately stabbed one of them with his sword, killing him at once. in february, , a treaty was signed at westminster in which there was a special clause bearing on the english in surinam. to the intent that there might be no more mistakes, the states general agreed that the articles of capitulation should not only be executed without any more prevarication, but also that his majesty of great britain should be free to depute commissioners to examine into the condition of his subjects and agree with them as to the time of their departure. also that no special laws should be made to hamper them in any way in the sale of their lands, payments of their debts, or barter of their goods, and that vessels should be as free to go to surinam, as they and their servants should also be free to depart. accordingly, in march, , three commissioners were instructed to proceed there, and were enjoined to see that the provisions of the treaty were properly carried out, to press for debts owing to the english, and to endeavour to get over the difficulty of their obligations to the dutch. vessels were provided to carry the settlers wherever they wished, and provision made for victualling them on the voyage, as well as for a short time after their landing in their new homes. now at last it might be presumed that the exodus could be freely managed; yet even then the dutch authorities tried to put obstructions in the way. among the servants of the english were many indians, some of whom were nominally free, and these the dutch governor demanded should be put ashore, to prevent the mischiefs and cruelties of the heathen, their friends, who might avenge themselves for the deportation on those who remained in the colony. the english claimed that these people went of their own free will, and that some of them were much attached to their white masters, which was probably true. besides these, most of whom were got off against the governor's protests, there were ten jews with slaves, in preventing the departure of whom he was more successful. they were not, strictly speaking, british subjects, although they had lived under the flag for many years, and the commissioners did not insist on their admission. finally, three vessels sailed away for jamaica in september, , carrying , people, including thirty-one indians, and more negroes than whites. on arriving at that island they were granted lands in st. elizabeth, afterwards known as surinam quarters, and thus guiana again became a factor in the development of the english islands. as for the jews, even they were afterwards allowed to depart when they memorialised the king and got him to press the matter. even yet, however, the last had not been heard of this detention, for it cropped up again in the case of jeronomy clifford, one of those who actually left with the others for jamaica. he was then a lad, and went off with his father, returning again to the colony as the second husband of an englishwoman who had property there. it appears that, as surgeon of a dutch vessel, he was so kind to a dying planter named charles maasman, that his widow went to london and married him in august, . not getting on very well in surinam, clifford and his wife resolved to sell out and take their slaves with them to jamaica, but in this they were frustrated. the dutch felt very sore about the former migration, especially when jamaica plumed herself on her great acquisition, and taunted them with the fact that they got little by the transfer of the colony. when, therefore, clifford made known his intention, the governor told him he could not remove his wife's property because she had inherited it from a dutch subject. clifford had some of that doggedness which has been observed so often in englishmen, and was determined to obtain what he considered his rights. under the capitulation he might leave at any time, and he did not consider that this right had been in any way forfeited. however, the dutch governor said otherwise, and, to prevent the alienation or removal of his property, put it in trust, and then endeavoured to set his wife against him so that she might refuse to leave. by some tittle-tattle about a female cousin of clifford, her jealousy was aroused, and she petitioned for a divorce on the grounds of cruelty and adultery. however, when she found out the object of the traducers of her husband, she asked that her petition be annulled and made void, because she had been misled and drawn away by the ill advices of others--now she was sorry, and well satisfied and content with him. this having been read before the court of justice, a council of dutch planters, they showed their animus by deciding that mrs. clifford was a weak and silly woman, and that it appeared to them that her husband, to the prejudice of his wife and that land, had endeavoured to remove his goods, which they would willingly prevent. they therefore ordered the plantation to be appraised and put in commission, forbidding either clifford or his wife from diminishing, removing, or making away with the estate, but only to enjoy the interest and produce as long as they lived and corresponded well with each other. they also wished the wife much joy of her reconciliation, and condemned her to pay the costs both present and future. finally, considering her frowardness and ill-nature, and for an example to all other like-natured women, they condemned her to pay a fine of five thousand pounds of sugar. clifford, who yet stood by what he considered his right, was now subjected to a number of petty persecutions. his wife went to england, leaving him her attorney, and he began to pester the governor to remove the illegal arrest on his estate. at last this importunity led to his arrest, and he was sentenced by this same court of justice to be hanged, as a mutineer and disturber of the public peace. but, being "more inclined to clemency than to carry things to the utmost rigour of justice," they commuted this sentence to imprisonment for seven years, with a fine of a hundred and fifty thousand pounds of sugar. as may be supposed, this arbitrary judgment only made clifford more exasperated. he still went on petitioning and protesting that he was not a dutch subject, as he had refused to take the oath of allegiance, and that therefore he was only standing up for his rights. however, he was imprisoned in the fort, where every effort was made to prevent his communicating with england or the english colonies. notwithstanding these precautions he managed to send several letters, meanwhile threatening the court that if they kept him any longer he would be forced to use such means of relief as he should be advised. after some delay his communications reached barbados, jamaica, and new york, from whence they at last reached king william, who soon got him released. but even then clifford could not get back his estate, and although he went to london and petitioned the king, who directed inquiry of the ambassador at the hague, he could never get any redress. for seventy years he, and his heirs after his death, kept up a stream of petitions and memorials, without result, in the end claiming for illegal detention, damages, and interest, over half a million pounds. during the short peace which followed the treaty of westminster attention was again directed to the buccaneers, who were now called pirates, and treated as such even in jamaica, with the result that many of them settled down. it has been stated that charles the second shared in their gains even after he had issued proclamations against them, but this sort of thing now came to an end. the french continued their depredations up to the year , when the king issued a proclamation, forbidding the further granting of commissions, and recalling those which had been issued, at the same time ordering that those who persisted in the trade should be hanged as pirates. this tended to bring the less audacious to settle down, but even to the beginning of the present century piracy was still known in the west indies. while sir henry morgan was acting governor of jamaica, in , everson, the dutch pirate, came to cow bay on that island, but morgan captured him and his crew and sent them off to carthagena, to be punished by the authorities there for the ravages they had committed on the spanish coasts and shipping. during the ex-buccaneer's administration he also got an act passed to restrain privateers, and keep inviolable all treaties with foreign states. any british subject who treated a foreign prince or state in a hostile manner should be punished with death as a felon. peace did not last long, however, for in the french began to move against holland, and the year following king william was also bound to declare war. almost immediately the english were again driven out of st. kitt's, the french, as on the former occasion, committing outrages quite unjustifiable among civilised nations even in war. they also took st. eustatius from the dutch. as if there were not enough pirates in the west indies, the french brought some more from their own coast--the celebrated corsairs, who had held a position in europe during the wars similar to that of the buccaneers in america. some rovers, who had lately settled in cayenne, were agreeably surprised at the beginning of the year by the arrival of du casse, who soon enrolled them under his banner and started to pillage the dutch and english colonies. the first attack was made upon surinam with nine vessels, but after three days' fighting the dutch obliged the corsairs to retire, leaving one ship aground to be captured. two of the squadron were, however, more successful in berbice, which, after the enemy had destroyed one or two plantations, was obliged to pay a ransom of twenty thousand guilders (£ , ), which was settled by a draft on the proprietors in amsterdam, and which curiously enough appears to have been afterwards paid. another privateer destroyed the small settlement in the pomeroon river, and obliged the few inhabitants to fly to essequebo, and to afterwards abandon the place altogether. du casse then went on to the islands, where he did much damage to both dutch and english, finally, in , spain being also on the other side, joining de pointis to attack and capture carthagena. the corsairs were privateers with proper commissions, authorised by the french government to pillage and destroy and divide the plunder among themselves after setting aside the king's share. up to the present france could hardly be said to have a navy, and these private adventurers to some extent filled its place. true, there were a few king's ships, but the treasury was often so bare that they could not be properly armed or manned without assistance from outside. then, perhaps, one or more would be put at the disposal of a renowned corsair, on condition that the state should be put to no expense. courtiers, ministers, and merchants would come forward and form a joint stock company, equip the ship or fleet as the case might be, and share the plunder. du casse settled down as governor of the french part of hispaniola, which by this time had been taken over, and he appears to have encouraged the buccaneers on account of their assistance to the colony. when that great corsair, jacques cassard came out, he was therefore enabled to supply him with as much help as he required. cassard, in , was supplied by the merchants of marseilles with a large fleet, with which he sailed to the west indies, beginning, as du casse had done, with surinam, where he arrived on the th of october, with eight large and thirty small vessels. the dutch were not so fortunate this time, for he sailed up and down the river for three weeks, burning, pillaging, and carrying off slaves, until most of the inhabitants took to the bush. among other exploits he is said to have broken open the jewish synagogue, killed a pig within the sacred precincts, and sprinkled its blood over the walls and ornaments. he was ultimately bought off for over £ , , which, in the absence of enough coin, was paid in sugar, negro and indian slaves, cattle, merchandise, provisions, stores, jewellery, and a very little cash. while remaining in surinam cassard sent three vessels to berbice, which was easily captured, and for which a ransom of three hundred thousand guilders (£ , ) was demanded. but this settlement was far worse off than surinam, and had neither goods nor money to pay such a large amount, which was out of all proportion to that of her neighbour. after raising , guilders in various ways, the balance was accepted in a bill of exchange on the proprietors, two of the leading planters of the colony being taken as hostages and security. not satisfied with this, the corsairs insisted on a further sum of ten thousand guilders in cash, as ransom for the private estates, on the ground that they had been paid only for the fort and properties of the government. there was not so much money in the whole river, and after collecting every bit of plate and jewellery they possessed, to the value of six thousand guilders, the enemy had to take the balance in sugar and stores. now came the most curious part of this transaction. the two hostages died, and the proprietors refused to pay the draft--in fact, they said berbice was not worth so much. nevertheless the colony could not be taken over as a french possession, and even when the peace of utrecht was signed in , nothing could be done. here was an anomaly--a dutch settlement in the hands of french merchants as security for a debt. on account of trade restrictions its produce might not be brought to france, and the owners of the draft neither knew what to do with the document nor its security. the dutch proprietors were equally at a loss, for they knew very well that, if they ignored the claim of the corsairs, revenge would be taken on the first opportunity--during the next war, if not before. at last one of the marseilles merchants was deputed to go to amsterdam, and after a great deal of haggling he sold the draft to a third party at a reduction of about forty per cent. meanwhile cassard had captured st. eustatius, and exacted a large ransom. from thence he resolved to proceed to curaçao, the great stronghold of the dutch, and the depôt for goods used in the contraband traffic with the spanish colonies. here there were many jews, who had large stocks of merchandise, and as the booty would be certainly great, cassard resolved to risk everything on such an exploit. on his arrival he sent a boat ashore with a demand for the surrender of the island, to which the governor sent a jeering reply, as he considered the place impregnable. however, the corsair fleet stood in for the harbour, but were greeted with such a heavy fire that cassard was forced to retire and call a council. the balance of opinion was against going any farther. the officers said the dutch guns were of heavier metal than theirs, the currents round the island rendered a landing almost impossible, and the entrance to the harbour was so narrow that it could easily be commanded by the two forts. however, cassard himself and a few others were in favour of the attempt, and it was ultimately resolved to carry it out on the morrow. to deceive the dutch, cassard sent part of his fleet on a cruise round the island, while he with the remainder commenced to bombard the forts, keeping this up during the day as if that were his line of attack. the following night, however, he embarked most of his men in small craft, and keeping the lights on his ships burning, managed to land under cover of the darkness. fortunately for him, this manoeuvre was not perceived by the dutch, for he had quite enough to do in contending with a strong current and in avoiding sunken rocks, which made the landing so perilous that it is doubtful if even these hardy fellows would have attempted it during the day, when the dangers would be conspicuous. however, they got ashore without serious accident, and at once erected a breastwork for the light guns they had brought. morning broke, and cassard expected to see the second half of the squadron returned from its cruise, and ready to support him, instead of which it was visible several miles to leeward. to add to his difficulties, the dutch had discovered the landing, had erected a powerful battery a mile away, and were preparing to attack him before his reinforcements could come up. yet in face of all this he was undaunted. he must, however, attack at once, and this was done, with the result that the forts were taken. cassard was wounded by a musket ball in the foot, yet he did not relinquish the command, but followed this first success by turning the guns of the forts on the town. at the same time he sent a flag of truce to the governor, declaring, that if the place were not at once surrendered at discretion he would bombard it. in reply, the dutch attacked the forts, but were repulsed with great loss, and at last terms were discussed, with the result that the ransom was fixed at , louis d'ors. this amount was considered so reasonable that the merchants hastened to pay it over and get rid of him, which they did in three days. on his arrival in martinique, cassard found he had been superseded in the command, and that the fleet was ordered home. giving the buccaneers their share of the booty, he sailed for brest, and on the way met an english squadron. the french admiral signalled his vessels not to fight, but cassard, turning to his second in command of the vessel, said his duty to his king was above that to his admiral--he would fight his majesty's foes wherever he met them. on that he bore down upon the english and captured two small craft before nightfall, afterwards making his voyage to brest alone. this want of subordination so incensed the admiral that he preferred several charges against him, one being that he had retained more than his share of the booty. whether this charge was true or not, the "hero of nantes," as he was called, fell into disgrace, followed by great poverty. almost a beggar, he was at last sent to prison for importuning a cardinal and king's minister too much, by claiming what he considered his rights. there he ultimately died, and, like some others who have been as badly treated in life, has now a statue erected to his memory in his native town. [illustration] [illustration] ix. the struggle for the darien trade. carthagena and porto bello were the great trading stations for the spaniards in the indies. the latter had taken the place of nombre de dios, since that town had been destroyed by drake, and was now the port to which the treasures of peru were brought overland from panama. the galleons from spain, after calling at st. domingo, went on to carthagena, where the first great fair of the year was held. here the traders from the inland provinces of new granada came to get their supplies from europe, which they paid for in gold, silver, emeralds, and produce. for the short time the vessels remained, the people of the town woke up from their year's inactivity, and made the most of the occasion. stores were in demand, and lodging-houses required for the visitors, so that the cost of living went up by leaps and bounds. those who had slaves got enormous profits by their hire, and even the negroes themselves made large sums beyond the amounts they had to pay their masters. the whole place lost its air of desertion and became the scene of such bustle and confusion as would hardly be conceivable to those who saw it as a "sleepy hollow" during the _tiempo muerto_, the dead time, as it was called. having done with carthagena, the galleons went on to porto bello, the beautiful haven, said to have been the most unhealthy place on the main. by reason of its noxious air and barren soil there was a scarcity of provisions, which led to its desertion at ordinary times. in anticipation of the fleet, however, it woke up and became even more lively than carthagena. the only reason for its existence was the trade across the isthmus, otherwise it would have been deservedly abandoned. here was held the great fair, that at the other port being petty in comparison. the concourse of people was so great that a single chamber for a lodging during the busy time sometimes cost a thousand crowns, while a house would be worth five or six times as much. as the galleons came in sight, the people began to erect a great tent in the _plaza_ to receive their cargoes, where they were assorted and delivered to the various consignees or their representatives. the crowd of men and animals soon became so great that movement was difficult. droves of mules came over the isthmus loaded with cases of gold and silver, which were dumped down in the open streets or in the square, for want of storehouses. yet, with all the confusion, it is said that theft was unknown, and losses through mistakes very rare. but not only were there thousands of mules and their drivers, but small vessels continually arrived from different parts of the coast, bringing goods and people, to increase the hubbub. here was a cargo of cinchona bark, there another of cacao, and further on, by no means the least important, were boat-loads of fresh vegetables and fruits to supply the great assembly. this went on for forty days, after which the port was deserted and the town resumed its poverty-stricken air. then two persons in the streets formed a crowd and half a dozen a mob. solitude and silence reigned, where so lately the bustle and noise had been rampant, and the _tiempo muerto_ ruled until the following year. it can be easily understood that the influence of the porto bello fair was not only felt on the gulf side, but on the shores of the pacific as well. panama was largely dependent on the transport business, which employed a great number of mules and slaves. even in the absence of buccaneers and pirates the road was always difficult, and sometimes even dangerous. heavy rains caused great floods, which delayed the traffic for days, and left the tracks on the hills so slippery that even that sure-footed animal the mule was often carried over a precipice. then there were cannibal indians and simarons always lurking in the forest, ready to cut off stragglers. on the rumour of a buccaneer landing on the coast--it might be a hundred miles away--the traffic was at once stopped and the merchants began to "fear and sweat with a cold sweat," as thomas gage very quaintly puts it. the spanish merchants no doubt deplored this state of things, and would have been thankful for a good road instead of such an unutterably worthless bridle track. there was, however, a side to the question which probably influenced them--a way that would be easy for them would also be more accessible to their enemies. then, again, a good road should have been the work of the spanish government rather than of the settlers, but it was useless to expect anything from that direction. nevertheless, a good road and even a canal were mooted before the end of the sixteenth century, thus anticipating the panama railroad and canal of our own time. but, although the advantages were patent, the difficulties were so many as to be practically insurmountable, and nothing whatever was done. towards the end of the seventeenth century came a sudden craze for carrying out gigantic schemes of various kinds, practicable or impracticable, useful or worthless, utopian or utterly absurd. among them was the mississippi scheme in france and the south sea bubble in england, of which the latter was intimately connected with the indies. the time had arrived when people began to think of trading on credit or pledges, and of combining together for carrying on banks and other commercial operations. private banks had existed for several centuries, and more or less public establishments in the great commercial centres, such as venice, amsterdam, and hamburg, but up to the present there was no bank of england. in fact the great principle that allows an enormous trade to be carried on without the actual interchange of specie or commodities had just been discovered, and the people of france and england went mad over it. the pioneer of the system in england was william paterson, who seems to have been acquainted with dampier and wafer, both of whom knew the isthmus of darien very well. he is also said to have travelled in the west indies himself, and even to have visited the porto bello fair, but this is not quite certain. paterson first came into prominence by bringing forward a scheme which ultimately led to the establishment of the bank of england on the th of july, . from this he appears to have derived no actual benefit, however, although he was one of the first directors, upon a qualification of £ , stock, which he sold out after the first year, and thus withdrew. probably he wanted his money to carry out the new project for a settlement on the isthmus of darien. in the course of this history we have advisedly used the word "english" instead of "british," in speaking of our nation, because as yet scotchmen were little concerned in colonisation schemes. in fact, except as transported rebels or convicts, they had hardly any interest in the plantations. this was the result of navigation acts, which debarred scotch merchants and vessels from trading, by ordering that all traffic with the colonies should be carried on in english vessels and from english ports. paterson's idea was to take possession of the isthmus of darien, establish a scotch colony at a convenient harbour on the gulf side, and then open up a proper road by which the trade would be so much facilitated that it would become the great highway. seated between the two vast oceans of the universe, he said, the isthmus is provided with excellent harbours on both sides, between the principal of which lie the more easy and convenient passes. if these ports and passes were fortified, the road could easily be secured and defended, thus affording the readiest and nearest means of gaining and keeping the command of the south sea--the greatest and by far the richest side of the world. with the passes open, through them would flow at least two-thirds of the produce of both indies. the time and expense of the voyage to china and japan would be lessened more than half, and the consumption of european commodities soon doubled, and annually increased. he contended that darien possessed great tracts of country up to that time unclaimed by any european, and that the indians, the original proprietors, would welcome the honest and honourable settler to their fertile shore. the soil was rich to a fault, producing spontaneously the most delicious fruits, and required the hand of labour to chasten rather than stimulate its capabilities. there crystal rivers sparkled over sands of gold--there the traveller might wander for days under a canopy of fruit-laden branches, the trees bearing them being of inestimable value as timber. the waters also abounded in wealth. innumerable shoals of fish disported themselves among the rocks, and the bottom was strewn with pearls. from the dawn of creation this enchanted country had lain secluded from mortals--now it was revealed and opened to scottish enterprise. let them enter and take possession of this promised land, and build a new city--a new edinburgh, like alexandria of old, which grew to prodigious wealth and power from its position on another isthmus--to soon become famous as the new emporium of a new world. the reader who has seen our account of lionel wafer's miserable journey will be able to discount these florid statements, but the scotch people seem to have taken everything for gospel. now, at last, they would have a colony--a plantation of more value than any of those that the english had begun to boast of. they were enthusiastic, and although poor, did their very best to contribute, actually promising the large sum of £ , . england also subscribed to the extent of £ , , and holland and hamburg £ , . everything looked bright, and at last a concession was obtained for the "company of scotland, trading to africa and the indies." strange to say, paterson entirely ignored the claims of spain, although he must have known that she would strenuously object to such a settlement. it was all very well to say the place belonged to the indians, but the very fact of its vicinity to the great trading centre and channel of communication with the pacific coast should have made him anticipate trouble. even if he argued that the buccaneers were practically unmolested along the mosquito shore, he must also have known that their position was by no means secure, and even had this been the case, that it would have afforded to argument in favour of his project. to be successful he must also have had the support of the english government, but unfortunately this was denied. jealousy and envy between the two countries led to representations adverse to the scheme being made to king william, with the result that the company was discountenanced, and that most of the promised subscriptions outside of scotland were withdrawn. then came dissensions among the leaders themselves, and this lost them half the amount from their own county. yet with all that paterson was undaunted, and, notwithstanding the diminished funds at command, he still resolved to go on. on the th of july, , twelve hundred men in five ships sailed for a place near the entrance of the gulf of darien, a hundred miles to the east of porto bello. it was afterwards stated that the vessels were rotten and ill-found, although gaily decked with flags on the day of departure, which hid some of their deficiencies. the provision supply was bad, and, to crown all, the captains were coarse, brutal, and ignorant, continually quarrelling with each other. through envy, paterson had been prevented from having any voice in the arrangements, and although he went with the expedition, he entered the ship as ignorant of her equipment as any other passenger. but he evidently had his doubts, for he asked for an inspection of the stores, only to have his request treated with contempt. on the th of october the fleet came to anchor in a fair sandy bay three leagues west of the gulf of darien, now known as the port d'escocés. it was an excellent harbour surrounded by high mountains, and capable of holding a thousand sail in security from wind and tempest. the settlers named the district caledonia, and considered it to be fertile and even healthy. they commenced at once to erect a fort, to which they gave the name of st. andrews, and a cluster of houses for the town of new edinburgh. these labours gave them little time for planting, and it naturally followed that they had to live on the provisions brought from scotland, which, bad at the beginning, were now almost worthless. paterson sent emissaries to the neighbouring spanish settlements to ask for their friendship, and went himself into the interior to arrange treaties with the indians, so that the scotch might have a good title to the land. in this latter object he was successful, and it was agreed that peace should be kept between the natives and the colonists, "as long as rivers ran and gold was found in darien." after six days' absence he returned to find a great change in the settlement. a spirit of mutiny and discontent had broken out, those who worked hard being naturally dissatisfied with others who did nothing. then the provisions became rotten, and even then were so reduced in quantity that the people suffered from want and its consequent sickness. four months passed, and nothing but daily discouragements were encountered; not even a little gold to enliven their spirits. hard work under a tropical sun began to tell upon them, and although the friendly natives brought a little game, it was almost useless among so many. every day, however, the number was reduced by death, fevers, and dysentery playing sad havoc, until those who remained were utterly dispirited. to add to their troubles they were refused supplies from jamaica, king william having sent instructions to the colonial governors to discountenance the colony in every way. paterson sent to jamaica to get food for the starving people, and instead, his empty vessel brought copies of the proclamation that had been issued in that island. this stated that as his majesty knew nothing of the intentions and designs of the scots at darien, and as their settling on the isthmus was contrary to the peace of spain, every one was commanded not to hold any communication with them, and not to supply arms, ammunition, provisions, or anything whatsoever, on their peril. in this desperate condition they awaited supplies from scotland, but these did not arrive, for the ship had foundered on her way, and even paterson began to be discouraged when day after day passed without relief. even the reduced number could no longer exist, and with heavy hearts they prepared to leave. they had a ship, but no provisions for the voyage, and on account of the prohibition were prevented from victualling at one of the islands. at last, however, they got together as much barbecued fish and game as the indians could procure, with a few fruits, and sailed away. but even now fate was against them. hardly had they got out of the harbour before they were becalmed off this deadly shore for many days, their scanty supply of food diminishing when it was so much wanted for the long voyage. however, the remnant of about thirty, survivors of the twelve hundred, at last arrived at charlestown, carolina, in a most miserable condition. paterson was himself so worn out that he lost his senses for a time, becoming quite childish, yet he recovered, to go back to scotland and ask the company for another expedition. this he urged on the ground that the first had failed simply through the want of supplies and the action of the english government. some were in favour of still carrying out the project, and these drew up a petition to the king, giving it for presentation to lord hamilton. william the third, however, refused not only to receive the petition, but even to grant an audience to its bearer. lord hamilton would not be put off, however, but watched for his opportunity, and found it one day as the king was mounting his horse. he laid the petition on the saddle, which made his majesty cry out, "now, by heaven, this young man is too bold," adding in a softer tone, "if a man can be too bold in the service of his country." with that he threw the document from him and rode off, afterwards, when memorial after memorial came from scotland, issuing a proclamation against the worry of such petitions. notwithstanding this refusal, another expedition was sent out, the management of which was as bad as that of the first. but this time the spaniards were on the alert, and hardly had the settlers begun to put things in order before the enemy was upon them in force. famine and sickness again fell upon new edinburgh, added to the horrors of a siege, which ultimately led to a capitulation on fair terms. but so weak were they as the spaniards allowed them to embark, that their late enemies out of pity helped to heave their anchors and set their sails. it was long before the scotch people forgot or forgave their sister kingdom for her action in thus frustrating their darling project. besides impeding the union, it is said to have strengthened the jacobite feelings in the rebellions of and . even as late as the year , when it was proposed to erect a monument in edinburgh to king william the third and the "glorious revolution," the affair was remembered, and some one suggested that the pedestal should have on the one side a view of glencoe, and on the other the darien colony. queen anne, in , tried to pacify her scotch subjects by an autograph letter, stating that she regretted the company's losses and disappointments, but this did not kill the ill-feeling. as for paterson, in the english house of commons voted him the sum of £ , as some indemnity for his losses, but as the bill was thrown out by the house of lords, he got nothing. thus ended one of the most disastrous of british attempts to colonise the indies. from beginning to end it was an example of the dutch caution of william of orange, as contrasted with the recklessness of queen elizabeth's time or the sturdy defiance of cromwell. the king was not prepared to risk war for an idea, yet at the same time he would not prohibit the expeditions. from to there was war between england and holland on the one side, and france and spain on the other. by the treaty of utrecht, which again brought peace, the english received the concession for the exclusive supply of negro slaves to the spanish colonies for thirty years. this _assiento_ contract was given to the great south sea company, which resulted from one of those joint-stock manias, now epidemic in france, england, and even holland. the company was projected by the earl of oxford in , and, like the mississippi scheme in france, was intended to assist the government, which was virtually bankrupt. as yet there was no funded national debt, but large sums were owing to the army and navy, which had been provisionally settled by debentures, that could be discounted only at a serious loss to the owners. down to the establishment of the bank of england in no public loan existed, but this was commenced by borrowing the capital of that institution. at the peace of ryswick, in , the public debt amounted to twenty millions, but by the time the south sea company was started the arrears of pay made it half as much again. part of the great scheme was to advance this amount on security of english customs duties amounting to £ , per annum, and a monopoly of the spanish trade in the indies as far as the _assiento_ contract would permit. whether the whole affair was a fraud from the commencement is doubtful; there were certainly misrepresentations in the prospectus, either wilful or possibly in good faith. spain was to allow free trade to england in four ports on the pacific, and three vessels besides slavers were to go to the isthmus every year--concessions never promised nor intended by philip the fifth. the slave trade was a fact, and according to the statements it would give fabulous profits. [illustration: map of terra firma. (_from gottfried's "reisen."_)] visions of boundless wealth now floated before the eyes of the english people, and they at once began to rival the french in their madness, as they had in their colonisation. the english government was ready to make every possible concession because it wanted to be rid of the incubus of thirty millions, and therefore did nothing to check the company. as the stock was issued it was at once bought up, and then sold again at a considerable advance. everybody expected to make fortunes, therefore they must get shares at any price. rumours of peace with spain, and great concessions that would bring all the riches of peru and mexico into their coffers, roused them still more. gold would soon be as plentiful as copper, and silver as iron. the shareholders would be the richest people the world ever saw, and every share would give dividends of hundreds per cent. per annum. the bill making the government concessions was passed in april, , when the stock was quoted at £ for a hundred pound share. strange to say, it then began to fall, but the projectors put forth a rumour that england was about to exchange gibraltar for a port in peru, and confidence was restored at once. so great was the increased demand that another million was issued at £ per £ share, and these were so much run after that the fortunate owners were at once offered double what they had paid. then another million was offered at £ , and in a few hours applications were received for a million and a half. people were so eager to invest their money that they swallowed almost any bait thrown to them. hundreds of bubble companies hovered on the outskirts of the parent, among them one for settling the barren islands of blanco and sal tortugas, another to colonise santa cruz, and a third to fit out vessels for the suppression of piracy. but perhaps the most absurd was "a company for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is." near their highest point the south sea shares were sold at £ , but so many wanted to sell at that price that they soon fell to £ . this put the directors again upon their mettle, and they set to work with fresh rumours and pushed them up to £ , , from which they suddenly went down, with a few fluctuations, until utterly worthless. the treasurer of the company ran away to france when the blow fell, but the directors were arrested and their estates ultimately confiscated. thousands of people were ruined, and the public credit received a blow from which it took many years to recover. meanwhile the south sea company had not been altogether idle. besides the slave vessels they were entitled to send _one_ ship annually to the carthagena and porto bello fairs, this being called the _navio de permisso_. it was not to be larger than five hundred tons, yet the company picked out the biggest they could find and filled it with goods, to the exclusion of food and water, which were carried in small store vessels that waited outside the harbour. this caused a great deal of dissatisfaction, as the english brought so much that they could under-sell the spanish merchants in their own market. in the _bedford_, nominally of six hundred tons, was seized at carthagena on the ground that her burden was excessive. by the spanish measurements the cargo was said to have amounted to , - / tons, and the excess was confiscated and ordered to be sold. however, the english protested, at the same time passing over some valuable presents to the authorities, with the result that a remeasurement was ordered, which made the amount only tons. in the spaniards took campeachy and sixty english logwood vessels, which occasioned another war. the english claimed that they had an undoubted right to cut logwood at that place, and that former kings had always maintained them in this. for a long time they had quietly possessed a part of yucatan, uninhabited by spaniards, and they claimed not only the privilege of wood-cutting, but of settlement as well. probably the little notice taken of their attack on the darien colony made the spanish authorities think england ready to bear any insult, but they soon found out their mistake. war was declared in , and all the property of the south sea company, including debts, was confiscated, the whole amounting to £ , . this would have been a great blow to the company had it been genuine, but as we have seen, its mercantile transactions were secondary considerations. peace was restored by the treaty of madrid in june , when the _assiento_ contract was renewed in favour of the royal company instead of that of the south sea. so much dissatisfaction had been created by the concession for a trading ship, however, that the english did not insist upon its continuance, and therefore only slave vessels were to be permitted to visit the indies in future. everything that had been seized from the south sea company was to be restored, or its equivalent value paid, but the amount actually received only came to £ , , which did not go far to help the unfortunate shareholders. thus, this small measure of free trade with the spanish indies came to an end, and things went on much the same as before. english, dutch, and french vessels still carried on the contraband traffic, doing all they could to evade the law, often with the assistance of the local authorities. the spanish settlers got their supplies so much cheaper in this way than through the usual channels, that they were not likely to give up buying as long as the smugglers ran the risk. at last, however, the authorities received very strict orders to enforce the law, with the result that vessels were often captured, their cargoes confiscated, and crews imprisoned. then the spanish _guarda-costas_ claimed the right to search vessels of other nationalities, and to confiscate them if they found produce from their colonies on board, or other evidence that they were carrying on illicit trade. this led to another dispute with england, which claimed compensation for such seizures and the abolition of the right of search. english vessels had always resented this overhauling, and latterly several had fought the _guarda-costas_ rather than submit, with the result that, when captured, their crews were treated with a severity often amounting to cruelty. in several petitions were presented to the british parliament, complaining of such outrages, and asking the government to obtain redress. among them was one from captain jenkins, the master of a scottish vessel, who was examined by the house. his story was that he had been boarded by a _guarda-costa_, the spaniards from which searched his vessel without finding anything contraband. apparently enraged at their discomfiture, and possibly annoyed by the jeers of the english, they cut off one of jenkins' ears and told him to carry it to his king with the message that they would do the same to him if he came near the main. finally, according to jenkins' statement, he was further tortured and threatened with death. "what did you think when you found yourself in the hands of those barbarians?" asked a member of the house; to which the captain replied, "i recommended my soul to god and my cause to my country." the severed ear he exhibited in parliament as he had done elsewhere whenever he told the story. it was then stated that the losses from spanish depredations by plundering and the taking of fifty-two vessels, since , amounted to £ , . in every case the masters and crews were brutally treated, and in some cases murdered. the english demand for compensation was met by the reply that the king had ordered inquiries to be made, and that if any of his subjects were found guilty they would be punished according to their deserts; also that orders would be given to conform exactly to the treaties. it was, however, claimed that the treaty of did not contain any clause bearing on the navigation and commerce of the indies, and that the english had been wrong in supposing they had a right to sail and trade there; they were only permitted to sail to their own islands and plantations, and were therefore subject to confiscation if they changed their course to make for the spanish possessions without necessity. there were then in havana fifteen british vessels which had been detained on one pretext or another, and about the same time the _success_ from london to virginia was captured off montserrat, and her captain and crew set adrift in an open boat to find their way ashore as best they could. in january, , a convention between great britain and spain was arranged, under which the latter agreed to pay £ , on account of these demands, less the value of certain vessels which they agreed to restore. this did not satisfy the west india merchants, and they petitioned against it. the indemnity was to be paid on the th of july, but that date having passed without a settlement, great britain issued letters of marque and ordered all spanish vessels in her waters to be seized. spain commenced reprisals the following month, and war was actually declared by great britain on the th of october. the declaration stated that for several years past unjust seizures and depredations had been carried on, and great cruelties exercised. the british colours had been ignominiously insulted, against the laws of nations and solemn treaties, and spain had lately ordered british subjects from her dominions within a shorter period than had been covenanted by express stipulation in those treaties. in july previous a fleet under admiral vernon had sailed from spithead, and after a short cruise off the spanish coast, went over to the west indies, arriving at antigua the th of september. going on to jamaica, vernon prepared for a grand raid on the spanish settlements, leaving for porto bello on the th of november with six vessels and , men. they arrived on the st, and bombarded the forts, which made a stout resistance; but while this was going on, the british landed and took the town, thus compelling the forts to capitulate. two warships and several other vessels were captured, as well as specie to the amount of ten thousand dollars, but the town was not pillaged, although the guns were either taken away or rendered useless, and the forts as far as possible demolished. this was virtually the end of that stronghold, as it was afterwards allowed to fall into decay, to be ultimately replaced by chagres, grey town, and colon. later, also, the treasure from peru had much diminished, and the isthmus sunk in importance, especially after the way round cape horn and through the straits of magellan was adopted more and more. as the dispute with spain had arisen from her action in the indies, so retaliation on the part of great britain was greatest on the main. in february, , vernon again sailed from jamaica, and on the th of march bombarded santa martha, but did not capture it. after repairing damages at porto bello he went on to chagres, took a spanish man-of-war from under the guns of the fort, captured the place, and demolished it. in january, , sir chaloner ogle came out from england with a fleet, and joined him, making a force of , men in twenty-nine sail-of-the-line besides smaller vessels. this great fleet sailed for hispaniola in hopes of encountering that of spain and france, but not finding it went on to carthagena. this, the other great stronghold on the main, was guarded by two powerful batteries, a boom across the entrance to the port, and four spanish men-of-war just inside. after a long cannonading the batteries were silenced, a landing accomplished at night, and a passage made by which the fleet entered the harbour. here, however, further progress was checked by sickness and disagreements among the commanders, with the result that the siege was raised and partial success ended in miserable failure. this was followed by another check at santiago de cuba, which virtually terminated all hopes of further great exploits, although attempts were made on la guayra and puerto cabello. yet with all this the spaniards undoubtedly received a great lesson. their men-of-war were captured from under their fortresses, and small english or colonial vessels performed such deeds of daring as had hardly been equalled since the elizabethan age. the old spirit still existed although it might lie dormant for a time--the men were there when the hour came. in captain hall in a new england privateer came to an anchor under the fort of puerto de la plata, pretending to be a caracas trader. he wanted to land in the night and surprise the town, but found that the inhabitants kept such a good watch that he had to give up that idea. however, the governor was sick and sent to ask the loan of hall's surgeon, and here was the opportunity he wanted. the surgeon, quartermaster, and an interpreter visited the governor, and at the same time seven of hall's crew landed and surprised the fort, dismounted the guns, marched into the town and plundered it, finally escaping with the loss of only one man. peace was at last concluded on the th of october, , but nothing was said in the treaty of the right of search. the _assiento_ contract was confirmed, and one english trading ship allowed as formerly; free trade with the indies, however, was still one of those things which could never be conceded. [illustration] [illustration] x. slave insurrections and bush negroes. with war almost continuously raging at their very doors the west indian planters not only risked their fortunes but their lives. during the seventeenth century england spent something like thirty-five years in fighting her enemies, and in the eighteenth, forty-six. as long as the quarrel was with spain alone the colonists cared but little, but when france turned against them the struggle was much fiercer. the french were always most audacious in their assaults, and the consequences were all the more disastrous because they were such near neighbours. we have already spoken of st. kitt's and the difficulties produced on that island by its division between the two nationalities. these were only terminated by its entire cession to england, which did not take place until the peace of utrecht in . meanwhile, besides the two defeats of the english already mentioned, they were driven out in , to return the following year and expel the enemy, retaining entire control until the peace of ryswick gave france again her share. then in england once more held full possession until the island was assured to her entirely. barbados, alone among the british west indian islands, stands in the proud position of a colony that has never fallen into the hands of another nation. it has never even been seriously attacked beyond the attempt of de ruyter. and yet the island was poorly fortified, as compared with the great strongholds of the west indies such as carthagena and curaçao. possibly "the game was not worth the candle," for on the one hand there was little plunder to be had, and on the other a strong force of hardy englishmen to be encountered. we have seen already how the parliamentary fleet was kept at bay, and what an amount of trouble the islanders gave before they capitulated. even then they were not actually conquered, although there could be no question as to the ultimate result. but not only had the colonists to stand up against the enemy from outside, but there was another danger which lay within their plantations and dwellings from which even barbados was not free. the slaves had to be kept under subjection, and the planters must always be on the alert to anticipate riots and insurrections. for although the negro in most cases was submissive, at times he recovered that savage nature which had only been suppressed by force and discipline. when we read of flogging to death and other horrible cruelties of the planters and authorities, we are inclined to sympathise with the african and look upon his masters as worse than brutes. but to appreciate the full significance of these punishments we must judge them by the codes in existence at the time, remembering that nothing was ever done to the blacks that had not also been endured by whites for similar crimes. true, these punishments were retained for slaves after they had become obsolete for europeans, but then the negro was undoubtedly stubborn and less amenable to persuasion than any other race. like a mule he had to be broken in and trained, and like that stubborn animal he often gave great trouble in the process. there were differences of opinion as to various ways of teaching the negro, and it was only a long experience that ultimately led to gentle conciliation instead of flogging. [illustration: a rebel negro (_from stedman's "surinam."_)] the slaves often ran away, and had to be hunted for and brought back. in the larger islands and on the main they hid in the forest and swamp, where they formed communities, to which other runaways flocked until they became strong enough to hold their own. from these recesses they often came forth to pillage the plantations, murder the whites, and get the slaves to go off with them in a body. if the buccaneer was ferocious he had at least some method in his madness; the poor ignorant african, on the contrary, let his passions dominate him entirely. in revenge for fancied tyrannies he would commit the most atrocious crimes, torturing his prisoners by cutting them to pieces or even flaying while they still lived. is it any wonder that when caught the bush negro or maroon was severely punished, and that the utmost rigour of the law was exercised? as for flogging, every one knows how common that was at the beginning of the present century. some of us can even look back to a time when the use of the rod and whip on delicate children was a matter of course. even fine ladies took their little ones to see executions that now horrify us to think of; in a similar way the planter's wife stood at her window to see the punishment of her house-servant. we could tell of negroes burnt to death, where a downpour of rain put out the fires and left them to linger in torment for hours, of taking pieces of flesh from the unhappy criminals with red-hot pincers, and, most horrible of all, breaking on the wheel. these punishments often took place in the middle of a town, but only on one occasion have we seen any mention of the horror of the scene, and this referred to the smell of burning flesh. yet the criminals--for it must be remembered that they had been legally convicted and sentenced--showed a stoical indifference to pain almost incredible. as savages they gloried in showing their ability to endure torture, only craving sometimes for a pipe of tobacco to hold between their teeth until it fell. [illustration: the execution of breaking on the rack. (_from stedman's "surinam."_)] the maroons or bush negroes began to form communities on the main and in the larger islands from very early times. in jamaica they were the remnant of the spanish slaves who ran away on the arrival of the english, with accessions from deserters at later periods; in surinam some of those who had been sent into the forest to prevent their capture by french corsairs. in both places they maintained their independence, and ultimately made treaties with the colonial authorities, greatly to their own advantage. in essequebo and demerara they were kept down by subsidising arawak indian trackers, who hunted them from savannah to forest, and from forest to swamp, killing and capturing them almost as fast as they ran away. in the smaller and more settled islands the runaways were generally recaptured at once and severely punished as a warning to others. there the more daring plotted insurrections which often caused much trouble for a few days until suppressed. they did not last long, for the negroes were wanting in the power of combination, because they all wanted to be leaders. then there was generally some faithful slave or white man's mistress to give the warning, which sometimes caused such prompt action that the outbreak did not occur at all. yet with all that the danger was serious, and one that could hardly be coped with by forts and batteries. as early as the year a plot for a general rising in barbados was discovered through the information of a bond-servant. all the whites were to have been murdered, but fortunately the ringleaders were arrested before the time fixed and eight of them condemned to death. then in , under the leadership of a coromantee, it was arranged that on a certain fixed day, at a signal to be given by blowing shells, all the cane-fields should be set on fire, the white men killed, and their women retained by the negroes as their wives. this also was frustrated by information received from a house negress. hearing two men talking of the matter, she made inquiries, and learnt of the plot in time to inform her master. six of the prisoners were burnt alive and eleven beheaded, while five committed suicide by hanging themselves before the trial. the story was told in a pamphlet entitled, "great newes from the barbados, or a true and faithful account of the great conspiracy." yet again in , after a fearful epidemic had much reduced the number of the whites, a third conspiracy was set on foot. the governor was to have been killed, the magazine seized, and the forts surprised and taken. when the plot was nearly ripe two of the leaders were overheard conversing about it and instantly arrested. they were hung in chains for four days without food or drink, promises of pardon being made if they revealed their accomplices, which they did at the end of that time, with the result that some were executed and others cruelly tortured. we might go on to tell also of the abortive insurrection of and several others, but as there were never any very serious risings in barbados, we must proceed to other colonies. in jamaica several abortive attempts at general insurrections were made, some of them assisted by the maroons, who continually received accessions to their numbers from desertion. these people also made incursions on their own account, which led the government to offer £ a head for every one killed, the reward being payable on the production of his ears. in they destroyed several plantations and killed a hundred and fifty white men, which led to an attempt at suppressing them altogether. captain stoddart therefore took a detachment of soldiers into the mountains to the maroon town of nanny. arriving at night he planted a battery of swivel guns on a height that commanded the collection of huts, before the negroes were aware of his coming. they were rudely awakened from their sleep to find the place surrounded, and in alarm many flung themselves over precipices in their hurry to escape. some were killed, a few captured, and the town utterly destroyed. about the same time a party of maroons from another place were so bold as to attack the barracks at spanish town. two years later, under captain cudjo, the maroons became so formidable that two regiments of regular troops besides the island militia were employed to reduce them. the assembly also ordered a line of block-houses or posts to be erected as near as possible to their haunts, at which packs of dogs were to be kept as part of the garrison. then they sent to the main for two hundred mosquito indians whom they engaged as trackers. this brought matters to a crisis, and captain cudjo was compelled to sue for peace, which was granted. a treaty was therefore made with them in at trelawny town, by which they were to be considered as free on condition that they captured runaway slaves, assisted in repelling invasions, and allowed two white residents to remain in their towns. thus peace was restored for a time, and the mosquito indians were allowed to go back to their country. however, jamaica was not to be free from slave insurrections apart from the maroons, for in may, , at st. mary's, the slaves of general forrest's plantation fell suddenly upon the overseer while he was at supper with some friends, and massacred the whole company. they were immediately joined by others, and commenced a career of plundering and burning all the plantations in the neighbourhood. business in the island was at once suspended, martial law proclaimed, and every white man called out to assist in putting down the revolt. the negroes, however, tried to avoid an open conflict, trusting to hide in the forest, where, however, a large body was discovered and defeated. the maroons had been sent for, but did not arrive until this action had taken place, when they were sent in pursuit of the flying rebels. this they pretended to do, and in a few days returned with a collection of ears which they said had been taken from those whom they had slain, and for which they were paid. the story was found out afterwards to have been a falsehood, as instead of pursuing the fugitives they had simply cut off the ears of those who had been slain before they arrived. this led the authorities to think the maroons in league with the revolted slaves and afterwards to look upon them with distrust. however, by the aid of a body of free negroes, the rebels were at last captured, to be punished in the cruel manner so characteristic of the time. some were burnt, some hung alive on gibbets, and about six hundred transported to the bay of honduras. two were hung alive on the parade at kingston, one to linger for seven days and the other for nine, during which time it was said "they behaved with a degree of hardened insolence and brutal insensibility." in the course of the whole insurrection about sixty whites and four hundred negroes were killed, and damage done to the amount of one hundred thousand pounds. in a slave revolt took place at antigua, or rather it was discovered and anticipated. five negroes were broken on the wheel, six hung in chains and starved to death, one of whom lived for nine days and eight nights, fifty-eight were burnt at the stake, and about a hundred and thirty imprisoned. these horrible punishments were intended as a warning to the others, and no doubt they had such an effect on that generation. few of the early insurrections met with any success, notwithstanding that the negroes largely outnumbered the whites in every colony. at the most the blacks had a few days' liberty to murder, burn, and pillage, after which came the terrible retribution. there was, however, one conspicuous exception: poor berbice was actually taken over, and every white man driven from the plantations. the dutch were noted nigger drivers, and although the english were unable to boast much of their humanity, they stigmatised the hollander as a cruel master. if a negro was obstinate, the englishman threatened to sell him to a dutchman or jew, but the worst threat of all was to give him to a free negro. whether this bad character was deserved or not is doubtful, but it is quite certain that the criminal law of the netherlands permitted "the question" when a prisoner would not admit his guilt. this, however, was applicable to white as well as black, there being no particular slave code in the dutch colonies. what was the immediate cause of the great rising of , in berbice, was never exactly ascertained, but vague complaints were made of ill-treatment by certain planters. it commenced on the th of february, on an estate in the river canje, and from thence spread like wildfire over the whole colony. the population consisted of, besides the free indians, whites, indian slaves, and about , negro slaves. the garrison was supposed to consist of sixty soldiers besides officers, distributed at several forts and posts, but owing to sickness only about twenty were fit for duty when the rising took place. an epidemic of fever and dysentery had prevailed for two years among both whites and slaves, weakening the former in such a manner that they had no courage to contend with the revolted negroes, but mostly ran away to fort nassau when they heard of the rising. almost out of their senses from fright, they urged governor hoogenheim to abandon the fort and colony at once. only one of the councillors stood by the governor, and it was as much as these two could accomplish to prevent even the soldiers from running away. as for moving against the rebels, this was impossible, for not one of the colonists would follow councillor abbinsetts in his attempt to do something. their fright even affected the officials and soldiers in such a manner that the governor could hardly escape their importunities to be allowed to leave. four vessels lay in the river, two merchant ships and two slavers, but even their crews were sick, and the captain of one so utterly broken down that he could not attend to his duties. the governor tried to get them to go up the river and do something, but they were almost as frightened as the colonists. only in one place were the negroes opposed; a few whites taking refuge in the block-house at peereboom, some distance above the fort, where their way of escape was cut off. but for want of a little assistance they were compelled to make terms with the negroes. under the agreement the whites were to be allowed to go down to the fort in their own boats, but as soon as they began to embark the negroes fell upon them, men, women, and children, massacred some and took others prisoners, a few only managing to get across the river. among the fugitives was a lad named jan abraham charbon, whose story gives a graphic picture of the alarm and consternation produced by the insurrection, and of its results on himself. he was the son of a planter, and the alarm was brought to the estate at night by a faithful slave. the plantations below were all in the hands of the rebels, who were burning and murdering on both sides of the river. the whites from several neighbouring estates gathered together and decided to make a stand at peereboom, hoping for assistance from fort nassau. they got to the block-house early in the morning, to the number of thirty whites, with a body of faithful slaves, who had not yet deserted them, although they did so later. soon after their arrival the insurgents surrounded the house and attacked it, the whites making a successful defence until seven o'clock in the evening. then one of charbon's slaves came forward and asked if they wanted peace. on receiving a favourable reply the leaders on both sides came to the agreement above-mentioned. next morning the whites were fired upon as they went to embark, and charbon was wounded. however, he jumped into the river and swam across, hiding himself in the jungle, where he came upon another fugitive named mittelholzer. for eight days the two wandered about the forest, losing their way and almost dying from hunger and thirst. they dared not approach the river for fear of the negroes. once they came upon the back of a plantation and hurriedly gathered a few cobs of indian corn, immediately afterwards running back into the bush to eat them. while lying down a negro with a sabre passed quite close without seeing them, but presently another with a gun peeped into the bushes and caught sight of them. on this mittelholzer ran out with his drawn sabre and so furiously attacked the rebel that he cut off one of his hands, captured his gun, and put him to flight. however, this audacity did not save him, for he was captured soon afterwards, charbon managing to escape into the forest. alone the boy wandered about for six or seven days, until, again becoming desperate from hunger, he returned to the same plantation, to fall into the hands of the negroes. he was stripped of his clothes, put in the stocks, flogged, and threatened with death, but was finally spared on account of his youth, and because the rebel chief, "king" coffee, wanted a secretary to write letters to governor hoogenheim, proposing terms. meanwhile the poor governor hardly knew what to do. he sent to surinam and demerara for assistance, but while awaiting this the military officers informed him that the fort was untenable against even a single assault. the wooden palisades were so rotten that a strong man could pull them down easily, and then the building was of wood and could easily be fired. he was ultimately obliged to destroy it and retire down the river, where he at first took possession of the lowest plantation, dageraad, hoping to remain there until assistance arrived. but even here the rumours of an attack by the rebels made the people clamorous to be allowed to leave, and hoogenheim had to retire to the mouth of the river, where there was a small guard-house, or signal station, near the site of what is now new amsterdam. thus the last hold on the plantations was given up, and the whole colony abandoned to the negroes. a month passed before the first arrival from surinam. all that time the governor and a few whites waited day after day, sometimes almost in despair. the vessels had, at the request of their captains, been allowed to leave, carrying with them some of the people, while others had gone off to demerara. this desertion was almost necessary, as the food supply was very limited and of a poor quality--cowards were useless, and therefore no objection was made to their departure. hoogenheim was at last somewhat relieved by the arrival of the english brigantine _betsy_ with a hundred soldiers from surinam, and with this small contingent he at once began to retrace his steps with a view to recover the colony. he went back to dageraad, and in a day or two after was attacked by seven hundred negroes, who fought from early morning to noon, when they retired after suffering a great loss in killed and wounded. it was after this battle that young charbon arrived with a letter bringing "greetings from coffee, governor of the negroes of berbice." the rebel chief said that as the negroes did not want war, he would give his honour half the colony, while he himself would govern the other half and go up the river with his people, who were determined never again to be slaves. no notice was taken of this, and charbon, who had been warned to bring back an answer at his peril, was too pleased to get back to his white friends to again wish for his post of secretary. even now the governor's situation was not only perilous, but most pitiful. st. eustatius sent two vessels, but almost as soon as they arrived the men were attacked by sickness, and instead of being a help they had to be nursed, even the governor himself taking his part in the necessary attendance. at one time there were not enough healthy soldiers to relieve guard, but fortunately coffee had no means of knowing this, or all would certainly have been over with them. it was not until december that a fleet arrived from the netherlands, and then a horrible vengeance overtook the rebels. there was not much difficulty in subduing them, especially when a large contingent of indians was sent overland from demerara to drive them from the forest. in march, , the trials began with a hundred ringleaders, fifty of whom were sentenced to death. fifteen of these were burnt, sixteen broken on the wheel, and twenty-two hanged. the following month they executed in similar ways thirty-four, and later again thirty-two. the chiefs were burnt at slow fires, punishment which they bore with the utmost stoicism. one named atta, however, told the bystanders that he only suffered what he deserved. finally, in december a general amnesty was proclaimed, which made the negroes cry out with joy, _dankje! dankje!_ berbice was of course utterly ruined for a time. the plantations were overrun with weeds, the buildings in ruins, and many of the slaves missing. of the whites only remained; the rest were dead from sickness, had been killed by the negroes, or had fled from the colony. the loss in killed was small, as the general fright prevented any show of resistance. what would have happened if the whites had fallen into the hands of the rebels was shown in one or two flagrant cases. one of the colony surgeons was said to have been flayed alive on the ground that he had poisoned the slaves by forcing them to take medicine. one poor girl who had been captured at peereboom was compelled to submit to the embraces of king coffee and driven mad, while another committed suicide to prevent a similar degradation. about eight hundred slaves were missing, most of whom had been killed, as very few managed to escape to the bush. [illustration: march through a swamp. (_from stedman's "surinam."_)] behind the coast of guiana is a long stretch of swamp, which in slavery times was the general resort of runaways. for miles extends a grassy plain like a meadow, the sedges entirely covering the two to four feet of water which would otherwise give it the appearance of a great lake. except through the various streams that drain it, access is almost impossible during the rainy season, and even the indians care little to explore its recesses beyond fishing in the canal-like creeks. however, here and there are little islands or sand reefs, and on these the runaway slaves took refuge. first, perhaps, a murderer would escape and hide himself for a time until the hue and cry had abated, returning now and again to the plantation at night for the purpose of getting provisions from his friends. then others would follow, until a party of twenty to a hundred, with their wives, had established a little village. towards the end of the last century a number of these communities of bush negroes had been formed in demerara, and their depredations became so common that regular expeditions were sent against them, guided by indian trackers. in they joined with the slaves to raise a general insurrection, but special measures were taken so that they were almost suppressed for a time. before this they had formed a line of stations for seventy miles from the river demerara to the berbice. every camp was naturally surrounded by water, and by driving pointed stakes in a circle, and leaving the entrance to wind through a double line under water, they were made almost impregnable. to reach them the attacking party had to wade up to their middles through perhaps a mile of ooze and water, to be cut with razor grass, and all the time at the mercy of the negroes. only during the dry season was anything like success possible, and even then the negroes generally saved themselves by flight. many of the slaves were friendly with the runaways, but they were much feared by the more timid. on one occasion a negro went to cut wood at the back of a plantation in demerara and came suddenly upon the outpost of a camp, probably the entrance to the concealed path which led to the little sand reef. in walking along he stepped upon a bush-rope, and immediately after heard a bell ring above his head. before he could get away a ferocious bush negro stood before him and demanded his business, but the poor slave was so frightened that he ran home and reported the occurrence to his master. some of the slaves went so far as to enjoy hunting runaways--in fact, there was little love lost between the two parties. one of these was offered his freedom as a reward for the assistance he had given in an expedition, the government engaging to purchase him of his owner provided they both consented. tony, however, did not wish to leave a good master, and refused, stipulating, however, that he should retain the right to accept the kind offer at some future period. when his master ultimately left demerara, some years afterwards, tony claimed his promised freedom and got it. while the bush negroes in other parts of guiana were kept within reasonable bounds, those of surinam, like the maroons of jamaica, had never been conquered. treaties were agreed to by them in and , but disputes continually occurred, with the result that the colonists were always more or less in fear of their raids. then they carried off most of the slaves whenever they attacked a plantation, until their number became so great as to be a real danger. in the authorities in the netherlands resolved to make a special effort to conquer them, and for this purpose raised a corps of all nationalities which was put under the command of colonel fourgeaud. that soldiers should be brought from europe for such a service shows the utter ignorance of the dutch authorities. if the colonists themselves could not put down the bush negroes, how could it be expected that this would be effected by fresh troops from a cold climate, who had no knowledge of the country, the mode of fighting, or the difficulties of travelling through the bush and swamp? commissioners had visited them at different times to arrange the treaties, but there was generally something wrong with the presents (virtually blackmail), or else they were given to the wrong parties. in the chief araby had insisted on the commissioners binding themselves by his form of oath. this was done by each party tasting the blood of the other. with a sharp knife a few drops were drawn from the arm of each person into a calabash of water with a few particles of dry earth. after pouring a small quantity of this mixture on the ground as a libation, the calabash was handed round from one to another until all the company had taken a sip. then the gadoman (priest) took heaven and earth--exemplified by the water and clay--to witness the agreement, and invoked the curse of god upon the first who broke it, the company and crowd of negroes around calling out _da so!_ (that is so, or amen). yet, after all this solemnity, quarrels soon arose again. one chief with his sixteen hundred people had come to terms, but these did not bind his neighbour, who perhaps had half as many. the different chiefs were not united in any way, and it followed, therefore, that, after thousands of guilders had been spent on one, the others made incursions to get a share of the good things for themselves. to the colonists they were all bush negroes, but among themselves they were as distinct as if they had been different nations. even when at peace, and when the chiefs had received gold-headed canes as symbols of authority, they would often call at the outlying plantations and demand rum or anything else they fancied, which the whites dared not refuse. the immediate occasion for the special corps from the mother country was an insurrection of the slaves in , who, after plundering and burning some of the plantations, and murdering their owners, fled in great numbers to join the bush negroes. the whole colony was a scene of horror and consternation--the colonists expected the rising to become general, and took refuge in paramaribo, thus leaving their plantations unprotected. however, it was soon checked, mainly by raising a body of three hundred free negroes, called rangers, who were expert bushfighters, and therefore thoroughly well fitted to cope with the rebels. one of the chiefs named baron had settled on an island in the swamp, such as we have described, where he defied the whole colony. there were no means of communication except hidden tracks under water, and in addition to the palisades the chief had erected a battery of swivel guns which he had stolen from the plantations. thus triply defended by water, stakes, and guns, it is no wonder if he thought his position impregnable. however, he was discovered by a party of rangers, and assaulted by them and a large body of white soldiers. camping first on the edge of the swamp about a mile away, they could see baron's flag waving in defiance on the little island, while they were at their wits' ends to find a means of getting at him. a great many shots were wasted by both sides before they found the distance was too great, even for the swivel guns, and then the rangers began to act. several weeks were passed in attempting to make a causeway by sinking fascines, but when the workers had come within range, so many were killed that it had to be abandoned. in despair of ever effecting anything, they were about to retire, when some of the rangers discovered the hidden pathway under water. a feint was now made of attacking one side by one party, while another crept along the track, and thus at last the fortress was stormed. a terrible hand-to-hand fight took place, in which many were killed on both sides, but even then baron managed to escape with a good number of his followers. this defeat made little impression, for soon afterwards the slaves on three plantations killed their white masters, and, like the others, went off to join the bush negroes. it was now felt that something must be done or the colony would have to be abandoned. the bush negroes had to be hunted from their recesses, however difficult the task might be, otherwise there would be no safety even in the town itself. the expeditions could only move in indian file, exposed to ambushes in the most difficult parts of the track, and firing from behind trees everywhere. there was no possibility of bringing the party together if attacked; it followed, therefore, that the long string of men went forward with the utmost caution. in front came two powerful blacks with machetes or cutlasses to clear the way, and immediately behind them the vanguard. these were followed by the main body alternating with ammunition bearers, and, finally, a long line of carriers with food, medicines, utensils, and kill-devil (rum) with the rearguard. sometimes the party would flounder through a swamp for hours, holding their firearms above their heads to keep them dry. then drenching showers would fall, and give the greatest trouble to prevent the powder from becoming useless. creeks had to be passed on fallen trees, or the party would be detained until a trunk was felled and trimmed to afford a passage. exposed to malaria, mosquitoes, bush ticks, and maribuntas, they went on day after day, only to find, on reaching the village of the bush negroes, that they had gone elsewhere, to perhaps turn up at some unprotected plantation. the european troops died off in great numbers, while the enemy were in their element. it followed, therefore, that little was done, and that the old system of conciliation had to be adopted, with the same unsatisfactory results. finally, by utilising their mutual jealousies, about they were driven so far away from the settlements as to become almost harmless. their descendants still exist almost as savages, with curious manners and customs, partly inherited from their african forefathers, and partly adopted from their neighbours the indians. [illustration: trelawny town. (_from edwards' "west indies."_)] we must now return to the maroons of jamaica, who had not been conquered, although a nominal treaty existed, and the white residents remained at their posts. in july, , two of them were flogged for pig-stealing, and this was considered a disgrace on the whole community. on the return of the pig-stealers to trelawny they raised a great outcry, and the resident was at once ordered to leave on pain of death. efforts were made to pacify them, but they sent a written defiance to the magistrates who had ordered the flogging and declared their intention to attack montego bay. the militia were called out and soldiers applied for, but before the preparations were completed, a body of maroons appeared and asked for an interview with four gentlemen whom they named. hoping the matter might be prevented from going farther, these and several other whites went to the rendezvous, where they were received by three hundred armed men. the maroons complained of the disgrace on the whole body, through the flogging having been performed by a negro overseer in the presence of felons, and demanded reparation. they wanted, first, an addition to their lands, and, second, a dismissal of the then resident in favour of one they had formerly. promising to forward their requests to the governor, the gentlemen left, the maroons appearing as if pacified. however, this interview was only applied for to gain time, and especially to allow the departure of the british fleet which was then on the point of leaving, and might be detained if they moved too quickly. on the report that there was a probability of a settlement of the matter the fleet left, when the maroons immediately began to plot with the slaves for a general rising. reports of this had been received by the governor before, but just after the men-of-war had departed more definite news arrived, which induced him to send a fast-sailing boat to bring them back. fortunately this was successfully accomplished, and at once confidence drove out the fear of murders, fires, and plundering which had alarmed the inhabitants. the slaves were correspondingly disheartened and left the maroons to fight alone. but even the maroons themselves became divided in opinion on the return of the military and naval force. the governor taking advantage of this, issued a proclamation calling upon them to submit, but only thirty-eight old men came forward, the others being determined to fight. they set fire to their own town and commenced hostilities by attacking the outposts. this led to a pursuit in which the whites fell into an ambuscade, many being killed, without as far as was known doing any harm whatever to the enemy. now commenced a series of raids on the plantations, in which even infants at the breast were massacred. [illustration: pacification of the maroons. (_from edwards' "west indies."_)] the matter becoming serious, the general assembly resolved to hunt the rebels with dogs, as had been intended before the treaty. they accordingly sent over to cuba for huntsmen with their powerful blood-hounds, the descendants of those which had once worried the poor indians, and afterwards assisted the buccaneers. times had changed however, and a feeling grew up that hunting men with savage beasts was not quite the thing. this led to some expressions of opinion adverse to the action of the executive, but they excused themselves on the ground that the safety of the island demanded extreme measures. if war was justifiable at all, any and every means, they said, was allowable; in fact, "all was fair in war." meanwhile the maroons had been driven to their strongholds in the mountains, where they had little to eat, and were virtually compelled to ravage the plantations for food. on the arrival of forty _chasseurs_ with their hundred dogs, however, they became alarmed, and began to sue for mercy. it does not appear that there was any real necessity for using the animals, their presence being enough for the purpose. they were led _behind_ the troops, and on their appearance the maroons surrendered in great numbers, this putting an end to the insurrection. now came the question of what was to be done with them. it was argued that no country could suffer people to live in it unless they could be controlled by law, and that obedience could not be expected from these people. to expect it was entirely out of the question; it was therefore resolved to transport them from the island. accordingly, in june, , six hundred were sent to halifax, nova scotia, where lands were granted them and a subsistence allowed until crops could be raised. not liking the climate, they were ultimately established in sierra leone, where they became the nucleus of the present colony. those who had submitted remained in jamaica, where their descendants are still well known. [illustration] [illustration] xi. the sovereignty of the seas. by the middle of the eighteenth century spain had fallen behind, and even holland had lost her prestige. it followed, therefore, that the only power that could rival great britain was france, and she was an enemy that could never be despised. the struggle in the west indies between these two powers now became, if possible, more intense; and if the result gave the sovereignty of the seas to britons, they have mainly to ascribe it to their naval training in this part of the world. the mistakes of admiral vernon were lessons which, being borne in mind by later admirals, tended to prevent similar disasters in the future. there was a short intermission in the struggle between and , when the "seven years' war" commenced; but before the actual declaration hostilities had commenced between the two rivals in india and north america. now arose one of england's great admirals, rodney, who gained his laurels in the caribbean sea, and was mainly instrumental in putting france in the background as a naval power. he first came to the front in , when he bombarded havre, and later, with that other great seaman, sir samuel hood, he became a "household word" in the west indies. before they appeared, however, the british captured guadeloupe, and commenced a general raid upon the french shipping. but, as usual, our gallant foes were by no means despicable, for in they claimed to have taken , english vessels, against a loss of only . on the th of january, , rodney sailed from barbados for martinique, in command of eighteen ships of the line, and on the th of the following month the island capitulated. then grenada was taken, to be followed by dominica, tobago, st. vincent, and st. lucia, thus giving the whole of the french caribbees into the possession of great britain. spain being also involved, admiral pococke attacked havana in may, and, after a siege of twenty-nine days, took the morro castle, a fort hitherto considered impregnable. a fortnight later the governor of cuba was compelled to capitulate, thus giving the town also into the hands of the british. these exploits made france and spain sue for peace, which was signed at paris in february, , when grenada, st. vincent, dominica, and tobago were ceded to great britain, the other captures being restored. after this war positive orders were sent to the british west indies to break off all trade and intercourse with the french and spanish settlements, with the result that contraband and other traffic was thrown into the hands of the dutch and danes. then the dutch islands of curaçao and st. eustatius began to flourish more and more, and those of the danes, st. thomas and st. john, became free ports. during the wars these islands rose to a pitch of prosperity hardly possible to any of those belonging to the combatants, on account of their neutrality. naturally they were almost barren and of little account as plantations; but as _entrepôts_ they were exceedingly useful, not only to their owners, but to the belligerents as well. here alone could french, spanish, and british ships meet without fighting, and for them they could run when pursued by the enemy. the island of st. thomas was first colonised in , but for a long time it made little progress. it became useful to the pirates, however, mainly from its being a safe place at which to dispose of their captures. then merchant vessels found it sometimes convenient to go in to escape these rovers, perhaps to be followed by them, and yet remain safe until an opportunity occurred for escaping their vigilance. prizes were brought here and sold, the prospect of good bargains leading to the settlement of a number of rich merchants, and especially jews. what with all this, and a little contraband traffic, the people of st. thomas did very well, and soon the harbour became one of the busiest in the west indies. and here we must mention that the jews were a very important factor in the development of the early settlements. it will be remembered that large numbers of these people were driven from spain after the conquest of granada, and how they went to portugal and the netherlands. a large number also went to brazil, where at first they had a measure of freedom in the exercise of their religion not granted in the mother country. when the dutch captured brazil, perfect freedom followed; but after portugal took her own again, this was withdrawn, and in consequence many left for surinam and the west indian islands. here they were joined by some of their co-religionists from holland, and in time became a powerful body of planters, but more especially traders. to them were due many improvements in the manufacture of sugar, and even the introduction of the cane into some places. in every colony there was a small community, often with a synagogue, and their connection one with another, as well as their virtual neutrality, made their transactions more safe than those of other traders. as may be supposed, they had no love for the spaniard, and consequently were the main financiers, not only of privateers, but even pirates. st. thomas, curaçao, and st. eustatius lived by the misfortunes of others. no longer could the jolly buccaneer sell his prizes and booty at jamaica; he must go elsewhere, and let other places reap the advantage of his free and easy bargains. for it was "easy come, easy go" with him, and the fortune he made was soon wasted in riotous living. this was all to the advantage of the wily jew, who first haggled about the price of a cargo, and then got his money back by charging enormous profits on the supplies. the rover was as careless as the proverbial "jack ashore," and could easily be induced to spend his last piece of eight on the luxuries so temptingly laid before him, utterly regardless of the consequences. he had only to go out and capture another vessel to be able to return and renew his jollification. in war time these harbours were crowded with the shipping of all nations, and many a fortune was made that enabled the merchant to go to europe as a west indian nabob. then there was a great demand for neutral vessels, in which goods could be transhipped for conveyance to colonies where the belligerent flag might bring a crowd of privateers before the vessel got safely into harbour. even physicians and surgeons made their piles, for there was always more or less sickness on board the vessels, and a hundred dollars a visit was a common fee. in began the dispute with the american colonies of great britain, and four years later france joined them, thus bringing trouble again upon the west indies. the first important move was made by the french, who, in september, , took dominica, on which the english retaliated by capturing st. lucia. then a fleet was sent out from england under admiral byron, and another from france under count de grasse. the french took st. vincent and grenada, and every island of either nation was in a state of alarm and consternation. in july, , spain joined the others against england, on the ground that her flag had been insulted. to this it was replied that she harboured american privateers, and furnished them with false documents, under which they carried spanish colours. thus england had her hands full, for the yankees alone gave her quite enough work, without the addition of these old rivals. as yet rodney had not come out, but in the years and he pressed his claim on the government to have a command in the west indies. the seas were well known to him, and he had his views as to the proper mode of carrying out operations; but for some time his application was refused. finally, however, in october, , he was appointed to replace admiral byron, with supreme control over the operations in the caribbean sea, as well as freedom to intervene if necessary on the american coast. rodney was at last satisfied, and he left in december with a convoy, the whole fleet numbering three hundred. in the centre were transports and merchant vessels, and on either side men-of-war. off cape finisterre he captured a convoy of sixteen spanish vessels, and beyond cape st. vincent fought with another squadron, and captured four men-of-war, including the admiral. on then to the relief of gibraltar, from whence he sent part of the fleet into the mediterranean, and where he remained until february , , when he sailed for the west indies. arriving off st. lucia on the th of march, he came upon the french fleet under de guichen, which he attempted to engage, but was prevented from the want of skill in his captains. the result was that both fleets sailed away from each other without much damage to either, both stating that the other refused to fight. as, however, the french had thirty vessels to the english seventeen, they could have compelled an action; so that, although the affair was not creditable to either, it was perhaps a little more disgraceful to the larger fleet. rodney was in a great rage. he attributed his failure to the incompetency of his subordinates, who had not been properly trained to make combined naval evolutions. every captain, he said, thought himself fit to be prime minister of britain. however, he continued his cruise, barring the way of the french, and driving de guichen to st. eustatius to refit. now he began to teach his captains those naval manoeuvres in which he considered them so much wanting, which his assistant admiral, sir hyde parker, did not altogether like. rodney, it appears, treated all his subordinates as if they were raw recruits, and, while he gained obedience, created a great deal of ill-feeling. but, with all their training, they could not bring de guichen to fight, even when they encountered him a second time; yet we may presume that the training was by no means wasted. as if great britain had not enough enemies, in december, , she declared war with the dutch, on the ground that they assisted the american colonies. what a formidable array--the colonies, france, spain, and holland! yet, somehow or other, she managed to cope with the whole. st. eustatius was the great offender among the dutch colonies. notwithstanding that the home government had sent out strict orders to all her settlements not to honour the flag of the revolted british colonies, or to supply them with contraband of war, there is no doubt that they were very loose in inquiring into such transactions. as we have said already, this and other islands were very useful to the belligerents; and, as we have just stated, de guichen went to st. eustatius to escape rodney and refit. this was no doubt a sore point with the british admiral, who barred the enemy's passage to his own islands only to see him get what he needed from the dutch. when the news of the declaration of war came out, rodney was ready at once to pounce upon the offender; and on the rd of february, , before the authorities of st. eustatius had heard the news, he appeared in the harbour. the governor could hardly believe his ears when an officer appeared to demand the surrender of the island to his majesty of great britain, but being entirely unprepared, and quite unfitted to cope with such a force, he was obliged to surrender at discretion. here was the opportunity for revenge, and rodney embraced it. even his best friends could hardly excuse the arbitrary doings which followed, and which were stigmatised as unworthy and almost dishonourable to a british admiral. being determined to root out this nest of contrabandists, he confiscated all the property of the inhabitants, and ordered them to quit the island. the harbour was filled with shipping, and the stores with goods, the vessels numbering two hundred and fifty, and the contents of the stores worth about three million pounds. here was indeed a disaster to the jews, not only of st. eustatius, but even of british islands, for they were all in correspondence. rodney went so far as to say that many of the english merchants ought to have been hanged, for it was through their means, and the help of this neutral port, that the enemy were able to carry on the war. the people were astonished at such unheard-of treatment. never before had such a thing happened, except in the raids of buccaneers and pirates. the jews petitioned rodney and general vaughan to rescind their decision. they had received orders to give up the keys of their stores and inventories of the goods in them, as well as household furniture and plate; then they were to prepare themselves to quit the island. such orders from british commanders, whose principal characteristics were mercy and humanity, had distressed them in the extreme, so that their families were absolutely in despair. this appeal had no effect, even when it was supported by some of the british officers, and such an auction now began as was never known before. the news reached barbados and the other islands, and down came a horde of speculators, prepared to make their fortunes at once if possible. such a haul did not occur every day, and they intended to take advantage of it. thousands of bales of goods were brought out and sold, without either seller or buyer knowing anything of their contents. they might contain rich silks and velvets or the cheapest slave clothing. it was a grand lottery in which every bidder got a prize, although they were in some cases of little value. no one needed to despair of a bargain, however, for there was so much to sell as compared with the number of purchasers, that everything went cheap. some few got bitten, but in the end hardly a tithe of the value of the goods was obtained. while this was going on at st. eustatius, some bristol privateers got information of the outbreak of hostilities, and pounced upon demerara and berbice, where they levied blackmail and captured most of the shipping. as usual with these plunderers, they had no authority to capture the colony, nor had they in this case even commissions against the dutch. however, they put the inhabitants in a state of consternation, until, a few days later, two men-of-war arrived from barbados to receive the capitulation, which was demanded on the same terms as that of st eustatius, although neither party knew what these terms were. nothing was left but submission, although the authorities protested against such an unheard-of manner of dictating unknown terms. the governor of barbados had heard from one of the inhabitants of that island that the directeur-general of demerara had expressed, at his dinner-table, his fears that in case of a war the river would be plundered by privateers, and of his preferring to surrender to one of the king's ships: for this reason he had sent the men-of-war. this was considered a bit of "sharp practice" by the demerarians, but perhaps turned out for the best. two commissioners were appointed by the colony to go in one of the english vessels to st. eustatius and arrange the articles of capitulation, which were fortunately on altogether different lines from those of that island. surinam, st. martin's, saba, and st. bartholomew's also surrendered on the same unknown terms, but the admiral said that he and general vaughan thought they ought to be put on a different footing. they would not treat them like the other, whose inhabitants, belonging to a state bound by treaty to assist great britain, had yet nevertheless assisted her public enemies and the rebels to her state, with every necessary and implement of war as well as provisions, thus perfidiously breaking the very treaties they had sworn to maintain. the treatment of st. eustatius caused a great stir, not only in the west indies, but in england as well. a remonstrance was sent to rodney by the merchants of st. kitt's, who claimed that a large quantity of their goods had been seized. some of these were insured in england, and they considered their excellencies responsible for their losses, for which they would seek redress by all the means in their power. it was impossible, they said, for many of them to be more utterly ruined than they then were, and they asked that certificates in reference to their property should be sent to england, in demanding which they were claiming a right rather than a favour. in reply, rodney said he was surprised that gentlemen who called themselves subjects and merchants of great britain, should, when it was in their power to lodge their effects in the british islands to windward, under the protection of british laws, send them to leeward to st. eustatius, where, in the eyes of reason and common sense, they could only be lodged to supply their king's and country's enemies. the island, he continued, was dutch--everything in it was dutch--all was under the dutch flag. as dutch it should be treated, and this was his firm resolution as a british admiral, who had no view whatever but to do his duty to his king and country. two merchants from st. eustatius went to london, where they were examined by the attorney and solicitor-generals. they clamoured for justice, and got it, for one of them was committed on a charge of high treason for corresponding with the american agent at amsterdam, and for furnishing the americans with military stores and ammunition. several attempts were made to injure rodney with the king, but the blow on the enemy was so severe that his majesty would not listen to the detractors. it is said that a cry of rage went up from the french and american colonies, and that rodney gloried in his triumph. he was undoubtedly inclined to ride rough-shod over everybody and everything, but as long as he was successful, only the enemy complained. but the trouble was not yet over, for the merchants of st. kitt's sent lawyers to file their claims in the admiralty courts. then st. eustatius was recaptured for holland by the french, and the tide turned against the admiral. now was the time to attack him, and his enemies took advantage of it. the mob that threw up their caps and shouted for joy at the glorious news of the capture, now lifted their hands in horror at rodney's misdeeds. even his friend hood was guilty of the meanness of charging his comrade with carrying off vast sums of money, and never accounting for them. rodney was recalled to england, where he arrived on the th of september, , in ill-health, and rather downspirited. in december burke moved the house of commons for a committee to inquire into the affair, but although he pressed the motion with all his powers of oratory it was rejected. meanwhile the french were turning the tables upon the late victors and having their revenge for the disasters which had fallen upon them. this led to rodney being again consulted, with the result that on the th of february, , he arrived in barbados with twelve ships of the line. this was the most critical period during the whole war. on the th of october previous, lord cornwallis had surrendered to the americans at yorktown, and this disaster was followed not only by the loss of the west indian captures, but of the british colonies of st. kitt's, nevis, montserrat, dominica, and st. vincent. it was by the special request of the king that rodney had been again sent out, and before his departure he declared that either the french admiral or himself should be captured. lord sandwich, to impress him the more, on the eve of his departure said: "the fate of this empire is in your hands, and i have no wish that it should be in those of any other." meanwhile the count de grasse was at martinique, preparing a large fleet for the final reduction of the british by conquering jamaica. he was expecting large reinforcements of french vessels and troops, which rodney tried unsuccessfully to cut off. on the th of april the french were reported as having sailed for hispaniola, where they were to be joined by a spanish contingent, and rodney at once sailed in pursuit. the result was that, at last, on the th, a decisive victory was gained off dominica. admiral de grasse was captured, many of his fleet destroyed, and the whole expedition broken up. the british west indies were thus saved, and the people of jamaica erected a statue to the gallant admiral. rodney, in concluding his despatch giving the account, said it was his most ardent wish that the british flag should for ever float in every part of the globe, and there is no doubt that this triumph conduced to such an end. it stands prominently forth as the greatest sea fight of the age, and was only eclipsed by those of nelson, who we may state received much of his naval training in the west indies. in january, , peace was again restored. great britain lost her american colonies, restored those she had taken from france and holland, and got back her own, except the island of tobago, which was ceded to france. from spain she got the right to cut logwood between the rivers hondo and belize, on the understanding that all other places on the coasts of central america should be abandoned, and that no forts be erected on the concession. for ten years there was peace, and during that time the planting colonies were developed to a wonderful extent, while those dependent on the contraband traffic became much depressed. the english settlements increased in value so much, that in they were calculated to have under cultivation two million and a half acres, with five hundred and sixty thousand slaves. these were the palmy days of the slave-trade, when the importations leapt up year after year, with a corresponding increase in the export of produce. the property was valued at over eighty-six millions sterling, jamaica coming first, but nearly every other island flourishing to an extent hardly credible to those who have only seen them after their downfall. what jamaica was to the english, the western portion of hispaniola became to the french, and even spain increased her productions, now that things had become settled, and treasure seeking less remunerative. altogether, the period from this time, to the end of the century, may be considered as the planter's best days, and the "good old times" of which we hear so much but find it so difficult to precisely indicate. on the st of february, , peace was again broken by the french convention, the declaration of war being made against england and holland. thus began that struggle which seemed interminable at the time, and which actually lasted twenty-two years. as usual the west indies suffered, but this time they were not quite so much the scene of contention as they had been formerly. tobago was captured from the french on the th of april, but during the remainder of the year little was done. in january, , however, admiral sir john jervis arrived at barbados, and in the following month took martinique after a severe struggle. then he went on to st. lucia, which also surrendered, and before the end of april guadeloupe fell. then came reverses; a french fleet arrived, and all were recaptured. meanwhile france had invaded holland, and established a sister republic on her own lines, rendering it necessary for the stadtholder, the prince of orange, to fly off to england. from kew, where the king had given him a residence, he wrote letters to all the dutch colonies, asking the authorities to place them in the hands of the british, and treat people of that nationality as friends and allies. with these despatches british fleets were sent to all the possessions of holland, but only one or two obeyed the command, the result being that the others had to be taken by force, until hardly a dutch colony existed in any part of the world. in october, , spain joined france on the ground that the british, in their operations against the enemy, had injured her in several ways. one of the reasons given was so absurd that we can hardly conceive it to have been put forth seriously. great britain had captured demerara, and this put her in a situation to possess positions of greater importance. spain, however, got nothing by her taking up the quarrel, for her trade was absolutely swept from the seas, and communication with america almost cut off. this state of things became so troublesome that for the first time in her history neutral vessels were permitted to trade in her american colonies. she also lost the island of trinidad, which had remained in her possession since the days of ralegh. soon the whole of the west indies and spanish main were virtually under the control of great britain, little opportunity being given to her enemies of crossing the atlantic. no longer could the caribbean sea be the scene of the great struggle--the forces of the combatants were wanted nearer home. now again came the harvest of the little island of st. thomas, until denmark was also numbered among the enemies of the "queen of the seas." then the united states came to get her pickings as a neutral, which gave such an impetus to her ship-building and commerce, that later the seamen trained under such auspices became formidable rivals to the british. the colonists did not altogether dislike this great war. true, freights and insurances were very high, but then the prices of produce were high also. there was a spice of danger in every voyage, but after all the risk was not so very great until the vessels came into the channel. then there was a convoy to protect them, and they might even get prize money by capturing traders of the enemy. every vessel went armed, and many a privateer of the enemy got severely beaten by a gallant body of merchant seamen and passengers. this was a glorious time for the british navy, but the fleets in the west indies had little to do after the beginning of the war. there was a great disturbance on the island of hispaniola, a riot in grenada, troubles in the french islands, and a few skirmishes here and there, but nothing of much consequence to the british. there were many small difficulties of course, and the navigation laws had to be relaxed generally in favour of neutrals, as otherwise provisions would have been scarce. the dutch were not altogether displeased with british rule, for curaçao, which had not been conquered, was captured from its french garrison in , at the request of the inhabitants, whose trade had been entirely stopped. then the spanish colonies came to an arrangement by which much of their produce went through british hands, and this prevented the neutrals from getting everything. in the peace of amiens gave france a rest for about ten months, when she got back her own and the dutch colonies, leaving trinidad as an addition to those of great britain. hardly, however, had they taken possession, when the treaty was broken, and the british were again in their midst. a great deal of the work which had been undone by the peace had now to be undertaken afresh, but it was ultimately accomplished, so that things went on much the same as before. the year was notable for nelson's trip across the atlantic in search of the french fleet, which however fled before him and got back to europe. the same year also saw the heroic defence of "h.m.s." diamond rock, which however was not a ship, but an improvised fortress, which after a long struggle was obliged to capitulate. hundreds of gallant exploits were performed in the west indies by both english and french, and thus the war went on year after year, until it became something to be calculated for in commercial transactions. people began to look upon it almost as a natural state of things, and fathers told their children that they had peace on one occasion long ago for as many as ten years. the british had undoubtedly become very arrogant. their position on the sea was so supreme that they did much as they pleased with the few neutrals. this sort of thing did not suit the north american traders, who were englishmen also, and like their forefathers resented any interference whatever. it resulted, therefore, that the united states declared war in january, , and made the planters understand what took place "when greek met greek." almost immediately every colony was pestered and worried by a number of fast-sailing schooners, as dangerous in a sense as had once been the fly-boats of the buccaneers. the heavy sugar boats going from plantation to port were captured in great numbers, and some of the harbours actually blockaded by the "saucy jack," the "hornet," and other audacious yankee craft with names as suggestive of their characters. then, indeed, the west indies were roused from their apathy--war was actually at their doors. however, peace came at last, and after it might be expected that the islands would go on prospering and to prosper. such, however, was not the case. in a great difficulty had come upon them by the abolition of the slave-trade, which at once put a stop to all extensions, either in the way of new plantations or of the acreage under cultivation. this was the first great check, and with the fall in prices, which ensued when britain became the consignee of almost every settlement, caused a cry of "ruin!" to arise, which has continued with short intermissions down to the present day. [illustration] xii. downfall of hispaniola. before the abolition of the slave-trade had affected the british islands the french colonies were distracted by the results of their great revolution. hispaniola, or rather that portion now known as hayti, had become, as we before said, the most important colony; we must now give the story of its downfall. if this had happened by the fortune of war it would perhaps not have been so deplorable, but to be utterly ruined as it was, until even now, after the lapse of a century, it is behind its neighbours, is very sad. but, in the struggle for existence the straining after liberty has to be reckoned with, and although the process causes intense suffering to both lord and serf--master and slave--the fight is sure to come at some time or other. miss martineau uses the title, "the hour and the man," for her romance of the liberation of this once flourishing island. the hour had come, but we are afraid _the man_ has not yet appeared on hispaniola. when the french people took the government from the hands of their king and summoned the states general, revolutionary ideas had already come to a head, and the matter of slavery received much consideration. in all the colonies were numbers of free coloured persons, who had been manumitted by their fathers, and in many cases sent to europe for their education. in paris they were brought into communication with a kind of anti-slavery society, called _l'amis des noirs_, before which they had opportunities of ventilating their grievances. these consisted of civil disabilities which kept mulattoes in the background, and prevented their taking what they believed to be their proper positions in society. the time was fitted for such an agitation, the people were there, and it was only to be expected that their complaints would come in the long catalogue of charges against the aristocrats, among whom were included the west indian planters. however, although there was little sympathy with the colonists, nothing particular was done as yet, except the issue of the celebrated declaration that all men were born, and continued to be, free and equal as to their political rights. it might be said, perhaps, that this alone gave freedom to the slave and civil equality to the mulatto, but as it did not specially apply to them, little trouble ensued. the planters, however, were sufficiently acute to see the logical outcome of the declaration, and were correspondingly troubled, as they felt that if published among the negroes it might convert them into implacable enemies, and bring on dangerous insurrections. they were soon pacified, however, by orders to convene provincial assemblies, and send representatives to paris: this they thought would prevent mischief, as their interests could be made known and promoted in france. [illustration: view of part of hispaniola. (_from andrews' "west indies."_)] the free coloured people soon heard the news, and at once began to claim their rights as citizens, which the planters were by no means prepared to grant. on this refusal they began to arm themselves, and make demonstrations in various parts of hayti, but at first were easily put down by the authorities. as yet there was little ill-feeling; the demonstrations were only alarming from their significance and their possible consequences. it followed, therefore, that little was done beyond a demand for submission, the mulattoes being allowed to disperse on promising to keep the peace. a few whites, however, who had been leaders in the agitation, were severely punished, and when a certain mons. dubois not only advocated the claims of the coloured people, but the slaves as well, he was banished from the colony. mons. de beaudierre, a _ci-devant_ magistrate, also helped to add to the trouble. he was enamoured of a coloured woman, who owned a valuable plantation, and wanted to marry her, but at the same time wished to see her free from all civil disabilities. accordingly he drew up a memorial to the committee of his section, claiming for the mulattoes the full benefit of the national declaration of rights. this roused the authorities, who at once arrested him, but so strong was the feeling of the whites that they took the prisoner from gaol and put him to death. the agitation in hayti as well as in martinique led to petitions and remonstrances to the national assembly, and on the th of march, , the majority voted that it was never intended to comprehend the internal government of the colonies in the constitution of the mother country, or to subject them to laws incompatible with their local conditions. they therefore authorised the inhabitants of each colony to signify their wishes, and promised that, as long as the plans suggested were conformable to the mutual interests of the colonies and the metropolis, they would not cause any innovations. this of course raised a clamour among the friends of the blacks and mulattoes, who considered it as sanctioning the slave-trade, which they wanted to put down. in hayti the general assembly met and made some radical changes, which were opposed by many of the old colonists, and this brought discord among the whites. the governor dissolved the assembly, but this only brought more trouble, for the subordinate western body took the part of the general assembly, and went so far that the governor tried to suppress it by force. but the members put themselves under the protection of the national guard who resisted the troops sent against them, and after a short skirmish drove them off. thus all authority was put at defiance by the whites, when if they wanted to keep down the coloured and black people, it was of the greatest consequence that union should exist. the general convention called the colony to arms, but, before actually commencing hostilities, they resolved to proceed to france, and lay the whole matter before the convention. accordingly to the number of eighty-five they sailed on the th of august, , the authorities also agreeing to await the result. among the coloured residents in france was a young man named james ogé, the son of a mulatto woman by a white man, whose mother owned a coffee plantation. he was a regular attendant at the meetings of the friends of the blacks, where, under such men as lafayette and robespierre, he had been initiated into the doctrine of the equal rights of men. on hearing of the vote of non-interference with the colonies, ogé, maddened by the thought that the civil disabilities of people of his colour would be continued, resolved to go himself to hayti. he was confident that the people there would join him, and going out by way of the united states he obtained there a good supply of arms, with which he arrived in october of the same year. six weeks after his arrival he wrote to the governor, demanding that all the privileges of the whites should be extended to every other person, without distinction. as representing the coloured people he made this request, and if their wrongs were not at once redressed, he said, they were prepared to take up arms. he had already been joined by his two brothers, and they were busy calling upon their friends to insist, assuring them that france approved of their claim. but with all his efforts he could get but few followers, the same difficulty cropping up here as in most of the slave insurrections--a want of the power of combination under one of their own race. however, he at last got together two hundred, and, receiving no answer from the governor, they commenced a series of raids on the plantations. ogé cautioned them against bloodshed, but the first white man that fell into their hands was murdered, and others soon met with the same fate. even mulattoes, who refused to join the insurgents, were treated the same way; one man who pointed to his wife and six children, as a reason for his refusal, being murdered with them. the governor now sent out a body of troops and militia to suppress the revolt, with the result that ogé was defeated, and obliged to take refuge with the remnant of his followers in the spanish colony of st. domingo. the whites were now roused, and began to cry out for vengeance upon the coloured people in general, whether they had sympathised with ogé or not. in self-defence they had to take up arms in several places, but by conciliation on the part of the authorities a general insurrection was averted for the time. a new governor now arrived, and one of his first acts was to demand the extradition of ogé by the spaniards, which, being done, he was executed by breaking alive upon the wheel. in his last confession he is said to have stated that a plot was then hatching for the destruction of all the whites, but little notice was taken of this information. the whites believed that now the leader was dead things would go on in the old way, but, unfortunately for them, they were mistaken. meanwhile the delegates had arrived in france, where they were honourably received. after an interview with a committee of the convention, however, they were informed that their decrees were reversed, the haytian assembly dissolved, and they themselves under arrest. this, when the news reached the colony, put the whites into a state of consternation, and for awhile it appeared as if hayti would be the scene of a civil war. captain mauduit, who had led the force against the assembly, was murdered by his own troops, and preparations were made to resist the authorities. the planters thought these arbitrary measures of france very oppressive, but they had yet to learn how far the revolutionists might go. in may, , the matter of equal rights for the coloured people came up before the national convention, and their claim was strongly advocated by robespierre and others. it was now that the words, "perish the colonies rather than sacrifice one of our principles," were uttered by that bloodthirsty revolutionist, to afterwards become a stock quotation of the extremist in every country. the result of the discussion was the decree of may the th, that the people of colour resident in the french colonies, and born of free parents, should be allowed all the privileges of french citizens; to have votes, and be eligible for election to the parochial and colonial assemblies. this brought on a crisis in hayti. the coloured people were determined to obtain their rights, and the planters equally resolved that they should remain as before. the governor was so much alarmed that he at once sent to france for further assistance, at the same time asking for the suspension of the obnoxious decree. hearing of this, the mulattoes began to assemble and take up arms, and the governor hardly dared to take action pending the result of his application. on the morning of the rd of august, , the people of cape françois were alarmed by reports that the slaves in the neighbourhood were in open revolt, plundering the plantations and murdering the whites. the disturbance had commenced with the hewing in pieces of a young white apprentice on pin. noé, which murder was followed by a general massacre of every white man, except the surgeon, who was spared that he might become useful. from one estate to another the revolt spread, until the whole neighbourhood was a scene of murder, fire, and rapine. the white townspeople put their women and children on board the ships, and then united for a stubborn defence, but the coloured men wanted to remain neutral. this roused such a strong feeling that even at that critical time the whites had to be prevented by the authorities from murdering the mulattoes. by thus protecting the mulattoes their good-will was gained, and they volunteered to go out against the rebels. amidst the glare of a hundred conflagrations a strong body of men was collected and sent against the negroes. they defeated one body of four hundred, but accessions were continually made to the side of the rebels, until their overpowering numbers compelled the whites to retreat, and do their best to save the town. the revolt had been continually spreading, and now extended over the whole country, coloured people joining the negroes in their work of destruction. one planter was nailed to a gate, and then had his limbs cut off, one after another; a carpenter was sawn asunder, on the ground that this mode of execution suited his trade; and two mulatto sons killed their white father, notwithstanding his prayers and promises. white, and even coloured children, were killed without mercy at the breasts of their mothers, and young women were violated before the eyes of their parents. here and there the horror was relieved by kind actions on the part of faithful slaves, who, while joining in the revolt for their own safety, saved their masters and mistresses. the inhabitants of the town did all they could by sorties, but this was very little. the rebels would run away at the first onset, but only to return in overpowering numbers. a few were taken and broken on the wheel, others fell in the skirmishes, but the insurrection still went on. it spread to the neighbourhood of port au prince, but, on the inhabitants of that town agreeing to enforce the obnoxious decree, the rebels retired. this action was at last followed by those of cape françois, and a partial truce ensued. in two months, it was said, a thousand plantations were destroyed, and ten thousand blacks and two thousand whites killed. the news of this great disaster caused a revulsion of feeling in paris, and the decree which had caused so much trouble was annulled on the th of september, before the results of the insurrection and the truces were known. the arrangement had been come to at port au prince on the th of the same month, and on the th at cape françois. thus almost at the time when it was being repealed the colonists were promising to see it enforced. it is hardly necessary to say what could be the only result of the arrival of this revocation. the struggle was renewed, and all hopes of reconciliation were at an end. the coloured party charged the whites with treachery and duplicity; now they would fight until one or the other was exterminated. they captured port st. louis, but got a severe repulse from port au prince. both sides were desperate, and although there were fewer massacres in cold blood the rebels fell in thousands. but as they were so numerous this slaughter made little impression. even when the prisoners were tortured with a refinement of cruelty hardly credible, no good resulted from such examples. the time for all that had passed, yet the whites nailed one poor mulatto by the feet in a cart, and had him driven round the neighbourhood as a spectacle, before breaking him on the wheel. in january, , three commissioners arrived from france to attempt a reconciliation, which they commenced by publishing the decree revoking the rights of the coloured people. then they proclaimed a general amnesty for all who should surrender within a given time. such utter ignorance as was thus shown has hardly been equalled in any age; we can only ascribe it to the fact that the scum had risen to the top. the mulattoes were roused to fury, and the whites equally exasperated. at petit goave the rebels held thirty-four white prisoners, and at once they were brought forth to be broken on the wheel, previous to which the proclamation of amnesty was read to them, their executioners mockingly claiming it as a pardon for the cruelties they were exercising. this sort of thing, however, could not go on very long. most of the plantations and provision grounds had been destroyed, and both parties felt the want of food. unless something were done they would all be starved; for without means of buying supplies even the whites could hardly exist, while the blacks did nothing to raise further crops in place of those they had eaten or destroyed. france again made an attempt to put matters straight by declaring, on the th of april, , that the people of colour and free negroes ought to enjoy equal political rights with other citizens. new assemblies were to be called, in the election of which they should be allowed to vote; a new governor of hayti was appointed, and new commissioners sent out to inquire into the whole matter. the governor and the commission arrived at cape françois on the th of september, and finding everything in confusion, they sent the late administrator to france as a prisoner, and called a new assembly. then the commissioners put themselves in communication with the rebels, which made the whites think them about to emancipate the slaves. this was followed by a dispute between them and the governor, and the appointment of yet another head, who arrived in may, . he refused to recognise the commissioners, but they were not so easily set aside, for having the whole power of the colony under control, they took possession of port au prince, jacmel, and cape françois, afterwards ordering the governor to leave. this led to another war, in which the coloured rebels and even negroes were utilised by the commissioners, who thus, in a way, sanctioned the revolt. similar atrocities to those formerly enacted were renewed, and again the colony was distracted in every part. the ruined planters now lost all hope, and began to leave for the united states, jamaica, and other colonies. some went to england, especially those royalists who attributed all their disasters to the revolution. here they began to urge the british to conquer hayti, although as yet war had not been declared with france. in september, , an expedition was sent from jamaica, and on its arrival at jeremie the british were apparently welcomed by the whites. but the colony was so utterly distracted that little could be done, and although they took port au prince they were repulsed at cape tiberon. then sickness fell upon them--"yellow jack"--and this, with the delay of reinforcements, made all prospects of success quite hopeless. with a foreign enemy at hand the commissioners did all they could to reconcile the parties, and to this end, just before the landing of the british, proclaimed complete emancipation of all the slaves, which was ratified in paris on the th of february, . this brought the whole body of rebels together, and the position of the enemy became untenable. finally came the cession of the spanish part of the island to france, and now it might be supposed that something could be done to restore peace. this repulse of the british was greatly due to the influence of a very remarkable personage, toussaint l'ouverture, a pure negro, and lately a slave. he had joined the revolt from its commencement, and had succeeded in gaining such an influence over his race as had hitherto been unknown in any slave insurrection. as soon as the general emancipation had been declared, he was so grateful that he joined the french, heart and soul, drove out the british, put down the mulattoes, and was appointed commander-in-chief of the united forces. in he became virtually dictator of the whole island, and was made president for life, with the result that many plantations were re-established, and the colony was making slow progress towards recovery. napoleon buonaparte has been much lauded for his diplomacy, but he certainly knew nothing of the west indies. after the peace of amiens he had a little time to look after the colonies, and hayti was among the first to receive attention. toussaint was then almost at the height of his power, and had prepared a constitution which was laid before napoleon, on reading which the first consul said it was an outrage on the honour of france, and the work of a revolted slave, whom they must punish. it was true that the black president was virtually independent. he lived in the palace at st. domingo, and, with his councillors of all colours, enacted the part of a little sovereign. to crown his audacity, he, in july, , proclaimed the independence of the island, and himself as supreme chief. this roused the anger of napoleon, who retaliated by a proclamation re-establishing slavery in the island--a measure so foolish that even the planters themselves saw the impossibility of carrying it out. to reduce the negroes again to servitude was utterly impossible, even with all the power france could then bring into the island. however, it was attempted with a force of thirty thousand men and sixty-six ships of war. when this immense fleet arrived at cape françois the town was commanded by the negro christophe, who, finding himself unable to cope with such a force, burnt the palace and withdrew. the french landed and sent two sons of toussaint, who had been sent to france for their education, and to whom they had given a passage to their father, bearing a letter from napoleon, offering him great honours if he would declare his allegiance. all that toussaint said in reply was that he would be faithful to his brethren and his god, and with that he allowed his sons to return. as yet the declaration that slavery was to be re-established had not been published, and the negroes were working the plantations on a share of the crop, with penalties for idleness. the french tried to put the negroes against toussaint, in which they succeeded to some extent, the result being that civil war was renewed, and that the power of the black chieftain was broken. then the general thought it time to issue the proclamation, which fell upon his negro allies like a thunder-clap, and made them again rally round toussaint. thus almost everything which had been gained was utterly and for ever lost. now the french tried a little double-dealing. the general stated in a new proclamation that ignorance had led him hastily to fall into error, and that to prevent anything of the same kind, and to provide for the future welfare and liberty of all, he convened an assembly of representatives of all the inhabitants, regardless of colour. this won over the leaders, and finally peace was concluded with toussaint. the fallen president wished to retire to his estate and into private life, but having been cordially invited to meet the general to discuss with him the welfare of the colony, he was seized at the interview and put on board a french frigate, which immediately sailed for france. here he was imprisoned for life without trial, and finally allowed to starve by withholding food and water for four days. the negroes again rose, and the soldiers were by this time so weakened by yellow fever, which even carried off the governor, that little could be done against the rebels. yet everything possible was attempted. bloodhounds were brought from cuba to worry the rebels to death; they were shot and taken into the sea to be drowned in strings. dessalines had now become their leader, and on the th of november, , he with christophe and clervaux, the other rebel chiefs, issued the st. domingo declaration of independence. restored to their primitive dignity the black and coloured people proclaimed their rights, and swore never to yield them to any power on earth. "the frightful veil of prejudice is torn to pieces, and is so for ever; woe be to whomsoever would dare again to put together its bloody tatters." the landholders were not forbidden to return if they renounced their old errors and acknowledged the justice of the cause for which the blacks had been spilling their blood for twelve years. as for those who affected to believe themselves destined by heaven to be masters and tyrants, if they came it would be to meet chains or to be quickly expelled. they had sworn not to listen to clemency for those who dared to speak of the restoration of slavery. nothing was too costly a sacrifice for liberty, and every means was lawful to employ against those who wished to suppress it. were they to cause rivers and torrents of blood to flow--were they to fire half the globe to maintain it--they would be innocent before the tribunal of providence. this declaration was followed on the th of march, , by an address of dessalines, in which he said that everything that reminded them of france also reminded them of the cruelties of frenchmen. there still remained, he said, frenchmen on their island--creatures, alas! of their indulgence; when would they be tired of breathing the same air? their cruelty, when compared with the patient moderation of the blacks--their difference in colour--everything said that they were not brothers, and would never become so. if they continued to find an asylum, troubles and dissensions would be sure to continue. "citizens, inhabitants of hayti, men, women, girls, children, cast your eyes upon each point of the island! seek in it, you, your wives; you, your husbands; you, your sisters!" their ashes were in the grave, and they had not avenged their deaths. let the blacks learn that they had done nothing if they did not give the nations a terrible but just example of the vengeance of a brave people, who had recovered liberty, and were jealous to maintain it. they were again roused, and from the th of april to the th of may an indiscriminate massacre of the whites took place, as many as , being killed during the fifteen days. on the th of april dessalines issued a manifesto congratulating them on their success. at length, he said, the hour of vengeance had arrived, and the implacable enemies of the rights of man had suffered the punishment due to their crimes. his arm had too long delayed to strike, but at the signal, which the justice of god had urged, they had brought the axe to bear upon the ancient tree of slavery and prejudice. in vain had time and the infernal politics of europe surrounded it with triple brass. they had become, like their natural enemies, cruel and merciless. like a mighty torrent their vengeful fury had carried away everything in its impetuous course. "thus perish all tyrants over innocence and all oppressors of mankind!" where was that evil and unworthy haytian who thought he had not accomplished the decrees of the eternal by exterminating those bloodthirsty tigers? "if there be one, let him fly--indignant nature discards him from our bosom--let him hide his shame far from hence! the air we breathe is not suited to his gross organs--it is the pure air of liberty, august and triumphant." yes, they had rendered war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage. he had saved his country--he had avenged america. he made this avowal in the face of earth and heaven--it was his pride and glory. black and yellow, whom the duplicity of europeans had endeavoured to divide, now made but one family--he advised them to maintain that precious concord and happy harmony. in order to strengthen the tie let them call to remembrance the catalogue of atrocities--the abominable project of massacring the whole population, unblushingly proposed to him by the french authorities. let that nation which was mad enough to attack him, come--let them bring their cohorts of homicides. he would allow them to land, but woe to those who approached the mountains! "never again shall a colonist or a european set his foot upon this territory with the title of master or proprietor." on the th of october the writer of these bloodthirsty addresses was crowned as jacques the first, emperor of hayti. in an attempt was made on the part of spain to regain her old colony on the eastern part of the island, where france still maintained a nominal supremacy. spain was now an ally of great britain, and, with the aid of british troops, she took st. domingo and retained this part of the island until , when a revolution took place and it became independent, to be almost immediately united with its sister republic. meanwhile the emperor jacques did not long enjoy his throne in peace, for he was murdered by his coloured soldiers on the th of october, . a republic followed, under the presidency of general petion, who was at the head of the mulattoes, but did not agree with the blacks. this led to a division, the north, with cape françois as the capital, coming into the hands of the negro christophe, who got himself crowned as the emperor henry the first; the southern district, with port au prince, forming a republic under president petion. henry was a man of good common sense, but like most negroes, much inclined to ape the whites. one of his toasts at a dinner was characteristic: "my brother, the king of great britain, and may he be successful against buonaparte, and continue the barrier between that tyrant and this kingdom." he created a legion of honour, called the order of st. henry, built a palace, and began to acquire a fleet; he gave balls and encouraged operas, had a great seal, gave titles of nobility, and procured a set of regalia and jewels, with velvet robes and all other appendages of royalty. under his rule the country flourished, for he would have no idlers. yet he was a tyrant, and at last, in , he was attacked by his own guard, and committed suicide to prevent falling into their hands. president boyer, who had succeeded petion, now took advantage of the confusion to incorporate the two districts, and two years later he added the revolted spanish portion, thus bringing the whole island under one rule, the presidency of which he held for twenty-two years. [illustration] [illustration] xiii. emancipation of the spanish main. the influence of the french revolution was felt in most of the other islands, but nowhere did it lead to such disasters as befel hispaniola. in there was an insurrection in the island of grenada, where the coloured people, under french influence, nearly drove the english out of the colony. even when defeated they held their own in the mountains for about a year, committing many atrocities on the whites who fell into their hands. in most of the french islands there were insurrections more or less dangerous, some of which were put down by the british conquerors, who thus helped to keep the peace. it could not be expected, however, that small places like martinique and guadeloupe would ever have made such stubborn resistance as the great island of hispaniola. a very great impression was made on the spanish colonies, who during the war, owing to the distracted condition of the mother country, attained to a degree of freedom hitherto beyond their reach. this led to unfavourable comparisons between past and present, and the feeling that grew up was fomented by the british, who now had many opportunities from the measure of free trade which resulted from the peculiar circumstances of that period. secret societies were then common all over europe, and in spain they were not wanting. in the early years of this century one of the most energetic members was francisco miranda, a native of caracas, who had been a soldier under washington, and had distinguished himself by his prominence in many of the revolutionary projects of the time. he was the prime organiser of the creoles of south america, and under his auspices the "gran reunion americana" was founded in london. bolivar and san martin were initiated into this society, and took its oath to fight for the emancipation of south america. miranda did his best to ensure the co-operation of great britain and the united states, but failing in this, determined to get up one or more insurrections without their assistance. on the th of march, , he sailed with three vessels and two hundred men from jacmel, hayti, and on the th of april arrived at the dutch island of aruba, from whence the little company proceeded to puerto cabello. the demonstration, however, was nipped in the bud, for two of his vessels being almost immediately captured by the spaniards, miranda was obliged to fly in the other to barbados. here he met admiral cochrane, with whom he entered into an arrangement for british assistance. conceiving that it might be mutually advantageous to great britain and the spanish provinces that the latter should be freed from the yoke of spain, the admiral agreed to support him in a descent on venezuela, between the coasts opposite trinidad and aruba. the only stipulation was for free trade with great britain as against her enemies, and with that miranda went off to trinidad. here he hoped to gain recruits from among the spanish people of the island, to whom he issued an address. the glorious opportunity, he said, presented itself of relieving from oppression and arbitrary government a people who were worthy of a better fate, but who were shackled by a despotism too cruel for human nature longer to endure. groaning under their afflictions they hailed with extended arms the noble cause of freedom and independence, and called upon them to share the god-like action of relieving them. this stirring address made little impression, and consequently few followers were enrolled. however, he got eight armed vessels and two traders, and sailed from trinidad on the th of july, , for coro on the main. the fort and city were taken, but the people, instead of joyfully welcoming their deliverers, ran away and could not be induced to return. miranda, finding the place untenable, went over to aruba, of which he took possession as a basis for further operations. but the british authorities looked upon his scheme as impracticable, especially as it tended to injure their trade, and in november miranda was compelled to disband his little company of less than three hundred at trinidad. the time for a revolution had not yet arrived, but it was fast approaching. it could not be expected that great britain would assist filibustering against her ally, which spain now became, and without some outside assistance miranda found it impossible to do anything. however, the people themselves were at last aroused, and on the th of april, , the city of caracas deposed the captain-general and appointed a junta to rule in the name of the king. this body invited the other provinces to join and form a league for mutual protection against the french, who now had virtual possession of the mother country. other provinces took the government side and prepared to suppress the revolt, which led caracas to ask the assistance of great britain and the united states. among the venezuelans was simon bolivar, who afterwards became the most important personage in the struggle for independence. like miranda, he was a native of south america, and like him had imbibed revolutionary ideas in paris. he was a planter, and had taken no part in the overthrow of the captain-general, but from his principles being well known, he was appointed with others to proceed to london in the interests of the junta. on their arrival they were answered cautiously, the authorities not wishing to commit themselves under the circumstances. here bolivar met miranda, and took the oath of the "gran reunion," promising to work for the independence of south america, notwithstanding his nominal position as an advocate of the king of spain against napoleon. meanwhile the spanish regency had proclaimed the leaders of the movement to be rebels, declaring war against them and blockading their ports. the central junta responded by raising an army, which was defeated with considerable loss at coro and had to retire on caracas. this caused some discouragement, but miranda now arrived, was welcomed with an ovation, and appointed lieutenant-general of the army. he was also asked to draw up a constitution and to become one of the deputies at the first congress of venezuela to be held in march, . [illustration: la guayra on the main. (_from andrews' "west indies."_)] no longer was there any question of the french, the struggle was for entire independence. a civil war began, which raged with varying fortunes for twelve years, in the course of which were enacted scenes more worthy of the days of buccaneers than the beginning of the nineteenth century. in caracas was destroyed by an earthquake, and in another locality perished the greater portion of a thousand men, marching against the spaniards. it was reported that those provinces where the revolution had most influence suffered greatest, while those more loyal almost escaped. this was due to the fact that the mountainous region, in which caracas is situated, felt the full effect of the earthquake, but the priests, who were mostly loyalists, told the ignorant peasantry that it was a judgment on the patriots. the result was that large bodies deserted, until the whole patriot army became disorganised. miranda was captured and sent to spain, where he died in prison in , but bolivar managed to escape. new granada had revolted before venezuela and was more successful. it was to this province that bolivar retired after the downfall of the patriot cause in venezuela. then the spanish captain-general, monteverde, who was called "the pacificator," commenced his work by imprisoning so many patriots that the gaols were choked, and many died of hunger and suffocation. in the country districts he let his troops ravage and plunder like hordes of banditti. even his superiors were at length compelled to recall him on account of the numerous complaints and petitions. at last the people were again fairly roused, until there came a war of extermination, in which both parties tried to outvie the other in murder and rapine. off the peninsula of paria lay the small island of chacachacare, and on it forty-five fugitives took refuge, where they consulted as to the renewal of the war. with only six muskets and some pistols, they landed on the coast on the th of march, , surprised the guard of güiria, took their arms and marched into the town, where they were joined by the garrison, making their number two hundred. thus began the second war, in which the patriots, assisted by the return of bolivar and a body of troops from new granada, again took possession of a large part of the province. on the th of june bolivar proclaimed extermination to the royalists, and named the year, the third of independence and first of the war to the death. this severity created many enemies in venezuela, as well as in other countries, and even bolivar himself afterwards said that the proclamation had been issued in a delirium. however, the result was that both sides became more ferocious than ever, especially when the indians were induced to join the patriots. on the th of august bolivar entered caracas in triumph. the bells rang, cannons roared, and the people cheered him as their liberator. his path was strewn with flowers, blessings were called down upon his head, and beautiful girls, dressed in white and the national colours, led his horse and crowned him with laurel. the prison doors were opened, the patriots set free, and, in spite of his proclamation, no act of retaliation sullied his triumph. two days later he re-established the republic and proclaimed himself dictator as well as liberator. there were now two dictators in venezuela, marino in the east and bolivar in the west, but the spaniards were by no means conquered. bolivar published another decree on the th of september, that all americans who were even suspected of being royalists were traitors to their country, and should be treated as such. ten days later twelve thousand men arrived from spain, and bolivar, who had been besieging puerto cabello, was forced to retire. this encouraged the royalists, who got the llaneros of the orinoco on their side by promises of freedom to kill and plunder in the cause of the king, and threats of punishing by death all who disregarded the call to arms. bolivar was captain-general, but he shared his power with marino, the rights of both resting on force alone. to put an end to this, an assembly of notables was convened at caracas, to whom he resigned his office, and then accepted it again at their request. but the patriots, even when united, were as yet unable to stand before the spanish army, and very shortly afterwards their flag was only visible on the island of margarita. bolivar again took refuge in new granada, where he was elected captain-general, and entitled liberator and illustrious pacificator. he, however, quarrelled with the governor of carthagena, and was forced to fly to jamaica, saying before his departure that carthagena preferred her own destruction to obedience to the federal government. in , after the great peace, marshal morillo came out with , men selected from the army that had fought against napoleon. he was to reduce the whole of the main from spanish guiana to darien, dealing first with margarita. in the course of a year he did this, committing such atrocities as made his name a byword over the whole of south america. in the siege of carthagena, which lasted about three months, the patriots suffered greatly, hundreds dying of starvation; but at last, on the th of december, , it was captured. an amnesty was proclaimed, but in spite of that four hundred old men, women, and children who surrendered were all killed, while most of the stronger men who survived managed to escape. the remnant of the patriots was now scattered over the country as guerillas, and while morillo was subduing new granada a fresh signal for a general revolt was given. the royalist governor, in november, , ordered the arrest of arismendi, who had been pardoned, and at once the margaritans rose, took possession of a part of the island, captured the fort, and killed the whole garrison. at the same time the guerillas united under paez, who now came to the front as a llanero and leader of his class. thus the struggle was resumed with all its former virulence. bolivar, when he heard of the fall of carthagena, went over to hispaniola to meet president petion, who was an ardent supporter of the revolution. here he received assistance of arms and money, with which he began to fit out an expedition to recover his lost position. there were many refugees from the main on that island, but they were not altogether friendly with the late dictator, however petion managed to secure their co-operation. it followed, therefore, that on the th of march, , three hundred patriots left for margarita, where they captured two spanish vessels and united with their fellow-countrymen under arismendi. going over to the main they soon got together a powerful force which overran the whole country and ultimately achieved its independence. but before this happened the patriots met with many reverses. sometimes it appeared as if they would be utterly exterminated; then the tide turned in their favour and they were again successful. the country was devastated by both parties, until cultivation was abandoned in many districts. provisions for the armies were often unattainable, and this drove the soldiers to plunder wherever there was an opportunity, no matter that the sufferers were of their own party. the struggle was watched with sympathy by the people of england, and canning went so far as to make a declaration of neutrality favourable to the patriots. then came a systematic attempt to raise british volunteers, and, as there were many officers and men who had been disbanded since the great peace, a considerable force was raised. carried away by enthusiasm they would hear nothing of the difficulties and dangers they had to encounter, but rushed to fight in the ranks of a people striving to liberate themselves from the grossest oppression. the country was represented as a perfect paradise, and the officers were promised grants of land in this delightful eden, while the men had offers of double the pay of the british army. a similar call was also made in germany with good results, and it was expected that what with the british legion and this other contingent the result would be no longer doubtful. on their arrival at margarita, however, they at once began to perceive that poverty reigned everywhere, and that no provision whatever had been made for them. the patriots foraged for themselves, and anything like a commissariat was virtually unknown; but british soldiers were not accustomed to such a state of things. then the food supply was at the best only live cattle, which they had to kill for themselves, cassava bread, and a few roots such as yams. the rations were so irregular, that one or two days would pass without any supply whatever, and this ultimately led to complaints and something like a mutiny, which was put down with the "cat." after some delay the british legion was sent on to the main, where they were worse off than in margarita. instead of welcoming them, the patriots seemed to be jealous, and did not even give them the opportunity of fighting as they wished. when posted before cumaná they were exposed to the burning sun and drenching rains, without tents or any other shelter; their drinking water was stagnant and brackish, and for rations had only a pound of beef per day for each man, from oxen which they had to butcher. they were also greatly shocked at the enormities of the patriots, who carried on the struggle in a manner suggestive of the middle ages rather than modern days. prisoners were indiscriminately massacred, their murderers enjoying the work as if it were a recreation. it is true that in the then condition of the country large bodies of prisoners could neither be fed nor guarded; still the british could not but feel that the cause they had joined was not altogether what it had been represented. want of proper food led to sickness, and soon they became quite broken down. many died of fever and dysentery, some deserted and got away as best they could, the general result being that little benefit was derived from the british legion by venezuela. if such was the experience of the foreigners, what must have been that of the patriots? they were certainly more used to the country and its food, and therefore suffered less from sickness; but this advantage was lost when it came to actual starvation. with the men engaged in the struggle, only the women and children were left to cultivate enough cassava to keep body and soul together. even this little was often stolen by a foraging party, who did not hesitate to murder the whole family if any objection was made. fugitives, if not cut off, made their way in canoes to trinidad and demerara, often arriving almost dead from the privations they had endured. delicate spanish ladies and little children sometimes arrived--their pitiable condition causing an outflow of sympathy from the planters, and a feeling of detestation for their persecutors. at the commencement of the year the columbian republic had become an accomplished fact, and on the th of november an armistice was concluded between morillo and bolivar, which virtually ended the struggle. the united states had looked upon it with favour, and lafayette in france said that opposition to the independence of the new world would only cause suffering, but not imperil the idea. in the celebrated monroe doctrine was formulated, and canning said in the same year that the battle was won and spanish america was free. central america had not suffered like venezuela and new granada. from mexico to panama was the old captain-generalship of guatemala, but little interest was taken in the province, spain leaving it almost entirely in the hands of the catholic missions. it was not until columbia had gained her independence that guatemala moved in the same direction, although there were slight disturbances in costa rica and nicaragua from to . at first there was a project to found a kingdom, but this gave way to the proposal for union with mexico under the emperor iturbide, which was carried out, but did not last long. in central america established a federal republic, and at once abolished slavery and declared the slave-trade to be piracy--a decision to which the other revolted colonies came about the same time. [illustration] xiv. abolition of slavery. negro slavery, although it formed the sinews and backbone of the plantations, was, as we have seen, considered unjust by the french republicans and immoral by a large section of the benevolent in great britain and the united states. in both countries the society of friends, or quakers, commenced to influence public opinion against its continuance as early as about , and had it not been for the french revolution it is probable that emancipation would have taken place early in this century. the premature and inconsiderate action of the french in hayti lost to france her most valuable plantation, for some years giving such an example of what might happen were emancipation to be granted elsewhere, that those in favour of the system could always point to it with the finger of warning. yet with all that the friends of the slave were undaunted; and as a beginning, in , they procured the abolition of the slave-trade as far as great britain and her colonies were concerned, and then went on to get the traffic prohibited by other nations. denmark had led the van by declaring it unlawful as early as , but little impression was made until the nation most concerned took action. this was a great blow to the british west indies. the labour question had always been of the first importance, and to put a sudden stop to the supply meant a check to all progress. for twenty years before a great impetus had been given to planting, which was much assisted by the downfall of hayti and consequent reduction of her produce to such an extent that she no longer affected the market. now that the planters could get no more negroes, anything like enlargement of the acreage under cultivation was impossible. latterly, also, produce had diminished in price, which made cheap labour all the more important. they had great difficulty in making their estates pay, and when sugar fell to half its former value a cry of "ruin!" went forth all over the west indies. it is interesting to note that the panacea which they expected would save them was free trade. at that time the british warehouses were filled with sugar and other tropical produce, while every continental port was closed by napoleon, and the united states by the navigation laws. not only did great britain store the produce of her own colonies, but that from those of the french and dutch as well. in it was stated that the sugar consumption of great britain amounted to , hogsheads, while the production of her colonies was , in excess of this. the southern states had just taken up cotton cultivation, and brought the price of that article too low for the west indian planter, and, as if that were not enough, coffee also fell in price to an alarming extent. sugar paid best, and was therefore fostered to the exclusion of the other products; and now began the plantation system which became so obnoxious to the anti-slavery party. hitherto, with a full supply of labour, the negroes did little work as compared with their capabilities--now something like the factory system of the mother country was introduced. the old methods would no longer enable the planter to get a profit, and he must make the best of his labour supply. great administrative ability, more careful management, attention to economy, and concentration, were all necessary to prevent losses, and that these were not wanting can easily be seen from the results. the slaves were driven into the field in gangs, and kept at work by the threat of the driver's whip, while the overseers and manager gave most careful attention to the whole system. not only did the negroes work, but the whites also; in fact, on the part of the latter there was a continual strain after a fortune on which to retire from this tiresome and harassing work of nigger-driving. where one succeeded, ten failed; many died of the exposure and of the _anti-malarial_ drinks they imbibed so plentifully. so great was the mortality that the colonies became proverbial for their number of widows, some of whom, however, were not above managing their own plantations. it was a race for wealth, to which everything else was secondary. the slaves diminished every year in the absence of additions from outside, as the whites would have done under similar circumstances. that there was no natural increase was mainly due to the fact that the sexes were unequal, and then, again, maternal affection was sadly wanting in the women, who seemed to care less for their children than some domestic animals. this state of things was mainly the outcome of the system, which was undoubtedly immoral, but the mental disabilities of the race must also be taken into consideration. the anti-slavery party considered that environment was everything; if they could only free the negro from compulsory servitude he would at once become an industrious labourer. yes, in their opinion, if he had the incentive of wages, it would make him a credit to himself and his community. the slaves, they said, were worked to death, yet as free men they would do more and perform their tasks better. their experience with free workmen led to these conclusions, but this could not apply to the west indies nor to the negro race. the anti-slavery party was very strong, and although it is not stated that they took "perish the colonies!" for their motto, it is very certain that they cared little about the future of either white or black as long as they carried their object. to this end every possible case of oppression and ill-treatment was exaggerated, and spoken of as if it were common, notwithstanding that the case only came to their notice through the trial and punishment of the offender. the fact was the planter could not afford to ill-treat his slave--no other animal of his live stock was of so much value. if a valuable horse were killed another could be obtained to replace him, but this was almost impossible in the case of the negro. formerly, when he cost about £ , it might have paid to work him to death; now that his price was five or six times as much, self-interest alone prevented ill-treatment. there was a strong public opinion in every colony which prevented cruelty, and there were societies in some which gave prizes to those in charge of estates who raised the greatest number of children in proportion to their negroes. this breeding of negroes was necessarily very slow work, and did little to make up for the stoppage of importation. it followed, therefore, that every year the amount of available labour became less. in the anti-slavery party commenced a further agitation in favour of the negro, with the result that a registrar of slaves was appointed for each colony, and ultimately a protector. by obtaining an annual census they hoped to have some check on the decrease, and at the same time see if any africans were surreptitiously imported. in some places there was already a slave registration for the purpose of adjusting the head-tax; here the planters did not oppose the measure, although they resented interference. others, like barbados, protested against the innovation as something quite unnecessary, or even if desirable, not to be imposed upon them from outside. this led to a great deal of discussion at the planters' tables, where the slave waiters listened to what was said, and from thence carried garbled reports to the others. in every colony were numbers of free negroes and coloured people, some of whom were loafers and spongers on the slaves, while others went about the country peddling. having nothing to do, they became the news-carriers and circulators of garbled reports. in there lived in barbados a free coloured man named washington franklin, who, like many negroes, was possessed of a good memory and a great power of declamation. getting hold of the english and colonial newspapers, he would read the speeches of wilberforce and others, and after putting his own construction on them, retail them in language tending to rouse the slaves. to him was due an impression that prevailed in barbados, probably from a misunderstanding of the registry bill, that they were all to be free at the beginning of the year . when new year's day had passed they became dissatisfied, believing that their masters had received orders to set them free, but would not execute them. they had heard of the successful rising in hayti, and were determined to attempt a similar revolt in barbados. after waiting for the expected freedom until the th of april, they determined on that day to have a general rising, which was signalled by burning heaps of cane-trash in the parish of st. philip. soon the fields were set on fire, and frenzied mobs, continually increasing in numbers, went from one plantation to another seeking arms. this went on for two days, but on the arrival of the militia they dispersed, leaving a waste behind. as usual a great many of the negroes were executed, although it does not appear that any whites got killed in the revolt. however, the registry act was delayed for two years, to be ultimately passed in january, . towards the end of the last century a new class of men appeared in the west indies--the protestant missionaries. catholic missions had been established in the spanish possessions since the time of columbus, but hitherto, with the exception of a few moravians, no other church had done anything to convert the slaves in the british colonies. between and , methodist societies were established in most of the islands, notwithstanding the opposition of the planters, who in some cases appear to have thought that baptized christians could no longer be held in slavery. this vulgar error, however, was not the real cause of the antagonism to these teachers, but rather the feeling natural to a master which makes him resent any outside interference between himself and his servants. the best and kindest were the first to feel this. the slaves were their children, and to them they applied, in all their troubles and difficulties, as to a great father. it followed, therefore, that when the missionaries came and proclaimed themselves friends to the slaves, giving them advice in secular as well as religious matters, the cordial feeling was broken. "massa" was much put out, for he liked to hold the position of a little god to these poor ignorant creatures over whom he held such power. the slaves were sometimes whipped as bad children when they did wrong, and as children they cared little for a flogging. it is easily conceivable that a humane missionary might feel more pain at witnessing such a punishment than the culprit himself, but it is a fact that cruel punishment was never mentioned by the slaves as an excuse for a revolt. the missionaries were shocked at the apparent nakedness and destitution of the negroes, as a visitor to the west indies will be even now. they did not remember that their clothing and houses were well suited to the climate, and that a home in the english sense of the word would not have been appreciated by them. these things were reported to the societies at home, the members of which knew no more about the tropics than the merchant who once sent a consignment of warming-pans to barbados. those who wanted to raise a cry of cruelty to the poor slave, circulated these facts, and put their own construction upon them, one going so far as to state that there were no chimneys to the houses, as if this omission were a slave disability or oppression, although any visitor to the colonies could have told him that these conveniences were hardly found anywhere. the negro willingly listened to his friend the missionary, and felt eager to perform the rites and ceremonies of the little congregation. the established church was that of england, and although in some places there were special services for the blacks, in others "slaves and dogs" were refused admission. this exclusiveness threw the slaves into the hands of the moravians, baptists, methodists, and the agents of the london missionary society. the church government of some of these was in the hands of the congregation, and as this was a sort of playing at "massa," the slave took to them all the more readily. no doubt these ministers were very good men, and animated by a great love for the negroes, but this did not prevent their being misunderstood by both master and slave. then many of them were connected with the anti-slavery society, and however careful they might be not to offend local prejudices, by speaking against the obnoxious system, as conscientious men they could not help showing their bias. the established clergymen, on the contrary, when they preached to the slaves, told them to "be subject to the powers that be," and to remain content in the condition where providence had placed them. at first most of the planters only sneered at these attempts to convert the slaves, but when they saw what an attraction the chapels became, they opposed them openly. gangs of young fellows would attend, and sometimes break up the meetings by jeering at the preacher. in an ordinance was passed in jamaica "for preventing the profanation of religious rites and false worshipping of god, under the pretence of preaching and teaching, by illiterate, ignorant, and ill-disposed persons, and of the mischief consequent thereupon." considering it the first duty of all magistrates to encourage the solemn exercise of religion, and whereas nothing tended more to bring it into disrepute than the pretended preaching and expounding of the word of god by ignorant persons and false enthusiasts, to persons of colour and slaves, it was enacted that, after the st of july, no unauthorised person should presume to teach, preach, offer public prayer, or sing psalms to any assembly of these people, on pain of a fine of a hundred pounds, imprisonment for six months, or whipping. similar punishments were also to be inflicted on any one preaching in an unlicensed building, as well as on the owner of a house or yard in which it had been permitted. another way of stopping the assembly of slaves was to pass a law against their meeting at night, and punish them if they left the estate without a written permission. there were always excuses for this apparent harshness, as plots had been arranged at nocturnal meetings, some of which had given a great deal of trouble. even if a pass were granted to attend chapel, the estate's authorities could hardly be expected to follow and see that the slave did not go elsewhere. the missionaries took it that all this was done to hamper their work, but such was not the case altogether. the anti-slavery party became very strong about the year , and every obnoxious regulation was a text for discourses on the infamy of the whole system. if a planter were punished, the case was trumpeted over the country to promote a greater antagonism. how absurd this really was could only be seen by the west indians themselves, and if they attempted to say anything they were put down as liars, becaused they were biassed in favour of the other side. one writer pertinently remarked that, among the hundreds of military and naval officers stationed in the west indies, not one had borne out the statements of the missionaries, and we may call attention to the curious fact that captain marryat, who was well acquainted with every colony, speaks always of the negro as a happy fellow. the genial novelist does not mince matters when he speaks of oppression on board ship, and it is not to be supposed that he would go out of his way to screen the planters. some of the colonies passed laws against indiscriminate manumissions, and these were declaimed against as tyranny. yet their wisdom was so patent that, under the system, they could only be heartily approved by every one competent to judge. there is one little fact that stands out most prominently as a redeeming point, if such a thing be possible--under slavery there was no poverty--there were no tramps nor beggars. the owner of the plantation had to feed his people in sickness and in health, in childhood and old age. if manumissions could be given by the mere stroke of a pen, many a poor sick or broken-down creature would have been cast adrift to become a burden upon the community. now and again we yet hear some old woman complain that if this were slavery time, she would not be half-starved as she is to-day, notwithstanding the poor relief. it may perhaps be thought that we are attempting the defence of slavery; we only wish to show that it was not quite so black as it has been painted. it had its dark side; but, on the other hand, many a bright gleam can be perceived by those who have seen some who were born into servitude and heard their stories. they were well fed, had as much clothing as they really required, were as a matter of policy well treated as a rule, and were quite as happy as they are to-day. magistrates, policemen, and gaols were almost unknown; the planter gave the negro a slight flogging now and then, and this ended the tale of his misdemeanours. a bad master might be cruel as a bad husband may be also, but we should not condemn marriage on account of its abuses. the great argument against slavery was the degradation it produced on the minds of both parties. however, we are not writing the history of slavery, but the story of the west indies, and must apologise for the digression. in the house of commons, on a motion of fowell buxton, "that the state of slavery is repugnant to the principles of the british constitution, and of the christian religion," resolved to ameliorate the condition of the slave by giving him civil rights and privileges. as a result of this, orders were sent out to abolish the flogging of women, and discontinue the use of the whip in the field. already the west indian planters were alarmed at the interference of the british government, and the overriding of colonial laws by orders in council. in they had petitioned against being compelled to manumit their slaves in cases where they wished to buy their freedom, but their protests went for nothing. now also they had to submit, although they did so with a bad grace. the british government left the carrying out of the provisions of the resolutions to the colonial legislatures, but at the same time giving them to understand that there was no option. in , when the governor and court of policy of demerara neglected to issue a proclamation allowing negroes to attend chapel in the evening, they received a sharp reprimand, and the governor was superseded; now they knew that nothing was left but to obey orders. when, therefore, the despatch containing these resolutions arrived in demerara, a meeting of the legislature was at once convened to prepare the necessary ordinance. there was no attempt to evade this duty or delay compliance, but such a radical change required great consideration, especially in regard to the control of females without the use of the whip. negresses were, as a rule, less amenable to discipline than the men, and it was thought that something must be done to prevent insubordination. several meetings took place from the st of july, , to early in august, at which the ordinance was prepared and passed, but up to the th of the latter month it had not been published. such a delay, however, did not imply any intention of evading the duty, for three or four weeks often elapse from the time of passing to the publication of a bill. meanwhile the negroes got an idea that something had been done in england for their benefit. like the slaves in barbados and other colonies, they heard discussions at their masters' tables, and supposed that the something which had taken place meant their total emancipation. "the king had freed them, but the planters refused to carry out the order." on the east coast of demerara there was then a small chapel belonging to the london missionary society, under the charge of the rev. john smith. this chapel was a rendezvous for the negroes of the neighbouring plantations, who not only came to service, but met afterwards for a little gossip. some who could read gave their ideas of what they had gleaned from their masters' newspapers, while others told what had been said at the dinner-tables. it does not appear that mr. smith had told them anything of the new resolutions, nor is there evidence that the deacons of the chapel knew of them. it followed, therefore, that all the information they had was these garbled reports of their own people. on sunday, the th of august, a number of the bolder spirits met after service and discussed a plot which had been already under consideration, for a general rising at eight o'clock next evening. their idea was to put their masters in the stocks, arm themselves, and, when the governor came, demand their supposed rights. on monday morning a coloured servant informed his master of the plot, on which he at once rode off to georgetown and interviewed the governor. warnings were sent to most of the planters, and preparations made to suppress the revolt if it took place, but such reports were not uncommon, and although the whites looked after their weapons they did not feel much alarm. as a matter of policy it was better to assume indifference, as anything like desertion of the estates, even so far as the sending away of women and children, would have encouraged the negroes. the signal was given by a fire near the chapel, on which the slaves assembled in great mobs, over-powered their masters, put them in the stocks, and took all the firearms and other weapons they could find. the governor was already in the neighbourhood with a small party of cavalry, and on seeing the signal proceeded to inquire into its meaning. on the way he was met by an armed mob, who, on being asked what they wanted, answered, "our right!" he told them of the new law, and promised a full explanation on the morrow if they would disperse and come to him at a neighbouring plantation. there was a slight hesitation for a few moments, but presently, with cries of "no! no!" and the blowing of shells, they drowned his voice. then some of the more moderate advised him to go away, which he was obliged to do, as his whole company numbered hardly a dozen. bearing in mind the disasters of the berbice insurrection, the people of georgetown were much alarmed. placing their women and children on board vessels in the river, the men prepared to resist to the death. martial law was proclaimed, and every person, without distinction, called upon to enrol at once in the militia, all exemptions being cancelled. they responded heartily, and soon the town put on an appearance as if deserted, except at those places where guards were stationed. the stores were closed, the slaves kept indoors, and, save for the arrival and departure of mounted orderlies, not a sound could be heard. even the negroes themselves, in their kitchens and outbuildings, were overawed, and hardly spoke above a whisper. the methodist ministers came forward and enrolled themselves in the militia, but they were not called upon to perform any duty. the rev. john smith, however, took no notice of the proclamation, although he admitted having seen it. on the evening of the revolt he went for a walk with his wife, and on his return found that the manager's house was being attacked by a mob of slaves. he succeeded by expostulation in preventing their doing much injury, and even rescued the manager from their hands, but instead of sending notice of the rising to the neighbouring estates he went quietly home. as far as he knew no one had been warned of the revolt, and he was certainly remiss in his duty when he did nothing whatever. when, on the following day, he was visited by a militia officer, and ordered to enrol himself in accordance with the governor's proclamation, he refused on the ground of his exemption, although he knew that all exemptions had been cancelled. as usual the rebels had no proper leaders, and for some reason or other--the missionaries ascribed it to religious teaching--they did not burn the houses or destroy the crops. one or two whites who resisted were wounded, one at least fatally, but here again the insurgents were forbearing. fortunately they were soon suppressed, and this no doubt prevented such atrocities as had been committed elsewhere. what with the soldiers, the militia, and crews of vessels in the river, the force brought against them was overwhelming. only one attempt was made to fight, but the first volley of the troops sent the rioters scattering into a cotton field. in about two days the insurrection was over, and then came the hunt for fugitives, who as usual took to the swamp at the back of the estates. a large body of indians was employed, and in the end most of them were captured, some to be hanged at once and others after sentence by court-martial. mr. smith's behaviour was considered as something more than suspicious--he was believed to have had knowledge of the plot, and charged with an intention to side with the negroes if he saw any prospect of their success. on his refusal to take part in the defence of the colony he was taken prisoner, and after the negroes had been tried and sentenced, his case was brought before a court-martial. he was charged with promoting discontent among the slaves, conspiring to bring about a revolt, knowing of the plot the day before and not reporting it, and holding communication with one of the leaders after it had broken out without attempting to capture him. the case created a great stir, public opinion being universal that he was the prime mover in the whole affair. his trial lasted over a month, at the end of which he was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. this sentence, however, seems to have been given to satisfy the people; it was not published, nor was it intended to be executed without reference to the home government. this is proved by the report in the "royal gazette" of the colony, which stated that the trial was over, but the nature of the proceedings was such as to render it imperative on the governor to transmit them for his majesty's consideration. the public were not informed of the verdict, but it is not to be supposed that they were ignorant of the result of the trial; on the contrary, the sentence met with their approval, and they complained of the delay in carrying it out, as compared with the hasty executions of the negroes. mr. smith was ultimately reprieved, on the understanding that he removed himself from the west indies, and engaged never to come back to guiana or go to any of the islands. but the poor missionary was sick, and under treatment before the insurrection, and it may be presumed that the worry of the trial hastened his end. he died in prison before the king's answer arrived, and was buried at night to prevent a hostile demonstration. we have been thus particular in giving the facts of the demerara east coast insurrection, because it made such an impression in england. the anti-slavery party used the case of the "martyr" smith as a watchword, and it was a prime factor in hurrying on emancipation. the immediate result was an order in council to enable slaves to contract legal marriage, to hold property, to buy their freedom on a valuation by disinterested parties, and to put them under a protector, whose duty was to see that their rights were not infringed. they were now citizens, their only civil disabilities being compulsory labour and a tie to the plantation or their masters. this, however, did not satisfy the anti-slavery party, and they went on with their struggle for total emancipation, in which they at last succeeded. in an act of parliament was passed, by which, after the st of august, , slavery was to give place to an apprenticeship of four or six years, according to the status of the slave, the former term for house-servants and the latter for labourers on the plantations, or "predials." every child born after that date was to be entirely free, and here came in one of the greatest blemishes of the law. these poor infants belonged to nobody; their mothers cared little for them, and it could not be expected that the planters would pay to keep up the old system of superintendence. even those who had been instrumental in getting the law passed now began to make comparisons between the position of the child-bearing woman under the old and new systems. hitherto they were unable to find words harsh enough to use in condemning slavery--now they began to find that it had its good points. then the new system required new administrators, and, to prevent any suspicion of bias, magistrates were brought from england. yet these very same unbiassed gentlemen ordered flogging for the men and the treadmill and dark cell for the women. the quaker delegates sent out to inspect the result of their work were horrified. they said that the cat was worse than the old whip, and that the apprenticeship system caused ten times more suffering than slavery. and such was really the case. the negroes could no longer be kept under subordination--they even claimed entire freedom at once. several disturbances took place before they could be made to understand that they had to work seven and a half hours every day, to pay for their homes, provision grounds, and other allowances. in demerara the governor addressed them as erring children, telling them that they could not all be masters, and that every one must work. they had never seen a white man handle the shovel or the hoe--he was free--now they had attained to the same condition, the same coveted freedom from hard labour must be theirs also. true, there were free negroes, some of whom had learnt trades, but even they were above working in the field. why should free negroes work? certainly not for their wives and children. the women got their allowances, and the planter had hitherto looked after the children. the negro had no house rent to pay, his two suits of clothing came regularly every year, and if he was sick the doctor attended to him. except to deck himself with finery, he had no use for money; a few would work overtime when they wanted something of that sort, but the majority did as little as possible. [illustration: the first of august. (_from madden's "west indies."_)] in , when the house servants were to be freed, while the predials must serve two years longer, the difficulties of such an arrangement became insurmountable. a daughter or wife might be entirely free, and the father or husband an "apprentice." then came the difficulty of classification, which the commissioners appointed to arrange the divisions necessarily decided against the opinion of one or the other disputant, driving him to appeal. all this rendered a continuance of the system impossible, and slavery was terminated altogether on the st of august, , the planters receiving from the british people twenty millions sterling as compensation, being about one-third of the estimated value of the slaves. the french had received such a lesson from the revolt of hayti that they did little for their negroes. however, after the downfall of louis philippe in , the revolutionary government abolished slavery throughout the colonies, without compensation. [illustration: a relic of the slavery days--old slave buying fish.] after freedom had been secured in the british colonies the slaves in neighbouring places naturally became discontented. there were not many desertions from the islands, but in guiana, where the dutch negroes were slaves on one side of the river corentyne, and the british free on the other, the runaways from the former caused a great deal of trouble to the dutch. whenever an opportunity occurred, a party of slaves stole a boat and made off to the british side, until the surinam planters became much alarmed. ultimately a dutch gunboat was stationed at the boundary river, and this put an end to the migration. some of the islands were much affected, especially those of the danes, which were frequented by british vessels, and were largely english in their sympathies. here the negroes soon learnt what had happened, and began to express dissatisfaction with their own position. however, denmark saw that something had to be done, and in enacted laws for gradual emancipation in her islands. from the th of july of that year all children born of slaves were to be free, and at the end of twelve years from that time slavery was to cease altogether. this did not satisfy the negroes, who became more discontented, and in an insurrection took place on the island of st. croix. on the nd of july it was rumoured that the slaves would refuse to work next day, and in the evening the whites were alarmed by the ringing of bells and blowing of conch shells. at first it was considered as an alarm of fire, but on inquiry the whites found that the negroes had revolted, and were demanding their freedom. later, people came in from the country districts with the news that there were noisy demonstrations, but that as yet no actual violence had been committed. so little alarm was as yet felt that no precautions were taken, although some persons became uneasy. next morning the negroes streamed into christiansted in great numbers, and commenced to demolish the police office. an officer coming into town was attacked by a woman with an axe, which fortunately missed him, but the crowd was so good-humoured that, on his treating the matter coolly he was allowed to pass: this apparent good feeling made the authorities hesitate in taking extreme measures, even when the mob came round the fort, shouting and calling for freedom. now, however, they began to collect trash for the purpose of setting fire to a house, and the stadthauptman and a roman catholic priest went among them to try remonstrances. all the answer they got was that the slaves could not fight the soldiers, but they intended to burn and destroy everything if freedom were not given them. one of the mob carried a british flag as an emblem of liberty, and several english sailors were reported as forming part of the crowd. soon all their good-humour was gone, and they commenced plundering the stores, the whites running away to vessels in the harbour. about three o'clock in the afternoon the governor arrived from st. thomas, and went among the crowd telling them that they were free, at the same time ordering them to disperse quietly. for a few hours there was a lull, but next morning they reassembled in the country districts as if in doubt whether the governor really meant what he had said. some planters now brought their families to town, leaving their houses to be plundered. parties of soldiers were sent out, and hundreds of prisoners were taken, the mobs, which in some cases numbered two or three thousand, dispersing at their appearance. martial law was declared, porto rico sent six hundred spanish troops, the insurrection was at last quelled, and peace restored. the governor stood his trial in denmark, to be acquitted, and to have his declaration of complete emancipation confirmed. slavery still continued in the dutch possessions until , and even then it was only replaced by compulsory labour for ten years, leaving the final emancipation until . yet with all that there were no disturbances to hurry on the process or cause trouble. in cuba a law was passed in to give freedom to all above the age of sixty, as well as to children born after the passing of the act. this, however, was not enforced on account of internal dissensions, and although porto rico gave her slaves their liberty on the rd of march, , the cuban emancipation bill was not passed by the spanish senate until february, , and under that law slavery only came to an end on the th of october, . [illustration] [illustration] xv. results of emancipation. the slave emancipation was a terrible blow to the west indies, and one from which many of the islands have not yet recovered. it was, the planters said, the second attempt to ruin them, the first having been the abolition of the slave-trade. the party who brought it about looked to see their _protégées_ become a contented, hard-working peasantry, in place of driven cattle, as they called them. the planters, on the contrary, were morally certain that as free men they would not work, and without a labour supply their estates would be utterly ruined. the british taxpayer grumbled at having to pay twenty millions, but this was a mere sop for the estate owners. with the loss of their human chattels the plantations in many cases became utterly valueless; for the negroes congregated round certain centres, leaving most of the outlying places without enough people to keep up the cultivation. labour had been degraded by the system, and now the full effects of such influence began to be felt. [illustration: negress, guiana.] [illustration: negress fish-sellers, guiana.] the compensation money, in many cases, went towards paying off mortgages and other claims, the holders of which saw the impending ruin and hastened to save themselves as far as possible. but it was not enough even for that, for many plantations had liens of half the appraised value of the land, buildings, and slaves. the last security being entirely gone the others became worthless, and, as no one cared to advance money on such risks, the nominal owners could not even get as much as to pay wages. a plantation valued at perhaps £ , a few years before, and easily mortgaged for half that amount, received £ , for compensation with which to pay off the claim, and then wanted cash to carry on as well. banks were established, but only solvent estates could get help from them, and consequently hundreds were abandoned in the larger colonies, and hardly one, with the exception of those in barbados, could produce as much sugar as formerly. west indian nabobs, who had been getting their ten thousand a year and living in england, went out to see what could be done. their incomes were entirely gone, and with them all hopes for the future. widows and children lost their only means of support, and ruin fell on hundreds of families in england as well as in the west indies. but not only did this downfall affect the owners and their relations, but merchants as well. old firms shook to their very foundations, while many became bankrupt, to bring suffering to the homes of thousands who had hardly known of the sugar colonies beyond the invectives of the anti-slavery society. many who had been strong advocates of emancipation now wished they had never said anything about it, but the die was cast, and there could never again be anything like the shilly-shallying of the french at hayti. [illustration: chinese wood-carrier.] [illustration: east indian coolie.] the negroes would not work, and there were no means of forcing them to do so. the anti-slavery party still had their delegates in the west indies to see that the "poor negro" was not oppressed in any way, and their representatives in parliament to call the government to account if they allowed any vagrancy laws, or even the shadow of a coercive measure in the colonies. one ordinance after another for this purpose was disallowed, until every planter was in despair. [illustration: east indian coolie family.] [illustration: coolie barber.] to retain their labourers was a matter of life or death. some continued the old slave allowances to put them in good humour, but as these made the negroes independent of wages, the privilege was abused. they took everything and did nothing in return. some went so far as to say that the queen had promised that their late masters should supply them as usual, entirely regardless of the amount of work they did. this made the planters sore. what with one trouble and another the few who survived the wreck hardly knew how to act. they must not do anything to drive their people away, for there were many inducements offered by others in the same predicament. the negro was master, and he knew it. so much depended on him that he was enticed to labour, by high wages and greater privileges, until this bidding of one against another produced the very result which it was intended to avoid. [illustration: east indian coolie girl.] [illustration: coolie women, british guiana.] something had to be done. first, the allowances of those who would not work were stopped; then their houses and provision grounds were taken away. thousands of fruit-trees were destroyed to prevent their living on mangoes and bananas during the season. then the planters attempted to combine to bring wages to a paying level, and this led to strikes of the negroes. everything tended to further estrangement until employer and labourer drifted far apart. in british guiana the negroes bought some of the abandoned plantations and established villages; in some cases they even attempted to carry them on as sugar estates, but as all wanted to be masters they in every case failed. [illustration: coolie vegetable sellers, british guiana.] [illustration: east indian coolies, trinidad.] as if this were not enough, the british government went in for free trade, and allowed foreign slave-grown sugar to compete with that of the colonies. it seemed as if the french revolutionary cry of "perish the colonies!" had now been introduced into the british parliament. from one point of view the planters had been amply paid with the compensation money. some went so far as to say that twenty millions could have bought all the estates in the west indies, implying that the colonists had no further claim upon them. even the anti-slavery party would not see that they were encouraging the slave system in other countries by opening their markets. this completed the ruin begun by emancipation, but as long as the principles were adhered to it did not matter. [illustration: east indian coolie, trinidad.] most of the remaining plantations now fell into the hands of those who had liens upon them, and they, not liking to lose their money altogether, commenced the uphill work of again bringing them into cultivation. even a few colonists continued the struggle in hopes of better times. in demerara there were two cases where eminent lawyers--the legal profession, by the bye, doing well when everything else was on the verge of ruin--spent all their profits in keeping their sugar estates from utter abandonment. one of these got so heavily in debt that at one time he could not pay his house rent, and as the landlord dared not sue him, he had metaphorically to go on his knees and beg him to quit. [illustration: trinidad coolies.] however, the sturdy english spirit survived in a few, and they set to work to obtain labourers from other parts of the world. at first they thought of africa, but the anti-slavery party would not hear of immigration from the "dark continent," for fear of abuses. then india was tried, with the result that a few coolies were brought over by private parties, notably to demerara by john gladstone. but again the cry of slavery went forth, due to the managers leaving the new-comers in the hands of their headmen or sirdars. it was charged against them that they beat their underlings, and of course the planters had to bear the responsibility. the result was that east indian immigration was prohibited for a time. after a hard struggle on the part of the planters it was renewed, and in the end prevented trinidad and british guiana from utter abandonment. besides hindoo coolies, chinese were also imported, as well as maltese, madeirans, and a few germans. at first the negro thought little of this competition, but when he gradually dropped into the background, with his missionary friends, he commenced to protest against it. his friends said, and it was the truth, that there was enough labour in the colonies to carry on the estates, but the difficulty was that it could not be depended upon. then the wages demanded by the negroes was entirely beyond the means of the planters--the price of sugar would not admit of them. it was a case of cheap labour or the alternative of giving up the struggle, and with the east indians, british guiana, and trinidad recovered from the brink of ruin to become more flourishing in some respects than in the years immediately preceding emancipation. jamaica, the greatest of the british colonies, suffered the most as she got but few immigrants, and it is only during the last decade that she has again begun to hold up her head. without healthy competition with other races, the negroes sunk back, until they became even more degraded than those of british guiana and trinidad. in barbados, on the contrary, the population was so dense that the freedman must either work or starve. there were no waste lands and few absentee proprietors, nor were any of the estates abandoned. labour was plentiful and cheap; it followed, therefore, that the island soon recovered from the check and went on prospering. the compulsion of the whip gave way to the force of circumstances, and the struggle for existence which ensued has made the barbadian negro the most industrious in the west indies. not only is he this, but he is, like his former masters, intensely loyal to great britain and "little england." all the black, coloured, and white people in the other islands call themselves creoles, but he is "neither crab (carib) nor creole, but true barbadian born." in the french, danish, and dutch colonies labour laws were enforced after emancipation, and generally with good results. they felt the change, but not to such an extent as their neighbours, and recovered all the sooner. then they were not utterly disheartened by the unhealthy competition of slave-grown products like the english. possibly, however, the british freedman would not have borne coercion, for even the danes resented it. we have seen already that the negroes of the island of st. croix were by no means willing to submit to what they considered injustice, and how they forced on their own emancipation. however, down to they were bound to the soil as it were under annual engagements, from which they were not released without proper notice, even after the term had expired. they had houses, provision grounds, allowances, and very low wages, and were bound to work five days a week. the engagement expired annually on the st of october, and on that day those who did not renew their contract assembled in the two towns of the island for a jollification, where something like the old "mop" or hiring fair of england took place. in they somehow got the impression that the labour law was about to be relaxed, but there does not seem to have been any combination among them to obtain such an end; they were dissatisfied, and that was all. about the same time the government were so assured of their peaceable disposition that they reduced the garrison of christiansted, the capital, to sixty men. when the st of october arrived the negroes assembled as usual in frederiksted, round the rum shops, appearing good-humoured, although noisy, as such a crowd always must be. nothing particular happened until, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, a cry went up that one of their number had been beaten by a policeman, on which they attacked the peace officers, and drove them into the fort, which was police-station and barracks. some of the principal whites came out and remonstrated with them, and at first they seemed as if they would disperse, but just then the police-master, his assistant, and two soldiers rode into their midst, brandishing swords and ordering them to move off at once. infuriated by this, the mob attacked the horsemen with stones, and drove them back into the fort, which they now stormed. the british vice-consul then went among them, and, after a little parleying, induced them to go with him to the outskirts of the town. here he got a statement of their grievances, which were--first, that their wages were too low (only ten cents a day); second, that the annual contract was slavery; third, that the manager of the estate could fine them at will; and fourth, that if they wanted to leave the island they were obstructed. having promised to do all he could for them, the vice-consul begged them to disperse. [illustration: barbados. (_from andrews' "west indies."_)] [illustration: st. lucia. (_from andrews' "west indies."_)] they were apparently leaving the town, when a woman came running up with the report that the man who had been beaten by the police had just died in the hospital. this made them furious, and all further hopes of their pacification had to be given up. they invaded the hospital, knocked down the sick-nurse and a patient who inquired their business, and demanded to see the murdered man. they were informed that he was not dead but only dead drunk, and would soon recover if left alone. on being convinced of this, they again went off and attacked the fort. the defenders, when assailed with stones, fired over their heads, but this only made them all the more violent. the outer gate was broken down and some of the negroes were shot. just at that moment a planter came up, intending to enter the fort, and at once they beat him with sticks until he was nearly killed. however, the bullets checked them, but only to throw the attack on other parts of the town. stores were pillaged and set fire to, until a great portion of the town was in flames. from some of the stores they took weapons in the shape of cane-bills, and in one were alarmed for a few moments by an explosion of gunpowder. the whole of bay street was soon in flames, and like troops of fiends the negroes went dancing round the fires, in some places pouring on them cans of petroleum if the houses did not blaze up fast enough. then the rum casks began to burst, and streams of burning spirit ran down the gutters, adding to the horror of the scene. the women were always the most reckless--they danced and howled with mingled joy and rage. the men added to the din by clashing their sticks together or against the burning stores, some blowing shells as a sort of rallying signal. "our side!" was the watchword, and all who could not or would not repeat it were severely beaten. most of the whites, however, had fled, leaving them entirely unchecked in their destructive work. meanwhile the police-master had sent to christiansted for assistance, and while he waited the mob again assailed the fort and again without success. all through the night the disturbance continued, and it was not until six o'clock in the morning that a small band of twenty soldiers arrived. at their first volley the mob dispersed, flying precipitately from the town to carry the riot all over the island. two soldiers left in charge of a waggon were killed; and on learning this the soldiers were roused to a state of fury almost as great as that of the rioters. they hunted them from one plantation to another, invaded their huts, stabbed through the mattresses, and killed every negro who came in their way, without taking the trouble to inquire whether they had been concerned in the affair or not. three hundred prisoners were taken, and on the th of october a proclamation was issued calling on all the negroes to return to their houses or be treated as rebels, after which the disturbance was quelled. twelve hundred were sentenced to death, and a commission of inquiry was sent out from denmark, the result of their report being that the obnoxious labour law was repealed. we have been thus particular in our account of this riot, because it exemplifies the character of the negro and is a type of such disturbances in other colonies. there is generally some ill-feeling at the bottom, but as a rule no conspiracy beforehand. when the dissatisfaction reaches a certain point, little is required to raise the passions of the black man, and that little thing is almost sure to occur. unlike the european, he does not proclaim his grievances, except in a general way, among his own people--he has not yet arrived at that stage where civilised man uses the platform and press. it follows, therefore, that his passions smoulder for weeks and months, until some trifle--often a misunderstanding--brings them to the surface. at st. croix there does not appear to have been anything like race prejudice, or that envious feeling which makes the negro think himself down-trodden by his rivals; but that is a characteristic of most riots, and is strikingly exemplified in two that have taken place in demerara. after the emancipation the negro in british guiana became of less and less importance as more and more immigrants arrived, until he grew quite sore. no longer could he demand extortionate wages, for the labour market was virtually governed by the current rates paid to the coolies. these people, however, were quite able to hold their own, and the negro knew this; it followed, therefore, that he vented his spite upon the most inoffensive people in the colony. the portuguese from madeira came to british guiana absolutely destitute just after the failure of the vines on their island. they found the negro more prosperous than perhaps he has ever been since, for this was the time when, if he worked, he could always save money if he chose. in fact, many did so, and bought land which is still in the hands of some of their descendants, on which houses much superior to those now in existence were erected. the portuguese could not endure the hard labour of sugar-planting, but soon found openings as small shopkeepers or pedlars. hitherto there was little competition in these businesses, but the few who carried them on were negroes or coloured persons. these were soon ousted out, and the portuguese became almost the only small trader in the colony. this was a grievance to the negro, who could not see that he himself reaped the benefit--certainly he took advantage of the reduced prices while abusing the sellers. at the beginning of the year the negroes of georgetown were excited by the arrival of an anti-popery agitator, who had become notorious in england, scotland, and the united states. john sayers orr, known as "the angel gabriel," because he blew a trumpet to call the people together, was a native of demerara, and soon found out what a strong antipathy to the portuguese existed among the people. this suited his ideas exactly, for were they not roman catholics--the very body which he had been declaiming everywhere against? soon his horn-blowing brought crowds into the market square every sunday, where his harangues roused his hearers to such a pitch of fury that the authorities became alarmed. he was therefore arrested, brought before a magistrate, charged with convening an illegal assembly, and committed for trial. this committal of the popular hero was the spark which set all the negroes' passions in a blaze, but, strange to say, they did not attack the authorities. their spite was against the portuguese, and soon almost the whole colony was the scene of a general raid upon their shops. hardly any escaped, but one after another was broken open and the goods either carried away or destroyed. some went so far as to use the governor's name, as if he had authorised the raid, and in this way got ignorant people in the country districts to help them to seize boats, provisions, and even the produce of the farms of the obnoxious portuguese. the riot was ultimately quelled, but not before the damage amounted to over a quarter of a million dollars. hundreds of prisoners were captured, but beyond the shooting of one policeman there does not appear to have been any serious casualties, neither were there any executions. it is interesting to note that the idea of poisoning, which is connected with obeah superstition, was conspicuous here as in the berbice slave insurrection. one black man charged a portuguese with threatening to poison his customers with the provisions he sold them; but all the satisfaction the negro got was a reprimand from the magistrate. the second great riot in georgetown is notable for its similarity to that at st. croix. the feeling of antipathy to the portuguese still continued, and the negro had a special grievance on account of the reprieve of a murderer of that nationality. if he had been black he would have been hanged, they said--it was colour prejudice. however, no disturbance took place for several months, and even then it only came about through a misunderstanding. a black boy buying a cent roll of bread in the market, snatched one of the penny rolls instead, when the portuguese stall-keeper struck him down with a stick. the boy was taken up senseless and carried to the hospital, while his assailant through some misunderstanding was not arrested. at once there was a cry of "portugee kill black man; binney (the clerk of the market) let he go," and they began to assail the clerk with sticks and stones. the police arrived, dispersed the mob, and shut up the market, but this only led to their scattering throughout the city. the report that the black boy was dead was carried into every yard, and at once swarms of women and boys, with comparatively few men, began to smash the portuguese shops. the authorities did next to nothing, beyond sending out a few special constables, armed only with sticks, to fight against overpowering crowds better provided with weapons than themselves. the consequence was that for two days georgetown was in the power of thousands of negroes, and damage resulted to the amount of nearly fifty thousand dollars. the disturbance was finally checked by arming the police, and issuing a proclamation that they were authorised to fire on the rioters. not a single shot was fired, however; the threat was quite sufficient for the purpose. it will be seen from these cases that of late years the negroes have not perpetrated such massacres as once characterised their insurrections, but the insurrection at st. thomas-in-the-east in jamaica seems to show that the old spirit was not dead in . for several years previous jamaica had been much depressed--in fact, she had hardly begun to recover from the ruin which followed emancipation. then came a two years' drought, which caused some distress among the people, who had no other means of support than what was derived from their small provision fields. the baptist connexion was very strong in the island, and dr. underhill, the secretary of its missionary society, went out, and on his return published reports blaming the government for the distress, which he appears to have highly exaggerated. this tended to produce more dissatisfaction and to give the negroes an object on which they could vent their feelings. in one of dr. underhill's letters he said the people seemed to be overwhelmed with discouragement, and that he feared they were giving up their long struggle with injustice and fraud in despair. thus a feeling was produced which only required some little incident to bring on a serious disturbance. on the th of october a black man was brought up for trial before the custos of st. thomas-in-the-east, when a somewhat orderly mob marched into the town to, if possible, release the prisoner. they crowded round the court-house and made such a disturbance that one of them was taken in charge, only, however, to be rescued at once by his friends. nothing more was done on that day, but warrants having been issued for the arrest of the leaders, their execution was forcibly resisted. the negroes now seem to have planned a general rising and issued notices calling their people to arms. "blow your shells, roll your drums; house to house take out every man! war is at us; my black skin, war is at hand. every black man must turn at once, for the oppression is too great." they were, they said, ground down by an overbearing and oppressive foreigner, and if they did not get justice would burn and kill. on the th of october a mob assembled at the same court-house, and being resisted by a small body of volunteers, they killed the custos, and every white man who opposed them, to the number of twenty-eight, released all the prisoners and burnt the building. immediately afterwards there was a general rising in the district, which spread for about fifty miles. governor eyre, when he heard the news, at once determined to suppress the insurrection before it affected the whole island. martial law was declared, a body of maroons employed, and within a few days the riots were suppressed. many of the negroes were shot as they tried to escape, others taken and hanged at once, their villages burnt to the ground, and altogether they received such a lesson as effectually put a stop to anything of the kind in the future. it was stated that people were killed and flogged; a thousand houses were burnt and a great deal of property destroyed by both parties. the severity of governor eyre caused a great outcry in england, especially among the baptists. among those who were executed was mr. gordon, a member of the assembly, who no doubt fell a victim to the feeling aroused among the whites. he was charged with being a prime instigator of the revolt, but it does not appear that he went beyond what is generally allowed to a political agitator. such agitation, however, amongst ignorant people, who are easily excited, is particularly dangerous, and likely to recoil on the heads of those who initiate it, who must be prepared to risk the consequences. governor eyre was recalled, and prosecuted without success. he undoubtedly saved the island, and, although such executions as were committed can hardly be excused, yet when we consider the alarm and excitement, we must make some allowances. and, after all, it must be remembered that the loss of life would probably have been much greater had not the insurrection been nipped in the bud. barbados is unique in several respects, and as may be supposed there is something remarkable even about her riots. the patriotism of the inhabitants, both black and white, is proverbial all over the west indies. there is no place in the world to equal barbados--no colony but what has been conquered by the enemy at some time or other. "little england" was said to have offered an asylum to king george the third when buonaparte intended to invade england, and no doubt if such an offer was ever made it was done in all sincerity. barbadians are proud of their constitution, and jealous of its infringement in the slightest degree. this feeling led to a disturbance in , which was the nearest approach to an insurrection on that island in late years. it has often been suggested that a confederation of the british west indies would be advantageous in many ways, and in the secretary of state was of opinion that a closer union of barbados and the other windward islands was desirable. the governor of all the islands was then mr. pope hennessy, who had lately been appointed, and who had been directed to obtain the consent of barbados to a partial union. the measures proposed were of little importance, consisting only of the amalgamation of the prisons, lunatic asylums, and lazarettos, and the extension of the powers of the chief justice, auditor-general, and the police force to cover the whole of the islands. an outsider would suppose that there was nothing offensive in these changes, but that, on the contrary, they would be beneficial in many ways, but most of the barbadians opposed them strongly. barbados, they said, was solvent, while some of the islands were on the verge of bankruptcy--their island should not be taxed to support paupers. they held meetings at which six points were agreed to, and on which the leaders harangued crowds throughout the island. these were, first, that their court of appeal would be abolished; second, that all the mad people from other islands would have to be supported by them; third, that all the lepers would come there; fourth, that the officials of other islands would live on them; fifth, that the power would be taken from the people and given to the governor; and sixth, that as the house of assembly had always been faithful they resented any interference with it. the governor was desirous of carrying his project, and possibly went farther than was consistent with his instructions, which were to bring about the arrangement in an amicable manner. he did all he could to create a party in its favour, and was charged by the other side with using underhand means to this end. the main point, however, on which he laid stress, and which seems to have caused the trouble, was the advantage to the barbadians of having the other islands so close as to become virtually like their own parishes, so that the surplus population would be able to take up lands that were then useless, and lying waste. barbados is densely populated. all the lands are occupied, and it is very difficult to procure even a small lot--this makes the people all the more eager to get possession of a little freehold. yet, with all this, they will not settle in other islands, where they can get a piece of ground for next to nothing. somehow or other the more ignorant people seem to have got the notion that the governor was promising them land in barbados, and this made them enthusiastic for his project. something like communism would, they thought, follow if the confederation act were passed, and this was the reason in their opinion why the other party fought against it. the planters spoke as if mr. hennessy had laid himself open to such a misunderstanding, and that made them all the more virulent against him. the anti-confederation party said that it had always been the pride and glory of barbados to have a separate political existence, and if under their own institutions they had achieved a success which made them the envy of their neighbours, why should they change? the majority of the house of assembly were on their side, and it is difficult to understand why the governor pressed the matter in the way he did. the opposition was no doubt foolish, but still, if the people chose to be silly, he could not overcome their prejudices. party feeling ran high, only the mob shouting for hennessy and confederation. those on one side would hiss him as he appeared--the others took the horses from his carriage and drew him along in triumph. it was reported that he never went out without a guard, and that even his wife lived in continual fear. she had been threatened with the abduction of her child, and one ruffian went so far as to pelt the little one as he was driven along the street, for which he was prosecuted. at last, on the th of april, , when the party feeling had existed over six weeks, matters came to a crisis. a man went into the yard of byde mill plantation, flourishing a cane-cutter, and bearing a red flag. he was, he said, a confederation man, had just come from the governor, and wanted some liquor (cane juice). getting nothing he went out and brought his brother who bore a sword, and the two quarrelled with the man in the boiling-house, the one with the sword attempting to stab him. they defied a constable who came to arrest them, and one blew a shell which brought a mob of women and children, who went into a field of sweet-potatoes and began to carry them off. three mounted police arrived, but they were pelted with stones, and one who attempted to arrest the man with the sword got wounded. a magistrate then came and read the riot act, but the mob refused to disperse. as usual there were grievances, some complained that their pay had been stopped, which the manager said was because they could not work the mill full time for want of wind. two cane-fields were now set on fire, and the disturbance spread, its great characteristic being raids upon the potato fields. in several places live stock were killed, dwellings broken into, and everything chopped or broken to pieces. a few shots were exchanged, but no one appears to have been killed, although many got wounds and bruises from sticks and stones. everywhere the mob declared they had the authority of the governor for what they were doing, and the sufferers from their depredations charged mr. hennessy with delay in putting down the disturbance. this, however, was probably due to the effect of the persecution of governor eyre, which has made every west indian governor hesitate before going to extremes. however, when the people from the country districts began to fly to bridgetown he sent out a few soldiers who very quickly dispersed the mobs. a sensational telegram to london stated that five hundred prisoners had been taken, forty people killed and wounded, rioting was suspended, but their position was threatened, and that confidence in the government had entirely gone. this was highly exaggerated, but a great deal of property was destroyed or injured, fifty estates pillaged, and probably over fifty persons received more or less serious blows. quite a storm fell upon hennessy, who on the th of april had to issue a proclamation threatening to direct the law officers to take prompt measures against those who libelled him, by saying that he had sent emissaries through the island to mislead the people, and that he countenanced and abetted the disgraceful and lawless acts of the marauders. [illustration] [illustration] xvi. the isthmus transit schemes. by the second half of the last century the supply of gold and silver from peru had much diminished, and the road across the isthmus almost fell into disuse. in , during the great war, the british appear to have had some vague notion that it would be good policy to secure the track across nicaragua, for which purpose an expedition was fitted out. early in that year nelson sailed from jamaica with five hundred men, and after getting a number of indians from the mosquito shore and a reinforcement of british troops, the party made the difficult ascent of the san juan river, and captured the fort of the same name. but, through ignorance, the whole affair proved disastrous--the fort was useless, and the losses through sickness very great. of eighteen hundred men only three hundred and eighty survived, and nelson himself nearly lost his life. he was obliged to go home to recruit, and it was only after spending two or three months at bath that he recovered to continue that glorious career which made him so famous. however, it was not long afterwards that a project for utilising the isthmus was brought under the consideration of the british government by general miranda, of whom we have spoken in another chapter. he wanted pitt to assist him in his projects for the emancipation of the spanish colonies, and, as a means to this end, in , proposed that the british should take possession of darien, and thus further their commerce in the pacific. nothing was done at that time, and a few years later miranda made a second proposition that the united states should join with great britain, and open roads and canals for both nations. mr. pitt seems to have agreed to this, and was only prevented from attempting to carry it out by the delay of president adams. the united states were to furnish ten thousand men, and great britain money and ships. in , under lord sidmouth, an expedition was actually set on foot, only to collapse at the peace of amiens. again, in , pitt tried to carry out the project with miranda, but the condition of europe stood in the way of expeditions to the spanish main. [illustration: atlantic entrance to darien canal. (_from cullen's "darien canal."_)] in enumerating the advantages likely to accrue from the emancipation of south america, a writer in the _edinburgh review_ of january, , laid great stress upon a passage across the isthmus. it was the most important to the peaceful intercourse of nations of anything that presented itself to the enterprise of man. so far from being a romantic and chimerical project, it was not only practicable, but easy. the river chagré, about eighteen leagues westward of porto bello, was navigable as far as cruzes, within five leagues of panama. but there was even a better route; at about five leagues from its mouth the chagré received the river trinidad, which was navigable to embarcadero, from which panama was only distant thirty miles through a level country. the ground had been surveyed, and not the practicability only, but the facility of the work _completely ascertained_. further north was the grand lake of nicaragua, which by itself almost extended the navigation from sea to sea. the governor of st. john's castle (fort san juan) had been instructed by the king of spain to refuse permission to any british subject desirous of passing up or down this lake, "for if ever the english came to a knowledge of its importance and value they would soon make themselves masters of this part of the country." but not only had the best places for a canal been selected at this early time, but the many advantages to be derived from its construction had been well considered. the same writer went on to say that from this splendid and not difficult enterprise, not merely the commerce of the western shores of america would be brought, as it were, to their doors, but that of the south sea whalers, who would be saved the tedious and dangerous voyage round cape horn. then the whole of the vast interests of asia would increase in value to a degree that was then difficult to conceive, by having a direct route across the pacific. it would be as if, by some great revolution of the globe, they were brought nearer. immense would be the traffic which immediately would begin to cover the ocean--all the riches of india and china moving towards america. then also the commodities of europe and america would be carried towards asia. as a result of this, vast depôts would be formed at the two extremities of the canal, to soon develop into great commercial cities. never before had such an opportunity been offered to a nation as great britain had then before her, owing to a wonderful combination of circumstances. mr. robinson, a united states merchant, in , said that the most ardent imagination would fail in an attempt to portray all the important and beneficial consequences of such a work, the magnitude and grandeur of which were worthy the profound attention of every commercial nation. the powers of the old and new world should discard all selfish considerations, and unite to execute it on a magnificent scale, so that when completed it might become, like the ocean, a highway of nations, the enjoyment of which should be guaranteed by all, and be exempt from the caprice or regulation of any one kingdom or state. such were the views promulgated at the beginning of this century, but nothing was done until about , when the pressure of circumstances again brought the isthmus into note. darien and panama are in the republic of new granada, but north of these come the small states of costa rica, nicaragua, honduras, san salvador, and guatemala. all of these are inhabited by true americans--native races who have to a considerable extent absorbed the slight admixture of european blood introduced by their conquerors. some places are so inaccessible as to be virtually outside the pale of civilisation. the roads are nothing but mule tracks, full of quagmires where the animals have to wade up to their girths in mud--in fact, little better than the paths so well described by lionel wafer. the rivers are numerous, and, on account of the heavy rainfall, their currents are very strong, and all the more dangerous from the numerous sandbanks and rapids which obstruct their course. since the states gained their independence they have passed through so many changes of government that at the beginning hardly a month passed without a revolution in one or the other. this went on until without interference from outside, but with the discovery of gold in california came an invasion of ruffians of all nations. the old freebooters almost seemed to have come to life again. hardy adventurers from all parts of the world rushed off to the new "el dorado," woke the sleepy nicaraguans on the san juan river, and roused the people of chagres. over the isthmus of panama or through the nicaragua lake they flocked by thousands, necessitating the establishment of transit companies to provide them with mules, boats, and steamers. the easiest, although longest, route was through nicaragua, which was controlled by the vanderbilt company, and during the time the "rush" lasted they took over two or three thousand per month. the company had steamers on the lake to meet the throng of diggers as they arrived, and they passed through at regular intervals like a tide. the overland part of the route presented a strange spectacle, with their pack mules and horses. men of all nationalities, armed with pistols and knives, which they were prepared to use on the greasers (natives) at the slightest provocation, put these altogether in the background. a traveller has spoken of them as a string of romantic figures that could not be matched in any other part of the world. some glowed with fervent passion, as if on fire, others were hard, cold, and rugged as the rocky passes they traversed, while a few were worn, old, and decaying, under the effects of the hardships and reverses of their stormy existence. every line in their faces had a meaning, if it could only have been interpreted, telling of sin and suffering--of adventures more terrible than were ever portrayed by the pen of the romantic writer, and of experiences as fascinating as they had been dangerous. among the results of this rush through nicaragua was the expedition of william walker, the great filibuster of this century. with fifty-five men he went forth from california to conquer central america, and in the end nearly succeeded. he got himself elected president of nicaragua, but ultimately raised such a storm that he was brought to bay by some forces from honduras and costa rica, and had to surrender to the captain of a british man-of-war, by whom he was handed over to his enemies to be shot. with this wonderful traffic across the isthmus arose the old canal schemes, as well as a new one for a railway. easy and rapid transit must be obtained in some way or other, and this time being in the age of steam, it naturally followed that the project for a railway gained immediate support. it was commenced in , at which time the terminus on the gulf side was settled, and the foundations of the new town of aspinwall or colon laid a few miles east of chagres. the difficulties were enormous, on account of the marshy ground and the number of rivers to be crossed. the wooden bridges were almost immediately attacked by wood ants, floods carried away the timbers, but more distressing than all was the loss of life through sickness. chinese labourers were imported in great numbers, only to fall victims to the same deadly climate which had given porto bello and the isthmus generally their evil reputation. however, the railway was completed in , at the enormous cost of $ , , , although its length is only - / miles. thus one part of the great project was carried out, and a good road provided for passengers and light goods, the annual value of which latter is now about £ , , . but those in favour of a canal were not sleeping all this time. the old routes were again mooted, that through lake nicaragua being put down at miles in length, while the other, since known as the panama, was only . dr. edward cullen, however, in went out and made some surveys, with the result that he advocated the old darien line as the shortest and most practicable. he would start from the same port de escoces that witnessed the downfall of william paterson's scheme, and which he said was a most commodious harbour for the terminus of a canal. the isthmus was here only miles across, and free from many of the difficulties which beset the other routes. as a result of dr. cullen's reports, in it was proposed to establish "the atlantic and pacific junction company," with a capital of fifteen millions sterling. the prospectus stated that the period had arrived when the spread of commerce and the flow of emigration to the western shores of america, australasia, and china, demanded a passage more direct than those by way of the cape of good hope and cape horn. various projects had been formed for uniting the two oceans, but all these were open to the objection that they fell short of supplying a continuous channel from sea to sea, for vessels of all dimensions, by which alone transhipment could be obviated. sir charles fox, mr. john henderson, mr. thomas brassey, and dr. cullen had received a concession of territory from new ganada to the extent of , acres, on condition that a deposit of £ , be made within twelve months. it was believed that the work could be completed for twelve millions. the _times_ spoke disparagingly of the new company, and this probably prevented its acceptance by the financial world. the line, it said, had not been actually surveyed, but only superficially examined, and, after all, if it were finished, it could only come into competition with the nicaragua canal, every foot of which had been the subject of precise estimates, and which would only cost _four millions_. several letters from the projectors and supporters of the company followed, with other leaders, the result being that the darien canal never went beyond a project. presently also the rush for california abated, and the railway met the wants of the passengers; all the canal schemes were therefore again shelved for a time. then came an almost utopian project for a ship railway, the cars of which would run down into the water, take up the largest vessel, and carry it over without trouble or difficulty. this met with little encouragement, and was soon dropped. in ferdinand de lesseps, who had achieved such a glorious success with the suez canal, took up the matter of a canal between the two oceans, and summoned a congress of savants, engineers and seamen, to inquire into and discuss the questions of its possibility, and of the most suitable place for its excavation. a number of projects were considered, among them that of dr. cullen, brought forward by m. de puydt, which, however, did not receive much attention, as there was a difference of opinion as to the reliability of the figures. the schemes were ultimately reduced to two--those for the nicaragua and panama routes. the position of the great lake caused the former to be thoroughly discussed; but there were several almost insurmountable difficulties in the way of its adoption. to clear the san juan river, and make it into a great canal, would entail great labour and expense, and then seven or eight locks would be required. on the pacific side locks would also be required for the rivas, while the harbours of greytown on the gulf side, and brito on the pacific, were quite unsuited as termini for a canal. the total length would be - / miles, and the time occupied in the passage four and a half days. there was also another great draw-back: nicaragua was and is subject to earthquakes, which would be likely at times to interfere greatly with such heavy works as were required. it followed, therefore, that notwithstanding the powerful support of the americans, this line was abandoned in favour of that from port simon to panama, not far from the railway. two french officers, mm. wyse and reclus, had explored the country, and proposed to carry the canal through the chagres river, and thence, by means of a great tunnel, into the valley of the rio grande; but, on consideration, the tunnel was abandoned in favour of a deep cutting, which would not exceed feet. the great objection to this was the floods of the chagres river, which sometimes rose twenty-five feet in a single night; but this was got over by arranging for a separate bed for the canal. there were a few other difficulties, but propositions were made to obviate them; and at last the sub-commission reported that "the panama canal on the level technically presents itself under the most satisfactory conditions, and ensures every facility, as it gives every security, for the transit of vessels from one sea to another." now came the question of cost. the nicaragua canal was estimated at £ , , , and that at panama £ , , . (the reader will compare these with former estimates, especially that of nicaragua as stated by the _times_.) the former was rejected absolutely, on account of the necessity for locks, and all further discussion was concerned with the latter. it was then calculated that, with transit dues of fifteen francs per ton, the net annual profit would be £ , , . m. de lesseps was elected to the academy in , when m. renan said he had been born to pierce isthmuses, and that antiquity would have made him a god. carried away by enthusiasm, the great projector saw no difficulties; he had already completed a work which had been declared almost impossible, now he would carry out a project similar to that proposed by william paterson. however, panama was not suez, a rainless desert, but a place where floods, marshes, and quagmires took the place of almost level sands. m. wyse had vainly tried to start a company; but when lesseps, with all the prestige of his suez canal, joined him, there was comparatively little difficulty. personally, lesseps seems to have known little of panama--all his knowledge was gained at second hand. the first public subscription was invited in july, , the capital being , , francs (£ , , ), in , shares at francs each. this large sum, however, was not obtained at once, only £ , , being applied for. however, lesseps was not discouraged, but determined to go on with the work, trusting that money would flow in as it was wanted, which ultimately proved to be the case, until the project appeared hopeless. he visited the isthmus, and made a triumphal progress over the line; he even witnessed one of the great floods of the chagres river, which rose forty feet and covered the railway. undaunted by this, he went over to panama, and on the th of january, , inaugurated the great canal with a ceremony and _fête_. he then stated that success was assured, and declared, upon his word of honour, that the work would be much easier on the isthmus than in the desert of suez. in march following he visited new york, where he was but coldly received, on account of american jealousy of european influence. the president said that the capital invested in such an enterprise by corporations or citizens of other countries must be protected by one or more of the great powers, but no european power could intervene for such protection without adopting means which the united states would deem inadmissible. this did not damp his enthusiasm; if other countries would not assist, all the credit would go to france. the company had a concession from the columbian republic for twelve years, and the united states would not be likely to interfere. it will be interesting here to compare the estimates for the canal by different persons and at different times within two years:-- m. wyse, £ , , the paris congress, , , the lesseps commission, february, , , m. de lesseps himself, " " , , rectified estimate, september, , , lesseps said he had an offer from a contractor to complete the work for twenty millions. backed by the press and the deputies, the company's shares sold freely, and on the rd of march, , it was fully established. it was promised that in the course of that year the line of the canal should be cleared, and dredging commenced. lesseps expected to finish in , but in and the two following years he was obliged to advance the time to . the canal was to be miles long, feet wide at the bottom, and feet deep. little was done in , but the work was divided into five sections, and in the following year dredging and excavating were commenced. but, even thus early, it was found to be more difficult than had been expected. up to march, , only , metres had been excavated, which was reckoned to be about / th of the whole. this would not do, as it meant that over a century would pass before its completion. about seven thousand labourers, mostly jamaica negroes, were employed at that time, and this number was increased until, in , there were , . in the average amount excavated was , metres per month, against lesseps' estimate of two millions. yet, with all that, it was calculated that in this year only / th of the material had been taken out. the difficulties were enormous. first, there was trouble to find dumping places, where the earth would not be again washed into the excavations by heavy floods. then came the rank vegetation, which was continually stretching from either side to choke the clearing. weeds grew six to eight feet high in a rainy season, and these, with the straggling vines, kept a little army at work to clear them away from the embankments and tracks. the workmen suffered greatly from yellow and other fevers, and £ , was spent on hospitals and their appurtenances. money was spent profusely on such things as grand offices and a magnificent house to lodge the president, if he should ever come to inspect the works. all along the route were ornamental bungalows, and the director-general at panama had a salary of £ , , besides a house and other allowances. even he suffered from fever, and his wife and daughter died of it. up to about fifty millions sterling had been spent, and hardly a fifth of the work was finished. then financial difficulties led to an arrangement for merging it in a new company, which proposed to complete the canal on a new plan. notwithstanding all the objections to locks, it was now proposed to save such an immense work of excavation by erecting four on either side, thus bringing the highest water level to feet. eighteen and a half miles were said to have been completed, of which five were on the pacific side and the remainder on the gulf. to carry out the new plan, £ , , more were required, but, as a matter of fact, only a third of the work necessary for this revised scheme had been done. then came the downfall, which has been compared to that of the south sea bubble. when the company went into liquidation, scores of shady transactions came to light. editors of newspapers and deputies had been bribed to gain their support, and money had been wasted in almost every possible manner. in february, , m. ferdinand de lesseps and four other directors were prosecuted, with the result that he, mm. c. de lesseps, fontaine, and cottin, were convicted of breach of trust and swindling, the two former being sentenced to five years' imprisonment and , francs fines each, and the latter two years and , francs fines. m. eiffel, the architect of the great tower of paris, was found guilty of breach of trust, and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a fine of , francs. nine persons were then charged with receiving bribes, one of whom, m. baïhaut, admitted that he got , francs. three were found guilty, sentenced to imprisonment, fines, and to pay the liquidators of the company the amount of m. baïhaut's bribe. charles de lesseps appealed against the charges of swindling, and these were quashed on the ground that the transactions had occurred more than five years before, thus getting the longer terms of imprisonment and fines of the three principals reduced. ferdinand de lesseps hardly knew what was going on; he was old, feeble, and in a state of apathy and stupor. pity for his condition prevented the carrying out of the sentence as far as he was concerned, and he died on the th of december, . the _times_, in noticing his death, said the story was a most pitiful one. the blame of the panama affair must be laid upon the people and the public temper. bribery and corruption were symptoms of a thoroughly unhealthy state of things. an infatuated public provided enormous sums; when these were spent, more went the same way, and to get these contributions everything possible was done. lesseps was no engineer, but a diplomatist, planning great schemes and the means of carrying them out. he was the man of the moment in france. he was neither a financier nor an engineer, neither an impostor nor a swindler. he was a man of great originality, of indomitable perseverance, of boundless faith in himself, and of singular powers of fascination over others. meanwhile several attempts had been made to get money to carry on the work, one of which was by means of a lottery. but the french people were discouraged, and were no longer prepared to throw good money after bad. it followed, therefore, that although in a new company, with a capital of sixty-five million francs, was proposed, and that it was announced in august that eight hundred workmen were engaged, it does not appear that anything is being done. if, as has been stated, only a third of the work has been accomplished for, say, thirty millions, allowing for waste of money, it can hardly be expected that double this amount will ever be obtained. what with the heavy floods and rank vegetation, a great deal will have to be done to recover lost ground; in fact, some of the excavations must be filled up by this time. those who know the country can easily understand that the handsome bungalows, hospitals, and workmen's houses must be overrun by wood-ants, and that the machinery is mostly spoilt by rust. even if the canal is ever finished with locks, it is doubtful whether it could pay a dividend, as the work of keeping it open by dredging would be very expensive. no doubt it would be a boon to the world if it were finished, but capitalists expect profit, and will hardly be inclined to assist without such expectations. [illustration: europe supported by africa and america. (_from stedman's "surinam."_)] the nicaragua canal has been in course of excavation for several years past by an american company. as finally adopted, it is to have a total length of . miles, of which - / will be through the lake, and ½ through the san juan river. there are to be three locks on either side, which may cause trouble in case of a violent earthquake; and then, again, the length of the journey will be against it as compared with that of panama. it has been attempted in the united states to make it a national work, and the sum of a hundred million dollars is asked from the american government, or at least a guarantee on the issue of bonds to that amount. we believe that very little enthusiasm for the project has been shown. in august, , the company was unable to meet its obligations, and a receiver was appointed, since which time we believe the work is being continued, and that it has been decided to complete it as soon as possible. m. de varigny, in _l'illustration_ of june the st, , gives the following opinion on the work and its political importance:-- "that the washington statesmen take account of the fact that the cutting of the isthmus is difficult, costly, and, in case of a rupture with england, dangerous, we cannot doubt. but such is the fascination of great enterprises, of grand words and grand theories, that senators and representatives hesitate to oppose the current of opinion that is bearing along the masses. "the work has begun, and we can only hope that it will succeed. there cannot be too many gates of communication between different peoples. the united states undertake to open this. can they do it, and doing it, will they give up the advantages they will thereby acquire? the future will show." [illustration] index. acosta, pedro de, explorer of the orinoco, african slavery, aguirre the tyrant, alfinger, ambrosio de, searches for "el dorado," altienza, donna inez de, murdered by aguirre, amazon company, amazon, expedition of ursua and aguirre, american indian, his character, _amis des noirs_, "angel gabriel," john sayers orr, rouses the negroes of demerara, antigua, anti-slavery party, , apprenticeship, negro, araby, a leader of bush negroes, arawaks, their character, ; columbus tries to enslave them, ; the spanish sovereign's good feeling for them, ; their treatment by the first colonists, ; did not lay up provisions, ; thinks spaniards gods, ; refuse to be slaves, ; die off in great numbers, ; in guiana, , araya, dutch at, armada, spanish, , aruba, aspinwall, _assiento_ contract to supply slaves, ayscue, sir george, reduces barbados for the parliament, bahamas, natives kidnapped, ; settled by english, ; resort of buccaneers, ; captured by spaniards, baïhaut, m., bribed by panama canal company, bannister, major, english governor of surinam, barbados, first colonised, ; protests against grant to earl of carlisle, ; result of the english revolution, ; charles ii. proclaimed king, ; sir george ayscue arrives to subdue the island, ; attack on hole town, ; the island surrenders, ; sufferings of a bond-servant in, ; de ruyter driven off from, ; its unique position, ; negro plots, ; anti-slavery insurrection, ; result of emancipation, ; confederation disturbances, barker, andrew, a rover, baron, a bush negro chief, basco, michael de, a buccaneer, , baskerville, sir thomas, a companion of drake, beaudierre, mons. de, a sympathiser with the coloured people of hayti, berbice, supplies cut off during war, ; captured by french corsairs, , ; great slave insurrection, belize, berrie, one of ralegh's captains, berrio, antonio de, spanish governor of trinidad, bolivar, simon, liberator of venezuela, bond-servants, boyer, president of hayti, brethren of the coast, british guiana, , british legion in venezuela, bull of partition, its terms, ; disputed, ; practically revoked, bush negroes, buxton, fowell, byam, major, governor of surinam, byron, admiral, , caciques of the indians, their position, california rush, campeachy, bay of, , cannibals, , canning's declaration of neutrality, caribana, caribbee islands, , caribs, their character, ; cannibalism, , ; hatred of spaniards, ; in guiana, , ; in st. kitt's, carlisle, earl of, grantee of caribbee islands, , carthagena, taken by french, ; great fair, ; attacked by admiral vernon, cary, colonel, favours the buccaneers, casas, las, cassard, jacques, the corsair, ; captures st. eustatius, ; curaçao, cattle, wild, "cavaliers" and "roundheads" in barbados, central american republics, chagres, charbon, jan abraham, charles i. and the colonies, charles ii. declared king in the bermudas and virginia, ; barbados, ; his interest in the plantations, chinese labourers introduced, christianity forced on the natives, , christophe, a haytian leader, , clervaux, a haytian leader, clifford, jeronomy, case of, cochrane, admiral, codrington, colonel, coffee, coffee, leader of rebel slaves in berbice, , coke, john, colon, colonies, spanish, in hispaniola, , coloured people in hayti, columbian republic, columbus' opinion of the natives, confederation in barbados, contraband trade with spanish colonies, , , convict labour, coolies, east indian, cooper, anthony ashley, corsairs, , corteso, juan, an "el dorado" seeker, costa rica, cottin, m., cotton, , , council for plantations, , cromwell and the west indies, cudjo, a maroon chief, cuba, cullen, dr. e., projector of the darien canal, curaçao, , , , , darbey, john, an english prisoner in cuba, darien canal, darien scheme, delgado, augustine, an "el dorado" seeker, demerara, , , , dessalines, a chief in the haytian insurrection, ; crowned emperor, dogs, hunt indians, ; run wild, ; hunt maroons, ; hunt rebel negroes, dominica, , , , , _dominus vobiscum_, one of the first english vessels in the west indies, d'oyley, governor of jamaica, drake, sir francis, voyage with hawkins, ; raid on nombre de dios, ; great expedition to the west indies, ; captures st. domingo, ; last voyage, ; death, drax, colonel, du casse, a french corsair, dudley, sir robert, dutch, , , , , , , edwards, bryan, eiffel, m., "el dorado," the quest for, ; dangers, ; germ of the story, ; martinez' report, elizabeth, queen, emancipation, great britain, ; france, ; denmark, ; holland, ; spain, enambuc, m. d', first french settler, - , enciso, bachelor, english and dutch, , , essequebo, everson, a dutch pirate, eyre, governor of jamaica, fedreman, nicholas, an "el dorado" seeker, ferdinand and isabella, kind feelings towards the indians, ; grant from the pope, fontaine, father, a catholic missionary, fontaine, m., a panama defaulter, fourgeaud, colonel, franklin, washington, free trade, french, in the west indies, - , ; company for settling the islands, ; character of, ; revolution, its influence on hayti, effect on the spanish main, george of spires, an "el dorado" seeker, german knights in venezuela, gold-hunting, , , , , gordon, mr., a member of the jamaica assembly, executed, grasse, count de, , grenada, groenwegel, commander of essequebo, guadeloupe, , _guanin_, guatavita, lake of, guatemala, guiana, , guianians, guichen, admiral de, , güiria, guzman, fernando de, haïti, hayti, or hispaniola, its inhabitants, ; colonised, ; gold found, ; almost ruined by becoming depopulated, ; a resort of buccaneers, ; under the french, ; downfall, ; british invasion, ; republics and empires, hall, captain, exploit of, harcourt, robert, in guiana, harry, a guiana indian, in london, , hartop, job, a prisoner in mexico, havana, ransomed, ; sacked and burnt, hawkins, sir john, first voyage, ; second, ; third, ; final trip with drake, and death, hawkins, william, voyage to brazil, hennessy, governor john pope, of barbados, , henri i. (christophe), emperor of hayti, henry viii. of england sends an expedition to the west indies, herera, alonzo de, hogs naturalised in hispaniola, see haïti hondo river, hood, sir samuel, hoogenheim, wolfert simon van, governor of berbice, huten, philip von, an "el dorado" seeker, iala, father, an "el dorado" seeker, indian, character of, jackson, colonel, captures santiago de la vega, jacques i. (dessalines), emperor of hayti, jamaica, valdivia wrecked off the coast, ; attacked by colonel jackson, ; captured by english, ; spanish attempt to recapture, ; the first real british colony, ; progress of, ; authorities refuse help to the darien colony, ; slave revolts, ; serious negro insurrection, james i., friendship for spain, , ; dispute with spain about the west indies and virginia, jeffreys, judge, sends prisoners to barbados, jenkins, captain, and his ear, jervis, admiral sir john, jews in the west indies, , keymis, captain, a follower of ralegh, , - , kyk-over-al, dutch fort in essequebo, labour difficulties, , , lafayette, lawrence, captain, an english pirate, legrand, pierre, a french pirate, leigh, charles, first english settler in guiana, lesseps, ferdinand de, and his panama scheme, lolonois, the great pirate, macatoa, reported a very rich city, madeirans imported into british guiana, maltese imported into british guiana, manoa, city of, fabulous residence of "el dorado," margarita, , marino, dictator of venezuela, maroons or simarons, , , martinez, juan de, his report of "el dorado," martinique, , , , , mauduit, captain, murdered in the haytian revolt, merrifield, ralph, one of the first settlers in st. kitt's, methodists, miranda, francisco, leader of the revolution in venezuela, , missionaries, protestant, , montbar, the french pirate, montserrat, , , morgan, captain (afterwards sir henry), the english buccaneer, , morgan, colonel, morillo, marshal, spanish leader in venezuela, _navio de permisso_, negro slavery, , , , , negroes, free, difficulties with, nelson, lord, flying trip to the west indies, ; his expedition to nicaragua, nevis, , new edinburgh, new granada, , , , new world, nicaragua and the canal scheme, , , , , north, roger, a settler in guiana, , _nueva dorado_, ojeda, alonzo de, omaguas, reported a rich nation, ophir, , ordas, diego de, explores the orinoco, orders in council, orr, john sayers, "the angel gabriel," creates a disturbance in demerara, ouverture, toussaint l', leader of the haytian negroes, oxenham or oxnam, john, crosses the isthmus, oyapok, english colonies in the, , panama, , , panama canal, , , panama railway, parima lake, paterson, william, and the darien scheme, penn and venables, generals, expedition to the west indies, perez, diego, a gallant spaniard, petion, president of hayti, , philips, miles, an english prisoner in mexico, pirates in the west indies, , pitman, henry, a bond-servant, pitt, in favour of a panama canal, plantations, , , pointis, de, a leader of buccaneers, pomeroon, , pope, the, issues bull of partition, ; acknowledges french rights in the west indies, popham, captain, captures spanish letters, porto bello, its fair, ; captured by vernon, porto rico, , prince of orange in england, privateers, , proclamations to the indians, , providence island, puerto cabello, quesada, herman de, an "el dorado" seeker, ralegh sir walter, at trinidad, ; his "letters patent," ; his interest in guiana, ; captures trinidad, ; searches for "el dorado," ; sent to the tower, ; liberated, ; goes again to guiana, ; capture of st. thome, ; his execution, reclus, m., a panama canal projector, regapo, leonard, a guiana indian, in london, _repartimientos_, robespierre, rodney, admiral, , rossy, sieur du, route of spanish trade, rovers to the main, , royal african company for introducing slaves, rupert, prince, ruyter, admiral de, attacks barbados, st. christopher's, or st. kitt's, settled by thomas warner, ; granted to the earl of carlisle, ; d'enambuc arrives, ; divided between english and french, ; attacked by spaniards, ; granted to a french company, ; bond-servants in, ; quarrels between english and french, , , ; captured by french, st. croix or santa cruz, riots in, , st. domingo, captured by drake, ; attempted by penn and venables, st. eustatius, , , , , st. lucia, , , st. martin's, , st. thomas, st. vincent, salle, general de la, french governor of st. kitt's, san juan river, santa martha, captured by french pirates, santiago de cuba, gallant fight at, santiago de la vega captured by english, savile, henry, his "libel of spanish lies," sedenno, antonio, an "el dorado" seeker, serfdom, , shelley, colonel, a "cavalier" in barbados, simarons, _see_ maroons slaves, indian, ; negro, , , , , , ; white (bond-servants), ; insurrections, , , ; abolition of the african trade, , ; runaways, ; registrar and protector of, ; emancipation of, ; reviews of slavery, smith, rev. john, a missionary sentenced to death in connection with a slave revolt, - south sea bubble, , spain, character of her people, ; introducing christianity, ; wanton cruelty to the natives, ; hardiness of spaniards, ; their audacity, ; spanish claim to supremacy, ; interference with their trade, ; spanish cruelty to prisoners of war, "spiriting" or kidnapping white servants, ; made felony sugar cane, , suicides, surinam, , , , , sylva, gaspar de, an "el dorado" seeker, tison, thomas, first english trader to west indies, tobacco, tobago, , , toledo, don frederic de, captures st. kitt's, tortuga, the great rendezvous of the buccaneers, , , trade forced upon the spanish settlers, , transported convicts, treasure seeking, trelawny town, tribute imposed on natives, trinidad, , ursua, pedro de, murdered by the tyrant aguirre, utrecht, treaty of, valdivia, his shipwreck, van horn the pirate, vanderbilt transit company, venables and penn, generals, their expedition, venezuela, the treasure seekers in, ; her struggle for independence, vernon, admiral, , , virgin islands, virginia, wafer, lionel, his journey across the isthmus, walker, william, the modern filibuster, walrond, colonel, a "cavalier" in barbados, warner, thomas, founder of the colony of st. kitt's, , , wars, england and spain, , , ; holland and spain, , ; france and spain, ; england and holland, , ; england and france against holland and spain, ; france against england and holland, ; spain, england, and holland against france, ; england and holland against france and spain, ; england and spain, ; england and her revolted colonies, ; france, spain, and holland join in the quarrel, ; commencement of the great french war, ; england and the united states, watts, governor, of st. kitt's, welsers of augsburg, west india company of holland, william iii. and the darien scheme, willoughby, lord, governor of barbados, , - , wyse, m., a panama canal projector, [illustration] the gresham press, unwin brothers, woking and london. note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) narrative of a voyage to the west indies and mexico in the years - , * * * * * works issued by the hakluyt society. narrative of a voyage to the west indies and mexico. first series. no. xxiii-mdccclix * * * * * [illustration: facsimile of ms.] narrative of a voyage to the west indies and mexico in the years - , with maps and illustrations. by samuel champlain. translated from the original and unpublished manuscript, with a biographical notice and notes by alice wilmere. edited by norton shaw. burt franklin, publisher new york, new york published by burt franklin west th street new york , n.y. originally published by the hakluyt society reprinted by permission printed in the u.s.a. * * * * * the hakluyt society. sir roderick impey murchison, g.c.st.s., f.r.s., d.c.l., corr. mem. inst. fr., hon. mem. imp. acad. so. st. petersburg, &c., &c., president. the marquis of lansdowne. } }vice-presidents. rear-admiral c. r. drinkwater bethune, c.b. } rt. hon. lord broughton. beriah botfield, esq. the lord alfred spencer churchill. charles wentworth dilke, esq., f.s.a. rt. hon. sir david dundas. sir henry ellis, k.h., f.r.s. john forster, esq. lieut.-gen. charles richard fox. r. w. grey, esq., m.p. egerton harcourt, esq. john winter jones, esq., f.s.a. his excellency the count de lavradio. rt. hon. robert lowe, m.p. r. h. major, esq., f.s.a. sir henry rawlinson, k.c.b. the earl of sheffield. clements r. markham, esq., honorary secretary. * * * * * introduction. the manuscript, of which the following is a translation, as literal as the idioms of the two languages admit, is in the possession of monsieur féret, the learned and extremely obliging librarian of the public library at dieppe. of its originality and authenticity there can be no doubt; the internal evidence of similarity in style, diction, and orthography even, with the published account of champlain's _voyages in new france_, would alone suffice to establish those points.[ ] [ ] extract from "histoire et description générale de la nouvelle france, avec le journal historique d'un voyage fait par ordre du roi dans l'amérique septentrionnale. par le p. de charlevoix, de la compagnie de jesus." tome premier, o., paris, , p. . "le commandeur de chatte, governeur de dieppe, lui succéda, forma une compagnie de marchands de roüen, avec lesquels plusieurs personnes de condition entrerent en société, et fit un armement, dont il confia la conduite à pontgravé, à qui le roy avoit donné des lettres patentes, pour continuer les découvertes dans le fleuve du canada, et pour y faire des etablissemens. dans le même tems samuël de champlain, gentilhomme saintongeois, capitaine de vaisseau, et en réputation d'officier brave, habile et expérimenté, _arriva des indes occidentales, où il avoit passé deux ans et demi._ le commandeur de chatte lui proposa de faire le voyage de canada, et il y consentit avec l'agrément du roy, etc."--ed. m. féret obtained this valuable document from a resident in dieppe, where it has been for an unknown time; and it is more than probable that it had been in the possession of m. de chastes, governor of the town and castle of dieppe, who was champlain's chief friend and protector, under whose auspices he had been employed in the war in brittany against the league, and by whom, after his return from the west indies, he was sent to canada. to him, it is most likely that champlain would present a narrative of his voyage. on m. de chastes' death, the manuscript probably passed into the possession of the convent of the minimes at dieppe, to which he was a great benefactor during his life, and by testament after his death. he was also, by his desire, buried in the church of the convent. the library of the minime fathers was, with the rest of their property, and that of the other convents of the town, dispersed at the great revolution; but most of the books remained at dieppe, as may be seen by a reference to the numerous works which have gradually found their way, by gift or purchase, to the "public library" of that town, bearing inscriptions as having belonged to the convent. the readers of champlain's _voyages in new france,_ will remember the allusion to the expedition which is the subject of the following narrative: "sur ces entrefaites," he says, speaking of the projects of monsieur de chastes for the canadian voyage, "je me trouvais en cour, venu fraischement des indes occidentales, où j'avois été près de deux ans et demy après que les espagnols furent partis de blavet, et la paix foict en france, où pendant les guerres j'avais servi sa dicte majesté (henry iv) souz messeigneurs le mareschal d'aumont de st. luc, et le mareschal de brissac." the relation of this voyage was never published, and this should rather confirm the supposition that the manuscript had been presented to m. chastes. it was evidently finished in haste; as the omission of several drawings, which are mentioned but not inserted, and the character of the writing, shews. champlain returned from this voyage early in , and before the autumn of the year was occupied in making preparations for his first voyage to canada, before his return from which in the next year, , m. de chastes had died. had champlain kept the manuscript of his west india voyage, he would surely have published it in , at the same time that the account of his first expedition to canada was printed, and to none is it so likely that he would have given his "brief discourse" as to his best friend and patron, at whose death (he died at dieppe) it would pass into private hands, or the minime convent, and be lost sight of. the narrative is highly interesting as exhibiting the state of some of the west india islands two hundred and fifty years ago, many of them being then uninhabited by europeans; and of the condition of mexico, and of the spanish policy there, where no foreigner was then permitted to set his foot. gage, who travelled some five and twenty years after champlain, bears witness to the difficulty of proceeding thither, being obliged to hide himself in an empty biscuit-cask to avoid the search of the spanish officials, till the vessel in which he had embarked should sail. the account of the capture of porto-rico, by the earl of cumberland, and the state in which it appeared, after the english had abandoned the island, is curious; and the combat with the anglo-franco-flemish fleet, amusing. the idea of the junction of the pacific and atlantic oceans is also remarkable. the accuracy of champlain's observations of all that he saw, is evident; as to the hearsay descriptions, we may entertain doubts of the fidelity of his informant, but not of the good faith of the narrator. he had a certain amount of credulity in his character, the more remarkable in a man of such natural penetration and sagacity; but the belief in strange monsters was prevalent before, during, and for a long time after, his epoch; and it was the more to be excused from the hermetically closed state of the spanish colonies, and the strange stories to which the consequent mystery gave rise. the curious details of the "brief discourse" seemed worthy of the attention of the geographer, the naturalist, and of the inquiring general reader. as the founder of the capital of our principal north american colony, champlain's name is, in some sort, associated with english adventure. with that idea, permission was requested of m. féret, to translate this narrative into english, which was most kindly and unhesitatingly granted by him. in the translation, endeavour has been made to preserve champlain's style, as much as possible. the drawings are fac-similes of those in the manuscript. discoverers are general benefactors: after a time, all nations profit by their labours. in champlain's case, we are the principal gainers; but for his indomitable courage, enterprise, and determination, quebec might never have existed, the colonization of canada have been indefinitely retarded, and instead of a valuable country, advanced in civilization, and sufficing to itself, england might have conquered only a small colony struggling for existence, or scattered and insignificant settlements, feebly subsisting on a precarious and badly organized trade with native tribes. for nearly a century champlain's predecessors had endeavoured, with all means and appliances, to found colonies in various parts of north america; all failed, and, for long after his time, canada remained in a semi-torpid state. it required the solid foundations laid down by champlain, to enable the young settlement to pass through the struggles of its infancy and arrive at maturity. none were found capable of carrying out his views for years after his death. had he died earlier, no one could have replaced him; had he not lived, in all probability expedition after expedition would, as before, have been sent out with the same success which had attended all previous attempts, from cartier to de la roche. notes have been made on the various subjects which appear to require some explanation. biographical notice of champlain. it will be well, perhaps, to preface the notice of champlain's career with a rapid sketch of the various expeditions, discoveries, and attempts at colonisation, of the french in north america, from the discoveries of sebastian cabot, in , to the beginning of the seventeenth century. the errors, disasters, and failures of his predecessors will throw out in stronger relief the sound common sense and sagacity, the determined courage and unfaltering resolution, and the prudent wariness, which enabled champlain to note and avoid their errors, to meet and to overcome difficulties, to foresee and to prepare for possible evil contingencies. it is certain that the french were among the first, if not the very first, who followed in the track, and profited by the discovery, of cabot. the basques, bretons, and normans, as early as , practised the cod fishery along the coast and on the great bank of newfoundland[ ]--the ancestors, probably, of the basques and bretons who, a century later, so stoutly resisted the pretensions of the companies which were then forming, to the exclusive privilege of the fishery and trade in those parts. [ ] the père fournier, in his _hydrographie_, says that the basques and bretons had been there before : "l'an , ainsi qu'il est porté dans l'histoire de niflet, et dans magin, les basques, normands, et bretons allèrent en la coste des moreïes, dit le grand banc, vers le cap breton; voire, il semble qu'ils y ayent esté bien auparavant, car dans une lettre écrite par sebastian cavot à henry vii, roy d'angleterre, l'an , ces terres sont appelées du nom d'isles de bacaleos, comme d'un nom assez connu. on ne peut douter que ce nom ne leur ait este donné par les basques, qui seuls en europe appellent ce poisson bacaleos, ou bacallos: et les originaires l'appellent apagé."--lib. vi, c. , paris, . others say that juan vaz de cortereal explored the northern seas and discovered the land of _baccalhos_, or codfishland, in , either of which, if true, accounts for cabot's mentioning the name as familiar, but overthrows his claim to its discovery.... champlain also writes: "ce furent les bretons et les normands qui en l'an descouvrirent, _les premiers des chréstiens_, le grand banc des moluques (molues or morues) et les isles de terre neufve, ainsi qu'il se remarque és histoires de niflet et d'antoine maginus."--_voyages de la nouvelle france_, paris, . in , jean denys, of harfleur, published a map of the newly known country, and, two years after, a pilot of dieppe, named thomas aubert, commanding a vessel named the "pensée," belonging to jean ange, father of the celebrated vicomte de dieppe, brought a north american indian with him to france.[ ] [ ] navarrete and ramusio. in the year , the baron de léry undertook a voyage to north america with the intention of forming a settlement; but, being detained at sea for a long time, was obliged to return to france without accomplishing his object, leaving on the isle des sables (sable island) and at campseau (canso) his cattle and pigs, which multiplied considerably, and were subsequently of the greatest service to certain of the marquis de la roche's people, who, about eighty years later, were left on sable island, without any other resource but fish and the flesh of the cattle they found there.[ ] [ ] fournier. in , francis i sent giovanni ferazzano, a florentine, on an expedition of discovery to the coast of north america. the only document extant of this (first) voyage is a letter from ferazzano to the king, dated the th july, ,[ ] wherein he supposes that his majesty is acquainted with his progress, the events of the voyage, and the success of this first attempt. in the following year he again sailed, and in march arrived at the coast of florida. he ranged the coast from about the th to the th degree north latitude, as far as an island which the bretons had before discovered.[ ] ferazzano took possession, in the name of the most christian king, of all the country which he visited. the next year he undertook a third voyage, of which nothing authentic was ever known, save that he perished in it.[ ] [ ] ramusio. mark lescarbot, who wrote a history of new france (paris, ), also gives a detailed account of the voyages of ferazzano. [ ] bruzen de la martonière, _dictionnaire geographique_, paris, . [ ] fournier quaintly says: "il avait l'intention d'aller jusques au pôle, mais il fust pris et mangé par des sauvages." in , jacques cartier, of st. malo,[ ] sailed thence on the th april, with two vessels of the burthen of sixty tons each, furnished by philippe chabot, admiral of france, and the comte de brion, for the purpose of continuing the discoveries of ferazzano, and on the th may arrived at cape bonavista, in newfoundland. after some discoveries in that island he proceeded to the southward, and entering the great gulf, explored a bay, which he named la baye des chaleurs. the rigour of the season prevented his pursuing his discoveries that year, and he returned to france. [ ] champlain says that he was "fort étendu et experimenté au faict de la marine, autant qu'autre de son temps." at the instance of charles de moïry, sieur de la maillères, then vice-admiral of france, cartier returned in the following year to the gulf, to which he gave the name of saint lawrence, subsequently extended to the great river which flows into it, and which the natives called the river of canada. on the th august, he discovered the island of naliscolet, calling it isle de l'assomption, now anticosti. on the st september he arrived at the saguenay river, flowing into the st. lawrence. he ascended the latter stream to an island about a hundred and twenty leagues from the sea, which he named isle d'orléans, and wintered at a little river which he called ste. croix, afterwards rivière st. charles. he then continued his voyage up the st. lawrence to a place called hochelaga, a large indian village on an island at the foot of a mountain which he called mont royal, and which, altered to montréal, is now the name of the whole island. finding it impossible (according to his report) to surmount the rapids (sault st. louis), he returned to his vessels, but was obliged again to winter on the banks of a small river falling into the ste. croix, and which he named "the river jacques cartier." the greater part of his people died of scurvy, and cartier, discontented and disappointed at the little progress he had made, and grieved for the loss of his people, returned to france. "and thinking the air was so contrary to our nature that we could hardly live there, having so suffered during the winter from the disease of the scurvy, which he called 'mal de terre,' he so made his relation to the king and the vice-admiral de maillères, who not looking deeply into the matter, the enterprise was fruitless. and, to say truth, those who have the conduct of discoveries are often the cause of the failure of the best plans, if their reports are too implicitly trusted; for in thus entirely confiding in them, enterprises are judged to be impossible, or so traversed by difficulties, that they cannot be carried out, save with almost insupportable expenses and pains."[ ] [ ] champlain, _voyages en nouvelle france_, etc. in , jean françois de la roque, sieur de roberval, a gentleman of picardy, was named viceroy of nouvelle france, and renewed the attempt to form a colony in canada. he first sent out cartier as his deputy, to commence a settlement in the island of mont royal, and despatched one of his pilots, jean alphonse, of saintonge, one of the best french navigators of his time, to reconnoitre the coast beyond labrador, and to endeavour to find a shorter passage for eastern commerce than round cape horn or the straits of magellan; but, meeting with great obstacles and risk from the ice, alphonse was obliged to return. the proposed settlement had no better success. cartier remained nearly eighteen months abandoned to his own resources, as de roberval, who was to have shortly followed him, delayed his departure, and when at last he set out on his voyage, he met cartier on his way back to france, having lost many of his people, and suffered extreme distress from famine. de roberval wished to force him to return to canada, but cartier refused. the next expedition was that of jean ribaut, of dieppe, a protestant, and one of the best sea captains in france. he was despatched under the auspices of the admiral de coligny to establish a colony in that part of florida visited by ferazzano in his second voyage. ribaut set sail on the th february, , and landed at a cape which he named cape françois. pursuing his course towards the north, he disembarked at the "rivière de mai," setting up a stone pillar with the arms of france affixed, in token of taking possession of the country. continuing about sixty leagues more to the northward, he built a fort, which he styled charles fort, on about the spot where charleston was subsequently founded by the english. the fort finished, ribaut found that his provisions were running short, and that he could not that year make the purposed settlement. he therefore left eighteen men in the fort, under the command of a captain albert, with all the supplies that he could spare, and set sail for france in july, promising to return to revictual his people and establish the colony. unfortunately, on his arrival in france he was employed in the war which had just broken out with spain, and could not accomplish his promise. captain albert and his men, trusting to ribaut's coming back with ample stores, did not trouble themselves to clear and cultivate land, so as to be prepared in case of delay or accident, but consumed their provisions without order or care, so that in a short time they were reduced to great scarcity. the men mutinied, hung one of their comrades for some trifling cause, and becoming more violent from want and impunity, killed their commander albert, electing in his place one nicolas barré, "a good sort of a man!" no succour arriving, they built a small vessel to endeavour to return to france, and put to sea with the scanty remains of their stock of provisions. in a very few days that was exhausted, and the famine became so terrible and reduced them to such extremity that they were obliged to cast lots which of them should be killed to support the others. "and," says fournier, "what is greatly to be admired, the lot fell on the man who had been the cause of the mutiny against captain albert." fortunately, the survivors were picked up by an english ship and carried to england. in rené de laudonnière was sent to florida by admiral de coligny. he sailed on the nd of april, and duly arrived at the rivière de mai, where he built a fort, which he named la caroline, rechristened by the spaniards "san matteo." as in the case of captain albert, a conspiracy was formed against laudonnière, his men mutinied, and threatened to kill him if he would not allow them to go to sea and pillage the virgin islands and the coast of st. domingo: laudonnière was forced to consent. the mutineers fitted out a small vessel, captured and plundered some spanish ships, but after cruising for some time were obliged to return to la caroline, where laudonnière, resuming his authority, had four of them hanged. in addition to these troubles, before the winter was past, their provisions began to fail, and after subsisting for more than six weeks on roots, and no supplies arriving from france, they determined to build a vessel, so as to be able to return there in august; but the famine becoming more and more severe, the men were too weak to finish their barque. many went among the indians, who mocked and ill treated them, upon which they attacked the savages and obtained some maize, which strengthened and gave them courage to work at their vessel. they then prepared to demolish the fort before setting sail for europe; but while thus occupied, four ships were seen off the coast, which proved to be english, who, on seeing the extremity to which the french were reduced, assisted them with provisions, and helped them to complete their vessel. when ready to embark, laudonnière again descried some ships approaching the coast; this time they were french, commanded by ribaut, who was bringing succour and the means of increasing the settlement. ribaut had been again despatched by the admiral de coligny with six ships and about six hundred men, chiefly protestants, to complete the establishment of the long-desired colony. he set sail from dieppe in june, , and arrived at his destination on the th august. the spaniards had doubtless been informed of this expedition, as before ribaut could disembark his men and stores, a squadron of large ships was seen in the offing. he sent his son to reconnoitre, following shortly with his other vessels. a violent tempest arose, his ships were driven on shore, and many of his men drowned. with the remainder he retired to his little fort, almost without arms or ammunition. the spaniards (although then at peace with france) stormed it, and massacred all in it, men, women, and children. ribaut, although promised his life, was at last stabbed in cold blood by a spanish captain, named vallemande, and his body treated with atrocious barbarity,--his head and face were flayed; the skin, with the hair and beard attached, dried, and sent to the nearest spanish colony. the spaniards then hung the bodies of the slain, and all the french whom they could catch, on the nearest trees, with an inscription to the effect that "these men are not hung as frenchmen, but as heretics." laudonnière with a few men escaped into the woods, and returned after some time to france. the son of ribaut also, escaping both the storm and the spanish squadron, arrived there in safety. the king of france made some remonstrances about this horrible affair to his brother sovereign, the king of spain, who disavowed the deed, but gave no redress. ribaut was, however, well avenged by one of his own creed. in , dominique de gourgues, a calvinist gentleman of gascony, fitted out two (some say three) ships, at his own cost, and proceeded to florida. assisted by the natives, with whom he formed an alliance, he attacked and took by assault the spanish forts, treating the spaniards as they had treated the french, by hanging them all on the same trees, altering the inscription to the purport that "these men are not hung as spaniards, but as traitors, robbers, and murderers." he then demolished the forts, and returned to france in , performing the voyage, it is said, in seventeen days. the king of spain in his turn complained, and de gourgues, disavowed and threatened with condign punishment by his sovereign, was obliged to absent himself. he seems, however, to have kept his ire warm against the spaniards, as in we find him in the service of don antonio, of portugal, who named him admiral of the fleet which he was equipping against spain; but, on the point of sailing, de gourgues was seized with a mortal malady, and died,--thus disappointing the hopes of his old enemy the king of spain, who had offered a large sum for his head. in the year , a voyage to canada was undertaken by the sieur du court pré ravillon, in a vessel called the bonaventure, to endeavour to establish a trade in moose-skins and teeth. whether he succeeded in his adventure or not, history is silent. the marquis de la roche fitted out some vessels in , embarking a number of men and a large quantity of stores of all kinds requisite for forming a colony in canada. not having, it appears, any personal knowledge of the country or of navigation, he engaged a norman pilot, of the name of chédotel, for the voyage. the details of this enterprise are not very clear, but it is certain that the expedition reached the isle des sables, and, for some reason or other, seventeen of the people were sent on shore and abandoned. the poor fellows remained there for seven years, living in holes in the ground, and subsisting on fish and the cattle which they found wild in considerable numbers--the descendants of those left there in by the baron de léry.[ ] [ ] champlain says, that the cattle had been saved from the wreck of a spanish ship. at the expiration of seven years, the pilot chédotel was _condemned_ by the parliament of rouen to go and fetch away the unfortunate men,--with the condition, however, that he was to have half of all the property, hides, oil, seal and black fox skins, etc., which the wretched creatures might have collected during their banishment. on their arrival in france, the poor men were presented to the king, henry iv, who ordered the duke de sully to give them some relief,--which the worthy duke did, to the amount of fifty crowns each, "to encourage them to return there!" the poor marquis de la roche, unfortunate in his expedition, was equally so at court in his endeavours to obtain the aid which the king had promised him. "it being denied him," says champlain, "at the instigation of certain persons who had no wish that the true worship of god should increase, or to see the catholic, apostolic, and roman religion flourish in those parts." the marquis took all this so much to heart that he fell sick and died, having consumed all his property, and wasted his time and labour, in vain. in the year following ( ), the sieur chauvin, de ponthuiet, captain in the royal marine, at the persuasion of captain du pont gravé of st. malo, (both protestants), obtained a privilege for ten years, at the charge of forming a company for the colonization of canada. having equipped his vessels, he gave the command of one of them to du pont gravé, and proceeding to the river st. lawrence, arrived in safety at tadoussac, at the junction of the saguenay with that river. one of the objects which they were bound mainly to follow was the propagation of the roman catholic religion among the savages. chauvin's people were for the most part catholics, but the chiefs were calvinists, which was not precisely adapted for the fulfilment of the projected purpose, "but that," again says champlain, "was what they thought of the least." chauvin resolved to remain at tadoussac, in spite of the remonstrances of du pont gravé, who wished him to proceed higher up the river, having already been to "three rivers" in a previous voyage, trading with the indians. m. de monts (of whom we shall hear more hereafter), who had made the voyage with them for his pleasure, agreed with du pont gravé, but chauvin was obstinate, and set about erecting a habitation in the most disagreeable and unproductive spot in the country,--full of rocks, fir and birch trees, the land unfit for cultivation, and the cold so excessive, that "if there be an ounce of cold forty leagues up the river, there is a pound at tadoussac."[ ] [ ] champlain. chauvin posted sixteen men at a little stream near the house, to which they might retire upon occasion. the stores (little enough) were at the mercy of all, and soon began to run short, whereupon chauvin returned to france, taking du pont gravé and de monts with him. the men remaining at the intended settlement, quickly consumed the little provision left, and "the winter coming on soon taught them the difference between france and tadoussac,--it was the court of king petault, where every man commanded."[ ] indolence and carelessness, with sickness, soon did their work, and they were reduced to the necessity of giving themselves up to the indian tribes around, who received them kindly. many died, and all suffered extremely. [ ] _ibid._, _voyages en nouvelle france_, etc. chauvin, in , prepared another expedition, which from the same causes was as fruitless as the first. he fitted out a third on a larger scale, but was not able to carry out his new plans, being attacked by a malady "which sent him to the other world."[ ] [ ] desmarquets, in his _mémoires chronologiques pour servir à l'histoire de la ville de dieppe_, says that chauvin, on arriving at tadoussac the second time, found only the corpses of the sixteen men whom he had left there. when he again returned to france he left twenty more men, but death preventing his intended third voyage, those twenty died of hunger, like the sixteen first. we have now arrived at the period of champlain's first connection with canadian discovery and colonization. the difficulties, dangers--not to say horrors--of the previous expeditions were enough to deter any but the most confident and resolute from attempting such an apparently hopeless task; but the hour and the man were come, and from the date of chauvin's death a new era was to arise for canada, and french colonization in north america was at last--to be. samuel champlain, descended from a noble family of saintonge, was born at brouage,[ ] a place formerly of some importance in that province, now an obscure town of the department of the charente inférieure. of the date of his birth and of his earlier career there is no account extant; from the events of the last thirty-five or thirty-six years of his life we may, however, form a correct judgment of his attainments, which, in navigation, in military matters, and in general knowledge, were evidently of no common order. that he had early distinguished himself is also clear, and that his services were appreciated we may gather from the high favour with which he was regarded by the king, and from the friendship and constant protection with which he was honoured by one of the best and bravest, as well as most intelligent and devoted followers of henry iv,--the sieur aymar de chastes, governor of the town and château of dieppe, who commanded the fleet appointed to cruize on the coast of brittany during the latter years of the war with the league and the spaniards,[ ] and under whose orders champlain had served. on champlain's return from the voyage to the west indies, of which the narrative is now for the first time published, he learned that chauvin was dead, and that his friend, mons. de chastes, undeterred by the previous failures and disasters, had resolved to undertake the establishment of a colony in canada, and even to proceed thither and devote the remainder of his well-spent life to the prosecution of the enterprise. the cause and manner of champlain's embarking in the undertaking cannot be better narrated than in his own words. [ ] the salt works at brouage were considered the finest in the kingdom. cardinal richelieu also established a large cannon foundry there in . [ ] the commander aymar de chastes, also styled frère aymar de clermont, was knight and maréschal of the order of st. john of jerusalem, of the language of auvergne, commander of the armeteau and of st. paul, lieutenant-general for the king in the pays de coer, and governor of the town and castle of dieppe. he was employed by henry iii to reinstate don antonio of portugal in his kingdom, and by henry iv to command the fleet on the coast of brittany; it was almost entirely owing to mons. de chastes that dieppe declared for the king against the league, which enabled him to fight and win the battle of arques. he died at dieppe, on the th of may, , and was buried in the church of the minimes there, followed to the grave by all the inhabitants, "who looked on him as their father and protector," says asselini, ms. chron. "the fourth enterprise was that of the sieur commander de chastes, a very honourable man, a good catholic, and worthy servant of the king, whom he had faithfully served on many signal occasions, and although his head was charged with grey hairs as with years, he resolved to proceed thither in person, and dedicate the remainder of his life to the service of his god and of his king, by fixing his residence and living and dying there gloriously: so he hoped, if god had not withdrawn him from this world sooner than he thought. he had very christian designs, to which i can bear good witness, he having done me the honour of communicating somewhat of them. soon after the death of chauvin he obtained a new commission from the king, and as the expenses were very great, he formed a company with several gentlemen and with the principal merchants of rouen and other places, on certain conditions: this being done, vessels were prepared, as well for the execution of the main design, as for discovery and peopling the country. du pont gravé, as one who had already made the voyage and noticed the faults of the past, was (with commission from his majesty) chosen to proceed to tadaussac, thence to go and examine the sault st. louis and the country beyond, in order to make a report on his return for the better preparation of a second voyage, when the said commander, de chastes, would quit his government (of dieppe), and, with the permission of his majesty, who truly loved him, proceed to the country of new france. "while this was going on, i found myself at court, being freshly returned from the west indies, where i had been nearly two years and a half, after the spaniards had quitted blavet, where, during the wars, i had served his majesty under messeigneurs the maréchal d'aumont de st. luc and the maréchal de brissac." "going from time to time to see the said sieur de chastes, judging that i might serve him in his design, he did me the honour, as i have said, to communicate something of it to me, and asked me if it would be agreeable to me to make the voyage to examine the country, and see what those engaged in the undertaking should do. i told him that i was very much his servant, but that i could not give myself license to undertake the voyage without the commands of the king, to whom i was bound, as well by birth as by the pension with which his majesty honoured me to enable me to maintain myself near his person,[ ] but that, if it should please him to speak to the king about it, and give me his commands, that it would be very agreeable to me, which he promised and did, and received the king's orders for me to make the voyage and make a faithful report thereof; and for that purpose m. de gesvres, secretary of his commandments, sent me with a letter to the said du pont gravé, desiring him to take me in his ship, and enable me to see and examine what could be done in the country, giving me every possible assistance." [ ] this fact at once shews that champlain's fortune was but small and his merits great. henry iv at that time had no funds to throw away, and a pension then given must have been well deserved. the attachment to his person also proves the feeling of the king. "me voilà expédié," continues champlain, who immediately left paris, and embarking with du pont gravé, had a favourable voyage to tadoussac, from whence they proceeded up the st. lawrence in small vessels of twelve to fifteen tons burthen. at sault st. louis, du pont gravé and champlain, with five men, continued with great difficulty about a league further, to the foot of the rapids; where, finding it impossible to proceed with their skiff, on account of the rocks and rushing waters, all they could do was to land and examine the course and difficulties of the rapids, explore the surrounding country, and obtain accounts from the indians as to the inhabitants, the productions, and the sources of the principal rivers, particularly of the st. lawrence. champlain prepared a _petit discours_, or report, with an exact chart of all that had been seen and explored, and they then returned to tadoussac, having made but little progress; rejoining their people, who had been employed in the interim in trading with the natives, they set sail for france. when champlain arrived at honfleur, he learned the death of his friend and patron, the commander de chastes, "which greatly afflicted me, well knowing that it would be difficult for another to undertake the enterprise without being opposed, unless it should be some nobleman, whose authority was capable of overcoming envy." from honfleur he proceeded directly to paris, to present his "_discours fort particulier_," and the map which he had made, to the king, who was much gratified, and promised not to abandon the design, but rather to pursue and favour it. after the death of monsieur de chastes, the sieur de monts,[ ] who had already been to canada with chauvin, desirous of following the example of monsieur de chastes, completed the arrangements with the merchants of rouen, dieppe, la rochelle, etc., which had been prepared by his predecessor, for the formation of a company for colonization in new france; but not on the st. lawrence, the specimen he had seen of the country when with chauvin having taken away all desire to return there, particularly as he wished to settle more to the southward, in a milder and more agreeable climate. [ ] pierre du gast, sieur de monts, gentleman of the chamber to the king, was named in vice-admiral of the coasts of acadia, from the fortieth to the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, and in the following year his majesty gave him the lieutenancy of the same country. by letters patent of st january, , all subjects, save de monts and his associates, were forbidden to trade in those parts. de monts first named the sieur du pont gravé his lieutenant in september , and in february replaced him by the sieur de paitrincourt. the cession to de monts was again ratified in , but to little purpose. de monts, who was of the "pretended-reformed religion," undertook to establish the roman catholic and apostolic religion in his colony, but every one was to be free to live according to his creed. all preliminaries being settled, de monts fitted out three ships, with all things necessary, not only for trading in peltries at tadoussac, but for establishing a settlement elsewhere; taking out a number of gentlemen, and all kinds of artisans, with soldiers and others of both religions, not forgetting priests and ministers. being ready to depart, de monts proposed to champlain to accompany him, and the desire to revisit and see more of the country having grown stronger within him, he readily promised to go, always with the king's permission, which was willingly granted; being ordered, moreover, by his majesty to make to him a faithful report of all that he should see and discover. they all embarked at dieppe in : one vessel proceeded to tadoussac; another, commanded by du pont gravé, went to campseau (canso) and along the coast towards the island of cape breton, to look after certain adventurers trading there in contravention of the king's prohibition. de monts, with champlain, took his course to the coast of acadia, and the weather being very favourable, in a month arrived off cape la héve. de monts continued along the coast, seeking some convenient spot for his settlement, sending champlain also with a pilot to examine the coast for the same purpose. they discovered a number of ports and rivers, and de monts at last fixed on an island which he thought well adapted to his purpose; the situation strong, the land good, and the temperature mild. he therefore set about discharging his vessels and building shelter for his people, and when all that was done he sent back the ships with mons. de paitrincourt, who had replaced du pont gravé as his lieutenant, and who had gone out to see the country with the intention of settling there. during this time (fully three years) champlain occupied himself in exploring the whole coast of acadia (nova scotia), from cape la héve, in latitude ° ´; examining all the bays, creeks, mouths of rivers, and islands of the great baye françoise (so named by him), now the bay of fundy, coasting on to "cape fortuné," in latitude ° ´ (now cape cod), and a few leagues farther, to a headland, which, with a great shoal near it, he called "mallebarre", from the dangers he had there experienced. to the northward he examined the land from cape la héve to cape canso and cape breton, and, his arduous labours terminated, he returned with de monts to france in . on their arrival, they found that great complaints had been made by certain bretons, basques, and others, of the excesses committed by the captains of de monts' vessels while on their cruise, and of the ill-treatment they had sustained from them and their crews, who had seized their property, detained their persons, and deprived them of all traffic that had hitherto been free to them; so that, if the king did not interfere and take some order about it, all that navigation would be lost, the customs diminished, themselves ruined, and their wives and children, poor and miserable, obliged to beg their bread. it seems, though, that the poor bretons and their companions were able to bribe pretty highly; as, in consequence of this outcry, and the intrigues of some influential persons at court, who promised to equip and keep three hundred men in the country, the commission or privilege of de monts was revoked, "as the price of a certain sum, which a certain person received, without the king's knowing anything about it," says champlain. thus was de monts rewarded for having expended upwards of one hundred thousand livres, and passed more than three years of great suffering, from long duration of the snows and extreme cold, and having lost more than half his people by the dreaded "maladie de terre", or earth sickness. as compensation, however, for his losses, the royal council generously granted him six thousand livres; not in ready money, but to be paid by such vessels as should traffic in peltry, etc., in the new country; but de monts was obliged to abandon even this mockery of a grant, finding the expense of collecting greater than the receipts. champlain at this exclaims indignantly: "thus were affairs managed in the council of his majesty; may god pardon those whom he has called to himself, and amend the living! hé! bon dieu! who would ever undertake anything, if all can be revoked in such a fashion, without carefully examining affairs before deciding. those also who know least cry out the loudest, and pretend to know more than men of tried experience." he adds that there was one great defect in de monts' expedition--the mixture of creeds, "as two contrary religions never produce much fruit for the glory of god among the heathen they wish to convert." "i have seen," says he, "the minister and our curé fight with their fists about differences of religion, and," he continues slyly, "i do not know which was the bravest or hit the hardest blows, but i do very well know that the minister complained sometimes to mons. de monts of having been soundly beaten; and in this way they cleared up the points of controversy. i leave you to think if it was very pleasant to behold. the savages were sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other; and the french, divided according to their different belief, said everything that was bad, both of one and the other religion. these quarrels were really the means of rendering the infidel more hardened in his infidelity." in the following year ( ) de monts, desirous of making another attempt, consulted with champlain, who advised him to proceed direct to the river st. laurence, with which he was well acquainted from the experience of his previous voyage. de monts, adopting his advice, applied again to the king, who granted him another commission authorising him to make the desired settlement; and to enable him the better to bear the expenses, interdicted the trade in peltry to all others for one year. upon this de monts fitted out two vessels at honfleur, and named champlain his deputy or lieutenant in new france. one of the ships was commanded by du pont gravé, who sailed first for tadoussac, and champlain followed with all things necessary for the intended settlement, arriving happily at tadoussac. he then landed his people and stores, and proceeded up the river to seek for a convenient spot for his purpose, and finding at the narrowest part of the stream a place called by the natives quebec, which seemed suitable, he there resolved to establish his colony, and accordingly transported thither all his men and goods with as little delay as possible. he then immediately caused dwellings to be erected, gardens prepared and planted, and land cleared and sown. it was on the rd of july, , that champlain first arrived at quebec; the remainder of the season and the winter were fully occupied with the necessary works of lodging the people, apportioning and clearing land, getting supplies of firing, etc., and exploring the country in the more immediate neighbourhood. on the th of may in the next year, champlain proceeded to examine the river above the new settlement. at the little island of st. eloy, near the river st. marie, he fell in with a body of two or three hundred indians, "algenquins and ochotiquens," who were on their way to quebec to beg his assistance (which they reminded him he had promised ten moons before to the son of their chief) against the iroquois, with whom they were at deadly feud. champlain promised his aid, and returned with them to the settlement, where they remained for five or six days feasting and rejoicing. from thence he wrote to du pont gravé, who was at tadoussac, begging him to join him as soon as possible; and so soon as he arrived champlain again left quebec with the indians, and on the st of june arrived at saint croix with a boat furnished with all things necessary for the expedition. from thence he continued to the iroquois river, but finding that he could not pass the first rapid with his boat, as the natives had assured him, he resolved to pursue the journey in the canoes of the indians. the greater part of his men refused to follow him, but, resolved to fulfil his promise, and desirous of visiting a great lake and beautiful country in the enemy's territory, which had been described to him by his allies, he determined on proceeding, with only two of his men, who volunteered to accompany him. on the nd of july, the expedition left the rapids and ascended the iroquois river to the lake above mentioned, where they were met by some two hundred of the enemy; a battle ensued, in which champlain, at one shot of his arquebuss loaded with four balls, killed two of their chiefs and wounded another, which equally astonished both his friends and the enemies, who seeing their chiefs fall, fled, abandoning the field of battle and their village to the victors, who, after making good cheer, singing, and dancing, set out on their return with some ten or twelve prisoners. champlain gave his name to the lake on whose borders the action was fought, which it still retains. on the way back, his indian allies began tormenting one of their prisoners with the usual refinements of cruelty; which considerably disgusted champlain, whom they requested "to do as they did." he angrily refused, but offered to put the poor wretch out of misery by shooting him at once with his arquebuss. seeing that he was irritated, they told him he might do so, "and," says he naïvely, "so i did, without his seeing anything." they soon arrived at quebec, where he gave them "bread and peas and paternosters," to ornament the skulls of their enemies, as rejoicing on their return. the next day champlain went with them in their canoes to tadoussac, in order to witness their ceremonies; and does not omit to mention how the women stripped themselves stark naked, and threw themselves into the water to meet the canoes, taking the enemies' heads to hang round their necks as precious ornaments. his indian friends also made him a present of some of their weapons and one of the heads "to show to his king," which to please them he promised. from this first battle champlain seems to have imbibed a taste for fighting the iroquois (though why he mixed in the quarrel at all he does not explain), as in he again started from quebec, with a boat and some of his people for the mouth of the iroquois river, to join about four hundred algenquins and others in another attack on their mortal enemies. they found the iroquois intrenched in a "fort" or stockade, and after a sharp fight, in which champlain was wounded by an arrow in the ear and neck, and one of his men in the arms, they stormed the "fort," assisted by the men whom he had left in the boat, but who, hearing the firing, thought it shame to remain idle while their comrades were fighting. on leaving the algenquins, they insisted on his taking one of their young men with him as hostage for a young french lad whom he left with them, at his own desire, to learn their language, etc. while champlain was thus busily occupied, mons. de monts, who was then governor of pons, in saintonge, having remained at paris to settle some private affairs, was again attacked and worried by the complaints of his former opponents, "the bretons, basques, and normans," and, they again getting the ear of persons in power, de monts was for the second time deprived of his privilege, and this time without any compensation. he wrote an account of the whole business to champlain, who immediately returned to france, and, after having informed de monts of his labours at quebec, made a full report of all to the king, who received both him and it with much satisfaction. de monts endeavoured by every possible means to obtain a third commission, but his enemies were too powerful, and so managed matters that all his attempts and labour were in vain. nevertheless, being extremely desirous of settling in the new country, he resolved, with or without commission, to continue his establishment there, and explore the country inland on the upper part of the st. laurence; and for the better execution of the project he again equipped two ships, in conjunction with a company formed under the auspices of father coton (confessor to henry iv) and of madame de guercheville, and which had obtained certain privileges for the establishment of a jesuit mission in new france.[ ] the vessels being ready, champlain and du pont gravé embarked with labourers and artisans of all kinds, and arriving at tadoussac and quebec, found all things in good and flourishing condition. [ ] the jesuits did not send a mission until the next year, . madame de guercheville was the wife of m. de liancour, "premier écuyer" to the king, and governor of paris: she was one of the most ardent supporters of the jesuits, as the following trait will shew: "when the expedition of m. de biencour, son of m. de poitrincourt, was preparing at dieppe in , the jesuits sent two of their company, the fathers biart and rémond massé, to join it, and proceed to establish a mission in canada. on their arrival at dieppe, the sieurs du querne and jourdain, protestants and members of the company of new france, would not allow them to embark, treating them with disdain and contumely. at which madame de guercheville was so indignant that, aided by the influence of father coton, she managed to force the recusant protestants to quit the company, with an indemnity of four thousand livres for their shares."--asselini, ms. chronicle, . in , in the early spring, champlain started from quebec in order to meet the indians with the young frenchman, and give back the hostages left at the settlement; but not finding them, he continued to explore the country as far as mont royal, or montreal. shortly after the natives arrived, and after exchanging presents, he took leave of them, trusting another lad to their care, with particular instructions as to the observations he was to make while with them. he returned to quebec in june, and finding matters proceeding regularly he sailed for france, arriving at la rochelle on the th of august. on the th of march of the next year ( ), champlain again embarked at honfleur for quebec, arriving on the th of may, and finding all who had wintered there in health and prospering. the winter had been so mild that the river had not been frozen, "the trees also began to reclothe themselves with leaves, and the fields to be enameled with flowers." on the rd, he left quebec for the sault st. louis with two canoes, having with him only four men, one of whom was a certain nicolas vignan, "the most impudent liar that had been seen for a long time," as will presently appear. one of champlain's cherished projects was to endeavour to penetrate to the arctic sea by means of some of the rivers tributary to the st. lawrence, which, by the account of the natives, had their sources in great lakes, from which other streams flowed towards the north. this man vignan had formerly wintered with the natives, and had been sent on journeys of exploration by champlain on various occasions. he had returned to paris, where, in the commencement of the present year ( ), he had assured champlain that he had seen the northern sea; that the algenquin river issued from a lake, which by another river discharged itself into the said sea, and that in seventeen days he might go to it from sault st. louis. he added that he had seen the wreck of an english ship which had been lost on the coast, and that eighty men had escaped to land, where they had all been killed by the savages. he had been shown their heads, which had been skinned (scalped) according to their custom; and the indians wished to present them to champlain, with a young english boy whom they had preserved. "this news," says champlain, "rejoiced me greatly, thinking i had found near me that which i had sought far off; so i conjured him to tell me the truth, that i might inform the king. if his relation was false he would put a rope round his neck, while if what he said was true he would assuredly be well recompensed. he assured me of the truth of his statement with more oaths than ever, and to play his part better, he gave me an account of the country, which, he said, he had made as well as he could." all these details, the assurance of the man, and the air of simplicity which champlain thought he perceived in him, combined with a knowledge of the voyage which the english had made to labrador near that time, where they had wintered about the ° of latitude and ° of longitude, and had actually lost some vessels, induced him to give credence to the man's story, and make a report of it to the chancellor. he also presented him to the maréchal de brissac and other high personages, who strongly recommended champlain to look after the matter in person. upon this advice he procured a passage for vignan, in a vessel belonging to a sieur georges of la rochelle, who, asking him why he was going out, etc., was also told by vignan that he was going to show the northern ocean, which he had seen, to champlain, and made a formal declaration to that effect before a notary of the town. on taking leave of his companions before quitting quebec, as before mentioned, champlain again told vignan that if his tale was not exactly true he had better not attempt the journey, as he would incur much risk; when vignan again declared, on peril of his life, that all that he had averred was true. on monday, th may, champlain accordingly left the island of ste. hélène on the expedition to discover the northern ocean, with four french and one indian. the route that he followed is not clearly indicated; it is presumed that he ascended the chaudière river to a lake, where he landed on an island, which he named isle sainte croix. on the th of june he left this island, in company with a number of the natives who had joined him. about ten leagues further they arrived at some rapids, where the indians purposed to leave their canoes, when a great dispute arose between them and vignan, who declared there was no danger in passing them. the indians told him he must be tired of life, and advised champlain not to believe him, "for he spoke not the truth." champlain followed the advice of the natives, and well it was for him, as vignan sought all kinds of difficulties, either to get rid of, or to disgust him with the enterprise, as he afterwards confessed. continuing his journey he fell in with a tribe of indians, who wondered much how he had surmounted the dangers and difficulties of the rapids and the route, "saying he and his people must have fallen from the clouds," and wishing to know what his object was. champlain told him that he had come to help them in their wars, and for that purpose he wished to proceed further on to visit and arrange with some other chiefs, which rejoiced them greatly; so that they gave him two canoes to carry him on to the village of a great chief named "tessouat," about eight leagues distant. this chief received him very well, though much astonished to see him, saying "he thought it was a dream, and could not believe what he beheld!" on the following day a great council was held in the wigwam of tessouat, with a preliminary feast, which gave champlain occasion to protest against the indian "cuisine," "because they cooked so dirtily." he asked them for fish and flesh, that he might prepare his dinner after his own fashion, "and for drink," says he, "we had fine clear water." after much smoking and talking about his intentions of helping them to make war on their enemies, the indians promised him four canoes, which gave him great joy; "forgetting all my past troubles in the hope of beholding that much desired sea"; but he had rejoiced rather too soon, as his interpreter shortly after hastened to tell him that the indians had again consulted together, and had come to the conclusion that if he undertook the desired journey, then both he and they would die, so would not give the four canoes; but that if he would defer the expedition to the next year, they would go with him. champlain, very much grieved at this change, sought the chiefs, and told them boldly, that he "had hitherto considered them as men, and truthful, but that now they showed themselves to be children, and lying!" and that if four canoes were too many, to give two, and four of their people only. the indians again represented the difficulties of the way, of the rapids, and the hostility of the people on the route, and said that it was for fear of losing him that they refused: to which he replied, that he had a man with him, "showing them my impostor," who had already been through the country, and had met with neither the difficulties nor hostility that they mentioned. it seems that vignan had wintered with this very tessouat and his tribe, so that he had fallen into a trap; and the old chief turning to him, said, "nicolas, is it true that you have said that you had been to the nibericini?" vignan was a long time before answering, but at length said, "yes, i have been;" on which the indians rushed at him with loud outcries, "as if they would eat him up or tear him to pieces"; and tessouat exclaimed, that he was an impudent liar, well knowing that every night he had slept at his side with his (tessouat's) children, and rose every morning with him, so that if he had been with those people, it must have been during his sleep. "let him be made to name the chiefs whom he had seen, and describe the rivers, the rapids, the lakes, and the country that he had passed," said the chief. still vignan affirmed anew, with many oaths, the truth of all that he had before said, and swore that he would proceed if the savages would give the canoes. after some anxious private consideration of the probabilities and doubts, champlain again called vignan, and told him that the time was passed for dissimulation, and that now he must speak the truth, and he would forget the past; but that if he went further and found the statement false, he would assuredly have him hung or strangled; whereupon vignan threw himself on his knees, and confessed that all that he had said in france and since was false; that he had never seen the northern sea, or been beyond the village of tessouat, and had invented the whole story in order to return to canada. champlain, enraged, ordered him never to appear before him again, and immediately informed the indians of the imposture; they proposed that vignan should be left to them, and they would take care that he should tell no more lies, which champlain declined. finding his hopes thus frustrated and his journey at an end, on the th of june he took leave of tessouat, and set out on his return, during which he met with nothing remarkable, save a false alarm of an attack of the enemy, and witnessing the offerings of the savages to the spirit of the chaudière rapid. he arrived at the sault st. louis on the th, accompanied by certain of his indian friends, with whom he made an agreement that they should not trade without his permission. he made vignan again confess his lies in presence of his countrymen; and, on his promising that he would retrieve his fault by making a journey to the northern ocean and bring back news of it in the following year, champlain pardoned him. he then proceeded to tadoussac, and, having nothing further to do that year in the country, sailed for france on the th of august, and in due time arrived at st. malo. i have dwelt somewhat at length on this episode of vignan's imposture, as it preeminently shows the enterprising, persevering, and resolute character of champlain, combined with a generous and forgiving disposition. few at that time would have blamed him for inflicting summary justice on the liar who had so deceived him, or have condemned him had he left vignan to the tender mercies of tessouat and his tribe. the condition of pardon is also characteristic,--condemnation to perform the journey pretended to have been made, thus turning the imposture to some advantage. on his arrival in france, champlain found the affairs of the new company in great disorder, from the detention of its chief protector, monseigneur le prince de condé, who had been created viceroy of canada, "and this," says he, "made me judge that the envious would not delay to vomit their poison, and that they would now do that which before they dared not; for the head being sick, the members cannot be healthy." after strange and scandalous intrigues which led to lawsuits, and consequently to greater confusion, the associates of the company began to perceive that, with all these cabals, the colony would be ruined and the company broken up, unless they sent aid in men and materials to continue the buildings and clearance of land. monsieur de monts, always desirous to forward the interests of his favorite settlement, drew up articles by which the company should be obliged to furnish men, warlike stores, and provisions sufficient for two years, while the new lands were being cleared and cultivated; these articles were approved and laid before the royal council. "but," says champlain, "i know not by what chance, all went off in smoke, and god did not permit the said articles to be accomplished." during this time (in ) champlain was at honfleur, preparing for another voyage, when a certain boyer, one of the company, "as malicious as he was litigious," attempted by chicane to deprive him of the post of lieutenant for monsieur le prince, which had been granted to him by letters patent, dated th october, . "but all that did not touch me; having served as i had done, they could neither take away my charge, nor the appointments to which they had voluntarily obliged themselves when i had arranged their association." this attempt to deprive him of his well-earned honours, seems to have served as a lesson to champlain not to engage himself in any way in the service of, or take share in, any of the companies which were purely formed for prosecuting the colonization and trade of new france, until the monopoly of the whole intercourse was centred in a society, formed subsequently in , under the auspices and especial favour of the _de facto_ sovereign of france, cardinal richelieu. as lieutenant of the viceroys, he maintained a neutral position, powerful enough to control hostility, without subjecting himself to the influence of the cabals which perpetually divided the parties, jesuits, recollets, merchants, etc., who struggled for the chief power in the various associations. on the th of april, , champlain left honfleur with four missionaries (jesuits) on board his vessel, and arrived without accident at tadoussac on the th may. he proceeded immediately to the sault st. louis, when his first care was to arrange a treaty with the friendly indians to assist them in their wars, on condition of their facilitating his enterprises of discovery, and with the view of advancing the progress of christianity among them. by helping them to slay their enemies, he hoped to induce them to worship his god! the indians were to furnish two thousand five hundred warriors; and champlain was to take as many men as he could, and besides, to give his allies some instruction in discipline, etc., which they received with great satisfaction, but, as by and by will be seen, by which they profited little. having arranged this matter, champlain returned to the settlement to provide for the good conduct of all affairs during his proposed absence, and, on the th of june, started with an interpreter and another european, "myself third," he says, and ten savages, and by the rivière des prairies pursued his route to the algenquin country; from thence he continued by land to the lake of the nipiserini (lake nipissing) in - / ° of latitude, where he arrived on the th of the same month, and remained two days; from thence he descended a river (rivière des françois) to the great lake attigouantan (lake huron), where he met some three hundred natives, with whom he "contracted friendship," making the chief a present of a hatchet, "with which he was as contented and joyful as if i had given him some rich present." the next day he continued his route along the shores of the lake to a village called cahiagué, where the "army" was to rendezvous, having overtaken on the way thirteen or fourteen frenchmen who had started before him from the rivière des prairies. he arrived at cahiagué on the th of august, and was received with great gratitude and rejoicing by the indians, who informed him that another and very warlike nation, the entouhoronins(?), would join them with five hundred fighting men against the common enemy,--the iroquois. the greater part of the "army" being assembled, they started together from the village on the st of september, and pursued their route, hunting as they went. on the th of october their scouts took eleven prisoners, "four women, one girl, three boys, and three men;" whereupon one of the chiefs began tormenting a female prisoner by cutting off one of her fingers; at which champlain indignantly interfered, and blamed the chief, "captain yroquet," severely, representing that it was unworthy of a warrior, as he called himself, to behave cruelly to women, "who have no defence but their tears, and who, on account of their '_like those of families_' should be humanely treated," and that if such cruelties were continued, he could neither assist nor favour them in the war; so seeing that champlain was seriously displeased, "captain yroquet" promised in future to spare the women, and only torment the men! on the following day, about three o'clock, they arrived before the enemy's fort, and commenced skirmishing, driving him into his entrenchments; after which the "allies" withdrew out of the enemy's sight, which seems to have angered champlain extremely, moving him "to use and say rude and angry words to incite them to do their duty," not according to their councils, but in conformity with his notions. he proposed to construct a "cavallier," a sort of high platform, to overlook the enemy's palisades, in which five or six arquebusiers being placed would soon dislodge the foe; also "mantelets," or large shields, to protect them from arrows or stones. this being done, they attacked the fort, his arquebusiers doing great execution; but his allies seconded him so badly, making all kinds of blunders, that, after three hours combat, two of their chiefs and about fifteen of their men being wounded, and champlain himself hurt in the leg and knee by arrows, they withdrew, in spite of all his remonstrances, and to his great indignation and disgust, saying, that when the five hundred promised men should arrive, they would attack the enemy again. the skirmishing continued till the th, in which the enemy seems to have had the best of it, as champlain and his men were always obliged to bring off their friends, the enemy retreating at sight of them, dreading their firearms, "urging, by firm persuasion, that we ought not to mix in their quarrels," which was perfectly true. seeing that the five hundred promised warriors did not arrive, the allies resolved on retreat, carrying off champlain in a sort of basket on a man's back, "so tied and hampered," says he, "that i lost patience, and as soon as i had strength to support myself, i got out of that prison, or rather, of that gehenna!" on their way back, they hunted a great deal, the savages being better, according to his notions, at that sport than at fighting. champlain's explorings were very nearly being here ended, as one day having followed a curious bird too eagerly, he lost himself in the woods, and wandered about for three days and nights, subsisting on such game as he met with; at last he resolved to follow the course of some river or brook on the chance of its leading him to the river on whose banks the indians were to encamp. fortunately, he succeeded, and joined them in safety, but almost exhausted. they then all started on their return to the village (cahiagué), where they arrived on the rd. after recruiting his strength, champlain resolved on visiting, during the winter, the tribes and country which the summer and the war had prevented his exploring. he accordingly started on the th of january ( ) for that purpose, but when he had arrived at the "pisirinii" nation (nipissing), he heard that a violent quarrel had broken out between his friends, the algenquins, and their allies, which determined him to retrace his steps immediately, and endeavour to arrange the matter in dispute. he got back to the village on the th of february, and managed with great difficulty, by dint of persuasion, to patch up a sort of hollow truce, the algenquins retiring to their own village, "saying they would no more winter there." during the four or five months that he remained in the indian territory, champlain diligently examined the country, and studied the manners, customs, mode of life, ceremonies, and form of the assemblies of the natives, all of which he describes in his usual forcible and plain style. he left cahiagué on the th may, and accompanied by many of the indians arrived, after forty days journey, at sault st. louis, where he found du pont gravé, who had just arrived from france with two ships, and who had despaired of again seeing him, having been told by some natives that he was dead. from thence he proceeded to the main settlement at quebec. after three days sojourn there he went on to tadoussac, and from thence embarked with du pont gravé on the rd of august. on the th september, , he arrived at honfleur, "where," he says, "we rendered thanks and praises to god for having preserved us from the many perils and hazards to which we had been exposed, and for having brought us back in safety to our country; to him, then, be glory and honour for ever! so be it." in champlain again visited his colony, where he found all in a prosperous condition; he therefore returned to france in the fall of the year, his presence in paris being apparently more required than in quebec, from the cabals, intrigues, and suits in which the company was continually engaged. the difficulties were materially increased by the pretensions of the states of brittany to liberty of trade with new france, and which had been ratified by the royal council; but champlain bestired himself so actively, and pressed the associates to action so strongly, that the permission was withdrawn, and the bretons prohibited from the traffic without the consent of the company. in the year champlain continued to urge the associates to greater activity and exertion, advising them to send out more men and materials than by their articles they were strictly bound to do, as the troubles which existed in france prevented the king from detaching any men for that service. the colony would otherwise languish, and the advantages they had already gained would be lost. the company objected, the unsettled and changeable state of affairs in france, and that which had happened to mons. de monts might well happen to them also; but champlain shewed them that matters were much changed, and the cases widely different, that mons. de monts was but a private gentleman, who had not influence enough to oppose hostility in the council of his majesty; but now the company had a prince of the blood as chief and protector, who was viceroy of the country to boot, and who could defend them against all and every one, always under the king's good pleasure. by dint of perseverance and solicitation he prevailed on the associates to assemble, and come to an agreement as to the number of persons and the necessary supplies which should be sent out. and a curious and interesting list it is, compared with the requirements of modern quebec. "list of persons to be sent to, and supported at, the settlement of quebec for the year :-- "there shall be eighty persons, including the chief, three recollets fathers, clerks, officers, workmen, and labourers. "every two persons shall have a mattress, a paillasse, two blankets, three pair of new sheets, two coats each, six shirts, four pair of shoes, and one capote. "for the arms:--forty musquets, with their bandaliers, twenty-four pikes, four arquebuses à rouet (wheel-lock) of four to five feet, one thousand pounds of fine powder, one thousand pounds of powder for cannon, six thousand pounds of lead, and a match-stump. "for the men, a dozen scythes with their handles, hammers, and other tools; twelve reaping-hooks, twenty-four spades, twelve picks, four thousand pounds of iron, two barrels of steel, ten tons of lime (none having been then found in this country), ten thousand curved, or twenty thousand flat tiles, ten thousand bricks to build an oven and chimneys, two mill-stones (the kind of stone fit for that purpose was not discovered till some years afterwards). "for the service of the table of the chief:--thirty-six dishes, as many bowls and plates, six saltcellars, six ewers, two basins, six pots of six pints each, six pints, six chopines (about half a pint), six demy-septiers (about two gallons), the whole of pewter; two dozen tablecloths, twenty-four dozen napkins. "for the kitchen:--a dozen of copper boilers (saucepans[?]) six pair andirons, six fryingpans, six gridirons. "shall also be taken out--two bulls of one year old, heifers, and as many sheep as convenient; all kinds of seeds for sowing. "the commander of the settlement shall have charge of the arms and ammunition which are actually there, and of those which shall afterwards be sent, so long as he shall be in command: and the clerk or factor who shall reside there shall take charge of all merchandise, as well as of the furniture and utensils of the company, and shall send a regular account of them, signed by him, by the ships. "also shall be sent, a dozen mattresses complete, _like those of families_, which shall be kept in the magazine for the use of the sick and wounded, etc., etc. "signed at paris the st day of december, , and compared with the original (on paper) by the undersigned natives, in the year , the th day of january. "guerreau. "forcy." this list was laid by champlain before the council of state, which highly approved of it, acknowledging the zeal and goodwill of the company, and refusing to listen to other proposals made by three of their opponents of brittany, la rochelle, and st. jean de luz. "there was also great talk," says champlain, "of augmenting the population, which nevertheless came to nothing. the year passed away and nothing was done, nor in the following year either; so that people began again to cry out and abuse the society, which made great promises, but performed nothing." it appears that some of the associates were of the "pretended reformed religion," who, at heart, were strongly opposed to the roman catholic religion being implanted in the settlement. from this there arose so many divisions and broils, that what one party desired, the other would not listen to; so that what with their intestine discord and the prosecution of the rochellois, who were continually infringing on their privileges, the unfortunate company was in a state of confusion, becoming daily "worse confounded." however, the company having obtained other decisions of the council in their favour, made fresh preparations, and got a vessel in readiness; then set about quarrelling with champlain, who was getting ready to sail with his family, saying, that they had advised together; that the sieur du pont-gravé should have the command in the settlement over their people; and that he, champlain, should employ himself in making discoveries, which was his special business, and which he had engaged to do. "in one word," he says, "they thought to keep the government to themselves, and establish a sort of republic of their own, making use of the commission of his majesty to accomplish their own ends, without anybody being able to control them." all this was done at the instigation of boyer, before-mentioned, who, in all this chicanery, lived by the discords which he fomented. but the associates reckoned without their host. "they no longer considered their articles towards the king, monseigneur le prince, and me," writes champlain, "and they esteem as nothing the contracts and promises which they have signed." so he wrote first to the company, and then went to rouen (the chief seat of the company), with all his followers; there he produced their articles, and showed them that, as lieutenant of the prince, he had the right to command the settlement, and all the people there, or who might be sent, saving their chief clerk and people of the magazine, so far as trading affairs went; and as for discoveries, they were not to make laws for him; that he should set about them whenever circumstances should seem to him propitious, as he had done before; and that he was not obliged to do anything that was not in the articles, and they said nothing about discoveries. as for du pont-gravé, he was his friend, and he respected him as a father; but that he would not suffer that which by right belonged to him (champlain) to be given to another; that the pains, risks, and fortunes of life which he had incurred in the discoveries of lands and people, of which they derived the benefit, had gained him the honours which he possessed; that du pont-gravé and he had always lived together in good friendship, and he wished to continue on the same terms; but he would not make the voyage, save with the same authority as before. moreover, he would render the company liable for all expenses, damages, and interests that might be occasioned by delay; "and upon that," he adds, "i presented to them this letter from his majesty:-- "by the king. "dear and well-beloved:--on the report made to us that there has hitherto been bad management in the establishment of the families and workmen sent to the settlement of quebec, and other places of new france; we write to you this letter, to declare to you our desire that all things should proceed better in future; and to tell you, that it will give us pleasure that you should assist, as much as you conveniently can, the sieur champlain in the things requisite and necessary for the execution of the commands which he has received from us, to choose experienced and trusty men to be employed in the discovery, inhabiting, cultivating, and sowing the lands; and do all the works which he shall judge necessary for the establishment of the colonies which we desire to plant in the said country, for the good of the service and the use of our subjects; without, however, on account of the said discoveries and settlements, your factors, clerks, and agents in the traffic of peltry, being troubled or hindered in any way whatever during the term which we have granted you. and fail not in this, for such is our pleasure. given at paris the th day of march, . (signed) "louis. (and below) "potier." this letter, it might be supposed, would have settled the matter, but the associates were stiff-necked; so champlain made his protest and proceeded to paris. the vessel sailed without him, and du pont-gravé commanded, and wintered that year at the settlement, while champlain pleaded his rights before the king and the council of state. "nous voilà à chicaner," says he; and with his characteristic activity and energy, he followed the council to tours, and, after many and long debates, obtained a judgment, ordering that he should have the command, not only at quebec, but over all other settlements in new france, and prohibiting the company from troubling or interfering with him in the functions of his charge, under penalty of damages, fines, expenses, etc.; "and which judgment," he adds, "i caused to be signified to the associates in full exchange at rouen: they threw the blame on boyer, saying they had not consented, but i knew better." about this time monseigneur the prince de condé, with the king's permission, resigned the viceroyalty of new france to the duc de montmorency, high-admiral of france, who seems to have paid a round sum for the honour.[ ] champlain was continued in the lieutenancy of the country, and was ordered by the new viceroy to proceed to quebec, to fortify himself there as well as he could, and to let him know all that should occur, so that he might take order accordingly. monsieur dolu, grand audiencier of france, an able and well-meaning man, was named intendant of the province, "who," says champlain, "burned with ardour to do something for the advancement of the glory of god, the good of the country, and to place our society in a better position to do well than heretofore. i saw him on the matter, and gave him a memoir for his instruction." [ ] in the beginning of , the duke de montmorency was created viceroy and lieutenant-general of new france and the neighbouring islands and coasts, from florida along the sea coast to the arctic circle; to the west, from newfoundland to the great lake, called the freshwater sea (lake superior), with all the lands adjoining the rivers which flow into the st. lawrence, or great river of canada; the ports of tadoussac and of quebec, etc., etc. champlain accordingly left paris with his family, and everything necessary for the voyage, but at honfleur the company, grievously annoyed at the overthrow of their plans, again made some difficulties about the command which he was to exercise. he immediately wrote to the viceroy and to the new intendant, monsieur dolu, who sent instantly peremptory notice to the associates, "that the king and governor had determined that champlain should have the entire and absolute command in the colony, and over all and everything in it, excepting always their mere merchandise, of which their people might dispose; and if they would not obey the orders of his majesty, champlain was to stop their ships till the said orders were executed;" which at last brought them to their senses. at the same time the king did champlain the honour to write to him, with his own hand, the following letter. "champlain,--having been informed of the commands which you have received from my cousin, the duke, of montmorency, admiral of france, and my viceroy in new france, to proceed to the said country and be his lieutenant, and care for all that shall present itself for the good of my service, i have been pleased to write you this letter to assure you, that the services that you may render me on this occasion will be very agreeable to me, above all if you maintain the said country in its obedience to me, causing the people there to live, as much as you can, in conformity with the laws of my kingdom, and taking requisite care for the catholic religion, in order, by that means, to attract the divine benediction on you, which will cause your undertakings and actions to succeed, to the glory of god, whom i pray to have you in his holy keeping. "louis. (and below) "brulart. "written at paris, the th day of may ." in the course of may , champlain at last again set sail for new france with his family, and after being nearly two months at sea, cast anchor in july opposite the mill of baudé, about a league from tadoussac, where, as usual, his first care was to return thanks to god for the preservation of himself and his family, who had suffered much from the perils of a bad voyage. he found there a vessel, on board of which was his wife's brother, the sieur boullé, who was greatly surprised at seeing his sister, marvelling how she had ventured to pass the dangerous sea. champlain also learned that the old opponents of the company, the rochelle people, had sent two vessels, of seventy and eighty-five tons respectively, to trade, in spite of the king's prohibition; that they had obtained a great quantity of peltry and other merchandise, and, what was worse, had supplied the natives with firearms and powder and ball. champlain is very bitter against the rochellois (who were protestants), calling them "meschans larrons"--wicked rascals, "who came into the country to suborn the savages, and hold very pernicious and bad discourse about our religion, in order to render us odious!" on the th of july champlain left tadoussac for quebec, with his family, three missionaries, whom he had brought out with him, his brother-in-law, boullé, and guers, his commissary, and immediately on arriving he proceeded to the chapel to give thanks to god. on the morrow, after mass, "a sermon of exhortation" was preached by a recollet father, explaining to all their duty towards the king and the duke de montmorency, and to champlain as their lieutenant; after which guers, the commissary, read publicly the king's and the viceroy's commissions, appointing champlain to the sole command of the colony; "which being done, every one cried 'vive le roy,' the cannon was fired in token of joy, and thus i took possession of the settlement and the country." champlain, thus fairly installed in his government, immediately bestirred himself to bring matters to some state of order, which, during his absence in france, had fallen into confusion and neglect,--the buildings almost in ruins, the gardens unenclosed, and the land badly and scantily cultivated. in a short time, however, the houses were rapidly and solidly restored, and the settlement resumed an appearance of progress and prosperity. his next care was to erect a fort on the heights which commanded the narrowest part of the river, notwithstanding the objections which were made by the associates and their agents. guers, the commissary, was sent with six men to trois rivières, where du pont gravé and the clerks of the company were, to see how affairs were going on in that quarter. the change of viceroy and alteration of the arrangements were so displeasing to some of the company's people, that du pont gravé resolved on returning to france with some of the disaffected, and champlain remained to govern his little colony, which then consisted of sixty persons, men, women, priests, and children, of whom ten men were employed in the religious seminary, but at the expense of the mission. he continued to occupy himself with building and fortifying with his accustomed activity, but he was not permitted to remain long untroubled. in the spring of a vessel arrived from france commanded by a captain de may, who brought letters announcing a complete change in the intentions of the viceroy and in the affairs of the company, and which soon converted the tranquillity of the settlement into something approaching to open rebellion. the letter of the viceroy was as follows. "monsieur champlain,--for many reasons i have thought fit to exclude the former company of rouen and st. malo from the trade with new france, and to assist you and provide you with everything necessary, i have chosen the sieurs de caen, uncle and nephew, and their associates; one is a good merchant, the other a good naval captain, who can aid you well, and make the authority of the king respected in my government. i recommend you to assist him and those who shall apply to you on his part, so as to maintain them in the enjoyment of the articles which i have granted them. i have charged the sieur dolu, intendant of the affairs of the country, to send you a copy of the treaty by the first voyage, so that you may know to what they are bound, in order that they may execute their engagement, as, on my part, i desire to perform what i have promised. i have taken care to preserve your appointments, as i believe you will continue to serve the king well. your most affectionate and perfect friend, "montmorency. "from paris, nd february, ." the king also honoured him with a flattering letter in these terms: "champlain,--i have perceived by your letters of the th of august, with what affection you work at your establishment, and for all that regards the good of my service; for which, as i am thankful to you, so i shall have pleasure in recognizing it to your advantage whenever the occasion shall offer; and i have willingly granted some munitions of war, which were required to give you better means to subsist and to continue in that good duty, which i promise myself from your care and fidelity. "louis. "paris, this th february, ." the letters of the intendant, m. dolu, informed him that he must stop the trading of the clerks of the old company and seize all the merchandise, on account of the claims which the king and monsieur de montmorency had against them for not having fulfilled their engagement of sending out people and "material," to which, by their articles, they were bound. that, as for the sieur de caen, although he was of the contrary religion, yet he gave hopes of becoming a catholic, but that champlain was not to suffer the practice of his actual faith either by sea or land. de caen wrote that he had arrived with two vessels, well armed and equipped with every necessary, and was the bearer of letters from the viceroy and m. dolu, enjoining champlain to change or do nothing without communicating to him (de caen), who had force enough with him, being also furnished with orders in his favour, to seize the ships and merchandise of the old company, and in the mean time champlain was to take charge of the peltry, etc., till they could be legally seized and taken. the clerks of the company, however, were not disposed to give up their property so easily, unless champlain could shew some letter or order of the king to that effect, which he could not do. he promised them not to make any innovation until de caen should arrive with the commands of his majesty, which must be obeyed, and in the meantime captain de may should not be allowed to trade. this latter was despatched by champlain to inform de caen of what had occurred, and of the state in which matters were, and to beg him to send some men to reinforce him. de may returned on the rd june, bringing ten men with him, and the intelligence of the arrival of du pont gravé from france in a vessel of one hundred and fifty tons, and sixty-five men, accompanied by all the clerks of the old company. this singularly complicated matters, and obliged champlain to act with great circumspection, lest the people of the old company, being in the majority, should turn the tables and seize the vessel and cargo of de may. so he placed his brother-in-law, boullé, with de may and sixteen men, and plenty of provisions, arms, and ammunition, in the little fort which he was building; continuing the works, also, as fast as possible, so as to be in a fit state of defence. "and then," says champlain, "nous parlerons à cheval!" he removed into the village or town of the settlement, which was protected by the fort, giving de may certain orders how to act in case of need. on the th june the old company's clerks arrived, wherefore champlain made his men stand to their arms as a measure of precaution, and after some debate, as de caen had not arrived or forwarded his commission, and as champlain had no positive orders to the contrary, they were allowed to proceed with their goods up the river to trade. the clerks then asked for arms, and wished that the peltry already in the magazine should be given up to them; but to both champlain demurred, saying that as they had not brought him any provisions or munitions for the settlement, he must keep both weapons and skins, in order to defend himself, or exchange the peltry for food in case of need. he thus with great prudence kept matters in equilibrium for the moment, sending again to de caen to hasten his arrival with reinforcements and the orders of the king. on the th, du pont gravé arrived at quebec, with goods and twelve men. champlain told him the arrangement he had made with the clerks, on which du pont gravé continued his route to trois rivières to trade with the indians, confiding in champlain's promise to do justice to all till the king's commands should arrive. de caen, on the th, wrote to champlain to go to him at tadoussac (which he then refused), and to give notice to the indians of his arrival, and warn them that they were not to trade with any others. to make the confusion complete, on the th, champlain received letters stating that the old company had obtained a judgment authorizing them to trade for the year , conjointly with the new company (de caen's). as de caen did not arrive, and the departure of the clerks, du pont gravé, and his people, for the upper part of the river had, for the present, removed all danger from the fort and settlement, champlain resolved to go down to tadoussac, leaving de may in command. on his arrival he had long "discourse" with de caen, wherein he gave him very good counsel as to the obedience to be given to the orders of the king and governor; which de caen promised, but wished the peltry, etc., which had been already collected to be delivered to him. champlain declined, unless he could produce specific orders to that effect, which de caen averred that he had, but would not produce; and getting angry, and consequently obstinate, declared that, if his wish was not complied with, he would seize du pont gravé's ship, by force, if necessary. champlain replied, that in that case he should take the vessel under his protection and safeguard, so that the forms of justice might be preserved, and that de caen, having superior force, might afterwards do as he pleased on his own responsibility; and therefore sent to take possession of the ship. de caen then also sent a force to occupy the vessel, declaring he would punish those who should resist; on which champlain, under protest of the employment of "force majeure", withdrew, thus preserving his prerogative while matters were in suspense, without having recourse to violence. but while the partisans of the two companies were thus contending for the trade, neither making much progress, one of champlain's abominations, a little rochellois vessel, came in quietly, and carried off great part of the object in dispute--trading with the natives, selling powder and guns and warlike stores, and packing up peltry under their very noses; and when at last champlain and de caen in great indignation sent to catch the interloper--the bird had flown. de caen, however, seems to have gained but little by the great fuss that he made, for after sending in some arms and ammunition to the settlement (which, by the way, champlain plainly hints were not by any means all that had been sent), and settled his affairs for a time, he left for france on the th august, and du pont gravé shortly followed him, leaving champlain once more to finish building his fort and rule his little colony in peace. the end of all this turmoil was, that the rival companies "amalgamated" in the following year. being now tranquil, and free to occupy himself without interruption for the good of the settlement and the country, champlain passed the year and the following in building--not forgetting his favourite fort--in clearing land, establishing fisheries, and in strengthening and consolidating the trade. he also made peace between the friendly tribes of indians and their old enemies the iroquois, and having assured the good order of the colony, and his fort being nearly finished, he resolved to return to france for a time with his family. he accordingly embarked at tadoussac on the st of august, , and on the st of october entered the harbour of dieppe. after a two days repose he proceeded with his suite to st. germains, to give a report to the king and the viceroy of his proceedings, and of the events which had occurred during his four years absence. he found the two companies again at loggerheads, and their continued disputes so worried the duke de montmorency, that he gave up the viceroyalty--"qui luy rompuist plus la teste, que ses affaires plus importantes"--to the duke de ventadour (for "a consideration," however, according to the practice of the time), who, "animated by the zeal and affection which he had to see the glory of god flourish in those barbarous lands," sent out six jesuits in the following year at his own expense.[ ] [ ] it was not so much the worry of the duke de montmorency, as the intrigues of the jesuits, which induced him to give up, or rather sell, the viceroyalty. the whole negotiation is explained in the _hist. canadensis_ of the jesuit du creux (or creuxius, as he styles himself), paris, . the duke de ventadour was very devout, had even taken holy orders, and was quite in the jesuits' hands: they wishing to get, or rather strengthen their footing in canada, after many expedients, settled the matter as follows: "viâ certa demum hæc judicata; pro rege novæ franciæ dignitatem à duce montmorantio, coëmeret ventadorius.... nec mora, agit continuò cum montmorantio ventadorius; cum eoque brevi decidit in librarum turonensium (livres tournois) centum millia, et quod excurrit hæc tam grandi pecunia pene profundendiâ illustrissime testatus, quam sibi cordi, canadensis res esset."--lib. i, p. . one hardly knows which most to admire, the simplicity of the worthy "creuxius" in thus letting out the secret, or the abominable latin in which he narrates the whole affair. the new viceroy also appointed champlain his lieutenant in new france, and he remained in paris partly to give the duke some insight into the affairs of the colony, partly for his private affairs; the sieur de caen also received a commission (or had it renewed), from the new governor, and prepared to continue his voyages; but he seems to have had a taste for disputes and litigation, as he contrived to pick a quarrel with the united companies, in which, however, he got the better of them, and was permitted to send out vessels; one of the conditions being, "that the command should be given to a catholic." the ships being ready to sail from dieppe, champlain, and his brother-in-law, boullé, who had been named his lieutenant, embarked on the th april, , on board of the _catharine_, of two hundred and fifty tons; and after a tedious voyage of two months and six days, again landed in new france; finding du pont gravé (who had returned in the previous year, and had been extremely ill during the winter), the missionaries, and all the people in good health, but almost reduced to extremity for want of provisions; and the buildings, etc., in nearly the same state as when he left. champlain here complains bitterly of the carelessness of the company in not providing sufficient supplies of provisions, and of the improvidence and carelessness of the people; as, but for his arrival, the colony would probably have been abandoned, from famine. the cause assigned for the delay in finishing the dwellings and constructions planned by champlain, previous to his departure was, that fully one half of the men were employed during two months and a half of the best part of the year, in collecting and bringing in forage for the cattle, which they were obliged to fetch from cape tourmente, quite eight leagues from the settlement. to obviate this difficulty, champlain established a farm in a favourable spot at the foot of the said cape, where the cattle could remain at pasture, and but few men be required to look after them. he also appointed an overseer to stay there permanently, and take care that the labourers did not waste their time; and every week he paid a visit of inspection to the new establishment. considering also that the fort which he had commenced was but small, that, by and bye, as the population increased, more soldiers would be required for the defence of the colony; and that "selon l'oyseau il fallait la cage,"--he resolved to make the "cage according to the bird," and pull down and enlarge it. he pushed on the works so that they might be in a fit state of defence in the spring; and erected two bastions, well flanked, to protect the land side, by which alone it could be approached, and only then with difficulty. in the autumn, he received news of an outbreak of his old acquaintances the iroquois, who had slain five dutchmen, being at war with the mahiganathicoit (mohicans), in whose country the dutch were settled about the fortieth degree of latitude, "near to virginia, where the englishmen were established." his old friend, du pont gravé, who seems to have been a martyr to the gout for some time past, resolved to return to france, and he little expected ever to see him again. about this time champlain suffered much anxiety on account of the insufficient supplies of provisions from france, which had become most necessary,--the people, notwithstanding their long sojourn in the country, depending chiefly on the arrival of the ships for support; he had even been obliged to send some families back to france, who, instead of working or cultivating the land, did nothing but hunt, and shoot, and fish, and amuse themselves from morning till night, being idle themselves and the cause of idleness in others. he notices (january, ) the death of one hebert, "the first head of a family who lived by what he cultivated." the missionaries seem to be making progress among the natives at this time, as the reverend (jesuit) father lallemand, "baptised a little savage of only ten or twelve days old," who was buried the next day in the cemetery of the settlement. the winter of - was very long and severe, the snow lying very deep and long on the ground, and the usual improvidence of the settlers causing provisions to run short. in the course of it, some of the indian tribes, of the country inhabited by the dutch, begged the assistance of champlain's native allies, to make war against the iroquois, who had killed twenty-five of their people (besides five of the dutch) because they had refused them passage through their territory, to attack the "loups," indians with whom the said iroquois were at feud. the algenquins and some other of the friendly tribes consented to the peace, which champlain had with such difficulty made between his friends and the iroquois, being broken to his great indignation: other tribes refused, without the consent of champlain. he did all in his power to prevent the war, sending his brother-in-law, boullé, with emery de caen, the nephew, to the rendezvous of the savages for that purpose, but to no avail; three iroquois were taken prisoners and tormented, and the war commenced. champlain thereupon hastened in person to the indian camp, and with great difficulty prevailed on them to send back one of the prisoners, with presents, to propitiate the iroquois and renew the peace. on his return to quebec he there found, to his surprise, du pont gravé just arrived, having returned to canada at the solicitation of the elder de caen (who was detained in france), notwithstanding his almost constant sufferings from the gout. champlain had returned but a few weeks to his post, when he received intelligence that "the ambassadors," who had been sent with the iroquois prisoner, had all been murdered by the "ouentanoronnons" (hurons?), who were allies of the iroquois. among the envoys were one pierre magnan, a frenchman, and a chief called "de reconcilié." "the latter," says champlain, "well deserved his death, for having massacred two of our men at cape tourmente; and magnan, who was from the vicinity of lisieux, had killed a man of that neighbourhood, and had been obliged to take refuge in new france. see," he continues, "how god sometimes chastises the men who seek to avoid his justice in one way, and are caught in another." all hope of peace was now at an end, and champlain was compelled to avenge the death of his countryman, however unworthy, lest, by passing over the affront, greater injury might follow; so he prepared for hostilities, and his indian friends recommended tormenting a wretched prisoner whom, at champlain's intercession, they had hitherto spared, with more than usual barbarity, roasting him by a slow fire, and "every one carried off a piece of him, which they ate!" affairs also became more complicated from the old complaint--scarcity of provisions, the english having taken one of the company's ships; and by the resistance of the associates to the viceroy's orders and regulations, refusing to contribute to the erection of the fort, and not troubling themselves about king or governor, or how matters went on, provided they received their profits of about forty per cent. it was evident that "they who govern the purse could do, and would do at pleasure." champlain could do nothing, save to write an account of the state of things to the viceroy, that he might act accordingly, and work at his fort and other buildings of the settlement.[ ] [ ] scarcity of provisions. "nec minus animo camplenius angebatur, galli remanebant quinque et quinquaginta, quibus in istis angustiis difficultatibusque, victum quotidianum tandiu præbere haud facillimum merito putabatur, etc,"--du creux, _hist. canadensis_, lib. i, p. . on the th of september, , some scouts of the indians informed champlain that a great number of iroquois were on their way to attack him, to which he replied, "that he was glad of it, but did not believe the news, as they had only courage to attack sleeping men"; and, in fact, some months later, two of his men, conducting cattle from the farm at cape tourmente to quebec, were murdered during their sleep, not by the iroquois, but by his own allies. champlain, thoroughly roused at this treachery, peremptorily demanded that the murderers should be given up, and declared that, till that was done, he should keep three of the savages as hostages; the indians requested three days, that they might endeavour to discover the assassin; and, in the mean time, champlain kept on his guard, taking every precaution against surprise or open attack, the affair having now become very serious, as the settlement was completely surrounded by the tribes. the indians, after the expiration of the three days, sent word that they could not find the murderer, but as proof of good faith, and to make amends, offered to give champlain three young girls, to be brought up and treated as he should please; "a thing never before known," says champlain, "as our surgeon and many there wished to take young girls and marry them, but the savages would never consent."[ ] after consultation with du pont gravé, (who, while thinking that the arrangement might be good, opposed the reception of the girls, on account of the scarcity of food,[ ]) the girls were accepted; but on condition, that champlain should nevertheless be at liberty to seek for the murderer, and punish him when found. these "virgunculæ" were destined to be a source of considerable trouble and pain to champlain, as will shortly be seen. [ ] three young girls. "accessere sub extremum januarium virgunculæ indigenæ tres, ultro præter morem, oblutæ à parentibus ... partem metu, ne gallorum duorum cædem, quos barbari aliquot dormientes, recens, per summam inhumanitatem oppresserant, camplenius gravius ulcisceretur, etc."--du creux, _hist. canadensis_, lib. i, p. . [ ] "in summâ inopiâ, pernegante pontio-gravæo!"--du creux. the colony continued tolerably flourishing and quiet, with the exception of the squabbles of the associates of the company (now become apparently habitual) among themselves, with the viceroy and all authorities, and with everybody in short, and of the usual deficiency of provisions; till the month of july, , when champlain received a surprise of quite a different kind, and far more serious than any of his previous troubles and difficulties. on the th july, two of his men, coming from cape tourmente, told him that, according to the report of a savage, (who, on the same day, confirmed the news,) six ships had arrived at tadoussac, and that a certain captain michel of dieppe was the chief commander for the sieur de caen. at first champlain thought that this commander was a certain michel with whom de caen was associated in the fishery at gaspey; but on reflection, it seemed little probable, as michel was not a fit person for such a command, and that six vessels were an extraordinary number for the trade or fishery, so that some great change must have taken place in general affairs. champlain therefore desired a young greek, who acted as interpreter, to disguise himself as an indian, and to proceed with two natives in a canoe to reconnoitre. champlain was in great doubt, fearing, what he had often apprehended, that an enemy would arrive, and that the aforesaid ships were hostile: he therefore took order both at the fort and settlement so as to receive the enemy properly, if needed. about an hour after the departure of the greek, he suddenly returned accompanied by two canoes which were hastening to the settlement, in one of which was foucher, the superintendent of the farm at cape tourmente, who told champlain that he had just escaped from the english, who had taken him prisoner with three of his men, a woman, and a little girl, whom they had carried off to a barque which was at anchor off the cape, having killed all the beasts they had need of, and burned the remainder in the stables; they had also set fire to two small houses, and ravaged and pillaged everything, even the head-gear of the little girl; they had then reembarked in haste, fearing to be pursued; "which," says champlain, "assuredly they would have been, if the savages, who all knew of their arrival, had informed us of it; but, like perfidious traitors as they are, they not only concealed this unpleasant news, but spread the report that the strangers were our own people, and that we were not to be anxious about them." it appeared that the enemy had arrived at cape tourmente an hour or so before daylight, and sent about fifteen soldiers ashore, thinking to surprise foucher and his people asleep; but on approaching the habitation, foucher met them, asking, "who they were and what they wanted?" they replied in french that they were friends: "do you not recollect us? we were here last year, and we are now sent by monseigneur the cardinal and monseigneur de roquemont with intelligence; in passing we wished to see you." with these civilities and gentle words they saluted, gradually surrounding foucher and his men, who were presently astonished at being seized and made prisoners, as before related, "the treacherous savages having told them of the state in which we were." champlain, at this confirmation of his fears, immediately set everybody to work at making intrenchments around the little town, and stockades on the ramparts of the fort (which was not finished for want of workmen), appointing every man his post, to which he was to hasten when required. on the next day, the th of july, about three in the afternoon, a boat was seen approaching the settlement, which, from its manoeuvres, seemed to make for the st. charles river, either to disembark men or to set fire to the house of the mission, which was there situated, or else, that the crew did not know the right channel to the town. champlain sent some arquebusiers to reconnoitre, who found that the supposed enemies were the men with the woman and girl who had just been taken prisoners, with six basques, who had also been captured by the english. one of the latter was bearer of a letter from the english "general" at tadoussac, to this effect:-- "messieurs,--i give you notice that i have received a commission from the king of great britain, my honoured lord and master, to take possession of the countries of canada and acadia, and for that purpose eighteen ships have been dispatched, each taking the route ordered by his majesty. i have already seized the habitation at miscare, and all boats and pinnaces on that coast, as well as those of tadoussac, where i am presently at anchor. you are also informed that, among the vessels that i have seized, there is one belonging to the new company, commanded by a certain norot, which was coming to you with provisions and goods for the trade. the sieur de la tour was also on board, whom i have taken into my ship. i was preparing to seek you, but thought it better to send boats to destroy and seize your cattle at cape tourmente; for i know that, when you are straitened for supplies, i shall the more easily obtain my desire, which is, to have your settlement; and in order that no vessels shall reach you, i have resolved to remain here till the end of the season, in order that you may not be re-victualled. therefore see what you wish to do,--if you intend to deliver up the settlement or not, for, god aiding, sooner or later i must have it. i would desire, for your sake, that it should be by courtesy rather than by force, to avoid the blood which might be spilt on both sides. by surrendering courteously, you may be assured of all kind of contentment, both for your persons and for your property, which, on the faith that i have in paradise, i will preserve as i would my own, without the least portion in the world being diminished. the basques, whom i send you, are men of the vessels that i have captured, and they can tell you the state of affairs between france and england, and even how matters are passing in france, touching the new company[ ] of this country. send me word what you desire to do; and if you wish to treat with me about this affair, send me a person to that effect, whom, i assure you, i will treat with all kind of attention, and i will grant all reasonable demands that you may desire in resolving to give up the settlement. "waiting your reply, i remain, messieurs, "your affectionate servant, "david quer. "on board the 'vicaille'(?) this th of july, (old style), and addressed to 'monsieur champlain, commandant at quebec.'" [ ] on the th april, , another company for the trade with new france, to the exclusion of all previous associations, and styled the company of the hundred associates, was organized, and the articles settled and signed, under the especial patronage and influence of the cardinal de richelieu; and on the th june the duke de ventadour resigned the post of viceroy of new france, in consideration of the sum of seventy thousand livres, which the president de lauzun promised him on the part of the king. the "great cardinal" had been already invested in with the direction of all naval affairs, under the title of grand master and superintendant of navigation and commerce, those of admiral and vice-admiral of france being suppressed. his first care was to put down the rival companies, and take the trade into his own hands; the next, to get rid of the jesuits, and their tool the duke de ventadour. this logical, precise, and "affectionate" letter being read, "we concluded," says champlain, "that if he wished to see us he had better come, and not threaten from such a distance;" so replied in equally polite terms to the purport, "that he did not in the least doubt the fact of quer (or keith) having the commission of his king, as great princes always select men of brave and generous courage," acknowledging the intelligence of the capture of norot and de la tour, and also the truth of the observation that, "the more provisions there were in a fortress the better it could hold out, still it could be maintained with but little, provided good order were kept; therefore, being still provided with grain, maize, beans, and peas, (besides what the country could furnish,) which his soldiers loved as well as the finest corn in the world, by surrendering the fort in so good a condition, he should be unworthy to appear before his sovereign, and should deserve chastisement before god and men. he was sure that quer would respect him much more for defending himself, than for abandoning his charge, without first making trial of the english guns and batteries;" concluding, that he should expect his attack, and oppose, as well as he could, all attempts that might be made against the place; and signing, "your affectionate servant, champlain." this courteous, but decided, and, under the circumstances, chivalrous answer, was given to the basques to deliver to the english commander, who, finding that champlain was determined to hold out, and thinking that the settlement was better provided with provisions and stores than it really was, contented himself with burning all the boats and vessels at tadoussac, and set sail again to look for ships along the coast; and well it was for champlain that he did so, as he writes, "every man being reduced to seven ounces of peas a day, and only having about fifty pounds of gunpowder, hardly any matches or other commodities, if they had made their point, we could hardly have resisted them." the english admiral or chief, david quer, or keith (most likely kerr), was, it is said, a calvinist of dieppe, the son of a scotchman, who had married there, and who had quitted france on account of the persecutions against the protestants. it appears that de caen, enraged at the privileges of the company of which he was the head being annulled, and himself excluded from the new company formed under the auspices of cardinal richelieu, betrayed the settlement, giving the english a full and complete account of the vessels employed, the number of men in the colony, its weak points, etc. kerr had with him also a certain jacques michel, a frenchman, from dieppe, and a former associate of de caen.[ ] [ ] "fauces illas, aditusque fluminis obsidebat jam aliquandiu david kersius, anglus, ab navibus, militibusque rupemontio instructor ... præmonitus pridem ab exulceratis cadomianis (de caen), qui exclusos sese ab novâ franciâ, tantâ vel ignominiâ, vel rei familiaris jacturâ impotentissimé ferebant, de navium transmissarum numero, de noyrotis actuario nominatim, de militum robore, de commeatu, de omnibus denique, quæ hostis incendere cupiditatem, vel stimulare diligentiam, vel cautionem munire posse videbantur."--de creux, lib. i. some days afterwards a young man, of the name of desdames, came to quebec with ten men, bringing news of the arrival at gaspey of the sieur de roquement, commanding the new company's ships, which were bringing stores, provisions, and workmen and their families for the colony. champlain, whom the late surprise had rendered doubly cautious, asked for letters from de roquement, before giving credence to this intelligence; surprised, moreover, that in such suspicious times, he had not written by his messenger, to say how affairs were going on in france, and tell him about this new company that had ousted de caen and his partners, and of which champlain knew nothing.[ ] desdames told him that he had left in such haste that de roquement had not time to write, but in proof of the truth of his intelligence, produced a few lines from father lallemand, a jesuit, who was on board de roquement's vessel, saying that, in a short time, champlain would see them, if not prevented by the english, who were stronger than they were. desdames also informed him that de roquement intended to attack the english squadron at tadoussac, and that on his route he had heard cannon, which made him think that the battle had commenced. [ ] champlain, however, shortly after received a commission from the king, louis xiii, appointing him commandant in new france under cardinal richelieu, ordering him also to take an inventory of all goods and property of every kind belonging to de caen, and to have them valued; and also, to send without delay an account of the state of the settlement, the number of acres of cleared land, and plans of the fort and buildings, etc., for the deliberation of the royal council. champlain severely blamed the conduct of de roquement in attacking the english, as, being sent for the sole purpose of succouring and revictualling the fort and settlement which were in want of almost every necessary, if he were beaten, he not only ruined himself but the country, leaving nearly a hundred men, women, and children to die of hunger, or abandon the fort and settlement to the first enemy that should present himself. on the contrary, the english being stronger in ships and men, he ought to have avoided them as much as possible. "the merit of a good captain," he exclaims, "is not in his courage alone; it ought to be accompanied by prudence, which causes him to be respected, being accompanied by many cunning stratagems and inventions; many have thus done much with little, and have rendered themselves glorious and redoubtable." while waiting with impatience for news of the combat, "nous mangions nos pois par compte," which short allowance greatly reduced the strength of the people, most of the men becoming feeble, and hardly able to work. "we were deprived of all," says champlain; "even salt was wanting." his ingenuity, however, provided a partial remedy for the evil of eating the peas whole; he first had mortars made wherein the peas might be pounded to a coarse flour; but the labour required being considerable, he imagined that a hand-mill would be better, but there were no mill-stones; however, as by dint of seeking most things are to be found, his locksmith discovered stone fit for the purpose. "so that," champlain writes, "this necessity made us find that which for twenty years had been deemed impossible." when the hand-mill was finished, every one brought his little supply of peas, which they received back in flour, and which, made into a kind of soup, "did us a great deal of good, and set us up better than we had been for some time." so with the addition of a small supply of eels, from time to time, from the indians, who, by the bye, sold them very dear, he continued to rub on as best he might. the success of his hand-mill encouraged him to have water-mills erected during the winter, which would better relieve the people, and spare labour. he also sent out men to hunt in the winter, "as the savages did, but," he adds, indignantly, "they were not so honest as those people, as having taken a very large elk, they amused themselves with devouring it like ravenous wolves, without giving us any, save about twenty pounds; which made me reproach them for their gluttony, as i never had any provisions without sharing with them; but as they were men without honour or civility, so had they acted, and i sent them no more, occupying them with other things." champlain's difficulties and anxieties became daily greater, as, with the utmost possible economy, the few remaining provisions would hardly last longer than the end of may, and if the annual ships with supplies were lost or taken by the english, they must all perish with hunger; so he resolved that, if the vessels did not arrive by the end of june, and the english should return as they had promised, to make the best terms he could and give up the fort, as the people could not otherwise subsist; and if neither the english nor the ships should arrive, to patch up, as well as he could, a little vessel of seven or eight tons, which had been left at quebec as being good for nothing, and go to gaspey, miscou, and other places to the north, to try and get a passage for the greater part of the settlers, in the vessels which went there for the fishery, retaining in the settlement only such a number as might subsist on the grain which would be gathered in the following august from the lands of "hebert" before mentioned, and of the "fathers," who seemed to have taken care of themselves in all this necessity. "to exist till august," says he, "our resource would be to seek for herbs and roots, and try and catch fish." if he found that the little vessel could not be repaired, he determined to take with him as many men as possible and make war on some of the savage tribes who had aided the iroquois; to force one of their villages and fortify it, so as to pass the rest of the summer, the autumn, and winter, rather than all die of hunger at the settlement, "hoping for better things in the spring." while in this extreme tribulation, an indian chief, of a tribe some eight days journey from quebec, paid champlain a visit for the purpose of soliciting his aid against the old foe, the iroquois. considering it an excellent opportunity for relieving the settlement of many surplus mouths, he agreed to help them as well as he could in that year if the vessels should not arrive, and, at any rate, in the next year he would join them with as many men as possible; at least he and his people would be fed, and if the english took possession of the settlement, his alliance with the indians would enable him in due time to drive them out. with this promise the indian chief departed highly pleased, and champlain sent a confidential man to reconnoitre the enemy's country, giving his indian friends instructions how to attack the iroquois villages or forts till he could join them. he then sent a small boat to gaspey to try and get some grain, and applied to "father joseph de la roche," (he does not say of which mission, jesuit or recollet,) to know if he might hope for some supplies from their stock if the ships should not arrive; the worthy father joseph replied that, if it depended upon him, he would gladly consent, but that "father joseph caron, the guardian, must be first applied to." whether the said supplies were forthcoming does not appear; from the continuance, and even increase of suffering, it should seem not. on the th of may, twenty indian warriors, coming from tadoussac, on their way to make war on the iroquois, brought some account of the battle which had been fought between the english and french ships. some men had been killed; the sieur de roquement wounded in the foot, and the french vessels taken and carried into gaspey; the crews had been all put on board one of the ships to be sent to france, the officers kept as prisoners of war, and the english, after burning a "cache" of corn belonging to the jesuits at gaspey, had set sail for england. about this time champlain formed an alliance with an indian chief named "chomina," who greatly relieved his anxieties about future subsistence by promising to assist him, as much as possible, with provisions, and in case of need, against the english. desdames also arrived from gaspey, confirming the intelligence brought by the indians of the total defeat and capture of the french ships, and that eight english vessels were cruising on the coast of acadia. on the th of june champlain dispatched his brother-in-law, boullé, with all who wished to leave the settlement, to gaspey, with orders to seek a passage to france, by every possible means, charging him with letters for the king, the cardinal, the council of state, and the company, giving details of all that had passed, and of the strait to which he was reduced. du pont gravé, who had remained at quebec, was also desirous of returning, but on champlain's representations of the difficulties and danger of life he would incur from his infirm state, in so hazardous a journey, he remained at the settlement, so tormented with the gout that he was almost constantly laid up. when boullé and his people had departed, champlain employed those who remained in preparing the ground and sowing turnips against the winter, and, while awaiting the harvest, parties were sent every day to seek for roots, which occasioned great fatigue, having to go seven or eight leagues to find any, and even then hardly getting enough for bare subsistence. some tried fishing, but with little success, "nets, lines, and hooks being wanting," and gunpowder so scarce, that he preferred suffering rather than use for hunting the little he had left, which was not more than thirty or forty pounds, and that very bad. every day also he was in expectation of the arrival of some hurons with twenty frenchmen, who had gone with them some time before to relieve the settlement a little--"pour nous soulager de nos pois"--as champlain expresses it; and these expected additions to the claims on the said "pois" gave him no small anxiety, "as we had nothing whatever to give them, unless they brought flour with them." he hoped that the hurons would take them with them again, or that he could distribute them among other tribes near him; but that was very uncertain. his troubles were, however, considerably relieved by his friend "chomina offering to go to the huron country to seek for flour," and, still more, by the arrival of one of his men whom he had sent to examine the country of the "abenaquoit"(?) indians, who gave him a full report of the rapids and other difficulties of the route thither, and, what was then better and more to the purpose, that the said "abenaquoits" were very friendly, and had offered to take some of his people and keep them during the winter, or till he should receive supplies by the arrival of the ships or otherwise. on the th of july, the hurons and their french guests arrived, but bringing hardly any provisions, so that they were obliged to do as champlain and his people did, "seek for roots that they might live." he deliberated about sending them to the friendly "abenaquoits" to reside with them till the spring, "having no longer any hope," he touchingly adds, "of seeing either friends or enemies, the season being, to all appearance, past." the hurons could only offer for sale two sacks of flour, one of which was bought by the recollet fathers, the other by du pont gravé. "as for me," says champlain, "it was quite out of my power to have any, much or little, and they did not offer me even a plateful, either our own people or others: however, i took patience, having always good courage, waiting for the pea harvest, and some grain from the clearing of the widow herbert and her son-in-law, who had sown some six or seven acres, not being able to apply elsewhere; and i can say with truth, that i have assisted every one as much as is possible, but they were little grateful." the jesuits and recollets had tolerable supplies on hand, and ground cleared and sown besides; and they _promised_ to assist him with any supplies they might have, "but there were but few liberalities 'made.'" at this critical time an indian brought intelligence of the return of the english squadron. "when this news arrived," writes champlain, "i was alone in the fort, part of my companions having gone fishing, others to seek for roots, and my servant and the two little 'sauvagesses' (the indian girls before mentioned) had gone also. about ten o'clock some returned to the settlement, my servant bringing four little bags of roots: he told me that he had seen the english ships about a league from quebec, behind cape levy." champlain thereupon called a council, and, considering that they were without provisions, powder, match, or prospect of succour, and thus quite unable to hold out, it was resolved that they would endeavour to make the best terms they could, and see what the english would say; but determined, if they would not grant good conditions, to make them feel on landing "what it was to take away all hope." shortly after, the english sent a boat with a flag of truce, and a gentleman bearing a letter from the two brothers of the "general quer" or guer (sometimes the name is also spelt "kertk"), who remained at tadoussac with his ships,--one, named louis, was to command the fort; the other, thomas, was "vice-admiral" to his brother. the missive was as follows: "monsieur,--in consequence of what our brother told you last year, that sooner or later he would have quebec, if not succoured, he has charged us to assure you of his friendship as we do of ours; and knowing very well the extreme need of every thing in which you are, desires that you should surrender the fort and settlement to us; assuring you of every kind of courtesy for you and yours, and also of honourable and reasonable terms, such as you may wish. waiting your reply, we remain, monsieur, your very affectionate servants, "louis and thomas guer. "on board the filbot, this th july, ." to this courteous letter, champlain replied, that it was true that negligence or risks of the sea had prevented the expected aid from arriving, and, consequently, deprived him of the power of opposing their intentions; that, on the morrow, he would let them know the terms on which he would give up the settlement, and begging them in the meantime to withdraw out of cannon-shot and not to attempt a landing. in the evening, captain louis guer sent for the terms, which were: "that guer (kerk) should show his commission from the king of england, to prove that there really was 'legitimate war' between england and france; also the powers of his brother, commanding the fleet, to treat. "that a vessel should be given for passage to france, for champlain and all his companions, with all who had been made prisoners; also all the missionaries, both jesuits and recollets, and the two 'sauvagesses,' who had been given to champlain two years before (what became of the third girl is not stated). "that all, the 'religious' and others, should be allowed to leave with arms and baggage and all their furniture, and that a sufficient supply of provisions for the passage to france should be given, in exchange for peltry, etc. "that all should have the most favourable treatment possible, without violence to any. "that the ship in which they were to embark for france, should be ready in three days after their arrival at tadoussac, and a vessel provided for the transport of their goods, etc., to that place." soon after the reception of these conditions, the english captains sent their ultimatum, which was: "that kerk's commission should be shewn, and his powers to his brothers to treat. as to providing a vessel to take champlain and his people direct to france, that could not be done; but they would give them passage to england and from thence to france, whereby they would avoid being again taken by any english cruiser on their route. for the 'sauvagesses'--that clause could not be granted, for reasons which would be explained. as to leaving with arms and baggage,--the officers might take with them their arms, clothes, and peltries belonging to them, and the soldiers their clothes and a beaver robe each. as for the holy fathers, they must be contented with their robes and books." all these articles accepted, were duly ratified by david "kertk" (so spelt this time) at tadoussac on the th august, (new style). on the following day the three english vessels cast anchor before quebec, namely, the "flibot," of one hundred tons, and ten guns, and two "pataches" (advice boats) of forty tons and six guns each, with about a hundred and fifty men. champlain was very desirous to know why he would not be permitted to take with him the two little indian girls, whom he had taken care of for two years past, "having had them taught needlework of various kinds and other useful things"; so he went to captain louis kerk, and so persuaded him that he consented to their going, "at which the said girls were very much rejoiced." then captain louis landed with a hundred and fifty men to take possession of the settlement; the keys of the magazine of the company being delivered to him--not by du pont gravé, but by deputy--the poor man being, as usual, confined to his bed with the gout, and quite unable to act. kerk gave the keys to a certain baillif, a frenchman and native of amiens, whom he had taken as clerk, and who, with three other frenchmen, as great rascals as himself, had joined the english voluntarily, "to serve them, and aid them to ruin us," says champlain, indignantly. he then took possession of the fort, treating champlain with every possible courtesy, but not allowing him to leave quebec. he permitted mass to be said at champlain's request, and, "with all kind of affection," gave him a certificate of all supplies and property that were found in the fort and settlement, from which it appeared that all the ammunition remaining consisted of forty pounds of powder and fifty-one iron cannon balls. kerk took also many articles belonging to the reverend fathers, the jesuits and recollets, of which he would not give any account, saying, "if they be given back, (which i do not think they will be,) nothing will be lost, so it is not worth while to mention them; and as for the provisions we have found, we will not spoil paper and ink about them, preferring rather to assist you with ours;" for which champlain heartily thanked him, "unless he should make him pay very dear for them." the next day the english flag was hoisted on the fort, the drums beat, the cannon and musketry of the shipping and town fired in token of rejoicing, and solemn possession taken of quebec in the name of the king of england. the english conducted themselves with all honour, forbearance, and honesty; not so the french renegades who had joined them, who seemed to have lost no time in filling their pockets. on the very next night, the before-named frenchman, baillif, took from the company's chief clerk one hundred livres in gold and silver, a silver cup, "some silk stockings, and other bagatelles," being moreover vehemently suspected of purloining a silver gilt chalice from the chapel, worth a hundred livres or more. complaints were made to louis kerk, who instituted an inquiry, but without effect. baillif of course swore that he was innocent; "but," says champlain, "he was without faith or law, although calling himself a catholic, as did the three others, but who did not scruple to eat flesh on the friday and saturday to please the english, who, on the contrary, blamed them for it. i showed him all the evil and reproaches he would one day feel, which did not trouble him much; every wickedness that he could practise against the french he did. from the english we received every kindness; from this wretch every evil. i leave him for what he is worth, expecting that one day god will chastise him for his impieties and blasphemies." since the english had taken possession of quebec, "the days seemed months" to champlain, who begged louis kerk to allow him to go to tadoussac, and wait for the sailing of the ships, offering to remain with the "general," his brother, which was kindly granted; so, leaving some of his furniture for louis kerk's use, he embarked with the remainder of his property and his two little "sauvagesses," poor gouty du pont gravé remaining with the rest of the people, as did the reverend fathers, the jesuits, etc. the widow hebert and her son-in-law, who, with her deceased husband, were the first settlers in quebec, and who seem to have been the only really industrious and provident residents in the colony, were greatly afraid that their lands would be seized or ravaged by the english; but, on the contrary, they were well treated, every assistance being afforded them, and assurance given that they might remain in as great security of person, property, and trade as before. "louis quer" (kerk), says champlain, "was courteous, having something of the french nature in him, and loving the nation. he was the son of a scotchman who had married at dieppe; so he desired to oblige the french families, preferring their conversation to that of the english, to whom his humour was repugnant!" the mass of the colonists, not knowing whether to go or to stay, asked champlain's advice. he told them that, as the exercise of their religion would no longer be free, or even possible, having no more priests, and as they would be deprived consequently of confession, and those holy sacraments which would give their souls repose for ever, they had better dispose of all their peltry, etc., getting as much money as they could for it, and return to france in the way that the english commander had offered; "for," he added, "you must care more for the soul than the body, and having money with you in france, you can keep above want." they thanked him for his counsel, which they promised to follow, "hoping, nevertheless, to meet again next year, if it pleased god." on the th of july, the vessel of thomas kerk set sail for tadoussac with champlain on board. about twenty-five leagues from quebec, a ship was discovered which, on seeing the english, endeavoured to escape. it turned out to be a vessel of the elder de caen, commanded by his nephew, emery, who was endeavouring to get secretly to quebec, to bring away the peltry and other property claimed by the uncle, and to endeavour to trade with the indians. kerk fired a gun to bring the frenchman to, and was answered with a broadside, which killed one of his men. the enemy still endeavouring to get the advantage of the wind, kerk determined to board, and thereupon ordered champlain and his companions to go below. it should appear that kerk was badly seconded by his men, as they went below also, and he was obliged to drive them to the deck with the flat of his sword. he was in a great strait, as few even then would follow him, when, luckily, emery de caen, who seems to have been as much afraid as kerk's men were, cried out for quarter, which kerk was very glad to grant. de caen asked to speak with champlain, whom kerk rather unwarrantably warned that, if another shot was fired, he should be put to death; telling him to recommend the french to surrender promptly, as if two english ships, then in sight, should come up before the flag was struck, they would all be killed. to which champlain replied, "that kerk could certainly kill him, being in his power, but that he would be for ever dishonoured by so retracting the pledge, which both he and his brother louis had given for the safety of them all; that he could not command the people of the other ship, or prevent them doing their duty as brave men should do, and for which kerk should rather praise than blame them." kerk then desired him to offer good terms, which being done, de caen and his lieutenant went on board the english ship to make their submission. they then continued their route to tadoussac, where they found the "general" david kerk, who received them very kindly. champlain also met his brother-in-brother, boullé, who had been made prisoner, and the arch-traitor and rebel, jacques michel, who had guided the english in both their expeditions. he was vice-admiral of the fleet, which consisted of five large ships of four to five hundred tons, and about one hundred and twenty men each. "with the exception of the officers," says champlain, "they were no great things." the commander in chief, david quer, guer, kertk, or kerk (for his name is spelt in all these ways), proceeded up the river to quebec, to see how matters were going on, while champlain remained at tadoussac, "passing the time as well as we could till his return." the "general" came back in ten or twelve days, and at supper a few days after, to champlain's great amazement and anger, produced a letter which he had received from a certain marsolet, a deserter from the settlement and an abominable scoundrel, who acted as interpreter to the english, to the effect that a canoe had arrived at quebec, bringing intelligence of a council having been held by the indians to deliberate whether champlain should take the two little girls, whom they had given him, to france; and that the result had been that the girls were not to be allowed to go, and the general was requested to detain them. "i judged immediately," says champlain, "that the gallant had invented this cunning story to keep the girls," as one of them, named espérance, had shortly before told him that marsolet had solicited her to leave champlain and go with him, promising all sorts of things if she would consent. champlain represented to the "general" that the girls had been freely given him by the indians to be brought up in the christian faith, and that he loved them as his own daughters. he entreated him to allow them to go with him to france, otherwise "they might, by remaining in the country, fall back into the hands of the devil, from which he had extricated them"; and that marsolet had invented the tale of the indian council to gain his ends and ruin the poor girls, as he, champlain, knew, that at the council which had been held at trois rivières, there had been no question whatever either of the girls or of marsolet, and that two men, whom he could produce, could prove that the indians were very glad that the girls should remain with him. the "general," however, for some reason or other which he did not mention, was not disposed to let the young "sauvagesses" go, notwithstanding the intervention of his brother thomas and of michel, and the bitter weeping of the poor girls themselves, "who could neither eat nor drink for crying," begging him, whom they loved as a father, not to abandon them. "i did all i could," says champlain, "to save their poor souls"; so he told the "general" that, supposing marsolet's story to be true, there was still a way to settle the matter, which was to make the indians a present, and that he would abandon for that purpose beaver-skins and other property to the value of a thousand livres; but the "general" was deaf to his entreaties. one day, however, when in good humour, he gave some hopes of their deliverance when marsolet should come to tadoussac; but the artful rascal, on his arrival, persuaded kerk that the indians would not accept any present, and that he had better keep the girls as hostages for the good behaviour of the savages; besides, if he should suffer them to depart, and if anything should happen to them afterwards, the indians would consider it as his (the general's) fault, and much evil might come of it; whereupon the "general" "stiffened" himself anew, and would not hear of the girls' departure. the poor "sauvagesses" continued to weep and lament, but in vain; nevertheless they kept a high spirit, which manifested itself one day in the presence and greatly to the surprise of the "general" and his officers while at supper, when espérance roundly reproached marsolet with his indecency, his villainies and treachery. "you know," she exclaimed, "wretch that you are, that i wished to go to france with monsieur champlain, who has brought me up, with every possible kindness, teaching me to pray to god, and many other virtuous things, and that the whole country had consented; but you, instead of having compassion on two poor girls, behave worse than a dog to them; but, remember this, though i am only a girl, i will contrive your death, if possible; and if in future you ever shall dare to approach me, i will plant a knife in your breast, if i should die for it. a dog is better than you: he follows those who have given him existence, but you betray and destroy those among whom you received your being, selling your countrymen for money." marsolet said that "she had learned her lesson well," and turning to her sister, charité, sneeringly asked "if she had nothing to say to him." "all that i can tell you," she replied, "my companion has said; i can only add, that if i held your heart, i would eat it, and with better appetite than the meats on that table!"--"every body admired the courage and discourse of this girl," says champlain, "who did not speak at all like a 'sauvagesse.'" some of my readers may possibly differ with him. marsolet was astounded at this speech from a girl of twelve years old; but for all that, the general's heart remained unmoved; so the poor young girls were raised to the dignity of hostages, to preserve the peace of the country from attacks or inroads of tribes to which they did not belong, or which might not know or care about them. champlain consoled them, as he best might, with hopes of the return of the french, giving them such useful presents as he could, and telling them to take courage, be good and virtuous, and continue to say the prayers that he had taught them. at his request also, one of the interpreters, named coulart, promised to let them stay with his wife, which much relieved champlain's anxiety; as for the girls, they gratefully promised to be to coulart and his wife, as daughters, till he should return. about this time, the arch-renegade, jacques michel, "being suddenly seized with great heaviness," remained thirty-five hours without speaking, and then died, "rendering his soul," writes champlain; "which, if we may judge from the works and actions that he had committed, even on the previous day swearing in a horrible manner, and dying in the 'pretended' religion, i doubt not, is in hell." there was more gladness than regret among the english at michel's death; however, he was buried with all the honours of his rank; but the "mourning" lasted but a very little while; on the contrary, the english were never more happy, particularly on board his own ship, "where," slily insinuates champlain, "there were certain casks of spanish wine." the "general," or admiral, having furnished the fort and settlement at quebec with all that was necessary for defence and support, and careened and refitted his ships, set sail for england; and on the th november, , anchored at "plemué" (plymouth), where they heard that peace had been concluded some months before, which greatly displeased the said "general." on the th, the jesuits, recollets, and all those who wished to return to france, were disembarked in dover roads, and champlain proceeded with the ship to london, where he arrived on the th. on the morrow, he obtained an interview with the french ambassador, to whom he gave a full account of his proceedings, and of all that had happened, complaining bitterly of his fort and himself having been taken fully two months after peace had been proclaimed; but shewing that his surrender had been solely from want of ammunition and provisions, relating the hardships endured, being obliged to seek for roots in the woods for his people's bare subsistence, etc.; all of which the ambassador laid before the king of england, who "gave him good hope of the restoration of the colony, together with all peltry and other goods which had been seized." champlain remained nearly five weeks in london, preparing a report for the king of all that had occurred; the capitulation with general kerk, and a map of all the country taken by the english and claimed by the french in virtue of first discovery; and waiting for news from france, but none arriving, the ambassador allowed him to depart, giving him letters for the cardinal (richelieu), with the assurance that the english government had promised to give up the colony, and all property captured. he accordingly left london on the th december, for "larie" (rye), as being the nearest port to dieppe, meeting on the road the elder de caen, on his way to london, in the hope of recovering his peltries and other property.[ ] embarking the next day, he arrived safely at dieppe. [ ] de caen found means not only to disarm suspicion of his treachery and collusion with michel, but contrived to obtain a sort of compensation for his exclusion from the company of the "cent associés." on the st january, , cardinal richelieu gave permission to the sieur guillaume de caen to establish colonies on certain islands in the west indies, with exclusive privileges for a term of years, "provided the said islands were not already inhabited by christians, and that none but roman catholics should be allowed to settle there." i cannot find any further mention of de caen and his enterprises. after a few days repose at dieppe and rouen, champlain proceeded to paris, where he presented himself to the king, cardinal richelieu, and the "associates" of the company, giving a full account of his proceedings, etc. letters were despatched from the french government, to london, to demand restitution of the fort and settlement of quebec, and the other places captured in canada, and on the coast of acadia. restitution of quebec was promised by the king of england, but no mention made of acadia. these promises were renewed from time to time, without any appearance even of performance, so that the company finding that "restitution" seemed as far off as ever, supplicated the king to send six ships of war, in company with four of their vessels, to the st. lawrence, to resume possession of the colony according to agreement; and that if the english should not consent to give it up, that they "should be constrained by all just and legal methods," _i.e._, by force. the company proposed to pay the interest of the sum requisite for the equipment of the royal ships. this petition was granted, and the chevalier de rasilly was appointed commander of the fleet; and the vessels were prepared for sailing, when the english government, taking umbrage at this extraordinary armament, remonstrated; and the french king, fully occupied with his italian wars, put off all interference till they should be over; so that the armament was countermanded, the voyage abandoned, and matters remained for the present _in statu quo_. champlain has not left any relation of his subsequent proceedings. the account of his voyages in new france, which in fact is his autobiography for twenty-seven eventful years of the most interesting period of his life, terminates in - . he subsequently added a short notice of the events which occurred in the colony, of which he was justly styled the father, during the year ; and in , he published the whole narrative, with the addition of a "treatise on navigation and of the duties of a good mariner,"[ ] and an abridgement of the christian doctrine in the french and huron languages. he appears to have been fully occupied during his stay in france, from the end of to , with the preparation and publication of his voyages and discoveries, and with pleading the cause of his favourite colony, his own creation, which was in danger of being abandoned, some considering it as not worth preserving, having cost large sums, without having returned any adequate profit. however, he gained his point, and canada was restored to france by the treaty of st. germain in . [ ] "traîté de la marine et du devoir d'un bon marinier." in the "company of new france" resumed all its rights; and champlain was again named governor of the colony of quebec and all its dependencies, where affairs had gone on but badly during the english occupation, and his absence. the worthy father françois du creux, or "creuxius," of the society of jesus, thus notices champlain's arrival at quebec: "to the incredible delight both of the french and natives, champlain returned. on the th of june, at sunrise, a great explosion of bombards was heard, which threw the settlement into great agitation, lest an english ship, whose arrival at tadoussac had been announced three days before, should have turned out to be an enemy or a pirate; and what if the peace between england and france should be at an end? but persons sent to explore, brought back the news of champlain's coming; then fear was changed to gratulation: all would now be well, and the proper administration of canadian affairs would be restored to full activity by champlain." the "father of the colony" brought with him ample supplies in men, arms, and munitions of all kinds, for the defence and support of the settlement; and, for its spiritual comfort, a reinforcement of jesuits. he continued to govern the colony with his usual wisdom and goodness, endeavouring by all means in his power to promote christianity among the indians, and he succeeded in establishing a mission with the hurons. under his firm and equitable rule, the colony rapidly increased in numbers, wealth, and consequent importance; and at the time of his death some progress was made in the foundation of a college at quebec. towards the end of the year champlain died, after an illness of two months and a half, exhibiting during his malady the same firmness, piety, and solicitude for the colony, for which he had always been remarkable; "giving," says de creux, "in the hour of death, such illustrious evidence of virtue and courage that everyone was astonished. his remains were followed to the grave by the whole population with unfeigned grief." from this notice of his career, it will be seen that champlain was no ordinary man. unintimidated by the repeated failures of preceding attempts, he followed up his plans with as much resolution as sagacity. but for him quebec would probably have never existed. undeterred by the cabals and intrigues, lay and clerical, constantly going on in france; unmoved by the continual discords and quarrels of rival companies, he steered a straightforward course, avoiding giving umbrage to any, if not satisfying all. trusting nothing to others that he could do himself, he penetrated, almost alone, to the unexplored countries of distant indian tribes; exhibiting rare perseverance, energy, and courage, rebuking cruelty, encouraging the good, and omitting no opportunity of promulgating the truths of christianity. notwithstanding a considerable dose of credulity,[ ] he was endowed with rare penetration. his views were just, and no one knew better how to decide in difficulties, or to support them with more patience and constancy; no dangers daunted him, and he never lost sight of his object. his zeal for the interests of his country was ardent and disinterested. with a feeling heart he was always ready to succour the unfortunate, more careful of the welfare of others than of his own. a faithful narrator, an enterprising and active traveller; nothing escaped his attention and observation. he was a good geometrician and able navigator. the war to which he seems to have incited, or in which at least he joined, the algonquins, hurons, and other tribes against the iroquois, can hardly be justified; but the result of his policy, if policy it was, proved favourable, in bringing to and confirming in his alliance the tribes more immediately surrounding the infant colony. [ ] in champlain published a relation of his first voyage to canada; in it he mentions a strange and frightful monster called "gougou," giving at the same time the names of his authorities. this story, which, in a great measure, gave rise to the accusation of credulity, was suppressed in the general relation of his voyages in . the "dragon," the two legs of the camelion, and the no-legs of the bird of paradise, the mode of hatching the same, etc., described in the present manuscript, show that, however he may have got over extreme credulity in later years, in his first voyages he had a strong belief in the marvellous--but that quality belonged in a degree to the age in which he lived. [illustration: pearl fishery.] brief narrative of the most remarkable things that samuel champlain of brouage, observed in the western indies; during the voyage which he made to the same, in the years one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine to one thousand six hundred and two,--as follows. having been employed in the army of the king, which was in brittany, under messieurs the maréchal d'aumont de st. luc,[ ] and the maréchal de brissac,[ ] during some years in the quality of maréchal de logis,[ ] until his majesty, in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight, had reduced the said country of brittany to obedience,[ ] and dismissed his army; and finding myself by this means without any charge or employment, i resolved, in order not to remain idle, to find means of making a voyage to spain, and, being there, to acquire and cultivate acquaintance, in order, by their favour and interposition, to arrange so as to be able to embark in one of the ships of the fleet, which the king of spain sends every year to the western indies; to the end, in so embarking, to be able at my return to make a true report to his majesty (henry iv) of the particularities which could not be known to any frenchman, for the reason that they have not free access there. [ ] maréchal d'aumont. jean d'aumont, born in , of an ancient and noble family, entered the career of arms very early, and distinguished himself by his bravery during the piedmontese war. henry iii created him knight of the saint esprit in , and marshal of france in the following year. d'aumont signalized himself at the battle of ivry. he was named governor of poitou by henry iv, and by his prudent conduct kept that province from rising for the league. the king sent him to brittany to oppose the duke de mercoeur. he was killed by a musket-shot at the siege of camper, on the th of august, , aged seventy-three years. [ ] maréchal de brissac. charles, second duke de cossé brissac, peer and marshal of france. he gave up paris, of which he was governor, to henry iv, on the nd march, . he served in the war in brittany till its close, and died at brissac, in anjou, in . [ ] "maréchal de logis"--quarter-master. [ ] reduction of brittany. the greater part of brittany held out for the league against the king (henry iv), under the command of the duke de mercoeur, aided by the spaniards under the archduke albert of austria. philippe emanuel de lorraine, duke de mercoeur, was born at nomény, in . attached to the duke of guise, he was about to be arrested at the states of blois in , but the queen, louise de lorraine, his sister, gave him timely warning, and he escaped. he then openly embraced the party of the league, withdrew to his government of brittany, called in the aid of the spaniards, and gave them possession of the port of blavet in . he made his submission to henry iv in april, , and was pardoned at the intercession of gabrielle d'estrées, lately created duchess of beaufort, who, however, previously stipulated that the duke should give his daughter, françoise, one of the richest heiresses in france, in marriage to the son of henry iv, césar, duke de vendôme. in the emperor rodolph offered de mercoeur the command of his army in hungary against the turks. he endeavoured with only fifteen thousand men to raise the siege of chanicha, which ibrahim pacha had invested with sixty thousand. he was forced to retire, but his retreat passed for one of the most skilful then known. obliged in the following year to return to france, he died on the way, at nuremberg, in . in order, then, to accomplish my design, i went to blavet,[ ] where at that time was a garrison of spaniards, in which place i found an uncle of mine called "the provençal captain," considered to be one of the good mariners of france, and who, in that year, had been engaged by the king of spain as pilot-general of his sea armies. [ ] blavet, the last town held by the spaniards in brittany, was, together with all the places they possessed in picardy, given up by the treaty of vervins, in june , and thus the whole province was submitted to the king's authority. blavet, or port louis, a fortified town with citadel and harbour in brittany, department of the morbihan, at the embouchure of the river blavet; the town being ruined during the wars of the league, louis xiii rebuilt it from the former materials, erected a fort, and gave it his name. my said uncle having received the commands of monsieur le maréchal de brissac, to conduct the ships in which the spaniards of the garrison of blavet were embarked, in order to repass them to spain, as it had been promised, i embarked with him, in a great ship of five hundred tons, named the "saint julian," which had been taken, and engaged for the said voyage; and having quitted blavet in the beginning of the month of august, we arrived ten days afterwards near to cape finisterre, which we could not perceive on account of a great fog which arose from the sea, in consequence of which all our vessels were separated, and even our vessel-admiral (admirande), of the fleet was nearly lost, having touched upon a rock, and taken in much water, in which ship (and over the whole fleet) the general soubriago commanded, having been sent by the king of spain to blavet for that purpose. on the following day, the weather having cleared up, all our vessels rejoined, and we proceeded to the isles of bayona, in galicia, in order to refit the admiral's ship which was much injured. having sojourned six days at these islands, we made sail, and three days after came in sight of cape st. vincent; having doubled the said cape, we proceeded to the port of callix (cadiz), which, having entered, the soldiers were disembarked; and after the landing, the french ships that had been engaged for the voyage, were dismissed, and sent back, each one to its port, excepting the said ship, the st. julian, which, having been observed by the general soubriago to be a strong vessel, and a good sailer, was engaged by him for the service of the king of spain: and thus the "provençal captain," my uncle, remained still in it; and we sojourned at the port of callix an entire month, during which i had the opportunity of examining that city. departing from the said callix, we continued to st. lucar de barameda, which is at the entry of the river of seville, where we remained three months, during which time i went to seville, and took drawings of it, and of the other (st. lucar de barameda), which i have judged fitting to represent in the best manner that i could in the following. [illustration: st luc de barameda.] during the three months that we remained at st. lucar de barameda, there arrived a patache,[ ] coming from porto-rico, to inform the king of spain that the army of england was at sea, with the design of taking the said porto-rico: upon which advice, the said king of spain, in order to succour it, had an armament prepared, of the number of twenty ships, and of two thousand men, soldiers, and mariners; among which ships, that named the st. julian was retained, and my uncle was commanded to make the voyage in it, by which i received extreme joy, promising myself by this means to satisfy my desire: and for that purpose i readily resolved to go with him; but whatever diligence could be made to repair, victual, and equip the said ships, to enable them to put to sea, when at the point of departure, there arrived news by another patache, that it had been taken by the english; in consequence of which, the said voyage was broken off, to my great regret, to find myself thus frustrated in my hope. [ ] "patache"--advice-boat. now, at the same time, the armament of the king of spain, which was accustomed to go every year to the indies, was getting ready at the said st. lucar, where there arrived, by command of the king, a noble named don francisque colombe, a knight of malta, to be general of the said armament, who, seeing our vessel prepared and ready for service, and knowing, by the report which had been made to him, that it was strong and very good under sail for its burthen, resolved to make use of it, and take it at the ordinary freight, which is one crown per ton per month; so that i had occasion to rejoice seeing my hopes revive, and the more so that the provençal captain, my uncle, having been retained by general soubriago to serve elsewhere, and thus not able to make the voyage, committed to me the charge of the said ship, to have the care of it, which i accepted very willingly: and upon that we sought the said seigneur, general colombe, to know if he would have it for agreeable that i should make the voyage, which he freely granted, with evidence of being well pleased, promising me his favour and assistance, which he has not since denied me upon occasion. the said armament set sail in the beginning of the month of january, in the year , and the wind blowing always very fresh, in six days after we arrived in sight of the canary isles. leaving the said canary islands, we passed by the gulf of las damas, having the wind astern, so that in two months and six days after our departure from st. lucar, we got sight of an island named la deseade, which is the first island that pilots must necessarily recognise in going to all the other islands and ports of the indies. this island is round and tolerably high from the sea, and is seven leagues in circumference, full of wood and uninhabited, but there is good anchorage on the eastern side. [illustration: island of guadaloupe.] from the said isle we passed to another island, called guadaloupe, which is very mountainous and inhabited by savages;[ ] in it there are numbers of good ports, in one of which, named macou, we took in water, and as we landed we saw more than three hundred savages, who fled into the mountains at our approach, without it being in our power to overtake them, any one of them being more quick in running than any of our men who tried to follow them; seeing which, we returned to our ships after having taken in some water and refreshments, such as cabbages and fruits of pleasant taste. [ ] guadaloupe. the first settlement in guadaloupe was established by the french in , by messrs. du plissis and olive. this island is about twenty leagues in length and twelve in breadth, and its form is shown in the following figure. after having remained two days in the aforesaid port of macou, on the third we again put to sea, and passed between islands called las virgines, which are in such quantity, that their number cannot be told for certain; but although there are more than eight hundred discovered, they are all desert and uninhabited; the land very high and full of wood, both of palms and ramasques,[ ] which are common, like oaks or elms. there are a number of good ports and havens in the said isles. [ ] "ramasques"--wide-spreading, branching, and bushy trees. from these isles we sailed to the island of la marguerite, where pearls are fished. in this island there is a good town, which is called by the same name, la marguerite. the isle is very fertile in corn and fruits; every day more than three hundred canoes leave the harbour of the said town, which go about a league to sea to fish for pearls, in ten or twelve fathoms water. the said fishing is done by negroes, slaves of the king of spain, who take a little basket under their arm, and with it plunge to the bottom of the sea, and fill it with ostrormes, which resemble oysters; then go up again into their canoes, and return to the port to discharge them, in a spot destined for that purpose, when the officers of the king of spain receive them. from this island we went to st. juan de porto-rico, which we found very desolate; both the town, as well as the castle or fortress, which is very strong; and the port also is very good, and sheltered from all winds, saving the north-east, which blows strait into the harbour. the town is very mercantile; it had been, shortly before, pillaged by the english, who had left marks of their visit; most of the houses had been burnt, and there were not four persons to be found there, except some negroes, who told us that the merchants of the place had been for the greater part carried off prisoners by the english, and the others, who had been able to escape, had fled into the mountains, from whence they had not yet dared to come back, on account of the apprehension they had of the return of the english, who had loaded all the twelve ships, of which their armament was composed, with sugar, hides, gold, and silver: for we found still in the town quantities of sugar, hides, canifiste,[ ] honey of cane,[ ] and preserves of ginger, which the english could not take away. they carried off also fifty pieces of artillery of cast iron, which they took in the fortress, into which we went, and found all ruined, and the ramparts thrown down. there were some indians who had retired there, and had begun to reconstruct the ramparts; the general inquired of them, how the place had been taken in so short a time? one of them, who spoke tolerably good spanish, said, that neither the governor of the castle, nor the oldest men of the country thought that within two leagues there was any place of landing, according to the report which had been made by the pilots of the place, who had even assured them, that for more than six leagues from the said castle, there was no spot where an enemy could make a descent, which was the cause that the governor kept less on his guard, and in which he was much deceived, for at half a league from the castle, on the eastern side, there was a place where the english landed very conveniently, leaving their ships, which were of the burthen of two hundred, one hundred and fifty, and one hundred tons, in the offing, near the said spot, and took their time so well, that they arrived at night in the roads without being perceived, no one apprehending such a thing. they landed six hundred men, with the design of pillaging the town only, not thinking of making any greater effect, considering the castle to be stronger and better guarded. they brought with them three culverins, to batter the defences of the town, and found themselves at the point of daylight at the distance of a musket shot from it, to the great astonishment of the inhabitants. [ ] canifiste, from "caneficier," the name given in the antilles to the cassia tree. cassia fistula (linn.)--the keleti of the caribs, producing the cassia nigra of commerce. [ ] honey of canes--molasses? the said english placed two hundred men at the passage of a little river, which is between the town and the castle, to prevent (as they did) the soldiers of the guard of the castle, who were lodged in the town, as well as the inhabitants who might endeavour to escape, from entering the fortress; and the other four hundred men attacked the town, where they found no resistance, so that in less than two hours they were masters of it; and having learned that there were no soldiers in the castle, nor any supply of provisions, on account of the governor having, by order of the king of spain, sent all that had been there to cartagena, where they thought that the enemy would make a descent, hoping to receive other supplies from spain, being the nearest port to which their vessels came. the english summoned the governor, and offered him good terms if he would surrender; if not, that they would make him suffer all the rigor of war; fearing which, the said governor surrendered, on condition that his life should be safe, and embarked with the english, not daring to return to spain. it was only fifteen days since the english had departed from the town, where they had remained a month. after their departure, the aforesaid indians had returned, and endeavoured to repair the fortress, expecting the army of our general, who caused a report to be made of the recital of those indians, which he sent to the king of spain, and commanded the indian who had first spoken, to go and seek those who had fled into the mountains, who, on his word, returned to their houses, receiving such contentment at seeing the general and being delivered from the english, that they forgot their past losses. the said island of porto-rico is pretty agreeable, although it is a little mountainous, as the following figure shows.[ ]--it is filled with quantities of fine trees, such as cedars, palms, firs, palmettoes, and another kind of tree which is called sombrade,[ ] from which, as it grows, the tops of its branches, falling to the earth, take root immediately, and produce other branches which fall and take root in the same way. and i have seen these trees of such extent that they covered more than a league and a quarter. it bears no fruit, but is very agreeable, having a leaf like that of a laurel and a little more tender. [ ] the town of porto-rico was founded in . it was attacked by drake and hawkins in , but the spaniards, being apprised of their coming, had made such preparations, that drake was forced to retire, after burning the spanish ships that were in the harbour. in an expedition was fitted out by george clifford, earl of cumberland, to conquer the island. he disembarked his men secretly and attacked the town, when, according to the spanish accounts, he met with vigorous resistance from the inhabitants (champlain's account from eyewitnesses and sufferers is very different); but in a few days the garrison of four hundred men surrendered, and the whole island submitted to the english. the possession of the island being deemed of great importance, the earl adopted the harsh measure of exiling the inhabitants to cartagena, and in spite of the protests and remonstrances of the unfortunate spaniards, the plan was put in execution; a few only escaped. however the english soon found it impossible to keep the island; a grievous malady carried off three-fourths of the troops. cumberland, deceived in his hopes, returned to england, leaving the command to sir john berkeley. the mortality spreading daily more and more, forced the english to evacuate the island, and the spaniards soon after resumed possession of their dwellings. champlain's account of the state of the island after the departure of the english, and of the cowardice of the governor, is curious; there is, however, some confusion in his dates, and as to the time that the english occupation lasted. [ ] sombrade--from "sombra," span.--leafy shade. "ficus americana maxima," the "clusea rosea" of st. domingo, or "figuier maudit marron." [illustration: island of porto rico.] there are also, in the said island, quantities of good fruits, such as plantes,[ ] oranges, lemons of strange size,[ ] ground gourds, which are very good, algarobes,[ ] pappittes,[ ] and a fruit named coraçon,[ ] because it is in the form of a heart, of the size of the fist, and of a yellow and red colour; the skin very delicate, and when it is pressed, it gives out an odoriferous humour; and that which is good in this fruit is like thick milk, and has a taste like sugared cream. [ ] plantes--"plantano" of the spaniards, a species of banana, called in the canaries "plantano." [ ] lemons of strange size--shaddock? [ ] algarobe. see forward, page . [ ] pappette--"curica papaia" (linn.)--papaw-tree. [ ] coraçon. anona muricata, or corassol, from the spanish "corazon,"--heart, so called from the shape of the fruit. some writers derived the name from curaçoa, supposing the seed to have been brought by the dutch from that island. the native name was "memin." there are many other fruits which are not much esteemed, although they are good; there is also a root called "cassave"[ ] which the indians eat instead of bread. [ ] cassava--jatropha manihot. there grows neither corn nor wine in all this island. in it there are a great quantity of cameleons which, it is said, live on air; this i cannot assure although i have seen them many times. it has the head rather pointed, the body somewhat long for its size, that is to say, of one foot and a half, and has only two legs, which are in front; the tail very pointed, the colours mingled grey and yellowish. the said cameleon is here represented.[ ] [ ] see frontispiece. the best merchandise in the island is sugar, ginger, canifiste, honey of canes, tobacco, quantity of hides of oxen, cows, and sheep. the air is very hot, and there are little birds which resemble parrots, called perriquitos, of the size of a sparrow, with a round tail, and which are taught to speak: there are a great number in that isle. the said island is about seventy leagues in length and forty in breadth, surrounded by good ports and havens, and lies east and west. we remained at porto-rico about a month; the general left about three hundred soldiers, as garrison in the fortress, and caused forty-six pieces of brass cannon, which had been at blavet, to be placed there. on leaving porto-rico our general divided our galleons into three squadrons. he retained four with him, and sent three to porto-bello, and three to new spain, of which number was the vessel in which i was; and each galleon had its patache. the said general went to terra-firma, and we coasted all the island of st. domingo on the north side, and went to a port of the said island, named porto platte, to inquire if there were any strange vessels on the coast, because no foreigners are permitted to traffic there, and those who do go there, run the risk of being hung or sent to the galleys, and their ships confiscated; and to keep them in greater fear of approaching the land, the king of spain gives freedom to any negroes who may discover a foreign vessel and give notice to the general of the army, or to the governor; and there are negroes who would go a hundred and fifty leagues on foot, night and day, to give such notice and acquire their liberty. we landed at porto platte, and went about a league inland without meeting any one, excepting a negro who was preparing to go and give notice, but meeting with us, he went no farther, and informed our "admiral" that there were two french ships at the port of mancenilla; where the said admiral resolved to go, and for that purpose we left the said porto platte, which is a good port sheltered from all winds, and where there are three, four, and five fathoms water. from the above porto platte we proceeded to the port of mancenilla, at which port we learned that the aforesaid two vessels were at the port of mosquittes, near la tortue, which is a little island thus named, opposite the entrance of the said port, where, arriving the next day about three o'clock in the afternoon, we perceived the above two ships, which were putting to sea to avoid us, but too late; seeing which, and that there were no means of escape, the crew of one of the vessels, which was fully a league at sea, abandoned their ship, and having thrown themselves into their boat, escaped to land. the other ship ran aground and broke to pieces, at the same time the crew escaped to land like the other, and there only remained one mariner in it, who, being lame and somewhat ill, could not fly. he told us that the vessels which were lost were from dieppe. there is a very good entrance to the port of mosquittes, of more than two thousand paces in width, and there is a hidden sand-bank, so that it is necessary to keep near to the land on the east side in entering the said port, in which there is good anchorage; there is an island inside where there is shelter from the north wind, which strikes directly into the harbour. this place is tolerably pleasant from the number of trees which grow there; the land is rather high; but there are such quantities of small flies, like chesans, or gnats, which sting in so strange a fashion, that if a man were to go to sleep and should be stung in the face, puffy swellings of a red colour, enough to disfigure him, would rise from the sting. having learned from the lame mariner who was taken in the french vessel, that there were thirteen great ships, french, english, and flemish, half armed for war, half with merchandise, our admiral resolved to go and take them at the port of st. nicolas where they were, and for that purpose prepared three galleons of the burthen of five hundred tons each, and four pataches. we proceeded in the evening to cast anchor in a bay called monte christo, which is very good and sheltered from the south-east and from the west, and is remarkable for a mountain which is straight above the harbour, so high that it can be discerned from fifteen leagues at sea. the said mountain is very white and shining in the sun. for two leagues round the said harbour the land is rather low, covered with a quantity of wood, and there is a very good fishery, and a good port under the mountain. the following morning we proceeded to cape st. nicolas to seek the aforesaid ships, and about three o'clock arrived in the bay of the said cape, and cast anchor as near as it was possible, the wind being adverse to our entering. having anchored, we perceived the vessels of the above mentioned merchants, at which our admiral rejoiced greatly, being assured of taking them. all the night we did all that was possible to endeavour to enter the harbour, and when morning came, the admiral took counsel of the captains and pilots as to what was to be done. they told him that the worst they had to think of was what the enemies might do to escape; that it was impossible for them to fly, saving under favour of the night, having the wind fair; that, in fact they would not hazard it in the day-time, seeing their seven armed ships; also that if they wished to make resistance, they would place their vessels at the entrance of the harbour, anchored stem and stern, with all their guns on one side, and their tops well fenced with cables and hides, and that if they saw that they were getting the worst, they would abandon their ships, and throw themselves on land. to prevent this, the admiral should advance his ships as near to the harbour as possible, batter the enemies with his cannon, and land one hundred of his best soldiers to prevent their so escaping. this plan was resolved on, but the enemies did not do as it had been expected; for they made their preparations during the night, and when the morning came they set sail and came straight towards our ships, by which they must of necessity pass, in order to get the wind of us. this resolution changed the courage of the spaniards, and softened their rhodomontades. it was then for us to lift anchor, and with such promptitude, that in the admiral's ship they cut the cable at the hawse-hole, not having time to raise the anchor. so we also set sail, giving and receiving cannonades. at last they gained the wind on us, and we pursued them all day and the following night until the morning, when we saw them four leagues from us, which our admiral perceiving, he abandoned the pursuit to continue our route; but it is very certain that if he had wished he could have taken them, having better ships, more men and munitions of war. the foreign vessels were only preserved by default of courage of the spaniards. [illustration: a harbour in st domingo.] during this chase, there happened a laughable thing which deserves to be related. a patache of four or five tons was seen mingled with our ships. it was hailed frequently, as to whence it came, with orders to lower the sails, but there was no reply: and although some guns were fired at it, it continued to go before the wind, which moved our admiral to have it chased by two of our pataches, which, in less than two hours, overtook and approached it, calling out always for the sails to be lowered, without any answer; nor would the soldiers board it; although no one was seen at the helm, so that the commander of the pataches said that it was steered by a devil, and forced the soldiers, as many as twenty, by menaces, to go on board, who found nothing; they only brought away the sails, and left the hull to the mercy of the sea. a report being made of this to the admiral, and of the fright that the soldiers had shewn, it gave matter for laughter to all. leaving the island of st. domingo, we continued our route to new spain. the aforesaid island of st. domingo is large, being one hundred and fifty leagues long, and sixty broad, very fertile in fruits, cattle, and good merchandise, such as sugar, canifiste, ginger, honey of canes, cotton, hides of oxen, and some furs. there are numerous good ports, and good anchorage, and only one town, named l'espaignolle,[ ] inhabited by spaniards; the rest of the population is indian, good-natured people, and who much like the french nation, with whom they traffic as often as they can, but this is without the knowledge of the spaniards. it is also the place where the french trade the most in those quarters, and where they have most access, although with little freedom. [ ] now san domingo. this country is rather hot, and particularly mountainous; there are no mines of gold or silver, but only of copper. leaving, then, this island, we coasted along the island of cuba, on the south side, the land rather high, and proceeded to reconnoitre some small islands, which are called the caymans, to the number of six or seven. in three of them there are three good harbours, but it is a dangerous passage, on account of the shallows and banks which are there, and it is not good to adventure in it unless the route is well known. we anchored between the islands, and remained one day; i landed on two of them, and found a very fine and agreeable harbour. i walked about a league inland, through very thick woods, and caught some rabbits, which are in great quantities, some birds, and a lizard as large as my thigh, of a grey and dead-leaf[ ] colour. the island is very flat and level, and all the others the same; we also landed on another, which was not so agreeable; but we brought away some very good fruits, and there were such quantities of birds, that at our landing there rose so great a number, that for more than two hours after the air was filled with them: and there were others, which could not fly, so that we took them pretty easily; these are of the size of a goose, the head very large, the beak very wide, low on their legs, the feet like those of a water hen. when these birds are plucked, there is not more flesh on them than on a dove, and it has a very bad taste. we raised the anchor the same day, towards evening, with a very fair wind, and the next day, about three o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived at a place called "la sonde,"[ ] a very dangerous place, as for more than five leagues there are only shallows, with the exception of ...[ ] leagues in length, and three in width; when we were in the middle of the said channel, we lay to, and the sailors cast out their lines to catch fish, of which they took so large a quantity, that they could not find room enough for them on board the ships. this fish is of the size of a dorade,[ ] of a red colour, and very good if eaten fresh, for it will not keep, or salt, but becomes putrid shortly. the lead must be always in hand in passing through this channel; on leaving which, one of our pataches was lost at sea, without our knowing the cause; the soldiers and mariners saved themselves by swimming, some on planks, others on oars, others as they best could, and returned from more than two ...[ ] to our ship, which they met with very _à propos_, and we picked them up in our boats which were sent out for them. [ ] feuille-morte, whence "phillemoti," brownish. [ ] a difficult channel, called by the spaniards the "sound of mexico," abounding in fish, especially dorades. "we pursued our route till we arrived at a place which the spaniards call the sound of mexico, for in that place we often cast the sound.... during this time we took great diversion in fishing, particularly dorades, on which we made great cheer."--gage's _voyage to mexico in _, from french translation by the sieur de beaulieu, hües o'neil: vols., paris, . [ ] hiatus in ms. [ ] sparus aurata (linn.), brame de mer--the bahama dorade is called "porgy." [ ] hiatus in ms. eight days afterwards, we arrived at st. jean de luz,[ ] which is the first port of new spain, where the galleons of the king of spain go every year to be laden with gold, silver, precious stones, and cochineal, to take to spain. [ ] the fort or castle of san juan d'ulloa is evidently meant, but whether it bore that name when champlain was there, or whether he confounded the st. jean de luz of spain with san juan d'ulloa, is a moot point. in mercator and hondius's maps, amsterdam, th edition, , st. juan d'_uloa_ (ulloa) is placed on the twenty-sixth degree of north latitude, at the mouth of the river "lama" (rio del norte). the town of villa rica, is laid down in the actual position of vera cruz, but no mention of either st. juan de luz, or d'ulloa; and in gage's _voyage with the spanish fleet to the west indies and mexico_, , it is styled sñ juan d'ulhua, otherwise vera cruz. "the proper name of the town is sñ juan d'ulhua, otherwise vera cruz, from the old harbour of vera cruz, which is six leagues from it. but the harbour of the old vera cruz being found too dangerous for ships, on account of the violence of the north wind, it was entirely abandoned by the spaniards, who went to st. juan d'ulhua, where their vessels found a safe anchorage by means of a rock which serves as a strong defence against the winds; and in order to perpetuate the memory of this happy adventure, chancing on a good friday, to the name of st. juan d'ulhua they added that of the true cross, taken from the first harbour, which was discovered on the holy friday of the year ."--gage's _voyage to mexico_, etc., . the said port of st. jean de luz is fully four hundred leagues from porto-rico. on the island, there is a very good fortress, as well by its situation, as by its good ramparts, well furnished with all that is necessary; and there are two hundred soldiers in the garrison, which are enough for the place. this fortress comprises all the island, which is six hundred paces long, and two hundred and fifty paces wide; besides which fortress there are houses built on piles in the water; and for more than six leagues at sea, there are only shallows, which cause that ships cannot enter this port, if they do not well know the entrance of the channel, for which entrance you must steer to the south-west; but it is certainly the most dangerous port that can be found, and there is no shelter, excepting on the north side of the fortress; in the walls of the fort are numerous rings of bronze, where the vessels are moored, which are sometimes so crowded together, that when it blows from the north, which is very dangerous, the said vessels are much crushed, although they are moored fore and aft.[ ] [ ] "the boats towed our ships, one after the other, through the midst of the sunken rocks, which makes this port one of the most dangerous that i have seen in all my voyages in the north or south seas.... we cast our anchors in the haven, but as they were not sufficient to assure our vessels in so dangerous a port, we added the assistance of many cables, which were fastened to great rings of iron, fixed expressly in the walls of the castle to guarantee ships thereby from the violence of the north wind."--gage's _voyage_. the said port is only two hundred paces in width, and two hundred and fifty in length. the place is only kept for the convenience of the galleons which come, as it has been said, from spain, to load with the merchandise, and gold and silver, which are drawn from new spain. on the other side of the castle, and about two thousand paces from it, on terra firma, there is a small, but very trading town, called bouteron. at four leagues from the said bouteron, there is also another town, named vera-crux, which is in a very fine situation, and two leagues from the sea. fifteen days after our arrival at the said st. jean de luz, i went, with the permission of our admiral, to "mechique" (mexico), distant from that place one hundred leagues, always going inland. it is impossible to see or desire a more beautiful country than this kingdom of new spain, which is three hundred leagues in length, and two hundred in breadth. making this journey to "mechique," i admired the fine forests, filled with the most beautiful trees that one could wish to see, such as palms, cedars, laurel, orange, and lemon trees. palmistes, gouiave, accoiates,[ ] good bresil,[ ] and campesche wood, which are all trees common to the country, with an infinity of other kinds, that i cannot recite on account of their diversity, and which give such contentment to the sight, with the quantities of birds of divers plumage, which are seen in the forests, that it is not possible to feel more. next are met large level plains as far as the eye can see, with immense flocks of cattle, such as horses, mules, oxen, cows, sheep, and goats, which have pastures always fresh in every season, there being no winter, but an air very temperate, neither hot nor cold. it only rains twice in the year, but the dews are so heavy at night that the plants are sufficiently watered and nourished. besides that, the whole of the country is ornamented with very fine rivers and streams, which traverse almost the whole of the kingdom, and which, for the greater part, are navigable for boats. [ ] see forward, pages and . [ ] brazil, or brésil wood--cæsalpinia. two species of brazil wood are used in dyeing, cæs. echinata (lamarck), and cæs. sappan (linn.) the first is the brazil wood, or brésillet, of pernambuco, a large tree growing naturally in south america, used in commerce for red dye. the second is indigenous in india, where it is used for the same purpose, and known in the trade as sappan wood; in france, "brésellet des indes." the origin of the name "brazil," or "brésil," for this wood, was long a moot point, whether the country took its name from the tree, or the tree from the country. many early writers (and some modern) have thought that it was derived from the country. the sieur de rochefort, in his "_histoire naturelle et morale des antilles d'amérique_" (rotterdam, ), says: "le bois de brésil est ainsi nommé à cause que le premier qui a esté veu en europe, avoit esté apporté de la province du brésil, où il croist en plus grande abondance qu'en aucun endroit de l'amérique"; and savary, in his _dictionnaire du commerce_, writes: "c'est un bois dont on se sert pour teindre en rouge, et qui est ainsi nommé puisqu'il est d'abord venu du brésil, province de l'amérique." i could cite more modern authorities, written and oral, for within the last month i heard the derivation of the country asserted by a gentleman of no slight pretensions to learning. unfortunately for the above theory, the names "brésil" and "brésillet" are mentioned in an "ordonnance" of john, king of france, dated london, th september, . "nous avons entendu plusieurs marchants, lombards et autres, qui ont trait, ou faict traire hors du dict royaume,--guerdes, garances, '_brésils_, et autres teintures.'" again, in the _règlements pour le mestier de draperie de la ville de troyes_, : "nous avons ordené, et ordenons que dores-en-avant, aucune teintures ne puisse ou doie taindre draps au laines en ycelle ville de troies, mais que de garde, de garance, de _brésil_, et d'autres meilleures taintures," etc. also in the _statuts et règlements pour les drapiers de la ville de rouen_, th december and th january, , _brésil_ is mentioned, and it is to be found in _ordonnances_ of the years , , and . in the very ancient ms. statutes of the town of abbeville, _brésil_ is named: "que à selle neuve, ne sait mis en oeuvre basenne _bresillé_." finally, muratori, in his _antiq. ital. med. Ævi_, vol. ii, cites a charter of the year , in which "brazil" appears. "scilicet de omnibus drappis de batilicio, de lume zucarina, de _brasile_," etc. the antiquity of the name is thus clearly shown, the origin is most probably "brasa," red, flame-colour, incandescent. we have the quaint authority of barros as to the origin of the name of the country, brazil. "this country had at first the name of santa croce, holy cross, on account of that which was raised there; but the demon, who loses by this standard of the cross the empire which he had over us, and which had been taken from him by the mediation of the merits of jesus christ, destroyed the cross, and caused the country to be called brazil, the name of a red wood. this name has entered into the mouth of every one, and that of holy cross is lost, as if it was more important that a name should come from a wood used to dye clothes, rather than from that wood which gives virtue to all the sacraments--means of our salvation--because it was dyed with the blood of jesus christ spilled upon it." thus it is evident that the name brazils was given to the country by the portuguese, subsequently to cabral's discovery, from the quantity of the red wood abounding there. the first known "brasilium," or "brésil," would be the indian variety (cæsalpinia sappan), introduced into europe, most probably, by the venetians or genoese, and obtained by them from the levant, brought there by caravans, or by the persian and arabian gulfs. "campesche," or campeachy wood, "hæmatoxyllum campechianum" (linn.) the land is very fertile, producing corn twice in the year, and in as great abundance as can be desired, and, whatever season it may be, there are always very good and fresh fruits on the trees; for when one fruit arrives at maturity, others come, and thus succeed one to the other; and the trees are never devoid of fruit, and are always green. if the king of spain would permit vines to be planted in this kingdom, they would fructify like the corn; for i have seen grapes produced from a stock which some one had planted for pleasure, of which every grain was as large as a plum, as long as half the thumb, and much better than those of spain. [illustration: a silver mine.] but all the contentment that i had felt at the sight of things so agreeable, was but little in regard of that which i experienced when i beheld that beautiful city of mechique, which i did not suppose to be so superbly built, with splendid temples, palaces, and fine houses; and the streets well laid out, where are seen the large and handsome shops of the merchants, full of all sorts of very rich merchandise. i think, as well as i can judge, that there are in the said city, twelve thousand to fifteen thousand spanish inhabitants, and six times as many indians, who are christians, dwelling there, besides a great number of negro slaves. this city is surrounded almost on every side by a lake, with the exception of one part, which may be about three hundred paces in length, which can be cut and fortified. on this side only is there anything to be feared, as on all the other sides it is more than a league to the borders of the lake, into which fall four great rivers from far inland, and navigable for boats. one is called the river of terra-firma; another the river of chile; another the river of cacou; and the fourth, the river of mechique, in which great quantities of fish are caught, of the same kind as we have with us, and very good. along this river are a great number of fine gardens, and much arable land, very fertile. two leagues from the said mechique there are silver mines, which the king of spain has farmed out for five millions of gold a year, and he has reserved also the right of employing a great number of slaves, to get from the said mines as much as he can, for his profit; and he draws besides the tenth part of all that the farmers get, so that these mines are a very good revenue to the said king of spain. a great quantity of cochineal is gathered in this country, which grows in the fields as peas do elsewhere. it comes from a fruit the size of a walnut which is full of seed within.[ ] it is left to come to maturity until the said seeds are dry, and then it is cut like corn and beaten to have the seed, of which they sow again so as to have more. it is the king of spain alone who has the said cochineal sown and collected; and the merchants must buy it of his appointed officers, for it is merchandise of high price, and is esteemed as gold and silver. [ ] "cactus opuntia." the belief that the cochineal was the seed of a plant, was prevalent for a very long period after the conquest of mexico. in a drawing which champlain gives of the plant, the "seeds" are shown exactly as the insects fix and feed on the leaves. the jealousy of the spanish government, and the severe monopoly of this production, prevented the true nature and mode of propagation from being known, and gave rise to a variety of fables and conjectures. there is a tree in the said country which is cut like the vine, and from the place where it is cut there distils an oil, which is a kind of balm, called oil of canima, from the name of the tree which is so called.[ ] this is a singular oil for all sorts of wounds and cuts, and for removing pains, principally of gout. the wood has the odour of fir-tree wood. an ounce of the said oil is worth and sells for two crowns. [ ] i am at a loss to find what tree it is that champlain designates thus, unless it is "canica"--myrtus pimenta. there is another tree, which is called cacou,[ ] the fruit of which is very good and useful for many things, and even serves for money among the indians, who give sixty for one real; each fruit is of the size of a pine-seed, and of the same shape; but the shell is not so hard; the older it is the better; and to buy provisions, such as bread, meat, fish, or herbs, this money may serve for five or six objects. merchandise for provision can only be procured with it from the indians, as it is not current among the spaniards, nor to buy often other merchandise than fruits. when this fruit is desired to be made use of, it is reduced to powder, then a paste is made, which is steeped in hot water, in which honey, which comes from the same tree, is mixed, and a little spice; then the whole being boiled together, it is drunk in the morning, warm, as our sailors drink brandy, and they find themselves so well after having drunk of it, that they can pass a whole day without eating or having great appetite.[ ] [ ] the brown cacao (linn.) [ ] the supporting and stimulating properties of chocolate were discovered very early, and were particularly valuable in a country where the animal food gave but little nourishment. gage says, that "three or four hours after a repast of three or four dishes of beef, kid, turkey, and other game, his and company's stomachs were overcome with weakness and ready to faint, so that they were obliged to support and fortify them with a glass of chocolate," etc. this "strangeness" was attributed to the little nourishment in the meats, although in appearance as fine as those of europe, owing to the extreme dryness of the pasturage. this tree bears numbers of thorns, which are very pointed; and when they are torn off, a thread comes from the bark of the said tree, which they spin as fine as they please; and with this thorn, and the thread which is attached to it, they can sew as well as with a needle and other thread. the indians make very good, fine, and delicate thread of it, and nevertheless so strong, that a man cannot break two fibres of it together, although they may be as fine as hairs; the pound of this thread, called thread of pitte[ ], is worth in spain, eight crowns, and with it, lace, and other valuable works are made. from the bark of this tree vinegar is made, as strong as that from wine; and taking the heart of this tree, and pressing it, there comes out very good honey: then drying the pith thus pressed in the sun, it serves to light fires. moreover, in pressing the leaves of this tree, which are like those of the olive tree, there proceeds from them a juice, of which the indians make a beverage. this tree is of the size of an olive tree. [ ] champlain has here evidently the description of the cacao tree and the "metl," or maguey (aloes pitta, aloes disticha, agave americana), to which nearly all the latter part of his description applies, save the "leaf like that of an olive tree." i have before spoken of a tree which is called gouiave,[ ] which grows very commonly in this country, and bears a fruit also called gouiave, of the size of an apple of capendu,[ ] of a yellow colour, and the inside like to that of green figs; the juice is pretty good. [ ] "psidium" (linn.) "sa qualité est de resserrer le ventre, estant mangé vert, dont aussi plusieurs s'en servent contre le flux de sang; mais estant mangé meur il a un effet tout contraire."--de rochefort, _hist. des antilles_, etc., . [ ] a kind of apple common in normandy, in the "pays de caux" more particularly. this fruit has the property, that if a person should have a flux of the belly, and should eat of the said fruit, without the skin, he would be cured in two hours; and on the contrary, if a man be constipated, and eat the skin only, without the inside of the fruit, it would incontinently loosen his bowels, without need of other medicines. [illustration: acoyates] there is also another fruit called accoiates,[ ] of the size of large winter pears, very green outside: and when the skin is taken off, a very thick flesh is found, which is eaten with salt, and has the taste of kernels or green walnuts; there is a stone in it, of the size of a walnut, of which the inside is bitter. the tree (branch) on which grows the said fruit, is here figured, together with the fruit. [ ] "_ahuacahuitl_," native name, by corruption called "aguacat"; by the spaniards, "avorat," "avogade," and "avocat"--the avogada pear. "shaped like a pear, sometimes like a lime, green without, green and white within, with a large kernel in the middle. it is eaten cooked or raw, with salt. all travellers agree that no fruit in europe can compare with it."--clusius. also there is a fruit, which is called algarobe,[ ] of the size of plums of apt, and as long as bean-pods; the shell of it is harder than that of cassia, and is of a chesnut colour; a small fruit like a large green bean is found in it, which has a kernel, and is very good. [ ] algaroba, or algarova, the name given by the spaniards to some species of acacia of the new world, from their resemblance to the algarobe, caroubier, st. john's bean, or carob tree, of which the pods form excellent food for cattle. i saw also another fruit called carreau, of the size of the first:[ ] the skin is very tender, and of an orange colour; the inside is red as blood, and the flesh like that of plums; it stains where it touches, like mulberries: the taste is very good, and it is said to be excellent for curing the bite of venomous creatures. [ ] the fruit of a variety of cactus opuntia--the "nuchtli" of the mexicans, and called "raquette" by the french, from the shape of the leaves. "ce que nos françois appellent raquette à cause de la figure de ses feuilles: sur quelques unes de ces feuilles, longues et herissées, croist un fruit de la grosseur d'une prune-datte; quand il est meur, il est rouge dedans, et dehors comme de vermillon. il a cette propriété, qu'il teint l'urine en couleur de sang aussi tost qu'on en a mangé, de sorte que ceux qui ne savent pas ce secret, craignent de s'estre rompu une veine, et il s'en est trouvé qui, aians apperceu ce changement, se sont mis au lit, et out creu estre dangereusement malades."--de rochefort, _voyage aux antilles_, etc., . this should be the same fruit of which gage writes ( - ): "there is another sort of this fruit, 'nuchtli,' which is red, and is not esteemed as the others, although not of bad taste, but on account of its staining with the colour of blood, not only the mouth and the linen of him who eats it, but also his urine." there is also another fruit, which is named serolles,[ ] of the size of the plum, very yellow, and has the taste of muscatel pears. [ ] from the spanish "ciruela"--plum. i have also spoken of a tree named palmiste.[ ] it is twenty paces in height, and as large round as a man; nevertheless it is so tender, that with a good sword-stroke, it can be cut quite through, because the outside is as soft as a cabbage, and the inside full of marrowy-pith, which is very good, and firmer than the rest of the tree: it has the taste of sugar, as sweet, and better. the indians make a drink of it, mixed with water, which is very good. [ ] in champlain's time only two varieties of palm were known (save the cocoa-nut tree, which was called "palm" _par excellence_), the "palmiste franc," or cabbage palm--areca oleracea (linn.); and the "palmiste épineuse," or thorny palm--areca spinosa (linn.) i saw also another fruit, called cocques, of the size of an indian nut,[ ] which has a figure approaching to that of a man's head: for there are two holes which represent the two eyes, and that which advances between the two holes appears as the nose, underneath which there is a rather wide hole, which may be taken for the mouth, and the upper part of the said fruit is all frizzled, like curly hair; from the aforesaid holes issues a water, which is used as a medicine. when first plucked, this fruit is not good to eat; they let it dry, and make like little cups and bottles of it, as of indian nuts, which come from the palm. [ ] "cocos lapidea" of gaertner, the fruit of which is smaller than the common cocoa-nut, and of which small vases, cups, etc., are made. as i have spoken of the palm,[ ] although it is a tree sufficiently common, i will here represent it. it is one of the highest and straightest trees that can be seen; its fruit, which is called "indian nut," grows quite on the top of the tree, and is as large as the head of a man; and there is a thick green bark on the said nut, which bark being removed, the nut is found, about the size of two fists; that which is inside is very good to eat, and has the taste of young walnuts; there comes from it a water, which serves as a cosmetic for the ladies.[ ] [ ] cocos nucifera. [ ] "c'est cette eau qui entre ses autres vertus, a la propriété d'effacer toutes les rides du visage, et de lui donner une couleur blanche et vermeille pourveu qu'on l'en lave aussi-tost que le fruit est tombé de l'arbre."--de rochefort. there is another fruit called "plante,"[ ] of which the tree may be twenty or twenty-five feet high, which has a leaf so large, that a man might cover himself with it. there grows a root from the said tree, on which are a quantity of the "plantes," each of which is as thick as the arm, and a foot and a half long, of a yellow and green colour, of very good taste, and so wholesome, that a man can eat as much as he likes, without its doing any harm. [ ] plaintain-tree--banana. the indians use a kind of corn which they call "mamaix" (maize), which is of the size of a pea, yellow and red: and when they wish to eat it, they take a stone, hollowed like a mortar, and another, round, in the shape of a pestle: and after the said corn has been steeped for an hour, they grind and reduce it to flour in the said stone; then they knead and bake it in this manner. they take a plate of iron, or of stone, which they heat on the fire: and when quite hot, they take their paste, and spread it upon the plate rather thin, like tart-paste; and having thus cooked it, they eat it while hot, for it is good for nothing, cold, or kept. they have also another root, which they name cassave, which they use for making bread: but if any one should eat of it, unprepared, he would die. there is a gum called copal,[ ] which proceeds from a tree, which is like the pine-tree: this gum is very good for gout and pains. [ ] rhus copallinum (linn.) the mexicans gave the name of "copal," to all resins and odoriferous gums. the "copal," par excellence, is a white and transparent resin, which flows from a tree whose leaves resemble those of the oak, but longer; this tree is called "copal-qua-huitl," or tree which bears the copal; they have also the "copal-qua-huitl-petlahuae," whose leaves are the largest of the species, and like those of the sumach. the "copal-quauhxiotl," with long and narrow leaves; the "tepecopulli-qua-huitl," or copal of the mountains, whose resin is like the incense of the old world, called by the spaniards, "incienso de las indias," and some other inferior kinds. there is also a root which is named patate, and which they cook like pears at the fire:[ ] it has a taste similar to that of chesnuts. [ ] batatas--sweet potatoe, yam. in the said country, there are numbers of melons of strange size, which are very good; the flesh is quite orange-colour; and there is another sort, of which the flesh is white, but they are not of such good flavour as the others. there are also quantities of cucumbers, very good; artichokes, good lettuces, like those called with us "romaines," cabbages, and numerous other kitchen herbs; also pumpkins, which have red flesh, like the melons. [illustration: _etched by m.m._] there are also apples, which are not very good, and pears, of tolerably good taste, which grow there naturally. i think that if any one would take the trouble to plant these good fruit trees in our climate, they would succeed very well. throughout new spain, there is a kind of snake,[ ] which is of the length of a pike, and as thick as the arm; the head as large as a hen's egg, on which they have two plumes; at the end of the tail they have a rattle, which makes a noise as they glide along. they are very dangerous with their teeth, and with their tail; nevertheless, the indians eat them, after having taken away the two extremities. [ ] champlain clearly means the rattle-snake (crotulus), but seems to have confounded it with the horned snake, from the "plumes" on the head. there are also dragons of strange figure, having the head approaching to that of an eagle, the wings like those of a bat, the body like a lizard, and has only two rather large feet; the tail somewhat scaly, and it is as large as a sheep; they are not dangerous, and do no harm to any body, though to see them, you would say the contrary. i have seen a lizard of such strange size, that if it had been related to me by another, i should not have believed it. i assure you that they are as large as a quarter pipe. they are like those that we see here, as to their form; their colour is greenish-brown, and greenish-yellow under the belly: they run very fast, and hiss in running; they are not mischievous to men, although they do not fly from them unless pursued. the indians eat them, and find them very good.[ ] [ ] probably "lacerta iguana" (linn.), some of which grow to a great size. the flesh was considered a delicacy by the indians and by many europeans, but eating of it too frequently was supposed to occasion a wasting of the body. de rochefort says: "on ne conseille néanmoins d'en manger souvent à cause qu'elle dessêche trop le corps et lui fait perdre tout son embonpoint."--_hist. nat. et morale des antilles._ i have also many times seen in that country, animals that they call caymans, which are, as i believe, a kind of crocodile,[ ] and so large, that certain of the said caymans are twenty-five and thirty feet in length, and are very dangerous; for if they should find a man unawares, without doubt they would devour him. they are of a whitish-yellow colour under the belly, the back armed with strong scales of brownish-green colour, having the head very long, and the teeth strangely sharp; the mouth very wide, the eyes red, and very flaming; on the head there is a sort of crown; they have four very short legs, the body of the size of a barrel. there are also smaller ones. from beneath the hind thighs excellent musk is procured. they live in the lakes and marshes, and in the fresh-water rivers. the indians eat them. [ ] in another room there were great earthen vessels, some filled with water, others with earth, in which were snakes as big as a man's thigh; and crocodiles, which they call caymans, as thick as a man's thigh.--gage, _description of the palace of montezuma._ i have also seen tortoises of marvellous size, such that two horses would have difficulty in dragging one of them; and there are some so large that, in the shell which covers them, three men could place themselves and float as in a boat. they are fished in the sea. the flesh of them is very good and resembles beef. they are in great quantity in all the indies, and they are often seen going to feed in the woods. there are also numbers of tigers,[ ] of the skin of which great care is taken. they do not attack unless pursued. [ ] tigris americana (linn.)--jaguar. there are also to be seen in the said country, some civettes,[ ] which come from peru, where there are quantities. [ ] viverra civetta (linn.)--the gato de algalia of the spaniards. there comes from peru to new spain a certain kind of sheep which, like horses, carry burthens of more than four hundred pounds for days together. they are of the size of an ass; the neck very long, the head middling; the wool very long, and which more resembles hair like that of a goat than wool. they have not horns like our sheep, and are very good to eat, but their flesh is not so delicate as that of our sheep.[ ] [ ] the llama, or vicuña. the country is much peopled with stags and hinds, roe-bucks, wild boars, foxes, hares, rabbits, and other animals which we have in our parts, and from which they are not at all different. there is a kind of little animal of the size of prawns, which fly by night, and make such light in the air that one would say that they were so many little candles. if a man had three or four of these little creatures, which are not larger than a filbert, he could read as well at night as with a wax light.[ ] [ ] the lantern fly--fulgora suternaria (linn.) in the woods and in the plains are to be found numbers of crabs,[ ] like to those which are found in the sea, and are also as common on land as in the sea elsewhere. [ ] "gecarcinus," cancer ruricolor (linn.)--land crab. there is another small kind of animal like a crawfish, excepting that they have the hinder parts devoid of shell; but they have this property--of seeking the empty shells of snails and lodging therein the part which is uncovered, dragging the shell always after them, and are only to be dislodged by force.[ ] the fishermen collect these little beasts in the woods, and make use of them for fishing; and when they wish to catch fish, having taken the little animals from the shell, they attach them by the middle of the body to their lines instead of hooks, then throw them into the sea, and when the fish think to swallow them, they seize the fish with their two powerful claws and will not let them go; and by these means, the fishermen catch fish of the weight even of five or six pounds. [ ] the hermit-lobster, "pagurus streblany," (leach); "pagurus bernardus" (fabricius); "cancellus marinus et terrestris." bernard l'hermite of the french; caracol soldada of the spaniards. [illustration: an indian feast.] i have seen a bird which is named "pacho del ciello,"[ ] that is to say, bird of the heavens, which name is given to it because it is continually in the air without ever coming to the earth till it falls dead. it is of the size of a sparrow. its head is very small, the beak short; part of the body greenish-brown, the rest somewhat red. it has a tail of more than two feet in length, almost like an aigrette, and singularly large. with respect to the body, it has no feet. it is said that the female lays one egg only on the back of the male, by whose heat the said egg is hatched, and when the bird has left the shell, it remains in the air, in which it lives like the rest of its kind. i have only seen one, which our general bought for one hundred and fifty crowns. they are to be caught towards the coast of chile, which is a great extent of terra-firma, extending from peru as far as the straits of magellan, which the spaniards are examining, and are at war with the savages of the country, where, it is said, mines of gold and silver are found. [ ] pacho del ciello.--"paradisia."--bird of paradise. the belief was long prevalent that these birds lived constantly in the air, having no feet. the specimens, sent to europe had seldom the legs and feet attached, the body and tail being only used as an aigrette or plume; hence the idea of their not having any feet. i think it not out of place here to say that ebony wood comes from a very high tree, like to the oak: the outside of the bark is whitish and the heart very black. the brésil is a tree, very large compared with the ebony tree, of the same height, but it is not so hard; the said brésil bears a kind of nut, which grows to about the size of gall-nuts which come on elm trees. after having spoken of the trees, plants, and animals, i must give a short account of the indians, their nature, manners, and belief. the greater number of the said indians, who are not under the domination of the spaniards, adore the moon as their deity, and when they desire to perform their ceremonies, they assemble, great and small, in the middle of their villages, and place themselves in a circle; those who have anything to eat, bring it, and they put all the provisions together in the midst of them and make the best cheer possible. after they are well satisfied, they all take each other by the hand, and begin dancing with loud and strange cries, their song having no order or connexion. after they have well sung and danced, they place themselves with their faces to the earth, and all at once, they altogether begin to cry out and weep, saying, "oh! powerful and bright moon, grant that we may conquer our enemies, and may eat them, that we may not fall into their hands; and that, dying, we may go and rejoice with our relatives." after having made this prayer, they rise and set about dancing in a round; and their feasts last thus, dancing, singing, and praying, about six hours. this is what i have learned about the ceremonies and belief of these poor people, deprived of reason, whom i have here figured. as for the other indians who are under the dominion of the king of spain, if he did not take some order about them, they would be as barbarous in their belief as the others. at the commencement of his conquests, he had established the inquisition among them, and made slaves of or caused them to die cruelly in such great numbers, that the sole recital would cause pity. this evil treatment was the reason that the poor indians, for very apprehension, fled to the mountains in desperation, and as many spaniards as they caught they ate them; and on that account the said spaniards were constrained to take away the inquisition, and allow them personal liberty, granting them a more mild and tolerable rule of life, to bring them to the knowledge of god and the belief of the holy church; for if they had continued still to chastise them according to the rigor of the said inquisition, they would have caused them all to die by fire. the system that is now used is, that in every estance (estancia), which are like our villages, there is a priest who regularly instructs them, the said priest having a list of the names and surnames of all the indians who inhabit the village under his charge. [illustration: burning indians.] there is also an indian, who is as the fiscal of the village,[ ] and he has another and similar list; and on the sunday, when the priest wishes to say mass, all the said indians are obliged to present themselves to hear it; and before the priest begins the mass, he takes his list, and calls them all by their names and surnames; and should any of them be absent, he is marked upon the list, and the mass being said, the priest charges the indian who serves as fiscal, to inquire privately where the defaulters are, and to bring them to the church; in which, being brought before the priest, he asks them the reason why they did not come to the divine service, for which they allege some excuse, if they can find any; and if the excuses are not found to be true or reasonable, the said priest orders the fiscal to give the said defaulters thirty or forty blows with a stick, outside the church, and before all the people. [ ] indian fiscal. "according to the size of the village, the church will have a certain number of singers, of trumpeters and players of the hautbois, over whom the priest appoints a certain officer, whom they call the fiscal, who walks before them with a white staff in his hand, having a cross of silver at the top, to show that he is an officer of the church. on the sundays and feast days he is obliged to assemble the young men and girls at the church, before and after the service."--gage's _voyage_. this is the system which is maintained to keep them in religion, in which they remain, partly from fear of being beaten. it is nevertheless true, that if they have some just reason which prevents them coming to the mass, they are excused. all these indians are of a very melancholy humour, but have nevertheless very quick intelligence, and understand in a short time, whatever may be shewn to them, and do not become irritated, whatever action or abuse may be done or said to them. i have figured in this page and the next, what may well represent that which i have discoursed above. the greater part of these indians have strange habitations, and are without any fixed residence; for they have a kind of caravan or cart, which is covered with the bark of trees, and drawn by horses, mules or oxen; they have their wives and children in the said caravans, and remain a month or two in one spot, and then remove to another, and are thus continually wandering about the country. there is another class of indians who build their dwellings and live in certain villages which belong to nobles or merchants, and cultivate the soil. [illustration: punishment of the indians for not attending church.] now to return to the discourse of my voyage. after having remained an entire month at mechique, i returned to st. jean de luz, at which place i embarked in a patache, for porto-bello, from which it is four or five hundred leagues. we were three weeks at sea before arriving at the said porto-bello, when i found a great change of country; for, instead of the very good and fertile land, which i had seen in new spain, as i have related above, i found a very bad country; this place of porto-bello being the most evil and pitiful residence in the world. it rains there almost always, and if the rain ceases for an hour, the heat is so great, that the water becomes quite infected, and renders the air contagious, so that the greater part of the newly arrived soldiers and mariners die. the country is very mountainous, covered with forests of fir, in which there are such quantities of monkeys, that it is wonderful to behold. nevertheless, the said harbour of porto-bello is very good; there are two castles at the entrance, which are tolerably strong, where there are three hundred soldiers in garrison. adjoining the said port, where the fortresses are, there is another, which is not at all commanded by them, and where an army might land safely. the king of spain esteems this port a place of consequence, being near to peru, there being only seventeen leagues to panama, which is on the south coast. this port of panama, which is on the sea of the (south), is very good; there is good anchorage, and the town is very mercantile. in this place of panama is collected all the gold and silver which comes from peru, and where it is embarked, with other riches, upon a little river, which rises in the mountains, and descends to porto-bello; which river is four leagues from panama, from whence all the gold, silver, and merchandise must be conveyed on mules: and being embarked on the said river, there are but eighteen leagues to porto-bello. one may judge that, if the four leagues of land which there are from panama to this river were cut through, one might pass from the south sea to the ocean on the other side, and thus shorten the route by more than fifteen hundred leagues;[ ] and from panama to the straits of magellan, would be an island, and from panama to the new-foundlands would be another island, so that the whole of america would be in two islands. [ ] isthmus of panama. the junction of the atlantic and pacific oceans, through the isthmus of panama, is not therefore by any means a modern idea. champlain has, perhaps, the merit of being the first to promulgate it. if an enemy of the king of spain should hold the said porto-bello, he could prevent any thing leaving peru, except with great difficulty and risk, and at more expense than profit. drac[ ] went to the said porto-bello, in order to surprise it, but he failed in his enterprise, having been discovered; in consequence of which, he died from disappointment, and ordered, in dying, that they should put him in a coffin of lead, and throw him into the sea, between an island and the said porto-bello. [ ] sir francis drake, after his unsuccessful attempt on porto-rico, pursued his voyage to nombre-de-dios, where, having landed his men, he attempted to pass forward to panama with a view of plundering that place, or if he found such a scheme practicable, of keeping and fortifying it, but he met not with the same facility which had attended his first enterprises in those parts. the spaniards had fortified the passes, and stationed troops in the woods, who so infested the english with continual alarms and skirmishes, that they were obliged to return without effecting anything. drake himself, from the intemperance of the climate, the fatigues of his journey and the vexation of his disappointment, was seized with a distemper of which he soon after died. (see hume's "hist. of england," ann. . drake died on the th of december, , old style, th of january, , ms.,) and his body was disposed of in the manner mentioned by champlain. having remained a month at the said porto-bello, i returned to st. jean de luz, where we sojourned fifteen days, waiting while our ships were careened, to go to the havanna, to the rendezvous of the armies and fleets; and for that purpose, having left the said st. jean de luz, when we were twenty leagues at sea, a hurricane took us with such fury, with a north wind, that we thought all was lost, and were so separated one from the other, that we could only rally at the havanna. on the other hand, our ship made so much water, that we thought we could not avoid the peril; for if we took half an hour's repose, without pumping out the water, we were obliged to work for two hours without ceasing; and had we not met with a patache, which set us in our route again, we should have been lost on the coast of campesche. on this coast of campesche, there are quantities of salt, which is made and procured without artificial means, by reservoirs of water, which remain after the high tides, where it crystallizes in the sun. our pilot had lost all knowledge of the navigation, but the grace of god sent us this meeting with the patache. arrived at the havanna, we found our general, but our admiral had not yet arrived, which made us think that he was lost; however, he came in soon after, with the remainder of the ships. eighteen days after our arrival, i embarked in a vessel which was going to cartagena, and we were fifteen days making the voyage. this place is a good port, where there is a fine entrance, sheltered from all winds, save from the north-north-west, which blows into the harbour, in which there are three islands. the king of spain keeps two galleys here. the said place is in the country called terra-firma, which is very good, very fertile, as well in corn and fruits as in other things necessary to life; but not in such abundance as in new spain; but in recompense, there is a greater quantity of silver drawn from the said country of terra-firma. i remained a month and a half at the town of cartagena, and took a portrait of the town and of the harbour. leaving the said port of cartagena, i returned to the havanna, to meet our general, who gave me a very good reception, having visited by his command the places where i had been. the said port of havanna is one of the finest that i have seen in all the indies. the entrance is very narrow, very good, and well furnished with all that is necessary to defend it; and from one fort to the other there is an iron chain, which traverses the entry of the port. the garrison of the said fortresses consists of six hundred soldiers; that is to say, in one, named the moro, on the eastern side, four hundred; and in the other fort, which is called the new fort, and is in the town, two hundred. inside the said harbour there is a bay, which is more than six leagues round, being more than one league wide, where in every part ships can anchor in three, four, six, eight, ten, fifteen, and sixteen fathoms water, and a great number of vessels can remain there; the town is very good and mercantile. the island, in which are the fort and city of havanna, is called cuba, and is very mountainous; there are no mines of gold or silver, but many mines of metal, of which pieces of artillery are made for the town of havanna. neither corn nor wine grows on the said island; that which is consumed comes from new spain, so that sometimes they are very dear. in this island there are quantities of very good fruits; among others one which is called pines,[ ] which perfectly resembles in shape the pine (cones) with us. the skin is removed, then it is cut in half like apples; it has a very good taste, and is very sweet, like sugar. [ ] pine-apple. piña de indias (span.) anana. there is abundance of cattle, such as oxen, cows, and pigs, which are better meat than any other in this country, or in all the indies. they keep a great number of oxen, more to have the hides than the flesh. to take them, negroes go on horseback after these oxen, and with astes,[ ] at the end of which is a very sharp crescent, cut the hamstrings of the oxen, which are immediately skinned, and the flesh so soon consumed, that, twenty-four hours after, none can be perceived, being devoured by great numbers of wild dogs and other animals which inhabit this country. [ ] hasta (lat.), lance or pole. we were four months at the havanna, and leaving it with the whole fleet of the indies, which had assembled there from all parts, we proceeded to pass the channel of bahan (bahama), which is a passage of consequence, and which must necessarily be passed in returning from the indies. on one side of the said passage, to the north, lies the land of florida, and on the other the havanna. the sea flows into the said channel with great impetuosity. this channel is eighty leagues in length, and in width eight leagues, as it is figured hereafter, together with the land of florida, at least such part of the coast as can be seen. on quitting the said channel we came near to bermuda, a mountainous island which it is difficult to approach on account of the dangers that surround it. it almost always rains there, and thunders so often, that it seems as if heaven and earth were about to come together. the sea is very tempestuous around the said island, and the waves high as mountains.[ ] [ ] bermuda. "the still vexed bermoothes." gage was nearly wrecked on the rocks of bermuda. he says, "the spaniards, instead of thanking god for having saved them from that peril, began to curse the english who inhabited the island, saying that they had enchanted it, and all the others in the neighbourhood, and that, by means of the devil, they caused storms to arise whenever a spanish fleet passed." having passed the traverse of the said island, we saw such quantities of flying-fish that it was marvellous.[ ] we took some which fell on board our ship. they have the shape like that of a herring; the fins much larger, and are very good to eat. [ ] flying-fish. exocetus volitans (linn.) there are certain fish as large as barrels, which are called "tribons,"[ ] which follow the flying-fish to eat them; and when the flying-fish find that they cannot otherwise avoid them, they spring from the water and fly about five hundred paces, and by this means they save themselves from the said "tribon." [ ] tiburon (span.) shark, probably confounded with the bonito, which with the dorade (sparus aurata) is the mortal enemy of the flying-fish. i must also say that on the south-south-east side of the said channel of bahan is seen the island of st. domingo, of which i have before spoken, which is very fine and commercial in hides, ginger, and casse-tabac, which is otherwise called petun,[ ] or the queen's herb, which is dried and then made into little cakes. sailors, even the english, and other persons use it, and take the smoke of it in imitation of the savages. [ ] most likely "canasse," or canaster tobacco, or petun-nicotiana tabacum (linn.) nicot, who first introduced tobacco in france, called it "herbe à la reine," or the queen's herb. the term "petuner" was often used formerly instead of "fumer," to smoke. "ils" (the indians) "ne font du feu que pour petuner."--champlain's _voyages en nouvelle france_, . although i have before represented the island of st. domingo, i will nevertheless figure the coast towards the channel of bahan. i have spoken above of the land of florida; i will also say that it is one of the best lands that can be desired; very fertile if it were cultivated, but the king of spain does not care for it because there are no mines of gold or silver. there are great numbers of savages, who make war against the spaniards, who have a fort on a point of the said land, where there is a harbour. the land is low, and for the most part very agreeable. four days after passing bermuda we had such a great tempest, that the whole of our armament was more than six days without being able to keep together. after the six days had passed, the weather becoming finer and the sea more tranquil, we all reassembled, and had the wind favourable till we perceived the açores. the island of terceira is shown here. all vessels returning from the indies must of necessity approach the said islands of açores to take their observations, otherwise they could not with surety finish their route. having passed the isles of açores, we came in sight of cape st. vincent, where we captured two english ships which were armed for war; and we took them to the river of seville from whence we had departed, and which was the termination of our voyage; which had occupied, since our leaving the river of seville, as well on sea as on land, two (three) years and two months. gardens of the caribbees volume ii. travel lovers' library [illustration] _each in two volumes profusely illustrated_ florence by grant allen romance and teutonic switzerland by w. d. mccrackan old world memories by edward lowe temple paris by grant allen feudal and modern japan by arthur may knapp the unchanging east by robert barr venice by grant allen gardens of the caribbees by ida m. h. starr belgium: its cities by grant allen [illustration] l. c. page and company publishers summer street, boston, mass. [illustration: from our balcony caracas, venezuela.] gardens of the caribbees sketches of a cruise to the west indies and the spanish main by ida m. h. starr in two volumes vol. ii. _illustrated_ [illustration: colophon] boston l. c. page & company _mdcccciv_ _copyright, _ by l. c. page & company (incorporated) _all rights reserved_ published july, colonial press electrotyped and printed by c. h. simonds & co. boston, mass., u.s.a. contents chapter page i. island of trinidad. "iere" ii. island of trinidad. la brea iii. the spanish main iv. in venezuela. caracas v. in venezuela. caracas to puerto cabello vi. curaÇao. city of willemstad vii. the southern cross viii. kingston, jamaica ix. "cuando salide la habana" x. a memory of martinique list of illustrations volume ii. page from our balcony, caracas, venezuela _frontispiece_ the barracks, through live-oaks and mahogany-trees, trinidad governor's palace and public gardens, port of spain, trinidad on the way to the savannah, port of spain, trinidad the beach of la brea, trinidad asphalt for northern pavements, pitch lake, trinidad loading cars, pitch lake, trinidad a native washerwoman on the pitch lake, trinidad where the mountains meet the sea, la guayra, venezuela caracas and the mountains, venezuela equestrian statue of bolivar, the liberator, caracas, venezuela an interior court, caracas, venezuela cathedral and plaza, caracas, venezuela a house beside the sea, puerto cabello, venezuela a south american street, puerto cabello, venezuela across ste. anne bay, harbour of willemstad, curaÇao some of our friends at willemstad.--where the basket-women waited, willemstad, curaÇao the landing, willemstad, curaÇao a jolly dutch port, willemstad, curaçao a snug harbour, willemstad, curaÇao kingston, jamaica, from the bay rio cobre, near spanish town, jamaica a native hut, jamaica the bog walk road, near spanish town, jamaica where we landed, kingston, jamaica el morro, entrance to harbour, santiago de cuba the plaza, cienfuegos, cuba the grave of cervera's fleet, west of santiago de cuba the wreck of the maine, havana harbour, cuba cabaÑas, la punta, and harbour entrance, havana, cuba st. pierre and mt. pelÉe before the eruption, martinique st. pierre and mt. pelÉe after the eruption, martinique rue victor hugo before the eruption, st. pierre, martinique rue victor hugo after the eruption, st. gardens of the caribbees chapter i. island of trinidad, "iere" i. had we known just a little more about trinidad, it would have made a great difference in that luncheon, but it all came out wrong because some of us didn't know. too late to influence us in the least, we read in the _daily gleaner_, of jamaica, that the beef sold in trinidad is exported alive from venezuela. to be sure, we were aware that venezuela occupies a large part of the northern coast of south america, and were conscious that trinidad lies enclosed in a great bay of that coast, called the gulf of paria, off the delta of the orinoco river; also, in a hazy way, we knew that the spanish main is a name applied somewhat vaguely to that same south american coast--a relic of the days of pirates, buccaneers, and freebooting english admirals; but we no more expected to be served a roast of beef from the spanish main than a dish of boston baked beans from our castles in spain. the two dimly intangible names had ever borne a close comradeship in our minds, a poetic association affiliated them in closest bonds. the same sun kissed into rose tints the turrets of our castles in spain and the lofty summits of the spanish main. the same romance lifted them both away from reality into that land just bordering upon the islands of the blest, and much as we longed to materialise our dreams, and make the spanish main a usable fact, when the opportunity came for us to do so, it slipped away from us before we were conscious of its existence. unaware that the illuminated postal-card _menu_ on the table at the queen's park hotel, port of spain, could in any sense lift the veil from our enchantments, we read the following bill of fare: mayonnaise of fish, with lettuce oysters _en poulet_ scrambled eggs with asparagus tips irish stew haricot of oxtail brain fritters curry of veal _à l'indien_ boiled turkey and rice ham and spinach fried sausages and potatoes salad assorted cold meats string beans rice mashed potatoes macaroni _au gratin_ chocolate ice-cream cakes cheese eight of us sat down at a table on the veranda, white-walled, white-ceilinged, and white pillared. a white-gravelled walk led out into the white sun, through a stiff, boxed-in, english garden, stuffed with plants in green tubs, and redeemed only by those natural things that will grow and be beautiful in spite of all conventions. thirsting for cool ices and delectable fruits, looking wistfully for our vanishing fancies of west indian ambrosia, we turn in a listless, disappointed way to that bill of fare, where ham and spinach and irish stew and fried sausages send our hopes a-scampering off like a lot of frightened children. what man in his sane mind would order an haricot of ox-tail in the tropics, when he needs but lift his hand for the food of paradise; what man, with any sense of the fitness of things, would eat curried veal, when, for the asking, he might sup a libation fit for the gods? alas! the asking never brought it, and we--that is, one, at least--settled down to scrambled eggs, and felt and looked unutterable scorn upon the one next at table who began at mayonnaise of fish, and took every course to cheese. ah! friends, this was a case where the one who didn't know fared ill. she lost her first opportunity of paying her respects to the spanish main. hungry and disillusioned, the one and the only thing to do is to forget those steaming sausages and the irish stew as quickly as possible. we shall not stay here a moment longer. hotels are makeshifts at the best. let us leave these unromantic, unscrupulous venders of ham and spinach! there, over yonder on the other side of the savannah, there is a delicious retreat where we can make good our escape. ii. we shall never again see anything which can compare in beauty, of its kind, with the _jardin des plantes_ of martinique. no, we never shall--still, we must be just to all. trinidad's botanical garden is beautiful in its own way, and we were impressed with the idea that it possessed some features which that of martinique lacked. however, that might have been owing to the fact that we did not view the martinique garden in its entirety. had we done so, we might have found the same species in both places. from casual observation there seemed to me to be one distinctive characteristic of tropical vegetation; the trees did not appear to grow so much in great social orders as do those of temperate zones. in the north, vast families of the same species of trees gather together and keep together with as rigid a pertinacity as any scotch clan; the beech, birch, oak, maple, pine, hemlock, walnut, hickory, all have their pet homes and their own relations, and no amount of coddling or persuasion will ever induce them to a wide change of _habitat_; but in the far south, the tropical trees seem willing to settle anywhere in this land of endless summer. of course, one finds that certain trees love the swamps, and others prefer the high lands; and some will grow in greater magnificence in some places where the conditions are absolutely congenial, than in other places where they are not so. there is the mangrove; it loves the wet and the mire--the mosquito-ridden, miasmatic river borders--and wherever, on these coasts, you find a swamp, whether in the very hottest spots, or in others only moderately so, there you'll find the mangrove sending out ærial roots, reaching down into the muck for new strength, forming--banyan-like--a family of new trunks, all under one leafy canopy, quite content if only it has the water about its roots and a certain degree of heat. away up there in haïti, we find the ceiba, and down here in trinidad it is equally at home. these conditions make the formation of a botanical garden, representing the world-growth of sunlit vegetation, peculiarly favourable. trinidad is said to possess the most superb collection of tropical plants in existence; and though gathered from all lands, growing not as strangers or even stepchildren, but as rightful heirs to the immeasurable vital force which pours forth from a rich soil warmed by a blazing sun the year around. [illustration: the barracks, through live-oaks and mahogany-trees trinidad] the garden once entered, we pass a great, squarely built mansion, the governor's residence, and are in the midst of a wonderful vegetation from the first step. at the very entrance, we are greeted with, perhaps, the most unique tree in these latitudes. after all, there is something stupefying in the effort to describe tropical wonders. when they are passing before one's eyes, each has a feature distinct to itself, which, in a way, is its own manner of description. each has its peculiar wonder, its own glory,--no two alike--and yet, when one sits down to think it over, there is the same old alphabet from which to draw new pictures, new miracles; and how to make each different with the same letters is a question indeed. if i could only tell you the name of this particular tree which stands at the entrance to the garden, you might some day hunt it up yourself, but as i know neither its family nor home, we will let that all go, and just tell you how it is dressed. it is a heavily, glossily leafed, symmetrical, low tree, just about the size of those dear old cherry-trees we used to climb, oh, so long,--so long ago! from the tip of every branch there drops a cord-like fibre about a foot and a half long, and at the end of this little brown string there hangs a cluster of delicate pink flowers. these are suspended in almost exact length in rows from the lowest to the highest branch, and it really seems as if nature were experimenting to see what wonderful living garlands she could create for a canopy above our heads. iii. the character of the garden is defined at once upon entrance. it is a botanical garden, pure and simple, a place for strange plants from far away, a sort of orphan asylum for everybody's vegetable baby. it is not, like martinique, an enchanted forest with cascades and glens fit for nymphs and dryads; it is matter-of-fact, orderly, prim, and businesslike. aside from its unique trees, there is little to attract one, so we decide for once it would be wise to engage a guide who can tell us something about the inhabitants of the place, which otherwise promises to be rather dull. [illustration: governor's palace and public gardens port of spain, trinidad] so we hunt up a crooked, stump-legged portuguese gardener, by name manuel, who takes our heavy baskets, we following down a little glen which grows at once quite dark and sweet and silent. through long, freshly cut bamboo poles, streams of water are being carried hither and thither to special spots in the garden, and we stop to watch the trickling, and dip our hands down into its pleasant coolness. away up through the dark leafage, a mighty royal palm with stern aristocratic grace swings and rattles its great, dead, brown arms--the skeleton of its last year's growth--beneath the luxuriant crown of this year's green plumes. in the thicket, we find the nutmegs, hiding among the delicate foliage of a low-branching tree. sister reaches among the leaves and pulls off some of the fragrant fruit, and gathers many from the ground. a sense of rare luxuriance comes over us. this gathering of the spices of life from the very ground upon which we tread is intoxicating, and we just begin to understand the causes back of those dark pages of west indian history, when man first partook of this delirium. these large-leafed, upright little trees are the madagascar coffee, and the smaller and more graceful ones, the java coffee--how they take us back to those happy days and months among the coffee plantations, long ago!--and near by is the friendly banana, so common an object that we pass its torn, drooping leaves with scarcely a thought, but it is worth more than a passing glance, for there is no plant in all the tropics more useful than the banana. it has not only delicious fruit of many sizes and varieties, but it is also cooked as a vegetable, and forms one of the chief sources of the native diet. it is planted, on account of its heavy shade and quick growth, to shade the coffee, while trees of slower growth and more permanent shade are maturing, thus forming a necessary and temporary protection; it is also used for the same purpose among the cacao trees. it is a sort of foster-mother to the cacao, to care for the tender shrub until its real mother, "_la madre del cacao_," can assume permanent care of its charge. the banana takes so little vitality from the ground that, as protection to the coffee and cacao, it is indispensable. we had some very delicious, green-skinned bananas at several places, and found the small apple banana everywhere. manuel leads us on, and stops under a spindling, tall tree, flowering with dainty, pink buds of a delicious odour, and there's one branch just low enough for little blue ribbons to reach on tiptoe. does it seem possible that the little brown cloves, rattling in my spice-box at home, could ever have been so fresh and soft and pink? poor little mummies! and just see what we are coming to! did you ever imagine there could be such shade? it's a tree from the philippines. we stoop to get under the black leaves, and there the shade is absolutely impenetrable. what an adjustment of things there is in this grand old earth of ours! my thoughts fly back to our northern woods. i see the sinuously graceful elms, with the sunlight streaming through their wide open branches upon an earth longing for warmth; and long shafts of white noonday shooting through the interstices of basswood, maple, and ash; the woods are not black and sunless; they are translucently green, quivering with light and needed warmth. but here, where the sun is a ball of redundant flame the year around, nature bequeaths to her children a shaded forest, rigidly trunked, stolidly formed, thick-leafed, which no blazing sun can penetrate or sweeping hurricane desolate. iv. quite as one strokes the head of a favourite animal, manuel leads us to an insignificant-looking tree, takes a branch caressingly in his hand, brings out his clumsy knife, selects just the right spot, cuts off a bit, and hands us a piece of camphor wood. into the dear st. thomas basket it goes, with the leaves of coffee, the pink and white clove blossoms, and a long spray of _araucaria_ from the norfolk islands,--a strange company, indeed! yonder long yellow avenues are cinnamon and spice groves with reddish-yellow bark, smooth as wax, casting slender shadows in the golden light. here is the shaddock, entirely weaned from its malayan home, and farther on a clump of low bushes, in among the nutmeg trees and coffee, with small satin-like leaf, brings us to the herb that "cheers but does not inebriate,"--the tea. just see those glorious great lemons, glowing in the ever-splendid sunlight, which transmits to every living object a radiance, a dazzling brilliancy, in which life progresses and finally dissolves out of sheer exhaustion from the exuberance of vitality. oh, to our starved eyes of the north; to our senses benumbed by dreary days of darkened sky, hearts chilled by bitterness of wind and gray, unyielding frost, this never-ending, unspeakable sunlight, filtering through the yellow vistas of clove and cinnamon, comes like the actual presence of apollo, the shining one! we may, in unguarded moments, in ungrateful moments, maybe, consider his embrace too positive, and we may raise the white umbrella, but we never quite lose our rejuvenated love for his golden glory. manuel, but half-clad, looks as if he would dismember at any moment. his trousers are hitched by a couple of old leathers, and his shirt looks as if it wished it "didn't have to," and his old hat is only there on sufferance, and his shoes--old flippety-flops--have dragged their ill-shaped existence through many a weary mile. but manuel doesn't care; he loves his garden, and the sunshine and the luscious fruit, all his children so well behaved and so obedient to his voice. he takes a bamboo pole and gives one of the big, juicy lemons a rap, and down it falls on wee one's head with such a thump! then manuel is very sorry, and he apologises for his child's misdemeanour in his funny, mixed-up portuguese-english-spanish and the rest, and we understand and don't mind a bit; in fact, we wouldn't care if more would fall in the same way. once upon a time, in the far-off golden days, when the divine in creation had not been quite forgot, there came to this shore a band of men,--not faultless, no, not faultless--but great men "for a' that," who, with glittering cross aloft, christened this fair land after the blessed trinity. but this was not her first sacrament. deep in the eternal silence of the forest, the dweller in the high wood had sought expression of the divine through beauty, and chose a name from out the radiant wilderness which would tell for ever of its wonderment: "iere," the land of the humming-bird, they called her--those dusky children of the high wood--and to this day she clings lovingly to her maiden name. we look about us. where are the birds once peopling these forests, like myriads of rainbows? oh, sisters! members of humane societies! hunt up your old bonnets and see the poor little stuffed carcasses ornamenting your cast-off finery! so trinidad has been bereft of her wonderful birds, and now there is but a name, a sad-sounding, meaningless name--iere--to tell of days which knew not the pride and cruelty of women. think of it!--at one time, there averaged twenty thousand humming-birds a year exported from trinidad to england alone! and now, well--there are none left to export. we must find new islands to denude, to ravage, to desolate, for our adornment. but it's too unpleasant,--this seeing things as they are; we'll hide the poor little innocent card which the black woman gave us at the hotel; we'll cover up the word "iere" with these coffee leaves. there, now the spray of _araucaria_, now the stick of camphor, and i think the lemon will fit right in among the nutmegs. come along, manuel, we are ready; and we follow through the birdless paths, down where the _nux vomica_ grows, and the pepper, and the lime and the calabash, and the orange and breadfruit, and tamarind, and pineapple; and we go on and wake up the comical lizards who scurry away like brown flashes of whip-cord. what ridiculous creatures they are, and how desperately frightened! why, surely they must be fifteen inches long, and fully four inches high, and what funny, nimble legs! they start off in the same spasm-like way as do the toy lizards we buy for the youngsters. manuel brings us to the plant house where the great forest wonders of the far east are babied and loved into strength, and i could not but think of daudet's dear old _tartarin of tarascon_, dreaming by the homesick little baobab-tree, which grew in his window-garden; and of the long nights under the mellow moon of sunny france; and how he fought great beasts and achieved great fame in the land of sweet illusion. [illustration: on the way to the savannah port of spain, trinidad copyright. , by detroit photographic co.] dream on, tartarin, wherever you may be! the time will come when it will all be true, and you, too, will rest under the yellow splendour of the golden trees; and the earth, the great mother earth, will open her heart to you and breathe upon you the spirit of limitless possibilities! good-bye, manuel! the basket is heavy to carry with its spoils of fruit and flowers; and we take "turn about" across the savannah. the races are on, and horses are dashing around the grassy turf, and the trinidadians are yelling, the cricket games are going, and the picnic parties are gathering up their baskets for home; and the hindoo girls clamour to carry our basket, and we gladly give over the load to a tough little head; and the merry-go-round wheezes out its squeaking tunes, and we pass through the black crowd, and narrowly escape taking a cab, for the way to the quay looks long, and we waver and weaken, and are just about to give in, when up comes a tinkling tram, and we jump in, with a penny to the hindoo girl, and rumble away. the man with the two monkeys, and the man with the green and blue parrot, and the boy with the shells, are still waiting. alackaday! where is the woman with the baskets? chapter ii. island of trinidad. la brea i. we were led to believe, through various accounts from former travellers, that the excursion to the pitch lake would be attended with considerable discomfort and some hardships. after a run of about four hours from port of spain, trinidad, we made la brea at two o'clock in the afternoon of a blistering hot day. fully one-third of the ship's company were frightened off, while the rest of us made ready for the much-anticipated expedition. it was a funny-looking company that stood at the gangway, waiting for the first boat ashore. handkerchiefs took the place of collars and ties; coats and vests were, for the most part, discarded, and all endeavoured to make themselves as light in wearing apparel as possible. the caribbean sea, which had, until now, been ruffled only by the regular sweep of the "trades," was badly tossed by a strong wind, so that the embarkation in the ship's boat was to me unpleasantly exciting. the sea was running so high that, in order to reach the boat without being wet through, we had to gauge our time well and take the jump just as the boat was lifted to the top of the wave. as we started down the ship's ladder, with little blue ribbons tightly holding daddy's hand, sister having gone before in the whale-boat with friends, the ship's mate begged us to leave the wee one with him. he said the sea was too rough and the landing too difficult; and besides he would take such good care of her, and she should have ice cream, and be a little queen all day,--if she would only stay. so, with some tears, and disdain for ice-cream, little blue ribbons remained on board; the only time in the journey thus far when she was not one of the party. had it not been for the confident man, who likes the water, and the absurdity of the thing, i should have begged to be taken back to the ship. we were in the second boat. the captain had arranged to have the launch tow us ashore, but the launch--true to the traditions of "oil engines"--had no intention of towing us ashore; it puffed and popped and made a great fuss, but would not move an inch. the engineer lost his steerageway, and it seemed every moment as if the great, clumsy thing would crash into us; and there we lay, going up and down the side of the ship, rolling from side to side, and bobbing from bow to stern, in a very disagreeable situation for those who don't like that sort of thing. i know quite well that i was not the only one who would gladly have felt himself safe on the solid decks of our ship. for once, the incessant talking had ceased, and our boat-load of people sat there absolutely quiet, thinking very hard. after numerous unsuccessful attempts to make the launch behave, they gave up the attempt, manned our life-boat with six round-faced, lubberly, german "jackies," each with a big oar, and went off independently. i was heartily thankful not to have been assigned to the launch, for it could not compare in sea-going qualities with the boat in which we were placed. as i said, it was a long row to the landing, but we finally reached smooth water, and disembarked at the end of a long bridge-like pier; not, however, without some difficulty. we were still some distance from shore, which was reached by means of a narrow board walk, carried along one side of the pier, and bridging over the shoal water. at the quay, a big "down-east" schooner (thank heaven, there are a few american merchant vessels left!), two barks, and one full-rigged ship, were being loaded with pitch, by means of great steel buckets, travelling on an endless wire cable, which went from the end of the pier, up an incline, to the works on the hill, near to the great deposit of pitch beyond. [illustration: the beach of la brea trinidad] this ship at the pier was the first full-rigged merchant ship we had seen during the cruise--most merchantmen seeming now to be rigged as barks or barkentines--and was, even in spite of its black cargo, a beautiful sight. there is something in the look of a ship--its mass of rigging, its straight yard-arms, well set up, its black, drooping sails, half-furled, its inexplicable riddle of shrouds and stays and braces and halliards and sheets--that always stirs my soul mysteriously. black as this vessel was, prosaic as was her cargo, unsightly the hands that loaded her, she was a picture. by right, she should have carried teas, and spices, and silks, and jewels; but she was worthy of admiration despite her humble calling. once on land, we realised, looking up the long, black hill ahead of us, and feeling the heat from a blazing sun directly overhead, that the walk would be a hard one, and that we must go slowly, in order to make it with any degree of comfort; but walk we must, or stay on the beach. the pitch was in evidence immediately. reefs of hard asphalt ran through the sandy beach into the sea. the hill was covered with asphalt, and down near the shore it lay in great wrinkles, where, when the road was being made, it had overflowed and taken to the hedgeway. it was apparent under the grass and weeds, around the roots of trees, and in the banana groves; in fact, there was pitch everywhere, black, oozing, and dull. ii. up the hill laboured the little procession of red-faced adventurers, in all conditions of negligée. the large lady from kansas puffed and sweated and mopped her face; the doctor vowed we would die of sunstroke; the mother and her daughter, from boston, made the ascent as their ancestors had stormed bunker hill, with features rigid and teeth set; our neighbour at table, who had been thrice around the world, wondered what on earth we would think of manila in the summer-time if we called this hot; our jolly, delightful friend from new haven laughed us all the way up the hill, and said he was suffering with the cold; the german baron, under his green umbrella, passed us with the superb stride acquired from his sturdy ancestors and his military training; down the hill back of us straggled on the rest of the company: the little women, the tall women, the lean ones, the fat ones, urged and supported by long-suffering husbands and brothers and friends who mopped and fanned furiously. there were hats of all descriptions: white east indian helmets built of pith and lined with green, deliciously light, cool things; and all conceivable shapes of puerto rican hats, of a pretty, fine white palm "straw," very much like the panama; and hats from haïti; and french hats from martinique; and then there were puerto rican sailor hats, one of which i wore with great pride. our shoes were the heaviest we had, and our clothing the oldest and lightest available. thus all marched on in broken file, with very hot faces, and shaded by all manner of outlandish umbrellas, over the hot asphalt to the pitch lake. as our little party plodded along, going so slowly it hardly seemed as if we were making any progress at all, my courage began to wane somewhat, for i remembered most vividly a similar day on the island of capri, when i had been overcome by the sun, and in consequence of which had suffered many months after. with this in my mind, we stopped at a shanty half-way up the hill, where we saw some bananas growing, tore off part of a leaf, and asked for some water of a negress, who was one of many watching the procession with great amusement. in fairly good english she told me not to wet the head; in fact, by her vociferous rejection of our plan, we were led to believe that it would be dangerous to carry it out at all, so we threw away the leaf, and worked on up the blistering highway to the top of the hill. there was not a bit of shade in sight. to right and left, rank weeds and cacti grew in wild confusion, and with the exception of a few banana groves, and the huts of negro labourers farther down, there was nothing of a shade-producing nature along the road. the asphalt was so hot to the feet that we broke company, and took to single file in among the weeds on the edge of the road. as we approached the summit of the hill, a fine breeze gave us new courage, and the sight of the pitch works, not far distant, dissolved our fears of the heat into most absorbing interest of the great phenomenon coming into view. an endless train of buckets, which led the way up the long ascent, on a wire rope supported at short intervals by large sheaves on iron pillars, went squeaking along, one row down to the dock, full of great chunks of pitch, and the other back, empty, to be filled and started on its round again. iii. i looked ahead as far as i could, and located our fellow voyagers, now here, now there,--white dots on the strangest landscape i had ever seen. i sat down on a barrel of pitch under the welcome shade of a rough shed in the power-house, and had my first glimpse of the great lake. why it has been called a "lake," i fail to discover; it was probably named thus by the english. in that case, the matter is explained; it is called a lake because it is not a lake at all. the englishman never seems to understand that the object to be named ought to bear some slight relation to its appellative. he decides upon a name, and the unfortunate victim has to fit himself, herself, itself, into its new form as best he can. if this curious deposit had been called the "pitch bed," there might have been some reason in the naming; some, possibly not all, but some of the existing physical conditions would have been suggested to the mind, and the traveller might thus have been able to form an approximate idea of the phenomenon before seeing it. instead of a lake, you see a vast, flat, fairly smooth, black surface of pitch, with only here and there small pools of water,--in places, yellowish; in places, clear,--intersecting the black surface in all directions. sometimes they enlarge, and, uniting, cover the surface quite a distance, and in the centre several feet deep; and again the intersecting, stream-like pools shrink to mere threads, but, as i said, the general aspect of the pitch lake is a flat, solid, black surface, covered occasionally with water, the water being only in the crevices between great masses of pitch that have pushed up from beneath. [illustration: asphalt for northern pavements pitch lake, trinidad] we were as yet unconvinced of its carrying qualities, and, not wishing to run the risk of getting stuck in the pitch, we waited the approach of one of the trains of little cable-cars, running from the works out on to the lake, which we could see coming toward us. the brakeman is good enough to stop, and we pile into the ridiculous little steel cars and hang on as best we can, while we are sent flying down over a narrow-gauge track, laid on top of the pitch, to the place where most of the digging is going on. here a great crew of black men--black as the pitch in which they stand--with bare feet, all with picks, dig out the wonderful formation, which breaks off in great brittle pieces. seeing these men so fearlessly defying the forces of nature, we gained confidence, and stepped out of the buckets on to the surface of the so-called "lake;" and although our feet would sink in a half-inch or so when we stood still, we found that we could walk everywhere with perfect safety, with the exception of a few places where the surface seemed to be in big bubbles and disposed to crack and break away under us. it was remarkable to me that the pitch is both viscous and brittle at the same time. when standing still, the water--thick and yellow, with a sulphurous odour--would ooze up about the feet and form new rivulets, which, uniting, would trickle into some near-by pool. there were innumerable small, crater-like openings, some like air-bubbles in the sea beach, others, deep, black holes, two and three feet in diameter, but no appearance of heat or fire. all over the lake, small springs of yellowish fluid were constantly bubbling up into the pools. the supply of pitch is apparently inexhaustible, for, after a great trench has been dug out along these temporary tracks, some four feet deep, and many rods wide, by the next day the hole will again be so far filled that the mining goes on as before. the manager told us that it had not been found necessary to change the tram tracks for two years, that the level of the pitch fell only seven inches last year, after immense amounts had been removed for shipment. the depth of this deposit is not known. it has been sounded a number of times, but it seems to be impossible to find the bottom. i do not know the exact dimensions of the lake, but, making a rough estimate, should say that it is half a mile wide, and about a mile long; its extent is said to be about one hundred and ten acres. the great asphalt deposit in venezuela, which has been the cause of so much recent trouble,--through, i am sorry to say, the quarrels of two american companies,--is thought by some to be shallower than the one of la brea, although it is apparently much larger, being in the neighbourhood of ten miles in circumference. this trinidad pitch is also worked by an american company, under concession from the british colonial government. iv. it seemed to me that i had never before seen such black pitch or blacker "niggers." they were a good-humoured lot of men, making no complaint of the heat, although they worked untiringly, bare-footed, in the hot, oozing pitch. we stopped one fellow, about as black and tattered a figurehead as we could find, and told him we wanted his picture. he was perfectly delighted, and struck a very fetching attitude. after the button had been pressed, we gave him a bit of silver, and then came a howl from a dozen others for a similar opportunity, all posing for us as fancy struck them. seeing that we were obdurate, the fortunate holder of the silver doubled up with a tremendous laugh, and i can yet see before me his two rows of glistening white teeth and his wreck of a hat and his rag of a shirt, and his bepatched breeches. his laugh so exasperated the others, that one, an elderly gentleman who wore grand side whiskers, shouted out in tones of deepest sarcasm: "guess i'd git my picture took, too, sam, if i was such a orangoutang as you is!" it seemed as though they would come to blows, but, had i known the good-humoured blacks better, i should have had no fear, for their battles, fierce as they seem, are only words, and usually end in a laugh. there are two kinds of pitch: one, pure pitch, dead black, was loaded in the small cars, and the other, of a light brown colour, was carried off in dump-carts, drawn by mules. this black pitch forms the basis of all our asphalt pavements, and such a deposit must be worth millions to the _concessionaires_. now, when did this mighty process begin, and what internal force is at work producing this continual outpouring upon the earth's surface? [illustration: loading cars pitch lake, trinidad] at the farther end of the lake, women and young girls were busy gathering pieces of wood which were thrown up out of the pitch. i do not claim to understand this marvellous phenomenon. i would rather put the question to those of you who have access to the wisdom of libraries, and give you the privilege of bringing some light upon these strange manifestations of god's unknowable. as i understand it, pitch is obtained from tar, boiled down, and tar is a black, viscous liquid obtained by the distillation of wood and coal, so this residuum which we see is the third step in one of nature's great caldrons; a process millions of years in forming, a process still in operation. is this wood which is continually coming to the surface of the lake an unused part of that vast primeval forest which was when time did not exist; when chaos was revolving into form? how long has it been wandering, and what force is it which sends it thus unharmed, save for the loss of bark, out again into the light? some very strange implements and tools, recognised as south american workmanship of a remote day, have come to the surface of this lake, and one theory for their appearance is, that they have been drawn under the gulf of paria, and up through the lake of la brea by some unseen, but mighty power from the lake of pitch in venezuela, of which this is supposed by some to be the outlet. the wood, gathered by the women, is not petrified, but merely impregnated with the pitch, and has all its original qualities as when it first left the parent stem, with, however, the additional affinity for fire which its pitchy bath would naturally give. we were much entertained by the women and children, who stood knee-deep in the fresh pools at the further end of the lake, doing the washing. the clothes were laid out on the pitch to dry, and the naked babies rolled around on the black stuff quite as much at home as our babies are on the clean nursery floor. the women had on but very little clothing, or none,--and some of the girls and boys, fourteen and fifteen years of age, were entirely nude. one young girl, as we approached, modestly hung a little fluttering rag about her loins, and, thus clothed, was not ashamed. [illustration: a native washerwoman on the pitch lake trinidad] i have seen more immodesty on the floor of a modern ballroom than ever from the bare bodies of these black women. but terrible as the stories are which one hears of the immorality of the west indies, i feel that here the evil is less heinous in the coloured races on account of the primitive nature and conditions of a half-savage people. unfortunately this great and degenerating danger to the white inhabitants is ever present. the pitch lake foreshadows the terrible conditions of the people in trinidad and jamaica; the continual welling up of this black mass suggests the doom which awaits these beautiful islands, unless a giant hand is put forth to save them. the difficulties of this excursion have been much exaggerated. to be sure, we had a long walk, but we also had a good breeze most of the way, and our fellow traveller who, in spite of all warnings, had worn his immaculate white suit, came off without spot or blemish, notwithstanding the old proverb about "keeping away from the pitch." v. hot and tired, i left the party, who wished to make the entire circuit, and took my way over the yielding pitch, over the sulphurous yellow puddles, until i finally came to the grateful shade of the power-house. a rickety old carryall looked very inviting, and in no time i had ensconced myself therein, and leaned back in full anticipatory enjoyment of a restful quarter of an hour. as i sat there, looking out over the distant sea,--for i was on the brow of a hill,--gradually the unsightly power-house, the pitch cars, the little huts where bananas were sold, the native shanties, the long, narrow bridge, even the rim of the canopy above my head, seemed to fade away into nothing. the ships at anchor had slipped their cables and were gone; the iron pier, with its busy life, had disappeared; all had changed, vanished. it was silent, ghostly. then, out of nothing, out of dimness, there came a moving, a forming, a changing, and i became conscious that i was no longer alone, but that a company, great and illustrious, was assembling by ship-loads upon the beach of la brea; and that, without word or confusion, five ancient, lofty-sterned, lumbering craft, and a quaint little caravel, lay bow-on to the strand, while one was already being careened on her side in the shoal water of the beach by cumbersome tackle fast to her thick mastheads. their huge, clumsy hulks were gray with time; their gaping seams told of hot, blistering suns, and upon their decks there lay an array of guns and armament, crudely ancient and unwieldy. silent men were noiselessly moving about at the command of one most beautiful to behold, in scarlet cloak, and silken hose and doublet of rare elegance, with hat beplumed, and glittering sword, who walked amongst the company as a king. to and from the ship there moved a ghostly procession of grimy sailors, carrying pitch to the beach, where fires were burning, and the venerable three-deckers were being daubed with the smoking fluid, and made ready for the high seas. it was a merry company, in truth, of lords and gentlemen, and scholars, too, who came upon my vision, and wonderingly my eyes followed the gallant leader. it seemed to me that i could all but catch his words. he spoke with a poet's grace, so full of charm and so deliberate, so courtly was his address. his face once turned, i knew him to be english. his fair skin was burned by deep-sea voyaging; his pointed beard just touched the lace of a deep, white ruff, and over his shoulder hung a plume, white and curling. in all my life, i had never seen so gay a gentleman, and i could not get my fill of looking and of wondering. could it be that this great company were the revivified followers of the dauntless sir walter raleigh, searching, centuries ago, for _el dorado_? and it came to me, in that curious mixing of past and present, of which dreams are made, "does sir walter, with all his wisdom, suspect that here, where he pitches his ships, is to be the great gold mine--some later man's _el dorado_--while he eagerly sails away in futile quest of golden sands that are always just beyond his reach?" i lifted myself to strain my farthest sight, when lo! all was gone; galleons, gentlemen, scholars, sailors, even the little caravel--all! the sun was beating down upon the black road, the air was blistering; negroes were weighing the buckets of pitch, and the machinery clanked, with deafening indifference, through the quivering air; and up from behind a clump of bushes a red bow, atop of a well-known white hat, chased away the phantoms of long ago. i took off my dark glasses, rubbed my eyes, and, half-dazed, stepped from my enchanted carryall. chapter iii. the spanish main i. steaming out of the gulf of paria the day before, away from the muddy water of the orinoco, we had come again through the dragon's mouth, close to that long, eastward-pointing finger of south america that forms one side of this famous gateway, back into the welcome caribbean sea. thence through the night we skirted the south american coast, passing the celebrated pearl-fishing island of margarita--"the pearl"--where it was said that a german gunboat with covetous eye had these many months been making careful surveys and taking elaborate soundings--so forehanded, you know! and now we were at anchor in the roadstead of la guayra, the seaport of caracas. [illustration: where the mountains meet the sea la guayra, venezuela] leaning over the rail of the white ship, early in the dawning of that day, it came to me over and over again that we were at last in the presence of the great west indian mother, and that her face was in truth an exact realisation of our imaginings. a strong breeze blew the waves fast and loose, one upon another, to the near-lying shore, where a white line of surf circled about a rounding promontory, and lost itself on the other side of the cliff. up and beyond, rose the mountains, and some one said: "the andes!" and we looked again, and longer, and said to ourselves--"the andes,--south america, we are looking upon them with actual eyes!" up, and still up, rose the mountains; great, tender lines of undulating softness, all green and blue and gentle and grand, one sweep upon another of matchless warm tints; one sweep upon another of voluptuous curves in billowy green, and dropping in and about the contour of the great continent's majestic form, far disappearing valleys swept into the dimness of soft, shadowy depths. like a great mother, asleep, spread with a coverlet of the changing tints of malachite and beryl, south america lay before us. clambering up her skirts were the little white roofs of la guayra, spots on her verdant garment,--irregular spots here, there, and everywhere; now in patches, comfortably huddling together at her feet; now stray offshoots away beyond. all very square and very spanish were these houses, very quaint to look upon; and if this is la guayra, where is caracas? must we, too, clamber and climb away into those mountain heights, and, perchance, awaken the great mother, who sleeps so gently under the drowsy lullings of the deep sea? ii. things are moving on the shore, and in the distance dots like men and women stir about the tiny houses, and a toy train toots, and toy engines rattle, and toy cars seem filling with toy people; and we think it time to go ashore and see if we can find a seat in one of those cars; so we run up forward, where our impatient fellow voyagers have been hurrying into the launch this long time. it has just puffed away, and we are really glad. there is something very like the "stray sheep" in our make-up. it is americanism boiled down,--this love of going alone, and being self-reliant. a beamy shore-boat is engaged at one _bolivar_ apiece (negotiations having been started on a basis of five _bolivars_ apiece, charged by the boatmen), and we have plenty of room for all, even the doctor, who is going with us (for he was just too late for the launch--perhaps, with malice aforethought); and so we row to the stone steps of the quay of la guayra, the port of caracas, our first landing on the "spanish main." we have left the land of what we supposed to be our mother tongue, and are come to a country where we can really be understood, or misunderstood, according to our abilities to express ourselves, in a language more constant than english. i take a mental stock, and find four spanish phrases which did not fail me in santo domingo, and shall not fail me here. besides i have been practising them since then! with these i can fare sumptuously: _¿cuanto cuesta?_ (how much does it cost?) _¿qué hora es?_ (what o'clock is it?) _¡mucho bonito!_ (very beautiful!) _yo no entiendo._ (i do not understand.) this, with a few nouns sprinkled in, was my vocabulary; but i had no fears,--had we not our own interpreter? and the big, strong oars brought us to the landing. then we girls, in charge of the doctor, were stood up in the shade of a warehouse, where we watched the white uniformed south americans, struggling with our obdurate men for their landing charges--for here they charge for the right to land. then the men disappeared with the bags, and we waited what seemed to us a very long time, until, with one consent, we just thought we wouldn't stay put another minute; so the doctor takes the lead with his big white indian helmet jammed over his eyes, and little blue ribbons and sister raise a fine cloud of dust, running on ahead. but we older ones know what it means to be in la guayra, so we follow on very leisurely. on the way, we meet an excited messenger already sent to hurry us to the train. la guayra is said to be the hottest place about the west indies, and i could well imagine how the great mother would have to fan her little white children, when they once really felt the breath of the unconscionable sun; but, as we walked along, even though the sun had climbed a few steady hours, we found it far from uncomfortable, even carrying our heavy satchels, and the white umbrella, besides. along a dusty and sun-stricken water-front, disfigured with railroad tracks, and low warehouses, we came to the station, where the men, triumphant, were impatiently waiting, after sending out their belated relief expedition. tickets had been bought, gold pieces divided up into fascinating silver pieces, called _bolivars_ (in honour of the great south american liberator--accent on the second syllable, if you please), and all in our lord and master's own spanish, of which we were justly proud; and then we find places in the train, and in a few moments after our arrival we jerk out among the white houses. it was a clever bit of forethought--that move of ours to hunt up the men. had we not done so, we could never have caught the early morning train, for the messenger was slow, and we would have become merely a part of the hot and dependent crowd on the later "special." it's better sometimes _not_ to stay where you're put. we move along at a good pace among the gardens of la guayra,--rather sparse gardens they are,--and then we climb to the balconies, and then a turn and we are hiding about the great mother's green petticoats; and anon we pass up to the roofs of la guayra,--which reach out like a white sombrero over the little people below. then the pull begins. two powerful, stocky, low-built, narrow-gauge mountain engines haul us along with apparently no effort, up into the mountains, up a grade which seems to grow steeper every minute. our men say that the average grade is over four per cent. i can't see how it is that men know all these things about grades and percentages. it seems like such a lot of plunder to lie around in the brain. but--about such trifles--men must know and women must ask, and that's all there is to it. it is a continuous twisting and turning and winding, seldom on a level stretch; it's up, up away from the sea from the very start. now, we are far above the tree-tops of the town, and our white ship out in the harbour lies motionless, and seems far away. we wonder at the courage of the people who would dare so great a feat of road-building, and grow doubly curious to see the city, hidden beyond in the clouds of the mountain. iii. la guayra lies just above sea-level. in two hours, we must climb over the great mother's back, going thirty odd miles to reach caracas, which lies at an elevation over three thousand feet in a valley, only six miles in an air line from la guayra. up, up into the thin vapours, into regions of other trees still higher, whose tops again we pass amongst. the sun is hazy through a translucent veil of mist, and far away, the white horses of the sea dance up against the shore and out of sight, and the white sombrero drops beneath an emerald cloak, and everything but the sky is shut out. we jump first to one side of the car and then to the other, for the sea-view and for the mountains. we are whirled around quick curves, and all but lose our feet; and some of us--even men--get dizzy looking at the drop below us; and then we cut through the mountain and hurry on up the steep climb until the plucky little engine decides to stop, and we are told that we have reached the summit; and we hurry from the cars and feel the sweet coolness of the mountains, and the actual presence of the great mother. we stand close together on the brink of a chasm and look tremulously into the depths of her great heart; down, down, a thousand feet and more of living, breathing green, into every hue of purple and blue, deepening into black near the far-off valley, and disappearing into azure among the clouds,--silence, shadow, tenderness, sublimity, overspread by the ineffable loveliness of morning. we are moving again, and now it is down, gradually, for caracas lies a thousand feet below the summit. we follow along a white highroad, the mountain trail from caracas to the sea. now we are on its level; now we leave it. long trains of pack-mules make a cloud of gray dust against the green, and here and there a red blanket thrown across a burro's back brings a delicious bit of life and colour into the passing scene. [illustration: caracas and the mountains venezuela] now we seem to be on the level, and scurry along at a great rate; and soon there spring up out of the brown earth _adobe_ houses (the first we have seen since we were in mexico), and here are more and yet more, and there, ah! that must be caracas, the great venezuelan capital, the habitation of over one hundred and fifty thousand people! but, shall we say it? must we be honest at the expense of all else? the approach to caracas is a disappointment. there is scarcely any kind of a habitation which gives a landscape quite such a distressful look as the _adobe_ hut. built of sun-dried mud blocks, it gives off an atmosphere of dust with every whiff of wind. it comes to our mind always with the thought of dry barrenness, heat, sun, dust, shadeless fields of maguey, prickly _nopals_, broad sombreros, and leather-clothed _rancheros_. and to see the suburbs of a great city, the outlying habitations, in gray, crumbling _adobe_, makes an unpleasant impression, in spite of the fact that, from the distance, we catch a quick glimpse of a peaceful campanile and high, imposing roofs a bit beyond. there's only time for a suggestion, but that suggestion biassed all our later impressions. we steam into the station and begin to pick up our traps and make for the carriages. iv. as we said before, the spirit of independence gained supremacy, when we were once fairly upon the spanish main. out of many, a few of us escaped the tourist agent. a courier had been sent from new york, and at every port we had the privilege of availing ourselves of his guides, carriages, meal tickets, _et cetera_, if we wished to do so; and for some it was certainly a great advantage, for, unless one knows some french and spanish, one is at the mercy of every shark that swims, and these waters are full of them, as are all others for that matter. we found the prices very high everywhere, with few exceptions; equally high for poor accommodations as for the better, the reasons whereof, for the present, must be left unexplained. suffice it to say, that the american is his own worst enemy. nine-tenths of our party thought it would be unwise to go through south america from la guayra to puerto cabello on their own responsibility; so our little group were the only ones to experience the joy and excitement of an independent tour through a strange country, where english--good, honest, live english--is a rare commodity. the doctor, and mr. and mrs. m---- from boston, and daddy were keen for the experience. i was afraid we might be left away down in south america, with no train to carry us on from caracas, for "the personally conducted" were to have a "special," but my fears were finally allayed by constant assurances of safety; so independence carried the day. once inside the caracas station, daddy disappears, and, after a bit, we see him beckoning to us from in among a crowd of vehicles, all very comfortable and well-appointed, and we sidle along among the noisy south american cabbies, and jump into the selected carriage. now, what was said to the cabby, i'll never know; but we were no sooner in that carriage than the horses started on a dead run, rattlety-bang, whackety-whack, jigglety-jagglety, over stones and ruts, through the city of caracas. up the hill we tore, and all i could see from under the low, buggy-like canopy was the bottom of things sailing by in a cloud of dust. every now and then we struck a street-car track on the wrong angle, and off we would slew, still on the run, with one wheel in the track and the other anywhere but in the right place, for half a block or so, and then no sooner well under way again, than we would all but smash to pieces some peaceful cab, jogging toward us from the opposite direction. a train of donkeys, coming from the market, on the way home to the mountains with empty baskets, narrowly escapes sudden death at our furious onslaught; and i can yet hear their little feet pattering off and the tinkle of the leader's bell, as his picturesque little nose just misses our big clumsy wheel. in a jumble we see the small feet of the passers-by, and so we jerk along until all at once we stop with a bump at the _gran hotel de caracas_. there we wait in the garden while our recklessly independent men seek lodgings. none to be had! off we gallop toward another inn, catch glimpses of a square, stop again, wait in the carriage, and find the standing still very delightful. in a few minutes, our bold leaders return with the look we know so well,--jubilant and hopeful. beautiful rooms, fine air, clean beds, sumptuous parlours, and all that,--you know how it reads. we enter the _gran hotel de venezuela_. v. may i be forgiven if i leave the path of calm discretion for once, or how would it do to leave out the _gran hotel de venezuela_ altogether, and turn the page to where the mountains begin? but, you see, if we leave out the _gran hotel de venezuela_, we should have to leave out caracas, and that would never do at all. there was one member of our party who never sat down to a meal that he did not declare it was the finest he had ever eaten in his life. this faculty of taking things as they come, conforming gracefully to the customs of a country, is, perhaps,--next to unselfishness,--the most enviable trait in the traveller. well might it be applied, as we begin the search for our rooms in the _gran hotel de venezuela_. we climb a wide, winding, dirty stairway, pass through the sumptuously dusty parlour, up another flight of the same kind, only narrower and dustier and darker. an english housekeeper leads the way, and some one exclaims (oh, the blessed charity of that soul!): "how pleasant to find a neat english woman in charge of the _gran hotel de venezuela_!" it has never been clear to me just what state of mind could have inspired that remark; whether it was a momentary blindness, occasioned by the mad drive, or a kind of temporary delirium, from the sudden consciousness of power over perplexing foreign relations; or whether it was merely the natural outburst of an angelic disposition, i could never quite make out. but those are the identical words he used: "how pleasant to find a neat english woman at the head of affairs in the _gran hotel de venezuela_." the "neat english woman" had dull, reddish, grayish hair, stringing in thin, stray locks from a lopsided, dusty knot on the top of her head. she had freckles, and teeth that clicked when she smiled. a time-bedraggled calico gown swung around her lean bones, and at her side she carried a bunch of keys, one of which she slipped up to the top into a wobblety door, and ushered us into our "apartments." the "neat english housekeeper" fitted into that room to a dot. it was gray, and red, and wobblety, and she was gray, and red, and wobblety. if it hadn't been for the everything outside, away beyond the balcony (for, thank heaven, no spanish house is complete without one!), no amount of philosophy could have atoned for that room. it was simply white with the accumulated dust of no one knew how long. our shoes made tracks on the floor, and our satchels made clean spots on the bureau. two slab-sided, lumpy beds suggested troubled dreams. two thin, threadbare little towels lay on the rickety, dusty wash-stand, and an old cracked pitcher held the stuff we must call water. a thin partition of matched boards dividing ours from the next "apartments," rattled as we deposited our things in various places which looked a little cleaner than the places which were not so clean. had it not been for the balcony, we could never have endured it; though we had put up in queer places before. we had not even the satisfaction of leaning on the balcony rail; it was too dusty. but we could stand, and we did stand, looking out over and beyond the picturesque buildings, to the everlasting hills, to the andes, their lofty summits encircling us like an emerald girdle, with calm la silla thousands of feet above all. below us lay the city and the square of bolivar, with the bronze statue of the great liberator in the centre, in the midst of a phalanx of palms, rising above the dust and the glaring white walk. vi. to the left, the cathedral, one compensation at least for all the rest. what combination of characteristics is it that makes the spaniard such a marvellous builder, and, at the same time, such a wretched maintainer? he builds a cathedral to be a joy for all time; its lines fall into beauty as naturally as the bird's flight toward its nest. whatever he builds, he builds for posterity; simply, beautifully, gracefully. even his straight rows of hemmed-in city houses have a touch of beauty about them somewhere; and in the cathedral, his true artistic sense finds full expression. close at hand the noble campanile, swung with ancient bells, watches in serene dignity and beauty the moving, streaming life below. sweet lines, harmonious to the eye, lift the cathedral from the hideous dirt and unkempt streets; from the whirling dust and circling buzzards, to a sphere of forgetfulness, where beauty struggles for the supremacy she holds with royal hand so long as we continue to gaze upward. [illustration: equestrian statue of bolivar, the liberator caracas, venezuela] but once let our eyes leave the mountains and the tower, and it all changes into that other picture, the other side of the life of that curious compound of traits, the spaniard. for here, south american as he calls himself, down deep in his heart he is ever the spaniard, and although he has claimed his independence of the mother country these many years, through the heroic victories of bolivar and his brave associates, his characteristics are spanish, his arts are spanish, his life is spanish; his glorious cathedral is spanish, and his horrible streets are spanish; his magnificent statue of bolivar is spanish, and the dowdy, dusty garden about it is spanish. was he ever intended to be a householder? should not his portion be to beautify the earth by his artistic intuition, and let the rest of us, who do not comprehend the a b c of his art, be the cleaners and the menders? is not this a people left like children to build up the semblance of a government from the wrong stuff? will not the world in time come to see that one race cannot be all things; that some must be artists, and some mechanics; that some must be leaders, and others followers; that some will be the builders of beauty, to last for all time, and others must be the guardians of health, the makers of strong, clean men? vii. why is it that the president's house,--the great yellow house across the square, shown us by the minister of war himself to-day,--one of the homes of cipriano castro, the present dictator, is nothing more or less than an arsenal, packed to the full with cartridges, muskets, and rapid-firing guns, and alive with armed troops? how is it that castro is said to have laid by a million dollars out of a twelve thousand dollars a year salary? why is it that our going into venezuela was considered by some unsafe? why did we shake every bone in our bodies over the upturned streets and boulders of caracas? because the venezuelan is trying to do that for which he is not fitted; in which, during all these long years of constant revolution, he has failed. he, past-master in certain of his arts, has taught the world his colours and his lights and shades; he has given to earth notable tokens of his skill in building; but in house-cleaning--municipal or national--he is out of his element, and should no more be expected to excel in that line than a babe in arms should be expected to know the greek grammar. like all spaniards he is mediæval in his instincts; he cannot really govern himself as part of a republic. the city of caracas exemplifies this statement. it is in a horrible state of dirt and disproportion. its people are kind and courteous, but its streets are a nightmare; and over all hovers the strong hand of military despotism. viii. after dinner our first expedition was to call upon the united states minister l---- and his wife, who were occupying the former residence of count de toro, some miles out of the city. and what a drive! to move comfortably in caracas, you must either take the donkey tramway--which never goes where you want to go--or you must walk. but to walk a half-dozen miles in the hot sun, on a dusty, stony road, is not particularly inviting, so, with our respects to the sun, we decide to drive, and all the way out we wonder why we ever did. and yet, had we walked, i suppose we would have wondered why we hadn't taken a cab. as it was, the dust blew about us from the rolling, bumping wheels in great clouds, and the big stones in the road sent us careening about from one side of the carriage to the other. again we think of mexico--of the dust, the parched earth, the _arroyos_, and the saving mountains beyond. we pass a dried-up river-bed, where women are washing in a faint trickle of water, and then we wind about the hill and climb up the rocky way, enter a sort of wood, and come suddenly to the minister's house. [illustration: an interior court caracas, venezuela] our nation's arms on the gateway make us feel at home, and we jingle the bell and send in our cards and wait in the shady court. in a few moments, minister l---- appears, and with him mrs. l----, who bids us enter her cool, delicious drawing-room, very clean and sweet and old-fashioned and quiet, though the house is truly spanish, with wide, airy rooms and curious pictured walls. the men went off up a flight of stone steps through the garden to the office, to talk politics and the "venezuelan situation," i suppose; while we sat there with the minister's wife, who told us much of her life and the customs of the country, and, among other things, how difficult it is for a foreigner--even a diplomat--to gain access to the real home-life of the spaniard; how the women live shut in, and see but little of the world, only glimpses now and then, never knowing anything of our northern freedom. ix. the drive back to the city was one continuous round of jolt and bump and dust. we rattled down and up the streets which, despite their narrowness and general dilapidation, could not be utterly devoid of interest, if viewed from the eyes of the lover of wrought-iron handiwork and graceful handlings of simple and strong elements in building. we were told that it was our duty to view the municipal palace, and dear sister, although i knew she was tired, did not want anything seeable omitted; so we most willingly left the cabs at the palace door, with the hope of never having the agony of that ride repeated. as the spaniard builds his cathedral, so does he impart to each important structure a fitting grace and dignity of style commensurate with its office. the municipal palace is built about a great hollow square or plaza, which is filled with palms and other similarly beautiful vegetation. but, oh, dear! oh, dear! the dust! the great reception-hall, or audience-chamber,--or whatever one might call it,--was lined with stately gilt chairs and sofas, done up in linen dusters. the effort of driving and seeing and jolting and being agreeable had been such a strain that i just thumped down on one of the wide sofas and spent my time looking about me, while the others conscientiously made the _grande tour_ from one end of the great room to the other. it is a large oval hall ornamented with some very fine historical paintings. the spanish student had found an obliging officer--for soldiers are everywhere--and i quietly left the two alone. i thought it too cruel, after our long drive, to expect him to retranslate for my benefit, but then there came a faint suspicion in my mind, from a troubled expression on his face, when the guide launched into the deep waters of venezuelan history, with bolivar rampant and the spaniards fleeing, that, possibly, it was not all clear sailing; that, possibly, this was just the occasion for the last of my phrases. no, i watch the face; it resumes once more its usual expression of serenity, and i sit there and think how beautiful it might all be if it were only clean; if bolivar could only come back again and teach his children their unlearned lesson of disinterested self-love of country and home. bolivar appears to have been the only liberator (and each new "president" who throws out the defeated party and instates himself is called "liberator") who ever died poor, having spent not only public funds for the betterment of arts and science and education, but nine-tenths of his own personal patrimony as well. the guide closes the blinds, and our party comes together at the door, leaving nice little clean spots where they have stood in groups on the dusty, once highly polished floor, and we turn down the long, wide balcony to an open door at the end. a brilliantly uniformed, handsome lad bars admission, for castro the great is holding a cabinet meeting there, and we can see the collar of a black alpaca coat and the back of a very solemn-looking chair, and hear a low voice speaking,--and that was all we saw of castro. some one proposes a drive; some one else suggests the shops, but we decide to go home. that dear old word sounds lonesome away down here in south america. does it mean the _gran hotel de venezuela_? was this the home; or was it the wide, out-reaching mountains, fading into the deeps of night; or the cathedral, rising from the dread below in her sweet chastity? x. tired bells jangle out the slowly passing time. an ancient carillon sounds the quarter, an added clang the half, one note more for three quarters. the long black arms reach to the hour, then another and another passes, and night brings rest to the great mother. but the soft gentle eyes are no sooner closed than all the children, the white children at her feet, begin to stir and move, just as yours and mine do when mother sleeps. the old church towers, with sweet grace, wrap about her stately form a mantle of whitest silver, bordered with great lines of black, and away above her head, up in god's garden, forget-me-nots and heartsease blossom out into twinkling spots of starlit beauty. the moon rolls languidly on in the gentlest heaven that earth e'er looked upon. below, beneath god's garden, the white children brighten and awaken from the drowsy languor of the long day. lights flare out, doors open, and streets fill with happy voices, and a white-frocked humanity empties itself into the plaza to hear yet again the great military band of caracas. there comes a hush, and then--it must be from the garden away off so far--there drops a veil,--the veil of forgetfulness, in sounds of music so inexpressibly tender and alluring as to catch the soul from earth away up to where white angels gather the forget-me-nots and heartsease. the crumbling city and its disordered sights, the dust and all unpleasantness pass away beyond the veil, and all that remains is covered with the witchery of music. to make it real, we, too, join the children and press in close, just as our little ones do who fear not the expression of their emotions. we, too, press in where the makers of this wonderful music, sixty of them, stand in a great semicircle at the head of a flight of stone steps, and then we listen to the old, eternally old stories of life and love and joy and tragedy; listen, until our souls are filled to the utmost with the deeps of life! an intermission comes; we take a deep breath; meanwhile he of the spanish vocabulary, made bold by enthusiasm, threaded his way to where the leader of the band was nonchalantly smoking a cigarette, wishing to congratulate him on the masterful work done by his musicians, and also to thank him for having just played "the star spangled banner," in honour of the americans present. shrugging his shoulders, the bandmaster remarked that his men had almost forgotten that american thing, as it was twelve years since last they played it! thus does the venezuelan show his love for these united states. but we forget that in the charm of the reawakened melody, for it is the kind of music that speaks real things; that brings the great forgetting of things visible; that brings the great remembering of things eternal. mellow notes, as from the throat of a blackbird, slip through the liquid night as softly as the splash of feathered warblers in the cool water brooks, and when the strong word is uttered, it comes forth like the voice of a seer, unjarring, made strong through great tenderness. closer and closer we press to lose not the slightest note, and we realise that it is the music which comes to our cold northern senses but once in a lifetime, and our ears plead for more and yet more. no strings could ever have so mellowed themselves into the loveliness of that night as did those liquid oboes, whose sylvan tones filtered through our senses with ineffable sweetness. the wood and brass seemed to have been tempered by long nights of tears and days of smiles, so ripened were they into an expression of the soul of humanity. at last the great mother sleeps, her children are tired and go to rest, and god's garden blossoms away, away off beyond in the far country. chapter iv. in venezuela. caracas i. the choice lay between a luncheon on board our vessel down in the hot harbour of la guayra, with president cipriano castro and his suite invited as guests of honour by the german officers, or an added day in caracas; and then a glimpse of south america on our way by valencia to puerto cabello, where we would again take ship. the question was well-discussed, _pro_ and _con_, and finally decided in favour of venezuela, the country _versus_ castro, its dictator. after all, general castro was not so very different from the other venezuelans all about us, except in that great element, his personal success for the time being; and then you know we did see his alpaca coat and the back of his chair, and we heard his voice in the council-chamber,--at least we thought we did,--and that really ought to be enough to satisfy any one. in a way, we did feel satisfied, and yet there was a lingering inclination toward that luncheon. it might be that, for once, the great man would look, act, appear just a little different from the every-day sort. it was only a remnant of the everlasting hope for a perfect adjustment of mind and body,--that futile phantasmagoria which would make the great man great in all things. and to give up and leave castro in a common, every-day alpaca coat,--and only the back of it at that,--when we might see him in gold lace and gorgeous uniform, well, it was too bad; but then old common sense comes lumbering along and spoils the whole thing, and tells us it's no use, no use at all, mourning over the impossible; he's only a man, and a little man at that, and there are plenty of fine men all over the world, and there's only one south america; and so and so on, until the balance weighs so heavily against the castro faction that, when the time came to take the train for la guayra, we divided the party, sent the little girls back to the ship with our friends, and turned ourselves loose upon the sunny streets of caracas. ii. we had no guide-book, no one told us what to do, no one seemed to know what we ought to do; so, freed from all restraint, we had the delightful sensation of unlimited liberty. it was ash wednesday and the church-bells rang incessantly. we took to the left, passing the cathedral, whose black shades enveloped one after another of the faithful, and kept straight on, to where the women in white frocks and lace mantillas, and the black serving-girls with baskets, and the small boys, and trains of burros were streaming down in the direction of the market. most naturally we join the procession, now in the street, with the cabs and carriers of all sorts of things, and now jostling in among the people on the narrow sidewalk of the shady side. we have no intention of telling about the flies and the smells and the dirt. they were all there and can easily be pictured, and we really have no intention of staying but a moment in the market, for we have seen so many before; but once a part of the big throng of buyers and sellers; once fairly free from the south americans who insist upon speaking english, once free to use our own laboriously acquired spanish, we stay on and on, buy and eat all sorts of curious fruit, until we fear for the consequences, and are delightfully uncomfortable and happy. it was a surprise to find in caracas a market which surpassed in varieties and quantities any other place we had ever seen. caracas, with its abortive palms, its dusty, dried-up appearance, gave one the impression of unproductiveness; and the dinner of the night before, with meat, meat, meat,--an exaggerated trinidadian affair--led us to expect anything but fresh, sweet, delectable fruits; but here they were in masses! we had searched every port for pineapples, and these were the first ones we had found which answered to our ideals formed years ago by the pineapples of amatlan and southeastern mexico. and such dear little thin-skinned refreshing limes! i wonder why they are not exported more freely in place of the big, thick-coated lemons? i suppose the impression prevails that the american wants everything on a big scale, so he gets the big lemon in place of the dainty aromatic lime. there we found in great abundance all the fruits with which we had grown familiar on the islands, but more surprising, the fruits of the temperate regions as well. there were some queer kinds of melons, too. we tried them, of course; we tried everything, buying here a slice of pineapple for _dos centavos_, and over at another stall a _medio's_ worth of mangoes; then we take up a piece of a curious fruit and examine it rather suspiciously. its meat is yellow and covered with little black seeds, just the size and appearance of capers, and when one eats it, the seed is the only element of flavour. it has so exactly the taste of water-cress that one needs to use considerable will-power to believe it is a melon, and not a salad. here were grapes, both white and black, and sweet and sour lemons, and all sizes of oranges. there were peaches and apricots, and curious little apples, about the size of a small crab-apple; and delicious little alpine strawberries from away up in the andes, and then there were in every stall mangoes, and sapodillas, and granaditas, and pineapples sweet as honey and luscious, and curious aguacotes and zapotas and many unknown fruits--besides the ever-present cocoanut. and vegetables! i only wish we could tell you the names of all the aromatic herbs and green stuffs spread out to tempt us. but there was one thing we did recognise at first sight: the beans--nine different varieties in one stall and maybe as many more in another--"_frijoles de todas clases_," the market-woman announced for our encouragement. a procession of bulging baskets crowds us along out of the market, and we move on to make room for a stream of empty baskets coming from the opposite direction. iii. we take a straightaway course down toward the ever-beautiful curves of a massive old church, some blocks off, and on the way, with the wanderer's prerogative, step into the open door of a fine modern building, apparently a bank. the spanish student walks up to a grilled window in the court to get an american gold piece changed into venezuelan bolivars and is at once invited to enter. the president and vice-president of the bank were at conference in a finely appointed, spacious office, and as we appeared, both greeted us most cordially and addressed us in perfect english. the weather started the ball of conversation rolling, and from that we chatted on about the voyage, and the islands, and all sorts of things; and then the men launched into a discussion of the political situation, and from that to the power germany was acquiring in a mercantile way in their country. and they told us how the germans came there with their families, and taught their children from babyhood the language and customs of the south americans, at the same time holding firmly their grasp of the mother tongue and the thrifty business methods of their home concerns. thus given from infancy this advantage of a thorough knowledge of the language and customs of the country, they acquire a prestige with which no amount of ability in a foreigner can compete should he be less ably equipped. how dangerous to america is becoming this teutonic power and prestige we do not realise, for who can fathom the ambition and persistency of the kaiser and his subjects in south america--germans all, though thousands of miles from berlin? i could but admire the facility and ease with which these south american men of affairs expressed themselves in english, and i thought, how few there were of us who could thus readily express ourselves in spanish. it came to me forcibly that the american who is truly far-sighted, is the one who is acquiring, and having his children acquire, a good speaking knowledge of spanish; for the time is surely coming when our need of spanish will be far greater than to-day. the time is coming, if we guard our interests aright, when these south americans will look to the north for a closer bond than now exists, and when that time does come, the man most potent in the new relation will be he who can, by a knowledge of the language, customs, and habits, place himself in perfect sympathy with his south american brothers. and we must remember, too, that we are dealing with men whose education is based upon the time-honoured culture of an old world, men of attainment, of polish and policy, of strength and power; however much that power may be at times misguided, there is latent great force and adaptability. the south american is a man of marked and strong mental ability, and is already--and for that matter has for years been--modelling his laws after those of his more fortunate younger brother of the northern continent. it is not in proper law and forms of government that he lacks, but in their proper enforcement, and back of all in the muzzling of that healthy public interest that would demand their enforcement. however much he fails in government, the time when his country will be dispassionately ruled by fixed and just legislation is hoped for by such men as the officers of this bank. for how can the country's business go on amid the turmoil of ever-impending revolution? these west indian islands and south america, combined, have been used by all nations who have profited by their marvellous productiveness merely for what can be gotten out of them through one resource and another; even north americans themselves are not above reproach in their quarrels over the venezuelan pitch lake concessions, which was then a subject of keen interest. but in spite of the fact that some americans have been feathering their nests from this foreign down, still i believe that our people will eventually lead the world in true philanthropy,--the philanthropy of development and honest business methods, and that ours should be the hand that brings to the south american the solution of his great difficulties; directed not to annexation of these southern lands, but to helping in the evolution of a stable, self-respecting independent government. south america is waiting for the great hand, for the great liberator of the land from the faults and follies of its own sons, and when he comes he will find a country rich to overflowing in unrealised possibilities. the curse of these countries seems to be in the love of the spanish american for political intrigue, which periodically bears fruit in the bogus political "liberator," throbbing with meretricious and self-seeking ambition which he bombastically labels "patriotism." [illustration: cathedral and plaza caracas, venezuela copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] if you had stood face to face with two such well-poised types of conservative south americans as we met that morning, i feel sure that you, too, might hope for a great future for this country, could it but be represented and led by its best men. iv. with courteous good wishes, we left the señors' pleasant company, and went on, still in the direction of a church-tower. the shops were far from interesting, much like others down in the islands, with the exception of a chocolate-shop, which we found to be the sales office of a factory where a great deal of prepared chocolate is made, for caracas is a great chocolate market. after we had filled our pockets with all we could carry, of chocolate blocks and chocolate fishes and chocolate dolls, we started on again, munching the chocolate as we went, until we came at last to the cathedral, which was in a state of mortar and lime and scaffolding, due to having the cracks from last october's earthquake doctored up in the same matter-of-fact way that we clean house in the spring. well, we were glad at last to have seen the inside of the cathedral, for even without the suggestion of a guide-book, we had in a sort of way felt that we ought to do so; such a slave of "ought" does the traveller become, in spite of utmost precaution. by this time the sun was nearing noon, and we naturally turned in the direction of the _gran hotel de venezuela_ as the only available place in which to rest; that is, i thought it was the only available place, but the spanish student knew better. how he knew, or when he had experimented, he would not say, nor could the truth be forced or dragged from him, as he walked on toward the _gran hotel de venezuela_; but i had a suspicion, from the decided click to his step, and a lurking joy in his eye, that he had forsaken the gran hotel de venezuela; that he had discovered a new arcadia, and, oh! it was so delightful to feel that it was not the _gran hotel de venezuela_. then he stopped at a lattice,--i am sure there wasn't a door in the house--at the lattice of an enticing _dulceria_, and we sat down where it was cool and quiet, and i waited to see what would happen. _el propietorio_ appears. at once, at the sight of the spanish student, the señor smiles, and disappears. they had met before. the señor enters once more,--for we are not to be left to an ordinary waiter,--this time with two tall glasses,--very tall, thin glasses. if you could only have felt the fatigue of that moment! we had tramped about three hours, under the high, white sun, with the drowsy spell of noon creeping stealthily over the city, and even over the insatiable tourist; if you could have been with us to have seen the two tall glasses, filled to the brim, placed on the table by mine host himself, you, too, would have concluded that it was no small matter to be thus refreshed. it looked like lemonade, and yet it didn't, and it tasted,--well there's no other explanation possible; it was bewitched. mine host had crossed his heart, looked twice over his right shoulder, turned three times on his left toe, and then pronounced the spell. one taste convinced me that it took a lot of things to make that lemonade,--a lot of things besides limes and water, and whatever that lot of things was, it was the finest combination i had ever known. mine host pronounced it lemonade; so did the spanish student, though i heard him suggest "_un poquito de rom imperial_" to the señor. with one taste, all fatigue took wings, everything took wings. the bent-wood table capered off with the bent-wood chair, and the long, fly-specked mirror cavorted from side to side with the parrot-cage. everything was lovely and undulatory, and life was one long oblivion of the red-headed housekeeper at the _gran hotel de venezuela_. he, the one opposite, leaned back and looked amused and satisfied, and said: "there's more coming." "what, more lemonade?" "no, not more lemonade, but more of something else." and then it came. again two tall glasses of a delicious rose-coloured ice, made of fresh wild strawberries, gathered that morning among the glistening dew of the andes. in the centre of the ice, like the rakish masts of a fairy's ship, two richly browned, delicate tubes of sweetened pastry bore the ensign of our feast. they reminded me of the lamplighters we children used to make at a penny a hundred, on winter evenings by the crackling coal fire. you remember? or have you never had the fun? you take a bit of paper an inch wide and twelve inches long, wet your finger, give a queer kind of twist to one corner and up it rolls, in a long, neat shape. double it over at the end, and there you are. sometimes it unwinds, and then it is exactly like the confectioner's roll in caracas, only white instead of a rich, luscious brown. from that moment on, all other attractions of caracas, the university, the _casa amarilla_, the pantheon, palled in attraction before that _dulceria_. it became to us, and to every one we met, the loadstone of caracas. to taste of an ice made from berries picked among the valleys of the andes is no small matter, and to quaff a lemonade which, without suspicion, could still fashion wings at least as lasting as those of icarus of old, is also no small matter, and may we not be forgiven and no questions asked if we confess to more than one return to the _dulceria_ shop just across the plaza in caracas? v. four o'clock was the hour appointed for the coming together of our diminished party, and until then the _gran hotel de venezuela_ was supposed to hold me in its ancient decrepitude, and it did hold me until about three o'clock; when the bells set up such a clanging, and were so zealous to get me up and out of bed and into their mid-afternoon vespers, that i finally yielded to their summons, and, making a hasty toilet, stole down the creaking stairs and out into the streets. no northern city at midnight is more soundly asleep than the tropical town in mid-afternoon. the heavy white blinds are down, the green lattices closed tightly, awnings dropped close before the shop-doors; while the cabby and his horse, on guard near the plaza, doze in willing slumber. the market is empty, the little donkeys are long since browsing upon the green slopes of the foot-hills; the street criers are still, the whole world seems dead asleep, and, as i slipped along toward the cathedral, the drowsy chanting of priests' voices was the only sound which broke the quiescence of that delicious afternoon. for delicious it was, in truth. all of god's part was in its perfectness. the air was sweetly cool and refreshing, with a flavour of mountain ozone mingled with the sunlight, and, as i came to a cross street, looking up the long narrow, white reach to the foot-hills, it was with a bit of imagining, like a glimpse through the tube of a huge kaleidoscope, with the green and purple and blue and yellow mountains an ever-changing vista of resplendent colour in the vanishing distance. the priests' voices called out again, and i entered the high-domed, sweet place of worship. the chancel and altar were being repaired, so it was in the oblong nave that the priests, white-robed, rich with lace and embroidery, sat in ancient carved chairs, saying in responsive chants the words decreed for ash wednesday. the priests were old, and some were very feeble, and it seemed at times an effort for them to rise when the service demanded. a number of young men, of lesser dignity, assisted, and two little acolytes in red sat quite at the end of the row of priests. still the chanting goes on and on, and the voices are monotonously sleepy, and long drifts of mellow, shaded light drop down on the white robes, and one of the priests yawns, and the little acolyte nods, and then goes fast asleep; and up overhead the lofty dome reëchoes the somnolent voices, and i hear the old bells telling me about four o'clock, but they seem very indistinct and sleepy and uninterested. and i feel sleepy and nod, and wonder if it's the priests' voices or the bells that put everybody to sleep, and i forget all about four o'clock until a workman way down near the altar, perched on a high ladder, mending more cracks, knocks off a piece of plaster, and i start and look around, then tiptoe out; while the bells tell me that the quarter-hour is gone with the rest of the day. vi. caracas is responsible for a decided turning about from some of my former estimates of the spanish character. it is not necessary to say just exactly what these preconceived opinions were, but they were there, and as i supposed, a fixture. in the children's neighbourhood brawls, i have noticed frequently that, whenever vengeance was to be meted upon some offending head, he was called by one and all, "a spaniard." that was enough to arouse all the wrath of his youthful spirit into rebellion, and until the word was recalled, war reigned. this of course is largely since our late trouble with spain. i shall not say that the use of the word exactly represented my state of mind toward the south americans, but, in spite of the many pleasant experiences of years gone by in mexico, i shall confess to a somewhat allied feeling with regard to that name, and to all people who are in any way affiliated with the race, and i dare say that something of this same prejudice has existed among our people at large for some time, and not altogether without cause. to have that impression partially removed was one of the results of an evening spent at the opera in caracas, where general cipriano castro had arranged an especially fine performance to be given in honour of the north americans then visiting his republic. the opera-house was decorated in our nation's colours, intertwined with the yellow, red, and blue of venezuela, and every seat not taken by our party was occupied by the representative citizens of caracas. the performance--a light, comic opera--was of excellent standard, and passed off with great applause. much as we enjoyed the music, the venezuelans themselves were our greatest object of interest. the house was apportioned in the usual foreign style, with two tiers of boxes circling on either side from the president's box in the rear centre. the women, as usual, occupied the front seats in the boxes, and were thus in a position to be seen and observed very closely. and never--i make no exception, no exception whatever--have i seen such modest, womanly appearing women as were present at the opera that night. they did not giggle nor stare nor flirt. they were richly, beautifully, becomingly gowned, but, although arrayed with a desire to please, they were as modest and unassuming as a lot of little girls at a doll's tea-party. their eyes no sooner met yours than they dropped,--not affectedly, but naturally, naïvely,--and it was impossible to refrain from forming an opinion of the conditions of society from the faces and actions of these women. women make society what it is; they make it right, high, true, and pure; they make it wrong, low, false, and vile, and the general appearance and actions of the women of a country, studied by an observer of human nature, will tell more truthfully the moral condition of a people than any book ever written. whatever faults the spaniard may have bequeathed to his descendants; whatever his failings in government and kindred problems, the women, these beautiful women of caracas, made us feel that they had set for themselves high standards of morality; that the social life was away beyond the level we had expected; that the family--the wife--is a sacred trust given the man to protect in honour and virtue so long as he lives. there is, no doubt, much to be said against the rigid life of seclusion led by the spanish women, but there is this to be said in its favour: it has created a race of men who honour and respect their homes, a race of men whose attitude toward women is universally respectful and deferential. with all our stiff-necked new england self-sufficiency, we have yet much to learn, we women of the north, and let it not be beneath our dignity to remember that the south american women have some lessons learned which we have yet to master; and perhaps there are none who could teach us more gently or more effectively than the modest, womanly women of caracas. chapter v. in venezuela. caracas to puerto cabello i. and now we are at the railway station, headed for valencia and puerto cabello, still determined to continue unguided back to the coast. there was to me something so extraordinary in the thought that, for once, we were really to get ahead of the professional guides, that it required repeated and oft repeated assurances to at least one of the women of our circle from the kindly official at the railway station, to relieve all doubts as to the wisdom of our plans. of course, the men of our party had no doubts, at least, none were expressed; and yet some of us, particularly the writer, could hardly believe that the train we were to take would carry us on through valencia, past the lovely lake of valencia down to puerto cabello, a half-hour in advance of the special train with the special courier; that we would be a half-hour earlier at luncheon in the mountains, and a half an hour earlier that evening in reaching puerto cabello; and this latter would be no small consideration after a long, hot ride from mountain-top to sandy beach. but this was to be the case, so the official informed us, not only in spanish, but in french, and very perfect french, too--for not understanding spanish, we women of course had to hear it all over again in french; so we left the party, and boarded the regular morning train for valencia, amidst the warnings of many, the doubts of all the timid ones, and the envy of a few jollier spirits. what would become of us, if this train should make up its mind not to go through to puerto cabello, and drop us at la victoria, or san joaquin perhaps; and what if the much-lauded special should after all fly on and leave us in the mountains, high and dry, a half-day's journey to puerto cabello, with no means of reaching the ship on sailing-time; and what if our pretty boat should sail away to god's country, and leave us literally stranded, marooned for weeks, on the sun-blighted beach of puerto cabello, waiting for a ship? [illustration: a house beside the sea puerto cabello, venezuela] a thousand "ifs" are flung at us, but there stands the big, handsome south american railway official, with a rose in his buttonhole, patent leathers on his feet, and a smile on his face, and visible support in every attitude of his fine body; so we settle down, reassured, and look around to count heads, and we check off--all but one, the doctor,--he is not at the station. where is he? where is the doctor? he has sworn to stand by us to the end; in fact had been one of the prime movers in this venture, and here we are ready to start, even the men are aboard the funny little train, and the doctor not in sight. ten anxious heads lean out from ten abbreviated windows; ten distressed voices ask in all available tongues, "where is the doctor?" we ask the official--the one with the rose--if he has seen one called the doctor, with bland, smiling face, round and jovial; blue eyes, light hair, walking with a confident, easy swing, wearing a linen suit and east indian pith helmet. no one answering that description had come to the station. fully half an hour before we left the _gran hotel de venezuela_, the doctor had taken a cab, so that there should be no doubt or question as to his being on time; for the doctor was an orderly man, of decided opinions and exact habits. he was never known to be late at an appointment. he had with him the free untrammelled air of the unmarried man. he had neither wife to detain, nor sweetheart to beguile him. he was a free-lance, and yet here it was, a moment before the time for departure, and the doctor nowhere to be seen. the train shivers, quivers, gives a bump or so, squeaks out a funny foreign whistle, and we are moving out of caracas. ten of us instead of eleven. ten much troubled wanderers, thinking and wondering a very great deal. we pass the curious little chapel upon the hill, with its five disjointed little steeples, looking as if one more quake of the grand old mother would topple them all over for good; pass the low _adobe_ huts on the outskirts of the city, and then catch a last glimpse of the cathedral and its dear old bells, and the trees about the square of bolivar; and are almost into the rich country, outlaying the great city. but where is the doctor! had he been beguiled or waylaid, or had he waited for one too many a sip of the unforgettable lemonade; or had he gone to sleep with the priests under the magic of the old bells? no, nothing seemed to fit in just right. the doctor had reached years of discretion, he knew the wiles of women, and, as for being waylaid, that was hardly possible, for he always carried his chest high; and, as for the priests,--no, it was not the priests, for the doctor had paid his respect to the cathedral the day before. hadn't we seen his white hat disappear under the big, open doorway as we were on the way to market? but the lemonade,--there was the hitch; he might have longed for one more glimpse of the _dulceria_, and the tall glass and the indescribable nectar,--_con un poquito de rom imperial_,--yes, he might have done so, any normal being might have done so, and that must be the whole trouble; then, just as we had decided on the lemonade, we stop at palo-grande, out in the gardens beyond the town, and into the car rushed a red-faced, very mad american, with satchels and luggage and souvenirs in his hands, and rage upon his face,--the doctor; none more--none less,--the lost wanderer! if any one was ever welcome, he was. we figuratively threw our arms about him, and wept with joy at the return of our long-lost brother. the doctor's face was a study. from despair, it changed to delight, and he flung himself into a seat, too happy to speak. but the doctor was not slow in giving us an explanation. he had been experimenting on some very choice, newly acquired spanish. that was the trouble, and instead of taking him to the city station, the cabby, probably anxious for a good fare, had driven about five miles to the first way-station on the road. i did not think the doctor could ever have been disconcerted under any circumstances, but he was as thoroughly scared as one has need to be and live; and for the rest of the day, every few minutes, he would break out with some forceful expression about fool americans who couldn't speak spanish and fool spaniards who couldn't speak english. we all then and there decided that we would learn spanish or die. one or the other we are sure to do. ii. it is a difficult matter to engage the doctor in either scenery or conversation, and, in spite of all the wonders in which we find ourselves, as the plucky little train hurries along, it is a sort of laugh and jollification all the way with the doctor. i shall never forget the willows at the station where our doctor appeared. they were so exquisitely graceful and beautiful. they were tall, with somewhat of the habits of the lombardy poplar, close-limbed, sinewy, and with the plumy grace of a bunch of feathers, bending, bowing, whirling, swishing, in the cool mountain air, and i shall always think of them as the doctor's willows; for just as his frightened face popped into the door, in the twinkling of an eye, i glanced out of the window, and there stood that row of tall willows, like coy, young maidens, bowing their gentle heads in graceful congratulation. the doctor's willow was to me one of the rarest, sweetest trees of that wonderful day of trees, of that wonderful world of trees, of that wonderful land of infinite beauties, known only to those whose eyes have touched the vibration of their being. this willow, modest, unassuming as it is, so unlikely to attract attention, without flower or colour, other than the richest green that sunshine ever bestowed upon a leaf, was in its way as exquisite as a dream of lace and dew-drops, as tender as the sound of a lute, as sweetly sinuous as the drop of a violet's head; and the mountain air, filtering through the thin, arrow-like leaves, was music fit for gods,--not men. but the doctor would not look at the willows, nor at the tall grass--tall--tall--tall--following along the bed of a limpid stream--the guaira--tumbling along over pools and rocks and mossy beds; grasses so high that even jack's famous giants must needs stand on tiptoe to peep over the top; grass twenty to thirty feet high, with feathery plumes gracing the tall spires in masses of waving beauty. he would not see the beauty of the picture that the great mother showed us, for he was still in a dazed state of combined bewilderment, anger, and joy, and you know it takes time to find one's feet after such an experience. but did i tell you how as usual bravery was rewarded? when we boarded the train, we noticed our coach was unusually fine for a venezuelan railway, and we wondered at it. later the conductor explained that it was the private car of the general manager, all the common coaches being taken up to complete the special train; and so the doctor was at last content. iii. speeding along over the lordly plateau beyond caracas, through a country where the faintest effort on the part of man to cultivate the earth, the least scratch with the hoe, meets with more than abundant response, where, even in the high mountain altitude, sweet fields of cane and coffee bring restful green and delicious shades in the ever-pervading sunlight, we were entertained by some of the party, who were prophesying a hard day and a hot day with a relish which was quite enviable. why is it that there must always be those who are constantly anticipating hot weather? it seems to be out of the question to escape them; they either predict that it will be, must be, unbearably hot, or unbearably cold, according to the latitude in which they happen to be found. there seems to be no way of getting along comfortably with the present. so we listened while dire forebodings were omened for valencia, and worse for puerto cabello. in the meantime one of our friends,--mrs. m---- from boston,--was suffering with a severe headache, and the doctor, who had been in the seat ahead of us, was asked if, in that small, black, professional-looking valise, there was not something to relieve her pain. and then the doctor broke forth once more: "there's no use. i can't stand this any longer. i was called up last night for the sick man in the after-deck stateroom; after each port i am asked to prescribe for men suffering from swizzle jags, and i'm routed out at all hours, and buttonholed by nervous women i don't know. i wish i could help mrs. m----; nothing would make me happier. but to tell the truth, i'm not a doctor. i am only a plain business man--a manufacturer. somehow, when the passenger-list was made up, i was put in as 'doctor s----' and the list was printed and circulated before i knew of my title. then every one called me 'doctor,' and it was such an easy name to catch that i thought i'd just let it go, and i've been 'doctor' to every one ever since; but when it comes to setting a leg or curing a headache, i must put an end to it." but the name had become fixed. it was there to stay, so the doctor was the "doctor" in spite of his lack of diploma, and, in one sense, by his good cheer, his readiness to join in fun, his stock of good stories, and his consideration for others, he was quite as beneficial to our sometimes weary selves, as if he carried his pockets full of bitter tonic and invigorating elixirs. iv. in front of us sat the doctor; back of us sat a young south american from "up country," with whom we entered into conversation, and from whom we learned much to confirm our rapidly forming opinions of his great country--venezuela. he spoke english well, having been educated partially in england, partially in new york. he came from the province of colombo, to me a very indefinite, remotely hidden-away place somewhere in the andes, accessible only by two or three days' journey from caracas, partly by mule and partly by boat up the maracaibo river. by the way, we are told that colombo is the native state of that peppery little dictator--the present president castro. this south american gentleman had been sent to caracas to interview castro and his ministers with regard to a loan of twenty thousand dollars in horses, cattle, and provisions made during the last revolution to the faction which had placed castro in power; the transaction had evidently been dignified by the soothing name of "a loan" because the quondam cowboy leader castro had ended as a self-elected president. just what our fellow traveller's success had been, we were unable to learn or he to tell, for this same general castro is a wily bird and keeps many an honest venezuelan guessing. he told us what we already knew,--that venezuela needs peace--peace--peace, and that, until she is assured of peace, her great hands must be idle. we needed no words to assure us of her greatness. it was there before us. the idle hands were clasping rich harvests unsown, rich treasures in gold and silver glittered upon her fingers, and following the sweep of her green mantle, there was a race of warm-hearted children, within whose being there was the making of great men and women. but there must be peace. for, when there is war, her great men go to the front, her brave men are killed; but in some unfortunate way her political schemers and professional revolutionists survive, and are always ready to make new trouble. "he who fights and runs away will live to fight another day." and so they run away--the unsuccessful ones--to curaçao, to paris, or to some of the neighbouring south american states, but their dirty shadows ever hang imminent on the horizon. v. during the conversation with our south american friends, we had reached the end of the plateau, and the descent began into the great valley below. it was not until we reached that point that we realised the wonder of this venezuelan railroad, or that we understood the reason of its being called the "great venezuelan railway"--_gran ferrocarril de venezuela_. like the greater portion of all the business enterprises in south america and the west indies, the railroad was built by germans. krupp, of gun fame, was named as the head of the company, and too much cannot be said of the courage and skill of men who undertook to build a road under such difficulties. there are railways of difficult construction all over the world, indeed, but never, in our experience, were we more impressed with the magnitude of an undertaking than we were with the construction of this masterful road; though one might well criticise the business judgment of men who would thus put millions of dollars into an enterprise that apparently can never be self-supporting. think of it, eighty-seven tunnels through rocky mountain spurs, one hundred and twenty heavy steel bridges between caracas and valencia, miles of rock-cutting and costly filling, and all this to carry a handful of passengers and a few tons of freight each day--altogether not enough to load one of our "mixed trains" in the states! it follows where cataracts leap a thousand feet, where rivers boil in thundering roar over mighty rocks; it cuts the mountain top asunder and dashes through the rock-hewn lap of earth; it drops down through the tops of giant trees, and robs the morning of her mist; it mingles with the clouds, and anon kisses the feet of the ocean--but it doesn't pay dividends. from its heights, the earth stretches out in wonderful ridges of gigantic proportion; geography becomes real, a fact, seen in the great perspective. the air is so clear that the eye seems to have new power of vision to reach to the uttermost end of the earth; the eye imparts to the soul its larger horizon, and a great leap of joy carries the spirit into the infinite room of creation, into the infinite grandeur of created things, and the spirit grows and feels its small estimate of god's earth expanding into a newer, grander conception of creation. mountain ridges sweep through tremendous space, one upon another, and at their base, thousands of feet below, a green pillow of sugar-cane invites the head and heart to quiescence. no word "green" can ever bring back the quivering, transparent green of those young cane-fields, far below in the valleys, watered by the careful hand of man in thousands of tiny streams of irrigation. vi. the morning was just what it should be in spite of the croakers, and the immensity of nature had imparted to our spirits much of her buoyancy; so when the train came to a halt, we jumped with alacrity from the little coach, and sought among the people for the human interest, which was as ever very great. the route was dotted with charming stations, each one flying a german and venezuelan flag in delightful amity--for the germans impress the south american first with their greatness and then with their friendliness; the mailed hand is shown only as the last resort. here were stations green and beflowered, in sweet good order, with fountains and running streams, and booths where we bought ginger cookies and albert biscuit and _cervesa inglesa_ and all sorts of fruit; and back of the stations, hints of quaint old churches with distant bells, and gathering about the mother church, blue and white and yellow glimpses of queer old houses. and oh! the colour! the flowering trees! what artist could ever reach the delicacy of the _maria_ tree, one mass of living pearls. its branches so full of flower that there seemed to be no room for leaf; the branch only there by sufferance. at la victoria, where we stop for luncheon, in a curious little café under a confident german flag, our family interpreter disappears, and in a few minutes returns in the likeness of a thracian god, bedecked with garlands, pink and white. he covers my lap with rarest blossoms, gives them to one and all, and brings into the dusty coach a fragrance of elysium. i long to keep the flowers for ever; i long to hold that colour in such security that it can never escape; i long to enclose that essence in some secret shrine for ever. and shall i say i have not? vii. as we rush along down, nearing the great mother's mighty limbs, we pass drooping arbours of _bucari_, another flowering tree of wonderful splendour, each flower like a glorious wax _cattleya_, and millions of them at a glance. just then, as the blaze of beauty dazzles our eyes, two brilliantly green parrots, frightened by the noisy interloper, take flight from under their beauteous canopy, and wing their way in yellow, green, and red vibrations through the scintillating landscape. we are now flying along on a level stretch, in a high, rich valley, full of luscious fruits and ripening harvests, and before the mountain opens to receive us into one of its deep tunnels, we see large fields of a low bush, growing quite in the nature of young coffee, with much the same size and general appearance; without, however, the customary shade-trees. our friend from colombo explained that it is tapioca; and off beyond, in this next, white-walled _hacienda_ (what a world of dreams and romance of the land of _siempre mañana_ comes to one in that combination of ordinary vowels and consonants--"_hacienda_"!), in the _hacienda las palomas_,--or was it the _hacienda la sierra_ or _la mata_, or _guaracarima_?--the natives gather from the green river valleys, maize and beans and yucca, in the language of the country, "_frutas menores_;" but more abundantly than all else, are gathered the coffee and the sugar in vast crops year by year. westward from the summit the river tuy plays hide-and-seek with us for many a mile, darting, hurrying, beckoning, charming us, with a desire to loiter when she loiters, to leap through the cliffs with her joy, to rest under flower-spread arbours in sleepy towns with her, to dissolve ourselves at last into the deep earth as she does. finally we see her no more, but now the larger aragua, flowing toward the lake of valencia, reaches out a bold hand, and we follow the new pathfinder where she commands. one last look into the shadowy depths before we drop to the plains. it is only a glimpse, for the passing is so swift that the eye cannot reach its entirety of beauty; but that glimpse is like the shadow of a great rock,--a lasting memory. a bird slowly sways in mighty, circling sweeps, poised upon the ether, between two green-robed mountain priests--a great bird against the hazy mountain deep, swaying, calm, eternally sure of its strength. was there a hand outstretched beneath in the far, disappearing morning which brought the ecstasy into the soul of that lonely wanderer? we leave the tunnels, the endless bridges, the heights, and drop down rapidly into the valley, where the heat begins and the dust flies. we follow the aragua until she brings us to the lake of valencia, a long, rambling, shallow lake, much like some of our own northern lakes, and, at the first opportunity (i think it was at maracay), we leave the train, and stand under the wide doors of the freight depot, with the natives lying around half-asleep on sacks of coffee, and try to catch a whiff of refreshing coolness from the lake. more german flags; they are very interesting, but why should a party of americans be so honoured? for the german officers had gone back to the ship to do the polite to general castro. but the halt here was for a few minutes only; and we go on, down through the hot little city of valencia into greater heat, and for a time into greater and more glorious vegetation. it was a curious sight,--the piles of compressed coal dust made into blocks,--"briquettes,"--eight to ten inches square, each stamped "cardiff, wales," piled in high, orderly heaps at each station; greater supplies of which we found, as we left the timber for the low country. but i must not give the impression that the low country is untimbered; far from it. as we leave the higher levels and start the final sharp descent toward the coast on the cog-road,--a curious device in railroading to overcome the danger of such steep inclines,--we can give no conception of the forest growth through which we pass. the air is hot and still; the trees stand in their eternal beauty, in their myriads of blossoms, in their vivid colourings, with deep festoons of moss and interweaving vines in motionless repose. they seem to exhale heat and silence and darkness, even under the blaze of a still, white sun; they tell only of night in the tangled growth of nature triumphant. it might have been at nagua-nagua, if not there it was very near there, that the springs of water, boiling out of the earth, were hot and sulphurous, and, as we were about to move on in our roomy coach, along came the much-talked of special, with its crowded passengers looking jaded and worn and cross, more, i imagine, from the incessant clatter of tongues than from the asperity of the southern sun. on, on, nearer to the sea, to where the palms grow. there had been cocoanut and royal palms before,--yes, from haïti through all the islands we had seen them, but here they attain their most perfect grandeur and glory. we came upon them not singly, in isolated groups of conservative aristocracy, but in companies and regiments, miles of them, arranged by the masterful hand of nature, now in mighty groups apart, like a conference of plumed generals, and then again in battalions of tall grenadiers on silent dress parade. their light lofty trunks gave back from the sun a dull, grayish white pallor. they were still and grand, and unspeakably beautiful. the heat seems to grow more intense as the sun sinks lower in the heavens, and we drop down almost to the level of the ocean. the dust becomes more blinding, and the palms disappear, and all things prickly and unapproachably dry and forbidding, shadeless and impenetrable, take their place, and change the picture from one of tropical life to tropical death. [illustration: a south american street puerto cabello, venezuela copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] long wastes of white sand spread over the desolate landscape, relieved by not one sprig of comely green or welcome shade, with great mounds and masses of gigantic and distorted cacti, more impassable than any man-made barricade. they fitted in well with the heat and the dust, and the long, low sun-rays, shooting in upon us their streaming floods of white light; and then, just as i began to think the croakers might have been right for once--there came a shout from the doctor, from the boston friend, from us all; and daddy, who was on the other side of the car, jumps over to my seat and bends over my shoulder just in time to catch sight of the sea--_el mar caribe_--before a bristling bank of cacti shut it for the time from view. the caribbean sea--blue, far-reaching, sweetly cool, washing the feet of the great, good mother;--we longed to plunge into the surf, and wash away the dust and heat and all unrest. the sight of the great sea so near us, and our trim ship at anchor in the harbour of puerto cabello, and the prospect of seeing the little girls, from whom we had been separated by so many hours and miles, gives us a deep joy. the day had been covered by the hand of god from dawn to setting, and to the end of time there shall no greater beauty meet our souls. then through the sleepy streets of hot old puerto cabello we wander to where a boat waits us by the rotting quay at the river's mouth. two darling faces find our wistful searchings as we near the ship, and four sweet arms accompanied by kisses fairly weigh us down as we reach the deck. "oh, mother! just think of it, we shook hands with president castro!" chapter vi. curaÇao. city of willemstad i. small wonder indeed that the early explorers, the men to whom we owe the discovery of these island gems, gave them such charmingly poetical names. small wonder that they named them as one would a necklace of deep-sea pearls, strung as they are one upon another in a circlet about the blue caribbean sea, the shadow of one velvety peak throwing its dark coolness fairly to the base of sister isles, some but a few hours distant, others perhaps a day, across seas as blue and green and limpid as the ether above. it seems incredible that from these peaceful waters rise the vast, cyclonic storms which frequently make such desolation on our coasts; and that within the green and softly moulded outlines of some of these mountainous islands there lie volcanic craters which still grumble and threaten; but, as there are times and seasons for all things, so there seems to be an ordering for the giant winds to rage, when the sun is dyed its deepest, and the earth pants for want of drink to moisten her quivering lips. but that time of unrest is far away now, and, as we leave puerto cabello and its quiet harbour, bound for curaçao, and drop below the horizon the cocoanut-fringed shores of the spanish main, it seems as if it must ever be on unruffled seas and toward peaceful havens that the islanders voyage back and forth. surely it is not more than the turning once over in sleep before, with the morning breeze fresh in our nostrils, we are right upon the dear little dutch city of willemstad, the capital of the dutch west indies on the island of curaçao; and, once ashore, we long to lodge indefinitely behind the spotless white curtains that peek out from under some snug little peaked roof, shifting scenes only when the impulse to go farther comes over us; and then sailing away in one of the little packet schooners which coast along from island to island, or possibly, taking passage in a mail steamer, or anything bound anywhere, just so it does not come blundering along before we are ready. there should be no words for days and hours in the tropics. time should be measured by enjoyments in changeful measure, slow and fast, as one's mood demands. rigid hours are obtrusive where the rustle of the cocoa-palm invites rest. ii. the little girls and i are hurrying into our hair ribbons and our white petticoats and white waists and white hats, just as fast as our fingers can tie or button, when curaçao jumps into our cabin windows, or maybe our ship has jumped into curaçao; or is it holland we have dropped upon, or is it a new stage-setting for the latest _al fresco_ production of "the flying dutchman?" we no sooner have our first glimpse than, for a bit, all the dressing stops, and we crowd our three heads up to the port-holes in perfect delight. as our slim ship slowly winds herself into the river-like harbour, this west indian holland becomes more and more enchanting. the harbours in these islands have been an increasing wonder to us. on the venezuelan coast puerto cabello (translated literally, "the port of the hair," because there it was said a hair would hold a ship) is a perfect example of a harbour for small vessels. deep, natural channels--like rivers--wind circuitously until they widen into land-locked basins where ships of all nations, and of all rigs, and for all purposes, from the grim war-ship to the native dugout, come unexpectedly into sight as the channel turns and broadens into the real harbour. there the ship is left by the native pilot. this harbour of curaçao is no exception. we enter by a narrow, deep way protected by rocky barriers, directly into a little inner bay, encircled by the quaint town. the houses gliding by, within easy hailing distance of our decks, are preëminently dutch, of brilliant, striking colouring, noticeably yellow, and mathematically exact as to rows and heights and proportions--most un-west-indian. the town is certainly just recovering from a fresh coat of kalsomine. it is bright as a top and clean as a whistle. [illustration: across ste. anne bay harbour of willemstad, curaçao copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] we are but a stone's throw from either dock, and it requires a lot of common sense, even downright logic, to persuade us that we are in the caribbean sea, and not far off on the other side of the globe coming out of the flat estuaries of the bleak north sea into the meuse or the y. a bit of holland has been lost from out mother earth's pocket, and has fallen by the way in this western hemisphere; and it has managed to get along without the big dutch mother very well. it has grown up into full stature, following the instincts of its birth, almost wholly uninfluenced by tropical environment. here it stands, a perfect little dutchman, an exact reproduction of its staunch progenitors. its forms and habits have followed the traditions of its ancestors, not those of its west indian foster-mother. there is only one racial trait lacking in curaçao,--we saw no windmills; all the rest is there. but, to our great relief, we are told that even the windmills appear on the country places farther inland. iii. the arrival of our ship awakens the yellow city early in the morning, and, before our boats are lowered, the shore is white with crowds of curaçaoans, big and little, pushing and jostling each other for a sight of us. our breakfast is done with in short order. a hurried bit of fruit, a quick swallow of boiling coffee, a fresh roll, and up we scramble to the deck. so it is invariably, as we near a port. each time we come upon an island more curious, more irresistible than any we have seen before. we may be sighting it first as we refresh our bodies with a bath of the clear salt water from without, warmed into the most delicious mildness by the eternal smile of the sun. then comes a scramble to dress, then a bolt to the dining-room, where we eat and run. now, in pops a big "if." if we were only snoozing in a dutch four-poster, with a frilled nightcap on, under a peaked roof in willemstad, then we'd never need to hurry, for all we'd have to do would be to open our eyes and look around, and wait for the coffee to come with a rap at the door and a lifting of the curtain. but there is small comfort in listening to the endless schemes of that miscreant "if." we'll banish him in disgrace. [illustration: some of our friends at willemstad] [illustration: where the basket-women waited willemstad, curaçao] before we have time to readjust our impressions of one island to the anticipated pleasures of the one following, we are among a new people, speaking a strange tongue, living to us a new life,--to them a weather-worn old life; among people in densely populated cities, shut off from our world by weeks--at times by months--of silent isolation. then all at once a fleck of smoke lifts above the horizon, a steamer is sighted far out at sea, the pilot puts out in his little open boat, and the whole island throbs with new emotion, for a ship is coming! from a poetical standpoint, i wish it were possible to believe that this emotion is a disinterested pleasure in welcoming strangers; in feeling once again the hand of man from the great world outside. viewing the people, as we must, largely from an impersonal standpoint, it impressed us that the west indian cares very little for the welcome or for the hand of man from the great continent; but that he is up early in the morning to devise new ways of reaching the pockets of the invaders, come they ever so peaceably. the natives await the coming of strangers, as a pack of hungry wolves watch for the shorn lamb. i myself have been that shorn lamb on several occasions. [illustration: the landing willemstad, curaçao] quite undaunted by the great crowd of curaçaoans on shore, our jackies made a cable fast to the near-lying quay, by which means our big boats are pulled back and forth, to and from the ship. those coming to us bring the sellers of baskets; and it is here, although forewarned and forearmed, that our basket mania again breaks forth in full force. first came the famous curaçaoan nests of baskets, of which charles kingsley confesses to have been beguiled into buying; and, if so wise a man as he fell victim to the wiles of the curaçaoan basket-woman, how much more readily would we weaker mortals become her prey? then, ranged temptingly, along the dock stood rows of curaçaoan hampers,--great, fine, coloured affairs, which we looked at, and looked at, and looked at, and didn't buy. then, beside the basket-women, were the men with fans and all sorts of straw weavings,--and then, oh! the work-boxes. truly, you have seen them! has not your grandmother stowed away in the dark attic somewhere an old mahogany box, inlaid with ivory and brass and coloured woods, with fascinating secret drawers and numerous lids for the hiding of her precious keepsakes and age-worn trinkets? such a box is one of the chaste memories of my childhood,--grandmother's mahogany box, with the inlaid lid and the musty odour of bygone years. when we found these same dear old boxes away down in curaçao, the worn, hingeless, forsaken chest in the attic arose into a new dignity--into the dignity of a noble family lineage. so i have found at last its _habitat_, and these bright and gleaming creations are great-great--and no end to great--grandchildren of my far-away, lonely relic in the attic. but sentiment has to give way to reason, and we shake our heads at the box-man and the hamper-woman, who, nevertheless, follow us up to the bridge from the otra-banda shore over the canal, whence they watch dejectedly while we pay bridge-toll and disappear across the canal into the narrow dutch streets, where the high roofs seem ready to topple over upon us. iv. what a picture of dutch colonial life comes to us in that short walk! the overreaching eaves all but touch. old lanterns swing across the narrow way, wrought-iron sign-posts reach long arms out over our heads, the shop doors are wide open, and the keepers of the shops could readily shake hands across the way. i wonder if there is any excuse at all for the fact that my preconceived ideas about curaçao were wholly founded upon a very indistinct memory of a certain liquid of that name, said to be distilled upon this island from the wild sour orange? i expected to find this ambrosial nectar stacked in rows in every shop, in bottles, long and slim, chunky, dumpy, and round; in nice little flat bottles,--gifts for bachelor friends; in ornamented fancy bottles for envying housewives; in thick, pudgy, squatty bottles for gouty old uncles; in every conceivable shape and size i expected to find it. willemstad was not to be willemstad--city, town, burg--it was to be an inhabited flask of curaçao, a kind of west indian bubble blown from the lips of the northeast trades, sweet with the breath of wild orange. the man with the bottles was to be a more subtle tempter than the hamper-woman, and--but it didn't happen that way at all. it turned out very differently. i, for one, did not see a single bottle of any shape or form in the whole town, but the men must have found some, for just before sailing a box was brought in, labelled "curaçao," and i surmised it was liqueur, but i didn't open the box. truly i did not! some of us cynically argued that the liqueur was all sent in from somewhere else and palmed off as a native product; others clung to the home-production fancy, and yet neither one was altogether wrong, for the famous liqueur is made both in holland and in this little dutch colony away off in the new world; at any rate this is its birthplace and home. but the gold filigree, for which the islanders are famous, was true to our expectations. we are drawn up the shut-in street by the magnetism of a crowd which is gathering about a shop-door, and filling the tiny place fairly to suffocation with eager buyers of gold rings and pins, and all sorts of trinkets. we turn from the goldsmith and the seller of corals, and the shops, and make for the tram,--a little, two-seated bandbox on wheels, drawn by a two-penny mule on a tiny track through the clean white streets of curaçao. we are told that there is a law against the painting of the houses white, on account of the blinding glare of the sun, and no wonder, for, even after a few short hours of wandering, our eyes ache with the strain and glare of so great light. the blue houses are an exquisite rest to the eye. the whole colour scheme of curaçao is yellow and blue, and sometimes light green, with white used sparingly as decoration. green, the green of trees and grass, you ask? no. i said nothing of the green of nature. it's too thoroughly dutch for that. the bandbox car hitches along, threatening to topple over any minute on the toy donkey and stop,--at least until sundown, which would be most sensible. let's cover up the donkey and get out of the glare until night! but, no! he has his own ideas, and experience has taught us the futility of an attempt to change them, so we settle down to the succession of yellow houses and blue houses, and white pillars and clean flights of white steps, but hardly a peep of green, not a sprig of palm, or tamarind, or orange, not a vestige of the great fundamental nature-colour--except in a well-concealed little park--everything paved and finished and whitewashed--only a few prim and well-pruned shrubs carefully set in either corner of the tiny front yards, and our eyes ache for the sight of trees and grass. where the wild orange grows, we failed to discover, for the town itself is almost entirely bare of trees or flowers. of course, it must be remembered that our very short stay made any long excursion into the country out of the question. let us come again; we must find the wild oranges! strange, is it not? no shade whatever in latitudes where the growing of great vegetation is but the matter of a few months. as far as we could see, there were no real trees in willemstad; still, if palms do not grow in holland, whatever would be the sense in having them here? they would spoil the likeness. so we jerk our hats down, readjust the dark glasses, tuck our handkerchiefs under our collars, and start up a breeze with a curaçaoan fan, and decide to play "jack-in-the-box" and jump out; primarily, to make straight for our ship to escape the midday sun; secondarily, to take one very impressionable member of our party away from the alarming charms of a stunning curaçaoan woman--a woman of that noble and grandly developed type which often appears in the descendants of the dutch--whose comely form occupies a goodly share of the bandbox seat. the streets in this residence part of the city are still and empty. the penny donkey and "we'uns" are the only live things visible. we are seized with a desire to pound on those eternally closed doorways to see if people really do live there. this seeing things on the outside is no fun. let's make a sensation of some kind! upset the bandbox, roll the plump lady in a heap inside; put on the cover; stand the penny donkey on top; capture some curaçaoan hampers, jump inside, pull down the lid and play forty thieves. [illustration: a jolly dutch port willemstad, curaçao] but, no,--we are sworn foes to scenes, and our vain wish to pinch somebody dies unsatisfied; and finally, when the penny donkey comes to the end of the route down by the quay, we take the longest way around, through the narrow thoroughfares, following the curve of the shore, over bridges which span the canals leading from the main channel of the harbour, down past the basket-woman with her tempting wares on the otra-banda quay to our floating home, where the governor and all the prominent citizens of willemstad have assembled in great numbers. well, we've found out one thing. the houses were empty sure enough. the people are all on our ship. what a good thing it was we left the bandbox right side up! there would have been no one to rescue the plump lady. v. our friends, mr. and mrs. u----, come toward us with a group of strangers--curaçaoan--whose acquaintance happened just as the best things of life come to us--by the merest chance. they were driving about the city in company with the american consul, when, in passing one of the most attractive residences, their attention was drawn toward two young women who were standing out on the veranda, waving a great flag--our stars and stripes--in utter disregard of heat and sun; waving it forth in the yellow and white glare with all the love of country and home which motion could express. their enthusiasm at once called forth a response on the part of the visitors; the carriage stopped and forthwith all the occupants of the house, following the two girls with the flag, came to welcome the strangers. the newcomers were bidden to enter and there was no limit to their hospitable entertainment. the flag-bearers were two homesick southern girls, married to the sons of a leading dutch family. they had not visited their native land since their marriage, and, oh! how they longed to see the dear old south again! when their countrymen set foot at curaçao, all of the slumbering mother-country love broke forth again, and the old flag came out, and they feasted the strangers, and did their utmost to honour the precious sentiment of loyalty to home. and, after the ices and cooling drinks and fruits and confections, they and their friends were invited aboard ship, where it was our pleasure to make their acquaintance. we find here, as we have in all the other islands, that the leading families--the men in power--are comparatively pure representatives of the original colonising stock; that is, pure dutch, dane, castilian, french, as the case may be; but that the people are a strange mixture of all nationalities, speaking languages for the most part unwritten, handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, strangely intangible, and yet as fixed and well recognised among the people as is the old common law in the courts of anglo-saxon countries. our friends in curaçao tell us that the well-born natives speak dutch, english, spanish, and often french, with equal facility; added to this is another language which must be learned in order to deal with the common people. this curious language--"_papaimiento_," it is called--has been reduced to a certain degree of form in order to facilitate its being taught in the schools. children learn this language from their nurses, just as our southern children acquire the negro dialect from the old "mammies." the comparison cannot be carried out to its full extent for the reason that, while our negro dialect bears a close and intelligible likeness to english, _papaimiento_ is so unlike dutch as to render its acquisition almost as difficult for a dutchman as that of any other foreign language, but fortunately the dutch are good linguists. it bears, of course, some likeness to dutch in the fundamentals, but aside from that, it is a strange combination of speech--perhaps more spanish than anything else--put together, it would seem, to meet the needs of as many people as possible. the meaning of the name _papaimiento_ is, in the dialect, "the talk we talk," _i. e._, "our language." curaçao lies some fifty miles off the coast of south america, and her favourable position between venezuela and the windward islands has made her free port a most desirable one for the smugglers who wish to supply cheap goods to the south american ports. thousands of flimsy tin-covered trunks ready for venezuelan voyagers bear evidence of her popularity as a free and unquestioning port. here, also, many steamers touch. but, above all, curaçao is the haunt and refuge of the disappointed or temporarily exiled spanish american politician or revolutionist. here, like puppets in a show, appear from time to time many noble patriots ready to fight for their undying principles and incidentally to absorb any loose property in the track of their conquering "armies;" and here hies the deposed "president," or the lately conquered general, with his chests of treasure, waiting for a ship to his beloved paris. watch our own american newspapers for the warlike notes that willemstad, curaçao, ever feeling the pulse of northern south america, sends out to the world. did she not give us the earliest news of cervera's mysterious fleet? does she not thrill us with the momentous gymnastics of president castro, and the blood-curdling intentions of general matos, general uribe-uribe, general santiago o'flanigan _et hoc genus omne_? the date of our visit to curaçao is about the time of the little queen of holland's wedding, so that wilhelmina and her prospects, and all the gossip attending so charming a personage, becomes with us, as we sit chatting together on the deck, a lively topic of interest. mrs. c---- tells us of a gold box which is to be sent the young queen as a bridal gift from her subjects in curaçao; a box fashioned after the most perfect art of the native goldsmith, in filigree so rare that none but a queen were fit to open it. this box, perchance the size of pandora's once enchanted casket, is to be filled with the needlework of curaçaoan women--work as far-famed as the lace of maracaibo, the lace we expected to see everywhere in caracas, while we were then so near the maracaibo country, but which one can never find unless the open-sesame of the spanish home is discovered, as impossible a task as the quest of the immortal ponce de leon. we did not see the maracaibo lace, nor the curaçaoan lace, and we are told that such a disappointment is not unusual; it is only for the elect--the curaçaoan people themselves--that these wonderful specimens of the skill of patient women are visible. i shall never forget hearing that unwritten page in the tragic history of spain's noble son, admiral cervera, as the doctor in his quiet, low voice told how the great admiral touched first at curaçao after his long and perilous voyage from spain. it was the doctor's son who sent the cable message to the united states, telling that the spanish fleet was in the offing. but it was the doctor himself who went with the surgeons who had been sent ashore by cervera on their humiliating errand, to all the pharmacies in curaçao for surgical supplies. the fleet had been hurried from spain unprepared, and in fact almost unseaworthy, with not so much as a single bandage aboard or the most ordinary necessities for the immediate succour of the wounded. they had absolutely nothing in the way of such medical and surgical equipment at hand, although they knew their imminent and terrible need for just such things. doctor c----, with the true physician's love for his fellow men, went from pharmacy to pharmacy with the surgeon, and bought up all the bandages and gauze and iodoform and other supplies which were to be found. meantime detachments from the ships' crews began to land--hungry and worn, sad with the shadow of the great coming tragedy--and they fell upon the island like a lot of starved wolves. they actually had not food enough aboard to keep body and soul together, for the corrupt and procrastinating government at madrid had not even properly victualled this fleet of war-ships before sending them to their certain destruction. the market was cleaned of everything it could afford, and even then it was a mere drop in the bucket to that unhappy host. later doctor c---- went out to the flag-ship with the surgeon, and spoke with cervera, who prophetically told him that he knew he was going to his doom--but it had to be! and the twisted skeletons of those noble ships which we later saw strewn from santiago on along the southern cuban coast was but the fulfilment of the miserable fate he then so clearly foresaw, but which, after his unavailing pleas to the spanish government before sailing, the staunch old admiral, with a spaniard's pride and bravery, would not avoid. for so it was written! is there not a strain of the moor's fatalism still traceable in the true spaniard? thus as we chat with our new-found friends on topics grave and gay through the noon hour and on into mid-afternoon, the people of the city continue to crowd one another, row upon row, on the dock. a native band plays our national airs and dutch national airs, and our decks are filled with visitors--the governor of the island and his suite and ladies, and fine little solemn-eyed and suspiciously dark-skinned dutch children; and, in the midst of all the visiting and moving back and forth, some one asks doctor w---- how the islanders feel about absorption by the united states--apparently a possibility now present in the mind of every west indian; and the not surprising answer is made, that, for his part, he--a dutchman, holland-born--would favour annexation; and from the wild enthusiasm of the people ashore, as the bugle sounds the first warning of departure, one might readily believe that so favourable, so friendly, is the feeling for the united states, that the slightest advances toward peaceable annexation would be met with universal favour. and so the merchants also talked. the houses begin to move,--no, it's our boat herself, slowly, very slowly. we drop our shore-lines, and shout after shout rings after us. the populace moves in a mass along the quay, and the native band beats away its very loudest, and the bigger marine band aboard beats even louder, and it's a jumble of national airs in different keys, and hurrahs, and the people following along the quay. we wave our handkerchiefs until our arms are tired. one black-faced, bandannaed, dutch conglomerate in her enthusiasm whips off her bright skirt, and in a white petticoat and red chemise she waves the fluttering skirt in the breeze. if the united states ever seriously contemplates the annexation of any of the west indian islands, the surest way, and the quickest way, to bring it about would be to send ship-loads of pleasure-seeking americans, for bimonthly visits, leave their mania for buying things unrestrained, and, before diplomacy has had time to put on its dress suit, the islanders would beg for annexation. [illustration: a snug harbour willemstad, curaçao] do not deceive yourself into the belief that you will find el dorado in these islands, where the products of the country, food, and lodging, can be bought for a song; where one can get full value for money expended. on the contrary, values have become so distorted by the extravagance of some american tourists that to be recognised as an american is a signal for the most extortionate demands from the hotel-keeper to the market-woman. the system of extravagant feeing and still more our readiness to pay what is asked us instead of bargaining and haggling over prices as the natives do, and as is confidently expected of any sane human being, has so demoralised service and the native scale of prices that it is fairly impossible to obtain the ordinary necessities for which one expects to pay in the hotel bill, without giving needlessly large fees to the servants who happen to be in your attendance; or to find anything offered at a reasonable price in the markets. at the sight of an american--and we are readily distinguished--the prices advance, and the unoffending tourist is obliged to suffer for the extravagance of those who have gone before him. this infection has spread through all the islands, and there has not been a port on our entire cruise wholly free from its effect. perhaps, however, willemstad was the pleasantest of all in this respect, for it is a free port, used to low prices and the ways of outsiders. it might be possible to go through the islands at a reasonable expense, provided one spoke the language necessary at the various ports with ease, and had the time and patience to bargain and shop indefinitely; provided, _also_, one could beat against the tide which sweeps the american toward the "gran hotel." let him but once depart from his ancestral traditions of simple habits, let him but enter the portico of the "gran hotel," and he at once becomes the prey of every known species of human vulture. it is the old story of continental europe over again. chapter vii. the southern cross "wake up! wake up! if you want to see the southern cross, wake up and come on deck!" and we remember how long we had been waiting for those wonderful stars, and how daddy, who many nights slept on deck, had told us that he often saw them, and how we had, night after night, vowed we would make the effort to awaken at two in the morning, and how, each night, we had slept along, too tired with the wonder days to move an inch until bugle-call. but here comes this far-off voice again calling us from the northland of dreams, and it seems to be saying, "this is your last chance. by to-morrow (whenever that uncertainty comes!) the stars will have rolled away, or you will have sailed along, and there will be no southern cross, and you may as well not have come away down here to the spanish main at all if you miss seeing it,"--and then we wake a bit more, and the figure in the doorway stands there with "come" on his face, and "wake up!" on his lips, and we try to think how sorry we shall be if we do not see the southern cross. and then the door closes with a rather contemptuous click, and we land in the middle of the floor, aroused by the disappearance of the figure in pajamas and by our somewhat reawakened sense of duty. throwing on light wrappers, the little girls stumble along after me to where our man stands leaning against the rail, his face turned skyward. "there it is--see? right in the south, directly opposite the great bear that sunk below the northern horizon two hours ago. one star down quite low, near the horizon, and one almost in a straight line above, and one at either side equal distances apart, like an old four-cornered kite. you must imagine the cross. but it's hardly what it's cracked up to be!" and we blink at the stars, and they blink at us, and we feel strangely unreal and turned about. what in all the world has the southern cross to do with the nineteenth century? it belongs to blackbeard, and the great procession of pirates and roving buccaneers who swept these seas in tall-sparred, black-hulled craft, some hundreds of years ago. one or the other of us is out of place. the only consistent part of the night is, that, while our eyes are searching for the four luminous dots in the southern cross, our ship is plunging on toward jamaica, that one-time mecca of the bandit rover of the sea. there he found safe harbour and friends in the same profession; there it was that the hoards of spanish gold and plate and all conceivable sorts of plunder, taken from the hapless merchantmen, were bought and sold and gambled away. but, without the accompaniment of roystering pirates and swaggering buccaneers, the southern cross seems out of joint. jamaica may do as she is, but, as we look out across the scurrying waters, there's a malicious twinkle to the top star in the southern cross and that makes us all the more determined to give it an opportunity to renew old acquaintance. we'll have a pirate--we must have a pirate, if not a real one, bloody and black and altogether fascinating, we must conjure one by magic! pirates there must be! so, to pacify our insatiable desire to resuscitate the ghostly heroes of the long-dead past, the spanish student offers a yarn. four bells of the second night watch rings out, and "all's well!" floats above our heads, and the witching hour of two in the morning brings the proper flavour to the story. we cuddle down on some stray ship chairs, and the story begins: "once upon a time--" "oh, dear! is it to be a 'once upon a time' story, dad? then it won't be real," breaks in the wee one. "yes, it is real, chick; at least, so far as i know. but you must not interrupt me again. if you do, i might forget, and then the cross up there would put out its lights and go to bed." "no, dad, i'll be good." "well, once upon a time, there was a doughty old french corsair, who was one of the most daring pirates on the spanish main. morals were in a topsyturvy state in those days, and in none were they more wrong-side-to than in this famous old frenchman. he had a long, low, topsail schooner, painted black, with sharp clipper stem, clean flush decks and tall and raking masts, and--" "i know all about him, dad. he had a black beard, and he used to braid it in lots of pigtails, and tie it with ribbons," says wee one, again. "now, toddlekins, what did i say? i shall certainly bundle you off to bed. no, it wasn't blackbeard, but it was a pirate just as fierce and fully as bad mannered. this old fellow had been rampaging around here, there, and everywhere, all about this caribbean sea and along the spanish main, in search of ships and gold and prisoners, and occasionally even food, and in fact anything of value he might come across; when not very far from where we are now--yes, just about this latitude, it was, but a few leagues more to the west--by the light of the stars--yes, by the light of this very southern cross, he makes out the land, and soon after spies a tidy, prosperous little village handy to the shore of a palm-fringed inlet. like the provident pirate that he was, he at once decides that he is both hungry and thirsty and that his lusty followers are short of rations. here is a likely port from which to supply. "so off goes a long-boat filled with his precious cutthroats, carrying a pressing invitation to the village priest and some of his friends to come aboard. the fat priest is routed out and escorted to the waiting boat; he understands his mission, he has seen such men before. so, taking along a few chosen friends, he makes the best of a bad business and is rowed off to the ship in short order. the citizens, meanwhile, are requisitioned for all sorts of food and drink, and the priest and his friends have a jolly time of it as hostages. but as his wit grows with the wine it occurs to our corsair that, with a priest aboard, holy church should have due reverence, and roars out his imperative suggestion that mass would be in order. an altar is rigged up on the quarter-deck, holy vestments and vessels are quickly brought from the village church, and the ship's crew are summoned to assemble and warned to take hearty part in the service. in place of music, broadsides are ordered fired from the pirate's cannon after the _credo_, after the _elevation_, and after the _benediction_. at the _elevation of the host_, the captain finds occasion to reprove a sailor for lack of reverence. but at a second offence from the same trifler, out comes his cutlass--a swift, shining circle follows the corsair's blade, and off flies the still grinning head and the blood spirts high from the jumping trunk. the poor priest is startled, but the captain reassures him with kind words, for, says he, it is only his duty and always his pleasure to protect the sanctity of holy things; he would do the same thing again--and a thousand times!--to any one who was disrespectful to the holy sacrament. for why is there a great god above and his holy church on earth except to be honoured? then the service continues as if nothing had happened and again comes the whine of the latin chants and the thunder of the reverent guns. "after mass, the body is heaved overboard and no burial rites are said, for who shall try to save a heretic's soul? the priest is put ashore with many a smile and oath and many a pious crossing, and our corsair and his pack of thieves go their way, having paid their respects to holy church." "oh, dad!" says toddlekins, "that was lovely; is it true? tell us another! just one more! don't you remember about captain kidd? "'my name was captain kidd, as i sailed, as i sailed, my name was robert kidd, as i sailed. my name was robert kidd, god's laws i did forbid, and wickedly i did, as i sailed.' "don't you remember the other verses? you used to sing them to us on the yacht before we ever thought of seeing the real southern cross." and just as the indulgent parent begins to waver, and the little girls are sure they have won another story, down--down--down--drops a big star, the foot of the cross, millions of miles away, and the three lonely wanderers still hanging low in the heavens reach out their great shadowy arms in ghostly warning to those unthinking children of adam who defy time and sleep and all things reasonable, just for the sake of a few old memories of a very questionable past. then those three deserted stars quiver and shiver and hide behind the wandering company of torch-bearers, and silently disappear, and a tired moon gives a vague uncertainty to sea and air. in spite of the early morning mystery, all our efforts to reinstate the french corsair, the black-hulled phantom, and the headless sailor, fail. the decks of the ship are damp and empty and long. the ungainly deck chairs are locked together in gruesome lines like monstrous grasshoppers dying in winrows, and the great engines below beat and throb, and the water rolls past us in giant breathings, full of the sighs of dead men lying fathoms deep beneath our keel, and the stars sink lower and lower, and we are hurrying on toward the morning. our eyes are still longing for sleep, and the little girls flutter down below, and we two after them. in the morning, after some strange dreams, we lie at anchor off the blue mountains of jamaica. chapter viii. kingston, jamaica i. had he not come aboard, it is doubtful if even the "kirk-ganging habit" inherited from a long line of devout ancestors could have dragged us to the service. but there was an unforgettable something in his face which compelled us, in spite of the intense heat, to leave ship by a shore-boat on sunday morning and inquire the way to the parish church. [illustration: kingston, jamaica, from the bay] shortly after we had dropped anchor in kingston harbour, early on saturday, we saw the rector of the english church being rowed through the crowd of fruit-boats, which were bobbing about us like so many brilliant birds; but it was with considerable difficulty that he was finally enabled to reach the ship, so strenuous were the black fruiterers to give their wares the best possible showing. they were well worth the showing, too, for such masses and varieties and colours were a marvel indeed, even in the tropics. the shaddocks were as big as melons, and the tangerines, measuring some fifteen inches in circumference, were dyed as deep a yellow as the colour sense could grasp, and piled in great, heaping baskets, were watched over by beflowered negresses, who sat motionless in the boats, except for their great rolling eyes. the oranges of mandeville, jamaica, were well known to us through the accounts of former travellers, but no description had ever brought a suggestion of the true radiance of the jamaican fruit as it shone forth that brilliant morning. after one look, the little girls ran down to the stateroom for the st. thomas basket, to fill it to the very handle-tip with luscious tangerines. and while they scampered off with the basket brimful, the lid pressed back by piles of tender, yellow beauties, a strange boat-load of new passengers blocked the way once more for the good priest, and he leaned patiently back in his boat, as if he knew that to protest would be of no avail. the newcomers were two enormous live sea-turtles which the fishermen hauled up the gangway by a stout cable. the turtles groaned and puffed and flapped, and the little girls wanted them turned on their legs just to see what would happen; it would be such fun to ride a-turtle-back. and wee one says, "why, mother! they are just like 'john the baptist,' our pet turtle at home, only lots and lots bigger. i wish they'd turn over." but the sailors had evidently handled turtles before, for they were left on their backs and were--after having been duly wondered at--dragged down the deck out of sight, to reappear again in stew and _fricassee_, not in steak as the jamaicans serve them. but sister laments. she and little blue ribbons wanted to see the turtles run. "mother, if they had only been right side up we could have helped turn them on their backs just like the 'foreign children' stevenson tells about,-- "'you have seen the scarlet trees and the lions over seas; you have eaten ostrich eggs, and turned the turtles off their legs.'" [illustration: rio cobre, near spanish town jamaica copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] meanwhile, as the way clears, the priest reaches the ship, and is soon lost among the crowd of passengers who are waiting for the first boat ashore. all of saturday, we wandered about the dusty, uninteresting streets of kingston, waiting for the great impression. but it didn't come. we were ready and willing to admire the beautiful, but it did not appear. kingston was even more unattractive than port of spain, trinidad; dirtier, hotter, and in every way dull and uninteresting. had it not been for the blue mountains, against which kingston leans, and the glorious old northeast trades which fan her wayworn features, and for the sea at her feet, we could not have forgiven her frowsy appearance. the whole place had a "has been" air, with unkempt streets, and low, square, dumpy-looking houses, facing each other like tired old tramps. ii. in order to form a just estimate of the englishman's work and methods in jamaica, one must leave kingston, and take to the roads outside, for example that one along the rio cobre which winds in and out among the mountains in a most enchanting course. this particular drive of eleven miles, called the "bog walk drive," leads to a little settlement called "bog walk." it is to be hoped that there was at one time some excuse for this name, but as bogs do not disappear in a day, it must have been in quite a distant past that the name had any real significance. we saw no suggestion of a bog walk, although actively on the alert for it. we had uncertain anticipations of having to scramble over wet and oozing turf, and one of us, without saying a word to any one else, tucked a pair of rubbers into a capacious basket. but the rubbers stayed right there, for there was no bog, nor any suggestion of one,--funny way these english have of naming things! and speaking of names,--well, there never was a place--except other english colonial towns--where the good old british custom of naming houses is more rampant than in kingston. had the houses of some pretension been so labelled, it might not have seemed so strange; but, no, every little cottage had a name painted somewhere on its gate-post, and very grandiloquent ones they were, i assure you. no two-penny affairs for them! there was "ivy lodge" and "myrtle villa" and "ferndale" and "oakmere" and "the hall," tacked on to the wobblety fence-posts of the merest shanties. and yet, in spite of their apparent incongruity, there was a sort of pitiful fitness in those names. it was a holding-on, in a crude way, to some half-forgotten ideal of the old english life. it might have been a memory of the far-away mother country, left as the only legacy to a creole generation; it might have been the last reaching for gentility; who can tell what "the hall" meant to the inmates of that shambling roof. but for the "bog walk" there was no reason apparent, and we did not waste a bit of sympathy on the supposititious man who first sank to his armpits in what may have been a bog. the bog walk road is wide enough for the passing of vehicles, and as solid as a rock. the english in the west indies--as elsewhere--have ever been great road-builders. now this bit of road--eleven miles long, as smooth as a floor, as firmly built as the ancient roads of rome--is part of a great system of roads which extends for hundreds of miles throughout the island, and these roads have been constructed with so much care that, in spite of the torrents of tropical rain which must at times flood them, they remain as firm and enduring as the mountains themselves, seemingly the only man-made device in the west indies which has been able to withstand the ravages of the tropical elements. jamaica is one hundred and forty-four miles long and fifty miles wide, and its entire area is a network of these wonderful roads. roads which would grace a roman empire, here wind through vast lonely forests and plantations of coffee and cacao, past towns whose ramshackle houses are giving the last gasps of dissolution. jamaica has evidently suffered under the affliction of road-making governors, whose single purpose has been to build roads though all else go untouched, and they have held to that ambition with bulldog pertinacity. no one can deny the wonder of the jamaican highway. but whither, and to what, does it lead? good roads are truly civilisers, and essential to the good of a country, but there must be a reason for their existence which is mightier than the way itself. had there been half as many forest roads in jamaica as there are now, and the money which has been buried in practically unused paths put into good schools and the encouragement of agriculture, jamaica might to-day show a very different face. the most casual observation tells us of vast, unreasoning waste of money on the beautiful island, and one cannot but pity the patient blacks who have suffered so much from the poor administration of their white brothers. [illustration: a native hut jamaica copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] it was our pleasure to drive some distance on these hard turnpikes, and in miles we met but one conveyance of any kind, and that was a rickety old box on wheels, carrying a family of coolies to spanish town. this place out-spanished any spanish town we had ever seen in filth and general dilapidation. it was simply a lot of rambling old shacks, huddled together under the long-suffering palms--dirty, forlorn, forsaken, never good for much when young, and beyond redemption in its puerile old age. down through these haunts of the half-naked blacks, there sweeps a road fit for a chariot and four. diamond necklaces are queenly prerogatives, and the proper setting for a royal feast; but, thrown about the neck of a starving child, they are, to say the least, out of place. nothing can be more entrancing, when perfect of its kind, than either diamonds or children, but they do not belong together. it may be, that, when the child is grown, circumstances will make the wearing of such a necklace a graceful adornment, but, until that time does come, the child's belongings should be those of simple necessity, all else being sacrificed to the normal growth of body and mind; let this be once well under way and adornments may follow. jamaica has given her children a diamond necklace, and, although magnificent and wonderful, it is out of place, and the worst of it is, the children have had to pay dearly for it. what jamaica would have been under wise and prudent management, and with a different racial problem, no one can say. she has certainly never been lacking in resources, nor has she lacked amenable--though not always desirable--subjects. but there is a hitch somewhere, and to find that hitch would take a long unravelling of a torn and broken skein, the kind of work few care to undertake; but it is the work which must be done if jamaica is ever to have a future. [illustration: the bog walk road, near spanish town jamaica] dusty and hot and still wondering where the "bog walk" would appear, we left the carriages for an inn which stood close to the road. it was somewhat--no, i should say much--above the average jamaican house, passably clean, just passably, and in a way rather inviting to the traveller who is glad enough to go anywhere, where he can be satisfied, if he is hungry and tired. but the house was not what i wanted to tell you about; it was the _grande dame_ within, who played the indifferent hostess. we did not see her as we ran up-stairs to the upper balcony; it was well after we had sipped our rum and lemonade--for we did sip it; we not only sipped it, but we drank it, and it was fine, and we felt so comfortable that, when she--_la grande dame_--appeared, it never occurred to us to express our disappointment over the bog walk; we just agreed with her in everything she said, and felt beatific. i think we would have agreed with her even without the rum and lemonade, for she had an air about her that made one feel acquiescent. she was tall and angular. her features were as clean-cut as though chiselled in marble; she was clearly caucasian in type. her lips were thin, her nose was aquiline, and her mouth had a haughty, indifferent curve, suggesting a race of masters, not slaves. but her skin was like a smoke-browned pipe, and her hair was glossy, and waved in quick little curves in spite of the tightly drawn coil at the back of her stately neck. she was dressed in the fashion of long ago, with a full flounced skirt and a silk shawl. she sent her menials to wait upon us, although i noticed that, in spite of herself, she was taking an interest in the strangers. the madame went before, and we followed, through the ever-open door of the west indian home. the madame's skirts swept over the uneven threshold, over the bare, creaky floors, and her noiseless feet led the way into a past, rich in romance and disaster. the madame had little to say; she just glided on before us like a black memory. here on the bare, untidy floors were the madame's treasures; treasures she used daily, for the table was spread (the madame served dinner there just the hour before). here was a table of dominican mahogany with carved legs and oval top, and there on the sideboard was rare old plate, and quaintest pieces of dresden china and italian glass glistened as it once had done near the lips of its lordly master. the side-table of mahogany gave out a dull, rich lustre of venerable age, and there was a punch-bowl--silver, and much used--and curious candlesticks with glass shades. ah! the madame was rich. what a place, i thought, for a lover of the antique! in her bedroom hard-by, a massive four-poster reached to the ceiling, and off in a dark corner there was an old chest, richly ornamented with brass. in every room there were chairs and davenports in quaintest fashion, all dull and worn and beautiful, while the billiard-room outside was well filled by a massive old-fashioned rosewood billiard-table whose woodwork, undermined by the extensive ravages of ants, was fast falling in pieces. "where has it come from?" we ask; and she replies, with a lofty air, that her grandfather brought all these over from england long, long ago. no doubt the madame would have sold any and all of it, and we caught ourselves wondering how we could get one of those old pieces home. it really seemed as if we ought to buy something, for the black madame, towering above us, certainly expected to make a sale. but we didn't buy; we just admired it all, and particularly the madame, and then we began again to try and think out the dreary tangle. there was just one thing the madame had which she would not sell, and that was the one thing we wanted most: the story of that grandfather. she was the _grande dame_; his history was sealed behind those unfathomable eyes. she admitted only the patrician in her blood, not the savage. the grandfather had left his stamp upon that face, but there was that other stamp! alas, the englishman has sold his birthright in jamaica; he is selling it to-day, and what more hopeless future could rest over a people than does this day over the island of jamaica? iii. and now we are back in kingston, the city. "how would it be for us to leave daddy here--he wants to be measured at the military tailor's for some khaki suits--and run off down the street on the shady side, to what seems to be a 'woman's exchange?'" the little girls, always ready for a new expedition, take the lead, and for once we found a sign which was not misleading. it proved to be a veritable woman's exchange, filled with no end of curious specimens of native workmanship which had been brought there for sale. among the natural curios--to us the most wonderful--was a branch of what is known as the lacebark-tree. the botanist will have to tell you its real unpronounceable name. for us "lacebark" answers very well, because we don't know the other, and have no way of finding it out just now. who ever thought of carrying an encyclopedia in a steamer-trunk? i am sadly conscious that we even forgot the pocket-dictionary. please forgive us this time! but it was the tree that interested us, not its name. its fibrous inner bark (much like the bark of our northern moosewood) is made of endless layers of lacelike network, which can be opened and stretched a great width, even in the bark of a bit of wood an inch and a half in diameter. these layers of lace are separated and opened into flowerlike cups, with rim upon rim of lacy edge, all coming from the one solid stick of wood, or carefully unrolled into filmy sheets of net-like tissue. the native whips are made by taking long branches of this tree, scraping off the brittle outer bark, opening the inner fibrous bark, and braiding the ends into a tapering lash as long as one wishes. hats are trimmed with scarfs of this dainty woodland lace, and even dresses are said to be made from this cloth of the forest, which rivals in loveliness the fairest weaving of penelope. the gracious woman in charge told us that, while the exchange was self-supporting, it owed its existence to the liberality of an american girl, who had many years ago married an english nobleman. and it made me glad to think that our glorious american women had, with all their foolish love for titles, a generous hand for woman the world over, and that, wherever they wandered, their ways could be followed by the light of their liberality. in a way, the exchange--founded by an american woman--made us forgive much in kingston; so, when we took the street up to the myrtle bank hotel, expecting from its name to find a sweet, delicious caravansary, embowered in myrtle green and magnolia, and found the "myrtle bank" an arid sand beach, with a large, self-sufficient modern hotel built therein, we still forgave, because we said we would for the sake of that dear american girl who couldn't quite forget. and then, too, the doctor met us straight in the doorway; not the newly made philadelphia doctor. no, not that one; it was the other one, the northeast trade, the million-year-old west indian doctor. do you suppose he is as old as that? yes, even older. but, for all that, he's as faithful to his trust as though but yesterday he had slipped from out the wrangling of chaos. so we kiss the doctor, and run up after him into the big, spacious parlour of the myrtle bank hotel, drop down into a delightful rocker, and think it all over. here we are in kingston, owned by the english, governed by the english, bullyragged by the english,--but where is he, the englishman, where the englishwoman? to be sure, we found some white faces in the shops, and we remembered seeing a few fair-haired, sallow little girls. and we saw on the street, just as we left the exchange, an englishman with a golf-bag on his shoulder; but these were the landmarks only--the exception. the people we saw were of all shades of a negro admixture, and some very black ones at that. but the myrtle bank hotel was not the place for such reflections. at least, so the good doctor seemed to think, for he had no sooner brought us under the magic of his presence, than we were carried into the most affable state of contentment with all things visible, and it was not until the next morning that the question fully dawned upon us in its true significance. iv. [illustration: where we landed kingston, jamaica copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] i suppose we might have walked from the boat-landing to the parish church embowered in its palms a few blocks away, but even that short distance was exaggerated by the early hot glare of the sun. the northeast trade was taking his morning nap, and the air was utterly motionless. so daddy hails a cab, and we rumble off in the direction of some ringing bells. the town, as we drove along, had the dead look of an english sunday morning; there were few people visible, and those we saw were evidently following the bells, as we were. back of our desire to go where the face of the priest was leading us, there was a hope that, in attending an english church, presided over by a white, english priest, we should there see the representative people of kingston, the white owners of the island. this church was one of the few beautiful sights in kingston. truly, some good priest of the olden time must have planned with lingering touch the graceful garden which so lovingly enshrined the venerable spot. an avenue of palms, singing their silvery song all the long day, skirted on either side the wide stone walk to the entrance, and bent their long, waving arms very close to our heads as we stepped within the doorway. the church, as an ancient tablet indicated, was built in the latter part of the seventeenth century. it followed the sweet lines of the english cathedral, built from time to time, as one could readily observe from the varying indications of age in the structure itself. we were early for the service, for the second bell had not rung. the priest met us at the door. he was a man of ripe years, with close-cut whitening hair, and a face that one would always remember. it was framed in strength and moulded by the love of god. there was in it that indefinable beauty which comes from a sacrificial life, from a life breathed upon by the spirit of holiness and quiet. there were no lines of unrest there; the poise of divine equilibrium was his living benediction, and we followed him down the stone aisle, over the memorial slabs of the departed great buried beneath, to a seat just the other side of a massive white pillar, midway between open windows on one side and an open door on the other, where the grateful breeze, now faintly rustling the palms without, swept in upon us in delicious waves. we were placed quite well in front of the transept, and as we waited there in the quiet old building, i began to make a mental estimate of just where the different classes of jamaican society would find themselves. here, where we were, would be the whites, and back beyond the transept, the negroes, and in the choir, of course, the fair-haired english boys. then the old bell began to ring again, and a few of our fellow voyagers came in and took seats in front of us,--notably mr. and mrs. f----, who had been the guests of the priest the day before. the church was filling. the owners of the seat in which the priest had placed us arrived, and we were requested by a silent language, which speaks more forcibly than words, to move along and make room. in the meantime, the pew was also filled from the other side, and in the same dumb language we were requested to move back the other way. thus we were wedged in closely between the two respective owners of the seat. and they were not white owners,--they were black, brown, yellow--but not white. the church filled rapidly. it filled to the uttermost. mr. and mrs. f----, in front of us, were obliged to separate, for, when the owners of their seat arrived, they simply stood there until mr. f---- was forced to leave his wife and crowd in somewhere else. the pew-owners were the rightful possessors, and the white man or the stranger apparently of little consequence. there was every conceivable shade of the african mixture. the choir was made up partially of black negresses, partially of yellow girls, with men of all hues besides, and the whole congregation in this church of england was similarly mixed, with the black blood strongly predominant. i saw, outside of our party, only one englishwoman and one englishman, and a few about whom i was doubtful, and those were all. the blacks were very far from being the true type of african. in some cases, there would be the negro face in all its characteristics, with one exception, and that would be the oblique eyes of the chinese. there were japanese negroes, and chinese negroes, and english and french negroes. it was a horrible mixture of negro with every other people found in the island, with the negro in the ascendant. i saw no marks of deference paid to the white strangers; they were placed in the same position in which a negro would find himself in a mississippi gathering of white people. if you have ever witnessed the enthusiasm with which the negro is welcomed in such places, you can understand our position that day in jamaica. we had been told of the contempt in which the white man is held in haïti, and, not having experienced it, were disinclined to believe such an abnormal state of things. but, here in jamaica, without ever having been informed of the state of society, we felt it as plainly as if it had been emblazoned on the sign-boards. we were not welcome and we felt it. we were out of our element. [illustration: el morro, entrance to harbour santiago de cuba copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] the people were all well clothed,--many in elegance. the most of them in white and black; court mourning for the queen. and then the grand old service began,--that wonderful world-encircling service of our old english mother church--always the same and always sufficient--and it was all so strange,--the feeling i had about that word "we." there was a slow dawning in my soul that never before had the word "humanity" meant anything but a white humanity to me--a universal love for black, yellow, chocolate, brown, saffron humanity had never come fully into my consciousness. and, while i sat there in that vast, black assemblage, the long, terrible past of jamaica arose before me, and, too, the doubtful future loomed up in gloomy outlines, and i wondered what would be the outcome of it all. where would the englishman be in another century in jamaica? would jamaica revert back to the haïtien type, or is some hand coming to uphold the island? it is far from my intention to touch upon the political situation in jamaica,--especially as i don't know anything about it. i can only tell you what i saw, and you can draw your own conclusions. all i can say is, where is the white man in jamaica? what is his position, and what has brought him into his present deplorable condition? has the white blood after all so little potency? one needs but to glance at james anthony froude's masterful book, "the english in the west indies," in order to see the why and wherefore of it all. his words have greater force to-day than even at the time of his writing, for the course of events has more than justified his predictions. our opinions of the situation were wholly unbiased, for we did not read froude's account until long after, so that our sensations, our surprises, at the jamaican english church service, were wholly original. [illustration: the plaza cienfuegos, cuba] the service proceeded through the prayers--our prayers--and then came the sermon. i shall never forget the text. it was taken from that masterpiece of biblical literature, the thirteenth chapter of first corinthians: "though i speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, i am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." the priest had been there for over thirty years, and he began: "beloved in the lord, my children!" and we, white and black, were all his children. we were in a strangely reversed situation, for even the good priest had the tawny hue of africa faintly shining in his fine face. no mention of colour distinction was made: but which of us was to have the charity? did it not seem that he pleaded for the white man--that the stronger black should have more charity? or was it for us as well? and it seemed to me i realised for the first time the position of our well-bred southerner; and everything was jumbled and queer in my mind as the priest spoke. and his beautiful strong face shone over the people, and his voice quivered with a deep love, touching the raiment of one who said, "come unto me all ye"--all--all--all! the white arches echoed back the pleadings, the commands, the love, while in quiet eloquence he told of one who set his face steadfastly toward jerusalem. the church emptied itself, and we were left with the priest, and the old sunken tombs, and the sleeping organ, and the white light streaming through the windows. and we wondered if we had yet learned what the master meant when he said: "come unto me all ye--" [illustration: the grave of cervera's fleet west of santiago de cuba] chapter ix. "cuando salide la habana" "i sometimes think that never blows so red the rose as where some buried cæsar bled; that every hyacinth the garden wears dropt in her lap from some once lovely head." the dream days have come and gone. we have left historic santiago with its forts and battle-fields, and the beautiful harbour of busy commercial cienfuegos; we have skirted along the southern coast of cuba, pearl of the antilles, through the yucatan channel, into the gulf of mexico, and now we are come to havana, where countless voices call us in every direction both day and night. and yet it is not of santiago, the old _merrimac_ lying in midchannel, el caney, or san juan hill that i am writing to-day--no, nor of the wrecks of cervera's fleet strewn in rocking skeletons along the coast. no, those stories have long since been well told you--those tragic stories of battle and death, gone now into the past with the echoes of muffled drums and the shuffling feet of sick soldier boys, dragging themselves home when the day of vengeance was over. no, it is not of that i am writing, but of a day which i gave to you, o mothers of our glorious marines! and i take it now from out the memories of those sunny isles, a precious keepsake, that it may be yours for ever. you are known to me, yet i cannot speak your names. you are near to me, yet the continent divides us. your eyes speak to me, and yet, should we meet, you would pass unrecognised. a universal love, a universal memory has called you to me, and space cannot separate us. in this city of beauty, though alluring at every turn, there was one pilgrimage, come what may, i would not fail to make. the morro and cabañas might be slighted, but not that patch of green earth away over the hill where the boys of the _maine_ lie buried so near the waters that engulfed them. [illustration: wreck of the maine havana harbour, cuba copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] far from the city they rest, where none may trouble their deep slumbers. their only monument a bare worn path where thousands of those who loved your boys and honoured their memory have trodden down the grass about the lowly bed. it was a day as still as heaven, when in the city of the dead i silently took my way; and coming to their long home i knelt down in the moist coverlet of grass and folding my hands looked up into the infinite depth of the blue sky, which dropped its peaceful curtain so tenderly over them. i seemed to stand upon a sun-kissed summit, from which i might scan the whole earth. and it was from there, afar off, i felt the yearning of your tears. i reached down to the earth and gathered some humble little flowers which pitying had throbbed out their sweet souls over the blessed dead; and i held them lovingly in my hands, and then placed them within the leaves of a book, thinking that some day when we should meet i would give them to you. and now they wait for your coming, o mothers! i could give you naught more precious. yes, the days have come and gone as all days must, and we shall soon have left the isles of endless summer. but so long as life lasts, their radiance will enfold us, and when the day is done, we shall draw the curtain well content, knowing that no greater beauty can await us than this fair earth has brought. [illustration: cabaÑas, la punta, and harbour entrance havana, cuba copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] chapter x. a memory of martinique "la façon d'être du pays est si agréable, la température si bonne, et l'on y vit dans une liberté si honnête, que je n'aye pas vu un seul homme, ny une seule femme, qui en soient revenus, en qui je n'aye remarqué une grande passion d'y retourner."--le pÈre dutertre, _writing in _. a few insignificant little photographs are lying on the desk before me. some of them are blurred; some of them are out of focus. they have been for many months packed away among bundles of other photographs of a similar character, moved from their corner in the library amongst the books of travel, only to be occasionally dusted by the indifferent housemaid and packed away again out of sight. days come and days go, and things move on in uniform measure, and life glides silently away from us, and one day passes much as does the day before; and we plan and work and hope, and we build to-day upon the assurances of yesterday and to-morrow; and, although we know that there are times when love can be crushed out of a life, yet we base our hope upon the eternal fixedness of love; and, although constantly face to face with the mutability of all created things, we build upon the eternal stability of matter. we hope by reason of an undying faith in those we love; we build upon a belief in the immutability of the everlasting hills; and we go on building and hoping until, with some, there comes a day when the soul burns out, and the everlasting hills crumble to ashes, and loving and building is no more, and there is never loving or building again in the same way. * * * * * much as we touch the sacred belongings of the beloved dead, do i now bring forth from their lonely hiding-place the few photographs of st. pierre and the fascinating shores of martinique, which we took last winter, as we cruised through the windward islands. [illustration: st. pierre and mt. pelÉe before the eruption martinique courtesy of professor t. a. jaggar, of the geological department of harvard university] having but just read the terrible tidings from martinique that st. pierre has been utterly destroyed by volcanic eruption, and the fair island left an ash-heap, these one-time insignificant little pictures become at once inexpressibly dear to me; and i have been sitting here for a long, long time, looking first at one and then at another, with a tenderness born of sorrow and love. say what you may of the futility of a love which clings to places, it is nevertheless a passion so deeply rooted in some natures that neither life nor death seem able to cause its destruction. there is no reasoning with love; it is born to be, to exist, and why we love there is no finding out. strange, this wonderful loving which comes to you and me! not alone the love we lavish upon god's creatures; upon father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, and children, and the whole world of humankind; but upon all of god's handiwork: his trees, his flowers, his dear brown soil, his hills, his valleys, his broad, sweeping plains, his high, loftily crested peaks, his lonely byways, where shy birds and soft-footed beasts hold high carnival the livelong day. beloved as are all of god's creatures, there are for each one of us a few, a very few, souls without whom loving would seem to pass away. beautiful as is the great earth, there are chosen spots upon it for you and for me, to which our thoughts revert with an infinite tenderness; and were such sweet abiding-places suddenly to be blotted from the earth, it would seem to us as though beauty had died for ever. such a treasure-house was st. pierre to me. in the midst of islands, each rivalling the other in loveliness, martinique had a claim for homage which none other possessed. its charm was felt even far out to sea, as its lofty headlands, with terrible _pelée_ looking over, struck a bold pace for the lesser isles to follow. as we approached the still, deep harbour,--although the hour was late for landing,--we were so permeated by the puissant fascination of the place, that, against the protests of old wiseacres aboard, we nevertheless took the first available small boat, lured into the arms of st. pierre by her irresistible summons. and what was that summons? who can tell? [illustration: st. pierre and mt. pelÉe after the eruption martinique courtesy of professor t. a. jaggar, of the geological department of harvard university] the same hand beckoned us which has for generations been beckoning other children of men; other children who have gone there to live and die content; the same that beckoned old father dutertre hundreds of years ago. children's children have been born there, and have grown old and withered, and have gone the way of all the earth, and _la pelée_, the giantess, has slept for generations, and the children had quite forgotten that the day might come when she would awaken. _la pelée_ was slumbering, oh! so gently--so peacefully, that far-away night, when we first wondered at her beauty--and we, too, forgot! for did not her children say that she would never waken more? the soft, blue hills said, "come!" the lonely peaks, beyond, said, "come!" and the little city waved its pretty white hand to us with "come!" in every motion; and the sweet-voiced creole lads, who rowed us in, smiled, "come!" and what could we do? and then, when we entered the little city, it was so snug and clean, and it was all so different, so different. how can i explain it to you? there was, as it were, a homogeneousness about the people which was not apparent in the other islands. here was a people whose sires had sprung from the best blood of france, from a race of great men and women; here the question of colour had been more harmoniously worked out; and we felt at once that we were amongst those whose ancestors had learned, through the streaming blood of kings and princes, the principles of liberty, equality, and justice. the people said, "come!" and we answered, and long, long into the night we were following the summons. then it was that _la pelée_ was fair, and she lay so still, so still, that the children forgot--if they ever really knew--that very beautiful women can sometimes be very wicked--only "sometimes," for there are so many beautiful good women. but the children loved _la pelée_; she was beautiful, and she took her bath so gently, away amongst the clouds and mist of the morning. * * * * * as i look again in the unchanging photograph at the dark mountains and the tiny white city, cuddled down by the sea, with its quaint lighthouse and its old church, there rises a strange mist over my soul, and a blur comes into my eyes, and i feel myself pressing the cold bit of cardboard against my lips as i would the face of a beloved. [illustration: rue victor hugo before the eruption st. pierre, martinique courtesy of professor t. a. jaggar, of the geological department of harvard university] it comes to me that once again there has gone from my life for eternity that which can never return; just as the whole bright world can be changed into darkness by the passing out of a soul we love; and we know that, however much we long for its return, it can never come back; that from that hour we tread the way alone. the silent spirit takes up the light, falters a moment at the door, turning, smiles sweetly upon us, and is gone, and we are left in a dark room. oh! the love that we mortals lavish in this world of ours! there was about martinique a sweetness, a translucent loveliness, an unforgettableness which crept into the innermost fibre of my being. it even seemed to creep into my blood and pulsate through my body with every beat of my heart. i listen now to the memories of my soul, and hear again the sweet, soft voices of the creole girls and the quick, noiseless tread of the carriers of water, fruits, and cacao coming down from morne rouge, coming from the tender shadows which droop caressingly about the feet of slumbering _pelée_. and i can hear the cool trickle of the water from the half-hidden fountain in a cranny of the wall; and i hear the rush of the stream down from the mountainside, over stones as white as milk. and sweet, shy flowers hang over high walls and nod to me; and from green blinds in low, white mansions, i hear soft young voices, whispering and laughing. a youth passes, as the blind opens, and he laughs and goes to the other side of the street to beckon, and, oh! there it is again--the old story. and i go on and on, and i come to the _rivière roxelane_ where the women are spreading their clothes to dry on the great rocks, and the river tumbles along, and twists in and out with gentle murmurs, and the women are washing and laughing. [illustration: rue victor hugo after the eruption st. pierre, martinique courtesy of professor t. a. jaggar, of the geological department of harvard university] and i go on to the palms, higher up, and some one brings me wild strawberries from the cool mountains, and i sit down and pick them from the basket and eat to my heart's delight; and i rest on the bridge, so old, all covered with moss and flowers, and i look down into the valley, where the city lies, and beyond where it dabbles its feet into the blue sea. and the picture is framed in an oval of green, drooping trees, and whispering vines, and deep-scented flowers. * * * * * it must have come--_the end_--just as the good priest was saying mass down in the white church by the sea, and the creole girls had come from the mountains with their sticks of palm--for salad--and had sold their fruits in the market, and had gone with the fishermen to the good priest; and the white church was crowded to the doors,--for the priest was beloved, and the church had broad arms,--and the boys were chanting, when--my god! where should the children escape? the fiery mountain back of them and the deep sea before them and the air about them a sweeping furnace! "children! children!" i seem to hear the clear, ringing voice of the old priest. "i commit your souls to god. amen, amen." the beautiful _pelée_ burned out her wicked soul, the river roxelane ran dry, the dear, blue sky of morning was turned to hideous night, the white city fell in blazing ruins, and now the everlasting hills lift their scarred sides in grim desolation. the end. index andes mountains, the, , , . aragua river, venezuela, , . bank, the, caracas, - . blue mountains, the, jamaica, , . bolivar, . statue of, , . botanical gardens, the, martinique, , . botanical gardens, the, port of spain, - . ceiba-tree, the, . coffee-tree, the, . cabañas, havana, . caracas, venezuela, , , , , - , . bank, the, - . cathedral, the, , , - , , , - , . gran hotel de caracas, the, . gran hotel de venezuela, the, - , , . market, the, , . military band, the, - . municipal palace, the, - . plaza, the, , . society of caracas, the - . square of bolivar, the, , . caribbean sea, the, , , , , . castro, cipriano, - , , , , , , . cathedral, the, caracas, , , - , , , - , . ceiba-tree, the, . cervera, admiral, - . cienfuegos, cuba, . coffee-tree, the, . curaçao, island of, , , , , - . _see also willemstad._ el caney, cuba, . gran hotel de caracas, the, caracas, . gran hotel de venezuela, the, caracas, - , , . great venezuelan railway, the, - . gulf of mexico, the, . gulf of paria, the, , . havana, cuba, . cabañas, . morro, the, . jamaica, island of, , , - . blue mountains, the, , . kingston, , , , , - . mandeville, . natives, the, - . rio cobre, . spanish town, - . kingston, jamaica, , , , . parish church, the, - . la brea, trinidad, , - . la guayra, venezuela, , , - , , . lake of valencia, venezuela, , - . mandeville, jamaica, . margarita, island of, . market, the, caracas, - . martinique, island of, - . botanical gardens, , . mount pelée, , , - . rivière roxelane, , . st. pierre, , . military band, the, caracas, - . morro, the, havana, . mount pelée, martinique, , , - . municipal palace, the, caracas, - . natives, the, of curaçao, - , - ; of jamaica, - ; of trinidad, , . orinoco river, the, , . parish church, the, kingston, - . plaza, the, caracas, , . port of spain, trinidad, . botanical gardens, the, - . queen's park hotel, the, - . puerto cabello, venezuela, , , , , , , , , . queen's park hotel, port of spain, - . rio cobre, jamaica, . river tuy, the, venezuela, - . rivière roxelane, the, martinique, , . st. pierre, martinique, , . san juan hill, cuba, . santiago, cuba, . society of caracas, the, - . southern cross, the, - , , . spanish town, jamaica, - . square of bolivar, the, caracas, , . trinidad, island of, , , . natives, the, , . valencia, venezuela, , , , , . willemstad, curaçao, , - , . yucatan channel, the, . drake's great armada by captain walter biggs preparer's note this text was prepared from a edition, published by p. f. collier & son company, new york. introduction nearly five years elapsed between drake's return from his famous voyage and the despatch of the formidable armament commemorated in the following pages. during the last of these years the march of events had been remarkably rapid. gilbert, who had been empowered by elizabeth, in the year of frobisher's last expedition, to found colonies in america, had sailed for that purpose to newfoundland ( ), and had perished at sea on his way homeward. raleigh, who had succeeded to his half-brother's enterprises, had despatched his exploring expedition to 'virginia,' under amadas and barlow, in , and had followed it up in the next year ( ) by an actual colony. in april sir richard greenville sailed from plymouth, and at raleigh's expense established above a hundred colonists on the island of roanoak. drake's great armada left plymouth in september of the same year. it marked a turning-point in the relations between the english and spanish monarchs. elizabeth, knowing that the suppression of the insurrection in the netherlands would be followed by an attack upon england, was treating with the insurgents. philip deemed it prudent to lay an embargo on all her subjects, together with their ships and goods, that might be found in his dominions. elizabeth at once authorized general reprisals on the ships and goods of spaniards. a company of adventurers was quickly formed for taking advantage of this permission on a scale commensurate with the national resources. they equipped an armada of twenty-five vessels, manned by , men, and despatched it under the command of drake to plunder spanish america. frobisher was second in command. two-thirds of the booty were to belong to the adventurers; the remaining third was to be divided among the men employed in the expedition. drake's armament of was the greatest that had ever crossed the atlantic. after plundering some vessels at the vigo river, he sailed for the west indies by way of the canaries and cape verde islands, hoisted the english flag over santiago and burnt the town, crossed the atlantic in eighteen days, and arrived at dominica. at daybreak, on new year's day, , drake's soldiers landed in espanola, a few miles to the west of the capital, and before evening carlile and powell had entered the city, which the colonists only saved from destruction by the payment of a heavy ransom. drake's plan was to do exactly the same at carthagena and nombre de dios, and thence to strike across the isthmus and secure the treasure that lay waiting for transport at panama. drake held st. domingo for a month, and carthagena for six weeks. he was compelled to forego the further prosecution of his enterprise. a deadly fever, which had attacked the men during the sojourn at santiago, still continued its ravages. in existing circumstances, even had nombre de dios been successfully attacked, the march to panama was out of the question; and after consultation with the military commanders, drake resolved on sailing home at once by way of florida. he brought back with him all the colonists who had been left by sir richard greenville in 'virginia.' drake had offered either to furnish them with stores, and to leave them a ship, or to take them home. the former was accepted: but a furious storm which ensued caused them to change their minds. they recognized in it the hand of god, whose will it evidently was that they should no longer be sojourners in the american wilderness; and the first english settlement of 'virginia' was abandoned accordingly. ten years afterwards ( ) drake was again at the head of a similar expedition. the second command was given to his old associate hawkins, frobisher, his vice-admiral in , having recently died of the wound received at crozon. this time nombre de dios was taken and burnt, and soldiers set out under sir thomas baskerville to march to panama: but at the first of the three forts which the spaniards had by this time constructed, the march had to be abandoned. drake did not long survive this second failure of his favourite scheme. he was attacked by dysentery a fortnight afterwards, and in a month he died. when he felt the hand of death upon him, he rose, dressed himself, and endeavoured to make a farewell speech to those around him. exhausted by the effort, he was lifted to his berth, and within an hour breathed his last. hawkins had died off puerto rico six weeks previously. the following narrative is in the main the composition of walter biggs, who commanded a company of musketeers under carlile. biggs was one of the five hundred and odd men who succumbed to the fever. he died shortly after the fleet sailed from carthagena; and the narrative was completed by some comrade. the story of this expedition, which had inflicted such damaging blows on the spaniards in america, was eminently calculated to inspire courage among those who were resisting them in europe. cates, one of carlile's lieutenants, obtained the manuscript and prepared it for the press, accompanied by illustrative maps and plans. the publication was delayed by the spanish armada; but a copy found its way to holland, where it was translated into latin, and appeared at leyden, in a slightly abridged form, in . the original english narrative duly appeared in london in the next year. the document called the 'resolution of the land-captains' was inserted by hakluyt when he reprinted the narrative in . drake's great armada narrative mainly by captain walter biggs _a summary and true discourse of sir francis drake's west indian voyage, begun in the year . wherein were taken the cities of santiago, santo domingo, carthagena, and the town of st. augustine, in florida. published by master thomas cates._ this worthy knight, for the service of his prince and country, having prepared his whole fleet, and gotten them down to plymouth, in devonshire, to the number of five and twenty sail of ships and pinnaces, and having assembled of soldiers and mariners to the number of , in the whole, embarked them and himself at plymouth aforesaid, the th day of september, , being accompanied with these men of name and charge which hereafter follow: master christopher carlile, lieutenant-general, a man of long experience in the wars as well by sea as land, who had formerly carried high offices in both kinds in many fights, which he discharged always very happily, and with great good reputation; anthony powell, sergeant-major; captain matthew morgan, and captain john sampson, corporals of the field. these officers had commandment over the rest of the land-captains, whose names hereafter follow: captain anthony platt, captain edward winter, captain john goring, captain robert pew, captain george barton, captain john merchant, captain william cecil, captain walter biggs [the writer of the first part of the narrative.], captain john hannam, captain richard stanton. captain martin frobisher, vice-admiral, a man of great experience in seafaring actions, who had carried the chief charge of many ships himself, in sundry voyages before, being now shipped in the primrose; captain francis knolles, rear-admiral in the galleon leicester; master thomas venner, captain in the elizabeth bonadventure, under the general; master edward winter, captain in the aid; master christopher carlile, the lieutenant-general, captain of the tiger; henry white, captain of the sea-dragon; thomas drake [francis drake's brother.], captain of the thomas; thomas seeley, captain of the minion; baily, captain of the talbot; robert cross, captain of the bark bond; george fortescue, captain of the bark bonner; edward careless, captain of the hope; james erizo, captain of the white lion; thomas moon, captain of the francis; john rivers, captain of the vantage; john vaughan, captain of the drake; john varney, captain of the george; john martin, captain of the benjamin; edward gilman, captain of the scout; richard hawkins, captain of the galliot called the duck; bitfield, captain of the swallow. after our going hence, which was the th of september, in the year of our lord , and taking our course towards spain, we had the wind for a few days somewhat scant, and sometimes calm. and being arrived near that part of spain which is called the moors [muros, s. of cape finisterre.], we happened to espy divers sails, which kept their course close by the shore, the weather being fair and calm. the general caused the vice-admiral to go with the pinnaces well manned to see what they were; who upon sight of the said pinnaces approaching near unto them, abandoned for the most part all their ships, being frenchmen, laden all with salt, and bound homewards into france. amongst which ships, being all of small burthen, there was one so well liked, which also had no man in her, as being brought unto the general, he thought good to make stay of her for the service, meaning to pay for her, as also accordingly he performed at our return; which bark was called the drake. the rest of these ships, being eight or nine, were dismissed without anything at all taken from them. who being afterwards put somewhat farther off from the shore, by the contrariety of the wind, we happened to meet with some other french ships, full laden with newland fish, being upon their return homeward from the said newfoundland; whom the general after some speech had with them, and seeing plainly that they were frenchmen, dismissed, without once suffering any man to go aboard of them. the day following, standing in with the shore again, we decried another tall ship of twelve score tons or thereabouts, upon whom master carlile, the lieutenant-general, being in the tiger, undertook the chase; whom also anon after the admiral followed. and the tiger having caused the said strange ship to strike her sails, kept her there without suffering anybody to go aboard until the admiral was come up; who forthwith sending for the master, and divers others of their principal men, and causing them to be severally examined, found the ship and goods to be belonging to the inhabitants of st. sebastian, in spain, but the mariners to be for the most part belonging to st. john de luz, and the passage. in this ship was great store of dry newland fish, commonly called with us poor john; whereof afterwards, being thus found a lawful prize, there was distribution made into all the ships of the fleet, the same being so new and good, as it did very greatly bestead us in the whole course of our voyage. a day or two after the taking of this ship we put in within the isles of bayon [the cies islets, at the mouth of the vigo river.], for lack of favourable wind. where we had no sooner anchored some part of the fleet, but the general commanded all the pinnaces with the shipboats to be manned, and every man to be furnished with such arms as were needful for that present service; which being done, the general put himself into his galley, which was also well furnished, and rowing towards the city of bayon, with intent, and the favour of the almighty, to surprise it. before we had advanced one half-league of our way there came a messenger, being an english merchant, from the governor, to see what strange fleet we were; who came to our general, conferred a while with him, and after a small time spent, our general called for captain sampson, and willed him to go to the governor of the city, to resolve him of two points. the first to know if there were any wars between spain and england; the second, why our merchants with their goods were embarged or arrested? thus departed captain sampson with the said messenger to the city, where he found the governor and people much amazed of such a sudden accident. the general, with the advice and counsel of master carlile, his lieutenant-general, who was in the galley with him, thought not good to make any stand, till such time as they were within the shot of the city, where they might be ready upon the return of captain sampson, to make a sudden attempt, if cause did require, before it were dark. captain sampson returned with his message in this sort:--first, touching peace or wars, the governor said he knew of no wars and that it lay not in him to make any, he being so mean a subject as he was. and as for the stay of the merchants with their goods, it was the king's pleasure, but not with intent to endamage any man. and that the king's counter-commandment was (which had been received in that place some seven-night before) that english merchants with their goods should be discharged. for the more verifying whereof, he sent such merchants as were in the town of our nation, who trafficked those parts; which being at large declared to our general by them, counsel was taken what might best be done. and for that the night approached, it was thought needful to land our forces, which was done in the shutting up of the day; and having quartered ourselves to our most advantage, with sufficient guard upon every strait, we thought to rest ourselves for that night there. the governor sent us some refreshing, as bread, wine, oil, apples, grapes, marmalade and such like. about midnight the weather began to overcast, insomuch that it was thought meeter to repair aboard, than to make any longer abode on land. and before we could recover the fleet a great tempest arose, which caused many of our ships to drive from their anchorhold, and some were forced to sea in great peril, as the bark talbot, the bark hawkins, and the speedwell; which speedwell only was driven into england, the others recovered us again. the extremity of the storm lasted three days; which no sooner began to assuage, but master carlile, our lieutenant-general, was sent with his own ship and three others, as also with the galley and with divers pinnaces, to see what he might do above vigo, where he took many boats and some carvels, diversely laden with things of small value, but chiefly with household stuff, running into the high country. and amongst the rest he found one boat laden with the principal church stuff of the high church of vigo, where also was their great cross of silver, of very fair embossed work and double-gilt all over, having cost them a great mass of money. they complained to have lost in all kinds of goods above thirty thousand ducats in this place. the next day the general with his whole fleet went from up the isles of bayon to a very good harbour above vigo, where master carlile stayed his coming, as well for the more quiet riding of his ships, as also for the good commodity of fresh watering which the place there did afford full well. in the meantime the governor of galicia had reared such forces as he might (his numbers by estimate were some foot and horse), and marched from bayona to this part of the country, which lay in sight of our fleet; where, making a stand, he sent to parley with our general. which was granted by our general, so it might be in boats upon the water; and for safety of their persons there were pledges delivered on both sides. which done, the governor of galicia put himself with two others into our vice-admiral's skiff, the same having been sent to the shore for him, and in like sort our general went in his own skiff. where by them it was agreed we should furnish ourselves with fresh water, to be taken by our own people quietly on the land, and have all other such necessaries, paying for the same, as the place would afford. when all our business was ended we departed, and took our way by the islands of canaria, which are esteemed some leagues from this part of spain; and falling purposely with palma, with intention to have taken our pleasure of that place, for the full digesting of many things into order, and the better furnishing our store with such several good things as it affordeth very abundantly, we were forced by the vile sea-gate, which at that present fell out, and by the naughtiness of the landing-place, being but one, and that under the favour of many platforms well furnished with great ordnance, to depart with the receipt of many of their cannon-shot, some into our ships and some besides, some of them being in very deed full cannon high. but the only or chief mischief was the dangerous sea-surge, which at shore all alongst plainly threatened the overthrow of as many pinnaces and boats as for that time should have attempted any landing at all. now seeing the expectation of this attempt frustrated by the causes aforesaid, we thought it meeter to fall with the isle ferro, to see if we could find any better fortune; and coming to the island we landed a thousand men in a valley under a high mountain, where we stayed some two or three hours. in which time the inhabitants, accompanied with a young fellow born in england, who dwelt there with them, came unto us, shewing their state to be so poor that they were all ready to starve, which was not untrue; and therefore without anything gotten, we were all commanded presently to embark, so as that night we put off to sea south-south-east along towards the coast of barbary. upon saturday in the morning, being the th of november, we fell with cape blank, which is a low land and shallow water, where we catched store of fish; and doubling the cape, we put into the bay, where we found certain french ships of war, whom we entertained with great courtesy, and there left them. this afternoon the whole fleet assembled, which was a little scattered about their fishing, and put from thence to the isles of cape verde, sailing till the th of the same month in the morning; on which day we descried the island of santiago. and in the evening we anchored the fleet between the town called the playa or praya and santiago; where we put on shore men or more, under the leading of master christopher carlile, lieutenant-general, who directed the service most like a wise commander. the place where we had first to march did afford no good order, for the ground was mountainous and full of dales, being a very stony and troublesome passage; but such was his industrious disposition, as he would never leave, until we had gotten up to a fair plain, where we made stand for the assembling of the army. and when we were all gathered together upon the plain, some two miles from the town, the lieutenant-general thought good not to make attempt till daylight, because there was not one that could serve for guide or giving knowledge at all of the place. and therefore after having well rested, even half an hour before day, he commanded the army to be divided into three special parts, such as he appointed, whereas before we had marched by several companies, being thereunto forced by the badness of the way as is aforesaid. now by the time we were thus ranged into a very brave order, daylight began to appear. and being advanced hard to the wall, we saw no enemy to resist. whereupon the lieutenant-general appointed captain sampson with thirty shot, and captain barton with other thirty, to go down into the town, which stood in the valley under us, and might very plainly be viewed all over from that place where the whole army was now arrived; and presently after these captains was sent the great ensign, which had nothing in it but the plain english cross, to be placed towards the sea, that our fleet might see st. george's cross flourish in the enemy's fortress. order was given that all the ordnance throughout the town and upon all the platforms, which were about fifty pieces all ready charged, should be shot off in honour of the queen's majesty's coronation day, being the th of november, after the yearly custom of england, which was so answered again by the ordnance out of all the ships in the fleet, which now come near, as it was strange to hear such a thundering noise last so long together. in this mean while the lieutenant-general held still the most part of his force on the hilltop, till such time as the town was quartered out for the lodging of the whole army. which being done, every captain took his own quarter; and in the evening was placed such a sufficient guard upon every part of the town that we had no cause to fear any present enemy. thus we continued in the city the space of fourteen days, taking such spoils as the place yielded, which were, for the most part, wine, oil, meal, and some other such like things for victual as vinegar, olives, and some other trash, as merchandise for their indian trades. but there was not found any treasure at all, or anything else of worth besides. the situation of santiago is somewhat strange; in form like a triangle, having on the east and west sides two mountains of rock and cliff, as it were hanging over it; upon the top of which two mountains were builded certain fortifications to preserve the town from any harm that might be offered, as in a plot is plainly shewed. from thence on the south side of the town is the main sea; and on the north side, the valley lying between the aforesaid mountains, wherein the town standeth. the said valley and town both do grow very narrow; insomuch that the space between the two cliffs of this end of the town is estimated not to be above ten or twelve score [yards] over. in the midst of the valley cometh down a riveret, rill, or brook of fresh water, which hard by the seaside maketh a pond or pool, whereout our ships were watered with very great ease and pleasure. somewhat above the town on the north side, between the two mountains, the valley waxeth somewhat larger than at the town's end; which valley is wholly converted into gardens and orchards, well replenished with divers sorts of fruits, herbs, and trees, as lemons, oranges, sugar-canes, _cocars_ or cocos nuts, plantains, potato-roots, cucumbers, small and round onions, garlic, and some other things not now remembered. amongst which the cocos nuts and plantains are very pleasant fruits; the said cocos hath a hard shell and a green husk over it as hath our walnut, but it far exceedeth in greatness, for this cocos in his green husk is bigger than any man's two fists. of the hard shell many drinking cups are made here in england, and set in silver as i have often seen. next within this hard shell is a white rind resembling in show very much, even as any thing may do, to the white of an egg when it is hard boiled. and within this white of the nut lieth a water, which is whitish and very clear, to the quantity of half a pint or thereabouts; which water and white rind before spoken of are both of a very cool fresh taste, and as pleasing as anything may be. i have heard some hold opinion that it is very restorative. the plantain groweth in cods, somewhat like to beans, but is bigger and longer, and much more thick together on the stalk; and when it waxeth ripe, the meat which filleth the rind of the cod becometh yellow, and is exceeding sweet and pleasant. in this time of our being there happened to come a portugal to the western fort, with a flag of truce. to whom captain sampson was sent with captain goring; who coming to the said messenger, he first asked them, what nation they were? they answered englishmen. he then required to know if wars were between england and spain; to which they answered, that they knew not, but if he would go to their general he could best resolve him of such particulars. and for his assurance of passage and repassage these captains made offer to engage their credits, which he refused for that he was not sent from his governor. then they told him if his governor did desire to take a course for the common benefit of the people and country his best way were to come and present himself unto our noble and merciful governor, sir francis drake, whereby he might be assured to find favour, both for himself and the inhabitants. otherwise within three days we should march over the land, and consume with fire all inhabited places, and put to the sword all such living souls as we should chance upon. so thus much he took for the conclusion of his answer. and departing, he promised to return the next day; but we never heard more of him. upon the th of november, the general, accompanied with the lieutenant-general and men, marched forth to a village twelve miles within the land, called saint domingo, where the governor and the bishop, with all the better sort, were lodged; and by eight of the clock we came to it, finding the place abandoned, and the people fled into the mountains. so we made stand a while to ease ourselves, and partly to see if any would come to speak to us. after we had well rested ourselves, the general commanded the troops to march away homewards. in which retreat the enemy shewed themselves, both horse and foot, though not such force as durst encounter us; and so in passing some time at the gaze with them, it waxed late and towards night before we could recover home to santiago. on monday, the th of november, the general commanded all the pinnaces with the boats to use all diligence to embark the army into such ships as every man belonged. the lieutenant-general in like sort commanded captain goring and lieutenant tucker, with one hundred shot, to make a stand in the marketplace until our forces were wholly embarked; the vice-admiral making stay with his pinnace and certain boats in the harbour, to bring the said last company abroad the ships. also the general willed forthwith the galley with two pinnaces to take into them the company of captain barton, and the company of captain biggs, under the leading of captain sampson, to seek out such munition as was hidden in the ground, at the town of praya, or playa, having been promised to be shewed it by a prisoner which was taken the day before. the captains aforesaid coming to the playa, landed their men; and having placed the troop in their best strength, captain sampson took the prisoner, and willed him to show that he had promised. the which he could not, or at least would not; but they searching all suspected places, found two pieces of ordnance, one of iron, another of brass. in the afternoon the general anchored with the rest of the fleet before the playa, coming himself ashore, willing us to burn the town and make all haste aboard; the which was done by six of the clock the same day, and ourselves embarked again the same night. and so we put off to sea south-west. but before our departure from the town of santiago, we established orders for the better government of the army. every man mustered to his captain, and oaths were ministered, to acknowledge her majesty supreme governor, as also every man to do his utter-most endeavour to advance the service of the action, and to yield due obedience unto the directions of the general and his officers. by this provident counsel, and laying down this good foundation beforehand, all things went forward in a due course, to the achieving of our happy enterprise. in all the time of our being here, neither the governor for the said king of spain, which is a portugal, neither the bishop, whose authority is great, neither the inhabitants of the town, or island, ever came at us; which we expected they should have done, to entreat us to leave them some part of their needful provisions, or at the least to spare the ruining of their town at our going away. the cause of this their unreasonable distrust, as i do take it, was the fresh remembrance of the great wrongs that they had done to old master william hawkins, of plymouth, in the voyage he made four or five years before, whenas they did both break their promise, and murdered many of his men; whereof i judge you have understood, and therefore it is needless to be repeated. but since they came not at us, we left written in sundry places, as also in the spital house (which building was only appointed to be spared), the great discontentment and scorn we took at this their refraining to come unto us, as also at the rude manner of killing, and savage kind of handling the dead body of one of our boys found by them straggling all alone, from whom they had taken his head and heart, and had straggled the other bowels about the place, in a most brutish and beastly manner. in revenge whereof at our departing we consumed with fire all the houses, as well in the country which we saw, as in the town of santiago. from hence putting off to the west indies, we were not many days at sea but there began among our people such mortality as in a few days there were dead above two or three hundred men. and until some seven or eight days after our coming from santiago, there had not died any one man of sickness in all the fleet. the sickness showed not his infection, wherewith so many were strucken, until we were departed thence; and then seized our people with extreme hot burning and continual agues, whereof very few escaped with life, and yet those for the most part not without great alteration and decay of their wits and strength for a long time after. in some that died were plainly shown the small spots which are often found upon those that be infected with the plague. we were not above eighteen days in passage between the sight of santiago aforesaid, and the island of dominica, being the first island of the west indies that we fell withal; the same being inhabited with savage people, which go all naked, their skin coloured with some painting of a reddish tawny, very personable and handsome strong men, who do admit little conversation with the spaniards; for, as some of our people might understand them, they had a spaniard or twain prisoners with them. neither do i think that there is any safety for any of our nation, or any other, to be within the limits of their commandment; albeit they used us very kindly for those few hours of time which we spent with them, helping our folks to fill and carry on their bare shoulders fresh water from the river to our ships' boats, and fetching from their houses great store of tobacco, as also a kind of bread which they fed on, called cassavi, very white and savoury, made of the roots of cassavi. in recompense whereof we bestowed liberal rewards of glass, coloured beads, and other things, which we had found at santiago; wherewith, as it seemed, they rested very greatly satisfied, and shewed some sorrowful countenance when they perceived that we would depart. from hence we went to another island westward of it, called saint christopher's island; wherein we spent some days of christmas, to refresh our sick people, and to cleanse and air our ships. in which island were not any people at all that we could hear of. in which time by the general it was advised and resolved, with the consent of the lieutenant-general, the vice-admiral, and all the rest of the captains, to proceed to the great island of hispaniola, as well for that we knew ourselves then to be in our best strength, as also the rather allured thereunto by the glorious fame of the city of st. domingo, being the ancientest and chief inhabited place in all the tract of country thereabouts. and so proceeding in this determination, by the way we met a small frigate, bound for the same place, the which the vice-admiral took; and having duly examined the men that were in her, there was one found by whom we were advertised the haven to be a barred haven, and the shore or land thereof to be well fortified, having a castle thereupon furnished with great store of artillery, without the danger whereof was no convenient landing-place within ten english miles of the city, to which the said pilot took upon him to conduct us. all things being thus considered on, the whole forces were commanded in the evening to embark themselves in pinnaces, boats, and other small barks appointed for this service. our soldiers being thus embarked, the general put himself into the bark francis as admiral; and all this night we lay on the sea, bearing small sail until our arrival to the landing-place, which was about the breaking of the day. and so we landed, being new year's day, nine or ten miles to the westwards of that brave city of st. domingo; for at that time nor yet is known to us any landing-place, where the sea-surge doth not threaten to overset a pinnace or boat. our general having seen us all landed in safety, returned to his fleet, bequeathing us to god, and the good conduct of master carlile, our lieutenant-general; at which time, being about eight of the clock, we began to march. and about noon-time, or towards one of the clock, we approached the town; where the gentleman and those of the better sort, being some hundred and fifty brave horses, or rather more, began to present themselves. but our small shot played upon them, which were so sustained with good proportion of pikes in all parts, as they finding no part of our troop unprepared to receive them (for you must understand they viewed all round about) they were thus driven to give us leave to proceed towards the two gates of the town which were the next to the seaward. they had manned them both, and planted their ordnance for that present and sudden alarm without the gate, and also some troops of small shot in _ambuscado_ upon the highway side. we divided our whole force, being some thousand or twelve hundred men, into two parts, to enterprise both the gates at one instant; the lieutenant-general having openly vowed to captain powell, who led the troop that entered the other gate, that with god's good favour he would not rest until our meeting in the market-place. their ordnance had no sooner discharged upon our near approach, and made some execution amongst us, though not much, but the lieutenant-general began forthwith to advance both his voice of encouragement and pace of marching; the first man that was slain with the ordnance being very near unto himself; and thereupon hasted all that he might, to keep them from the recharging of the ordnance. and notwithstanding their _ambuscados_, we marched or rather ran so roundly into them, as pell-mell we entered the gates, and gave them more care every man to save himself by flight, than reason to stand any longer to their broken fight. we forthwith repaired to the market-place, but to be more truly understood, a place of very spacious square ground; whither also came, as had been agreed, captain powell with the other troop. which place with some part next unto it, we strengthened with _barricados_, and there as the most convenient place assured ourselves, the city being far too spacious for so small and weary a troop to undertake to guard. somewhat after midnight, they who had the guard of the castle, hearing us busy about the gates of the said castle, abandoned the same; some being taken prisoners, and some fleeing away by the help of boats to the other side of the haven, and so into the country. the next day we quartered a little more at large, but not into the half part of the town; and so making substantial trenches, and planting all the ordnance, that each part was correspondent to other, we held this town the space of one month. in the which time happened some accidents, more than are well remembered for the present. but amongst other things, it chanced that the general sent on his message to the spaniards a negro boy with a flag of white, signifying truce, as is the spanish ordinary manner to do there, when they approach to speak to us; which boy unhappily was first met withal by some of those who had been belonging as officers for the king in the spanish galley, which with the town was lately fallen into our hands. who, without all order or reason, and contrary to that good usage wherewith we had entertained their messengers, furiously struck the poor boy through the body with one of their horsemen's staves; with which wound the boy returned to the general, and after he had declared the manner of this wrongful cruelty, died forthwith in his presence. wherewith the general being greatly passioned, commanded the provost-marshal to cause a couple of friars, then prisoners, to be carried to the same place where the boy was strucken, accompanied with sufficient guard of our soldiers, and there presently to be hanged, despatching at the same instant another poor prisoner, with this reason wherefore this execution was done, and with this message further, that until the party who had thus murdered the general's messenger were delivered into our hands to receive condign punishment, there should no day pass wherein there should not two prisoners be hanged, until they were all consumed which were in our hands. whereupon the day following, he that had been captain of the king's galley brought the offender to the town's end, offering to deliver him into our hands. but it was thought to be a more honourable revenge to make them there, in our sight, to perform the execution themselves; which was done accordingly. during our being in this town, as formerly also at santiago there had passed justice upon the life of one of our own company for an odious matter, so here likewise was there an irishman hanged for the murdering of his corporal. in this time also passed many treaties between their commissioners and us, for ransom of their city; but upon disagreements we still spent the early mornings in firing the outmost houses; but they being built very magnificently of stone, with high lofts, gave us no small travail to ruin them. and albeit for divers days together we ordained each morning by daybreak, until the heat began at nine of the clock, that two hundred mariners did naught else but labour to fire and burn the said houses without our trenches, whilst the soldiers in a like proportion stood forth for their guard; yet did we not, or could not in this time consume so much as one-third part of the town, which town is plainly described and set forth in a certain map. and so in the end, what wearied with firing, and what hastened by some other respects, we were contended to accept of , ducats of five shillings six-pence the piece, for the ransom of the rest of the town. amongst other things which happened and were found at st. domingo, i may not omit to let the world know one very notable mark and token of the unsatiable ambition of the spanish king and his nation, which was found in the king's house, wherein the chief governor of that city and country is appointed always to lodge, which was this. in the coming to the hall or other rooms of this house, you must first ascend up by a fair large pair of stairs, at the head of which stairs is a handsome spacious place to walk in, somewhat like unto a gallery. wherein, upon one of the walls, right over against you as you enter the said place, so as your eye cannot escape the sight of it, there is described and painted in a very large scutcheon the arms of the king of spain; and in the lower part of the said scutcheon there is likewise described a globe, containing in it the whole circuit of the sea and the earth, whereupon is a horse standing on his hinder part within the globe, and the other forepart without the globe, lifted up as it were to leap, with a scroll painted in his mouth, wherein was written these words in latin, _non sufficit orbis_, which is as much to say as, _the world sufficeth not_. whereof the meaning was required to be known of some of those of the better sort that came in commission to treat upon the ransom of the town; who would shake their heads and turn aside their countenance, in some smiling sort, without answering anything, as greatly ashamed thereof. for by some of our company it was told them, that if the queen of england would resolutely prosecute the wars against the king of spain, he should be forced to lay aside that proud and unreasonable reaching vein of his; for he should find more than enough to do to keep that which he had already, as by the present example of their lost town they might for a beginning perceive well enough. now to the satisfying of some men, who marvel greatly that such a famous and goodly-builded city, so well inhabited of gallant people, very brave in their apparel (whereof our soldiers found good store for their relief), should afford no greater riches than was found there. herein it is to be understood that the indian people, which were the natives of this whole island of hispaniola (the same being near hand as great as england), were many years since clean consumed by the tyranny of the spaniards; which was the cause that, for lack of people to work in the mines, the gold and silver mines of this island are wholly given over. and thereby they are fain in this island to use copper money, whereof was found very great quantity. the chief trade of this place consisteth of sugar and ginger, which groweth in the island, and of hides of oxen and kine, which in this waste country of the island are bred in infinite numbers, the soil being very fertile. and the said beasts are fed up to a very large growth, and so killed for nothing so much as for their hides aforesaid. we found here great store of strong wine, sweet oil, vinegar, olives, and other such-like provisions, as excellent wheat-meal packed up in wine-pipes and other cask, and other commodities likewise, as woollen and linen cloth and some silks; all which provisions are brought out of spain, and served us for great relief. there was but a little plate or vessel of silver, in comparison of the great pride in other things of this town, because in these hot countries they use much of those earthen dishes finely painted or varnished, which they call _porcellana_, which is had out of the east india; and for their drinking they use glasses altogether, whereof they make excellent good and fair in the same place. but yet some plate we found, and many other good things, as their household garniture, very gallant and rich, which had cost them dear, although unto us they were of small importance. from st. domingo we put over to the main or firm land, and, going all along the coast, we came at last in sight of carthagena, standing upon the seaside, so near as some of our barks in passing alongst approached within the reach of their culverin shot, which they had planted upon certain platforms. the harbour-mouth lay some three miles toward the westward of the town, whereinto we entered at about three or four of the clock in the afternoon without any resistance of ordnance or other impeachment planted upon the same. in the evening we put ourselves on land towards the harbour-mouth, under the leading of master carlile, our lieutenant-general. who, after he had digested us to march forward about midnight, as easily as foot might fall, expressly commanded us to keep close by the sea-wash of the shore for our best and surest way; whereby we were like to go through, and not to miss any more of the way, which once we had lost within an hour after our first beginning to march, through the slender knowledge of him that took upon him to be our guide, whereby the night spent on, which otherwise must have been done by resting. but as we came within some two miles of the town, their horsemen, which were some hundred, met us, and, taking the alarm, retired to their townward again upon the first volley of our shot that was given them; for the place where we encountered being woody and bushy, even to the waterside, was unmeet for their service. at this instant we might hear some pieces of artillery discharged, with divers small shot, towards the harbour; which gave us to understand, according to the order set down in the evening before by our general, that the vice-admiral, accompanied with captain venner, captain white, and captain cross, with other sea captains, and with divers pinnaces and boats, should give some attempt unto the little fort standing on the entry of the inner haven, near adjoining to the town, though to small purpose, for that the place was strong, and the entry, very narrow, was chained over; so as there could be nothing gotten by the attempt more than the giving of them an alarm on that other side of the haven, being a mile and a-half from the place we now were at. in which attempt the vice-admiral had the rudder of his skiff strucken through with a saker shot, and a little or no harm received elsewhere. the troops being now in their march, half-a-mile behither the town or less, the ground we were on grew to be strait, and not above fifty paces over, having the main sea on the one side of it and the harbour-water or inner sea (as you may term it) on the other side, which in the plot is plainly shewed. this strait was fortified clean over with a stone wall and a ditch without it, the said wall being as orderly built, with flanking in every part, as can be set down. there was only so much of this strait unwalled as might serve for the issuing of the horsemen or the passing of carriage in time of need. but this unwalled part was not without a very good _barricado_ of wine-butts or pipes, filled with earth, full and thick as they might stand on end one by another, some part of them standing even within the main sea. this place of strength was furnished with six great pieces, demiculverins and sakers, which shot directly in front upon us as we approached. now without this wall, upon the inner side of the strait, they had brought likewise two great galleys with their prows to the shore, having planted in them eleven pieces of ordnance, which did beat all cross the strait, and flanked our coming on. in these two galleys were planted three or four hundred small shot, and on the land, in the guard only of this place, three hundred shot and pikes. they, in this their full readiness to receive us, spared not their shot both great and small. but our lieutenant-general, taking the advantage of the dark (the daylight as yet not broken out) approached by the lowest ground, according to the express direction which himself had formerly given, the same being the sea-wash shore, where the water was somewhat fallen, so as most of all their shot was in vain. our lieutenant-general commanded our shot to forbear shooting until we were come to the wall-side. and so with pikes roundly together we approached the place, where we soon found out the _barricados_ of pipes or butts to be the meetest place for our assault; which, notwithstanding it was well furnished with pikes and shots, was without staying attempted by us. down went the butts of earth, and pell-mell came our swords and pikes together, after our shot had first given their volley, even at the enemy's nose. our pikes were somewhat longer than theirs, and our bodies better armed; for very few of them were armed. with which advantage our swords and pikes grew too hard for them, and they driven to give place. in this furious entry the lieutenant-general slew with his own hands the chief ensign-bearer of the spaniards, who fought very manfully to his life's end. we followed into the town with them, and, giving them no leisure to breathe, we won the market-place, albeit they made head and fought awhile before we got it. and so we being once seized and assured of that, they were content to suffer us to lodge within their town, and themselves to go to their wives, whom they had carried into other places of the country before our coming thither. at every street's end they had raised very fine _barricados_ of earthworks, with trenches without them, as well made as ever we saw any work done; at the entering whereof was some little resistance, but soon overcome it was, with few slain or hurt. they had joined with them many indians, whom they had placed in corners of advantage, all bowmen, with their arrows most villainously empoisoned, so as if they did but break the skin, the party so touched died without great marvel. some they slew of our people with their arrows; some they likewise mischiefed to death with certain pricks of small sticks sharply pointed, of a foot and a-half long, the one end put into the ground, the other empoisoned, sticking fast up, right against our coming in the way as we should approach from our landing towards the town, whereof they had planted a wonderful number in the ordinary way; but our keeping the sea-wash shore missed the greatest part of them very happily. i overpass many particular matters, as the hurting of captain sampson at sword blows in the first entering, unto whom was committed the charge of the pikes of the vant-guard by his lot and turn; as also of the taking of alonzo bravo, the chief commander of that place, by captain goring, after the said captain had first hurt him with his sword; unto which captain was committed the charge of the shot of the said vant-guard. captain winter was likewise by his turn of the vant-guard in this attempt, where also the lieutenant-general marched himself; the said captain winter, through a great desire to serve by land, having now exchanged his charge at sea with captain cecil for his band of footmen. captain powell, the sergeant-major, had by his turn the charge of the four companies which made the battle. captain morgan, who at st. domingo was of the vant-guard, had now by turn his charge upon the companies of the rearward. every man, as well of one part as of another, came so willingly on to the service, as the enemy was not able to endure the fury of such hot assault. we stayed here six weeks, and the sickness with mortality before spoken of still continued among us, though not with the same fury as at the first; and such as were touched with the said sickness, escaping death, very few or almost none could recover their strength. yea, many of them were much decayed in their memory, insomuch that it was grown an ordinary judgment, when one was heard to speak foolishly, to say he had been sick of the _calentura_, which is the spanish name of their burning ague; for, as i told you before, it is a very burning and pestilent ague. the original cause thereof is imputed to the evening or first night air, which they term _la serena_; wherein they say and hold very firm opinion that whoso is then abroad in the open air shall certainly be infected to the death, not being of the indian or natural race of those country people. by holding their watch our men were thus subjected to the infectious air, which at santiago was most dangerous and deadly of all other places. with the inconvenience of continual mortality we were forced to give over our intended enterprise to go with nombre de dios, and so overland to panama, where we should have strucken the stroke for the treasure, and full recompense of our tedious travails. and thus at carthagena we took our first resolution to return homewards, the form of which resolution i thought good here to put down under the principal captains' hands as followeth:-- a resolution of the land-captains, what course they think most expedient to be taken. given at carthagena, the th of february, . whereas it hath pleased the general to demand the opinions of his captains what course they think most expedient to be now undertaken, the land-captains being assembled by themselves together, and having advised hereupon, do in three points deliver the same. the first, touching the keeping of the town against the force of the enemy, either that which is present, or that which may come out of spain, is answered thus:-- 'we hold opinion, that with this troop of men which we have presently with us in land service, being victualled and munitioned, we may well keep the town, albeit that of men able to answer present service we have not above . the residue, being some men, by reason of their hurts and sickness, are altogether unable to stand us in any stead: wherefore hereupon the sea-captains are likewise to give their resolution, how they will undertake the safety and service of the ships upon the arrival of any spanish fleet.' the second point we make to be this, whether it be meet to go presently homeward, or else to continue further trial of our fortune in undertaking such like enterprises as we have done already, and thereby to seek after that bountiful mass of treasure for recompense of our travails, which was generally expected at our coming forth of england: wherein we answer:-- 'that it is well known how both we and the soldiers are entered into this action as voluntary men, without any impress or gage from her majesty or anybody else. and forasmuch as we have hitherto discharged the parts of honest men, so that now by the great blessing and favour of our good god there have been taken three such notable towns, wherein by the estimation of all men would have been found some very great treasures, knowing that santiago was the chief city of all the islands and traffics thereabouts, st. domingo the chief city of hispaniola, and the head government not only of that island, but also of cuba, and of all the islands about it, as also of such inhabitations of the firm land, as were next unto it, and a place that is both magnificently built and entertaineth great trades of merchandise; and now lastly the city of carthagena, which cannot be denied to be one of the chief places of most especial importance to the spaniard of all the cities which be on this side of the west india: we do therefore consider, that since all these cities, with their goods and prisoners taken in them, and the ransoms of the said cities, being all put together, are found far short to satisfy that expectation which by the generality of the enterprisers was first conceived; and being further advised of the slenderness of our strength, whereunto we be now reduced, as well in respect of the small number of able bodies, as also not a little in regard of the slack disposition of the greater part of those which remain, very many of the better minds and men being either consumed by death or weakened by sickness and hurts; and lastly, since that as yet there is not laid down to our knowledge any such enterprise as may seem convenient to be undertaken with such few as we are presently able to make, and withal of such certain likelihood, as with god's good success which it may please him to bestow upon us, the same may promise to yield us any sufficient contentment: we do therefore conclude hereupon, that it is better to hold sure as we may the honour already gotten, and with the same to return towards our gracious sovereign and country, from whence, if it shall please her majesty to set us forth again with her orderly means and entertainment, we are most ready and willing to go through with anything that the uttermost of our strength and endeavour shall be able to reach unto. but therewithal we do advise and protest that it is far from our thoughts, either to refuse, or so much as to seem to be weary of anything which for the present shall be further required or directed to be done by us from our general.' the third and last point is concerning the ransom of this city of carthagena, for the which, before it was touched with any fire, there was made an offer of some , or , pounds sterling:-- 'thus much we utter herein as our opinions, agreeing, so it be done in good sort, to accept this offer aforesaid, rather than to break off by standing still upon our demands of , pounds; which seems a matter impossible to be performed for the present by them. and to say truth, we may now with much honour and reputation better be satisfied with that sum offered by them at the first, if they will now be contented to give it, than we might at that time with a great deal more; inasmuch as we have taken our full pleasure, both in the uttermost sacking and spoiling of all their household goods and merchandise, as also in that we have consumed and ruined a great part of their town with fire. and thus much further is considered herein by us; that as there be in the voyage a great many poor men, who have willingly adventured their lives and travails, and divers amongst them having spent their apparel and such other little provisions as their small means might have given them leave to prepare, which being done upon such good and allowable intention as this action hath always carried with it (meaning, against the spaniard, our greatest and most dangerous enemy), so surely we cannot but have an inward regard, so far as may lie in us, to help them in all good sort towards the satisfaction of this their expectation; and by procuring them some little benefit to encourage them, and to nourish this ready and willing disposition of theirs, both in them and in others by their example, against any other time of like occasion. but because it may be supposed that herein we forget not the private benefit of ourselves, and are thereby the rather moved to incline ourselves to this composition, we do therefore think good for the clearing ourselves of all such suspicion, to declare hereby, that what part or portion soever it be of this ransom or composition for carthagena which should come unto us, we do freely give and bestow the same wholly upon the poor men who have remained with us in the voyage (meaning as well the sailor as the soldier), wishing with all our hearts it were such or so much as might see a sufficient reward for their painful endeavour. and for the firm confirmation thereof, we have thought meet to subsign these presents with our own hands in the place and time aforesaid. 'captain christopher charlie, lieutenant-general; captain goring, captain sampson, captain powell, etc.' but while we were yet there, it happened one day that our watch called the sentinel, upon the church-steeple, had discovered in the sea a couple of small barks or boats, making in with the harbour of carthagena. whereupon captain moon and captain varney, with john grant, the master of the tiger, and some other seamen, embarked themselves in a couple of small pinnaces, to take them before they should come nigh the shore, at the mouth of the harbour, lest by some straggling spaniards from the land, they might be warned by signs from coming in. which fell out accordingly, notwithstanding all the diligence that our men could use: for the spanish boats, upon the sight of our pinnaces coming towards them, ran themselves ashore, and so their men presently hid themselves in bushes hard by the sea-side, amongst some others that had called them by signs thither. our men presently without any due regard had to the quality of the place, and seeing no man of the spaniards to shew themselves, boarded the spanish barks or boats, and so standing all open in them, were suddenly shot at by a troop of spaniards out of the bushes; by which volley of shot there were slain captain varney, which died presently, and captain moon, who died some few days after, besides some four or five others that were hurt: and so our folks returned without their purpose, not having any sufficient number of soldiers with them to fight on shore. for those men they carried were all mariners to row, few of them armed, because they made account with their ordnance to have taken the barks well enough at sea; which they might full easily have done, without any loss at all, if they had come in time to the harbour mouth, before the spaniards' boats had gotten so near the shore. during our abode in this place, as also at st. domingo, there passed divers courtesies between us and the spaniards, as feasting, and using them with all kindness and favour; so as amongst others there came to see the general the governor of carthagena, with the bishop of the same, and divers other gentlemen of the better sort. this town of carthagena we touched in the out parts, and consumed much with fire, as we had done st. domingo, upon discontentments, and for want of agreeing with us in their first treaties touching their ransom; which at the last was concluded between us should be , ducats for that which was yet standing, the ducat valued at five shillings sixpence sterling. this town, though not half so big as st. domingo, gives, as you see, a far greater ransom, being in very deed of far more importance, by reason of the excellency of the harbour, and the situation thereof to serve the trade of nombre de dios and other places, and is inhabited with far more richer merchants. the other is chiefly inhabited with lawyers and brave gentlemen, being the chief or highest appeal of their suits in law of all the islands about it and of the mainland coast next unto it. and it is of no such account as carthagena, for these and some like reasons which i could give you, over long to be now written. the warning which this town received of our coming towards them from st. domingo, by the space of days before our arrival here, was cause that they had both fortified and every way prepared for their best defence. as also that they had carried and conveyed away all their treasure and principal substance. the ransom of , ducats thus concluded on, as is aforesaid, the same being written, and expressing for nothing more than the town of carthagena, upon the payment of the said ransom we left the said town and drew some part of our soldiers into the priory or abbey, standing a quarter of an english mile below the town upon the harbour water-side, the same being walled with a wall of stone; which we told the spaniards was yet ours, and not redeemed by their composition. whereupon they, finding the defect of their contract, were contented to enter into another ransom for all places, but specially for the said house, as also the blockhouse or castle, which is upon the mouth of the inner harbour. and when we asked as much for the one as for the other, they yielded to give a thousand crowns for the abbey, leaving us to take our pleasure upon the blockhouse, which they said they were not able to ransom, having stretched themselves to the uttermost of their powers; and therefore the said blockhouse was by us undermined, and so with gunpowder blown up in pieces. while this latter contract was in making, our whole fleet of ships fell down towards the harbour-mouth, where they anchored the third time and employed their men in fetching of fresh water aboard the ships for our voyage homewards, which water was had in a great well that is in the island by the harbour-mouth. which island is a very pleasant place as hath been seen, having in it many sorts of goodly and very pleasant fruits, as the orange-trees and others, being set orderly in walks of great length together. insomuch as the whole island, being some two or three miles about, is cast into grounds of gardening and orchards. after six weeks' abode in this place, we put to sea the last of march; where, after two or three days, a great ship which we had taken at st. domingo, and thereupon was called the new year's gift, fell into a great leak, being laden with ordnance, hides, and other spoils, and in the night she lost the company of our fleet. which being missed the next morning by the general, he cast about with the whole fleet, fearing some great mischance to be happened unto her, as in very deed it so fell out; for her leak was so great that her men were all tired with pumping. but at the last, having found her, and the bark talbot in her company, which stayed by great hap with her, they were ready to take their men out of her for the saving of them. and so the general, being fully advertised of their great extremity, made sail directly back again to carthagena with the whole fleet; where, having staid eight or ten days more about the unlading of this ship and the bestowing thereof and her men into other ships, we departed once again to sea, directing our course toward the cape st. anthony, being the westermost part of cuba, where we arrived the th of april. but because fresh water could not presently be found, we weighed anchor and departed, thinking in few days to recover the matanzas, a place to the eastward of havana. after we had sailed some fourteen days we were brought to cape st. anthony again through lack of favourable wind; but then our scarcity was grown such as need make us look a little better for water, which we found in sufficient quantity, being indeed, as i judge, none other than rain-water newly fallen and gathered up by making pits in a plot of marish ground some three hundred paces from the seaside. i do wrong if i should forget the good example of the general at this place, who, to encourage others, and to hasten the getting of fresh water aboard the ships, took no less pain himself than the meanest; as also at st. domingo, carthagena, and all other places, having always so vigilant a care and foresight in the good ordering of his fleet, accompanying them, as it is said, with such wonderful travail of body, as doubtless had he been the meanest person, as he was the chiefest, he had yet deserved the first place of honour; and no less happy do we account him for being associated with master carlile, his lieutenant-general, by whose experience, prudent counsel, and gallant performance he achieved so many and happy enterprises of the war, by whom also he was very greatly assisted in setting down the needful orders, laws, and course of justice, and the due administration of the same upon all occasions. after three days spent in watering our ships, we departed now the second time from this cape of st. anthony the th of may. and proceeding about the cape of florida, we never touched anywhere; but coasting alongst florida, and keeping the shore still in sight, the th of may, early in the morning, we descried on the shore a place built like a beacon, which was indeed a scaffold upon four long masts raised on end for men to discover to the seaward, being in the latitude of thirty degrees, or very near thereunto. our pinnaces manned and coming to the shore, we marched up alongst the river-side to see what place the enemy held there; for none amongst us had any knowledge thereof at all. here the general took occasion to march with the companies himself in person, the lieutenant-general having the vant-guard; and, going a mile up, or somewhat more, by the river-side, we might discern on the other side of the river over against us a fort which newly had been built by the spaniards; and some mile, or thereabout, above the fort was a little town or village without walls, built of wooden houses, as the plot doth plainly shew. we forthwith prepared to have ordnance for the battery; and one piece was a little before the evening planted, and the first shot being made by the lieutenant-general himself at their ensign, strake through the ensign, as we afterwards understood by a frenchman which came unto us from them. one shot more was then made, which struck the foot of the fort wall, which was all massive timber of great trees like masts. the lieutenant-general was determined to pass the river this night with four companies, and there to lodge himself entrenched as near the fort as that he might play with his muskets and smallest shot upon any that should appear, and so afterwards to bring and plant the battery with him; but the help of mariners for that sudden to make trenches could not be had, which was the cause that this determination was remitted until the next night. in the night the lieutenant-general took a little rowing skiff and half a dozen well armed, as captain morgan and captain sampson, with some others, beside the rowers, and went to view what guard the enemy kept, as also to take knowledge of the ground. and albeit he went as covertly as might be, yet the enemy, taking the alarm, grew fearful that the whole force was approaching to the assault, and therefore with all speed abandoned the place after the shooting of some of their pieces. they thus gone, and he being returned unto us again, but nothing knowing of their flight from their fort, forthwith came a frenchman, [nicolas borgoignon] being a fifer (who had been prisoner with them) in a little boat, playing on his fife the tune of the prince of orange his song. and being called unto by the guard, he told them before he put foot out of the boat what he was himself, and how the spaniards were gone from the fort; offering either to remain in hands there, or else to return to the place with them that would go. [the 'prince of orange's song' was a popular ditty in praise of william prince of orange (assassinated ), the leader of the dutch protestant insurgents.] upon this intelligence the general, the lieutenant-general, with some of the captains in one skiff and the vice-admiral with some others in his skiff, and two or three pinnaces furnished of soldiers with them, put presently over towards the fort, giving order for the rest of the pinnaces to follow. and in our approach some of the enemy, bolder than the rest, having stayed behind their company, shot off two pieces of ordnance at us; but on shore we went, and entered the place without finding any man there. when the day appeared, we found it built all of timber, the walls being none other than whole masts or bodies of trees set upright and close together in manner of a pale, without any ditch as yet made, but wholly intended with some more time. for they had not as yet finished all their work, having begun the same some three or four months before; so as, to say the truth, they had no reason to keep it, being subject both to fire and easy assault. the platform whereon the ordnance lay was whole bodies of long pine-trees, whereof there is great plenty, laid across one on another and some little earth amongst. there were in it thirteen or fourteen great pieces of brass ordnance and a chest unbroken up, having in it the value of some two thousand pounds sterling, by estimation, of the king's treasure, to pay the soldiers of that place, who were a hundred and fifty men. the fort thus won, which they called st. john's fort, and the day opened, we assayed to go to the town, but could not by reason of some rivers and broken ground which was between the two places. and therefore being enforced to embark again into our pinnaces, we went thither upon the great main river, which is called, as also the town, by the name of st. augustine. at our approaching to land, there were some that began to shew themselves, and to bestow some few shot upon us, but presently withdrew themselves. and in their running thus away, the sergeant-major finding one of their horses ready saddled and bridled, took the same to follow the chase; and so overgoing all his company, was by one laid behind a bush shot through the head; and falling down therewith, was by the same and two or three more, stabbed in three or four places of his body with swords and daggers, before any could come near to his rescue. his death was much lamented, being in very deed an honest wise gentleman, and soldier of good experience, and of as great courage as any man might be. in this place called st. augustine we understood the king did keep, as is before said, soldiers, and at another place some dozen leagues beyond to the northwards, called st. helena, he did there likewise keep more, serving there for no other purpose than to keep all other nations from inhabiting any part of all that coast; the government whereof was committed to one pedro melendez, marquis, nephew to that melendez the admiral, who had overthrown master john hawkins in the bay of mexico some or years ago. this governor had charge of both places, but was at this time in this place, and one of the first that left the same. here it was resolved in full assembly of captains, to undertake the enterprise of st. helena, and from thence to seek out the inhabitation of our english countrymen in virginia, distant from thence some six degrees northward. when we came thwart of st. helena, the shoals appearing dangerous, and we having no pilot to undertake the entry, it was thought meetest to go hence alongst. for the admiral had been the same night in four fathom and a half, three leagues from the shore; and yet we understood, by the help of a known pilot, there may and do go in ships of greater burden and draught than any we had in our fleet. we passed thus along the coast hard aboard the shore, which is shallow for a league or two from the shore, and the same is low and broken land for the most part. the ninth of june upon sight of one special great fire (which are very ordinary all alongst this coast, even from the cape of florida hither) the general sent his skiff to the shore, where they found some of our english countrymen that had been sent thither the year before by sir walter raleigh, and brought them aboard; by whose direction we proceeded along to the place which they make their port. but some of our ships being of great draught, unable to enter, anchored without the harbour in a wild road at sea, about two miles from shore. from whence the general wrote letters to master ralph lane, being governor of those english in virginia, and then at his fort about six leagues from the road in an island which they called roanoac; wherein especially he shewed how ready he was to supply his necessities and wants, which he understood of by those he had first talked withal. the morrow after, master lane himself and some of his company coming unto him, with the consent of his captains he gave them the choice of two offers, that is to say: either he would leave a ship, a pinnace, and certain boats with sufficient masters and mariners, together furnished with a month's victual, to stay and make further discovery of the country and coasts, and so much victual likewise as might be sufficient for the bringing of them all (being an hundred and three persons) into england, if they thought good after such time, with any other thing they would desire, and that he might be able to spare: or else, if they thought they had made sufficient discovery already, and did desire to return into england, he would give them passage. but they, as it seemed, being desirous to stay, accepted very thankfully and with great gladness that which was offered first. whereupon the ship being appointed and received into charge by some of their own company sent into her by master lane, before they had received from the rest of the fleet the provision appointed them, there arose a great storm (which they said was extraordinary and very strange) that lasted three days together, and put all our fleet in great danger to be driven from their anchoring upon the coast; for we brake many cables, and lost many anchors; and some of our fleet which had lost all, of which number was the ship appointed for master lane and his company, were driven to put to sea in great danger, in avoiding the coast, and could never see us again until we met in england. many also of our small pinnaces and boats were lost in this storm. notwithstanding, after all this, the general offered them, with consent of his captains, another ship with some provisions, although not such a one for their turns as might have been spared them before, this being unable to be brought into their harbour: or else, if they would, to give them passage into england, although he knew he should perform it with greater difficulty than he might have done before. but master lane, with those of the chiefest of his company which he had then with him, considering what should be best for them to do, made request unto the general under their hands, that they might have passage for england: the which being granted, and the rest sent for out of the country and shipped, we departed from that coast the th of june. and so, god be thanked, both they and we in good safety arrived at portsmouth the th of july, , to the great glory of god, and to no small honour to our prince, our country, and ourselves. the total value of that which was got in this voyage is esteemed at three score thousand pounds, whereof the companies which have travailed in the voyage were to have twenty thousand pounds, the adventurers the other forty. of which twenty thousand pounds (as i can judge) will redound some six pounds to the single share. we lost some men in the voyage; above three parts of them only by sickness. the men of name that died and were slain in this voyage, which i can presently call to remembrance, are these:--captain powell, captain varney, captain moon, captain fortescue, captain biggs, captain cecil, captain hannam, captain greenfield; thomas tucker, a lieutenant; alexander starkey, a lieutenant; master escot, a lieutenant; master waterhouse, a lieutenant; master george candish, master nicholas winter, master alexander carlile, master robert alexander, master scroope, master james dyer, master peter duke. with some other, whom for haste i cannot suddenly think on. the ordnance gotten of all sorts, brass and iron, were about two hundred and forty pieces, whereof the two hundred and some more were brass, and were thus found and gotten:--at santiago some two or three and fifty pieces. in st. domingo about four score, whereof was very much great ordnance, as whole cannon, demi-cannon, culverins, and such like. in carthagena some sixty and three pieces, and good store likewise of the greater sort. in the fort of st. augustine were fourteen pieces. the rest was iron ordnance, of which the most part was gotten at st. domingo, the rest at carthagena. nic revel; a white slave's adventures in alligator land, by george manville fenn. ________________________________________________________________________ nic revel is brought up on a small landed estate in devon. the date is somewhere in the middle of the nineteenth century. there is a very good salmon pool on the estate, but it is often used by poachers, which greatly annoys the revel family. eventually they have a great fight there, in which they had arranged to be supported by men from a vessel of the royal navy. nic is wounded and is mistaken for a poacher by the naval party, who press-gang the poachers. when they reach america, nic is still hardly conscious, and not capable of much work. all the less able poachers are then sold by the ship to an american slave dealer, who sells them to a settler who lives a long way up a river. after a journey to the farm they find that they are given very hard work to do, and not fed very well. and of course nic and one of the poachers, who has become a good friend of his, want to get back to devon. after many trials and tribulations they eventually escape. george manville fenn is a master of suspense, and this book is a very good example of his work. ________________________________________________________________________ nic revel; a white slave's adventures in alligator land, by george manville fenn. chapter one. captain revel is cross. "late again, nic," said captain revel. "very sorry, father." "yes, you always are `very sorry,' sir. i never saw such a fellow to sleep. why, when i was a lad of your age--let's see, you're just eighteen." "yes, father, and very hungry," said the young man, with a laugh and a glance at the breakfast-table. "always are very hungry. why, when i was a lad of your age i didn't lead such an easy-going life as you do. you're spoiled, nic, by an indulgent father.--here, help me to some of that ham.--had to keep my watch and turn up on deck at all hours; glad to eat weavilly biscuit.-- give me that brown bit.--ah, i ought to have sent you to sea. made a man of you. heard the thunder, of course?" "no, father. was there a storm?" "storm--yes. lightning as we used to have it in the east indies, and the rain came down like a waterspout." "i didn't hear anything of it, father." "no; you'd sleep through an earthquake, or a shipwreck, or--why, i say, nic, you'll soon have a beard." "oh, nonsense, father! shall i cut you some bread?" "but you will," said the captain, chuckling. "my word, how time goes! only the other day you were an ugly little pup of a fellow, and i used to wipe your nose; and now you're as big as i am--i mean as tall." "yes; i'm not so stout, father," said nic, laughing. "none of your impudence, sir," said the heavy old sea-captain, frowning. "if you had been as much knocked about as i have, you might have been as stout." nic revel could not see the common-sense of the remark, but he said nothing, and went on with his breakfast, glancing from time to time through the window at the glittering sea beyond the flagstaff, planted on the cliff which ran down perpendicularly to the little river that washed its base while flowing on towards the sea a mile lower down. "couldn't sleep a bit," said captain revel. "but i felt it coming all yesterday afternoon. was i--er--a bit irritable?" "um--er--well, just a little, father," said nic dryly. "humph! and that means i was like a bear--eh, sir?" "i did not say so, father." "no, sir; but you meant it. well, enough to make me," cried the captain, flushing. "i will not have it. i'll have half-a-dozen more watchers, and put a stop to their tricks. the land's mine, and the river's mine, and the salmon are mine; and if any more of those idle rascals come over from the town on to my grounds, after my fish, i'll shoot 'em, or run 'em through, or catch 'em and have 'em tied up and flogged." "it is hard, father." "`_hard_' isn't hard enough, nic, my boy," cried the captain angrily. "the river's open to them below, and it's free to them up on the moors, and they may go and catch them in the sea if they want more room." "if they can, father," said nic, laughing. "well, yes--if they can, boy. of course it's if they can with any one who goes fishing. but i will not have them come disturbing me. the impudent scoundrels!" "did you see somebody yesterday, then, father?" "didn't you hear me telling you, sir? pay attention, and give me some more ham. yes; i'd been up to the flagstaff and was walking along by the side of the combe, so as to come back home through the wood path, when there was that great lazy scoundrel, burge, over from the town with a long staff and a hook, and i was just in time to see him land a good twelve-pound salmon out of the pool--one of that half-dozen that have been lying there this fortnight past waiting for enough water to run up higher." "did you speak to him, father?" "speak to him, sir!" cried the captain. "i let him have a broadside." "what did he say, father?" "laughed at me--the scoundrel! safe on the other side; and i had to stand still and see him carry off the beautiful fish." "the insolent dog!" cried nic. "yes; i wish i was as young and strong and active as you, boy. i'd have gone down somehow, waded the river, and pushed the scoundrel in." he looked at his father and smiled. "but i would, my boy: i was in such a fit of temper. why can't the rascals leave me and mine alone?" "like salmon, i suppose, father," said the young man. "so do we--but they might go up the river and catch them." "we get so many in the pool, and they tempt the idle people." "then they have no business to fall into temptation. i'll do something to stop them." "better not, father," said nic quietly. "it would only mean fighting and trouble." "bah!" cried captain revel, with his face growing redder than usual. "what a fellow to be my son! why, sir, when i was your age i gloried in a fight." "did you, father?" "yes, sir, i did." "ah! but you were in training for a fighting-man." "and i was weak enough, to please your poor mother, to let you be schooled for a bookworm, and a man of law and quips and quiddities, always ready to enter into an argument with me, and prove that black's white and white's no colour, as they say. hark ye, sir, if it was not too late i'd get jack lawrence to take you to sea with him now. he'll be looking us up one of these days soon. it's nearly time he put in at plymouth again." "no, you would not, father," said the young man quietly. "ah! arguing again? why not, pray?" "because you told me you were quite satisfied with what you had done." "humph! hah! yes! so i did. what are you going to do this morning-- read?" "yes, father; read hard." "well, don't read too hard, my lad. get out in the fresh air a bit. why not try for a salmon? they'll be running up after this rain, and you may get one if there is not too much water." "yes, i might try," said the young man quietly; and soon after he strolled into the quaint old library, to begin poring over a heavy law-book full of wise statutes, forgetting everything but the task he had in hand; while captain revel went out to walk to the edge of the high cliff and sat down on the stone seat at the foot of the properly-rigged flagstaff here he scanned the glittering waters, criticising the manoeuvres of the craft passing up and down the channel on their way to portsmouth or the port of london, or westward for plymouth, dreaming the while of his old ship and the adventures he had had till his wounds, received in a desperate engagement with a couple of piratical vessels in the american waters, incapacitated him for active service, and forced him to lead the life of an old-fashioned country gentleman at his home near the sea. chapter two. a wet fight. the captain was having his after-dinner nap when nic took down one of the rods which always hung ready in the hall, glanced at the fly to see if it was all right, and then crossed the garden to the fields. he turned off towards the river, from which, deep down in the lovely combe, came a low, murmurous, rushing sound, quite distinct from a deep, sullen roar from the thick woodland a few hundred yards to his right. "no fishing to-day," he said, and he rested his rod against one of the sturdy dwarf oaks which sheltered the house from the western gales, and then walked on, drawing in deep draughts of the soft salt air and enjoying the beauty of the scene around. for the old estate had been well chosen by the revels of two hundred years earlier; and, look which way he might, up or down the miniature valley, there were the never-tiring beauties of one of the most delightful english districts. the murmur increased as the young man strode on down the rugged slope, or leaped from mossy stone to stone, amongst heather, furze, and fern, to where the steep sides of the combe grew more thickly clothed with trees, in and amongst which the sheep had made tracks like a map of the little valley, till all at once he stood at the edge of a huge mass of rock, gazing through the leaves at the foaming brown water which washed the base of the natural wall, and eddied and leaped and tore on along its zigzag bed, onward towards the sea. from where he stood he gazed straight across at the other side of the combe, one mass of greens of every tint, here lit up by the sun, there deep in shadow; while, watered by the soft moist air and mists which rose from below, everything he gazed upon was rich and luxuriant in the extreme. "the rain must have been tremendous up in the moor," thought the young man, as he gazed down into the lovely gully at the rushing water, which on the previous day had been a mere string of stony pools connected by a trickling stream, some of them deep and dark, the haunts of the salmon which came up in their season from the sea. "what a change! yesterday, all as clear as crystal; now, quite a golden brown." then, thinking of how the salmon must be taking advantage of the little flood to run up higher to their spawning-grounds among the hills, nic turned off to his right to follow a rugged track along the cliff-like side, sometimes low down, sometimes high up; now in deep shadow, now in openings where the sun shot through to make the hurrying waters sparkle and flash. the young man went on and on for quite a quarter of a mile, with the sullen roar increasing till it became one deep musical boom; and, turning a corner where a portion of the cliff overhung the narrow path, and long strands of ivy hung down away from the stones, he stepped out of a green twilight into broad sunshine, to stand upon a shelf of rock, gazing into a circular pool some hundred feet across. here was the explanation of the deep, melodious roar. for, to his right, over what resembled a great eight-foot-high step in the valley, the whole of the little river plunged down from the continuation of the gorge, falling in one broad cascade in a glorious curve right into the pool, sending up a fine spray which formed a cloud, across which, like a bridge over the fall, the lovely tints of a rainbow played from time to time. it was nothing new to nic, that amphitheatre, into which he had gazed times enough ever since he was a child; but it had never seemed more lovely, nor the growth which fringed it from the edge of the water to fifty or sixty feet above his head more beautiful and green. but he had an object in coming, and, following the shelf onward, he was soon standing level with the side of the fall, gazing intently at the watery curve and right into the pool where the water foamed and plunged down, rose a few yards away, and then set in a regular stream round and round the amphitheatre, a portion flowing out between two huge buttresses of granite, and then hurrying downstream. nic was about fifteen feet above the surface of the chaos of water, and a little above the head of the pool; while below him were blocks of stone, dripping bushes, and grasses, and then an easy descent to where he might have stood dry-shod and gazed beneath the curve of the falling water, as he had stood scores of times before. but his attention was fixed upon the curve, and as he watched he saw something silvery flash out of the brown water and fall back into the pool where the foam was thickest. again he saw it, and this time it disappeared without falling back. for the salmon, fresh from the sea, were leaping at the fall to gain the upper waters of the river. it was a romantic scene, and nic stood watching for some minutes, breathing the moist air, while the spray began to gather upon his garments, and the deep musical boom reverberated from the rocky sides of the chasm. it was a grand day for the fish, and he was thinking that there would be plenty of them right up the river for miles, for again and again he saw salmon flash into sight as, by one tremendous spring and beat of their tails, they made their great effort to pass the obstacle in their way. "plenty for every one," he said to himself; "and plenty left for us," he added, as he saw other fish fail and drop back into the foam-covered amber and black water, to sail round with the stream, and in all probability--for their actions could not be seen--rest from their tremendous effort, and try again. all at once, after nic had been watching for some minutes without seeing sign of a fish, there was a flash close in to where he stood, and a large salmon shot up, reached the top of the fall, and would have passed on, but fortune was against it. for a moment it rested on the edge, and its broad tail and part of its body glistened as a powerful stroke was made with the broad caudal fin. but it was in the air, not in the water; and the next moment the great fish was falling, when, quick as its own spring up, there was a sudden movement from behind one of the great stones at the foot of the fall just below where nic stood, and the salmon was caught upon a sharp hook at the end of a stout ash pole and dragged shoreward, flapping and struggling with all its might. the efforts were in vain, for its captor drew it in quickly, raising the pole more and more till it was nearly perpendicular, as he came out from behind the great block of dripping stone which had hidden him from nic, and, as it happened, stepped backward, till his fish was clear of the water. it was all the matter of less than a minute. the man, intent upon his fish--a magnificent freshly-run salmon, glittering in its silver scales--passed hand over hand along his pole, released his right, and was in the act of reaching down to thrust a hooked finger in the opening and closing gills to make sure of his prize in the cramped-up space he occupied, when the end of the stout ash staff struck nic sharply on his leg. but the man did not turn, attributing the hindrance to his pole having encountered a stone or tree branch above his head, and any movement made by nic was drowned by the roar of the fall. the blow upon the leg was sharp, and gave intense pain to its recipient, whose temper was already rising at the cool impudence of the stout, bullet-headed fellow, trespassing and poaching in open daylight upon the captain's grounds. consequently, nic did take notice of the blow. stooping down as the end of the pole wavered in the air, he made a snatch at and seized it, gave it a wrench round as the man's finger was entering the gill of the salmon, and the hook being reversed, the fish dropped off, there was a slight addition to the splashing in the pool, and then it disappeared. the next moment the man twisted himself round, holding on by the pole, and stared up; while nic, still holding on by the other end, leaned over and stared down. it was a curious picture, and for some moments neither stirred, the poacher's not ill-looking face expressing profound astonishment at this strange attack. then a fierce look of anger crossed it, and, quick as thought, he made a sharp snatch, which destroyed nic's balance, making him loosen his hold of the pole and snatch at the nearest branch to check his fall. he succeeded, but only for a moment, just sufficient to save himself and receive another heavy blow from the pole, which made him lose his hold and slip, more than fall, down to where he was on the same level with his adversary, who drew back to strike again. but nic felt as if his heart was on fire. the pain of the blows thrilled him, and, darting forward with clenched fists, he struck the poacher full in the mouth before the pole could swing round. there was the faint whisper of a hoarse yell as the man fell back; nic saw his hands clutching in the air, then he went backward into the boiling water, while the end of the pole was seen to rise above the surface for a moment or two, and then glide towards the bottom of the fall and disappear. for the current, as it swung round the pool, set towards the falling water on the surface, and rushed outward far below. nic's rage died out more quickly than it had risen, and he craned forward, white as ashes now, watching for the rising of his adversary out somewhere towards the other side; while, as if in triumphant mockery or delight at the danger having been removed, another huge salmon leaped up the fall. chapter three. a game of tit for tat. "i'd have pushed him in." captain revel's threat flashed through his son's brain as the young man stood staring wildly over the agitated waters of the pool, every moment fancying that he saw some portion of the man's body rise to the surface; but only for it to prove a patch of the creamy froth churned up by the flood. it was plain enough: the man had been sucked in under the falls, and the force of the falling water was keeping him down. he must have been beneath the surface for a full minute now--so it seemed to nic; and, as he grew more hopeless moment by moment of seeing him rise, the young man's blood seemed to chill with horror at the thought that he had in his rage destroyed another's life. only a short time back the shut-in pool had been a scene of beauty; now it was like a black hollow of misery and despair, as the water dashed down and then swirled and eddied in the hideous whirlpool. then it was light again, and a wild feeling of exultation shot through nic's breast, for he suddenly caught sight of the man's inert body approaching him, after gliding right round the basin. it was quite fifty feet away, and seemed for a few moments as if about to be swept out of the hollow and down the gully; but the swirl was too strong, and it continued gliding round the pool, each moment coming nearer. there was no time for hesitation. nic knew the danger and the impossibility of keeping afloat in foaming water like that before him, churned up as it was with air; but he felt that at all cost he must plunge in and try to save his adversary before the poor fellow was swept by him and borne once more beneath the fall. stripping off his coat, he waited a few seconds, and then leaped outward so as to come down feet first, in the hope that he might find bottom and be able to wade, for he knew that swimming was out of the question. it was one rush, splash, and hurry, for the water was not breast-deep, and by a desperate effort he kept up as his feet reached the rugged, heavily-scoured stones at the bottom. then the pressure of the water nearly bore him away, but he managed to keep up, bearing sidewise, and the next minute had grasped the man's arm and was struggling shorewards, dragging his adversary towards the rugged bank. twice-over he felt that it was impossible; but, as the peril increased, despair seemed to endow him with superhuman strength, and he kept up the struggle bravely, ending by drawing the man out on to the ledge of stones nearly on a level with the water, where he had been at first standing at the foot of the fall. "he's dead; he's dead!" panted nic, as he sank upon his knees, too much exhausted by his struggle to do more than gaze down at the dripping, sun-tanned face, though the idea was growing that he must somehow carry the body up into the sunshine and try to restore consciousness. comic things occur sometimes in tragedies, and nic's heart gave a tremendous leap, for a peculiar twitching suddenly contracted the face beside which he knelt, and the man sneezed violently, again and again. a strangling fit of coughing succeeded, during which he choked and crowed and grew scarlet, and in his efforts to get his breath he rose into a sitting position, opened his eyes to stare, and ended by struggling to his feet and standing panting and gazing fiercely at nic. "are you better?" cried the latter excitedly, and he seized the man by the arms, as he too rose, and held him fast, in the fear lest he should fall back into the whirlpool once more. that was enough! pete burge was too hardy a fisher to be easily drowned. he had recovered his senses, and the rage against the young fellow who had caused his trouble surged up again, as it seemed to him that he was being seized and made prisoner, not a word of nic's speech being heard above the roar of the water. "vish as much mine as his," said the man to himself; and, in nowise weakened by his immersion, he closed with nic. there was a short struggle on the ledge, which was about the worst place that could have been chosen for such an encounter; and nic, as he put forth all his strength against the man's iron muscles, was borne to his left over the water and to his right with a heavy bang against the rocky side of the chasm. then, before he could recover himself, there was a rapid disengagement and two powerful arms clasped his waist; he was heaved up in old west-country wrestling fashion, struggling wildly, and, in spite of his efforts to cling to his adversary, by a mighty effort jerked off. he fell clear away in the foaming pool, which closed over his head as he was borne in turn right beneath the tons upon tons of water which thundered in his ears, while he experienced the sudden change from sunshine into the dense blackness of night. "how do you like that?" shouted the man; but it was only a faint whisper, of which he alone was conscious. there was a broad grin upon his face, and his big white teeth glistened in the triumphant smile which lit up his countenance. "i'll let you zee." he stood dripping and watching the swirling and foaming water for the reappearance of nic. "biggest vish i got this year," he said to himself. "lost my pole, too; and here! where's my cap, and--?" there was a sudden change in his aspect, his face becoming full of blank horror now as he leaned forward, staring over the pool, eyes and mouth open widely; and then, with a groan, he gasped out: "well, i've done it now!" chapter four. nic will not shake hands. history repeats itself, though the repetitions are not always recorded. a horrible feeling of remorse and despair came over the man. his anger had evaporated, and putting his hands to the sides of his mouth, he yelled out: "ahoy, there! help--help!" again it was a mere whisper in the booming roar. "oh, poor dear lad!" he muttered to himself. "bother the zammon! wish there waren't none. hoi, master nic! strike out! zwim, lad, zwim! oh, wheer be ye? i've drowned un. oh, a mercy me! what have i done?-- hah! there a be." there was a plunge, a splash, and a rush against the eddying water, with the man showing a better knowledge of the pool, from many a day's wading, than nic had possessed. pete burge knew where the shallow shelves of polished stones lay out of sight, and he waded and struggled on to where the water was bearing nic round in turn. then, after wading, the man plunged into deep water, swam strongly, and seized his victim as a huge dog would, with his teeth, swung himself round, and let the fierce current bear him along as he fought his way into the shallow, regained his footing, and the next minute was back by the ledge. here he rose to his feet, and rolled and thrust nic ashore, climbed out after him, and knelt in turn by his side. "bean't dead, be he?" said the man to himself. "not in the water long enough. worst o' these here noblemen and gentlemen--got no stuff in 'em." pete burge talked to himself, but he was busy the while. he acted like a man who had gained experience in connection with flooded rivers, torrents, and occasional trips in fishing-boats at sea; and according to old notions, supposing his victim not to be already dead, he did the best he could to smother out the tiny spark of life that might still be glowing. his fine old-fashioned notion of a man being drowned was that it was because he was full of water. the proper thing, then, according to his lights, must be to empty it out, and the sooner the better. the sea-going custom was to lay a man face downward across a barrel, and to roll the barrel gently to and fro. "and i aren't got no barrel," muttered pete. to make up for it he rolled nic from side to side, and then, as his treatment produced no effect, he seized him by the ankles, stood up, and raised the poor fellow till he was upside down, and shook him violently again and again. wonderful to relate, that did no good, his patient looking obstinately lifeless; so he laid him in the position he should have tried at first-- extended upon his back; and, apostrophising him all the time as a poor, weakly, helpless creature, punched and rubbed and worked him about, muttering the while. "oh, poor lad! poor dear lad!" he went on. "i had no spite again' him. i didn't want to drownd him. it weer only tit for tat; he chucked me in, and i chucked him in, and it's all on account o' they zammon.--there goes another. always a-temptin' a man to come and catch 'em--lyin' in the pools as if askin' of ye.--oh, i say, do open your eyes, lad, and speak! they'll zay i murdered ye, and if i don't get aboard ship and zail away to foreign abroad, they'll hang me, and the crows'll come and pick out my eyes.--i zay.--i zay lad, don't ye be a vool. it was on'y a drop o' watter ye zwallowed. do ye come to, and i'll never meddle with the zammon again.--i zay, ye aren't dead now. don't ye be a vool. it aren't worth dying for, lad. coom, coom, coom, open your eyes and zit up like a man. you're a gentleman, and ought to know better. i aren't no scholard, and i didn't do zo.--oh, look at him! i shall be hanged for it, and put on the gibbet, and all for a bit o' vish.--zay, look here, if you don't come to i'll pitch you back again, and they'll think you tumbled in, and never know no better. it's voolish of ye, lad. don't give up till ye're ninety-nine or a hundred. it's time enough to die then. don't die now, with the sun shining and the fish running up the valls, and ye might be so happy and well." and all the while pete kept on thumping and rubbing and banging his patient about in the most vigorous way. "it's spite, that's what it is," growled the man. "you hit me i' th' mouth and tried to drownd me, and because you couldn't you're trying to get me hanged; and you shan't, for if you don't come-to soon, sure as you're alive i'll pitch you back to be carried out to zea.--nay, nay, i wouldn't, lad. ye'd coom back and harnt me. i never meant to do more than duck you, and hooray!" for nic's nature had at last risen against the treatment he was receiving. it was more than any one could stand; so, in the midst of a furious bout of rubbing, the poor fellow suddenly yawned and opened his eyes, to stare blankly up at the bright sun-rays streaming down through the overhanging boughs of the gnarled oaks. he dropped his lids again, but another vigorous rubbing made him open them once more; and as he stared now at his rough doctor his lips moved to utter the word "don't!" but it was not heard, and after one or two more appeals he caught the man's wrists and tried to struggle up into a sitting position, pete helping him, and then, as he knelt there, grinning in his face. nic sat staring at him and beginning to think more clearly, so that in a few minutes he had fully grasped the position and recalled all that had taken place. it was evident that there was to be a truce between them, for pete burge's rough countenance was quite smiling and triumphant, while on nic's own part the back of his neck ached severely, and he felt as if he could not have injured a fly. at last nic rose, shook himself after the fashion of a dog to get rid of some of the water which soaked his clothes, and looked round about him for his cap, feeling that he would be more dignified and look rather less like a drowned rat if he put it on. pete came close to him, placed his lips nearly to his ear, and shouted, "cap?" nic nodded. "gone down the river to try and catch mine for me," said the man, with a good-humoured grin, which made nic frown at the insolent familiarity with which it was said. "you'll have to buy me another one, master nic," continued the man, "and get the smith to make me a noo steel hook. i'll let you off paying for the pole; i can cut a fresh one somewheres up yonder." "on our grounds?" cried nic indignantly, speaking as loudly as he could. "well, there's plenty, aren't there, master? and you've lost mine," shouted back the man, grinning again. "you scoundrel!" cried nic, who was warming up again. "i shall have you up before the justices for this." "for what?" said the man insolently. "for throwing me into the pool." "zo shall i, then," shouted the man. "it was only tit for tat. you zent me in first." "yes; and i caught you first hooking our salmon, sir." "tchah! much my zammon as your own, master. vish comes out of the zea for everybody as likes to catch them." "not on my father's estate," cried nic. "you've been warned times enough." "ay, i've heerd a lot o' talk, master; but me and my mates mean to have a vish or two whenever we wants 'em. you'll never miss 'em." "look here, pete burge," cried nic; "i don't want to be too hard upon you, because i suppose you fished me out of the pool after throwing me in." "well, you've no call to grumble, master," said the man, grinning good-humouredly. "you did just the zame." "and," continued nic, shouting himself hoarse, so as to be heard, and paying no heed to the man's words, "if you faithfully promise me that you'll never come and poach on my father's part of the river again, i'll look over all this, and not have you before the justices." "how are you going to get me avore the justice, master nic?" said the man, with a merry laugh. "send the constable, sir." "tchah! he'd never vind me; and, if he did, he dursen't tackle me. there's a dozen o' my mates would break his head if he tried." "never mind about that," cried nic. "you promise me. my father warned you only yesterday." "so he did," said the man, showing his teeth. "in a regular wax he was." "and i will not have him annoyed," cried nic. "so now then, you promise?" "nay, i shan't promise." "then i go straight to the constable, and if i do you'll be summoned and punished, and perhaps sent out of the country." "what vor?--pulling you out when you was drownding?" "for stealing our salmon and beating our two keepers." "then i'd better have left you in yonder," said the man, laughing. "you mean i had better have left you in yonder, and rid the country of an idle, poaching scoundrel," cried nic indignantly. "but there, you saved my life, and i want to give you a chance. look here, pete burge, you had better go to sea." "yes, when i like to try for some vish. don't ketch me going for a zailor." "will you give me your word that you will leave the fish alone?" "nay; but i'll shake hands with you, master. you zaved my life, and i zaved yourn, so we're square over that business." "you insolent dog!" cried nic. "then i'll go straight to the justice." "nay; you go and put on zome dry clothes. it don't hurt me, but you'll ketch cold, my lad. look here, you want me to zay i won't take no more zammon." "yes." "then i won't zay it. there's about twenty of us means to have as many fish out o' the river as we like, and if anybody, keepers or what not, comes and interveres with us we'll pitch 'em in the river; and they may get out themzelves, for i'm not going in after they. understand that, master?" "yes, sir, i do." "then don't you set any one to meddle with us, or there may be mischief done, for my mates aren't such vools as me. going to give me a noo steel hook?" "no, you scoundrel!" "going to zhake hands?" "no, sir." "just as you like, young master. i wanted to be vriends and you won't, so we'll be t'other. on'y mind, if there's mischief comes of it, you made it. now then, i'm going to walk about in the sun to get dry, and then zee about getting myself a noo cap and a hook." "to try for our salmon again?" the fellow gave him a queer look, nodded, and climbed up the side of the ravine, followed by nic. at the top the man turned and stared at him for a few moments, with a peculiar look in his eyes; and the trees between them and the falls shut off much of the deep, booming noise. "well," said nic sharply, "have you repented?" "nothing to repent on," said the man stolidly. "on'y wanted to zay this here: if you zees lights some night among the trees and down by the watter, it means vishing." "i know that," said nic sternly. "and there'll be a lot there--rough uns; so don't you come and meddle, my lad, for i shouldn't like to zee you hurt." the next minute the man had disappeared among the trees, leaving nic to stand staring after him, thinking of what would be the result if the salmon-poachers met their match. chapter five. the captain cannot let it rest. "hullo, nic, my boy; been overboard?" the young man started, for he had been thinking a good deal on his way back to the house. his anger had cooled down as much as his body from the evaporation going on. for, after all, he thought he could not find much fault with pete burge. it would seem only natural to such a rough fellow to serve his assailant as he had himself been served. "and he did save my life afterwards, instead of letting me drown," thought nic, who decided not to try to get pete punished. "i'll give him one more chance," he said; and he had just arrived at this point as he was walking sharply through the trees by the combe, with the intention of slipping in unseen, when he came suddenly upon his father seated upon a stone, and was saluted with the above question as to having been overboard. "yes, father," he said, glancing down at his drenched garments, "i've been in." "bah! you go blundering about looking inside instead of where you're steering," cried the captain. "aren't drowned, i suppose?" nic laughed. "well, slip in and get on some dry things. look alive." nic did not want to enter into the business through which he had passed, so he hurried indoors, glad to change his clothes. then, as the time went on he felt less and less disposed to speak about his adventure, for it seemed hard work to make an effort to punish the man who had, after all, saved his life. about a fortnight had passed, when one morning, upon going down, he encountered his father's old sailor-servant, who answered his salute with a grin. "what are you laughing at, bill?" asked nic. "they've been at it again, sir." "what! those scoundrels after the salmon?" "yes, sir; in the night. didn't you hear 'em?" "of course not. did you?" "oh yes, i heerd 'em and seed 'em too; leastwise, i seed their lights. so did tom gardener." "then why didn't you call me up?" cried nic angrily. "'cause you'd ha' woke the captain, and he'd have had us all out for a fight." "of course he would." "and he was a deal better in his bed. you know what he is, master nic. i put it to you, now. he's got all the sperrit he always did have, and is ripe as ever for a row; but is he fit, big and heavy as he's growed, to go down fighting salmon-poachers?" "no; but we could have knocked up tom gardener and the other men, and gone ourselves." "oh!" ejaculated the old sailor, laughing. "he'd have heared, perhaps. think you could ha' made him keep back when there was a fight, master nic?" "no, i suppose not; but he will be horribly angry, and go on at you fiercely when he knows." "oh, of course," said the man coolly. "that's his way; but i'm used to that. it does him good, he likes it, and it don't do me no harm. never did in the old days at sea." "has any one been down to the river?" "oh yes; me and tom gardener went down as soon as it was daylight; and they've been having a fine game." "game?" "ay, that they have, master nic," said the man, laughing. "there's no water coming over the fall, and the pool was full of fish." "well, i know that, bill," cried nic impatiently; "but you don't mean to say that--" "yes, i do," said the man, grinning. "they've cleared it." "and you laugh, sir!" "well, 'taren't nowt to cry about, master nic. on'y a few fish." "and you know how particular my father is about the salmon." "oh, ay. of course i know; but he eats more of 'em than's good for him now. 'sides, they left three on the side. slipped out o' their baskets, i suppose." nic was right: the captain was furious, and the servants, from william solly to the youngest gardener, were what they called "tongue-thrashed," captain revel storming as if he were once more rating his crew aboard ship. "they all heard, nic, my boy," he said to his son. "i believe they knew the scoundrels were coming, and they were too cowardly to give the alarm." this was after a walk down to the pool, where the water was clear and still save where a little stream ran sparkling over the shelf of rock instead of a thunderous fall, the gathering from the high grounds of the moors. "i'm afraid they heard them, father," said nic. "afraid? i'm sure of it, boy." "and that they did not like the idea of your getting mixed up in the fight." "ah!" cried the captain, catching his son by the shoulder; "then you knew of it too, sir? you wanted me to be kept out of it." "i do want you to be kept out of any struggle, father," said nic. "why, sir, why?" panted the old officer. "because you are not so active as you used to be." "what, sir? nonsense, sir! a little heavy and--er--short-winded perhaps, but never better or more full of fight in my life, sir. the scoundrels! oh, if i had been there! but i feel hurt, nic--cruelly hurt. you and that salt-soaked old villain, bill sally, hatch up these things between you. want to make out i'm infirm. i'll discharge that vagabond." "no, you will not, father. he's too good and faithful a servant. he thinks of nothing but his old captain's health." "a scoundrel! and so he ought to. wasn't he at sea with me for five-and-twenty years--wrecked with me three times?--but you, nic, to mutiny against your father!" "no, no, father; i assure you i knew nothing whatever about it till i came down this morning." "and you'd have woke me if you had known?" "of course i would, father." "thank you, nic--thank you. to be sure: you gave me your word of honour you would. but as for that ruffian bill solly, i'll blow him out of the water." "better let it rest, father," said nic. "we escaped a bad fight perhaps. i believe there was a gang of fifteen or twenty of the scoundrels, and i'd rather they had all the fish in the sea than that you should be hurt." "thank you, nic; thank you, my boy. that's very good of you; but i can't, and i will not, lie by and have my fish cleared away like this." "there'll be more as soon as the rain comes again in the moors, and these are gone now." "yes, and sold--perhaps eaten by this time, eh?" "yes, father; and there's as good fish in the sea." "as ever came out of it--eh, nic?" "yes, father; so let the matter drop." "can't help myself, nic; but i must have a turn at the enemy one of these times. i cannot sit down and let them attack me like this. oh, i'd dearly like to blow some of 'em out of the water!" "better put a bag of powder under the rock, father, and blow away the falls so that the salmon can always get up, and take the temptation away from these idle scoundrels." "i'd sooner put the powder under my own bed, sir, and blow myself up. no, nic, i will not strike my colours to the miserable gang like that. oh! i'd dearly like to know when they are going to make their next raid, and then have my old crew to lie in wait for them." "and as that's impossible, father--" "we must grin and bear it, nic--eh?" "yes, father." "but only wait!" chapter six. plots and plans. the rain came, as nic had said it would, and as it does come up in the high hills of stony dartmoor. then the tiny rills swelled and became rivulets, the rivulets rivers, and the rivers floods. the trickling fall at the captain's swelled up till the water, which looked like porter, thundered down and filled the pool, and the salmon came rushing up from the sea till there were as many as ever. then, as the rainy time passed away, captain revel made his plans, for he felt sure that there would be another raid by the gang who had attacked his place before, headed by pete burge and a deformed man of herculean strength, who came with a party of ne'er-do-weels from the nearest town. "that rascal pete will be here with his gang," said the captain, "and we'll be ready for them." but the speaker was doing pete burge an injustice; for, though several raids had been made in the neighbourhood, and pools cleared out, pete had hung back from going to the captain's for some reason or another, and suffered a good deal of abuse in consequence, one result being a desperate fight with humpy dee, the deformed man, who after a time showed the white feather, and left pete victorious but a good deal knocked about. so, feeling sure that he was right, captain revel made his plans; and, unwillingly enough, but with the full intention of keeping his father out of danger, nic set to work as his father's lieutenant and carried out his orders. the result was that every servant was armed with a stout cudgel, and half-a-dozen sturdy peasants of the neighbourhood were enlisted to come, willingly enough, to help to watch and checkmate the rough party from the town, against whom a bitter feeling of enmity existed for depriving the cottagers from getting quietly a salmon for themselves. the arrangements were made for the next night, a stranger having been seen inspecting the river and spying about among the fir-trees at the back of the pool. but no one came, and at daybreak the captain's crew, as he called it, went back to bed. the following night did not pass off so peacefully, for soon after twelve, while the watchers, headed by the captain and nic, were well hidden about the pool, the enemy came, and, after lighting their lanthorns, began to net the salmon. then a whistle rang out, a desperate attack was made upon them, and the captain nearly had a fit. for his party was greatly outnumbered. the raiders fought desperately, and they went off at last fishless; but not until the captain's little force had been thoroughly beaten and put to flight, with plenty of cuts and bruises amongst them, nic's left arm hanging down nearly helpless. "but never mind, nic," said the captain, rubbing his bruised hand as he spoke. "i knocked one of the rascals down, and they got no fish; and i don't believe they'll come again." but they did, the very next night, and cleared the pool once more, for the watchers were all abed; and in the morning the captain was frantic in his declarations of what he would do. to nic's great delight, just when his father was at his worst, and, as his old body-servant said, "working himself into a fantigue about a bit o' fish," there was a diversion. nic was sitting at breakfast, getting tired of having salmon at every meal--by the ears, not by the mouth--when suddenly there was the dull thud of a big gun out at sea, and captain revel brought his fist down upon the table with a bang like an echo of the report. "lawrence!" he cried excitedly. "here, nic, ring the bell, and tell solly to go and hoist the flag." the bell was rung, and a maid appeared. "where's solly?" cried the captain angrily. "plee, sir, he's gone running up to the cliff to hoist the flag," said the girl nervously. "humph! that will do," said the captain, and the maid gladly beat a retreat.--"not a bad bit of discipline that, nic. wonder what brings lawrence here! ring that bell again, boy, and order them to reset the breakfast-table. he'll be here in half-an-hour, hungry. he always was a hungry chap." the maid appeared, received her orders, and was about to go, when she was arrested. "here, mary, what is there that can be cooked for captain lawrence's breakfast?" "the gardener has just brought in a salmon he found speared and left by the river, sir." the captain turned purple with rage. "don't you ever dare to say salmon to me again, woman!" he roared. "no, sir; cert'n'y not, sir," faltered the frightened girl, turning wonderingly to nic, her eyes seeming to say, "please, sir, is master going mad?" "yes; tell the cook to fry some salmon cutlets," continued the captain; and then apologetically to his son: "lawrence likes fish." as the maid backed out of the room the captain rose from the table. "come along, my boy," he said; "we'll finish our breakfast with him." nic followed his father into the hall, and then through the garden and up to the edge of the cliff, passing william solly on his way back after hoisting the flag, which was waving in the sea-breeze. "quite right, william," said the captain as the old sailor saluted and passed on. "nothing like discipline, nic, my boy. ha! you ought to have been a sailor." the next minute they had reached the flagstaff, from whence they could look down at the mouth of the river, off which one of the king's ships was lying close in, and between her and the shore there was a boat approaching fast. as father and son watched, it was evident that they were seen, for some one stood up in the stern-sheets and waved a little flag, to which nic replied by holding his handkerchief to be blown out straight by the breeze. "ha! very glad he has come, nic," said the captain. "fine fellow, jack lawrence! never forgets old friends. now i'll be bound to say he can give us good advice about what to do with those scoundrels." "not much in his way, father, is it?" said nic. "what, sir?" cried the captain fiercely. "look here, boy; i never knew anything which was not in jack lawrence's way. why, when we were young lieutenants together on board the _sovereign_, whether it was fight or storm he was always ready with a good idea. he will give us--me--well, us--good advice, i'm sure. there he is, being carried ashore. go and meet him, my boy. i like him to see that he is welcome. tell him i'd have come down myself, but the climb back is a bit too much for me." nic went off at a trot along the steep track which led down to the shore, and in due time met the hale, vigorous, grey-haired officer striding uphill in a way which made nic feel envious on his father's behalf. "well, nic, my boy," cried the visitor, "how's the dad? well? that's right. so are you," he continued, gazing searchingly at the lad with his keen, steely-grey eyes. "grown ever so much since i saw you last. ah, boy, it's a pity you didn't come to sea!" then he went on chatting about being just come upon the plymouth station training men for the king's ships, and how he hoped to see a good deal now of his old friend and his son. the meeting between the brother-officers was boisterous, but there was something almost pathetic in the warmth with which they grasped hands, for they had first met in the same ship as middies, and many a time during captain lawrence's visits nic had sat and listened to their recollections of the dangers they had gone through and their boyish pranks. william solly was in the porch ready to salute the visitor, and to look with pride at the fine, manly old officer's greeting. he made a point, too, of stopping in the room to wait table, carefully supplying all wants, and smiling with pleasure as he saw how the pleasant meal was enjoyed by the guest. "we were lying off the river late last night, but i wouldn't disturb you," he said. "i made up my mind, though, to come to breakfast. hah! what delicious fried salmon!" "_hur-r-ur_!" growled captain revel, and solly cocked his eye knowingly at nic. "hallo! what's the matter?" cried the visitor. "the salmon--the salmon," growled captain revel, frowning and tapping the table. "de-licious, man! have some?--here, solly, hand the dish to your master." "_bur-r-ur_!" roared the captain. "take it away--take it away, or i shall be in another of my rages, and they're not good for me, jack--not good for me." "why, what is it, old lad?" "tell him, nic--tell him," cried captain revel; and his son explained the cause of his father's irritation. "why, that was worrying you last time i was here--let me see, a year ago." "yes, jack; and it has been worrying me ever since," cried captain revel. "you see, i mustn't cut any of the scoundrels down, and i mustn't shoot them. the law would be down on me." "yes, of course; but you might make the law come down on them." "can't, my lad. summonses are no use." "catch them in the act, make them prisoners, and then see what the law will do." "but we can't catch them, jack; they're too many for us," cried the captain earnestly. "they come twenty or thirty strong, and we've had fight after fight with them, but they knock us to pieces. look at solly's forehead; they gave him that cut only a few nights ago." the old sailor blushed like a girl. "that's bad," said the visitor, after giving the man a sharp look. "what sort of fellows are they?" "big, strong, idle vagabonds. scum of the town and the country round." "indeed!" said the visitor, raising his eyes. "they thrash you, then, because you are not strong enough?" "yes; that's it, jack. now, what am i to do?" "let me see," said the visitor, tightening his lips. "they only come when the pool's full of salmon, you say, after a bit of rain in the moors?" "yes; that's it, jack." "then you pretty well know when to expect them?" "yes; that's right." "how would it be, then, if you sent me word in good time in the morning? or, no--look here, old fellow--i shall know when there is rain on the moor, and i'll come round in this direction from the port. i'm cruising about the channel training a lot of men. you hoist a couple of flags on the staff some morning, and that evening at dusk i'll land a couple of boats' crews, and have them marched up here to lay up with you and turn the tables upon the rascals. how will that do?" solly forgot discipline, and bent down to give one of his legs a tremendous slap, while his master made the breakfast things dance from his vigorous bang on the table. "there, nic," he cried triumphantly; "what did i say? jack lawrence was always ready to show the way when we were on our beam-ends. jack, my dear old messmate," he cried heartily, as he stretched out his hand--"your fist." chapter seven. the captain will "wherrit." captain lawrence spent the day at the point, thoroughly enjoying a long gossip, and, after an early dinner, proposed a walk around the grounds and a look at the river and the pool. "what a lovely spot it is!" he said, as he wandered about the side of the combe. "i must have such a place as this when i give up the sea." "there isn't such a place, jack," said captain revel proudly. "but i want you to look round the pool.--i don't think i'll climb down, nic. it's rather hot; and i'll sit down on the stone for a few minutes while you two plan where you could ambush the men." "right," said captain lawrence; and he actively followed nic, pausing here and there, till they had descended to where the fall just splashed gently down into the clear pool, whose bigger stones about the bottom were now half-bare. "lovely place this, nic, my boy. i could sit down here and doze away the rest of my days. but what a pity it is that your father worries himself so about these poaching scoundrels! can't you wean him from it? tell him, or i will, that it isn't worth the trouble. plenty more fish will come, and there must be a little grit in every one's wheel." "oh, i've tried everything, sir," replied nic. "the fact is that he is not so well as i should like to see him; and when he has an irritable fit, the idea of any one trespassing and taking the fish half-maddens him." "well, we must see what we can do, my boy. it ought to be stopped. a set of idlers like this requires a severe lesson. a good dose of capstan bar and some broken heads will sicken them, and then perhaps they will let you alone." "i hope so, sir." "i think i can contrive that it shall," said the visitor dryly. "i shall bring or send some trusty men. there, i have seen all i want to see. let's get back." he turned to climb up the side of the gorge; and as nic followed, the place made him recall his encounter with pete burge, and how different the pool looked then; and, somehow, he could not help hoping that the big, bluff fellow might not be present during the sharp encounter with captain lawrence's trusty men. "hah! began to think you long, jack," said captain revel; and they returned to the house and entered, after a glance seaward, where the ship lay at anchor. towards evening solly was sent to hoist a signal upon the flagstaff, and soon after a boat was seen pulling towards the shore. then the visitor took his leave, renewing his promise to reply to a signal by sending a strong party of men. nic walked down to the boat with his father's friend, and answered several questions about the type of men who came after the salmon. "i see, i see," said captain lawrence; "but do you think they'll fight well?" "oh yes; there are some daring rascals among them." "so much the better, my dear boy. there, good-bye. mind--two small flags on your signal-halyards after the first heavy rain upon the moor, and you may expect us at dusk. if the rascals don't come we'll have another try; but you'll know whether they'll be there by the fish in the pool. they'll know too--trust 'em. look, there's your father watching us--" and he waved his hand. "good-bye, nic, my dear boy. good-bye!" he shook hands very warmly. two of his men who were ashore joined hands to make what children call a "dandy-chair," the captain placed his hands upon their shoulders, and they waded through the shallow water to the boat, pausing to give her a shove off before climbing in; and then, as the oars made the water flash in the evening light, nic climbed the long hill again, to stand with his father, watching the boat till she reached the side of the ship. "now then, my boy," said the old man, "we're going to give those fellows such a lesson as they have never had before." he little knew how truly he was speaking. "i hope so, father," said nic; and he was delighted to find how pleased the old officer seemed. the next morning, when nic opened his bedroom window, the king's ship was not in sight; and for a week captain revel was fidgeting and watching the sky, for no rain came, and there was not water enough in the river for fresh salmon to come as far as the pool. "did you ever see anything like it, nic, my boy?" the captain said again and again; "that's always the way: if i didn't want it to rain, there'd be a big storm up in the hills, and the fall would be roaring like a sou'-wester off the land's end; but now i want just enough water to fill the river, not a drop will come. how long did jack lawrence say that he was going to stop about plymouth?" "he didn't say, father, that i remember," replied nic. "then he'll soon be off; and just in the miserable, cantankerous way in which things happen, the very day he sets sail there'll be a storm on dartmoor, and the next morning the pool will be full of salmon, and those scoundrels will come to set me at defiance, and clear off every fish." "i say, father," said nic merrily, "isn't that making troubles, and fancying storms before they come?" "what, sir? how dare you speak to me like that?" cried the captain.--"and you, solly, you mutinous scoundrel, how dare you laugh?" he roared, turning to his body-servant, who happened to be in the hail. "beg your honour's pardon; i didn't laugh." "you did laugh, sir," roared the captain--"that is, i saw you look at master nic here and smile. it's outrageous. every one is turning against me, and i'm beginning to think it's time i was out of this miserable world." he snatched up his stick from the stand, banged on the old straw hat he wore, and stamped out of the porch to turn away to the left, leaving nic hesitating as to what he should do, deeply grieved as he was at his father's annoyance and display of temper. one moment he was for following and trying to say something which would tend to calm the irritation. the next he was thinking it would be best to leave the old man to himself, trusting to the walk in the pleasant grounds having the desired result. but this idea was knocked over directly by solly, who had followed his master to the porch, and stood watching him for a few moments. "oh dear, dear! master nic," he cried, turning back, "he's gone down the combe path to see whether there's any more water running down; and there aren't, and he'll be a-wherriting his werry inside out, and that wherrits mine too. for i can't abear to see the poor old skipper like this here." "no, solly, neither can i," said nic gloomily. "it's his old hurts does it, sir. it aren't nat'ral. here he is laid up, as you may say, in clover, in as nice a place as an old sailor could end his days in." "yes, solly," said nic sadly; "it is a beautiful old place." "ay, it is, sir; and when i cons it over i feel it. why, master nic, when i think of all the real trouble as there is in life, and what some folks has to go through, i asks myself what i've ever done to have such good luck as to be safely moored here in such a harbour. it's a lovely home, and the troubles is nothing--on'y a bit of a gale blowed by the skipper now and then along of the wrong boots as hurts his corns, or him being a-carrying on too much sail, and bustin' off a button in a hurry. and who minds that?" "ah! who minds a trifle like that, solly?" sighed nic. "well, sir, you see he does. wind gets up directly, and he talks to me as if i'd mutinied. but i don't mind. i know all the time that he's the best and bravest skipper as ever lived, and i'd do anything for him to save him from trouble." "i know you would, solly," said nic, laying a hand upon the rugged old sailor's shoulder. "thank ye, master nic; that does a man good. but look here, sir; i can't help saying it. the fact is, after his rough, stormy life, everything here's made too easy for the skipper. he's a bit worried by his old wounds, and that's all; and consekens is 'cause he aren't got no real troubles he wherrits himself and makes quakers." "makes quakers?" said nic wonderingly. "sham troubles, master nic--wooden guns, as we call quakers out at sea or in a fort. strikes me, sir, as a real, downright, good, gen-u-wine trouble, such as losing all his money, would be the making of the captain; and after that he'd be ready to laugh at losing a few salmon as he don't want. i say, master nic, you aren't offended at me for making so bold?" "no, solly, no," said the young man sadly. "you mean well, i know. there, say no more about it. i hope all this will settle itself, as so many troubles do." nic strolled out into the grounds and unconsciously followed his father, who had gone to the edge of the combe; but he had not walked far before a cheery hail saluted his ears, and, to his great delight, he found the captain looking radiant. "nic, my boy, it's all right," he cried; "my left arm aches terribly and my corns are shooting like mad. well, what are you staring at? don't you see it means rain? look yonder, too. bah! it's of no use to tell you, boy. you've never been to sea. you've never had to keep your weather-eye open. see that bit of silvery cloud yonder over rigdon tor? and do you notice what a peculiar gleam there is in the air, and how the flies bite?" "yes--yes, i see all that, father." "well, it's rain coming, my boy. there's going to be a thunderstorm up in the hills before many hours are past. i'm not a clever man, but i can tell what the weather's going to be as well as most folk." "i'm glad of it, father, if it will please you." "please me, boy? i shall be delighted. to-morrow morning the salmon will be running up the river again, and we may hoist the signal for help. i say, you don't think jack lawrence has gone yet?" "no, father," said nic; "i do not." "why, nic?--why?" cried the old sailor. "because he said to me he should certainly come up and see us again before he went." "to be sure; so he did to me, nic. i say, my boy, i--that is--er-- wasn't i a little bit crusty this morning to you and poor old william solly?" "well, yes; just a little, father," said nic, taking his arm. "sorry for it. change of the weather, nic, affects me. it was coming on. i must apologise to solly. grand old fellow, william solly. saved my life over and over again. man who would die for his master, nic; and a man who would do that is more than a servant, nic--he is a friend." chapter eight. the captain's prophecy. before many hours had passed the captain's words proved correct. the clouds gathered over the tors, and there was a tremendous storm a thousand feet above the point. the lightning flashed and struck and splintered the rugged old masses of granite; the thunder roared, and there was a perfect deluge of rain; while down near the sea, though it was intensely hot, not a drop fell, and the evening came on soft and cool. "solly, my lad," cried the captain, rubbing his hands, "we shall have the fall roaring before midnight; but don't sit up to listen to it." "cert'n'y not, sir," said the old sailor. "your watch will begin at daybreak, when you will hoist the signal for captain lawrence." "ay, ay, sir!" "and keep eye to west'ard on and off all day, to try if you can sight the frigate." "ay, ay, sir!" "and in the course of the morning you will go quietly round and tell the men to rendezvous here about eight, when you will serve out the arms." "ay, ay, sir." "the good stout oak cudgels i had cut; and if we're lucky, my lad, we shall have as nice and pleasant a fight as ever we two had in our lives." "quite a treat, sir," said the old sailor; "and i hope we shall be able to pay our debts." the captain was in the highest of glee all the evening, and he shook his son's hand very warmly when they parted for bed. about one o'clock nic was aroused from a deep sleep by a sharp knocking at his door. "awake, nic?" came in the familiar accents. "no, father. yes, father. is anything wrong?" "wrong? no, my boy; right! hear the fall?" "no, father; i was sound asleep." "open your window and put out your head, boy. the water's coming down and roaring like thunder. good-night." nic slipped out of bed, did as he was told, and, as he listened, there was the deep, musical, booming sound of the fall seeming to fill the air, while from one part of the ravine a low, rushing noise told that the river must be pretty full. nic stood listening for some time before closing his window and returning to bed, to lie wakeful and depressed, feeling a strange kind of foreboding, as if some serious trouble was at hand. it was not that he was afraid or shrank from the contest which might in all probability take place the next night, though he knew that it would be desperate-- for, on the contrary, he felt excited and quite ready to join in the fray; but he was worried about his father, and the difficulty he knew he would have in keeping him out of danger. he was in this awkward position, too: what he would like to do would be to get solly and a couple of their stoutest men to act as bodyguard to protect his father; but, if he attempted such a thing, the chances were that the captain would look upon it as cowardice, and order them off to the thick of the cudgel-play. just as he reached this point he fell asleep. nic found the captain down first next morning, looking as pleased as a boy about to start for his holidays. "you're a pretty fellow," he cried. "why, i've been up hours, and went right to the falls. pool's full, nic, my boy, the salmon are up, and it's splendid, lad." "what is, father?" "something else is coming up." "what?" "those scoundrels are on the _qui vive_. i was resting on one of the rough stone seats, when, as i sat hidden among the trees, i caught sight of something on the far side of the pool--a man creeping cautiously down to spy out the state of the water." "pete burge, father?" cried nic eagerly. "humph! no; i hardly caught a glimpse of his face, but it was too short for that scoundrel. i think it was that thick-set, humpbacked rascal they call dee." "and did he see you, father?" "no: i sat still, my boy, and watched till he slunk away again. nic, lad, we shall have them here to-night, and we must be ready." "yes, father, if captain lawrence sends his men." "whether he does or no, sir. i can't sit still and know that my salmon are being stolen. come--breakfast! oh, here's solly.--here, you, sir, what about those two signal flags? hoist them directly." "run 'em up, sir, as soon as it was light." "good. then, now, keep a lookout for the frigate." the day wore away with no news of the ship being in the offing, and the captain began to fume and fret, so that nic made an excuse to get away and look out, relieving solly, stationing himself by the flagstaff and scanning the horizon till his eyes grew weary and his head ached. it was about six o'clock when he was summoned to dinner by solly, who took his place, and nic went and joined his father. "needn't speak," said the old man bitterly; "i know; lawrence hasn't come. we'll have to do it ourselves." nic was silent, and during the meal his father hardly spoke a word. just as they were about to rise, solly entered the room, and the captain turned to him eagerly. "i was going to send for you, my lad," he said. "captain lawrence must be away, and we shall have to trap the scoundrels ourselves. how many men can we muster?" "ten, sir." "not half enough," said the captain; "but they are strong, staunch fellows, and we have right on our side. ten against twenty or thirty. long odds; but we've gone against heavier odds than that in our time, solly." "ay, sir, that we have." "we must lie in wait and take them by surprise when they're scattered, my lads. but what luck! what luck! now if lawrence had only kept faith with me we could have trapped the whole gang." "well, your honour, why not?" said solly sharply. "why not?" "he'll be here before we want him." "what?" cried nic. "is the frigate in sight?" "in sight, sir--and was when you left the signal station." "no," said nic sharply; "the only vessel in sight then was a big merchantman with her yards all awry." "that's so, sir, and she gammoned me. the skipper's had her streak painted out, and a lot of her tackle cast loose, to make her look like a lubberly trader; but it's the frigate, as i made out at last, coming down with a spanking breeze, and in an hour's time she'll be close enough to send her men ashore." the captain sprang up and caught his son's hand, to ring it hard. "huzza, nic!" he cried excitedly. "this is going to be a night of nights." it was. chapter nine. ready for action. "that's about their size, master nic," said solly, as he stood in the coach-house balancing a heavy cudgel in his hand--one of a couple of dozen lying on the top of the corn-bin just through the stable door. "oh, the size doesn't matter, bill," said nic impatiently. "begging your pardon, sir, it do," said the old sailor severely. "you don't want to kill nobody in a fight such as we're going to have, do ye?" "no, no; of course not." "there you are, then. man's sure to hit as hard as he can when his monkey's up; and that stick's just as heavy as you can have 'em without breaking bones. that's the sort o' stick as'll knock a man silly and give him the headache for a week, and sarve him right. if it was half-a-hounce heavier it'd kill him." "how do you know?" said nic sharply. "how do i know, sir?" said the man wonderingly. "why, i weighed it." nic would have asked for further explanations; but just then there were steps heard in the yard, and the gardener and a couple of labourers came up in the dusk. "oh, there you are," growled solly. "here's your weepuns;" and he raised three of the cudgels. "you may hit as hard as you like with them. seen any of the others?" "yes," said the gardener; "there's two from the village coming along the road, and three of us taking the short cut over the home field. that's all i see." "humph!" said solly. "there ought to be five more by this time." "sick on it, p'r'aps," grumbled the gardener; "and no wonder. we are." "what! are you afraid?" cried nic. "no, sir, i aren't afraid; on'y sick on it. i like a good fight, and so do these here when it's 'bout fair and ekal, but every time we has a go in t'other side seems to be the flails and we only the corn and straw. they're too many for us. i'm sick o' being thrashed, and so's these here; and that aren't being afraid." "why, you aren't going to sneak out of it, are you?" growled solly. "no, i aren't," said the gardener; "not till i've had a good go at that pete burge and master humpy dee. but i'm going to sarcumwent 'em this time." "here are the others coming, bill," cried nic.--"what are you going to do this time?" he said to the gardener. "sarcumwent 'em, master nic," said the man, with a grin. "it's no use to hit at their heads and arms or to poke 'em in the carcass--they don't mind that; so we've been thinking of it out, and we three's going to hit 'em low down." "that's good," said solly; "same as we used to sarve the black men out in jay-may-kee. they've all got heads as hard as skittle-balls, but their shins are as tender as a dog's foot." just then five more men came up and received their cudgels; and directly after three more came slouching up; and soon after another couple, and received their arms. "is this all on us?" said one of the fresh-comers, as the sturdy fellows stood together. "ay, is this all, master nic?" cried another. "why?" he said sharply. "because there aren't enough, sir," said the first man. "i got to hear on it down the village." "ah! you heard news?" cried nic. "ay, sir, if you call such ugly stuff as that news. there's been a bit of a row among 'em, all along o' pete burge." "quarrelling among themselves?" "that's right, sir; 'cause pete burge said he wouldn't have no more to do with it; and they've been at him--some on 'em from over yonder at the town. i hear say as there was a fight, and then pete kep' on saying he would jyne 'em; and then there was another fight, and pete burge licked the second man, and then he says he wouldn't go. and then there was another fight, and pete burge licked humpy dee, and humpy says pete was a coward, and pete knocked him flat on the back. `i'll show you whether i'm a coward,' he says. `i didn't mean to have no more to do wi' squire revel's zammon,' he says; `but i will go to-night, for the last time, just to show you as i aren't a cowards,' he says, `and then i'm done.'" "ay; and he zays," cried another man from the village, "`if any one thinks i'm a coward, then let him come and tell me.'" "then they are coming to-night?" cried nic, who somehow felt a kind of satisfaction in his adversary's prowess. "oh, ay," said the other man who had grumbled; "they're a-coming to-night. there's a big gang coming from the town, and i hear they're going to bring a cart for the zammon. there'll be a good thirty on 'em, master nic, zir; and i zay we aren't enough." "no," said nic quietly; "we are not enough, but we are going to have our revenge to-night for all the knocking about we've had." "but we're not enough, master nic. we're ready to fight, all on us--eh, mates?" "ay!" came in a deep growl. "but there aren't enough on us." "there will be," said nic in an eager whisper, "for a strong party of jack-tars from the king's ship that was lying off this evening are by this time marching up to help us, and we're going to give these scoundrels such a thrashing as will sicken them from ever meddling again with my father's fish." "yah!" growled a voice out of the gloom. "who said that?" cried nic. "i did, master nic," said the gardener sharply; "and you can tell the captain if you like. i say it aren't fair to try and humbug a lot o' men as is ready to fight for you. it's like saying `rats' to a dog when there aren't none." "is it?" cried nic, laughing. "how can that be? you heard just now that there will be about thirty rats for our bulldogs to worry." "i meant t'other way on, sir," growled the man sulkily. "no sailor bulldogs to come and help us." "how dare you say that?" cried nic angrily. "'cause i've lived off and on about plymouth all my life and close to the sea, and if i don't know a king's ship by this time i ought to. that's only a lubberly old merchantman. why, her yards were all anyhow, with not half men enough to keep 'em square." "bah!" cried solly angrily. "hold your mouth, you one-eyed old tater-grubber. what do you mean by giving the young master the lie?" "that will do, solly," cried nic. "he means right. look here, my lads; that is a king's ship, the one commanded by my father's friend; and he has made her look all rough like that so as to cheat the salmon-gang, and it will have cheated them if it has cheated you." a cheer was bursting forth, but nic checked it, and the gardener said huskily: "master nic, i beg your pardon. i oughtn't to ha' said such a word. it was the king's ship as humbugged me, and not you. say, lads, we're going to have a night of it, eh?" a low buzz of satisfaction arose; and nic hurried out, to walk in the direction of the signal-staff, where the captain had gone to look out for their allies. "who goes there?" came in the old officer's deep voice. "only i, father." "bah!" cried the captain in a low, angry voice. "give the word, sir--`tails.'" "the word?--`tails!'" said nic, wonderingly. "of course. i told you we must have a password, to tell friends from foes." "not a word, father." "what, sir? humph, no! i remember--i meant to give it to all at once. the word is `tails' and the countersign is `heads,' and any one who cannot give it is to have heads. do you see?" "oh yes, father, i see; but are the sailors coming?" "can't hear anything of them, my boy, and it's too dark to see; but they must be here soon." "i hope they will be, father," said nic. "don't say you hope they will be, as if you felt that they weren't coming. they're sure to come, my boy. jack lawrence never broke faith. now, look here; those scoundrels will be here by ten o'clock, some of them, for certain, and we must have our men in ambush first--our men, nic. jack lawrence's lads i shall place so as to cut off the enemy's retreat, ready to close in upon them and take them in the rear. do you see?" "yes, father; excellent." "then i propose that as soon as we hear our reinforcement coming you go off and plant your men in the wood behind the fall. i shall lead the sailors right round you to the other side of the pool; place them; and then there must be perfect silence till the enemy has lit up his torches and got well to work. then i shall give a shrill whistle on the french bo'sun's pipe i have in my pocket, you will advance your men and fall to, and we shall come upon them from the other side." "i see, father." "but look here, nic--did you change your things?" "yes, father; got on the old fishing and wading suit." "that's right, boy, for you've got your work cut out, and it may mean water as well as land." "yes, i expect to be in a pretty pickle," said nic, laughing, and beginning to feel excited now. "but do you think the sailors will find their way here in the dark?" "of course," cried the captain sharply. "jack lawrence will head them." "hist!" whispered nic, placing his hand to his ear and gazing seaward. "hear 'em?" nic was silent for a few moments. "yes," he said. "i can hear their soft, easy tramp over the short grass. listen." "right," said the captain, as from below them there came out of the darkness the regular _thrup_, _thrup_ of a body of men marching together. then, loudly, "king's men?" "captain revel?" came back in reply. "right. captain lawrence there?" "no, sir; he had a sudden summons from the port admiral, and is at plymouth. he gave me my instructions, sir--lieutenant kershaw. i have thirty men here." "bravo, my lad!" cried the captain. "forward, and follow me to the house. your men will take a bit of refreshment before we get to work." "forward," said the lieutenant in a low voice, and the _thrup_, _thrup_ of the footsteps began again, not a man being visible in the gloom. "off with you, nic," whispered the captain. "get your men in hiding at once. this is going to be a grand night, my boy. good luck to you; and i say, nic, my boy--" "yes, father." "no prisoners, but tell the men to hit hard." nic went off at a run, and the lieutenant directly after joined the captain, his men close at hand following behind. chapter ten. a night of nights. nic's heart beat fast as he ran lightly along the path, reached the house, and ran round to the stable-yard, where solly and the men were waiting. "ready, my lads?" he said in a low, husky voice, full of the excitement he felt. "we'll go on round to the back of the pool at once. the sailors are here, thirty strong, with their officer; so we ought to give the enemy a severe lesson.--ah! don't cheer. ready?--forward. come, solly; we'll lead." "precious dark, master nic," growled the old sailor in a hoarse whisper. "we shan't hardly be able to tell t'other from which." "ah! i forgot," cried nic excitedly. "halt! look here, my men. our password is `tails,' and our friends have to answer `heads.' so, if you are in doubt, cry `tails,' and if your adversary does not answer `heads' he's an enemy." "why, a-mussy me, master nic?" growled solly, "we shan't make heads or tails o' that in a scrimble-scramble scrimmage such as we're going to be in. what's the skipper thinking about? let me tell 'em what to do." "you heard your master's order, solly," replied nic. "yes, sir, of course; but this here won't do no harm. look here, my lads; as soon as ever we're at it, hit hard at every one who aren't a jack. you'll know them." nic felt that this addition could do no harm, so he did not interfere, but led on right past the way down to the falls, which had shrunk now to a little cascade falling with a pleasant murmur, for the draining of the heavy thunder-showers was nearly at an end, and the pool lay calm enough in the black darkness beneath the overhanging rocks and spreading trees--just in the right condition for a raid, and in all probability full of salmon. all at once the old sailor indulged in a burst of chuckles. "hear something, bill?" said nic. "no, my lad, not yet; i was on'y thinking. they was going to bring a cart up the road yonder, waren't they?" "yes; one of the men said so," replied nic. "well, we're a-going to give 'em something to take back in that cart to-night, my lad," whispered the man, with another chuckle; "and it won't be fish, nor it won't be fowl. my fingers is a-tingling so that i thought something was the matter, and i tried to change my stick from my right hand into my left." "well, what of that?" said nic contemptuously; "it was only pins and needles." "nay, master nic, it waren't that. i've been a sailor in the king's ships and have had it before. it was the fighting-stuff running down to the very tips of my fingers, and they wouldn't let go." "hush! don't talk now," whispered nic; "there may be one or two of the enemy yonder." "nay, it's a bit too soon for 'em, sir; but it'll be as well to keep quiet." the narrow paths of the tangled wilderness at the back of the pool were so well known to all present that their young leader had no difficulty in getting them stationed by twos and threes well down the sides of the gorge on shelves and ledges where the bushes and ferns grew thickly, from whence, when the poachers were well at work, it would be easy to spring down into the water and make the attack. for the flood had so far subsided now that the worst hole was not above five feet deep, and the greater part about three, with a fairly even bottom of ground-down rock smoothed by the pebbles washed over it in flood-time. here it was that the salmon for the most part congregated, the new-comers from the sea taking naturally to the haunts of their forerunners from time immemorial, so that poacher or honest fisher pretty well knew where he would be most successful. nic chose a central spot for himself and solly, some four feet above the level of the black water, and after ranging his men to right and left he sat down to wait, with all silent and dark around, save for the murmur of the water and the gleaming of a star or two overhead, for besides this there was not a glint of light. still, the place seemed to stand out before him. exactly opposite, across the pool, was the narrow opening between the steep rocks on either side; and he knew without telling that as soon as the poachers began their work his father would send some of his active allies into the bed of the stream lower down, to advance upward, probably before the whistle was blown. "and then the scoundrels will be in a regular trap before they know it," thought nic, as he strained his ears to catch the sound of the sailors being stationed in their hiding-places; but all was still save the soft humming roar of the falling water plunging into the pool. an hour passed very slowly, and nic's cramped position began to affect him with the tingling sensation known as pins and needles; this he did not attribute to the movement of his nerve-currents eager to reach his toes and fill him with a desire to kick his enemies, but quietly changed his position and waited, trembling with excitement, and longing now to get the matter over, fully satisfied as he was that his friends were all in position and ready for the fray. at last! there was a sharp crack, as if someone had trodden upon a piece of dead-wood away up to the right. then another crack and a rustling, and an evident disregard of caution. "come along, my lads," said a low, harsh voice; and then there was a splash, as if a man had lowered himself into the water. "they had enough of it last time, and won't come this, i'll wager. if they do, we're half as many again, and we'll give 'em such a drubbing as'll stop 'em for long enough." "needn't shout and holloa," said another voice from the side. "keep quiet. we don't want to fight unless we're obliged." "oh no, of course not!" said the man with the harsh voice mockingly. "if we do have to, my lads, two of you had better take pete burge home to his mother." there was a low laugh at this, and pete remained silent as far as making any retort was concerned, but directly after nic felt a singular thrill run through him as the man said softly: "three of you get there to the mouth and drop the net across and hold it, for the fish will make a rush that way. don't be afraid of the water. shove the bottom line well round the stones, and keep your feet on it. a lot got away last time." there was the sound of the water washing as men waded along the side of the great circular pool, and then the whishing of a net being dropped down and arranged. "ha, ha!" laughed a man; "there's one of 'em. come back again' my legs. he's in the net now. can't get through." "now then," cried the harsh-voiced fellow; "open those lanthorns and get your links alight, so as we can see what we're about." "not zo much noise, humpy dee," said pete sharply, as the light of three lanthorns which had been carried beneath sacks gleamed out over the water, and the light rapidly increased as dark figures could be seen lighting torches from the feeble candles and then waving their sticks of oakum and pitch to make them blaze, so that others could also start the links they carried. at first the light was feeble, and a good deal of black smoke arose, but soon after over a dozen torches were burning brightly, showing quite a little crowd of men, standing in the black water, armed with hooks and fish-spears, and each with a stout staff stuck in his belt. the scene was weird and strange, the light reflected from the cliff-like sides of the pool seeming to be condensed upon the surface; and the faces of the marauders gleamed strangely above the flashing water, beginning to be agitated now by the startled salmon; while rising upward there was a gathering cloud of black, stifling smoke. "ready there with that net," cried humpy dee, a broad-shouldered, dwarfed man, whose head was deep down between his shoulders. "ay, ay!" came from the mouth of the pool. "less noise," cried pete angrily. "here, you, jack willick, and you, nat barrow, go up towards the house and give us word if anyone's coming, so as we may be ready." "to run?" snarled humpy dee. "stop where you are, lads. if the old squire meant to come with his gang he'd ha' been here afore now, and--" _phee-yew_! the captain's shrill silver whistle rang out loudly at this instant, and nic and his men grasped their cudgels more tightly. "now for it, lads," he shouted, and he sprang from his ledge into the water and made at humpy dee. chapter eleven. a black night. nic's cry was answered by a loud cheer from his men, which seemed to paralyse the enemy--some thirty strong, who stood staring, the torch-bearers holding their smoky lights on high--giving the party from the point plenty of opportunity for picking their men, as they followed their leader's example and leaped into the pool. this caused a rush of the fish towards the lights for the most part, though many made for the gap to follow the stream, shooting against the net, which was held tightly in its place. "there, go home, you set of ugly fools, before you're hurt," cried the deformed man, with a snarl like that of a wild beast. "what! you will have it? come on, then. hi, there! hold the links higher, and let us see their thick heads. give it to 'em hard." emboldened by old successes, two wings of the gang whipped out their sticks and took a step or two forward, to stand firm on either side of the deformed man, who was a step in front. the next minute the fray had commenced, nic leading off with a tremendous cut from his left at humpy dee's head. for the young man's blood was up; he was the captain of the little party, and he knew that everything depended upon him. if he fought well they would stand by him to a man, as they had shown before. if, on the other hand, he seemed timid and careful, they would show a disposition to act on the defensive. that would not do now, as nic well knew. his object was to make a brave charge and stagger the enemy, so that they might become the easier victims to panic when they found that they were attacked by a strong party in the rear. _crack_! went nic's stout stick, as he struck with all his might; and _crick_, _crick_, _crack_, _crash_! went a score or more, mingled with shouts of defiance. but nic's cudgel did not give forth its sharp sound from contact with the leader's head, for he had to do with a clever cudgel-player as well as one who had often proved his power as a tricky wrestler in contests with the best men of the neighbouring farthest west county. nic's blow was cleverly caught on as stout a cudgel, and the next moment his left arm fell numb to his side. he struck savagely now, making up for want of skill by the rain of blows he dealt at his adversary, and thus saved himself from being beaten down into the water at once. but it was all in vain. on the other hand, though his men did better, being more equally matched they did not cause the panic nic had hoped for, and the enemy kept their ground; while the torches spluttered, blazed, and smoked, and to the spectators the amphitheatre during those few brief moments looked wild and strange as some feverish dream. but, as before said, nic's brave efforts were all in vain. his muscles were too soft and green, and he was, in addition to being young, no adept in the handling of a stick. he fought bravely, but he had not the strength to keep it up against this short, iron-muscled, skilful foe. he was aware of it only too soon, for his guard was beaten down, and he saw stars and flashes of light as he received a sharp blow from his adversary's stick. then he felt himself caught by the throat, and by the light of one of the torches he saw the man's cudgel in the act of falling once more for a blow which he could only weakly parry, when another cudgel flashed by, there was a crack just over his head, and humpy dee uttered a yell of rage. "you coward!" he roared. "take that!" and quick as a flash nic made out that he struck at some one else, and attributed the side-blow in his defence to solly, who was, he believed, close by. at that moment a loud, imperious voice from somewhere in front and above shouted, so that the rocks echoed: "hold hard below there!" nic involuntarily lowered his cudgel and stood panting, giddy, and sick, listening. "yah! never mind him," roared humpy. "you, pete, i'll pay you afterwards." "now, boys, down with you." "the poachers' companions," cried one of nic's men, and they stepped forward to the attack again, when a pistol-shot rang out and was multiplied by the rocky sides of the arena, making the combatants pause, so that the voice from above was plainly heard: "below there, you scoundrels! surrender in the king's name. you are surrounded." "brag, my lads!" roared humpy dee. "stand to it, boys, and haul the beggars out." there was a moment's pause, just enough for the next words to be heard: "at 'em, lads! you've got 'em, every man." a roaring cheer followed, and nic saw the torches through the cloud that seemed to be thickening around them. he could hear shouts, which grew louder and fiercer. there was the rattle of cudgels, savage yells seemed to be bellowed in his ears, and he felt himself thrust and struck and hauled here and there as a desperate fight went on for his possession. then, close at hand, there was a deafening cheer, a tremendous shock, the rattle of blows, and he was down upon his knees. lastly, in a faint, dreamy way, he was conscious of the rush of cold water about his face, in his ears the thundering noise of total immersion, with the hot, strangling sense of drowning; and then all was blank darkness, and he knew no more. chapter twelve. a strange awakening. another storm seemed to have gathered in dartmoor--a terrible storm, which sent the rain down in sheets, which creaked and groaned as they washed to and fro, and every now and then struck against the rocks with a noise like thunder. great stones seemed to be torn up and thrown here and there, making the shepherds shout as they tried to keep their flocks together under the shelter of some granite for, while down by the falls at the salmon-pool the water came over as it had never come before. nic had a faint recollection of his fight with humpy dee, and of some one coming to take his part, with the result that they were all tangled up together till they were forced beneath the water. this must have separated them, so that he was quite alone now, being carried round and round the pool, rising and falling in a regular way, till he came beneath the falls, when down came the tons of water upon his head, driving him beneath the surface, to glide on in the darkness, feeling sick and half-suffocated, while his head burned and throbbed as if it would burst. it did not seem to matter much, but it appeared very strange; and this must be drowning, but it took such a long time, and went on and on, repeating itself in the same way as if it would never end. that part of it was very strange, too--that light; and it puzzled nic exceedingly, for it seemed to be impossible that he should be going round and round in the salmon-pool, to be sucked under the falls, and feel the water come thundering upon his head with a crash and creak and groan, and in the midst of it for a lanthorn to come slowly along till it was quite close to him, and voices to be heard. after seeing it again and again, he felt that he understood what it was. he had been drowned, and they were coming with a lanthorn to look for his body; but they never found it, though they came and stood talking about him over and over again. at last he heard what was said quite plainly, but he only knew one voice out of the three that spoke, and he could not make out whose that was. the voice said, "better, sir, to-day;" and another voice said, "oh yes, you're getting all right now: head's healing nicely. the sooner you get up on deck and find your sea-legs the better." "oh, i shall be all right there, sir." "been to sea before?" "in fishing craft, sir--often. but would you mind telling me, sir, where we're going?" "oh, you'll know soon enough, my lad. well: america and the west indies." "this must be a dream," thought nic; and he was lying wondering, when the light was suddenly held close to him, and he could see over his head beams and planks and iron rings and ropes, which made it all more puzzling than ever. then a cool hand touched his brow, and it seemed as if a bandage was removed, cool water laved the part which ached and burned, and a fresh bandage was fastened on. "won't die, will he, sir?" said the voice nic knew but could not quite make out. "oh no, not now, my lad. he has had a near shave, and been none the better for knocking about in this storm; but he's young and healthy, and the fever is not quite so high this morning.--hold the light nearer, jeffs.--hallo! look at his eyes; he can hear what we say.--coming round, then, my lad?" "yes," said nic feebly, "round and round. the falls will not come on my head any more, will they?" _crash_--_rush_! and nic groaned, for down came the water again, and the young man nearly swooned in his agony, while a deathly sensation of giddiness attacked him. "head seems to be all right now," said the third voice. "yes, healing nicely; but he ought to have been sent ashore to the hospital." "oh, i don't know. bit of practice." the roar and rush ceased, and the terrible sinking sensation passed off a little. "drink this, my lad," said a voice, and nic felt himself raised; something nasty was trickled between his lips, and he was lowered down again, and it was dark, while the burning pain, the giddiness, and the going round the pool and under the falls went on over and over in a dreamy, distant way once more. then there was a long, drowsy space, and the sound of the falls grew subdued. at last nic lay puzzling his weary, confused head as to the meaning of a strange creaking, and a peculiar rising and falling, and why it was that he did not feel wet. just then from out of the darkness there was a low whistling sound, which he recognised as part of a tune he had often heard, and it was so pleasant to hear that he lay quite still listening till it ended, when he fell asleep, and seemed to wake again directly, with the melody of the old country ditty being repeated softly close at hand. "who's that?" he said at last; and there was a start, and a voice--that voice he could not make out--cried: "hullo, master nic! glad to hear you speak zensible again." "speak--sensible--why shouldn't i?" "i d'know, zir. but you have been going it a rum 'un. feel better?" "feel--better. i don't know. who is it?" "me, sir." "yes, yes," cried nic querulously; "but who is it?" "pete burge, sir." "pete--burge," said nic thoughtfully, and he lay very still trying to think; but he could not manage it, for the water in the pool seemed to be bearing him along, and now he was gliding up, and then down again, while his companion kept on talk, talk, talk, in a low murmur, and all was blank once more. then a change came, and nic lay thinking a little more clearly. "are you there, pete burge?" he said. "yes, i'm here, master." "what was that you were saying to me just now?" "just now?" said the man wonderingly. "well, you do go on queer, zir. that was the day afore yes'day. but i zay, you are better now, aren't you?" "better? i don't know. i thought i was drowned." "poor lad!" said pete softly; but it seemed to sting nic. "what do you mean by that?" he said feebly. "zorry for you, master." "why?" "'cause you've been zo bad." "been so bad?" said nic thoughtfully. "why have i been so bad? it's very strange." pete burge made no reply, and there was silence again, till it was broken by nic, who said suddenly: "have you been very bad too?" "me, zir? yes, horrid. thought i was going to the locker, as they call it. doctor zaid i ought to have been took to the hospital." "were you nearly drowned?" said nic after a pause, during which he had to fight hard to keep his thinking power under control. "was i nearly drowned, zir?" said the man, with a low chuckle. "zeems to me i was nearly everythinged. head smashed, chopped, choked, and drowned too." nic was silent again, for he could not take in so many ideas as this at once, and it was some minutes before he could collect himself for another question. "but you are better now?" "oh yes, zir, i'm better now. doctor zays i'm to get up to-morrow." "the doctor! was that the doctor whom i heard talking yesterday?" "yes: two of 'em; they've pulled uz round wonderful. you frightened me horrid, master, the way you went on, and just when i was most bad. you made me feel it was all my fault, and i couldn't zleep for thinking that if you died i'd killed you. but i zay, master, you won't die now, will you?" "how absurd!" said nic, with a weak laugh. "of course not. why should i die now?" "ah, why indeed, when you're getting better?" there was another silence before nic began again. "i've been wondering," he said, "why it is that we can be going round the salmon-pool like this, and yet be lying here talking about the doctor and being bad." "ay, 'tis rum, sir." "yes, it puzzles me. look here; didn't we have a fight with you and your men to-night?" "we had a big fight, sir; but it waren't to-night." "but it's quite dark still, and i suppose it's my head being giddy that makes me feel that we're going up and down." "oh no, it aren't, zir," said the man, laughing; "we're going up and down bad enough. not zo bad as we have been." "and round and round?" "no; not going round, master." "but where are we?" said nic eagerly. "ah, that puzzles you, do it, zir? well, it puzzled me at first, till i asked; and then the doctor zaid we was in the cockpit, but i haven't heard any battle-cocks crowing, and you can't zee now, it's zo dark. black enough, though, for a pit." "cockpit--cockpit!" said nic. "why, that's on board ship." "to be zure." "but we are not on board ship?" "aren't we?" said the man. "i--i don't understand," cried nic after a pause. "my head is all confused and strange. tell me what it all means." pete burge was silent. "poor lad!" he said to himself; "how's he going to take it when he knows all?" "you do not speak," said nic excitedly. "ah! i am beginning to think clearly now. you came with the men after the salmon?" "ay, worse luck. i didn't want to, but i had to go." "come," said nic sharply. "to-night, wasn't it?" "nay. it's 'bout three weeks ago, master." this announcement, though almost a repetition, seemed to stun nic for the time; but he began again: "we had a desperate fight, didn't we?" "worst i was ever in." "and--yes, i remember; we were struggling in the pool when the sailors came." "that's it, master; you've got it now." "but your side won, then, and i'm a prisoner?" "nay; your side won, master." "how can that be?" cried nic. "'cause it is. they was too many for uz. they come down like thunder on uz, and 'fore we knowed where we was we was tied up in twos and being marched away." "our side won?" said nic, in his confusion. "that's right, master. you zee, they told humpy dee and the rest to give in, and they wouldn't; so the zailor officer wouldn't stand no nonsense. his men begun with sticks; but, as our zide made a big fight of it, they whips out their cutlashes and used them. i got one chop, and you nearly had it, and when two or three more had had a taste of the sharp edge they begun to give in; and, as i telled you, next thing we was tied two and two and marched down to the river, pitched into the bottoms of two boats, and rowed aboard a ship as zet zail at once; and next night we was pitched down into the boats again and hoisted aboard this ship, as was lying off plymouth waiting to start." "waiting to sail?" "that's right, master! and i s'pose she went off at once, but i was too bad to know anything about it. when i could begin to understand i was lying here in this hammock, and the doctor telled me." "one moment. where are the others?" "all aboard, sir--that is, twenty-two with uz." "some of our men too?" "nay, zir; on'y our gang." "but i don't understand, quite," said nic pitifully. "i want to know why they have brought me. tell me, pete burge--my head is getting confused again--tell me why i am here." "mistake, i s'pose, sir. thought, zeeing you all rough-looking and covered with blood, as you was one of us." nic lay with his head turned in the speaker's direction, battling with the horrible despairing thoughts which came like a flood over his disordered brain; but they were too much for him. he tried to speak; but the dark waters of the pool were there again, and the next minute he felt as if he had been drawn by the current beneath the fall, and all was mental darkness and the old confusion once more. chapter thirteen. william solly has thoughts. it would have been better, perhaps, for nic revel if he had not heard the result of the plan to get help from captain lawrence's ship and its disastrous results for him. for pete burge's narrative was correct enough, save that he made an omission or two, notably the fact that he was captured while making a brave effort to save nic from the savage blows being dealt out to him by humpy dee, who was trying to visit upon his head the disappointment he felt through the failure of the raid. it was from finding nic, helplessly insensible, being carried off by pete that in the dark the sailors took the young man for one of the party they were to attack; and hence it was that he was tied fast to his injured companion, carried down the hill-slope to the river, bundled into the boat with the other prisoners, and carried off, there being no further communication held with the shore. captain lawrence knew nothing till long afterwards about nic being missing, and the long, long search made for him in the pool; two of the men, when questioned later on during the inquiry, having seen him go down in the fierce struggle. but no one, during the confusion which ensued, had seen him rise again; for it was somewhere about that time that those who bore torches, and saw that the fight was going against them, dashed them down into the water, hoping the darkness would cover their escape. the captain, in the triumphant issue of the encounter, had stood to see the prisoners all bound, and soon after, upon not finding his son, accepted solly's suggestion that nic had walked down to see the prisoners off, and perhaps gone on board to thank the officer for his help. the next morning the ship was gone, and a horrible dread assailed master and man as to nic's fate. then came the information from the two labourers who had taken part in the defence and the search, every inch of the pool and river being examined, till the suspicion became a certainty that nic had been swept down the river and carried out to sea, the cap he wore having been brought in by one of the fishermen who harboured his boat in the mouth of the stream. but captain revel did not rest content with this: in his agony he communicated with captain lawrence, who came on at once, and confessed now to his old friend why, when his help was asked, he had jumped at the idea. they wanted men for one of the ships bound for charleston and the west indies, the pressgangs having been very unsuccessful; and as the salmon-poachers were described to him as being strong, active fellows, the idea struck him that here was a fine opportunity for ridding the neighbourhood of a gang of mischievous ne'er-do-weels--men who would be of service to their country, and henceforth leave his old brother-officer in peace; while any of them not particularly suitable could be easily got rid of among the sugar and tobacco plantations. "then," said captain revel, "you have sent them away?" "yes; they sailed the next night. it was rather a high-handed transaction; but the service wanted them badly, and we can't afford to be too particular at a time like this." "but do you think it likely that my poor boy was among the prisoners?" "impossible," said the captain. "if he were--which is not in the least likely--all he had to do was to speak and say who he was. but absurd! i should have known, of course." "but after he was on board the other vessel?" "my dear old friend," said captain lawrence sympathetically, "i shrink from dashing your hopes, but i feel how unjust it would be to back you up in the idea that he may have gone with the impressed men. he is a gentleman, and an english officer's son, and he would only have to open his lips to any one he encountered, and explain his position, to be sent home from the first port he reached." "yes, yes, of course," said the captain bitterly; "and i shall never see my poor boy again." captain lawrence was so uneasy about his friend that he went back to the boat and sent her off to the ship, returning afterwards to the house, bitterly regretting that he had sent his men ashore and allowed himself to be tempted into making a seizure of the poachers. captain revel was seated in his arm-chair when captain lawrence re-entered the house, looking calm, grave, and thoughtful. his friend's coming made him raise his head and gaze sorrowfully; then, with a weary smile, he let his chin drop upon his breast and sat looking hard at the carpet. "come, revel, man," cried captain lawrence, "you must cheer up. we sailors can't afford to look at the black side of things." "no, no; of course not," said the stricken man. "i shall be better soon, jack; better soon. i'm getting ready to fight it." "that's right; and before long you will have the boy marching into the room, or else sending you a letter." "yes, yes," said captain revel, with a sad smile, and in a manner totally different from that which he generally assumed, "he'll soon come back or write." "but, poor fellow! he does not think so," said captain lawrence to himself, as nic's father relapsed into thoughtful silence. "solly, my lad," said the visitor, when he felt that he must return to his vessel, "your master has got a nasty shock over this business." "ay, ay, sir; and he aren't the only one as feels it. i ought never to ha' left master nic's side; but he put me in my station, and, of course, i had to obey orders." "of course, my lad. here, we must make the best of it, and hope and pray that the boy will turn up again all right." solly shook his head sadly. "ah, don't do that, my man," cried captain lawrence. "you a sailor, too. there's life in a mussel, solly. a man's never dead with us till he is over the side with a shot at his heels." "that's true, sir," said the old sailor; "but, you see, i'm afraid. there was some fierce fighting over yonder in the pitch-dark, where the lights waren't showing. sticks was a-going awful. if my poor boy got one o' they cracks on his head and went beneath, there was plenty o' water to wash him out o' the pool and down the river." "yes; but hope for the best, man; hope for the best. remember the bit of blue that comes in the wind's eye often enough when we're in the worst part of a gale." "ay, sir, that's what i do--hope for the best, and that if my poor young master, who was as fine a lad as ever stepped, is done for, i may some day find out who it was that hit that blow, and pay it back." "no, solly," said captain lawrence sternly. "an english sailor does not take revenge in cold blood for what was done in hot. never! there, i must get off, and in a few days i hope to be back to see my old friend again. meanwhile, i know he's in good hands, and that he would not wish to be watched over by any one better than william solly, his old companion in many a trouble of the past." "it's very kind o' you to say so, sir," said solly humbly. "i only speak the truth, my man," said the visitor. "i have seen a great deal, and captain revel has told me more, about what a faithful servant you have been to him. do all you can to comfort him, for he is terribly changed." the tears were in old solly's eyes, and there seemed to be a kink in his throat, as he said huskily: "awful, sir. i was a-saying on'y the other day, when the skipper was wherriting hisself about losing a few salmon, and raging and blowing all over the place, that he wanted a real trouble to upset him, and that then he wouldn't go so half-mad-like about a pack o' poachers working the pool. but i little thought then that the real bad trouble was coming so soon; and it has altered him, sewer-ly. poor master nic--poor dear lad! seems on'y t'other day as i used to carry him sittin' with his little bare legs over my two shoulders, and him holding on tight by my curly hair. yes, sir, you look; it is smooth and shiny up aloft now, but i had a lot o' short, curly hair then, just like an old calabar nigger's. and now, on'y to think of it." "no, don't think of it, my lad, for we are not certain, and we will not give up hope. there, good-bye, solly, my man. shake hands." "shake--hands, sir--with you, cap'n?" "no, not with the captain, but with the man who looks upon you as an old friend." the next minute solly was alone, rubbing his fist first in one eye and then in the other, twisting the big bony knuckle of his forefinger round so as to squeeze the moisture out. "well now," he said, "just look at that! what an old fool i am! well, if i didn't know as them there drops o' mystur' was 'cause o' my poor lad master nic, i should ha' thought it was all on account o' what cap'n lawrence said. `friend!' he says. well, i like that. i s'pose it's 'cause i've allus tried to do my dooty, though i've made a horful muddle on it more'n once." chapter fourteen. from darkness to light. the next time the doctor came below to see his patients he examined pete burge. "humph!" he ejaculated. "lucky for you, my man, that you have such a thick skull. you'll do now; but you've had a narrow escape. there, you can go up on deck every day a bit, but keep out of the sun; it's very hot, and getting hotter. it will do you more good than stopping down in this black hole." "thank ye, master," said pete; and he lay still in his hammock, waiting for the doctor to go on deck before getting out and beginning to dress. "look here," said the doctor; "you are not off the sick-list yet, and you will come down and look after this lad till he is fit to go up.-- well, how are you, my lad?--hold that light closer," he continued, turning to his assistant. "humph! fever stronger.--has he been talking to you--sensibly?" "yes, zir," replied pete. "a good deal muddled at first, but he began asking questions at last." "what about?" "didn't know how he come here, and i had to tell him." "yes! what then?" "give a zort of a groan, zir, and been talking to hisself ever zince." "humph! poor wretch," muttered the doctor, and he gave some instructions to his assistant before turning once more to pete: "look here, you had better stay with your mate when you are not on deck. if he gets worse you can fetch me." "where shall i find you, zir?" asked pete. "ask one of the men." pete began to dress as soon as he was alone, and found that it was no easy task on account of a strange feeling of giddiness; but he succeeded at last, and stepped to nic's hammock and laid a cool hand upon the poor fellow's burning brow. then he went on deck, glad to sit down right forward in the shade cast by one of the sails and watch the blue water whenever the vessel heeled over. the exertion, the fresh air, and the rocking motion of the ship produced a feeling of drowsiness, and pete was dropping off to sleep when he started into wakefulness again, for half-a-dozen men came up a hatchway close at hand, with the irons they wore clinking, to sit down upon the deck pretty near the convalescent. pete stared as he recognised humpy dee and five other partners in the raid. "there, what did i tell you?" said the first-named, speaking to his companions, but glaring savagely at pete the while. "there he is. i allus knowed it. he aren't in irons. it was his doing. give warning, he did, and they brought the sailor jacks up. it was a regular trap." "what do you mean?" said pete wonderingly. "what i say. i always knew you'd turn traitor and tell on us." "you don't know what you're talking about," cried pete. "look here, lads." the men he addressed uttered a low growl and turned from him in disgust. "oh, very well," said pete bitterly; "if you like to believe him instead of me, you can." "i told you so," went on humpy dee, whose countenance looked repulsive now from a patch of strips of sticking-plaster upon his forehead; "and he says i don't know what i'm talking about." "that's right," said pete; "you don't." "maybe; but i do now. look ye here, pete burge; it's your doing that we're here. nearly the whole lot on us took--there, you can see some of 'em sailors now. pressed men. they took the pick of us; but we're not good enough, we're not, while you're to be a bo'sun, or some'at o' that sort, you expect. but you won't, for, first chance i get, pete burge, i'm going to pitch you overboard, or put a knife in your back; so look out." "you don't know what you're talking about," said pete again, for nothing better occurred to him; and as the charge seemed to have gone home for truth with the other unfortunates, one and all embittered by sickness, injuries, and confinement in irons below deck, pete sulkily did as they did, turned away, confident that humpy dee's threat would not be put in force then; for a marine was standing sentry over them, till the men in irons were marched below, pete finding that, as one on the sick-list, he was free to go up or down when he liked. during the next fortnight the man puzzled himself as to what was to become of them. he had seen others of his companions often enough, going about their duties; but every one turned from him with a scowl of dislike, which showed that the charge humpy had made had gone home, and that all believed he had betrayed them. the consequence was that he passed much of his time below decks, and preferred to come up for his breath of fresh air after dark, passing his time beside nic's hammock, thinking what he ought to do about him, and making up his mind what it was to be as soon as the poor fellow grew better and fully recovered his senses. "i'll tell the doctor then," he said to himself. "there's no good in telling him now, for if i did they'd take him away and put him in a cabin, where it would only be lonezome for him and for me too; and no one would wait on him better than i do." but nic did not get better, as pete wished, nor yet as the doctor essayed to make him. "it has got on his brain, poor fellow," said that gentleman one day, when the patient was able to walk about, apparently nearly well, but his mind quite vacant. he talked, but the past was quite a blank. "but he'll get it off, won't he, zir?" said pete, who felt the time to speak had come. "some day, my lad. i dare say his memory will come back all of a sudden when he is stronger and better able to bear his trouble; so perhaps it's all a blessing for him in disguise." there was so much in this that pete felt that it was not the time to speak yet. "what good can it do him till he can think?" he said to himself. "it will only be like me losing a mate as can be a bit o' comfort, now every one's again' me. i mean to stick to him till he can speak out and tell 'em as i didn't inform again' the others." so pete held his tongue, and being so much below, was almost forgotten, save by the men of the watches who had to bring the two sick men their rations; and finally he left it till it was too late. for he awoke one morning to find that they were in port in a strange land, and in the course of the morning the word was passed to him and his unfortunate companion to "tumble up." "here, master," he said to nic; "you're to come up." nic made no objection, but suffered himself to be led on deck, where he stood, pale and thin, the wreck of his former self, blinking in the unwonted light, and trying to stare about him, but in a blank way, ending by feeling for and clinging to pete's arm. very little time was afforded the latter for looking about, wondering what was to happen next; all he saw on deck was a group of marines and about a couple of dozen of the sailors doing something to one of the boats, while the officers were looking on. the next minute his attention was taken by the beautiful country spreading out beyond the shore, a quarter of a mile away across the sparkling waters of the harbour. but there was something else to take his attention during the next minute, for there was the clanking of irons, and he saw humpy dee and his five companions marched up from below to be called to where he was standing with nic. the poachers looked repellent enough as they followed humpy dee's example, and scowled at the pair who had come up from the sick bay, and seemed to receive little sympathy from those who were looking on. then there was an order given by one of the officers, and the crew of the boat climbed quickly in, while the marines came up behind the prisoners. "they're going to take us ashore," thought pete excitedly, and the idea had hardly been grasped, before a couple of old hats were handed to him and his companion by the sergeant of marines. "they're going to put uz with humpy and that lot," said pete to himself excitedly; "and i must speak now." he spoke. it was hurriedly and blunderingly done, and the officer whom he addressed looked at him frowningly. "what!" he cried; "this man is not one of you--one of the gang taken that night?" "no, master; he's a gentleman, and took by mistake." humpy dee's eyes flashed, and he burst into a coarse laugh. "silence, you scoundrel!--how dare you?" cried the officer angrily. "couldn't help it, master," growled humpy. "make a horse laugh to hear such gammon." "what! do you say that what he tells me is not true?" "it is true, master," cried pete, "every word--" "all lies," snarled the poacher savagely. "he was in the fight, and got hurt. he's one of us. that pete burge peached on us, and brought the sailor jacks on us; and he wants to get out of it to let us go alone. lies, captain; all lies." "what do you say, my men?" said the officer sternly, turning to humpy's companions. "same as he does," cried the pressed men in chorus. "and you?" cried the officer, turning to nic. "are you one of this fellow's comrades?" "no, master, he aren't," cried pete; "he aren't, indeed. he's nought to me. he's--" "silence, sir!" roared the officer. "you, sir," he continued, turning to nic, "speak out. are you one of this fellow's comrades?" nic looked at him blankly, and there was silence on the deck, as the various groups stood there in the burning sunshine. "well, sir, why don't you answer?" cried the officer. nic's answer was in dumb-show, for, poor fellow, he did not grasp a word. he knew that the man by his side had been with him a great deal, and nursed and helped him, speaking soothingly when he was at his worst--every one else seemed strange; and without a word he smiled sadly in pete's face and took hold of his arm. "that will do," said the officer, who had his orders to carry out. "in with them!" the marines laid their hands on nic's and pete's shoulders, while the sergeant signed to the others to climb into the boat; humpy dee turning, as he got in last, to give pete a savage look of triumph. pete turned sharply to the marine who was urging him to the side. "tell me, mate," he whispered quickly; "just a word. where are we going to be took?" the marine glanced swiftly aside to see if it was safe to answer, and then whispered back: "off to the plantations, i s'pose. there, keep a good heart, lad. it aren't for ever and a day." the plantations--to work as a kind of white slave for some colonist far-away. pete, in his ignorance, only grasped half the truth; but that half was bad enough to make him sink down in the boat as it was lowered from the davits, put his lips close to nic's ear, and groan more than say: "oh, master nic, lad, what have you done?" then the boat kissed the water; the order was given; the oars fell with a splash; and, as the men gave way, pete burge darted a wild look about him, to find humpy dee just at his back, glaring malignantly, and as if about to speak, as he leaned forward. but no word came, for the marine sergeant clapped a hand upon his shoulder and thrust him back. "all right," said humpy dee; "my time'll come bimeby. better than being a pressed man, after all." nic had been a long while in the darkness below deck, and his eyes were feeble; but, as the boat glided on rapidly towards the shore, they became more accustomed to the light, and he gazed wonderingly about in his confused state, seeing nothing of the trouble ahead, only the fact that he was approaching the far-stretching, sun-brightened shore. chapter fifteen. humpy dee's little threats. however much he might have been disposed to make a fresh appeal on his companion's behalf, pete had no opportunity; for, upon the boat being run alongside of a roughly-made wharf, he and the others were hurried out and marched away to a kind of warehouse, and the care of them handed over to some people in authority, by whom they were shut-in, glad of the change from the broiling sun outside to the cool gloom of the interior, lit only by a grated window high up above the door, from which the rays streamed across the open roof, leaving the roughly-boarded floor in darkness. after a few minutes the eyes became accustomed to the gloom, and the men seated themselves upon the empty chests and barrels lying about, pete securing one for nic, who sat down mechanically, with his head thrown back so that he could gaze at the light. pete contented himself with the rough floor, where he half-lay, listening to his companions in misfortune, half-a-dozen yards away, as they talked over their position and wondered where they were to go--to a man keeping aloof from pete, the traitor they accredited with bringing them to their present state. the men were better informed than pete had been, his stay in company with nic and the dislike in which he was held by his old companions having kept him in ignorance of facts which they had picked up from the sailors. and now pete gradually grasped in full that of which he had previously only had an inkling--that the pick of the prisoners had been reserved for man-o'-war's-men, those who were considered unsuitable having been reserved for handing over to the colonists. this was in accordance with a custom dating as far back as the days of cromwell, the protector being accredited with ridding himself of troublesome prisoners by shipping them off to the plantations as white slaves, most of them never to return. "well," said humpy dee aloud, in the course of conversation, "i suppose it means work." "yes," said another; "and one of the jacks told me you have to hoe sugar-cane and tobacco and rice out in the hot sun, and if you don't do enough you get the cat." "if any one tries to give me the lash," growled humpy, "he'll get something he won't like." "they'll hang you or shoot you if you try on any games, old lad," said another of the men. "maybe, if they can," said humpy, with a laugh. "perhaps we may be too many for them. i mean to take to the woods till i can get taken off by a ship." "ah, who knows?" said another. "i aren't going to give up. place don't look so bad. see that river as we come up here?" "of course," growled humpy. "well, i dare say there'll be salmon in it, same as there is at home." "tchah!" cried humpy; "not here. this is foreign abroad man. you'll get no salmon now." "well, any fish'll do," said another of the men. "the place don't look bad, and anything's better than being shut down below them decks. 'nough to stifle a man. i know what i'm going to do, though, along with them as like to join me." "you're going to do what i tells you," said humpy dee sourly; "i'm going to be head-man here; and if you don't you'll find yourself wishing you hadn't been born." the man growled something in an undertone, and humpy made an offer at him as if to strike, causing his companion in misfortune to flinch back to avoid the expected blow. "look here, boys," said humpy; "if every one here's going to try to do things on his own hook we shall do nothing, so what you've got to do is to stick by me. we're not going to be sold here like a gang o' black slaves." "but we are sold," said the man who had shrunk away. "never mind that; we're not going to work, then," said humpy. "we're going to slip off into the woods, get to that there river, and do something better than spear or bale out salmon. we're going to take the first boat we see and get round to the coast, and then keep along till we find a ship to take us off." "well, that's what i meant," said the other man. "then you'll be all right," said humpy. so far, without paying attention, pete had heard every word, and his blood began to course faster through his veins at the thought of escaping and helping nic back to his friends; but, though he strove hard, not another word reached his ears; for humpy leaned forward and began speaking in a hoarse whisper, his companions bending towards him, as he said with a peculiar intensity: "we've got to get back home, lads, and not stop here to rot in the sun to make money for whoever's bought us; but there's something to do first." "what?" said one of the men, for humpy dee had stopped and sat in the gloom, glaring savagely at the farther side of the place. "wait, and you'll hear," was the reply; and there was another pause, during which nic uttered a low, weary sigh, and let himself fall sideways, so that his head sank in pete's lap, and, utterly exhausted, he dropped off to sleep. "you know how it all was," humpy went on at last. "i aren't going to name no names, but some 'un was jealous-like o' me, and wanting to take the lead always; and, when he found he couldn't, he goes and blabs to the young master yonder. well, we're not going to take him back--we've not going to tell him how we're going to do it." "have told him. spoke loud enough," said the man who had received the rebuff. humpy leaned towards him, and with a peculiar, savage air, said in a husky whisper: "look here, mate; there's only room for one to lead here. if you aren't satisfied you can go and sit along with them two and sham sick, like pete burge has all through the voyage." "well, don't bite a man's head off," said the other. "who wants to lead?" "you do, or you wouldn't talk like a fool. think i'm one, mates?--think i'm going to do as i said, and let him go and blab, so as to get into favour here? that's just what i don't mean to do." "then what are you going to do?" said his fellow-prisoner; but for a few moments humpy only glared at him without speaking. at last, though, he whispered: "i mean for us to go off together and get free; and as for some one else, i mean for us all to give him something to remember us by afore we go." chapter sixteen. human cattle. the prisoners had been sitting in the dark warehouse-like place for some hours, nic sleeping soundly, and pete watching and listening to his companions in misfortune, judging from their behaviour that he was to be treated as an outcast, but caring little, for he was conscious of having been true to them in their nefarious doings. "let them think what they like," he said to himself. "humpy has got that into their heads, and if i talk to them for a week they won't believe me." then he began to muse upon the subject which forms seven-eighths of a prisoner's thoughts--how he and nic were to escape, and whether it would be possible to get to a boat and float down the river of which they had had a glimpse, and of which he had heard his companions speaking, when suddenly there was the deep, heavy barking of a dog, followed by that of two more; and, as he listened, the sounds came nearer and nearer, in company with the shuffling of feet. voices were heard too, and directly after there was a loud snuffling sound and a deep growling, as the dogs they had heard thrust their noses under the big door, tore at it, and growled savagely, till a fierce voice roared: "come here! lie down!" and there was a crack of a whip, and a sharp yelp to indicate that one of the dogs had received a blow. directly after there was the rattle of a big key in the lock, the bolt snapped back, and the door was thrown open, to fill the place with the glow of the afternoon sunshine; and three great hounds bounded in, to rush at once for the prisoners and begin snuffing at them, growling loudly the while. "call those dogs off, saunders," said a stern voice, as the entrance was darkened by the figures of a group of men. "in a moment," was the reply, made by a tall, active-looking man, "they only want to know the new hands, and their flavour.--here: down, boys!" the speaker accompanied his order with a sharp crack of the whip, and the dogs came back unwillingly from the groups seated on the floor. "take care," said the first speaker; "that man has a knife." pete turned sharply, to see that a knife-blade was gleaming in humpy dee's hand. "knife, has he?" said the man addressed as saunders, and he stepped forward to where humpy was crouching down. "give me that knife," he said sharply. "i don't want to be eat by dogs," said humpy in a low, surly tone. "give me that knife," was reiterated sternly, "or i set the dogs to hold you while i take it away." humpy hesitated for a moment and glared in the speaker's eyes; but he read there a power which was too much for him, and he closed the blade with a snap and slowly held it up. the man snatched it from him with his left hand, and the next instant there was a sharp whish through the air and a smart crack, as the stinging lash of a whip fell across humpy's shoulder, making him utter a yell of rage. "saunders, saunders!" said the first speaker reproachfully. "all right, mr groves; i know what i'm about," said the man sharply. "that fellow was armed with a knife which he must have stolen from one of the sailors; and he was ready to use it. the sooner a savage brute like that is taught his position here the better for him. you have done your part and handed the scoundrels over to me, so please don't interfere." the first speaker shrugged his shoulders, and turned to a couple of men who were carrying a basket and a great pitcher; while saunders went on sharply: "you hear what i am saying, my lads; so understand this: you have been sent out here from your country because you were not fit to stay there; and you will have to serve now up at your proprietor's plantation. behave yourselves, and you will be well fed, and fairly treated over your work; but i warn you that we stand no nonsense here. the law gives us power to treat you as you deserve. our lives are sacred; yours are not--which means, as mr groves here will tell you, that if you venture to attack any one you will be shot down at sight, while i may as well tell you now that we shall fire at any man who attempts to escape." pete's head gave a throb, and his hand glided slowly to nic's and held it tightly. "when you get up to the plantation you will see for yourselves that you cannot get away, for you will have jailers there always ready to watch you or hunt you down. there are three of them," he continued, pointing to the dogs which crouched on the warehouse floor, panting, with their long red tongues out and curled up at the ends. at their master's gesture the sagacious animals sprang up and gazed eagerly in his face. "not now, boys; lie down.--ah, what's that?" he cried sharply, and the dogs made a movement as if to rush at the prisoners, for humpy leaned sideways and whispered to his nearest companion: "more ways than one o' killing a dog." "talking about the dogs," said the other surlily. "you are making yourself a marked man, my friend. take care. who are these--the two who have been in hospital, mr groves?" "i suppose so," was the reply. "what's the matter with you?" said the overseer--for such he proved to be--addressing pete. "jump up." pete softly lifted nic's head from his knee and rose quickly. "was cut down, sir," said pete; "but i'm getting better fast now." "good job for you. now, you, sir; wake up." the overseer raised the whip he held, to make a flick at nic as he lay soundly asleep; but pete stepped forward to save his companion, and in bending over him received the slight cut himself without flinching, though the lash made him feel as if he had been stung. "he has been a'most dead, zir," said pete sharply; "but he's getting better now fast. hasn't got his zenses, though." "wake him up, then," said the overseer sharply; "and you can get your meal now.--here, my lads, bring that stuff here and serve it out." pete obeyed the order given, and began by gently shaking nic, who made no sign. pete shook him again more firmly, starting violently the next moment, for, unnoticed, one of the great hounds had approached him and lowered its muzzle to sniff at the prostrate man. pete's first instinctive idea was to strike fiercely at the savage-looking intruder, but fortunately he held his hand and bent over his companion wonderingly, and hardly able to believe what he saw; for as the dog nuzzled about nic's face, the young man, partly aroused by the shaking, opened his eyes, looked vacantly at the brute for some moments, and then, as if his intellectual powers were returning, he smiled, the animal stopping short and staring down at him closely. "well, old fellow," he said gently; "whose dog are you?" pete looked up sharply, and saw that every one's attention was centred on the basket and pitcher, the two men serving out the provisions and their two superiors looking on. then he glanced back again, to see in horror that nic had raised his hand to the dog's muzzle, and followed that up by taking hold of and passing the animal's long, soft ears through his hand. pete would have seized the dog, but he felt paralysed by the thought that if he interfered he might make matters worse; and then his heart seemed to rise in his throat, for the great hound uttered a deep, short bark, which had the effect of bringing the others to its side. "quiet, you, sirs!" cried their master, but he did not turn his head, and the three dogs now pressed round nic, the first planting his fore-paws on the young man's chest, blinking at him with his jaws apart and the long red tongue playing and quivering between the sets of keen milk-white teeth, evidently liking the caresses it received, and of which the other two appeared to be jealous, for they suddenly began to whimper; and then the first threw up its head, and all three broke into a loud baying. "quiet, there!" roared saunders, and he turned sharply now, saw what had taken place, and came back cracking his whip. "ah!" he shouted. "get back! how dare you?" the dogs growled, stood fast, and barked at him loudly. "good boys, then!" cried saunders. "yes, it's all right; you've found him. there, that will do." the dogs began to leap and bound about the place, while their master turned to pete. "why didn't you call me?" he said. "have they bitten him?" "no; haven't hurt him a bit," said pete quietly. "lucky for him," said the man. "there, you see what they're like, and know what you have to expect--what?" "i said, are they your dogs?" pete stared, for it was nic who spoke, perfectly calmly, though in a feeble voice. "yes," replied saunders. "why?" "i could not help admiring them. they are magnificent beasts." "i am glad you like them, sir," said saunders, with a mocking laugh; and he turned and strode away, to order the men to take some of the food they had brought to the other two prisoners, leaving nic gazing after him. "rather brusque," he said, half to himself, and then he passed his hand over his eyes, drew a long, deep, restful breath, and turned over as if to go to sleep again; but he started up on his elbow instead as he encountered pete's face, and a look of horror and dislike contracted his own. "you here?" he said wonderingly. "hush! don't speak aloud, dear lad," whispered pete excitedly. "dear lad?" "master nic revel, then. you haven't quite come-to yet. you don't remember. you were took bad again after being bad once--when you asked me questions aboard ship, and i had to tell you." "taken bad--aboard ship?" "here you are; catch hold," said a voice close to them; and one of the men handed each half a small loaf, while his companion filled a tin mug that must have held about half-a-pint, and offered it to nic. the young man had let the great piece of bread fall into his lap, but the gurgling sound of the water falling into the mug seemed to rouse a latent feeling of intense thirst, and he raised himself more, took the vessel with both hands and half-drained it, rested for a few moments, panting, and then drank the rest before handing the tin back with a sigh of content. "no, no; hold it," said the man sharply; and nic had to retain it in his trembling hands while it was refilled. "there, give it to your mate," said the water-bearer. the two young men's eyes met over the vessel in silence, nic's full of angry dislike, pete's with an appealing, deprecating look, which did not soften nic's in the least. "well, why don't you take it?" said the man with the pitcher. "don't seem to kinder want it now," replied pete hoarsely. "drink it, man, and don't be a fool. you'll be glad of it long before you get there. sun's hot yet, and the water's salt for miles, and then for far enough brackish." nic looked at the speaker wonderingly, for the blank feeling seemed to be coming with the forerunner of the peculiar sensation of confusion which had troubled him before, and he looked from one to the other as if for help; while pete took the mug and drained it, but contented himself with slipping his bread inside the breast of his shirt, and stood looking down at nic, whose lips parted to speak, but no words came. "seem decent sort of fellows," said the water-bearer, as he turned off towards the door with his companion; and the dogs rose to follow them, sniffing at the basket. "yes, poor beggars!" said the other. "whatever they've been up to in the old country, they've got to pay pretty dearly for it now." nic's hearing was acute enough now, and he heard every word. "here, you," he gasped painfully. "call them back." "what for, master nic?" said pete in an appealing whisper. "don't; you mustn't now. ask me for what you want." "i want to know what all this means," panted the young man. "why am i here? what place is this? i'm not--i will know." "no, no; don't ask now, master nic," whispered pete. "you aren't fit to know now. i'm with you, my lad, and i swear i won't forsake ye." "you--you will not forsake me?" said nic, with a look of horror. "never, my lad, while i've got a drop o' blood in my veins. don't-- don't look at me like that. it waren't all my fault. wait a bit, and i'll tell you everything, and help you to escape back to the old country." "to the old country!" whispered nic, whose voice was panting again from weakness. "where are we, then?" "amerikee, among the plantations, they say." "but--but why? the plantations? what does it mean?" "work," said saunders, who had come up behind them. "now then, look sharp, and eat your bread. you'll get no more till to-morrow morning, and in less than half-an-hour we shall start." "start?" cried nic huskily, as he clapped his hands to his head and pressed it hard, as though he felt that if he did not hold on tightly his reason would glide away again. "yes, man, start," said saunders. "can you two fellows row?" "he can't, sir; he's too weak," cried pete eagerly; and the overseer's face contracted. "but i can. best man here with an oar. i can pull, sir, enough for two." "i'll put you to the proof before you sleep," said the overseer sharply. "now, mr groves, i'm at your service. i suppose i have some papers to sign?" "yes," said the agent, and he led the way, while the overseer followed, closing the door, placing a whistle to his lips and blowing a shrill note which was answered by a deep baying from the dogs. "escape!" muttered nic wildly. "plantations! why, i shall be a slave!" "no, no, my lad; don't take it like that. i'll help you to get away." "will ye?" growled humpy dee, coming towards them. "then i tells that chap next time he comes. i splits on you as you splits on we; so look out, i say, both of you; look out!" "it's a lie, master nic--a lie," cried pete fiercely. "i swear to you, i never--" pete caught at the young man's arm as he spoke, and then loosened it with a groan, for, with a look of revulsion, nic cried hoarsely: "don't touch me; don't come near me. wretch--villain! this is all your work." "and so say we, my fine fellow," cried humpy dee, whose eyes sparkled with malignant joy. "his doing, every bit, 'cept what you put in, and for that you've got to take your share the same as us. and all because a few poor fellows wanted a bit o' salmon. hor, hor, hor! i say, take it coolly. no one won't believe ye, and you may think yourself lucky to get off so well." nic turned from the man with a look of disgust, and sat up, resting his throbbing head in his hands; while, as humpy dee went back to his companions, whistling as he went, pete threw himself upon the floor, watching him, with his hands opening and shutting in a strange way, as if they were eager to seize the brutal ruffian by the throat. chapter seventeen. chains and slavery. pete calmed down after a while, and began to feel a bit sulky. he had common-sense enough to begin looking at the state of affairs from a matter-of-fact point of view, and he lay conning the position over. "just as he likes," he said. "he pitches me over, and won't have any more to do with me. well, it aren't no wonder, zeeing what i've been. wonder what made me turn so zoft and zilly about him! zeeing how hard it was for him to be zarved as he was, and then hooked off along with us." "dunno that it's any worse for him than it is for me," he muttered; "but zeemed to feel a bit sorry about him, poor lad!--there i go again: poor lad! no more poor lad than i be. got it into my thick head that it was nice to help him while he was so bad, and that, now our lads have pitched me overboard, we was going to be mates and help one another. but we aren't, for he's pitched me overboard too." "well," muttered pete, with a bitter laugh, "i can zwim as well as most on 'em, and i shan't hurt much; and as for him, he must take his chance with the rest on us. he's got his wits back again, and don't zeem like to go wool-gathering again; and, if he's sharp, he'll speak up and make that t'other man understand it's all a blunder about him being sent off along o' we. but there, he wants to go his own fashion, zo he must. but if i was him i should kick up a dust before we start, and have myself zent back home by the next ship." he glanced in the gloom at where nic was seated, and a feeling of sorrow for the poor fellow filled him again; but after the rebuff he had received he fought it off, and began to watch humpy dee and the others, as they sat together talking in a low tone, and then to meditate on their position towards himself. "they're half-afraid of humpy," he thought, "and he's made 'em think that i zet the sailors at them. if i go on talking till it's a blue moon they won't believe me, zo things must go their own way, and zome day they'll find humpy out; on'y i'm not going to let him do as he likes with me. this isn't going to be a very cheerful zort of life out here; but, such as it is, it's better than no life at all; zo i aren't going to let him pitch me into the river or down some hole, or knock me on the head, or stick a knife into me. that won't do. it's murder--leastwise it is at home; p'raps it aren't out here. zeems not after the way that chap talked about shooting us down and zetting them dogs at us. why, one of 'em's stronger than us, and a zet-to wi' one of 'em wouldn't be nice. bit of a coward, i s'pose, for i can't abide being bitten by a dog." "best thing i can do will be to slip off first chance; for i zeem, what with humpy and these folk, to have dropped into a nasty spot. dessay i can take care of myself, and--nay, that won't do; zeem sneaky-like to go and leave that poor lad, for i do zort o' like him. wonderful how they dogs took to him. nay, that aren't wonderful. got a lot o' zense, dogs have. allus zeem to take to zick people and little tiny children, and blind folk too. how they like them too!" at that moment there was a deep baying sound not far-away, and pete had not long to wait before there were steps, the door was unlocked and thrown open, and the overseer entered, accompanied by the dogs, and followed by a party of blacks, one of whom carried a roughly-made basket. they were big, muscular fellows, and shiny to a degree whenever the light caught their skins, a good deal of which was visible, for their dress consisted of a pair of striped cotton drawers, descending half-way to the knee, and a sleeveless jacket of the same material, worn open so that neck and breast were bare. the dogs barked at the prisoners, and repeated their examination by scent, ending by going well over nic, who made no attempt to caress them, nor displayed any sign of fear, but sat in his place stolidly watching the proceedings, the dogs ending their nasal inspection by crouching down and watching him. the overseer was alone now, and his first proceeding was to take his stand by the black, who had set down the heavy basket, and call humpy dee to come forward, by the name of number one. the man rose heavily, and this seemed to be a signal for the three hounds to spring to their feet again, making the man hesitate. "them dogs bite, master?" he said. "yes; they'll be at your throat in a moment if you make the slightest attempt to escape," said the overseer sharply. "who's going to try to escape?" grumbled humpy. "you are thinking of it, sir," said the overseer. "mind this," he continued--drawing the light jacket he wore aside and tapping his belt, thus showing a brace of heavy pistols--"i am a good shot, and i could easily bring you down as you ran." "who's going to run?" grumbled humpy. "man can't run with things like these on his legs." "i have seen men run pretty fast in fetters," said the overseer quietly; "but they did not run far. come here." humpy shuffled along two or three steps, trailing his irons behind him, and the overseer shouted at him: "pick up the links by the middle ring, sir, and move smartly." he cracked his whip, and a thrill ran through nic. humpy did as he was told, and walked more quickly to where the overseer stood; but before he reached him the herculean black who stood by his basket, which looked like a coarsely-made imitation of the kind used by a carpenter for his tools, clapped a hand upon the prisoner's shoulder and stopped him short, making humpy turn upon him savagely. "ah!" roared the overseer, as if he were speaking to one of the dogs. humpy was overawed, and he stood still, while the black bent down, took a ball of oakum out of the basket, cut off about a foot, passed the piece through the centre ring of the irons, and deftly tied it to the prisoner's waist-belt. then, as nic and pete watched, the action going on fascinating them, the black made a sign to one of his companions, who dropped upon his knees by the basket, took out a hammer, and handed it to the first black. then the kneeling man lifted out a small block of iron, which looked like a pyramid with the top flattened, clapped it on the floor, and the first black began to manipulate humpy as a blacksmith would a horse he was about to shoe, dragging him to the little anvil with one hand, using the hammer-handle to poke him into position with the other. "going to take off his irons," thought pete, and the same idea flashed across nic's mind. he was mistaken. another black stepped up, as if fully aware of what was necessary, and stood behind humpy, ready to hold him up when necessary; for the second black now seized one of the prisoner's ankles, lifted his foot on to the little anvil, and the first examined the rivet, grunted his dissatisfaction, and humpy's foot was wrenched sidewise by one man, who held the rivet upon the anvil, while his leader struck it a few heavy blows to enlarge the head and make it perfectly safe. this done, humpy was marched nearer the door, scowling savagely at having had to submit to this process; but he grinned his self-satisfaction as he saw his companions brought forward in turn for their irons to be examined--one to have them replaced by a fresh set, which were taken from the basket, and whose rings were tightly riveted about his ankles, the rivets of the old ones being quite loose. the men were ranged near the entrance, which, at a look from the overseer, was now guarded by the three unoccupied blacks. "now you," said the overseer to pete, who rose from where he sat alone and approached the anvil with a curious sensation running through him. "why didn't they iron you?" said the overseer harshly. "wounded and sick," replied pete gruffly. "ah, well, you are not wounded and sick now.--he's a big, strong fellow, sam. give him a heavy set." the big black showed his fine set of white teeth. a set of fetters was taken from the basket, and with pete's foot held in position by the second black--a foot which twitched and prickled with a strong desire to kick--the first ring was quickly adjusted, a soft iron rivet passed through the two holes, and then the head was rested upon the little block of iron, and a few cleverly-delivered blows from the big black's hammer spread the soft iron out into a second head, and the open ring was drawn tight. the second ankle-ring was quickly served in the same way, and the centre link was lifted and tied to the prisoner's waist-belt, pete turning scarlet, and wiping the perspiration from his dripping brow from time to time. "over yonder with the others!" there was a movement among the men at the door as this order was given, and pete winced; but even a man newly fettered can still feel pride, and the poor fellow determined that his old comrades should not think he was afraid of them. he walked boldly up to take his place, meeting humpy's malignant look of triumph without shrinking, and turning quickly directly after with a feeling of pity as he heard the overseer summon nic to take his place in turn. "now's your time, my lad," pete said to himself. "speak out like a man, and if you ask me to, i'll back you up--i will." he looked on excitedly, wondering whether nic's wits were still with him, as but so short a time ago they had only returned to him like a flash and then passed away, leaving him, as it were, in the dark. it was very still in the hot, close place, and every word spoken sounded strangely loud in the calm of the late afternoon. "lighter irons," said the overseer to the big black; and there was the clinking sound of the great links as the man handed the fetters from the basket. "and him not shrinking," thought pete. "give me quite a turn. he can't understand." the big black took the fetters and balanced them in his hand, looking at his superior as much as to say, "will these do?" the overseer took a step or two forward and grasped the chain, to stand holding it, gazing frowningly the while at nic, who met his gaze without blenching. "why don't you speak--why don't you speak?" muttered pete. "can't you see that now's your time?" "you've been bad, haven't you?" said the overseer roughly. nic raised his hand slowly to his head and touched the scar of a great cut on one side, the discoloration of a bruise on the other. "but quite well again now?" nic smiled faintly. "i am weak as a child," he replied. "humph! yes," said the overseer, and he threw the chain upon the floor. pete, who had been retaining his breath for some moments, uttered a faint exclamation full of relief. "but why didn't he speak out and tell him?" for a few moments his better feelings urged him to speak out himself; but he shrank from exposing both to the denials of the other men again, and stood frowning and silent. then the chance seemed to be gone, for the overseer gave the young prisoner a thrust towards the others, and nic walked towards them straight for where pete was waiting. then he raised his eyes, saw who was standing in his way, and he went off to his right, to stop beside humpy dee, while a feeling of resentment rose hotly in pete's breast. "oh, very well," he muttered to himself; "it's no business of mine." the next minute the overseer gave a sharp order; the big black raised the basket and put himself at the head of the prisoners; the other slaves took their places on either side, and the overseer followed behind with the dogs, which began to bound about, barking loudly for a minute or two, and then walked quietly as the party left the gloomy warehouse behind. chapter eighteen. humpy dee's plan goes "a-gley." it all seemed to nic like part of some terrible dream, for a strange struggle was going on in his weakened brain, where reason seemed to come and go by pulsations. one minute everything appeared to be real, the next it was dream-like; and he was so convinced that in a short time he would wake up that he walked quietly on side by side with one of the negroes, taking notice of the place, which seemed to be a port, with the beginnings of a town dropped down in a scattered fashion a short distance from the mouth of a river. the houses were of timber, and to each there was a large, roughly fenced-in piece of cultivated ground, with some trees standing, while others had been cut down, leaving the blackened stumps in all directions. it was a strange mingling of shed, shipbuilding-yard, and store, for many of the erections and their surroundings wore all the aspect of barns. as the little party now tramped on, with the prisoners' fetters giving forth a dull, clanking sound, the aspect of the place grew more and more rustic, the people who stopped to stare fewer, till, as they reached a large boarded house, evidently nearly new, and against whose rough fence a farmer-like man, in a damaged straw hat, was leaning, gazing intently at the prisoners. all beyond seemed trees and wild growth, amidst which the river made a curve, and the trampled track looked more green. nic looked half-wonderingly at the man leaning upon the fence, and felt that he was going to speak in commiseration of his plight; but the next moment his hopes were dashed, for the settler shouted: "how are you, master saunders? how's the gaffer?" "all well," said the overseer, with a nod. "seems a nice, tidy, strong-limbed lot you've got there, master." "oh yes; pretty well." "some of all sorts. that's an ugly one," continued the farmer, pointing to humpy dee, and mentally valuing him as if he were one in a herd of cattle. "but i daresay he can work." "he'll have to," said the overseer, and nic saw that each black face wore a grin, while humpy was scowling savagely. "yes, i should like a lot such as that. 'member me to the gaffer. tell him to look in if he comes to town." "yes," thought nic as they passed on; "it must be a dream, and i shall wake soon." it grew more and more dream-like to him as the track was followed among the trees till a rough landing-place was reached, formed by some huge stakes driven down into the mud, with heavy planks stretched over to them, and others laid across. the reddening sun was turning the gliding water to gold, as it ran up the river now, for the flood-tide was running fast; and as they drew nearer, nic caught sight of what looked like the launch of some large vessel swinging by a rope fastened to an upright of the landing-stage. just then one of the blacks uttered a peculiar, melodious cry, the great dogs bounded on to the stage and began to bark, and a couple of blacks, dressed like those about him, sprang up in the boat, where they had been lying asleep, and began to haul upon the now unfastened rope to draw the craft up to the stage. nic's head was throbbing again, and the unreality and novelty of the scene increased. "i shall wake soon," he said to himself. "how strange it is!" for at that moment, as the boat came abreast, he saw one of the great dogs leap from the stage, run to the stern, and sit down, the others following and joining it behind the seat provided with a back rail. it seemed to be no new thing to the blacks, for the huge fellow who had acted as smith stepped down into the boat, followed by his assistant, walked aft, and deposited his bag with the dogs, and then stooped down and drew from under the side-seat a couple of muskets, one of which he handed to his assistant, both examining their priming, and then seating themselves one on either side of the boat, with their guns between their legs, watching the embarkation. "you next," said the overseer to pete; and the prisoner walked to the edge, made as if to leap, but checked himself and climbed down, feeling that the other way would have been risky, weighted as his legs were by the shackles. "help your young mate," said the overseer roughly; and pete's eyes flashed as he stood up and held out his hand to nic, who shrank from the contact as his wrist was caught. then he descended feebly into the boat, and then had to be helped right forward, to sit down close to one of the blacks who was now holding on to the woodwork with a boat-hook. the other prisoners followed awkwardly enough in their irons, and took the places pointed out to them by one of the blacks who had been in charge of the boat. as the second of the party took his place next to pete, he hung down his head and whispered: "humpy says we're to make a dash for it and take the boat." pete started; but the man, under the pretence of adjusting his irons, went on, with his head nearly in his comrade's lap: "t'others know. we shall push off into the stream, where he can't hit us with his pistols, and we can soon pitch the niggers overboard." "silence, there!" shouted the overseer. the other men descended, and exchanged glances with their companions-- glances which pete saw meant "be ready!"--and his blood began to dance through his veins. should he help, or shouldn't he? yes; they were his fellows in adversity, and it was for liberty: he must--he would; and, with his heart beating hard, he prepared for the struggle, feeling that they must succeed, for a blow or two would send the men by them overboard, and a thrust drive the boat gliding swiftly up-stream, the man with the boat-hook having enough to do to hold on. "young nic revel don't zeem to understand," thought pete; "but he couldn't help us if he did." he had hardly thought this when, in obedience to an order from the overseer, the last man, humpy dee, tramped clumsily to the edge and seemed to hesitate, with the result that there was a sharp bark from one of the dogs right astern, and a chill ran through pete's burning veins. "i forgot the dogs!" he said to himself. "get down, fool!" cried the overseer, and he struck at the hesitating prisoner with the whip. it was all a feint on the part of humpy to gain time and carry out his plan. he winced as the whip-lash caught him on his leg, and then, instead of descending slowly, leaped down right upon the black who held the boat to the stage by the hook. it was cleverly done, and acted as intended, for the black was driven over the side, and the prisoner's weight gave the boat the impetus required, sending it a little adrift into the stream, which began to bear it away, but not before the result of a little miscalculation had made itself evident. for humpy dee had not allowed for the weight and cumbersomeness of his fetters; neither had he given them credit for their hampering nature. he had leaped and suddenly thrust the black overboard, to hang clinging to the boat-hook; but he had been unable to check himself from following; and, as the boat yielded to his weight and thrust, he seemed to take a header over the bow, there was a tremendous splash, and the water was driven over those seated forward. the two blacks astern leaped up, and the overseer uttered a cry of rage; the water closed over humpy dee's head, while the dogs set up a chorus of baying as the boat glided steadily away. chapter nineteen. "what'll massa say?" the scene taking place before him acted strangely upon nic. it seemed to rouse him from his dreamy state, and awakened him to a wild pitch of excitement. he sprang to his feet, and was on the point of springing overboard to the man's help; but a touch from pete upon the shoulder was enough: he sank down beneath its pressure, weak and helpless as a child. "what are you going to do?" whispered pete. "are you mad?" "help! save him! can you stand like that and see the man drown before your eyes?" "what can i do, lad?" growled pete angrily. "if i go over after him, it's to drown myself. these irons'll stop a man from zwimming, and take one to the bottom like a stone." "ay, ay; ye can't do 'un," growled one of the other prisoners, in whom the desire for escaping died out on the instant. "sit still, lad; sit still." but pete stood with staring eyes, gazing wildly at the place where his enemy had disappeared; the veins in his forehead swelled, his lips parted, and he panted as he drew his breath, looking ready at any moment to leap overboard and make an effort to save his old companion's life. meanwhile the overseer was shouting orders to his blacks ashore as well as to those in the boat, which was gliding faster up the stream, and the men laid down their guns and picked up and put out a couple of oars, the dogs barking frantically the while. "pete burge," whispered one of the men, "we must make friends now. here's our chance; shall we take it?" "no, no," cried pete furiously, but without taking his eyes from where humpy had disappeared. "i cannot bear it," panted nic to himself, as he once more sprang up; and before he could be stayed he dived out of the boat, rose, and struck out for the landing-stage. pete shouted at him in his agony, and jumped overboard to save him, forgetting what was bound to happen, and going down like a stone, feet foremost, but rising to the surface again, to fight gallantly in spite of the weight of his irons, and strive to overtake nic, who, unencumbered, was some yards away. but it proved to be as pete had foreseen; there was the gallant will and the strength to obey it, but it was merely a spasmodic force which only endured a minute or two. then the brave young swimmer's arms turned, as it were, to lead, the power to breast the strong current ceased, and he remained stationary for a moment or two, before being gradually borne backward, his efforts ceasing; while the men in the boat watched him and pete, who, with the water quite to his nostrils, was swimming with all his strength, but only just able to keep the heavy fetters from dragging him to the bottom. "two more on us going," said one of the men. "here, bob; come and help. you stop and grab 'em as soon as they're near." the man and the comrade he had addressed scrambled over the thwarts towards where the two blacks were rowing hard, but hardly holding the heavy boat against the powerful tide; and as soon as the fetters clanked, the dogs barked savagely and leaped up to meet them; but as the intelligent beasts saw the men seize a couple of oars and thrust them over the sides, they stopped short, panting. "all the better for you," growled one of the men to the dog glaring at him, "for i'd ha' choked you if you'd come at me.--pull away, blackies." the additional oars had the right effect, for as the four men pulled with all their might the boat began to stem the current and shorten the distance between it and the two drowning men. but, in spite of his great strength, pete was being mastered by the heavy weight of the irons, and was getting lower and lower in the water; while nic's arms had ceased to move, and he was drifting with the tide. "keep up; strike out, lads," cried the man in the bows, in agony. "we're coming fast now." it was not the truth, for the heavy boat was moving very slowly against the swift tide, and the swimmers' fate seemed to be sealed, as the man reached back, got hold of another oar, and thrust it out over the bows, ready for pete to grasp as soon as he came within reach. "we shall be too late," groaned the man, with all his enmity against pete forgotten in those wild moments of suspense. "here, look out for the oar. pete, lad, swim back. oh! poor lad, he can't hear me. he's drownin'--he's drownin'." pete could not hear, and if he had heard during his frantic efforts to reach nic, he would not have heeded, for there was no room in the man's brain in those wild moments for more than that one thought--that he must save that poor, weak fellow's life. it takes long to describe, but in the real action all was condensed into less than a minute. pete, who fought wildly, frantically, to keep his head above water, fought in vain, for his fettered legs were fast losing their power, and he was being drawn gradually lower and lower, till, after throwing his head back to gasp for a fresh breath, he straightened his neck again, with the water at his eyes, and saw that what he could not achieve the current had done for him. he made a wild, last effort, and caught with one hand at the arm just within reach; his fingers closed upon it with a grip of iron, and another hand caught desperately at his hair. then the water closed over the pair, joined together in a death-grip, and the tide rolled them unresistingly up the stream. "pull, pull!" yelled the man in the bows, as he reached out with his oar; but he could not touch the place where he saw the figures disappear. quick as thought, though, and with the clever method of one accustomed to the management of a fishing-boat, the man changed his tactics. he laid the oar over the prow, treating the iron stem as a rowlock, and gave a couple of strokes with all his might, pulling the boat's head round, and bringing it well within reach of the spot where nic's back rose and showed just beneath the surface. then, leaving the oar, the man reached over, and was just in time to get a good hold, as the oar dropped from the bow into the river, and he was almost jerked out of the boat himself. "hold hard, lads, and come and help," he yelled. the help came; and, with the dogs barking furiously and getting in every one's way, nic and pete, tightly embraced, were dragged over into the bottom of the boat, the blacks, as soon as this was done, standing shivering, and with a peculiar grey look about the lips. at that moment there was a distant hail from the landing-stage, and the big smith pulled himself together and hailed in reply. "ah, look!" he cried; "you white fellow lose one oar. quick, sharp! come and pull. massa saunders make trebble bobbery if we lose dat." the oars were seized, and with two of the prisoners helping to row, the oar was recovered from where it was floating away with the tide, the others trying what they could do to restore the couple, who lay apparently lifeless; while the dog which had behaved so strangely earlier in the day stood snuffing about nic, ending by planting his great paws upon the poor fellow's chest, licking his face two or three times, and then throwing up his muzzle to utter a deep-toned, dismal howl, in which the others joined. "say, um bofe dead," groaned the big smith. "pull, boy; all pull you bess, and get back to the massa. oh, lorimee! lorimee! what massa will say along wi' dat whip, all acause we drown two good men, and couldn't help it a bit. oh, pull, pull, pull! shub de boat along. what will massa say?" chapter twenty. fishing for men. those with the boat had been too much occupied in their own adventure to heed what had taken place at the landing-stage; and, even had they glanced in that direction, the distance the swift tide had carried them up-stream would have made every movement indistinct. but busy moments had passed there, for the overseer was a man of action, and prompt to take measures toward saving the life of the drowning man. for a human life was valuable in those early days of the american colonies, especially the life of a strong, healthy slave who could work in the broiling sunshine to win the harvest of the rich, fertile soil. so, as the boat drifted away, he gave his orders sharply, and the black slaves, who had stood helplessly staring, rushed to the help of their companion, who was hanging by the boat-hook, half in the water, afraid to stir lest the iron should give way and the tide carry him off to where, as he well knew, there were dangers which made his lips turn grey with dread. the help came just as the poor fellow was ready to lose his hold and slip back into the river, and in another minute he was shivering on the stage. "take hold of that boat-hook," cried the overseer, speaking with his eyes fixed upon one spot, where the water ran eddying and forming tiny whirlpools, and not daring to look round for fear of losing sight of the place where it seemed to him that his white slave had gone down like a stone; and this had kept him from giving much heed to the proceedings in the boat. one of the men seized the pole and waited for the next order. "he went down there," cried the overseer, pointing. "sound with the pole, and try how deep it is." the man obeyed, the pole touching the muddy bottom about four feet below the surface. "that's right; jump in," cried saunders. the man started, and then remained motionless, gazing piteously at his companions. "do you hear? quick!" roared the overseer. "there big 'gator, sah--'gator gar, sah," cried the man piteously. "bah! in with you," cried the overseer fiercely, and he cracked his whip, with the result that the man lowered the pole again, and then half-slipped, half-jumped down into the water, which rose breast-high, and he had to hold on by the boat-hook to keep himself from being swept away. but the next moment he steadied himself. "there, wade out," cried saunders; "quick, before it is too late. quick, sir; do you hear?" he cracked his whip loudly as he spoke, and the man raised the pole after separating his legs to increase his support, as he leaned to his left to bear against the rushing tide, which threatened to sweep him from his feet. then, reaching out, he thrust down the boat-hook again to get another support before taking a step farther from the staging. but it was in vain. the water deepened so suddenly that as he took the step the water rose to his nostrils, and he uttered a yell, for the current swept him from his feet to fall over sidewise, and the next moment lay, as it were, upon the surface, with only one side of his face visible; but he was not borne away. the other blacks, and even the overseer, stared in wonder, for there the man lay, with the tide rushing by him, anchored, as it were, in the stream, rising and falling gently like a buoy for a few moments before beginning to glide with the current. "it's of no use," said the overseer sharply; "the hound's dead before now. clumsy fool! two of you jump in, and one reach out to get hold of xerxes; we must give the new fellow up." the men shrank, but they obeyed, lowering themselves into the water and joining hands, one of them taking hold of the end of the staging, while the other waded a step or two and reached out, as he clung to his fellow's extended hand till he was just able to get hold of the cotton jacket. that was sufficient; the black was drawn a trifle shoreward, and then came more and more, as if dragging with him whatever it was that had anchored him to the bottom. that mystery was soon explained, for the pole of the boat-hook, to which the poor fellow clung, appeared level with the surface, and as the drag was increased more and more of the pole appeared, till all three were close up to the piles; after which first one and then another climbed out to drag at the long stout staff, till, to the surprise of all, they found that what it was hitched into was the clothes of humpy dee, who had lain nearly where he had sunk, anchored by the weight of his irons, in some hole where the pressure of the current was not so great as at the surface. in another minute the heavy figure had been hauled upon the platform, to lie there apparently dead; while the blacks began, after their homely, clumsy fashion, to try and crush out any tiny spark of life which might remain, and kept on rolling the heavy body to and fro with all their might. "it's no good, boys," said the overseer, frowning down at the prisoner. "keep on for a bit, though;" and he turned away to watch the coming of the boat, just as pete sat up, looking dazed and strange, and nic rose to his knees, and then painfully seated himself in his old place. "better than i thought for," muttered the overseer. "one gone instead of three--pull, boys," he shouted. the blacks needed no telling, for they were exerting themselves to the utmost, and in a few minutes one of the blacks on the landing-stage caught the prow with the hook, and the boat was drawn alongside of the woodwork, the dogs having quietly settled themselves in their place behind the stern seat as soon as the two half-drowned men had shown signs of recovery. the overseer scanned the two dripping figures hard, uttered a grunt, and turned once more to where the blacks were busy still with the heavy figure of humpy dee, which they were rolling and rubbing unmercifully, with the water trickling between the boards, and the sunset light giving a peculiarly warm glow to the man's bronzed skin. "well," cried the overseer, "is he quite dead?" "no, sah; am t'ink he quite 'livo," said one of the blacks. "eh? what makes you think that?" "him bit warm, massa--and just now him say _whuzz_, _whuzz_ when we rub um front." "no," said the overseer; "impossible. he was under the water too long. here, what are you doing?" the black had laid his ear against the patient's breast, but he started up again. "lissum; hear whever him dead, massa. you come, put your head down heah, and you hear um go _wob_, _wob_ berry soffly." saunders bent down and laid his head against the man's bull-throat, to keep it there for a few moments. "no go _wob_, _wob_, sah?" cried the black. "you two and me gib um big shake. um go den." "no, no; let him be," cried the overseer; and the blacks looked on in perfect silence till their tyrant rose slowly to his feet, scowling. "clumsy brute," he said, "causing all this trouble and hindrance. nearly drowned two men. there, two of you take him by his head and heels and drop him in." "tie big 'tone to um head first, massa?" "what!" roared the overseer, so sharply that the black jumped to his feet. "what do you mean?" "make um go to de bottom, sah, and neber come up no more." "bah! you grinning black idiot. didn't you tell me he was alive?" "yes, sah; quite 'livo, sah." "drop him in the boat, then, and hurry about it, or we shan't get up to the farm before the tide turns. there, four of you take him; and you below there, ease him down. don't let him go overboard again, if you want to keep whole skins." the men seized the heavy figure by the hands and legs, and bearing it quite to the edge, lowered it down to the others, room being made at the bottom of the boat, where it was deposited with about as much ceremony as a sack of corn. then, in obedience to another order, the blacks descended, and the overseer stepped down last, to seat himself with his back to the dogs; while the smith and his assistant once more took up their guns and their places as guards. then the boat was pushed off. four of the blacks seized the oars, the boat's head swung round, and the next minute, with but little effort, she was gliding rapidly up the muddy stream. it was dangerous work to begin talking, but as nic sat there in silence, with his head growing clearer, and gazing compassionately at the prostrate figure, two of the prisoners put their heads together and began to whisper. "close shave for old humpy," said one. "think he'll come round again?" "dunno; but if he does, i'm not going to help in any more games about going off. this job has made me sick." "he won't want you to; this must have pretty well sickened him if he comes to." "mind what you're saying. that there black image is trying to hear every word." "he can't understand. but i say, the gaffer didn't know how it happened, after all. thought it was an accident." "so it was," said the other man, with a grim smile, "for old humpy. here, pete, old man, how are you now?" pete looked at the speaker in wonder, then nodded, and said quietly: "bit stiff and achey about the back of the neck." "mind shaking hands, mate?" said the man in a faint whisper. "what for?" said pete sourly. "'cause i like what you did, mate. it was acting like a man. but we're not friends over that other business of splitting on us about the salmon." "better wait a bit, then, my lad," said pete. "it aren't good to shake hands with a man like me." "but i say it is," said the other with emphasis. "the way you went overboard with them heavy irons on, to try and save young master here, sent my heart up in my mouth." nic, who had sat listening moodily to the whispered conversation, suddenly looked up in a quick, eager way. "say that again," he whispered huskily. "say what agen?" "did pete burge jump in to save my life?" "course he did--like a man." "oh!" gasped nic, turning to look pete wonderingly in the face. "silence there!" roared the overseer savagely. "do you think you've come out here for a holiday, you insolent dogs?" at the last words the three animals behind the speaker took it to themselves, and began to bark. "down! quiet!" roared the overseer, and the barking of the dogs and his loud command came echoing back from a wood of great overhanging trees, as the boat now passed a curve of the river. nic glanced at the overseer, then to right and left of him, before letting his eyes drop on the swiftly-flowing river, to try and think out clearly the answers to a couple of questions which seemed to be buzzing in his brain: "where are we going? how is this to end?" but there was no answer. all seemed black ahead as the rapidly-coming night. chapter twenty one. in alligator land. as the night grew darker, and nic sat in the forepart of the boat in his drenched clothes, which at first felt pleasantly cool, and then by degrees grew colder until he shivered, his head grew clearer and he became more himself. he was able to grasp more fully his position and how hardly fate had dealt with him. it was clear enough now; he had been sent off in that terrible blunder as one of the salmon-poachers; and he was there, sold or hired to one of the colonists, to work upon a plantation until he could make his position known to some one in authority, and then all would be right. he felt that it would be of no use to appeal to this brutal slave-driver who had him and his fellow-unfortunates in charge. what he had to do was to wait patiently and make the best of things till then. his head was rapidly growing so clear now that he could piece the disconnected fragments of his experience together, few as they were, and broken up by his sufferings from the injuries he had received; and, as he sat there in the darkness, he became more calm, and rejoiced in the thought that he was growing stronger, and would, without doubt, soon be fully recovered and able to act. till then he made up his mind to wait. when he had arrived at this point he began to think about his position in connection with the rough ne'er-do-wells who were his companions. he shivered involuntarily at the thought of being in such close touch with men of this class; but he softened a little as he dwelt upon the fact that, bad as he was, pete burge had behaved bravely, and that he had to thank him for twice-over saving his life. he might have said three times, but he was unaware of the patient attention he had received from the man during the feverish hours produced by his contusions and wound. but, still, there was a feeling of revulsion which made him shrink from contact with one whom he felt to be the cause of all his sufferings, and he hardened himself against the man more than against the others. then, with a sigh of relief, he cast all thoughts of self away, after coming to the conclusion that, as soon as his father realised what had happened, he would never rest till the authorities had had him found and brought back, even if a ship was purposely despatched. for this thought was very comforting. he had only to wait, he felt, little thinking that the old captain was lying in peril of his life from the genuine trouble which had come upon him, as he mourned over the loss of the son whom he believed to be dead, and for the recovery of whose body he had offered a heavy reward to the fishermen. for he said to solly, "one of these days they will find him cast up on the shore." it was very dark; the cloudy sky seemed to be hanging low over the heads of those in the boat, as the men rowed on till the overseer made a change in his crew; the four blacks who had been rowing taking the places of those who had been guards and steersman, while the rowers took the muskets in turn. the fresh crew pulled steadily and well, and the boat glided on along the winding river, whose banks grew more and more wooded until they seemed to be going through a thick forest, whose closely-growing trees formed dense, high walls, above which there was a strip of dark, almost black, sky. then another change was made, just when nic was suffering from a fresh anxiety; for after he had proved to himself, by kneeling in the boat and touching him, that humpy dee was alive and regaining consciousness, his companions had suddenly grown very quiet, and the dread had assailed nic that the man was dead, for he had been left to take his chance as far as the overseer was concerned; and when twice-over the prisoners had begun to trouble themselves about their comrade's state, nic setting the example by kneeling down to raise humpy's head, a stern command came from the stern of the boat, and this threat: "look here, you fellows; if i hear any more talking or shuffling about there i shall fire." nic felt that the man would act up to his threat; but after a time, when a groan came from humpy, the whispering and movements recommenced in the efforts made to succour the sufferer. "i don't speak again," roared the overseer; and nic started and shuddered, but felt fiercely indignant the next moment as he heard the ominous _click_! _click_! of a pistol-lock from out of the darkness astern. at last came the order for a fresh change of rowers, and four of the captives went climbing over the thwarts, with their irons clanking and striking against the seats as they took their places, all being men who had been accustomed to the handling of an oar. nic took advantage of the noise to sink upon his knees beside humpy in the bottom of the boat to try if he could not do something for him; he was no longer the hated, brutal ruffian, but a suffering fellow-creature. as nic felt about in the dark he found that the man had somehow shifted his position and slightly rolled over, so that his face was partly in the water which had collected for want of baling; and doubtless, in his helpless, semi-insensible state, but for nic's efforts, humpy dee's career would after all have been at an end. it was only a fresh instance of how strangely we are all dependent upon one another, and the way in which enemies perform deeds which they themselves would previously have looked upon as impossible. and without doubt big, brutal humpy dee would have stared in wonder, could he have opened his eyes in daylight, to see what took place in the pitch-darkness--to wit, the feeble, suffering young man, whom he had struck down and tried to drown in the devon salmon-pool, kneeling in the wash-water, making a pillow of his knees for his companion's rough, coarse head. still, for hours this was nic's position, while the boat was rowed by the white slaves along the winding river, until another change was made, the blacks taking the oars, when pete, being the first of the rowers to come back to his seat, found what had taken place, and insisted upon relieving nic of his task. "on'y to think of it, zur," he said; "on'y to think o' your doing o' that, and you so bad!" nic said nothing, but had to be helped back to his seat, the position he had occupied having cramped him; and then once more he sat gazing at the great black wall opposite to him as the blacks sent the boat along, till suddenly, about midnight, there was heard a deep bark from somewhere ashore. the three dogs, which had been curled up asleep, sprang to their feet and answered in chorus, when another chorus rose from the right and came nearer and nearer. then the black wall on the same side dropped away, and amidst the baying of the great hounds the boat's speed was slackened, and it was turned into a narrow creek. here the oars were laid in, and progress was continued for about a hundred yards by a couple of the blacks poling the boat along towards a light which suddenly appeared, the bearer hailing and coming alongside to begin talking to the overseer. it was dark enough still; but another lanthorn was brought, the prisoners were ordered to step out, and were then marched to a barn-like place, where, as they entered a door, nic felt the soft rustling of indian-corn leaves beneath his feet. "in with you, boys," cried the overseer; and the three dogs, and the others which had saluted them, scampered in. "watch 'em, boys, and give it to them if they try to get away. there, lie down." the man held up the lanthorn he had taken as he spoke, and nic saw that seven of the great hounds settled themselves in a heap of leaves close to the door, while quite a stack was close to where he was standing with his companions. "there's your bed, my lads," cried the overseer. "you heard what i said. lie down, all of you, at once. there will be a sentry with a musket outside, and you can guess what his orders are." the man strode out; the door was banged to, there was the noise of a big bar being thrown across and the rattling of a padlock, followed by the clink of fetters as their wearers lay down in the heap of sweet-smelling corn-stalks and leaves; and for a few moments no one spoke. nic had sunk down in the darkness, glad to be in a restful posture, and began to wonder whether humpy dee had been carried in by the blacks, for he had been one of the first to leave the boat, and had seen hardly anything by the light of the lanthorns. "poor wretch!" he sighed. "i hope he is not dead." just then one of the other men said, in the broad devon burr: "zay, lads, bean't they going to give uz zum'at to eat?" "brakfus-time," said another. "zay, humpy, how is it with ye? not thuzty, are you? oughtn't to be, after all that water." "i'm going to make zumun pay for all this," came in the man's familiar growl. "why didn't you get hold o' me and pull me in? zet o' vools. had your chance; and we might ha' got away." "why, it was all your fault," said another. "we was waitin' for you. what did you go and stop zo long under water for?" "did i?" said humpy confusedly. "course you did. we was too good mates to go and leave you behind." there was a heavy bang at the door, as if from the butt of a musket, and the dogs leaped up and began to growl. "lie down, boys," cried a thick voice, the words sounding as if spoken through a big keyhole. "an' i say, you chaps, look heah; de massa say you make a row in dah i got to shoot." "all right, blackie," said one of the prisoners; "don't shoot. good-night, boys. i'm going to sleep." just at that moment nic started, for there was a snuffling noise close to him, the leaves rustled, and he felt the hot breath of one of the dogs on his face. but it was a friendly visit, for the great brute turned round two or three times to trample down the dense bed of leaves, and settled itself into a comfortable curve, with its big head upon the poor fellow's chest, making nic wonder whether it was the dog which had been friendly before. he risked it: raising his hand, he laid it gently between the animal's soft ears, and there was a low muttering sound that was a big sigh of satisfaction, not a growl; and nic felt as if the companionship of the dog was pleasant in his terrible loneliness and despair. it was warm and soothing, too, and seemed like the beginning of something hopeful-- he knew not what. then he began to think of home, and a sensation of prayerful thankfulness came over him as he felt that his head was growing clearer. the next minute all trouble, pain, and weariness were forgotten in a deep and dreamless sleep. chapter twenty two. reaching the plantation. a deep growl and a loud burst of barking roused nic revel from his deep sleep, free from fever, calm and refreshed, to lie listening to the dogs, wondering what it all meant. the sun was up, and horizontal rays were streaming in between ill-fitting boards and holes from which knots had fallen consequent upon the shrinking of the wood. there was a feeling of cool freshness in the air, too, that was exhilarating; but for a few moments nic could not make out where he was. then the slight confusion passed away, as he heard the rustling of leaves, and turned to see his companions stirring and yawning, while at the same moment a dog's great head was butted at him as if its owner were a playful sheep, and it then drew back, swinging its tail slowly from side to side. the next minute the heavy bar was swung down, the great padlock rattled, and the door was drawn open, to let in a flood of light, followed by the two blacks who had fitted on the irons, but who now bore a huge loaf of bread and a pitcher of water; while two more blacks, each shouldering a musket, closed in behind them, to stand as if framed in the doorway. "heah, jump up," cried the big smith. "make has'e; eat your brakfas' 'fore you go to de boat." as he spoke he turned an empty barrel with its head upward, banged the loaf down upon it, drew a knife from its sheath in his belt, and counted the prisoners over with the point of the blade. he then drew a few imaginary lines upon the top of the loaf, paused to rub his woolly head with the haft, looking puzzled and as if cutting the loaf into as many pieces as there were prisoners bothered him, and ended by making a dash at his task. he cut the loaf in half, then divided it into quarters, and went on working hard as he made these eighths, and finally sixteenths. by this time the top of the barrel was covered. "now, den, 'tan' in a row," he cried importantly. the men scowled, but they were hungry, and obeyed, the black sticking the point of his knife into the chunks he had cut, and handing a piece to each in turn, beginning with humpy dee, who did not seem any the worse for his immersion, and ending with nic. after this he began again with humpy, went down the line again, and had begun for the third time when it suddenly struck him that there would not be enough to go round, and he snatched the piece back. humpy dee uttered a furious growl, and made a step forward to recover it; but the big black presented the point of the knife at him and shouted: "ah, what dat? you back, sah, 'fore set de dog at you." humpy growled like one of the beasts, and resumed his place in the line, and the black went on calmly dividing the remaining pieces, distributed them, and called up the dogs to catch what remained. the water was then passed round, the blacks went off leaving the sentries in position, and the prisoners sat amongst the indian-corn leaves, to eat their breakfast ravenously enough. before they had finished, the barking of the dogs announced the coming of the overseer, who came in, whip in hand, to run his eye over his prisoners, nodding his satisfaction as he saw that he was not going back minus any of them, and went out again. then, as nic sat eating the remainder of his bread, the entry was darkened a little, and he saw a couple of women peer in--one a middle-aged, comely body, the other a young girl. there was a pitying expression upon their faces; and, obeying a sudden impulse, nic stood up to go to speak to them, for it seemed to him that his chance had come. but at his first movement humpy dee leaped up, with his fetters clinking, to intercept him, a sour look upon his face, and the frightened women ran away. "no, you don't," growled humpy; "not if i knows it, m'lad." "you, sah--you go back and eat your brakfas', sah," came from the door; and humpy turned sharply, to see that their guards were standing, each with his musket steadied against a doorpost, taking aim at him and nic. "yah, you old pot and kettle," cried humpy scornfully; "you couldn't hit a haystack;" but he went back to his place and sat down, nic giving up with a sigh and following his example. half-an-hour after the overseer was back with the dogs, the order was given, and the prisoners marched out, to find the blacks waiting. nic saw now that there was a roomy log-house, fenced round with a patch of garden; and in a group by the rough pine-wood porch a burly-looking man was standing with the two women; and half-a-dozen black slaves were at the far end of the place, each shouldering a big clumsy hoe, and watching, evidently with the greatest interest, the prisoners on their way to the boat. in his hasty glance round, nic could see that the farm was newly won from the wilderness, and encumbered with the stumps of the great trees which had been felled, some to be used as logs, others to be cut up into planks; but the place had a rough beauty of its own, while the wistful glances that fell upon him from the occupants of the porch sent a thrill through his breast, and raised a hope that if ever he came that way he might find help. but his heart sank again as his eyes wandered to the black labourers, and then to a couple of huge dogs similar to those which followed behind with the overseer; for he knew that he was among slave-owners, and in his despondency he could not help asking himself what chance he would have, an escaped prisoner, if he tried to get away. he had little time for thought, but he took in the surroundings of the place quickly, noting that the house and out-buildings stood well raised upon a mound, round one side of which the creek they had turned into ran; while through the trees some little distance away there was the river, and across it the forest, rising from the farther bank, not black and forbidding now, but beautiful in the early morning sunshine. the overseer shouted a hearty good-bye to the people by the porch, and there was a friendly reply, as they marched on to where the boat lay fastened to a stump; the dogs sprang in to retake their places, barking their farewell to the others which trotted down to look on; a big basket of provisions was next put on board by the smith and his assistant, and then the prisoners were sent forward to their old places, pete glancing once at nic, whose eyes were wandering here and there; but nic avoided the glance. "now you, sir," cried the overseer; "don't stand staring about. in with you." nic obeyed as soon as there was room, and the overseer took his place astern. a minute later they were being poled along the creek, which was here and there overarched by the spreading boughs of the trees, and soon after they were out in the main stream, with the blacks rowing steadily in water which seemed to be very slack; the little settlement was seen as a bright spot for a few minutes, and then disappeared behind the trees, which began upon the left bank, and became once more a great green wall to shut out everything else. and then hour after hour the boat was rowed onward, the river winding far less than on the previous evening, and seeming to form a highroad into the interior, upon which they were the only travellers. it varied little in its width at first, but towards afternoon nic noted that it was beginning to narrow considerably; but it ran always through forest. as thoughts of escape would intrude, and the poor fellow scanned the banks, he quickly grasped the fact that if an attempt were made it must be by the river, for the forest on either side seemed to be impassable, and how far it ran inland was impossible to say. a change was made every hour or so, the prisoners taking their turn with the oars; and before the morning was far advanced the overseer ordered nic into one of the places, watching him intently as he obeyed and fell into stroke at once, rowing hard for a few minutes in the hot sunshine without a murmur. then all at once the trees on the bank began to sail round, the oar slipped from his hand, and he fell backward into pete's arms. when he opened his eyes again he was sitting forward in the bottom of the boat, with one of the blacks supporting him and splashing water from over the side in his face, while the overseer stood looking down grimly. "you needn't take another turn," he said gruffly; "i wanted to see whether you could do your share." the rest of the day nic sat watching their progress, a good deal of it through the gloomy shades of a great swamp, through which the river ran at times almost in twilight, the faint current being marked by the difference in colour and the freedom from the vegetation which marked the waters of the great lagoon spreading away to right and left among the trees, which grew and fell and rotted as far as eye could penetrate. the vegetation, was rich, but it seemed to be that of a dying forest which had been inundated by the stream, for bank there was none. huge cypresses stood out at every angle, many having fallen as far as they could, but only to be supported by their fellows. and as the boat went swiftly on in obedience to the sturdily-tugged oars, nic forgot his troubles in wonder at the strangeness of the scene through which he passed, for it was dreary, horrible, and beautiful all in one. rotting vegetation supplied the rich, muddy soil from which rose vine and creeper to climb far on high, and then, finding no further support, throw themselves into the air, to hang and swing where the bright sunshine penetrated. wherever it was shadowy the trees were draped with hanging curtains of moss; while all around nic looked down vistas of light and shade, whose atmosphere was now golden, now of a score of different delicious greens. there was something so new and strange about the swamp that it had a fascination for nic, and he was leaning over the bows, resting his chin upon his hand, when he had his first glance at one of its inhabitants; for, as the boat was being steered past a moss-covered, rotting stump, the gnarled wood suddenly seemed to become animated, a portion of it rising a little and then gliding away with a heavy splash into the water. before he could realise what it was, there was another movement just beyond, and this time he made out plainly enough the gaping mouth, prominent eyes, and rugged back of a great alligator, followed by its waving tail, as it dived down from a cluster of tree-roots out of sight. after this the reptiles became common enough, for the swamp swarmed with them, and nic realised that it might be a strangely-perilous task to make his way through the forest unless provided with a boat. the men whispered to themselves as the reptiles scuttled about in their eagerness to escape, and shook their heads; and as nic turned from observing them to gaze aft he became conscious of the fact that the overseer was watching them with a grim smile upon his lips, reading their thoughts respecting the dangers of an attempt to escape. the dogs were evidently familiar with the sight of the reptiles, rarely paying any heed to them save when the boat approached quietly and aroused a sleeper, which in its surprise raised its great jaws menacingly, when one of the dogs would set up the hair about its neck, growl, and make a savage snap at the reptile; and after a while the prisoners grew in turn accustomed to the loathsome-looking creatures. "but we might seize the boat," thought nic, "in the case of no help coming;" and he sat there more and more grasping the fact that after all he might be forced to depend upon the aid and companionship of those around him, and be compelled to master the dislike and repulsion which they inspired. another stoppage at a woodland farm for the night, and then on again for a fresh day's toil as monotonous as the last. at the different changes made, the rowers left their oars dripping with perspiration, for the swamp seemed breathless and the heat intense; but towards evening a faint breeze sprang up, and instead of its growing darker there was a lightening in the appearance of the place; the setting sun sent a red glow among the trees, and then they passed out of the forest into a lovely, dreamy, open country, stretching for miles and miles towards where a range of hills ran right across their course, beyond which, pale orange by the fading light, another range of greater height appeared. soon after they passed the mouth of a clear stream, and at the end of another mile the boat was turned suddenly off to their right into a little river of the clearest water, which ran meandering through a lightly-wooded slope rising towards the hills; and as nic was gazing at the fairy-like scene, whose atmospheric effects seemed, even in his despondent state, far more beautiful than anything he had ever seen at home, the boat swept round a curve whose banks were thickly set with trees, and once more there was a human habitation in sight, in the shape of a well-built, farm-like house upon a knoll, and the agitation amongst the dogs warned the prisoners that here was their resting-place for the night. the next minute, as the dogs were barking, the boat was steered close inshore, and the brutes bounded over into the shallow water, to scramble up the bank, and set off as fast as they could go towards the house, from which figures could be seen issuing; and at last, as nic scanned the signs of cultivation around, the growing crops roughly fenced, and the out-buildings, the thought struck him that this might be their destination. while he was wondering whether this were so, the boat was run into a little creek only big enough to let it pass for about a couple of hundred yards before it grounded where a track came down to some posts; and as the boat was secured to one of these the overseer sprang ashore to meet a tall, sun-browned, grey-haired man, whose keen eyes were directed towards the bows of the boat. "back again, then, saunders!" he said sharply. "well, what sort of a lot do they seem?" "rough, but strong," replied the overseer; "all but one young fellow who has been knocked about, but he seems as if he'll soon come round." "like so many horses or bullocks," said nic to himself bitterly, "and i am the one with broken knees." chapter twenty three. nic's appeal. "this, then, is my owner," thought nic, scanning the settler narrowly as he stood apart talking in a quick, decisive manner to the overseer, who seemed to treat him with great respect, while the blacks stood apart waiting for their orders. these were not long in coming, for the man turned sharply upon them. "clear the boat," he said; and the blacks ran to the bows, a couple of them holding the vessel steady while the prisoners stepped clanking out, to stand in a row on the bank, with their new master scanning them sharply. "here, saunders," he said, "why is that boy not in irons?" "that is the sick one, sir. weak as a rat." "oh!--here, what's the matter with you, boy?" cried the settler. "no disease, have you?" "no, sir," said nic, speaking out firmly, for his time seemed to have come. "i was beaten about the head, and received a wound from a cutlass on the night these men were seized during an outrage, and--" "that will do. i don't want a sermon," said the settler brutally. "nor i to preach one, sir; but i was seized with these men by mistake." "ah, yes," said the settler, frowning; "some bad mistakes of this sort are made. that will do." "but i appeal to you, sir. i was hurried on board a ship while stunned, and i only recovered my senses when i reached this place." "then you were a long time without them, my lad; but you are wrong." "i do not understand you, sir." "well, i'll tell you," said the settler, sharply. "you lost your senses before you got into trouble." "i was only defending my father's property, sir," cried nic passionately. "i am a gentleman--a gentleman's son." "yes, we get a good many over here in the plantation, my lad; they are the biggest scamps sent over to rid the old country of a nuisance; but we do them good with some honest work and make decent men of them." "but i assure you, sir, i am speaking the truth. i appeal to you, men. tell this gentleman i was not one of your party." "hor, hor," roared humpy, derisively. "what a sneak you are, nic revel. take your dose like we do--like a man." "i appeal to you, pete burge. tell this gentleman that i was brought out here by mistake." "yes, it was all a mistake, master," cried the man. humpy roared with laughter again. "don't you believe him, master," he cried; "that there pete burge is the biggest liar we have in our parts. he'd say anything." "men, men!" cried nic, wildly, to the others; "speak the truth, for heaven's sake." "course we will," cried humpy quickly. "it's all right, master. don't you show more favour to one than another. we was all took together after a bit o' poaching and a fight. youngster there got a crack on the head which knocked him silly, and he's hatched up this here cockamaroo story in his fright at being sent out. do him good--do all on us good, and we're all glad to ha' got with such a good master; aren't we, lads?" "that will do," said the settler. "you have got too much grease on your tongue, my man." "but, sir," cried nic. "silence!" "you will let me write to my friends?" "we don't want you to write to us, mate," cried humpy grinning; "we can't none on us read. you can tell us what you want to say." "silence, you, sir," said the settler, sternly; "i keep a cat here, and that man who saw to your irons knows how to use it. hold your tongue, once for all." "oh, all right master; i on'y--" "silence!" humpy gave his mouth a slap, as if to shut it, and the settler turned to nic. "look here, young man," he said; "i have only your word for your story, and it seems likely enough to be as your fellow-prisoner says, something hatched up from fear. you are sent out here for your good." "you don't believe me, sir?" cried nic, wildly. "not a word of it," replied the settler. "we get too much of that sort of thing out here. every man, according to his own account, is as innocent as a lamb. you were sent out of your country, and came in a king's ship. you are assigned to me for a labourer, and if you--and all of you," he cried, turning to the others, "behave well, and work well, you'll find me a good master. you shall be well fed, have decent quarters and clothes, and though you are slaves i won't make slaves of you, but treat you as well as i do my blacks. look at them; they're as healthy a set of men as you can see." the blacks grinned and seemed contented enough. "that's one side of the case--my part," continued the settler; "now for the other. i've had a deal of experience with such men as you are, and i know how to treat them. if you play any pranks with me, there's the lash. if you attack me i'll shoot you down as i would a panther. if you try to escape: out north there are the mountains where you'll starve; out south and east there is the swamp, where the 'gators will pull you down and eat you, if you are not drowned or stifled in the mud; if you take to the open country those bloodhounds will run you to earth in no time. do you hear?" he said meaningly, "run you to earth; for when they have done there'll be nothing to do but for some of my blacks to make a hole for you and cover you up. now, then, you know what's open to you. your country has cast you out; but we want labour here; and, rough and bad as you are, we take you and make better men of you." "thank ye, master," cried humpy; "that's fair enough, mates." the settler gave him a look which made the man lower his eyes. "now then," said the settler, "i am going to begin, and begin fairly with you.--samson." "yes, massa," cried the big black. "take off their irons.--and if you all behave yourselves you'll never have to wear them again." the basket was at hand; the assistant brought out the little anvil, and the task of filing and then drawing out the rivets began, with the dogs looking on. "as for you, my lad," said the settler, "i can see you look weak and ill; you can take it easy for a few days till you get up your strength." "but you will make some inquiries, sir?" pleaded nic. "not one, boy. i know enough. i take the word of the king's people; so say no more." he turned his back upon his white slave, and it was as if the old confusion of intellect had suddenly come back: nic's brain swam, black specks danced before his eyes, and he staggered and would have fallen but for pete burge's arm, as the man caught him and whispered: "hold up, master nic; never say die!" chapter twenty four. pete's appeal. "aren't you a bit hard on me, master nic?" said pete, busy at his task in the plantation of hoeing the weeds, which seemed to take root and begin to grow again directly they were cut down. he did not look up, but spoke with his head bent over his work, conscious as he was that they might be keenly watched. "i have said nothing harsh to you," said nic coldly. "no, zir; but i thought that when you got a bit better, zeeing as we're both in the zame trouble, working together like them niggers, you might ha' got a bit more friendly." "friendly!" said nic bitterly. "i don't mean reg'lar friendly, but ready to say a word to a man now and then, seeing how he wants to help you." "you can't help me," said nic sadly. "i seem to be tied down to this weary life for always, and for no fault of mine--no fault of mine." "and it's no fault o' mine, master nic. you don't believe it, but i couldn't help coming that night; and i did try all i could to keep humpy dee from hurtin' you." "don't talk about it, please." "no, zur, i won't; but you're hot and tired. you haven't got your strength up yet, though you are a zight better. wish i could do all the work for you. here, i know." they were hoeing a couple of rows of corn, and pete was some feet ahead of his companion, who looked at him wonderingly, as, after a quick glance round, he stepped across and back to where nic was toiling. "quick," he said, "you get on to my row and keep moving your hoe and resting till i ketch up." "but--" began nic. "quick," growled pete fiercely; and he gave the lagger a sharp thrust with his elbow. "if they zee us talking and moving, old zaunders'll come across." that meant a fierce bullying, as nic knew, and he hesitated no longer, but stepped into pete's row. "i don't like this; it is too full of deceit," said nic. "you will be blamed for not doing more work." "nay; i shan't," replied pete, "because i shall work harder. we're a-going to do it this way; they won't notice it, and if i keep pulling you up a bit level with me it'll make your work easier." "but i have no right to let you." "'taren't nought to do wi' you; it's for the zake of the old country. when you get stronger and more used to the hoeing you'll do more than i can, p'raps, and help me." for the prisoners had been compelled to settle down at the plantation; and men who had never been used to regular hard toil, but had lived by fishing and salmon-spearing, and any odd task which offered, now slaved away among the sugar-canes or the indian-corn, the rice cultivation being allotted to the blacks. the settler had kept his word as to the behaviour to his white servants, treating them with what he considered stern justice; but every effort nic had made to obtain a hearing failed, the last producing threats which roused the young man's pride, and determined him to fight out the cruel battle as fate seemed to have ordained. three months had passed since the boat reached the place that night, and there had been little to chronicle, for the prisoners' life had been most monotonous, embraced as it was in rising early, toiling in the plantation in the hot sunshine all the day, with the regular halts for meals, and the barn-like shed at night, with the men's roughly-made bunks, a blanket, and a bag of husks of indian-corn. the life suited nic, though, for after the first fortnight he rapidly began to gain strength, and soon after he was sent out with the rest of the men. there had been no open trouble; the prisoners shared the same building, and their meals were served out to them together; but there was a complete division between them which was kept up whenever possible; and one day out in the field pete began about it to nic, who took no heed of either party. "zee humpy dee look at me, master nic?" said pete. "yes." "know why, don't you?" "no." "you do: i telled you. he zays, as you heered, that i set the zailors on 'em to get 'em brought out here." nic said nothing. "he means to kill me one o' these days. he'll hit me on the head, or pitch me into the river, or zomething; and the others won't interfere." nic looked up at the speaker quickly. "comes hard on me," continued pete. "i never done nothing, and they keeps me off, and don't speak; and you don't, master nic, zo i zeem all alone like. it makes me feel zometimes as if i must make mates o' the blacks, but i s'pose they wouldn't care for me. wish i'd got drowned." nic raised his head to look in the man's face; but the old trouble rankled in his breast. his heart would not go out to him, fellow-sufferers though they were. it was so several times over, pete trying hard to show what goodwill he could under their painful circumstances; but it was not until that day out in the corn-rows, when pete helped him with his work at a time when the heat was trying his barely-recovered strength, that nic felt that perhaps there was some truth in the man's story. at any rate, he was showing himself repentant if guilty, and the prisoner recalled how pete had nursed him and without doubt had saved his life. pete went on hoeing till he had worked level with nic, and then he worked harder to get as far ahead as he could before slipping back to his own row, for nic to return to his with once more a good start, and a feeling of gratitude for his companion's kindness, which softened his voice next time he spoke, and delighted pete, who began talking at once. "know where they keep the boat, master nic?" he said, as they worked away. "no. do you?" a few hours earlier nic would have said, "no," and nothing more. "think i do," said pete, brightening up. "i mean to get it out of the niggers zomehow. we never zee it go after they've been out in it. they tie it up at night, and next morning it's always gone." "yes," said nic; "i have noticed that." "it's that zamson and old xerxes who take it away zomewhere in the night, and walk or zwim back." "very likely, pete." "yes, master nic; that's it; but keep on hoeing. i've laid awake nights thinking about it, for we must have that boat. i don't mean humpy dee and his lot when i zay `we,' because you will go off wi' me if i zee a chance?" "i--i think not, pete." "master nic!" "well, yes, then; i will." "hab, my lad; you zeem to ha' put life into a man. there's zummat to live for now. i've thought and thought till i've felt zick; but that's the on'y way. i could risk running for it; but there's the dogs--the dogs--pst! look out!" the warning was needed, for there were steps coming in their direction, and directly after the overseer strode up. "i thought so," he said; "i've had my eye on you--you scoundrel! every now and then your hoe has stopped, and i could tell from your manner that you were talking, and wasting your time. here are you a good six feet behind this weak young fellow. get on, and catch up to him." nic felt stunned, and he turned to speak and exculpate his fellow-slave; but there was such an agonised, imploring look in pete's eyes that he was silent, and felt compelled to join in the little deception. "yes," said the overseer, "a good six feet behind you, my lad, when it ought to be the other way on. get on, you, sir, get on." "yes, zur; zoon pull up, zur." "zur and zoon!" cried the overseer. "bah! what a savage burr you have." he went on, followed by one of the two dogs which accompanied him, the other hanging back to look up at nic with its tail wagging slowly, till its absence was noticed and a shrill whistle rang out, which fetched it along with a rush, doubtless caused by recollections of the whip. "oh, pete!" whispered nic reproachfully. "it's all right, lad," said the man, laughing merrily. "what a game it was. i didn't mind a bit." "i did." "then don't, master nic, zur. i can't have you wear yourself out. we've got to 'scape, my lad, and the boat's the thing; but if you could get t'other two dogs as friendly as that one, we'd make for the woods. but anyhow, you've got to grow as strong as me; we can't do nothing without. master nic--" "yes." "if it was the last words i'd got to zay, i did fight for you that night, and it waren't my fault you was took." "i begin to believe it now, pete," was the reply. "do, zur: do try hard. i aren't a bragger, master nic, but it's just truth what i zay. i want to get you back again to the old country; and i can't think o' nought else night or day. if i can get you off, and come with you, o' course i should like; but if i can't, and i can get you off--there, i'll lie down and die to do it, lad. but look here, we must only trust ourselves. if the other lot, who are making some plan of their own, knew it, they'd tell upon us and spoil us. master nic, can't you believe in me!" nic was silent for a few moments as he turned to look in the man's eyes. "yes," he said at last; "i do believe in you." "and you'll trust me, zur?" again there was a momentary hesitation before nic answered, "yes." "hoe, master nic, hoe," whispered pete excitedly; "he's been watching us, and he's sent the dogs at us for not being at work." as proof thereof the two fierce-looking brutes came rushing down one of the rows, open-mouthed, and pete raised his hoe as if to strike. "me first, master nic," panted pete. "i aren't afeared. let him do what he likes after; i'll kill one or both on 'em before they shall touch you." at that moment there was a savage growling from the dogs not thirty yards away, and they came rushing at the poor fellows as hard as they could tear. chapter twenty five. a lurking peril. in obedience to the order which had despatched them, the two well-trained bloodhounds of the overseer tore on till they were about to bound upon the prisoners, when a sharp, shrill whistle arrested their rush on the instant, and they stopped, growling fiercely, their white teeth menacing, and their eyes red, as with a smouldering fire. the next moment a different note was blown from a distance, a shrill, chirruping note which made the dogs turn and bark. then one of them set off at a steady trot, while the other, as if its duty were done, approached nic in the most friendly way, with its tail waving from side to side. the whistle chirruped again, and the dog gave vent to a sharp bark, as much as to say, "all right, i'm coming--" and bounded after its companion. "well, we're out of that job, master nic. i did wonder at that dog coming at you zo fierce." "set at me, pete," said nic quietly, "and education was stronger than nature. keep on working now, and pray let me do my hoeing myself." pete grunted, and was silent, as he chopped away with his hoe till a horn was blown up at the house, when the tools were shouldered, and, hot and weary, the two companions trudged back to their barrack, to partake of their evening meal together, humpy dee and his party sitting quite aloof, for the feud was stronger than ever. from that day a change seemed to have come over nic. it was partly due to the feeling of returning health, but as much to his growing belief in pete's sincerity, and to the conviction that under the fellow's rough shell there was an earnest desire to serve him and help him to escape from his terrible position. the despondency to which he had given way seemed cowardly now, and as the days rolled on he worked as one works who is determined to make the best of his position. all the same, though, he joined heart and soul with pete in the plans made for getting away. drawn closer together as they were now, the subject was more and more discussed, and in the long talks they had in whispers of a night, they could not help dwelling on the difficulties they would have to encounter even if they did manage to escape. "but we will, master nic; you zee if we don't. they both talk about shooting us, and that zets me up. i don't want to hurt anybody; but when a man zays he's going to fire at me as if i was a wild beast, i don't feel to mind what i do to him. don't you be downhearted; we shall do it yet." "but," said nic, "it is the getting taken in a ship if we manage to find our way to the coast." "if we find our way? we've on'y to get that boat. the river will show us the way down to the zea; and as to getting away then, all we've got to do is to try and find a ship that wants men." "they will not take us, pete; we shall be looked upon as criminals." "not if the skipper wants men," said pete, laughing softly. "long as a man can work hard, and is strong, and behaves himself, he won't ask any questions." the time went on, and there seemed to be no likelihood of any captain asking questions; for in spite of keeping a sharp watch, neither nic nor pete could obtain the information they wanted. the boat seemed to disappear in the most mysterious way after being used by the settler or his overseer, and nic grew more and more puzzled, and said so to his companion. "yes, it gets over me zometimes, master," said pete; "but one has no chance. you see, there's always people watching you. it aren't as if it were on'y the masters and the dogs, and the niggers who are ready to do anything to please old zaunders; there's old humpy dee and the others. humpy's always on the lookout to do me a bad turn; and he hates you just as much. he's always thinking we're going to get away, and he means to stop it." "and this all means," said nic, with a sigh, "that we must be content to stay as we are." "don't mean nothing o' the kind," said pete shortly. "it's a nice enough place, and there's nothing i should like better than staying here a bit, if we could go about the river and swamp and woods, fishing and shooting, and hunting or trapping; but one gets too much zun on one's back, and when it's always chopping weeds with a hoe, and the weeds grow faster than you can chop, one gets tired of it. pretty country, master nic; most as good as home, only zun is a bit too warm." nic sighed. "that's 'cause you wants to write letters and get 'em sent, master nic, i know; but don't you worry 'bout that. you can't send letters here like you do at home, so it aren't no use to worry about what you can't do. worry 'bout finding the boat, dear lad; that's better than letters." "i have worried about it," said nic, "but it is of no use till we get a chance to go and wander about to try and discover where it is kept." "and that the skipper and old zaunders won't let us do, you zee," said pete quietly. "they're a wicked pair, both on 'em. might let us loose a bit on zundays; but not they. zunday and week-days all the zame. they've got us, and they mean to have their penn'orth out on us. never thought as i should have all my strength turned into sugar for some one else to eat. there, work away; old humpy's watching us, and he'll go and tell the skipper we're hatching eggs." nic smiled, for his companion's good temper and patience were contagious, but he could not repress a sigh from time to time as he thought of home; and the beauty of the country, the waving fields of tasselled indian-corn or beautiful sugar-cane, with the silver river beyond, the glorious slopes leading up to the distant blue mountains, and the gloomy, green, mysterious attraction of the swampy forest enhancing its attractions to an explorer, did not compensate for the absence of liberty, though nic was fain to confess that the plantation would have been a glorious place for a few months' visit. the blacks were not friendly, as nic soon found; but he attributed it to the stern orders they had received; but now and then one or another made a little advance, by offering, on the sly, fish or flesh in the shape of bird or 'possum which he had caught or trapped during the moonlight nights. for saunders seemed to pay no heed to the black slaves slipping away of a night on some excursion. "'nuff to make a man wish for a kettle o' tar, or a pot o' black paint," said pete one day. "what for, sir? just to put on a coat of it, and change the colour of one's skin. they'd treat us better than they do. makes me wish i was a nigger for a bit, so long as i could wash white when i got away." "master nic," said pete one night when they were alone in their bunks, "i aren't going to share that bit o' 'possum." "what bit of 'possum?" asked nic, as he lay listening to the low murmur arising from where humpy dee was talking to his fellow-prisoners, who were all chewing some tobacco-leaf which the former had managed to secrete. "why, you know; that bit old zamson give me, wrapped up in one o' them big leaves." "oh yes; i had forgotten. eat it, then; i don't mind." "likely, aren't it?" grumbled pete. "good as it smells, for them black fellows do know how to cook a thing brown and make it smell nice. can't you zee what i mean?" "no." "want it for the dogs. i'm going to slip off after that boat as soon as it's a bit later." "impossible, pete. don't try; you'll be shot at. there is sure to be one of the blacks outside the door with a musket." "let him stop there, then. i aren't going by the door." "how, then?" "climb up here to where i've got a couple o' them split wooden tiles-- shingles, as they call 'em--loose." "but you can't climb up there." "can't i? oh yes, my lad. there's them knot-holes, and i've got some pegs cut as fits into 'em, ready to stand on. i can get up easy enough." "but the dogs?" "well, i smuggled a knife and sharpened it up, and it's tied to my leg in a sheath i made out of a bit o' bamboo cane." "but it would be madness to fight the poor brutes, and the noise would bring out saunders with a gun." "just what i thought, my lad," said pete, laughing softly; "so i went on the other tack this month past." "i don't understand you, pete." "i'll tell you, then, my lad," said pete softly. "i made up my mind to get you back to the old country, and the on'y way to do it seems to be to make friends." "make friends?" "that's it. way that big dog, gripper, took to you zet me thinking. if he was zet at you he'd lay hold, 'cause he's been taught to obey orders. he wouldn't want to, no more than a soldier might want to shoot a man; but if it was orders he'd do it. well, i've thought a deal about them dogs, and dogs is dogs--eh, master nic?" "of course," said the young man, smiling to himself. "and dogs has got zweet tooths, master nic; on'y the sugar they likes is a bit o' salt." "you mean you wanted that piece of roast 'possum to give the dogs if they came at you." "that's right, master nic. if old zaunders was shouting 'em on, they wouldn't take no notice of the meat; but if he waren't there they'd be friends at once, and eat it. so i'm ready for 'em if they comes after me." "and you're going to try if you can find where they keep the boat to-night?" "_sn-n-n-ork_!" said pete, pinching his arm, and as the deep, low, snoring went on, nic grasped the reason. for there was a faint rustling of the dry corn-leaves, which stopped, and went on again in the utter darkness, while beyond it the low murmur of talking continued. "the talking kept on to cover humpy's movements," thought nic. "he has heard us, and is coming to listen." pete snored again, moved uneasily, and began to mutter in a low tone: "couldn't throw humpy dee?" he said. "let you see. better wrastler than him. _snore--snurrk_!" the rustling ceased, and then went on again. "where's that there moog o' zyder, lads?" muttered pete in a dull, stupid way. "where's the huff-cap?" then he smacked his lips, and said "hah!" softly, turned himself over, yawned, and began to snore, keeping it up steadily, while the rustling went on; but it sounded now as if the man who made it was retiring. nic listened, with every nerve on the strain, while pete kept on the snoring, and a minute later he made out clearly enough that humpy dee had returned to his companions, and distinctly heard the change in the conversation, as the man whispered the result of his investigation. pete's snore was lower now, and sounded as if it would last; but it did not, for the next moment nic was conscious that his comrade was leaning over him; a pair of lips touched his ear, and a voice whispered: "he thinks he's clever, but we can be too sharp for him." "don't talk any more," whispered nic softly, "or he'll come back." "right," said pete, and the snoring recommenced. and as nic lay there in the darkness, thinking over his companion's words, and feeling that it would have been madness to have made any attempt to leave the barrack-like shed, with watchful enemies both within and without, and the certainty in his mind that humpy dee's intention was to betray pete so as to get him flogged for attempting to escape, the snoring went on, with a strange lulling effect. he had toiled hard that day in the burning sunshine, and had lain down after his supper with that pleasant sensation of weariness which comes to the healthy and strong; and he had been feeling a glow of satisfaction and thankfulness for the full recovery of all his faculties, when pete had spoken as he did. it was not surprising, then, that the heavy breathing of his companion should have the effect it had, and that, just when he was in the midst of pleasant thoughts of the possibility of escape, he should suddenly pass from extreme wakefulness into deep sleep, in which he saw the red cliffs of devon again, with the sparkling sea, and listened to the soft murmur of the falls low down in the combe. back home once more. then he opened his eyes with a start. "i've been asleep," he said to himself, as he listened to pete's heavy breathing; "not for many minutes, though," he mused; and then he wondered and stared, for he could see the cracks and knot-holes of the wooden building against the grey dawn of the rapidly-coming day. "why, i must have been asleep for hours and hours!" he mentally ejaculated. proof came the next moment that it must have been eight hours at least, for the dull booming bellow of the great conch shell blown by one of the blacks rang out, and pete started up in his bunk to stare at nic and rub his calf softly. "had a good night, pete?" said the lad. "tidy," said the man softly; "but one o' the dogs had me by the leg." "what! surely you didn't go?" "ay, but i did. he let go, though, when he smelt the roast meat. smelt better than raw." "pete!" ejaculated nic, in his surprise. "now then, rouse up, all on you," shouted humpy dee, "or they'll be sending in the dogs for us, and the cat for some one else." "oh," thought nic, as a pang of agony shot through him; "that wretch must have been on the watch." chapter twenty six. pete thinks he has found it. in the morning, as the eternal hoeing went on, pete found his opportunity for telling of his adventures during the night. humpy dee had evidently heard nothing. "keep at it, master nic," he said; "this here stuff's growed up zo that there's no telling when they're coming on to you. it's all right though, now." "tell me, then, quickly. you got out?" "zure i did. i meant to, and had a good long night of it." "and you're sure the dog hasn't hurt you much?" "nay, on'y a pinch; i had the meat ready to shove in his face, but there aren't much to tell you." "i was afraid so. we must be patient, pete, and live on hope." "can't live on hope, master. hope's on'y the salt as makes the rest o' life tasty. want zome'at else as well. but don't you be down. we've got to get away, and we'll do it afore we've done." "then you found out nothing?" "oh yes, i did," said pete dryly. "i found out that it didn't matter which way i went there waren't what i wanted." "you mean the boat?" "that's right, master. i went as far as i could get along the river one way, and it waren't there; and i went as far as i could get t'other way, and it waren't there. old zam must get in and paddle it right away zomewheres. there now, if i haven't found it after all!" "what! where it is hidden?" "i believe i have; zeemed to turn it over and find it under this here clod i'm breaking up with the hoe. wish i'd looked when we was aboard." "looked at what?" "her bottom. she's got a big bung-hole in her zomewhere, and he must pole her along into a deep part, and take the bung out, and let her fill and zink. then he zinks the painter with a stone." "but she wouldn't sink, pete." "oh yes, she would, with ballast enough, sir; and all we've got to do now is to find out where she is." nic shook his head sadly, for he was not convinced. "don't you do that, my lad; that's not the way to get home. maybe i'm wrong, but i think i'm right, and i dare zay, if we knowed where to look, she's just close handy zomewhere. zay, master nic, s'pose i get old zamson down and kneel on his chest, and pull out my knife. i could show my teeth and look savage, and pretend i was going to cut his head off if he didn't tell me. that would make him speak--eh?" "yes, to saunders; and you would be punished, and we should be worse off than ever." "that's about it, sir. i'm afraid i did no good last night." pete chopped and broke clods, and muttered to himself in a way which suggested that he was by no means satisfied with his investigations. then all at once he said: "what do you zay to our going quietly down to the water some night, dropping in, and zwimming for it?" "into the jaws of the great alligators, pete?" "didn't think o' that. could hear 'em, too, as i walked along. one whacker went off from just under my feet once. i 'most fell over him, and he roared out like a bull calf. i thought he meant my legs. no, we couldn't do that, master nic. we must get hold o' that boat. i'll have another try to-night." "better not," said nic. "some of the others will hear you." "and old humpy be on'y too glad to get me in a row. well, i mean to have it zomehow." but pete did not go upon any nocturnal excursion that night. nature was too much for him. he dropped asleep, and did not wake till the conch shell sounded its braying note; and nic rose once more to go to his labour in the fields, asking himself if it was not all a dream. the next time the settler came that way the young man made an appeal to him for permission to send off a letter to some one in authority; but the angry refusal he received, coupled with a stern order to go on with his work, taught him plainly enough not to place any confidence in obtaining his liberty through his employer, so he tried to move the overseer the next time he came by. nic fared worse. "look here, my lad," said saunders; "your country said you were better out of it, and we've taken you, and mean to try and make something decent of you. we're going to do it, too." "but that was all a mistake, sir, as i told you," pleaded nic. "and this is a bigger one. who is to believe your word? get on with your work, and if you worry me again with your whining i'll shorten your rations, and keep you on the hardest jobs about the plantation." "it's of no use, pete," said nic as soon as he could speak unobserved; "there is nothing to hope for here. we must escape somehow, or else die in trying." "that's sense, master nic, all but the last part. i don't see any fun in dying for ever so long. i'm going out to-night to find that boat, and if i do, next thing is to zave up some prog and be off. there's one thing to do, though, 'fore we start." "what's that?" "borrow a couple o' guns and some powder and shot." "impossible, pete. no; i think i could manage it." "how, my lad? it has bothered me." "there are two ways. get at the guns one day when samson is cleaning them; or else creep to the house some hot night, risk all, and climb in by one of the windows. i think in time i shall know whereabouts they are kept." "risk getting zeen and shot?" "we must risk something, pete," said nic quietly. "it is for liberty. i should leave it to the last moment, and get them when the boat was all ready; then, if i were heard there would be somewhere to make for, and once afloat we should be safe. but there, we have not found out where the boat is yet." "and," said pete thoughtfully, "there's zomething else we haven't took count of." "what's that?" said nic eagerly. "the dogs, my lad; the dogs!" chapter twenty seven. a fight with morpheus. nic had no faith in his companion's notions about the boat lying sunk in the creek or river; but as the time wore on he could suggest no better idea. still, he did find out where the guns were kept one day when, in company with a man of humpy dee's party, he was ordered up to help in stowing some bales of tobacco-leaf in a kind of store at the back of the low wooden building. the work was pretty hard, but nic hardly felt it, for in going to and fro he had to pass an open door which led into the place used by the settler and saunders for their dining and sitting room. it was a very rough spot, and the furniture was all home-made--that is to say, it was manufactured by the blacks. but nic hardly heeded its contents after seeing a series of hooks driven into the wall, and upon each pair a musket, with powder-flask and bullet-pouch attached. he could think of nothing else as he walked away, for these weapons meant a supply of food if he and pete took to the woods, and that night he communicated the discovery to his companion. "it ought to be easy to borrow a couple of them," said pete quietly--"zome night when the two gaffers are asleep. on'y one thing to hinder it, as i zee, for i don't believe they shut themselves up, feeling as they do that we're under lock and key." "what is to prevent me creeping in and getting them, pete?" "dogs," said the man quietly. "now, if we was at home i could walk into plymouth and go to a druggist's shop, and for twopence buy zomething i knows of as would zend those dogs to sleep till we'd done what we wanted; but there aren't no shops in the woods here." "and we haven't found the boat, pete." "and we haven't found the boat, my lad. but here's a little bit of a tool here i've got for you at last. better one than mine. one of the blacks had been cutting up zome meat with it yesterday, and left it out on the bench--forgetted all about it--they're good ones at forgetting; and zo i scrambled back and got hold of it, sharpened it up at the point, and made a wooden sheath for it, so as you can wear it in your belt under your shirt." "a knife!" whispered nic excitedly as pete thrust the weapon into his hand. "no; i don't want to shed blood." "i didn't say it was to kill men with, did i? s'pose one of them dogs had you by the throat, wouldn't it be useful then? or to kill a deer out in the woods? or skin a 'possum? might even be useful to stick into a 'gator's throat. better take it, master." nic's hand closed upon the handle of the keen blade, and he transferred it to his belt; when, as the hard sheath pressed against his side, he felt that, after all, it was one step towards liberty. the next morning pete told him that he had had another good hunt by the river-side, going as far as he dared, but without result. "and 'twix' you and me, master nic, i suppose it's being a bit of a coward, but i dursen't go no more. i aren't afraid o' things you can see; but when you're down by the water o' nights listening to the strange birds making queer noises, and the big bats whuzzing round you, to say nothing of the 'gators walloping about at the edge, and other gashly things zeeming to be lying wait for you, it's a bit too much for me." "it must be very nervous work, pete." "last night about settled me that we must go right up-country or through the woods, for i trod on a big snake, and felt it twissen round my leg. ugh! i don't mind a conger, because, even if he bites you, it's on'y a bite, and it gets well; but a snake! why, they tell me--leastwise one of the blacks did--as a bite from one of the rattlesnakes'll finish you off in 'bout an hour." "but you were not bitten?" "s'pose not, and i've been thinking since i must ha' trod on the gashly thing's head. anyhow it did scare me, and i mean to chop every one i zee while i'm hoeing. i have killed four since we've been here." "you must not try it again, pete," said nic. "then we shall have to take to the woods, master, for i don't zee any chance o' getting the boat." that day, while the two prisoners were hoeing together, the settler came round, stood watching them for a time, and then came nearer and examined their work, saw nothing to complain of, but still being dissatisfied, he turned upon pete. "here, you get chattering too much with this lad," he cried; "be off across to the long corn-field behind the house and join that gang. work with them, and send black jupe here to take your place." "yes, master," said pete quietly; and as he shouldered his hoe and the settler walked away, he made an offer at him with the hoe, when one of the dogs growled savagely. suspicious of danger, the settler turned sharply, to see pete slouching away with his eyes on the ground; so, after an angry word or two at the dog, the master went on again, leaving nic hoeing away, thinking how dreary the days would pass if he were to have no better companionship than that of the black. half-an-hour passed before the slave came slowly along the row nic was hoeing--for the waving growth completely shut them from sight--and upon reaching his fellow-prisoner's side he made a few scrapes with his hoe and then stopped, with his black face shining as he showed his teeth. "you had better go on with your work," said nic quietly; "the master will be back." "not a day, sah," said the black. "him going get boat and go up ribber 'long o' massa saunder." nic looked at the man sharply as he uttered the word _boat_. wouldn't it be possible to hear from him where the boat was kept? "berry hot. take four boy row de boat, and tell sam and zerks load de gun and shoot ebbery white body who done work." "ah!" said nic. "dat so, sah," said the man, laughing. "no shoot black fellow." he said no more, but went on chopping away in the hot sunshine far faster than nic could manage, and the intense heat did not seem to affect him. for it was so hot that the prisoner felt exhausted, early as it was in the day, the tall growth around keeping off the breeze. but he worked away, with the perspiration streaming down his face, thinking what an opportunity this would be for taking to the woods or the open country, but with his heart sinking as he dwelt upon the possibility of humpy dee and the others fighting against such a plan from pure malice. and besides, pete was not there to discuss the matter. there were the armed blacks, too, and the dogs. nic went to the end of his row, turned, and worked away back, forgetful of his black companion, till he was half-way along the return row, when a peculiar sound startled him, and stepping aside among the canes, his heart gave a big throb, for the black seemed to have fallen from exhaustion. the next minute he smiled, for he realised that the man was fast asleep. and how hot it was! nic's throat was dry, his tongue parched, while only some three hundred yards from where he toiled there was the green band of cane and reed jungle, and just beyond that the bright, cool waters of the river. oh, if he could only be where he could lie down and take one long, deep draught! the thought of it increased his thirst. well, why not? the black had shown him that there was no danger. their tyrants had started in the boat by now, or the idle rascal would not have lain down so coolly to sleep, and this terrible thirst-- "oh, i must go and have a drink," muttered nic wearily; and then, laying down his hoe, he walked swiftly to the end of the row, turned at right angles along by the ditch which divided the field from the next field, and, satisfied that he could not be seen from the house, kept on and on, startled more than once by the rustle of a gliding snake, till the narrow patch of jungle was reached, and he plunged into it, to force his way along to the edge of the river. the reeds and dense water-growth ended suddenly, and he was about to peer out, up and down, to make sure that he was not seen, thinking the while of how easy escape seemed, when he drew back and stood watching with starting eyes. but it was not at the alligator six feet long which lay between him and the gliding river, nor yet at that other, a dozen yards away, sunning itself at the surface of the water; but at the black woolly head of a swimmer nearly at the other side, making easily and well for the mouth of an overhung creek nearly opposite to where nic crouched, and quite regardless of the dangerous reptiles which might be near. the feeling of thirst died out as nic watched, seeing that there was a way of escape after all by the river; for if that man dared trust himself to swim in open daylight to the other side, surely he and pete might venture, even if the place did swarm with reptiles? nic's heart beat with a strange feeling of satisfaction. here, then, was one of his unfortunate companions taking advantage of the master's absence to escape. why was not pete there to join him, and they might all get away together? in another minute nic would have been on his way back to try and get speech with pete, and tell him what he had seen. he might, he thought, elude samson's watchfulness, when, to his astonishment, the man reached the farther shore, stepped out, and shook himself, when nic felt that he must be dreaming, for it was samson himself. the next minute nic saw him plunge into the thick growth overhanging the narrow creek and disappear. "left his musket behind because he felt doubtful about getting it across," thought nic, and once more he was about to hurry back, when a strange rustling sound caught his ear, followed by the rattle as of a pole; and directly after the mystery of the boat's hiding-place was laid bare, for it glided out from among the waving canes, and there was samson standing upright, dipping the pole first on one side, then on the other, sending the boat across as it glided down with the stream, passed the watcher, and evidently was being directed for the other creek. "poor old pete, how glad he'll be!" thought nic. "that's it, plain enough; kept over there because they think no one would dare to swim across; but we dare." "dare we?" said nic to himself the next minute, as he saw an unusually large alligator make a swirl in the water and dart by; and he shuddered as the thought occurred to him that, though the reptiles might not touch the blacks, with a white man it might mean something very different. "ugh! you little beast," he muttered, as there was a rustle in the moist patch of jungle, and he caught sight of the loathsome blunt muzzle of what looked like a monstrous eft staring hard at him, not a couple of yards distant. a quick movement sent the reptile scuffling away; then there was a splash, and forgetful entirely of his thirst, nic hurried back, feeling a lingering doubt as to whether the settler or his overseer might not have been to the field during his absence, as they were certainly not gone. but upon reaching the place where he had left his hoe, there it lay with the handle too hot to hold, and the slave close at hand, shining and happy, fast asleep, with his mouth open, and the red lips attracting the flies, as if it were some huge ugly red blossom from which they might sip. that day seemed as if it would never come to an end. but at sunset the conch shell was blown, and the black started up, just as nic straightened his weary back, and came slowly towards him down the row he had hoed. "um tink um been fass 'sleep, sah," said the black, grinning. "you tell mass' saunder? no, you not tell um, and me shut de eye nex' time you go 'sleep." "i shan't tell tales," said nic good-humouredly. "but i say, do you ever think about running away?" "run away? what for? no use run away. set dogs to catch you 'gain. an' if dogs not catch um, where run to? plantations all alike." "to you," thought nic. "yes; where could he run to--back to africa? what then? only to be caught and sold again. poor wretch! worse off than i. there is no pleasant devon for him to reach, as we must and will reach it some day. yes, there are slaves far worse off than i. what can the dear old dad have thought when he found me gone? there is only one answer to that," said nic, with a weary sigh--"that i was drowned in the pool struggle and swept out to sea." the next minute pete came into sight, and their eyes met, nic giving the man so long and intent a look that he did not see humpy dee watching him, only that pete's face worked a little, as if he grasped the fact that his companion had some news to impart. but they had no chance of communicating then, for samson and xerxes were ready to count them as they went up to their shed; the dogs looking on and trotting about busily, as if helping two black shepherds by rounding up their flock. it was hard work to eat that night, and the evening meal seemed more than ever to resemble a mash prepared for fattening cattle such as they seemed to be. but nic felt that food meant strength when the time for escaping came, and he forced himself to devour his portion as if ravenously. the night soon came there, and they were locked up once more, nic eagerly waiting for the chance to tell all he knew. as he lay in his bunk listening, it was evident, from the low, guarded tone in which their companions talked, that they were in ignorance of the fact that their masters were absent, and all was very still outside, till one of the men spoke out angrily. then a bang on the door from the butt of a musket, followed by a burst of deep-toned barking, told plainly enough that proper precautions were taken, samson's voice coming loudly and hoarsely with an order to keep quiet and lie down before he had to shoot. "but there's light ahead," thought nic; and he waited till he thought he could communicate his news to pete; but, to his disgust, the deep, low breathing close at hand told that he was asleep. "worn out with his weary toil last night," thought nic. "well, i'll keep watch to-night until he wakes, and tell him then." but hour after hour went sluggishly by, with the watcher trying to think out the plan by which they could escape in the easiest way. in spite of the excitement produced by the knowledge that a door was open by which they could get away, there was a hindrance to his thoughts coming clearly. that long day's toil in the burning sun made his plans run together till they were in a strange confusion; and at last he was swimming the river to reach the boat, when a dozen of the reptiles which haunted the water seemed to be tugging at him to drag him down, barking fiercely the while. then he started up, to find that he had been fast asleep, and that the dogs were barking loudly because of their master's return. "what's the row about?" nic heard humpy dee growl. "then i was right," said another of the men. "the gaffers have been off somewhere, and have just come back. i thought so, because neither of them showed up in the fields after quite early." "why didn't you tell me?" growled humpy; and he whispered to his companions very earnestly. just then the voices of the settler and the overseer were heard talking to samson; the dogs came smelling about the door, and the sentry spoke loudly to them to get away. then by degrees all grew silent again, and a rustling sound told nic that pete was moving in his bunk. "couldn't help it, lad," he whispered; "i was zo worn out, i went off fast. you've got zome'at to tell me?" "yes." "i knowed it; but if i'd had to save my life i couldn't ha' kep' my eyes open. what is it?" nic told him, whispering earnestly in his excitement. "what a vool--what a vool!" whispered pete. "on'y to think o' me never thinking o' that. then it's all right, master nic. we can just get together enough prog to last us, borrow the guns, pick out the night that zuits us, and then go quietly off." "but would you dare to swim across the river--the alligators?" "yes," said pete; "if they was twice as big; and if they touch me--well, they'll find out what an edge and point i've given my knife. it's all right, master nic, and i'm glad it's you as found out the way." "hist!" whispered nic, laying a hand on the man's mouth. for there was a rustling not far from where they lay; and nic felt as if a hand were catching at his throat, for the thought came to thrill him through and through that humpy dee had crept nearer to hear what, in their eager excitement, they had said; and if he had heard-- pete put it this way: "if he knows, the game's at an end." nic slept little more that night; not that he and pete talked again about their plans, but because his brain was full of the momentous question: had their treacherous companion heard? chapter twenty eight. the time at last. it was nervous work during the next few days, neither nic nor pete daring to take any step towards making their escape, for the feeling was strong upon both that they were in their enemy's hands, and that he was only waiting his time before betraying them to the overseer. "that's his way, master nic, and it always was. once he had a grudge agen a man he'd never forgive him," said pete one night, "and he'd wait his chance to serve him out. i never liked humpy, and he never liked me; zo, after all, it was six o' one and half-a-dozen o' the other." "i can't help thinking that we are worrying ourselves about nothing, pete," replied nic. "it's a case of the guilty conscience needing no accuser." "that it aren't, sir," said the man sturdily. "i aren't going to believe you've got any guilty conscience, and there aren't nothing worse on mine than a bit o' zalmon." nic smiled in the darkness, and pete went on: "well, if you think like that, master nic, let's risk it. old humpy's cunning enough, but p'raps two heads'll be better than one, and we can beat him. what do you zay to trying, then?" "anything is better than this terrible suspense, pete," said nic. "i did manage to bear my fate before, but the thought now of that boat lying ready to carry us down the river is too much for me, and there are moments when i feel as if i must say to you, `come on; let's run down to the river and dash in, risking everything.'" "what! and them zee us go, master nic?" "yes; i am getting desperate with waiting." "wouldn't do, my lad. they'd chivvy us, them and the blacks and humpy and t'others. why, bless you, nothing old humpy would like better." "i'm afraid so." "that's it, zir, whether you're 'fraid or whether you bean't. and s'posing we got the boat, what then, zir? them seeing us and going along by the bank shooting at us." "we might lie down, pete." "yes; and they'd send in half-a-dozen niggers to zwim to the boat and bring it ashore. what do you say to that, zir?" "that i'm half-mad to propose such a thing," replied nic. "talk lower, zir. i can't hear old humpy; but let's be on the lookout." "better give up all thought of getting away," said nic despondently. "bah! never zay die, master nic. why, there's the old place at home seeming to hold out its finger to us, beckoning-like, and zaying `come,' and once i do get back, you'll never ketch me meddling with no one's zalmon again. but look here, zir, we thought it all out before, and i don't see as we can better it." "i feel hopeless, pete." "and i feel as if i've got 'nough o' that stuff in me for both. wish we could be hoeing together again, so as we could talk it over." "i wish so too, pete." "it aren't half so pleasant hoeing along with the blacks as it is with you, zir." "thank you, pete," said nic, smiling to himself. "i aren't got nought agen 'em. they can't help having black skins and them thick lips, and they're wonderful good-tempered. just big children, that's what they are. fancy a man being a zlave and ready to zing and dance 'cause the moon zhines, ready to go out hunting the coons and 'possums as if there was nothing the matter." "it's their nature to be light-hearted," said nic. "light-hearted, zir? why, there's one o' the gang along with me as allus seems as if you were tickling him. only to-day he drops hisself down and rolls about in the hot sun, and does nothing but laugh, just because he's happy. why, i couldn't laugh now if i tried." "wait, pete; perhaps you may again some day." "i want to laugh to-morrow night, zir." "what?" "when we've got a couple o' guns aboard that boat, and we're going down the river," whispered pete excitedly. "i can laugh then." "we couldn't do it, pete." "we could, zir, if we zaid we would." "there is the risk of that man watching us and telling." "he'd better!" growled pete. "look here, zir; let's have no more shilly-shallying. say you'll go to-morrow night, and risk it." "why not wait for a good opportunity?" "'cause if we do it mayn't never come." "but food--provisions?" said nic, whose heart was beginning to throb with excitement. "eat all we can to-morrow, and chance what we can get in the woods, or go without a bit. i'd starve two days for the sake of getting away. will you risk it, zir?" for answer nic stretched out his hand and grasped pete's, having his own half-crushed in return. "that settles it, then," whispered pete hoarsely. "zave a bit of bread-cake if you can. may come in useful. to-morrow night, then." "to-morrow night." "are you two going to keep on talking till to-morrow morning?" growled a deep voice. "zum on us want a bit o' sleep. look here, mates; i'm going to speak to the gaffer to-morrow, to ax if them two chatterin' old women can't be put somewheres else." nic turned cold, and pete uttered a deep sigh, for if this were done they would, he knew, have to begin making their plans again. but hope cheered them both as the next day dawned and passed on without incident. humpy dee's was evidently only an empty threat, and as evening drew on nic's excitement increased, and with it came a sensation of strength such as he had not enjoyed for months. it was as if his companion had endowed him with a portion of his own elastic temperament, and success was going to attend their efforts. all the weary despondency had passed away, and in imagination nic saw the boat floating down the river towards the sea, where, hope whispered, it must be very easy to find some british ship whose captain would be ready to listen to their unhappy story, and let them hide on board till he set sail, and then let them work their passage home. "for," argued nic now in his excitement, "no englishman could be so hardhearted as to refuse help to a white slave." he saw nothing of pete after they had started for their day's work, their duties taking them to different parts of the plantation; but that was no more than he expected, and he toiled away with his hoe, telling himself that this was the last time he would handle it, for they would-- they must--escape; and he wondered now that he could have hesitated so long, and have let the notion that humpy dee was quietly trying to undermine them act like a bugbear. one thing was difficult, though, and that was to eat heartily in readiness for what might be a long fast. nic ate all he could force down, however, and hid away the rest. but how long that hot day seemed, before the darkness closed in and the strange sounds began to rise from the woods and river! never had all these sounded so loudly before; and when at last nic lay down in his rustling bunk, and the place had been locked and the black sentry placed at the door, it seemed to the listener as if the great goat-suckers were whirring about just outside, and the bull-frogs had come in a body to the very edge of the woods and up the ditches of the plantation to croak. humpy dee and his companions were talking together; the black sentry yawned, and began to hum an air to himself; and soon after the voices of the settler and the overseer passed, discussing some plan in connection with the crops; but nic did not hear either of the dogs bark, neither did the one which had shown friendliness towards him come snuffling about the entrance of the low shed. "why doesn't pete say something?" thought nic, who began to wonder at the silence of his companion, not a word having passed since they met at the rough supper; and now, for the first time that day, nic's heart sank a little, for it seemed to him that his fellow-plotter had shrunk from the risks they would have to encounter--risks which might mean being shot at, worried by the dogs, dragged down by the alligators to a horrible death, perhaps fever and starvation in the swamp, or being drowned at sea, if they reached the river's mouth, and were swept away by one of the fierce currents along the shore. it meant waiting two hours at least before they could begin their attempt; but still nic wanted to get rid of the oppression which troubled him, and to feel that they really were going to make their escape; but the murmuring of their companions' voices went on, and still pete made no sign. at last nic could contain himself no longer. he was all eagerness now; and, if they were not going to make the attempt, he wanted to know the worst. he spoke in a whisper: "pete, pete!" "phew! how hot--how hot!" muttered the man. "pete!" whispered nic again. "i wish you wouldn't keep on talking," said pete loudly. "you know how it set them grumbling last night." nic drew a deep breath through his teeth, as he lay there in the hot, oppressive darkness. they were not going, then. it was the way with a man of pete's class to pick a quarrel upon some other subject when he wanted to find an excuse and back out of an arrangement. "ay, you had a narrow escape on it," said one of the men surlily. "old humpy was pretty nigh going to the gaffer to-day." "it's all over," thought nic, as a feeling of bitterness ran through him. only four-and-twenty hours earlier he had been ready to give up and accept his position. then pete had touched the right chord in his nature, and roused him up to a readiness to run any risk, and make a brave dash for liberty; while now the man seemed to have shrunk back into his shell, and to be completely giving up just when the call was about to be made upon his energies. at another time nic might have argued differently; but, strung up as he had been, his companion's surly indifference was crushing, and it seemed that the wild, exciting adventures of the night were to give place to a cowardly, sordid sleep. "if anything big is to be done, one must depend upon one's-self," thought nic at last; and, angry with the whole world, bitter at his own helplessness, as he felt how mad it would be to attempt the venture alone, he turned over in his bunk, throwing out one hand in the movement, and it came in contact with pete's, to be gripped fast. in an instant the blood was dancing through his veins, and a choking sensation as of impending suffocation troubled him; the arteries in his temples beat painfully, and he lay breathing hard. for it was to be after all, and this conduct was his companion's way of showing him that it was better to lie in silence, waiting till the time arrived for commencing their task. nic lay there listening to the low murmur of his fellow-prisoners' voices and the chorus of strange sounds from the forest and river; and in the stillness of the night, every now and then, a faint splash came plainly to where he lay, sending a thrill through him, as he thought that, if all went well, before very long he might be swimming across the river, running the gauntlet of the horrible-looking reptiles, and his left hand stole down to his belt to grasp the handle of the sharpened knife, while he wondered whether the skin of the alligators would be horny or tough enough to turn the point. how long, how long it seemed before all was perfectly still in the long, low shed, and not a sound could be heard outside but the faint humming noise made by the black sentry! then all at once there were steps. some one had come up, and in a low whisper nic heard the words: "all right?" "yes, massa." then the steps passed away again, and pete gripped nic's hand as he lay straining his hearing to try and ascertain whether the overseer had entered the house; but the barking or croaking of reptiles was the only sound. another hour must have passed, and then nic's blood rushed through his veins, for a hand touched his again lightly, and seemed to seek for the other. directly after he felt a hot breath upon his face, and lips to his ear, uttering the one word: "come!" chapter twenty nine. for life and liberty. before nic revel's mental sight the difficulties rose like a great black rock, but he did not shrink. he rose softly from his bunk, striving hard to keep the corn-stalks from crackling, and felt pete as the man took a couple of steps from his sleeping-place and stood with his face to the back of the shed. then, in the midst of a very faint rustling, nic knew that his companion had thrust a couple of pegs into the knot-holes in the stout planks, and raised himself by hand and foot till he could softly draw the wooden shingles of the roof aside, and the cool, moist air of the night came down. then for a moment or two nic saw a bright star, which was blotted out by something dark as the faint rustling continued. nic turned to listen, but all was well within the shed. he could hear the deep breathing of sleepers, and the low humming song of the sentry outside the door. "how long will it be?" thought nic, who was trembling with excitement; but the suspense was soon over. all at once there was a dull sound, such as might be made by two bare feet alighting on the earth outside, and he knew that his turn had come. he was lightly enough clothed, merely in short-sleeved, striped cotton shirt, and breeches which did not reach the knee, and his feet were bare, so that there was nothing to hinder his efforts as he reached up till he could place one foot upon the first peg. then, seeking for the other, he seized it in his hand, and drew himself into a standing position upon the first, reached up to the rafters, drew himself farther up till he could rest his foot on the second peg and pass his head and shoulders through the hole in the roof; then, resting a hand on either side, he drew his legs through, turned and lowered himself down, and dropped upon the ground almost without a sound. it was intensely dark, but every step was familiar enough, and there was no need for words: their plans had been too well made. but as they moved off towards the house, one thought was in both minds as presenting the greatest obstacle they had to dread: where were the dogs? if loose, and their approach were heard, the great brutes would set up a fierce baying directly, preliminary to a savage attack; and then-- they neither of them cared to reckon more in advance than that, and went softly on, to receive proof directly that the dogs were not loose, for there came from the back of the house the rattle of a chain being drawn over wood, followed by a low, muttering growl, as if one of the animals was uneasy. this ceased directly; and, treading cautiously, nic went straight up to the front of the building, feeling as if, at any moment, he might see the flash of a musket and hear its roar. but the place was dark and still, and the croaking and other sounds which came in chorus were quite loud enough to drown their light footsteps as they approached. the door was closed, but the two long, low windows in the veranda proved to be open; and, as nic approached the one upon his right and listened, he could distinctly hear the heavy breathing of a sleeper. he drew cautiously back, to come in contact with pete, who was taken by surprise at the sudden movement made. then they stood with hearts thumping against their ribs, feeling certain that they must have been heard; but not a sound followed. after waiting nearly a minute, a fresh movement was made, nic stepping softly to the window on his left, the perspiration streaming down his face, for the heat was intense. he listened here, with pete close behind, but all was still, the window wide open to admit the air; and he knew that all he had to do was to pass softly in, take down a couple of the guns, passing one out at a time through the window to pete, beat a retreat, and then all would be as easy as possible. it was only cool, quiet action--that was all; but nic for a time could not move, only stand there, breathing heavily, in the full expectation of hearing his companion say something to urge him on. pete did not stir: he felt that he must trust to his companion's common-sense, and leave him to act as was best. then the power to act seemed to come, and nic softly grasped the window-sill, passed one leg in, then the other, and stood upon the bare floor, fully expecting to hear a bullet whiz past his head, even if it did not strike. but he could hear nothing; the house might have been unoccupied; and, drawing a deep breath, he acted quickly now, turned to his left, raised his hands, and pressed forward till they touched one of the weapons hanging upon the wall. a sudden feeling of elation now came over him, for it all seemed to be so astonishingly easy, as he stepped softly to the window to pass out a musket with its flask and pouch, feeling it taken from his hand directly. the next minute he was in front of the other pieces, and took down a second musket, felt that the flask and pouch were attached to it, and, with his pulses hard at work, he was about to make for the window when every drop of blood in his veins seemed to stand still. for there was a sharp, angry oath, a quick start, and the overseer, who had been sleeping upon a rough couch, rose to a sitting position. it was too dark for nic to make out anything more than a shadowy figure within ten feet of him; and he stood as if petrified, holding the musket, meaning to use it as a club at the first attack; one which seemed to be strangely deferred, for the figure sat as if staring at him in astonishment. how long this pause lasted it is impossible to say, but to the intruder it seemed like minutes before he heard a faint rustling movement as if the overseer was about to lie down again. "he can't see me," thought nic. "it is too dark." then his heart seemed to stand still again, as the horrible thought occurred that the rustling meant getting something out of a pocket, and that something must be a pistol. instinct taught the listener that to save his life he must spring at his enemy before he could take aim, and, nerving himself for a leap forward to dash the musket he held upon the man's face, he was almost in the act of bounding across the room when there was a low gurgling sound, and his nerves and muscles relaxed, for he realised the fact--the overseer had awoke suddenly from some nightmare-like dream, and it was no pistol he had taken out, but a flask of spirits. it was plain enough now--the gurgling of the flask, the smack of the lips in the darkness, and the long, satisfied breath taken, before the bottle was replaced and its owner sank back upon his couch. in another minute the breathing had grown deeper and sounded stertorous; and, without pausing longer, nic stepped to the window, handed out the gun, and felt it taken quickly from his hands. just then there was a faint muttering which almost paralysed nic, who turned to meet an attack; but none came, and in another instant or two he had slipped out of the window and was following pete, who had handed back one gun, with the warning to beware of the dogs. pete's stooping figure was just visible as nic followed, him in silence till they were about a hundred yards away, making for the spot where the boat was hidden, when one of the dogs barked loudly. "mustn't stop to load," whispered pete. "let's get to the water, and then they can't take up the scent." they hurried on, listening the while; but the dog quieted down again; and with his spirits rising, nic closed up alongside of his companion. "that was a near touch, master," whispered pete. "i waited ready to jump in and help you, for i zomehow thought it was too dark in there for him to zee you, and you hadn't made any noise. lucky for him he lay down again." nic made no reply, but he thought a great deal; and no more was said till they had crossed a couple of the great fields and knew by the sounds they heard that they must be close to the long, low band of reedy growth which ran by the river-side. "you lead now, my lad," whispered pete. "get as nigh as you can to where you think the creek is on the other side." "it is so dark," whispered nic; "but i think we are right." he went to the front, assailed by a horrible doubt now that he had taken the wrong way, and was some distance farther up the river; but, as he bent down to part the low growth, to peer through over the dark water, there was a scuffle and a splash, telling of some reptile taking flight, and he shrank back. but he hardly heeded it, for he had dimly made out a solitary tree across the river, some eighty or a hundred yards away, which he had marked down for bearings. "this is the place, pete," he whispered. "if you stand here and look across, the creek is a little way up to the right." "that is good, my lad; i was beginning to be feared that we should have to wait for daylight, and be missed. now then, take my gun and the tackle, and while i'm gone you load both on 'em." "while you are gone?" whispered nic excitedly. "you are not going; i know the way, and i'll fetch the boat." "that you don't, master nic," said the man sturdily. "that there water's full o' them great brutes, and one of 'em might pull you down." "i know it is; and one of them might pull you down." "he'd be zorry for it if he did, for i'd zoon zend my knife through his carcass. it's my job, zir, and i'm going." "i tell you i know just where it is, and i'm going to fetch it." "that you aren't, zir. i won't have you risk it." "then we'll swim the river together, pete." "and what about the guns?" "leave them on the bank, and come back and fetch them." "never find 'em again in the darkness and hurry, my lad. now, do be zensible." "i'm master, and i order you to stay." "which you aren't master, zir, for we're both zlaves, and if you talk so loud you'll be bringing down the dogs and i'm off." almost before nic could realise it, pete had slipped across the narrow space, lowered himself into the water, and swum away, leaving his companion horrified at the sounds he heard. for directly after the man had struck out there was a tremendous wallowing splash, which nic felt certain had been caused by some monstrous reptile; and he crouched there grasping the guns, with a chilly perspiration breaking out over his brow. it was some minutes before he thought of the loading, and when he did he could not follow out his instructions for listening and staring across the dark, gliding water, which was full of life, startling him with the belief that pete had been attacked when some louder splash than usual came from the direction the man had taken. then the horrible thought came that the poor fellow had been seized the moment he plunged in, and that that loud wallowing noise was when he was dragged underneath. for, though he listened so hard, there was nothing to prove that his comrade was still swimming across the river; and his heart sank at the thought of what would be a most horrible death. everything served to depress him more as he crouched there in the enforced inaction; he could hear rustlings in the low water-growth as of reptiles creeping along, the splashes in the river, and all about him the croaking, hooting, and barking of the nocturnal creatures which made the place their home; while, as if these were not sufficient, there was the dread of pursuit, with their enemies hounding on the savage dogs, which might spring upon him at any moment. "not without giving notice, though," he said to himself. "what a nervous coward all this has made me! why, the hounds would begin to bay as soon as they took up the scent." he listened again; but all was still save a splash or two, and he bitterly repented that they had not thought of some signal--a whistle or the like--to give warning that the river had been successfully crossed. "he would do it," thought nic, trying to be firm. "he is a splendid swimmer. why, it was wonderful what i believe he did when he tried to save me--in irons, too." nic paused for a few moments longer to listen to the splashing which went on; and then, recalling once more his companion's words, he prepared to load the muskets. but the first he tried proved to be loaded, and, on replacing the ramrod and opening the pan, he found the priming all right. the next proved to be in the same condition; and, once more laying the pieces down, he crouched with his ear near the water to listen to the lapping and splashing which went on. but there was nothing that he could interpret to mean the movement of an oar or pole on a boat, and his heart began to sink again lower and lower, till wild thoughts arose about his companion's fate. he would not give harbour to the suggestion that he had been dragged down by the reptiles, but fancied that the boat might be securely padlocked, or that pete had got it out, and, not knowing the force of the stream, had been swept away past where he should have landed, and with so big and heavy a boat he might not be able to get back. if this were the case pete would escape, and he would have to go back to his prison. "no, he would not forsake me," muttered nic, with a strange glow about his heart as he thought of the man's fidelity to his cause; and he had just come to this conclusion when he heard a rustling behind him as of some creature creeping up. it was forgotten, though, the next moment, for unmistakably there was the sound of an oar whishing about in the water, as if someone had it over the stern and, fisherman fashions was sculling the boat towards the bank. then for a moment nic was doubtful, for the sound ceased. "it was one of the alligators," he muttered through his teeth, "and the poor fellow--" there was a faint chirrup off the river, and once more nic's heart beat wildly as he answered the signal. then the sculling began again, the rustling was repeated somewhere behind where nic crouched, and he felt for the muskets to take them up. "whatever it is, i shall be aboard in a moment or two," he thought, with a strangely wild feeling of exultation; for he heard the oar drawn in, the head of the boat suddenly appeared close at hand, and it was run into the muddy, reedy bank a couple of yards away, while pete leaped ashore with the painter. "now!" cried a loud voice, when, with a rush, half-a-dozen men sprang upon them from the bed of reeds and a fierce struggle began. chapter thirty. making friends of enemies. the struggle was very fierce but short. nic fought his best, and, in spite of the excitement, wondered at his strength. he was encouraged, too, by pete, whom he heard raging and tearing about; and, hard pressed as he was, he yet had a thought for his companion. "never mind me, master nic," he shouted. "zwim for it--the boat. never mind me." then his voice was smothered, and there was the sound of a heavy fall, but the struggle went on. "hold on!" came the voice of the overseer, giving his orders; and then that of the settler: "give in, you scoundrels!" he raged out. then fiercely, "hold their heads under water, boys, if they don't give in." "all done now, sah," panted samson, with his lips close to nic's head, for he was across his prisoner's chest, and a couple of the blacks were holding his legs. "yes, we must give up, master nic," cried pete. "i've got five loads o' black stuff sitting on me." "have you your whip with you, saunders?" cried the settler. "no, sir; i wish i had. but it is hanging by the door, and we can give them a better taste by daylight." "you use it on him," roared pete fiercely, "and i'll kill you." "silence, you scoundrel!" cried the settler, "or i'll have you gagged as well as ironed. i warned you both of what would happen if you tried to escape." "lucky for them i let loose the black dogs instead of the brown," cried the overseer. "we should not have had the trouble of taking them back. tie their hands behind their backs, samson, and have the irons ready as soon as we get to the house." "got no rope, sah." "what!" cried the settler. "why didn't you bring some, you black fool?" "no time, sah," said the black humbly. "soon as dat ugly ruffyum, humpy, come knock at door and say dey 'scape, zerk call me quite sharp, an' i come tell you, and dey fetch de boy and have 'em back. me no t'ink 'bout no rope, sah; on'y t'ink dey go swim for de boat and catch 'em first." "quite right," said the settler more calmly. "there, one of you go in front of each man, and two others take fast hold of a wrist on each side. cock your pistols, saunders." there was a sharp clicking sound. "walk behind that big scoundrel, and if he makes the slightest attempt to escape send a bullet through him. i'll look after this one. pity we didn't stop to loose the dogs. ready?" "iss, sah," came from samson, as nic felt a strong hand like a live handcuff upon each wrist. "lead on, then." "you be very careful, please, massa; no make mistake and shoot dis boy." "oh yes, i'll take care." the march back began, and at the second step nic felt that a cold ring of iron had been pressed between his shoulders--the pistol-muzzle resting upon his skin where the shirt had been torn down from neck to waist. he could not suppress a shiver, for the heat and passion of the struggle had passed away, leaving him weary, aching, and depressed. but in a few minutes the pistol-muzzle was withdrawn, it being awkward for the holder to walk over the rough ground and keep it there; and the prisoner marched on between his black warders as patiently as pete in front, thinking perhaps the same ideas. for he felt that they had not taken warning by the hints they had received. humpy dee had been on the watch, and, in his malignity, let them get away before giving notice to the sentry, that they might be caught, ironed, and flogged, or perhaps meet their death in the struggle. but nic had yet to find that humpy dee's designs were deeper than this. the walk back was not long enough for a hundredth part of the bitter thoughts that crowded into nic revel's brain; neither would they have got a hearing had the distance been a thousand times the length, on account of the one dominant horror which filled his brain: "will they flog us?--will they flog us?" that question was always repeating itself, and, when the prisoner heard pete utter a low groan, he was convinced that the poor fellow was possessed by similar thoughts. only so short a time before that they had left their quarters, and now they were back in the darkness, their plans crushed, and only the punishment to look forward to. "now, sam, be sharp with a couple of lanthorns and those irons," cried the overseer. "iss, sah." "prisoners been quiet?" whispered the settler to the sentry. "iss, sah, berry quiet; all fass asleep;" and the man let his musket fall down upon the ground with an ominous thud as, in obedience to an order, he unlocked the shed-door and lowered the huge bar before drawing it open. "now then," muttered the overseer, "how long is he going to be with that lanthorn? here, in with them, boys; but don't loose your hold till i tell you." nic and pete were hurried on; and, as soon as they were inside, the settler and his lieutenant stood in the doorway, pistol in hand, while nic's face was involuntarily turned in the direction of the corner where humpy dee's bunk lay, in the full expectation of hearing some bantering sneer. but the man made no sign, and directly after the _pad_, _pad_ of samson's feet was heard, and a faint light threw up the figures of those at the doorway. then samson's big black face appeared, lit up by the lanthorns he swung, one in each hand. "i take in de light, sah, and den go fetch de irons?" "yes; look sharp," cried saunders. he made way for the black to pass, and the man raised one of the lanthorns to hang it upon a hook. he did not do this, but raised the other lanthorn and hurriedly took a few steps in the direction of the bunks, to begin shouting directly: "hyah!" he cried, "whar dem oder white fellow? you, zerk, what you go and done wid de oder man?" "what!" roared the settler and the overseer in a breath as they rushed forward, pistol in hand. "all gone, sah," cried samson, beginning to tremble. "bah! you 'most fass 'sleep," cried xerxes, who had come in at the call of his companion; "dey all tuck under de corn-'talk." "you black idiot!" roared the overseer, turning upon the sentry so savagely that the man's knees began to knock together; he let go his hold of his musket, and it fell on the floor with a thud, followed by a flash and an explosion, while the man escaped a knockdown blow by ducking. "here, quick!" cried the settler, who had seized one of the lanthorns from samson and convinced himself that the other prisoners had taken advantage of the hole made by pete, and, as soon as the chase began, climbed quietly out in turn. "all of you follow. pick up that musket and load it again, you black fool!" "no 'top clap irons on dese two, sah?" cried samson. "no. here, saunders, fetch another musket. samson, you and nero guard these two while we're gone; and if you let them escape i'll shoot you." "no, no," said saunders quickly; "i'll manage them. we want all our men. here, sam; go and let loose the dogs." "but these two?" cried the settler impatiently. "well, the dogs will watch them." "we want them, man, to track the other scoundrels." "we can do that ourselves. they followed us, for a hundred pounds, and have taken the boat by now." the settler uttered a furious oath and stamped his foot. "sharper than we are," he roared. "yes, that is right." just then the dogs, newly set at liberty, came bounding up, followed by samson; and the overseer went up to the two prisoners. "there, lie down in your kennels," he snarled. "we shall not be long, and it depends upon yourselves whether we find you when we come back. i warn you that if you move the hounds will tear you to pieces." "saunders!" whispered the settler. "their lives will be in their own hands, sir," cried the overseer warmly. "let me have my own way, please; it is the only thing to do." the settler shrugged his shoulders, and the blacks all stood there round-eyed and staring, while the two unfortunates lay down in their bunks, and the overseer called up the dogs and bade them couch. "watch," he said fiercely, and a deep-toned growl arose. "stay there and watch." "now, sir," he said coldly, "the sooner we are off the better. out with you, boys, and bring the lights." the blacks ran out, the settler followed, and the overseer went to the door last. "i've warned you," he said fiercely, as he turned to face the prisoners. "make the slightest movement, and those hounds will be at your throats and rend you limb from limb. good dogs, then--watch," he shouted; then he banged the door, locked and barred it, and just then the settler's voice was heard at a little distance. "here, saunders," he cried; "two of the loaded muskets have been taken from the hooks." "hor, hor!" laughed pete savagely; "just found that out?" he ceased, for three dogs sprang to their feet, uttering a furious barking trio which made his heart seem to leap to his throat. in the intense desire to save himself, nic sprang up into a sitting position and spoke quickly and gently, calling to the dog which had shown a friendly disposition towards him from the first. "don't do that, master nic," said pete hoarsely. but even as the man spoke the dog was upon nic's bunk, whining, pawing at him, and thrusting its great muzzle in his hand, uttering the while a low, eager bark. the others barked too, and, as if in imitation of their companion, made at nic as well, favouring him with their clumsy caresses, and ending by sitting close up to him, panting loudly. "have they killed you, master nic?" whispered pete hoarsely, eliciting a fierce growl from one of the brutes. "quiet," cried nic loudly, and the growling ceased; while the next moment from out of the darkness a great head began to nestle upon his shoulder. "good dog, then!" cried nic, patting and stroking its head. "there, i think you may venture to talk, pete." "do you, zir? if i waren't beginning to think they'd done for you. aren't you hurt, then?" "no; they are used to us now, and i don't think there's anything to fear. look here; do you dare to reach out your hand and pat him?" "no, zir; i'm too great a coward. i was always feared of a dog's bite; not of the dog." nic was silent for a few moments, and then he began to pat first one dog and then another heavily, the great brutes submitting to the familiarities evidently with satisfaction, one of them beginning to bound about the shed, and returning to be caressed again. "you order me to come close and pat one of 'em, master nic, and i will," said pete hoarsely. "come on, then." the man drew a deep breath and made the venture, with so much success attending it that he tried it upon the others. "master nic," he whispered excitedly, "what do you think of that?" "of what?" "here's one of 'em licking my face. oh, i zay, it don't mean tasting me first to zee whether i'm good, do it?" "no; the poor brutes believe we are friends, i suppose, from being shut up with us. but, pete, they've all gone off after the others. couldn't we try to escape again?" "nay; t'others have got the boat." "but the high ground yonder, or the woods?" "nay; they'd hunt us down with the dogs. the beggars would go at us if they hounded 'em on." nic was silenced for a few moments, and he sat with a dog on either side and his arms on their necks. "but we could get out again; the shingles must be off the roof." "yes; that's how humpy and the others got out, zir. they must ha' known all our plans." "let's creep out, then; the dogs couldn't follow." "s'pose not, zir; but they'd make howl enough to bring the gaffers back to lay 'em on our scent. i don't think it's any use to try. i'd face it and the dogs too with my knife; they never took it away from me. did they take yourn?" "i don't know, pete. no: here it is." "and it would be too hard on you to have to face 'em. best not to try. we had our go and missed; p'raps we'd better take what they give us and not grumble." "impossible, pete. i'd rather face the dogs than the lash. but i don't believe they'd hurt us now." "p'raps not, zir," said pete sadly. "this here one's as playful as a puppy. he's 'tending to bite my arm, but he don't hurt a bit." there was silence again for a few minutes, during which time nic sat with his heart beating hard, listening to the familiar sounds which came from the forest, while the passionate desire to flee grew and grew till it swept everything before it. "pete," he cried at last, "we must escape. better starve in the woods than lead such a life as this. we shall be flogged to-morrow, and it will kill me, i know." "the dogs'll hunt us down if we go, lad, and we shall get it worse. better face what we've got to have." "i will not; i cannot, pete. the way is open, man. let's try for our liberty before these wretches come back." "zay the word, then, master nic; but the dogs is friends now, as long as we're quiet; they won't let us go." "ah, i know!" cried nic wildly. "why didn't i think of it before?" "think of what, zir?" "this. perhaps they might attack us if they thought they were going to be left." "that's zo." "and if we got away they'd be laid on our track." "o' course, zir." "then we will not give saunders the chance." "i dunno what you mean, zir; but i'm ready for anything you tell me to do. what is it?" "take the dogs with us, man. i believe they'll follow us now." "take 'em with us?" panted pete. "why, o' course! i never thought o' that. but we can't, master nic; we're locked in." "the roof's open. look here, pete; i'm going to climb out at once. the dogs will begin to bay at this, but as soon as i'm on the roof, ready to drop down, you get up, put your hands against the boards, and lay a-back. then i'll call them. they'll scramble up, and i'll help them through. you come last." "think they'll do it?" said pete, panting like one of the hounds. "i'm sure they will." "be worse than the flogging," cried pete excitedly; "they'll tear all the skin off my back. but i don't care; i'm ready. they'll leave the bones." "ready, then?" cried nic. "the moment there's room make a back for the dogs." the eager talking excited the great animals, and they began to sniff at the speakers and growl; but nic's blood was up, and he was ready to risk an attack on the chance of his scheme succeeding. "a dog is a dog, whether it's here or at home, and i know their nature pretty well." the next moment he was proving it by leaping to his feet. "hey, boys, then!" he cried loudly; "the woods--a run in the woods!" the dogs sprang round him, and began leaping up, barking excitedly. "come on, then," he shouted, though his heart leaped with a choking sensation at his mouth; and, scrambling up to the opening by means of the pegs, he was the next minute squeezing himself through, the dogs bounding up at him as he went, and nearly causing him to fall. for one moment he felt he was being dragged back, and shuddered at the thought of what might happen if the excited animals got him down. but the dread passed away as quickly as it had come. he tore off another of the shingles to widen the opening, and shouted down into the shed: "come on, then. come on." already the hounds were growing savage in their disappointment, and baying and growling with tremendous clamour, as they kept on leaping over each other and dropping back. but at the words of encouragement from above one of them awoke to the fact that there was a step all ready in the darkness, and, leaping upon it, the great creature reached up, got its paws on the sides of the opening, scrambled through without help from nic, as he sat on the roof, and leaped down. that was enough; the others followed quickly, and the next minute pete was up, seated by nic's side, the dogs now leaping at them from below, barking loudly. "hurt?" panted nic. "not a bit. durst us jump down?" "we must," cried nic firmly; and, shouting to the dogs, he lowered himself down, dropped to the ground, and was followed by pete. "hie on, boys! forward, then!" cried nic, as the dogs leaped and bounded around him, and he began to trot away from the river. "which way?" said pete, who was as excited now as his companion. "wherever the dogs lead us," replied nic. "anywhere away from this slavery and death. forward, then, boys! hie on!" the dogs ceased barking and began dashing on through the plantation leading to the nearest wood. the hunt was up, and nic had rightly weighed their nature. they were off in chase of something; that was enough, and the two men followed, feeling that at last they were on the highroad to freedom, with their most dreaded enemies turned to friends. "master nic," said pete hoarsely as they trotted on, step for step following the sound made by the heavy dogs, "i aren't never been a 'ligious sort of a chap, but would it be any harm if, instead o' kneeling down proper, i was to try and say a prayer as we run?" "harm, pete?" cried nic, with a wild, hysterical ring in his voice; "it could not be. why, i've been praying for help ever since i leaped down among those savage beasts. i could not have ventured but for that." sound travels far during the night, and, though the fugitives were not aware of it, their attempt to escape was known. for, just when the dogs were free of the shed and were baying their loudest, the settler, at the head of his men, turned to saunders: "hear that?" he said hoarsely. "yes. they've risked it, and the dogs are running them down. well, they have only themselves to thank; i wash my hands of it all." the settler shuddered, for his companion's words had brought up a thought that was full of horror; and for a moment he was about to order his blacks to turn back. but just then the overseer whispered: "keep up, sir; not a sound, please. we shall have them now." "no firing," said the settler quickly; "they will be unarmed." "i don't know that," said the overseer; "but we shall soon know. hadn't we better deal with them as they deal with us? hark! the dogs are quiet now. they've got their prisoners, and, if i'm not wrong, in a few minutes we shall have taken ours." "heah dat, zerk?" whispered samson. there was a grunt. "you an' me's gwan to have de arm-ache to-morrow morn' wid all dat lot to flog." "iss," whispered xerxes; "and den got to go and bury dem oder one bones." chapter thirty one. a night's muddle. on went the dogs, apparently following the track of some animal; and, as they seemed to be leading the fugitives farther and farther away from the plantation, nothing nic felt, could be better. for, in spite of the long imprisonment at the settler's place, the knowledge of the prisoners was confined to the river and the clearings about the house. certainly they had had a view of the distant hills; but all beyond the plantation, save towards the swamp, was unknown land. "we can't do better than go on, pete," said nic, after following the dogs for about an hour. "don't see as we can, zir. they're hunting after zomething they've got the zmell of, and maybe, if we cross their scent, they may begin hunting us; zo i zay let 'em go. you zee, they're mostly kep' chained up in them gashly kennels o' theirs; and they're enjoying a run in the woods. any idee where we be?" "not the slightest, pete; but at any rate we're free." "till we're ketched again, master nic. but i zay, you'll show fight if they should catch up to uz?" "yes, pete; i should feel so desperate that i should be ready to die sooner than give up now." "that's me all over, lad," said pete. "i zay, though; couldn't get to be more friends still wi' the dogs, and make 'em fight for uz, could we?" nic laughed bitterly, and then stopped short, for the yelping had ceased. "can you hear the hounds now?" a sharp burst of barking a short distance away told of their direction, and after wandering in and out among the trees for a few minutes, they found the three great creatures apparently waiting for them to come up before starting off again. this went on for a full hour longer, the dogs leading them on and on, evidently getting scent of one of the little animals the blacks hunted from time to time; but from their clumsiness, and the activity of the little quarry, each run being without result. "where are we now?" said pete at last, after the yelping of the little pack had ceased. "it is impossible to say," replied nic. "it is all so much alike here in the darkness that i have felt helpless ever since we started; but we must be many miles away from the plantation, and i hardly know how the night has gone in this excitement; but it must be near morning." "must be," said pete, "for my clothes are quite dry again, and i'm getting thirsty. what are we going to do now?" "keep on, and coax the dogs more and more away. we must not let them go back." "no; that wouldn't do, master nic. on'y if they don't ketch anything they'll get hungry, and if they gets hungry they'll grow zavage; and if they grow zavage, what's going to happen then?" "wait till the trouble comes, pete," replied nic; "then we'll see." "that's good zense, master nic; and i b'lieve them brutes are lying down and resting zomewhere. shall i give a whistle?" "yes; it would do no harm." pete uttered a low, piping sound such as would be given by a bird, and it was answered by a bark which showed the direction; and, on turning towards it, a minute had not elapsed before they heard the heavy panting of the three animals, which sprang up and came to them, lolling out their tongues to be caressed. "good old dogs, then," said nic, patting their heads. "go on, and take us right away, and when it gets daylight you may all have a good sleep. hie on, then, boys; hie on! right away." the dogs threw up their heads, snuffed about a bit, and then started off once more at a steady pace, which soon slowed down, and made the task of following them in the darkness much less difficult. then all at once one of them uttered a low, whining sound and sprang off a little faster. for the ground was more open here, the trees bigger, and the undergrowth--the great hindrance--scarce. "better going here, master nic, if it waren't for the great roots sticking out. now, if the day would only break we should be able to zee better what we were doing. my word! if we could only come across a good wild-apple orchard it wouldn't be amiss." "and that we shall not find." "never mind, zir; we'll find zum'at else--toadstools on the trees, or wild berries, or zomething; and if them dogs don't run down anything good for a roast, why, they don't come up to one of our old devon lurchers. if this was one of our woods we shouldn't be long without something between our teeth. don't you be downhearted; i'll find zome'at we can eat." "i am not downhearted, pete; and, if we can do so in safety, we'll go on walking all day." "that's right; on'y we don't want to run upon no more plantations." "no; we must trust to the wild country, pete, till we can reach the sea." "and not feel zafe when we get there, zir. zay, master nic, i don't think much of a country where they has zlaves, whether they're white or whether they're black." "never mind that now, pete; we have escaped." "and without my having a chance to thrash humpy dee, and giving master zaunders one for his nob." "hist! what's that?" whispered nic, as a peculiar sound came through the trees. "water!" said pete excitedly. "the dogs lapping. come on, zir. my mouth's as if it was full of dust. the very thing we want." the next minute the darkness seemed to be less intense, and in another they were close to a little stream, where the dogs were drinking deeply; but they left the edge as the fugitives came up, shook themselves, and stood by while pete sought for a place a little higher up. "here you are, master nic," he said. "they might ha' let uz have first go; but i forgive 'em for finding it. lie down on your face and drink." nic needed no incitement, and pete followed his example, both enjoying the sweetest, most refreshing draught that had ever passed their lips. "hall!" ejaculated pete as he raised himself into a sitting posture. "can't drink any more. hope we aren't zwallowed no young 'gators or a snake; but if we have, zir, it'll be vittles as well as drink, and do uz good." "ugh! don't talk about it," said nic. "but where are the dogs?" "eh? gone on, i s'pose; and we must trot on too. i'm ready for anything now." "look, pete. yonder's the east." "that's our way then, zir." "and the sun will not be long before it's up. it is getting light fast. come along and find the dogs. we came up from the left; they will go right on to the right. we should have heard them if they had crossed the stream." "that's right, lad. what a good--" pete was going to say poacher, but he checked himself--"wood-man you'd have made. forward, then. it's all open yonder." a minute later they had stopped short, to see the three dogs walking across a clearing, plainly seen in the grey dawn, while to the left the stream had widened out. it was only a momentary pause, and then the fugitives shrank back into cover, chilled to the heart by the dreadful truth. the dogs, quite at home in the neighbouring forest, had taken them a long round, and brought them back to the plantation; and now, wearied out, they were making their way to their kennel at the back of the house and sheds. the night's labour seemed to have been all in vain; and nic laid his hand upon his companion's shoulder as he said, with a bitter sigh: "pete, pete, it is hopeless. we shall never see the old home again." chapter thirty two. never say die. "what zay?" cried pete sharply. "never zay die, lad. english lads are never beat. look at that!" he pointed through the trees at where the streamlet widened into the little creek where they had first landed, and nic rubbed his eyes, refusing to believe in what he saw. but there it was plain enough in the dim, grey dawn--the boat lying tied up to the post; and a great sob rose to the poor fellow's lips, while for a few moments he could not stir. then a thrill of excitement ran through him as he looked round and saw that the dogs had passed out of sight beyond the long, low shed which had been their jail. it came like a flash to him now what must have taken place--one of those guesses at the truth which hit the mark. he knew that his enemies had dashed off in pursuit of the men who had made for the boat. they must have been overtaken during the night, brought back, and were doubtless at that moment shut up in their old quarters. nic hurriedly told pete his impression, and the latter slapped his leg. "that's it," he said, "and zarve 'em right, zir. that's tumbling into the hole you made for zomebody else, isn't it? that's why they've not blown the old shell yet and didn't put the boat back. been out all night." "could we make sure by trying to see whether there is any one on guard at the barrack-door?" "zoon do that, zir," said pete; and, going down upon hands and knees, he crawled away among the bushes, to be back in a few minutes. "old zamson and zerk both there at the door, zir, with guns." "then they have caught them," said nic excitedly. "but the blacks are both sitting down, fast asleep, zir." "worn out with their night's work, pete; but the prisoners will be well ironed and safe enough." "ay, zir, or they'd have had the boat by now." "now then, can we crawl to it under cover? we must be off at once." "couldn't on'y crawl half-way, zir, and then it's all open, and we might be shot at if they zaw us from the house. better make a dash for it at once and chance it." "come on, then," cried nic; and they ran as quickly as they could down by the side of the creek, reached the boat in safety, found that the poles and oars were in their places, and jumped in. there was no stopping to untie the rope which ran across the gunwale. pete's knife flew out and sawed through it in a moment or two. then one vigorous thrust sent the craft into the stream; but before they had cleared the creek there was a shout, followed by the whiz of a bullet and the report of a musket. "all right; fire away. shouldn't come back if you was a ridgment of zojers," cried pete, who was sending the boat along vigorously with the pole. "lie down, master nic; they're going to shoot again." "and leave you there?" cried nic. "no." instead of screening himself by the boat's side, nic seized two oars, got them over the rowlocks, and as soon as they were in the river he began to pull with all his might, watching the figure of saunders limping slowly down after them and stopping from time to time for a shot; samson and xerxes, wakened by the firing, hurrying up, handing him a fresh musket, and reloading each time. "don't see nothing of the gaffer," said pete coolly; "he must have been hurt too, or he'd have been after us. there come the blacks. hear that?" plainly enough, for the whistle was very shrill, and it was answered by the dogs, which came tearing round the end of the shed to follow the overseer. "row faster than they can zwim," said pete, laying down the pole. "here, give us one oar, master nic," he continued; and, taking his seat, the oar was handed to him, and, aided by the current, the boat began to move more swiftly. "why, there's the gaffer," cried pete suddenly; and nic saw that the settler was coming down from the house by the help of a stick, while the dogs stood close by saunders, barking loudly. "there must have been a desperate fight in the night, pete," cried nic. "look, there are two of the blacks with their heads tied up." "and jolly glad i am, master nic. i shouldn't have cried much if they'd all killed one another and left nothing but the bones. there, put that gun away, stoopid; you can't hit us at this distance." the overseer seemed to have thought so too, for he lowered the musket, and nic just caught sight of him striking savagely with it at the dogs, which began to bay and make rushes at him. but nic saw no more, for a bend in the river, with a clump of trees thereon, hid the plantation from their sight; while pete began to sing an old west-country ditty, something about a clever moneyless adventurer who, no matter what task he undertook, always succeeded in getting the best of his adversaries. the words were absurd and often childish, but there was a ring in the familiar old melody that went straight to nic's heart and brought a strange moisture to his eyes, for it thrilled him with hope, and brought up memories of the far-away home that he began to feel now he might see again. and that feeling of hope drove away the horrible dread and the miserable sensation of weariness, sending vigour through every nerve, and making him bend to his oar to take a full grip of the water and swing back at the same moment as pete, making the river ripple and plash beneath the bows and driving the boat merrily along, just as if the two fugitives were moved by the same spirit. "zome zaid a penny, but i zaid five poun'. the wager was laid, but the money not down. zinging right fol de ree, fol de riddle lee while i am a-zinging i'd five poun' free," chanted pete in a fine, round, musical bass voice, and the trees on one side echoed it back, while the ungreased rowlocks, as the oars swung to and fro, seemed to nic's excited fancy to keep on saying, "dev-on, dev-on, dev-on," in cheery reiteration. "zinging right fol de ree!" cried pete. "zay, master nic, why don't you join in chorus? you know that old zong." "ay, pete, i know it," said nic; "but my heart's too full for singing." "nay, not it, lad. do you good. that's why i began. mine felt so full that it was ready to burst out, and if i hadn't begun to zing i should ha' broken zomething. i zay, master nic, get out o' stroke and hit me a good whack or two with your oar and fisties, right in the back." "what for?" "to waken me up. i'm dreaming, i'm afraid, and i'd rather be roused up than go on in a dream like this. it's zo hearty, you zee, and makes me feel as if i could go on rowing for a month without getting tired." "so do i now, pete." "well, that's real, master nic. i dunno, though; p'raps it aren't, and i want it cut short. it would be horrid to wake up and find it all zleep-hatching; but the longer i go on the worse i shall be. it's dreaming, aren't it, and we didn't get away?" "you know it is not a dream, pete," replied nic. "we have escaped--i mean, we have begun to escape." "begun, lad? why, we've half-done it," cried pete, who was wild with excitement. "pull away, and let's zhow 'em what west-country muscles can do. pull lad, pull, and keep me at it, or i zhall be getting up and dancing zailor's hornpipe all over the boat, and without music. music! who wants music? my heart's full of music and zinging of home again, and i don't know what's come to my eyes. master nic, all this river, and the trees, and fog rising on each zide through the trees, looks zo beautiful that i must be dreaming. zay, lad, do tell me i ra-ally am awake." "yes, pete, awake--wide awake; and i am feeling just the same. my heart's beating with hope as it never beat before." "hooroar for master nic's heart!" cried the big fellow wildly. "beat away, good old heart, for we're going to do it, and it'll be just as easy as kissing your hand." "we mustn't be too sanguine." "oh yes, we must, lad. i don't know what being zangwing is, but if it's anything to do with fancying we shall get away, i zay let's be as zangwing as we can. none of your getting into the dumps and `shan't do it' now. we're free, my lad--free; and i should just like to have a cut at any one as zays we aren't. zlaves, indeed! white zlaves! but i knowed it couldn't last. you can't make a zlave of an englishman, master nic. you may call him one, and put irons on him, or shut him up like zyder in a cask, and hammer the bung in; but zooner or later he'll zend the bung out flying, or burst the hoops and scatter the staves. it was only waiting our chance, and we've got it; and here we are rowing down this here river in the boat, and they may hoe the old plantation themselves. zay, master nic." "yes, pete." "don't it zeem strange what a differ a black skin makes in a man?" "what do you mean--in the colour?" "nay-ay-ay-ay, lad! i mean 'bout being a zlave. here's these niggers brought here and made zlaves of, and they zettles down to it as happy-go-lucky as can be. they don't zeem to mind. they eat and drink all they can, and zleep as much as they can, and they do as little work as they can. why, i zometimes did three times as much hoeing as one o' they in a day; and that aren't bragging." "no, pete; they took it very easy." "i should just think they did, my lad; and then the way they'd laugh! i never zee any one laugh as they could. i s'pose that's what makes their mouths zo big and their teeth zo white. gets 'em bleached by opening their mouths zo wide." "look, pete!" whispered nic. "wasn't that something moving on the right bank?" "yes; i zee it, master nic. dunno what it was, but it waren't a man on the watch. zay; they aren't got another boat anywhere, have they?" "oh no; i feel sure they have not," said nic sharply. "then we're all right. this water's running zwift, and we're making the boat move pretty fast. they can't zwim half as fast as we're going, and they've no horses, and the dogs can't smell on the river, even if they made a raft of the trees they've got cut down yonder." "it would take them a day, pete." "ay, it would, master nic; and going on as we're going, we shall be a long way on at the end of a day." "yes; we shall be some distance towards the mouth. i begin to think, pete, that we shall really manage to escape." "yes, we've done it this time, master nic; and we only want a veal-pie, a cold zalmon, a couple o' loaves, and a stone bottle o' zyder, to be 'bout as happy as any one could be." "but do you think we can reach the mouth of the river without being stopped?" "don't zee who's to stop uz, zir," said pete coolly. "what we've got to do is to row a steady stroke till we come to a place where we can get zome'at to eat; and then we'll row right out to zea, and get ourselves picked up by the first ship we can board. but we zeem to want that there veal-pie, cold zalmon, two loaves, and the stone bottle." "yes, we want provisions, pete. are you keeping a good, sharp lookout?" "i just am, master nic. i'm afraid it's taking zome of the bark off when i look among the trees. but we needn't; nobody can't overtake uz unless we tie the boat up to a tree on the bank and lie down to go to zleep." "and that we shall not even think of doing, pete." "that's zo, master nic. but by-and-by, when the zun gets hot and you're a bit tired, we'll get ashore zomewhere to break off a few good leafy boughs and make a bit of a shelter in the stern of the boat, zo as you can lie down and have a zleep." "or you, pete." "when it's my turn, master nic. we'll take watch and watch, as the zailors call it, zo as to keep the boat going till we get aboard a ship. i zay, how far do you make it to the landing-place where we come aboard the boat?" "i can't say, pete," replied nic. "i was in such a confused state that i have lost all count." "and i aren't much better, zir. you zee, we landed and slept on the road, and that took up time; but i've allowed us three days and nights as being plenty to get down to the zea; and that means tying up to the bank when the river's again' uz--i mean, when we come to where the tide runs, for we should knock ourzelves up trying to pull this heavy, lumbering old boat against the stream." nic nodded, as he kept on looking anxiously astern; but he said nothing, and they rowed steadily on. "zay, master nic," said pete suddenly. "yes." "getting hot, aren't it?" "terribly." "well, i can't zay that, zir, because the zun aren't shining now on a zlave's back; it's on a free man's, and that makes all the differ. but what are you thinking about?" "the possibility of seeing another boat coming round the bend of the river." "it's unpossible, zir. the gaffer hadn't got no other boat to come in. i believe we was the only other planters up the river, and that there'll be no boat till we come to the places where we stayed of a night, and it's a zight nearer the zea. i keep on thinking, though, a deal." "what about--our escaping?" "nay. it's very queer, master nic, and i s'pose it's because i'm zo empty." "thinking of food, pete?" said nic sadly. "yes, master nic. more i tries not to, more i keeps on 'bout veal-pie, cold zalmon, and zyder." "ah yes, we must contrive to get some provisions after a bit." they rowed on in silence for some time, with the sun gathering power and beating down upon their heads, and flashing back from the surface of the river, till at last pete said suddenly: "we must run the boat ashore close to those trees, master nic, or we shall be going queer in the head for want of cover." "yes; i feel giddy now, pete. do you think we could tie a few leaves together for hats?" "you'll zee, my lad," said the man. "i could do it best with rushes, but i'll work zomething to keep off the zun." the boat was run in under the shade of a tree whose boughs hung down and dipped in the running stream; and as pete laid in his oar he glanced down over the side and saw fish gliding away, deep down in the transparent water. "zee um, zir?" said pete. "yes; there are some good-sized fish, pete." "and either of 'em would make uz a dinner if we'd got a line." "and bait, pete." "oh, i'll manage a bait, master nic. dessay they'd take a fly, a beetle, or a berry, or a worm, but i aren't got neither hook nor line. i'm going to have one, though, zoon, for the way i'm thinking o' cold zalmon is just horrid. i could eat it raw, or live even, without waiting for it to be cooked. these aren't zalmon, but they're vish." nic said little, for he could think of nothing but the overseer coming into sight with musket and dogs, and his eyes were constantly directed up the river. but pete took it all more calmly. he had dragged the boat beneath the shade of the overhanging tree, secured it to one of the boughs with the remains of the rope, several feet having fortunately been passed through the ring-bolt to lie loose in the bottom; and while nic kept watch he roughed out something in the shape of a couple of basket-like caps, wove in and out a few leaves, and ended by placing them before his companion. "they aren't very han'some, master nic," he said, "but they'll keep the zun off. what do you zay now to lying down and having a nap while i take the watch?" "no, no," cried nic excitedly; "let's go on at once." "i'm ready, master nic, but, if you could take both oars, i've been thinking that i could cut off one sleeve of my shirt, loosen and pull out the threads, and then twissen 'em up into a sort o' fishing-line, paying it over with some of the soft pitch here at the bottom of the boat, so as it would hold together a bit." "and what about a fish-hook?" asked nic. "ah, that's what bothers me, master. i've been thinking that when we get on into that great big marsh of a place where the river runs through the trees we might stop and vish, for there must be plenty there, or else the 'gators wouldn't be so plentiful. i did zee one big fellow, close to the top, in the clear water where it looked like wine. i thought it was a pike as we come up, and i felt as if i should like to try for him; but how to do it without a hook's more than i can tell. but we must have zomething to eat, master nic, or we shall be starved, and never get away after all." "go on making your line," said nic thoughtfully. "i'll row." as nic took both oars pete unfastened the piece of rope, and the boat began to glide along with the stream, while the latter burst into a low and hearty laugh. "on'y think o' that now, master nic. there's no need for me to spoil my shirt when there's a vishing-line half-made, and a hook waiting to be finished." "where? what do you mean?" cried nic excitedly. "why, here in the bows, lad. i've on'y got to unlay this piece o' rope--it's nearly new-- and then i can twist up yards o' line." "but the hook, man--the hook?" "there it be, master nic--the ring in the bolt. i've on'y got to zaw it through with my knife, bend it to get it out, and then hammer one part out straight, ready to tie on to the line, and there you are." "but--" "oh, i know; it won't be as good as a cod-hook, because it won't have no point nor no barb, but i'll tie a big frog or a bit o' zomething on to it, and if i don't yank a vish out with it afore night i never caught a zalmon." nic winced a little at the word "salmon," but he kept his thoughts to himself and went on rowing; while pete set to work with such goodwill that he soon had plenty of the rope unlaid, and began to plait the hempen threads into a coarse line, which grew rapidly between his clever fingers. but many hours had passed, and they were gliding through the interminable shades of the cypress swamp before he prepared to saw at the ring. it was nic who made the next suggestion. "pete," he said quickly, "why not take the head off the pole? it is very small for a boat-hook, and it is quite bright. there's a hole for you to fasten the line to, and a big pike-like fish might run at it as it is drawn through the water." "of course it might, lad. well, that is a good idea. why waren't i born clever?" pete set to work at once, and after a great deal of hard work he managed to cut away the wood from the nail-like rivet which held the head on to the shaft, after which a few blows sufficed to break the iron hook away, with the cross rivet still in place, ready to serve as a hold for the newly-made line. "wonder whether a vish'll take it, master nic," said pete as he stood up in the boat. "now if it was one o' them 'gators i could lash my knife on to the end of the pole and spear a little un, but i s'pose it wouldn't be good to eat." nic shook his head. "might manage one to-morrow, zir, if we don't ketch a vish." nic shook his head again. "i mean, zir, when we're nex' door to starvation-point. don't feel as if i could touch one to-day." "don't talk about the horrible reptiles, pete," said nic, with a shudder. "right, master nic, i won't, for horrid they be; and i don't mind telling you that when i zwimmed across to get this boat i was in such a fright all the time that i felt all of a zweat. i don't know whether i was, for it don't zeem nat'ral-like for a man to come all over wet when he's all wet already; but that's how i felt. there we are, then. i'm ready, master nic, if you'll go on steady, on'y taking a dip now and then to keep her head straight." he held up the iron hook, which began to spin round, and he chuckled aloud. "i wouldn't be zuch a vool as to throw a thing like that into the water at home, master nic," he said, "for no vish would be zuch a vool as to run at it; but out here the vish are only zavages, and don't know any better. that's what i hopes." nic began to dip an oar now and then, so as to avoid the rotten stumps, snags, and half-fallen trees, as the stream carried them on, so that he had little opportunity for noting the occupants of this dismal swamp; but pete's eyes were sharp, and he saw a good deal of the hideous, great lizard-like creatures lying about on the mud or upon rotten trunks, with their horny sides glistening in the pencils of light which pierced the foliage overhead, or made sunny patches where, for the most part, all was a dim twilight, terribly suggestive of what a man's fate might be if he overbalanced himself and fell out of the boat. "i believe them great 'gators are zo hungry," said pete to himself, "that they'd rush at one altogether and finish a fellow, bones and all." at last: "looks a reg'lar vishy place, master nic; zo here goes." pete gave the bright hook a swing and cast it half-a-dozen yards from the boat to where it fell with a splash, which was followed by a curious movement of the amber-hued water; and then he began to snatch with the line, so as to make the bright iron play about. then there was a sudden check. "back water, master nic," cried pete. "i'm fast in zomething." "yes," said nic, obeying his order; "you're caught in a sunken tree. mind, or you'll break your line." "that's what i'm feared on, master nic, but it's 'bout the liveliest tree i ever felt. look where the line's going. i'm feared it's gone." the line was cutting the water and gliding through pete's fingers till he checked it at the end, when a black tail rose above the surface and fell with a splash, and the line slackened and was hauled in. "hook aren't gone, zir," said pete as he drew it over the side. "rum vishing that there. why, it were one o' them 'gators, five or six foot long. let's try lower down." they tried as pete suggested, and there was another boil in the water, but the hook was drawn in without a touch; and pete tried again and again, till he felt the glistening iron seized by something which held on fast. "got him this time, zir," said pete, with his face lighting up. "it's a vish now. one o' they pike things, and not zo very big." "haul in quick," cried nic. it was an unnecessary order, for the line was rapidly drawn close inboard, and pete lowered one hand to take a short grip and swing his captive out of the water. but he put too much vigour into the effort, and flung his prize right over just as it shook itself clear of the hook, and fell upon the gunwale before glancing off back into the water. no fish, but an alligator about thirty inches long. "ugh!" ejaculated pete; "and i thought i'd got a vish. never mind, master nic. we'll have zomething good yet." his companion did not feel hopeful. it was evident that the water swarmed with the reptiles, and in spite of the terribly faint sensation of hunger that was increasing fast, nic felt disposed to tell his companion to give up trying, when suddenly there was a fierce rush after the glistening hook as it was being dragged through the water, a sudden check, and the water boiled again as pete hauled in the line, sea fishing fashion, to get his captive into the boat before it could struggle free from the clumsy hook. this time success attended pete's efforts. he got hold of the line close to the iron, and with a vigorous swing threw his prize into the boat just as the hook came away, leaving the fish to begin leaping about, till nic stunned it with a heavy blow from the boat-hook pole. "i knowed we should do it, master nic," said pete triumphantly. "there now, aren't it zummat like one of our big pike at home? now, that's good to eat; and the next game's tie up to the zhore where there's some dry wood, and we'll light a fire." "yes," said nic as he bent over their prize. "i suppose it's what they call the alligator-gar, pete." "dessay it is, zir; but i don't care what they calls it--ah, would you?" cried pete, stamping his bare foot upon the great fish as it made a leap to escape. nic too was on the alert, and he thrust the ragged head of the pole between the teeth-armed, gaping jaws, which closed upon it fiercely and held on. but pete's knife was out next moment, and a well-directed cut put the savage creature beyond the power to do mischief. "a twenty-pounder, master nic. wish it were one o' your zalmon. there, i'll zoon clean him, while you run the boat in at a good place." "but how are we to get a fire, pete?" said nic anxiously, for an intense feeling of hunger now set in. "i'll zoon show you that, lad," replied pete; and he did. in a very short time after, by means of a little flint he carried in company with his pocket-knife, the back of the blade, and some dry touchwood from a rotting tree, he soon had a fire glowing, then blazing, for there was dead-wood enough to make campfires for an army. another quarter of an hour passed, and the big fish was hissing and spluttering on a wooden spit over the glowing embers; and at last they were able to fall to and eat of the whitest, juiciest flesh--as it seemed to them--that they had ever tasted. "bit o' zalt'd be worth anything now, master nic, and i wouldn't turn up my nose at a good thick bit o' bread and butter, and a drop o' zyder'd be better than river water; but, take it all together, i zay as zalmon's nothing to this here, and we've got enough to last uz for a couple or three days to come." "now for a few big leaves to wrap the rest in," said nic at last, after they had thoroughly satisfied their hunger. "right, master nic; but i must have a good drink o' water first." "yes," said nic, suddenly awakening to the fact that he was extremely thirsty, and he rose to his feet to utter a cry of horror. "pete--pete! the boat! the boat!" pete leaped up and stared aghast, for the action of the running stream had loosened the thin remnants of the rope with which they had moored their boat. these had parted, and the craft was gliding rapidly away, a quarter of a mile down the river. chapter thirty three. a stern-chase. "oh, why didn't i watch it?" groaned pete, in agony; and his next glance was along the bank of the river, with the idea of running till opposite the boat. he groaned again as he grasped the fact that he could not run, only walk for two or three yards before the dense tangle of the forest commenced, and progress through that was impossible. "means zwim for it, master nic," he cried, with an attempt at being cheery; "but look here, lad, if you zee me pulled down by them 'gators or vish, let it be a lesson to you. don't you try the water." then to himself, as he plunged in: "why, o' course he wouldn't. what's the good o' saying that?" the water was deep and clear close in to the overhanging bank, and pete dived out of sight, scaring some occupant of the river, which swept itself away with as much commotion in the water as was caused by the man's dive; but when he rose to the surface, yards away, shook his head, and glanced back over his left shoulder, it was to see nic's head rise a short distance behind him, for the younger man had followed on the instant. pete ceased swimming, to allow his companion to come abreast. "oh, master nic!" he cried, "you zhouldn't ha' done that;" and he glanced wildly about him as if expecting to see the rugged head of an alligator rise close by. "go back, lad; go back. it's on'y one man's work." "go back? no," said nic firmly. "we must fight it out, shoulders together, pete. come on." pete gave vent to something like a sob, and his face grew wrinkled; but the next moment he forced a smile. "well, you're master," he said cheerily; "zo now for it, zir. you zwim lighter than i do, but i'll race you down to the boat. virst to lay a hand on gunwale wins." "come on," said nic, fighting hard to master the horrible feeling that at any moment they might be attacked from beneath by one or other of the fierce creatures which inhabited the stream--nic's dread being mostly respecting the shark-like gar-fish, which he knew must be abundant. pete shared his dread, but they both kept their thoughts to themselves as they swam on with strong, steady strokes, their light clothing of shirt and short drawers impeding them but slightly. life from childhood on the seashore had conduced to making them expert swimmers; the swift stream helped them famously; and, keeping well away towards the middle to avoid the eddies near the shore, they went on steadily after the boat. but this, in its light state, was being swept rapidly on, and had so good a start that for some time the swimmers did not seem to gain upon it in the least, and at last, as the distance still remained about the same, a feeling of despair began to attack them. pete saw the change in his fellow-swimmer's countenance. "take it easy, master nic. long ztroke and zlow. we could keep this up all day. on'y got to zwim steady: river does all the work." "we must swim faster, pete, or we shall never reach the boat," cried nic. "nay, lad; if we zwim hard we shall get tired out, and lose ground then. easy as you can. she may get closer in and be caught by zome of the branches." nic said no more, but swam on, keeping his straining eyes fixed upon the ever-distant boat, till at last hope began to rise again, for the craft did happen to be taken by the eddy formed by a stream which joined the river, and directly after they saw it being driven towards one of the huge trees which dipped its pendent boughs far out in the water. the feeling of excitement made nic's breath come thick and fast as he saw the boat brush against the leafage, pause for a few moments, and the young man was ready to utter a cry of joy, but it died out in a low groan, for the boat continued its progress, the twigs swept over it, and the power of the stream mastered. but it was caught again, and they saw it heel over a little, free itself, and then, swaying a little, it seemed to bound on faster than ever. "never mind, lad," said pete coolly; "it'll catch again soon." pete was right; the boat was nearer to the wall of verdure, and it once more seemed to be entangled in some boughs which dipped below the surface and hung there, while the swimmers reduced the distance between them and the boat forty or fifty yards. then, with a swift gliding motion, it was off again. "that's twice," cried pete. "third time does it. zay, master nic, aren't the water nice and cold?" the look which nic gave the speaker in his despair checked pete's efforts to make the best of things. "a beast!" he muttered to himself. "i should like to drive my hoof through her planks. heavy boat? why, she dances over the water like a cork." at that moment nic could not suppress a sharp cry, and he made a spasmodic dash through the water. "eh, my lad, what is it?" cried pete, who was startled. "one of the great fishes or reptiles made a dash at me and struck me on the leg," gasped nic. "nay, nay, don't zay that, lad. you kicked again a floating log. there's hunderds allus going down to the zea." nic shook his head, and pete felt that he was right, for the next minute he was swimming on with his keen-edged knife held in his teeth, ready for the emergency which he felt might come; but they suffered no further alarm. disappointment followed disappointment, and weariness steadily set in; but they swam steadily on, till nic's strength began to fail. he would not speak, though, till, feeling that he had done all that was possible, he turned his despairing eyes to pete. before he could speak the latter cried: "i knowed it, master nic, and expected it ever so long past. now, you just turn inshore along with me; then you shall lie down and rest while i go on and ketch the boat. but how i'm to pull her back again' this zwiff stream, back to you, my lad, is more'n i know." nic made no reply, but, breathing hard, he swam with pete to an open spot at the side, and had just strength to draw himself out by a hanging branch, and then drop down exhausted, with the water streaming from him. "no, no; don't leave me, pete," he cried hoarsely. "must, my lad, must;" cried the man, preparing to turn and swim away. "you stop there, and i can zee you when i come back." "it is impossible to overtake it. we must try and get down through the trees. you can't do it, i tell you." "must, and will, my lad," cried pete. "never zay die." nic sank back and watched the brave fellow as he swam away more vigorously than ever. at every stroke pete's shoulders rose well above the surface, and, to all appearance, he was as fresh as when he started. but there was the boat gliding down the stream, far enough away now, and beginning to look small between the towering trees rising on either side of the straight reach along which nic gazed; and the watcher's agony grew intense. "he'll swim till he gives up and sinks," said nic to himself; "or else one of those horrid reptiles will drag him down." he drew breath a little more hopefully, though, as he saw a bright flash of light glance from where pete was swimming, for it told that the keen knife was held ready in the strong man's teeth; and he knew that the arm was vigorous that would deliver thrust after thrust at any enemy which attempted to drag him down. with the cessation of his exertion, nic's breath began to come more easily, and he sat up to watch the head of the swimmer getting rapidly farther away, feeling that he had been a hindrance to the brave fellow, who had been studying his companion's powers all the time. but how much farther off the boat seemed still!--far enough to make nic's heart sink lower and lower, and the loneliness of his situation to grow so terrible that it seemed more than he could bear. for a full half-hour he sat watching the dazzling water, from which the sun flashed, while he was in the shade. pete had not reached the boat, but he seemed now to be getting very near, though nic knew how deceptive the distance was, and gazed on, with a pain coming behind his eyes, till all at once his heart leaped with joy, as now he could just make out that the boat was very near the shore, apparently touching some drooping boughs. then his heart sank again, for he told himself that it was only fancy; and he shivered again as he felt how utterly exhausted pete must be. every moment he felt sure that he would see that little, dark speck disappear, but still it was there; and at last the watcher's heart began to throb, for the boat must have caught against those boughs. it was not moving. the watcher would not believe this for a long time, but at last he uttered a cry of joy, followed by a groan; for, though the boat was there, the dark speck which represented pete's head had disappeared; and, to make the watcher's despair more profound, the boat began to move once more, unmistakably gliding from beside the trees. all was over now, for nic felt that to struggle longer was hopeless: there was nothing more to be done but lie down and die. he held his hands over his brows, straining his failing, aching eyes to keep the boat in sight as long as he could; and then a strange choking sensation came into his throat, and he rose to his knees, for there was a flash of light from the water close to the boat, and another, and another. there was a strange, indistinct something, too, above the tiny line made by the gunwale, and it could only mean one thing: pete had overtaken it, climbed in, and the flashes of light came from the disturbed surface of the river. pete must be trying to row her back to take him up. the intense sensation of relief at knowing that the brave fellow was alive and safe seemed more than nic could bear. he was already upon his knees. his face was bowed down upon his hands, and for a few minutes he did not stir. at last, with a wave of strength and confidence seeming to run through every fibre of his body, nic rose up, feeling fully rested; and, as he shaded his eyes once more to gaze down the river at the boat, the cloud of despair had floated away, and the long reach of glistening water looked like the way back to the bright world of hope and love--the way to home; while the thought of lying down there to die was but the filmy vapour of some fevered dream. pete was coming back to him: there could be no mistake about that, for nic could see more clearly now, and there were moments when he could distinctly see the flashing of the water when the oars were dipped. "oh!" cried nic, with his excitement rising now to the highest pitch, "and there was a time when i looked upon that brave, true-hearted fellow with contempt and disgust. how he is slaving there to send the great, heavy boat along!" nic watched till his eyes ached; and once more his heart began to sink, for the truth was rapidly being forced upon him that, in spite of pete's efforts, the boat remained nearly motionless--the poor fellow was exhausting himself in his efforts to achieve the impossible. what to do? nic was not long in making up his mind. he knew that pete would try till he dropped back in the boat, and it would have been all in vain. the pair of them could hardly have rowed that heavy boat up-stream, and they were as yet far above the reach of the tide, or pete might have waited and then come up. there was only one thing to do--go down to him. a minute or two's trial proved to nic that he could not tear his way through the dense growth on the bank till he was opposite his companion and could hail him to come ashore. there was only one thing to be done--swim down, and that he dared not do without help. but the help was near, and he set to work. he still had his keen knife, and the next moment he was hewing away at a patch of stout canes growing in the water, and as he attacked them he shuddered, for there was a wallowing rush, and he caught a glimpse of a small alligator's tail. he did not stop, though. he knew that he had frightened the reptile, and this knowledge that the creatures did fear men gave him encouragement, making him work hard till he had cut a great bundle, ample to sustain him in the water. this he firmly bound with cane, and when this was done he once more gazed at the distant boat, which did not seem to have moved an inch. how to make pete grasp the fact that he was coming to join him? for even if he saw something floating down he would never think that it was his companion. this task too was easy. cutting the longest cane he could reach, he cut off the leafy top, made a notch in what was left, and then inserting the point of his knife in the remaining sleeve of his shirt, he tore it off, ripped up the seam, and after dragging one end down through the knot and slit in the cane, he bound up the end with a strip of cotton, stuck the base firmly in the bundle or truss he had bound together, and so formed a little white flag. "if he sees that he'll know," said nic triumphantly; and without a moment's hesitation he thrust off from the bank with his cane bundle under one arm, and struck out with the other, finding plenty of support, and nothing more to do than fight his way out to where the stream ran most swiftly. the scrap of white cotton fluttered bravely now and then, as, forcing himself not to think of the dangers that might be around, nic watched and watched. he soon began to see the boat more distinctly, and in good time made out that his companion in misfortune grasped the position, rowing himself to the nearest drooping tree, making fast to a bough, and then laying in one oar and fixing the other up astern as a signal for his companion's guidance. how short the time seemed then, and how easily nic glided down, till he became aware of the fact that pete was leaning over the side, knife in hand, watching eagerly. this sent a shudder through the swimmer, setting him thinking again of the perils that might be near, and how unlikely any effort of pete's would be to save him should one of the reptiles attack. the dread, however, soon passed off, for nic's every nerve was strained to force the bundle of canes across the stream, so that it might drift right down upon the boat. he could only succeed in part, and it soon became evident that he would float by yards away; but pete was on the alert. he cast the boat adrift from where he had secured it to a drooping bough, and giving a few vigorous pulls with one oar, in another minute he had leaned over the bows, grasped his companion's hands, dragged him into the boat, and then, as the buoyant bundle of canes floated away, the poor fellow sank back in the bottom of the boat and lay staring helplessly. "don't you take no notice o' me, master nic," he said hoarsely. "just put an oar over the ztarn and keep her head ztraight. zhe'll go down fast enough. we ought to row up to fetch that fish we left, but we couldn't do it, zir; for i'm dead beat trying to get to you--just dead beat." he closed his eyes, and then opened them again as he felt the warm grasp of nic's hand, smiled at him, till his eyelids dropped again, and then sank into a deep stupor more than sleep. chapter thirty four. woman's pity. the sun sank lower and disappeared behind the trees straight away as the boat drifted on; the sky turned of a glorious amber, darkened quickly, and then it was black night, with the eerie cries of the birds rising on either side, and the margins of the swift river waking up into life with the hoarse bellowings and croakings of the reptiles which swarmed upon the banks. every now and then there was a rush or a splash, or the heavy beating of the water, as some noisome creature sought its prey; and nic sat there watching and listening, wakeful enough, and always on the alert to catch the breathing of his companion, who for hours had not stirred. "beat out," said nic to himself; "utterly exhausted, poor fellow! if i could only feel that it was a natural sleep." he was thoroughly done-up himself, and in spite of his efforts to keep awake, and the dread inspired by the movements of the strange creatures splashing about in the water, and often enough apparently close at hand, he could not keep from dozing off time after time, but only to start up in an agony of fear. he hardly lost consciousness, and at such times the startling noises and movements around him in the darkness seemed to be continued in the wild dreams which instantly commenced. now in imagination he saw through the transparent darkness some huge alligator making for the boat, where it reared itself up, curved over, and seemed about to seize upon pete, when he raised the oar with which he was keeping the boat's head straight and struck at the monster with all his might, and in the act awoke. another time nic dropped off, to imagine that they were slowly gliding beneath the far-spreading boughs of a gigantic forest tree; and, as they swept on, something soft and heavy suddenly hung down into the boat, began crawling about, and at last stopped its progress by coiling itself round one of the thwarts, and then raising its head high in the air and beginning to dart its tongue, now at nic, now at the motionless body of pete, who still lay sleeping soundly. nic felt powerless, and lay watching the approach of the huge boa, seeing it plainly in spite of the darkness and suffering an agony of horror as he felt that he could not move, but must lie there, quite at the mercy of the powerful reptile, which drew the boat over so much on one side that the water, as it rippled by, rose apparently higher and higher till it was about to pour in. ripple, ripple, ripple, against the sides, while the boughs of a tree swept over his face, the touch awakening the dreamer, who uttered a low gasp of relief as he realised how much the water and the brushing of the leaves over his face had had to do with the dream from which he had just been roused. morning at last, with the east all aglow, and the beauties of river and tree sweeping away the horrors of the black night. pete awoke as if by instinct, and started into a sitting position, to stare hard at his companion. "why, master nic, you aren't never gone and let me sleep all night?" "indeed, but i have, pete," replied nic. "feel better?" "no, zir. never felt so 'shamed of myself in my life. oh dear! oh dear! to think of my doing that! where are we, zir? 'most got to that t'other zattlement, aren't uz?" "what! where we rested for the night, pete? no; i don't think we are near that yet." "then get nigh we must," cried pete, putting out his oar. "we've got to find some braxfuss there. what we had yes'day don't zeem to count a bit. i zay, though, you don't think they got another boat and passed us while we were asleep, do you?" "no, pete," replied nic, smiling; "and i don't think that we shall dare to land at that plantation lower down. the man there would know we are escaped slaves, and stop us." "he'd better not," said pete, with a curious look in his eyes. "he's the only man there." "there are several blacks." "blacks!" cried pete contemptuously. "i'm not afraid o' them. it's o' no use, master nic; i've tried hard to bear it, and i can bear a deal, but when it comes to starvation it's again' my natur'. i must eat, and if he calls twenty blacks to stop me i mean to have zomething, and zo shall you. why, lad, you look as if you're half-dead wi' want o' zleep and a morsel o' food. nay, nay; you leave that oar alone, and cover your head up with those leaves while you have a good rest. by that time p'raps we may get a bit o' braxfuss." "i'm not sleepy, pete," said nic sadly. "p'raps not, zir; but man must eat and he must zleep, so you lie back in the bottom of the boat. now, no fighting agen it, zir; you worked all night, zo i must work all day." "well, i'll lie down for an hour, pete, for i do feel very weary. as soon as you think an hour's gone, you wake me up." "right, master nic, i will," cried pete heartily; and after a glance up and down the river, the young man sank back in the bottom of the boat, settled the leafy cap and veil in one over his face to shield it from the sun, and the next minute--to him--he unclosed his eyes to find that pete was kneeling beside him with a hand on each shoulder as if he had been shaking the sleeper. "hullo! yes; all right, pete, i've had such a sleep. why, pete, it must be getting on for noon." "ay, that it is, my lad; noon to-morrow. but don't bully me, zir; you was zleeping just lovely, and i couldn't waken you. here we are at that farm-place, and i don't zee the man about, but yonder's the two women." "and the dogs, pete?" "nay, don't zee no dogs. maybe they're gone along wi' the master. come on, lad; i've tied the boat up to this post, and we'll go up and ask the women yonder to give us a bit o' zomething to eat." the place looked very familiar as nic glanced round and recalled the time when he reached there, and their departure the next morning, with the looks of sympathy the two women had bestowed. just as he recalled this he caught sight of the younger woman, who came from the door of the roughly-built house, darted back and returned with her mother, both standing gazing at their visitors as they landed from the boat. "must go up to the house quiet-like, master nic, or we shall scare 'em," said pete. "just you wave your hand a bit to show 'em you know 'em. dessay they 'members we." nic slowly waved his hand, and then shrugged his shoulders as he glanced down at his thin cotton rags; and his piteous plight made him ready to groan. "we must go up to them as beggars, pete," he said. "that's right enough for me, master nic; but you're a gentleman, zir, and they'll know it soon as you begin to speak. let's go on, zir. i'm that hungry i could almost eat you." nic said nothing, but began to walk on towards the house by his companion's side, anxiously watching the two women the while, in the full expectation that they would retreat and shut the door against their visitors. but neither stirred, and the fugitives were half-way to the house, when suddenly there was a growl and a rush. "knives, master nic," cried pete, for three great dogs came charging from the back of the low shed which had given the slaves shelter on their journey up the river. the dogs had evidently been basking in the sunshine till they had caught sight of the strangers, and came on baying furiously. nic followed his companion's example and drew his knife, feeling excited by the coming encounter; but before the dogs reached them the two women came running from the door, crying out angrily at the fierce beasts, whose loud barking dropped into angry growls as they obeyed the calls of their mistresses--the younger woman coming up first, apron in hand, to beat off the pack and drive them before her, back to one of the out-buildings, while her mother remained gazing compassionately at the visitors. "thank you," said nic, putting back his knife. "your dogs took us for thieves. we are only beggars, madam, asking for a little bread." "have you--have you escaped from up yonder?" said the woman, sinking her voice. "yes," said nic frankly. "i was forced away from home for no cause whatever. i am trying to get back." "it is very shocking," said the woman sadly, as her daughter came running up breathlessly. "some of the men they have there are bad and wicked, and i suppose they deserve it; but ann and i felt so sorry for you when you came that night months ago. you seemed so different." "you remember us, then?" said nic, smiling sadly. "oh yes," cried the younger woman eagerly. "but they are hungry, mother. bring them up to the house; i've shut-in the dogs." "i don't know what your father would say if he knew what we did," said the woman sadly. "it's against the law to help slaves to escape." "it isn't against the law to give starving people something to eat, mother." "it can't be; can it, dear?" said the woman. "and we needn't help them to escape." "no," said pete; "we can manage that if you'll give us a bit o' bread. i won't ask for meat, missus; but if you give us a bit, too, i'd thank you kindly." "bring them up, mother," said the girl; "and if father ever knows i'll say it was all my fault." "yes; come up to the house," said the elder woman. "i can't bear to see you poor white men taken for slaves." "god bless you for that!" cried nic, catching at the woman's hand; but his action was so sudden that she started away in alarm. "oh mother!" cried the girl; "can't you see what he meant?" the woman held out her hand directly, and nic caught it. the next moment he had clasped the girl's hands, which were extended to him; but she snatched them away directly with a sob, and ran into the house, while the mother bade the pair sit down on a rough bench to rest. the girl was not long absent; but when she returned with a big loaf and a piece of bacon her eyes looked very red. "there," she said, setting the provisions before them; "you'd better take this and go, in case father should come back and see you. don't, please, tell us which way you're going, and we won't look; for we shouldn't like to know and be obliged to tell. oh!" the girl finished her speech with a cry of horror; for how he had approached no one could have said, but the planter suddenly came up with a gun over his shoulder, and stood looking on as, with a quick movement, pete snatched at the loaf and thrust it under one arm. "hullo!" said the man quietly as he looked from one to the other; "where are the dogs?" "i shut 'em up, father, so as they shouldn't hurt these two poor men." "an' s'pose these two poor men wanted to hurt you; what then?" "but they didn't, father," said the girl, as the mother stood shivering. "they were hungry, and only wanted something to eat." "yes, that's right, master," said pete stoutly. "we shouldn't hurt no one." "let's see," said the planter; "i've seen you both before. my neighbour brought you up months ago." "yes," said nic firmly; "but he had no right to detain us as slaves." "humph! s'pose not," said the planter, glancing sharply from one to the other. "so you're both runaways?" "we are trying for our liberty," replied nic, who was well upon his guard; but the man's reply disarmed him. "well, it's quite nat'ral," said the planter, with a chuckle. "hot work hoeing the rows, eh? took the boat, i s'pose, and rowed down?" "yes," said pete gruffly. "hungry too, eh?" "yes," said pete again. "course you would be. quite nat'ral. they've give you a bit to eat, i see. well, then, you'd better come and sit down out o' the sun and eat it, and then be off, for your overseer won't be long before he's down here after you. he's a sharp un, master saunders, aren't he?" "yes; he's sharp enough," said pete quietly. "he'll be down after you with his dogs, and then, if he catches you, there'll be a big row and a fight, and i don't want nothing o' that sort, my lads. come on, and bring your bread and meat in here.--ann, my gal, get 'em a pitcher o' cool, fresh water." "yes, father," said the girl; and, as the planter turned off to lead the way, nic caught the lass's eyes; for she began to make quick movements of her lips, and her eyes almost spoke as she pointed towards the river and signed to them to go. nic gave her an intelligent nod, and followed pete after the planter into the great, barn-like place which had been their prison for the night when they were there before; but as he passed the door he noticed the great wooden bar turning upon a bolt, and fully realised that the girl's signs were those of warning, for treachery was meant. "nice and cool in here," said the man. "sit ye down on the corn-husks there. my gal will soon be back with the water; and i wouldn't be long, if i were you, in case master saunders should come down the river, for when he asked me if you two was here i couldn't tell a lie about it, could i?" "no," growled pete. "that would be a pity." "ay; it would. but he'd know you was both here by the boat. where did you tie it up?" "just at the bottom there, by the trees," said nic, to whom these words were addressed. "ah, 'tis the best place," said the man, halting by the door, and standing aside to make room for the young men to pass. "in with you. it's better than being in the hot sun. seems a bit dark; but it's cooler to have your dinner there. well," he continued, "why don't you go in? the dogs are not here." "because it looks like a trap, sir," said nic firmly. "do you want to shut us up there, and keep us prisoners till your neighbour comes?" "yes, i do," cried the planter fiercely as he stepped back, and with one motion brought down and cocked his piece, which he presented at the young man's breast. "in with you both, or i'll shoot you like dogs!" he raised his gun to his shoulder and drew the trigger; but it was too late. nic had sprung forward, striking up the barrel; and, as the mother and daughter shrieked aloud from the house door, there was a sharp report, which set the dogs baying furiously from the shed in which they were fastened. a short struggle followed, in which the gun was wrested from the planter's hands by nic, and the next moment pete had joined in the fray, securing the planter's arms, and then with nic's help he was dragged and thrown into the great barn. then the door was banged to and fastened with the bar; and the prisoner began to call and threaten what he would do if his people did not let loose the dogs. what followed would have seemed almost comic to a spectator, for the two women came hurrying up with their fingers stuck in their ears. "run--run to your boat!" they whispered. "we can't hear what he says now, but we must soon, and then we shall be obliged to let out the dogs." "oh, mother!" cried the girl, "the blacks will be here directly." "yes, yes," cried the elder woman, who somehow seemed to have heard that. "run, then, run, and get away before it is too late." "god bless you both for what you have done for us!" cried nic. "i pray that you may not get into more trouble on our account." "oh, father won't hurt me," said the girl; "and he shan't hurt mother. serve him right for being so cruel. you never did him any harm." "oh, run, run!" cried the woman, with her fingers still in her ears; and the two young men dashed off to the boat and leapt in, nic's next action, as pete unfastened the slight cord, being to fling the gun as far out into the river as he could. "oh!" cried pete, "what did you do that for?" as the gun fell with a splash and disappeared. "i was not going to steal the scoundrel's gun," said nic, seizing an oar. "well, it wouldn't ha' been any use without powder and zhot," said pete as he thrust the boat out into the stream. "good-bye to you both," he shouted, waving his hand to the two women, who stood waving their aprons. "but it seems cowardly, pete, to go and leave them in the lurch." "ay, it do, master nic; but it only means a rowing for them, and it's life and liberty for us." there was another wave of a white apron as the boat glided out into mid-stream, and nic responded with his hand. then trees interposed and hid the house and sheds from view, and the fugitives went on straining at their oars till they felt that their safety was assured, when they relaxed their efforts. "that was close, master nic," said pete. "treacherous martal. wish i'd give him a good topper before we zhut the door." "i'm glad you did not, for his wife and daughter's sake," replied nic. "poor things! they will suffer for their gentle, womanly compassion towards a pair of poor escaped slaves." "ay, it was good of 'em, master nic. zees how hungry we were, and fetches that fresh brown loaf, and all that pink-and-white bacon as looks d'licious. zo, as we're going gently on, and not likely for him to take boat after us, what do you say to staying all that horrid gnawing of our insides with a good bite and sup? but--i say, master nic, what did you do with that bacon and bread?" nic looked sharply up at pete, and the latter uttered a dismal groan. the bread and bacon had gone, neither knew where, in the struggle, and the landing and encounter had all been for nothing. "not quite," nic said later on. they had learned how much gentle compassion existed for the poor white slaves, even in a district where the sight of them was so common. "p'raps so, master nic; but i'd give all the compassion in the world just now for a zlice of that bacon and a hunk of bread. what's to be done now, zir?" "row, pete, row; and let's try and forget our hunger in the knowledge that we are so far free." "right, zir; we will. but what about that treacherous hound? think he's got a boat?" "sure to have," replied nic. "then he'll come after as zoon as he can get help; and if he do--well, i should be sorry to hurt him, on account of them as was kind to us; but if he does ketch it, mind, master nic, it's his fault and not mine." there was no more talking, for both felt morose and weak, their growing sense of hunger making them more and more silent and disinclined to speak. still, fortune favoured them to a certain extent, for there had been rain somewhere inland, and the stream ran as if it were in flood higher up, so that their rate of progress was swift. as the hours went on and there was no sign of pursuit--no enemies who had made a short cut to the river-bank waiting to fire at them from among the trees--the fugitives grew more and more confident; and when at last they reached another swamp, the alligators appeared to be less monstrous and the gloomy place lost half its forbidding aspect. at last, after endless difficulties, and nearly starved, the tidal part of the river was reached, and, to the delight of both, they found that they had hit exactly the right moment, for the tide was at its height, and stood as if waiting to bear them onward towards the sea. excitement had kept off all thought of food; but when, after a long journey, they approached the straggling town at nightfall and saw the twinkling lights, an intense desire seized upon both to land as soon as possible and satisfy their needs. "you see, we lost everything, master nic, in that struggle. what you looking at, zir?" "you, pete. i was thinking." "what about, zir?" "about this place. if we land we must go to some house for food; and when we two half-naked, miserable, starved wretches have obtained what we want we shall be asked to pay." "my word!" gasped pete, ceasing to row. "i never thought of that. and we aren't got any money." "not a coin." "and they'd want it here just the same as they would at home, though it is a foreign country?" "of course." "then i tell you what, master nic," said pete after a long pause; "we must go straight to zomebody and tell 'em how we've been zarved, and ask him to help us." "we should have to tell them everything, pete." "of course, zir; downright honest." "and who would believe us at a place like this, where we know that poor wretches are brought to go up to the plantations?" "oh, hark at him!" sighed pete. "and i'd been thinking our troubles were over, and we'd got nothing to do but get plenty to eat and a good ship to take us home. you're right, zir; it would be as mad as march hares to go ashore. they'd put us in prison and keep us there till old zaunders come again with his dogs and guns and niggers to take us back; and when we got to the plantation it would be the lash and short commons, and the hoe again out in the hot sun." "yes, pete," said nic sadly; "that is what i fear." "and you're a deal longer-headed than me, master. it's going and giving ourselves up for the sake of a good dinner. master nic!" "yes, pete." "just buckle your belt a bit tighter, two or three holes, like this. that's the way. now then, take hold of your oar again. we can hold out another day or two on what we can find, while we coast along till we see a ship outward bound somewhere. sure to be lots. then we'll row till they see us and pick us up. they won't bring us back, that's for sartain, but to the port they're going to; and of course they can't starve us. then they'll hand us over to a judge o' some kind, and as soon as he hears your story you'll be all right; and--and--" "yes, pete?" "i know i've been a bad un; master nic; but i'm going to turn over a new leaf, zir, and never meddle wi' the zalmon again. you'll put in a good word for a poor fellow, won't you?" "a good word for you--for one who has been ready to risk his life again and again to help me? pete, we have been brothers in our great misfortune, and we must hold together, come what may." "then take a good grip of your oar, master nic, and let's forget being empty by taking our fill of work. pull away, my lad, right out, and i dessay the tide'll run us along the shore, as it does at home. when the day comes again we shall zoon zee a zhip. we can't give up now. ready?" "yes." "then pull." and in their desperate strait, feeling as they did that they would starve sooner than go back to slavery, those two bent to their oars in the darkness that closed them in, and rowed on with the swift tide. the lights on the shore grew fainter, the tide swifter, and the water became rough; but they rowed on, hungry, exhausted: on and on, ignorant of the set of the tides, of the trend of the coast, and without a drop of fresh water to satisfy their thirst. a mad, mad attempt; but it was for liberty--for all that man holds dear. what wonder that when the day dawned both had sunk forward over their oars and were sleeping heavily, to wake at last with the southern sun beating down upon their heads, and that they gazed at each other in a half-delirious, stupefied way, wondering what had happened and where they were. there was a faint appearance as of a cloud low down on the water far-away, but no cloud overhead, nothing but the burning, blistering sun to send a fierce energy through nic's veins, which made him keep calling wildly upon pete to row, row hard, before they were overtaken and dragged back to a white slave's life. pete's eyes were staring fiercely, and looked bloodshot, while his throat was hot and dry, his brain felt as if on fire; but at every order from nic he bent down over his oar and pulled and pulled, till his strokes grew more and more wild, and at last, as he made one more desperate than ever, he did not dip the blade, but fell backward from the thwart. then, after vainly trying to pull with both oars himself, nic turned to face his companion in misfortune, wondering in his delirium why he was there. the sun went down like a ball of fire on his left, and directly after, as it seemed, rose like a ball of fire on his right. it was that, he felt, which caused all his suffering, and in his rage and indignation he turned upon it fiercely, and then bent down to lap up the sparkling water which tempted him and seemed to promise to allay his awful thirst. he reached down and dipped his hand, but the attitude seemed to send the blood like molten lead running to his brain, and with a weary groan he fell sidewise and rolled over in the bottom of the boat. chapter thirty five. safe at last. "looks like a ship's longboat, sir; but she's right under the sun, and i can't make her out." "any one in her?" "no, sir; not a soul." the conversation was between the captain and one of the foremast men of the good ship _sultan_, bound from a western city with passengers and sugar to the port of bristol. the wind was very light, and men were up aloft, setting the main top-gallant sail, when the boat was sighted only a little way out of the vessel's course. then the captain argued, as he took a look at her from the main-top, that a boat like that might be battered, and not worth the trouble of picking up; but, on the other hand, she might; and finally, after taking the first-mate into debate, it was decided to steer a point or two to the west and pick her up. "for who knows what she may have aboard, or what good ship may have been wrecked?" the skipper said to one of the passengers brought on deck by the news of a boat in sight, for such an event broke the monotony of the tedious voyage. as the news spread through the ship the rest of the passengers came on deck, and when the boat was neared, the captain, as he stood inspecting the object through his glass, began to be satisfied that the find was in good condition, and then the announcement came from aloft that there were two bodies lying in the bottom. the excitement now became fierce; one of the ship's boats was swung out on the davits ready for lowering, manned, and dropped, and finally the prize was brought alongside, with its freight still alive, but apparently at their last gasp. fortunately the captain was a man of old experience in the tropics, and noting that there was neither food nor water on board, he put the right construction upon the poor fellows' condition--that they were dying of hunger and thirst, after escaping from some wrecked or sinking vessel. merchant captains have a smattering of knowledge, and a medicine chest on board, and there were willing hands to take charge of "the poor shipwrecked men;" but it was a hard fight with the raging fever and delirium from which both suffered, and again and again they were given over, and were still too weak to answer questions when bristol port was reached, and they were taken to hospital ashore. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ it was quite a month before the journey home could be taken in the old stage-coach bound from bristol to plymouth. but nic bore it well, for captain revel was seated by his side, holding his hand as if afraid that after all his son might slip from his grasp and the old suffering recommence. "it nearly killed me before, my boy," he said piteously, as he urged his son to be careful not to exert himself in the least. "i gave you up for dead, and i was following you fast, nic, for i don't believe i should have lived another year." "i'll take care, father; never fear," said the young man cheerily, for, though thin and worn, his eyes were brightening, and there were signs of returning health in his cheeks. "i only need a good, quiet rest in the old place, where i can lie and watch the sea, or go down the shady old combe, to listen to the falls and watch the salmon leap." "ugh! don't talk about the fish," cried the captain, with a shudder; "they were the cause of all this suffering." "oh no," said nic, smiling. "it was all that terrible mistake." "well, don't let's talk about the past," said the captain hurriedly; "or only about one thing, my boy. i did want to consult you about that fellow who's up aloft with william solly." "about pete, father?" "yes, the scoundrel! he was as bad as the salmon." "poor old pete!" said nic, smiling. "he saved my life over and over again, father. i want you to take him into your service." "what! that poacher who used to defy us all?" "poachers make the best keepers, father, when they reform; and pete has proved himself a good man and true. will you tell him he is to stay?" "i'll keep a dozen of such fellows if you'll only get strong and well again, my boy," said the old sailor eagerly. "i'll tell him next time we change horses. but i shall never forgive lawrence." "what, father!" cried nic, smiling. "why?" "an old comrade like he has always been, to have such a stupid blunder made by those under his command." "a terrible mistake, father; but, to be quite fair, it was all my doing, and i was hoist with my own petard." "no, no, nic; you're wrong," said the old man, "and william solly--an impudent rascal!--was right." "how, father?" "well, my boy, it was all my fault for making such a fuss about a few salmon. william solly had the insolence to tell me i made a trouble about nothing, and wanted a real one to do me good. this has been a real one, nic, and i've suffered bitterly." "but there's fair weather ahead, father." "please god, my boy," said the old man piously, and with his voice trembling, "and--and there, nic, i've got you back again, and you will get well, my boy--you will get well, won't you?" "fast, father," replied nic, pressing the old man's hand. nic did mend rapidly in the rest and quiet of his old home, where one day captain lawrence, newly returned from a long voyage, came to see his old friend, and heard nic's adventures to the end. "a bitter experience, my dear boy," he said; "but let's look to the future now: never mind the past." but one day, when the convalescents had been for two months drinking in the grand old devon air, nic was rambling through the combe with pete, both pretty well strong again, when the latter said: "i want to be zet to work now, master nic, or to be zent away; for i feel as if i ought to be doing zomething, instead of idling about here." "you've talked like that before, pete," said nic, smiling. "have a little patience, and then you shall begin." "but it zeems zo long, zir. i zay, though, it's rather queer, isn't it, for me to be water bailiff and keeper over the vish as i used to take. think humpy dee and them others will get away and come back again?" "i hope so," said nic slowly and thoughtfully. "they deserved their punishment, but they will have had enough by now." "nay, you're a bit too easy, master nic. humpy's a down bad one, and i should like the others to have one year more out yonder, and humpy too." "too long for white slaves, pete," said nic. "we have suffered with them, and know what the sufferings are; so i forgive them. what say you?" "zame as you do, master nic; o' course, that is, if they don't come back and meddle with our zalmon again--_our zalmon_! that zounds queer, master nic, don't it? i can't quite feel as if it's all true." "but it is true, pete; and we are here safe in the good old home, after what seems now like an ugly dream." "dinner-bell's rung twice, master nic," said william solly, coming upon them suddenly from behind the trees; "and you can't 'spect to get your strength up proper if you aren't reg'lar at the mess. i run out to look for you, to keep the skipper from--well, there now--if he aren't come to look for you hisself! give him a shout, and say you're coming." nic hailed, and hurried back to meet the old officer, while william solly turned to pete: "come along, messmet; the beef and soft tack's waiting. and so you're going to stop here altogether!" "i s'pose so," said pete. "and we're to be messmets reg'lar sarving under captain revel and master nic?" "that's it," said pete sturdily. "well," said solly, "i aren't jealous, for you did the right thing by the young master; so let's shake hands." this was solemnly done, and solly went on: "as good a skipper as ever stepped a deck, and as fine a boy as ever breathed. pete, messmet, you've dropped into a snug thing." "which that zame i know," said pete gruffly. "but you saved master nic's life, and the skipper's too, by bringing the young master back; and i'm glad you're going to stay. so suppose we shakes hands agen?" they did, as if they meant it, too. they did mean it, and somehow a great attachment sprang up between those two men, while as time rolled on nic smiled more than once on meeting them consulting together about matters connected with the estate, and made solly wince. at last, after a good deal of hesitation, solly turned upon his young master. "beg pardon, sir," he said; "speaking respeckful like--" "what is it?" said nic, for the man stopped. "well, sir, you know; and it goes hard on a chap as is doing his dooty and wants to keep things straight." "i still don't understand you, solly," said nic. "well, sir, it's all along o' that there chap, pete: you never ketch me a-talking to him, and giving him a bit o' good advice about what the skipper likes done, but you grins." "grins?" "oh, it's no use to make believe, master nic, because you do, and it hurts." "they were not grins," said nic. "i only smiled because i was glad to see you two such good friends." "ho!" ejaculated solly; "that was it, sir? i thought you was grinning and thinking what an old fool i was." "nothing of the sort." "well, i'm glad o' that, master nic, though it do seem a bit queer that i should take a lot o' notice of a feller as fought agen us as he did. but we aren't friends, sir." "indeed!" said nic. "it's on'y that i can't help taking a bit to a man as stood by you as he did over yonder in furren abroad. you see, a man like that's got the making of a good true mate in him." "yes, solly, of as good a man as ever stepped." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ two years had passed, when one day solly watched his opportunity of catching nic alone in the grounds, and followed him. "master nic!" he whispered hoarsely. the young man turned round, and solly "made a face" at him. that is to say, he shut his left eye very slowly and screwed up the whole of his countenance till it was a maze of wrinkles. "what is it, solly?" "pete's over yonder, sir, by the combo, and wants to speak to you." "oh, very well, i'll go," said nic, and the old sailor nodded, looked mysterious, slapped his mouth to indicate that it was a secret mission, and hurried away. "what does it all mean?" said nic to himself. "why, i do believe pete is going to tell me that he wants to be married, and to ask if my father will object." he reached the combe, to find pete, now a fine sturdy-looking devon man in brown velveteen jacket and leather gaiters, counting the salmon in the pool. pete turned sharply directly he heard nic approach, and the serious look in the man's face told that something unusual had occurred. "morn', master nic, zir." "what is it, pete? surely you don't mean that we've had poachers again?" "poachers it be, zir," said the man mysteriously; "but they won't come here again. master nic, there's three on 'em come back, and i've zeen 'em." "what! from the plantation?" "yes, zir; after a long spell of it they managed to give the dogs zome poison stuff they got out of the woods. the blacks told 'em of it. manshy something it was." "manchioneel! i know," said nic. "that's it, zir, and it killed 'em. they got away in a boat--a new un, i s'pose." "i'm glad they escaped, poor fellows," said nic; "but is that scoundrel dee with them?" pete was silent. "dead, pete?" "yes, zir, 'fore we'd been gone two months," said the man gravely. "he went at zaunders one day with his hoe, and nearly killed him; but the dogs heard the fight, and rushed down." "ah! the dogs!" cried nic. "yes, zir, and what with their worrying and a shot he'd had from zaunders, it meant a couple o' the blacks with spades, and a grave in the woods." "horrible!" ejaculated nic. "yes, zir, horrible. humpy allus hated me, and i s'pose i never liked him; but if i'd been there, zir, i'd ha' helped him fight for his life agen them zavage dogs." "i know you would, pete," cried nic warmly. "but what about these men-- are they going to stay in the neighbourhood?" "not they, zir. they belong to the crew of a ship in plymouth harbour; and zomehow they got to know that i was here. they walked all the way o' purpose to wish me luck and zhake hands and zay they hadn't aught agen me, for they'd found out how it was they was took. it was poor humpy as made 'em believe it was me. they went back lars night." "poor humpy!" said nic wonderingly. "well, yes, zir. you zee, he waren't like other men," said pete simply. "he was born all crooked and out o' shape and ugly, and got teased and kicked about when he was a boy; and i zuppose it made him zour and evil-tempered. then he grew up stronger than other men, and he got to love getting the better of them as had knocked him about. i dunno, but it allus zeemed zo to me. well, poor chap, he's dead, and there's an end on it." "yes," said nic, gravely repeating the man's words, "there's an end of it." the end. round the world with the boy journalists: i plotting in pirate seas francis rolt-wheeler [illustration: "not that way--two more steps, boy, and you are dead".] by francis rolt-wheeler round the world with the boy journalists plotting in pirate seas hunting hidden treasure in the andes romance-history of america in the days before columbus the quest of the western world new york: george h. doran company plotting in pirate seas by francis rolt-wheeler author of "hunting hidden treasure in the andes," "in the days before columbus," "the quest of the western world," "the aztec-hunters," "the boy with the u. s. census," etc. _illustrated by_ c. a. federer new york george h. doran company copyright, , by george h. doran company printed in the united states of america contents chapter i page american all through chapter ii where black men rule chapter iii the blood-stained citadel chapter iv the ghost of christophe chapter v the isle of the buccaneers chapter vi a cuban rebel chapter vii a nose for news chapter viii the poison trees chapter ix the hurricane chapter x the lake of pitch chapter xi the morning of doom chapter xii a corsair's death chapter xiii the hungry shark chapter xiv trapped! illustrations "not that way--two more steps, boy, and you _frontispiece_ are dead" page for a hundred feet they fell and stuart closed his eyes in sickening dizziness his vision distorted by the venom-vapor of the poison trees, the land-crabs seemed of enormous size and the negro who came to rescue him appeared as an ogre above the hoarse shouts of ruffians and jack-tars, rose teach's murderous war cry plotting in pirate seas chapter i american all through the tom-tom throbbed menacingly through the heavy dark of the haitian night. under its monotonous and maddening beat, stuart garfield moved restlessly. why had his father not come back? what mystery lay behind? often though the boy had visited the island, he had never been able to escape a sensation of fear at that summons of the devotees of voodoo. tonight, with the mysterious disappearance of his father weighing heavily on his spirits, the roll of the black goatskin drum seemed to mock him. hippolyte, the giant negro who had been their guide into this back-country jungle, rocked and grimaced in balance with the rhythm. "why are they beating that drum, hippolyte?" demanded stuart, suddenly. "tonight the night of the full moon, yes," was the answer. "always voodoo feast that night. often, queer things happen on night of full moon, yes!" stuart turned impatiently to the door, as much to get his eyes away from the hypnotic swaying of hippolyte as to resume his watch for his father. the negro's reference to "queer things" had added to the boy's uneasiness. little though stuart knew about his father's affairs, he was aware that his investigations dealt with matters of grave importance to the united states. ever since mr. garfield had resigned his position in the u. s. consular service and left the post in cuba, where he had stayed so many years, he had kept a keen eye on international movements in the west indies. mr. garfield was an ardent and flaming patriot. he believed the monroe doctrine with a conviction that nothing could shake. he regarded all the islands of the west indies as properly under the sheltering wing of the united states. he looked with unfriendly eye upon the possession of certain of the islands by england, france and holland, and especially distrusted the colonies of european powers upon south american and central american shores. stuart was even more intense in his patriotism. he had not lived in the united states since early childhood, and saw the country of the stars and stripes enhaloed by romance. though stuart had been brought up in cuba, all his tastes ran to things american. he had learned to play pelota, and was a fair player, but the rare occasions when he could get a game of baseball suited him far better. he cared nothing for books unless they dealt with the united states, and then he read with avidity. western stories fired his imagination, the more so because the life they described was so different from his own. stuart was not the type of boy always seeking a fight, but, beneath his somewhat gentle brown eyes and dark hair, there was a square aggressive chin, revealing that trait of character known as a "terrible finisher." it took a good deal to start stuart, but he was a terror, once started. any criticism of the united states was enough to get him going. his cuban schoolmates had found that out, and, whenever stuart was around, the letters "u. s." were treated with respect. this square chin was aggressively thrust forward now, as the boy looked into the night. there was trouble in the air. he felt it. deeper down than the disturbed feelings produced by the tom-tom, he sensed a prescience of evil on its way. when, therefore, a figure emerged from the forest into the clearing, and stuart saw that this figure was not his father, but that of a negro, the boy stiffened himself. "you--stuart?" the newcomer queried. "yes," replied the boy, "that's my name." the negro hardly hesitated. he walked on, though stuart was full in the doorway, jostled him aside roughly, and entered. this attitude toward the white man, unheard of anywhere else, is common in up-country haiti, where, for a century, the black man has ruled, and where the white man is hated and despised. a hard stone-like gleam came into stuart's eyes, but even his mounting rage did not blind him to the fact that the negro was twice his size and three times as muscular. nor did he forget that hippolyte was in the hut, and, in any case of trouble, the two blacks would combine against him. the negro who had pushed him aside paid no further attention to the boy, but entered into a rapid-fire conversation with hippolyte. stuart could follow the haitian french dialect quite well, but there were so many half-hidden allusions in the speech of the two men that it was easy for him to see that they were both members of some secret band. the intruder was evidently in some authority over hippolyte, for he concluded: "everything is well, yes. do with the boy, as was arranged." so saying, he cast a look at stuart, grinned evilly, and left the hut. the boy watched him until his powerful figure was lost to view in the forest. then he turned to hippolyte. "what does all this mean!" he demanded, as authoritatively as he could. for a moment hippolyte did not answer. he looked at the boy with a reflection of the same evil grin with which the other had favored the white boy. a quick choke came into the boy's throat at the change in the negro's manner. he was in hippolyte's power, and he knew it. but he showed never a quiver of fear as he faced the negro. "what does it all mean?" he repeated. "it is that you know manuel polliovo?" stuart knew the name well. his father had mentioned it as that of a conspirator who was in some way active in a west indian plot. "i have heard of him," the boy answered. "manuel--he send a message, yes. he say--tell stuart he must go away from haiti, at once. his father gone already." "what does that mean!" exclaimed stuart. the first words of the warning had frightened him, but, with the knowledge that his father was in danger, the fighting self of him rose to the surface, and his fear passed. "how?" returned the negro, not understanding. "that my father has gone already?" hippolyte shrugged his shoulders with that exaggeration of the french shrug common in the islands. "maybe manuel killed him," came the cheerful suggestion. "jules, who tell me just now, says manuel, he have the air very wicked and very pleased when he tell him." stuart doubted this possibility. ever since the american occupation of haiti, in , murder had become less common. the boy thought it more likely that the missing man had been captured and imprisoned. but just what could manuel be doing if he dared such drastic action? the lad wished that he knew a little more about his father's plans. a small revolver was in his pocket, and, for one wild moment, stuart thought of making a fight for it and going to the rescue of his father. but his better sense prevailed. even supposing he could get the drop on the negro--which was by no means sure--he could not mount guard on him perpetually. moreover, if he got near enough to try and tie him up, one sweep of those brawny arms would render him powerless. "and if i do not go?" he asked. "but you do go," declared hippolyte. "it is i who will see to that, yes!" "was it manuel who sent you the money?" "ah, the good money!" the negro showed his teeth in a wide grin. "manuel, he tell jules to find boy named stuart. if you big, tie you and take you to the forest; if little, send you away from the island." this was one point gained, thought stuart. manuel, at least, did not know what he looked like. "i suppose i've got to go to cap haitien." "but, yes." "and when?" "but now, yes!" "it's a long walk," protested stuart. "twenty miles or more." "we not walk, no! get mules near. now, we start." the boy had hoped, in some way, to get the negro out of the hut and to make a bolt for the woods where he might lie hidden, but this sudden action prevented any such ruse. he turned to the table to put into his knapsack the couple of changes of clothing he had brought. there was no way for him to take his father's clothes, but the boy opened the larger knapsack and took all the papers and documents. "see here, hippolyte," he said. "i give you all these clothes. i take the papers." the negro grinned a white-toothed smile at the gift. he cared nothing about the papers. he would do what jules had paid him to do, and no more. as they left the hut, it seemed to stuart that the nerve-racking beating of the tom-tom sounded louder and nearer. they walked a mile or so, then, as hippolyte suggested, at a small half-abandoned plantation, they found mules. once mounted, the negro set off at breakneck speed, caring nothing about the roughness of the road, all the more treacherous because of the dead-black of the shadows against the vivid green-silver patches where the tropical moonlight shone through. "what's the hurry?" clamored stuart, who could see no reason for this mad and reckless riding. "the dance stop at dawn! i want to be back, yes!" they galloped on as before. a few miles from the town, stuart snatched at an idea which flashed upon him suddenly. "hippolyte," he said. "you want to get back for the voodoo dance?" "but, yes!" "you'll be too late if you take me into town. see." he showed his watch and held out a twenty-five gourde bill. "suppose i give you this. it's all the money i have. you can tell jules to tell manuel that you saw me get on board a steamer in cap haitien, and that you saw the steamer start. then you can be back in plenty of time for the dance." hippolyte hesitated. the temptation was strong. "unless, of course," the boy added carelessly, "you like this white man, manuel, so much." an expression of primitive hate wrote itself on the ebon face, a peculiarly malignant snarl, as seen by moonlight. "i hate all whites!" he flashed. "then why should you do a good turn for this manuel?" the instincts of a simple honesty struggled with the black's desire. a passing gust of wind brought the rhythmic beating of the tom-tom clearer to their ears. it was the one call that the jungle blood of the negro could not resist. he held out his hand for the money. "you go into cap haitien alone?" he queried, thickly. "yes, i'll promise that," the boy agreed. he dismounted, swung his knapsack on his back, and handed the reins of the mule to hippolyte, who sat, still uncertain. but the negro's head was turned so that he could hear the throbbing of the drum, and, with an answering howl that went back to the days of the african jungle, he turned and sped back over the rough trail at the same headlong speed he had come. "if he doesn't break his neck!" commented stuart, as he saw him go, "it'll be a wonder!" there were yet a couple of hours before dawn, and stuart plodded along the trail, which could lead to no other place than cap haitien. he walked as fast as he could, hoping to reach the city before daylight, but the first streaks of dawn found him still nearly two miles from the town. he did not want to enter the town afoot by daylight. that would be too conspicuous, and there were plans germinating in the boy's head which needed secrecy. he must hide all day, and get into cap haitien the next night. stuart slipped off the road and wriggled his way through the dense thicket, seeking a place where there was light enough to read, and yet where the foliage was dense enough to prevent him being seen by anyone passing that way. a few moments' search only were required before he found the ideal spot, and he threw himself down on a pile of leaves with great zest. that mule had been hard riding. "first of all," he said to himself, half aloud, "i've got to find out where i'm at. then i'll maybe be able to figure out what i ought to do." stuart's mind was not so quick as it was strong. he was a straight up-and-down honest type of fellow, and thoroughly disliked the crafty and intriguing boy or man. he began cautiously, but got warmed up as he went on, and made a whirlwind finish. it was characteristic of him, thus, not to plunge into any wild and desperate attempt to rescue his father, until he had time to puzzle out the situation and work out a plan of action. he began by reading all the papers and documents he had taken from his father's knapsack. this was a long job, for the papers were full of allusions to subjects he did not understand. it was nearly noon before he had digested them. then he lay on his back and looked up through the tracery of leaves overhead, talking aloud so that the sound of his own voice might make his discoveries clearer. "the way i get it," he mused, "father's on the trail of some plot against the united states. this plot is breaking loose, here, in haiti. this manuel polliovo's in it, and so is a negro general, cesar leborge. there's a third, but the papers don't say who he is. "now," he went on, "i've two things to do. i've got to find father and i've got to find out this plot. which comes first?" he rolled over and consulted one or two of the papers. "looks like something big," he muttered, kicking his heels meditatively. "i wonder what father would say i ought to do?" at the thought, he whirled over and up into a sitting posture. "if it's dangerous to the u. s.," he said, "that's got to come first. and i don't worry about father. he can get out of any fix without me." the glow of his deep-hearted patriotism began to burn in the boy's eyes. he sat rigid, his whole body concentrated in thought. "if manuel polliovo has captured father," he said aloud, at last, "it must have been because father was shadowing him. that means that manuel doesn't want to be shadowed. that means i've got to shadow him. but how?" the problem was not an easy one. it was obvious that stuart could not sleuth this cuban, manuel, without an instant guess being made of his identity, for white boys were rare in haiti. if only he were not white. if only---- stuart thumped on the ground in his excitement. why could he not stain his skin coffee-color, like a haitian boy? if sufficiently ragged, he might be able to pass without suspicion. it might be only for a day or two, for stuart was sure that his father would appear again on the scene very soon. this much, at least, he had decided. no one was going to plot against his country if he could help it. there was not much that he could do, but at least he could shadow one of the conspirators, and what he found out might be useful to his father. this determination reached, the boy hunted for some wild fruit to stay his appetite--he had nothing to eat since the night before--and settled down for the rest of the afternoon to try and dig out the meaning of his father's papers, some of which seemed so clear, while to others he had no clew. it was characteristic of the boy that, once this idea of menace to the united states had got into his head, the thought of personal danger never crossed his mind. the slightly built boy, small even for his age, the first sight of whom would have suggested a serious high-school student rather than a sleuth, possessed the cool ferocity of a ferret when that one love--his love of country--was aroused. his first step was clear. as soon as it was dark enough to cover his movements, he would go to the house of one of his father's friends, a little place built among the ruins of cap haitien, where they had stayed two or three times before. from references in some of the letters, stuart gathered that his father had confidence in this man, though he was a haitian negro. as soon as the shadows grew deep enough, stuart made his way through the half-grown jungle foliage--the place had been a prosperous plantation during french occupation--and, a couple of hours later, using by-paths and avoiding the town, he came to this negro's house. he tapped at the same window on which his father had tapped, when they had come to cap haitien a week or so before, and leon, the negro, opened the door. "but, it is you, yes!" he cried, using the haitian idiom with its perpetual recurrence of "yes" and "no," and went on, "and where is monsieur your father?" "i don't know," answered stuart, speaking in english, which he knew leon understood, though he did not speak it. "i have missed him." "but where, and but how?" queried leon, suddenly greatly excited. "was he already going up to the citadel?" stuart's face flushed with reflected excitement, but his eyes held the negro's steadily. leon knew more than the boy had expected he would know. "no," he replied, "i don't think so. i shall have to go." "it is impossible, impossible, yes!" cried leon, throwing up his hands in protest. "i told monsieur your father that it was impossible for him. and for you----" a graphic shrug completed the sentence. stuart felt a sinking at the pit of his stomach, for he was no braver than most boys. but the twist of his determination held him up. "leon," he said, trying to keep his voice steady, though he felt it sounded a little choked, "isn't there the juice of some root which will turn the skin brown, nearly black?" "but, yes, the plavac root." the haitian peered at the boy. "you would make yourself a black man?" he continued. stuart ignored argument. "can you get some? tonight? right away?" "ah, well; you know--" leon began. the boy interrupted him sharply. "if my father told you to get some, you would get it," he declared peremptorily. this was a shrewd guess, for, as a matter of fact, there were a number of reasons why leon should do what mr. garfield told him. the negro, who had no means of finding how much or how little the boy knew, shrugged his shoulders hugely, and, with a word of comment, left the house, carrying a lantern. he was back in half an hour with a handful of small plants, having long fibrous roots. these he cut off, placed in a pot, covering them with water, and set the pot on the stove over a slow fire. "it will not come off the skin as easily as it goes on, no!" he warned. "time enough to think about that when i want to take it off," came the boy's reply. the decoction ready, leon rubbed it in thoroughly into stuart's skin. it prickled and smarted a good deal at first, but this feeling of discomfort soon passed away. "it won't rub off?" queried stuart. leon permitted himself a grim pleasantry. "not against a grindstone!" this positive assertion was as reassuring in one way as it was disquieting in another. stuart did not want to remain colored for an indefinite period of time. in his heart of hearts he began to wonder if he had not acted a little more hastily, and that if he had asked for leon's advice instead of ordering him around, he might have found some milder stain. but it was too late to repent or retract now. his skin was a rich coffee brown from head to foot, and his dark eyes and black hair did not give his disguise the lie. "i'm going to bed," he next announced, "and i want some ragged boy's clothes by morning, leon. very ragged. also an old pair of boots." "that is not good," protested the haitian, "every boy here goes barefoot, yes!" stuart was taken aback. this difficulty had not occurred to him. it was true. not only the boys, but practically nine men out of ten in haiti go barefoot. this stuart could not do. accustomed to wearing shoes, he would cut his feet on the stones at every step he took on the roads, or run thorns into them every step he took in the open country. "i must have boots," he declared, "but old ones. those i've been wearing," he nodded to where they lay on the floor--for this conversation was carried on with the boy wearing nothing but his new brown skin--"would give me away at once." "i will try and get them," answered leon. his good-humored mouth opened in a wide smile. "name of a serpent!" he ejaculated, "but you are the image of the son of my half-sister!" at which saying, perhaps stuart ought to have been flattered, since it evidenced the success of his disguise. but, being american, it ruffled him to be told he resembled a negro. he went to bed, far from pleased with himself and rather convinced that he had been hasty. yet his last waking thought, if it had been put into words, would have been: "it's the right thing to do, and i'm going through with it!" chapter ii where black men rule stuart was not the only person on the streets of cap haitien the next morning who was conscious of personal danger. manuel polliovo was ill at ease. bearing the secret that he bore, the cuban knew that a hint of it would bring him instant death, or, if the authorities had time to intervene, incarceration in a haitian prison, a fate sometimes worse than death. even the dreaded presence of u. s. marines would not hold the negro barbarians back, if they knew. manuel was by no means blind to his peril. he was relieved in the thought that the american, garfield, was where he could not do him any harm, but there were other dangers. hence he was startled and jumped nervously, on hearing a voice by his elbow. "do you want a guide, senor?" "a guide, boy! where to?" the answer came clear and meaningly: "to the citadel of the black emperor!" the cuban grew cold, under the burning sun, and, professional conspirator though he was, his face blenched. his hand instinctively sought the pocket wherein lay his revolver. yet he dare not kill. five years of american occupation had bred a sense of law and order in the coast towns, at least, which had not been known in haiti for a century and more. any violence would lead to inquiry, and manuel's record was not one which would bear investigation. how came this ragged haitian urchin to know? manuel's swift glance at stuart had shown him nothing but a creole lad in clothes too big for him and a pair of boots fastened with string. the messenger meant nothing, it was the message which held menace. to the cuban this apparently chance street encounter was ominous of black threat. it revealed treachery and might mean a trap. but from whence? swiftly manuel's keen brain, the brain of an arch-plotter, scanned the manifold aspects of this sudden threat. how much labor, how many wild adventures, what a series of dangers would stuart have escaped, had he but been able to read the thoughts of that crafty brain! did his fellow-conspirators want to get rid of him? so manuel's doubts ran. did they count on his shooting the boy, in a panic, and being lynched for it, there and then, on the street of cap haitien? or of his being imprisoned, tried and executed for murder? such a plot was not unlikely. but, if so, who had sent the boy? was cesar leborge playing him false? true, from that bull-necked, ferocious negro general, manuel knew he could expect nothing but brutality, envy and hate; but such a design as this boy's intervention seemed too subtle for the giant creole's brain. manuel accounted himself master of the negro when it came to treachery and cunning. moreover, he knew leborge to be a sullen and suspicious character, little likely to talk or to trust anyone. what did the boy know? manuel flashed a look at him. but stuart was idly fiddling in the dust with the toe of his ragged boot, and the cuban's suspicions flashed to another quarter. could the englishman, guy cecil, be to blame? that did not seem any more likely. manuel was afraid of cecil, though he would not admit it, even to himself. the englishman's chill restraint, even in moments of the most tense excitement, cowed the cuban. never had he been able to penetrate into his fellow-conspirator's thoughts. but that cecil should have talked loosely of so vital, so terrible a secret? no. the grave itself was not more secretive than that quiet schemer, of whom nothing ever seemed to be known. and to a negro boy! no, a thousand times, no! stay--was this boy a negro boy? suspicion changed its seat in the wily cuban's brain. that point, at least, he would find out, and swiftly. he looked at his ragged questioner, still fiddling with his toe in the dust, and answered. "well," he said, "you can show me what there is to be seen in this place. but first i will go to the café. no," he continued, as the boy turned towards the new part of the town, built under american oversight, "not there. to the café de l'opéra. go down the street and keep a few steps in front." stuart obeyed. he had seen the first swift motion of the cuban's hand, when he had been accosted, and had guessed that it was pistolwards. it was uncomfortable walking in front of a man who was probably aching to blow one's brains out. nasty little cold shivers ran up and down stuart's back. but the tents of the u. s. marines, in camp a little distance down the beach, gave him courage. with his sublime faith in the united states, stuart could not believe that he could come to any harm within sight of the stars and stripes floating from the flagstaff in front of the encampment. while stuart was thus getting backbone from his flag, manuel was concentrating his wits and experience on this problem which threatened him so closely. was this boy a negro? a life spent in international trickery on a large scale had made the cuban a good judge of men. he knew native races. he knew--what the white man generally ignores or forgets--that between the various black races are mental differences as wide as between races of other color. he knew that the ewe negro is no more like the riff in character, than the phlegmatic dutchman resembles the passionate italian. if a black, to what race did this boy belong? was he a black, at all? the bright sun threw no reflected lights on the boy's skin, the texture of which was darker than that of a mulatto, and had a dead, opaque look, lacking the golden glow of mulatto skin. the lad's hair showed little hint of bantu ancestry and his feet were small. true, all this might betoken any of the creole combinations common in haiti, but the cuban was not satisfied. if the skin had been stained, now---- "boy!" he called. stuart looked around. "here are some coppers for you." the boy slouched toward him, extended his hand negligently and the cuban dropped some three-centime pieces into it. stuart mumbled some words of thanks, imitating, as far as he could, the haitian dialect, but, despite his desire to act the part, feeling awkward in receiving charity. manuel watched him closely, then, abruptly, bade him go on ahead. the scrutiny had increased his uneasiness. this self-appointed guide was no negro, no mulatto, of that manuel was sure. the money had been received without that wide answering grin of pleasure characteristic in almost all negro types. moreover, the palms of the boy's hands were the same color as the rest of his skin. the cuban knew well that a certain dirty pallor is always evident on the palms of the hands of even the blackest negroes. the boy's reference to the "citadel of the black emperor" showed that he was aware of this secret meeting of conspirators. this was grave. more, he was disguised. this was graver still. was this boy, too, afraid of haiti, that savage land at the doors of america; that abode where magic, superstition and even cannibalism still lurk in the forests; that barbarous republic where the white man is despised and hated, and the black man dominates? that land where the only civilizing force for a century has been a handful of american marines! that this boy was disguised suggested that he was in fear for his life; but, if so, why was he there? how did he come to know the pass-word of the conspiracy? for what mysterious reason did he offer himself as a guide to the haunted place of meeting? who was this boy? manuel turned into the café de l'opéra, a tumble-down frame shack with a corrugated iron roof, to order a cooling drink and to puzzle out this utterly baffling mystery. the cuban's first impulse was to flee. had anything less imperious than this all-important meeting been before him, manuel would have made his escape without a moment's delay. cap haitien is no place for a white man who has fallen under suspicion. of the four gateways into haiti it is the most dangerous. in jacamal, a white man may be left alone, so long as he does not incur the enmity of the blacks; in gonaive the foreign holders of concessions may protect him; in port-au-prince, the capital, he is safeguarded by the potent arm of the american marines; but, in the country districts back of cap haitien, the carrion buzzards may be the only witnesses of his fate. and, to that back country, the cuban must go. all this, manuel knew, and he was a shrewd enough man to dare to be afraid. stuart squatted in the shadow of the building while the cuban sipped from his glass. thus, each doubting the other, and each fearing the other, they gazed over the busy desolation of cap haitien, a town unlike any other on earth. save for a small and recently rebuilt section in the heart of the town--which boasted some , inhabitants--flimsy frame houses rose in white poverty upon the ruins of what was once known as "the little paris of the west indies." of the massive buildings of a century ago, not one remained whole. the great earthquake of did much toward their destruction; the orgy of loot and plunder which followed, did more; but the chiefest of all agents of demolition was the black man's rule. the spacious residences were never rebuilt, the fallen aqueducts were left in ruins, the boulevards fell into disrepair and guinea-grass rioted through the cracked pavements. back of the town the plantations were neglected, the great houses fallen, while the present owners lived contentedly in the little huts which once had been built for slaves. the ruthless hands of time, weather and the jungle snatched back "little paris," and cap haitien became a huddled cluster of pitiful buildings scattered among the rubbish-heaps and walls of a once-beautiful stone-built town. this appearance of desolation, however, was contradicted by the evidence of commercial activity. the sea-front was a whirl of noise. the din of toil was terrific. over the cobblestoned streets came rough carts drawn by four mules--of the smallest race of mules in the world--and these carts clattered down noisily with their loads of coffee-sacks, the drivers shouting as only a haitian negro can shout. at the wharf, each cart was at once surrounded by a cluster of negroes, each one striving to outshout his fellows, while the bawling of the driver rose high above all. lines of negroes, naked to the waist, sacks on their glistening backs, poured out from the warehouses like ants from an anthill, but yelling to out-vie the carters. the tiny car-line seemed to exist only to give opportunity for the perpetual clanging of the gong; and the toy wharf railway expended as much steam on its whistle as on its piston-power. stuart had visited the southern part of haiti with his father, especially the towns of port-au-prince and jacamel, and he was struck with the difference in the people. cap haitien is a working town and its people are higher grade than the dwellers in the southern part of the republic. the south, however, is more populous. haiti is thickly inhabited, with , , people, of whom only , are foreigners, and of these, not more than , are whites. the island is incredibly fertile. a century and a quarter ago it was rich, and could be rich again. its coffee crop, alone, could bring in ample wealth. to stuart's eyes, coffee was everywhere. the carts were loaded with coffee, the sacks the negroes carried were coffee-sacks, the shining green berries were exposed to dry on stretches of sailcloth in vacant lots, among the ruins on the sides of the streets. haitian coffee is among the best in the world, but the haitian tax is so high that the product cannot be marketed cheaply, the american public will not pay the high prices it commands, and nearly all the crop is shipped to europe. "look at that coffee!" stuart's father had exclaimed, just a week before. "where do you suppose it comes from, stuart? from cultivated plantations? very little of it. most of the crop is picked from half-wild shrubs which are the descendants of the carefully planted and cultivated shrubs which still linger on the plantations established under french rule, a century and a half ago. a hundred years of negro power in haiti has stamped deterioration, dirt and decay on the island." "but that'll all change, now we've taken charge of the republic!" had declared stuart, confident that the golden letters "u. s." would bring about the millennium. his father had wrinkled his brows in perplexity and doubt. "it would change, my boy," he said, "if america had a free hand. but she hasn't." "why not?" "because, officially, we have only stepped in to help the haitians arrive at 'self-determination.' the treaty calls for our aid for ten years, with a possibility of continuing that protection for another ten years. but we're not running the country, we're only policing it and advising the haitians as to how things should be handled." "do you think they'll learn?" "to govern themselves, you mean? yes. to govern themselves in a civilized manner? no. i wouldn't go so far as to say that slavery or peonage are the only ways to make the up-country haitian negro work, though a good many people who have studied conditions here think so. "the program of the modern business man in haiti is different: make the negro discontented with his primitive way of living, give him a taste for unnecessary luxuries, teach him to envy his neighbor's wealth and covet his neighbor's goods, and then make him work in order to earn the money to gratify these wishes, and civilization will begin. "mark you, stuart, i don't say that i endorse this program, i'm only telling you, in half-a-dozen words, what it really is. it is sure, though, that when the black man rules, he relapses into savagery; when he obeys a white master, he rises toward civilization." stuart remembered this, now, as he sat outside the café, and looked pridefully at the tents of the u. s. marines in the distance. he realized that american improvements in the coast towns had not changed the nature of the haitian negro, or creole, as he prefers to be called. under his father's instruction, the boy had studied haitian history, and he knew that the spaniards had ruled by fear, the french had ruled by fear, the negro emperors and presidents had ruled by fear, and, under the direct eye of the u. s. marines, haiti is still ruled by fear. in a dim way--for stuart was too young to have grasped it all--the boy felt that this was not militarism, but the discipline necessary to an undeveloped race. only the year before, stuart himself had been through an experience which brought the innate savagery of the haitian vividly before his eyes. he had been in port-au-prince when the cacos undertook to raid the town, seize the island, and sweep the united states marines into the sea. and, as he had heard a marine officer tell his father, but for a chance accident, they might have succeeded. in october, , charlemagne peralte, the leader of the cacos, was killed by a small punitive party of u. s. marines. the cacos may be described as haitian patriots or revolutionists, devotees of serpent and voodoo worship, loosely organized into a secret guerilla army. they number at least , men, probably more. about one-half of the force is armed with modern rifles. the headquarters of the cacos is in the mountain country in the center of the island, above the plain of cul-de-sac, where no white influence reaches. no one who knew haitian conditions doubted that revenge would be sought for charlemagne's death, and all through the winter of - , the marines were on the alert for trouble. the cacos leadership had devolved upon benoit, a highly educated negro, who had secured the alliance of "the black pope" and chu-chu, the two lieutenants of charlemagne. upon benoit fell the duty of "chasing the white men into the sea" and exterminating the americans, just as toussaint l'ouverture drove the english, and dessalines, christophe and pétion drove the french, a century before. nearly four years of american occupation had passed. that the purpose of the united states was purely philanthropic was not--and is not--believed by the vast majority of the haitians. though living conditions have improved vastly, though brigandage on the plains has ceased, and though terrorism has diminished, at heart only the haitian merchants and job-holders like the american occupation. the educated creoles tolerate it. the semi-savages of the hills resent it. on january , some of the white men in port-au-prince noticed that the creoles were excited and nervous. at the café bordeaux, at the seaside inn, at the hotel bellevue, strange groups met and mysterious passwords were exchanged. sullen and latent hostility was changing from smouldering rancor to flaming hate. port-au-prince was ripe for revolt. stuart remembered his father's return that night. "son," he had said, putting a revolver on the little table beside his bed, "i hope you won't have to use this, but, at least, i've taught you to shoot straight." that night, benoit, gathering up the local detachments of his forces, moved them in scattered groups through the abandoned plantations and off the main roads to the outskirts of the city. he had over , men with him. most had modern rifles. all had machetes. all over the island other bands were in readiness, their orders being to wait until they heard of the fall of port-au-prince, when the massacre of all whites might begin. benoit's plan was to take the city at daybreak. at midnight, he started three columns of men each, from three directions. they wandered into the city by twos and threes, taking up positions. their orders were, that, at the firing of a gun at daybreak, when the stores opened, they were to rush through the business district, setting fires everywhere and killing the white men and the gendarmerie. benoit believed that, while his men could not withstand a pitched battle with the marines, they could sweep the town in guerilla fashion when the marines were scattered here and there, putting out fires. moreover, the cacos general was sure that, once a massacre of the whites was begun, race hatred would put all the black population on his side. two o'clock in the morning came. mr. elliott, manager of a sugar refinery at hascoville, a suburb two miles out of the city, was sleepless, and a vague uneasiness possessed him. thinking that the fresh air might be beneficial, he went to a window and looked out. "out of the myriad hissing, rustling and squawking noises of a tropic night, he heard the unmistakable 'chuff-chuff-chuff' of a marching column of barefoot men. he made out a single-file column moving rapidly across a field, off the road. he made out the silhouetes of shouldered rifles. far off, under a yellow street lamp, he glimpsed a flash of a red shirt. that was enough. he telephoned to the marine brigade that the cacos were about to raid port-au-prince. "benoit's bubble," continued the report of the special correspondent of the _new york world_, "burst right there. only about of his 'shock troops' had reached the market-place. no fires had been set. the people were all in bed and asleep. there were no materials for a panic. "the marines, in patrols and in larger formations, spread through the streets swiftly to the posts arranged for emergency. leslie coombs, one of the marines, saw several men enter the market, where they had no right to be; he ran to the door and was set upon by machete men, who slashed him and cut him down, but not until he had emptied his automatic. "the shooting and hand-to-hand fighting spread in a flash all through the business part of the city. the rest of the surprise detachment of the cacos made a rush for the center of the city. one block was set on fire and burned. "the marines deployed steadily and quickly. they put sputtering machine guns on the corners and cleaned the principal streets. there was fighting on every street and alley of a district more than a mile square. "the cacos stood their ground bravely for a while, but their case was hopeless. the american fire withered them. first those on the rim of the city, and then those inside, turned their faces to the hills. the main body, realizing that the plan of attack was ruined, started a pell-mell retreat. "the marines moved from the center of the city, killing every colored man who was not in the olive-drab uniform of the gendarmerie. "as the sky turned pink and then flashed into blazing daylight, the fight became a hunt. on every road and trail leading from the city, marine hunted cacos. "one hundred and twenty-two dead cacos were found in and about the city; bodies found along the line of retreat in the next few days raised the total of known dead to . there were numerous prisoners, among them the famous chieftain, chu-chu." it was a swift and merciless affair, but, as stuart's father had commented, no one who knew and understood haitian conditions denied that it had been well and wisely done. stuart had seen some of the fighting, and his father had pointed out to him that port-au-prince is not the whole of haiti, nor does one repulse quell a revolt. the boy knew, and the cuban, watching him, knew that for every man the marines had slain, two had joined the cacos and had sworn the blood-oath before the high priest and the high priestess (papaloi and mamaloi) of voodoo. revolt against the american occupation, therefore, was an ever-present danger. stuart wondered whether the negro who had been sent to him by manuel were a cacos, and, if so, whether his father were a prisoner among the cacos. manuel, for his part, wondered who this boy might be, who had darkened his skin in disguise. one thing the cuban had determined and that was that he would not let the boy know that his disguise had been penetrated. none the less, he must find out, if possible, how the lad had come to know about the meeting-place of the conspirators. finishing his drink, the cuban rose, and, motioning to stuart to precede him, walked to the sparsely settled section between the commercial center of the town and the marine encampment. when the shouts of the toiling workers had grown faint in the distance, the cuban stopped. "boy!" he called. stuart braced himself. he knew that the moment of his test had come. his heart thumped at his ribs, but he kept his expression from betraying fear. he turned and faced the cuban. "in my right-hand pocket," said manuel, in his soft and languorous voice, "is a revolver. my finger is on the trigger. if you tell one lie--why, that is the end of you! why did you mention the citadel of the black emperor?" stuart's heart gave a bound of relief. he judged, from manuel's manner, that his disguise had not been guessed. elated with this supposed success, he commenced to tell glibly the tale he had prepared and studied out the day before. "i wanted to give you a warning," he said. the cuban's gaze deepened. "warning? what kind of a warning? from whom?" "cesar leborge," answered stuart. he had judged from his father's papers that the two were engaged in a conspiracy, and thought that he could do nothing better than to provoke enmity between them. the proverb "when thieves fall out, honest men come by their own," rang through his head. manuel was obviously impressed. "what do you know about this?" he asked curtly. "tell your story." "i hate leborge," declared stuart, trying to speak as a negro boy would speak. "he took away our land and killed my father. i want to kill him. he never talks to anybody, but he talks to himself. the other night i overheard him saying he 'must get rid of that cuban at the citadel of the black emperor.' "so when i saw you here in cap haitien, i took a chance on it's being you he meant. if it hadn't been you, my asking you if you wanted a guide wouldn't have been out of the way." "you are a very clever boy," said manuel, and turned away to suppress a smile. certainly, he thought, this boy was a very clumsy liar. stuart had never tried to play a part before, and had no natural aptitude for it. his imitation of the haitian accent was poor, his manner lacked the alternations of arrogance and humility that the haitian black wears. then his story of the shadowing of leborge was not at all in character. and, besides, as the cuban had convinced himself, the boy was not a haitian negro at all. then, suddenly, a new thought flashed across manuel's mind. he had thought only of his fellow-conspirators as traitors. but there was one other who had some inkling of the plot--garfield, the american. and garfield had a boy! the cuban's lip curled with contempt at the ease with which he had unmasked stuart. he had only to laugh and announce his discovery, for the boy to be made powerless. it was a temptation. but manuel was too wily to yield to a temptation merely because it was pleasurable. as long as the boy did not know that he had been found out, he would live in a fool's paradise of his own cleverness. believing himself unsuspected, he would carry out his plans--whatever they were--the while that manuel, knowing his secret, could play with him as a cat plays with a mouse she has crippled. he decided to appear to believe this poorly woven story. "if you hate leborge, and leborge hates me," he said, "i suppose we are both his enemies. i presume," he added, shrewdly, "if i refused to take you with me to the citadel of the black emperor, you would shadow me, and go any way." a flash of assent came into the boy's eyes, which, he was not quick enough to suppress. decidedly, stuart was not cut out for a conspirator, and would never be a match for the cuban in guile. "i see you would," the cuban continued. "well, i would rather have you within my sight. here is money. tomorrow, an hour after sunrise, be at the door of the hotel with the best horses you can find. i wish to be at millot by evening." stuart took the money and preceded manuel into the town, chuckling inwardly at his cleverness in outwitting this keen conspirator. but he would have been less elated with his success if he had heard the cuban mutter, as he turned into the porch of the hotel, "first, the father. now, the son!" chapter iii the blood-stained citadel a foul, slimy ooze, compounded of fat soil, rotting vegetation and verdigris-colored scum, with a fainter green mark meandering through it--such was the road to millot. stuart and the cuban, the boy riding ahead, were picking their away across this noisome tract of land. for a few miles out of cap haitien, where the finger of american influence had reached, an air of decency and even of prosperity had begun to return. near the town, the road had been repaired. fields, long abandoned, showed signs of cultivation, anew. two hours' ride out, however, it became evident that the new power had not reached so far. the road had dwindled to a trail of ruts, which staggered hither and thither in an effort to escape the quagmires--which it did not escape. twice, already, stuart's horse had been mired and he had to get out of the saddle and half-crawl, half-wriggle on his belly, in the smothering and sucking mud. so far, manuel had escaped, by the simple device of not passing over any spot which the boy had not tried first. this caution was not to serve him long, however. at some sight or sound unnoticed by the rider, manuel's horse shied from off the narrow path of tussocks on which it was picking its way, and swerved directly into the morass. the cuban, unwilling to get into the mud, tried to urge the little horse to get out. two or three desperate plunges only drove it down deeper and it slipped backward into the clawing mire. manuel threw himself from his horse, but he had waited almost too long, and the bog began to draw him down. he was forced to cry for help. stuart, turning in his saddle, saw what had happened. he jumped off his horse and ran to help the cuban. the distance was too great for a hand-clasp. the ragged trousers which stuart was wearing in his disguise as a haitian lad were only held up by a piece of string; he had no belt which he could throw. there was no sapling growing near enough to make a stick. then there came into the boy's mind an incident in a western story he had read. darting back to his horse, he unfastened the saddle girth, and, hurrying back to where manuel was floundering in the mud, he threw the saddle outwards, holding the end of the girth. it was just long enough to reach. with the help of the flat surface given by the saddle and a gradual pulling of the girth by stuart, the cuban was at last able to crawl out. the gallant little horse, freed from its rider's weight, had reached a point where it could be helped, and the two aided the beast to get its forefeet on solid land. this rescue broke down much of the distance and some of the hostility between manuel and stuart, and, as soon as the road began to rise from the quagmire country, and was wide enough to permit it, the cuban ordered the boy to ride beside him. naturally, the conversation dealt with the trail and its dangers. "you would hardly think," said the cuban, "that, a hundred years ago, a stone-built road, as straight as an arrow, ran from cap haitien to millot, and that over it, toussaint l'ouverture, 'the black napoleon,' was wont to ride at breakneck speed, and christophe, 'the black emperor,' drove his gaudy carriage with much pomp and display." to those who take the road from cap haitien to millot today, the existence of that ancient highway seems incredible. yet, though only a century old, it is almost as hopelessly lost as the road in the sahara desert over which, once, toiling slaves in egypt dragged the huge stones of which the pyramids of ghizeh were built. stuart and the cuban had made a late start. in spite of the powerful political influence which the cuban seemed to wield, his departure had been fraught with suspicion. the military governor, a gigantic coal-black negro, had at first refused to grant permission for polliovo to visit the citadel; the commandant of marines had given him a warning which was almost an ultimatum. manuel, with great suavity, had overset the former and defied the latter. his story was of the smoothest. he was a military strategist, he declared, and general leborge had asked him to investigate the citadel, in order to determine its value as the site for a modern fort. stuart's part in the adventure was outwardly simple. no one thought it worth while to question him, and he accompanied the cuban as a guide and horse-boy. although the road improved as the higher land was reached, it was dusk when the two riders arrived at the foothills around millot. dark fell quickly, and, with the dark, came a low palpitating rumble, that distant throbbing of sound, that malevolent vibrance which gives to every haitian moonlit night an oppression and a fear all its own. "rhoo-oo-oom--rhoo-oo-oom--rhoo-oo-oom!" muffled, dull, pulsating, unceasing, the thrummed tom-tom set all the air in motion. the vibrance scarcely seemed to be sound, rather did it seem to be a slower tapping of air-waves on the drum of the ear, too low to be actually heard, but yet beating with a maddening persistence. there was a savagery in the sound, so disquieting, that a deep sigh of relief escaped from the boy's lungs when he saw the lights of millot twinkling in the distance. somehow, the presence of houses and people took away the sinister sound of the tom-tom and made it seem like an ordinary drum. millot, in the faint moonlight, revealed itself as a small village, nestling under high mountains. signs of former greatness were visible in the old gates which flanked the opening into its main street, but the greater part of the houses were thatched huts. when at the very entrance of the village, there came a ringing challenge, "halt! who goes there?" "a visitor to the general," was manuel's answer. the barefoot sentry, whose uniform consisted of a forage cap, a coat with one sleeve torn off and a pair of frayed trousers, but whose rifle was of the most up-to-date pattern, was at once joined by several others, not more splendidly arrayed than himself. as with one voice, they declared that the general could not be disturbed, but the cuban carried matters with a high hand. dismounting, he ordered one of the sentries to precede him and announce his coming, and bade stuart see that the horses were well looked after and ready for travel in the morning, "or his back should have a taste of the whip." this phrase, while it only increased the enmity the soldiers felt toward the "white," had the effect of removing all suspicion from stuart, which, as the lad guessed, was the reason for manuel's threat. feeling sure that the boy would have the same animosity to his master that they felt, the soldiers seized the opportunity to while away the monotonous hours of their duty in talk. "what does he want, this 'white'?" they asked, suspiciously. "like all whites," answered stuart, striving to talk in the character of the negro horse-boy, "he wants something he has no right to have." "and what is that?" "information. he says he is a military strategist, and is going to make la ferrière, up there, a modern fort." "he will never get there," said one of the soldiers. "you think not?" "it is sure that he will not get there. permission is refused always, yes. the general is afraid lest a 'white' should find the buried money." "christophe's treasure?" queried the boy, innocently. he had never heard of this treasure before, but rightly guessed that if it were supposed to be hidden in the citadel of the black emperor, it must have been placed there by no one but the grim old tyrant himself. "but surely. yes. you, in the south"--stuart had volunteered the information that he came from the southern part of the island--"have you not heard the story of dimanche (sunday) esnan?" "i never heard it, no," stuart answered. "it was of strange, yes," the soldier proceeded. "christophe was rich, ah, how rich! he had all the money of the republic. he spent it like an emperor. you shall see for yourself, if you look, what christophe spent in building palaces, but no one shall say how much he spent on his own pleasures. he had a court, like the great courts of europe, and not a 'white' in them. ah, he was very rich and powerful, christophe. it is said that, when he died, he left , , gourdes (then worth about $ , , ) and this he buried, should he need money in order to escape. but, as even an ignorant like you will know, he did not escape." "i know," replied stuart, "he blew out his brains." "right over there, he did it!" the soldier agreed, pointing into the night. "but listen to the story of the treasure: "when i was but a little older than a boy like you, into the vache d'or (a former gambling-house of some fame) there strolled this dimanche esnan. he swaggered in, as one with plenty of money in his pocket. "upon the table he threw some coins. "the croupier stared down at those coins, with eyes as cold and fixed as those of a fer-de-lance ready to strike. the play at the table stopped. "it was a moment! "the coins were spanish doubloons!" "a pirate hoard?" suggested stuart. "it was thought. but this dimanche had not been off the island for years! and the buccaneers' treasure is at tortugas, as is well known. "this dimanche was at once asked if he had found christophe's treasure, for where else would a man find spanish doubloons of a century ago? it was plain, yes! "well, what would you? president hippolyte sent for him. he offered to make him a general, a full general, if he would but tell where he had found the treasure. he showed him the uniform. it was gold laced, yes, gold lace all over! dimanche was nearly tempted, but not quite. "then they let him come back here, to cap haitien, yes. all the day and all the night he was kept under watch. ah, that was a strict watch! every one of the guards thought that he might be the one to get clue to the place of the buried treasure, look you! "but the general here, at that time, was not a patient man, no! besides, he wanted the treasure. he wanted it without having the president of the republic know. with sixty-five million gourdes he might push away the president and be president himself, who knows? "what would you? the general put dimanche in prison and put him to the question (torture) but dimanche said nothing. ah, he was stubborn, that dimanche. he said nothing, nothing! the general did not dare to kill him, for he knew that the president had given orders to have the man watched. "so the prison doors were set open. pouf! away disappears dimanche and has not been seen since. he still carries the secret of the treasure of christophe--that is, if he is not dead." "but didn't the president try to find the hoard on his own account?" asked stuart. "but, most surely! my father was one of the soldiers in the party which searched in all the wonderful palaces that christophe had built for himself in 'without worry,' in 'queen's delight,' in 'the glory,' in 'beautiful view,' yes, even in the haunted citadel of la ferrière. no, i should not have liked to do that, it is surely haunted. but they found nothing. "me, i think that the money is in the citadel. has not the ghost of christophe been seen to walk there? and why should the ghost walk if it had not a reason to walk? eh?" "that does seem reasonable," answered stuart, in response to the soldier's triumphant tone. "but, most sure! so, boy," the guard concluded, "it is easy to see why the general does not like any 'white' to go to the citadel. perhaps the 'white,' whose horses you look after, has seen dimanche. who knows? so he will not be let get up there. you may be sure of that." "one can't ever say," answered the boy. "i must be ready for the morning," and, with a word of farewell, he sauntered into the village of millot, to find some kind of stabling and food for the horses, and, if possible, some shelter for himself. morning found stuart outside the door of the general's "mansion," a straw-thatched building, comprising three rooms and a narrow brick-paved verandah. from what the soldiers had said the night before, the boy had not the slightest expectation of the cuban's success. he had not waited long, however, before manuel came out through the door, obsequiously followed by a coal-black general daubed with gold lace--most of which was unsewn and hanging in tatters, and all of which was tarnished. he was strongly, even violently, urging upon manuel the need of an escort. the cuban not only disdained the question, but, most evidently, disdained and disregarded the man. this extraordinary scene was closed by the general, the commandant of the entire commune, holding out his hand for a tip. manuel put a five-gourdes bill (two dollars and a half) into the outstretched palm, and mounted his horse to an accompaniment of a profusion of thanks. a short distance out of millot, the two riders came to the ruins of christophe's palace of "without worry" (sans souci). it was once a veritable palace, situated on the top of a small hill overlooking a deep ravine. great flights of stone steps led up to it, while terrace upon terrace of what once were exquisitely kept gardens, filled with the finest statuary, stepped to the depths below. now, the gardens are waste, the statuary broken and the terraces are washed into gullies by the rains. the palace itself is not less lamentable. the walls are crumbling. everything movable from the interior has been looted. trees grow outward from the upper windows, and, in the cracks of masonry and marble floors, a tropic vegetation has sprung up. moss covers the mosaics, and the carved woodwork has become the prey of the worm. a little further on, at a hut which the general had described, manuel and stuart left their horses, and then began the steep climb up la ferrière. from the steaming heat of the plain below, the climbers passed into the region of cold. the remains of a road were there, but the track was so indistinct as to render it difficult to follow. "where the dense forest begins," manuel explained, "we shall find a warder. i would rather be without him, but the general does not dare to send a message that a 'white' may visit the citadel unaccompanied. besides, i doubt if we could find the way, though once this was a wide road, fit for carriage travel, on which the black emperor drove in pomp and state to his citadel. it is incredible!" "what is incredible?" asked stuart. "that christophe should have been able to make these negroes work for him as no people in the world have worked since the days when the pharaohs of egypt built the pyramids. you will see the vast size of the citadel. you see the steepness of the mountain. consider it! "the materials for the whole huge pile of building and the three hundred cannon with which it was fortified, were dragged up these steep mountain scarps and cliffsides by human hands. christophe employed the troops mercilessly in this labor and subdued mutiny by the simple policy of not only shooting the mutineers, but also a corresponding number of innocent men, as well, just to teach a lesson. whole villages were commandeered. sex made no difference. women worked side by side with men, were whipped side by side with men, and, if they weakened, were knifed or shot and thrown into a ditch. one of christophe's overseers is said to have boasted that he could have made a roadway of human bones from sans souci to the summit." the words "bloody ruffian" were on stuart's lips, but, just in time, he remembered his character, and replied instead, "but christophe was a great man!" the boy knew well that though toussaint l'ouverture, the "black napoleon," had truly been a great man in every sense of the word, a liberator, general and administrator, the haitians think little of him, because he believed that blacks, mulattoes and whites should have an equal chance. dessalines and christophe, monsters of brutality, are the heroes of haiti, because they massacred everyone who was not coal-black. manuel cast a sidelong glance at stuart, smiling inwardly at the boy's attempt to maintain his disguise, that disguise which the cuban had so quickly pierced, and shrugged his shoulders. "what would you!" he rejoined. "you see yourself, it is the only government that haitians understand. to this day, a century later, this part of the island is better than the south, because of the impress of the reign of christophe. nothing changes haiti!" "the americans?" queried stuart, trying to put a note of dislike into his voice, but intensely interested in his own question. "they have changed nothing!" declared the cuban, emphatically. "they have painted the faces of the coast towns, and that is all. you heard that drum, the night before last? not until the tom-tom has ceased to beat in haiti, can anything be changed." he rose, threw away the stump of his cigar, and motioned to the boy to take up the trail. a few hundred yards higher, a raucous shout halted them. there was a rustle of branches, and a negro colossus, of the low-browed, heavy-jawed type, plunged through the thicket and barred the path. bareheaded, barefooted, his shirt consisting of a piece of cloth with holes for head and arms, his trousers torn to tatters by thorns, the warder of the citadel looked what he was, a caco machete man, little removed from the ferocity of african savagery. to his shout, the cuban deigned no answer. he broke a switch from a bush, walked toward the negro guard with a contemptuous look and lashed him across the face with the switch, ordering him to lead the way. stuart expected to see the cuban cut down with one stroke of the machete. far from it. cowed at once, the negro cringed, as to a master, and, without a word as to manuel's authority, led the way up the trail. a hundred yards higher, all sign of a path was lost. the negro warder was compelled to use his machete to cut a way through thorny underbrush and creepers in order to make a path for the "white's" feet. the afternoon was well advanced when openings amid the trees showed, beetling overhead, the gray walls of the citadel. an hour's further climbing brought them to the guard-house, where eight men watch continually, each relief for a period of a month, against the intrusion of strangers into christophe's citadel. an irregularly disposed clump of posts, stuck into the ground, supported a rusted and broken tin roof, without walls, but boasting a brushwood pile on one side--such was the entire barracks of the la ferrière garrison. the furniture consisted only of a log on which to sit, a few cooking utensils, and a pile of rags in the driest corner. true, there was plenty of room in the citadel. many a chamber in the ruined place was dry and sheltered from the weather, many a corner was there where the watchers could have made themselves warm and comfortable. they were not forbidden to sleep there. on the contrary, they were encouraged. but never a one would do so. they declared the place haunted and were in a state of terror even to be near it. manuel, after pausing for a moment to take his breath, strode up to the group. "get in there, some of you!" he ordered, "and show me the way. i want to see over the place." a chorus of wails arose. the guards shrank and cowered at the suggestion. their terror was more than panicky, it was even hysterical. they shook with convulsive jerks of fear, as though they had a spasm disease. "christophe!" cried one of them, in a sort of howl. "christophe! for three days he is here, yes! we see him walk, yes! if we go in, he will make us jump off the cliff!" and another added, with an undertone of superstitious horror, "and his ghost will be waiting at the bottom to carry our ghosts away!" "fools!" declared manuel, "open the door!" he pointed to where the huge, rusty iron-bound door frowned in the blank wall of gray stone. the negro guards hung back and gabbled together, but manuel turned upon them fiercely with uplifted switch. at that, the giant warder, who had already acknowledged the mastership, slouched forward and pulled open the creaking door, leaving a dark opening from which came the smell of foul air and poisonous vegetation. manuel motioned with his head for stuart to precede him. the boy hesitated. he was brave enough, but the terror of the negroes was catching. he would not have admitted to being afraid, but there was a lump in his throat and his legs felt unsteady. the cuban, who felt sure that stuart was not the negro horse-boy that he seemed, judged this appearance of fear as evidence that the boy was still playing a part, and turned on him with a snarl. "get in there, you!" screwing up his courage, stuart stepped forward, though hesitatingly and unwillingly. just as he crossed the threshold, the giant warder reached out a gaunt hand and pulled him back. "not that way!" he said. "two steps more, boy, and you are dead!" manuel started. from his pocket he took a portable electric light and flashed it upon the ground just within the entrance. the negro guard was right. immediately before him lay a deep pit, how deep there was no means of saying. once it had been covered with a trap-door, which could be worked from the inner citadel. thus christophe, if he pleased, could send a message of welcome to his visitors, and drop them to a living death with the words of hospitality on his lips. "if i had gone first," said manuel quietly, turning to the guards, "not one of you would have said a word!" the negroes slunk away under his gaze. the accusation was true. they had no love for the "whites." only the fact that they believed stuart to be a negro boy had saved him. the boy looked down at that profound dungeon, from which rose a faint stench, and shuddered. there was a heavy pause. manuel was debating whether he dare try and force the guards to show the way. if he ordered it, he would have to force it through, or the prestige he had won would be lost. he dared not. as between the terror of a white man's gun, and the terror of a "ha'nt," the latter was the more powerful. motioning stuart to enter and showing the narrow ledge around the pit with the spotlight, he followed. then he turned to the guards clustered outside. "close the door!" he ordered, curtly. this command was obeyed with alacrity. the negro guards were only too anxious to see that hole in the wall shut. suppose the ghost of christophe should come gliding out among them! so far, the cuban was safe. he had reached the citadel and entered it. he had no fear that the warders would open it again to spy on him. their terror was too real. raising the spotlight so that it flashed full upon stuart's face, the cuban spoke. "understand me, now," he said curtly, and with a hard ring in his voice. "how much of your story may be true and how much false i have not yet found out. but, if what you say about hating leborge is true, i will put you in a place where you will be able to see him. you have a pistol, i know. if you see leborge raise pistol or knife against me, shoot, and shoot quickly! i will make you rich!" stuart thought to himself that if the conspirators were to come to quarreling, that was the very time he would keep still. he, certainly, had no desire for bloodshed, nor any intention to fire at anybody, if he could help it. but he only answered, "i understand." manuel's intention was no less concealed. he planned either to reveal the boy to his fellow-conspirators, or else, to reveal him to the negro warders as a white intruder. either way, he figured, there would be an end to the boy. by the light of his lamp, consulting a small manuscript chart of the ruin, manuel passed through many tortuous passages and dark chambers until he came to a ruined wall. climbing a few feet up the crumbling stones, he set his eye to a crevice, nodded as though satisfied, wrenched away several more stones, laying these down silently and beckoned stuart to come beside him. the boy looked down on a circular hall, the outer arc of which was pierced with ruined windows opening to the sky. "leborge will sit there!" whispered manuel, pointing. "kill him, and you will be rich!" stuart nodded. he did not trust himself to speak. walking as silently as he could, manuel left the place, pondering in his own mind what he was going to do with the boy. should he reveal the secret and have his fellow-conspirators kill him? should he turn him over to the machetes of the negroes? or should he kill the boy, himself? one thing he had determined--that stuart should not reach the plains below, alive. and stuart, in that hole of the ruined wall, crouched and watched. of what was to happen in that room below, what dark plot he was to hear, he had no knowledge. yet, over his eager desire to find out this conspiracy against the united states, above his anxiety with regard to the fate of his father, one question loomed in ever larger and blacker proportions-- he had got into the citadel. how was he to get out? chapter iv the ghost of christophe manuel was no coward. somewhere, back in his spanish ancestry, had been a single drop of an irish strain, adding a certain combativeness to the gallantry of his race. that drop, too, mixed badly with spanish treachery, and made him doubly dangerous. certainly the cuban was no coward. but, as he came out from the murk of those chambers with their rotting floors, many of them undermined by oubliettes and dungeons, he felt a chill of fear. even the occasional bursts of sunshine through the cloud-fog which perpetually sweeps over la ferrière did not hearten him. he passed into the open space back of the outer walls and set himself to climb the long flight of stone steps that led to the battlements, where, he thought, his fellow conspirators might be. but, on the summit, he found himself alone. the battlements cowed his spirits. with walls fifteen feet thick, wide enough to allow a carriage to be driven upon them, they looked over a sheer drop of two thousand feet. sinister and forbidding, even the sunlight could not lessen their grimness. as if in memory of the hundreds of victims who had been bidden jump off those ramparts, merely for christophe's amusement, or who had been hurled, screaming, as penalty for his displeasure, a ruddy moss feeding upon decay, has spread over the stones, and this moss, ever kept damp by the cloud-banks which wreathe the citadel continually is moistly red, like newly shed blood. in cracks and corners, fungi of poisonous hues adds another touch of wickedness. manuel shivered with repulsion. probably not in all the world, certainly not in the western hemisphere, is there a ruin of such historic terror as the citadel of the black emperor on the summit of la ferrière.[ ] [footnote : this ruin, now, is nominally in territory under the jurisdiction of an american provost-marshal. it is therefore less difficult of access than formerly, but it is still considered unsafe for travelers.] a gleam of sun revealed the extraordinary impregnability of the place. the double-walled entrance from the hillside, pierced by but a single gate, could only be battered down by heavy artillery, and no guns powerful enough for such a feat could be brought up the hill. the inner citadel, access to which was only by a long flight of steps, is unapproachable from any other point, and a handful of defenders could keep an army at bay. the cliff-side is as sheer as gibraltar, affording not even a foothold for the most venturesome climber. the walls are built upon its very verge and are as solid as the rock itself. its gray mass conveys a sense of enormous power. "it towers upon the last and highest precipice," says hesketh prichard, "like some sinister monster of the elder world, ready to launch itself forth upon the spreading lands below." the citadel commands the whole of the plain of the north clear to the distant sea. at its south-eastern end it faces toward the frontier of st. domingo, the sister republic, fifty miles away. christophe built it as a central base, controlling the only roads and passes which command the range from dondon to vallière, and rendering attack impossible, from the southern side, through marmalade. (many names in haiti give an irresistible appearance of being comic, such as the duke of lemonade, duke of marmalade, baron the prophet daniel, and colonel the baron roast beef, but they are intended seriously.) manuel had gazed over the landscape but a few moments when the sun was veiled in one of the cold, raw cloud-fogs which continually sweep the summit. billowing, dank masses hurtled about him, blotting out even the outlines of the ruin. for several minutes the grey mists enwreathed him, then, as they lightened, the cuban saw before him, shadow-like and strange, the figure of the black emperor himself. the warders' terror of the ghost of christophe cramped manuel's heart for a moment and he fell back. his hand flashed to his pocket, none the less. the figure laughed, a harsh coarse laugh which manuel knew and recognized at once. "general leborge," he exclaimed, surprise and self-annoyance struggling in his voice. "it is you!" "but yes, my friend, it is i. you see, i am not so daring as you. i came secretly. i have been here three days, waiting for you." "but the meeting was set for today!" "it is true. but it was more difficult for me to get here than for you. see you, as a stranger you had not the suspicion of intrusion to combat. no, if it were known that i were here, there would be political difficulties--ah, many! yes!" the cuban nodded. he was not especially interested in the political embroilments of his co-conspirator. as a matter of fact, the plot accomplished, it was manuel's purpose to let enough of the truth leak out to make it seem that leborge had been a traitor to the haitian republic. "have you seen cecil?" he asked. "not yet, no!" answered the negro general. "me, i had thought he would come with you." "he didn't. and he wasn't on the road from cap haitien, either. queer, too. first time i ever knew him to fail." "so! but i have a feeling he will not fail. he will be here today. come down to the place of meeting. i have some food and we can have a mouthful while waiting for him." the big negro cast a look at himself. "i do not think we shall be interrupted, no!" he commented. the cuban showed his teeth in the gleam of a quick smile. "the guards are too much afraid of the ghost of christophe to dare enter the place," he said. "that was a good idea of yours." the two men turned away from the battlements to the steps which led down toward the dwelling rooms, and manuel laid finger on lip. "it is well to be a ghost," he said, "but if the guards should chance to hear me talking to the ghost, they might begin to think. and thinking, my dear leborge, is sometimes dangerous." the huge negro nodded assent and hung back while manuel descended the stair. at the entrance into the high room, ringed with windows, in a small ruined opening of which stuart crouched watching, manuel waited for leborge. together they entered. at the door of the room the negro started back with an exclamation of astonishment, and even manuel paused. on a square block of stone in the center of the room, which manuel could have sworn was not there when he looked into the chamber a short half-hour before, sat guy cecil, complacently puffing at a briar pipe. his tweeds were as immaculate as though he had just stepped from the hands of his valet, and his tan shoes showed mark neither of mud nor rough trails. manuel's quick glance caught these details and they set him wondering. "by the ten finger-bones!" ejaculated leborge. "how did you get in here?" "why?" asked cecil, in mild surprise. "polliovo didn't see you come. i didn't see you come." "no?" the negation was insolent in its carelessness. "but how did you get in?" the englishman took his pipe from his mouth, and, with the stem, pointed negligently to a window. "that way," he said. the negro blustered out an oath, but was evidently impressed, and looked at his fellow-conspirator with superstitious fear. the cuban, more curious and more skeptical, went straight to the window and looked out. the crumbling mortar-dust on the sill had evidently been disturbed, seeming to make good the englishman's story, but, from the window, was a clear drop of four hundred feet of naked rock, without even a crack to afford a finger-hold, while the precipitous descent fell another fifteen hundred feet. to climb was a feat manifestly impossible. "permit me to congratulate you on your discovery of wings, senor cecil," remarked manuel, with irony. the englishman bowed, as at a matter-of-course compliment, and, by tacit agreement, the subject dropped. yet manuel's irritation was hard to hide. not the least of the reasons for his animosity to cecil was the englishman's undoubted ability to cover his movements. in the famous case when the two conspirators had negotiated an indigo concession in san domingo and the profits had suddenly slipped through manuel's fingers, the cuban was sure that the englishman had made a winning, but he had no proof. likewise, with this plot in hand, manuel feared lest he should be outmanoeuvred at the last. following cecil's example, leborge and manuel rolled out to the center of the room some blocks that had fallen from the walls, and sat down. stuart noticed that the cuban so placed himself that he was well out of a possible line of fire between the negro general and the embrasure where the boy was hidden. this carefulness, despite its air of negligence, reminded stuart of the rôle he was expected to play, and he concentrated his attention on the three conspirators. although the cuban was apparently the only one who had reason to suspect being overheard, the three men talked in low tones. the language used was french, as stuart gleaned from a word or two which reached his ears, but the subject of the conversation escaped him. one phrase, however, attracted his attention because it was so often repeated, and stuart surmised that this phrase must bear an important relation to the main subject of the meeting. the boy did not fail to realize that a conference so important that it could only be held in so secret a place must be of extraordinary gravity. this phrase was---- [illustration: for a hundred feet they fell and stuart closed his eyes in sickening dizziness] "mole st. nicholas." the words held no meaning for stuart, though he had seen reference to them in his father's papers. he suspected that the phrase might be some catch-word referring to a subject too dangerous for mention, possibly the presidency of haiti. following out this theme, the boy guessed that he was a witness to the hatching of one of the political revolutions, which, from time to time, have convulsed the republic of haiti. if so, the matter was serious, for, as the boy knew, ever since the treaty of , the united states was actively interested in forcing the self-determination of haiti, meanwhile holding the country under a virtual protectorate. such a revolution, therefore, would be a deliberate attack upon the united states. this impression was heightened by his catching the words "naval base," which could only deal with possible developments in a state of war. stuart strained his ears to the utmost, but isolated words were all that he could glean. later, stuart was to learn that his guess was at fault in general, but that the conclusion he had reached--namely, that injury to the united states was intended--was not far wide of the mark. as the conference proceeded, it became evident to the hidden observer that the relations between the conspirators were growing strained. the cuban seemed to be in taunting mood. the veins on the negro general's bull neck began to swell, and he turned and called manuel, "pale toad!" a moment after, his raucous voice insulted the englishman with the description, "snake that does not even hiss!" stuart expected to see violence follow these words, but the cuban only moved restlessly under the insult; the englishman smiled. it was a pleasant smile, but stuart was keen enough to grasp that a man who smiles when he is insulted must either be a craven or a dangerous man with an inordinate gift of self-control. cecil could not be a coward, or such men as manuel and leborge would not so evidently fear him, therefore the other character must befit him. another word which repeated itself frequently was---- "panama." this confirmed stuart in his suspicions that the conspiracy, whatever it might portend, was directed against the authority of the united states, since the panama canal zone is under american jurisdiction. the conference was evidently coming to a crisis. the negro was becoming excited, the cuban nervous, the englishman more immovable than ever. came a sudden movement, following upon some phrase uttered by manuel, but unheard by the boy, and the cuban and leborge leaped to their feet, a revolver in each man's right hand. spoke the englishman, in a quiet voice, but sufficiently deepened by excitement to reach the boy's ears: "is there any reason, gentlemen, why i should not shoot both of you and finish this little affair myself?" a revolver glittered in his hand, though no one had seen the action of drawing. in the flash of a second, stuart understood manuel's plot. it was the cuban who had provoked the negro to draw his weapon, counting on the boy's shooting his supposed enemy, as had been agreed upon. then manuel would drag him out of his hiding-place and kill him for an eavesdropper. he crouched, motionless, and watched. "sit down, and put up your weapons," continued cecil, his voice still tense enough to be heard clearly. "this is childishness. our plans need all three of us. it will be time enough to quarrel when we come to divide the spoils. first, the spoils must be won." negro and cuban, without taking their eyes from other, each fearing that the other might take an advantage, realized from cecil's manner, that he must have the drop on them. with a simultaneous movement, they put away their guns. the negro sat down, beaten. manuel, with a swift and hardly noticeable side-step, moved a little nearer to cecil, putting himself almost within knife-thrust distance. a slight, a very slight elevation of the barrel of the tiny revolver glittering in the englishman's hand warned the cuban that the weapon was covering his heart. an even slighter narrowing of the eyelids warned him that cecil was fully ready to shoot. with a low curse, the cuban retreated to his stone and sat down. he did not sprawl loosely in dejection, as had the negro, but he sat with one foot beside the stone and his body leaning half-forward, his muscles tense, like a forest cat awaiting its spring. the conference came to a head quickly, as stuart saw. the outbreak of mistrust and hostility, followed by discussion, proved how closely linked were the plotters. yet each man wanted the business done as quickly as possible, and wanted to be free from the danger of assassination by his comrades. leborge drew from his pocket a paper which he showed to the other two, and, in turn, manuel and cecil produced documents, the englishman using his left hand only and never dropping the barrel of his revolver. few words were exchanged, and these in the low tones in which the conference had been carried on before. of the contents of the papers, stuart could not even guess. whatever they were, they seemed to be satisfactory, for, so far as the boy could judge, harmony returned among the conspirators. but the englishman kept wary watch with his gun. "all goes well, then," concluded leborge, rising and shivering in the damp air, for the clouds were eddying through the ruined windows in raw and gusty blasts. "it can be done next spring!" declared the cuban. "it will be done, as agreed," was the englishman's more cautious statement. "then," said manuel, raising his voice a trifle in a way which stuart knew he was meant to hear, "the sooner i get down to cap haitien the better. i had trouble enough to get up." "it might be well," suggested the englishman, "if leborge should repeat his trick of appearing as the ghost of christophe. the guards will be so frightened that they will think of nothing else, and you will be able to get away without any unpleasantness." "and you?" queried the cuban. "how will you go?" again the englishman nodded toward the window. "i will use the wings you were kind enough to say i must possess," he answered, enigmatically. peering out cautiously from his post of observation in the embrasure, stuart saw that both manuel and leborge hesitated at the entrance to the dark passage which led from the dining hall and queen's chamber to the inner court, from whence went the paths leading respectively to the outer gate, whither manuel must go, and to the battlements, where leborge was to reappear as the ghost of christophe. "you are afraid of each other?" queried cecil, with his faint smile. "well, perhaps you have reason! i will go through the passage with both of you. as i said before, each of us needs the other." relief and hate passed like shadows across the faces of leborge and manuel. each had intended to kill the other in the dark of those passages, each had feared that he might be slain himself. as cecil knew, once out in the open, mutual distrust and watchfulness would ensure the keeping of the peace. stuart, listening intently for the sound of shots, heard in the distance the englishman's voice: "i forgot my pipe. i'll just go back for it." and then he heard steps coming at a light, but fast run. evidently cecil wanted to gain time. the englishman came in swiftly, picked up his pipe--which he had left on the stone--slipped across toward the window, moved a loosened stone and drew out from a cavity in the wall a green bundle from which some straps were hanging. these he buckled on as a body-harness. stuart had never seen fingers that moved so quickly, or which had less appearance of hurry. a thought struck him. impulsively, he leaped from the embrasure. a glitter told him that the gun was covering him. he spoke breathlessly. "manuel expected me to kill leborge. he'll kill me for not doing it." in answer to a commanding look of interrogation, stuart went on: "i'm an american, and straight. i'll tell you all about it, later. guess there isn't much time, now. take me with you." cecil knew men. he looked at the boy, piercingly, and answered: "very well. if you've got the nerve." "i have!" eye flashed to eye. came the decision: "your belt's too small. take mine!" the englishman unfastened his own belt, grasped the boy by the shoulders, spun him round, ran the belt under his arms and through the two sides of the harness he had strapped on himself. he took a step and a heave and both were on the window-sill. at the sight of the abyss below, a sudden panic caught stuart's breath and heart, and he seemed to choke. "what do we do?" he gasped. "we jump!" said cecil. they leaped clear. for a hundred feet they fell, and stuart closed his eyes in that sickening dizziness which comes from a high fall. then he felt cecil's arm grip him in a bear hug, and, a second after, his breast bone seemed to cave in, as a sudden jerk and strain came on the strap by which he was bound to the englishman. instinctively he tried to squirm free, but the grip and the strap held firm. then the falling motion changed into a slow rocking see-saw, coupled with a sense of extraordinary lightness, and stuart, looking overhead, saw the outstretched circle of a modern parachute. chapter v the isle of the buccaneers swaying in sea-sick fashion, stuart saw the forests, far below, seem to rise up to meet him. under the influence of the double motion of drop and roll, the whole earth seemed to be rocking, and the sense of the void beneath him made stuart feel giddy and faint. the fall was slower than he had expected. soon, a damp heat, rising from below, warned the boy that they were approaching the ground, and, a second or two later, the englishman said quietly: "we are going to hit the trees. cover your face and head with your arms. you won't be hurt, but there is no sense in having one's eyes scratched out." in fact, the trees were very near. stuart cast one look down, and then, following the advice given, covered his face. a quarter of a minute later, his legs and the lower half of his body plunged into twigs and foliage. the parachute, released from a part of the weight which had held it steady, careened, was caught by a sidewise gust of wind, and, bellying out like a sail, it dragged the two aerial travelers through the topmost branches in short, vicious jerks which made stuart feel as though he were being pulled apart. this lasted but a minute or two, however, when the parachute itself, torn, and caught in the branches, came to anchor. "i fancy we had better climb down," remarked cecil, cheerfully, and, at the same time, stuart realized that the belt, which had grappled him tight to the englishman's harness, had been loosened. the boy drew a long breath, for his lungs had been tightly compressed during the downward journey, and, instinctively, reached out for a branch sufficiently strong to support him. the englishman, a man of quicker action, had already swung clear and was descending the tree with a lithe agility that seemed quite out of keeping with his quiet and self-possessed manner. the boy, despite his youth, came down more clumsily. on reaching ground, he found his companion sedately polishing his tan boots with a tiny bit of rag he had taken from a box not much bigger than a twenty-five cent piece. stuart's clothes were torn in half-a-dozen places, cecil's tweeds were absolutely unharmed. the englishman caught the boy's thought and answered it. "explorers' cloth," he said. "i have it made specially for me; you can hardly cut it with a knife." inwardly the boy felt that he ought to be able to carry on the conversation in the same light vein, but his nerves were badly shaken. his companion glanced at him. "a bit done up, eh?" he took a metal container from his pocket, in shape like a short lead pencil, and poured out two tiny pellets into his palm. "if you are not afraid of poison," he remarked amicably, "swallow these. they will pick you up at once." the thought of poison had flashed into stuart's mind. after all, the englishman was just as much one of the conspirators as manuel or leborge, and might be just as anxious for the death of an eavesdropper. at the same time, the boy realized that he was absolutely in the englishman's power, and that if cecil wanted to get rid of him, there, in that thick forest, he had ample opportunity. to refuse the pellets might be even more dangerous than to accept them. besides, there was a certain atmosphere of directness in cecil, conspirator though the boy knew him to be, which forbade belief in so low-grade a manner of action as the use of poison. he held out his hand for the pellets and swallowed them without a word. a slight inclination of the head showed the donor's acceptance of the fact that he was trusted. "now, my lad," he said. "i think you ought to tell me something about yourself, and what you were doing in the citadel. you asked me to save you from manuel, and i have done so. perhaps i have been hasty. but, in honor bound, you must tell me what you know and what you heard." through stuart's veins, the blood was beginning to course full and free. the pellets which cecil had given him--whatever they were--removed his fatigue as though it had been a cloak. they loosened the boy's tongue, also, and freely he told the englishman all his affairs save for his cause in pursuing manuel, which he regarded as a personal matter. he mentioned the only words he had overheard, while watching in the ruined citadel and explained that the taunting of leborge by manuel, during the conference, had been only a ruse to provoke trouble, the cuban hoping that the boy would shoot. "and what general impression did you get from the meeting?" cecil queried. the boy hesitated, fearing to enrage his questioner. "well," he blurted out, "if i must say it, i think that you're plotting a revolution in this country, putting leborge up as president, letting manuel run the country, driving the united states clean out of it, and giving you the chance to take all sorts of commercial concessions for yourself." the englishman nodded his head. "for a guess," he declared, "your idea is not half bad. evidently, you have plenty of imagination. the only trouble with your summing up of the situation, my boy, is that it is wrong in every particular. if you did not learn any more than that from the conference, your information is quite harmless. i suppose i can count on your never mentioning this meeting?" stuart thought for a moment. "no," he said, "i can't promise that." the englishman lifted his eyebrows slightly. "and why?" stuart found it difficult to say why. he had a feeling that to swear silence would, in a sense, make him a party to the conspiracy, whatever it might be. "i--i've got it in for manuel," he said lamely, though conscious, as he said it, that the reply would not satisfy. cecil looked at him through narrowed eyelids. "i suppose you know that i would have no scruples in shooting you if you betrayed us," he remarked. stuart looked up. "i don't know it," he answered. "manuel or leborge might do it, but i think you'd have a lot of scruples in shooting an unarmed boy." "surely you can't expect me to save your life merely to run my own neck in a noose?" "that's as good as admitting that what you're doing might run your neck into a noose," commented stuart shrewdly, if a little imprudently. "all right. but you must play fair. i have helped you. in honor, you can't turn that help against me." it was a definite deadlock. the boy realized that, while the englishman was not likely to put a bullet through his head, as either manuel or leborge would have done, he was none the less likely to arrange affairs so that there would be no chance for talk. haitian prisons were deathtraps. also cecil's declaration that an abuse of kindness would be dishonorable had a great deal of weight with the boy. his father had taught him the fine quality of straight dealing. "look here, sir," he said, after a pause. "you said that i hadn't got the right idea as to what you three were doing." "you haven't." "then i can't betray it, that's sure! i'll promise, if you like, that, if i do ever find out the whole truth about this plot, and if it's something which, as an american, i oughtn't to let go by, i won't make any move in it until i know you've been warned in plenty of time. if it isn't, i'll say nothing. there's no reason why i should get leborge or you in trouble. it's manuel i'm after." "if you'll promise that," said cecil, "i fancy i can afford to let you go. i don't want you with me, anyway, for that cuban dog would be sure that you had betrayed him to me, and he would suppose that i was going to betray him in turn. i'll land you in cuba, and if you take my advice, you'll keep away from haiti. it isn't healthy--for you." having thus settled stuart's fate to his own satisfaction, cecil climbed a little distance up the tree, caught the ropes of the parachute, and with much hauling, assisted by stuart, he pulled the wreckage down and thrust it under a bush. "the weather and the ants will make short work of that," he commented. "there won't be much of it left but the ribs in a week. and now, lad, we'll strike for the coast." though there seemed to stuart no way of telling where they were, cecil took a definite course through the jungle. they scrambled over and through the twisted tangle of undergrowth, creepers and lianas, and, in less than an hour, reached a small foot-path, bearing north-westward. "i don't know this path," the englishman remarked frankly, "but it's going in the direction i want, any way." a little later, he commented, "i fancy this leads to a village," and struck out into the jungle for a detour. on the further side of the village, he remarked, "i know where i am, now," and, thereafter, made no further comment upon the route. he talked very interestingly, however, about the insects, flowers and trees by the way, and, when dark came on, taught stuart more about the stars than he had learned in all his years of schooling. they walked steadily without a halt for food, even, from the late afternoon when the parachute had hit the trees, until about an hour after sunrise the next morning, when the faint trail that they had lately been following, suddenly came to an end on the bank of a narrow river, hardly more than a creek. putting a tiny flat instrument between his teeth, cecil blew a shriek so shrill that it hurt stuart's ears. it was repeated from a distance, almost immediately. five minutes later the boy heard the "chug-chug" of a motor boat, and a small craft of racing pattern glided up to the bank. "got a passenger, andy," he said to the sole occupant of the boat. "food for fishes?" came the grim query, in reply. "not yet; not this time, anyway. no, we'll just put him ashore at cuba and see if he knows how to mind his own business." the motor boat engineer grumbled under his breath. he was evidently not a man for half-measures. the blood of the old buccaneers ran in his veins. it was evident, though, that cecil was master. the two men aboard, andy turned the head of the motor boat down the river and out to sea, shooting past the short water-front of the little village of plaine du nord at a bewildering speed. the creoles had barely time to realize that there was something on the water before it was gone out of sight. despite its speed--which was in the neighborhood of thirty-two knots--the motor boat was built for sea use, and it ran along the coast of the haitian north peninsula, past le borgne and st. louis de nord, like a scared dolphin. arriving near port-de-paix, it hugged the shore of the famous lair of the buccaneers, isle de tortugas, and thence struck for the open sea. "tortugas!" commented cecil, pointing to the rocky shores of the islet. "that's where all the pirates came from, wasn't it?" queried stuart, eager to break the silence of the journey. "pirates? no. the pirate haunts were more to the north. it was the stronghold of the buccaneers." "i always thought pirates and buccaneers were the same thing," put in the boy. "far from it. originally the buccaneers were hunters, and their name comes from _boucan_, a word meaning dried flesh. they hunted wild cattle and wild pigs on that island over there." "haiti?" "it was called hispaniola, then. the spanish owned it, but had only a few settlements on the coast. the population was largely carib, a savage race given to cannibalism. there seems little reason to doubt that even if the buccaneers did not actually smoke and cure human flesh, as the caribs did, they traded in it and ate it themselves." "were the buccaneers spaniards?" queried stuart. "no. french to begin with, and afterwards, many english joined them. that was just where the whole bloody business began. france protected the buccaneers, sent them aid and ammunition; even their famous guns--known as 'buccaneering pieces' and four and a half feet long--were all made in france. there was a steady demand for smoked meat and hides, and france was only too ready to get these from a spanish colony without payment of any dues thereon. "at the beginning of the seventeenth century the buccaneers--at that time only hunters--settled in small groups on the island of hispaniola. such a policy was dangerous. time after time parties of spanish soldiery raided the settlements, killing most of the hunters and putting the prisoners to the torture. in desperation, the buccaneers decided to abandon hispaniola. they united their forces and sailed to the island of st. kitts, nominally in the hands of spain, but then inhabited only by caribs. "the french government at once extended its protection to st. kitts, thus practically seizing it from spain and claimed it as a possession. great britain agreed to support france in this illegal seizure and thus the little colony of st. kitts was held safe under both french and english governments, which actually supported the hunting ventures of the buccaneers, and winked at the piratic raids which generally formed a part of the buccaneering expeditions. "but it was not to be expected that the spanish would keep still under the continual pillage of these plundering hunters. the dons undertook to destroy the small vessels in which the buccaneers sailed and, before three years had passed, fully one-half of the buccaneers sailing from st. kitts had been savagely slaughtered. these outrages prompted reprisals from the english and the french and thus the privateers came into the field." "what's a privateer?" queried stuart. "i was just about to tell you," answered cecil. "a privateer on the caribbean and the spanish main, in those days, was a man who had sufficient money or sufficient reputation to secure a ship and a crew with which to wage war against the enemies of his country. as his own government had given nothing but permission to his venture, it gained nothing but glory from it. the privateer had the right to all the booty and plunder he could secure by capturing an enemy's ship, or raiding an enemy's settlement. the plunder was divided among the crew. thus, a lucky voyage, in which, for example, a spanish treasure-ship was captured, would make every member of the crew rich. some of these privateers, after one or so prosperous voyages, settled down and became wealthy planters. the great sir francis drake, on several of his voyages, went as a privateer." "and i suppose the governments gained, by having a fleet of vessels doing their fighting, for which they needn't pay," commented the boy. "exactly. in a way, this was fair enough. the privateer took his chance, and, whether he won or lost, he was, at least, fighting for his country. but there were other men, unable to secure ships, and who could not obtain letters-of-marque from their governments, to whom loot and plunder seemed an easy way of gaining riches. some of these were men from the crews of privateers that had disbanded, some were buccaneers. they claimed the same rights as privateers but differed in this--that they would attack any ship or settlement and plunder it at will. at first they confined themselves to small spanish settlements only, but, later, their desires increased, and neutral ships and inoffensive villages were attacked. "in order to put a stop to the raids of the buccaneering hunters, the spaniards planned an organized destruction of all the wild cattle on hispaniola, hoping thus to drive the ravagers away. it was a false move. the result of it was to turn the buccaneers into sea-rovers on an independent basis, ready for plunder and murder anywhere and everywhere. at this period they were called filibusters, but, a little later, the word 'buccaneer' came to be used for the whole group of privateers, filibusters and hunters. "the fury of both sides increased. so numerous and powerful did these sea-rovers become that all trade was cut off. neutral vessels, even if in fleets, were endangered. with the cutting off of trade by sea, there was no longer any plunder for the rovers and from this cause came about the famous land expeditions, such as the sack of maracaibo by lolonnois the cruel, and the historic capture of panama by morgan. large cities were taken and held to ransom. organized raids were made, accompanied by murder and rapine. the gallantry of privateering was degenerating into the bloody brutality of piracy. "in , a small group of french buccaneer hunters had left st. kitts and, seeking a base nearer to hispaniola, had attacked the little island of tortugas, on which the spanish had left a garrison of only twenty-five men. every one of the spaniards were killed. the buccaneers took possession, found the harbor to be excellent, and the soil of the island exceedingly fertile. as a buccaneer base, it was ideal. filibusters saw the value of a base so close to spanish holdings, realized the impregnability of the harbor and flocked thither. privateers put in and brought their prizes. tortugas began to prosper. in the spaniards, taking advantage of a time when several large expeditions of buccaneers were absent, raided the place in force and shot, hanged, or tortured to death, every man, woman and child they captured. only a few of the inhabitants escaped by hiding among the rocks. but the spanish did not dare to leave a garrison. "the buccaneers got together and under willis, an englishman, reoccupied the island. although willis was english, the greater part of the buccaneers with him were french and they gladly accepted a suggestion from the governor-general at st. kitts to send a governor to tortugas. in governor poincy succeeded in securing possession of the isle of tortugas for the crown of france. thus, having a shadow of protection thrown around it, and being afforded the widest latitude of conduct by its governor--who fully realized that it was nothing but a nest of pirates--tortugas flamed into a mad prosperity. "that little desert island yonder became the wildest and most abandoned place that the world probably has ever seen. sea-rovers, slave-runners, filibusters, pirates, red-handed ruffians of every variety on land or sea made it their port of call. everything could be bought there; everything sold. there was a market for all booty and every article--even captured white people for slaves--was exposed for sale. an adventurer could engage a crew of cut-throats at half-an-hour's notice. a plot to murder a thousand people in cold blood would be but street talk. every crime which could be imagined by a depraved and gore-heated brain was of daily occurrence. it was a sink of iniquity. "after france had taken possession of tortugas, it came about quite naturally that the french buccaneers found themselves better treated in that port than the english filibusters or the dutch sea-rovers. almost immediately, therefore, the english drew away, and established their buccaneer base in other islands, notably jamaica, of which island the notorious adventurer and pirate, sir henry morgan, became governor. "the steady rise of dutch power, bringing about the dutch war of , brought about a serious menace against the english power, increased when, in , france joined hands with holland. peace was signed in . in the next thirty years, four local west indian wars broke out, the grouping of the powers differing. all parties also sought to control the trade across the isthmus of panama, and there was great rivalry in the slave trade. during this period, privateers and buccaneers ceased to attack spanish settlements only, and raided settlements belonging to any other country than their own. during the various short intervals of peace between these wars, the several treaties had become more and more stringent against the buccaneers. when, therefore, in , the treaty of ryswick brought peace between england, france, holland and spain, it ended the period of the buccaneer." "i don't quite see why," put in stuart, a little puzzled. "for this reason. the buccaneers had not only existed in spite of international law, they had even possessed a peculiar status as a favored and protected group. the treaty put an end to that protection. sea-fighting thereafter was to be confined to the navies of the powers, and the true privateers and sea-rovers roved the seas no more." "but how about the pirates--'blackbeard' teach, capt. kidd, 'bloody' roberts and all the rest?" queried stuart. "they were utterly different in type and habits from the buccaneers," explained cecil. "after the treaty of ryswick, piracy became an international crime. a harbor belonging to one of the powers could no longer give anchorage to a pirate craft. markets could no longer openly deal in loot and plunder. "those freebooters who had learned to live by pillage, and who thus had become outlaws of the sea, were compelled to find some uninhabited island for a refuge. they made their new headquarters at the island of new providence, one of the bahamas. with buccaneering ended, and piracy in process of suppression by all the naval powers, the reason for tortugas' importance was gone. it dwindled and sank until now it is a mere rocky islet with a few acres under cultivation, and that is all. i know it well. much treasure is said to be buried there, but no one has ever found it. don't waste your time looking for it, boy. you will keep away from this part of the world if you know what is good for you!" with which menace, the englishman fell silent, and stuart felt it wiser to refrain from disturbing him. even over a copiously filled lunch basket, the three in the boat munched, without a word exchanged. at dusk they ran into a small cove at the easternmost end of the northern coast of cuba, not far from baracoa, the oldest city in cuba and its first capital, where columbus, narvaez, cortes and others of the great characters of history, played their first parts in the new world. under the shadow of anvil mountain, the motor boat ran up to a little wharf, almost completely hidden in greenery, and there cecil and the boy landed. stuart did not fail to observe that the motor boat engineer needed no directions as to the place of landing. evidently this cove was familiar. on going ashore, without a word of explanation to the boy, cecil led the way to a small hut, not far from the beach. when, in response to a knock, the door opened, he said, in spanish: "ignacio, this american boy is going to havana. you will see that he does not get lost on the way!" "si, senor," was the only reply, the fisherman--for so he appeared--evincing no surprise at the sudden appearance of cecil at his door, nor at his abrupt command. this absence of surprise or question was the strongest possible proof of the extent of the englishman's power, and stuart found himself wondering to what extent this conspirator's web extended over the west indies. a phrase or two, when they were walking together through the jungle, after the parachute descent, had shown stuart that the englishman was especially well acquainted with the flora and fauna of jamaica. he must possess powerful friends in haiti, or he could never have reached the citadel, to arrive at which point both manuel and leborge had been compelled to employ tortuous methods, even to disguise. the motor boat awaiting him in the haitian jungle showed an uncanny knowledge of that locality. he had mentioned that he knew the isle of tortugas. he was evidently known on the cuban coast. this plot, whatever it might be, was assuredly of far-reaching importance, if one of the plotters found it necessary to weave a web that embraced all the nearby islands. "i'm glad i didn't promise not to tell about it," muttered the boy, as he watched cecil stride away without even a word of farewell, "for i miss my guess if there isn't something brewing to make trouble for the united states." chapter vi a cuban rebel stuart stood with the supposed fisherman at the door of the hut until the throbbing of the motor boat's engine had died away in the distance. then, american fashion, he turned to the brown-skinned occupant with an air of authority. "who is this man cecil?" he asked. the phrase began boldly, but as he caught the other's glance, the last couple of words dragged. brown-skinned this fisherman might be, but the dark eyes were keen and appraising. stuart, who was no fool, realized that his new host--or, was it captor?--was more than he seemed. at the same time, the boy remembered that he was in rags and that his own skin was stained brown. yet the fisherman answered his question courteously. "does not the young senor know him? senor cecil is an englishman, and wealthy." "but what does he do?" persisted stuart. the other shrugged his shoulders. "can anyone tell what wealthy englishmen do?" he queried. "they are all a little mad." the boy held his tongue. this evasive reply was evidence enough that he would not secure any information by questioning. also, stuart realized that anyone whom the englishman trusted was not likely to be loose-mouthed. "senor cecil said you were an american," the fisherman continued, "he meant by that----" "probably he meant that he knew i'd like to get this brown off my skin," declared stuart, realizing that his disguise was unavailing now. "have you any soap-weed root?" the cuban bent his head and motioned the boy to enter the hut. it was small and clean, but did not have the atmosphere of use. stuart guessed that probably it was only employed as a blind and wondered how his host had come to know of the arrival of the motor boat. then, remembering that the sound of the motor boat's engine had been heard for several moments, as it departed from the cove, he thought that perhaps the noise of the "chug-chug" would be a sufficient signal of its coming, for, surely, no other motor boats would have any reason for entering so hidden a place. "if the young senor will add a few drops from this bottle to the water," commented his host, "the stain will come out quicker." stuart stared at the man. the suggestion added to the strangeness of the situation. the presence of chemicals in a fisherman's hut tallied with the boy's general idea that this man must hold a post of some importance in the plot. but he made no comment. while he was scrubbing himself thoroughly, so that his skin might show white once more, the fisherman prepared a simple but hearty meal. his ablutions over, stuart sat down to the table with great readiness, for, though he had joined cecil in a cold snack on the motor boat, the boy had passed through thirty-six hours of the most trying excitement, since his departure from millot the morning of the day before. the food was good and plentiful, and when stuart had stowed away all he could hold, drowsiness came over him, and his head began to nod. "when do we go to bed?" he asked with a yawn. the fisherman motioned to a string-bed in the corner. "whenever the young senor wishes," was the reply. "and you?" "did you not hear senor cecil say that i was to be sure you did not get lost?" he smiled. "you might have dreams, senor, and walk in your sleep. when senor cecil says 'watch!' one stays awake." at the same time, with a deft movement, he pinioned stuart's arms, and searched him thoroughly, taking away his revolver and pocket knife. no roughness was shown, but the searching was done in a businesslike manner, and stuart offered no resistance. as a matter of fact, he was too sleepy, and even the bravest hero might be cowed if he were fairly dropping for weariness. stuart obediently sought the string-bed, and, a few seconds later, was fast asleep. it was daylight when he awoke. breakfast was on the table and the boy did as much justice to the breakfast as he had to the supper. with rest, his spirits and energy had returned, but he was practically helpless without his revolver. besides, on this desolate bit of beach on the eastern end of cuba, even if he could escape from his captor, he would be marooned. such money as the boy possessed was secreted in cap haitien, most of his friends lived in western cuba. if this fisherman were indeed to aid him to get to havana, nothing would suit him better. all through the meal he puzzled over the fisherman's rough mode of life, and yet his perfect spanish and courtly manners. "if the young senor will accompany me to the stable?" suggested his host, when the meal was over, the mild words being backed by an undertone of considerable authority. stuart would have liked to protest, for he was feeling chipper and lively, but, just as he was about to speak, he remembered andy's remark, on board the motor boat, about "food for fishes." probably cecil's allies were ready for any kind of bloodshed, and the boy judged that he would be wise to avoid trouble. he followed without a word. the stables were of good size and well kept, out of all proportion to the hut, confirming stuart's suspicion that a house of some pretensions was hidden in the forest nearby. a fairly good horse was hitched to a stoutly-built light cart and the journey began. the driver took a rarely traveled trail, but, at one point, an opening in the trees showed a snug little town nestling by a landlocked harbor of unusual beauty. "what place is that?" queried stuart, though not expecting a response. to his surprise, the driver answered promptly. "that, senor," he said, "is baracoa, the oldest town in cuba, and the only one that tourists seldom visit." whereupon, breaking a long silence, vellano--for so he had given his name to stuart--proceeded to tell the early history of eastern cuba with a wealth of imagery and a sense of romance that held the boy spellbound. he told of the peaceful arawaks, the aboriginal inhabitants of the greater antilles, agriculturists and eaters of the cassava plant, growers and weavers of cotton, even workers of gold. he told of the invasion of the meat-eating and cannibal caribs from the lesser antilles, of the wars between the arawaks and caribs, and of the hostility between the two races when columbus first landed on the island. he told of the enslavement of the peaceful arawaks by the spaniards, and of the savage massacres by caribs upon the earliest spanish settlements. from that point vellano broke into a song of praise of the gallantry of the early spanish adventurers and conquerors, the conquistadores of the west indies, who carried the two banners of "christianity" and "civilization" to the islands of the caribbean sea. he lamented the going of the spaniards, took occasion to fling reproach at france for her maladministration and loss of haiti, and, as stuart was careful to observe, he praised england and holland as colonizing countries as heartily as he condemned the united states for her ignorance of colonization problems. this fitted in exactly with stuart's opinion of the plot of which cecil was the head. here, in vellano, was an underling--or another conspirator, as it might be--favorable to england, resentful of the united states, and probably in a spirit of revolt against existing conditions in his own country. the boy decided to test this out by bringing up the subject a little later in the journey. presently the road turned to the westward, following the valley of the toa river. duala, bernardo and morales were passed, the road climbing all the time, the mountain ranges of santa de moa and santa verde rising sentinel-like on either side. the trail was obviously one for the saddle rather than for a cart, but stuart rightly guessed that vellano was afraid that his captive might escape if he had a separate mount. they stayed that night at a small, but well-kept house, hidden in the forests. the owner seemed to be a simple guarijo or cultivator, but was very hospitable. yet, when stuart, tossing restlessly in the night, chanced to open his eyes, he saw the guarijo sitting near his bed, smoking cigarettes, and evidently wide awake and watching. it was clear that he was keeping guard while vellano slept. certainly, the englishman had no need to complain that his orders were unheeded! taking up the way, next morning, the road became little more than a trail, through forests as dense as the haitian jungle. the guarijo walked ahead of them with his machete, clearing away the undergrowth sufficiently for the horse and cart to get through. from time to time, velanno took his place with the machete and the guarijo sat beside the boy. never for a moment was stuart left alone. it was a wild drive. the trail threaded its way between great ceiba trees, looming weird and gigantic with their buttressed trunks, all knotted and entwined with hanging lianas and curiously hung with air plants dropping from the branches. gay-colored birds flashed in the patches of sunlight that filtered through the trees. the cuban boa-constrictor or maja, big and cowardly, wound its great length away, and the air was full of the rich--and not always pleasant--insect life characteristic of the cuban eastern forests. approaching san juan de la caridad, the trail widened. machete work being no longer necessary, the guarijo was enabled to return, which he did with scarcely more than an "adios" to vellano. the trail now skirted the edges of deep ravines and hung dizzily on the borders of precipices of which the sharply and deeply cut maestra mountains are so full. the forest was a little more open. thanks to the information given him by cecil during their walk through the haitian jungle, after the parachute descent, stuart recognized mahogany, lignum vitae, granadilla, sweet cedar, logwood, sandalwood, red sanders and scores of other hardwood trees of the highest commercial value, standing untouched. passing an unusually fine clump of cuban mahogany, stuart turned to his companion with the exclamation: "there must be millions of dollars' worth of rare woods, here!" "cuba is very rich," came the prompt reply, coupled with the grim comment, "but cubans very poor." "they are poor," agreed stuart, "and in this part of the island they seem a lot poorer than in the pinar plains, where i lived before. why? here, nine out of every ten of the guarijos we've seen, live like hogs in a sty. most of the huts we've passed aren't fit for human beings to live in. why is it?" stuart had expected, and, as it turned out, rightly, that this opening would give vellano the opportunity to express himself on cuban conditions as he saw them. stuart was eager for this, for he wanted to find out where his companion stood, and hoped to find out whether he was ripe for revolt. but he was surprised at the bitterness and vehemence of the protest. "ah! the rats that gnaw at the people!" vellano cried. "the rats that hold political jobs and grow fat! the government rats who care for nothing except to make and collect taxes to keep the people poor! the job-holders of this political party, or that political party, or the other political party! what are they? rats, all! tax-rats! "why do the guarijos live like hogs in a sty? the rats ordain it. it is the taxes, all on account of the taxes. consider! all this land you see, all undeveloped land, belonging, it may be, to only a few wealthy people, pays no tax, no tax at all. but if a man wishes to make a living, settles on the ground and begins to cultivate it, that day, yes, that hour, the owner will demand a high rent. and why will he ask this rent? because, young senor, as soon as land is cultivated, the government puts a high tax on it. the rats punish the farmers for improving the country. "what happens? i can tell you what happens in this province of oriente. in the province of camaguey, too. the small farmer finds a piece of good land. he settles on it--what you americans call 'squatting'--and, if he is wise, he says nothing to the owner. perhaps he will not be found out for a year or two, perhaps more, but, when he is found, he must pay a big rent and the owner a big tax. perhaps the guarijo cannot pay. then he must go away. "generally he goes. in some other corner, hidden away, he finds another piece of land. he squats on that, too, hoping that the tax-rats may not find him. he does not cultivate much land, for he may be driven off next day. he does not build a decent house, for he may have to abandon it before the week's end. "suppose he does really wish to rent land, build a house and have a small plantation, and is willing to pay the rent, however high it be. why then, young senor, he will learn that it will be many years before he finds out whether the man to whom he is paying the rent is really the owner of the land. and if he wishes to buy, it is worse than a lottery. in this part of the island no surveys have been made--except a circular survey with no edges marked--and land titles are all confused. then the lawyer-rats thrive." "it's not like that near havana," put in stuart. "havana is not cuba. only three kinds of people live in havana: the rats, the tourists, and the people who live off the rats and the tourists. they spend, and cuba suffers. "for the land tax, senor, is not all! nearly all the money that the government spends--that the rats waste--comes from the tax on imports. no grain is grown in cuba, and there is no clothing industry. all our food and all our clothes are imported, and it is the guarijo who, at the last, must pay that tax. young senor, did you know that, per head of population, the poor cuban is taxed for the necessities of life imported into this island three and a half times as much as the rich american is taxed for the goods entering the united states? "even that is not all. here, in cuba, we grow sugar, tobacco, pineapples, and citrus fruit, like oranges, grapefruit and lemons. does america, which made us a republic, help us? no, young senor, it hurts us, hinders us, cripples us. in hawaii, in porto rico, in the southern part of the united states, live our sugar, tobacco and fruit competitors. their products enter american markets without tax. ours are taxed. what happens? cuba, one of the most fertile islands of the west indies is poor. the cuban cultivator, who is willing to be a hard worker, gives up the fight in disgust and either tries in some way to get the dollars from the americans who come here, or else he helps to ruin his country by getting a political job." stuart, listening carefully to this criticism, noticed in vellano's voice a note of hatred whenever he used the word "american." connecting this with his own suspicion that cecil was head of a conspiracy against the united states and that this supposed fisherman was evidently the englishman's tool, he asked, casually: "then you don't think that the united states did a good thing in freeing cuba from spain?" he hazarded. to the boy's surprise, his companion burst out approvingly. "yes, yes, a magnificent thing! but they did not know it, and they did not know why! the americans thought they were championing an oppressed people struggling for justice. nothing of the sort. they took the side of one party struggling for jobs against another party struggling for jobs. but the result was magnificent. under the last american military governor, leonard wood, cuba advanced more in two years than she had in two centuries. when the americans went away, though, it was worse than if they had never come. cubans did not make cuba a republic, americans made cuba a republic and then abandoned us. of course, confusion followed. and in the revolution of and other revolutions, the americans meddled, and yet did nothing. it is idle to deny that american influence is strong here! but what does it amount to? we are neither really free, nor really possessed." "but what do you want?" queried stuart. "i don't seem to understand. you don't want to be a possession of spain, you don't want to be an american colony, and you don't want to be a republic. what do you want?" "do i know?" came the vehement reply. "does anyone in cuba know? does anyone, anywhere, know? remember, young senor, the cuban guarijo does not feel himself to be a citizen of cuba, as an american farmer feels himself a citizen of the united states. he has been brought up under spanish rule, and is, himself, spanish in feeling. "what does he know about a republic? unless he can get a political job for himself, unless he sees the chance to be a rat, he cares nothing about politics, but he will fight, at any time, under any cause, for any leader who will promise him a bigger price for his sugar, his tobacco or his fruit. the world war helped him, for sugar was worth gold. but now--if the cuban wishes to say anything to america, he must do it through the sugar trust, the tobacco trust or the fruit trust. "what!" vellano flamed out, "the united states will not answer us when we pray, nor listen when we speak? then we will make her hear!" upon which, suddenly realizing that in this direct threat he might have said too much, vellano dropped the subject. nothing that stuart could suggest would tempt him to say anything more. the boy had been brought up in cuba, and, though he had never been in this eastern part of the island, he knew that a great deal of what his companion had said was true. at the same time, he realized that vellano had not done justice to the modern improvements in cuba, to the extension of the railroads, the building of highways, the improvement of port facilities, the establishment of sugar refineries, the spread of foreign agricultural colonies, the improved sanitation and water supply and the development of the island under foreign capital. it was as foolish, stuart realized, for vellano to judge all cuba from the wild forest-land of oriente as it is for the casual tourist to judge the whole of cuba from the casinos of havana. cuba is not small. averaging the width of the state of new jersey, it stretches as far as the distance from new york to indianapolis. its eastern and western ends are entirely different. originally they were two islands, now joined by a low plain caused by the rising of the sea-bottom. climate, soil and the character of the people vary extremely in the several provinces. high mountains alternate with low plains, dense tropical forests are bordered by wastes and desert palm-barrens. eighty per cent of the population are cubans--which mean spanish and negro half-breeds with a touch of indian blood, and of all shades of color--fifteen per cent spanish and less than two per cent american. foreign colonies are numerous, though small. they are to be found in all the provinces, and exhibit these same extremes. about one-half have sunk to a desolation of misery and ruin, one-half have risen to success. as stuart once remembered his father having said: "i will never advise an american, with small capital, to come to cuba. if he will devote the same amount of work to a piece of land in the united states that he will have to give to the land here, he will be more prosperous, for what he may lose in the lesser fertility of the land, he will gain by the nearness of the market. there are scores of derelicts in this island who would have led happy and useful lives in the united states." crossing the hills--by a trail which threatened to shake the cart to pieces at every jolt--the two travelers reached palenquito, and thence descended by a comparatively good road to vesa grande and on to rio seco. a mile or so out of the town, stuart saw the gleaming lines of the railway and realized that this was to be the end of the long drive. "i have no money for a trip to havana!" he remarked. "that is a pity," answered vellano gravely, who, since he had searched the boy's pockets, knew that only a few dollars were to be found therein, "but senor cecil said you were to go to havana. therefore, you will go." there seemed no reply to this, but stuart noted that, at the station, the supposed fisherman produced money enough for two tickets. "are you coming, too?" queried stuart, in surprise. "senor cecil said that i was to see that you did not get lost on the way," came the quiet answer. certainly, stuart thought, the englishman's word was a word of power. from rio seco, the train passed at first through heavy tropical forests, such as those in the depths of which vellano and stuart had just driven, but these were thinned near the railroad by lumbering operations. the main line was joined a little distance west of guantanamo. thence they traveled over the high plateau land of central oriente and camaguey, on which many foreign colonies have settled, the train only occasionally touching the woeful palm barrens which stretch down from the northern coast. vellano, who seemed singularly well informed, kept up a running fire of comment all the way, most of his utterances being colored by a resentment of existing conditions--for which he blamed the united states--and containing a vague hint of some great change to come. at ciego de avila, where a stay of a couple of hours was made, stuart's companion pointed out the famous _trocha_ or military barrier which had been erected by the spaniards as a protection against the movements of cuban insurgents, and which ran straight across the whole island. this barrier was a clearing, half-a-mile wide; a narrow-gauge railway ran along its entire length, as did also a high barbed-wire fence. every two-thirds of a mile, small stone forts had been built. each of these was twenty feet square, with a corrugated iron tower above, equipped with a powerful searchlight. the forts themselves were pierced with loopholes for rifle fire and the only entrance was by a door twelve feet above ground, impossible of entrance after the ladder had been drawn up from within. the forts were connected by a telephone line. they have all fallen into ruins and are half swallowed up by the jungle, while the half mile clearing is being turned into small sugar plantations. beyond ciego, the train passed again through a zone of tropical forest lands and then dropped into the level plains of santa clara, the center of the sugar industry of cuba. from there it bore northward toward matanzas, through a belt of bristling pineapple fields. one station before arriving at havana, stuart's companion, who showed signs of fatigue--which were not surprising since he had wakened at every stop that the train had made during the night to see that the boy did not get off--prepared to alight. "you're not going on to havana?" queried stuart. "i shall step off the train here after it has started," replied vellano. "there will be no opportunity for you to do the same until the train stops at the capital. senor cecil said only that i was to see that you did not get lost on the way. he said nothing about what you should do in havana. possibly he has plans of his own." the train began to move. "adios, young senor," quoth the supposed fisherman, and dropped off the train. during the long train trip, and especially when lying awake in his berth, stuart had plenty of time to recall the events of the four days since he first met manuel on the streets of cap haitien and had offered himself as a guide to the citadel of the black emperor. much had passed since then, and this period of inaction gave the boy time to view the events in their proper perspective. the more he thought of them, the more serious they appeared and the more stuart became convinced that the plot was directed against united states authority in haiti. perhaps, also, it would attack american commercial interests in cuba. as the train approached havana, stuart worked himself up into a fever of anxiety, and, the instant the train stopped, he dashed out of the carriage and into the streets feeling that he, and he alone, could save the united states from an international tragedy. chapter vii a nose for news through the maze of the older streets of havana, with their two-story houses plastered and colored in gay tints, stuart rushed, regardlessly. he knew havana, but, even if he had not known it, the boy's whole soul was set on getting the ear of the united states consul. it was not until he was almost at the door of the consulate that his promise to cecil recurred to him as a reminder that he must be watchful how he spoke. at the door of the consulate, however, he found difficulty of admission. this was to be expected. his appearance was unprepossessing. he was still attired in the ragged clothes tied up with string, and the aged boots he had got leon to procure for him, to complete his disguise as a haitian boy. moreover, while the soap-weed wash at the fisherman's hut had whitened his skin, his face and hands still retained a smoky pallor which would take some time to wear off. in order to gain admission at all, stuart was compelled to give some hint as to his reasons for wishing to see the consul, and, as he did not wish to divulge anything of importance to the clerk, his explanation sounded as extravagant as it was vague. his father's name would have helped him, but stuart did not feel justified in using it. for all he knew, his father might have reasons for not wishing to be known as conducting any such investigations. this compulsion of reserve confused the lad, and it was not surprising that the clerk went into the vice-consul's office with the remark: "there's a ragged boy out here, who passes for white, with some wild-eyed story he says he has to tell you." "i suppose i've got to see him," said the harassed official. "send him in!" this introduction naturally prejudiced the vice-consul against his visitor, and stuart's appearance did not call for confidence. moreover, the boy's manner was against him. he was excited and resentful over his brusque treatment by the clerk. boy-like, he exaggerated his own importance. he was bursting with his subject. in his embarrassed eagerness to capture the vice-consul's attention and to offset the unhappy first impression of his appearance, stuart blurted out an incoherent story about secret meetings, and buried treasure and conspiracy, and plots in haiti, all mixed together. his patriotic utterances, though absolutely sincere, rang with a note of insincerity to an official to whom the letters "u. s." were not the "open sesame" of liberty, but endless repetitions of his daily routine. "what wild-cat yarn is this!" came the interrupting remark. stuart stopped, hesitated and looked bewildered. it had not occurred to him that the consular official would not be as excited as himself. he spluttered exclamations. "there's a haitian, and a cuban, and an englishman in a conspiracy against the united states! and they meet in a haunted citadel! and one said i was to kill the other! and i got away in a parachute. and they're going to do something, revolution, i believe, and----" undoubtedly, if the vice-consul had been willing to listen, and patient enough to calm the boy's excitement and unravel the story, its value would have been apparent. but his skeptical manner only threw stuart more off his balance. the vice-consul was, by temperament, a man of routine, an efficient official but lacking in imagination. besides, it was almost the end of office hours, and the day had been hot and sultry. he was only half-willing to listen. "tell your story, straight, from the beginning," he snapped. stuart tried to collect himself a little. "it was the night of the full moon," he began, dramatically. "there was a voodoo dance, and the tom-tom began to beat, and----" this was too much! "you've been seeing too many movies, or reading dime-novel trash," the official flung back. "besides, this isn't the place to come to. go and tell your troubles to the consul at port-au-prince." he rang to have the boy shown out. the next visitor to the vice-consul, who had been cooling his heels in the outer office while stuart was vainly endeavoring to tell his story, was the special correspondent of a new york paper. it was his habit to drop in from time to time to see the vice-consul and to get the latest official news to be cabled to his paper. "i wish you'd been here half-an-hour ago, dinville, and saved me from having to listen to a blood-and-thunder yarn about pirates and plots and revolutions and the deuce knows what!" the official exclaimed petulantly. "from that kid who just went out?" queried the newspaper man casually, nosing a story, but not wanting to seem too eager. "yes, the little idiot! you'd think, from the way he talked, that the west indies was just about ready to blow up!" his bile thus temporarily relieved, the official turned to the matter in hand, and proceeded to give out such items of happenings at the consulate as would be of interest to the general public. the newspaper man made his stay as brief as he decently could. he wanted to trace that boy. finding out from the clerk that the boy had come in from the east by train, and, having noted for himself that the lad was in rags, the special correspondent--an old-time new york reporter--felt sure that the holder of the story must be hungry and that he did not have much money. accordingly, he searched the nearest two or three cheap restaurants, and, sure enough, found stuart in the third one he entered. ordering a cup of coffee and some pastry, the reporter seated himself at stuart's table and deftly got into conversation with him. inventing, for the moment, a piece of news which would turn the topic to haiti, dinville succeeding in making the boy tell him, as though by accident, that he had recently been in haiti. "so!" exclaimed the reporter. "well, you seem to be a pretty keen observer. what did you think of things in haiti when you left?" stuart was flattered--as what boy would not have been--by this suggestion that his political opinions were of importance, and he gave himself all the airs of a grown-up, as he voiced his ideas. many of them were of real value, for, unconsciously, stuart was quoting from the material he had found in his father's papers, when he had rescued them from hippolyte. dinville led him on, cautiously, tickling his vanity the while, and, before the meal was over, stuart felt that he had found a friend. he accepted an invitation to go up to the news office, so that his recently made acquaintance might take some notes of his ideas. the news-gatherer had not been a reporter for nothing, and, before ten minutes had passed stuart suddenly realized that he was on the verge of telling the entire story, even to those things which he knew must be held back. cecil's warning recurred to him, and he pulled up short. "i guess i hadn't better say any more," he declared, suddenly, and wondered how much he had betrayed himself into telling. persuasion and further flattery failed, and the newspaper man saw that he must change his tactics. "you were willing enough to talk to the vice-consul," he suggested. "yes, but i wasn't going to tell him everything, either," the boy retorted. "you're not afraid to?" stuart's square chin protruded in its aggressive fashion. "afraid!" he declared contemptuously. then he paused, and continued, more slowly, "well, in a way, maybe i am afraid. i don't know all i've got hold of. why--it might sure enough bring on war!" once on his guard, stuart was as unyielding as granite. he feared he had said too much already. the reporter, shrewdly, suggested that some of stuart's political ideas might be saleable newspaper material, handed him a pencil and some copy-paper. the boy, again flattered by this subtle suggestion that he was a natural-born writer, covered sheet after sheet of the paper. dinville read it, corrected a few minor mistakes here and there, counted the words, and taking some money from his pocket, counted out a couple of bills and pushed them over to the boy. "what's this for?" asked stuart. "for the story!" answered the reporter in well-simulated surprise. "regular space rates, six dollars a column. i'm not allowed to give more, if that's what you mean." "oh, no!" was the surprised reply. "i just meant--i was ready to do that for nothing." "what for?" replied his new friend. "why shouldn't you be paid for it, just as well as anyone else? come in tomorrow, maybe we can dope out some other story together." a little more urging satisfied the rest of stuart's scruples and he walked out from the office into the streets of havana tingling with pleasure to his very toes. this was the first money he had ever earned and it fired him with enthusiasm to become a writer. as soon as he had left, the reporter looked over the sheets of copy-paper, covered with writing in a boyish hand. "not so bad," he mused. "the kid may be able to write some day," and--dropped the sheets into the waste-paper basket. why had he paid for them, then? dinville knew what he was about. he reached for a sheet of copy-paper and wrote the following dispatch-- whale - of - big - story. - informant - a - kid. - worth - sending - kid - new - york - paper's - expense - if - authorized. - dinville. he filed it in the cable office without delay. before midnight he got a reply. if - kid - has - the - goods - send - new - york - at - once. "here," said dinville aloud, as he read the cablegram, "is where little willie was a wise guy in buying that kid's story. he'll land in here tomorrow like a bear going to a honey-tree." his diagnosis was correct to the letter. early the next morning stuart came bursting in, full of importance. he had spruced up a little, though the four dollars he had got from dinville the night before was not sufficient for new clothes. "say," he said, the minute he entered the office, "mr. dinville, i've got a corker!" "so?" queried the reporter, lighting a cigar and putting his feet on the desk in comfortable attitude for listening. "fire away!" with avid enthusiasm, stuart plunged into a wild and woolly yarn which would have been looked upon with suspicion by the editor of a blood-and-thunder twenty-five-cent series. the reporter cut him off abruptly. "kid," he said dryly, "the newspaper game is on the level. i don't say that you don't have to give a twist to a story, every once in a while, so that it'll be interesting, but it's got to be news. "get this into your skull if you're ever going to be a newspaper man: every story you write has got to have happened, actually happened, to somebody, somewhere, at some place, at a certain time, for some reason. if it hasn't, it isn't a newspaper story. what's more, it must be either unusual or important, or it hasn't any value. again, it must have happened recently, or it isn't news. and there's another rule. one big story is worth more than a lot of small ones. "now, look here. you've got a big story, a real news story, up your sleeve. it happened to you. it occurred at an unusual place. it has only just happened. it's of big importance. and the why seems to be a mystery. if you were a a number one newspaper man, it would be your job to get on the trail of that story and run it down." and then the reporter conceived the idea of playing on stuart's sense of patriotism. "that way," he went on, "it happens that there's no class of people that does more for its country than the newspaper men. they show up the crooks, and they can point out praise when public praise is due. they expose the grafters and help to elect the right man to office. they root out public evils and push reform measures through. they're democracy, in type." the words fanned the fire of stuart's enthusiasm for a newspaper career. "yes," he said, excitedly, "yes, i can see that!" "take this story of yours--this plot that you speak about and are afraid to tell. you think it's planned against the united states'?" "i'm sure it is!" "well, how are you going to run it down? how are you going to get all the facts in the case? who can you trust to help you in this? where are you going to get all the money that it will take? why, kid, if these conspirators you talk of have anything big up their sleeve, they could buy people right and left to put you off the track and you'd never get anywhere! on your own showing, they've just plumped you down here in havana, where there's nothing doing." "they sure have," admitted stuart ruefully. "of course they have. now, if you had one of the big american newspapers backing you up, one that you could put confidence in, it would be just as if you had the united states back of you, and you'd be part and parcel of that big power which is the trumpet-voice of democracy from the atlantic to the pacific--the press!" the boy's eyes began to glisten with eagerness. every word was striking home. "but how could i do that?" "you don't have to. it's already done!" stuart stared at his friend, in bewilderment. "see here," he said, and he threw the cablegram on the table. "that paper is willing to pay any price for a big story, if it can be proved authentic. proved, mind you, documents and all the rest of it. i cabled them to know if they wanted to see you, and, if they found what you had was the real goods, whether they would stake you. they cabled back, right away, that you were to go up there." "up where?" "n'york." "but i haven't money enough to go to new york!" protested stuart. "who said anything about money? that's up to the paper. your expenses both ways, and your expenses while you're in n'york, will all be paid." "are you sure?" "seeing that i'll pay your trip up there myself, and charge it up on my own expense account, of course i'm sure. there's a boat going tomorrow." "but you couldn't get a berth for tomorrow," protested stuart, though he was weakening. he had never been to new york, and the idea of a voyage there, with his fare and all his expenses paid, tempted him. besides, as the reporter had suggested, it would be almost impossible for him to continue the quest of manuel, leborge and cecil alone. more than that, the boy felt that, if he could get a big metropolitan paper to back him, he would be in a position to find and rescue his father. "can't get a berth? watch me!" said the reporter, who was anxious to impress upon the lad the importance of the press. and, sure enough, he came back an hour later, with a berth arranged for stuart in the morrow's steamer. he also advanced money enough to the boy for a complete outfit of clothes. an afternoon spent in a turkish bath restored to the erstwhile disguised lad his formerly white skin. one sea-voyage is very much like another. stuart made several acquaintances on board, one of them a jamaican, and from his traveling companion, stuart learned indirectly that great britain's plan of welding her west india possessions into a single colony was still a live issue. the boy, himself, remembering how easily he had been pumped by dinville, was careful not to say a word about the purpose of his trip. thanks to dinville's exact instructions, stuart found the newspaper office without difficulty. the minute he stepped out of the elevator and on the floor, a driving expectancy possessed him. the disorderliness, the sense of tension, the combination of patient waiting and driving speed, the distant and yet perceptible smell of type metal and printers' ink, in short, the atmosphere of a newspaper, struck him with a sense of desire. although stuart's instructions were to see the managing editor, the young fellow who came out to see what he wanted, brought him up to the city editor's desk. the latter looked up quickly. "are you the boy dinville cabled about?" "yes, sir," the boy answered. here, though the city editor was ten times more commanding a personality than the vice-consul, the boy felt more at ease. "ever do any reporting?" "no, sir." "what's this story? just the main facts!" "are you mr. ----" the boy mentioned the name of the managing editor. "i'll act for him," said the city editor promptly. stuart's square chin went out. "i came up to see him personally," he answered. the city editor knew men. "that's the way to get an interview, my son," he said. "all right, i'll take you in to the chief. if things don't go your way, come and see me before you go. i might try you on space, just to see how you shape. dinville generally knows what he's talking about." stuart thanked him, and very gratefully, for he realized that the curt manner was merely that of an excessively busy man with a thousand things on his mind. a moment later, he found himself in the shut-in office of the managing editor. "you are a youngster," he said with a cordial smile, emphasizing the verb, and shaking hands with the boy. "well, that's the time to begin. now, lad, i've time enough to hear all that you've got to say that is important, and i haven't a second to listen to any frills. tell everything that you think you have a right to tell and begin at the beginning." during the voyage from havana, stuart had rehearsed this scene. he did not want to make the same mistake that he had made with the vice-consul, and he told his story as clearly as he could, bearing in mind the "who," "what," "why," "when" and "where" of dinville's advice. the managing editor nodded approvingly. "i think," he said reflectively, "you may develop the news sense. of course, you've told a good deal of stuff which is quite immaterial, and, likely enough, some of the good bits you've left out. that's to be expected. it takes a great many years of training to make a first-class reporter. "now, let me see if i can guess a little nearer to the truth of this plot than you did. "you say that the only three phrases you can be sure that you heard were 'mole st. nicholas,' 'naval base' and 'panama.' that isn't much. yet i think it is fairly clear, at that. the mole st. nicholas is a harbor in the north of haiti which would make a wonderful naval base--in fact, there has already been some underground talk about it--and such a naval base would be mighty close to the panama canal. suppose we start with the theory that this is what your conspirator chaps have in mind. "now, my boy, we have to find out some explanation for the meeting in so remote a place as the citadel. those three men wouldn't have gone to all that trouble and risked all that chance of being discovered and exposed unless there were some astonishingly important reasons. what can these be? well, if we are right in thinking that a naval base is what these fellows are after, it is sure that they would need a hinterland of country behind it. the mole st. nicholas, as i remember, is at the end of a peninsula formed by a range of mountains, the key to which is la ferrière. so, to make themselves safe, they would need to control both at the same time. hence the necessity of knowing exactly the defensive position of the citadel. how does that sound to you?" "i'd never thought of it, sir," said stuart, "but the way you put it, just must be right. i was an idiot not to think of it myself." "age and experience count for something, youngster," said the managing editor, smiling. "don't start off by thinking that you ought to know as much as trained men." stuart flushed at the rebuke, for he saw that it was just. "now," continued the editor, pursuing his train of thought, "we have to consider the personalities of the conspirators. you'll find, stuart, if you go into newspaper work, that one of the first things to do in any big story, is to estimate, as closely as you can, the character of the men or women who are acting in it. newspaper work doesn't deal with cold facts, like science, but with humanity, and humans act in queer ways, sometimes. a good reporter has got to be a bit of a detective and a good deal of a psychologist. he's got to have an idea how the cat is going to jump, in order to catch him on the jump. "now, so far, we know that the conspirators are at least three in number. there may be more, but we know of three. one is a haitian negro politician. one is a cuban, who, from your description, seems to be a large-scale crook. one is an englishman, and, in your judgment, he is of a different type from the other two. yet the fact that he seems to possess an agent on the eastern shore of cuba--which, don't forget, faces the mole st. nicholas--seems to suggest that he's deep in the plot." he puffed his pipe for a moment or two, and then continued, "now, there are two powerful forces working underground in the west indies. one is the spanish and negro combination, which desires to shake off all the british, french and dutch possessions, and to create a creole empire of the islands. the other is an english plan, to weld all the british islands in the west indies into a single confederation and to buy as many of the smaller isles from france and holland as may seem possible. both are hostile to the extension of american power in the gulf of mexico. possibly, some european power is back of this plot. a foreign naval base in the mole st. nicholas would be a menace to us, and one on which washington would not look very kindly. "so you see, youngster, if such a thing as this were possible, it would be a big story, and one that ought to be followed up very closely." "that's what dinville seemed to think, sir," interposed the boy, "and i told him i didn't have the money." "nor have you the experience," added the editor, dryly. "money isn't any good, if you don't know how to use it." he pondered for a moment. "i can't buy the information from you," he said, "because, so far, the story isn't in shape to use, and i don't know when i will be able to use it. yet i do want to have an option on the first scoop on the story. you know what a scoop is?" "no, sir." "a 'scoop' or a 'beat' means that one paper gets hold of a big story before any other paper has it. it is like a journalistic triumph, if you like, and a paper which gets 'scoops,' by that very fact, shows itself more wide awake than its competitors. "now, see here, stuart. suppose i agree to pay you a thousand dollars for the exclusive rights to all that you find out about the story, at what time it is ready for publication, and that i agree to put that thousand dollars to your account for you to draw on for expenses. how about that?" stuart was taken aback. he fairly stuttered, "why--sir, i--i----" the editor smiled at the boy's excited delight. "you agree?" "oh, yes, sir!" there was no mistaking the enthusiasm of the response. "very good. then, in addition to that, i'll pass the word that you're to be put on the list for correspondence stuff. i'm not playing any favorites, you understand! whatever you send in will be used or thrown out, according to its merits. and you'll be paid at the regular space rates, six dollars a column. all i promise is that you shall have a look in." "but that's--that's great!" "it's just a chance to show what you can do. if there's any stuff in you at all, here is an opportunity for you to become a high-grade newspaper man." "then i'm really on the staff!" cried the boy, "i'm really and truly a journalist?" the managing editor nodded. "yes, if you like the word," he said, "make good, and you'll be really and truly a journalist." chapter viii the poison trees for a couple of days, stuart wandered about new york, partly sight-seeing and partly on assignments in company with some of the reporters of the paper. the city editor wanted to determine whether the boy had any natural aptitude for newspaper work. so stuart chased around one day with the man on the "police court run," another day he did "hotels" and scored by securing an interview with a noted visitor for whom the regular reporter had not time to wait. the boy was too young, of course, to be sent on any assignments by himself, but one of the older men took a fancy to the lad and took him along a couple of times, when on a big story. just a week later, on coming in to the office, stuart was told that the managing editor wanted to see him. as this was the summons for which he had been waiting, stuart obeyed with alacrity. the managing editor did not motion him to a a chair, as before, so the boy stood. "first of all, garfield----" and the boy noticed the use of the surname--"i want to tell you that your father is safe. we've been keeping the wires hot to port-au-prince and have found out that some one resembling the description you gave me of your father commandeered a sailing skiff at a small place near jacamel and set off westward. two days afterward, he landed at guantanamo and registered at a hotel as 'james garfield.' he stayed there two days and then took the train for havana. so you don't need to worry over that, any more." "thank you, sir," answered the boy, relieved, "i'm mighty glad to know." "now," continued the editor, "let us return to this question for which we brought you here. according to your story, you heard the conspirators say that their plans would be ready for fulfillment next spring." "yes, sir," the boy agreed, "leborge said that." "good. then there is no immediate need of pressing the case too closely. it will be better to let the plans mature a little. a mere plot doesn't mean much. news value comes in action. when something actually happens, then, knowing what lies behind it, the story becomes big. "what we really want to find out is whether this plot--as it seems to be--is just a matter between two or three men, or if it is widely spread over all the islands of the west indies. you're too young, as yet, for anything like regular newspaper work, but the fact that you're not much more than a youngster might be turned to advantage. no one would suspect that you were in quest of political information. "so i'm going to suggest that you make a fairly complete tour of the islands, this fall and early winter, just as if you were idling around, apparently, but, at the same time, keeping your ears and your eyes open. in order to give color to your roamings, you can write us some articles on 'social life and the color line in the west indies' as you happen to see it. first-hand impressions are always valuable, and, perhaps, the fact that you see them through a boy's eyes may give them a certain novelty and freshness. of course, the articles will probably have to be rewritten in the office. by keeping a copy of the stuff you send, and comparing it with the way the articles appear in the paper, you'll get a fair training. "we'll probably handle these in the sunday edition, and i'm going to turn you over to the sunday editor, to whom you'll report, in future." he nodded pleasantly to the boy in token of dismissal. "i wish you luck on your trip," he said, "and see that you send us in the right kind of stuff!" stuart thanked him heartily for his kindness, and went out, sorry that he was not going to deal with the chief himself. the sunday editor's office was a welter of confusion. as stuart was to find out, in the years to come when he should really be a newspaper man, the sunday editor's job is a hard one. it is much sought, since it is day work rather than night work, but it is a wearing task. the sunday editor must have all the qualities of a magazine man and a newspaper man at the same time. he must also have the creative faculty. in such departments of a modern newspaper as the city, telegraph, sporting, financial, etc., the work of the reporters and editors is to chronicle and present the actual news. if nothing of vital interest has happened during the day, that is not their fault. their work is done when the news is as well covered and as graphically told as possible. there are no such limits in the sunday editor's office. he must create interest, provoke sensation, and build the various extra sections of the sunday issue into a paper of such vital importance that every different kind of reader will find something to hold his attention. he has all the world to choose from, but he has also all the world to please. the work, too, must be done at high pressure, for the columns of a sunday issue to be filled are scores in number, and the sunday staff of any paper--even the biggest--is but small. fergus, the sunday editor, was a rollicking irishman, with red hair and a tongue hung in the middle. he talked, as his ancestors fought, all in a hurry. he was a whirlwind for praise, but a tornado for blame. his organizing capacity was marvelous, and his men liked and respected him, for they knew well that he could write rings around any one of them, in a pinch. he began as the boy entered the door, "ye're stuart garfield, eh? ye don't look more'n about a half-pint of a man. does the chief think i'm startin' a kindergarten? not that i give a hang whether ye're two or eighty-two so long as ye can write. ye'll go first to barbados. steamer sails tomorrow at eight in the morning. here's your berth. here's a note to the cashier. letter of instructions following. wait at the crown hotel, bridgetown, till you get it. don't write if ye haven't anything to say. get a story across by every mail-boat. if ye send me rot, i'll skin ye. good luck!" and he turned to glance over his shoulder at a copy-boy who had come in with a handful of slips, proofs and the thousand matters of the editor's daily grind. stuart waited two or three minutes, expecting fergus to continue, but the sunday editor seemed to have forgotten his existence. "well, then, good-by, mr. fergus," said the boy, hesitatingly. "oh, eh? are ye there still? sure. good-by, boy, good-by an' good luck to ye!" and plunged back into his work. there seemed nothing else for stuart to do but to go out of the office. in the hall outside, he paused and wondered. he held in his hand the two slips of paper that fergus had given him, and he stared down at these with bewilderment. fergus' volley of speech, had taken him clean off his balance. there was no doubt about the reality of these two slips of paper. one was the ticket for his berth and the other had the figures "$ " scrawled across a printed form made out to the cashier, and it was signed "rick fergus." in his uncertainty what he ought to do, stuart went into the city room and hunted up his friend the reporter. to him he put the causes of his confusion. the old newspaper man smiled. "that's rick fergus, all over," he said. "good thing you didn't ask him any questions! he'd have taken your head off at one bite. he's right, after all. if a reporter's any good at all, he knows himself what to do. a new york paper isn't fooling around with amateurs, generally. but, under the circumstances, i think rick might have told you something. let's see. how about your passport?" "i've got one," said stuart, "i had to have one, coming up from cuba." "if you're going to barbados, you'll have to have it viséed by the british consul." "but that will take a week, maybe, and i've got to sail tomorrow!" "is that all your trouble?" he stepped to the telephone. "consulate? yes? _new york planet_ speaking. one of our men's got to chase down to barbados on a story. sending him round this afternoon. will you be so good as to visé him through? ever so much obliged; thanks!" he put up the receiver and turned to the boy. "easy as easy, you see," he said. "the name of a big paper like this one will take you anywhere, if you use it right. now, let's see. you'll want to go and see the cashier. come on down, i'll introduce you." a word or two at the cashier's window, and the bills for $ were shoved across to stuart, who pocketed them nervously. he had never seen so much money before. "next," said the reporter, "you'd better get hold of some copy-paper, a bunch of letter-heads and envelopes. also some expense account blanks. stop in at one of these small printing shops and have some cards printed with your name and that of the paper--here, like mine!" and he pulled out a card from his card case and gave it to the boy for a model. stuart was doing his best to keep up with this rapid change in his fortunes, but, despite himself, his eyes looked a bit wild. his friend the reporter saw it, and tapped him on the back. "you haven't got any time to lose," he said. "oh, yes, there's another thing, too. can you handle a typewriter?" "no," answered the boy, "at least, i never tried." "then you take my tip and spend some of that $ on a portable machine and learn to handle it, on the way down to barbados. you'll have to send all your stuff typewritten, you know. imagine fergus getting a screed from a staff man in longhand!" the reporter chuckled at the thought. "why, i believe the old red-head would take a trip down to the west indies just to have a chance of saying what he thought. or, if he couldn't go, he'd blow up, and we'd be out a mighty good sunday editor. no, son, you've got to learn to tickle a typewriter!" they had not been wasting time during this talk, for the reporter had taken out of his own desk the paper, letter-heads, expense account blanks and the rest and handed them over to the boy, explaining that he could easily replenish his own supply. "now," he suggested, "make tracks for the consulate. stop at a printer's on your way and order some cards. then chase back and buy yourself a portable typewriter. and, if i were you, i'd start learning it, right tonight. then, hey! off for the west indies again, eh?" "but don't i go and say good-by to the city editor, or the managing editor, or anyone?" "what for? you've got your berth, you've got your money, you're going to get your passport, and you've got your assignment. nothing more for you to do, son, except to get down there and deliver the goods." he led the way out of the office and to the elevator. on reaching the street, he turned to the boy. "there's one thing," he said, "that may help you, seeing that you're new to the work. when you get down to barbados, drop into the office of the biggest paper there. chum up with the boys. they'll see that you're a youngster, and they'll help you all they can. you'll find newspaper men pretty clannish, the world over. well, good-bye, garfield, i won't be likely to see you again before you go. i've got that traction swindle to cover and there's going to be a night hearing." the boy shook hands with real emotion. "you've been mighty good to me," he said, "it's made all the difference to my stay in new york." "oh! that's all right!" came the hearty reply. "well--good luck!" he turned down the busy street and, in a moment, was lost in the crowd. for a moment stuart felt a twinge of loneliness, but the afternoon was short, and he had a great deal to do. it was only by hurrying that he was able to get done all the various things that had been suggested. despite his rush, however, the boy took time to send a cable to his father, telling of his own safety, for he had no means of knowing whether or not his father might be worrying over him also. he worked until midnight learning the principles of the typewriter and, in a poky sort of way, trying to hammer out the guide sentences given him in the instruction book. next day found him again at sea. in contrast with the riotous vegetation of the jungles of haiti and the tropical forests of eastern cuba, stuart found the country around bridgetown, the sole harbor of barbados, surprisingly unattractive. the city itself was active and bustling, but dirty, dusty and mean. on the other hand, the suburbs, with villas occupied by the white residents, were remarkable for their marvelous gardens. on the outskirts of the town, and all over the island, in rows or straggling clumps which seemed to have been dropped down anywhere, stuart saw the closely clustered huts of the negroes. these were tiny huts of pewter-gray wood, raised from the ground on a few rough stones and covered by a roof of dark shingles. they were as simple as the houses a child draws on his slate--things of two rooms, with two windows and one door. the windows had sun shutters in place of glass and there were no chimneys, for the negro housewives do their cooking out of doors in the cool of the evening. the boy noticed that, by dark, all these windows and doors were closed tightly, for the barbadian negro sleeps in an air-tight room. he does this, ostensibly, to keep out ten-inch-long centipedes, and bats, but, in reality, to keep out "jumbies" and ghosts, of which he is much more afraid. [illustration: his vision distorted by the venom-vapor of the poison trees, the land-crabs seemed of enormous size and the negro who came to rescue him appeared as an ogre.] the greater part of the island seemed, to the boy, utterly unlike any place he had seen in the tropics. around bridgetown, and over two-thirds of the island of barbados, there is hardly a tree. the ground rises in slow undulations, marked, like a checker-board, with sugar-cane fields. no place could seem more lacking in opportunity for adventures, yet stuart was to learn to the contrary before long. acting upon the advice given him by his friend the reporter, in new york, just before leaving, stuart seized the first opportunity to make himself known to the newspaper men of bridgetown. he was warmly received, even welcomed, and was amazed at the ready hospitality shown him. moreover, when he stated that he was there to do some article on "social life and the color question" for the _new york planet_, he found that he had struck a subject on which anyone and everyone he met was willing to talk--as the managing editor no doubt had anticipated when he suggested the series to the boy. in one respect--as almost everyone he interviewed pointed out--barbados differs from every other of the west india islands. it is densely populated, so densely, indeed, that there is not a piece of land suitable for cultivation which is not employed. the great ambition of the barbadian is to own land. the spirit of loyalty to the island is incredibly strong. this dense population and intensive cultivation has made the struggle for existence keen in barbados. a job is a prize. this has made the barbadian negro a race apart, hardworking and frugal. until the building of the panama canal, few negroes left their island home. with the help of his newspaper friends, stuart was able to send to his paper a fairly well-written article on the barbadian negro. the boy was wise enough to take advice from his new friends how best to write the screed. moreover, he learned that there was also, on the island, a very unusual and most interesting colony of "poor whites," the descendants of english convicts who had been brought to the island in the seventeenth century. these were not criminals, but political prisoners who had fought in monmouth's rebellion. pitied by the planters, despised even by the negro slaves, this small colony held itself aloof, starved, and married none but members of their own colony. they are now mere shadows of men, with puny bodies and witless minds, living in brush or wooden hovels and eating nothing but a little wild fruit and fish. their story made another good article for stuart's paper, and he spent almost an entire day holding such conversation with them as he could, though their english language had so far degenerated that the boy found it hard to understand. the colony is not far from the little village of bathsheba, which stuart had reached by the tramway that crosses the island. the returning tram was not due to start for a couple of hours, and so, idly, stuart strolled southward along the beach, which, at that point, is fringed with curiously shaped rocks, forming curving bays shaded with thickets of trees which curve down to the shore. some of these were modest-looking trees, something like apple-trees but with a longer, thinner leaf. they bore a fruit like a green apple. the boy, tired from his walk along the soft white sand, threw himself down negligently beneath the trees, in the shade, and, finding one of the fruits fallen, close to his hand, picked it up and half decided to eat it. an inner warning bade him pause. the day had been hot and the shade was inviting. a sour and yet not unpleasant odor was in the air. it made him sleepy, or, to speak more correctly, it made his limbs heavy, while a certain exhilaration of spirits lulled him into a false content. soon, under these trees, on the beach near bathsheba, stuart passed into a languorous waking dream. and the red land-crabs, on their stilt-like legs, crept nearer and nearer. an hour later, one of the barbadian negroes, coming home from his work, was met at the door of his cabin by his wife, her eyes wide with alarm. "white pickney go along terror cove. no come um back." "fo' de sake!" came the astonished exclamation. "best hop along, see!" the burly negro, well-built like all his fellows, struck out along the beach. he talked to himself and shook his frizzled head as he went. his pace, which was distinctly that of hurry, betokened his disturbed mind. "pickney go alone here, by golly!" he declared as he traced the prints of a booted foot on the white sand and saw that they led only in one direction. "no come back! dem debbil-trees, get um!" he turned the corner and paused a minute at the extraordinary sight presented. in the curve of the cove, dancing about with high, measured steps, like that of a trained carriage-horse, was the boy, his hands clutching a stout stick with which he was beating the air around him as though fighting some imaginary foe, in desperation for his life. the sand around his feet was spotted, as though with gouts of blood, by the ruddy land-crabs, and, from every direction, these repulsive carrion eaters were hastening to their prey. they formed a horrible alliance--the "debbil-trees" and the blood-red land-crabs! the negro broke into a run. the old instinct of the black to serve the white rose in him strongly, though his own blood ran cold as he came near the "debbil-trees." the crabs were swarming all about the boy. some of the most daring were clawing their way up his trousers, but stuart seemed to have no eyes for them. with jerky strokes, as though his arms were worked by a string, he struck and slashed at the air at some imaginary enemy about the height of his waist. as his rescuer came nearer, he could hear the boy screaming, a harsh, inhuman scream of rage and fear and madness combined. jerky words amid the screams told of his terrors, "they're eating me! their claws are all around! their eyes! their eyes!" but still the strokes were directed wildly at the air, and never a blow fell on the little red horrors at his feet. "ol' doc, he say debbil-tree make um act that way," muttered the negro, as he ran, "pickney he think um crabs big as a mule!" stuart, fighting for his life with what his tortured imagination conceived to be gigantic monsters, saw, coming along the beach, the semblance of an ogre. the pupils of his eyes, contracted by the poison to mere pin-pricks, magnified enormously, and the negro took on the proportions of a giant. but stuart was a fighter. he would not run. he turned upon his new foe. the negro, reckoning nothing of one smart blow from the stick, threw his muscular arms about the boy, held him as in a vice, and picking him up, carried him off as if he were a baby. the boy struggled and screamed but it availed him nothing. "pickney, he mad um sartain," announced the negro, as he strode by his own hut, "get him ol' doc good'n quick!" half walking and half running, but carrying his burden with ease, the negro hurried to a well-built house, on a height of land half a mile back from the coast. the house was surrounded by a well-kept garden, but the negro kicked the gate open without ceremony, and, still running, rushed into the house, calling, "mister ol' doc! mister ol' doc!" at his cries, one of the doors into the hall opened, and a keen-eyed man, much withered, and with a scraggly gray beard, came out. the negro did not wait for him to speak. "mister ol' doc," he said, "this pickney down by de debbil-trees, they got um sartain. you potion um quick!" the doctor stepped aside from the door. "put him in there, mark!" he directed. "hold him, i'll be back in a minute!" the negro threw stuart on a cot and held him down, an easy task, now, for the boy's strength was ebbing fast. the doctor was back in a moment, with a small phial. he dropped a few drops into the boy's mouth, then, stripping him, put an open box of ointment between himself and the negro. "now, mark," he said, "rub that stuff into his body. don't be afraid of it. go after him as if you were grooming a horse. put some elbow-grease into it. the ointment has got to soak in, and the skin has got to be kept warm. see, he's getting cold, now!" the negro suited the action to the word. he rubbed with all his strength, and the ointment, concocted from some pungent herb, reddened the skin where it went in. but, a moment or two after, the redness disappeared and the bluish look of cold returned. "faster and harder!" cried the old doctor. sweat poured down from the negro's face. he ripped off jacket and shirt, and, bare to the waist, scrubbed at the boy's skin. and, if ever he stopped a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead, the doctor cried, "faster and harder!" little by little, the reddening of the skin lasted longer, little by little the bluish tints began to go, little by little the stiffening which had begun, relaxed. "he's coming round," cried the doctor. "harder, now! put your back into it, mark!" nearly an hour had passed when the negro, exhausted and trembling from his exertions, sank into a chair. the doctor eyed him keenly, gave him a stiff dose from a medicine glass, and returned to his patient. "he'll do now," he said. "in half an hour he'll feel as well as ever, and by tomorrow he'll be terribly ill." "for de sake, mister ol' doc, i got to rub um tomorrow?" pleaded the negro. "no, not tomorrow. from now on, i've got to 'potion um,' as you put it." he put his hand in his pocket. "here, mark," he said, "is half a sovereign. that isn't for saving the boy's life, you understand, for you'd have done that any way, but for working on him as you have." the negro pocketed the coin with a wide smile, but lingered. "i want to see um come 'round," he explained. as the doctor had forecast, in half an hour's time, the color flowed back into stuart's cheeks, his breathing became normal, and, presently, he stirred and looked around. "what--what----" he began, bewildered. "you went to sleep under the shade of some poison-trees, manchineel trees, we call them here," the doctor explained. "did you eat any of the fruit?" "i--i don't know," replied stuart, trying to remember. "i--i sort of went to sleep, that is, my body seemed to and my head didn't. and then i saw crabs coming. at first they were only small ones, then bigger ones came, and bigger, and bigger----" he shivered and hid his face at the remembrance. "there was nothing there except the regular red land-crabs," said the doctor, "maybe eighteen inches across, but with a body the size of your hand. their exaggeration of size was a delirium due to poisoning." "and the big, black ogre?" "was our friend mark, here," explained the doctor, "who rescued you, first, and has saved your life by working over you, here." stuart held out his hand, feebly. "i didn't know there were any trees which hurt you unless you touched them," he said. "plenty of them," answered the scientist. "there are over a hundred plants which give off smells or vapors which are injurious either to man or animals. some are used by savages for arrow poisons, others for fish poisons, and some we use for medicinal drugs. dixon records a 'gas-tree' in africa, the essential oil of which contains chlorine and the smell of which is like the poison-gas used in the world war. and poison-ivy, in the united states, will poison some people even if they only pass close to it." "jes' how does a tree make a smell, mister ol' doc?" queried mark. "that's hard to explain to you," answered the scientist, turning to the negro. "but every plant has some kind of a smell, that is, all of them have essential oils which volatilize in the air. some, like the bay, have these oil-sacs in the leaves, some, like cinnamon, in the bark, and so on. the smell of flowers comes the same way." "an' there is mo' kinds of debbil-trees 'an them on terror cove?" "plenty more kinds," was the answer, "though few of them are as deadly. these are famous. lord nelson, when a young man here in barbados, was made very ill by drinking from a pool into which some branches of the manchineel had been thrown. in fact, he never really got over it." "how about me, doctor?" enquired stuart. his face was flushing and its was evident that the semi-paralysis of the first infection was passing into a fever stage. "it all depends whether you ate any of the fruit or not," the doctor answered. "if you didn't, you're safe. but you seem to have spent an hour in that poison-tree grove, and that gives the 'devil-trees,' as mark calls them, plenty of time to get in their deadly work. you'll come out of it, all right, but you'll have to fight for it!" chapter ix the hurricane for many days stuart lay in an alternation of fever and stupor, tormented by dreams in which visions of the red land-crabs played a terrible part, but youth and clean living were on his side, and he passed the crisis. thereafter, in the equable climate of barbados--one of the most healthful of the west indies islands--his strength began to return. the "ol' doc," as he was universally known in the neighborhood, was an eccentric scientist who had spent his life in studying the plants of the west indies. he had lived in the antilles for over forty years and knew as much about the people as he did about the plant life. kindly-natured, the old botanist became greatly interested in his young patient, and, that he should not weary in enforced idleness, sent to bridgetown for stuart's trunk and his portable typewriter. day by day the boy practised, and then turned his hand to writing a story of his experiences with the "debbil-trees" which story, by the way, he had to rewrite three times before his host would let him send it. "writing," he would say, "is like everything else in the world. you can do it quickly and well, after years of experience, but, at the beginning, you must never let a sentence pass until you are sure that you cannot phrase it better." moreover, as it turned out, the ol' doc was to be stuart's guide in more senses than one, for when the boy casually mentioned guy cecil's name, the botanist twisted his head sidewise sharply. "eh, what? who's that?" he asked. "what does he look like?" stuart gave a description, as exact as he could. "do you suppose he knows anything about flowers?" "he seemed to know a lot about jamaica orchids," the boy replied. the botanist tapped the arm of his chair with definite, meditative taps. "that man," he said, "has always been a mystery to me. how old would you take him to be?" "oh, forty or so," the boy answered. "he has looked that age for twenty years, to my knowledge. if i didn't know better, i should believe him to have found the fountain of perpetual youth which ponce de leon and so many other of the early spanish adventurers sailed to the spanish main to find." "but what is he?" asked stuart, sitting forward and eager in attention. "who knows? he is the friend, the personal friend, of nearly every important man in the caribbean, whether that official be british, french or dutch; he is also regarded as a witch-master by half the black population. i have met him in the jungles, botanizing--and he is a good botanist--i have seen him suddenly appear as the owner of a sugar plantation, as a seeker for mining concessions, as a merchant, and as a hotel proprietor. i have seen him the owner of a luxurious yacht; i have met him, half-ragged, looking for a job, with every appearance of poverty and misery." "but," cried the lad in surprise, "what can that all imply? do you suppose he's just some sort of a conspirator, or swindler, sometimes rich and sometimes poor, according to the hauls he has made?" "well," said the botanist, "sometimes i have thought he is the sort of man who would have been a privateer in the old days, a 'gentleman buccaneer.' maybe he is still, but in a different way. sometimes, i have thought that he was attached to the secret service of some government." "english?" "probably not," the scientist answered, "because he is too english for that. no, he is so english that i thought he must be for some other government and was just playing the english part to throw off suspicion." "german?" "it's not unlikely." whereupon stuart remembered the guarded way in which the managing editor had spoken of "european powers," and this thought of cecil threw him back upon his quest. "i'll soon have to be going on to trinidad," he suggested a day or two later. "i think i'm strong enough to travel, now." "yes," the old botanist answered, "you're strong enough to travel, but you'd better not go just now." "why not?" "well----" the old west indian resident cast a look at the sky, "there are a good many reasons. unless i'm much mistaken, there's wind about, big wind, hurricane wind, maybe. i've been feeling uneasy, ever since noon yesterday. do you see those three mares'-tail high-cirrus clouds?" "you mean those that look like feathers, with the quills so much thicker than usual?" "yes, those. and you notice that those quills, as you call them, are not parallel, but all point in the same direction, like the sticks of a fan? that means a big atmospheric disturbance in that direction, and it means, too, that it must be a gyrating one. that type of cirrus clouds isn't proof of a coming hurricane, not by a good deal, but it's one of the signs. and, if it comes, the center of it is now just about where those mares'-tails are pointing." "you're really afraid of a hurricane!" exclaimed stuart, a little alarmed at the seriousness of the old man's manner. "there are few things in the world of which one ought more to be afraid!" declared the old scientist dryly. "a hurricane is worse, far worse, than an earthquake, sometimes." stuart sat silent for a moment, then, "are there any more signs?" he asked. "yes," was the quiet answer. "nearly all the hurricane signs are beginning to show. look at the sea! if you'll notice, the surface is fairly glassy, showing that there is not much surface wind. yet, in spite of that, there is a heavy, choppy, yet rolling swell coming up on the beach." "i had noticed the roar," stuart agreed, "one can hear it plainly from here." "exactly. but, if you watch for a few minutes, you'll see that the swells are not long and unbroken, as after a steady period of strong wind from any quarter, but irregular, some of the swells long, some short. that suggests that they have received their initial impulse from a hurricane, with a whirling center, the waves being whipped by gusts that change their direction constantly. "notice, too, how hollow our voices sound, as if there were a queer resonance in the air, rather as if we were talking inside a drum. "you were complaining of the heat this morning, and, now, there is hardly any wind. what does that mean? "it means that the trade wind, which keeps this island cool even in the hottest summer, has been dying down, since yesterday. now, since the trade winds blow constantly, and are a part of the unchanging movements of the atmosphere, you can see for yourself that any disturbance of the atmosphere which is violent enough to overcome the constant current of the trade winds must be of vast size and of tremendous force. "what can such a disturbance be? the only answer is--a hurricane. "then there's another reason for feeling heat. that would be if the air were unusually hazy and moist. now, if you'll observe, during this morning and the early part of the afternoon, the air has been clear, then hazy, then clear again, and is once more hazy. that shows a rapid and violent change in the upper air. "so far, so good. now, in addition to observations of the clouds, the sea and the air at the surface, it helps--more, it is all-important--to check these observations by some scientific instrument which cannot lie. for this, we must use the barometer, which, as you probably know, is merely an instrument for weighing the air. when the air is heavier the barometer rises, when the air grows lighter, the barometer falls. "yesterday, the barometer rose very high, much higher than it would in ordinary weather. this morning, it was jumpy, showing--as the changes in the haziness of the air showed--irregular and violent movements in the upper atmosphere. it is now beginning to go down steadily, a little faster every hour. this is an almost sure sign that there is a hurricane in action somewhere, and, probably, within a few hundred miles of here. "but tell me, stuart, since we have been talking, have you noticed any change in the atmosphere, or in the sky." "well," answered the boy, hesitating, for he did not wish to seem alarmist, "it did seem to me as if there were a sort of reddish color in the sky, as if the blue were turning rusty." "watch it!" said the botanist, with a note of awe in his voice, "and you will see what you never have seen before!" for a few moments he kept silence. the rusty color gradually rose in intensity to a ruby hue and then to an angry crimson, deepening as the sun sank. over the sky, covered with a milky veil, which reflected this glowing color, there began to rise, in the south-west, an arch of shredded cirrus cloud, its denser surface having greater reflecting powers, seeming to give it a sharp outline against the veiled sky. the scientist rose, consulted the barometer, and returned, looking very grave. "it looks bad," he said. "there is not much doubt that it will strike the island." "take to the hurricane wing, then!" suggested stuart, a little jestingly. in common with many barbados houses, the botanist's dwelling was provided with a hurricane wing, a structure of heavy masonry, with only one or two narrow slits to let in air, and with a roof like a gun casemate. there was no jest in the old doctor's tone, as he answered, "i have already ordered that provisions be sent there, and that the servants be prepared to go." this statement brought stuart up with a jerk. in common with many people, it seemed impossible to him that he would pass through one of the great convulsions of nature. human optimism always expects to escape a danger. "but this is the beginning of october!" the boy protested. "i always thought hurricanes came in the summer months." "no; august, september and october are the three worst months. that is natural, for a hurricane could not happen in the winter and even the early summer ones are not especially dangerous. but the signs of this one are troubling. look!" he pointed to the sea. the rolling swell was losing its character. the water, usually either a turquoise-blue or a jade-green, was now an opaque olive-black. the waves were choppy, and threw up small heads of foam like the swirl of cross-currents in a tide-rip. stuart began to feel a little frightened. "do you really think it will come here?" "yes," said the botanist gravely, "i do. in fact i am sure of it. barbados is full in the hurricane track, you know." "but why?" queried the boy. "i've always heard of west indian hurricanes. do they only happen here? i don't see why they should come here more than any other place." "do you know why they come at all?" stuart thought for a moment. "no," he answered, "i don't know that i do. i never thought anything about it. i always figured that storms just happened, somehow." "nothing 'just happens,'" was the stern rebuke. "hark!" he held up his finger for silence. a low rumbling, sounding something like the pounding of heavy surf on a beach heard at a distance, and closely akin to the sound made by niagara falls, seemed to fill the air. and, across the sound, came cracks like distant pistol shots heard on a clear day. the white arch rose slowly and just underneath it appeared an arch of darker cloud, almost black. at the same moment, came a puff of the cool wind from the north. "we will have it in less than two hours," said the scientist. "it is a good thing that all afternoon i have had the men and women on the place nailing the shutters tight and fastening everything that can be fastened. we may only get the edge of the hurricane, we may get the center. there is no telling. an island is not like a ship, which can direct its course so as to escape the terrible vortex of the center. we've got to stay and take it." "but has every hurricane a center?" queried the boy, a little relieved by the thought that the storm would not come for two hours. in that time, he foolishly thought, it might have spent its force. he did not know that hurricanes possess a life of their own which endures not less than a week, and in one or two cases, as long as a month. "you wouldn't ask whether every hurricane has a center," the scientist replied, "if you knew a little more about them. as there is nothing for us to do but wait, and as it is foolish to go to the hurricane wing until the time of danger, i might as well explain to you what a hurricane really is. then, if you live through it----" stuart jumped at the sudden idea of the imminent danger--"you'll be able to write to your paper about it, intelligently." "i'd really like to know," declared stuart, leaning forward eagerly. "well," said his informant, "i'll make it as simple as i can, though, i warn you, a hurricane isn't a subject that can be explained in a sentence or two. "you know that summer and winter weather are different. you ought to be able to see that summer and winter winds are different. the difference in seasons is caused by the respective positions of the northern and southern hemispheres to the sun. the greater the heat, the greater the atmospheric changes. hurricanes are great whirls caused by violent changes of the air. therefore hurricanes come only in the summer." "that's clear and easy!" declared the boy, delighted that he was able to follow the explanation. "now, as to why hurricanes strike here and nowhere else. i'll try and explain that, too. there is a belt of ocean, just north of and on the equator, known as the 'doldrums,' where it is nearly always calm, and very hot. there is also a belt of air running from southern europe to the west indies where the north-east trade winds blow all the year round. between this perpetual calm of the doldrums and the perpetual wind of the trades is a region of atmospheric instability. "now, consider conditions to the west of us. the caribbean sea and the gulf of mexico, together, form what is almost a great inland sea with the west indian islands as its eastern shore. the trade winds do not reach it. the pacific winds do not reach it, for they are diverted by the high ranges of central america. the winds from north america do not reach it, because these always turn northwards on reaching the mississippi valley and leave the united states by the st. lawrence valley. "so, stuart, you can see that the caribbean sea and the gulf of mexico have over them, in summer, a region of air, little disturbed by wind, not far from the equator and which, therefore, becomes steadily heated and steadily saturated by the evaporation from the body of water below." "yes," agreed the boy, "i can see that." "very good. now, such a steady heating of one section of air is bound to disturb the balance of the atmosphere. this disturbance, moreover, must be acted upon by the rotation of the earth. just as all the weather in the united states comes from the west and travels eastwards, so the track of hurricane origins travels eastwards during the course of a summer. "for this reason, west indian hurricanes in june generally have their origin west of jamaica, july hurricanes east of jamaica, august hurricanes in the eastern caribbean, september hurricanes in the atlantic east and south of the west indies, and october hurricanes far out to sea, perhaps even as far as half-way to the cape verde islands on the shores of africa. this hurricane which is approaching, is from the direction of east-south-east, judging from the barometer and other conditions, and probably had its cradle a thousand or more miles away." "and it hasn't blown itself out?" "far from it. it is only gathering strength and violence. not until it twists off on its track will it begin to diminish. for hurricanes follow a regular track, an invisible trail marked out for them in the sky." "they do!" "yes, all of them. this track is shaped like a rounded cone, or, more often, like a boomerang, with a short arm running north-westwards to its place of turning and a long arm running northeastwards until its force is spent. the point of turning is always in the west indies zone. as the storm is at its worst at the point of turning, it is always in the west indies that the hurricane is most destructive. "no matter where they start, west indian hurricanes always sweep north-westward until they have crossed the line of the west indies and then wheel around sharply to the north-east, skirting the united states coast. some strike florida. a good many run along the coast and hit hatteras. some never actually touch the continent at all, and only a few ever strike inland. but some part of the west indies is hit by every one of them." "are they so frequent?" "there's never a year without one or more. there have been years with five or six. of course, some hurricanes are much more violent than others. their destructive character depends a good deal, too, on the place where their center passes. thus if, at the moment of its greatest fury, the full ferocity of the whirl is expended on the ocean, not much harm is done. but if it should chance to descend upon a busy and thriving city, the loss of life will be appalling. "of these disastrous hurricanes, it would be fair to state that at least once in every four years, some part of the west indies is going to suffer a disaster, and once in every twenty years there is a hurricane of such violence as to be reckoned a world calamity." the botanist rose, took another look at the barometer, and called one of the older servants. "send every one into the hurricane wing," he said. "see that the storm lantern is there, filled and lighted. tell the cook to pour a pail of water on the kitchen fire before she leaves. see, yourself, that every place is securely fastened. the rain will be here in ten minutes." the negro, who was gray with fright, flashed a quick look of relief at the orders to seek the hurricane wing, and ran off at full speed. "the first rain-squalls will not be bad," continued the "old doc," "and i like to stay out as long as i can, to watch its coming. it will be nearly dark when this one strikes us, though, and there won't be much to see." "but what starts them, sir?" queried the boy, who had become intensely interested, since the grim phantasmagoria was unfolding itself on sea and sky before his eyes. "as i have told you, it is the creation of a super-heated and saturated mass of air, only possible in a calm region, such as the caribbean west of the west indies, or the doldrum region southeast of them. let me show you how it happens. "a region of air, over a tropical sea, little moved by wind-currents, becomes warmer than the surrounding region of air; the air over this region becomes lighter; the lighter air rises and flows over the colder layers of surrounding air, increasing the pressure on that ring and increasing the inward flow to the warm central area where the air pressure has been diminished by the overflow aloft. the overflowing air reaches a point on the outside of the cold air area, when it again descends, and once more flows inward to the center, making a complete circuit. do you understand so far?" stuart knitted his brows in perplexity. "i--i think so, but i'm not sure," he said. "then the barometer rose, yesterday, because we were in the cold air area, which became heavier because there was a layer of warm air on the top of it. the storm has moved westward. the cold air section has passed. the barometer is falling now because we're in the region of warm air, which is steadily rising and is therefore lighter. that shows we're nearer to the center. is that it?" the scientist tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair in pleased appreciation. "very good," he said, "you are exactly right. and, from now on, the barometer will drop suddenly, for the whirl of the wind will make a partial vacuum in the very center of the hurricane." "but i don't see what makes it whirl," protested the boy. "if it goes up in the middle, flows over at the top and comes down at the outside and then flows into the middle again, why could it not keep on doing that all the time, until the balance was put straight again?" "it would," the scientist agreed, "but for one thing you have forgotten." "and what's that?" "the rotation of the earth." a single drop of rain fell, then another, making a splash as large as a twenty-five cent piece. "now see it come!" said the scientist. as though his words had summoned it, a liquid opacity, like a piece of clouded glass, thrust itself between their eyes and the landscape. so suddenly it came that stuart actually did not realize that this was falling rain, until, looking at the ground, he saw the earth dissolve into mud before his eyes and saw the garden turn into what seemed like the bed of a shallow river. the wind whistled with a vicious note. the squall lasted scarcely a minute, and was gone. "that's the first," remarked the boy's informant. "we'd better get under shelter, they'll come fast and furious soon." passing through a low passage connecting the house with the hurricane wing, stuart noticed that, beside the massiveness of the structure, it was braced from within. "in case the house should fall on it," the scientist observed, noting stuart's glances. "i've no wish to be buried alive. in any case, i keep crowbars in the wing, so that, in case of any unforeseen disaster, a breach could be made in the walls and we could get out that way." they entered the hurricane wing. it was not as dark as stuart had expected. the scientist, anxious to observe the storms when they should come, had built into the wall two double dead-eye windows, such as are used in the lower decks of liners and which can resist the impact of the heaviest waves. the crimson light had gone. the vivid sunset reflections, now thrown back from the black arch, yet gave a reddish smokiness to the livid and sickly green which showed, from time to time, beneath the underhanging masses of inky black. the sky to the north and to the south had a tortured appearance, as though some demon of a size beyond imagining were twisting the furies of the tempest in his clutch. "you asked," said the scientist, speaking in the hurricane wing, as quietly as he had on the verandah, and paying absolutely no heed to the moaning and praying of the negroes huddled in the darkest corner, "what makes a hurricane whirl. yet, in the heavens, you can see the skies a-twist!" a second rain-squall struck. thick as were the walls, they could not keep out the wailing shriek of the wind, nor the hissing of the rain, which flashed like a continuous cutting blade of steel past the windows. the hurricane wing could not rock, it was too low and solidly planted for that, but it trembled in the impact. after a couple of minutes came a lull, and stuart's ears were filled with the cries and howling of the frightened negroes, not a sound of which had been audible during the squall. the scientist continued his talk in an even voice, as peacefully as though he were in his study. "you asked what could set the skies a-twist. i told you, the earth's rotation. for, stuart, you must remember that a hurricane is not a small thing. this heated region of the air of which we have been speaking, with its outer belt of cooler air, and the descending warm air beyond, is a region certainly not less than five hundred miles in diameter and may be a great deal more. "now, the air, as you know, is held to the earth's surface by gravitation, but, being gaseous, it is not held as closely as if it were in a solid state. also, there is centrifugal force to be considered. also the fact that the earth is not round, but flattened at the poles. also the important fact that air at the equator is more heated than at the polar regions. all these things together keep the air in a constant commotion. the combined effect of these, in the northern hemisphere, is that air moving along the surface of the earth is deflected to the right. thus in the case we are considering, the lower currents, approaching the heated center, do not come in equally from all directions, but are compelled to approach in spirals. this spiral action once begun increases, of itself, in power and velocity. this is a hurricane in its baby stage." another squall struck. speech again became impossible. as before, sheets of water--which bore no relation to rain, but seemed rather as though the earth were at the foot of a waterfall from which a river was leaping from on high--were hurled over the land. the shrieking of the wind had a wild and maniacal sound, the sound which jamaicans have christened "the hell-cackle of a hurricane." this squall lasted longer, five minutes or more, and when it passed, the wind dropped somewhat, but did not die down. it raged furiously, its shriek dropped to a sullen and menacing roar. "such a hurricane as this," the "ol' doc" continued, "has taken many days to brew. day after day the air has remained in its ominous quietude over the surface of the ocean, becoming warmer and warmer, gathering strength for its devastating career. the water vapor has risen higher and higher. dense cumulus clouds have formed, the upper surfaces of which have caught all the sun's heat, intensifying the unstable equilibrium of the air. the powers of the tempest have grown steadily in all evil majesty of destructiveness. day by day, then hour by hour, then minute by minute, the awful force has been generated, as steam is generated by fierce furnace fires under a ship's boilers. "why, stuart, it has been figured that the air in a hurricane a hundred miles in diameter and a mile high, weighs as much as half-a-million atlantic liners, and this incredibly huge mass is driven at twice the speed of the fastest ship afloat. in these gusts, which come with the rain squalls, the wind will rise to a velocity of a hundred and twenty miles an hour. it strikes!" a crack of thunder deafened all, and green and violet lightning winked and flickered continuously. the hiss of the rain, the shrieking of the wind and the snapping crackle of the thunder defied speech. the heat in the hurricane wing was terrific, but stuart shivered with cold. it was the cold of terror, the cold of helplessness, the cold of being powerless in such an awful evidence of the occasional malignity of nature. between the approach of night and the closing in of the clouds, an inky darkness prevailed, though in the intervals between the outbursts of lightning, the sky had a mottled copper and green coloration, the copper being the edges of low raincloud-masses, and the green, the flying scud above. squall followed squall in ever-closer succession, the uproar changing constantly from the shriek of the hundred-mile wind in the squall to the dull roar of the fifty-mile wind in between. the thunder crackled, without any after-rumble, and the trembling of the ground could be felt from the pounding of the terrific waves half a mile away. then, in a long-drawn-out descending wail, like the howl of a calling coyote, the hurricane died down to absolute stillness. "whew!" exclaimed stuart, in relief. "i'm glad that's over." "over!" the scientist exclaimed. "the worst is to come! we're in the eye of the hurricane. look!" overhead the sky was almost clear, so clear that the stars could be seen, but the whirl of air, high overhead, made them twinkle so that they seemed to be dancing in their places. to seaward, a violet glow, throbbing and pulsating, showed where the lightning was playing. "i'm going out to see if all's safe," said the scientist. "do you want to come?" stuart would have rather not. but he dared not refuse. they had hardly left the hurricane wing and got to the outside, when "ol' doc" sniffed. "no," he said, "we'll go back. we're not full in the center. the edge will catch us again." he pointed. not slowly this time, but with a swiftness that made it seem unreal, a shape like a large hand rose out of the night and blotted out the stars. a distant clamor could be heard, at first faintly, and then with a growing speed, like the oncoming of an express train. "in with you, in!" cried the scientist. they rushed through the low passage and bolted the heavy door. then with a crash which seemed enough to tear a world from its moorings, the opposite side of the hurricane struck, all the worse in that it came without even a preparatory breeze. the noise, the tumult, the sense of the elements unchained in all their fury was so terrible that the boy lost all sense of the passage of time. the negroes no longer moaned or prayed. a stupor of paralysis seized them. so passed the night. towards morning, the painful rarefaction of the air diminished. the squalls of rain and all-devouring gusts of wind abated, and became less and less frequent. the sky turned gray. upon the far horizon rose again the cirrus arc, but with the dark above and the light below. majestically it rose and spanned the sky, and, under its rim of destruction, came the sunrise in its most peaceful colors of rose and pearl-gray, sunrise upon a ravaged island. over three hundred persons had been killed that night, and many millions of dollars of damage done. yet everyone in barbados breathed relief. the hurricane had passed. chapter x the lake of pitch still weak from his illness after the manchineel poisoning, and exhausted as he was after a sleepless night in the grip of a hurricane, yet stuart's first thought on leaving the hurricane wing was to get a news story to his paper. the spell of journalism was on him. around the "ol' doc's" place, the hurricane seemed to have done little damage. not a building had fallen. trees were stripped bare of their leaves, cane-fields laid low, but when the boy commented on this escape, the old scientist shook his head. "i built these structures with hurricanes in view," he said. "this old place will stand like a lighthouse. but you'll find it different in the negro quarters. alas! you will find mourning, everywhere." at the boy's urgency the botanist agreed to lend him a horse and light carriage and bade one of the negroes drive the lad to bridgetown. a hasty breakfast was swallowed, and, before six in the morning, stuart was on his way back across the island, his faithful typewriter beside him. they had not gone far before the real tragedy of the hurricane began to show itself. here was a house in splinters, and a group of people, crying, with bowed heads, told that death had been there. the fields were stripped bare. near corrington, a sugar factory showed a piece of broken wall as all that remained. the road had been washed away by the torrential floods. in a small settlement, some negroes were working in a frenzy around a mass of ruined cottages, from beneath which sounded dolorous cries. the carriage stopped and both stuart and the driver leaped out to aid. ten minutes' work unearthed three sufferers, two but slightly hurt, the third with his leg broken. alas! others were not so fortunate. rising smoke, here and there, showed where fire had followed the hurricane. instead of the songs of labor in the fields, nothing was to be heard but cries of distress. as the country grew more thickly settled, on the way to bridgetown, so was the suffering more intense and the death-roll heavier. the drive, not more than twelve miles in all, took over four hours, so littered was the road with fallen trees and the débris of houses. in the ruins of bridgetown, stuart met one of his newspaper friends, the news instinct still inspiring him to secure every detail of the catastrophe, though there was no newspaper office, the building being in ruins and the presses buried under an avalanche of brick. "the wires are down, too," said this newspaper man, "if i were you, i'd chase right over to trinidad. the mail steamer, which should have gone last night, hasn't left yet, or, at least, i don't think she has. she couldn't leave till the hurricane passed and the sea calmed down a bit. at present, we are cut off from the world. it'll take two or three days, a week, maybe, before the shore ends of the submarine cables are recovered. if you can catch that steamer, you'll be in trinidad this evening." "but suppose the cables are broken there, too?" suggested stuart. "they're not likely to be," his friend replied, "we just caught the southern end of the hurricane here--lucky we didn't get the middle!--and so trinidad is likely to have escaped entirely. but you'll have to hurry to catch that steamer. i'll get in touch with ol' doc, the best way i can, and send your trunk on to you down there. got your typewriter? that's all right, then. write your story on the boat. now, hurry up! here!" he shouted to a passing negro. "go down to the pier, pierre, get a boat, any boat, and take this passenger. he's got to catch the steamer." "me catch um!" and he did, though it was by the narrowest margin, for the mail steamer had steam up, and only waited until this last passenger should come aboard. stuart had counted on being able to enrich his account of the hurricane with personal stories from the passengers on the steamer, all of whom had been through the disaster, some on board ship and some ashore. there was no chance of this. although a glorious day, not a soul among the passengers was on deck. all were sleeping, for all, alike, had waked and watched. stuart was dropping with weariness and sleep, but he remembered what the managing editor had said to him about a "scoop" and he thought that this might be the great opportunity of his life to make a reputation for himself on his first trip out. a well-placed half-sovereign with the deck steward brought him a cup of strong coffee every two hours, and though his mind was fogged with weariness, so vivid had been his impressions that they could not help but be thrilling. though one of the most richly verdant of all the west india islands, trinidad had little beauty to stuart, on his first sight of it. he saw it through a haze of weariness, his eyes red-rimmed through lack of sleep. the harbor is shallow, and stuart, like other passengers, landed in a launch, but he had eyes only for one thing--the cable office. since his only luggage consisted of a portable typewriter--his trunk having been left behind at "ol' doc's"--the customs' examination was brief. at the cable office, stuart learned, to his delight, that not a message had either reached the office or gone out about the barbados hurricane. he had a scoop. he put his story on the wires, staggered across the street to the nearest hotel, threw off coat and boots and dropped upon the bed in an exhausted slumber. and, as an undercurrent to his dreams, rang the triumph song of the journalist: "a scoop!" stuart slept the clock round. it was evening again when he awoke. a wash to take the sleep out of his eyes, and down he went to see how big a dinner he could put away. but the doorman at the hotel, an east indian, came forward to him with a telegram on a salver. the boy tore it open, and read: "good--stuff--send--some more--fergus." and if stuart had been offered the governor generalship of all the west indian islands put together, he could not have been more proud. he spent the evening interviewing some of the passengers who had come on the mail steamer the day before and who had stayed in port of spain and, before midnight, filed at the cable office a good "second-day story." remembering what his friend the reporter had told him, stuart realized that though he was still sending this matter to fergus, as it was straight news stuff, it probably was being handled by the night telegraph staff. that would not help to fill fergus' columns in the sunday issue, and the boy realized that, no matter what live day stuff he got hold of, he must not fall behind in his series of articles on the color question in the west indies. this question--which takes on the proportions of a problem in everyone of the west indian islands--was very different in trinidad than in barbados. the peoples and languages of trinidad are strangely mixed. though it is an english colony, yet the language of the best families is spanish, and the general language of the negro population is creole french, a subvariant of that of haiti. the boy found, too, on his first long walks in the neighborhood of port-of-spain, that there was a large outer settlement of east indian coolies, and quite a number of chinese. the english, in trinidad, were few in number. in his quest for interviews about the hurricane, one of the chattiest of stuart's informants had been a mr. james, a resident of barbados, but whose commercial interests were mainly in trinidad. since, then, this gentleman evidently knew the life in both islands, his comparisons would be of value, and the following day stuart asked him for a second interview. "i'm starting out to my place on the nariva cocal," the planter replied, "going in about an hour. very glad to have you as my guest, if you wish, and the trip will give you a good view of the island. then we can chat on the way." stuart jumped at the opportunity. this was exactly what he was after, for the nariva cocal, with its thirteen-mile long coco-nut grove on the shore of the ocean, is famous. the boy knew, too, that this section was very difficult of access, the nariva river forming a mixture of river, tidal creek, lagoon, mangrove swamp and marsh, hard to cross. for some little distance out of port-of-spain the train passed through true tropical forests of a verdure not to be outrivaled in any part of the new world. "here," says treves, "is a very revel of green, a hoard, a pyramid, a piled-up cairn of green, rising aloft from an iris-blue sea. here are the dull green of wet moss, the clear green of the parrot's wing, the green tints of old copper, of malachite, of the wild apple, the bronze-green of the beetle's back, the dead green of the autumn nile." and these are expressed, not in plants, but in trees. the moss is waist-high, the ferns wave twenty feet overhead, the bamboo drapes a feathery fringe by every stream, the cocoa trees grow right up to the road or railroad which sweeps along as on an avenue between them, while at every crossing the white roadway is lined by the majestic sentinels of plantain, coco-nut palm and breadfruit tree. beyond st. joseph, the ground became a low plain, level and monotonous, and given over to sugar-cane. near d'abadie, this crop gave place to cocoa, the staple of the center of the island, and this extended through arima to sangre grande, the terminus of the railroad. during the trip stuart's host had enlightened him by an exact and painstaking description of the growing of these various crops and the methods of their preparation for market. at sangre grande, the railroad ended and a two-wheeled buggy was waiting. the planter ordered the east indian driver to follow in the motor-bus which conveys passengers to manzanilla, and took the reins himself, so as to give a place to stuart. the road had left the level, and passed over low hills and valleys all given over to cocoa trees. "see those bottles!" commented mr. james, pointing to bottles daubed with paint, bunches of white feathers and similar objects hung on trees at various points of the road. "yes," answered stuart, "what are they for?" "those are our police!" the planter explained. "this colony is well governed, but planters have had a good deal of trouble keeping the negroes from stealing. we used to engage a number of watchmen, and the police force in this part of the island was increased. it didn't do any good, you know! stealing went on just the same. "so my partner, down here, went and got hold of the chief obeah-man or witch-doctor of the island--paid him a good stiff price, too--and asked him to put a charm on the plantation. he did it, and those bottles and feathers are some of the charms. we pay for having them renewed every year. it costs a tidy bit, but less than the watchmen and police did." "and have the thefts stopped?" "absolutely. there hasn't been a shilling's worth of stuff touched since the obeah-man was here." "but obeah wouldn't have any effect on east indian coolies," objected stuart. "coolies don't steal," was the terse reply, "those that are mohammedans don't, any way. trinidad negroes do. they're different from the barbadian negroes, quite different. obeah seems to be about the only thing they care about." "i ran up against some obeah in haiti," remarked stuart, "though voodoo is stronger there." "i never heard of much real voodoo stuff here in the windward islands," the planter rejoined, "but obeah plays a big part in negro life. and, as i was just telling you, the whites aren't above using it, sometimes." "in haiti," responded stuart, "father and i once found an obeah sign in the road. father, who knows a lot about those things, read it as a charm to prevent any white man going that way. i thought it was silly to pay any attention, but father made a long detour around it. a week or so after i heard that a white trader had been driving along that road, and he drove right over the sign. half a mile on, his horse took fright, threw him out of the buggy and he was killed." the planter shrugged his shoulders. "i know," he said. "it's all right to call it coincidence, but down in these islands that kind of coincidence happens a bit too often. for me, i'll throw a shilling to an obeah-man any time i see one, and i won't play any tricks with charms if i know enough about them to keep away." the buggy jogged along at a smart pace until the shore was reached, and then set down the beach over the hard wet sand. on the one side heaved the long rollers of the atlantic, on the other was the continuous grove of coco-nut palms, thirteen miles long, one of the finest unbroken stretches in the entire world. a hospitable welcome was extended to stuart at the house of the nariva cocal, and, after dinner, the planter took him to the shores of the nariva river, not more than twenty or thirty yards from the house, which, at this place, had a bank free of marsh for a distance of perhaps a couple of hundred yards. "it was just at a place like this, but a little higher up-stream," said the planter, "that the snake story happened which kingsley described in 'at last.' four girls were bathing in this river, because the surf is too heavy for sea-bathing, and one of them, who had gone into the water partly dressed, felt something clutch at her dress. "it was a huge anaconda. "the other three girls, with a good deal of pluck, i think, rushed into the shallow water and grabbed hold of their comrade. the snake did not let go, but the dress was torn from her body by the wrestle between the strength of the reptile and that of the four girls. i know one of the sisters quite well. she's an old woman, now, but she lives in sangre grande, still." turning from the river, stuart and the planter strolled some distance down the knife-like sandy ridge between the ocean and the swamp. this narrow ridge, at no point a hundred yards wide and averaging less than half that, contains over , palms, and this plantation alone helps to make trinidad one of the greatest coco-nut markets of the world. "i notice," said stuart, anxious to get material for his articles, "that nearly all your laborers here are east indian coolies. are they better than negroes?" "they come here under different conditions," explained the planter. "the negro is free to work or not, as he chooses, but the coolie is indentured. he has to work. he earns less than the negro, but, by the time we pay his voyage and all the various obligations that we have to undertake for an indentured laborer, the coolie isn't much cheaper to us than the negro. but, while the negro can do more work in a day than the coolie, he won't. moreover, if he feels, after a few days' work, that he has had enough of it, he just goes away. a trinidad negro with a pound or two in his pocket won't do a tap of work until the last penny be spent. the coolie will work quietly, steadily, continuously. what is more, he saves his money. that's bringing about a deuced curious situation in trinidad, you know. "one of the queer things about the west indies, as you know yourself, having lived in cuba, is that there is really no middle class. here, in trinidad, there are the wealthy spanish families and the english officials and planters. the blacks are the laborers. for many decades there has been no class between. now, the east indians, who came here as coolies, are beginning to follow the commercial instinct of the east, and to open small shops or to buy land. hence the negro, who used to despise and look down on the coolie because he worked for even less money, is now finding himself subordinate to an east indian class which has risen to be his superior. then the east indians have commenced rice-growing, and now are employing negroes, oversetting the old social basis. "there's one thing, son, which few people realize in this color question in the west indies. that is that the negro has not got the instincts of a shopkeeper. he doesn't take to trade, ever. if he gets educated, he wants at once to be a doctor, a lawyer, or, still more, a preacher. but this is a commercial age, and any race which shows itself unfitted for commerce is bound to stay the under dog, you know. trinidad shows that, given equal conditions, the east indian coolie will rise, the negro will not." the following morning, mr. james having gone over the books of the plantation with his manager, the two started back for port-of-spain. "why don't you live here, mr. james?" asked the boy. "it's a lovely spot, in that coco-nut grove, with the sea right at your doors." "climate, my boy," was the answer. "i told you, on the way over here, that trinidad is reckoned one of the most prosperous islands of the west indies--though it really belongs more to the coast of south america than it does to the antilles--but, if you stop to think for a moment, you'll see that the prosperity of trinidad is due to the fact that it has a warm, moist, even climate all the year round. that's fine for cocoa and coco-nuts, but it's not good for humans. the warm moist air of trinidad is deuced enervating. no, let me go back to barbados. it may not be as beautiful--i'll admit that it isn't--but at least there is a north-east breeze nearly all the year round to keep me jolly cool." the two travelers talked of various subjects, but, once more aboard the train at sangre grande, the question of trinidad's wealth recurred to stuart, and he sought further information. "you spoke of the island as being prosperous, mr. james," he said. "has the pitch lake, discovered so many centuries ago by sir walter raleigh, had anything to do with it?" "directly, not such a great deal, though, of course, it is a steady source of income, especially to the crown. asphalt is less than a twentieth part of the value of the exports of the island, so, you see, trinidad would have been rich without that. indirectly, of course, the pitch lake has been the means of attracting attention to the island, especially in earlier times. the facts that trinidad is out of the hurricane track and off the earthquake belt have had a good deal to do with its prosperity, too, you know. my friend cecil always declares that trinidad and jamaica together, the two richest of the west indian islands, ought to run the whole cluster of caribbean islands, just as little england runs the whole british empire." "who was it said that?" asked stuart curiously, though his heart was thumping with excitement. "a chap i know, cecil, guy cecil, sort of a globe-trotter. one of the biggest shareholders in this pitch lake. funny sort of johnny. know him?" "i--i think i've met him," answered the boy. "tall, eyes a very light blue, almost colorless, speaks very correct english, fussy about his clothes and doesn't talk about himself much." "that's the very man!" cried the planter, "i couldn't have described him better myself. where did you meet him?" stuart answered non-committally and steered the subject into other channels, determining within himself that he would certainly go out to the pitch lake, if only with the hope of finding out something more about this mysterious guy cecil, whose name seemed to be cropping up everywhere. the following day, having seen his friend the planter off on the homeward bound mail steamer, stuart prepared for his visit to the famous pitch lake, though the planter had warned him that he would be disappointed. going by railway to fernando, stuart took a small steamer to la brea, the shipping point for the asphalt, a town, which, by reason of its association with pitch, has a strange and unnatural air. the beach is covered with pieces of pitch, encrusted with sand and stones, worn by the water into the most grotesque shapes and forming so many resting-places for hundreds of pelicans. some of these blocks of hardened asphalt had been polished by the sea until they shone like jewels of jet as large as a table, others, fringed with green seaweed, gave the shore an uncanny appearance of a sea-beach not of this earth. unlike the universally white towns of the west indies, la brea is black. the impress of pitch is everywhere. the pier is caked with the pitch, the pavements are pitch, and, on the only street in the town as stuart passed, he saw a black child, sitting on a black boulder of pitch, and playing with a black doll made of pitch. taking a negro boy as a guide, stuart started for the famous deposit of asphalt, about one mile inland. the countryside leading thither was not absolutely barren, but it was scrawny and dismal. a coarse sand alternated with chunks of black asphalt. a few trees managed to find a foothold here and there, and there was sparse vegetation in patches. there was nothing exciting, nothing momentous in the approach to the lake. nor was there anything startling in the sight of the lake itself. although previously warned, stuart could not repress an exclamation of disappointed surprise at his first view of this famous lake, the greatest deposit of natural asphalt in the world. a circular depression, so slight that it was hard for the boy to realize that it was a depression at all, had, toward its center, a smaller flat, acres in extent. there were no flames, no sulphurous steam, no smoke, no bubbling whirls of viscid matter, nothing exciting whatever. the stretch before him resembled nothing so much as mud-flat with the tide out. the dried-up bed of a large park pond, with a small island or two of green shrubbery, and some very scrawny palms around the edge would exactly represent the famous pitch lake of trinidad. arriving at the edge, stuart stepped on the lake with the utmost precaution, for he had read that the lake was both warm and liquid. both were true. but the warmth was only slight, and the liquidity was so dense that, when a piece of pitch was taken out, it took several hours for the slow-moving mass to fill up the hole. "the sensation that walking upon this substance gave," writes treves, "was no other than that of treading upon the flank of some immense beast, some titanic mammoth lying prostrate in a swamp. the surface was black, it was dry and minutely wrinkled like an elephant's skin, it was blood-warm, it was soft and yielded to the tread precisely as one would suppose that an acre of solid flesh would yield. the general impression was heightened by certain surface creases, where the hide seemed to be turned in as in the folds behind an elephant's ears. these skin furrows were filled with water, as if the collapsed animal was perspiring. "the heat of the air was great, the light was almost blinding, while the shimmer upon the baked surface, added to the swaying of one's feet in soft places, gave rise to the idea that the mighty beast was still breathing, and that its many-acred flank actually moved." the task of taking the pitch out of this lake, stuart found to be as prosaic as the lake itself. laborers, with picks, broke off large pieces--which showed a dull blue cleavage--while other laborers lifted the pieces on their heads--the material is light--and carried them to trucks, running on a little railroad on the surface of the lake, and pulled by a cable line. the tracks sink into the lake, little by little, and have to be pried up and moved to a new spot every three days, but as they are specially constructed for this, the labor is trifling. the laborers work right beside the railroad trucks. it makes no difference where the ditch is dug, from which the asphalt is taken, as the hole left the night before is filled again by the following morning. it has been estimated that this deposit alone contains over , , tons of asphalt. it is feet deep, and though enormous quantities of the stuff have been taken out, the level has not fallen more than ten feet. in the lake are certain small islands, which move around from place to place, apparently following some little-known currents in the lower layers of the pitch. stuart went on to the factory, hoping to get some further information about guy cecil, but met with a sudden and unexpected rebuff. not only did no one about the place seem to know the name, but they refused to admit that they recognized the description, and seemed to resent the questions. trying to change the subject, stuart commenced to ask questions about where the asphalt came from, and the manager, who seemed to be a canadian, turned on the boy, sharply. "see here," he said, "i don't know who you are, nor where you come from. but i'll give a civil answer to a civil question. as for this cecil, i don't know anything about him. as for where this asphalt come from, i don't know, and nobody knows. some say it's inorganic, some say is from vegetable deposits of a long time ago, some say it's fish. the chemists are still scrapping about it. nobody knows. now, is there anything more?" the manner of the response was not one to lead stuart to further attempts. he shook his head, and with a curt farewell went back to la brea, fernando and port de spain. at the hotel he found a telegram. "get--story--present--condition--st. pierre--martinique--fergus." two days later stuart boarded the steamer for martinique, the island of the volcano. chapter xi the morning of doom "ay," said the first mate to stuart, as they paced the bridge on the little steamer which was taking the boy to martinique, "yonder little island is st. lucia, maybe the most beautiful of the west indies, though it isn't safe for folks to wander around much there." "why?" asked stuart in surprise, "are the negroes mutinous?" "no, bless ye!" the mate gave a short laugh. "mighty nice folks in st. lucia, though castries, the capital, is a great fever town. it isn't the folks that are dangerous. snakes, my bully boy, snakes! it's the home of the fer-de-lance." "the yellow viper?" queried stuart. "the same. an' the name's a good one. it's more viperous than any other snake of the viper bunch, an' its disposition is mean and yellow right through. ever see one?" "no," said stuart, "i haven't. i heard there were some in trinidad, and there have been a few reported in cuba. but i guess they're rare there. what do they look like?" the mate spat freely over the side, while he gathered his powers for a description. "if ye can think of a fish that's been a long time dead," he suggested, "an' has turned a sort of phosphorescent brown-yellow in decayin', ye'll have a general idea of the color. the head, like all the vipers, is low, flat an' triangle-shaped. the eye is a bright orange color, an' so shinin' that flashes from it look like sparks of red-yellow fire. i've never seen them at night, but folks who have, say that in the dark the eyes look like glowin' charcoal. "if i had to take a walk through the st. lucia woods, i'd put on armor, i would! why, any minute, something you take for a branch, a knot of liana, a clump of fruit, a hangin' air-plant, may take life an' strike. an' that's all ye'll ever know in this world." "there's no cure for it?" "none. a little while after a fer-de-lance strikes, ye're as dead as if you'd been dropped in mid-atlantic, with a shot tied to your feet." "maybe i'm just as glad i'm not going to land there," said stuart, "though i guess it's one of the most famous fighting spots of the world. i read once that for a hundred and fifty years there was never a year without a battle on that island. seven times it was held by the english and seven times by the french." "like enough," replied the mate. "it's owned by the english now, but castries is a french town, through and through. but castries sticks in my memory for a reason which means more to a deep-water sailor than any land fightin'. we were lyin' in the harbor at castries when the _roddam_ came in, ay, more'n twenty years ago." "what was the _roddam_?" queried stuart, scenting a story. "have ye forgotten," answered the mate in a return query, "or didn't ye ever know? let me tell ye what the _roddam_ was!" "we were lyin' right over there, in castries harbor, dischargin' coal--which was carried down by negro women in baskets on their heads--when we saw creep round the headland of vigie, where you can see the old barracks from here, the shape of a steamer. she came slowly, like some wounded an' crippled critter. clear across the bay we could hear her screw creakin,' an' her engines clankin' like they were all poundin' to pieces. what a sight she was! we looked at her, struck still ourselves an' unable to speak. they talk of a phantom ship, but if ever anything looked like a phantom steamer, the _roddam_ was that one. "from funnel-rim to water-line she was grey an' ghost-like, lookin' like a boat seen in an ugly dream. every scrap o' paint had been burned from her sides, or else was hangin' down from the bare iron like flaps o' skin. she had been flayed alive, an' she showed it. some of her derricks were gone, the ropes charred an' the wires endin' in blobs o' melted metal. the planks of her chart-house were blackened. her ventilators had crumpled into masses without any shape. "laborin' like a critter in pain, she managed to make shallow water, an' a rattle o' chain told o' the droppin' o' the anchor. after that, nothin'! there wasn't a sign o' life aboard. "the harbor folks pulled out to take a look at the craft. as they came near, the smell o' fire an' sulphur met them. a hush, like death, seemed to hang over her. the colored boatmen quit rowin', but the harbor-master forced them on. her ladder was still down. the harbor-master climbed aboard. "on deck, nothin' moved. the harbor-master stepped down into grey ashes, sinkin' above his knee. with a scream he drew back. the ashes were hot, almost white-hot, below. the light surface ash flew up about him and half-suffocated him. his boot half-burned from his foot and chokin', the harbor-master staggered back to the rail for air. "no life was to be seen, nothin' but piles o' grey ash, heaped in mounds. ash was everywhere. from it rose a quivering heat, smellin' o' sulphur an' the pit. "yet everyone couldn't be dead on this ghost-ship, for someone must ha' steered her into the harbor, an' dropped the anchor. makin' his way along the rail, the harbor-master made his way to where he could reach the iron ladder goin' to the bridge, an' climbed it. the bridge was clear of ash, blown free by the mornin' breeze. "the chart-house door was open. in it, lyin' across the steam steerin' wheel, was captain freeman, unconscious. his face was so blistered that his eyes were nearly shut. his hair was singed right down to the skull. his hands were raw an' bleedin'. his clothes were scorched into something that was black an' brittle. the harbor-master lifted him, an' laid him on the chart-house bunk." "what others were there?" "pickin' his way, he got to the bow an' found the deck hand who had let down the anchor. he was blind an' his flesh was crisped and cracking. "from below, crawled up four o' the engine-room crew. most o' the others aboard lay dead under those heaps o' hot ash on the deck." "what had happened?" "this had happened. the _roddam_ had been through the eruption of mont pelée, the only ship which escaped o' the eighteen that were in the harbor. she got away only because she made port just fifty-two minutes before the eruption, an' had been ordered to the quarantine station, some distance off." "did you see anything of the eruption yourself?" "we knew that somethin' had happened, even down here in st. lucia. it turned almost as black as night for a few minutes, an' our skipper, who was ashore, said he had felt a slight earthquake. but we saw enough of it, right after." "how?" queried stuart. "we had a lot o' foodstuff in our cargo, some of which was billed for caracas. but, as soon as we heard the story, our captain told the engineer to get up full steam an' make for fort-de-france. he knew the owners would have wanted him to go to the relief of the folks of martinique. we got there the next day an' saw sights! sights i can't ever forget!" the eruption of mont pelée and the destruction of the town of st. pierre, in , over , people being killed in the space of three seconds, was one of the most tragic disasters of history, and the ruins of st. pierre are today the most astounding ruins that the world contains of so vast and terrible a calamity, outrivaling those of pompeii. the cataclysm did not come without warning. as early as march , a scientist ascended the volcano and reported that a small crater was in eruption. by the end of april, to quote from heilprin, "vast columns of steam and ash had been and were being blown out, boiling mud was flowing from its sides and terrific rumblings came from its interior. lurid lights hung over the crown at night-time, and lightning flashed in dazzling sheets through the cloud-world. what further warnings could any volcano give?" on april , a crater broke into a small eruption, throwing out showers of rock-material, which, however, did not reach the town, distant a mile from the foot of the volcano. on may , an avalanche of boiling mud, many acres wide, tumbled down from the volcano, and went roaring along the bed of the rivière blanche at the rate of a mile a minute. a large sugar factory was engulfed and some lives lost. on may and , the sulphur fumes were so strong in the streets that horses, and even people, dropped from suffocation. again--what further warning could any volcano give? there were other warnings. on april , light ashes had begun to fall. on may an excursion was announced for the summit of mont pelée for those who wished to see a volcano in action, but that morning a deeper coat of ashes blanched the streets. the jardin des plantes--one of the richest tropical gardens of the west indies--lay buried beneath a cap of gray and white. the heights above the city seemed snow-clad. the country roads were blocked and obliterated, and horses would neither work nor travel. birds fell in their noiseless flight, smothered by the ash that surrounded them, or asphyxiated by poisonous vapors or gases that were being poured into the atmosphere. "the rain of ashes never ceases," the local paper wrote on may . "at about half-past nine, the sun shone forth timidly. the passing of carriages is no longer heard in the streets. the wheels are muffled. many business houses are closed to customers.... the excursion which had been organized for tomorrow morning cannot take place, the crater being absolutely inaccessible. those who had planned to take part will be informed on what date this excursion will become possible." on may the paper wrote: "the sea is covered in patches with dead birds. many lie asphyxiated on the roads. the cattle suffer greatly, asphyxiated by the dust of ashes. the children of the planters wander aimlessly about the courtyards, with their little donkeys, like human wrecks. they are no longer black, but white, and look as if hoar frost had formed upon them.... desolation, aridity and eternal silence prevail over the countryside." next day, may , was the day when the mud crater opened. it was followed by an upsurging wave from the ocean, which added to the fear of the people, but which receded slowly and with little damage. on the day following, pelée was shrouded in a heavy cloud, and ashes and cinders fell over a wide stretch of country. the surface waters had disappeared. trees had been burned of their leaves. yet a commission appointed to investigate the condition of the volcano made light of it, saying "the relative position of the craters and the valleys, leading towards the sea, enables the statement that the safety of st. pierre is complete." wednesday, may , opened one of the saddest and most terrorizing of the many days that led up to the final eruption. since four o'clock in the morning, mont pelée had been hoarse with its roaring, and vivid lightning flashed through its shattered clouds. thunder rolled over its head, and lurid glares played across the smoky column which towered aloft. "some say," says heilprin, "that at this time it showed two fiery crater-mouths, which shone out like fire-filled blast furnaces. the volcano seemed prepared for a last effort. "when daylight broke through the clouds and cast its softening rays over the roadstead, another picture of horror rose to the eyes. the shimmering waters of the open sea were loaded with wreckage of all kinds--islands of débris from field and forest and floating fields of pumice and jetsam. as far as the eye could reach, it saw but a field of desolation." the river of basse-pointe overflowed with a torrent of black water, which carried several houses away. black rains fell. again, and for the last time--could a volcano give any further warning? yet the governor, a scientific commission, and the local paper joined in advising the inhabitants of st. pierre not to flee the city, the article closing with the words, "mont pelée presents no more dangers to the inhabitants of st. pierre than does vesuvius to those of naples." next day the governor was dead, the members of the commission were dead, the editor was dead, and the presses on which this article had been printed had, in one blast, been fused into a mass of twisted metal. came the th of may, . shortly after midnight the thunders ceased for a while, but by four o'clock, two hours before the shadows of night had lifted, an ominous cloud was seen flowing out to sea, followed in its train by streaks of fiery cinders. the sun was barely above the horizon when the roaring began again. the vicar-general describes these sounds as follows: "i distinguished clearly four kinds of noises; first the clap of thunder, which followed the lightning at intervals of twenty seconds; then the mighty muffled detonations of the volcano, like the roaring of many cannon fired simultaneously; third, the continuous rumbling of the crater, which the inhabitants designated the 'roaring of the lion,' and then last, as though furnishing the bass for this gloomy music, the deep noise of the swelling waters, of all the torrents which take their source upon the mountain, generated by an overflow such as has never yet been seen. this immense rising of thirty streams at once, without one drop of water having fallen on the sea-coast, gives some idea of the cataracts which must pour down upon the summit from the storm-clouds gathered around the crater." "hundreds of agonized people," writes heilprin, in his great scientific work on the catastrophe, "had gathered to their devotions in the cathedral and the cathedral square, this being ascension day, but probably there were not many among them who did not feel that the tide of the world had turned, for even through the atmosphere of the sainted bells, the fiery missiles were being hurled to warn of destruction. the fate of the city and of its inhabitants had already been sealed. "the big hand of the clock of the military hospital had just reached the minute mark of : a.m. when a great brown cloud was seen to issue from the side of the volcano, followed almost immediately by a cloud of vapory blackness, which separated from it and took a course downward to the sea. deafening detonations from the interior preceded this appearance, and a lofty white pennant was seen to rise from the summit of the volcano. "with wild fury the black cloud rolled down the mountain slope, pressing closely the contours of the valley along which had previously swept the mud-flow that overwhelmed the factory three days before, and spreading fan-like to the sea. "in two minutes, or less, it had reached the doomed city, a flash of blinding intensity parted its coils, and st. pierre was ablaze. the clock of the military hospital halted at : a.m.--a historic time-mark among the ruins, the recorder of one of the greatest catastrophic events that are written in the history of the world." just before the cloud struck, its violet-grey center showed, and the forepart of this was luminous. it struck the town with the fury of a tornado of flame. whirls of fire writhed spirally about it. the mountain had belched death, death in many forms: death by fire, death by poisonous gases, death by a super-furnace heat, but, principally, death by a sudden suffocation, the fiery and flaming cloud having consumed all the breathable air. whole streets of houses were mown down by the flaming scythe. walls three to four feet in thickness were blown away like paper. massive machinery was crumpled up as if it had been clutched in a titanic white-hot metal hand. the town was raked by a hurricane of incandescent dust and super-heated gas. the violet luminosity, with its writhing serpents of flame, was followed in a second or two by a thousand points of light as the town took fire, followed, almost instantaneously, by a burst of light of every color in the spectrum, as a thousand substances leaped into combustion, and then, in a moment---- night! an impenetrable cloud of smoke and ash absolutely blotted out the sun. the sky was covered. the hills were hidden. the sea was as invisible as at midnight. even the grayness of the ash gave back no light; there was none to give. three seconds had elapsed since the violet-gray cloud of fury struck the town, but in those three seconds , people lay dead, slain with such appalling swiftness that none knew their fate. no one had tried to escape. the eruption was witnessed, from a distance, by only one trained observer, roger arnoux, and a translation of his record is, in part, as follows: "having left st. pierre at about five in the evening (may ) i was witness to the following spectacle: enormous rocks, being clearly distinguishable, were being projected from the crater to a considerable elevation, so high, indeed, as to occupy a quarter of a minute in their flight. "about eight o'clock of the evening we recognized for the first time, playing about the crater, fixed fires that burned with a brilliant white flame. shortly afterwards, several detonations, similar to those that had been heard at st. pierre, were noted coming from the south, which confirmed me in my opinion that there already existed a number of submarine craters from which gases were being projected, to explode when coming in contact with the air. "having retired for the night, at about nine o'clock, i awoke shortly afterwards in the midst of a suffocating heat and completely bathed in perspiration.... i awoke again about eleven thirty-five, having felt a trembling of the earth ... but again went to sleep, waking at half-past seven. my first observation was of the crater, which i found sufficiently calm, the vapors being chased swiftly under pressure of an east wind. "at about eight o'clock, when still watching the crater (m. arnoux was the only man who saw the beginning of the eruption and lived to tell the tale), i noted a small cloud pass out, followed two seconds after by a considerable cloud, whose flight to the pointe de carbet (beyond the city) _occupied less than three seconds_, being at the same time already in our zenith, thus showing that it developed almost as rapidly in height as in length. the vapors were of a violet-gray color and seemingly very dense, for, although endowed with an almost inconceivably powerful ascensive force, they retained to the zenith their rounded summits. innumerable electric scintillations played through the chaos of vapors, at the same time that the ears were deafened by a frightful fracas. "i had, at this time, an impression that st. pierre had been destroyed.... as the monster seemed to near us, my people, panic-stricken, ran to a neighboring hillock that dominated the house, begging me to do the same.... hardly had we arrived at the summit when the sun was completely veiled, and in its place came almost complete blackness.... at this time we observed over st. pierre, a column of fire, estimated to be , feet in height, which seemed to be endowed with the movement of rotation as well as onward movement." st. pierre was no more. rescuers were soon on their way. twenty-three minutes after the clouds had been seen rising from mont pelée and the cable and telephone lines were broken, a little steamer left fort-de-france, the capital. it reached half-way, then, finding that the rain of stones and ashes threatened to sink it, returned. the boat started anew at ten o'clock and rounded the point of carbet. the volcano was shrouded in smoke and ashes. for three miles the coast was in flames. seventeen vessels in the roadstead, two of which were american steamers, burned at anchor. the heat from this immense conflagration prevented the boat from proceeding and it returned to fort-de-france, reaching there at one o'clock, bringing the sinister tidings. at midday, the acting governor of martinique ordered the _suchet_ to go with troops to be under the direction of the governor, then at st. pierre. about three o'clock, a party was landed on the shore. the pier was covered with bodies. the town was all in fire and in ruins. the heat was such that the landing party could not endure more than three or four minutes. the governor was dead also. "st. pierre," writes a witness on another rescue ship, which arrived at almost the same moment, "is no more. its ruins stretch before us, in their shroud of smoke and ashes, gloomy and silent, a city of the dead. our eyes seek the inhabitants fleeing distracted, or returning to look for the dead. nothing to be seen. no living soul appears in this desert of desolation, encompassed by appalling silence.... through the clouds of ashes and of smoke diffused in our atmosphere, the sun breaks wan and dim, as it is never seen in our skies, and throws over the whole picture a sinister light, suggestive of a world beyond the grave." two of the inhabitants, and two only, escaped; one a negro prisoner, who was not found until three days later, burned half to death in his prison cell; and one, a shoemaker, who, by some strange eddy in the all-killing gas, and who was on the very edge of the track of destruction, fled, though others fell dead on every side of him. a second eruption, coupled with an earthquake, on may , completed the wreckage of the buildings. this outburst was even more violent than the first. there was no loss of life, for no one was left to slay. five years later, sir frederick treves visited st. pierre. "along the whole stretch of the bay," he writes, "there is not one living figure to be seen, not one sign of human life, not even a poor hut, nor grazing cattle.... a generous growth of jungle has spread over the place in these five years. rank bushes, and even small trees, make a thicket along some of the less traversed ways.... over some of the houses luxuriant creepers have spread, while long grass, ferns and forest flowers have filled up many a court and modest lane." twelve years later, a visitor to st. pierre found a small wooden pier erected. a tiny hotel had been built. huts were clustering under the ruins. several parties were at work clearing away the ruins, but slowly, for the government of the colony would not assist in the work, believing that the region was unsafe. at the time of this visit, mont pelée was still smoking. this was the ruined city which stuart was going to see. on board the steamer were the two or three books which tell the story of the great eruption, and the boy filled his brain full of the terrible story that he might better feel the great adventure that the next day should bring him. the steamer reached fort-de-france in the evening, and the boy found the town, though ill-lighted, gay. a band was playing in the plaza, not far from the landing place and most of the shops were still open. morning showed an even brighter fort-de-france, for, though when st. pierre was in its glory, fort-de-france was the lesser town, the capital now is the center of the commercial prosperity of the island. for this, however, stuart had little regard. sunrise found him on the little steamer which leaves daily for st. pierre. the journey was not long, three hours along a coast of steep cliffs with verdant mountains above. small fishing hamlets, half-hidden behind coco-nut palms, appeared in every cove. the steamer passed carbet, that town on the edge of the great eruptive flood, which had its own death-list, and they turned the point of land into the harbor of st. pierre. before the boy's eyes rose the mountain of destruction, sullen, twisted, wrinkled and still menacing, not all silent yet. the hills around were green, and verdure spread over the country once deep in volcanic ash. but mont pelée was brown and bald still. nineteen years had passed since the eruption, but st. pierre had not recovered. at first sight, from the sea, the town gave a slight impression of being rebuilt. but this was only the strange combination of old ruins and modern fishing huts. the handsome stone wharves still stood, but no vessels lay beside them. the little steamer slowed and tied up at a tiny wooden pier. a statue, symbolical of st. pierre in her agony, had been erected on the end of the pier. the boy landed, and walked slowly along the frail wooden structure, to take in the scene as it presented itself to him. alas, for st. pierre! as lafcadio hearn described it--"the quaint, whimsical, wonderfully colored little town, the sweetest, queerest, darlingest little city in the antilles.... walls are lemon color, quaint balconies and lattices are green. palm trees rise from courts and gardens into the warm blue sky, indescribably blue, that appears almost to touch the feathery heads of them. and all things within and without the yellow vista are steeped in a sunshine electrically white, in a radiance so powerful that it lends even to the pavement of basalt the glitter of silver ore. "everywhere rushes mountain water--cool and crystal--clear, washing the streets; from time to time you come to some public fountain flinging a silvery column to the sun.... and often you will note, in the course of a walk, little drinking fountains contrived in the angle of a building, or in the thick walls bordering the bulwarks or enclosing public squares; glittering threads of water spurting through lion-lips of stone." alas for st. pierre! above the pier but one street had been partly restored, and, at every gap, the boy's gaze encountered gray ruins. the ash, poured out by the mountain in its vast upheaval, has made a rich soil. to stuart's eyes, the town was a town of dreams, of great stone staircases that led to nowhere, of high archways that gave upon a waste. the entrance hall of the great cathedral, once one of the finest in the west indies, still leads to the high altar, but that finds its home in a little wooden structure with a tin roof, shrinking in what was once a corner of the apse. built as a lean-to in the corner of what had once been a small, but strongly-built house was a store, a very small store, outside the door of which a crippled negro was sitting. thinking that this might be one of the old-timers of st. pierre, stuart stopped and bought a small trinket, partly as a memento, partly as a means of getting into conversation. "but yes, monsieur," answered the storekeeper, "it was my wife and i--we escaped. my wife, she had been sent into morne rouge, that very morning, with a message from her mistress. me, i was working on the road, not more than a mile away. i saw nothing of it, monsieur. about half-past seven that morning (twenty-two minutes, therefore, before the final eruption) a shower of stones fell where i was working. one fell on my back, and left me crippled, as you see. but my four children, ah! monsieur, they sleep here, somewhere!" he waved his hand toward the riot of ruin and foliage which now marks the city which once prided itself on being called "the gayest little city in the west indies." "yet you have come back!" exclaimed stuart. "but yes, monsieur, what would you? it pleased god that i should be born here, that my children should be taken away from me here; and, maybe, that i should die here, too." "you are not afraid that mont pelée will begin again?" the negro shrugged his shoulders. "it is my home, monsieur," he said simply. "better a home which is sad than the place of a stranger which is gay. but we hope, monsieur, that some day the government of martinique will accept a parole of good conduct from the great eater of lives"--he pointed to mont pelée--"and give us back our town again." next morning, studying the life of the little town, stuart found that many others shared the view of the crippled negro. the little market-place on the place bertin, though lacking any shelter from pouring rain or blazing sun, was crowded with three or four hundred market women. daily the little steamer takes a cargo from st. pierre, for the ash from the volcano has enriched the soil, and the planters are growing wealthy. there are many more little houses and thatched huts tucked into corners of the ruins than appear at first sight, and a hotel has been built for the tourists who visit the strange spot. the crater in mont pelée is silent now; the great vent which hurled white-hot rocks, incandescent dust and mephitic gases, is now covered with a thick green shrubbery, only here and there do small smoke-holes emit a light sulphurous vapor; but the great mountain, treeless, wrinkled, implacable, seemed to stuart to throw a solemn shadow of threat upon the town. the secret of st. pierre, as stuart wrote to his paper, "lies in the hope of its inhabitants, but its real future lies in the parole of good conduct from the great eater of human lives, mont pelée." chapter xii a corsair's death there is not a corner of the world which is more full of historic memories than is the west indies. dominica, the next island which stuart passed after he had left martinique, besides being one of the scenic glories of the world, described as "a tabernacle for the sun, a shrine of a thousand spires, rising tier above tier, in one exquisite fabric of green, purple and grey," has many claims to fame. here, the cannibal caribs were so fierce that for years they defied the successive fleets of spaniards, french and english who tried to take possession of the island. some three hundred caribs still dwell upon the island upon a reservation provided by the government. the warriors no longer make war, and fish has taken the place of the flesh of their enemies as a staple diet. under the cliffs of dominica is a memory of the civil war, for there the confederate vessel _alabama_ finally escaped the federal man-of-war _iroquois_. a few miles further north, between dominica and guadeloupe, in the saints passage, was fought, in , the great sea-battle between rodney and de grasse, which ended in the decisive victory of the english over the french and gave britain the mastery of the caribbean sea. it ranks as one of the great historic sea-fights of the world. the next island on the direct line to the north, st. kitts, is not destitute of fame. as cecil had told stuart, st. kitts or st. christopher was first a home for buccaneers, and later one of the keys to the military occupation of the west indies. its neighbor, st. nevis, together with other claims to romance, has a special interest to the united states in that alexander hamilton--perhaps one of the greatest of american statesmen--was born there. near st. kitts lies antigua, where the _most blessed trinity_--despite her name, one of the most famous pirate craft afloat--settled after her bloody cruises. its captain was bartholomew sharp, described as "an acrid-looking villain whose scarred face had been tanned to the color of old brandy, whose shaggy brows were black with gunpowder, and whose long hair, half singed off in a recent fight, was tied up in a nun's wimple. he was dressed in the long embroidered coat of a spanish grandee, and, as there was a bullet hole in the back of the garment, it may be surmised that the previous owner had come to a violent end. his hose of white silk were as dirty as the deck, his shoe buckles were of dull silver." sharp, with buccaneers, had left the west indies in april, . they landed on the mainland, and, crossing the isthmus, made for panama. having secured canoes, they attacked the spanish fleet lying at perico, an island off panama city, and, after one of the most desperate fights recorded in the annals of piracy, they took all the ships, including the _most blessed trinity_. then followed a long record of successful piracy, of battle, murder and sudden death, of mutiny and slaughter grim and great. sharp, who, with all his crimes, was as good a navigator as he was reckless a fighter, sailed the _most blessed trinity_ with his crew of desperadoes the whole length of south america, rounded the horn and, after eighteen months of adventure, peril and hardship, reached the west indies again. "the log of the voyage," writes treves, "affords lurid reading. it records how they landed and took towns, how they filled the little market squares with corpses, how they pillaged the churches, ransacked the houses and then committed the trembling places to the flames. "it tells how they tortured frenzied men until, in their agony, they told of hiding places where gold was buried; how they spent an unholy christmas at juan fernandez; how, in a little island cove, they fished with a greasy lead for golden pieces which drake is believed to have thrown overboard for want of carrying room. it gives account of a cargo of sugar and wine, of tallow and hides, of bars of silver and pieces of eight, of altar chalices and ladies' trinkets, of scented laces, and of rings torn from the clenched and still warm fingers of the dead. "the 'valiant commander' had lost many of his company on the dangerous voyage. some had died in battle; others had mumbled out their lives in the delirium of fever, sunstroke or drink; certain poor souls, with racked joints and bleeding backs, were crouching in spanish prisons; one had been marooned on a desert island in the southern pacific ocean." at the last, sharp turned over the ship to the remainder of his crew and set sail, rich and respected (!) for england. on the way from st. kitts to st. thomas, stuart passed the two strange islands of st. eustatius and saba, remnants of the once great dutch power in the west indies. statia, as the first island is generally called, is a decadent spot, its commerce fallen to nothing, the warehouses along the sea-front of its only town, in ruins. yet once, strange as it may seem, for a few brief months, statia became the scene of a wild commercial orgy, and the place where once was held "the most stupendous auction in the history of the universe." it happened thus: when the american revolulutionary war broke out, england being already at war with france, commercial affairs in the west indies became complicated by the fact that the spanish, the french and the english, all enacted trading restrictions so stringent that practically every port in the west indies was closed. the dutch, seizing the opportunity, made statia a free port. immediately, the whole of french, english, spanish, dutch and american trade was thrown upon the tiny beach of fort oranje. more than that, statia became the center for contraband of war. all the other islands took advantage of this. statia became a huge arsenal. american privateers and blockade-runners were convoyed by dutch men-of-war, which, of course, could not be attacked. smugglers were amply provided with dutch papers. goods poured in from europe every day in the week. rich owners of neighboring islands, not knowing how the french-english strife might turn out, sent their valuables to statia for safe keeping. the little island became a treasure-house. at times more than a hundred merchant vessels could be seen swinging to their anchors in the roadstead. a mushroom town appeared as by magic. warehouses rose by scores. the beach was hidden by piles of boxes, bags and bales for which no storeroom could be found. merchants came from all ports, especially the jews and levantines, who, since the beginning of time, have been the trade-rovers of the sea. neither by day nor by night did the babel of commerce cease. unlike other west indian towns, where such a condition led to gaiety and pleasure, fort oranje retained its dutch character. it was a hysteria, but a hysteria of buying and selling alone. then, one fine day, february , , rodney came down with a british fleet and captured fort oranje and all that it contained. there were political complications involved, but rodney bothered little about that. fort oranje was a menace to british power. rodney took it without remorse, appropriated the more than $ , , worth of goods lying on the beach and the warehouses, and the merchantmen, which, on that day, were lying in the bay. jews and levantines were stripped to the skin and sent packing. the dutch surrendered and took their medicine phlegmatically. the french, as open enemies, were allowed to depart with courtesy. then came the great auction. without reserve, without remorse, over $ , , worth of goods were put up for what they would fetch. boxes, crates, bales and bags melted away like snow before the sun. warehouses bursting with goods became but empty shells. traders' booths were abandoned, one by one. just for a few months the commercial debauch lasted, then rodney sailed away. since then, the selling on the beach of statia has been confined to a little sugar and a few yams. for the united states, the little fort above fort oranje has a historic memory. from the old cannon, still in position on that fort, was fired the first foreign salute to the stars and stripes, the first salute which recognized the united states as a sovereign nation. it was on the th of november, , that the brig _andrea doria_, fourteen guns, third of the infant american navy of five vessels, under the command of josiah robinson, sailed into the open roadstead of st. eustatius, and dropped anchor almost under the guns of fort oranje. "she could have chosen no more fitting name," writes fenger, "than that of the famous townsman of columbus.... the _andrea doria_ may have attracted but little attention as she appeared in the offing ... but, with the quick eyes of seafarers, the guests of howard's tavern had probably left their rum for a moment to have their first glimpse of a strange flag which they all knew must be that of the new republic. "abraham ravené, commandant of the fort, lowered the red-white-and-blue flag of holland in recognition of the american ship. in return, the _andrea doria_ fired a salute. "this put the commandant in a quandary. anchored not far from the _andrea doria_ was a british ship. the enmity of the british for holland, and especially against statia, was no secret. "in order to shift the responsibility, ravené went to consult de graeff, the governor. de graeff had already seen the _andrea doria_, for ravené met him in the streets of the upper town. a clever lawyer and a keen business man, the governor had already made up his mind when ravené spoke. "'two guns less than the national salute,'" was the order. "and, so, the united states was for the first time recognized as a nation by this salute of eleven guns. "for this act, de graeff was subsequently recalled to holland, but he was reinstated as governor of statia, and held that position when the island was taken by rodney in . the dutch made no apology to england." saba, which lies close to statia, depends for its interest on its location. it is but an old volcanic crater, sticking up out of the sea, in the interior of which a town has been built. as a writer describes it, "if the citizens of this town--which is most fitly called bottom--wish to look at the sea, they must climb to the rim of the crater, as flies would crawl to the edge of a tea-cup, and look over. they will see the ocean directly below them at the foot of a precipice some , feet high. to go down to the sea it is necessary to take a path with a slope like the roof of a house, and to descend the ladder, an appalling stair on the side of a cliff marked at the steepest part by steps cut out of the face of the rock." this strange town of bottom is built with a heavy wall all round it, to save it from the torrents which stream down the inside slopes of the crater during a rain. its population is mainly white, flaxen-haired descendants of the dutch. more amazing than all, most of the inhabitants are shipbuilders, but the ships, when built, have to be let down by ropes over the side of the cliff. these fishing smacks are not only built in a crater, but on an island which has neither beach, harbor, landing stage nor safe anchoring ground, where no timber is produced, where no iron is to be found, and where cordage is not made. the island has no more facilities for the shipbuilding trade than a lighthouse on a rock in the middle of the sea. [illustration: above the hoarse shouts of ruffians and jack-tars, rose teach's murderous war cry.] passing saba, the steamer went on to her next port of call, st. thomas. here was seen the influence of another european power. barbados and trinidad are english; martinique, french; statia and saba, dutch; but st. thomas is danish. it is the chief of the virgin islands, and rejoices in a saintlier name than many of its companions which are known as "rum island," "dead man's chest," "drowned island," "money rock," "cutlass isle" and so forth, the naming of which shows buccaneer authorship. even in the town of charlotte amalia, the capital of st. thomas, the stamp of the pirate is strong, for two of the hills above the city are marked by the ruins of old stone buildings, one of which is called "bluebeard's castle," and "blackbeard's castle," the other. it was once, no doubt, one of the many ports of call of that nero of pirates, blackbeard edward teach. cecil's description of the buccaneers had greatly stimulated stuart's interest in pirate stories, and, rightly thinking that he could sell a story to his paper by new photographs of "blackbeard's castle" and by a retelling of the last fight of that savage scoundrel, he set himself to find out what was known of this career of this "chiefest and most unlovely of all the pyrates" as he is called in a volume written by one of his contemporaries. in appearance he was as fierce and repulsive as in character. he was of large size, powerfully built, hairy, with a mane-like beard which, black as his heart, grew up to his very eyes. this beard he twisted into four long tails, tied with ribbons, two of which he tucked behind his outstanding ears, and two over his shoulders. his hair was like a mat and grew low over his forehead. in fact, little of the skin of his face was visible, his fierce eyes glaring from a visage like that of a baboon. in fighting, it was his custom to stick lighted fuses under his hat, the glare of which, reflected in his jet-like eyes, greatly increased the ferocity of his appearance. teach was an execrable rascal, who ruled his ship by terror. the worst of his crew admitted him master of horror as well as of men. it was his custom ever and anon to shoot a member of his crew, whenever the fancy pleased him, in order that they should remember that he was captain. blackbeard is famous in the annals of piracy for his idea of a pleasant entertainment. one afternoon, when his ship was lying becalmed, the pirates found the time pass heavily. they had polished their weapons till they shone like silver. they had gambled until one-half of the company was swollen with plunder and the other half, penniless and savage. they had fought until there was nothing left to fight about, and it was too hot to sleep. at this, teach, hatless and shoeless, and, says his biographer, "a little flushed with drink"--as a man might be who spent most of his waking hours swigging pure rum--stumbled up on deck and made a proposal to his bored companions. "i'm a better man than any o' you alive, an' i'll be a better man when we all go below. here's for proving it!" at which he routed up half a dozen of the most hardened of the crew, kicked them down into the hold, joined them himself and closed the hatches. there in the close, hot hold, smelling of a thousand odors, they set fire to "several pots full of brimstone and other inflammable matters" and did their best to reproduce what they thought to be the atmosphere of the pit. one by one, the rest gave in and burst for the comparatively free air of the deck, but teach's ugly head was the last to come up the hatch, and his pride thereon was inordinate. it was the surest road to the captain's good favors to remind him of his prowess in that stench-hole on a tropic afternoon. teach's death was worthy of his life. lieutenant maynard of h. m. s. _pearl_ learned that teach was resting in a quiet cove near okracoke inlet, not far from hatteras, n. c. he followed the pirate in a small sloop. teach ran his craft ashore. maynard was determined to get alongside the pirate, so with desperate haste he began to throw his ballast overboard. more than that, he staved in every water cask, until, feeling that he had enough freeboard, he slipped his anchor, set his mainsail and jib, and bore down upon the stranded sea robber. as he came on, teach, with fuses glowing under his hat, hailed him, and, standing on the taffrail, defied him and drank to his bloody end in a goblet of rum.... teach, surrounded by his sullen and villainous gang, shrieked out the chorus of a sea song as the sloop drew near and, when she had drifted close enough, he pelted her deck with grenades. at this moment, the two vessels touched, whereupon teach and his crew, with hideous yells, and a great gleam of cutlass blades, leapt upon the sloop's deck. through the smoke cloud the awful figure of the pirate emerged, making for maynard. at the same time, the men hidden in the sloop scrambled up from below, and the riot of the fight began. as teach and maynard met, they both fired at each other, point blank. the lieutenant dodged, but the robber was hit in the face, and the blood was soon dripping from his beard, the ends of which were, as usual, tucked up over his ears. there was no time to fumble with pistols now. so they fought with cutlasses. teach, spitting the blood from his mouth, swore that he would hack maynard's soul from his body, but his opponent was too fine an adept with the sword to be easily disposed of. it was a fearful duel, a trial of the robber's immense strength against the officer's deftness. they chased each other about the deck, stumbling across dead bodies, knocking down snarling men, who, clutched together, were fighting with knives. ever through the mirk could be seen the pirate's grinning teeth and his evil eyes lighted by the burning and smoking fuses on either side of them, ever above the groans of the wounded and the hoarse shouts of ruffians and jack tars, rose teach's murderous war cry. at last, maynard, defending himself from a terrific blow, had his sword blade broken off at the hilt. now was the pirate's chance. he aimed a slash at maynard. the lieutenant put up the remnant of his sword and teach's blow hacked off his fingers. had the fight been left to the duel between the two, maynard had not a second to live. but, just as the pirate's blow fell, one of the navy men brought his cutlass down upon the back of the pirate's neck, half severing it. teach, too enraged to realize it was his death blow, turned on the man and cut him to the deck. the current of the fight changed. from all sides the jack tars, who dared not close with the pirate chief, fired pistols at him. the decks were slippery with blood. still fighting, teach kicked off his shoes, to get a better hold of the planks. his back was to the bulwarks. six men were attacking him at once. panting horribly, and roaring curses still, teach, with his dripping cutlass, kept them all at bay. he had received twenty-five wounds, five of which were from bullets. his whole body was red. the half-severed head could not be held straight, but some incredible will power enabled him to twist his chin upwards, so that, to the last, his eyes glared with the fierce joy of battle, and the lips, already stiffening, smiled defiantly. the six men drew back, aghast that a creature so wounded could still live and move, but teach drew a pistol and was cocking it, when his eyelids closed slowly, as though he were going to sleep, and he fell back on the railing, dead. so, in fitting manner, perished the last of the great pirates of the spanish main. chapter xiii the hungry shark "hyar, sah! please don' you go t'rowin' nuffin to de sharks, not 'roun' dese waters, anyhow." "why?" asked stuart in return, smiling at the grave face of the negro steward on board the steamer taking him from porto rico to jamaica. his stay at porto rico had been brief, for he found a telegram awaiting him from fergus, bidding him hurry at once to kingston. "no, sah," repeated the negro, "dar witch-sharks in dese waters, debbil-sharks, too. folks do say dem ol' buccaneers, when dey died, was so bad dat eben de bad place couldn't take 'em. now, dey's sharks, a-swimmin' to an' fro, an' lookin' for gol', like dem yar pirates used ter do." "oh, come, sam, you don't believe that!" protested the boy. "what could a shark do with gold, if he had it?" "sho's you livin', sah," came the response, "i done see two gol' rings an' a purse taken out'n the inside of a shark. an' you know how, right in dese hyar waters, a shark swallowed some papers, an' it was the findin' o' dose papers what stopped a lot o' trouble between great britain an' the united states, yes, sah!" the gift of silver crossing a palm has other powers besides that of inspiring a fortune-teller. it can inspire a story-teller, as well. stuart, scenting a story which he could send to the paper from kingston, put half-a-crown where he thought it would do most good, namely, in the steward's palm and heard the strange (and absolutely true and authentic) story of the shark's papers. "yes, sah," he began, "i know jes' how that was, 'cause my gran'pap, he was a porter in de jamaica institute, an' when i was a small shaver i used to go wid him in the mornin's when he was sweepin' up, and i used to help him dust de cases. yes, sah. bime by, when i got big enough to read, i got a lot o' my eddication from dose cases, yes, sah! "this hyar story begins dis way. on july , --i remember de dates persackly--a brig, called de _nancy_, lef' baltimore for curacao. her owners were germans, but 'merican citizens, yes, sah. her cargo was s'posed to be dry goods, provisions an' lumber, but dere was a good deal more aboard her, guns, powder an' what they call contraband, ef you know jes' what that is. i don't rightly." "i do," agreed stuart. "go ahead." "well, sah, dis hyar brig _nancy_, havin' stopped at port-au-prince, started on down de coast, when, strikin' a heavy blow, she los' her maintopmast. she was makin' for a little island, not far 'way, to make some repairs, when she was captured by h.m.s. _sparrow_, a cutter belongin' to h.m.s. _abergavenny_, de british flagship stationed at port royal. de _sparrow_ was commanded by lieutenant hugh wylie, and dis hyar wylie sent her in with anoder prize, a spanish one, to port royal. so, naterally, wylie brings a suit for salvage against de _nancy_, bein' an enemy vessel." "but where does the shark come in?" queried stuart, growing impatient. "jes' you wait a minute, sah!" the negro responded, "i bring um in de shark pretty quick. de owners of de _nancy_, dey come to court an' show papers that de _nancy_ never was no 'merican ship at all, an' dat lieutenant wylie, he make one great big mistake in capturin' dis hyar brig. "but, what you t'ink, sah? right at dat moment, up steps in de court-room, lieutenant fitton, of h.m.s. _ferret_, another cutter belongin' to the _abergavenny_ an' hands the judge some papers. "'your honor,' he says, 'these are the true papers of the brig _nancy_. those you have before you are false.' "'where did you find these papers?' ask de judge. "'in the belly of a shark, my lord,' answers lieutenant fitton, clear an' loud. "for de sake, sah, dem germans must ha' turn green! in de belly ob a shark, yah, ha-ha!" and the steward roared in white-toothed laughter. "but how were they found there?" came the boy's next question. "yes, sah, i was jes' comin' to that. dis hyar fitton, wid one cutter, was a-cruisin' together wid wylie, in de other cutter, when wylie broke away to take de _nancy_. "bein' nigh breakfast time, fitton signals to wylie to come to breakfast. wylie, he right busy wid _nancy_ an' can't come right away. fitton, fishin' while he waitin' for wylie, catch a small shark. dey cut him open, jes' to see what he got inside, an' dar, right smack in de belly, dey see a bundle o' papers. "'hi!' says fitton, 'dat somet'ing important!' and he keep de papers an' tow de shark to port royal." "i suppose," said stuart, "the captain of the _nancy_ must have thrown the papers overboard. but why should the shark swallow them? i know sharks will turn over and make ready to swallow most things, but they don't take them in, as a rule, unless they're eatable." "yes, sah, quite right, sah, but dar was a reason. de papers, sah, had been hidden in a pork barrel on board de _nancy_, an' de shark must ha' t'ought dey smelt good. when fitton showed dese hyar papers in court, de experts what were called in on de case said dat dere was grease on 'em what wouldn't come from no shark's stomach. no, sah. "dey figured, right den an' dar, dat de grease must ha' been on de papers, fust. so dey started lookin' on board de _nancy_ an', for de sake, dey found, right in a pork barrel, a lot more papers, all written in german an' showin' a reg'lar plot for privateerin' against the united states. "dose papers, sah, dey're right thar in de institute in jamaica, wid a letter from de official, who was in charge ob de case, ober a hundred years ago. in de united service museum, in london, is de head of de shark what swallowed de papers. i reckon, sah, dat was de fust time dat a shark ever was a witness in a court!" and, with a loud laugh, the steward went to respond to the call of another of the passengers. strange as was the story of the shark swallowing the papers and being forced to give them up again, still stranger was the story that stuart heard from one of the passengers. this tale, equally authentic, was of an occurrence that happened even earlier, in that famous town of port royal, which, in the long ago days, was the english buccaneer center, even as tortugas was the center of the french sea-rovers. this was the story of lewis galdy, a merchant of port royal, french-born and a man of substance, who went through one of the most extraordinary experiences that has ever happened to a human being. he was walking down the narrow street of that buccaneer town, on june , , when the whole city and countryside was shaken by a terrific earthquake shock. the earth opened under the merchant's feet and he dropped into the abyss. he lost consciousness, yet, in a semi-comatose state, felt a second great wrenching of the earth, which heaved him upwards. water roared about his ears, and he was at the point of drowning, when, suddenly, he found himself swimming in the sea, half-a-mile from land. as the place where he had been walking was fully three hundred yards inland, he had been carried in the bowels of the earth three-quarters of a mile before being thrown forth. a boat picked him up, and he lived for forty-seven years after his extraordinary escape. jamaica, indeed, has been the prey of earthquakes, the most serious of which wrecked the city of kingston, in . the shocks lasted ten seconds, and the town of , inhabitants was a ruin. the death list reached nearly a thousand. from this shock, however, as stuart found, the city has recovered bravely, largely due to the lighter system of building common to british islands, and all places which have an american impress, while in french, dutch and danish islands, buildings are more solidly constructed. frame houses, however, are less damaged by earthquake than are stone structures. there was, however, little opportunity for stuart to make tours in jamaica or to work out any articles for his "color question" series. a registered letter from the paper awaited the boy in kingston, the reading of which he concluded with a long, low whistle. that night, without attracting attention, stuart left the city on foot, taking neither tramway nor railroad, and made a long night march. the roads were steep, but the cool air compensated for that difficulty, and having spent a long time on board ship the boy was glad to stretch his legs. on the further side of spanish town he saw what he sought, a rickety automobile under a lean-to-shed. he hurried to the negro owner, who was lolling on the verandah. "i want to go to buff bay," he said. "how soon can you get me there?" "de road ain' none too good, sah," the jamaican answered, "your bes' way is to take de train f'm spanish town. dat'll land you right in buff bay." "i don't want to," answered stuart, making up the first excuse that came to mind, "i get train-sick. can't your car make it?" the boy knew that there is nothing in the world that so much touches a man's pride as to have his car slighted, no matter whether it be the craziest kettle on wheels or a powerful racer. "make it? yes, sah!" the exclamation was emphatic. "i can have you in thar by noon." business arrangements were rapidly concluded, and in a few minutes they started out, stuart having borrowed an old straw hat from the driver, in order, as he said, that he could take a good sleep under it, which indeed, he did. but his main reason was disguise. the negro looked back at his passenger once or twice, and muttered, "train-sick? huh! looks more like ter me he's in pickle wid de police! wonder if i didn't ought to say somet'ing?" then a remembrance of some of his own earlier days came to him, and he chuckled. "fo' de sake!" he said. "i wouldn' want to tell all i ever did!" and he drove on through linfield, without summoning the guardians of the law. stuart, unconscious how near he had been to an unpleasant delay, slept on. questioning would have been awkward, search would have been worse, for, in the pocket of his jacket, was fergus's letter he had received in kingston, which closed with the words, "get to the mole st. nicholas with utmost speed! spare no expense, but go secretly!" that this bore some new development in the great plot, there was no doubting, and the letter had told him to be sure to leave kingston without letting cecil catch a glimpse of him. that meant that cecil was still in kingston. in that case, what could the other conspirators be doing without him? towards noon, a whiff of salt air wakened stuart. he stirred, rubbed his eyes and looked round. "the north shore, eh!" he exclaimed on seeing the sea. "yes, sah! annotta bay, sah!" "do you know anyone around these parts?" "fo' de sake, yes, sah! i was born in dese parts. i jes' went to spanish town a few years ago, when my wife's folks died." "do you know anyone who has a motor boat?" "you want to buy one?" "not unless i have to. do you happen to know of any?" "well, sah," said the negro cautiously, "thar's a preacher here what has one, but--but--he's a mighty careful man is brother fliss, an'----" stuart, refreshed from his sleep, grasped the hitch at once. "you think i'm in trouble and running from the police, eh? not a bit of it! here, run up to this preacher's. i'll convince him, in a minute." a little further on, the machine turned to the left, and just as it turned off, a racing car flashed by. something about one of the figures was familiar. "whose car was that?" the driver turned and stared at the cloud of dust. "i didn't rightly see, it might ha' been----" he stopped. "i'll tell you whar you can get a boat, sah!" he suggested. "mr. cecil, he keeps one down at his place a bit down de road." "cecil!" stuart had to control himself to keep from shouting the name. "has he a place on this coast?" "yes, sah; fine place, sah, pretty place. awful nice man, mr. cecil. he'll lend you de boat, for nuffin', likely. brother fliss, good man, you un'erstand, but he stick close to de money." "let's go there, just the same," said stuart, "i don't want to be under obligations. i'd rather pay my way." the negro shrugged his shoulders and, in a few minutes, the car stopped at the preacher's house. as the driver had suggested, brother fliss "stick close to de money" and his charge was high. he was an intensely loyal british subject, and an even more loyal jamaican, and when stuart showed his card from the paper and at the same suggested that he needed this help in order to trace up a plot against jamaica, the preacher was so willing that he would almost--but not quite--have lent the boat free. being afraid that the automobile driver might talk, if he returned to spanish town, and thus overset all the secrecy that stuart flattered himself he had so far maintained, the boy suggested that the negro come along in the boat. this suggestion was at once accepted, for the mystery of the affair had greatly excited the jamaican's curiosity. the preacher, himself, received the suggestion with approval. usually--for the craft, though, sturdy, was a small one--he was his own steersman and engineer. now, he could enjoy the luxury of a crew, and the driver, who was a fairly good mechanic, was quite competent to handle the small two-cylinder engine. so far as the boy was concerned, he had another reason. the quest might be dangerous. undoubtedly cesar leborge and manuel polliovo would be there. equally certainly, guy cecil, who had protected him before, would not. a companion would be of aid in a pinch. and it was all so dark, so mysterious, so incomprehensible! he had learned nothing new about the plot. he had no documents with which to confront the conspirators. he had no protection against these two men, one of whom, he knew, had vowed to kill him. the motor boat glided out on the waters north of jamaica, on her way to that grim passage-way between cuba and haiti, that key to the caribbean, which is guarded by the mole st. nicholas. yet, withal, stuart had one protector. behind him stood the power of a new york newspaper, and, with that, he felt he had the power of the united states. there is no flinching, no desertion in the great army of news-gatherers. there should be none in him. with no support but that, with nothing to guide him but his faith in the paper that sent him forth, stuart set his face to the shore of that semi-savage land, on the beach of which he expected to find his foes awaiting him. chapter xiv trapped! all that night the little motor boat chugged on. she was small for so long a sea-passage, but the preacher knew her ways well. many a journey had he taken to the caymans and other jamaican possessions in the interests of his faith. in the night-watches, stuart grew to have a strong respect for him, for the preacher was one in whom the missionary spirit burned strongly, and he was as sincere as he was simple. each of the three on board took turns to sleep, leaving two to manage the boat. stuart got a double dose of sleep, for the preacher, seeing that the boy was tired, ran the craft alone during the second part of his watch. dawn found them in the windward passage, with the mole of st. nicholas on the starboard bow. they slowed down for a wash and a bite of breakfast, and then the preacher, with a manner which showed it to be habitual, offered a morning prayer. the mole st. nicholas, at its southern end, has some small settlements, but stuart felt sure that it could not be here that he was to land. they cruised along the shore a while, and, on an isolated point, saw an old half-ruined jetty, with four figures standing there. as the boat drew nearer, stuart recognized them as manuel polliovo, cesar leborge and two cacos guerillas, armed with rifles and machetes. "are you afraid to follow me?" queried stuart to the negro who had driven the automobile. "'fraid of dem haiti niggers? no, sah. i'm a jamaican!" this pride of race among certain negroes--not always rightly valued among the whites--had struck stuart before. indeed, he had done a special article on the subject during the voyage on the steamer. reaching the wharf, stuart sprang ashore. the jamaican at once sought to follow him, but the two cacos tribesmen stepped forward with uplifted machetes. the odds were too great and stuart's ally fell back. "it is very kind of you to come and pay us a visit!" mocked manuel, as stuart stepped upon the wharf. "we prefer, however, to have you alone. we do not know your guests." "you know me, then?" "i knew the ragged horse-boy to be stuart garfield, all the way on the road to millot and the citadel," the cuban purred. "i cannot congratulate you on your cleverness. the disguise was very poor." stuart thrust forward his chin aggressively, but no retort came to mind. "i missed you, on the return journey," manuel continued. "yes," the boy answered. "i came down another way." "perhaps you borrowed a pair of wings from the englishman?" stuart made no reply. but this ironic fencing was not to leborge's taste. he broke in, abruptly, "you spy on us once, yes! you spy on us again, yes! you spy no more, no!" he made a rough gesture, at which one of the cacos dashed upon the boy, pinned his arms to his sides and harshly, but deftly, tied him securely with a rope. this done, the haitian took the boy's small revolver from his pocket and cast it contemptuously on the ground. "the white carries a pistol, yes! but he does not even know how to shoot it!" the phrase irritated stuart, but he had sense enough to keep still. as a matter of fact, he was a fairly good shot, but, with four to one against him, any attempt at violence would be useless. besides, stuart had not lost heart. he had landed, in the very teeth of his foes, confident that fergus would never have directed him to go to the mole st. nicholas, unless the editor had cause. the boy's only cue was to await developments. at this juncture, the jamaican preacher, with a good deal of courage, as well as dignity, rose in the boat. he thrust aside, as unimportant, the machete of the caco who threatened him, and the assumption of authority took the guerilla aback. quietly, and with perfect coolness, he walked up to the haitian general. a little to stuart's surprise, he spoke the haitian dialect perfectly. "you're goin' to untie de ropes 'round dat boy, yes!" he declared, "an' if you're wise, you do it quick. de good book say--'dose who slay by de sword, shall be slain by de sword, demselbes,' yes! i tell you, dose dat ties oders up, is goin' to be tied up demselbes, yes!" "what are you doin' here?" demanded leborge, with an oath. "i's a minister ob de gospel," said the preacher, standing his ground without a quaver, in face of the threatening aspect of the giant haitian, "an' i tell you"--he pointed a finger accusingly--"dat, for ebery oath you make hyar in de face ob de sun, you is goin' to pay, an' pay heabily, before dat sun go down! "you's a big nigger," the preacher went on, his voice taking the high drone of prophetic utterance, "an' you's all cobered wit' gol' lace. de good book say--'hab no respec' for dem dat wears fine apparel.' no! 'deir garments shall be mof-eaten, deir gol' an' silver shall be cankered, an' de worm'--hear, you nigger!--'de worm, shall hab 'em'!" leborge, superstitious like all the haitian negroes, cowered before the preacher who advanced on him with shaking finger. but manuel was of another stripe. he strode forward, put a lean but sinewy hand on the preacher's shoulder and twisted him round, with a gesture as though he would hurl him into the water, when there came a sharp, "spat!" the cuban's hat leaped from his head and fluttered slowly to the ground, a bullet-hole through the crown. manuel stared at it, his jaw dropping. "white man----" the preacher began. the cuban took no heed. the shot, he figured, could have come from no one but the negro in the boat, and he wheeled on him, flashing his revolver. as he turned to the sea, however, he saw a motor boat coming at terrific speed into the harbor. he took one glance at it. "we've got to get rid of the boy before he comes!" he cried. leborge, with a wide grin, gave a nod of approval, and manuel's gun came slowly to the shoulder, for cat-like, he wanted to torture the boy before he fired. quicker than his grave manner would have seemed to forecast, the preacher stepped fairly between the cuban and his victim. "de good book say----" he began, but manuel gave him a push. there was a slight struggle and a flash. the preacher fell. manuel turned on stuart, who had tried to catch the falling man, forgetting for the instant that his hands were tied. he stumbled, and the pistol centered on his heart. came another, "spat!" a shrill scream rang out. manuel's gun fell to the ground, suddenly reddened with blood. the cuban's hand had been shot through. clumsily kneeling, stuart put his ear to the wounded man's heart. it was beating strongly. the bullet seemed to have struck the collar bone and glanced off, stunning the nerves, but not doing serious injury. for a moment, the four men stood dazed. whence came these bullets that made no sound? could the englishman be shooting? they stared out to sea. the "chug-chug" of the motor boat was deafening, now. it stopped, suddenly, and, standing in the bow, the figure of cecil could be plainly seen. he held no gun in his hand, however. never was the englishman's quiet power more strongly shown than in the fact that, in this tense moment, the conspirators waited till he landed. leborge shuffled his feet uneasily. manuel, his face twisted with pain, and holding his wounded arm, glared at his fellow-conspirator, undauntedly. "my friend," said cecil to him, calmly, "i have many times instructed you that nothing is to be done until i give the word." the cuban cursed, but made no other answer. "as for you," the englishman continued, turning to leborge, "i have told you before that the time to quarrel about the sharing of the spoils was after the spoils were won. why have you posted men to murder manuel and me, in the granadilla wood, between here and cap haitien?" the giant would have liked to lie, but cecil's determined gaze was full on him, and he flinched beneath it, as a wild beast flinches before its tamer. "if you had waited for me," the calm voice went on, "i might have helped you to escape, but now----" he raised his hat and passed his hand over his hair, as though the sun had given him a headache. at the same moment, as though this gesture had been a signal, from the low bushes a hundred yards away burst a squad of a dozen men, rifles at the "ready," in the uniform of american marines. manuel and leborge cast wild glances around, seeking some place to flee, but there was none. they were cut off. "quick, cecil!" they cried, together. and leborge added, "your boat! she is fast!" "not as fast as a rifle bullet," was the quiet answer. at the double the marines came over the scrubby ground, and, running beside the officer in command was a figure that stuart recognized--his father! the officer of the marines came up. "seize them!" he said briefly. the boys in blue disarmed and bound the four, one of the marines freeing stuart's arms the while. the second he was free, stuart sprang forward and grasped his father's hand with a squeeze that made the older man wince. "father!" he cried. "it's really you!" the american official clapped the boy on the shoulder with praise and a look of pride. "reckon that high-powered air rifle came in handy, eh?" he answered. "was it you, father, who did the shooting?" "no, not me. wish i could shoot like that! we brought along the crack sharp-shooter of the camp." one of the marines looked up and grinned. "this chap," the official continued, "could hit the hind leg of a fly that's scratching himself on a post fifty yards away!" then, to stuart's enormous surprise, he turned to the prisoners with an air of authority. "in the name of the united states," he said, "you are arrested. you, cesar leborge, for having plotted against american authority in haiti, while holding rank in the haitian army; also for having accepted a bribe from other haitian officials for betraying your fellow-conspirator; also for having given money and issued orders to a band of cacos to post themselves in ambush with the purpose and intent of murdering haitian and american citizens. "you, manuel polliovo," he continued, turning to the second prisoner, "are arrested on a cuban warrant for the murder of one gonzales elivo, a guard at the prison from which you escaped two years ago; also upon a charge of assault and attempted murder against this negro minister, for which there are several witnesses present; also on a charge of attempted murder of stuart garfield, son of an american citizen; also on a haitian warrant for conspiring against the peace of the republic." stuart stood with wide-open eyes, watching the dénouement. he stepped back, and waited to see what would be said to cecil, who, so far, had remained motionless. the marines, at a word from their officer, turned to go, taking the prisoners with them. "and cecil, father?" the boy asked, in a low voice. "mr. guy cecil, my son," replied the american official, "is my very good friend, as well as yours, and the very good friend of the united states. no man knows more of the inner workings of affairs in the west indies, and he has the confidence of his government. "it was through him that i was first advised of this plot to seize the northern peninsula of haiti, from the citadel of la ferrière to the mole st. nicholas, to make of this stretch a small republic as was done at panama, and to sell the mole st. nicholas, as a naval base, to a certain european power which is seeking to regain its lost prestige. "it was a pretty plot, and your investigations, my boy, will help to bring the criminals to judgment. "also, i think, mr. cecil will release you from your promise not to tell the secret, and you can write your story to the press. it will be a scoop! only----" he smiled--"don't say too much about the crimes of the arch-conspirator, guy cecil!" "then he's not a conspirator, at all!" cried stuart, half-sorry and half-glad. "rather, an ally," his father answered, "an ally with me, just as his government is in alliance with our government, an alliance among the english-speaking peoples to keep the peace of the world." the end [transcriber's note: several typographical errors in the original edition have been corrected. the following sentences are as they originally appeared, with corrections noted in brackets.] chapter i "but, it is you, yes!" he cried, using the haitian idom [idiom] with its perpetual recurrence of "yes" and "no," and went on, "and where is monsieur your father?" chapter ii to the cafê [café] de l'opéra. go down the street and keep a few steps in front." manuel turned into the cafê [café] de l'opéra, a tumble-down frame shack with a corrugated iron roof, to order a cooling drink and to puzzle out this utterly baffling mystery. the cacos may be described as haitian patriots or revolutionists, devotees of serpent and voodoo worship, loosely organized into a secret guerille [guerilla] army. chapter v ["]a privateer on the caribbean and the spanish main, in those days, was a man who had sufficient money or sufficient reputation to secure a ship and a crew with which to wage war against the enemies of his country. chapter vi ["]what happens? i can tell you what happens in this province of oriente. chapter vii it had not occured [occurred] to him that the consular official would not be as excited as himself. he spluttered exclamations. chapter viii the greater part of the island seemed, to the boy, uttterly [utterly] unlike any place he had seen in the tropics. chapter ix spech [speech] again became impossible. chapter x there are many more little houses and thatched huts tucked into corner [corners] of the ruins than appear at first sight, and a hotel has been built for the tourists who visit the strange spot. [illustration: mountain crater, dominica.] the english in the west indies or the bow of ulysses by james anthony froude with illustrations engraved on wood by g. pearson after drawings by the author [illustration] new edition london longmans, green, and co. _all rights reserved_ fürsten prägen so oft auf kaum versilbertes kupfer ihr bedeutendes bild: lange betrügt sich das volk schwärmer prägen den stempel des geist's auf lügen und unsinn: wem der probirstein fehlt, hält sie für redliches gold. goethe. preface to first edition. my purpose in writing this book is so fully explained in the book itself that a preface is unnecessary. i visited the west india islands in order to increase my acquaintance with the condition of the british colonies. i have related what i saw and what i heard, with the general impressions which i was led to form. in a few instances, when opinions were conveyed to me which were important in themselves, but which it might be undesirable to assign to the persons from whom i heard them, i have altered initials and disguised localities and circumstances. the illustrations are from sketches of my own, which, except so far as they are tolerably like the scenes which they represent, are without value. they have been made producible by the skill and care of the engraver, mr. pearson, to whom my warmest thanks are due. j.a.f. onslow gardens: _november , _. [illustration] contents. chapter i. page colonial policy--union or separation--self-government--varieties of condition--the pacific colonies--the west indies--proposals for a west indian federation--nature of the population--american union and british plantations--original conquest of the west indies chapter ii. in the train for southampton--morning papers--the new 'locksley hall'--past and present--the 'moselle'--heavy weather--the petrel--the azores chapter iii. the tropics--passengers on board--account of the darien canal--planters' complaints--west indian history--the spanish conquest--drake and hawkins--the buccaneers--the pirates--french and english--rodney--battle of april --peace with honour--doers and talkers chapter iv. first sight of barbadoes--origin of the name--père labat--bridgetown two hundred years ago--slavery and christianity--economic crisis--sugar bounties--aspect of the streets--government house and its occupants--duties of a governor of barbadoes chapter v. west indian politeness--negro morals and felicity--island of st. vincent--grenada--the harbour--disappearance of the whites--an island of black freeholders--tobago--dramatic art--a promising incident chapter vi. charles kingsley at trinidad--'lay of the last buccaneer'--a french _forban_--adventure at aves--mass on board a pirate ship--port of spain--a house in the tropics--a political meeting--government house--the botanical gardens--kingsley's rooms--sugar estates and coolies chapter vii. a coolie village--negro freeholds--waterworks--snakes--slavery-- evidence of lord rodney--future of the negroes--necessity of english rule--the blue basin--black boy and crayfish chapter viii. home rule in trinidad--political aspirations--nature of the problem--crown administration--colonial governors--a russian apologue--dinner at government house--'the three fishers'--charles warner--alternative futures of the colony chapter ix. barbadoes again--social condition of the island--political constitution--effects of the sugar bounties--dangers of general bankruptcy--the hall of assembly--sir charles pearson--society in bridgetown--a morning drive--church of st. john's--sir graham briggs--an old planter's palace--the chief justice of barbadoes chapter x. leeward and windward islands--the caribs of dominica--visit of père labat--st. lucia--the pitons--the harbour at castries--intended coaling station--visit to the administrator--the old fort and barracks--conversation with an american--constitution of dominica--land at roseau chapter xi. curiosities in dominica--nights in the tropics--english and catholic churches--the market place at roseau--fishing extraordinary--a storm--dominican boatmen--morning walks--effects of the leeward islands confederation--an estate cultivated as it ought to be--a mountain ride--leave the island--reflections chapter xii. the darien canal--jamaican mail packet--captain w.--retrospect of jamaican history--waterspout at sea--hayti--jacmel--a walk through the town--a jamaican planter--first sight of the blue mountains--port royal--kingston--the colonial secretary--gordon riots--changes in the jamaican constitution chapter xiii. the english mails--irish agitation--two kinds of colonies--indian administration--how far applicable in the west indies--land at kingston--government house--dinner party--interesting officer--majuba hill--mountain station--kingston curiosities--tobacco--valley in the blue mountains chapter xiv. visit to port royal--dockyard--town--church--fort augusta--the eyrie in the mountains--ride to newcastle--society in jamaica--religious bodies--liberty and authority chapter xv. the church of england in jamaica--drive to castleton--botanical gardens--picnic by the river--black women--ball at government house--mandeville--miss roy--country society--manners--american visitors--a moravian missionary--the modern radical creed chapter xvi. jamaican hospitality--cherry garden--george william gordon--the gordon riots--governor eyre--a dispute and its consequences--jamaican country-house society--modern speculation--a spanish fable--port royal--the commodore--naval theatricals--the modern sailor chapter xvii. present state of jamaica--test of progress--resources of the island--political alternatives--black supremacy and probable consequences--the west indian problem chapter xviii. passage to cuba--a canadian commissioner--havana--the moro--the city and harbour--cuban money--american visitors--the cathedral--tomb of columbus--new friends--the late rebellion--slave emancipation--spain and progress--a bull fight chapter xix. hotels in havana--sights in the city--cigar manufactories--west indian industries--the captain-general--the jesuit college--father viñez--clubs in havana--spanish aristocracy--sea lodging house chapter xx. return to havana--the spaniards in cuba--prospects--american influence--future of the west indies--english rumours--leave cuba--the harbour at night--the bahama channel--hayti--port au prince--the black republic--west indian history chapter xxi. return to jamaica--cherry garden again--black servants--social conditions--sir henry norman--king's house once more--negro suffrage--the will of the people--the irish python--conditions of colonial union--oratory and statesmanship chapter xxii. going home--retrospect--alternative courses--future of the empire--sovereignty of the sea--the greeks--the rights of man--plato--the voice of the people--imperial federation--hereditary colonial policy--new irelands--effects of party government * * * * * illustrations. mountain crater, dominica _frontispiece_ silk cotton tree, jamaica _title page_ blue basin, trinidad _to face page_ morning walk, dominica port royal, jamaica valley in the blue mountains, jamaica kingston and harbour, from cherry gardens havana, from the quarries port au prince, hayti the english in the west indies. chapter i. colonial policy--union or separation--self-government--varieties of condition--the pacific colonies--the west indies--proposals for a west indian federation--nature of the population--american union and british plantations--original conquest of the west indies. the colonial exhibition has come and gone. delegates from our great self-governed dependencies have met and consulted together, and have determined upon a common course of action for imperial defence. the british race dispersed over the world have celebrated the jubilee of the queen with an enthusiasm evidently intended to bear a special and peculiar meaning. the people of these islands and their sons and brothers and friends and kinsfolk in canada, in australia, and in new zealand have declared with a general voice, scarcely disturbed by a discord, that they are fellow-subjects of a single sovereign, that they are united in feeling, united in loyalty, united in interest, and that they wish and mean to preserve unbroken the integrity of the british empire. this is the answer which the democracy has given to the advocates of the doctrine of separation. the desire for union while it lasts is its own realisation. as long as we have no wish to part we shall not part, and the wish can never rise if when there is occasion we can meet and deliberate together with the same regard for each other's welfare which has been shown in the late conference in london. events mock at human foresight, and nothing is certain but the unforeseen. constitutional government and an independent executive were conferred upon our larger colonies, with the express and scarcely veiled intention that at the earliest moment they were to relieve the mother country of responsibility for them. they were regarded as fledgelings who are fed only by the parent birds till their feathers are grown, and are then expected to shift for themselves. they were provided with the full plumage of parliamentary institutions on the home pattern and model, and the expectation of experienced politicians was that they would each at the earliest moment go off on their separate accounts, and would bid us a friendly farewell. the irony of fate has turned to folly the wisdom of the wise. the wise themselves, the same political party which were most anxious twenty years ago to see the colonies independent, and contrived constitutions for them which they conceived must inevitably lead to separation, appeal now to the effect of those very constitutions in drawing the empire closer together, as a reason why a similar method should be immediately adopted to heal the differences between great britain and ireland. new converts to any belief, political or theological, are proverbially zealous, and perhaps in this instance they are over-hasty. it does not follow that because people of the same race and character are drawn together by equality and liberty, people of different races and different characters, who have quarrelled for centuries, will be similarly attracted to one another. yet so far as our own colonies are concerned it is clear that the abandonment by the mother country of all pretence to interfere in their internal management has removed the only cause which could possibly have created a desire for independence. we cannot, even if we wish it ourselves, shake off connections who cost us nothing and themselves refuse to be divided. politicians may quarrel; the democracies have refused to quarrel; and the result of the wide extension of the suffrage throughout the empire has been to show that being one the british people everywhere intend to remain one. with the same blood, the same language, the same habits, the same traditions, they do not mean to be shattered into dishonoured fragments. all of us, wherever we are, can best manage our own affairs within our own limits; yet local spheres of self-management can revolve round a common centre while there is a centripetal power sufficient to hold them; and so long as england 'to herself is true' and continues worthy of her ancient reputation, there are no causes working visibly above the political horizon which are likely to induce our self-governed colonies to take wing and leave us. the strain will come with the next great war. during peace these colonies have only experienced the advantage of union with us. they will then have to share our dangers, and may ask why they are to be involved in quarrels which are not of their own making. how they will act then only experience can tell; and that there is any doubt about it is a sufficient answer to those rapid statesmen who would rush at once into the application of the same principle to countries whose continuance with us is vital to our own safety, whom we cannot part with though they were to demand it at the cannon's mouth. but the result of the experiment is an encouragement as far as it has gone to those who would extend self-government through the whole of our colonial system. it seems to lead as a direct road into the 'imperial federation' which has fascinated the general imagination. it removes friction. we relieve ourselves of responsibilities. if federation is to come about at all as a definite and effective organisation, the spontaneous action of the different members of the empire in a position in which they are free to stay with us or to leave us as they please, appears the readiest and perhaps the only means by which it can be brought to pass. so plausible is the theory, so obviously right would it be were the problem as simple and the population of all our colonies as homogeneous as in australia, that one cannot wonder at the ambition of politicians to win themselves a name and achieve a great result by the immediate adoption of it. great results generally imply effort and sacrifice. here effort is unnecessary and sacrifice is not demanded. everybody is to have what he wishes, and the effect is to come about of itself. when we think of india, when we think of ireland, prudence tells us to hesitate. steps once taken in this direction cannot be undone, even if found to lead to the wrong place. but undoubtedly, wherever it is possible, the principle of self-government ought to be applied in our colonies and will be applied, and the danger now is that it will be tried in haste in countries either as yet unripe for it or from the nature of things unfit for it. the liberties which we grant freely to those whom we trust and who do not require to be restrained, we bring into disrepute if we concede them as readily to perversity or disaffection or to those who, like most asiatics, do not desire liberty, and prosper best when they are led and guided. in this complex empire of ours the problem presents itself in many shapes, and each must be studied and dealt with according to its character. there is the broad distinction between colonies and conquered countries. colonists are part of ourselves. foreigners attached by force to our dominions may submit to be ruled by us, but will not always consent to rule themselves in accordance with our views or interests, or remain attached to us if we enable them to leave us when they please. the crown, therefore, as in india, rules directly by the police and the army. and there are colonies which are neither one nor the other, where our own people have been settled and have been granted the land in possession with the control of an insubordinate population, themselves claiming political privileges which had to be refused to the rest. this was the position of ireland, and the result of meddling theoretically with it ought to have taught us caution. again, there are colonies like the west indies, either occupied originally by ourselves, as barbadoes, or taken by force from france or spain, where the mass of the population were slaves who have been since made free, but where the extent to which the coloured people can be admitted to share in the administration is still an unsettled question. to throw countries so variously circumstanced under an identical system would be a wild experiment. whether we ought to try such an experiment at all, or even wish to try it and prepare the way for it, depends perhaps on whether we have determined that under all circumstances the retention of them under our own flag is indispensable to our safety. i had visited our great pacific colonies. circumstances led me afterwards to attend more particularly to the west ladies. they were the earliest, and once the most prized, of all our distant possessions. they had been won by the most desperate struggles, and had been the scene of our greatest naval glories. in the recent discussion on the possibility of an organised colonial federation, various schemes came under my notice, in every one of which the union of the west indian islands under a free parliamentary constitution was regarded as a necessary preliminary. i was reminded of a conversation which i had held seventeen years ago with a high colonial official specially connected with the west indian department, in which the federation of the islands under such a constitution was spoken of as a measure already determined on, though with a view to an end exactly the opposite of that which was now desired. the colonies universally were then regarded in such quarters as a burden upon our resources, of which we were to relieve ourselves at the earliest moment. they were no longer of special value to us; the whole world had become our market; and whether they were nominally attached to the empire, or were independent, or joined themselves to some other power, was of no commercial moment to us. it was felt, however, that as long as any tie remained, we should be obliged to defend them in time of war; while they, in consequence of their connection, would be liable to attack. the sooner, therefore, the connection was ended, the better for them and for us. by the constitutions which had been conferred upon them, australia and canada, new zealand and the cape, were assumed to be practically gone. the same measures were to be taken with the west indies. they were not prosperous. they formed no outlet for british emigration; the white population was diminishing; they were dissatisfied; they lay close to the great american republic, to which geographically they more properly belonged. representative assemblies under the crown had failed to produce the content expected from them or to give an impulse to industry. the free negroes could not long be excluded from the franchise. the black and white races had not amalgamated and were not inclining to amalgamate. the then recent gordon riots had been followed by the suicide of the old jamaican constitution. the government of jamaica had been flung back upon the crown, and the crown was impatient of the addition to its obligations. the official of whom i speak informed me that a decision had been irrevocably taken. the troops were to be withdrawn from the islands, and jamaica, trinidad, and the english antilles were to be masters of their own destiny, either to form into free communities like the spanish american republics, or to join the united states, or to do what they pleased, with the sole understanding that we were to have no more responsibilities. i do not know how far the scheme was matured. to an outside spectator it seemed too hazardous to have been seriously meditated. yet i was told that it had not been meditated only but positively determined upon, and that further discussion of a settled question would be fruitless and needlessly irritating. politicians with a favourite scheme are naturally sanguine. it seemed to me that in a west indian federation the black race would necessarily be admitted to their full rights as citizens. their numbers enormously preponderated, and the late scenes in jamaica were signs that the two colours would not blend into one, that there might be, and even inevitably would be, collisions between them which would lead to actions which we could not tolerate. the white residents and the negroes had not been drawn together by the abolition of slavery, but were further apart than ever. the whites, if by superior intelligence they could gain the upper hand, would not be allowed to keep it. as little would they submit to be ruled by a race whom they despised; and i thought it quite certain that something would happen which would compel the british government to interfere again, whether we liked it or not. liberty in hayti had been followed by a massacre of the french inhabitants, and the french settlers had done no worse than we had done to deserve the ill will of their slaves. fortunately opinion changed in england before the experiment could be tried. the colonial policy of the doctrinaire statesmen was no sooner understood than it was universally condemned, and they could not press proposals on the west indies which the west indians showed so little readiness to meet. so things drifted on, remaining to appearance as they were. the troops were not recalled. a minor confederation was formed in the leeward antilles. the windward group was placed under barbadoes, and islands which before had governors of their own passed under subordinate administrators. local councils continued under various conditions, the popular element being cautiously and silently introduced. the blacks settled into a condition of easy-going peasant proprietors. but so far as the white or english interest was concerned, two causes which undermined west indian prosperity continued to operate. so long as sugar maintained its price the planters with the help of coolie labour were able to struggle on; but the beetroot bounties came to cut from under them the industry in which they had placed their main dependence; the reports were continually darker of distress and rapidly approaching ruin; petitions for protection were not or could not be granted. they were losing heart--the worst loss of all; while the home government, no longer with a view to separation, but with the hope that it might produce the same effect which it produced elsewhere, were still looking to their old remedy of the extension of the principle of self-government. one serious step was taken very recently towards the re-establishment of a constitution in jamaica. it was assumed that it had failed before because the blacks were not properly represented. the council was again made partially elective, and the black vote was admitted on the widest basis. a power was retained by the crown of increasing in case of necessity the nominated official members to a number which would counterbalance the elected members; but the power had not been acted on and was not perhaps designed to continue, and a restless hope was said to have revived among the negroes that the day was not far off when jamaica would be as hayti and they would have the island to themselves. to a person like myself, to whom the preservation of the british empire appeared to be the only public cause in which just now it was possible to feel concern, the problem was extremely interesting. i had no prejudice against self-government. i had seen the australian colonies growing under it in health and strength with a rapidity which rivalled the progress of the american union itself. i had observed in south africa that the confusions and perplexities there diminished exactly in proportion as the home government ceased to interfere. i could not hope that as an outsider i could see my way through difficulties where practised eyes were at a loss. but it was clear that the west indies were suffering, be the cause what it might. i learnt that a party had risen there at last which was actually in favour of a union with america, and i wished to find an answer to a question which i had long asked myself to no purpose. my old friend mr. motley was once speaking to me of the probable accession of canada to the american republic. i asked him if he was sure that canada would like it. 'like it?' he replied. 'would i like the house of baring to take me into partnership?' to be a partner in the british empire appeared to me to be at least as great a thing as to be a state under the stars and stripes. what was it that canada, what was it that any other colony, would gain by exchanging british citizenship for american citizenship? what did america offer to those who joined her which we refused to give or neglected to give? was it that great britain did not take her colonies into partnership at all? was it that while in the united states the blood circulated freely from the heart to the extremities, so that 'if one member suffered all the body suffered with it,' our colonies were simply (as they used to be called) 'plantations,' offshoots from the old stock set down as circumstances had dictated in various parts of the globe, but vitally detached and left to grow or to wither according to their own inherent strength? at one time the west indian colonies had been more to us than such casual seedlings. they had been precious regarded as jewels, which hundreds of thousands of english lives had been sacrificed to tear from france and spain. the caribbean sea was the cradle of the naval empire of great britain. there drake and hawkins intercepted the golden stream which flowed from panama into the exchequer at madrid, and furnished philip with the means to carry on his war with the reformation. the pope had claimed to be lord of the new world as well as of the old, and had declared that spaniards, and only spaniards, should own territory or carry on trade there within the tropics. the seamen of england took up the challenge and replied with cannon shot. it was not the crown, it was not the government, which fought that battle: it was the people of england who fought it with their own hands and their own resources. adventurers, buccaneers, corsairs, privateers, call them by what name we will, stand as extraordinary, but characteristic figures on the stage of history, disowned or acknowledged by their sovereign as suited diplomatic convenience. the outlawed pirate of one year was promoted the next to be a governor and his country's representative. in those waters, the men were formed and trained who drove the armada through the channel into wreck and ruin. in those waters, in the centuries which followed, france and england fought for the ocean empire, and england won it--won it on the day when her own politicians' hearts had failed them, and all the powers of the world had combined to humiliate her, and rodney shattered the french fleet, saved gibraltar, and avenged york town. if ever the naval exploits of this country are done into an epic poem--and since the iliad there has been no subject better fitted for such treatment or better deserving it--the west indies will be the scene of the most brilliant cantos. for england to allow them to drift away from her because they have no immediate marketable value would be a sign that she had lost the feelings with which great nations always treasure the heroic traditions of their fathers. when those traditions come to be regarded as something which concerns them no longer, their greatness is already on the wane. chapter ii. in the train for southampton--morning papers--the new 'locksley hall'--past and present--the 'moselle'--heavy weather--the petrel--the azores. the last week in december, when the year was waning to its close, i left waterloo station to join a west indian mail steamer at southampton. the air was frosty; the fog lay thick over city and river; the houses of parliament themselves were scarcely visible as i drove across westminster bridge in the heavy london vapour--a symbol of the cloud which was hanging over the immediate political future. the morning papers were occupied with lord tennyson's new 'locksley hall' and mr. gladstone's remarks upon it. i had read neither; but from the criticisms it appeared that lord tennyson fancied himself to have seen a change pass over england since his boyhood, and a change which was not to his mind. the fruit of the new ideas which were then rising from the ground had ripened, and the taste was disagreeable to him. the day which had followed that 'august sunrise' had not been 'august' at all; and 'the beautiful bold brow of freedom' had proved to have something of brass upon it. the 'use and wont' england, the england out of which had risen the men who had won her great position for her, was losing its old characteristics. things which in his eager youth lord tennyson had despised he saw now that he had been mistaken in despising; and the new notions which were to remake the world were not remaking it in a shape that pleased him. like goethe, perhaps he felt that he was stumbling over the roots of the tree which he had helped to plant. the contrast in mr. gladstone's article was certainly remarkable. lord tennyson saw in institutions which were passing away the decay of what in its time had been great and noble, and he saw little rising in the place of them which humanly could be called improvement. to mr. gladstone these revolutionary years had been years of the sweeping off of long intolerable abuses, and of awaking to higher and truer perceptions of duty. never, according to him, in any period of her history had england made more glorious progress, never had stood higher than at the present moment in material power and moral excellence. how could it be otherwise when they were the years of his own ascendency? metaphysicians tell us that we do not know anything as it really is. what we call outward objects are but impressions generated upon our sense by forces of the actual nature of which we are totally ignorant. we imagine that we hear a sound, and that the sound is something real which is outside us; but the sound is in the ear and is made by the ear, and the thing outside is but a vibration of air. if no animal existed with organs of hearing, the vibrations might be as before, but there would be no such thing as sound; and all our opinions on all subjects whatsoever are equally subjective. lord tennyson's opinions and mr. gladstone's opinions reveal to us only the nature and texture of their own minds, which have been affected in this way or that way. the scale has not been made in which we can weigh the periods in a nation's life, or measure them one against the other. the past is gone, and nothing but the bones of it can be recalled. we but half understand the present, for each age is a chrysalis, and we are ignorant into what it may develop. we do not even try to understand it honestly, for we shut our eyes against what we do not wish to see. i will not despond with lord tennyson. to take a gloomy view of things will not mend them, and modern enlightenment may have excellent gifts in store for us which will come by-and-by. but i will not say that they have come as yet. i will not say that public life is improved when party spirit has degenerated into an organised civil war, and a civil war which can never end, for it renews its life like the giant of fable at every fresh election. i will not say that men are more honest and more law-abiding when debts are repudiated and law is defied in half the country, and mr. gladstone himself applauds or refuses to condemn acts of open dishonesty. we are to congratulate ourselves that duelling has ceased, but i do not know that men act more honourably because they can be called less sharply to account. 'smuggling,' we are told, has disappeared also, but the wrecker scuttles his ship or runs it ashore to cheat the insurance office. the church may perhaps be improved in the arrangement of the services and in the professional demonstrativeness of the clergy, but i am not sure that the clergy have more influence over the minds of men than they had fifty years ago, or that the doctrines which the church teaches are more powerful over public opinion. one would not gather that our morality was so superior from the reports which we see in the newspapers, and girls now talk over novels which the ladies' maids of their grandmothers might have read in secret but would have blushed while reading. each age would do better if it studied its own faults and endeavoured to mend them, instead of comparing itself with others to its own advantage. this only was clear to me in thinking over what mr. gladstone was reported to have said, and in thinking of his own achievements and career, that there are two classes of men who have played and still play a prominent part in the world--those who accomplish great things, and those who talk and make speeches about them. the doers of things are for the most part silent. those who build up empires or discover secrets of science, those who paint great pictures or write great poems, are not often to be found spouting upon platforms. the silent men do the work. the talking men cry out at what is done because it is not done as they would have had it, and afterwards take possession of it as if it was their own property. warren hastings wins india for us; the eloquent burke desires and passionately tries to hang him for it. at the supreme crisis in our history when america had revolted and ireland was defiant, when the great powers of europe had coalesced to crush us, and we were staggering under the disaster at york town, rodney struck a blow in the west indies which sounded over the world and saved for britain her ocean sceptre. just in time, for the popular leaders had persuaded the house of commons that rodney ought to be recalled and peace made on any terms. even in politics the names of oratorical statesmen are rarely associated with the organic growth of enduring institutions. the most distinguished of them have been conspicuous only as instruments of destruction. institutions are the slow growths of centuries. the orator cuts them down in a day. the tree falls, and the hand that wields the axe is admired and applauded. the speeches of demosthenes and cicero pass into literature, and are studied as models of language. but demosthenes and cicero did not understand the facts of their time; their language might be beautiful, and their sentiments noble, but with their fine words and sentiments they only misled their countrymen. the periods where the orator is supreme are marked always by confusion and disintegration. goethe could say of luther that he had thrown back for centuries the spiritual cultivation of mankind, by calling the passions of the multitude to judge of matters which should have been left to the thinkers. we ourselves are just now in one of those uneasy periods, and we have decided that orators are the fittest people to rule over us. the constituencies choose their members according to the fluency of their tongues. can he make a speech? is the one test of competency for a legislator, and the most persuasive of the whole we make prime minister. we admire the man for his gifts, and we accept what he says for the manner in which it is uttered. he may contradict to-day what he asserted yesterday. no matter. he can persuade others wherever he is persuaded himself. and such is the nature of him that he can convince himself of anything which it is his interest to believe. these are the persons who are now regarded as our wisest. it was not always so. it is not so now with nations who are in a sound state of health. the americans, when they choose a president or a secretary of state or any functionary from whom they require wise action, do not select these famous speech-makers. such periods do not last, for the condition which they bring about becomes always intolerable. i do not believe in the degeneracy of our race. i believe the present generation of englishmen to be capable of all that their fathers were and possibly of more; but we are just now in a moulting state, and are sick while the process is going on. or to take another metaphor. the bow of ulysses is unstrung. the worms have not eaten into the horn or the moths injured the string, but the owner of the house is away and the suitors of penelope britannia consume her substance, rivals one of another, each caring only for himself, but with a common heart in evil. they cannot string the bow. only the true lord and master can string it, and in due time he comes, and the cord is stretched once more upon the notch, singing to the touch of the finger with the sharp note of the swallow; and the arrows fly to their mark in the breasts of the pretenders, while pallas athene looks on approving from her coign of vantage. random meditations of this kind were sent flying through me by the newspaper articles on tennyson and mr. gladstone. the air cleared, and my mind also, as we ran beyond the smoke. the fields were covered deep with snow; a white vapour clung along the ground, the winter sky shining through it soft and blue. the ponds and canals were hard frozen, and men were skating and boys were sliding, and all was brilliant and beautiful. the ladies of the forest, the birch trees beside the line about farnborough, were hung with jewels of ice, and glittered like a fretwork of purple and silver. it was like escaping out of a nightmare into happy healthy england once more. in the carriage with me were several gentlemen; officers going out to join their regiments; planters who had been at home on business; young sportsmen with rifles and cartridge cases who were hoping to shoot alligators, &c., all bound like myself for the west indian mail steamer. the elders talked of sugar and of bounties, and of the financial ruin of the islands. i had heard of this before i started, and i learnt little from them which i had not known already; but i had misgivings whether i was not wandering off after all on a fool's errand. i did not want to shoot alligators, i did not understand cane growing or want to understand it, nor was i likely to find a remedy for encumbered and bankrupt landowners. i was at an age too when men grow unfit for roaming, and are expected to stay quietly at home. plato says that to travel to any profit one should go between fifty and sixty; not sooner because one has one's duties to attend to as a citizen; not after because the mind becomes hebetated. the chief object of going abroad, in plato's opinion, is to converse with [greek: theioi andres] inspired men, whom providence scatters about the globe, and from whom alone wisdom can be learnt. and i, alas! was long past the limit, and [greek: theioi andres] are not to be met with in these times. but if not with inspired men, i might fall in at any rate with sensible men who would talk on things which i wanted to know. winter and spring in a warm climate were pleasanter than a winter and spring at home; and as there is compensation in all things, old people can see some objects more clearly than young people can see them. they have no interest of their own to mislead their perception. they have lived too long to believe in any formulas or theories. 'old age,' the greek poet says, 'is not wholly a misfortune. experience teaches things which the young know not.'[ ] old men at any rate like to think so. the 'moselle,' in which i had taken my passage, was a large steamer of , tons, one of the best where all are good--on the west indian mail line. her long straight sides and rounded bottom promised that she would roll, and i may say that the promise was faithfully kept; but except to the stomachs of the inexperienced rolling is no disadvantage. a vessel takes less water on board in a beam sea when she yields to the wave than when she stands up stiff and straight against it. the deck when i went on board was slippery with ice. there was the usual crowd and confusion before departure, those who were going out being undistinguishable, till the bell rang to clear the ship, from the friends who had accompanied them to take leave. i discovered, however, to my satisfaction that our party in the cabin would not be a large one. the west indians who had come over for the colonial exhibition were most of them already gone. they, along with the rest, had taken back with them a consciousness that their visit had not been wholly in vain, and that the interest of the old country in her distant possessions seemed quickening into life once more. the commissioners from all our dependencies had been fêted in the great towns, and the people had come to kensington in millions to admire the productions which bore witness to the boundless resources of british territory. had it been only a passing emotion of wonder and pride, or was it a prelude to a more energetic policy and active resolution? anyway it was something to be glad of. receptions and public dinners and loyal speeches will not solve political problems, but they create the feeling of good will which underlies the useful consideration of them. the exhibition had served the purpose which it was intended for. the conference of delegates grew out of it which has discussed in the happiest temper the elements of our future relations. but the exhibition doors were now closed, and the multitude of admirers or contributors were dispersed or dispersing to their homes. in the 'moselle' we had only the latest lingerers or the ordinary passengers who went to and fro on business or pleasure. i observed them with the curiosity with which one studies persons with whom one is to be shut up for weeks in involuntary intimacy. one young demerara planter attracted my notice, as he had with him a newly married and beautiful wife whose fresh complexion would so soon fade, as it always does in those lands where nature is brilliant with colour and english cheeks grow pale. i found also to my surprise and pleasure a daughter of one of my oldest and dearest friends, who was going out to join her husband in trinidad. this was a happy accident to start with. an announcement printed in spanish in large letters in a conspicuous position intimated that i must be prepared for habits in some of our companions of a less agreeable kind. 'se suplica á los señores pasajeros de no escupir sobre la cubierta de popa.' i may as well leave the words untranslated, but the 'supplication' is not unnecessary. the spanish colonists, like their countrymen at home, smoke everywhere with the usual consequences. the captain of one of our mail boats found it necessary to read one of them who disregarded it a lesson which he would remember. he sent for the quartermaster with a bucket and a mop, and ordered him to stay by this gentleman and clean up till he had done. the wind when we started was light and keen from the north. the afternoon sky was clear and frosty. southampton water was still as oil, and the sun went down crimson behind the brown woods of the new forest. of the 'moselle's' speed we had instant evidence, for a fast government launch raced us for a mile or two, and off netley gave up the chase. we went leisurely along, doing thirteen knots without effort, swept by calshot into the solent, and had cleared the needles before the last daylight had left us. in a few days the ice would be gone, and we should lie in the soft air of perennial summer. singula de nobis anni prædantur euntes: eripuere jocos, venerem, convivia, ludum-- but the flying years had not stolen from me the delight of finding myself once more upon the sea; the sea which is eternally young, and gives one back one's own youth and buoyancy. down the channel the north wind still blew, and the water was still smooth. we set our canvas at the needles, and flew on for three days straight upon our course with a steady breeze. we crossed 'the bay' without the fiddles on the dinner table; we were congratulating ourselves that, mid-winter as it was, we should reach the tropics and never need them. i meanwhile made acquaintances among my west indian fellow-passengers, and listened to their tale of grievances. the exhibition had been well enough in its way, but exhibitions would not fill an empty exchequer or restore ruined plantations. the mother country i found was still regarded as a stepmother, and from more than one quarter i heard a more than muttered wish that they could be 'taken into partnership' by the americans. they were wasting away under free trade and the sugar bounties. the mother country gave them fine words, but words were all. if they belonged to the united states they would have the benefit of a close market in a country where there were , , sugar drinkers. energetic americans would come among them and establish new industries, and would control the unmanageable negroes. from the most loyal i heard the despairing cry of the britons, 'the barbarians drive us into the sea and the sea drives us back upon the barbarians.' they could bear free trade which was fair all round, but not free trade which was made into a mockery by bounties. and it seemed that their masters in downing street answered them as the romans answered our forefathers. 'we have many colonies, and we shall not miss britain. britain is far off, and must take care of herself. she brings us responsibility, and she brings us no revenue; we cannot tax italy for the sake of britons. we have given them our arms and our civilisation. we have done enough. let them do now what they can or please.' virtually this is what england says to the west indians, or would say if despair made them actively troublesome, notwithstanding exhibitions and expansive sentiments. the answer from rome we can now see was the voice of dying greatness, which was no longer worthy of the place in the world which it had made for itself in the days of its strength; but it doubtless seemed reasonable enough at the time, and indeed was the only answer which the rome of honorius could give. a change in the weather cut short our conversations, and drove half the company to their berths. on the fourth morning the wind chopped back to the north-west. a beam sea set in, and the 'moselle' justified my conjectures about her. she rolled gunwale under, rolled at least forty degrees each way, and unshipped a boat out of her davits to windward. the waves were not as high as i have known the atlantic produce when in the humour for it, but they were short, steep, and curling. tons of water poured over the deck. the few of us who ventured below to dinner were hit by the dumb waiters which swung over our heads; and the living waiters staggered about with the dishes and upset the soup into our laps. everybody was grumbling and miserable. driven to my cabin i was dozing on a sofa when i was jerked off and dropped upon the floor. the noise down below on these occasions is considerable. the steering chains clank, unfastened doors slam to and fro, plates and dishes and glass fall crashing at some lurch which is heavier than usual, with the roar of the sea underneath as a constant accompaniment. when a wave strikes the ship full on the quarter and she staggers from stem to stern, one wonders how any construction of wood and iron can endure such blows without being shattered to fragments. and it would be shattered, as i heard an engineer once say, if the sea was not such a gentle creature after all. i crept up to the deck house to watch through the lee door the wild magnificence of the storm. down came a great green wave, rushed in a flood over everything, and swept me drenched to the skin down the stairs into the cabin. i crawled to bed to escape cold, and slid up and down my berth like a shuttle at every roll of the ship till i fell into the unconsciousness which is a substitute for sleep, slept at last really, and woke at seven in the morning to find the sun shining, and the surface of the ocean still undulating but glassy calm. the only signs left of the tempest were the swallow-like petrels skimming to and fro in our wake, picking up the scraps of food and the plate washings which the cook's mate had thrown overboard; smallest and beautifullest of all the gull tribe, called petrel by our ancestors, who went to their bibles more often than we do for their images, in memory of st. peter, because they seem for a moment to stand upon the water when they stoop upon any floating object.[ ] in the afternoon we passed the azores, rising blue and fairy-like out of the ocean; unconscious they of the bloody battles which once went on under their shadows. there it was that grenville, in the 'revenge,' fought through a long summer day alone against a host of enemies, and died there and won immortal honour. the azores themselves are grenville's monument, and in the memory of englishmen are associated for ever with his glorious story. behind these islands, too, lay grenville's comrades, the english privateers, year after year waiting for philip's plate fleet. behind these islands lay french squadrons waiting for the english sugar ships. they are calm and silent now, and are never likely to echo any more to battle thunder. men come and go and play out their little dramas, epic or tragic, and it matters nothing to nature. their wild pranks leave no scars, and the decks are swept clean for the next comers. footnotes: [ ] [greek: hô teknon ouch hapanta thô gêra kaka hê empeiria echei ti lexai thôn neôn sophôteron.] chapter iii. the tropics--passengers on board--account of the darien canal--planters' complaints--west indian history--the spanish conquest--drake and hawkins--the buccaneers--the pirates--french and english--rodney--battle of april --peace with honour--doers and talkers. another two days and we were in the tropics. the north-east trade blew behind us, and our own speed being taken off from the speed of the wind there was scarcely air enough to fill our sails. the waves went down and the ports were opened, and we had passed suddenly from winter into perpetual summer, as jean paul says it will be with us in death. sleep came back soft and sweet, and the water was warm in our morning bath, and the worries and annoyances of life vanished in these sweet surroundings like nightmares when we wake. how well the greeks understood the spiritual beauty of the sea! [greek: thalassa klyzei panta tanthrôpôn kaka], says euripides. 'the sea washes off all the woes of men.' the passengers lay about the decks in their chairs reading story books. the young ones played bull. the officers flirted mildly with the pretty young ladies. for a brief interval care and anxiety had spread their wings and flown away, and existence itself became delightful. there was a young scientific man on board who interested me much. he had been sent out from kew to take charge of the botanical gardens in jamaica--was quiet, modest, and unaffected, understood his own subjects well, and could make others understand them; with him i had much agreeable conversation. and there was another singular person who attracted me even more. i took him at first for an american. he was a dane i found, an engineer by profession, and was on his way to some south american republic. he was a long lean man with grey eyes, red hair, and a laugh as if he so enjoyed the thing that amused him that he wished to keep it all to himself, laughing inwardly till he choked and shook with it. his chief amusement seemed to have lain in watching the performances of liberal politicians in various parts of the world. he told me of an opposition leader in some parliament whom his rival in office had disposed of by shutting him up in the caboose. 'in the caboose,' he repeated, screaming with enjoyment at the thought of it, and evidently wishing that all the parliamentary orators on the globe were in the same place. in his wanderings he had been lately at the darien canal, and gave me a wonderful account of the condition of things there. the original estimate of the probable cost had been twenty-six millions of our (english) money. all these millions had been spent already, and only a fifth of the whole had as yet been executed. the entire cost would not be less, under the existing management, than one hundred millions, and he evidently doubted whether the canal would ever be completed at all, though professionally he would not confess to such an opinion. the waste and plunder had been incalculable. the works and the gold that were set moving by them made a feast for unclean harpies of both sexes from every nation in the four continents. i liked everything about mr. ----. tom cringle's _obed_ might have been something like him, had not _obed's_ evil genius driven him into more dangerous ways. there was a small black boy among us, evidently of pure blood, for his hair was wool and his colour black as ink. his parents must have been well-to-do, for the boy had been in europe to be educated. the officers on board and some of the ladies played with him as they would play with a monkey. he had little more sense than a monkey, perhaps less, and the gestures of him grinning behind gratings and pushing out his long thin arms between the bars were curiously suggestive of the original from whom we are told now that all of us came. the worst of it was that, being lifted above his own people, he had been taught to despise them. he was spoilt as a black and could not be made into a white, and this i found afterwards was the invariable and dangerous consequence whenever a superior negro contrived to raise himself. he might do well enough himself, but his family feel their blood as a degradation. his children will not marry among their own people, and not only will no white girl marry a negro, but hardly any dowry can be large enough to tempt a west indian white to make a wife of a black lady. this is one of the most sinister features in the present state of social life there. small personalities cropped up now and then. we had representatives of all professions among us except the church of england clergy. of them we had not one. the captain, as usual, read us the service on sundays on a cushion for a desk, with the union jack spread over it. on board ship the captain, like a sovereign, is supreme, and in spiritual matters as in secular. drake was the first commander who carried the theory into practice when he excommunicated his chaplain. it is the law now, and the tradition has gone on unbroken. in default of clergy we had a missionary, who for the most part kept his lips closed. he did open them once, and at my expense. apropos of nothing he said to me, 'i wonder, sir, whether you ever read the remarks upon you in the newspapers. if all the attacks upon your writings which i have seen were collected together they would make an interesting volume.' this was all. he had delivered his soul and relapsed into silence. from a puerto rico merchant i learnt that, if the english colonies were in a bad way, the spanish colonies were in a worse. his own island, he said, was a nest of squalor, misery, vice, and disease. blacks and whites were equally immoral; and so far as habits went, the whites were the filthier of the two. the complaints of the english west indians were less sweeping, and, as to immorality between whites and blacks, neither from my companions in the 'moselle' nor anywhere afterward did i hear or see a sign of it. the profligacy of planter life passed away with slavery, and the changed condition of the two races makes impossible any return to the old habits. but they had wrongs of their own, and were eloquent in their exposition of them. we had taken the islands from france and spain at an enormous expense, and we were throwing them aside like a worn-out child's toy. we did nothing for them. we allowed them no advantage as british subjects, and when they tried to do something for themselves, we interposed with an imperial veto. the united states, seeing the west indian trade gravitating towards new york, had offered them a commercial treaty, being willing to admit their sugar duty free, in consideration of the islands admitting in return their salt fish and flour and notions. a treaty was in process of negotiation between the united states and the spanish islands. a similar treaty had been freely offered to them, which might have saved them from ruin, and the imperial government had disallowed it. how, under such treatment, could we expect them to be loyal to the british connection? it was a relief to turn back from these lamentations to the brilliant period of past west indian history. with the planters of the present it was all _sugar_--sugar and the lazy blacks who were england's darlings and would not work for them. the handbooks were equally barren. in them i found nothing but modern statistics pointing to dreary conclusions, and in the place of any human interest, long stories of constitutions, suffrages, representative assemblies, powers of elected members, and powers reserved to the crown. such things, important as they might be, did not touch my imagination; and to an englishman, proud of his country, the west indies had a far higher interest. strange scenes streamed across my memory, and a shadowy procession of great figures who have printed their names in history. columbus and cortez, vasco nuñez, and las casas; the millions of innocent indians who, according to las casas, were destroyed out of the islands, the spanish grinding them to death in their gold mines; the black swarms who were poured in to take their place, and the frightful story of the slave trade. behind it all was the european drama of the sixteenth century--charles v. and philip fighting against the genius of the new era, and feeding their armies with the ingots of the new world. the convulsion spread across the atlantic. the english protestants and the french huguenots took to sea like water dogs, and challenged their enemies in their own special domain. to the popes and the spaniards the new world was the property of the church and of those who had discovered it. a papal bull bestowed on spain all the countries which lay within the tropics west of the atlantic--a form of monroe doctrine, not unreasonable as long as there was force to maintain it, but the force was indispensable, and the protestant adventurers tried the question with them at the cannon's mouth. they were of the reformed faith all of them, these sea rovers of the early days, and, like their enemies, they were of a very mixed complexion. the spaniards, gorged with plunder and wading in blood, were at the same time, and in their own eyes, crusading soldiers of the faith, missionaries of the holy church, and defenders of the doctrines which were impiously assailed in europe. the privateers from plymouth and rochelle paid also for the cost of their expeditions with the pillage of ships and towns and the profits of the slave trade; and they too were the unlicensed champions of spiritual freedom in their own estimate of themselves. the gold which was meant for alva's troops in flanders found its way into the treasure houses of the london companies. the logs of the voyages of the elizabethan navigators represent them faithfully as they were, freebooters of the ocean in one aspect of them; in another, the sea warriors of the reformation--uncommissioned, unrecognised, fighting on their own responsibility, liable to be disowned when they failed, while the queen herself would privately be a shareholder in the adventure. it was a wild anarchic scene, fit cradle of the spiritual freedom of a new age, when the nations of the earth were breaking the chains in which king and priest had bound them. to the spaniards, drake and his comrades were _corsarios_, robbers, enemies of the human race, to be treated to a short shrift whenever found and caught. british seamen who fell into their hands were carried before the inquisition at lima or carthagena and burnt at the stake as heretics. four of drake's crew were unfortunately taken once at vera cruz. drake sent a message to the governor-general that if a hair of their heads was singed he would hang ten spaniards for each one of them. (this curious note is at simancas, where i saw it.) so great an object of terror at madrid was el draque that he was looked on as an incarnation of the old serpent, and when he failed in his last enterprise and news came that he was dead, lope de vega sang a hymn of triumph in an epic poem which he called the 'dragontea.' when elizabeth died and peace was made with spain, the adventurers lost something of the indirect countenance which had so far been extended to them; the execution of raleigh being one among other marks of the change of mind. but they continued under other names, and no active effort was made to suppress them. the spanish government did in agree to leave england in possession of barbadoes, but the pretensions to an exclusive right to trade continued to be maintained, and the english and french refused to recognise it. the french privateers seized tortuga, an island off st. domingo, and they and their english friends swarmed in the caribbean sea as buccaneers or flibustiers. they exchanged names, perhaps as a symbol of their alliance. 'flibustier' was english and a corruption of freebooter. 'buccaneer' came from the boucan, or dried beef, of the wild cattle which the french hunters shot in española, and which formed the chief of their sea stores. boucan became a french verb, and, according to labat, was itself the carib name for the cashew nut. war breaking out again in cromwell's time, penn and venables took jamaica. the flibustiers from the tortugas drove the spaniards out of hayti, which was annexed to the french crown. the comradeship in religious enthusiasm which had originally drawn the two nations together cooled by degrees, as french catholics as well as protestants took to the trade. port royal became the headquarters of the english buccaneers--the last and greatest of them being henry morgan, who took and plundered panama, was knighted for his services, and was afterwards made vice-governor of jamaica. from the time when the spaniards threw open their trade, and english seamen ceased to be delivered over to the inquisition, the english buccaneers ceased to be respectable characters and gradually drifted into the pirates of later history, when under their new conditions they produced their more questionable heroes, the kidds and blackbeards. the french flibustiers continued long after--far into the eighteenth century--some of them with commissions as privateers, others as _forbans_ or unlicensed rovers, but still connived at in martinique. adventurers, buccaneers, pirates pass across the stage--the curtain falls on them, and rises on a more glorious scene. jamaica had become the depôt of the trade of england with the western world, and golden streams had poured into port royal. barbadoes was unoccupied when england took possession of it, and never passed out of our hands; but the antilles--the anterior isles--which stand like a string of emeralds round the neck of the caribbean sea, had been most of them colonised and occupied by the french, and during the wars of the last century were the objects of a never ceasing conflict between their fleets and ours. the french had planted their language there, they had planted their religion there, and the blacks of these islands generally still speak the french patois and call themselves catholics; but it was deemed essential to our interests that the antilles should be not french but english, and antigua, martinique, st. lucia, st. vincent, and grenada were taken and retaken and taken again in a struggle perpetually renewed. when the american colonies revolted, the west indies became involved in the revolutionary hurricane. france, spain, and holland--our three ocean rivals--combined in a supreme effort to tear from us our imperial power. the opportunity was seized by irish patriots to clamour for irish nationality, and by the english radicals to demand liberty and the rights of man. it was the most critical moment in later english history. if we had yielded to peace on the terms which our enemies offered, and the english liberals wished us to accept, the star of great britain would have set for ever. the west indies were then under the charge of rodney, whose brilliant successes had already made his name famous. he had done his country more than yeoman's service. he had torn the leeward islands from the french. he had punished the hollanders for joining the coalition by taking the island of st. eustachius and three millions' worth of stores and money. the patriot party at home led by fox and burke were ill pleased with these victories, for they wished us to be driven into surrender. burke denounced rodney as he denounced warren hastings, and rodney was called home to answer for himself. in his absence demerara, the leeward islands, st. eustachius itself, were captured or recovered by the enemy. the french fleet, now supreme in the western waters, blockaded lord cornwallis at york town and forced him to capitulate. the spaniards had fitted out a fleet at havannah, and the count de grasse, the french admiral, fresh from the victorious thunder of the american cannon, hastened back to refurnish himself at martinique, intending to join the spaniards, tear jamaica from us, and drive us finally and completely out of the west indies. one chance remained. rodney was ordered back to his station, and he went at his best speed, taking all the ships with him which could then be spared. it was mid-winter. he forced his way to barbadoes in five weeks spite of equinoctial storms. the whig orators were indignant. they insisted that we were beaten; there had been bloodshed enough, and we must sit down in our humiliation. the government yielded, and a peremptory order followed on rodney's track, 'strike your flag and come home.' had that fatal command reached him gibraltar would have fallen and hastings's indian empire would have melted into air. but rodney knew that his time was short, and he had been prompt to use it. before the order came, the severest naval battle in english annals had been fought and won. de grasse was a prisoner, and the french fleet was scattered into wreck and ruin. de grasse had refitted in the martinique dockyards. he himself and every officer in the fleet was confident that england was at last done for, and that nothing was left but to gather the fruits of the victory which was theirs already. not xerxes, when he broke through thermopylae and watched from the shore his thousand galleys streaming down to the gulf of salamis, was more assured that his prize was in his hands than de grasse on the deck of the 'ville de paris,' the finest ship then floating on the seas, when he heard that rodney was at st. lucia and intended to engage him. he did not even believe that the english after so many reverses would venture to meddle with a fleet superior in force and inspirited with victory. all the antilles except st. lucia were his own. tobago, grenada, the grenadines, st. vincent, martinique, dominica, guadaloupe, montserrat, nevis, antigua, and st. kitts, he held them all in proud possession, a string of gems, each island large as or larger than the isle of man, rising up with high volcanic peaks clothed from base to crest with forest, carved into deep ravines, and fringed with luxuriant plains. in st. lucia alone, lying between st. vincent and dominica, the english flag still flew, and rodney lay there in the harbour at castries. on april , , the signal came from the north end of the island that the french fleet had sailed. martinique is in sight of st. lucia, and the rock is still shown from which rodney had watched day by day for signs that they were moving. they were out at last, and he instantly weighed and followed. the air was light, and de grasse was under the high lands of dominica before rodney came up with him. both fleets were becalmed, and the english were scattered and divided by a current which runs between the islands. a breeze at last blew off the land. the french were the first to feel it, and were able to attack at advantage the leading english division. had de grasse 'come down as he ought,' rodney thought that the consequences might have been serious. in careless imagination of superiority they let the chance go by. they kept at a distance, firing long shots, which as it was did considerable damage. the two following days the fleets manoeuvred in sight of each other. on the night of the eleventh rodney made signal for the whole fleet to go south under press of sail. the french thought he was flying. he tacked at two in the morning, and at daybreak found himself where he wished to be, with the french fleet on his lee quarter. the french looking for nothing but again a distant cannonade, continued leisurely along under the north highlands of dominica towards the channel which separates that island from guadaloupe. in number of ships the fleets were equal; in size and complement of crew the french were immensely superior; and besides the ordinary ships' companies they had twenty thousand soldiers on board who were to be used in the conquest of jamaica. knowing well that a defeat at that moment would be to england irreparable ruin, they did not dream that rodney would be allowed, even if he wished it, to risk a close and decisive engagement. the english admiral was aware also that his country's fate was in his hands. it was one of those supreme moments which great men dare to use and small men tremble at. he had the advantage of the wind, and could force a battle or decline it, as he pleased. with clear daylight the signal to engage was flying from the masthead of the 'formidable,' rodney's ship. at seven in the morning, april , , the whole fleet bore down obliquely on the french line, cutting it directly in two. rodney led in person. having passed through and broken up their order he tacked again, still keeping the wind. the french, thrown into confusion, were unable to reform, and the battle resolved itself into a number of separate engagements in which the english had the choice of position. rodney in passing through the enemy's lines the first time had exchanged broadsides with the 'glorieux,' a seventy-four, at close range. he had shot away her masts and bowsprit, and left her a bare hull; her flag, however, still flying, being nailed to a splintered spar. so he left her unable to stir; and after he had gone about came himself yardarm to yardarm with the superb 'ville de paris,' the pride of france, the largest ship in the then world, where de grasse commanded in person. all day long the cannon roared. rodney had on board a favourite bantam cock, which stood perched upon the poop of the 'formidable' through the whole action, its shrill voice heard crowing through the thunder of the broadsides. one by one the french ships struck their flags or fought on till they foundered and went down. the carnage on board them was terrible, crowded as they were with the troops for jamaica. fourteen thousand were reckoned to have been killed, besides the prisoners. the 'ville de paris' surrendered last, fighting desperately after hope was gone till her masts were so shattered that they could not bear a sail, and her decks above and below were littered over with mangled limbs. de grasse gave up his sword to rodney on the 'formidable's' quarter-deck. the gallant 'glorieux,' unable to fly, and seeing the battle lost, hauled down her flag, but not till the undisabled remnants of her crew were too few to throw the dead into the sea. other ships took fire and blew up. half the french fleet were either taken or sunk; the rest crawled away for the time, most of them to be picked up afterwards like crippled birds. so on that memorable day was the english empire saved. peace followed, but it was 'peace with honour.' the american colonies were lost; but england kept her west indies; her flag still floated over gibraltar; the hostile strength of europe all combined had failed to twist britannia's ocean sceptre from her: she sat down maimed and bleeding, but the wreath had not been torn from her brow, she was still sovereign of the seas. the bow of ulysses was strung in those days. the order of recall arrived when the work was done. it was proudly obeyed; and even the great burke admitted that no honour could be bestowed upon rodney which he had not deserved at his country's hands. if the british empire is still to have a prolonged career before it, the men who make empires are the men who can hold them together. oratorical reformers can overthrow what deserves to be overthrown. institutions, even the best of them, wear out, and must give place to others, and the fine political speakers are the instruments of their overthrow. but the fine speakers produce nothing of their own, and as constructive statesmen their paths are strewed with failures. the worthies of england are the men who cleared and tilled her fields, formed her laws, built her colleges and cathedrals, founded her colonies, fought her battles, covered the ocean with commerce, and spread our race over the planet to leave a mark upon it which time will not efface. these men are seen in their work, and are not heard of in parliament. when the account is wound up, where by the side of them will stand our famous orators? what will any one of these have left behind him save the wreck of institutions which had done their work and had ceased to serve a useful purpose? that was their business in this world, and they did it and do it; but it is no very glorious work, not a work over which it is possible to feel any 'fine enthusiasm.' to chop down a tree is easier than to make it grow. when the business of destruction is once completed, they and their fame and glory will disappear together. our true great ones will again be visible, and thenceforward will be visible alone. is there a single instance in our own or any other history of a great political speaker who has added anything to human knowledge or to human worth? lord chatham may stand as a lonely exception. but except chatham who is there? not one that i know of. oratory is the spendthrift sister of the arts, which decks itself like a strumpet with the tags and ornaments which it steals from real superiority. the object of it is not truth, but anything which it can make appear truth; anything which it can persuade people to believe by calling in their passions to obscure their intelligence. footnotes: [ ] this is the explanation of the name which is given by dampier. chapter iv. first sight of barbadoes--origin of the name--père labat--bridgetown two hundred years ago--slavery and christianity--economic crisis--sugar bounties--aspect of the streets--government house and its occupants--duties of a governor of barbadoes. england was covered with snow when we left it on december . at sunrise on january we were anchored in the roadstead at bridgetown, and the island of barbadoes lay before us shining in the haze of a hot summer morning. it is about the size of the isle of wight, cultivated so far as eye could see with the completeness of a garden; no mountains in it, scarcely even high hills, but a surface pleasantly undulating, the prevailing colour a vivid green from the cane fields; houses in town and country white from the coral rock of which they are built, but the glare from them relieved by heavy clumps of trees. what the trees were i had yet to discover. you could see at a glance that the island was as thickly peopled as an ant-hill. not an inch of soil seemed to be allowed to run to waste. two hundred thousand is, i believe, the present number of barbadians, of whom nine-tenths are blacks. they refuse to emigrate. they cling to their home with innocent vanity as though it was the finest country in the world, and multiply at a rate so rapid that no one likes to think about it. labour at any rate is abundant and cheap. in barbadoes the negro is willing enough to work, for he has no other means of living. little land is here allowed him to grow his yams upon. almost the whole of it is still held by the whites in large estates, cultivated by labourers on the old system, and, it is to be admitted, cultivated most admirably. if the west indies are going to ruin, barbadoes, at any rate, is being ruined with a smiling face. the roadstead was crowded with shipping--large barques, steamers, and brigs, schooners of all shapes and sorts. the training squadron had come into the bay for a day or two on their way to trinidad, four fine ships, conspicuous by their white ensigns, a squareness of yards, and generally imposing presence. boats were flying to and fro under sail or with oars, officials coming off in white calico dress, with awnings over the stern sheets and chattering crews of negroes. notwithstanding these exotic symptoms, it was all thoroughly english; we were under the guns of our own men-of-war. the language of the anglo-barbadians was pure english, the voices without the smallest transatlantic intonation. on no one of our foreign possessions is the print of england's foot more strongly impressed than on barbadoes. it has been ours for two centuries and three-quarters, and was organised from the first on english traditional lines, with its constitution, its parishes and parish churches and churchwardens, and schools and parsons, all on the old model; which the unprogressive inhabitants have been wise enough to leave undisturbed. little is known of the island before we took possession of it--so little that the origin of the name is still uncertain. barbadoes, if not a corruption of some older word, is spanish or portuguese, and means 'bearded.' the local opinion is that the word refers to a banyan or fig tree which is common there, and which sends down from its branches long hairs or fibres supposed to resemble beards. i disbelieve in this derivation. every spaniard whom i have consulted confirms my own impression that 'barbados' standing alone could no more refer to trees than 'barbati' standing alone could refer to trees in latin. the name is a century older than the english occupation, for i have seen it in a spanish chart of . the question is of some interest, since it perhaps implies that at the first discovery there was a race of bearded caribs there. however this may be, barbadoes, after we became masters of the island, enjoyed a period of unbroken prosperity for two hundred years. before the conquest of jamaica, it was the principal mart of our west indian trade; and even after that conquest, when all europe drew its new luxury of sugar from these islands, the wealth and splendour of the english residents at bridgetown astonished and stirred the envy of every passing visitor. absenteeism as yet was not. the owners lived on their estates, governed the island as magistrates unpaid for their services, and equally unpaid, took on themselves the defences of the island. père labat, a french missionary, paid a visit to barbadoes at the beginning of the eighteenth century. he was a clever, sarcastic kind of man, with fine literary skill, and describes what he saw with a jealous appreciation which he intended to act upon his own countrymen. the island, according to him, was running over with wealth, and was very imperfectly fortified. the jewellers' and silversmiths' shops in bridgetown were brilliant as on the paris boulevards. the port was full of ships, the wharves and warehouses crammed with merchandise from all parts of the globe. the streets were handsome, and thronged with men of business, who were piling up fortunes. to the father these sumptuous gentlemen were all most civil. the governor, an english milor, asked him to dinner, and talked such excellent french that labat forgave him his nationality. the governor, he said, resided in a fine palace. he had a well-furnished library, was dignified, courteous, intelligent, and lived in state like a prince. a review was held for the french priest's special entertainment, of the bridgetown cavalry. five hundred gentlemen turned out from this one district admirably mounted and armed. altogether in the island he says that there were , horse and , foot, every one of them of course white and english. the officers struck him particularly. he met one who had been five years a prisoner in the bastille, and had spent his time there in learning mathematics. the planters opened their houses to him. dinners then as now were the received form of english hospitality. they lived well, labat says. they had all the luxuries of the tropics, and they had imported the partridges which they were so fond of from england. they had the costliest and choicest wines, and knew how to enjoy them. they dined at two o'clock, and their dinner lasted four hours. their mansions were superbly furnished, and gold and silver plate, he observed with an eye to business, was so abundant that the plunder of it would pay the cost of an expedition for the reduction of the island. there was another side to all this magnificence which also might be turned to account by an enterprising enemy. there were some thousands of wretched irish, who had been transplanted thither after the last rebellion, and were bound under articles to labour. these might be counted on to rise if an invading force appeared; and there were , slaves, who would rebel also if they saw a hope of success. they were ill fed and hard driven. on the least symptom of insubordination they were killed without mercy: sometimes they were burnt alive, or were hung up in iron cages to die.[ ] in the french and spanish islands care was taken of the souls of the poor creatures. they were taught their catechism, they were baptised, and attended mass regularly. the anglican clergy, labat said with professional malice, neither baptised them nor taught them anything, but regarded them as mere animals. to keep christians in slavery they held would be wrong and indefensible, and they therefore met the difficulty by not making their slaves into christians. that baptism made any essential difference, however, he does not insist. by the side of christianity, in the catholic islands, devil worship and witchcraft went on among the same persons. no instance had ever come to his knowledge of a converted black who returned to his country who did not throw away his christianity just as he would throw away his clothes; and as to cruelty and immorality, he admits that the english at barbadoes were no worse than his own people at martinique. in the collapse of west indian prosperity which followed on emancipation, barbadoes escaped the misfortunes of the other islands. the black population being so dense, and the place itself being so small, the squatting system could not be tried; there was plenty of labour always, and the planters being relieved of the charge of their workmen when they were sick or worn out, had rather gained than lost by the change. barbadoes, however, was not to escape for ever, and was now having its share of misfortunes. it is dangerous for any country to commit its fortunes to an exclusive occupation. sugar was the most immediately lucrative of all the west indian productions. barbadoes is exceptionally well suited to sugar-growing. it has no mountains and no forests. the soil is clean and has been carefully attended to for two hundred and fifty years. it had been owned during the present century by gentlemen who for the most part lived in england on the profits of their properties, and left them to be managed by agents and attorneys. the method of management was expensive. their own habits were expensive. their incomes, to which they had lived up, had been cut short lately by a series of bad seasons. money had been borrowed at high interest year after year to keep the estates and their owners going. on the top of this came the beetroot competition backed up by a bounty, and the barbadian sugar interest, i was told, had gone over a precipice. even the unencumbered resident proprietors could barely keep their heads above water. the returns on three-quarters of the properties on the island no longer sufficed to pay the expenses of cultivation and the interest of the loans which had been raised upon them. there was impending a general bankruptcy which might break up entirely the present system and leave the negroes for a time without the wages which were the sole dependence. a very dark picture had thus been drawn to me of the prospects of the poor little island which had been once so brilliant. nothing could be less like it than the bright sunny landscape which we saw from the deck of our vessel. the town, the shipping, the pretty villas, the woods, and the wide green sea of waving cane had no suggestion of ruin about them. if the ruin was coming, clearly enough it had not yet come. after breakfast we went on shore in a boat with a white awning over it, rowed by a crew of black boatmen, large, fleshy, shining on the skin with ample feeding and shining in the face with innocent happiness. they rowed well. they were amusing. there was a fixed tariff, and they were not extortionate. the temperature seemed to rise ten degrees when we landed. the roads were blinding white from the coral dust, the houses were white, the sun scorching. the streets were not the streets described by labat; no splendid magazines or jewellers' shops like those in paris or london; but there were lighters at the quays loading or unloading, carts dashing along with mule teams and making walking dangerous; signs in plenty of life and business; few white faces, but blacks and mulattoes swarming. the houses were substantial, though in want of paint. the public buildings, law courts, hall of assembly &c. were solid and handsome, nowhere out of repair, though with something to be desired in point of smartness. the market square would have been well enough but for a statue of lord nelson which stands there, very like, but small and insignificant, and for some extraordinary reason they have painted it a bright pea-green. we crept along in the shade of trees and warehouses till we reached the principal street. here my friends brought me to the icehouse, a sort of club, with reading rooms and dining rooms, and sleeping accommodation for members from a distance who do not like colonial hotels. before anything else could be thought of i was introduced to cocktail, with which i had to make closer acquaintance afterwards, cocktail being the established corrective of west indian languor, without which life is impossible. it is a compound of rum, sugar, lime juice, angostura bitters, and what else i know not, frisked into effervescence by a stick, highly agreeable to the taste and effective for its immediate purpose. cocktail over, and walking in the heat being a thing not to be thought of, i sat for two hours in a balcony watching the people, who were thick as bees in swarming time. nine-tenths of them were pure black; you rarely saw a white face, but still less would you see a discontented one, imperturbable good humour and self-satisfaction being written on the features of every one. the women struck me especially. they were smartly dressed in white calico, scrupulously clean, and tricked out with ribands and feathers; but their figures were so good, and they carried themselves so well and gracefully, that, although they might make themselves absurd, they could not look vulgar. like the old greek and etruscan women, they are trained from childhood to carry heavy weights on their heads. they are thus perfectly upright, and plant their feet firmly and naturally on the ground. they might serve for sculptors' models, and are well aware of it. there were no signs of poverty. old and young seemed well-fed. some had brought in baskets of fruit, bananas, oranges, pine apples, and sticks of sugar cane; others had yams and sweet potatoes from their bits of garden in the country. the men were active enough driving carts, wheeling barrows, or selling flying fish, which are caught off the island in shoals and are cheaper than herrings in yarmouth. they chattered like a flock of jackdaws, but there was no quarrelling; not a drunken man was to be seen, and all was merriment and good humour. my poor downtrodden black brothers and sisters, so far as i could judge from this first introduction, looked to me a very fortunate class of fellow-creatures. government house, where we went to luncheon, is a large airy building shaded by heavy trees with a garden at the back of it. west indian houses, i found afterwards, are all constructed on the same pattern, the object being to keep the sun out and let in the wind. long verandahs or galleries run round them protected by green venetian blinds which can be opened or closed at pleasure; the rooms within with polished floors, little or no carpet, and contrivances of all kinds to keep the air in continual circulation. in the subdued green light, human figures lose their solidity and look as if they were creatures of air also. sir charles lees and his lady were all that was polite and hospitable. they invited me to make their house my home during my stay, and more charming host and hostess it would have been impossible to find or wish for. there was not the state which labat described, but there was the perfection of courtesy, a courtesy which must have belonged to their natures, or it would have been overstrained long since by the demands made upon it. those who have looked on at a skating ring will have observed an orange or some such object in the centre round which the evolutions are described, the ice artist sweeping out from it in long curves to the extreme circumference, returning on interior arcs till he gains the orange again, and then off once more on a fresh departure. barbadoes to the west indian steam navigation is like the skater's orange. all mails, all passengers from europe, arrive at barbadoes first. there the subsidiary steamers catch them up, bear them north or south to the windward or leeward isles, and on their return bring them back to carlisle bay. every vessel brings some person or persons to whom the governor is called on to show hospitality. he must give dinners to the officials and gentry of the island, he must give balls and concerts for their ladies, he must entertain the officers of the garrison. when the west indian squadron or the training squadron drop into the roadstead, admirals, commodores, captains must all be invited. foreign ships of war go and come continually, americans, french, spaniards, or portuguese. presidents of south american republics, engineers from darien, all sorts and conditions of men who go to europe in the english mail vessels, take their departure from carlisle bay, and if they are neglected regard it as a national affront. cataracts of champagne must flow if the british name is not to be discredited. the expense is unavoidable and is enormous, while the governor's very moderate salary is found too large by economic politicians, and there is a cry for reduction of it. i was of course most grateful for sir charles's invitation to myself. from him, better perhaps than from anyone, i could learn how far the passionate complaints which i had heard about the state of the islands were to be listened to as accounts of actual fact. i found, however, that i must postpone both this particular pleasure and my stay in barbadoes itself till a later opportunity. my purpose had been to remain there till i had given it all the time which i could spare, thence to go on to jamaica, and from jamaica to return at leisure round the antilles. but it had been ascertained that in jamaica there was small-pox. i suppose that there generally is small-pox there, or typhus fever, or other infectious disorder. but spasms of anxiety assail periodically the souls of local authorities. vessels coming from jamaica had been quarantined in all the islands, and i found that if i proceeded thither as i proposed, i should be refused permission to land afterwards in any one of the other colonies. in my perplexity my trinidad friends invited me to accompany them at once to port of spain. trinidad was the most thriving, or was at all events the least dissatisfied, of all the british possessions. i could have a glance at the windward islands on the way. i could afterwards return to barbadoes, where sir charles assured me that i should still find a room waiting for me. the steamer to trinidad sailed the same afternoon. i had to decide in haste, and i decided to go. our luncheon over, we had time to look over the pretty gardens at government house. there were great cabbage palms, cannon-ball trees, mahogany trees, almond trees, and many more which were wholly new acquaintances. there was a grotto made by climbing plants and creepers, with a fountain playing in the middle of it, where orchids hanging on wires threw out their clusters of flowers for the moths to fertilize, ferns waved their long fronds in the dripping showers, humming birds cooled their wings in the spray, and flashed in and out like rubies and emeralds. gladly would i have lingered there, at least for a cigar, but it could not be; we had to call on the commander of the forces, sir c. pearson, the hero of ekowe in the zulu war. him, too, i was to see again, and hear interesting stories from about our tragic enterprise in the transvaal. for the moment my mind was filled sufficiently with new impressions. one reads books about places, but the images which they create are always unlike the real object. all that i had seen was absolutely new and unexpected. i was glad of an opportunity to readjust the information which i had brought with me. we joined our new vessel before sunset, and we steamed away into the twilight. footnotes: [ ] labat seems to say that they were hung up alive in these cages, and left to die there. he says elsewhere, and it may be hoped that the explanation is the truer one, that the recently imported negroes often destroyed themselves, in the belief that when dead they would return to their own country. in the french islands as well as the english, the bodies of suicides were exposed in these cages, from which they could not be stolen, to convince the poor people of their mistake by their own eyes. he says that the contrivance was successful, and that after this the slaves did not destroy themselves any more. chapter v. west indian politeness--negro morals and felicity--island of st. vincent--grenada--the harbour--disappearance of the whites--an island of black freeholders--tobago--dramatic art--a promising incident. west indian civilisation is old-fashioned, and has none of the pushing manners which belong to younger and perhaps more thriving communities. the west indians themselves, though they may be deficient in energy, are uniformly ladies and gentlemen, and all their arrangements take their complexion from the general tone of society. there is a refinement visible at once in the subsidiary vessels of the mail service which ply among the islands. they are almost as large as those which cross the atlantic, and never on any line in the world have i met with officers so courteous and cultivated. the cabins were spacious and as cool as a temperature of °, gradually rising as we went south, would permit. punkahs waved over us at dinner. in our berths a single sheet was all that was provided for us, and this was one more than we needed. a sea was running when we cleared out from under the land. among the cabin passengers was a coloured family in good circumstances moving about with nurses and children. the little things, who had never been at sea before, sat on the floor, staring out of their large helpless black eyes, not knowing what was the matter with them. forward there were perhaps two or three hundred coloured people going from one island to another, singing, dancing, and chattering all night long, as radiant and happy as carelessness and content could make them. sick or not sick made no difference. nothing could disturb the imperturbable good humour and good spirits. it was too hot to sleep; we sat several of us smoking on deck, and i learnt the first authentic particulars of the present manner of life of these much misunderstood people. evidently they belonged to a race far inferior to the zulus and caffres, whom i had known in south africa. they were more coarsely formed in limb and feature. they would have been slaves in their own country if they had not been brought to ours, and at the worst had lost nothing by the change. they were good-natured, innocent, harmless, lazy perhaps, but not more lazy than is perfectly natural when even europeans must be roused to activity by cocktail. in the antilles generally, barbadoes being the only exception, negro families have each their cabin, their garden ground, their grazing for a cow. they live surrounded by most of the fruits which grew in adam's paradise--oranges and plantains, bread-fruit, and cocoa-nuts, though not apples. their yams and cassava grow without effort, for the soil is easily worked and inexhaustibly fertile. the curse is taken off from nature, and like adam again they are under the covenant of innocence. morals in the technical sense they have none, but they cannot be said to sin, because they have no knowledge of a law, and therefore they can commit no breach of the law. they are naked and not ashamed. they are _married_ as they call it, but not _parsoned_. the woman prefers a looser tie that she may be able to leave a man if he treats her unkindly. yet they are not licentious. i never saw an immodest look in one their faces, and never heard of any venal profligacy. the system is strange, but it answers. a missionary told me that a connection rarely turns out well which begins with a legal marriage. the children scramble up anyhow, and shift for themselves like chickens as soon as they are able to peck. many die in this way by eating unwholesome food, but also many live, and those who do live grow up exactly like their parents. it is a very peculiar state of things, not to be understood, as priest and missionary agree, without long acquaintance. there is immorality, but an immorality which is not demoralising. there is sin, but it is the sin of animals, without shame, because there is no sense of doing wrong. they eat the forbidden fruit, but it brings with it no knowledge of the difference between good and evil. they steal, but as a tradition of the time when they were themselves chattels, and the laws of property did not apply to them. they are honest about money, more honest perhaps than a good many whites. but food or articles of use they take freely, as they were allowed to do when slaves, in pure innocence of heart. in fact these poor children of darkness have escaped the consequences of the fall, and must come of another stock after all. meanwhile they are perfectly happy. in no part of the globe is there any peasantry whose every want is so completely satisfied as her majesty's black subjects in these west indian islands. they have no aspirations to make them restless. they have no guilt upon their consciences. they have food for the picking up. clothes they need not, and lodging in such a climate need not be elaborate. they have perfect liberty, and are safe from dangers, to which if left to themselves they would be exposed, for the english rule prevents the strong from oppressing the weak. in their own country they would have remained slaves to more warlike races. in the west indies their fathers underwent a bondage of a century or two, lighter at its worst than the easiest form of it in africa; their descendants in return have nothing now to do save to laugh and sing and enjoy existence. their quarrels, if they have any, begin and end in words. if happiness is the be all and end all of life, and those who have most of it have most completely attained the object of their being, the 'nigger' who now basks among the ruins of the west indian plantations is the supremest specimen of present humanity. we retired to our berths at last. at waking we were at anchor off st. vincent, an island of volcanic mountains robed in forest from shore to crest. till late in the last century it was the headquarters of the caribs, who kept up a savage independence there, recruited by runaway slaves from barbadoes or elsewhere. brandy and sir ralph abercrombie reduced them to obedience in , and st. vincent throve tolerably down to the days of free trade. even now when i saw it, kingston, the principal town, looked pretty and well to do, reminding me, strange to say, of towns in norway, the houses stretching along the shore painted in the same tints of blue or yellow or pink, with the same red-tiled roofs, the trees coming down the hill sides to the water's edge, villas of modest pretensions shining through the foliage, with the patches of cane fields, the equivalent in the landscape of the brilliant norwegian grass. the prosperity has for the last forty years waned and waned. there are now two thousand white people there, and forty thousand coloured people, and proportions alter annually to our disadvantage. the usual remedies have been tried. the constitution has been altered a dozen times. just now i believe the crown is trying to do without one, having found the results of the elective principle not encouraging, but we shall perhaps revert to it before long; any way, the tables show that each year the trade of the island decreases, and will continue to decrease while the expenditure increases and will increase. i did not land, for the time was short, and as a beautiful picture the island was best seen from the deck. the characteristics of the people are the same in all the antilles, and could be studied elsewhere. the bustle and confusion in the ship, the crowd of boats round the ladder, the clamour of negro men's tongues, and the blaze of colours from the negro women's dresses, made up together a scene sufficiently entertaining for the hour which we remained. in the middle of it the governor, mr. s----, came on board with another official. they were going on in the steamer to tobago, which formed part of his dominions. leaving st. vincent, we were all the forenoon passing the grenadines, a string of small islands fitting into their proper place in the antilles semicircle, but as if nature had forgotten to put them together or else had broken some large island to pieces and scattered them along the line. some were large enough to have once carried sugar plantations, and are now made over wholly to the blacks; others were fishing stations, droves of whales during certain months frequenting these waters; others were mere rocks, amidst which the white-sailed american coasting schooners were beating up against the north-east trade. there was a stiff breeze, and the sea was white with short curling waves, but we were running before it and the wind kept the deck fresh. at grenada, the next island, we were to go on shore. grenada was, like st. vincent, the home for centuries of man-eating caribs, french for a century and a half, and finally, after many desperate struggles for it, was ceded to england at the peace of versailles. it is larger than st. vincent, though in its main features it has the same character. there are lakes in the hills, and a volcanic crater not wholly quiescent; but the especial value of grenada, which made us fight so hardly to win it, is the deep and landlocked harbour, the finest in all the antilles. père labat, to whose countrymen it belonged at the time of his own visit there, says that 'if barbadoes had such a harbour as grenada it would be an island without a rival in the world. if grenada belonged to the english, who knew how to turn to profit natural advantages, it would be a rich and powerful colony. in itself it was all that man could desire. to live there was to live in paradise.' labat found the island occupied by countrymen of his own, '_paisans aisez_', he calls them, growing their tobacco, their indigo and scarlet rocou, their pigs and their poultry, and contented to be without sugar, without slaves, and without trade. the change of hands from which he expected so much had actually come about. grenada did belong to the english, and had belonged to us ever since rodney's peace. i was anxious to see how far labat's prophecy had been fulfilled. st. george's, the 'capital,' stands on the neck of a peninsula a mile in length, which forms one side of the harbour. of the houses, some look out to sea, some inwards upon the _carenage_, as the harbour is called. at the point there was a fort, apparently of some strength, on which the british flag was flying. we signalled that we had the governor on board, and the fort replied with a puff of smoke. sound there was none or next to none, but we presumed that it had come from a gun of some kind. we anchored outside. mr. s---- landed in an official boat with two flags, a missionary in another, which had only one. the crews of a dozen other boats then clambered up the gangway to dispute possession of the rest of us, shouting, swearing, lying, tearing us this way and that way as if we were carcases and they wild beasts wanting to dine upon us. we engaged a boat for ourselves as we supposed; we had no sooner entered it than the scandalous boatman proceeded to take in as many more passengers as it would hold. remonstrance being vain, we settled the matter by stepping into the boat next adjoining, and amidst howls and execrations we were borne triumphantly off and were pulled in to the land. labat had not exaggerated the beauty of the landlocked basin into which we entered on rounding the point. on three sides wooded hills rose high till they passed into mountains; on the fourth was the castle with its slopes and batteries, the church and town beyond it, and everywhere luxuriant tropical forest trees overhanging the violet-coloured water. i could well understand the frenchman's delight when he saw it, and also the satisfaction with which he would now acknowledge that he had been a shortsighted prophet. the english had obtained grenada, and this is what they had made of it. the forts which had been erected by his countrymen had been deserted and dismantled; the castle on which we had seen our flag flying was a ruin; the walls were crumbling and in many places had fallen down. one solitary gun was left, but that was honeycombed and could be fired only with half a charge to salute with. it was true that the forts had ceased to be of use, but that was because there was nothing left to defend. the harbour is, as i said, the best in the west indies. there was not a vessel in it, nor so much as a boat-yard that i could see where a spar could be replaced or a broken rivet mended. once there had been a line of wharves, but the piles had been eaten by worms and the platforms had fallen through. round us when we landed were unroofed warehouses, weed-choked courtyards, doors gone, and window frames fallen in or out. such a scene of desolation and desertion i never saw in my life save once, a few weeks later at jamaica. an english lady with her children had come to the landing place to meet my friends. they, too, were more like wandering ghosts than human beings with warm blood in them. all their thoughts were on going home--home out of so miserable an exile.[ ] nature and the dark race had been simply allowed by us to resume possession of the island. here, where the cannon had roared, and ships and armies had fought, and the enterprising english had entered into occupancy, under whom, as we are proud to fancy, the waste places of the earth grow green, and industry and civilisation follow as an inevitable fruit, all was now silence. and this was an english crown colony, as rich in resources as any area of soil of equal size in the world. england had demanded and seized the responsibility of managing it--this was the result. a gentleman who for some purpose was a passing resident in the island, had asked us to dine with him. his house was three or four miles inland. a good road remained as a legacy from other times, and a pair of horses and a phaeton carried us swiftly to his door. the town of st. george's had once been populous, and even now there seemed no want of people, if mere numbers sufficed. we passed for half a mile through a straggling street, where the houses were evidently occupied though unconscious for many a year of paint or repair. they were squalid and dilapidated, but the luxuriant bananas and orange trees in the gardens relieved the ugliness of their appearance. the road when we left the town was overshadowed with gigantic mangoes planted long ago, with almond trees and cedar trees, no relations of our almonds or our cedars, but the most splendid ornaments of the west indian forest. the valley up which we drove was beautiful, and the house, when we reached it, showed taste and culture. mr. ---- had rare trees, rare flowers, and was taking advantage of his temporary residence in the tropics to make experiments in horticulture. he had been brought there, i believe, by some necessities of business. he told us that grenada was now the ideal country of modern social reformers. it had become an island of pure peasant proprietors. the settlers, who had once been a thriving and wealthy community, had almost melted away. some thirty english estates remained which could still be cultivated, and were being cultivated with remarkable success. but the rest had sold their estates for anything which they could get. the free blacks had bought them, and about , negro families, say , black souls in all, now shared three-fourths of the soil between them. each family lived independently, growing coffee and cocoa and oranges, and all were doing very well. the possession of property had brought a sense of its rights with it. they were as litigious as irish peasants; everyone was at law with his neighbour, and the island was a gold mine to the attorney-general; otherwise they were quiet harmless fellows, and if the politicians would only let them alone, they would be perfectly contented, and might eventually, if wisely managed, come to some good. to set up a constitution in such a place was a ridiculous mockery, and would only be another name for swindling and jobbery. black the island was, and black it would remain. the conditions were never likely to arise which would bring back a european population; but a governor who was a sensible man, who would reside and use his natural influence, could manage it with perfect ease. the island belonged to england; we were responsible for what we made of it, and for the blacks' own sakes we ought not to try experiments upon them. they knew their own deficiencies and would infinitely prefer a wise english ruler to any constitution which could be offered them. if left entirely to themselves, they would in a generation or two relapse into savages; there were but two alternatives before not grenada only, but all the english west indies--either an english administration pure and simple, like the east indian, or a falling eventually into a state like that of hayti, where they eat the babies, and no white man can own a yard of land. it was dark night when we drove back to the port. the houses along the road, which had looked so miserable on the outside, were now lighted with paraffin lamps. i could see into them, and was astonished to observe signs of comfort and even signs of taste--arm-chairs, sofas, sideboards with cut glass upon them, engravings and coloured prints upon the walls. the old state of things is gone, but a new state of things is rising which may have a worth of its own. the plant of civilisation as yet has taken but feeble root, and is only beginning to grow. it may thrive yet if those who have troubled all the earth will consent for another century to take their industry elsewhere. the ship's galley was waiting at the wharf when we reached it. the captain also had been dining with a friend on shore, and we had to wait for him. the off-shore night breeze had not yet risen. the harbour was smooth as a looking glass, and the stars shone double in the sky and on the water. the silence was only broken by the whistle of the lizards or the cry of some far-off marsh frog. the air was warmer than we ever feel it in the depth of an english summer, yet pure and delicious and charged with the perfume of a thousand flowers. one felt it strange that with so beautiful a possession lying at our doors, we should have allowed it to slide out of our hands. i could say for myself, like père labat, the island was all that man could desire. 'en un mot, la vie y est délicieuse.' the anchor was got up immediately that we were on board. in the morning we were to find ourselves at port of spain. mr. s----, the windward island governor, who had joined us at st. vincent, was, as i said, going to tobago. de foe took the human part of his robinson crusoe from the story of juan fernandez. the locality is supposed to have been tobago, and trinidad the island from which the cannibal savages came. we are continually shuffling the cards, in a hope that a better game may be played with them. tobago is now-annexed to trinidad. last year it was a part of mr. s----'s dominions which he periodically visited. i fell in with him again on his return, and he told us an incident which befell him there, illustrating the unexpected shapes in which the schoolmaster is appearing among the blacks. an intimation was brought to him on his arrival that, as the athenian journeymen had played pyramus and thisbe at the nuptials of theseus and hippolyta, so a party of villagers from the interior of tobago would like to act before his excellency. of course he consented. they came, and went through their performance. to mr. s----'s, and probably to the reader's astonishment, the play which they had selected was the 'merchant of venice.' of the rest of it he perhaps thought, like the queen of the amazons, that it was 'sorry stuff;' but shylock's representative, he said, showed real appreciation. with freedom and a peasant proprietary, the money lender is a necessary phenomenon, and the actor's imagination may have been assisted by personal recollections. footnotes: [ ] i have been told that this picture is overdrawn, that grenada is the most prosperous of the antilles, that its exports are increasing, that english owners are making large profits again, that the blacks are thriving beyond example, that there are twenty guns in the fort, that the wharves and quay are in perfect condition, that there are no roofless warehouses, that in my description of st. george's i must have been asleep or dreaming. i can only repeat and insist upon what i myself saw. i know very well that in parts of the island a few energetic english gentlemen are cultivating their land with remarkable success. any enterprising englishman with capital and intelligence might do the same. i know also that in no part of the west indies are the blacks happier or better off. but notwithstanding the english interest in the island has sunk to relatively nothing. once englishmen owned the whole of it. now there are only thirty english estates. there are five thousand peasant freeholds, owned almost entirely by coloured men, and the effect of the change is written upon the features of the harbour. not a vessel of any kind was to be seen in it. the great wooden jetty where cargoes used to be landed, or taken on board, was a wreck, the piles eaten through, the platform broken. on the quay there was no sign of life, or of business, the houses along the side mean and insignificant, while several large and once important buildings, warehouses, custom houses, dwelling houses, or whatever they had been, were lying in ruins, tropical trees growing in the courtyards, and tropical creepers climbing over the masonry showing how long the decay had been going on. these buildings had once belonged to english merchants, and were evidence of english energy and enterprise, which once had been and now had ceased to be. as to the guns in the fort, i cannot say how much old iron may be left there. but i was informed that only one gun could be fired and that with but half a charge. this is of little consequence or none, but unless the english population can be reinforced, grenada in another generation will cease to be english at all, while the prosperity, the progress, even the continued civilisation of the blacks depends on the maintenance there of english influence and authority. chapter vi. charles kingsley at trinidad--'lay of the last buccaneer'--a french _forban_--adventure at aves--mass on board a pirate ship--port of spain--a house in the tropics--a political meeting--government house--the botanical gardens'--kingsley's rooms--sugar estates and coolies. i might spare myself a description of trinidad, for the natural features of the place, its forests and gardens, its exquisite flora, the loveliness of its birds and insects, have been described already, with a grace of touch and a fullness of knowledge which i could not rival if i tried, by my dear friend charles kingsley. he was a naturalist by instinct, and the west indies and all belonging to them had been the passion of his life. he had followed the logs and journals of the elizabethan adventurers till he had made their genius part of himself. in amyas leigh, the hero of 'westward ho,' he produced a figure more completely representative of that extraordinary set of men than any other novelist, except sir walter, has ever done for an age remote from his own. he followed them down into their latest developments, and sang their swan song in his 'lay of the last buccaneer.' so characteristic is this poem of the transformation of the west indies of romance and adventure into the west indies of sugar and legitimate trade, that i steal it to ornament my own prosaic pages. the lay of the last buccaneer. oh! england is a pleasant place for them that's rich and high, but england is a cruel place for such poor folks as i; and such a port for mariners i'll never see again as the pleasant isle of aves beside the spanish main. there were forty craft in aves that were both swift and stout, all furnished well with small arms and cannon all about; and a thousand men in aves made laws so fair and free to choose their valiant captains and obey them loyally. then we sailed against the spaniard with his hoards of plate and gold, which he wrung with cruel tortures from indian folks of old; likewise the merchant captains, with hearts as hard as stone, who flog men and keelhaul them and starve them to the bone. oh! palms grew high in aves, and fruits that shone like gold, and the colibris and parrots they were gorgeous to behold, and the negro maids to aves from bondage fast did flee to welcome gallant sailors a sweeping in from sea. oh! sweet it was in aves to hear the landward breeze, a swing with good tobacco in a net between the trees, with a negro lass to fan you while you listened to the roar of the breakers on the reef outside which never touched the shore. but scripture saith an ending to all fine things must be, so the king's ships sailed on aves and quite put down were we. all day we fought like bull dogs, but they burnt the booms at night, and i fled in a piragua sore wounded from the fight. nine days i floated starving, and a negro lass beside, till for all i tried to cheer her the poor young thing she died. but as i lay a gasping a bristol sail came by, and brought me home to england here to beg until i die. and now i'm old and going: i'm sure i can't tell where. one comfort is, this world's so hard i can't be worse off there. if i might but be a sea dove, i'd fly across the main to the pleasant isle of aves to look at it once again. by the side of this imaginative picture of a poor english sea rover, let me place another, an authentic one, of a french _forban_ or pirate in the same seas. kingsley's aves, or isle of birds, is down on the american coast. there is another island of the same name, which was occasionally frequented by the same gentry, about a hundred miles south of dominica. père labat going once from martinique to guadaloupe had taken a berth with captain daniel, one of the most noted of the french corsairs of the day, for better security. people were not scrupulous in those times, and labat and daniel had been long good friends. they were caught in a gale off dominica, blown away, and carried to aves, where they found an english merchant ship lying a wreck. two english ladies from barbadoes and a dozen other people had escaped on shore. they had sent for help, and a large vessel came for them the day after daniel's arrival. of course he made a prize of it. labat said prayers on board for him before the engagement, and the vessel surrendered after the first shot. the good humour of the party was not disturbed by this incident. the pirates, their prisoners, and the ladies stayed together for a fortnight at aves, catching turtles and boucanning them, picnicking, and enjoying themselves. daniel treated the ladies with the utmost politeness, carried them afterwards to st. thomas's, dismissed them unransomed, sold his prizes, and wound up the whole affair to the satisfaction of every one. labat relates all this with wonderful humour, and tells, among other things, the following story of daniel. on some expedition, when he was not so fortunate as to have a priest on board, he was in want of provisions. being an outlaw he could not furnish himself in an open port. one night he put into the harbour of a small island, called los santos, not far from dominica, where only a few families resided. he sent a boat on shore in the darkness, took the priest and two or three of the chief inhabitants out of their beds, and carried them on board, where he held them as hostages, and then under pretence of compulsion requisitioned the island to send him what he wanted. the priest and his companions were treated meanwhile as guests of distinction. no violence was necessary, for all parties understood one another. while the stores were being collected, daniel suggested that there was a good opportunity for his crew to hear mass. the priest of los santos agreed to say it for them. the sacred vessels &c. were sent for from the church on shore. an awning was rigged over the forecastle, and an altar set up under it. the men chanted the prayers. the cannon answered the purpose of music. broadsides were fired at the first sentence, at the _exaudiat_, at the _elevation_, at the _benediction_, and a fifth at the prayer for the king. the service was wound up by a _vive le roi_! a single small accident only had disturbed the ceremony. one of the pirates, at the _elevation_, being of a profane mind, made an indecent gesture. daniel rebuked him, and, as the offence was repeated, drew a pistol and blew the man's brains out, saying he would do the same to any one who was disrespectful to the holy sacrament. the priest being a little startled, daniel begged him not to be alarmed; he was only chastising a rascal to teach him his duty. at any rate, as labat observed, he had effectually prevented the rascal from doing anything of the same kind again. mass being over, the body was thrown overboard, and priest and congregation went their several ways. kingsley's 'at last' gave trinidad an additional interest to me, but even he had not prepared me completely for the place which i was to see. it is only when one has seen any object with one's own eyes, that the accounts given by others become recognisable and instructive. trinidad is the largest, after jamaica, of the british west indian islands, and the hottest absolutely after none of them. it is square-shaped, and, i suppose, was once a part of south america. the orinoco river and the ocean currents between them have cut a channel between it and the mainland, which has expanded into a vast shallow lake known as the gulf of paria. the two entrances by which the gulf is approached are narrow and are called _bocas_ or mouths--one the dragon's mouth, the other the serpent's. when the orinoco is in flood, the water is brackish, and the brilliant violet blue of the caribbean sea is changed to a dirty yellow; but the harbour which is so formed would hold all the commercial navies of the world, and seems formed by nature to be the depôt one day of an enormous trade. trinidad has had its period of romance. columbus was the first discoverer of it. raleigh was there afterwards on his expedition in search of his gold mine, and tarred his vessels with pitch out of the famous lake. the island was alternately spanish and french till picton took it in , since which time it has remained english. the carib part of the population has long vanished. the rest of it is a medley of english, french, spaniards, negroes, and coolies. the english, chiefly migratory, go there to make money and go home with it. the old colonial families have few representatives left, but the island prospers, trade increases, coolies increase, cocoa and coffee plantations and indigo plantations increase. port of spain, the capital, grows annually; and even sugar holds its own in spite of low prices, for there is money at the back of it, and a set of people who, being speculative and commercial, are better on a level with the times than the old-fashioned planter aristocracy of the other islands. the soil is of extreme fertility, about a fourth of it under cultivation, the rest natural forest and unappropriated crown land. we passed the 'dragon's jaws' before daylight. the sun had just risen when we anchored off port of spain. we saw before us the usual long line of green hills with mountains behind them; between the hills and the sea was a low, broad, alluvial plain, deposited by an arm of the orinoco and by the other rivers which run into the gulf. the cocoa-nut palms thrive best on the water's edge. they stretched for miles on either side of us as a fringe to the shore. where the water was shoal, there were vast swamps of mangrove, the lower branches covered with oysters. however depressed sugar might be, business could not be stagnant. ships of all nations lay round us taking in or discharging cargo. i myself formed for the time being part of the cargo of my friend and host mr. g----, who had brought me to trinidad, the accomplished son of a brilliant mother, himself a distinguished lawyer and member of the executive council of the island, a charming companion, an invaluable public servant, but with the temperament of a man of genius, half humorous, half melancholy, which does not find itself entirely at home in west indian surroundings. on landing we found ourselves in a large foreign-looking town, 'port of spain' having been built by french and spaniards according to their national tendencies, and especially with a view to the temperature, which is that of a forcing house and rarely falls below °. the streets are broad and are planted with trees for shade, each house where room permits having a garden of its own, with palms and mangoes and coffee plants and creepers. of sanitary arrangements there seemed to be none. there is abundance of rain, and the gutters which run down by the footway are flushed almost every day. but they are all open. dirt of every kind lies about freely, to be washed into them or left to putrefy as fate shall direct. the smell would not be pleasant without the help of that natural scavenger the johnny crow, a black vulture who roosts on the trees and feeds in the middle of the streets. we passed a dozen of these unclean but useful birds in a fashionable thoroughfare gobbling up chicken entrails and refusing to be disturbed. when gorged they perch in rows upon the roofs. on the ground they are the nastiest to look at of all winged creatures; yet on windy days they presume to soar like their kindred, and when far up might be taken for eagles. the town has between thirty and forty thousand people living in it, and the rain and johnny crows between them keep off pestilence. outside is a large savannah or park, where the villas are of the successful men of business. one of these belonged to my host, a cool airy habitation with open doors and windows, overhanging portico, and rooms into which all the winds might enter, but not the sun. a garden in front was shut off from the savannah by a fence of bananas. at the gate stood as sentinel a cabbage palm a hundred feet high; on the lawn mangoes, oranges, papaws, and bread-fruit trees, strange to look at, but luxuriantly shady. before the door was a tree of good dimensions, whose name i have forgotten, the stem and branches of which were hung with orchids which g---- had collected in the woods. the borders were blazing with varieties of the single hibiscus, crimson, pink, and fawn colour, the largest that i had ever seen. the average diameter of each single flower was from seven to eight inches. wind streamed freely through the long sitting room, loaded with the perfume of orange trees; on table and in bookcase the hand and mind visible of a gifted and cultivated man. the particular room assigned to myself would have been equally delightful but that my possession of it was disputed even in daylight by mosquitoes, who for bloodthirsty ferocity had a bad pre-eminence over the worst that i had ever met with elsewhere. i killed one who was at work upon me, and examined him through a glass. bewick, with the inspiration of genius, had drawn his exact likeness as the devil--a long black stroke for a body, nick for neck, horns on the head, and a beak for a mouth, spindle arms, and longer spindle legs, two pointed wings, and a tail. line for line there the figure was before me which in the unforgetable tailpiece is driving the thief under the gallows, and i had a melancholy satisfaction in identifying him. i had been warned to be on the look-out for scorpions, centipedes, jiggers, and land crabs, who would bite me if i walked slipperless over the floor in the dark. of these i met with none, either there or anywhere, but the mosquito of trinidad is enough by himself. for malice, mockery, and venom of tooth and trumpet, he is without a match in the world. from mosquitoes, however, one could seek safety in tobacco smoke, or hide behind the lace curtains with which every bed is provided. otherwise i found every provision to make life pass deliciously. to walk is difficult in a damp steamy temperature hotter during daylight than the hottest forcing house in kew. i was warned not to exert myself and to take cocktail freely. in the evening i might venture out with the bats and take a drive if i wished in the twilight. languidly charming as it all was, i could not help asking myself of what use such a possession could be either to england or the english nation. we could not colonise it, could not cultivate it, could not draw a revenue from it. if it prospered commercially the prosperity would be of french and spaniards, mulattoes and blacks, but scarcely, if at all, of my own countrymen. for here too, as elsewhere, they were growing fewer daily, and those who remained were looking forward to the day when they could be released. if it were not for the honour of the thing, as the irishman said after being carried in a sedan chair which had no bottom, we might have spared ourselves so unnecessary a conquest. beautiful, however, it was beyond dispute. before sunset a carriage took us round the savannah. tropical human beings, like tropical birds, are fond of fine colours, especially black human beings, and the park was as brilliant as kensington gardens on a sunday. at nightfall the scene became yet more wonderful; air, grass, and trees being alight with fireflies, each as brilliant as an english glowworm. the palm tree at our own gate stood like a ghostly sentinel clear against the starry sky, a single long dead frond hanging from below the coronet of leaves and clashing against the stem as it was blown to and fro by the night wind, while long-winged bats swept and whistled over our heads. the commonplace intrudes upon the imaginative. at moments one can fancy that the world is an enchanted place after all, but then comes generally an absurd awakening. on the first night of my arrival, before we went to bed there came an invitation to me to attend a political meeting which was to be held in a few days on the savannah. trinidad is a purely crown colony, and has escaped hitherto the introduction of the election virus. the newspapers and certain busy gentlemen in 'port of spain' had discovered that they were living under 'a degrading tyranny,' and they demanded a 'constitution.' they did not complain that their affairs had been ill managed. on the contrary, they insisted that they were the most prosperous of the west indian colonies, and alone had a surplus in their treasury. if this was so, it seemed to me that they had better let well alone. the population, all told, was but , , less by thirty thousand than that of barbadoes. they were a mixed and motley assemblage of all races and colours, busy each with their own affairs, and never hitherto troubling themselves about politics. but it had pleased the home government to set up the beginning of a constitution again in jamaica, no one knew why, but so it was, and trinidad did not choose to be behindhand. the official appointments were valuable, and had been hitherto given away by the crown. the local popularities very naturally wished to have them for themselves. this was the reality in the thing so far as there was a reality. it was dressed up in the phrases borrowed from the great english masters of the art, about privileges of manhood, moral dignity, the elevating influence of the suffrage, &c., intended for home consumption among the believers in the orthodox radical faith. for myself i could but reply to the gentlemen who had sent the invitation, that i was greatly obliged by the compliment, but that i knew too little of their affairs to make my presence of any value to them. as they were doing so well, i did not see myself why they wanted an alteration. political changes were generally little more than turns of a kaleidoscope; you got a new pattern, but it was made of the same pieces, and things went on much as before. if they wanted political liberty i did not doubt that they would get it if they were loud and persistent enough. only they must understand that at home we were now a democracy. any constitution which was granted them would be on the widest basis. the blacks and coolies outnumbered the europeans by four to one, and perhaps when they had what they asked for they might be less pleased than they expected. you rise early in the tropics. the first two hours of daylight are the best of the day. my friend drove me round the town in his buggy the next morning. my second duty was to pay my respects to the governor, sir william robinson, who had kindly offered me hospitality, and for which i must present myself to thank him. in sir william i found one of those happy men whose constitution is superior to climate, who can do a long day's work in his office, play cricket or lawn tennis in the afternoon, and entertain his miscellaneous subjects in the evening with sumptuous hospitality--a vigorous, effective, perhaps ambitious gentleman, with a clear eye to the views of his employers at home on whom his promotion depends--certain to make himself agreeable to them, likely to leave his mark to useful purpose on the colonies over which he presides or may preside hereafter. here in trinidad he was learning spanish in addition to his other linguistic accomplishments, that he might show proper courtesies to spanish residents and to visitors from south america. the 'residence' stands in a fine situation, in large grounds of its own at the foot of the mountains. it has been lately built regardless of expense, for the colony is rich, and likes to do things handsomely. on the lawn, under the windows, stood a tree which was entirely new to me, an enormous ceiba or silk cotton tree, umbrella shaped, fifty yards in diameter, the huge and buttressed trunk throwing out branches so massive that one wondered how any woody fibre could bear the strain of their weight, the boughs twisting in and out till they made a roof over one's head, which was hung with every fantastic variety of parasites. vast as the ceibas were which i saw afterwards in other parts of the west indies, this was the largest. the ceiba is the sacred tree of the negro, the temple of jumbi the proper home of obeah. to cut one down is impious. no black in his right mind would wound even the bark. a jamaica police officer told me that if a ceiba had to be removed, the men who used the axe were well dosed with rum to give them courage to defy the devil. from government house we strolled into the adjoining botanical gardens. i had long heard of the wonders of these. the reality went beyond description. plants with which i was familiar as _shrubs_ in english conservatories were here expanded into forest giants, with hundreds of others of which we cannot raise even lilliputian imitations. let man be what he will, nature in the tropics is always grand. palms were growing in the greatest luxuriance, of every known species, from the cabbage towering up into the sky to the fan palm of the desert whose fronds are reservoirs of water. of exogenous trees, the majority were leguminous in some shape or other, forming flowers like a pea or vetch and hanging their seed in pods; yet in shape and foliage they distanced far the most splendid ornaments of an english park. they had old world names with characters wholly different: cedars which were not conifers, almonds which were no relations to peaches, and gum trees as unlike eucalypti as one tree can be unlike another. again, you saw forms which you seemed to recognise till some unexpected anomaly startled you out of your mistake. a gigantic portugal laurel, or what i took for such, was throwing out a flower direct from the stem like a cactus. grandest among them all, and happily in full bloom, was the sacred tree of burmah, the _amherstia nobilis_, at a distance like a splendid horse-chestnut, with crimson blossoms in pendant bunches, each separate flower in the convolution of its parts exactly counterfeiting a large orchid, with which it has not the faintest affinity, the amherstia being leguminous like the rest. underneath, and dispersed among the imperial beauties, were spice trees, orange trees, coffee plants and cocoa, or again, shrubs with special virtues or vices. we had to be careful what we were about, for fruits of fairest appearance were tempting us all round. my companion was preparing to eat something to encourage me to do the same. a gardener stopped him in time. it was nux vomica. i was straying along a less frequented path, conscious of a heavy vaporous odour, in which i might have fainted had i remained exposed to it. i was close to a manchineel tree. prettiest and freshest were the nutmegs, which had a glen all to themselves and perfumed the surrounding air. in trinidad and in grenada i believe the nutmegs are the largest that are known, being from thirty to forty feet high; leaves brilliant green, something like the leaves of an orange, but extremely delicate and thin, folded one over the other, the lowest branches sweeping to the ground till the whole tree forms a natural bower, which is proof against a tropical shower. the fragrance attracts moths and flies; not mosquitoes, who prefer a ranker atmosphere. i saw a pair of butterflies the match of which i do not remember even in any museum, dark blue shot with green like a peacock's neck, and the size of english bats. i asked a black boy to catch me one. 'that sort no let catchee, massa,' he said; and i was penitently glad to hear it. among the wonders of the gardens are the vines as they call them, that is, the creepers of various kinds that climb about the other trees. standing in an open space there was what once had been a mighty 'cedar.' it was now dead, only the trunk and dead branches remaining, and had been murdered by a 'fig' vine which had started from the root, twined itself like a python round the stem, strangled out the natural life, and spreading out in all directions had covered boughs and twigs with a foliage not their own. so far the 'vine' had done no worse than ivy does at home, but there was one feature about it which puzzled me altogether. the lowest of the original branches of the cedar were about twenty feet above our heads. from these in four or five places the parasite had let fall shoots, perhaps an inch in diameter, which descended to within a foot of the ground and then suddenly, without touching that or anything, formed a bight like a rope, went straight up again, caught hold of the branch from which they started, and so hung suspended exactly as an ordinary swing. in three distinctly perfect instances the 'vine' had executed this singular evolution, while at the extremity of one of the longest and tallest branches high up in the air it had made a clean leap of fifteen feet without visible help and had caught hold of another tree adjoining on the same level. these performances were so inexplicable that i conceived that they must have been a freak of the gardener's. i was mistaken. he said that at particular times in the year the fig vine threw out fine tendrils which hung downwards like strings. the strongest among them would lay hold of two or three others and climb up upon them, the rest would die and drop off, while the successful one, having found support for itself above, would remain swinging in the air and thicken and prosper. the leap he explained by the wind. i retained a suspicion that the wind had been assisted by some aspiring energy in the plant itself, so bold it was and so ambitious. but the wonders of the garden were thrown into the shade by the cottage at the extreme angle of it (the old government house before the present fabric had been erected), where kingsley had been the guest of sir arthur gordon. it is a long straggling wooden building with deep verandahs lying in a hollow overshadowed by trees, with views opening out into the savannah through arches formed by clumps of tall bamboos, the canes growing thick in circular masses and shooting up a hundred feet into the air, where they meet and form frames for the landscape, peculiar and even picturesque when there are not too many of them. these bamboos were kingsley's special delight, as he had never seen the like of them elsewhere. the room in which he wrote is still shown, and the gallery where he walked up and down with his long pipe. his memory is cherished in the island as of some singular and beautiful presence which still hovers about the scenes which so delighted him in the closing evening of his own life. it was the dry season, mid-winter, yet raining every day for two or three hours, and when it rains in these countries it means business. when the sky cleared the sun was intolerably hot, and distant expeditions under such conditions suited neither my age nor my health. with cocktail i might have ventured, but to cocktail i could never heartily reconcile myself. trinidad has one wonder in it, a lake of bitumen some ninety acres in extent, which all travellers are expected to visit, and which few residents care to visit. a black lake is not so beautiful as an ordinary lake. i had no doubt that it existed, for the testimony was unimpeachable. indeed i was shown an actual specimen of the crystallised pitch itself. i could believe without seeing and without undertaking a tedious journey. i rather sympathised with a noble lord who came to port of spain in his yacht, and like myself had the lake impressed upon him. as a middle course between going thither and appearing to slight his friends' recommendations, he said that he would send his steward. in trinidad, as everywhere else, my own chief desire was to see the human inhabitants, to learn what they were doing, how they were living, and what they were thinking about, and this could best be done by drives about the town and neighbourhood. the cultivated land is a mere fringe round the edges of the forest. three-fourths of the soil are untouched. the rivers running out of the mountains have carved out the usual long deep valleys, and spread the bottoms with rich alluvial soil. here among the wooded slopes are the country houses of the merchants. here are the cabins of the black peasantry with their cocoa and coffee and orange plantations, which as in grenada they hold largely as freeholds, reproducing as near as possible the life in paradise of our first parents, without the consciousness of a want which they are unable to gratify, not compelled to work, for the earth of her own self bears for them all that they need, and ignorant that there is any difference between moral good and evil. large sugar estates, of course, there still are, and as the owners have not succeeded in bringing the negroes to work regularly for them,[ ] they have introduced a few thousand coolies under indentures for five years. these asiatic importations are very happy in trinidad; they save money, and many of them do not return home when their time is out, but stay where they are, buy land, or go into trade. they are proud, however, and will not intermarry with the africans. few bring their families with them; and women being scanty among them, there arise inconveniences and sometimes serious crimes. it were to be wished that there was more prospect of the coolie race becoming permanent than i fear there is. they work excellently. they are picturesque additions to the landscape, as they keep to the bright colours and graceful drapery of india. the grave dignity of their faces contrasts remarkably with the broad, good-humoured, but common features of the african. the black women look with envy at the straight hair of asia, and twist their unhappy wool into knots and ropes in the vain hope of being mistaken for the purer race; but this is all. the african and the asiatic will not mix, and the african being the stronger will and must prevail in trinidad as elsewhere in the west indies. out of a total population of , , there are , whites and mulattoes, , coolies, the rest negroes. the english part of the europeans shows no tendency to increase. the english come as birds of passage, and depart when they have made their fortunes. the french and spaniards may hold on to trinidad as a home. our people do not make homes there, and must be looked on as a transient element. footnotes: [ ] the negroes in the interior are beginning to cultivate sugar cane in small patches, with common mills to break it up. if the experiment succeeds it may extend. chapter vii. a coolie village--negro freeholds--waterworks--pythons--slavery--evidence of lord rodney--future of the negroes--necessity of english rule--the blue basin--black boy and cray fish. the second morning after my arrival, my host took me to a coolie village three miles beyond the town. the drive was between spreading cane fields, beneath the shade of bamboos, or under rows of cocoa-nut palms, between the stems of which the sea was gleaming. human dwelling places are rarely interesting in the tropics. a roof which will keep the rain out is all that is needed. the more free the passage given to the air under the floor and through the side, the more healthy the habitation; and the houses, when we came among them, seemed merely enlarged packing cases loosely nailed together and raised on stones a foot or two from the ground. the rest of the scene was picturesque enough. the indian jewellers were sitting cross-legged before their charcoal pans, making silver bracelets and earrings. brilliant garments, crimson and blue and orange, were hanging to dry on clothes lines. men were going out to their work, women cooking, children (not many) playing or munching sugar cane, while great mango trees and ceibas spread a cool green roof over all. like rachel, the coolies had brought their gods to their new home. in the centre of the village was a hindoo temple, made up rudely out of boards with a verandah running round it. the doors were locked. an old man who had charge told us we could not enter; a crowd, suspicious and sullen, gathered about us as we tried to prevail upon him; so we had to content ourselves with the outside, which was gaudily and not unskilfully painted in indian fashion. there were gods and goddesses in various attitudes; vishnu fighting with the monkey god, vishnu with cutlass and shield, the monkey with his tail round one tree while he brandished two others, one in each hand, as clubs. i suppose that we smiled, for our curiosity was resented, and we found it prudent to withdraw. the coolies are useful creatures. without them sugar cultivation in trinidad and demerara would cease altogether. they are useful and they are singularly ornamental. unfortunately they have not the best character with the police. there is little crime among the negroes, who quarrel furiously with their tongues only. the coolies have the fiercer passions of their eastern blood. their women being few are tempted occasionally into infidelities, and would be tempted more often but that a lapse in virtue is so fearfully avenged. a coolie regards his wife as his property, and if she is unfaithful to him he kills her without the least hesitation. one of the judges told me that he had tried a case of this kind, and could not make the man understand that he had done anything wrong. it is a pity that a closer intermixture between them and the negroes seems so hopeless, for it would solve many difficulties. there is no jealousy. the negro does not regard the coolie as a competitor and interloper who has come to lower his wages. the coolie comes to work. the negro does not want to work, and both are satisfied. but if there is no jealousy there is no friendship. the two races are more absolutely apart than the white and the black. the asiatic insists the more on his superiority in the fear perhaps that if he did not the white might forget it. among the sights in the neighbourhood of port of spain are the waterworks, extensive basins and reservoirs a few miles off in the hills. we chose a cool afternoon, when the temperature in the shade was not above °, and went to look at them. it was my first sight of the interior of the island, and my first distinct acquaintance with the change which had come over the west indies. trinidad is not one of our oldest possessions, but we had held it long enough for the old planter civilisation to take root and grow, and our road led us through jungles of flowering shrubs which were running wild over what had been once cultivated estates. stranger still (for one associates colonial life instinctively with what is new and modern), we came at one place on an avenue of vast trees, at the end of which stood the ruins of a mansion of some great man of the departed order. great man he must have been, for there was a gateway half crumbled away on which were his crest and shield in stone, with supporters on either side, like the baron of bradwardine's bears; fallen now like them, but unlike them never, i fear, to be set up again. the anglo-west indians, like the english gentry in ireland, were a fine race of men in their day, and perhaps the improving them off the earth has been a less beneficial process in either case than we are in the habit of supposing. entering among the hills we came on their successors. in trinidad there are , freeholders, most of them negroes and representatives of the old slaves. their cabins are spread along the road on either side, overhung with bread-fruit trees, tamarinds, calabash trees, out of which they make their cups and water jugs. the luscious granadilla climbs among the branches; plantains throw their cool shade over the doors; oranges and limes and citrons perfume the air, and droop their boughs under the weight of their golden burdens. there were yams in the gardens and cows in the paddocks, and cocoa bushes loaded with purple or yellow pods. children played about in swarms, in happy idleness and abundance, with schools, too, at intervals, and an occasional catholic chapel, for the old religion prevails in trinidad, never having been disturbed. what form could human life assume more charming than that which we were now looking on? once more, the earth does not contain any peasantry so well off, so well cared for, so happy, so sleek and contented as the sons and daughters of the emancipated slaves in the english west indian islands. sugar may fail the planter, but cocoa, which each peasant can grow with small effort for himself, does not fail and will not. he may 'better his condition,' if he has any such ambition, without stirring beyond his own ground, and so far, perhaps, his ambition may extend, if it is not turned off upon politics. even the necessary evils of the tropics are not many or serious. his skin is proof against mosquitoes. there are snakes in trinidad as there were snakes in eden. 'plenty snakes,' said one of them who was at work in his garden, 'plenty snakes, but no bitee.' as to costume, he would prefer the costume of innocence if he was allowed. clothes in such a climate are superfluous for warmth, and to the minds of the negroes, unconscious as they are of shame, superfluous for decency. european prejudice, however, still passes for something; the women have a love for finery, which would prevent a complete return to african simplicity; and in the islands which are still french, and in those like trinidad, which the french originally colonised, they dress themselves with real taste. they hide their wool in red or yellow handkerchiefs, gracefully twisted; or perhaps it is not only to conceal the wool. columbus found the carib women of the island dressing their hair in the same fashion.[ ] the waterworks, when we reached them, were even more beautiful than we had been taught to expect. a dam has been driven across a perfectly limpid mountain stream; a wide open area has been cleared, levelled, strengthened with masonry, and divided into deep basins and reservoirs, through which the current continually flows. hedges of hibiscus shine with crimson blossoms. innumerable humming birds glance to and fro among the trees and shrubs, and gardens and ponds are overhung by magnificent bamboos, which so astonished me by their size that i inquired if their height had been measured. one of them, i was told, had lately fallen, and was found to be feet long. a single drawback only there was to this enchanting spot, and it was again the snakes. there are huge pythons in trinidad which are supposed to have crossed the straits from the continent. the cool water pools attract them, and they are seen occasionally coiled among the branches of the bamboos. some washerwomen at work in the stream had been disturbed a few days before our visit by one of these monsters, who had come down to see what they were about. they are harmless, but trying to the nerves. one of the men about the place shot this one, and he told me that he had shot another a short time before asleep in a tree. the keeper of the works was a retired soldier, an irish-scot from limerick, hale, vigorous, and happy as the blacks themselves. he had married one of them--a remarkable exception to an almost universal rule. he did not introduce us, but the dark lady passed by us in gorgeous costume, just noticing our presence with a sweep which would have done credit to a duchess. we made several similar small expeditions into the settled parts of the neighbourhood, seeing always (whatever else we saw) the boundless happiness of the black race. under the rule of england in these islands the two million of these poor brothers-in-law of ours are the most perfectly contented specimens of the human race to be found upon the planet. even schopenhauer, could he have known them, would have admitted that there were some of us who were not hopelessly wretched. if happiness be the satisfaction of every conscious desire, theirs is a condition which admits of no improvement: were they independent, they might quarrel among themselves, and the weaker become the bondmen of the stronger; under the beneficent despotism of the english government, which knows no difference of colour and permits no oppression, they can sleep, lounge, and laugh away their lives as they please, fearing no danger. if they want money, work and wages are waiting for them. no one can say what may be before them hereafter. the powers which envy human beings too perfect felicity may find ways one day of disturbing the west indian negro; but so long as the english rule continues, he may be assured of the same tranquil existence. as life goes he has been a lucky mortal. he was taken away from dahomey and ashantee--to be a slave indeed, but a slave to a less cruel master than he would have found at home. he had a bad time of it occasionally, and the plantation whip and the branding irons are not all dreams, yet his owner cared for him at least as much as he cared for his cows and his horses. kind usage to animals is more economical than barbarity, and englishmen in the west indies were rarely inhuman. lord rodney says: 'i have been often in all the west india islands, and i have often made my observations on the treatment of the negro slaves, and can aver that i never knew the least cruelty inflicted on them, but that in general they lived better than the honest day-labouring man in england, without doing a fourth part of his work in a day, and i am fully convinced that the negroes in our islands are better provided for and live better than when in guinea.' rodney, it is true, was a man of facts and was defective in sentiment. let us suppose him wrong, let us believe the worst horrors of the slave trade or slave usage as fluent tongue of missionary or demagogue has described them, yet nevertheless, when we consider what the lot of common humanity has been and is, we shall be dishonest if we deny that the balance has been more than redressed; and the negroes who were taken away out of africa, as compared with those who were left at home, were as the 'elect to salvation,' who after a brief purgatory are secured an eternity of blessedness. the one condition is the maintenance of the authority of the english crown. the whites of the islands cannot equitably rule them. they have not shaken off the old traditions. if, for the sake of theory or to shirk responsibility, we force them to govern themselves, the state of hayti stands as a ghastly example of the condition into which they will then inevitably fall. if we persist, we shall be sinning against light--the clearest light that was ever given in such affairs. the most hardened believers in the regenerating effects of political liberty cannot be completely blind to the ruin which the infliction of it would necessarily bring upon the race for whose interests they pretend particularly to care. the pitch lake i resisted all exhortations to visit, but the days in the forest were delightful--pre-eminently a day which we spent at the 'blue basin,' a pool scooped out in the course of ages by a river falling through a mountain gorge; blue, not from any colour in the water, which is purely transparent, but from a peculiar effect of sky reflection through an opening in the overhanging trees. as it was far off, we had to start early and encounter the noonday heat. we had to close the curtains of the carriage to escape the sun, and in losing the sun we shut out the wind. all was well, however, when we turned into the hills. thenceforward the road followed the bottom of a densely wooded ravine; impenetrable foliage spreading over our heads, and a limpid river flashing along in which our horses cooled their feet and lips as we crossed it again and again. there were the usual cabins and gardens on either side of us, sometimes single, sometimes clustering into villages, and high above them the rocks stood out, broken into precipices or jutting out into projecting crags, with huge trees starting from the crevices, dead trunks with branching arms clothed scantily with creepers, or living giants with blue or orange-coloured flowers. mangoes scented the valley with their blossom. bananas waved their long broad leaves--some flat and unbroken as we know them in conservatories, some split into palm-like fronds which quivered in the breeze. the cocoa pods were ripe or ripening, those which had been gathered being left on the ground in heaps as we see apples in autumn in an english orchard. we passed a lady on the way who was making sketches and daring the mosquitoes, that were feeding at leisure upon her face and arms. the road failed us at last. we alighted with our waterproofs and luncheon basket. a couple of half-naked boys sprang forward to act as guides and porters--nice little fellows, speaking a french patois for their natural language, but with english enough to earn shillings and amuse the british tourist. with their help we scrambled along a steep slippery path, the river roaring below, till we came to a spot where, the rock being soft, a waterfall had cut out in the course of ages a natural hollow, of which the trees formed the roof, and of which the floor was the pool we had come in search of. the fall itself was perpendicular, and fifty or sixty feet high, the water issuing at the top out of a dark green tunnel among overhanging branches. the sides of the basin were draped with the fronds of gigantic ferns and wild plantains, all in wild luxuriance and dripping with the spray. in clefts above the rocks, large cedars or gum trees had struck their roots and flung out their gnarled and twisted branches, which were hung with ferns; while at the lower end of the pool, where the river left it again, there grew out from among the rocks near the water's edge tall and exquisitely grouped acacias with crimson flowers for leaves. [illustration: blue basin, trinidad.] the place broke on us suddenly as we scrambled round a corner from below. three young blacks were bathing in the pool, and as we had a lady with us, they were induced, though sullenly and with some difficulty, to return into their scanty garments and depart. never certainly was there a more inviting spot to swim in, the more so from exciting possibilities of adventure. an english gentleman went to bathe there shortly before our coming. he was on a rock, swaying his body for a plunge, when something caught his eye among the shadows at the bottom. it proved to be a large dead python. we had not the luck ourselves of falling in with so interesting a beast. great butterflies and perhaps a humming bird or two were flitting among the leaves as we came up; other signs of life there were none, unless we call life the motion of the plantain leaves, waving in the draughts of air which were eddying round the waterfall. we sat down on stones, or on the trunk of a fallen tree, the mosquitoes mercifully sparing us. we sketched a little, talked a little, ate our sandwiches, and the male part of us lighted our cigars. g---- then, to my surprise, produced a fly rod. in the streams in the antilles, which run out of the mountains, there is a fish in great abundance which they call _mullet_, an inferior trout, but a good substitute where the real thing is not. he runs sometimes to five pounds weight, will take the fly, and is much sought after by those who try to preserve in the tropics the amusements and habits of home. g---- had caught many of them in dominica. if in dominica, why not in trinidad? he put his tackle together, tied up a cast of trout flies, and commenced work. he tried the still water at the lower end of the basin. he crept round the rock and dropped his line into the foam at the foot of the fall. no mullet rose, nor fish of any kind. one of our small boys had looked on with evident impatience. he cried out at last, 'no mullet, but plenty crayfish,' pointing down into the water; and there, following the direction of his finger, we beheld strange grey creatures like cuttle-fish, moving about on the points of their toes, the size of small lobsters. the flies were dismounted, a bare hook was fitted on a fine gut trace, with a split shot or two to sink the line, all trim and excellent. a fresh-water shrimp was caught under a stone for a bait. g---- went to work, and the strange things took hold and let themselves be lifted halfway to the surface. but then, somehow, they let go and disappeared. our small boy said nothing; but i saw a scornful smite upon his lips. he picked up a thin dry cane, found some twine in the luncheon basket which had tied up our sandwiches, found a pin there also, and bent it, and put a shrimp on it. with a pebble stone for a sinker he started in competition, and in a minute he had brought out upon the rock the strangest thing in the shape of a fish which i had ever seen in fresh water or salt. it was a true 'crayfish,' _écrevisse_, eight inches long, formed regularly with the thick powerful tail, the sharp serrated snout, the long antennæ, and the spider-like legs of the lobster tribe. as in a crayfish, the claws were represented by the correctly shaped but diminutive substitutes. when we had done wondering at the prize, we could admire the smile of conscious superiority in the face of the captor. the fine tackle had been beaten, as usual, by the proverbial string and crooked pin, backed by knowledge in the head of a small nigger boy. footnotes: [ ] traen las cabezas atadas con unos panuelos labrados hermosos que parecen de lejos de seda y almazarrones. chapter viii. home rule in trinidad--political aspirations--nature of the problem--crown administration--colonial governors--a russian apologue--dinner at government house--'the three fishers'--charles warner--alternative futures of the colony. the political demonstration to which i had been invited came off the next day on the savannah. the scene was pretty enough. black coats and white trousers, bright-coloured dresses and pink parasols, look the same at a distance whether the wearer has a black face or a white one, and the broad meadow was covered over with sparkling groups. several thousand persons must have attended, not all to hear the oratory, for the occasion had been taken when the governor was to play close by in a cricket match, and half the crowd had probably collected to see his excellency at the wicket. placards had been posted about the town, setting out the purpose of the meeting. trinidad, as i said, is at present a crown colony, the executive council and the legislature being equally nominated by the authorities. the popular orators, the newspaper writers, and some of the leading merchants in port of spain had discovered, as i said, that they were living under what they called 'a degrading tyranny.' they had no grievances, or none that they alleged, beyond the general one that they had no control over the finance. they very naturally desired that the lucrative government appointments for which the colony paid should be distributed among themselves. the elective principle had been reintroduced in jamaica, evidently as a step towards the restoration of the full constitution which had been surrendered and suppressed after the gordon riots. trinidad was almost as large as jamaica, in proportion to the population wealthier and more prosperous, and the people were invited to come together in overwhelming numbers to insist that the 'tyranny' should end. the home government in their action about jamaica had shown a spontaneous readiness to transfer responsibility from themselves to the inhabitants. the promoters of the meeting at port of spain may have thought that a little pressure on their part might not be unwelcome as an excuse for further concessions of the same kind. whether this was so i do not know. at any rate they showed that they were as yet novices in the art of agitation. the language of the placard of invitation was so violent that, in the opinion of the legal authorities, the printer might have been indicted for high treason. the speakers did their best to imitate the fine phrases of the apostles of liberty in europe, but they succeeded only in caricaturing their absurdities. the proceedings were described at length in the rival newspapers. one gentleman's speech was said to have been so brilliant that every sentence was a 'gem of oratory,' the gem of gems being when he told his hearers that, 'if they went into the thing at all, they should go the entire animal.' all went off good-humouredly. in the liberal journal the event of the day was spoken of as the most magnificent demonstration in favour of human freedom which had ever been seen in the west indian islands. in the conservative journal it was called a ridiculous _fiasco_, and the people were said to have come together only to admire the governor's batting, and to laugh at the nonsense which was coming from the platform. finally, the same journal assured us that, beyond a handful of people who were interested in getting hold of the anticipated spoils of office, no one in the island cared about the matter. the result, i believe, was some petition or other which would go home and pass as evidence, to minds eager to believe, that trinidad was rapidly ripening for responsible government, promising relief to an overburdened secretary for the colonies, who has more to do than he can attend to, and is pleased with opportunities of gratifying popular sentiment, or of showing off in parliament the development of colonial institutions. he knows nothing, can know nothing, of the special conditions of our hundred dependencies. he accepts what his representatives in the several colonies choose to tell him; and his representatives, being birds of passage responsible only to their employers at home, and depending for their promotion on making themselves agreeable, are under irresistible temptations to report what it will please the secretary of state to hear. for the secretary of state, too, is a bird of passage as they are, passing through the colonial office on his way to other departments, or holding the seals as part of an administration whose tenure of office grows every year more precarious, which exists only upon popular sentiment, and cannot, and does not try to look forward beyond at furthest the next session of parliament. but why, it may be asked, should not trinidad govern itself as well as tasmania or new zealand? why not jamaica, why not all the west indian islands? i will answer by another question. do we wish these islands to remain as part of the british empire? are they of any use to us, or have we responsibilities connected with them of which we are not entitled to divest ourselves? a government elected by the majority of the people (and no one would think of setting up constitutions on any other basis) reflects from the nature of things the character of the electors. all these islands tend to become partitioned into black peasant proprietaries. in grenada the process is almost complete. in trinidad it is rapidly advancing. no one can stop it. no one ought to wish to stop it. but the ownership of freeholds is one thing, and political power is another. the blacks depend for the progress which they may be capable of making on the presence of a white community among them; and although it is undesirable or impossible for the blacks to be ruled by the minority of the white residents, it is equally undesirable and equally impossible that the whites should be ruled by them. the relative numbers of the two races being what they are, responsible government in trinidad means government by a black parliament and a black ministry. the negro voters might elect, to begin with, their half-caste attorneys or such whites (the most disreputable of their colour) as would court their suffrages. but the black does not love the mulatto, and despises the white man who consents to be his servant. he has no grievances. he is not naturally a politician, and if left alone with his own patch of land, will never trouble himself to look further. but he knows what has happened in st. domingo. he has heard that his race is already in full possession of the finest of all the islands. if he has any thought or any hopes about the matter, it is that it may be with the rest of them as it has been with st. domingo, and if you force the power into his hands, you must expect him to use it. under the constitution which you would set up, whites and blacks may be nominally equal; but from the enormous preponderance of numbers the equality would be only in name, and such english people, at least, as would be really of any value, would refuse to remain in a false and intolerable position. already the english population of trinidad is dwindling away under the uncertainties of their future position. complete the work, set up a constitution with a black prime minister and a black legislature, and they will withdraw of themselves before they are compelled to go. spaniards and french might be tempted by advantages of trade to remain in port of spain, as a few are still to be found in hayti. they, it is possible, might in time recover and reassert their supremacy. englishmen have the world open to them, and will prefer lands where they can live under less degrading conditions. in hayti the black republic allows no white man to hold land in freehold. the blacks elsewhere with the same opportunities will develop the same aspirations. do we, or do we not, intend to retain our west indian islands under the sovereignty of the queen? if we are willing to let them go, the question is settled. but we ought to face the alternative. there is but one form of government under which we can retain these colonies with honour and security to ourselves and with advantage to the negroes whom we have placed there--the mode of government which succeeds with us so admirably that it is the world's wonder in the _east_ indies, a success so unique and so extraordinary that it seems the last from which we are willing to take example. in natal, where the circumstances are analogous, and where report says that efforts are being also made to force on constitutional independence, i remember suggesting a few years ago that the governor should be allowed to form his own council, and that in selecting the members of it he should go round the colony, observe the farms where the land was well inclosed, the fields clean, the farm buildings substantial and in good repair; that he should call on the owners of these to be his advisers and assistants. in all natal he might find a dozen such. they would be unwilling to leave their own business for so thankless a purpose; but they might be induced by good feeling to grant him a few weeks of their time. under such an administration i imagine natal would have a happier future before it than it will experience with the boon which is designed for it. in the west indies there is indefinite wealth waiting to be developed by intelligence and capital; and men with such resources, both english and american, might be tempted still to settle there, and lead the blacks along with them into more settled manners and higher forms of civilisation. but the future of the blacks, and our own influence over them for good, depend on their being protected from themselves and from the schemers who would take advantage of them. however little may be the share to which the mass of a population be admitted in the government of their country, they are never found hard to manage where they prosper and are justly dealt with. the children of darkness are even easier of control than the children of light. under an administration formed on the model of that of our eastern empire these islands would be peopled in a generation or two with dusky citizens, as proud as the rest of us of the flag under which they will have thriven, and as willing to defend it against any invading enemy as they are now unquestionably indifferent. partially elected councils, local elected boards, &c., serve only as contrivances to foster discontent and encourage jobbery. they open a rift which time will widen, and which will create for us, on a smaller scale, the conditions which have so troubled us in ireland, where each concession of popular demands makes the maintenance of the connection more difficult. in the pacific colonies self-government is a natural right; the colonists are part of ourselves, and have as complete a claim to the management of their own affairs as we have to the management of ours. the less we interfere with them the more heartily they identify themselves with us. but if we choose besides to indulge our ambition with an empire, if we determine to keep attached to our dominion countries which, like the east indies, have been conquered by the sword, countries, like the west indies, which, however acquired, are occupied by races enormously outnumbering us, many of whom do not speak our language, are not connected with us by sentiment, and not visibly connected by interest, with whom our own people will not intermarry or hold social intercourse, but keep aloof from, as superior from inferior--to impose on such countries forms of self-government at which we have ourselves but lately arrived, to put it in the power of these overwhelming numbers to shake us off if they please, and to assume that when our real motive has been only to save ourselves trouble they will be warmed into active loyalty by gratitude for the confidence which we pretend to place in them, is to try an experiment which we have not the slightest right to expect to be successful, and which if it fails is fatal. once more, if we mean to keep the blacks as british subjects, we are bound to govern them, and to govern them well. if we cannot do it, we had better let them go altogether. and here is the real difficulty. it is not that men competent for such a task cannot be found. among the public servants of great britain there are persons always to be found fit and willing for posts of honour and difficulty if a sincere effort be made to find them. alas! in times past we have sent persons to rule our baratarias to whom sancho panza was a sage--troublesome members of parliament, younger brothers of powerful families, impecunious peers; favourites, with backstairs influence, for whom a provision was to be found; colonial clerks, bred in the office, who had been obsequious and useful. one had hoped that in the new zeal for the colonial connection such appointments would have become impossible for the future, yet a recent incident at the mauritius has proved that the colonial authorities are still unregenerate. the unfit are still maintained in their places; and then, to prevent the colonies from suffering too severely under their incapacity, we set up the local councils, nominated or elected, to do the work, while the queen's representative enjoys his salary. instances of glaring impropriety like that to which i have alluded are of course rare, and among colonial governors there are men of quality so high that we would desire only to see their power equal to it. but so limited is the patronage, on the other hand, which remains to the home administrations, and so heavy the pressure brought to bear upon them, that there are persons also in these situations of whom it may be said that the less they do, and the less they are enabled to do, the better for the colony over which they preside. the west indies have been sufferers from another cause. in the absence of other use for them they have been made to serve as places where governors try their 'prentice hand and learn their business before promotion to more important situations. whether a man has done well or done ill makes, it seems, very little difference unless he has offended prejudices or interests at home: once in the service he acquires a vested right to continue in it. a governor who had been suspended for conduct which is not denied to have been most improper, is replaced with the explanation that if he was not sent back to his old post it would have been necessary to provide a situation for him elsewhere. why would it? has a captain of a man-of-war whose ship is taken from him for misconduct an immediate claim to have another? unfortunate colonies! it is not their interest which is considered under this system. but the subject is so delicate that i must say no more about it. i will recommend only to the attention of the british democracy, who are now the parties that in the last instance are responsible, because they are the real masters of the empire, the following apologue. in the time of the emperor nicholas the censors of the press seized a volume which had been published by the poet kriloff, on the ground that it contained treasonable matter. nicholas sent for kriloff. the censor produced the incriminated passage, and kriloff was made to read it aloud. it was a fable. a governor of a russian province was represented as arriving in the other world, and as being brought up before rhadamanthus. he was accused, not of any crime, but of having been simply a nonentity--of having received his salary and spent it, and nothing more. rhadamanthus listened, and when the accusing angel had done sentenced the prisoner into paradise. 'into paradise!' said the angel, 'why, he has done nothing!' 'true,' said rhadamanthus, 'but how would it have been if he had done anything?' 'write away, old fellow,' said nicholas to kriloff. has it never happened that british colonial officials who have similarly done nothing have been sent into the paradise of promotion because they have kept things smooth and have given no trouble to their employers at home? in the evening of the day of the political meeting we dined at government house. there was a large representative party, english, french, spaniards, corsicans--ladies and gentlemen each speaking his or her own language. there were the mayors of the two chief towns of trinidad--port of spain and san fernando--both enthusiastic for a constitution. the latter was my neighbour at dinner, and insisted much on the fine qualities of the leading persons in the island and the splendid things to be expected when responsible government should be conceded. the training squadron had arrived from barbadoes, and the commodore and two or three officers were present in their uniforms. there was interesting talk about trinidad's troublesome neighbour, guzman blanco, the president of venezuela. it seems that sir walter raleigh's eldorado has turned out to be a fact after all. on the higher waters of the orinoco actual gold mines do exist, and the discovery has quickened into life a long unsettled dispute about boundaries between british guiana and the republic. don guzman had been encroaching, so it was alleged, and in other ways had been offensive and impertinent. ships were going--had been actually ordered to la guyra, to pull his nose for him, and to tell him to behave himself. the time is past when we flew our hawks at game birds. the opinion of most of the party was that don guzman knew it, and that his nose would not be pulled. he would regard our frigates as picturesque ornaments to his harbour, give the officers in command the politest reception, evade their demands, offer good words in plenty, and nothing else but words, and in the end would have the benefit of our indifference.[ ] in the late evening we had music. our host sang well, our hostess was an accomplished artist. they had duets together, italian and english, and the lady then sang 'the three fishers,' kingsley being looked on as the personal property of trinidad and as one of themselves. she sang it very well, as well as any one could do who had no direct acquaintance with an english sea-coast people. her voice was beautiful, and she showed genuine feeling. the silence when she ended was more complimentary than the loudest applause. it was broken by a stupid member of council, who said to me, 'is it not strange that a poet with such a gift of words as mr. kingsley should have ended that song with so weak a line? "the sooner it's over the sooner to sleep" is nothing but prose.' he did not see that the fault which he thought he had discovered is no more than the intentional 'dying away' of the emotion created by the story in the common lot of poor humanity. we drove back across the savannah in a blaze of fireflies. it is not till midnight that they put their lights out and go to sleep with the rest of the world. one duty remained to me before i left the island. the warners are among the oldest of west indian families, distinguished through many generations, not the least in their then living chief and representative, charles warner, who in the highest ministerial offices had steered trinidad through the trying times which followed the abolition of slavery. i had myself in early life been brought into relations with other members of his family. he himself was a very old man on the edge of the grave; but hearing that i was in port of spain, he had expressed a wish to see me. i found him in his drawing room, shrunk in stature, pale, bent double by weight of years, and but feebly able to lift his head to speak. i thought, and i judged rightly, that he could have but a few weeks, perhaps but a few days, to live. there is something peculiarly solemn in being brought to speak with a supremely eminent man, who is already struggling with the moment which is to launch him into a new existence. he raised himself in his chair. he gave me his withered hand. his eyes still gleamed with the light of an untouched intelligence. all else of him seemed dead. the soul, untouched by the decay of the frame which had been its earthly tenement, burnt bright as ever on the edge of its release. when words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain, and they breathe truth who breathe their words in pain. he roused himself to talk, and he talked sadly, for all things at home and everywhere were travelling on the road which he well knew could lead to no good end. no statesman had done better practical work than he, or work which had borne better fruit, could it be allowed to ripen. but for him trinidad would have been a wilderness, savage as when columbus found the caribs there. he belonged to the race who make empires, as the orators lose them, who do things and do not talk about them, who build and do not cast down, who reverence ancient habits and institutions as the organic functions of corporate national character; a tory of the tories, who nevertheless recognised that toryism itself was passing away under the universal solvent, and had ceased to be a faith which could be believed in as a guide to conduct. he no more than any one could tell what it was now wisest or even possible to do. he spoke like some ancient _seer_, whose eyes looked beyond the present time and the present world, and saw politics and progress and the wild whirlwind of change as the play of atoms dancing to and fro in the sunbeams of eternity. yet he wished well to our poor earth, and to us who were still struggling upon it. he was sorry for the courses on which he saw mankind to be travelling. spite of all the newspapers and the blowing of the trumpets, he well understood whither all that was tending. he spoke with horror and even loathing of the sinister leader who was drawing england into the fatal whirlpool. he could still hope, for he knew the power of the race. he knew that the english heart was unaffected, that we were suffering only from delirium of the brain. the day would yet come, he thought, when we should struggle back into sanity again with such wreck of our past greatness as might still be left to us, torn and shattered, but clothed and in our right mind, and cured for centuries of our illusions. my forebodings of the nearness of the end were too well founded. a month later i heard that charles warner was dead. to have seen and spoken with such a man was worth a voyage round the globe. on the prospects of trinidad i have a few more words to add. the tendency of the island is to become what grenada has become already--a community of negro freeholders, each living on his own homestead, and raising or gathering off the ground what his own family will consume. they will multiply, for there is ample room. three-quarters of the soil are still unoccupied. the , blacks will rapidly grow into a half-million, and the half-million, as long as we are on the spot to keep the peace, will speedily double itself again. the english inhabitants will and must be crowded out. the geographical advantages of the gulf of paria will secure a certain amount of trade. there will be merchants and bankers in the town as floating passage birds, and there will be mulatto lawyers and shopkeepers and newspaper writers. but the blacks hate the mulattoes, and the mulatto breed will not maintain itself, as with the independence of the blacks the intimacy between blacks and whites diminishes and must diminish. the english peasant immigration which enthusiasts have believed in is a dream, a dream which passed through the ivory gate, a dream which will never turn to a waking reality; and unless under the indian system, which our rulers will never try unless the democracy orders them to adopt it, the english interest will come to an end. the english have proved in india that they can play a great and useful part as rulers over recognised inferiors. even in the west indies the planters were a real something. like the english in ireland, they produced a remarkable breed of men: the codringtons, the warners, and many illustrious names besides. they governed cheaply on their own resources, and the islands under their rule were so profitable that we fought for them as if our empire was at stake. all that is gone. the days of ruling races are supposed to be numbered. trade drifts away to the nearest market--to new york or new orleans--and in a money point of view the value of such possessions as trinidad will soon be less than nothing to us. as long as the present system holds, there will be an appreciable addition to the sum of human (coloured human) happiness. lighter-hearted creatures do not exist on the globe. but the continuance of it depends on the continuance of the english rule. the peace and order which they benefit by is not of their own creation. in spite of schools and missionaries, the dark connection still maintains itself with satan's invisible world, and modern education contends in vain with obeah worship. as it has been in hayti, so it must be in trinidad if the english leave the blacks to be their own masters. scene after scene passes by on the magic slide. the man-eating caribs first, then columbus and his spaniards, the french conquest, the english occupation, but they have left behind them no self-quickening seed of healthy civilisation, and the prospect darkens once more. it is a pity, for there is no real necessity that it should darken. the west indian negro is conscious of his own defects, and responds more willingly than most to a guiding hand. he is faithful and affectionate to those who are just and kind to him, and with a century or two of wise administration he might prove that his inferiority is not inherent, and that with the same chances as the white he may rise to the same level. i cannot part with the hope that the english people may yet insist that the chance shall not be denied to him, and that they may yet give their officials to understand that they must not, shall not, shake off their responsibilities for this unfortunate people, by flinging them back upon themselves 'to manage their own affairs,' now that we have no further use for them. i was told that the keener-witted trinidad blacks are watching as eagerly as we do the development of the irish problem. they see the identity of the situation. they see that if the radical view prevails, and in every country the majority are to rule, trinidad will be theirs and the government of the english will be at an end. i, for myself, look upon trinidad and the west indies generally as an opportunity for the further extension of the influence of the english race in their special capacity of leaders and governors of men. we cannot with honour divest ourselves of our responsibility for the blacks, or after the eloquence we have poured out and the self-laudation which we have allowed ourselves for the suppression of slavery, leave them now to relapse into a state from which slavery itself was the first step of emancipation. our world-wide dominion will not be of any long endurance if we consider that we have discharged our full duty to our fellow-subjects when we have set them free to follow their own devices. if that is to be all, the sooner it vanishes into history the better for us and for the world. footnotes: [ ] a squadron did go while i was in the west indies. i have not heard that any advance has been made in consequence towards the settlement of the border. chapter ix. barbadoes again--social condition of the island--political constitution--effects of the sugar bounties--dangers of general bankruptcy--the hall of assembly--sir charles pearson--society in bridgetown--a morning drive--church of st. john's--sir graham briggs--an old planter's palace--the chief justice of barbadoes. again at sea, and on the way back to barbadoes. the commodore of the training squadron had offered me a berth to st. vincent, but he intended to work up under sail against the north-east trade, which had risen to half a gale, and i preferred the security and speed of the mail boat. among the passengers was miss ----, the lady whom i had seen sketching on the way to the blue basin. she showed me her drawings, which were excellent. she showed me in her mosquito-bitten arms what she had endured to make them, and i admired her fortitude. she was english, and was on her way to join her father at codrington college. we had a wild night, but those long vessels care little for winds and waves. by morning we had fought our way back to grenada. in the st. vincent roadstead, which we reached the same day, the ship was stormed by boatloads of people who were to go on with us; boys on their way to school at barbadoes, ladies young and old, white, black, and mixed, who were bound i know not where. the night fell dark as pitch, the storm continued, and we were no sooner beyond the shelter of the land than every one save miss ---- and myself was prostrate. the vessel ploughed on upon her way indifferent to us and to them. we were at bridgetown by breakfast time, and i was now to have an opportunity of studying more at leisure the earliest of our west indian colonies. barbadoes is as unlike in appearance as it is in social condition to trinidad or the antilles. there are no mountains in it, no forests, no rivers, and as yet no small freeholders. the blacks, who number nearly , in an island not larger than the isle of wight, are labourers, working for wages on the estates of large proprietors. land of their own they have none, for there is none for them. work they must, for they cannot live otherwise. thus every square yard of soil is cultivated, and turn your eyes where you will you see houses, sugar canes, and sweet potatoes. two hundred and fifty years of occupation have imprinted strongly an english character; parish churches solid and respectable, the english language, the english police and parochial system. however it may be in the other islands, england in barbadoes is still a solid fact. the headquarters of the west indian troops are there. there is a commander-in-chief residing in a 'queen's house,' so called. there is a savannah where there are english barracks under avenues of almond and mahogany. red coats are scattered about the grass. officers canter about playing polo, and naval and military uniforms glitter at the side of carriages, and horsemen and horsewomen take their evening rides, as well mounted and as well dressed as you can see in rotten row. barbadoes is thus in pleasing contrast with the conquered islands which we have not taken the trouble to assimilate. in them remain the wrecks of the french civilisation which we superseded, while we have planted nothing of our own. barbadoes, the european aspect of it at any rate, is english throughout. the harbour, when we arrived, was even more brilliant than we had left it a fortnight before. the training squadron had gone, but in the place of it the west indian fleet was there, and there were also three american frigates, old wooden vessels out merely on a cruise, but heavily sparred, smart and well set up, with the stars and stripes floating carelessly at their sterns, as if in these western seas, be the nominal dominion british, french, or spanish, the american has a voice also and intends to be heard. we had no sooner anchored than a well-appointed boat was alongside with an awning and an ensign at the stern. colonel ----, the chief of the police, to whom it belonged, came on board in search of miss ----, who was to be his guest in bridgetown. she introduced me to him. he insisted on my accompanying him home to breakfast, and, as he was a person in authority, i had nothing to do but obey. colonel ----, to whose politeness then and afterwards i was in many ways indebted, had seen life in various forms. he had been in the navy. he had been in the army. he had been called to the bar. he was now the head of the barbadoes police, with this anomalous addition to his other duties, that in default of a chaplain he read the church service on sundays in the barracks. he had even a license from the bishop to preach sermons, and being a man of fine character and original sense he discharged this last function, i was told, remarkably well. his house was in the heart of the town, but shaded with tropical trees. the rooms were protected by deep outside galleries, which were overrun with bougainvillier creepers. he was himself the kindest of entertainers, his irish lady the kindest of hostesses, with the humorous high breeding of the old sligo aristocracy, to whom she belonged. i found that i had been acquainted with some of her kindred there long ago, in the days when the anglo-irish rule had not been discovered to be a upas tree, and cultivated human life was still possible in connaught. of the breakfast, which consisted of all the west indian dainties i had ever heard or read of, i can say nothing, nor of the pleasant talk which followed. i was to see more of colonel ----, for he offered to drive me some day across the island, a promise which he punctually fulfilled. my stay with him for the present could be but brief, as i was expected at government house. i have met with exceptional hospitality from the governors of british colonies in many parts of the world. they are not chosen like the roman proconsuls from the ranks of trained statesmen who have held high administrative offices at home. they are appointed, as i said just now, from various motives, sometimes with a careful regard to fitness for their post, sometimes with a regard merely to routine or convenience or to personal influence brought to bear in their favour. i have myself seen some for whom i should have thought other employment would have been more suitable; but always and everywhere those that i have fallen in with have been men of honour and integrity above reproach or suspicion, and i have met with one or two gentlemen in these situations whose admirable qualities it is impossible to praise too highly, who in their complicated responsibilities--responsibilities to the colonies and responsibilities to the authorities at home--have considered conscience and duty to be their safest guides, have cared only to do what they believed to be right to the best of their ability, and have left their interests to take care of themselves. the governor of barbadoes is not despotic. he controls the administration, but there is a constitution as old as the stuarts; an assembly of thirty-three members, nine of whom the crown nominates, the rest are elected. the friction is not so violent as when the number of the nominated and elected members is equal, and as long as a property qualification was required for the franchise, the system may have worked tolerably without producing any violent mischief. there have been recent modifications, however, pointing in the same direction as those which have been made in jamaica. by an ordinance from home the suffrage has been widely extended, obviously as a step to larger intended changes. under such conditions and with an uncertain future a governor can do little save lead and influence, entertain visitors, discharge the necessary courtesies to all classes of his subjects, and keep his eyes open. these duties at least sir charles lee discharges to perfection, the entertaining part of them on a scale so liberal that if père labat came back he would suppose that the two hundred years which have gone by since his visit was a dream, and that government house at least was still as he left it. in an establishment which had so many demands upon it, and where so many visitors of all kinds were going and coming, i had no claim to be admitted. i felt that i should be an intruder, and had i been allowed would have taken myself elsewhere, but sir charles's peremptory generosity admitted of no refusal. as a subject i was bound to submit to the queen's representative. i cannot say i was sorry to be compelled. in government house i should see and hear what i could neither have seen nor heard elsewhere. i should meet people who could tell me what i most wanted to know. i had understood already that owing to the sugar depression the state of the island was critical. officials were alarmed. bankers were alarmed. no one could see beyond the next year what was likely to happen. sir charles himself would have most to say. he was evidently anxious. perhaps if he had a fault, he was over anxious; but with the possibility of social confusion before him, with nearly , peasant subjects, who in a few months might be out of work and so out of food, with the inflammable negro nature, and a suspicious and easily excited public opinion at home, the position of a governor of barbadoes is not an enviable one. the government at home, no doubt with the best intentions, has aggravated any peril which there may be by enlarging the suffrage. the experience of governor eyre in jamaica has taught the danger of being too active, but to be too inactive may be dangerous also. if there is a stir again in any part of these islands, and violence and massacre come of it, as it came in st. domingo, the responsibility is with the governor, and the account will be strictly exacted of him. i must describe more particularly the reasons which there are for uneasiness. on the day on which i landed i saw an article in a bridgetown paper in which my coming there was spoken of as perhaps the last straw which would break the overburdened back. i know not why i should be thought likely to add anything to the load of barbadian afflictions. i should be a worse friend to the colonies than i have tried to be if i was one of those who would quench the smoking flax of loyalty in any west indian heart. but loyalty, i very well know, is sorely tried just now. the position is painfully simple. the great prosperity of the island ended with emancipation. barbadoes suffered less than jamaica or the antilles because the population was large and the land limited, and the blacks were obliged to work to keep themselves alive. the abolition of the sugar duties was the next blow. the price of sugar fell, and the estates yielded little more than the expense of cultivation. owners of properties who were their own managers, and had sense and energy, continued to keep themselves afloat; but absenteeism had become the fashion. the brilliant society which is described by labat had been melting for more than a century. more and more the old west indian families removed to england, farmed their lands through agents and overseers, or sold them to speculating capitalists. the personal influence of the white man over the black, which might have been brought about by a friendly intercourse after slavery was abolished, was never so much as attempted. the higher class of gentry found the colony more and more distasteful to them, and they left the arrangement of the labour question to persons to whom the blacks were nothing, emancipated though they might be, except instruments of production. a negro can be attached to his employer at least as easily as a horse or a dog. the horse or dog requires kind treatment, or he becomes indifferent or sullen; so it is with the negro. but the forced equality of the races before the law made more difficult the growth of any kindly feeling. to the overseer on a plantation the black labourer was a machine out of which the problem was to get the maximum of work with the minimum of pay. in the slavery times the horse and dog relation was a real thing. the master and mistress joked and laughed with their dark bondsmen, knew cæsar from pompey, knew how many children each had, gave them small presents, cared for them when they were sick, and maintained them when they were old and past work. all this ended with emancipation. between whites and blacks no relations remained save that of employer and employed. they lived apart. they had no longer, save in exceptional instances, any personal communication with each other. the law refusing to recognise a difference, the social line was drawn the harder, which the law was unable to reach. in the antilles the plantations broke up as i had seen in grenada. the whites went away, and the land was divided among the negroes. in barbadoes, the estates were kept together. the english character and the english habits were stamped deeper there, and were not so easily obliterated. but the stars in their courses have fought against the old system. once the west indies had a monopoly of the sugar trade. steam and progress have given them a hundred _natural_ competitors; and on the back of these came the _unnatural_ bounty-fed beetroot sugar competition. meanwhile the expense of living increased in the days of inflated hope and 'unexampled prosperity.' free trade, whatever its immediate consequences, was to make everyone rich in the end. when the income of an estate fell short one year, it was to rise in the next, and the money was borrowed to make ends meet; when it didn't rise, more money was borrowed; and there is now hardly a property in the island which is not loaded to the sinking point. tied to sugar-growing, barbadoes has no second industry to fall back upon. the blacks, who are heedless and light-hearted, increase and multiply. they will not emigrate, they are so much attached to their homes; and the not distant prospect is of a general bankruptcy, which may throw the land for the moment out of cultivation, with a hungry unemployed multitude to feed without means of feeding them, and to control without the personal acquaintance and influence which alone can make control possible. at home there is a general knowledge that things are not going on well out there. but, true to our own ways of thinking, we regard it as their affair and not as ours. if cheap sugar ruins the planters, it benefits the english workman. the planters had their innings; it is now the consumer's turn. what are the west indies to us? on the map they appear to belong more to the united states than to us. let the united states take them and welcome. so thinks, perhaps, the average englishman; and, analogous to him, the west indian proprietor reflects that, if admitted into the union, he would have the benefit of the american market, which would set him on his feet again; and that the americans, probably finding that they, if not we, could make some profit out of the islands, would be likely to settle the black question for him in a more satisfactory manner. that such a feeling as this should exist is natural and pardonable; and it would have gone deeper than it has gone if it were not that there are two parties to every bargain, and those in favour of such a union have met hitherto with no encouragement. the americans are wise in their generation. they looked at cuba; they looked at st. domingo. they might have had both on easy terms, but they tell you that their constitution does not allow them to hold dependent states. what they annex they absorb, and they did not wish to absorb another million and a half of blacks and as many roman catholics, having enough already of both. our english islands may be more tempting, but there too the black cloud hangs thick and grows yearly thicker, and through english indulgence is more charged with dangerous elements. already, they say, they have every advantage which the islands can give them. they exercise a general protectorate, and would probably interfere if france or england were to attempt again to extend their dominions in that quarter; but they prefer to leave to the present owners the responsibility of managing and feeding the cow, while they are to have the milking of it. thus the proposal of annexation, which has never gone beyond wishes and talk, has so far been coldly received; but the americans did make their offer a short time since, at which the drowning barbadians grasped as at a floating plank. england would give them no hand to save them from the effects of the beetroot bounties. the americans were willing to relax their own sugar duties to admit west indian sugar duty free, and give them the benefit of their own high prices. the colonies being unable to make treaties for themselves, the proposal was referred home and was rejected. the board of trade had, no doubt, excellent reasons for objecting to an arrangement which would have flung our whole commerce with the west indies into american hands, and might have formed a prelude to a closer attachment. it would have been a violation also of those free-trade principles which are the english political gospel. moreover, our attitude towards our colonies has changed in the last twenty years; we now wish to preserve the attachment of communities whom a generation back we should have told to do as they liked, and have bidden them god speed on their way; and this treaty may have been regarded as a step towards separation. but the unfortunate barbadians found themselves, with the harbour in sight, driven out again into the free-trade hurricane. we would not help them ourselves; we declined to let the americans help them; and help themselves they could not. they dare not resent our indifference to their interests, which, if they were stronger, would have been more visibly displayed. they must wait now for what the future will bring with as much composure as they can command, but i did hear outcries of impatience to which it was unpleasant to listen. nay, it was even suggested as a means of inducing the americans to forego their reluctance to take them into the union, that we might relinquish such rights as we possessed in canada if the americans would relieve us of the west indies, for which we appeared to care so little. if barbadoes is driven into bankruptcy, the estates will have to be sold, and will probably be broken up as they have been in the antilles. the first difficulty will thus be got over. but the change cannot be carried out in a day. if wages suddenly cease the negroes will starve, and will not take their starvation patiently. at the worst, however, means will probably be found to keep the land from falling out of cultivation. the barbadians see their condition in the light of their grievances, and make the worst of it. the continental powers may tire of the bounty system, or something else may happen to make sugar rise. the prospect is not a bright one, but what actually happens in this world is generally the unexpected. as a visit my stay at government house was made simply delightful to me. i remained there (with interruptions) for a fortnight, and lady l---- did not only permit, but she insisted that i should be as if in an hotel, and come and go as i liked. the climate of barbadoes, so far as i can speak of it, is as sparkling and invigorating as champagne. cocktail may be wanted in trinidad. in barbadoes the air is all one asks for, and between night breezes and sea breezes one has plenty of it. day begins with daylight, as it ought to do. you have slept without knowing anything about it. there are no venomous crawling creatures. cockroaches are the worst, but they scuttle out of the way so alarmed and ashamed of themselves if you happen to see them, that i never could bring myself to hurt one. you spring out of bed as if the process of getting up were actually pleasant. well-appointed west indian houses are generally provided with a fresh-water swimming bath. though cold by courtesy the water seldom falls below °, and you float luxuriously upon it without dread of chill. the early coffee follows the bath, and then the stroll under the big trees, among strange flowers, or in the grotto with the ferns and humming birds. if it were part of one's regular life, i suppose that one would want something to do. sir charles was the most active of men, and had been busy in his office for an hour before i had come down to lounge. but for myself i discovered that it was possible, at least for an interval, to be perfectly idle and perfectly happy, surrounded by the daintiest beauties of an english hothouse, with palm trees waving like fans to cool one, and with sensitive plants, which are common as daisies, strewing themselves under one's feet to be trodden upon. after breakfast the heat would be considerable, but with an umbrella i could walk about the town and see what was to be seen. alas! here one has something to desire. where père labat saw a display of splendour which reminded him of paris and london, you now find only _stores_ on the american pattern, for the most part american goods, bad in quality and extravagantly dear. treaty or no treaty, it is to america that the trade is drifting, and we might as well concede with a good grace what must soon come of itself whether we like it or not. the streets are relieved from ugliness by the trees and by occasional handsome buildings. often i stood to admire the pea-green nelson. once i went into the assembly where the legislature was discussing more or less unquietly the prospects of the island. the question of the hour was economy. in the opinion of patriot barbadians, sore at the refusal of the treaty, the readiest way to reduce expenditure was to diminish the salaries of officials from the governor downwards. the officials, knowing that they were very moderately paid already, naturally demurred. the most interesting part of the thing to me was the _hall_ in which the proceedings were going on. it is handsome in itself, and has a series of painted windows representing the english sovereigns from james i. to queen victoria. among them in his proper place stood oliver cromwell, the only formal recognition of the great protector that i know of in any part of the english dominions. barbadoes had been cavalier in its general sympathies, but has taken an independent view of things, and here too has had an opinion of its own. hospitality was always a west indian characteristic. there were luncheons and dinners, and distinguished persons to be met and talked to. among these i had the special good fortune of making acquaintance with sir charles pearson, now commanding-in-chief in those parts. even in these days, crowded as they are by small incidents made large by newspapers, we have not yet forgotten the defence of a fort in the interior of zululand where sir charles pearson and his small garrison were cut off from their communications with natal. for a week or two he was the chief object of interest in every english house. in obedience to orders which it was not his business to question, he had assisted sir t. shepstone in the memorable annexation of the transvaal. he had seen also to what that annexation led, and, being a truth-speaking man, he did not attempt to conceal the completeness of our defeat. our military establishment in the west indies is of modest dimensions; but a strong english soldier, who says little and does his duty, and never told a lie in his life or could tell one, is a comforting figure to fall in with. one feels that there will be something to retire upon when parliamentary oratory has finished its work of disintegration. the pleasantest incident of the day was the evening drive with lady l----. she would take me out shortly before sunset, and bring me back again when the tropical stars were showing faintly and the fireflies had begun to sparkle about the bushes, and the bats were flitting to and fro after the night moths like spirits of darkness chasing human souls. the neighbourhood of bridgetown has little natural beauty; but the roads are excellent, the savannah picturesque with riding parties and polo players and lounging red jackets, every one being eager to pay his or her respect to the gracious lady of the queen's representative. we called at pretty villas where there would be evening teas and lawn tennis in the cool. the society is not extensive, and here would be collected most of it that was worth meeting. at one of these parties i fell in with the officers of the american squadron, the commodore a very interesting and courteous gentleman whom i should have taken for a fellow-countryman. there are many diamonds, and diamonds of the first water, among the americans as among ourselves; but the cutting and setting is different. commodore d---- was cut and set like an englishman. he introduced me to one of his brother officers who had been in hayti. spite of sir spenser st. john, spite of all the confirmatory evidence which i had heard, i was still incredulous about the alleged cannibalism there. to my inquiries this gentleman had only the same answer to give. the fact was beyond question. he had himself known instances of it. the commodore had a grievance against us illustrating west indian manners. these islands are as nervous about their health as so many old ladies. the yellow flags float on ship after ship in the bridgetown roadstead, and crews, passengers, and cargoes are sternly interdicted from the land. jamaica was in ill name from small-pox, and, as cuba will not drop its intercourse with jamaica, cuba falls also under the ban. the commodore had directed a case of cigars from havana to meet him at barbadoes. they arrived, but might not be transferred from the steamer which brought them, even on board his own frigate, lest he might bring infection on shore in his pocket. they went on to england, to reach him perhaps eventually in new york. colonel ----'s duties, as chief of the police, obliged him to make occasional rounds to visit his stations. he recollected his promise, and he invited me one morning to accompany him. we were to breakfast at his house on our return, so i anticipated an excursion of a few miles at the utmost. he called for me soon after sunrise with a light carriage and a brisk pair of horses. we were rapidly clear of the town. the roads were better than the best i have seen out of england, the only fault in them being the white coral dust which dazzles and blinds the eyes. everywhere there were signs of age and of long occupation. the stone steps leading up out of the road to the doors of the houses had been worn by human feet for hundreds of years. the houses themselves were old, and as if suffering from the universal depression--gates broken, gardens disordered, and woodwork black and blistered for want of paint. but if the habitations were neglected, there was no neglect in the fields. sugar cane alternated with sweet potatoes and yams and other strange things the names of which i heard and forgot; but there was not a weed to be seen or broken fence where fence was needed. the soil was clean every inch of it, as well hoed and trenched as in a middlesex market garden. salt fish and flour, which is the chief food of the blacks, is imported; but vegetables enough are raised in barbadoes to keep the cost of living incredibly low; and, to my uninstructed eyes, it seemed that even if sugar and wages did fail there could be no danger of any sudden famine. the people were thick as rabbits in a warren; women with loaded baskets on their heads laughing and chirruping, men driving donkey carts, four donkeys abreast, smoking their early pipes as if they had not a care in the world, as, indeed, they have not. on we went, the colonel's horses stepping out twelve miles an hour, and i wondered privately what was to become of our breakfast. we were striking right across the island, along the coral ridge which forms the backbone of it. we found ourselves at length in a grove of orange trees and shaddocks, at the old church of st. john's, which stands upon a perpendicular cliff; codrington college on the level under our feet, and beyond us the open atlantic and the everlasting breakers from the trade winds fringing the shore with foam. far out were the white sails of the fishing smacks. the barbadians are careless of weather, and the best of boat sailors. it was very pretty in the bright morning, and the church itself was not the least interesting part of the scene. the door was wide open. we went in, and i seemed to be in a parish church in england as parish churches used to be when i was a child. there were the old-fashioned seats, the old unadorned communion table, the old pulpit and reading desk and the clerk's desk below, with the lion and the unicorn conspicuous above the chancel arch. the white tablets on the wall bore familiar names dating back into the last century. on the floor were flagstones still older with armorial bearings and letters cut in stone, half effaced by the feet of the generations who had trodden up the same aisles till they, too, lay down and rested there. and there was this, too, to be remembered--that these barbadian churches, old as they might seem, had belonged always to the anglican communion. no mass had ever been said at that altar. it was a milestone on the high road of time, and was venerable to me at once for its antiquity and for the era at which it had begun to exist. at the porch was an ancient slab on which was a coat of arms, a crest with a hand and sword, and a motto, '_sic nos, sic nostra tuemur._' the inscription said that it was in memory of michael mahon, 'of the kingdom of ireland,' erected by his children and grandchildren. who was michael mahon? some expatriated, so-called rebel, i suppose, whose sword could not defend him from being barbados'd with so many other poor wretches who were sent the same road--victims of the tragi-comedy of the english government of ireland. there were plenty of them wandering about in labat's time, ready, as labat observes, to lend a help to the french, should they take a fancy to land a force in the island. the churchyard was scarcely so home-like. the graves were planted with tropical shrubs and flowers. palms waved over the square stone monuments--stephanotis and jessamine crept about the iron railings. the primroses and hyacinths and violets, with which we dress the mounds under which our friends are sleeping, will not grow in the tropics. in the place of them are the exotics of our hot-houses. we too are, perhaps, exotics of another kind in these islands, and may not, after all, have a long abiding place in them. colonel ----, who with his secular duties combined serious and spiritual feeling, was a friend of the clergyman of st. john's, and hoped to introduce me to him. this gentleman, however, was absent from home. our round was still but half completed; we had to mount again and go another seven miles to inspect a police station. the police themselves were, of course, blacks--well-grown fine men, in a high state of discipline. our visit was not expected, but all was as it should be; the rooms well swept and airy, the horses in good condition, stables clean, harness and arms polished and ready for use. serious as might be the trials of the barbadians and decrepit the financial condition, there were no symptoms of neglect either on the farms or in the social machinery. altogether we drove between thirty and forty miles that morning. we were in time for breakfast after all, and i had seen half the island. it is like the isle of thanet, or the country between calais and boulogne. one characteristic feature must not be forgotten: there are no rivers and no waterpower; steam engines have been introduced, but the chief motive agent is still the never-ceasing trade wind. you see windmills everywhere, as it was in the time of labat. the planters are reproached as being behind the age; they are told that with the latest improvements they might still defy their beetroot enemy. it may be so, but a wind which never rests is force which costs little, and it is possible that they understand their own business best. another morning excursion showed me the rest of the country, and introduced me to scenes and persons still more interesting. sir graham briggs[ ] is perhaps the most distinguished representative of the old barbadian families. he is, or was, a man of large fortune, with vast estates in this and other islands. a few years ago, when prospects were brighter, he was an advocate of the constitutional development so much recommended from england. the west indian islands were to be confederated into a dominion like that of canada, to take over the responsibilities of government, and to learn to stand alone. the decline in the value of property, the general decay of the white interest in the islands, and the rapid increase of the blacks, taught those who at one time were ready for the change what the real nature of it would be. they have paused to consider; and the longer they consider the less they like it. sir graham had called upon me at government house, and had spoken fully and freely about the offered american sugar treaty. as a severe sufferer he was naturally irritated at the rejection of it; and in the mood in which i found him, i should think it possible that if the americans would hold their hands out with an offer of admission into the union, he and a good many other gentlemen would meet them halfway. he did not say so--i conjecture only from natural probabilities, and from what i should feel myself if i were in their position. happily the temptation cannot fall in their way. an american official laconically summed up the situation to me: 'as satellites, sir, as much as you please; but as parts of the primary--no, sir.' the americans will not take them into the union; they must remain, therefore, with their english primary and make the best of it; neither as satellites, for they have no proper motion of their own, nor as incorporated in the british empire, for they derive no benefit from their connection with it, but as poor relations distantly acknowledged. i did not expect that sir graham would have more to say to me than he had said already: but he was a cultivated and noteworthy person, his house was said to be the most splendid of the old barbadian merchant palaces, and i gratefully accepted an invitation to pay him a short visit. i started as before in the early morning, before the sun was above the trees. the road followed the line of the shore. originally, i believe, barbadoes was like the antilles, covered with forest. in the interior little remains save cabbage palms and detached clumps of mangy-looking mahogany trees. the forest is gone, and human beings have taken the place of it. for ten miles i was driving through a string of straggling villages, each cottage or cabin having its small vegetable garden and clump of plantains. being on the western or sheltered side of the island, the sea was smooth and edged with mangrove, through which at occasional openings we saw the shining water and the white coral beach, and fishing boats either drawn up upon it or anchored outside with their sails up. trees had been planted for shade among the houses. there were village greens with great silk-cotton trees, banyans and acacias, mangoes and oranges, and shaddocks with their large fruit glowing among the leaves like great golden melons. the people swarmed, children tumbling about half naked, so like each other that one wondered whether their mothers knew their own from their neighbours'; the fishermen's wives selling flying fish, of which there are infinite numbers. it was an innocent, pretty scene. one missed green fields with cows upon them. guinea grass, which is all that they have, makes excellent fodder, but is ugly to look at; and is cut and carried, not eaten where it grows. of animal life there were innumerable donkeys--no black man will walk if he can find a donkey to carry him--infinite poultry, and pigs, familiar enough, but not allowed a free entry into the cabins as in ireland. of birds there was not any great variety. the humming birds preferred less populated quarters. there were small varieties of finches and sparrows and buntings, winged atoms without beauty of form or colour; there were a few wild pigeons; but the prevailing figure was the barbadian crow, a little fellow no bigger than a blackbird, a diminutive jackdaw, who gets his living upon worms and insects and parasites, and so tame that he would perch upon a boy's head if he saw a chance of finding anything eatable there. the women dress ill in barbadoes, for they imitate english ladies; but no dress can conceal the grace of their forms when they are young. it struck père labat two centuries ago, and time and their supposed sufferings as slaves have made no difference. they work harder than the men, and are used as beasts of burden to fetch and carry, but they carry their loads on their heads, and thus from childhood have to stand upright with the neck straight and firm. they do not spoil their shapes with stays, or their walk with high-heeled shoes. they plant their feet firmly on the ground. every movement is elastic and rounded, and the grace of body gives, or seems to give, grace also to the eyes and expression. poor things! it cannot compensate for their colour, which now when they are free is harder to bear than when they were slaves. their prettiness, such as it is, is short-lived. they grow old early, and an old negress is always hideous. after keeping by the sea for an hour we turned inland, and at the foot of a steep hill we met my host, who transferred me to his own carriage. we had still four or five miles to go through cane fields and among sugar mills. at the end of them we came to a grand avenue of cabbage palms, a hundred or a hundred and twenty feet high. how their slim stems with their dense coronet of leaves survive a hurricane is one of the west indian marvels. they escape destruction by the elasticity with which they yield to it. the branches, which in a calm stand out symmetrically, forming a circle of which the stem is the exact centre, bend round before a violent wind, are pressed close together, and stream out horizontally like a horse's tail. the avenue led up to sir graham's house, which stands feet above the sea. the garden, once the wonder of the island, was running wild, though rare trees and shrubs survived from its ancient splendour. among them were two wellingtonias as tall as the palms, but bent out of shape by the trade winds. passing through a hall, among a litter of carib curiosities, we entered the drawing-room, a magnificent saloon extending with various compartments over the greater part of the ground-floor story. it was filled with rare and curious things, gathered in the days when sugar was a horn of plenty, and selected with the finest taste; pictures, engravings, gems, antiquarian relics, books, maps, and manuscripts. there had been fine culture in the west indies when all these treasures were collected. the english settlers there, like the english in ireland, had the tastes of a grand race, and by-and-by we shall miss both of them when they are overwhelmed, as they are likely to be, in the revolutionary tide. sir graham was stemming it to the best of his ability, and if he was to go under would go under like a gentleman. a dining room almost as large had once been the scene of hospitalities like those which are celebrated by tom cringle. a broad staircase led up from the hall to long galleries, out of which bedrooms opened; with cool deep balconies and the universal green blinds. it was a palace with which aladdin himself might have been satisfied, one of those which had stirred the envying admiration of foreign travellers in the last century, one of many then, now probably the last surviving representative of anglo-west indian civilisation. like other forms of human life, it has had its day and could not last for ever. something better may grow in the place of it, but also something worse may grow. the example of hayti ought to suggest misgivings to the most ardent philonegro enthusiast. west indian cookery was famous over the world. père labat devotes at least a thousand pages to the dishes compounded of the spices and fruits of the islands, and their fish and fowl. carib tradition was developed by artists from london and paris. the caribs, according to labat, only ate one another for ceremony and on state occasions; their common diet was as excellent as it was innocent; and they had ascertained by careful experience the culinary and medicinal virtues of every animal and plant around them. tom cringle is eloquent on the same subject, but with less scientific knowledge. my own unfortunately is less than his, and i can do no justice at all to sir graham's entertainment of me; i can but say that he treated me to a west indian banquet of the old sort, infinite in variety, and with subtle differences of flavour for which no language provides names. the wine--laid up _consule planco_, when pitt was prime minister, and the days of liberty as yet were not--was as admirable as the dishes, and the fruit more exquisite than either. such pineapples, such shaddocks, i had never tasted before, and shall never taste again. hospitable, generous, splendid as was sir graham's reception of me, it was nevertheless easy to see that the prospects of the island sat heavy upon him. we had a long conversation when breakfast was over, which, if it added nothing new to what i had heard before, deepened and widened the impression of it. the english west indies, like other parts of the world, are going through a silent revolution. elsewhere the revolution, as we hope, is a transition state, a new birth; a passing away of what is old and worn out, that a fresh and healthier order may rise in its place. in the west indies the most sanguine of mortals will find it difficult to entertain any such hope at all. we have been a ruling power there for two hundred and fifty years; the whites whom we planted as our representatives are drifting into helplessness, and they regard england and england's policy as the principal cause of it. the blacks whom, in a fit of virtuous benevolence, we emancipated, do not feel that they are particularly obliged to us. they think, if they think at all, that they were ill treated originally, and have received no more than was due to them, and that perhaps it was not benevolence at all on our part, but a desire to free ourselves from the reproach of slaveholding. at any rate, the tendencies now in operation are loosening the hold which we possess on the islands, and the longer they last the looser that hold will become. french influence is in no danger of dying out in martinique and guadaloupe. the spanish race is not dying in cuba and puerto rico. england will soon be no more than a name in barbadoes and the antilles. having acquitted our conscience by emancipation, we have left our west indian interest to sink or swim. our principle has been to leave each part of our empire (except the east indies) to take care of itself: we give the various inhabitants liberty, and what we understand by fair play; that we have any further moral responsibilities towards them we do not imagine, even in our dreams, when they have ceased to be of commercial importance to us; and we assume that the honour of being british subjects will suffice to secure their allegiance. it will not suffice, as we shall eventually discover. we have decided that if the west indies are to become again prosperous they must recover by their own energy. our other colonies can do without help; why not they? we ought to remember that they are not like the other colonies. we occupied them at a time when slavery was considered a lawful institution, profitable to ourselves and useful to the souls of the negroes, who were brought by it within reach of salvation.[ ] we became ourselves the chief slave dealers in the world. we peopled our islands with a population of blacks more dense by far in proportion to the whites than france or spain ever ventured to do. we did not recognise, as the french and spaniards did, that if our western colonies were permanently to belong to us, we must occupy them ourselves. we thought only of the immediate profit which was to be gathered out of the slave gangs; and the disproportion of the two races--always dangerously large--has increased with ever-gathering velocity since the emancipation. it is now beyond control on the old lines. the scanty whites are told that they must work out their own salvation on equal terms with their old servants. the relation is an impossible one. the independent energy which we may fairly look for in australia and new zealand is not to be looked for in jamaica and barbadoes; and the problem must have a new solution. confederation is to be the remedy, we are told. let the islands be combined under a constitution. the whites collectively will then be a considerable body, and can assert themselves successfully. confederation is, as i said before of the movement in trinidad, but a turn of the kaleidoscope, the same pieces with a new pattern. a west indian self-governed dominion is possible only with a full negro vote. if the whites are to combine, so will the blacks. it will be a rule by the blacks and for the blacks. let a generation or two pass by and carry away with them the old traditions, and an english governor-general will be found presiding over a black council, delivering the speeches made for him by a black prime minister; and how long could this endure? no english gentleman would consent to occupy so absurd a situation. the two races are not equal and will not blend. if the white people do not depart of themselves, black legislation will make it impossible for any of them to stay who would not be better out of the way. the anglo-irish protestants will leave ireland if there is an irish catholic parliament in college green; the whites, for the same reason, will leave the west indies; and in one and the other the connection with the british empire will disappear along with them. it must be so; only politicians whose horizon does not extend beyond their personal future, and whose ambition is only to secure the immediate triumph of their party, can expect anything else. before my stay at barbadoes ended, i had an opportunity of meeting at dinner a negro of pure blood who has risen to eminence by his own talent and character. he has held the office of attorney-general. he is now chief justice of the island. exceptions are supposed proverbially to prove nothing, or to prove the opposite of what they appear to prove. when a particular phenomenon occurs rarely, the probabilities are strong against the recurrence of it. having heard the craniological and other objections to the supposed identity of the negro and white races, i came to the opinion long ago in africa, and i have seen no reason to change it, that whether they are of one race or not there is no original or congenital difference of capacity between them, any more than there is between a black horse and a black dog and a white horse and a white dog. with the same chances and with the same treatment, i believe that distinguished men would be produced equally from both races, and mr. ----'s well-earned success is an additional evidence of it. but it does not follow that what can be done eventually can be done immediately, and the gulf which divides the colours is no arbitrary prejudice, but has been opened by the centuries of training and discipline which have given us the start in the race. we set it down to slavery. it would be far truer to set it down to freedom. the african blacks have been free enough for thousands, perhaps for tens of thousands of years, and it has been the absence of restraint which has prevented them from becoming civilised. generation has followed generation, and the children are as like their father as the successive generations of apes. the whites, it is likely enough, succeeded one another with the same similarity for a long series of ages. it is now supposed that the human race has been upon the planet for a hundred thousand years at least, and the first traces of civilisation cannot be thrown back at farthest beyond six thousand. during all those ages mankind went on treading in the same steps, century after century making no more advance than the birds and beasts. in egypt or in india or one knows not where, accident or natural development quickened into life our moral and intellectual faculties; and these faculties have grown into what we now experience, not in the freedom in which the modern takes delight, but under the sharp rule of the strong over the weak, of the wise over the unwise. our own anglo-norman race has become capable of self-government only after a thousand years of civil and spiritual authority. european government, european instruction, continued steadily till his natural tendencies are superseded by a higher instinct, may shorten the probation period of the negro. individual blacks of exceptional quality, like frederick douglas in america, or the chief justice of barbadoes, will avail themselves of opportunities to rise, and the freest opportunities ought to be offered them. but it is as certain as any future event can be that if we give the negroes as a body the political powers which we claim for ourselves, they will use them only to their own injury. they will slide back into their old condition, and the chance will be gone of lifting them to the level to which we have no right to say that they are incapable of rising. chief justice r---- owes his elevation to his english environment and his english legal training. he would not pretend that he could have made himself what he is in hayti or in dahomey. let english authority die away, and the average black nature, such as it now is, be left free to assert itself, and there will be no more negroes like him in barbadoes or anywhere. naturally, i found him profoundly interested in the late revelations of the state of hayti. sir spenser st. john, an english official, after residing for twelve years in port au prince, had in a published narrative with many details and particulars, declared that the republic of toussaint l'ouverture, the idol of all believers in the new gospel of liberty, had, after ninety years of independence, become a land where cannibalism could be practised with impunity. the african obeah, the worship of serpents and trees and stones, after smouldering in all the west indies in the form of witchcraft and poisoning, had broken out in hayti in all its old hideousness. children were sacrificed as in the old days of moloch and were devoured with horrid ceremony, salted limbs being preserved and sold for the benefit of those who were unable to attend the full solemnities. that a man in the position of a british resident should have ventured on a statement which, if untrue, would be ruinous to himself, appeared in a high degree improbable. yet one had to set one incredibility against another. notwithstanding the character of the evidence, when i went out to the west indies i was still unbelieving. i could not bring myself to credit that in an island nominally catholic, where the french language was spoken, and there were cathedrals and churches and priests and missionaries, so horrid a revival of devil-worship could have been really possible. all the inquiries which i had been able to make, from american and other officers who had been in hayti, confirmed sir s. st. john's story. i had hardly found a person who entertained a doubt of it. i was perplexed and uncertain, when the chief justice opened the subject and asked me what i thought. had i been convinced i should have turned the conversation, but i was not convinced and i was not afraid to say so. i reminded him of the universal conviction through europe that the jews were habitually guilty of sacrificing children also. there had been detailed instances. alleged offenders had been brought before courts of justice at any time for the last six hundred years. witnesses had been found to swear to facts which had been accepted as conclusive. wretched creatures in henry iii.'s time had been dragged by dozens at horses' tails through the streets of london, broken on the wheel, or torn to pieces by infuriated mobs. even within the last two years, the same accusation had been brought forward in russia and germany, and had been established apparently by adequate proof. so far as popular conviction of the guilt of the jews was an evidence against them, nothing could be stronger; and no charge could be without foundation on ordinary principles of evidence which revived so often and in so many places. and yet many persons, i said, and myself among them, believed that although the accusers were perfectly sincere, the guilt of the jews was from end to end an hallucination of hatred. i had looked into the particulars of some of the trials. they were like the trials for witchcraft. the belief had created the fact, and accusation was itself evidence. i was prepared to find these stories of child murder in hayti were bred similarly of anti-negro prejudice. had the chief justice caught at my suggestion with any eagerness i should have suspected it myself. his grave diffidence and continued hesitation in offering an opinion confirmed me in my own. i told him that i was going to hayti to learn what i could on the spot. i could not expect that i, on a flying visit, could see deeper into the truth than sir spenser st. john had seen, but at least i should not take with me a mind already made up, and i was not given to credulity. he took leave of me with an expression of passionate anxiety that it might be found possible to remove so black a stain from his unfortunate race. footnotes: [ ] as i correct the proofs i learn, to my great sorrow, that sir graham is dead. i have lost in him a lately made but valued friend; and the colony has lost the ablest of its legislators. [ ] it was on this ground alone that slavery was permitted in the french islands. labat says: c'est une loi très-ancienne que les terres soumises aux rois de france rendent libres tous ceux qui s'y peuvent retirer. c'est ce qui fit que le roi louis xiii, de glorieuse mémoire, aussi pieux qu'il étoit sage, eut toutes les peines du monde à consentir que les premiers habitants des isles eussent des esclaves: et ne se rendit enfin qu'aux pressantes sollicitations qu'on luy faisoit de leur octroyer cette permission que parce qu'on lui remontra que c'étoit un moyen infaillible et l'unique qu'il y eût pour inspirer le culte du vrai dieu aux africains, les retirer de l'idolâtrie, et les faire persévérer jusqu'à la mort dans la religion chrétienne qu'on leur feroit embrasser.--vol. iv. p. . chapter x. leeward and windward islands--the caribs of dominica--visit of père labat--st. lucia--the pitons--the harbour at castries--intended coaling station--visit to the administrator--the old fort and barracks--conversation with an american--constitution of dominica--land at roseau. beyond all the west indian islands i had been curious to see dominica.[ ] it was the scene of rodney's great fight on april . it was the most beautiful of the antilles and the least known. a tribe of aboriginal caribs still lingered in the forests retaining the old look and the old language, and, except that they no longer ate their prisoners, retaining their old habits. they were skilful fishermen, skilful basket makers, skilful in many curious arts. the island lies between martinique and guadaloupe, and is one of the group now called leeward islands, as distinguished from st. lucia, st. vincent, grenada, &c., which form the windward. the early geographers drew the line differently and more rationally. the main direction of the trade winds is from east to west. to them the windward islands were the whole chain of the antilles, which form the eastern side of the caribbean sea. the leeward were the great islands on the west of it--cuba, st. domingo, puerto rico, and jamaica. the modern division corresponds to no natural phenomenon. the drift of the trades is rather from the north-east than from the south-east, and the names serve only now to describe our own not very successful political groupings. dominica cuts in two the french west indian possessions. the french took it originally from the spaniards, occupied it, colonised it, planted in it their religion and their language, and fought desperately to maintain their possession. lord rodney, to whom we owe our own position in the west indies, insisted that dominica must belong to us to hold the french in check, and regarded it as the most important of all our stations there. rodney made it english, and english it has ever since remained in spite of the furious efforts which france made to recover an island which she so highly valued during the napoleon wars. i was anxious to learn what we had made of a place which we had fought so hard for. though dominica is the most mountainous of all the antilles, it is split into many valleys of exquisite fertility. through each there runs a full and ample river, swarming with fish, and yielding waterpower enough to drive all the mills which industry could build. in these valleys and on the rich levels along the shore the french had once their cane fields and orange gardens, their pineapple beds and indigo plantations. labat, who travelled through the island at the close of the seventeenth century, found it at that time chiefly occupied by caribs. with his hungry appetite for knowledge, he was a guest in their villages, acquainted himself with their characters and habits, and bribed out of them by lavish presents of brandy the secrets of their medicines and poisons. the père was a clever, curious man, with a genial human sympathy about him, and was indulgent to the faults which the poor coloured sinners fell into from never having known better. he tried to make christians of them. they were willing to be baptised as often as he liked for a glass of brandy. but he was not very angry when he found that the christianity went no deeper. moral virtues, he concluded charitably, could no more be expected out of a carib than reason and good sense out of a woman. at roseau, the capital, he fell in with the then queen of dominica, a madame ouvernard, a carib of pure blood, who in her time of youth and beauty had been the mistress of an english governor of st. kitts. when labat saw her she was a hundred years old with a family of children and grandchildren. she was a grand old lady, unclothed almost absolutely, bent double, so that under ordinary circumstances nothing of her face could be seen. labat, however, presented her with a couple of bottles of eau de vie, under the influence of which she lifted up to him a pair of still brilliant eyes and a fair mouthful of teeth. they did very well together, and on parting they exchanged presents in homeric fashion, she loading him with baskets of fruit, he giving a box in return full of pins and needles, knives and scissors. labat was a student of languages before philology had become a science. he discovered from the language of the caribs that they were north american indians. they called themselves _banari_, which meant 'come from over sea.' their dialect was almost identical with what he had heard spoken in florida. they were cannibals, but of a peculiar kind. human flesh was not their ordinary food; but they 'boucanned' or dried the limbs of distinguished enemies whom they had killed in, battle, and handed them round to be gnawed at special festivals. they were a light-hearted, pleasant race, capital shots with bows and arrows, and ready to do anything he asked in return for brandy. they killed a hammer shark for his amusement by diving under the monster and stabbing him with knives. as to their religion, they had no objection to anything. but their real belief was in a sort of devil. soon after labat's visit the french came in, drove the caribs into the mountains, introduced negro slaves, and an ordered form of society. madame ouvernard and her court went to their own place. canes were planted, and indigo and coffee. a cathedral was built at roseau, and parish churches were scattered about the island. there were convents of nuns and houses of friars, and a fort at the port with a garrison in it. the french might have been there till now had not we turned them out some ninety years ago; english enterprise then setting in that direction under the impulse of rodney's victories. i was myself about to see the improvements which we had introduced into an acquisition which had cost us so dear. i was to be dropped at roseau by the mail steamer from barbadoes to st. thomas's. on our way we touched at st. lucia, another once famous possession of ours. this island was once french also. rodney took it in . it was the only one of the antilles which was left to us in the reverses which followed the capitulation of york town. it was in the harbour at castries, the chief port, that rodney collected the fleet which fought and won the great battle with the count de grasse. at the peace of versailles, st. lucia was restored to france; but was retaken in by sir ralph abercrombie, and, like dominica, has ever since belonged to england. this, too, is a beautiful mountainous island, twice as large as barbadoes, in which even at this late day we have suddenly discovered that we have an interest. the threatened darien canal has awakened us to a sense that we require a fortified coaling station in those quarters. st. lucia has the greatest natural advantages for such a purpose, and works are already in progress there, and the long-deserted forts and barracks which had been made over to snakes and lizards, are again to be occupied by english troops. we sailed one evening from barbadoes. in the grey of the next morning we were in the passage between st. lucia and st. vincent just under the 'pitons,' which were soaring grandly above us in the twilight. the pitons are two conical mountains rising straight out of the sea at the southern end of st. lucia, one of them , feet high, the other a few feet lower, symmetrical in shape like sugar loaves, and so steep as to be inaccessible to any one but a member of the alpine club. tradition says that four english seamen, belonging to the fleet, did once set out to climb the loftier of the two. they were watched in their ascent through a telescope. when halfway up one of them was seen to drop, while three went on; a few hundred feet higher a second dropped, and afterwards a third; one had almost reached the summit, when he fell also. no account of what had befallen them ever reached their ship. they were supposed to have been bitten by the fer de lance, the deadliest snake in st. lucia and perhaps in the world, who had resented and punished their intrusion into regions where they had no business. such is the local legend, born probably out of the terror of a reptile which is no legend at all, but a living and very active reality. i had gone on deck on hearing where we were, and saw the twin grey peaks high above me in the sky, the last stars glimmering over their tops and the waves washing against the black precipices at their base. the night had been rough, and a considerable sea was running, which changed, however, to an absolute calm when we had passed the pitons and were under the lee of the island. i could then observe the peculiar blue of the water which i was told that i should find at st. lucia and dominica. i have seen the sea of very beautiful colours in several parts of the world, but i never saw any which equalled this. i do not know the cause. the depth is very great even close to the shore. the islands are merely volcanic mountains with sides extremely steep. the coral insect has made anchorages in the bays and inlets; elsewhere you are out of soundings almost immediately. as to st. lucia itself, if i had not seen grenada, if i had not known what i was about to see in dominica, i should have thought it the most exquisite place which nature had ever made, so perfect were the forms of the forest-clothed hills, the glens dividing them and the high mountain ranges in the interior still draped in the white mist of morning. here and there along the shore there were bright green spots which meant cane fields. sugar cane in these countries is always called for brevity _cane_. here, as elsewhere, the population is almost entirely negro, forty thousand blacks and a few hundred whites, the ratio altering every year to white disadvantage. the old system has not, however, disappeared as completely as in other places. there are still white planters with large estates, which are not encumbered as in barbadoes. they are struggling along, discontented of course, but not wholly despondent. the chief complaint is the somewhat weary one of the laziness of the blacks, who they say will work only when they please, and are never fully awake except at dinner time. i do not know that they have a right to expect anything else from poor creatures whom the law calls human, but who to them are only mechanical tools, not so manageable as tools ought to be, with whom they have no acquaintance and no human relations, whose wages are but twopence an hour and are diminished by fines at the arbitrary pleasure of the overseer. life and hope and energy are the qualities most needed. when the troops return there will be a change, and spirit may be put into them again. castries, the old french town, lies at the head of a deep inlet which runs in among the mountains like a fiord. this is to be the future coaling station. the mouth of the bay is narrow with a high projecting 'head' on either side of it, and can be easily and cheaply fortified. there is little or no tide in these seas. there is depth of water sufficient in the greater part of the harbour for line-of-battle ships to anchor and turn, and the few coral shoals which would be in the way are being torn up with dredging machines. the island has borrowed seventy thousand pounds on government security to prepare for the dignity which awaits it and for the prosperity which is to follow. there was real work actively going on, a rare and perhaps unexampled phenomenon in the english west indies. we brought up alongside of a wharf to take in coal. it was a strange scene; cocoa-nut palms growing incongruously out of coal stores, and gorgeous flowering creepers climbing over the workmen's sheds. volumes of smoke rose out of the dredging engines and hovered over the town. we had come back to french costume again; we had left the white dresses behind at barbadoes, and the people at castries were bright as parrots in crimsons and blues and greens; but fine colours looked oddly out of place by the side of the grimy reproduction of england. i went on shore and fell in with the engineer of the works, who kindly showed me his plans of the harbour, and explained what was to be done. he showed me also some beautiful large bivalves which had been brought up in the scrapers out of the coral. they were new to me and new to him, though they may be familiar enough to more experienced naturalists. among other curiosities he had a fer de lance, lately killed and preserved in spirits, a rat-tailed, reddish, powerful-looking brute, about four feet long and as thick as a child's wrist. even when dead i looked at him respectfully, for his bite is fatal and the effect almost instantaneous. he is fearless, and will not, like most snakes, get out of your way if he hears you coming, but leaves you to get out of his. he has a bad habit, too, of taking his walks at night; he prefers a path or a road to the grass, and your house or your garden to the forest; while if you step upon him you will never do it again. they have introduced the mongoose, who has cleared the snakes out of jamaica, to deal with him; but the mongoose knows the creature that he has to encounter, and as yet has made little progress in extirpating him. st. lucia is under the jurisdiction of barbadoes. it has no governor of its own, but only an administrator indifferently paid. the elective principle has not yet been introduced into the legislature, and perhaps will not be introduced since we have discovered the island to be of consequence to us, unless as part of some general confederation. the present administrator--mr. laborde, a gentleman, i suppose, of french descent--is an elderly official, and resides in the old quarters of the general of the forces, feet above the sea. he has large responsibilities, and, having had large experience also, seems fully equal to the duties which attach to him. he cannot have the authority of a complete governor, or undertake independent enterprises for the benefit of the island, as a rajah brooke might do, but he walks steadily on in the lines assigned to him. st. lucia is better off in this respect than most of the antilles, and may revive perhaps into something like prosperity when the coaling station is finished and under the command of some eminent engineer officer. mr. laborde had invited us to lunch with him. horses were waiting for us, and we rode up the old winding track which led from the town to the barracks. the heat below was oppressive, but the air cooled as we rose. the road is so steep that resting places had been provided at intervals, where the soldiers could recover breath or shelter themselves from the tropical cataracts of rain which fall without notice, as if the string had been pulled of some celestial shower bath. the trees branched thickly over it, making an impenetrable shade, till we emerged on the plateau at the top, where we were on comparatively level ground, with the harbour immediately at our feet. the situation had been chosen by the french when st. lucia was theirs. the general's house, now mr. laborde's residence, is a long airy building with a deep colonnade, the drawing and dining rooms occupying the entire breadth of the ground floor, with doors and windows on both sides for coolness and air. the western front overlooked the sea. behind were wooded hills, green valleys, a mountain range in the background, and the pitons blue in the distance. as we were before our time, mr. laborde walked me out to see the old barracks, magazines, and water tanks. they looked neglected and dilapidated, the signs of decay being partly hid by the creepers with which the walls were overgrown. the soldiers' quarters were occupied for the time by a resident gentleman, who attended to the essential repairs and prevented the snakes from taking possession as they were inclined to do. i forget how many of the fer de lance sort he told me he had killed in the rooms since he had lived in them. in the war time we had maintained a large establishment in st. lucia; with what consequences to the health of the troops i could not clearly make out. one informant told me that they had died like flies of yellow fever, and that the fields adjoining were as full of bodies as the brompton cemetery; another that yellow fever had never been known there or any dangerous disorder; and that if we wanted a sanitary station this was the spot for it. many thousands of pounds will have to be spent there before the troops can return; but that is our way with the colonies--to change our minds every ten years, to do and undo, and do again, according to parliamentary humours, while john bull pays the bill patiently for his own irresolution. the fortress, once very strong, is now in ruins, but, i suppose, will be repaired and rearmed unless we are to trust to the yankees, who are supposed to have established a _pax dei_ in these waters and will permit no aggressive action there either by us or against us. we walked round the walls; we saw the hill a mile off from which abercrombie had battered out the french, having dragged his guns through a roadless forest to a spot to which there seemed no access except on wings. the word 'impossible' was not known in those days. what englishmen did once they may do again perhaps if stormy days come back. the ruins themselves were silently impressive. one could hear the note of the old bugles as they sounded the reveille and the roaring of the _feu de joie_ when the shattered prizes were brought in from the french fleet. the signs of what once had been were still visible in the parade ground, in the large mangoes which the soldiers had planted, in the english grass which they had introduced and on which cattle were now grazing. there was a clump of guavas, hitherto only known to me in preserves. i gathered a blossom as a remembrance, white like a large myrtle flower, but heavily scented--too heavily, with an odour of death about it. mr. laborde's conversation was instructive. his entertainment of us was all which our acquired west indian fastidiousness could desire. the inevitable cigars followed, and mr. l. gave me a beating at billiards. there were some lively young ladies in the party, and two or three of the ship's officers. the young ones played lawn tennis, and we old ones looked on and wished the years off our shoulders. so passed the day. the sun was setting when we mounted to ride down. so short is the twilight in these latitudes, that it was dark night when we reached the town, and we required the light of the stars to find our boat. when the coaling process was finished, the ship had been washed down in our absence and was anchored off beyond the reach of the dirt; but the ports were shut; the windsails had been taken down; the air in the cabins was stifling; so i stayed on deck till midnight with a clever young american, who was among our fellow-passengers, talking of many things. he was ardent, confident, self-asserting, but not disagreeably either one or the other. it was rather a pleasure to hear a man speak in these flabby uncertain days as if he were sure of anything, and i had to notice again, as i had often noticed before, how well informed casual american travellers are on public affairs, and how sensibly they can talk of them. he had been much in the west indies and seemed to know them well. he said that all the whites in the islands wished at the bottom of their hearts to be taken into the union; but the union government was too wise to meddle with them. the trade would fall to america of itself. the responsibility and trouble might remain where it was. i asked him about the canadian fishery dispute. he thought it would settle itself in time, and that nothing serious would come of it. 'the washington cabinet had been a little hard on england,' he admitted; 'but it was six of one and half a dozen of the other.' 'honours were easy; neither party could score.' 'we had been equally hard on them about alaska.' he was less satisfied about ireland. the telegraph had brought the news of mr. goschen's defeat at liverpool, and home rule, which had seemed to have been disposed of, was again within the range of probabilities. he was watching with pitying amusement, like most of his countrymen, the weakness of will with which england allowed herself to be worried by so contemptible a business; but he did seem to fear, and i have heard others of his countrymen say the same, that if we let it go on much longer the americans may become involved in the thing one way or another, and trouble may rise about it between the two countries. we weighed; and i went to bed and to sleep, and so missed pigeon island, where rodney's fleet lay before the action, and the rock from which, through his telescope, he watched de grasse come out of martinique, and gave his own signal to chase. we rolled as usual between the islands. at daylight we were again in shelter under martinique, and again in classic regions; for close to us was diamond rock--once his majesty's ship 'diamond,' commissioned with crew and officers--one of those curious true incidents, out of which a legend might have grown in other times, that ship and mariners had been turned to stone. the rock, a lonely pyramid six hundred feet high, commanded the entrance to port royal in martinique. lord howe took possession of it, sent guns up in slings to the top, and left a midshipman with a handful of men in charge. the gallant little fellow held his fortress for several months, peppered away at the french, and sent three of their ships of war to the bottom. he was blockaded at last by an overwhelming force. no relief could be spared for him. escape was impossible, as he had not so much as a boat, and he capitulated to famine. we stayed two hours under martinique. i did not land. it has been for centuries a special object of care on the part of the french government. it is well looked after, and, considering the times, prosperous. it has a fine garrison, and a dockyard well furnished, with frigates in the harbours ready for action should occasion arise. i should infer from what i heard that in the event of war breaking out between england and france, martinique, in the present state of preparation on both sides, might take possession of the rest of the antilles with little difficulty. three times we took it, and we gave it back again. in turn, it may one day, perhaps, take us, and the english of the west indies become a tradition like the buccaneers. the mountains of dominica are full in sight from martinique. the channel which separates them is but thirty miles across, and the view of dominica as you approach it is extremely grand. grenada, st. vincent, st. lucia, martinique are all volcanic, with lofty peaks and ridges; but dominica was at the centre of the force which lifted the antilles out of the ocean, and the features which are common to all are there in a magnified form. the mountains range from four to five thousand feet in height. mount diablot, the highest of them, rises to between five and six thousand feet. the mountains being the tallest in all the group, the rains are also the most violent, and the ravines torn out by the torrents are the wildest and most magnificent. the volcanic forces are still active there. there are sulphur springs and boiling water fountains, and in a central crater there is a boiling lake. there are strange creatures there besides: great snakes--harmless, but ugly to look at; the diablot--from which the mountain takes its name--a great bird, black as charcoal, half raven, half parrot, which nests in holes in the ground as puffins do, spends all the day in them, and flies down to the sea at night to fish for its food. there were once great numbers of these creatures, and it was a favourite amusement to hunt and drag them out of their hiding places. labat says that they were excellent eating. they are confined now in reduced numbers to the inaccessible crags about the peak which bears their name. martinique has two fine harbours. dominica has none. at the north end of the island there is a bay, named after prince rupert, where there is shelter from all winds but the south, but neither there nor anywhere is there an anchorage which can be depended upon in dangerous weather. roseau, the principal or only town, stands midway along the western shore. the roadstead is open, but as the prevailing winds are from the east the island itself forms a breakwater. except on the rarest occasions there is neither surf nor swell there. the land shelves off rapidly, and a gunshot from shore no cable can find the bottom, but there is an anchorage in front of the town, and coasting smacks, american schooners, passing steamers bring up close under the rocks or alongside of the jetties which are built out from the beach upon piles. the situation of roseau is exceedingly beautiful. the sea is, if possible, a deeper azure even than at st. lucia; the air more transparent; the forests of a lovelier green than i ever saw in any other country. even the rain, which falls in such abundance, falls often out of a clear sky as if not to interrupt the sunshine, and a rainbow almost perpetually hangs its arch over the island. roseau itself stands on a shallow promontory. a long terrace of tolerable-looking houses faces the landing place. at right angles to the terrace, straight streets strike backwards at intervals, palms and bananas breaking the lines of roof. at a little distance, you see the towers of the old french catholic cathedral, a smaller but not ungraceful-looking anglican church, and to the right a fort, or the ruins of one, now used as a police barrack, over which flies the english flag as the symbol of our titular dominion. beyond the fort is a public garden with pretty trees in it along the brow of a precipitous cliff, at the foot of which, when we landed, lay at anchor a couple of smart yankee schooners and half a dozen coasting cutters, while rounding inwards behind was a long shallow bay dotted over with the sails of fishing boats. white negro villages gleamed among the palms along the shore, and wooded mountains rose immediately above them. it seemed an attractive, innocent, sunny sort of place, very pleasant to spend a few days in, if the inner side of things corresponded to the appearance. to a looker-on at that calm scene it was not easy to realise the desperate battles which had been fought for the possession of it, the gallant lives which had been laid down under the walls of that crumbling castle. these cliffs had echoed the roar of rodney's guns on the day which saved the british empire, and the island i was gazing at was england's salamis. the organisation of the place, too, seemed, so far as i could gather from official books, to have been carefully attended to. the constitution had been touched and retouched by the home authorities as if no pains could be too great to make it worthy of a spot so sacred. there is an administrator, which is a longer word than governor. there is an executive council, a colonial secretary, an attorney-general, an auditor-general, and other such 'generals of great charge.' there is a legislative assembly of fourteen members, seven nominated by the crown and seven elected by the people. and there are revenue officers and excise officers, inspectors of roads, and civil engineers, and school boards, and medical officers, and registrars, and magistrates. where would political perfection be found if not here with such elaborate machinery? the results of it all, in the official reports, seemed equally satisfactory till you looked closely into them. the tariff of articles on which duties were levied, and the list of articles raised and exported, seemed to show that dominica must be a beehive of industry and productiveness. the revenue, indeed, was a little startling as the result of this army of officials. eighteen thousand pounds was the whole of it, scarcely enough to pay their salaries. the population, too, on whose good government so much thought had been expended, was only , ; of these , only a hundred were english. the remaining whites, and those in scanty numbers, were french and principally catholics. the soil was as rich as the richest in the world. the cultivation was growing annually less. the inspector of roads was likely to have an easy task, for except close to the town there were no roads at all on which anything with wheels could travel, the old roads made by the french having dropped into horse tracks, and the horse tracks into the beds of torrents. why in an island where the resources of modern statesmanship had been applied so lavishly and with the latest discoveries in political science, the effect should have so ill corresponded to the means employed, was a problem into which it would be curious to inquire. the steamer set me down upon the pier and went on upon its way. at the end of a fortnight it would return and pick me up again. meanwhile, i was to make the best of my time. i had been warned beforehand that there was no hotel in roseau where an englishman with a susceptible skin and palate could survive more than a week; and as i had two weeks to provide for, i was uncertain what to do with myself. i was spared the trial of the hotels by the liberality of her majesty's representative in the colony. captain churchill, the administrator of the island, had heard that i was coming there, and i was met on the landing stage by a message from him inviting me to be his guest during my stay. two tall handsome black girls seized my bags, tossed them on their heads, and strode off with a light step in front of me, cutting jokes with their friends; i following, and my mind misgiving me that i was myself the object of their wit. i was anxious to see captain churchill, for i had heard much of him. the warmest affection had been expressed for him personally, and concern for the position in which he was placed. notwithstanding 'the latest discoveries of political science,' the constitution was still imperfect. the administrator, to begin with, is allowed a salary of only _l._ a year. that is not much for the chief of such an army of officials; and the hospitalities and social civilities which smooth the way in such situations are beyond his means. his business is to preside at the council, where, the official and the elected members being equally balanced and almost invariably dividing one against the other, his duty is to give the casting vote. he cannot give it against his own officers, and thus the machine is contrived to create the largest amount of friction, and to insure the highest amount of unpopularity to the administrator. his situation is the more difficult because the european element in roseau, small as it is at best, is more french than english. the priests, the sisterhoods, are french or french-speaking. a french patois is the language of the blacks. they are almost to a man catholics, and to the french they look as their natural leaders. england has done nothing, absolutely nothing, to introduce her own civilisation; and thus dominica is english only in name. should war come, a boatload of soldiers from martinique would suffice to recover it. not a black in the whole island would draw a trigger in defence of english authority, and, except the crown officials, not half a dozen europeans. the administrator can do nothing to improve this state of things. he is too poor to open government house to the roseau shopkeepers and to bid for social popularity. he is no one. he goes in and out unnoticed, and flits about like a bat in the twilight. he can do no good, and from the nature of the system on the construction of which so much care was expended, no one else can do any good. the maximum of expense, the minimum of benefit to the island, is all that has come of it. meanwhile the island drifts along, without credit to borrow money and therefore escaping bankruptcy. the blacks there, as everywhere, are happy with their yams, and cocoa nuts and land crabs. they desire nothing better than they have, and do not imagine that they have any rulers unless agitated by the elected members. these gentlemen would like the official situations for themselves as in trinidad, and they occasionally attempt a stir with partial success; otherwise the island goes on in a state of torpid content. captain churchill, quiet and gentlemanlike, gives no personal offence, but popularity he cannot hope for, having no means of recommending himself. the only really powerful europeans are the catholic bishop and the priests and sisterhoods. they are looked up to with genuine respect. they are reaping the harvest of the long and honourable efforts of the french clergy in all their west indian possessions to make the blacks into catholic christians. in the christian part of it they have succeeded but moderately; but such religion as exists in the island is mainly what they have introduced and taught, and they have a distinct influence which we ourselves have not tried to rival. but we have been too long toiling up the paved road to captain churchill's house. my girl-porter guides led me past the fort, where they exchanged shots with the lounging black police, past the english church, which stood buried in trees, the churchyard prettily planted with tropical flowers. the sun was dazzling, the heat was intense, and the path which led through it, if not apparently much used, looked shady and cool. a few more steps brought us to the gate of the residence, where captain churchill had his quarters in the absence of the governor-in-chief of the leeward islands, whose visits were few and brief. in the event of the governor's arrival he removed to a cottage in the hills. the house was handsome, the gardens well kept; a broad walk led up to the door, a hedge of lime trees closely clipt on one side of it, on the other a lawn with orange trees, oleanders, and hibiscus, palms of all varieties and almond trees, which in dominica grow into giants, their broad leaves turning crimson before they fall, like the virginia creeper. we reached the entrance of the house by wide stone steps, where countless lizards were lazily basking. through the bars of the railings on each side of them there were intertwined the runners of the largest and most powerfully scented stephanotis which i have ever seen. captain churchill (one of the marlborough churchills) received me with more than cordiality. society is not abundant in his barataria, and perhaps as coming from england i was welcome to him in his solitude. his wife, an english creole--that is, of pure english blood, but born in the island--was as hospitable as her husband. they would not let me feel that i was a stranger, and set me at my ease in a moment with a warmth which was evidently unassumed. captain c. was lame, having hurt his foot. in a day or two he hoped to be able to mount his horse again, when we were to ride together and see the curiosities. meanwhile, he talked sorrowfully enough of his own situation and the general helplessness of it. a man whose feet are chained and whose hands are in manacles is not to be found fault with if he cannot use either. he is not intended to use either. the duty of an administrator of dominica, it appears, is to sit still and do nothing, and to watch the flickering in the socket of the last remains of english influence and authority. individually he was on good terms with everyone, with the catholic bishop especially, who, to his regret and mine, was absent at the time of my visit. his establishment was remarkable; it consisted of two black girls--a cook and a parlourmaid--who 'did everything;' and 'everything,' i am bound to say, was done well enough to please the most fastidious nicety. the cooking was excellent. the rooms, which were handsomely furnished, were kept as well and in as good order as in the churchills' ancestral palace at blenheim. dominica has a bad name for vermin. i had been threatened with centipedes and scorpions in my bedroom. i had been warned there, as everywhere in the west indies, never to walk across the floor with bare feet, lest a land crab should lay hold of my toe or a jigger should bite a hole in it, lay its eggs there, and bring me into the hands of the surgeon. never while i was captain c.'s guest did i see either centipede, or scorpion, or jigger, or any other unclean beast in any room of which these girls had charge. even mosquitoes did not trouble me, so skilfully and carefully they arranged the curtains. they were dressed in the fashion of the french islands, something like the moorish slaves whom one sees in pictures of eastern palaces. they flitted about silent on their shoeless feet, never stumbled, or upset chairs or plates or dishes, but waited noiselessly like a pair of elves, and were always in their place when wanted. one had heard much of the idleness and carelessness of negro servants. in no part of the globe have i ever seen household work done so well by two pairs of hands. of their morals i know nothing. it is usually said that negro girls have none. they appeared to me to be perfectly modest and innocent. i asked in wonder what wages were paid to these black fairies, believing that at no price at all could the match of them be found in england. i was informed that they had three shillings a week each, and 'found themselves,' i.e. found their own food and clothes. and this was above the usual rate, as government house was expected to be liberal. the scale of wages may have something to do with the difficulty of obtaining labour in the west indies. i could easily believe the truth of what i had been often told, that free labour is more economical to the employer than slave labour. the views from the drawing room windows were enchantingly beautiful. it is not the form only in these west indian landscapes, or the colour only, but form and colour seen through an atmosphere of very peculiar transparency. on one side we looked up a mountain gorge, the slopes covered with forest; a bold lofty crag jutting out from them brown and bare, and the mountain ridge behind half buried in mist. from the other window we had the botanical gardens, the bay beyond them sparkling in the sunshine, and on the farther side of it, a few miles off, an island fortress which the marquis de bouillé, of revolution notoriety, took from the english in . the sea stretched out blue and lovely under the fringe of sand, box trees, and almonds which grew along the edge of the cliff. the air was perfumed by white acacia flowers sweeter than orange blossom. captain c. limped down with me into the gardens for a fuller look at the scene. dusky fishermen were busy with their nets catching things like herrings, which come in daily to the shore to escape the monsters which prey upon them. canoes on the old carib pattern were slipping along outside, trailing lines for kingfish and bonitos. others were setting baskets, like enormous lobster pots or hoop nets--such as we use to catch tench in english ponds--these, too, a legacy from the caribs, made of strong tough cane. at the foot of the cliff were the smart american schooners which i had seen on landing--broad-beamed, shallow, low in the water with heavy spars, which bring yankee 'notions' to the islands and carry back to new york bananas and limes and pineapples. there they were, models of tom cringle's 'wave,' airy as english yachts, and equal to anything from a smuggling cruise to a race for a cup. i could have gazed for ever, so beautiful, so new, so like a dream it was, had i not been brought back swiftly to prose and reality. suddenly out of a clear sky, without notice, and without provocation, first a few drops of rain fell, and then a deluge which set the gutters running. we had to scuttle home under our umbrellas. i was told, and i discovered afterwards by fuller experience, that this was the way in dominica, and that if i went out anywhere i must be prepared for it. in our retreat we encountered a distinguished-looking abbé with a collar and a gold cross, who bowed to my companion. i would gladly have been introduced to him, but neither he nor we had leisure for courtesies in the torrent which was falling upon us. footnotes: [ ] not to be confounded with st. domingo, which is called after st. domenic, where the spaniards first settled, and is now divided into the two black republics of st. domingo and hayti. dominica lies in the chain of the antilles between martinique and guadaloupe, and was so named by columbus because he discovered it on a sunday. chapter xi. curiosities in dominica--nights in the tropics--english and catholic churches--the market place at roseau--fishing extraordinary--a storm--dominican boatmen--morning walks--effects of the leeward islands confederation--an estate cultivated as it ought to be--a mountain ride--leave the island--reflections. there was much to be seen in dominica of the sort which travellers go in search of. there was the hot sulphur spring in the mountains; there was the hot lake; there was another volcanic crater, a hollow in the centre of the island now filled with water and surrounded with forest; there were the caribs, some thirty families of them living among thickets, through which paths must be cut before we could reach them. we could undertake nothing till captain c. could ride again. distant expeditions can only be attempted on horses. they are bred to the work. they climb like cats, and step out safely where a fall or a twisted ankle would be the probable consequence of attempting to go on foot. meanwhile, roseau itself was to be seen and the immediate neighbourhood, and this i could manage for myself. my first night was disturbed by unfamiliar noises and strange imaginations. i escaped mosquitoes through the care of the black fairies. but mosquito curtains will not keep out sounds, and when the fireflies had put out their lights there began the singular chorus of tropical midnight. frogs, lizards, bats, croaked, sang, and whistled with no intermission, careless whether they were in discord or harmony. the palm branches outside my window swayed in the land breeze, and the dry branches rustled crisply, as if they were plates of silver. at intervals came cataracts of rain, and above all the rest the deep boom of the cathedral bell tolling out the hours like a note of the old world. the catholic clergy had brought the bells with them as they had brought their faith into these new lands. it was pathetic, it was ominous music; for what had we done and what were we doing to set beside it in the century for which the island had been ours? towards morning i heard the tinkle of the bell of the convent adjoining the garden calling the nuns to matins. happily in the tropics hot nights do not imply an early dawn. the darkness lingers late, sleep comes at last and drowns our fancies in forgetfulness. the swimming bath was immediately under my room. i ventured into it with some trepidation. the basement story in most west indian houses is open, to allow the air free passage under them. the space thus left vacant is used for lumber and rubbish, and, if scorpions or snakes are in the neighbourhood, is the place where one would look for them. there the bath was. i had been advised to be careful, and as it was dark this was not easy. the fear, however, was worse than the reality. awkward encounters do happen if one is long in these countries; but they are rare, and seldom befall the accidental visitor; and the plunge into fresh water is so delicious that one is willing to risk the chance. i wandered out as soon as the sun was over the horizon. the cool of the morning is the time to see the people. the market girls were streaming into the town with their baskets of vegetables on their heads. the fishing boats were out again on the bay. our anglican church had its bell too as well as the cathedral. the door was open, and i went in and found a decent-looking clergyman preparing a flock of seven or eight blacks and mulattoes for the communion. he was taking them through their catechism, explaining very properly, that religion meant doing one's duty, and that it was not enough to profess particular opinions. dominica being roman catholic, and roman catholics not generally appreciating or understanding the claims of anglicans to the possession of the sacraments, he pointed out where the difference lay. he insisted that we had priests as well as they; we had confession; we had absolution; only our priests did not claim, as the catholics did, a direct power in themselves to forgive sins. their office was to tell sinners that if they truly and sincerely repented and amended their lives god would forgive them. what he said was absolutely true; but i could not see in the dim faces of the catechumens that the distinction was particularly intelligible to them. if they thought at all, they probably reflected that no divinely constituted successor of the apostles was needed to communicate a truism which every sensible person was equally able and entitled to tell them. still the good earnest man meant well, and i wished him more success in his missionary enterprise than he was likely to find. from the church of england to the great rival establishment was but a few minutes' walk. the cathedral was five times as large, at least, as the building which i had just left--old in age, old in appearance, with the usual indifferent pictures or coloured prints, with the usual decorated altar, but otherwise simple and venerable. there was no service going on, for it was a week-day; a few old men and women only were silently saying their prayers. on sundays i was told that it was overflowing. the negro morals are as emancipated in dominica as in the rest of the west indies. obeah is not forgotten; and along with the catholic religion goes on an active belief in magic and witchcraft. but their religion is not necessarily a sham to them; it was the same in europe in the ages of faith. even in enlightened protestant countries people calling themselves christians believe that the spirits of the dead can be called up to amuse an evening party. the blacks in this respect are no worse than their white kinsmen. the priests have a genuine human hold upon them; they baptize the children; they commit the dead to the cemetery with the promise of immortality; they are personally loved and respected: and when a young couple marry, as they seldom but occasionally do, it is to the priest that they apply to tie them together. from the cathedral i wandered through the streets of roseau; they had been well laid out; the streets themselves, and the roads leading to them from the country, had been carefully paved, and spoke of a time when the town had been full of life and vigour. but the grass was growing between the stones, and the houses generally were dilapidated and dirty. a few massive stone buildings there were, on which time and rain had made no impression; but these probably were all french--built long ago, perhaps in the days of labat and madame ouvernard. the english hand had struck the island with paralysis. the british flag was flying over the fort, but for once i had no pride in looking at it. the fort itself was falling to pieces, like the fort at grenada. the stones on the slope on which it stands had run with the blood which we spilt in the winning of it. dominica had then been regarded as the choicest jewel in the necklace of the antilles. for the last half-century we have left it to desolation, as a child leaves a plaything that it is tired of. in roseau, as in most other towns, the most interesting spot is the market. there you see the produce of the soil; there you see the people that produce it; and you see them, not on show, as in church on sundays, but in their active working condition. the market place at roseau is a large square court close to the sea, well paved, surrounded, by warehouses, and luxuriantly shaded by large overhanging trees. under these trees were hundreds of black women, young and old, with their fish and fowls, and fruit and bread, their yams and sweet potatoes, their oranges and limes and plantains. they had walked in from the country five or ten miles before sunrise with their loaded baskets on their heads. they would walk back at night with flour or salt fish, or oil, or whatever they happened to want. i did not see a single sullen face among them. their figures were unconscious of lacing, and their feet of the monstrosities which we call shoes. they moved with the lightness and elasticity of leopards. i thought that i had never seen in any drawing room in london so many perfectly graceful forms. they could not mend their faces, but even in some of these there was a swarthy beauty. the hair was hopeless, and they knew it, but they turn the defect into an ornament by the coloured handkerchief which they twist about their heads, leaving the ends flowing. they chattered like jackdaws about a church tower. two or three of the best looking, seeing that i admired them a little, used their eyes and made some laughing remarks. they spoke in their french _patois_, clipping off the first and last syllables of the words. i but half understood them, and could not return their bits of wit. i can only say that if their habits were as loose as white people say they are, i did not see a single licentious expression either in face or manner. they seemed to me light-hearted, merry, innocent young women, as free from any thought of evil as the peasant girls in brittany. two middle-aged dames were in a state of violent excitement about some subject on which they differed in opinion. a ring gathered about them, and they declaimed at one another with fiery volubility. it did not go beyond words; but both were natural orators, throwing their heads back, waving their arms, limbs and chest quivering with emotion. there was no personal abuse, or disposition to claw each other. on both sides it was a rhetorical outpouring of emotional argument. one of them, a tall pure blood negress, black as if she had just landed from guinea, began at last to get the best of it. her gesticulations became more imposing. she shook her finger. _mandez_ this, she said, and _mandez_ that, till she bore her antagonist down and sent her flying. the audience then melted away, and i left the conqueror standing alone shooting a last volley at the retreating enemy and making passionate appeals to the universe. the subject of the discussion was a curious one. it was on the merits of race. the defeated champion had a taint of white blood in her. the black woman insisted that blacks were of pure breed, and whites were of pure breed. mulattoes were mongrels, not creatures of god at all, but creatures of human wickedness. i do not suppose that the mulatto was convinced, but she accepted her defeat. the conqueror, it was quite clear, was satisfied that she had the best of the discussion, and that the hearers were of the same opinion. [illustration: morning walk, dominica.] from the market i stepped back upon the quay, where i had the luck to witness a novel form of fishing, the most singular i have ever fallen in with. i have mentioned the herring-sized white fish which come in upon the shores of the island. they travel, as most small fish do, in enormous shoals, and keep, i suppose, in the shallow waters to avoid the kingfish and bonitos, who are good judges in their way, and find these small creatures exceptionally excellent. the wooden pier ran out perhaps a hundred and fifty feet into the sea. it was a platform standing on piles, with openings in several places from which stairs led down to landing stages. the depth at the extremity was about five fathoms. there is little or no tide, the difference between high water and low being not more than a couple of feet. looking down the staircases, i saw among the piles in the brilliantly clear water unnumbered thousands of the fish which i have described. the fishermen had carried a long net round the pier from shore to shore, completely inclosing it. the fish were shut in, and had no means of escape except at the shore end, where boys were busy driving them back with stones; but how the net was to be drawn among the piles, or what was to be done next, i was curious to learn. i was not left long to conjecture. a circular bag net was produced, made of fine strong thread, coloured a light green, and almost invisible in the sea. when it was spread, one side could be left open and could be closed at will by a running line from above. this net was let carefully down between the piles, and was immediately swollen out by the current which runs along the coast into a deep bag. two young blacks then dived; one saw them swimming about under water like sharks, hunting the fish before them as a dog would hunt a flock of sheep. their companions, who were watching from the platform, waited till they saw as many driven into the purse of the inner net as they could trust the meshes to bear the weight of. the cord was then drawn. the net was closed. net and all that it contained were hoisted into a boat, carried ashore and emptied. the net itself was then brought back and spread again for a fresh haul. in this way i saw as many fish caught as would have filled a large cart. the contrivance, i believe, is one more inheritance from the caribs, whom labat describes as doing something of a similar kind. another small incident happened a day or two after, which showed the capital stuff of which the dominican boatmen and fishermen are made. they build their own vessels large and small, and sail them themselves, not afraid of the wildest weather, and doing the local trade with martinique and guadaloupe. four of these smacks, cutter rigged, from ten to twenty tons burden, i had seen lying at anchor one evening with an american schooner under the gardens. in the night, the off-shore wind rose into one of those short violent tropical storms which if they lasted longer would be called hurricanes, but in these winter months are soon over. it came on at midnight, and lasted for two hours. the noise woke me, for the house shook, and the roar was like niagara. it was too dark, however, to see anything. the tempest died away at last, and i slept till daybreak. my first thought on waking was for the smacks and the schooner had they sunk at their moorings? had they broken loose, or what had become of them? i got up and went down to the cliff to see. the damage to the trees had been less than i expected. a few torn branches lay on the lawn and the leaves were cast about, but the anchorage was empty. every vessel of every sort and size was gone. there was still a moderate gale blowing. as the wind was off-shore the sea was tolerably smooth for a mile or two, but outside the waves were breaking violently, and the foam scuds were whirling off their crests. the schooner was about four miles off, beating back under storm canvas, making good weather of it and promising in a tack or two to recover the moorings. the smacks, being less powerful vessels, had been driven farther out to sea. three of them i saw labouring heavily in the offing. the fourth i thought at first had disappeared altogether, but finally i made out a white speck on the horizon which i supposed to be the missing cutter. one of the first three presently dropped away to leeward, and i lost sight of her. the rest made their way back in good time. towards the afternoon when the wind had gone down the two that remained came in after them, and before night they were all in their places again. the gale had struck them at about midnight. their cables had parted, and they had been blown away to sea. the crews of the schooner and of three of the cutters were all on board. they got their vessels under command, and had been in no serious danger. in the fourth there was no one but a small black boy of the island. he had been asleep, and woke to find himself driving before the wind. in an hour or two he would have been beyond the shelter of the land, and in the high seas which were then running must have been inevitably swamped. the little fellow contrived in the darkness--no one could tell how--to set a scrap of his mainsail, get his staysail up, and in this condition to lie head to the wind. so handled, small cutters, if they have a deck over them, can ride out an ordinary gale in tolerable security. they drift, of course; in a hurricane the only safety is in yielding to it; but they make fair resistance, and the speed is checked. the most practical seaman could have done no better than this boy. he had to wait for help in the morning. he was not strong enough to set his canvas properly, and work his boat home. he would have been driven out at last, and as he had neither food nor water would have been starved had he escaped drowning. but his three consorts saw him. they knew how it was, and one of them went back to his assistance. i have known the fishing boys of the english channel all my life; they are generally skilful, ready, and daring beyond their years; but i never knew one lad not more than thirteen or fourteen years old who, if woke out of his sleep by a hurricane in a dark night and alone, would have understood so well what to do, or have it done so effectually. there are plenty more of such black boys in dominica, and they deserve a better fate than to be sent drifting before constitutional whirlwinds back into barbarism, because we, on whom their fate depends, are too ignorant or too careless to provide them with a tolerable government. the kind captain churchill, finding himself tied to his chair, and wishing to give me every assistance towards seeing the island, had invited a creole gentleman from the other side of it to stay a few days with us. mr. f----, a man about thirty, was one of the few survivors from among the planters; he had never been out of the west indies, but was a man of honesty and intelligence, could use his eyes, and form sound judgments on subjects which immediately concerned him. i had studied roseau for myself. with mr. f---- for a companion, i made acquaintance with the environs. we started for our walks at daybreak, in the cool of the morning. we climbed cliffs, we rambled on the rich levels about the river, once amply cultivated, and even now the soil is luxuriant in neglect; a few canefields still survive, but most of them are turned to other uses, and you pass wherever you go the ruins of old mills, the massive foundations of ancient warehouses, huge hewn stones built and mortared well together, telling what once had been; the mango trees, which the owners had planted, waving green over the wrecks of their forgotten industry. such industry as is now to be found is, as elsewhere in general, the industry of the black peasantry. it is the same as in grenada: the whites, or the english part of them, have lost heart, and cease to struggle against the stream. a state of things more helplessly provoking was never seen. skill and capital and labour have only to be brought to bear together, and the land might be a garden of eden. all precious fruits, and precious spices, and gums, and plants of rarest medicinal virtues will spring and grow and flourish for the asking. the limes are as large as lemons, and in the markets of the united states are considered the best in the world. as to natural beauty, the west indian islands are like scott's novels, where we admire most the one which we have read the last. but dominica bears the palm away from all of them. one morning mr. f---- took me a walk up the roseau river, an ample stream even in what is called the dry season, with deep pools full of eels and mullet. we entered among the hills which were rising steep above us. the valley grew deeper, or rather there were a series of valleys, gorges dense with forest, which had been torn out by the cataracts. the path was like the mule tracts of the alps, cut in other days along the sides of the precipices with remnants of old conduits which supplied water to the mills below. rich odorous acacias bent over us. the flowers, the trees, the birds, the insects, were a maze of perfume and loveliness. occasionally some valley opposite the sun would be spanned by a rainbow as the rays shone through a morning shower out of the blue sky. we wandered on and on, wading through tributary brooks, stopping every minute to examine some new fern or plant, peasant women and children meeting us at intervals on their way into the town. there were trees to take shelter under when indispensable, which even the rain of dominica could not penetrate. the levels at the bottom of the valleys and the lower slopes, where the soil was favourable, were carelessly planted with limes which were in full bearing. small black boys and girls went about under the trees, gathering the large lemon-shaped fruit which lay on the ground thick as apples in a west of england orchard. here was all this profusion of nature, lavish beyond example, and the enterprising youth of england were neglecting a colony which might yield them wealth beyond the treasures of the old sugar planters, going to florida, to texas, to south america, taking their energy and their capital to the land of the foreigner, leaving dominica, which might be the garden of the world, a precious emerald set in the ring of their own antilles, enriched by the sacred memories of glorious english achievements, as if such a place had no existence. dominica would surrender herself to-morrow with a light heart to france, to america, to any country which would accept the charge of her destinies. why should she care any more for england, which has so little care for her? beauties conscious of their charms do not like to be so thrown aside. there is no dislike to us among the blacks; they are indifferent, but even their indifference would be changed into loyalty if we made the slightest effort to recover it. the poor black was a faithful servant as long as he was a slave. as a freeman he is conscious of his inferiority at the bottom of his heart, and would attach himself to a rational white employer with at least as much fidelity as a spaniel. like the spaniel, too, if he is denied the chance of developing under guidance the better qualities which are in him, he will drift back into a mangy cur. in no country ought a government to exist for which respect is impossible, and english rule as it exists in dominica is a subject for a comedy. the governor-general of the leeward islands resides in antigua, and in theory ought to go on progress and visit in turn his subordinate dominions. his visits are rare as those of angels. the eminent person, who at present holds that high office, has been once in nevis; and thrice in dominica, but only for the briefest stay there. perhaps he has held aloof in consequence of an adventure which befell a visiting governor some time ago on one of these occasions. when there is a constitution there is an opposition. if there are no grievances the opposition manufacture them, and the inhabitants of roseau were persuaded that they were an oppressed people and required fuller liberties. i was informed that his excellency had no sooner landed and taken possession of the government house, than a mob of men and women gathered in the market place under the leadership of their elected representative. the girls that i had admired very likely made a part of it. they swarmed up into the gardens, they demonstrated under the windows, laughing, shouting, and petitioning. his excellency first barricaded the doors, then opened them and tried a speech, telling the dear creatures how much he loved and respected them. probably they did not understand him, as few of them speak english. producing no effect, he retreated again, barred the door once more, slipped out at a back entrance down a lane to the port, took refuge on board his steamer, and disappeared. so the story was told me--not by the administrator, who was not a man to turn english authority into ridicule--but by some one on the spot, who repeated the current report of the adventure. it may be exaggerated in some features, but it represents, at any rate, the feeling of the place towards the head representative of the existing government. i will mention another incident, said to have occurred still more recently to one of these great persons, very like what befell sancho panza in barataria. this, too, may have been wickedly turned, but it was the subject of general talk and general amusement on board the steamers which make the round of the antilles. universal belief is a fact of its kind, and though it tends to shape itself in dramatic form more completely than the facts justify, there is usually some truth at the bottom of it. the telegrams to the west indies pass through new york, and often pick up something on the way. a warning message reached a certain colony that a yankee-irish schooner with a fenian crew was coming down to annex the island, or at least to kidnap the governor. this distinguished gentleman ought perhaps to have suspected that a joke was being played upon his fears; but he was a landlord. a governor-general had been threatened seriously in canada, why not he in the antilles? he was as much agitated as sancho himself. all these islands were and are entirely undefended save by a police which cannot be depended on to resist a serious invasion. they were called out. rumour said that in half the rifles the cartridges were found afterwards inverted. the next day dispelled the alarm. the schooner was the creation of some irish telegraph clerk, and the scare ended in laughter. but under the jest lies the wretched certainty that the antilles have no protection except in their own population, and so little to thank england for that scarcely one of the inhabitants, except the officials, would lift a finger to save the connection. once more, i tell these stories not as if they were authenticated facts, but as evidence of the scornful feeling towards english authority. the current belief in them is a fact of a kind and a very serious one. the confederation of the leeward islands may have been a convenience to the colonial office, and may have allowed a slight diminution in the cost of administration. the whole west indies might be placed under a single governor with only good results if he were a real one like the governor-general at calcutta. but each single island has lost from the change, so far, more than it has gained. each ship of war has a captain of its own and officers of its own trained specially for the service. if the antilles are ever to thrive, each of them also should have some trained and skilful man at its head, unembarrassed by local elected assemblies. the whites have become so weak that they would welcome the abolition of such assemblies. the blacks do not care for politics, and would be pleased to see them swept away to-morrow if they were governed wisely and fairly. of course, in that case it would be necessary to appoint governors who would command confidence and respect. but let governors be sent who would be governors indeed, like those who administer the indian presidencies, and the white residents would gather heart again, and english and american capitalists would bring their money and their enterprise, and the blacks would grow upwards instead of downwards. let us persist in the other line, let us use the west indian governments as asylums for average worthy persons who have to be provided for, and force on them black parliamentary institutions as a remedy for such persons' inefficiency, and these beautiful countries will become like hayti, with obeah triumphant, and children offered to the devil and salted and eaten, till the conscience of mankind wakes again and the americans sweep them all away. i had an opportunity of seeing what can really be done in dominica by an english gentleman who has gone the right way to work there. dr. nicholls came out a few years ago to roseau as a medical officer. he was described to me as a man not only of high professional skill, but with considerable scientific attainments. either by purchase or legacy (i think the latter) he had become possessed of a small estate on a hillside a mile or two from the town. he had built a house upon it. he was cultivating the soil on scientific principles, and had politely sent me an invitation to call on him and see what he was about. i was delighted to avail myself of such an opportunity. i do not know the exact extent of the property which was under cultivation; perhaps it was twenty-five or thirty acres. the chief part of it was planted with lime trees, the limes which i saw growing being as large as moderate-sized lemons; most of the rest was covered with liberian coffee, which does not object to the moist climate, and was growing with profuse luxuriance. each tree, each plant had been personally attended to, pruned when it needed pruning, supported by bamboos if it was overgrowing its strength, while the ground about the house was consecrated to botanical experiments, and specimens were to be seen there of every tropical flower, shrub, or tree, which was either remarkable for its beauty or valuable for its chemical properties. his limes and coffee went principally to new york, where they had won a reputation, and were in special demand; but ingenuity tries other tracks besides the beaten one. dr. nicholls had a manufactory of citric acid which had been found equally excellent in europe. everything which he produced was turning to gold, except donkeys, seven or eight of which were feeding under his windows, and which multiplied so fast that he could not tell what to do with them. industries so various and so active required labour, and i saw many of the blacks at work on the grounds. in apparent contradiction to the general west indian experience, he told me that he had never found a difficulty about it. he paid them fair wages, and paid them regularly without the overseer's fines and drawbacks. he knew one from the other personally could call each by his name, remembered where he came from, where he lived, and how, and could joke with him about his wife or mistress. they in consequence clung to him with an innocent affection, stayed with him all the week without asking for holidays, and worked with interest and goodwill. four years only had elapsed since dr. nicholls commenced his undertakings, and he already saw his way to clearing a thousand pounds a year on that one small patch of acres. i may mention that, being the only man in the island of really superior attainments, he had tried in vain to win one of the seats in the elective part of the legislature. there was nothing particularly favourable in the situation of his land. all parts of dominica would respond as willingly to similar treatment. what could be the reason, dr. nicholls asked me, why young englishmen went planting to so many other countries, went even to ceylon and borneo, while comparatively at their own doors, within a fortnight's sail of plymouth, there was this island immeasurably more fertile than either? the explanation, i suppose, is the misgiving that the west indies are consigned by the tendencies of english policy to the black population, and that a local government created by representatives of the negro vote would make a residence there for an energetic and self-respecting european less tolerable than in any other part of the globe. the republic of hayti not only excludes a white man from any share of the administration, but forbids his acquisition or possession of real property in any form. far short of such extreme provisions, the most prosperous industry might be blighted by taxation. self-government is a beautiful subject for oratorical declamation. if the fact corresponded to the theory and if the possession of a vote produced the elevating effects upon the character which are so noisily insisted upon, it would be the welcome panacea for political and social disorder. unfortunately the fact does not correspond to the theory. the possession of a vote never improved the character of any human being and never will. there are many islands in the west indies, and an experiment might be ventured without any serious risk. let the suffrage principle be applied in its fullness where the condition of the people seems best to promise success. in some one of them--dominica would do as well as any other--let a man of ability and character with an ambition to distinguish himself be sent to govern with a free hand. let him choose his own advisers, let him be untrammelled, unless he falls into fatal and inexcusable errors, with interference from home. let him have time to carry out any plans which he may form, without fear of recall at the end of the normal period. after ten or fifteen years, let the results of the two systems be compared side by side. i imagine the objection to such a trial would be the same which was once made in my hearing by an irish friend of mine, who was urging on an english statesman the conversion of ireland into a crown colony. 'you dare not try it,' he said, 'for if you did, in twenty years we would be the most prosperous island of the two, and you would be wanting to follow our example.' we had exhausted the neighbourhood of roseau. after a few days captain c. was again able to ride, and we could undertake more extended expeditions. he provided me with a horse or pony or something between both, a creature that would climb a stone staircase at an angle of forty-five, or slide down a clay slope soaked by a tropical shower, with the same indifference with which it would canter along a meadow. in the slave times cultivation had been carried up into the mountains. there were the old tracks through the forest engineered along the edges of precipices, torrents roaring far down below, and tall green trees standing in hollows underneath, whose top branches were on a level with our eyes. we had to ride with mackintosh and umbrella, prepared at any moment to have the floods descend upon us. the best costume would be none at all. while the sun is above the horizon the island seems to lie under the arches of perpetual rainbows. one gets wet and one dries again, and one is none the worse for the adventure. i had heard that it was dangerous. it did no harm to me. a very particular object was to reach the crest of the mountain ridge which divides dominica down the middle. we saw the peaks high above us, but it was useless to try the ascent if one could see nothing when one arrived, and mists and clouds hung about so persistently that we had to put off our expedition day after day. a tolerable morning came at last. we started early. a faithful black youth ran alongside of the horses to pick us up if we fell, and to carry the indispensable luncheon basket. we rode through the town, over the bridge and by the foot of dr. nicholls's plantations. we passed through lime and banana gardens rising slowly along the side of a glen above the river. the road had been made by the french long ago, and went right across the island. it had once been carefully paved, but wet and neglect had loosened the stones and tumbled them out of their places. trees had driven their roots through the middle of the track. mountain streams had taken advantage of convenient cuttings and scooped them into waterways. the road commissioner on the official staff seemed a merely ornamental functionary. we could only travel at a foot pace and in single file. happily our horses were used to it. along this road in sir george prevost retreated with the english garrison of roseau, when attacked in force from martinique; saved his men and saved the other part of the island till relief came and the invaders were driven out again. that was the last of the fighting, and we have been left since in undisturbed possession. dominica was then sacred as the scene of rodney's glories. now i suppose, if the french came again, we should calculate the mercantile value of the place to us, and having found it to be nothing at all, might conclude that it would be better to let them keep it. we went up and up, winding round projecting spurs of mountain, here and there coming on plateaus where pioneering blacks were clearing patches of forest for their yams and coffee. we skirted the edge of a valley several miles across, on the far side of which we saw the steaming of the sulphur springs, and beyond and above it a mountain peak four thousand feet high and clothed with timber to the summit. in most countries the vegetation grows thin as you rise into the higher altitudes. here the bush only seems to grow denser, the trees grander and more self-asserting, the orchids and parasites on the boughs more variously brilliant. there were tree ferns less splendid than those in new zealand and australia, but larger than any one can see in english hot-houses, wild oranges bending under the weight of ripe fruit which was glowing on their branches, wild pines, wild begonias scattered along the banks, and a singularly brilliant plant which they call the wild plantain, but it is not a plantain at all, with large broad pointed leaves radiating out from a centre like an aloe's, and a crimson flower stem rising up straight in the middle. it was startling to see such insolent beauty displaying itself indifferently in the heart of the wilderness with no human eye to look at it unless of some passing black or wandering carib. the track had been carried across hot streams fresh from boiling springs, and along the edge of chasms where there was scarcely foothold for the horses. at length we found ourselves on what was apparently the highest point of the pass. we could not see where we were for the trees and bushes which surrounded us, but the path began to descend on the other side. near the summit was a lake formed in an old volcanic crater which we had come specially to look at. we descended a few hundred feet into a hollow among the hills where the lake was said to be. where was it, then? i asked the guide, for i could discover nothing that suggested a lake or anything like one. he pointed into the bush where it was thicker with tropical undergrowth than a wheatfield with ears of corn. if i cared to creep below the branches for two hundred yards at the risk of meeting snakes, scorpions, and other such charming creatures, i should find myself on the water's edge. to ride up a mountain three thousand feet high, to be near a wonder which i could not see after all, was not what i had proposed to myself. there was a traveller's rest at the point where we halted, a cool damp grotto carved into the sand-stone. we picketed our horses, cutting leafy boughs off the trees for them, and making cushions for ourselves out of the ferns. we were told that if we walked on for half a mile we should see the other side of the island, and if we were lucky we might catch a glimpse of the lake. meanwhile clouds rolled, down off the mountains, filled the hollow where we stood, and so wrapped us in mist, that the question seemed rather how we were to return than whether we should venture farther. while we were considering what to do, we heard steps approaching through the fog, and a party of blacks came up on their way to roseau with a sick companion whom they were carrying in a palanquin. we were eating our luncheon in the grotto, and they stopped to talk to our guide and stare at us. two of them, a lad and a girl, came up closer to me than good manners would have allowed if they had possessed such things; the 'i am as good as you, and you will be good enough to know it,' sort of tone which belongs to these democratic days showing itself rather notably in the rising generation in parts of these islands. i defended myself with producing a sketch book and proceeding to take their likenesses, on which they fled precipitately. our sandwiches finished, we were pensively consuming our cigars, i speculating on sir george prevost and his party of redcoats who must have bivouacked on that very spot, when the clouds broke and the sun came out. the interval was likely to be a short one, so we hurried to our feet, walked rapidly on, and at a turn of the path where a hurricane had torn a passage through the trees, we caught a sight of our lake as we had been told that perhaps we might do. it lay a couple of hundred feet beneath us deep and still, winding away round a promontory under the crags and woods of the opposite hills: they call it a crater, and i suppose it may have been one, for the whole island shows traces of violent volcanic disturbance, but in general a crater is a bowl, and this was like a reach of a river, which lost itself before one could see where it ended. they told us that in old times, when troops were in the fort, and the white men of the island went about and enjoyed themselves, there were boats on this lake, and parties came up and fished there. now it was like the pool in the gardens of the palace of the sleeping princess, guarded by impenetrable thickets, and whether there are fish there, or enchanted princesses, or the huts of some tribe of caribs, hiding in those fastnesses from negroes whom they hate, or from white men whom they do not love, no one knows or cares to know. i made a hurried pencil sketch, and we went on. a little farther and we were out of the bush, at a rocky terrace on the rim of the great valley which carries the rainfall on the eastern side of the mountains down into the atlantic. we were , feet above the sea. far away the ocean stretched out before us, the horizon line where sky met water so far distant that both had melted into mist at the point where they touched. mount diablot, where labat spent a night catching the devil birds, soared up on our left hand. below, above, around us, it was forest everywhere; forest, and only forest, a land fertile as adam's paradise, still waiting for the day when 'the barren woman shall bear children.' of course it was beautiful, if that be of any consequence--mountain peaks and crags and falling waters, and the dark green of the trees in the foreground, dissolving from tint to tint to grey, violet, and blue in the far-off distance. even at the height where we stood, the temperature must have been °. but the steaming damp of the woods was gone, the air was clear and exhilarating as champagne. what a land! and what were we doing with it? this fair inheritance, won by english hearts and hands for the use of the working men of england, and the english working men lying squalid in the grimy alleys of crowded towns, and the inheritance turned into a wilderness. visions began to rise of what might be, but visions which were taken from me before they could shape themselves. the curtain of vapour fell down over us again, and all was gone, and of that glorious picture nothing was left but our own two selves and the few yards of red rock and soil on which we were standing. there was no need for haste now. we return slowly to our horses, and our horses carried us home by the way that we had come. captain c. went carelessly in front through the fog, over boulders and watercourses and roots of fallen trees. i followed as i could, expecting every moment to find myself flying over my horse's head; stumbling, plunging, sliding, but getting through with it somehow. the creature had never seen me before, but was as careful of my safety as if i had been an old acquaintance and friend. only one misadventure befell me, if misadventure it may be called. shaken, and damp with heat, i was riding under a wild orange tree, the fruit within reach of my hand. i picked an orange and plunged my teeth into the skin, and i had to remember my rashness for days. the oil in the rind, pungent as aromatic salts, rushed on my palate, and spurted on my face and eyes. the smart for the moment half blinded me. i bethought me, however, that oranges with such a flavour would be worth something, and a box of them which was sent home for me was converted into marmalade with a finer flavour than ever came from seville. what more can i say of dominica? i stayed with the hospitable c.'s for a fortnight. at the appointed time the returning steamer called for me. i left capt. c. with a warm hope that he might not be consigned for ever to a post which an english gentleman ought not to be condemned to occupy; that if matters could not be mended for him where he stood, he might find a situation where his courage and his understanding might be turned to useful purpose. i can never forget the kindness both of himself and his clever, good, graceful lady. i cannot forget either the two dusky damsels who waited upon me like spirits in a fairy tale. it was night when i left. the packet came alongside the wharf. we took leave by the gleaming of her lights. the whistle screamed, and dominica, and all that i had seen, faded into a memory. all that i had seen, but not all that i had thought. that island was the scene of the most glorious of england's many famous actions. it had been won for us again and again by the gallantry of our seamen and soldiers. it had been secured at last to the crown by the genius of the greatest of our admirals. it was once prosperous. it might be prosperous again, for the resources of the soil are untouched and inexhaustible. the black population are exceptionally worthy. they are excellent boatmen, excellent fishermen, excellent mechanics, ready to undertake any work if treated with courtesy and kindness. yet in our hands it is falling into ruin. the influence of england there is gone. it is nothing. indifference has bred indifference in turn as a necessary consequence. something must be wrong when among , of our fellow-subjects not one could be found to lift a hand for us if the island were invaded, when a boat's crew from martinique might take possession of it without a show of resistance. if i am asked the question, what use is dominica to us? i decline to measure it by present or possible marketable value; i answer simply that it is part of the dominions of the queen. if we pinch a finger, the smart is felt in the brain. if we neglect a wound in the least important part of our persons, it may poison the system. unless the blood of an organised body circulates freely through the extremities, the extremities mortify and drop off, and the dropping off of any colony of ours will not be to our honour and may be to our shame. dominica seems but a small thing, but our larger colonies are observing us, and the world is observing us, and what we do or fail to do works beyond the limits of its immediate operation. the mode of management which produces the state of things which i have described cannot possibly be a right one. we have thought it wise, with a perfectly honest intention, to leave our dependencies generally to work out their own salvation. we have excepted india, for with india we dare not run the risk. but we have refused to consider that others among our possessions may be in a condition analogous to india, and we have allowed them to drift on as they could. it was certainly excusable, and it may have been prudent, to try popular methods first, but we have no right to persist in the face of a failure so complete. we are obliged to keep these islands, for it seems that no one will relieve us of them; and if they are to remain ours, we are bound so to govern them that our name shall be respected and our sovereignty shall not be a mockery. am i asked what shall be done? i have answered already. among the silent thousands whose quiet work keeps the empire alive, find a rajah brooke if you can, or a mr. smith of scilly. if none of these are attainable, even a sancho panza would do. send him out with no more instructions than the knight of la mancha gave sancho--to fear god and do his duty. put him on his mettle. promise him the respect and praise of all good men if he does well; and if he calls to his help intelligent persons who understand the cultivation of soils and the management of men, in half a score of years dominica would be the brightest gem of the antilles. from america, from england, from all parts of the world, admiring tourists would be flocking there to see what government could do, and curious politicians with jealous eyes admitting reluctantly unwelcome conclusions. woman! no mortal o'er the widespread earth can find a fault in thee; thy good report doth reach the widespread heaven, as of some prince who, in the likeness of a god, doth rule o'er subjects stout of heart and strong of hand; and men speak greatly of him, and his land bears wheat and rye, his orchards bend with fruit, his flocks breed surely, the sea yields her fish, because he guides his folk with wisdom. in grace and manly virtue.[ ] because 'he guides with wisdom.' that is the whole secret. the leading of the wise few, the willing obedience of the many, is the beginning and the end of all right action. secure this, and you secure everything. fail to secure it, and be your liberties as wide as you can make them, no success is possible. footnotes: [ ] [greek: ô gynai ouk an tis se brotôn ep' apeirona gaian neikeoi; ê gar seu kleos ouranon euryn hikanei; hôste teu ê basilêost amymonos, hoste theoudês andrasin en polloisi kai iphthimoisin anassôn, eudikias anechêsi; pherêsi de gaia melaina purous kai krithas, brithêsi de dendrea karpôi tiktei de empeda mêla, thalassa de parechei ichthys, ex euêgesiês; aretôsi de laoi hupo autou.--_odyssey_, xix. .] chapter xii. the darien canal--jamaica mail packet--captain w.--retrospect of jamaican history--waterspout at sea--hayti--jacmel--a walk through the town--a jamaican planter--first sight of the blue mountains--port royal--kingston--the colonial secretary--gordon riots--changes in the jamaican constitution. once more to barbadoes, but merely to change there from steamer to steamer. my course was now across the caribbean sea to the great islands at the bottom of it. the english mail, after calling and throwing off its lateral branches at bridgetown, pursues its direct course to hayti and jamaica, and so on to vera cruz and the darien canal. this wonderful enterprise of m. lesseps has set moving the loose negro population of the antilles and jamaica. unwilling to work as they are supposed to be, they have swarmed down to the isthmus, and are still swarming thither in tens of thousands, tempted by the dollar or dollar and a half a day which m. lesseps is furnishing. the vessel which called for us at dominica was crowded with them, and we picked up more as we went on. their average stay is for a year. at the end of a year half of them have gone to the other world. half go home, made easy for life with money enough to buy a few acres of land and 'live happy ever after.' heedless as school-boys they plunge into the enterprise, thinking of nothing but the harvest of dollars. they might earn as much or more at their own doors if there were any one to employ them, but quiet industry is out of joint, and darien has seized their imaginations as an eldorado. if half the reports which reached me are correct, in all the world there is not perhaps now concentrated in any single spot so much foul disease, such a hideous dungheap of moral and physical abomination, as in the scene of this far-famed undertaking of nineteenth-century engineering. by the scheme, as it was first propounded, six-and-twenty millions of english money were to unite the atlantic and pacific oceans, to form a highway for the commerce of the globe, and enrich with untold wealth the happy owners of original shares. the thrifty french peasantry were tempted by the golden bait, and poured their savings into m. lesseps's lottery box. all that money and more besides, i was told, had been already spent, and only a fifth of the work was done. meanwhile the human vultures have gathered to the spoil. speculators, adventurers, card sharpers, hell keepers, and doubtful ladies have carried their charms to this delightful market. the scene of operations is a damp tropical jungle, intensely hot, swarming with mosquitoes, snakes, alligators, scorpions, and centipedes; the home, even as nature made it, of yellow fever, typhus, and dysentery, and now made immeasurably more deadly by the multitudes of people who have crowded thither. half buried in mud lie about the wrecks of costly machinery, consuming by rust, sent out under lavish orders, and found unfit for the work for which they were intended. unburied altogether lie also skeletons of the human machines which have broken down there.[ ] everything which imagination can conceive that is ghastly and loathsome seems to be gathered into that locality just now. i was pressed to go on and look at the moral surroundings of 'the greatest undertaking of our age,' but my curiosity was less strong than my disgust. i did not see the place and the description which i have given is probably too highly coloured. the accounts which reached me, however, were uniform and consistent. not one person whom i met and who could speak from personal knowledge had any other story to tell. we looked again into st. lucia on our way. the training squadron was lying outside, and the harbour was covered with boats full of blue-jackets. the big ships were rolling heavily. they could have eaten up rodney's fleet. the great 'ville de paris' would have been a mouthful to the smallest of them. man for man, officers and crew were as good as rodney ever commanded. yet, somehow, they produce small effect on the imagination of the colonists. the impression is that they are meant more for show than for serious use. alas! the stars and stripes on a yankee trader have more to say in the west indies than the white ensigns of a fleet of british iron-clads. at barbadoes there was nothing more for me to do or see. the english mail was on the point of sailing, and i hastened on board. one does not realise distance on maps. jamaica belongs to the west indies, and the west indies are a collective entity. yet it is removed from the antilles by the diameter of the caribbean sea, and is farther off than gibraltar from southampton. thus it was a voyage of several days, and i looked about to see who were to be my companions. there were several spaniards, one or two english tourists, and some ladies who never left their cabins. the captain was the most remarkable figure: an elderly man with one eye lost or injured, the other as peremptory as i have often seen in a human face; rough and prickly on the outside as a pineapple, internally very much resembling the same fruit, for at the bottom he was true, genuine, and kindly hearted, very amusing, and intimately known to all travellers on the west indian line, in the service of which he had passed forty years of his life. in his own ship he was sovereign and recognised no superior. bishops, colonial governors, presidents of south american republics were, so far as their office went, no more to him than other people, and as long as they were on board were chattels of which he had temporary charge. peer and peasant were alike under his orders, which were absolute as the laws of medes and persians. on the other hand, his eye was quick to see if there was any personal merit in a man, and if you deserved his respect you would have it. one particular merit he had which i greatly approved. he kept his cabin to himself, and did not turn it into a smoking room, as i have known captains do a great deal too often. all my own thoughts were fixed upon jamaica. i had read so much about it, that my memory was full of persons and scenes and adventures of which jamaica was the stage or subject. penn and venables and the puritan conquest, and morgan and the buccaneers; port royal crowded with spanish prizes; its busy dockyards, and english frigates and privateers fitting out there for glorious or desperate enterprises. the name of jamaica brought them crowding up with incident on incident; and behind the history came tom cringle and the wild and reckless, yet wholesome and hearty, planter's life in kingston; the dark figures of the pirates swinging above the mangroves at gallows point; the balls and parties and the beautiful quadroons, and the laughing, merry innocent children of darkness, with the tricks of the middies upon them. there was the tragic side of it, too, in slavery, the last ugly flash out of the cloud being not two decades distant in the eyre and gordon time. interest enough there was about jamaica, and things would be strangely changed in kingston if nothing remained of the society which was once so brilliant. there, if anywhere, england and english rule were not yet a vanished quantity. there was a dockyard still, and a commodore in command, and a guardship and gunboats, and english regiments and west indian regiments with english officers. some representatives, too, i knew were to be found of the old anglo-west indians, men whose fathers and grandfathers were born in the island, and whose fortunes were bound up in it. aaron bang! what would not one have given to meet aaron? the real aaron had been gathered to his fathers, and nature does not make two such as he was; but i might fall in with something that would remind me of him. paul gelid and pepperpot wagtail, and peter mangrove, better than either of them--the likeness of these might be surviving, and it would be delightful to meet and talk to them. they would give fresh flavour to the immortal 'log.' even another tom was not impossible; some middy to develop hereafter into a frigate captain and to sail again into port royal with his prizes in tow. nature at all events could not be changed. the white rollers would still be breaking on the coral reefs. the palms would still be waving on the sand ridge which forms the harbour, and the amber mist would be floating round the peaks of the blue mountains. there were english soldiers and sailors and english people. the english language was spoken there by blacks as well as whites. the religion was english. our country went for something, and there would be some persons, at least, to whom the old land was more than a stepmother, and who were not sighing in their hearts for annexation to the american union. the governor, sir henry norman, of indian fame, i was sorry to learn, was still absent; he had gone home on some legal business. sir henry had an imperial reputation. he had been spoken of to me in barbadoes as able, if he were allowed a chance, to act as viceroy of all the islands, and to set them on their feet again. i could well believe that a man of less than sir henry's reputed power could do it--for in the thing itself there was no great difficulty--if only we at home were once disenchanted; though all the ability in the world would be thrown away as long as the enchantment continued. i did see sir henry, as it turned out, but only for a few hours. our voyage was without remarkable incident; as voyages are apt to be in these days of powerful steamboats. one morning there was a tropical rain storm which was worth seeing. we had a strong awning over the quarter-deck, so i could stand and watch it. an ink-black cloud came suddenly up from the north which seemed to hang into the sea, the surface of the water below being violently agitated. according to popular belief, the cloud on these occasions is drawing up water which it afterwards discharges. were this so the water discharged would be salt, which it never is. the cause of the agitation is a cyclonic rotation of air or local whirlwind. the most noticeable feature was the blackness of the cloud itself. it became so dark that it would have been difficult to read any ordinary print. the rain, when it burst, fell not in drops but in torrents. the deck was flooded, and the scuttle-holes ran like jets from a pump. the awning was ceasing to be a shelter, for the water was driven bodily through it; but the downpour passed off as suddenly as it had risen. there was no lightning and no wind. the sea under our side was glassy smooth, and was dashed into millions of holes by the plunging of the rain pellets. the captain in his journeys to and fro had become acquainted with the present black president of hayti, mr. salomon. i had heard of this gentleman as an absolute person, who knew how to make himself obeyed, and who treated opposition to his authority in a very summary manner. he seemed to be a favourite of the captain's. he had been educated in france, had met with many changes of fortune, and after an exile in jamaica had become quasi-king of the black republic. i much wished to see this paradise of negro liberty; we were to touch at jacmel, which is one of the principal ports, to leave the mails, and captain w---- was good enough to say that, if i liked, i might go ashore for an hour or two with the officer in charge. hayti, as everyone knows who has studied the black problem, is the western portion of columbus's española, or st. domingo, the largest after cuba and the most fertile in natural resources of all the islands of the caribbean sea. it was the earliest of the spanish settlements in the new world. the spaniards found there a million or two of mild and innocent indians, whom in their first enthusiasm they intended to convert to christianity, and to offer as the first fruits of their discovery to the virgin mary and st. domenic. the saint gave his name to the island, and his temperament to the conquerors. in carrying out their pious design, they converted the indians off the face of the earth, working them to death in their mines and plantations. they filled their places with blacks from africa, who proved of tougher constitution. they colonised, they built cities; they throve and prospered for nearly two hundred years; when hayti, the most valuable half of the island, was taken from them by the buccaneers and made into a french province. the rest which keeps the title of st. domingo, continued spanish, and is spanish still--a thinly inhabited, miserable, spanish republic. hayti became afterwards the theatre of the exploits of the ever-glorious toussaint l'ouverture. when the french revolution broke out, and liberty and the rights of man became the new gospel, slavery could not be allowed to continue in the french dominions. the blacks of the colony were emancipated and were received into the national brotherhood. in sympathy with the jacobins of france, who burnt the chateaux of the nobles and guillotined the owners of them, the liberated slaves rose as soon as they were free, and massacred the whole french population, man, woman, and child. napoleon sent an army to punish the murderers and recover the colony. toussaint, who had no share in the atrocities, and whose fault was only that he had been caught by the prevailing political epidemic and believed in the evangel of freedom, surrendered and was carried to france, where he died or else was made an end of. the yellow fever avenged him, and secured for his countrymen the opportunity of trying out to the uttermost the experiment of negro self-government. the french troops perished in tens of thousands. they were reinforced again and again, but it was like pouring water into a sieve. the climate won a victory to the black man which he could not win for himself. they abandoned their enterprise at last, and hayti was free. we english tried our hand to recover it afterwards, but we failed also, and for the same reason. hayti has thus for nearly a century been a black independent state. the negro race have had it to themselves and have not been interfered with. they were equipped when they started on their career of freedom with the catholic religion, a civilised language, european laws and manners, and the knowledge of various arts and occupations which they had learnt while they were slaves. they speak french still; they are nominally catholics still; and the tags and rags of the gold lace of french civilisation continue to cling about their institutions. but in the heart of them has revived the old idolatry of the gold coast, and in the villages of the interior, where they are out of sight and can follow their instincts, they sacrifice children in the serpent's honour after the manner of their forefathers. perhaps nothing better could be expected from a liberty which was inaugurated by assassination and plunder. political changes which prove successful do not begin in that way. the bight of leogane is a deep bay carved in the side of the island, one arm of which is a narrow ridge of high mountains a hundred and fifty miles long and from thirty to forty wide. at the head of this bay, to the north of the ridge, is port au prince, the capital of this remarkable community. on the south, on the immediately opposite side of the mountains and facing the caribbean sea, is jacmel, the town next in importance. we arrived off it shortly after daybreak. the houses, which are white, looked cheerful in the sunlight. harbour there was none, but an open roadstead into which the swell of the sea sets heavily, curling over a long coral reef which forms a partial shelter. the mountain range rose behind, sloping off into rounded woody hills. here were the feeding grounds of the herds of wild cattle which tempted the buccaneers into the island, and from which they took their name. the shore was abrupt; the land broke off in cliffs of coral rock tinted brilliantly with various colours. one rather striking white-cliff, a ship's officer assured me, was chalk; adding flint when i looked incredulous. his geological education was imperfect. we brought up a mile outside the black city. the boat was lowered. none of the other passengers volunteered to go with me; the english are out of favour in hayti just now; the captain discouraged landings out of mere curiosity; and, indeed, the officer with the mails had to reassure himself of captain w----'s consent before he would take me. the presence of europeans in any form is barely tolerated. a few only are allowed to remain about the ports, just as the irish say they let a few danes remain in dublin and waterford after the battle of clontarf, to attend to the ignoble business of trade. the country after the green of the antilles looked brown and parched. in the large islands the winter months are dry. as we approached the reef we saw the long hills of water turn to emerald as they rolled up the shoal, then combing and breaking in cataracts of snow-white foam. the officer in charge took me within oar's length of the rock to try my nerves, and the sea, he did not fail to tell me, swarmed with sharks of the worst propensities. two steamers were lying inside, one of which, belonging to an english company, had 'happened a misfortune,' and was breaking up as a deserted wreck. a yankee clipper schooner had just come in with salt fish and crackers--a singularly beautiful vessel, with immense beam, which would have startled the builders of the cowes racers. it was precisely like the schooner which tom cringle commanded before the dockyard martinets had improved her into ugliness, built on the lines of the old pirate craft of the islands, when the lives and fortunes of men hung on the extra speed, or the point which they could lie closer to the wind. her return cargo would be coffee and bananas. englishmen move about in jacmel as if they were ashamed of themselves among their dusky lords and masters. i observed the yankee skipper paddling himself off in a canoe with his broad straw hat and his cigar in his mouth, looking as if all the world belonged to him, and as if all the world, and the hayti blacks in particular, were aware of the fact. the yankee, whether we like it or not, is the acknowledged sovereign in these waters. the landing place was, or had been, a jetty built on piles and boarded over. half the piles were broken; the planks had rotted and fallen through. the swell was rolling home, and we had to step out quickly as the boat rose on the crest of the wave. a tattered crowd of negroes were loafing about variously dressed, none, however, entirely without clothes of some kind. one of them did kindly give me a hand, observing that i was less light of foot than once i might have been. the agent's office was close by. i asked the head clerk--a frenchman--to find me a guide through the town. he called one of the bystanders whom he knew, and we started together, i and my black companion, to see as much as i could in the hour which was allowed me. the language was less hopeless than at dominica. we found that we could understand each other--he, me, tolerably; i, him, in fragments, for his tongue went as fast as a shuttle. though it was still barely eight o'clock the sun was scalding. the streets were filthy and the stench abominable. the houses were of white stone, and of some pretensions, but ragged and uninviting--paint nowhere, and the woodwork of the windows and verandahs mouldy and worm-eaten. the inhabitants swarmed as in a st. giles's rookery. i suppose they were all out of doors. if any were left at home jacmel must have been as populous as an african ants' nest. as i had looked for nothing better than a kaffir kraal, the degree of civilisation was more than i expected. i expressed my admiration of the buildings; my guide was gratified, and pointed out to me with evident pride a new hotel or boarding house kept by a madame somebody who was the great lady of the place. madame ellemême was sitting in a shady balcony outside the first-floor windows. she was a large menacing-looking mulatto, like some ogress of the 'arabian nights,' capable of devouring, if she found them palatable, any number of salt babies. i took off my hat to this formidable dame, which she did not condescend to notice, and we passed on. a few houses in the outskirts stood in gardens with inclosures about them. there is some trade in the place, and there were evidently families, negro or european, who lived in less squalid style than the generality. there was a governor there, my guide informed me--an ornamental personage, much respected. to my question whether he had any soldiers, i was answered 'no,' the haytians didn't like soldiers. i was to understand, however, that they were not common blacks. they aspired to be a commonwealth with public rights and alliances. hayti a republic, france a republic: france and hayti good friends now. they had a french bishop and french priests and a french currency. in spite of their land laws, they were proud of their affinity with the great nation; and i heard afterwards, though not from my jacmel companion, that the better part of the haytians would welcome back the french dominion if they were not afraid that the yankees would disapprove. my guide persisted in leading me outside the town, and as my time was limited, i tried in various ways to induce him to take me back into it. he maintained, however, that he had been told to show me whatever was most interesting, and i found that i was to see an american windmill-pump which had been just erected to supply jacmel with fresh water. it was the first that had been seen in the island, and was a wonder of wonders. doubtless it implied 'progress,' and would assist in the much-needed ablution of the streets and kennels. i looked at it and admired, and having thus done homage, i was allowed my own way. it was market day. the yankee cargo had been unloaded, and a great open space in front of the cathedral was covered with stalls or else blankets stretched on poles to keep the sun off, where hundreds of haytian dames were sitting or standing disposing of their wares--piles of salt fish, piles of coloured calicoes, knives, scissors, combs, and brushes. of home produce there were great baskets of loaves, fruit, vegetables, and butcher's meat on slabs. i looked inquisitively at these last; but i acknowledge that i saw no joints of suspicious appearance. children were running about in thousands, not the least as if they were in fear of being sacrificed, and babies hung upon their mothers as if natural affection existed in jacmel as much as in other places. i asked no compromising questions, not wishing to be torn in pieces. sir spenser st. john's book has been heard of in hayti, and the anger about it is considerable. the scene was interesting enough, but the smell was unendurable. the wild african black is not filthy in his natural state. he washes much, as wild animals do, and at least tries to keep himself clear of vermin. the blacks in jacmel appeared (like the same animals as soon as they are domesticated) to lose the sense which belongs to them in their wild condition. my prejudices, if i have any, had not blinded me to the good qualities of the men and women in dominica. i do not think it was prejudice wholly which made me think the faces which i saw in hayti the most repulsive which i had ever seen in the world, or jacmel itself, taken for all in all, the foulest, dirtiest, and nastiest of human habitations. the dirt, however, i will do them the justice to say did not seem to extend to their churches. the cathedral stood at the upper end of the market place. i went in. it was airy, cool, and decent-looking. some priests were saying mass, and there was a fairly large congregation. i wished to get a nearer sight of the altar and the images and pictures, imagining that in hayti the sacred persons might assume a darker colour than in europe; but i could not reach the chancel without disturbing people who were saying their prayers, and, to the disappointment of my companion, who beckoned me on, and would have cleared a way for me, i controlled my curiosity and withdrew. my hour's leave of absence was expired. i made my way back to the landing place, where the mail steamer's boat was waiting for me. on the steamer herself the passengers were waiting impatiently for breakfast, which had been put off on our account. we hurried on board at our best speed; but before breakfast could be thought of, or any other thing, i had to strip and plunge into a bath and wash away the odour of the great negro republic of the west which clung to my clothes and skin. leaving jacmel and its associations, we ran all day along the land, skirting a range of splendid mountains between seven and eight thousand feet high; past the isle à vache; past the bay of cayes, once famous as the haunt of the sea-rovers; past cape tubiron, the cape of sharks. at evening we were in the channel which divides st. domingo from jamaica. captain ---- insisted to me that this was the scene of rodney's action, and he pointed out to me the headland under which the british fleet had been lying. he was probably right in saying that it was the scene of some action of rodney's, for there is hardly a corner of the west indies where he did not leave behind him the print of his cannon shot; but it was not the scene of the great fight which saved the british empire. that was below the cliffs of dominica; and captain w----, as many others have done, was confounding dominica with st. domingo. the next morning we were to anchor at port royal. we had a jamaica gentleman of some consequence on board. i had failed so far to make acquaintance with him, but on this last evening he joined me on deck, and i gladly used the opportunity to learn something of the present condition of things. i was mistaken in expecting to find a more vigorous or more sanguine tone of feeling than i had left at the antilles. there was the same despondency, the same sense that their state was hopeless, and that nothing which they could themselves do would mend it. he himself, for instance, was the owner of a large sugar estate which a few years ago was worth , _l._ it was not encumbered. he was his own manager, and had spared no cost in providing the newest machinery. yet, with the present prices and with the refusal of the american commercial treaty, it would not pay the expense of cultivation. he held on, for it was all that he could do. to sell was impossible, for no one would buy even at the price of the stock on the land. it was the same story which i had heard everywhere. the expenses of the administration, this gentleman said, were out of all proportion to the resources of the island, and were yearly increasing. the planters had governed in the old days as the english landlords had governed ireland. they had governed cheaply and on their own resources. they had authority; they were respected; their word was law. now their power had been taken from them, and made over to paid officials, and the expense was double what it used to be. between the demands made on them in the form of taxation and the fall in the value of their produce their backs were breaking, and the 'landed interest' would come to an end. i asked him, as i had asked many persons without getting a satisfactory answer, what he thought that the imperial government could do to mend matters. he seemed to think that it was too late to do anything. the blacks were increasing so fast, and the white influence was diminishing so fast, that jamaica in a few years would be another hayti. in this gentleman, too, i found to my sorrow that there was the same longing for admission to the american union which i had left behind me at the antilles. in spite of soldiers and the naval station, the old country was still looked upon as a stepmother, and of genuine loyalty there was, according to him, little or nothing. if the west indies were ever to become prosperous again, it could only be when they were annexed to the united states. for the present, at least, he admitted that annexation was impossible. not on account of any possible objection on the part of the british government; for it seems to be assumed by every one that the british government cares nothing what they do; nor wholly on account of the objections of the americans, though he admitted that the americans were unwilling to receive them; but because in the existing state of feeling such a change could not be carried out without civil war. in jamaica, at least, the blacks and mulattoes would resist. there were nearly , of them, while of the whites there were but , , and the relative numbers were every year becoming more unfavourable. the blacks knew that under england they had nothing to fear. they would have everything more and more their own way, and in a short time they expected to have the island to themselves. they might collect arms; they might do what they pleased, and no english officer dared to use rough measures with them; while, if they belonged to the union, the whites would recover authority one way or another. the americans were ready with their rifles on occasions of disorder, and their own countrymen did not call them to account for it as we did. the blacks, therefore, preferred the liberty which they had and the prospects to which they looked forward, and they and the mulattoes also would fight, and fight desperately, before they would allow themselves to be made american citizens. the prospect which mr. ---- laid before me was not a beautiful one, and was coming a step nearer at each advance that was made in the direction of constitutional self-government; for, like every other person with whom i spoke on the subject, he said emphatically that europeans would not remain to be ruled under a black representative system; nor would they take any part in it when they would be so overwhelmingly outvoted and outnumbered. they would sooner forfeit all that they had in the world and go away. an effective and economical administration on the indian pattern might have saved all a few years ago. it was too late now, and jamaica was past recovery. at this rate it was a sadly altered jamaica since tom cringle's time, though his friend aaron even then had seen what was probably coming. but i could not accept entirely all that mr. ---- had been saying, and had to discount the natural irritation of a man who sees his fortune sliding out of his hands. moreover, for myself, i never listen much to a desponding person. even when a cause is lost utterly, and no rational hope remains, i would still go down, if it had to be so, with my spirit unbroken and my face to the enemy. mr. ---- perhaps would recover heart if the price of sugar mended a little. for my own part, i do not care much whether it mends or not. the economics of the islands ought not to depend exclusively on any single article of produce. i believe, too, in spite of gloomy prognostics, that a loyal and prosperous jamaica is still among the possibilities of the future, if we will but study in earnest the character of the problem. mr. ----, however, did most really convey to me the convictions of a large and influential body of west indians--convictions on which they are already acting, and will act more and more. with hayti so close, and with opinion in england indifferent to what becomes of them, they will clear out while they have something left to lose, and will not wait till ruin is upon them or till they are ordered off the land by a black legislature. there is a saying in hayti that the white man has no rights which the blacks are bound to recognise. i walked forward after we had done talking. we had five hundred of the poor creatures on board on their way to the darien pandemonium. the vessel was rolling with a heavy beam sea. i found the whole mass of them reduced into the condition of the pigs who used to occupy the foredeck in the cork and bristol packets. they were lying in a confused heap together, helpless, miserable, without consciousness apparently, save a sense in each that he was wretched. unfortunate brothers-in-law! following the laws of political economy, and carrying their labour to the dearest market, where, before a year was out, half of them were to die. they had souls, too, some of them, and honest and kindly hearts. i observed one man who was suffering less than the rest reading aloud to a prostrate group a chapter of the new testament; another was reading to himself a french catholic book of devotion. the dawn was breaking in the east when i came on deck in the morning. the blue mountains were hanging over us on our right hand, the peaks buried in white mist which the unrisen sun was faintly tinting with orange. we had passed morant bay, the scene of gordon's rash attempt to imitate toussaint l'ouverture. as so often in the antilles, a level plain stretched between the sea and the base of the hills, formed by the debris washed down by the rivers in the rainy season. among cane fields and cocoa-nut groves we saw houses and the chimneys of the sugar factories; and, as we came nearer, we saw men and horses going to their early work. presently kingston itself came in sight, and up park camp, and the white barracks high up on the mountain side, of which one had read and heard so much. here was actually tom cringle's kingston, and between us and the town was the long sand spit which incloses the lagoon at the head of which kingston is built. how this natural breakwater had been deposited i could find no one to tell me. it is eight miles long, rising but a few feet above the water-line, in places not more than thirty yards across--nowhere, except at the extremity, more than sixty or a hundred. [illustration: port royal, jamaica.] the thundering swell of the caribbean sea breaks upon it from year's end to year's end, and never washes it any thinner. where the sand is dry, beyond the reach of the waves, it is planted thickly all along with palms, and appears from the sea a soft green line, over which appear the masts and spars of the vessels at anchor in the harbour, and the higher houses of kingston itself. to reach the opening into the lagoon you have to run on to the end of the sandbank, where there is a peninsula on which is built the port royal so famous in west indian story. halfway down among the palms the lighthouse stands, from which a gun was fired as we passed, to give notice that the english mail was coming in. treacherous coral reefs rise out of the deep water for several miles, some under water and visible only by the breakers over them, others forming into low wooded islands. only local pilots can take a ship safely through these powerful natural defence works. there are but two channels through which the lagoon can be approached. the eastern passage, along which we were steaming, runs so near the shore that an enemy's ship would be destroyed by the batteries among the sandhills long before it could reach the mouth. the western passage is less intricate, but that also is commanded by powerful forts. in old times kingston was unattackable, so strong had the position been made by nature and art combined. it could be shelled now over the spit from the open sea. it might be destroyed, but even so could not easily be taken. i do not know that i have ever seen any scene more interesting than that which broke upon my eyes as we rounded the point, and the lagoon opened out before me. kingston, which we had passed half an hour, before, lay six miles off at the head of the bay, now inside the sand, ridge, blue and hazy in the distance. at the back were the mountains. the mist had melted off, standing in shadowy grey masses with the sun rising behind them. immediately in front were the dockyards, forts, and towers of port royal, with the guardship, gunboats, and tenders, with street and terrace, roof and turret and glistening vane, all clearly and sharply defined in the exquisite transparency of the air. the associations of the place no doubt added to the impression. before the first hut was run up in kingston, port royal was the rendezvous of all english ships which, for spoil or commerce, frequented the west indian seas. here the buccaneers sold their plunder and squandered their gains in gambling and riot. here in the later century of legitimate wars, whole fleets were gathered to take in stores, or refit when shattered by engagements. here nelson had been, and collingwood and jervis, and all our other naval heroes. here prizes were brought in for adjudication, and pirates to be tried and hanged. in this spot more than in any other, beyond great britain herself, the energy of the empire once was throbbing. the 'urgent,' an old two-decker, and three gunboats were all that were now floating in the once crowded water; the 'urgent,' no longer equipped for active service, imperfectly armed, inadequately manned, but still flaunting the broad white ensign, and as if grandly watching over the houses which lay behind her. there were batteries at the point, and batteries on the opposite shore. the morning bugle rang out clear and inspiriting from the town, and white coats and gold and silver lace glanced in and out as men and officers were passing to parade. here, at any rate, england was still alive. the channel at the entrance is a mile in width. the lagoon (the open part of it) may be seven or eight miles long and half as many broad. it forms the mouth of the cobre river, one of the largest in jamaica, on which, ten miles up, stands the original seat of government established by the spaniards, and called after them spanish town. the fashion of past times, as old as the times of thucydides, and continued on till the end of the last century, was to choose the sites for important towns in estuaries, at a distance from the sea, to be out of the reach of pirates. the cobre, running down from spanish town, turns the plain through which it flows into a swamp. the swamp covers itself with mangroves, and the mangroves fringe the shore of the lagoon itself for two-thirds of its circuit. as jamaica grew in wealth and population the trade was carried from port royal deeper into the bay. another town sprang up there, called king's town, or shortly 'kingston.' the administration was removed thither for convenience, and though fallen away from its old consequence, kingston, with its extended suburbs, its churches and warehouses, and large mansions overhung with trees, looks at a distance like a place of consideration. many ships lay along the wharves, or anchored a few cables' distance off. among them were a couple of spanish frigates, which remain there in permanence on the watch for refugees from cuba. on the slopes behind the town, as far as eye could see, were the once splendid estates of the sugar princes of the last century. one of them was pointed out to me as the west indian home of the author of 'tom cringle.' we had to stop for a few minutes as the officer of the port came alongside for the mails. we then went on at reduced speed. the lagoon is generally shoal. a deep water channel runs along the side of it which is farthest from the sea; made, i suppose, by the river, for as usual there is little tide or none. halfway up we passed under the walls of fort augusta, now a ruin and almost deserted, but once mounting a hundred guns. the money which we spent on the defence of jamaica in the old times was not always laid out wisely, as will be seen in an account which i shall have to give of this remarkable structure; but, at any rate, we were lavish of it. of the sharks with which the water used to swarm we saw none. port royal jack and his kindred are said to have disappeared, driven or frightened out by the screws of the steamers. but it is not a place which i should choose for a swim. nor did the nigger boys seem as anxious as i had seen them in other spots to dive for sixpences under the ship's side. no account is made of days when you come into port after a voyage. cargoes have to be landed, or coal has to be taken in. the donkey engines are at work, hoisting packing cases and luggage out of the hold. stewards run to and fro, and state-room doors are opened, and busy figures are seen through each, stuffing their portmanteaus and preparing for departure. the church bells at kingston, ringing for early service, reminded me that it was sunday. we brought up at a jetty, and i cannot say that, close at hand, the town was as attractive as it had appeared when first i saw it. the enchantment was gone. the blue haze of distance gave place to reality. the water was so fetid under the ship's side that it could not be pumped into the baths. odours, not arabian, from open drains reminded me of jacmel. the streets, up which i could see from the afterdeck, looked dirty and the houses shabby. docks and wharves, however, are never the brightest part of any town, english or foreign. there were people enough at any rate, and white faces enough among them. gangways were rigged from the ship to the shore, and ladies and gentlemen rushed on board to meet their friends. the companies' agents appeared in the captain's cabin. porters were scrambling for luggage; pushing, shoving, and swearing. passengers who had come out with us, and had never missed attendance at the breakfast table, were hurrying home unbreakfasted to their wives and families. my own plans were uncertain. i had no friends, not even an acquaintance. i knew nothing of the hotels and lodging houses, save that they had generally a doubtful reputation. i had brought with me a letter of introduction to sir h. norman, the governor, but sir henry had gone to england. on the whole, i thought it best to inclose the letter to mr. walker, the colonial secretary, who i understood was in kingston, with a note asking for advice. this i sent by a messenger. meanwhile i stayed on board to look about me from the deck. the ship was to go on the next morning to the canal works at darien. time was precious. immediately on arriving she had begun to take in coal, sunday though it might be, and a singular spectacle it was. the coal yard was close by, and some hundreds of negroes, women and men, but women, in four times the number, were hard at work. the entire process was by hand and basket, each basket holding from eighty to a hundred pounds weight. two planks were laid down at a steep incline from the ship's deck to the yard. swinging their loads on their heads, erect as statues, and with a step elastic as a racehorse's, they marched up one of the planks, emptied their baskets into the coal bunkers, and ran down the other. round and round they went under the blazing sun all the morning through, and round and round they would continue to go all the afternoon. the men took it comparatively easy. the women flew along, laughing, and clamouring, as if not knowing what weariness was--willing beasts of burden, for they had the care upon them of their children; the men disclaiming all responsibilities on that score, after the babies have been once brought into the world. the poor women are content with the arrangement, which they prefer to what they would regard as legal bondage. they earn at this coaling work seven or eight shillings a day. if they were wives, their husbands would take it from them and spend it in rum. the companion who is not a wife can refuse and keep her earnings for her little ones. if black suffrage is to be the rule in jamaica, i would take it away from the men and would give it to the superior sex. the women are the working bees of the hive. they would make a tolerable nation of black amazons, and the babies would not be offered to jumbi. when i had finished my meditations on the coaling women, there were other black creatures to wonder at; great boobies or pelicans, old acquaintances of the zoological gardens, who act as scavengers in these waters. we had perhaps a couple of dozen of them round us as large as vultures, ponderous and sleepy to look at when squatting on rocks or piles, over-weighted by their enormous bills. on the wing they were astonishingly swift, wheeling in circles, till they could fix their prey with their eyes, then pouncing upon it with a violent slanting plunge. i suppose their beaks might be broken if they struck directly, but i never saw one miss its aim. nor do they ever go below the surface, but seize always what is close to it. i was told--i do not know how truly--that like the diablots in dominica, they nest in the mountains and only come down to the sea to feed. hearing that i was in search of quarters, a miss burton, a handsome mulatto woman, came up and introduced herself to me. hotels in the english west indies are generally detestable. this dame had set up a boarding house on improved principles, or rather two boarding houses, between which she invited me to take my choice, one in the suburbs of kingston, one on the bank of a river in a rocky gorge in the blue mountains. in either of these she promised that she would make me happy, and i do not doubt that she would have succeeded, for her fame had spread through all jamaica, and her face was as merry as it was honest. as it turned out i was provided for elsewhere, and i lost the chance of making an acquaintance which i should have valued. when she spoke to me she seemed a very model of vigour and health. she died suddenly while i was in the island. the day was still early. when the vessel was in some order again, and those who were going on shore had disappeared, the rest of us were called down to breakfast to taste some of those jamaica delicacies on which paul gelid was so eloquent. the fruit was the chief attraction: pineapples, of which one can eat as much as one likes in these countries with immunity from after suffering; oranges, more excellent than even those of grenada and dominica; shaddocks, admirable as that memorable one which seduced adam; and for the first time mangoes, the famous number eleven of which i had heard such high report, and was now to taste. the english gardeners can do much, but they cannot ripen a number eleven, and it is too delicate to bear carriage. it must be eaten in the tropics or nowhere. the mango is the size and shape of a swan's egg, of a ruddy yellow colour when ripe, and in flavour like an exceptionally good apricot, with a very slight intimation of resin. the stone is disproportionately large. the flesh adheres to it, and one abandons as hopeless the attempt to eat mangoes with clean lips and fingers. the epicures insist that they should be eaten only in a bath. the heat was considerable, and the feast of fruit was the more welcome. soon after the colonial secretary politely answered my note in person. in the absence of the governor of a colony, the colonial secretary, as a rule, takes his place. in jamaica, and wherever we have a garrison, the commander of the forces becomes acting governor; i suppose because it is not convenient to place an officer of high military rank under the orders of a civilian who is not the direct representative of the sovereign. in the gentleman who now called on me i found an old acquaintance whom i had known as a boy many years ago. he told me that, if i had made no other arrangements, colonel j----, who was the present chief, was expecting me to be his guest at the 'king's house' during my stay in jamaica. my reluctance to trespass on the hospitality of an entire stranger was not to be allowed. soldiers who have distinguished themselves are, next to lawyers, the most agreeable people to be met with, and when i was convinced that i should really be welcome, i had no other objection. an aide-de-camp, i was told, would call for me in the afternoon. meanwhile the secretary stayed with me for an hour or two, and i was able to learn something authentic from him as to the general condition of things. i had not given entire credit to the representations of my planter friend of the evening before. mr. walker took a more cheerful view, and, although the prospects were not as bright as they might be, he saw no reason for despondency. sugar was down of course. the public debt had increased, and taxation was heavy. many gentlemen in jamaica, as in the antilles, were selling, or trying to sell, their estates and go out of it. on the other hand, expenses of government were being reduced, and the revenue showed a surplus. the fruit trade with the united states was growing, and promised to grow still further. american capitalists had come into the island, and were experimenting on various industries. the sugar treaty with america would naturally have been welcome; but jamaica was less dependent on its sugar crop, and the action of the british government was less keenly resented. in the antilles, the colonial secretary admitted, there might be a desire for annexation to the united states, and jamaican landowners had certainly expressed the same wish to myself. mr. walker, however, assured me that, while the blacks would oppose it unanimously, the feeling, if it existed at all among the whites, was confined as yet to a very few persons. they had been english for years, and the large majority of them wished to remain english. there had been suffering among them; but there had been suffering in other places besides jamaica. better times might perhaps be coming with the opening of the darien canal, when kingston might hope to become again the centre of a trade. of the negroes, both men and women, mr. walker spoke extremely favourably. they were far less indolent than they were supposed to be; they were settling on the waste lands, acquiring property, growing yams and oranges, and harming no one; they had no grievance left; they knew it, and were perfectly contented. as mr. walker was an official, i did not ask him about the working of the recent changes in the constitution; nor could he have properly answered me if i had. the state of things is briefly this: jamaica, after the first settlement, received a parliamentary form of government, modelled on that of ireland, the colonial liberties being restricted by a law analogous to poynings' act. the legislature, so constructed, of course represented the white interest only and was entirely composed of whites. it remained substantially unaltered till , when modifications were made which admitted coloured men to the suffrage, though with so high a franchise as to be almost exclusive. it became generally felt that the franchise would have to be extended. a popular movement, led by mr. gordon, who was a member of the legislature, developed into a riot, into bloodshed and panic. gordon was hanged by a court-martial, and the assembly, aware that, if allowed to exist any longer, it could exist only with the broad admission of the negro vote, pronounced its own dissolution, surrendered its powers to the crown, and represented formally 'that nothing but a strong government could prevent the island from lapsing into the condition of hayti.' the surrender was accepted. jamaica was administered till within the last four years by a governor, officials, and council all nominated by the queen. no dissatisfaction had been expressed, and the blacks at least had enjoyed a prosperity and tranquillity which had been unbroken by a single disturbance. if the island has suffered, it has suffered from causes with which political dissatisfaction has had nothing to do, and which, therefore, political changes cannot remove. in mr. gladstone's government, for reasons which i have not been able to ascertain, revived suddenly the representative system; constructed a council composed equally of nominated and of elected members, and placed the franchise so low as to include practically every negro peasant who possessed a hut and a garden. so long as the crown retains and exercises its power of nomination, no worse results can ensue than the inevitable discontent when the votes of the elected members are disregarded or overborne. but to have ventured so important an alteration with the intention of leaving it without further extension would have been an act of gratuitous folly, of which it would be impossible to imagine an english cabinet to have been capable. it is therefore assumed and understood to have been no more than an initial step towards passing over the management of jamaica to the black constituencies. it has been so construed in the other islands, and was the occasion of the agitation in trinidad which i observed when i was there. my own opinion as to the wisdom of such an experiment matters little: but i have a right to say that neither blacks nor whites have asked for it; that no one who knows anything of the west indies and wishes them to remain english sincerely asked for it; that no one has agitated for it save a few newspaper writers and politicians whom it would raise into consequence. if tried at all, it will be tried either with a deliberate intention of cutting jamaica free from us altogether, or else in deference to english political superstitions, which attribute supernatural virtues to the exercise of the franchise, and assume that a form of self-government which suits us tolerably at home will be equally beneficial in all countries and under all conditions. footnotes: [ ] this has been angrily denied. a gentleman whose veracity i cannot doubt assured me that he had himself seen a dead body lying unburied among some bushes. when he returned to the place a month after it was still there. the frightful mortality among the labourers, at least in the early years of the undertaking, is too notorious to be called in question. chapter xiii. the english mails--irish agitation--two kinds of colonies--indian administration--how far applicable in the west indies--land at kingston--government house--dinner party--interesting officer--majuba hill--mountain station--kingston curiosities--tobacco--valley in the blue mountains. i am reminded as i write of an adventure which befell archbishop whately soon after his promotion to the see of dublin. on arriving in ireland he saw that the people were miserable. the cause, in his mind, was their ignorance of political economy, of which he had himself written what he regarded as an excellent manual. an irish translation of this manual he conceived would be the best possible medicine, and he commissioned a native scripture reader to make one. to insure correctness he required the reader to retranslate to him what he had written line by line. he observed that the man as he read turned sometimes two pages at a time. the text went on correctly, but his quick eye perceived that something was written on the intervening leaves. he insisted on knowing what it was, and at last extorted an explanation, 'your grace, me and my comrade conceived that it was mighty dry reading, so we have just interposed now and then a bit of a pawem, to help it forward, your grace.' i am myself imitating the translators, and making sandwiches out of politics and local descriptions. we had brought the english mails with us. there were letters to read which had been in the ship with us, though out of our reach. there were the newspapers to read. they told me nothing but the weary round of irish outrages and the rival remedies of tory or radical politicians who cared for ireland less than i did, and considered only how to trim their sails to keep in office or to get it. how sick one is of all that! half-a-dozen times at least in anglo-irish history things have come to the same point. 'all ireland cannot govern the earl of kildare,' said someone in henry viii.'s privy council. then answered wolsey, in the tone of mr. gladstone, 'let the earl of kildare govern all ireland.' elizabeth wished to conciliate. shan o'neil, desmond, tyrone promised in turn to rule ireland in loyal union with england under irish ideas. lord grey, who was for 'a mahometan conquest,' was censured and 'girded at:' yet the end was always broken heads. from to an irish parliament sat at kilkenny, and charles i. and the tories dreamt of an alliance between irish popery and english loyalism. charles lost his head, and cromwell had to make an end of irish self-government at drogheda and wexford. tyrconnell and james ii. were to repeal the act of settlement and restore the forfeited lands to the old owners. the end of that came at the boyne and at aghrim. grattan would remake the irish nation. the english liberals sent lord fitzwilliam to help him, and the saxon mastiff and the celtic wolf were to live as brothers evermore. the result has been always the same; the wretched country inflated with a dream of independence, and then trampled into mud again. so it has been. so it will be again. ireland cannot be independent, for england is stronger than she, and cannot permit it. yet nothing less will satisfy her. and so there has been always a weary round of fruitless concessions leading to demands which cannot be gratified, and in the end we are driven back upon force, which the miserable people lack the courage to encounter like men. mr. gladstone's experiment differs only from its antecedents because in the past the english friends of irish liberty had a real hope that a reconciliation was possible. they believed in what they were trying to do. the present enterprise is the creation of parliamentary faction. i have never met any person acquainted with the minds and motives of the public men of the day who would not confess to me that, if it had suited the interests of the leaders of the present radical party to adopt the irish policy of the long parliament, their energy and their eloquence would have been equally at the service of the protestant ascendency, which they have now denounced as a upas tree. they even ask you with wide eyes what else you would expect? mr. sexton says that if england means to govern ireland she must keep an army there as large as she keeps in india. england could govern ireland in perfect peace, without an army at all, if there was no faction in the house of commons. the spirit of party will either destroy the british empire, or the british nation will make an end of party government on its present lines. there are sounds in the air like the cracking of the ice of the neva at the incoming of spring, as if a nobler purpose was at last awaking in us. in a few more years there may be no more radicals and no more conservatives, and the nation will be all in all. here is the answer to the question so often asked, what is the use of the colonies to us? the colonies are a hundredfold multiplication of the area of our own limited islands. in taking possession of so large a portion of the globe, we have enabled ourselves to spread and increase, and carry our persons, our language and our liberties, into all climates and continents. we overflow at home; there are too many of us here already; and if no lands belonged to us but great britain and ireland, we should become a small insignificant power beside the mighty nations which are forming around us. there is space for hundreds of millions of us in the territories of which we and our fathers have possessed ourselves. in canada, australia, new zealand we add to our numbers and our resources. there are so many more englishmen in the world able to hold their own against the mightiest of their rivals. and we have another function, such as the romans had. the sections of men on this globe are unequally gifted. some are strong and can govern themselves; some are weak and are the prey of foreign invaders or internal anarchy; and freedom, which all desire, is only attainable by weak nations when they are subject to the rule of others who are at once powerful and just. this was the duty which fell to the latin race two thousand years ago. in these modern times it has fallen to ours, and in the discharge of it the highest features in the english character have displayed themselves. circumstances forced on us the conquest of india; we have given india in return internal peace undisturbed by tribal quarrels or the ambitions of dangerous neighbours, with a law which deals out right to high and low among , , human beings. never have rulers been less self-seeking than we have been in our asiatic empire. no 'lex de repetundis' has been needed to punish avaricious proconsuls who had fattened on the provinces. in such positions the english show at their best, and do their best. india has been the training school of our greatest soldiers and greatest administrators. strike off the anglo-indian names from the roll of famous englishmen, and we shall lose the most illustrious of them all. in india the rule of england has been an unexampled success, glorious to ourselves and of infinite benefit to our subjects, because we have been upright and disinterested, and have tried sincerely and honourably to do our duty. in other countries belonging to us, where with the same methods we might have produced the same results, we have applied them with a hesitating and less clean hand. we planted ireland as a colony with our own people, we gave them a parliament of their own, and set them to govern the native irish for us instead of doing it ourselves, to save appearances and to save trouble. we have not failed altogether. all the good that has been done at all in that poor island has been done by the anglo-irish landlords. but it has not been much, as the present condition of things shows. in the west indies similarly the first settlers carried with them their english institutions. they were themselves a handful. the bulk of the population were slaves, and as long as slavery continued those institutions continued to work tolerably in the interest of the white race. when the slaves were emancipated, the distinction of colour done away with, and the black multitude and their white employers made equal before the law and equally privileged, constitutional government became no longer adapted to the new conditions. the white minority could not be trusted with the exclusive possession of political power. the blacks could not be trusted with the equally dangerous supremacy which their numbers would insure them. our duty, if we did not and do not mean to abandon them altogether, has been to govern both with the same equity with which we govern at calcutta. if you choose to take a race like the irish or like the negroes whom you have forced into an unwilling subjection and have not treated when in that condition with perfect justice--if you take such a race, strike the fetters off them, and arm them at once with all the powers and privileges of loyal citizens, you ought not to be surprised if they attribute your concessions to fear, and if they turn again and rend you. when we are brought in contact with races of men who are not strong enough or brave enough to defend their own independence, and whom our own safety cannot allow to fall under any other power, our right and our duty is to govern such races and to govern them well, or they will have a right in turn to cut our throats. this is our mission. when we have dared to act up to it we have succeeded magnificently; we have failed when we have paltered and trifled; and we shall fail again, and the great empire on which the sun never sets will be shattered to atoms, if we refuse to look facts in the face. from these meditations, suggested by the batch of newspapers which i had been studying, i was roused by the arrival of the promised aide-de-camp, a good-looking and good-humoured young officer in white uniform (they all wear white in the tropics), who had brought the governor's carriage for me. government house, or king's house, as it is called, answering to a 'queen's house' in barbadoes, is five miles from kingston, on the slope which gradually ascends from the sea to the mountains. we drove through the town, which did not improve on closer acquaintance. the houses which front towards the streets are generally insignificant. the better sort, being behind walls or overhung with trees, were imperfectly visible. the roads were deep in white dust, which flies everywhere in whirling clouds from the unceasing wind. it was the dry season. the rains are not constant in jamaica, as they are in the antilles. the fields and the sides of the mountains were bare and brown and parched. the blacks, however, were about in crowds in their sunday finery. being in a british island, we had got back into the white calicoes and ostrich plumes, and i missed the grace of the women at dominica; but men and women seemed as if they had not a care in the world. we passed up park camp and the cantonments of the west india regiments, and then through a 'scrub' of dwarf acacia and blue flowered lignum vitae. handsome villas were spread along the road with lawns and gardens, and the road itself was as excellent as those in barbadoes. half an hour's drive brought us to the lodge, and through the park to the king's house itself, which stands among groups of fine trees four hundred feet above the sea. all the large houses in jamaica--and this was one of the largest of them--are like those in barbadoes, with the type more completely developed, generally square, built of stone, standing on blocks, hollow underneath for circulation of air, and approached by a broad flight of steps. on the three sides which the sun touches, deep verandahs or balconies are thrown out on the first and second floors, closed in front by green blinds, which can be shut either completely or partially, so that at a distance they look like houses of cards or great green boxes, made pretty by the trees which shelter them or the creepers which climb over them. behind the blinds run long airy darkened galleries, and into these the sitting rooms open which are of course still darker with a subdued green light, in which, till you are used to it, you can hardly read. the floors are black, smooth, and polished, with loose mats for carpets. the reader of 'tom cringle' will remember tom's misadventure when he blundered into a party of pretty laughing girls, slipped on one of these floors with a retrospective misadventure, and could not rise till his creole cousin slipped a petticoat over his head. all the arrangements are made to shut out heat and light. the galleries have sofas to lounge upon--everybody smokes, and smokes where he pleases; the draught sweeping away all residuary traces. at the king's house to increase the accommodation a large separate dining saloon has been thrown out on the north side, to which you descend from the drawing room by stairs, and thence along a covered passage. among the mango trees behind there is a separate suite of rooms for the aides de-camp, and a superb swimming bath sixty feet long and eight feet deep. altogether it was a sumptuous sort of palace where a governor with , _l._ a year might spend his term of office with considerable comfort were it not haunted by recollections of poor eyre. he, it seems, lived in the 'king's house,' and two miles off, within sight of his windows, lived gordon. i had a more than gracious welcome from colonel j----and his family. in him i found a high-bred soldier, who had served with distinction in india, who had been at the storm of delhi, and who was close by when nicholson was shot. no one could have looked fitter for the post which he now temporarily occupied. i felt uncomfortable at being thus thrust upon his hospitality. i had letters of introduction with me to the various governors of the islands, but on colonel j---- i had no claim at all. i was not even aware of his existence, or he, very likely, of mine. if not he, at any rate the ladies of his establishment, might reasonably look upon me as a bore, and if i had been allowed i should simply have paid my respects and have gone on to my mulatto. but they would not hear of it. they were so evidently hearty in their invitation to me that i could only submit and do my best _not_ to be a bore, the one sin for which there is no forgiveness. in the circle into which i was thrown i was unlikely to hear much of west indian politics or problems. colonel j----was acting as governor by accident, and for a few months only. he had his professional duties to look after; his term of service in jamaica had nearly expired; and he could not trouble himself with possibilities and tendencies with which he would have no personal concern. as a spectator he considered probably that we were not making much of the west indies, and were not on the way to make much. he confirmed the complaint which i had heard so often, that the blacks would not work for wages more than three days in the week, or regularly upon those, preferring to cultivate their own yams and sweet potatoes; but as it was admitted that they did work one way or another at home, i could not see that there was much to complain of. the blacks were only doing as we do. we, too, only work as much as we like or as we must, and we prefer working for ourselves to working for others. on his special subjects the colonel was as interesting as he could not help being. he talked of the army and of the recent changes in it without insisting that it was going to the devil. he talked of india and the russians, and for a wonder he had no russophobia. he thought that england and russia might as easily be friends as enemies, and that it would be better for the world if they were. as this had been my own fixed opinion for the last thirty years, i thought him a very sensible man. in the evening there was a small dinner party, made up chiefly of officers from the west indian regiments at kingston. the english troops are in the mountains at newcastle, four or five thousand feet up and beyond common visiting distance. among those whom i met on this occasion was an officer who struck me particularly. there was a mystery about his origin. he had risen from the ranks, but was evidently a gentleman by birth; he had seen service all over the world; he had been in chili, and, among his other accomplishments, spoke spanish fluently; he entered the english army as a private, had been in the war in the transvaal, and was the only survivor of the regiment which was surprised and shot down by the boers in an intricate pass where they could neither retreat nor defend themselves. on that occasion he had escaped and saved the colours, for which he was rewarded by a commission. he was acquainted with many of my friends there who had been in the thick of the campaign; knew sir owen lanyon, sir morrison barlow, and colley. he had surveyed the plateau on majuba hill after the action, and had gathered the rumours which were flying many coloured about colley's death. friend and foe alike loved colley, and his already legendary fame is an unconscious tribute to his memory. by whose hand he fell can never be known. we believe as we wish or as we fancy. mr. ---- was so fine an officer, so clever a man, and so reserved about his personal affairs, that about him too 'myths' were growing. he was credited in the mess room with being the then unknown author of 'solomon's mines.' mr. haggard will forgive a mistake which, if he knows mr. ----, he will feel to be a compliment. from general conversation i gathered that the sanguine views of the colonial secretary were not widely shared. the english interest was still something in jamaica; but the phenomena of the antilles were present there also, if in a less extreme form. there were , coloured people in the island, with but , or , whites; and the blacks there also were increasing rapidly, and the whites were stationary if not declining. there was the same uneasy social jealousy, and the absence of any social relation between the two races. there were mulattoes in the island of wealth and consequence, and at government house there are no distinctions; but the english residents of pure colonial blood would not associate with them, social exclusiveness increasing with political equality. the blacks disliked the mulattoes; the mulattoes despised the blacks, and would not intermarry with them. the impression was that the mulatto would die out, that the tendency of the whites and blacks was to a constantly sharpening separation, and that if things went on as they were going for another generation, it was easy to see which of the two colours would then be in the ascendant. the blacks were growing saucy, too; with much else of the same kind. i could but listen and wait to judge for myself. meanwhile my quarters were unexceptionable, my kind entertainers leaving nothing undone to make my stay with them agreeable. in hot climates one sleeps lightly; but light sleep is all that one wants, and one wakes early. the swimming bath was waiting for me underneath my window. after a plunge in the clear cold water came coffee, grown and dried and roasted on the spot, and 'made' as such coffee ought to be. then came the early walk. one missed the tropical luxuriance of trinidad and dominica, for the winter months in jamaica are almost rainless; but it would have been beautiful anywhere else, and the mango trees were in their glory. there was a corner given to orchids, which were hung in baskets and just coming into flower. lizards swarmed in the sunshine, running up the tree trunks, or basking on the garden seats. snakes there are none; the mongoose has cleared them all away so completely that there is nothing left for him to eat but the poultry, in which he makes havoc, and, having been introduced to exterminate the vermin, has become a vermin himself. to drive, to ride, to visit was the employment of the days. i saw the country. i saw what people were doing, and heard what they had to say. the details are mostly only worth forgetting. the senior aide-de-camp, captain c----, an officer in the artillery, was a man of ability and observation. he, too, like the colonel, was mainly interested in his profession, to which he was anxious to return; but he was watching, too, with serious interest the waning fortunes of the west indies. he superintended the social part of the governor's business to perfection. anything which i wished for had only to be mentioned to be provided. he gave me the benefit, though less often than i could have wished, of his shrewd, and not ungenial, observations. he drove me one morning into kingston. i had passed through it hastily on the day of my landing. there were libraries, museums, public offices, and such like to be seen, besides the town itself. high up on the mountain side, more often in the clouds than out of them, the cantonments of the english regiments were visible from the park at government house. the slope where they had been placed was so steep that one wondered how they held on. they looked like tablecloths stretched out to dry. i was to ride up there one day. meanwhile, as we were driving through the park and saw the white spots shining up above us, i asked the aide-de-camp what the privates found to do in such a place. the ground was too steep for athletics; no cricket could be possible there, no lawn tennis, no quoits, no anything. there were no neighbours. sports there were none. the mongoose had destroyed the winged game, and there was neither hare nor rabbit, pig nor deer; not a wild animal to be hunted and killed. with nothing to do, no one to speak to, and nothing to kill, what could become of them? did they drink? well, yes. they drank rum occasionally; but there were no public houses. they could only get it at the canteen, and the daily allowance was moderate. as to beer, it was out of reach altogether. at the foot of the mountains it was double the price which it was in england. at newcastle the price was doubled again by the cost of carriage to the camp. i inquired if they did not occasionally hang themselves. 'perhaps they would,' he said, 'if they had no choice, but they preferred to desert, and this they did in large numbers. they slipped down the back of the range, made their way to the sea, and escaped to the united states.' the officers--what became of them? the officers! oh, well! they gardened! did they like it? some did and some didn't. they were not so ill off as the men, as occasionally they could come down on leave. one wondered what the process had been which had led the authorities to select such a situation. of course it was for the health of the troops, but the hill country in jamaica is wide; there were many other places available, less utterly detestable, and ennui and discontent are as mischievous as fever. general ----, a short time ago, went up to hold an inquiry into the desertions, and expressed his wonder how such things could be. with such air, such scenery, such views far and wide over the island, what could human creatures wish for more? 'you would desert yourself, general,' said another officer, 'if you were obliged to stay there a month.' captain c---- undertook that i should go up myself in a day or two. he promised to write and make arrangements. meanwhile we went on to kingston. it was not beautiful. there was rodney's statue. rodney is venerated in jamaica, as he ought to be; but for him it would have been a spanish colony again. but there is nothing grand about the buildings, nothing even handsome, nothing even specially characteristic of england or the english mind. they were once perhaps business-like, and business having slackened they are now dingy. shops, houses, wharves, want brightness and colour. we called at the office of the colonial secretary, the central point of the administration. it was an old mansion, plain, unambitious, sufficient perhaps for its purpose, but lifeless and dark. if it represented economy there would be no objection. the public debt has doubled since jamaica became a crown colony. in it was half a million. it is now more than a million and a half. the explanation is the extension of the railway system, and there has been no culpable extravagance. i do not suppose that the re-establishment of a constitution would mend matters. democracies are always extravagant. the majority, who have little property or none, regulate the expenditure. they lay the taxes on the minority, who have to find the money, and have no interest in sparing them. ireland when it was governed by the landowners, jamaica in the days of slavery, were administered at a cost which seems now incredibly small. the authority of the landowners and of the planters was undisputed. they were feared and obeyed, and magistrates unpaid and local constables sufficed to maintain tolerable order. their authority is gone. their functions are transferred to the police, and every service has to be paid for. there may be fewer serious crimes, but the subordination is immeasurably less, the expense of administration is immeasurably greater. i declined to be taken over sugar mills, or to be shown the latest improvements. i was too ignorant to understand in what the improvements consisted, and could take them upon trust. the public bakery was more interesting. in tropical climates a hot oven in a small house makes an inconvenient addition to the temperature. the bread for kingston, and for many miles around it, is manufactured at night by a single company and is distributed in carts in the morning. we saw the museum and public library. there were the usual specimens of island antiquities--of local fish, birds, insects, reptiles, plants, geological formations, and such like. in the library were old editions of curious books at the west indies, some of them unique, ready to yield ampler pictures of the romance of the old life there than we at present possess. i had but leisure to glance at title-pages and engravings. the most noticeable relic preserved there, if it be only genuine, is the identical bauble which cromwell ordered to be taken away from the speaker's table in the house of commons. explanations are given of the manner in which it came to jamaica. the evidence, so far as i could understand it, did not appear conclusive. among the new industries in the island in the place of sugar was, or ought to be, tobacco. a few years ago i asked sir j. hooker, the chief living authority in such matters, why cuba was allowed the monopoly of delicate cigar tobacco--whether there were no other countries where it could be grown equally good. he said that at the very moment cigars, as fine as the finest havanas, were being produced in jamaica. he gave me an excellent specimen with the address of the house which supplied it; and for a year or two i was able to buy from it what, if not perfect, was more than tolerable. the house acquired a reputation; and then, for some reason or other, perhaps from weariness of the same flavour, perhaps from a falling off in the character of the cigars, i, and possibly others, began to be less satisfied. here on the spot i wished to make another experiment. captain c---- introduced me to a famous manufacturer, a spaniard, with a spanish manager under him who had been trained at havana. i bespoke his good will by adjuring him in his own tongue not to disappoint me; and i believe that he gave me the best that he had. but, alas! it is with tobacco as with most other things. democracy is king; and the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the rule of modern life. the average of everything is higher than it used to be; the high quality which rises above mediocrity is rare or is non-existent. we are swept away by the genius of the age, and must be content with such other blessings as it has been pleased to bring with it. why should i murmur thus and vainly moan? the gods will have it so--their will be done.[ ] the earth is patient also, and allows the successive generations of human creatures to play their parts upon her surface as they please. she spins on upon her own course; and seas and skies, and crags and forests, are spiritual and beautiful as ever. gordon's town is a straggling village in the blue range underneath newcastle. colonel j---- had a villa there, and one afternoon he took me over to see it. you pass abruptly from the open country into the mountains. the way to gordon's town was by the side of the hope river, which cuts its way out of them in a narrow deep ravine. the stream was now trickling faintly among the stones; the enormous boulders in the bed were round as cannon balls, and, weighing hundreds of tons, show what its power must be in the coming down of the floods. within the limits of the torrent, which must rise at such times thirty feet above its winter level, the rocks were bare and stern, no green thing being able to grow there. above the line the tropical vegetation was in all its glory: ferns and plantains waving in the moist air; cedars, tamarinds, gum trees, orange trees striking their roots among the clefts of the crags, and hanging out over the abysses below them. aloes flung up their tall spiral stems; flowering shrubs and creepers covered bank and slope with green and blue and white and yellow, and above and over our heads, as we drove along, frowned the great limestone blocks which thunder down when loosened by the rain. farther up the hill sides, where the slopes are less precipitous, the forest has been burnt off by the unthrifty blacks, who use fire to clear the ground for their yam gardens, and destroy the timber over a dozen acres when they intend to cultivate but a single one. the landscape suffers less than the soil. the effect to the eye is merely that the mountains in jamaica, as in temperate climates, become bare at a moderate altitude, and their outlines are marked more sharply against the sky. introduced among scenery of this kind, we followed the river two or three miles, when it was crossed by a bridge, above which stood my friend miss burton's lodging house, where she had designed entertaining me. at gordon's town, which is again a mile farther on, the valley widens out, and there are cocoa and coffee plantations. through an opening we saw far above our heads, like specks of snow against the mountain side, the homes or prisons of our unfortunate troops. overlooking the village through which we were passing, and three hundred feet above it, was perched the colonel's villa on a projecting spur where a tributary of the hope river has carved out a second ravine. we drove to the door up a steep winding lane among coffee bushes, which scented the air with their jessamine-like blossom, and wild oranges on which the fruit hung untouched, glowing like balls of gold. we were now eleven hundred feet above the sea. the air was already many degrees cooler than at kingston. the ground in front of the house was levelled for a garden. ivy was growing about the trellis work, and scarlet geraniums and sweet violets and roses which cannot be cultivated in the lower regions, were here in full bloom. elsewhere in the grounds there was a lawn tennis court to tempt the officers down from their eyrie in the clouds. the house was empty, in charge of servants. from the balcony in front of the drawing room we saw peak rising behind peak, till the highest, four thousand feet above us, was lost in the white mist. below was the valley of the hope river with its gardens and trees and scattered huts, with buildings here and there of higher pretensions. on the other side the tributary stream rushed down its own ravine, while the breeze among the trees and the sound of the falling waters swayed up to us in intermittent pulsations. [illustration: valley in the blue mountains, jamaica.] the place had been made, i believe, in the days of plantation prosperity. what would become of it all, if jamaica drifted after her sisters in the antilles, as some persons thought that she was drifting, and became, like grenada, an island of small black proprietors? was such a fate really hanging over her? not necessarily, not by any law of nature. if it came, it would come from the dispiritment, the lack of energy and hope in the languid representatives of the english colonists; for the land even in the mountains will grow what it is asked to grow, and men do not live by sugar alone; and my friend dr. nicholl in dominica and colonel duncan in grenada itself were showing what english energy could do if it was alive and vigorous. the pale complaining beings of whom i saw too many, seemed as if they could not be of the same race as the men who ruled in the days of the slave trade. the question to be asked in every colony is, what sort of men is it rearing? if that cannot be answered satisfactorily, the rest is not worth caring for. the blacks do not deserve the ill that is spoken of them. colonel j----'s house is twelve miles from kingston. he told me that a woman would walk in with a load for him, and return on the same day with another, for a shilling. with such material of labour wisely directed, whites and blacks might live and prosper together; but even the poor negro will not work when he is regarded only as a machine to bring grist to his master's mill. footnotes: [ ] euripides. chapter xiv. visit to port royal--dockyard--town--church--fort augusta--the eyrie in the mountains--ride to newcastle--society in jamaica--religious bodies--liberty and authority. a new fort was being built at the mouth of the harbour. new batteries were being armed on the sandbanks at port royal. colonel j---- had to inspect what was going on, and he allowed me to go with him. we were to lunch with the commodore of the station at the port royal dockyard. i could then see the town--or what was left of it, for the story went that half of it had been swallowed up by an earthquake. we ran out in a steam launch from kingston, passing under the sterns of the spanish frigates. i was told that there were always one or more spanish ships of war stationed there, but no one knew anything about them except generally that they were on the look-out for cuban conspirators. there was no exchange of courtesies between their officers and ours, nor even official communication beyond what was formally necessary. i thought it strange, but it was no business of mine. my surprise, however, was admitted to be natural. as the launch drew little water, we had no occasion to follow the circuitous channel, but went straight over the shoals. we passed close by gallows point, where the johnny crows used to pick the pirates' bones. in the mangrove swamp adjoining, it was said that there was an old spanish cemetery; but the swamp was poisonous, and no one had ever seen it. at the dockyard pier the commodore was waiting for us. i found that he was an old acquaintance whom i had met ten years before at the cape. he was a brisk, smart officer, quiet and sailor-like in his manners, but with plenty of talent and cultivation. he showed us his stores and his machinery, large engines, and engineers to work them, ready for any work which might be wanted, but apparently with none to do. we went over the hospital, airy and clean, with scarcely a single occupant, so healthy has now been made a spot which was once a nest of yellow fever. naval stores soon become antiquated; and parts of the great square were paved with the old cannon balls which had become useless on the introduction of rifled guns. the fortifications were antiquated also, but new works were being thrown up armed with the modern monster cannon. one difficulty struck me; port royal stood upon a sandbank. in such a place no spring of fresh water could be looked for. on the large acreage of roofs there were no shoots to catch the rain and carry it into cisterns. whence did the water come for the people in the town? how were the fleets supplied which used to ride there? how was it in the old times when port royal was crowded with revelling crews of buccaneers? i found that every drop which is consumed in the place, or which is taken on board either of merchant ship or man-of-war, is brought in a steam tug from a spring ten miles off upon the coast. before steam came in, it was fetched in barges rowed by hand. nothing could be easier than to save the rain which falls in abundance. nothing could be easier than to lay pipes along the sand-spit to the spring. but the tug plies daily to and fro, and no one thinks more about the matter. a west indian regiment is stationed at port royal. after the dockyard we went through the soldiers' quarters and then walked through the streets of the once famous station. it is now a mere hamlet of boatmen and fishermen, squalid and wretched, without and within. half-naked children stared at us from the doors with their dark, round eyes. i found it hard to call up the scenes of riot, and confusion, and wild excitement which are alleged to have been witnessed there. the story that it once covered a far larger area has been, perhaps, invented to account for the incongruity. old plans exist which seem to show that the end of the spit could never have been of any larger dimensions than it is at present. there is proof enough, however, that in the sand there lie the remains of many thousand english soldiers and seamen, who ended their lives there for one cause or other. the bones lie so close that they are turned up as in a country churchyard when a fresh grave is dug. the walls of the old church are inlaid thickly with monuments and monumental tablets to the memory of officers of either service, young and old; some killed by fever, some by accidents of war or sea; some decorated with the honours which they had won in a hundred fights, some carried off before they had gathered the first flower of fame. the costliness of many of these memorials was an affecting indication how precious to their families those now resting there once had been. one in high relief struck me as a characteristic specimen of rubillac's workmanship. it was to a young lieutenant who had been killed by the bursting of a gun. flame and vapour were rushing out of the breech. the youth himself was falling backwards, with his arms spread out, and a vast preternatural face--death, judgment, eternity, or whatever it was meant to be--was glaring at him through the smoke. bad art, though the execution was remarkable; but better, perhaps, than the weeping angels now grown common among ourselves. after luncheon the commodore showed us his curiosities, especially his garden, which, considering the state of his water supply, he had created under unfavourable conditions. he had a very respectable collection of tropical ferns and flowers, with palms and plantains to shade and shelter them. he was an artist besides, within the lines of his own profession. drawings of ships and boats of all sorts and in all attitudes by his own brush or pencil were hanging on the walls of his working room. he was good enough to ask me to spend a day or two with him at port royal before i left the island, and i looked forward with special pleasure to becoming closer acquainted with such a genuine piece of fine-grained british oak. there were the usual ceremonies to be attended to. the officers of the guardship and gunboats had to be called on. the forts constructed, or in the course of construction, were duly inspected. i believe that there is a real serious intention to strengthen port royal in view of the changes which may come about through the opening, if that event ever takes place, of the darien canal. our last visit was to a fort deserted, or all but deserted--the once too celebrated fort augusta, which deserves particular description. it stands on the inner side of the lagoon commanding the deep-water channel at the point of the great mangrove swamp at the mouth of the cobre river. for the purpose for which it was intended no better situation could have been chosen, had there been nothing else to be considered except the defence of the harbour, for a vessel trying to reach kingston had to pass close in front of its hundred guns. it was constructed on a scale becoming its importance, with accommodation for two or three regiments, and the regiments were sent thither, and they perished, regiment after regiment, officers and men, from the malarious exhalations of the morass. whole battalions were swept away. the ranks were filled up by reinforcements from home, and these, too, went the same road. of one regiment the only survivors, according to the traditions of the place, were a quartermaster and a corporal. finally it occurred to the authorities at the horse guards that a regiment of hussars would be a useful addition to the garrison. it was not easy to see what hussars were to do there. there is not a spot where the horses could stand twenty yards beyond the lines; nor could they reach fort augusta at all except in barges. however, it was perhaps well that they were sent. horses and men went the way of the rest. the loss of the men might have been supplied, but horses were costly, and the loss of them was more serious. fort augusta was gradually abandoned, and is now used only as a powder magazine. a guard is kept there of twenty blacks from the west indian force, but even these are changed every ten days--so deadly the vapour of that malarious jungle is now understood to be. i never saw so spectral a scene as met my eyes when we steamed up to the landing place--ramparts broken down, and dismantled cannon lying at the foot of the wall overgrown by jungle. the sentinel who presented arms was like a corpse in uniform. he was not pale, for he was a negro--he was green, and he looked like some ghoul or afrite in a ghastly cemetery. the roofs of the barracks and storehouses had fallen in, the rafters being left standing with the light shining between them as through the bones of skeletons. great piles of shot lay rusting, as not worth removal; among them conical shot, so recently, had this fatal charnel house been regarded as a fit location for british artillerymen. i breathed more freely as we turned our backs upon the hideous memorial of parliamentary administration, and steamed away into a purer air. my conservative instincts had undergone a shock. as we look back into the past, the brighter features stand out conspicuously. the mistakes and miseries have sunk in the shade and are forgotten. in the present faults and merits are visible alike. the faults attract chief notice that they may be mended; and as there seem so many of them, the impulse is to conclude that the past was better. it is well to be sometimes reminded what the past really was. in colonel j---- i found a strong advocate of the late army reforms. thanks to recovering energy and more distinct conscientiousness, thanks to the all-seeing eye of the press, such an experiment as that of fort augusta could hardly be tried again, or if tried could not be persisted in. extravagance and absurdities, however, remain, and i was next to witness an instance of them. having ceased to quarter our regiments in mangrove swamps, we now build a camp for them among the clouds. i mentioned that captain c---- had undertaken that i should see newcastle. he had written to a friend there to say that i was coming up, and the junior aide-de-camp kindly lent his services as a guide. as far as gordon's town we drove along the same road which we had followed before. there, at a small wayside inn, we found horses waiting which were accustomed to the mountain. suspicious mists were hanging about aloft, but the landlord, after a glance at them, promised us a fine day, and we mounted and set off. my animal's merits were not in his appearance, but he had been up and down a hundred times, and might be trusted to accomplish his hundred and first without misfortune. for the first mile or so the road was tolerably level, following the bank of the river under the shade of the forest. it then narrowed into a horse path and zigzagged upwards at the side of a torrent into the deep pools of which we occasionally looked down over the edges of uncomfortable precipices. then again there was a level, with a village and coffee plantations and oranges and bananas. after this the vegetation changed. we issued out upon open mountain, with english grass, english clover, english gorse, and other familiar acquaintances introduced to make the isolation less intolerable. the track was so rough and narrow that we could ride only in single file, and was often no better than a watercourse; yet by this and no other way every article had to be carried on donkeys' backs or human heads which was required for the consumption of infantry and artillerymen. artillerymen might seem to imply artillery, but they have only a single small field gun. they are there for health's sake only, and to be fit for work if wanted below. an hour's ride brought us to the lowest range of houses, which were , feet above the sea. from thence they rose, tier above tier, for feet more. the weather so far had held up, and the views had been glorious, but we passed now into a cloud, through which we saw, dimly, groups of figures listlessly lounging. the hillside was bare, and the slope so steep that there was no standing on it, save where it had been flattened by the spade; and here in this extraordinary place were young englishmen of the common type of which soldiers are made, with nothing to do and nothing to enjoy--remaining, unless they desert or die of ennui, for one, two, or three years, as their chance may be. every other day they can see nothing, save each other's forms and faces in the fog; for, fine and bright as the air may be below, the moisture in the air is condensed into cloud by the chill rock and soil of the high ranges. the officers come down now and then on furlough or on duty; the men rarely and hardly at all, and soldiers, in spite of general ----, cannot always be made happy by the picturesque. they are not educated enough to find employment for their minds, and of amusement there is none. we continued our way up, the track if anything growing steeper, till we reached the highest point of the camp, and found ourselves before a pretty cottage with creepers climbing about it belonging to the major in command. a few yards off was the officers' mess room. they expected us. they knew my companion, and visitors from the under-world were naturally welcome. the major was an active clever man, with a bright laughing irish wife, whose relations in the old country were friends of my own. the american consul and his lady happened to have ridden up also the same day; so, in spite of fog, which grew thicker every moment, we had a good time. as to seeing, we could see nothing; but then there was nothing to see except views; and panoramic views from mountain tops, extolled as they may be, do not particularly interest me. the officers, so far as i could learn, are less ill off than the privates. those who are married have their wives with them; they can read, they can draw, they can ride; they have gardens about their houses where they can grow english flowers and vegetables and try experiments. science can be followed anywhere, and is everywhere a resource. major ----told me that he had never known what it was to find the day too long. healthy the camp is at any rate. the temperature never rises above ° nor sinks often below °. they require charcoal fires to keep the damp out and blankets to sleep under; and when they see the sun it is an agreeable change and something to talk about. there are no large incidents, but small ones do instead. while i was there a man came to report that he had slipped by accident and set a stone rolling; the stone had cut a water pipe in two, and it had to be mended, and was an afternoon's work for somebody. such officers as have no resources in themselves are, of course, bored to extinction. there is neither furred game to hunt nor feathered game to shoot; the mongoose has eaten up the partridges. i suggested that they should import two or three couple of bears from norway; they would fatten and multiply among the roots and sugar canes, with a black piccaninny now and then for a special delicacy. one of the party extemporised us a speech which would be made on the occasion in exeter hall. we had not seen the worst of the weather. as we mounted to ride back the fog changed to rain, and the rain to a deluge. the track became a torrent. macintoshes were a vanity, for the water rushed down one's neck, and every crease made itself into a conduit carrying the stream among one's inner garments. dominica itself had not prepared me for the violence of these jamaican downpourings. false had proved our prophet down below. there was no help for it but to go on; and we knew by experience that one does not melt on these occasions. at a turn of the road we met another group of riders, among them lady n----, who, during her husband's absence in england, was living at a country house in the hills. she politely stopped and would have spoken, but it was not weather to stand talking in; the torrent washed us apart. and now comes the strangest part of the story. a thousand feet down we passed out below the clouds into clear bright sunshine. above us it was still black as ever. the vapour clung about the peaks and did not leave them. underneath us and round us it was a lovely summer's day. the farther we descended the fewer the signs that any rain had fallen. when we reached the stables at gordon's town, the dust was on the road as we left it, and the horsekeeper congratulated us on the correctness of his forecast. clothes soon dry in that country, and we drove down home none the worse for our wetting. i was glad to have seen a place of which i had heard so much. on the whole, i hoped that perhaps by-and-by the authorities may discover some camping ground for our poor soldiers halfway between the inferno of fort augusta and the caucasian cliffs to which they are chained like prometheus. malice did say that newcastle was the property of a certain sir ----, a high official of a past generation, who wished to part with it, and found a convenient purchaser in the government. the hospitalities at government house were well maintained under the j---- administration. the colonel was gracious, the lady beautiful and brilliant. there were lawn parties and evening parties, when all that was best in the island was collected; the old jamaican aristocracy, army and navy officers, civilians, eminent lawyers, a few men among them of high intelligence. the tone was old-fashioned and courteous, with little, perhaps too little, of the _go-a-headism_ of younger colonies, but not the less agreeable on that account. as to prospects, or the present condition of things in the island, there were wide differences of opinion. if there was unanimity about anything, it was about the consequences likely to arise from an extension of the principle of self-government. there, at all events, lay the right road to the wrong place. the blacks had nothing to complain of, and the wrong at present was on the other side. the taxation fell heavily on the articles consumed by the upper classes. the duty on tea, for instance, was a shilling a pound, and the duties on other luxuries in the same proportion. it scarcely touched the negroes at all. they were acquiring land, and some thought that there ought to be a land tax. they would probably object and resist, and trouble would come if it was proposed, for the blacks object to taxes. as long as there are white men to pay them, they will be satisfied to get the benefit of the expenditure; but let not their english friends suppose that when they have the island for their own they will tax themselves for police or schools, or for any other of those educational institutions from which the believers in progress anticipate such glorious results. as to the planters, it seemed agreed that when an estate was unencumbered and the owner resided upon it and managed it himself, he could still keep afloat. it was agreed also that when the owner was an absentee the cost of management consumed all the profits, and thus the same impulse to sell which had gone so far in the antilles was showing itself more and more in jamaica also. fine properties all about the island were in the market for any price which purchasers could be found to give. too many even of the old english families were tired of the struggle, and were longing to be out of it at any cost. at one time we heard much of the colonial church and the power which it was acquiring, and as it seems unlikely that the political authority of the white race will be allowed to reassert itself, it must be through their minds and through those other qualities which religion addresses that the black race will be influenced by the white, if it is ever to be influenced at all. i had marked the respect with which the catholic clergy were treated in dominica, and even the hayti republic still maintains the french episcopate and priesthood. but i could not find that the church of england in jamaica either was at present or had ever been more than the church of the english in jamaica, respected as long as the english gentry were a dominant power there, but with no independent charm to work on imagination or on superstition. labat says, as i noted above, that the english clergy in his time did not baptise the black babies, on the curious ground that christians could not lawfully be held as slaves, and the slaves therefore were not to be made christians. a jesuit father whom i met at government house told me that even now the clergy refuse to baptise the illegitimate children, and as, according to the official returns, nearly two-thirds of the children that are born in jamaica come into the world thus irregularly, they are not likely to become more popular than they used to be. perhaps father ----was doing what a good many other people do, making a general practice out of a few instances. perhaps the blacks themselves who wish their children to be christians carry them to the minister whom they prefer, and that minister may not be the anglican clergyman. of catholics there are not many in jamaica; of the moravians i heard on all sides the warmest praise. they, above all the religious bodies in the island, are admitted to have a practical power for good over the limited number of people which belong to them. but the moravians are but a few. they do not rush to make converts in the highways and hedges, and my observations in dominica almost led me to wish that, in the absence of other forms of spiritual authority, the catholics might become more numerous than they are. the priests in dominica were the only europeans who, for their own sakes and on independent grounds, were looked up to with fear and respect. the religion of the future! that is the problem of problems that rises before us at the close of this waning century. the future of the west indies is a small matter. yet that, too, like all else, depends on the spiritual beliefs which are to rise out of the present confusion. men will act well and wisely, or ill and foolishly, according to the form and force of their conceptions of duty. once before, under the roman empire, the conditions were not wholly dissimilar. the inherited creed had become unbelievable, and the scientific intellect was turning materialist. christianity rose out of the chaos, confounding statesmen and philosophers, and became the controlling power among mankind for , years. but christianity found a soil prepared for the seed. the masses of the inhabitants of the roman world were not materialist. the masses of the people believed already in the supernatural and in penal retribution after death for their sins. lucretius complains of the misery produced upon them by the terrors of the anticipated tartarus. serious and good men were rather turning away from atheism than welcoming it; and if they doubted the divinity of the olympian gods, it was not because they doubted whether gods existed at all, but because the immoralities attributed to them were unworthy of the exalted nature of the divine being. the phenomena are different now. who is now made wretched by the fear of hell? the tendency of popular thought is against the supernatural in any shape. far into space as the telescope can search, deep as analysis can penetrate into mind and consciousness or the forces which govern natural things, popular thought finds only uniformity and connection of cause and effect--no sign anywhere of a personal will which is influenced by prayer or moral motive. when a subject is still obscure we are confident that it admits of scientific explanation; we no longer refer 'ad deum,' whom we regard as a constitutional monarch taking no direct part at all. the new creed, however, not having crystallised as yet into a shape which can be openly professed, and as without any creed at all the flesh and the devil might become too powerful, we maintain the old names and forms, as we maintain the monarchy. we surround both with reverence and majesty, and the reverence, being confined to feeling, continues to exercise a vague but wholesome influence. we row in one way while we look another. in the presence of the marked decay of protestantism as a positive creed, the protestant powers of europe may, perhaps, patch up some kind of reconciliation with the old spiritual organisation which was shattered in the sixteenth century, and has since shown no unwillingness to adapt itself to modern forms of thought. the olympian gods survived for seven centuries after aristophanes with the help of allegory and 'economy.' the church of rome may survive as long after calvin and luther. carlyle mocked at the possibility when i ventured to say so to him. yet carlyle seemed to think that the mass was the only form of faith in europe which had any sincerity remaining in it. a religion, at any rate, which will keep the west indian blacks from falling into devil worship is still to seek. constitutions and belief in progress may satisfy europe, but will not answer in jamaica. in spite of the priests, child murder and cannibalism have reappeared in hayti; but without them things might have been worse than they are, and the preservation of white authority and influence in any form at all may be better than none. white authority and white influence may, however, still be preserved in a nobler and better way. slavery was a survival from a social order which had passed away, and slavery could not be continued. it does not follow that _per se_ it was a crime. the negroes who were sold to the dealers in the african factories were most of them either slaves already to worse masters or were _servi_, servants in the old meaning of the word, prisoners of war, or else criminals, _servati_ or reserved from death. they would otherwise have been killed; and since the slave trade has been abolished are again killed in the too celebrated 'customs.' the slave trade was a crime when the chiefs made war on each other for the sake of captives whom they could turn into money. in many instances, perhaps in most, it was innocent and even beneficent. nature has made us unequal, and acts of parliament cannot make us equal. some must lead and some must follow, and the question is only of degree and kind. for myself, i would rather be the slave of a shakespeare or a burghley than the slave of a majority in the house of commons or the slave of my own folly. slavery is gone, with all that belonged to it; but it will be an ill day for mankind if no one is to be compelled any more to obey those who are wiser than himself, and each of us is to do only what is right in our own eyes. there may be authority, yet not slavery: a soldier is not a slave, a sailor is not a slave, a child is not a slave, a wife is not a slave; yet they may not live by their own wills or emancipate themselves at their own pleasure from positions in which nature has placed them, or into which they have themselves voluntarily entered. the negroes of the west indies are children, and not yet disobedient children. they have their dreams, but for the present they are dreams only. if you enforce self-government upon them when they are not asking for it, you may turn the dream into a reality, and wilfully drive them back into the condition of their ancestors, from which the slave trade was the beginning of their emancipation. chapter xv. the church of england in jamaica--drive to castleton--botanical gardens--picnic by the river--black women--ball at government house--mandeville--miss roy--country society--manners--american visitors--a moravian missionary--the modern radical creed. if i have spoken without enthusiasm of the working of the church of england among the negroes, i have not meant to be disrespectful. as i lay awake at daybreak on the sunday morning after my arrival, i heard the sound of church bells, not catholic bells as at dominica, but good old english chimes. the church is disestablished so far as law can disestablish it, but, as in barbadoes, the royal arms still stand over the arches of the chancel. introduced with the english conquest, it has been identified with the ruling order of english gentry, respectable, harmless, and useful, to those immediately connected with it. the parochial system, as in barbadoes also, was spread over the island. each parish had its church, its parsonage and its school, its fonts where the white children were baptised--in spite of my jesuit, i shall hope not whites only; and its graveyard, where in time they were laid to rest. with their quiet sunday services of the old type the country districts were exact reproductions of english country villages. the church whose bells i had heard was of the more fashionable suburban type, standing in a central situation halfway to kingston. the service was at the old english hour of eleven. we drove to it in the orthodox fashion, with our prayer books and sunday costumes, the colonel in uniform. the gentry of the neighbourhood are antiquated in their habits, and to go to church on sunday is still regarded as a simple duty. a dozen carriages stood under the shade at the doors. the congregation was upper middle-class english of the best sort, and was large, though almost wholly white. white tablets as at port royal covered the walls, with familiar english names upon them. but for the heat i could have imagined myself at home. there were no aaron bangs to be seen, or paul gelids, with the rough sense, the vigour, the energy, and roystering light-heartedness of our grandfathers. the faces of the men were serious and thoughtful, with the shadow resting on them of an uncertain future. they are good churchmen still, and walk on in the old paths, wherever those paths may lead. they are old-fashioned and slow to change, and are perhaps belated in an eddy of the great stream of progress; but they were pleasant to see and pleasant to talk to. after service there were the usual shakings of hands among friends outside; arrangements were made for amusements and expeditions in which i was invited to join--which were got up, perhaps, for my own entertainment. i was to be taken to the sights of the neighbourhood. i was to see this; i was to see that; above all, i must see the peak of the blue mountains. the peak itself i could see better from below, for there it stood, never moving, between seven and eight thousand feet high. but i had had mountain riding enough and was allowed to plead my age and infirmities. it was arranged finally that i should be driven the next day to castleton, seventeen miles off over a mountain pass, to see the botanical gardens. accordingly early on the following morning we set off; two carriages full of us; mr. m----, a new friend lately made, but i hope long to be preserved, on the box of his four-in-hand. the road was as good as all roads are in jamaica and barbadoes, and more cannot be said in their favour. forest trees made a roof over our heads as we climbed to the crest of the ridge. thence we descended the side of a long valley, a stream running below us which gradually grew into a river. we passed through all varieties of cultivation. on the high ground there was a large sugar plantation, worked by coolies, the first whom i had seen in jamaica. in the alluvial meadows on the river-side were tobacco fields, cleanly and carefully kept, belonging to my spanish friend in kingston, and only too rich in leaves. there were sago too, and ginger, and tamarinds, and cocoa, and coffee, and cocoa-nut palms. on the hill-sides were the garden farms of the blacks, which were something to see and remember. they receive from the government at an almost nominal quit rent an acre or two of uncleared forest. to this as the first step they set light; at twenty different spots we saw their fires blazing. to clear an acre they waste the timber on half a dozen or a dozen. they plant their yams and sweet potatoes among the ashes and grow crops there till the soil is exhausted. then they move on to another, which they treat with the same recklessness, leaving the first to go back to scrub. since the chinaman burnt his house to roast his pig, such waste was never seen. the male proprietors were lounging about smoking. their wives, as it was market day, were tramping into kingston with their baskets on their head. we met them literally in thousands, all merry and light-hearted, their little ones with little baskets trudging at their side. of the lords of the creation we saw, perhaps, one to each hundred women, and he would be riding on mule or donkey, pipe in mouth and carrying nothing. he would be generally sulky too, while the ladies, young and old, had all a civil word for us and curtsied under their loads. decidedly if there is to be a black constitution i would give the votes only to the women. we reached castleton at last. it was in a hot damp valley, said to be a nest of yellow fever. the gardens slightly disappointed me; my expectations had been too much raised by trinidad. there were lovely flowers of course, and curious plants and trees. every known palm is growing there. they try hard to grow roses, and they say that they succeed. the roses were not in flower, and i could not judge. bye the familiar names were all there, and others which were not familiar, the newest importations called after the great ladies of the day. i saw one labelled mabel morrison. to find the daughter of an ancient college friend and contemporary giving name to a plant in the new world makes one feel dreadfully old; but i expected to find, and i did not find, some useful practical horticulture going on. they ought, for instance, to have been trying experiments with orange trees. the orange in jamaica is left to nature. they plant the seeds, and leave the result to chance. they neither bud nor graft, and go upon the hypothesis that as the seed is, so will be the tree which comes of it. yet even thus, so favourable is the soil and climate that the oranges of jamaica are prized above all others which are sold in the american market. with skill and knowledge and good selection they might produce the finest in the world. 'there are dollars in that island, sir,' as an american gentleman said to me, 'if they look for them in the right way.' nothing of this kind was going on at castleton; so much the worse, but perhaps things will mend by-and-by. i was consoled partly by another specimen of the _amherstia nobilis_. it was not so large as those which i had seen at trinidad, but it was in splendid bloom, and certainly is the most gorgeous flowering tree which the world contains. wild nature also was luxuriantly beautiful. we picnicked by the river, which here is a full rushing stream with pools that would have held a salmon, and did hold abundant mullet. we found a bower formed by a twisted vine, so thick that neither sun nor rain could penetrate the roof. the floor was of shining shingle, and the air breathed cool from off the water. it was a spot which nymph or naiad may haunt hereafter, when nymphs are born again in the new era. the creatures of imagination have fled away from modern enlightenment. but we were a pleasant party of human beings, lying about under the shade upon the pebbles. we had brought a blanket of ice with us, and the champagne was manufactured into cup by choicest west indian skill. figures fall unconsciously at such moments into attitudes which would satisfy a painter, and the scenes remain upon the memory like some fine finished work of art. we had done with the gardens, and i remember no more of them except that i saw a mongoose stalking a flock of turkeys. the young ones and their mother gathered together and showed fight. the old cock, after the manner of the male animal, seemed chiefly anxious for his own skin, though a little ashamed at the same time, as if conscious that more was expected of him. on the way back we met the returning stream of women and children, loaded heavily as before and with the same elastic step. in spite of all that is incorrect about them, the women are the material to work upon; and if they saw that we were in earnest, they would lend their help to make their husbands bestir themselves. a dutch gentleman once boasted to me of the wonderful prosperity of java, where everybody was well off and everybody was industrious. he so insisted upon the industry that i ask him how it was brought about. were the people slaves? 'oh,' he cried, as if shocked, 'god forbid that a christian nation should be so wicked as to keep slaves!' 'do they never wish to be idle?' i asked. 'never, never,' he said; 'no, no: we do not permit anyone to be idle.' my stay with colonel j---- was drawing to a close; one great festivity was impending, which i wished to avoid; but the gracious lady insisted that i must remain. there was to be a ball, and all the neighbourhood was invited. pretty it was sure to be. windows and doors, galleries and passages, would be all open. the gardens would be lighted up, and the guests could spread as they pleased. brilliant it all was; more brilliant than you would see in our larger colonies. a ball in sydney or melbourne is like a ball in the north of england or in new york. there are the young men in black coats, and there are brightly dressed young ladies for them to dance with. the chaperons sit along the walls; the elderly gentlemen withdraw to the card room. here all was different. the black coats in the ball at jamaica were on the backs of old or middle-aged men, and, except government officials, there was hardly a young man present in civilian dress. the rooms glittered with scarlet and white and blue and gold lace. the officers were there from the garrison and the fleet; but of men of business, of professional men, merchants, planters, lawyers, &c. there were only those who had grown up to middle age in the island, whose fortunes, bad or good, were bound up with it. when these were gone, it seemed as if there would be no one to succeed them. the coveted heirs of great estates were no longer to be found for mothers to angle after. the trades and professions in kingston had ceased to offer the prospect of an income to younger brothers who had to make their own way. for years generations of englishmen had followed one upon another, but we seemed to have come to the last. of gentlemen unconnected with the public service, under thirty-five or forty, there were few to be seen, they were seeking their fortunes elsewhere. the english interest in jamaica is still a considerable thing. the english flag flies over government house, and no one so far wishes to remove it. but the british population is scanty and refuses to grow. ships and regiments come and go, and officers and state employés make what appears to be a brilliant society. but it is in appearance only. the station is no longer a favourite one. they are gone, those pleasant gentry whose country houses were the paradise of _middies_ sixty years ago. all is changed, even to the officers themselves. the drawling ensign of our boyhood, brave as a lion in the field, and in the mess room or the drawing room an idiot, appears also to be dead as the dodo. those that one meets now are intelligent and superior men--no trace of the frivolous sort left. is it the effect of the abolition of purchase, and competitive examinations? is it that the times themselves are growing serious, and even the most empty-headed feel that this is no season for levity? i had seen what jamaican life was like in the upper spheres, and i had heard the opinions that were current in them; but i wished to see other parts of the country. i wished to see a class of people who were farther from headquarters, and who might not all sing to the same note. i determined to start off on an independent cruise of my own. in the centre of the island, two thousand feet above the sea, it was reported to me that i should find a delightful village called mandeville, after some duke of manchester who governed jamaica a hundred years ago. the scenery was said to have a special charm of its own, the air to be exquisitely pure, the land to be well cultivated. village manners were to be found there of the old-fashioned sort, and a lodging house and landlady of unequalled merit. there was a railway for the first fifty miles. the line at starting crosses the mangrove swamps at the mouth of the cobre river. you see the trees standing in the water on each side of the road. rising slowly, it hardens into level grazing ground, stocked with cattle and studded with mangoes and cedars. you pass spanish town, of which only the roofs of the old state buildings are visible from the carriages. sugar estates follow, some of which are still in cultivation, while ruined mills and fallen aqueducts show where others once had been. the scenery becomes more broken as you begin to ascend into the hills. river beds, dry when i saw them, but powerful torrents in the rainy season, are crossed by picturesque bridges. you come to the forest, where the squatters were at their usual work, burning out their yam patches. columns of white smoke were rising all about us, yet so abundant the timber and so rapid the work of restoration when the devastating swarm has passed, that in this direction they have as yet made no marked impression, and the forest stretches as far as eye can reach. the glens grew more narrow and the trees grander as the train proceeded. after two hours we arrived at the present terminus, an inland town with the singular name of porus. no explanation is given of it in the local handbooks; but i find a porus among the companions of columbus, and it is probably an interesting relic of the first spanish occupation. the railway had brought business. mule carts were going about, and waggons; omnibuses stood in the yards, and there were stores of various kinds. but it was all black. there was not a white face to be seen after we left the station. one of my companions in the train was a cuban engineer, now employed upon the line; a refugee, i conjectured, belonging to the beaten party in the late rebellion, from the bitterness with which he spoke of the spanish administration. porus is many hundred feet above the sea, in a hollow where three valleys meet. mandeville, to which i was bound, was ten miles farther on, the road ascending all the way. a carriage was waiting for me, but too small for my luggage. a black boy offered to carry up a heavy bag for a shilling, a feat which he faithfully and expeditiously performed. after climbing a steep hill, we came out upon a rich undulating plateau, long cleared and cultivated; green fields with cows feeding on them; pretty houses standing in gardens; a wesleyan station; a moravian station, with chapels and parsonages. the red soil was mixed with crumbling lumps of white coral, a ready-made and inexhaustible supply of manure. great silk-cotton trees towered up in lonely magnificence, the home of the dreaded jumbi--woe to the wretch who strikes an axe into those sacred stems! almonds, cedars, mangoes, gum trees spread their shade over the road. orange trees were everywhere; sometimes in orchards, sometimes growing at their own wild will in hedges and copse and thicket. finally, at the outskirts of a perfectly english village, we brought up at the door of the lodging house kept by the justly celebrated miss roy. the house, or cottage, stood at the roadside, at the top of a steep flight of steps; a rambling one-story building, from which rooms, creeper-covered, had been thrown out as they were wanted. there was the universal green verandah into which they all opened; and the windows looked out on a large common, used of old, and perhaps now, as a race-course; on wooded slopes, with sunny mansions dropped here and there in openings among the woods; on farm buildings at intervals in the distance, surrounded by clumps of palms; and beyond them ranges of mountains almost as blue as the sky against which they were faintly visible. miss roy, the lady and mistress of the establishment, came out to meet me: middle-aged, with a touch of the black blood, but with a face in which one places instant and sure dependence, shrewd, quiet, sensible, and entirely good-humoured. a white-haired brother, somewhat infirm and older than she, glided behind her as her shadow. she attends to the business. his pride is in his garden, where he has gathered a collection of rare plants in admired disorder; the night-blowing cereus hanging carelessly over a broken paling, and a palm, unique of its kind, waving behind it. at the back were orange trees and plantains and coffee bushes, with long-tailed humming birds flitting about their nests among the branches. all kinds of delicacies, from fruit and preserves to coffee, miss roy grows for her visitors on her own soil, and prepares from the first stage to the last with her own cunning hands. having made acquaintance with the mistress, i strolled out to look about me. after walking up the road for a quarter of a mile, i found myself in an exact reproduction of a warwickshire hamlet before the days of railways and brick chimneys. there were no elms to be sure--there were silk cotton-trees and mangoes where the elms should have been; but there were the boys playing cricket, and a market house, and a modest inn, and a shop or two, and a blacksmith's forge with a shed where horses were standing waiting their turn to be shod. across the green was the parish church, with its three aisles and low square tower, in which hung an old peal of bells. parish stocks i did not observe, though, perhaps, i might have had i looked for them; but there was a schoolhouse and parsonage, and, withdrawn at a distance as of superior dignity, what had once perhaps been the squire's mansion, when squire and such-like had been the natural growth of the country. it was as if a branch of the old tree had been carried over and planted there ages ago, and as if it had taken root and become an exact resemblance of the parent stock. the people had black faces; but even they, too, had shaped their manners on the old english models. the men touched their hats respectfully (as they eminently did not in kingston and its environs). the women smiled and curtsied, and the children looked shy when one spoke to them. the name of slavery is a horror to us; but there must have been something human and kindly about it, too, when it left upon the character the marks of courtesy and good breeding. i wish i could say as much for the effect of modern ideas. the negroes in mandeville were, perhaps, as happy in their old condition as they have been since their glorious emancipation, and some of them to this day speak regretfully of a time when children did not die of neglect; when the sick and the aged were taken care of, and the strong and healthy were, at least, as well looked after as their owner's cattle. slavery could not last; but neither can the condition last which has followed it. the equality between black and white is a forced equality and not a real one, and nature in the long run has her way, and readjusts in their proper relations what theorists and philanthropists have disturbed. i was not miss roy's only guest. an american lady and gentleman were staying there; he, i believe, for his health, as the climate of mandeville is celebrated. americans, whatever may be their faults, are always unaffected; and so are easy to get on with. we dined together, and talked of the place and its inhabitants. they had been struck like myself with the manners of the peasants, which were something entirely new to them. the lady said, and without expressing the least disapproval, that she had fallen in with an old slave who told her that, thanks to god, he had seen good times. 'he was bred in a good home, with a master and mistress belonging to him. what the master and mistress had the slaves had, and there was no difference; and his master used to visit at king's house, and his men were all proud of him. yes, glory be to god, he had seen good times.' in the evening we sat out in the verandah in the soft sweet air, the husband and i smoking our cigars, and the lady not minding it. they had come to mandeville, as we go to italy, to escape the new england winter. they had meant to stay but a few days; they found it so charming that they had stayed for many weeks. we talked on till twilight became night, and then appeared a show of natural pyrotechnics which beat anything of the kind which i had ever seen or read of: fireflies as large as cockchafers flitting round us among the leaves of the creepers, with two long antennæ, at the point of each of which hangs out a blazing lanthorn. the unimaginative colonists call them gig-lamps. had shakespeare ever heard of them, they would have played round ferdinand and miranda in prospero's cave, and would have borne a fairer name. the light is bluish-green, like a glowworm's, but immeasurably brighter; and we could trace them far away glancing like spirits over the meadows. i could not wonder that my new friends had been charmed with the place. the air was exquisitely pure; the temperature ten degrees below that of kingston, never oppressively hot and never cold; the forest scenery as beautiful as at arden; and miss roy's provision for us, rooms, beds, breakfasts, dinners, absolutely without fault. if ever there was an inspired coffee maker, miss roy was that person. the glory of mandeville is in its oranges. the worst orange i ate in jamaica was better than the best i ever ate in europe, and the best oranges of jamaica are the oranges of mandeville. new york has found out their merits. one gentleman alone sent twenty thousand boxes to new york last year, clearing a dollar on each box; and this, as i said just now, when nature is left to produce what she pleases, and art has not begun to help her. fortunes larger than were ever made by sugar wait for any man, and the blessings of the world along with it, who will set himself to work at orange growing with skill and science in a place where heat will not wither the trees, nor frosts, as in florida, bite off the blossoms. yellow fever was never heard of there, nor any dangerous epidemic, nor snake nor other poisonous reptile. the droughts which parch the lowlands are unknown, for an even rain falls all the year and the soil is always moist. i inquired with wonder why the unfortunate soldiers who were perched among the crags at newcastle were not at mandeville instead. i was told that water was the difficulty; that there was no river or running stream there, and that it had to be drawn from wells or collected into cisterns. one must applaud the caution which the authorities have at last displayed; but cattle thrive at mandeville, and sheep, and black men and women in luxuriant abundance. one would like to know that the general who sold the newcastle estate to the government was not the same person who was allowed to report as to the capabilities of a spot which, to the common observer, would seem as perfectly adapted for the purpose as the other is detestable. a few english families were scattered about the neighbourhood, among whom i made a passing acquaintance. they had a lawn-tennis club in the village, which met once a week; they drove in with their pony carriages; a lady made tea under the trees; they had amusements and pleasant society which cost nothing. they were not rich; but they were courteous, simple, frank, and cordial. mandeville is the centre of a district which all resembles it in character and extends for many miles. it is famous for its cattle as well as for its fruit, and has excellent grazing grounds. mr. ----, an officer of police, took me round with him one morning. it was the old story. though there were still a few white proprietors left, they were growing fewer, and the blacks were multiplying upon them. the smoke of their clearances showed where they were at work. many of them are becoming well-to-do. we met them on the roads with their carts and mules; the young ones armed, too, in some instances with good double-barrelled muzzle-loaders. there is no game to shoot, but to have a gun raises them in their own estimation, and they like to be prepared for contingencies. mr. ---- had a troublesome place of it. the negro peasantry were good-humoured, he said, but not universally honest. they stole cattle, and would not give evidence against each other. if brought into court, they held a pebble in their mouths, being under the impression that when they were so provided perjury did not count. their education was only skin-deep, and the schools which the government provided had not touched their characters at all. mr. ----'s duties brought him in contact with the unfavourable specimens. i received a far pleasanter impression from a moravian minister, who called on me with a friend who had lately taken a farm. i was particularly glad to see this gentleman, for of the moravians everyone had spoken well to me. he was not the least enthusiastic about his poor black sheep, but he said that, if they were not better than the average english labourers, he did not think them worse. they were called idle. they would work well enough if they had fair wages, and if the wages were paid regularly; but what could be expected when women servants had but three shillings a week and 'found themselves,' when the men had but a shilling a day and the pay was kept in arrear, in order that, if they came late to work, or if they came irregularly, it might be kept back or cut down to what the employer chose to give? under such conditions any man of any colour would prefer to work for himself if he had a garden, or would be idle if he had none. 'living' costs next to nothing either to them or their families. but the minister said, and his friend confirmed it by his own experience, that these same fellows would work regularly and faithfully for any master whom they personally knew and could rely upon, and no englishman coming to settle there need be afraid of failing for want of labour, if he had sense and energy, and did not prefer to lie down and groan. the blacks, my friends said, were kindly hearted, respectful, and well-disposed, but they were children; easily excited, easily tempted, easily misled, and totally unfit for self-government. if we wished to ruin them altogether, we should persevere in the course to which, they were sorry to hear, we were so inclined. the real want in the island was of intelligent englishmen to employ and direct them, and englishmen were going away so fast that they feared there would soon be none of them left. this was the opinion of two moderate and excellent men, whose natural and professional prejudices were all on the black man's side. it was confirmed both in its favourable and unfavourable aspects by another impartial authority. my first american acquaintances had gone, but their rooms were occupied by another of their countrymen, a specimen of a class of whom more will be heard in jamaica if the fates are kind. the english in the island cast in their lot with sugar, and if sugar is depressed they lose heart. americans keep their 'eyes skinned,' as they call it, to look out for other openings. they have discovered, as i said, 'that there are dollars in jamaica,' and one has come, and has set up a trade in plantains, in which he is making a fortune; and this gentleman has perceived that there were 'dollars in the bamboo,' and for bamboos there was no place in the world like the west indies. he came to jamaica, brought machines to clear the fibre, tried to make ropes of it, to make canvas, paper, and i know not what. i think he told me that he had spent a quarter of a million dollars, instead of finding any, before he hit upon a paying use for it. the bamboo fibre has certain elastic incompressible properties in which it is without a rival. he forms it into 'packing' for the boxes of the wheels of railway carriages, where it holds oil like a sponge, never hardens, and never wears out. he sends the packing over the world, and the demand grows as it is tried. he has set up a factory, thirty miles from mandeville, in the valley of the black river. he has a large body of the negroes working for him who are said to be so unmanageable. he, like dr. nicholls in dominica, does not find them unmanageable at all. they never leave him; they work for him from year to year as regularly as if they were slaves. they have their small faults, but he does not magnify them into vices. they are attached to him with the old-fashioned affection which good labourers always feel for employers whom they respect, and dismissal is dreaded as the severest of punishments. in the course of time he thought that they might become fit for political privileges. to confer such privileges on them at present would fling jamaica back into absolute barbarism. i said i wished that more of his countrymen would come and settle in jamaica as he had done and a few others already. american energy would be like new blood in the veins of the poor island. he answered that many would probably come if they could be satisfied that there would be no more political experimenting; but they would not risk their capital if there was a chance of a black parliament. if we choose to make jamaica into a hayti, we need not look for americans down that way. let us hope that enthusiasm for constitutions will for once moderate its ardour. the black race has suffered enough at our hands. they have been sacrificed to slavery; are they to be sacrificed again to a dream or a doctrine? there has a new creed risen, while the old creed is failing. it has its priests and its prophets, its formulas and its articles of belief. * * * * * whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the radical faith. and the radical faith is this: all men are equal, and the voice of one is as the voice of another. and whereas one man is wise and another foolish, and one is upright and another crooked, yet in this suffrage none is greater or less than another. the vote is equal, the dignity co-eternal. truth is one and right is one; yet right is right because the majority so declare it, and justice is justice because the majority so declare it. and if the majority affirm one thing to-day, that is right; and if the majority affirm the opposite to-morrow, that is right. because the will of the majority is the ground of right and there is no other, &c. &c. &c. this is the radical faith, which, except every man do keep whole and undefiled, he is a tory and an enemy of the state, and without doubt shall perish everlastingly. once the radical was a liberal and went for toleration and freedom of opinion. he has become a believer now. he is right and you are wrong, and if you do not agree with him you are a fool, and you are wicked besides. voltaire says that atheism and superstition are the two poles of intellectual disease. superstition he thinks the worse of the two. the atheist is merely mistaken, and can be cured if you show him that he is wrong. the fanatic can never be cured. yet each alike, if he prevails, will destroy human society. what would voltaire have expected for poor mankind had he seen both the precious qualities combined in this new _symbolum fidei_? a creed is not a reasoned judgment based upon experience and insight. it is a child of imagination and passion. like an organised thing, it has its appointed period and then dies. you cannot argue it out of existence. it works for good; it works for evil; but work it will while the life is in it. faith, we are told, is not contradictory to reason, but is above reason. whether reason or faith sees truer, events will prove. one more observation this american gentleman made to me. he was speaking of the want of spirit and of the despondency of the west indian whites. 'i never knew, sir,' he said, 'any good come of desponding men. if you intend to strike a mark, you had better believe that you can strike it. no one ever hit anything if he thought that he was most likely to miss it. you must take a cheerful view of things, or you will have no success in this world.' 'tyne heart tyne a',' the scotch proverb says. the anglo-west indians are tyning heart, and that is the worst feature about them. they can get no help except in themselves, and they can help themselves after all if we allow them fair play. the americans will not touch them politically, but they will trade with them; they will bring their capital and their skill and knowledge among them, and make the islands richer and more prosperous than ever they were--on one condition: they will risk nothing in such enterprises as long as the shadow hangs over them of a possible government by a black majority. let it suffice to have created one ireland without deliberately manufacturing a second. chapter xvi. jamaican hospitality--cherry garden--george william gordon--the gordon riots--governor eyre--a dispute and its consequences--jamaican country-house society--modern speculation--a spanish fable--port royal--the commodore--naval theatricals--the modern sailor. the surviving representatives of the jamaican gentry are as hospitable as their fathers and grandfathers used to be. an english visitor who wishes to see the island is not allowed to take his chance at hotels--where, indeed, his chance would be a bad one. a single acquaintance is enough to start with. he is sent on with letters of introduction from one house to another, and is assured of a favourable reception. i was treated as kindly as any stranger would be, and that was as kindly as possible. but friends do not ask us to stay with them that their portraits may be drawn in the traveller's journals; and i mention no one who was thus good to me, unless some general interest attaches either to himself or his residence. such interest does, however, attach to a spot where, after leaving mandeville, i passed a few days. the present owner of it was the chief manager of the kingston branch of the colonial bank: a clever accomplished man of business, who understood the financial condition of the west indies better perhaps than any other man living. he was a botanist besides; he had a fine collection of curious plants which were famous in the island; and was otherwise a gentleman of the highest standing and reputation. his lady was one of the old island aristocracy--high-bred, cultivated, an accomplished artist; a person who would have shone anywhere and in any circle, and was, therefore, contented to be herself, and indifferent whether she shone or not. a visit in such a family was likely to be instructive, and was sure to be agreeable; and on these grounds alone i should have accepted gratefully the opportunity of knowing them better which they kindly made for me by an invitation to stay with them. but their place, which was called cherry garden, and which i had seen from the grounds at government house, had a further importance of its own in having been the home of the unfortunate george william gordon. the disturbances with which mr. gordon was connected, and for his share in which he was executed, are so recent and so notorious that i need give no detailed account of them, though, of course, i looked into the history again and listened to all that i could hear about it. though i had taken no part in mr. eyre's defence, i was one of those who thought from the first that mr. eyre had been unworthily sacrificed to public clamour. had the agitation in jamaica spread, and taken the form which it easily might have taken, he would have been blamed as keenly by one half the world if he had done nothing to check it as he was blamed, in fact, by the other for too much energy. carlyle used to say that it was as if, when a ship had been on fire, and the captain by skill and promptitude had put the fire out, his owner were to say to him, 'sir, you poured too much water down the hold and damaged the cargo.' the captain would answer, 'yes, sir, but i have saved your ship.' this was the view which i carried with me to jamaica, and i have brought it back with me the same in essentials, though qualified by clearer perceptions of the real nature of the situation. something of a very similar kind had happened in natal just before i visited that colony in . i had seen the whites there hardly recovering from a panic in which a common police case had been magnified by fear into the beginning of an insurrection. langalibalele, a caffre chief within the british dominions, had been insubordinate. he had been sent for to maritzberg, and had invented excuses for disobedience to a lawful order. the whites believed at once that there was to be a general caffre rebellion in which they would all be murdered. they resolved to be beforehand with it. they carried fire and sword through two considerable tribes. at first they thought that they had covered themselves with glory; calmer reflection taught many of them that perhaps they had been too hasty, and that langalibalele had never intended to rebel at all. the jamaican disturbance was of a similar kind. mr. gordon had given less provocation than the caffre chief, but the circumstances were analogous, and the actual danger was probably greater. jamaica had then constitutional, though not what is called responsible, government. the executive power remained with the crown. there had been differences of opinion between the governor and the assembly. gordon, a man of colour, was a prominent member of the opposition. he had called public meetings of the blacks in a distant part of the island, and was endeavouring to bring the pressure of public opinion on the opposition side. imprudent as such a step might have been among an ignorant and excitable population, where whites and blacks were so unequal in numbers, and where they knew so little of each other, mr. gordon was not going beyond what in constitutional theory he was legally entitled to do; nor was his language on the platform, though violent and inflammatory, any more so than what we listen to patiently at home. under a popular constitution the people are sovereign; the members of the assemblies are popular delegates; and when there is a diversion of opinion any man has a right to call the constituencies to express their sentiments. if stones were thrown at the police and seditious cries were raised, it was no more than might be reasonably expected. we at home can be calm on such occasions because we know that there is no real danger, and that the law is strong enough to assert itself. in jamaica a few thousand white people were living in the middle of negroes forty times their number--once their slaves, now raised to be their political equals--each regarding the other on the least provocation with resentment and suspicion. in england the massacre in hayti is a half-forgotten story. not one person in a thousand of those who clamoured for the prosecution of governor eyre had probably ever heard of it. in jamaica it is ever present in the minds of the europeans as a frightful evidence of what the negroes are capable when roused to frenzy. the french planters had done nothing particularly cruel to deserve their animosity, and were as well regarded by their slaves as ever we had been in the english islands. yet in a fever of political excitement, and as a reward for the decree of the paris revolutionary government, which declared them free, they allowed the liberty which was to have elevated them to the white man's level to turn them into devils; and they massacred the whole of the french inhabitants. it was inevitable that when the volcano in jamaica began to show symptoms of similar activity the whites residing there should be unable to look on with the calmness which we, from thousands of miles away, unreasonably expected of them. they imagined their houses in flames, and themselves and their families at the mercy of a furious mob. no personal relation between the two races has grown up to take the place of slavery. the white gentry have blacks for labourers, blacks for domestic servants, yet as a rule (though, of course, there are exceptions) they have no interest in each other, no esteem nor confidence: therefore any symptom of agitation is certain to produce a panic, and panic is always violent. the blacks who attended gordon's meetings came armed with guns and cutlasses; a party of white volunteers went in consequence to watch them, and to keep order if they showed signs of meaning insurrection. stones were thrown; the riot act was read, more stones followed, and then the volunteers fired, and several persons were killed. of course there was fury. the black mob then actually did rise. they marched about that particular district destroying plantations and burning houses. that they did so little, and that the flame did not spread, was a proof that there was no premeditation of rebellion, no prepared plan of action, no previous communication between the different parts of the island with a view to any common movement. there was no proof, and there was no reason to suppose, that gordon had intended an armed outbreak. he would have been a fool if he had, when constitutional agitation and the weight of numbers at his back would have secured him all that he wanted. when inflammable materials are brought together, and sparks are flying, you cannot equitably distribute the blame or the punishment. eyre was responsible for the safety of the island. he was not a jamaican. the rule in the colonial service is that a governor remains in any colony only long enough to begin to understand it. he is then removed to another of which he knows nothing. he is therefore absolutely dependent in any difficulty upon local advice. when the riots began every white man in jamaica was of one opinion, that unless the fire was stamped out promptly they would all be murdered. being without experience himself, it was very difficult for mr. eyre to disregard so complete a unanimity. i suppose that a perfectly calm and determined man would have seen in the unanimity itself the evidence of alarm and imagination. he ought perhaps to have relied entirely on the police and the regular troops, and to have called in the volunteers. but here again was a difficulty; for the police were black, and the west india regiments were black, and the sepoy rebellion was fresh in everybody's memory. he had no time to deliberate. he had to act, and to act promptly; and if, relying on his own judgment, he had disregarded what everyone round him insisted upon, and if mischief had afterwards come of it, the censure which would have fallen upon him would have been as severe as it would have been deserved. he assumed that the english colonists were right and that a general rebellion had begun. they all armed. they formed into companies. the disturbed district was placed under martial law, and these extemporised regiments, too few in number to be merciful, saw safety only in striking terror into the poor wretches. it was in jamaica as it was in natal afterwards; but we must allow for human nature and not be hasty to blame. if the rising at morant bay was but the boiling over of a pot from the orator of an excited patriot, there was deplorable cruelty and violence. but, again, it was all too natural. men do not bear easily to see their late servants on their way to become their political masters, and they believe the worst of them because they are afraid. a model governor would have rather restrained their ardour than encouraged it; but all that can be said against mr. eyre (so far as regarded the general suppression of the insurgents) is that he acted as nine hundred and ninety-nine men out of a thousand would have acted in his place, and more ought not to be expected of average colonial governors. his treatment of gordon, the original cause of the disturbance, was more questionable. gordon had returned to his own house, the house where i was going, within sight of eyre's windows. it would have been fair, and perhaps right, to arrest him, and right also to bring him to trial, if he had committed any offence for which he could be legally punished. so strong was the feeling against him that, if every white man in kingston had been empannelled, there would have been a unanimous verdict, and they would not have looked too closely into niceties of legal construction. unfortunately it was doubtful whether gordon had done anything which could be construed into a capital crime. he had a right to call public meetings together. he had a right to appeal to political passions, and to indulge as freely as he pleased in the patriotic commonplaces of platforms, provided he did not himself advise or encourage a breach of the peace, and this it could not be easily proved that he had done. he was, however, the leader of the opposition to the government. the opposition had broken into a riot, and gordon was guilty of having excited the feelings which led to it. the leader could not be allowed to escape unpunished while his followers were being shot and flogged. the kingston district where he resided was under the ordinary law. eyre sent him into the district which was under martial law, tried him by a military court and hanged him. the cabinet at home at first thanked their representative for having saved the island. a clamour rose, and they sent out a commission to examine into what had happened. the commission reported unfavourably, and eyre was dismissed and ruined. in jamaica i never heard anyone express a doubt on the full propriety of his action. he carried away with him the affection and esteem of the whole of the english colonists, who believe that he saved them from destruction. in my own opinion the fault was not in mr. eyre, and was not in the unfortunate gordon, but in those who had insisted on applying a constitutional form of government to a country where the population is so unfavourably divided. if the numbers of white and black were more nearly equal, the objection would be less, for the natural superiority of the white would then assert itself without difficulty, and there would be no panics. where the disproportion is so enormous as it is in jamaica, where intelligence and property are in a miserable minority, and a half-reclaimed race of savages, cannibals not long ago, and capable, as the state of hayti shows, of reverting to cannibalism again, are living beside them as their political equals, such panics arise from the nature of things, and will themselves cause the catastrophe from the dread of which they spring. mutual fear and mistrust can lead to nothing in the end but violent collisions. the theory of constitutional government is that the majority shall rule the minority, and as long as the qualities, moral and mental, of the parties are not grossly dissimilar, such an arrangement forms a tolerable _modus vivendi_. where in character, in mental force, in energy, in cultivation, there is no equality at all, but an inequality which has existed for thousands of years, and is as plain to-day as it was in the egypt of the pharaohs, to expect that the intelligent few will submit to the unintelligent many is to expect what has never been found and what never ought to be found. the whites cannot be trusted to rule the blacks, but for the blacks to rule the whites is a yet grosser anomaly. were england out of the way, there would be a war of extermination between them. england prohibits it, and holds the balance in forced equality. england, therefore, so long as the west indies are english, must herself rule, and rule impartially, and so acquit herself of her self-chosen responsibilities. let the colonies which are occupied by our own race rule themselves as we rule ourselves. the english constituencies have no rights over the constituencies of canada and australia, for the canadians and australians are as well able to manage their own affairs as we are to manage ours. if they prefer even to elect governors of their own, let them do as they please. the link between us is community of blood and interest, and will not part over details of administration. but in these other colonies which are our own we must accept the facts as they are. those who will not recognise realities are always beaten in the end. the train from porus brought us back to kingston an hour before sunset. the evening was lovely, even for jamaica. the sea breeze had fallen. the land breeze had not risen, and the dust lay harmless on road and hedge. cherry garden, to which i was bound, was but seven miles distant by the direct road, so i calculated on a delightful drive which would bring me to my destination before dark. so i calculated; but alas! for human expectation. i engaged a 'buggy' at the station, with a decent-looking conductor, who assured me that he knew the way to cherry garden as well as to his own door. his horse looked starved and miserable. he insisted that there was not another in kingston that was more than a match for it. we set out, and for the first two or three miles we went on well enough, conversing amicably upon things in general. but it so happened that it was again market day. the road was thronged as before with women plodding along with their baskets on their heads, a single male on a donkey to each detachment of them, carrying nothing, like an officer with a company of soldiers. foolish indignation rose in me, and i asked my friend if he was not ashamed of seeing the poor creatures toiling so cruelly, while their lords and masters amused themselves. i appealed to his feelings as a man, as if it was likely that he had got any. the wretch only laughed. 'ah, massa,' he said, with his tongue in his cheek, 'women do women's work, men do men's work--all right.' 'and what is men's work?' i asked. instead of answering he went on, 'look at they women, massa--how they laugh--how happy they be! nobody more happy than black woman, massa.' i would not let him off. i pricked into him, till he got excited too, and we argued and contradicted each other, till at last the horse, finding he was not attended to, went his own way and that was a wrong one. between kingston and our destination there is a deep sandy flat, overgrown with bush and penetrated in all directions with labyrinthine lanes. into this we had wandered in our quarrels, and neither of us knew where we were. the sand was loose; our miserable beast was above his fetlocks in it, and was visibly dropping under his efforts to drag us along even at a walk. the sun went down. the tropic twilight is short. the evening star shone out in the west, and the crescent moon over our heads. my man said this and said that; every word was a lie, for he had lost his way and would not allow it. we saw a light through some trees. i sent him to inquire. we were directed one way and another way, every way except the right one. we emerged at last upon a hard road of some kind. the stars told me the general direction. we came to cottages where the name of cherry garden was known, and we were told that it was two miles off; but alas! again there were two roads to it; a short and good one, and a long and bad one, and they sent us by the last. there was a steep hill to climb, for the house is feet above the sea. the horse could hardly crawl, and my 'nigger' went to work to flog him to let off his own ill humour. i had to stop that by force, and at last, as it grew too dark to see the road under the trees, i got out and walked, leaving him to follow at a foot's pace. the night was lovely. i began to think that we should have to camp out after all, and that it would be no great hardship. it was like the gloaming of a june night in england, the daylight in the open spots not entirely gone, and mixing softly with the light of moon and planet and the flashing of the fireflies. i plodded on mile after mile, and cherry garden still receded to one mile farther. we came to a gate of some consequence. the outline of a large mansion was visible with gardens round it. i concluded that we had arrived, and was feeling for the latch when the forms of a lady and gentleman appeared against the sky who were strolling in the grounds. they directed me still upwards, with the mile which never diminished still to be travelled. like myself, our weary animal had gathered hopes from the sight of the gate. he had again to drag on as he could. his owner was subdued and silent, and obeyed whatever order i gave him. the trees now closed over us so thick that i could see nothing. vainly i repented of my unnecessary philanthropy which had been the cause of the mischief; what had i to do with black women, or white either for that matter? i had to feel the way with my feet and a stick. i came to a place where the lane again divided. i tried the nearest turn. i found a trench across it three feet deep, which had been cut by a torrent. this was altogether beyond the capacity of our unfortunate animal, so i took the other boldly, prepared if it proved wrong to bivouac till morning with my 'nigger,' and go on with my argument. happily there was no need; we came again on a gate which led into a field. there was a drive across it and wire fences. finally lights began to glimmer and dogs to bark: we were at the real cherry garden at last, and found the whole household alarmed for what had become of us. i could not punish my misleader by stinting his fare, for i knew that i had only myself to blame. he was an honest fellow after all. in the disturbance of my mind i left a rather valuable umbrella in his buggy. he discovered it after he had gone, and had grace enough to see that it was returned to me. my entertainers were much amused at the cause of the misadventure, perhaps unique of its kind; to address homilies to the black people on the treatment of their wives not being the fashion in these parts. if there are no more aaron bangs in jamaica, there are very charming people; as i found when i turned this new leaf in my west indian experience. mr. m---- could not have taken more pains with me if i had been his earliest friend. the chief luxury which he allowed himself in his simple life was a good supply of excellent horses. his business took him every day to kingston, but he left me in charge of his family, and i had 'a good time,' as the americans say. the house was large, with fine airy rooms, a draught so constantly blowing through it that the candles had to be covered with bell glasses; but the draughts in these countries are the very breath of life. it had been too dark when i arrived to see anything of the surroundings, and the next morning i strolled out to see what the place was like. it lies just at the foot of the blue mountains, where the gradual slope from the sea begins to become steep. the plain of kingston lay stretched before me, with its woods and cornfields and villas, the long straggling town, the ships at anchor in the harbour, the steamers passing in and out with their long trails of smoke, the sand-spit like a thin grey line lying upon the water, as the natural breakwater by which the harbour is formed, and beyond it the broad blue expanse of the caribbean sea. the foreground was like an english park, studded over with handsome forest trees and broken by the rains into picturesque ravines. some acres were planted with oranges of the choicer sorts, as an experiment to show what jamaica could do, but they were as yet young and had not come into bearing. round the house were gardens where the treasures of our hot-houses were carelessly and lavishly scattered. stephanotis trailed along the railing or climbed over the trellis. oleanders white and pink waved over marble basins, and were sprinkled by the spray from spouting fountains. crotons stood about in tubs, not small plants as we know them, but large shrubs; great purple or parti-coloured bushes. they have a fancy for crotons in the west indies; i suppose as a change from the monotony of green. i cannot share it. a red leaf, except in autumn before it falls, is a kind of monster, and i am glad that nature has made so few of them. in the shade of the trees behind the house was a collection of orchids, the most perfect, i believe, in the island. [illustration: kingston and harbour from cherry garden.] and here gordon had lived. here he had been arrested and carried away to his death; his crime being that he had dreamt of regenerating the negro race by baptising them in the jordan of english radicalism. he would have brought about nothing but confusion, and have precipitated jamaica prematurely into the black anarchy into which perhaps it is still destined to fall. but to hang him was an extreme measure, and, in the present state of public opinion, a dangerous one. one does not associate the sons of darkness with keen perceptions of the beautiful. yet no mortal ever selected a lovelier spot for a residence than did gordon in choosing cherry garden. how often had his round dark eyes wandered over the scenes at which i was gazing, watched the early rays of the sun slanting upwards to the high peaks of the blue mountains, or the last as he sank in gold and crimson behind the hills at mandeville; watched the great steamers entering or leaving port royal, and at night the gleam of the lighthouse from among the palm trees on the spit. poor fellow! one felt very sorry for him, and sorry for mr. eyre, too. the only good that came of it all was the surrender of the constitution and the return to crown government, and this our wonderful statesmen are beginning to undo. no one understood better than mr. m---- the troubles and dangers of the colony, but he was inclined, perhaps by temperament, perhaps by knowledge, to take a cheerful view of things. for the present at least he did not think that there was anything serious to be feared. the finances, of which he had the best means of judging, were in tolerable condition. the debt was considerable, but more than half of it was represented by a railway. if sugar was languishing, the fruit trade with the united states was growing with the liveliest rapidity. planters and merchants were not making fortunes, but business went on. the shares in the colonial bank were not at a high quotation, but the securities were sound, the shareholders got good dividends, and eight and ten per cent. was the interest charged on loans. high interest might be a good sign or a bad one. anyway mr. m---- could not see that there was much to be afraid of in jamaica. there had been bad times before, and they had survived notwithstanding. he was a man of business, and talked himself little about politics. as it had been, so it would be again. in his absence at his work i found friends in the neighbourhood who were all attention and politeness. one took me to see my acquaintances at the camp again. another drove me about, showed me the house where scott had lived, the author of 'tom cringle.' one round in particular left a distinct impression. it was through a forest which had once been a flourishing sugar estate. deep among the trees were the ruins of an aqueduct which had brought water to the mill, now overgrown and crumbling. the time had not been long as we count time in the history of nations, but there had been enough for the arches to fall in, the stream to return to its native bed, the tropical vegetation to spring up in its wild luxuriance and bury in shade the ruins of a past civilisation. i fell in with interesting persons who talked metaphysics and theology with me, though one would not have expected it in jamaica. in this strange age of ours the spiritual atmosphere is more confused than at any period during the last eighteen hundred years. men's hearts are failing them for fear, not knowing any longer where to rest. we look this way and that way, and catch at one another like drowning men. go where you will, you find the same phenomena. science grows, and observers are adding daily to our knowledge of the nature and structure of the material universe, but they tell us nothing, and can tell us nothing, of what we most want to know. they cannot tell us what our own nature is. they cannot tell us what god is, or what duty is. we had a belief once, in which, as in a boat, we floated safely on the unknown ocean; but the philosophers and critics have been boring holes in the timbers to examine the texture of the wood, and now it leaks at every one of them. we have to help ourselves in the best way that we can. some strike out new ideas for themselves, others go back to the seven sages, and lay again for themselves the old eggs, which, after laborious incubation, will be addled as they were addled before. to my metaphysical friends in jamaica the 'light of asia' had been shining amidst german dreams, and the moonlight of the vedas had been illuminating the pessimism of schopenhauer. so it is all round. mr. ---- goes to mount carmel to listen for communications from elijah; fashionable countesses to the shrine of our lady at lourdes. 'are you a buddhist?' lisps the young lady in mayfair to the partner with whom she is sitting out at a ball. 'it is so nice,' said a gentleman to me who has been since promoted to high office in an unfortunate colony, 'it is so nice to talk of such things to pretty girls, and it always ends in one way, you know.' conversations on theology, at least between persons of opposite sex, ought to be interdicted by law for everyone under forty. but there are questions on which old people may be permitted to ask one another what they think, if it only be for mutual comfort in the general vacancy. we are born alone, we pass alone into the great darkness. when the curtain falls is the play over? or is a new act to commence? are we to start again in a new sphere, carrying with us what we have gained in the discipline of our earthly trials? are we to become again as we were before we came into this world, when eternity had not yet splintered into time, or the universal being dissolved into individual existences? for myself, i have long ceased to speculate on these subjects, being convinced that they have no bottom which can be reasoned out by the intellect. we are in a world where much can be learnt which affects our own and others' earthly welfare, and we had better leave the rest alone. yet one listens and cannot choose but sympathise when anxious souls open out to you what is going on within them. a spanish legend, showing with whom these inquiries began and with what result, is not without its value. jupiter, having made the world, proceeded to make animals to live in it. the ass was the earliest created. he looked about him. he looked at himself; and, as the habit of asses is, he asked himself what it all meant; what it was to be an ass, where did he come from, and what he was for? not being able to discover, he applied to his maker. jupiter told him that he was made to be the slave of another animal to be called man. he was to carry men on his back, drag loads for them, and be their drudge. he was to live on thistles and straw, and to be beaten continually with sticks and ropes'-ends. the ass complained. he said that he had done nothing to deserve so hard a fate. he had not asked to be born, and he would rather not have been born. he inquired how long this life, or whatever it was, had to continue. jupiter said it had to last thirty years. the poor ass was in consternation. if jupiter would reduce the thirty to ten he undertook to be patient, to be a good servant, and to do his work patiently. jupiter reflected and consented, and the ass retired grateful and happy. the dog, who had been born meanwhile, heard what had passed. he, too, went to jupiter with the same question. he learnt that he also was a slave to men. in the day he was to catch their game for them, but was not to eat it himself. at night he was to be chained by a ring and to lie awake to guard their houses. his food was to be bones and refuse. like the ass he was to have had thirty years of it, but on petition they were similarly exchanged for ten. the monkey came next. his function, he was told, was to mimic humanity, to be led about by a string, and grimace and dance for men's amusement. he also remonstrated at the length of time, and obtained the same favour. last came the man himself. conscious of boundless desires and, as he imagined, of boundless capabilities, he did not inquire what he was, or what he was to do. those questions had been already answered by his vanity. he did not come to ask for anything, but to thank jupiter for having created so glorious a being and to ascertain for how many ages he might expect to endure. the god replied that thirty years was the term allotted to all personal existences. 'only thirty years!' he exclaimed. 'only thirty years for such capacities as mine. thirty years will be gone like a dream. extend them! oh, extend them, gracious jupiter, that i may have leisure to use the intellect which thou hast given me, search into the secrets of nature, do great and glorious actions, and serve and praise thee, o my creator! longer and more worthily.' the lip of the god curled lightly, and again he acquiesced. 'i have some spare years to dispose of,' he said, 'of which others of my creatures have begged to be relieved. you shall have thirty years of your own. from thirty to fifty you shall have the ass's years, and labour and sweat for your support. from fifty to seventy you shall have the dog's years, and take care of the stuff, and snarl and growl at what younger men are doing. from seventy to ninety you shall have the monkey's years, and smirk and grin and make yourself ridiculous. after that you may depart.' * * * * * i was going on to cuba. the commodore had insisted on my spending my last days with him at port royal. he undertook to see me on board the steamer as it passed out of the harbour. i have already described his quarters. the naval station has no colonial character except the climate, and is english entirely. the officers are the servants of the admiralty, not of the colonial government. their interests are in their profession. they look to promotion in other parts of the world, and their functions are on the ocean and not on the land. the commodore is captain of the guardship; but he has a commander under him and he resides on shore. everyone employed in the dockyard, even down to his own household, is rated on the ship's books, consequently they are all men. there is not a woman servant about the place, save his lady's ladies'-maid. his daughters learn to take care of themselves, and are not brought up to find everything done for them. his boys are about the world in active service growing into useful and honourable manhood. thus the whole life tastes of the element to which it belongs, and is salt and healthy as the ocean itself. it was not without its entertainments. the officers of the garrison were to give a ball. the young ladies of kingston are not afraid of the water, cross the harbour in the steam launches, dance till the small hours, return in the dark, drive their eight or ten miles home, and think nothing of it. in that climate, night is pleasanter to be abroad in than day. i could not stay to be present, but i was in the midst of the preparations, and one afternoon there was a prospect of a brilliant addition to the party. a yacht steamed inside the point--long, narrow, and swift as a torpedo boat. she carried american colours, and we heard that she was the famous vessel of the yet more famous mr. vanderbilt, who was on board with his family. here was an excitement! the commodore was ordered to call the instant that she was anchored. invitations were prepared--all was eagerness. alas! she did not anchor at all. she learnt from the pilot that, the small-pox being in jamaica, if any of her people landed there she would be quarantined in the other islands, and to the disappointment of everyone, even of myself, who would gladly have seen the great millionaire, she turned about and went off again to sea. i was very happy at the commodore's--low spirits not being allowed in that wholesome element. decks were washed every morning as if at sea, i.e. every floor was scrubbed and scoured. it was an eternal washing day, lines of linen flying in the brisk sea breeze. the commodore was always busy making work if none had been found for him. he took me one day to see the rock spring where rodney watered his fleet, as the great admiral describes in one of his letters, and from which port royal now draws its supply. the spring itself bursts full and clear out of the limestone rock close to the shore, four or five miles from kingston. there is a natural basin, slightly improved by art, from which the old conduit pipes carry the stream to the sea. the tug comes daily, fills its tanks, and returns. the commodore has tidied up the place, planted shrubs, and cleared away the bush; but half the water at least, is still allowed to leak away, and turns the hollow below into an unwholesome swamp. it may be a necessity, but it is also a misfortune, that the officers at distant stations hold their appointments for so short a term. by the time that they have learnt what can or ought to be done, they are sent elsewhere, and their successor has to begin over again. the water in this spring, part of which is now worse than wasted and the rest carried laboriously in a vessel to port royal to be sold by measure to the people there, might be all conducted thither by pipes at small cost and trouble, were the commodore to remain a few years longer at the jamaica station. he is his own boatman, and we had some fine sails about the lagoon--the breeze always fresh and the surface always smooth. the shallow bays swarm with small fish, and it was a pretty thing to watch the pelicans devouring them. they gather in flocks, sweep and wheel in the air, and when they plunge they strike the water with a violence which one would expect would break their wings. they do not dive, but seize their prey with their long, broad bills, and seem never to miss. between the ships and the barracks, there are many single men in port royal, for whom amusement has to be found if they are to be kept from drink. a canteen is provided for them, with bowling alley, tennis court, beer in moderation, and a reading room, for such as like it, with reviews and magazines and newspapers they can fish if they want sport, and there are sharks in plenty a cable's length from shore; but the schoolmaster has been abroad, and tastes run in more refined directions. the blacks of tobago acted 'the merchant of venice' before governor s----. the ships' companies of the gunboats at port royal gave a concert while i was there. the officers took no part, and left the men to manage it as they pleased. the commodore brought his party; the garrison, the crews of the other ships, and stray visitors came, and the large room at the canteen was completely full. the taste of the audience was curious. dibdin was off the boards altogether, and favour was divided between the london popular comic song and the sentimental--no longer with any flavour of salt about it, but the sentimental spoony and sickly. 'she wore a wreath of roses' called out the highest enthusiasm. one of the performers recited a long poem of his own about mary stuart, 'the lovely and unfortunate.' then followed the buffoonery; and this was at least genuine rough and tumble if there was little wit in it. a lad capered about on a tournament horse which flung him every other moment. various persons pretended to be drunk, and talked and staggered as drunken men do. then there was a farce, how conceived and by what kind of author i was puzzled to make out. a connoisseur of art is looking for greek antiques. he has heard that a statue has recently been discovered of 'ajax quarrelling with his mother-in-law.' what ajax was quarrelling about or who his mother-in-law might be does not appear. a couple of rogues, each unknown to the other, practise on the connoisseur's credulity. each promises him the statue; each dresses up a confederate on a pedestal with a modern soldier's helmet and a blanket to represent a greek hero. the two figures are shown to him. one of them, i forget how, contrived to pass as ajax; the other had turned into hercules doing something to the stymphalides. at last they get tired of standing to be looked at, jump down, and together knock over the connoisseur. ajax then turns on hercules, who, of course, is ready for a row. they fight till they are tired, and then make it up over a whisky bottle. so entirely new an aspect of the british tar took me by surprise, and i speculated whether the inventors and performers of this astonishing drama were an advance on the ben bunting type. i was, of course, inclined to say no, but my tendency is to dislike changes, and i allow for it. the commodore said that in certain respects there really was an advance. the seamen fell into few scrapes, and they did not get drunk so often. this was a hardy assertion of the commodore, as a good many of them were drunk at that moment. i could see myself that they were better educated. if ben bunting had been asked who ajax and hercules were, he would have taken them to be three-deckers which were so named, and his knowledge would have gone no farther. whether these tars of the new era are better sailors and braver and truer men is another question. they understand their rights much better, if that does any good to them. the officers used to be treated with respect at all times and seasons. this is now qualified. when they are on duty, the men are as respectful as they used to be; when they are off duty, the commodore himself is only old h----. we returned to the dockyard in a boat under a full moon, the guardship gleaming white in the blue midnight and the phosphorescent water flashing under the oars. the 'dee,' which was to take me to havana, was off port royal on the following morning. the commodore put me on board in his gig, with the white ensign floating over the stern. i took leave of him with warm thanks for his own and his family's hospitable entertainment of me. the screw went round--we steamed away out of the harbour, and jamaica and the kind friends whom i had found there faded out of sight. jamaica was the last of the english west india islands which i visited. i was to see it again, but i will here set down the impressions which had been left upon me by what i had seen there and seen in the antilles. chapter xvii. present state of jamaica--test of progress--resources of the island--political alternatives--black supremacy and probable consequences--the west indian problem. as i was stepping into the boat at port royal, a pamphlet was thrust into my hand, which i was entreated to read at my leisure. it was by some discontented white of the island--no rare phenomenon, and the subject of it was the precipitate decline in the value of property there. the writer, unlike the planters, insisted that the people were taxed in proportion to their industry. there were taxes on mules, on carts, on donkeys, all bearing on the small black proprietors, whose ability to cultivate was thus checked, and who were thus deliberately encouraged in idleness. he might have added, although he did not, that while both in jamaica and trinidad everyone is clamouring against the beetroot bounty which artificially lowers the price of sugar, the local councils in these two islands try to counteract the effect and artificially raise the price of sugar by an export duty on their own produce--a singular method of doing it which, i presume, admits of explanation. my pamphleteer was persuaded that all the world were fools, and that he and his friends were the only wise ones: again a not uncommon occurrence in pamphleteers. he demanded the suppression of absenteeism; he demanded free trade. in exchange for the customs duties, which were to be abolished, he demanded a land tax--the very mention of which, i had been told by others, drove the black proprietors whom he wished to benefit into madness. he wanted home rule. he wanted fifty things besides which i have forgotten, but his grand want of all was a new currency. mankind, he thought, had been very mad at all periods of their history. the most significant illustration of their madness had been the selection of gold and silver as the medium of exchange. the true base of the currency was the land. the government of jamaica was to lend to every freeholder up to the mortgage value of his land in paper notes, at per cent. interest, the current rate being at present per cent. the notes so issued, having the land as their security, would be in no danger of depreciation, and they would flow over the sugar estates like an irrigating stream. on the produce of sugar the fate of the island depended. on the produce of sugar? and why not on the produce of a fine race of men? the prospects of jamaica, the prospects of all countries, depend not on sugar or on any form or degree of material wealth, but on the characters of the men and women whom they are breeding and rearing. where there are men and women of a noble nature, the rest will go well of itself; where these are not, there will be no true prosperity though the sugar hogsheads be raised from thousands into millions. the colonies are interesting only as offering homes where english people can increase and multiply; english of the old type with simple habits, who do not need imported luxuries. there is room even in the west indies for hundreds of thousands of them if they can be contented to lead human lives, and do not go there to make fortunes which they are to carry home with them. the time may not be far off when men will be sick of making fortunes, sick of being ground to pattern in the commonplace mill-wheel of modern society; sick of a state of things which blights and kills simple and original feeling, which makes us think and speak and act under the tyranny of general opinion, which masquerades as liberty and means only submission to the newspapers. i can conceive some modern men may weary of all this, and retire from it like the old ascetics, not as they did into the wilderness, but behind their own walls and hedges, shutting out the world and its noises, to inquire whether after all they have really immortal souls, and, if they have, what ought to be done about them. the west india islands, with their inimitable climate and soil and prickly pears _ad libitum_ to make fences with, would be fine places for such recluses. failing these ideal personages, there is work enough of the common sort to create wholesome prosperity. there are oranges to be grown, and pines and plantains, and coffee and cocoa, and rice and indigo and tobacco, not to speak of the dollars which my american friend found in the bamboos, and of the further dollars which other americans will find in the untested qualities of thousands of other productions. here are opportunities for innocent industrious families, where children can be brought up to be manly and simple and true and brave as their fathers were brought up, or as their fathers expressed it 'in the nurture and admonition of the lord;' while such neighbours as their dark brothers-in-law might have a chance of a rise in life, in the only sense in which a 'rise' can be of real benefit to them. these are the objects which statesmen who have the care and conduct of a nation's welfare ought to set before themselves, and unfortunately they are the last which are remembered in countries which are popularly governed. there is a clamour for education in such countries, but education means to them only the sharpening of the faculties for the competitive race which is called progress. in democracies no one man is his brother's keeper. each lives and struggles to make his own way and his own position. all that is insisted on is that there shall be a fair stage and that every lad shall learn the use of the weapons which will enable him to fight his own way. [greek: aretê],'manliness,' the most essential of all acquisitions and the hardest to cultivate, as aristotle observed long ago, is assumed in democracies as a matter of course. of [greek: aretê] a moderate quantity [greek: hoposonoun] would do, and in aristotle's opinion this was the rock on which the greek republics foundered. their [greek: aretê] did not come as a matter of course, and they lost it, and the macedonians and the romans ate them up. from this point of view political problems, and the west indian among them, present unusual aspects. looking to the west indies only, we took possession of those islands when they were of supreme importance in our great wrestle with spain and france. we were fighting then for the liberties of the human race. the spaniards had destroyed the original carib and indian inhabitants. we induced thousands of our own fellow-countrymen to venture life and fortune in the occupation of our then vital conquests. for two centuries we furnished them with black servants whom we purchased on the african coast and carried over and sold there, making our own profits out of the trade, and the colonists prospered themselves and poured wealth and strength into the empire of which they were then an integral part. a change passed over the spirit of the age. liberty assumed a new dress. we found slavery to be a crime; we released our bondmen; we broke their chains as we proudly described it to ourselves; we compensated the owners, so far as money could compensate, for the entire dislocation of a state of society which we had ourselves created; and we trusted to the enchantment of liberty to create a better in its place. we had delivered our own souls; we had other colonies to take our emigrants. other lands under our open trade would supply us with the commodities for which we had hitherto been dependent on the west indies. they ceased to be of commercial, they ceased to be of political, moment to us, and we left them to their own resources. the modern english idea is that everyone must take care of himself. individuals or aggregates of individuals have the world before them, to open the oyster or fail to open it according to their capabilities. the state is not to help them; the state is not to interfere with them unless for political or party reasons it happens to be convenient. as we treat ourselves we treat our colonies. those who have gone thither have gone of their own free will, and must take the consequences of their own actions. we allow them no executional privileges which we do not claim for ourselves. they must stand, if they are to stand, by their own strength. if they cannot stand they must fall. this is our notion of education in 'manliness,' and for immediate purposes answers well enough. individual enterprise, unendowed but unfettered, built the main buttresses of the british colonial empire. australians and new zealanders are english and scotchmen who have settled at the antipodes where there is more room for them than at home. they are the same people as we are, and they have the same privileges as we have. they are parts of one and the same organic body as branches from the original trunk. the branch does not part from the trunk, but it discharges its own vital functions by its own energy, and we no more desire to interfere than london desires to interfere with manchester. so it stands with us where the colonists are of our race, with the same character and the same objects; and, as i said, the system answers. under no other relations could we continue a united people. but it does not answer--it has failed wherever we have tried it--when the majority of the inhabitants of countries of which for one or other reason we have possessed ourselves, and of which we keep possession, are not united to us by any of these natural bonds, where they have been annexed by violence or otherwise been forced under our flag. it has failed conspicuously in ireland. we know that it would fail in the east indies if we were rash enough to venture the experiment. self-government in connection with the british empire implies a desire or a willingness in those who are so left to themselves that the connection shall continue. we have been so sanguine as to believe that the privilege of being british subjects is itself sufficient to secure their allegiance; that the liberties which we concede will not be used for purposes which we are unable to tolerate; that, being left to govern themselves, they will govern in harmony with english interests and according to english principles. the privilege is not estimated so highly. they go their own way and not our way, and therefore we must look facts in the face as they are, and not as we wish them to be. if we extend to ireland the independence which only links us closer to australia, ireland will use it to break away from us. if we extend it to bengal and madras and bombay, we shall fling them into anarchy and bring our empire to an end. we cannot for our safety's sake part with ireland. we do not mean to part with our asiatic dominions. the reality of the relation in both cases is the superior force of england, and we must rely upon it and need not try to conceal that we do, till by the excellence of our administration we have converted submission into respect and respect into willingness for union. this may be a long process and a difficult one. if we choose to maintain our empire, however, we must pay the price for empire, and it is wiser, better, safer, in all cases to admit the truth and act upon it. yet englishmen so love liberty that they struggle against confessing what is disagreeable to them. many of us would give ireland, would give india home rule, and run the risk of what would happen, and only a probability, which reaches certainty, of the consequences to be expected to follow prevents us from unanimously agreeing. about the west indies we do not care very earnestly. nothing seriously alarming can happen there. so much, therefore, for the general policy of leaving them to help themselves out of their difficulties we have adopted completely. the corollary that they must govern themselves also on their own responsibilities we hesitate as yet to admit completely; but we do not recognise that any responsibility for their failing condition rests on us; and the inclination certainly, and perhaps the purpose, is to throw them entirely upon themselves at the earliest moment. cuba sends representatives to the cortes at madrid, martinique and guadaloupe to the assembly at paris. in the english islands, being unwilling to govern without some semblance of a constitution, we try tentatively varieties of local boards and local councils, admitting the elective principle but not daring to trust it fully; creating hybrid constitutions, so contrived as to provoke ill feeling where none would exist without them, and to make impossible any tolerable government which could actively benefit the people. we cannot intend that arrangements the effects of which are visible so plainly in the sinking fortunes of our own kindred there, are to continue for ever. we suppose that we cannot go back in these cases. it is to be presumed, therefore, that we mean to go forward, and in doing so i venture to think myself that we shall be doing equal injustice both to our own race and to the blacks, and we shall bring the islands into a condition which will be a reproach and scandal to the empire of which they will remain a dishonoured part. the slave trade was an imperial monopoly, extorted by force, guaranteed by treaties, and our white west indian interest was built up in connection with and in reliance upon it. we had a right to set the slaves free; but the payment of the indemnity was no full acquittance of our obligations for the condition of a society which we had ourselves created. we have no more right to make the emancipated slave his master's master in virtue of his numbers than we have a right to lay under the heel of the catholics of ireland the protestant minority whom we planted there to assist us in controlling them. it may be said that we have no intention of doing anything of the kind, that no one at present dreams of giving a full colonial constitution to the west indian islands. they are allowed such freedom as they are capable of using; they can be allowed more as they are better educated and more fit for it, &c. &c. one knows all that, and one knows what it is worth in the half-elected, half-nominated councils. either the nominated members are introduced merely as a drag upon the wheel, and are instructed to yield in the end to the demands of the representative members, or they are themselves the representatives of the white minority. if the first, the majority rule already; if the second, such constitutions are contrived ingeniously to create the largest amount of irritation, and to make impossible, as long as they last, any form of effective and useful government. therefore they cannot last, and are not meant to last. a principle once conceded develops with the same certainty with which a seed grows when it is sown. in the english world, as it now stands, there is no middle alternative between self-government and government by the crown, and the cause of our reluctance to undertake direct charge of the west indies is because such undertaking carries responsibility along with it. if they are brought so close to us we shall be obliged to exert ourselves, and to rescue them from a condition which would be a reproach to us. the english of those islands are melting away. that is a fact to which it is idle to try to shut our eyes. families who have been for generations on the soil are selling their estates everywhere and are going off. lands once under high cultivation are lapsing into jungle. professional men of ability and ambition carry their talents to countries where they are more sure of reward. every year the census renews its warning. the rate may vary; sometimes for a year or two there may seem to be a pause in the movement, but it begins again and is always in the same direction. the white is relatively disappearing, the black is growing; that is the fact with which we have to deal. we may say if we please, 'be it so then; we do not want those islands; let the blacks have them, poor devils. they have had wrongs enough in this world; let them take their turn and have a good time now.' this i imagine is the answer which will rise to the lips of most of us, yet it will be an answer which will not be for our honour, nor in the long run for our interest. our stronger colonies will scarcely attach more value to their connection with us if they hear us declare impatiently that because part of our possessions have ceased to be of money value to us, we will not or we cannot take the trouble to provide them with a decent government, and therefore cast them off. nor in the long run will it benefit the blacks either. the islands will not be allowed to run wild again, and if we leave them some one else will take them who will be less tender of his coloured brother's sensibilities. we may think that it would not come to that. the islands will still be ours; the english flag will still float over the forts; the government, whatever it be, will be administered in the queen's name. were it worth while, one might draw a picture of the position of an english governor, with a black parliament and a black ministry, recommending by advice of his constitutional ministers some measure like the haytian land law. no englishman, not even a bankrupt peer, would consent to occupy such a position; the blacks themselves would despise him if he did; and if the governor is to be one of their own race and colour, how long could such a connection endure? no one i presume would advise that the whites of the island should govern. the relations between the two populations are too embittered, and equality once established by law, the exclusive privilege of colour over colour cannot be restored. while slavery continued the whites ruled effectively and economically; the blacks are now free as they; there are two classes in the community; their interests are opposite as they are now understood, and one cannot be trusted with control over the other. as little can the present order of things continue. the west india islands, once the pride of our empire, the scene of our most brilliant achievements, are passing away out of our hands; the remnant of our own countrymen, weary of an unavailing struggle, are more and more eager to withdraw from the scene, because they find no sympathy and no encouragement from home, and are forbidden to accept help from america when help is offered them, while under their eyes their quondam slaves are multiplying, thriving, occupying, growing strong, and every day more conscious of the changed order of things. one does not grudge the black man his prosperity, his freedom, his opportunities of advancing himself; one would wish to see him as free and prosperous as the fates and his own exertions can make him, with more and more means of raising himself to the white man's level. but left to himself, and without the white man to lead him, he can never reach it, and if we are not to lose the islands altogether, or if they are not to remain with us to discredit our capacity to rule them, it is left to us only to take the same course which we have taken in the east indies with such magnificent success, and to govern whites and blacks alike on the indian system. the circumstances are precisely analogous. we have a population to deal with, the enormous majority of whom are of an inferior race. inferior, i am obliged to call them, because as yet, and as a body, they have shown no capacity to rise above the condition of their ancestors except under european laws, european education, and european authority, to keep them from making war on one another. they are docile, good-tempered, excellent and faithful servants when they are kindly treated; but their notions of right and wrong are scarcely even elementary; their education, such as it may be, is but skin deep, and the old african superstitions lie undisturbed at the bottom of their souls. give them independence, and in a few generations they will peel off such civilisation as they have learnt as easily and as willingly as their coats and trousers. govern them as we govern india, with the same conscientious care, with the same sense of responsibility, with the same impartiality, the same disinterested attention to the well-being of our subjects in its highest and most honourable sense, and we shall give the world one more evidence that while englishmen can cover the waste places of it with free communities of their own blood, they can exert an influence no less beneficent as the guides and rulers of those who need their assistance, and whom fate and circumstances have assigned to their care. our kindred far away will be more than ever proud to form part of a nation which has done more for freedom than any other nation ever did, yet is not a slave to formulas, and can adapt its actions to the demands of each community which belongs to it. the most timid among us may take courage, for it would cost us nothing save the sacrifice of a few official traditions, and an abstinence for the future from doubtful uses of colonial patronage. the blacks will be perfectly happy when they are satisfied that they have nothing to fear for their persons or their properties. to the whites it would be the opening of a new era of hope. should they be rash enough to murmur, they might then be justly left to the consequences of their own folly. chapter xviii. passage to cuba--a canadian commissioner--havana--the moro--the city and harbour--cuban money--american visitors--the cathedral--tomb of columbus--new friends--the late rebellion--slave emancipation--spain and progress--a bull fight. i had gone to the west indies to see our own colonies, but i could not leave those famous seas which were the scene of our ocean duels with the spaniards without a visit to the last of the great possessions of philip ii. which remained to his successors. i ought not to say the last, for puerto rico is spanish also, but this small island is insignificant and has no important memories connected with it. puerto rico i had no leisure to look at and did not care about, and to see cuba as it ought to be seen required more time than i could afford; but havana was so interesting, both from its associations and its present condition, that i could not be within reach of it and pass it by. the body of columbus lies there for one thing, unless a trick was played when the remains which were said to be his were removed from st. domingo, and i wished to pay my orisons at his tomb. i wished also to see the race of men who have shared the new world with the anglo-saxons, and have given a language and a religion to half the american continent, in the oldest and most celebrated of their transatlantic cities. cuba also had an immediate and present interest. before the american civil war it was on the point of being absorbed into the united states. the spanish cubans had afterwards a civil war of their own, of which only confused accounts had reached us at home. we knew that it had lasted ten years, but who had been the parties and what their objects had been was very much a mystery. no sooner was it over than, without reservation or compensation, the slaves had been emancipated. how a country was prospering which had undergone such a succession of shocks, and how the spaniards were dealing with the trials which were bearing so hard on our own islands, were inquiries worth making. but beyond these it was the land of romance. columbus and las casas, cortez and pizarro, are the demigods and heroes of the new world. their names will be familiar to the end of time as the founders of a new era, and although the modern spaniards sink to the level of the modern greeks, their illustrious men will hold their place for ever in imagination and memory. our own antilles had, as i have said, in their terror of small-pox, placed jamaica under an interdict. the spaniards at cuba were more generous or more careless. havana is on the north side of the island, facing towards florida; thus, in going to it from port royal, we had to round the westernmost cape, and had four days of sea before us. we slid along the coast of jamaica in smooth water, the air, while day lasted, intensely hot, but the breeze after nightfall blowing cool from off the mountains. we had a polite captain, polite officers, and agreeable fellow-passengers, two or three cubans among them, swarthy, dark-eyed, thick-set men--_americanos_; spaniards with a difference--with whom i cultivated a kind of intimacy. in a cabin it was reported that there were again spanish ladies on their way to the demonic gaieties at darien, but they did not show. among the rest of the party was a canadian gentleman, a mr. ----, exceptionally well-informed and intelligent. their american treaty having been disallowed, the west indies had proposed to negotiate a similar one with the canadian dominion. the authorities at ottawa had sent mr. m---- to see if anything could be done, and mr. m---- was now on his way home, not in the best of humours with our poor relations. 'the jamaicans did not know what they wanted,' he said. 'they were without spirit to help themselves; they cried out to others to help them, and if all they asked could not be granted they clamoured as if the whole world was combining to hurt them. there was not the least occasion for these passionate appeals to the universe; they could not at this moment perhaps "go ahead" as fast as some countries, but there was no necessity to be always going ahead. they had a fine country, soil and climate all that could be desired, they had all that was required for a quiet and easy life, why could they not be contented and make the best of things?' unfortunate jamaicans! the old mother at home acts like an unnatural parent, and will neither help them nor let their cousin jonathan help them. they turn for comfort to their big brother in the north, and the big brother being himself robust and healthy, gives them wholesome advice. adventures do occasionally happen at sea even in this age of steam engines. ships catch fire or run into each other, or go on rocks in fogs, or are caught in hurricanes, and nature can still assume her old terrors if she pleases. shelley describes a wreck on the coast of cornwall, and the treacherous waters of the ocean in the english channel, now wild in fury, now smiling as on the morn when the exulting elements in scorn satiated with destroyed destruction lay sleeping in beauty on their mangled prey, as panthers sleep. the wildest gale which ever blew on british shores was a mere summer breeze compared to a west indian tornado. behind all that beauty there lies the temper and caprice, not of a panther, but of a woman. but no tornadoes fell in our way, nor anything else worth mentioning, not even a buccaneer or a pirate. we saw the islands which these gentry haunted, and the headlands made memorable by their desperate deeds, but they are gone, even to the remembrance of them. what they were and what they did lies buried away in book mausoleums like egyptian mummies, all as clean forgotten as if they had been honest men, they and all the wild scenes which these green estuaries have witnessed. havana figures much in english naval history. drake tried to take it and failed; penn and venables failed. we stormed the forts in , and held them and held the city till the seven years' war was over. i had read descriptions of the place, but they had given me no clear conception of what it would be like, certainly none at all of what it was like. kingston is the best of our west indian towns, and kingston has not one fine building in it. havana is a city of palaces, a city of streets and plazas, of colonnades, and towers, and churches and monasteries. we english have built in those islands as if we were but passing visitors, wanting only tenements to be occupied for a time. the spaniards built as they built in castile; built with the same material, the white limestone which they found in the new world as in the old. the palaces of the nobles in havana, the residence of the governor, the convents, the cathedral, are a reproduction of burgos or valladolid, as if by some aladdin's lamp a castilian city had been taken up and set down again unaltered on the shore of the caribbean sea. and they carried with them their laws, their habits, their institutions and their creed, their religious orders, their bishops, and their inquisition. even now in her day of eclipse, when her genius is clouded by the modern spirit against which she fought so long and so desperately, the sons of spain still build as they used to build, and the modern squares and market places, the castles and fortresses, which have risen in and round the ancient havana, are constructed on the old massive model, and on the same lines. however it may be with us, and whatever the eventual fate of cuba, the spanish race has taken root there, and is visibly destined to remain. they have poured their own people into it. in cuba alone there are ten times as many spaniards as there are english and scotch in all our west indies together, and havana is ten times the size of the largest of our west indian cities. refugees have flocked thither from the revolutions in the peninsula. the canary islands overflow into it. you know the people from teneriffe by their stature; they are the finest surviving specimens of the old conquering breed. the political future is dark; the government is unimaginably corrupt--so corrupt that change is inevitable, though what change it would be idle to prophesy. the americans looked at the island which lay so temptingly near them, but they were wise in their generation. they reflected that to introduce into an anglo-saxon republic so insoluble an element as a million spanish roman catholics alien in blood and creed, with half a million blacks to swell the dusky flood which runs too full among them already, would be to invite an indigestion of serious consequence. a few years since the cubans born were on the eve of achieving their independence like their brothers in mexico and south america. perhaps they will yet succeed. spanish, at any rate, they are to the bone and marrow, and spanish they will continue. the magnitude of havana, and the fullness of life which was going on there, entirely surprised me. i had thought of cuba as a decrepit state, bankrupt or finance-exhausted by civil wars, and on the edge of social dissolution, and i found havana at least a grand imposing city--a city which might compare for beauty with any in the world. the sanitary condition is as bad as negligence can make it--so bad that a spanish gentleman told me that if it were not for the natural purity of the air they would have been all dead like flies long ago. the tideless harbour is foul with the accumulations of three hundred years. the administration is more good-for-nothing than in spain itself. if, in spite of this, havana still sits like a queen upon the waters, there are some qualities to be found among her people which belonged to the countrymen and subjects of ferdinand the catholic. the coast line from cape tubiron has none of the grand aspects of the antilles or jamaica. instead of mountains and forests you see a series of undulating hills, cultivated with tolerable care, and sprinkled with farmhouses. all the more imposing, therefore, from the absence of marked natural forms, are the walls and towers of the great moro, the fortress which defends the entrance of the harbour. ten miles off it was already a striking object. as we ran nearer it rose above us stern, proud, and defiant, upon a rock right above the water, with high frowning bastions, the lighthouse at an angle of it, and the spanish banner floating proudly from a turret which overlooked the whole. the moro as a fortification is, i am told, indefensible against modern artillery, presenting too much surface as a target; but it is all the grander to look at. it is a fine specimen of the vauban period, and is probably equal to any demands which will be made upon it. the harbour is something like port royal, a deep lagoon with a narrow entrance and a long natural breakwater between the lagoon and the ocean; but what at port royal is a sand-spit eight miles long, is at havana a rocky peninsula on which the city itself is built. the opening from the sea is half a mile wide. on the city side there are low semicircular batteries which sweep completely the approaches and the passage itself. the moro rises opposite at the extreme point of the entrance, and next to it, farther in towards the harbour on the same side, on the crest and slopes of a range of hills, stands the old moro, the original castle which beat off drake and oliver's sea-generals, and which was captured by the english in the last century. the lines were probably weaker than they are at present, and less adequately manned. a monument is erected there to the officers and men who fell in the defence. [illustration: havana, from the quarries] the city as we steamed by looked singularly beautiful, with its domes and steeples and marble palaces, and glimpses of long boulevards and trees and handsome mansions and cool arcades. inside we found ourselves in a basin, perhaps of three miles diameter, full of shipping of all sorts and nationalities. the water, which outside is pure as sapphire, has become filthy with the pollutions of a dozen generations. the tide, which even at the springs has but a rise and fall of a couple of feet, is totally ineffective to clear it, and as long as they have the virgin mary to pray to, the pious spaniards will not drive their sewage into the ocean. the hot sun rays stream down into the thick black liquid. horrible smells are let loose from it when it is set in motion by screw or paddle, and ships bring up at mooring buoys lest their anchors should disturb the compost which lies at the bottom. yet one forgot the disagreeables in the novelty and striking character of the scene. a hundred boats were plying to and fro among the various vessels, with their white sails and white awnings. flags of all countries were blowing out at stern or from masthead; among them, of course, the stars and stripes flying jauntily on some splendid schooner which stood there like a cock upon a dunghill that might be his own if he chose to crow for it. as soon as we had brought up we were boarded by the inevitable hotel touters, custom-house officers, porters, and boatmen. interpreters offered their services in the confusion of languages. gradually there emerged out of the general noise two facts of importance. first, that i ought to have had a passport, and if i had not brought one that i was likely to be fined at the discretion of spanish officials. secondly, that if i trusted to my own powers of self-defence, i should be the victim of indefinite other extortions. passport i had none--such things are not required any longer in spain, and it had not occurred to me that they might still be in demand in a spanish colony. as to being cheated, no one could or would tell me what i was to pay for anything, for there were american dollars, spanish dollars, mexican dollars, and cuban dollars, all different. and there were multiples of dollars in gold, and single dollars in silver, and last and most important of all there was the cuban paper dollar, which was per cent. below the cuban gold dollar. and in this last the smaller transactions of common life were carried on, the practical part of it to a stranger being that when you had to receive you received in paper, and when you had to pay you paid in specie. i escaped for the time the penalty which would have been inflicted on me about the passport. i had a letter of introduction to the captain-general of the island, and the captain-general--so the viceroy is called--was so formidable a person that the officials did not venture to meddle with me. for the rest i was told that as soon as i had chosen my hotel, the agent, who was on board, would see me through all obstructions, and would not allow me to be plundered by anyone but himself. to this i had to submit. i named an hotel at random; a polite gentleman in a few moments had a boat alongside for me; i had stept into it when the fair damsels bound for darien, who had been concealed all this time in their cabin, slipped down the ladder and took their places at my side, to the no small entertainment of the friends whom i had left on board and who were watching us from the deck. at the wharf i was able to shake off my companions, and i soon forgot the misadventure, for i found myself in old castile once more, amidst spanish faces, spanish voices, spanish smells, and spanish scenes. on the very wharf itself was a church grim and stern, and so massive that it would stand, barring earthquakes, for a thousand years. church, indeed, it was no longer; it had been turned into a custom-house. but this was because it had been desecrated when we were in havana by having an english service performed in it. they had churches enough without it, and they preferred to leave this one with a mark upon it of the anger of the almighty. of churches, indeed, there was no lack; churches thick as public-houses in a welsh town. church beyond church, palace beyond palace, the narrow streets where neighbours on either side might shake hands out of the upper stories, the deep colonnades, the private houses with the windows grated towards the street, with glimpses through the street door into the court and garden within, with its cloisters, its palm trees, and its fountains; the massiveness of the stonework, the curious old-fashioned bookstalls, the dirt, the smell, the carriages, the swearing drivers, the black-robed priest gliding along the footway--it was toledo or valladolid again with the sign manual on it of spain herself in friendly and familiar form. every face that i saw was spanish. in kingston or port of spain you meet fifty blacks for one european; all the manual work is done by them. in havana the proportion is reversed, you hardly see a coloured man at all. boatmen, porters, cab-drivers or cart-drivers, every one of whom are negroes in our islands, are there spaniards, either cuban born or emigrants from home. a few black beggars there were--permitted, as objects of charity to pious catholics and as a sign of their inferiority of race. of poverty among the whites, real poverty that could be felt, i saw no sign at all. after driving for about a mile we emerged out of the old town into a large square and thence into a wide alameda or boulevard with double avenues of trees, statues, fountains, theatres, clubhouses, and all the various equipments of modern luxuriousness and so-called civilised life. beyond the alameda was another still larger square, one side of which was a railway station and terminus. in a colonnade at right angles was the hotel to which i had been recommended; spacious, handsome, in style half parisian half spanish, like the fondas in the puerto del sol at madrid. spanish was the language generally spoken; but there were interpreters and waiters more or less accomplished in other tongues, especially in english, of which they heard enough, for i found havana to be the winter resort of our american cousins, who go, generally, to cuba, as we go to the riviera, to escape the ice and winds of the eastern and middle states. this particular hotel was a favourite resort, and was full to overflowing with them. it was large, with an interior quadrangular garden, into which looked tiers of windows; and wings had been thrown out with terraced roofs, suites of rooms opening out upon them; each floor being provided with airy sitting rooms and music rooms. here were to be heard at least a hundred american voices discussing the experiences and plans of their owners. the men lounged in the hall or at the bar, or sat smoking on the rows of leather chairs under the colonnade, or were under the hands of barbers or haircutters in an airy open saloon devoted to these uses. when i retreated upstairs to collect myself, a lady was making the corridors ring close by as she screamed at a piano in the middle of an admiring and criticising crowd. dear as the americans are to me, and welcome in most places as is the sound of those same sweet voices, one had not come to havana for this. it was necessary to escape somewhere, and promptly, from the discord of noises which i hoped might be due to some momentary accident. the mail company's agent, mr. r----, lived in the hotel. he kindly found me out, initiated me in the mysteries of cuban paper money, and giving me a tariff of the fares, found me a cab, and sent me out to look about me. my first object was the cathedral and the tomb of columbus. in catholic cities in europe churches stand always open; the passer-by can enter when he pleases, fall on his knees and say his silent prayers to his master whom he sees on the altar. in havana i discovered afterward that, except at special hours, and those as few as might be, the doors were kept locked and could only be opened by a golden key. it was carnival time, however; there were functions going on of various kinds, and i found the cathedral happily accessible. it was a vast building, little ornamented, but the general forms severe and impressive, in the style of the time of philip ii., when gothic art had gone out in spain and there had come in the place of it the implacable sternness which expresses the very genius of the inquisition. a broad flight of stone steps led up to the great door. the afternoon was extremely hot; the curtains were thrown back to admit as much air as possible. there was some function proceeding of a peculiar kind. i know not what it was; something certainly in which the public had no interest, for there was not a stranger present but myself. but the great cathedral officials were busy at work, and liked to be at their ease. on the wall as you entered a box invited contributions, as _limosna por el santo padre_. the service was i know not what. in the middle of the nave stood twelve large chairs arranged in a semicircle; on these chairs sat twelve canons, like a row of mandarins, each with his little white patch like a silver dollar on the crown of his black head. five or six minor dignitaries, deacons, precentors, or something of that sort, were droning out monotonous recitations like the buzzing of so many humble-bees in the warm summer air. the dean or provost sat in the central biggest chair of all. his face was rosy, and he wiped it from time to time with a red handkerchief; his chin was double or perhaps treble; he had evidently dined, and would or might have slept but for a pile of snuff on his chair arm, with continual refreshments from which he kept his faculties alive. i sat patiently till it was over, and the twelve holy men rose and went their way. i could then stroll about at leisure. the pictures were of the usual paltry kind. on the chancel arch stood the royal arms of spain, as the lion and the unicorn used to stand in our parish churches till the high church clergy mistook them for erastian wild beasts. at the right side of the altar was the monument which i had come in search of; a marble tablet fixed against the wall, and on it a poorly executed figure in high relief, with a ruff about its neck and features which might be meant for anyone and for no one in particular. somewhere near me there were lying i believed and could hope the mortal remains of the discoverer of the new world. an inscription said so. there was written: o restos y imagen del grande colon mil siglos durad guardados en la urna y en remembranza de nuestra nacion. the court poet, or whoever wrote the lines, was as poor an artist in verse as the sculptor in stone. the image of the grande colon is certainly not 'guarded in the urn,' since you see it on the wall before your eyes. the urn, if urn there be, with the 'relics' in it, must be under the floor. columbus and his brother diego were originally buried to the right and left of the altar in the cathedral of st. domingo. when st. domingo was abandoned, a commission was appointed to remove the body of christophe to havana. they did remove _a_ body, but st. domingo insists that it was diego that was taken away, that christophe remains where he was, and that if spain wants him spain must pay for him. i followed the canons into the sacristy where they were unrobing. i did not venture to address either of themselves, but i asked an acolyte if he could throw any light upon the matter. he assured me that there neither was nor could have been any mistake. they had the right body and were in no doubt about it. in more pious ages disputes of this sort were settled by an appeal to miracles. rival pretenders for the possession of the same bones came, however, at last to be able to produce authentic proofs of miracles which had been worked at more than one of the pretended shrines; so that it was concluded that saints' relics were like the loaves and fishes, capable of multiplication without losing their identity, and of having the property of being in several places at the same moment. the same thing has been alleged of the holy coat of trèves and of the wood of the true cross. havana and st. domingo may perhaps eventually find a similar solution of their disagreement over the resting place of columbus. i walked back to my hotel up a narrow shady street like a long arcade. here were the principal shops; several libraries among them, into which i strayed to gossip and to look over the shelves. that so many persons could get a living by bookselling implied a reading population, but the books themselves did not indicate any present literary productiveness. they were chiefly old, and from the old world, and belonged probably to persons who had been concerned in the late rebellion and whose property had been confiscated. they were absurdly cheap; i bought a copy of guzman de alfarache for a few pence. i had brought letters of introduction to several distinguished people in havana; to one especially, don g----, a member of a noble peninsular family, once an officer in the spanish navy, now chairman of a railway company and head of an important commercial house. his elder brother, the marques de ----, called on me on the evening of the day of my arrival; a distinguished-looking man of forty or thereabouts, with courteous high-bred manners, rapid, prompt, and incisive, with the air of a soldier, which in early life he had been. he had travelled, spoke various languages, and spoke to me in admirable english. don g----, who might be a year or two younger, came later and stayed an hour and a half with me. let me acknowledge here, and in as warm language as i can express it, the obligations under which i stand to him, not for the personal attentions only which he showed me during my stay in havana, but for giving me an opportunity of becoming acquainted with a real specimen of plato's superior men, who were now and then, so plato said, to be met with in foreign travel. it is to him that i owe any knowledge which i brought away with me of the present state of cuba. he had seen much, thought much, read much. he was on a level with the latest phases of philosophical and spiritual speculation, could talk of darwin and spencer, of schopenhauer, of strauss, and of renan, aware of what they had done, aware of the inconvenient truths which they had forced into light, but aware also that they had left the most important questions pretty much where they found them. he had taken no part in the political troubles of the late years in cuba, but he had observed everything. no one knew better the defects of the present system of government; no one was less ready to rush into hasty schemes for violently mending it. the ten years' rebellion, of which i had heard so much and knew so little, he first made intelligible to me. cuba had been governed as a province of spain, and spain, like other mother countries, had thought more of drawing a revenue out of it for herself than of the interests of the colony. spanish officials had been avaricious, and spanish fiscal policy oppressive and ruinous. the resources of the island in metals, in minerals, in agriculture were as yet hardly scratched, yet every attempt to develop them was paralysed by fresh taxation. the rebellion had been an effort of the cuban spaniards, precisely analogous to the revolt of our own north american colonies, to shake off the authority of the court of madrid and to make themselves independent. they had fought desperately and had for several years been masters of half the island. they had counted on help from the united states, and at one time they seemed likely to get it. but the americans could not see their way to admitting cuba into the union, and without such a prospect did not care to quarrel with spain on their account. finding that they were to be left to themselves, the insurgents came to terms and spanish authority was re-established. families had been divided, sons taking one side and fathers the other, as in our english wars of the roses, perhaps for the same reason, to save the family estates whichever side came out victorious. the blacks had been indifferent, the rebellion having no interest for them at all. they had remained by their masters, and they had been rewarded after the peace by complete emancipation. there was not a slave now in cuba. no indemnity had been granted to their owners, nor had any been asked for, and the business on the plantations had gone on without interruption. those who had been slaves continued to work at the same locations, receiving wages instead of food and maintenance; all were satisfied at the change, and this remarkable revolution had been carried out with an ease and completeness which found no parallel in any other slave-owning country. in spite of rebellion, in spite of the breaking up and reconstruction of the social system, in spite of the indifferent administration of justice, in spite of taxation, and the inexplicable appropriation of the revenue, cuba was still moderately prosperous, and that it could flourish at all after trials so severe was the best evidence of the greatness of its natural wealth. the party of insurrection was dissolved, and would revive again only under the unlikely contingency of encouragement from the united states. there was a party, however, which desired for cuba a constitution like the canadian--home rule and the management of its own affairs--and as the black element was far outnumbered and under control, such a constitution would not be politically dangerous. if the spanish government does not mend its ways, concessions of this kind may eventually have to be made, though the improvement to be expected from it is doubtful. official corruption is engrained in the character and habits of the spanish people. judges allowed their decisions to be 'influenced' under philip iii. as much as to-day in the colonies of queen christina; and when a fault is the habit of a people, it survives political reforms and any number of turnings of the kaleidoscope. the encouraging feature is the success of emancipation. there is no jealousy, no race animosity, no supercilious contempt of whites for 'niggers.' the spaniards have inherited a tinge of colour themselves from their african ancestors, and thus they are all friends together. the liberated slave can acquire and own land if he wishes for it, but as a rule he prefers to work for wages. these happy conditions arise in part from the spanish temperament, but chiefly from the numerical preponderance of the white element, which, as in the united states, is too secure to be uneasy. the black is not encouraged in insubordination by a sense that he could win in a contest of strength, and the aspect of things is far more promising for the future than in our own islands. the spaniards, however inferior we may think them to ourselves, have filled their colonies with their own people and are reaping the reward of it. we have so contrived that such english as had settled in the west indies on their own account are leaving them. spain, four centuries ago, was the greatest of european nations, the first in art, or second only to italy, the first in arms, the first in the men whom she produced. she has been swept along in the current of time. she fought against the stream of tendency, and the stream proved too strong for her, great as she was. the modern spirit, which she would not have when it came in the shape of the reformation, has flowed over her borders as revolution, not to her benefit, for she is unable to assimilate the new ideas. the old spain of the inquisition is gone; the spain of to-day is divided between liberalism and catholic belief. she is sick in the process of the change, and neither she nor her colonies stand any longer in the front lines in the race of civilisation; yet the print of her foot is stamped on the new world in characters which will not be effaced, and may be found to be as enduring as our own. the colony is perhaps in advance of the mother country. the catholic church, don g---- said, has little influence in cuba; 'she has had no rival,' he explained, 'and so has grown lazy.' i judged the same from my own observations. the churches on sundays were thinly attended, and men smiled when i asked them about 'confession.' i inquired about famous preachers. i was told that there was no preaching in havana, famous or otherwise. i might if i was lucky and chose to go there in the early morning, hear a sermon in the church of the jesuits; that was all. i went; i heard my jesuit, who was fluent, eloquent, and gesticulating, but he was pouring out his passionate rhetoric to about fifty women with scarcely a man amongst them. it was piteous to look at him. the catholic church, whether it be for want of rivals, or merely from force of time, has fallen from its high estate. it can burn no more heretics, for it has lost the art to raise conviction to sufficient intensity. the power to burn was the measure of the real belief, which people had in the church and its doctrines. the power has departed with the waning of faith; and religion in havana, as in madrid, is but 'use and wont;' not 'belief' but opinion, and opinion which is half insincere. nothing else can take its place. the day is too late for protestantism, which has developed into wider forms, and in the matter of satisfied and complete religious conviction protestants are hardly better off than catholics. don g---- had been much in spain; he was acquainted with many of the descendants of the old aristocracy, who lingered there in faded grandeur. he had studied the history of his own country. he compared the spain and england of the sixteenth century with the spain and england of the present; and, like most of us, he knew where the yoke galled his own neck. but economical and political prosperity is no exhaustive measure of human progress. the rome of trajan was immeasurably more splendid than the rome of the scipios; yet the progress had been downwards nevertheless. if the object of our existence on this planet is the development of character, if the culminating point in any nation's history be that at which it produces its noblest and bravest men, facts do not tend to assure us that the triumphant march of the last hundred years is accomplishing much in that direction. i found myself arguing with don g---- that if charles v. and philip ii. were to come back to this world, and to see whither the movement had brought us of which they had worked so hard to suppress the beginning, they would still say that they had done right in trying to strangle it. the reformation called itself a protest against lies, and the advocates of it imagined that when the lies, or what they called such, were cleared away, the pure metal of christianity would remain unsullied. the great men who fought against the movement, charles v. in his cabinet and erasmus in his closet, had seen that it could not rest there; that it was the cradle of a revolution in which the whole spiritual and political organisation of europe would be flung into the crucible. under that organisation human nature had ascended to altitudes of chivalry, of self-sacrifice, which it had never before reached. the sixteenth century was the blossoming time of the old world, and no such men had appeared since as then came to the front, either in spain or italy, or germany or france or england. the actual leaders of the reformation had been bred in the system which they destroyed. puritanism and calvinism produced men of powerful character, but they were limited and incapable of continuance; and now the liberty which was demanded had become what the instinct of the great emperor had told him from the first must be the final shape of it, a revolution which would tolerate no inequalities of culture or position, which insisted that no man was better than another, which was to exalt the low and bring down the high till all mankind should stand upon a common level--a level, not of baseness or badness, but a level of good-humoured, smart, vulgar and vulgarising mediocrity, with melodrama for tragedy, farce for comedy, sounding speech for statesmanlike wisdom; and for a creed, when our fathers thought that we had been made a little lower than the angels, the more modest knowledge that we were only a little higher than the apes. this was the aspect in which the world of the nineteenth century would appear to sir thomas more or the duke of alva. from the grand captain to señor castelar, from lord burghley to mr. gladstone, from leonardo da vinci or velasquez to gustave doré, from cervantes and shakespeare to 'pickwick' and the 'innocents at home;' from the faith which built the cathedrals to evolution and the survival of the fittest; from the carving and architecture of the middle ages to the workmanship of the modern contractor; the change in the spiritual department of things had been the same along the whole line. charles v. after seeing all that has been achieved, the railways, the steam engines, the telegraphs, the yankee and his united states, which are the embodiment of the highest aspirations of the modern era, after attending a session of the british association itself, and seeing the bishops holding out their hands to science which had done such great things for them, might fairly claim that it was a doubtful point whether the change had been really for the better. it may be answered, and answered truly, that the old thing was dead. the catholic faith, where it was left standing and where it still stands, produces now nothing higher, nothing better than the protestant. human systems grow as trees grow. the seed shoots up, the trunk forms, the branches spread; leaves and flowers and fruit come out year after year as if they were able to renew themselves for ever. but that which has a beginning has an end, that which has life must die when the vital force is exhausted. the faith of more, as well as the faith of ken or wilson, were elevating and ennobling as long as they were sincerely believed, but the time came when they became clouded with uncertainty; and confused, perplexed, and honestly anxious, humanity struggles on as well as it can, all things considered, respectably enough, in its chrysalis condition, the old wings gone, the new wings that are to be (if we are ever to have another set) as yet imprisoned in their sheath. the same sunday morning when i went in search of my sermon, the hotel was alive as bees at swarming time. there was to be a bull fight in honour of the carnival, and such a bull fight as had never been seen in havana. placards on the wall announced that a lady from spain, gloriana they called her, was to meet and slay a bull in single combat, and everyone must go and see the wonderful sight. i myself, having seen the real thing in madrid many years ago, felt no more curiosity, and that a woman should be an actress in such a scene did not revive it. to those who went the performance was a disappointment. the bull provided turned out to be a calf of tender years. the spectators insisted that they would have a mature beast of strength and ferocity, and gloriana when brought to the point declined the adventure. there was a prettier scene in the evening. in the cool after nightfall the beauty and fashion of havana turns out to stroll in the illuminated alameda. as it was now a high festival the band was to play, and the crowd was as dense as on exhibition nights at south kensington. the music was equally good, and the women as graceful and well dressed. i sat for an hour or two listening under the statue of poor queen isabella. the image of her still stands where it was placed, though revolution has long shaken her from her throne. all is forgotten now except that she was once a spanish sovereign, and time and distance have deodorised her memory. chapter xix. hotels in havana--sights in the city--cigar manufactories--west indian industries--the captain-general--the jesuit college--father viñez--clubs in havana--spanish aristocracy--sea lodging house. there was much to be seen in havana, and much to think about. i regretted only that i had not been better advised in my choice of an hotel the dining saloon rang with american voices in their shrillest tones. every table was occupied by groups of them, nor was there a sound in the room of any language but theirs. in the whole company i had not a single acquaintance. i have liked well almost every individual american that i have fallen in with and come to know. they are frank, friendly, open, and absolutely unaffected, and, like my friend at miss roy's in jamaica, they take cheerful views of life, which is the highest of all recommendations. the distinctness and sharpness of utterance is tolerable and even agreeable in conversation with a single person. when a large number of them are together, all talking in a high tone, it tries the nerves and sets the teeth on edge. nor could i escape from them in any part of the building. the gentlemen were talking politics in the hall, or lounging under the colonnade. one of them, an absolute stranger, who perhaps knew who i was, asked me abruptly for my opinion of cardinal newman. the ladies filled the sitting rooms; their pianos and their duets pierced the walls of my bedroom, and only ceased an hour after midnight. at five in the morning the engines began to scream at the adjoining railway station. the church bells woke at the same hour with their superfluous summons to matins which no one attended. sleep was next to an impossibility under these hard conditions, and i wanted more and not less of it when i had the duties upon me of sightseeing. sleep or no sleep, however, i determined that i would see what i could as long as i could keep going. a few hundred yards off was one of the most famous of the havana cigar manufactories. a courteous message from the manager, señor bances, had informed me that he would be happy to show me over it on any morning before the sun was above the roofs of the houses. i found the señor a handsome elderly gentleman, tall and lean, with castilian dignity of manner, free and frank in all his communications, with no reserve, concealments, or insincerities. i told him that in my experience cigars were not what they had been, that the last good one which i had smoked i had bought twenty years ago from a _contrabandista_ at madrid. i had come to havana to see whether i could find another equally good at the fountain head. he said that he was not at all surprised. it was the same story as at jamaica; the consumption of cigars had increased with extreme rapidity; the area on which the finest tobacco had been grown was limited, and the expense of growing it was very great. only a small quantity of the best cigars was now made for the market. in general the plants were heavily manured, and the flavour suffered. leaf of coarse fibre was used for the core of the cigars, with only a fold or two wrapped round it of more delicate quality. he took me into the different rooms where the manufacture was going on. in the first were perhaps a hundred or a hundred and fifty sallow-faced young men engaged in rolling. they were all cubans or spaniards with the exception of a single negro; and all, i should think, under thirty. on each of the tables was one of the names with which we have grown familiar in modern cigar shops, reynas, regalias, principes, and i know not how many else. the difference of material could not be great, but there was a real difference in the fineness of the make, and in the quality of the exterior leaf. the workmen were of unequal capacity and were unequally paid. the señor employed in all about , ; at least so i understood him. the black field hands had eighteenpence a day. the rollers were paid by quality and quantity; a good workman doing his best could earn sixty dollars a week, an idle and indifferent one about twelve. they smoked as they rolled, and there was no check upon the consumption, the loss in this way being estimated at , dollars a year. the pay was high; but there was another side to it--the occupation was dangerous. if there were no boys in the room, there were no old men. those who undertook it died often in two or three years. doubtless with precaution the mortality might be diminished; but, like the needle and the scissor grinders in england, the men themselves do not wish it to be diminished. the risk enters into the wages, and they prefer a short life and a merry one. the cigarettes, of which the varieties are as many as there are of cigars, were made exclusively by chinese. the second room which we entered was full of them, their curious yellow faces mildly bending over their tobacco heaps. of these there may have been a hundred. of the general expenses of the establishment i do not venture to say anything, bewildered as i was in the labyrinthine complication of the currency, but it must certainly be enormous, and this house, the partagas, was but one of many equally extensive in havana alone. the señor was most liberal. he filled my pockets with packets of excellent cigarettes; he gave me a bundle of cigars. i cannot say whether they were equal to what i bought from my _contrabandista_, for these may have been idealised by a grateful memory, but they were so incomparably better than any which i have been able to get in london that i was tempted to deal with him, and so far i have had no reason to repent. the boxes with which he provided me bettered the sample, and the price, duty at home included, was a third below what i should have paid in london for an article which i would rather leave unconsumed. a broker whom i fell in with insisted to me that the best cigars all went to london, that my preference for what i got from my señor was mere fancy and vanity, and that i could buy better in any shop in regent street. i said that he might but i couldn't, and so we left it. i tell all this, not with the affectation of supposing that tobacco or my own taste about it can have any interest, but as an illustration of what can be done in the west indies, and to show how immense a form of industry waits to be developed in our own islands, if people with capital and knowledge choose to set about it. tobacco as good as the best in cuba has been grown and can be grown in jamaica, in st. domingo, and probably in every one of the antilles. 'there are dollars in those islands,' as my yankee said, and many a buried treasure will be brought to light there when capitalists can feel assured that they will not be at the mercy of black constitutional governments. my letter of introduction to the captain-general was still undelivered, and as i had made use of it on landing i thought it right at least to pay my respects to the great man. the marques m---- kindly consented to go with me and help me through the interview, being of course acquainted with him. he was at his country house, a mile out of the town. the buildings are all good in havana. it was what it called itself, not a palace but a handsome country residence in the middle of a large well-kept garden. the viceroyalty has a fair but not extravagant income attached to it. the captain-general receives about , _l._ a year besides allowances. were the balls and dinners expected of him which our poor governors are obliged to entertain their subjects with, he would not be able to make much out of it. the large fortunes which used to be brought back by the fortunate captains-general who could connive at the slave trade were no longer attainable; those good days are gone. public opinion therefore permits them to save their incomes. the spaniards are not a hospitable people, or rather their notion of hospitality differs in form from ours. they are ready to dine with you themselves as often as you will ask them. nothing in the shape of dinners is looked for from the captain-general, and when i as a stranger suggested the possibility of such a thing as an invitation happening to me, my companion assured me that i need not be in the least alarmed. we were introduced into a well-proportioned hall, with a few marble busts in it and casts of greek and roman statues. aides-de-camp and general officers were lounging about, with whom we exchanged distant civilities. after waiting for a quarter of an hour we were summoned by an official into an adjoining room and found ourselves in his excellency's presence. he was a small gentlemanlike-looking man, out of uniform, in plain morning dress with a silk sash. he received us with natural politeness; cordiality was uncalled for, but he was perfectly gracious. he expressed his pleasure at seeing me in the island; he hoped that i should enjoy myself, and on his part would do everything in his power to make my stay agreeable. he spoke of the emancipation of the slaves and of the social state of the island with pardonable satisfaction, enquired about our own west indies, &c., and finally asked me to tell him in what way he could be of service to me. i told him that i had found such kind friends in havana already, that i could think of little. one thing only he could do if he pleased. i had omitted to bring a passport with me, not knowing that it would be required. my position was irregular and might be inconvenient. i was indebted to my letter of introduction to his excellency for admission into his dominions. perhaps he would write a few words which would enable me to remain in them and go out of them when my visit was over. his excellency said that he would instruct the gobierno civil to see to it, an instruction the meaning of which i too sadly understood. i was not to be allowed to escape the fine. a fresh shower followed of polite words, and with these we took ourselves away. the afternoon was spent more instructively, perhaps more agreeably, in a different scene. the marques m---- had been a pupil of the jesuits. he had personal friends in the jesuit college at havana, especially one, father viñez, whose name is familiar to students of meteorological science, and who has supplemented and corrected the accepted law of storms by careful observation of west indian hurricanes. the jesuits were as well spoken of in havana as the moravians in jamaica. everyone had a good word for them. they alone, as i have said, took the trouble to provide the good people there with a sermon on sundays. they alone among the catholic clergy, though they live poorly and have no endowment, exert themselves to provide a tolerable education for the middle and upper classes. the marques undertook that if we called we should be graciously received, and i was curious and interested. their college had been an enormous monastery. wherever the spaniards went they took an army of monks with them of all the orders. the monks contrived always to house themselves handsomely. while soldiers fought and settlers planted, the monks' duty was to pray. in process of time it came to be doubted whether the monks' prayers were worth what they cost, or whether, in fact, they had ever had much effect of any kind. they have been suppressed in spain; they have been clipped short in all the spanish dominions, and in havana there are now left only a handful of dominicans, a few nuns, and these jesuits, who have taken possession of the largest of the convents, much as a soldier-crab becomes the vigorous tenant of the shell of some lazy sea-snail. they have a college there where there are four hundred lads and young men who pay for their education; some hundreds more are taken out of charity. the jesuits conduct the whole, and do it all unaided, on their own resources. and this is far from all that they do. they keep on a level with the age; they are men of learning; they are men of science; they are the royal society of cuba. they have an observatory in the college, and the father viñez of whom i have spoken is in charge of it. father viñez was our particular object. the porter's lodge opened into a courtyard like the quadrangle of a college at oxford. from the courtyard we turned into a narrow staircase, up which we climbed till we reached the roof, on and under which the father had his lodgings and his observing machinery. we entered a small room, plainly furnished with a table and a few uncushioned chairs; tables and chairs, all save the father's, littered with books and papers. cases stood round the wall, containing self-registering instruments of the most advanced modern type, each with its paper barrel unrolling slowly under clockwork, while a pencil noted upon it the temperature of the air, the atmospheric pressure, the degree of moisture, the ozone, the electricity. in the middle, surrounded by his tools and his ticking clocks, sat the father, middle-aged, lean and dry, with shrivelled skin and brown threadbare frock. he received my companion with a warm affectionate smile. the marques told him that i was an englishman who was curious about the work in which he was engaged, and he spoke to me at once with the politeness of a man of sense. after a few questions asked and answered, he took us out to a shed among the roof-tiles, where he kept his large telescope, his equatorial, and his transit instruments--not on the great scale of state-supported observatories, but with everything which was really essential. he had a laboratory, too, and a workshop, with all the recent appliances. he was a practical optician and mechanic. he managed and repaired his own machinery, observed, made his notes, and wrote his reports to the societies with which he was in correspondence, all by himself. the outfit of such an establishment, even on a moderate scale, is expensive. i said i supposed that the government gave him a grant. 'so far from it,' he said, 'that we have to pay a duty on every instrument which we import.' 'who, then, pays for it all?' i asked. 'the order,' he answered, quite simply. the house, i believe, _was_ a gift, though it cost the state nothing, having been simply seized when the monks were expelled. the order now maintains it, and more than repays the government for their single act of generosity. at my companion's suggestion father viñez gave me a copy of his book on hurricanes. it contains a record of laborious journeys which he made to the scene of the devastations of the last ten years. the scientific value of the father's work is recognised by the highest authorities, though i cannot venture even to attempt to explain what he has done. he then conducted us over the building, and showed us the libraries, dormitories, playgrounds, and the other arrangements which were made for the students. of these we saw none, they were all out, but the long tables in the refectory were laid for afternoon tea. there was a cup of milk for each lad, with a plate of honey and a roll of bread; and supper would follow in the evening. the sleeping gallery was divided into cells, open at the top for ventilation, with bed, table, chest of drawers, and washing apparatus--all scrupulously clean. so far as i could judge, the fathers cared more for the boys' comfort than for their own. through an open door our conductor faintly indicated the apartment which belonged to himself. four bare walls, a bare tiled floor, a plain pallet, with a crucifix above the pillow, was all that it contained. there was no parade of ecclesiasticism. the libraries were well furnished, but the books were chiefly secular and scientific. the chapel was unornamented; there were a few pictures, but they were simple and inoffensive. everything was good of its kind, down to the gymnastic courts and swimming bath. the holiness was kept in the back ground. it was in the spirit and not in the body. the cost of the whole establishment was defrayed out of the payments of the richer students managed economically for the benefit of the rest, with complete indifference on the part of the fathers to indulgence and pleasures of their own. as we took leave the marques kissed his old master's brown hand. i rather envied him the privilege. something i saw of havana society in the received sense of the word. there are many clubs there, and high play in most of them, for the cubans are given to the roulette tables. the union club which is the most distinguished among them, invites occasional strangers staying in the city to temporary membership as we do at the athenæum. here you meet spanish _grandes_, who have come to cuba to be out of reach of revolution, proud as ever and not as poor as you might expect; and when you ask who they are you hear the great familiar names of spanish history. i was introduced to the president--young, handsome, and accomplished. i was startled to learn that he was the head of the old house of sandoval. the house of columbus ought to be there also, for there is still a christophe colon, the direct linear representative of the discoverer, disguised under the title of the duque de veragua. a perpetual pension of , dollars a year was granted to the great christophe and his heirs for ever as a charge on the cuban revenue. it has been paid to the family through all changes of dynasty and forms of government, and is paid to them still. but the duque resides in spain, and the present occupation of him, i was informed, is the breeding and raising bulls for the plaza de toros at seville. thus, every way, my stay was made agreeable to me. there were breakfasts and dinners and introductions. don g---- and his brother were not fine gentlemen only, but were men of business and deeply engaged in the active life of the place. the american consul was a conspicuous figure at these entertainments. america may not find it her interest to annex these islands, but since she ordered the french out of mexico, and the french obeyed, she is universally felt on that side of the atlantic to be the supreme arbiter of all their fates. her consuls are thus persons of consequence. the cubans like the americans well. the commercial treaty which was offered to our islands by the united states would have been accepted eagerly by the spaniards. to them, the americans have, as yet, not been equally liberal, but an arrangement will soon be completed. they say that they have hills of solid iron in the island and mountains of copper with fifty per cent. of virgin ore in them waiting for the americans to develop. the present administration would swallow up in taxation the profits of the most promising enterprise that ever was undertaken, but the metals are there, and will come one day into working. the consul was a swift peremptory man who knew his own mind at any rate. between his 'yes, sir,' and his 'no, sir,' you were at no loss for his meaning. he told me a story of a 'nigger' officer with whom he had once got into conversation at hayti. he had inquired why they let so fine an island run to waste? why did they not cultivate it? the dusky soldier laid his hand upon his breast and waved his hand. 'ah,' he said, 'that might do for english or germans or americans; we of the latin race have higher things to occupy us.' i liked the consul well. i could not say as much for his countrymen and countrywomen at my hotel. individually i dare say they would have been charming; collectively they drove me to distraction. space and time had no existence for them; they and their voices were heard in all places and at all hours. the midnight bravuras at the pianos mixed wildly in my broken dreams. the marques m---- wished to take me with him to his country seat and show me his sugar plantations. nothing could have been more delightful, but with want of sleep and the constant racket i found myself becoming unwell. in youth and strength one can defy the foul fiend and bid him do his worst; in age one finds it wiser to get out of the way. on the sea, seven miles from havana, and connected with it by a convenient railway, at a place called vedado, i found a lodging house kept by a frenchman (the best cook in cuba) with a german wife. the situation was so attractive, and the owners of it so attentive, that quiet people went often into 'retreat' there. there were delicious rooms, airy and solitary as i could wish. the sea washed the coral rock under the windows. there were walks wild as if there was no city within a thousand miles--up the banks of lonely rivers, over open moors, or among inclosures where there were large farming establishments with cattle and horses and extensive stables and sheds. there was a village and a harbour where fishing people kept their boats and went out daily with their nets and lines--blacks and whites living and working side by side. i could go where i pleased without fear of interference or question. only i was warned to be careful of the dogs, large and dangerous, descendants of the famous cuban bloodhounds, which are kept everywhere to guard the yards and houses. these beasts were really dangerous, and had to be avoided. the shore was of inexhaustible interest. it was a level shelf of coral rock extending for many miles and littered over with shells and coral branches which had been flung up by the surf. i had hoped for bathing. in the open water it is not to be thought of on account of the sharks, but baths have been cut in the rock all along that part of the coast at intervals of half a mile; deep square basins with tunnels connecting them with the sea, up which the waves run clear and foaming. they are within inclosures, roofed over to keep out the sun, and with attendants regularly present. art and nature combined never made more charming pools; the water clear as sapphire, aerated by the constant inrush of the foaming breakers, and so warm that you could lie in it without a chill for hours. alas! that i could but look at them and execrate the precious government which forbade me their use. so severe a tax is laid on these bathing establishments that the owners can only afford to keep them open during the three hottest months in the year, when the demand is greatest. in the evenings people from havana would occasionally come down to dine as we go to greenwich, being attracted partly by the air and partly by my host's reputation. there was a long verandah under which tables were laid out, and there were few nights on which one or more parties were not to be seen there. thus i encountered several curious specimens of cuban humanity, and on one of my runs up to havana i met again the cigar broker who had so roughly challenged my judgment. he was an original and rather diverting man; i should think a jew. whatever he was he fell upon me again and asked me scornfully whether i supposed that the cigars which i had bought of señor bances were anything out of the way. i said that they suited my taste and that was enough. 'ah,' he replied, '_cada loco con su tema._ every fool had his opinion.' 'i am the _loco_ (idiot), then,' said i, 'but that again is matter of opinion.' he spoke of cuba and professed to know all about it. 'can you tell me, then,' said i, 'why the cubans hate the spaniards?' 'why do the irish hate the english?' he answered. i said it was not an analogous case. cubans and spaniards were of the same breed and of the same creed. 'that is nothing,' he replied; 'the americans will have both cuba and ireland before long.' i said i thought the americans were too wise to meddle with either. if they did, however, i imagined that on our own side of the atlantic we should have something to say on the subject before ireland was taken from us. he laughed good-humouredly. 'is it possible, sir,' he said, 'that you live in england and are so absolutely ignorant?' i laughed too. he was a strange creature, and would have made an excellent character in a novel. don g---- or his brother came down occasionally to see how i was getting on and to talk philosophy and history. other gentlemen came, and the favourite subject of conversation was spanish administration. one of them told me this story as an illustration of it. his father was the chief partner in a bank; a clerk absconded, taking , dollars with him; he had been himself sent in pursuit of the man, overtook him with the money still in his possession, and recovered it. with this he ought to have been contented, but he tried to have the offender punished. the clerk replied to the criminal charge by a counter-charge against the house. it was absurd in itself, but he found that a suit would grow out of it which would swallow more than the , dollars, and finally he bribed the judge to allow him to drop the prosecution. _cosas de españa_; it lies in the breed. guzman de alfarache was robbed of his baggage by a friend. the facts were clear, the thief was caught with guzman's clothes on his back; but he had influential friends--he was acquitted. he prosecuted guzman for a false accusation, got a judgment and ruined him. the question was, whether if the cubans could make themselves independent there would be much improvement. the want in cuba just now, as in a good many other places, is the want of some practical religion which insists on moral duty. a learned english judge was trying a case one day, when there seemed some doubt about the religious condition of one of the witnesses. the clerk of the court retired with him to ascertain what it really was, and returned radiant almost immediately, saying, 'all right, my lord. knows he'll be damned--competent witness--knows he'll be damned.' that is really the whole of the matter. if a man is convinced that if he does wrong he will infallibly be punished for it he has then 'a saving faith.' this, unfortunately, is precisely the conviction which modern forms of religion produce hardly anywhere. the cubans are catholics, and hear mass and go to confession; but confession and the mass between them are enough for the consciences of most of them, and those who think are under the influence of the modern spirit, to which all things are doubtful. some find comfort in mr. herbert spencer. some regard christianity as a myth or poem, which had passed in unconscious good faith into the mind of mankind, and there might have remained undisturbed as a beneficent superstition had not protestantism sprung up and insisted on flinging away everything which was not literal and historical fact. historical fact had really no more to do with it than with the stories of prometheus or the siege of troy. the end was that no bottom of fact could be found, and we were all set drifting. notably too i observed among serious people there, what i have observed in other places, the visible relief with which they begin to look forward to extinction after death. when the authority is shaken on which the belief in a future life rests, the question inevitably recurs. men used to pretend that the idea of annihilation was horrible to them; now they regard the probability of it with calmness, if not with actual satisfaction. one very interesting cuban gentleman said to me that life would be very tolerable if one was certain that death would be the end of it. the theological alternatives were equally unattractive; tartarus was an eternity of misery, and the elysian fields an eternity of ennui. there is affectation in the talk of men, and one never knows from what they say exactly what is in their mind. i have often thought that the real character of a people shows itself nowhere with more unconscious completeness than in their cemeteries. philosophise as we may, few of us are deliberately insincere in the presence of death; and in the arrangements which we make for the reception of those who have been dear to us, and in the lines which we inscribe upon their monuments, we show what we are in ourselves perhaps more than what they were whom we commemorate. the parish churchyard is an emblem and epitome of english country life; london reflects itself in brompton and kensal green, and paris in père la chaise. one day as i was walking i found myself at the gate of the great suburban cemetery of havana. it was enclosed within high walls; the gateway was a vast arch of brown marble, beautiful and elaborately carved. within there was a garden simply and gracefully laid out with trees and shrubs and flowers in borders. the whole space inclosed may have been ten acres, of which half was assigned to those who were contented with a mere mound of earth to mark where they lay; the rest was divided into family vaults covered with large white marble slabs, separate headstones marking individuals for whom a particular record was required, and each group bearing the name of the family the members of which were sleeping there. the peculiarity of the place was the absence of inscriptions. there was a name and date, with e.p.d.--'en paz descansa'[ ]--or e.g.e.--'en gracia está'[ ]--and that seemed all that was needed. the virtues of the departed and the grief of the survivors were taken for granted in all but two instances. there may have been more, but i could find only these. one was in latin: ad coelites evocatÆ uxori eximÆ ignatius. _ignatius to his admirable wife who has been called up to heaven._ the other was in spanish verse, and struck me as a graceful imitation of the old manner of cervantes and lope de vega. the design on the monument was of a girl hanging an immortelle upon a cross. the tomb was of a caridad del monte, and the lines were: bendita caridad, las que piadosa su mano vierte en la funérea losa son flores recogidas en el suelo, mas con su olor perfumaián el cielo. it is dangerous for anyone to whom a language is only moderately familiar to attempt an appreciation of elegiac poetry, the effect of which, like the fragrance of a violet, must rather be perceived than accounted for. he may imagine what is not there, for a single word ill placed or ill chosen may spoil the charm, and of this a foreigner can never entirely judge. he may know what each word means, but he cannot know the associations of it. here, however, is a translation in which the sense is preserved, though the aroma is gone. the flowers which thou, oh blessed charity, with pious hand hast twined in funeral wreath, although on earthly soil they gathered be, will sweeten heaven with their perfumed breath. the flowers, i suppose, were the actions of caridad's own innocent life, which she was offering on the cross of christ; but one never can be sure that one has caught the exact sentiment of emotional verse in a foreign language. the beauty lies in an undefinable sweetness which rises from the melody of the words, and in a translation disappears altogether. who or what caridad del monte was, whether a young girl whom somebody had loved, or an allegoric and emblematic figure, i had no one to tell me. i must not omit one acquaintance which i was fortunate enough to make while staying at my seaside lodging. there appeared there one day, driven out of havana like myself by the noise, an american ecclesiastic with a friend who addressed him as 'my lord.' by the ring and purple, as well as by the title, i perceived that he was a bishop. his friend was his chaplain, and from their voices i gathered that they were both by extraction irish. the bishop had what is called a 'clergy-man's throat,' and had come from the states in search of a warmer climate. they kept entirely to themselves, but from the laughter and good-humour they were evidently excellent company for one another, and wanted no other. i rather wished than hoped that accident might introduce me to them. even in cuba the weather is uncertain. one day there came a high wind from the sea; the waves roared superbly upon the rocks, flying over them in rolling cataracts. i never saw foam so purely white or waves so transparent. as a spectacle it was beautiful, and the shore became a museum of coralline curiosities. indoors the effect was less agreeable. windows rattled and shutters broke from their fastenings and flew to and fro. the weathercock on the house-top creaked as he was whirled about, and the verandahs had to be closed, and the noise was like a prolonged thunder peal. the second day the wind became a cyclone, and chilly as if it came from the pole. none of us could stir out. the bishop suffered even more than i did; he walked up and down on the sheltered side of the house wrapped in a huge episcopalian cloak. i think he saw that i was sorry for him, as i really was. he spoke to me; he said he had felt the cold less in america when the thermometer marked ° below zero. it was not much, but the silence was broken. common suffering made a kind of link between us. after this he dropped an occasional gracious word as he passed, and one morning he came and sat by me and began to talk on subjects of extreme interest. chiefly he insisted on the rights of conscience and the tenderness for liberty of thought which had always been shown by the church of rome. he had been led to speak of it by the education question which has now become a burning one in the american union. the church, he said, never had interfered, and never could or would interfere, with any man's conscientious scruples. its own scruples, therefore, ought to be respected. the american state schools were irreligious, and catholic parents were unwilling to allow their children to attend them. they had established schools of their own, and they supported them by subscriptions among themselves. in these schools the boys and girls learnt everything which they could learn in the state schools, and they learnt to be virtuous besides. they were thus discharging to the full every duty which the state could claim of them, and the state had no right to tax them in addition for the maintenance of institutions of which they made no use, and of the principles of which they disapproved. there were now eight millions of catholics in the union. in more than one state they had an actual majority; and they intended to insist that as long as their children came up to the present educational standard, they should no longer be compelled to pay a second education tax to the government. the struggle, he admitted, would be a severe one, but the catholics had justice on their side, and would fight on till they won. in democracies the majority is to prevail, and if the control of education falls within the province of each separate state government, it is not easy to see on what ground the americans will be able to resist, or how there can be a struggle at all where the catholic vote is really the largest. the presence of the catholic church in a democracy is the real anomaly. the principle of the church is authority resting on a divine commission; the principle of democracy is the will of the people; and the church in the long run will have as hard a battle to fight with the divine right of the majority of numbers as she had with the divine right of the hohenstauffens and the plantagenets. she is adroit in adapting herself to circumstances, and, like her emblem the fish, she changes her colour with that of the element in which she swims. no doubt she has a strong position in this demand and will know how to use it. but i was surprised to hear even a catholic bishop insist that his church had always paid so much respect to the rights of conscience. i had been taught to believe that in the days of its power the church had not been particularly tender towards differences of opinion. fire and sword had been used freely enough as long as fire and sword were available. i hinted my astonishment. the bishop said the church had been slandered; the church had never in a single instance punished any man merely for conscientious error. protestants had falsified history. protestants read their histories, catholics read theirs, and the catholic version was the true one. the separate governments of europe had no doubt been cruel. in france, spain, the low countries, even in england, heretics had been harshly dealt with, but it was the governments that had burnt and massacred all those people, not the church. the governments were afraid of heresy because it led to revolution. the church had never shed any blood at all; the church could not, for she was forbidden to do so by her own canons. if she found a man obstinate in unbelief, she cut him off from the communion and handed him over to the secular arm. if the secular arm thought fit to kill him, the church's hands were clear of it. [illustration: port au prince, hayti.] so pilate washed his hands; so the judge might say he never hanged a murderer; the execution was the work of the hangman. the bishop defied me to produce an instance in which in rome, when the temporal power was with the pope and the civil magistrates were churchmen, there had ever been an execution for heresy. i mentioned giordano bruno, whom the bishop had forgotten; but we agreed not to quarrel, and i could not admire sufficiently the hardihood and the ingenuity of his argument. the english bishops and abbots passed through parliament the act _de hæretico comburendo_, but they were acting as politicians, not as churchmen. the spanish inquisition burnt freely and successfully. the inquisitors were archbishops and bishops, but the holy office was a function of the state. when gregory xiii. struck his medal in commemoration of the massacre of st. bartholomew he was then only the secular ruler of rome, and therefore fallible and subject to sin like other mortals. the church has many parts to play; her stage wardrobe is well furnished, and her actors so well instructed in their parts that they believe themselves in all that they say. the bishop was speaking no more than his exact conviction. he told me that in the middle ages secular princes were bound by their coronation oath to accept the pope as the arbiter of all quarrels between them. i asked where this oath was, or what were the terms of it? the words, he said, were unimportant. the fact was certain, and down to the fatal schism of the sixteenth century the pope had always been allowed to arbitrate, and quarrels had been prevented. i could but listen and wonder. he admitted that he had read one set of books and i another, as it was clear that he must have done. in the midst of our differences we found we had many points of agreement. we agreed that the breaking down of church authority at the reformation had been a fatal disaster; that without a sense of responsibility to a supernatural power, human beings would sink into ingenious apes, that human society would become no more than a congregation of apes, and that with differences of opinion and belief, that sense was becoming more and more obscured. so long as all serious men held the same convictions, and those convictions were embodied in the law, religion could speak with authority. the authority being denied or shaken, the fact itself became uncertain. the notion that everybody had a right to think as he pleased was felt to be absurd in common things. in every practical art or science the ignorant submitted to be guided by those who were better instructed than themselves. why should they be left to their private judgment on subjects where to go wrong was the more dangerous. all this was plain sailing. the corollary that if it is to retain its influence the church must not teach doctrines which outrage the common sense of mankind as luther led half europe to believe that the church was doing in the sixteenth century, we agreed that we would not dispute about. but i was interested to see that the leopard had not changed its spots, that it merely readjusted its attitudes to suit the modern taste, and that if it ever recovered its power it would claw and scratch in the old way. rome, like pilate, may protest its innocence of the blood which was spilt in its name and in its interests. did that tender and merciful court ever suggest to those prelates who passed the act in england for the burning of heretics that they were transgressing the sacred rights of conscience? did it reprove the inquisition or send a mild remonstrance to philip ii.? the eyes of those who are willing to be blinded will see only what they desire to see. footnotes: [ ] he rests in peace. [ ] he is now in grace. chapter xx. return to havana--the spaniards in cuba--prospects--american influence--future of the west indies--english rumours--leave cuba--the harbour at night--the bahama channel--hayti--port au prince--the black republic--west indian history. the air and quiet of vedado (so my retreat was called) soon set me up again, and i was able to face once more my hotel and its americans. i did not attempt to travel in cuba, nor was it necessary for my purpose. i stayed a few days longer at havana. i went to operas and churches; i sailed about the harbour in boats, the boatmen, all of them, not negroes, as in the antilles, but emigrants from the old country, chiefly gallicians. i met people of all sorts, among the rest a spanish officer--a major of engineers--who, if he lives, may come to something. major d---- took me over the fortifications, showed me the interior lines of the moro, and their latest specimens of modern artillery. the garrison are, of course, spanish regiments made of home-bred castilians, as i could not fail to recognise when i heard any of them speak. there are certain words of common use in spain powerful as the magic formulas of enchanters over the souls of men. you hear them everywhere in the peninsula; at cafe's, at tables d'hôte, and in private conversation. they are a part of the national intellectual equipment. either from prudery or because they are superior to old-world superstitions, the cubans have washed these expressions out of their language; but the national characteristics are preserved in the army, and the spell does not lose its efficacy because the islanders disbelieve in it. i have known a closed post office in madrid, where the clerk was deaf to polite entreaty, blown open by an oath as by a bomb shell. a squad of recruits in the moro, who were lying in the shade under a tree, neglected to rise as an officer went by. 'saludad, c----o!' he thundered out, and they bounded to their feet as if electrified. on the whole havana was something to have seen. it is the focus and epitome of spanish dominion in those seas, and i was forced to conclude that it was well for cuba that the english attempts to take possession of it had failed. be the faults of their administration as heavy as they are alleged to be, the spaniards have done more to europeanise their islands than we have done with ours. they have made cuba spanish--trinidad, dominica, st. lucia, grenada have never been english at all, and jamaica and barbadoes are ceasing to be english. cuba is a second home to the spaniards, a permanent addition to their soil. we are as birds of passage, temporary residents for transient purposes, with no home in our islands at all. once we thought them worth fighting for, and as long as it was a question of ships and cannon we made ourselves supreme rulers of the caribbean sea; yet the french and spaniards will probably outlive us there. they will remain perhaps as satellites of the united states, or in some other confederacy, or in recovered strength of their own; we, in a generation or two, if the causes now in operation continue to work as they are now working, shall have disappeared from the scene. in cuba there is a great spanish population; martinique and guadaloupe are parts of france; to us it seems a matter of indifference whether we keep our islands or abandon them, and we leave the remnants of our once precious settlements to float or drown as they can. australia and canada take care of themselves; we expect our west indies to do the same, careless of the difference of circumstance. we no longer talk of cutting our colonies adrift; the tone of public opinion is changed, and no one dares to advocate openly the desertion of the least important of them. but the neglect and indifference continue. we will not govern them effectively ourselves: our policy, so far as we have any policy, is to extend among them the principles of self-government, and self-government can only precipitate our extinction there as completely as we know that it would do in india if we were wild enough to venture the plunge. there is no enchantment in self-government which will make people love each other when they are indifferent or estranged. it can only force them into sharper collision. the opinion in cuba was, and is, that america is the residuary legatee of all the islands, spanish and english equally, and that she will be forced to take charge of them in the end whether she likes it or not. spain governs unjustly and corruptly; the cubans will not rest till they are free from her, and if once independent they will throw themselves on american protection. we will not govern our islands at all, but leave them to drift. jamaica and the antilles, given over to the negro majorities, can only become like hayti and st. domingo; and the nature of things will hardly permit so fair a part of the earth which has been once civilised and under white control to fall back into barbarism. to england the loss of the west indies would not itself be serious; but in the life of nations discreditable failures are not measured by their immediate material consequences. to allow a group of colonies to slide out of our hands because we could not or would not provide them with a tolerable government would be nothing less than a public disgrace. it would be an intimation to all the world that we were unable to maintain any longer the position which our fathers had made for us; and when the unravelling of the knitted fabric of the empire has once begun the process will be a rapid one. 'but what would you do?' i am asked impatiently. 'we send out peers or gentlemen against whose character no direct objection can be raised; we assist them with local councils partly chosen by the people themselves. we send out bishops, we send out missionaries, we open schools. what can we do more? we cannot alter the climate, we cannot make planters prosper when sugar will not pay, we cannot convert black men into whites, we cannot force the blacks to work for the whites when they do not wish to work for them. "governing," as you call it, will not change the natural conditions of things. you can suggest no remedy, and mere fault-finding is foolish and mischievous.' i might answer a good many things. government cannot do everything, but it can do something, and there is a difference between governors against whom there is nothing to object and men of special and marked capacity. there is a difference between governors whose hands are tied by local councils and whose feet are tied by instructions from home, and a governor with a free hand and a wise head left to take his own measures on the spot. i presume that no one can seriously expect that an orderly organised nation can be made out of the blacks, when, in spite of your schools and missionaries, sixty per cent. of the children now born among them are illegitimate. you can do for the west indies, i repeat over and over again, what you do for the east; you can establish a firm authoritative government which will protect the blacks in their civil rights and protect the whites in theirs. you cannot alter the climate, it is true, or make the soil more fertile. already it is fertile as any in the earth, and the climate is admirable for the purposes for which it is needed. but you can restore confidence in the stability of your tenure, you can give courage to the whites who are on the spot to remain there, and you can tempt capital and enterprise to venture there which now seek investments elsewhere. by keeping the rule in your own hands you will restore the white population to their legitimate influence; the blacks will again look up to them and respect them as they ought to do. this you can do, and it will cost you nothing save a little more pains in the selection of the persons whom you are to trust with powers analogous to those which you grant to your provincial governors in the indian peninsula. a preliminary condition of this, as of all other real improvements, is one, however, which will hardly be fulfilled. before a beginning can be made, a conviction is wanted that life has other objects besides present interest and convenience; and very few of us indeed have at the bottom of our hearts any such conviction at all. we can talk about it in fine language--no age ever talked more or better--but we don't believe in it; we believe only in professing to believe, which soothes our vanity and does not interfere with our actions. from fine words no harvests grow. the negroes are well disposed to follow and obey any white who will be kind and just to them, and in such following and obedience their only hope of improvement lies. the problem is to create a state of things under which englishmen of vigour and character will make their homes among them. annexation to the united states would lead probably to their extermination at no very distant time. the antilles are small, and the fate of the negroes there might be no better than the fate of the caribs. the americans are not a people who can be trifled with; no one knows it better than the negroes. they fear them. they prefer infinitely the mild rule of england, and under such a government as we might provide if we cared to try, the whole of our islands might become like the moravian settlement in jamaica, and the black nature, which has rather degenerated than improved in these late days of licence, might be put again in the way of regeneration. the process would be slow--your seedlings in a plantation hang stationary year after year, but they do move at last. we cannot disown our responsibility for these poor adopted brothers of ours. we send missionaries into africa to convert them to a better form of religion; why should the attempt seem chimerical to convert them practically to a higher purpose in our own colonies? the reader will be weary of a sermon the points of which have been reiterated so often. i might say that he requires to have the lesson impressed upon him--that it is for his good that i insist upon it, and not for my own. but this is the common language of all preachers, and it is not found to make the hearers more attentive. i will not promise to say no more upon the subject, for it was forced upon me at every moment and point of my journey. i am arriving near the end, however, and if he has followed so far, he will perhaps go on with me to the conclusion. i had three weeks to give to havana; they were fast running out, and it was time for me to be going. strange stories, too, came from england, which made me uneasy till i knew how they were set in circulation. one day mr. gladstone was said to have gone mad, and the queen the next. the russians were about to annex afghanistan. our troops had been cut to pieces in burmah. something was going wrong with us every day in one corner of the world or another. i found at last that the telegraphic intelligence was supplied to the cuban newspapers from new york, that the telegraph clerks there were generally irish, and their facts were the creation of their wishes. i was to return to jamaica in the same vessel which had brought me from it. she had been down to the isthmus, and was to call at havana on her way back. the captain's most english face was a welcome sight to me when he appeared one evening at dinner. he had come to tell me that he was to sail early on the following morning, and i arranged to go on board with him the same night. the captain-general had not forgotten to instruct the gobierno civil to grant me an _exeat regno_. i do not know that i gained much by his intercession, for without it i should hardly have been detained indefinitely, and as it was i had to pay more dollars than i liked to part with. the necessary documents, however, had been sent through the british consul, and i was free to leave when i pleased. i paid my bill at the hotel, which was not after all an extravagant one, cleared my pocket-book of the remainder of the soiled and tattered paper which is called money, and does duty for it down to a half-penny, and with my distinguished friend don g----, the real acquisition which i had made in coming to his country, and who would not leave me till i was in the boat, i drove away to the wharf. it was a still, lovely, starlight night. the moon had risen over the hills, and was shining brightly on the roofs and towers of the city, and on the masts and spars of the vessels which were riding in the harbour. there was not a ripple on the water, and stars and city, towers and ships, stood inverted on the surface pointing downward as into a second infinity. the charm was unfortunately interfered with by odours worse than coleridge found at cologne and cursed in rhyme. the drains of havana, like orange blossom, give off their most fragrant vapours in the dark hours. i could well believe don g----'s saying, that but for the natural healthiness of the place, they would all die of it like poisoned flies. we had to cut our adieus short, for the mouth of some horrid sewer was close to us. in the boat i did not escape; the water smelt horribly as it was stirred by the oars, charged as it was with three centuries of pollution, and the phosphorescent light shone with a sickly, sulphur-like brilliance. one could have fancied that one was in charon's boat and was crossing acheron. when i reached the steamer i watched from the deck the same ghost-like phenomenon which is described by tom cringle. a fathom deep, in the ship's shadow, some shark or other monster sailed slowly by in an envelope of spectral lustre. when he stopped his figure disappeared, when he moved on again it was like the movement of a streak of blue flame. such a creature did not seem as if it could belong to our familiar sunlit ocean. the state of the harbour is not creditable to the spanish government, and i suppose will not be improved till there is some change of dynasty. all that can be said for it is that it is not the worst in these seas. our ship had just come from the canal, and had brought the latest news from thence. * * * * * but the miscalculations of the work to be done and of the expense of doing it are now notorious to all the world. the alternatives are to abandon an enterprise so splendid in conception, so disastrous in the execution, or to raise and spend fresh tens of millions to follow those that are gone with no certain prospect of success after all. the saddest part of the story will be soonest forgotten--the frightful consumption of human life in those damp and pestilential jungles. m. lesseps having made his name immortal at suez, aspired at eclipsing his first achievement, by a second yet more splendidly ambitious, at a time of life when common men are content to retire upon their laurels. he deserves and will receive an unstinted admiration for his energy and his enthusiasm. but his countrymen who have so zealously supported him will be rewarded with no dividend upon their shares, even if the two oceans are eventually united, and no final success can be looked for in the bold projector's life time. at dawn we swept out under the moro, and away once more into the free fresh open sea. we had come down on the south side of the island, we returned by the north up the old bahama channel where drake died on his way home from his last unsuccessful expedition--lope de vega singing a pæan over the end of the great 'dragon.' fresh passengers brought fresh talk. there was a clever young jamaican on board returning from a holiday; he had the spirits of youth about him, and would have pleased my american who never knew good come of despondency. he had hopes for his country, but they rested, like those of every sensible man that i met, on an inability to believe that there would be further advances in the direction of political liberty. a revised constitution, he said, could issue only in fresh gordon riots and fresh calamities. he had been travelling in the southern states. he had seen the state of mississippi deserted by the whites, and falling back into a black wilderness. he had seen south carolina, which had narrowly escaped ruin under a black and carpet-bagger legislature, and had recovered itself under the steady determination of the americans that the civil war was not to mean the domination of negro over white. the danger was greater in the english islands than in either of these states, from the enormous disproportion of numbers. the experiment could be ventured only under a high census and a restricted franchise. but the experience of all countries showed that these limited franchises were invidious and could not be maintained, the end was involved in the beginning, and he trusted that prudent counsels would prevail. we had gone too far already. on board also there was a traveller from a manchester house of business, who gave me a more flourishing account than i expected of the state of our trade, not so much with the english islands as with the spaniards in cuba and on the mainland. his own house, he said, had a large business with havana; twenty firms in the north of england were competing there, and all were doing well. the spanish americans on the west side of the continent were good customers, with the exception of the mexicans, who were energetic and industrious, and manufactured for their own consumption. these modern aztecs were skilful workmen, nimble-fingered and inventive. wages were low, but they were contented with them. mexico, i was surprised to hear from him, was rising fast into prosperity. whether human life was any safer then than it was a few years ago, he did not tell me. amidst talk and chess and occasional whist after nightfall when reading became difficult, we ran along with smooth seas, land sometimes in sight, with shoals on either side of us. we were to have one more glimpse of hayti; we were to touch at port au prince, the seat of government of the successors of toussaint. if beauty of situation could mould human character, the inhabitants of port au prince might claim to be the first of mankind. st. domingo or española, of which hayti is the largest division, was the earliest island discovered by columbus and the finest in the caribbean ocean. it remained spanish, as i have already said, for years, when hayti was taken by the french buccaneers, and made over by them to louis xiv. the french kept it till the revolution. they built towns; they laid out farms and sugar fields; they planted coffee all over the island, where it now grows wild.' vast herds of cattle roamed over the mountains; splendid houses rose over the rich savannahs. the french church put out its strength; there were churches and priests in every parish; there were monasteries and nunneries for the religious orders. so firm was the hold that they had gained that hayti, like cuba, seemed to have been made a part of the old world, and as civilised as france itself. but french civilisation became itself electric. the revolution came, and the reign of liberty. the blacks took arms; they surprised the plantations; they made a clean sweep of the whole french population. yellow fever swept away the armies which were sent to avenge the massacre, and france being engaged in annexing europe had no leisure to despatch more. the island being thus derelict, spain and england both tried their hand to recover it, but failed from the same cause, and a black nation, with a republican constitution and a population perhaps of about a million and a half of pure-blood negroes, has since been in unchallenged possession, and has arrived at the condition which has been described to us by sir spenser st. john. republics which begin with murder and plunder do not come to much good in this world. hayti has passed through many revolutions, and is no nearer than at first to stability. the present president, m. salomon, who was long a refugee in jamaica, came into power a few years back by a turn of the wheel. he was described to me as a peremptory gentleman who made quick work with his political opponents. his term of office having nearly expired, he had re-elected himself shortly before for another seven years and was prepared to maintain his right by any measures which he might think expedient. he had a few regiments of soldiers, who, i was told, were devoted to him, and a fleet consisting of two gunboats commanded by an american officer, to whom he chiefly owed his security. we had steamed along the hayti coast all one afternoon, underneath a high range of hills which used to be the hunting ground of the buccaneers. we had passed their famous tortugas[ ] without seeing them. towards evening we entered the long channel between gonaive island and the mainland, going slowly that we might not arrive at port au prince before daylight. it was six in the morning when the anchor rattled down, and i went on deck to look about me. we were at the head of a fiord rather broader than those in norway, but very like them--wooded mountains rising on either side of us, an open valley in front, and on the rich level soil washed down by the rains and deposited along the shore, the old french and now president salomon's capital. palms and oranges and other trees were growing everywhere among the houses giving the impression of graceful civilisation. directly before us were three or four wooded islets which form a natural breakwater, and above them were seen the masts of the vessels which were lying in the harbour behind. close to where we were brought up lay the 'canada,' an english frigate, and about a quarter of a mile from her an american frigate of about the same size, with the stars and stripes conspicuously flying. we have had some differences of late with the hayti authorities, and the satisfaction which we asked for having been refused or delayed, a man-of-war had been sent to ask redress in more peremptory terms. the town lay under her guns; the president's ships, which she might perhaps have seized as a security, had been taken out of sight into shallow water, where she could not follow them. the americans have no particular rights in hayti, and are as little liked as we are, but they are feared, and they do not allow any business of a serious kind to go on in those waters without knowing what it is about. perhaps the president's admiral of the station being an american may have had something to do with their presence. anyway, there the two ships were lying when i came up from below, their hulks and spars outlined picturesquely against the steep wooded shores. the air was hot and steamy; fishing vessels with white sails were drifting slowly about the glassy water. except for the heat and a black officer of the customs in uniform, and his boat and black crew alongside, i could have believed myself off mölde or some similar norwegian town, so like everything seemed, even to the colour of the houses. we were to stay some hours. after breakfast we landed. i had seen jacmel, and therefore thought myself prepared for the worst which i should find. jacmel was an outlying symptom; port au prince was the central ulcer. long before we came to shore there came off whiffs, not of drains as at havana, but of active dirt fermenting in the sunlight. calling our handkerchiefs to our help and looking to our feet carefully, we stepped up upon the quay and walked forward as judiciously as we could. with the help of stones we crossed a shallow ditch, where rotten fish, vegetables, and other articles were lying about promiscuously, and we came on what did duty for a grand parade. we were in a paris of the gutter, with boulevards and _places_, _fiacres_ and crimson parasols. the boulevards were littered with the refuse of the houses and were foul as pigsties, and the ladies under the parasols were picking their way along them in parisian boots and silk dresses. i saw a _fiacre_ broken down in a black pool out of which a blacker ladyship was scrambling. fever breeds so prodigally in that pestilential squalor that , people were estimated to have died of it in a single year. there were shops and stores and streets, men and women in tawdry european costume, and officers on horseback with a tatter of lace and gilding. we passed up the principal avenue, which opened on the market place. above the market was the cathedral, more hideous than even the mormon temple at salt lake. it was full of ladies; the rank, beauty, and fashion of port au prince were at their morning mass, for they are catholics with african beliefs underneath. they have a french clergy, an archbishop and bishop, paid miserably but still subsisting; subsisting not as objects of reverence at all, as they are at dominica, but as the humble servants and ministers of black society. we english are in bad favour just now; no wonder, with the guns of the 'canada' pointed at the city; but the chief complaint is on account of sir spenser st. john's book, which they cry out against with a degree of anger which is the surest evidence of its truth. it would be unfair even to hint at the names or stations of various persons who gave me information about the condition of the place and people. enough that those who knew well what they were speaking about assured me that hayti was the most ridiculous caricature of civilisation in the whole world. doubtless the whites there are not disinterested witnesses; for they are treated as they once treated the blacks. they can own no freehold property, and exist only on tolerance. they are called 'white trash.' black dukes and marquises drive over them in the street and swear at them, and they consider it an invasion of the natural order of things. if this was the worst, or even if the dirt and the disease was the worst, it might be borne with, for the whites might go away if they pleased, and they pay the penalty themselves for choosing to be there. but this is not the worst. immorality is so universal that it almost ceases to be a fault, for a fault implies an exception, and in hayti it is the rule. young people make experiment of one another before they will enter into any closer connection. so far they are no worse than in our own english islands, where the custom is equally general; but behind the immorality, behind the religiosity, there lies active and alive the horrible revival of the west african superstitions; the serpent worship, and the child sacrifice, and the cannibalism. there is no room to doubt it. a missionary assured me that an instance of it occurred only a year ago within his own personal knowledge. the facts are notorious; a full account was published in one of the local newspapers, and the only result was that the president imprisoned the editor for exposing his country. a few years ago persons guilty of these infamies were tried and punished; now they are left alone, because to prosecute and convict them would be to acknowledge the truth of the indictment. in this, as in all other communities, there is a better side as well as a worse. the better part is ashamed of the condition into which the country has fallen; rational and well-disposed haytians would welcome back the french but for an impression, whether well founded or ill i know not, that the americans would not suffer any european nation to reacquire or recover any new territory on their side of the atlantic. they make the most they can of their french connection. they send their children to paris to be educated, and many of them go thither themselves. there is money among them, though industry there is none. the hayti coffee which bears so high a reputation is simply gathered under the bushes which the french planters left behind them, and is half as excellent as it ought to be because it is so carelessly cleaned. yet so rich is the island in these and other natural productions that they cannot entirely ruin it. they have a revenue from their customs of , , dollars to be the prey of political schemers. they have a constitution, of course, with a legislature--two houses of a legislature--universal suffrage, &c., but it does not save them from revolutions, which recurred every two or three years till the time of the present president. he being of stronger metal than the rest, takes care that the votes are given as he pleases, shoots down recusants, and knows how to make himself feared. he is a giant, they say--i did not see him--six feet some inches in height and broad in proportion. when in jamaica he was a friend of gordon, and the intimacy between them is worth noting, as throwing light on gordon's political aspirations. i stayed no longer than the ship's business detained the captain, and i breathed more freely when i had left that miserable cross-birth of ferocity and philanthropic sentiment. no one can foretell the future fate of the black republic, but the present order of things cannot last in an island so close under the american shores. if the americans forbid any other power to interfere, they will have to interfere themselves. if they find mormonism an intolerable blot upon their escutcheon, they will have to put a stop in some way or other to cannibalism and devil-worship. meanwhile, the ninety years of negro self-government have had their use in showing what it really means, and if english statesmen, either to save themselves trouble or to please the prevailing uninstructed sentiment, insist on extending it, they will be found when the accounts are made up to have been no better friends to the unlucky negro than their slave-trading forefathers. from the head of the bay on which port au prince stands there reaches out on the west the long arm or peninsula which is so peculiar a feature in the geography of the island. the arm bone is a continuous ridge of mountains rising to a height of , feet and stretching for miles. at the back towards the ocean is jacmel, on the other side is the bight of leogane, over which and along the land our course lay after leaving president salomon's city. the day was unusually hot, and we sat under an awning on deck watching the changes in the landscape as ravines opened and closed again, and tall peaks changed their shapes and angles. clouds came down upon the mountain tops and passed off again, whole galleries of pictures swept by, and nature never made more lovely ones. the peculiarity of tropical mountain scenery is that the high summits are clothed with trees. the outlines are thus softened and rounded, save where the rock is broken into precipices. along the sea and for several miles inland are the basses terres as they used to be called, level alluvial plains, cut and watered at intervals by rivers, once covered with thriving plantations and now a jungle. there are no wild beasts there save an occasional man, few snakes, and those not dangerous. the acres of richest soil which are waiting there till reasonable beings can return and cultivate them, must be hundreds of thousands. in the valleys and on the slopes there are all gradations of climate, abundant water, grass lands that might be black with cattle, or on the loftier ranges white with sheep. it is strange to think how chequered a history these islands have had, how far they are even yet from any condition which promises permanence. not one of them has arrived at any stable independence. spaniards, english and french, dutch and danes scrambled for them, fought for them, occupied them more or less with their own people, but it was not to found new nations, but to get gold or get something which could be changed for gold. only occasionally, and as it were by accident, they became the theatre of any grander game. the war of the reformation was carried thither, and heroic deeds were done there, but it was by adventurers who were in search of plunder for themselves. france and england fought among the antilles, and their names are connected with many a gallant action; but they fought for the sovereignty of the seas, not for the rights and liberties of the french or english inhabitants of the islands. instead of occupying them with free inhabitants, the european nations filled them with slave gangs. they were valued only for the wealth which they yielded, and society there has never assumed any particularly noble aspect. there has been splendour and luxurious living, and there have been crimes and horrors, and revolts and massacres. there has been romance, but it has been the romance of pirates and outlaws. the natural graces of human life do not show themselves under such conditions. there has been no saint in the west indies since las casas, no hero, unless philonegro enthusiasm can make one out of toussaint. there are no people there in the true sense of the word, with a character and purpose of their own, unless to some extent in cuba, and therefore when the wind has changed and the wealth for which the islands were alone desired is no longer to be made among them, and slavery is no longer possible and would not pay if it were, there is nothing to fall back upon. the palaces of the english planters and merchants fall to decay; their wines and their furniture, their books and their pictures, are sold or dispersed. their existence is a struggle to keep afloat, and one by one they go under in the waves. the blacks as long as they were slaves were docile and partially civilised. they have behaved on the whole well in our islands since their emancipation, for though they were personally free the whites were still their rulers, and they looked up to them with respect. they have acquired land and notions of property, some of them can read, many of them are tolerable workmen and some excellent, but in character the movement is backwards, not forwards. even in hayti, after the first outburst of ferocity, a tolerable government was possible for a generation or two. orderly habits are not immediately lost, but the effect of leaving the negro nature to itself is apparent at last. in the english islands they are innocently happy in the unconsciousness of the obligations of morality. they eat, drink, sleep, and smoke, and do the least in the way of work that they can. they have no ideas of duty, and therefore are not made uneasy by neglecting it. one or other of them occasionally rises in the legal or other profession, but there is no sign, not the slightest, that the generality of the race are improving either in intelligence or moral habits; all the evidence is the other way. no uncle tom, no aunt chloe need be looked for in a negro's cabin in the west indies. if such specimens of black humanity are to be found anywhere, it will be where they have continued under the old influences as servants in white men's houses. the generality are mere good-natured animals, who in service had learnt certain accomplishments, and had developed certain qualities of a higher kind. left to themselves they fall back upon the superstitions and habits of their ancestors. the key to the character of any people is to be found in the local customs which have spontaneously grown or are growing among them. the customs of dahomey have not yet shown themselves in the english west indies and never can while the english authority is maintained; but no custom of any kind will be found in a negro hut or village from which his most sanguine friend can derive a hope that he is on the way to mending himself. roses do not grow on thorn trees, nor figs on thistles. a healthy human civilisation was not perhaps to be looked for in countries which have been alternately the prey of avarice, ambition, and sentimentalism. we visit foreign countries to see varieties of life and character, to learn languages that we may gain an insight into various literatures, to see manners unlike our own springing naturally out of different soils and climates, to see beautiful works of art, to see places associated with great men and great actions, and subsidiary to these, to see lakes and mountains, and strange skies and seas. but the localities of great events and the homes of the actors in them are only saddening when the spiritual results are disappointing, and scenery loses its charm unless the grace of humanity is in the heart of it. to the man of science the west indies may be delightful and instructive. rocks and trees and flowers remain as they always were, and nature is constant to herself. but the traveller whose heart is with his kind, and who cares only to see his brother mortals making their corner of this planet into an orderly and rational home, had better choose some other object for his pilgrimage. footnotes: [ ] tortoise islands; the buccaneers' head quarters. chapter xxi. return to jamaica--cherry garden again--black servants--social conditions--sir henry norman--king's house once more--negro suffrage--the will of the people--the irish python--conditions of colonial union--oratory and statesmanship. i had to return to jamaica from cuba to meet the mail to england. my second stay could be but brief. for the short time that was allowed me i went back to my hospitable friends at cherry garden, which is an oasis in the wilderness. in the heads of the family there was cultivation and simplicity and sense. there was a home life with its quiet occupations and enjoyments--serious when seriousness was needed, light and bright in the ordinary routine of existence. the black domestics, far unlike the children of liberty whom i had left at port au prince, had caught their tone from their master and mistress, and were low-voiced, humorous, and pleasant to talk with. so perfect were they in their several capacities, that, like the girls at government house at dominica, i would have liked to pack them in my portmanteau and carry them home. the black butler received me on my arrival as an old friend. he brought me a pair of boots which i had left behind me on my first visit; he told me 'the female' had found them. the lady of the house took me out for a drive with her. the coachman half-upset us into a ditch, and we narrowly escaped being pitched into a ravine. the dusky creature insisted pathetically that it was not his fault, nor the horse's fault. his ebony wife had left him for a week's visit to a friend, and his wits had gone after her. of course he was forgiven. cherry garden was a genuine homestead, a very menagerie of domestic animals of all sorts and breeds. horses loitered under the shade of the mangoes; cows, asses, dogs, turkeys, cocks and hens, geese, guinea fowl and pea fowl lounged and strutted about the paddocks. in the grey of the morning they held their concerts; the asses brayed, the dogs barked, the turkeys gobbled, and the pea fowl screamed. it was enough to waken the seven sleepers, but the noises seemed so home-like and natural that they mixed pleasantly in one's dreams. one morning, after they had been holding a special jubilee, the butler apologised for them when he came to call me, and laughed as at the best of jokes when i said they did not mean any harm. the great feature of the day was five cats, with blue eyes and spotlessly white, who walked in regularly at breakfast, ranged themselves on their tails round their mistress's chair, and ate their porridge and milk like reasonable creatures. within and without all was orderly. the gardens were in perfect condition; fields were being inclosed and planted; the work of the place went on of itself, with the eye of the mistress on it, and her voice, if necessary, heard in command; but black and white were all friends together. what could man ask for, more than to live all his days in such a climate and with such surroundings? why should a realised ideal like this pass away? why may it not extend itself till it has transformed the features of all our west indian possessions? thousand of english families might be living in similar scenes, happy in themselves and spreading round them a happy, wholesome english atmosphere. why not indeed? only because we are enchanted. because in jamaica and barbadoes the white planters had a constitution granted them two hundred years ago, therefore their emancipated slaves must now have a constitution also. wonderful logic of formulas, powerful as a witches' cauldron for mischief as long as it is believed in. the colonies and the empire! if the colonies were part indeed of the empire, if they were taken into partnership as the americans take theirs, and were members of an organised body, if an injury to each single limb would be felt as an injury to the whole, we should not be playing with their vital interests to catch votes at home. alas! at home we are split in two, and party is more than the nation, and famous statesmen, thinly disguising their motives under a mask of policy, condemn to-day what they approved of yesterday, and catch at power by projects which they would be the first to denounce if suggested by their adversaries. till this tyranny be overpast, to bring into one the scattered portions of the empire is the idlest of dreams, and the most that is to be hoped for is to arrest any active mischief. happy americans, who have a supreme court with a code of fundamental laws to control the vagaries of politicians and check the passions of fluctuating electoral majorities! what the supreme court is to them, the crown ought to be for us; but the crown is powerless and must remain powerless, and therefore we are as we are, and our national existence is made the shuttlecock of party contention. time passed so pleasantly with me in these concluding days that i could have wished it to be the nothing which metaphysicians say that it is, and that when one was happy it would leave one alone. we wandered in the shade in the mornings, we made expeditions in the evenings, called at friends' houses, and listened to the gossip of the island. it turned usually on the one absorbing subject--black servants and the difficulty of dealing with them. an american lady from pennsylvania declared emphatically as her opinion that emancipation had been a piece of folly, and that things would never mend till they were slaves again. one of my own chief hopes in going originally to jamaica had been to see and learn the views of the distinguished governor there. sir henry norman had been one of the most eminent of the soldier civilians in india. he had brought with him a brilliant reputation; he had won the confidence in the west indies of all classes and all colours. he, if anyone, would understand the problem, and from the high vantage ground of experience would know what could or could not be done to restore the influence of england and the prosperity of the colonies. unfortunately, sir henry had been called to london, as i mentioned before, on a question of the conduct of some official, and i was afraid that i should miss him altogether. he returned, however, the day before i was to sail. he was kind enough to ask me to spend an evening with him, and i was again on my last night a guest at king's house. a dinner party offers small opportunity for serious conversation, nor, indeed, could i expect a great person in sir henry's position to enter upon subjects of consequence with a stranger like myself. i could see, however, that i had nothing to correct in the impression of his character which his reputation had led me to form about him, and i wished more than ever that the system of government of which he had been so admirable a servant in india could be applied to his present position, and that he or such as he could have the administration of it. we had common friends in the indian service to talk about; one especially, reynell taylor, now dead, who had been the earliest of my boy companions. taylor had been one of the handful of english who held the punjaub in the first revolt of the sikhs. with a woman's modesty he had the spirit of a knight-errant. sir henry described him as the 'very soul of chivalry,' and seemed himself to be a man of the same pure and noble nature, perhaps liable, from the generosity of his temperament, to believe more than i could do in modern notions and in modern political heroes, but certainly not inclining of his own will to recommend any rash innovations. i perceived that like myself he felt no regret that so much of the soil of jamaica was passing to peasant black proprietors. he thought well of their natural disposition; he believed them capable of improvement. he thought that the possession of land of their own would bring them into voluntary industry, and lead them gradually to the adoption of civilised habits. he spoke with reserve, and perhaps i may not have understood him fully, but he did not seem to me to think much of their political capacity. the local boards which have been established as an education for higher functions have not been a success. they had been described to me in all parts of the island as inflammable centres of peculation and mismanagement. sir henry said nothing from which i could gather his own opinion. i inferred, however (he will pardon me if i misrepresent him), that he had no great belief in a federation of the islands, in 'responsible government,' and such like, as within the bounds of present possibilities. nor did he think that responsible statesmen at home had any such arrangement in view. that such an arrangement was in contemplation a few years ago, i knew from competent authority. perhaps the unexpected interest which the english people have lately shown in the colonies has modified opinion in those high circles, and has taught politicians that they must advance more cautiously. but the wind still sits in the old quarter. three years ago, the self-suppressed constitution in jamaica was partially re-established. a franchise was conceded both there and in barbadoes which gave every black householder a vote. even in poor dominica, an extended suffrage was hung out as a remedy for its wretchedness. if nothing further is intended, these concessions have been gratuitously mischievous. it has roused the hopes of political agitators, not in jamaica only, but all over the antilles. it has taught the people, who have no grievances at all, who in their present state are better protected than any peasantry in the world except the irish, to look to political changes as a road to an impossible millennium. it has rekindled hopes which had been long extinguished, that, like their brothers in hayti, they were on the way to have the islands to themselves. it has alienated the english colonists, filled them with the worst apprehensions, and taught them to look wistfully from their own country to a union with america. a few elected members in a council where they may be counterbalanced by an equal number of official members seems a small thing in itself. so long as the equality was maintained, my yankee friend was still willing to risk his capital in jamaican enterprises. but the principle has been allowed. the existing arrangement is a half-measure which satisfies none and irritates all, and collisions between the representatives of the people and the nominees of the government are only avoided by leaving a sufficient number of official seats unfilled. to have re-entered upon a road where you cannot stand still, where retreat is impossible, and where to go forward can only be recommended on the hypothesis that to give a man a vote will itself qualify him for the use of it, has been one of the minor achievements of the last government of mr. gladstone, and is likely to be as successful as his larger exploits nearer home have as yet proved to be. a supreme court, were we happy enough to possess such a thing, would forbid these venturous experiments of sanguine statesmen who may happen, for a moment, to command a trifling majority in the house of commons. i could not say what i felt completely to sir henry, who, perhaps, had been in personal relations with mr. gladstone's government. perhaps, too, he was one of those numerous persons of tried ability and intelligence who have only a faint belief that the connection between great britain and the colonies can be of long continuance. the public may amuse themselves with the vision of an imperial union; practical statesmen who are aware of the tendencies of self-governed communities to follow lines of their own in which the mother country cannot support them may believe that they know it to be impossible. as to the west indies there are but two genuine alternatives: one to leave them to themselves to shape their own destinies, as we leave australia; the other to govern them as if they were a part of great britain with the same scrupulous care of the people and their interests with which we govern bengal, madras, and bombay. england is responsible for the social condition of those islands. she filled them with negroes when it was her interest to maintain slavery, she emancipated those negroes when popular opinion at home demanded that slavery should end. it appears to me that england ought to bear the consequences of her own actions, and assume to herself the responsibilities of a state of things which she has herself created. we are partly unwilling to take the trouble, partly we cling to the popular belief that to trust all countries with the care of their own concerns is the way to raise the character of the inhabitants and to make them happy and contented. we dimly perceive that the population of the west indies is not a natural growth of internal tendencies and circumstances, and we therefore hesitate before we plunge completely and entirely into the downward course; but we play with it, we drift towards it, we advance as far as we dare, giving them the evils of both systems and the advantages of neither. at the same moment we extend the suffrage to the blacks with one hand, while with the other we refuse to our own people the benefit of a treaty which would have rescued them from imminent ruin and brought them into relations with their powerful kindred close at hand--relations which might save them from the most dangerous consequences of a negro political supremacy--and the result is that the english in those islands are melting away and will soon be crowded out, or will have departed of themselves in disgust. a policy so far-reaching, and affecting so seriously the condition of the oldest of our colonial possessions, ought not to have been adopted on their own authority, by doctrinaire statesmen in a cabinet, without fully and frankly consulting the english nation; and no further step ought to be taken in that direction until the nation has had the circumstances of the islands laid before it, and has pronounced one way or the other its own sovereign pleasure. does or does not england desire that her own people shall be enabled to live and thrive in the west indies? if she decides that her hands are too full, that she is over-empired and cannot attend to them--_caditquæstio_--there is no more to be said. but if this is her resolution the hands of the west indians ought to be untied. they ought to be allowed to make their sugar treaties, to make any treaties, to enter into the closest relations with america which the americans will accept, as the only chance which will be left them. such abandonment, however, will bring us no honour. it will not further that federation of the british empire which so many of us now profess to desire. if we wish australia and canada to draw into closer union with us, it will not be by showing that we are unable to manage a group of colonies which are almost at our doors. englishmen all round the globe have rejoiced together in this year which is passing by us over the greatness of their inheritance, and have celebrated with enthusiasm the half-century during which our lady-mistress has reigned over the english world. unity and federation are on our lips, and we have our leagues and our institutes, and in the eagerness of our wishes we dream that we see the fulfilment of them. neither the kingdom of heaven nor any other kingdom 'comes with observation.' it comes not with after-dinner speeches however eloquent, or with flowing sentiments however for the moment sincere. the spirit which made the empire can alone hold it together. the american union was not saved by oratory. it was saved by the determination of the bravest of the people; it was cemented by the blood which dyed the slopes of gettysburg. the union of the british empire, if it is to be more than a dream, can continue only while the attracting force of the primary commands the willing attendance of the distant satellites. let the magnet lose its power, let the confidence of the colonies in the strength and resolution of their central orb be once shaken, and the centrifugal force will sweep them away into orbits of their own. the race of men who now inhabit this island of ours show no signs of degeneracy. the bow of ulysses is sound as ever; moths and worms have not injured either cord or horn; but it is unstrung, and the arrows which are shot from it drop feebly to the ground. the irish python rises again out of its swamp, and phoebus apollo launches no shaft against the scaly sides of it. phoebus apollo attempts the milder methods of concession and persuasion. 'python,' he says, 'in days when i was ignorant and unjust i struck you down and bound you. i left officers and men with you of my own race to watch you, to teach you, to rule you; to force you, if your own nature could not be changed, to leave your venomous ways. you have refused to be taught, you twist in your chains, you bite and tear, and when you can you steal and murder. i see that i was wrong from the first. every creature has a right to live according to its own disposition. i was a tyrant, and you did well to resist; i ask you to forgive and forget. i set you free; i hand you over my own representatives as a pledge of my goodwill, that you may devour them at your leisure. they have been the instruments of my oppression; consume them, destroy them, do what you will with them; and henceforward i hope that we shall live together as friends, and that you will show yourself worthy of my generosity and of the freedom which you have so gloriously won.' a sun-god who thus addressed a disobedient satellite might have the eloquence of a demosthenes and the finest of the fine intentions which pave the road to the wrong place, but he would not be a divinity who would command the willing confidence of a high-spirited kindred. great britain will make the tie which holds the colonies to her a real one when she shows them and shows the world that she is still equal to her great place, that her arm is not shortened and her heart has not grown faint. men speak of the sacredness of liberty. they talk as if the will of everyone ought to be his only guide, that allegiance is due only to majorities, that allegiance of any other kind is base and a relic of servitude. the americans are the freest people in the world; but in their freedom they have to obey the fundamental laws of the union. again and again in the west indies mr. motley's words came back to me. to be taken into the american union is to be adopted into a partnership. to belong as a crown colony to the british empire, as things stand, is no partnership at all. it is to belong to a power which sacrifices, as it has always sacrificed, the interest of its dependencies to its own. the blood runs freely through every vein and artery of the american body corporate. every single citizen feels his share in the life of his nation. great britain leaves her crown colonies to take care of themselves, refuses what they ask, and forces on them what they had rather be without. if i were a west indian i should feel that under the stars and stripes i should be safer than i was at present from political experimenting. i should have a market in which to sell my produce where i should be treated as a friend; i should have a power behind me and protecting me, and i should have a future to which i could look forward with confidence. america would restore me to home and life; great britain allows me to sink, contenting herself with advising me to be patient. why should i continue loyal when my loyalty was so contemptuously valued? but i will not believe that it will come to this. an englishman may be heavily tempted, but in evil fortune as in good his heart is in the old place. the administration of our affairs is taken for the present from prudent statesmen, and is made over to those who know how best to flatter the people with fine-sounding sentiments and idle adulation. all sovereigns have been undone by flatterers. the people are sovereign now, and, being new to power, listen to those who feed their vanity. the popular orator has been the ruin of every country which has trusted to him. he never speaks an unwelcome truth, for his existence depends on pleasing, and he cares only to tickle the ears of his audience. his element is anarchy; his function is to undo what better men have done. in wind he lives and moves and has his being. when the gods are angry, he can raise it to a hurricane and lay waste whole nations in ruin and revolution. it was said long ago, a man full of words shall not prosper upon the earth. times have changed, for in these days no one prospers so well. can he make a speech? is the first question which the constituencies ask when a candidate is offered to their suffrages. when the roman commonwealth developed from an aristocratic republic into a democracy, and, as now with us, the sovereignty was in the mass of the people, the oratorical faculty came to the front in the same way. the finest speaker was esteemed the fittest man to be made a consul or a prætor of, and there were schools of rhetoric where aspirants for office had to go to learn gesture and intonation before they could present themselves at the hustings. the sovereign people and their orators could do much, but they could not alter facts, or make that which was not, to be, or that which was, not to be. the orators could perorate and the people could decree, but facts remained and facts proved the strongest, and the end of that was that after a short supremacy the empire which they had brought to the edge of ruin was saved at the last extremity; the sovereign people lost their liberties, and the tongues of political orators were silenced for centuries. illusion at last takes the form of broken heads, and the most obstinate credulity is not proof against that form of argument. chapter xxii. going home--retrospect--alternative courses--future of the empire--sovereignty of the sea--the greeks--the rights of man--plato--the voice of the people--imperial federation--hereditary colonial policy--new irelands--effects of party government. once more upon the sea on our homeward way, carrying, as emerson said, 'the bag of Æolus in the boiler of our boat,' careless whether there be wind or calm. our old naval heroes passed and repassed upon the same waters under harder conditions. they had to struggle against tempests, to fight with enemy's cruisers, to battle for their lives with nature as with man--and they were victorious over them all. they won for britannia the sceptre of the sea, and built up the empire on which the sun never sets. to us, their successors, they handed down the splendid inheritance, and we in turn have invented steam ships and telegraphs, and thrown bridges over the ocean, and made our far-off possessions as easy of access as the next parish. the attractive force of the primary ought to have increased in the same ratio, but we do not find that it has, and the centrifugal and the centripetal tendencies of our satellites are year by year becoming more nicely balanced. these beautiful west indian islands were intended to be homes for the overflowing numbers of our own race, and the few that have gone there are being crowded out by the blacks from jamaica and the antilles. our poor helots at home drag on their lives in the lanes and alleys of our choking cities, and of those who gather heart to break off on their own account and seek elsewhere for a land of promise, the large majority are weary of the flag under which they have only known suffering, and prefer america to the english colonies. they are waking now to understand the opportunities which are slipping through their hands. has the awakening come too late? we have ourselves mixed the cup; must we now drink it the dregs? it is too late to enable us to make homes in the west indies for the swarms who are thrown off by our own towns and villages. we might have done it. englishmen would have thriven as well in jamaica and the antilles as the spaniards have thriven in cuba. but the islands are now peopled by men of another colour. the whites there are as units among hundreds, and the proportion cannot be altered. but it is not too late to redeem our own responsibilities. we brought the blacks there; we have as yet not done much for their improvement, when their notions of morality are still so elementary that more than half of their children are born out of marriage. the english planters were encouraged to settle there when it suited our convenience to maintain the islands for imperial purposes; like the landlords in ireland, they were our english garrison; and as with the landlords in ireland, when we imagine that they have served their purpose and can be no longer of use to us, we calmly change the conditions of society. we disclaim obligations to help them in the confusion which we have introduced; we tell them to help themselves, and they cannot help themselves in such an element as that in which they are now struggling, unless they know that they may count on the sympathy and the support of their countrymen at home. nothing is demanded of the english exchequer; the resources of the islands are practically boundless; there is a robust population conscious at the bottom of their native inferiority, and docile and willing to work if anyone will direct them and set them to it. there will be capital enough forthcoming, and energetic men enough and intelligence enough, if we on our part will provide one thing, the easiest of all if we really set our minds to it--an effective and authoritative government. it is not safe even for ourselves to leave a wound unattended to, though it be in the least significant part of our bodies. the west indies are a small limb in the great body corporate of the british empire, but there is no great and no small in the life of nations. the avoidable decay of the smallest member is an injury to the whole. let it be once known and felt that england regards the west indies as essentially one with herself, and the english in the islands will resume their natural position, and respect and order will come back, and those once thriving colonies will again advance with the rest on the high road of civilisation and prosperity. let it be known that england considers only her immediate interests and will not exert herself, and the other colonies will know what they have to count upon, and the british empire will dwindle down before long into a single insignificant island in the north sea. so end the reflections which i formed there from what i saw and what i heard. i have written as an outside observer unconnected with practical politics, with no motive except a loyal pride in the greatness of my own country, and a conviction, which i will not believe to be a dream, that the destinies have still in store for her a yet grander future. the units of us come and go; the british empire, the globe itself and all that it inherits, will pass away as a vision. [greek: essetai êmar hotan pot' olôlêi hilios hirê, kai priamos kai laos eummeliô priamoio.] the day will be when ilium's towers may fall, and large-limbed[ ] priam, and his people all. but that day cannot be yet. out of the now half-organic fragments may yet be formed one living imperial power, with a new era of beneficence and usefulness to mankind. the english people are spread far and wide. the sea is their dominion, and their land is the finest portion of the globe. it is theirs now, it will be theirs for ages to come if they remain themselves unchanged and keep the heart and temper of their forefathers. naught shall make us rue, if england to herself do rest but true. the days pass, and our ship flies fast upon her way. [greek: glaukon huper oidma kuanochroa te kumatôn rhothia polia thalassas.] how perfect the description! how exactly in those eight words euripides draws the picture of the ocean; the long grey heaving swell, the darker steel-grey on the shadowed slope of the surface waves, and the foam on their breaking crests. our thoughts flow back as we gaze to the times long ago, when the earth belonged to other races as it now belongs to us. the ocean is the same as it was. their eyes saw it as we see it: time writes no wrinkle on that azure brow. nor is the ocean alone the same. human nature is still vexed with the same problems, mocked with the same hopes, wandering after the same illusions. the sea affected the greeks as it affects us, and was equally dear to them. it was a greek who said, 'the sea washes off all the ills of men;' the 'stainless one' as Æschylus called it--the eternally pure. on long voyages i take greeks as my best companions. i had plato with me on my way home from the west indies. he lived and wrote in an age like ours, when religion had become a debatable subject on which every one had his opinion, and democracy was master of the civilised world, and the mediterranean states were running wild after liberty, preparatory to the bursting of the bubble. looking out on such a world plato left thoughts behind him the very language of which is as full of application to our own larger world as if it was written yesterday. it throws light on small things as well as large, and interprets alike the condition of the islands which i had left, the condition of england, the condition of all civilised countries in this modern epoch. the chief characteristic of this age, as it was the chief characteristic of plato's, is the struggle for what we call the 'rights of man.' in other times the thing insisted on was that men should do what was 'right' as something due to a higher authority. now the demand is for what is called their 'rights' as something due to themselves, and among these rights is a right to liberty; liberty meaning the utmost possible freedom of every man consistent with the freedom of others, and the abolition of every kind of authority of one man over another. it is with this view that we have introduced popular suffrage, that we give everyone a vote, or aim at giving it, as the highest political perfection. we turn to plato and we find: 'in a healthy community there ought to be some authority over every single man and woman. no person--not one--ought to act on his or her judgment alone even in the smallest trifle. the soldier on a campaign obeys his commander in little things as well as great. the safety of the army requires it. but it is in peace as it is in war, and there is no difference. every person should be trained from childhood to rule and to be ruled. so only can the life of man, and the life of all creatures dependent on him, be delivered from anarchy.' it is worth while to observe how diametrically opposite to our notions on this subject were the notions of a man of the finest intellect, with the fullest opportunities of observation, and every one of whose estimates of things was confirmed by the event. such a discipline as he recommends never existed in any community of men except perhaps among the religious orders in the enthusiasm of their first institution, nor would a society be long tolerable in which it was tried. communities, however, have existed where people have thought more of their obligations than of their 'rights,' more of the welfare of their country, or of the success of a cause to which they have devoted themselves, than of their personal pleasure or interest--have preferred the wise leading of superior men to their own wills and wishes. nay, perhaps no community has ever continued long, or has made a mark in the world of serious significance, where society has not been graduated in degrees, and there have not been deeper and stronger bands of coherence than the fluctuating votes of majorities. times are changed we are told. we live in a new era, when public opinion is king, and no other rule is possible; public opinion, as expressed in the press and on the platform, and by the deliberately chosen representatives of the people. every question can be discussed and argued, all sides of it can be heard, and the nation makes up its mind. the collective judgment of all is wiser than the wisest single man--_securus judicat orbis_. give the public time, and i believe this to be true; general opinion does in the long run form a right estimate of most persons and of most things. as surely its immediate impulses are almost invariably in directions which it afterwards regrets and repudiates, and therefore constitutions which have no surer basis than the popular judgment, as it shifts from year to year or parliament to parliament, are built on foundations looser than sand. in concluding this book i have a few more words to say on the subject, so ardently canvassed, of imperial federation. it seems so easy. you have only to form a new parliament in which the colonies shall be represented according to numbers, while each colony will retain its own for its own local purposes. local administration is demanded everywhere; england, scotland, wales, ireland, can each have theirs, and the vexed question of home rule can be disposed of in the reconstruction of the whole. a central parliament can then be formed in which the parts can all be represented in proportion to their number; and a cabinet can be selected out of this for the management of imperial concerns. nothing more is necessary; the thing will be done. so in a hundred forms, but all on the same principle, schemes of imperial union have fallen under my eye. i should myself judge from experience of what democratically elected parliaments are growing into, that at the first session of such a body the satellites would fly off into space, shattered perhaps themselves in the process. we have parliaments enough already, and if no better device can be found than by adding another to the number, the rash spirit of innovation has not yet gone far enough to fling our ancient constitution into the crucible on so wild a chance. imperial federation, as it is called, is far away, if ever it is to be realised at all. if it is to come it will come of itself, brought about by circumstances and silent impulses working continuously through many years unseen and unspoken of. it is conceivable that great britain and her scattered offspring, under the pressure of danger from without, or impelled by some general purpose, might agree to place themselves for a time under a single administrative head. it is conceivable that out of a combination so formed, if it led to a successful immediate result, some union of a closer kind might eventually emerge. it is not only conceivable, but it is entirely certain, that attempts made when no such occasion has arisen, by politicians ambitious of distinguishing themselves, will fail, and in failing will make the object that is aimed at more confessedly unattainable than it is now. the present relation between the mother country and her self-governed colonies is partly that of parent and children who have grown to maturity and are taking care of themselves, partly of independent nations in friendly alliance, partly as common subjects of the same sovereign, whose authority is exercised in each by ministers of its own. neither of these analogies is exact, for the position alters from year to year. so much the better. the relation which now exists cannot be more than provisional; let us not try to shape it artificially, after a closet-made pattern. the threads of interest and kindred must be left to spin themselves in their own way. meanwhile we can work together heartily and with good will where we need each other's co-operation. difficulties will rise, perhaps, from time to time, but we can meet them as they come, and we need not anticipate them. if we are to be politically one, the organic fibres which connect us are as yet too immature to bear a strain. all that we can do, and all that at present we ought to try, is to act generously whenever our assistance can be of use. the disposition of english statesmen to draw closer to the colonies is of recent growth. they cannot tell, and we cannot tell, how far it indicates a real change of attitude or is merely a passing mood. one thing, however, we ought to bear in mind, that the colonies sympathise one with another, and that wrong or neglect in any part of the empire does not escape notice. the larger colonies desire to know what the recent professions of interest are worth, and they look keenly at our treatment of their younger brothers who are still in our power. they are practical, they attend to results, they guard jealously their own privileges, but they are not so enamoured of constitutional theory that they will patiently see their fellow-countrymen in less favoured situations swamped under the votes of the coloured races. australians, canadians, new zealanders, will not be found enthusiastic for the extension of self-government in the west indies, when they know that it means the extinction of their own white brothers who have settled there. the placing english colonists at the mercy of coloured majorities they will resent as an injury to themselves; they will not look upon it as an extension of a generous principle, but as an act of airy virtue which costs us nothing, and at the bottom is but carelessness and indifference. we imagine that we have seen the errors of our old colonial policy, and that we are in no danger of repeating them. yet in the west indies we are treading over again the too familiar road. the anglo-irish colonists in petitioned for a union with great britain. a union would have involved a share in british trade; it was refused therefore, and we gave them the penal laws instead. they set up manufactures, built ships, and tried to raise a commerce of their own. we laid them under disabilities which ruined their enterprises, and when they were resentful and became troublesome we turned round to the native irish and made a virtue of protecting them against our own people whom we had injured. when the penal laws ceased to be useful to us, we did not allow them to be executed. we played off catholic against protestant while we were sacrificing both to our own jealousy. having made the government of the island impossible for those whom we had planted there to govern it, we emancipate the governed, and to conciliate them we allow them to appropriate the possessions of their late masters. and we have not conciliated the native irish; it was impossible that we should; we have simply armed them with the only weapons which enable them to revenge their wrongs upon us. the history of the west indies is a precise parallel. the islands were necessary to our safety in our struggle with france and spain. the colonists held them chiefly for us as a garrison, and we in turn gave the colonists their slaves. the white settlers ruled as in ireland, the slaves obeyed, and all went swimmingly. times changed at home. slavery became unpopular; it was abolished; and, with a generosity for which we never ceased to applaud ourselves, we voted an indemnity of twenty millions to the owners. we imagined that we had acquitted our consciences, but such debts are not discharged by payments of money. we had introduced the slaves into the islands for our own advantage; in setting them free we revolutionised society. we remained still responsible for the social consequences, and we did not choose to remember it. the planters were guilty only, like the irish landlords, of having ceased to be necessary to us. we practised our virtues vicariously at their expense: we had the praise and honour, they had the suffering. they begged that the emancipation might be gradual; our impatience to clear our reputation refused to wait. their system of cultivation being deranged, they petitioned for protection against the competition of countries where slavery continued. the request was natural, but could not be listened to because to grant it might raise infinitesimally the cost of the british workman's breakfast. they struggled on, and even when a new rival rose in the beetroot sugar they refused to be beaten. the european powers, to save their beetroot, went on to support it with a bounty. against the purse of foreign governments the sturdiest individuals cannot compete. defeated in a fight which had become unfair, the planters looked, and looked in vain, to their own government for help. finding none, they turned to their kindred in the united states; and there, at last, they found a hand held out to them. the americans were willing, though at a loss of two millions and a half of revenue, to admit the poor west indians to their own market. but a commercial treaty was necessary; and a treaty could not be made without the sanction of the english government. the english government, on some fine-drawn crotchet, refused to colonies which were weak and helpless what they would have granted without a word if demanded by victoria or new south wales, whose resentment they feared. and when the west indians, harassed, desperate, and half ruined, cried out against the enormous injustice, in the fear that their indignation might affect their allegiance and lead them to seek admission into the american union, we extend the franchise among the blacks, on whose hostility to such a measure we know that we can rely. there is no occasion to suspect responsible english politicians of any sinister purpose in what they have done or not done, or suspect them, indeed, of any purpose at all. they act from day to day under the pressure of each exigency as it rises, and they choose the course which is least directly inconvenient. but the result is to have created in the antilles and jamaica so many fresh irelands, and i believe that british colonists the world over will feel together in these questions. they will not approve; rather they will combine to condemn the betrayal of their own fellow-countrymen. if england desires her colonies to rally round her, she must deserve their affection and deserve their respect. she will find neither one nor the other if she carelessly sacrifices her own people in any part of the world to fear or convenience. the magnetism which will bind them to her must be found in herself or nowhere. perhaps nowhere! perhaps if we look to the real origin of all that has gone wrong with us, of the policy which has flung ireland back into anarchy, which has weakened our influence abroad, which has ruined the oldest of our colonies, and has made the continuance under our flag of the great communities of our countrymen who are forming new nations in the pacific a question of doubt and uncertainty, we shall find it in our own distractions, in the form of government which is fast developing into a civil war under the semblance of peace, where party is more than country, and a victory at the hustings over a candidate of opposite principles more glorious than a victory in the field over a foreign foe. society in republican rome was so much interested in the faction fights of clodius and milo that it could hear with apathy of the destruction of crassus and a roman army. the senate would have sold cæsar to the celtic chiefs in gaul, and the modern english enthusiast would disintegrate the british islands to purchase the irish vote. till we can rise into some nobler sphere of thought and conduct we may lay aside the vision of a confederated empire. oh, england, model to thy inward greatness, like little body with a mighty heart, what might'st thou do that honour would thee do were all thy children kind and natural! footnotes: [ ] i believe this to be the true meaning of [greek: eummeliês]. it is usually rendered, 'armed with a stout spear.' kelly & co., printers, gate street, lincoln's inn fields, w.c.; and kingston-on-thames. [illustration: inkle and yarico inkle--by heavens! a woman! act i. scene iii. painted by howard. publishd by longman & co. engravd by heath.] inkle and yarico; an opera, in three acts; as performed at the theatres royal covent garden, and haymarket. by george colman, the younger; printed, under the authority of the managers, from the prompt book. with remarks by mrs. inchbald. london: printed for longman, hurst, rees, and orme, paternoster row. t. davison, whitefriars, london. remarks. this is a drama, which might remove from mr. wilberforce his aversion to theatrical exhibitions, and convince him, that the teaching of moral duty is not confined to particular spots of ground; for, in those places, of all others, the doctrine is most effectually inculcated, where exhortation is the most required--the resorts of the gay, the idle, and the dissipated. this opera was written, when the author was very young; and, should he live to be very old, he will have reason to be proud of it to his latest day--for it is one of those plays which is independent of time, of place, or of circumstance, for its value. it was popular before the subject of the abolition of the slave trade was popular. it has the peculiar honour of preceding that great question. it was the bright forerunner of alleviation to the hardships of slavery. the trivial faults of this opera are--too much play on words (as it is called) by trudge; and some classical allusions by other characters, in whose education such knowledge could not be an ingredient. a fault more important, is--that the scene at the commencement of the opera, instead of africa, is placed in america. it would undoubtedly have been a quick passage, to have crossed a fourth part of the western globe, during the interval between the first and second acts; still, as the hero and heroine of the drama were compelled to go to sea--imagination, with but little more exertion, might have given them a fair wind as well from the coast whence slaves are _really_ brought, as from a shore where no such traffic is held[ ]. as an opera, inkle and yarico has the singular merit not to be protected, though aided, by the power of music: the characters are so forcibly drawn, that even those performers who sing, and study that art alone, can render every part effectual: and singers and actors of future times, like those of the past, and of the present, will find every character exactly suited to their talents. this opera has been performed in every london theatre, and in every theatre of the kingdom, with the same degree of splendid success. it would have been wonderful had its reception been otherwise; for the subject is a most interesting one, and in the treatment of it, the author has shewn taste, judgment--virtue. [footnote : no doubt the author would have ingenuity to argue away this objection--but that, which requires argument for its support in a dramatic work, is a subject for complaint. as slaves are imported from africa, and never from america, the audience, in the two last acts of this play, feel as if they had been in the wrong quarter of the globe during the first act. inkle could certainly steal a native from america, and sell her in barbadoes, but this is not so consonant with that nice imitation of the order of things as to rank above criticism.] persons represented. covent garden. inkle _mr. johnstone._ sir christopher curry _mr. quick._ campley _mr. davies._ medium _mr. wewitzer._ trudge _mr. edwin._ mate _mr. darley._ yarico _mrs. billington._ narcissa _mrs. mountain._ wowski _mrs. martyr._ patty _mrs. rock._ haymarket. inkle _mr. bannister, jun._ sir christopher curry _mr. parsons._ medium _mr. baddeley._ campley _mr. davies._ trudge _mr. edwin._ mate _mr. meadows._ yarico _mrs. kemble._ narcissa _mrs. bannister._ wowski _miss george._ patty _mrs. forster._ _scene,--first on the main of america: afterwards in barbadoes._ inkle and yarico. * * * * * act the first. scene i. _an american forest._ _medium._ [_without._] hilli ho! ho! _trudge._ [_without._] hip! hollo! ho!--hip!---- _enter medium and trudge._ _med._ pshaw! it's only wasting time and breath. bawling won't persuade him to budge a bit faster, and, whatever weight it may have in _some_ places, bawling, it seems, don't go for argument here. plague on't! we are now in the wilds of america. _trudge._ hip, hillio--ho--hi!---- _med._ hold your tongue, you blockhead, or---- _trudge._ lord! sir, if my master makes no more haste, we shall all be put to sword by the knives of the natives. i'm told they take off heads like hats, and hang 'em on pegs, in their parlours. mercy on us! my head aches with the very thoughts of it. hollo! mr. inkle! master; hollo! _med._ [_stops his mouth._] head aches! zounds, so does mine, with your confounded bawling. it's enough to bring all the natives about us; and we shall be stripped and plundered in a minute. _trudge._ aye; stripping is the first thing that would happen to us; for they seem to be woefully off for a wardrobe. i myself saw three, at a distance, with less clothes than i have, when i get out of bed: all dancing about in black buff; just like adam in mourning. _med._ this is to have to do with a schemer! a fellow who risks his life, for a chance of advancing his interest.--always advantage in view! trying, here, to make discoveries, that may promote his profit in england. another botany bay scheme, mayhap. nothing else could induce him to quit our foraging party, from the ship; when he knows every inhabitant here is not only as black as a pepper-corn, but as hot into the bargain--and _i_, like a fool, to follow him! and then to let him loiter behind.--why, nephew;--why, inkle.--[_calling._] _trudge._ why, inkle----well! only to see the difference of men! he'd have thought it very hard, now, if i had let him call so often after me. ah! i wish he was calling after me now, in the old jog-trot way, again. what a fool was i to leave london for foreign parts!----that ever i should leave threadneedle-street, to thread an american forest, where a man's as soon lost as a needle in a bottle of hay! _med._ patience, trudge! patience! if we once recover the ship---- _trudge._ lord, sir, i shall never recover what i have lost in coming abroad. when my master and i were in london, i had such a mortal snug birth of it! why, i was _factotum_. _med._ factotum to a young merchant is no such sinecure, neither. _trudge._ but then the honour of it. think of that, sir; to be clerk as well as _own man_. only consider. you find very few city clerks made out of a man, now-a-days. to be king of the counting-house, as well as lord of the bed-chamber. ah! if i had him but now in the little dressing-room behind the office; tying his hair, with a bit of red tape, as usual. _med._ yes, or writing an invoice in lampblack, and shining his shoes with an ink-bottle, _as usual_, you blundering blockhead! _trudge._ oh, if i was but brushing the accounts or casting up the coats! mercy on us! what's that? _med._ that! what? _trudge._ didn't you hear a noise? _med._ y--es--but--hush! oh, heavens be praised! here he is at last. _enter inkle._ now, nephew! _inkle._ so, mr. medium. _med._ zounds, one would think, by your confounded composure, that you were walking in st. james's park, instead of an american forest: and that all the beasts were nothing but good company. the hollow trees, here, sentry boxes, and the lions in 'em, soldiers; the jackalls, courtiers; the crocodiles, fine women; and the baboons, beaus. what the plague made you loiter so long? _inkle._ reflection. _med._ so i should think; reflection generally comes lagging behind. what, scheming, i suppose; never quiet. at it again, eh? what a happy trader is your father, to have so prudent a son for a partner! why, you are the carefullest co. in the whole city. never losing sight of the main chance; and that's the reason, perhaps, you lost sight of us, here, on the main of america. _inkle._ right, mr. medium. arithmetic, i own, has been the means of our parting at present. _trudge._ ha! a sum in division, i reckon. [_aside._ _med._ and pray, if i may be so bold, what mighty scheme has just tempted you to employ your head, when you ought to make use of your heels? _inkle._ my heels! here's pretty doctrine! do you think i travel merely for motion? what, would you have a man of business come abroad, scamper extravagantly here and there and every where, then return home, and have nothing to tell, but that he has _been_ here and there and every where? 'sdeath, sir, would you have me travel like a lord? _med._ no, the lord forbid! _inkle._ travelling, uncle, was always intended for improvement; and improvement is an advantage; and advantage is profit, and profit is gain. which in the travelling translation of a trader, means, that you should gain every advantage of improving your profit. i have been comparing the land, here, with that of our own country. _med._ and you find it like a good deal of the land of our own country----cursedly encumbered with black legs, i take it. _inkle._ and calculating how much it might be made to produce by the acre. _med._ you were? _inkle._ yes; i was proceeding algebraically upon the subject. _med._ indeed! _inkle._ and just about extracting the square root. _med._ hum! _inkle._ i was thinking too, if so many natives could be caught, how much they might fetch at the west indian markets. _med._ now let me ask you a question, or two, young cannibal catcher, if you please. _inkle._ well. _med._ ar'n't we bound for barbadoes; partly to trade, but chiefly to carry home the daughter of the governor, sir christopher curry, who has till now been under your father's care, in threadneedle-street, for polite english education? _inkle._ granted. _med._ and isn't it determined, between the old folks, that you are to marry narcissa, as soon as we get there? _inkle._ a fixed thing. _med._ then what the devil do you do here, hunting old hairy negroes, when you ought to be obliging a fine girl in the ship? algebra, too! you'll have other things to think of when you are married, i promise you. a plodding fellow's head, in the hands of a young wife, like a boy's slate, after school, soon gets all its arithmetic wiped off: and then it appears in its true simple state: dark, empty, and bound in wood, master inkle. _inkle._ not in a match of this kind. why, it's a table of interest from beginning to end, old medium. _med._ well, well, this is no time to talk. who knows but, instead of sailing to a wedding, we may get cut up, here, for a wedding dinner: tossed up for a dingy duke, perhaps, or stewed down for a black baronet, or eat raw by an inky commoner? _inkle._ why sure you ar'n't afraid? _med._ who, i afraid? ha! ha! ha! no, not i! what the deuce should i be afraid of? thank heaven i have a clear conscience, and need not be afraid of any thing. a scoundrel might not be quite so easy on such an occasion; but it's the part of an honest man not to behave like a scoundrel: i never behaved like a scoundrel--for which reason i am an honest man, you know. but come--i hate to boast of my good qualities. _inkle._ slow and sure, my good, virtuous mr. medium! our companions can be but half a mile before us: and, if we do but double their steps, we shall overtake 'em at one mile's end, by all the powers of arithmetic. _med._ oh curse your arithmetic! [_exeunt._ scene ii. _another part of the forest.--a ship at anchor in the bay at a small distance.--mouth of a cave._ _enter sailors and mate, as returning from foraging._ _mate._ come, come, bear a hand, my lads. tho'f the bay is just under our bowsprits, it will take a damned deal of tripping to come at it--there's hardly any steering clear of the rocks here. but do we muster all hands? all right, think ye? _ st. sail._ all to a man----besides yourself, and a monkey----the three land lubbers, that edged away in the morning, goes for nothing, you know--they're all dead, may-hap, by this. _mate._ dead! you be--why they're friends of the captain; and if not brought safe aboard to-night, you may all chance to have a salt eel for your supper--that's all--moreover the young plodding spark, he with the grave, foul weather face, there, is to man the tight little frigate, miss narcissa--what d'ye call her? that is bound with us for barbadoes. rot'em for not keeping under weigh, i say! but come, let's see if a song will bring 'em too. let's have a full chorus to the good merchant ship, the achilles, that's wrote by our captain. song. _the achilles, though christen'd, good ship, 'tis surmis'd,_ _from that old man of war, great achilles, so priz'd,_ _was he, like our vessel, pray fairly baptiz'd?_ _ti tol lol, &c._ _poets sung_ that _achilles--if, now, they've an itch_ _to sing_ this, _future ages may know which is which;_ _and that one rode in greece--and the other in pitch._ _ti tol lol, &c._ _what tho' but a merchant ship--sure our supplies:_ _now your men of war's gain in a lottery lies,_ _and how blank they all look, when they can't get a prize!_ _ti tol lol, &c._ _what are all their fine names? when no rhino's behind,_ _the intrepid, and lion, look sheepish you'll find;_ _whilst, alas! the poor Æolus can't raise the wind!_ _ti tol lol, &c._ _then the thunderer's dumb; out of tune the orpheus;_ _the ceres has nothing at all to produce;_ _and the eagle i warrant you, looks like a goose._ _ti tol lol, &c._ _ st. sail._ avast! look a-head there. here they come, chased by a fleet of black devils. _midsh._ and the devil a _fire_ have i to give them. we han't a grain of powder left. what must we do, lads? _ d. sail._ do? sheer off to be sure. _midsh._ [_reluctantly._] well, if i must, i must. [_going to the other side, and holloing to inkle, &c._] yoho, lubbers! crowd all the sail you can, d'ye mind me! [_exeunt_ sailors. _enter medium, running across the stage, as pursued by the blacks._ _med._ nephew! trudge! run--scamper! scour--fly! zounds, what harm did i ever do to be hunted to death by a pack of bloodhounds? why nephew! oh, confound your long sums in arithmetic! i'll take care of myself; and if we must have any arithmetic, dot and carry one for my money. [_runs off._ _enter inkle and trudge, hastily._ _trudge._ oh! that ever i was born, to leave pen, ink, and powder for this! _inkle._ trudge, how far are the sailors before us? _trudge._ i'll run and see, sir, directly. _inkle._ blockhead, come here. the savages are close upon us; we shall scarce be able to recover our party. get behind this tuft of trees with me; they'll pass us, and we may then recover our ship with safety. _trudge._ [_going behind._] oh! threadneedle-street, thread-- _inkle._ peace. _trudge._ [_hiding._]--needle-street. [_they hide behind trees. natives cross. after a long pause, inkle looks from the trees._] _inkle._ trudge. _trudge._ sir. [_in a whisper._] _inkle._ are they all gone by? _trudge._ won't you look and see? _inkle._ [_looking round._] so all is safe at last. [_coming forward._] nothing like policy in these cases; but you'd have run on, like a booby! a tree, i fancy, you'll find, in future, the best resource in a hot pursuit. _trudge._ oh, charming! it's a retreat for a king, sir: mr. medium, however, has not got up in it; your uncle, sir, _has run on like a booby_; and has got up with our party by this time, i take it; who are now most likely at the shore. but what are we to do next, sir? _inkle._ reconnoitre a little, and then proceed. _trudge._ then pray, sir, proceed to reconnoitre; for the sooner the better. _inkle._ then look out, d'ye hear, and tell me if you discover any danger. _trudge._ y----ye--s--yes. _inkle._ well, is the coast clear? _trudge._ eh! oh lord!--clear! [_rubbing his eyes._] oh dear! oh dear! the coast will soon be clear enough now, i promise you----the ship is under sail, sir! _inkle._ confusion! my property carried off in the vessel. _trudge._ all, all, sir, except me. _inkle._ they may report me dead, perhaps, and dispose of my property at the next island. [_the vessel appears under sail._] _trudge._ ah! there they go. [_a gun fired._]----that will be the last report we shall ever hear from 'em i'm afraid.--that's as much as to say, good bye to ye. and here we are left--two fine, full-grown babes in the wood! _inkle._ what an ill-timed accident! just too, when my speedy union with narcissa, at barbadoes, would so much advance my interests.--ah, my narcissa, i never shall forget thy last adieu.--something must be hit upon, and speedily; but what resource? [_thinking._] _trudge._ the old one--a tree, sir.--'tis all we have for it now. what would i give, now, to be perched upon a high stool, with our brown desk squeezed into the pit of my stomach--scribbling away an old parchment!----but all my red ink will be spilt by an old black pin of a negro. song. [last valentine's day.] _a voyage over seas had not entered my head,_ _had i known but on which side to butter my bread,_ _heigho! sure i--for hunger must die!_ _i've sail'd like a booby; come here in a squall,_ _where, alas! there's no bread to be butter'd at all!_ _oho! i'm a terrible booby!_ _oh, what a sad booby am i!_ _in london, what gay chop-house signs in the street!_ _but the only sign here is of nothing to eat._ _heigho! that i----for hunger should die!_ _my mutton's all lost; i'm a poor starving elf!_ _and for all the world like a lost mutton myself._ _oho! i shall die a lost mutton!_ _oh! what a lost mutton am i!_ _for a neat slice of beef, i could roar like a bull;_ _and my stomach's so empty, my heart is quite full._ _heigho! that i--for hunger should die!_ _but, grave without meat, i must here meet my grave,_ _for my bacon, i fancy, i never shall save._ _oho! i shall ne'er save my bacon!_ _i can't save my bacon, not i!_ _trudge._ hum! i was thinking----i was thinking, sir--if so many natives could be caught, how much they might fetch at the west india markets! _inkle._ scoundrel! is this a time to jest? _trudge._ no, faith, sir! hunger is too sharp to be jested with. as for me, i shall starve for want of food. now you may meet a luckier fate: you are able to extract the square root, sir; and that's the very best provision you can find here to live upon. but i! [_noise at a distance._] mercy on us! here they come again. _inkle._ confusion! deserted on one side, and pressed on the other, which way shall i turn?--this cavern may prove a safe retreat to us for the present. i'll enter, cost what it will. _trudge._ oh lord! no, don't, don't----we shall pay too dear for our lodging, depend on't. _inkle._ this is no time for debating. you are at the mouth of it: lead the way, trudge. _trudge._ what! go in before your honour! i know my place better, i assure you--i might walk into more mouths than one, perhaps. [_aside._] _inkle._ coward! then follow me. [_noise again._] _trudge._ i must, sir; i must! ah, trudge, trudge! what a damned hole are you getting into! [_exeunt into a cavern._ scene iii. _a cave, decorated with skins of wild beasts, feathers, &c. in the middle of the scene, a rude kind of curtain, by way of door to an inner apartment._ _enter inkle and trudge, as from the mouth of the cavern._ _inkle._ so far, at least, we have proceeded with safety. ha! no bad specimen of savage elegance. these ornaments would be worth something in england.--we have little to fear here, i hope: this cave rather bears the pleasing face of a profitable adventure. _trudge._ very likely, sir! but for a pleasing face, it has the cursed'st ugly month i ever saw in my life. now do, sir, make off as fast as you can. if we once get clear of the natives' houses, we have little to fear from the lions and leopards: for by the appearance of their parlours, they seem to have killed all the wild beast in the country. now pray, do, my good master, take my advice, and run away. _inkle._ rascal! talk again of going out, and i'll flea you alive. _trudge._ that's just what i expect for coming in.--all that enter here appear to have had their skins stript over their ears; and ours will be kept for curiosities--we shall stand here, stuffed, for a couple of white wonders. _inkle._ this curtain seems to lead to another apartment: i'll draw it. _trudge._ no, no, no, don't; don't. we may be called to account for disturbing the company: you may get a curtain-lecture, perhaps, sir. _inkle._ peace, booby, and stand on your guard. _trudge._ oh! what will become of us! some grim, seven foot fellow ready to scalp us. _inkle._ by heaven! a woman. [_as the curtain draws, yarico and wowski discovered asleep._ _trudge._ a woman! [_aside._]--[_loud._] but let him come on; i'm ready--dam'me, i don't fear facing the devil himself--faith it is a woman--fast asleep too. _inkle._ and beautiful as an angel! _trudge._ and egad! there seems to be a nice, little plump bit in the corner; only she's an angel of rather a darker sort. _inkle._ hush! keep back--she wakes. [_yarico comes forward--inkle and trudge retire to opposite sides of the scene._] song.--yarico. _when the chace of day is done,_ _and the shaggy lion's skin,_ _which for us, our warriors win,_ _decks our cells at set of sun;_ _worn with toil, with slap opprest,_ _i press my mossy bed, and sink to rest._ _then, once more, i see our train,_ _with all our chase renew'd again:_ _once more 'tis day,_ _once more our prey_ _gnashes his angry teeth, and foams in vain._ _again, in sullen haste, he flies,_ _ta'en in the toil, again he lies,_ _again he roars--and, in my slumbers, dies._ _inkle and trudge come forward._ _inkle._ our language! _trudge._ zounds, she has thrown me into a cold sweat. _yar._ hark! i heard a noise! wowski, awake! whence can it proceed? [_she awakes wowski, and they both come forward--yarico towards inkle_; _wowski towards trudge._] _yar._ ah! what form is this?----are you a man? _inkle._ true flesh and blood, my charming heathen, i promise you. _yar._ what harmony in his voice! what a shape! how fair his skin too----[_gazing._] _trudge._ this must be a lady of quality, by her staring. _yar._ say, stranger, whence come you? _inkle._ from a far distant island; driven on this coast by distress, and deserted by my companions. _yar._ and do you know the danger that surrounds you here? our woods are filled with beasts of prey--my countrymen too----(yet, i think they cou'd'nt find the heart)--might kill you.----it would be a pity if you fell in their way----i think i should weep if you came to any harm. _trudge._ o ho! it's time, i see, to begin making interest with the chamber maid. [_takes wowski apart._] _inkle._ how wild and beautiful! sure there is magic in her shape, and she has rivetted me to the place. but where shall i look for safety? let me fly and avoid my death. _yar._ oh! no--don't depart.----but i will try to preserve you; and if you are killed, yarico must die too! yet, 'tis i alone can save you; your death is certain, without my assistance; and, indeed, indeed you shall not want it. _inkle._ my kind yarico! what means, then, must be used for my safety? _yar._ my cave must conceal you: none enter it, since my father was slain in battle. i will bring you food by day, then lead you to our unfrequented groves by moonlight, to listen to the nightingale. if you should sleep, i'll watch you, and awake you when there's danger. _inkle._ generous maid! then, to you will i owe my life; and whilst it lasts, nothing shall part us. _yar._ and shan't it, shan't it indeed? _inkle._ no, my yarico! for when an opportunity offers to return to my country, you shall be my companion. _yar._ what! cross the seas! _inkle._ yes, help me to discover a vessel, and you shall enjoy wonders. you shall be decked in silks, my brave maid, and have a house drawn with horses to carry you. _yar._ nay, do not laugh at me--but is it so? _inkle._ it is indeed! _yar._ oh wonder! i wish my countrywomen could see me----but won't your warriors kill us? _inkle._ no, our only danger on land is here. _yar._ then let us retire further into the cave. come--your safety is in my keeping. _inkle._ i follow you--yet, can you run some risk in following me? duett. [o say, bonny lass.] inkle. _o say, simple maid, have you form'd any notion_ _of all the rude dangers in crossing the ocean?_ _when winds whistle shrilly, ah! won't they remind you,_ _to sigh with regret, for the grot left behind you?_ yar. _ah! no, i could follow, and sail the world over,_ _nor think of my grot, when i look at my lover;_ _the winds, which blow round us, your arms for my pillow,_ _will lull us to sleep, whilst we're rocked by each billow._ both. _o say then my true love, we never will sunder,_ _nor shrink from the tempest, nor dread the big thunder:_ _whilst constant, we'll laugh at all changes of weather,_ _and journey all over the world both together._ [exeunt; as retiring further into the cave. _manent trudge and wowski._ _trudge._ why, you speak english as well as i, my little wowski. _wows._ iss. _trudge._ iss! and you learnt it from a strange man, that tumbled from a big boat, many moons ago, you say? _wows._ iss--teach me--teach good many. _trudge._ then, what the devil made them so surprized at seeing us! was he like me? [_wowski shakes her head._] not so smart a body, mayhap. was his face, now, round and comely, and--eh! [_stroking his chin._] was it like mine? _wows._ like dead leaf--brown and shrivel. _trudge._ oh, oh, an old shipwrecked sailor, i warrant. with white and grey hair, eh, my pretty beauty spot? _wows._ iss; all white. when night come, he put it in pocket. _trudge._ oh! wore a wig. but the old boy taught you something more than english, i believe. _wows._ iss. _trudge._ the devil he did! what was it? _wows._ teach me put dry grass, red hot, in hollow white stick. _trudge._ aye, what was that for? _wows._ put in my mouth--go poff, poff! _trudge._ zounds! did he teach you to smoke? _wows._ iss. _trudge._ and what became of him at last? what did your countrymen do for the poor fellow? _wows._ eat him one day--our chief kill him. _trudge._ mercy on us! what damned stomachs, to swallow a tough old tar! ah, poor trudge! your killing comes next. _wows._ no, no--not you--no--[_running to him anxiously._] _trudge._ no? why what shall i do, if i get in their paws? _wows._ i fight for you! _trudge._ will you? ecod she's a brave good-natured wench! she'll be worth a hundred of your english wives.--whenever they fight on their husband's account, it's _with_ him instead of _for_ him, i fancy. but how the plague am i to live here? _wows._ i feed you--bring you kid. song.--wowski. [one day, i heard mary say.] _white man, never go away----_ _tell me why need you?_ _stay, with your wowski, stay:_ _wowski will feed you._ _cold moons are now coming in;_ _ah, don't go grieve me!_ _i'll wrap you in leopard's skin:_ _white man, don't leave me._ _and when all the sky is blue,_ _sun makes warm weather,_ _i'll catch you a cockatoo,_ _dress you in feather._ _when cold comes, or when 'tis hot,_ _ah, don't go grieve me!_ _poor wowski will be forgot--_ _white man, don't leave me!_ _trudge._ zounds! leopard's skin for winter wear, and feathers for a summer's suit! ha, ha! i shall look like a walking hammer-cloth, at christmas, and an upright shuttlecock, in the dog days. and for all this, if my master and i find our way to england, you shall be part of our travelling equipage; and, when i get there, i'll give you a couple of snug rooms, on a first floor, and visit you every evening, as soon as i come from the counting-house. do you like it? _wows._ iss. _trudge._ damme, what a flashy fellow i shall seem in the city! i'll get her a _white_ boy to bring up the tea-kettle. then i'll teach you to write and dress hair. _wows._ you great man in your country? _trudge._ oh yes, a very great man. i'm head clerk of the counting-house, and first valet-de-chambre of the dressing-room. i pounce parchments, powder hair, black shoes, ink paper, shave beards, and mend pens. but hold! i had forgot one material point--you ar'n't married, i hope? _wows._ no: you be my chum-chum! _trudge._ so i will. it's best, however, to be sure of her being single; for indian husbands are not quite so complaisant as english ones, and the vulgar dogs might think of looking a little after their spouses. but you have had a lover or two in your time; eh, wowski? _wows._ oh, iss--great many--i tell you. duett. wows. _wampum, swampum, yanko, lanko, nanko, pownatowski,_ _black men--plenty--twenty--fight for me,_ _white man, woo you true?_ trudge. _who?_ wows. _you._ trudge. _yes, pretty little wowski!_ wows. _then i leave all, and follow thee._ trudge. _oh then turn about, my little tawny tight one!_ _don't you like me?_ wows. _iss, you're like the snow!_ _if you slight one----_ trudge. _never, not for any white one;_ _you are beautiful as any sloe._ wows. _wars, jars, scars, can't expose ye,_ _in our grot----_ trudge. _so snug and cosey!_ wows. _flowers, neatly_ _pick'd, shall sweetly_ _make your bed._ trudge. _coying, toying,_ _with a rosy_ _posey,_ _when i'm dosey,_ _bear-skin nightcaps too shall warm my head._ both. _bearskin nightcaps, &c. &c._ act the second. scene i. _the quay at barbadoes, with an inn upon it. people employed in unlading vessels, carrying bales of goods, &c._ _enter several planters._ _ st plant._ i saw her this morning, gentlemen, you may depend on't. my telescope never fails me. i popp'd upon her as i was taking a peep from my balcony. a brave tight ship, i tell you, bearing down directly for barbadoes here. _ d plant._ ods, my life! rare news! we have not had a vessel arrive in our harbour these six weeks. _ d plant._ and the last brought only madam narcissa, our governor's daughter, from england; with a parcel of lazy, idle, white folks about her. such cargoes will never do for our trade, neighbour. _ d plant._ no, no; we want slaves. a terrible dearth of 'em in barbadoes, lately! but your dingy passengers for my money. give me a vessel like a collier, where all the lading tumbles out as black as my hat. but are you sure, now, you ar'n't mistaken? [_to st planter._] _ st plant._ mistaken! 'sbud, do you doubt my glass? i can discover a gull by it six leagues off: i could see every thing as plain as if i was on board. _ d plant._ indeed! and what were her colours? _ st plant._ um! why english----or dutch----or french----i don't exactly remember. _ d plant._ what were the sailors aboard? _ st plant._ eh! why they were english too----or dutch----or french----i can't perfectly recollect. _ d plant._ your glass, neighbour, is a little like a glass too much: it makes you forget every thing you ought to remember. [_cry without_, "a sail, a sail!"] _ st plant._ egad, but i'm right though. now, gentlemen! _all._ aye, aye; the devil take the hindmost. [_exeunt hastily._ _enter narcissa and patty._ song. _freshly now the breeze is blowing,_ _as yon ship at anchor rides;_ _sullen waves, incessant flowing,_ _rudely dash against the sides._ _so my heart, its course impéded,_ _beats in my perturbed breast;_ _doubts, like waves by waves succeeded,_ _rise, and still deny it rest._ _patty._ well, ma'am, as i was saying---- _nar._ well, say no more of what you were saying--sure, patty, you forget where you are; a little caution will be necessary now, i think. _patty._ lord, madam, how is it possible to help talking? we are in barbadoes here, to be sure--but then, ma'am, one may let out a little in a private morning's walk by ourselves. _nar._ nay, it's the same thing with you in doors. _patty._ i never blab, ma'am, never, as i hope for a gown. _nar._ and your never blabbing, as you call it, depends chiefly on that hope, i believe. _patty._ i have told the story of our voyage, indeed, to old guzzle, the butler. _nar._ and thus you lead him to imagine i am but little inclined to the match. _patty._ lord, ma'am, how could that be? why i never said a word about captain campley. _nar._ hush! hush! for heaven's sake. _patty._ aye! there it is now. but if our voyage from england was so pleasant, it wasn't owing to mr. inkle, i'm certain. he didn't play the fiddle in our cabin, and dance on the deck, and come languishing with a glass of warm water in his hand, when we were sea-sick. ah, ma'am, that water warm'd your heart, i'm confident. mr. inkle! no, no; captain cam---- _nar._ there is no end to this! remember, patty, keep your secrecy, or you entirely lose my favour. _patty._ never fear me, ma'am. but if somebody i know is not acquainted with the governor, there's such a thing as dancing at balls, and squeezing hands when you lead up, and squeezing them again when you cast down. i'm as close as a patch box. mum's the word, ma'am, i promise you. [_exit._ _nar._ how awkward is my present situation! promised to one, who, perhaps, may never again be heard of; and who, i am sure, if he ever appears to claim me, will do it merely on the score of interest--pressed too by another, who has already, i fear, too much interest in my heart--what can i do? what plan can i follow? _enter campley._ _camp._ follow my advice, narcissa, by all means. enlist with me under the best banners in the world. general hymen for my money! little cupid's his drummer: he has been beating a round rub-a-dub on our hearts, and we have only to obey the word of command, fall into the ranks of matrimony, and march through life together. _nar._ then consider our situation. _camp._ that has been duly considered. in short, the case stands exactly thus--your intended spouse is all for money; i am all for love. he is a rich rogue; i am rather a poor honest fellow. he would pocket your fortune; i will take you without a fortune in your pocket. _nar._ oh! i am sensible of the favour, most gallant captain campley; and my father, no doubt, will be very much obliged to you. _camp._ aye, there's the devil of it! sir christopher curry's confounded good character knocks me up at once. yet i am not acquainted with him neither; not known to him even by sight; being here only as a private gentleman, on a visit to my old relation, out of regimentals, and so forth; and not introduced to the governor, as other officers of the place. but then, the report of his hospitality--his odd, blunt, whimsical friendship--his whole behaviour-- _nar._ all stare you in the face; eh, campley? _camp._ they do, till they put me out of countenance. _nar._ what signifies talking to _me_, when you have such opposition from others? why hover about the city, instead of boldly attacking the guard? wheel about, captain! face the enemy! march! charge! rout 'em!--drive 'em before you, and then-- _camp._ and then-- _nar._ lud ha' mercy on the poor city! _enter patty, hastily._ _patty._ oh lud, ma'am, i'm frightened out of my wits! sure as i'm alive, ma'am, mr. inkle is not dead; i saw his man, ma'am, just now, coming ashore in a boat, with other passengers, from the vessel that's come to the island. [_exit._ _nar._ then one way or other i must determine.--[_to campley._] look'ye, mr. campley, something has happened which makes me wave ceremonies.--if you mean to apply to my father, remember, that delays are dangerous. _camp._ indeed! _nar._ i mayn't be always in the same mind, you know. [_smiling._] [_exit._ _camp._ nay, then--gad, i'm almost afraid too--but living in this state of doubt is torment. i'll e'en put a good face on the matter; cock my hat; make my bow; and try to reason the governor into compliance. faint heart never won a fair lady. song. _why should i vain fears discover,_ _prove a dying, sighing swain?_ _why turn shilly-shally lover,_ _only to prolong my pain?_ _when we woo the dear enslaver,_ _boldly ask, and she will grant;_ _how should we obtain a favour,_ _but by telling what we want?_ _enter trudge and wowski, (as from the ship), with a dirty runner to one of the inns._ _run._ this way, sir; if you will let me recommend---- _trudge._ come along, wows! take care of your furs, and your feathers, my girl! _wows._ iss. _trudge._ that's right.--somebody might steal 'em, perhaps. _wows._ steal!--what that? _trudge._ oh lord! see what one loses by not being born in a christian country. _run._ if you would, sir, but mention to your master, the house that belongs to my master; the best accommodations on the quay.-- _trudge._ what's your sign, my lad? _run._ the crown, sir.--here it is. _trudge._ well, get us a room for half an hour, and we'll come: and harkee! let it be light and airy, d'ye hear? my master has been used to your open apartments lately. _run._ depend on it.--much obliged to you, sir. [_exit._ _wows._ who be that fine man? he great prince? _trudge._ a prince--ha! ha!----no, not quite a prince--but he belongs to the crown. but how do you like this, wows? isn't it fine? _wows._ wonder! _trudge._ fine men, eh? _wows._ iss! all white; like you. _trudge._ yes, all the fine men are like me. as different from your people as powder and ink, or paper and blacking. _wows._ and fine lady--face like snow. _trudge._ what! the fine lady's complexions? oh, yes, exactly; for too much heat very often dissolves 'em! then their dress, too. _wows._ your countrymen dress so? _trudge._ better, better a great deal. why, a young flashy englishman will sometimes carry a whole fortune on his back. but did you mind the women? all here--and there; [_pointing before and behind._] they have it all from us in england.--and then the fine things they carry on their heads, wowski. _wows._ iss. one lady carry good fish----so fine, she call every body to look at her. _trudge._ pshaw! an old woman bawling flounders. but the fine girls we meet, here, on the quay--so round and so plump! _wows._ you not love me now? _trudge._ not love you! zounds, have not i given you proofs? _wows._ iss. great many: but now you get here, you forget poor wowski! _trudge._ not i. i'll stick to you like wax. _wows._ ah! i fear! what make you love me now? _trudge._ gratitude, to be sure. _wows._ what that? _trudge._ ha! this it is, now, to live without education. the poor dull devils of her country are all in the practice of gratitude, without finding out what it means; while we can tell the meaning of it, with little or no practice at all.--lord, lord, what a fine advantage christian learning is! hark'ee, wows! _wows._ iss. _trudge._ now we've accomplished our landing, i'll accomplish you. you remember the instructions i gave you on the voyage? _wows._ iss. _trudge._ let's see now--what are you to do, when i introduce you to the nobility, gentry, and others--of my acquaintance? _wows._ make believe sit down; then get up. _trudge._ let me see you do it. [_she makes a low courtesy._] very well! and how are you to recommend yourself, when you have nothing to say, amongst all our great friends? _wows._ grin--show my teeth. _trudge._ right! they'll think you've lived with people of fashion. but suppose you meet an old shabby friend in misfortune, that you don't wish to be seen speak to--what would you do? _wows._ look blind--not see him. _trudge._ why would you do that? _wows._ 'cause i can't see good friend in distress. _trudge._ that's a good girl! and i wish every body could boast of so kind a motive for such cursed cruel behaviour.--lord! how some of your flashy bankers' clerks have _cut_ me in threadneedle street.--but come, though we have got among fine folks, here, in an english settlement, i won't be ashamed of my old acquaintance: yet, for my own part, i should not be sorry, now, to see my old friend with a new face.--odsbobs! i see mr. inkle--go in, wows; call for what you like best. _wows._ then i call for you--ah! i fear i not see you often now. but you come soon---- song. _remember when we walked alone,_ _and heard, so gruff, the lion growl:_ _and when the moon so bright it shone,_ _we saw the wolf look up and howl;_ _i led you well, safe to our cell,_ _while tremblingly,_ _you said to me,_ _--and kiss'd so sweet--dear wowski tell,_ _how could i live without ye?_ _but now you come across the sea,_ _and tell me here no monsters roar;_ _you'll walk alone, and leave poor me,_ _when wolves, to fright you, howl no more._ _but ah! think well on our old cell,_ _where tremblingly,_ _you kiss'd poor me--_ _perhaps you'll say--dear wowski tell,_ _how can i live without ye?_ [_exit wowski._ _trudge._ who have we here? _enter first planter._ _plant._ hark'ee, young man! is that young indian of yours going to our market? _trudge._ not she--she never went to market in all her life. _plant._ i mean, is she for our sale of slaves? our black fair? _trudge._ a black fair, ha! ha! ha! you hold it on a brown green, i suppose. _plant._ she's your slave, i take it? _trudge._ yes; and i'm her humble servant, i take it. _plant._ aye, aye, natural enough at sea.--but at how much do you value her? _trudge._ just as much as she has saved me--my own life. _plant._ pshaw! you mean to sell her? _trudge._ [_staring._] zounds! what a devil of a fellow! sell wows!--my poor, dear, dingy, wife! _plant._ come, come, i've heard your story from the ship.--don't let's haggle; i'll bid as fair as any trader amongst us. but no tricks upon travellers, young man, to raise your price.----your wife, indeed! why she's no christian! _trudge._ no; but i am; so i shall do as i'd be done by: and, if you were a good one yourself, you'd know, that fellow-feeling for a poor body, who wants your help, is the noblest mark of our religion.--i wou'dn't be articled clerk to such a fellow for the world. _plant._ hey-day! the booby's in love with her! why, sure, friend, you would not live here with a black? _trudge._ plague on't; there it is. i shall be laughed out of my honesty, here.--but you may be jogging, friend; i may feel a little queer, perhaps, at showing her face--but, dam me, if ever i do any thing to make me asham'd of showing my own. _plant._ why, i tell you, her very complexion---- _trudge._ rot her complexion--i'll tell you what, mr. _fair-trader_, if your head and heart were to change places, i've a notion you'd be as black in the face as an ink-bottle. _plant._ pshaw! the fellow's a fool--a rude rascal--he ought to be sent back to the savages again. he's not fit to live among us christians. [_exit planter._ _trudge._ oh, here comes my master, at last. _enter inkle, and a second planter._ _inkle._ nay, sir, i understand your customs well; your indian markets are not unknown to me. _ d plant._ and, as you seem to understand business, i need not tell you, that dispatch is the soul of it. her name you say is-- _inkle._ yarico: but urge this no more, i beg you; i must not listen to it: for, to speak freely, her anxious care of me demands, that here,--though here it may seem strange--i should avow my love for her. _plant._ lord help you for a merchant!--it's the first time i ever heard a trader talk of love; except, indeed, the love of trade, and the love of the _sweet molly_, my ship. _inkle._ then, sir, you cannot feel my situation. _plant._ oh yes, i can! we have a hundred such cases just after a voyage; but they never last long on land. it's amazing how constant a young man is in a ship! but, in two words, will you dispose of her, or no? _inkle._ in two words, then, meet me here at noon, and we'll speak further on this subject: and lest you think i trifle with your business, hear why i wish this pause. chance threw me, on my passage to your island, among a savage people. deserted,--defenceless,--cut off from companions,--my life at stake--to this young creature i owe my preservation;--she found me, like a dying bough, torn from its kindred branches; which, as it drooped, she moistened with her tears. _plant._ nay, nay, talk like a man of this world. _inkle._ your patience.--and yet your interruption goes to my present feelings; for on our sail to this your island--the thoughts of time mispent--doubt--fears--for call it what you will--have much perplexed me; and as your spires arose, reflections still rose with them; for here, sir, lie my interests, great connexions, and other weighty matters--which now i need not mention---- _plant._ but which her presence here will mar. _inkle._ even so--and yet the gratitude i owe her-- _plant._ pshaw! so because she preserved your life, your gratitude is to make you give up all you have to live upon. _inkle._ why, in that light indeed--this never struck me yet, i'll think on't. _plant._ aye, aye, do so--why, what return can the wench wish more than taking her from a wild, idle, savage people, and providing for her, here, with reputable hard work, in a genteel, polished, tender, christian country? _inkle._ well, sir, at noon---- _plant._ i'll meet you--but remember, young gentleman, you must get her off your hands--you must, indeed.--i shall have her a bargain, i see that--your servant!--zounds, how late it is--but never be put out of your way for a woman--i must run--my wife will play the devil with me for keeping breakfast. [_exit._ _inkle._ trudge. _trudge._ sir! _inkle._ have you provided a proper apartment? _trudge._ yes, sir, at the crown here; a neat, spruce room they tell me. you have not seen such a convenient lodging this good while, i believe. _inkle._ are there no better inns in the town? _trudge._ um----why there is the lion, i hear, and the bear, and the boar--but we saw them at the door of all our late lodgings, and found but bad accommodations within, sir. _inkle._ well, run to the end of the quay, and conduct yarico hither. the road is straight before you: you can't miss it. _trudge._ very well, sir. what a fine thing it is to turn one's back on a master, without running into a wolf's belly! one can follow one's nose on a message here, and be sure it won't be bit off by the way. [_exit._ _inkle._ let me reflect a little. part with her!--my interest, honour, engagements to narcissa, all demand it. my father's precepts too--i can remember, when i was a boy, what pains he took to mould me.--school'd me from morn to night--and still the burden of his song was--prudence! prudence! thomas, and you'll rise. his maxims rooted in my heart, and as i grew--_they_ grew; till i was reckoned, among our friends, a steady, sober, solid, good young man; and all the neighbours call'd me _the prudent mr. thomas_. and shall i now, at once, kick down the character which i have raised so warily?--part with her--sell her!--the thought once struck me in our cabin, as she lay sleeping by me; but, in her slumbers, she passed her arm around me, murmured a blessing on my name, and broke my meditations. _enter yarico and trudge._ _yar._ my love! _trudge._ i have been showing her all the wigs and bales of goods we met on the quay, sir. _yar._ oh! i have feasted my eyes on wonders. _trudge._ and i'll go feast on a slice of beef, in the inn, here. [_exit._ _yar._ my mind has been so busy, that i almost forgot even you. i wish you had stayed with me--you would have seen such sights! _inkle._ those sights have become familiar to me, yarico. _yar._ and yet i wish they were not--you might partake my pleasures--but now again, methinks, i will not wish so--for, with too much gazing, you might neglect poor _yarico_. _inkle._ nay, nay, my care is still for you. _yar._ i am sure it is: and if i thought it was not, i would tell you tales about our poor old grot--bid you remember our palm-tree near the brook, where in the shade you often stretched yourself, while i would take your head upon my lap, and sing my love to sleep. i know you'll love me then. song. _our grotto was the sweetest place!_ _the bending boughs, with fragrance blowing,_ _would check the brook's impetuous pace,_ _which murmur'd to be stopp'd from flowing._ _'twas there we met, and gaz'd our fill:_ _ah! think on this, and love me still._ _'twas then my bosom first knew fear,_ _--fear to an indian maid a stranger--_ _the war-song, arrows, hatchet, spear,_ _all warn'd me of my lover's danger._ _for him did cares my bosom fill:--_ _ah! think on this, and love me still._ _for him, by day, with care conceal'd,_ _to search for food i climb'd the mountain;_ _and when the night no form reveal'd,_ _jocund we sought the bubbling fountain._ _then, then would joy my bosom fill;_ _ah! think on this and love me still._ [_exeunt._ scene ii. _an apartment in the house of sir christopher curry._ _enter sir christopher and medium._ _sir chr._ i tell you, old medium, you are all wrong. plague on your doubts! inkle _shall_ have my narcissa. poor fellow! i dare say he's finely chagrined at this temporary parting--eat up with the blue devils, i warrant. _med._ eat up by the black devils, i warrant; for i left him in hellish hungry company. _sir chr._ pshaw! he'll arrive with the next vessel, depend on't--besides, have not i had this in view ever since they were children? i must and will have it so, i tell you. is not it, as it were, a marriage made above? they _shall_ meet, i'm positive. _med._ shall they? then they must meet where the marriage was made; for hang me, if i think it will ever happen below. _sir chr._ ha!--and if that is the case--hang me, if i think you'll ever be at the celebration of it. _med._ yet, let me tell you, sir christopher curry, my character is as unsullied as a sheet of white paper. _sir chr._ well said, old fool's-cap! and it's as mere a blank as a sheet of white paper. you are honest, old medium, by comparison, just as a fellow sentenced to transportation is happier than his companion condemned to the gallows--very worthy, because you are no rogue; tender hearted, because you never go to fires and executions; and an affectionate father and husband, because you never pinch your children, or kick your wife out of bed. _med._ and that, as the world goes, is more than every man can say for himself. yet, since you force me to speak my positive qualities--but, no matter,--you remember me in london; didn't i, as member of the humane society, bring a man out of the new river, who, it was afterwards found, had done me an injury? _sir chr._ and, dam'me, if i would not kick any man into the new river that had done me an injury. there's the difference of our honesty. oons! if you want to be an honest fellow, act from the impulse of nature. why, you have no more gall than a pigeon. _med._ and you have as much gall as a turkey cock, and are as hot into the bargain--you're always so hasty; among the hodge-podge of your foibles, passion is always predominant. _sir chr._ so much the better.----foibles, quotha? foibles are foils that give additional lustre to the gems of virtue. you have not so many foils as i, perhaps. _med._ and, what's more, i don't want 'em, sir christopher, i thank you. _sir chr._ very true; for the devil a gem have you to set off with 'em. _med._ well, well; i never mention errors; that, i flatter myself, is no disagreeable quality.--it don't become me to say you are hot. _sir chr._ 'sblood! but it does become you: it becomes every man, especially an englishman, to speak the dictates of his heart. _enter servant._ _serv._ an english vessel, sir, just arrived in the harbour. _sir chr._ a vessel! od's my life!----now for the news--if it is but as i hope--any dispatches? _serv._ this letter, sir, brought by a sailor from the quay. [_exit._ _sir chr._ [_opening the letter_] huzza! here it is. he's safe--safe and sound at barbadoes. [reading]---- _sir, my master, mr. inkle, is just arrived in your harbour_, here, read, read! old medium-- _med._ [reading.] um'-- _your harbour;--we were taken up by an english vessel, on the th ult^{o}. he only waits till i have puffed his hair, to pay his respects to you, and miss narcissa: in the mean time, he has ordered me to brush up this letter for your honour, from_ _your humble servant, to command_, timothy trudge. _sir chr._ hey day! here's a style! the voyage has jumbled the fellow's brains out of their places; the water has made his head turn round. but no matter; mine turns round, too. i'll go and prepare narcissa directly; they shall be married slap-dash, as soon as he comes from the quay. from neptune to hymen: from the hammock to the bridal bed--ha! old boy! _med._ well, well; don't flurry yourself--you're so hot! _sir chr._ hot! blood, ar'n't i in the west indies? ar'n't i governor of barbadoes? he shall have her as soon as he sets his foot on shore. "but, plague on't, he's so slow."--she shall rise to him like venus out of the sea. his hair puffed? he ought to have been puffing, here, out of breath, by this time. _med._ very true; but venus's husband is always supposed to be lame, you know, sir christopher. _sir chr._ well, now do, my good fellow, run down to the shore, and see what detains him. [_hurrying him off._ _med._ well, well; i will, i will. [_exit._ _sir chr._ in the mean time i'll get ready narcissa, and all shall be concluded in a second. my heart's set upon it.--poor fellow! after all his rumbles, and tumbles, and jumbles, and fits of despair--i shall be rejoiced to see him. i have not seen him since he was that high.--but, zounds! he's so tardy! _enter servant._ _serv._ a strange gentleman, sir, come from the quay, desires to see you. _sir chr._ from the quay? od's my life!----'tis he--'tis inkle! show him up directly. [_exit servant._ the rogue is expeditious after all.--i'm so happy. _enter campley._ my dear fellow! [_shakes hands._] i'm rejoiced to see you. welcome; welcome here, with all my soul! _camp._ this reception, sir christopher, is beyond my warmest wishes--unknown to you---- _sir chr._ aye, aye; we shall be better acquainted by and by. well, and how, eh! tell me!--but old medium and i have talked over your affair a hundred times a day, ever since narcissa arrived. _camp._ you surprise me! are you then really acquainted with the whole affair? _sir chr._ every tittle. _camp._ and, can you, sir, pardon what is past?-- _sir chr._ pooh! how could you help it? _camp._ very true--sailing in the same ship--and--but when you consider the past state of my mind----the black prospect before me.-- _sir chr._ ha! ha! black enough, i dare say. _camp._ the difficulty i have felt in bringing myself face to face to you. _sir chr._ that i am convinced of--but i knew you would come the first opportunity. _camp._ very true: yet the distance between the governor of barbadoes and myself. [_bowing._] _sir chr._ yes--a devilish way asunder. _camp._ granted, sir: which has distressed me with the cruellest doubts as to our meeting. _sir chr._ it was a toss up. _camp._ the old gentleman seems devilish kind.--now to soften him. [_aside._] perhaps, sir, in your younger days, you may have been in the same situation yourself. _sir chr._ who? i! 'sblood! no, never in my life. _camp._ i wish you had, with all my soul, sir christopher. _sir chr._ upon my soul, sir, i am very much obliged to you. [_bowing._] _camp._ as what i now mention might have greater weight with you. _sir chr._ pooh! pr'ythee! i tell you i pitied you from the bottom of my heart. _camp._ indeed! if, with your leave, i may still venture to mention miss narcissa-- _sir chr._ an impatient, sensible young dog! like me to a hair! set your heart at rest, my boy. she's yours; yours before to-morrow morning. _camp._ amazement! i can scarce believe my senses. _sir chr._ zounds! you ought to be out of your senses: but dispatch--make short work of it, ever while you live, my boy. here she is. _enter narcissa and patty._ here girl: here's your swain. [_to nar._ _camp._ i just parted with my narcissa, on the quay, sir. _sir chr._ did you! ah, sly dog----had a meeting before you came to the old gentleman.--but here--take him, and make much of him--and, for fear of further separations, you shall e'en be tacked together directly. what say you, girl? _camp._ will my narcissa consent to my happiness? _nar._ i always obey my father's commands, with pleasure, sir. _sir chr._ od! i'm so happy, i hardly know which way to turn; but we'll have the carriage directly; drive down to the quay; trundle old spintext into church, and hey for matrimony! _camp._ with all my heart, sir christopher; the sooner the better. sir christopher, campley, narcissa, patty. sir chr. _your colinettes, and arriettes,_ _your damons of the grove,_ _who like fallals, and pastorals,_ _waste years in love;_ _but modern folks know better jokes,_ _and, courting once begun,_ _to church they hop at once--and pop--_ _egad, all's done!_ all. _in life we prance a country dance,_ _where every couple stands;_ _their partners set--a while curvet--_ _but soon join hands._ nar. _when at our feet, so trim and neat,_ _the powder'd lover sues,_ _he vows he dies, the lady sighs,_ _but can't refuse._ _ah! how can she unmov'd e'er see_ _her swain his death incur?_ _if once the squire is seen expire,_ _he lives with her._ all. _in life, &c. &c._ patty. _when john and bet are fairly met,_ _john boldly tries his luck;_ _he steals a buss, without more fuss,_ _the bargain's struck._ _whilst things below are going so,_ _is betty pray to blame?_ _who knows up stairs, her mistress fares_ _just, just the same._ all. _in life we prance, &c. &c._ [exeunt. act the third. scene i. _the quay._ _enter patty._ _patty._ mercy on us! what a walk i have had of it! well, matters go on swimmingly at the governor's--the old gentleman has ordered the carriage, and the young couple will be whisked here, to church, in a quarter of an hour. my business is to prevent young sobersides, young inkle, from appearing, to interrupt the ceremony.--ha! here's the crown, where i hear he is housed: so now to find trudge, and trump up a story, in the true style of a chambermaid. [_goes into the house._] [_patty within._] i tell you it don't signify, and i will come up. [_trudge within._] but it does signify, and you can't come up. _re-enter patty with trudge._ _patty._ you had better say at once, i shan't. _trudge._ well then, you shan't. _patty._ savage! pretty behaviour you have picked up amongst the hottypots! your london civility, like london itself, will soon be lost in smoke, mr. trudge: and the politeness you have studied so long in threadneedle-street, blotted out by the blacks you have been living with. _trudge._ no such thing; i practised my politeness all the while i was in the woods. our very lodging taught me good manners; for i could never bring myself to go into it without bowing. _patty._ don't tell me! a mighty civil reception you give a body, truly, after a six weeks parting. _trudge._ gad, you're right; i am a little out here, to be sure. [_kisses her._] well, how do you do? _patty._ pshaw, fellow! i want none of your kisses. _trudge._ oh! very well--i'll take it again. [_offers to kiss her._] _patty._ be quiet. i want to see mr. inkle: i have a message to him from miss narcissa. i shall get a sight of him, now, i believe. _trudge._ may be not. he's a little busy at present. _patty._ busy--ha! plodding! what he's at his multiplication table again? _trudge._ very likely; so it would be a pity to interrupt him, you know. _patty._ certainly; and the whole of my business was to prevent his hurrying himself--tell him, we shan't be ready to receive him, at the governor's, till to-morrow, d'ye hear? _trudge._ no? _patty._ no. things are not prepared. the place isn't in order; and the servants have not had proper notice of the arrival. sir christopher intends mr. inkle, you know, for his son-in-law, and must receive him in public form, (which can't be till to-morrow morning) for the honour of his governorship: why the whole island will ring of it. _trudge._ the devil it will! _patty._ yes; they've talked of nothing but my mistress's beauty and fortune for these six weeks. then he'll be introduced to the bride, you know. _trudge._ o, my poor master! _patty._ then a breakfast; then a procession; then--if nothing happens to prevent it, he'll get into church, and be married in a crack. _trudge._ then he'll get into a damn'd scrape, in a crack. _patty._ hey-day! a scrape! how! _trudge._ nothing, nothing----it must out----patty! _patty._ well! _trudge._ can you keep a secret? _patty._ try me. _trudge._ then [_whispering._] my master keeps a girl. _patty._ oh, monstrous! another woman? _trudge._ as sure as one and one make two. _patty._ [_aside._] rare news for my mistress!--why i can hardly believe it: the grave, sly, steady, sober mr. inkle, do such a thing! _trudge._ pooh! it's always your sly, sober fellows, that go the most after the girls. _patty._ well; i should sooner suspect _you_. _trudge._ me? oh lord! he! he!--do you think any smart, tight, little, black-eyed wench, would be struck with my figure? [_conceitedly._] _patty._ pshaw! never mind your figure. tell me how it happened? _trudge._ you shall hear: when the ship left us ashore, my master turned as pale as a sheet of paper. it isn't every body that's blest with courage, patty. _patty._ true. _trudge._ however, i bid him cheer up; told him, to stick to my elbow: took the lead, and began our march. _patty._ well? _trudge._ we hadn't gone far, when a damn'd one-eyed black boar, that grinned like a devil, came down the hill in jog trot! my master melted as fast as a pot of pomatum! _patty._ mercy on us! _trudge._ but what does i do, but whips out my desk knife, that i used to cut the quills with at home; met the monster, and slit up his throat like a pen--the boar bled like a pig. _patty._ lord! trudge, what a great traveller you are! _trudge._ yes; i remember we fed on the flitch for a week. _patty._ well, well; but the lady. _trudge._ the lady! oh, true. by and by we came to a cave--a large hollow room, under ground, like a warehouse in the adelphi.--well; there we were half an hour, before i could get him to go in; there's no accounting for fear, you know. at last, in we went, to a place hung round with skins, as it might be a furrier's shop, and there was a fine lady, snoring on a bow and arrows. _patty._ what, all alone? _trudge._ eh!--no--no.--hum--she had a young lion, by way of a lap-dog. _patty._ gemini; what did you do? _trudge._ gave her a jog, and she opened her eyes--she struck my master immediately. _patty._ mercy on us! with what? _trudge._ with her beauty, you ninny, to be sure: and they soon brought matters to bear. the wolves witnessed the contract--i gave her away--the crows croaked amen; and we had board and lodging for nothing. _patty._ and this is she he has brought to barbadoes? _trudge._ the same. _patty._ well; and tell me, trudge;--she's pretty, you say--is she fair or brown? or---- _trudge._ um! she's a good comely copper. _patty._ how! a tawny? _trudge._ yes, quite dark; but very elegant; like a wedgwood tea-pot. _patty._ oh! the monster! the filthy fellow! live with a black-a-moor! _trudge._ why, there's no great harm in't, i hope? _patty._ faugh! i wou'dn't let him kiss me for the world: he'd make my face all smutty. _trudge._ zounds! you are mighty nice all of a sudden; but i'd have you to know, madam patty, that black-a-moor ladies, as you call 'em, are some of the very few whose complexions never rub off! 'sbud, if they did, wows and i should have changed faces by this time--but mum; not a word for your life. _patty._ not i! except to the governor and family. [_aside._] but i must run--and, remember, trudge, if your master has made a mistake here, he has himself to thank for his pains. [_exit patty._ _trudge._ pshaw! these girls are so plaguy proud of their white and red! but i won't be shamed out of wows, that's flat.-- _enter wowski._ ah! wows, i'm going to leave you. _wows._ for what you leave me? _trudge._ master says i must. _wows._ ah, but you say in your country, women know best; and i say you not leave me. _trudge._ master, to be sure, while we were in the forest, taught yarico to read, with his pencil and pocket-book. what then? wows comes on fine and fast in her lessons. a little awkward at first, to be sure--ha! ha!--she's so used to feed with her hands, that i can't get her to eat her victuals, in a genteel, christian way, for the soul of me; when she has stuck a morsel on her fork, she don't know how to guide it, but pops up her knuckles to her mouth, and the meat goes up to her ear. but, no matter--after all the fine, flashy london girls, wowski's the wench for my money. song. _a clerk i was in london gay,_ _jemmy linkum feedle,_ _and went in boots to see the play,_ _merry fiddlem tweedle._ _i march'd the lobby, twirled my stick,_ _diddle, daddle, deedle;_ _the girls all cry'd, "he's quite the kick."_ _oh, jemmy linkum feedle._ _hey! for america i sail,_ _yankee doodle, deedle;_ _the sailor-boys cry'd, "smoke his tail!"_ _jemmy linkum feedle._ _on english belles i turned my back,_ _diddle, daddle, deedle;_ _and got a foreign fair quite black,_ _o twaddle, twaddle, tweedle!_ _your london girls, with roguish trip,_ _wheedle, wheedle, wheedle,_ _may boast their pouting under lip,_ _fiddle, faddle, feedle._ _my wows would beat a hundred such,_ _diddle, daddle, deedle,_ _whose upper lip pouts twice as much,_ _o, pretty double wheedle!_ _rings i'll buy to deck her toes;_ _jemmy linkum feedle;_ _a feather fine shall grace her nose,_ _waving siddle seedle._ _with jealousy i ne'er shall burst;_ _who'd steal my bone of bone-a?_ _a white othello, i can trust_ _a dingy desdemona._ [exeunt. scene ii. _a room in the crown._ [_enter inkle._] _inkle._ i know not what to think--i have given her distant hints of parting; but still, so strong her confidence in my affection, she prattles on without regarding me. poor yarico! i must not--cannot quit her. when i would speak, her look, her mere simplicity disarms me; i dare not wound such innocence. simplicity is like a smiling babe, which, to the ruffian that would murder it, stretching its little naked, helpless arms, pleads, speechless, its own cause. and yet, narcissa's family-- _enter trudge._ _trudge._ there he is; like a beau bespeaking a coat--doubting which colour to choose--sir-- _inkle._ what now? _trudge._ nothing unexpected, sir:--i hope you won't be angry; but i am come to give you joy, sir! _inkle._ joy!----of what? _trudge._ a wife, sir! a white one.--i know it will vex you, but miss narcissa means to make you happy, to-morrow morning. _inkle._ to-morrow! _trudge._ yes, sir; and as i have been out of employ, in both my capacities, lately, after i have dressed your hair, i may draw up the marriage articles. _inkle._ whence comes your intelligence, sir? _trudge._ patty told me all that has passed in the governor's family, on the quay, sir. women, you know, can never keep a secret. you'll be introduced in form, with the whole island to witness it. _inkle._ so public, too!----unlucky! _trudge._ there will be nothing but rejoicings, in compliment to the wedding, she tells me; all noise and uproar! married people like it, they say. _inkle._ strange! that i should be so blind to my interest, as to be the only person this distresses. _trudge._ they are talking of nothing else but the match, it seems. _inkle._ confusion! how can i, in honour, retract? _trudge._ and the bride's merits---- _inkle._ true!--a fund of merits!--i would not--but from necessity--a case so nice as this--i--would not wish to retract. _trudge._ then they call her so handsome. _inkle._ very true! so handsome! the whole world would laugh at me; they'd call it folly to retract. _trudge._ and then they say so much of her fortune. _inkle._ o death! it would be _madness_ to retract. surely, my faculties have slept, and this long parting from my narcissa has blunted my sense of her accomplishments. 'tis this alone makes me so weak and wavering. i'll see her immediately. [_going._] _trudge._ stay, stay, sir; i am desired to tell you, the governor won't open his gates to us till to-morrow morning. _inkle._ well, be it so; it will give me time, at all events, to put my affairs in train. _trudge._ yes; it's a short respite before execution; and if your honour was to go and comfort poor madam yarico---- _inkle._ damnation! scoundrel, how dare you offer your advice?--i dread to think of her! _trudge._ i've done, sir, i've done--but i know i should blubber over wows all night, if i thought of parting with her in the morning. _inkle._ insolence! begone, sir! _trudge._ lord, sir, i only---- _inkle._ get down stairs, sir, directly. _trudge._ [_going out._] ah! you may well put your hand to your head; and a bad head it must be, to forget that madam yarico prevented her countrymen from peeling off the upper part of it. [_aside._] [_exit._ _inkle._ 'sdeath, what am i about? how have i slumbered! is it i?--i--who, in london, laughed at the younkers of the town--and, when i saw their chariots, with some fine, tempting girl, perked in the corner, come shopping to the city, would cry--ah!--there sits ruin--there flies the green-horn's money! then wondered with myself how men could trifle time on women; or, indeed, think of any women without fortunes. and now, forsooth, it rests with _me_ to turn romantic puppy, and give up all for love.--give up!--oh, monstrous folly!--thirty thousand pounds! trudge. [_peeping in at the door._] _trudge._ may i come in, sir? _inkle._ what does the booby want? _trudge._ sir, your uncle wants to see _you_. _inkle._ mr. medium! show him up directly. [_exit trudge._ he must not know of this. to-morrow! i wish this marriage were more distant, that i might break it to her by degrees: she'd take my purpose better, were it less suddenly delivered. _enter medium._ _med._ ah! here he is! give me your hand, nephew! welcome, welcome to barbadoes, with all my heart. _inkle._ i am glad to meet you here, uncle! _med._ that you are, that you are, i'm sure. lord! lord! when we parted last, how i wished we were in a room together, if it were but the black hole! i have not been able to sleep o'nights for thinking of you. i've laid awake, and fancied i saw you sleeping your last, with your head in the lion's mouth, for a night-cap! and i've never seen a bear brought over to dance about the street, but i thought you might be bobbing up and down in its belly. _inkle._ i am very much obliged to you. _med._ aye, aye, i am happy enough to find you safe and sound, i promise you. but, you have a fine prospect before you now, young man. i am come to take you with me to sir christopher, who is impatient to see you. _inkle._ to-morrow, i hear, he expects me. _med._ to-morrow! directly--this moment--in half a second.--i left him standing on tip-toe, as he calls it, to embrace you; and he's standing on tiptoe now in the great parlour, and there he'll stand till you come to him. _inkle._ is he so hasty? _med._ hasty! he's all pepper--and wonders you are not with him, before it's possible to get at him. hasty, indeed! why, he vows you shall have his daughter this very night. _inkle._ what a situation! _med._ why, it's hardly fair just after a voyage. but come, bustle, bustle, he'll think you neglect him. he's rare and touchy, i can tell you; and if he once takes it into his head that you show the least slight to his daughter, it would knock up all your schemes in a minute. _inkle._ confusion! if he should hear of yarico! [_aside._] _med._ but at present you are all and all with him; he has been telling me his intentions these six weeks; you'll be a fine warm husband, i promise you. _inkle._ this cursed connexion! [_aside._] _med._ it is not for me, though, to tell you how to play your cards; you are a prudent young man, and can make calculations in a wood. _inkle._ fool! fool! fool! [_aside._] _med._ why, what the devil is the matter with you? _inkle._ it must be done effectually, or all is lost; mere parting would not conceal it. [_aside._] _med._ ah! now he's got to his damn'd square root again, i suppose, and old nick would not move him.--why, nephew! _inkle._ the planter that i spoke with cannot be arrived--but time is precious--the first i meet--common prudence now demands it. i'm fixed, i'll part with her. [_aside._] [_exit._ _med._ damn me, but he's mad! the woods have turned the poor boy's brains; he's scalped, and gone crazy! hoho! inkle! nephew! gad, i'll spoil your arithmetic, i warrant me. [_exit._ scene iii. _the quay._ _enter sir christopher curry._ _sir chr._ ods, my life! i can scarce contain my happiness. i have left them safe in church, in the middle of the ceremony. i ought to have given narcissa away, they told me; but i capered about so much for joy, that old spintext advised me to go and cool my heels on the quay, till it was all over. ods i'm so happy; and they shall see, now, what an old fellow can do at a wedding. _enter inkle._ _inkle._ now for dispatch! hark'ee, old gentleman! [_to the governor._] _sir chr._ well, young gentleman? _inkle._ if i mistake not, i know your business here. _sir chr._ 'egad, i believe half the island knows it, by this time. _inkle._ then to the point--i have a female, whom i wish to part with. _sir chr._ very likely; it's a common case, now a-days, with many a man. _inkle._ if you could satisfy me you would use her mildly, and treat her with more kindness than is usual--for i can tell you she's of no common stamp--perhaps we might agree. _sir chr._ oho! a slave! faith, now i think on't, my daughter may want an attendant or two extraordinary; and as you say she's a delicate girl, above the common run, and none of your thick-lipped, flat-nosed, squabby, dumpling dowdies, i don't much care if-- _inkle._ and for her treatment-- _sir chr._ look ye, young man; i love to be plain: i shall treat her a good deal better than you would, i fancy; for though i witness this custom every day, i can't help thinking the only excuse for buying our fellow creatures, is to rescue them from the hands of those who are unfeeling enough to bring them to market. _inkle._ fair words, old gentleman; an englishman won't put up an affront. _sir chr._ an englishman! more shame for you! let englishmen blush at such practices. men, who so fully feel the blessings of liberty, are doubly cruel in depriving the helpless of their freedom. _inkle._ let me assure you, sir, it is not my occupation; but for a private reason--an instant pressing necessity---- _sir chr._ well, well, i have a pressing necessity too; i can't stand to talk now; i expect company here presently; but if you'll ask for me to-morrow, at the castle-- _inkle._ the castle! _sir chr._ aye, sir, the castle; the governor's castle; known all over barbadoes. _inkle._ 'sdeath this man must be on the governor's establishment: his steward, perhaps, and sent after me, while sir christopher is impatiently waiting for me. i've gone too far; my secret may be known--as 'tis, i'll win this fellow to my interest. [_to him._]--one word more, sir: my business must be done immediately; and as you seem acquainted at the castle, if you should see me there--and there i mean to sleep to-night---- _sir chr._ the devil you do! _inkle._ your finger on your lips; and never breathe a syllable of this transaction. _sir chr._ no! why not? _inkle._ because, for reasons, which, perhaps, you'll know to-morrow, i might be injured with the governor, whose most particular friend i am. _sir chr._ so! here's a particular friend of mine, coming to sleep at my house, that i never saw in my life. i'll sound this fellow. [_aside._] i fancy, young gentleman, as you are such a bosom friend of the governor's, you can hardly do any thing to alter your situation with him? _inkle._ oh! pardon me; but you'll find that hereafter--besides, you, doubtless, know his character? _sir chr._ oh, as well as i do my own. but let's understand one another. you may trust me, now you've gone so far. you are acquainted with his character, no doubt, to a hair? _inkle._ i am--i see we shall understand each other. you know him too, i see, as well as i.--a very touchy, testy, hot old fellow. _sir chr._ here's a scoundrel! i hot and touchy! zounds! i can hardly contain my passion!--but i won't discover myself. i'll see the bottom of this----[_to him._] well now, as we seem to have come to a tolerable explanation--let's proceed to business--bring me the woman. _inkle._ no; there you must excuse me. i rather would avoid seeing her more; and wish it to be settled without my seeming interference. my presence might distress her--you conceive me? _sir chr._ zounds! what an unfeeling rascal!--the poor girl's in love with him, i suppose. no, no, fair and open. my dealing is with you and you only: i see her now, or i declare off. _inkle._ well then, you must be satisfied: yonder's my servant--ha--a thought has struck me. come here, sir. _enter trudge._ i'll write my purpose, and send it her by him--it's lucky that i taught her to decypher characters; my labour now is paid. [_takes out his pocket book, and writes._]--this is somewhat less abrupt; 'twill soften matters. [_to himself._] give this to yarico; then bring her hither with you. _trudge._ i shall, sir. [_going._] _inkle._ stay; come back. this soft fool, if uninstructed, may add to her distress. when she has read this paper, seem to make light of it; tell her it is a thing of course, done purely for her good. i here inform her that i must part with her. d'ye understand your lesson? _trudge._ pa--part with ma--madam ya-ri-co! _inkle._ why does the blockhead stammer!--i have my reasons. no muttering--and let me tell you, sir, if your rare bargain were gone too, 'twould be the better: she may babble our story of the forest, and spoil my fortune. _trudge._ i'm sorry for it, sir; i have lived with you along while; i've half a year's wages too, due the th ult. for dressing your hair, and scribbling your parchments; but take my scribbling; take my frizzing; take my wages; and i, and wows, will take ourselves off together--she saved my life, and rot me, if any thing but death shall part us. _inkle._ impertinent! go, and deliver your message. _trudge._ i'm gone, sir. lord, lord! i never carried a letter with such ill will in all my born days. [_exit._ _sir chr._ well--shall i see the girl? _inkle._ she'll be here presently. one thing i had forgot: when she is yours, i need not caution you, after the hints i've given, to keep her from the castle. if sir christopher should see her, 'twould lead, you know, to a discovery of what i wish concealed. _sir chr._ depend upon _me_--sir christopher will know no more of our meeting, than he does at this moment. _inkle._ your secrecy shall not be unrewarded; i'll recommend you, particularly, to his good graces. _sir chr._ thank ye, thank ye; but i'm pretty much in his good graces, as it is; i don't know anybody he has a greater respect for.---- _re-enter trudge._ _inkle._ now, sir, have you performed your message? _trudge._ yes, i gave her the letter. _inkle._ and where is yarico? did she say she'd come? didn't you do as you were ordered? didn't you speak to her? _trudge._ i cou'dn't, sir, i cou'dn't--i intended to say what you bid me--but i felt such a pain in my throat, i cou'dn't speak a word, for the soul of me; and so, sir, i fell a crying. _inkle._ blockhead! _sir chr._ 'sblood, but he's a very honest blockhead. tell me, my good fellow--what said the wench? _trudge._ nothing at all, sir. she sat down with her two hands clasped on her knees, and looked so pitifully in my face, i could not stand it. oh, here she comes. i'll go and find wows: if i must be melancholy, she shall keep me company. [_exit._ _sir chr._ ods my life, as comely a wench as ever i saw! _enter yarico, who looks for some time in inkle's face, bursts into tears, and falls on his neck._ _inkle._ in tears! nay, yarico! why this? _yar._ oh do not--do not leave me! _inkle._ why, simple girl! i'm labouring for your good. my interest, here, is nothing: i can do nothing from myself, you are ignorant of our country's customs. i must give way to men more powerful, who will not have me with you. but see, my yarico, ever anxious for your welfare, i've found a kind, good person who will protect you. _yar._ ah! why not you protect me! _inkle._ i have no means--how can i? _yarico._ just as i sheltered you. take me to yonder mountain, where i see no smoke from tall, high houses, filled with your cruel countrymen. none of your princes, there, will come to take me from you. and should they stray that way, we'll find a lurking place, just like my own poor cave; where many a day i sat beside you, and blessed the chance that brought you to it--that i might save your life. _sir chr._ his life! zounds! my blood boils at the scoundrel's ingratitude! _yar._ come, come, let's go. i always feared these cities. let's fly and seek the woods; and there we'll wander hand in hand together. no cares shall vex us then--we'll let the day glide by in idleness; and you shall sit in the shade, and watch the sun-beam playing on the brook, while i sing the song that pleases you. no cares, love, but for food--and we'll live cheerily i warrant--in the fresh, early morning, you shall hunt down our game, and i will pick you berries--and then, at night i'll trim our bed of leaves, and lie me down in peace--oh! we shall be so happy!---- _inkle._ hear me, yarico. my countrymen and yours differ as much in minds as in complexions. we were not born to live in woods and caves----to seek subsistence by pursuing beasts----we christians, girl, hunt money; a thing unknown to you--but, here, 'tis money which brings us ease, plenty, command, power, every thing; and, of course, happiness. you are the bar to my attaining this; therefore 'tis necessary for my good----and which, i think, you value---- _yar._ you know i do; so much, that it would break my heart to leave you. _inkle._ but we must part; if you are seen with me, i shall lose all. _yar._ i gave up all for you--my friends--my country: all that was dear to me: and still grown dearer since you sheltered there.--all, all, was left for you--and were it now to do again--again i'd cross the seas, and follow you, all the world over. _inkle._ we idle time; sir, she is yours. see you obey this gentleman; 'twill be the better for you. [_going._] _yar._ o barbarous! [_holding him._] do not, do not abandon me! _inkle._ no more. _yar._ stay but a little. i shan't live long to be a burden to you: your cruelty has cut me to the heart. protect me but a little--or i'll obey this man, and undergo all hardships for your good; stay but to witness 'em.--i soon shall sink with grief; tarry till then, and hear me bless your name when i am dying; and beg you now and then, when i am gone, to heave a sigh for your poor yarico. _inkle._ i dare not listen. you, sir, i hope, will take good care of her. [_going._] _sir chr._ care of her!--that i will--i'll cherish her like my own daughter; and pour balm into the heart of a poor, innocent girl, that has been wounded by the artifices of a scoundrel. _inkle._ hah! 'sdeath, sir, how dare you!-- _sir chr._ 'sdeath, sir, how dare you look an honest man in the face? _inkle._ sir, you shall feel-- _sir chr._ feel!--it's more than ever you did, i believe. mean, sordid wretch! dead to all sense of honour, gratitude, or humanity--i never heard of such barbarity! i have a son-in-law, who has been left in the same situation; but, if i thought him capable of such cruelty, dam'me if i would not turn him to sea, with a peck-loaf, in a cockle shell--come, come, cheer up, my girl! you shan't want a friend to protect you, i warrant you.--[_taking yarico by the hand._] _inkle._ insolence! the governor shall hear of this insult. _sir chr._ the governor! liar! cheat! rogue! impostor! breaking all ties you ought to keep, and pretending to those you have no right to. the governor never had such a fellow in the whole catalogue of his acquaintance--the governor disowns you--the governor disclaims you--the governor abhors you; and to your utter confusion, here stands the governor to tell you so. here stands old curry, who never talked to a rogue without telling him what he thought of him. _inkle._ sir christopher!--lost and undone! _med._ [_without._] holo! young multiplication! zounds! i have been peeping in every cranny of the house. why, young rule of three! [_enters from the inn._] oh, here you are at last--ah, sir christopher! what are you there! too impatient to wait at home. but here's one that will make you easy, i fancy. [_clapping inkle on the shoulder._] _sir chr._ how came you to know him? _med._ ha! ha! well, that's curious enough too. so you have been talking here, without finding out each other. _sir chr._ no, no; i have found him out with a vengeance. _med._ not you. why this is the dear boy. it's my nephew; that is, your son-in-law, that is to be. it's inkle! _sir chr._ it's a lie; and you're a purblind old booby,--and this dear boy is a damn'd scoundrel. _med._ hey-day! what's the meaning of this? one was mad before, and he has bit the other, i suppose. _sir chr._ but here comes the dear boy--the true boy--the jolly boy, piping hot from church, with my daughter. _enter campley, narcissa, and patty._ _med._ campley! _sir chr._ who? campley?--it's no such thing. _camp._ that's my name, indeed, sir christopher. _sir chr._ the devil it is! and how came you, sir, to impose upon me, and assume the name of inkle? a name which every man of honesty ought to be ashamed of. _camp._ i never did, sir.--since i sailed from england with your daughter, my affection has daily increased: and when i came to explain myself to you, by a number of concurring circumstances, which i am now partly acquainted with, you mistook me for that gentleman. yet had i even then been aware of your mistake, i must confess, the regard for my own happiness would have tempted me to let you remain undeceived. _sir chr._ and did you, narcissa, join in-- _nar._ how could i, my dear sir, disobey you? _patty._ lord your honour, what young lady could refuse a captain? _camp._ i am a soldier, sir christopher. love and war is the soldier's motto; though my income is trifling to your _intended_ son-in-law's, still the chance of war has enabled me to support the object of my love above indigence. her fortune, sir christopher, i do not consider myself by any means entitled to. _sir chr._ 'sblood! but you must though. give me your hand, my young mars, and bless you both together!--thank you, thank you for cheating an old fellow into giving his daughter to a lad of spirit, when he was going to throw her away upon one, in whose breast the mean passion of avarice smothers the smallest spark of affection or humanity. _nar._ i have this moment heard a story of a transaction in the forest, which i own would have rendered compliance with your former commands very disagreeable. _patty._ yes, sir, i told my mistress he had brought over a hottypot gentlewoman. _sir chr._ yes, but he would have left her for you; [_to narcissa._] and you for his interest; and sold you, perhaps, as he has this poor girl to me, as a requital for preserving his life. _nar._ how! _enter trudge and wowski._ _trudge._ come along, wows! take a long last leave of your poor mistress: throw your pretty, ebony arms about her neck. _wows._ no, no;--she not go; you not leave poor wowski. [_throwing her arms about yarico._] _sir chr._ poor girl! a companion, i take it! _trudge._ a thing of my own, sir. i cou'dn't help following my master's example in the woods----_like master, like man_, sir. _sir chr._ but you would not sell her, and be hang'd to you, you dog, would you? _trudge._ hang me, like a dog, if i would, sir. _sir chr._ so say i to every fellow that breaks an obligation due to the feelings of a man. but, old medium, what have you to say for your hopeful nephew? _med._ i never speak ill of my friends, sir christopher. _sir chr._ pshaw! _inkle._ then let me speak: hear me defend a conduct---- _sir chr._ defend! zounds! plead guilty at once--it's the only hope left of obtaining mercy. _inkle._ suppose, old gentleman, you had a son? _sir chr._ 'sblood! then i'd make him an honest fellow; and teach him, that the feeling heart never knows greater pride than when it's employed in giving succour to the unfortunate. i'd teach him to be his father's own son to a hair. _inkle._ even so my father tutored me: from my infancy, bending my tender mind, like a young sapling, to his will--interest was the grand prop round which he twined my pliant green affections: taught me in childhood to repeat old sayings--all tending to his own fixed principles, and the first sentence that i ever lisped, was--_charity begins at home._ _sir chr._ i shall never like a proverb again, as long as i live. _inkle._ as i grew up, he'd prove--and by example--were i in want, i might e'en starve, for what the world cared for their neighbours; why then should i care for the world? men now lived for themselves. these were his doctrines: then, sir, what would you say, should i, in spite of habit, precept, education, fly in my father's face, and spurn his councils? _sir chr._ say! why, that you were a damn'd honest, undutiful fellow. o curse such principles! principles, which destroy all confidence between man and man--principles which none but a rogue could instil, and none but a rogue could imbibe.--principles---- _inkle._ which i renounce. _sir chr._ eh! _inkle._ renounce entirely. ill-founded precept too long has steeled my breast--but still 'tis vulnerable--this trial was too much--nature, 'gainst habit combating within me, has penetrated to my heart; a heart, i own, long callous to the feelings of sensibility; but now it bleeds--and bleeds for my poor yarico. oh, let me clasp her to it, while 'tis glowing, and mingle tears of love and penitence. [_embracing her._] _trudge._ [_capering about._] wows, give me a kiss! [_wowski goes to trudge._] _yar._ and shall we--shall we be happy? _inkle._ aye; ever, ever, yarico. _yar._ i knew we should--and yet i feared--but shall i still watch over you? oh! love, you surely gave your yarico such pain, only to make her feel this happiness the greater. _wows._ [_going to yarico._] oh wowski so happy!--and yet i think i not glad neither. _trudge._ eh, wows! how!--why not! _wows._ 'cause i can't help cry---- _sir chr._ then, if that's the case--curse me, if i think i'm very glad either. what the plague's the matter with my eyes?--young man, your hand--i am now proud and happy to shake it. _med._ well, sir christopher, what do you say to my hopeful nephew now? _sir chr._ say! why, confound the fellow, i say, that is ungenerous enough to remember the bad action of a man who has virtue left in his heart to repent it--as for you, my good fellow, [_to trudge._] i must, with your master's permission, employ you myself. _trudge._ o rare!--bless your honour!--wows! you'll be lady, you jade, to a governor's factotum. _wows._ iss--i lady jactotum. _sir chr._ and now, my young folks, we'll drive home, and celebrate the wedding. od's my life! i long to be shaking a foot at the fiddles, and i shall dance ten times the lighter, for reforming an inkle, while i have it in my power to reward the innocence of a yarico. finale. [la belle catharine.] campley. _come, let us dance and sing,_ _while all barbadoes bells shall ring:_ _love scrapes the fiddle string,_ _and venus plays the lute;_ _hymen gay, foots away,_ _happy at our wedding-day,_ _cocks his chin, and figures in,_ _to tabor, fife, and flute._ chorus. _come then dance and sing,_ _while all barbadoes bells shall ring, &c._ narcissa. _since thus each anxious care_ _is vanished into empty air,_ _ah! how can i forbear_ _to join the jocund dance?_ _to and fro, couples go,_ _on the light fantastic toe,_ _white with glee, merrily,_ _the rosy hours advance._ chorus. _come then, &c._ yarico. _when first the swelling sea_ _hither bore my love and me,_ _what then my fate would be,_ _little did i think----_ _doomed to know care and woe,_ _happy still is yarico;_ _since her love will constant prove,_ _and nobly scorns to shrink._ chorus. _come then, &c._ wowski. _whilst all around, rejoice,_ _pipe and tabor raise the voice,_ _it can't be wowski's choice,_ _whilst trudge's to be dumb._ _no, no, dey blithe and gay,_ _shall like massy, missy play._ _dance and sing, hey ding, ding,_ _strike fiddle and beat drum._ chorus. _come then, &c._ trudge. _'sbobs! now, i'm fix'd for life,_ _my fortune's fair, tho' black's my wife,_ _who fears domestic strife--_ _who cares now a souse!_ _merry cheer my dingy dear_ _shall find with her factotum heve;_ _night and day, i'll frisk and play_ _about the house with wows._ chorus. _come then, &c._ inkle. _love's convert here behold,_ _banish'd now my thirst of gold,_ _bless'd in these arms to fold_ _my gentle yarico._ _hence all care, doubt, and fear,_ _love and joy each want shall cheer,_ _happy night, pure delight,_ _shall make our bosoms glow._ chorus. _come then, &c._ patty. _let patty say a word----_ _a chambermaid may sure be heard----_ _sure men are grown absurd,_ _thus taking black for white;_ _to hug and kiss a dingy miss,_ _will hardly suit an age like this,_ _unless, here, some friends appear,_ _who like this wedding night._ chorus. _come then, &c._ the end. equatorial america _descriptive of a visit to st. thomas martinique, barbadoes, and the principal capitals of south america_ by maturin m. ballou [illustration: printer's logo] boston and new york houghton, mifflin and company the riverside press, cambridge copyright, , by maturin m. ballou. _all rights reserved._ _the riverside press, cambridge, mass., u. s. a._ electrotyped and printed by h. o. houghton & company. dedicated to captain e. c. baker of the _steamship vigilancia_ with warm appreciation of his qualities as a gentleman and an accomplished seaman [illustration: decoration] preface. "i am a part of all that i have seen," says tennyson, a sentiment which every one of large experience will heartily indorse. with the extraordinary facilities for travel available in modern times, it is a serious mistake in those who possess the means, not to become familiar with the various sections of the globe. vivid descriptions and excellent photographs give us a certain knowledge of the great monuments of the world, both natural and artificial, but the traveler always finds the reality a new revelation, whether it be the marvels of a yellowstone park, a vast oriental temple, alaskan glaciers, or the pyramids of ghiza. the latter, for instance, do not differ from the statistics which we have so often seen recorded, their great, dominating outlines are the same as pictorially delineated, but when we actually stand before them, they are touched by the wand of enchantment, and spring into visible life. heretofore they have been shadows, henceforth they are tangible and real. the best descriptions fail to inspire us, experience alone can do that. what words can adequately depict the confused grandeur of the falls of schaffhausen; the magnificence of the himalayan range,--roof-tree of the world; the thrilling beauty of the yosemite valley; the architectural loveliness of the taj mahal, of india; the starry splendor of equatorial nights; the maritime charms of the bay of naples; or the marvel of the midnight sun at the north cape? it is personal observation alone which truly satisfies, educating the eye and enriching the understanding. if we can succeed in imparting, a portion of our enjoyment to others, we enhance our own pleasure, and therefore these notes of travel are given to the public. m. m. b. contents. chapter i. page commencement of a long journey.--the gulf stream.--hayti.--sighting st. thomas.--ship rock.--expert divers.--fidgety old lady.--an important island.--the old slaver.--aborigines.--st. thomas cigars.--population.--tri-mountain.--the negro paradise.--hurricanes.--variety of fish.--coaling ship.--the firefly dance.--a weird scene.--an antique anchor chapter ii. curious seaweed.--professor agassiz.--myth of a lost continent.--island of martinique.--an attractive place.--statue of the empress josephine.--birthplace of madame de maintenon.--city of st. pierre.--mont pelée.--high flavored specialty.--grisettes of maritinque.--a botanical garden.--defective drainage.--a fatal enemy.--a cannibal snake.--the climate chapter iii. english island of barbadoes.--bridgetown the capital.--the manufacture of rum.--a geographical expert.--very english.--a pest of ants.--exports.--the ice house.--a dense population.--educational.--marine hotel.--habits of gambling.--hurricanes.--curious antiquities.--the barbadoes leg.--wakeful dreams.--absence of twilight.--departure from the island chapter iv. curious ocean experiences.--the delicate nautilus.--flying-fish.--the southern cross.--speaking a ship at sea.--scientific navigation.--south america as a whole.--fauna and flora.--natural resources of a wonderful land.--rivers, plains, and mountain ranges.--aboriginal tribes.--population.--political divisions.--civil wars.--weakness of south american states chapter v. city of pará.--the equatorial line.--spanish history.--the king of waters.--private gardens.--domestic life in northern brazil.--delicious pineapples.--family pets.--opera house.--mendicants.--a grand avenue.--botanical garden.--india-rubber tree.--gathering the raw material.--monkeys.--the royal palm.--splendor of equatorial nights chapter vi. island of marajo.--rare and beautiful birds.--original mode of securing humming-birds.--maranhão.--educational.-- value of native forests.--pernambuco.--difficulty of landing.--an ill-chosen name.--local scenes.--uncleanly habits of the people.--great sugar mart.--native houses.--a quaint hostelry.--catamarans.--a natural breakwater.--sailing down the coast chapter vii. port of bahia.--a quaint old city.--former capital of brazil.--whaling interests.--beautiful panorama.--tramways.--no color line here.--the sedan chair.--feather flowers.--a great orange mart.--passion flower fruit.--coffee, sugar, and tobacco.--a coffee plantation.--something about diamonds.--health of the city.--curious tropical street scenes chapter viii. cape frio.--rio janeiro.--a splendid harbor.--various mountains.--botafogo bay.--the hunchback.--farewell to the vigilancia.--tijuca.--italian emigrants.--city institutions.--public amusements.--street musicians.--churches.--narrow thoroughfares.--merchants' clerks.--railroads in brazil.--natural advantages of the city.--the public plazas.--exports chapter ix. outdoor scenes in rio janeiro.--the little marmoset.--the fish market.--secluded women.--the romish church.--botanical garden.--various species of trees.--grand avenue of royal palms.--about humming-birds.--climate of rio.--surrounded by yellow fever.--the country inland.--begging on the streets.--flowers.--"portuguese joe."--social distinctions chapter x. petropolis.--summer residence of the citizens of rio.--brief sketch of the late royal family.--dom pedro's palace.--a delightful mountain sanitarium.--a successful but bloodless revolution.--floral delights.--mountain scenery.--heavy gambling.--a german settlement.--cascatinha.--remarkable orchids.--local types.--a brazilian forest.--compensation chapter xi. port of santos.--yellow fever scourge.--down the coast to montevideo.--the cathedral.--pamperos.--domestic architecture.--a grand thoroughfare.--city institutions.--commercial advantages.--the opera house.--the bull-fight.--beggars on horseback.--city shops.--a typical character.--intoxication.--the campo santo.--exports.--rivers and railways chapter xii. buenos ayres.--extent of the argentine republic.--population.--narrow streets.--large public squares.--basques.--poor harbor.--railway system.--river navigation.--tramways.--the cathedral.--normal schools.--newspapers.--public buildings.--calle florida.--a busy city.--mode of furnishing milk.--environs.--commercial and political growth.--the new capital chapter xiii. city of rosario.--its population.--a pretentious church.--ocean experiences.--morbid fancies.--strait of magellan.--a great discoverer.--local characteristics.--patagonians and fuegians.--giant kelp.--unique mail box.--punta arenas.--an ex-penal colony.--the albatross.--natives.--a naked people.--whales.--sea-birds.--glaciers.-- mount sarmiento.--a singular story chapter xiv. the land of fire.--cape horn.--in the open pacific.--fellow passengers.--large sea-bird.--an interesting invalid.--a weary captive.--a broken-hearted mother.--study of the heavens.--the moon.--chilian civil war.--concepcion.--a growing city.--commercial importance.--cultivating city gardens on a new plan.--important coal mines.--delicious fruits chapter xv. valparaiso.--principal south american port of the pacific.--a good harbor.--tallest mountain on this continent.--the newspaper press.--warlike aspect.--girls as car conductors.--chilian exports.--foreign merchants.--effects of civil war.--gambling in private houses.--immigration.--culture of the grape.--agriculture.--island of juan fernandez chapter xvi. the port of callao.--a submerged city.--peruvian exports.--a dirty and unwholesome town.--cinchona bark.--the andes.--the llama.--a national dance.--city of lima.--an old and interesting capital.--want of rain.--pizarro and his crimes.--a grand cathedral.--chilian soldiers.--costly churches of peru.--roman catholic influence.--desecration of the sabbath chapter xvii. a grand plaza.--retribution.--the university of lima.--significance of ancient pottery.--architecture.--picturesque dwelling.--domestic scene.--destructive earthquakes.--spanish sway.--women of lima.--street costumes.--ancient bridge of lima.--newspapers.--pawnbrokers' shops.--exports.--an ancient mecca.--home by way of europe. equatorial america. chapter i. commencement of a long journey.--the gulf stream.--hayti.--sighting st. thomas.--ship rock.--expert divers.--fidgety old lady.--an important island.--the old slaver.--aborigines.--st. thomas cigars.--population.--tri-mountain.--negro paradise.--hurricanes.--variety of fish.--coaling ship.--the firefly dane.--a weird scene.--an antique anchor. in starting upon foreign travel, one drops into the familiar routine on shipboard much after the same fashion wherever bound, whether crossing the atlantic eastward, or steaming to the south through the waters of the caribbean sea; whether in a peninsular and oriental ship in the indian ocean, or on a white star liner in the pacific bound for japan. the steward brings a cup of hot coffee and a slice of dry toast to one's cabin soon after the sun rises, as a sort of eye-opener; and having swallowed that excellent stimulant, one feels better fortified for the struggle to dress on the uneven floor of a rolling and pitching ship. then comes the brief promenade on deck before breakfast, a liberal inhalation of fresh air insuring a good appetite. there is no hurry at this meal. there is so little to do at sea, and so much time to do it in, that passengers are apt to linger at table as a pastime, and even multiply their meals in number. as a rule, we make up our mind to follow some instructive course of reading while at sea, but, alas! we never fulfill the good resolution. an entire change of habits and associations for the time being is not favorable to such a purpose. the tonic of the sea braces one up to an unwonted degree, evinced by great activity of body and mind. favored by the unavoidable companionship of individuals in the circumscribed space of a ship, acquaintances are formed which often ripen into lasting friendship. inexperienced voyagers are apt to become effusive and over-confiding, abrupt intimacies and unreasonable dislikes are of frequent occurrence, and before the day of separation, the student of human nature has seen many phases exhibited for his analysis. our vessel, the vigilancia, is a large, commodious, and well-appointed ship, embracing all the modern appliances for comfort and safety at sea. she is lighted by electricity, having a donkey engine which sets in motion a dynamo machine, converting mechanical energy into electric energy. perhaps the reader, though familiar with the effect of this mode of lighting, has never paused to analyze the very simple manner in which it is produced. the current is led from the dynamos to the various points where light is desired by means of insulated wires. the lamps consist of a fine thread of carbon inclosed in a glass bulb from which air has been entirely excluded. this offers such resistance to the current passing through it that the energy is expended in raising the carbon to a white heat, thus forming the light. the permanence of the carbon is insured by the absence of oxygen. if the glass bulb is broken and atmospheric air comes in contact with the carbon, it is at once destroyed by combustion, and all light from this source ceases. these lamps are so arranged that each one can be turned off or on at will without affecting others. the absence of offensive smell or smoke, the steadiness of the light, unaffected by the motion of the ship, and its superior brilliancy, all join to make this mode of lighting a vessel a positive luxury. some pleasant hours were passed on board the vigilancia, between new york and the west indies, in the study of the gulf stream, through which we were sailing,--that river in the ocean with its banks and bottom of cold water, while its current is always warm. who can explain the mystery of its motive power? what keeps its tepid water, in a course of thousands of miles, from mingling with the rest of the sea? whence does it really come? the accepted theories are familiar enough, but we place little reliance upon them, the statements of scientists are so easily formulated, but often so difficult to prove. as professor maury tells us, there is in the world no other flow of water so majestic as this; it has a course more rapid than either the mississippi or the amazon, and a volume more than a thousand times greater. the color of this remarkable stream, whose fountain is supposed to be the gulf of mexico and the caribbean sea, is so deep a blue off our southern shore that the line of demarcation from its surroundings is quite obvious, the gulf water having apparently a decided reluctance to mingling with the rest of the ocean, a peculiarity which has been long and vainly discussed without a satisfactory solution having been reached. the same phenomenon has been observed in the pacific, where the japanese current comes up from the equator, along the shore of that country, crossing behring's sea to the continent of north america, and, turning southward along the coast of california, finally disappears. throughout all this ocean passage, like the gulf stream in the atlantic, it retains its individuality, and is quite separate from the rest of the ocean. the fact that the water is saltier than that of the atlantic is by some supposed to account for the indigo blue of the gulf stream. the temperature of this water is carefully taken on board all well regulated ships, and is recorded in the log. on this voyage it was found to vary from ° to ° fahrenheit. our ship had touched at newport news, va., after leaving new york, to take the u. s. mail on board; thence the course was south-southeast, giving the american continent a wide berth, and heading for the danish island of st. thomas, which lies in the latitude of hayti, but a long way to the eastward of that uninteresting island. we say uninteresting with due consideration, though its history is vivid enough to satisfy the most sensational taste. it has produced its share of native heroes, as well as native traitors, while the frequent upheavals of its mingled races have been no less erratic than destructive. the ignorance and confusion which reign among the masses on the island are deplorable. minister douglass utterly failed to make anything out of hayti. the lower classes of the people living inland come next to the inhabitants of terra del fuego in the scale of humanity, and are much inferior to the maoris of new zealand, or the savage tribes of australia. it is satisfactorily proven that cannibalism still exists among them in its most repulsive form, so revolting, indeed, that we hesitate to detail the experience of a creditable eye-witness relating to this matter, as personally described to us. upon looking at the map it would seem, to one unaccustomed to the ocean, that a ship could not lay her course direct, in these island dotted waters, without running down one or more of them; but the distances which are so circumscribed upon the chart are extended for many a league at sea, and a good navigator may sail his ship from new york to barbadoes, if he so desires, without sighting the land. not a sailing vessel or steamship was seen, on the brief voyage from the american continent to the west indies, these latitudes being far less frequented by passenger and freighting ships than the transatlantic route further north. it is quite natural that the heart should throb with increased animation, the spirits become more elate, and the eyes more than usually appreciative, when the land of one's destination heaves in sight after long days and nights passed at sea. this is especially the case if the change from home scenes is so radical in all particulars as when coming from our bleak northern states in the early days of spring, before the trees have donned their leaves, to the soft temperature and exuberant verdure of the low latitudes. commencing the voyage herein described, the author left the brooklyn shore of new york harbor about the first of may, during a sharp snow-squall, though, as governor's island was passed on the one hand, and the statue of liberty on the other, the sun burst forth from its cloudy environment, as if to smile a cheerful farewell. thus we passed out upon the broad atlantic, bound southward, soon feeling its half suppressed force in the regular sway and roll of the vessel. she was heavily laden, and measured considerably over four thousand tons, drawing twenty-two feet of water, yet she was like an eggshell upon the heaving breast of the ocean. as these mammoth ships lie in port beside the wharf, it seems as though their size and enormous weight would place them beyond the influence of the wind and waves: but the power of the latter is so great as to be beyond computation, and makes a mere toy of the largest hull that floats. no one can realize the great strength of the waves who has not watched the sea in all of its varying moods. "land o!" shouts the lookout on the forecastle. a wave of the hand signifies that the occupant of the bridge has already made out the mote far away upon the glassy surface of the sea, which now rapidly grows into definite form. when the mountain which rises near the centre of st. thomas was fairly in view from the deck of the vigilancia, it seemed as if beckoning us to its hospitable shore. the light breeze which fanned the sea came from off the land flavored with an odor of tropical vegetation, a suggestion of fragrant blossoms, and a promise of luscious fruits. on our starboard bow there soon came into view the well known ship rock, which appears, when seen from a short distance, almost precisely like a full-rigged ship under canvas. if the sky is clouded and the atmosphere hazy, the delusion is remarkable. this story is told of a french corvette which was cruising in these latitudes at the time when the buccaneers were creating such havoc with legitimate commerce in the west indies. it seems that the coast was partially hidden by a fog, when the corvette made out the rock through the haze, and, supposing it to be what it so much resembles, a ship under sail, fired a gun to leeward for her to heave to. of course there was no response to the shot, so the frenchman brought his ship closer, at the same time clearing for action. being satisfied that he had to do with a powerful adversary, he resolved to obtain the advantage by promptly crippling the enemy, and so discharged the whole of his starboard broadside into the supposed ship, looming through the mist. the fog quietly dispersed as the corvette went about and prepared to deliver her port guns in a similar manner. as the deceptive rock stood in precisely the same place when the guns came once more to bear upon it, the true character of the object was discovered. it is doubtful whether the frenchman's surprise or mortification predominated. an hour of steady progress served to raise the veil of distance, and to reveal the spacious bay of charlotte amalie, with its strong background of abrupt hills and dense greenery of tropical foliage. how wonderfully blue was the water round about the island,--an emerald set in a sea of molten sapphire! it seemed as if the sky had been melted and poured all over the ebbing tide. about the bahamas, especially off the shore at nassau, the water is green,--a delicate bright green; here it exhibits only the true azure blue,--mediterranean blue. it is seen at its best and in marvelous glow during the brief moments of twilight, when a glance of golden sunset tinges its mottled surface with iris hues, like the opaline flashes from a humming-bird's throat. the steamer gradually lost headway, the vibrating hull ceased to throb with the action of its motive power, as though pausing to take breath after long days and nights of sustained effort, and presently the anchor was let go in the excellent harbor of st. thomas, latitude ° ' north, longitude ° ' west. our forecastle gun, fired to announce arrival, awakened the echoes in the hills, so that all seemed to join in clapping their hands to welcome us. thus amid the norwegian fiords the report of the steamer's single gun becomes a whole broadside, as it is reverberated from the grim and rocky elevations which line that iron-bound coast. there was soon gathered about the ship a bevy of naked colored boys, a score or more, jabbering like a lot of monkeys, some in canoes of home construction, it would seem, consisting of a sugar box sawed in two parts, or a few small planks nailed together, forming more of a tub than a boat, and leaking at every joint. these frail floats were propelled with a couple of flat boards used as paddles. the young fellows came out from the shore to dive for sixpences and shillings, cast into the sea by passengers. the moment a piece of silver was thrown, every canoe was instantly emptied of its occupant, all diving pell-mell for the money. presently one of the crowd was sure to come to the surface with the silver exhibited above his head between his fingers, after which, monkey-like, it was securely deposited inside of his cheek. similar scenes often occur in tropical regions. the last which the author can recall, and at which he assisted, was at aden, where the indian ocean and the red sea meet. another experience of the sort is also well remembered as witnessed in the south pacific off the samoan islands. on this occasion the most expert of the natives, among the naked divers, was a young samoan girl, whose agility in the water was such that she easily secured more than half the bright coins which were thrown overboard, though a dozen male competitors were her rivals in the pursuit. nothing but an otter could have excelled this bronzed, unclad, exquisitely formed girl of tutuila as a diver and swimmer. but let us not stray to the far south pacific, forgetting that we are all this time in the snug harbor of st. thomas, in the west indies. a fidgety old lady passenger, half hidden in an avalanche of wraps, while the thermometer indicated ° fahr., one who had gone into partial hysterics several times during the past few days, upon the slightest provocation, declared that this was the worst region for hurricanes in the known world, adding that there were dark, ominous clouds forming to windward which she was sure portended a cyclone. one might have told her truthfully that may was not a hurricane month in these latitudes, but we were just then too earnestly engaged in preparing for a stroll on shore, too full of charming anticipations, to discuss possible hurricanes, and so, without giving the matter any special thought, admitted that it did look a little threatening in the northwest. this was quite enough to frighten the old lady half out of her senses, and to call the stewardess into prompt requisition, while the deck was soon permeated with the odor of camphor, sal volatile, and valerian. we did not wait to see how she survived the attack, but hastened into a shore boat and soon landed at what is known as king's wharf, when the temperature seemed instantly to rise about twenty degrees. near the landing was a small plaza, shaded by tall ferns and cabbage palms, with here and there an umbrageous mango. ladies and servant girls were seen promenading with merry children, whites and blacks mingling indiscriminately, while the danish military band were producing most shocking strains with their brass instruments. one could hardly conceive of a more futile attempt at harmony. there is always something exciting in first setting foot upon a foreign soil, in mingling with utter strangers, in listening to the voluble utterances and jargon of unfamiliar tongues, while noting the manners, dress, and faces of a new people. the current language of the mass of st. thomas is a curious compound of negro grammar, yankee accent, and english drawl. though somewhat familiar with the west indies, the author had never before landed upon this island. everything strikes one as curious, each turn affords increased novelty, and every moment is full of interest. black, yellow, and white men are seen in groups, the former with very little covering on their bodies, the latter in diaphanous costumes. negresses sporting high colors in their scanty clothing, set off by rainbow kerchiefs bound round their heads, turban fashion; little naked blacks with impossible paunches; here and there a shuffling negro bearing baskets of fish balanced on either end of a long pole resting across his shoulders; peddlers of shells and corals; old women carrying trays upon their heads containing cakes sprinkled with granulated sugar, and displayed upon neat linen towels, seeking for customers among the newly arrived passengers,--all together form a unique picture of local life. the constantly shifting scene moves before the observer like a panorama unrolled for exhibition, seeming quite as theatrical and artificial. st. thomas is one of the danish west indian islands, of which there are three belonging to denmark, namely, st. thomas, st. croix, and st. john. for the possession of the first named mr. seward, when secretary of state, in , offered the king of denmark five million dollars in gold, which proposition was finally accepted, and it would have been a cheap purchase for us at that price; but after all detail had been duly agreed upon, the united states congress refused to vote the necessary funds wherewith to pay for the title deed. so when mr. seward consummated the purchase of alaska, for a little over seven million dollars, there were nearly enough of the small-fry politicians in congress to defeat the bargain with russia in the same manner. the income from the lease of two islands alone belonging to alaska--st. george and st. paul--has paid four and one half per cent. per annum upon the purchase money ever since the territory came into our possession. there is one gold mine on douglas island, alaska, not to mention its other rich and inexhaustible products, for which a french syndicate has offered fourteen million dollars. we doubt if st. thomas could be purchased from the danes to-day for ten million dollars, while the estimated value of alaska would be at least a hundred million or more, with its vast mineral wealth, its invaluable salmon fisheries, its inexhaustible forests of giant timber, and its abundance of seal, otter, and other rich furs. a penny-wise and pound-foolish congress made a huge mistake in opposing mr. seward's purpose as regarded the purchase of st. thomas. the strategic position of the island is quite sufficient to justify our government in wishing to possess it, for it is geographically the keystone of the west indies. the principal object which mr. seward had in view was to secure a coaling and refitting station for our national ships in time of war, for which st. thomas would actually be worth more than the island of cuba. opposite to it is the continent of africa; equidistant are the eastern shores of north and south america; on one side is western europe, on the other the route to india and the pacific ocean; in the rear are central america, the west indies, and mexico, together with those great inland bodies of salt water, the caribbean sea and the gulf of mexico. it requires no argument to show how important the possession of such an outpost might prove to this country. since these notes were written, it is currently reported that our government has once more awakened to the necessity of obtaining possession of this island, and fresh negotiations have been entered into. one thing is very certain, if we do not seize the opportunity to purchase st. thomas at the present time, england, or some other important power, will promptly do so, to our serious detriment and just mortification. st. thomas has an area of nearly fifty square miles, and supports a population of about fourteen thousand. in many respects the capital is unique, and being our first landing-place after leaving home, was of more than ordinary interest to the writer. the highest point on the island, which comes first into view from the deck of a southern bound steamer, is west mountain, rising sixteen hundred feet above the level of the surrounding waters. geologists would describe st. thomas as being the top of a small chain of submerged mountains, which would be quite correct, since the topography of the bottom of the sea is but a counterpart of that upon the more familiar surface of the earth we occupy. when ocean electric cables for connecting islands and continents are laid, engineers find that there are the same sort of plains, mountains, valleys, and gorges beneath as above the waters of the ocean. the skeletons of whales, and natural beds of deep-sea shells, found in valleys and hills many hundred feet above the present level of tide waters, tell us plainly enough that in the long ages which have passed, the diversified surface of the earth which we now behold has changed places with these submerged regions, which probably once formed the dry land. the history of the far past is full of instances showing the slow but continuous retreat of the water from the land in certain regions and its encroachment in others, the drying up of lakes and rivers, as well as the upheaval of single islands and groups from the bed of the ocean. a range of dome-shaped hills runs through the entire length of this island of st. thomas, fifteen miles from west to east, being considerably highest at the west end. as we passed between the two headlands which mark the entrance to the harbor, the town was seen spread over three hills of nearly uniform height, also occupying the gentle valleys between. two stone structures, on separate hills, form a prominent feature; these are known respectively as blue beard and black beard tower, but their origin is a myth, though there are plenty of legends extant about them. both are now utilized as residences, having mostly lost their original crudeness and picturesque appearance. the town, as a whole, forms a pleasing and effective background to the land-locked bay, which is large enough to afford safe anchorage for two hundred ships at the same time, except when a hurricane prevails; then the safest place for shipping is as far away from the land as possible. it is a busy port, considering the small number of inhabitants, steamers arriving and departing constantly, besides many small coasting vessels which ply between this and the neighboring islands. st. thomas is certainly the most available commercially of the virgin group of islands. columbus named them "las vergines," in reference to the familiar romish legend of the eleven thousand virgins, about as inappropriate a title as the fable it refers to is ridiculous. close in shore, at the time of our visit, there lay a schooner-rigged craft of more than ordinary interest, her jaunty set upon the water, her graceful lines, tall, raking masts, and long bowsprit suggesting the model of the famous old baltimore clippers. there is a fascinating individuality about sailing vessels which does not attach to steamships. seamen form romantic attachments for the former. the officers and crew of the vigilancia were observed to cast admiring eyes upon this handsome schooner, anchored under our lee. a sort of mysterious quiet hung about her; every rope was hauled taut, made fast, and the slack neatly coiled. her anchor was atrip, that is, the cable was hove short, showing that she was ready to sail at a moment's notice. the only person visible on board was a bareheaded, white-haired old seaman, who sat on the transom near the wheel, quietly smoking his pipe. on inquiry it was found that the schooner had a notable history and bore the name of the vigilant, having been first launched a hundred and thirty years ago. it appeared that she was a successful slaver in former days, running between the coast of africa and these islands. she was twice captured by english cruisers, but somehow found her way back again to the old and nefarious business. of course, she had been overhauled, repaired, and re-rigged many times, but it is still the same old frame and hull that so often made the middle passage, as it was called. to-day she serves as a mail boat running between santa cruz and st. thomas, and, it is said, can make forty leagues, with a fair wind, as quick as any steamer on the coast. the same evening the vigilant spread her broad white wings and glided silently out of the harbor, gathering rapid way as she passed its entrance, until feeling the spur of the wind and the open sea, she quickly vanished from sight. it was easy to imagine her bound upon her old piratical business, screened by the shadows of the night. though it no longer produces a single article of export on its own soil, st. thomas was, in the days of negro slavery, one of the most prolific sugar yielding islands of this region. it will be remembered that the emancipation of the blacks took place here in . it was never before impressed upon us, if we were aware of the fact, that the sugar-cane is not indigenous to the west indies. it seems that the plant came originally from asia, and was introduced into these islands by columbus and his followers. as is often the case with other representatives of the vegetable kingdom, it appears to have flourished better here than in the land of its nativity, new climatic combinations, together with the soil, developing in the saccharine plant better qualities and increased productiveness, for a long series of years enriching many enterprising planters. when columbus discovered st. thomas, in , it was inhabited by two tribes of indians, the caribs and the arrowauks, both of which soon disappeared under the oppression and hardships imposed by the spaniards. it is also stated that from this island, as well as from cuba and hayti, many natives were transported to spain and there sold into slavery, in the days following close upon its discovery. thus spain, from the earliest date, characterized her operations in the new world by a heartlessness and injustice which ever attended upon her conquests, both among the islands and upon the continent of america. the caribs were of the red indian race, and appear to have been addicted to cannibalism. indeed, the very word, by which the surrounding sea is also known, is supposed to be a corruption of the name of this tribe. "these caribs did not eat their own babies," says an old writer apologetically, "like some sorts of wild beasts, but only roasted and ate their prisoners of war." the island was originally covered with a dense forest growth, but is now comparatively denuded of trees, leaving the land open to the full force of the sun, and causing it to suffer at times from serious droughts. there is said to be but one natural spring of water on the island. this shows itself at the surface, and is of very limited capacity; the scanty rains which occur here are almost entirely depended upon to supply water for domestic use. st. thomas being so convenient a port of call for steamers from europe and america, and having so excellent a harbor, is improved as a depot for merchandise by several of the neighboring islands, thus enjoying a considerable commerce, though it is only in _transitu_. it is also the regular coaling station of several steamship lines. judging from appearances, however, it would seem that the town is not growing in population or business relations, but is rather retrograding. the value of the imports in was less than half the aggregate amount of . we were told that green groceries nearly all come from the united states, and that even eggs and poultry are imported from the neighboring islands, showing an improvidence on the part of the people difficult to account for, since these sources of food supply can be profitably produced at almost any spot upon the earth where vegetation will grow. cigars are brought hither from havana in considerable quantities, and having no duty to pay, can be sold very cheap by the dealers at st. thomas, and still afford a reasonable profit. quite a trade is thus carried on with the passengers of the several steamers which call here regularly, and travelers avail themselves of the opportunity to lay in an ample supply. cuban cigars of the quality which would cost nine or ten dollars a hundred in boston are sold at st. thomas for five or six dollars, and lower grades even cheaper in proportion. there is said to be considerable smuggling successfully carried on between this island and the florida shore, in the article of cigars as well as in tobacco in the unmanufactured state. the high duty on these has always incited to smuggling, thus defeating the very object for which it is imposed. probably a moderate duty would yield more to the government in the aggregate, by rendering it so much less of an object to smuggle. though the island is danish in nationality, there are few surroundings calculated to recall the fact, save that the flag of that country floats over the old fort and the one or two official buildings, just as it has done for the last two centuries. the prominent officials are danes, as well as the officers of the small body of soldiers maintained on the island. english is almost exclusively spoken, though there are french, spanish, and italian residents here. english is also the language taught in the public schools. people have come here to make what money they can, but with the fixed purpose of spending it and enjoying it elsewhere. as a rule, all europeans who come to the west indies and embark in business do so with exactly this purpose. in cuba the spaniards from the continent, among whom are many jews, have a proverb the significance of which is: "ten years of starvation, and a fortune," and most of them live up to this axiom. they leave all principles of honor, all sense of moral responsibility, all sacred domestic ties, behind them, forgetting, or at least ignoring, the significant query, namely, "what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" about one third of the population is roman catholic. the jews have a synagogue, and a membership of six hundred. they have a record on the island dating as far back as the year , and add much to the activity and thrift of st. thomas. no matter where we find the jews, in mexico, warsaw, california, or the west indies, they are all alike intent upon money making, and are nearly always successful. their irrepressible energy wins for them the goal for which they so earnestly strive. that soldier of fortune, santa anna, formerly ruler of mexico, when banished as a traitor from his native country, made his home on this island, and the house which he built and occupied is still pointed out to visitors as one of the local curiosities. the social life of st. thomas is naturally very circumscribed, but is good so far as it goes. a few cultured people, who have made it their home for some years, have become sincerely attached to the place, and enjoy the climate. there are a small public library, a hospital, several charitable institutions, and a theatre, which is occupied semi-occasionally. the island is connected with the continent by cable, and has a large floating dock and marine railway, which causes vessels in distress to visit the port for needed repairs. the town is situated on the north side of the bay which indents the middle of the south side of the island. the harbor has a depth of water varying from eighteen to thirty-six feet, and has the advantage of being a free port, a fact, perhaps, of not much account to a place which has neither exports nor imports of its own. st. thomas is the only town of any importance on the island, and is known locally as charlotte amalie, a fact which sometimes leads to a confusion of ideas. the reader need not encounter the intense heat, which so nearly wilted us, in an effort to obtain a good lookout from some elevated spot; but the result will perhaps interest him, as it fully repaid the writer for all the consequent discomfort. from the brow of a moderate elevation just behind the town, a delightful and far-reaching view is afforded, embracing st. thomas in the foreground, the well-sheltered bay, dotted with vessels bearing the flags of various nations, an archipelago of islets scattered over the near waters, and numerous small bays indenting the coast. at a distance of some forty miles across the sea looms the island of santa cruz; and farther away, on the horizon's most distant limit, are seen the tall hills and mountains of porto rico; while the sky is fringed by a long trailing plume of smoke, indicating the course of some passing steamship. the three hills upon which the town stands are spurs of west mountain, and the place is quite as well entitled to the name of tremont--"tri-mountain"--as was the capital of massachusetts, before its hills were laid low to accommodate business demands. on the seaward side of these elevations the red tiled roofs of the white houses rise in regular terraces from the street which borders the harbor, forming a very picturesque group as seen from the bay. though it has not often been visited by epidemics, mr. anthony trollope pronounces the island, in his usual irresponsible way, to be "one of the hottest and one of the most unhealthy spots among all these hot and unhealthy regions," and adds that he would perhaps be justified in saying "that of all such spots it is the hottest and most unhealthy." this is calculated to give an incorrect idea of st. thomas. true, it is liable to periods of unhealthiness, when a species of low fever prevails, proving more or less fatal. this is thought to originate from the surface drainage, and the miasma arising from the bay. all the drains of the town flow into the waters of the harbor, which has not sufficient flow of tide to carry seaward the foul matter thus accumulated. the hot sun pouring its heat down upon this tainted water causes a dangerous exhalation. still, sharks do not seem to be sensitive as to this matter, for they much abound. it is yet to be discovered why these tigers of the sea do not attack the negroes, who fearlessly leap overboard; a white man could not do this with impunity. the asiatics of the malacca straits do not enjoy any such immunity from danger, though they have skins as dark as the divers of st. thomas. sharks appear in the west indies in small schools, or at least there are nearly always two or three together, but in oriental waters they are only seen singly. thus a malay of singapore, for a compensation, say an english sovereign, will place a long, sharp knife between his teeth and leap naked into the sea to attack a shark. he adroitly dives beneath the creature, and as it turns its body to bring its awkward mouth into use, with his knife the malay slashes a deep, long opening in its exposed belly, at the same time forcing himself out of the creature's reach. the knife is sure and fatal. after a few moments the huge body of the fish is seen to rise and float lifeless upon the surface of the water. a large majority of the people are colored, exhibiting some peculiarly interesting types, intermarriage with whites of various nationalities having produced among the descendants of africans many changes of color and of features. one feels sure that there is also a trace of carib or indian blood mingled with the rest,--a trace of the aborigines whom columbus found here. the outcome is not entirely a race with flat noses and protruding lips; straight grecian profiles are not uncommon, accompanied by thin nostrils and anglo-saxon lips. faultless teeth, soft blue eyes, and hair nearly straight are sometimes met with among the creoles. as to the style of walking and of carrying the head and body, the common class of women of st. thomas have arrived at perfection. some of them are notable examples of unconscious dignity and grace combined. this has been brought about by carrying burdens upon their heads from childhood, without the supporting aid of the hands. modesty, or rather conventionality, does not require boys or girls under eight years of age to encumber themselves with clothing. the costume of the market women and the lower classes generally is picturesque, composed of a madras kerchief carefully twisted into a turban of many colors, yellow predominating, a cotton chemise which leaves the neck and shoulders exposed, reaching just below the knees, the legs and feet being bare. the men wear cotton drawers reaching nearly to the knee, the rest of the body being uncovered, except the head, which is usually sheltered under a broad brimmed straw hat, the sides of which are perforated by many ventilating holes. the whites generally, and also the better class of natives, dress very much after the fashion which prevails in north america. this is the negroes' paradise, but it is a climate in which the white race gradually wanes. the heat of the tropics is modified by the constant and grateful trade winds, a most merciful dispensation, without which the west indies would be uninhabitable by man. on the hillsides of st. thomas these winds insure cool nights at least, and a comparatively temperate state of the atmosphere during the day. vegetation is abundant, the fruit trees are perennial, bearing leaf, blossom, and fruit in profusion, month after month, year after year. little, if any, cultivation is required. the few sugar plantations which are still carried on yield from three to four successive years without replanting. it is a notable fact that where vegetation is at its best, where the soil is most rank and prolific, where fruits and flowers grow in wild exuberance, elevated humanity thrives the least. the lower the grade of man, the nearer he approximates to the animals, the less civilized he is in mind and body, the better he appears to be adapted to such localities. the birds and the butterflies are in exact harmony with the loveliness of tropical nature, however prolific she may be; the flowers are glorious and beautiful: it is man alone who seems out of place. a great variety of fruits are indigenous here, such as the orange, lime, alligator pear, moss-apple, and mango, but none of them are cultivated to any extent; the people seem to lack the energy requisite to improve the grand possibilities of their fertile soil and prolific climate. we were reminded by a resident of the town, before we left the harbor of st. thomas, that the nervous old lady referred to was not entirely without reason for her anxiety. some of our readers will remember, perhaps, that in october, , a most disastrous hurricane swept over these virgin islands, leaving widespread desolation in its track. the shipping which happened to be in the bay of st. thomas was nearly all destroyed, together with hundreds of lives, while on the land scores of houses and many lives were also sacrificed to the terrible cyclone of that date. even the thoroughly built iron and stone lighthouse was completely obliterated. there is a theory that such visitations come in this region about once in every twelve or fifteen years, and upon looking up the matter we find them to have occurred, with more or less destructive force, in the years , , , , , and so late as august, . other hurricanes have passed over these islands during the period covered by these dates, but of a mitigated character. august, september, and october are the months in which the hurricanes are most likely to occur, and all vessels navigating the west indian seas during these months take extra precautions to secure themselves against accidents from this source. when such visitations happen, the event is sure to develop heroic deeds. in the hurricane of , the captain of a spanish man-of-war, who was a practical sailor, brought up from boyhood upon the ocean, seeing the oncoming cyclone, and knowing by experience what to expect, ordered the masts of his vessel to be cut away at once, and every portion of exposed top hamper to be cast into the sea. when thus stripped he exposed little but the bare hull of his steamer to the fury of the storm. after the cyclone had passed, it was found that he had not lost a man, and that the steamer's hull, though severely battered, was substantially unharmed. keeping up all steam during the awful scene, this captain devoted himself and his ship to the saving of human life, promptly taking his vessel wherever he could be of the most service. hundreds of seamen were saved from death by the coolness and intrepidity of this heroic sailor. since these notes were written among the islands, a terrible cyclone has visited them. this was on august , last past, and proved more destructive to human life, to marine and other property, than any occurrence of the kind during the last century. at martinique a sharp shock of earthquake added to the horror of the occasion, the town of fort de france being very nearly leveled with the ground. many tall and noble palms, the growth of half a hundred years, were utterly demolished in the twinkling of an eye, and other trees were uprooted by the score. the waters of this neighborhood teem with strange forms of animal and vegetable life. here we saw specimens of red and blue snappers, the angel-fish, king-fish, gurnets, cow-fish, whip-ray, peacock-fish, zebra-fish, and so on, all, or nearly all, unfamiliar to us, each species individualized either in shape, color, or both. the whip-ray, with a body like a flounder, has a tail six or seven feet long, tapering from an inch and over to less than a quarter of an inch at the small end. when dried, it still retains a degree of elasticity, and is used by the natives as a whip with which to drive horses and donkeys. in some places, so singularly clear is the water that the bottom is distinctly visible five or six fathoms below the surface, where fishes of various sorts are seen in ceaseless motion. white shells, corals, star-fish, and sea-urchins mingle their various forms and colors, objects and hues seeming to be intensified by the strong reflected light from the surface, so that one could easily fancy them to be flowers blooming in the fairy gardens of the mermaids. the early morning, just after the sun begins to gild the surface of the sea, is the favorite time for the flying-fishes to display their aerial proclivities. they are always attracted by a strong light, and are thus lured to their destruction by the torches of the fishermen, who often go out for the purpose at night and take them in nets. in the early morning, as seen from the ship's deck, they scoot above the rippling waves in schools of a hundred and more, so compact as to cast fleeting shadows over the blue enameled surface of the waters. at st. thomas, martinique, and barbadoes, as well as among the other islands bordering the caribbean sea, they form no inconsiderable source of food for the humble natives, who fry them in batter mixed with onions, making a savory and nutritious dish. st. thomas is, as we have said, a coaling station for steamships, and when the business is in progress a most unique picture is presented. the ship is moored alongside of the dock for this purpose, two side ports being thrown open, one for ingress, the other for egress. a hundred women and girls, wearing one scanty garment reaching to the knees, are in line, and commence at once to trot on board in single file, each one bearing a bushel basket of coal upon her head, weighing, say sixty pounds. another gang fill empty baskets where the coal is stored, so that there is a continuous line of negresses trotting into the ship at one port and, after dumping their loads into the coal bunkers, out at the other, hastening back to the source of supply for more. their step is quick, their pose straight as an arrow, while their feet keep time to a wild chant in which all join, the purport of which it is not possible to clearly understand. now and again their voices rise in softly mingled harmony, floating very sweetly over the still waters of the bay. the scene we describe occurred at night, but the moon had not yet risen. along the wharf, to the coal deposits, iron frames were erected containing burning bituminous coal, and the blaze, fanned by the open air, formed the light by which the women worked. it was a weird picture. everything seemed quite in harmony: the hour, the darkness of night relieved by the flaming brackets of coal, the strange, dark figures hastening into the glare of light and quickly vanishing, the harmony of high-pitched voices occasionally broken in upon by the sharp, stern voice of their leader,--all was highly dramatic and effective. not unfrequently three or four steamers are coaling at the same time from different wharves. hundreds of women and girls of st. thomas make this labor their special occupation, and gain a respectable living by it, doubtless supporting any number of lazy, worthless husbands, fathers, and brothers. after our ship was supplied with coal, these women, having put three hundred tons on board in a surprisingly short period of time, formed a group upon the wharf and held what they called a firefly dance, indescribably quaint and grotesque, performed by the flickering light of the flaming coal. their voices were joined in a wild, quick chant, as they twisted and turned, clapping their hands at intervals to emphasize the chorus. now and again a couple of the girls would separate from the rest for a moment, then dance toward and from each other, throwing their arms wildly about their heads, and finally, gathering their scanty drapery in one hand and extending the other, perform a movement similar to the french cancan. once more springing back among their companions, all joined hands, and a roundabout romp closed the firefly dance. could such a scene be produced in a city theatre _au naturel_, with proper accessories and by these actual performers, it would surely prove an attraction good for one hundred nights. of course this would be impossible. conventionality would object to such diaphanous costumes, and bare limbs, though they were of a bronzed hue, would shock puritanic eyes. upon first entering the harbor, the vigilancia anchored at a short distance from the shore; but when it became necessary to haul alongside the wharf, the attempt was made to get up the anchor, when it was found to require far more than the usual expenditure of power to do so. finally, however, the anchor was secured, but attached to its flukes there came also, from the bottom of the bay, a second anchor, of antique shape, covered with rust and barnacles. it was such a one as was carried by the galleons of the fifteenth century, and had doubtless lain for over four hundred years just where the anchor of our ship had got entangled with it. what a remarkable link this corroded piece of iron formed, uniting the present with the far past, and how it stimulated the mind in forming romantic possibilities! it may have been the holding iron of columbus's own caravel, or have been the anchor of one of cortez's fleet, which touched here on its way into the gulf of mexico, or, indeed, it may have belonged to some caribbean buccaneer, who was obliged to let slip his cable and hasten away to escape capture. it was deemed a fortunate circumstance to have secured this ancient relic, and a sure sign of future good luck to the ship, so it was duly stored away in the lower hold of the vigilancia. that same night on which the coal bunkers were filled, our good ship was got under way, while the rising moon made the harbor and its surroundings as clearly visible as though it were midday. the light from the burning coal brackets had waned, only a few sparks bursting forth now and again, disturbed by a passing breeze which fanned them into life for a moment. when we passed through the narrow entrance by the lighthouse, and stood out once more upon the open sea, it was mottled, far and near, with argent ripples, that waltzed merrily in the soft, clear moonlight, rivaling the firefly dance on shore. even to the very horizon the water presented a white, silvery, tremulous sheen of liquid light. one gazed in silent enjoyment until the eyes were weary with the lavish beauty of the scene, and the brain became giddy with its splendor. is it idle and commonplace to be enthusiastic? perhaps so; but we hope never to outlive such inspiration. chapter ii. curious seaweed.--professor agassiz.--myth of a lost continent.--island of martinique.--an attractive place.--statue of the empress josephine.--birthplace of madame de maintenon.--city of st. pierre.--mont pelée.--high flavored specialty.--grisettes of martinique.--a botanical garden.--defective drainage.--a fatal enemy.--a cannibal snake.--the climate. between st. thomas and the island of martinique, we fell in with some floating seaweed, so peculiar in appearance that an obliging quartermaster picked up a spray for closer examination. it is a strange, sponge-like plant, which propagates itself on the ocean, unharmed by the fiercest agitation of the waves, or the wildest raging of the winds, at the same time giving shelter to zoöphytes and mollusks of a species, like itself, found nowhere else. sailors call it gulf weed, but it has nothing to do with the gulf stream, though sometimes clusters get astray and are carried far away on the bosom of that grand ocean current. the author has seen small bodies of it, after a fierce storm in the caribbean sea, a thousand miles to the eastward of barbadoes. its special home is a broad space of ocean surface between the gulf stream and the equatorial current, known as the sargasso sea. its limits, however, change somewhat with the seasons. it was first noticed by columbus in , and in this region it has remained for centuries, even to the present day. sometimes this peculiar weed is so abundant as to present the appearance of a submerged meadow, through which the ship ploughs its way as though sailing upon the land. we are told that professor agassiz, while at sea, having got possession of a small branch of this marine growth, kept himself busily absorbed with it and its products for twelve hours, forgetting all the intervening meals. science was more than food and drink to this grand savant. his years from boyhood were devoted to the study of nature in her various forms. "life is so short," said he, "one can hardly find space to become familiar with a single science, much less to acquire knowledge of many." when he was applied to by a lyceum committee to come to a certain town and lecture, he replied that he was too busy. "but we will pay you double price, mr. agassiz, if you will come," said the applicant. "i cannot waste time to make money," was the noble reply. the myth of a lost continent is doubtless familiar to the reader,--a continent supposed to have existed in these waters thousands of years ago, but which, by some evolution of nature, became submerged, sinking from sight forever. it was the atlantis which is mentioned by plato; the land in which the elysian fields were placed, and the garden of hesperides, from which the early civilization of greece, egypt, and asia minor were derived, and whose kings and heroes were the olympian deities of a later time. the poetical idea prevails that this plant, which once grew in those gardens, having lost its original home, has become a floating waif on the sapphire sea of the tropics. the color of the sargasso weed is a faint orange shade; the leaves are pointed, delicate, and exquisitely formed, like those of the weeping willow in their youthful freshness, having a tiny, round, light green berry near the base of each leaf. mother cary's chickens are said to be fond of these berries, and that bird abounds in these waters. probably the main portion of the west indian islands was once a part of the continent of america, many, many ages ago. there are trees of the locust family growing among the group to-day, similar to those found on our southern coast, which are declared to be four thousand years old. this statement is partially corroborated by known characteristics of the growth of the locust, and there are arborists who fully credit this great longevity. it is interesting to look upon an object which had a vital existence two thousand years and more before christ was upon earth, and which is still animate. * * * * * each new island which one visits in the west indies seems more lovely than its predecessor, always leaving hayti out of the question; but martinique, at this moment of writing, appears to rival all those with which the author is familiar. it might be a choice bit out of cuba, singapore, or far-away hawaii. its liability to destructive hurricanes is its only visible drawback. having been discovered on st. martin's day, columbus gave it the name it now bears. st. pierre is the commercial capital of martinique, one of the french west indies, and the largest of the group belonging to that nation. fort de france is the political capital, situated about thirty miles from st. pierre. it was nearly ruined by the cyclone of last august, a few weeks after the author's visit. st. pierre is the best built town in the lesser antilles, and has a population of about twenty-five thousand. the streets are well paved, and the principal avenues are beautified by ornamental trees uniformly planted. the grateful shade thus obtained, and the long lines of charming arboreal perspective which are formed, are desirable accessories to any locality, but doubly so in tropical regions. the houses are very attractive, while there is a prevailing aspect of order, cleanliness, and thrift everywhere apparent. it was not our experience to meet one beggar in the streets of st. pierre. more or less of poverty must exist everywhere, but it does not stalk abroad here, as it does in many rich and pretentious capitals of the great world. the island is situated midway between dominica and st. lucia, and is admitted by all visitors to be one of the most picturesque of the west indian groups. irregular in shape, it is also high and rocky, thus forming one of the most prominent of the large volcanic family which sprang up so many ages ago in these seas. its apex, mont pelée, an only partially extinct volcano, rises between four and five thousand feet above the level of the ocean, and is the first point visible on approaching the island from the north. it would be interesting to dilate upon the past history of martinique, for it has known not a little of the checkered vicissitudes of these antilles, having been twice captured by the english, and twice restored to france. but this would not be in accordance with the design of these pages. st. pierre is situated on the lee side of the island, something less than two thousand miles, by the course we have steered, from new york, and three hundred miles from st. thomas. it comes down to the very water's edge, with its parti-colored houses and red-tiled roofs, which mingle here and there with tall, overhanging cocoa-palms. this is the most lavishly beautiful tree in the world, and one which never fails to impart special interest to its surroundings. a marble statue in the place de la savane, at fort de france, on the same side of the island as st. pierre, recalls the fact that this was the birthplace of the empress josephine, born in . her memorable history is too familiar for us to repeat any portion of it here, but the brain becomes very active at the mere mention of her name, in recalling the romantic and tragic episodes of her life, so closely interwoven with the career of the first napoleon. one instinctively recalls the small boudoir in the palace of trianon, where her husband signed the divorce from josephine. that he loved her with his whole power for loving is plain enough, as is also his well known reason for the separation, namely, the desire for offspring to transmit his name to posterity. there is one legend which is always rehearsed to strangers, relating to josephine's youth upon the island. we refer to that of the old negress fortune-teller who prognosticated the grandeur of her future career, together with its melancholy termination, a story so tinctured with local color that, if it be not absolutely true, it surely ought to be. the statue, unless we are misinformed, was the gift of that colossal fraud, napoleon iii., though it purports to have been raised to the memory of josephine by the people of martinique, who certainly feel great pride in the fact of her having been born here, and who truly venerate her memory. the statue represents the empress dressed in the fashion of the first empire, with bare arms and shoulders, one hand resting on a medallion bearing a profile of the emperor to whom she was devoted. the whole is partially shaded by a half dozen grand old palms. the group teems with historic suggestiveness, recalling one of the most tragic chapters of modern european history. it seemed to us that the artist had succeeded in imparting to the figure an expression indicating something of the sad story of the original. this beautiful island, it will be remembered, also gave to france another remarkable historic character, françoise d'aubigné, afterwards madame scarron, but better known to the world at large as madame de maintenon. she, too, was the wife of a king, though the marriage was a left-handed one, but as the power behind the throne, she is well known to have shaped for years the political destinies of france. st. pierre has several schools, a very good hotel, a theatre, a public library, together with some other modern and progressive institutions; yet somehow everything looked quaint and olden, a sixteenth century atmosphere seeming to pervade the town. the windows of the ordinary dwellings have no glass, which is very naturally considered to be a superfluity in this climate; but these windows have iron bars and wooden shutters behind them, relics of the days of slavery, when every white man's house was his castle, and great precautions were taken to guard against the possible uprising of the blacks, who outnumbered their masters twenty to one. though so large a portion of the population are of negro descent, yet they are very french-like in character. the native women especially seem to be frivolous and coquettish, not to say rather lax in morals. they appear to be very fond of dress. the young negresses have learned from their white mistresses how to put on their diaphanous clothing in a jaunty and telling fashion, leaving one bronzed arm and shoulder bare, which strikes the eye in strong contrast with the snow white of their cotton chemises. they are parisian grisettes in ebony, and with their large, roguish eyes, well-rounded figures, straight pose, and dainty ways, the half-breeds are certainly very attractive, and only too ready for a lark with a stranger. they strongly remind one of the pretty quadroons of louisiana, in their manners, complexion, and general appearance; and like those handsome offspring of mingled blood, so often seen in our southern states, we suspect that these of martinique enjoy but a brief space of existence. the average life of a quadroon is less than thirty years. martinique is eight times as large as st. thomas, containing a population of about one hundred and seventy-five thousand. within its borders there are at least five extinct volcanoes, one of which has an enormous crater, exceeded by only three or four others in the known world. the island rises from the sea in three groups of rugged peaks, and contains some very fertile valleys. so late as , mont pelée burst forth furiously with flames and smoke, which naturally threw the people into a serious panic, many persons taking refuge temporarily on board the shipping in the harbor. the eruption on this occasion did not amount to anything very serious, only covering some hundreds of acres with sulphurous débris, yet serving to show that the volcano was not dead, but sleeping. once or twice since that date ominous mutterings have been heard from mont pelée, which it is confidently predicted will one day deluge st. pierre with ashes and lava, repeating the story of pompeii. sugar, rum, coffee, and cotton are the staple products here, supplemented by tobacco, manioc flour, bread-fruit, and bananas. rum is very extensively manufactured, and has a good mercantile reputation for its excellence, commanding as high prices as the more famous article of the same nature produced at jamaica. the purpose of the author is mainly to record personal impressions, but a certain sprinkling of statistics and detail is inevitable, if we would inform, as well as amuse, the average reader. the flora of martinique is the marvel and delight of all who have enjoyed its extraordinary beauty, while the great abundance and variety of its fruits are believed to be unsurpassed even in the prolific tropics. of that favorite, the mango, the island produces some forty varieties, and probably in no other region has the muscatel grape reached to such perfection in size and flavor. the whole island looks like a maze of greenery, as it is approached from the sea, vividly recalling tutuila of the samoan group in the south pacific. like most of the west indian islands, martinique was once densely covered with trees, and a remnant of these ancient woods creeps down to the neighborhood of st. pierre to-day. the principal landing is crowded at all times with hogsheads of sugar and molasses, and other casks containing the highly scented island rum, the two sweets, together with the spirits, causing a nauseous odor under the powerful heat of a vertical sun. we must not forget to mention, however, that st. pierre has a specific for bad odors in her somewhat peculiar specialty, namely, eau-de-cologne, which is manufactured on this island, and is equal to the european article of the same name, distilled at the famous city on the rhine. no one visits the port, if it be for but a single day, without bringing away a sample bottle of this delicate perfumery, a small portion of which, added to the morning bath, is delightfully refreshing, especially when one uses salt water at sea, it so effectively removes the saline stickiness which is apt to remain upon the limbs and body after a cold bath. the town is blessed with an inexhaustible supply of good, fresh, mountain water, which, besides furnishing the necessary quantity for several large drinking fountains, feeds some ornamental ones, and purifies the streets by a flow through the gutters, after the fashion of salt lake city, utah. this is in fact the only system of drainage at st. pierre. a bronze fountain in the place bertin is fed from this source, and is an object of great pleasure in a climate where cold water in abundance is an inestimable boon. this elaborate fountain was the gift of a colored man, named alfred agnew, who was at one time mayor of the city. many of the gardens attached to the dwelling-houses are ornamented with ever-flowing fountains, which impart a refreshing coolness to the tropical atmosphere. the rue victor hugo is the main thoroughfare, traversing the whole length of the town parallel with the shore, up hill and down, crossing a small bridge, and finally losing itself in the environs. it is nicely kept, well paved, and, though it is rather narrow, it is the broadway of st. pierre. some of the streets are so abrupt in grade as to recall similar avenues in the english portion of hong kong, too steep for the passage of vehicles, or even for donkeys, being ascended by means of much worn stone steps. fine, broad roadways surround the town and form pleasant drives. the cathedral has a sweet chime of bells, whose soft, liquid notes came to us across the water of the bay with touching cadence at the angelus hour. it must be a sadly calloused heart which fails to respond to these twilight sounds in an isle of the caribbean sea. millet's impressive picture was vividly recalled as we sat upon the deck and listened to those bells, whose notes floated softly upon the air as if bidding farewell to the lingering daylight. at the moment, all else being so still, it seemed as though one's heartbeat could be heard, while the senses were bathed in a tranquil gladness incited by the surrounding scenery and the suggestiveness of the hour. three fourths of the population are half-breeds, born of whites, blacks, or mulattoes, with a possible strain of carib blood in their veins, the result of which is sometimes a very handsome type of bronzed hue, but of circassian features. some of the young women of the better class are very attractive, with complexions of a gypsy color, like the artists' models who frequent the "spanish stairs" leading to the trinità di monti, at rome. these girls possess deep, dark eyes, pearly teeth, with good figures, upright and supple as the palms. in dress they affect all the colors of the rainbow, presenting oftentimes a charming audacity of contrasts, and somehow it seems to be quite the thing for them to do so; it accords perfectly with their complexions, with the climate, with everything tropical. the many-colored madras kerchief is universally worn by the common class of women, twisted into a jaunty turban, with one well-starched end ingeniously arranged so as to stand upright like a soldier's plume. the love of ornament is displayed by the wearing of hoop earrings of enormous size, together with triple strings of gold beads, and bracelets of the same material. if any one imagines he has seen larger sized hoop earrings this side of africa, he is mistaken. they are more like bangles than earrings, hanging down so as to rest upon the neck and shoulders. those who cannot afford the genuine article satisfy their vanity with gaudy imitations. they form a very curious and interesting study, these black, brown, and yellow people, both men and women. in the market-place at the north end of the town, the women preside over their bananas, oranges, and other fruits, in groups, squatting like asiatics on their heels. in the havana fish market, one compares the variety of colors exhibited by the fishes exposed for sale to those of the kaleidoscope, but here the cuban display is equaled if not surpassed. st. pierre has a botanical garden, situated about a mile from the centre of the town, so located as to admit of utilizing a portion of the native forest yet left standing, with here and there an impenetrable growth of the feathery bamboo, king of the grasses, interspersed with the royal palm and lighter green tree-ferns. the bamboo is a marvel, single stems of it often attaining a height in tropical regions of a hundred and seventy feet, and a diameter of a foot. so rapid is its growth that it is sometimes known to attain the height of a hundred feet in sixty days. art has done something to improve the advantages afforded by nature in this botanical garden, arranging some pretty lakes, fountains, and cascades. vistas have been cut through the dense undergrowth, and driveways have been made, thus improving the rather neglected grounds. one pretty lake of considerable size contains three or four small islands, covered with flowering plants, while on the shore are pretty summer houses and inviting arbors. the frangipanni, tall and almost leafless, but with thick, fleshy shoots and a broad-spread, single leaf, was recognized here among other interesting plants. this is the fragrant flower mentioned by the early discoverers. there was also the parti-colored passion-flower, and groups of odd-shaped cacti, whose thick, green leaves were daintily rimmed with an odorless yellow bloom. here, also, is an interesting example of the ceba-tree, in whose shade a hundred persons might banquet together. the author has seen specimens of the ceba superbly developed in cuba and the bahamas, with its massive and curiously buttressed trunk, having the large roots half above ground. it is a solitary tree, growing to a large size and enjoying great longevity. mangoes abound here, the finest known as the _mango d'or_. there is a certain air about the public garden of st. pierre, indicating that nature is permitted in a large degree to have her own sweet will. evidences enough remain to show the visitor that these grounds must once have been in a much more presentable condition. there is a musical cascade, which is well worth a long walk to see and enjoy. just inside of the entrance, one spot was all ablaze with a tiny yellow flower, best known to us as english broom, _cytisus genista_. its profuse but delicate bloom was dazzling beneath the bright sun's rays. could it possibly be indigenous? no one could tell us. probably some resident brought it hither from his home across the ocean, and it has kindly adapted itself to the new soil and climate. we were cautioned to look out for and to avoid a certain poisonous snake, a malignant reptile, with fatal fangs, which is the dread of the inhabitants, some of whom are said to die every year from the venom of the creature. it will be remembered that one of these snakes, known here as the _fer-de-lance_, bit josephine, the future empress, when she was very young, and that her faithful negro nurse saved the child's life by instantly drawing the poison from the wound with her own lips. it is singular that this island, and that of st. lucia, directly south of it, should be cursed by the presence of these poisonous creatures, which do not exist in any other of the west indian islands, and, indeed, so far as we know, are not to be found anywhere else. the fer-de-lance has one fatal enemy. this is a large snake, harmless so far as poisonous fangs are concerned, called the _cribo_. this reptile fearlessly attacks the fer-de-lance, and kills and eats him in spite of his venom, a perfectly justifiable if not gratifying instance of cannibalism, where a creature eats and relishes the body of one of its own species. the domestic cat is said also to be more than a match for the dreaded snake, and instinctively adopts a style of attack which, while protecting itself, finally closes the contest by the death of the fer-de-lance, which it seizes just back of the head at the spine, and does not let go until it has severed the head from the body; and even then instinct teaches the cat to avoid the head, for though it be severed from the body, like the mouth of a turtle under similar circumstances, it can still inflict a serious wound. the fer-de-lance is a great destroyer of rats, this rodent forming its principal source of food. now as rats are almost as much of a pest upon the island, and especially on the sugar plantations, as rabbits are in new zealand, it will be seen that even the existence of this poisonous snake is not an unmitigated evil. crosses and wayside shrines of a very humble character are to be seen in all directions on the roadsides leading from st. pierre, recalling similar structures which line the inland roads of japan, where the local religion finds like public expression, only varying in the character of the emblems. at martinique it is a christ or a madonna; in japan it is a crude idol of some sort, the more hideous, the more appropriate. the same idea is to be seen carried out in the streets of canton and shanghai, only chinese idols are a degree more unlike anything upon or below the earth than they are elsewhere. it was observed that while there were plenty of masculine loafers and careless idlers of various colors, whose whole occupation seemed to be sucking at some form of burning tobacco in the shape of cigarette, cigar, or pipe, the women, of whatever complexion, seen in public, were all usefully employed. they are industrious by instinct; one almost never sees them in repose. in the transportation of all articles of domestic use, women bear them upon their heads, whether the article weighs one pound or fifty, balancing their load without making use of the hands except to place the article in position. the women not infrequently have also a baby upon their backs at the same time. negresses and donkeys perform nine tenths of the transportation of merchandise. wheeled vehicles are very little used in the west indian islands. as we have seen, even in coaling ship, it is the women who do the work. the hotel des bains, at st. pierre, is an excellent hostelry, as such places go in this part of the world. the stranger will find here most of the requisites for domestic comfort, and at reasonable prices. as a health resort the place has its advantages, and a northern invalid, wishing to escape the rigor of a new england winter, would doubtless find much to occupy and recuperate him here. st. pierre, however, has times of serious epidemic sickness, though this does not often happen in the winter season. three or four years ago the island was visited by a sweeping epidemic of small-pox, but it raged almost entirely among the lowest classes, principally among the negroes, who seem to have a great prejudice and superstitious fear relating to vaccination, and its employment as a preventive against contracting the disease. in the yellow fever season the city suffers more or less, but the health of st. pierre will average as good as that of our extreme southern states; and yet, after all, with the earthquakes, hurricanes, tarantulas, scorpions, and deadly fer-de-lance, as artemus ward would say, martinique presents many characteristics to recommend protracted absence. a brief visit is like a poem to be remembered, but one soon gets a surfeit of the circumscribed island. our next objective point was barbadoes, to reach which we sailed one hundred and fifty miles to the eastward, this most important of the lesser antilles being situated further to windward, that is, nearer the continent of europe. our ponderous anchor came up at early morning, just as the sun rose out of the long, level reach of waters. it looked like a mammoth ball of fire, which had been immersed during the hours of the night countless fathoms below the sea. presently everything was aglow with light and warmth, while the atmosphere seemed full of infinitesimal particles of glittering gold. at first one could watch the face of the rising sun, as it came peering above the sea, a sort of fascination impelling the observer to do so, but after a few moments, no human eye could bear its dazzling splendor. said an honest old marshfield farmer, in , who met the clergyman of the village very early in the opening day: "ah, good mornin', parson, another fine day," nodding significantly towards the sun just appearing above the cloudless horizon of massachusetts bay. "they do say the airth moves, and the sun stands still; but you and i, parson, we git up airly and we _see_ it rise!" chapter iii. english island of barbadoes.--bridgetown the capital.--the manufacture of rum.--a geographical expert.--very english.--a pest of ants.--exports.--the ice house.--a dense population.--educational.--marine hotel.--habits of gambling.--hurricanes.--curious antiquities.--the barbadoes leg.--wakeful dreams.--absence of twilight.--departure from the island. bridgetown is the capital of barbadoes, an english island which, unlike st. thomas, is a highly cultivated sugar plantation from shore to shore. in natural beauty, however, it will not compare with martinique. it is by no means picturesquely beautiful, like most of the west indian islands, being quite devoid of their thick tropical verdure. nature is here absolutely beaten out of the field by excessive cultivation. thirty thousand acres of sugar-cane are cut annually, yielding, according to late statistics, about seventy thousand hogsheads of sugar. we are sorry to add that there are twenty-three rum distilleries on the island, which do pecuniarily a thriving business. "the poorest molasses makes the best rum," said an experienced manager to us. he might well have added that it is also the poorest use to which it could be put. this spirit, like all produced in the west indies, is called jamaica rum, and though a certain amount of it is still shipped to the coast of africa, the return cargoes no longer consist of kidnapped negroes. the article known as new england rum, still manufactured in the neighborhood of boston, has always disputed the african market, so to speak, with the product of these islands. rum is the bane of africa, just as opium is of china, the former thrust upon the native races by americans, the latter upon the chinese by english merchants, backed by the british government. events follow each other so swiftly in modern times as to become half forgotten by contemporary people, but there are those among us who remember when china as a nation tried to stop the importation of the deadly drug yielded by the poppy fields of india, whereupon england forced the article upon her at the point of the bayonet. bridgetown is situated at the west end of the island on the open roadstead of carlisle bay, and has a population of over twenty-five thousand. barbadoes lies about eighty miles to the windward of st. vincent, its nearest neighbor, and is separated from europe by four thousand miles of the atlantic ocean. it is comparatively removed from the chain formed by the windward isles, its situation being so isolated that it remained almost unnoticed until a century had passed after columbus's first discovery in these waters. the area of the british possessions in the west indies is about one seventh of the islands. it is often stated that barbadoes is nearly as large as the isle of wight, but the fact is, it exceeds that island in superficial area, being a little over fifty-five miles in circumference. the reader will perhaps remember that it was here addison laid the scene of his touching story of "inkle and yarico," published so many years ago in the "spectator." though it is not particularly well laid out, bridgetown makes a very pleasing picture, as a whole, when seen from the harbor. here and there a busy windmill is mixed with tall and verdant tropical trees, backed by far-reaching fields of yellow sugar-cane, together with low, sloping hills. the buildings are mostly of stone, or coral rock, and the town follows the graceful curve of the bay. the streets are macadamized and lighted with gas, but are far too narrow for business purposes. the island is about twenty-one miles long and between fourteen and fifteen broad, the shores being nearly inclosed in a cordon of coral reefs, some of which extend for two or three miles seaward, demanding of navigators the greatest care on seeking a landing, though the course into the roads to a suitable anchorage is carefully buoyed. barbadoes was originally settled by the portuguese, who here found the branches of a certain forest tree covered with hair-like hanging moss, from whence its somewhat peculiar name, barbadoes, or the "bearded place," is supposed to have been derived. probably this was the indian fig-tree, still found here, and which lives for many centuries, growing to enormous proportions. in india, ceylon, and elsewhere in asia, it is held sacred. the author has seen one of these trees at kandy, in the island of ceylon, under which sacred rites have taken place constantly for a thousand years or more, and whose widespread branches could shelter five hundred people from the heat of the sun. it stands close by the famous old buddhist temple wherein is preserved the tooth of the prophet, and before which devout indians prostrate themselves daily, coming from long distances to do so. indeed, kandy is the mecca of ceylon. a good share of even the reading public of england would be puzzled to tell an inquirer exactly where barbadoes is situated, while most of those who have any idea about it have gained such knowledge as they possess from captain marryat's clever novel of "peter simple," where the account is, to be sure, meagre enough. still later, those who have read anthony trollope's "west indies and the spanish main" have got from the flippant pages of that book some idea of the island, though it is a very disagreeable example of trollope's pedantic style. "barbadoes? barbadoes?" said a society man to the writer of these pages, in all seriousness, just as he was about to sail from new york, "that's on the coast of africa, is it not?" "oh, no," was the reply, "it is one of the islands of the lesser antilles." "where are the antilles, pray?" "you must surely know." "but i do not, nevertheless; haven't the remotest idea. fact is, geography never was one of my strong points." with which remark we silently agreed, and yet our friend is reckoned to be a fairly educated, cultured person, as these expressions are commonly used. probably he represents the average geographical knowledge of one half the people to be met with in miscellaneous society. this is the first english possession where the sugarcane was planted, and is one of the most ancient colonies of great britain. it bears no resemblance to the other islands in these waters, that is, topographically, nor, indeed, in the character of its population, being entirely english. the place might be a bit taken out of any shire town of the british home island, were it only a little more cleanly and less unsavory; still it is more english than west indian. the manners and customs are all similar to those of the people of that nationality; the negroes, and their descendants of mixed blood, speak the same tongue as the denizens of st. giles, london. the island has often been called "little england." there is no reliable history of barbadoes before the period when great britain took possession of it, some two hundred and sixty years ago. government house is a rather plain but pretentious dwelling, where the governor has his official and domestic residence. in its rear there is a garden, often spoken of by visitors, which is beautified by some of the choicest trees and shrubs of this latitude. it is really surprising how much a refined taste and skillful gardening can accomplish in so circumscribed a space. barbadoes is somewhat remarkable as producing a variety of minerals; among which are coal, manganese, iron, kaolin, and yellow ochre. there are also one or two localities on the island where a flow of petroleum is found, of which some use is made. it is called barbadoes tar, and were the supply sufficient to warrant the use of refining machinery, it would undoubtedly produce a good burning fluid. there is a "burning well," situated in what is known as the scotland district, where the water emerging from the earth forms a pool, which is kept in a state of ebullition from the inflammable air or gas which passes through it. this gas, when lighted by a match, burns freely until extinguished by artificial means, not rising in large enough quantities to make a great flame, but still sufficient to create the effect of burning water, and forming quite a curiosity. there are no mountains on the island, but the land is undulating, and broken into hills and dales; one elevation, known as mount hillaby, reaches a thousand feet and more above the level of tide waters. one of the most serious pests ever known at barbadoes was the introduction of ants, by slave-ships from africa. no expedient of human ingenuity served to rid the place of their destructive presence, and it was at one time seriously proposed to abandon the island on this account. after a certain period nature came to the rescue. she does all things royally, and the hurricane of completely annihilated the vermin. verily, it was appropriate to call barbadoes in those days the antilles! it appears that there is no affliction quite unmixed with good, and that we must put a certain degree of faith in the law of compensation, however great the seeming evil under which we suffer. to our limited power of comprehension, a destructive hurricane does seem an extreme resort by which to crush out an insect pest. the query might even arise, with some minds, whether the cure was not worse than the disorder. the exports from the island consist almost wholly of molasses, sugar, and rum, products of the cane, which grows all over the place, in every nook and corner, from hilltop to water's edge. the annual export, as already intimated, is considerably over sixty thousand hogsheads. sugar cannot, however, be called king of any one section, since half of the amount manufactured in the whole world is the product of the beet root, the growth of which is liberally subsidized by more than one european government, in order to foster local industry. like st. thomas, this island has been almost denuded of its forest growth, and is occasionally liable, as we have seen, to destructive hurricanes. bridgetown is a place of considerable progress, having several benevolent and educational institutions; it also possesses railway, telephone, and telegraphic service. its export trade aggregates over seven million dollars per annum, to accommodate which amount of commerce causes a busy scene nearly all the time in the harbor. the steam railway referred to connects the capital with the parish of st. andrews, twenty-one miles away on the other side of the island, its terminus being at the thrifty little town of bathsheba, a popular resort, which is noted for its fine beach and excellent sea bathing. the cathedral is consecrated to the established religion of the church of england, and is a picturesque, time-worn building, surrounded, after the style of rural england, by a quaint old graveyard, the monuments and slabs of which are gray and moss-grown, some of them bearing dates of the earlier portion of the sixteenth century. this spot forms a very lovely, peaceful picture, where the graves are shaded by tree-ferns and stately palms. somehow one cannot but miss the tall, slim cypress, which to the european and american eye seems so especially appropriate to such a spot. there were clusters of low-growing mignonette, which gave out a faint perfume exactly suited to the solemn shades which prevailed, and here and there bits of ground enameled with blue-eyed violets. the walls of the inside of the church are covered with memorial tablets, and there is an organ of great power and sweetness of tone. the "ice house," so called, at bridgetown is a popular resort, which everybody visits who comes to barbadoes. here one can find files of all the latest american and european papers, an excellent café, with drinks and refreshments of every conceivable character, and can purchase almost any desired article from a toothpick to a set of parlor furniture. it is a public library, an exchange, a "bon marché," and an artificial ice manufactory, all combined. strangers naturally make it a place of rendezvous. it seemed to command rather more of the average citizen's attention than did legitimate business, and one is forced to admit that although the drinks which were so generously dispensed were cool and appetizing, they were also very potent. it was observed that some individuals, who came into the hospitable doors rather sober and dejected in expression of features, were apt to go out just a little jolly. the ice house is an institution of these islands, to be found at st. thomas, demerara, and trinidad, as well as at barbadoes. havana has a similar retreat, but calls it a café, situated on the paseo, near the tacon theatre. the population of the island amounts to about one hundred and seventy-two thousand,--the census of showed it to be a trifle less than this,--giving the remarkable density of one thousand and more persons to the square mile, thus forming an immense human beehive. it is the only one of the west indian islands from which a certain amount of emigration is necessary annually. the large negro population makes labor almost incredibly cheap, field-hands on the plantations being paid only one shilling per day; and yet, so ardent is their love of home--and the island is home to them--that only a few can be induced to leave it in search of better wages. when it is remembered that the state of massachusetts, which is considered to be one of the most thickly populated sections of the united states, contains but two hundred and twenty persons to the square mile, the fact that this west indian island supports over one thousand inhabitants in the same average space will be more fully appreciated. notwithstanding this crowded state of the population, we were intelligently informed that while petty offenses are common, there is a marked absence of serious crimes. one sees few if any signs of poverty here. it is a land of sugar-cane, yams, and sweet potatoes, very prolific, and very easily tilled. some of the most prosperous men on the island are colored planters, who own their large establishments, though born slaves, perhaps on the very ground they now own. they have by strict economy and industry saved money enough to make a fair beginning, and in the course of years have gradually acquired wealth. one plantation, owned by a colored man, born of slave parents, was pointed out to us, with the information that it was worth twenty thousand pounds sterling, and that its last year's crop yielded over three hundred hogsheads of sugar, besides a considerable quantity of molasses. england maintains at heavy expense a military depot here, from which to draw under certain circumstances. there is no local necessity for supporting such a force. georgetown is a busy place. being the most seaward of the west indies, it has become the chief port of call for ships navigating these seas. the caribbees are divided by geographers into the windward and leeward islands, in accordance with the direction in which they lie with regard to the prevailing winds. they are in very deep water, the neighboring sea having a mean depth of fifteen hundred fathoms. being so far eastward, barbadoes enjoys an exceptionally equable climate, and it is claimed for it that it has a lower thermometer than any other west indian island. its latitude is ° ' north, longitude ° ' west, within eight hundred miles of the equator. the prevailing wind blows from the northeast, over the broad, unobstructed atlantic, rendering the evenings almost always delightfully cool, tempered by this grateful tonic breath of the ocean. trafalgar square, bridgetown, contains a handsome fountain, and a bronze statue of nelson which, as a work of art, is simply atrocious. from this broad, open square the tramway cars start, and it also forms a general business centre. the home government supports, besides its other troops, a regiment of negroes uniformed as zouaves and officered by white men. the police of bridgetown are also colored men. slavery was abolished here in . everything is so thoroughly english, that only the temperature, together with the vegetation, tells the story of latitude and longitude. the soil has been so closely cultivated as to have become partially exhausted, and this is the only west indian island, if we are correctly informed, where artificial enrichment is considered necessary to stimulate the native soil, or where it has ever been freely used. "i question," said an intelligent planter to us, "whether we should not be better off to-day, if we had not so overstimulated, in fact, burned out, our land with guano and phosphates." these are to the ground like intoxicants to human beings,--if over-indulged in they are fatal, and even the partial use is of questionable advantage. the chinese and japanese apply only domestic refuse in their fields as a manure, and no people obtain such grand results as they do in agriculture. they know nothing of patent preparations employed for such purposes, and yet will render a spot of ground profitable which a european would look upon as absolutely not worth cultivating. in any direction from bridgetown going inland, miles upon miles of plantations are seen bearing the bright green sugar-cane, turning to yellow as it ripens, and giving splendid promise for the harvest. here and there are grouped a low cluster of cabins, which form the quarters of the negroes attached to the plantation, while close at hand the tall chimney of the sugar mill looms over the surrounding foliage. a little one side, shaded by some palms, is the planter's neat and attractive residence, painted snow white, in contrast to the deep greenery surrounding it, and having a few flower beds in its front. the marine hotel, which is admirably situated on a rocky point at hastings, three hundred feet above the beach, is about a league from the city, and forms a favorite resort for the townspeople. the house is capable of accommodating three hundred guests at a time. its spacious piazzas fronting the ocean are constantly fanned by the northeast trades from october to march. some new york families regard the place as a choice winter resort, the thermometer rarely indicating over ° fahr., or falling below °. this suburb of hastings is the location of the army barracks, where a broad plain affords admirable space for drill and military manoeuvres. there is a monument at hastings, raised to the memory of the victims of the hurricane of , which seems to be rather unpleasantly suggestive of future possibilities. near at hand is a well-arranged mile racecourse, a spot very dear to the army officers, where during the racing season any amount of money is lost and won. there seems to be something in this tropical climate which incites to all sorts of gambling, and the habit among the people is so common as to be looked upon with great leniency. just so, at some of the summer resorts of the south of france, italy, and germany, ladies or gentlemen will frankly say, "i am going to the casino for a little gambling, but will be back again by and by." the roads in the vicinity of bridgetown are admirably kept, all being macadamized, but the dust which rises from the pulverized coral rock is nearly blinding, and together with the reflection caused by the sun on the snow white roads proves very trying to the eyesight. the dust and glare are serious drawbacks to the enjoyment of these environs. as we have said, hurricanes have proved very fatal at barbadoes. in , four thousand persons were swept out of existence in a few hours by the irresistible fury of a tornado. so late as , the loss of life by a similar visitation was over two thousand, while the loss of property aggregated some two million pounds sterling. the experience has not, however, been so severe here as at several of the other islands. at the time of the hurricane just referred to, barbadoes was covered with a coat of sulphurous ashes nearly an inch thick, which was afterwards found to have come from the island of st. vincent, where what is called brimstone mountain burst forth in flames and laid that island also in ashes. it is interesting to note that there should have been such intimate relationship shown between a great atmospheric disturbance like a hurricane and an underground agitation as evinced by the eruption of a volcano. it should be mentioned that these hurricanes have never been known to pass a certain limit north or south, their ravages having always been confined between the eleventh and twenty-first degrees of north latitude. it appears that some curious carib implements were found not long since just below the surface of the earth on the south shore of the bay, which are to be forwarded to the british museum, london. these were of hard stone, and were thought by the finders to have been used by the aborigines to fell trees. some were thick shells, doubtless employed by the indians in the rude cultivation of maize, grown here four or five hundred years ago. it was said that these stone implements resembled those which have been found from time to time in norway and sweden. if this is correct, it is an important fact for antiquarians to base a theory upon. some scientists believe that there was, in prehistoric times, an intimate relationship between scandinavia and the continent of america. though there are several public schools in bridgetown, both primary and advanced, we were somehow impressed with the idea that education for the common people was not fostered in a manner worthy of a british colony of so long standing; but this is the impression of a casual observer only. there is a college situated ten or twelve miles from the city, founded by sir christopher codrington, which has achieved a high reputation as an educational institution in its chosen field of operation. it is a large structure of white stone, well-arranged, and is, as we were told, consistent with the spirit of the times. it has the dignity of ripened experience, having been opened in . the professors are from europe. a delicious fresh water spring rises to the surface of the land just below the cliff, at codrington college, a blessing which people who live in the tropics know how to appreciate. there is also at bridgetown what is known as harrison's college, which, however, is simply a high school devoted exclusively to girls. the island is not exempt from occasional prevalence of tropical fevers, but may be considered a healthy resort upon the whole. leprosy is not unknown among the lower classes, and elephantiasis is frequently to be met with. this disease is known in the west indies as the "barbadoes leg." sometimes a native may be seen on the streets with one of his legs swollen to the size of his body. there is no known cure for this disease except the surgeon's knife, and the removal of the victim from the region where it first developed itself. the author has seen terrible cases of elephantiasis among the natives of the samoan group of islands, where this strange and unaccountable disease is thought to have reached its most extreme and repulsive development. foreigners are seldom if ever afflicted with it, either in the west indies or the south pacific. we are to sail to-night. a few passengers and a quantity of freight have been landed, while some heavy merchandise has been received on board, designed for continental ports to the southward. the afternoon shadows lengthen upon the shore, and the sunset hour, so brief in this latitude, approaches. the traveler who has learned to love the lingering twilight of the north misses these most charming hours when in equatorial regions, but as the goddess of night wraps her sombre mantle about her, it is so superbly decked with diamond stars that the departed daylight is hardly regretted. it is like the prompter's ringing up of the curtain upon a complete theatrical scene; the glory of the tropical sky bursts at once upon the vision in all its completeness, its burning constellations, its solitaire brilliants, its depth of azure, and its mysterious milky way. while sitting under the awning upon deck, watching the gentle swaying palms and tall fern-trees, listening to the low drone of busy life in the town, and breathing the sweet exhalations of tropical fruits and flowers, a trance-like sensation suffuses the brain. is this the _dolce far niente_ of the italians, the sweet do-nothing of the tropics? to us, however defined, it was a waking dream of sensuous delight, of entire content. how far away sounds the noise of the steam-winch, the sharp chafing of the iron pulleys, the prompt orders of the officer of the deck, the swinging of the ponderous yards, the rattling of the anchor chain as it comes in through the hawse hole, while the ship gradually loses her hold upon the land. with half closed eyes we scarcely heard these many significant sounds, but floated peacefully on in an eden of fancy, quietly leaving carlisle bay far behind. our course was to the southward, while everything, high and low, was bathed in a flood of shimmering moonlight, the magic alchemy of the sky, whose influence etherealizes all upon which it rests. chapter iv. curious ocean experiences.--the delicate nautilus.--flying-fish.--the southern cross.--speaking a ship at sea.--scientific navigation.--south america as a whole.--fauna and flora.--natural resources of a wonderful land.--rivers, plains, and mountain ranges.--aboriginal tribes.--population.--political divisions.--civil wars.--weakness of south american states. the sudden appearance of a school of flying-fish gliding swiftly through the air for six or eight rods just above the rippling waves, and then sinking from sight; the sportive escort of half a hundred slate-colored porpoises, leaping high out of the water on either bow of the ship only to plunge back again, describing graceful curves; the constant presence of that sullen tiger of the ocean, the voracious, man-eating shark, betrayed by its dorsal fin showing above the surface of the sea; the sporting of mammoth whales, sending columns of water high in air from their blowholes, and lashing the waves playfully with their broad-spread tails, are events at sea too commonplace to comment upon in detail, though they tend to while away the inevitable monotony of a long voyage. speaking of flying-fish, there is more in the flying capacity of this little creature than is generally admitted, else why has it wings on the forward part of its body, each measuring seven inches in length? if designed only for fins, they are altogether out of proportion to the rest of its body. they are manifestly intended for just the use to which the creature puts them. one was brought to us by a seaman; how it got on board we know not, but it measured eleven inches from the nose to the tip of the tail fin, and was in shape and size very much like a small mackerel. after leaving barbadoes, we got into what sailors call the flying-fish latitudes, where they appear constantly in their low, rapid flight, sometimes singly, but oftener in small schools of a score or more, creating flashes of silvery-blue lustre. the most careful observation could detect no vibration of the long, extended fins; the tiny fish sailed, as it were, upon the wind, the flight of the giant albatross in miniature. one afternoon, when the sea was scarcely dimpled by the soft trade wind, we came suddenly upon myriads of that little fairy of the ocean, the gossamer nautilus, with its greek galleon shape, and as frail, apparently, as a spider's web. what a gondola it would make for queen mab! how delicate and transparent it is, while radiating prismatic colors! a touch might dismember it, yet what a daring navigator, floating confidently upon the sea where the depth is a thousand fathoms, liable at any moment to be changed into raging billows by an angry storm! how minute the vitality of this graceful atom, a creature whose existence is perhaps for only a single day; yet how grand and limitless the system of life and creation of which it is so humble a representative! sailors call these frail marine creatures portuguese men-of-war. possessing some singular facility for doing so, if they are disturbed, they quickly furl their sails and sink below the surface of the buoyant waves into deep water, the home of the octopus, the squid, and the voracious shark. did they, one is led to query, navigate these seas after this fashion before the northmen came across the ocean, and before columbus landed at san salvador? at night the glory of the southern hemisphere, as revealed in new constellations and brighter stars brought into view, was observed with keenest interest,--"everlasting night, with her star diadems, with her silence, and her verities." the phosphorescence of the sea, with its scintillations of brilliant light, its ripples of liquid fire, the crest of each wave a flaming cascade, was a charming phenomenon one never tired of watching. if it be the combination of millions and billions of animalculæ which thus illumines the waters, then these infinitesimal creatures are the fireflies of the ocean, as the cucuios, that fairy torch-bearer, is of the land. gliding on the magic mirror of the south atlantic, in which the combined glory of the sky was reflected with singular clearness, it seemed as though we were sailing over a starry world below. while observing the moon in its beautiful series of changes, lighting our way by its chaste effulgence night after night, it was difficult to realize that it shines entirely by the light which it borrows from the sun; but it was easy to believe the simpler fact, that of all the countless hosts of the celestial bodies, she is our nearest neighbor. "an eighteen-foot telescope reveals to the human eye over forty million stars," said captain baker, as we stood together gazing at the luminous heavens. "and if we entertain the generally accepted idea," he continued, "we must believe that each one of that enormous aggregate of stars is the centre of a solar system similar to our own." the known facts relating to the stars, like stellar distances, are almost incomprehensible. one cannot but realize that there is always a certain amount of sentiment wasted on the constellation known as the southern cross by passengers bound to the lands and seas over which it hangs. orion or the pleiades, either of them, is infinitely superior in point of brilliancy, symmetry, and individuality. a lively imagination is necessary to endow this irregular cluster of stars with any real resemblance to the christian emblem for which it is named. it serves the navigator in the southern hemisphere, in part, the same purpose which the north star does in our portion of the globe, and there our own respect for it as a constellation ends. much poetic talent has been expended for ages to idealize the southern cross, which is, alas! no cross at all. we have seen a person unfamiliar with the locality of this constellation strive long and patiently, but in vain, to find it. it should be remembered that two prominent stars in centaurus point directly to it. the one furthest from the so called cross is held to be the fixed star nearest to the earth, but its distance from us is twenty thousand times farther than that of the sun. we have never yet met a person, looking upon this cluster of the heavens for the first time, who did not frankly express his disappointment. anticipation and fruition are oftenest at antipodes. the graceful marine birds which follow the ship, day after day, darting hither and thither with arrowy swiftness, lured by the occasional refuse thrown from on board, would be seriously missed were they to leave us. watching their aerial movements and untiring power of wing, while listening to their sharp complaining cries, is a source of constant amusement. even rough weather and a raging sea, if not accompanied by too serious a storm, is sometimes welcome, serving to awaken the ship from its dull propriety, and to put officers, crew, and passengers upon their mettle. to speak a strange vessel at sea is always interesting. if it is a steamer, a long, black wake of smoke hanging among the clouds at the horizon betrays her proximity long before the hull is sighted. all eyes are on the watch until she comes clearly within the line of vision, gradually increasing in size and distinctness of outline, until presently the spars and rigging are minutely delineated. then speculation is rife as to whence she comes and where she is going. by and by the two ships approach so near that signal flags can be read, and the captains talk with each other, exchanging names, whither bound, and so on. then each commander dips his flag in compliment to the other, and the ships rapidly separate. all of this is commonplace enough, but serves to while away an hour, and insures a report of our progress and safety at the date of meeting, when the stranger reaches his port of destination. we have spoken of the pleasure experienced at sea in watching intelligently the various phases of the moon. the subject is a prolific one; a whole chapter might be written upon it. it is perhaps hardly realized by the average landsman, and indeed by few who constantly cross the ocean, with their thoughts and interests absorbed by the many attractive novelties of the ocean, how important a part this great luminary plays in the navigation of a ship. it is to the intelligent and observant mariner the never-failing watch of the sky, the stars performing the part of hands to designate the proper figure upon the dial. if there is occasion to doubt the correctness of his chronometer, the captain of the ship can verify its figures or correct them by this planet. every minute that the chronometer is wrong, assuming that it be so, may put him fifteen miles out of his reckoning, which, under some circumstances, might prove to be a fatal error, even leading to the loss of his ship and all on board. to find his precise location upon the ocean, the navigator requires both greenwich time and local meridian time, the latter obtained by the sun on shipboard, exactly at midday. to get greenwich time by lunar observation, the captain, for example, finds that the moon is three degrees from the star regulus. by referring to his nautical almanac he sees recorded there the greenwich time at which the moon was three degrees from that particular star. he then compares his chronometer with these figures, and either confirms or corrects its indication. it is interesting to the traveler to observe and understand these important resources, which science has brought to bear in perfecting his safety on the ocean, promoting the interests of commerce, and in aid of correct navigation. the experienced captain of a ship now lays his course as surely by compass, after satisfying himself by these various means of his exact position, as though the point of his destination was straight before him all the while, and visible from the pilot house. how indescribable is the grandeur of these serene nights on the ocean, fanned by the somnolent trade winds; a little lonely, perhaps, but so blessed with the hallowed benediction of the moonlight, so gorgeously decorated by the glittering images of the studded heavens, so sweet and pure and fragrant is the breath of the sleeping wind! if one listens intently, there seems to come to the senses a whispering of the waves, as though the sea in confidence would tell its secrets to a willing ear. the ship heads almost due south after leaving barbadoes, when her destination is, as in our case, pará, twelve hundred miles away. on this course we encounter the equatorial current, which runs northward at a rate of two miles in an hour, and at some points reaches a much higher rate of speed. as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so eternal scrubbing is the price of cleanliness on shipboard. the deck hands are at it from five o'clock in the morning until sunset. our good ship looks as if she had just come out of dock. last night's gale, which in its angry turmoil tossed us about so recklessly, covered her with a saline, sticky deposit; but with the rising of the sun all this disappears as if by magic. the many brass mountings shine with dazzling lustre, and the white paint contrasts with the well-tarred cordage which forms the standing rigging. while the ship pursues her course through the far-reaching ocean, let us sketch in outline the general characteristics of south america, whither we are bound. it is a country containing twice the area, though not quite one half the amount of population, of the united states, a land which, though now presenting nearly all phases of civilization, was four centuries ago mostly inhabited by nomadic tribes of savages, who knew nothing of the horse, the ox, or the sheep, which to-day form so great and important a source of its wealth, and where wheat, its prevailing staple, was also unknown. it is a land overflowing with native riches, which possesses an unlimited capacity of production, and whose large and increasing population requires just such domestic supplies as we of the north can profitably furnish. the important treaty of reciprocity, so lately arranged between the giant province of brazil--or rather we should say the republic of brazil--and our own country, is already developing new and increasing channels of trade for our shippers and producers of the great staples, as well as throwing open to us a new nation of consumers for our special articles of manufacture. facts speak louder than words. on the voyage in which the author sailed in the vigilancia, she took over twenty thousand barrels of flour to brazil from the united states, and would have taken more had her capacity admitted. every foot of space on board was engaged for the return voyage, twelve thousand bags of coffee being shipped from rio janeiro alone, besides nearly as large a consignment of coffee from santos, in the same republic. the great mutual benefit which must accrue from this friendly compact with an enterprising foreign country can hardly be overestimated. these considerations lead to a community of interests, which will grow by every reasonable means of familiarizing the people of the two countries with each other. hence the possible and practical value of such a work as the one in hand. by briefly consulting one of the many cheap and excellent maps of the western hemisphere, the patient reader will be enabled to follow the route taken by the author with increased interest and a clearer understanding. it is surprising, in conversing with otherwise intelligent and well-informed people, to find how few there are, comparatively speaking, who have any fixed and clear idea relative to so large a portion of the habitable globe as south america. the average individual seems to know less of the gigantic river amazon than he does of the mysterious nile, and is less familiar with that grand, far-reaching water-way, the plate, than he is with the sacred ganges; yet one can ride from buenos ayres in the argentine republic, across the wild pampas, to the base of the andes in a pullman palace car. there is no part of the globe concerning which so little is written, and no other portion which is not more sought by travelers; in short, it is less known to the average north american than new zealand or australia. the vast peninsula which we call south america is connected with our own part of the continent by the isthmus of panama and the territory designated as central america. its configuration is triangular, and exhibits in many respects a strong similarity to the continents of africa and australia, if the latter gigantic island may be called a continent. it extends north and south nearly five thousand miles, or from latitude ° ' north to cape horn in latitude ° ' south. its greatest width from east to west is a little over three thousand miles, and its area, according to the best authorities, is nearly seven million square miles. three fourths of this country lie in the torrid zone, though as a whole it has every variety of climate, from equatorial heat to the biting frosts of alpine peaks. its widespread surface consists principally of three immense plains, watered respectively by the amazon, plate, and orinoco rivers. this spacious country has a coast line of over sixteen thousand miles on the two great oceans, with comparatively few indentures, headlands, or bays, though at the extreme south it consists of a maze of countless small islands, capes, and promontories, of which cape horn forms the outermost point. the cordillera of the andes extends through the whole length of this giant peninsula, from the strait of magellan to the isthmus of panama, a distance of forty-five hundred miles, forming one of the most remarkable physical features of the globe, and presenting the highest mountains on its surface, except those of the snowy himalayas which separate india from thibet. the principal range of the andes runs nearly parallel with the pacific coast, at an average distance of about one hundred miles from it, and contains several active volcanoes. if we were to believe a late school geography, published in london, cotopaxi, one famous peak of this andean range, throws up flames three thousand feet above the brink of its crater, which is eighteen thousand feet above tide water; but to be on the safe side, let us reduce these extraordinary figures at least one half, as regards the eruptive power of cotopaxi. this mountain chain, near the border between chili and peru, divides into two branches, the principal one still called the cordillera of the andes, and the other, nearer to the ocean, the cordillera de la costa. between these ranges, about three thousand feet above the sea, is a vast table-land with an area larger than that of france. it will be observed that we are dealing with a country which, like our own, is one of magnificent distances. it is difficult for the nations of the old world, where the population is hived together in such circumscribed space, to realize the geographical extent of the american continent. when informed that it required six days and nights, at express speed upon well-equipped railroads, to cross the united states from ocean to ocean, a certain editor in london doubted the statement. outside of her majesty's dominions, the average englishman has only superficial ideas of geography. the frequent blunders of some british newspapers in these matters are simply ridiculous. it should be understood that south america is a land of plains as well as of lofty mountains, having the _llanos_ of the orinoco region, the _selvas_ of the amazon, and the _pampas_ of the argentine republic. the llanos are composed of a region about as large as the new england states, so level that the motion of the rivers can hardly be discerned. the selvas are for the most part vast unbroken forests, in which giant trees, thick undergrowth, and entwining creepers combine to form a nearly impenetrable region. the pampas lie between the andes and the atlantic ocean, stretching southward from northern brazil to southern patagonia, affording grass sufficient to feed innumerable herds of wild cattle, but at the extreme south the country sinks into half overflowed marshes and lagoons, resembling the glades and savannahs of florida. the largest river in the world, namely, the amazon, rises in the peruvian andes, within sixty miles of the pacific ocean, and flows thousands of miles in a general east-northeast direction, finally emptying into the atlantic ocean. this unequaled river course is navigable for over two thousand miles from its mouth, which is situated on the equatorial line, where its outflow is partially impeded by the island of marajo, a nearly round formation, one hundred and fifty miles or thereabouts in diameter. this remarkable island divides the river's outlet into two passages, the largest of which is a hundred and fifty miles in width, forming an estuary of extraordinary dimensions. the amazon has twelve tributaries, each one of which is a thousand miles in length, not to count its hundreds of smaller ones, while the main stream affords water communication from the atlantic ocean to near the foothills of the andes. we are simply stating a series of condensed geographical facts, from which the intelligent reader can form his own deductions as regards the undeveloped possibilities of this great southland. our own mammoth river, the mississippi, is a comparatively shallow stream, with a shifting channel and dangerous sandbanks, which impede navigation throughout the most of its course; while the amazon shows an average depth of over one hundred feet for the first thousand miles of its flow from the atlantic, forming inland seas in many places, so spacious that the opposite banks are not within sight of each other. it is computed by good authority that this river, with its numerous affluents, forms a system of navigable water twenty-four thousand miles in length! there are comparatively few towns or settlements of any importance on the banks of the amazon, which flows mostly through a dense, unpeopled evergreen forest, not absolutely without human beings, but for very long distances nearly so. wild animals, anacondas and other reptiles, together with many varieties of birds and numerous tribes of monkeys, make up the animal life. now and again a settlement of european colonists is found, or a rude indian village is seen near the banks, but they are few and far between. there are occasional regions of low, marshy ground, which are malarious at certain seasons, but the average country is salubrious, and capable of supporting a population of millions. this is only one of the large rivers of south america; there are many others of grand proportions. the plate comes next to it in magnitude, having a length of two thousand miles, and being navigable for one half the distance from its mouth at all seasons. it is over sixty miles wide at montevideo, and is therefore the widest known river. like the great stream already described, it traverses a country remarkable for the fertility of its soil, but very thinly settled. the plate carries to the ocean four fifths as much, in volume of water, as does the mighty amazon, the watershed drained by it exceeding a million and a half square miles. one can only conceive of the true magnitude of such figures when applied to the land by comparing the number of square miles contained in any one european nation, or any dozen of our own states. juan diaz de solis discovered the estuary of the plate in , and believed it at that time to be a gulf, but on a second voyage from europe, in , he ascended the river a considerable distance, and called it mar dulce, on account of the character of the waters. unfortunately, this intelligent discoverer was killed by indian arrows on attempting to land at a certain point. for a considerable period the river was called after him, and we think should have continued to be so, but its name was changed to the plate on account of the conspicuous silver ornaments worn in great profusion by the natives, which they freely exchanged for european gewgaws. though nearly four hundred years have passed since its discovery, a large portion of the country still remains comparatively unexplored, much of it being a wilderness sparsely inhabited by indians, many of whom are without a vestige of civilization. we know as little of portions of the continent as we do of central africa, yet there is no section of the globe which suggests a greater degree of physical interest, or which would respond more readily and profitably to intelligent effort at development. when the spaniards first came to south america, it was only in peru, the land of the incas, that they found natives who had made any substantial progress in civilization. the earliest history extant relating to this region of the globe is that of the incas, a warlike race of sun-worshipers, who possessed enormous treasures of gold and silver, and who erected magnificent temples enriched with the precious metals. it was the almost fabulous wealth of the incas that led to their destruction, tempting the cupidity of the avaricious spaniards, and causing them to institute a system of cruelty, oppression, robbery, and bloodshed which finally obliterated an entire people from the face of the globe. the empire of the incas extended from quito, in ecuador (on the equator), to the river monté in chili, and eastward to the andes. the romantic career of pizarro and cortez is familiar to us all. there are few palliating circumstances connected with the advent of the spaniards, either here, in the west indies, or in mexico. the actual motive which prompted their invasion of this foreign soil was to search for mineral treasures, though policy led them to cover their bloodthirsty deeds with a pretense of religious zeal. their first acts were reckless, cruel, and sanguinary, followed by a systematic oppression of the native races which was an outrage upon humanity. the world at large profited little by the extortion and golden harvest reaped by spain, to realize which she adopted a policy of extermination, both in peru and in mexico; but let it be remembered that her own national ruin was brought about with poetical justice by the very excess of her ill-gotten, blood-stained treasures. the spanish historians tell us, as an evidence of the persistent bravery of their ancestors, that it took them eight hundred years of constant warfare to wrest spain from her moorish conquerors. it is for us to remind them how brief has been the continuance of their glory, how rapid their decline from splendid continental and colonial possessions to their present condition, that of the weakest and most insignificant power in europe. there are localities which have been visited by adventurous explorers, especially in chili and peru, where ruins have been found, and various monuments of antiquity examined, of vast interest to archæologists, but of which scarcely more than their mere existence is recorded. some of these ruins are believed to antedate by centuries the period of the incas, and are supposed to be the remains of tribes which, judging from their pottery and other domestic utensils, were possibly of asiatic origin. comparatively few travelers have visited lake titicaca, in the peruvian andes, with its sacred islands and mysterious ruins, from whence the incas dated their mythical origin. the substantial remains of some grand temples are still to be seen on the islands near the borders of the lake, the decaying masonry decked here and there with a wild growth of hardy cactus. this remarkable body of water, lake titicaca, in the mountain range of peru, lies more than twelve thousand feet above the level of the pacific; yet it never freezes, and its average depth is given as six hundred feet, representing an immense body of water. it covers an area of four thousand square miles, which is about four fifths as large as our own lake ontario, the average depth being about the same. titicaca is the largest lake in the world occupying so elevated a site. the population of south america is mostly to be found on the coast, and is thought to be about thirty-five millions, though, all things considered, we are disposed to believe this an overestimate. there are tribes far inland who are not brought in contact with civilization at all, and whose numbers are not known. the magnitude and density of the forests are remarkable; they cover, it is intelligently stated, nearly two thirds of the country. the vegetation, in its various forms, is rich beyond comparison. professor agassiz, who explored the valley of the amazon under the most favorable auspices, tells us that he found within an area of half a mile square over one hundred species of trees, among which were nearly all of the choicest cabinet and dye woods known to the tropics, besides others suitable for shipbuilding. some of these trees are remarkable for their gigantic size, others for their beauty of form, and still others are valuable for their gums and resins. of the latter, the india-rubber tree is the most prolific and important known to commerce. from brazil comes four fifths of the world's supply of the raw material of rubber. the great fertility of the soil generally would seem to militate against the true progress of the people of south america, absolutely discouraging, rather than stimulating national industry. one cannot but contrast the state of affairs in this respect with that of north america, where the soil is so much less productive, and where the climate is so universally rigorous. the deduction is inevitable that, to find man at his best, we must observe him where his skill, energy, and perseverance are all required to achieve a livelihood, and not where exuberant nature is over-indulgent, over-productive. the coast, the valleys, and indeed the main portion of south america are tropical, but a considerable section of the country is so elevated that its climate is that of perpetual spring, resembling the great mexican plateau, both physically and as regards temperature. the population is largely of spanish descent, and that language is almost universally spoken, though portuguese is the current tongue in brazil. these languages are so similar, in fact, that the people of the two nations can easily understand each other. it is said to be true that, in the wild regions of the country, there are tribes of indians found to-day living close to each other, separated by no physical barriers, who differ materially in language, physiognomy, manners, and customs, having absolutely nothing in common but their brown or copper colored skins. furthermore, these tribes live most frequently in deadly feuds with each other. that cannibalism is still practiced among these interior tribes is positively believed, especially among some of the tribes of the extreme south, that is, among the patagonians and the wild, nomadic race of terra del fuego. these two tribes, on opposite sides of the strait of magellan, are quite different from each other in nearly every respect, especially in size, nor will they attempt to hold friendly intercourse of any sort with each other. there are certain domestic animals which are believed to be improved by crossing them with others of a different type, but this does not seem to apply, very often, advantageously to different races of human beings. it is plain enough in south america that the amalgamation of foreigners and natives rapidly effaces the original better qualities of each, the result being a mongrel, nondescript type, hard to analyze and hard to improve. that keen observer, professor agassiz, especially noticed this during his year of scientific research in brazil. this has also been the author's experience, as illustrated in many lands, where strictly different races, the one highly civilized, the other barbarian, have unitedly produced children. it is a sort of amalgamation which nature does not favor, recording her objections in an unmistakable manner. it is the flow of european emigration towards these southern republics which will infuse new life and progress among them. the aboriginal race is slowly receding, and fading out, as was the case in australia, in new zealand, and in the instance of our western indians. a new people will eventually possess the land, composed of the several european nationalities, who are already the virtual masters of south america so far as regards numbers, intelligence, and possession. since these notes were written, the argentine government has sold to baron hirsch three thousand square leagues of land in the province of chaco, for the formation of a jewish colony. agents are already at work, aided by competent engineers and practical individuals, in preparing for the early reception of the new occupants of the country. the first contingent, of about one thousand jews, have already arrived and are becoming domesticated. argentina wants men perhaps more than money; indeed, one will make the other. a part of baron hirsch's scheme is to lend these people money, to be repaid in small installments extending over a considerable period. for this extensive territory the baron paid one million three hundred thousand dollars in gold, thus making himself the owner of the largest connected area of land in the world possessed by a single individual. it exceeds that of the kingdom of montenegro. as to the zoölogy of this part of the continent, it is different from that of europe, africa, asia, and north america. the number of dangerous beasts of prey is quite limited. there is nothing here to answer to the african lion, the asiatic tiger, the elephant of ceylon, or the grisly bear of alaska. the jaguar is perhaps the most formidable animal, and resembles the leopard. there are also the cougar, tiger-cat, black bear, hyena, wolf, and ocelot. the llama, alpaca, and vicuña are peculiar to this country. the monkey tribe exceeds all others in variety and number. there are said to be nearly two hundred species of them in south america, each distinctly marked, and varying from each other, in size, from twelve pounds to less than two. the smallest of the little marmosets weigh less than a pound and a half each, and are the most intelligent animal of their size known to man. there are also the deer, tapir, armadillo, anteater, and a few other minor animals. the pampas swarm with wild cattle and horses, descended from animals originally brought from europe. in the low, marshy grounds the boa-constrictor and other reptiles abound. eagles, vultures, and parrots are found in a wild state all over the country, while the rivers and the waters near the coast are well filled with fish, crocodiles, and turtles. scientists have found over two thousand species of fish in the amazon river alone. the pure aboriginal race are copper colored, resembling the mexicans in character and appearance. like most natives of equatorial regions, they are indolent, ignorant, superstitious, sensuous, and by no means warlike. forced into the ranks and drilled by europeans, they make fairly good soldiers, and when well led will obey orders and fight. there can be no _esprit de corps_ in soldiers thus organized; the men neither know nor care what they fight for, their incentive in action being first a natural instinct for brutality, and second the promise of booty. in some parts of the country the half-breeds show themselves skillful workmen in certain simple lines of manufacture, but the native pure and simple will not work except to keep from starving. the spaniards conquered nearly all parts of south america except brazil, which was subject to portugal until , when it achieved its independence. the spanish colonies also revolted, one by one, until they all became independent of the mother country. the history of these republics, as in the instance of mexico, has been both stormy and sanguinary. foreign and civil wars have reigned among them incessantly for half a century and more. the present political divisions are: brazil, british guiana, dutch guiana, french guiana, ecuador, united states of colombia, venezuela, bolivia, chili, peru, argentine republic, uruguay, and paraguay. brazil is the most extensive of these states, and is thought to enjoy the largest share of natural advantages, including in its area nearly one half as many square miles as all the rest combined. its seaboard at parahiba, and for hundreds of miles north and south of it, projects into the atlantic a thousand miles to the east of the direct line between its northern and southern extremities. besides her diamond and gold mines, she possesses what is much more desirable, namely, valuable deposits of iron, copper, silver, and other metals. we have before us statistics which give the result of diamond mining in brazil from to , when national independence was won, which show the aggregate for that entire period to have been less than ten million dollars in value; while that of the coffee alone, exported from rio janeiro in one year, exceeded twenty million dollars, showing that, however dazzling the precious stones may appear in the abstract, they are not even of secondary consideration when compared with the agricultural products of the country. the export of coffee has increased very much since the year , which happens to be that from which we have quoted. it must also be admitted that probably twice the amount of diamonds recorded were actually found and enriched somebody, all which were duly reported, having to pay a government royalty according to the pecuniary exigency of those in authority. the population of brazil is between fourteen and fifteen million, and it is thought to be more advanced in civilization than other parts of south america, though in the light of our own experience we should place the argentine republic first in this respect. indeed, so far as a transient observer may speak, we are inclined to place argentina far and away in advance of brazil as regards everything calculated to invite the would-be emigrant who is in search of a new home in a foreign land. were it not that intestine wars are of such frequent occurrence among these states, and national bankruptcy so common, voluntary emigration would tend towards south america in far larger numbers than it does now. the revolutions are solely to promote personal aggrandizement; it is individual interest, not principle, for which these people fight so often. unfortunately, every fresh outbreak throws the country back a full decade as regards national progress. the late civil wars in chili and the argentine republic are illustrations in point. the first-named section of south america has suddenly sunk from a condition of remarkable pecuniary prosperity to one of actual poverty. thousands of valuable lives have been sacrificed, an immense amount of property has been destroyed, her commerce crippled, and for the time being paralyzed. ten years of peace and reasonable prosperity could hardly restore chili to the position she was in twelve months ago. the country is to-day in a terrible condition, while many of the best families mourn the death of a father, a son, or both, whose lives have been sacrificed to the mad ambition of a usurper. numerous families, once rich, have now become impoverished by the confiscation of their entire property. the chilians do not carry on warfare in european style, by organized armies; there is a semblance only of such bodies. the fighting is mostly after the fashion of free lances, guerrilla bands, and highwaymen. there seems to be no sense of honor or chivalry among the common people, while the only idea of the soldiery is to plunder and destroy. the peruvians whose cities were despoiled by chili must have regarded the recent cutting of each other's throats by the chilian soldiery with something like grim satisfaction. the obvious weakness of the south american states lies in their bitter rivalry towards each other, a condition which might be at once obviated by their joining together to form one united nation. the instability which characterizes their several governments in their present isolated interests has passed into a byword. divided into nine unimportant states,--leaving out the three guianas, which are dependent upon european powers,--any one of them could be erased from the map and absorbed by its stronger neighbor, or by a covetous foreign power. on the contrary, by forming one grand republic, it would stand eighth in the rank of nations as regards wealth, importance, and power, amply able to take care of itself, and to maintain the integrity of its territory. a community of interest would also be established between our government and that of these south american provinces, which would be of immense commercial and political importance to both nations. to those who have visited the country, and who have carefully observed the conditions, it is clear that this division of the continent will never thrive and fully reap the benefit of its great natural advantages until the independent republics assume the position of sovereign states, subservient to a central power, a purpose which has already been so successfully accomplished in mexico. while we have been considering the great southern continent as a whole, our good ship, having crossed the equator, has been rapidly approaching its northern shore. after entering the broad mouth of the amazon and ascending its course for many miles, we are now in sight of the thriving metropolis of pará. chapter v. city of pará.--the equatorial line.--spanish history.--the king of waters.--private gardens.--domestic life in northern brazil.--delicious pineapples.--family pets.--opera house.--mendicants.--a grand avenue.--botanical garden.--india-rubber tree.--gathering the raw material.--monkeys.--the royal palm.--splendor of equatorial nights. pará is the most northerly city of brazil. it also bears the name of belem on some maps, and is the capital of a province of the first designation. the full official title of the place is, in the usual style of portuguese and spanish hyperbole, santa maria do belem do grão pará, which has fortunately and naturally simplified itself to pará. it was founded in , and the province of which it is the capital was the last in brazil to declare its independence of the mother country, and to acknowledge the authority of the first emperor, dom pedro. it is the largest political division of the republic, and in some respects the most thriving. the city is situated about ninety miles south of the equator, and eighty miles from the atlantic ocean on the pará river, so called, but which is really one of the mouths of the amazon. it is thus the principal city at the mouth of the largest river in the world, a fact quite sufficient to indicate its present, and to insure its continued commercial importance. as we entered the muddy estuary of the river, whose wide expanse was lashed into short, angry waves by a strong wind, large tree trunks were seen floating seaward, rising and sinking on the undulating surface of the water. some were quite entire, with all of their branches still attached to the main trunk. they came, perhaps, from two thousand miles inland, borne upon the swift current from where it had undermined the roots in their forest home. among the rest was a cocoa-palm with its full tufted head, some large brown nuts still hanging tenaciously to the parent stem. it had fallen bodily, while in its prime and full bearing, suddenly unearthed by some swift deviation of the river, which brooks no trifling impediment to its triumphal march seaward. how long, one would be glad to know, has this vast stream, fed by the melted snow of the andes, poured its accumulated waters into the bosom of the ocean? a thousand years is but as a day, in reckoning the age of a mountain range or of a mammoth river. as we approached the city, the channel became gradually narrowed by several prominent islands, crowded with rich green vegetation, forest trees of various sorts, mangoes, bananas, and regal palms. though it is thus broken by islands, the river is here over twenty miles in width. pará is yielded precedence over the other cities on the east coast of south america in many respects, and is appreciatively called "queen of the amazon," her water communication reaching into the very heart of some of the most fertile valleys on the continent. one incorporated company has established a score of well-appointed steamers, averaging five hundred tons each, which navigate the river for a distance of two thousand miles from its mouth. pará has an excellent harbor, of large capacity, accommodating an extensive commerce, a considerable portion of which is with the united states of north america. it has a mixed population of about fifty thousand, composed of an amalgamation of portuguese, italians, indians, and negroes, and is the only town of any importance, except quito, situated so near to the equatorial line, where the interested observer has the privilege of beholding the starry constellations of both hemispheres. ships of five thousand tons measurement can lie within a hundred yards of the wharves of pará, where the accumulation of coffee, dyewoods, drugs, tobacco, cotton, cocoa, rice, sugar, and raw india-rubber, indicates the character of the principal exports. of all these staples, the last named is the most important, in a commercial point of view, occupying the third place on the list of national exports. as we have shown, the import and export trade of the amazon valley naturally centres here, and pará need fear no commercial rival. for a considerable period this unequaled water-way, forming the spacious port, and conveying the drainage of nearly half of south america into the atlantic, bore the name of its discoverer, orellana, one of pizarro's captains; but the fabulous story of a priest called friar gaspar, self-constituted chronicler of the expedition, gave to it the designation which it now bears. all the spanish records of the history and conquests in the new world, relating to the doings of columbus, cortez, pizarro, and others, without an exception, were written in the same spirit of exaggeration and untruthfulness, leading that pious witness and contemporary writer, las casas, to pronounce them, with honest indignation, to be a tissue of falsehoods. even our own popular historian, prescott, who drew so largely upon these sources for his poetical productions, was forced to admit their manifest incongruities, contradictions, and general irresponsibility. this munchausen of a priest, friar gaspar, recorded that a tribe of amazons, or fighting women, was encountered far inland, on the banks of the mighty river, who were tall in stature, symmetrical in form, and had a profusion of long hair, which hung in braids down their backs. they were represented to be as warlike as they were beautiful, and as carrying shields and spears, the latter of which they could use with great skill and effect. it was this foolish story of the amazons, hatched in the prolific brain of friar gaspar, which gave the river its lasting name. the indian designation of the mammoth watercourse was significant and appropriate, as their names always are. they called it _parana-tinga_, meaning "king of waters," and it seems to us a great pity that the name could not have been retained. pará has the advantage of being much nearer to the united states and to europe than rio janeiro, the capital of brazil. though the commerce of rio is constantly increasing, in spite of its miserable sanitary condition, it is confidently believed by intelligent persons engaged in the south american trade, that pará will equal it erelong in the aggregate of its shipments. all freight is now landed by means of lighters, a process which is an awkward drawback upon commerce, and what makes it still more aggravating is that it seems to be an entirely needless one. certainly a good, substantial, capacious pier might be easily built, which would obviate this objection, accommodating a dozen large vessels at the same time. the brazilians are slow to adopt any modern improvement. portuguese and spaniards are very much alike in this respect. wharves will be built at pará by and by, after a few more millions have been wasted upon the inconvenient process now in vogue, which involves not only needless expense, but causes most awkward and unreasonable delay, both in landing merchandise and in shipping freight for export. this serious objection applies to all the ports along the east coast of south america. there is always some private interest which exerts itself to prevent any progressive movement, and it is this which retards improved facilities for unloading and shipping of cargoes at pará. in this instance the owners of the steam tugs which tow the flat-bottomed lighters from ship to shore, and vice versa, oppose the building of piers, because, if they were in existence, these individuals would find their profitable occupation gone. if proper wharf facilities were to be furnished, commerce generally would be much benefited, though a few persons would suffer some pecuniary loss. as we have said, the wharves will come by and by, when the people realize that private interest must be subservient to the public good. the city of pará is situated upon slightly elevated ground, and makes a fine appearance from the river, with its lofty cathedral, numerous churches, convents, custom house, and arsenal standing forth in bold relief against an intensely blue sky, while fronting the harbor, like a line of sentinels, is a row of tall, majestic palms, harmonizing admirably with the local surroundings, though in the very midst of a busy commercial centre. the buildings are painted yellow, blue, or pink, the façades contrasting strongly with the dark red of the heavily tiled roofs, which, having no chimneys, present an odd appearance to a northern eye. here and there a mass of greenery indicates some domestic garden, or a plaza presided over by tall groups of trees, among which the thick, umbrageous mangoes prevail. the rua da imperatriz is the principal wholesale street of the city, where the large warehouses are to be found, but the rua dos mercadores is the fashionable shopping street, through which the tramway also passes. the shops are rather small, but have a fair stock of goods offered at reasonable rates, though strangers are apt to be victimized by considerably higher prices than a native would pay. this, however, is not unusual in all foreign countries, so far as our experience goes. north americans are looked upon as possessing unlimited pecuniary means, and as lavish in their expenditures, prices being gauged accordingly. this is a universal practice in europe, and especially so in germany. the climate is very moist, and it has been facetiously remarked that it rains here eight days in the week. one cannot speak approvingly of the sanitary condition of a place where turkey buzzards are depended upon to remove the garbage which accumulates in the thoroughfares. it is unaccountable that the citizens should submit to such filthy surroundings, especially in a locality where malarial fever is acknowledged to prevail in the summer season. though at this writing it is the latter part of may, yellow fever is still rife here, and we hear of many particularly sad cases, ending fatally, all about us. this destroyer is especially apt to carry off people who have newly arrived in the country. the present year has been unusually fatal among the residents of pará, as regards yellow fever, which seems to linger longer and longer each year of its visitation. our own conviction is that the people have themselves to thank for this lingering of the pest into the winter months, since the sanitary conditions of the place are inexcusably defective. gardens in and about the city quickly catch and delight the eye,--gardens where flowers and fruits grow in great luxuriance. among the latter are oranges, mangoes, guavas, figs, and bananas. the glossy green fronds of the bananas throw other verdure altogether into the shade, while in dignity and beauty the cocoanut palms excel all other trees. the tall, straight stem of the palm rises from the roots without leaf or branch until the plumed head is reached, which bends slightly under its wealth of pinnated leaves and fruit combined. if you happen to pass these gardens after nightfall, especially those in the immediate environs of the city, mark the phosphorescent clouds of dancing lights which fill the still atmosphere round about the vegetation. this peculiar effect is produced by the busy cucuios, or tropical fireflies, each vigorously flashing its individual torch. do they shine thus in the daytime, we are led to wonder, like the constellations in the heavens, though hidden by the greater light of the sun? they are always demonstrative in the night, be it never so cloudy, foggy, or damp in the low latitudes. they keep their sparkling revels, their torchlight dances, all heedless of the grim and deadly fever which lurks in the surrounding atmosphere, claiming human victims right and left, among high and low, from the ranks of age and of youth. insect life is redundant here. it is the very paradise of butterflies, whose size, wide spread of wing, variety, and striking beauty of colors, we have only seen equaled at penang and singapore, in the malacca straits. some of the avenues leading to the environs are lined with handsome trees, which add greatly to their attractiveness and comfort. the silk cotton tree and the almond are favorites here as ornamental shade trees. the cape jessamine is universally cultivated at pará, and grows to a large size, filling the air with its agreeable fragrance. here the oleander, covered with clusters of bloom, grows to the height of twenty feet and more. the lime, with its fine acid fruit, which is in great request in making cooling drinks, also abounds. the glimpses of domestic life which one gets in passing the better class of dwellings reveal rooms with tiled or polished wooden floors, cane-finished chairs, sofas, and rockers to match, a small foot rug here and there, a group of flowering plants in one corner, while hammocks seem to take the place of bedsteads. the temperature is high at pará in summer, and woolen carpets, or even mattresses, are too warm for use in this climate. bignonias, oleanders, and other blooming plants abound in the flower-plots about the city, besides many flowering vines which are strangers to us, half orchids, half creepers. one is apt to jump at conclusions. these people dearly love flowers, so we conclude they cannot be very wicked. the families live, as it were, in the open patios, which form the centres of their dwellings, are shaded by broad verandas, and upon which the domestic apartments all open. the accessories are few, and not entirely convenient, according to a northerner's ideas of comfort; but this is compensated for by the fragrance of flowers, the picturesqueness of the surroundings, and the free and easy out-of-door atmosphere which ignores conventionalities. these attractive interiors suggest a sort of picnic mode of life which has conformed itself to climatic influences. everything is very quiet, there is no hurry, and the stillness is occasionally interrupted by the musical laughter of children, which rings out clear and pleasantly, entirely in harmony with the surroundings. and such children! artists' models, every one of them. it all seems to a stranger to be the very poetry of living, yet we venture to say that each household has its skeleton in the closet, and some a whole anatomical museum! at bahia, further south, a revelation awaits the traveler in the delicious richness, size, and delicacy of the oranges which grow there in lavish abundance, and which are famous, all along the coast. here at pará, the same may be said of the pineapple, the raising of which is a local specialty. these are not picked until fully ripe, and often weigh ten pounds each. when cut open, the inside can be eaten with a spoon, if one fancies that mode. they require no sugar; nature has supplied the saccharine principle in abundance. they are absolutely perfect in themselves alone. people sailing northward lay in a great store of this admirable fruit, which is as cheap as it is delicious and appetizing. in new england, the pines of which we partake have been picked in a green condition in bermuda, the bahamas, or florida, to enable them to bear transportation. they ripen only partially off the stem, and after a very poor style, decay setting in at the same time; consequently the pulp is not suitable to swallow, and is always more or less indigestible. the pará pines are seedless, and are propagated by replanting the suckers. the crown, we were told, would also thrive and reproduce the fruit if properly planted, but the first named process is that generally employed, and is probably the best. in the neighborhood of pará are many large and profitable cocoa plantations, the industry connected with which is a growing one, representing a considerable amount of capital. but above all others, the gathering and preparing of raw india-rubber for exportation is the prevailing industry of this brazilian capital. the common people seem to be an uncertain mixture of races, confounding all attempts properly to analyze their antecedents. they have touches of refinement and underlying tenderness of instinct, as exhibited in their home associations, but also evince a coarseness which is not inviting, to say the least. they are universal lovers of pet birds and small animals. no household seems to be complete without some representatives of the sort. among these are cranes, ibises, herons, turtle-doves, parrots, macaws, and paroquets. monkeys of various tribes, the little marmoset being the favorite, are seen domesticated in almost every private garden, full of fun and mischief, and affording infinite amusement to the youthful members of the household. young anacondas, sometimes ten feet long, are kept in and about the dwellings, to catch and drive away the rats! the reader smiles half incredulously at this, and we do not wonder. if one of these rodents be caught in a trap and killed, it is useless to offer it to an anaconda as food. that fastidious reptile will eat only such creatures as it kills itself. this is also characteristic of the african lion and the tiger of india, when in the wild state; neither will molest a dead body, of man or beast, which they have not themselves deprived of life, though hyenas, wolves, and some other animals will even rob the graves of human bodies for food. we had never heard of anacondas employed as ratters before we came to pará, but we were assured by those who should know that they are especially effective in warfare against this domestic pest. broad verandas give a grateful shade to most of the dwelling-houses, which are seldom over one story in height, each one, however, extending over considerable ground space. in the business part of the town, fronting the harbor, the houses are generally two or even three stories in height, it being necessary in such localities to economize the square feet of ground occupied. the same sort of external ornamentation is seen here as upon the house fronts in mexico, namely, the profuse decoration of the walls with glazed earthen tiles, often of fancy colors, which gives a checkerboard appearance to a dwelling-house not calculated to please a critical eye. the opera house of pará is a large and imposing structure, one of the finest edifices in the town, and the largest theatre, we believe, in south america, quite uncalled for, it would seem, by any local demand. it is built of brick, finished in stucco, the front being decorated with marble columns having handsome and elaborate corinthian capitals. the house lights up brilliantly at night, being finished in red, white, and gold. it has four narrow galleries supported upon brackets, thus obviating the necessity for the objectionable upright posts which so provokingly interfere with the line of sight. the cathedral is a substantial and handsome structure, with a couple of tall towers, after the usual spanish style, each containing a dozen bells. the interior has all the florid and tawdry ornamentation always to be found in roman catholic churches, together with the usual complement of bleeding figures, arrow-pierced saints, high-colored paper rosettes, utterly meaningless, together with any amount of glittering tinsel, calculated to catch the eye and captivate the imagination of the grossly ignorant native population. there are many minor churches in the city, and judging by the number seen in the streets, there must be at least a thousand priests, whose sole occupation, when they are not gambling or cock-fighting, is to cajole and impoverish the common people. it was a church festival when we visited the cathedral. there are over two hundred such days, out of every three hundred and sixty-five, in roman catholic countries,--not days of humiliation and prayer, but days of gross latitude, of bull-fights, occasions when the decent amenities of life are ignored, days when the broadest license prevails, and all excesses are condoned. there were a large number of women present in the cathedral on this day, but scarcely half a dozen men. the better class were dressed gayly, and wore some rich jewelry. the love of finery prevails, and pervades all classes. some of the ladies were clad in costly silks and laces, set off by brilliants and pearls. diamonds and precious stones are very common in this country, and a certain class seem to carry a large share of their worldly possessions showily displayed upon their persons. what the humbler class lacked in richness of material, they made up in gaudy colors, blazing scarfs, and imitation gold and silver jewelry. nature sets the example of bright colors in these latitudes, in gaudy plumed birds and high-tinted flowers and fruits. the natives only follow her. the few men who were present came to ogle the women, and having satisfied their low-bred curiosity, soon retired to the neighboring bar-rooms and gambling saloons. on special festal days temporary booths are erected in the squares, in which intoxicants are sold, together with toys, cakes, cigars, and charms, the latter said to have been blessed by the priests, and therefore sure to prevent any injury from the evil eye! as in most of the south american cities, there are several elaborate buildings here, formerly used as convents, which are now devoted to more creditable purposes. the present custom house occupies one of these edifices, which is crowned with two lofty towers. there are plenty of mendicants in the streets of pará, who are very ready with their importunities, especially in appealing to strangers. the average citizens seemed to be liberal in dealing with these beggars. saturday is called "poor day" in pará, as it is also in havana, matanzas, cienfuegos, etc., when every housekeeper who is able to give something does so, if it be only a small roll of bread, to each visiting beggar. at most houses these small rolls are baked regularly for this purpose, and the applicant is nearly sure to get one upon calling, and if he represents a large family he may receive two. money is rarely, if ever, given by residents, nor is it expected; but strangers are surrounded as by an army with banners, and vigorously importuned for centavos. the spaniards and portuguese are natural beggars. here let us digress for a moment. the system of beggary prevailing in spanish countries is very trying to all sensitive travelers. in italy, spain, and the south of france, especially at the watering-places, it is a terrible pest. naples has become almost unendurable on this account. at every rod one is constantly importuned and followed by beggars of all sizes, ages, and of both sexes,--individuals who should be placed in asylums and cared for by the state. no reasonable person would object to paying a certain sum on entering these resorts, to be honestly devoted to charitable purposes, provided it would insure him against the disgusting importunities of which strangers are now the victims. visitors hasten away from the localities where these things are not only permitted but are encouraged. it is thought to be quite the thing to fleece foreigners of every possible penny, and by every possible means. the contrast in this respect between the cities of the united states and those of europe and south america is eminently creditable to the former. in the beautiful little watering-place known as luchon, in the south of france, at the foot of the pyrenees, with scarcely four thousand inhabitants, there are over one hundred professional beggars, who constantly beset and drive away visitors. some of these, as usual in such cases, are known to be well off pecuniarily, but are marked by some physical deformity upon which they trade. if the stranger gives, he is oftenest encouraging a swindle, rarely performing a true charity. this is one of the increasing disgraces of paris. beggars know too much to importune citizens, but strangers are beset at every corner of the boulevards and public gardens, particularly by children, girls and boys, trained for the purpose. of all the races seen in brazil, the half-breed indian girls are the most attractive, and until they are past the age of twenty-five or thirty years they are almost universally handsome, no matter to what class they belong. those who have the advantage of domestic comforts, good food, and delicate associations develop accordingly, and are especially beautiful. they would make charming artists' models. the remarkably straight figure of the native women is noticeable, caused by the practice referred to of carrying burdens on the head. as already mentioned, if a negro or indian woman has an article to transport, even if it be but a quart bottle, or an umbrella, it is placed at once upon the head. the article may weigh five pounds or fifty, it is all the same; everything but the babies is thus transported. these little naked creatures, always suggestive of monkeys, are supported on the mother's back, held there by a shawl or rebozo tied securely across the chest. when the children are six or eight years old, they are promoted to the dignity of wearing one small garment, an abbreviated shirt or chemise. the principal food of the common people of northern brazil is farina and dried fish, with fried plantains and ripe bananas. crabs and oysters of a poor description abound along the coast, and are eaten by the people, both in a raw and cooked condition. but the white people avoid the coast oysters, which sometimes poison those not accustomed to them. the finest avenue in pará is the estrada de são josé, bordered by grand old palms, which form a beautiful perspective and a welcome shade, the feathery tops nearly embracing each other overhead. the tramway takes one through the environs by the rua de nazareth, for five miles to marco da legua, where the public wells of the city are situated. the way thither is lined with neat and handsome dwellings, shaded by noble trees. the botanical garden is well worth a visit by all lovers of horticulture. the forest creeps up towards the environs of the town, wherein many of the trees are rendered beautiful by clinging orchids of gorgeous blue; others are of blood red, and some of orange yellow, presenting also a great diversity of form. one has not far to go to see specimens of the india-rubber tree, growing from ninety to a hundred feet in height, while measuring from four to five feet in diameter. this tree begins to produce gum at the age of fifteen years. the trunk is smooth and perfectly round, the bark of a buff color. it bears a curious fruit, of which some animals are said to be fond. the author has seen the india-rubber tree growing in the island of ceylon, where it seemed to reach a greater height and dimensions than it does in the district of pará. a considerable portion of the roots lie above ground, stretching away from the base of the tree like huge anacondas, and finally disappearing in the earth half a rod or more from the parent trunk. the reader can hardly fail to be familiar with the simple wild plant, which grows so abundantly by our new england roadsides, known as the milk-weed, which, when the stem is cut or broken, emits a creamy, pungent smelling liquid. in the latitude of pará, this little weed, of the same family, assumes the form of a colossal tree, and is known as the india-rubber tree. the united states takes of brazilian rubber, in the crude state, over twenty-five thousand tons annually. as to coffee, brazil supplies one half of all which is consumed in the civilized world; but we should frankly tell the reader, if he does not already realize the fact, that it is most frequently marked and sold for "old government java." the india-rubber tree is tapped annually very much after the same style in which we treat the sugar-maple in vermont, and elsewhere, to procure its sap. a yellow, creamy liquid flows forth from the rubber tree into small cups placed beneath an incision made in the trunk. when the cup becomes full, its contents is emptied into a large common receptacle, where it is allowed to partially harden, and in which form it is called caoutchouc. the tapping of the trees and attending to the gathering of the sap furnish employment to hundreds of the natives, who, however, make but small wages, being employed by contractors, who either lease the trees of certain districts, or own large tracts of forest land. these brazilian forests are very grand, abounding in valuable aromatic plants, precious woods, gaudy birds, and various wild animals. the number of monkeys is absolutely marvelous, including many curious varieties. a native will not kill a monkey; indeed, it must be difficult for a european to make up his mind to shoot a creature so nearly human in its actions, and whose pleading cries when wounded are said to be so pitiable. one of the peculiar street sights in pará is that of native women with a dozen young monkeys of different species for sale. marmosets can be bought for a quarter of a dollar each. so tame are the little creatures that they cling about the woman's person, fastening upon her hair, arms, and neck, not in the least inclined to escape from her. it is remarkable and interesting to see how very fond they become of their owner, if he is kind to them. like the dog and the cat, they seem to have a strong desire for human companionship. when seen running wild in the woods, leaping from tree to tree, and from branch to branch, they do not try to get far away from the presence of man, but only to keep, in their untamed state, just out of reach of his hands. ships sailing hence generally take away a few of these animals, but as they are delicate, and very sensitive to climatic changes, many of them die before reaching europe or north america. the great beauty of pará is its abundance of palm trees. the palm is always an interesting object, as well as a most valuable one; interesting because of its historical and legendary associations, and valuable, since it would be almost impossible to enumerate the number of important uses to which it and its products are put. to the people of the tropics it is the prolific source of food, shelter, clothing, fuel, fibre for several uses, sugar, oil, wax, and wine. it has been aptly termed the "princess of the vegetable world." one indigenous species, the piassaba, is a palm which yields a most valuable fibre, extensively manufactured into cordage and ships' cables, for which purpose it is much in use on the coast of south america. it is found to be stronger and more elastic than hemp when thus employed, besides which it is far more durable. the product of this species of palm is also exported in large quantities to north america and to england, for the purpose of making brushes, brooms, and various sorts of domestic matting. the nights are especially beautiful in this region. we were interested in observing the remarkable brilliancy of the sky; the stars do not seem to sparkle, as with us at the north, but shed a soft, steady light, making all things luminous. this is the natural result of the clearness of the atmosphere. one is surprised at first to find the moon apparently so much increased in size and effulgency. the southern cross is ever present, though it is dominated by the centaur. orion is seen in his glory, and the scorpion is clearly defined. in the author's estimation, there is no exhibition of the heavens in these regions which surpasses the magnificence of the far-reaching milky way. chapter vi. island of marajo.--rare and beautiful birds.--original mode of securing humming-birds.--maranhão.--educational.--value of native forests.--pernambuco.--difficulty of landing.--an ill-chosen name.--local scenes.--uncleanly habits of the people.--great sugar mart.--native houses.--a quaint hostelry.--catamarans.--a natural breakwater.--sailing down the coast. the island of marajo, situated at the mouth of the amazon, opposite pará, and belonging to the province or state of that name, is a hundred and eighty miles in length and about one hundred and sixty in width, nearly identical in size with the island of sicily, and almost oval in form. one of the principal shore settlements is breves, on the southeastern corner of the island, which lies somewhat low, and consists of remarkably fertile soil, so abounding in wild and beautiful vegetation and exquisite floral varieties, that it is called in this region "the island of flowers." we can easily believe the name to be appropriately chosen, since, as we skirt its verdant shores hour after hour, they seem to emit the drowsy, caressing sweetness of fragrant flowers so sensibly as to almost produce a narcotic effect. the easterly or most seaward part of marajo is open, marshy, sandy land, but back from the shore the soil is of a rich, black alluvium, supporting in very large tracts a dense forest growth, similar to all the low-lying tropical lands of south america. the population is recorded as numbering about twenty thousand, divided into several settlements, mostly on the coast, and consists largely of the aboriginal race found by the first comers upon this island, who, on account of their somewhat isolated condition, have amalgamated less with europeans and the imported colored race than any other tribe on the east coast of the continent. the extensive meadows of marajo are the grazing fields of numerous herds of wild horses and horned cattle, the former of a superior breed, highly prized on the mainland; and yet so rapidly do they increase in this climate, in the wild state, that every few years they are killed in large numbers for their hides alone. the exports from the island consist of rice, cattle, horses, and hides. there are some large plantations devoted to the cultivation of rice, the soil and water supply of certain districts being especially favorable to this crop. as intimated, a considerable portion of marajo is covered with a forest growth so dense as to be compared to the jungles of africa and india, and which, so far as is known, has never been penetrated by the foot of man. travelers who have visited the borders of this leafy wilderness expatiate upon the strange, inexplicable sounds which are heard at times, amid the prevailing stillness and sombre aspect of these primeval woods. sometimes there comes, it is said, from out the forest depth a wild cry, like that of a human being in distress, but which, however long one may listen, is not repeated. again, there is heard an awful crash, like the falling of some ponderous forest giant, then stillness once more settles over the mysterious, tangled woods. every time the silence is broken it seems to be by some new and inexplicable sound, not to be satisfactorily accounted for. the lagoons near the centre of marajo are said to abound in alligators, which are sometimes sought for by the natives for their hides, for which a fair price is realized, since fashion has rendered this article popular in a hundred different forms. the number and variety of birds and lesser animals to be found upon the island are marvelous. certain species of birds seem to have retreated to this spot from the mainland, before the tide of european immigration; indeed, it has for a long time been considered the paradise of the naturalist. over thirty species of that peculiar bird, the toucan, have been secured here. when professor agassiz was engaged in his scientific exploration of the amazon, he dispatched a small but competent party especially to obtain specimens from this island, the result being both a surprise and a source of great gratification to the king of naturalists. many of the objects secured by these explorers were rare and beautiful birds, not a few of which are unique, and of which no previous record existed. there were also many curious insects and other specimens particularly valuable to naturalists, most of which are preserved to-day in the agassiz museum at cambridge, massachusetts. the toucan, just spoken of, is most remarkable for its beauty and variety of colors, as well as for the very peculiar form and size of its elephantine bill, which makes it look singularly ill-balanced. this ludicrous appendage is nine inches long and three in circumference; the color is vermilion and yellow delicately mingled. the toucan is much coveted for special collections by all naturalists, and is becoming very scarce, except in this one equatorial locality. scarlet ibises and roseate spoonbills are also found at marajo, both remarkably fine examples of semi-aquatic fowl, and when these are secured in good condition for preservation, the natives realize good prices for them. in order to procure desirable specimens of the humming-bird species, which are also abundant on this island, the native hunters resort to an ingenious device, so as not to injure the skin or the extremely delicate plumage of this butterfly-bird. for this purpose they use a peculiar syringe made from reeds, and charged with a solution of adhesive gum, which, when directed by an experienced hand, clogs the bird's wings at once, stopping its flight and causing it to fall to the ground. some are caught by means of nets set on the end of long bamboo poles, such as are used to secure butterflies, but this method is poorly adapted to catch so quick moving a creature as a humming-bird. the author has seen, in southern india, butterflies of gaudiest texture with bodies as large as small humming-birds, which were quite as brilliant as they in lovely colors. the variety and beauty of this insect, as found anywhere from tuticorin to darjeeling, is notable. wherever british troops are permanently settled, the wives of the common soldiers become very expert in catching and arranging these attractive objects, preserving them in frames under glass. these find ready purchasers for museums and private collections all over europe, and are sold at moderate prices, but serve to add a welcome trifle to the extremely poor pay of a common soldier having perhaps a wife and one or two children to support. the island of marajo was not formed at the amazon's mouth of soil brought down from the interior by the river's current, as is often the case with islands thus situated, but is a natural, rocky formation which serves to divide the channel and give the river a double outlet into the atlantic. agassiz studied its character, and gives us an interesting statement as the result. he declared, after careful geological examination, that it is an island which was once situated far inland, away from the river's mouth, but which is now brought near to it by the gradual encroachment of the atlantic ocean, whose waves and restless currents have slowly worn away the northeastern part of the continent. this abrasion must have been going on for many thousand years, to have produced such a decided topographical change. for the word years, upon second thought, read ages, which will undoubtedly express the true idea much more correctly. there are over twenty species of palms indigenous to marajo, which, as one skirts the water front, are seen growing along the far-reaching shore, fostered by the humidity of the atmosphere arising from the ever-flowing waters of the great river. among these the peach-palm is quite conspicuous, with its spiny stems and mealy, nutritious fruit. there are also the cocoa-palm and the assai-palm, the latter gayly decorated with its delicate green plumes and long spear pointing heavenward, an emblem borne by no other tree in existence. the great variety of forms of plant life and giant grasses is extremely curious and beautiful on this interesting island. we heard, while at pará, of a proposal made by some european party to thoroughly explore marajo, which has never yet been done, so far as is known to our time, and it is believed that some very interesting and valuable discoveries may be the result of such an expedition, composed of engineers, scientists, and naturalists. a day's sail to the eastward, bearing a little to the south along the coast, brings us to the port of maranhão, which is the capital of a province of brazil known by the same name, situated a little over three hundred miles from pará. the place is picturesquely nestled, as it were, in the very lap of the mountains, which come boldly down to the coast at this point. it was founded nearly three hundred years ago, is regularly built, and contains between thirty and forty thousand inhabitants. nearly all of the houses, which are generally of two stories, are ornamented with attractive balconies, and have handsome gardens attached to them, where the luxurious verdure is with difficulty kept within proper bounds. vegetation runs riot in equatorial regions. it is the one pleasing outlet of nature, whose overcharged vitality, spurred on by the climate, must find vent either in teeming vegetation or in raging volcanoes, tidal waves, and unwelcome earthquakes, though sometimes, to be sure, we find them all combined in the tropics. the harbor of maranhão is excellent and sheltered, the depth of water permitting the entrance of ships drawing full twenty feet, an advantage which some of the ports to the southward would give millions of dollars to possess. according to published statistics, the exports during were as follows: thirty-six hundred tons of cotton, six hundred tons of sugar, seven hundred tons of hides, a large amount of rice, and some other minor articles. the imports for the same period were estimated at something less than three million dollars in value. this is the entrepôt of several populous districts, besides that of which it is the capital. the province itself contains a number of navigable rivers, with some thrifty towns on their banks. the bay gives ample evidence of commercial activity, containing at all times a number of foreign steamships, with a goodly show of coasting vessels. the place is slowly but steadily growing in its business relations, and in the number of its permanent population. it cannot make any pretension to architectural excellence, though the bishop's palace and the cathedral are handsome structures. there are two or three other prominent edifices, quaint and moorish, which were once nunneries or monasteries; also a foundling institution, a special necessity in all roman catholic countries. we found here a public library, and a botanical garden. not far inland there are some extensive rice plantations, the province in some portions being specially adapted to producing this valuable staple. we were informed by those whose opinion was worthy of respect, that educational advantages are rather remarkable here, the lyceum having in the past few years graduated some of the most prominent statesmen and professionals in brazil. one thing is very certain, the authorities cannot multiply educational facilities any too rapidly in this country, nor give the subject any too much attention, especially as regards the rising generation of both sexes. so far as we could learn by inquiry, or judge by careful observation, the ignorance of the mass of the people is simply deplorable. maranhão is situated about fourteen hundred miles north of rio janeiro, with which port it carries on an extensive coasting trade. the exports, besides the staples already spoken of, are various, including annotto, sarsaparilla, balsam copaiba, and other medicinal extracts, together with rum and crude india-rubber. the climate is torrid, the city being one hundred and fifty miles south of the equator; and though, like most of the towns on the eastern coast of the continent, it is rather an unhealthy locality, it is much less so than pará, and is a far more cleanly place than that city, its situation giving it the advantage of a system of natural drainage. the country near maranhão abounds in native forests of exuberant richness, producing a valuable quality of timber, and affording some of the finest cabinet woods known to commerce, as well as a practically inexhaustible supply of various dyewoods, a considerable business being done in the export of the latter article. it was observed that the assai-palm, from which the palm wine is made, was also a prominent feature here. the trunk is quite smooth, the fruit growing in heavy bunches like grapes, dark brown in color, and about the size of cranberries, hanging in heavy clusters just below the bunch of long leaves which forms the top of the tree. the native drink which is made from these palm grapes is a favorite beverage in northern brazil, and when properly fermented it contains about the same percentage of alcohol as english pale ale. to the author, the town of maranhão was quite unknown; even its place upon the maps had never attracted his attention until after it was seen lying peacefully in an amphitheatre of tall hills, which come down close to the rock-ribbed shore of the atlantic ocean. this acknowledgment is between ourselves, for such a confession would sound very ridiculous to the good people of maranhão. after leaving its harbor, our next objective point was pernambuco, which is situated about four days' sail from pará by steamship, and about three from maranhão. this well known port, with its one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, is reckoned as the third city of brazil in point of size and commercial importance. it lacks elevation to produce a good effect, and recalls the low-lying city of havana in general appearance, as one approaches it from the sea. the harbor is not what could be desired for a commercial city, having hardly sufficient depth of water for vessels of heavy tonnage, and being also too narrow for a modern long steamship to safely turn in. the american line of steamships come to a mooring inside the harbor, but the european lines, or at least the pacific mail, in which we made the home passage, anchor in the open roadstead, three quarters of a mile from the shore. the harbor is formed by a long natural reef, which makes a breakwater between it and the open sea, a portion of the reef having been built up with solid masonry to render it more effective. this remarkable coral formation, which is more or less clearly defined, extends along the coast for a considerable distance,--it is said for four hundred miles. opposite pernambuco it rises six feet above the water, that is, above high-water mark, and runs parallel to the front street of the city at the distance from it of about a third of a mile or less. a wide opening in the reef at the northern end of the town makes the entrance to the harbor. off the northeast coast of australia, there is a very similar reef-formation, fully as long as this on the south american coast, but situated much further from the shore. it is a serious drawback that passengers by large ocean steamers cannot enter the harbor of pernambuco except by lighters or open boats; all freight brought by these steamers must also be transhipped. landing here is often accomplished at considerable personal risk, and a thorough ducking with salt water is not at all uncommon in the attempt to reach the shore. to pull a boat from the open roadstead into the harbor, or vice versa, requires six stout oarsmen and an experienced man at the helm, so that landing from the pacific mail steamers is both a serious and an expensive affair. if a very heavy sea is running, the thing cannot be done, and no one will attempt it. the powerful wind which so often prevails on the coast occasionally creates quite a commotion even inside the harbor, among the shipping moored there, causing the largest cables to part and vessels to drag their anchors. of course a vessel lying in the open roadstead, outside of the reef, has no protection whatever, and is in a critical situation if the wind blows towards the land. if it comes on to blow suddenly, she buoys and slips her anchor at once; she dares not waste the time to hoist it, but gets away as quickly as possible to where there is plenty of sea room and no lee shore to fear. fortunately, though so fierce for the time being, and of a cyclonic character, the storms upon the coast are generally of brief duration, and like the furious pamperos, which are so dreaded by mariners further south, they blow themselves out in a few hours. the geographical situation of pernambuco is such, in the track of commerce, that vessels bound north or south, from europe or from north america, naturally make it a port of call to obtain late advices and provisions. the name has been singularly chosen, no one can say how or by whom, but it signifies "the mouth of hell," a cognomen which we do not think the place at all deserves. it is a narrow, crowded, picturesque old seaport. the town is situated at the mouth of the biberibe river, just five hundred miles south of the equator, and is divided in rather a peculiar manner into three distinct parts: recife, on a narrow peninsula; boa vista, on the river shore; and san antonio, on an island in the river; all being connected, however, by six or eight substantial iron bridges. the first named division is the business portion of the capital, about whose water front the commercial life of pernambuco centres, but the streets of recife are very narrow and often confusingly crooked. boa vista is beautified by pleasant domestic residences, delightful gardens, and attractive promenades, far beyond anything which a stranger anticipates meeting in this part of the world. though the business portion of the city is so low, the other sections are of better and more recent construction. the view of the town and harbor to be had from some portions of olinda is very fine and comprehensive, taking in a wide reach of land and ocean. when a brief storm is raging, spending its force against the reef, the view from this point is indeed grand. the sea, angered at meeting a substantial impediment, seethes and foams in wild excitement, dashing fifty feet into the air, and, falling over the reef, lashes the inner waters of the harbor into waves which mount the landing piers, and set everything afloat in the broad plaza which lines the shore. the big ships rock and sway incessantly, straining at their anchors, or chafing dangerously at their moorings. precautions are taken to avert damage, but man's strength and skill count for little when opposed by the enraged elements. this plaza, or quay, is shaded by aged magnolias of great height, and is the resort of unemployed seamen, fruit dealers, and idlers of all degrees. the house fronts in the various sections of the town are brilliantly colored, yellow, blue, white, and pink, also sometimes being covered halfway up the first story with glittering tiles of various hues. at nearly every turn one comes upon the moss-grown, crumbling façade of some old church, about the corners of which there is often a grossly filthy receptacle, the vile odor from which permeates the surrounding atmosphere. this was found to be almost insupportable with the thermometer standing at ° fahr. in the shade, forming so obvious a means for propagating malarial fever and sickness generally as to be absolutely exasperating. notwithstanding all appearances, the american consul assured us that pernambuco is one of the healthiest cities on the east coast of south america. the yellow fever, however, does not by any means forget to visit the place annually. experience showed us that the residents along the coast were accustomed to give their own city precedence in the matter of hygienic conditions, and to admit, with serious faces, that the other capitals, north and south, were sadly afflicted by epidemics at nearly all seasons. pernambuco has several quite small but well-arranged public squares, decorated with fountains, trees, and flowers of many species. two of these plazas have handsome pagodas, from which outdoor concerts are often given by military bands. the city is a thriving and progressive place, has extensive gas works, an admirable system of water supply, tramways, good public schools, and one college or high school. we must not forget to add to this list a very _flourishing_ foundling asylum, where any number of poor little waifs are constantly being received, and no questions asked. a revolving box or cradle is placed in a wall of the hospital, next to the street, in which any person can deposit an infant, ring the bell, and the cradle will revolve, leaving the child on the inside of the establishment, where the little deserted object will be duly cared for. connected with the hospital are several outlying buildings, where children are placed at various stages of growth. we were told that about forty per cent. of such children live to grow up to maturity, and leave the care of the government fairly well fitted to take their place in the world, and to fight the battle of life so very inauspiciously begun. it has been strongly argued that such an establishment offers a premium upon illegitimacy and immorality; but one thing is to be considered, it prevents the terrible crime of infanticide, which is said to have prevailed here to an alarming extent before this hospital was founded. there is a passably good system of drainage, which was certainly very much needed, and since its completion the general health of the place is said to have considerably improved. this is not all that is required, however. there should be a decided reform in the habits of the people as regards cleanliness. at present they are positively revolting. the inhabitants are the very reverse of neat in their domestic associations, and home arrangements for natural conveniences are inexcusably objectionable; such, indeed, as would in a north american city, or even small town, call for the prompt interference of the local board of health. these remarks do not apply to isolated cases; the trouble is universal. families living otherwise in comparative affluence utterly disregard neatness and decency in the matter to which we allude. the districts neighboring to pernambuco form extensive plains, well adapted to the raising of sugar, coffee, and cotton, as well as all sorts of tropical fruits and vegetables. there are many flourishing plantations representing these several interests, more especially that of sugar. the storehouses on the wharves and in the business sections of the city, the oxcarts passing through the streets, drawn each by a single animal, and even the very atmosphere, seem to be full of sugar. it is, in fact, the great sugar mart of south america. the annual amount of the article which is exported averages some twelve hundred thousand tons. sugar is certainly king at pernambuco. people not only drink, but they talk sugar. it is the one great interest about which all other business revolves. the article is mostly of the lower grade, and requires to be refined before it is suitable for the market. the refining process is being generally adopted at the plantations. american machinery is introduced for the purpose with entire success. the export of the crude article will, it is believed, be much less every year for the future, until it ceases altogether. it was a singular sight to observe the naked negroes carrying canvas bags of crude sugar upon their heads through the streets, each bag weighing a hundred pounds or more. the intense heat caused the canvas to exude quantities of syrup or molasses, which covered their dark, glossy bodies with small streams of fluid. they trotted along in single file, and at a quick pace, towards their destination, unheeding the sticky condition of their woolly heads and naked bodies. not far inland there are extensive meadows, where large herds of horned cattle are raised, together with a breed of half-wild horses, the breaking and domesticating of which, as here practiced, is a most cruel process. a certain set of men devote themselves to this business; rough riders, we should call them, very rough. good horses are to be had at extraordinarily low prices. in the back country there are some grand and extensive forests, which produce fine cabinet woods and superior dye woods. by consulting a map of the western hemisphere, it will be seen that pernambuco is situated on the great eastern shoulder of south america, where it pushes farthest into the atlantic ocean, fifteen hundred miles south of pará, and about five hundred north of bahia. on the long coral reef which separates the harbor from the open sea is a picturesque lighthouse, also a quaint old watch tower which dates from the time of the dutch dominion here. it is proposed to build additional layers of heavy granite blocks upon the reef, so as to raise it about six or eight feet higher and make it of a uniform elevation along the entire city front, and thus afford almost complete protection for the inner anchorage. it will be only possible to make any real improvement of the harbor by adopting a thorough system of dredging and deepening. there was evidence of such a purpose being already in progress on our second visit, two large steam dredging machines being anchored at the southerly end of the harbor. the people of this hot region know the great value of shade trees, consequently they abound, half hiding from view the numerous handsome villas which form the attractive suburbs of the city. everywhere one sees tall cocoanut palms, clusters of feathery bamboos, widespread mangoes, prolific bananas, guavas, and plantains growing among other graceful tropical trees, rich in the green texture of their foliage, and thrice rich in their luscious and abundant fruits. among the vine products we must not forget to mention a rich, high flavored grape, which is native here, and which all people praise after once tasting. the water, which is brought into the city by a system of double iron pipes, comes from a neighboring lake, and is a pure and wholesome drink, a most incomparable blessing in equatorial regions, which no person who has not suffered for the want of it can duly appreciate. the international hotel is the favorite resort of strangers, and is situated a couple of miles from the harbor. it is surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers, the golden oranges weighing down the branches nearly to the ground by their size and abundance, while the young blossoms fill the air with their delicate perfume,--fruit and blossoms on the tree at the same time. the garden is thronged by household pets, and contains a spacious aviary. the monkey tribe is fully represented; gaudy winged parrots dazzle the eye with impossible colors. one partakes here, in the open air, of the refreshing viands amid the songs of birds, the occasional scream of the cockatoo, the cooing of turtle-doves, and the fragrance of a profusion of tropical flowers. the native servants are well-trained, and there is a french chef. we were told that this attractive place had once belonged to a very wealthy brazilian, a planter, who had come to grief financially, and as the house was offered for sale, it had been purchased for one fifth of its original cost and adapted to hotel purposes. while enjoying our fruit at dessert, a somewhat similar experience was recalled as having taken place at christiania, in norway, where visitors enjoy the meals in a sort of outdoor museum and garden, surrounded by curious preserved birds mingled with living ones, the latter so tame as to alight fearlessly upon the table and await any choice bit guests may offer them. we shall not soon forget the very appetizing dinner of which we partook, amid such attractive surroundings, in the gardens of the international hotel at pernambuco. one fruit which was served to us is known by the name of the loquat. it is round, dark yellow, and about the size of a tangerine orange,--a great favorite with the natives, though it is mostly stone and skin, and tastes like turpentine. this city is often called the venice of brazil, but why, it is difficult for one to understand. it is only poetical license, for there is not the first actual resemblance between the two cities. true, there are several watercourses, and half a dozen bridges, intersecting this brazilian capital. one would be equally justified in calling the frail catamarans which are used by the fishermen in these waters, gondolas. this singular craft, by the way, consists of four or five logs of the cork-palm tree, confined together by a series of strong lashings, no nails being used, thus securing a necessary degree of elasticity. one end of the logs is hewn down to a smaller size or width than the other, thus forming stem and stern, while a single thick plank serves as a keel. there are no bulwarks to this crazy craft,--for it can hardly be called anything else,--the whole being freely washed by the sea; but yet, with a rude mast carrying a triangular sail, and with a couple of oars, two or three fishermen venture far away from the shore; indeed, we encountered them out of sight of land. a couple of upright stakes are driven into the logs, to hold on by when occasion requires. it is really wonderful to see how weatherly such a frail affair can be, and how literally safe in a rough seaway. the boatmen who navigate these catamarans (they are called here _janguardas_) manage to keep the market of pernambuco abundantly supplied with the strange, fantastic fish which so prevail along the atlantic coast in equatorial regions. we have seen a craft very similar to these catamarans in use off the coromandel coast, between madras and the mouth of the hoogly river, which leads up to calcutta. here the natives manage them in a sea so rough that an ordinary ship's boat, if exposed, would surely be swamped. the madras catamaran consists of three pieces of timber, mere logs twelve or fourteen feet long, securely bound together with ropes made from the fibre of the cocoanut palm. nails are no more available here than in the former crafts we have named. no nails could withstand the wrenching which this raft is subjected to. the middle log is a little longer than the two outside ones, and is given a slight upward turn at the end which forms the prow. no sail is used, but two fishermen generally go out with each of these rafts, propelling them with broad-bladed paddles, used alternately on either side. of course the natives who navigate these crafts are naked, with the exception of a breech-cloth at the loins. they are very frequently thrown off by the sea, but regain their places with remarkable agility. they manage also, somehow, to secure their fishing gear, and generally to bring in a remunerative fare from their excursions. strange as the catamaran is, it must yet be described as breezy, watery, and safe--for amphibious creatures. there is one enemy these fishermen have to look out for, namely the shark, both on the coast of madras and south america. it is more common to say when one is lost that the sharks got him, than it is to say he was drowned. the reef so often referred to, forming the breakwater opposite pernambuco, is about forty feet in width at the surface, and is the marvelous architecture of that tiny coral builder which works beneath these southern seas. when it has reared a pyramid reaching from the far bottom of the ocean to the surface, its mission is performed and it dies. it lives and works only beneath the surface of the sea; atmospheric air is fatal to it. the pyramids of egypt cannot compare with these submerged structures for height, solidity, or magnitude. one is the product of a creature of such seeming unimportance as to require microscopic aid to detect its existence; the other are monuments erected by ancient kings commanding infinite resources; the former being the process of nature in carrying out her great and mysterious plan; the latter, the ambitious work of men whose very identity is now questionable. if we were to enter into a calculation based upon known scientific facts, as to how many thousands of years were required for this minute animal to rear this massive structure, the result would astonish the average reader. on approaching pernambuco from the sea, the first object to attract the eye is the long line of snow white breakers, caused by the incessant swell of the sea striking against the firmly planted reef with a deafening surge, breaking into foam and spray which are thrown forty feet and more into the air. as we drew near for the first time, the extended line of breakers was illumined by the early morning sun, making fancy rainbows and misty pictures in the mingled air and water. we were escorted by myriads of sea-birds, whose sharp cries came close upon the ear, as they flew in and about the rigging. behind the reef lay the comparatively smooth waters of the harbor, dotted here and there by tiny white sails, curious-shaped coasting craft, rowboats, and steam tugs, while the background was formed by a leafless forest of tall ships' masts which lined the wharves, and partially screened the low-lying capital from view. we have remained quite long enough at this city of the reef, and now turn southward towards the more attractive port of bahia. in running down the coast, the brazilian shore is so near as to be distinctly visible, with its surf-fringed beach of golden sands extending mile after mile, beyond which, far inland, rise ranges of forest-clad hills, and beyond these, sky-reaching alps. it is often necessary to give the land a wide berth, as at certain points dangerous sandbars make out from it far to seaward; but whenever near enough to the coast to make out the character of the vegetation, it was of deepest green and exuberantly tropical. with the exception of one or two small towns, and an occasional fisherman's hamlet, the shore presented no signs of habitation, being mostly a sandy waste adjoining the sea, where heavy rollers spent their force upon the smooth, water-worn, yellow beach. chapter vii. port of bahia.--a quaint old city.--former capital of brazil.--whaling interests.--beautiful panorama.--tramways.--no color line here.--the sedan chair.--feather flowers.--great orange mart.--passion flower fruit.--coffee, sugar, and tobacco.--a coffee plantation.--something about diamonds.--health of the city.--curious tropical street scenes. bahia,--pronounced bah-ee´ah,--situated three hundred and fifty miles south of pernambuco, is the capital of a province of the same name in brazil, and contains nearly two hundred thousand inhabitants. it is admirably situated on elevated ground at the entrance of all saints bay,--_todos os santos_,--just within cape san antonio, eight hundred miles or thereabouts north of rio janeiro. the entrance of the bay is seven miles broad. for its size, there are few harbors in the world which present a more attractive picture as one first beholds it on entering from the open atlantic. the elevated site of the city, with its close array of neat, white three and four story houses, breaks the sky-line in front of the anchorage, while the town forms a half moon in shape, extending for a couple of miles each way, right and left. near the water's edge, on the lower line of the city, are many substantial warehouses, official establishments, the custom house, and the like. between the lower and the upper town is a long reach of green terraced embankment, intense in its bright verdure. probably no other city on the globe, certainly not so far as our experience extends, is so peculiarly divided. a sad episode marked our first experience here. we came to anchor in the harbor, according to custom, at what is known as the quarantine. about a cable's length from us lay a large european steamship, flying the yellow flag at the fore. she came into port from rio janeiro on the previous evening; five of her passengers who had died of yellow fever on the passage were buried at sea, while two more were down with it, and were being taken to the lazaretto on shore, as we dropped our anchor. probably they went there to die. this was naturally depressing, more so, perhaps, as we were bound direct for rio janeiro; but as we now came from a northern port with a clean bill of health, we were finally released from quarantine and permitted to land. it is late in the season--last of may--for this pest of the coast to prevail, but the year has been one of unusual fatality in the south american ports, and none of them have been entirely exempt from the scourge, some showing a fearful list of mortality among both citizens and strangers. we were conversant with many instances of a particularly trying and sad nature, if any distinction can be made where death intervenes with such a rude hand. victims who were in apparent good health in the morning were not infrequently buried on the evening of the same day! but we will spare the reader harrowing details. americus vespucius discovered bahia in , while sailing under the patronage of portugal, and as it was settled in , it is the oldest city in the country, being also the second in size, though not in commercial importance. the excellent harbor is so spacious as to form a small inland sea, the far-reaching shores of which are beautified by mingled green foliage and pretty villas stretching along the bay, while the business portion gives evidence of a growing and important foreign trade. this deduction is also corroborated by the presence of numerous european steamships, and full-rigged sailing vessels devoted to the transportation of merchandise. the buildings are generally of a substantial appearance, whether designed as residences or for business purposes, but are mostly of an antique pattern, old and dingy. though the city is divided into the lower and the upper town, the latter two or three hundred feet above the former, it is made easily accessible by mechanical means. a large elevator, run by hydraulic power, is employed for the purpose, which was built by an energetic yankee, and has been in successful operation several years, taking the citizens from the lower to the upper town, as we pass from basement to attic in our tall north american buildings. between the two portions of bahia there are streets for the transportation of merchandise, which wind zigzag fashion along the ravine to avoid the abruptness of the ascent. besides these means, there are narrow stone steps leading upwards to the first level, among the tropical verdure, the deep green branches and leaves nodding to one from out of narrow lanes and quiet nooks. there is still another way of reaching the upper town, namely, a cable road, of very steep grade, one car ascending while another descends, thus forming a sort of counterbalance. by all these facilities united, the population manage very comfortably to overcome the topographical difficulties of the situation. though there are few buildings of any special note in bahia, the general architecture being quaint and nondescript, still the combined view of the city, as we have endeavored to show, is of no inconsiderable beauty. we approached it from the north, doubling light house point in the early morning, just as the rising sun lighted up the bay. seen from the harbor, the large dome of the cathedral overlooks the whole town very much like the gilded dome which forms so conspicuous an object on approaching the city of boston. the dark, low-lying, grim-looking fort, which presides over the quarantine anchorage, is built upon a natural ledge of rock, half a mile from the shore of the town, and looks like a huge cheese-box. in the upper portion of bahia the streets are narrow, and the houses so tall as to nearly exclude the sun when it is not in the zenith. they are built of a native stone, and differ from the majority of south american dwellings, which are rarely over two stories in height, and generally of one only. we have heard it argued that it is advantageous to build tropical cities with narrow streets, so as to exclude the heat of the sun's rays and thus keep the houses cooler. this is not logical. wide avenues and broad streets give ventilation which cannot be obtained in any other way in populous centres. narrow lanes invite epidemics, fevers, and malarial diseases; broad thoroughfares give less opportunity for their lodgment. a beehive of human beings, crowded together in a narrow space, exhausts the life-giving principle of the surrounding atmosphere, but this is impossible where plenty of room is given for the circulation of fresh air. these tall houses of bahia have overhanging ornamental balconies, which towards evening are filled with the female portion of the families, laughing, chatting, singing, and smoking, for the ladies of these latitudes smoke in their domestic circles. narrow as the streets of bahia are, room is found for a well patronized tramway to run through them. no one thinks of walking, if it be for only a couple of hundred rods, on the line of the street cars. all of the civilized world seems to have grown lazy since the introduction of this modern facility for cheap transportation. bahia was the capital of brazil until , during which year the headquarters of the government were removed to rio janeiro. this is a sort of new bedford, so to speak, having been for more than a century extensively engaged in the whaling business, an occupation which is still pursued to a limited extent. whales frequent the bay of bahia, where they are sometimes captured by small boats from the shore. it is supposed that the favorite food of this big game is found in these waters. there was a time when the close pursuit by fishing fleets fitted out in nearly all parts of the world rendered the whales wary and scarce. the catching and killing of so many seemed to have thinned out their number in most of the seas of the globe. then came the great discovery of rock oil, which rapidly superseded the whale oil of commerce in general use. thereupon the pursuit of the gigantic animal ceased to be of any great moment, while there was oil enough spontaneously pouring out of the wells of pennsylvania, and elsewhere, to fully satisfy the demand of the world at large. being no longer hunted, the whales gradually became tame and increased in numbers, so that to-day there are probably as many in the usual haunts of these leviathans in either hemisphere as there ever were. the briefest sea voyage can hardly be made without sighting one or more of them, and sometimes in large schools. there is a portion of the elevated section of bahia which is called victoria, a really beautiful locality, having delightful gardens, attractive walks, and myriads of noble shade trees. from here the visitor overlooks the bay, with its islands and curving shore decked with graceful palms, bamboos, and mango groves; upon the water are numerous tiny boats, while white winged sailing ships and dark, begrimed steamers unite in forming a picture of active life and maritime beauty. in the distance lies the ever green island of itaparica, named after the first governor's indian bride, while still farther away is seen range after range of tall, purple hills, multiplied until lost in the distance. a few grim looking convents and monasteries, which have gradually come into the possession of the government, are now used as free schools, libraries, and hospitals. there is a medical college here which has a national reputation for general excellence, and many students come from rio janeiro, eight hundred miles away, to avail themselves of its advantages, receiving a diploma after attending upon its three years' course of studies. from subsequent inquiry, however, not only here but in rio and elsewhere, we are satisfied that the science of medicine and surgery stands at a very low ebb throughout this great southland. foreign doctors are looked upon with great distrust and jealousy; indeed, it is very difficult for them to obtain a suitable license to practice in brazil. this does not apply to dentistry, of which profession there are many american experts in the country, who have realized decided pecuniary and professional success. there were six or eight on board the vigilancia, who had been on a visit to their north american homes during the summer season, at which time the fever is most to be dreaded here. the city contains over sixty churches, some of which are fine edifices, built of stone brought from europe. this could easily be done without much extra expense, as the vessels visiting the port in those early days required ballast with which to cross the ocean. they brought no other cargo of any account, but were sure at certain seasons of the year to obtain a suitable return freight, which paid a good profit on the round voyage. several of these churches are in a very dilapidated condition, and probably will not be repaired. the cathedral is one of the largest structures of the sort in brazil, and is thought by many to be one of the finest. the cathedral at rio, however, is a much more elaborate structure, and far more costly. it takes enormous sums, wrung from the poorest class of people, to maintain these gorgeous temples and support the horde of fat, licentious, useless priests attached to them, while the mass of humanity find life a daily struggle with abject want and poverty. does any thoughtful person believe for one moment that such hollow service can be grateful to a just and merciful supreme being? bahia was a flourishing port before rio janeiro was known commercially, and was the first place of settlement by english traders on this coast. the present population is of a very mixed character, composed of nearly all nationalities, white and black, european and natives. there is no prejudice evinced as regards color. mulatto or negro may once have been a slave, but he is a freeman now, both socially and in the eyes of the law. he is eligible for any position of trust, public or private, if he develops the requisite degree of intelligence. men who have been slaves in their youth are now filling political offices here, with credit to themselves and satisfaction to the public. the actual reform from being a degraded land of slavery to one of human freedom is much more radical and thorough in brazil than it is in our own southern states, where the pretended equality of the colored race is simply a burlesque upon constitutional liberty. the occasional use of that quaint mode of conveyance, the sedan chair, was observable, taking one back to the days of queen anne. only a few years ago it was the one mode of transportation from the lower to the upper part of the town; but modern facilities, already referred to, have thrown the sedan chair nearly out of use. a few antique representatives of this style of vehicle, some quite expensive and elaborately ornamented, are still seen obstructing the entrances to the houses. the local name they bear is _cadeira_. when these chairs are used, they are borne upon the shoulders of two or four stalwart blacks, and are hung upon long poles, like a palanquin, after the fashion so often seen in old pictures and ancient tapestry. we have spoken of the narrowness of the streets through which the tramways pass. in many places, pedestrians are compelled to step into the doorways of dwellings to permit the cars to pass them. this is not only the case at bahia, but also in half the busy portion of south american cities. these mule propelled cars are now adopted all over this country and mexico; even fourth class cities have tramways, and many towns which have not yet risen to the dignity of having a city organization are thus supplied with transportation. the bahia tramway, on its route to the suburbs, passes through fertile districts of great rural beauty, among groves of tropical fruits, orange orchards, tall overshadowing mangoes, and cultivated flowers. there is an attempt at a public garden, though it is an idea only half carried out; but there is a terrace in connection here called "the bluff," from whence one gets a magnificent view, more especially of the near and the distant sea. these delightful and comprehensive natural pictures are photographed upon the memory, forming a charming cabinet of scenic views appertaining to each special locality, choice, original, and never to be effaced. we must not omit to mention a specialty of this city, an article produced in one or two of the charitable institutions, as well as in many humble family circles, namely, artificial flowers made from the choicest feathers of the most brilliant colored birds. none of these articles are poor, while some of them are exquisite in design and execution, produced entirely from the plumage of native birds. a considerable aggregate sum of money is realized by a certain portion of the community, in the regular manufacture of these delicate ornaments. girls begin to learn the art at a very early age, and in a few years arrive at a marvelous degree of perfection, producing realistic pictures which rival the brush and pencil of a more pretentious department of art. nearly all visitors carry away with them dainty examples of this exquisite and artistic work, which has a reputation beyond the seas. thousands of beautiful birds are annually sacrificed to furnish the necessary material. thus the delicate family of the humming-bird, whose variety is infinite in brazil, has been almost exterminated in some parts of the country. there is one other specialty here, namely, the manufacture of lace, which gives constant employment to many women of bahia, their product being much esteemed all over south america for the beauty of the designs and the perfection of the manufacture. the special fruit of this province, as already intimated, is oranges, and it is safe to say that none produced elsewhere can excel them. they are not picked until they are thoroughly ripe, and are therefore too delicate, in their prime condition, to sustain transportation to any considerable distance. those sold in our northern cities are picked in a green condition and ripened off the trees, a process which does not injure some fruits, but which detracts very materially from the orange and the pineapple. the oranges of bahia average from five to six inches in diameter, have a rather thin skin, are full of juice, and contain no pips; in short, they are perfectly delicious, being delicately sweet, with a slight subacid flavor. the first enjoyment of this special fruit in bahia is a gastronomic revelation. the maracajus is also a favorite fruit here, but hardly to be named beside the orange. it is the product of the vine which bears the passion flower, but this we could not relish. it is a common fruit in australia and new zealand, where the author found it equally unpalatable, yet people who have once acquired the taste become very fond of it. the vine with its flower is common enough in the united states, but we have never seen it in a fruit-bearing condition in our country. the province of bahia has an area of two hundred thousand square miles, and is represented as containing some of the most fertile land in brazil, capable of producing immense crops of several important staples. it is especially fertile near the coast, where there are some large and thriving tobacco, sugar, and coffee plantations. the first mentioned article, owing to some favorable peculiarity of the soil in this vicinity, is held to be nearly equal to the average cuban product, and it is being more and more extensively cultivated each year. bahia cigars are not only very cheap, but they are remarkably fine in flavor. it was observed that old travelers on this coast made haste to lay in a goodly supply of them for personal use. a coffee plantation situated not far from this city was visited, affording a small party of strangers to the place much pleasure and information. the coffee plant is an evergreen, and thus the foliage is always fresh in appearance, yielding two harvests annually. boa vista, the plantation referred to, covers about one hundred acres, much of which is also devoted to the raising of fodder, fruit, corn, and beans, with some special vegetables, forming the principal sustenance of the people and animals employed upon the estate. at first, in laying out such a plantation, the coffee sprouts are started in a nursery, and when they have had a year's growth are transplanted to the open field, where they are placed with strict uniformity in long rows at equal distances apart. after the second year these young plants begin to bear, and continue to do so for twenty-five or thirty years, at which period both the trees and the soil become in a measure exhausted, and a new tract of land is again selected for a plantation. by proper management the new plantation can be made to begin bearing at the same time that the old one ceases to be sufficiently productive and remunerative to cultivate for the same purpose. the coffee-tree is thought to be in its prime at from five to ten years of age. fruit trees, such as bananas, oranges, mandioca, guavas, and so on, are planted among the coffee-trees to afford them a partial shelter, which, to a certain degree, is requisite to their best success, especially when they are young and throwing out thin roots. the coffee bushes are kept trimmed down to about the height of one's head, which facilitates the harvesting of the crop, and also throws the sap into the formation and growth of berries. the coffee-tree, when permitted to grow to its natural height, reaches between twenty and thirty feet, and, with its deep green foliage, is a handsome ornamental garden tree, much used for this purpose in brazil. the coffee pods, when ripe, are scarlet in color, and resemble cherries, though they are much smaller. each berry contains two seeds, which, when detached from the pod and properly dried, form the familiar article of such universal domestic use. a coffee plantation well managed, in brazil, is an almost certain source of ample fortune. the crop is sure; that is to say, it has scarcely any drawbacks, and is always in demand. of course there are inconveniences of climate, and other things needless to enumerate, as regards entering into the business, but the growth and ripening of a coffee crop very seldom fail. as has been intimated, this port is famous for the production of oranges and tobacco; so rio is famous for coffee, pernambuco for sugar, and pará for crude india-rubber. we must not forget to mention one other, and by no means insignificant product of brazil which is exported from bahia, namely, diamonds of the very first quality, which for purity of color far exceed those of africa and elsewhere. it appears that a syndicate in london control the world's supply of this peculiar gem from all the mines on the globe, permitting only a certain quantity of diamonds to go on to the market annually, and thus keeping up the selling price and the market value. no one is permitted to know the real product of the mines but the managers of this syndicate. the quantity of the sparkling gems which are held back by the dealers in london, paris, and vienna is really enormous; were they to be placed in the retail dealers' hands as fast as they are produced from the various sources of supply, they would be erelong as cheap and plenty as moonstones. this sounds like an extravagant assertion, but still there is far more truth in it than is generally realized. one of the public journals of london lately spoke of a proposed corporation, to be known as the "diamond trust," which is certainly a significant evidence that the market requires to be carefully controlled as to the quantity which is annually put upon it. in old times a diamond was simply valued as a diamond; its cutting and polishing were of the simplest character. a series of irregular plane surfaces were thought to sufficiently bring out its reflective qualities, but the stone is now treated with far more care and intelligence. a large portion of the value of a diamond has come to consist in the artistic, and we may say scientific, manner in which it is cut. by this means its latent qualities of reflection of light are brought to perfection, developing its real brilliancy. accomplished workmen realize fabulous wages in this employment. a stone of comparatively little value, by being cut in the best manner, can be made to outshine a much finer stone which is cut after the old style. amsterdam used to control the business of diamond cutting, but it is now as well done in boston and new york as in any part of the world. the largest diamond yet discovered came from brazil, and is known as the braganza. the first european expert in precious stones has valued this extraordinary gem, which is still in the rough, at three hundred million sterling! its actual weight is something over one pound troy. in the light of such a statement, we pause to ask ourselves, what is a diamond? simply carbon crystallized, that is, in its greatest purity, and carbon is the combustible principle of charcoal. the author was told, both here and in rio janeiro, that there is a considerable and profitable mining industry carried on in this country, of which the general public hear nothing. the results are only known to prominent and interested brazilians, the whole matter being kept as secret as possible for commercial reasons. no one reads anything about the products of the diamond mines in the local papers. we cannot say that the city of bahia is a very healthy locality, though it certainly seems that it ought to be, it is so admirably situated. yellow fever and other epidemics prevail more or less every year. the lower part of the town, on the water front, is so shamefully filthy as to induce fever. upon first landing, the stranger finds himself almost nauseated by the vile smells which greet him. this section of the town is also very hot, the cliff, or upper town, shutting off almost entirely the circulation of air. it is here that sailors, particularly, indulge in all sorts of excesses, especially in drinking the vile, raw liquor sold by negresses, besides eating unripe and overripe fruit, thus inviting disease. one favorite drink produced here, very cheap and very potent, is a poisonous but seductive white rum. the trade and people in this part of the town form a strange conglomerate,--monkeys, parrots, caged birds, tame jaguars, mongrel puppies, pineapples, oranges, mangoes, and bananas, these being flanked by vegetables and flowers. the throng is made up of half-naked boatmen, indolent natives from the country, with negresses, both as venders and purchasers. as we look at the scene, in addition to what we have depicted there is a jovial group of sailors from a man-of-war in the harbor enjoying their shore leave, while not far away a small party of yachtsmen from an english craft are amusing themselves with petty bargains, close followed by half a dozen americans, who came hither in the last mail steamer. a polyglot scene of mixed tongues and gay colors. in passing into and out of the harbor of bahia, one can count a dozen forts and batteries, all constructed after the old style, and armed in the most ineffective manner. these would count as nothing in a contest with modern ships of war having plated hulls and arms of precision. land fortifications, designed to protect commercial ports from foreign enemies, have not kept pace with the progress in naval armament. bahia is connected by submarine telegraph with pernambuco, pará, and rio janeiro, and through them with all parts of the civilized world. chapter viii. cape frio.--rio janeiro.--a splendid harbor.--various mountains.--botafogo bay.--the hunchback.--farewell to the vigilancia.--tijuca.--italian emigrants.--city institutions.--public amusements.--street musicians.--churches.--narrow thoroughfares.--merchants' clerks.--railroads in brazil.--natural advantages of the city.--the public plazas.--exports. after a three days' voyage down the coast, between bahia and rio janeiro, the tall lighthouse of cape frio--"cool cape"--was sighted. this promontory is a large oval mass of granite, sixteen hundred feet in height, quite isolated from other highlands, protruding boldly into the atlantic ocean. it forms the southeastern extremity of the coast of brazil, and in clear weather can be seen, it is said, forty miles or more away. here the long swell of the open sea is unobstructed and finds full sway, asserting its giant power at all seasons of the year. experienced travelers who rarely suffer from seasickness are apt to succumb to this trying illness off cape frio. it is situated in latitude ° ' south, longitude ° ' west, which is particularly specified because the line of no magnetic variation touches on this cape,--that line which columbus was so amazed at discovering one hundred leagues west of flores, in the azores, nearly four hundred years ago. we had been running almost due south for the last eight hundred miles, but in doubling cape frio, and making for rio harbor, the ship was headed to the westward, while the mountains on the coast assumed the most grotesque and singular shapes, the range extending from west to east until it ends at cape frio. the continent of south america here forms a sharp angle, but we were too full of expectancy as to the king of harbors towards which we were heading, to speculate much about cape frio and its ocean-swept surroundings. rio janeiro, the capital of brazil, is also the largest, if not the most important city in south america, situated about twelve hundred miles north of montevideo and buenos ayres, just within the borders of the southern torrid zone. the distance of rio from new york direct is five thousand miles, but most voyagers, on the way through the west indies, stop at three or four of these islands, and also at some of the northern ports of the continent of south america, the same as in our own case, so that about five hundred miles may be fairly added to the distance we have just named. though the vessel was a month in making the voyage to this port, had we sailed direct it might have been done in two thirds of the time. after doubling the cape and sailing some sixty or eighty miles, we steered boldly towards the mouth of the harbor of rio. for a few moments the ship's prow pointed towards raza island, on which stands the lighthouse, but a slight turn of the wheel soon changed its relative position, and we entered the passage leading into the bay. after passing the "sugar loaf," a rock twelve hundred feet in height, the city lay off our port bow. all is so well defined, the water is so deep and free from obstructions of any sort, that no pilot is required and none is taken, and thus we crept slowly up towards our moorings. as the reader may well suppose, to eyes weary of the monotony of the sea, the panorama which opened before us was one of intense interest. everything seemed matured and olden. there was no sign of newness; indeed, we recalled the fact that rio was an established commercial port half a century before new york had a local habitation or a name. the town lies on the west side of the port, between a mountain range and the bay, running back less than two miles in depth, but extending along the shore for a distance of some eight miles, fronting one of the finest and most spacious harbors in the world, famous for its manifold scenic beauties, which, from the moment of passing within the narrow entrance, are ever changing and ever lovely. the most prominent features are the verdure-clad hills of gloria, theresa, and castello, behind which extend ranges of steep, everlasting mountains, one line beyond another, until lost among the clouds. few natural spectacles can equal the grand contour of this famous bay. people who have visited it always speak in superlative language of rio harbor, but we hardly think it could be overpraised. it is the grand entrance to a tropical paradise, so far as nature is concerned, amid clustering mountains, abrupt headlands, inviting inlets, and beautiful islands, covered with palms, tree-ferns, bananas, acacias, and other delights of tropical vegetation, which, when seen depicted in books, impress one as an exaggeration, but seen here thrill us with vivid reality. it is only in the torrid zone that one sees these lavish developments of verdure, these labyrinths of charming arboreous effect. though so well known and so often written about, the harbor of rio is less famous than beautiful. the bay is said to contain about one hundred islands, its area extending inland some seventeen or eighteen miles. the largest of these is governor's island, nearly fronting the city, being six miles long. some idea of the extent of the bay may be had from the fact that there are fifty square miles of good anchorage for ships within its compass. into the bay flows the water of two inconsiderable rivers, the macacu and the iguaçu, the first named coming in at the northeast and the latter at the northwest corner of the harbor. the organ mountains,--serra dos orgãos,--capped with soft, fleecy clouds, formed the lofty background of the picture towards the north, as we entered upon the scene, the immediate surroundings being dominated by the sky-reaching sugar loaf rock,--pão d'assucar,--which is also the navigator's guiding mark while yet far away at sea. this bold, irregular rock of red sandstone rises abruptly from the water, like a giant standing waist-high in the sea, and forms the western boundary of the entrance to the harbor, opposite to which, crowning a small but bold promontory, is the fort of santa cruz, the two highlands forming an appropriate portal to the grandeur which is to greet one within. the distance between these bounds is about a mile, inside of which the water widens at once to lake-like proportions. clouds of frigate birds, gulls, and gannets fly gracefully about each incoming ship, as if to welcome them to the harbor where anchorage might be had for the combined shipping of the whole world. we have lately seen the harbor of rio compared to that of queenstown, on the irish coast, twenty times magnified; but the infinite superiority of the former in every respect makes the allusion quite pointless. the organ mountains, to which we have referred, and which form so conspicuous a portion of the scene in and about rio, are so called because of their fancied resemblance in shape to the pipes of an organ; but though blessed with the usual share of imagination, we were quite unable to trace any such resemblance. however, one must not be hypercritical. the gigantic recumbent form of a human being, so often spoken of as discernible along this mountain range, is no poetical fancy, but is certainly clear enough to any eye, recalling the likeness to a crouching lion outlined by the promontory of gibraltar as one first sees the rock, either on entering the strait or coming from malta. one of the most beautiful indentures of the shore, earliest to catch the eye after passing into the harbor of rio from the sea, is called the bay of botafogo. the word means "thrown into the fire," and alludes to the inhuman _autos-da-fé_ which occurred here when the natives, on refusing to subscribe to the roman catholic faith, were committed by the priests to the flames! this is the way in which the romish creed was introduced into mexico and south america, and the means by which it was sustained. the principal charm of this lovely bay within a bay--botafogo--is its flowers and exposition of soaring royal palms. the attractiveness of the handsome residences is quite secondary to that of nature, here revealed with a lavish profusion. this part of rio is overshadowed by the tall peak of the corcovado, "the hunchback," one of the mass of hills which occupy a large area west of the city, and the nearest mountain to it. from its never-failing springs comes a large share of the water supply of the capital. the aqueduct is some ten miles long, crossing a valley at one point seven hundred feet in width, at a height of ninety feet, upon double arches. another large aqueduct is in contemplation, besides which some other sources are now in actual operation, as rio has long since outgrown the capacity of the original supply derived from the corcovado. the drainage of the town suffers seriously for want of sufficient water wherewith to flush the conduits, which at this writing, with the deadly fever claiming victims on all hands, are permitted to remain in a stagnant condition! and yet there are hundreds of hills round about, within long cannon range, which would readily yield the required element in almost limitless quantity. we left the vigilancia, and our good friend captain baker, with regret. the noble ship had borne us in safety thousands of miles during the past month, through storms and calms, amid intense tropical heat, and such floods of rain as are only encountered in southern seas. watching from her deck, there had been revealed to us the glories of the changing latitudes, and particularly the grandeur of the radiant heavens in equatorial regions. a sense of all-absorbing curiosity prevailed as we landed at the stone steps, overlooked by the yellow ochre walls of the arsenal, in the picturesque, though pestilential city. the nauseous odors which greet one as he steps on shore are very discordant elements in connection with the intense interest created by the novel sights that engage the eye of a stranger. with a population, including the immediate suburbs, of over half a million,--estimated at six hundred and fifty thousand,--rio has most of the belongings of a north american city of the first class, though we cannot refrain from mentioning one remarkable exception, namely, the entire absence of good hotels. there is not a really good and comfortable public house in all brazil. those which do exist in rio charge exorbitantly for the most indifferent service, and strangers are often puzzled to find a sleeping-room for a single night on first arriving here. tijuca, situated in the hills a few miles from the city, is perhaps the most desirable place of temporary sojourn for the newly arrived traveler, who will find at least one large and comfortable public house there, favorably known to travelers as whyte's hotel. it is some little distance from the city, but is easily reached by tramway, which takes one to the foot of the hills of the tijuca range, whose tallest peak is thirty-four hundred feet above tide-water. this place abounds in attractive villas, tropical vegetation, and beautiful flowers, both wild and cultivated. from here also one gets a most charming view of the distant city, the famous bay, and the broad atlantic; indeed, the view alone will repay one for making this brief excursion. the loftiest village in these hills is called boa vista. there are mountains, however, on either side, which are five or six hundred feet higher than the village containing the hotel. american enterprise is engaged at this writing in constructing a narrow gauge electric tramway to the summit of tijuca. the driving road from the base to the top is an admirable piece of engineering, and is kept in the very best condition possible. the objectionable character of the italian emigrants, who come hither as well as to our own states, was demonstrated by a party of them robbing and nearly murdering a resident of tijuca who happened to be a short distance from his own house, the evening previous to the day which we spent at this resort. these italians are mostly employed as workmen upon the railroad, though some are gardeners on the neighboring estates. in town they act as porters and day laborers on the wharves, as boatmen, and so on, but, as we were assured, are a lawless, vagabond element of the community, giving the police force a great deal of trouble. rio has many large and commodious public buildings and some elegant private residences, the latter generally of a half moorish type of architecture. some of the edifices date back a couple of centuries. the early portuguese built of stone and cement, hence the somewhat remarkable durability of these houses. the large edifice devoted to the department of agriculture and public works is one of the most noticeable in the city. the bank of brazil occupies a building which is classic in its fine architecture, being elaborately constructed of hammered granite. there is no more superb example of masonry in the country. the national mint, on the square of the republic, is also a fine granite building; so is that devoted to the bourse, where enormous values change hands daily. educational institutions are numerous, well organized, and generally availed of by the rising generation. the national college is of notable influence in the dissemination of general intelligence, and the same may be said of the polytechnic college, an excellent and practical institution. it should be observed that any well organized educational establishment is called a college in this country. the public library of rio contains some two hundred thousand volumes, besides many valuable spanish and portuguese documents in manuscript. it is liberally conducted; black and white people alike, as well as all respectable strangers, have free access and liberal accommodations within the walls. this institution is an honor to brazil. rio has a new and well organized navy yard, a large arsenal, cotton mills, and several extensive manufacturing establishments. among the latter is the largest flour mill we have ever seen. this is an english enterprise; but so far as we could learn, it had been found impossible to compete profitably with the american flour, as now landed at rio. a foundling hospital on the rua everesta de veiga is worthy of mention. here, as already described in relation to another brazilian city, infants are freely received and cared for, without any inquiry being made of those who deposit them. these little ones at the outset become children of the state, and are registered and numbered as such. oftentimes the mother pins to the little deserted one's clothes the name she desires should be given to it, and the wish is usually regarded by the officials of the institution. the authorities put each child out to nurse for a year, but receive it back again at the expiration of that time, and at a proper period send it to school, and endeavor to rear it to some useful employment or trade. while the child is thus disposed of, the payment for its board and care is very moderate in amount, and is also contingent upon its good health and physical condition. thus the deserted one is likely to have good attention, if not for humanity's sake, then from mercenary motives. this plan is copied from that which is pursued by the great foundling hospitals of st. petersburg and moscow, which are certainly the best organized and largest institutions of the sort in the world. where so large a percentage of the children born are illegitimate, such a hospital becomes a real necessity. there has been no year since this establishment was opened, in , as we were told, in which less than four hundred infants were received. sometimes parents, whose worldly conditions have greatly improved, come forward after the lapse of years and claim their children. this right on their part is duly respected by their properly proving the relationship beyond all possible doubt, and paying a sum of money equal to that which has been actually expended by the state in the child's behalf. in the line of public amusements there is a large and well-appointed opera house besides eight other fairly good theatres, together with an excellent museum. the performances at the theatres are given in french, spanish, and portuguese. italian opera is presented three times a week during the season. this year the performances were summarily stopped by the principal tenor dying of yellow fever. the theatre bearing the name of the late emperor is a sort of mammoth cave in size, and is capable of seating six thousand people, not one half of whom can hear what is said or sung upon the stage by the performers. street bands of german musicians perform here as they do in boston and new york; the mass of the people, being music loving, patronize these itinerants liberally. one band posted themselves daily before the popular globe restaurant, at the hour of the midday meal (breakfast), and performed admirably, reaping a generous response from the habitués. most of the patrons of this excellent establishment were observed to be american, english, and french merchants, who attended to business in rio during the day, but who went home to the elevated environs to dine and to sleep. "i have been here in business nine years," said one of these gentlemen to us, "and have been down with the fever once; but i would not sleep in rio overnight for any amount of money, at this season of the year." this was early in june. he added: "the fever should have disappeared before this time, which is our winter, but it seems to linger later and later each succeeding year." this was a conclusion which we heard expressed by other observant individuals, but all joined in ascribing its persistency in no small degree to the imperfect drainage, and the vile personal habits of the mass of the common people, who make no effort to be cleanly, or to regard the decencies of life in this respect. as to churches, rio has between sixty and seventy, none of which are very remarkable, all being dim, dirty, and offensive to the olfactories. the cause of the foul air being so noticeable in all of these romish churches is the fact that no provision whatever is made for proper ventilation, and this, too, in places of all others where it is most imperatively necessary. the offense is created by exhalations from the bodies of the least cleanly class of the population. it is such who mostly fill these churches all over the continent of europe, mexico, south america, and the united states. precisely the same disgusting odor greets the senses of the visitor to these edifices, be it in one hemisphere or another, but especially in italy and spain. the cathedral of rio is a large, showy edifice, surrounded by narrow streets, and thus hidden by other buildings, so that no general and satisfactory outside effect can be had. the front and sides are of solid granite, and the whole is known to have cost a mint of money, yet the safety of the foundation is more than questionable. like the grand church of st. isaacs, in the russian capital of st. petersburg, great expense will doubtless have to be incurred to renew and strengthen it in this respect. it is believed that the site upon which rio stands was once under the sea, and, geologically speaking, at no very remote period, which accounts for considerable trouble being experienced in obtaining secure and solid foundations for any heavy superstructure. at this writing, the cathedral is undergoing extensive repairs, inside and out, but in spite of the noise of workmen, the disagreeable lime dust, and the interference of a network of interior staging, it is still very striking in its architectural effect. in the old part of the town, two prominent cupolas dominate the surroundings. these belong respectively to the churches of candelaria and san luigi. the most popular church in rio is undoubtedly that which crowns the gloria hill, called the igreja da gloria do onterio, which overlooks the bay. its commanding situation is very remarkable. in shape it is octagonal, and seems to be very solidly built. in front of the church there is a broad terrace, from whence a fine view may be enjoyed. on a moonlight night the picture presented from the gloria hill is something worth going miles on foot to behold. this church was the favorite resort of the late royal family when they were in the city, though much of their home life and all of their summers were passed in the hills of the organ mountains at the emperor's favorite resort,--petropolis. the shops of rio, notwithstanding they are generally small and situated upon streets so narrow that they would be called only lanes in north america,--close, confined, half-strangled thoroughfares,--will compare favorably in many respects with those of continental europe. the larger number of the merchants here are french, together with a considerable sprinkling of german jews. indeed, can any one tell us where we shall not find this peculiar race represented in the trade centres of the wide world? in many of the fancy-goods stores the famous brazilian feather flowers are exhibited for sale, but the best place to purchase these is at bahia, where they are a specialty, and where their manufacture is said to have originated. the narrow streets, traversed by tramways, are at times almost impassable for pedestrians, and are often blocked by heavy mule teams for fifteen minutes at a time. by and by some lazy policeman makes his appearance and quietly begins to unravel the snarl, which he at length succeeds in doing, and the ordinary traffic of the thoroughfare is once more resumed. an unsightly gutter runs through the middle of some of these thoroughfares, which adds to the annoyances incident to ordinary travel. all are regularly laid out, chess-board fashion, very ill smelling, and harbor an infinite number of beggars and mangy dogs. it is customary for local merchants who employ european clerks--and there are many english, french, and brazilians in rio who do so,--to give them a fixed salary, quite moderate in amount, and to furnish them with lodgings also. the latter are of a very rude and undesirable character, in the business establishment itself, either over the store, or in the back part of it. the bedding which is furnished is of a makeshift character, rarely changed, and never properly aired. exceedingly uncleanly domestic arrangements, or the entire absence of them, are also a serious matter in this connection, from a sanitary point of view. the clerks get their food at some neighboring restaurant, and contract irregular habits, all of which is both mentally and physically demoralizing. it is among this class of foreigners that the yellow fever finds the most ready victims. to sleep in these crowded business centres, in ill-ventilated apartments, with far from cleanly surroundings, is simply to provoke fatal illness, and during an epidemic of fever these places furnish fuel for the flames. neatness and cleanliness among domestic associations in this city are entirely lost sight of and are totally disregarded by men and women. the rua direita is the state street or wall street of rio; a new name, which escapes us at this moment, has been given to it, but the old one is still the favorite and in common use. here brokers, bankers, and commission merchants meet and bargain, and fiercely speculate in coffee. the principal shopping street is the rua de ouvidor, where the best stores and choicest retail goods are to be found. in the rua dos ourives,--"goldsmith's street,"--the display of fine jewelry, diamonds, and other precious stones recalls the rue de la paix of paris. diamonds are held at quite as high prices as in london or new york, and those of the best quality can be bought better at retail out of this country than in it. a poor quality of stone, off color, is imported and offered here as being of native production, and careless purchasers are not infrequently deceived by cunning dealers in these matters. two vehicles cannot pass each other in this avenue without driving upon the narrow sidewalk. at times a deafening uproar prevails along these circumscribed lanes. the rough grinding of wheels, noisy bootblacks, whooping orange-sellers, screaming newspaper boys, howling dogs, the rattle of the street peddler, lottery ticket venders, fighting street gamins, all join to swell the mingled chorus. and yet these crowded thoroughfares would lose half of their picturesqueness were these elements to be banished from them. they each and all add a certain crude element of interest to this every-day picture of vanity fair. in their ambition to copy european and north american fashions, the gentlemen of rio utterly disregard the eternal fitness of things, wearing broadcloth suits of black, with tall, stove-pipe hats, neither of which articles should be adopted for a moment in their torrid climate. nothing could be more inappropriate. linen clothing and light straw hats are the true costume for the tropics, naturally suggesting themselves in hot climates to the exclusion of woolen, heat-brewing costumes, which are necessary articles of wear in the north. fashion, however, ignores climate and is omnipotent everywhere; comfort is subsidiary. wear woolen clothing by all means, gentlemen of rio, even when the thermometer hangs persistently at ° fahr. in the shade, and the human body perspires like a mountain stream. the tramway system of rio is excellent in a crude way. statistics show that fifty million passengers are annually transported by this popular means from one part of the city to another, and into the suburbs. the street railway was first introduced here by north american enterprise, the pioneer route being that between the city proper and the botanical garden. the prices of passage vary according to distances, as is the case with the london omnibuses. the cars are all open ones, of cheap, coarse construction, and far from inviting in appearance, being entirely unupholstered, and affording only hard board seats for passengers to sit upon. they are usually drawn by one small donkey, whose strength is quite overtasked, but the ground in the city is so nearly level that the cars move very easily and rapidly. there is one delightful excursion from rio which nearly all strangers are sure to enjoy. we refer to the ascent of corcovado, the mountain which looms over botafogo bay to the height of twenty-two hundred feet, and to the summit of which a railway has been constructed. the grades are extremely steep, and the road is what is called a centre line, worked upon the cog-wheel system, the ascent being very slow and winding. the principle is the same as that of the railway by which mount washington is ascended, in new hampshire, or the righi, in switzerland. this road was built by the national government, but as a pecuniary speculation it does not pay, though it is of considerable indirect benefit to the city. we will not dilate upon the grand outlook to be had from the summit of the hunchback, which takes in a bird's-eye view of the harbor and its surroundings, but will add that no one should come hither without ascending corcovado. the top consists of two rounded masses of bare rock, and is walled in to prevent accident, there being on one side a perpendicular descent of a thousand feet. it gives one at first a dizzy sensation to look down upon the vast city spread out over the plain, from whence a hum of mingled sounds comes up with singular distinctness. even the bells upon the mules which are attached to the tram-cars can be distinguished, and other sounds still more delicate and minute. just so balloonists tell us that at two or three thousand feet in mid-air they can distinguish the voices of individuals upon the earth below them. the experienced traveler learns to be astonished at nothing, but there are degrees of pleasure induced by beautiful and majestic views which mount to the apex of our capacity for admiration. one can safely promise such a realizing sense to him who ascends the corcovado. a tramway which starts from the centre of the city will take the traveler to the base of the hill, through roads lined by palms of great age and beauty, finally leaving him near the point from whence the steam road begins the upward journey. nictheroy, just across the harbor of rio, on the east side of the bay, is a sort of faubourg of the capital, with which it is connected by a line of steam ferry-boats, as chelsea is with boston, or brooklyn with the city of new york. it is the capital of the province of rio janeiro, and has broader streets, is more reasonably laid out, and is kept more cleanly than rio itself. space is found for a profusion of attractive gardens, and the senses are greeted by sweet odors in the place of needlessly offensive smells, which attack one on all sides in the metropolis so near at hand. it is quite a relief to get on to one of the ferry-boats and cross over to nictheroy occasionally, for a breath of pure air. this is the native indian name of the place, and signifies "hidden water," particularly applicable when these land-locked bays were shrouded in dense tropical woods. unlike pará, montevideo, and buenos ayres, this city has no special river communication with the interior, but her commerce is large and increasing. railroads are more reliable feeders for business than either rivers or canals. it is a fact which is not generally realized, that brazil has over six thousand miles of well-constructed railways in operation, besides having a telegraph system covering seven thousand miles of land service. in the construction of the railroads, the cost, so far as the ground work and grading was concerned, was reduced to the minimum, owing to the level nature of the country. as was the case in new zealand, many of these railways were constructed at great expense, in anticipation of the wants of a future population, who it was hoped would settle rapidly upon the route which they followed. that is to say, many of these roads did not open communication between populous districts already in existence. this would have been perfectly legitimate. they run to no particular objective point, and seem to stop finally nowhere. the natural sequence followed. after being built and equipped with borrowed money, they were anything but self-supporting, and pecuniary aid from the government was freely given to enable them to be kept in operation. there must always come a day of reckoning for all such forced schemes, and the brazilian railways were no exception to the rule. this is largely the primary cause of the present monetary troubles in this country, as well as in the argentine republic. the capital for the construction of these roads came mostly from england, and that country has been accordingly a heavy pecuniary sufferer. the rates charged for transportation upon most of the lines are also exorbitant, if we were rightly informed; so much so, in fact, as to prove nearly prohibitory. scarcely any species of merchandise brought from a considerable distance inland will bear such freight charges and leave a margin for profit to the producer and shipper. would-be planters of coffee and sugar-cane dare not enter upon raising these staples for the market, unless situated very near the shipping point, or near some available river's course, the latter means being naturally much cheaper than any form of railway transportation. situated on the border of two zones, rio janeiro has the products of both within her reach, and thus possesses peculiar advantages for extensive trade and general commerce. it is in this latter direction that her progressive and enterprising merchants are endeavoring to extend the facilities of the port. the passenger landings--not wharves--which border the water front of the city here and there are of solid granite, from which at suitable intervals broad stone steps lead down to the water's edge, as on the borders of the neva at st. petersburg. we have few, if any, such substantial landing-places in our north american ports. we know of no harbor on the globe which enjoys a more eligible situation as regards the commerce of foreign countries, both of the new and the old world. the one convenience so imperatively demanded is proper wharves for the landing and shipping of cargoes, thus obviating the necessity of the expensive and tedious lighter system. it is her many natural and extraordinary advantages which has led to so steady a growth of the city, notwithstanding the very serious drawback of an unwholesome climate, aggravated by the indolence and incapacity of the local authorities in sanitary matters. both consumption and yellow fever have proved more fatal here than at any other port in south america, so far as we could draw comparisons. the well-equipped marine arsenal of rio is of considerable interest and importance, as there is no other port on the atlantic coast, between the gulf of mexico and cape horn, where a large modern vessel can go into dry dock for needed repairs. this receptacle is ample in size, and is substantially built of granite. such an establishment as a national shipyard is a prime necessity to a commercial country like brazil, which has eleven hundred leagues of seacoast. in the plaza constitution, which is a very grand and spacious park in the heart of the city, there is an elaborate and costly statue of the father of the late emperor, of heroic size. the pedestal is surrounded by four bronze groups, representing typical scenes of early indian life in this country. the paseo publico is also a garden-like spot, extending three or four hundred feet along the bay. this is a cool and favorite resort of the populace. on the corners of the principal streets and squares there are little octagonal structures called kiosks, gayly painted, where hot coffee, lottery tickets, and bonbons are sold, as well as newspapers and flowers. here, as in havana, the city of mexico, naples, and many european cities, the lottery proves to be a terrible curse to the common people, draining their pockets and diverting them from all ideas of steady-going business. it is customary also for the regularly organized business establishments to patronize the lottery with never-failing regularity, charging a certain monthly sum to expense account, but the money is nevertheless paid out for lottery tickets. the bad moral effect of this upon clerks and all concerned is very obvious. when by chance any prize, be it never so small, is awarded, a great flurry is made of the fact, and advertisements emphasize it, thus to incite fresh investments in this organized public swindle. tickets are sold by boys and girls, men and women, and half the talk of the thoughtless multitude is about the lottery, how to hit upon lucky numbers, and so on. it is a mistaken though popular idea that our new england consumptives have only to seek some tropical locality to alleviate their special trouble. rio seems to be particularly fatal to persons suffering from pulmonary troubles. the same may be said of many other tropical regions. when consumption is developed in the bahamas, cuba, or the sandwich islands, for instance, it runs its fatal course with a speed never realized in the northern states of america. physicians do not send patients to foreign localities so indiscriminately as they used to. almost every sort of climate is to be found within the borders of the united states, where also civilized comforts are more universally to be obtained than abroad. besides which, an invalid does not have to brave seasickness and other ocean hardships, if sent to some eligible locality within our own borders. though brazil has long been, and is still, famous for its production of diamonds, precious stones, and gold, yet these are as nothing when compared with her exports of sugar, coffee, and hides, not taking into account her product of rice, cocoa, tobacco, dyewoods, and other important staples. a large portion of the abnormal growth of her forests is valuable for its timber, resins, fibre, and fruits. it is naturally a very rich country, with a world of wealth in its soil, but miserable financial mismanagement has caused the national treasury to become utterly bankrupt, and at this writing mercantile credit is an unknown quantity, so to speak. the natural resources of the country are unlimited; therefore it must be only a question of time when a healthy reaction shall set in, and a period of sound prosperity follow. it should be remembered in this connection that the immediate country of which we are speaking, that is, brazil as a whole, is as large as the united states, leaving out the territory of alaska. chapter ix. outdoor scenes in rio janeiro.--the little marmoset.--the fish market.--secluded women.--the romish church.--botanical garden.--various species of trees.--grand avenue of royal palms.--about humming-birds.--climate of rio.--surrounded by yellow fever.--the country inland.--begging on the streets.--flowers.--"portuguese joe."--social distinctions. it would require many pages to properly describe rio janeiro with its curious phases of street life, its manners and customs, its local peculiarities, and moving panorama of events, all combining to make up a unique personality. these out-of-door scenes go far to tell the true story of any special locality. the fruit and vegetable market, near palace square, is a highly attractive place to visit at early morning. the negro women venders, always stout and portly creatures, with heads turbaned in many-colored bandannas, are eloquent in recommending their articles for sale, and are also very shrewd at a bargain. it is not uncommon for these middle-aged negresses to stand six feet high, without shoes or stockings, and to turn the scales at double the average weight of men of the same color and class. these women were all slaves in their girlhood. as regards prices charged for provisions, fruits, and vegetables, in the markets of rio, they seemed to the author rather exorbitant, but doubtless permanent residents do not pay such sums as are charged to strangers for the same articles. we were heartily laughed at by a housekeeper on stating the cost of a small basket of choice fruit which we had purchased, being told that we had paid four times its market value. however, it was well worth the price to us, who had just arrived from an ocean voyage of five thousand miles and more. on shipboard fruit is necessarily a scarce article, and it was certainly worth something extra to be introduced for the first time to the luscious products of this region. the abundance and variety of flowers, as well as their cheapness and fragrance, make them a desirable morning purchase, with all their dewy freshness upon them. oranges, limes, pineapples, lemons, alligator-pears, cocoanuts, grapes, mangoes, with an infinite variety of other fruits, make up the stock in trade, together with squealing pigs, live turkeys, and noisy guinea-fowls. here also are various gaudy feathered songsters, in cheap, home-made cages, besides monkeys, marmosets, and other household pets. the macaws, chained by the leg, and the screaming parrots vie with each other and with the monkeys in the amount of noise they make. wicker baskets filled with live ducks, geese, and fowls are borne on the heads of native women, who have brought them many a long weary mile from far inland, hoping to make a few pennies by their sale. the chatter of the women, the cries of men and animals, an occasional quarrel between two noisy italians, ending in furious vociferations and gesticulations, all add to the babel of sound. one little marmoset put his hand into that of the author, looking so appealingly into his face that, imagining the little fellow might be hungry, some nice edibles, calculated to rejoice the monkey heart, were promptly purchased and gratefully received by the marmoset, which, in his eager haste to consume the same, stuffed the sides of either jaw to alarming proportions. the little creature was wonderfully human, and having found a kindly disposed stranger, insisted upon keeping one of his tiny hands in our own, while he rapidly filled his mouth with the other. it is interesting to observe the artistic manner in which the native women, indians and blacks, mingle and arrange the various fruits and vegetables, showing a natural instinct for the harmonious blending of colors and forms. a pile of yellow oranges, green limes, and mangoes had a base of buff-colored bananas picturesquely arranged with all the pointed ends of the finger-like fruit outward, while a luscious ripe pineapple formed the apex of the pile, set off jauntily by its cactus-like, prickly leaves. on the borders of the market and along the iron railing of palace square, black-haired, bareheaded italian women displayed cheap jewelry, imitation shell, gilded combs, and other fancy trinkets for sale, embracing priestly knick-knacks, ivory crosses, crucifixion scenes, coral beads, high-colored ribbons, and gaudy kerchiefs. the bronzed faces of these black-eyed, gypsy-like women were very cadaverous, as though the land of their adoption did not particularly agree with them. it seems hardly possible that these peddlers could gain a livelihood trading in these tawdry and utterly useless articles among such a humble, impecunious class of customers as frequent the market, and yet their numerous wide-open, shallow tin boxes showed a considerable stock of goods. the fish market is a curious sight in the variety of colors and shapes afforded by the inhabitants of the neighboring bay, where most of them are caught. what an array of finny monsters!--rock-fish, large as halibut, ray, skates, craw-fish, cuttle-fish, and prawns half as large as lobsters, together with devil-fish and oysters. funny idea, but these oysters, many of them, are grown on trees! how is this possible? let us tell you. the mangrove trees line the water's edge; many of the branches overhang the sea, and are submerged therein. to these young oysters affix themselves, and there they live and thrive. the same phenomenon was observed by the author some years ago in cuba. these oysters are found in small corrugated shells scarcely larger than a good-sized english walnut, which they somewhat resemble. in the fish market one sees some very original characters among the negro women who preside over the finny tribe. they are large, good-natured creatures, quick at a trade, and quite intelligent. we recall one, who was a prominent figure among her companions. she was tall, portly, and strong as a horse. her head was decked with a bandanna kerchief of many colors, her flat nose and protruding lips indicating close african relationship. secured behind one of her ears was a cigarette, while a friction match protruded from the other, ready for use. her coarse calico dress, of deep red, was covered in front by a brown linen apron extending nearly to her bare feet. her uncovered arms were about as large as a man's legs. this negress dressed the several kinds of fish with the facility of an expert, making change for her patrons with commendable promptness, and dismissing them with a good-natured smile, adding some remark which was pretty sure to elicit hearty laughter. as we stood viewing these things, a noisy fellow made himself very obnoxious to every person whom he met. he had evidently been too often to the neighboring spirit-shops. a police officer arrested the man by touching him lightly on the shoulder and saying a few words to him; then, pointing ahead, made the fellow precede him to the lock-up. though this disturber of the peace was half drunk, he knew too much to resist an officer, which is considered to be a heinous offense and is severely punished in rio. it was natural to contrast this scene with the violent resistance offered by offenders with whom the police of new york and boston have often to deal. the streets of rio, at all times of the day, present a motley crowd of half-naked negroes, overladen donkeys, lazy portuguese, italian, and spanish loafers, smoking cheap cigars, with here and there a jew hawking articles of personal wear, women with various heavy articles upon their heads, water carriers, vociferous sellers of confectionery, all moving hither and thither, each one intent upon his or her individual interest and oblivious of all others. the background to this kaleidoscopic picture is the low, stucco-finished houses, painted in lively red, yellow, or blue, interspersed here and there by bas-reliefs, the whole reflecting the rays of a torrid sun. though it is all quite different, yet somehow it recalls the narrow, crowded streets and bazaars of cairo and alexandria. it is very natural, in passing, to regard with interest those screened balconies, and to imagine what the lives may be of the half orientally excluded women within them, while occasionally catching luminous glances from curious eyes. the notes of a guitar, or those of the piano, often reach the ear of the passer-by, sometimes accompanied by the ringing notes of a song, for the ladies of brazil are extremely fond of music; indeed, it seems to be almost their only distraction. of books they know very little, and any literary reference is to them like speaking in an unknown tongue. even the one poet of portugal, camoens, appears to be a stranger on this side of the atlantic. the isolation and want of intellectual resort among the average women of this country are a sad reality, and are in a degree their excuse for some unfortunate indulgences and immoralities, domestic unfaithfulness being as common here as in paris or vienna. the majority of the brazilian women marry at or before the age of sixteen, and become old, as we use the term, at thirty. the climate and the cares of maternity together age them prematurely. in early youth, and until they have reached twenty three or four years, they are almost universally very handsome, but this beauty is not retained, as is often the case among the sex in colder climes. of their charms, it must be honestly admitted that they are almost purely physical (animal); the beauty which high culture imparts to the features, by informing the mind and developing the intellect, is not found as a rule among brazilian women. of course there are some delightful and notable exceptions to this conclusion, but we speak of the women, generally, of what is termed the better class. now and then one meets with ladies who have been educated in the united states, or in europe, upon whom early and refined associations have left an unmistakable impress. the superiority of such is at once manifest, both in general ease of manner, and the inexplicable charm which high breeding imparts. one searches in vain for a full-faced, well-developed, hearty looking man, among the natives in the streets of this capital. the average people, both high and low, are sallow, undersized, and cadaverous. sunken cheeks and thin figures are the rule among the men, a passing north american or englishman only serving to furnish a strong and suggestive contrast. these people have brilliantly expressive eyes, with handsome teeth and mouths, though half shriveled up and undeveloped in body. if one pauses to analyze the matter, he comes to the conclusion that vice and short commons, unwholesome morals and an unwholesome climate, have much to do with this prevailing appearance, which must be in part hereditary, to be so universal, commencing some way back and increasing with the generations. as in mexico, gentlemen meeting on the streets of rio hug each other with both arms, at the same time inflicting two or three quick, earnest slaps with the flat of the hand upon the back. this is perhaps after an absence of a few days; but if they meet ten times a day, off come their hats, and they shake hands with the most earnest demonstrations, both at meeting and at parting. kissing on both cheeks is common enough in many parts of europe among society people, but this hugging business between men meeting upon the public streets strikes one as a waste of the raw material. it goes without saying that the popular religion of rio janeiro and the country at large is that of the romish church, though all denominations are tolerated by the laws of the republic. in some districts it is the same here as in mexico and continental spain, the protestants being persecuted in every possible manner. nevertheless, the power of the priesthood, we were creditably informed, is on the wane. they owe the loss of it in a great measure to the gross abuse of their positions and their shamefully immoral lives. no one conversant with the true state of the case, be he protestant or romanist, can deny this statement. the author thought that the roman catholic priests of mexico were about as wicked a set of men as he had ever met with, taken as a whole, but further experience in south america has convinced him that the mexican priesthood have their equals in immorality in brazil, and elsewhere south of panama. the popular religion of the country is one of the saddest features of its national existence, forming the great drag-weight upon its moral, and indirectly upon its physical progress. the botanical garden of rio is a justly famous resort, situated about six miles from the city, behind the corcovada, between that mountain and the sea, but it is easily reached by tramway, or better still by a delightful drive along the shore of botafogo bay, over a road shaded by imperial palms, together with occasional clusters of the ever beautiful bamboo, the sight of which recalled the luxuriant specimens seen in japan and sumatra. the nearest approach to this admirable public garden is to be found at kandy, in the island of ceylon, which, as we remember it, is considerably more extensive, and presents a larger variety of tropical vegetation. the examples of the india-rubber tree, especially, are finer in the asiatic garden than we find them at rio. a tall, slim-stemmed sloth-tree, straight as an arrow, and bare of branches or leaves except at the top, was pointed out to us here. it is so called because it is the favorite resort of that animal. this creature is very easily captured, and the natives are fond of its meat, which may be nutritious, but it can hardly be called palatable. as it is almost entirely a vegetable-feeding animal, we know not why there should be any objection to the meat it produces. the sloth climbs up into the tall branches of the tree described, though it does so with considerable difficulty, and there remains until it has consumed every leaf and tender shoot which it bears; then the voracious creature wanders off to find and denude another. the bread-fruit tree is interesting, with its handsome feathery leaves, and its large, melon-shaped product. it grows to fifty feet in height, and bears fruit constantly for three quarters of the year, then takes a three months' rest. it is only equaled in the profuseness of its product by the banana, forming one of the staple sources of food supply to the lazy, indolent denizens of tropical regions. the candelabra-tree, with its silver-tinted foliage, is one of the beauties of this charming brazilian garden. among other notable trees are fine specimens of the camphor-tree, the tamarind, the broad-spreading mango, opulent in fruitfulness, the flowering magnolia, also the soap-tree, with its saponaceous berries. the cochineal cactus was thriving after its kind, near by what is called the cow-tree, which interests one quite as much as any of its companions, rising over a hundred feet in height, with a red bark and fig-like leaves. the milk which it yields is of cream-like consistency, very similar to that from a cow, and it may be used for any ordinary purpose to which we put that article. the tree is tapped, as we treat the sugar-maple, in order to obtain its very remarkable and useful product. it is nutritious, that is freely admitted; but most probably it has some medicinal properties of a latent character, though of this we could learn nothing. the world-famed avenue of royal palms in the botanical garden of rio is unique, being undoubtedly the finest tropical arboretum in the world arranged by the hand of man. we saw here a delicate little member of the palm family, a sort of baby tree, known as the small-stemmed palm of pará. many trees from asia have become domesticated side by side with the maple, the pine, and the elm from new england. some of the large trees were decked with orchids and hanging lichens, the dainty and fantastic ornamentation of nature herself, not promoted by artificial means. the humidity of the atmosphere especially facilitates the growth of this beautiful family of plants, which are as erratic in shape as they are variegated in prismatic colors. it would require a whole chapter to do even partial justice to this remarkable garden behind the corcovado mountain. one sees here myriads of delicate humming-birds, wonderful animated gems of color, remarkable in brazil for their metallic hues. such brilliancy of lustre, glancing in the warm sunlight, is fascinating to behold. the spaniards call these delicate little creatures "winged flowers," and the portuguese, "flower-kissers." a lady resident of rio told the author of the vain attempt of a patient german scientist to domesticate a few specimens of these birds. he commenced by taking them from the nest soon after they were hatched, at various periods of their growth, and even after they had learned to fly, but although infinite care was taken to supply their usual food, and also not to confine them too closely, the naturalist was fain to acknowledge the impossibility of accomplishing his object, though the experiment extended over a period of two years. the ceaseless activity of this frail little bird renders any circumscribing of its liberty fatal to existence. delicate, innocent, and apparently harmless as butterflies, these diminutive creatures are often very pugnacious, and when two males engage in a contest with each other, which is not seldom the case, one or the other often loses his life. if disturbed during the period of incubation, they will attack large birds and even human beings, directing their long, needle-like bills at the offender's eyes. our informant told us the particulars of a man who, under such circumstances, came very near losing both of these organs. scientists have succeeded in preserving over two hundred different specimens of this little feathered beauty, representing that number of species indigenous to brazil. some of these are only five or six times as large as a humble-bee. the artificial flowers already referred to as being for sale in the shops of rio depend almost entirely upon the humming-bird for their delicate beauty; no other feathered creature affords such marvelous colors and exquisitely fine material for the purpose. the best specimens of this work are necessarily expensive, requiring, besides a truly artistic taste and eye, skill of execution, infinite patience, and much time, to produce them. we saw a choice design of this sort, measuring about fifteen by twenty inches, framed under a glass, the design being a bouquet of natural flowers, for which the asking price was five hundred dollars; four hundred and fifty had been refused. the feathers were almost entirely from the throat and breast of humming-birds, arranged by a woman who had made this work the occupation of her life from girlhood. we learned that such a piece of artistic effect represented nearly a year's labor! one also finds in the rio shops flower-pieces ingeniously formed from the scales of high-colored fishes, as well as from the wings and bodies of native insects characterized by brilliant colors, but these of course will not compare in delicacy and beauty with the products of the feathers. the brazilian beetle is prepared in a myriad of ornamental forms and in many combinations, sometimes mingled with feathers. in the rua dos ourives there are two or three shops where a great variety of such objects is offered for sale. these stores have also many choice native stones of great beauty, including the true brazilian topaz, for which there is a growing and appreciative demand. the idea prevails that the climate of rio is like some parts of africa, suffocatingly hot all the time, but this is not correct. the american consul told the author that he had suffered more from the cold than from the heat in the environs of the city, where his residence is in a rather elevated district. he declared that the temperature, even in town, was rarely so extreme as is often found in the cities of the united states. he believes that the yellow fever might be effectually banished from rio by the adoption of strict quarantine and effective sanitary measures in the city proper. as we have already intimated, consumption prevails here to an alarming extent. this is doubtless owing to the peculiar dampness of the atmosphere. we found that statistics show one half as many deaths from consumption as from yellow fever, taking the aggregate of five years. "the one disease comes annually in the heat of summer only, as a rule," said our informant, "while the other prevails more or less all the year round, year in and year out." during the two weeks which the author stopped at rio, forty and fifty fatal cases of yellow fever a day were recorded, and doubtless more than that number actually fell victims to its ravages, as only those who died in the several hospitals were enumerated. we were in the city in june, one of the winter months in this latitude. heretofore the fever has nearly always disappeared, as an epidemic, by the first or middle of may, even in years when it has been most prevalent and fatal. notwithstanding the charm of novelty which so absorbs the stranger, we are free to confess there was a lurking dread of the subtle enemy which proved so swift and fatal all about us. fifty deaths daily by yellow fever in a population exceeding half a million only served to show that it still lingered in a sporadic form where the seeds are perhaps never entirely exterminated. it most readily attacks strangers and the unacclimated, but no class is exempt. the indigent, careless, drunken portion of the population are no more liable, we were informed, to contract the disease than others of better habits. this outrages all preconceived notions of diseases of this character, but we were assured by good authority that it was really so. the day we left rio, the english bishop, a most estimable man, who was universally respected and beloved, died of the fell disease. the summer season begins in october and lasts until april, and is better known here as the wet season, the rain falling with great regularity nearly every afternoon, and at about the same time. usually an hour of liberal downpour is experienced, then it promptly clears up and becomes bright and pleasant. the warmest month is february. the winter months are may, june, july, and august; this is the dry season, during which very little rain falls. the climate appears to be particularly injurious to persons who are troubled with a torpid liver. elephantiasis is indigenous, but it is not very common; the few cases seen were upon the streets, and were those of negroes who exposed their diseased limbs to excite public pity, making the affliction an excuse for systematic begging. a score of such unfortunates were seen daily in and about palace square, and one or two regularly posted themselves before the globe restaurant, which is the maison dorée of rio janeiro. the well-to-do merchants do not think of living in town, but select some pleasant spot in the environs, where they erect picturesque homes, often extremely attractive to the eye architecturally, and surrounded by lovely gardens, containing both native and exotic plants and trees. the contrast between commercial and rural rio is something very striking. one presents all the grossness and belittling aspect of money-getting, the other the graces, liberality, and ennobling appearance of culture and refinement. of all the trees in these attractive environs, the palm, in its great variety, challenges one's admiration most. we mention it frequently, for it was our constant delight. at every turn one comes upon it, in its several species,--the cocoa-palm, the palmetto, the cabbage, the assai-palm, the fanshaped-palm, and scores of other varieties. the hand and taste of woman are seen in these gardens of the environs. flowers are selected and arranged as only feminine taste could suggest, while the broad piazzas are simply floral bowers and gardens of placid delights. the province round about rio is beautified and rendered profitable by the many large coffee plantations, particularly attractive when the well-trimmed bushes are seen in full bearing, bending under the weight of red berries. orange orchards abound, the branches of the trees heavy with the rich golden fruit; yet as an orange-producing section, florida, in our own country, is fully its equal. the fruit of the southern part of the united states is much better and more intelligently cultivated, and is larger and fairer, than the fruit of this region. we except bahia, however, in this remark; that is the very paradise of oranges. besides the abundance of fruits, flora reigns in brazil, and near to rio bignonias, passifloras, variegated honeysuckles, morning-glories, magnolias, and orchids mingle with the dark green mango trees and the delicate light green mimosas which meet the eye everywhere. it appears that the several species of flowers have their special season for blooming, when they are at their best, so that a large variety is always seen in bloom at all times in the year. we must confess to having felt half lost without the "queen of flowers," our grand favorite; but as to roses, it was found that the ever present ants maintained a fixed hostility to them, rendering it particularly difficult to rear them in this country. in all of the many lands we have visited, the author has never seen such superbly developed roses as are produced in and about the city of boston. there is some quality in the climate of new england, added to the genius of her famous florists, especially adapted to their perfection. the broad leafed umbrella-tree--_chapeo do sul_--is often seen in this neighborhood cultivated as a shade tree, both in town and country, while the thick clustering bamboo, so often referred to, adds its unique beauty to the environs in all directions. the banana and plantain, both cultivated and wild, thrive hereabouts, and form an important adjunct to the food supply of all classes. the banana is cultivated by offsets, and is of rapid growth, coming to maturity and bearing fruit a few months after it is planted. brazil seems to be well called the home of fruits and flowers. has the reader ever chanced to hear of "portuguese joe," of rio janeiro? he is a man as well known in the capital of brazil as the late emperor. ostensibly he is only a successful shipchandler, wholesale grocer, purveyor--by appointment--to the american and british naval ships which put into rio, or which are stationed here; but over and above his extensive commercial relations, we found him to be a good samaritan. he is quite ready for legitimate business, and has realized a handsome fortune by fair and honorable dealing. he charges a reasonable profit upon the various supplies which he furnishes, but his goods are exactly what he represents them to be, and he has the confidence of all who deal with him. his establishment grew up from a small beginning, he having come from portugal to engage in business when only thirteen years of age. to-day he is in the prime of life, and his store on the paraça de dom pedro ii. is a city institution. the highest official, the wealthiest bankers, and the most influential merchants are glad to shake him cordially by the hand. signor j. c. v. mendes--the other title being a trade _nom de plume_ of long standing--is a gentleman by nature, and a true friend to all strangers who seek his counsels on arriving at rio. we fortunately became acquainted with signor mendes on the first day of our landing, and are glad to speak of his ready courtesy and desire to make all americans at home who arrive in the capital of brazil. it is no particular recommendation, but it is a pleasure to say that, with his calm, self-possessed manner, his brilliant black eyes and genial smile lighting up his bronzed features, he is unquestionably the handsomest man whom we chanced to meet in rio janeiro. manly beauty is not an imperative adjunct to excellence, but is still a very agreeable accessory. one naturally anticipates but will not find any social distinction as to race in this city. color opposes no obstacle to progress in educational or official position. pupils of the public schools meet on the same footing and mingle promiscuously. there is nothing to prevent the intelligent negro from becoming a judge or minister of state, or from filling any high civil office, if he develops proper ability. many bureaus in the public offices are held by colored men, observably in the custom house, and the race generally is regarded with far more respect than with us in the united states. providence has liberally endowed the larger portion of brazil with a fertile soil, an unrivaled flora, and a delightful climate. for a tropical country, it is remarkably temperate and salubrious. it has mountain scenery excelling that of switzerland, with fertile valleys surpassing those of italy, and myriads of rivers affording ample means of transportation with natural and abundant irrigation. unlike many of her sister states, including those on the west coast of the continent, she is exempt from earthquakes and the destruction caused by devouring tidal waves. while so much of mexico and thousands of miles of the pacific coast are scorched by drought, there are no districts of brazil exempt from regular and refreshing rains, the importance of which cannot be overestimated. to crown all else, the splendid harbor of her capital by its size, safety, and beauty invites the commerce of the world. it would certainly seem, when we realize all of these special advantages, that nature had intended so large and favored a portion of the globe to ultimately be the home of a great, powerful, and prosperous nation. that the material growth of brazil is mainly in the right direction is manifest to the most casual observer. the many lines of railways penetrating the country in every province will by and by prove to be effective means of development. wherever the facilities are liberally afforded, not only individuals, but ideas, are sure to travel, and social and material improvement must follow. civilization keeps pace with the iron horse. when the street rails penetrated the cañons of utah, polygamy was doomed. material facts are stronger than arguments of well-meaning moralists. the establishment of so many railroads through the wilds of south america may not be a paying matter, it is not so at this writing, but a great moral purpose, and that of true progress, will be subserved by them. they will be the agents of enlightenment and civilization to many wild tribes of indians, at the same time opening broad and favorable tracts of territory for settlement by emigrants from the crowded and overstocked states of europe. on the homeward passage, when we visited rio janeiro for the second time, it was found to be rife with politics; but like joseph's coat, of so many colors as to be confusing to a foreigner. it may reasonably be doubted if the natives themselves clearly understood what they wanted. the revolutionary element seemed very strong, and was led by men who had nothing to lose by agitation, but everything to gain by a lawless uprising. the most intelligent citizens predicted a popular revolution of some sort in the near future, and their anticipation proved to be correct. revolution is chronic in south america. chapter x. petropolis.--summer residence of the citizens of rio.--brief sketch of the late royal family.--dom pedro's palace.--a delightful mountain sanitarium.--a successful but bloodless revolution.--floral delights.--mountain scenery.--heavy gambling.--a german settlement.--cascatinha.--remarkable orchids.--local types.--a brazilian forest.--compensation. petropolis,--or the city of peter,--the fashionable summer resort of the citizens of rio janeiro, is a modern town, dating only from , and contains at that season of the year a population of some eight thousand. the intense heat of the crowded city in the summer months, not to mention its usually unhealthy condition, makes even the acclimated inhabitants seek a refuge in the hills. so long as the fever continues to rage, merchants leave their families here, and come up nightly to sleep and breathe the fresh, pure air. it is only on the coast and in crowded communities that epidemics prevail. we were told by residents that a case of yellow fever never originated at petropolis; that it was too elevated for the citizens to fear anything of the sort. it is so generally throughout the country; the yellow fever prevails only in the ports and at sea level, a peculiarity also observable in cuba and the several west indian islands. when the fever prevails, as it does annually at havana and matanzas, the wealthy citizens, and all unacclimated people who are able to do so, retire inland to elevated localities, where they are comparatively safe from the scourge. the same rule applies to the coast cities of south america,--pará, pernambuco, bahia, etc. it is a very important matter to the merchants of rio that they have, within two or three hours' reach of their overheated city offices, a resort where they can sit in a dry skin and sleep in quiet and comfort. had they not this resort, they would be obliged to succumb to disease, or to leave rio for half of the year annually. petropolis is situated in the organ mountain range, about thirty miles from the metropolis, and is something less than three thousand feet above tide-water. the town is built in a slight depression among the well wooded hills, forming a vale of alpine beauty, easily reached from rio by boat and rail. the latter portion of the trip, comprising a sharp mountain ascent, is made by a system of railroad like that by which the summit of corcovado is reached. the popular route is to cross the harbor at rio by a large and commodious steamboat, a distance of twelve miles, and then to take the steam-cars. there is also another railroad route, all the way by land. the late emperor's summer palace is the prominent feature of petropolis, together with its elaborate gardens, covering some fifteen or twenty acres of land. hither come the diplomatic representatives of foreign nations to enjoy the salubrious mountain air and the hospitable society of the best people of rio janeiro, and to lay aside many of the constraints of city life. a great contrast is apparent here to the crowded streets and narrow lanes of the uncleanly capital, while the air is undoubtedly remarkable for its healthful and invigorating qualities. the summer palace is surrounded by elegantly arranged grounds, planted with rare flowers and choice trees from every clime. in general effect it resembles an old english country house, except for the tropical vegetation, the fine verdant lawns of grass, the only ones of any extent in the country, being particularly noticeable. this mountain resort has been called the versailles of brazil. it seems appropriate to recall, in brief, the family history of the late emperor, dom pedro ii., of whose favorite abiding-place we are speaking. he enjoyed a distinguished reputation among modern rulers, was liberal, scholarly, and possessed of great experience of men and the world at large. having been an observant and studious traveler in many parts of the globe, his endeavor was to adopt the best well-tried systems of other governments in educational and other matters relating to political economy. his system was mild, progressive, and designed for the general good of the people over whom he presided; in fact, it was too mild for the turbulent, unlettered masses of the provinces of brazil. they were not intellectually prepared for such leniency. the royal family of portugal fled hither in , at the time of napoleon's invasion of that country, but returned to europe in . a national congress assembled at rio janeiro the next year, and chose dom pedro, eldest son of king joâo vi. of portugal, "perpetual defender of brazil." he proclaimed the independence of the country, and was chosen "constitutional emperor." in he abdicated in favor of his only son, dom pedro ii., who reigned as emperor until november , , when he was dethroned by a bloodless revolution, and, together with his family, was exiled, brazil declaring herself a republic under the title she now bears of the united states of brazil. the feeling was nearly universal among the brazilians that they desired to live under a republican form of government, but dom pedro ii. was a man of such estimable character, so just, intelligent, and popular a ruler, that the revolution, which finally dethroned him, was deferred long after it was determined upon. the peaceful manner in which it was finally achieved is perhaps without precedent, and shows how thoroughly the mind of the active spirits of the nation was made up to this end. it was a political _coup d'état_, accomplished without the burning of an ounce of gunpowder. the emperor himself seemed to accept the position as a foregone conclusion. we learned from persons who had been quite intimate with him that he had already anticipated the whole condition of affairs, foreseeing that it was inevitable. if this is so, he was wise as well as diplomatic and humane, for he had enough devoted adherents about him to have made a serious though doubtless futile conflict for possession. there are always myriads of the unthinking rabble ready to join and even fight for authority which is already established, especially when seconded, as was the case with dom pedro, by a strong personal popularity. the palace at petropolis is, with its extensive grounds, now offered for sale, the country having no further use for palaces. it is understood that a local syndicate propose to purchase the whole and cut up the land into building lots, which are very much in demand just at this writing. it would not be surprising if petropolis were to double its population during the next four or five years. speculators are already at work "booming" the place, and a summer home here is just what the rio merchant requires. some queer stories are told about the every-day life of dom pedro by his neighbors. it seems, according to these reports,--for the truth of which we cannot vouch,--that he often chose as his associates and advisers uneducated persons of very humble origin, who had accumulated wealth by shrewdness and industry, besides which he latterly exhibited many very peculiar traits of character; but, as we say, it is difficult to decide whether these stories are to be relied upon. it is more than hinted that he had grown very weak minded, or, as the scotch say, had a bee in his bonnet. at all events, it now appears that he did not possess the necessary energy and executive ability requisite to control a naturally turbulent and restless people, and that his summary dethronement, so peaceably accomplished, must have come sooner or later. it is very natural to speculate upon the present state of affairs in this country, since the change has taken place. to render a republic possible and successful requires a liberal degree of intelligence among the common people, that is, the masses at large. unfortunately brazil cannot boast of such a condition among her population. the educated, cultured portion of the community is quite limited, consequently the country is hardly fit for self-government. ignorant masses are only amenable to the strong arm, and cannot, while untaught, be controlled through the influence of reason and argument. past experience shows us that while a republic in the united states, france, or switzerland means freedom and order, in these half barbaric southern states it signifies an alternation of revolution and of military despotism. subject to the rule of dom pedro, brazil was alike free from despotism and from disorder, so that it may be questioned whether his liberal reign was not, under the circumstances, the truest republic for which brazil was fitted. indeed, while these lines are being written, the question of a return to the former style of government is openly discussed at rio janeiro, where a state of political imbroglio exists very similar to the conditions which caused the late disastrous civil war in chili, on the other side of the andes. such a shocking outcome, however, need never be feared in brazil as has been developed by the sister republic on the pacific coast, since both intelligence and civilization are far more advanced in brazil than in chili. the town of petropolis and its neighborhood possesses good roads for driving purposes, this location having been for several years the pride and pleasure of the late emperor, who made the place what it now is by his liberal expenditures and the constant improvements which he instituted, paying for them out of his own private purse. the first selection of this healthful spot was also his idea, and he felt a personal pride in doing everything possible towards making it popular. the roads referred to lead one through delightful scenery and highly cultivated neighborhoods, beautified by art, until finally they lose themselves among the hills and amidst impenetrable forests. there are several fairly good hotels here, where the charges are moderate and the domestic conveniences execrable! the great variety of trees to be found in and about the town is marvelous, the palm and pine prevailing, interspersed with the beautiful feathery brazilian cedar. the tree-ferns which grow here to a height of twelve feet are great favorites, with their bright green fronds, six feet in length, almost reaching the ground as the stalk bends gracefully with their weight. the scarlet passion flower is trained as an ornamental creeper in nearly every garden-plot, and tall fuchsias in various colors and pearl white camellias also abound. we have rarely seen the camellia in such variety of colors, or such profusion of flowers. it is often found blooming beside tall coffee-trees, themselves full of deep green clustering berries, the tree, where grown for ornamental purposes, being permitted to reach full proportions. here one sees also a profusion of the rich green bamboo in prolific groves by the roadside, or surrounding humble cottages, thus forming a welcome shade. in midsummer, so rapid is the growth of the bamboo that every twenty-four hours adds two feet to its height, or in other words, it grows an inch each hour throughout the day and the night. jack's fabulous beanstalk hardly surpasses the bamboo, though the former is an amusing myth, while the latter is simply a literal fact. some very lovely gladioli and white roses were noted as adding their beauty to these charming hill gardens in the organ mountains. so abundant were the flowers of various kinds in the grounds which surrounded our hotel, that any one was welcome to pluck and appropriate them to the extent of his fancy. the public tables were supplied with fresh ones every day, forming great living pyramids of beautiful colors, emitting inimitable fragrance. our hotel was situated on gently rising ground, commanding a considerable view of the plateau on which the town stands, with dom pedro's palace in the middle foreground, shaded by groups of palms. it was a delight to sit out-of-doors and watch the cloud effects as they hung over the tree-covered hills and peaks, closing their ranks now and again, and sweeping over the valley like a dashing charge of cavalry; or cautiously advancing in single scuds like infantry deployed as skirmishers; or, again, mottling the sky in white and peaceful masses. at the brief twilight hour, it was like a living poem to note the varying sunset hues creeping along the valley and gleaming through the branches of the grand old trees which broke the sky-line of the mountains, and the soft lilac blush of the sky, like a profile in silhouette, with sharp curves and infinite detail. a deep, broad gulch, opening towards the west, afforded a lingering view of the golden, crimson, and pink horizon, long after the day had closed, and until the stars gleamed forth through the transparent atmosphere and glorified the advent of night. this is nature in her happy moods. a little later, to these exquisite delights of the moment, an ugly obverse presents itself. "only man is vile." from opposite the open window where we sit penning these lines,--it is a sabbath evening,--there comes the sharp rattle of diceboxes and billiard balls, together with the loud, angry talk of persons engaged at gambling games of cards, interrupted by the repeated cries of the presiding genius of the roulette table: "make your game, signors, make your game," as he coolly rakes in the winnings of the bank. italian, french, english, and spanish adventurers mingle their jargon with portuguese in the noisy throng who crowd the gambling "hell." it was said that seventeen thousand dollars were won by a portuguese gentleman, last evening, in this "casino" just across the street, so losers to a like amount, on the same occasion, must have been rendered half desperate. the wretchedly demoralizing effect of gambling is apparent throughout all the cities of this republic, the common lotteries tempting the mass of the people, and various games of chance others who have money to risk. petropolis is extremely attractive in many respects, the scenery round about it very much resembling that of switzerland. the broad streets are lined with such pretty villas and attractive gardens that one falls to making romantic pictures of possible delightful things which might naturally happen in them, and is led to peer into nooks and corners with a prying earnestness amounting almost to impertinence. these avenues contain in their centres deep canals, thirty or forty feet wide, having granite linings and the upper portion of the banks neatly sodded with grass. through these canals the water from the surrounding hills flows in a pure, rapid stream, carrying away the drainage of the town, which is emptied into them by underground conduits. these water-ways are crossed by numerous small but substantial bridges, painted scarlet, while the rushing river imparts a delightful coolness. the largest portion of the permanent inhabitants of petropolis is composed of germans, whose native tongue is heard on all sides, while the familiar clatter of wooden shoes speaks of berlin, dresden, and other german continental centres. the rosy-cheeked, flaxen-haired, blue-eyed children are also prima facie evidence of the prevailing nationality, though there are a large number of italians who reside here. the latter keep small shops and are peddlers of fruit, or marble cutters and stucco workers, while many others find employment as gardeners. the highway to a certain mining district passes through the town, and many donkeys laden with inland products are constantly to be seen in the streets en route for rio, giving the place a business aspect hardly warranted by the local trade. from the neighboring hills charcoal burners drive their donkeys every morning, laden with that article for domestic use in the town, forming picturesque groups on the public square, where they await purchasers. others bring small-cut wood from the hill for fuel, packed in little, narrow, toy carts, each drawn by a single donkey. scores of donkeys bearing tall, widespread loads of green fodder are so hidden by the mass of greenery which they struggle under, that none of the animal is seen at all, leading one to imagine that birnam wood has literally come to dunsinane. these animals are almost always attended by women, who sell the fodder in the market and return home at night with such domestic necessities as are required. women are the laborers here, as at home in germany, where they perform the hard work, while their husbands guzzle beer and smoke endless tobacco. petropolis is, as we have said, steadily growing, but the banishment of the emperor will retard its progress, as it takes from the town its strongest element of assured success. we counted about a score of fine, large residences in course of construction. the climate here is like that of june in new england, and the verdure of the trees is perennial. there is a charming excursion which strangers rarely fail to enjoy, namely, to a place familiarly known as the cascades. the village adjoining these falls is called cascatinha, and is situated in the lap of the organ mountains, about five miles from petropolis. the road thither leads along the side of a small but boisterous stream, which gladdens the ear with its merry, gurgling notes, past lowly, thatched cottages, orange orchards, bamboo and banana groves, and green breadths of well-cultivated, undulating land, finally ending in the midst of a panorama of bold mountain peaks, lovely with varied gradations of tint, and subtlest effects of light and shade. here the abundant water furnished by the river, which is artificially adapted to the purpose, forms a series of cascades and falls, at the same time furnishing the motive power for operating extensive cotton and woolen mills, which give employment to several hundred men and women. a very humble type of life mingles hereabouts with that of a much more refined character. naked or half-clad children are seen here and there playing with those who are comparatively well dressed. nice cottage homes adjoin those of the poorest class. children of both sexes are observed, only partially covered with rags, who are endowed with a loveliness of eyes and features, together with handsome figures, causing one to reflect upon the unfulfilled possibilities of such childish beauty. men and women often bring into petropolis and offer for sale beautiful orchids, which they find in the woods not far away. these they pack in green leaves, retaining a piece of the original bark or wood upon which they have grown. these pretty flowerings of exuberant nature are sold for a trifling price. some are very remarkable in form and color, such as we have never before chanced to see, and for really rare ones the finders ask and receive good prices. we saw among them a specimen of the flor del espiritu santo,--"flower of the holy spirit,"--to find which is thought to bring to the fortunate discoverer good luck, as well as a handsome price for the orchid. these women may have passed whole days in their search of the forest, patiently breaking their way through nearly impassable jungles, before nature reveals to them one of her most dainty gems. as a rule, the forests are so dense that it is useless to try to penetrate them, except by following some beaten route,--a charcoal burner's road or a straggling way formed by a watercourse. we well remember, but can only partially describe, the glory and beauty of the brazilian primeval forest. the general tone of the color is brownish rather than light green, influenced by the absence of strong light, for though the sun is glowing in the open country, here it is twilight. not one direct beam penetrates the density of the foliage, the sombre drapery of the woods. at first one is awed by the vast extent of the forest, by the dark, mournful shadows, by the gigantic trees reaching so far heavenward, forming here and there gothic arcades of matchless grandeur, and by the bewildering variety of the undergrowth. scarcely a tree trunk is seen without its parasite, green with foliage not its own, "beyond the power of botanists to number up their tribe." these dense jungles might be in india, or a bit out of "darkest africa;" one is barred by an impenetrable wall of vegetation. where palms occur, it is almost always in groups; being a social tree, it loves the company of its species. so with the bamboo, which is found in the more swampy regions, but always in groups of its own family. these damp woods are the home of the orchids; it is here that they revel in moisture, clinging to the trunks of tall, columnar trees, fattening on decayed portions of the bark, but forming bits of lovely color, while about the stems of other forest monarchs wind creeping vines of rope-like texture, binding huge trunks in a fatal embrace. their final strangulation is slow, but it is sure,--only a question of time. lofty trees bear charming flowers, as lowly shrubs do in our northern clime. arborescent ferns vie with the palms in poetic beauty, with their elastic, tufted tops. bunches of lilac and blossoms of snowy whiteness hang in the air. drooping mosses depend like human hair from widespread branches, and soft, velvety moss carpets the way, with here and there dwarf mimosas trailing beneath the ferns. long vines of woody climbers, in deep olive-green, twine and intertwine among the ranks of stout, aged trees, breaking out at short distances with pink, blue, and scarlet buds, rivaling the color of the birds which flash hither and thither like rays of sunlight breaking through the leafy screen. now and again the shrill or plaintive notes of unfamiliar songsters fall upon the ear, mingling with the cooing of the wood-doves and the low drone of the dragon-fly. the magnificent arboreal growth of these forests develops itself into thousands of strange and beautiful forms, stimulated by the constant humidity of the high temperature. the atheist must feel himself stifled for breath in the tropical forest, and his fallacious creed challenged by every surrounding object, while a new light illumines his unwilling soul with irrefutable evidences. the supreme being writes his gospel not in the bible alone, but upon the grand old trees, the lowly flowers, the fleeting clouds, and upon the eternal stars. those who seek nature for religious inspiration never fail to obtain it, untrammeled by the vulgar tenets of sectarianism or outraged by the tinsel of church forms and ceremonies. the observant traveler from the north is fain to seek some consolation, some evidence of the glorious law of compensation, while comparing the features of these poetical latitudes with his own well-beloved but more prosaic home. he remembers that if these gaudy birds do flout in vivid colors that dazzle and charm the eye, they have not the exquisite power of song which inspires our more soberly clad new england favorites. brilliancy of feathers and sweetness of song rarely go together, a natural fact which suggests a whole moral essay in itself. the torrid zone clothes its feathered tribes in glowing plumage, but the colder north endows hers with heart-touching melody. if the flowers of the tropics exhaust the hues of the prism, attracting us by the oddity of their forms, while blooming in exuberant abundance, the sweet and lowly children of flora in higher latitudes greet the senses with a fragrance unknown in equatorial regions. joy is nowhere all of a piece. blessings, we are forced to believe, whether in the form of beauty of color, fragrance, or melody, are very equally divided all over the world, and those portions which have not one, as a rule, are almost sure to have the other. when we become eloquent and appreciative in the lively enjoyment of scenes in a new country, it is not always because they are more desirable or more beautiful than our own; it is the newness and the contrast which for the moment so captivate us. that to which we are accustomed, however grand, becomes commonplace; we covet and require novelty to quicken the observation. were the sun to rise but once a year, in place of three hundred and sixty-five times every twelve months, we would willingly travel thousands of miles, if it were necessary, to witness the glorious phenomenon. the most charming natural objects please us in proportion to their rarity or our unfamiliarity with them. chapter xi. port of santos.--yellow fever scourge.--down the coast to montevideo.--the cathedral.--pamperos.--domestic architecture.--a grand thoroughfare.--city institutions.--commercial advantages.--the opera house.--the bull-fight.--beggars on horseback.--city shops.--a typical character.--intoxication.--the campo santo.--exports.--rivers and railways. santos is the name of a commercially important harbor situated on the east coast of south america about three hundred miles southwest of rio janeiro, after which city it is the greatest export harbor for coffee in brazil. otherwise it is about as uninteresting a spot as can be found on the continent. it became a city so late as , and contains some twenty thousand inhabitants. its annual export of coffee will reach an aggregate of two hundred and twenty-five thousand sacks. the bay is surrounded by a succession of hills, and is well sheltered, except on the southwest. the town is situated on the west side of the harbor, and hugs the shore, many of the houses being built upon piles. behind the town to the westward rises a succession of mountain ranges. the immediately surrounding country is low and malarial, causing fevers to prevail all the year round. during the present season santos has suffered more seriously from yellow fever than any other place on the coast in proportion to the number of its inhabitants. as a commercial port it has no rival in southern brazil. santa catharina, porto alegre, and rio grande, the three harbors south of santos, are rendered inaccessible for any but small craft, owing to sandbars at their entrances. this is the present terminus of the united states and brazil mail steamship route from new york, and notwithstanding its many drawbacks in point of sanitary conditions, is yet growing rapidly in commercial importance. its wretchedly unhealthy condition causes one to hasten away to the more elevated country, where st. paul is situated, and where the traveler runs little or no risk of contracting yellow fever or malarial affections of any sort. santos is the port for st. paul, with which it is connected by rail, and from which it is separated by about forty miles. this capital of the state of são paulo, st. paul, contains some ninety thousand inhabitants. the province is credited with a million and a half. the city lies just under the tropic of capricorn, southwest of rio, about two thousand feet above the level of the sea, upon a high ridge, covering an elevated plateau of undulating hills. it enjoys the sunshine of the tropics, modified by the freshness of the temperate zone. it is venerable in years, having been founded in , but it seems to have taken a fresh start of late, as its population has doubled in the last decade. as intimated, it is entirely free from yellow fever, which is so fatal at santos, and has excellent drinking water, together with good drainage and well paved streets. the city contains some fine public buildings, and has many handsome adornments, being largely peopled by north americans and english; the former prevail in numbers and influence, indeed, it has been called the american city of brazil. there is also a large italian colony settled here. st. paul has a good system of tramways, several protestant churches, and a number of educational and charitable public institutions, together with many of the attractions of a much larger capital. among the popular amusements, the theatre of san josé is justly esteemed, and is a well-appointed establishment in all of its belongings. there are two spacious public gardens, embellished with grottoes, fountains, choice trees, and flowers, while the private gardens attached to the dwellings are numerous and tasteful. in the district round about the city venomous serpents are frequently met with, whose bite is as dangerous as that of the rattlesnakes of our northern climate. as the land is cleared and cultivated, they naturally and rapidly disappear. these reptiles fear man, and avoid his vicinity quite as earnestly as human beings avoid them. it is only when they are molested, trodden upon, or cornered, as it were, that they attack any one. the city is connected with rio janeiro by a railway, and two other railroads run from it far inland. the rio and st. paul railway is fairly equipped, but the roadbed is not properly ballasted, and consequently one rides over the route in a cloud of dust, while suffering from the oscillations and jolting of the cars. this railway, however, is one of the most successful and profitable in the republic. it is some three hundred miles in length, and passes through a dozen or more tunnels, one of which is a mile and a half in length. this tunnel required seven years' labor before it was passable. there is just now a great "boom" of land values in and about st. paul. it is towards this state that the tide of italian emigration is largely directed, for some reason which we do not comprehend, but it is probably stimulated by a combined effort to this effect. the passage southward from rio janeiro or santos to montevideo occupies about five days, but a large amount of rough ocean experience is generally crowded into that brief period, added to which the coasting steamers are far from affording the ordinary comforts so desirable at sea. of the food supplied to passengers one does not feel inclined to complain, because a person embarking upon these lines does so knowing what to expect; but as regards the domestic conveniences and cleanliness generally, there is no excuse for their defective character. we are sorry to say that the class of portuguese and spaniards one encounters on these coasting vessels is far from decently cleanly in daily habits, carelessly adding to the unsanitary conditions. the wind in these latitudes is not only inclined to be fierce, but it usually goes entirely round the compass at least once or twice during the voyage, and is more than liable to wind up, off the mouth of the river plate, with a regular and furious pampero. this is a hurricane wind, which is born in the gorges of the andes, and thence pursuing its course over nearly a thousand miles of level pampas, gains speed and power with every league of progress. the season in which these hurricanes--for in their fury they deserve to be thus designated--prevail, is from march to september, but they are liable to come at any time. the wind is considered by the people of montevideo to be wholesome and invigorating, as far as the land is concerned, but seamen dread it on shipboard, and call it a plate river hurricane. we know of no more disagreeable roadstead than that of montevideo, when a pampero is blowing. we have seen ships under these circumstances, with two anchors down, obliged to resort to the use of oil on the sea, to prevent themselves from being swamped. though the inhabitants represent a pampero to be comparatively harmless on the land, yet it does sometimes commit fearful havoc there also, especially among the unprotected herds of wild cattle on the plains, and upon all trees or plantations which lie in its devastating course. it is true that it brings with it a bracing and life-giving atmosphere from the snow-capped andes far away, and if it could only do so with less forceful demonstration, it would be a welcome visitor in the heated days of these regions. the most direct way to illustrate what these south american pampas are is to compare them to the vast prairies of our western and southwestern states. any one familiar with those far-reaching, horizon-bounded plains knows what the pampas of the argentine republic are like. beginning near the foothills of the cordilleras, in their very shadow, as it were, these smoothed out, level lands extend hundreds of miles eastward to the great estuary of the plate river, on the borders of the atlantic ocean. though apparently sterile, the soil of the pampas, like the dry, baked land of australia, only requires irrigation and cultivation to rival the most attractive valleys of southern europe. it is believed by scientists that these plains were once covered by a broad inland sea, connected directly with the atlantic. in their present condition these pampas can hardly be called barren, since they give excellent grazing for extensive herds of wild cattle, which thrive and fatten upon the abundance of coarse, natural grass, similar to what is known as bunch grass in texas and new mexico. this product ripens and makes itself into standing hay, retaining its natural vitality and nutritious qualities throughout months of atmospheric exposure. after being close-cropped by the roving herds of cattle, the bunch grass renews itself, reproducing in great abundance. montevideo, the capital of uruguay, is situated on the remarkable estuary of the plate river,--rio de la plata, or "silver river,"--whose spacious mouth is marked by two capes, santa maria and san antonio, more than one hundred miles apart. only a nautical observation will show just where the line of ocean ceases and that of the estuary begins. the unobservant passenger believes himself still sailing upon the broad ocean until he finally sights the land on which the city stands. the flag of uruguay flying from various crafts--blue and white, in alternate stripes, with a glowing sun in the upper corner near the staff--indicates the near approach to the land it represents. on the island of flores, fifteen miles from montevideo, there are a lighthouse and quarantine station. the island is formed by a rocky upheaval, not over twenty feet above sea level, measuring about a mile in length and two or three hundred yards in width. the fierce pamperos render the navigation of this estuary oftentimes precarious. when approaching the broad river's mouth from the north, sailors know that it is near at hand, long before land is seen, by the color of the water, which comes forth in such immense volume as to impart a distinct yellow hue to the ocean for a long distance from the coast. this effect is said to be discernible one hundred miles off the shore, but thirty or forty miles will perhaps be nearer the truth, and is at the same time a statement answering all legitimate purposes. the tide about the estuary is mostly governed by the wind, and so up the river, showing no regularity in its rise and fall. the current of the plate opposite montevideo runs at the rate of about three miles an hour. in extent, this ranks as the third great river of the world, draining, with its affluents, eight hundred thousand square miles of territory; a mammoth basin, which is only exceeded by those of the amazon and the mississippi. the commercial activity of the port is shown by the arrival and departure daily of many large steamships, foreign and coastwise. sixty european steamers are recorded as arriving here monthly, besides a number from the united states. the maritime business of the port is mostly in the hands of englishmen, americans, and frenchmen. the native-born citizen evinces no genius in commercial matters. the department of the capital is the smallest in the republic, having an area of only twenty-five square miles, but it is fertile, well wooded and watered, its agricultural interests predominating, which is a most important fact in estimating the stability and pecuniary responsibility of any state. the city is exceptionably well situated on a small rocky promontory, or rather we should designate it as a peninsula, jutting out into the estuary, three of its sides fronting the sea, and as its streets are nearly always swept by ocean breezes, it is cool and pleasant even in midsummer. the land rises gradually as it recedes from the shore, and then declines to the bed of a small stream which empties into the bay, thus affording a natural surface drainage. uruguay is a little more than twelve times as large territorially as the state of massachusetts, and is divided into thirteen departments. there are over half a million acres of land under good cultivation in the republic, the principal staples being wheat and corn. extreme heat and extreme cold are alike unknown, the country being within the temperate zone. the mean summer temperature is ° fahr., that of autumn °, and of spring °. there are, therefore, but few things which the climate is too hot or too cold to produce, while for the raising of cattle on a large scale it is said to be the best section of south america, and this forms, we believe, its largest industry. in approaching montevideo from the sea, it is observed that the surrounding country is quite level, with scarcely a single object to break the distant view. immediately upon landing one realizes that the city is clean and well built, though it is mostly made up of low structures one story in height. there are plenty of dwellings of two and three stories, however, in the more modern part of the town. dominating the whole stand the lofty dome and towers of the cathedral, which faces the plaza constitution. the turrets are of striking proportions, each rising to the height of one hundred and thirty-three feet. the widespread dome would be grand in effect, were it not covered with glazed tiles of various colors, blue, green, yellow, and so on, the combined effect of which is anything but pleasing to a critical eye. still, it is no more tawdry than much of the inside finish and meaningless ornamentation. there is an elaborate marble fountain in the centre of the plaza, besides some ornamental shrubbery and flowers. the very fine marble façade of the building occupied by the uruguay club adds to the beauty of the plaza. near the fountain is a fanciful music stand, in which a military band is occasionally stationed to perform for the public pleasure. these south americans would as soon give up the bull-fights as the popular outdoor evening concerts, the excellent moral effect of which no one can possibly doubt. an abrupt hill at the head of the harbor, four or five hundred feet in height, known as the "monte," gives the city its name, montevideo. this hill is crowned by a small fort and lighthouse, the latter containing a revolving light which can be seen a long distance at sea. a couple of miles inland rises another hill called the cerrito, or "little hill." several times during revolutionary struggles, these two hills have been fortified by opposing parties, who have desired to control the city, but restless revolutionists are now at a discount, fortunately, in this republic of uruguay, a class of uneasy spirits who have reigned quite long enough on the southern continent. the town is built in the form of an amphitheatre, and has comparatively few edifices of importance. its regular, straight streets and open squares are intensely spanish. the paseo del molino is the fashionable part of the town, where the wealthy merchants reside in curious chalets, or _quintas_ as they are called here. there is rather an extraordinary taste displayed in the matter of buildings on this paseo. swiss cottages, italian villas, chinese dwellings, and gothic structures are mingled with spanish and moorish styles. this architectural incongruity is not picturesque, but, on the contrary, strikes one as very crude and ill-chosen. the charm of domestic residences in any part of the globe is a certain adaptability to the natural surroundings, and is, when well conceived, a graceful part of the whole. inappropriate structures are to the eye like false notes in music to the ear, an outrage upon harmony. a swiss chalet in hindostan, or a japanese bamboo house in england, is simply discordancy in scenic consistency. nature should always be a silent partner in the creation and adaptation of architectural designs. in olden times the jesuits built a large mill near this spot, and hence the name of the place. the climate must be very equable and fine to admit of such fruit culture as exists here. the strawberries grown in the neighborhood are famous for their size and sweetness, the vines producing this favorite fruit all the year round. they are perhaps a little over-developed, and would doubtless be of finer flavor if they were smaller. the plaza de la independencia is highly attractive, and so is the broad, tree-lined avenue known as the calle del dieziochavo de julio, named after the anniversary of the uruguayan declaration of independence. this, indeed, is thought to be the most effective boulevard in all south america. on festal occasions it is decorated in an original and brilliant manner, having colored draperies hanging from the windows and balconies, bright colored cambrics stretched from point to point, with the gay flag of the republic festooned here and there. chinese lanterns are hung from the trees, and arches spanning the roadway and bearing national designs are all ablaze with ingeniously arranged gas jets. down one side of this long avenue and up the other, it being over a hundred feet broad, a civic and military procession marches on the annual recurrence of the date which its name indicates, the several divisions headed by bands of music, with flags flying and drums beating. on such occasions the windows and balconies are filled with groups of handsome women, in gala dresses, together with pretty children in holiday costumes, who add charm and completeness to the scene. this avenue is the champs elysées of the southern continent, a thoroughfare of which the residents are justly very proud. the streets and sidewalks generally are of better width in montevideo than in most of the south american cities. some few of the private residences display fine architectural taste, the dwellings being well adapted to the climate and the surroundings. many of the city houses have little towers erected on their roofs, called _miradores_, from whence one gets an excellent view of the entire city and of the sea. the town is spread over a large territory, and stretches away into thinly populated suburbs, but all parts are rendered accessible by the well-perfected system of tramways which extend over fifty miles within the city and the immediate environs. in the absence of official figures, we should judge that montevideo had a population of at least two hundred thousand. every other nationality seems to be represented in its streets and warehouses, except that of uruguay herself. those "native and to the manner born" are conspicuous by their absence. speaking of this rather curious characteristic to a friend who lives here, he replied: "there are probably fifty thousand european and north american residents doing business in this city, forming by far the most active element of the place. they are seen everywhere, to the apparent exclusion of the natives. indigenous blood and energy could not have made this capital what it is at the present time. it is reaping the advantage of north american enterprise, english and american capital, and german shrewdness. these, combined with the natural advantages of the location and climate, will eventually make montevideo the liverpool of south america." though all this goes without saying, our friend put it so aptly that his words were deemed worthy of recording. we do not hesitate to predict that the next decade will nearly double the number of the population here, as well as the aggregate of its imports and exports. no other city on the southern continent has greater advantages in its geographical position, or as regards salubrity of climate and adaptability to commerce. were it not for the occasional visits of the howling pamperos, the climate would be nearly perfect, and even these exhibitions of a local nature are, as we have said, accepted with great equanimity by the people on land. there are few stoves, and no fireplaces or chimneys, in montevideo. cooking is done with charcoal on braziers out-of-doors, as is the custom in most tropical countries. the capital of uruguay contains the usual educational and religious, charitable and scientific, public organizations, with appropriate edifices for the same. it should certainly be considered a reading community, having more daily newspapers than london, and double as many as the city of new york; also supporting a large number of weekly newspapers and monthly magazines. as to books, so far as a casual observer may speak, they are few and far between in family circles. the men read the newspapers, and the women fill up their leisure time with music and gossip. there is a national university in montevideo, where over six hundred pupils are regularly taught at the present time, and there are forty-eight professors attached to this admirably organized institution. we heard it highly spoken of by those who should be good judges in educational matters. the custom house, with which the stranger always makes an early acquaintance after arriving in port, is a large and costly structure, three stories in height. the opera house is worthy of particular mention, being a spacious building of the doric order, capable of seating three thousand persons, and when it is filled at night, the interior presents a grand array of elegant costumes and female beauty, the ladies of this city being noted for their personal charms. this is a circumstance not mentioned casually as a mere compliment, but simply as a fact. the opera house covers an entire square, and has two large wings attached to the main building, one of which is devoted to business purposes, and the other contains the national museum. there is here the nucleus of a most valuable collection, to which constant additions are being made, both by the state and through personal liberality and interest. we are sorry to say in this connection that the bull-fight, as a public exhibition, above all other styles of amusement, is the favorite one with the rank and file of the populace, which is quite sufficiently spanish to control the matter and insure its permanency. the bull-ring, wherein these brutal and terribly demoralizing exhibitions take place on each sabbath afternoon during the season, is situated about a league from the city proper. it must be a country or district under roman catholic influence, and with more or less of a spanish element permeating it, to admit of this style of desecrating the sabbath, or, indeed, of indulging on any day of the week in an exhibition which is so thoroughly brutal, cowardly, and repulsive. it is a sad reflection upon the community, high and low, to state that the bull-fight is one of its popular entertainments. we have said that this is a cowardly game. the fact is, the bull is doomed from the moment he enters the arena. he has only his horns and his courage to help him in the unequal contest. the professional fighters opposed to him are all fully armed, and protected by sheltering guards, behind which they can retire at will. it is twelve experts pitted against one poor beast. ingenious, heathenish modes of torture are devised and adopted to wound, to weaken, and to craze the victim. if it was one armed man against the bull, whether mounted or otherwise, it would be a more equal and gallant struggle,--but twelve to one! bah, it is only a cowardly game in which gallant horses and brave bulls are sacrificed by a dozen armed men. even the matadore, who gives the final and fatal thrust with his sword, and who is looked upon as a sort of hero by the spectators, does not enter the ring to attempt the act until the bull is comparatively harmless, having been worried and wounded until he is exhausted by the struggle and the copious loss of blood, so that he is scarcely able to stand. though reeling like a drunken man, he staggers bravely towards his fresh and well-armed enemy, showing fight to the last gasp. realize the moral effect of such cut-throat exhibitions upon youth! the older, cruel and hardened spectators are only rendered more so, but the young and impressionable are then and there inoculated with a love of brutality and bloodshed, fostered by every fresh exhibition which they witness. the exchange is a grand and spacious structure, admirably adapted to its purpose, being one of the finest business edifices in south america, to our mind infinitely superior in all respects to that of rio, upon which so much money has been expended in meretricious designs. the author counted the names of some forty charitable institutions and associations in a montevideo directory, eight or ten of which are maintained mostly by public endowment, such as hospitals, asylums for the poor, orphanages, industrial schools, lunatic asylums, and so on. near the plaza ramirez there is a school of arts and trades, which at this writing accommodates a large body of pupils, taught by competent professors and experts. we were told that this institution was of great practical service in the cause of education, its general aim being similar to that of the massachusetts institute of technology. one was hardly prepared to credit montevideo with so many and well-sustained educational purposes as she was found to be justly entitled to. the reader will observe that we speak qualifiedly of these matters; it is only the outward and most obvious characteristics of a city, so briefly visited, of which one can speak correctly. it would have been gratifying to have remained longer in this capital, to understand more clearly the educational advantages which are offered here. in this department of progress, montevideo seems in advance of many larger cities. squads of soldiers are seen lounging about the town, dressed in a uniform of the zouave pattern, not very jaunty looking fellows, it must be confessed, but perhaps "as good food for powder as a better." the entire army of uruguay consists of only five thousand men, of all branches. the president has also a battalion of body-guards, consisting of three or four hundred men, forming a very efficient as well as ornamental organization. this organization consists of men loyal to the administration, and beyond a doubt personally devoted to the president. the rank and file of the army embraces all shades of color, both as to mind and body, and is liable to become disaffected at the outbreak of any popular upheaval, or through the influence of designing men. this body-guard, however, being always on duty, is ready and able to turn the scale by prompt and consistent action, in favor of the established authorities, and thus nip rebellion in the bud. it is only after getting thoroughly under way that revolutionary attempts become formidable. at the inception, the strong arm promptly applied stamps out the life and courage of the mob, and renders sedition futile. "no parleying; fire promptly, and fire to kill; that ends the matter," said napoleon. blank cartridges and vacillation stimulate a half-formed purpose into action. one is forced to admit that beggars are rather numerous in montevideo,--beggars on horseback and wearing spurs. they coolly stop their small, wiry, half-fed ponies, and with magnificent effrontery beg of any stranger they chance to meet for a centavo, a copper coin worth about two cents of our american money. the incongruity of beggars mounted, while the stranger of whom they solicit alms is a pedestrian, is somewhat obvious. it must be remembered, however, that horses are very cheap in this country, and that nearly every one rides or drives. a good serviceable animal can be bought in any of the south american cities at what we should consider a mere trifle to pay for one. a well-broken young saddle-horse will bring from twenty to twenty-five dollars, but the owner, if one of the dudes about town, will expend five hundred dollars upon a silver-decked saddle, bridle, and trimmings, a spanish peculiarity which is also observed in the city of mexico. a pair of well-matched carriage-horses, in good condition, can be had for seventy-five or eighty dollars. mares are not worked in this country, being solely used for breeding purposes, and have no fixed price; indeed, they are not met with in the cities. it will be seen that for a beggar to set up business here requires some capital, but not much. de quincey would describe spanish beggary as having become elevated to one of the fine arts. there is a class of men in uruguay called gauchos who devote themselves to breaking the wild horses of the pampas for domestic use. they are more indian than spanish, and pass their lives mostly as herdsmen of the vast numbers of animals which live in a semi-wild state upon the plains of south america. these men can hardly be said to train their horses. they only conquer them by a process of cruel discipline which thoroughly subdues the animal. after this the poor creatures are ever on the alert to obey their rider's will, prompted by a pressure of the powerful bit, and a merciless thrust of the long, sharp rowels. the gaucho reminds one of the cowboys of our western states. he forms a very picturesque figure when seen upon his wiry little mustang, galloping along with his yellow poncho streaming behind him, his head covered by a broad-brimmed soft felt hat, his long, dark hair floating upon the breeze, and his broad, loose trousers fluttering in the wind. a lasso of braided or twisted leather sometimes swings from one hand, while the rider skillfully manages his horse with the other. altogether the gaucho forms a picture of strong vitality and vivid color. he spends a small fortune upon his equipments, and his heavy spurs are of solid silver. he is not a hard drinker, an occasional glass of country wine satisfies him; but he will gamble all night long until he has lost his last penny to professional sportsmen, who somehow know the way to win by fair means or foul. few strangers who visit montevideo for the first time will be at all prepared to see such a quantity and variety of rich jewelry in the shops. imported dress goods of the finest quality are also offered for sale in these shops. the parisian boulevards have no display windows which contain larger or finer diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds; indeed, this country seems to be the home of precious stones and real gems. the silversmiths exhibit goods equally artistic and elegant. the best products of vienna, paris, and london, in the fancy-goods line, are fully represented here. readers who have visited genoa will recall the fine silver filigree-work which is a specialty of that city, but some of the manufactures of this character made here are quite equal, if they do not excel, that of the italian capital. it seemed to be rather a singular and significant fact, that when a couple of pennies will purchase a tumblerful of the national tipple called caña, a raw liquor made from sugar-cane, and quite as strong as brandy, still comparatively few persons are seen under its influence upon the public streets. it is true that on all church festal occasions the common people have a regular carousal, and get very much intoxicated, whereupon they lose one day in repenting and two in recuperation. it is the same all over the world. the lower, uneducated classes, having no intellectual resort, seem imbued with the idea that to get thoroughly tipsy is the acme of pleasure. the inevitable punishment does not enter into the calculation at all, nor does it deter the victim from repeated excesses. it is curious to observe the peculiar effect which intoxicants produce upon people of different nationalities: the russian gets boozy on vodka, and only becomes more loving to his species; the mexican drinks pulque by the pint measure, and craves only to be permitted to sleep; the french guzzle brandy and wine until they become equally full of song and gayety; the american indian is made utterly crazy and reckless by drink; the irishman finds a fight in every glass of whiskey; and the englishman who indulges overmuch becomes eloquent on politics and patriotism. in south america the common people who drink to excess are rendered pugnacious and revolutionary. the police arrangements of montevideo are excellent, and the streets are safe for man or woman at any hour of the day or night, which one is forced to admit is more than can be truthfully said of the majority of large cities in either europe or north america. there is no sickly sentimentality about crime and criminals here. if a man outrages the law, he has to suffer for it, and there is no pardoning him until he has worked out his entire penalty. it is the certainty of punishment which intimidates professional rascals. official leniency and pardoning of criminals are a premium on crime. between two and three miles from the city there is a public park, which is laid out with excellent taste and skill, forming a popular pleasure resort. there are here many fine native and exotic trees, as well as flowering shrubs and blooming flowers. this spacious park, intersected by a willow-lined stream, is called the paseo, and is ornamented with statues, fountains, and rockeries. the grounds are also occupied by several small places devoted to amusements, shooting-galleries, billiard saloons, and gambling tables, very similar to the deer garden in the environs of copenhagen. citizens of montevideo of the humbler class come hither with their families, bringing food and drink to be disposed of in picnic fashion. bordering the sweep of the bay, which forms the harbor, are many cottages, the homes of the rich merchants. these villas are surrounded by flower gardens and graceful shrubbery, the endless spring climate making the bloom perennial. the flat roofs of many of the town houses are partially inclosed, so as to form a pleasant resort in the closing hours of the day, where family parties are often seen gathered together. social life among the residents of the environs is very gay, and so indeed is that of the town residents, whose hospitality is also proverbial. the hotel oriental is the favorite hostelry of montevideo, built of marble and well furnished, though it is hardly equal to the hotel victoria, its rival, architecturally speaking. the drinking water, and all that is used for domestic purposes in the city, is brought by a well-engineered system from the river santa lucia, which is tapped for this purpose at a distance of thirty or forty miles from montevideo. the campo santo of the capital is admirably arranged and particularly well kept, being in several respects like those of pisa, genoa, and other italian cities. it is the most elaborate cemetery in south america, surrounded by high walls so built as to contain five tiers of niches which form the receptacles for the dead. the grounds are nearly as crowded with elaborate tombs and stone monuments as père la chaise, at paris, the funereal cypress rising here and there in stately mournfulness above the marble slabs. the abundance of metallic wreaths and artificial flowers afforded another resemblance to the famous french cemetery. the freshness of many of the floral offerings showed that the memory of the departed was kept green in the hearts of those left behind. the traveler sees many such touching evidences of tenderness all over the world. much of the marble work seen in these grounds was imported from milan, and some from both florence and rome. the monumental entrance to the grounds, and the elaborate chapel within them, are both in good taste. beef, hides, wool, hair, and grain seem to be the principal articles of export. uruguay contains over half a million of people, and has an area of seventy-one thousand square miles, intersected by several railways, bringing the interior within easy reach of the capital. it is said to be growing more rapidly in proportion to its size and the present number of inhabitants than any other part of south america. the republic is best known to the world by its indian name, uruguay, but on many maps it is still designated as the banda oriental, that is, the "eastern border." it will be remembered that this now independent state was originally a part of the argentine republic, which was formerly known by that designation. though uruguay is one of the smallest of the independent divisions of the continent, it is yet one of the most important, a fact owing largely to its admirable commercial location. nearly all of its territory can be reached by navigable rivers, while its atlantic shore has a dozen good harbors. sixteen large rivers intersect the republic in various directions, all of which have their several tributaries. cheap internal transportation is assured by over three hundred miles of railways; also by these rivers. as already intimated, its agricultural interests are largely on the increase, the strongest element of permanency. originally the pastoral interest prevailed over all other, but agriculture, both here and in the argentine republic, has taken precedence. the model farms near montevideo are unsurpassed for extent, completeness, and the liberal manner in which they are conducted. some large estates might be named which will compare favorably with anything of the sort which the author has ever seen in any country, where agriculture is followed on intelligent principles. here the cultivation of the soil is carried on not solely to obtain all which can be wrung from it, in the way of pecuniary profit, but _con amore_, and with a due regard to system. as may be supposed, the return is fully commensurate with the intelligence and liberality exercised in the business. such farming may be and is called fancy farming, but it is a sort which pays most liberally, and which affords those engaged in it the most satisfaction. to be an honest chronicler, one must not hesitate to look at all phases of progress, successful or otherwise, on the part of each people and country visited and written about. there are always deep-lying influences acting for good or evil, which scarcely present themselves to the thoughtless observer. one reason for the rapid growth of this republic of uruguay is because of its gradually casting off the slough of roman catholic influence, a species of dry rot quite sufficient to bring about the destruction of any government. the same incubus which was of so long standing in mexico, where its effect kept the people in ignorance and ferment for centuries, has at last been abolished, and modern progress naturally follows. in uruguay the romish church has lost its prestige, having hastened its own downfall by blindly striving to enforce fifteenth century ideas upon people of the nineteenth. monks and nuns have been expelled, and parish schools have been closed. free schools now prevail, and general knowledge is becoming broadcast, which simply means destruction to all popish control. intelligence is the antidote for bigotry, which explains the bitter opposition of the roman catholic priesthood to free schools wherever their faith prevails. in all of these south american provinces it has been found difficult to throw off the evil inheritance of sloth and anarchy which the spaniards imposed upon their colonial possessions. the schoolhouse is the true temple of liberty for this people. in the department of montevideo alone there are to-day over sixty free schools, and in the whole republic nearly four hundred, something for her authorities to point at with a spirit of just pride. this enumeration does not include the private schools, of which there are also a large number in the capital. we find by published statistics that uruguay exports of wool, about seven million dollars' worth per annum; of beef, over six million dollars' worth; of hides, four million dollars' worth; and of wheat about the same amount in value as that of the last article named. these staples, however, are only representative articles, to which many more might be added, to show her growing commercial importance and assured prosperity. our next stopping-place is the important city of buenos ayres, on the opposite bank of the river, about one hundred and fifty miles southwest of montevideo. chapter xii. buenos ayres.--extent of the argentine republic.--population.--narrow streets.--large public squares.--basques.--poor harbor.--railway system.--river navigation.--tramways.--the cathedral.--normal schools.--newspapers.--public buildings.--calle florida.--a busy city.--mode of furnishing milk.--environs.--commercial and political growth.--the new capital. the city of buenos ayres--"good air"--is well named so far as its natural situation is concerned, but this condition of a pure atmosphere has been seriously affected by unsanitary conditions, naturally arising from the large influx of a very promiscuous population. a considerable percentage are italians, and so far as personal cleanliness and decency go, they seem to be among the lost arts with them. this thriving city is the capital of the argentine republic, which, next to brazil, is the largest independent state in south america, containing fourteen provinces, each of which has its own local government, modeled after those of the united states. the average reader will doubtless be surprised, as the author certainly was, to realize that this southern republic exceeds in extent of territory the united kingdoms of great britain, together with france, germany, austria, hungary, italy, spain, portugal, belgium, holland, and greece combined, the actual area being something over twelve hundred thousand square miles. the province of buenos ayres is just about the size of the state of new york, and contains in round numbers a population of one million. two hundred years ago, the city of buenos ayres had a population of five hundred. having the statistics at hand, it is perhaps worth while to state that, of the aggregate population of the province, a majority, or fully six hundred thousand, are foreigners, classed as follows: three hundred thousand italians, one hundred and fifty thousand french, one hundred thousand spaniards, forty thousand english, and twenty thousand germans. the number of north american residents is very small, though they control a fair percentage of the exports and imports. authentic statistics show that they number less than six hundred. paris is not more crowded with refugees from various countries than is this argentine capital. why such a spot was selected on which to establish a commercial city is an unsolved riddle, as it embraces about all the natural inconveniences that could possibly be encountered on the banks of a large river. the perversity of such a selection is the more obvious, because those who made it must have passed by a score of admirable points eminently superior in all respects to the one now occupied. the first view of buenos ayres on approaching it by water is peculiar, the line of sight being only broken by the church towers and a few prominent public buildings; the horizon alone forms the background of the picture. unlike nearly all of the south american cities, there is no forest or mountain range behind or surrounding the capital. from its environs a continuous plain stretches away for nearly eight hundred miles to the foothills of the andes. situated between the ° and ° of south latitude, it enjoys a climate similar to that of the south of france, and almost identical with that of new orleans. the site upon which the city stands is considerably above the level of the river, and though the streets are far too narrow for business purposes in the older portions of the town, they widen to a better size in the newer parts. the roadways are poorly paved, so that it is very uncomfortable to walk or drive over them. boulevards are laid out to cut the older parts of the city diagonally, as was done in paris and genoa, and is now being done in florence, so as to relieve the present insufficient capacity for the transportation of merchandise. one is apt, however, when remarking upon these particularly narrow and irregular streets in a foreign country, to forget that there are, in the older portions of the capital of massachusetts, some quite as circumscribed and corkscrew fashioned. if we do not find all the excellences of civilization predominating, and admirable people in the majority here, we should do well to remember that we have also left them in the minority at home. the huge custom house of buenos ayres, with its circular form and high walls facing the river, recalls in general appearance castle garden in new york harbor, or the fort on governor's island. in its importance as a commercial emporium, this city disputes the first place with only three others in the southern hemisphere, namely, rio janeiro, sydney, and melbourne, the latter of which has lately added greatly to its harbor facilities by deepening and widening the yarra-yarra river. the dwelling-houses of buenos ayres are mostly built of brick, and are of a far more substantial character than those upon the west coast of the continent. they have much more the appearance of north american dwellings than spanish, except that the windows are strongly guarded with iron bars, and the cool, shady patios present domestic scenes, mingled with flowers and fragrance, strongly local in color. the city is regularly laid out in squares of a hundred and fifty yards each, so when one is told that such or such a place is so many squares away, he knows exactly the distance which is indicated. the plaza de la victoria is surrounded by handsome edifices, including the opera house and the cathedral, the façade of the latter very much resembling that of the madeleine at paris. this square has a fine equestrian statue of some patriot, and a small column commemorating a national event. the city has a population equaling that of boston in number, and we do not hesitate to say that it is more noted for its enterprise and general progress than any other of the south american cities. it has been appropriately called the chicago of the southern continent. the republic, of which it is the principal city, has seven thousand miles of telegraphic wire within its area, a tangible evidence of enterprise which requires no comment. one remarkable line connects this city with that of valparaiso, on the pacific side of the continent, and is constructed with iron poles nearly the whole distance, crossing the andes by means of forty miles of cable laid beneath the perpetual snows! it may well be supposed that the inhabitants of buenos ayres are of a cosmopolitan character, when it is known that the daily newspapers are issued in five different languages. as shown by the statistics already given, a considerable share of the people are italians, who form much the larger portion of the emigrants now coming hither from europe, or who have arrived here during the last decade. as additions to the population, they form a more desirable class, in many respects, than those who seek homes further north. after the italians, the basques are among the most numerous of the new-comers. there are over fifty thousand of this people settled in the province of buenos ayres alone, readily adapting themselves to the country. they are a strongly individualized race, whom no one is liable to mistake for any other. they maintain in a great measure the picturesque style of dress which prevails in their native land, no matter what their vocation may be here. as a rule, the basques come with their families, bringing some moderate amount of pecuniary means with them, and at once devote themselves to agricultural pursuits. they take especially to the department of the dairy, making butter and cheese of excellent quality, for which they find a ready city market. they have a natural inclination towards cattle tending, and are looked upon by the authorities as among the very best of european emigrants. to promote this immigration to argentina, a per capita premium has been paid heretofore by the government, who, indeed, are still ready to furnish a free passage for responsible emigrants, both of this and other nationalities. this generous offer has been so shamefully abused by the beggars, lazzaroni, and criminal classes of naples and sicily, that a check has necessarily been put upon it, particularly as regards the generally objectionable people of sicily. as a shipping port, montevideo has a decided advantage over this argentine metropolis. large steamers are obliged to anchor eight or ten miles, or even more, below the city, on account of the shallowness of the river at this point. a channel has been opened to facilitate the approach of vessels of moderate tonnage, but much yet remains to be done before the experiment will be of any practical advantage. tugboats land passengers on the quay, who arrive by the large mail steamers. vessels of not over twenty-five hundred tons can lie at the shore and land their cargoes by means of the limited conveniences of the new dock. one would think that this want of harbor facilities was an insuperable objection and impediment in the growth of a great commercial capital, but buenos ayres goes straight onward, progressing in wealth and business, apparently regardless of such disadvantages. the present aggregate of its imports, in round numbers, is one hundred million dollars per annum. even to-day, while resting under so serious a financial cloud, with her credit at the lowest ebb, and so many of her lately wealthy merchants in bankruptcy, the city has a certain steady, normal growth, which it would appear that nothing can seriously impair. as we have intimated, the tide of immigration has been checked, though not entirely stopped, by the depressed financial and business condition of the country; still, in one closing month of the last year, october, , over two thousand passengers arrived by steamship in argentina, seeking new and permanent homes. when a pampero is blowing, it sometimes forces nearly all of the water out of the harbor, leaving it high and dry, so to speak, though the river is thirty miles in width opposite buenos ayres. passengers, baggage, and freight have in the past often been landed by means of horse carts, hung on high wheels, and driven out into the water to such a depth as would float small boats and lighters. indeed, this was for many years the common mode of landing freight and passengers at buenos ayres. two long and narrow piers which have been built partially obviate the necessity of employing carts, unless the water becomes very low. it has been said in all seriousness, and we believe it to be true, that the cost of landing a cargo of merchandise at buenos ayres has often been as great as the freight by vessel from new york, liverpool, or boston. to construct a suitable harbor here for commercial purposes is a project attended by almost insurmountable difficulties, but the attempt is gradually being made. the water in front of the city is not only shallow, but the bottom is extremely hard, while the increase of depth down the river is so little that it would involve the dredging of soil for a distance of ten miles, together with an indefinite width. it is very doubtful if a channel in such a situation, liable to constant changes, could be effectually established and maintained at any cost. the city does not depend upon its foreign commerce alone for business, having a boundless and productive territory in its rear, of which it will always be the commercial capital. it is already a great railway centre, the republic having over seven thousand miles of iron and steel rails within its borders. five railways radiate from buenos ayres at this writing, and a sixth is projected. one route has been surveyed with the idea of connecting this city direct with valparaiso, the distance between the two capitals being about nine hundred miles. it is designed to take advantage of the road already completed to mendoza, from whence the addition would cross the cordilleras at a height of ten thousand feet, and pass through several tunnels, one of which would be two miles long. it should also be remembered, while on this subject of transportation facilities, that the paraná river is navigable for light draught steamers two thousand miles inland from buenos ayres, into and through one of the most productive valleys in the world. from montevideo to point piedras, the river is uniformly sixty miles wide, and at buenos ayres it has only narrowed to about half this distance. the two main rivers which form the plate are the uruguay and the paraná, which in turn unite to form the grand estuary called rio de la plata. the city of buenos ayres has about as many miles of tramway as there are in boston. the various routes are well managed, and afford an infinite amount of popular accommodation. this service is carried on by six different companies. it is not in the hands of one big monopoly, as with us in boston. competition in undoubtedly best for the public good, but the business can be more advantageously conducted by a single company. experience has shown, however, that such a franchise is liable to great abuse in the hands of a corporation having no rivalry to fear. the citizens suffered long and patiently for want of good water for drinking and domestic purposes. this trouble has been partially obviated for a considerable time by the establishment of extensive water-works, but they are not adequate to the demand. the means for obtaining a new and additional supply are now under consideration. a system of drainage has also been constructed, which was fully as much of a necessity as the supply of water, but which, as usual, proves to be insufficient in capacity to perform the necessary work,--at least it but partially meets the requirements for which it was designed. people grow hardened by association with danger, but the importance of good and sufficient drainage for a capital in which malarial fevers prevail hardly requires argument. unlike nearly all of the south american cities, buenos ayres has no plaza mayor, or public square, as a grand business and pleasure resort, a central point, par excellence, designed also for the recreation of the general public. there are, however, several spacious squares, quite large enough to represent such an idea,--nine or ten of them in fact, all of which are surrounded by fine buildings. the plaza victoria, for instance, already referred to, is some eight acres in extent, made brilliant at night by electric lights, which supplement the old style of gas-burners. the government house, the palace of justice, the cathedral, and other effective buildings front upon the plaza victoria. eight or ten of the principal streets converge here, and this point is also the place of departure for several lines of tram-cars. the cathedral is in the grecian style, the portico supported by twelve corinthian columns, composed of brick, mortar, and stucco, but the general effect is the same as though each pillar was a monolith. the edifice is capable of containing eight or ten thousand people at a time, being equal in size and architectural effect to any ecclesiastical establishment on the continent. as this cathedral is a very remarkable one in many respects, we devote more than usual space to its description. it was rebuilt by the jesuits in the seventeenth century, but was originally founded in , and is not much inferior to st. paul's, london, as the following dimensions will show. it is two hundred and seventy feet long by one hundred and fifty in width, having an area of forty-five hundred square rods, and stands next in size to notre dame, paris. the interior of this immense building, with its twelve side chapels, is dark, dingy, and dirty, while the want of ventilation renders the air within foul and offensive. it is only on some rare festal occasions that an audience at all adequate to occupy its great capacity is seen within its walls. a hundred persons do not seem like more than a dozen in such a place. less than a thousand only serve to emphasize its loneliness. one sees a few women, but scarcely any men, present on ordinary occasions. the latter are content to stand about the outer doors and watch the former when they come from morning mass, or the ordinary sabbath services. here, as in havana, seville, and madrid, the spanish ladies, who lead a secluded home life, under a half oriental restraint imposed by custom inherited from the ancient moorish rule in continental spain, do not resent being stared at when in the streets. probably this is the main attraction which draws most of the señors and señoritas to the church services, though undoubtedly many of them are devout and sincere in the outward services which they perform. at least, let us give them the benefit of such a conclusion. the national religion of argentina is that of the roman catholic church, but the power of the priesthood is strictly confined to ecclesiastical affairs, as in uruguay. absolute religious freedom may be said to exist here. no religious processions or church parades are permitted in the public streets. this used to be very different in times past, almost every other day in the romish calendar being some saint's day, and it was the custom to make the most of these occasions by elaborate parades and gorgeous display. besides some twenty-four roman catholic churches and chapels, there are a score presided over by protestants of various denominations,--episcopal, presbyterian, lutheran, methodist, and so on. there is, as we were informed, a large and growing protestant constituency in the city. it should be mentioned very much to her credit that buenos ayres has supported, since , a series of normal schools, in which regular courses of three years' training are given to persons desiring to fit themselves to become school-teachers. to assist those wishing to avail themselves of these advantages, the government appropriates a certain sum of money, and those persons who receive this public aid bind themselves, in consideration of the same, to teach on specific terms in the free schools for a period of three years. there are quite a number of north american ladies employed in these schools, throughout the several districts of argentina, receiving a liberal compensation therefor, and commanding a high degree of respect. the university of buenos ayres, with about fifty professors and some eight hundred students, stands at the head of the national system of education. it was founded in , having classical, law, medical, and physical departments. there are also four military schools, two for the army and two for the navy. buenos ayres has more daily papers published within its precincts than either boston or new york. it has several elegant marble structures devoted to the banking business, generally holding large capitals, though the financial condition of several of them at this writing is simply that of bankruptcy. this applies mainly to the state banks. there are here an orphanage, a deaf and dumb asylum, four public hospitals, and two libraries: the national library containing some seventy thousand volumes, the popular library having fifty thousand. there is also a free art school, together with public and private schools of all grades. last to be named, but by no means least in importance, the city has a number of fairly good hotels and restaurants, the latter much superior to the former. hotels are not only a strong indication of the social refinement of a people, or of the want of it, but they are of great importance as regards the commercial prosperity of a large community. travelers who are made comfortable in these temporary homes remain longer in a city than they would otherwise, spend more money there, and are apt to come again. if, on the contrary, the hotel accommodations are poor, travelers complain of them, and strangers avoid a city where they are liable to be rendered needlessly uncomfortable in this respect. rio janeiro is a notable instance in hand, a city whose hotels we conscientiously advise the traveler to avoid. we well remember, at the great caravansary in calcutta, the only hotel there of any size or pretension, that a party of five englishmen and five americans, who had come from madras with the purpose of passing a fortnight in the former city, shortened their stay one half, simply because the hotel was so wretchedly kept, the accommodations were so abominably poor, and the discomforts so numerous. let us put this idea in mercenary form. ten guests, expending at least eight dollars each per day, curtailed their visit seven days. it is safe to say that they would have left six hundred dollars more in calcutta had they been comfortably lodged, than they did under the circumstances. we should not omit to mention the commercial exchange, in speaking of the public buildings of buenos ayres. it is a fine, large, modern structure, admirably adapted to the purpose for which it is designed. until within a year, the edifice in boston applied to the same purpose would not compare with that of this south american capital. there is no dullness or torpor in this city. all is stir and bustle. life and business are rampant, and yet, strange to say, no one seems to be in any special hurry. everything is done in a leisurely manner. the number of handsome stores and the elegance of the goods displayed in them are remarkable, while the annual amount of sales in these establishments rivals that of some of our most popular new york and boston concerns in similar lines of business. one may count forty first-class jewelry establishments in a short walk about town. there is hardly a more attractive display in this line either in paris or london. diamonds and precious stones of all descriptions dazzle the eye and captivate the fancy. the calle florida is one of the most fashionable thoroughfares, and presents in the afterpart of the day a very gay and striking picture of local life, a large element being composed of handsome women, attended by gayly dressed nurses, in charge of lovely children wearing fancy costumes. the young boys affect naval styles, and their little sisters wear marvelously broad roman scarfs, and have their feet encased in dainty buff slippers. what pleasing domestic pictures they suggest to the eye of a restless wanderer! on account of the narrowness of the streets, there is but one line of rails laid for the tramway service, so that a person goes out of town, say to palermo, by one system of streets and returns by another. these cars move rapidly. a considerable distance is covered in a brief time, the motive power being small horses. an almost continuous line of cars, with scarcely a break, is passing any given point from early morning until night, and the citizens are liberal patrons of them. we saw some statistics relating to the number of persons carried by the tramways of this city annually, which were simply amazing, and which would make the management of the west end railway of boston "grow green with jealousy, or pallid with despair." of course all this has been temporarily affected by the present financial crisis. as we have tried to show, buenos ayres is a wonderfully busy city, in which respect it resembles our own country much more than it does the average capitals of the south. there is none of the visible languor and spirit of delay which usually strikes one in tropical centres. people get up in the morning wide awake, and go promptly to business. there is no closing of the shops at midday here, as there is in havana, santiago, the capital of chili, or some of the mexican cities, so that clerks may absent themselves for dinner or to enjoy a siesta. a much more convenient course for both clerks and patrons is adopted, which does not block the wheels of trade. the idea of closing stores at midday to steal a couple of hours for eating and sleeping is a bit of rip van winkleism entirely unworthy of the go-ahead spirit of the nineteenth century. the plaza retiro is as large as the plaza victoria, and occupies the spot where in old spanish days the hateful exhibitions of the bull-fights were given. indeed, this square was formerly known as the plaza de toros. many historical interests hang about the locality, around which the rich merchants of the city have erected some palatial residences, faced to a certain height with marble on the outside. these domestic retreats have courtyards constructed one beyond another, covering a considerable depth, and forming a series of patios, each appropriated to some special domestic use,--the dining court, the reception court, and the nursery. in this square, and also in the plaza victoria, there are always plenty of hackney coaches to be found awaiting hire, and it should be remarked that charges are very reasonable for this service in buenos ayres. there are thirteen theatres in the city, and an admirable museum. the latter, rich in antiquities, is noted for its prehistoric remains of animals which once lived in the southern part of this continent, but whose species have long been extinct. this particular museum is advantageously known to scientists all over the world. the colon theatre is a large, well-equipped, and imposing place of entertainment, as much so as the théâtre française, paris, and takes a high position in representations of the legitimate drama and the production of the better spectacular plays. this house adopts what is called here the _cazuela_ in the division of its auditorium, an excellent system, very general in south american theatres, and we believe, nowhere else. it consists in giving up the entire second tier of boxes or seats to the exclusive use of unattended ladies, an arrangement which seemed to us strongly to recommend itself. to this division of the auditorium there is a separate entrance from the street, and no gentlemen are admitted under any pretext whatever. so those who desire to come to the entertainments quite unattended can do so with perfect propriety, and are safe from all intrusion in this isolated position. the ladies of this city, when they appear in public, dress very elegantly, following closely north american and european styles, while displaying the choicest imported materials well made up. perhaps comparisons are invidious, but we feel inclined to accord precedence in the matter of personal beauty to those of montevideo. in dress, however, the ladies of buenos ayres certainly excel them. each city has its local "worth," but many dresses are made in paris and imported, regardless of expense. there may be somewhere a noisier city than buenos ayres, as regards street life in the business section, but london or new york cannot rival it in this respect. undoubtedly this is owing in a measure to the fact that the traffic of so large and busy a metropolis is crowded into such narrow thoroughfares, barely thirty feet in width, and often less than that, a portion of which space is taken up by the tramway tracks. the noisy vehicles which run on these rails make their full share of the racket and hubbub. here, as in the cities of mexico and puebla, the drivers of the cars are supplied each with a tin horn, hung about his neck, or suspended from the car front, upon which he exercises his lungs, producing ear-piercing and discordant notes. wheels and hoofs upon the uneven pavements increase the din, supplemented by shouts and language more forcible than proper, uttered by enraged teamsters because of the frequent blocking of the roadway. add to these dulcet sounds the cries of itinerant fruit venders, fancy-goods sellers, and the shouts of persistent newsboys, and one has some idea of the irritating uproar which rages all day long in the older streets of buenos ayres. cows and mares are driven singly or in groups through the streets of this city, and milked at the customers' doors, so that one is nearly certain of getting the genuine article in this line, though we were assured that some roguish dealers carry an india-rubber tube and flat bag under their clothing from which they slyly extract a portion of water to "extend" the lacteal fluid. "is there no honesty extant?" adulteration seems to have become an instinct of trade. asses are still driven through the streets of paris, in the early mornings, and the milk obtained from them is distributed in the same manner, whether with a slight adulteration of water or not, we are unable to say. it is not uncommon at buenos ayres to see a person served on the street with fresh milk just drawn from the animal, which he drinks on the spot. a very refreshing, modest, and nutritious morning tipple. mares, as before mentioned, are not used for working or riding in this country, but are kept solely for breeding purposes and to furnish milk. this article is considered to be more nourishing for invalids and children than cow's milk, and is often prescribed as a regular diet by the physicians. the grand driving park of the capital, known by the name of third of february, is situated at palermo, some distance from the city proper, and covers between eight and nine hundred acres. on certain days, especially on sundays, a military band gives a public outdoor concert here, when all the beauty and fashion of the city turn out in gay equipages to see and to be seen, forming also a grand and spirited cavalcade of fine horses and carriages. the races take place at palermo, and, as in all roman catholic countries, on sundays. the neighborhood of buenos ayres is generally under good cultivation, the soil and climate uniting to produce splendid agricultural results. the suburbs of flores and belgrano each present a very pretty group of quintas and gardens, wherein great skill and refinement of taste is evinced. the alfalfa, a species of clover used here in a green condition as fodder for cattle, and which is as rich as the red clover of new england, to which family of grasses it belongs, grows so rapidly and ripens so promptly that three crops are often realized from the same field in a single season. the immediate environs of the city are occupied by private residences, many of which are very elaborate and imposing, surrounded by charming gardens and pleasure grounds. grottoes, statuary, and fountains abound, while orchards of various fruits are common, interspersed here and there with picturesque graperies. some of the highways are guarded by hedges of cactus,--_agave_,--much more impenetrable than any artificial fencing. trees of the eucalyptus family have heretofore been favorites here, originally imported from australia, but they have ceased to be desirable, since it appears that nothing will grow in their shadow. they seem to exercise a blighting power on other species of vegetation. figs, peaches, and oranges grow side by side, surrounded by other fruits, while the low-lying fields and open meadows nearest to the river are divided into large squares of three or four acres each, enameled with the deep green of the thick growing alfalfa, and other crops varying in color after their kind. richest of all are the intensely yellow fields of ripening wheat still farther inland, whose softly undulating surface, gently yielding to the passing breeze, produces long, widespread floating ripples of golden light. the love of flowers is a passion among all classes of the people, and their cultivation as a business by experienced individuals gives profitable employment to many florists, whose grounds are pictures of accumulated beauty, fragrance, and variety of hues. there is as true harmony to the eye in such blendings as there is to the ear in perfect music. the reader may be sure that where the children of flora so much abound, bright tinted humming-birds do much more abound, dainty little living feathered gems, rivaling rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. to insure the good health of her large and increasing population, the system of drainage in buenos ayres requires prompt and effectual treatment. the natural fall of the ground towards the river is hardly sufficient to second any engineering effort to this end. that typhoid fever should prevail here to the extent which it does, at nearly all seasons of the year, is a terrible reflection upon those in authority. this is a fatal disease which is quite preventable, and in this instance clearly traceable to obvious causes. rio janeiro, with its yellow fever scourge, is hardly more seriously afflicted than buenos ayres with its typhoid malaria. indeed, it is contended by some persons living on the coast that the number of deaths per annum in the two cities arising from these causes is very nearly equal, taking into account the results of year after year. sometimes, unaccountably, rio escapes the fever for a twelvemonth, that is to say, some seasons it does not rage as an epidemic; but we fear, if the truth were fairly expressed, it would be found that the seeds are there all the while, and that the city of rio janeiro, like that of vera cruz on the gulf of mexico, is never absolutely exempt from occasional cases. the argentine republic contains more than a million square miles, as already stated; indeed, immensity may be said to be one of its most manifest characteristics. the plains, the woods, the rivers, are colossal. to be sure, all of her territory is not, strictly speaking, available land, suitable for agricultural purposes, any more than is the case in our own wide-spread country. no other nation equals this republic in the value of cattle, compared with the number of the population, not forgetting australia with its immense sheep and cattle ranches. it is believed, nevertheless, that the agricultural interest here, as in uruguay, is gradually increasing in such ratio that it will erelong rival the pastoral. the average soil is very similar to that of our mississippi valley, yielding a satisfactory succession of crops without the aid of any artificial enrichment. the pampas have a mellow, dry soil, the common grass growing in tussocks to the height of three or four feet, and possessing a perennial vigor which mostly crowds out other vegetation. a few wild flowers are occasionally seen, and in the marshy places lilies of several species are to be met with; but taken all together the flora of the pampas is the poorest of any fertile district with which we are acquainted. a few half-developed herbs and trefoils occasionally meet the eye, together with small patches of wild verbenas of various colors. at long distances from each other one comes upon areas of tall pampas grass as it is called, so stocky as to be almost like the bamboo, eight or ten feet high, decked with fleecy, white plumes. birds are scarce on the pampas. there is a peculiar species of hare, besides some animals of the rodent family, resembling prairie-dogs--_biscachos_--or overgrown rats, together with an occasional jaguar and puma, found on these plains, as well as that meanest of all animals, the pestiferous skunk. animal life, other than the herds of wild cattle, can hardly be said to abound on the pampas. until a few years since, buenos ayres enjoyed the distinction of being the capital of the province of the same name, as also of the argentine republic; but the present capital of the province of buenos ayres, called la plata, is situated about forty miles south-east of buenos ayres, with which it is connected by railway. the site of the new capital was an uninhabited wilderness ten years ago, the foundation stone of this city having been laid in . to-day la plata has a population of about fifty thousand, although over seventy are claimed for it, a comprehensive system of tramways, broad, well paved streets, two theatres, thirty public schools, a national college, and six large hotels. there are many monuments and fountains ornamenting the thoroughfares, and what is now wanting is a population commensurate with the grand scale on which the capital is designed. an immense cathedral is being built, but has only reached a little way above its foundation, as work upon it has for a while been suspended. if the original plan is fully carried out, it may be half a century or more in course of construction. la plata is suffering from the pecuniary crisis perhaps more seriously than any other part of the country. the city is lighted by both electricity and gas, issues five daily newspapers, has a very complete astronomical observatory, a public library, five railroad stations, and some very elegant public buildings. its large possibilities are by no means improved, however. of the buildings, the edifice of the provincial legislature, that of the minister of finance, and the legislative palace are all worthy of mention. the government house is a long, low structure, the front view of which is rendered effective by an added story in the centre, which projects from the line of the building, and is supported by high columns. the "palace," as it is called, forming the residence of the governor of the province, is an elaborate and pretentious building, three stories in height, with two flanking domes and a dominating one in the centre. of course la plata has gained its start and rapid growth from the prestige of being the provincial capital, but it is now slowly developing a legitimate growth on a sound business basis, and though it can hardly be expected to ever equal buenos ayres in population and commercial importance, it nevertheless promises to be a prosperous city in the distant future; its citizens already call it the "washington" of south america. a close observer could not but notice that many houses were unoccupied, and the streets seemed half deserted. while the most of our maps and geographies remain pretty much as they were a score of years ago, and a majority of the kingdoms of the old world have changed scarcely at all, the argentine republic has been steadily growing in population, progressing rapidly in intelligence, constantly extending its commercial relations, and marching all the while towards the front rank of modern civilization. a detailed statement of its extraordinary development during the last twenty years, in commerce, railway connections, schools, agriculture, and general wealth, would surprise the most intelligent reader. it is believed by experienced and conservative people, particularly those conversant with the south american republics, that buenos ayres will be the first city south of the equator in commercial rank and population, within a quarter of a century. the increase of this republic in population during the last two decades has been over one hundred and fifty per cent., a rapidity of growth almost without precedent. the increase of population in our own country, during the same period, was less than eighty per cent. twenty-four lines of magnificent steamships connect the argentine republic with europe, and twice that number of vessels sail back and forth each month of the year, while its railway system embraces over six thousand miles of road in operation, besides one or two yet incomplete routes, though the opening of its first line was so late as thirty-four years ago. add to this her system of inland river navigation, covering thousands of miles, which has been so systematized as to fully supplement the remarkable railway facilities. that argentina rests at the present moment, as we have constantly intimated, under a financial cloud is only too well known to every one. it is a crisis brought about by an overhaste in the development of the country, especially in railroad enterprises. _festina lente_ is a good sound maxim, which the people of this republic have quite disregarded, and for which they and their creditors are suffering accordingly. it is seldom that any newly developed country escapes the maladies attendant upon too rapid growth, but this is a sort of illness pretty sure to remedy itself in due time, and rarely impedes the proper development of maturer years. if this republic has been unduly extravagant, and borrowed too much money in advancing her material interests, she has at least something to show for it. the funds have not been foolishly expended in sustaining worse than useless hordes of armed men, nor in the profitless support of royal puppets. nations no less than individuals are liable to financial failure, but with her grand and inexhaustible native resources, backed by the energy of her adopted citizens, this republic is as sure as anything mortal can be to soon recover from her present business depression, and to astonish the world at large by the rapidity of her financial recuperation. her present annual crop of wool exceeds all former record in amount, and is authoritatively estimated at over thirty million dollars in value. to this large industrial product is to be added her prolific harvest of maize and wheat, together with an almost fabulous amount of valuable hides. chapter xiii. city of rosario.--its population.--a pretentious church.--ocean experiences.--morbid fancies.--strait of magellan.--a great discoverer.--local characteristics.--patagonians and fuegians.--giant kelp.--unique mail box.--punta arenas.--an ex-penal colony.--the albatross.--natives.--a naked people.--whales.--sea-birds.--glaciers.--mount sarmiento.--a singular story. the route to rosario is rather monotonous by railway, taking the traveler through a very flat but fertile region, over prairies which are virtually treeless, not unlike long reaches of country through which the canadian pacific railroad passes between banff, in the rocky mountains, and port arthur, on lake superior. the monotonous scenery is varied only by a sight of occasional herds of cattle, feeding upon the rich grass, with here and there a mounted herdsman, and the numberless telegraph poles which line the track. it is at least a seven hours' journey from buenos ayres to rosario. occasionally a marshy reach of soil is encountered where large aquatic birds are seen, such as flamingoes, storks, cranes, herons, and the like. rosario, in the province of santa fé, is the second city in point of population and importance in the argentine republic. it is a young and promising capital, hardly yet fairly launched upon its voyage of prosperity, but so far it has been singularly favored by various circumstances. the place is arranged in the usual crisscross manner as regards the streets of this country, which, unfortunately, are too narrow for even its present limited business. in place of twenty-four feet they should have been laid out at least double that width, in the light of all experience has developed in these south american cities. this new town is situated a little less than three hundred miles by water from buenos ayres, and about two hundred by land, railroad and steamboat connection being regularly maintained between them. the site is admirably chosen on the banks of the paraná river, fifty or sixty feet above its level, and it is destined to become, eventually, a great commercial centre. in it was only a large village, containing some four thousand people. it is the natural seaport, not only of the rich province of cordova, but also of the more inland districts, mendoza, san luis, tucuman, salta, and jujuy, the first named having a population of half a million. owing to the height of the river's banks, merchandise is loaded by "shutes," being thus conducted at once from the warehouses to the hatches of the vessels. already a number of foreign steamships may be seen almost any day lying at anchor opposite the town, while the railway communications in various directions have all of their transportation capacity fully employed. one of these lines reaches almost across the continent to mendoza, at the eastern slope of the andes, west from rosario. other roads run both north and south from here. the foreign and domestic trade of the place is second only to that of buenos ayres. vessels drawing fifteen feet of water ascend the river to this point. as a shipping port, rosario has to a certain extent special advantages even over the larger city, being two or three hundred miles nearer the merchandise producing points. there is already a population of some seventy-five thousand here, and, as we have intimated, the city is growing rapidly. wharves, docks, and warehouses are in course of construction, and can hardly be finished fast enough to meet the demand for their use. there are a few substantial and handsome dwellings being erected, and many of a more ordinary class, in the finishing of which many a cargo of new england lumber is consumed. some of the public buildings are imposing in size and architectural design, wisely constructed in anticipation of the future size of the city, whose rapid growth is only equaled by st. paul in brazil. the tramway, gas, and telephone have been successfully introduced. there is certainly no lack of enterprise evinced in all legitimate business directions, while attention is being very properly and promptly turned towards perfecting a carefully devised educational system of free schools, primary and progressive. when the founders of a new city begin in this intelligent fashion, we may be very sure that they are moving in the right direction, and that permanency, together with abundant present success, is sure to be the sequence. on one side of the plaza mayor of rosario stands a very pretentious church, not yet quite completed, but as the towers and dome are finished it makes a prominent feature from a long way off, as one approaches the town. in the centre of this square is a marble shaft surmounted by a figure representing victory, and at the base are four statues of argentine historic characters. this square is adorned with a double row of handsome acacias. as regards amusements, so far as is visible, theatricals seem to take the lead, the place having two theatres, both of which appear to be enjoying a thriving business. when a new city is started in south america upon a site so well selected, and after so thoroughly substantial a plan, the result is no problem. the influx of european immigrants promptly supplies the necessary laborers and artisans, quite as fast, indeed, as they are required, while the ordinary growth and development of inland resources tax the local business capacity, enterprise, and capital to their utmost. rosario needs to perfect a careful and thorough system of drainage. fevers are at present alarmingly prevalent, arising from causes which judicious attention and sanitary means would easily obviate. we will not weary the reader by protracted delay at this point, having still a long voyage before us. embarking at montevideo, our way is southward over a broad and lonely track of ocean. if we can summon a degree of philosophy to our aid, it is fortunate. without genial companions, surrounded by strangers, and thrown entirely upon ourselves, mental resort often fails us, life appears sombre, the wide, wide ocean almost appalling. one of the inevitable trials of a long sea voyage is the wakeful hours which will occasionally visit the most experienced traveler,--midnight hours, when the weary brain becomes preternaturally active, the imagination oversensitive and weird in its erratic conceptions, while forebodings of evil which never happens are apt to fill the mind with morbid anxieties. the very silence of the surroundings is impressive, interrupted only by the regular throbbing of the great, tireless engine, and the dashing waters chafing along the iron hull close beside the wakeful dreamer. separated by thousands of miles from home, all communication cut off with friends and the world at large, while watching the dreary ocean, day after day, week after week, we imagine endless misfortunes that may have come to dear ones on shore. however limited may be the world of reality, that of the imagination is boundless, and sometimes one realizes years of wretched anxiety in the space of a few overwrought hours. it is such moments of passive misery which beget wrinkles and white hairs. action is the only relief, and one hastens to the deck for a change of scene and thoughts. after experiencing such a night, how glad and glorious seems the sun rising out of the wide waste of waters, how bright and glowing the smile he casts upon the long lazy swell of the south atlantic, as if pointedly to rebuke the overwrought fancy, and reassure the aching heart! be we never so dreary, the great ship speeds on its course, heeding us not; its busy motor, like heart-beats, throbs with undisturbed uniformity, forcing the vessel onward despite the joy or sorrow of those it carries within its capacious hull. the strait of magellan, which divides south america from the mysterious island group which is known as terra del fuego, and connects the atlantic with the pacific ocean by a most intricate water-way, is considerably less than four hundred miles in length, and of various widths. de lesseps, with his successful suez canal and his deplorable panama failure, is quite distanced by the hand of nature in this line of business. it would require about ten thousand suez canals to make a magellan strait, and then it would be but a very sorry imitation. it will be remembered that the portuguese navigator who discovered this remarkable passage, and for whom it is justly named, first passed through it in november, , finally emerging into the waters of the new sea, upon which he was the first to sail, and which he named mar pacifico. doubtless it seemed "pacific" to him after his rude experience in the south atlantic, but the author has known as rough weather in this misnamed ocean as he has ever encountered in any part of the globe. one can well conceive of the elation and surprise of magellan, upon emerging from the intricate passage through which he had been struggling to make his way for so many weary days. what a sensation of satisfaction and triumph must the courageous and persevering navigator have experienced at the discovery he had made! what mattered all his weary hours of watching, of self-abnegation, of cold and hunger, of incessant battling with the raging sea? henceforth to him royal censure or royal largess mattered little. his name would descend to all future generations as the great discoverer of this almost limitless ocean. the passage leading to the strait on the atlantic or eastern end is about twenty miles across, cape vergens being on the starboard side, and cape espiritu santo--or cape holy ghost--on the port. the entrance on the western or pacific end is marked by cape pillar, desolation land, where the scenery is far more rugged and mountainous, the cape terminating in two cliffs, shaped so much like artificial towers as to be quite deceptive at a short distance. the narrowest part of the strait is about one mile in width, known to mariners as crooked reach. a passage through this great natural canal is an experience similar, in some respects, to that of sailing in the inland sea of alaska, between victoria and glacier bay, bringing into view dense forests, immense glaciers, abrupt mountain peaks, and snow-covered summits, the whole shrouded in the same solitude and silence, varied by the occasional flight of sea-birds or the appearance of seals and porpoises from below the deep waters. so irregular in its course is this passage between the two great oceans, so changeable are its currents, so impeded by dangerous rocks and hidden shoals, so beset with squalls and sudden storms, that sailing vessels are forced to double the ever-dreaded cape horn rather than take the magellan route. a united states man-of-war, a sailing ship, was once over two months in making the passage through the strait, and magellan tells us that he was thirty-seven days in passing from ocean to ocean, though using all ordinary dispatch. within a fortnight of the writing of these notes, a european mail steamship was lost here by striking upon a sunken rock. fortunately, owing to the proximity of the shore and moderate weather prevailing, the crew and passengers were all saved. winter lingers, and the days are short in this latitude. a sailing ship would be compelled to find anchorage nightly, and some days would perhaps be driven back in a few hours a distance which it had required a week to make in her proper direction. steamships usually accomplish the run in from thirty to forty hours, there being many reaches where it is necessary to run only at half speed. if heavy fogs and bad weather prevail, they often lay by during the night, and also in snow-storms, which occur not infrequently. the sky is seldom clear for many hours together, and the sun's warmth is rarely felt, the rain falling almost daily. even in the summer of this high southern latitude the nights are cold and gloomy, ice nearly always forming. it must be admitted that this region, of itself, is not calculated to attract the most inveterate wanderer. one is not surprised when reading the rather startling narrations of the old navigators who made the passage of the strait, encountering the constantly varying winds, and having canvas only to depend upon. the marvel is that, with their primitive means, they should have accomplished so much. there are no lighthouses in this passage from ocean to ocean, though it has been pretty well surveyed and buoyed in late years, thanks to the liberality of the english naval service, by whom this was done. there is, in fact, a dearth of lighthouses on the entire coast of south america, especially on the west side of the continent. we can recall but three between montevideo and valparaiso, a distance, by way of the strait, of fully two thousand miles. the lighthouses we refer to are at punta arenas, punta galesa, near valdivia, and that which marks the port of concepcion, at talcahuano. the strait of magellan is only fit as an abiding-place for seals, waterfowl, and otters; humanity can hardly find congenial foothold here. the natives of patagonia, who live on the northern side of the strait, are called horse indians, because they make such constant use of the wild horses; they do not move in any direction without them. those on the fuegian side are called canoe indians, as the canoe forms their universal and indeed only mode of transportation. the former are a rather large, tall race of people, the men averaging about six feet in height; the latter are smaller in physical development, and are less civilized than the indians of patagonia, which, to be sure, is saying very little for the latter, who are really a low type of nomads. the fuegians are believed to still practice cannibalism. one writer tells us that criminals and prisoners of war are thus disposed of, and that the last crew of shipwrecked seamen who fell into their hands were roasted and eaten by them. their hostile purposes are well understood, for whenever they dare to exercise such a spirit they are sure to do so. they cautiously send out a boat or two to passing vessels, with whom a little trading is attempted, the main body of natives keeping well out of sight; but in case of any mishap to a ship, or if a small party land and are unable to defend themselves, they will appear in swarms from various hiding-places, swooping down upon their victims like vultures in the desert. the officers of the yacht sunbeam, as recounted by lady brassey, found it necessary to turn her steam-pipes full force upon the swarming natives, who were doubtless preparing to make an effort to capture the yacht and her crew, hoping to overcome them by mere force of numbers. they were, however, so frightened and utterly astonished by the means of defense adopted by lord brassey that they threw themselves, one and all, into the sea, and sought the shore pell-mell. humboldt, in his day, ranked these fuegians among the lowest specimens of humanity he had ever met, and they certainly do not seem to have improved much in the mean time. one is at a loss to understand why the patagonians should have impressed the early navigators with the idea that they were a people of gigantic size. there is no evidence to-day of their being, or ever having been, taller or larger than the average new englander. half-naked savages, standing six feet high, naturally impress one as being taller than europeans clad in the conventional style of civilized people. the waters of magellan are very dark, deep, and sullen in aspect, with insufficient room in many places to manage a ship properly under canvas alone. in their depth and darkness these waters also resemble those of alaska's inland sea. the shores are quite bold, and the rocks below the surface are mostly indicated by giant kelp--_fucus giganteus_--growing over them, a kind provision of nature in behalf of safe navigation. it will not answer, however, to depend solely upon this indication; the many rocks in the strait are by no means all so designated, nor are they all buoyed. sea-kelp is very plentiful in this region, and serves many useful purposes. it forms a nourishing food for the fuegians under certain circumstances, when their usual supply is scarce. they dry it and prepare it in a rude way suited to their unsophisticated palates. it also forms a portion of the support of the seals and sea-otters; these creatures feed freely upon its more delicate and tender shoots. it is wonderful how it can exist and thrive among such breakers as it constantly encounters in these restless waters, which are churned into mounds of foam in squally weather; but it does grow in great luxuriance, rising oftentimes two hundred feet and more from the bottom of the sea. it is curious to watch its abundant growth and its peculiar habits. if the wind and tide are in the same direction, the plant lies smooth upon the water; but if the wind is against the tide, the leaves curl up, causing a ripple on the surface, like a school of small fish. a specimen of giant kelp was secured from alongside of the ship, broken off at arm's length below the surface of the water. it was heavy and full of parasites. upon shaking it, myriads of marine insects, shells, tiny crabs, sea-eggs, and star-fish fell upon the deck. all of these were of the smallest species, some almost invisible to the naked eye, but how wonderful they appeared under the microscope, which developed hundreds of forms of life infinitesimal in size! at a prominent point of the main channel is a strong box made fast by a chain, which always used to be opened by the masters of passing ships, either to deposit or to take away letters, as the case might be, each shipmaster undertaking the free delivery of all letters whose address was within the line of his subsequent course. in the whaleship service, especially during times now long past, this arrangement has been of great service, and there is no instance on record where the purpose of this self-sustaining post-office was disregarded. in these days of fast and regular post-office service, the "magellan mail," as it was called, is of no practical account. there are several fairly good harbors in the strait, but the only white settlement was originally a penal colony founded by the chilian government, though it no longer serves for that purpose, the convicts having risen some years since, and overpowered the garrison. a large portion of the patagonian shore is well wooded, besides which an available coal deposit has been found and worked to fair advantage. steamships, which were formerly obliged to go to the falkland islands, in the atlantic, five hundred miles from the mouth of the strait, when running short of fuel, can now get their supply in an exigency at punta arenas--"sandy point." it is situated in the eastern section of the strait, about a hundred and twenty-five miles from the entrance. we do not mean to convey the idea that this is a regular coaling station, though it may some time become so. the town consists of straggling, low-built log-houses, and a few framed ones, reminding one of port said at the mediterranean end of the suez canal, with its heterogeneous population. that of sandy point is made up of all nationalities, strongly tinctured with ex-convicts, and deserters from the chilian army and navy. english is the language most commonly spoken, though the place is chilian territory. it contains some twelve or fifteen hundred inhabitants, and is the most southerly town on the globe, as well as the most undesirable one in which to live, if one may express an opinion upon such brief acquaintance. we made no attempt to go on shore at punta arenas. a rain-storm was at its height while the ship lay off the town, and when it rains in these latitudes, it attends exclusively to the business in hand. the water comes down like niagara, until finally, when the clouds have entirely emptied themselves, it stops. jupiter pluvius is master of the situation, when he asserts himself, and there is no one who can dispute his authority. umbrellas and waterproofs are of no more use as a protection during the downpour, than they would be to a person who had fallen overboard in water forty fathoms deep. one of our passengers came on deck with a life preserver about his body, solemnly declaring that if this sort of thing continued much longer, the article would be absolutely necessary in order to keep afloat. during the season the patagonians bring into punta arenas the result of their hunting in the shape of seal and otter skins, together with guanaco, and silver-fox skins, which are gathered by local traders and shipped to europe. occasionally a few sea-otter skins of rare value are obtained from here, fully equal, we were told, to anything taken in alaskan waters. we have said that punta arenas is the most southerly town on the globe. the next nearest town to the antarctic circle is the bluff, so called,--also known as campbelltown,--in the extreme south of new zealand, where the author has eaten of the famous oysters indigenous there. two sorts of supplies are to be obtained by navigators of the strait, namely, fuel and good drinking water. sometimes a valuable skin robe may be purchased of the patagonian indians. it is called a guanaco-skin cloak, and made from the skin of the young deer. to obtain these skins of a uniform fineness of texture, the fawns are killed when but eight or ten days old; the available product got from each one is so small as hardly to exceed twice the size of one's hand. these are sewn together with infinite care and neatness by the indian women, who use the fine sinews taken from ostriches' legs for thread. one of these guanaco-skin cloaks represents a vast amount of labor, and a hundred fawns must die to supply the raw material. only chiefs of tribes can afford to wear them. strangers who are willing to pay a price commensurate with their real cost and value may occasionally buy such an article as we describe, but these cloaks are rare. one was brought on board ship and shown to us, the price of which was twelve hundred dollars, nor do we think it was an excessive valuation. it was worth the amount as a rare curiosity for some art museum. that monarch bird of antarctic regions, the albatross, frequents both ends of the strait, and sometimes accompanies steamships during the passage, together with cape-pigeons, gulls, and other marine birds, though as a rule the albatross is little seen except on the broad expanse of the ocean. a bird called the steamer-duck, also nicknamed by sailors the paddle-wheel duck, was pointed out to us by our captain. it is so called from its mode of propelling itself through the water, scooting over the surface of the strait while using both wings and legs, and creating considerable disturbance of the water, like a side-wheeler. the wings are too small to give it power of flight through the air. the steamer-duck is a large bird, nearly the size of the domestic goose; after its fashion, it moves with astonishing velocity, considerably faster than the average speed of a steamship. but we were speaking a moment since of the albatross, which is a feathered cannibal, and shows some truly wolfish traits. when one of its own species, a member of the same flock even, is wounded and drops helpless to the surface of the sea, its comrades swoop down upon it, and tearing the body to pieces with their powerful bills, devour the flesh ravenously. this was witnessed near the arctic circle, between hobart, in tasmania, and the bluff, in new zealand, a few years ago, when some english sportsmen succeeded in wounding one of these mammoth birds from the deck of the steamship zealandia. the only other known bird of our day which measures from eleven to twelve feet between the tips of the extended wings is the south american condor. the sea hereabouts abounds in fish, which constitute the largest portion of the food supply of the few indians who live near the coast of either shore. the fuegians dwell in the rudest shelters possible, nothing approaching the form of a house. the frailest shelter, covered with sea-lion's skins, suffices to keep them from the inclemencies of the weather. with the exception of an animal skin of some sort, having the fur on, secured over one shoulder on the side exposed to the wind, the canoe indians wear no clothing. we were told that several of these natives, while quite young, were taken to england by advice of the missionaries and taught to read and write, being also kindly instructed in civilized manners and customs, which they gladly adopted for the time being; but upon returning to their native land, in every instance they rapidly lapsed into a condition of semi-savagery. it had been hoped they would act as a civilizing medium with their former friends, after returning among them, but this proved fallacious, and was a great disappointment to the well-meaning philanthropists. this same experience, as is well known, has been the result of similar experiments with natives of africa and the south sea islands. the author is conversant with a striking illustration of this character in connection with an australian indian youth, which occurred in queensland, and which was both interesting and very romantic in its development. it simply went to prove that hereditary instincts cannot be easily eradicated, and that not one, but many generations are necessary to banish savage proclivities which are inherited from a long line of ancestors. gold is found to some extent in the beds of the streams in patagonia,--free gold, washed from the disintegrated rocks. natives sometimes bring small quantities of the gold dust into punta arenas, with which to purchase tobacco and other articles. many heedless and unprincipled individuals sell them intoxicants, to obtain which these indians will part with anything they possess, after they have once become familiar with the taste and effect of the captivating poison. not far from cape forward, near the middle of the strait, which is the most southerly portion of the american continent, three native boats were seen during our passage. the steamer was slowed for a few moments to give us a brief opportunity to see the savage occupants. these three frail, ill-built canoes were tossed high and low by the swell of the pacific, which set to the eastward through the strait. each boat contained a man, a couple of women, and one or two children, the latter entirely naked, the others nearly so. they were fuegians, raising their hands and voices to attract our attention, asking for food and tobacco, to which appeal a generous response was made. their broad faces, high cheek-bones, low foreheads, and flat noses, their faces and necks screened by coarse black hair, did not challenge our admiration, however much we were exercised by pity for human beings in so desolate a condition. they certainly possessed two redeeming features,--brilliant eyes and teeth of dazzling whiteness. the fruit thrown to them seemed best to suit the ideas and palates of the children, who devoured oranges, skin and all; but the gift of clothing which was made to the parents was laid aside for future consideration, though there are probably no "ole clo'" merchants in terra del fuego. the men ate hard sea biscuit and slices of cold corned beef ravenously. the plump, well-rounded shoulders and limbs of the women showed them to be in far better physical condition than the men, whose bodies consisted of little besides skin and bones. they were copper colored, and the skin of the women shone in the bright sunlight which prevailed for the moment, as though they had been varnished. if their faces had been as well formed as their bodies, they would have been models of natural beauty. how these people could remain so nearly naked with apparent comfort, while we found overcoats quite necessary, was a problem difficult to solve satisfactorily. "they were born so," said our first officer. "as you go through life with your face and hands exposed, so they go with their entire bodies. it is a mere matter of habit,--habit from babyhood to maturity." all of which is perfectly reasonable. it was observed that on the bottom of their boats was a layer of flat stones, and on these, just amidship, was spread a low, smouldering fire of dried vines and small twigs, designed to temper the atmosphere about them. so frail were the boats that one of the occupants was kept constantly baling out water. it is impossible to form any intelligent estimate as to how many of these aborigines there are in and about the strait. they find food, like the canvas-back ducks, in the wild celery, adding shell-fish and dried berberries, and are a strictly nomadic people. after exhausting the products of one vicinity, for the time being, they move on, but return to the locality at a proper time, when nature has recuperated herself and furnished a fresh supply of vegetable growth and edible shell-fish. a stranded whale is a godsend to these savages, upon the putrid flesh of which they live and fatten until all has disappeared. in their primitive way they hunt this leviathan, but want of proper facilities renders them rarely successful. occasionally they manage to plant a spear in some vital spot, deep enough to be effectual, so that the whale, after diving to the depths of the sea, finally comes to the surface, near the place where he was wounded, to thrash about and to die. even then, unless it is at a favorable point, the large body is liable to be swept away by the strong tide setting through the strait, so that the natives seldom secure a carcass by these means. not long since one of the european mail steamers, on approaching the atlantic end of the strait, sighted an object which was at first thought to be a sunken rock. if this was its character, it was all important to obtain the exact location. a boat was lowered and pulled to the object, when it was found to be the carcass of a dead whale, in which was a stout wooden spear which had fatally wounded the creature. securely attached to the spear, by means of a rope made of animal sinews, there were a couple of inflated bladders. the spear was evidently a fuegian weapon, and though it had finally cost the whale his life, the dead body had been carried by the current far beyond the reach of those who had caused the fatal wound. the discovery showed the crude manner in which these savages seek to possess themselves of a whale occasionally and thus to appease their barbaric appetites. they could not pursue one in their frail boats, but the creature is sometimes found sleeping on the surface of the sea, which is the fuegian opportunity for approaching it noiselessly, and for planting a spear in some vital part of the huge body. whales, when thus attacked, do not show fight, but their instinct leads them to dive at once. a few whales were observed within the strait during our passage, some so near as to show that they had no fear of the ship. it was curious to watch them. there was a baby whale among the rest, five or six feet in length, which kept very close to its dam; it suddenly disappeared once while we were watching the school, though only to rise again to the surface of the sea and emit a tiny fountain of spray from its diminutive blow-hole. in passing a small inlet which formed a calm, sheltered piece of water, still as an inland lake, there were seen upon its tranquil bosom a few white geese, quietly floating, while close at hand upon some rocks, a half score of awkward penguins were also observed, with their ludicrous dummy wings, and their bodies supported in a half standing, half sitting position. ducks seem to be very abundant in the strait, but geese are scarce. an occasional cormorant is caught sight of, with its distended pouch bearing witness to its proverbial voracity. all the birds one sees in these far away regions have each some peculiar adaptability to the climate, the locality, or to both. the penguin never makes the mistake of seeking our northern shores, nor is the albatross often seen north of the fortieth degree of south latitude. true, were the former to emigrate, he would have to swim the whole distance, but the latter is so marvelously strong of wing that it has been said of him, he might breakfast, if he chose, at the cape of good hope, and dine on the coast of newfoundland. terra del fuego,--"land of fire,"--which makes the southern side of the strait, opposite patagonia, is composed of a very large group of islands washed by the atlantic on the east side and the pacific on the west, trending towards the southeast for about two hundred miles from the strait, and terminating at cape horn. the largest of these islands is east terra del fuego, which measures from east to west between three and four hundred miles. one can only speak vaguely of detail, as this is still a _terra incognita_. these islands do indeed form "a land of desolation," as captain cook appropriately named them, sparsely inhabited to be sure, but hardly fit for human beings. they are deeply indented and cut up by arms of the sea, and composed mostly of sterile mountains, whose tops are covered with perpetual snow. when the mountains are not too much exposed to the ocean storms on the west coast, they are scantily covered with a species of hardy, wind-distorted trees from the water's edge upward to the snow line, which is here about two thousand feet above the sea. in sheltered areas this growth is dense and forest-like, especially nearest to the sea; in others it is interspersed by bald and blanched patches of barren rocks. in some open places, where they have worn themselves a broad path, the glaciers come down to the water, discharging sections of ice constantly into the deep sea, crowded forward and downward by the immense but slow-moving mass behind,--a frozen river,--thus illustrating the habit of the iceberg-producing glaciers of the far north. one never approaches this subject without recalling the lamented agassiz and his absorbing theories relating to it. the author has seen huge glaciers in scandinavia and in switzerland, forming natural exhibitions of great interest; each country has peculiarities in this respect. in the last-named country, for instance, there is no example where a glacier descends lower than thirty-five hundred feet above the sea level, while in norway the only one of which he can speak from personal observation has before it a large terminal moraine, thus losing the capacity for that most striking performance, the discharge of icebergs. the best example of this interesting operation of nature which we have ever witnessed, and probably the most effective in the world, is that of the muir glacier in alaska, where an immense frozen river comes boldly down from the arctic regions to the sea level, with a sheer height at its terminus of over two hundred feet. from this unique façade, nearly two miles in width, the constant tumbling of icebergs into the sea is accompanied by a noise like a salvo of cannon. this glacier, it should be remembered, also extends to the bottom of the bay, where it enters it two hundred feet below the surface of the water, thus giving it a height, or perhaps we should say a depth and height combined, of fully four hundred feet. icebergs are discharged from the submerged portion continually, and float to the surface, thus repeating the process below the water which is all the while going on above it, and visible upon the perpendicular surface. nothing which we have seen in the canadian selkirks, in switzerland, norway, or elsewhere, equals in size, grandeur, or clearly defined glacial action, the famous muir glacier of alaska. the most remarkable peak to be seen in passing through the strait of magellan is mount sarmiento, which is inexpressibly grand in its proportions, dominating the borders of cockburn's channel near the pacific end of the great water-way. it is about seven thousand feet in height, a spotless cone of snow, being in form extremely abrupt and pointed. this frosty monarch sends down from its upper regions a score or more of narrow, sky-blue glaciers to the sea through openings in the dusky forest. darwin was especially impressed by the sight of these when he explored this region, and speaks of them as looking like so many niagaras, but they are only miniature glaciers after all. one sees in the pyrenees and the st. gothard pass similar cascades flowing down from the mountains towards the valleys, except that in the one instance the crystal waters are liquid, in the other they are quite congealed. the group or range of which sarmiento is the apex is very generally shrouded in mist, and is visited by frequent rain, snow, and hail storms. we were fortunate to see it under a momentary glow of warm sunshine, when the sky was deepest blue, and the ermine cloak of the mountain was spangled with frost gems. it would seem that such exposure to the elements in a frigid climate, and such deprivations as must be constantly endured by the barbarous natives who inhabit these bleak regions, must surely shorten their lives, and perhaps it does so, though "the survival of the fittest," who grow up to maturity, is in such numbers that one is a little puzzled in considering the matter. a singular instance touching upon this point came indirectly to the writer's knowledge. it appears that four fuegian women, one of whom was about forty years of age, and the others respectively about twenty, twenty-five, and thirty, were picked up adrift in the strait a few years ago. it was believed that they had escaped from some threatened tribal cruelty, but upon this subject they would reveal nothing. these fugitives were kindly taken in hand by philanthropic people at sandy point, and entertained with true christian hospitality. when first discovered they were, as usual, quite naked, but were promptly clothed and properly housed. no more work was required of them than they chose voluntarily to perform; in short, they were most kindly treated, and though the best of care was taken of them in a hygienic sense, they all gradually faded, and died of consumption in less than two years. they seemed to be contented, were grateful and cheerful, but clothing and a warm house to live in, odd as it may seem, killed them! they were born to a free, open air and exposed daily life, and their apparently sturdy constitutions required such a mode of living. civilized habits, strange to say, proved fatal to these wild children of the rough fuegian coast. chapter xiv. the land of fire.--cape horn.--in the open pacific.--fellow passengers.--large sea-bird.--an interesting invalid.--a weary captive.--a broken-hearted mother.--study of the heavens.--the moon.--chilian civil war.--concepcion.--a growing city.--commercial importance.--cultivating city gardens on a new plan.--important coal mines.--delicious fruits. magellan named this extreme southern land, of which we have been speaking, "the land of fire," because of the numerous fires which he, from his ships, saw on the shore at night, and which were then supposed by the discoverers to be of a volcanic character. the fact probably was that the indians did not fail to recognize the need of artificial heat, especially at night, though they had not sufficient genius to teach them to construct garments suitable to protect them from the inclemency of the weather. these fires were kindled in the open air, but the natives camped close about them, sleeping within their influence. cape horn, the extreme point of south america, on the outermost island of the fuegian group, is a lofty, steep black rock, with a pointed summit, which has stood there for ages, like a watchful sentinel at his post. two thirds of patagonia and terra del fuego--the western part--belong to chili, and the balance of both--the eastern part--belongs to the argentine republic. a recently consummated treaty between these two nationalities has fixed upon this final division of territory, and thus settled a question which has long been a source of dispute and ill feeling between them. this division makes cape horn belong to chili, not a specially desirable possession, to be sure, but it is an indelible landmark. the sail along the coast northward after leaving the pacific mouth of the strait affords very little variety of scenery; the dull hue of the barren shore is without change of color for hundreds of miles, until the eye becomes weary of watching it, as we speed onward through the long, indolent ocean swell. arid hills and small indentures form the coast line, but as we get further northward, this dreary sameness is varied by the appearance of an occasional small settlement, forming a group of dwellings of a rude character, possibly a mining region or a fishing hamlet, connected with some business locality further inland. sometimes a green valley is descried, which makes a verdant gulch opening quite down to the sea. this dense monotony becomes more and more tedious, until one longs to get somewhere, anywhere, away from it. in the dearth of scenic interest, we fall to studying the various passengers traveling between the pacific ports, a great variety of nationalities being represented. among those of the second-class was a handsome italian boy, with marvelous eyes of jet and a profusion of long black hair. he had a small organ hung about his neck, and carried an intelligent monkey with him. the boy and his monkey joined in the performance of certain simple, amusing tricks to elicit money from the lookers-on. both boy and monkey were happy in the result achieved, the former in liberal cash receipts, the latter in being fed liberally with cakes and bonbons. the capacity of monkeys for the rapid consumption of palatable dainties is one of the unsolved mysteries of nature. schools of porpoises played about the hull of the ship, and clouds of sea-birds at times wheeled about the topmasts, or followed in the ship's wake watching for refuse from the cook's department. occasionally the head of a large, deep-water turtle would appear for a moment above the surface, twisting its awkward neck to watch the course of the steamer, while shoreward the mottled surface of the gently undulating waves betrayed the presence of myriads of small fish, over which hovered predatory birds of the gull tribe. now and again one would swoop swiftly downward to secure a victim to its appetite. few albatrosses were seen after leaving the pacific mouth of the strait. they are lovers of the stormy antarctic region, with the tempestuous atmosphere of which their great power of wing enables them to cope successfully. the author has seen one of these birds off the southern coast of new zealand which spread eleven feet from tip to tip of its extended wings. it was caught with a floating bait by one of the seamen and drawn on board ship, where it was measured, but not until a long contest of strength had taken place between men and bird. the albatross was slightly wounded in the mouth and throat by the process of catching him with a baited hook. but they are hardy creatures, and unless injured in some vital part pay little heed to a small wound. after this bird had been examined, it was liberated, and resumed its graceful flight about the ship as though nothing unusual had happened. an invalid girl of spanish birth, who was perhaps sixteen years of age, very tenderly cared for by her mother, was propped up daily in a reclining seat upon deck, where she might find amusement in watching the sea and distant shore, while inhaling the saline tonic of the atmosphere. poor child, how her large, dark eyes, pallid lips, and painful respiration appealed to one's sympathy! it required no professional knowledge to divine her approaching fate. she was really in the last stages of consumption, and was on her way to a popular sanitarium near the coast, hoping against reason that the change might prove restorative and of radical benefit. it was pleasant to observe how promptly every one on board strove to add to her comfort by simple attentions and services, and how the choicest bits from the table were secured to tempt her capricious appetite. the grateful mother's eyes were often suffused with tears, carefully hidden from the gentle invalid. her maternal heart was too full for the utterance even of thanks. "ah," said she to us in a low tone of voice, "she is the last of my three children, two boys and this girl. the two boys faded away just like this. do you think there is any hope for her, señor?" "why not, señora? we should never cease to hope. the land breeze and the springs where you are going may do wonders." heaven forgive us. the child's fate was only too plainly to be read in her attenuated form, and the dull action of her almost congested lungs. one day a small, weary sea-bird, newly out of its nest, flew on board our ship quite exhausted, and being easily secured, was given to the young girl to pet. it soon became quite at home in her lap, eating small bread crumbs and little bits of meat from her fingers. confidence being thus established between them, the little half-fledged creature would not willingly leave its new-found benefactress. it seemed to be a providential occurrence, affording considerable diversion to the sick one. for a while, at least, she was aroused from the listlessness which is so very significant in consumption, and her whole heart went out to the confiding little waif. it was a pretty sight to see the bird nestle contentedly close to her bosom, the pale-faced girl scarcely less fragile than the little feathered stranger she had adopted. no one thought that death was hovering so very near, yet the third night after the bird flew on board the young girl lay in her shroud, with an ivory crucifix, typical of the romish faith, in one hand, and the other resting upon the inanimate bird she had befriended, which had also breathed its last. attempted consolation to a freshly bleeding heart is almost always premature, and there are few, very few, human beings competent to offer it effectually under the best circumstances. the sad-eyed mother listened to a few well-meant words of this character, but slowly shook her head and made no reply. time only could assuage the keenness of her sorrow. by and by she spoke, with her eyes still resting upon that pale, dead face, where nothing but a wonderful peace and serenity were now expressed. "have birds souls, do you think?" she asked, in a low, trembling voice. "possibly," was the reply; "but why do you ask?" "because," she continued, speaking very slowly, "that tiny creature and my darling died almost at the same moment, and if so, her spirit would have company on its way to the good god." the unconscious poetry of the thought, so quietly expressed by the sorrowing mother, as she sat beside the corpse with folded hands and burning eyes, which could not find the relief of tears, was very touching. the motor of the big ship throbbed on, the routine of duty continued unchanged, passengers ate, drank, and were merry, the sea-birds wheeled about us uttering their sharp contentious cries, and we pressed forward through the opposing wind and tide, as though nothing had happened. only a mother's loving heart was broken. only a soul gone to its god. surely such sweet innocence must be welcome in heaven. but ah! the great mystery of it all! most intelligent people will agree with us that no study known to science can compare with astronomy for absorbing interest. at sea one finds ample time, convenience, and incentive to study the sky, populous with countless hosts of constellations. especially is it interesting to watch the numerous phases of the moon, beginning with her advent as a delicate crescent of pale light in the eastern sky, after the sun has set, and continuing to the period when she becomes full. each succeeding night it is found that she has moved farther and farther westward, until, arriving at the full, she rises nearly at the same time that the sun sets. from the period of full moon, the disc of light diminishes nightly until the last quarter is reached, and the moon is then seen high over the ship's topmast head, before day breaks in the east. thus she goes on waning, all the while drawing closer to the sun, until finally she becomes absorbed in his light. the interesting process completed, she again comes into view at twilight in the west, in her exquisite crescent form, once more to pass through a similar series of changes. the superstition of sailors touching the moonlight is curious. no foremast hand will sleep where it shines directly upon him. they are voluble in relating many instances of comrades rendered melancholy-mad by so doing. "they talk about the moon making the ebb and flow of the tide," said an able seaman to the author. "there's lots of queer things about the moon, but _that's_ d--d nonsense, saving your honor's presence." thus jack eagerly absorbs superstitious ideas, and ignores natural phenomena. no humble class of men are so intelligent in a general way, and yet at the same time so universally superstitious, as those who go down to the sea in ships. in coming on to the west coast it is natural, perhaps, for the reader to expect us to refer briefly to the late civil war in chili, but we have not attempted in these notes to depict the local political condition of any of the states of south america. in the past they have most of them shown themselves as changeable as the wind, and remarks which would depict the status of to-day might be quite unsuited to that of to-morrow. the average reader is sufficiently familiar with the struggle so lately ended in chili. one party was led by the late president balmaceda, in opposition to the other, known as the congressional party. that which brought about this open warfare was the refusal of congress any longer to recognize the president on account of his high-handed, illegal, and venal official conduct. a line will illustrate the cause of the outbreak. it was the constitution of the country as against a dictatorship. the president of the chilian republic, like the president of the united states, has a personal authority such as nowadays is wielded by few constitutional monarchs. balmaceda proved to be a tyrant of the first water, abusing the power of his position to condemn to death those who opposed him, without even the semblance of a trial. he succeeded in attaching most of the regular army to his cause by profuse promises and the free use of money, while the navy went almost bodily over to the side of congress. the contest assumed revolutionary proportions, and many battles were fought. as a casual observer, the author heartily coincided with the congressional party, and rejoices at their wholesale triumph. the suicidal act which ended balmaceda's life was no heroic resort, but the deed of a coward fearing to face the consequences of his murderous career. it is not the man who has been actuated by high and noble sentiments who cuts his throat or blows out his brains. such is the act of the cunning fraud who realizes that he has not only totally failed in his object, but that his true character is known to the world. suicide has been declared to be the final display of egoism, and it certainly leaves the world with one less thoroughly selfish character. the disappearance of such an individual may produce a momentary ripple on the surface of time, but it fails to leave any permanent mark. nearly three hundred miles south of santiago, capital of chili, on the pacific coast, is situated the city of concepcion. it stands on the right bank of the river biobio, six or seven miles from its mouth, and contains about twenty-five thousand inhabitants. the people seem to be exceptionally active and enterprising, though at this writing suffering from the effects of the late civil war. it is the third city in point of size and importance in the republic, and dates from over three hundred years ago. it will be remembered also that it once held the place now occupied by santiago as capital of the country. the city is built in the valley of mocha, under the coast range of hills, and is justly famed, like puebla in mexico, for its pretty women and beautiful flowers. it is a clean and thrifty town, with handsome shops, a charming plaza, and an attractive alameda. this latter deserves special mention. it is a mile long, and beautified with several rows of tall lombardy poplars, the sight of which carried us to another hemisphere, where those lovely italian plains stretch away from the environs of milan towards the foothills of the neighboring alps and the more distant apennines. great things are prognosticated for concepcion in the near future by its friends, and it is already the principal town of southern chili. the streets are well paved, and lined by handsome business blocks, together with pleasant dwelling-houses, built low, to avoid the effect of earthquakes, the universal material being sun-dried bricks, finished externally in stucco. the façades are painted in harlequin variety of colors, yellow, blue, and peach-blossom prevailing. the town has really more the appearance of a northern than a southern city, and has long been connected with valparaiso by railway. some of the most extensive coal mines on this part of the continent have been discovered in this vicinity, and are being worked on a large scale. in fact, coronal, not far away, is the great coaling station on the chilian coast for steamships bound to europe or panama. one would suppose that this coal mining must be quite profitable, as we were told that twenty-five and even thirty dollars per ton was realized for it delivered at the nearest tide-water. the port of concepcion is some seven miles from the city, where the river biobio flows into the ocean at talcahuano,--pronounced tal-ca-wha'no,--a small town on concepcion bay possessing an excellent harbor. there are here a large marine dock, an arsenal, and a seaman's hospital. close by the shore is a spacious and convenient railway station. the bay is some six miles wide by seven in length. there is a resident population of nearly four thousand, who form an extremely active community. the majority of the houses are of a very humble character and, like those of concepcion, are built of adobe. spanish capitals in the west indies and south america were originally placed, like concepcion, some distance from the coast, to render them more secure against the attack of pirates and lawless sea-rovers, who might land from their vessels, burn a town on the seashore, after robbing it of all valuables, and easily make good their escape; whereas to march inland and attack a town far from their base, or to proceed up a shallow river in boats for such a purpose, was a far more difficult, if not indeed an impossible thing to do. thus callao is the harbor of lima; valparaiso, of santiago; and talcahuano, of concepcion. the situation of the last named capital is admirable, at the head of the bay, which affords one of the best harbors on the west coast of the continent. when the transcontinental railway from buenos ayres, on the atlantic side, is finished, surmounting the passes of the andes,--already "a foregone conclusion,"--it will have its termination here at talcahuano, which must then become a great shipping point for new zealand and australia. half a dozen lines of european mail steamers already touch here regularly. the river is too shallow to admit of vessels drawing more than a few feet of water ascending it so far as concepcion, but talcahuano is all sufficient as a port. few places have been so frequently devastated by fire, flood, and earthquakes, or so often ravaged by war, as has this interesting city. in the early days the araucanian indians put the settlers to the sword again and again. this was the bravest of all the native indian tribes of south america, and is still an unconquered people. the city was laid in ruins so late as by an earthquake, though no special signs of this destructive visitor are to be seen here to-day. still, one cannot but feel that with such possibilities hanging over the locality, there must be few people willing to expend freely of their means for substantial building purposes, or to make concepcion a permanent place of abode. human nature adapts itself to all exigencies, however, and the place grows rapidly, notwithstanding the discouraging circumstances which we have named. it is not the native but the foreign element of the population which is doing so much for this region. were the mingled native race to be left to themselves, there would be few signs of progress evinced; they would rapidly lapse into a condition of semi-barbarism. the chilian proper is a very poor creature as regards morals, intelligence, or true manhood; his instincts are brutal and his aims predaceous. like all south american cities, concepcion is laid out by rule and compass, the fairly broad streets crossing each other at right angles. there is a large and costly cathedral, but a wholesome fear of earthquakes has caused it to be left without the usual twin towers, which gives it an unfinished appearance. the place also contains other churches, a well-appointed theatre, two hospitals, and several edifices devoted to charitable purposes. opposite the cathedral stands the intendencia, a large and handsome government house. telephones and electric lights have long been adopted, and the telegraph poles do much abound. in these foreign places, so far away from home, to see the streets lined, as they are with us, by big, tall poles, holding aloft a maze of wires, is very suggestive; but where can one go that they are not? it is curious to realize that we can step into an office close at hand and promptly communicate with any part of the world. we may have sailed over the ocean many thousands of miles, and have consumed months to reach the spot where we stand, but electricity, like thought, annihilates space, and will take our message instantly to its destination, though it be at the farthest end of the globe. these marvelous facilities are no longer confined to populous centres. electricity not only bears our messages to the uttermost parts of the world, but it propels the tramway cars in rome, boston, and munich, while it also lights the streets of new york, auckland in new zealand, as well as of london and honolulu. the importance of concepcion is manifest from the fact that several new railway connections terminating here have lately been accomplished; but the important event already referred to, of the transcontinental railway, will finally insure her commercial greatness. the town is surrounded by a widespread, fertile country, abounding in both mineral and agricultural wealth, equal to, if not surpassing, any other province in chili. the city was financially strong before the late civil war, and has still some very wealthy residents. the principal bank of concepcion, with a capital of one million dollars, paid a dividend to its stockholders in of sixteen per cent. on the previous year's business. the cathedral and government house, already spoken of, front on the plaza, a large open square ornamented with statuary, trees, and flowers, the latter kept in most exquisite order and constant bloom by means of a singular and original device. it seems that each separate plot of these grounds is owned or cared for by a different family of the citizens, and that a spirit of emulation is thus excited by the effort of the several parties to make their special plot excel in its beauty and fragrance. this keeps the whole plaza in a lovely condition, and makes it the pride of the city. society and business circles are mostly composed of foreigners, the german element largely predominating. the native, or humbler classes, as we have already intimated, are a wretchedly low people. they "wake" their dead before burial, much after the style which prevails in ireland, except that the process is more exaggerated in manner. drinking and debauchery characterize these occasions, which are continued often for three days at a time, or so long as the means for indulgence in excess last. in case of youthful deaths, the child's cheeks are painted red, and the head is crowned in a fantastic manner, the body being dressed and placed in a sitting position, thus forming a strange and hideous sight. such treatment of a corpse could only be tolerated by a barbarous people. in the environs of the town, lazarus jostles dives. there are here many hovels, as well as a better class of residences. some of them are wretchedly poor, built of mud and bamboo, the inhabitants half-naked and wholly starved, if one may judge by their appearance. on saturday, which in spanish towns and cities is called "poor day," the streets of concepcion are full of either assumed or real mendicants. the spanish race is one of chronic beggars,--they seem born so. scarcely less of a nuisance than the beggars are the army of half-starved, mongrel, neglected dogs, that throng in the streets of the city, rivaling constantinople. it should be mentioned that concepcion has a good system of tramway service, and that the cars have attached to them a class of neat, pretty, and modest girls for conductors, who wear natty straw hats, snow white aprons, and are supplied with a leather cash bag hung by a strap about the neck. it seems rather incongruous that while so many evidences of real progress abound in this city, water, the prime necessity of life, should be peddled about the streets by the bucketful. now is the time to perfect a system of drainage, and to introduce an adequate supply of good water, from easily available sources. the inexhaustible coal fields already mentioned, which are situated but a few miles away, must prove to be a lasting source of prosperity to concepcion. they are far more important and valuable, all things considered, than a gold or silver mine near at hand would be. indeed, it is found in the long run that the latter kind of mineral discoveries do not always tend to the material benefit of the community in which they are found. the earth produces far more profitable crops than gold and precious stones, even when considered in the most mercenary light. the business prospects of concepcion, as we have pointed out in detail, are exceedingly promising. that the city is destined eventually to rival valparaiso seems more than probable, and yet there is another side to this favorable aspect thus presented, which it is not wise to ignore. true, the climate is equable and healthy, but that great drawback, the liability to earthquakes and tidal waves, still remains, like a dark, portending shadow. in spite of this startling possibility there is something of a "boom" already instituted, at this writing, as to the prices of land in and about both the port and city of concepcion. it is a fact that people will soon become calloused and heedless of almost any familiar danger. jack turns in and quickly falls to sleep, when the watch below is called and relieves him from the deck, though the ship is in the midst of cyclone latitudes, and while a half-gale is blowing. the people of torre del grecco, at the base of the volcano, do not sleep any less soundly to-day because pompeii was utterly destroyed by vesuvius eighteen or nineteen centuries ago. the earthquake of first shook talcahuano nearly to pieces, and then completed its destruction by a tidal wave which swept what remained of it into the sea. it goes without saying that most of the fruits and staple products of the tropics are to be found both at concepcion and at the port of talcahuano. each place we visit seems to have some specialty in this line. here, it is the watermelon. favored by the soil and the climate, this fruit is developed to its maximum in weight, richness of flavor, and general perfection. they are sold cheap enough everywhere. a centavo will buy a large ripe one. street carts and donkeys are laden with them, and so are the decks of all outgoing vessels. it is both food and drink to the poor peons, who consume the fruit in quantities strongly suggestive of cholera, dropsy, or some other dreadful illness. any one accustomed to travel in our southern states, in the right season of the year, will have observed how voraciously the negro population, young and old, eat of the cheap, ripe crop of watermelons; but these south american peons have a capacity for storage and digestion of this really wholesome article, beyond all comparison. a child not more than ten years of age will devour the ripe portion of a large melon in a few minutes, and no ill effects seem to follow. an adult eats two at a meal which would weigh, we are afraid to say how much, but they are considerably larger than the average melons which are brought to new england from the south. after all, the watermelon is healthful food, though it is more filling than nourishing. it will be remembered that the famous fasting individual, dr. tanner, after eating nothing for forty days and forty nights, took for his first article of nourishment, at the close of this time of fasting, half a watermelon, and that he retained and digested it successfully. chapter xv. valparaiso.--principal south american port of the pacific.--a good harbor.--tallest mountain on this continent.--the newspaper press.--warlike aspect.--girls as car conductors.--chilian exports.--foreign merchants.--effects of civil war.--gambling in private houses.--immigration.--culture of the grape.--agriculture.--island of juan fernandez. valparaiso--"vale of paradise"--was thus fancifully named because of its assumed loveliness. true, it is beautifully situated, and is a fine city of its class, located in an admirable semicircular bay, not upon one, but upon many hills, backed by a crescent-shaped mountain range. but when one compares its harbor to that of naples, or sydney in australia, for picturesqueness of scenery, as is often done, it only provokes invidious remarks. the matchless harbor of rio janeiro, on the eastern coast of the continent, already fully described in these pages, is far more charming in general effect and in all of its surroundings, not to mention that it is more than twenty times as large. valparaiso is the principal seaport of chili, and indeed, for the present, it is the main port of the entire west coast of south america. by consulting the map it will be readily seen that chili must ever be a maritime nation, depending more upon an effective navy than an army. the possession of the national ships of war by the congressional party in the revolution so lately terminated gave them virtual control of the cities along the coast, at the outbreak of the émeute, and this means they employed against the presidential party with the most ruthless effect. they did not hesitate to savagely cannonade and shell a city, though two thirds of the occupants were their own friends and supporters, provided it was held ostensibly, and for the time being only, by the supporters of balmaceda. the outrageous bombardment of iquique is an instance in illustration of this charge. the chilian delights to be cruel; it is his instinct to destroy and to plunder. he is by nature boastful, passionate, and headstrong. this disposition seems to be born in the race, is in fact a matter of heredity, fostered by bull-fights and kindred entertainments. but the country must now pay for the enormous destruction of property of which the directors of the civil war have been guilty. the european powers have already begun to send in their demands for damages done to their non-combatant merchants. england comes first with a bill calling for payment of sixty million dollars. spain, italy, and germany will follow. it is estimated that a hundred million dollars will be required to settle these foreign demands. chili must pay. there is no avoiding it. reckless destruction will be found to be rather an expensive amusement in future for these south americans. their outrageous and murderous treatment of citizens of the united states who land upon their shore is also like to cost them a heavy sum in way of penalty. the present is a good opportunity to teach them a salutary lesson. the chilians will not be in a hurry to repeat crimes which they find entail sure and swift punishment. a majority of the population of chili lives, as a rule, within a few miles of the sea, and her coast line extends from cape horn northward over two thousand miles to the borders of bolivia and peru. with this extraordinary length, she has an average width of hardly more than a hundred miles, bordered on the east by the western slope of the andes, whose eastern side belongs to the argentine republic, and on the west by the pacific ocean. the present estimated area of the republic is about two hundred and twenty thousand square miles, containing a population of considerably less than three millions, though its capacious territory could be so divided as to make twenty-five states as large as massachusetts. sixteen hundred miles of steam railroads render the principal sections of chili accessible to one another. the coast line has from time to time been undergoing decided changes through volcanic action. in , after a visible commotion, the shore was permanently raised three feet at valparaiso, and four feet at quintere. this change extended over an area of a hundred thousand miles. another but lesser elevation took place in the same region in . there seems to be no accounting for the vagaries of a land subject to volcanic influences. the harbor of valparaiso is well protected on the east, south, and west, but it is open to the north, from which direction come very heavy winds and seas during a couple of months in the winter season, often causing serious casualties among the shipping which may chance to be anchored in the harbor. a "norther" is as much dreaded here as it is at vera cruz and along the gulf of mexico generally. the entrance to the harbor is on its north side, and is a mile in width, more or less. the flags of nearly all nations are seen here, though the stars and stripes are less frequently to be met with than others. the city lies at the base of the closely surrounding hills, up whose sides and in the ravines the dwelling-houses have been constructed, tier above tier. over all, further inland, looms the frosted head of grand old aconcagua, twenty-two thousand feet and more in height, believed to be the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere. this mighty member of the andean cordillera is said to be ninety miles away, but it is so lofty and dominant, as seen through the clear atmosphere, that it appears almost within cannon range. at this writing the harbor presents quite a warlike aspect. english, american, french, german, and chilian men-of-war are anchored here, looking after their several national interests, as affected by the civil war. the bugle calls of the several ships, the morning and evening guns, the display of naval bunting, together with the flitting hither and thither of well-manned boats, all unite to form a gay and suggestive scene. the chilian cruisers in the hands of the revolutionists would not hesitate to batter down any government buildings on the coast, destroying incidentally the domestic residences and merchandise of non-combatants, were they not restrained by the presence of foreign flags and guns. when balmaceda undertook by a proclamation to shut up the ports of chili, and declared them blockaded, he was told by the several naval commanders on the coast that he could not establish a paper blockade, and that if the merchant ships of their several countries were in any way interfered with, he would have to fight somebody else besides the revolutionists. the ports were therefore kept as open to legitimate commerce as they ever were. the author was disappointed at not being able to reach santiago, the capital of chili, which is situated at the foot of the western slope of the andes, nearly two thousand feet above tide-water. it is connected with valparaiso by railway, and under ordinary circumstances can be reached in eight hours. the difficulties caused by the civil war, and the suspicion with which all foreigners were regarded, proved impossible to surmount without a protracted effort, and submitting to any amount of red tape. santiago was founded by one of pizarro's captains, in , and now contains about two hundred thousand inhabitants. there are some americans and many english resident in santiago, together with germans and frenchmen, the foreigners being mostly merchants. we were told of two familiar statues which are to be seen in a public square of the city, in front of the post-office. one represents george washington, the other abraham lincoln, both of which were stolen from lima during the late conflict between chili and peru. but this is a digression. let us once more return to the commercial port of valparaiso. a considerable portion of this city has been reclaimed from the sea, and still more land suitable for the erection of business warehouses near the shore is being added to this part of the town. local enterprise, however, is pretty much suspended for the time being, owing to the disturbed condition of political affairs. the mountains near at hand supply ample stone and soil for the purpose of extending the area of this business portion of the town. sixty or seventy years ago, the city contained only a single street, on the edge of the harbor; to-day it has all the appearance and belongings of a great commercial capital, and a population of a hundred and thirty thousand. except rio janeiro and buenos ayres, we saw nowhere thoroughfares more full of energetic life and business activity. the main avenue is the calle victoria, which runs round the entire water front, occupied by the banks, hotels, insurance offices, and the best shops in the town. there are four large daily newspapers published in valparaiso, whose united circulation exceeds thirty thousand copies. "el mercurio" has the eminent respectability of age, having been published regularly for a period of half a century. the facility for news-gathering is very good, as this city is connected with the world at large by submarine cable, but no such detailed and complete summary of intelligence is attempted as our north american journals exhibit daily. while on this subject, we may add that there are no newspapers in europe, or elsewhere, which will compare with those of the united states in the average ability and journalistic merit which characterizes them. we do not say this in a boastful spirit, but simply make the statement as an incontrovertible fact. some of the business structures along the harbor front of valparaiso are fine edifices architecturally, and many of the retail stores will compare favorably with the average of ours in washington street, boston. the elegant class of goods displayed in some of these establishments shows that the population is an habitually extravagant and free-living one. we were told, by way of illustration, that millionaires were as plenty as blackberries before the late civil war, while many wealthy men, foreseeing the catastrophe which was about to occur, shrewdly prepared for it, and by careful management saved their property intact. many of the private houses on victoria street are spacious, elegant, and costly, the occupants living in regal style, to support which must cost a very heavy annual outlay. it appears that president balmaceda discovered, during the late struggle, where and how to lay his hands upon the resources of a few of these citizens, and that such he completely impoverished, under one pretext and another, using their property to support his armed minions, and to swell the aggregate of funds which he sent for deposit in his own name to europe. one or two cases of this sort were related to us in which the citizens were not only made to give up the whole of their private property, but were finally imprisoned and sentenced to death upon a charge of treason, without even the semblance of a trial! it is no marvel, to those who know the facts of his career, that a man who was guilty of such crimes, when at last brought to bay, finding himself betrayed and deserted by his pretended friends, should have blown out his own brains. the posthumous papers which he left, and wherein he tries to pose as a martyr, are simply a ludicrous failure. josé manuel balmaceda was in the fifty-second year of his age when he committed suicide, and was at the time hiding for fear of the infuriated citizens of santiago, who would certainly have hanged the would-be dictator without the least hesitation or formality, if they could have got possession of his person. the tramway-cars of valparaiso are of the two-story pattern, like those of copenhagen and new orleans, also found in many of the european cities. they have as conductors, like concepcion, very pretty half-breed girls, who appear to thoroughly understand their business, and to fulfill its requirements to universal satisfaction. if an intoxicated or unruly person appears on the cars, the conductress does not attempt personally to eject him. she has only to hold up her hand, and the nearest policeman, of whom there are always a goodly number about, jumps on to the car and settles the matter in short order. girls were thus first employed in order that the men who ordinarily fill these places might be drafted into the army, during the late war between chili and peru, and as the system proved to be a complete success, it has been continued ever since. the fare charged on these tram-cars is five cents for each inside passenger, and half that sum for the outside; and, as in paris, when the seats are all full, a little sign is shown upon the car, signifying that no more persons will be admitted, none being allowed to stand. the same rule is enforced in london, and the thought suggested itself as to whether our west end railway company of boston might not take an important hint therefrom. the ladies and gentlemen of the city are a well dressed class, the former adopting parisian costumes, and the gentlemen wearing a full dress of dark broadcloth, with tall stove-pipe hats. the women of the more common class wear the national "manta," and the men the "poncha." the former is a dark, soft shawl which covers in part the head and face of the wearer. the latter is a long, striped shawl, with a slit cut in the centre, through which the head of the wearer is thrust. nothing could be more simple in construction than both of these garments, and yet they are somehow very picturesque. as we have already intimated, it is soon learned, upon landing at any port of the commercial world, what the staple products of the neighborhood are, by simply noting the visible merchandise made ready for shipment. here we have sugar, wool, and cotton prevailing over all other articles. guano and nitrate, which also form specialties here, are represented, though the supply of the former is pretty much exhausted. the nitrate trade is controlled by an englishman of large fortune, colonel north, known here as the "nitrate king." this valuable fertilizer is the deposit of the nitrate of soda in the beds of lakes long since dried up, the waters of which originally contained in solution large quantities of this material. these lakes in olden times received the flow of a great water-shed, and having no outlet, save by evaporation, accumulated and precipitated at the bottom the chemical elements flowing into them from the surrounding country. the article is now dug up and put through a certain process, then shipped to foreign countries as a fertilizer, believed to put new heart into exhausted soil. england consumes an immense quantity of it annually, and many ships are regularly employed in its transportation. the custom house, situated near the landing at valparaiso, is a somewhat remarkable structure, having a long, low façade surmounted by tall, handsome towers. this is eminently the business part of the town, and is called "el puerto." the larger share of the residences of the merchants and well-to-do citizens is situated on the hillsides, to reach which it is necessary to ascend long flights of steps. at certain points elevators are also supplied by which access is gained to the upper portions of the town, after the fashion already described at bahia, on the east coast. the majority of people doing business in valparaiso are english, and english is the almost universal language. even the names upon the city signs are suggestive in this direction. among the public houses are the "queen's arms," the "royal oak," the "red lion," and so on. besides an english school, there are three churches belonging to that nationality. there are numerous free schools, both of a primary and advanced character, an elaborately organized college, two or three theatres, and the usual charitable establishments, including a public library. the principal part of the city is lighted by electricity, and the telephone is in general use. a special effort has lately been made to promote the education of the rising generation in chili, and we know of no field where the endeavor would be more opportune. such an effort is never out of place, but here it is imperatively called for. the almost universal ignorance of the common people of chili is deplorable, and little improvement can be hoped for as regards their moral or physical condition, except through the means of educating the youth of the country. a commissioner-general of education was appointed some time ago, who has already visited europe and north america to study the best modern methods adopted in the public schools. this is a tangible evidence of improvement which speaks for itself, and is a great stride of this people in the right direction. of course the late political crisis will greatly retard the hoped-for results, just as it will put chili back some years in her national progress, whatever may be the final outcome in other respects. gambling is a prevailing national trait in this country, by no means confined to any one class of the community. the street gamin plays for copper centavos, while the pretentious caballero does the same for gold coins. it is quite common in family circles, held to be very aristocratic, to see the gaming table laid out every evening, as regularly as the table upon which the meals are served. money in large sums is lost and won with assumed indifference in these private circles, whole fortunes being sometimes sacrificed at a single sitting. gambling seems to be held exempt from the censure of either church or state, since both officials and priests indulge in all sorts of games of chance. there are the usual public lotteries always going on to tempt the poorer classes of the people, and to capture their hard-earned wages. one virtue must be freely accorded to the business centre of this city, namely, that of cleanliness, in which respect it is far in advance of most of the capitals on the east coast of south america. being the first seaport of any importance in the south pacific, it is naturally a place of call for european bound steamers coming from new zealand and australia, as well as those sailing from panama and san francisco. in view of the fact that six hundred and fifty thousand people emigrate from europe annually, seeking new homes in foreign lands, the chilian government, in common with some others of the south american states, has for several years past held forth the liberal inducement of substantial aid to all bona fide settlers from foreign countries. each newcomer who is the head of a family is given two hundred acres of available land, together with lumber and other materials for building a comfortable dwelling-house, also a cart, a plough, and a reasonable amount of seed for planting. besides these favors which we have enumerated, some other important considerations are offered. only a small number, comparatively speaking, of emigrants have availed themselves of such liberal terms, and these have been mostly germans. if such an offer were properly promulgated and laid before the poor peasantry of ireland and spain and italy, it would seem as though many of those people would hasten to accept it in the hope of bettering their condition in life. whether such a result would follow emigration would of course depend upon many other things besides the liberality of the offer of the chilian government. the germans form a good class of emigrants, perhaps the best, often bringing with them considerable pecuniary means, together with habits of industry. the late civil war has put a stop to emigration for a period at least, and will interfere with its success for some time to come, if indeed chili ever assumes quite so favorable a condition as she has sacrificed. there are some districts, including limache and pauquehue, where grape culture has been brought to great perfection, and where it is conducted on a very large scale. wine-making is thus taking its place as one of the prosperous industries of the country. the amount of the native product consumed at home is very large, and a regular system of exports to other south american ports has been established. all of the most important modes of culture, such as have been proven most successful in france and california, have been carefully adopted here. tramways are laid to intersect the various parts of these extensive vineyards, to aid in the gathering and transportation of the ripe fruit, while the appliances for expressing the juice of the grape are equally well systematized. one vineyard, belonging to the consiño family, near santiago, covers some two hundred acres, closely planted with selected vines from france, switzerland, and california, the purpose being to retain permanently such grades as are found best adapted to the soil and the climate of chili. the white wines are the most popular here, but red burgundy brands are produced with good success. the vines are trained on triple lines of wires, stretched between iron posts, presenting an appearance of great uniformity, the long rows being planted about three or four feet apart. every arrangement for artificial irrigation is provided, it being an absolute necessity in this district of chili. trenches are cut along the rows of vines, through which the water, from ample reservoirs, is permitted to flow at certain intervals; particularly when the grape begins to swell and ripen. the fruit is not trodden here, as it is in italy, but is thoroughly expressed by means of proper machinery. geographically, chili is, as we have intimated, a long, narrow country, lying south of peru and bolivia, ribbon-like in form, and divided into nineteen provinces. it has been considerably enlarged by conquest from both of the nationalities just named; including the important territory of terapaca. the name "chili" signifies snow, with which the tops of most of the mountain ranges upon the eastern border are always covered. still, extending as she does, from latitude ° south to cape horn, she embraces every sort of climate, from burning heat to glacial frosts, while nearly everything that grows can be produced upon her soil. though she has less than three million inhabitants, still her territory exceeds that of any european nationality except russia. the manifest difference between the aggregate of her population and that of her square miles does not speak very favorably for the healthful character of the climate. there is no use in attempting to disguise the fact that chili has rather a hard time of it, with sweeping epidemics, frequent earthquakes, and devouring tidal waves. the country contains thirty volcanoes, none of which are permanently active, but all of which have their periods of eruption, and most of which exhibit their dangerous nature by emitting sulphurous smoke and ashes. the unhygienic condition of life among her native races accounts for the large death-rate prevailing at all times, and especially among the peon children, thus preventing a natural increase in the population. unless a liberal immigration can be induced, chili must annually decrease in population. as regards the foreign whites and the educated natives who indulge in no extravagant excesses, living with a reasonable regard for hygiene, doubtless chili is as healthy as most countries, but there is still to be remembered the erratic exhibitions of nature, a possibility always hanging like the sword of damocles over this region. a whole town may, without the least warning, vanish from the face of the earth in the space of five minutes, or be left a mass of ruins. it is in the districts of the north that the rich mines and the nitrate fields are found, but the central portion of the country, and particularly towards the south, is the section where the greatest agricultural results are realized, and which will continue to yield in abundance after the mineral wealth shall have become quite exhausted. the southern portion of the country embraces patagonia, which has lately been divided between chili and the argentine republic. in short, chili is no exception to the rule that agriculture, and not mining products, is the true and permanent reliance of any country. a little less than four hundred miles off the shore of valparaiso, on the same line of latitude, is the memorable island of juan fernandez. it is politically an unimportant dependence of chili, though of late years it has indirectly been made the means of producing some income for the national treasury. there was a period in which chili maintained a penal colony here, but the convicts mutinied, and massacred the officers who had charge of them. these convicts succeeded in getting away from the island on passing ships. no attempt has been made since that time to reëstablish a penal colony on this island. to-day the place is occupied by thriving vegetable gardeners, and raisers of stock. every intelligent youth will remember the island as the spot where de foe laid the scene of his popular and fascinating story of "robinson crusoe." the island is about twenty miles long by ten broad, and is covered with dense tropical verdure, gentle hills, sheltered valleys, and thrifty woods. juan fernandez resembles the azores in the north atlantic. though generally spoken of in the singular, there are actually three islands here, forming a small, compact group, known as inward island, outward island, and great island. many intelligent people think that the story of robinson crusoe is a pure fabrication, but this is not so. de foe availed himself of an actual occurrence, and put it into readable form, adding a few romantic episodes to season the story for the taste of the million. it was in a measure truth, which he stamped with the image of his own genius. occasionally some enthusiastic admirer of de foe comes thousands of miles out of the beaten track of travel to visit this group of islands, by the way of valparaiso. grapes, figs, and other tropical fruits abound at juan fernandez. it is said that several thousand people might be easily supported by the natural resources of these islands, and the abundance of fish which fill the neighboring waters. an english naval commander stopped here in , to recruit his ships' crews, and to repair some damages. while here he caused various seeds to be planted for the advantage of any mariners who might follow. the benefit of this christian act has been realized by many seamen since that date. fruits, grain, and vegetables are now produced by spontaneous fertility annually, which were not before to be found here. the english commander also left goats and swine to run wild, and to multiply, and these animals are numerous there to-day. juan fernandez has one tall peak, nearly three thousand feet high, which the pilots point out long before the rest of the island is seen. it was from this lofty lookout that alexander selkirk was wont to watch daily in the hope of sighting some passing ship, by which he might be released from his imprisonment. there are about one hundred residents upon the group to-day, it having been leased by the chilian government as a stock ranch for the breeding of goats and cattle, as well as for the raising of vegetables for the market of valparaiso. there are said to be thirty thousand horned cattle, and many sheep, upon these islands. occasional excursion parties are made up at valparaiso to visit the group by steamboat, for the purpose of shooting seals and mountain goats. stories are told of juan fernandez having been formerly made the headquarters of pirates who came from thence to ravage the towns on the coast of the continent, and it is believed by the credulous that much of the ill-gotten wealth of the buccaneers still remains hidden there. in search of this supposititious treasure, expeditions have been fitted out in past years at valparaiso, and many an acre of ground has been vainly dug over in seeking for piratical gold, supposed to be buried there. some of the shrewd stock raisers of juan fernandez are ready, for a consideration, to point out to seekers the most probable places where such treasures might have been buried. chapter xvi. the port of callao.--a submerged city.--peruvian exports.--a dirty and unwholesome town.--cinchona bark.--the andes.--the llama.--a national dance.--city of lima.--an old and interesting capital.--want of rain.--pizarro and his crimes.--a grand cathedral.--chilian soldiers.--costly churches of peru.--roman catholic influence.--desecration of the sabbath. the passage northward from valparaiso to callao occupies about four days by the steamers which do not stop at intermediate ports. we entered the harbor in the early morning while a soft veil of mist enshrouded the bay, but as the sun fairly shone upon the view, this aerial screen rapidly disappeared, revealing callao just in front of us, making the foreground of a pleasing and vivid picture, the middle distance filled by the ancient city of lima, and the far background by alpine ranges. callao is an ill-built though important town, with a population of about thirty thousand, and serves as the port for lima, the capital of peru. it has a good harbor, well protected by the island of san lorenzo, which, with the small island of el fronton, and the palminos reef, forms a protection against the constant swell of the ocean. there are nearly always one or two ships of war belonging to foreign nations in the harbor, and large steamships from the north or the south. the sailing distance from panama is fifteen hundred miles. the callao of to-day is comparatively modern. old callao formerly stood on a tongue of land opposite san lorenzo, but in an earthquake submerged it and drowned some five thousand of the inhabitants, foundered a score of ships, and stranded a spanish man-of-war. in calm weather one can row a boat over the spot where the old city stood, and see the ruins far down in the deep waters. the present city has twice been near to sharing the same fate: once in , and again in . it is, therefore, not assuming too much to say that callao may at any time disappear in the most summary fashion. the sunken ruins in the harbor are a melancholy and suggestive sight, the duplicate of which we do not believe can be found elsewhere on the globe. though seismic disturbances are of such frequent occurrence, and are so destructive on the west coast of south america, they are hardly known on the atlantic or eastern side of the continent. that they are frequently coincident with volcanic disturbances indicates that there is an intimate connection between them, but yet earthquakes often occur in regions where volcanoes do not exist. this was the case, not long since, as most of our readers will remember, in south carolina. it has been noticed by careful observers that animals become uneasy on the eve of such an event, which would seem to show that earthquakes sometimes owe their origin to extraordinary atmospheric conditions. san lorenzo is about six miles from callao, and is four miles long by one in width. it is utterly barren, presenting a mass of brownish gray color, eleven hundred feet high, at whose base there is ever a broad, snow white ruffle, caused by the never-ceasing ocean swell breaking into foam. an english smelting company has established extensive works near the shore of the island, for the reduction of silver and copper ores. the approach to callao from the sea affords a fine view of the undulating shore, backed by the snowy cordilleras, the shabby buildings of the town, with the dismantled castle of san felipe forming the foreground. in landing one must be cautious: there is always considerable swell in the harbor. the staple products of this region are represented by packages of merchandise prepared for shipment, and which are the first to attract one's attention upon landing, such as cinchona bark from the native forests, piles of wheat in bulk, hides, quantities of crude salt, sugar packed in dried banana leaves, bales of alpaca wool, and, most suggestive of all, some heavy bags of silver ore. little is being done in mining at present, though the field for this industry is large. the difficulty of transportation is one of the great drawbacks, yet peru has over a thousand miles of railways in her rather limited area. gold, platinum, silver, and copper are all found in paying quantities. coal and petroleum also exist here, in various inland districts. the guano deposits, which have yielded so much wealth to peru in the past, are practically exhausted, while the nitrate-producing province of tarapaca has been stolen by chili, to which it now belongs. it is thought that the nitrate deposits can be profitably worked for fifty years to come. a crowd of the lazy, ragged population were loafing about the landing, watching the strangers as they came on shore at the wet and slippery stone steps. it is very plain that the great importance of callao has departed, though there is still an appearance of business activity. not long ago, a hundred vessels at a time might be seen at anchor inside of san lorenzo; now, a score of good-sized ships are all one can count. this is owing to various causes: an unreasonable high tariff is one of them, exorbitant port charges is another, and the general depression of business on the west coast is felt quite as strongly here as at any of the ports. like santos, on the other side of the continent, callao is ever an unhealthy resort, where a great mortality prevails in the fever season. the absence of good drainage and inattention to hygienic rules will in part account for the bad repute that the port has among the shipping masters who frequent the coast. the streets are particularly malodorous about the water front. the dirty vultures seem to be depended upon to remove offensive garbage. a certain remarkable occurrence sometimes takes place in this harbor, which, so far as the writer knows, is without precedent elsewhere. a ship may come in from sea and anchor at about sunset, in good order and condition, everything being white and clean on board, but when her captain comes on deck the next morning, he may find that his ship has been painted, inside and out, a dark chocolate color during the night, the atmosphere at the same time being impregnated with a peculiar odor, arising from this "paint," or whatever it may be, which clings tenaciously to every object, wood or iron. while it is damp and freshly deposited, it can be removed like fresh paint, but if it is permitted to dry, it is as difficult to remove as ordinary dried paint would be. no one can tell the origin of this nuisance, but most seamen whose business brings them to callao have been through this experience. of course it must be an atmospheric deposit, but from whence? it has never been known to occur upon the neighboring land, but only in the harbor. scientists have given the matter their attention, and have concluded that it may be caused by sulphurous gases produced in the earth below the water, which rise to the surface and disseminate themselves in the surrounding atmosphere. from any elevated point in the city one may enjoy a delightful view, the main features of which are the andes on the land side, and seaward, the broad heaving bosom of the pacific. the corrugated peaks of the former, clad in white, seem like restless phantoms marching through the sky. over the latter, long lines of inky blackness trail behind northern or southern bound steamers, while here and there a tall, full-rigged ship recalls the older modes of navigation. the smoother water inside of san lorenzo is alive with small boats, some under sails, some propelled by oars, shooting in and out among the shipping which lie at anchor before the town. a pair of large whales assisted at this scene for our special benefit, just inside the harbor's mouth. it must have been only play on their part,--leviathans at play,--but they threw up the sea in such clouds of spray with their broad tails, as to make it appear like a battle-royal seen from a mile away. we mentioned the fact of seeing cinchona bark in bales ready for shipping. of all the products of south america, gold, silver, and precious stones included, the most valuable is the drug which is called quinine, made from the bark of the cinchona tree. there is no other one article known to the materia medica which has been used in such large quantities or with such unvarying success by suffering humanity. it was first introduced into europe from peru, and was then known as peruvian bark. it was supposed at that time to be found only in this section of the continent; but subsequently it was discovered to abound in all the forests along the course of the andes, and especially on their western slope. so large has been its export that it was found the source of supply was rapidly becoming exhausted, until local governments awoke to the importance of the matter, and protected by law the trees which produce it. these are no longer ruthlessly cut down to die, when yielding their valuable harvest, but only a certain quantity of the desirable bark is taken from each tree annually, so that nature replaces the portion which had been removed, by covering the trunk with a fresh growth. the cinchona tree, having been transplanted from south america, is now successfully cultivated in the islands of the malacca straits, ceylon, india, and other tropical regions. the tree which produces this valuable febrifuge belongs to the same family as the coffee plant. in appearance it is very like our native beech tree, having remarkably white wood. the llama is found nearly all over south america, and is often seen as a beast of burden at callao, taking the place here which the donkey or burro fills in mexico. it has been described as having the head and neck of a camel, the body of a deer, the wool of a sheep, and the neigh of a horse. we do not agree with those who pronounce the llama an awkward creature. true, the body is a little ungainly, but the head, the graceful pose, the pointed, delicate ears, and the large, lustrous eyes are absolutely handsome. it can carry a burden weighing one hundred pounds over hard mountain roads, day after day, while living upon very scanty food. it is slow in its movements, patient when well treated, and particularly sure-footed. it is of a very gentle disposition, but when it finds the weight placed upon its back too heavy, like the egyptian camel, it immediately lies down and will not rise until the load is lightened. the llama, or "mountain camel," as it has been aptly called, is the only domesticated native animal. the horse, ox, hog, and sheep are all importations which were entirely unknown here four centuries ago. the llama has two notable peculiarities: when angry it will expectorate at its enemy, and when hurt will shed tears. the expectoration is of an acrid, semi-poisonous nature, and if it strikes the eyes will, it is said, blind them. the llama, guanaco, alpaca, and vicuña were the four sheep of the incas, the wool of the first clothing the common people; the second, the nobles; the third, the royal governors; and the fourth the incas. the first two are domesticated, guanacos and vicuñas are wild, though they all belong to the same family. the manners and customs of any people new to the traveler are always an interesting study, but in nothing are they more strongly individualized than in the pursuit of amusements. a favorite dance, known here as the _zama cueca_, is often witnessed out-of-doors in retired corners of the plaza or the alameda, as well as elsewhere. it requires two performers, and is generally danced by a male and female, being not unlike the parisian cancan, both in the movement and the purpose of the expression. the two dancers stand opposite each other, each having a pocket handkerchief in the right hand, while the music begins at first a dull, monotonous air, which rapidly rises and falls in cadence. the dancers approach each other, swaying their bodies gracefully, and using their limbs nimbly; now they pass each other, turning in the act to coquettishly wave the handkerchief about their heads, and also to snap it towards each other's faces. thus they advance and retreat several times, whipping at each other's faces, while throwing their bodies into peculiar attitudes. again they resume the first movement of advance and retreat, one assuming coyness, the other ardor, and thus continue, until, as a sort of climax, they fall into each other's arms with a peal of hearty laughter. a guitar is the usual accompanying instrument, the player uttering the while a shrill impromptu chant. when a male dancer joins in this street performance, as is sometimes the case, it is apt to be a little coarse and vulgar. there is very little in callao to detain us, and one is quite ready to hasten on to lima, the capital of peru, hoping to escape the stench and universal dirtiness of the port. the city of lima has at this writing about one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants, and is situated six miles from callao, its shipping port, with which it is connected by two rival railways. these roads are constructed upon an up-grade the whole distance, but the rise is so gradual as to be almost imperceptible, though lima is over five hundred feet higher than callao. the capital, which is clearly visible from the water as we enter the harbor, presents from that distance, and even from a much nearer point of view, a most pleasing picture, being favorably situated on elevated ground, with its many spires and domes standing forth in bold relief. it has, when seen from such a distance, a certain oriental appearance, charming to the eye of a stranger. but it is deceptive; it is indeed distance which lends enchantment in this case, for upon arriving within its precincts one is rudely undeceived. the apparently grand array of architecture on near inspection proves to be flimsy and poor in detail: everything is bamboo frame and plaster; no edifice is solid above the basement. still, one can easily imagine how attractive the place must have been in those viceregal days, the period of its false glory and prosperity. the capital stands almost at the very foot of the cordillera which forms the coast range, and is built upon both sides of the rimac, over which stretches a substantial stone bridge of six arches, very old and very homely, but all the more interesting because it is so venerable. the width of the river at this point is over five hundred feet. in the winter season it is a very moderate stream, but when the summer sun asserts itself, the snow upon the neighboring mountains yields to its warmth, and the rio rimac then becomes an alpine torrent. it is like the arno at florence, which at certain seasons has the form of a river without the circulation. the anecdote is told here of a yankee visitor to lima who was being shown over the city by a patriotic citizen, and who on coming to this spot remarked to his chaperon: "you ought either to buy a river or sell this bridge." at the entrance of this ancient structure stands a lofty and very effective archway, with two tall towers, and a clock in a central elevation. prominent over the arched entrance to the roadway is the motto _dios y la patria_,--"god and country." nothing in lima is of more interest than this hoary, unique, moss-grown bridge. one pauses before the crumbling yet still substantial old structure to recall the vivid scenes which must have been enacted in the long, long past upon its roadway. here madly contending parties have spilled each other's blood, hundreds of gaudy church processions have crossed these arches, bitter civil and foreign wars have raged about the bridge, dark conspiracies have been whispered and ripened here, solitary murders committed in the darkness of night, and lifeless bodies thrown from its parapet; but the dumb witness still remains intact, having endured more than three hundred years of use and abuse. it is not necessary to unpack one's waterproof or umbrella in lima. it never rains here, any more than it does in the region of aden, at the mouth of the red sea. all vegetable growth is more or less dependent upon artificial irrigation, and in the environs where this is judiciously applied the orange and lemon trees are heavy with golden fruit, forming a rich contrast with the deep green of the luxuriant plantain, the thick, lance-like agave, and the prolific banana. the city and its environs would be as poorly off without the water of the rimac as would the egyptians if deprived of the annual overflow of the fertilizing nile. though the river is so inconsiderable at certain seasons, still it does supply a certain quantity of water always, which is improved to the utmost. dews some times prevail at night, so heavy as to be of partial benefit, giving to vegetation a breath of moisture, and taking away the dead dryness of the atmosphere. this, however favorable for vegetation, is considered unwholesome for humanity. the flowers and shrubbery of the plaza droop for want of water, and are only preserved by great care on the part of those in charge of them. in some of the private gardens the pashinba palm-tree is seen, very peculiar in its growth, being mounted as it were upon stilts, formed by the exposed straight roots which radiate, like a series of props, to support the tall trunk. at its apex is a singular, spear-like stem, pointing straight skyward, without leaf or branch, just beneath which are the graceful, long, curved palm leaves, exquisite in proportions, bending like ostrich feathers. at first sight this tree looks like an artificial production, in which nature has taken no part. lying only twelve degrees south of the equator, lima has a tropical climate, but being also close to the foothills of the andes, she is near to a temperate district, so that her market yields the fruits and vegetables of two zones. pizarro, the ambitious and intrepid conqueror of peru, here established his capital in , and here ended his days in , dying at the hands of the assassin, the natural and retributive end of a life of gross bigotry, sensuality, recklessness, and almost unparalleled cruelty. in a narrow street,--the callejon de petateron,--leading out of the plaza mayor, a house is pointed out as being the one in which pizarro was assassinated. both pizarro in peru and cortez in mexico owed their phenomenal success to exceptional circumstances, namely, to the civil wars which prevailed among the native tribes of the countries they invaded. by shrewdly directing these intestine troubles so as to aid their own purposes, each commander in his special field achieved complete victory over races which, thus disunited and pitted against each other, fell an easy prey to the cunning invaders. neither of these adventurers had sufficient strength to contend against a united and determined people. such an enemy on his own ground would have swept the handful of spaniards led by pizarro from the face of the earth by mere force of numbers. soon after its foundation, lima became the most luxurious and profligate of the viceregal courts of spain, and so continued until its declaration of independence, and final separation from the mother country. the most worthless and restless spirits about the throne of spain were favored in a desire to join pizarro in the new world. the home government, while purging itself of so undesirable an element, added to the recklessness and utter immorality which reigned in the atmosphere of lima. forty-three successive viceroys ruled peru during the spanish occupancy. the nefarious inquisition, steeped in the blood of helpless and innocent natives, was active here long after its decadence in madrid, while the local churches, convents, and monasteries accumulated untold wealth by a system of arbitrary taxation, and iniquitous extortion exercised towards the native race. what better could have been expected from pizarro than to inaugurate and foster such a state of affairs? under the influence of designing priests and lascivious monks, he was as clay in the potter's hands, being originally only an illiterate swineherd, one who could neither read nor write. the state documents put forth during his viceregency, still preserved and to be seen in the archives of lima, show that he could only affix his mark, not even attempting to write his own name. though charles v. finally indorsed and ennobled him with the title of marques de la conquista, and appointed him viceroy of the conquered country, he was still and ever the illegitimate, low-bred hind of truxillo in continental spain. the palace of this man, who, with the exception of cortez, was the greatest human butcher of the age in which he lived, is still used for government offices, while the senate occupies the council chamber of the old inquisition building, infamous for the bloody work done within its walls. h. willis baxley, m. d., the admirable author, writes on the spot as follows: "when the apologists of pizarro attempt to shield his crimes, and excuse his acts of cruelty by his religious zeal and holy purpose of extending the dominion of the cross, they may well be answered that the religion was unworthy of adoption which required for its extension that the wife of the inca manco, then a prisoner in pizarro's power, should be 'stripped naked, bound to a tree, and in presence of the camp be scourged with rods, and then shot to death with arrows!' this cold-blooded brutality, and to a woman, should brand his name with eternal infamy." as we have intimated, lima, like constantinople, looks at its best from a distance, viewed so that the full and combined effect of its many domes and spires can be taken in as a whole; but whether near to it or far from it, few places in south america possess more poetical and historical interest. its past story reads like an arabian nights' tale. though the city is by no means what it has been, and wears an unmistakable air of decayed greatness, and though foreign invaders and civil wars have done their worst, lima is still an extremely attractive metropolis. even the vandalism of the late chilian invaders, who outraged all the laws of civilized warfare (if there is any such thing as civilized warfare), regardless of the rights of non-combatants, could not obliterate her natural attractions and historical associations. the chilian soldiers destroyed solely for the sake of destroying, mutilated statuary and works of art generally, besides burning historical treasures and libraries; and yet these chilians claim to be the highest type of modern civilization on the southern continent. they strove to ruin whatever they could not steal and carry away with them from peru, and, almost incredible to record, they wantonly killed the elephant in the zoölogical garden of lima, and purloined the small animals. noble, chivalrous chilians! the rank and file of these people are the very embodiment of ignorance and brutality. the chilian soldier carries, as a regular weapon, a curved knife called a _curvos_, with which he cuts the throats of his enemies. at close quarters, instead of fighting man-fashion, as nearly all other nations do, he springs like a fierce bull-dog at his opponent's throat, and with his curvos cuts it from ear to ear. after a battle, bands of these fiends in human shape go over the field, seeking out the wounded who are still alive, deliberately cutting their throats, and robbing their bodies of all valuables. it is chilian tactics to take no prisoners, give no quarter. these brave soldiers would have burned lima to the ground after gaining possession, had it not been for the interference of the foreign ministers, who had national men-of-war at callao with which to back their arguments. these guerrillas--for that is just about what the chilian soldiers are--knew full well that if even a small european battalion of disciplined men were landed and brought against them, they would simply be swept from the face of the earth. lima is laid out with the streets in rectangular form, the central point being the plaza mayor, in the shape of a quadrangle, each side of which is five hundred feet in length. on the north side of this admirably arranged square stand the buildings occupied as government offices, together with the bishop's palace, and the cathedral overshadowed by its two lofty towers. the corner-stone of this edifice was laid by pizarro with great ceremony. the spires, although presenting such an effective appearance, are constructed of the most frail material, such as bricks, stucco, and bamboo frames, but still, as a whole, they are undeniably imposing. in this dry climate they are, perhaps, enduring also. like the façade of the church of st. roche, in paris, this of the lima cathedral is marked by bullet-holes commemorating the chilian invasion. the church is raised six or eight feet above the level of the plaza, as is usual in south america, standing upon a marble platform, reached by broad steps, well calculated to enhance the really graceful proportions, and add to the effect of its broad, high towers. the interior is quite commonplace, with the usual tinsel, poor carvings, and wretched oil paintings, including several grotesque virgin marys. these were too poor even for the chilians to steal. beneath the grand altar rest the ashes of pizarro, the cruel, ambitious, reckless tool of the romish church. the cathedral was built in , but has undergone complete repairs and renovations from time to time, being still considered to be one of the most imposing ecclesiastical edifices in america. its original cost is said to have been nine million dollars, to obtain which pizarro robbed the inca temples of all their elaborate gold and silver ornaments. according to prescott, the spaniards took twenty-four thousand, eight hundred pounds of gold, and eighty-two thousand ounces of silver from a single inca temple! prescott is careful in his statements to warn us of the unreliability of the spanish writers, nearly all of whom were romish priests. where figures are concerned they cannot be depended upon for a moment. they also took special care to cover up the fiendish atrocities of the inquisition, and the extortions of the church as exercised towards the poor, down-trodden native race. one's spirits partook of the sombre and austere atmosphere which reigns at all times in this ancient edifice. it was very lonely. not a soul was to be seen during our brief visit to the cathedral at noonday, except a couple of decrepit old beggars at the entrance, the faint, dull glare of the burning candles about the altar only serving to deepen the shadows and emphasize the darkness. the area of the plaza mayor embraces eight or nine acres of land, and has often been the theatre of most sanguinary scenes, where hand-to-hand fights have frequently taken place between insurgent citizens and soldiers of the ruling power of the day, while many unpopular officials have been hanged in the towers of the cathedral, from each of which projects a gibbet! the middle of the plaza is beautified by a bronze fountain with arboreal and floral surroundings. there was formerly some statuary here, which the brave chilians stole and carried away with them, even purloining the iron benches, which they transported to valparaiso and santiago. the streets running from this square, with the exception of the calle de los mercaderes, have an atmosphere of antiquity, which contrasts with the people one meets in them. even the turkey buzzards, acting as street scavengers, are of an antique species, looking quite gray and dilapidated, as though they were a hundred years old. in vera cruz the same species of bird, kept for a similar purpose, have a brightness of feather, and jauntiness withal, quite unlike these feathered street-cleaners of lima. the "street of the merchants," just referred to, is the fashionable shopping thoroughfare of lima, where in the afternoons the ladies and gentlemen are seen in goodly numbers promenading in full dress. there is here the usual multiplicity of churches, convents, and nunneries, such as are to be found in all spanish cities, though the latter establishments have been partially suppressed. some of the churches of lima are fabulously expensive structures; indeed, the amount of money squandered on churches and church property in this city is marvelous. during the late war many articles of gold and silver, belonging to them, were melted into coin, but some were hidden, and have once more been restored to their original position in the churches. the convent and church of san francisco form one of the most costly groups of buildings of the sort in america. the ornamental tiles of the flooring are calculated, not by the square yard, but by the acre. there are over a hundred roman catholic churches in lima, few of which have any architectural beauty, but all of which are crowded with vulgar wax figures, wooden images, and bleeding saints. these churches in several instances have very striking façades: that of la merced, for instance; but they are mere shams, as we have already said,--stucco and plaster; they would not endure the wear of any other climate for a single decade. with all this outside religious show in lima, there is no corresponding observance of the sacred character of the sabbath. it is held rather as a period of gross license and indulgence, and devoted to bull-fights, cock-fighting, and drunkenness. the lottery-ticket vender reaps the greatest harvest on this occasion, and the gambling saloons are all open. children pursue their every-day sports with increased ardor, and the town puts on a gala day aspect. at night the streets are ablaze, the theatres are crowded, and dissipation of every conceivable sort waxes fast and furious until long past midnight. the ignorant mass generally has drifted into observing the rituals of the romish church, but there are many of the native indians in peru who cherish a belief of a millennium in the near future; a time when the true prophet of the sun will return and restore the grand old inca dynasty. just so the moors of tangier hold to the belief that the time will yet come when they will be restored to the glory of their fathers, and to their beloved granada; that the halls of the alhambra will once more resound to the moorish lute, and the grand cathedral of cordova shall again become a mosque of the true faith. the fact that the bull-ring of lima will accommodate sixteen thousand people, and that it is always well filled on sundays, speaks for itself. at these sanguinary performances a certain class of women appear in large numbers and in full dress, entering heartily into the spirit of the occasion, and waving their handkerchiefs furiously to applaud the actors in the tragedy, while the exhibitions are characterized by even more cruelty than at madrid or havana. chapter xvii. a grand plaza.--retribution.--the university of lima.--significance of ancient pottery.--architecture.--picturesque dwelling.--domestic scene.--destructive earthquakes.--spanish sway.--women of lima.--street costumes.--ancient bridge of lima.--newspapers.--pawnbrokers' shops.--exports.--an ancient mecca.--home by way of europe. the large square in lima, known as plazuela de la independencia, is grand in its proportions. one prominent feature is the bronze statue of bolivar, the famous south american patriot. it also contains the old palace of the inquisition, which looks to-day more like a stable than a palace. this detestable institution attained to greater scope and power here than it did even in mexico. according to its own records, during its existence in the capital of peru, fifty-nine persons were publicly burned alive as heretics, because they would not acknowledge the roman catholic faith, thousands were tortured until in their agony they agreed to anything, while thousands were publicly scourged to the same end. could the truth be fully known as regards the bigoted reign of the priesthood at the time referred to in peru, it would form one of the most startling chapters of modern history. but they were their own chroniclers, and suppressed everything which might possibly reflect upon themselves or upon their church. retribution was slow, but it has come finally. the former convent of guadeloupe is now occupied for a worthy object as a high school; the main portion of the cloisters of san francisco have made way for the college of san marco; that of san carlos has supplanted the jesuits; san juan de dios is now occupied as a railway station; while the once famous and infamous convent of santa catalina serves to-day as the public market. the university of lima was the first seat of education established in the new world, or, to fix the period more clearly in the average reader's mind, it dates from about seventy years before the historic mayflower reached the shore of new england. the national library contains some forty thousand volumes, also a collection of peruvian antiquities, besides many objects of natural history, mostly of such examples as are indigenous to this section. there is one large oil painting in this building by a native artist named monteros, the canvas measuring thirty by twenty feet. the title is "obsequies of atahualpa." this was carried away by the thieving chilians, but was finally restored to peru. it should be mentioned, to their lasting shame, that the books which they stole at the same time have not been returned. the ancient pottery one sees in the collection of peruvian antiquities is wonderfully like that to be found in the boulak museum at cairo, in egypt, etruscan and egyptian patterns prevailing over all other forms, which strongly suggests a common origin. besides those which we have named, there are several other educational and art institutions in the city, together with three hospitals, two lunatic asylums, a college of arts, and the national mint. one hospital, bearing the name of the second of may hospital, is a very large and thoroughly equipped establishment, occupying a whole square, and having accommodations for seven hundred patients. there are four theatres, one of which is conducted by the chinese after their own peculiar fashion. the outsides of the dwelling-houses are painted in various brilliant colors, a practice which is found to prevail all over the southern continent, and which exhibits an inherent love among the people for warm, bright hues. the roofs of most houses serve as a depository for hens and chickens, noisy gamecocks especially asserting themselves before daybreak, forbidding all ideas of morning naps, unless one is accustomed to the din. many of the dwellings are picturesque and attractive, with overhanging balconies and bay windows, the latter oftentimes finished very elaborately with handsome wood carvings and open-work lattices. as to the prevailing style of architecture, it is spanish and moorish combined, each building being constructed about a central patio, which is often rendered lovely with flowers and statuary, together with small orange and lemon trees in large painted tubs. the abundance of cracks in the walls of the dwellings, both inside and out, is a significant hint that we are in an earthquake country. a slight shake is hardly spoken of at all; they come so often as to be comparatively unheeded. in the environs of lima the houses are built of adobe, rarely over one story in height, with very thick walls, this style having been found the best to resist the earthquakes, which must be very serious indeed to affect a low adobe house with walls two feet and a half thick. about these residences, which, not to put too fine a point upon the matter, are really nothing but mud cabins, there is often seen an attractive and refining feature, namely, small, but exceedingly pretty plots of cultivated flowers. it is astonishing how perfectly they serve to throw a flavor of refinement over all things else. the variety and fragrance of the lima roses are something long to be remembered, and the people here seem to have a special love for this most popular of flowers. we had missed them nearly everywhere else in south america; therefore they were thrice welcome when they greeted us at lima. there is a dwelling-house in this city belonging to an old and rich family, which is worth a pilgrimage to see. it is built of stone, artistically carved, with a square balcony and bay window on each side of the tall, spacious, and elaborately ornamented doorway. it is clearly moorish in type, and must be nearly or quite three hundred years old. photographs are found of its façade in the art stores of lima, and most visitors bring one away with them as a memento of the place. the house stands even with the thoroughfare, and is only two stories in height, but is a beautiful relic of the past. it would be quite in accordance with the surroundings, were it to be transported to cairo or bagdad. on the way from the plaza mayor to this attractive bit of morisco architecture, one gets frequent glimpses of pretty, cool, flower-decked patios, about which the low picturesque dwellings are erected, and where domestic life is seen in partial seclusion. an infant is playing on the marble paved court, watched by a dark indian nurse. an ermine-colored cockatoo with a gorgeous yellow plume is gravely eying the child from its perch. creeping vines twine about the slim columns which support a low arcade above the entrance floor. farther in, a bit of statuary peeps out from among the greenery, which is growing in high-colored wooden tubs. the vine, which clings tenaciously to the small columns, is the passion plant, its flowers seeming almost artificial in their regularity, brightness, and abundance. a fair señora in diaphanous robes reclines at ease in a low, pillowed seat, and the señor, cigarette in mouth, swings leisurely in a hammock. it was a pretty, characteristic family picture, of which we should be glad to possess a photograph. few cities have a more agreeable climate. the range of the thermometer throughout the year being for the winter season from ° to °, and in the summer from ° to °. the humboldt current, as it is called, sweeps along the coast from the antarctic circle, causing a much lower temperature here than exists in the same latitude on the other side of the continent. lima, it will be remembered, is situated about twelve degrees from the equatorial line. the climate is of exquisite softness, beneath a sky serenely blue; every breath is a pleasure, tranquillizing to both mind and body. rain is of very rare occurrence, as we have intimated, but earthquakes are frequent. the most destructive visit of this sort in modern times was in , which at the same time destroyed the port of callao. though lima is blessed with such a seemingly equable climate, for some unexplained reason it is very far from being a healthy place. the great mortality which prevails here is entirely out of proportion to the number of inhabitants. there must be some local reason for this. even in the days of the incas, the present site of the city was deemed to be a spot only fit for criminals; that is to say, a penal colony was located here, where the earlier peruvians placed condemned people, and where a high rate of mortality was not regarded as being entirely objectionable. the campo santo of lima, in the immediate environs of the city, is built with tall thick walls containing niches four ranges high, and recalls those of the city of mexico. it is not customary to bury in the ground. some of the monuments are quite elaborate, but the place generally has a neglected appearance, and no attempt seems made to give it a pleasing aspect. it has neither flowers nor trees. the spaniards, during a sway which lasted over three hundred years, were terrible taskmasters in peru, enslaving, crushing, and massacring the natives, just as they did in cuba and mexico. the indians were looked upon as little more than beasts of burden, and their lives or well-being were of no sort of account, except so far as they served the purposes of the invading hordes of spaniards. the race which has been produced by intermarriage and promiscuous intercourse is a very heterogeneous one, born of aborigines, negroes, mulattoes, spaniards, and portuguese. in religion, as well as in daily life, the habits of the people are castilian, whether red, yellow, or black. there is also a considerable chinese population, which, however, as a rule, maintains isolation from other nationalities so far as intermarriage or close intimacy is concerned. many of the chinese keep cheap eating-houses, and always seem to be industrious and thrifty. they are the outcome of the coolie trade, by which the peruvian plantations were for years supplied with laborers,--slave labor, for that is exactly what it was to all intents and purposes, call it what we may. but this cruel and unjust system has long been suppressed. most of the small shops are kept by italians, and the best hotels by frenchmen. the banking-houses are usually conducted by germans, while americans and englishmen divide the engineering work, the construction of railways, with such other progressive enterprises as require a large share of brains, energy, and capital. the women are generally handsome and of the spanish type, yet they differ therefrom in some important and very obvious particulars. their gypsy complexions, jet black hair and eyes, white, regular teeth, with full red lips, form a combination very pleasing to the eye. it must be acknowledged, however, that their complexions are aided by cosmetics. the features are small and regular, the ears being set particularly close to the head, which is always a noticeable peculiarity when it prevails. they are vivacious and mirthful, yet not forward or immodest. as regards the youthful portion, conventionality prevents all exhibition of the latter trait. in dress they follow the styles of boston, new york, and paris. as their brothers have been mostly educated in the cities named, they very generally speak french and english. many of the ladies have themselves enjoyed the advantages of english, french, or north american schools in their girlhood. a certain etiquette as regards the society of men is very strictly observed here. no gentleman can associate with a young lady unless she is chaperoned by her mother or a married sister. from what we know of spanish and italian character, we are not at all surprised at the punctiliousness adhered to in both countries in this regard. there are very good reasons why such rules are imperative, not only in south america, but in continental europe. like most of the spanish women, these of lima, after the age of twenty-five, though they are rather short, and of small frames, nearly always develop into a decided fullness of figure. there is a semi-oriental seclusion observed at all times as regards the sex in this country. they are rarely seen upon the streets, except when driving, or going and coming from church; but one need not watch very closely to see many inquisitive eyes peeping from behind the curtained balconies which overhang the thoroughfares, and to catch occasionally stolen glances from pretty, coquettish owners, who would be very hospitable to strangers if they dared. human nature is much the same in lima as elsewhere. when seen on the streets, the ladies generally wear the black "manta" drawn close about the head and shoulders and partially covering the face. the manta is a shawl and bonnet combined, or rather it takes the place of a bonnet, and suggests the lace veil so universally worn at havana, seville, and madrid, also recalling the yashmak worn by the women of the east. the lima ladies cover half the face, including one eye; those of egypt only cover the lower part of the face, leaving both eyes exposed. we are speaking of the better class of the metropolis. among the more common people, instances of great personal beauty are frequent. one sees daily youthful girls on the streets who would be pronounced beautiful under nearly any circumstances, an inheritance only too often proving a fatal legacy to the owner, forming a source of temptation in a community where morals are held of such slight account, except among the more refined classes, of whom we have been speaking. one peculiarity is especially noticeable here among the native race: it is that the peruvians seem to be mere lookers-on as regards the business of life in their country. all of the important trade is, as we have said, in the hands of foreigners. the english control the shipping interests, almost entirely, while the skilled machinists are nearly all americans, with a few scotchmen. we repeat this fact as showing the do-nothing nature of the natives, and also as signifying that for true progress, indeed, for the growth of civilization in any desirable direction, emigration from europe and north america must be depended upon. the heavy alcoves of the old stone bridge at lima are appropriated by the fruit women, whose tempting display forms glowing bits of color. the thoroughfares are crowded by itinerant peddlers of all sorts of merchandise. milk-women come from the country, mounted astride of small horses or donkeys; water carriers trot about on jackasses, sitting behind their water jars and uttering piercing cries; chinese food venders, with articles made from mysterious sources, balance their baskets at either end of long poles placed across their shoulders; the lottery-ticket vender, loud voiced and urgent, is ever present; newspaper boys, after our own fashion, shout "el pais," or "el nacional;" chicken dealers, with baskets full of live birds on their head and half a dozen hanging from each hand, solicit your patronage; beggars of both sexes, but mostly lazy, worthless men, feign pitiful lameness, while importuning every stranger for a centavo; bright, careless girls and boys rush hither and thither, full of life and spirit,--black, yellow, brown, and white, all mingling together on an equal footing. the absence of wheeled vehicles is noticeable, the tramway-cars gliding rapidly past the pedestrians, while pack-horses and donkeys transport mostly such merchandise as is not carried on the heads of men and women. of the better class of citizens who help to make up this polyglot community of the metropolis, one very easily distinguishes the american, french, german, and english; each nationality is somehow distinctively marked. the stock of goods offered for sale in the pawnbrokers' shops, as a rule, is very significant in foreign cities; here the shelves of these dealers are full of valuable domestic articles, which the fallen fortunes of the once rich lima families have compelled them to part with from time to time in a struggle to keep the wolf from the door. the chilians took all they could readily find of both public and private property, and though they ruined financially some of the best families, they did not succeed in getting everything which was portable and valuable. heirlooms are offered in these shops for comparatively trifling sums, such as rich old lace; diamonds; superbly wrought bracelets in gold, rubies, topazes, and other precious stones, set and unset; gold and silver spoons and forks of curious designs, and of which only one set were ever manufactured, intended to fill a special order and suit the fancy of some rich family. drinking-cups bearing royal crests, and others with the arms of noble castilian families engraved upon them, are numerous. there are also swords with jeweled hilts, gold and silver table ornaments, together with antique china, which might rival the satsuma of japan. curio hunters have secured many, nay, nearly all, of the very choicest of these domestic relics, which they have mostly taken to london, where they obtained fabulous prices for them. we were told of an enterprising yankee who invested one thousand dollars in these articles, took them to england, and promptly realized some eleven thousand dollars above all his expenses upon the venture. returning to rio janeiro, on the east coast, he purchased precious stones with his increased capital, and, strange to say, although he was by no means an expert, among his gems he secured an old mine diamond of great value at a low figure, which, having been crudely cut, did not exhibit its real excellence. taking the whole of his second purchase to paris, he disposed of his gems at a large advance, and finally returned to new york with a net capital exceeding forty thousand dollars. this enterprising and successful individual bore the euphonious name of smyth,--smyth with a _y_,--alfred smyth. the three watering-places, or country villages of miraflores, baranco, and chorillos, are connected with lima by railway, and in these resorts many city merchants have their summer homes, occupying picturesque ranches. the chilians sacked and burned these places during the war, but they have been mostly rebuilt, and are once more in a thriving condition. peru was celebrated for centuries as the most prolific gold and silver producing country in the world; her very name has long been the synonym for riches. although the product of the precious metals is still considerable, yet it is quite insignificant compared with the revenue which she has realized from the export of guano and phosphates. the former article, as we have already said, has become virtually exhausted, and the latter source of supply, still immensely prolific and valuable, has been stolen from her bodily by the chilians, so that peru has now to fall back upon industry and the remaining natural resources of the soil. the most remarkable peculiarity in the physical formation of peru is the double cordillera of the andes, which traverse it from southeast to northwest, separating the country into three distinct regions, which differ materially from each other in climate, soil, and vegetation. to the proximity of the range nearest to the coast is undoubtedly to be attributed the frequent earthquakes which disturb the shore, whether the volcanoes are apparently extinct or not. it may be reasonably doubted if any of the volcanoes are absolutely extinct, in the full sense of the term. they may be inoperative, so far as can be seen, for an entire century, and at its close break out in full vigor. in consulting the authorities upon this subject we find that, since , there have been sixty-nine destructive earthquakes recorded as having taken place on the west coast of south america. the most terrible of them was that already referred to, which destroyed callao in . it is stated that the shocks at that time continued with more or less violence for three consecutive months, and the records of the event further state that there were two hundred and twenty distinct shocks within the twenty-four hours following the enormous tidal wave which overwhelmed callao. at present, hardly a week passes without decided indications of volcanic disturbance occurring, but these are of so slight a nature, comparatively speaking, that but little attention is paid to them by the native population, though it is true that sensitive strangers often turn pale at such an event and tremble with fearful anticipations. about twenty miles south of lima, on elevated ground which overlooks the pacific, is the prehistoric spot known as pachacamac, in the valley of the lurin river. the name signifies the "creator of the world," to whom the city and its temples were originally dedicated. here, upon the edge of the desert, once stood the sacred city of a people who preceded the incas, and who have left in these interesting, mouldering ruins tokens of their advanced civilization, as clearly defined as are those of thebes, in far away egypt. another fact should not be lost sight of in this connection, that many ancient remains to be found in this neighborhood evince a higher degree of intelligence, in their constructive belongings, than do any evidences left to us respecting the days of the incas, with whom we are in a measure familiar. the archæologists, whose profession it is to carefully weigh even the slightest tangible evidence which time has spared, long since came to this conclusion. pachacamac was the mecca of south america, or at least of the most civilized portion of it, if we may judge by present appearances, and by the testimony of history as far back as it reaches. the ruins at pachacamac consist of walls formed of adobe and sun-dried bricks, some of which can be traced, notwithstanding the many earthquakes which have shaken the neighborhood. the site of the ruins is a hilly spot, and the sands have drifted so as to cover them in many places, just as the sphinx and the base of the pyramids have been covered, near cairo. specific ruins are designated as having once been the grand temple of the sun, and others as the house of the sacred virgins of the sun. it is very obvious that the incas destroyed a grand and spacious temple here, which legend tells us was heavily adorned with silver and gold, to make way for one of their own dedicated to the worship of the sun. who this race were and whence they came, with so considerable a system of civilization, is a theme which has long absorbed the speculative antiquarian. it is easy enough to construct theories which may meet the case, but it is difficult to support them when they are subjected to the cold arguments of reason and the test of known history. actual knowledge is a great iconoclast, and smashes the poetical images of the unreliable historian with a ruthless hand. the spanish records relating to the period of early discovery here, as also of pizarro's career and the doing of the agents of the romish church, have long since been proven to be absolutely unworthy of belief. about the ruins of pachacamac was once a sacred burial place, where well-preserved mummies are still to be found, but the great, silent, ruined city itself does not contain one living inhabitant. the graveyard--the campo santo--remains, as it were, intact, but the proud city, with its grand temples dedicated to unknown gods, has crumbled to dust. curiously carved gold and silver vases and ornaments, exhibiting the exercise of a high degree of artistic skill, have been exhumed in the vast graveyard surrounding these ruins, whose extent, if judged by the number of interments which have taken place here, must have been ten times larger than the present site of lima, and it must have contained a population many times larger than that of the present capital of peru. in the mouths of the well-preserved mummies found buried here, we are told that gold coins were found, presumably placed there to pay for ferriage across the river of death. here we have a fact also worthy of note. it thus appears that this people must have had a circulating medium in the shape of gold coin. as the placing of coin in the mouth of the deceased was a custom of the ancient greeks, may it not be that these people came originally from greece or from some contiguous country? there are numerous other ancient remains in the neighborhood of lima, of which even tradition fails to give any account. antiquarians find many clues to special knowledge of the past in the remains which can be exhumed in places on the coast of chili and peru, in the ancient graves where the nitrous soil has preserved not only the bodies of a former people, but also their tools, weapons, and domestic utensils. * * * * * to reach the united states from callao, the most direct course is to sail northward fifteen hundred miles to panama, and cross the isthmus, again taking ship from the atlantic side; but the author's family awaited him in europe, and as the pacific mail service exactly met his requirements, he sailed southward, touching at several of the ports already visited, crossing the atlantic by way of the canary and cape de verde islands to lisbon, thence to southampton and to london. joining his family, he crossed the atlantic from liverpool to boston, after an absence of seven months, traveling in all of this equatorial journey some thirty thousand miles without any serious mishap, and having acquired a largely augmented fund of pleasurable memories. by maturin m. ballou. equatorial america. descriptive of a visit to st. thomas, martinique, barbadoes, and the principal capitals of south america. a new book. crown vo, $ . . aztec land. crown vo, $ . . the new eldorado. a summer journey to alaska. crown vo, $ . . alaska. the new eldorado. a summer journey to alaska. _tourist's edition_, with maps. mo, $ . . due west; or, round the world in ten months. crown vo, $ . . due south; or, cuba past and present. crown vo, $ . . under the southern cross; or, travels in australasia. crown vo, $ . . due north; or, glimpses of scandinavia and russia. crown vo, $ . . genius in sunshine and shadow. crown vo, $ . . edge-tools of speech. selected and edited by mr. ballou. vo, $ . . a treasury of thought. an encyclopedia of quotations. vo, full gilt, $ . . pearls of thought. mo, full gilt, $ . . notable thoughts about women. crown vo, $ . . houghton, mifflin & company, boston and new york. transcriber's notes: list of books by maturin m. ballou was moved from the first page to the end of the book. obsolete and alternate spellings of words were not changed. alterations to the text: changed 'hurricances' to 'hurricanes' in chapter i summary. changed 'salter' to 'saltier' ... water is saltier than ... removed hyphen from ant-illes ... in those days the antilles!... changed 'adode' to 'adobe' ... adobe and sun-dried bricks ... changes made for consistency with remaining text: added period after 'private gardens' in chapter v summary. added hyphen to 'well appointed' ... commodious, and well-appointed ship,... ... large and well-appointed opera house ... removed hyphen from 'mail-boat' ... as a mail boat running between ... removed hyphen from 'sailing-vessel' ... individuality about sailing vessels which ... removed hyphen from 'fruit-tree' ... the fruit trees are perennial,... removed hyphen from 'light-green' ... round, light green berry ... removed hyphen from 'well-known' ... his well known reason ... ... this well known port ... removed hyphen from 'summer-houses' ... pretty summer houses and ... added hyphen to 'mossgrown' ... which are gray and moss-grown,... ... the moss-grown, crumbling ... removed hyphen from 'bee-hive' ... formed an immense human beehive ... added hyphen to 'well arranged' ... white stone, well-arranged, and is ... removed hyphen from 'tail-fin' ... tip of the tail fin,... removed hyphen from 'so called' ... from the so called cross ... added hyphen to 'well equipped' ... upon well-equipped railroads ... removed hyphen from 'copper-colored' ... but their brown or copper colored skins ... added hyphen to 'waterway' ... this unequaled water-way,... added hyphen to 'low lying' ... all the low-lying tropical lands ... removed hyphen from 'house-fronts' ... the house fronts in the various sections ... added hyphen to 'sea birds' ... myriads of sea-birds, whose sharp cries ... added hyphen to 'curious shaped' ... curious-shaped coasting craft ... added hyphen to 'sky line' ... breaks the sky-line in front of ... added hyphen to 'far reaching' ... the far-reaching shores ... removed hyphen from 'deep-green' ... with its deep green foliage ... removed hyphen from 'yellow-ochre' ... by the yellow ochre walls ... removed hyphen from 'tide-wate' ... feet above tide water.... ... the nearest tide water ... removed hyphen from 'well-organized' ... any well organized education establishment ... added hyphen to 'fancy goods' ... many of the fancy-goods stores ... added hyphen to 'stovepipe' ... with tall, stove-pipe hats ... added hyphen to 'never failing' ... the lottery with never-failing regularity ... removed hyphen from 'well-wooded' ... among the well wooded hills ... removed hyphen from 'well-paved' ... drainage and well paved streets ... ... broad, well paved streets,... added hyphen to 'half naked' ... the inhabitants half-naked and wholly starved... deleted hyphen in 'snow-white' ... natty straw hats, snow white aprons,... ... a broad snow white ruffle ... removed hyphen from 'well-dressed' ... are a well dressed class ... [every attempt has been made to replicate the original as printed. some typographical errors have been corrected; a list follows the text. some illustrations have been moved from mid-paragraph for ease of reading. (etext transcriber's note)] gardens of the caribbees volume i travel lovers' library _each in two volumes profusely illustrated_ florence by grant allen romance and teutonic switzerland by w. d. mccrackan old world memories by edward lowe temple paris by grant allen feudal and modern japan by arthur may knapp the unchanging east by robert barr venice by grant allen gardens of the caribbees by ida m. h. starr belgium: its cities by grant allen l. c. page and company publishers summer street, boston, mass. [illustration: where the pomegranate grows charlotte amalie, st thomas.] gardens of the caribbees sketches of a cruise to the west indies and the spanish main by ida m. h. starr in two volumes vol. i. _illustrated_ [illustration] boston l. c. page & company _mdcccciv_ _copyright, _ by l. c. page & company (incorporated) _all rights reserved_ published july, colonial press electrotyped and printed by c. h. simonds & co boston mass., u. s. a. to my beloved children to the reader these sketches were written during a memorable cruise to the west indies and the spanish main in the winter and spring of . there has been no attempt to write a west indian guide-book, but rather to give preference to the human side of the picture through glimpses of the people and their ways of life and thought. with this idea it was thought best to give attention only to such of the ports visited as were full of human interest and typical of the life about the caribbean sea. there was a strong feeling that we were sailing in romantic waters, and there has been no desire to eliminate the element of fancy from these pages. it may be of interest to remember that at no time since--and perhaps never before--could this voyage have been made under the same conditions. since then man and the greater powers of nature seem to have conspired to make much of this delightful region forbidding to strangers. several ports have become dangerous because of fever and plague; proclamations in french and _pronunciamientos_ in spanish have adorned west indian street corners; haïti has reverted to its almost chronic state of riot and revolution; the dominican republic has again chosen a president whose nomination came from a conquering army; venezuela has been full of alarms and intrigues; while already the germans are beginning to show their hand in the caribbean; martinique and st. vincent have been desolated by volcanoes then thought to be practically extinct; and of delicious st. pierre there remains but a sadly sweet memory. i. m. h. s. _ june, ._ contents chapter page i. the voyage ii. port-au-prince, haÏti iii. santo domingo iv. san juan, puerto rico v. charlotte amalie, st. thomas vi. martinique vii. martinique, "le pays des revenants" viii. island of trinidad. port of spain list of illustrations volume i. page where the pomegranate grows, charlotte amalie, st. thomas _frontispiece_ map of the cruise _facing_ the landing-place, port-au-prince, haiti waiting for customers, port-au-prince, haiti the "coaches," port-au-prince, haiti main business street of the capital of the republic of haiti, port-au-prince, haiti a public fountain, port-au-prince, haiti a west indian africa, port-au-prince, haiti courtyard of the american legation, haiti a mill for sawing mahogany, haiti the old fort at the river entrance, santo domingo a closer view of the old fort, santo domingo the cathedral and the statue of columbus, santo domingo ruins of castle built by diego colon, santo domingo where columbus planted the cross, santo domingo entrance to the fort and military school, santo domingo looking across the plaza, santo domingo along the ozama, santo domingo looking to sea from san juan, puerto rico boat landing and marine barracks, san juan, puerto rico the first trolley-car in san juan, puerto rico the military road across puerto rico, near san juan inland commerce, puerto rico a ranch near san juan, puerto rico the harbour, charlotte amalie, st. thomas hillside homes, charlotte amalie, st. thomas in charlotte amalie, st. thomas charlotte amalie from "blue beard's castle," st. thomas on the terrace, charlotte amalie, st. thomas coaling our ship, charlotte amalie, st. thomas the sugar mill near st. pierre, martinique coming to welcome us, st. pierre, martinique looking from the deck of our ship, st. pierre, martinique the harbour and shipping, st. pierre, martinique the lighthouse on the beach. st. pierre, martinique the street along the water-front, st. pierre, martinique the cathedral and water-front. st. pierre, martinique the city and roadstead, st. pierre, martinique near the landing-place, st. pierre, martinique the riviÈre roxelane, near st. pierre, martinique the dragon's mouth, entrance to gulf of paria, between south america and trinidad the business section, port of spain, trinidad a village greeting, san fernando, trinidad where the lepers live and die, trinidad gardens of the caribbees chapter i. the voyage i. "thank you, rudolph, i believe i will take some lemonade and one or two of the sweet biscuit; that will do;" and i settled back in my ship chair, feeling as serene and happy as a woman in a white linen frock can feel. every one must have gone down into every one's trunk this morning; was there ever such a change? why, the count and his brother are fairly blinding to the eyes, in their smart white flannels. they actually look a bit interesting. here they come now; the count has evidently had his lemonade, i see he is still nibbling a biscuit. this is the first time i have realised where we are going. this arraying of one's self in cool things and white things makes one really believe that, after all, the voyage is not a delusion. "rudolph, you're a dear," this to myself, but aloud, as the faithful steward comes with my lemonade, i thank him and take the glass while he goes on in search of the youngsters. what a comfort that old soul has been to us! he began by being willing to speak german, and certainly that was an indication of a great deal of character. i think he was the first german i had ever met, who, knowing enough english to carry on an ordinary conversation, would, at times, express himself in his native tongue. that was good of rudolph; of course we had to tell him not to speak english at first, but he never forgot. and such care as he gave us those horrible days, when we didn't drink lemonade or sit on the deck; when the ship wouldn't go anywhere but up and down; when it fairly ached to turn itself inside out, i know it did. it was then that rudolph was neither man nor woman, but the incarnation of goodness and patience. dear old rudolph! let me see--how many meals is this so far? breakfast at eight o'clock makes one; bouillon and wafers at half-past ten, two; lunch at twelve-thirty makes three, and here i am hungry as ever, simply revelling in number four. i wish i had another biscuit. this is delicious! i mean the sky and the sea and the ship and all the people dressed so airily and looking so unconscious of what has gone before. if no one else will testify, rudolph certainly can, that much has gone before. but this sea, this straightaway plowing into southern waters is beginning to make me forget, and for fear that i may do so i must tell you how it happens that i am feeling so blissfully relieved at this moment. of course i am not perfectly at ease, for i don't think a woman in a white linen frock can be until it has passed the stage where she has to be thinking of spots. six days ago i was not sitting here in a white frock. i was bundled in furs, and even then cringed and shivered with the cold. ough! it was raw and bleak that sad day of our sailing. the january wind, chilling us to the marrow, swept in from the desolate ocean like the cruel thrusts of so many icy knives. even the prospect of a voyage to the _islands of the blest_ left us indifferent and shivering and blue. i vaguely thought that when we were once on shipboard we could get warm, but the doors were all open and the passages so blocked with visitors that even had it occurred to any one to shut the doors i don't think it could have been done. my handsome cousin from new york came with a big bunch of lovely violets, and i thought, as i touched their cold faces to mine, that they, too, must certainly be suffering and homesick. this voyage had been one of our dreams. we two--daddy and i--had sat many a night by the crackling wood fire in our dear library talking it over. we planned how we should take the little girls and leave the four boys; how we should for once really go off for a glorious lark; but now, alas! every vestige of romance faded from our firelight dreams as we pulled ourselves away on such a bleak day, with not a gleam of sunshine to cheer us. had there been at that last moment any sane reason for turning back, i should have done so. i do not see why i had expected anything else but a bleak wind on the north river in january, but certainly i did have a sort of a fancy that, once on shipboard bound for southern seas, the glamour of our voyage would warm me to the very heart, but it didn't. i grew colder every minute, and after the cousin had said "good-bye" and his tall silk hat was lost in the crowd at the gangway, it seemed to me that we were all bereft of our senses to think of leaving the library fireplace; but daddy was beckoning me, and the little girls were making off in his direction; there was no escape. all i could do was to shiver and follow them. they were in tow of a red-nosed, white-coated steward; that was rudolph. we didn't know it then, and even if we had i hardly think we would have cared. rudolph had our luggage, loads of it, our bags, our rug rolls, our numerous duffle; he had it all well in hand and he forged ahead through the crowd with good-natured indifference to the wrath of those going the other way, loaded down in similar fashion. we were trying to find numbers and . everybody else was trying in like haste to find some other number. there were more crooks and turns and funny little corridors running off in different directions than you would imagine could be built into a self-respecting ship, with here and there a constricted spot where a narrow steel door led through some "water-tight bulkhead." now and then i lost sight of the little girls' bobbing ribbons and found myself peering down the wrong corridor, following some other person's luggage; then i would turn and elbow through the crowd, and bolt down the wide passage again to catch a glimpse of little blue ribbons and sister, both fairly dancing at the prospect of a real voyage in a real ship. and then came the appalling thought, "if i don't hurry and push through these swarms of people, those youngsters may disappear for ever in a sort of pied-piper-of-hamelin fashion." in a dazed way i stumbled and hurried on, and finally, to my great relief, i heard the children's voices issuing from number , which proved to be well aft on the upper deck. it was a beautiful, large room, with big lower berths on opposite sides, and convenient mahogany wardrobes for the clothing--quarters quite befitting the dainty little maids who were to call it home for many weeks. my traps were left in the other room with daddy's, and as it was but a few moments of sailing time, we left things as they were, ran up the stairway near our door just as the stiff german bugler was sounding the warning for visitors to leave the ship. then the last preparations for departure began. the gangplank was taken in, and we began to move, ever and ever so slowly, and, shuddering, i turned around to see how the deluded people looked who were going to death and destruction with me. "it is all the fault of that wretched sun," i thought. "why doesn't it know enough to shine on sailing day? if the clouds don't shift, we'll all go to davy jones's, and only think of the trouble i have had getting ready!" much as i commiserated as a whole my fellow sufferers, outside of our own little group there was only one couple of which i have now any distinct remembrance, and i noticed them because i was quite sure they were bride and groom. "it is just too bad of her to wear that lovely gown to a watery grave! she ought to have left it at home for a relative. anything would have done to swim in if it was only warm," i thought; but the bride leaned over the rail and waved her handkerchief at some one and laughed, and then wiped her eyes and laughed once more, but she kept the gown on. a horribly blatant german band, on board an atlantic liner which lay alongside, bellowed forth national airs, and i wished i could choke it. the dwindling crowd on shore waved and shouted, and i went off alone and directly rubbed against some fresh white paint. that was too much! i just sat down and cried, and wondered why i hadn't brought some turpentine and why i had ever left the babies, why i had ever forsaken the comfortable library in midwinter; but alas, i wondered a great deal more a few days later! ii. contrary to all precedent, instead of watching the fast-fading shores of new york harbour, i simply went to the stateroom and began to find myself, and certainly i did not regret it afterward. i unpacked our most necessary clothing, got out the brushes and combs, unstrapped the roll of rugs, stowed away in a handy corner my smelling-salts, and small convenient bottles of various kinds,--all the time accusing myself that i had not been satisfied with the calmer view i had had of "the islands of the blest" from our library window; that i must need hunt the real thing by steamship; an ever impossible method, as kipling had warned me long ago: "that route is barred to steamers: you'll never lift again our purple-painted headlands or the lordly keeps of spain. they're just beyond the skyline, howe'er so far you cruise in a ram-you-damn-you liner with a brace of bucking screws. "swing round your aching search-light--'twill show no haven's peace! ay, blow your shrieking sirens to the deaf, gray-bearded seas! boom out the dripping oil-bags to skin the deep's unrest-- but you aren't a knot the nearer to the islands of the blest." i shall always believe that the force of suggestion was the cause of our undoing. when a lot of people sit down to luncheon, all with one fixed idea, with one definite question in their minds, sooner or later that question is bound to be answered in one way or another. all one has to do is simply to wait long enough and the answer will come. "mental science" and "christian science" notwithstanding, there wasn't a soul in that dining-room but was wondering with all his faculties whether he would be or would not be. incidentally, the ship felt the pulse of old atlantic, and he began to be. and, as time wore on, the dining-saloon became deserted, and the question was answered. i never knew nor cared where the people went. as for myself, i took a rug, made for the warmest corner of the deck i could find, covered myself head and ears, and wanted to be alone. i was conscious that little blue ribbons had tucked herself under my wing, a sad little birdling; but sister and daddy were very grand. they gaily walked the decks and laughed when they passed us,--but we didn't laugh! no, we didn't even smile. the ocean had never troubled me before,--that is not to any extent, for i had had a theory that if i could only keep on deck and wear a tight belt, the worst would soon be over. but there are seasons when all signs fail, and this time everything turned out wrong. the following day i managed to dress and get upon deck with the others. oh! if i only had a chance at a good railroad, those who would might hunt up the islands; i had had enough already. i made up my mind to one thing, i should give up my ticket at nassau and go home alone by rail through florida. i didn't say anything of this plan to daddy, but i thought it all out and had it all arranged, when i found that i could not get warm and could get so miserably seasick. i considered it a brilliant and original inspiration, and i clung to it with all my feeble strength. sunday it commenced to blow furiously, coming first from the southwest, and increasing as the day wore on, until by night, with the wind shifted to north of west, a howling gale was on, outer doors battened down, promenade decks swept by water, and everybody curled up in bed, bracing themselves as best they could, trying to keep from rolling out of their berths. i wish it understood that the word _everybody_ is used reservedly, for there were a few exceptions, daddy being one of them,--cranks who prided themselves on not missing a meal. then came that awful night! this was the time rudolph shone. it was he who suggested champagne and ship-biscuit. daddy didn't know how many bottles he brought to our room, and we didn't, until it came time to pay the bills. then daddy was surprised, but rudolph wasn't. "rudolph," i said, that terrible night, as he brought in the bottle, and steadied himself to pour a glassful, "were you ever in such a storm as this before; don't you really think we're in great danger?" he assured me that he had been in much worse storms, but i knew he hadn't. i could tell by the way he looked that he was only trying to cheer me up, for he was dreadfully solemn, and had a big black lump on his forehead where he had hit his head as he came in with the bottle. i listened while he told of other storms ever and ever so much worse; how he had been thirty years a steward, how he swore every voyage would be his last; but how somehow he kept on shipping; he didn't mind storms. "so you have never gone down at sea, rudolph? oh, i am so glad, for then you wouldn't be here, would you?" he forgave me of course. i was not the first sufferer rudolph had brought champagne and ship's biscuit. when sister was a babe, daddy gave her a little jap toy, which we called the "red manikin." he was round as an apple, with his face one big grin. whichever way we stood him, manikin would jump up serenely on his plump little legs, always smiling and jolly. but one day there came a sad ending to manikin's smiles. he was smashed in a nursery storm, and we found him under the bed standing straight on his head. through snatches of sleep, my disordered dreams made a grinning, red manikin of our ship. i wondered when the final smash would come and our big toy no longer swing back on its round legs? over and over the great ship went, and i held my breath. "now this time it will never come back. i know it. oh! how terrible to have the water pour into our staterooms and never a chance to swim. no, there we go the other way. now we go, go, go! oh, if i wouldn't try to keep the ship from rolling over! what good can i do by holding my breath and bracing back in this way? i wonder how the bride feels by this time? that lovely brown dress, she'll never wear it again. well, i'm glad i'm not a bride." whatever happened just then i could not tell, but there was a curious sort of a dull explosion, and all the electric lights went out. then our trunks broke loose and went crashing back and forth at each other, whack, bang, with a vicious delight. "i'll not endure this suspense another moment," thought i, "i must have a light and i must know what is the matter, and i must bring daddy in here this minute. if we are going down i want him to be with us." so i swung myself out of the berth, dodged a trunk, groped my way to the door, and ran barefooted to number . i didn't stop to knock, but turned the knob, as a terrific lurch of the ship threw me against daddy's berth, where the only man who knew anything about running that ship lay fast asleep. of course you'll think that an absurd thing to say, but then you don't know daddy. he is the kind of a man who was born with expedients in both hands. however much i doubted the wisdom of confessing it to daddy, away down in my heart i felt that if he would only wake up and come into our room, he would devise a way to save us, if every one else went to the bottom. hadn't he time and again rescued us from dreadful disasters by fire and water, didn't he in his quiet way master every situation at the right moment; was there any one more skilled in handling boats, more subtle in knowledge of winds and waves than daddy? wasn't there just cause that i should wake him up? of course there was! it wasn't right that he should be sleeping so peacefully while his wife and children were waiting for the last trump. no, it wasn't right. so i touched him rather lightly, somewhat hesitatingly, because he never likes to be awakened, and i said--well, i don't recall just what i said; you know how i felt; and he, the man of expedients, the man of many rescues, turned over and grunted out, "what on earth are you making such a fuss about? go and see the captain? no, i'll not go and see the captain or any other man, and i don't want to sit on your trunk. go to bed, we're all right; the sea isn't as bad as it was before midnight, and what's the use of worrying anyway? go to bed, that's a good girl." what could i do but go? he wouldn't budge, so i went back to number with all the injured dignity possible under the circumstances, and i didn't care a bit when his door banged good and hard after me. i have never since then been able to understand his utter indifference to our distress that night. it must have been something he ate for dinner. it was a weird night outside; a white gray night, shone upon fitfully by a sullen moon and a few lonely stars. every other minute we were in utter darkness, as a thunderous wave came surging deep over the port-holes; then for a brief moment again the sickly light of the moon would steal through the thick wet glass to where the little girls lay, and i wondered if the morning would ever come. iii. the next day i did not dare look from my port-hole. i had not only drawn the lattice-screen to keep out the water--for the ports were leaking badly--but had even fixed up a curtain with some towels, so that i might not see the storm-vexed sea without. i simply lay there wondering why, why, why, i had ever come? but after awhile adorable rudolph knocked at the door and gave us each our glass of wine and biscuits, and we felt encouraged, and asked him what had happened to the lights last night. he looked blandly ignorant of any disaster, and shook his head and told us nothing. he was a wise man, that rudolph! then he suggested that we get up and dress, after he had lashed the trunks back where they belonged, and had straightened up a nice little round spot in the middle of the room, where we could stand and reach for things. with a grim determination, i pulled down the towel, opened the lattice, and looked out. there is no use in trying to tell you anything about the sea, because i couldn't. all i can do is advise you never to round cape hatteras in a gale. "but what shall we do about the islands of the blest?" you ask. that is a simple problem, start from well down in florida, and take the shortest cut across! at seven o'clock by the ship's bell i went to work to keep my promise to rudolph. i have a distinct remembrance of having put both stockings on wrong side out. i was an hour hunting for my shoes. everything else had to be scrambled for in the same way. it was two o'clock when i was dressed sufficiently to make a decent appearance; but i needed to have had no fear of criticisms, for as i made my way on deck, crawling up the main cabin stairway, there wasn't a soul to be seen, except the jackies in their oilskins, who looked rather amazed when i poked my head out of the door. i then had a view of the ship's deck which i had not hitherto had. she was very narrow and long, i hadn't before realised how long and how narrow. no wonder she rolled like a gigantic log canoe, but she was a beauty though! i began to forget her temper because of her looks--a common blunder in judging her sex, i am told. she was stripped naked for the plunge, and to see her pitch headlong into the seething water, throwing foam to the mast-heads, sending a deluge of crashing seas adown our decks, made me scream with delight. it was glorious, glorious, glorious! down she went,--the beauty,--roaring, cracking, twisting, groaning, howling, and hissing. she fought as with a thousand furies, plunging and rolling into and through the seas, which rushed down upon her as if they would crush her to atoms. just then the sun broke from out the fast-moving clouds, and sprang upon the water in a million glistening rays of brilliant light, and my whole being was filled with joy that i had eyes to see such wonders. the storm was at its height the night before when we were to the southeast of cape hatteras, after we had steamed well into that beautiful gulf stream one reads about. there we were hove to, with head to the storm, engines slowed down, and oil dripping over our bows for twenty-four hours, and were carried one hundred miles out of our course. unfortunately the oil did little good, for we were in a cross sea which occasionally broke with a thundering crash over our stern as well as over our bows, and we were horribly twisted and shaken. but at last, on monday afternoon, at four o'clock, the storm quieted so we were able to square away again for the windward passage. so much for that terrible gale from the gulf, which, as we afterward learned, did much damage to coastwise shipping. as the storm broke, one by one, poor forlorn remnants of our fellow passengers began to appear in all possible states of dilapidation; and for the rest of the day, inspired by a subject of common interest, we sat about, clinging to fixed chairs, talking over our experiences, and watching the fast disappearing tempest. it was then i learned that my original plan of buying a ticket home from nassau in the bahamas and through florida by rail was shared by every second person i met, and whether the purpose is fully carried out or not remains to be seen. iv. there was one peculiar and unlooked-for feature in the experience of seasickness which may be universal to all like sufferers, but it was novel to me. it was when in one of my sane moments the morning before the storm that i threw myself down on a couch in the main saloon, too inert to lift my head, too woebegone to think that i could ever smile again, that i raised my eyes and caught sight of a figure opposite me, compared with which i was in a state of heavenly rapture. it was none less than his excellency, herr baron von pumpernickel donnerwetter hohenmaltsteinhaufen, high officer in the service of his majesty, the kaiser. he was all in a heap, a big soft heap, wound about by a big brown ulster. poor soul, he didn't care much how it was buttoned, it was all wrong anyway, but he was not thinking of trifles. on a bald pate was a comical felt hat,--one of those little alpine hats german tourists affect,--jammed over the left eye; his face was unshaven, his hair unshorn and uncombed, his nose big and red, and his eyes watery, meaningless, colourless, glassy eyes rolling about in helpless agony. he sat there with his arms dangling at his sides, mumbling to himself. i hadn't anything else to do, so i watched him and listened. what can he be saying? i suppose it's the "lorelei;" maybe he dreams he's on the rhine! his sorrowful, wife-forsaken look aroused my sympathy; i listened more attentively. i have always had a lingering affinity for the german folkslieder, but, oh, dear, it wasn't a folkslied at all! he was swearing volley after volley of feeble, limp oaths, uttered in a broken and scarcely audible voice. i thought the sight of a woman might stop his flow of wrath, so i lifted myself up a little and looked at him as severely as i could under the circumstances, but to no purpose. his monotonous oaths went rolling on and on, until a kind steward came and asked his excellency if he would have something to eat. now that steward ought to have known better. i knew there would be trouble. there are times when men must be left alone, and this was his excellency's time. i tried to warn the steward, and even worked up an especial groan to attract his attention, but, like a stupid old dunderhead, he stood there with his mouth open; and then he caught it: "_verdamter--damter--damity--dam--_" it pealed, bellowed forth with royal spontaneity, and the steward was a white streak out of the saloon door. there were sufferers in the room besides myself, and it was remarkable to note, how that full and complete expression of his excellency's wrath worked like a healing balm upon us all. i shall not confess to any such lapses on the part of my immediate family and friends,--no, i shall never confess to that! but i will say that there are times when the use of strong language is an outlet most beneficial to overwrought digestive organs. i _will_ say that much. the little blue map of the west indies given to me at our departure, which same map has lain very snugly between the unopened pages of my journal until to-day, shows me, as for the first time i unfold the wrinkled paper, that we have just passed watling's island (the san salvador of the early explorers) and a lot of other little islands; while a row of tiny dots shows that we are somewhere near the tropic of cancer. daddy tells of watching until late last night to make out the light on san salvador, and how it blinked up finally from the waves far ahead on our starboard bow and as quickly disappeared, to gradually grow brighter as we brought it abeam of us--our first smell of land since we dropped the bleak shore of new jersey. my eyes tell me as they look seaward that we have left the great lonely waste of the atlantic and have come into sweeter waters, on seas of heavenly rest, which flow away from us as do the rolling white clouds above. i watch dreamily the shoals of flying fish darting aside from under the bow in long low lines of flashing silver; and i look away to where ships come up from over the meeting of sky and ocean. i know now why rudolph can not give it up. [illustration] chapter ii. port-au-prince, haÏti i. from the rising of the sun to its sudden drop into the sea, this has been a funny day in haïti, our first land-fall. all night we had been threading through the dangerous shoals and past the lower islands of the bahama group, until at last we turned into that great thoroughfare, the windward passage between cuba and haïti, and finally were at rest in the harbour of port-au-prince. knowing that we were to make port this morning, i was awakened very early by the delightsome expectation of the sight of a green earth; and long before little blue ribbons and sister had stirred with the spirit of a new day, i had scurried through the corridor to my delicious salt tub. the ship lay very still. it but just felt the finger-tips of the ocean's caress. a sweet, warm, gentle, alluring air filtered in through the open port-hole and permeated my body with the delicious intoxication of summer. i threw myself into the bath with every pore a-quiver for its cool refreshment, and as the briny water spread its arms about me, i looked out upon the sea, where my first tropical sunrise burst upon me. it was such a businesslike performance that i laughed right in old sol's face, and splattered water at him through the port-hole; it served him right for being so abominably prosaic. five minutes before his appearance, there was not the slightest indication in the sky that anything was about to happen, no fireworks, no signals, no red lights, nothing but the dull blue sky of early morning. when, all at once, a bright red tip peeps over the water, and in three minutes the big, round ball is on hand, ready for business, whereupon he blazes away _fortissimo_ from the start. it was rude and ill-mannered of him to intrude upon my bath, but it seemed to be his way with the ladies, so i fled to find sister and wee one in wildest joy, on their knees in bed crowding their pretty heads together for a peep at the wonderful land about them. the ship had swung to her anchor, and lay bow-on to port-au-prince, while to starboard was a range of lofty mountains which clambered and struggled and budded and blossomed into the white sky of morning. the sudden call of summer, the eternal loveliness of warmth, the expansion of the soul from out the chill of ice and snow, into the bliss of laughing seas and delicious sunlight; the sight of green, graceful palms bending their stately heads to the summons of the morning, the merry wavelets frolicking, splashing, laughing, calling to us,--summer--summer--summer--was all so intoxicating that, had the choice been possible, who knows but we would have bartered our very souls, with but little hesitancy, for a lifetime of such sensation! there was something akin to emancipation in the pile of airy frocks which lay waiting for sister and little blue ribbons, and if our fingers hadn't been all thumbs, and if we hadn't been on our knees half the time in the berth, peering out from the port-hole, we could have donned the summer glories a full hour sooner, and might have been on deck in the open with all the sweets of the early tropical morning about us. but, what could one do but look and marvel, when the sea about us was swarming with tiny boats, laden with treasures of the deep and of the forest? what would you do, now, tell me, if, after long dreaming of the islands of the blest, you suddenly awakened to find them really true, and your own dear self in the midst of them? why bless your heart! you would have looked, and laughed, and wondered, just as we did, and have been for ever dressing, too. [illustration: the landing-place port-au-prince, haïti] long, long ago, when i was a "little sister," my boon companion had a parrot given her, and one day it screamed horribly and bit me, and ever after i held a vengeful spirit for the whole parrot family. but that morning at haïti--ah! that first soft morning, when the jabbering black haïtiens came to us with corals and parrots and strange, freaky fruits, a fierce fancy possessed me to buy a parrot. of course, the morning was to blame for it. i was really not a free agent. it was a delusion that, somehow, if i bought the parrot, the summer would be thrown in with it. but dear, sensible sister, my judge and jury and supreme court on all occasions, thought it a foolish idea, so we didn't nod "yes" through the port-hole; we only shook our heads and laughed. but the parrot man didn't have time to answer back, for, before he knew it, a newcomer bumped into the bow of his skiff and made him very angry; so he gave way in short order, for the late arrival didn't carry any parrots or coral, or anything to sell; it carried a very tall, black man, who stood immovably in the centre of the craft. "oh! come, sister, i know it's the president, it must be!" he wore a tall silk hat, with an ancient straight brim, and a black frock coat and a terribly solemn expression. but we were mistaken after all; it was only the health officer. we were sure one of those rollicking waves would spill him over, but, alas, the shiny old stovepipe rose and fell with the precision of a clock and nothing happened, and we were so disappointed! then it disappeared up the ladder, and we buttoned up a bit more and were dressed at last. ii. port-au-prince is as daintily hidden away in the folds of the mountains, as a lace handkerchief in the chatelaine of a beautiful woman. there seemed to be nothing left undone by nature to make it, in point of location, a chosen spot, hidden from the curious world: a realm of bliss for lovers to abide in. port-au-prince was once called the "paris of the west indies;" that is, when the french were its masters and the blacks their slaves. it is not so now, for when the blacks revolted and drove their masters from the land, the death-knell of civilisation was sounded. it is the capital of the black republic of haïti, the paradise of the negro, where to be black is the envied distinction; where the white man can scarcely hold property without confiscation in some form; where the negro is the high-cockalorum. yes, it was called paris, but that was long, long ago. poor little town! it is now the forlornest, dirtiest little rag-a-muffin in the whole world, still trying to strut a bit, but in truth a ridiculous caricature of civilisation. [illustration: copyright, , by detroit photographic co. waiting for customers port-au-prince, haïti] as we approached land, the character of the place was indicated by the boats lying at anchor, and by those which clung, like a forlorn hope, to the rickety old piers along shore. they were the most dilapidated, nondescript lot of craft i have ever seen. the "fort" at the harbour entrance was in a state of collapse, and about big enough to shelter a basket of babies. the haïtien "man-of-war" anchored near the shore was an absurd old iron gunboat with rusty stacks and dishevelled rigging, painted in many colours and temporarily incapacitated because of leaky boilers and broken engines. the rest of the "haïtien navy," _i. e._, another old rusty gunboat, was lying neglected and half sunken near by. the pier where we landed was so shattered by time and water that i had to pick my way very carefully in order to keep from falling through. on shore, we were at once surrounded by a mob of jabbering haïtiens, speaking--well, it's hard to say just what. it started out french and ended in an incomprehensible jargon, intelligible only to the delicate haïtien ear. as we picked our way along the tumble-down pier, between piles of coral which had been recently removed from the shoal water near shore (in order that small boats could land at the piers), the tatterdemalion haïtiens escorted us to the city, under a tumble-down archway, into tumble-down port-au-prince, to find waiting for us at the other side of this water gate an assortment of vehicles which i find it quite impossible to describe. they had had an earthquake in port-au-prince the preceding october, and those carriages looked as if they had passed through the whole shocking ordeal. the horses, not as high as my shoulder, were simply animated bones,--"articulated equine skeletons" somebody said--harnessed with ropes and strings and old scraps of leather, to what were once "carriages," all of antiquated patterns,--anything from a cart to a carryall; and to the enormous americans, who doubled up their precious knees in order to sit inside, they seemed like the veriest rattletraps for dolls. off they moved, the whole wobblety procession, to the cracking of native whips and howls of the admiring vagabonds. the white dust blew about us, and the sun beat down upon our heads, and we were in the tropics indeed. i do not know whether it was the result of seasickness, or what it was, but everything in haïti looked crooked. sister said that the mother goose "crooked man" must have come from haïti, and i agreed with her. [illustration: the "coaches" port-au-prince, haïti] iii. we preferred to walk up into the town,--not because we were more merciful than those who had wobbled and rattled and jiggled on before us, but because we thought it would be a little more haïtien than if we drove. we might have taken the tram, but it was more fun to watch it hitch its precarious way along after its stuffy, rusty, leaky little "dummy" engine, down through the crooked streets, than to jerk along with it. the only sensible thing to do was just to stand there within the ruins of a one-time beautiful city and look about us. it was the worst, the forlornest, the most mind-forsaken place of which you can conceive. earthquakes had cracked and tumbled down some of the best buildings, fire had destroyed many others, and the remains had been left as they had dropped, under the blistering sun, to crumble away into dust; and thronging in and through the ruins like black ants about their downtrodden dwelling, were swarms of rag-tag human beings whom i call such merely because no species of "missing link" has yet been recognised by our anthropologists. it was an official building before which we were standing, and as we were about to move on to a shadier spot, the guards, or the soldiers, or whatever one might call them, approached and presented arms under the crooked arch, and disappeared noiselessly within the inner court. this barefooted squad, some ten strong,--negroes of all shades of blackness,--were equipped in gorgeous red caps. yes, they all had caps, and muskets, every one of them; the remaining parts of the uniform, unessential parts, were eked out with linen dusters and old rags which happened to be lying around handy. i don't see why they should have bothered about having the dusters, but i suppose it was traditional. [illustration: main business street of the capital of the republic of haiti port-au-prince, haïti copyright, , by detroit photographic co] just as we approached the main street under a blazing sun, there came toward us two chariots, with wheels eight or ten feet high, harnessed each to a mixture of tiny, woebegone donkeys and mules, about the size of hairpins, going at full speed with the true negro love of display, for the benefit of the strangers. the charioteers wore shirts and tattered hats, and yelled like wild hyenas at the poor, astonished mules. "hurrah for ben hur!" we shouted, and the triumphant victor rattled ahead in a cloud of dust. then we went on to the next performance, a haïtien officer strutting past, bedecked with gold lace and buttons, and great cocked hat, well plumed, and barefooted. there was no use being serious; we couldn't be. we were in the midst of an _opera bouffe_, with negroes playing at government, with the happy-go-lucky african savage fully possessed of his racial characteristics, fondly imagining himself a free and responsible man; and it was one, long pitiful laugh for the poor black children who were taking themselves in such dead earnest. iv. it was not to imitate mr. f. hopkinson smith in the least that we said we must find a white umbrella, and yet even had we wished to imitate mr. smith, could we have followed in the way of a more delightsome traveller? it was simply because we were conscious that a white umbrella, with a soft green lining, is a necessary adjunct to life in the tropics. it is in harmony with its environment, because it is almost a necessity; and being such, we were not to be dissuaded from our desire. so, with that definite intent to our steps, we started to find the white umbrella. was every one else hunting for one, too, that the crowd was all going in our direction,--surely not! no sun could ever blaze strongly enough to penetrate those woolly tops. we go on a little farther, and then we begin to understand from a wave of odours sweeping over us that it's to market we're going with all the rest; and so for the time we are led from the purpose of the morning. the stench grows more pronounced; we become a part of a black host, with babies, children, men, women, and donkeys crowding into the square, where a long, low-tiled market-building and its surrounding dirty pavement becomes the kitchen for the whole of port-au-prince; a place where filthy meats and queer vegetables and strange fruits are sold, and where all manner of curious, outlandish dishes are being concocted. the black women crouching on the ground over little simmering pots and a few hot coals, jabbering away at their crouching neighbours, were more like half-human animals than possible mothers of a republic. and in amongst the women were the babies, rolling around on bits of rags, blissfully happy in their complete nakedness. but there was something about those black, naked babies which seemed to dress them up without any clothes. does a naked negro baby ever look as bare to you as a naked white baby? stopping a minute, where a louder, noisier mob of women were busy over their morning incantations, my eye chanced to dwell for a second longer than it should have done, on a pudgy little pickaninny, which was lying in its mother's lap, kicking up its heels, with its fat little arms beating the air in very much the same aimless manner that our babies do. seizing upon my momentary interest in the youngster, its mother caught up the wiggling, naked thing, and with all the eloquence of a language of signs, contrasted her naked baby with what seemed to her the regal splendour of my white shirt-waist. for an instant i weakened and caught at my pocketbook mechanically, but, as i did so, i glanced up just quickly enough to see her ladyship give a laughing wink to one of her neighbours, as much as to say: "jest see me work 'em!"--and i caught the wink in time to turn the solemn face into a crooning laugh, when, with the worst french i could muster,--and that was a simple matter,--i told the mother her baby was all right. it didn't need any clothes; i was just wearing them because it was a sort of habit. people would be lots more comfortable in haïti without them. for a minute, those black, beseeching eyes had had me fixed, but, fortunately for our further peace of mind, i looked once too many times. the air was thick with horrible smells and horrible sounds as well. we became a target for begging hands, and "damn, give me five cents," was every second word we heard. where the poor creatures ever learned so much english, would be difficult to say, but it was well learned. over the black heads, over the little cooking breakfasts, over the endless procession of donkeys, carrying sugar-cane and coffee and all sorts of stuff from off somewhere we didn't know about, to the market we did know about--there arose an arch which was even more barbaric than the naked babies and their half-naked mothers. it was just the thing for the market--it fitted in with the smells; it was something incredibly hideous and archaic. it was not french, it was purely an african creation, made of wood, in strange ungraceful points and ornamented with outlandish coloured figures; and yet it was an arch, and we ought to forgive the rest. but the white umbrella! were we never to begin our search? we left the market and took the shady side of the street. but, being a party of four, we all wanted to do different things, yet, being a very congenial party of four, we went from one side of the street to the other, as one or the other happened to catch sight of something novel; thus, back and forth, zigzag, we made for the white umbrella. laddie, in far-off america, had been promised stamps; in fact he had been promised almost the limit of his imaginary wants, if he would only stay with grandmamma by the sea, and not mind while we were off for the islands; so it was not only a white umbrella which kept us moving on up the sunny streets, but laddie and his stamps. thus the post-office stepped in where the white umbrella should have been ladies' choice. a nondescript following conducted us to the post-office, where we met a very different type of man. the officials spoke such beautiful french that we became at once hopelessly lost in our idioms. when the creole postmaster discovered our self-appointed escort of ragamuffins crowding the entrance to the office, his black eyes flashed for a second, and some terrible things must have been said to the crowd, which we did not understand, for the office was emptied in short order. here, we thought, was the true haïtien; the market-people were the refuse. [illustration: a public fountain port-au-prince, haïti] another zigzag, and we stopped in at a _pharmacie_ to ask about the white umbrella. we were met by another haïtien, a courteous, delightful gentleman, the chemist of port-au-prince, a man of rare charm and courtly manner. he gave little blue ribbons and sister some pretty trinkets as souvenirs, at the same time pointing the way to a shop very near, where without fail we could find--you know! ah! but between that shop and us there was--well, what to call it i find it hard to say, for it certainly wasn't a soda-water fountain, or an ice-cream haven, but into it we went, all of us, and we sat down, while daddy ordered wonderful things for us to drink, and we had real ice, too; and in my glass there was more than the limes and sugar and ice, which sister was sipping. there was certainly something more than mere lime-juice in my glass, for i didn't care, after taking one taste, nearly so much about the umbrella as i did before, and daddy was so relieved. we sat there very contentedly for quite awhile, but the little girls grew restless and said we must go on to something else, so gathering up the fragments of our northern energy, we were out in the street again. a sleepy, honest little donkey, loaded with baskets of very diminutive bananas, came our way. with malice aforethought, we made a raid to the extent of three pennies' worth. the keeper sold reluctantly, for he said we would surely die, if we ate bananas and walked in the sun. so we walked in the sun and ate bananas, and didn't die; no, indeed not. we lived to be very thankful for those bananas, as you shall hear later. and then we went on past the guard-house, where the slumbering army dozed by their stacks of rusty muskets; past unnumbered hammocks, out of which long black legs hung in listless content; on past the sellers and buyers of coffee who stood marking the weights of enormous sacks, swung on huge, antiquated scales; on past the women, crouching over their stores of pastry, fruits, sweets,--on to the shop where at last we found the white umbrella, with a green lining, and then there was peace in the family for awhile! v. i could not tell you her name, for she did not tell us, and somehow we didn't think to ask for it. she reminded us of guadeloupe, our mexican maid, who had carried laddie in the soft folds of her _rebozo_ so many sweet days through the paradisiacal gardens of old córdova. shall i ever forget the music of her voice, when, with laddie snuggled closely to her, she would stand in the early evening (amidst the flowers and the rich, ripe fruits which seemed to be waiting for her touch), and say, in a voice like a soft lute: "_mira la luna, guillermo!_" and his big, brown eyes would turn from the face of the gentle guadeloupe to where her hand pointed to the high, sailing moon, throwing its silvery kisses upon the willing earth below. the creole and the mexican were affinities, although with seas between them. one was guadeloupe, the other--what shall we call her; florentine? proserpine? what mattered a name! we were content. we had been strolling along away from the shops, out to where the tramway came to an abrupt end; out to where the level country took to its heels up the hillsides and went scampering off into the deep green mountains. out beyond the president's palace, whose one-time glories were not yet quite effaced by the sad fortunes of haïti, to where a row of houses, evidently homes of the haïtien "four hundred," hidden away behind high french gateways and walls, were dropped from the glare of the white sun under glistening leaves of heavy foliage. deep red, red flowers high in the tops of the trees hung like drops of blood over the crumbling, broken fountains. a sad little marble cupid, with his bow and quiver gone, was still pirouetting in stony glee over a stained and dried-up basin. the gateway--her gateway--a wonder in chiselled stone and blossoming work of iron, was all but hidden by a mass of heavy, tangled vines. the white umbrella paused; we stood enchanted before the outspreading garden, and, while there, she of the wondrous face came down the steps of the mansion and out into the garden toward us. down the path she came with a swift and graceful movement, not walking but gliding; her garments fell from her in loose, sweeping lines of grace. as she approached us, a delicate pink flush spread over her olive face, while with an exquisite charm,--in most perfect french,--she invited us in to the cool seclusion of her veranda. she was the colour of a hazel-nut. her hair hung in two long, glorious braids, and it was just half-inclined to wave in sweet caresses about her oval face. her eyes were of a radiant brilliancy, and, as she spoke, the light from them broke full upon us like something sudden and unlooked-for. she was straight as a cypress, and her head was set with the poise of a young palm-tree. her family came out to meet us,--the brothers and sisters,--they were all very much at ease, but none of them had the charm of our hostess. our conversation amounted to very little; it was one of the times when words seemed a bit out of place, particularly so with the sudden demand upon our slumbering french verbs. but she was forgiving, and we were appreciative, and the time passed delightfully. in the corner of her garden, there was a little out-of-door school, whither she led us to hear verses and songs by the solemn-eyed haïtien _noblesse_, and we listened, as it were, to the remnant of a once brilliant people in its last feeble efforts to resuscitate the memories of courtly ancestors. it did not seem credible that there could exist any relation between these intelligent children, this brilliant young goddess, and the half-human beings crouching over their sizzling pots in the market-place. vi. this is the way it read: "hotel-casino bellevue champ de mars--port-au-prince. dirigÉ par frÄulein j. stein, de berlin chambres garnies, avec ou sans pension. bassin-douche--jardin d'agrèment. table d'hôte de à hs--de à hs--de à hs. salon de lecture--billard--piano, etc. journaux français, allemands, americaines et anglais. cette établissement jadis si bien connu, somptueusement remis à neuf, se recommande aux voyageurs et aux residents par le confort d'un hôtel de er ordre et par les divertissements que sa situation et ses dépendances offrent au public." you know there are some things in this world of uncertainties of which one is sure. one is sure of certain things without ever having seen them--something like the pyramids; one takes them for granted. just how it came about that we took the "hotel-casino bellevue" for granted it would be difficult to say, but we did. it was the one established fact about port-au-prince. it had been passed from one to another before we made port that the "hotel bellevue" was the _summum bonum_ of haïti. thither, never doubting, we faced about at high noon, following the small brother of our lustrous creole beauty, and we found it, the hotel bellevue, as did others. little blue ribbons, sister, and i were placed--dumped into--three waiting chairs on the white veranda. and then daddy disappeared, with others, all with the same air of confidence, to order dinner--it was to be dinner, you know, for did not the card say: "_table d'hôte de à hs?_"--of course it did. and we all had those little cards and they were all alike. they were our souvenirs. why the hotel bellevue hadn't any shade-trees in front; why it was so glaringly hot and dusty and brazen-faced, we didn't see. oh, yes! it was on account of the "bellevue"--out to the ocean! "_dirigé par fräulein stein_;" that was it. she didn't like trees; she wanted the "bellevue." she had chopped down the trees--we knew she had. "_dirigé par fräulein stein_"--we didn't care for fräulein stein at all. some one on the other side of the veranda drops down an awning, and we drop the awning on our side. blue ribbons takes off her hat, and sister wonders what keeps daddy so long. i think of fräulein stein. she's in there, of course; that's why he's so long. that's why all the other men stay so. she is another circe. here he comes. he looks mildly happy. "it's ordered. i ordered it in german first, then french, and then fräulein stein,"--but there he hesitated. "yes, it's fräulein stein, of course," i reply. "what did she have to say?" "no, it wasn't fräulein stein at all," he answers, "it was fräulein stein's manager; he's a norwegian, so of course he speaks english fluently." "what did you order?" sister asks. then daddy looked a bit sad. "i couldn't order just what i thought you'd like of course, because they didn't have it, but i did the best i could. let me see--i think the first was sardines. i thought after the bananas you'd need a kind of appetiser, so i ordered sardines first, and some other stuff,--and turkey." "turkey? oh, daddy, this is not thanksgiving day!" "no, it's not thanksgiving, but there was something said about turkey, and i thought we might as well have what the others ordered." we didn't think we cared much for turkey, but we weren't hungry enough to argue, so we let the bill of fare go at that, and started out to investigate the premises. ever since we had been at the hotel bellevue, we were unconsciously aware of curious droning sounds. we scarcely noticed them at first, for they were not aggressive,--they were merely persistent, like the sleepy humming of insects. they fitted in with the white light and the hot stillness of noonday. but, after waiting for daddy, and thinking about fräulein stein, the sounds became more distinct; they grew more insistent. the people on the other side of the veranda quieted down, and there wasn't so much chattering as there had been when we first arrived at the hotel bellevue. no, it was much quieter. as the voices ceased with the spreading of the scorching noonday light on the dry walks and the denuded garden,--its few, stiff little lonesome shrubs gasping for water,--the sounds grew to a positive delirium. we stole out into the "_jardin d'agrément_." if i could only glorify that back yard i would,--indeed, from my heart i would! but "_es hat nicht sollen sein_!" it was not la bellevue there! oh, no! it was not! there was a little gutter running through the yard, and there was some slimy liquid in the gutter which might once have been water. but the ducks didn't mind; they waddled around in the puddles just the same. by the cook-house, a witch of endor was browning some coffee over an open fire. out of respect to the cook, i say she was browning the coffee. she was indeed browning the coffee with a vengeance; she was burning it black--fairly to cinders. around with the ducks was _the_ turkey. he was the master of that back yard, but alas! he was having his last fling! he did not know it, nor did we; we knew soon after. [illustration: copyright, , by detroit photographic co. a west indian africa port-au-prince, haïti] but what right had we to be in the back yard of the hotel bellevue? if we didn't find the gutter agreeable to our over-refined sensibilities why not go where it was "belle"? but there were those sounds and we were keen on the trail. we should not be thwarted by a flock of waddling ducks. it was evidently from a neighbour's the sound came, so, picking our steps carefully over a heap of rubbish and broken bottles and discarded ducks' feet and hens' feathers, we peeped through a crack in the high board fence and saw in the neighbouring yard one portion of a family party; another crack revealed more, and, putting them together, we counted some eight or ten very serious people sitting around a large oval table, singing a curious chant,--if one dare call it such,--some of them; the others were shaking curious little gourd rattles in time with the monotonous recitative. the "witch of endor" tells us that the neighbours are celebrating the birth of twins. deliver us from triplets! how far are we from the voodoo and all the savagery of africa? there was a glory in that hotel back yard after all. but, to tell the truth, we didn't discover it until some one behind us, black and half-naked, made a murderous assault upon the turkey. he, the turkey, screaming awful protest, flew into the merciful arms of a breadfruit-tree which hung its great leaves in a sadly apologetic manner over the scene of coffee-burning and waddling ducks. to stand under a breadfruit-tree which was doing its noblest to forget its environment--well, one ought to forgive much, and we did, until we learned that even the breadfruit wasn't ready done--it had to be cooked. at last the cloth was laid and the table set, and little blue ribbons unfolded her napkin, and we all did the same, for little blue ribbons seldom makes a mistake. she is a proper child, and had hitherto fed on proper meat. then we chatted and sat there,--and sat there and chatted. presently, when we had talked it all over,--the market and the creole beauty, and everything else,--we stopped talking and just sat there thinking. sister had some bananas left, and she graciously suggested that fruit before dinner was in good form, so we each took a banana and sat longer. there was nor sight nor sound of fräulein stein, nor of any one belonging to the stein family. we and our fellow travellers were the silent occupants of the high-ceilinged dining-room. noon had long since gone with the morning,--one o'clock, and still no signs of life. one-thirty,--from out the silent courtyard, after an hour and a half waiting; from out the back kitchen, near the duck puddle and the breadfruit-tree, there appeared a negro in solemn state. he had been dressing. i suppose he was the one we had been waiting for. he wore an ancient long-tailed coat with brass buttons, a white waistcoat, and very clean trousers--and shoes, too--and a flower in his buttonhole, and he carried in his hand,--yes, dear ones, he carried in his hand (only in one hand, for the other one was needed for purpose of state)--he carried in his hand one small plate of sardines, our appetisers, which had been neatly arranged in two tiny rows of six each. a menial of lower order followed with the bread, enough for one hungry man, and it fell to the first and nearest table. we were hopelessly distant from the sardines and the bread. the solemn head waiter avoided us. we thought we must have offended him. the sardines continued to pass us. soon a dish of smoking yams was carried on beyond. we knew then that his majesty had us in disfavour. the "spirit of ' " arose; we would have sardines or perish. we raided the serving-room. sister captured a whole box of sardines and i a loaf of bread. we waylaid a boy with coffee, took the pot, hunted up sugar, ran into a black woman, who was handing in a few boiled yams, seized all she had and sat down to the finest meal ever spread: yams, sardines, bread, and black coffee. at two-thirty, a faint odour of turkey hovered over the dining-room, but we didn't care for turkey; we had said so from the first, and besides, we had known that turkey in his glory. sardines we had not despised, and we had sardines. and then the bananas helped out, and so did the bread and the bitter coffee. i would not have had the dinner other than it was--no, not for all the waiting; it was all so in keeping with the whole crazy country. fräulein stein never appeared. i do not think there was a fräulein stein, or ever had been. she was just made up, along with the "_table d'hôte_" and the "_chambres garnies_" and the "_douche_" and the "_jardin d'agrément_." but in a feminine way we laid it up against fräulein stein,--that meal and the trees,--and we always shall. for who else do you think could have cut down the trees? [illustration: courtyard of the american legation haïti] there seemed to be a sort of stupefaction over the whole establishment. i know the poor creatures did the very best they knew how, but they didn't know how,--that was the trouble. it didn't occur to them to cook a lot of yams at one time; they cooked enough for one or two, and when those were ready, they cooked some more for somebody else. you can imagine the length of time required for such a meal. but then there's nothing much else to do in haïti, and why not be willing to wait for dinner? out of respect to the courtly "_pharmacien_" and to our lovely proserpine, there's not to be one word more about the "hotel bellevue," and not a word more about anything else in poor little port-au-prince; but i could not help wishing that some day dear old uncle sam would come along and give haïti a good cleaning up, and whip them into line for a time at least; but heaven deliver us from ever trying to assimilate or govern such a degenerate and heterogeneous people. alas, for that ideal black republic, where every negro was to show himself a man and a brother! as we were leaving for ship, the haïtien daily paper was issued--a curious little two-page sheet, some eighteen inches square, printed in french, _le soir_--and in it appeared this pitiful paragraph, which seemed in a way to be the hopeless lament of haïti's remnant for the sad condition of things in this beautiful island: "the americans who arrived this morning are visiting our city. but what will they see here to admire? where are our monuments, our squares, our well-watered streets? we blush with shame! they can carry back with them only bad impressions; there is nothing to please or charm them, except our sunny sky, our starry nights, and the exuberance of nature." is it possible that the writer of those lines had forgotten the lady proserpine? [illustration: a mill for sawing mahogany haïti] chapter iii. santo domingo i. "there's nothing in the least to be afraid of, mother, nothing in the least. why, see, even his excellency doesn't mind." it was sister who spoke, but even so there was a kind of unearthly qualm creeping over me as i made my way cautiously down the ladder and waited until a generous swell from the big outside sent the ship's boat within stepping distance, and then, with a jump, made for the vacancy next to little blue ribbons. when one is on dry land, fear of the water seems so unreasoning that the timid soul speaks of it in a half-apologetic manner; but never yet when landing in an open boat in an exposed harbour, where the mighty roll of the ocean lifts and drops and there seems but a veil between the great world above and the great world beneath--never yet have i been able to take the step from steamer to boat with any real sensation of pleasure. we had been skirting the southern shore of the great island of haïti or santo domingo since sundown the night before, and at daybreak the word flew around that we were off domingo city. we must have left all the sunshine with the happy darkies in port-au-prince, for, as we glanced from our port-holes, we saw nothing but a tumble of leaden water under a gray sky--just water and sky. domingo city lay to the other side. once ready for the day and out on deck, we were met by a gloomy world. heavy banks of clouds piled on one another as if determined to hide the sun. there were no dancing, rollicking little harbour waves that morning; they were ugly and sullen ground swells, and told of heavy weather somewhere by their grumbling, threatening heavings. a stiff wind blew, for we had come to the region of the "northeast trades," and it was no laughing matter to lower the boats and land us safely, especially with such clumsy boats' crews. there is practically no harbour at santo domingo, the capital of _la republica dominicana_; that is, no harbour for deep-keeled craft. the ozama river affords a safe inner harbour for light-draught vessels, but on account of a bar at the entrance to this charming stream,--upon whose shores the historic old city slumbers,--we were forced to anchor in the open roadstead and take the ship's boats for land. the fear which had so troubled me when we first left the solid decks of our good ship was soon forgotten as we approached the city of the holy sunday,--santo domingo,--fairy godmother at the christening of western civilisation, the first to feel the pulse of those undying souls whose spirits spanned the centuries to come! i recall how i looked with all my eyes and with all my soul at the wondrous picture opening before me as we swung into the river entrance, and wondered if i could keep its beauty for ever. could it be more lovely, more enchanting, more mysterious under a white sun shining from out a motionless blue heaven? who shall say? old! old! kissed by the winds of centuries, santo domingo rests upon the brow of a verdant plateau, and stretches its sinuous arms dreamily beyond the hills on the shore. great red rocks, in whose rifts glossy ferns and graceful vines have sought safe harbour, break the roll of the sea into a thousand glistening clouds of spray, enveloping the summit of the cliff in a translucent mist. like a weather-worn, decrepit, but stately warrior, the ancient fort, with massive towers and mossy turrets and bastions and broken walls, still holds its guard over the harbour; and as we passed from the sea into the placid ozama river, the enchanting view of santo domingo arose in full sight. cloaked in a faintly shimmering mist, under a gray, tumultuous sky, the ancient city rose to greet us as a dreamy, nebulous siren of the sea. crumbling ruins of ancient stone stairways led from the fort through a water-gate to the river; down those mossy flights i could all but see a gay troop of spanish cavaliers approaching their quaint old galleons moored hard by. truly it was an enchanted city; asleep, untouched by the hand of man since the days of its first great builder; asleep, moss-grown, hoary, throbbing still with the dying passion of mediævalism. [illustration: the old fort at the river entrance santo domingo] ii. contrary to our prearranged plan, we decided, upon landing, to engage a carriage. just why, i hardly knew, but there was a subtle power at work in the mind of one of our party, and although it has never been hinted at since then, in calmly going over that carriage-hiring i think i begin to read the riddle. we had left our french at haïti, and this was our first experiment on this voyage with spanish, and i suspect some of us were anxious to see how cervantes's language--_la idioma castellana_--would work when it came to such a common-place proceeding as the hiring of a carriage. we came off with colours flying, and took seats in a vehicle made some twenty-five or fifty years ago (quite modern as compared with those of port-au-prince), bumped up the steep stony hill, under an old archway, and had our first glimpse of the solid spanish architecture of santo domingo. everything was interesting; the balconies upheld by graceful supports of wrought iron; the neat appearance of the low-roofed, white and blue washed houses; the ever-beautiful palms and banana groves seen in vistas across the river; even our driver was a source of interest, for i expended my entire vocabulary of spanish--few words indeed--upon that youth, all to no purpose. all he did was to look dazed and answer, "_si, señora_" to everything, hit or miss, until we came to the cathedral, when, just to make it right with my conscience for having been the innocent cause of all his awful lies, i asked him, pointing to the building, which could be nothing in the mind of a sane man but a cathedral, if that was the cathedral, and he said: "_si, señora_," and i felt relieved. [illustration: a closer view of the old fort santo domingo] no description can convey to your mind an adequate impression of the beauty of this wonderful old cathedral, for one needs colour, colour, colour, everywhere for its proper setting. it is built of the yellowest of soft porous stone, to which time has bequeathed a luminosity, the brilliancy of which no language can rightly picture. it is purely spanish in its style, depending for its beauty entirely on its symmetry of form and not on extraneous ornamentation; it is built rather low to withstand frequent earthquakes, and from its solidity and simplicity and directness of construction has a charm which few of the later spanish cathedrals possess. time has laid her kindly hands upon this temple of god gently--ever so gently, and through many a lifetime has fulfilled the priestly office of consecration. i sat down in the shade, for, as we left the carriage, a big cloud tumbled over by mistake and the sun laughingly plunged headlong through the mist before the quarrelsome elements had time to gainsay. with little blue ribbons close by, and sister and our spanish student disappearing within the arches of the cathedral, i sat there on the base of one of the great pillars at the doorway, and filled my eyes with the beauty of the strong, graceful arches overhead, in whose time-worn curves hung the ancient bells, beautiful bronze bells, now green with age, still pealing forth the praise of god as in the days of columbus's followers. down the weather-worn and sun-ripened sides of the cathedral were long streaks of black, like the silent tears of centuries, shed for glories now no more. was it not enough to rest there, where one could look at the bells and wait for the quiver of the long tongues, ringing out the hour of mass, and catch the thrill of the mottled gray and blue sky sifting its mellow light through the ancient towers? there are some things so absolutely satisfying that it seems an arrant sacrilege to be discontent and want for more. but little blue ribbons, with the impatience of childhood, began to tug at my hand, and the dear old bells must have gone asleep, for with all our longing they hung there covered by their deep, green silence, and little blue ribbons said we would have our waiting all for nothing. for nothing is it, dear one, to forget the stress of living for awhile, and let one's spirit drop into the peace of a sleeping bell? iii. we found that the interior of the cathedral had a very new, clean face, having been recently "restored" and whitewashed; thus being out of harmony with the venerable exterior; however, some one remarked, it was "gratifying to see that the dominicans appreciate their ancient monument." that complacent remark struck the ear awry, like the whine of a deacon's report at a sunday-school convention. appreciate? why, the people of santo domingo worship this spot! it is the one place of interest to them; it is the one thing they ask the stranger if he has seen; it is the centre of their life and love,--that ancient pile of yellow glory,--for are not the ashes of their great _cristobal colon_ guarded there? would that we americans had any relic we held as sacredly! [illustration: the cathedral and the statue of columbus santo domingo] so i suppose we ought not to quarrel with the dominicans over the new coat of whitewash, for they meant it well, but we can at least wish they hadn't cleaned house so thoroughly. within those walls rest the bones of columbus after their many disinterments and post-mortem wanderings--so it is claimed; but whether these are the bones of columbus, or of some one else, who can say? what does it matter? somewhere about one hundred years ago,--in ,--'tis said, when this island was ceded to the french, the spaniards took columbus's bones back to spain. later these mortal fragments were returned to santo domingo, in accordance with his expressed wish that they finally be buried in this his beloved birthplace and funeral-pyre of his cherished hopes in the new world; which wish had been once before honoured in the first removal of the remains to the then spanish colony. sealed in a leaden casket they were imbedded in masonry under the stone floor of the cathedral chancel, and there was no attempt to disturb them until about , when they were _presumably_ removed to havana to be re-interred there, and, as the spaniards stoutly maintain, again disinterred from their resting-place in the cathedral at havana and hurried away to spain just before the american occupation of cuba, there to receive the sad honour of a costly mausoleum in seville. but a few years ago a second box was discovered, buried fast in ancient masonry and cement, about three feet from the place in which the first one was found; and this leaden box, the dominicans claim, holds the real bones of the real columbus, for they stoutly maintain that the other box contained the bones _diego colon_, nephew to columbus, or, as some say, his son,--not _cristobal colon_, our columbus--and the inscription on a silver plate found inside seems to bear out the authenticity of the later discovery, as does also the location of this second casket and the pains taken to render it secure. whosesoever bones they were, i was in the proper frame of mind to venerate them, and it was with a feeling of deep awe and pathos that i stood before the much-disputed leaden box, now enshrined in gold and silver, and covered by a very gorgeous white marble tomb, newly made in barcelona. the box is about a foot and a half long, one foot high, and one foot wide--rather a small space for so great a man as columbus, but then,-- [illustration: copyright, , by detroit photographic co. ruins of castle built by diego colon santo domingo] "imperial cæsar, dead, and turn'd to clay, might stop a hole to keep the wind away." and so the dominicans had a very beautiful and lofty and modern monument built in spain and brought across the water to san domingo, as a fitting shrine for their great treasure. with many minarets and dainty arches cut from snowy marble, and ornate with carvings and gilt, it stands more as a monument to the faithful loyalty of the dominicans than to the memory of that valiant discoverer. he was a world soul. he belongs to all time, as do all the great. the march of western civilisation is his monument. the dominicans plan to erect a building which they deem worthier this work of gold and marble than is the sad old cathedral columbus founded,--worthier the sacred leaden box; but could there be a more fitting sanctuary for the great genoese, than within these ancient walls whose beginnings he directed and which rose after death in direct fulfilment of his ambition? we found built into the wall a huge cross, rudely hewn of wood, which the stories say was set in a clearing in a little plain by columbus, before the year , to mark the place where his great church should stand. this primitive cross was afterward built into the wall itself. how constantly memories of the great discoverer hover about these walls; for it was in santo domingo that columbus was imprisoned by his jealous rivals, and thence at last he was taken in chains to spain, where he died, and hither again came his weary bones. [illustration: where columbus planted the cross santo domingo] how pathetic, yet how characteristic, is this grim example of the spaniard's reverence for the past, even if that past may have been so cruelly dishonoured! columbus, the poor genoese dreamer; columbus, still the crazy explorer, but upheld by royal hands; columbus, the fêted and flattered discoverer of new worlds, giving to spain greater riches than she dreamed; columbus, the victim of jealous gossip and intrigue, bound in chains and finally dying,--broken and disgraced. columbus, in ashes these four hundred years, guarded in pomp, and convoyed by great ships in this final retreat, step by step, from the empire he founded! for with each successive loss of her rich holdings in the new world, spain has tried to carry with her in her retreat, these precious relics, until the name columbus, framed in dishonour, disaster, and defeat, has become to her almost a pain. how tragic that spain should strain to her heart with fierce jealousy, as the last but most precious remnant left of all her american possessions, the few crumbling bones of columbus! we left the cathedral reluctantly, but as the day was moving rapidly on we were anxious to see as much as possible of the city; so we reëntered the carriage and drove to the _correo_ to post letters and get some money changed. while daddy was in the post-office, i endeavoured, with my four spanish words, to make our driver understand that i wanted him to move along to the corner, so that we might look out over the river, but he only smiled and said: "_si, señora_," and went on putting up the rubber curtains to keep out the unexpected shower that had blown up from nowhere. so i sat there in despair, for i did want to get that view, but i did not want to get wet. at that moment, seeing my predicament, a gentleman approached the driver and told him just what to do, and then disappeared into the post-office. when the spanish student returned, he was accompanied by my kindly interpreter, to whom we were presented. "sister," says the smiling daddy, "this is señor alfredo p---- a----, private secretary to the president, and he has most kindly offered to show us about the city." we all bow to the señor, and i wonder if he is really the private secretary, or a private humbug, waiting around to ensnare us. shame upon my suspicion! may that moment of doubt be for ever fruitless in the process of my gradual regeneration! señor alfredo was one of the handsomest men i had ever seen. and this i say not in the enthusiasm of a first meeting, but after carefully weighing my words. señor alfredo was dark, and our man blond, so there could be no comparison between dissimilar types and no cause for jealousy, and then i said that the señor was _one_ of the handsomest. that "_one of the_" should make all the difference in the world. the señor was simply one of the procession of nature's adornments in which you are marching. there, now, may i go on, and may i say just what i wish of the señor without offence? the señor had been educated in new york city, and his english was most charming; it had the grace of a rich spanish accent, and the correctness of a scholar. i hesitate to tell you of the señor's charms, lest you think them over-abundant,--impossible in any one man, and you might not enjoy the day in old domingo, and that would be an unhappy state, truly. the señor's first question was: "have you seen the cathedral?" yes, we had seen it in our way, but possibly not in his. then he dismisses the disappointed coachman, and we follow the señor again to the worshipped temple, and have its wonders revealed to us by one who knew every stone in its construction. after long prowling around, through cloisters and shrines, and after hunting up the place in the chancel where those poor old bones were disinterred, and carefully comparing the former hiding-places of each of the disputed caskets, we leave the cathedral and wander about domingo city. the señor guides us, not at our request, but of his own free will, to all the places of interest in the city; and then to the old fort which we had seen on our arrival. i should have been quite satisfied to have stayed there all day, looking from the massy turrets out to sea, but the señor was solicitous that we should go about with the officer in command of the fort, and see everything of interest. old as it is, it is still used by the army; the native military school and the naval academy both being within its walls. the smart-looking men presented arms as we passed from the gateway into the street again, and we took pleasure in telling the commandant how much better his troops appeared than the ridiculous haïtien soldiery. this seemed to please both of our friends, for the dominicans apparently have a feeling of contempt for their neighbours of the negro republic, and rightly, too, judging from what we saw. [illustration: entrance to the fort and military school santo domingo] then, we walked and walked and walked, up one narrow street and down another, catching numerous glimpses of most entrancing gardens through the half-way opened doors. we asked for the daily paper, and were taken at once to the office of the _listin diario_, whose editor was the brother of señor p---- a----. he and our spanish student had, to them, an interesting conversation about the political situation in santo domingo and in venezuela; and after having promised to dine with us on the boat at six o'clock, we continued our walk in and about and all around, until, much to our surprise, we were taken into a cool, big courtyard, up a wide flight of worn stone steps into the señor's home. there we met his wife and children, listened to beautiful native dances sympathetically played on the piano by the señor; we rocked in the ever-present vienna bent-wood chair, talked to the parrot, played with the baby, and drank cocoanut milk from the green cocoanut, and lived to drink from many more. the cocoanut, when used for milk by these southern people, is cut quite green, before the solid meat has formed and when all is liquid within, and is said to be most healthful. of our party, the adventurous man and children liked it very much, but the cautious woman a very little. then we made our _adieux_, not without the promise, however, that the señor would meet us at three o'clock for the trip up the ozama river in the ship's boats. all day the clouds were reeling heavily in bulky, black heaps, now and then dropping down upon our innocent heads torrents of spattering rain. but we were not to be discomfited by a rain-shower, for were we not prepared? we left the ship with but one umbrella, the white one with the green lining, but as we bade the señor "_adios_," a sudden shower called forth his best silk umbrella. he was insistent, and there was nothing to do but for daddy to tuck sister under his wing, accepting the señor's offer, and for little blue ribbons to trot along by my side, under the haïtien umbrella. and the green lining proved fast green; it did not run, not a particle! [illustration: looking across the plaza santo domingo] by three o'clock, domingo city was a veritable _port tarascon_, and it seemed that daudet must have been here before he wrote of his poor drenched french _émigrés_. the rain still fell. it ran down the streets anywhere it pleased; it dripped off the ruined roof of diego's palace; it scampered down the awning of the german legation; it stood in little pools on the terrace overlooking the river; it trickled down the face of the timeless old sun-dial, and made the long seams on its face dark and wet, as if from tears. what bliss if we could only have set our watches by the hour told on the dominican sun-dial! but there was no sun and consequently no time. i have an inspiration! it has just come to me. now my course is plain; now i know what i shall do with the little girls. i have often longed to obliterate for them the thought of time. i have wanted them to grow into a feeling of possession of all the time there ever can be,--countless ages and ages of time, with never a shadow of hurry lurking about; with never a doubt but that the days will be long enough in which to live their fullest measure of happiness. i shall invoke the aid of the gods, in whose arms rests so peacefully this "island of the blest," and they shall build for me an enchanted palace somewhere,--perhaps not just here, but somewhere. i think i shall leave that to the little girls, but it shall be an enchanted palace, all overgrown with sweetbrier and moss, and roundabout shall be a garden--a dear garden, with violets and lilies and arbutus and anemones--and then the trees,--there shall be no end of them!--maple and ash, and slender birch and elm, and linden and--but it seems to me i hear you wondering that we should leave out the palms and the breadfruit and banana and citron. i know it does not seem just as it should be, but i am afraid, if we had the palms and the breadfruit, we'd never feel really at home in our palace, and, of course, we must feel at home even in an enchanted palace. we could have two palaces if we wanted to, and have the palms in the company palace, and the cool, sweet maples we could have for our very own. yes, that is it! that's what we'll do! in the midst of the garden, we will have a dominican sun-dial, an exact reproduction of this one. i shall make a sketch of it before we move a step further, and it shall he chipped and worn and sun-baked and tear-stained, and it shall look centuries old. then there must be a dominican sky; half-sun and half-shade. and then, don't you see, the little girls will never know the time at all,--only just as the clouds run off for a frolic. and i shall arrange an indefinite supply of such weather, and that's just where we'll all live. yes--daddy and all the dear ones, and it will be such a relief not to be obliged to wind our watches. "mother!" said sister, coming up back of me and peeping under the white umbrella which little blue ribbons was holding resolutely over my head while i sketched; "mother! what is it you're drawing?" "do you need to ask? can't you see it's the sun-dial?" "oh! i thought it was the boy out there in the rain." iv. what can the señor do without his best umbrella? will he take the black umbrella of his wife's aunt? no, he will not take the black umbrella of his wife's aunt, dear mr. otto, he has taken the umbrella of his wife's sister, we will say, to adhere to tradition; but, to tell the truth, i could never say whose umbrella the señor borrowed, but when he appeared he was really so beaming under the dark covering over him, that i quite forgot to ask him whose umbrella it was. ah! what would the señor think if he should ever read these words? would he forswear the friendship? we should sincerely beg forgiveness, for we would sooner never see the walls of domingo again than to lose the señor's good-will. [illustration: along the ozama santo domingo] the excursion up the ozama was a world of delight from beginning to end. the ozama is one of god's most perfect little rivers, deep and rather narrow, winding through an enchanting country. the shore is outlined for miles by never-ending mangroves, and on the higher upper banks are the breadfruit, and palms, and a world of unknown trees and fruits. had there been no palms, no breadfruit or mangroves, it would have been enough joy to me to know that up this self-same river in centuries long since dead, there had swept the doughty keels of columbus's crazy little ships. but the spanish student was not so easily satisfied; he wanted to know things; how much mahogany and ebony and _lignum vitæ_ was gotten from the outlaying country, and what sort of dyewoods they exported. the señor gave much valuable information, but not much more than the natives themselves, who came gliding down the stream in dugouts, having in tow one or two or three mahogany logs. who says that all the true santo domingo mahogany was cut generations ago? there was a constant and silent passing of these dark craft, for the most part with but a single occupant. sometimes a woman in the bow, half-buried by a cargo of plantains, bending over a pot of some sort, would be cooking on an improvised camp-fire built on earth above the plantains; and thus busy--one at the fire, the other at the paddle--she and her black mate would slip along out of sight under the dark mysterious shadows of the mangroves, closely hugging the shore. not far from the city, the señor pointed to a mighty tree, one of the most gigantic of the tropics, a _ceiba_, to which it is said columbus made fast his ships. there was no reason to doubt the statement, and, besides, it is so much pleasanter to believe such natural things than to be for ever doubting. and why should not columbus have made his ships thus fast? the _ceiba_ looked a thousand years old. who knows but that it is even older? a little way down the stream and closer to the city, there was a spring of sweet cool water, and above it a stately canopy of stone, built by bartholomew columbus,--christopher's brother,--and called "the fountain of columbus." oh, such a day, under the rocking, tumbling clouds, ever moving, ever changing, moulding, blending from black to gray and billowy white, under fitful showers and sudden baths of sunlight! it was a dream day of sleeping bells and timeless dials and ruined towers and enchanted palaces, with the bones of poor old columbus beating time to the hopes of the ambitious san dominicans of to-day. evening came, and we were at dinner on the boat with our delightful friend from the shore, drinking to the prosperity of the dominican republic, and to the hope that señor p---- a---- might live to be president of his beloved country. but, alas, how many presidents they have to have in these spanish "republics" to round out the tally with destiny! it seemed to me that, for my part, if all spaniards were as gracious, as hospitable and genuine as our new-found friend, there would never have been a spanish-american war. and so next day we sailed away, leaving the city of the holy sunday wrapped in peace and good-will; but who can tell the day or hour when the land may again be devastated by revolution? chapter iv. san juan, puerto rico i. [illustration: looking to sea from san juan puerto rico copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] we were creeping in toward the entrance of the harbour of san juan, puerto rico, waiting for the pilot, who had sighted us afar off. it was when almost at a standstill that our brown-skinned pilot in his open lug-sail boat came alongside and sprang for our rope ladder with the nimble agility of his prehistoric progenitors. he left two small boys, one at the tiller aft and one in the bow of the boat hanging on to a line dropped them from about midships of our steamer. the pilot continued shouting at the boys as he disappeared over our heads to where the captain stood waiting on the bridge; but things did not seem to go well with the boys below, for instead of at once assuming command of our ship the pilot again turned his attention to the boys. he now followed up his first harangue by a supplement in very angry tones, evidently out of patience with the poor little fellows, who, much excited, could not seem to keep their boat from sheering at a dangerous angle, with her bow against the side of our ship. a quick flash of resentment toward that dusky pilot spread from one to the other of us as we saw how panic-stricken the boys were, and how as our ship suddenly put on a bigger head of steam the little boat alongside had become unmanageable and was in imminent danger of being sucked under our side. to prove that he was powerless to prevent disaster, after incessant yells from his father, the lad in the stern-sheets of the boat jumped to his feet and flung out with tragic despair his two hands, in each of which he held up the fragments of a broken tiller. then in all the languages of our ship the boys are howled at to let go. already their narrow boat is beginning to careen dangerously against the side of our moving steamer. not a moment too soon they let go the rope, and their excited, high-pitched voices sound strangely out of place as they rapidly drift astern of us in the open sea. the pilot had evidently assured his boys that he would look after them, for within a few rods of the harbour entrance a loitering sail is hailed. to our tremendous relief we follow the rescuer until we see that a tow is in progress, and then we feel better. as we approach the harbour, and at the entrance dodge into a channel between yellow reefs plainly visible through the clear water, it is no small thing to see our dear stars and stripes peacefully waving over that relic of mediæval spain, the venerable morro of san juan on the bold headlands to our left; its wide-spreading fortifications, gray with centuries and fast going to decay, running in walls and terraces far above the sea. we throw our whole soul into the soft folds of that flag with a deep sense of joy. there are among our company some with whom as loyal americans we cannot but feel restraint, owing partly to the whisperings afloat that the aliens are envoys from his majesty the emperor of germany, bent on a mission not altogether that of pleasure. however that may be, we are all the more moved to enthusiasm over our flag when we are conscious of the lack of that sentiment among the germans. so when we are near enough to the fort to hear the wild cheers of welcome issuing from every parapet and tower of that old pile, we know no hounds and answer the welcome as you would have done had you been there. spontaneously "the star spangled banner," started by the boys on the fort, finds a hearty echo from our ship, and my eyes are blurred so that the restless, shouting, singing boys on shore look dim and indistinct. yes, we are coming home. uncle sam owns puerto rico, and i am happy to feel that here in the west indies he has asserted his rank among the nations of the world, and intends to make this colonial home a sweet clean place for all of his children who wander upon southern seas. some day this fair harbour will be filled with ships flying the stars and stripes, and again our merchant vessels will be doing their rightful share of the west indian commerce. the way in which i found my love for those soldier boys expanding was really wonderful. the sight of those old blue flannel shirts, those faded khaki breeches, those tossing felt hats aroused within me in this strange tropical island unexpected waves of patriotism. there sprung at once a dangerous leak in my affections, and had it not been for the quiet pressure upon my shoulder of a strong hand i so well knew, who can tell what might have happened? even so, there was not a boy upon the island but i could have mothered with my whole heart, and i could not, however persistently that hand still lingered, quite stifle the upheaval of that undying mother instinct. although aware that uncle sam was fully alive to the great dower that this island alliance would bring him, i must still believe that his choice was not a little influenced by the actual charms of puerto rico herself: that, however much he, a man of some years, might appear indifferent to the allurements of lovely women, he is still like the rest of his sex chivalrously bent upon fresh conquests. in this case let us rejoice that he has been so fortunate, and that so pretty a face has brought so much of real worth. although, womanlike, acknowledging a deeper interest in our troops than in anything else, i could not be indifferent to the city of san juan as we slipped past the reef at the entrance into the wide expanse of harbour and dropped anchor opposite the beautiful landing quay. _el puerto rico del san juan bautista_ (the rich port of st. john the baptist), as the spaniards centuries before had christened her, opened before us like a bespangled fan, and threw from her glittering white walls the swaying efflorescence of stately palms. from the ancient fort on the headland to the _casa blanca_ and the city beyond, it was a progression of delicious sights and sounds. ii. has it ever impressed you how rarely nature appeals to one's sense of humour? she brings us infinite delights, but seldom cultivates in us our faculty of laughing. but down here off puerto rico, she for once leaves her beaten track of sobriety and indulges in the most extravagant caprices. how she ever thought out such a ridiculous line of hills none but father time could tell you; here her centuries of bottled-up giggles have burst forth, and she has made herself the most outlandish head-gear she could contrive, and here she stands, caught in the act of being silly. from this distance i should say the hills are barren, save for now and then a palm, which, dotted irregularly over the epidemic of peaks, gives the hills the forlorn look of a mole on an old woman's cheek. there is every size of these jagged, saw-tooth peaklets jumping up in the air like so many scarecrows, and when our ship swings to her anchor and leaves us broadside to puerto rico's shore, the little girls and i enter into the joke and laughingly wonder how it ever happened. then to match the distant landscape out came the puerto rican shore boats with ridiculous little open hen-coop cabins aft, much like the funny "summer cabins" affected by some new jersey catboats--only more so. there were no end of fine modern launches of all sorts darting about us, some of them waiting for passengers, and others from our ships in the harbour bringing officers and ladies aboard, but daddy would have none of them. he and the little girls are already under a hen-coop in one of the miserable little boats and nothing will do but i must go too. i protest, but to no avail. the stiff shore breeze makes prompt decision necessary, and i creep down under the coop an unwilling passenger; i would so much rather have been in one of the puffy boats. so off we go heeling well to the breeze as our funny, high-slung lateen sail drives us shoreward at a great rate. we were not alone under the hen-coop, for we had some puerto rican musicians with us, and my qualms at the flying boat are actually forgotten in the strange but fascinating music of those natives. they carried not only the universal guitar of the usual form, but also a funny little guitar not a quarter as big as the ordinary sort, and a curious round gourd with shot or pebbles inside, which, attached to a handle, they used as a rattle, and other gourds some eighteen inches long, corrugated with many deep scratches, upon which they accented the strong beat of the measure by scraping with a bit of wire in a most dexterous manner. i can well imagine the contempt of some of our european musicians for such music, but as for myself, although trained in the most conservative of foreign schools, i could but acknowledge the deep influence of these untutored artists, and yielded myself in fascination to the weird rhythm of their music. music to these peoples is not a dreary taskmaster, as it is to many of their northern brothers; it is as necessary to them as is the outpouring sunlight, and they use it with a freedom and comradeship and love which is unknown to us. my senses are suffused with strange emotions of pleasure as i listen dreamily to the lullings of the water, percolated through and through by the cadences of low voices and the rhythmic repetition of single notes. i was unreal to myself even after captain b---- and his wife, friends whom we half-hoped to meet in san juan, had grasped our hands and led us to an army coach near by. iii. instead of being the dumping-ground for all the garbage of the city and the location for unsightly warehouses, the quay at san juan is a perfect delight. i happened to-day to turn to a precious volume of washington irving's "life of columbus." while reading along i came across a letter in which the valiant discoverer endeavours to bring to his king some conception of the beauty of his newly found lands; saying that he fears his majesty may have reason to doubt the veracity of his statements, for each new island surpasses in beauty the one before; in fact that one could live there for ever. time cannot efface the noble bearing of puerto rico, and although far, far removed from the picture which met the eyes of her early discoverers, she is to-day not only from the standpoint of the picturesque, but from the practical aspect of cleanliness and order, a place to which every american may turn with pride. [illustration: boat landing and marine barracks, san juan puerto rico copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] to find upon landing a noble water-front finely paved, relieved by grassy quadrangles in which choice varieties of palms are set with the unfailing intuition of the true nature lover, places one at once _en rapport_ with the best things of life. why, why are we of the north so blind to the soul's necessity for beauty? why are we so dumbly indifferent to that craving? if we but looked deeply enough into the psychological influence of beauty, we would be forced to recognise man's necessity for its expression in public places. there is no city among the spanish-speaking peoples but has its restfully attractive plaza, varying in beauty as the wealth of the community permits--a playground and a club-house and a concert-hall in one for all the people. and when my mind reverts in unwilling retrospection to the innumerable hideous and barren cities large and small of our united states, it seems to me that we are hopelessly lost in the fog of the common-place. if we americans were a poor people, there might be palliating circumstances, but we are not poor, we have more wealth than any people on earth, and surely a republic should give its equal citizens all the beauty and pleasure possible. we are merely blind, that is all. pray god that our eyes may be opened and that right soon! in these islands the plaza, where the people live largely in the open air, is the synonym for all that is congenial to the eye and soothing to the ear, and this explains much of the enthusiasm which we starved northerners express when once within the satisfying influences of such surroundings. captain b---- and his wife are graciously willing to wait our pleasure, while we linger idly content, but we must not trespass too long upon their indulgence; so we enter the coach and rumble up the steep narrow streets after four lustrous army mules. our driver, a native puerto rican, speaks to the mules in english, and ready with the explanation before i could form the question, captain b---- says: "yes, the boys use english, because their mules were brought here from the states, and of course they wouldn't understand if the boys spoke spanish to them." stopping for the passage of an army freight wagon, it seemed very comical to me to hear those puerto rican lads "gee-hawing" to the sleek american mules. if the politics of our american cities could be as well administered as those of san juan appear to be from the cleanliness and order of her streets we would indeed have cause to rejoice. the streets of san juan were so clean that even the trailer of skirts might for once be forgiven her lack of common decency. she could have walked the full length of san juan and not gathered up as much filth as she would in one block of one of our northern sidewalks. such was the cleanliness of the place that again and again we exclaim over the fine condition of the city; and captain b---- bore out our impression that uncle sam had done his house-cleaning most effectively, and was now trying to maintain that condition by educating a force of native police,--"_spigitys_," our boys call them. as we were going through the plaza we saw a great crowd on the far side, gathered about a regular american "trolley-car," and wondering at their enthusiastic demonstrations, we were told that this was the first trip of the first electric car in puerto rico--a great step toward becoming americanised. iv. we were in the captain's hands, and although sister and daddy were decorously unquestioning as to where we were going and what we were to do when we got there, little blue ribbons and i couldn't refrain from asking, when we found ourselves clattering out of san juan to the tattoo of the hard little hoofs, if the captain intended to drive us to ponce? "oh, hardly, this evening," he laughingly replied. "i thought we would merely take a spin out a way on the military road to give you a glimpse of the country. the madam has planned a puerto rican dinner for you at the colonial, and afterward there is to be a concert on the plaza." "simply fine," i said, "i do so enjoy trying the native bills of fare" (but alas, for their after effects!). [illustration: the first trolley car in san juan puerto rico] the military road, a beautiful macadamised highway, swept through a country whose surface was richly covered with broad pasture lands where many cattle were grazing. the plains were fairly peppered with palm-trees, which, owing to their long trunks and pluming tops, interfered but little with the pasture beneath. the military road is fringed by these noble trees, at least as far as we go, and although now to us a necessary feature in the west indian landscape, i never weary of their aristocratic grace. we must have gone some miles when the madam suggested our return. a crack of the whip, a vociferous shouting to the mules, and the coach faces right about with military precision for san juan. with many a bewildering twist and turn through the upper town, we reach the morro headland, and are glad enough to leave the coach and throw ourselves into the deep grass, where we sit a long time looking out to sea. those of you who have been there know; those of you who have not, never can know the loveliness of that far-spreading vision. no, not if all the poets joined in one grand panegyric, you would never know what it all meant. you would need to feel the dull booming of the sea against the cliffs and hear the cool rattle of the palms crooning over the children in the casa blanca; you must run your hands through the stiff deep grass down to the earth which makes so sweet and so warm a bed; you must throw back your face to the uplifting northeast trade; then you will know what it means to sink down upon the green carpet of san juan and look out to sea. a veil dropped over the still water; the sea and sky melted into one substance; then we arouse sufficiently to realise that the madam is waiting. by this time san juan had made ready for the night; we could see the fitful flicker of her electric lights down near the barracks, and here and there the dull red stare of an olden time street-lamp swinging midway between the dark lanes which intersect the upper town like long tentacles. [illustration: the military road across puerto rico near san juan copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] we ran down along the sea-wall, under the lattice of the stately casa blanca, and came into the city; turning abruptly to the left we were about to follow the captain up the steep street, when i was stopped suddenly with my whole soul ablaze with wonder, for there on the top of the hill, as if on the very stones themselves, there rolled a great yellowish-green moon, and about it there fell a heaven splashed with emerald and gold. there were green and yellow and strange hues of blue all blending into a splendour which dazzled the senses and made one feel dumb. i am so thankful that we saw the moon before dinner. i couldn't have looked in the face of a green moon afterward, no, i could never have done it. i beg of you to be as considerate of me as possible in your judgment. i do not mean to be ungrateful to our dear hosts, or unkind or disagreeable; but after that dinner, planned for us with so much care and pride, all i could say was, "o lord, have mercy upon us--miserable offenders!" we had things to eat i had never dreamed of, and may i be spared a recurrence of them in my future dreams! there were: tomatoes and peppers. pork chops, and peppers. codfish, vegetables and peppers. chicken and peas and more peppers and some black coffee and cheese, and the sweetest sweets i ever tasted, with a final dessert of beans with a sugar sauce. after dinner madam had chairs arranged on the balcony over the plaza. she led the way, and said the concert would be delightful in the moonlight. but as the pepper and the various concoctions of grease and greens and sugar and beans began to make themselves felt, i turned my chair around, saying that i never could look at the moon any length of time, especially a green moon. then sister gave me a despairing look and turned her chair around too; gave my hand a hard squeeze, and leaning over, said: "mother, it's the peppers and sweet things; do you think daddy could get me some jamaica ginger?" a whispered consultation is held, after which the captain and daddy disappear, and then something warm and comforting is fixed up for sister and me, and we decide that after all we will turn our chairs around to face the moon, but alas, the inconstant creature had slipped on her black hood and was scurrying off like a little fat nun. she was no more to be seen that night. but her displeasure does not affect the humour of san juan, for by this time the plaza is filled with people making "_el gran paseo_" around and around the square in true spanish fashion. meantime the plaza is being filled with chairs--rocking-chairs--which seem to spring up out of nothing. i never saw or expect to see so many rocking-chairs in any one place. here the "four hundred" sit, having paid a small fee for the use of the chairs, and here they rock back and forth and back and forth in endless waves until the music begins. some rock with the elegant ease of the portly _señora_ and others with the sprightly jerk of the laughing _niñita_, and as seen from the veranda of the colonial, the eyes ache as they involuntarily follow the moving crowds circling countless times around the improvised barricade of oscillating chairs. but the music begins, the people are suddenly still, and out over the luminous night, still eloquent of the retreating moon, there fall the first notes. i know that it is rank heresy in me to acknowledge to any race but the germans a preëminence in musical intuition; but i shall do so in spite of all the traditions of my youth. i believe that if the spanish-american races could be given the skill and the knowledge to formulate their musical ideas to such an extent as has come to the painstaking germans by generations of grinding, we would have greater music--and certainly more human music--than the world has ever heard. the puerto rican, as well as the mexican, the cuban, the dominican, is the natural musician; he feels to his finger-tips every vibration of sound he utters, and he makes you feel what he does. his music is akin to that of the wild sea-bird, it is brother to the moaning of the winds, to the wan song of the dusky maidens in the dance--to dream sounds in cocoanut and palm-tree groves; it is life, moving, quickening, pulsating life their music speaks, and without life, what is the stuff we call music? "thank you, thank you, you have given us an evening we shall never forget. shall we not see you in the morning? _buenas noches._" v. it was high noon as little blue ribbons and i left the empty plaza and started out with grim determination to do our duty. the streets were silent as the sun crept over our heads and sent its burning, perpendicular rays through the white umbrella. but that was of no consequence. we two had made up our minds to accomplish a certain purpose, and when we make up our minds neither man nor weather can prevail against us. we had been idle long enough. time and time again we had drifted to the time-ripened morro. days had gone by and we lacked the energy to begrudge their inconsequential passing, but now a time of reckoning had come. we would have no more such idleness. little blue ribbons and i had awakened on this particular day to a realisation of our unperformed duty, and although detained through one pretext and another all the morning, by noon we forswore further procrastination and hurriedly left the plaza before our good intentions could again be lulled by inaction. [illustration: inland commerce puerto rico copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] it was to the square of ponce de leon we were going; and although not sure of its exact location, we remembered a fine old church near by, and that was our landmark. it is strange indeed what a web of dreams the past weaves about its heroes, however recent their careers; but when the hand of time leads us back to the remote events of centuries gone by, we are hopelessly bewildered by the discordant wrangling between the real and the improbable. although the early companion of christopher columbus, the discoverer of florida and the intrepid voyager on many seas, the conqueror and the first governor of puerto rico, and later the powerful and hated rival of columbus's son, ponce de leon's one unrealised hope, his tireless search for the fountain whose waters were to contain the elixir of life, has so over-shadowed his actual achievements by the glamour of the legendary, that his very name has become the synonym for the stuff of which dreams are made. standing thus as the embodiment of the unattainable, the knight errant of roseate hopes and undying aspirations, he has ever been, in spite of the irascible humour given him by history, a figure from whom none could wrest the talisman of romance. where are his contemporaries, where are those greater discoverers, abler rulers, better men who thronged these alluring waters during the two generations of ponce de leon's eventful life? dead, even in name, many of them, or else safely embalmed in the musty pages of some old history seldom read. but in him there was the spirit of the poet and the mystic, which ever has and ever will appeal to the imagination of mankind and through imagination attains immortality. thus it suggested much to us to find his statue in san juan and to have heard some one assert with an air of authority that his bones rested in the old church hard by; all of which bore incontrovertible testimony to the fact of his having once been an actual living personality. so we two decide without saying a word to any one that we will make a pilgrimage to that church of the uneasy shades and prove for ourselves ponce de leon's identity with fact. with a feeling of affinity for the doughty old cavalier, and with half a sigh that i can never again lift my feet with the light-hearted grace of the little maid at my side, we wander on through the deserted streets until we come to the square of ponce de leon. it looked as it had before, only much whiter, much brighter, and oh, so silent! the church stood passively asleep; there were only the still hot rays reflected into our faces from the sun-baked pavement. the same, and yet not the same, was the empty square, for as we made nearer approach we found that the pedestal upon which before the figure of ponce de leon had stood with lofty bearing and haughty mien was now but a bare block of stone glaringly white in the noonday silence with naught but the inscription left. the figure was gone! "can it be that we have been dreaming, that it was never there?" i ask, in consternation. "no, mother, surely not, i remember perfectly well a statue was standing there as we drove through only last evening." with a startled tremor i wish the place were not so deserted, i wish some one would come, i dislike being so alone, and i wish that we had daddy with us. but pulling ourselves together with a frightened glance over our shoulders, we pass the abandoned pedestal and go toward the church, unquestioningly sure of safe sanctuary within its open door. to our amazement we find it barred and locked. we try a side entrance; that too is mysteriously fast; but hearing a faint sound, as of retreating feet within, we venture a timid knock on the door. but our rappings bring no response save a hollow echo and a momentary cessation of the footsteps. still hesitating as to our next move, we stand there in the white glare, while a sensation of strange unreality creeps over us. hesitating, but still unwilling to relinquish the pilgrimage without further effort, we spy an ancient iron-bound gate in the high stone wall adjoining the cathedral. we try its rusty latch and find it unlocked. we cautiously push it open. it turns heavily on great creaking hinges stiff from long desuetude, and swings to after us as with an ominous sigh. we find ourselves in the secluded corridors of an ancient cloister. the sun still lingers on a patch of green courtyard dropped in the midst of the shadows, and up from the luminous verdure a cool fountain plays its restful measure. an ancient sun-dial speaks of the deathless tread of time, and in the deeper shade of a dark recess, on tables of venerable age, huge volumes lay, on whose yellow pages were strewn adown the wide-spread lines of the quaint gregorian staff, the great square notes of an ancient latin chant. then,-- "on a sudden, through the glistening leaves around, a little stirred, came a sound, a sense of music which was rather felt than heard. softly, finely it inwound me; from the world it shut me in,-- like a fountain falling round me--" my hand is held close and with wide eyes little blue ribbons asks if she may drink at the fountain. half-refusing, half-assenting, we are about to draw near, when from out an opening door, whence seemed to come the music, there appeared a figure bent in contemplation and wrapped in the shadows of the past. it was so like the statue on the square without that the one at my side gasps, "it is he, mother, what shall we do?" and shrinking spellbound, i hold the dear little hand, glad to feel the human warmth of its pressure. with dread and yet with fascination i watch the lone, sad, weary figure, as it were the phantom of old age eternally unreconciled to the flight of youth. i watch while it moves eagerly toward the fountain to lean forward and drink deep, deep, with an insatiable thirst; and then with a hopeless sigh it paces back and forth among the shadows. [illustration: a ranch near san juan puerto rico] a bell clangs out the hour of one, and the great wooden gate swings open of itself, while we two, much affrighted, slip unnoticed behind the columns of the corridor into "the twilight gloom of a deep embrasured window" which for long years had been sealed from the light by the gray masonry of the ancient church. even as we look the silent figure has vanished, and we are left there with only the sound of the plaintive, ever murmuring fountain. awed and silent, we creep from our hiding-place and drag open the unwilling gate and once again we are out in the dazzling sunlight. there--wonderful to relate--on its pedestal was the statue as it stood the day before, with outstretched hand and far-away look, scanning the distant horizon where to his ever disappointed eyes was just lifting the palm-fringed shore of that mythical island of bimini, where at last flowed the long-sought fountain of youth. lest the unhappy shade again returning should seek sudden vengeance for our bold espionage, we took our flight toward the plaza, nor stopped to breathe until again we found refuge in the crowded shops. chapter v. charlotte amalie. st. thomas i. after the long stretches of ocean, you from the north will find that there is something positively cosy about these dear islands. you tuck your head under your wing with the parrots at night, off one island, and, the next thing you know, it's morning, the sweet land-breeze steals in through the port-hole, and you're up with the monkeys off another island--perhaps more enchanting than the last. why, it seems not half the trouble going from port to port that it is to make fashionable calls in the great city, and such a lot more fun. but speaking of parrots and monkeys: the only ones we have seen thus far were some very solemn little creatures which have been brought to the ship for sale,--poor captives, chained and unnaturally pious, sitting alongside their black captors. we have not heard a single bird-note since leaving the north. is it possible that there are no song-birds here, and in fact no birds of plumage left about the settlements? we fully expected the latter, but not a glimpse have we had of them,--no, not even in the forest along the ozama, did we distinguish a single bird-note. can it be that the plume-hunters for our northern milliners have ranged through all these sunny islands? ah, my friends of the feather toques and the winged head-gear, what have we to answer for? it all seems so empty without the birds where trees and flowers grow so gladly; just as if nature's feast were spread to empty chairs. after all, how fondly we do love that particular expression of creation with which we are long familiar! my heart reaches out in homesick yearning for the notes of our dear northern songsters. how brutal are the details of the "march of civilisation!" from san juan, puerto rico, to st. thomas it was only a night's journey, and i am sure, had we been so disposed, we might have touched some other islands equally lovely on the way. but there must be some time for rest,--even though little blue ribbons said she did not want to sleep (she knew she couldn't), and sister thought it a great waste of valuable experience not to make all the ports there were. nevertheless, when morning came and the sun was wide awake, i had no little trouble in arousing the children. and now it came to pass that all those threatenings and fitful tears and dire forebodings of the day before were simply whims and weather jokes. the sea fell into a gentle calm, and on st. thomas there never shone a brighter sun or blew a sweeter breeze; and we realised that at last we were under the lee of that smiling windbreak of the caribbean--"the windward islands." getting our anchor early, we moved from our first stopping-place, well out in the harbour, over to the wharves; where the huge piles of coal rose up before the port-hole, with other ranges of piles, like mimic mountains, farther on, while we were so close to the dock that i could see the gangway being lowered, as i bent over the sleepy little girls. [illustration: the harbour charlotte amalie, st. thomas] "look, children!" i said,--"look, wake up, you're losing so much!" and they rub their pretty eyes and want to know what's the matter. "here we are, dears, at st. thomas, the coaling-station. daddy is waiting for us. i'll go up on deck. send word by rudolph if you want me to help with the ribbons." so i hurried up the after companion stairs. close to our side were the mammoth piles of coal, from which we were to make requisition; off about a mile to the other side of the great amphitheatre lay charlotte amalie (the chief city of the danish islands), making for herself as beautiful a picture as one could wish. we were in a superb harbour, with high, dome-shaped hills embracing us on either side, and the little city of charlotte amalie to the right of us on the beautiful slopes above, like a white lady reaching out her jewelled hands in gracious welcome. whatever tales of buccaneer and pirate, of scuttled galleons, of buried treasure, of maidens fair, of romance, i had ever heard, came hurrying back to me in that delicious spot; and when the castles of bluebeard, and that erstwhile king of pirates, blackboard, came into view, it seemed truly as if we ought to fly at our main-truck the black flag with the skull and cross-bones, and run out the cold bronze nose of a "long-tom" over our bulwarks, just to add the finishing touch. the little girls and i were simply determined to let romance run riot in charlotte amalie. we would eat pomegranates and wear flowers in our hair; we would dream dreams on bluebeard's turret, and win into smiles his villainous, wrinkled, old ghostship. but, firm as was our purpose, it required no small effort to keep it uppermost in our minds. we thought daddy would certainly be dragged into the water before he had engaged his shore boat. he was howled at, pulled at by the sleeves, jerked at by the coat, by great roaring blacks, fairly gnashing their teeth in impotent rage at daddy's indecision. but who could decide in such a mob? we were beckoned, at last, to come along, and picking our way down the ladder, plumped ourselves into "champagne charlie's" boat, leaving "uncle sam," "honest william," "captain jinks," and a score of others screaming a medley of imprecations and their own praises in a mad scramble for the next victim. we were not only beset by those in the boats, but also by a swarm of semi-amphibious imps,--not little imps by any means, but huge, muscular, bronze tritons, who pursued, with wonderful rapidity, "champagne charlie's" catch, and clung to the gunwale of our boat, and dove underneath and about us, wholly indifferent to our terror at the thought of being capsized. they howled, they swore with southern abandon because we would not throw them pennies to dive for; and away off lay the little white lady--the beautiful charlotte amalie. what a naughty lot of children she had! daddy told "charlie" that if he would not hurry us out of that mob, he'd not get a penny for his trouble, and daddy used forcible english, too; for, strange to say, english is the common as well as the official language of the danish west indies. but i must not mislead you. it's not your english or my english they use; it's a funny kind of jargon; a baby talk disguised by scandinavian intonations and besmirched by generations of african savagery. sometimes you think you understand it, and then you think you don't, and again you wish you hadn't--so there you are. well, "charlie" is at last aroused and a few good strokes of his oars free us from the vermin and bring us into less troubled waters. on the way across the land-locked harbour we passed a danish man-of-war, a russian frigate, a venezuelan cruiser, a little schooner-rigged sailing "packet," which carries the mail to other islands, and a number of powerfully built trading schooners; still nearer shore, there was a fine floating dry dock, where a very shapely little schooner--evidently once a yacht--was out of water being repaired. ii. [illustration: hillside homes charlotte amalie, st. thomas] as we stepped on land and walked up under the shade of mahogany and mango trees, while the boatman's fees were being struggled with, it seemed to me that i had never walked in so clean a street, or stood in such delicious shade. oh, it was so clean and cool and beautiful! the macadamised streets were sprinkled and moist, the houses were all white and green, hugged close by high-walled gardens overflowing with flowering vines,--in particular that marvellous _bougainvillia_, which flourishes in such triumphant splendour over these tropic walls; and everywhere the odours were sweet. the sky, as it glistened through the heavy, glossy mangoes, was as blue as blue can be, and the women carriers of water moved with rapid, noiseless tread, bearing their burdens upon their turbaned heads, and the little children offered us flowers. i find, as i write, that my mind constantly reverts to the cleanliness of the place. first, i said: "oh, how charming!" and then, "oh, how clean!" but, before i proceed further, you should be told that, the widely followed example of spain--mother of the picturesque--is not responsible for this delightful condition of things, for in the spanish-speaking islands, alas! it is otherwise! just here i must make a confession. i couldn't tell you of the petty blemishes on the time-furrowed brow of wonderful old santo domingo--no, i could not, for there were those tears that for centuries had worn their cankering way across the face of the weary old mother church,--and then the long-suffering bell, and the tired, sad-faced sun-dial! no, i could not tell you then; and now that the memory of those tears comes to me again, i hardly feel it in me to confess to you after all. no, i never can! those half-forgiven regrets could be told only to the dispassionate bells of the city of the holy sunday; you shall never hear them. yes, charlotte amalie's face was clean. she wore a fresh pinafore and a green frock, and her bonnet was pink and starry white; and she was very prim and quiet, was the lady charlotte, despite her merry, laughing eyes. but the little lady has a funny lot of children. she doesn't mind, though--not she. she folds her hands, and shakes her pink and white bonnet, and makes no apology. a funny lot of children she has indeed: blond pickaninnies and black babies,--black whites with kinky hair and white blacks with straight hair, all higgledy-piggledy, and they all speak a blond pickaninny's language. charlotte amalie herself, when in state, speaks real english, and some of her officials danish and french, as well. her little daily paper, which came to us wet from the press,--_lightbourn's mail notes_,--was printed in english; so you see her ladyship knows the real world-language when she sees it, even if she is a foster-child of denmark and burdened with the everlasting curse of ham. [illustration: in charlotte amalie st. thomas] iii. while some of the party were writing postal cards and letters in a cool, flowery retreat, reached by devious shady passages and looking out into an open court, known as a post-office, i strolled up the quiet street to the first turning, where the cross road came to an abrupt, but very beautiful end in a little white chapel, sheltered by waving palms. there seemed to be but one main street, which followed the shore awhile and then went loitering off up the hill in a most indifferent manner. the houses, with one story in the rear and two in the front, were built on the hillside, so that the chapel before me--well up on the slope--was approached by a long flight of stone steps. snow-white columns upheld the simple portico, and the royal palms rose higher and higher from one terrace to another, their regular trunks like stately shafts of stone, until their warm plumes met over the golden cross. the picture, with chapel and palms and terraces and flowers and delicately wroughtiron gateway, was so compact, that it seemed as if some one just a little bigger than myself might tuck the whole affair right into a pocket for a keepsake. turning slowly about to look for the children, i glanced through the half-open blinds of a house on the corner, and there met a pair of very engaging eyes, which besought me in the universal language, to come in and see what there was for sale. the eyes belonged not to a maiden, but to a tiny, stoop-shouldered spanish-danish-english woman, who fluttered about in great excitement at the prospect of a sale. strangers do not drop from the sky every day in these remoter of the west indies. i bought a piece of needlework, and my change, in st. thomas silver and danish copper, was brought me by a regal old negress, in a voluminous red calico gown, standing out like the "stu'nsails" of a full-rigged ship, flying as her proper colours aloft, a brilliant green and yellow bandanna. my! but she was tall--six feet, it seemed, and she smiled all over her face with the meaningless good-nature of her race. what teeth she had left were glistening white. by the way, why is it that on these islands you find so many women, and not necessarily old women by any means, but girls from fourteen up--both white and black--with many of their teeth gone? has the american dentist yet untrodden fields? black susan salaamed me out, and seeing daddy and the little girls ahead of me, i followed the clean--i repeat, clean--narrow street, as it wound up the well-tilled hillside to "bluebeard's castle." iv. it was a long, hot walk, that climb, in spite of the good breeze and the white umbrella's shade, and we stopped a number of times on the way up to cool ourselves, and, incidentally, to envy the carriage of the brisk and leathery old women, who came striding past us up the hill, with great water-cans on their heads and water-jugs in their hands, stolidly indifferent to the hot sun and the heavy burdens they were carrying. it comes to me now that i did not see a young negress in the whole town, but this was explained on our return to the ship. it was next to impossible to be keen enough to appreciate fully the remarkable vegetation and flowers and animal life all about us. the flowers seemed hung at the wrong end, and all the vegetable world strange and topsy-turvy; even some insects that we saw seemed quite outlandish. for a long time, as i sat between two rusty old cannon, dangling my feet with most awful irreverence over bluebeard's fortress wall, i kept my eye on an old bumblebee--a black and yellow pirate that bumbled of the peaceful present and the strenuous past; but even the every-day bumblebee was twice as big as he had any right to be, and he had the deep-drawn drone of a sleepy country parson. then, just as the bumblebee hummed himself out of sight into the heart of a deep red _hibiscus_ nodding its heavy head at me from the top of the wall, out of the mouth of one of bluebeard's piratical cannon there peeped two shining, yellow eyes in a little green body, and they stared at me, and i stared at them, each most curious about the other, until the inspection became rather embarrassing, and i rapped on the rusty, weather-worn old murderer, and away scampered mr. eyes, back with the ghosts and memories--all dying together. a little green lizard, with life for a wee bit of awhile; an ancient cannon of curious shape, rusting, but outliving a little longer; a great gray rock underneath, disintegrating piece by piece, going back again into the universe; and an immortal soul in a human body; are we all part and parcel of the same cosmic dust? twenty cannons dropped into the heavy embrasured masonry of bluebeard's wall looked down with grim irony upon a pious, self-complacent, twentieth-century gunboat, entering thus unchallenged their own waters. whether it was the lizard rustling among the grasses inside the cannon, or whether it was a reawakened pirate's ghost, i shall not venture to assert; but there certainly came to me a whisper which translated itself into the most disdainful reproach of our much-vaunted humanitarianism. i tried to explain to this little voice that nowadays we had reduced the killing of men to a science; that it was less painful to be blown to pieces by dynamite shells from a torpedo-boat than to be hacked to pieces by a pirate's cutlass, therefore, more honourable, and that fighting was still necessary because diplomacy was too young to be weaned. but from certain mysterious sounds, very like the chucklings of an old man, i thought best to beat a retreat. besides there were daddy and the little girls waving to me from the top of the sturdy old watch-tower, so i gathered my umbrella, hat, and basket, and put to flight the flock of geese which had been examining my umbrella with long-necked curiosity. they, little caring for the sanctity of my far-reaching thoughts, went hissing and squawking down the hill in a most irate humour. i took a long breath, pinched myself to get awake, and started up the steep tower steps. [illustration: charlotte amalie from "blue beard's castle" st. thomas] from the top of this tower of "bluebeard's castle" (kept in repair by the italian consul, whose residence is here), one could look out across the pretty town to the rival fastness of old "blackbeard," crowning another hill of surpassing beauty. a road, white and smooth and shaded with palms, clung caressingly about the white-crested bay, and i longed to follow it. yonder another road struggled up a hillside, through sugar-cane and fruit-trees, and tumbled off somewhere on the other side. i longed to follow that one, too. another, white and edged with tamarinds and oranges, wandered off somewhere else, and i wanted to go there. but the last carriage had clattered off, and it was too hot to walk "over the hills and far away;" so, after a long quiet feast of the glory about us, we leisurely made the descent, and were again among the cannon crowning the ancient parapet. we strolled along down the steep winding highway, stopping now to trim our hats with flowers, gathered with much difficulty from behind a prickly hedge, and then to look with rapture upon the scene below, and again to talk about it all. the sun beat down upon our heads, but we did not mind that, for the cooling breeze came up from the sea, sweetly and gently, as if it loved us, and the mountains and the earth were oh, so richly clad, and the eyes so content with seeing and the nostrils so glad with the fragrant air! v. i wondered then why we americans should not settle the matter at once with denmark. as i understand it, there were negotiations for the purchase of these islands approved by general grant, then president, in ; but, for some reason, the proposed treaty with denmark was not ratified by congress, and the little island was forgotten; but since the recent growth of our navy and the necessity for its constant care of the caribbean sea, and especially now that we seem destined to become sponsors to an isthmian canal, the island of st. thomas comes again to the front as one of the most desirable possessions the united states could have in these waters. the harbour of charlotte amalie is so protected by mountains and guarded by bold islands, with deep water inside, and an unimpeded channel from the sea, that, with sufficient fortification, it could be made absolutely impregnable, a west indian gibraltar, and at the same time a most valuable and protected station for naval supplies, docks, and the like. [illustration: on the terrace charlotte amalie, st. thomas] i do not believe in war, battle, or bloodshed, but i do most forcibly believe in the present necessity for our policy of expansion,--not alone because of the advantage to ourselves, but as well for the good of the yet unborn west indians; and if we can extend our power through diplomacy and peaceful measures, i should be glad to see "old glory" floating over all the greater and lesser antilles, provided--and this is the terrible _if_--that the present mixed and degenerate population could be miraculously reformed or removed. in the case of charlotte amalie, there seems to be among the educated middle classes a sincere desire for american supremacy, and, although there is some opposition--largely sentimental--from leading danes, the only important points that have arisen seem to be the question of how much we are to give, and whether certain influences in denmark will permit the confirmation of a treaty for the transfer of the islands to the united states. i was told that the price suggested was somewhere about $ , , . this, i presume, does not include the rest of the danish possessions among the virgin islands; but, while we are interested, why not take in the whole family; st. thomas, st. john, st. croix, and the other small islands adjacent? will the germans try to block our acquisition of this group? the kaiser's subjects talk fair enough, but they unquestionably want st. thomas--and who knows? all through this day our fellow passengers, the german officers, were very busy making photographs and writing notes, and their interest even went so far as to lead to the suggestion by one enthusiastic teuton that some day the german flag would fly over this beautiful harbour--but that was a slip of the tongue, and no doubt he would gladly have recalled the hasty remark a moment later. there is truly no limit to the possibilities of these islands, if only the natives can be taught the value of their soil and the adam-given necessity of labour. here the mango grows; the mahogany, tamarind, guava, orange, lignum vitæ, cypress, bay, cocoanut, pomegranate, fig, and palms of all varieties--rare woods and rich fruits. vegetables would grow more freely if only tilled and encouraged a bit. the export for which st. thomas seems famous is its bay rum, made from the bay leaves and berries, brought mostly from lesser st. john's island, and distilled in great stills well-nigh filling the fragrant cellars of several of charlotte amalie's largest establishments. [illustration: coaling our ship charlotte amalie, st. thomas] vi. "i'll give you a quarter if you'll throw mary in!" shouted one of the passengers from the rail of our ship to a great powerful negro, the bully among bullies of a crowd of blacks which swarmed as thick as bees on the pier close to our moorings. "mary" was one of several hundred negro girls who had been coaling our ship since early morning. all day long, the endless procession of short-skirted, straight-backed, flat-hipped, bare-legged, bandannaed negresses, carrying on their heads the baskets of coal to be emptied through the coal-chutes or into a barge, had gone on amidst deafening roars of laughter, insane oaths, and noiseless tread. the barge, when filled, was towed alongside the vessel and unloaded into our starboard coal-bunkers. the port bunkers were filled direct from the dock by similar baskets of coal dumped into the port coal-chutes. we were watching the black children from the deck, and paterfamilias turning to me, said, in a wholly justified tone: "there, now, my reformer, you see a practical working example of equal rights for women! it means equal or greater labour, as well, and a sad breaking down of all womanliness. the women do the work and the men loaf around at home to spend the money." "do you mean to infer, my dear, that if we women in america had equal suffrage, you men would stay at home and wait for the money we earn? surely i'd never believe it of our american men--never!" whatever other men would do, the negroes of st. thomas certainly did not do the work, as far as we could see. there were a few fellows who helped with the barge, and who handled the shore boats, but the heavy loads were borne on the heads of the women, and they appeared to be in every way equal to the occasion. we were witnessing a marvellous exhibition of endurance, for the sun was by no means gentle, and the baskets of coal weighed well up toward a hundred pounds each, but they were carried with the ease of so many feathers, with a light, active step, from morning until evening, without cessation. "throw her in and i'll give you a quarter!" mary was a young girl, black as night, with a hard, cruel, unsmiling face, and the restless watching eyes of a wild animal. she, too, had been carrying coal all day, and when her work was done, she, with some fifteen or twenty others, had followed along the dock to the ship's bow, where pennies were being tossed to the pier by some of our plethoric passengers. a coin would fly through the air, drop on the pier amidst a scrambling, wriggling pile of howling negroes, with legs and arms and heads in a hopeless heap. mary fought well; she already had a mouthful of pennies; she was as swift as thought, and as merciless of the others as the unfeeling elements. it was easy to see that she was a match for any man in the crowd, and it was easy, too, to see that, when the promise of "a quarter"--a mighty pile of money to those poor children--was held out to the one who should throw her into the water, there was more willingness to get the money than to approach mary. she knew enough english to take in the situation, and stood there on the pier, not ten inches from the edge, with her bare arms folded, her thin, powerful legs tense, her head thrown back with defiance in its motionless poise, her fierce eyes rolling from side to side, watching for the first who would dare approach her. one more word from the ship, and mary was caught around the waist by a black giant who had been waiting his chance. in an instant, she seemed to grow a foot taller. she made a plunge for the man's throat,--bent him down, down, down, with her eyes fiercely terrible; and there she held the unhappy creature until he begged for mercy, and amidst cheers from mary's admirers, slank away out of sight. her spring was so sudden, so silent, so fierce, that i could not think of her as being human; she was more of the wild beast than one of her ladyship's children. and yet we cheered for mary, too, and she it was who won the quarter. i wish the lady charlotte would look after her children better. chapter vi. martinique i. there are so many different ways of seeing things--i suppose as many ways as there are souls to see; and yet, in a measure, one can generalise these many ways under two great heads. just as we call the infinite variations of light, from the first bird-note of breaking day, through all the changing fancies of brilliant sun and wandering clouds--as we call it all day; and the wonders of darkness, night; so can our ways of seeing things be generalised under two great heads. there is the orthodox, scholarly, scientific way, and there is the heterodox, unscholarly, and unscientific way. following the law of compensation, there is much to be said on both sides. if the mind is fully prepared, through study and research into the nature of the object to be seen, one has the satisfaction of viewing it as one would the face of an old and familiar friend. on the other hand, when the mind greets the object to be seen, unprepared, in an absolutely unprejudiced, plastic state, it has all the delight of surprise, enthusiasm, and novelty, over a newly acquired possession. and none will deny that this unscholarly, unprepared way of seeing things has its merits. in travelling where the countries visited are interesting mainly from an historical standpoint, no doubt much would be lost to the traveller whose knowledge of the background for his picture is indistinct; in that case, truly, the scholar is the one whose enjoyment should be keenest. on the other hand, where the charm of a place lies largely in its picturesque beauty, in its possibilities of surprise, through novel and curious phases of life, i believe that the traveller who is wholly unprepared has pleasures in store for him equalled only by the exquisite and spontaneous enthusiasms of childhood. this long preamble is not so much to explain the two ways of seeing things, as it is to console myself for having known so little of the west indies before starting on this cruise. there is no use in trying to appear wiser than one is, because, before one knows it, along comes some one who does really know; out flashes the critical knife, and off vanishes that beautifully flimsy wind-bag into thin air. for instance, i might have stood complacently unmoved when the great mountain peaks and the sleeping volcanic craters of martinique rose in green majesty from the caribbean sea, and i might have said: "why, certainly, that is just as i expected!" but i did not say so, because i had not expected such mountain peaks in the west indies, though somewhat prepared by the islands we had thus far seen. once on a time i had a very charming picture in my mind of the west indies, but, charming as it was, it was not the real islands as i have found them; and ever since having known the reality i have been trying to revitalise that former picture and compare it with the genuine impressions; but i find it of so ephemeral a nature that i can scarcely recall it. all i remember is, that i expected to find the islands low and flat, and mostly of a coral formation. some of the islands are indeed of this nature, but comparatively few. as we sailed under sunny, cloudless skies, over a brilliantly blue sea, the monarchs of the caribbees arose one by one in glorious majesty; and especially these windward islands, a great windbreak to keep out the big atlantic, with martinique the crowning summit. at times, single gigantic rocks, the homes of sea-birds, lonely and desolate, stood out from the deep; and then great ranges of mountains, covered to the summit with densest foliage, lifted themselves to the sky many thousands of feet. it is said with authority that, on these islands--particularly on st. vincent--there still survive some of the ancient caribs, the aboriginal west indian race, no doubt descendants of those brave indians so harried and murdered by the early spanish explorers. in martinique, the mixture of carib blood is still apparent, showing, even through generations of negro pollution, in many a coppery skin, wild fierce eye, and proud head with straight black locks. to me it seemed that martinique is an epitome of the whole west indies. in appearance, in products, in people, in history, it might taken as the highest type of these garden isles, once enjoyed by vast tribes of pure-blooded and self-respecting savages, but now held by the conglomerate descendants of all colours and all nations. ii. now had i been more familiar with the rare though limited treasures of west indian literature, i would not have marvelled at the glorious mountain summits of martinique that day we came to picturesque st. pierre; i might have said to my companion: "ah! here they are, quite as i expected; old, old friends; little white city, square cathedral tower, narrow, hilly streets; above and beyond little irregular fields--all hanging to the mountainside as they should!" but, instead, i stood fairly on tiptoe in the bow of our great ship, as she cut through high-running waves, with my hair blowing in a thousand directions, grasping for an impish pin to gather up as much as was amenable to reason, marvelling with all my senses at the approach to martinique, as the dim mountains, coming nearer and nearer, were humanised by the habitations of men. we four were there together. sister's curls were a flutter of gold in the low afternoon sun, and her sweet gray eyes were straining far ahead at the slopes of martinique; little blue ribbons clung to daddy's strong hand, while she leaned over the bow to watch the laughing foam dance up to kiss her pretty lips. how good it was to have them with us!--the two little girls--so keenly joyous in all the new marvels of sea and land. if laddie had only been there, too--but for the other three boys, far off in our warm northern nest, i had no longings. with them aboard, life on the ship would have been one vanishing streak of six black-stockinged legs, with an avenging mother in pursuit from dawn till evening. [illustration: the sugar mill near st. pierre martinique] now, whether it happened while i was trying to pin my hair together and could see nothing, or whether i was so absorbed with the great wonders that lesser ones failed to attract me, or whether it came by magic, i'll not say; but at all events, in less than no time after we had taken our pilot aboard, the sea seemed to be alive with innumerable small sailing craft. i would look out toward martinique on the port bow, and see what appeared to be the crest of a combing wave,--for the "northeast trades" were blowing fresh, and we were not yet under the lee of the island--a second more and this same white crest would change into a sail, darting off, close-hauled, into the wind, as swiftly as a pelican plunging at his prey. these materialised wave-crests continued to appear until i counted over thirty of them on all sides of us, on the same tack, making for land; low, narrow fishing-boats, coming in with the day's catch. these were replaced, as we finally made port and dropped anchor, about three-fourths of a mile from shore in an open bay or roadstead, by a horde of little canoes, filled with chattering, copper-coloured natives, who came swarming out to us, each in a single boat, except a few who shared some larger canoes, and each arrayed in a bit of loin-cloth. these remarkable natives were so interesting to us all that i cannot resist giving you a description of their peculiarities. as i told you, i came to the islands sadly lacking in information regarding the island of martinique or the city of st. pierre. i knew a little about it, to be sure; i knew that the empress josephine--the beautiful and unfortunate wife of the great napoleon--was a creole from the shores of this island; i read in our west indian guide-book (fortunately a very tiny affair) that martinique is miles long and miles wide; that it has a population of , ; that its mountains rise to the height of some , feet; that the annual rainfall is great--some inches; that the mean temperature is high, about degrees; that the soil is rich and readily responds to cultivation; that the island was discovered by columbus in (or in , as some say), and settled by the french in ; that the belligerent english had, at different times, interfered in its peaceful life, capturing it first at the end of the seven years' war, and subsequently holding it for two periods covering a considerable part of the napoleonic wars; that it had been occasionally frightened by volcanic eruptions from mont pelée, and more often shaken by earthquakes; all of which sounds very much like an encyclopedia, in fact all of these historical data were copied word for word from our guide-book, which i took down at daddy's dictation. it is really all his fault. he said i was not definite enough; that people wanted facts, not tinselled trivialities, so i acquiesced: "very well, read it off," and there it is. you see how it sounds. i don't like it myself, but some people may. [illustration: coming to welcome us st. pierre, martinique] there was one fact about martinique which was worth more to me than all the data put together. i had a servant--a french woman--who for years took care of the children. once upon a time she had lived in the household of the governor of martinique, after he had returned to paris; and she had darned his stockings; think of it! my good elise had darned the stockings of the governor of martinique, and many a time she had darned mine! wasn't that enough to establish a lasting bond of interest between martinique and the wanderer from the north? but these dark things in the water--where do they belong? elise and the governor of martinique's stocking could never help us settle that question. as i said, they swarmed about the ship like so many insects. they were an entirely different type of people from the black imps of st. thomas. at st. thomas the native was quite as ready with his guffaw as he was with his oaths. he was a big african animal, black as coal, with the flat nose and heavy lips, with all the idiosyncrasies we know so well; a somewhat exaggerated, wilder, freer type than the ethiopian we meet in our southern states. but these natives of martinique were altogether different from the blacks of st. thomas. their bodies were often of the most beautiful copper colour, verging on red; their features were regular, and in some cases rather attractive,--rare cases these, however; their expressions were fierce and saturnine, even in the youngest children of eight or ten years. they had to a marked degree that animal trait of fixing their eyes upon an object and never leaving it until what they wished had been granted them. these swarms of men and boys had come out to dive for coins--silver preferred--and how had they come? mostly in slender canoes, some seven to ten feet in length, varying in dimensions according to the size of the occupant, one boy in each canoe. these flimsy shells were about a foot to fifteen inches wide, and six or eight inches deep, made of thin boards or even the rough sides of light packing-cases skilfully joined together and payed up with pitch. they were flat-bottomed, sharp at both ends and barely wide enough for the single occupant to sit in, and without seats, oars, or paddles. in what one might call the bow--if bow there is to such a craft--the low sides were bridged over and boxed in underneath, with a narrow slit in the top of this tiny locker into which to drop the captured pennies. this was the diver's bank, where he deposited his capital after his mouth was too full to hold more. in lieu of paddles, he had a bit of thin board about the size of a cigar-box cover in each hand; sometimes this artificial fin had a loop to fit back of the hand, and sometimes the little fellows would use only their hands to paddle themselves about, sitting well down, leaning forward, darting rapidly through the water. meanwhile some bigger boys and men appeared, two or three together, in larger skiffs propelled by oars or paddles. the divers whisk in and out among the host (for there were also other larger boats now come from shore to see us) with marvellous skill, and when we toss a coin into the clear sea, away go the paddles and boats, and down go a half-dozen copper-coloured bodies, each making for the same shining point, and all we can see for awhile is several pairs of whitish soles gleaming under the water, and sometimes the short turmoil of a fight below the surface; then up comes a sputtering heathen with the coin in his hand, to show he has found it. into his mouth it goes and then off he chases for the abandoned canoe, which by this time is full of water and looks a hopeless derelict. but that is nothing to this semi-aquatic creature, for he grasps the two sides of the boat, gives it a dexterous roll and lift combined, emptying most of the water, bails out the rest with a rapid movement of his hands, throws his body across the canoe and is inside before it has time to capsize. [illustration: looking from the deck of our ship st. pierre, martinique] these boys and men gave us a most remarkable exhibition of swimming. for the consideration of a little silver, they even dove under our steamer amidships, coming up on the other side in about the same time that it took us to walk across the deck. it must be remembered, however, that these divers do not go to the bottom for the coins, as we are often led to believe by traveller's accounts; they dive underneath the coins and catch them as they go zigzagging toward the bottom. it would be well-nigh impossible, so i am told, to recover a coin in thirty-five to fifty feet of water, even were it not very difficult and dangerous for a swimmer to reach the bottom, on account of the pressure of the water at that depth. during the entire performance, the shouting was continuous, at times almost deafening, and yet not a sign of laughter or merriment with it all. they were fearsome creatures, these divers. with no very great stretch of the imagination, i could picture a cannibal feast with these very men the chief actors. their fierce looks were unlike those of any human being i had ever seen. they suggested at once the ancient inhabitants from whom the caribbean sea has taken its name. iii. after our ship's papers had been duly passed upon, the process of disembarkation began, and although late in the afternoon, we were all most eager to land and see the charms of martinique at closer range, and, incidentally, to post our letters. we anchored as i said, quite a distance out, which was rather a surprise, for as we approached the shore we saw that sailing craft of all sizes and descriptions, from sloops to full-rigged ships, were moored within a hundred yards or so of the levee, with anchors ahead from each bow, and stern-lines out to shore. this was a most unusual sight in an open roadstead. it was partly accounted for by the fact of there being deep water close up to the shore, but principally because st. pierre is in the latitude of the true northeast trade-winds, which at this season are as sure as the rising of the sun, and this harbour is on the leeward side of the island, and thus smooth and protected. we had been sailing under the beneficent care of the trade-wind for many days now, without fully appreciating it, and it was only when the daring of these trading vessels was explained, that we realised why it was that they had nothing to fear from contrary winds, or from the danger of being blown on the rock-paved beach. [illustration: the harbour and shipping st. pierre, martinique copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] some years ago, at home, i was quarantined with a case of fever, and i recall most vividly my demand for suitable literature, paper bound, something that could be burned up if necessary; and i can yet see the amused expression on my nautical husband's face as he handed me volume after volume of sea stories. i had no choice in the matter; i read my books and ate my food as it was handed me, and asked no questions. now, long years after, in the harbour of st. pierre, with brig and brigantine, and bark and barkentine safely moored to the levee, the charm and fascination of those delightful sea yarns comes stealing over me once again, and i can appreciate how surely the mariners must have counted upon the time when the trade-wind would rise and carry them on their course. steady and hearty it blows. at ten or eleven o'clock of the morning, the heat of the tropics lifts its hat to the "doctor" as the natives call the trade-wind. at six o'clock it bids him good night. at eight o'clock, he calls again for the few hours of darkness, so that both day and night are tempered by his salubrious presence. our joy would now be complete if we could but see the southern cross, for we had felt the rushing hurry and the firm caresses of the northeast trades, and despite all our former indifference to the sea, the mariner's spirit was surely asserting itself. it was at the close of a long, delicious tropical day that we four stepped from the shore boat to the paved beach of st. pierre, to the beach where empty the clear streams of mountain water flowing down through the streets of the town above. had our coming been that of royal guests, our hostess could not have been trimmer or neater. sister left us at the pretty white lighthouse right on the beach, and ran on ahead to pick up an especially beautiful shell which she could not resist, and we walked on along the street that follows the shore, under the shade of the mangoes, until, when we turned to wait for her, she seemed to have been caught into the very arms of the tower and held there for hostage. to be sure, she was only arranging her shells in the basket, but she was so quiet and the tower beyond was so old, old--so white and so still--that i called to her in a kind of dumb terror at some impending evil: "sister, come, you must not loiter behind, keep with us!" [illustration: the lighthouse on the beach st. pierre, martinique] it is possible that had our landing in st. pierre been at noonday it would not have been so ever-memorable. we might have felt industrious, we might have thought we ought to see things and do things. but, ah! we were spared that! it was at the drop of day when men do not work nor women weep; and so we had nothing to do but follow where the people were going, on beyond the little lighthouse tower dozing by the sea. the bells in the white church under the hill had been ringing as we rowed toward shore, and it was not long before the church emptied itself into the street, nor long before we were part of the happy worshippers who scattered in every direction. st. pierre arose from the very water's edge. a row of substantial stone buildings shaded by wide-spreading glossy mangoes stretched as far as i could see in the twilight. the street made a turn away from the beach and the buildings followed after. in the other direction it led to the church and then came to an end. but st. pierre couldn't have built on a straight line had she wished to do so. she has chosen a mountain for her home and she had to plan accordingly. so she builds until her streets become a series of stone steps, up--up--up; and then, when they finally run against a sheer wall of rock, they stop going up and go round, for they seem to go on indefinitely. but we were not to be baffled by stone steps, we only pushed on a little more vigorously, and started the climb into st. pierre to post the precious letters which had been written under such stress of circumstances. we went up and about, and found the post-office, just too late to satisfy the demands of martinique red tape; for the black officials were still redolent of sealing wax as the last sack of outgoing mail was closed; and what were we to do next? we were advised to hunt up the american consul, and possibly he could, by special suasion, find some way of caring for our letters. so we went on through the clean, narrow stone streets, passing many a home which shone out in the early twilight very enticingly, through the high gateways, down to the consul's house, which we found barred and bolted for the night. [illustration: the street along the water-front st. pierre, martinique] oh, these comfortable american consuls of the tropics! they live among flowers and palms, arise late and go to their town offices by noon; then "business" grows dull and they bolt the office at three or four o'clock and take flight to a gardened home, in some cool mountain suburb, to rest from the wearisome grind of diplomacy. would that we all might rise to the _dolce far niente_ of an american consulate! but after all we need them; for if our flag is now seldom seen in out-of-the-way ports, who but the american consul will protect the wandering american? two gentlemen, standing in a notary's office hard by the consulate, explained that the ship _fontabella_, which was to carry the mail, had not yet arrived, and that perhaps our letters must go to new york by way of southampton. then it was not too late after all. why not leave them in the box at the consulate? "would they be sent?" we ask. an affirmative reply decides us. what mattered a short delay? those letters couldn't be hurried however urgent their contents. they must wait for the _fontabella_ until she was ready, and when that time would be none could say. what could be more romantic than to send our letters by this fancifully named ship, however long her voyage, however indolently she loitered in these fair seas; wherever she strayed she was still the _fontabella_. who knows but some of her charms might miraculously sift in through a rent in my package and breathe a spell upon my words? ah, _fontabella_! heaven bless you; and i stand sighing over the mysterious music of a name! iv. do you remember a game we children used to play, which had this little refrain? "look to the east, look to the west, and choose the one that you love best!" we, too, were uncertain which way to choose, so we looked to the east, and we looked to the west, and we chose the one that we loved the best; it happened to be a side street up a very steep hill, beguiling us to a broad avenue, evidently one of the approaches to the famous _jardin des plantes_, of which our felicitous little pamphlet guide had made particular mention. for fear lest, in our delight over the novel experiences of the evening, i should forget to mention one feature of st. pierre peculiarly and distinctly unique, we'll stop for a moment to look down the funny little street, up which we have just laboured. you see on each side of the narrow pavement a deep stone gutter, two feet deep and nearly as wide, down which plunges a constant torrent of light bluish water, with the colour peculiar to all mountain streams; this rush and tumble of water you will see not only in this street, but in all the streets of st. pierre. it gives one a generous sense of well-being. you feel as if you might take a bath on monday and tuesday, and all through the week, and the town would not be threatened with the water famine that is ever hanging over one in some of these tropical towns. how delightful for the children, too! it is a positive relief to my mind to have finished telling you about those wayside streams, for, ever since our arrival in st. pierre i have been followed by the thought of them, until almost in a state of distraction. something was continually hammering into my ears: "why don't you tell about the aqueducts? don't you know they carry down the mountainside and into the city the finest water of the west indies? why don't you give more information?" but now we may go on, and would you mind if we didn't try to learn one bit of anything more for the rest of this beautiful evening? is it not enough to stroll idly on under the shadow of the mountainside, wild with tangled vines and interweaving foliage, black as night and deep as the sea? would it cause you, in the rush of western civilisation, a pang to lean with us over this high wall above the city, and watch yon bark lift her sails athwart the blood-red sun, merging his grandeur into the peace of the ocean? let us call her the _fontabella_; to be sure the _fontabella_ is probably a matter-of-fact, puffy, old mail-steamer and is not to arrive for days, but that's no matter. yonder ship is our _fontabella_. we shall name her such, truly she is worthy the honour; she is getting ready for sea; her sails rise slowly with the sleepy yards and stand out in black relief against the iridescent sea of glory about her; from afar comes the faint creak of her incoming anchor-chains, and, as she rests there motionless, down drops the sun, and a ship we shall see no more fades into the night. [illustration: the cathedral and water-front st. pierre, martinique copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] stopping to inquire of a small boy if we are on the main highway, and not on some path which may lead us either to destruction or to nothing at all,--either of which events would be undesirable,--a well-dressed man, of more than middle age, offers to give us the needed information. we are so continually beset by volunteer "guides" of all classes and colours, that we have of late grown most short in our rejection of unasked-for advice; who knows how many angels we may have thus turned away unawares? this evening, our new acquaintance not only tells us where we are going, but calmly joins the party, and, taking the lead, pilots us in spite of our protestations. he speaks the french of a cultivated gentleman, and goes on leading the way and the conversation most agreeably. and so we start along the boulevard toward the public gardens, which lie back of the town in a gorge of the mountain. we are followed by a half dozen or so children, who, for the most part, stare at us very curiously, and then chatter among themselves in low voices; i noticed that, as our self-appointed guide walked along, he was continually knocking and poking with his long cane at stray bunches of leaves which had fallen upon the road, and now and then he would let fall a remark about "_les serpents_," which he said were often on the road after nightfall. if there is one thing above all others upon this beautiful earth which my feminine soul abhors, it is a snake; the very thought is chilling to my blood! i had no intention of running any risk of an encounter with serpents,--poisonous or otherwise,--if it could be avoided. still we all felt that this might be something similar to the rattlesnake stories told to trusting travellers in our country, and fancied that our leader shared the popular theory that we were gullible american travellers, who supposed that all tropical forests were alive with venomous reptiles. by this time it was night, heavily black with the deepening curtain of the mountain, hanging over us on one side, and the sombre shade of the trees on the other. curious sounds came from the undergrowth, and long, low, melancholy whistles dropped from among the trees; heavy odours hung their narcotic spells about us, and our leader, in his long frock coat, was just visible as he strode ahead of us, sweeping the path for serpents. little blue ribbons was clinging to my hand, and her persistent whisper begged me every minute to please not go any further. i called to daddy: "what's the use going any further? i want to go back. i don't see why we have to follow this man if we don't want to." but daddy's and sister's steps rustled among the leaves ahead, and little blue ribbons went on, whispering, and we all kept following. taking courage, i skipped ahead of sister, and caught up with our new friend, and very gently expressed to him our wish that he reconduct us to some place a little lighter and less deadly; but it didn't make the least impression upon him; he simply went on and kept up a string of talk about the wonderful botanical garden, whither he was leading us, part of which i understood and part of which i didn't. "but," i exclaimed, "we do not wish, desire, expect, or hope to see the botanical garden in the night; we have not survived the perils of the deep to be devoured by wild animals, or poisoned by reptiles, or slain by man-eating caribs, at this late day. all we want is to be peacefully allowed to go home in our own way." but you might as well have talked to yonder bark asleep on the breast of the ocean as to the grim back of our black-coated companion. it was another case of the "pied piper of hamelin," and it would not have surprised me, such was the mood of the night, and the mystery of the place, had he marched us up into the side of mount pelée, hanging far above, and slammed the door in thunder behind us. lights--grateful, beautiful, heartening, most entrancing lights--finally glimmered at the end of our long détour, and we were brought to the gate of the botanical garden, which of course we did not enter, but, turning into another way, followed the people who were coming down this road from morne rouge into the city. it was remarkable to observe how the conversation revived. we talked about the island and its people, of their various occupations, their exports, their schools; we stopped to lean over the walled-in river, to see through the dark the white clothes drying on the rocks, like much-discouraged ghosts, and then we became hilarious, and as we neared the possibility of food, passed jokes and had a very jolly time. then our friend--let us now call him "friend"--said that he must leave, that we needed but to follow the road ahead of us and we would reach the grand hotel; and he turned his way, and disappeared,--a very tall attenuated figure in a long, black coat. v. we hurried on, still in a state of suppressed excitement, i, for one, wondering if we should ever find the grand hotel. but we did find it, to my relief. why, i was so hysterically glad to see the familiar faces of our friends again that it was all i could do to refrain from embracing herr baron von donnerwetter, who stood with others, sad-faced and dejected, waiting in the hope of a meal. the usual state of things prevailed: hungry americans were clamouring for impossible foods; helpless waiters were doing their best to pacify the ravenous demands; a feeble, unhappy host was beating the air with oratorical violence, and the americans--always good-humoured, in spite of their clamourings--waited and waited, only to be satisfied with poor stuff at last; and finding it thus we fled. the man of the family had, it seems, been quietly reading the signs as we first wandered up into st. pierre, and the name of a modest little inn had stuck well in his memory; but, manlike, he kept still about it. so with his bump of locality well in evidence, we followed his sturdy steps; in short, found the place in question, and entered a dark, covered, arched passageway, which opened into a number of dimly lighted apartments. the room we first entered was a kind of _salle à manger_ and _salon_ combined, for it had a sofa--a very hard, rock-like affair--a number of chairs, a quaint old sideboard, a table in the centre, and a lamp on the wall which gave a feeble, flickering light. do you remember about the children who followed us so silently on our long walk? well, when our tall friend left us, the children kept right along, and, as soon as it was discovered that we were trying to find a place all on our own responsibility, their number was augmented by others--big grown men, black men--whose services being rejected, quietly but firmly joined the procession. the keeper of the inn was a magnificent, great creole woman, well on in years, with a pleasant, winning smile, and an air of hospitality more for the guest than the purse. she said, if we could wait for awhile until the noisy students in the adjoining rooms were pacified, she would do her best for us, but she feared she had nothing suitable. ah, friends, how humble doth an empty stomach make the human animal! we told her that we adored fried eggs. in fact we could not picture to ourselves anything more delectable. (we hadn't had fried eggs at every turn in the west indies for nothing, our stomachs were becoming acclimated.) whereupon she bowed her gracefully turbaned head and leisurely left the room. then the process began, and we may as well keep you right in the room, for to adequately appreciate the repast that followed, good appetite must be seasoned by hilarity and waited upon by patience. we had on the table a red oilcloth cover, various well-used salt-cellars, and a motley array of knives and forks. two long-limbed negresses began to arrange our feast, speaking as usual one of their home-made languages, impossible to comprehend as a whole and difficult even in part. these two black cupbearers began, as i said, to arrange the feast, and we sat by, looking on, hungrier every moment, as the prospect grew less promising. after a while some bread, several big chunks,--or loaves, i suppose i ought to say,--were laid on the table. they were shaped like small turtles with heads pulled out at both ends. next came a bottle of red wine (from the old country!) and the glasses. then we sat there and sat there fully three-quarters of an hour. the dusky nymphs had flippety-flapped off; the hostess with the smile had also disappeared, and there was silence. i began to think that, perhaps, the bread and wine was the first course, that so things were served in st. pierre; and besides there wasn't even a whiff of garlic anywhere. i was confident that no creole cooking was going on; and, the more i thought, the more i became convinced that we ought to begin. but daddy thought we ought to wait, and sister and blue ribbons thought so, too, they are such proper lassies. why did they ever have a mother who would be so unconventional? but i was famished and that bread turtle was put there to eat. i knew it. so in awful silence, with the family holding its bated breath, i began to pull at the bread. i got one of the heads off the turtle, and poured forth the ruddy nectar into the pressed-glass goblet, and took my first delightsome taste of french wine in martinique. i was just about to continue, when into the room sauntered the black waitress with a steaming dish of soup, and as she discovered my glass of wine well begun, she set her bowl down on the table, fastened a reproving look on me, and putting her arms akimbo, exclaimed: "_oh, lá, la!_" then the other black heathen came in, and with her eye upon me, added her astonished: "_oh, lá, la!_" and then the head of the family said, in a "told you so" tone: "_oh, lá, la!_" and then the youngsters joined with a choice duet of: "_oh, lá, la!_" and i said, "why, certainly, '_oh, lá, la_,'" and took another swallow of wine. i felt perfectly justified in my conduct under the circumstances, but no amount of explanation, i am convinced, could have ever placed me in the proper light in the minds of those two black women. i had even some difficulty in explaining the matter satisfactorily to my own family. i do not think there are in all the french language three small words which can express quite the scorn and derision of "_oh, lá, la!_" from the high courts of justice to the dim little dining-room of a martinique inn, "_oh, lá, la!_" withers and humiliates. so i took my bowl of soup very meekly, and said: "_merci, mille fois_," and went to work. after the soup, we waited again long, and, with appetite appeased, more patiently. vi. a noise in the dark passageway caused me to look in that direction, and i saw, leaning one at each side of the doorway, two big, black negroes--two of the crowd of an hour before. they stood there silent and motionless; they had "standing-room only," but they were there to see the finish. "what are these?" i exclaimed. "cherubs," replied his lordship. "go 'way!" i say. "we don't want you!" then comes a humble voice from the dark: "gif me dol' an' half. gif me dol' an' half!" "go 'way, go 'way, cherub! we don't want you!" again we cry out. "gif me two cents! gif me two cents!" comes from the cherub. what a fall, my countrymen! at that juncture, her royal highness, the big landlady, swept through, her very presence clearing the premises, and peace was restored. then the dinner progressed through the invariable course of eggs and the delicious sidedish of fried bananas, until we came to the salad, which, i confess, has been my inspiration for many pages. now, here was a case where the wholly unexpected created a sensation which no amount of information, regarding the relative merits of the dish in question could produce. in a way, i rather expected to find in the west indies all manner of curious fruits and vegetables, but i did not expect to eat immature palm-leaf fans with french dressing. we had finished with our bananas, and were waiting with that good humour which characterises the third course of dinner, when the black heathen appeared, flanked by the entire retinue of kitchen retainers, the big creole hostess bringing up the rear, bearing in her hand a deep dish, in which she had prepared our salad. it was none less than the famous palm salad, about which so many travellers have told. we, too, must add our encomiums. it is taken from the centre of the palm head when the inner leaves are very young. it looked very much like fine cabbage as our hostess sliced it in long strips for salad; in colour it was creamy-white, and in flavour as delicate as a rose. it was so tender that it seemed to melt in the month, having none of the tough qualities of either lettuce or watercress or cabbage. the taste is something i could never describe, for it was a combination of such sweet flavours that even those who partook thereof were at a loss afterward to recall its peculiar delicacy. the following day, we tried to buy some palm in the market and went from one group to another, asking for palm salad; but it had all been sold early in the morning, and, as i recall the experience, i am quite content that we were not successful in our morning's marketing, for who knows but the dressing had something to do with the irresistible palm salad--or perchance even the surroundings--and who but those replete with the blood of many sunny races could give that touch? guava jelly made by the madame herself, black coffee from berries roasted freshly for us; ripe, mellow, richly flavoured mangoes, sweet honey oranges, and star-apples finished the dinner. do you think we noticed the red oilcloth table cover, the dingy lamp, and the rock-bottom sofa? there are so many different ways of seeing things! chapter vii. martinique, "le pays des revenants" i. beautiful, beautiful martinique! well named art thou, _le pays des revenants_, for my spirit will ne'er rest content until i have again revisited thy marvellous treasure-trove of beauty! if i were asked where in all the west indies i would return with greatest delight, where i would wish to remain indefinitely, where i would choose to live, i should say first and last, in fair martinique,--empress of the caribbees--with, however, an occasional visit to our dear lady charlotte of st. thomas. in the brilliant morning light when the sun crept to the tip of the deep green mountains and threw its slanting streams of glory over the white walls of st. pierre, it seemed that, for the first time, my eyes were beholding the true essence of beauty. i had never before known what colour meant, i had never seen blue before, nor azure, nor green. i was in the mixing-room of nature, where her first, and deepest, and richest dyes were thrown together in experiment; where, freed from all schools, she let loose the riot of her senses, producing effects of colour never dreamed of in her saner moods. it has been my desire in these sketches to reproduce, as nearly as my powers permit, the exact impression which the islands of the caribs have left with me. i have hoped to take you to the islands with the same surprises awaiting you which awaited me, wishing thus to cling to nature hand to hand, and to draw the picture freshly as our eyes first beheld its wonder. this has been my desire. but now i intend to change my habits for a moment. instead of asking you to join us in our morning walk, in sweet innocence of what might befall the traveller were he always to go thus unprepared on the island of martinique, i shall ask you to sit with us here upon the broad white deck of our good ship, to talk over some of the marvellous tales which have been whispered to us, sullying the name of yonder fair isle. i cannot say that it will increase our pleasure, but it will certainly heighten the interest of the morning excursion. do you recall the warnings of our black-coated friend of last evening--warnings against "_les serpents_," as he called them? he spoke from experience. our derisive remarks about people who are for ever looking for snakes in every brush-pile were ill-timed, to say the least. it seems that there is upon the island a species of reptile classed by the scientists as one of the family of _trigonocephalus_, and known to the natives as the "_fer de lance_." the bite of this serpent is so deadly that, unless immediate help is procured, the victim cannot recover, and even with prompt medical aid recovery is doubtful. the island, one might say, is fairly under the domination of the _fer de lance_. [illustration: the city and roadstead st. pierre, martinique] true, the east indian mongoose has been imported in the hope of exterminating this common enemy; but when it was found that this little rascal, after a short period of snake-hunting, preferred to content himself with eggs and chickens,--a less dangerous prey,--leaving the forest wilds and taking up quarters in the more congenial surroundings of the farmyard, the hope of help from the mongoose was abandoned. the west indian cannot live without chickens and eggs,--at least so he thinks,--and consternation prevailed when it was discovered that instead of his deadly enemy, his pet object of diet was being imperilled. so the mongoose, however worthy, must go. just why the tiller of the soil could not, in the face of such danger, erect fortified chicken-houses, to protect his fowls against the felonious depredations of the mongoose, i cannot quite understand, unless it was too much trouble. at all events, he prefers to keep his chickens and the _fer de lance_, and do away with the mongoose, rather than run the risk of an occasional raid upon the hen-coop. so now the question is, how shall he get rid of the mongoose? the mongoose is a plucky little fellow; and so kipling vividly pictured him as "_rikki-tiki-tavi_,"--a bright-eyed, big, brown weasel in appearance,--very efficient in killing the dangerous snakes of india. we saw them in confinement, the snappiest, most vicious little animals one could imagine. it is inexplicable to me that the inhabitants of martinique should be willing to give up the fight against this great danger for the sake of a few hens; for my part, i would not object if all the fowls were destroyed and the feathers flew away to far jamaica, if only after the little robber had had his feast, he would be willing to hunt his legitimate prey, the _fer de lance_. from the various forms in which chicken appears on a west indian table, and from the frequency of that appearance, i have come to the conclusion that, to do without fowls would be a greater grief than to be in constant peril from the bite of a snake. as for me, well--there are times when i feel that, without the least sacrifice, i could miss an occasional meal of fried eggs and stewed chicken. in fact, i am convinced that, if i had had fried eggs three hundred and sixty-three days of the year, i might not pine if the hens didn't lay the last two days. but there is no accounting for tastes. the west indian doesn't look at it in that light. the _fer de lance_ has been described as a rat-tailed, red-skinned, powerful-looking brute, from four to eight feet long; and, unlike most snakes, he is fearless, and as a rule will not get out of the way when he hears one coming. he takes his walks at night, unfortunately preferring the open road to the garden; the smooth patch before the house to the brushwood; and he even comes down into the gardens and paths about the city. this is the great danger of martinique; yet, while it may seem more sure, more quickly certain to us, than the danger of other places, i do not know that it is so. wherever the foot of man finds habitation, danger goes hand in hand with beauty. unseen danger of a thousand kinds, in poisonous vapours, in decaying flesh and vegetation, lurks hidden within the dwellings of all mankind; deeper, deadlier danger, too, than bolt of _fer de lance_, looks sullenly forth from the soul of god's own image--man; danger unto himself more terrible than the writhing, striking reptile of the night-shade; and, as knowledge comes only from an understanding of comparisons, i do not feel that martinique, afflicted as she is, can vie in her troubles with the clangers which threaten mankind in some of her sister isles. ii. the little girls and their father have all but lost their patience. "i'm ready now," i call to the beckoning eyes. "just wait until i get the st. thomas basket, and i'll be there." after a quick dash to the stateroom and back, i'm armed with the basket and umbrella. but after all these snake stories you would rather not join us in our morning walk? you're not nervous? that's fine; i like your spirit! suppose we go first to the market, and then in a roundabout way to the botanical gardens. there are always guide-books to be bought in every town; there are always those on shipboard who never separate themselves from a red cover; there are always those who tell you what you ought to see, and especially afterward what you ought to have seen; but we four are born dissenters; we kind o' forget about the mummies when there are live human beings to watch. we know the mummies will be there when we're tired of the rest, but we're not so sure of the people. it's such fun to find out what the natives are doing, thinking, saying; what they wear, what they eat, how they live, how they dance, and walk, and play, and work. here in martinique we find the market a perfect babel of voices, all speaking a curious french _patois_. it is next to impossible to distinguish one word from another in all that hum of highly pitched creole voices. the famous "_porteuses_"--long-limbed, slender, shapely, tall, and agile half-caste and negro girls--have brought their heavy burdens from the mountains and the country roundabout; and here they sit, like flowers in a garden, surrounded by their goods. some have little piles of fruits, or of vegetables, cooked and ready to be eaten, wrapped in banana leaves; some have a stock of dried meats, made up into tiny portions; some sell fancy cakes; some, pies; others crouch down, fairly hidden by showy piles of calico and bright silks, with needles, threads, coarse laces, and beads scattered about them in great confusion. and here are the sinewy men; the fishers with heaps of fish. such beautiful fish! does it seem credible that you can stand in a smelly fish-market, and be fairly enchanted by the colour and beauty of great trays of fish spread out upon a stone pavement? their beauty is amazing. here are enormous trays of flying fish, glittering silver, sweeter to the taste than any trout; here are others, all pink and red, and here are wee bits of fish sold by the glass--some sort of "white bait," maybe. we elbow on through the babel of voices, looking, as i told you we did, for the palm salad, but there is none to be had. still i remember its flavour, and i remember that the creole madame brought us a piece which she had bought in the market for four _sous_. it was very like a round stick of ivory, a foot and a half long and two inches in diameter. we shall have to be content with that one sight. but what is the use in going to a market unless we can buy something? so we stop in front of a _porteuse_ as she squats behind her pile of fruit on the market floor, and buy oranges, and get almost a pint of coppers in change for one silver piece; but not without grave doubts on the part of the seller. she looks at our silver and shakes her head, and all her neighbours come together, and the colours of their bright turbans and the little funny ends of handkerchiefs tied so that they stand up on top of the head like plumes,--all these ends flutter and bob as they comment in their funny french, while we tell the women that our money is good, good silver. finally a big-eyed, handsome girl comes elbowing along and proudly explains to her doubting sisters that we are right; then at last we get our change, distribute it in our various pockets, take our oranges, and leave the market. iii. eager as the children are to reach _le jardin des plantes_, the famous botanical gardens of martinique, we must stop on our way for a closer inspection of one of these bright birds of the forest,--the martinique _porteuse_. the women of the tropics have an affinity for nature such as we of the north cannot comprehend. as the forest and the flowers and the birds and the insects abound in marvellous hues, so do these children of the sun love to bedeck themselves in all the schemes of colour known to the dyer's art. let us, just for the sake of the picture it will give us, stop this woman coming and make excuse to buy one of the green cocoanuts of which she seems to carry a great load on her head. look at her! isn't she magnificent! have you heard of the feats of endurance which these young girls perform? how they will carry upon their heads, over one hundred pounds out from st. pierre across the mountains, a distance of fifty miles in one day? and this while barefooted and at all times of the year, through all kinds of weather, through dry seasons and wet seasons. not only on such days as these, when the air is sweet and cool in the shade, but days when the sun scorches and withers, even under the deep recesses of vine-clad porch and lattice. she is the ever-willing burden-bearer, the unloader of ships, the handler of cargoes, the welcome carrier of bread for the early breakfast in mountain homes, the vender of all stuffs and utensils by the roadside where no cart could well be taken; where even the patient donkey might refuse to go. agile, nimble, erect of body, motionless of head, with eyes that pierce into every crook and turn of the way, and poised like a queen, she is the dweller among the green, yellow, red, and purple of the forest, and in her love of colour she follows in her adornments the strong instincts of nature. she it is whose burden is so great that were she herself to attempt to lift it or take it from her head, it might mean a rupture, a dislocation, or a broken vein; she it is whom all men, from the richest to the poorest, help to unload, so great is the respect in which she is held. [illustration: near the landing-place st. pierre, martinique] and yet we talk of the idleness, the weakness bred in the tropics! it is true that continual summer enervates, and necessitates slow methods of living; but i can truthfully say, that (outside of haïti), i saw less vagabond-age, less indolence, in the west indies, than in any of our southern states. we were constantly witnessing most remarkable feats of endurance in both men and women. in these countries the horse is scarce, and the donkey costs money, so that the human back becomes the carry-all for the plunder of man. this motionless bronze statue before us, with the great tray of fruit, appears--to one unaccustomed--more than indifferent whether we buy or not, for she stands there, mute, her fruits higher than our own heads; she is tall to begin with, and the great tray itself is six inches higher, and the head pad on which it rests is more than an inch thick; so, altogether, it is so high that we can only make a guess at the fruit she carries, from the fringe on the edge and the pyramid on top. this is our first experience with _la porteuse_, and we wait for her to stoop, camel-like, to unload. but not she! she knows too well the possible penalty of such rashness, and quietly stands with her quick eyes questioning us, and we stand wondering what she wants us to do. the kerchief about her shoulders over a light chemise rivals the rainbow. i try to fix my eyes on some predominating colour, but when i decide that it is yellow, in will blaze a green stronger than the yellow, and then huge red roses splash their lurid colour into the yellow and green, and royal purple and blue daisies and magenta buttercups career around in wild indifference as to conventional form and tint. a loose calico frock hangs to her ankles, with the bare, tireless feet, straight, shapely and well-formed, showing beneath. intelligence dawns upon us at last, and the tall man reaches for a green cocoanut, just toppling on the edge of the tray, for we realise we must reach for the fruit if we want it. this cocoanut, encased in its green husk, is just about the size of a small melon, and has a striated, light-green, smooth skin. a vender near by, interested in the purchase, and charitable to the strangers, takes the cocoanut, and, with a sharp knife, dexterously pares off one end, and with a slash straight across the top, cuts through the still soft shell, and hands it to us ready to quench our thirst with a long pull, for there is as yet no meat in the cocoanut, only a quantity of the rich milk. i cannot say that it is particularly good, or particularly bad; it has an inoffensive sweet taste, is said to be perfectly harmless, and is one of the few fruits of the tropics that the uninitiated can eat with impunity. after we have all drunk, there seems to be quite a bit of the milk left. so it goes to the most insistent of the crowd of small boys, who are, as usual, escorting us with much enjoyment, and a constant merry chatter of french. let us move on now up the clean stone street, up, and up, and up, passing many a walled recess where sparkling jets of water fill the jars brought to the fountain by barefooted girls,--up and on, on and up, past votive shrines--_les chapelles_--and high-walled gardens, coming finally to the broad avenue leading to the botanical garden,--the same road from which we were so glad to escape the night before. we follow the white, dusty road in the bright sunlight, with now and then glimpses of the mountains above, and come at last to the broad stone gateway of _le jardin des plantes_, which, entering, plunges us at once into the deep shades and marvellous beauty of a tropical forest. iv. oh, that i had words and power and skill to paint even a shadow of the beauty before me to a likeness of itself! here nature defies all art of pen, of thought, and brush of man! she seems to glory in the impossible loveliness of her face and form--impossible to reproduce through art or reason. here one should find new words--words more intense, more poignant, more vividly keen to cut into the heart of the matchless colours and shades. no description can ever bring accurately to the mind the wealth, the magnificent beauty of such a spot upon god's earth. with skilful art, the french have utilised the hand of nature in the formation of this wonderful garden to such a degree of perfection that none can tell, unless a master, where the two fair sisters, art and nature, first embraced. the natural tropical forest, running up a great ravine into the mountains, is intersected by broad and winding paths that lead from one fair view to another by mossy flights of rough stone steps. through a rift in the hillside, down an abyss of heavy, wet foliage of a green so intense that the eye can scarcely conceive its depth of colour, cataracts of water leap through the abiding shade, through the ever-growing, ever-dying processes of nature, down into a pool whose depths reflect the blue glimmering sky and the vivid green of over-hanging vines in opalescent sheen. great clumps of bamboo, with long, slim, arrow-shaped leaves, hang gracefully, waving like giant grass, over the walk; and an ancient bridge, ablaze with purple vines, reaches out from under the rustling thickets and spans a branch of the _rivière roxelane_, a delicious mountain stream which murmurs on through the forest, filling one with poetic musings as to whence came its romantic name. on we sauntered heedless as to time, sheltered from the sun by the impenetrable shade of arborescent ferns and towering palms, and lured ever deeper into the forest, into the wonders of god's marvellous creation by some unspeakable burst of beauty just beyond. here we find not only the trees indigenous to the soil, but trees native to all tropical climates, from all parts of the world, for this garden is the pride of the island and a wonder of the indies. the names and habitations of foreign trees are most skilfully marked on enamelled plates fastened to the trees, part of the plate bearing the carefully engraved botanical name, the lower part containing a coloured map, indicating the country to which the tree is native. what a pitiably weak understanding we have of god's unending and infinite creation! however much we read of life in remoter countries the mind, like a rubber ball, ever reverts with persistent force to its original point of view. so that we, the dwellers in the north, in the land of ice and snow, of pines and duller hues, where nature bestows her gifts with somewhat sparing hand,--we of the north forget the limitless power of creative energy, and when we come into such an overwhelming feast of colour as in this mighty forest, sighing and breathing for very burden of beauty, we try in vain to reconcile our former crude conceptions of the creator with this new, vast revelation of his unspeakable power. as we penetrate deeper and ever deeper into the forest, the mind reels under the effort to grasp the marvels of plant and tree and earth. vines hang in long festoons from tree to tree, and drop down before the face in thousands of living ropes, which seem to have the power of returning upon themselves and growing up again without any visible support. parasites, air-plants, and orchids--not singly, but in millions--cover giant trunks so that the tree itself is lost in the growth external. off through a break in the deepest green, i see for the first time that queen of the tropics, the _amherstia nobilis_, called--and well named, indeed--"the flamboyant," the most magnificent flowering tree in the world: tall and heavenly leafed, of graceful form, its top covered by a mass of brilliant flowers so vividly red and of such size as to seem like a blaze of fire in the forest shade. and taller than all the others of its kind, the royal palm lifts its regal head out into the freedom of light and air, and sways its majestic plumes in rhythmic motion. how well the spanish do to call it "_the palm_," in distinction from all others. everywhere about you, life, life ever coming, ever going. a deep, impenetrable wall of green, denser, thicker than any fretwork, keeps you to the path. a native lad springs into the black, green, brown depth, and you shudder involuntarily; there might be danger. the two figures--hand in hand, life and death--haunt the dim green shadows about you. v. we are joined by friends as we wander on, following the sound of tumbling water. it comes to us as a surprise, for the forest has been wrapped in a deep silence; its slumberous shade has not been broken by a single bird-note; all animal life is quiescent. a few steps more and we come to a cleft in the mountain, an opening in the green vault, and a veil of glistening water drops between us and a wall of cool, sweet ferns. the spell of the forest is about us. we turn down a steep path in silent awe before so great a masterpiece. our party separate, we linger behind while our friends stroll on and are lost in an abrupt turn of the path. the straight noonday sun makes white patches upon the walk; strange heavy odours, as of earth dead a thousand years lifting up her soul again in rebellion against her long, deep sleep, steal about us. suddenly from the deathlike stillness of the forest there comes a shriek, followed by sounds of commotion. we run quickly in the direction of the voices. my friend's white face tells the story; it was the _fer de lance_. we could see nothing. the flight had been swift; it was impossible for her to say how it ever came there, whether it had dropped from the limb of a tree, as she thought, or had sprung from a bush, but suddenly it was there, lying in a double coil at her feet. it made a strange rapping sound upon the earth, and darted swiftly off into the undergrowth. a few of us, much affrighted, lead the way most precipitately down the ravine to the gateway. we carry our umbrellas aloft in spite of the shade, and, shuddering, secretly envy the one who saw the _fer de lance_. vi. after all, i am glad that we did not accept the offer of a carriage for morne rouge, for it is a long drive to the summit of the mountain,--fully four hours there and back,--and had we gone, the journey must needs be made with great haste; so we chose rather to leave before satiety deadened our enjoyment. but there will come other days in martinique--there must come other days, for is not this _le pays des revenants_? must we not see gros morne, capot, marigot, and la grande anse, hidden away in the mountains, asleep in their sunlit valleys, and the wild forest--_le grand bois_--and _la pelée_, the old volcano with the queer lake in its extinct crater, and the cavern-like opening in its cleft side, where it is said that even yet there may be occasionally heard strange groanings and fearsome hissings--shall we not come some day to see all this? [illustration: the riviÈre roxelane near st. pierre, martinique] we take the road to the left and follow down the _rivière roxelane_ to st. pierre. as we join our friends returning from the mountain, they share with us a calabash of wild red strawberries which they bought by the roadside. the berries have that rare, delicious _bouquet_ found only in the wild fruits, and, as one would naturally suppose, have their own funny way of growing; small and pointed and very compact. we hover around the one who holds the calabash until all are gone, and then indolently follow the stream, passing a group of women under a shady mango-tree, spreading heaps of cacao (chocolate) beans on the ground to dry; where we linger, tasting the beans and trying to chat, ever fascinated by the natives and their ways; and then wander on toward the stony pavements and narrow streets of the city; and thence down to the landing-place. night draws over. the quickly falling luminous night of the tropics. how can i bring again the witchery of that vision? the greenly liquid sky, the great yellow moon, the near, the brilliant stars, and the deep, dark morne, covering her wild luxuriance with violet clouds, and back of all "_la montagne_"--_pelée_, the sleeping; the sounds--distant, low, mellow; the moving, glistening phosphorescent water, and martinique, in white slumber, fading astern. chapter viii. island of trinidad. port of spain i. "i'se here, missus; i'se here, waitin' fo' you" (from one of a crowd of chattering spanish, english, french, portuguese creoles, outnumbered by the ever-present black, in every shade, from deep chocolate to light saffron), greets us as we step on land at port of spain, trinidad. we do not feel quite sure which particular one, in all that pushing, scrambling, good-natured crowd, is waiting for us; whether it is the man with the two monkeys, or the man with the green and blue parrot, or the woman with the baskets, or the boy with the shells; but whichever one it is, he's there, and all his friends are there, with everything salable they possess, strung around them, fastened to them, hitched to them, in some fashion--any way to allow them free use of their arms. "well, we're glad you're waiting, sambo. we fully expected to find you here. it wouldn't be trinidad without a monkey or a parrot. we'll buy later. oh, no! not the monkey; we have one at home, and heaven knows that's enough! but maybe, by and by, we'll see about a basket." if there is one thing in the world sister and i can never resist, it's a basket. that distressing mania breaks forth at the slightest provocation; it doesn't seem to make any difference where we are, or how impossible it is to gratify it; difficulties only whet the appetite. the more inopportune the occasion, the more we want the basket. [illustration: the dragon's mouth, entrance to gulf of paria between south america and trinidad] so we stood there on the quay at port of spain, with the lofty headlands of grand old south america away to the south of us, taking their morning bath among the clouds, and off in the north the mountain sweep of trinidad, watching the queer old city at its feet, and betwixt the two, the gulf of paria, loosened from the dragon's mouth, spreading and expanding, with its waters a commingling of the blue of the caribbean and the brown of the near-by orinoco, washing the outstretched feet of the great mother and child; and we stood there, with all this grandeur ablaze in the first light of the morning, wondering if we would better buy the basket right then, on the spot, or whether we should wait until our return. to be sure, we had one big basket--and a beauty, too--from st. thomas, but it was always full, a sort of catch-all for our curious leaves, and seeds, and coral, and beads, and newspapers, and precious bills of fare,--treasured reminders of old balconies and lingering melodies; and it really seemed to be our duty to provide a number two size to carry to market. we could use it in so many ways, and then we wanted another basket. but, before we had time to strike a bargain,--for it's a half-day's work in these ideal lands to buy anything,--some one cried out: "if you are going to the coolie village, you'd better come right now, or the carriages will all be taken!" "who are the coolies?" blue ribbons asked, as we rattled along up frederick street. the answer to her question was squatting not far distant, where some cars, just arrived from san fernando, were being unloaded. his hands were clasped around his thin bare legs; his face, serious, dark, immovable; his hair, black as ink, and straight; on his head, a voluminous white turban bespoke the worshipper of brahma, vishnu, and shiva. it was with mingled sensations of awe and fear that i beheld this unexpected hindoo. his apparent unconcern of mundane affairs recalled not only deeply treasured teachings from his great masters, but, in his eyes, there was the black, unforgotten story of lucknow. it was hard to reconcile the two. it seems that the hindoo "coolie" is imported by the ship-load into trinidad, and indentured for a period of ten years; at the expiration of which time he may return to india at his company's expense, if he so chooses (and he usually does choose to do so, taking home with him a goodly store of gold). he makes a most valuable and reliable labourer, and has really been the salvation of the vast sugar and cacao estates on the island. it has been next to impossible to exact any continuous labour from the negro, without some system of slavery, and had it not been for the hindoo, the resources of trinidad would have been practically undeveloped. the coolies were in evidence everywhere. in fact, they seemed to form a considerable proportion of the population. we do not wonder any longer at the emaciated pictures of the famine-stricken east indians, for here, in a land of plenty, where food, almost ready cooked, is only waiting to drop, the hindoo is the sparest, leanest creature imaginable. his ever-bare legs are not like flesh and blood, but small-boned and thin to emaciation, and almost devoid of calves below the knee; they have the hard statuesque look of bronze stilts. and the arms, too, are thin, and terminate in slender little hands that seem incapable of heavy and prolonged labour. ii. port of spain, compactly, squarely built, and well paved, extends for quite a distance over a flat, alluvial plain to a grassy _savannah_, two and a half miles wide; one side of which, facing the botanical garden and the governor's mansion, brings you to the base of the mountain. the city is neither beautiful nor clean. its architecture, dominated by the taste of the englishman, is about as unattractive as that of our own country. the business streets are dusty, shadeless, and devoid of cleaners, except for the vulture, who, with his long, bare legs, his skinny neck and head, and huge black body, plays the part of city scavenger. these ungainly, hideous, repulsive creatures stalk around everywhere; they are under the horses' feet; they roost on the eave troughs asleep in the sun, sit reflectively on chimney-tops, or come swooping down after some horrible piece of carrion in the street. how can a civilised people be willing to turn the civic house-cleaning over to a lot of vultures? no wonder that plagues and fevers rage upon these beautiful islands. under existing conditions, they surely have the right of way. [illustration: the business section port of spain, trinidad copyright, , by detroit photographic co.] did i understand you to say that the carriages were all gone when you came ashore? come in with us! there, the front seat with the driver is just waiting for you, and really, to walk is hardly safe under this vertical sun. would you mind if we make a stop or two on the way out to the village, for the man of the family must have some fresh white ducks to wear in south america; let us wait for him here in the carriage. it seems pleasant to-day not to make any exertion. i've no doubt we can get a lot of information from the driver, if we question him. he responds, oh! yes, he responds with great ardour, but with what result? one word in ten, we recognise. he thinks, of course, he's speaking english, and i suppose we might better let him think so, but, bless you, if that's english, what are we speaking? it's just another of the west indian surprises. you come to a country which has been under the beneficent english rule for over one hundred years, and you find the natives--the men who drive for you, who row you ashore, who carry your plunder, the women in the market--all speaking an almost unintelligible jargon of french, spanish, portuguese, english, with a little hindustani and chinese thrown in. try the native on your best french, and at every five or six words he brightens up with understanding. take any of the other languages and you have the same result; for your trinidadian understands when he wants to, but woe betide you when you ask a question and want to know the answer. the native in trinidad is bright and quick; he is not like his big lazy lout of a brother down in our southland. he is a mix-up of many people, intelligent and active, and his language tells what a conglomerate he is, and what a happy-go-lucky life he leads. iii. what can be keeping the shoppers so long? we shall certainly have to hunt them up; let us look inside. i have often wondered what our mammoth cheap stores of the north do with their leftover plush albums, china shepherdesses, antiquated ready-made clothing, tin jewelry, their untold unnumbered tons of clap-traps; and now i know. it's all dumped right here in the west indies. from south america to cuba, there is one vast collection of trash imported to catch the pennies of these long-suffering people. it is always difficult to obtain any of the native work; we have to go among the natives themselves for that. one glance at port of spain's emporium, the _great colonial stores of blank and co. limited_, is enough! "mother," said sister, "i have an idea! let's try the deaf and dumb sign-language on the cabby." and she does. it works like a charm. off we swing for the savannah, a great, green, grassy plain, the playground for the trinidadians. here, they have their horse-racing and golf and cricket and polo under the fierce, tropical sun; here, the merry-go-round and pop-stands burst forth every saturday afternoon; here the inevitable "picnic" is held, and as we happen here on a festival day, we see the children--big and little--gathering from every direction. there is something indestructible about the customs of an englishman. he does not change his methods of living, as do other races, but, wherever he goes, he carries from pole to equator the customs and habits of his own country. so he plays golf and cricket and polo in trinidad, when, at its mildest, the heat is about equal to our august. it is on this savannah that we have our first good opportunity of viewing the mighty ceiba tree near at hand. you remember it was a great ceiba to which columbus made fast his ships on the bank of the ozama river in santo domingo? the ceiba may not be the largest tree in the tropics. i do not wish to say it is, for it would seem then that one was limiting to a given scale the grandeur of the tropical tree. there is apparently no limit to anything in the way of size or beauty under these skies. there may be greater trees in the "high wood" than the ceiba, but, in our experience, it was by far the most wide-stretching of anything we had yet seen. one stands before it awed, stupefied by its immensity, its age, its strange manner of growing. and we think over all the words we know to express its size and beauty, and we feel so poor and powerless in expression. [illustration: a village greeting san fernando, trinidad] the ceiba on the wide savannah has endless room in which to spread. it is perfect in form, like a mammoth gray and green umbrella, and reaches out its immense branches toward every side in perfect symmetry. and such branches! they alone are as large as our forest oaks, and they throw themselves out from the trunk horizontally, in stupendous strength. its foliage is rather thin; the power of the tree seems to be spent in trunk and branch. its bark is like an elephant's hide, and its trunk has a strange way of buttressing out its side in huge wings. it is even said to be the worshipped tree of the superstitious black natives--a mysterious sort of _fetich_, the mighty, silk-cotton ceiba. iv. fine residences skirt the savannah, each garden a marvel of beauty, in palms and trees whose names we do not know. each little villa, has its english name plastered upon the gateway. this part of the city is clean, and the road is fine, so we will try to forgive and forget the shabby appearance of the lower town. we pass countless gardens, and then the houses grow fewer, and the gardens turn into banana patches, and the people begin to look different; the negroes disappear, and we are in the beginning of the "coolie village," where a row of thatched roofs, supported by bamboo poles, ranges on either side of a long street, which disappears under an avenue of palms and breadfruit-trees, quite out of sight. and here are the hindoo men and women,--quiet, serious people, displaying very little curiosity about us, going on with their work, just as if we were not near them. what a relief from the hideous faces of the negro are these straight-featured, well-poised east indians! the men dress in white and are not overly clean. it does not look to me as if shirt and turban were often washed, but as their artisans work sitting on the ground, there is really small chance for immaculate linen. it is upon the women that the hindoo displays his sensuous love for colour and jewels. she is his savings-bank. every bit of silver or gold earned is taken to the jeweller to be fashioned into ornaments for her. let us leave the carriage and wander about among these interesting, silent people. little blue ribbons would like to carry away one of those curious silver bracelets the women wear, and as if our thoughts are divined, we are in no time surrounded by a lot of girls who are simply covered with silver and gold. they wear as many as twenty bracelets on each arm, of different designs, some very beautifully twisted into serpents' coils and heads, others engraved with intricate arabesques, others merely crude bands, with a few ornamental lines. every part of the body, where a ring can hang, is covered with ornaments; head, ears, nose, fingers, arms, waist, ankles, toes. and some of the dear little brown babies, from two to five years old, were dressed only in pretty silver whistles, tied about the waist with a black string. we examine many bracelets. the arms held out are more beautiful than any bits of silver about them, and the women have low, sweet voices, and their eyes are brilliant, and their skin is lustrous, and the fascination of the orient is about them. the hindoo women may have a hard time of it in some ways, perhaps, off in east india where the missionaries are, but here in trinidad they have every appearance of being well cared for. daddy is the one who buys the trinkets. he has a way of finding always the most curious and the most beautiful things, and the hindoo women crowding about him, and the little girls, too, seem to have suspected his talent. after examining the wealth of a dozen arms, two silver bands are selected, which, after being carefully washed by a very particular daddy, are snapped about the white wrists of the expectant girlies. he has not only a way with him for finding beautiful curios, but, alas! i must confess he has a decided talent also for discovering beautiful women. my only consolation in the matter is his catholicity of taste, for he shows no preference, as a rule. his is a universal admiration, the simple homage to beauty of an artistic soul, and that comforts me. there is safety in numbers! so it did not surprise me, while we are prowling around back of the huts, in search of some hindoo needlework, to return and discover him chatting in a one-sided conversation with a little girl, about the age of little blue ribbons. she was leaning in a dreamy attitude in the doorway of a shop--the most prosperous one in the village. just then he spies hanging in the shop some odd pipes made of clay. he goes in and buys one or two. the proprietor and his wife are standing behind the counter; she, fat and comfortable, a mass of silver bracelets, smiled at us as we approached; but he, thin as a churchwarden pipe, and solemn, my! solemn enough to be buddha himself, with long, gray hair, curled up at the end, and impassive face, answered our questions about the pipes in precise, curiously clipped oriental english, without once looking at us. his eyes were fixed on something beyond us, and they were the eyes that speak but rarely, and then terribly. daddy praises the shop, the wife's ornaments, and finally the little girl, and asks if he may take her picture. the mother smiles a "yes;" the father just looks outside. immediately the little one is called into an inner room by her mother. she stands in the doorway so we can see what is going on. i cannot tell you how much the mother loads upon her. the straight, low forehead is covered by three circlets of gold and silver; the little ears are weighed down by filigree hoops of gold, reaching to her shoulders; her pretty pierced nostrils hold a delicately fashioned gold plate, which drops below the sweet red lips; a tiny jewelled rose screws into the side of her straight little nose; her graceful neck is loaded with chain after chain, hung with many silver dollars of different countries, while one necklace is of twenty-dollar united states gold pieces. ten of these necklaces drop from the round throat to the slender waist. a band of silver, two inches wade, spans her upper arm, and from the tapering wrist to the shapely little elbow, the brown, soft skin is covered with bracelets. a bright silk skirt falls to the ankles, which, in turn, are encircled by bracelets or anklets, while little rings are fitted to each toe of her slender, shapely feet; and then, to cap the climax, the mother brings out a long yellow scarf and starts to wind it about the little one's head. that was too much. daddy begs the mother off. he wanted to catch the beautiful oval outline of that little head. so the yellow scarf was discarded, and the little one came outside, and stood under the porch against a green, leafy background, and her small hands were folded before her very demurely, and she looked at us with her father's black, serious eyes. all the while, he stands within, like a motionless gray shadow,--absolutely unmoved by our admiration of his daughter. a few feet beyond there is the goldsmith, squatting cross-legged on the ground outside the door of his shanty. this is his shop,--this dirt floor. here, on a bit of cloth, are his wares, very beautiful some of them, masterful pieces of work, and this diminutive bed of charcoal is his furnace, these tiny hammers and pincers are his tools, and that little black anvil is the scene of his daily toil. can it be that, with these few crude tools, he can fashion so wonderfully? his pattern is the insect that hovers for an instant on its flight at noonday; or the sleeping serpent, hidden under the bamboo; or the palm above the village; or the spider's web over the doorway. nature close to him--dear to him--is the master of his art. v. the road on through the village is too beautiful to leave; we must go farther, deeper down among this strangely silent, mysterious people; and we drive on to where the palms meet over our heads, and we get glimpses of the blue and green gulf beyond, and some one tells us--or have we dreamed it?--that, farther on, we shall come to the big white house, and we wonder if we are really ourselves, or some one very unreal out of a book. surely we shall soon awake and rub our eyes and find that we have just been asleep in the library corner, and that we never reached the leper house, and never heard the whispering of hindoo feet; that it was all a daydream, a sweet heavenly dream, made long by some good fairy; but, no, we look at one another, and it must be true, for we hear the waves lapping the beach near by, and the brown, naked coolie babies look wonderingly at us, and we jog along under the fitful showers and sun, and blue ribbons raises the white umbrella, and sister looks ruefully at the sad, discouraged, rain-bespattered ribbons, so it must be real. yes, real; and yet to see the big white house, now visible through the mangoes, and know that within its walls live victims of the most awful disease of all time,--a disease whose origin is lost in the dim vistas of antiquity,--to come thus unexpectedly, in the twentieth century, upon a manifestation of the "sins of the fathers" of thousands of years, we cannot make it seem real to us. had we been off in the south seas, sailing toward molokai, or had we been looking over the hills of galilee, it might have seemed more probable. but to find a leper settlement here, not three miles from a thickly peopled modern city,--a settlement which must be a constant and deadly menace to society,--was beyond my powers of credence. i remember so well, in reading stevenson's account of his visit to the leper settlement in the sandwich islands, that i wondered how he dared go among them, for even so great an object as the vindication of father damien, and lo, here we were, without any warning, almost in the midst of the same plague. although fully aware that leprosy did exist, just as we know that the moon must have form and solidity, it still seemed an uncertain, far-removed possibility,--in a way half-legendary, half fact, a tradition of the far east, a memory of the days of the holy one of nazareth; not a tangible awful reality, to be met and battled with all the force of modern knowledge. i could not convince myself that within a stone's throw were lepers whom we might see, to whom we might speak, and i wondered if it would be safe to enter the enclosure. all this time we drew nearer to the gateway, while the white house in the centre of a large, shady park, fenced in by high iron pickets, seemed to us like the great cross on calvary, raised for the sins of the world. in various parts of the yard, inside that fence, groups of men are sitting on the grass under the shade of great trees. it is white noon. it cannot be possible that these men, lolling about and visiting together, are _lepers_, for, from a distance, they bear no signs of disease about them. they look like the rest of the people we have been amongst all day. they are mostly hindoos (some with a touch of negro blood), very dark of skin, and apparently in good health, that is, viewed at a distance. i must confess that a terrible feeling comes over me as the man of the family--for here we are at the gate, with the horse's head facing the sad white house--suggests that we enter the enclosure. i remember how it was said that the lepers in olden time must cry out: "unclean!" "unclean!" and that he whose garments but swept the shadow of one thus afflicted must undergo a long purification before he could be allowed intercourse with the world once more. as these old stories recur to my memory, and beseech me for my life not to take so great a risk,--but how long it takes to tell it all!--a big, jolly-faced black gatekeeper quiets my apprehensions by saying that we would not be exposed to the least danger whatever; that some of the labourers and attendants have been employed to work among the lepers for years with no bad results. with this comfortable assurance of a doubtful safety from the gateman, the driver whips up, and we move on into the yard, and up the avenue to the hospital, made gruesome by horrid buzzards perching on its roof and eaves in grim expectancy. but it is the coming closer into the deep shade which reveals to us its true significance. from without, this white house is long and low and restful to the eye, and the trees bending over it, with clinging arms, seem to breathe only life and beauty, and the white-coated men here and there under the shade are the labourers resting during the still noon hour. but a nearer approach and a closer acquaintance changes the whole scene. was it upon such wrecks of life that the gentle _saviour_ gazed in pitying love? these are not men; they are pieces,--parts of men, hung together by the long-suffering cord of life. the first leper we see near at hand seems to take an interest in us. the others we have passed lie around in a dull, listless way. i presume they see us, but they evidence no concern other than keeping in the shade. but this leper--i hardly know how to designate him--has more life in him than the others; he is walking about and nods to us as we pass. he has strange, unnatural ears; they are twice the normal size and have nodules on the outer edge. his face is swollen into mushroom-like patches, and deeply seamed by ridges, and yet the skin has apparently the same appearance it had in a state of health, except a little grayer and more lifeless looking. another patient hobbles toward us, and we find that he is walking on stumps of feet, without toe. we throw some pennies to another group, and the one nearest the coin picks it up by making a scoop of his flipper-like palm. his fingers are gone, only little points are left, as if they had been whittled off with a jack-knife. an old man looks at us with one eye, the other eye, eaten away by the relentless advance of the disease, has commenced to run out. these are only the moderately sick patients. [illustration: where the lepers live and die trinidad] as we drive nearer to the hospital, a dozen or so horrible-looking creatures crowd to the end of an upper gallery and stand there, leaning out over the railing, a ghastly picture of misery. i scarcely dare look at them, their faces have been so mutilated by the disease; and others worse there are inside, whom the heroic sisters--romish and protestant--care for and comfort until the living hideous death is at an end and life begins. we move slowly along up the drive, and come quite near to the great archway which leads into the courtyard. there we call to the cabby to stop, and the tall man, who is never afraid of anything, gets out, and his leaving the carriage becomes, unwittingly to us, a signal for the poor lepers to approach. one hurries away from his companion--an emaciated, becrutched hindoo--and comes to within a few feet of us, and just as he does so, our protector turns to me and says: "did you ever think i would find myself talking to a leper just three feet from me?" and, interesting as the experience is, i recoil within myself for fear that the money which we want to give them may necessitate a closer proximity than we desire. but the unfortunate victim understands the situation and keeps his distance, while the tall man coming back to us, stands there with one foot on the carriage-step, still turning toward the leper. by a certain sort of mental telepathy, i know that he cannot say good-bye without leaving some word of cheer for the poor fellow, and just what to say, how to say it, how to express a wish which we know can never be fulfilled, makes a moment's very embarrassing silence. if you had ever been in the presence of such a living, unpitying death, such a picture of horrible hopelessness, and felt it your duty to make the burden easier by some word of cheer, when you had all things--life, health, and happiness--about you, and he only the refuse of a rotten body, if you must presume to tell such a martyr to be brave and all that sort of thing, when you know that his absolutely uncomplaining silence is greater bravery than you, in all your health and vigour, know how to comprehend--well, i tell you it's no use! however optimistic by nature, it's hard to find the words. why, even a parson would be dumb! and so he lingers there uneasily. he looks at the two dear little sweet-faced maidens at my side, so white and clean and fresh and young, and then at the gray, misshapen, mutilated silent figure before him, living his lonely death of agony each day, and says, with a choke, "good-bye,"--that is all. tell me, what would you have said? end of volume i. index botanical garden, the, st. pierre, , - , , , - . boulevard, the, st. pierre, . cape hatteras, , . capot, martinique, . casa blanca, san juan, . castle, the, charlotte amalie, - . cathedral, the, santo domingo, - . ceiba-tree, the, . charlotte amalie, st. thomas, - . castle, the, - . columbus, christopher, - , . columbus, diego, . coolies of trinidad, - , - . coolie village, the, port of spain, - . fer de lance, the, martinique, , - , - . grand hotel, the, st. pierre, - . grande anse, la, martinique, . gros morne, martinique, . gulf stream, . hotel casino bellevue, port au prince, - . leper house, the, port of spain, - . marigot, martinique, . martinique, island of, - . capot, . fer de lance, , - , - . grande anse, la, . gros morne, . marigot, . morne rouge, , . mount pelée, , , . natives, the, , - , - . rivière roxelane, , . morne rouge, martinique, , . morro castle, san juan, , . mount pelée, martinique, , , . natives, the, of martinique, , - , - ; of st. thomas, - , ; of trinidad, - , - . ozama river, , , , - , , . plaza, the, san juan, , - . ponce de leon, - ; square of, san juan, - . port au prince, haïti, , - , , . hotel casino bellevue, - . port of spain, trinidad, - . coolie village, the, - . leper house, the, - . savannah, the, - . quay, the, san juan, - . rivière roxelane, martinique, , . st. croix, island of, . st. john, island of, , . st. pierre, , , , - , , . botanical garden, the, , - , , , - . boulevard, the, . grand hotel, the, - . st. thomas, island of, , , , . natives of, - , . san salvador, . san juan, puerto rico, - , . casa blanca, . morro castle, , . plaza, the, , - . quay, the, - . square of ponce de leon, - . santo domingo, - , . cathedral, the, - . savannah, the, port of spain, - . southern cross, the, . square of ponce de leon, san juan, - . trinidad, island of, - . coolies, the, - , - . natives, the, - , - . windward passage, , . * * * * * typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: her persisent whisper=> her persistent whisper {pg } hayti=> haïti {pg } froudacity ( ) j.j. thomas west indian fables by james anthony froude explained by j. j. thomas contents preface by j.j. thomas book i. introduction: - voyage out: - barbados: - st. vincent: - grenada: - book ii. trinidad: - reform in trinidad: - negro felicity in the west indies: - book iii. social revolution: - west indian confederation: - the negro as a worker: - religion for negroes: - book iv. historical summary or résumé: - , end froudacity preface [ ] last year had well advanced towards its middle--in fact it was already april, --before mr. froude's book of travels in the west indies became known and generally accessible to readers in those colonies. my perusal of it in grenada about the period above mentioned disclosed, thinly draped with rhetorical flowers, the dark outlines of a scheme to thwart political aspiration in the antilles. that project is sought to be realized by deterring the home authorities from granting an elective local legislature, however restricted in character, to any of the colonies not yet enjoying such an advantage. an argument based on the composition of the inhabitants of those colonies is confidently relied upon to confirm the inexorable mood of downing street. [ ] over-large and ever-increasing,--so runs the argument,--the african element in the population of the west indies is, from its past history and its actual tendencies, a standing menace to the continuance of civilization and religion. an immediate catastrophe, social, political, and moral, would most assuredly be brought about by the granting of full elective rights to dependencies thus inhabited. enlightened statesmanship should at once perceive the immense benefit that would ultimately result from such refusal of the franchise. the cardinal recommendation of that refusal is that it would avert definitively the political domination of the blacks, which must inevitably be the outcome of any concession of the modicum of right so earnestly desired. the exclusion of the negro vote being inexpedient, if not impossible, the exercise of electoral powers by the blacks must lead to their returning candidates of their own race to the local legislatures, and that, too, in numbers preponderating according to the majority of the negro electors. the negro legislators thus supreme in the councils of the colonies would straightway proceed to pass vindictive and retaliatory laws against their white fellow- [ ] colonists. for it is only fifty years since the white man and the black man stood in the reciprocal relations of master and slave. whilst those relations subsisted, the white masters inflicted, and the black slaves had to endure, the hideous atrocities that are inseparable from the system of slavery. since emancipation, the enormous strides made in self-advancement by the ex-slaves have only had the effect of provoking a resentful uneasiness in the bosoms of the ex-masters. the former bondsmen, on their side, and like their brethren of hayti, are eaten up with implacable, blood-thirsty rancour against their former lords and owners. the annals of hayti form quite a cabinet of political and social object lessons which, in the eyes of british statesmen, should be invaluable in showing the true method of dealing with ethiopic subjects of the crown. the negro race in hayti, in order to obtain and to guard what it calls its freedom, has outraged every humane instinct and falsified every benevolent hope. the slave-owners there had not been a whit more cruel than slave-owners in the other islands. but, in spite of this, how ferocious, how sanguinary, [ ] how relentless against them has the vengeance of the blacks been in their hour of mastery! a century has passed away since then, and, notwithstanding that, the hatred of whites still rankles in their souls, and is cherished and yielded to as a national creed and guide of conduct. colonial administrators of the mighty british empire, the lesson which history has taught and yet continues to teach you in hayti as to the best mode of dealing with your ethiopic colonists lies patent, blood-stained and terrible before you, and should be taken definitively to heart. but if you are willing that civilization and religion--in short, all the highest developments of individual and social life--should at once be swept away by a desolating vandalism of african birth; if you do not recoil from the blood-guiltiness that would stain your consciences through the massacre of our fellow-countrymen in the west indies, on account of their race, complexion and enlightenment; finally, if you desire those modern hesperides to revert into primeval jungle, horrent lairs wherein the blacks, who, but a short while before, had been ostensibly civilized, shall be revellers, as high-priests and [ ] devotees, in orgies of devil-worship, cannibalism, and obeah--dare to give the franchise to those west indian colonies, and then rue the consequences of your infatuation!... alas, if the foregoing summary of the ghastly imaginings of mr. froude were true, in what a fool's paradise had the wisest and best amongst us been living, moving, and having our being! up to the date of the suggestion by him as above of the alleged facts and possibilities of west indian life, we had believed (even granting the correctness of his gloomy account of the past and present positions of the two races) that to no well-thinking west indian white, whose ancestors may have, innocently or culpably, participated in the gains as well as the guilt of slavery, would the remembrance of its palmy days be otherwise than one of regret. we negroes, on the other hand, after a lapse of time extending over nearly two generations, could be indebted only to precarious tradition or scarcely accessible documents for any knowledge we might chance upon of the sufferings endured in these islands of the west by those of our race who have gone before us. death, with undiscriminating hand, had gathered [ ] in the human harvest of masters and slaves alike, according to or out of the normal laws of nature; while time had been letting down on the stage of our existence drop-scene after drop-scene of years, to the number of something like fifty, which had been curtaining off the tragic incidents of the past from the peaceful activities of the present. being thus circumstanced, thought we, what rational elements of mutual hatred should now continue to exist in the bosoms of the two races? with regard to the perpetual reference to hayti, because of our oneness with its inhabitants in origin and complexion, as a criterion for the exact forecast of our future conduct under given circumstances, this appeared to us, looking at actual facts, perversity gone wild in the manufacture of analogies. the founders of the black republic, we had all along understood, were not in any sense whatever equipped, as mr. froude assures us they were, when starting on their self-governing career, with the civil and intellectual advantages that had been transplanted from europe. on the contrary, we had been taught to regard them as most unfortunate in the circumstances under which [ ] they so gloriously conquered their merited freedom. we saw them free, but perfectly illiterate barbarians, impotent to use the intellectual resources of which their valour had made them possessors, in the shape of books on the spirit and technical details of a highly developed national existence. we had learnt also, until this new interpreter of history had contradicted the accepted record, that the continued failure of hayti to realize the dreams of toussaint was due to the fatal want of confidence subsisting between the fairer and darker sections of the inhabitants, which had its sinister and disastrous origin in the action of the mulattoes in attempting to secure freedom for themselves, in conjunction with the whites, at the sacrifice of their darker-hued kinsmen. finally, it had been explained to us that the remembrance of this abnormal treason had been underlying and perniciously influencing the whole course of haytian national history. all this established knowledge we are called upon to throw overboard, and accept the baseless assertions of this conjuror-up of inconceivable fables! he calls upon us to believe that, in spite of being free, educated, progressive, and at peace with [ ] all men, we west indian blacks, were we ever to become constitutionally dominant in our native islands, would emulate in savagery our haytian fellow-blacks who, at the time of retaliating upon their actual masters, were tortured slaves, bleeding and rendered desperate under the oppressors' lash--and all this simply and merely because of the sameness of our ancestry and the colour of our skin! one would have thought that liberia would have been a fitter standard of comparison in respect of a coloured population starting a national life, really and truly equipped with the requisites and essentials of civilized existence. but such a reference would have been fatal to mr. froude's object: the annals of liberia being a persistent refutation of the old pro-slavery prophecies which our author so feelingly rehearses. let us revert, however, to grenada and the newly-published "bow of ulysses," which had come into my hands in april, . it seemed to me, on reading that book, and deducing therefrom the foregoing essential summary, that a critic would have little more to do, in order to effectually exorcise this negrophobic political hobgoblin, than to appeal to [ ] impartial history, as well as to common sense, in its application to human nature in general, and to the actual facts of west indian life in particular. history, as against the hard and fast white-master and black-slave theory so recklessly invented and confidently built upon by mr. froude, would show incontestably--(a) that for upwards of two hundred years before the negro emancipation, in , there had never existed in one of those then british colonies, which had been originally discovered and settled for spain by the great columbus or by his successors, the conquistadores, any prohibition whatsoever, on the ground of race or colour, against the owning of slaves by any free person possessing the necessary means, and desirous of doing so; (b) that, as a consequence of this non-restriction, and from causes notoriously historical, numbers of blacks, half-breeds, and other non-europeans, besides such of them as had become possessed of their "property" by inheritance, availed themselves of this virtual license, and in course of time constituted a very considerable proportion of the slave-holding section of those communities; (c) that these [ ] dusky plantation-owners enjoyed and used in every possible sense the identical rights and privileges which were enjoyed and used by their pure-blooded caucasian brother-slaveowners. the above statements are attested by written documents, oral tradition, and, better still perhaps, by the living presence in those islands of numerous lineal representatives of those once opulent and flourishing non-european planter-families. common sense, here stepping in, must, from the above data, deduce some such conclusions as the following. first that, on the hypothesis that the slaves who were freed in --full fifty years ago--were all on an average fifteen years old, those vengeful ex-slaves of to-day will be all men of sixty-five years of age; and, allowing for the delay in getting the franchise, somewhat further advanced towards the human life-term of threescore and ten years. again, in order to organize and carry out any scheme of legislative and social retaliation of the kind set forth in the "bow of ulysses," there must be (which unquestionably there is not) a considerable, well-educated, and very influential number surviving of those who had actually [ ] been in bondage. moreover, the vengeance of these people (also assuming the foregoing nonexistent condition) would have, in case of opportunity, to wreak itself far more largely and vigorously upon members of their own race than upon whites, seeing that the increase of the blacks, as correctly represented in the "bow of ulysses," is just as rapid as the diminution of the white population. and therefore, mr. froude's "danger-to-the-whites" cry in support of his anti-reform manifesto would not appear, after all, to be quite so justifiable as he possibly thinks. feeling keenly that something in the shape of the foregoing programme might be successfully worked up for a public defence of the maligned people, i disregarded the bodily and mental obstacles that have beset and clouded my career during the last twelve years, and cheerfully undertook the task, stimulated thereto by what i thought weighty considerations. i saw that no representative of her majesty's ethiopic west indian subjects cared to come forward to perform this work in the more permanent shape that i felt to be not only desirable but essential for our self-vindication. [ ] i also realized the fact that the "bow of ulysses" was not likely to have the same ephemeral existence and effect as the newspaper and other periodical discussions of its contents, which had poured from the press in great britain, the united states, and very notably, of course, in all the english colonies of the western hemisphere. in the west indian papers the best writers of our race had written masterly refutations, but it was clear how difficult the task would be in future to procure and refer to them whenever occasion should require. such productions, however, fully satisfied those qualified men of our people, because they were legitimately convinced (even as i myself am convinced) that the political destinies of the people of colour could not run one tittle of risk from anything that it pleased mr. froude to write or say on the subject. but, meditating further on the question, the reflection forced itself upon me that, beyond the mere political personages in the circle more directly addressed by mr. froude's volume, there were individuals whose influence or possible sympathy we could not afford to disregard, or to esteem lightly. so i deemed it right and a patriotic duty to attempt [ ] the enterprise myself, in obedience to the above stated motives. at this point i must pause to express on behalf of the entire coloured population of the west indies our most heartfelt acknowledgments to mr. c. salmon for the luminous and effective vindication of us, in his volume on "west indian confederation," against mr. froude's libels. the service thus rendered by mr. salmon possesses a double significance and value in my estimation. in the first place, as being the work of a european of high position, quite independent of us (who testifies concerning negroes, not through having gazed at them from balconies, decks of steamers, or the seats of moving carriages, but from actual and long personal intercourse with them, which the internal evidence of his book plainly proves to have been as sympathetic as it was familiar), and, secondly, as the work of an individual entirely outside of our race, it has been gratefully accepted by myself as an incentive to self-help, on the same more formal and permanent lines, in a matter so important to the status which we can justly claim as a progressive, law-abiding, and self-respecting section of her majesty's liege subjects. [ ] it behoves me now to say a few words respecting this book as a mere literary production. alexander pope, who, next to shakespeare and perhaps butler, was the most copious contributor to the current stock of english maxims, says: "true ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those move easiest who have learnt to dance." a whole dozen years of bodily sickness and mental tribulation have not been conducive to that regularity of practice in composition which alone can ensure the "true ease" spoken of by the poet; and therefore is it that my style leaves so much to be desired, and exhibits, perhaps, still, more to be pardoned. happily, a quarrel such as ours with the author of "the english in the west indies" cannot be finally or even approximately settled on the score of superior literary competency, whether of aggressor or defender. i feel free to ignore whatever verdict might be grounded on a consideration so purely artificial. there ought to be enough, if not in these pages, at any rate in whatever else i have heretofore published, that should prove me not so hopelessly stupid and wanting in [ ] self-respect, as would be implied by my undertaking a contest in artistic phrase-weaving with one who, even among the foremost of his literary countrymen, is confessedly a master in that craft. the judges to whom i do submit our case are those englishmen and others whose conscience blends with their judgment, and who determine such questions as this on their essential rightness which has claim to the first and decisive consideration. for much that is irregular in the arrangement and sequence of the subject-matter, some blame fairly attaches to our assailant. the erratic manner in which lie launches his injurious statements against the hapless blacks, even in the course of passages which no more led up to them than to any other section of mankind, is a very notable feature of his anti-negro production. as he frequently repeats, very often with cynical aggravations, his charges and sinister prophecies against the sable objects of his aversion, i could see no other course open to me than to take him up on the points whereto i demurred, exactly how, when, and where i found them. my purpose could not be attained up without direct mention of, or reference to, certain public [ ] employés in the colonies whose official conduct has often been the subject of criticism in the public press of the west indies. though fully aware that such criticism has on many occasions been much more severe than my own strictures, yet, it being possible that some special responsibility may attach to what i here reproduce in a more permanent shape, i most cheerfully accept, in the interests of public justice, any consequence which may result. a remark or two concerning the publication of this rejoinder. it has been hinted to me that the issue of it has been too long delayed to secure for it any attention in england, owing to the fact that the west indies are but little known, and of less interest, to the generality of english readers. whilst admitting, as in duty bound, the possible correctness of this forecast, and regretting the oft-recurring hindrances which occasioned such frequent and, sometimes, long suspension of my labour; and noting, too, the additional delay caused through my unacquaintance with english publishing usages, i must, notwithstanding, plead guilty to a lurking hope that some small fraction of mr. froude's readers will yet be found, [ ] whose interest in the west indies will be temporarily revived on behalf of this essay, owing to its direct bearing on mr. froude and his statements relative to these islands, contained in his recent book of travels in them. this i am led to hope will be more particularly the case when it is borne in mind that the rejoinder has been attempted by a member of that very same race which he has, with such eloquent recklessness of all moral considerations, held up to public contempt and disfavour. in short, i can scarcely permit myself to believe it possible that concern regarding a popular author, on his being questioned by an adverse critic of however restricted powers, can be so utterly dead within a twelvemonth as to be incapable of rekindling. mr. froude's "oceana," which had been published long before its author voyaged to the west indies, in order to treat the queen's subjects there in the same more than questionable fashion as that in which he had treated those of the southern hemisphere, had what was in the main a formal rejoinder to its misrepresentations published only three months ago in this city. i venture to believe that no serious work in defence of an [ ] important cause or community can lose much, if anything, of its intrinsic value through some delay in its issue; especially when written in the vindication of truth, whose eternal principles are beyond and above the influence of time and its changes. at any rate, this attempt to answer some of mr. froude's main allegations against the people of the west indies cannot fail to be of grave importance and lively interest to the inhabitants of those colonies. in this opinion i am happy in being able to record the full concurrence of a numerous and influential body of my fellow-west indians, men of various races, but united in detestation of falsehood and injustice. j.j.t. london, june, . book i: introduction [ ] like the ancient hero, one of whose warlike equipments furnishes the complementary title of his book, the author of "the english in the west indies; or, the bow of ulysses," sallied forth from his home to study, if not cities, at least men (especially black men), and their manners in the british antilles. james anthony froude is, beyond any doubt whatever, a very considerable figure in modern english literature. it has, however, for some time ceased to be a question whether his acceptability, to the extent which it reaches, has not been due rather to the verbal attractiveness than to the intrinsic value and trustworthiness of his opinions and teachings. in fact, so far as a judgment can be formed from examined specimens of his writings, it appears that our [ ] author is the bond-slave of his own phrases. to secure an artistic perfection of style, he disregards all obstacles, not only those presented by the requirements of verity, but such as spring from any other kind of consideration whatsoever. the doubt may safely be entertained whether, among modern british men of letters, there be one of equal capability who, in the interest of the happiness of his sentences, so cynically sacrifices what is due not only to himself as a public instructor, but also to that public whom he professes to instruct. yet, as the too evident plaything of an over-permeable moral constitution, he might set up some plea in explanation of his ethical vagaries. he might urge, for instance, that the high culture of which his books are all so redolent has utterly failed to imbue him with the nil admirari sentiment, which horace commends as the sole specific for making men happy and keeping them so. for, as a matter of fact, and with special reference to the work we have undertaken to discuss, mr. froude, though cynical in his general utterances regarding negroes-of the male sex, be it noted-is, in the main, all extravagance and self-abandonment whenever he [ ] brings an object of his arbitrary likes or dislikes under discussion. at such times he is no observer, much less worshipper, of proportion in his delineations. thorough-paced, scarcely controllable, his enthusiasm for or against admits no degree in its expression, save and except the superlative. hence mr. froude's statement of facts or description of phenomena, whenever his feelings are enlisted either way, must be taken with the proverbial "grain of salt" by all when enjoying the luxury of perusing his books. so complete is his self-identification with the sect or individual for the time being engrossing his sympathy, that even their personal antipathies are made his own; and the hostile language, often exaggerated and unjust, in which those antipathies find vent, secures in his more chastened mode of utterance an exact reproduction none the less injurious because divested of grossness. of this special phase of self-manifestation a typical instance is afforded at page , under the heading of "dominica," in a passage which at once embraces and accentuates the whole spirit and method of the work. to a eulogium of the professional skill and successful [ ] agricultural enterprise of dr. nichol, a medical officer of that colony, with whom he became acquainted for the first time during his short stay there, our author travels out of his way to tack on a gratuitous and pointless sneer at the educational competency of all the elected members of the island legislature, among whom, he tells us, the worthy doctor had often tried in vain to obtain a place. his want of success, our author informs his readers, was brought about through dr. nichol "being the only man in the colony of superior attainments." persons acquainted with the stormy politics of that lovely little island do not require to be informed that the bitterest animosity had for years been raging between dr. nichol and some of the elected members-a fact which our author chose characteristically to regard as justifying an onslaught by himself on the whole of that section of which the foes of his new friend formed a prominent part. swayed by the above specified motives, our author also manages to see much that is, and always has been, invisible to mortal eye, and to fail to hear what is audible to and remarked upon by every other observer. [ ] thus we find him (p. ) describing the grenada carenage as being surrounded by forest trees, causing its waters to present a violet tint; whilst every one familiar with that locality knows that there are no forest trees within two miles of the object which they are so ingeniously made to colour. again, and aptly illustrating the influence of his prejudices on his sense of hearing, we will notice somewhat more in detail the following assertion respecting the speech of the gentry of barbados:-- "the language of the anglo-barbadians was pure english, the voices without the smallest transatlantic intonation." now it so happens that no barbadian born and bred, be he gentle or simple, can, on opening his lips, avoid the fate of peter of galilee when skulking from the peril of a detected nationality: "thy speech bewrayeth thee!" it would, however, be prudent on this point to take the evidence of other englishmen, whose testimony is above suspicion, seeing that they were free from the moral disturbance that affected mr. froude's auditory powers. g. j. chester, in his "transatlantic sketches" (page ), deposes as follows-- [ ] "but worse, far worse than the colour, both of men and women, is their voice and accent. well may coleridge enumerate among the pains of the west indies, 'the yawny-drawny way in which men converse.' the soft, whining drawl is simply intolerable. resemble the worst northern states woman's accent it may in some degree, but it has not a grain of its vigour. a man tells you, 'if you can speer it, to send a beerer with a bottle of bare,' and the clergyman excruciates you by praying in church, 'speer us, good lord.' the english pronunciation of a and e is in most words transposed. barbados has a considerable number of provincialisms of dialect. some of these, as the constant use of 'mistress' for 'mrs.,' are interesting as archaisms, or words in use in the early days of the colony, and which have never died out of use. others are yankeeisms or vulgarisms; others, again, such as the expression 'turning cuffums,' i.e. summersets, from cuffums, a species of fish, seem to be of local origin." in a note hereto appended, the author gives a list of english words of peculiar use and acceptation in barbados. [ ] to the same effect writes anthony trollope: "but if the black people differ from their brethren of the other islands, so certainly do the white people. one soon learns to know--a bim. that is the name in which they themselves delight, and therefore, though there is a sound of slang about it, i give it here. one certainly soon learns to know a bim. the most peculiar distinction is in his voice. there is always a nasal twang about it, but quite distinct from the nasality of a yankee. the yankee's word rings sharp through his nose; not so that of the first-class bim. there is a soft drawl about it, and the sound is seldom completely formed. the effect on the ear is the same as that on the hand when a man gives you his to shake, and instead of shaking yours, holds his own still, &c., &c." ("the west indies," p. ). from the above and scores of other authoritative testimonies which might have been cited to the direct contrary of our traveller's tale under this head, we can plainly perceive that mr. froude's love is not only blind, but adder-deaf as well. we shall now contemplate him under circumstances where his feelings are quite other than those of a partisan. book i: voyage out [ ] that mr. froude, despite his professions to the contrary, did not go out on his explorations unhampered by prejudices, seems clear enough from the following quotation:-- "there was a small black boy among us, evidently of pure blood, for his hair was wool and his colour black as ink. his parents must have been well-to-do, for the boy had been to europe to be educated. the officers on board and some of the ladies played with him as they would play with a monkey. he had little more sense than a monkey, perhaps less, and the gestures of him grinning behind gratings and perching out his long thin arms between the bars were curiously suggestive of the original from whom we are told now that all of us came. the worst of it was that, being lifted above his own people, he had been taught to despise them. he was spoilt as a black and could not be made into a white, and this i found afterwards was the invariable and dangerous consequence whenever a superior negro contrived to raise himself. he might do well enough himself, but his family feel their blood as degradation. his [ ] children will not marry among their own people, and not only will no white girl marry a negro, but hardly any dowry can be large enough to tempt a west indian white to make a wife of a black lady. this is one of the most sinister features in the present state of social life there." we may safely assume that the playing of "the officers on board and some of the ladies" with the boy, "as they would play with a monkey," is evidently a suggestion of mr. froude's own soul, as well as the resemblance to the simian tribe which he makes out from the frolics of the lad. verily, it requires an eye rendered more than microscopic by prejudice to discern the difference between the gambols of juveniles of any colour under similar conditions. it is true that it might just be the difference between the friskings of white lambs and the friskings of lambs that are not white. that any black pupil should be taught to despise his own people through being lifted above them by education, seems a reckless statement, and far from patriotic withal; inasmuch as the education referred to here was european, and the place from which it was obtained presumably england. at all events, [ ] the difference among educated black men in deportment towards their unenlightened fellow-blacks, can be proved to have nothing of that cynicism which often marks the bearing of englishmen in an analogous case with regard to their less favoured countrymen. the statement that a black person can be "spoilt" for such by education, whilst he cannot be made white, is one of the silly conceits which the worship of the skin engenders in ill-conditioned minds. no sympathy should be wasted on the negro sufferer from mortification at not being able to "change his skin." the ethiopian of whatever shade of colour who is not satisfied with being such was never intended to be more than a mere living figure. mr. froude further confidently states that whilst a superior negro "might do well himself," yet "his family feel their blood as a degradation." if there be some who so feel, they are indeed very much to be pitied; but their sentiments are not entitled to the serious importance with which our critic has invested them. but is it at all conceivable that a people whose sanity has never in any way been questioned would strain every nerve to secure for their offspring a [ ] distinction the consequence of which to themselves would be a feeling of their own abasement? the poor irish peasant who toils and starves to secure for his eldest son admission into the catholic priesthood, has a far other feeling than one of humiliation when contemplating that son eventually as the spiritual director of a congregation and parish. similarly, the laudable ambition which, in the case of a humble scotch matron, is expressed in the wish and exertion to see her jamie or geordie "wag his pow in the pou'pit," produces, when realized, salutary effects in the whole family connection. these effects, which mr. froude would doubtless allow and commend in their case, he finds it creditable to ignore the very possibility of in the experience of people whose cuticle is not white. it is, however, but bare justice to say that, as negroes are by no means deficient in self-love and the tenderness of natural affection, such gratifying fulfilment of a family's hopes exerts an elevating and, in many cases, an ennobling influence on every one connected with the fortunate household. nor, from the eminently sympathetic nature of the african race, are the near friends of a family [ ] unbenefited in a similar way. this is true, and distinctively human; but, naturally, no apologist of negro depreciation would admit the reasonableness of applying to the affairs of negroes the principles of common equity, or even of common sense. to sum up practically our argument on this head, we shall suppose west indians to be called upon to imagine that the less distinguished relations respectively of, say, the late solicitor-general of trinidad and the present chief justice of barbados could be otherwise than legitimately elated at the conspicuous position won by a member of their own household. mr. froude further ventures to declare, in this connection, that the children of educated coloured folk "will not marry among their own people." will he tell us, then, whom the daughters marry, or if they ever do marry at all, since he asserts, with regard to west indian whites, that "hardly any dowry can be large enough to tempt them to make a wife of a black lady"? our author evidently does not feel or care that the suggestion he here induces is a hideous slander against a large body of respectable people of whose affairs he is absolutely ignorant. full [ ] of the "go" imparted to his talk by a consciousness of absolute license with regard to negroes, our dignified narrator makes the parenthetical assertion that no white girl (in the west indies) will "marry a negro." but has he been informed that cases upon cases have occurred in those colonies, and in very high "anglo-west indian" families too, where the social degradation of being married to negroes has been avoided by the alternative of forming base private connections even with menials of that race? the marrying of a black wife, on the other hand, by a west indian white was an event of frequent occurrence at a period in regard to which our historian seems to be culpably uninformed. in slavery days, when all planters, black and white alike, were fused in a common solidarity of interests, the skin-distinction which mr. froude so strenuously advocates, and would fain risk so much to promote, did not, so far as matrimony was concerned, exist in the degree that it now does. self-interest often dictated such unions, especially on the part of in-coming whites desiring to strengthen their position and to increase their influence in [ ] the land of their adoption by means of advantageous creole marriages. love, too, sheer uncalculating love, impelled not a few whites to enter the hymeneal state with the dusky captivators of their affections. when rich, the white planter not seldom paid for such gratification of his laudable impulse by accepting exclusion from "society"--and when poor, he incurred almost invariably his dismissal from employment. of course, in all cases of the sort the dispensers of such penalties were actuated by high motives which, nevertheless, did not stand in the way of their meeting, in the households of the persons thus obnoxious to punishment, the same or even a lower class of ethiopic damsels, under the title of "housekeeper," on whom they lavished a very plethora of caresses. perhaps it may be wrong so to hint it, but, judging from indications in his own book, our author himself would have been liable in those days to enthralment by the piquant charms that proved irresistible to so many of his brother-europeans. it is almost superfluous to repeat that the skin-discriminating policy induced as regards the coloured subjects of the queen since the [ ] abolition of slavery did not, and could not, operate when coloured and white stood on the same high level as slave-owners and ruling potentates in the colonies. of course, when the administrative power passed entirely into the hands of british officials, their colonial compatriots coalesced with them, and found no loss in being in the good books of the dominant personages. in conclusion of our remarks upon the above extracts, it may be stated that the blending of the races is not a burning question. "it can keep," as mr. bright wittily said with regard to a subject of similar urgency. time and nature might safely be left uninterfered with to work out whatever social development of this kind is in store for the world and its inhabitants. book i: barbados [ ] our distinguished voyager visited many of the british west indies, landing first at barbados, his social experience whereof is set forth in a very agreeable account. our immediate business, however, is not with what west indian hospitality, especially among the well-to-do classes, can and does accomplish for [ ] the entertainment of visitors, and particularly visitors so eminent as mr. froude. we are concerned with what mr. froude has to say concerning our dusky brethren and sisters in those colonies. we have, thus, much pleasure in being able at the outset to extract the following favourable verdict of his respecting them--premising, at the same time, that the balcony from which mr. froude surveyed the teeming multitude in bridgetown was that of a grand hotel at which he had, on invitation, partaken of the refreshing beverage mentioned in the citation:-- "cocktail over, and walking in the heat of the sun being a thing not to be thought of, i sat for two hours in the balcony, watching the people, who were as thick as bees in swarming time. nine-tenths of them were pure black. you rarely saw a white face, but still less would you see a discontented one, imperturbable good humour and self-satisfaction being written on the features of every one. the women struck me especially. they were smartly dressed in white calico, scrupulously clean, and tricked out with ribands and feathers; but their figures were so good, and they carried themselves so [ ] well and gracefully, that although they might make themselves absurd, they could not look vulgar. like the greek and etruscan women, they are trained from childhood to carry weights on their heads. they are thus perfectly upright, and plant their feet firmly and naturally on the ground. they might serve for sculptors' models, and are well aware of it." regarding the other sex, mr. froude says:-- "the men were active enough, driving carts, wheeling barrows, and selling flying-fish," &c. he also speaks with candour of the entire absence of drunkenness and quarrelling and the agreeable prevalence of good humour and light-heartedness among them. some critic might, on reading the above extract from our author's account of the men, be tempted to ask--"but what is the meaning of that little word 'enough' occurring therein?" we should be disposed to hazard a suggestion that mr. froude, being fair-minded and loyal to truth, as far as is compatible with his sympathy for his hapless "anglo-west indians," could not give an entirely ungrudging testimony in favour of the possible, nay probable, voters by whose suffrages the supremacy of the dark [ ] parliament will be ensured, and the relapse into obeahism, devil-worship, and children-eating be inaugurated. nevertheless, si sic omnia dixisset--if he had said all things thus! yes, if mr. froude had, throughout his volume, spoken in this strain, his occasional want of patience and fairness with regard to our male kindred might have found condonation in his even more than chivalrous appreciation of our womankind. but it has been otherwise. so we are forced to try conclusions with him in the arena of his own selection--unreflecting spokesman that he is of british colonialism, which, we grieve to learn through mr. froude's pages, has, like the bourbon family, not only forgotten nothing, but, unfortunately for its own peace, learnt nothing also. book i: st. vincent [ ] the following are the words in which our traveller embodies the main motive and purpose of his voyage:-- "my own chief desire was to see the human inhabitants, to learn what they were doing, how they were living, and what they were thinking about...." [ ] but, alas, with the mercurialism of temperament in which he has thought proper to indulge when only negroes and europeans not of "anglo-west indian" tendencies were concerned, he jauntily threw to the winds all the scruples and cautious minuteness which were essential to the proper execution of his project. at barbados, as we have seen, he satisfies himself with sitting aloft, at a balcony-window, to contemplate the movements of the sable throng below, of whose character, moral and political, he nevertheless professes to have become a trustworthy delineator. from the above-quoted account of his impressions of the external traits and deportment of the ethiopic folk thus superficially gazed at, our author passes on to an analysis of their mental and moral idiosyncrasies, and other intimate matters, which the very silence of the book as to his method of ascertaining them is a sufficient proof that his knowledge in their regard has not been acquired directly and at first hand. nor need we say that the generally adverse cast of his verdicts on what he had been at no pains to study for himself points to the "hostileness" of the witnesses whose [ ] testimony alone has formed the basis of his conclusions. throughout mr. froude's tour in the british colonies his intercourse was exclusively with "anglo-west indians," whose aversion to the blacks he has himself, perhaps they would think indiscreetly, placed on record. in no instance do we find that he condescended to visit the abode of any negro, whether it was the mansion of a gentleman or the hut of a peasant of that race. the whole tenor of the book indicates his rigid adherence to this one-sided course, and suggests also that, as a traveller, mr. froude considers maligning on hearsay to be just as convenient as reporting facts elicited by personal investigation. proceed we, however, to strengthen our statement regarding his definitive abandonment, and that without any apparent reason, of the plan he had professedly laid down for himself at starting, and failing which no trustworthy data could have been obtained concerning the character and disposition of the people about whom he undertakes to thoroughly enlighten his readers. speaking of st. vincent, where he arrived immediately after leaving barbados, our author says:-- [ ] "i did not land, for the time was short, and as a beautiful picture the island was best seen from the deck. the characteristics of the people are the same in all the antilles, and could be studied elsewhere." now, it is a fact, patent and notorious, that "the characteristics of the people are" not "the same in all the antilles." a man of mr. froude's attainments, whose studies have made him familiar with ethnological facts, must be aware that difference of local surroundings and influences does, in the course of time, inevitably create difference of characteristic and deportment. hence there is in nearly every colony a marked dissimilarity of native qualities amongst the negro inhabitants, arising not only from the causes above indicated, but largely also from the great diversity of their african ancestry. we might as well be told that because the nations of europe are generally white and descended from japhet, they could be studied one by the light derived from acquaintance with another. we venture to declare that, unless a common education from youth has been shared by them, the hamitic inhabitants of one island have very little in common with [ ] those of another, beyond the dusky skin and woolly hair. in speech, character, and deportment, a coloured native of trinidad differs as much from one of barbados as a north american black does from either, in all the above respects. book i: grenada [ ] in grenada, the next island he arrived at, our traveller's procedure with regard to the inhabitants was very similar. there he landed in the afternoon, drove three or four miles inland to dine at the house of a "gentleman who was a passing resident," returned in the dark to his ship, and started for trinidad. in the course of this journey back, however, as he sped along in the carriage, mr. froude found opportunity to look into the people's houses along the way, where, he tells us, he "could see and was astonished to observe signs of comfort, and even signs of taste--armchairs, sofas, side-boards with cut-glass upon them, engravings and coloured prints upon the walls." as a result of this nocturnal examination, à vol d'oiseau, he has written paragraph upon paragraph about the people's character [ ] and prospects in the island of grenada. to read the patronizing terms in which our historian-traveller has seen fit to comment on grenada and its people, one would believe that his account is of some half-civilized, out-of-the-way region under british sway, and inhabited chiefly by a horde of semi-barbarian ignoramuses of african descent. if the world had not by this time thoroughly assessed the intrinsic value of mr. froude's utterances, one who knows grenada might have felt inclined to resent his causeless depreciation of the intellectual capacity of its inhabitants; but considering the estimate which has been pretty generally formed of his historical judgment, mr. froude may be dismissed, as regards grenada and its people, with a certain degree of scepticism. such scepticism, though lost upon himself, is unquestionably needful to protect his readers from the hallucination which the author's singular contempt for accuracy is but too liable to induce. those who know grenada and its affairs are perfectly familiar with the fact that all of its chief intellectual business, whether official (even in the highest degree, such as temporary [ ] administration of the government), legal, commercial, municipal, educational, or journalistic, has been for years upon years carried on by men of colour. and what, as a consequence of this fact, has the world ever heard in disparagement of grenada throughout this long series of years? assuredly not a syllable. on the contrary, she has been the theme of praise, not only for the admirable foresight with which she avoided the sugar crisis, so disastrous to her sister islands, but also for the pluck and persistence shown in sustaining herself through an agricultural emergency brought about by commercial reverses, whereby the steady march of her sons in self-advancement was only checked for a time, but never definitively arrested. in fine, as regards every branch of civilized employment pursued there, the good people of grenada hold their own so well and worthily that any show of patronage, even from a source more entitled to confidence, would simply be a piece of obtrusive kindness, not acceptable to any, seeing that it is required by none. book ii: trinidad / trinidad and reform+ [ ] mr. froude, crossing the ninety miles of the caribbean sea lying between grenada and trinidad, lands next morning in port of spain, the chief city of that "splendid colony," as governor irving, its worst ruler, truly calls it in his farewell message to the legislature. regarding port of spain in particular, mr. froude is positively exuberant in the display of the peculiar qualities that distinguish him, and which we have already admitted. ecstatic praise and groundless detraction go hand in hand, bewildering to any one not possessed of the key to the mystery of the art of blowing hot and cold, which mr. froude so startlingly exemplifies. as it is our purpose to make what he says concerning this colony the crucial test of his veracity as a writer of travels, [ ] and also of the value of his judgments respecting men and things, we shall first invite the reader's attention to the following extracts, with our discussion thereof:-- "on landing we found ourselves in a large foreign-looking town, port of spain having been built by french and spaniards according to their national tendencies, and especially with a view to the temperature, which is that of a forcing house, and rarely falls below °. the streets are broad, and are planted with trees for shade, each house where room permits having a garden of its own, with palms and mangoes and coffee-plants and creepers. of sanitary arrangements there seemed to be none. there is abundance of rain, and the gutters which run down by the footway are flushed almost every day. but they are all open. dirt of every kind lies about freely, to be washed into them or left to putrify as fate shall direct" (p. ). lower down, on the same page, our author, luxuriating in his contempt for exactitude when the character of other folk only is at stake, continues:--"the town has between thirty and forty thousand people living in it, and the [ ] rain and johnny crows between them keep off pestilence." on page we have the following astounding statement with respect to one of the trees in the garden in front of the house in which mr. froude was sojourning:--"at the gate stood as sentinel a cabbage palm a hundred feet high." the above quotations, in which we have elected to be content with indicating by typographical differences the points on which attention should be mostly directed, will suffice, with any one knowing trinidad, as examples of mr. froude's trustworthiness. but as these are only on matters of mere detail, involving no question of principle, they are dismissed without any further comment. it must not be so, however, with the following remarkable deliverances which occur on page of his too picturesque work:--"the commonplace intrudes upon the imaginative. at moments one can fancy that the world is an enchanted place after all, but then comes generally an absurd awakening. on the first night of my arrival, before we went to bed, there came an invitation to me to attend a political meeting which was to be held in a few days on the savannah. [ ] "trinidad is a purely crown colony, and has escaped hitherto the introduction of the election virus. the newspapers and certain busy gentlemen in port of spain had discovered that they were living under a 'degrading tyranny,' and they demanded a constitution. they did not complain that their affairs had been ill-managed. on the contrary, they insisted that they were the most prosperous of the west indian colonies, and alone had a surplus in their treasury. if this was so, it seemed to me that they had better let well alone. the population, all told, was but , , less by thirty thousand than that of barbados. they were a mixed and motley assemblage of all races and colours, busy each with their own affairs, and never hitherto troubling themselves about politics. but it had pleased the home government to set up the beginning of a constitution again in jamaica; no one knew why, but so it was; and trinidad did not choose to be behindhand. the official appointments were valuable, and had been hitherto given away by the crown. the local popularities very naturally wished to have them for themselves. this was the [ ] reality in the thing, so far as there was a reality. it was dressed up in the phrases borrowed from the great english masters of the art, about privileges of manhood, moral dignity, the elevating influence of the suffrage, &c., intended for home consumption among the believers in the orthodox radical faith." the passages which we have signalized in the above quotation, and which occur with more elaboration and heedless assurance on a later page, will produce a feeling of wonder at the hardihood of him who not only conceived, but penned and dared to publish them as well, against the gentlemen whom we all know to be foremost in the political agitation at which mr. froude so flippantly sneers. an emphatic denial may be opposed to his pretence that "they did not complain that their affairs had been ill-managed." why, the very gist and kernel of the whole agitation, set forth in print through long years of iteration, has been the scandalous mismanagement of the affairs of the colony--especially under the baleful administration of governor irving. the augëan stable, miscalled by him "the public works department," and whose officials he coolly [ ] fastened upon the financial vitals of that long-suffering colony, baffled even the resolute will of a des voeux to cleanse it. poor sir sanford freeling attempted the cleansing, but foundered ignominiously almost as soon as he embarked on that herculean enterprise. sir a. e. havelock, who came after, must be mentioned by the historian of trinidad merely as an incarnate accident in the succession of governors to whom the destinies of that maltreated colony have been successively intrusted since the departure of sir arthur hamilton gordon. the present governor of trinidad, sir william robinson, is a man of spirit and intelligence, keenly alive to the grave responsibilities resting on him as a ruler of men and moulder of men's destinies. has he, with all his energy, his public spirit and indisputable devotion to the furtherance of the colony's interests, been able to grapple successfully with the giant evil? has he effectually gained the ear of our masters in downing street regarding the inefficiency and wastefulness of governor irving's pet department? we presume that his success has been but very partial, for otherwise it is difficult to conceive the motive for [ ] retaining the army of officials radiating from that office, with the chief under whose supervision so many architectural and other scandals have for so long been the order of the day. the public works department is costly enough to have been a warning to the whole of the west indies. it is true that the lavish squandering of the people's money by that department has been appreciably checked since the advent of the present head of the government. the papers no longer team with accounts, nor is even the humblest aesthetic sense, offended now, as formerly, with views of unsightly, useless and flimsy erections, the cost of which, on an average, was five times more than that of good and reputable structures. this, however, has been entirely due to the personal influence of the governor. sir william robinson, not being the tool, as sir henry irving owned that he was, of the director of public works, could not be expected to be his accomplice or screener in the cynical waste of the public funds. here, then, is the personal rectitude of a ruler operating as a safeguard to the people's interests; and we gladly confess our entire agreement with [ ] mr. froude on the subject of the essential qualifications of a crown governor. mr. froude contends, and we heartily coincide with him, that a ruler of high training and noble purposes would, as the embodiment of the administrative authority, be the very best provision for the government of colonies constituted as ours are. but he has also pointed out, and that in no equivocal terms, that the above are far from having been indispensable qualifications for the patronage of downing street. he has shown that the colonial office is, more often than otherwise, swayed in the appointment of colonial governors by considerations among which the special fitness of the man appointed holds but a secondary place. on this point we have much gratification in giving mr. froude's own words (p. ):--"among the public servants of great britain there are persons always to be found fit and willing for posts of honour and difficulty if a sincere effort be made to find them. alas! in times past we have sent persons to rule our baratarias to whom sancho panza was a sage--troublesome members of parliament, younger brothers of powerful families, impecunious peers; favourites, [ ] with backstairs influence, for whom a provision was to be found; colonial clerks bred in the office who had been obsequious and useful!" now then, applying these facts to the political history of trinidad, with which we are more particularly concerned at present, what do we find? we find that in the person of sir a. h. gordon ( - ) that colony at length chanced upon a ruler both competent and eager to advance her interests, not only materially, but in the nobler respects that give dignity to the existence of a community. of course, he was opposed--ably, strenuously, violently, virulently--but the metal of which the man was composed was only fused into greater firmness by being subjected to such fiery tests. on leaving trinidad, this eminent ruler left as legacies to the colony he had loved and worked for so heartily, laws that placed the persons and belongings of the inhabitants beyond the reach of wanton aggression; the means by which honest and laborious industry could, through agriculture, benefit both itself and the general revenue. he also left an educational system that opened (to even the humblest) a free pathway to knowledge, to [ ] distinction, and, if the objects of its beneficence were worthy of the boon, to serviceableness to their native country. above all, he left peace among the jarring interests which, under the badge of englishman and of creole, under the badge of catholic and under the badge of protestant, and so many other forms of sectional divergence, had too long distracted trinidad. this he had effected, not by constituting himself a partisan of either section, but by inquiring with statesmanlike appreciation, and allowing the legitimate claims of each to a certain scope of influence in the furtherance of the colony's welfare. hence the bitter rivalry of jarring interests was transformed into harmonious co-operation on all sides, in advancing the common good of the common country. the colonial office, knowing little and caring less about that noble jewel in the british crown, sent out as successor to so brilliant and successful an administrator--whom? one sir james robert longden, a gentleman without initiative, without courage, and, above all, with a slavish adherence to red-tape and a clerk-like dread of compromising his berth. having served for a long series of years in subordinate posts in [ ] minor dependencies, the habit of being impressed and influenced by colonial magnates grew and gathered strength within him. such a ruler, of course, the serpents that had only been "scotched, but not killed," by the stern procedures of governor gordon, could wind round, beguile, and finally cause to fall. measure after measure of his predecessor which he could in any way neutralize in the interests of the colonial clique, was rendered of none effect. in fact, he was subservient to the wishes of those who had all long objected to those measures, but had not dared even to hint their objections to the beneficent autocrat who had willed and given them effect for the general welfare. after governor longden came sir henry turner irving, a personage who brought to trinidad a reputation for all the vulgar colonial prejudices which, discreditable enough in ordinary folk, are, in the governor of a mixed community, nothing less than calamitous. more than amply did he justify the evil reports with which rumour had heralded his coming. abler, more astute, more daring than sir james longden, who was, on the whole, only a constitutionally timid man, governor irving threw [ ] himself heart and soul into the arms of the sugar interest, by whom he had been helped into his high office, and whose belief he evidently shared, that sugar-growers alone should be possessors of the lands of the west indies. it would be wearisome to detail the methods by which every act of sir arthur gordon's to benefit the whole population was cynically and systematically undone by this his native-hating successor. in short, the policy of reaction which sir james longden began, found in governor irving not only a consistent promoter, but, as it were, a sinister incarnation. it is true that he could not, at the bidding and on the advice of his planter-friends, shut up the crown lands of the colony against purchasers of limited means, because they happened to be mostly natives of colour, but he could annul the provision by which every warden in the rural districts, on the receipt of the statutory fees, had to supply a government title on the spot to every one who purchased any acreage of crown lands. every intending purchaser, therefore, whether living at toco, guayaguayare, monos, or icacos, the four extreme points of the island of trinidad, was compelled to go to port of [ ] spain, forty or fifty miles distant, through an almost roadless country, to compete at the sub-intendant's auction sales, with every probability of being outbid in the end, and having his long-deposited money returned to him after all his pains. lieutenant-governor des voeux told the legislature of trinidad that the monstrous excise imposts of the colony were an incentive to smuggling, and he thought that the duties, licenses, &c., should be lowered in the interest of good and equitable government. sir henry turner irving, however, besides raising the duties on spirituous liquors, also enacted that every distillery, however small, must pay a salary to a government official stationed within it to supervise the manufacture of the spirits. this, of course, was the death-blow to all the minor competition which had so long been disturbing the peace of mind of the mighty possessors of the great distilleries. ahab was thus made glad with the vineyard of naboth. in the matter of official appointments, too, governor irving was consistent in his ostentatious hostility to creoles in general, and to coloured creoles in particular. of the fifty-six appointments which that model governor [ ] made in , only seven happened to be natives and coloured, out of a population in which the latter element is so preponderant as to excite the fears of mr. froude. in educational matters, though he could not with any show of sense or decency re-enact the rule which excluded students of illegitimate birth from the advantages of the royal college, he could, nevertheless, pander to the prejudices of himself and his friends by raising the standard of proficiency while reducing the limit of the age for free admission to that institution--boys of african descent having shown an irrepressible persistency in carrying off prizes. every one acquainted with trinidad politics knows very well the ineffably low dodges and subterfuges under which the arima railway was prevented from having its terminus in the centre of that town. the public was promised a saving of eight thousand pounds by their high-minded governor for a diversion of the line "by only a few yards" from the originally projected terminus. in the end it was found out not only that the terminus of the railway was nearly a whole mile outside of the town of arima, but also that twenty [ ] thousand pounds "miscellaneous" had to be paid up by the good folk of trinidad, in addition to gulping down their disappointment at saving no eight thousand pounds, and having to find by bitter experience, especially in rainy weather, that their governor's few yards were just his characteristic way of putting down yards which he well knew were to be counted by hundreds. then, again, we have the so-called san fernando waterworks, an abortion, a scandal for which there is no excuse, as the head of the public works department went his own way despite the experience of those who knew better than he, and the protests of those who would have had to pay. seventeen thousand pounds represent the amount of debt with which governor irving's pet department has saddled the town of san fernando for water, which half the inhabitants cannot get, and which few of the half who do get it dare venture to drink. summa fastigia rerum secuti sumus. if in the works that were so prominent before the public gaze these enormous abuses could flourish, defiant of protest and opposition, what shall we think of the nooks and corners of that same squandering department, which of [ ] course must have been mere gnats in the eyes of a governor who had swallowed so many monstrous camels! the governor was callous. trinidad was a battening ground for his friends; but she had in her bosom men who were her friends, and the struggle began, constitutionally of course, which, under the leadership of the mayor of san fernando, has continued up to now, culminating at last in the reform movement which mr. froude decries, and which his pupil, mr. s. h. gatty, is, from what has appeared in the trinidad papers, doing his "level best" to render abortive. sir sanford freeling, by the will and pleasure of downing street, was the next successor, after governor irving, to the chief ruler-ship of trinidad. incredible as it may sound, he was a yet more disadvantageous bargain for the colony's £ a year. a better man in many respects than his predecessor, he was in many more a much worse governor. the personal affability of a man can be known only to those who come into actual contact with him--the public measures of a ruler over a community touches it, mediately or immediately, throughout all its sections. the bad boldness of [ ] governor irving achieved much that the people, especially in the outlying districts, could see and appreciate. for example, he erected rest-houses all over the remoter and more sparsely peopled quarters of the colony, after the manner of such provisions in oriental lands. the population who came in contact with these conveniences, and to whom access to them--for a consideration--had never been denied, saw with their own eyes tangible evidence of the governor's activity, and inferred therefrom a solicitude on his part for the public welfare. had they, however, been given a notion of the bill which had had to be paid for those frail, though welcome hostelries, they would have stood aghast at the imbecility, or, if not logically that, the something very much worse, through which five times the actual worth of these buildings had been extracted from the treasury. sir sanford freeling, on the other hand, while being no screener of jobbery and peculation, had not the strength of mind whereof jobbers and peculators do stand in dread. in evidence of that poor ruler's infirmity of purpose, we would only cite the double fact that, whereas in he was the first to enter a practical protest against the housing [ ] of the diseased and destitute in the then newly finished, but most leaky, house of refuge on the st. clair lands, by having the poor saturated inmates carried off in his presence to the colonial hospital, yet his excellency was the very man who, in the very next year, , not only sanctioned the shooting down of indian immigrants at their festival, but actually directed the use of buck-shot for that purpose! evidently, if these two foregoing statements are true, mr. froude must join us in thinking that a man whose mind could be warped by external influences from the softest commiseration for the sufferings of his kind, one year, into being the cold-blooded deviser of the readiest method for slaughtering unarmed holiday-makers, the very next year, is not the kind of ruler whom he and we so cordially desiderate. we have already mentioned above how ignominious governor freeling's failure was in attempting to meddle with the colossal abuses of the public works department. sir arthur elibank havelock next had the privilege of enjoying the paradisaic sojourn at queen's house, st. ann's, as well as the four thousand pounds a year attached to the [ ] right of occupying that princely residence. save as a dandy, however, and the harrier of subordinate officials, the writer of the annals of trinidad may well pass him by. so then it may be seen what, by mere freaks of chance--the ruling deity at downing street--the administrative experience of trinidad had been from the departure of that true king in israel,--sir arthur gordon, up to the visit of mr. froude. first, a slave to red-tape, procrastination, and the caprices of pretentious colonialists; next, a daring schemer, confident of the support of the then dominant sugar interest, and regarding and treating the resources of the island as free booty for his friends, sycophants, and favourites; then, an old woman, garbed in male attire, having an infirmity of purpose only too prone to be blown about by every wind of doctrine, alternating helplessly between tenderness and truculence, the charity of a fry and the tragic atrocity of medea. after this dismal ruler, trinidad, by the grace of the colonial office, was subjected to the manipulation of an unctuous dandy. this successor of gordon, of elliot, and of cairns, durst not oppose high-placed official malfeasants, but [ ] was inexorable with regard to minor delinquents. in the above retrospect we have purposely omitted mentioning such transient rulers as mr. rennie, sir g. w. des voeux, and last, but by no means least, sir f. barlee, a high-minded governor, whom death so suddenly and inscrutably snatched away from the good work he had loyally begun. every one of the above temporary administrators was a right good man for a post in which brain power and moral back-bone are essential qualifications. but the fates so willed it that trinidad should never enjoy the permanent governance of either. in view of the above facts; in view also of the lessons taught the inhabitants of trinidad so frequently, so cruelly, what wonder is there that, failing of faith in a probability, which stands one against four, of their getting another worthy ruler when governor robinson shall have left them, they should seek to make hay while the sun shines, by providing against the contingency of such governors as they know from bitter experience that downing street would place over their destinies, should the considerations detailed by mr. froude or any other equally [ ] unworthy counsellor supervene? that the leading minds of trinidad should believe in an elective legislature is a logical consequence of the teachings of the past, when the colony was under the manipulation of the sort of governors above mentioned as immediately succeeding sir arthur gordon. this brings us to the motives, the sordid motives, which mr. froude, oblivious of the responsibility of his high literary status, has permitted himself gratuitously, and we may add scandalously, to impute to the heads of the reform movement in trinidad. it was perfectly competent that our author should decline, as he did decline, to have anything to do, even as a spectator, at a meeting with the object of which he had no sympathy. but our opinion is equally decided that mr. froude has transgressed the bounds of decent political antagonism, nay, even of common sense, when he presumes to state that it was not for any other object than the large salaries of the crown appointments, which they covet for themselves, that the reform leaders are contending. this is not criticism: it is slander. to make culpatory statements against others, [ ] without ability to prove them, is, to say the least, hazardous; but to make accusations to formulate which the accuser is forced, not only to ignore facts, but actually to deny them, is, to our mind, nothing short of rank defamation. mr. froude is not likely to impress the world (of the west indies, at any rate) with the transparently silly, if not intentionally malicious, ravings which he has indulged in on the subject of trinidad and its politics. here are some of the things which this "champion of anglo-west indians" attempts to force down the throats of his readers. he would have us believe that mr. francis damian, the mayor of port of spain, and one of the wealthiest of the native inhabitants of trinidad, a man who has retired from an honourable and lucrative legal practice, and devotes his time, his talents, and his money to the service of his native country; that mr. robert guppy, the venerable and venerated mayor of san fernando, with his weight of years and his sufficing competence, and with his long record of self-denying services to the public; that mr. george goodwille, one of the most successful merchants in the colonies; that mr. conrad [ ] f. stollmeyer, a gentleman retired, in the evening of his days, on his well-earned ample means, are open to the above sordid accusation. in short, that those and such-like individuals who, on account of their private resources and mental capabilities, as well as the public influence resulting therefrom, are, by the sheer logic of circumstances, forced to be at the head of public movements, are actuated by a craving for the few hundred pounds a year for which there is such a scramble at downing street among the future official grandees of the west indies! but granting that this allegation of mr. froude's was not as baseless as we have shown it to be, and that the leaders of the reform agitation were impelled by the desire which our author seeks to discredit them with, what then? have they who have borne the heat and the burden of the day in making the colonies what they are no right to the enjoyment of the fruits of their labours? the local knowledge, the confidence and respect of the population, which such men enjoy, and can wield for good or evil in the community, are these matters of small account in the efficient government of the colony? our author, in [ ] specifying the immunities of his ideal governor, who is also ours, recommends, amongst other things, that his excellency should be allowed to choose his own advisers. by this mr. froude certainly does not mean that the advisers so chosen must be all pure-blooded englishmen who have rushed from the destitution of home to batten on the cheaply obtained flesh-pots of the colonies. at any rate, whatever political fate mr. froude may desire for the colonies in general, and for trinidad in particular, it is nevertheless unquestionable that he and the scheme that he may have for our future governance, in this year of grace , have both come into view entirely out of season. the spirit of the times has rendered impossible any further toleration of the arrogance which is based on historical self-glorification. the gentlemen of trinidad, who are struggling for political enfranchisement, are not likely to heed, except as a matter for indignant contempt, the obtrusion by our author of his opinion that "they had best let well alone." on his own showing, the persons appointed to supreme authority in the colonies are, more usually than not, entirely unfit for [ ] holding any responsible position whatever over their fellows. now, can it be doubted that less care, less scruple, less consideration, would be exercised in the choice of the satellites appointed to revolve, in these far-off latitudes, around the central luminaries? have we not found, are we not still finding every day, that the brain-dizziness--xenophon calls it kephalalgeia+--induced by sudden promotion has transformed the abject suppliants at the downing street backstairs into the arrogant defiers of the opinions, and violators of the rights, of the populations whose subjection to the british crown alone could have rendered possible the elevation of such folk and their impunity in malfeasance? the cup of loyal forbearance reached the overflowing point since the trickstering days of governor irving, and it is useless now to believe in the possibility of a return of the leading minds of trinidad to a tame acquiescence as regards the probabilities of their government according to the crown system. mr. froude's own remarks point out definitely enough that a community so governed is absolutely at the mercy, for good or for evil, of the man who happens to be invested with [ ] the supreme authority. he has also shown that in our case that supreme authority is very often disastrously entrusted. yet has he nothing but sneers for the efforts of those who strive to be emancipated from liability to such subjection. mr. froude's deftly-worded sarcasms about "degrading tyranny," "the dignity of manhood," &c., are powerless to alter the facts. crown colony government--denying, as it does to even the wisest and most interested in a community cursed with it all participation in the conduct of their own affairs, while investing irresponsible and uninterested "birds of passage" (as our author aptly describes them) with the right of making ducks and drakes of the resources wrung from the inhabitants--is a degrading tyranny, which the sneers of mr. froude cannot make otherwise. the dignity of manhood, on the other hand, we are forced to admit, runs scanty chance of recognition by any being, however masculine his name, who could perpetrate such a literary and moral scandal as "the bow of ulysses." yet the dignity of manhood stands venerable there, and whilst the world lasts shall gain for its possessors the right of record on the roll of [ ] those whom the worthy of the world delight to honour. all of a piece, as regards veracity and prudence, is the further allegation of mr. froude's, to the effect that there was never any agitation for reform in trinidad before that which he passes under review. it is, however, a melancholy fact, which we are ashamed to state, that mr. froude has written characteristically here also, either through crass ignorance or through deliberate malice. any respectable, well-informed inhabitant of trinidad, who happened not to be an official "bird of passage," might, on our author's honest inquiry, have informed him that trinidad is the land of chronic agitation for reform. mr. froude might also have been informed that, even forty-five years ago, that is in , an elective constitution, with all the electoral districts duly marked out, was formulated and transmitted by the leading inhabitants of trinidad to the then secretary of state for the colonies. he might also have learnt that on every occasion that any of the shady governors, whom he has so well depicted, manifested any excess of his undesirable qualities, there has been a movement [ ] among the educated people in behalf of changing their country's political condition. we close this part of our review by reiterating our conviction that, come what will, the crown colony system, as at present managed, is doomed. britain may, in deference to the alleged wishes of her impalpable "anglo-west indians"--whose existence rests on the authority of mr. froude alone--deny to trinidad and other colonies even the small modicum prayed for of autonomy, but in doing so the mother country will have to sternly revise her present methods of selecting and appointing governors. as to the subordinate lot, they will have to be worth their salt when there is at the head of the government a man who is truly deserving of his. notes . +it is not clear from the original text exactly where the brief chapter "trinidad" ends and where the longer one entitled "reform in trinidad" begins. (the copy indicates that the "trinidad" chapter ends at page , but the relevant page contains no subheading.) i have, therefore, chosen to fuse the two chapters since they form a logical unit. . +since there is little greek in this work, i have simply transliterated it. book ii: negro felicity in the west indies [ ] we come now to the ingenious and novel fashion in which mr. froude carries out his investigations among the black population, and to his dogmatic conclusions concerning them. he says:-- "in trinidad, as everywhere else, my own chief desire was to see the human inhabitants, to learn what they were doing, how they were living, and what they were thinking about, and this could best be done by drives about the town and neighbourhood." "drives about the town and neighbourhood," indeed! to learn and be able to depict with faithful accuracy what people "were doing, how they were living, and what they were thinking about"--all this being best done (domestic circumstances, nay, soul-workings and all!) through fleeting glimpses of shifting [ ] panoramas of intelligent human beings! what a bright notion! we have here the suggestion of a capacity too superhuman to be accepted on trust, especially when, as in this case, it is by implication self-arrogated. the modesty of this thaumaturgic traveller in confining the execution of his detailed scrutiny of a whole community to the moderate progression of some conventional vehicle, drawn by some conventional quadruped or the other, does injustice to powers which, if possessed at all, might have compassed the same achievement in the swifter transit of an express train, or, better still perhaps, from the empyrean elevation of a balloon! yet is mr. froude confident that data professed to be thus collected would easily pass muster with the readers of his book! a confidence of this kind is abnormal, and illustrates, we think most fully, all the special characteristics of the man. with his passion for repeating, our author tells us in continuation of a strange rhapsody on negro felicity:-- "once more, the earth does not contain any peasantry so well off, so well-cared for, so happy, so sleek and contented, as the sons [ ] and daughters of the emancipated slaves in the english west indian islands." again:-- "under the rule of england, in these islands, the two millions of these brothers-in-law of ours are the most perfectly contented specimens of the human race to be found upon the planet.... if happiness be the satisfaction of every conscious desire, theirs is a condition that admits of no improvement: were they independent, they might quarrel among themselves, and the weaker become the bondsmen of the stronger; under the beneficent despotism of the english government, which knows no difference of colour and permits no oppression, they can sleep, lounge, and laugh away their lives as they please, fearing no danger," &c. now, then, let us examine for a while this roseate picture of arcadian blissfulness said to be enjoyed by british west indian negroes in general, and by the negroes of trinidad in particular. "no distinction of colour" under the british rule, and, better still, absolute protection of the weaker against the stronger! this latter consummation especially, [ ] mr. froude tells us, has been happily secured "under the beneficent despotism" of the crown colony system. however, let the above vague hyperboles be submitted to the test of practical experience, and the abstract government analysed in its concrete relations with the people. unquestionably the actual and direct interposition of the shielding authority above referred to, between man and man, is the immediate province of the magistracy. all other branches of the government, having in themselves no coercive power, must, from the supreme executive downwards, in cases of irreconcilable clashing of interests, have ultimate recourse to the magisterial jurisdiction. putting aside, then, whatever culpable remissness may have been manifested by magistrates in favour of powerful malfeasants, we would submit that the fact of stipendiary justices converting the tremendous, far-reaching powers which they wield into an engine of systematic oppression, ought to dim by many a shade the glowing lustre of mr. froude's encomiums. facts, authentic and notorious, might be adduced in hundreds, especially with respect to [ ] the port of spain and san fernando magistracies (both of which, since the administration of sir j. r. longden, have been exclusively the prizes of briefless english barristers*), to prove that these gentry, far from being bulwarks to the weaker as against the stronger, have, in their own persons, been the direst scourges that the poor, particularly when coloured, have been afflicted by in aggravation of the difficulties of their lot. only typical examples can here be given out of hundreds upon hundreds which might easily be cited and proved against the incumbents of the abovementioned chief stipendiary magistracies. one such example was a matter of everyday discussion at the time of mr. froude's visit. the inhabitants were even backed in their complaints by the governor, who had, in response to their cry of distress, forwarded their prayer [ ] to the home authorities for relief from the hard treatment which they alleged themselves to be suffering at the hands of the then magistrate. our allusion here is to the chief town, port of spain, the magistracy of which embraces also the surrounding districts, containing a total population of between , and , souls. mr. r. d. mayne filled this responsible office during the latter years of sir j. r. longden's governorship. he was reputed, soon after his arrival, to have announced from the bench that in every case he would take the word of a constable in preference to the testimony of any one else. the barbadian rowdies who then formed the major part of the constabulary of trinidad, and whose bitter hatred of the older residents had been not only plainly expressed, but often brutally exemplified, rejoiced in the opportunity thus afforded for giving effect to their truculent sentiments. at that time the bulk of the immigrants from barbados were habitual offenders whom the government there had provided with a free passage to wherever they elected to betake themselves. the more intelligent of the men flocked to the trinidad [ ] police ranks, into which they were admitted generally without much inquiry into their antecedents. on this account they were shunned by the decent inhabitants, a course which they repaid with savage animosity. perjuries the most atrocious and crushing, especially to the respectable poor, became the order of the day. hundreds of innocent persons were committed to gaol and the infamy of convict servitude, without the possibility of escape from, or even mitigation of, their ignominious doom. a respectable woman (a native of barbados, too, who in the time of the first immigration of the better sort of her compatriots had made trinidad her home) was one of the first victims of this iniquitous state of affairs. the class of people to which she belonged was noted as orderly, industrious and law-abiding, and, being so, it had identified itself entirely with the natives of the land of its adoption. this fact alone was sufficient to involve these immigrants in the same lot of persecution which their newly arrived countrymen had organized and were carrying out against the trinidadians proper. it happened that, on the occasion to which we wish particularly [ ] to refer, the woman in question was at home, engaged in her usual occupation of ironing for her honest livelihood. suddenly she heard a heavy blow in the street before her door, and almost simultaneously a loud scream, which, on looking hastily out, she perceived to be the cry of a boy of some ten or twelve years of age, who had been violently struck with the fist by another youth of larger size and evidently his senior in age. the smaller fellow had laid fast hold of his antagonist by the collar, and would not let go, despite the blows which, to extricate himself and in retaliation of the puny buffets of his youthful detainer, he "showered thick as wintry rain." the woman, seeing the posture of affairs, shouted to the combatants to desist, but to no purpose, rage and absorption in their wrathful occupation having deafened both to all external sounds. seized with pity for the younger lad, who was getting so mercilessly the worst of it, the woman, hastily throwing a shawl over her shoulders, sprang into the street and rushed between the juvenile belligerents. dexterously extricating the hand of the little fellow from the collar of his antagonist, she hurried the former [ ] into her gateway, shouting out to him at the same time to fasten the door on the inside. this the little fellow did, and no doubt gladly, as this surcease from actual conflict, short though it was, must have afforded space for the natural instinct of self-preservation to reassert itself. hereupon the elder of the two lads, like a tiger robbed of his prey, sprang furiously to the gate, and began to use frantic efforts to force an entrance. perceiving this, the woman (who meanwhile had not been idle with earnest dissuasions and remonstrances, which had all proved futile) pulled the irate youngster back, and interposed her body between him and the gate, warding him off with her hands every time that he rushed forward to renew the assault. at length a barbadian policeman hove in sight, and was hastily beckoned to by the poor ironer, who, by this time, had nearly come to the end of her strength. the uniformed "bim" was soon on the spot; but, without asking or waiting to hear the cause of the disturbance, he shouted to the volunteer peacemaker, "i see you are fighting: you are my prisoner!" saying this, he clutched the poor thunderstruck creature by the wrist, and there [ ] and then set about hurrying her off towards the police station. it happened, however, that the whole affair had occurred in the sight of a gentleman of well-known integrity. he, seated at a window overlooking the street, had witnessed the whole squabble, from its beginning in words to its culmination in blows; so, seeing that the woman was most unjustly arrested, he went out and explained the circumstances to the guardian of order. but to no purpose; the poor creature was taken to the station, accompanied by the gentleman, who most properly volunteered that neighbourly turn. there she was charged with "obstructing the policeman in the lawful execution of his duty." she was let out on bail, and next day appeared to answer the charge. mr. mayne, the magistrate, presided. the constable told his tale without any material deviation from the truth, probably confident, from previous experience, that his accusation was sufficient to secure a conviction. on the defendant's behalf, the gentleman referred to, who was well known to the magistrate himself, was called, and he related the facts as we have above given them. even mr. mayne [ ] could see no proof of the information, and this he confessed in the following qualified judgment:-- "you are indeed very lucky, my good woman, that the constable has failed to prove his case against you; otherwise you would have been sent to hard labour, as the ordinance provides, without the option of a fine. but as the case stands, you must pay a fine of £ "!!! comment on this worse than scandalous decision would be superfluous. another typical case, illustrative of the truth of mr. froude's boast of the eminent fair play, nay, even the stout protection, that negroes, and generally, "the weaker," have been wont to receive from british magistrates, may be related. an honest, hard-working couple, living in one of the outlying districts, cultivated a plot of ground, upon the produce of which they depended for their livelihood. after a time these worthy folk, on getting to their holding in the morning, used to find exasperating evidence of the plunder overnight of their marketable provisions. determined to discover the depredator, they concealed themselves [ ] in the garden late one night, and awaited the result. by that means they succeeded in capturing the thief, a female, who, not suspecting their presence, had entered the garden, dug out some of the provisions, and was about to make off with her booty. in spite of desperate resistance, she was taken to the police station and there duly charged with larceny. meanwhile her son, on hearing of his mother's incarceration, hastened to find her in her cell, and, after briefly consulting with her, he decided on entering a countercharge of assault and battery against both her captors. whether or not this bold proceeding was prompted by the knowledge that the dispensing of justice in the magistrate's court was a mere game of cross-purposes, a cynical disregard of common sense and elementary equity, we cannot say; but the ultimate result fully justified this abnormal hardihood of filial championship. on the day of the trial, the magistrate heard the evidence on both sides, the case of larceny having been gone into first. for her defence, the accused confined herself to simple denials of the allegations against her, at the [ ] same time entertaining the court with a lachrymose harangue about her rough treatment at the hands of the accusing parties. finally, the decision of the magistrate was: that the prisoner be discharged, and the plundered goods restored to her; and, as to the countercharge, that the husband and wife be imprisoned, the former for three and the latter for two months, with hard labour! when we add that there was, at that time, no governor or chief justice accessible to the poorer and less intelligent classes, as is now the case (sir henry t. irving and sir joseph needham having been respectively superseded by sir william robinson and sir john gorrie), one can imagine what scope there was for similar exhibitions of the protecting energy of british rule. as we have already said, during mr. froude's sojourn in trinidad the "sleek, happy, and contented" people, whose condition "admitted of no improvement," were yet groaning in bitter sorrow, nay, in absolute despair, under the crushing weight of such magisterial decisions as those which i have just recorded. let me add two more [ ] typical cases which occurred during mr. mayne's tenure of office in the island. l. b. was a member of one of those brawling sisterhoods that frequently disturbed the peace of the town of port of spain. she had a "pal" or intimate chum familiarly known as "lady," who staunchly stood by her in all the squabbles that occurred with their adversaries. one particular night, the police were called to a street in the east of the town, in consequence of an affray between some women of the sort referred to. arriving on the spot, they found the fight already over, but a war of words was still proceeding among the late combatants, of whom the aforesaid "lady" was one of the most conspicuous. a list was duly made out of the parties found so engaged, and it included the name of l. b., who happened not to be there, or even in port of spain at all, she having some days before gone into the country to spend a little time with some relatives. the inserting of her name was an inferential mistake on the part of the police, arising from the presence of "lady" at the brawl, she being well known by them to be the inseparable ally of l. b. on such occasions. [ ] it was not unnatural that in the obscurity they should have concluded that the latter was present with her altera ego, when in reality she was not there. the participants in the brawl were charged at the station, and summonses, including one to l. b., were duly issued. on her return to port of spain a day or two after the occurrence, the wrongly incriminated woman received from the landlady her key, along with the magisterial summons that had resulted from the error of the constables. the day of the trial came on, and l. b. stood before mr. mayne, strong in her innocence, and supported by the sworn testimony of her landlady as well as of her uncle from the country, with whom and with his family she had been uninterruptedly staying up to one or two days after the occurrence in which she had been thus implicated. the evidence of the old lady, who, like thousands of her advanced age in the colony, had never even once had occasion to be present in any court of justice, was to the following effect: that the defendant, who was a tenant of hers, had, on a certain morning (naming days before the affray occurred), [ ] come up to her door well dressed, and followed by a porter carrying her luggage. l. b., she continued, then handed her the key of the apartment, informing her at the same time that she was going for some days into the country to her relatives, for a change, and requesting also that the witness should on no account deliver the key to any person who should ask for it during her absence. this witness further deposed to receiving the summons from the police, which she placed along with the key for delivery to l. b. on the latter's return home. the testimony of the uncle was also decisively corroborative of that of the preceding witness, as to the absence from port of spain of l. b. during the days embraced in the defence. the alibi was therefore unquestionably made out, especially as none of the police witnesses would venture to swear to having actually seen l. b. at the brawl. the magistrate had no alternative but that of acquiescing in the proof of her innocence; so he dismissed the charge against the accused, who stood down from among the rest, radiant with satisfaction. the other defendants were duly [ ] convicted, and sentenced to a term of imprisonment with hard labour. all this was quite correct; but here comes matter for consideration with regard to the immaculate dispensation of justice as vaunted so confidently by mr. froude. on receiving their sentence the women all stood down from the dock, to be escorted to prison, except "lady," who, by the way, had preserved a rigid silence, while some of the other defendants had voluntarily and, it may be added, generously protested that l. b. was not present on the occasion of this particular row. "lady," whether out of affection or from a less respectable motive, cried out to the stipendiary justice. "but, sir, it ain't fair. how is it every time that l. b. and me come up before you, you either fine or send up the two of us together, and to-day you are sending me up alone?" moved either by the logic or the pathos of this objurgation, the magistrate, turning towards l. b., who had lingered after her narrow escape to watch the issue of the proceedings, thus addressed her:--"l. b., upon second thoughts i order you to the same term of hard labour at the royal gaol with the [ ] others." the poor girl, having neither money nor friends intelligent enough to interfere on her behalf, had to submit, and she underwent the whole of this iniquitous sentence. the last typical case that we shall give illustrates the singular application by this more than singular judge of the legal maxim caveat emptor. a free coolie possessed of a donkey resolved to utilize the animal in carting grass to the market. he therefore called on another coolie living at some distance from him, whom he knew to own two carts, a small donkey-cart and an ordinary cart for mule or horse. he proposed the purchase of the smaller cart, stating his reason for wishing to have it. the donkey-cart was then shown to the intending purchaser, who, along with two creole witnesses brought by him to make out and attest the receipt on the occasion, found some of the iron fittings defective, and drew the vendor's attention thereto. he, on his side, engaged, on receiving the amount agreed to for the cart, to send it off to the blacksmith for immediate repairs, to be delivered to the purchaser next morning at the latest. on this understanding the purchase money was paid down, and the [ ] receipt, specifying that the sum therein mentioned was for a donkey-cart, passed from the vendor to the purchaser of the little vehicle. next day at about noon the man went with his donkey for the cart. arrived there, his countryman had the larger of the two carts brought out, and in pretended innocence said to the purchaser of the donkey-cart, "here is your cart." on this a warm dispute arose, which was not abated by the presence and protests of the two witnesses of the day before, who had hastily been summoned by the victim to bear out his contention that it was the donkey-cart and not the larger cart which had been examined, bargained for, purchased, and promised to be delivered, the day before. the matter, on account of the sturdiness of the rascal's denials, had to be referred to a court of law. the complainant engaged an able solicitor, who laid the case before mr. mayne in all its transparent simplicity and strength. the defendant, although he had, and as a matter of fact could have, no means of invalidating the evidence of the two witnesses, and above all of his receipt with his signature, relied upon the fact that the cart which he [ ] offered was much larger than the one the complainant had actually bought, and that therefore complainant would be the gainer by the transaction. incredible as it may sound, this view of the case commended itself to the magistrate, who adopted it in giving his judgment against the complainant. in vain did the solicitor protest that all the facts of the case were centred in the desire and intention of the prosecutor to have specifically a donkey-cart, which was abundantly proved by everything that had come out in the proceedings. in vain also was his endeavour to show that a man having only a donkey would be hopelessly embarrassed by having a cart for it which was entirely intended for animals of much larger size. the magistrate solemnly reiterated his decision, and wound up by saying that the victim had lost his case through disregard of the legal maxim caveat emptor--let the purchaser be careful. the rascally defendant thus gained his case, and left the court in defiant triumph. the four preceding cases are thoroughly significant of the original method in which thousands of cases were decided by this model magistrate, to the great detriment, pecuniary, [ ] social, and moral, during more than ten years, of between , and , of the population within the circle of his judicial authority. what shall we think, therefore, of the fairness of mr. froude or his informants, who, prompt and eager in imputing unworthy motives to gentlemen with characters above reproach, have yet been so silent with regard to the flagrant and frequent abuses of more than one of their countrymen by whom the honour and fair fame of their nation were for years draggled in the mire, and whose misdeeds were the theme of every tongue and thousands of newspaper-articles in the west indian colonies? mr. arthur child, s.j.p. we now take san fernando, the next most important magisterial district after port of spain. at the time of mr. froude's visit, and for some time before, the duties of the magistracy there were discharged by mr. arthur child, an "english barrister" who, of course, had possessed the requisite qualification of being hopelessly briefless. for the ideal justice which mr. froude would have britons believe is meted out to the weaker classes by their fellow-countrymen [ ] in the west indies, we may refer the reader to the conduct of the above-named functionary on the memorable occasion of the slaughter of the coolies under governor freeling, in october, . mr. child, as stipendiary justice, had the duty of reading the riot act to the immigrants, who were marching in procession to the town of san fernando, contrary, indeed, to the government proclamation which had forbidden it; and he it was who gave the order to "fire," which resulted fatally to many of the unfortunate devotees of hosein. this mandate and its lethal consequences anticipated by some minutes the similar but far more death-dealing action of the chief of police, who was stationed at another post in the vicinity of san fernando. the day after the shooting down of a total of more than one hundred immigrants, the protecting action of this magistrate towards the weaker folk under his jurisdiction had a striking exemplification, to which mr. froude is hereby made welcome. of course there was a general cry of horror throughout the colony, and especially in the san fernando district, at the fatal outcome of the proclamation, which had mentioned only "fine" and "imprisonment," [ ] but not death, as the penalty of disregarding its prohibitions. for nearly forty years, namely from their very first arrival in the colony, the east indian immigrants had, according to specific agreement with the government, invariably been allowed the privilege of celebrating their annual feast of hosein, by walking in procession with their pagodas through the public roads and streets of the island, without prohibition or hindrance of any kind from the authorities, save and except in cases where rival estate pagodas were in danger of getting into collision on the question of precedence. on such occasions the police, who always attended the processions, usually gave the lead to the pagodas of the labourers of estates according to their seniority as immigrants. in no case up to , after thirty odd years' inauguration in the colony, was the hosein festival ever pretended to be any cause of danger, actual or prospective, to any town or building. on the contrary, business grew brisker and solidly improved at the approach of the commemoration, owing to the very considerable sale of parti-coloured paper, velvet, calico, and similar articles used in the construction [ ] of the pagodas. governor freeling, however, was, it may be presumed, compelled to see danger in an institution which had had nearly forty years' trial, without a single accident happening to warrant any sudden interposition of the government tending to its suppression. at all events, the only action taken in , in prospect of their usual festival, was to notify the immigrants by proclamation, and, it is said, also through authorized agents, that the details of their fête were not to be conducted in the usual manner; and that their appearance with pagodas in any public road or any town, without special license from some competent local authority, would entail the penalty of so many pounds fine, or imprisonment for so many months with hard labour. the immigrants, to whom this unexpected change on the part of the authorities was utterly incomprehensible, both petitioned and sent deputations to the governor, offering guarantees for the, if possible, more secure celebration of the hosein, and praying his excellency to cancel the prohibition as to the use of the roads, inasmuch as it interfered with the essential part of their religious rite, which was the "drowning," or casting into [ ] the sea, of the pagodas. having utterly failed in their efforts with the governor, the coolies resolved to carry out their religious duty according to prescriptive forms, accepting, at the same time, the responsibility in the way of fine or imprisonment which they would thus inevitably incur. a rumour was also current at the time that, pursuant to this resolution, the head men of the various plantations had authorized a general subscription amongst their countrymen, for meeting the contingency of fines in the police courts. all these things were the current talk of the population of san fernando, in which town the leading immigrants, free as well as indentured, had begun to raise funds for this purpose. all that the public, therefore, expected would have resulted from the intended infringement of the proclamation was an enormous influx of money in the shape of fines into the colonial treasury; as no one doubted the extreme facility which existed for ascertaining exactly, in the case of persons registered and indentured to specific plantations, the names and abodes of at least the chief offenders against the proclamation. accordingly, on the [ ] occurrence of the bloody catastrophe related above, every one felt that the mere persistence in marching all unarmed towards the town, without actually attempting to force their way into it, was exorbitantly visited upon the coolies by a violent death or a life-long mutilation. this sentiment few were at any pains to conceal; but as the poorer and more ignorant classes can be handled with greater impunity than those who are intelligent and have the means of self-defence, mr. justice child, the very day after the tragedy, and without waiting for the pro formâ official inquiry into the tragedy in which he bore so conspicuous a part, actually caused to be arrested, sat to try and sent to hard labour, persons whom the police, in obedience to his positive injunctions, had reported to him as having condemned the shooting down of the immigrants! those who were arrested and thus summarily punished had, of course, no means of self-protection; and as the case is typical of others, as illustrative of "justice-made law" applied to "subject races" in a british colony, mr. froude is free to accept it, or not, in corroboration of his unqualified panegyrics. [ ] mr. grove humphrey chapman, s.j.p. as stipendary magistrate of this self-same san fernando district, grove humphrey chapman, esquire (another english barrister), was the immediate predecessor of mr. child. more humane than mr. mayne, his colleague and contemporary in port of spain, this young magistrate began his career fairly well. but he speedily fell a victim to the influences immediately surrounding him in his new position. his head, which later events proved never to have been naturally strong, began to be turned by the unaccustomed deference which he met with on all hands, from high and low, official and non-official, and he himself soon consummated the addling of his brain by persistent practical revolts against every maxim of the ancient nazarenes in the matter of potations. his decisions at the court, therefore, became perfect emulations of those of mr. mayne, as well in perversity as in harshness, and many in his case also were the appeals for relief made to the head of the executive by the inhabitants of the district--but of course in vain. governor irving was at this time in office, and the unfortunate [ ] victims of perverse judgments--occasionally pronounced by this magistrate in his cups--were only poor negroes, coolies, or other persons whose worldly circumstances placed them in the category of the "weaker" in the community. to these classes of people that excellent ruler unhappily denied--we dare not say his personal sympathy, but--the official protection which, even through self-respect, he might have perfunctorily accorded. bent, however, on running through the whole gamut of extravagance, mr. chapman--by interpreting official impunity into implying a direct license for the wildest of his caprices--plunged headlong with ever accelerating speed, till the deliverance of the naparimas became the welcome consequence of his own personal action. on one occasion it was credibly reported in the colony that this infatuated dispenser of british justice actually stretched his official complaisance so far as to permit a lady not only to be seated near him on the judicial bench, but also to take a part--loud, boisterous and abusive--in the legal proceedings of the day. meanwhile, as the governor could not be induced to interfere, things went [ ] on from bad to worse, till one day, as above hinted, the unfortunate magistrate so publicly committed himself as to be obliged to be borne for temporary refuge to the lunatic asylum, whence he was clandestinely shipped from the colony on "six months' leave of absence," never more to resume his official station. the removal of two such magistrates as those whose careers we have so briefly sketched out--mr. mayne having died, still a magistrate, since mr. froude's departure--has afforded opportunity for the restoration of british protecting influence. in the person of mr. llewellyn lewis, as magistrate of port of spain, this opportunity has been secured. he, it is generally rumoured, strives to justify the expectations of fair play and even-handed justice which are generally entertained concerning englishmen. it is, however, certain that with a governor so prompt to hear the cry of the poor as sir william robinson has proved himself to be, and with a chief justice so vigilant, fearless, and painstaking as sir john gorrie, the entire magistracy of the colony must be so beneficially influenced as to preclude [ ] the frequency of appeals being made to the higher courts, or it may be to the executive, on account of scandalously unjust and senseless decisions. so long, too, as the names of t. s. warner, captain larcom, and f. h. hamblin abide in the grateful remembrance of the entire population, as ideally upright, just, and impartial dispensers of justice, each in his own jurisdiction, we can only sigh at the temporal dispensation which renders practicable the appointment and retention in office of such administrators of the law as were mr. mayne and mr. chapman. the widespread and irreparable mischiefs wrought by these men still affect disastrously many an unfortunate household; and the execration by the weaker in the community of their memory, particularly that of robert dawson mayne, is only a fitting retribution for their abuse of power. notes . *a west indian official superstition professes to believe that a british barrister must make an exceptionally good colonial s.j.p., seeing that he is ignorant of everything, save general english law, that would qualify him for the post! in this, to acquit oneself tolerably, some acquaintance with the language, customs, and habits of thought of the population is everywhere else held to be of prime importance,--native conscientiousness and honesty of purpose being definitively presupposed. book iii: social revolution [ ] never was the knight of la mancha more convinced of his imaginary mission to redress the wrongs of the world than mr. james anthony froude seems to be of his ability to alter the course of events, especially those bearing on the destinies of the negro in the british west indies. the doctrinaire style of his utterances, his sublime indifference as to what negro opinion and feelings may be, on account of his revelations, are uniquely charming. in that portion of his book headed "social revolution" our author, with that mixture of frankness and cynicism which is so dear to the soul of the british esprit fort of to-day, has challenged a comparison between british colonial policy on the [ ] one hand, and the colonial policy of france and spain on the other. this he does with an evident recklessness that his approval of spain and france involves a definite condemnation of his own country. however, let us hear him:-- "the english west indies, like other parts of the world, are going through a silent revolution. elsewhere the revolution, as we hope, is a transition state, a new birth; a passing away of what is old and worn out, that a fresh and healthier order may rise in its place. in the west indies the most sanguine of mortals will find it difficult to entertain any such hope at all." as mr. froude is speaking dogmatically here of his, or rather our, west indies, let us hear him as he proceeds:-- "we have been a ruling power there for two hundred and fifty years; the whites whom we planted as our representatives are drifting into ruin, and they regard england and england's policy as the principal cause of it. the blacks whom, in a fit of virtuous benevolence, we emancipated, do not feel particularly obliged to us. they think, if they think at all, that they were [ ] ill-treated originally, and have received no more than was due to them." thus far. now, as to "the whites whom we planted as our representatives," and who, mr. froude avers, are drifting into ruin, we confess to a total ignorance of their whereabouts in these islands in this jubilee year of negro emancipation. of the representatives of britain immediately before and after emancipation we happen to know something, which, on the testimony of englishmen, mr. froude will be made quite welcome to before our task is ended. with respect to mr. froude's statement as to the ingratitude of the emancipated blacks, if it is aimed at the slaves who were actually set free, it is utterly untrue; for no class of persons, in their humble and artless way, are more attached to the queen's majesty, whom they regard as incarnating in her gracious person the benevolence which mr. froude so jauntily scoffs at. but if our censor's remark under this head is intended for the present generation of blacks, it is a pure and simple absurdity. what are we negroes of the present day to be grateful for to the us, personified by mr. froude and the colonial [ ] office exportations? we really believe, from what we know of englishmen, that very few indeed would regard mr. froude's reproach otherwise than as a palpable adding of insult to injury. obliged to "us," indeed! why, mr. froude, who speaks of us as dogs and horses, suggests that the same kindliness of treatment that secures the attachment of those noble brutes would have the same result in our case. with the same consistency that marks his utterances throughout his book, he tells his readers "that there is no original or congenital difference between the capacity of the white and the negro races." he adds, too, significantly: "with the same chances and with the same treatment, i believe that distinguished men would be produced equally from both races." after this truthful testimony, which pelion upon ossa of evidence has confirmed, does mr. froude, in the fatuity of his skin-pride, believe that educated men, worthy of the name, would be otherwise than resentful, if not disgusted, at being shunted out of bread in their own native land, which their parents' labours and taxes have made desirable, in order to afford room to blockheads, vulgarians, [ ] or worse, imported from beyond the seas? does mr. froude's scorn of the negroes' skin extend, inconsistently on his part, to their intelligence and feelings also? and if so, what has the negro to care--if let alone and not wantonly thwarted in his aspirations? it sounds queer, not to say unnatural and scandalous, that englishmen should in these days of light be the champions of injustice towards their fellow-subjects, not for any intellectual or moral disqualification, but on the simple account of the darker skin of those who are to be assailed and thwarted in their life's career and aspirations. really, are we to be grateful that the colour difference should be made the basis and justification of the dastardly denials of justice, social, intellectual, and moral, which have characterized the régime of those who mr. froude boasts were left to be the representatives of britain's morality and fair play? are the negroes under the french flag not intensely french? are the negroes under the spanish flag not intensely spanish? wherefore are they so? it is because the french and spanish nations, who are neither of them inferior in origin or the [ ] nobility of the part they have each played on the historic stage, have had the dignity and sense to understand the lowness of moral and intellectual consciousness implied in the subordination of questions of an imperial nature to the slaveholder's anxiety about the hue of those who are to be benefited or not in the long run. by spain and france every loyal and law-abiding subject of the mother country has been a citizen deemed worthy all the rights, immunities, and privileges flowing from good and creditable citizenship. those meriting such distinction were taken into the bosom of the society which their qualifications recommended them to share, and no office under the government has been thought too good or too elevated for men of their stamp. no wonder, then, that mr. froude is silent regarding the scores of brilliant coloured officials who adorn the civil service of france and spain, and whose appointment, in contrast with what has usually been the case in british colonies, reflects an abiding lustre on those countries, and establishes their right to a foremost place among nations. mr. froude, in speaking of chief justice [ ] reeves, ventures upon a smart truism which we can discuss for him, but of course not in the sense in which he has meant it. "exceptions," our author remarks, "are supposed proverbially to prove nothing, or to prove the very opposite of what they appear to prove. when a particular phenomenon occurs rarely, the probabilities are strong against the recurrence of it." now, is it in ignorance, or through disingenuousness, that mr. froude has penned this argument regarding exceptions? surely, in the vast area of american life, it is not possible that he could see frederick douglass alone out of the cluster of prominent black americans who are doing the work of their country so worthily and so well in every official department. anyhow, mr. froude's history of the emancipation may here be amended for him by a reminder that, in the british colonies, it was not whites as masters, and blacks as slaves, who were affected by that momentous measure. in fact, found in the british colonies very nearly as many negro and mulatto slave-owners as there were white. well then, these black and yellow planters received their quota, it may be presumed, of [ ] the £ , , sterling indemnity. they were part and parcel of the proprietary body in the colonies, and had to meet the crisis like the rest. they were very wealthy, some of these ethiopic accomplices of the oppressors of their own race. their sons and daughters were sent, like the white planter's children, across the atlantic for a european education. these young folk returned to their various native colonies as lawyers and doctors. many of them were also wealthy planters. the daughters, of course, became in time the mothers of the new generation of prominent inhabitants. now, in america all this was different. no "nigger," however alabaster fair, was ever allowed the privileges of common citizenship, let alone the right to hold property in others. if possessed by a weakness to pass for white men, as very many of them could easily have contrived to do, woe unto the poor impostors! they were hunted down from city to city as few felons would be, and finally done to death--"serve them right!" being the grim commentary regarding their fate for having sought to usurp the ineffable privilege of whitemanship! all this, mr. froude, was [ ] the rule, the practice, in america, with regard to persons of colour up to twenty-five years ago. now, sir, what is the phenomenon which strikes your vision in that mighty republic to-day, with regard to those self-same despised, discountenanced, persecuted and harried descendants of ham? we shall tell you of the change that has taken place in their condition, and also some of the reasons of that beneficent revolution. the proclamation of emancipation on january st, , was, by president lincoln, frankly admitted to have been a war necessity. no abstract principle of justice or of morals was of primary consideration in the matter. the saving of the union at any cost,--that is, the stern political emergency forced forth the document which was to be the social salvation of every descendant of ham in the united states of america. close upon the heels of their emancipation, the enfranchisement of the negroes was pushed forward by the thorough-going american statesmen. they had no sentimentality to defer to. the logic of events--the fact not only of the coloured race being freedmen, but also of their having been effective [ ] comrades on the fields of battle, where the blood of eager thousands of them had flowed on the union side, pointed out too plainly that men with such claims should also be partners in the resulting triumph. mr. froude, being so deferential to skin prejudice, will doubtless find it strange that such a measure as the civil rights bill should have passed a congress of americans. assuredly with the feeling against the coloured race which custom and law had engrafted into the very nature of the vast majority, this was a tremendous call to make on the national susceptibilities. but it has been exactly this that has brought out into such vivid contrast the conduct of the british statesman, loudly professing to be unprejudiced as to colour, and fair and humane, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the dealings of the politicians of america, who had, as a matter of fact, sucked in aversion and contempt towards the negro together with their mother's milk. of course no sane being could expect that feelings so deeply ingrained and nourished could be rooted out by logic or by any legislative enactment. but, indeed, it is sublimely creditable to [ ] the american government that, whatever might be the personal and private sentiments of its individual members as regards race, palmam ferat qui meruit--"let him bear the palm who has deserved it"--has been their motto in dealing generally with the claims of their ethiopic fellow-citizens. hence it is that in only twenty-five years america can show negro public officers as thick as blackberries, while mr. froude can mention only mr. justice reeves in fifty years as a sample of the "exceptional" progress under british auspices of a man of african descent! verily, if in fifty long years british policy can recognize only one single exception in a race between which and the white race there is no original or congenital difference of capacity, the inference must be that british policy has been not only systematically, but also too successfully, hostile to the advancement of the ethiopians subject thereto; while the "fair field and no favour" management of the strong-minded americans has, by its results, confirmed the culpability of the english policy in its relation to "subject races." the very suggestive section of "the english [ ] in the west indies," from which we have already given extracts, and which bears the title "social revolution," thus proceeds:-- "but it does not follow that what can be done eventually can be done immediately, and the gulf which divides the colours is no arbitrary prejudice, but has been opened by the centuries of training and discipline which have given us the start in the race" (p. [froude]). the reference in the opening clause of the above citation, as to what is eventually possible not being immediately feasible, is to the elevation of blacks to high official posts, such as those occupied by judge reeves in barbados, and by mr. f. douglass in the united states. we have already disposed by anticipation of the above contention of mr. froude's, by showing that in only twenty-five years america has found hundreds of eminent blacks to fill high posts under her government. our author's futile mixture of judge reeves' exceptional case with that of fred. douglass, which he cunningly singles out from among so many in the united states, is nothing but a subterfuge, of the same queer and flimsy description with which the literature of the cause now championed [ ] by his eloquence has made the world only too familiar. what can mr. froude conceive any sane man should see in common between the action of british and of american statesmanship in the matter now under discussion? if his utterance on this point is that of a british spokesman, let him abide by his own verdict against his own case, as embodied in the words, "the gulf which divides the two colours is no arbitrary prejudice," which, coupled with his contention that the elevation of the blacks is not immediately feasible, discloses the wideness of divergence between british and american political opinion on this identical subject. mr. froude is pathetically eloquent on the colour question. he tells of the wide gulf between the two colours--we suppose it is as wide as exists between his white horse and his black horse. seriously, however, does not this kind of talk savour only too much of the slave-pen and the auction-block of the rice-swamp and the cotton-field; of the sugar-plantation and the driver's lash? in the united states alone, among all the slave-holding powers, was the difference of race and colour invoked openly and boldly to justify all the enormities that [ ] were the natural accompaniments of those "institutions" of the past. but is mr. froude serious in invoking the ostracizing of innocent, loyal, and meritorious british subjects on account of their mere colour? physical slavery--which was no crime per se, mr. froude tells us--had at least overwhelming brute power, and that silent, passive force which is even more potential as an auxiliary, viz., unenlightened public opinion, whose neutrality is too often a positive support to the empire of wrong. but has mr. froude, in his present wild propaganda on behalf of political and, therefore, of social repression, anything analogous to those two above-specified auxiliaries to rely on? we trow not. then why this frantic bluster and shouting forth of indiscreet aspirations on be half of a minority to whom accomplished facts, when not agreeable to or manipulated by themselves, are a perpetual grievance, generating life-long impotent protestations? presumably there are possibilities the thoughts of which fascinate our author and his congeners in this, to our mind, vain campaign in the cause of social retrogression. but, be the incentives what they may, it might not be amiss on our [ ] part to suggest to those impelled by them that the ignoring of negro opinion in their calculations, though not only possible but easily practised fifty years ago, is a portentous blunder at the present time. verbum sapienti. mr. froude must see that he has set about his negro-repression campaign in too blundering a fashion. he evidently expects to be able to throw dust into the eyes of the intelligent world, juggler-wise, through the agency of the mighty pronoun us, as representing the entire anglo-saxon race, in his advocacy of the now scarcely intelligible pretensions of a little coterie of her majesty's subjects in the west indies. these gentry are hostile, he urges, to the presence of progressive negroes on the soil of the tropics! yet are these self-same negroes not only natives, but active improvers and embellishers of that very soil. we cannot help concluding that this impotent grudge has sprung out of the additional fact that these identical negroes constitute also a living refutation of the sinister predictions ventured upon generally against their race, with frantic recklessness, even within the last three decades, by affrighted slave-holders, of whose ravings mr. froude's book is only a [ ] diluted echo, out of season and outrageous to the conscience of modern civilization. it is patent, then, that the matters which mr. froude has sought to force up to the dignity of genetic rivalship, has nothing of that importance about it. his us, between whom and the negro subjects of great britain the gulf of colour lies, comprises, as he himself owns, an outnumbered and, as we hope to prove later on, a not over-creditable little clique of anglo-saxon lineage. the real us who have started ahead of the negroes, "through the training and discipline of centuries," are assuredly not anything like "represented" by the few pretentious incapables who, instead of conquering predominance, as they who deserve it always do, like men, are whimpering like babies after dearly coveted but utterly unattainable enjoyments--to be had at the expense of the interests of the negroes whom they, rather amusingly, affect to despise. when mr. froude shall have become able to present for the world's contemplation a question respecting which the anglo-saxon family, in its grand world-wide predominance, and the african family, in its yet feeble, albeit promising, incipience of self-adjustment, shall [ ] actually be competitors, then, and only then, will it be time to accept the outlook as serious. but when, as in the present case, he invokes the whole prestige of the anglo-saxon race in favour of the untenable pretensions of a few blasés of that race, and that to the social and political detriment of tens of thousands of black fellow-subjects, it is high time that the common sense of civilization should laugh him out of court. the us who are flourishing, or pining, as the case may be, in the british west indies--by favour of the colonial office on the former hypothesis, or, on the second, through the misdirection of their own faculties--do not, and, in the very nature of things, cannot in any race take the lead of any set of men endowed with virile attributes, the conditions of the contest being on all sides identical. pass we onward to extract and comment on other passages in this very engaging section of mr. froude's book. on the same page ( ) he says:-- "the african blacks have been free enough for thousands, perhaps for ten thousands of years, and it has been the absence of restraint which has prevented them from becoming civilized." [ ] all this, perhaps, is quite true, and, in the absence of positive evidence to the contrary of our author's dogmatic assertions, we save time by allowing him all the benefit he can derive from whatever weight they might carry. "generation has followed generation, and the children are as like their fathers as the successive generations of apes." to this we can have nothing to object; especially in view of what the writer goes on to say, and that on his own side of the hedge--somewhat qualified though his admission may be:--"the whites, it is likely enough, succeeded one another with the same similarity for a series of ages." our speculator grows profoundly philosophic here; and in this mood thus entertains his readers in a strain which, though deep, we shall strive to find clear:-- "it is now supposed that human race has been on the planet for a hundred thousand years at least; and the first traces of civilization cannot be thrown back at furthest beyond six thousand. during all this time mankind went on treading in the same steps, century after century making no more advance than the birds and beasts." [ ] in all this there is nothing that can usefully be taken exception to; for speculation and conjecture, if plausible and attractive, are free to revel whenever written documents and the unmistakable indications of the earth's crust are both entirely at fault. warming up with his theme, mr. froude gets somewhat ambiguous in the very next sentence. says he:-- "in egypt or india or one knows not where, accident or natural development quickened into life our moral and intellectual faculties; and these faculties have grown into what we now experience, not in the freedom in which the modern takes delight, but under the sharp rule of the strong over the weak, of the wise over the unwise." our author, as we see, begins his above quoted deliverance quite at a loss with regard to the agency to which the incipience, growth, and fructification of man's faculties should be attributed. "accident," "natural development," he suggests, quickened the human faculties into the progressive achievements which they have accomplished. but then, wherefore is this writer so forcible, so confident in his prophecies regarding negroes and their future temporal condition [ ] and proceedings, since it is "accident," and "accident" only, that must determine their fulfilment? has he so securely bound the fickle divinity to his service as to be certain of its agency in the realization of his forecasts? and if so, where then would be the fortuitousness that is the very essence of occurrences that glide, undesigned, unexpected, unforeseen, into the domain of fact, and become material for history? so far as we feel capable of intelligently meditating on questions of this inscrutable nature, we are forced to conclude that since "natural development" could be so regular, so continuous, and withal so efficient, in the production of the marvellous results that we daily contemplate, there must be existent and in operation--as, for instance, in the case of the uniformity characterizing for ages successive generations of mankind, as above adduced by our philosopher himself--some controlling law, according and subject to which no check has marred the harmonious progression, or prevented the consummations that have crowned the normal exercise of human energy, intellectual as well as physical. the sharp rule of the strong over the [ ] weak, is the first clause of the carlylean-sounding phrase which embodies the requisite conditions for satisfactory human development. the terms expressive of these conditions, however, while certainly suggesting and embracing the beneficent, elevating influence and discipline of european civilization, such as we know and appreciate it, do not by any means exclude the domination of mr. legree or any other typical man-monster, whose power over his fellow-creatures is at once a calamity to the victims and a disgrace to the community tolerating not only its exercise, but the very possibility of its existence. the sharp rule of "the wise over the unwise," is the closing section of the recommendation to ensure man's effective development. not even savages hesitate to defer in all their important designs to the sought-for guidance of superior judgments. but in the case of us west indian blacks, to whom mr. froude's doctrine here has a special reference, is it suggested by him that the bidders for predominance over us on the purely epidermal, the white skin, ground, are ipso facto the monopolists of directing wisdom? it surely cannot be so; for mr. froude's own chapters regarding both the [ ] nomination by downing street of future colonial office-holders and the disorganized mental and moral condition of the indigenous representatives--as he calls them!--of his country in these climes, preclude the possibility that the reference regarding the wise can be to them. now since this is so, we really cannot see why the pains should have been taken to indite the above truism, to the truth whereof, under every normal or legitimate circumstance, the veriest barbarian, by spontaneously resorting to and cheerfully abiding by it, is among the first to secure practical effect. "our own anglo-saxon race," continues our author, "has been capable of self-government only after a thousand years of civil and spiritual authority. european government, european instruction, continued steadily till his natural tendencies are superseded by higher instincts, may shorten the probation period of the negro. individual blacks of exceptional quality, like frederick douglass in america, or the chief justice of barbados, will avail themselves of opportunities to rise, and the freest opportunity ought to be offered them." here we are reminded of the dogma laid down by a certain [ ] class of ethnologists, to the effect that intellectuality, when displayed by a person of mixed european and african blood, must always be assigned to the european side of the parentage; and in the foregoing citation our author speaks of two personages undoubtedly belonging to the class embraced in the above dogma. three specific objections may, therefore, be urged against the statements which we have indicated in the above quotation. first and foremost, neither judge reeves nor mr. fred douglass is a black man, as mr. froude inaccurately represents each of them to be. the former is of mixed blood, to what degree we are not adepts enough to determine; and the latter, if his portrait and those who have personally seen him mislead us not, is a decidedly fair man. we, of course, do not for a moment imagine that either of those eminent descendants of ham cares a jot about the settlement of this question, which doubtless would appear very trivial to both. but as our author's crusade is against the negro--by which we understand the undiluted african descendant, the pure negro, as he singularly describes chief justice reeves--our anxiety is to show that there exist, both [ ] in the west indies and in the united states, scores of genuine black men to whom neither of these two distinguished patriots would, for one instant, hesitate to concede any claim to equality in intellectual and social excellence. the second exception which we take is, as we have already shown in a previous page, to the persistent lugging in of america by mr. froude, doubtless to keep his political countrymen in countenance with regard to the negro question. we have already pointed out the futility of this proceeding on our author's part, and suggested how damaging it might prove to the cause he is striving to uphold. "blacks of exceptional quality," like the two gentlemen he has specially mentioned, "will avail themselves of opportunities to rise." most certainly they will, mr. froude--but, for the present, only in america, where those opportunities are really free and open to all. there no parasitical non-workers are to be found, eager to eat bread, but in the sweat of other people's brows; no impecunious title-bearers; no importunate bores, nor other similar characters whom the government there would regard it as their duty "to provide for"--by quartering them on the revenues [ ] of colonial dependencies. but in the british crown--or rather "anglo-west indian"--governed colonies, has it ever been, can it ever be, thus ordered? our author's description of the exigencies that compel injustice to be done in order to requite, or perhaps to secure, parliamentary support, coupled with his account of the bitter animus against the coloured race that rankles in the bosom of his "englishmen in the west indies," sufficiently proves the utter hypocrisy of his recommendation, that the freest opportunities should be offered to blacks of the said exceptional order. the very wording of mr. froude's recommendation is disingenuous. it is one stone sped at two birds, and which, most naturally, has missed them both. mr. froude knew perfectly well that, twenty-five years before he wrote his book, america had thrown open the way to public advancement to the blacks, as it had been previously free to whites alone. his use of "should be offered," instead of "are offered," betrays his consciousness that, at the time he was writing, the offering of any opportunities of the kind he suggests was a thing still to be desired under british jurisdiction. the third objection [ ] which we shall take to mr. froude's bracketing of the cases of mr. fred douglass and of judge reeves together, is that, when closely examined, the two cases can be distinctly seen to be not in any way parallel. the applause which our author indirectly bids for on behalf of british colonial liberality in the instance of mr. reeves would be the grossest mockery, if accorded in any sense other than we shall proceed to show. fred douglass was born and bred a slave in one of the southern states of the union, and regained his freedom by flight from bondage, a grown man, and, of course, under the circumstances, solitary and destitute. he reached the north at a period when the prejudice of the whites against men of his race was so rampant as to constitute a positive mania. the stern and cruelly logical doctrine, that a negro had no rights which white men were bound to respect, was in full blast and practical exemplification. yet amidst it all, and despite of it all, this gifted fugitive conquered his way into the temple of knowledge, and became eminent as an orator, a writer, and a lecturer on political and general subjects. hailed abroad [ ] as a prodigy, and received with acclamation into the brotherhood of intelligence, abstract justice and moral congruity demanded that such a man should no longer be subject to the shame and abasement of social, legal, and political proscription. the land of his birth proved herself equal to this imperative call of civilized duty, regardless of customs and the laws, written as well as unwritten, which had doomed to life-long degradation every member of the progeny of ham. recognizing in the erewhile bondman a born leader of men, america, with the unflinching directness that has marked her course, whether in good or in evil, responded with spontaneous loyalty to the inspiration of her highest instincts. shamed into compunction and remorse at the solid fame and general sympathy secured for himself by a son of her soil, whom, in the wantonness of pride and power, she had denied all fostering care (not, indeed, for any conscious offending on his part, but by reason of a natural peculiarity which she had decreed penal), america, like a repentant mother, stooped from her august seat, and giving with enthusiasm both hands to the outcast, she helped him to stand forward and erect, [ ] in the dignity of untrammeled manhood, making him, at the same time, welcome to a place of honour amongst the most gifted, the worthiest and most favoured of her children. chief justice reeves, on the other hand, did not enter the world, as douglass had done, heir to a lot of intellectual darkness and legalized social and political proscription. associated from adolescence with s. j. prescod, the greatest leader of popular opinion whom barbados has yet produced, mr. reeves possessed in his nature the material to assimilate and reflect in his own principles and conduct the salient characteristics of his distinguished mentor. arrived in england to study law, he had there the privilege of the personal acquaintance of lord brougham, then one of the nestors of the great emancipation conflict. on returning to his native island, which he did immediately after his call to the bar, mr. reeves sprung at once into the foremost place, and retained his precedence till his labours and aspirations were crowned by his obtaining the highest judicial post in that colony. for long years before becoming chief justice, mr. reeves had conquered for himself the respect and confidence [ ] of all barbadians--even including the ultra exclusive "anglo-west-indians" of mr. froude--by the manful constitutional stand which, sacrificing official place, he had successfully made against the threatened abrogation of the charter of the colony, which every class and colour of natives cherish and revere as a most precious, almost sacred, inheritance. the successful champion of their menaced liberties found clustering around him the grateful hearts of all his countrymen, who, in their hour of dread at the danger of their time-honoured constitution, had clung in despair to him as the only leader capable of heading the struggle and leading the people, by wise and constitutional guidance, to the victory which they desired but could not achieve for themselves. sir william robinson, who was sent out as pacificator, saw and took in at a glance the whole significance of the condition of affairs, especially in their relation to mr. reeves, and vice versâ. with the unrivalled pre-eminence and predominant personal influence of the latter, the colonial office had possessed more than ample means of being perfectly familiar. what, then, could be more natural and consonant with [ ] sound policy than that the then acknowledged, but officially unattached, head of the people (being an eminent lawyer), should, on the occurrence of a vacancy in the highest juridical post, be appointed to co-operate with the supreme head of the executive? mr. reeves was already the chief of the legal body of the colony; his appointment, therefore, as chief justice amounted to nothing more than an official ratification of an accomplished and unalterable fact. of course, it was no fault of england's that the eminent culture, political influence, and unapproached legal status of mr. reeves should have coincided exactly with her political requirements at that crisis, nor yet that she should have utilized a coincidence which had the double advantage of securing the permanent services, whilst realizing at the same time the life's aspiration, of a distinguished british subject. but that mr. froude should be dinning in our ears this case of benefited self-interest, gaining the amplest reciprocity, both as to service and serviceableness, with the disinterested spontaneity of america's elevation of mr. douglass, is but another proof of the obliquity of the moral medium through [ ] which he is wont to survey mankind and their concerns. the distinction between the two marvellous careers which we have been discussing demands, as it is susceptible of, still sharper accentuation. in the final success of reeves, it is the man himself who confronts one in the unique transcendency and victoriousness of personal merit. on the other hand, a million times the personal merit of reeves combined with his own could have availed douglass absolutely nothing in the united states, legal and social proscript that he was, with public opinion generally on the side of the laws and usages against him. the very little countries of the world are proverbial for the production of very great men. but, on the other hand, narrowness of space favours the concentration and coherence of the adverse forces that might impede, if they fail of utterly thwarting, the success which may happen to be grudged by those possessing the will and the power for its obstruction. in barbados, so far as we have heard, read, and seen ourselves of the social ins and outs of that little sister-colony, the operation of the above mentioned [ ] influences has been, may still be, to a certain extent, distinctly appreciable. although in english jurisprudence there is no law ordaining the proscription, on the ground of race or colour, of any eligible candidate for social or political advancement, yet is it notorious that the ethics and practices of the "anglo-west indians"--who, our author has dared to say, represent the higher type of englishmen--have, throughout successive generations, effectually and of course detrimentally operated, as though by a positive medo-persian edict, in a proscriptive sense. it therefore demanded extraordinary toughness of constitutional fibre, moral, mental, and, let us add, physical too, to overcome the obstacles opposed to the progress of merit, too often by persons in intelligence below contempt, but, in prosperity and accepted pretension, formidable indeed to fight against and overcome. we shudder to think of the petty cabals, the underbred indignities, direct and indirect, which the present eminent judge had to watch against, to brush aside, to smile at, in course of his epic strides towards the highest local pinnacle of his profession. but [ ] with him, as time has shown, it was all sure and safe. providence had endowed him with the powers and temperament that break down, when opportunity offers, every barrier to the progress of the gifted and strong and brave. that opportunity, in his particular case, offered itself in the confederation crisis. distracted and helpless "anglo-west indians" thronged to him in imploring crowds, praying that their beloved charter should be saved by the exertion of his incomparable abilities. save and except dr. carrington, there was not a single member of the dominant section in barbados whom it would not be absurd to name even as a near second to him whom all hailed as the champion of their liberties. in the contest to be waged the victory was not, as it never once has been, reserved to the skin or pedigree of the combatants. the above two matters, which in the eyes of the ruling "bims" had, throughout long decades of undisturbed security, been placed before and above all possible considerations, gravitated down to their inherent insignificance when intellect and worth were destined to fight out the issue. mr. [ ] reeves, whose possession of the essential qualifications was admittedly greater than that of every colleague, stood, therefore, in unquestioned supremacy, lord of the political situation, with the result above stated. to what we have already pointed out regarding the absolute impossibility of such an opportunity ever presenting itself in america to mr. douglass, in a political sense, we may now add that, whereas, in barbados, for the intellectual equipment needed at the crisis, mr. reeves stood quite alone, there could, in the bosom of the union, even in respect of the gifts in which mr. douglass was most brilliant, be no "walking over the course" by him. it was in the country and time of bancroft, irving, whittier, longfellow, holmes, bryant, motley, henry clay, dan webster, and others of the laureled phalanx which has added so great and imperishable a lustre to the literature of the english tongue. we proceed here another step, and take up a fresh deliverance of our author's in reference to the granting of the franchise to the black population of these colonies. "it is," says mr. james anthony froude, who is just as prophetic [ ] as his prototypes, the slave-owners of the last half-century, "it is as certain as anything future can be, that if we give the negroes as a body the political privileges which we claim for ourselves, they will use them only to their own injury." the forepart of the above citation reads very much as if its author wrote it on the principle of raising a ghost for the mere purpose of laying it. what visionary, what dreamer of impossible dreams, has ever asked for the negroes as a body the same political privileges which are claimed for themselves by mr. froude and others of his countrymen, who are presumably capable of exercising them? no one in the west indies has ever done so silly a thing as to ask for the negroes as a body that which has not, as everybody knows, and never will be, conceded to the people of great britain as a body. the demand for reform in the crown colonies--a demand which our author deliberately misrepresents--is made neither by nor for the negro, mulatto, white, chinese, nor east indian. it is a petition put forward by prominent responsible colonists--the majority of whom are whites, and mostly britons besides. [ ] their prayer, in which the whole population in these colonies most heartily join, is simply and most reasonably that we, the said colonies, being an integral portion of the british empire, and having, in intelligence and every form of civilized progress, outgrown the stage of political tutelage, should be accorded some measure of emancipation therefrom. and thereby we--white, black, mulatto, and all other inhabitants and tax-payers--shall be able to protect ourselves against the self-seeking and bold indifference to our interests which seem to be the most cherished expression of our rulers' official existence. it may be possible (for he has attempted it), that our new instructor in colonial ethics and politics, under the impulsion of skin-superiority, and also of confidence in the probable success of experiments successfully tried fifty years before, does really believe in the sensibleness of separating colours, and representing the wearers of them as being generally antagonistic to one another in her majesty's west indian dominions. how is it then, we may be permitted to ask mr. froude, that no complaint of the sort formulated by him as against the blacks has ever been put [ ] forward by the thousands of englishmen, scotchmen, irishmen, and other europeans who are permanent inhabitants, proprietors, and tax-payers of these colonies? the reason is that anglo-west indianism, or rather colonialism, is the creed of a few residents sharply divisible into two classes in the west indies. labouring conjointly under race-madness, the first believes that, as being of the anglo-saxon race, they have a right to crow and dominate in whatever land they chance to find themselves, though in their own country they or their forefathers had had to be very dumb dogs indeed. the colonial office has for a long time been responsible for the presence in superior posts of highly salaried gentry of this category, who have delighted in showing themselves off as the unquestionable masters of those who supply them with the pay that gives them the livelihood and position they so ungratefully requite. these fortunate folk, mr. froude avers, are likely to leave our shores in a huff, bearing off with them the civilizing influences which their presence so surely guarantees. go tell to the marines that the seed of israel flourishing in the borders of [ ] misraim will abandon their flourishing district of goshen through sensitiveness on account of the idolatry of the devotees of isis and osiris! the second and less placable class of "englishmen in the west indies," whose final departure our author would have us to believe would complete the catastrophe to progress in the british antilles, is very impalpable indeed. we cannot feel them. we have failed to even see them. true, mr. froude scouts on their behalf the bare notion of their condescending to meet, on anything like equality, us, whom he and they pretend (rather anachronistically, at least) to have been their former slaves, or servants. but where, in the name of heaven, where are these sortis de la cuisse de jupiter, mr. froude? if they are invisible, mourning in impenetrable seclusion over the impossibility of having, as their fathers had before them, the luxury of living at the negroes' expense, shall we negroes who are in the sunshine of heaven, prepared to work and win our way, be anywise troubled in our jubilee by the drivelling ineptitude which insanely reminds us of the miseries of those who went before us? we have thus arrived at the cardinal, [ ] essential misrepresentation, out of scores which compose "the bow of ulysses," and upon which its phrases mainly hinge. semper eadem--"always the same"--has been the proud motto of the mightiest hierarchy that has controlled human action and shaped the destinies of mankind, no less in material than in ghostly concerns. yet is a vast and very beneficial change, due to the imperious spirit of the times, manifest in the roman church. no longer do the stake, the sword, and the dismal horrors of the interdict figure as instruments for assuring conformity and submission to her dogmas. she is now content to rest her claims on herbeneficence in the past, as attested by noble and imperishable memorials of her solicitude for the poor and the ignorant, and in proclaiming the gospel without those ghastly coercives to its acceptance. surely such a change, however unpalatable to those who have been compelled to make it, is most welcome to the outside world at large. "always the same" is also, or should be, the device of the discredited herd whose spokesman mr. froude is so proud to be. in nothing has their historical character, as shown in the published literature of their [ ] cause up to , exhibited any sign of amelioration. it cannot be affected by the spirit and the lessons of the times. mendacity and a sort of judicial blindness seem to be the two most salient characteristics by which are to be distinguished these implacable foes and would-be robbers of human rights and liberty. but, gracious heavens! what can tempt mortals to incur this weight of infamy? wealth and power? to be (very improbably) a croesus or (still more improbably) a bonaparte, and to perish at the conventional age, and of vulgar disease, like both? turpitudes on the part of sane men, involving the sacrifice of the priceless attributes of humanity, can be rendered intelligible by the supreme temporal gains above indicated, but only if exemption from the common lot of mankind--in the shape of care, disease, and death--were accompaniments of those prizes. in favour of slavery, which has for so many centuries desolated the african family and blighted its every chance of indigenous progress--of slavery whose abolition our author so ostentatiously regrets--only one solitary permanent result, extending in every case over [ ] a natural human life, has been paraded by him as a respectable justification. at page , speaking of negroes met by him during a stroll which he took at mandeville, jamaica, he tells us:-- "the people had black faces; but even they had shaped their manners in the old english models. the men touched their hats respectfully (as they eminently did not in kingston and its environs). the women smiled and curtsied, and the children looked shy when one spoke to them. the name of slavery is a horror to us; but there must have been something human and kindly about it, too, when it left upon the character the marks of courtesy and good breeding"! alas for africa and the sufferings of her desolated millions, in view of so light-hearted an assessment as this! only think of the ages of outrage, misery, and slaughter--of the countless hecatombs that mammon is hereby absolved from having directly exacted, since the sufficing expiatory outcome of it all has been only "marks of courtesy and good breeding"! marks that are displayed, forsooth, by the survivors of the ghastly experiences or by [ ] their descendants! and yet, granting the appreciable ethical value of the hat-touching, the smirking and curtseyings of those blacks to persons whom they had no reason to suspect of unfriendliness, or whose white face they may in the white man's country have greeted with a civility perhaps only prudential, we fail to discover the necessity of the dreadful agency we have adverted to, for securing the results on manners which are so warmly commended. african explorers, from mungo park to livingstone and stanley, have all borne sufficient testimony to the world regarding the natural friendliness of the negro in his ancestral home, when not under the influence of suspicion, anger, or dread. it behoves us to repeat (for our detractor is a persistent repeater) that the cardinal dodge by which mr. froude and his few adherents expect to succeed in obtaining the reversal of the progress of the coloured population is by misrepresenting the elements, and their real attitude towards one another, of the sections composing the british west indian communities. everybody knows full well that englishmen, scotchmen, and irishmen (who are not officials), as [ ] well as germans, spaniards, italians, portuguese, and other nationalities, work in unbroken harmony and, more or less, prosper in these islands. these are no cherishers of any vain hankering after a state of things in which men felt not the infamy of living not only on the unpaid labour, but at the expense of the sufferings, the blood, and even the life of their fellow-men. these men, honourable by instinct and of independent spirit, depend on their own resources for self-advancement in the world--on their capital either of money in their pockets or of serviceable brains in their heads, energy in their limbs, and on these alone, either singly or more or less in combination. these reputable specimens of manhood have created homes dear to them in these favoured climes; and they, at any rate, being on the very best terms with all sections of the community in which their lot is cast, have a common cause as fellow-sufferers under the régime of mr. froude's official "birds of passage." the agitation in trinidad tells its own tale. there is not a single black man--though there should have been many--among the leaders of the movement for reform. nevertheless the honourable [ ] and truthful author of "the english in the west indies," in order to invent a plausible pretext for his sinister labours of love on behalf of the poor pro-slavery survivals, and despite his knowledge that sturdy britons are at the head of the agitation, coolly tells the world that it is a struggle to secure "negro domination." the further allegation of our author respecting the black man is curious and, of course, dismally prophetic. as the reader may perhaps recollect, it is to the effect that granting political power to the negroes as a body, equal in scope "to that claimed by us" (i.e., mr. froude and his friends), would certainly result in the use of these powers by the negroes to their own injury. and wherefore? if mr. froude professes to believe--what is a fact--that there is "no original or congenital difference of capacity" between the white and the african races, where is the consistency of his urging a contention which implies inferiority in natural shrewdness, as regards their own affairs, on the part of black men? does this blower of the two extremes of temperature in the same breath pretend that the average british voter is better informed, can see more clearly what is for his own advantage, [ ] is better able to assess the relative merits of persons to be entrusted with the spending of his taxes, and the general management of his interests? if mr. froude means all this, he is at issue not only with his own specific declaration to the contrary, but with facts of overwhelming weight and number showing precisely the reverse. we have personally had frequent opportunities of coming into contact, both in and out of england, with natives of great britain, not of the agricultural order alone, but very often of the artisan class, whose ignorance of the commonest matters was as dense as it was discreditable to the land of their birth and breeding. are these people included (on account of having his favourite sine quâ non of a fair skin) in the us of this apostle of skin-worship, in the indefeasible right to political power which is denied to blacks by reason, or rather non-reason, of their complexion? the fact is, that, judging by his own sentiments and those of his anglo-west indian friends, mr. froude calculated on producing an impression in favour of their discreditable views by purposely keeping out of sight the numerous european and other sufferers under the yoke [ ] which he sneers at seeing described by its proper appellation of "a degrading tyranny." the prescriptive unfavourable forecast of our author respecting political power in the hands of the blacks may, in our opinion, be hailed as a warrant for its bestowal by those in whose power that bestowal may be. as a pro-slavery prophecy, equally dismal and equally confident with the hundreds that preceded it, this new vaticination may safely be left to be practically dealt with by the race, victimized and maligned, whose real genius and character are purposely belied by those who expect to be gainers by the process. invested with political power, the negroes, mr. froude goes on to assure his readers, "will slide back into their old condition, and the chance will be gone of lifting them to the level to which we have no right to say they are incapable of rising." how touchingly sympathetic! how transcendently liberal and righteous! but, to speak the truth, is not this solicitude of our cynical defamer on our behalf, after all, a useless waste of emotion on his part? timeo danaos et dona ferentes.+ the tears of the crocodile are most copious in close view of the banquet on his prey. this [ ] reiterated twaddle of mr. froude, in futile and unseasonable echo of the congenial predictions of his predecessors in the same line, might be left to receive not only the answer of his own book to the selfsame talk of the slavers fifty years ago, but also that of the accumulated refutations which america has furnished for the last twenty-five years as to the retrograde tendency so falsely imputed. but, taking it as a serious contention, we find that it involves a suggestion that the according of electoral votes to citizens of a certain complexion would, per se and ipso facto, produce a revulsion and collapse of the entire prevailing organization and order of a civilized community. what talismanic virtue this prophet of evil attributes to a vote in the hand of a negro out of barbados, where for years the black man's vote has been operating, harmlessly enough, heaven knows, we cannot imagine. at all events, as sliding back on the part of a community is a matter which would require some appreciable time, however brief, let us hope that the authorities charged "to see that the state receive no detriment" would be vigilant enough and in time to arrest the evil and vindicate [ ] the efficiency of the civilized methods of self-preservation. our author concludes by another reference to chief justice reeves: "let british authority die away, and the average black nature, such as it now is, be left free to assert itself, there will be no more negroes like him in barbadoes or anywhere." how the dying away of british authority in a british colony is to come to pass, mr. froude does not condescend here explicitly to state. but we are left free to infer from the whole drift of "the english in the west indies" that it will come through the exodus en masse said to be threatened by his "anglo-west indians." mr. froude sympathetically justifies the disgust and exasperation of these reputable folk at the presence and progress of the race for whose freedom and ultimate elevation britain was so lavish of the wealth of her noblest intellects, besides paying the prodigious money-ransom of twenty million pounds sterling. with regard to our author's talk about "the average black nature, such as it now exists, being left free to assert itself," and the dire consequences therefrom to result, we can only feel pity at the desperate straits to [ ] which, in his search for a pretext for gratuitous slander, a man of our author's capacity has been so ignominiously reduced. all we can say to him with reference to this portion of his violent suppositions is that "the average black nature, such as it now exists," should not, in a civilized community, be left free to assert itself, any more than the average white, the average brown, the average red, or indeed any average colour of human nature whatsoever. as self-defence is the first law of nature, it has followed that every condition of organized society, however simple or primitive, is furnished with some recognized means of self-protection against the free assertion of itself by the average nature of any of its members. of course, if things should ever turn out according to mr. froude's desperate hypothesis, it may also happen that there will be no more negroes like mr. justice reeves in barbados. but the addition of the words "or anywhere" to the above statement is just another of those suppressions of the truth which, absolutely futile though they are, constitute the only means by which the policy he writes to promote can possibly be made to [ ] appear even tolerable. the assertion of our author, therefore, standing as it actually does, embracing the whole world, is nothing less than an audacious absurdity, for there stand the united states, the french and spanish islands--not to speak of the central and south american republics, mexico, and brazil--all thronged with black, mixed blood, and even half-breed high officials, staring him and the whole world in the face. the above noted suppression of the truth to the detriment of the obnoxious population recalls a passage wherein the suggestion of what is not the truth has been resorted to for the same purpose. at page we read: "the disproportion of the two races--always dangerously large--has increased with ever-gathering velocity since the emancipation. it is now beyond control on the old lines." the use of the expletive "dangerously," as suggestive of the truculence of the people to whom it refers, is critically allowable in view of the main intention of the author. but what shall we say of the suggestion contained in the very next sentence, which we have italicized? we are required by it to understand that in slavery-time the [ ] planters had some organized method, rendered impracticable by the emancipation, of checking, for their own personal safety, the growth of the coloured population. if we, in deference to the superior mental capacity of our author, admit that self-interest was no irresistible motive for promoting the growth of the human "property" on which their prosperity depended, we are yet at liberty to ask what was the nature of the "old lines" followed for controlling the increase under discussion. was it suffocation of the babes by means of sulphur fumes, the use of beetle-paste, or exposure on the banks of the caribbean rivers? in the later case history evidently lost a chance of self-repetition in the person of some leader like moses, the hebra-egyptian spartacus, arising to avenge and deliver his people. we now shall note how he proceeds to descant on slavery itself:--"slavery," says he, "was a survival from a social order which had passed away, and slavery could not be continued. it does not follow that per se it was a crime. the negroes who were sold to the dealers in the factories were most of them either slaves already to worse masters or were servi, servants [ ] in the old meaning of the word, or else criminals, servati or reserved from death. they would otherwise have been killed, and since the slave trade has been abolished, are again killed in the too celebrated customs...." slavery, as mr. froude and the rest of us are bound to discuss it at present, is by no means susceptible of the gloss which he has endeavoured, in the above extract, to put on it. the british nation, in , had to confront and deal with the only species of slavery which was then within the cognizance of public morals and practical politics. doubtless our author, learned and erudite as he is, would like to transport us to those patriarchal ages when, under theocratic decrees, the chosen people were authorized to purchase (not to kidnap) slaves, and keep them as an everlasting inheritance in their posterity. the slaves so purchased, we know, became members of the families to which their lot was attached, and were hedged in from cruel usage by distinct and salutary regulations. this is the only species of slavery which--with the addition of the old germanic self-enslavements and the generally prevailing ancient custom of pledging one's personal services [ ] in liquidation of indebtedness--can be covered by the singular verdict of noncriminality which our author has pronounced. he, of course, knows much better than we do what the condition of slaves was in greece as well as in rome. he knows, too, that the "wild and guilty phantasy that man could hold property in man," lost nothing of its guilt or its wildness with the lapse of time and the changes of circumstances which overtook and affected those reciprocal relations. every possibility of deterioration, every circumstance wherein man's fallen nature could revel in its worst inspirations, reached culmination at the period when the interference of the world, decreed by providence, was rendered imperative by the sufferings of the bondsmen. it is this crisis of the history of human enslavement that mr. froude must talk about, if he wishes to talk to any purpose on the subject at all. his scoffs at british "virtuous benevolence," and his imputation of ingratitude to the negro in respect of that self-same benevolence, do not refer to any theocratic, self-contracted, abstract, or idyllic condition of servitude. they pin his meaning down [ ] to that particular phase when slavery had become not only "the sum," but the very quintessence, "of all human villainies." at its then phase, slavery had culminated into being a menace, portentous and far encroaching, to not only the moral life but the very civilization of the higher types of the human family, so debasing and blighting were its effects on those who came into even tolerating contact with its details. the indescribable atrocities practised on the slaves, the deplorable sapping of even respectable principles in owners of both sexes--all these stood forth in their ineffable hideousness before the uncorrupted gaze of the moral heroes, sons of britain and america, and also of other countries, who, buckling on the armour of civilization and right, fought for the vindication of them both, through every stern vicissitude, and won the first grand, ever-memorable victory of , whereof we so recently celebrated the welcome jubilee! oh! it was a combat of archangels against the legions that mammon had banded together and incited to the conflict. but though it was sharp, clarkson, wilberforce, and the rest [ ] of that illustrious host of cultured, lofty-souled, just, merciful, and beneficent men, who were thus the saviours, as well as the servants, of society, yet have we seen it possible for an englishman of to-day to mouth against their memory the ineptitudes of their long-vanquished foes, and to flout the consecrated dead in their graves, as the boeotian did the living pericles in the market-place of athens! why waste words and time on this defamer of his own countrymen, who, on account of the material gain and the questionable martial glory of the conquest, eulogizes warren hastings, the viceregal plunderer of india, whilst, in the same breath, he denounces edmund burke for upholding the immutable principles of right and justice! these principles once, and indubitably now, so precious in their fullest integrity to the normal british conscience, must henceforth, say mr. froude and his fellow-colonialists, be scored off the moral code of britain, since they "do not pay" in tangible pelf, in self-aggrandisement, or in dazzling prestige. the statement that many negroes who were sold to the dealers in the factories were "slaves [ ] already to worse masters" is, in the face of facts which could not possibly have been unknown to him, a piece of very daring assertion. but this should excite no wonder, considering that precise and scrupulous accuracy would be fatal to the discreditable cause to which he so shamelessly proclaims his adhesion. as being familiar since early childhood with members of almost every tribe of africans (mainly from or arriving by way of the west coast) who were brought to our west indies, we are in a position to contradict the above assertion of mr. froude's, its unfaltering confidence notwithstanding. we have had the madingoes, foulahs, houssas, calvers, gallahs, karamenties, yorubas, aradas, cangas, kroos, timnehs, veis, eboes, mokoes, bibis, and congoes, as the most numerous and important of the tribal contribution of africa to the population of these colonies. now, from what we have intimately learned of these people (excepting the congoes, who always appeared to us an inferior tribe to all the others), we unhesitatingly deny that even three in ten of the whole number were ever slaves in their own country, in the sense of having been born under any organized [ ] system of servitude. the authentic records relating to the enslavement of africans, as a regular systematized traffic, do not date further back than five centuries ago. it is true that a great portion of ancient literature and many monuments bear distinct evidence, all the more impressive because frequently only casual, that, from the earliest ages, the africans had shared, in common with other less civilized peoples, the doom of having to furnish the menial and servile contingents of the more favoured sections of the human family. now, dating from, say, five hundred years ago, which was long indeed after the disappearance of the old leading empires of the world, we have (save and except in the case of arab incursionists into the eastern and northern coasts) no reliable authority for saying, or even for supposing, that the tribes of the african interior suffered from the molestations of professional man-hunters. it was the organization of the west coast slave traffic towards the close of the sixteenth century, and the extermination of the caribbean aborigines by spain, soon after columbus had discovered the western continent, which [ ] gave cohesion, system, impetus, and aggressiveness to the trade in african flesh and blood. then the factory dealers did not wait at their seaboard mart, as our author would have us suppose, for the human merchandize to be brought down to them. the auri sacra fames, the accursed craving for gain, was too imperious for that. from the atlantic border to as far inland as their emissaries could penetrate, their bribes, in every species of exchangeable commodities, were scattered among the rapacious chiefs on the river banks; while these latter, incited as well by native ferocity as by lust of gain, rushed forth to "make war" on their neighbours, and to kidnap, for sale to the white purchaser, every man, woman, and child they could capture amidst the nocturnal flames, confusion, tumult, and terror resulting from their unexpected irruption. that the poor people thus captured and sold into foreign on age were under worse masters than those under whom they, on being actually bought and becoming slaves, were doomed to experience all the atrocities that have thrilled with horror the conscience of the civilized christian world, is a statement of worse than [ ] childish absurdity. every one, except mr. froude and his fellow-apologists for slavery, knows that the cruelty of savage potentates is summary, uncalculating, and, therefore, merciful in its ebullitions. a head whisked off, brains dashed out, or some other short form of savage dispatch, is the preferential method of destruction. with our author's better masters, there was the long, dreary vicissitude, beginning from the horrors of the capture, and ending perhaps years upon years after, in some bush or under the lash of the driver. the intermediate stages of the starvation life of hunger, chains, and hideous exposure at the barancoon, the stowing away like herrings on board the noisome ship, the suffocation, the deck-sores wrought into the body by the attrition of the bonier parts of the system against the unyielding wood--all these, says mr. froude, were more tolerable than the swift doing away with life under an african master! under such, at all events, the care and comfort suitable to age were strictly provided for, and cheered the advanced years of the faithful bondsman. after a good deal of talk, having the same logical value, our author, in his enthusiasm for [ ] slavery, delivers himself thus: "for myself, i would rather be the slave of a shakespeare or a burghley, than the slave of a majority in the house of commons, or the slave of my own folly." of the four above specified alternatives of enslavement, it is to be regretted that temperament, or what is more likely, perhaps, self-interest, has driven him to accept the fourth, or the latter of the two deprecated yokes, his book being an irrefutable testimony to the fact. for, most assuredly, it has not been at the prompting of wisdom that a learned man of unquestionably brilliant talents and some measure of accorded fame could have prostituted those talents and tarnished that fame by condescending to be the literary spokesman of the set for whose miserable benefit he recommends the statesmen of his country to perjure and compromise themselves, regardless of inevitable consequences, which the value of the sectional satisfaction to be thereby given would but very poorly compensate. possibly a house of commons majority, whom this dermatophilist evidently rates far lower than his "anglo-west indians," might, if he were their slave, have protected their own self- [ ] respect by restraining him from vicariously scandalizing them by his effusions. after this curious boast about his preferences as a hypothetic bondsman, mr. froude proceeds gravely to inform his readers that "there may be authority yet not slavery; a soldier is not a slave, a wife is not a slave..." and he continues, with a view of utilizing these platitudes against the obnoxious negro, by telling us that persons sustaining the above specified and similar relations "may not live by their own wills, or emancipate themselves at their own pleasure from positions in which nature has placed them, or into which they have themselves voluntarily entered. the negroes of the west indies are children, and not yet disobedient children.... if you enforce self-government upon them when they are not asking for it, you may ... wilfully drive them back into the condition of their ancestors, from which the slave-trade was the beginning of their emancipation."! the words which we have signalized by italics in the above extract could have been conceived only by a bigot--such an atrocious sentiment being possible only as the product of mind or morals [ ] wrenched hopelessly out of normal action. all the remainder of this hashing up of pointless commonplaces has for its double object a suggestio falsi against us negroes as a body, and a diverting of attention, as we have proved before, from the numerous british claimants of reform, whose personality mr. froude and his friends would keep out of view, provided their crafty policy has the result of effectually repressing the hitherto irrepressible, and, as such, to the "anglo-west indian," truly detestable negro. notes . +translation: "i fear the greeks even when they bear gifts." book iii: west indian confederation [ ] in heedless formulation of his reasons, if such they should be termed, for urging tooth and nail the non-according of reform to the crown-governed colonies, our author puts forth this dogmatic deliverance (p. ):-- "a west indian self-governing dominion is possible only with a full negro vote. if the whites are to combine, so will the blacks. it will be a rule by the blacks and for the blacks." that a constitution for any of our diversely populated colonies which may be fit for it is possible only with "a full negro vote" (to the extent within the competence of such voting), goes without saying, as must be the case with every section of the queen's subjects eligible for the franchise. the duly qualified spaniard, [ ] coolie, portuguese, or man of any other non-british race, will each thus have a vote, the same as every englishman or any other briton. why, then, should the vote of the negro be so especially a bugbear? it is because the negro is the game which our political sportsman is in full chase of, and determined to hunt down at any cost. granted, however, for the sake of argument, that black voters should preponderate at any election, what then? we are gravely told by this latter-day balaam that "if the whites are to combine, so will the blacks," but he does not say for what purpose. his sentence, therefore, may be legitimately constructed in full for him in the only sense which is applicable to the mutual relations actually existing between those two directly specified sections of british subjects who he would fain have the world believe live in a state of active hostility:--"if the whites are to combine for the promotion of the general welfare, as many of the foremost of them have done before and are doing now, so will the blacks also combine in the support of such whites, and as staunch auxiliaries equally interested in the furtherance of the same ameliorative [ ] objects." except in the sense embodied in the foregoing sentence, we cannot, in these days, conceive with what intent persons of one section should so specially combine as to compel combination on the part of persons of any other. the further statement that a confederation having a full black voting-power would be a government "by the blacks and for the blacks," is the logical converse of the now obsolete doctrine of mr. froude's inspirers--"a government by whites should be only for whites." but this formula, however strenuously insisted on by those who gave it shape, could never, since even before three decades from the first introduction of african slaves, be thoroughly put in practice, so completely had circumstances beyond man's devising or control compelled the altering of men's minds and methods with regard to the new interests which had irresistibly forced themselves into importance as vital items in political arrangements. nowadays, therefore, that mr. froude should desire to create a state of feeling which had, and could have had, no existence with regard to the common interests of the inhabitants for upwards of two full centuries, is [ ] evidently an excess of confidence which can only be truly described as amazing. but, after all, what does our author mean by the words "a government by the blacks?" are we to understand him as suggesting that voting by black electors would be synonymous with electing black representatives? if so, he has clearly to learn much more than he has shown that he lacks, in order to understand and appreciate the vital influences at work in west indian affairs. undoubtedly, being the spokesman of few who (secretly) avow themselves to be particularly hostile to ethiopians, he has done no more than reproduce their sentiments. for, conscious, as these hankerers after the old "institutions" are, of being utterly ineligible for the furthering of modern progressive ideas, they revenge themselves for their supersession on everybody and everything, save and except their own arrogant stolidity. white individuals who have part and lot in the various colonies, with their hearts and feelings swayed by affections natural to their birth and earliest associations; and whites who have come to think the land of their adoption as dear to themselves as the land of their birth, entertain no such dread of [ ] their fellow-citizens of any other section, whom they estimate according to intelligence and probity, and not according to any accident of exterior physique. every intelligent black is as shrewd regarding his own interests as our author himself would be regarding his in the following hypothetical case: some fine day, being a youth and a bachelor, he gets wedded, sets up an establishment, and becomes the owner of a clipper yacht. for his own service in the above circumstances we give him the credit to believe that, on the persons specified below applying among others to him for employment, as chamber-maid and house-servant, and also as hands for the vessel, he would, in preference to any ordinarily recommended white applicants, at once engage the two black servant-girls at president churchill's in dominica, the droghermen there as able seamen, and as cabin-boy the lad amongst them whose precocious marine skill he has so warmly and justly extolled. it is not because all these persons are black, but because of the soul-consciousness of the selector, that they each (were they even blue) had a title to preferential consideration, his experience and sense of fitness being [ ] their most effectual supporters. similarly, the negro voter would elect representatives whom he knew he could trust for competency in the management of his affairs, and not persons whose sole recommendation to him would be the possession of the same kind of skin. nor, from what we know of matters in the west indies, do we believe that any white man of the class we have eulogized would hesitate to give his warmest suffrage to any black candidate who he knew would be a fitting representative of his interests. we could give examples from almost every west indian island of white and coloured men who would be indiscriminately chosen as their candidate by either section. but the enumeration is needless, as the fact of the existence of such men is too notorious to require proof. mr. froude states plainly enough (p. ) that, whereas a whole thousand years were needed to train and discipline the anglo-saxon race, yet "european government, european instruction, continued steadily till his natural tendencies are superseded by a higher instinct, may shorten the probation period of the negro." let it be supposed that this period of probation [ ] for the negro should extend, under such exceptionally favourable circumstances, to any period less than that which is alleged to have been needed by the anglo-saxon to attain his political manhood--what then are the prospects held out by mr. froude to us and our posterity on our mastering the training and discipline which he specially recommends for blacks? our author, in view, doubtless, of the rapidity of our onward progress, and indeed our actual advancement in every respect, thus answers (pp. - ):--"let a generation or two pass by and carry away with them the old traditions, and an english governor-general will be found presiding over a black council, delivering the speeches made for him by a black prime minister; and how long could this endure? no english gentleman would consent to occupy so absurd a situation." and again, more emphatically, on the same point (p. ):--"no englishman, not even a bankrupt peer, would consent to occupy such position; the blacks themselves would despise him if he did; and if the governor is to be one of their own race and colour, how long would such a connection endure?" [ ] it is plainly to be seen from the above two extracts that the political ethics of our author, being based on race and colour exclusively, would admit of no conceivable chance of real elevation to any descendant of africa, who, being ethiopian, could not possibly change his skin. the "old traditions" which mr. froude supposes to be carried away by his hypothetical (white) generations who have "passed by," we readily infer from his language, rendered impossible such incarnations of political absurdity as those he depicts. but what should be thought of the sense, if not indeed the sanity, of a grave political teacher who prescribes "european government" and "european education" as the specifics to qualify the negro for political emancipation, and who, when these qualifications are conspicuously mastered by the negro who has undergone the training, refuses him the prize, because he is a negro? we see further that, in spite of being fit for election to council, and even to be prime ministers competent to indite governors' messages, the pigment under our epidermis dooms us to eventual disappointment and a life-long condition of contempt. even so is it [ ] desired by mr. froude and his clients, and not without a spice of piquancy is their opinion that for a white ruler to preside and rule over and accept the best assistance of coloured men, qualified as above stated, would be a self-degradation too unspeakable for toleration by any englishman--"even a bankrupt peer." unfortunately for mr. froude, we can point him to page of this his very book, where, speaking of grenada and deprecating the notion of its official abandonment, our author says:-- "otherwise they [negroes] were quiet fellows, and if the politicians would only let them alone, they would be perfectly contented, and might eventually, if wisely managed, come to some good.... black the island was, and black it would remain. the conditions were never likely to arise which would bring back a european population; but a governor who was a sensible man, who would reside and use his natural influence, could manage it with perfect ease." here, then, we see that the governor of an entirely black population may be a sensible man, and yet hold the post. our author, indeed, gives the blacks over whom this sensible governor would hold rule as being in number [ ] just , souls; and we are therefore bound to accept the implied suggestion that the dishonour of holding supremacy over persons of the odious colour begins just as their number begins to count onward from , ! there is quite enough in the above verbal vagaries of our philosopher to provoke a volume of comment. but we must pass on to further clauses of this precious paragraph. mr. froude's talent for eating his own words never had a more striking illustration than here, in his denial of the utility of native experience as the safest guide a governor could have in the administration of colonial affairs. at page he says:--"among the public servants of great britain there are persons always to be found fit and willing for posts of honour and difficulty, if a sincere effort be made to find them." a post of honour and difficulty, we and all other persons in the british dominions had all along understood was regarded as such in the case of functionaries called upon to contend with adverse forces in the accomplishment of great ends conceived by their superiors. but we find that, according to mr. froude, all the credit that has hitherto redounded to those [ ] who had succeeded in such tasks has been in reality nothing more than a gilding over of disgrace, whenever the exertions of such officials had been put forth amongst persons not wearing a european epidermis. the extension of british influence and dominion over regions inhabited by races not white is therefore, on the part of those who promote it, a perverse opening of arenas for the humiliation and disgrace of british gentlemen, nay, even of those titled members of the "black sheep" family--bankrupt peers! as we have seen, however, ample contradiction and refutation have been considerately furnished by the same objector in this same volume, as in his praises of the governor just quoted. the cavil of mr. froude about english gentlemen reading messages penned by black prime ministers applies with double force to english barristers (who are gentlemen by statute) receiving the law from the lips of black judges. for all that, however, an emergency arose so pressing as to compel even the colonialism of barbados to practically and completely refute this doctrine, by praying for, and submitting with gratitude to, the supreme headship of a [ ] man of the race which our author so finically depreciates. in addition it may be observed that for a governor to even consult his prime minister in the matter of preparing his messages might conceivably be optional, whilst it is obligatory on all barristers, whether english or otherwise, to defer to the judge's interpretation of the law in every case--appeal afterwards being the only remedy. as to the dictum that "the two races are not equal and will not blend," it is open to the fatal objection that, having himself proved, with sympathizing pathos, how the west indies are now well-nigh denuded of their anglo-saxon inhabitants, mr. froude would have us also understand that the miserable remnant who still complainingly inhabit those islands must, by doing violence to the understanding, be taken as the whole of the world-pervading anglo-saxon family. the negroes of the west indies number a good deal more than two million souls. does this suggester of extravagances mean that the prejudices and vain conceit of the few dozens whom he champions should be made to override and overbear, in political arrangements, the serious and solid interests of so many [ ] hundreds of thousands? that "the two races are not equal" is a statement which no sane man would dispute, but acquiescence in its truth involves also a distinct understanding that the word race, as applied in the present case by our author, is a simple accommodation of terms--a fashion of speech having a very restricted meaning in this serious discussion. the anglo-saxon race pervades great britain, its cradle, and the greater britain extending almost all over the face of the earth, which is the arena of its activities and marvellous achievements. to tell us, therefore, as mr. froude does, that the handful of malcontents whose unrespectable grievance he holds up to public sympathy represents the anglo-saxon race, is a grotesque façon de parler. taking our author's "anglo-west indians" and the people of ethiopian descent respectively, it would not be too much to assert, nor in anywise difficult to prove by facts and figures, that for every competent individual of the former section in active civilized employments, the coloured section can put forward at least twenty thoroughly competent rivals. yet are these latter the people whom the classic mr. [ ] froude wishes to be immolated, root and branch, in all their highest and dearest interests, in order to secure the maintenance of "old traditions" which, he tells us, guaranteed for the dominant cuticle the sacrifice of the happiness of down-trodden thousands! referring to his hypothetical confederation with its black officeholders, our author scornfully asks:-- "and how long would this endure?" the answer must be that, granting the existence of such a state of things, its duration would be not more nor less than under white functionaries. for according to himself (p. ): "there is no original or congenital difference of capacity between" the white and black races, and "with the same chances and the same treatment, ... distinguished men would be produced equally from both races." if, therefore, the black ministers whose hue he so much despises do possess the training and influence rendering them eligible and securing their election to the situations we are considering, it must follow that their tenure of office would be of equal duration with that of individuals of the white race under the same conditions. not content with making himself [ ] the mouthpiece of english gentlemen in this matter, our author, with characteristic hardihood, obtrudes himself into the same post on behalf of negroes; saying that, in the event of even a bankrupt peer accepting the situation of governor-general over them, "the blacks themselves would despise him"! mr. froude may pertinently be asked here the source whence he derived his certainty on this point, inasmuch as it is absolutely at variance with all that is sensible and natural; for surely it is both foolish and monstrous to suppose that educated men would infer the degradation of any one from the fact of such a one consenting to govern and co-operate with themselves for their own welfare. he further asks on the same subject:-- "and if the governor is to be one of their own race and colour, how long could such a connection endure?" our answer must be the same as with regard to the duration of the black council and black prime minister carrying out the government under the same conditions. it must be regretted that no indication in his book, so far as it professes to deal with facts and with [ ] persons not within the circle of his clients, would justify a belief that its wanton misstatements have filtrated through a mind entitled to declare, with the authority of self-consciousness, what a gentleman would or would not do under given circumstances. in reiteration of his favourite doctrine of the antagonism between the black and white races, our author continues on the same page to say:-- "no one, i presume, would advise that the whites of the island should govern. the relations between the two populations are too embittered, and equality once established by law, the exclusive privilege of colour over colour cannot be restored. while slavery continued, the whites ruled effectively and economically; the blacks are now as they." as far as could possibly be endeavoured, every proof has been crowded into this book in refutation of this favourite allegation of mr. froude's. it is only an idle waste of time to be thus harping on his colour topic. no one can deserve to govern simply because he is white, and no one is bound to be subject simply because he is black. the whole of west [ ] indian history, even after the advent of the attorney-class, proves this, in spite of the efforts to secure exclusive white domination at a time when crude political power might have secured it. "the relations between the two populations are too embittered," says mr. froude. no doubt his talk on this point would be true, had any such skin-dominancy as he contemplates been officially established; but as at present most officials are appointed (locally at least) according to their merit, and not to their epidermis, nothing is known of the embittered relations so constantly dinned into our ears. whatever bitterness exists is in the minds of those gentry who would like to be dominant on the cheap condition of showing a simple bodily accident erected by themselves into an evidence and proof of superiority. "the exclusive privilege of colour over colour cannot be restored." never in the history of the british west indies--must we again state--was there any law or usage establishing superiority in privileges for any section of the community on account of colour. this statement of fact is also and again an answer to, and refutation of, the succeeding allegation [ ] that, "while slavery continued, the whites ruled effectively and economically." it will be yet more clearly shown in a later part of this essay that during slavery, in fact for upwards of two centuries after its introduction, the west indies were ruled by slave-owners, who happened to be of all colours, the means of purchasing slaves and having a plantation being the one exclusive consideration in the case. it is, therefore, contrary to fact to represent the whites exclusively as ruling, and the blacks indiscriminately as subject. he goes on to say, "there are two classes in the community; their interests are opposite as they are now understood." as regards the above, mr. froude's attention may be called to the fact that classification in no department of science has ever been based on colour, but on relative affinity in certain salient qualities. to use his own figure, no horse or dog is more or less a horse or dog because it happens to be white or black. no teacher marshals his pupils into classes according to any outward physical distinction, but according to intellectual approximation. in like manner there has been wealth for hundreds of men of ethiopic origin, [ ] and poverty for hundreds of men of caucasian origin, and the reverse in both cases. we have, therefore, had hundreds of black as well as white men who, under providential dispensation, belonged to the class, rich men; while, on the other hand, we have had hundreds of white men who, under providential dispensation, belonged to the class, poor men. similarly, in the composition of a free mixed community, we have hundreds of both races belonging to the class, competent and eligible; and hundreds of both races belonging to the class, incompetent and ineligible: to both of which classes all possible colours might belong. it is from the first mentioned that are selected those who are to bear the rule, to which the latter class is, in the very nature of things, bound to be subject. there is no government by reason merely of skins. the diversity of individual intelligence and circumstances is large enough to embrace the possibility of even children being, in emergencies, the most competent influencers of opinion and action. but let us analyse this matter for just a while more. the fatal objection to all mr. froude's advocacy of colour-domination is that [ ] it is futile from being morally unreasonable. in view of the natural and absolute impossibility of reviving the same external conditions under which the inordinate deference and submission to white persons were both logically and inevitably engendered and maintained, his efforts to talk people into a frame of mind favourable to his views on this subject are but a melancholy waste of well-turned sentences. man's estimate of his fellow-man has not and never can have any other standard, save and except what is the outcome of actual circumstances influencing his sentiment. in the primitive ages, when the fruits of the earth formed the absorbing object of attention and interest, the men most distinguished for successful culture of the soil enjoyed, as a consequence, a larger share than others of popular admiration and esteem. similarly, among nomadic tribes, the hunters whose courage coped victoriously with the wild and ferocious denizens of the forest became the idols of those who witnessed and were preserved by such sylvan exploits. when men came at length to venture in ships over the trackless deep in pursuit of commerce and its gains, the mariner grew important in [ ] public estimation. the pursuit of commerce and its gains led naturally to the possession of wealth. this, from the quasi-omnipotence with which it invests men--enabling them not only to command the best energies, but also, in many cases, to subvert the very principles of their fellows--has, in the vast majority of cases, an overpowering sway on human opinion: a sway that will endure till the millennium shall have secured for the righteous alone the sovereignty of the world. likewise, as cities were founded and constitutions established, those who were foremost as defenders of the national interests, on the field of bodily conflict or in the intellectual arena, became in the eyes of their contemporaries worthiest of appreciation--and so on of other circumstances through which particular personal distinctions created claims to preference. in the special case of the negroes kidnapped out of africa into foreign bondage, the crowning item in their assessment of their alien enslavers was the utter superiority, over their most redoubtable "big men," which those enslavers displayed. they actually subjugated and put in chains, like the commonest peasants, native [ ] potentates at whose very names even the warriorhood of their tribes had been wont to blench. but far surpassing even this in awful effect was the doom meted out to the bush-handlers, the medicine-men, the rain-compellers, erewhile so inscrutably potent for working out the bliss or the bale of friend or enemy. "lo, from no mountain-top, from no ceiba-hollow in the forest recesses, has issued any interposing sign, any avenging portent, to vindicate the spirit of darkness so foully outraged in the hitherto inviolate person of his chosen minister! verily, even the powers of the midnight are impotent against these invaders from beyond the mighty salt-water! here, huddled together in confused, hopeless misery and ruin, lie, fettered and prostrate, even priest as well as potentate, undistinguishable victims of crude, unblenching violence, with its climax of nefarious sacrilege. we, common mortals, therefore, can hope for no deliverance from, or even succour in, the woful plight thus dismally contrived for us all by the fair-skinned race who have now become our masters." such was naturally the train of thought that ran through those forlorn bosoms. the formidable death-dealing guns [ ] of the invaders, the ships which had brought them to the african shores, and much besides in startling contrast to their own condition of utter helplessness, the africans at once interpreted to themselves as the manifestation and inherent attributes of beings of a higher order than man. their skin, too, the difference whereof from their own had been accentuated by many calamitous incidents, was hit upon as the reason of so crushing an ascendency. white skin therefore became, in those disconsolate eyes, the symbol of fearful irresistible power: which impression was not at all weakened afterwards by the ineffable atrocities of the "middle-passage." backed ultimately by their absolute and irresponsible masterhood at home over the deported blacks, the european abductors could easily render permanent in the minds of their captives the abject terror struck into them by the enormities of which they had been the victims. now, the impressions we touched upon before bringing forward the case of the negro slaves were mainly produced by pleasurable circumstances. but of a contrary nature and much more deeply graven are those sentiments which are the outcome of hopeless terror [ ] and pain. for whilst impressions of the former character glide into the consciousness through accesses no less normal than agreeable, the infusion of fear by means of bodily suffering is a process too violent to be forgotten by minds tortured and strained to unnatural tension thereby. such tension, oft-recurrent and scarcely endurable, leaves behind it recollections which are in themselves a source of sadness. but time, favoured by a succession of pleasurable experiences, is a sovereign anodyne to remembrances of this poignant class. no wonder, then, from our foregoing detail of facts, that whiteness of skin was both redoubted and tremblingly crouched to by negroes on whom europeans had wrought such unspeakable calamities. time, however, and the action of circumstances, especially in countries subject to catholic dominion, soon began to modify the conditions under which this sentiment of terror had been maintained, and, with those conditions, the very sentiment itself. for it was not long in the life of many of the expatriated africans before numbers of their own race obtained freedom, and, eventually, wealth sufficient for purchasing black slaves on their [ ] own account. in other respects, too (outwardly at least), the prosperous career of such individual blacks could not fail to induce a revulsion of thought, whereby the attribution of unapproachable powers exclusively to the whites became a matter earnestly reconsidered by the africans. centuries of such reconsideration have produced the natural result in the west indies. with the daily competition in intelligence, refinement, and social and moral distinction, which time and events have brought about between individuals of the two races, nothing, surely, has resulted, nor has even been indicated, to re-infuse the ancient colour-dread into minds which had formerly been forced to entertain it; and still less to engender it in bosoms to which such a feeling cannot, in the very nature of things, be an inborn emotion. now, can mr. froude show us by what process he would be able to infuse in the soul of an entire population a sentiment which is both unnatural and beyond compulsion? the foregoing remarks roughly apply to preeminence given to outward distinction, and the conditions under which mainly it impresses and is accepted by men not yet arrived at the [ ] essentially intellectual stage. in the spiritual domain the conditions have ever been quite different. a belief in the supernatural being inborn in man, the professors of knowledge and powers beyond natural attainment were by common consent accorded a distinct and superior consideration, deemed proper to the sacredness of their progression. hence the supremacy of the priestly caste in every age and country of the world. potentate as well as peasant have bowed in reverence before it, as representing and declaring with authority the counsels of that being whom all, priest, potentate and peasant alike, acknowledge and adore, each according to the measure of his inward illumination. book iii: the negro as worker [ ] the laziness, the incurable idleness, of the negro, was, both immediately before their emancipation in , and for long years after that event, the cuckoo-cry of their white detractors. it was laziness, pure and simple, which hindered the negro from exhausting himself under a tropical sun, toiling at starvation wages to ensure for his quondam master the means of being an idler himself, with the additional luxury of rolling in easily come-by wealth. within the last twenty years, however, the history of the black man, both in the west indies and, better still, in the united states of america, has been a succession of achievements which have converted the charge of laziness into a baseless and absurd calumny. the repetition of the charge referred to is, in these [ ] waning days of the nineteenth century, a discredited anachronism, which, however, has no deterring features for mr. froude. as the running down of the negro was his cue, he went in boldly for the game, with what result we shall presently see. at page , our author, speaking of the negro garden-farms in jamaica, says:-- "the male proprietors were lounging about smoking. their wives, as it was market-day, were tramping into kingston with their baskets on their heads. we met them literally in thousands, all merry and light-hearted, their little ones with little baskets trudging at their side. of the lords of the creation we saw, perhaps, one to each hundred of the women, and he would be riding on mule or donkey, pipe in mouth and carrying nothing. he would be generally sulky too, while the ladies, young and old, had a civil word for us, and curtsied under their loads. decidedly if there is to be a black constitution i will give my vote to the women." to the above direct imputation of indolence, heartlessness, and moroseness, mr. froude appends the following remarks on other moral characteristics of certain sable peasants at [ ] mandeville, jamaica, given on the authority of a police official, who, our author says, described them as-- "good-humoured, but not universally honest. they stole cattle, and would not give evidence against each other. if brought into court, they held a pebble in their mouth, being under the impression that when they were so provided, perjury did not count. their education was only skin-deep, and the schools which the government provided had not touched their characters at all." but how could the education so provided be otherwise than futile when the administration of its details is entirely in the hands of persons unsympathizing with and utterly despising the negro? but of this more anon and elsewhere. we resume mr. froude's evidence respecting the black peasantry. our author proceeds to admit, on the same subject, that his informant's duties (as a police official) "brought him in contact with the unfavourable specimens." he adds:-- "i received a far pleasanter impression from a moravian minister.... i was particularly glad to see this gentleman, for of the moravians [ ] every one had spoken well to me. he was not the least enthusiastic about his poor black sheep, but he said that if they were not better than the average english labourer, he did not think them worse. they were called idle; they would work well enough if they had fair wages and if the wages were paid regularly; but what could be expected when women servants had but three shillings a week and found themselves, when the men had but a shilling a day and the pay was kept in arrear in order that if they came late to work, or if they came irregularly, it may be kept back or cut down to what the employer choose to give? under such conditions any man of any colour would prefer to work for himself if he had a garden, or would be idle if he had none." take, again, the following extract regarding the heroism of the emigrants to the canal:-- "i walked forward" (on the steamer bound to jamaica), "after we had done talking. we had five hundred of the poor creatures on their way to the darien pandemonium. the vessel was rolling with a heavy beam sea. i found the whole mass of them reduced to the condition of the pigs who used to occupy the fore decks on the cork and bristol packets. they were [ ] lying in a confused heap together, helpless, miserable, without consciousness, apparently, save a sense in each that he was wretched. unfortunate brothers-in-law! following the laws of political economy, and carrying their labour to the dearest market, where, before a year was out, half of them were to die. they had souls, too, some of them, and honest and kindly hearts." it surely is refreshing to read the revelation of his first learning of the possession of a soul by a fellow-human being, thus artlessly described by one who is said to be an ex-parson. but piquancy is mr. froude's strong point, whatever else he may be found wanting in. still, apart from mr. froude's direct testimony to the fact that from year to year, during a long series of years, there has been a continuous, scarcely ever interrupted emigration of negroes to the spanish mainland, in search of work for a sufficing livelihood for themselves and their families--and that in the teeth of physical danger, pestilence, and death--there would be enough indirect exoneration of the black man from that indictment in the wail of mr. froude and his friends regarding the alarming absorption of the lands of grenada [ ] and trinidad by sable proprietors. land cannot be bought without money, nor can money be possessed except through labour, and the fact that so many tens of thousand blacks are now the happy owners of the soil whereon, in the days so bitterly regretted by our author, their forefathers' tears, nay, very hearts' blood, had been caused to flow, ought to silence for ever an accusation, which, were it even true, would be futile, and, being false, is worse than disgraceful, coming from the lips of the eumolpids who would fain impose a not-to-be-questioned yoke on us poor helots of ethiopia. it is said that lying is the vice of slaves; but the ethics of west indian would-be mastership assert, on its behalf, that they alone should enjoy the privilege of resorting to misrepresentation to give colour, if not solidity, to their pretensions. book iii: religion for negroes [ ] mr. froude's passing on from matters secular to matters spiritual and sacred was a transition to be expected in the course of the grave and complicated discussion which he had volunteered to initiate. it was, therefore, not without curiosity that his views in the direction above indicated were sought for and earnestly scrutinized by us. but worse than in his treatment of purely mundane subjects, his attitude here is marked by a nonchalant levity which excites our wonder that even he should have touched upon the spiritual side of his thesis at all. the idea of the dove sent forth from the ark fluttering over the heaving swells of the deluge, in vain endeavour to secure a rest for the soles of its feet, represents not inaptly the unfortunate predicament of his spirit with regard to a solid [ ] faith on which to repose amid the surges of doubt by which it is so evidently beset. yet although this is his obvious plight with regard to a satisfying belief, he nevertheless undertakes, with characteristic confidence, to suggest a creed for the moralization of west indian negroes. his language is:-- "a religion, at any rate, which will keep the west indian blacks from falling back into devil-worship is still to seek. in spite of the priests, child-murder and cannibalism have re-appeared in hayti, but without them things might have been much worse than they are, and the preservation of white authority and influence in any form at all may be better than none." we discern in the foregoing citation the exercise of a charity that is unquestionably born of fetish-worship, which, whether it be obeah generally, or restricted to a mere human skin, can be so powerful an agent in the formation and retention of beliefs. hence we see that our philosopher relies here, in the domain of morals and spiritual ethics, on a white skin as implicitly as he does on its sovereign potency in secular politics. the curiousness of the matter lies mainly in its application to natives [ ] of hayti, of all people in the world. as a matter of fact we have had our author declaring as follows, in climax to his oft-repeated predictions about west indian negroes degenerating into the condition of their fellow-negroes in the "black republic" (p. ):-- "were it worth while, one might draw a picture of an english governor, with a black parliament and a black ministry, recommending, by advice of his constitutional ministers, some measure like the haytian land law." now, as the west indies degenerating into so many white-folk-detesting haytis, under our prophet's dreaded supremacy of the blacks, is the burden of his book; and as the land law in question distinctly forbids the owning by any white person of even one inch of the soil of the republic, it might, but for the above explanation, have seemed unaccountable, in view of the implacable distrust, not to say hatred, which this stern prohibition so clearly discloses, that our author should, nevertheless, rely on the efficacy of white authority and influence over haytians. in continuation of his religious suggestions, he goes on to descant upon slavery in the [ ] fashion which we have elsewhere noticed, but it may still be proper to add a word or two here regarding this particular disquisition of his. this we are happy in being able to do under the guidance of an anterior and more reliable exponent of ecclesiastical as well as secular obedience on the part of all free and enlightened men in the present epoch of the world's history:-- "dogma and descent, potential twin which erst could rein submissive millions in, are now spent forces on the eddying surge of thought enfranchised. agencies emerge unhampered by the incubus of dread which cramped men's hearts and clogged their onward tread. dynasty, prescription! spectral in these days when science points to thought its surest ways, and men who scorn obedience when not free demand the logic of authority! the day of manhood to the world is here, and ancient homage waxes faint and drear. . . . . . . vision of rapture! see salvation's plan 'tis serving god through ceaseless toil for man!" the lines above quoted are by a west indian negro, and explain in very concise form the attitude of the educated african mind [ ] with reference to the matters they deal with. mr. froude is free to perceive that no special religion patched up from obsolete creeds could be acceptable to those with whose sentiments the thoughts of the writer just quoted are in true racial unison. it is preposterous to expect that the same superstition regarding skin ascendency, which is now so markedly played out in our colonies in temporal matters, could have any weight whatsoever in matters so momentous as morals and religion. but granting even the possibility of any code of worldly ethics or of religion being acceptable on the dermal score so strenuously insisted on by him, it is to be feared that, through sheer respect for the fitness of things, the intelligent negro in search of guidance in faith and morals would fail to recognize in our author a guide, philosopher, and friend, to be followed without the most painful misgivings. the catholic and the dissenting churches which have done so much for the temporal and spiritual advancement of the negro, in spite of hindrance and active persecution wherever these were possible, are, so far as is visible, maintaining their hold on the adhesion of those who belong to them. [ ] and it cannot be pretended that, among enlightened africans as compared with other enlightened people, there have been more grievous failings off from the scriptural standard of deportment. possible it certainly is that considerations akin to, or even identical with, those relied upon by mr. froude might, on the first reception of christianity in their exile, have operated effectually upon the minds of the children of africa. at that time the evangelizers whose converts they so readily became possessed the recommendation of belonging to the dominant caste. therefore, with the humility proper to their forlorn condition, the poor bondsmen requited with intense gratitude such beneficent interest on their behalf, as a condescension to which people in their hapless situation could have had no right. but for many long years, the distinction whether of temporal or of spiritual superiority has ceased to be the monopoly of any particular class. the master and employer has for far more than a century and a half been often represented in the west indies by some born african or his descendant; and so also has the teacher and preacher. it is not too much to say that [ ] the behaviour of the liberated slaves throughout the british antilles, as well as the deportment of the manumitted four million slaves of the southern united states later on, bore glorious testimony to the humanizing effects which the religion of charity, clutched at and grasped in fragments, and understood with childlike incompleteness, had produced within those suffering bosoms. nothing has occurred to call for a remodelling of the ordinary moral and spiritual machinery for the special behoof of negroes. religion, as understood by the best of men, is purely a matter of feeling and action between man and man--the doing unto others as we would they should do unto us; and any creed or any doctrine which directly or indirectly subverts or even weakens this basis is in itself a danger to the highest welfare of mankind. the simple conventional faith in god, in jesus, and in a future state, however modified nowadays, has still a vitality which can restrain and ennoble its votaries, provided it be inculcated and received in a befitting spirit. our critic, in the plenitude of his familiarity with such matters, confidently asks:-- [ ] "who is now made wretched by the fear of hell?" possibly the belief in the material hell, the decadence of which he here triumphantly assumes to be so general, may have considerably diminished; but experience has shown that, with the advance of refinement, there is a concurrent growth in the intensity of moral sensibility, whereby the waning terrors of a future material hell are more than replaced by the agonies of a conscience self-convicted of wilful violation of the right. the same simple faith has, in its practical results, been rich in the records of the humble whom it has exalted; of the poor to whom it has been better than wealth; of the rich whose stewardship of worldly prosperity it has sanctified; of the timid whom it has rendered bold; and of the valiant whom it has raised to a divine heroism--in fine, of miracles of transformation that have impelled to higher and nobler tendencies and uses the powers and gifts inherited or acquired by man in his natural state. they who possess this faith, and cherish it as a priceless possession, may calmly oppose to the philosophic reasoning against the existence of [ ] a deity and the rationalness of entreating him in prayer, the simple and sufficient declaration, "i believe." normal-minded men, sensible of the limitations of human faculties, never aspire to be wise beyond what is revealed. whatever might exist beyond the grave is, so far as man and man in their mutual relations are concerned, not a subject that discussion can affect or speculation unravel. to believers it cannot matter whether the sermon on the mount embodies or does not embody the quality of ethics that the esoteric votaries of mr. froude's "new creed" do accept or even can tolerate. under the old creed man's sense of duty kindled in sympathy towards his brother, urging him to achieve by self-sacrifice every possibility of beneficence; hence the old creed insured an inward joy as well as "the peace which passeth all understanding." there can be no room for desiring left, when receptiveness of blessings overflows; and it is the worthiest direction of human energy to secure for others that fulness of fruition. is not duty the first, the highest item of moral consciousness; and is not promoting, according to our best ability, the welfare of our fellow creatures, the first and [ ] most urgent call of human duty? can the urgency of such responsibility ever cease but with the capacity, on our own or on our brother's part, to do or be done by respectively? contemptuously ignoring his share of this solemn responsibility--solemn, whether regarded from a religious or a purely secular point of view--to observe at least the negative obligation never to wantonly do or even devise any harm to his fellows, or indeed any sentient creature, our new apostle affords, in his light-hearted reversal of the prescriptive methods of civilized ethics, a woful foretaste of the moral results of the "new, not as yet crystallized" belief, whose trusted instruments of spiritual investigation are the telescope and mental analysis, in order to satisfy the carpings of those who so impress the world with their superhuman strong-mindedness. the following is a profound reflection presenting, doubtless, quite a new revelation to an unsophisticated world, which had so long submitted in reverential tameness to the self-evident impossibility of exploring the infinite:-- "the tendency of popular thought is against [ ] the supernatural in any shape. far into space as the telescope can search, deep as analysis can penetrate into mind and consciousness or the forces which govern natural things, popular thought finds only uniformity and connection of cause and effect; no sign anywhere of a personal will which is influenced by prayer or moral motives." how much to be pitied are the gifted esoterics who, in such a quest, vainly point their telescopes into the star-thronged firmament, and plunge their reasoning powers into the abyss of consciousness and such-like mysteries! the commonplace intellect of the author of "night thoughts" was, if we may so speak, awed into an adoring rapture which forced from him the exclamation (may believers hail it as a dogma!)-- "an undevout astronomer is mad!" most probably it was in weak submission to some such sentiment as this that isaac newton nowhere in his writings suggests even the ghost of a doubt of there being a great architect of the universe as the outcome of his telescopic explorations into the illimitable heavens. [ ] it is quite possible, too, that he was, "on insufficient grounds," perhaps, perfectly satisfied, as a host of other intellectual mediocrities like himself have been, and even up to now rather provokingly continue to be, with the very "uniformity and connection of cause and effect" as visible evidence of there being not only "a personal will," but a creative and controlling power as well. in this connection comes to mind a certain old book which, whatever damage semitic scholarship and modern criticism may succeed in inflicting on its contents, will always retain for the spiritual guidance of the world enough and to spare of divine suggestions. with the prescience which has been the heritage of the inspired in all ages, one of the writers in that book, whom we shall now quote, foresaw, no doubt, the deplorable industry of mr. froude and his protégé "popular thought," whose mouth-piece he has so characteristically constituted himself, and asks in a tone wherein solemn warning blends with inquiry: "canst thou by searching find out god; canst thou find out the almighty unto perfection!" the rational among the most loftily endowed of mankind have grasped [ ] the sublime significance of this query, acquiescing reverently in its scarcely veiled intimation of man's impotence in presence of the task to which it refers. but though mr. froude's spiritual plight be such as we have just allowed him to state it, with regard to an object of faith and a motive of worship, yet let us hear him, in his anxiety to furbish up a special negro creed, setting forth the motive for being in a hurry to anticipate the "crystallization" of his new belief:-- "the new creed, however, not having crystallized as yet into a shape which can be openly professed, and as without any creed at all the flesh and the devil might become too powerful, we maintain the old names, as we maintain the monarchy." the allusion to the monarchy seems not a very obvious one, as it parallels the definitive rejection of a spiritual creed with the theoretical change of ancient notions regarding a concrete fact. at any rate we have it that his special religion, when concocted and disseminated, will have the effect of preventing the flesh and the devil from having too much power over negroes. the objection to the [ ] devil's sway seems to us to come with queer grace from one who owes his celebrity chiefly to the production of works teeming with that peculiar usage of language of which the enemy of souls is credited with the special fatherhood. no, sir, in the name of the being regarding whose existence you and your alleged "popular thought" are so painfully in doubt, we protest against your right, or that of any other created worm, to formulate for the special behoof of negroes any sort of artificial creed unbelieved in by yourself, having the function and effect of detective "shadowings" of their souls. away with your criminal suggestion of toleration of the hideous orgies of heathenism in hayti for the benefit of our future morals in the west indies, when the political supremacy which you predict and dread and deprecate shall have become an accomplished fact. were any special standard of spiritual excellence required, our race has, in josiah henson and sojourner truth, sufficing models for our men and our women respectively. their ideal of christian life, which we take to be the true one, is not to be judged of with direct reference to the deity whom we cannot [ ] see, interrogate, or comprehend, but to its practical bearing in and on man, whom we can see and have cognizance of, not only with our physical senses, but by the intimations of the divinity which abides within us.* we can see, feel, and appreciate the virtue of a fellow-mortal who consecrates himself to the divine idea through untiring exertion for the bettering of the condition of the world around him, whose agony he makes it his duty, only to satisfy his burning desire, to mitigate. the fact in its ghastly reality lies before us that the majority of mankind labour and are being crushed under the tremendous trinity of ignorance, vice, and poverty. it is mainly in the succouring of those who thus suffer that the vitality of the old creed is manifested in the person of its professors. under this aspect we behold it moulding men, of all nations, countries, and tongues, whose virtues have challenged and should command on its behalf the unquestioning faith and adhesion of every rational observer. "evidences of christianity," "controversies," "exegetical commentaries," have all proved [ ] more or less futile--as perhaps they ought--with the science and modern criticism which perverts religion into a matter of dialectics. but there is a hope for mankind in the fact that science itself shall have ultimately to admit the limitations of human inquiry into the details of the infinite. meanwhile it requires no technical proficiency to recognize the criminality of those who waste their brief threescore and ten years in abstract speculations, while the tangible, visible, and hideous soul-destroying trinity of vice, ignorance, and poverty, above mentioned, are desolating the world in their very sight. there are possessors of personal virtue, enlightenment, and wealth, who dare stand neutral with regard to these dire exigencies among their fellows. and yet they are the logical helpers, as holders of the special antidote to each of those banes! infinitely more deserving of execration are such folk than the callous owner of some specific, who allows a suffering neighbour to perish for want of it. we who believe in the ultimate development of the christian notion of duty towards god, as manifested in untiring beneficence to man, cling to this faith--starting from the [ ] beginning of the new testament dispensation--because saul of tarsus, transformed into paul the apostle through his whole-souled acceptance of this very creed with its practical responsibilities, has, in his ardent, indefatigable labours for the enlightenment and elevation of his fellows, left us a lesson which is an enduring inspiration; because augustine, bishop of hippo, benefited, in a manner which has borne, and ever will bear, priceless fruit, enormous sections of the human family, after his definite submission to the benign yoke of the same old creed; because vincent de paul has, through the identical inspiration, endowed the world with his everlasting legacy of organized beneficence; because it impelled francis xavier with yearning heart and eager footsteps through thousands of miles of peril, to proclaim to the darkling millions of india what he had experienced to be tidings of great joy to himself; because matthew hale, a lawyer, and of first prominence in a pursuit which materializes the mind and nips its native candour and tenderness, escaped unblighted, through the saving influence of his faith, approving himself in the sight of all [ ] an ideal judge, even according to the highest conception; because john howard, opulent and free to enjoy his opulence and repose, was drawn thereby throughout the whole continent of europe in quest of the hidden miseries that torture those whom the law has shut out, in dungeons, from the light and sympathy of the world; because thomas clarkson, animated by the spirit of its teachings, consecrated wealth, luxury, and the quiet of an entire lifetime on the altar of voluntary sacrifice for the salvation of an alien people; because samuel johnson, shut out from mirthfulness by disease and suffering, and endowed with an intellectual pride intolerant of froward ignorance, was, through the chastening power of that belief, transformed into the cheerful minister and willing slave of the weaklings whom he gathered into his home, and around whom the tendrils of his heart had entwined themselves, waxing closer and stronger in the moisture of his never-failing charity; because henry havelock, a man of the sword, whose duties have never been too propitious to the cultivation and fostering of the gentler virtues, lived and died a blameless hero, constrained by that faith to be one of its most illustrious exemplars; [ ] because david livingstone looms great and reverend in our mental sight in his devotion to a land and race embraced in his boundless fellow-feeling, and whose miseries he has commended to the sympathy of the civilized world in words the pathos whereof has melted thousands of once obdurate hearts to crave a share in applying a balm to the "open sore of africa"--that slave-trade whose numberless horrors beggar description; and finally--one more example out of the countless varieties of types that blend into a unique solidarity in the active manifestation of the christian life--we believe because charles gordon, the martyr-soldier of khartoum, in trusting faith a very child, but in heroism more notable than any mere man of whom history contains a record, gathered around himself, through the sublime attractiveness of his faith-directed life, the united suffrages of all nations, and now enjoys, as the recompense and seal of his life's labours, an apotheosis in homage to which the heathen of africa, the man-hunting arab, the egyptian, the turk, all jostle each other to blend with the exulting children of britain who are directly glorified by his life and history. [ ] here, then, are speaking evidences of the believers' grounds. verily they are of the kind that are to be seen in our midst, touched, heard, listened to, respected, beloved--nay, honoured, too, with the glad worship our inward spirit springs forth to render to goodness so largely plenished from the source of all good. can modern science and criticism explain them away, or persuade us of their insufficiency as incentives to the hearty acceptance of the religion that has received such glorious, yet simply logical, incarnation in the persons of weak, erring men who welcomed its responsibilities conjointly with its teachings, and thereby raised themselves to the spiritual level pictured to ourselves in our conception of angels who have been given the divine charge concerning mankind. religion for negroes, indeed! white priests, forsooth! this sort of arrogance might, possibly, avail in quarters where the person and pretensions of mr. froude could be impressive and influential--but here, in the momentous concern of man with him who "is no respecter of persons," his interference, mentally disposed as he tells us he is with reference to such a matter, is nothing less than profane intrusion. [ ] we will conclude by stating in a few words our notion of the only agency by which, not blacks alone, but every race of mankind, might be uplifted to the moral level which the thousands of examples, of which we have glanced at but a few, prove so indubitably the capacity of man to attain--each to a degree limited by the scope of his individual powers. the priesthood whereof the world stands in such dire need is not at all the confederacy of augurs which mr. froude, perhaps in recollection of his former profession, so glibly suggests, with an esoteric creed of their own, "crystallized into shape" for profession before the public. the day of priestcraft being now numbered with the things that were, the exploitation of those outside of the sacerdotal circle is no longer possible. therefore the religion of mere talk, however metaphysical and profound; the religion of scenic display, except such display be symbolic of living and active verities, has lost whatever of efficacy it may once have possessed, through the very spirit and tendency of to-day. the reason why those few whom we have mentioned, and the thousands who cannot possibly be recalled, have, as [ ] typical christians, impressed themselves on the moral sense and sympathy of the ages, is simply that they lived the faith which they professed. whatever words they may have employed to express their serious thoughts were never otherwise than, incidentally, a spoken fragment of their own interior biography. in fine, success must infallibly attend this special priesthood (whether episcopally "ordained" or not) of all races, all colours, all tongues whatsoever, since their lives reflect their teachings and their teachings reflect their lives. then, truly, they, "the righteous, shall inherit the earth," leading mankind along the highest and noblest paths of temporal existence. then, of course, the obeah, the cannibalism, the devil-worship of the whole world, including that of hayti, which mr. froude predicts will be adopted by us blacks in the west indies, shall no more encumber and scandalize the earth. but mr. froude should, at the same time, be reminded that cannibalism and the hideous concomitants which he mentions are, after all, relatively minor and restricted dangers to man's civilization and moral soundness. they can [ ] neither operate freely nor expand easily. the paralysis of horrified popular sentiment obstructs their propagation, and the blight of the death-penalty which hangs over the heads of their votaries is an additional guarantee of their being kept within bounds that minimize their perniciousness. but there are more fatal and further-reaching dangers to public morality and happiness of which the regenerated current opinion of the future will take prompt and remedial cognizance. foremost among these will be the circulation of malevolent writings whereby the equilibrium of sympathy between good men of different races is sought to be destroyed, through misleading appeals to the weaknesses and prejudices of readers; writings in which the violation of actual truth cannot, save by stark stupidity, be attributed to innocent error; writings that scoff at humanitarian feeling and belittle the importance of achievements resulting therefrom; writings which strike at the root of national manliness, by eulogizing brute force directed against weaker folk as a fit and legitimate mode of securing the wishes of a mighty and enlightened people; writings, in fine, which ignore the divine principle [ ] in man, and implicitly deny the possibility of a divine power existing outside of and above man, thus materializing the mind, and tending to render the earth a worse hell than it ever could have been with faith in the supremacy of a beneficent power. notes . *"est deus in nobis, agitante calescimus illo."--ovid. book iv: historical summary [ ] thus far we have dealt with the main questions raised by mr. froude on the lines of his own choosing; lines which demonstrate to the fullest how unsuited his capacity is for appreciating--still less grappling with--the political and social issues he has so confidently undertaken to determine. in vain have we sought throughout his bastard philosophizing for any phrase giving promise of an adequate treatment of this important subject. we find paraded ostentatiously enough the doctrine that in the adjustment of human affairs the possession of a white skin should be the strongest recommendation. wonder might fairly be felt that there is no suggestion of a corresponding advantage being accorded to the possession of a long nose or of auburn hair. indeed, little [ ] or no attention that can be deemed serious is given to the interest of the blacks, as a large and (out of africa) no longer despicable section of the human family, in the great world-problems which are so visibly preparing and press for definitive solutions. the intra-african negro is clearly powerless to struggle successfully against personal enslavement, annexation, or volunteer forcible "protection" of his territory. what, we ask, will in the coming ages be the opinion and attitude of the extra-african millions--ten millions in the western hemisphere--dispersed so widely over the surface of the globe, apt apprentices in every conceivable department of civilized culture? will these men remain for ever too poor, too isolated from one another for grand racial combinations? or will the naturally opulent cradle of their people, too long a prey to violence and unholy greed, become at length the sacred watchword of a generation willing and able to conquer or perish under its inspiration? such large and interesting questions it was within the province and duty of a famous historian, laying confident claim to prophetic insight, not to propound alone, but also definitely to solve. the sacred power [ ] of forecast, however, has been confined to finical pronouncements regarding those for whose special benefit he has exercised it, and to childish insults of the blacks whose doom must be sealed to secure the precious result which is aimed at. in view of this ill-intentioned omission, we shall offer a few cursory remarks bearing on, but not attempting to answer, those grave inquiries concerning the african people. as in our humble opinion these are questions paramount to all the petty local issues finically dilated on by the confident prophet of "the bow of ulysses," we will here briefly devote ourselves to its discussion. accepting the theory of human development propounded by our author, let us apply it to the african race. except, of course, to intelligences having a share in the councils of eternity, there can be no attainable knowledge respecting the laws which regulate the growth and progress of civilization among the races of the earth. that in the existence of the human family every age has been marked by its own essential characteristics with regard to manifestations of intellectual life, however circumscribed, is a proposition too self-evident [ ] to require more than the stating. but investigation beyond such evidence as we possess concerning the past--whether recorded by man himself in the written pages of history, or by the creator on the tablets of nature--would be worse than futile. we see that in the past different races have successively come to the front, as prominent actors on the world's stage. the years of civilized development have dawned in turn on many sections of the human family, and the anglo-saxons, who now enjoy preeminence, got their turn only after egypt, assyria, babylon, greece, rome, and others had successively held the palm of supremacy. and since these mighty empires have all passed away, may we not then, if the past teaches aught, confidently expect that other racial hegemonies will arise in the future to keep up the ceaseless progression of temporal existence towards the existence that is eternal? what is it in the nature of things that will oust the african race from the right to participate, in times to come, in the high destinies that have been assigned in times past to so many races that have not been in anywise superior to us in the qualifications, physical, moral, and intellectual, [ ] that mark out a race for prominence amongst other races? the normal composition of the typical negro has the testimony of ages to its essential soundness and nobility. physically, as an active labourer, he is capable of the most protracted exertion under climatic conditions the most exhausting. by the mere strain of his brawn and sinew he has converted waste tracts of earth into fertile regions of agricultural bountifulness. on the scenes of strife he has in his savage state been known to be indomitable save by the stress of irresistible forces, whether of men or of circumstances. staunch in his friendship and tender towards the weak directly under his protection, the unvitiated african furnishes in himself the combination of native virtue which in the land of his exile was so prolific of good results for the welfare of the whole slave-class. but distracted at home by the sudden irruptions of skulking foes, he has been robbed, both intellectually and morally, of the immense advantage of peace, which is the mother of progress. transplanted to alien climes, and through centuries of desolating trials, this irrepressible race has [ ] bated not one throb of its energy, nor one jot of its heart or hope. in modern times, after his expatriation into dismal bondage, both britain and america have had occasion to see that even in the paralysing fetters of political and social degradation the right arm of the ethiop can be a valuable auxiliary on the field of battle. britain, in her conflict with france for supremacy in the west indies, did not disdain the aid of the sable arms that struck together with those of britons for the trophies that furnished the motives for those epic contests. later on, the unparalleled struggle between the northern and southern states of the american union put to the test the indestructible fibres of the negro's nature, moral as well as physical. the northern states, after months of hesitating repugnance, and when taught at last by dire defeats that colour did not in any way help to victory, at length sullenly acquiesced in the comradeship, hitherto disdained, of the eager african contingent. the records of port hudson, vicksburg, morris island, and elsewhere, stand forth in imperishable attestation of the fact that the distinction of being laurelled during life as victor, or filling [ ] in death a hero's grave, is reserved for no colour, but for the heart that can dare and the hand that can strike boldly in a righteous cause. the experience of the southern slave-holders, on the other hand, was no less striking and worthy of admiration. every man of the twelve seceding states forming the southern confederacy, then fighting desperately for the avowed purpose of perpetuating slavery, was called into the field, as no available male arm could be spared from the conflict on their side. plantation owner, overseer, and every one in authority, had to be drafted away from the scene of their usual occupation to the stage whereon the bloody drama of internecine strife was being enacted. not only the plantation, but the home and the household, including the mistress and her children, had to be left, not unprotected, it is glorious to observe, but, with confident assurance in their loyalty and good faith, under the protection of the four million of bondsmen, who, through the laws and customs of these very states, had been doomed to lifelong ignorance and exclusion from all moralizing influences. with what result? the protraction of the conflict on the part of the south would [ ] have been impossible but for the admirable management and realization of their resources by those benighted slaves. on the other hand, not one of the thousands of northern prisoners escaping from the durance of a southern captivity ever appealed in vain for the assistance and protection of a negro. clearly the head and heart of those bondsmen were each in its proper place. the moral effect of these experiences of the negroes' sterling qualities was not lost on either north or south. in the north it effaced from thousands of repugnant hearts the adverse feelings which had devised and accomplished so much to the negro's detriment. in the south--but for the blunders of the reconstructionists--it would have considerably facilitated the final readjustment of affairs between the erewhile master and slave in their new-born relations of employer and employed. reverting to the africans who were conveyed to places other than the states, it will be seen that circumstances amongst them and in their favour came into play, modifying and lightening their unhappy condition. first, attention must be paid to the patriotic solidarity existing [ ] amongst the bondsmen, a solidarity which, in the case of those who had been deported in the same ship, had all the sanctity of blood-relationship. those who had thus travelled to the "white man's country" addressed and considered each other as brothers and sisters. hence their descendants for many generations upheld, as if consanguineous, the modes of address and treatment which became hereditary in families whose originals had travelled in the same ship. these adopted uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, were so united by common sympathies, that good or ill befalling any one of them intensely affected the whole connection. mutual support commensurate with the area of their location thus became the order among these people. at the time of the first deportation of africans to the west indies to replace the aborigines who had been decimated in the mines at santo domingo and in the pearl fisheries of the south caribbean, the circumstances of the spanish settlers in the antilles were of singular, even romantic, interest. the enthusiasm which overflowed from the crusades and the moorish wars, upon the discovery and conquest of america, had occasioned [ ] the peopling of the western archipelago by a race of men in whom the daring of freebooters was strangely blended with a fierce sort of religiousness. as holders of slaves, these men recognized, and endeavoured to their best to give effect to, the humane injunctions of bishop las casas. the negroes, therefore, male and female, were promptly presented for admission by baptism into the catholic church, which always had stood open and ready to welcome them. the relations of god-father and god-mother resulting from these baptismal functions had a most important bearing on the reciprocal stations of master and slave. the god-children were, according to ecclesiastical custom, considered in every sense entitled to all the protection and assistance which were within the competence of the god-parents, who, in their turn, received from the former the most absolute submission. it is easy to see that the planters, as well as those intimately connected with them, in assuming such obligations with their concomitant responsibilities, practically entered into bonds which they all regarded as, if possible, more solemn than the natural ties of secular parentage. the duty [ ] of providing for these dependents usually took the shape of their being apprenticed to, and trained in the various arts and vocations that constitute the life of civilization. in many cases, at the death of their patrons, the bondsmen who were deemed most worthy were, according to the means of the testator, provided for in a manner lifting them above the necessity of future dependence. manumission, too, either by favour or through purchase, was allowed the fullest operation. here then was the active influence of higher motives than mere greed of gain or the pride of racial power mellowing the lot and gilding the future prospects of the dwellers in the tropical house of bondage. the next, and even more effectual agency in modifying and harmonizing the relations between owner and bondspeople was the inevitable attraction of one race to the other by the sentiment of natural affection. out of this sprang living ties far more intimate and binding on the moral sense than even obligations contracted in deference to the church. natural impulses have often diviner sources than ecclesiastical mandates. obedience to the former not seldom brings down the penalties of the church; but [ ] the culprit finds solace in the consciousness that the offence might in itself be a protection from the thunders it has provoked. under these circumstances the general body of planters, who were in the main adventurers of the freest type, were fain to establish connections with such of the slave-women as attracted their sympathy, through personal comeliness or aptitude in domestic affairs, or, usually, both combined. there was ordinarily in this beginning of the seventeenth century no vashti that needed expulsion from the abode of a plantation ahasuerus to make room for the african esther to be admitted to the chief place within the portals. one great natural consequence of this was the extension to the relatives or guardians of the bondswoman so preferred of an amount of favour which, in the case of the more capable males, completes the parallel we have been drawing by securing for each of them the precedence and responsibilities of a mordecai. the offspring of these natural alliances came in therefore to cement more intimately the union of interests which previous relations had generated. beloved by their fathers, and in many cases destined by them to a lot superior [ ] to that whereto they were entitled by formal law and social prescription, these young procreations--mulattos, as they were called--were made the objects of special and careful provisions on the fathers' part. they were, according to the means of their fathers in the majority of cases, sent for education and training to european or other superior institutions. after this course they were either formally acknowledged by their fathers, or, if that was impracticable, amply and suitably provided for in a career out of their native colony. to a reflecting mind there is something that interests, not to say fascinates, in studying the action and reaction upon one another of circumstances in the existence of the mulatto. as a matter of fact, he had much more to complain of under the slave system than his pure-blooded african relations. the law, by decreeing that every child of a freeman and a slave woman must follow the fortune of the womb, thus making him the property of his mother exclusively, practically robbed him before his very birth of the nurture and protection of a father. his reputed father had no obligation to be even aware of his procreation, and nevertheless [ ] --so inscrutable are the ways of providence!--the mulatto was the centre around which clustered the outraged instincts of nature in rebellion against the desecrating mandates that prescribed treason to herself. law and society may decree; but in our normal humanity there throbs a sentiment which neutralizes every external impulse contrary to its promptings. in meditating on the varied history of the negro in the united states, since his first landing on the banks of the james river in till the emancipation act of president lincoln in , it is curious to observe that the elevation of the race, though in a great measure secured, proceeded from circumstances almost the reverse of those that operated so favourably in the same direction elsewhere. the men of the slave-holding states, chiefly puritans or influenced by puritanic surroundings, were not under the ecclesiastical sway which rendered possible in the west indies and other catholic countries the establishment of the reciprocal bonds of god-parents and god-children. the self-same causes operated to prevent any large blending of the two races, inasmuch as the immigrant from britain who [ ] had gone forth from his country to better his fortune had not left behind him his attachment to the institutions of the mother-land, among which marrying, whenever practicable, was one of the most cherished. above all, too, as another powerful check at first to such alliances between the ruling and servile races of the states, there existed the native idiosyncracy of the anglo-saxon. that class of them who had left britain were likelier than the more refined of their nation to exhibit in its crudest and cruellest form the innate jealousy and contempt of other races that pervades the anglo-saxon bosom. it is but a simple fact that, whenever he condescended thereto, familiarity with even the loveliest of the subject people was regarded as a mighty self-unbending for which the object should be correspondingly grateful. so there could, in the beginning, be no frequent instances of the romantic chivalry that gilded the quasi-marital relations of the more fervid and humane members of the latin stock. but this kind of intercourse, which in the earlier generation was undoubtedly restricted in north america by the checks above adverted to, and, presumably, also by the mutual unintelligibility [ ] in speech, gradually expanded with the natural increase of the slave population. the american-born, english-speaking negro girl, who had in many cases been the playmate of her owner, was naturally more intelligible, more accessible, more attractive--and the inevitable consequence was the extension apace of that intercourse, the offspring whereof became at length so visibly numerous. among the romans, the grandest of all colonizers, the individual's civis romanus sum--i am a roman citizen--was something more than verbal vapouring; it was a protective talisman--a buckler no less than a sword. yet was the possession of this noble and singular privilege no barrier to roman citizens meeting on a broad humanitarian level any alien race, either allied to or under the protection of that world-famous commonwealth. in the speeches of the foremost orators and statesmen among the conquerors of the then known world, the allusions to subject or allied aliens are distinguished by a decorous observance of the proprieties which should mark any reference to those who had the dignity of rome's [ ] friendship, or the privilege of her august protection. observations, therefore, regarding individuals of rank in these alien countries had the same sobriety and deference which marked allusions to born romans of analogous degree. such magnanimity, we grieve to say, is not characteristic of the race which now replaces the romans in the colonizing leadership of the world. we read with feelings akin to despair of the cheap, not to say derogatory, manner in which, in both houses of parliament, native potentates, especially of non-european countries, are frequently spoken of by the hereditary aristocracy and the first gentlemen of the british empire. the inborn racial contempt thus manifested in quarters where rigid self-control and decorum should form the very essence of normal deportment, was not likely, as we have before hinted, to find any mollifying ingredient in the settlers on the banks of the mississippi. therefore should we not be surprised to find, with regard to many an illicit issue of "down south," the arrogance of race so overmastering the promptings of nature as to render not unfrequent at the auction-block the sight of many a chattel of mixed blood, the offspring [ ] of some planter whom business exigency had forced to this commercial transaction as the readiest mode of self-release. yet were the exceptions to this rule enough to contribute appreciably to the weight and influence of the mixed race in the north, where education and a fair standing had been clandestinely secured for their children by parents to whom law and society had made it impossible to do more, and whom conscience rendered incapable of stopping at less. from this comparative sketch of the history of the slaves in the states, in the west indies and countries adjacent, it will be perceived that in the latter scenes of bondage everything had conspired to render a fusion of interests between the ruling and the servile classes not only easy, but inevitable. in the very first generation after their introduction, the africans began to press upward, a movement which every decade has accelerated, in spite of the changes which supervened as each of the colonies fell under british sway. nearly two centuries had by this time elapsed, and the coloured influence, which had grown with their wealth, education, numbers, and unity, though [ ] circumscribed by the emancipation of the slaves, and the consequent depression in fortune of all slave-owners, never was or could be annihilated. in the government service there were many for whom the patronage of god-parents or the sheer influence of their family had effected an entrance. the prevalence and potency of the influences we have been dilating upon may be gauged by the fact that personages no less exalted than governors of various colonies--of trinidad in three authentic cases--have been sharers in the prevailing usages, in the matter of standing sponsors (by proxy), and also of relaxing in the society of some fascinating daughter of the sun from the tension and wear of official duty. in the three cases just referred to, the most careful provision was made for the suitable education and starting in life of the issues. for the god-children of governors there were places in the public service, and so from the highest to the lowest the humanitarian intercourse of the classes was confirmed. consequent on the frequent abandonment of their plantations by many owners who despaired of being able to get along by paying [ ] their way, an opening was made for the insinuation of absenteeism into our agricultural, in short, our economic existence. the powerful sugar lords, who had invested largely in the cane plantations, were fain to take over and cultivate the properties which their debtors doggedly refused to continue working, under pretext of the entire absence, or at any rate unreliability, of labour. the representatives of those new transatlantic estate proprietors displaced, but never could replace, the original cultivators, who were mostly gentlemen as well as agriculturists. it was from this overseer class that the vituperations and slanders went forth that soon became stereotyped, concerning the negro's incorrigible laziness and want of ambition--those gentry adjusting the scale of wages, not according to the importance and value of the labour done, but according to the scornful estimate which they had formed of the negro personally. and when the wages were fixed fairly, they almost invariably sought to indemnify themselves for their enforced justice by the insulting license of their tongues, addressed to males and females alike. the influence of such men on local legislation, in which they [ ] had a preponderating share, either as actual proprietors or as the attorneys of absentees, was not in the direction of refinement or liberality. indeed, the kind of laws which they enacted, especially during the apprenticeship ( - ), is thus summarized by one, and him an english officer, who was a visitor in those agitated days of the colonies:-- "it is demonstrated that the laws which were to come into operation immediately on expiration of the apprenticeship are of the most objectionable character, and fully established the fact not only of a future intention to infringe the rights of the emancipated classes, but of the actual commencement and extensive progress of a colonial system for that purpose. the object of the laws is to circumscribe the market for free labour--to prohibit the possession or sale of ordinary articles of produce on sale, the obvious intention of which is to confine the emancipated classes to a course of agricultural servitude--to give the employers a monopoly of labour, and to keep down a free competition for wages--to create new and various modes of apprenticeship for the purpose of prolonging predial service, together with many evils of the [ ] late system--to introduce unnecessary restraint and coercion, the design of which is to create a perpetual surveillance over the liberated negroes, and to establish a legislative despotism. the several laws passed are based upon the most vicious principles of legislation, and in their operation will be found intolerably oppressive and entirely subversive of the just intentions of the british legislature." these liberal-souled gentry were, in sooth, mr. froude's "representatives" of britain, whose traditions steadily followed in their families, he has so well and sympathetically set forth. we thus see that the irritation and rancour seething in the breast of the new plantocracy, of whom the majority was of the type that then also flourished in barbados, jamaica, and demerara, were nourished and kept acute in order to crush the african element. harm was done, certainly; but not to the ruinous extent sometimes declared. it was too late for perfect success, as, according to the negroes' own phrase, people of colour had by that time already "passed the lock-jaw"* stage (at which trifling misadventures [ ] might have nipped the germ of their progress in the bud.) in spite of adverse legislation, and in spite of the scandalous subservience of certain governors to the colonial legislatures, the race can point with thankfulness and pride to the visible records of their success wherever they have permanently sojourned. primary education of a more general and undiscriminating character, especially as to race and colour, was secured for the bulk of the west indies by voluntary undertakings, and notably through the munificent provision of lady mico, which extended to the whole of the principal islands. thanks to lord harris for introducing, and to sir arthur gordon for extending to the secondary stage, the public education of trinidad, there has been since emancipation, that is, during the last thirty-seven years, a more effective bringing together in public schools of various grades, of children of all races and ranks. rivals at home, at school and college, in books as well as on the playground, they have very frequently gone abroad together to learn the professions they have selected. in this way there is an intercommunion between all the [ ] intelligent sections of the inhabitants, based on a common training and the subtle sympathies usually generated in enlightened breasts by intimate personal knowledge. in mixed communities thus circumstanced, there is no possibility of maintaining distinctions based on mere colour, as advocated by mr. froude. the following brief summary by the rev. p. h. doughlin, rector of st. clement's, trinidad, a brilliant star among the sons of ham, embodies this fact in language which, so far as it goes, is as comprehensive as it is weighty:-- "who could, without seeming to insult the intelligence of men, have predicted on the day of emancipation that the negroes then released from the blight and withering influence of ten generations of cruel bondage, so weakened and half-destroyed--so denationalized and demoralized--so despoiled and naked, would be in the position they are now? in spite of the proud, supercilious, and dictatorial bearing of their teachers, in spite of the hampering of unsympathetic, alien oversight, in spite of the spirit of dependence and servility engendered by slavery, not only have individual members of the race entered into all the offices of dignity in [ ] church and state, as subalterns--as hewers of wood and drawers of water--but they have attained to the very highest places. here in the west indies, and on the west coast of africa, are to be found surgeons of the negro race, solicitors, barristers, mayors, councillors, principals and founders of high schools and colleges, editors and proprietors of newspapers, archdeacons, bishops, judges, and authors--men who not only teach those immediately around them, but also teach the world. members of the race have even been entrusted with the administration of governments. and it is not mere commonplace men that the negro race has produced. not only have the british universities thought them worthy of their honorary degrees and conferred them on them, but members of the race have won these university degrees. a few years back a full-blooded negro took the highest degree oxford has to give to a young man. the european world is looking with wonder and admiration at the progress made by the negro race--a progress unparalleled in the annals of the history of any race." to this we may add that in the domain [ ] of high literature the blacks of the united states, for the twenty-five years of social emancipation, and despite the lingering obstructions of caste prejudice, have positively achieved wonders. leaving aside the writings of men of such high calibre as f. douglass, dr. hyland garnet, prof. crummell, prof. e. blyden, dr. tanner, and others, it is gratifying to be able to chronicle the ethiopic women of north america as moving shoulder to shoulder with the men in the highest spheres of literary activity. among a brilliant band of these our sisters, conspicuous no less in poetry than in prose, we single out but a solitary name for the double purpose of preserving brevity and of giving in one embodiment the ideal afro-american woman of letters. the allusion here can scarcely fail to point to mrs. s. harper. this lady's philosophical subtlety of reasoning on grave questions finds effective expression in a prose of singular precision and vigour. but it is as a poet that posterity will hail her in the coming ages of our race. for pathos, depth of spiritual insight, and magical exercise of a rare power of self-utterance, it will hardly be questioned that she has surpassed every competitor [ ] among females--white or black--save and except elizabeth barett browning, with whom the gifted african stands on much the same plane of poetic excellence. the above summary of our past vicissitudes and actual position shows that there is nothing in our political circumstances to occasion uneasiness. the miserable skin and race doctrine we have been discussing does not at all prefigure the destinies at all events of the west indies, or determine the motives that will affect them. with the exception of those belonging to the southern states of the union, the vast body of african descendants now dispersed in various countries of the western hemisphere are at sufficient peace to begin occupying themselves, according to some fixed programme, about matters of racial importance. more than ten millions of africans are scattered over the wide area indicated, and possess amongst them instances of mental and other qualifications which render them remarkable among their fellow-men. but like the essential parts of a complicated albeit perfect machine, these attainments and qualifications so widely dispersed await, it is evident, some potential [ ] agency to collect and adjust them into the vast engine essential for executing the true purposes of the civilized african race. already, especially since the late emancipation jubilee, are signs manifest of a desire for intercommunion and intercomprehension amongst the more distinguished of our people. with intercourse and unity of purpose will be secured the means to carry out the obvious duties which are sure to devolve upon us, especially with reference to the cradle of our race, which is most probably destined to be the ultimate resting-place and headquarters of millions of our posterity. within the short time that we had to compass all that we have achieved, there could not have arisen opportunities for doing more than we have effected. meanwhile our present device is: "work, hope, and wait!" finally, it must be borne in mind that the abolition of physical bondage did not by any means secure all the requisite conditions of "a fair field and no favour" for the future career of the freedmen. the remnant of jacob, on their return from the captivity, were compelled, whilst rebuilding their temple, literally to labour with the working tool in one hand [ ] and the sword for personal defence in the other. even so have the conditions, figuratively, presented themselves under which the blacks have been obliged to rear the fabric of self-elevation since , whilst combating ceaselessly the obstacles opposed to the realizing of their legitimate aspirations. mental and, in many cases, material success has been gained, but the machinery for accumulating and applying the means required for comprehensive racial enterprises is waiting on providence, time, and circumstances for its establishment and successful working. notes . *"yo té'ja passé mal machoè"--in metaphorical allusion to new-born infants who have lived beyond a certain number of days. the buccaneers in the west indies in the xvii century by c.h. haring with ten maps and illustrations methuen & co. ltd. essex street w.c. london _first published in _ preface the principal facts about the exploits of the english and french buccaneers of the seventeenth century in the west indies are sufficiently well known to modern readers. the french jesuit historians of the antilles have left us many interesting details of their mode of life, and exquemelin's history of the freebooters has been reprinted numerous times both in france and in england. based upon these old, contemporary narratives, modern accounts are issued from the press with astonishing regularity, some of them purporting to be serious history, others appearing in the more popular and entertaining guise of romances. all, however, are alike in confining themselves for their information to what may almost be called the traditional sources--exquemelin, the jesuits, and perhaps a few narratives like those of dampier and wafer. to write another history of these privateers or pirates, for they have, unfortunately, more than once deserved that name, may seem a rather fruitless undertaking. it is justified only by the fact that there exist numerous other documents bearing upon the subject, documents which till now have been entirely neglected. exquemelin has been reprinted, the story of the buccaneers has been re-told, yet no writer, whether editor or historian, has attempted to estimate the trustworthiness of the old tales by comparing them with these other sources, or to show the connection between the buccaneers and the history of the english colonies in the west indies. the object of this volume, therefore, is not only to give a narrative, according to the most authentic, available sources, of the more brilliant exploits of these sea-rovers, but, what is of greater interest and importance, to trace the policy pursued toward them by the english and french governments. the "buccaneers in the west indies" was presented as a thesis to the board of modern history of oxford university in may to fulfil the requirements for the degree of bachelor of letters. it was written under the supervision of c.h. firth, regius professor of modern history in oxford, and to him the writer owes a lasting debt of gratitude for his unfailing aid and sympathy during the course of preparation. c.h.h. oxford, contents preface chap. page i. introductory-- part i.--the spanish colonial system part ii.--the freebooters of the sixteenth century ii. the beginnings of the buccaneers iii. the conquest of jamaica iv. tortuga, - v. porto bello and panama vi. the government suppresses the buccaneers vii. the buccaneers turn pirate appendices - bibliography index list of illustrations map of the west indies _frontispiece_ from charlevoix' _histoire de s. domingue_. facing page spanish periagua from exquemelin's _histoire des aventuriers trevoux_, . buccaneer vessels from exquemelin's _histoire des aventuriers trevoux_, . a correct map of jamaica from the _royal magazine_, . map of san domingo from charlevoix' _histoire de s. domingue_. plan of the bay and town of portobelo from prevost d'exiles' _voyages_. the isthmus of darien from exquelmelin's _bucaniers_, - . 'the battel between the spaniards and the pyrats or buccaniers before the citty of panama' from exquemelin's _bucaniers of america_, - . plan of vera-cruz from charlevoix' _histoire de s. domingue_, . plan of the town and roadstead of cartegena and of the forts from baron de pontis' _relation de ce qui c'est fait la prise de carthagene_, bruxelles, . the buccaneers in the west indies in the xvii century chapter i introductory i.--the spanish colonial system at the time of the discovery of america the spaniards, as m. leroy-beaulieu has remarked, were perhaps less fitted than any other nation of western europe for the task of american colonization. whatever may have been the political _rôle_ thrust upon them in the sixteenth century by the hapsburg marriages, whatever certain historians may say of the grandeur and nobility of the spanish national character, spain was then neither rich nor populous, nor industrious. for centuries she had been called upon to wage a continuous warfare with the moors, and during this time had not only found little leisure to cultivate the arts of peace, but had acquired a disdain for manual work which helped to mould her colonial administration and influenced all her subsequent history. and when the termination of the last of these wars left her mistress of a united spain, and the exploitation of her own resources seemed to require all the energies she could muster, an entire new hemisphere was suddenly thrown open to her, and given into her hands by a papal decree to possess and populate. already weakened by the exile of the most sober and industrious of her population, the jews; drawn into a foreign policy for which she had neither the means nor the inclination; instituting at home an economic policy which was almost epileptic in its consequences, she found her strength dissipated, and gradually sank into a condition of economic and political impotence. christopher columbus, a genoese sailor in the service of the castilian crown, wishing to find a western route by sea to india and especially to zipangu (japan), the magic land described by the venetian traveller, marco polo, landed on th october , on "guanahani," one of the bahama islands. from "guanahani" he passed on to other islands of the same group, and thence to hispaniola, tortuga and cuba. returning to spain in march , he sailed again in september of the same year with seventeen vessels and persons, and this time keeping farther to the south, sighted porto rico and some of the lesser antilles, founded a colony on hispaniola, and discovered jamaica in . on a third voyage in he discovered trinidad, and coasted along the shores of south america from the orinoco river to the island of margarita. after a fourth and last voyage in - , columbus died at valladolid in , in the firm belief that he had discovered a part of the continent of asia. the entire circle of the antilles having thus been revealed before the end of the fifteenth century, the spaniards pushed forward to the continent. while hojida, vespucci, pinzon and de solis were exploring the eastern coast from la plata to yucatan, ponce de leon in discovered florida, and in vasco nunez de balboa descried the pacific ocean from the heights of darien, revealing for the first time the existence of a new continent. in magellan entered the pacific through the strait which bears his name, and a year later was killed in one of the philippine islands. within the next twenty years cortez had conquered the realm of montezuma, and pizarro the empire of peru; and thus within the space of two generations all of the west indies, north america to california and the carolinas, all of south america except brazil, which the error of cabral gave to the portuguese, and in the east the philippine islands and new guinea passed under the sway of the crown of castile. ferdinand and isabella in had consulted with several persons of eminent learning to find out whether it was necessary to obtain the investiture of the pope for their newly-discovered possessions, and all were of opinion that this formality was unnecessary.[ ] nevertheless, on rd may , a bull was granted by pope alexander vi., which divided the sovereignty of those parts of the world not possessed by any christian prince between spain and portugal by a meridian line leagues west of the azores or of cape verde. later spanish writers made much of this papal gift; yet, as georges scelle points out,[ ] it is possible that this bull was not so much a deed of conveyance, investing the spaniards with the proprietorship of america, as it was an act of ecclesiastical jurisdiction according them, on the strength of their acquired right and proven catholicism, a monopoly as it were in the propagation of the faith. at that time, even catholic princes were no longer accustomed to seek the pope's sanction when making a new conquest, and certainly in the domain of public law the pope was not considered to have temporal jurisdiction over the entire world. he did, however, intervene in temporal matters when they directly influenced spiritual affairs, and of this the propagation of the faith was an instance. as the compromise between spain and portugal was very indecisive, owing to the difference in longitude of the azores and cape verde, a second act was signed on th june , which placed the line of demarcation leagues farther to the west. the colonization of the spanish indies, on its social and administrative side, presents a curious contrast. on the one hand we see the spanish crown, with high ideals of order and justice, of religious and political unity, extending to its ultramarine possessions its faith, its language, its laws and its administration; providing for the welfare of the aborigines with paternal solicitude; endeavouring to restrain and temper the passions of the conquerors; building churches and founding schools and monasteries; in a word, trying to make its colonies an integral part of the spanish monarchy, "une société vieille dans une contrée neuve." some spanish writers, it is true, have exaggerated the virtues of their old colonial system; yet that system had excellences which we cannot afford to despise. if the spanish kings had not choked their government with procrastination and routine; if they had only taken their task a bit less seriously and had not tried to apply too strictly to an empty continent the paternal administration of an older country; we might have been privileged to witness the development and operation of as complete and benign a system of colonial government as has been devised in modern times. the public initiative of the spanish government, and the care with which it selected its colonists, compare very favourably with the opportunism of the english and the french, who colonized by chance private activity and sent the worst elements of their population, criminals and vagabonds, to people their new settlements across the sea. however much we may deprecate the treatment of the indians by the _conquistadores_, we must not forget that the greater part of the population of spanish america to-day is still indian, and that no other colonizing people have succeeded like the spaniards in assimilating and civilizing the natives. the code of laws which the spaniards gradually evolved for the rule of their transmarine provinces, was, in spite of defects which are visible only to the larger experience of the present day, one of the wisest, most humane and best co-ordinated of any to this day published for any colony. although the spaniards had to deal with a large population of barbarous natives, the word "conquest" was suppressed in legislation as ill-sounding, "because the peace is to be sealed," they said, "not with the sound of arms, but with charity and good-will."[ ] the actual results, however, of the social policy of the spanish kings fell far below the ideals they had set for themselves. the monarchic spirit of the crown was so strong that it crushed every healthy, expansive tendency in the new countries. it burdened the colonies with a numerous, privileged nobility, who congregated mostly in the larger towns and set to the rest of the colonists a pernicious example of idleness and luxury. in its zeal for the propagation of the faith, the crown constituted a powerfully endowed church, which, while it did splendid service in converting and civilizing the natives, engrossed much of the land in the form of mainmort, and filled the new world with thousands of idle, unproductive, and often licentious friars. with an innate distrust and fear of individual initiative, it gave virtual omnipotence to royal officials and excluded all creoles from public employment. in this fashion was transferred to america the crushing political and ecclesiastical absolutism of the mother country. self-reliance and independence of thought or action on the part of the creoles was discouraged, divisions and factions among them were encouraged and educational opportunities restricted, and the american-born spaniards gradually sank into idleness and lethargy, indifferent to all but childish honours and distinctions and petty local jealousies. to make matters worse, many of the spaniards who crossed the seas to the american colonies came not to colonize, not to trade or cultivate the soil, so much as to extract from the natives a tribute of gold and silver. the indians, instead of being protected and civilized, were only too often reduced to serfdom and confined to a laborious routine for which they had neither the aptitude nor the strength; while the government at home was too distant to interfere effectively in their behalf. driven by cruel taskmasters they died by thousands from exhaustion and despair, and in some places entirely disappeared. the crown of castile, moreover, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries sought to extend spanish commerce and monopolize all the treasure of the indies by means of a rigid and complicated commercial system. yet in the end it saw the trade of the new world pass into the hands of its rivals, its own marine reduced to a shadow of its former strength, its crews and its vessels supplied by merchants from foreign lands, and its riches diverted at their very source. this spanish commercial system was based upon two distinct principles. one was the principle of colonial exclusivism, according to which all the trade of the colonies was to be reserved to the mother country. spain on her side undertook to furnish the colonies with all they required, shipped upon spanish vessels; the colonies in return were to produce nothing but raw materials and articles which did not compete with the home products with which they were to be exchanged. the second principle was the mercantile doctrine which, considering as wealth itself the precious metals which are but its symbol, laid down that money ought, by every means possible, to be imported and hoarded, never exported.[ ] this latter theory, the fallacy of which has long been established, resulted in the endeavour of the spanish hapsburgs to conserve the wealth of the country, not by the encouragement of industry, but by the increase and complexity of imposts. the former doctrine, adopted by a non-producing country which was in no position to fulfil its part in the colonial compact, led to the most disastrous consequences. while the spanish crown was aiming to concentrate and monopolize its colonial commerce, the prosperity of spain itself was slowly sapped by reason of these mistaken economic theories. owing to the lack of workmen, the increase of imposts, and the prejudice against the mechanic arts, industry was being ruined; while the increased depopulation of the realm, the mainmort of ecclesiastical lands, the majorats of the nobility and the privileges of the mesta, brought agriculture rapidly into decay. the spaniards, consequently, could not export the products of their manufacture to the colonies, when they did not have enough to supply their own needs. to make up for this deficiency their merchants were driven to have recourse to foreigners, to whom they lent their names in order to elude a law which forbade commerce between the colonies and traders of other nations. in return for the manufactured articles of the english, dutch and french, and of the great commercial cities like genoa and hamburg, they were obliged to give their own raw materials and the products of the indies--wool, silks, wines and dried fruits, cochineal, dye-woods, indigo and leather, and finally, indeed, ingots of gold and silver. the trade in spain thus in time became a mere passive machine. already in it had been found impossible to furnish in less than six years the goods demanded by the merchants of spanish america. at the end of the seventeenth century, foreigners were supplying five-sixths of the manufactures consumed in spain itself, and engrossed nine-tenths of that american trade which the spaniards had sought so carefully to monopolize.[ ] in the colonies the most striking feature of spanish economic policy was its wastefulness. after the conquest of the new world, it was to the interest of the spaniards to gradually wean the native indians from barbarism by teaching them the arts and sciences of europe, to encourage such industries as were favoured by the soil, and to furnish the growing colonies with those articles which they could not produce themselves, and of which they stood in need. only thus could they justify their monopoly of the markets of spanish america. the same test, indeed, may be applied to every other nation which adopted the exclusivist system. queen isabella wished to carry out this policy, introduced into the newly-discovered islands wheat, the olive and the vine, and acclimatized many of the european domestic animals.[ ] her efforts, unfortunately, were not seconded by her successors, nor by the spaniards who went to the indies. in time the government itself, as well as the colonist, came to be concerned, not so much with the agricultural products of the indies, but with the return of the precious metals. natives were made to work the mines, while many regions adapted to agriculture, guiana, caracas and buenos ayres, were neglected, and the peopling of the colonies by europeans was slow. the emperor, charles v., did little to stem this tendency, but drifted along with the tide. immigration was restricted to keep the colonies free from the contamination of heresy and of foreigners. the spanish population was concentrated in cities, and the country divided into great estates granted by the crown to the families of the _conquistadores_ or to favourites at court. the immense areas of peru, buenos ayres and mexico were submitted to the most unjust and arbitrary regulations, with no object but to stifle growing industry and put them in absolute dependence upon the metropolis. it was forbidden to exercise the trades of dyer, fuller, weaver, shoemaker or hatter, and the natives were compelled to buy of the spaniards even the stuffs they wore on their backs. another ordinance prohibited the cultivation of the vine and the olive except in peru and chili, and even these provinces might not send their oil and wine to panama, gautemala or any other place which could be supplied from spain.[ ] to maintain the commercial monopoly, legitimate ports of entry in spanish america were made few and far apart--for mexico, vera cruz, for new granada, the town of cartagena. the islands and most of the other provinces were supplied by uncertain "vaisseaux de registre," while peru and chili, finding all direct commerce by the pacific or south sea interdicted, were obliged to resort to the fever-ridden town of porto bello, where the mortality was enormous and the prices increased tenfold. in spain, likewise, the colonial commerce was restricted to one port--seville. for in the estimation of the crown it was much more important to avoid being defrauded of its dues on import and export, than to permit the natural development of trade by those towns best fitted to acquire it. another reason, prior in point of time perhaps, why seville was chosen as the port for american trade, was that the indies were regarded as the exclusive appanage of the crown of castile, and of that realm seville was then the chief mercantile city. it was not a suitable port, however, to be distinguished by so high a privilege. only ships of less than tons were able to cross the bar of san lucar, and goods therefore had to be transhipped--a disability which was soon felt when traffic and vessels became heavier.[ ] the fact, nevertheless, that the official organization called the _casa dé contratacion_ was seated in seville, together with the influence of the vested interests of the merchants whose prosperity depended upon the retention of that city as the one port for indian commerce, were sufficient to bear down all opposition. the maritime towns of galicia and asturia, inhabited by better seamen and stronger races, often protested, and sometimes succeeded in obtaining a small share of the lucrative trade.[ ] but seville retained its primacy until , in which year the _contratacion_ was transferred to cadiz. the administration of the complex rules governing the commerce between spain and her colonies was entrusted to two institutions located at seville,--the _casa de contratacion_, mentioned above, and the _consulado_. the _casa de contratacion_, founded by royal decree as early as , was both a judicial tribunal and a house of commerce. nothing might be sent to the indies without its consent; nothing might be brought back and landed, either on the account of merchants or of the king himself, without its authorization. it received all the revenues accruing from the indies, not only the imposts on commerce, but also all the taxes remitted by colonial officers. as a consultative body it had the right to propose directly to the king anything which it deemed necessary to the development and organization of american commerce; and as a tribunal it possessed an absolute competence over all crimes under the common law, and over all infractions of the ordinances governing the trade of the indies, to the exclusion of every ordinary court. its jurisdiction began at the moment the passengers and crews embarked and the goods were put on board, and ended only when the return voyage and disembarkation had been completed.[ ] the civil jurisdiction of the _casa_ was much more restricted and disputes purely commercial in character between the merchants were reserved to the _consulado_, which was a tribunal of commerce chosen entirely by the merchants themselves. appeals in certain cases might be carried to the council of the indies.[ ] the first means adopted by the northern maritime nations to appropriate to themselves a share of the riches of the new world was open, semi-piratical attack upon the spanish argosies returning from those distant el dorados. the success of the norman and breton corsairs, for it was the french, not the english, who started the game, gradually forced upon the spaniards, as a means of protection, the establishment of great merchant fleets sailing periodically at long intervals and accompanied by powerful convoys. during the first half of the sixteenth century any ship which had fulfilled the conditions required for engaging in american commerce was allowed to depart alone and at any time of the year. from about , however, merchant vessels were ordered to sail together, and by a _cedula_ of july , the system of fleets was made permanent and obligatory. this decree prohibited any ship from sailing alone to america from cadiz or san lucar on pain of forfeiture of ship and cargo.[ ] two fleets were organized each year, one for terra firma going to cartagena and porto bello, the other designed for the port of san juan d'ulloa (vera cruz) in new spain. the latter, called the flota, was commanded by an "almirante," and sailed for mexico in the early summer so as to avoid the hurricane season and the "northers" of the mexican gulf. the former was usually called the galeones (_anglice_ "galleons"), was commanded by a "general," and sailed from spain earlier in the year, between january and march. if it departed in march, it usually wintered at havana and returned with the flota in the following spring. sometimes the two fleets sailed together and separated at guadaloupe, deseada or another of the leeward islands.[ ] the galleons generally consisted of from five to eight war-vessels carrying from forty to fifty guns, together with several smaller, faster boats called "pataches," and a fleet of merchantmen varying in number in different years. in the time of philip ii. often as many as forty ships supplied cartagena and porto bello, but in succeeding reigns, although the population of the indies was rapidly increasing, american commerce fell off so sadly that eight or ten were sufficient for all the trade of south and central america. the general of the galleons, on his departure, received from the council of the indies three sealed packets. the first, opened at the canaries, contained the name of the island in the west indies at which the fleet was first to call. the second was unsealed after the galleons arrived at cartagena, and contained instructions for the fleet to return in the same year or to winter in america. in the third, left unopened until the fleet had emerged from the bahama channel on the homeward voyage, were orders for the route to the azores and the islands they should touch in passing, usually corvo and flores or santa maria.[ ] the course of the galleons from san lucar was south-west to teneriffe on the african coast, and thence to the grand canary to call for provisions--considered in all a run of eight days. from the canaries one of the pataches sailed on alone to cartagena and porto bello, carrying letters and packets from the court and announcing the coming of the fleet. if the two fleets sailed together, they steered south-west from the canaries to about the latitude of deseada, ' ", and then catching the trade winds continued due west, rarely changing a sail until deseada or one of the other west indian islands was sighted. from deseada the galleons steered an easy course to cape de la vela, and thence to cartagena. when the galleons sailed from spain alone, however, they entered the caribbean sea by the channel between tobago and trinidad, afterwards named the galleons' passage. opposite margarita a second patache left the fleet to visit the island and collect the royal revenues, although after the exhaustion of the pearl fisheries the island lost most of its importance. as the fleet advanced into regions where more security was felt, merchant ships too, which were intended to unload and trade on the coasts they were passing, detached themselves during the night and made for caracas, santa marta or maracaibo to get silver, cochineal, leather and cocoa. the margarita patache, meanwhile, had sailed on to cumana and caracas to receive there the king's treasure, mostly paid in cocoa, the real currency of the country, and thence proceeded to cartagena to rejoin the galleons.[ ] the fleet reached cartagena ordinarily about two months after its departure from cadiz. on its arrival, the general forwarded the news to porto bello, together with the packets destined for the viceroy at lima. from porto bello a courier hastened across the isthmus to the president of panama, who spread the advice amongst the merchants in his jurisdiction, and, at the same time, sent a dispatch boat to payta, in peru. the general of the galleons, meanwhile, was also sending a courier overland to lima, and another to santa fe, the capital of the interior province of new granada, whence runners carried to popagan, antioquia, mariguita, and adjacent provinces, the news of his arrival.[ ] the galleons were instructed to remain at cartagena only a month, but bribes from the merchants generally made it their interest to linger for fifty or sixty days. to cartagena came the gold and emeralds of new granada, the pearls of margarita and rancherias, and the indigo, tobacco, cocoa and other products of the venezuelan coast. the merchants of gautemala, likewise, shipped their commodities to cartagena by way of lake nicaragua and the san juan river, for they feared to send goods across the gulf of honduras to havana, because of the french and english buccaneers hanging about cape san antonio.[ ] meanwhile the viceroy at lima, on receipt of his letters, ordered the armada of the south sea to prepare to sail, and sent word south to chili and throughout the province of peru from las charcas to quito, to forward the king's revenues for shipment to panama. within less than a fortnight all was in readiness. the armada, carrying a considerable treasure, sailed from callao and, touching at payta, was joined by the navio del oro (golden ship), which carried the gold from the province of quito and adjacent districts. while the galleons were approaching porto bello the south sea fleet arrived before panama, and the merchants of chili and peru began to transfer their merchandise on mules across the high back of the isthmus.[ ] then began the famous fair of porto bello.[ ] the town, whose permanent population was very small and composed mostly of negroes and mulattos, was suddenly called upon to accommodate an enormous crowd of merchants, soldiers and seamen. food and shelter were to be had only at extraordinary prices. when thomas gage was in porto bello in he was compelled to pay crowns for a very small, meanly-furnished room for a fortnight. merchants gave as much as crowns for a moderate-sized shop in which to sell their commodities. owing to overcrowding, bad sanitation, and an extremely unhealthy climate, the place became an open grave, ready to swallow all who resorted there. in , during the fifteen days that the galleons remained at porto bello, men died of sickness. meanwhile, day by day, the mule-trains from panama were winding their way into the town. gage in one day counted mules laden with wedges of silver, which were unloaded in the market-place and permitted to lie about like heaps of stones in the streets, without causing any fear or suspicion of being lost.[ ] while the treasure of the king of spain was being transferred to the galleons in the harbour, the merchants were making their trade. there was little liberty, however, in commercial transactions, for the prices were fixed and published beforehand, and when negotiations began exchange was purely mechanical. the fair, which was supposed to be open for forty days, was, in later times, generally completed in ten or twelve. at the beginning of the eighteenth century the volume of business transacted was estimated to amount to thirty or forty million pounds sterling.[ ] in view of the prevailing east wind in these regions, and the maze of reefs, cays and shoals extending far out to sea from the mosquito coast, the galleons, in making their course from porto bello to havana, first sailed back to cartagena upon the eastward coast eddy, so as to get well to windward of nicaragua before attempting the passage through the yucatan channel.[ ] the fleet anchored at cartagena a second time for ten or twelve days, where it was rejoined by the patache of margarita[ ] and by the merchant ships which had been sent to trade in terra-firma. from cartagena, too, the general sent dispatches to spain and to havana, giving the condition of the vessels, the state of trade, the day when he expected to sail, and the probable time of arrival.[ ] for when the galleons were in the indies all ports were closed by the spaniards, for fear that precious information of the whereabouts of the fleet and of the value of its cargo might inconveniently leak out to their rivals. from cartagena the course was north-west past jamaica and the caymans to the isle of pines, and thence round capes corrientes and san antonio to havana. the fleet generally required about eight days for the journey, and arrived at havana late in the summer. here the galleons refitted and revictualled, received tobacco, sugar, and other cuban exports, and if not ordered to return with the flota, sailed for spain no later than the middle of september. the course for spain was from cuba through the bahama channel, north-east between the virginian capes and the bermudas to about °, in order to recover the strong northerly winds, and then east to the azores. in winter the galleons sometimes ran south of the bermudas, and then slowly worked up to the higher latitude; but in this case they often either lost some ships on the bermuda shoals, or to avoid these slipped too far south, were forced back into the west indies and missed their voyage altogether.[ ] at the azores the general, falling in with his first intelligence from spain, learned where on the coast of europe or africa he was to sight land; and finally, in the latter part of october or the beginning of november, he dropped anchor at san lucar or in cadiz harbour. the flota or mexican fleet, consisting in the seventeenth century of two galleons of or tons and from fifteen to twenty merchantmen, usually left cadiz between june and july and wintered in america; but if it was to return with the galleons from havana in september it sailed for the indies as early as april. the course from spain to the indies was the same as for the fleet of terra-firma. from deseada or guadeloupe, however, the flota steered north-west, passing santa cruz and porto rico on the north, and sighting the little isles of mona and saona, as far as the bay of neyba in hispaniola, where the ships took on fresh wood and water.[ ] putting to sea again, and circling round beata and alta vela, the fleet sighted in turn cape tiburon, cape de cruz, the isle of pines, and capes corrientes and san antonio at the west end of cuba. meanwhile merchant ships had dropped away one by one, sailing to san juan de porto rico, san domingo, st. jago de cuba and even to truxillo and cavallos in honduras, to carry orders from spain to the governors, receive cargoes of leather, cocoa, etc., and rejoin the flota at havana. from cape san antonio to vera cruz there was an outside or winter route and an inside or summer route. the former lay north-west between the alacranes and the negrillos to the mexican coast about sixteen leagues north of vera cruz, and then down before the wind into the desired haven. the summer track was much closer to the shore of campeache, the fleet threading its way among the cays and shoals, and approaching vera cruz by a channel on the south-east. if the flota sailed from spain in july it generally arrived at vera cruz in the first fifteen days of september, and the ships were at once laid up until march, when the crews reassembled to careen and refit them. if the fleet was to return in the same year, however, the exports of new spain and adjacent provinces, the goods from china and the philippines carried across mexico from the pacific port of acapulco, and the ten or twelve millions of treasure for the king, were at once put on board and the ships departed to join the galleons at havana. otherwise the fleet sailed from vera cruz in april, and as it lay dead to the leeward of cuba, used the northerly winds to about °, then steered south-east and reached havana in eighteen or twenty days. by the beginning of june it was ready to sail for spain, where it arrived at the end of july, by the same course as that followed by the galleons.[ ] we are accustomed to think of spanish commerce with the indies as being made solely by great fleets which sailed yearly from seville or cadiz to mexico and the isthmus of darien. there were, however, always exceptions to this rule. when, as sometimes happened, the flota did not sail, two ships of or tons were sent by the king of spain to vera cruz to carry the quicksilver necessary for the mines. the metal was divided between new spain and peru by the viceroy at mexico, who sent _via_ gautemala the portion intended for the south. these ships, called "azogues," carried from to quintals[ ] of silver, and sometimes convoyed six or seven merchant vessels. from time to time an isolated ship was also allowed to sail from spain to caracas with licence from the council of the indies and the _contratacion_, paying the king a duty of five ducats on the ton. it was called the "register of caracas," took the same route as the galleons, and returned with one of the fleets from havana. similar vessels traded at maracaibo, in porto rico and at san domingo, at havana and matanzas in cuba and at truxillo and campeache.[ ] there was always, moreover, a special traffic with buenos ayres. this port was opened to a limited trade in negroes in . in permission was given to the inhabitants of la plata to export for six years the products of their lands to other spanish possessions, in exchange for goods of which they had need; and when in the colonists demanded an indefinite renewal of this privilege, the sop thrown to them was the bare right of trade to the amount of tons every three years. later in the century the council of the indies extended the period to five years, so as not to prejudice the trade of the galleons.[ ] it was this commerce, which we have noticed at such length, that the buccaneers of the west indies in the seventeenth century came to regard as their legitimate prey. these "corsarios luteranos," as the spaniards sometimes called them, scouring the coast of the main from venezuela to cartagena, hovering about the broad channel between cuba and yucatan, or prowling in the florida straits, became the nightmare of spanish seamen. like a pack of terriers they hung upon the skirts of the great unwieldy fleets, ready to snap up any unfortunate vessel which a tempest or other accident had separated from its fellows. when thomas gage was sailing in the galleons from porto bello to cartagena in , four buccaneers hovering near them carried away two merchant-ships under cover of darkness. as the same fleet was departing from havana, just outside the harbour two strange vessels appeared in their midst, and getting to the windward of them singled out a spanish ship which had strayed a short distance from the rest, suddenly gave her a broadside and made her yield. the vessel was laden with sugar and other goods to the value of , crowns. the spanish vice-admiral and two other galleons gave chase, but without success, for the wind was against them. the whole action lasted only half an hour.[ ] the spanish ships of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were notoriously clumsy and unseaworthy. with short keel and towering poop and forecastle they were an easy prey for the long, low, close-sailing sloops and barques of the buccaneers. but this was not their only weakness. although the king expressly prohibited the loading of merchandise on the galleons except on the king's account, this rule was often broken for the private profit of the captain, the sailors, and even of the general. the men-of-war, indeed, were sometimes so embarrassed with goods and passengers that it was scarcely possible to defend them when attacked. the galleon which bore the general's flag had often as many as souls, crew, marines and passengers, on board, and the same number were crowded upon those carrying the vice-admiral and the pilot. ship-masters frequently hired guns, anchors, cables, and stores to make up the required equipment, and men to fill up the muster-rolls, against the time when the "visitadors" came on board to make their official inspection, getting rid of the stores and men immediately afterward. merchant ships were armed with such feeble crews, owing to the excessive crowding, that it was all they could do to withstand the least spell of bad weather, let alone outman[oe]uvre a swift-sailing buccaneer.[ ] by spanish law strangers were forbidden to resort to, or reside in, the indies without express permission of the king. by law, moreover, they might not trade with the indies from spain, either on their own account or through the intermediary of a spaniard, and they were forbidden even to associate with those engaged in such a trade. colonists were stringently enjoined from having anything to do with them. in an order was issued for the seizure of all goods sent to the colonies on the account of foreigners, and a royal _cedula_ of decreed the penalty of death and confiscation upon any who connived at the participation of foreigners in spanish colonial commerce.[ ] it was impossible, however, to maintain so complete an exclusion when the products of spain fell far short of supplying the needs of the colonists. foreign merchants were bound to have a hand in this traffic, and the spanish government tried to recompense itself by imposing on the out-going cargoes tyrannical exactions called "indults." the results were fatal. foreigners often eluded these impositions by interloping in the west indies and in the south sea.[ ] and as the _contratacion_, by fixing each year the nature and quantity of the goods to be shipped to the colonies, raised the price of merchandise at will and reaped enormous profits, the colonists welcomed this contraband trade as an opportunity of enriching themselves and adding to the comforts and luxuries of living. from the beginning of the seventeenth century as many as ships sailed each year from portugal with rich cargoes of silks, cloths and woollens intended for spanish america.[ ] the portuguese bought these articles of the flemish, english, and french, loaded them at lisbon and oporto, ran their vessels to brazil and up the la plata as far as navigation permitted, and then transported the goods overland through paraguay and tucuman to potosi and even to lima. the spanish merchants of peru kept factors in brazil as well as in spain, and as portuguese imposts were not so excessive as those levied at cadiz and seville, the portuguese could undersell their spanish rivals. the frequent possession of assientos by the portuguese and dutch in the first half of the seventeenth century also facilitated this contraband, for when carrying negroes from africa to hispaniola, cuba and the towns on the main, they profited by their opportunities to sell merchandise also, and generally without the least obstacle. other nations in the seventeenth century were not slow to follow the same course; and two circumstances contributed to make that course easy. one was the great length of coast line on both the atlantic and pacific slopes over which a surveillance had to be exercised, making it difficult to catch the interlopers. the other was the venal connivance of the governors of the ports, who often tolerated and even encouraged the traffic on the plea that the colonists demanded it.[ ] the subterfuges adopted by the interlopers were very simple. when a vessel wished to enter a spanish port to trade, the captain, pretending that provisions had run low, or that the ship suffered from a leak or a broken mast, sent a polite note to the governor accompanied by a considerable gift. he generally obtained permission to enter, unload, and put the ship into a seaworthy condition. all the formalities were minutely observed. the unloaded goods were shut up in a storehouse, and the doors sealed. but there was always found another door unsealed, and by this they abstracted the goods during the night, and substituted coin or bars of gold and silver. when the vessel was repaired to the captain's satisfaction, it was reloaded and sailed away. there was also, especially on the shores of the caribbean sea, a less elaborate commerce called "sloop-trade," for it was usually managed by sloops which hovered near some secluded spot on the coast, often at the mouth of a river, and informed the inhabitants of their presence in the neighbourhood by firing a shot from a cannon. sometimes a large ship filled with merchandise was stationed in a bay close at hand, and by means of these smaller craft made its trade with the colonists. the latter, generally in disguise, came off in canoes by night. the interlopers, however, were always on guard against such dangerous visitors, and never admitted more than a few at a time; for when the spaniards found themselves stronger than the crew, and a favourable opportunity presented itself, they rarely failed to attempt the vessel. thus the spaniards of the seventeenth century, by persisting, both at home and in their colonies, in an economic policy which was fatally inconsistent with their powers and resources, saw their commerce gradually extinguished by the ships of the foreign interloper, and their tropical possessions fall a prey to marauding bands of half-piratical buccaneers. although struggling under tremendous initial disabilities in europe, they had attempted, upon the slender pleas of prior discovery and papal investiture, to reserve half the world to themselves. without a marine, without maritime traditions, they sought to hold a colonial empire greater than any the world had yet seen, and comparable only with the empire of great britain three centuries later. by discouraging industry in spain, and yet enforcing in the colonies an absolute commercial dependence on the home-country, by combining in their rule of distant america a solicitous paternalism with a restriction of initiative altogether disastrous in its consequences, the spaniards succeeded in reducing their colonies to political impotence. and when, to make their grip the more firm, they evolved, as a method of outwitting the foreigner of his spoils, the system of great fleets and single ports of call, they found the very means they had contrived for their own safety to be the instrument of commercial disaster. ii.--the freebooters of the sixteenth century it was the french chronologist, scaliger, who in the sixteenth century asserted, "nulli melius piraticam exercent quam angli"; and although he had no need to cross the channel to find men proficient in this primitive calling, the remark applies to the england of his time with a force which we to-day scarcely realise. certainly the inveterate hostility with which the englishman learned to regard the spaniard in the latter half of the sixteenth and throughout the seventeenth centuries found its most remarkable expression in the exploits of the elizabethan "sea-dogs" and of the buccaneers of a later period. the religious differences and political jealousies which grew out of the turmoil of the reformation, and the moral anarchy incident to the dissolution of ancient religious institutions, were the motive causes for an outburst of piratical activity comparable only with the professional piracy of the barbary states. even as far back as the thirteenth century, indeed, lawless sea-rovers, mostly bretons and flemings, had infested the english channel and the seas about great britain. in the sixteenth this mode of livelihood became the refuge for numerous young englishmen, catholic and protestant, who, fleeing from the persecutions of edward vi. and of mary, sought refuge in french ports or in the recesses of the irish coast, and became the leaders of wild roving bands living chiefly upon plunder. among them during these persecutions were found many men belonging to the best families in england, and although with the accession of elizabeth most of the leaders returned to the service of the state, the pirate crews remained at their old trade. the contagion spread, especially in the western counties, and great numbers of fishermen who found their old employment profitless were recruited into this new calling.[ ] at the beginning of elizabeth's reign we find these anglo-irish pirates venturing farther south, plundering treasure galleons off the coast of spain, and cutting vessels out of the very ports of the spanish king. such outrages of course provoked reprisals, and the pirates, if caught, were sent to the galleys, rotted in the dungeons of the inquisition, or, least of all, were burnt in the plaza at valladolid. these cruelties only added fuel to a deadly hatred which was kindling between the two nations, a hatred which it took one hundred and fifty years to quench. the most venturesome of these sea-rovers, however, were soon attracted to a larger and more distant sphere of activity. spain, as we have seen, was then endeavouring to reserve to herself in the western hemisphere an entire new world; and this at a time when the great northern maritime powers, france, england and holland, were in the full tide of economic development, restless with new thoughts, hopes and ambitions, and keenly jealous of new commercial and industrial outlets. the famous bull of alexander vi. had provoked francis i. to express a desire "to see the clause in adam's will which entitled his brothers of castile and portugal to divide the new world between them," and very early the french corsairs had been encouraged to test the pretensions of the spaniards by the time-honoured proofs of fire and steel. the english nation, however, in the first half of the sixteenth century, had not disputed with spain her exclusive trade and dominion in those regions. the hardy mariners of the north were still indifferent to the wonders of a new continent awaiting their exploitation, and it was left to the spaniards to unfold before the eyes of europe the vast riches of america, and to found empires on the plateaus of mexico and beyond the andes. during the reign of philip ii. all this was changed. english privateers began to extend their operations westward, and to sap the very sources of spanish wealth and power, while the wars which absorbed the attention of the spaniards in europe, from the revolt of the low countries to the treaty of westphalia, left the field clear for these ubiquitous sea-rovers. the maritime powers, although obliged by the theory of colonial exclusion to pretend to acquiesce in the spaniard's claim to tropical america, secretly protected and supported their mariners who coursed those western seas. france and england were now jealous and fearful of spanish predominance in europe, and kept eyes obstinately fixed on the inexhaustible streams of gold and silver by means of which spain was enabled to pay her armies and man her fleets. queen elizabeth, while she publicly excused or disavowed to philip ii. the outrages committed by hawkins and drake, blaming the turbulence of the times and promising to do her utmost to suppress the disorders, was secretly one of the principal shareholders in their enterprises. the policy of the marauders was simple. the treasure which oiled the machinery of spanish policy came from the indies where it was accumulated; hence there were only two means of obtaining possession of it:--bold raids on the ill-protected american continent, and the capture of vessels _en route_.[ ] the counter policy of the spaniards was also two-fold:--on the one hand, the establishment of commerce by means of annual fleets protected by a powerful convoy; on the other, the removal of the centres of population from the coasts to the interior of the country far from danger of attack.[ ] the spaniards in america, however, proved to be no match for the bold, intrepid mariners who disputed their supremacy. the descendants of the _conquistadores_ had deteriorated sadly from the type of their forbears. softened by tropical heats and a crude, uncultured luxury, they seem to have lost initiative and power of resistance. the disastrous commercial system of monopoly and centralization forced them to vegetate; while the policy of confining political office to native-born spaniards denied any outlet to creole talent and energy. moreover, the productive power and administrative abilities of the native-born spaniards themselves were gradually being paralyzed and reduced to impotence under the crushing obligation of preserving and defending so unwieldy an empire and of managing such disproportionate riches, a task for which they had neither the aptitude nor the means.[ ] privateering in the west indies may indeed be regarded as a challenge to the spaniards of america, sunk in lethargy and living upon the credit of past glory and achievement, a challenge to prove their right to retain their dominion and extend their civilization and culture over half the world.[ ] there were other motives which lay behind these piratical aggressions of the french and english in spanish america. the spaniards, ever since the days of the dominican monk and bishop, las casas, had been reprobated as the heartless oppressors and murderers of the native indians. the original owners of the soil had been dispossessed and reduced to slavery. in the west indies, the great islands, cuba and hispaniola, were rendered desolate for want of inhabitants. two great empires, mexico and peru, had been subdued by treachery, their kings murdered, and their people made to suffer a living death in the mines of potosi and new spain. such was the protestant englishman's conception, in the sixteenth century, of the results of spanish colonial policy. to avenge the blood of these innocent victims, and teach the true religion to the survivors, was to glorify the church militant and strike a blow at antichrist. spain, moreover, in the eyes of the puritans, was the lieutenant of rome, the scarlet woman of the apocalypse, who harried and burnt their protestant brethren whenever she could lay hands upon them. that she was eager to repeat her ill-starred attempt of and introduce into the british isles the accursed inquisition was patent to everyone. protestant england, therefore, filled with the enthusiasm and intolerance of a new faith, made no bones of despoiling the spaniards, especially as the service of god was likely to be repaid with plunder. a pamphlet written by dalby thomas in expresses with tolerable accuracy the attitude of the average englishman toward spain during the previous century. he says:--"we will make a short reflection on the unaccountable negligence, or rather stupidity, of this nation, during the reigns of henry vii., henry viii., edward vi. and queen mary, who could contentedly sit still and see the spanish rifle, plunder and bring home undisturbed, all the wealth of that golden world; and to suffer them with forts and castles to shut up the doors and entrances unto all the rich provinces of america, having not the least title or pretence of right beyond any other nation; except that of being by accident the first discoverer of some parts of it; where the unprecedented cruelties, exorbitances and barbarities, their own histories witness, they practised on a poor, naked and innocent people, which inhabited the islands, as well as upon those truly civilized and mighty empires of peru and mexico, called to all mankind for succour and relief against their outrageous avarice and horrid massacres.... (we) slept on until the ambitious spaniard, by that inexhaustible spring of treasure, had corrupted most of the courts and senates of europe, and had set on fire, by civil broils and discords, all our neighbour nations, or had subdued them to his yoke; contriving too to make us wear his chains and bear a share in the triumph of universal monarchy, not only projected but near accomplished, when queen elizabeth came to the crown ... and to the divided interests of philip ii. and queen elizabeth, in personal more than national concerns, we do owe that start of hers in letting loose upon him, and encouraging those daring adventurers, drake, hawkins, rawleigh, the lord clifford and many other braves that age produced, who, by their privateering and bold undertaking (like those the buccaneers practise) now opened the way to our discoveries, and succeeding settlements in america."[ ] on the th of november , some spaniards in a caravel loading cassava at the isle of mona, between hispaniola and porto rico, sighted a strange vessel of about tons well-armed with cannon, and believing it to be a ship from spain sent a boat to make inquiries. the new-comers at the same time were seen to launch a pinnace carrying some twenty-five men, all armed with corselets and bows. as the two boats approached the spaniards inquired the nationality of the strangers and were told that they were english. the story given by the english master was that his ship and another had been fitted out by the king of england and had sailed from london to discover the land of the great khan; that they had been separated in a great storm; that this ship afterwards ran into a sea of ice, and unable to get through, turned south, touched at bacallaos (newfoundland), where the pilot was killed by indians, and sailing leagues along the coast of "terra nueva" had found her way to this island of porto rico. the englishmen offered to show their commission written in latin and romance, which the spanish captain could not read; and after sojourning at the island for two days, they inquired for the route to hispaniola and sailed away. on the evening of th november this same vessel appeared before the port of san domingo, the capital of hispaniola, where the master with ten or twelve sailors went ashore in a boat to ask leave to enter and trade. this they obtained, for the _alguazil mayor_ and two pilots were sent back with them to bring the ship into port. but early next morning, when they approached the shore, the spanish _alcaide_, francisco de tapia, commanded a gun to be fired at the ship from the castle; whereupon the english, seeing the reception accorded them, sailed back to porto rico, there obtained some provisions in exchange for pewter and cloth, and departed for europe, "where it is believed that they never arrived, for nothing is known of them." the _alcaide_, says herrera, was imprisoned by the _oidores_, because he did not, instead of driving the ship away, allow her to enter the port, whence she could not have departed without the permission of the city and the fort.[ ] this is the earliest record we possess of the appearance of an english ship in the waters of spanish america. others, however, soon followed. in william hawkins, father of the famous john hawkins, ventured in "a tall and goodly ship ... called the 'polo of plymouth,'" down to the coast of guinea, trafficked with the natives for gold-dust and ivory, and then crossed the ocean to brazil, "where he behaved himself so wisely with those savage people" that one of the kings of the country took ship with him to england and was presented to henry viii. at whitehall.[ ] the real occasion, however, for the appearance of foreign ships in spanish-american waters was the new occupation of carrying negroes from the african coast to the spanish colonies to be sold as slaves. the rapid depopulation of the indies, and the really serious concern of the spanish crown for the preservation of the indigenes, had compelled the spanish government to permit the introduction of negro slaves from an early period. at first restricted to christian slaves carried from spain, after licences to take over a certain number, subject of course to governmental imposts, were given to private individuals; and in august , owing to the incessant clamour of the colonists for more negroes, laurent de gouvenot, governor of bresa and one of the foreign favourites of charles v., obtained the first regular contract to carry slaves directly from africa to the west indies.[ ] with slight modifications the contract system became permanent, and with it, as a natural consequence, came contraband trade. cargoes of negroes were frequently "run" from africa by spaniards and portuguese, and as early as an order was issued to expel all contraband slaves from hispaniola.[ ] the supply never equalled the demand, however, and this explains why john hawkins found it so profitable to carry ship-loads of blacks across from the guinea coast, and why spanish colonists could not resist the temptation to buy them, notwithstanding the stringent laws against trading with foreigners. the first voyage of john hawkins was made in - . in conjunction with thomas hampton he fitted out three vessels and sailed for sierra leone. there he collected, "partly by the sword and partly by other means," some negroes, and with this valuable human freight crossed the atlantic to san domingo in hispaniola. uncertain as to his reception, hawkins on his arrival pretended that he had been driven in by foul weather, and was in need of provisions, but without ready money to pay for them. he therefore requested permission to sell "certain slaves he had with him." the opportunity was eagerly welcomed by the planters, and the governor, not thinking it necessary to construe his orders from home too stringently, allowed two-thirds of the cargo to be sold. as neither hawkins nor the spanish colonists anticipated any serious displeasure on the part of philip ii., the remaining slaves were left as a deposit with the council of the island. hawkins invested the proceeds in a return cargo of hides, half of which he sent in spanish vessels to spain under the care of his partner, while he returned with the rest to england. the spanish government, however, was not going to sanction for a moment the intrusion of the english into the indies. on hampton's arrival at cadiz his cargo was confiscated and he himself narrowly escaped the inquisition. the slaves left in san domingo were forfeited, and hawkins, although he "cursed, threatened and implored," could not obtain a farthing for his lost hides and negroes. the only result of his demands was the dispatch of a peremptory order to the west indies that no english vessel should be allowed under any pretext to trade there.[ ] the second of the great elizabethan sea-captains to beard the spanish lion was hawkins' friend and pupil, francis drake. in he accompanied hawkins on his third expedition. with six ships, one of which was lent by the queen herself, they sailed from plymouth in october, picked up about slaves on the guinea coast, sighted dominica in the west indies in march, and coasted along the mainland of south america past margarita and cape de la vela, carrying on a "tolerable good trade." rio de la hacha they stormed with men, losing only two in the encounter; but they were scattered by a tempest near cartagena and driven into the gulf of mexico, where, on th september, they entered the narrow port of s. juan d'ulloa or vera cruz. the next day the fleet of new spain, consisting of thirteen large ships, appeared outside, and after an exchange of pledges of peace and amity with the english intruders, entered on the th. on the morning of the th, however, a fierce encounter was begun, and hawkins and drake, stubbornly defending themselves against tremendous odds, were glad to escape with two shattered vessels and the loss of £ , treasure. after a voyage of terrible suffering, drake, in the "judith," succeeded in reaching england on th january , and hawkins followed five days later.[ ] within a few years, however, drake was away again, this time alone and with the sole, unblushing purpose of robbing the dons. with only two ships and seventy-three men he prowled about the waters of the west indies for almost a year, capturing and rifling spanish vessels, plundering towns on the main and intercepting convoys of treasure across the isthmus of darien. in he sailed on the voyage which carried him round the world, a feat for which he was knighted, promoted to the rank of admiral, and visited by the queen on board his ship, the "golden hind." while drake was being feted in london as the hero of the hour, philip of spain from his cell in the escorial must have execrated these english sea-rovers whose visits brought ruin to his colonies and menaced the safety of his treasure galleons. in the autumn of drake was again in command of a formidable armament intended against the west indies. supported by troops under general carleill, and by martin frobisher and francis knollys in the fleet, he took and plundered san domingo, and after occupying cartagena for six weeks ransomed the city for , ducats. this fearless old elizabethan sailed from plymouth on his last voyage in august . though under the joint command of drake and hawkins, the expedition seemed doomed to disaster throughout its course. one vessel, the "francis," fell into the hands of the spaniards. while the fleet was passing through the virgin isles, hawkins fell ill and died. a desperate attack was made on s. juan de porto rico, but the english, after losing forty or fifty men, were compelled to retire. drake then proceeded to the main, where in turn he captured and plundered rancherias, rio de la hacha, santa marta and nombre de dios. with soldiers he made a bold attempt to cross the isthmus to the city of panama, but turned back after the loss of eighty or ninety of his followers. a few days later, on th january , he too fell ill, died on the th, and was buried in a leaden coffin off the coast of darien.[ ] hawkins and drake, however, were by no means the only english privateers of that century in american waters. names like oxenham, grenville, raleigh and clifford, and others of lesser fame, such as winter, knollys and barker, helped to swell the roll of these elizabethan sea-rovers. to many a gallant sailor the caribbean sea was a happy hunting-ground where he might indulge at his pleasure any propensities to lawless adventure. if in he had helped to scatter the invincible armada, he now pillaged treasure ships on the coasts of the spanish main; if he had been with drake to flout his catholic majesty at cadiz, he now closed with the spaniards within their distant cities beyond the seas. thus he lined his own pockets with spanish doubloons, and incidentally curbed philip's power of invading england. nor must we think these mariners the same as the lawless buccaneers of a later period. the men of this generation were of a sterner and more fanatical mould, men who for their wildest acts often claimed the sanction of religious convictions. whether they carried off the heathen from africa, or plundered the fleets of romish spain, they were but entering upon "the heritage of the saints." judged by the standards of our own century they were pirates and freebooters, but in the eyes of their fellow-countrymen their attacks upon the spaniards seemed fair and honourable. the last of the great privateering voyages for which drake had set the example was the armament which lord george clifford, earl of cumberland, sent against porto rico in . the ill-starred expeditions of raleigh to guiana in and again in belong rather to the history of exploration and colonization. clifford, "courtier, gambler and buccaneer," having run through a great part of his very considerable fortune, had seized the opportunity offered him by the plunder of the spanish colonies to re-coup himself; and during a period of twelve years, from to , almost every year fitted out, and often himself commanded, an expedition against the spaniards. in his last and most ambitious effort, in , he equipped twenty vessels entirely at his own cost, sailed from plymouth in march, and on th june laid siege to the city of san juan, which he proposed to clear of spaniards and establish as an english stronghold. although the place was captured, the expedition proved a fiasco. a violent sickness broke out among the troops, and as clifford had already sailed away with some of the ships to flores to lie in wait for the treasure fleet, sir thomas berkeley, who was left in command in porto rico, abandoned the island and returned to rejoin the earl.[ ] the english in the sixteenth century, however, had no monopoly of this piratical game. the french did something in their own way, and the dutch were not far behind. indeed, the french may claim to have set the example for the elizabethan freebooters, for in the first half of the sixteenth century privateers flocked to the spanish indies from dieppe, brest and the towns of the basque coast. the gleam of the golden lingots of peru, and the pale lights of the emeralds from the mountains of new granada, exercised a hypnotic influence not only on ordinary seamen but on merchants and on seigneurs with depleted fortunes. names like jean terrier, jacques sore and françois le clerc, the latter popularly called "pie de palo," or "wooden-leg," by the spaniards, were as detestable in spanish ears as those of the great english captains. even before french corsairs hovered about cape st vincent and among the azores and the canaries; and their prowess and audacity were so feared that columbus, on returning from his third voyage in , declared that he had sailed for the island of madeira by a new route to avoid meeting a french fleet which was awaiting him near st vincent.[ ] with the establishment of the system of armed convoys, however, and the presence of spanish fleets on the coast of europe, the corsairs suffered some painful reverses which impelled them to transfer their operations to american waters. thereafter spanish records are full of references to attacks by frenchmen on havana, st. jago de cuba, san domingo and towns on the mainland of south and central america; full of appeals, too, from the colonies to the neglectful authorities in spain, urging them to send artillery, cruisers and munitions of war for their defence.[ ] a letter dated th april , written by gonzalo de guzman to the empress, furnishes us with some interesting details of the exploits of an anonymous french corsair in that year. in november this frenchman had seized in the port of chagre, on the isthmus of darien, a spanish vessel laden with horses from san domingo, had cast the cargo into the sea, put the crew on shore and sailed away with his prize. a month or two later he appeared off the coast of havana and dropped anchor in a small bay a few leagues from the city. as there were then five spanish ships lying in the harbour, the inhabitants compelled the captains to attempt the seizure of the pirate, promising to pay for the ships if they were lost. three vessels of tons each sailed out to the attack, and for several days they fired at the french corsair, which, being a patache of light draught, had run up the bay beyond their reach. finally one morning the frenchmen were seen pressing with both sail and oar to escape from the port. a spanish vessel cut her cables to follow in pursuit, but encountering a heavy sea and contrary winds was abandoned by her crew, who made for shore in boats. the other two spanish ships were deserted in similar fashion, whereupon the french, observing this new turn of affairs, re-entered the bay and easily recovered the three drifting vessels. two of the prizes they burnt, and arming the third sailed away to cruise in the florida straits, in the route of ships returning from the west indies to spain.[ ] the corsairs, however, were not always so uniformly successful. a band of eighty, who attempted to plunder the town of st. jago de cuba, were repulsed with some loss by a certain diego perez of seville, captain of an armed merchant ship then in the harbour, who later petitioned for the grant of a coat-of-arms in recognition of his services.[ ] in october six french vessels attacked the town of santa maria de los remedios, near cape de la vela, but failed to take it in face of the stubborn resistance of the inhabitants. yet the latter a few months earlier had been unable to preserve their homes from pillage, and had been obliged to flee to la granjeria de las perlas on the rio de la hacha.[ ] there is small wonder, indeed, that the defenders were so rarely victorious. the spanish towns were ill-provided with forts and guns, and often entirely without ammunition or any regular soldiers. the distance between the settlements as a rule was great, and the inhabitants, as soon as informed of the presence of the enemy, knowing that they had no means of resistance and little hope of succour, left their homes to the mercy of the freebooters and fled to the hills and woods with their families and most precious belongings. thus when, in october , another band of three hundred french privateers swooped down upon the unfortunate town of st. jago de cuba, they were able to hold it for thirty days, and plundered it to the value of , pieces of eight.[ ] the following year, however, witnessed an even more remarkable action. in july the celebrated captain, jacques sore, landed two hundred men from a caravel a half-league from the city of havana, and before daybreak marched on the town and forced the surrender of the castle. the spanish governor had time to retire to the country, where he gathered a small force of spaniards and negroes, and returned to surprise the french by night. fifteen or sixteen of the latter were killed, and sore, who himself was wounded, in a rage gave orders for the massacre of all the prisoners. he burned the cathedral and the hospital, pillaged the houses and razed most of the city to the ground. after transferring all the artillery to his vessel, he made several forays into the country, burned a few plantations, and finally sailed away in the beginning of august. no record remains of the amount of the booty, but it must have been enormous. to fill the cup of bitterness for the poor inhabitants, on th october there appeared on the coast another french ship, which had learned of sore's visit and of the helpless state of the spaniards. several hundred men disembarked, sacked a few plantations neglected by their predecessors, tore down or burned the houses which the spaniards had begun to rebuild, and seized a caravel loaded with leather which had recently entered the harbour.[ ] it is true that during these years there was almost constant war in europe between the emperor and france; yet this does not entirely explain the activity of the french privateers in spanish america, for we find them busy there in the years when peace reigned at home. once unleash the sea-dogs and it was extremely difficult to bring them again under restraint. with the seventeenth century began a new era in the history of the west indies. if in the sixteenth the english, french and dutch came to tropical america as piratical intruders into seas and countries which belonged to others, in the following century they came as permanent colonisers and settlers. the spaniards, who had explored the whole ring of the west indian islands before , from the beginning neglected the lesser for the larger antilles--cuba, hispaniola, porto rico and jamaica--and for those islands like trinidad, which lie close to the mainland. and when in cortez sailed from cuba for the conquest of mexico, and twelve years later pizarro entered peru, the emigrants who left spain to seek their fortunes in the new world flocked to the vast territories which the _conquistadores_ and their lieutenants had subdued on the continent. it was consequently to the smaller islands which compose the leeward and windward groups that the english, french and dutch first resorted as colonists. small, and therefore "easy to settle, easy to depopulate and to re-people, attractive not only on account of their own wealth, but also as a starting-point for the vast and rich continent off which they lie," these islands became the pawns in a game of diplomacy and colonization which continued for years. in the seventeenth century, moreover, the spanish monarchy was declining rapidly both in power and prestige, and its empire, though still formidable, no longer overshadowed the other nations of europe as in the days of charles v. and philip ii. france, with the bourbons on the throne, was entering upon an era of rapid expansion at home and abroad, while the dutch, by the truce of , virtually obtained the freedom for which they had struggled so long. in england queen elizabeth had died in , and her stuart successor exchanged her policy of dalliance, of balance between france and spain, for one of peace and conciliation. the aristocratic free-booters who had enriched themselves by harassing the spanish indies were succeeded by a less romantic but more business-like generation, which devoted itself to trade and planting. abortive attempts at colonization had been made in the sixteenth century. the dutch, who were trading in the west indies as early as , by seem to have gained some foothold in guiana;[ ] and the french huguenots, under the patronage of the admiral de coligny, made three unsuccessful efforts to form settlements on the american continent, one in brazil in , another near port royal in south carolina in , and two years later a third on the st. john's river in florida. the only english effort in the sixteenth century was the vain attempt of sir walter raleigh between and to plant a colony on roanoke island, on the coast of what is now north carolina. it was not till that the first permanent english settlement in america was made at jamestown in virginia. between and numerous stations were established by english, dutch and french in guiana between the mouth of the orinoco and that of the amazon. in the dutch west india company was incorporated, and a few years later proposals for a similar company were broached in england. among the west indian islands, st. kitts received its first english settlers in ; and two years later the island was formally divided with the french, thus becoming the earliest nucleus of english and french colonization in those regions. barbadoes was colonized in - . in english settlers from st. kitts spread to nevis and barbuda, and within another four years to antigua and montserrat; while as early as english and dutch took joint possession of santa cruz. the founders of the french settlement on st. kitts induced richelieu to incorporate a french west india company with the title, "the company of the isles of america," and under its auspices guadeloupe, martinique and other islands of the windward group were colonized in and succeeding years. meanwhile between and the dutch had established trading stations on st. eustatius in the north, and on tobago and curaçao in the south near the spanish mainland. while these centres of trade and population were being formed in the very heart of the spanish seas, the privateers were not altogether idle. to the treaty of vervins between france and spain in had been added a secret restrictive article whereby it was agreed that the peace should not hold good south of the tropic of cancer and west of the meridian of the azores. beyond these two lines (called "les lignes de l'enclos des amitiés") french and spanish ships might attack each other and take fair prize as in open war. the ministers of henry iv. communicated this restriction verbally to the merchants of the ports, and soon private men-of-war from dieppe, havre and st. malo flocked to the western seas.[ ] ships loaded with contraband goods no longer sailed for the indies unless armed ready to engage all comers, and many ship-captains renounced trade altogether for the more profitable and exciting occupation of privateering. in the early years of the seventeenth century, moreover, dutch fleets harassed the coasts of chile and peru,[ ] while in brazil[ ] and the west indies a second "pie de palo," this time the dutch admiral, piet heyn, was proving a scourge to the spaniards. heyn was employed by the dutch west india company, which from the year onwards, carried the spanish war into the transmarine possessions of spain and portugal. with a fleet composed of twenty-six ships and men, of which he was vice-admiral, he greatly distinguished himself at the capture of bahia, the seat of portuguese power in brazil. similar expeditions were sent out annually, and brought back the rich spoils of the south american colonies. within two years the extraordinary number of eighty ships, with cannon and over sailors and soldiers, were despatched to american seas, and although bahia was soon retaken, the dutch for a time occupied pernambuco, as well as san juan de porto rico in the west indies.[ ] in piet heyn was in command of a squadron designed to intercept the plate fleet which sailed every year from vera cruz to spain. with thirty-one ships, cannon and nearly men he cruised along the northern coast of cuba, and on th september fell in with his quarry near cape san antonio. the spaniards made a running fight along the coast until they reached the matanzas river near havana, into which they turned with the object of running the great-bellied galleons aground and escaping with what treasure they could. the dutch followed, however, and most of the rich cargo was diverted into the coffers of the dutch west india company. the gold, silver, indigo, sugar and logwood were sold in the netherlands for fifteen million guilders, and the company was enabled to distribute to its shareholders the unprecedented dividend of per cent. it was an exploit which two generations of english mariners had attempted in vain, and the unfortunate spanish general, don juan de benavides, on his return to spain was imprisoned for his defeat and later beheaded.[ ] in we find the spanish council of war for the indies conferring with the king on measures to be taken against english piratical ships in the caribbean;[ ] and in captain william jackson, provided with an ample commission from the earl of warwick[ ] and duplicates under the great seal, made a raid in which he emulated the exploits of sir francis drake and his contemporaries. starting out with three ships and about men, mostly picked up in st. kitts and barbadoes, he cruised along the main from caracas to honduras and plundered the towns of maracaibo and truxillo. on th march he dropped anchor in what is now kingston harbour in jamaica, landed about men, and after some sharp fighting and the loss of forty of his followers, entered the town of st. jago de la vega, which he ransomed for beeves, , lbs. of cassava bread and pieces of eight. many of the english were so captivated by the beauty and fertility of the island that twenty-three deserted in one night to the spaniards.[ ] the first two stuart kings, like the great queen who preceded them, and in spite of the presence of a powerful spanish faction at the english court, looked upon the indies with envious eyes, as a source of perennial wealth to whichever nation could secure them. james i., to be sure, was a man of peace, and soon after his accession patched up a treaty with the spaniards; but he had no intention of giving up any english claims, however shadowy they might be, to america. cornwallis, the new ambassador at madrid, from a vantage ground where he could easily see the financial and administrative confusion into which spain, in spite of her colonial wealth, had fallen, was most dissatisfied with the treaty. in a letter to cranborne, dated nd july , he suggested that england never lost so great an opportunity of winning honour and wealth as by relinquishing the war with spain, and that philip and his kingdom "were reduced to such a state as they could not in all likelihood have endured for the space of two years more."[ ] this opinion we find repeated in his letters in the following years, with covert hints that an attack upon the indies might after all be the most profitable and politic thing to do. when, in october , zuniga, the spanish ambassador in london, complained to james of the establishment of the new colony in virginia, james replied that virginia was land discovered by the english and therefore not within the jurisdiction of philip; and a week later salisbury, while confiding to zuniga that he thought the english might not justly go to virginia, still refused to prohibit their going or command their return, for it would be an acknowledgment, he said, that the king of spain was lord of all the indies.[ ] in , in the truce concluded between spain and the netherlands, one of the stipulations provided that for nine years the dutch were to be free to trade in all places in the east and west indies except those in actual possession of the spaniards on the date of cessation of hostilities; and thereafter the english and french governments endeavoured with all the more persistence to obtain a similar privilege. attorney-general heath, in , presented a memorial to the crown on the advantages derived by the spaniards and dutch in the west indies, maintaining that it was neither safe nor profitable for them to be absolute lords of those regions; and he suggested that his majesty openly interpose or permit it to be done underhand.[ ] in september proposals were renewed in england for a west india company as the only method of obtaining a share in the wealth of america. it was suggested that some convenient port be seized as a safe retreat from which to plunder spanish trade on land and sea, and that the officers of the company be empowered to conquer and occupy any part of the west indies, build ships, levy soldiers and munitions of war, and make reprisals.[ ] the temper of englishmen at this time was again illustrated in when the spanish ambassador, alonzo de cardenas, protested to charles i. against certain ships which the earls of warwick and marlborough were sending to the west indies with the intention, cardenas declared, of committing hostilities against the spaniards. the earl of warwick, it seems, pretended to have received great injuries from the latter and threatened to recoup his losses at their expense. he procured from the king a broad commission which gave him the right to trade in the west indies, and to "offend" such as opposed him. under shelter of this commission the earl of marlborough was now going to sea with three or four armed ships, and cardenas prayed the king to restrain him until he gave security not to commit any acts of violence against the spanish nation. the petition was referred to a committee of the lords, who concluded that as the peace had never been strictly observed by either nation in the indies they would not demand any security of the earl. "whether the spaniards will think this reasonable or not," concludes secretary windebank in his letter to sir arthur hopton, "is no great matter."[ ] during this century and a half between and , the spaniards were by no means passive or indifferent to the attacks made upon their authority and prestige in the new world. the hostility of the mariners from the north they repaid with interest, and woe to the foreign interloper or privateer who fell into their clutches. when henry ii. of france in issued an order that spanish prisoners be condemned to the galleys, the spanish government retaliated by commanding its sea-captains to mete out the same treatment to their french captives, except that captains, masters and officers taken in the navigation of the indies were to be hung or cast into the sea.[ ] in december the governor of cumana had suggested to the king, as a means of keeping dutch and english ships from the salt mines of araya, the ingenious scheme of poisoning the salt. this advice, it seems, was not followed, but a few years later, in , a spanish fleet of fourteen galleons sent from lisbon surprised and burnt nineteen dutch vessels found loading salt at araya, and murdered most of the prisoners.[ ] in december the venetian ambassador in london wrote of "news that the spanish in the west indies captured two english vessels, cut off the hands, feet, noses and ears of the crews and smeared them with honey and tied them to trees to be tortured by flies and other insects. the spanish here plead," he continued, "that they were pirates, not merchants, and that they did not know of the peace. but the barbarity makes people here cry out."[ ] on nd june , edmondes, the english ambassador at brussels, in a letter to cornwallis, speaks of a london ship which was sent to trade in virginia, and putting into a river in florida to obtain water, was surprised there by spanish vessels from havana, the men ill-treated and the cargo confiscated.[ ] and it was but shortly after that captain chaloner's ship on its way to virginia was seized by the spaniards in the west indies, and the crew sent to languish in the dungeons of seville or condemned to the galleys. by attacks upon some of the english settlements, too, the spaniards gave their threats a more effective form. frequent raids were made upon the english and dutch plantations in guiana;[ ] and on th- th september a spanish fleet of over thirty sail, commanded by don federico de toledo, nearly annihilated the joint french and english colony on st. kitts. nine english ships were captured and the settlements burnt. the french inhabitants temporarily evacuated the island and sailed for antigua; but of the english some were carried to cartagena and havana, whence they were shipped to england, and all the rest fled to the mountains and woods.[ ] within three months' time, however, after the departure of the spaniards, the scattered settlers had returned and re-established the colony. providence island and its neighbour, henrietta, being situated near the mosquito coast, were peculiarly exposed to spanish attack;[ ] while near the north shore of hispaniola the island of tortuga, which was colonized by the same english company, suffered repeatedly from the assaults of its hostile neighbours. in july a spanish fleet from the main assailed the island of providence, but unable to land among the rocks, was after five days beaten off "considerably torn" by the shot from the fort.[ ] on the strength of these injuries received and of others anticipated, the providence company obtained from the king the liberty "to right themselves" by making reprisals, and during the next six years kept numerous vessels preying upon spanish commerce in those waters. king philip was therefore all the more intent upon destroying the plantation.[ ] he bided his time, however, until the early summer of , when the general of the galleons, don francisco diaz pimienta, with twelve sail and men, fell upon the colony, razed the forts and carried off all the english, about in number, together with forty cannon and half a million of plunder.[ ] it was just ten years later that a force of men from porto rico invaded santa cruz, whence the dutch had been expelled by the english in , killed the english governor and more than settlers, seized two ships in the harbour and burnt and pillaged most of the plantations. the rest of the inhabitants escaped to the woods, and after the departure of the spaniards deserted the colony for st. kitts and other islands.[ ] footnotes: [footnote : herrera: decades ii. , p. , cited in scelle: la traite négrière, i. p. . note .] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. pp. - .] [footnote : "por cuanto los pacificaciones no se han de hacer con ruido de armas, sino con caridad y buen modo."--recop. de leyes ... de las indias, lib. vii. tit. .] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. .] [footnote : weiss: l'espagne depuis philippe ii. jusqu'aux bourbons., ii. pp. and . not till was legislative sanction given to this practice. m. lemonnet wrote to colbert in concerning this commerce:--"quelque perquisition qu'on ait faite dans ce dernier temps aux indes pour découvrir les biens des françois, ils ont plustost souffert la prison que de rien déclarer ... toute les merchandises qu'on leur donne à porter aux indes sont chargées sous le nom d'espagnols, que bien souvent n'en ont pas connaissance, ne jugeant pas à propos de leur en parler, afin de tenir les affaires plus secrètes et qu'il n'y ait que le commissionaire à le savoir, lequel en rend compte à son retour des indes, directement à celui qui en a donne la cargaison en confiance sans avoir nul egard pour ceux au nom desquels le chargement à été fait, et lorsque ces commissionaires reviennent des indes soit sur le flottes galions ou navires particuliers, ils apportent leur argent dans leurs coffres, la pluspart entre pont et sans connoissement." (margry: relations et mémoires inédits pour servir à l'histoire de la france dans les pays d'outremer, p. .) the importance to the maritime powers of preserving and protecting this clandestine trade is evident, especially as the spanish government frequently found it a convenient instrument for retaliating upon those nations against which it harboured some grudge. all that was necessary was to sequester the vessels and goods of merchants belonging to the nation at which it wished to strike. this happened frequently in the course of the seventeenth century. thus lerma in arrested the french merchants in spain to revenge himself on henry iv. in olivares seized dutch vessels. the goods of genoese merchants were sequestered by philip iv. in ; and in french merchandize was again seized, and mexican traders whose storehouses contained such goods were fined , ecus, although the same storehouses contained english and dutch goods which were left unnoticed. the fine was later restored upon admiral d'estrées' threat to bombard cadiz. the solicitude of the french government for this trade is expressed in a letter of colbert to the marquis de villars, ambassador at madrid, dated th february :--"il est tellement necessaire d'avoir soin d'assister les particuliers qui font leur trafic en espagne, pour maintenir le plus important commerce que nous ayons, que je suis persuadé que vous ferez toutes les instances qui pourront dépendre de vous ... en sorte que cette protection produira des avantages considérables au commerce des sujets de sa majesté" (_ibid._, p. ). _cf._ also the instructions of louis xiv. to the comte d'estrées, st april . the french admiral was to visit all the ports of the spaniards in the west indies, especially cartagena and san domingo; and to be always informed of the situation and advantages of these ports, and of the facilities and difficulties to be met with in case of an attack upon them; so that the spaniards might realise that if they failed to do justice to the french merchants on the return of the galleons, his majesty was always ready to force them to do so, either by attacking these galleons, or by capturing one of their west indian ports (_ibid._).] [footnote : weiss, _op. cit._, ii. p. .] [footnote : ibid., ii. p. .] [footnote : oppenheim: the naval tracts of sir wm. monson. vol. ii. appendix b., p. .] [footnote : in , owing to the difficulties experienced by merchants in ascending the guadalquivir, ships were given permission to load and register at cadiz under the supervision of an inspector or "visitador," and thereafter commerce and navigation tended more and more to gravitate to that port. after , in order to facilitate emigration to america, vessels were allowed to sail from certain other ports, notably san sebastian, bilboa, coruna, cartagena and malaga. the ships might register in these ports, but were obliged always to make their return voyage to seville. but either the _cedula_ was revoked, or was never made use of, for, according to scelle, there are no known instances of vessels sailing to america from those towns. the only other exceptions were in favour of the company of guipuzcoa in , to send ships from san sebastian to caracas, and of the company of galicia in , to send two vessels annually to campeache and vera cruz. (scelle, _op. cit._, i. pp. - and notes.)] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. _ff._] [footnote : in nov. charles v., against the opposition of the _contratacion_, ordered the council of the indies to appoint a resident judge at cadiz to replace the officers of the _casa_ there. this institution, called the "juzgado de indias," was, until the removal of the _casa_ to cadiz in , the source of constant disputes and irritation.] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. and note; duro: armada espanola, i. p. .] [footnote : the distinction between the flota or fleet for new spain and the galleons intended for terra firma only began with the opening of the great silver mines of potosi, the rich yields of which after made advisable an especial fleet for cartagena and nombre de dios. (oppenheim, ii. appendix b., p. .)] [footnote : memoir of mm. duhalde and de rochefort to the french king, (margry, _op. cit._, p. _ff._).] [footnote : memoir of mm. duhalde and de rochefort to the french king, (margry, _op. cit._, p. _ff._)] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. ; dampier: voyages, _ed._ , i. p. .] [footnote : gage: a new survey of the west indies, _ed._ , pp. - . when gage was at granada, in february , strict orders were received from gautemala that the ships were not to sail that year, because the president and audiencia were informed of some dutch and english ships lying in wait at the mouth of the river.] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. pp. - ; duhalde and de rochefort. there were two ways of sending goods from panama to porto bello. one was an overland route of leagues, and was used only during the summer. the other was by land as far as venta cruz, leagues from panama, and thence by water on the river chagre to its mouth, a distance of leagues. when the river was high the transit might be accomplished in two or three days, but at other times from six to twelve days were required. to transfer goods from chagre to porto bello was a matter of only eight or nine hours. this route was used in winter when the roads were rendered impassable by the great rains and floods. the overland journey, though shorter, was also more difficult and expensive. the goods were carried on long mule-trains, and the "roads, so-called, were merely bridle paths ... running through swamps and jungles, over hills and rocks, broken by unbridged rivers, and situated in one of the deadliest climates in the world." the project of a canal to be cut through the isthmus was often proposed to the councils in spain, but was never acted upon. (descript. ... of cartagena; oppenheim, i. p. .)] [footnote : nombre de dios, a few leagues to the east of porto bello, had formerly been the port where the galleons received the treasure brought from panama, but in the king of spain ordered the settlement to be abandoned on account of its unhealthiness, and because the harbour, being open to the sea, afforded little shelter to shipping. gage says that in his time nombre de dios was almost forsaken because of its climate. dampier, writing thirty years later, describes the site as a waste. "nombre de dios," he says, "is now nothing but a name. for i have lain ashore in the place where that city stood, but it is all overgrown with wood, so as to have no sign that any town hath been there." (voyages, _ed._ , i. p. .)] [footnote : gage, _ed._ , pp. - .] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. .] [footnote : oppenheim, ii. p. .] [footnote : when the margarita patache failed to meet the galleons at cartagena, it was given its clearance and allowed to sail alone to havana--a tempting prey to buccaneers hovering in those seas.] [footnote : duhalde and de rochefort.] [footnote : rawl. mss., a. , b; oppenheim, ii. p. .] [footnote : here i am following the mss. quoted by oppenheim (ii. pp. _ff._). instead of watering in hispaniola, the fleet sometimes stopped at dominica, or at aguada in porto rico.] [footnote : duhalde and de rochefort.] [footnote : quintal=about pounds.] [footnote : these "vaisseaux de registre" were supposed not to exceed tons, but through fraud were often double that burden.] [footnote : duhalde and de rochefort; scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. .] [footnote : gage, _ed._ , pp. - .] [footnote : duhalde and de rochefort; oppenheim, ii. p. .] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. ; recop., t. i. lib. iii. tit. viii.] [footnote : there seems to have been a contraband trade carried on at cadiz itself. foreign merchants embarked their goods upon the galleons directly from their own vessels in the harbour, without registering them with the _contratacion_; and on the return of the fleets received the price of their goods in ingots of gold and silver by the same fraud. it is scarcely possible that this was done without the tacit authorization of the council of the indies at madrid, for if the council had insisted upon a rigid execution of the laws regarding registration, detection would have been inevitable.] [footnote : weiss, _op. cit._, ii. p. .] [footnote : most of the offices in the spanish indies were venal. no one obtained a post without paying dearly for it, except the viceroys of mexico and peru, who were grandees, and received their places through favour at court. the governors of the ports, and the presidents of the audiencias established at panama, san domingo, and gautemala, bought their posts in spain. the offices in the interior were in the gift of the viceroys and sold to the highest bidder. although each port had three corregidors who audited the finances, as they also paid for their places, they connived with the governors. the consequence was inevitable. each official during his tenure of office expected to recover his initial outlay, and amass a small fortune besides. so not only were the bribes of interlopers acceptable, but the officials often themselves bought and sold the contraband articles.] [footnote : froude: history of england, viii. p. _ff._] [footnote : , august th. ralph lane to sir philip sidney. port ferdinando, virginia.--he has discovered the infinite riches of st. john (porto rico?) and hispaniola by dwelling on the islands five weeks. he thinks that if the queen finds herself burdened with the king of spain, to attempt them would be most honourable, feasible and profitable. he exhorts him not to refuse this good opportunity of rendering so great a service to the church of christ. the strength of the spaniards doth altogether grow from the mines of her treasure. extract, c.s.p. colon., - .] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, ii. p. xiii.] [footnote : scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. ix.] [footnote : , february . sir thos. roe to salisbury. port d'espaigne, trinidad.--he has seen more of the coast from the river amazon to the orinoco than any other englishman alive. the spaniards here are proud and insolent, yet needy and weak, their force is reputation, their safety is opinion. the spaniards treat the english worse than moors. the government is lazy and has more skill in planting and selling tobacco than in erecting colonies and marching armies. extract, c.s.p. colon., - . (roe was sent by prince henry upon a voyage of discovery to the indies.)] [footnote : "an historical account of the rise and growth of the west india colonies." by dalby thomas, lond., . (harl. miscell., , ii. .)] [footnote : oviedo: historia general de las indias, lib. xix. cap. xiii.; coleccion de documentos ... de ultramar, tom. iv. p. (deposition of the spanish captain at the isle of mona); pacheco, etc.: coleccion de documentos ... de las posesiones espanoles en america y oceania, tom. xl. p. (cross-examination of witnesses by officers of the royal audiencia in san domingo just after the visit of the english ship to that place); english historical review, xx. p. . the ship is identified with the "samson" dispatched by henry viii. in "with divers cunning men to seek strange regions," which sailed from the thames on th may in company with the "mary of guildford," was lost by her consort in a storm on the night of st july, and was believed to have foundered with all on board. (ibid.)] [footnote : hakluyt, _ed._ , iii. p. ; froude, _op. cit._, viii. p. .] [footnote : scelle., _op. cit._, i. pp. - , - .] [footnote : colecc. de doc. ... de ultramar. tom. vi. p. .] [footnote : froude, _op. cit._, viii. pp. - .] [footnote : corbett: drake and the tudor navy, i. ch. .] [footnote : corbett: drake and the tudor navy, ii. chs. , , .] [footnote : corbett: the successors of drake, ch. x.] [footnote : marcel: les corsaires français au xvie siècle, p. . as early as a royal ordinance in spain prescribed the construction of carracks to pursue the privateers, and in royal _cedulas_ were sent to the officials of the _casa de contratacion_ ordering them to send two caravels to guard the coasts of cuba and protect spanish navigation from the assaults of french corsairs. (ibid., p. ).] [footnote : colecc. de doc. ... de ultramar, tomos i., iv., vi.; ducéré: les corsaires sous l'ancien régime. append. ii.; duro., _op. cit._, i. append. xiv.] [footnote : colecc. de doc. ... de ultramar, tom. vi. p. .] [footnote : ibid., p. .] [footnote : marcel, _op. cit._, p. .] [footnote : colecc. de doc. ... de ultramar, tom. vi. p. .] [footnote : colecc. de doc. ... de ultramar, tom. vi. p. .] [footnote : lucas: a historical geography of the british colonies, vol. ii. pp. , .] [footnote : weiss, _op. cit._, ii. p. .] [footnote : duro, _op. cit._, iii. ch. xvi.; iv. chs. iii., viii.] [footnote : portugal between and was subject to the crown of spain, and brazil, a portuguese colony, was consequently within the pale of spanish influence and administration.] [footnote : blok: history of the people of the netherlands, iv. p. .] [footnote : blok: history of the people of the netherlands, iv. p. ; duro, _op. cit._, iv. p. ; gage, _ed._ , p. .] [footnote : brit. mus., add. mss., , , no. .] [footnote : robert rich, earl of warwick, was created admiral of the fleet by order of parliament in march , and although removed by charles i. was reinstated by parliament on st july.] [footnote : brit. mus., sloane mss., or ; add. mss., , , no. .] [footnote : winwood papers, ii. pp. - .] [footnote : brown: genesis of the united states, i. pp. - , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - .] [footnote : clarendon state papers, ii. p. ; rymer: f[oe]dera, xx. p. .] [footnote : duro, _op. cit._, ii. p. .] [footnote : duro, _op. cit._, iii. pp. - .] [footnote : c.s.p. venet., - , p. .] [footnote : winwood papers, ii. p. .] [footnote : brit. mus., add. mss., , , no. ; , , no. ; , , no. ; , , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - :-- , th and th nov.; , th july.] [footnote : gage saw at cartagena about a dozen english prisoners captured by the spaniards at sea, and belonging to the settlement on providence island.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - :-- , th march; , th march.] [footnote : brit. mus., add. mss., , , no. .] [footnote : duro, tomo., iv. p. ; _cf._ also in bodleian library:--"a letter written upon occasion in the low countries, etc. whereunto is added avisos from several places, of the taking of the island of providence, by the spaniards from the english. london. printed for nath. butter, mar. , . "i have letter by an aviso from cartagena, dated the th of september, wherein they advise that the galleons were ready laden with the silver, and would depart thence the th of october. the general of the galleons, named francisco dias pimienta, had beene formerly in the moneth of july with above men, and the least of his ships, in the island of s. catalina, where he had taken and carried away with all the english, and razed the forts, wherein they found negroes, much gold and indigo, so that the prize is esteemed worth above halfe a million."] [footnote : rawl. mss., a. , ; , .] chapter ii the beginnings of the buccaneers in the second half of the sixteenth and the early part of the seventeenth centuries, strangers who visited the great spanish islands of hispaniola, jamaica or porto rico, usually remarked the extraordinary number of wild cattle and boars found roaming upon them. these herds were in every case sprung from domestic animals originally brought from spain. for as the aborigines in the greater antilles decreased in numbers under the heavy yoke of their conquerors, and as the spaniards themselves turned their backs upon the antilles for the richer allurements of the continent, less and less land was left under cultivation; and cattle, hogs, horses and even dogs ran wild, increased at a rapid rate, and soon filled the broad savannas and deep woods which covered the greater part of these islands. the northern shore of hispaniola the spaniards had never settled, and thither, probably from an early period, interloping ships were accustomed to resort when in want of victuals. with a long range of uninhabited coast, good anchorage and abundance of provisions, this northern shore could not fail to induce some to remain. in time we find there scattered groups of hunters, mostly french and english, who gained a rude livelihood by killing wild cattle for their skins, and curing the flesh to supply the needs of passing vessels. the origin of these men we do not know. they may have been deserters from ships, crews of wrecked vessels, or even chance marooners. in any case the charm of their half-savage, independent mode of life must soon have attracted others, and a fairly regular traffic sprang up between them and the ubiquitous dutch traders, whom they supplied with hides, tallow and cured meat in return for the few crude necessities and luxuries they required. their numbers were recruited in by colonists from st. kitts who had fled before don federico de toledo. making common lot with the hunters, the refugees found sustenance so easy and the natural bounty of the island so rich and varied, that many remained and settled. to the north-west of hispaniola lies a small, rocky island about eight leagues in length and two in breadth, separated by a narrow channel from its larger neighbour. from the shore of hispaniola the island appears in form like a monster sea-turtle floating upon the waves, and hence was named by the spaniards "tortuga." so mountainous and inaccessible on the northern side as to be called the côte-de-fer, and with only one harbour upon the south, it offered a convenient refuge to the french and english hunters should the spaniards become troublesome. these hunters probably ventured across to tortuga before , for there are indications that a spanish expedition was sent against the island from hispaniola in or , and a division of the spoil made in the city of san domingo after its return.[ ] it was then, apparently, that the spaniards left upon tortuga an officer and twenty-eight men, the small garrison which, says charlevoix, was found there when the hunters returned. the spanish soldiers were already tired of their exile upon this lonely, inhospitable rock, and evacuated with the same satisfaction with which the french and english resumed their occupancy. from the testimony of some documents in the english colonial archives we may gather that the english from the first were in predominance in the new colony, and exercised almost sole authority. in the minutes of the providence company, under date of th may , we find that a committee was "appointed to treat with the agents for a colony of about persons, settled upon tortuga";[ ] and a few weeks later that "the planters upon the island of tortuga desired the company to take them under their protection, and to be at the charge of their fortification, in consideration of a twentieth part of the commodities raised there yearly."[ ] at the same time the earl of holland, governor of the company, and his associates petitioned the king for an enlargement of their grant "only of or degrees of northerly latitude, to avoid all doubts as to whether one of the islands (tortuga) was contained in their former grant."[ ] although there were several islands named tortuga in the region of the west indies, all the evidence points to the identity of the island concerned in this petition with the tortuga near the north coast of hispaniola.[ ] the providence company accepted the offer of the settlers upon tortuga, and sent a ship to reinforce the little colony with six pieces of ordnance, a supply of ammunition and provisions, and a number of apprentices or _engagés_. a captain hilton was appointed governor, with captain christopher wormeley to succeed him in case of the governor's death or absence, and the name of the island was changed from tortuga to association.[ ] although consisting for the most part of high land covered with tall cedar woods, the island contained in the south and west broad savannas which soon attracted planters as well as cattle-hunters. some of the inhabitants of st. kitts, wearied of the dissensions between the french and english there, and allured by reports of quiet and plenty in tortuga, deserted st. kitts for the new colony. the settlement, however, was probably always very poor and struggling, for in january the providence company received advice that captain hilton intended to desert the island and draw most of the inhabitants after him; and a declaration was sent out from england to the planters, assuring them special privileges of trade and domicile, and dissuading them from "changing certain ways of profit already discovered for uncertain hopes suggested by fancy or persuasion."[ ] the question of remaining or departing, indeed, was soon decided for the colonists without their volition, for in december a spanish force from hispaniola invaded the island and drove out all the english and french they found there. it seems that an irishman named "don juan morf" (john murphy?),[ ] who had been "sargento-mayor" in tortuga, became discontented with the _régime_ there and fled to cartagena. the spanish governor of cartagena sent him to don gabriel de gaves, president of the audiencia in san domingo, thinking that with the information the renegade was able to supply the spaniards of hispaniola might drive out the foreigners. the president of san domingo, however, died three months later without bestirring himself, and it was left to his successor to carry out the project. with the information given by murphy, added to that obtained from prisoners, he sent a force of foot under command of rui fernandez de fuemayor to take the island.[ ] at this time, according to the spaniards' account, there were in tortuga men bearing arms, besides slaves, women and children. the harbour was commanded by a platform of six cannon. the spaniards approached the island just before dawn, but through the ignorance of the pilot the whole armadilla was cast upon some reefs near the shore. rui fernandez with about thirty of his men succeeded in reaching land in canoes, seized the fort without any difficulty, and although his followers were so few managed to disperse a body of the enemy who were approaching, with the english governor at their head, to recover it. in the mêlée the governor was one of the first to be killed--stabbed, say the spaniards, by the irishman, who took active part in the expedition and fought by the side of rui fernandez. meanwhile some of the inhabitants, thinking that they could not hold the island, had regained the fort, spiked the guns and transferred the stores to several ships in the harbour, which sailed away leaving only two dismantled boats and a patache to fall into the hands of the spaniards. rui fernandez, reinforced by some of his men who had succeeded in escaping from the stranded armadilla, now turned his attention to the settlement. he found his way barred by another body of several hundred english, but dispersed them too, and took seventy prisoners. the houses were then sacked and the tobacco plantations burned by the soldiers, and the spaniards returned to san domingo with four captured banners, the six pieces of artillery and muskets.[ ] the spanish occupation apparently did not last very long, for in the following april the providence company appointed captain nicholas riskinner to be governor of tortuga in place of wormeley, and in february it learned that riskinner was in possession of the island.[ ] two planters just returned from the colony, moreover, informed the company that there were then some english in the settlement, besides negroes. it is evident that the colonists were mostly cattle-hunters, for they assured the company that they could supply tortuga with beasts a month from hispaniola, and would deliver calves there at twenty shillings apiece.[ ] yet at a later meeting of the adventurers on th january , a project for sending more men and ammunition to the island was suddenly dropped "upon intelligence that the inhabitants had quitted it and removed to hispaniola."[ ] for three years thereafter the providence records are silent concerning tortuga. a few frenchmen must have remained on the island, however, for charlevoix informs us that in the general of the galleons swooped down upon the colony, put to the sword all who failed to escape to the hills and woods, and again destroyed all the habitations.[ ] persuaded that the hunters would not expose themselves to a repetition of such treatment, the spaniards neglected to leave a garrison, and a few scattered frenchmen gradually filtered back to their ruined homes. it was about this time, it seems, that the president of san domingo formed a body of armed lancers in an effort to drive the intruders from the larger island of hispaniola. these lancers, half of whom were always kept in the field, were divided into companies of fifty each, whence they were called by the french, "cinquantaines." ranging the woods and savannas this spanish constabulary attacked isolated hunters wherever they found them, and they formed an important element in the constant warfare between the french and spanish colonists throughout the rest of the century.[ ] meanwhile an english adventurer, some time after the spanish descent of , gathered a body of of his compatriots in the island of nevis near st. kitts, and sailing for tortuga dispossessed the few frenchmen living there of the island. according to french accounts he was received amicably by the inhabitants and lived with them for four months, when he turned upon his hosts, disarmed them and marooned them upon the opposite shore of hispaniola. a few made their way to st. kitts and complained to m. de poincy, the governor-general of the french islands, who seized the opportunity to establish a french governor in tortuga. living at that time in st. kitts was a huguenot gentleman named levasseur, who had been a companion-in-arms of d'esnambuc when the latter settled st. kitts in , and after a short visit to france had returned and made his fortune in trade. he was a man of courage and command as well as a skilful engineer, and soon rose high in the councils of de poincy. being a calvinist, however, he had drawn upon the governor the reproaches of the authorities at home; and de poincy proposed to get rid of his presence, now become inconvenient, by sending him to subdue tortuga. levasseur received his commission from de poincy in may , assembled forty or fifty followers, all calvinists, and sailed in a barque to hispaniola. he established himself at port margot, about five leagues from tortuga, and entered into friendly relations with his english neighbours. he was but biding his time, however, and on the last day of august , on the plea that the english had ill-used some of his followers and had seized a vessel sent by de poincy to obtain provisions, he made a sudden descent upon the island with only men and captured the governor. the inhabitants retired to hispaniola, but a few days later returned and besieged levasseur for ten days. finding that they could not dislodge him, they sailed away with all their people to the island of providence.[ ] levasseur, fearing perhaps another descent of the spaniards, lost no time in putting the settlement in a state of defence. although the port of tortuga was little more than a roadstead, it offered a good anchorage on a bottom of fine sand, the approaches to which were easily defended by a hill or promontory overlooking the harbour. the top of this hill, situated or paces from the shore, was a level platform, and upon it rose a steep rock some feet high. nine or ten paces from the base of the rock gushed forth a perennial fountain of fresh water. the new governor quickly made the most of these natural advantages. the platform he shaped into terraces, with means for accommodating several hundred men. on the top of the rock he built a house for himself, as well as a magazine, and mounted a battery of two guns. the only access to the rock was by a narrow approach, up half of which steps were cut in the stone, the rest of the ascent being by means of an iron ladder which could easily be raised and lowered.[ ] this little fortress, in which the governor could repose with a feeling of entire security, he euphuistically called his "dove-cote." the dove-cote was not finished any too soon, for the spaniards of san domingo in determined to destroy this rising power in their neighbourhood, and sent against levasseur a force of or men. when they tried to land within a half gunshot of the shore, however, they were greeted with a discharge of artillery from the fort, which sank one of the vessels and forced the rest to retire. the spaniards withdrew to a place two leagues to leeward, where they succeeded in disembarking, but fell into an ambush laid by levasseur, lost, according to the french accounts, between and men, and fled to their ships and back to hispaniola. with this victory the reputation of levasseur spread far and wide throughout the islands, and for ten years the spaniards made no further attempt to dislodge the french settlement.[ ] planters, hunters and corsairs now came in greater numbers to tortuga. the hunters, using the smaller island merely as a headquarters for supplies and a retreat in time of danger, penetrated more boldly than ever into the interior of hispaniola, plundering the spanish plantations in their path, and establishing settlements on the north shore at port margot and port de paix. corsairs, after cruising and robbing along the spanish coasts, retired to tortuga to refit and find a market for their spoils. plantations of tobacco and sugar were cultivated, and although the soil never yielded such rich returns as upon the other islands, dutch and french trading ships frequently resorted there for these commodities, and especially for the skins prepared by the hunters, bringing in exchange brandy, guns, powder and cloth. indeed, under the active, positive administration of levasseur, tortuga enjoyed a degree of prosperity which almost rivalled that of the french settlements in the leeward islands. the term "buccaneer," though usually applied to the corsairs who in the seventeenth century ravaged the spanish possessions in the west indies and the south seas, should really be restricted to these cattle-hunters of west and north-west hispaniola. the flesh of the wild-cattle was cured by the hunters after a fashion learnt from the caribbee indians. the meat was cut into long strips, laid upon a grate or hurdle constructed of green sticks, and dried over a slow wood fire fed with bones and the trimmings of the hide of the animal. by this means an excellent flavour was imparted to the meat and a fine red colour. the place where the flesh was smoked was called by the indians a "boucan," and the same term, from the poverty of an undeveloped language, was applied to the frame or grating on which the flesh was dried. in course of time the dried meat became known as "viande boucannée," and the hunters themselves as "boucaniers" or "buccaneers." when later circumstances led the hunters to combine their trade in flesh and hides with that of piracy, the name gradually lost its original significance and acquired, in the english language at least, its modern and better-known meaning of corsair or freebooter. the french adventurers, however, seem always to have restricted the word "boucanier" to its proper signification, that of a hunter and curer of meat; and when they developed into corsairs, by a curious contrast they adopted an english name and called themselves "filibustiers," which is merely the french sailor's way of pronouncing the english word "freebooter."[ ] the buccaneers or west indian corsairs owed their origin as well as their name to the cattle and hog-hunters of hispaniola and tortuga. doubtless many of the wilder, more restless spirits in the smaller islands of the windward and leeward groups found their way into the ranks of this piratical fraternity, or were willing at least to lend a hand in an occasional foray against their spanish neighbours. we know that jackson, in , had no difficulty in gathering or men from barbadoes and st. kitts for his ill-starred dash upon the spanish main. and when the french in later years made their periodical descents upon the dutch stations on tobago, curaçao and st. eustatius, they always found in their island colonies of martinique and guadeloupe buccaneers enough and more, eager to fill their ships. it seems to be generally agreed, however, among the jesuit historians of the west indies--and upon these writers we are almost entirely dependent for our knowledge of the origins of buccaneering--that the corsairs had their source and nucleus in the hunters who infested the coasts of hispaniola. between the hunter and the pirate at first no impassable line was drawn. the same person combined in himself the occupations of cow-killing and cruising, varying the monotony of the one by occasionally trying his hand at the other. in either case he lived at constant enmity with the spaniards. with the passing of time the sea attracted more and more away from their former pursuits. even the planters who were beginning to filter into the new settlements found the attractions of coursing against the spaniards to be irresistible. great extremes of fortune, such as those to which the buccaneers were subject, have always exercised an attraction over minds of an adventurous stamp. it was the same allurement which drew the "forty-niners" to california, and in the gold-seekers to the canadian klondyke. if the suffering endured was often great, the prize to be gained was worth it. fortune, if fickle one day, might the next bring incredible bounty, and the buccaneers who sweltered in a tropical sea, with starvation staring them in the face, dreamed of rolling in the oriental wealth of a spanish argosy. especially to the cattle-hunter must this temptation have been great, for his mode of life was the very rudest. he roamed the woods by day with his dog and apprentices, and at night slept in the open air or in a rude shed hastily constructed of leaves and skins, which served as a house, and which he called after the indian name, "ajoupa" or "barbacoa." his dress was of the simplest--coarse cloth trousers, and a shirt which hung loosely over them, both pieces so black and saturated with the blood and grease of slain animals that they looked as if they had been tarred ("de toile gaudronnée").[ ] a belt of undressed bull's hide bound the shirt, and supported on one side three or four large knives, on the other a pouch for powder and shot. a cap with a short pointed brim extending over the eyes, rude shoes of cowhide or pigskin made all of one piece bound over the foot, and a short, large-bore musket, completed the hunter's grotesque outfit. often he carried wound about his waist a sack of netting into which he crawled at night to keep off the pestiferous mosquitoes. with creditable regularity he and his apprentices arose early in the morning and started on foot for the hunt, eating no food until they had killed and skinned as many wild cattle or swine as there were persons in the company. after having skinned the last animal, the master-hunter broke its softest bones and made a meal for himself and his followers on the marrow. then each took up a hide and returned to the boucan, where they dined on the flesh they had killed.[ ] in this fashion the hunter lived for the space of six months or a year. then he made a division of the skins and dried meat, and repaired to tortuga or one of the french settlements on the coast of hispaniola to recoup his stock of ammunition and spend the rest of his gains in a wild carouse of drunkenness and debauchery. his money gone, he returned again to the hunt. the cow-killers, as they had neither wife nor children, commonly associated in pairs with the right of inheriting from each other, a custom which was called "matelotage." these private associations, however, did not prevent the property of all from being in a measure common. their mode of settling quarrels was the most primitive--the duel. in other things they governed themselves by a certain "coutumier," a medley of bizarre laws which they had originated among themselves. at any attempt to bring them under civilised rules, the reply always was, "telle étoit la coutume de la côte"; and that definitely closed the matter. they based their rights thus to live upon the fact, they said, of having passed the tropic, where, borrowing from the sailor's well-known superstition, they pretended to have drowned all their former obligations.[ ] even their family names they discarded, and the saying was in those days that one knew a man in the isles only when he was married. from a life of this sort, cruising against spanish ships, if not an unmixed good, was at least always a desirable recreation. every spanish prize brought into tortuga, moreover, was an incitement to fresh adventure against the common foe. the "gens de la côte," as they called themselves, ordinarily associated a score or more together, and having taken or built themselves a canoe, put to sea with intent to seize a spanish barque or some other coasting vessel. with silent paddles, under cover of darkness, they approached the unsuspecting prey, killed the frightened sailors or drove them overboard, and carried the prize to tortuga. there the raiders either dispersed to their former occupations, or gathered a larger crew of congenial spirits and sailed away for bigger game. all the jesuit historians of the west indies, dutertre, labat and charlevoix, have left us accounts of the manners and customs of the buccaneers. the dutch physician, exquemelin, who lived with the buccaneers for several years, from to , and wrote a picturesque narrative from materials at his disposal, has also been a source for the ideas of most later writers on the subject. it may not be out of place to quote his description of the men whose deeds he recorded. "before the pirates go out to sea," he writes, "they give notice to every one who goes upon the voyage of the day on which they ought precisely to embark, intimating also to them their obligation of bringing each man in particular so many pounds of powder and bullets as they think necessary for that expedition. being all come on board, they join together in council, concerning what place they ought first to go wherein to get provisions--especially of flesh, seeing they scarce eat anything else. and of this the most common sort among them is pork. the next food is tortoises, which they are accustomed to salt a little. sometimes they resolve to rob such or such hog-yards, wherein the spaniards often have a thousand heads of swine together. they come to these places in the dark of night, and having beset the keeper's lodge, they force him to rise, and give them as many heads as they desire, threatening withal to kill him in case he disobeys their command or makes any noise. yea, these menaces are oftentimes put in execution, without giving any quarter to the miserable swine-keepers, or any other person that endeavours to hinder their robberies. "having got provisions of flesh sufficient for their voyage, they return to their ship. here their allowance, twice a day to every one, is as much as he can eat, without either weight or measure. neither does the steward of the vessel give any greater proportion of flesh or anything else to the captain than to the meanest mariner. the ship being well victualled, they call another council, to deliberate towards what place they shall go, to seek their desperate fortunes. in this council, likewise, they agree upon certain articles, which are put in writing, by way of bond or obligation, which everyone is bound to observe, and all of them, or the chief, set their hands to it. herein they specify, and set down very distinctly, what sums of money each particular person ought to have for that voyage, the fund of all the payments being the common stock of what is gotten by the whole expedition; for otherwise it is the same law, among these people, as with other pirates, 'no prey, no pay.' in the first place, therefore, they mention how much the captain ought to have for his ship. next the salary of the carpenter, or shipwright, who careened, mended and rigged the vessel. this commonly amounts to or pieces of eight, being, according to the agreement, more or less. afterwards for provisions and victualling they draw out of the same common stock about pieces of eight. also a competent salary for the surgeon and his chest of medicaments, which is usually rated at or pieces of eight. lastly they stipulate in writing what recompense or reward each one ought to have, that is either wounded or maimed in his body, suffering the loss of any limb, by that voyage. thus they order for the loss of a right arm pieces of eight, or six slaves; for the loss of a left arm pieces of eight, or five slaves; for a right leg pieces of eight, or five slaves; for the left leg pieces of eight, or four slaves; for an eye pieces of eight or one slave; for a finger of the hand the same reward as for the eye. all which sums of money, as i have said before, are taken out of the capital sum or common stock of what is got by their piracy. for a very exact and equal dividend is made of the remainder among them all. yet herein they have also regard to qualities and places. thus the captain, or chief commander, is allotted five or six portions to what the ordinary seamen have; the master's mate only two; and other officers proportionate to their employment. after whom they draw equal parts from the highest even to the lowest mariner, the boys not being omitted. for even these draw half a share, by reason that, when they happen to take a better vessel than their own, it is the duty of the boys to set fire to the ship or boat wherein they are, and then retire to the prize which they have taken. "they observe among themselves very good orders. for in the prizes they take it is severely prohibited to everyone to usurp anything in particular to themselves. hence all they take is equally divided, according to what has been said before. yea, they make a solemn oath to each other not to abscond or conceal the least thing they find amongst the prey. if afterwards anyone is found unfaithful, who has contravened the said oath, immediately he is separated and turned out of the society. among themselves they are very civil and charitable to each other. insomuch that if any wants what another has, with great liberality they give it one to another. as soon as these pirates have taken any prize of ship or boat, the first thing they endeavour is to set on shore the prisoners, detaining only some few for their own help and service, to whom also they give their liberty after the space of two or three years. they put in very frequently for refreshment at one island or another; but more especially into those which lie on the southern side of the isle of cuba. here they careen their vessels, and in the meanwhile some of them go to hunt, others to cruise upon the seas in canoes, seeking their fortune. many times they take the poor fishermen of tortoises, and carrying them to their habitations they make them work so long as the pirates are pleased." the articles which fixed the conditions under which the buccaneers sailed were commonly called the "chasse-partie."[ ] in the earlier days of buccaneering, before the period of great leaders like mansfield, morgan and grammont, the captain was usually chosen from among their own number. although faithfully obeyed he was removable at will, and had scarcely more prerogative than the ordinary sailor. after the buccaneers generally sailed under commissions from the governors of jamaica or tortuga, and then they always set aside one tenth of the profits for the governor. but when their prizes were unauthorised they often withdrew to some secluded coast to make a partition of the booty, and on their return to port eased the governor's conscience with politic gifts; and as the governor generally had little control over these difficult people he found himself all the more obliged to dissimulate. although the buccaneers were called by the spaniards "ladrones" and "demonios," names which they richly deserved, they often gave part of their spoil to churches in the ports which they frequented, especially if among the booty they found any ecclesiastical ornaments or the stuffs for making them--articles which not infrequently formed an important part of the cargo of spanish treasure ships. in march the jesuit writer, labat, took part in a mass at martinique which was performed for some french buccaneers in pursuance of a vow made when they were taking two english vessels near barbadoes. the french vessel and its two prizes were anchored near the church, and fired salutes of all their cannon at the beginning of the mass, at the elevation of the host, at the benediction, and again at the end of the te deum sung after the mass.[ ] labat, who, although a priest, is particularly lenient towards the crimes of the buccaneers, and who we suspect must have been the recipient of numerous "favours" from them out of their store of booty, relates a curious tale of the buccaneer, captain daniel, a tale which has often been used by other writers, but which may bear repetition. daniel, in need of provisions, anchored one night off one of the "saintes," small islands near dominica, and landing without opposition, took possession of the house of the curé and of some other inhabitants of the neighbourhood. he carried the curé and his people on board his ship without offering them the least violence, and told them that he merely wished to buy some wine, brandy and fowls. while these were being gathered, daniel requested the curé to celebrate mass, which the poor priest dared not refuse. so the necessary sacred vessels were sent for and an altar improvised on the deck for the service, which they chanted to the best of their ability. as at martinique, the mass was begun by a discharge of artillery, and after the exaudiat and prayer for the king was closed by a loud "vive le roi!" from the throats of the buccaneers. a single incident, however, somewhat disturbed the devotions. one of the buccaneers, remaining in an indecent attitude during the elevation, was rebuked by the captain, and instead of heeding the correction, replied with an impertinence and a fearful oath. quick as a flash daniel whipped out his pistol and shot the buccaneer through the head, adjuring god that he would do as much to the first who failed in his respect to the holy sacrifice. the shot was fired close by the priest, who, as we can readily imagine, was considerably agitated. "do not be troubled, my father," said daniel; "he is a rascal lacking in his duty and i have punished him to teach him better." a very efficacious means, remarks labat, of preventing his falling into another like mistake. after the mass the body of the dead man was thrown into the sea, and the curé was recompensed for his pains by some goods out of their stock and the present of a negro slave.[ ] the buccaneers preferred to sail in barques, vessels of one mast and rigged with triangular sails. this type of boat, they found, could be more easily man[oe]uvred, was faster and sailed closer to the wind. the boats were built of cedar, and the best were reputed to come from bermuda. they carried very few guns, generally from six to twelve or fourteen, the corsairs believing that four muskets did more execution than one cannon.[ ] the buccaneers sometimes used brigantines, vessels with two masts, the fore or mizzenmast being square-rigged with two sails and the mainmast rigged like that of a barque. the corsair at martinique of whom labat speaks was captain of a corvette, a boat like a brigantine, except that all the sails were square-rigged. at the beginning of a voyage the freebooters were generally so crowded in their small vessels that they suffered much from lack of room. moreover, they had little protection from sun and rain, and with but a small stock of provisions often faced starvation. it was this as much as anything which frequently inspired them to attack without reflection any possible prize, great or small, and to make themselves masters of it or perish in the attempt. their first object was to come to close quarters; and although a single broadside would have sunk their small craft, they man[oe]uvred so skilfully as to keep their bow always presented to the enemy, while their musketeers cleared the enemy's decks until the time when the captain judged it proper to board. the buccaneers rarely attacked spanish ships on the outward voyage from europe to america, for such ships were loaded with wines, cloths, grains and other commodities for which they had little use, and which they could less readily turn into available wealth. outgoing vessels also carried large crews and a considerable number of passengers. it was the homeward-bound ships, rather, which attracted their avarice, for in such vessels the crews were smaller and the cargo consisted of precious metals, dye-woods and jewels, articles which the freebooters could easily dispose of to the merchants and tavern-keepers of the ports they frequented. the gulf of honduras and the mosquito coast, dotted with numerous small islands and protecting reefs, was a favourite retreat for the buccaneers. as the clumsy spanish war-vessels of the period found it ticklish work threading these tortuous channels, where a sudden adverse wind usually meant disaster, the buccaneers there felt secure from interference; and in the creeks, lagoons and river-mouths densely shrouded by tropical foliage, they were able to careen and refit their vessels, divide their booty, and enjoy a respite from their sea-forays. thence, too, they preyed upon the spanish ships which sailed from the coast of cartagena to porto bello, nicaragua, mexico, and the larger antilles, and were a constant menace to the great treasure galleons of the terra-firma fleet. the english settlement on the island of providence, lying as it did off the nicaragua coast and in the very track of spanish commerce in those regions, was, until captured in , a source of great fear to spanish mariners; and when in some english occupied the island of roatan, near truxillo, the governor of cuba and the presidents of the audiencias at gautemala and san domingo jointly equipped an expedition of four vessels under d. francisco de villalba y toledo, which drove out the intruders.[ ] closer to the buccaneering headquarters in tortuga (and later in jamaica) were the straits separating the great west indian islands:--the yucatan channel at the western end of cuba, the passage between cuba and hispaniola in the east, and the mona passage between hispaniola and porto rico. in these regions the corsairs waited to pick up stray spanish merchantmen, and watched for the coming of the galleons or the flota.[ ] when the buccaneers returned from their cruises they generally squandered in a few days, in the taverns of the towns which they frequented, the wealth which had cost them such peril and labour. some of these outlaws, says exquemelin, would spend or pieces of eight[ ] in one night, not leaving themselves a good shirt to wear on their backs in the morning. "my own master," he continues, "would buy, on like occasions, a whole pipe of wine, and placing it in the street would force every one that passed by to drink with him; threatening also to pistol them in case they would not do it. at other times he would do the same with barrels of ale or beer. and, very often, with both in his hands, he would throw these liquors about the streets, and wet the clothes of such as walked by, without regarding whether he spoiled their apparel or not, were they men or women." the taverns and ale-houses always welcomed the arrival of these dissolute corsairs; and although they extended long credits, they also at times sold as indentured servants those who had run too deeply into debt, as happened in jamaica to this same patron or master of whom exquemelin wrote. until buccaneering in the west indies was more or less accidental, occasional, in character. in the second half of the century, however, the numbers of the freebooters greatly increased, and men entirely deserted their former occupations for the excitement and big profits of the "course." there were several reasons for this increase in the popularity of buccaneering. the english adventurers in hispaniola had lost their profession of hunting very early, for with the coming of levasseur the french had gradually elbowed them out of the island, and compelled them either to retire to the lesser antilles or to prey upon their spanish neighbours. but the french themselves were within the next twenty years driven to the same expedient. the spanish colonists on hispaniola, unable to keep the french from the island, at last foolishly resolved, according to charlevoix's account, to remove the principal attraction by destroying all the wild cattle. if the trade with french vessels and the barter of hides for brandy could be arrested, the hunters would be driven from the woods by starvation. this policy, together with the wasteful methods pursued by the hunters, caused a rapid decrease in the number of cattle. the spaniards, however, did not dream of the consequences of their action. many of the french, forced to seek another occupation, naturally fell into the way of buccaneering. the hunters of cattle became hunters of spaniards, and the sea became the savanna on which they sought their game. exquemelin tells us that when he arrived at the island there were scarcely three hundred engaged in hunting, and even these found their livelihood precarious. it was from this time forward to the end of the century that the buccaneers played so important a _rôle_ on the stage of west indian history. another source of recruits for the freebooters were the indentured servants or _engagés_. we hear a great deal of the barbarity with which west indian planters and hunters in the seventeenth century treated their servants, and we may well believe that many of the latter, finding their situation unendurable, ran away from their plantations or ajoupas to join the crew of a chance corsair hovering in the neighbourhood. the hunters' life, as we have seen, was not one of revelry and ease. on the one side were all the insidious dangers lurking in a wild, tropical forest; on the other, the relentless hostility of the spaniards. the environment of the hunters made them rough and cruel, and for many an _engagé_ his three years of servitude must have been a veritable purgatory. the servants of the planters were in no better position. decoyed from norman and breton towns and villages by the loud-sounding promises of sea-captains and west indian agents, they came to seek an el dorado, and often found only despair and death. the want of sufficient negroes led men to resort to any artifice in order to obtain assistance in cultivating the sugar-cane and tobacco. the apprentices sent from europe were generally bound out in the french antilles for eighteen months or three years, among the english for seven years. they were often resold in the interim, and sometimes served ten or twelve years before they regained their freedom. they were veritable convicts, often more ill-treated than the slaves with whom they worked side by side, for their lives, after the expiration of their term of service, were of no consequence to their masters. many of these apprentices, of good birth and tender education, were unable to endure the debilitating climate and hard labour, let alone the cruelty of their employers. exquemelin, himself originally an _engagé_, gives a most piteous description of their sufferings. he was sold to the lieutenant-governor of tortuga, who treated him with great severity and refused to take less than pieces of eight for his freedom. falling ill through vexation and despair, he passed into the hands of a surgeon, who proved kind to him and finally gave him his liberty for pieces of eight, to be paid after his first buccaneering voyage.[ ] we left levasseur governor in tortuga after the abortive spanish attack of . finding his personal ascendancy so complete over the rude natures about him, levasseur, like many a greater man in similar circumstances, lost his sense of the rights of others. his character changed, he became suspicious and intolerant, and the settlers complained bitterly of his cruelty and overbearing temper. having come as the leader of a band of huguenots, he forbade the roman catholics to hold services on the island, burnt their chapel and turned out their priest. he placed heavy imposts on trade, and soon amassed a considerable fortune.[ ] in his eyrie upon the rock fortress, he is said to have kept for his enemies a cage of iron, in which the prisoner could neither stand nor lie down, and which levasseur, with grim humour, called his "little hell." a dungeon in his castle he termed in like fashion his "purgatory." all these stories, however, are reported by the jesuits, his natural foes, and must be taken with a grain of salt. de poincy, who himself ruled with despotic authority and was guilty of similar cruelties, would have turned a deaf ear to the denunciations against his lieutenant, had not his jealousy been aroused by the suspicion that levasseur intended to declare himself an independent prince.[ ] so the governor-general, already in bad odour at court for having given levasseur means of establishing a little geneva in tortuga, began to disavow him to the authorities at home. he also sent his nephew, m. de lonvilliers, to tortuga, on the pretext of complimenting levasseur on his victory over the spaniards, but really to endeavour to entice him back to st. kitts. levasseur, subtle and penetrating, skilfully avoided the trap, and lonvilliers returned to st. kitts alone. charlevoix relates an amusing instance of the governor's stubborn resistance to de poincy's authority. a silver statue of the virgin, captured by some buccaneer from a spanish ship, had been appropriated by levasseur, and de poincy, desiring to decorate his chapel with it, wrote to him demanding the statue, and observing that a protestant had no use for such an object. levasseur, however, replied that the protestants had a great adoration for silver virgins, and that catholics being "trop spirituels pour tenir à la matière," he was sending him, instead, a madonna of painted wood. after a tenure of power for twelve years, levasseur came to the end of his tether. while de poincy was resolving upon an expedition to oust him from authority, two adventurers named martin and thibault, whom levasseur had adopted as his heirs, and with whom, it is said, he had quarrelled over a mistress, shot him as he was descending from the fort to the shore, and completed the murder by a poniard's thrust. they then seized the government without any opposition from the inhabitants.[ ] meanwhile there had arrived at st. kitts the chevalier de fontenay, a soldier of fortune who had distinguished himself against the turks and was attracted by the gleam of spanish gold. he it was whom de poincy chose as the man to succeed levasseur. the opportunity for action was eagerly accepted by de fontenay, but the project was kept secret, for if levasseur had got wind of it all the forces in st. kitts could not have dislodged him. volunteers were raised on the pretext of a privateering expedition to the coasts of cartagena, and to complete the deception de fontenay actually sailed for the main and captured several prizes. the rendezvous was on the coast of hispaniola, where de fontenay was eventually joined by de poincy's nephew, m. de treval, with another frigate and materials for a siege. learning of the murder of levasseur, the invaders at once sailed for tortuga and landed several hundred men at the spot where the spaniards had formerly been repulsed. the two assassins, finding the inhabitants indisposed to support them, capitulated to de fontenay on receiving pardon for their crime and the peaceful possession of their property. catholicism was restored, commerce was patronized and buccaneers encouraged to use the port. two stone bastions were raised on the platform and more guns were mounted.[ ] de fontenay himself was the first to bear the official title of "governor for the king of tortuga and the coast of s. domingo." the new governor was not fated to enjoy his success for any length of time. the president of s. domingo, don juan francisco de montemayor, with orders from the king of spain, was preparing for another effort to get rid of his troublesome neighbour, and in november sent an expedition of five vessels and infantry against the french, under command of don gabriel roxas de valle-figueroa. the ships were separated by a storm, two ran aground and a third was lost, so that only the "capitana" and "almirante" reached tortuga on th january. being greeted with a rough fire from the platform and fort as they approached the harbour, they dropped anchor a league to leeward and landed with little opposition. after nine days of fighting and siege of the fort, de fontenay capitulated with the honours of war.[ ] according to the french account, the spaniards, lashing their cannon to rough frames of wood, dragged a battery of eight or ten guns to the top of some hills commanding the fort, and began a furious bombardment. several sorties of the besieged to capture the battery were unsuccessful. the inhabitants began to tire of fighting, and de fontenay, discovering some secret negotiations with the enemy, was compelled to sue for terms. with incredible exertions, two half-scuttled ships in the harbour were fitted up and provisioned within three days, and upon them the french sailed for port margot.[ ] the spaniards claimed that the booty would have been considerable but for some dutch trading-ships in the harbour which conveyed all the valuables from the island. they burned the settlements, however, carried away with them some guns, munitions of war and slaves, and this time taking the precaution to leave behind a garrison of men, sailed for hispaniola. fearing that the french might join forces with the buccaneers and attack their small squadron on the way back, they retained de fontenay's brother as a hostage until they reached the city of san domingo. de fontenay, indeed, after his brother's release, did determine to try and recover the island. only of his men stood by him, the rest deserting to join the buccaneers in western hispaniola. while he was careening his ship at port margot, however, a dutch trader arrived with commodities for tortuga, and learning of the disaster, offered him aid with men and supplies. a descent was made upon the smaller island, and the spaniards were besieged for twenty days, but after several encounters they compelled the french to withdraw. de fontenay, with only thirty companions, sailed for europe, was wrecked among the azores, and eventually reached france, only to die a short time afterwards. footnotes: [footnote : bibl. nat., nouv. acq., , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , p. . this company had been organised under the name of "the governor and company of adventurers for the plantations of the islands of providence, henrietta and the adjacent islands, between and degrees of north latitude and and degrees of longitude." the patent of incorporation is dated th december (_ibid._, p. ).] [footnote : ibid., p. .] [footnote : ibid.] [footnote : this identity was first pointed out by pierre de vaissière in his recent book: "saint domingue ( - ). la societé et la vie créoles sous l'ancien régime," paris, , p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , pp. - .] [footnote : ibid., pp. , .] [footnote : this was probably the same man as the "don juan de morfa geraldino" who was admiral of the fleet which attacked tortuga in . _cf._ duro, _op. cit._, v. p. .] [footnote : in rui fernandez de fuemayor was governor and captain-general of the province of venezuela. _cf._ doro, _op. cit._, iv. p. ; note .] [footnote : brit. mus., add. mss., , , f. . according to the minutes of the providence company, a certain mr. perry, newly arrived from association, gave information on th march that the island had been surprised by the spaniards (c.s.p. colon., - , p. ). this news was confirmed by a mrs. filby at another meeting of the company on th april, when capt. wormeley, "by reason of his cowardice and negligence in losing the island," was formally deprived of his office as governor and banished from the colony (_ibid._, p. ).] [footnote : brit. mus., add. mss., , , pp. - .] [footnote : ibid., pp. - , .] [footnote : ibid., pp. , , - , .] [footnote : charlevoix: histoire de. ... saint domingue, liv. vii. pp. - . the story is repeated by duro (_op. cit._, v. p. ), who says that the spaniards were led by "el general d. carlos ibarra."] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. vii. p. ; bibl. nat. nouv. acq., , p. _ff._] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. vii. pp. - ; vaissière., _op. cit._, appendix i ("mémoire envoyé aux seigneurs de la compagnie des isles de l'amérique par m. de poincy, le novembre "). according to the records of the providence company, tortuga in had inhabitants. a captain fload, who had been governor, was then in london to clear himself of charges preferred against him by the planters, while a captain james was exercising authority as "president" in the island. (c.s.p. colon., - . pp. , .) fload was probably the "english captain" referred to in de poincy's memoir. his oppressive rule seems to have been felt as well by the english as by the french.] [footnote : dutertre: histoire générale des antilles, tom. i. p. .] [footnote : charlevoix: _op. cit._, liv. vii. pp. - .] [footnote : in this monograph, by "buccaneers" are always meant the corsairs and filibusters, and not the cattle and hog killers of hispaniola and tortuga.] [footnote : labat: nouveau voyage aux isles de l'amerique, _ed._ , tom. vii. p. .] [footnote : le pers, printed in margry, _op. cit._] [footnote : le pers, printed in margry, _op. cit._] [footnote : dampier writes that "privateers are not obliged to any ship, but free to go ashore where they please, or to go into any other ship that will entertain them, only paying for their provision." (edition , i. p. ).] [footnote : labat, _op. cit._, tom. i. ch. .] [footnote : labat, _op. cit._, tom. vii. ch. .] [footnote : ibid., tom. ii. ch. .] [footnote : gibbs: british honduras, p. .] [footnote : a spaniard, writing from s. domingo in , complains of an english buccaneer settlement at samana (on the north coast of hispaniola, near the mona passage), where they grew tobacco, and preyed on the ships sailing from cartagena and s. domingo for spain. (add. mss., , , f. .)] [footnote : a piece of eight was worth in jamaica from s. d. to s.] [footnote : exquemelin, _ed._ , part i. pp. - .] [footnote : dutertre, _op. cit._, tom. i. ch. vi.] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. vii. p. .] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. vii. pp. - .] [footnote : according to a spanish ms., there were in tortuga in french inhabitants, more than negroes, and indians with their wives and children. the negroes and indians were all slaves; the former seized on the coasts of havana and cartagena, the latter brought over from yucatan. in the harbour the platform had fourteen cannon, and in the fort above were forty-six cannon, many of them of bronze (add. mss., , , f. _ff._). the report of the amount of ordnance is doubtless an exaggeration.] [footnote : add. mss., , , f. .] [footnote : according to dutertre, one vessel was commanded by the assassins, martin and thibault, and contained the women and children. the latter, when provisions ran low, were marooned on one of the caymans, north-west of jamaica, where they would have perished had not a dutch ship found and rescued them. martin and thibault were never heard of again.] chapter iii the conquest of jamaica the capture of jamaica by the expedition sent out by cromwell in was the blundering beginning of a new era in west indian history. it was the first permanent annexation by another european power of an integral part of spanish america. before the island had already been twice visited by english forces. the first occasion was in january , when sir anthony shirley, with little opposition, took and plundered st. jago de la vega. the second was in , when william jackson repeated the same exploit with men from the windward islands. cromwell's expedition, consisting of men and a considerable fleet, set sail from england in december , with the secret object of "gaining an interest" in that part of the west indies in possession of the spaniards. admiral penn commanded the fleet, and general venables the land forces.[ ] the expedition reached barbadoes at the end of january, where some additional troops were raised, besides about from nevis, st. kitts, and neighbouring islands. the commanders having resolved to direct their first attempt against hispaniola, on th april a landing was effected at a point to the west of san domingo, and the army, suffering terribly from a tropical sun and lack of water, marched thirty miles through woods and savannahs to attack the city. the english received two shameful defeats from a handful of spaniards on th and th april, and general venables, complaining loudly of the cowardice of his men and of admiral penn's failure to co-operate with him, finally gave up the attempt and sailed for jamaica. on th may, in the splendid harbour on which kingston now stands, the english fleet dropped anchor. three small forts on the western side were battered by the guns from the ships, and as soon as the troops began to land the garrisons evacuated their posts. st. jago, six miles inland, was occupied next day. the terms offered by venables to the spaniards (the same as those exacted from the english settlers on providence island in --emigration within ten days on pain of death, and forfeiture of all their property) were accepted on the th; but the spaniards were soon discovered to have entered into negotiations merely to gain time and retire with their families and goods to the woods and mountains, whence they continued their resistance. meanwhile the army, wretchedly equipped with provisions and other necessities, was decimated by sickness. on the th two long-expected store-ships arrived, but the supplies brought by them were limited, and an appeal for assistance was sent to new england. admiral penn, disgusted with the fiasco in hispaniola and on bad terms with venables, sailed for england with part of his fleet on th june; and venables, so ill that his life was despaired of, and also anxious to clear himself of the responsibility for the initial failure of the expedition, followed in the "marston moor" nine days later. on th september both commanders appeared before the council of state to answer the charge of having deserted their posts, and together they shared the disgrace of a month in the tower.[ ] the army of general venables was composed of very inferior and undisciplined troops, mostly the rejected of english regiments or the offscourings of the west indian colonies; yet the chief reasons for the miscarriage before san domingo were the failure of venables to command the confidence of his officers and men, his inexcusable errors in the management of the attack, and the lack of cordial co-operation between him and the admiral. the difficulties with which he had to struggle were, of course, very great. on the other hand, he seems to have been deficient both in strength of character and in military capacity; and his ill-health made still more difficult a task for which he was fundamentally incompetent. the comparative failure of this, cromwell's pet enterprise, was a bitter blow to the protector. for a whole day he shut himself up in his room, brooding over the disaster for which he, more than any other, was responsible. he had aimed not merely to plant one more colony in america, but to make himself master of such parts of the west indian islands and spanish main as would enable him to dominate the route of the spanish-american treasure fleets. to this end jamaica contributed few advantages beyond those possessed by barbadoes and st. kitts, and it was too early for him to realize that island for island jamaica was much more suitable than hispaniola as the seat of an english colony.[ ] religious and economic motives form the key to cromwell's foreign policy, and it is difficult to discover which, the religious or the economic, was uppermost in his mind when he planned this expedition. he inherited from the puritans of elizabeth's time the traditional religious hatred of spain as the bulwark of rome, and in his mind as in theirs the overthrow of the spaniards in the west indies was a blow at antichrist and an extension of the true religion. the religious ends of the expedition were fully impressed upon venables and his successors in jamaica.[ ] second only, however, to oliver's desire to protect "the people of god," was his ambition to extend england's empire beyond the seas. he desired the unquestioned supremacy of england over the other nations of europe, and that supremacy, as he probably foresaw, was to be commercial and colonial. since the discovery of america the world's commerce had enormously increased, and its control brought with it national power. america had become the treasure-house of europe. if england was to be set at the head of the world's commerce and navigation, she must break through spain's monopoly of the indies and gain a control in spanish america. san domingo was to be but a preliminary step, after which the rest of the spanish dominions in the new world would be gradually absorbed.[ ] the immediate excuse for the attack on hispaniola and jamaica was the spaniards' practice of seizing english ships and ill-treating english crews merely because they were found in some part of the caribbean sea, and even though bound for a plantation actually in possession of english colonists. it was the old question of effective occupation _versus_ papal donation, and both cromwell and venables convinced themselves that spanish assaults in the past on english ships and colonies supplied a sufficient _casus belli_.[ ] there was no justification, however, for a secret attack upon spain. she had been the first to recognize the young republic, and was willing and even anxious to league herself with england. there had been actual negotiations for an alliance, and cromwell's offers, though rejected, had never been really withdrawn. without a declaration of war or formal notice of any sort, a fleet was fitted out and sent in utmost secrecy to fall unawares upon the colonies of a friendly nation. the whole aspect of the exploit was elizabethan. it was inspired by drake and raleigh, a reversion to the elizabethan gold-hunt. it was the first of the great buccaneering expeditions.[ ] cromwell was doubtless influenced, too, by the representations of thomas gage. gage was an englishman who had joined the dominicans and had been sent by his order out to spanish america. in he returned to england, announced his conversion to protestantism, took the side of parliament and became a minister. his experiences in the west indies and mexico he published in under the name of "the english-american, or a new survey of the west indies," a most entertaining book, which aimed to arouse englishmen against romish "idolatries," to show how valuable the spanish-american provinces might be to england in trade and bullion and how easily they might be seized. in the summer of , moreover, gage had laid before the protector a memorial in which he recapitulated the conclusions of his book, assuring cromwell that the spanish colonies were sparsely peopled and that the few whites were unwarlike and scantily provided with arms and ammunition. he asserted that the conquest of hispaniola and cuba would be a matter of no difficulty, and that even central america was too weak to oppose a long resistance.[ ] all this was true, and had cromwell but sent a respectable force under an efficient leader the result would have been different. the exploits of the buccaneers a few years later proved it. it was fortunate, considering the distracted state of affairs in jamaica in - , that the spaniards were in no condition to attempt to regain the island. cuba, the nearest spanish territory to jamaica, was being ravaged by the most terrible pestilence known there in years, and the inhabitants, alarmed for their own safety, instead of trying to dispossess the english, were busy providing for the defence of their own coasts.[ ] in , however, some troops under command of the old spanish governor of jamaica, d. christopher sasi arnoldo, crossed from st. jago de cuba and entrenched themselves on the northern shore as the advance post of a greater force expected from the mainland. papers of instructions relating to the enterprise were intercepted by colonel doyley, then acting-governor of jamaica; and he with picked men embarked for the north side, attacked the spaniards in their entrenchments and utterly routed them.[ ] the next year about men, the long-expected corps of regular spanish infantry, landed and erected a fort at rio nuevo. doyley, displaying the same energy, set out again on th june with men, landed under fire on the nd, and next day captured the fort in a brilliant attack in which about spaniards were killed and more, with many officers and flags, captured. the english lost about sixty in killed and wounded.[ ] after the failure of a similar, though weaker, attempt in , the spaniards despaired of regaining jamaica, and most of those still upon the island embraced the first opportunity to retire to cuba and other spanish settlements. as colonists the troops in jamaica proved to be very discouraging material, and the army was soon in a wretched state. the officers and soldiers plundered and mutinied instead of working and planting. their wastefulness led to scarcity of food, and scarcity of food brought disease and death.[ ] they wished to force the protector to recall them, or to employ them in assaulting the opulent spanish towns on the main, an occupation far more lucrative than that of planting corn and provisions for sustenance. cromwell, however, set himself to develop and strengthen his new colony. he issued a proclamation encouraging trade and settlement in the island by exempting the inhabitants from taxes, and the council voted that young men and an equal number of girls be shipped over from ireland. the scotch government was instructed to apprehend and transport idlers and vagabonds, and commissioners were sent into new england and to the windward and leeward islands to try and attract settlers.[ ] bermudians, jews, quakers from barbadoes and criminals from newgate, helped to swell the population of the new colony, and in the island is said to have contained whites, besides or more negro slaves.[ ] to dominate the spanish trade routes was one of the principal objects of english policy in the west indies. this purpose is reflected in all of cromwell's instructions to the leaders of the jamaican design, and it appears again in his instructions of th october to major-general fortescue and vice-admiral goodson. fortescue was given power and authority to land men upon territory claimed by the spaniards, to take their forts, castles and places of strength, and to pursue, kill and destroy all who opposed him. the vice-admiral was to assist him with his sea-forces, and to use his best endeavours to seize all ships belonging to the king of spain or his subjects in america.[ ] the soldiers, as has been said, were more eager to fight the spaniards than to plant, and opportunities were soon given them to try their hand. admiral penn had left twelve ships under goodson's charge, and of these, six were at sea picking up a few scattered spanish prizes which helped to pay for the victuals supplied out of new england.[ ] goodson, however, was after larger prey, no less than the galleons or a spanish town upon the mainland. he did not know where the galleons were, but at the end of july he seems to have been lying with eight vessels before cartagena and porto bello, and on nd november he sent captain blake with nine ships to the same coast to intercept all vessels going thither from spain or elsewhere. the fleet was broken up by foul weather, however, and part returned on th december to refit, leaving a few small frigates to lie in wait for some merchantmen reported to be in that region.[ ] the first town on the main to feel the presence of this new power in the indies was santa marta, close to cartagena on the shores of what is now the u.s. of columbia. in the latter part of october, just a month before the departure of blake, goodson sailed with a fleet of eight vessels to ravage the spanish coasts. according to one account his original design had been against rio de la hacha near the pearl fisheries, "but having missed his aim" he sailed for santa marta. he landed sailors and soldiers under the protection of his guns, took and demolished the two forts which barred his way, and entered the town. finding that the inhabitants had already fled with as much of their belongings as they could carry, he pursued them some twelve miles up into the country; and on his return plundered and burnt their houses, embarked with thirty pieces of cannon and other booty, and sailed for jamaica.[ ] it was a gallant performance with a handful of men, but the profits were much less than had been expected. it had been agreed that the seamen and soldiers should receive half the spoil, but on counting the proceeds it was found that their share amounted to no more than £ , to balance which the state took the thirty pieces of ordnance and some powder, shot, hides, salt and indian corn.[ ] sedgwick wrote to thurloe that "reckoning all got there on the state's share, it did not pay for the powder and shot spent in that service."[ ] sedgwick was one of the civil commissioners appointed for the government of jamaica. a brave, pious soldier with a long experience and honourable military record in the massachusetts colony, he did not approve of this type of warfare against the spaniards. "this kind of marooning cruising west india trade of plundering and burning towns," he writes, "though it hath been long practised in these parts, yet is not honourable for a princely navy, neither was it, i think, the work designed, though perhaps it may be tolerated at present." if cromwell was to accomplish his original purpose of blocking up the spanish treasure route, he wrote again, permanent foothold must be gained in some important spanish fortress, either cartagena or havana, places strongly garrisoned, however, and requiring for their reduction a considerable army and fleet, such as jamaica did not then possess. but to waste and burn towns of inferior rank without retaining them merely dragged on the war indefinitely and effected little advantage or profit to anybody.[ ] captain nuberry visited santa marta several weeks after goodson's descent, and, going on shore, found that about a hundred people had made bold to return and rebuild their devastated homes. upon sight of the english the poor people again fled incontinently to the woods, and nuberry and his men destroyed their houses a second time.[ ] on th april goodson, with ten of his best ships, set sail again and steered eastward along the coast of hispaniola as far as alta vela, hoping to meet with some spanish ships reported in that region. encountering none, he stood for the main, and landed on th may with about men at rio de la hacha. the story of the exploit is merely a repetition of what happened at santa marta. the people had sight of the english fleet six hours before it could drop anchor, and fled from the town to the hills and surrounding woods. only twelve men were left behind to hold the fort, which the english stormed and took within half an hour. four large brass cannon were carried to the ships and the fort partly demolished. the spaniards pretended to parley for the ransom of their town, but when after a day's delay they gave no sign of complying with the admiral's demands, he burned the place on th may and sailed away.[ ] goodson called again at santa marta on the th to get water, and on the th stood before cartagena to view the harbour. leaving three vessels to ply there, he returned to jamaica, bringing back with him only two small prizes, one laden with wine, the other with cocoa. the seamen of the fleet, however, were restless and eager for further enterprises of this nature, and goodson by the middle of june had fourteen of his vessels lying off the cuban coast near cape s. antonio in wait for the galleons or the flota, both of which fleets were then expected at havana. his ambition to repeat the achievement of piet heyn was fated never to be realised. the fleet of terra-firma, he soon learned, had sailed into havana on th may, and on th june, three days before his arrival on that coast, had departed for spain.[ ] meanwhile, one of his own vessels, the "arms of holland," was blown up, with the loss of all on board but three men and the captain, and two other ships were disabled. five of the fleet returned to england on rd august, and with the rest goodson remained on the cuban coast until the end of the month, watching in vain for the fleet from vera cruz which never sailed.[ ] colonel edward doyley, the officer who so promptly defeated the attempts of the spaniards in - to re-conquer jamaica, was now governor of the island. he had sailed with the expedition to the west indies as lieutenant-colonel in the regiment of general venables, and on the death of major-general fortescue in november had been chosen by cromwell's commissioners in jamaica as commander-in-chief of the land forces. in may he was superseded by robert sedgwick, but the latter died within a few days, and doyley petitioned the protector to appoint him to the post. william brayne, however, arrived from england in december to take chief command; and when he, like his two predecessors, was stricken down by disease nine months later, the place devolved permanently upon doyley. doyley was a very efficient governor, and although he has been accused of showing little regard or respect for planting and trade, the charge appears to be unjust.[ ] he firmly maintained order among men disheartened and averse to settlement, and at the end of his service delivered up the colony a comparatively well-ordered and thriving community. he was confirmed in his post by charles ii. at the restoration, but superseded by lord windsor in august . doyley's claim to distinction rests mainly upon his vigorous policy against the spaniards, not only in defending jamaica, but by encouraging privateers and carrying the war into the enemies' quarters. in july , on learning from some prisoners that the galleons were in porto bello awaiting the plate from panama, doyley embarked men on a fleet of five vessels and sent it to lie in an obscure bay between that port and cartagena to intercept the spanish ships. on th october the galleons were espied, twenty-nine vessels in all, fifteen galleons and fourteen stout merchantmen. unfortunately, all the english vessels except the "hector" and the "marston moor" were at that moment absent to obtain fresh water. those two alone could do nothing, but passing helplessly through the spaniards, hung on their rear and tried without success to scatter them. the english fleet later attacked and burnt the town of tolu on the main, capturing two spanish ships in the road; and afterwards paid another visit to the unfortunate santa marta, where they remained three days, marching several miles into the country and burning and destroying everything in their path.[ ] on rd april , however, there returned to port royal another expedition whose success realised the wildest dreams of avarice. three frigates under command of captain christopher myngs,[ ] with soldiers on board, had been sent by doyley to harry the south american coast. they first entered and destroyed cumana, and then ranging along the coast westward, landed again at puerto cabello and at coro. at the latter town they followed the inhabitants into the woods, where besides other plunder they came upon twenty-two chests of royal treasure intended for the king of spain, each chest containing pounds of silver.[ ] embarking this money and other spoil in the shape of plate, jewels and cocoa, they returned to port royal with the richest prize that ever entered jamaica. the whole pillage was estimated at between £ , and £ , .[ ] the abundance of new wealth introduced into jamaica did much to raise the spirits of the colonists, and set the island well upon the road to more prosperous times. the sequel to this brilliant exploit, however, was in some ways unfortunate. disputes were engendered between the officers of the expedition and the governor and other authorities on shore over the disposal of the booty, and in the early part of june captain myngs was sent home in the "marston moor," suspended for disobeying orders and plundering the hold of one of the prizes to the value of , pieces of eight. myngs was an active, intrepid commander, but apparently avaricious and impatient of control. he seems to have endeavoured to divert most of the prize money into the pockets of his officers and men, by disposing of the booty on his own initiative before giving a strict account of it to the governor or steward-general of the island. doyley writes that there was a constant market aboard the "marston moor," and that myngs and his officers, alleging it to be customary to break and plunder the holds, permitted the twenty-two chests of the king of spain's silver to be divided among the men without any provision whatever for the claims of the state.[ ] there was also some friction over the disposal of six dutch prizes which doyley had picked up for illegal trading at barbadoes on his way out from england. these, too, had been plundered before they reached jamaica, and when myngs found that there was no power in the colony to try and condemn ships taken by virtue of the navigation laws, it only added fuel to his dissatisfaction. when myngs reached england he lodged counter-complaints against governor doyley, burough, the steward-general, and vice-admiral goodson, alleging that they received more than their share of the prize money; and a war of mutual recrimination followed.[ ] amid the distractions of the restoration, however, little seems ever to have been made of the matter in england. the insubordination of officers in - was a constant source of difficulty and impediment to the governor in his efforts to establish peace and order in the colony. in england nobody was sure where the powers of government actually resided. as burough wrote from jamaica on th january , "we are here just like you at home; when we heard of the lord-protector's death we proclaimed his son, and when we heard of his being turned out we proclaimed a parliament and now own a committee of safety."[ ] the effect of this uncertainty was bound to be prejudicial in jamaica, a new colony filled with adventurers, for it loosened the reins of authority and encouraged lawless spirits to set the governor at defiance. on th may charles ii. was proclaimed king of england, and entered london on th may. the war which cromwell had begun with spain was essentially a war of the commonwealth. the spanish court was therefore on friendly terms with the exiled prince, and when he returned into possession of his kingdom a cessation of hostilities with spain naturally followed. charles wrote a note to don luis de haro on nd june , proposing an armistice in europe and america which was to lead to a permanent peace and a re-establishment of commercial relations between the two kingdoms.[ ] at the same time sir henry bennett, the english resident in madrid, made similar proposals to the spanish king. a favourable answer was received in july, and the cessation of arms, including a revival of the treaty of was proclaimed on th- th september . preliminary negotiations for a new treaty were entered upon at madrid, but the marriage of charles to catherine of braganza in , and the consequent alliance with portugal, with whom spain was then at war, put a damper upon all such designs. the armistice with spain was not published in jamaica until th february of the following year. on th february colonel doyley received from the governor of st. jago de cuba a letter enclosing an order from sir henry bennett for the cessation of arms, and this order doyley immediately made public.[ ] about thirty english prisoners were also returned by the spaniards with the letter. doyley was confirmed in his command of jamaica by charles ii., but his commission was not issued till th february .[ ] he was very desirous, however, of returning to england to look after his private affairs, and on nd august another commission was issued to lord windsor, appointing him as doyley's successor.[ ] just a year later, in august , windsor arrived at port royal, fortified with instructions "to endeavour to obtain and preserve a good correspondence and free commerce with the plantations belonging to the king of spain," even resorting to force if necessary.[ ] the question of english trade with the spanish colonies in the indies had first come to the surface in the negotiations for the treaty of , after the long wars between elizabeth and philip ii. the endeavour of the spaniards to obtain an explicit prohibition of commerce was met by the english demand for entire freedom. the spaniards protested that it had never been granted in former treaties or to other nations, or even without restriction to spanish subjects, and clamoured for at least a private article on the subject; but the english commissioners steadfastly refused, and offered to forbid trade only with ports actually under spanish authority. finally a compromise was reached in the words "in quibus ante bellum fuit commercium, juxta et secundum usum et observantiam."[ ] this article was renewed in cottington's treaty of . the spaniards themselves, indeed, in , were willing to concede a free navigation in the american seas, and even offered to recognise the english colony of virginia if charles i. would admit articles prohibiting trade and navigation in certain harbours and bays. cottington, however, was too far-sighted, and wrote to lord dorchester: "for my own part, i shall ever be far from advising his majesty to think of such restrictions, for certainly a little more time will open the navigation to those parts so long as there are no negative capitulations or articles to hinder it."[ ] the monopolistic pretensions of the spanish government were evidently relaxing, for in the conde de humanes confided to the english agent, taylor, that there had been talk in the council of the indies of admitting the english to a share in the freight of ships sent to the west indies, and even of granting them a limited permission to go to those regions on their own account. and in the conde de linhares, recently appointed governor of brazil, told the english ambassador, lord aston, that he was very anxious that english ships should do the carrying between lisbon and brazilian ports. the settlement of the windward and leeward islands and the conquest of jamaica had given a new impetus to contraband trade. the commercial nations were setting up shop, as it were, at the very doors of the spanish indies. the french and english antilles, condemned by the navigation laws to confine themselves to agriculture and a passive trade with the home country, had no recourse but to traffic with their spanish neighbours. factors of the assiento established at cartagena, porto bello and vera cruz every year supplied european merchants with detailed news of the nature and quantity of the goods which might be imported with advantage; while the buccaneers, by dominating the whole caribbean sea, hindered frequent communication between spain and her colonies. it is not surprising, therefore, that the commerce of seville, which had hitherto held its own, decreased with surprising rapidity, that the sailings of the galleons and the flota were separated by several years, and that the fairs of porto bello and vera cruz were almost deserted. to put an effective restraint, moreover, upon this contraband trade was impossible on either side. the west indian dependencies were situated far from the centre of authority, while the home governments generally had their hands too full of other matters to adequately control their subjects in america. the spanish viceroys, meanwhile, and the governors in the west indian islands, connived at a practice which lined their own pockets with the gold of bribery, and at the same time contributed to the public interest and prosperity of their respective colonies. it was this illicit commerce with spanish america which charles ii., by negotiation at madrid and by instructions to his governors in the west indies, tried to get within his own control. at the spanish court, fanshaw, sandwich and godolphin in turn were instructed to sue for a free trade with the colonies. the assiento of negroes was at this time held by two genoese named grillo and lomelin, and with them the english ambassadors several times entered into negotiation for the privilege of supplying blacks from the english islands. by the treaty of the english colonies in america were for the first time formally recognised by the spanish crown. freedom of commerce, however, was as far as ever from realisation, and after this date charles seems to have given up hope of ever obtaining it through diplomatic channels. the peace of between england and spain was supposed to extend to both sides of the "line." the council in jamaica, however, were of the opinion that it applied only to europe,[ ] and from the tenor of lord windsor's instructions it may be inferred that the english court at that time meant to interpret it with the same limitations. windsor, indeed, was not only instructed to force the spanish colonies to a free trade, but was empowered to call upon the governor of barbadoes for aid "in case of any considerable attempt by the spaniards against jamaica."[ ] the efforts of the governor, however, to come to a good correspondence with the spanish colonies were fruitless. in the minutes of the council of jamaica of th august , we read: "resolved that the letters from the governors of porto rico and san domingo are an absolute denial of trade, and that according to his majesty's instructions to lord windsor a trade by force or otherwise be endeavoured;"[ ] and under th september we find another resolution "that men be enlisted for a design by sea with the 'centurion' and other vessels."[ ] this "design" was an expedition to capture and destroy st. jago de cuba, the spanish port nearest to jamaican shores. an attack upon st. jago had been projected by goodson as far back as . "the admiral," wrote major sedgwick to thurloe just after his arrival in jamaica, "was intended before our coming in to have taken some few soldiers and gone over to st. jago de cuba, a town upon cuba, but our coming hindered him without whom we could not well tell how to do anything."[ ] in january the plan was definitely abandoned, because the colony could not spare a sufficient number of soldiers for the enterprise.[ ] it was to st. jago that the spaniards, driven from jamaica, mostly betook themselves, and from st. jago as a starting-point had come the expedition of to reconquer the island. the instructions of lord windsor afforded a convenient opportunity to avenge past attacks and secure jamaica from molestation in that quarter for the future. the command of the expedition was entrusted to myngs, who in was again in the indies on the frigate "centurion." myngs sailed from port royal on st september with eleven ships and men,[ ] but, kept back by unfavourable winds, did not sight the castle of st. jago until th october. although he had intended to force the entrance of the harbour, he was prevented by the prevailing land breeze; so he disembarked his men to windward, on a rocky coast, where the path up the bluffs was so narrow that but one man could march at a time. night had fallen before all were landed, and "the way (was) soe difficult and the night soe dark that they were forced to make stands and fires, and their guides with brands in their hands, to beat the path."[ ] at daybreak they reached a plantation by a river's side, some six miles from the place of landing and three from st. jago. there they refreshed themselves, and advancing upon the town surprised the enemy, who knew of the late landing and the badness of the way and did not expect them so soon. they found spaniards at the entrance to the town, drawn up under their governor, don pedro de moralis, and supported by don christopher de sasi arnoldo, the former spanish governor of jamaica, with a reserve of more. the spaniards fled before the first charge of the jamaicans, and the place was easily mastered. the next day parties were despatched into the country to pursue the enemy, and orders sent to the fleet to attack the forts at the mouth of the harbour. this was successfully done, the spaniards deserting the great castle after firing but two muskets. between scouring the country for hidden riches, most of which had been carried far inland beyond their reach, and dismantling and demolishing the forts, the english forces occupied their time until october th. thirty-four guns were found in the fortifications and barrels of powder. some of the guns were carried to the ships and the rest flung over the precipice into the sea; while the powder was used to blow up the castle and the neighbouring country houses.[ ] the expedition returned to jamaica on nd october.[ ] only six men had been killed by the spaniards, twenty more being lost by other "accidents." of these twenty some must have been captured by the enemy, for when sir richard fanshaw was appointed ambassador to spain in january , he was instructed among other things to negotiate for an exchange of prisoners taken in the indies. in july we find him treating for the release of captain myngs' men from the prisons of seville and cadiz,[ ] and on th november an order to this effect was obtained from the king of spain.[ ] the instructions of lord windsor gave him leave, as soon as he had settled the government in jamaica, to appoint a deputy and return to england to confer with the king on colonial affairs. windsor sailed for england on th october, and on the same day sir charles lyttleton's commission as deputy-governor was read in the jamaican council.[ ] during his short sojourn of three months the governor had made considerable progress toward establishing an ordered constitution in the island. he disbanded the old army, and reorganised the military under a stricter discipline and better officers. he systematised legal procedure and the rules for the conveyance of property. he erected an admiralty court at port royal, and above all, probably in pursuance of the recommendation of colonel doyley,[ ] had called in all the privateering commissions issued by previous governors, and tried to submit the captains to orderly rules by giving them new commissions, with instructions to bring their spanish prizes to jamaica for judicature.[ ] the departure of windsor did not put a stop to the efforts of the jamaicans to "force a trade" with the spanish plantations, and we find the council, on th december , passing a motion that to this end an attempt should be made to leeward on the coasts of cuba, honduras and the gulf of campeache. on th and th january between and soldiers, many of them doubtless buccaneers, were embarked on a fleet of twelve ships and sailed two days later under command of the redoubtable myngs. about ninety leagues this side of campeache the fleet ran into a great storm, in which one of the vessels foundered and three others were separated from their fellows. the english reached the coast of campeache, however, in the early morning of friday, th february, and landing a league and a half from the town, marched without being seen along an indian path with "such speed and good fortune" that by ten o'clock in the morning they were already masters of the city and of all the forts save one, the castle of santa cruz. at the second fort myngs was wounded by a gun in three places. the town itself, myngs reported, might have been defended like a fortress, for the houses were contiguous and strongly built of stone with flat roofs.[ ] the forts were partly demolished, a portion of the town was destroyed by fire, and the fourteen sail lying in the harbour were seized by the invaders. altogether the booty must have been considerable. the spanish licentiate, maldonado de aldana, placed it at , pieces of eight,[ ] and the general damage to the city in the destruction of houses and munitions by the enemy, and in the expenditure of treasure for purposes of defence, at half a million more. myngs and his fleet sailed away on rd february, but the "centurion" did not reach port royal until th april, and the rest of the fleet followed a few days later. the number of casualties on each side was surprisingly small. the invaders lost only thirty men killed, and the spaniards between fifty and sixty, but among the latter were the two alcaldes and many other officers and prominent citizens of the town.[ ] to satisfactorily explain at madrid these two presumptuous assaults upon spanish territory in america was an embarrassing problem for the english government, especially as myngs' men imprisoned at seville and cadiz were said to have produced commissions to justify their actions.[ ] the spanish king instructed his resident in london to demand whether charles accepted responsibility for the attack upon st. jago, and the proceedings of english cases in the spanish courts arising from the depredations of galician corsairs were indefinitely suspended.[ ] when, however, there followed upon this, in may , the news of the sack and burning of campeache, it stirred up the greatest excitement in madrid.[ ] orders and, what was rarer in spain, money were immediately sent to cadiz to the duke of albuquerque to hasten the work on the royal armada for despatch to the indies; and efforts were made to resuscitate the defunct armada de barlovento, a small fleet which had formerly been used to catch interlopers and protect the coasts of terra-firma. in one way the capture of campeache had touched spain in her most vulnerable spot. the mexican flota, which was scheduled to sail from havana in june , refused to stir from its retreat at vera cruz until the galleons from porto bello came to convoy it. the arrival of the american treasure in spain was thus delayed for two months, and the bankrupt government put to sore straits for money. the activity of the spaniards, however, was merely a blind to hide their own impotence, and their clamours were eventually satisfied by the king of england's writing to deputy-governor lyttleton a letter forbidding all such undertakings for the future. the text of the letter is as follows: "understanding with what jealousy and offence the spaniards look upon our island of jamaica, and how disposed they are to make some attempt upon it, and knowing how disabled it will remain in its own defence if encouragement be given to such undertakings as have lately been set on foot, and are yet pursued, and which divert the inhabitants from that industry which alone can render the island considerable, the king signifies his dislike of all such undertakings, and commands that no such be pursued for the future, but that they unitedly apply themselves to the improvement of the plantation and keeping the force in proper condition."[ ] the original draft of the letter was much milder in tone, and betrays the real attitude of charles ii. toward these half-piratical enterprises: "his majesty has heard of the success of the undertaking upon cuba, in which he cannot choose but please himself in the vigour and resolution wherein it was performed ... but because his majesty cannot foresee any utility likely to arise thereby ... he has thought fit hereby to command him to give no encouragement to such undertakings unless they may be performed by the frigates or men-of-war attending that place without any addition from the soldiers or inhabitants."[ ] other letters were subsequently sent to jamaica, which made it clear that the war of the privateers was not intended to be called off by the king's instructions; and sir charles lyttleton, therefore, did not recall their commissions. nevertheless, in the early part of , the assembly in jamaica passed an act prohibiting public levies of men upon foreign designs, and forbidding any person to leave the island on any such design without first obtaining leave from the governor, council and assembly.[ ] when the instructions of the authorities at home were so ambiguous, and the incentives to corsairing so alluring, it was natural that this game of baiting the spaniards should suffer little interruption. english freebooters who had formerly made hispaniola and tortuga their headquarters now resorted to jamaica, where they found a cordial welcome and a better market for their plunder. thus in june a certain captain barnard sailed from port royal to the orinoco, took and plundered the town of santo tomas and returned in the following march.[ ] on th october another privateer named captain cooper brought into port royal two spanish prizes, the larger of which, the "maria" of seville, was a royal azogue and carried quintals of quicksilver for the king of spain's mines in mexico, besides oil, wine and olives.[ ] cooper in his fight with the smaller vessel so disabled his own ship that he was forced to abandon it and enter the prize; and it was while cruising off hispaniola in this prize that he fell in with the "maria," and captured her after a four hours' combat. there were seventy prisoners, among them a number of friars going to campeache and vera cruz. some of the prize goods were carried to england, and don patricio moledi, the spanish resident in london, importuned the english government for its restoration.[ ] sir charles lyttleton had sailed for england on nd may , leaving the government of jamaica in the hands of the council with colonel thomas lynch as president;[ ] and on his arrival in england he made formal answer to the complaints of moledi. his excuse was that captain cooper's commission had been derived not from the deputy-governor himself but from lord windsor; and that the deputy-governor had never received any order from the king for recalling commissions, or for the cessation of hostilities against the spaniards.[ ] lyttleton and the english government were evidently attempting the rather difficult circus feat of riding two mounts at the same time. the instructions from england, as lyttleton himself acknowledged in his letter of th october , distinctly forbade further hostilities against the spanish plantations; on the other hand, there were no specific orders that privateers should be recalled. lyttleton was from first to last in sympathy with the freebooters, and probably believed with many others of his time that "the spaniard is most pliable when best beaten." in august he presented to the lord chancellor his reasons for advocating a continuance of the privateers in jamaica. they are sufficiently interesting to merit a _résumé_ of the principal points advanced. st. privateering maintained a great number of seamen by whom the island was protected without the immediate necessity of a naval force. nd. if privateering were forbidden, the king would lose many men who, in case of a war in the west indies, would be of incalculable service, being acquainted, as they were, with the coasts, shoals, currents, winds, etc., of the spanish dominions. rd. without the privateers, the jamaicans would have no intelligence of spanish designs against them, or of the size or neighbourhood of their fleets, or of the strength of their resources. th. if prize-goods were no longer brought into port royal, few merchants would resort to jamaica and prices would become excessively high. th. to reduce the privateers would require a large number of frigates at considerable trouble and expense; english seamen, moreover, generally had the privateering spirit and would be more ready to join with them than oppose them, as previous experience had shown. finally, the privateers, if denied the freedom of jamaican ports, would not take to planting, but would resort to the islands of other nations, and perhaps prey upon english commerce.[ ] footnotes: [footnote : venables was not bound by his instructions to any definite plan. it had been proposed, he was told, to seize hispaniola or porto rico or both, after which either cartagena or havana might be taken, and the spanish revenue-fleets obstructed. an alternative scheme was to make the first attempt on the mainland at some point between the mouth of the orinoco and porto bello, with the ultimate object of securing cartagena. it was left to venables, however, to consult with admiral penn and three commissioners, edward winslow (former governor of plymouth colony in new england), daniel searle (governor of barbadoes), and gregory butler, as to which, if any, of these schemes should be carried out. not until some time after the arrival of the fleet at barbadoes was it resolved to attack hispaniola. (narrative of gen. venables, edition , pp. x, - .)] [footnote : gardiner: hist. of the commonwealth and protectorate, vol. iii. ch. xlv.; narrative of gen. venables.] [footnote : gardiner: _op. cit._, iii. p. .] [footnote : _cf._ the "commission of the commissioners for the west indian expedition." (narrative of gen. venables, p. .)] [footnote : _cf._ american hist. review, vol. iv. p. ; "instructions unto gen. robt. venables." (narrative of gen. venables, p. .)] [footnote : _cf._ narrative of gen. venables, pp. , ; "instructions unto generall penn," etc., _ibid._, p. . after the outbreak of the spanish war, cromwell was anxious to clear his government of the charges of treachery and violation of international duties. the task was entrusted to the latin secretary, john milton, who on th october published a manifesto defending the actions of the commonwealth. he gave two principal reasons for the attempt upon the west indies:--( ) the cruelties of the spaniards toward the english in america and their depredations on english colonies and trade; ( ) the outrageous treatment and extermination of the indians. he denied the spanish claims to all of america, either as a papal gift, or by right of discovery alone, or even by right of settlement, and insisted upon both the natural and treaty rights of englishmen to trade in spanish seas.] [footnote : the memory of the exploits of drake and his contemporaries was not allowed to die in the first half of the seventeenth century. books like "sir francis drake revived," and "the world encompassed by sir francis drake," were printed time and time again. the former was published in and again two years later; "the world encompassed" first appeared in and was reprinted in and . a quotation from the title-page of the latter may serve to illustrate the temper of the times:-- drake, sir francis. the world encompassed. being his next voyage to that to nombre de dios, formerly imprinted ... offered ... especially for the stirring up of heroick spirits, to benefit their country and eternize their names by like bold attempts. lon. . _cf._ also gardiner, _op. cit._, iii. pp. - .] [footnote : gardiner, _op. cit._, iii. p. ; _cf._ also "present state of jamaica, ."] [footnote : long: "history of jamaica," i. p. ; c.s.p. colon., - . addenda, no. .] [footnote : long, _op. cit._, i. p. _ff._] [footnote : ibid.; thurloe papers, vi. p. ; vii. p. ; "present state of jamaica, "; c.s.p. colon., - . addenda, nos. - .] [footnote : long, _op. cit._, i. p. ; c.s.p. colon., - . addenda, nos. , , , etc. the conditions in jamaica directly after its capture are in remarkable contrast to what might have been expected after reading the enthusiastic descriptions of the island, its climate, soil and products, left us by englishmen who visited it. jackson in compared it with the arcadian plains and thessalien tempe, and many of his men wanted to remain and live with the spaniards. see also the description of jamaica contained in the rawlinson mss. and written just after the arrival of the english army:--"as for the country ... more than this." (narrative of gen. venables, pp. - .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - . addenda, nos. , ; lucas: historical geography of the british colonies, ii. p. , and note.] [footnote : lucas, _op. cit._, ii. p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - . addenda, nos. , . fortescue was gen. venables' successor in jamaica.] [footnote : ibid., no. ; long, _op. cit._, i. p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - . addenda, nos. , ; thurloe papers, iv. pp. , .] [footnote : thurloe papers, iv. pp. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - . addenda, no. .] [footnote : thurloe papers, iv. p. .] [footnote : ibid., pp. - , .] [footnote : thurloe papers, iv. p. .] [footnote : ibid., v. pp. , .] [footnote : this was the treasure fleet which captain stayner's ship and two other frigates captured off cadiz on th september. six galleons were captured, sunk or burnt, with no less than £ , of gold and silver. the galleons which blake burnt in the harbour of santa cruz, on th april , were doubtless the mexican fleet for which admiral goodson vainly waited before havana in the previous summer.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , addenda, nos. , , , , ; thurloe papers, v. p. .] [footnote : _cf._ brit. mus., add. mss., , : journal of col. beeston. col. beeston seems to have harboured a peculiar spite against doyley. for the contrary view of doyley, _cf._ long, _op. cit._, i. p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - . addenda., nos. , . in these letters the towns are called "tralo" and "st. mark." _cf._ also thurloe papers, vii. p. .] [footnote : captain christopher myngs had been appointed to the "marston moor," a frigate of fifty-four guns, in october , and had seen two years' service in the west indies under goodson in and . in may he took part in the sack of rio de la hacha. in july the "marston moor" returned to england and was ordered to be refitted, but by th february myngs and his frigate were again at port royal (c.s.p. colon., - , addenda, nos. , ). after admiral goodson's return to england (ibid., no. ) myngs seems to have been the chief naval officer in the west indies, and greatly distinguished himself in his naval actions against the spaniards.] [footnote : tanner mss., li. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , addenda, nos. , . some figures put it as high as £ , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , addenda, nos. , . captain wm. dalyson wrote home, on rd january / , that he verily believed if the general (doyley) were at home to answer for himself, captain myngs would be found no better than he is, a proud-speaking vain fool, and a knave in cheating the state and robbing merchants. ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , addenda, no. .] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , . in lord windsor's original instructions of st march he was empowered to search ships suspected of trading with the spaniards and to adjudicate the same in the admiralty court. a fortnight later, however, the king and council seem to have completely changed their point of view, and this too in spite of the navigation laws which prohibited the colonies from trading with any but the mother-country.] [footnote : art. ix. of the treaty. _cf._ dumont: corps diplomatique, t.v., pt. ii. p. . _cf._ also c.s.p. venetian, , p. :--"i wished to hear from his majesty's own lips" (wrote the venetian ambassador in november ), "how he read the clause about the india navigation, and i said, 'sire, your subjects may trade with spain and flanders but not with the indies.' 'why not?' said the king. 'because,' i replied, 'the clause is read in that sense.' 'they are making a great error, whoever they are that hold this view,' said his majesty; 'the meaning is quite clear.'"] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : thurloe papers, iv. p. .] [footnote : thurloe papers, iv. p. .] [footnote : beeston's journal.] [footnote : calendar of the heathcote mss. (pr. by hist. mss. commiss.), p. .] [footnote : calendar of the heathcote mss., p. . _cf._ also c.s.p. colon., - , no. :--"an act for the sale of five copper guns taken at st. jago de cuba."] [footnote : beeston's journal.] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. .] [footnote : ibid., vol. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : brit. mus., add. mss., , , f. .] [footnote : ibid., f. .] [footnote : dampier also says of campeache that "it makes a fine show, being built all with good stone ... the roofs flattish after the spanish fashion, and covered with pantile."--_ed._ , ii. p. .] [footnote : however, the writer of the "present state of jamaica" says (p. ) that myngs got no great plunder, neither at campeache nor at st. jago.] [footnote : beeston's journal; brit. mus., add. mss., , , f. :--"original letter from the licentiate maldonado de aldana to don francisco calderon y romero, giving him an account of the taking of campeache in "; dated campeache, march . according to the spanish relation there were fourteen vessels in the english fleet, one large ship of forty-four guns (the "centurion"?) and thirteen smaller ones. the discrepancy in the numbers of the fleet may be explained by the probability that other jamaican privateering vessels joined it after its departure from port royal. beeston writes in his journal that the privateer "blessing," captain mitchell, commander, brought news on th february that the spaniards in campeache had notice from st. jago of the english design and made elaborate preparations for the defence of the town. this is contradicted by the spanish report, in which it appears that the authorities in campeache had been culpably negligent in not maintaining the defences with men, powder or provisions.] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. . fanshaw to sec. bennet, th- rd july .] [footnote : ibid., vol. . letter of consul rumbold, st march .] [footnote : ibid., th may .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. . dated th april .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : rawlinson mss., a. , f. .] [footnote : beeston's journal.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; beeston's journal.] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , ff. , , , , , , (april-august ).] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] chapter iv tortuga-- - when the chevalier de fontenay was driven from tortuga in january , the spaniards left a small garrison to occupy the fort and prevent further settlements of french and english buccaneers. these troops possessed the island for about eighteen months, but on the approach of the expedition under penn and venables were ordered by the conde de penalva, president of s. domingo, to demolish the fort, bury the artillery and other arms, and retire to his aid in hispaniola.[ ] some six months later an englishman, elias watts,[ ] with his family and ten or twelve others, came from jamaica in a shallop, re-settled the island, and raised a battery of four guns upon the ruins of the larger fort previously erected by the french. watts received a commission for the island from general brayne, who was then governor of jamaica, and in a short time gathered about him a colony of about , both english and french. among these new-comers was a "poor distressed gentleman" by the name of james arundell, formerly a colonel in the royalist army and now banished from england, who eventually married watts' daughter and became the head of the colony. it was while watts was governor of tortuga, if we are to believe the jesuit, dutertre, that the buccaneers determined to avenge the treachery of the spaniards to a french vessel in that neighbourhood by plundering the city of st. jago in hispaniola. according to this historian, who from the style of the narrative seems to be reporting the words of an eye-witness, the buccaneers, including doubtless both hunters and corsairs, formed a party of men under the leadership of four captains and obtained a commission for the enterprise from the english governor, who was very likely looking forward to a share of the booty. compelling the captain of a frigate which had just arrived from nantes to lend his ship, they embarked in it and in two or three other boats found on the coast for puerta de plata, where they landed on palm sunday of .[ ] st. jago, which lay in a pleasant, fertile plain some fifteen or twenty leagues in the interior of hispaniola, they approached through the woods on the night of holy wednesday, entered before daybreak, and surprised the governor in his bed. the buccaneers told him to prepare to die, whereupon he fell on his knees and prayed to such effect that they finally offered him his life for a ransom of , pieces of eight. they pillaged for twenty-four hours, taking even the bells, ornaments and sacred vessels of the churches, and after refreshing themselves with food and drink, retreated with their plunder and prisoners, including the governor and chief inhabitants. meanwhile the alarm had been given for ten or twelve leagues round about. men came in from all directions, and rallying with the inhabitants of the town till they amounted to about men, marched through the woods by a by-route, got ahead of the buccaneers and attacked them from ambush. the english and french stood their ground in spite of inferior numbers, for they were all good marksmen and every shot told. as the spaniards persisted, however, they finally threatened to stab the governor and all the other prisoners, whereupon the spaniards took counsel and retired to their homes. the invaders lost only ten killed and five or six wounded. they tarried on the coast several days waiting for the rest of the promised ransom, but as it failed to arrive they liberated the prisoners and returned to tortuga, each adventurer receiving crowns as his share of the pillage.[ ] in the latter part of a french gentleman, jérémie deschamps, seigneur du rausset, who had been one of the first inhabitants of tortuga under levasseur and de fontenay, repaired to england and had sufficient influence there to obtain an order from the council of state to colonel doyley to give him a commission as governor of tortuga, with such instructions as doyley might think requisite.[ ] this same du rausset, it seems, had received a french commission from louis xiv. as early as november .[ ] at any rate, he came to jamaica in and obtained his commission from doyley on condition that he held tortuga in the english interest.[ ] watts, it seems, had meanwhile learnt that he was to be superseded by a frenchman, whereupon he embarked with his family and all his goods and sought refuge in new england. about two months later, according to one story, doyley heard that deschamps had given a commission to a privateer and committed insolences for which doyley feared to be called to account. he sent to remonstrate with him, but deschamps answered that he possessed a french commission and that he had better interest with the powers in england than had the governor of jamaica. as there were more french than english on the island, deschamps then proclaimed the king of france and set up the french colours.[ ] doyley as yet had received no authority from the newly-restored king, charles ii., and hesitated to use any force; but he did give permission to arundell, watts' son-in-law, to surprise deschamps and carry him to jamaica for trial. deschamps was absent at the time at santa cruz, but arundell, relying upon the friendship and esteem which the inhabitants had felt for his father-in-law, surprised the governor's nephew and deputy, the sieur de la place, and possessed himself of the island. by some mischance or neglect, however, he was disarmed by the french and sent back to jamaica.[ ] this was not the end of his misfortunes. on the way to jamaica he and his company were surprised by spaniards in the bay of matanzas in cuba, and carried to puerto principe. there, after a month's imprisonment, arundell and barth. cock, his shipmaster, were taken out by negroes into the bush and murdered, and their heads brought into the town.[ ] deschamps later returned to france because of ill-health, leaving la place to govern the island in his stead, and when the property of the french antilles was vested in the new french west india company in he was arrested and sent to the bastille. the cause of his arrest is obscure, but it seems that he had been in correspondence with the english government, to whom he had offered to restore tortuga on condition of being reimbursed with £ sterling. a few days in the bastille made him think better of his resolution. he ceded his rights to the company for , livres, and was released from confinement in november.[ ] the fiasco of arundell's attempt was not the only effort of the english to recover the island. in answer to a memorial presented by lord windsor before his departure for jamaica, an order in council was delivered to him in february , empowering him to use his utmost endeavours to reduce tortuga and its governor to obedience.[ ] the matter was taken up by the jamaican council in september, shortly after windsor's arrival;[ ] and on th december an order was issued by deputy-governor lyttleton to captain robert munden of the "charles" frigate for the transportation of colonel samuel barry and captain langford to tortuga, where munden was to receive orders for reducing the island.[ ] the design miscarried again, however, probably because of ill-blood between barry and munden. clement de plenneville, who accompanied barry, writes that "the expedition failed through treachery";[ ] and beeston says in his journal that barry, approaching tortuga on th january, found the french armed and ready to oppose him, whereupon he ordered captain munden to fire. munden however refused, sailed away to corydon in hispaniola, where he put barry and his men on shore, and then "went away about his merchandize."[ ] barry made his way in a sloop to jamaica where he arrived on st march. langford, however, was sent to petit-goave, an island about the size of tortuga in the _cul-de-sac_ at the western end of hispaniola, where he was chosen governor by the inhabitants and raised the first english standard. petit-goave had been frequented by buccaneers since , and after d'ogeron succeeded du rausset as governor for the french in those regions, it became with tortuga one of their chief resorts. in the latter part of we find langford in england petitioning the king for a commission as governor of tortuga and the coast of hispaniola, and for two ships to go and seize the smaller island.[ ] such a design, however, with the direct sanction and aid of the english government, might have endangered a rupture with france. charles preferred to leave such irregular warfare to his governor in jamaica, whom he could support or disown as best suited the exigencies of the moment. langford, moreover, seems not to have made a brilliant success of his short stay at petit-goave, and was probably distrusted by the authorities both in england and in the west indies. when modyford came as governor to jamaica, the possibility of recovering tortuga was still discussed, but no effort to effect it was ever made again. footnotes: [footnote : dutertre, t. iii. p. ; add. mss., , , f. . on th february there arrived at jamaica a small vessel the master of which, touching at tortuga, had found upon the deserted island two papers, one in spanish, the other in "sorrie english" (thurloe papers, iv. p. ). these papers were copies of a proclamation forbidding settlement on the island, and the english paper (rawl. mss., a. , f. ) is printed in firth's "venables" as follows:-- "the captane and sarginge mager don baltearsor calderon and spenoso, nopte to the president that is now in the sity of santo-domingo, and captane of the gones of the sitye, and governor and lord mare of this island, and stranch of this lland of tortogo, and chefe comander of all for the khinge of spaine. "yoo moust understand that all pepell what soever that shall com to this iland of the khinge of spaine catholok wich is name is don pilep the ostere the forth of this name, that with his harmes he hath put of feleminge and french men and englesh with lefee heare from the yeare of tell the yeare of thurty fouer and tell the yeare of fifte fouer in wich the kinge of spane uesenge all curtyse and given good quartell to all that was upon this iland, after that came and with oute recepet upon this iland knowinge that the kinge of spane had planted upon it and fortified in the name of the kinge came the forth time the th of augost the last yeare french and fleminges to govern this iland the same governeore that was heare befor his name was themeleon hot man de founttana gentleman of the ourder of guresalem for to take this iland put if fources by se and land and forsed us to beate him oute of this place with a greate dale of shame, and be caues yoo shall take notes that wee have puelld doune the casill and carid all the gonenes and have puelld doune all the houes and have lefte no thinge, the same captane and sargint-mager in the name of the kinge wich god blesh hath given yoo notis that what souer nason souer that shall com to live upon this iland that thare shall not a man mother or children cape of the sorde, thare fore i give notiss to all pepell that they shall have a care with out anye more notis for this is the order of the kinge and with out fall you will not want yooer pamente and this is the furst and second and thorde time, and this whe leave heare for them that comes hear to take notis, that when wee com upon you, you shall not pleate that you dod not know is riten the of august ." baltesar calderon y espinosa por mandado de senor gou^{or}. pedro fran^{co} de riva deney xasuss. ] [footnote : in dutertre's account the name is eliazouard (elias ward).] [footnote : according to a spanish account of the expedition the date was . brit. mus., add. mss., , , f. .] [footnote : dutertre, tom. iii. pp. - .] [footnote : rawl. mss., a. , ff. and ; s.p. spain, vol. :--deposition of sir charles lyttleton; margry, _op. cit._, p. .] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. vii. p. ; vaissière, _op. cit._, p. .] [footnote : according to dutertre, deschamps' commission extended only to the french inhabitants upon tortuga, the french and english living thereafter under separate governments as at st. kitts. dutertre, t. iii. p. .] [footnote : rawl. mss., a. , f. . according to dutertre's version, watts had scarcely forsaken the island when deschamps arrived in the road, and found that the french inhabitants had already made themselves masters of the colony and had substituted the french for the english standard. dutertre, t. iii. p. .] [footnote : rawl. mss., a. , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : dutertre, t. iii. p. ; vaissière, _op. cit._, p. , note .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. ; _cf._ also no. ( ).] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : beeston's journal, st march . according to dutertre, some inhabitants of tortuga ran away to jamaica and persuaded the governor that they could no longer endure french domination, and that if an armed force was sent, it would find no obstacle in restoring the english king's authority. accordingly col. barry was despatched to receive their allegiance, with orders to use no violence but only to accept their voluntary submission. when barry landed on tortuga, however, with no other support than a proclamation and a harangue, the french inhabitants laughed in his face, and he returned to jamaica in shame and confusion. dutertre, t. iii. pp. - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. - .] chapter v porto bello and panama on th january , the king wrote to sir thomas modyford in barbadoes that he had chosen him governor of jamaica.[ ] modyford, who had lived as a planter in barbadoes since , had taken a prominent share in the struggles between parliamentarians and royalists in the little island. he was a member of the council, and had been governor for a short time in . his commission and instructions for jamaica[ ] were carried to the west indies by colonel edward morgan, who went as modyford's deputy-governor and landed in barbadoes on st april.[ ] modyford was instructed, among other things, to prohibit the granting of letters of marque, and particularly to encourage trade and maintain friendly relations with the spanish dominions. sir richard fanshaw had just been appointed to go to spain and negotiate a treaty for wider commercial privileges in the indies, and charles saw that the daily complaints of violence and depredation done by jamaican ships on the king of spain's subjects were scarcely calculated to increase the good-will and compliance of the spanish court. nor had the attempt in the indies to force a trade upon the spaniards been brilliantly successful. it was soon evident that another course of action was demanded. sir thomas modyford seems at first to have been sincerely anxious to suppress privateering and conciliate his spanish neighbours. on receiving his commission and instructions he immediately prepared letters to the president of san domingo, expressing his fair intentions and requesting the co-operation of the spaniards.[ ] modyford himself arrived in jamaica on st june,[ ] proclaimed an entire cessation of hostilities,[ ] and on the th sent the "swallow" ketch to cartagena to acquaint the governor with what he had done. on almost the same day letters were forwarded from england and from ambassador fanshaw in madrid, strictly forbidding all violences in the future against the spanish nation, and ordering modyford to inflict condign punishment on every offender, and make entire restitution and satisfaction to the sufferers.[ ] the letters for san domingo, which had been forwarded to jamaica with colonel morgan and thence dispatched to hispaniola before modyford's arrival, received a favourable answer, but that was about as far as the matter ever got. the buccaneers, moreover, the principal grievance of the spaniards, still remained at large. as thomas lynch wrote on th may, "it is not in the power of the governor to have or suffer a commerce, nor will any necessity or advantage bring private spaniards to jamaica, for we and they have used too many mutual barbarisms to have a sudden correspondence. when the king was restored, the spaniards thought the manners of the english nation changed too, and adventured twenty or thirty vessels to jamaica for blacks, but the surprises and irruptions by c. myngs, for whom the governor of san domingo has upbraided the commissioners, made the spaniards redouble their malice, and nothing but an order from spain can give us admittance or trade."[ ] for a short time, however, a serious effort was made to recall the privateers. several prizes which were brought into port royal were seized and returned to their owners, while the captors had their commissions taken from them. such was the experience of one captain searles, who in august brought in two spanish vessels, both of which were restored to the spaniards, and searles deprived of his rudder and sails as security against his making further depredations upon the dons.[ ] in november captain morris williams sent a note to governor modyford, offering to come in with a rich prize of logwood, indigo and silver, if security were given that it should be condemned to him for the payment of his debts in jamaica; and although the governor refused to give any promises the prize was brought in eight days later. the goods were seized and sold in the interest of the spanish owner.[ ] nevertheless, the effects of the proclamation were not at all encouraging. in the first month only three privateers came in with their commissions, and modyford wrote to secretary bennet on th june that he feared the only effect of the proclamation would be to drive them to the french in tortuga. he therefore thought it prudent, he continued, to dispense somewhat with the strictness of his instructions, "doing by degrees and moderation what he had at first resolved to execute suddenly and severely."[ ] tortuga was really the crux of the whole difficulty. back in colonel doyley, in his report to the lord chancellor after his return to england, had suggested the reduction of tortuga to english obedience as the only effective way of dealing with the buccaneers;[ ] and modyford in also realized the necessity of this preliminary step.[ ] the conquest of tortuga, however, was no longer the simple task it might have been four or five years earlier. the inhabitants of the island were now almost entirely french, and with their companions on the coast of hispaniola had no intention of submitting to english dictation. the buccaneers, who had become numerous and independent and made tortuga one of their principal retreats, would throw all their strength in the balance against an expedition the avowed object of whose coming was to make their profession impossible. the colony, moreover, received an incalculable accession of strength in the arrival of bertrand d'ogeron, the governor sent out in by the new french west india company. d'ogeron was one of the most remarkable figures in the west indies in the second half of the seventeenth century. of broad imagination and singular kindness of heart, with an indomitable will and a mind full of resource, he seems to have been an ideal man for the task, not only of reducing to some semblance of law and order a people who had never given obedience to any authority, but also of making palatable the _régime_ and exclusive privileges of a private trading company. d'ogeron first established himself at port margot on the coast of hispaniola opposite tortuga in the early part of ; and here the adventurers at once gave him to understand that they would never submit to any mere company, much less suffer an interruption of their trade with the dutch, who had supplied them with necessities at a time when it was not even known in france that there were frenchmen in that region. d'ogeron pretended to subscribe to these conditions, passed over to tortuga where he received the submission of la place, and then to petit-goave and leogane, in the _cul-de-sac_ of hispaniola. there he made his headquarters, adopted every means to attract planters and _engagés_, and firmly established his authority. he made advances from his own purse without interest to adventurers who wished to settle down to planting, bought two ships to facilitate trade between the colony and france, and even contrived to have several lots of fifty women each brought over from france to be sold and distributed as wives amongst the colonists. the settlements soon put on a new air of prosperity, and really owed their existence as a permanent french colony to the efforts of this new governor.[ ] it was under the administration of d'ogeron that l'olonnais,[ ] michel le basque, and most of the french buccaneers flourished, whose exploits are celebrated in exquemelin's history. the conquest of tortuga was not the only measure necessary for the effectual suppression of the buccaneers. five or six swift cruisers were also required to pursue and bring to bay those corsairs who refused to come in with their commissions.[ ] since the restoration the west indies had been entirely denuded of english men-of-war; while the buccaneers, with the tacit consent or encouragement of doyley, had at the same time increased both in numbers and boldness. letters written from jamaica in placed the number scattered abroad in privateering at from to , sailing in fourteen or fifteen ships.[ ] they were desperate men, accustomed to living at sea, with no trade but burning and plundering, and unlikely to take orders from any but stronger and faster frigates. nor was this condition of affairs surprising when we consider that, in the seventeenth century, there flowed from europe to the west indies adventurers from every class of society; men doubtless often endowed with strong personalities, enterprising and intrepid; but often, too, of mediocre intelligence or little education, and usually without either money or scruples. they included many who had revolted from the narrow social laws of european countries, and were disinclined to live peaceably within the bounds of any organized society. many, too, had belonged to rebellious political factions at home, men of the better classes who were banished or who emigrated in order to keep their heads upon their shoulders. in france the total exhaustion of public and private fortune at the end of the religious wars disposed many to seek to recoup themselves out of the immense colonial riches of the spaniards; while the disorders of the rebellion and the commonwealth in england caused successive emigrations of puritans and loyalists to the newer england beyond the seas. at the close of the thirty years' war, too, a host of french and english adventurers, who had fattened upon germany and her misfortunes, were left without a livelihood, and doubtless many resorted to emigration as the sole means of continuing their life of freedom and even of licence. coming to the west indies these men, so various in origin and character, hoped soon to acquire there the riches which they lost or coveted at home; and their expectations deceived, they often broke in a formal and absolute manner the bonds which attached them to their fellow humanity. jamaica especially suffered in this respect, for it had been colonized in the first instance by a discontented, refractory soldiery, and it was being recruited largely by transported criminals and vagabonds. in contrast with the policy of spain, who placed the most careful restrictions upon the class of emigrants sent to her american possessions, england from the very beginning used her colonies, and especially the west indian islands, as a dumping-ground for her refuse population. within a short time a regular trade sprang up for furnishing the colonies with servile labour from the prisons of the mother country. scots captured at the battles of dunbar and worcester,[ ] english, french, irish and dutch pirates lying in the gaols of dorchester and plymouth,[ ] if "not thought fit to be tried for their lives," were shipped to barbadoes, jamaica, and the other antilles. in august the council of state issued an order for the apprehension of all lewd and dangerous persons, rogues, vagrants and other idlers who had no way of livelihood and refused to work, to be transported by contractors to the english plantations in america;[ ] and in june the council for foreign plantations appointed a committee to consider the same matter.[ ] complaints were often made that children and apprentices were "seduced or spirited away" from their parents and masters and concealed upon ships sailing for the colonies; and an office of registry was established to prevent this abuse.[ ] in charles granted a licence for five years to sir james modyford, brother of sir thomas, to take all felons convicted in the circuits and at the old bailey who were afterwards reprieved for transportation to foreign plantations, and to transmit them to the governor of jamaica;[ ] and this practice was continued throughout the whole of the buccaneering period. privateering opened a channel by which these disorderly spirits, impatient of the sober and laborious life of the planter, found an employment agreeable to their tastes. an example had been set by the plundering expeditions sent out by fortescue, brayne and doyley, and when these naval excursions ceased, the sailors and others who had taken part in them fell to robbing on their private account. sir charles lyttleton, we have seen, zealously defended and encouraged the freebooters; and long, the historian of jamaica, justified their existence on the ground that many traders were attracted to the island by the plunder with which port royal was so abundantly stocked, and that the prosperity of the colony was founded upon the great demand for provisions for the outfit of the privateers. these effects, however, were but temporary and superficial, and did not counterbalance the manifest evils of the practice, especially the discouragement to planting, and the element of turbulence and unrest ever present in the island. under such conditions governor modyford found it necessary to temporise with the marauders, and perhaps he did so the more readily because he felt that they were still needed for the security of the colony. a war between england and the states-general then seemed imminent, and the governor considered that unless he allowed the buccaneers to dispose of their booty when they came in to port royal, they might, in event of hostilities breaking out, go to the dutch at curaçao and other islands, and prey upon jamaican commerce. on the other hand, if, by adopting a conciliatory attitude, he retained their allegiance, they would offer the handiest and most effective instrument for driving the dutch themselves out of the indies.[ ] he privately told one captain, who brought in a spanish prize, that he only stopped the admiralty proceedings to "give a good relish to the spaniard"; and that although the captor should have satisfaction, the governor could not guarantee him his ship. so sir thomas persuaded some merchants to buy the prize-goods and contributed one quarter of the money himself, with the understanding that he should receive nothing if the spaniards came to claim their property.[ ] a letter from secretary bennet, on th november , confirmed the governor in this course;[ ] and on nd february , three weeks before the declaration of war against holland, a warrant was issued to the duke of york, high admiral of england, to grant, through the colonial governors and vice-admirals, commissions of reprisal upon the ships and goods of the dutch.[ ] modyford at once took advantage of this liberty. some fourteen pirates, who in the beginning of february had been tried and condemned to death, were pardoned; and public declaration was made that commissions would be granted against the hollanders. before nightfall two commissions had been taken out, and all the rovers were making applications and planning how to seize curaçao.[ ] modyford drew up an elaborate design[ ] for rooting out at one and the same time the dutch settlements and the french buccaneers, and on th april he wrote that lieutenant-colonel morgan had sailed with ten ships and some men, chiefly "reformed prisoners," resolute fellows, and well armed with fusees and pistols.[ ] their plan was to fall upon the dutch fleet trading at st. kitts, capture st. eustatius, saba, and perhaps curaçao, and on the homeward voyage visit the french settlements on hispaniola and tortuga. "all this is prepared," he wrote, "by the honest privateer, at the old rate of no purchase no pay, and it will cost the king nothing considerable, some powder and mortar-pieces." on the same day, th april, admiral de ruyter, who had arrived in the indies with a fleet of fourteen sail, attacked the forts and shipping at barbadoes, but suffered considerable damage and retired after a few hours. at montserrat and nevis, however, he was more successful and captured sixteen merchant ships, after which he sailed for virginia and new york.[ ] the buccaneers enrolled in colonel morgan's expedition proved to be troublesome allies. before their departure from jamaica most of them mutinied, and refused to sail until promised by morgan that the plunder should be equally divided.[ ] on th july, however, the expedition made its rendezvous at montserrat, and on the rd arrived before st. eustatius. two vessels had been lost sight of, a third, with the ironical name of the "olive branch," had sailed for virginia, and many stragglers had been left behind at montserrat, so that morgan could muster only men for the assault. there was only one landing-place on the island, with a narrow path accommodating but two men at a time leading to an eminence which was crowned with a fort and dutchmen. morgan landed his division first, and colonel carey followed. the enemy, it seems, gave them but one small volley and then retreated to the fort. the governor sent forward three men to parley, and on receiving a summons to surrender, delivered up the fort with eleven large guns and considerable ammunition. "it is supposed they were drunk or mad," was the comment made upon the rather disgraceful defence.[ ] during the action colonel morgan, who was an old man and very corpulent, was overcome by the hard marching and extraordinary heat, and died. colonel carey, who succeeded him in command, was anxious to proceed at once to the capture of the dutch forts on saba, st. martins and tortola; but the buccaneers refused to stir until the booty got at st. eustatius was divided--nor were the officers and men able to agree on the manner of sharing. the plunder, besides guns and ammunition, included about slaves, negro and indian, with a large quantity of live stock and cotton. meanwhile a party of seventy had crossed over to the island of saba, only four leagues distant, and secured its surrender on the same terms as st. eustatius. as the men had now become very mutinous, and on a muster numbered scarcely , the officers decided that they could not reasonably proceed any further and sailed for jamaica, leaving a small garrison on each of the islands. most of the dutch, about in number, were sent to st. martins, but a few others, with some threescore english, irish and scotch, took the oath of allegiance and remained.[ ] encouraged by a letter from the king,[ ] governor modyford continued his exertions against the dutch. in january (?) two buccaneer captains, searles and stedman, with two small ships and only eighty men took the island of tobago, near trinidad, and destroyed everything they could not carry away. lord willoughby, governor of barbadoes, had also fitted out an expedition to take the island, but the jamaicans were three or four days before him. the latter were busy with their work of pillage, when willoughby arrived and demanded the island in the name of the king; and the buccaneers condescended to leave the fort and the governor's house standing only on condition that willoughby gave them liberty to sell their plunder in barbadoes.[ ] modyford, meanwhile, greatly disappointed by the miscarriage of the design against curaçao, called in the aid of the "old privateer," captain edward mansfield, and in the autumn of , with the hope of sending another armament against the island, appointed a rendezvous for the buccaneers in bluefields bay.[ ] in january war against england was openly declared by france in support of her dutch allies, and in the following month charles ii. sent letters to his governors in the west indies and the north american colonies, apprising them of the war and urging them to attack their french neighbours.[ ] the news of the outbreak of hostilities did not reach jamaica until nd july, but already in december of the previous year warning had been sent out to the west indies of the coming rupture.[ ] governor modyford, therefore, seeing the french very much increased in hispaniola, concluded that it was high time to entice the buccaneers from french service and bind them to himself by issuing commissions against the spaniards. the french still permitted the freebooters to dispose of spanish prizes in their ports, but the better market afforded by jamaica was always a sufficient consideration to attract not only the english buccaneers, but the dutch and french as well. moreover, the difficulties of the situation, which modyford had repeatedly enlarged upon in his letters, seem to have been appreciated by the authorities in england, for in the spring of , following upon secretary bennet's letter of th november and shortly after the outbreak of the dutch war, the duke of albemarle had written to modyford in the name of the king, giving him permission to use his own discretion in granting commissions against the dons.[ ] modyford was convinced that all the circumstances were favourable to such a course of action, and on nd february assembled the council. a resolution was passed that it was to the interest of the island to grant letters of marque against the spaniards,[ ] and a proclamation to this effect was published by the governor at port royal and tortuga. in the following august modyford sent home to bennet, now become lord arlington, an elaborate defence of his actions. "your lordship very well knows," wrote modyford, "how great an aversion i had for the privateers while at barbadoes, but after i had put his majesty's orders for restitution in strict execution, i found my error in the decay of the forts and wealth of this place, and also the affections of this people to his majesty's service; yet i continued discountenancing and punishing those kind of people till your lordship's of the th november arrived, commanding a gentle usage of them; still we went to decay, which i represented to the lord general faithfully the th of march following, who upon serious consideration with his majesty and the lord chancellor, by letter of st june , gave me latitude to grant or not commissions against the spaniard, as i found it for the advantage of his majesty's service and the good of this island. i was glad of this power, yet resolved not to use it unless necessity drove me to it; and that too when i saw how poor the fleets returning from statia were, so that vessels were broken up and the men disposed of for the coast of cuba to get a livelihood and so be wholly alienated from us. many stayed at the windward isles, having not enough to pay their engagements, and at tortuga and among the french buccaneers; still i forebore to make use of my power, hoping their hardships and great hazards would in time reclaim them from that course of life. but about the beginning of march last i found that the guards of port royal, which under colonel morgan were , had fallen to , so i assembled the council to advise how to strengthen that most important place with some of the inland forces; but they all agreed that the only way to fill port royal with men was to grant commissions against the spaniards, which they were very pressing in ... and looking on our weak condition, the chief merchants gone from port royal, no credit given to privateers for victualling, etc., and rumours of war with the french often repeated, i issued a declaration of my intentions to grant commissions against the spaniards. your lordship cannot imagine what an universal change there was on the faces of men and things, ships repairing, great resort of workmen and labourers to port royal, many returning, many debtors released out of prison, and the ships from the curaçao voyage, not daring to come in for fear of creditors, brought in and fitted out again, so that the regimental forces at port royal are near . had it not been for that seasonable action, i could not have kept my place against the french buccaneers, who would have ruined all the seaside plantations at least, whereas i now draw from them mainly, and lately david marteen, the best man of tortuga, that has two frigates at sea, has promised to bring in both."[ ] in so far as the buccaneers affected the mutual relations of england and spain, it after all could make little difference whether commissions were issued in jamaica or not, for the plundering and burning continued, and the harassed spanish-americans, only too prone to call the rogues english of whatever origin they might really be, continued to curse and hate the english nation and make cruel reprisals whenever possible. moreover, every expedition into spanish territory, finding the spaniards very weak and very rich, gave new incentive to such endeavour. while modyford had been standing now on one foot, now on the other, uncertain whether to repulse the buccaneers or not, secretly anxious to welcome them, but fearing the authorities at home, the corsairs themselves had entirely ignored him. the privateers whom modyford had invited to rendezvous in bluefield's bay in november had chosen captain mansfield as their admiral, and in the middle of january sailed from the south cays of cuba for curaçao. in the meantime, however, because they had been refused provisions which, according to modyford's account, they sought to buy from the spaniards in cuba, they had marched forty-two miles into the island, and on the strength of portuguese commissions which they held against the spaniards, had plundered and burnt the town of sancti spiritus, routed a body of horse, carried some prisoners to the coast, and for their ransom extorted head of cattle.[ ] the rich and easy profits to be got by plundering the spaniards were almost too much for the loyalty of the men, and modyford, hearing of many defections from their ranks, had despatched captain beeston on th november to divert them, if possible, from sancti spiritus, and confirm them in their designs against curaçao.[ ] the officers of the expedition, indeed, sent to the governor a letter expressing their zeal for the enterprise; but the men still held off, and the fleet, in consequence, eventually broke up. two vessels departed for tortuga, and four others, joined by two french rovers, sailed under mansfield to attempt the recapture of providence island, which, since , had been garrisoned by the spaniards and used as a penal settlement.[ ] being resolved, as mansfield afterwards told the governor of jamaica, never to see modyford's face until he had done some service to the king, he sailed for providence with about men,[ ] and approaching the island in the night by an unusual passage among the reefs, landed early in the morning, and surprised and captured the spanish commander. the garrison of about yielded up the fort on the promise that they would be carried to the mainland. twenty-seven pieces of ordnance were taken, many of which, it is said, bore the arms of queen elizabeth engraved upon them. mansfield left thirty-five men under command of a captain hattsell to hold the island, and sailed with his prisoners for central america. after cruising along the shores of the mainland, he ascended the san juan river and entered and sacked granada, the capital of nicaragua. from granada the buccaneers turned south into costa rica, burning plantations, breaking the images in the churches, ham-stringing cows and mules, cutting down the fruit trees, and in general destroying everything they found. the spanish governor had only thirty-six soldiers at his disposal and scarcely any firearms; but he gathered the inhabitants and some indians, blocked the roads, laid ambuscades, and did all that his pitiful means permitted to hinder the progress of the invaders. the freebooters had designed to visit cartago, the chief city of the province, and plunder it as they had plundered granada. they penetrated only as far as turrialva, however, whence weary and footsore from their struggle through the cordillera, and harassed by the spaniards, they retired through the province of veragua in military order to their ships.[ ] on th june the buccaneers, laden with booty, sailed into port royal. there was at that moment no declared war between england and spain. yet the governor, probably because he believed mansfield to be justified, _ex post facto_, by the issue of commissions against the spaniards in the previous february, did no more than mildly reprove him for acting without his orders; and "considering its good situation for favouring any design on the rich main," he accepted the tender of the island in behalf of the king. he despatched major samuel smith, who had been one of mansfield's party, with a few soldiers to reinforce the english garrison;[ ] and on th november the council in england set the stamp of their approval upon his actions by issuing a commission to his brother, sir james modyford, to be lieutenant-governor of the new acquisition.[ ] in august , only two months before the departure of mansfield from jamaica, there had returned to port royal from a raid in the same region three privateer captains named morris, jackman and morgan.[ ] these men, with their followers, doubtless helped to swell the ranks of mansfield's buccaneers, and it was probably their report of the wealth of central america which induced mansfield to emulate their performance. in the previous january these three captains, still pretending to sail under commissions from lord windsor, had ascended the river tabasco, in the province of campeache, with men, and guided by indians made a detour of miles, according to their account, to villa de mosa,[ ] which they took and plundered. when they returned to the mouth of the river, they found that their ships had been seized by spaniards, who, on their approach, attacked them strong. the spaniards, softened by the heat and indolent life of the tropics, were no match for one-third their number of desperadoes, and the buccaneers beat them off without the loss of a man. the freebooters then fitted up two barques and four canoes, sailed to rio garta and stormed the place with only thirty men; crossed the gulf of honduras to the island of roatan to rest and obtain fresh water, and then captured and plundered the port of truxillo. down the mosquito coast they passed like a devouring flame, consuming all in their path. anchoring in monkey bay, they ascended the san juan river in canoes for a distance of miles to lake nicaragua. the basin into which they entered they described as a veritable paradise, the air cool and wholesome, the shores of the lake full of green pastures and broad savannahs dotted with horses and cattle, and round about all a coronal of azure mountains. hiding by day among the numerous islands and rowing all night, on the fifth night they landed near the city of granada, just a year before mansfield's visit to the place. the buccaneers marched unobserved to the central square of the city, overturned eighteen cannon mounted there, seized the magazine, and took and imprisoned in the cathedral of the citizens. they plundered for sixteen hours, then released their prisoners, and taking the precaution to scuttle all the boats, made their way back to the sea coast. the town was large and pleasant, containing seven churches besides several colleges and monasteries, and most of the buildings were constructed of stone. about indians, driven to rebellion by the cruelty and oppression of the spaniards, accompanied the marauders and would have massacred the prisoners, especially the religious, had they not been told that the english had no intentions of retaining their conquest. the news of the exploit produced a lively impression in jamaica, and the governor suggested central america as the "properest place" for an attack from england on the spanish indies.[ ] providence island was now in the hands of an english garrison, and the spaniards were not slow to realise that the possession of this outpost by the buccaneers might be but the first step to larger conquests on the mainland. the president of panama, don juan perez de guzman, immediately took steps to recover the island. he transferred himself to porto bello, embargoed an english ship of thirty guns, the "concord," lying at anchor there with licence to trade in negroes, manned it with spaniards under command of josé sánchez jiménez, and sent it to cartagena. the governor of cartagena contributed several small vessels and a hundred or more men to the enterprise, and on th august the united spanish fleet appeared off the shores of providence. on the refusal of major smith to surrender, the spaniards landed, and on th august, after a three days' siege, forced the handful of buccaneers, only sixty or seventy in number, to capitulate. some of the english defenders later deposed before governor modyford that the spaniards had agreed to let them depart in a barque for jamaica. however this may be, when the english came to lay down their arms they were made prisoners by the spaniards, carried to porto bello, and all except sir thomas whetstone, major smith and captain stanley, the three english captains, submitted to the most inhuman cruelties. thirty-three were chained to the ground in a dungeon feet by . they were forced to work in the water from five in the morning till seven at night, and at such a rate that the spaniards themselves confessed they made one of them do more work than any three negroes; yet when weak for want of victuals and sleep, they were knocked down and beaten with cudgels so that four or five died. "having no clothes, their backs were blistered with the sun, their heads scorched, their necks, shoulders and hands raw with carrying stones and mortar, their feet chopped and their legs bruised and battered with the irons, and their corpses were noisome to one another." the three english captains were carried to panama, and there cast into a dungeon and bound in irons for seventeen months.[ ] on th january sir richard fanshaw, formerly ambassador to portugal, had arrived in madrid from england to negotiate a treaty of commerce with spain, and if possible to patch up a peace between the spanish and portuguese crowns. he had renewed the old demand for a free commerce in the indies; and the negotiations had dragged through the years of and , hampered and crossed by the factions in the spanish court, the hostile machinations of the dutch resident in madrid, and the constant rumours of cruelties and desolations by the freebooters in america.[ ] the spanish government insisted that by sole virtue of the articles of there was peace on both sides of the "line," and that the violences of the buccaneers in the west indies, and even the presence of english colonists there, was a breach of the articles. in this fashion they endeavoured to reduce fanshaw to the position of a suppliant for favours which they might only out of their grace and generosity concede. it was a favourite trick of spanish diplomacy, which had been worked many times before. the english ambassador was, in consequence, compelled strenuously to deny the existence of any peace in america, although he realised how ambiguous his position had been rendered by the original orders of charles ii. to modyford in .[ ] after the death of philip iv. in , negotiations were renewed with the encouragement of the queen regent, and on th december provisional articles were signed by fanshaw and the duke de medina de los torres and sent to england for ratification.[ ] fanshaw died shortly after, and lord sandwich, his successor, finally succeeded in concluding a treaty on rd may .[ ] the provisions of the treaty extended to places "where hitherto trade and commerce hath been accustomed," and the only privileges obtained in america were those which had been granted to the low countries by the treaty of munster. on st july of the same year a general peace was concluded at breda between england, holland and france. it was in the very midst of lord sandwich's negotiations that modyford had, as beeston expresses it in his journal, declared war against the spaniards by the re-issue of privateering commissions. he had done it all in his own name, however, so that the king might disavow him should the exigencies of diplomacy demand it.[ ] moreover, at this same time, in the middle of , albemarle was writing to modyford that notwithstanding the negotiations, in which, as he said, the west indies were not at all concerned, the governor might still employ the privateers as formerly, if it be for the benefit of english interests in the indies.[ ] the news of the general peace reached jamaica late in ; yet modyford did not change his policy. it is true that in february secretary lord arlington had sent directions to restrain the buccaneers from further acts of violence against the spaniards;[ ] but modyford drew his own conclusions from the contradictory orders received from england, and was conscious, perhaps, that he was only reflecting the general policy of the home government when he wrote to arlington:--"truly it must be very imprudent to run the hazard of this place, for obtaining a correspondence which could not but by orders from madrid be had.... the spaniards look on us as intruders and trespassers, wheresoever they find us in the indies, and use us accordingly; and were it in their power, as it is fixed in their wills, would soon turn us out of all our plantations; and is it reasonable that we should quietly let them grow upon us until they are able to do it? it must be force alone that can cut in sunder that unneighbourly maxim of their government to deny all access to strangers."[ ] these words were very soon translated into action, for in june henry morgan, with a fleet of nine or ten ships and between and men, took and sacked porto bello, one of the strongest cities of spanish america, and the emporium for most of the european trade of the south american continent. henry morgan was a nephew of the colonel edward morgan who died in the assault of st. eustatius. he is said to have been kidnapped at bristol while he was a mere lad and sold as a servant in barbadoes, whence, on the expiration of his time, he found his way to jamaica. there he joined the buccaneers and soon rose to be captain of a ship. it was probably he who took part in the expedition with morris and jackman to campeache and central america. he afterwards joined the curaçao armament of mansfield and was with the latter when he seized the island of providence. after mansfield's disappearance morgan seems to have taken his place as the foremost buccaneer leader in jamaica, and during the next twenty years he was one of the most considerable men in the colony. he was but thirty-three years old when he led the expedition against porto bello.[ ] in the beginning of sir thomas modyford, having had "frequent and strong advice" that the spaniards were planning an invasion of jamaica, had commissioned henry morgan to draw together the english privateers and take some spanish prisoners in order to find out if these rumours were true. the buccaneers, according to morgan's own report to the governor, were driven to the south cays of cuba, where being in want of victuals and "like to starve," and meeting some frenchmen in a similar plight, they put their men ashore to forage. they found all the cattle driven up into the country, however, and the inhabitants fled. so the freebooters marched twenty leagues to puerto principe on the north side of the island, and after a short encounter, in which the spanish governor was killed, possessed themselves of the place. nothing of value escaped the rapacity of the invaders, who resorted to the extremes of torture to draw from their prisoners confessions of hidden wealth. on the entreaty of the spaniards they forebore to fire the town, and for a ransom of head of cattle released all the prisoners; but they compelled the spaniards to salt the beef and carry it to the ships.[ ] morgan reported, with what degree of truth we have no means of judging, that seventy men had been impressed in puerto principe to go against jamaica, and that a similar levy had been made throughout the island. considerable forces, moreover, were expected from the mainland to rendezvous at havana and st. jago, with the final object of invading the english colony. on returning to the ships from the sack of puerto principe, morgan unfolded to his men his scheme of striking at the very heart of spanish power in the indies by capturing porto bello. the frenchmen among his followers, it seems, wholly refused to join him in this larger design, full of danger as it was; so morgan sailed away with only the english freebooters, some in number, for the coasts of darien. exquemelin has left us a narrative of this exploit which is more circumstantial than any other we possess, and agrees so closely with what we know from other sources that we must accept the author's statement that he was an eye-witness. he relates the whole story, moreover, in so entertaining and picturesque a manner that he deserves quotation. "captain morgan," he says, "who knew very well all the avenues of this city, as also all the neighbouring coasts, arrived in the dusk of the evening at the place called puerto de naos, distant ten leagues towards the west of porto bello.[ ] being come unto this place, they mounted the river in their ships, as far as another harbour called puerto pontin, where they came to anchor. here they put themselves immediately into boats and canoes, leaving in the ships only a few men to keep them and conduct them the next day unto the port. about midnight they came to a certain place called estera longa lemos, where they all went on shore, and marched by land to the first posts of the city. they had in their company a certain englishman, who had been formerly a prisoner in those parts, and who now served them for a guide. unto him, and three or four more, they gave commission to take the sentry, if possible, or to kill him upon the place. but they laid hands on him and apprehended him with such cunning as he had no time to give warning with his musket, or make any other noise. thus they brought him, with his hands bound, unto captain morgan, who asked him: 'how things went in the city, and what forces they had'; with many other circumstances, which he was desirous to know. after every question they made him a thousand menaces to kill him, in case he declared not the truth. thus they began to advance towards the city, carrying always the said sentry bound before them. having marched about one quarter of a league, they came to the castle that is nigh unto the city, which presently they closely surrounded, so that no person could get either in or out of the said fortress. "being thus posted under the walls of the castle, captain morgan commanded the sentry, whom they had taken prisoner, to speak to those that were within, charging them to surrender, and deliver themselves up to his discretion; otherwise they should be all cut in pieces, without giving quarter to any one. but they would hearken to none of these threats, beginning instantly to fire; which gave notice unto the city, and this was suddenly alarmed. yet, notwithstanding, although the governor and soldiers of the said castle made as great resistance as could be performed, they were constrained to surrender unto the pirates. these no sooner had taken the castle, than they resolved to be as good as their words, in putting the spaniards to the sword, thereby to strike a terror into the rest of the city. hereupon, having shut up all the soldiers and officers as prisoners into one room, they instantly set fire to the powder (whereof they found great quantity), and blew up the whole castle into the air, with all the spaniards that were within. this being done, they pursued the course of their victory, falling upon the city, which as yet was not in order to receive them. many of the inhabitants cast their precious jewels and moneys into wells and cisterns or hid them in other places underground, to excuse, as much as were possible, their being totally robbed. one party of the pirates being assigned to this purpose, ran immediately to the cloisters, and took as many religious men and women as they could find. the governor of the city not being able to rally the citizens, through the huge confusion of the town, retired unto one of the castles remaining, and from thence began to fire incessantly at the pirates. but these were not in the least negligent either to assault him or defend themselves with all the courage imaginable. thus it was observed that, amidst the horror of the assault, they made very few shot in vain. for aiming with great dexterity at the mouths of the guns, the spaniards were certain to lose one or two men every time they charged each gun anew. "the assault of this castle where the governor was continued very furious on both sides, from break of day until noon. yea, about this time of the day the case was very dubious which party should conquer or be conquered. at last the pirates, perceiving they had lost many men and as yet advanced but little towards the gaining either this or the other castles remaining, thought to make use of fireballs, which they threw with their hands, designing, if possible, to burn the doors of the castle. but going about to put this in execution, the spaniards from the walls let fall great quantity of stones and earthen pots full of powder and other combustible matter, which forced them to desist from that attempt. captain morgan, seeing this generous defence made by the spaniards, began to despair of the whole success of the enterprise. hereupon many faint and calm meditations came into his mind; neither could he determine which way to turn himself in that straitness of affairs. being involved in these thoughts, he was suddenly animated to continue the assault, by seeing the english colours put forth at one of the lesser castles, then entered by his men, of whom he presently after spied a troop that came to meet him proclaiming victory with loud shouts of joy. this instantly put him upon new resolutions of making new efforts to take the rest of the castles that stood out against him; especially seeing the chief citizens were fled unto them, and had conveyed thither great part of their riches, with all the plate belonging to the churches, and other things dedicated to divine service. "to this effect, therefore, he ordered ten or twelve ladders to be made, in all possible haste, so broad that three or four men at once might ascend by them. these being finished, he commanded all the religious men and women whom he had taken prisoners to fix them against the walls of the castle. thus much he had beforehand threatened the governor to perform, in case he delivered not the castle. but his answer was: 'he would never surrender himself alive.' captain morgan was much persuaded that the governor would not employ his utmost forces, seeing religious women and ecclesiastical persons exposed in the front of the soldiers to the greatest dangers. thus the ladders, as i have said, were put into the hands of religious persons of both sexes; and these were forced, at the head of the companies, to raise and apply them to the walls. but captain morgan was deceived in his judgment of this design. for the governor, who acted like a brave and courageous soldier, refused not, in performance of his duty, to use his utmost endeavours to destroy whosoever came near the walls. the religious men and women ceased not to cry unto him and beg of him by all the saints of heaven he would deliver the castle, and hereby spare both his and their own lives. but nothing could prevail with the obstinacy and fierceness that had possessed the governor's mind. thus many of the religious men and nuns were killed before they could fix the ladders. which at last being done, though with great loss of the said religious people, the pirates mounted them in great numbers, and with no less valour; having fireballs in their hands, and earthen pots full of powder. all which things, being now at the top of the walls, they kindled and cast in among the spaniards. "this effort of the pirates was very great, insomuch as the spaniards could no longer resist nor defend the castle, which was now entered. hereupon they all threw down their arms, and craved quarter for their lives. only the governor of the city would admit or crave no mercy; but rather killed many of the pirates with his own hands, and not a few of his own soldiers, because they did not stand to their arms. and although the pirates asked him if he would have quarter, yet he constantly answered: 'by no means; i had rather die as a valiant soldier, than be hanged as a coward.' they endeavoured as much as they could to take him prisoner. but he defended himself so obstinately that they were forced to kill him; notwithstanding all the cries and tears of his own wife and daughter, who begged of him upon their knees he would demand quarter and save his life. when the pirates had possessed themselves of the castle, which was about night, they enclosed therein all the prisoners they had taken, placing the women and men by themselves, with some guards upon them. all the wounded were put into a certain apartment by itself, to the intent their own complaints might be the cure of their diseases; for no other was afforded them. "this being done, they fell to eating and drinking after their usual manner; that is to say, committing in both these things all manner of debauchery and excess.... after such manner they delivered themselves up unto all sort of debauchery, that if there had been found only fifty courageous men, they might easily have re-taken the city, and killed all the pirates. the next day, having plundered all they could find, they began to examine some of the prisoners (who had been persuaded by their companions to say they were the richest of the town), charging them severely to discover where they had hidden their riches and goods. but not being able to extort anything out of them, as they were not the right persons that possessed any wealth, they at last resolved to torture them. this they performed with such cruelty that many of them died upon the rack, or presently after. soon after, the president of panama had news brought him of the pillage and ruin of porto bello. this intelligence caused him to employ all his care and industry to raise forces, with design to pursue and cast out the pirates from thence. but these cared little for what extraordinary means the president used, as having their ships nigh at hand, and being determined to set fire unto the city and retreat. they had now been at porto bello fifteen days, in which space of time they had lost many of their men, both by the unhealthiness of the country and the extravagant debaucheries they had committed.[ ] "hereupon they prepared for a departure, carrying on board their ships all the pillage they had gotten. but, before all, they provided the fleet with sufficient victuals for the voyage. while these things were getting ready, captain morgan sent an injunction unto the prisoners, that they should pay him a ransom for the city, or else he would by fire consume it to ashes, and blow up all the castles into the air. withal, he commanded them to send speedily two persons to seek and procure the sum he demanded, which amounted to one hundred thousand pieces of eight. unto this effect, two men were sent to the president of panama, who gave him an account of all these tragedies. the president, having now a body of men in readiness, set forth immediately towards porto bello, to encounter the pirates before their retreat. but these people, hearing of his coming, instead of flying away, went out to meet him at a narrow passage through which of necessity he ought to pass. here they placed an hundred men very well armed; the which, at the first encounter, put to flight a good party of those of panama. this accident obliged the president to retire for that time, as not being yet in a posture of strength to proceed any farther. presently after this rencounter he sent a message unto captain morgan to tell him: 'that in case he departed not suddenly with all his forces from porto bello, he ought to expect no quarter for himself nor his companions, when he should take them, as he hoped soon to do.' captain morgan, who feared not his threats knowing he had a secure retreat in his ships which were nigh at hand, made him answer: 'he would not deliver the castles, before he had received the contribution money he had demanded. which in case it were not paid down, he would certainly burn the whole city, and then leave it, demolishing beforehand the castles and killing the prisoners.' "the governor of panama perceived by this answer that no means would serve to mollify the hearts of the pirates, nor reduce them to reason. hereupon he determined to leave them; as also those of the city, whom he came to relieve, involved in the difficulties of making the best agreement they could with their enemies.[ ] thus, in a few days more, the miserable citizens gathered the contribution wherein they were fined, and brought the entire sum of one hundred thousand pieces of eight unto the pirates, for a ransom of the cruel captivity they were fallen into. but the president of panama, by these transactions, was brought into an extreme admiration, considering that four hundred men had been able to take such a great city, with so many strong castles; especially seeing they had no pieces of cannon, nor other great guns, wherewith to raise batteries against them. and what was more, knowing that the citizens of porto bello had always great repute of being good soldiers themselves, and who had never wanted courage in their own defence. this astonishment was so great, that it occasioned him, for to be satisfied therein, to send a messenger unto captain morgan, desiring him to send him some small pattern of those arms wherewith he had taken with such violence so great a city. captain morgan received this messenger very kindly, and treated him with great civility. which being done, he gave him a pistol and a few small bullets of lead, to carry back unto the president, his master, telling him withal: 'he desired him to accept that slender pattern of the arms wherewith he had taken porto bello and keep them for a twelvemonth; after which time he promised to come to panama and fetch them away.' the governor of panama returned the present very soon unto captain morgan, giving him thanks for the favour of lending him such weapons as he needed not, and withal sent him a ring of gold, with this message: 'that he desired him not to give himself the labour of coming to panama, as he had done to porto bello; for he did certify unto him, he should not speed so well here as he had done there.' "after these transactions, captain morgan (having provided his fleet with all necessaries, and taken with him the best guns of the castles, nailing the rest which he could not carry away) set sail from porto bello with all his ships. with these he arrived in a few days unto the island of cuba, where he sought out a place wherein with all quiet and repose he might make the dividend of the spoil they had gotten. they found in ready money two hundred and fifty thousand pieces of eight, besides all other merchandises, as cloth, linen, silks and other goods. with this rich purchase they sailed again from thence unto their common place of rendezvous, jamaica. being arrived, they passed here some time in all sorts of vices and debauchery, according to their common manner of doing, spending with huge prodigality what others had gained with no small labour and toil."[ ] morgan and his officers, on their return to jamaica in the middle of august, made an official report which places their conduct in a peculiarly mild and charitable light,[ ] and forms a sharp contrast to the account left us by exquemelin. according to morgan the town and castles were restored "in as good condition as they found them," and the people were so well treated that "several ladies of great quality and other prisoners" who were offered "their liberty to go to the president's camp, refused, saying they were now prisoners to a person of quality, who was more tender of their honours than they doubted to find in the president's camp, and so voluntarily continued with them till the surrender of the town and castles." this scarcely tallies with what we know of the manners of the freebooters, and exquemelin's evidence is probably nearer the truth. when morgan returned to jamaica modyford at first received him somewhat doubtfully, for morgan's commission, as the governor told him, was only against ships, and the governor was not at all sure how the exploit would be taken in england. morgan, however, had reported that at porto bello, as well as in cuba, levies were being made for an attack upon jamaica, and modyford laid great stress upon this point when he forwarded the buccaneer's narrative to the duke of albemarle. the sack of porto bello was nothing less than an act of open war against spain, and modyford, now that he had taken the decisive step, was not satisfied with half measures. before the end of october the whole fleet of privateers, ten sail and men, had gone out again under morgan to cruise on the coasts of caracas, while captain dempster with several other vessels and followers lay before havana and along the shores of campeache.[ ] modyford had written home repeatedly that if the king wished him to exercise any adequate control over the buccaneers, he must send from england two or three nimble fifth-rate frigates to command their obedience and protect the island from hostile attacks. charles in reply to these letters sent out the "oxford," a frigate of thirty-four guns, which arrived at port royal on th october. according to beeston's journal, it brought instructions countenancing the war, and empowering the governor to commission whatever persons he thought good to be partners with his majesty in the plunder, "they finding victuals, wear and tear."[ ] the frigate was immediately provisioned for a several months' cruise, and sent under command of captain edward collier to join morgan's fleet as a private ship-of-war. morgan had appointed the isle la vache, or cow island, on the south side of hispaniola, as the rendezvous for the privateers; and thither flocked great numbers, both english and french, for the name of morgan was, by his exploit at porto bello, rendered famous in all the neighbouring islands. here, too, arrived the "oxford" in december. among the french privateers were two men-of-war, one of which, the "cour volant" of la rochelle, commanded by m. la vivon, was seized by captain collier for having robbed an english vessel of provisions. a few days later, on nd january, a council of war was held aboard the "oxford," where it was decided that the privateers, now numbering about men, should attack cartagena. while the captains were at dinner on the quarter-deck, however, the frigate blew up, and about men, including five captains, were lost.[ ] "i was eating my dinner with the rest," writes the surgeon, richard browne, "when the mainmasts blew out, and fell upon captains aylett, bigford, and others, and knocked them on the head; i saved myself by getting astride the mizzenmast." it seems that out of the whole ship only morgan and those who sat on his side of the table were saved. the accident was probably caused by the carelessness of a gunner. captain collier sailed in la vivon's ship for jamaica, where the french captain was convicted of piracy in the admiralty court, and reprieved by governor modyford, but his ship confiscated.[ ] morgan, from the rendezvous at the isle la vache, had coasted along the southern shores of hispaniola and made several inroads upon the island for the purpose of securing beef and other provisions. some of his ships, meanwhile, had been separated from the body of the fleet, and at last he found himself with but eight vessels and or men, scarcely more than half his original company. with these small numbers he changed his resolution to attempt cartagena, and set sail for maracaibo, a town situated on the great lagoon of that name in venezuela. this town had been pillaged in , just before the peace of aix-la-chapelle, by buccaneers led by two french captains, l'olonnais and michel le basque, and had suffered all the horrors attendant upon such a visit. in march morgan appeared at the entrance to the lake, forced the passage after a day's hot bombardment, dismantled the fort which commanded it, and entered maracaibo, from which the inhabitants had fled before him. the buccaneers sacked the town, and scoured the woods in search of the spaniards and their valuables. men, women and children were brought in and cruelly tortured to make them confess where their treasures were hid. morgan, at the end of three weeks, "having now got by degrees into his hands about of the chief families," resolved to go to gibraltar, near the head of the lake, as l'olonnais had done before him. here the scenes of inhuman cruelty, "the tortures, murders, robberies and such like insolences," were repeated for five weeks; after which the buccaneers, gathering up their rich booty, returned to maracaibo, carrying with them four hostages for the ransom of the town and prisoners, which the inhabitants promised to send after them. at maracaibo morgan learnt that three large spanish men-of-war were lying off the entrance of the lake, and that the fort, in the meantime, had been armed and manned and put into a posture of defence. in order to gain time he entered into negotiations with the spanish admiral, don alonso del campo y espinosa, while the privateers carefully made ready a fireship disguised as a man-of-war. at dawn on st may , according to exquemelin, they approached the spanish ships riding at anchor within the entry of the lake, and sending the fireship ahead of the rest, steered directly for them. the fireship fell foul of the "almirante," a vessel of forty guns, grappled with her and set her in flames. the second spanish ship, when the plight of the admiral was discovered, was run aground and burnt by her own men. the third was captured by the buccaneers. as no quarter was given or taken, the loss of the spaniards must have been considerable, although some of those on the admiral, including don alonso, succeeded in reaching shore. from a pilot picked up by the buccaneers, morgan learned that in the flagship was a great quantity of plate to the value of , pieces of eight. of this he succeeded in recovering about half, much of it melted by the force of the heat. morgan then returned to maracaibo to refit his prize, and opening negotiations again with don alonso, he actually succeeded in obtaining , pieces of eight and head of cattle as a ransom for the city. permission to pass the fort, however, the spaniard refused. so, having first made a division of the spoil,[ ] morgan resorted to an ingenious stratagem to effect his egress from the lake. he led the spaniards to believe that he was landing his men for an attack on the fort from the land side; and while the spaniards were moving their guns in that direction, morgan in the night, by the light of the moon, let his ships drop gently down with the tide till they were abreast of the fort, and then suddenly spreading sail made good his escape. on th may the buccaneers returned to port royal. these events in the west indies filled the spanish court with impotent rage, and the conde de molina, ambassador in england, made repeated demands for the punishment of modyford, and for the restitution of the plate and other captured goods which were beginning to flow into england from jamaica. the english council replied that the treaty of was not understood to include the indies, and charles ii. sent him a long list of complaints of ill-usage to english ships at the hands of the spaniards in america.[ ] orders seem to have been sent to modyford, however, to stop hostilities, for in may modyford again called in all commissions,[ ] and beeston writes in his journal, under th june, that peace was publicly proclaimed with the spaniards. in november, moreover, the governor told albemarle that most of the buccaneers were turning to trade, hunting or planting, and that he hoped soon to reduce all to peaceful pursuits.[ ] the spanish council of state, in the meantime, had determined upon a course of active reprisal. a commission from the queen-regent, dated th april , commanded her governors in the indies to make open war against the english;[ ] and a fleet of six vessels, carrying from eighteen to forty-eight guns, was sent from spain to cruise against the buccaneers. to this fleet belonged the three ships which tried to bottle up morgan in lake maracaibo. port royal was filled with report and rumour of english ships captured and plundered, of cruelties to english prisoners in the dungeons of cartagena, of commissions of war issued at porto bello and st. jago de cuba, and of intended reprisals upon the settlements in jamaica. the privateers became restless and spoke darkly of revenge, while modyford, his old supporter the duke of albemarle having just died, wrote home begging for orders which would give him liberty to retaliate.[ ] the last straw fell in june , when two spanish men-of-war from st. jago de cuba, commanded by a portuguese, manuel rivero pardal, landed men on the north side of the island, burnt some houses and carried off a number of the inhabitants as prisoners.[ ] on nd july the governor and council issued a commission to henry morgan, as commander-in-chief of all ships of war belonging to jamaica, to get together the privateers for the defence of the island, to attack, seize and destroy all the enemy's vessels he could discover, and in case he found it feasible, "to land and attack st. jago or any other place where ... are stores for this war or a rendezvous for their forces." in the accompanying instructions he was bidden "to advise his fleet and soldiers that they were upon the old pleasing account of no purchase, no pay, and therefore that all which is got, shall be divided amongst them, according to the accustomed rules."[ ] morgan sailed from jamaica on th august with eleven vessels and men for the isle la vache, the usual rendezvous, whence during the next three months squadrons were detailed to the coast of cuba and the mainland of south america to collect provisions and intelligence. sir william godolphin was at that moment in madrid concluding articles for the establishment of peace and friendship in america; and on th june secretary arlington wrote to modyford that in view of these negotiations his majesty commanded the privateers to forbear all hostilities on land against the spaniards.[ ] these orders reached jamaica on th august, whereupon the governor recalled morgan, who had sailed from the harbour the day before, and communicated them to him, "strictly charging him to observe the same and behave with all moderation possible in carrying on the war." the admiral replied that necessity would compel him to land in the spaniards' country for wood, water and provisions, but unless he was assured that the enemy in their towns were making hostile preparations against the jamaicans, he would not touch any of them.[ ] on th september, however, vice-admiral collier with six sail and men was dispatched by morgan to the spanish main. there on th november he seized, in the harbour of santa marta, two frigates laden with provisions for maracaibo. then coasting eastward to rio de la hacha, he attacked and captured the fort with its commander and all its garrison, sacked the city, held it to ransom for salt, maize, meat and other provisions, and after occupying it for almost a month returned on th october to the isle la vache.[ ] one of the frigates captured at santa marta, "la gallardina," had been with pardal when he burnt the coast of jamaica. pardal's own ship of fourteen guns had been captured but a short time before by captain john morris at the east end of cuba, and pardal himself shot through the neck and killed.[ ] he was called by the jamaicans "the vapouring admiral of st. jago," for in june he had nailed a piece of canvas to a tree on the jamaican coast, with a curious challenge written both in english and spanish:-- "i, captain manuel rivero pardal, to the chief of the squadron of privateers in jamaica. i am he who this year have done that which follows. i went on shore at caimanos, and burnt houses, and fought with captain ary, and took from him a catch laden with provisions and a canoe. and i am he who took captain baines and did carry the prize to cartagena, and now am arrived to this coast, and have burnt it. and i come to seek general morgan, with ships of guns, and having seen this, i crave he would come out upon the coast and seek me, that he might see the valour of the spaniards. and because i had no time i did not come to the mouth of port royal to speak by word of mouth in the name of my king, whom god preserve. dated the th of july ."[ ] meanwhile, in the middle of october, there sailed into port royal three privateers, captains prince, harrison and ludbury, who six weeks before had ascended the river san juan in nicaragua with men and again plundered the unfortunate city of granada. the town had rapidly decayed, however, under the repeated assaults of the buccaneers, and the plunderers secured only £ or £ per man. modyford reproved the captains for acting without commissions, but "not deeming it prudent to press the matter too far in this juncture," commanded them to join morgan at the isle la vache.[ ] there morgan was slowly mustering his strength. he negotiated with the french of tortuga and hispaniola who were then in revolt against the _régime_ of the french company; and he added to his forces seven ships and men sent him by the indefatigable governor of jamaica. on th october, indeed, the venture was almost ruined by a violent storm which cast the whole fleet, except the admiral's vessel, upon the shore. all of the ships but three, however, were eventually got off and repaired, and on th december morgan was able to write to modyford that he had buccaneers, including several hundred french, and thirty-six ships under his command.[ ] upon consideration of the reports brought from the main by his own men, and the testimony of prisoners they had taken, morgan decided that it was impossible to attempt what seems to have been his original design, a descent upon st. jago de cuba, without great loss of men and ships. on nd december, therefore, it was unanimously agreed by a general council of all the captains, thirty-seven in number, "that it stands most for the good of jamaica and safety of us all to take panama, the president thereof having granted several commissions against the english."[ ] six days later the fleet put to sea from cape tiburon, and on the morning of the th sighted providence island. the spanish governor capitulated next day, on condition of being transported with his garrison to the mainland, and four of his soldiers who had formerly been banditti in the province of darien agreed to become guides for the english.[ ] after a delay of five days more, lieutenant-colonel joseph bradley, with between and men in three ships, was sent ahead by morgan to the isthmus to seize the castle of san lorenzo, situated at the mouth of the chagre river. the president of panama, meanwhile, on th december, had received a messenger from the governor of cartagena with news of the coming of the english.[ ] the president immediately dispatched reinforcements to the castle of chagre, which arrived fifteen days before the buccaneers and raised its strength to over men. two hundred men were sent to porto bello, and more were stationed at venta cruz and in ambuscades along the chagre river to oppose the advance of the english. the president himself rose from a bed of sickness to head a reserve of , but most of his men were raw recruits without a professional soldier amongst them. this militia in a few days became so panic-stricken that one-third deserted in a night, and the president was compelled to retire to panama. there the spaniards managed to load some of the treasure upon two or three ships lying in the roadstead; and the nuns and most of the citizens of importance also embarked with their wives, children and personal property.[ ] the fort or castle of san lorenzo, which stood on a hill commanding the river chagre, seems to have been built of double rows of wooden palisades, the space between being filled with earth; and it was protected by a ditch feet deep and by several smaller batteries nearer the water's edge. lieutenant-colonel bradley, who, according to exquemelin, had been on these coasts before with captain mansfield, landed near the fort on the th of december. he and his men fought in the trenches from early afternoon till eight o'clock next morning, when they stormed and carried the place. the buccaneers suffered severely, losing about in killed and wounded, including bradley himself who died ten days later. exquemelin gives a very vivid account of the action. the buccaneers, he writes, "came to anchor in a small port, at the distance of a league more or less from the castle. the next morning very early they went on shore, and marched through the woods, to attack the castle on that side. this march continued until two o'clock, afternoon, by reason of the difficulties of the way, and its mire and dirt. and although their guides served them exactly, notwithstanding they came so nigh the castle at first that they lost many of their men with the shot from the guns, they being in an open place where nothing could cover nor defend them. this much perplexed the pirates ..." (but) "at last after many doubts and disputes among themselves they resolved to hazard the assault and their lives after a most desperate manner. thus they advanced towards the castle, with their swords in one hand and fireballs in the other. the spaniards defended themselves very briskly, ceasing not to fire at them with their great guns and muskets continually crying withal: 'come on, ye english dogs, enemies to god and our king; let your other companions that are behind come on too, ye shall not go to panama this bout.' after the pirates had made some trial to climb up the walls, they were forced to retreat, which they accordingly did, resting themselves until night. this being done, they returned to the assault, to try if by the help of their fireballs they could overcome and pull down the pales before the wall. this they attempted to do, and while they were about it there happened a very remarkable accident, which gave them the opportunity of the victory. one of the pirates was wounded with an arrow in his back, which pierced his body to the other side. this he instantly pulled out with great valour at the side of his breast; then taking a little cotton that he had about him, he wound it about the said arrow, and putting it into his musket, he shot it back into the castle. but the cotton being kindled by the powder, occasioned two or three houses that were within the castle, being thatched with palm-leaves, to take fire, which the spaniards perceived not so soon as was necessary. for this fire meeting with a parcel of powder, blew it up and thereby caused great ruin, and no less consternation to the spaniards, who were not able to account for this accident, not having seen the beginning thereof. "thus the pirates perceiving the good effect of the arrow and the beginning of the misfortune of the spaniards, were infinitely gladdened thereat. and while they were busied in extinguishing the fire, which caused great confusion in the whole castle, having not sufficient water wherewithal to do it, the pirates made use of this opportunity, setting fire likewise to the palisades. thus the fire was seen at the same time in several parts about the castle, which gave them huge advantage against the spaniards. for many breaches were made at once by the fire among the pales, great heaps of earth falling down into the ditch. upon these the pirates climbed up, and got over into the castle, notwithstanding that some spaniards, who were not busied about the fire, cast down upon them many flaming pots, full of combustible matter and odious smells, which occasioned the loss of many of the english. "the spaniards, notwithstanding the great resistance they made, could not hinder the palisades from being entirely burnt before midnight. meanwhile the pirates ceased not to persist in their intention of taking the castle. unto which effect, although the fire was great, they would creep upon the ground, as nigh unto it as they could, and shoot amidst the flames, against the spaniards they could perceive on the other side, and thus cause many to fall dead from the walls. when day was come, they observed all the moveable earth that lay between the pales to be fallen into the ditch in huge quantity. so that now those within the castle did in a manner lie equally exposed to them without, as had been on the contrary before. whereupon the pirates continued shooting very furiously against them, and killed great numbers of spaniards. for the governor had given them orders not to retire from those posts which corresponded to the heaps of earth fallen into the ditch, and caused the artillery to be transported unto the breaches. "notwithstanding, the fire within the castle still continued, and now the pirates from abroad used what means they could to hinder its progress, by shooting incessantly against it. one party of the pirates was employed only to this purpose, and another commanded to watch all the motions of the spaniards, and take all opportunities against them. about noon the english happened to gain a breach, which the governor himself defended with twenty-five soldiers. here was performed a very courageous and warlike resistance by the spaniards, both with muskets, pikes, stones and swords. yet notwithstanding, through all these arms the pirates forced and fought their way, till at last they gained the castle. the spaniards who remained alive cast themselves down from the castle into the sea, choosing rather to die precipitated by their own selves (few or none surviving the fall) than to ask any quarter for their lives. the governor himself retreated unto the corps du garde, before which were placed two pieces of cannon. here he intended still to defend himself, neither would he demand any quarter. but at last he was killed with a musket shot, which pierced his skull into the brain. "the governor being dead, and the corps du garde surrendered, they found still remaining in it alive to the number of thirty men, whereof scarce ten were not wounded. these informed the pirates that eight or nine of their soldiers had deserted their colours, and were gone to panama to carry news of their arrival and invasion. these thirty men alone were remaining of three hundred and fourteen, wherewith the castle was garrisoned, among which number not one officer was found alive. these were all made prisoners, and compelled to tell whatsoever they knew of their designs and enterprises."[ ] five days after the taking of the castle, morgan arrived from providence island with the rest of the armament; but at the entrance to the chagre river, in passing over the bar, his flagship and five or six smaller boats were wrecked, and ten men were drowned. after repairing and provisioning the castle, and leaving men to guard it and the ships, morgan, on th january , at the head of men, began the ascent of the river in seven small vessels and thirty-six canoes.[ ] the story of this brilliant march we will again leave to exquemelin, who took part in it, to relate. the first day "they sailed only six leagues, and came to a place called de los bracos. here a party of his men went on shore, only to sleep some few hours and stretch their limbs, they being almost crippled with lying too much crowded in the boats. after they had rested awhile, they went abroad, to see if any victuals could be found in the neighbouring plantations. but they could find none, the spaniards being fled and carrying with them all the provisions they had. this day, being the first of their journey, there was amongst them such scarcity of victuals that the greatest part were forced to pass with only a pipe of tobacco, without any other refreshment. "the next day, very early in the morning, they continued their journey, and came about evening to a place called cruz de juan gallego. here they were compelled to leave their boats and canoes, by reason the river was very dry for want of rain, and the many obstacles of trees that were fallen into it. the guides told them that about two leagues farther on the country would be very good to continue the journey by land. hereupon they left some companies, being in all one hundred and sixty men,[ ] on board the boats to defend them, with intent they might serve for a place of refuge in case of necessity. "the next morning, being the third day of their journey, they all went ashore, excepting those above-mentioned who were to keep the boats. unto these captain morgan gave very strict orders, under great penalties, that no man, upon any pretext whatsoever, should dare to leave the boats and go ashore. this he did, fearing lest they should be surprised and cut off by an ambuscade of spaniards, that might chance to lie thereabouts in the neighbouring woods, which appeared so thick as to seem almost impenetrable. having this morning begun their march, they found the ways so dirty and irksome, that captain morgan thought it more convenient to transport some of the men in canoes (though it could not be done without great labour) to a place farther up the river, called cedro bueno. thus they re-embarked, and the canoes returned for the rest that were left behind. so that about night they found themselves all together at the said place. the pirates were extremely desirous to meet any spaniards, or indians, hoping to fill their bellies with what provisions they should take from them. for now they were reduced almost to the very extremity of hunger. "on the fourth day, the greatest part of the pirates marched by land, being led by one of the guides. the rest went by water, farther up with the canoes, being conducted by another guide, who always went before them with two of the said canoes, to discover on both sides the river the ambuscades of the spaniards. these had also spies, who were very dextrous, and could at any time give notice of all accidents or of the arrival of the pirates, six hours at least before they came to any place. this day about noon they found themselves nigh unto a post, called torna cavallos. here the guide of the canoes began to cry aloud he perceived an ambuscade. his voice caused infinite joy unto all the pirates, as persuading themselves they should find some provisions wherewith to satiate their hunger, which was very great. being come unto the place, they found nobody in it, the spaniards who were there not long before being every one fled, and leaving nothing behind unless it were a small number of leather bags, all empty, and a few crumbs of bread scattered upon the ground where they had eaten.[ ] being angry at this misfortune, they pulled down a few little huts which the spaniards had made, and afterwards fell to eating the leathern bags, as being desirous to afford something to the ferment of their stomachs, which now was grown so sharp that it did gnaw their very bowels, having nothing else to prey upon. thus they made a huge banquet upon those bags of leather, which doubtless had been more grateful unto them, if divers quarrels had not risen concerning who should have the greatest share. by the circumference of the place they conjectured five hundred spaniards, more or less, had been there. and these, finding no victuals, they were now infinitely desirous to meet, intending to devour some of them rather than perish. whom they would certainly in that occasion have roasted or boiled, to satisfy their famine, had they been able to take them. "after they had feasted themselves with those pieces of leather, they quitted the place, and marched farther on, till they came about night to another post called torna munni. here they found another ambuscade, but as barren and desert as the former. they searched the neighbouring woods, but could not find the least thing to eat. the spaniards having been so provident as not to leave behind them anywhere the least crumb of sustenance, whereby the pirates were now brought to the extremity aforementioned. here again he was happy, that had reserved since noon any small piece of leather whereof to make his supper, drinking after it a good draught of water for his greatest comfort. some persons who never were out of their mothers' kitchens may ask how these pirates could eat, swallow and digest those pieces of leather, so hard and dry. unto whom i only answer: that could they once experiment what hunger, or rather famine, is, they would certainly find the manner, by their own necessity, as the pirates did. for these first took the leather, and sliced it in pieces. then did they beat it between two stones and rub it, often dipping it in the water of the river, to render it by these means supple and tender. lastly they scraped off the hair, and roasted or broiled it upon the fire. and being thus cooked they cut it into small morsels, and eat it, helping it down with frequent gulps of water, which by good fortune they had nigh at hand. "they continued their march the fifth day, and about noon came unto a place called barbacoa. here likewise they found traces of another ambuscade, but the place totally as unprovided as the two precedent were. at a small distance were to be seen several plantations, which they searched very narrowly, but could not find any person, animal or other thing that was capable of relieving their extreme and ravenous hunger. finally, having ranged up and down and searched a long time, they found a certain grotto which seemed to be but lately hewn out of a rock, in which they found two sacks of meal, wheat and like things, with two great jars of wine, and certain fruits called platanos. captain morgan, knowing that some of his men were now, through hunger, reduced almost to the extremity of their lives, and fearing lest the major part should be brought into the same condition, caused all that was found to be distributed amongst them who were in greatest necessity. having refreshed themselves with these victuals, they began to march anew with greater courage than ever. such as could not well go for weakness were put into the canoes, and those commanded to land that were in them before. thus they prosecuted their journey till late at night, at which time they came unto a plantation where they took up their rest. but without eating anything at all; for the spaniards, as before, had swept away all manner of provisions, leaving not behind them the least signs of victuals. "on the sixth day they continued their march, part of them by land through the woods, and part by water in the canoes. howbeit they were constrained to rest themselves very frequently by the way, both for the ruggedness thereof and the extreme weakness they were under. unto this they endeavoured to occur, by eating some leaves of trees and green herbs, or grass, such as they could pick, for such was the miserable condition they were in. this day, at noon, they arrived at a plantation, where they found a barn full of maize. immediately they beat down the doors, and fell to eating of it dry, as much as they could devour. afterwards they distributed great quantity, giving to every man a good allowance thereof. being thus provided they prosecuted their journey, which having continued for the space of an hour or thereabouts, they met with an ambuscade of indians. this they no sooner had discovered, but they threw away their maize, with the sudden hopes they conceived of finding all things in abundance. but after all this haste, they found themselves much deceived, they meeting neither indians nor victuals, nor anything else of what they had imagined. they saw notwithstanding on the other side of the river a troop of a hundred indians more or less, who all escaped away through the agility of their feet. some few pirates there were who leapt into the river, the sooner to reach the shore to see if they could take any of the said indians prisoners. but all was in vain; for being much more nimble on their feet than the pirates they easily baffled their endeavours. neither did they only baffle them, but killed also two or three of the pirates with their arrows, shooting at them at a distance, and crying: 'ha! perros, a la savana, a la savana. ha! ye dogs, go to the plain, go to the plain.' "this day they could advance no further, by reason they were necessitated to pass the river hereabouts to continue their march on the other side. hereupon they took up their repose for that night. howbeit their sleep was not heavy nor profound, for great murmurings were heard that night in the camp, many complaining of captain morgan and his conduct in that enterprise, and being desirous to return home. on the contrary, others would rather die there than go back one step from what they had undertaken. but others who had greater courage than any of these two parties did laugh and joke at all their discourses. in the meanwhile they had a guide who much comforted them, saying: 'it would not now be long before they met with people, from whom they should reap some considerable advantage.' "the seventh day in the morning they all made clean their arms, and every one discharged his pistol or musket without bullet, to examine the security of their firelocks. this being done, they passed to the other side of the river in the canoes, leaving the post where they had rested the night before, called santa cruz. thus they proceeded on their journey till noon, at which time they arrived at a village called cruz.[ ] being at a great distance as yet from the place, they perceived much smoke to arise out of the chimneys. the sight hereof afforded them great joy and hopes of finding people in the town, and afterwards what they most desired, which was plenty of good cheer. thus they went on with as much haste as they could, making several arguments to one another upon those external signs, though all like castles built in the air. 'for,' said they, 'there is smoke coming out of every house, and therefore they are making good fires to roast and boil what we are to eat.' with other things to this purpose. "at length they arrived there in great haste, all sweating and panting, but found no person in the town, nor anything that was eatable wherewith to refresh themselves, unless it were good fires to warm themselves, which they wanted not. for the spaniards before their departure, had every one set fire to his own house, excepting only the storehouses and stables belonging to the king. "they had not left behind them any beast whatsoever, either alive or dead. this occasioned much confusion in their minds, they not finding the least thing to lay hold on, unless it were some few cats and dogs, which they immediately killed and devoured with great appetite. at last in the king's stables they found by good fortune fifteen or sixteen jars of peru wine, and a leather sack full of bread. but no sooner had they begun to drink of the said wine when they fell sick, almost every man. this sudden disaster made them think that the wine was poisoned, which caused a new consternation in the whole camp, as judging themselves now to be irrecoverably lost. but the true reason was, their huge want of sustenance in that whole voyage, and the manifold sorts of trash which they had eaten upon that occasion. their sickness was so great that day as caused them to remain there till the next morning, without being able to prosecute their journey as they used to do, in the afternoon. this village is seated in the latitude in degrees and minutes, northern latitude, being distant from the river of chagre twenty-six spanish leagues, and eight from panama. moreover, this is the last place unto which boats or canoes can come; for which reason they built here store-houses, wherein to keep all sorts of merchandise, which from hence to and from panama are transported upon the backs of mules. "here therefore captain morgan was constrained to leave his canoes and land all his men, though never so weak in their bodies. but lest the canoes should be surprised, or take up too many men for their defence, he resolved to send them all back to the place where the boats were, excepting one, which he caused to be hidden, to the intent it might serve to carry intelligence according to the exigency of affairs. many of the spaniards and indians belonging to this village were fled to the plantations thereabouts. hereupon captain morgan gave express orders that none should dare to go out of the village, except in whole companies of a hundred together. the occasion hereof was his fear lest the enemy should take an advantage upon his men, by any sudden assault. notwithstanding, one party of english soldiers stickled not to contravene these commands, being thereunto tempted with the desire of finding victuals. but these were soon glad to fly into the town again, being assaulted with great fury by some spaniards and indians, who snatched up one of the pirates, and carried him away prisoner. thus the vigilance and care of captain morgan was not sufficient to prevent every accident that might happen. "on the eighth day, in the morning, captain morgan sent two hundred men before the body of his army, to discover the way to panama, and see if they had laid any ambuscades therein. especially considering that the places by which they were to pass were very fit for that purpose, the paths being so narrow that only ten or twelve persons could march in a file, and oftentimes not so many. having marched about the space of ten hours, they came unto a place called quebrada obscura. here, all on a sudden, three or four thousand arrows were shot at them, without being able to perceive from whence they came, or who shot them. the place, from whence it was presumed they were shot was a high rocky mountain, excavated from one side to the other, wherein was a grotto that went through it, only capable of admitting one horse, or other beast laden. this multitude of arrows caused a huge alarm among the pirates, especially because they could not discover the place from whence they were discharged. at last, seeing no more arrows to appear, they marched a little farther, and entered into a wood. here they perceived some indians to fly as fast as they could possible before them, to take the advantage of another post, and thence observe the march of the pirates. there remained, notwithstanding one troop of indians upon the place, with full design to fight and defend themselves. this combat they performed with huge courage, till such time as their captain fell to the ground wounded, who although he was now in despair of life, yet his valour being greater than his strength, would demand no quarter, but, endeavouring to raise himself, with undaunted mind laid hold of his azagaya, or javelin, and struck at one of the pirates. but before he could second the blow, he was shot to death with a pistol. this was also the fate of many of his companions, who like good and courageous soldiers lost their lives with their captain, for the defence of their country. "the pirates endeavoured, as much as was possible, to lay hold on some of the indians and take them prisoners. but they being infinitely swifter than the pirates, every one escaped, leaving eight pirates dead upon the place and ten wounded.[ ] yea, had the indians been more dextrous in military affairs, they might have defended that passage, and not let one sole man to pass. within a little while after they came to a large campaign field open and full of variegated meadows. from here they could perceive at a distance before them a parcel of indians who stood on the top of a mountain, very nigh unto the way by which the pirates were to pass. they sent a troop of fifty men, the nimblest they could pick out, to see if they could catch any of them, and afterwards force them to declare whereabouts their companions had their mansions. but all their industry was in vain, for they escaped through their nimbleness, and presently after showed themselves in another place, hallooing unto the english, and crying: 'a la savana, a la savana, cornudos, perros ingleses;' that is, 'to the plain, to the plain, ye cockolds, ye english dogs!' while these things passed, the ten pirates that were wounded a little before were dressed and plastered up. "at this place there was a wood and on each side thereof a mountain. the indians had possessed themselves of the one, and the pirates took possession of the other that was opposite unto it. captain morgan was persuaded that in the wood the spaniards had placed an ambuscade, as lying so conveniently for that purpose. hereupon he sent before two hundred men to search it. the spaniards and indians, perceiving the pirates to descend the mountain, did so too, as if they designed to attack them. but being got into the wood, out of sight of the pirates, they disappeared, and were seen no more, leaving the passage open unto them. "about night there fell a great rain, which caused the pirates to march the faster and seek everywhere for houses wherein to preserve their arms from being wet. but the indians had set fire to every one thereabouts, and transported all their cattle unto remote places, to the end that the pirates, finding neither houses nor victuals, might be constrained to return homewards. notwithstanding, after diligent search, they found a few little huts belonging to shepherds, but in them nothing to eat. these not being capable of holding many men, they placed in them out of every company a small number, who kept the arms of the rest of the army. those who remained in the open field endured much hardship that night, the rain not ceasing to fall until the morning. "the next morning, about break of day, being the ninth of this tedious journey, captain morgan continued his march while the fresh air of the morning lasted. for the clouds then hanging as yet over their heads were much more favourable unto them than the scorching rays of the sun, by reason the way was now more difficult and laborious than all the precedent. after two hours' march, they discovered a troop of about twenty spaniards. who observed the motions of the pirates. they endeavoured to catch some of them, but could lay hold on none, they suddenly disappearing, and absconding themselves in caves among the rocks, totally unknown to the pirates. at last they came to a high mountain, which, when they ascended, they discovered from the top thereof the south sea. this happy sight, as if it were the end of their labours, caused infinite joy among the pirates. from hence they could descry also one ship and six boats, which were set forth from panama, and sailed towards the islands of tavoga and tavogilla. having descended this mountain, they came unto a vale, in which they found great quantity of cattle, whereof they killed good store. here while some were employed in killing and flaying of cows, horses, bulls and chiefly asses, of which there was greatest number, others busied themselves in kindling of fires and getting wood wherewith to roast them. thus cutting the flesh of these animals into convenient pieces, or gobbets, they threw them into the fire and, half carbonadoed or roasted, they devoured them with incredible haste and appetite. for such was their hunger that they more resembled cannibals than europeans at this banquet, the blood many times running down from their beards to the middle of their bodies. "having satisfied their hunger with these delicious meats, captain morgan ordered them to continue the march. here again he sent before the main body fifty men, with intent to take some prisoners, if possibly they could. for he seemed now to be much concerned that in nine days' time he could not meet one person who might inform him of the condition and forces of the spaniards. about evening they discovered a troop of two hundred spaniards, more or less, who hallooed unto the pirates, but these could not understand what they said. a little while after they came the first time within sight of the highest steeple of panama. this steeple they no sooner had discovered but they began to show signs of extreme joy, casting up their hats into the air, leaping for mirth, and shouting, even just as if they had already obtained the victory and entire accomplishment of their designs. all their trumpets were sounded and every drum beaten, in token of this universal acclamation and huge alacrity of their minds. thus they pitched their camp for that night with general content of the whole army, waiting with impatience for the morning, at which time they intended to attack the city. this evening there appeared fifty horse who came out of the city, hearing the noise of the drums and trumpets of the pirates, to observe, as it was thought, their motions. they came almost within musket-shot of the army, being preceded by a trumpet that sounded marvellously well. those on horseback hallooed aloud unto the pirates, and threatened them, saying, 'perros! nos veremos,' that is, 'ye dogs! we shall meet ye.' having made this menace they returned to the city, excepting only seven or eight horsemen who remained hovering thereabouts, to watch what motions the pirates made. immediately after, the city began to fire and ceased not to play with their biggest guns all night long against the camp, but with little or no harm unto the pirates, whom they could not conveniently reach. about this time also the two hundred spaniards whom the pirates had seen in the afternoon appeared again within sight, making resemblance as if they would block up the passages, to the intent no pirates might escape the hands of their forces. but the pirates, who were now in a manner besieged, instead of conceiving any fear of their blockades, as soon as they had placed sentries about their camp, began every one to open their satchels, and without any preparation of napkins or plates, fell to eating very heartily the remaining pieces of bulls' and horses' flesh which they had reserved since noon. this being done, they laid themselves down to sleep upon the grass with great repose and huge satisfaction, expecting only with impatience for the dawnings of the next day. "on the tenth day, betimes in the morning, they put all their men in convenient order, and with drums and trumpets sounding, continued their march directly towards the city. but one of the guides desired captain morgan not to take the common highway that led thither, fearing lest they should find in it much resistance and many ambuscades. he presently took his advice, and chose another way that went through the wood, although very irksome and difficult. thus the spaniards, perceiving the pirates had taken another way, which they scarce had thought on or believed, were compelled to leave their stops and batteries, and come out to meet them. the governor of panama put his forces in order, consisting of two squadrons, four regiments of foot, and a huge number of wild bulls, which were driven by a great number of indians, with some negroes and others to help them. "the pirates being now upon their march, came unto the top of a little hill, from whence they had a large prospect of the city and campaign country underneath. here they discovered the forces of the people of panama, extended in battle array, which, when they perceived to be so numerous, they were suddenly surprised with great fear, much doubting the fortune of the day. yea, few or none there were but wished themselves at home, or at least free from the obligation of that engagement, wherein they perceived their lives must be so narrowly concerned. having been some time at a stand, in a wavering condition of mind, they at last reflected upon the straits they had brought themselves into, and that now they ought of necessity either to fight resolutely or die, for no quarter could be expected from an enemy against whom they had committed so many cruelties on all occasions. hereupon they encouraged one another, and resolved either to conquer, or spend the very last drop of blood in their bodies. afterwards they divided themselves into three battalions, or troops, sending before them one of two hundred buccaneers, which sort of people are infinitely dextrous at shooting with guns.[ ] thus the pirates left the hill and descended, marching directly towards the spaniards, who were posted in a spacious field, waiting for their coming. as soon as they drew nigh unto them, the spaniards began to shout and cry, 'viva el rey! god save the king!' and immediately their horse began to move against the pirates. but the field being full of quags and very soft under foot, they could not ply to and fro and wheel about, as they desired. the two hundred buccaneers who went before, every one putting one knee to the ground, gave them a full volley of shot, wherewith the battle was instantly kindled very hot. the spaniards defended themselves very courageously, acting all they could possibly perform, to disorder the pirates. their foot, in like manner, endeavoured to second the horse, but were constrained by the pirates to separate from them. thus finding themselves frustrated of their designs, they attempted to drive the bulls against them at their backs, and by this means to put them into disorder. but the greatest part of that wild cattle ran away, being frightened with the noise of the battle. and some few that broke through the english companies did no other harm than to tear the colours in pieces; whereas the buccaneers, shooting them dead, left not one to trouble them thereabouts. "the battle having now continued for the space of two hours, at the end thereof the greatest part of the spanish horse was ruined and almost all killed. the rest fled away. which being perceived by the foot, and that they could not possibly prevail, they discharged the shot they had in their muskets, and throwing them on the ground, betook themselves to flight, every one which way he could run. the pirates could not possibly follow them, as being too much harassed and wearied with the long journey they had lately made. many of them not being able to fly whither they desired, hid themselves for that present among the shrubs of the seaside. but very unfortunately; for most of them being found out by the pirates, were instantly killed, without giving quarter to any.[ ] some religious men were brought prisoners before captain morgan; but he being deaf to their cries and lamentations, commanded them all to be immediately pistoled, which was accordingly done. soon after they brought a captain to his presence, whom he examined very strictly about several things, particularly wherein consisted the forces of those of panama. unto which he answered: their whole strength did consist in four hundred horse, twenty-four companies of foot, each being of one hundred men complete, sixty indians and some negroes, who were to drive two thousand wild bulls and cause them to run over the english camp, and thus by breaking their files put them into a total disorder and confusion.[ ] he discovered more, that in the city they had made trenches and raised batteries in several places, in all which they had placed many guns. and that at the entry of the highway which led to the city they had built a fort, which was mounted with eight great guns of brass and defended by fifty men. "captain morgan, having heard this information, gave orders instantly they should march another way. but before setting forth, he made a review of all his men, whereof he found both killed and wounded a considerable number, and much greater than he had believed. of the spaniards were found six hundred dead upon the place, besides the wounded and prisoners.[ ] the pirates were nothing discouraged, seeing their number so much diminished, but rather filled with greater pride than before, perceiving what huge advantage they had obtained against their enemies. thus having rested themselves some while, they prepared to march courageously towards the city, plighting their oaths to one another in general they would fight till never a man was left alive. with this courage they recommenced their march, either to conquer or be conquered, carrying with them all the prisoners. "they found much difficulty in their approach unto the city. for within the town the spaniards had placed many great guns, at several quarters thereof, some of which were charged with small pieces of iron, and others with musket bullets. with all these they saluted the pirates, at their drawing nigh unto the place, and gave them full and frequent broadsides, firing at them incessantly. whence it came to pass that unavoidably they lost, at every step they advanced, great numbers of men. but neither these manifest dangers of their lives, nor the sight of so many of their own as dropped down continually at their sides, could deter them from advancing farther, and gaining ground every moment upon the enemy. thus, although the spaniards never ceased to fire and act the best they could for their defence, yet notwithstanding they were forced to deliver the city after the space of three hours' combat.[ ] and the pirates, having now possessed themselves thereof, both killed and destroyed as many as attempted to make the least opposition against them. the inhabitants had caused the best of their goods to be transported to more remote and occult places. howbeit they found within the city as yet several warehouses, very well stocked with all sorts of merchandise, as well silks and cloths as linen, and other things of considerable value. as soon as the first fury of their entrance into the city was over, captain morgan assembled all his men at a certain place which he assigned, and there commanded them under very great penalties that none of them should dare to drink or taste any wine. the reason he gave for this injunction was, because he had received private intelligence that it had been all poisoned by the spaniards. howbeit it was the opinion of many he gave these prudent orders to prevent the debauchery of his people, which he foresaw would be very great at the beginning, after so much hunger sustained by the way. fearing withal lest the spaniards, seeing them in wine, should rally their forces and fall upon the city, and use them as inhumanly as they had used the inhabitants before." exquemelin accuses morgan of setting fire to the city and endeavouring to make the world believe that it was done by the spaniards. wm. frogge, however, who was also present, says distinctly that the spaniards fired the town, and sir william godolphin, in a letter from madrid to secretary arlington on nd june , giving news of the exploit which must have come from a spanish source, says that the president of panama left orders that the city if taken should be burnt.[ ] moreover the president of panama himself, in a letter to spain describing the event which was intercepted by the english, admits that not the buccaneers but the slaves and the owners of the houses set fire to the city.[ ] the buccaneers tried in vain to extinguish the flames, and the whole town, which was built mostly of wood, was consumed by twelve o'clock midnight. the only edifices which escaped were the government buildings, a few churches, and about houses in the suburbs. the freebooters remained at panama twenty-eight days seeking plunder and indulging in every variety of excess. excursions were made daily into the country for twenty leagues round about to search for booty, and prisoners were brought in. exquemelin's story of the sack is probably in the main true. in describing the city he writes: "there belonged to this city (which is also the head of a bishopric) eight monasteries, whereof seven were for men and one for women, two stately churches and one hospital. the churches and monasteries were all richly adorned with altar-pieces and paintings, huge quantity of gold and silver, with other precious things; all which the ecclesiastics had hidden and concealed. besides which ornaments, here were to be seen two thousand houses of magnificent and prodigious building, being all or the greatest part inhabited by merchants of that country, who are vastly rich. for the rest of the inhabitants of lesser quality and tradesmen, this city contained five thousand houses more. here were also great numbers of stables, which served for the horses and mules, that carry all the plate, belonging as well unto the king of spain as to private men, towards the coast of the north sea. the neighbouring fields belonging to this city are all cultivated with fertile plantations and pleasant gardens, which afford delicious prospects unto the inhabitants the whole year long."[ ] the day after the capture, continues exquemelin, "captain morgan dispatched away two troops of pirates of one hundred and fifty men each, being all very stout soldiers and well armed with orders to seek for the inhabitants of panama who were escaped from the hands of their enemies. these men, having made several excursions up and down the campaign fields, woods and mountains, adjoining to panama, returned after two days' time bringing with them above prisoners, between men, women and slaves. the same day returned also the boat ... which captain morgan had sent into the south sea, bringing with her three other boats, which they had taken in a little while. but all these prizes they could willingly have given, yea, although they had employed greater labour into the bargain, for one certain galleon, which miraculously escaped their industry, being very richly laden with all the king's plate and great quantity of riches of gold, pearl, jewels and other most precious goods, of all of the best and richest merchants of panama. on board of this galleon were also the religious women, belonging to the nunnery of the said city, who had embarked with them all the ornaments of their church, consisting in great quantity of gold, plate, and other things of great value.... "notwithstanding the pirates found in the ports of the islands of tavoga and tavogilla several boats that were laden with many sorts of very good merchandise; all which they took and brought unto panama; where being arrived, they made an exact relation of all that had passed while they were abroad to captain morgan. the prisoners confirmed what the pirates had said, adding thereto, that they undoubtedly knew whereabouts the said galleon might be at that present, but that it was very probable they had been relieved before now from other places. these relations stirred up captain morgan anew to send forth all the boats that were in the port of panama, with design to seek and pursue the said galleon till they could find her. the boats aforesaid being in all four, set sail from panama, and having spent eight days in cruising to and fro, and searching several ports and creeks, they lost all their hopes of finding what they so earnestly sought for. hereupon they resolved to return unto the isles of tavoga and tavogilla. here they found a reasonable good ship, that was newly come from payta, being laden with cloth, soap, sugar and biscuit, with twenty thousand pieces of eight in ready money. this vessel they instantly seized, not finding the least resistance from any person within her. nigh unto the said ship was also a boat whereof in like manner they possessed themselves. upon the boat they laded great part of the merchandises they had found in the ship, together with some slaves they had taken in the said islands. with this purchase they returned to panama, something better satisfied of their voyage, yet withal much discontented they could not meet with the galleon.... "captain morgan used to send forth daily parties of two hundred men, to make inroads into all the fields and country thereabouts, and when one party came back, another consisting of two hundred more was ready to go forth. by this means they gathered in a short time huge quantity of riches, and no lesser number of prisoners. these being brought into the city, were presently put unto the most exquisite tortures imaginable, to make them confess both other people's goods and their own. here it happened, that one poor and miserable wretch was found in the house of a gentleman of great quality, who had put on, amidst that confusion of things, a pair of taffety breeches belonging to his master with a little silver key hanging at the strings thereof. this being perceived by the pirates they immediately asked him where was the cabinet of the said key? his answer was: he knew not what was become of it, but only that finding those breeches in his master's house, he had made bold to wear them. not being able to extort any other confession out of him, they first put him upon the rack, wherewith they inhumanly disjointed his arms. after this they twisted a cord about his forehead, which they wrung so hard, that his eyes appeared as big as eggs, and were ready to fall out of his skull. but neither with these torments could they obtain any positive answer to their demands. whereupon they soon after hung him up, giving him infinite blows and stripes, while he was under that intolerable pain and posture of body. afterwards they cut off his nose and ears, and singed his face with burning straw, till he could speak nor lament his misery no longer. then losing all hopes of hearing any confession from his mouth, they commanded a negro to run him through with a lance, which put an end to his life and a period to their cruel and inhuman tortures. after this execrable manner did many others of those miserable prisoners finish their days, the common sport and recreation of these pirates being these and other tragedies not inferior to these. "they spared in these their cruelties no sex nor condition whatsoever. for as to religious persons and priests, they granted them less quarter than unto others, unless they could produce a considerable sum of money, capable of being a sufficient ransom. women themselves were no better used ... and captain morgan, their leader and commander, gave them no good example in this point....[ ] "captain morgan having now been at panama the full space of three weeks, commanded all things to be put in order for his departure. unto this effect he gave orders to every company of his men, to seek out for so many beasts of carriage as might suffice to convey the whole spoil of the city unto the river where his canoes lay. about this time a great rumour was spread in the city, of a considerable number of pirates who intended to leave captain morgan; and that, by taking a ship which was in the port, they determined to go and rob upon the south sea till they had got as much as they thought fit, and then return homewards by the way of the east indies into europe. for which purpose they had already gathered great quantity of provisions which they had hidden in private places, with sufficient store of powder, bullets and all other sorts of ammunition; likewise some great guns belonging to the town, muskets and other things, wherewith they designed not only to equip the said vessel but also to fortify themselves and raise batteries in some island or other, which might serve them for a place of refuge. "this design had certainly taken effect as they intended, had not captain morgan had timely advice thereof given him by one of their comrades. hereupon he instantly commanded the mainmast of the said ship should be cut down and burnt, together with all the other boats that were in the port. hereby the intentions of all or most of his companions were totally frustrated. after this captain morgan sent forth many of the spaniards into the adjoining fields and country, to seek for money wherewith to ransom not only themselves but also all the rest of the prisoners, as likewise the ecclesiastics, both secular and regular. moreover, he commanded all the artillery of the town to be spoiled, that is to say, nailed and stopped up. at the same time he sent out a strong company of men to seek for the governor of panama, of whom intelligence was brought that he had laid several ambuscades in the way, by which he ought to pass at his return. but those who were sent upon this design returned soon after, saying they had not found any sign or appearance of any such ambuscades. for a confirmation whereof they brought with them some prisoners they had taken, who declared how that the said governor had had an intention of making some opposition by the way, but that the men whom he had designed to effect it were unwilling to undertake any such enterprise; so that for want of means he could not put his design into execution.[ ] "on the th of february of the year ,[ ] captain morgan departed from the city of panama, or rather from the place where the said city of panama did stand. of the spoils whereof he carried with him one hundred and seventy-five beasts of carriage, laden with silver, gold and other precious things, besides prisoners, more or less, between men, women, children and slaves. that day they came unto a river that passeth through a delicious campaign field, at the distance of a league from panama. here captain morgan put all his forces into good order of martial array in such manner that the prisoners were in the middle of the camp, surrounded on all sides with pirates. at which present conjuncture nothing else was to be heard but lamentations, cries, shrieks and doleful sighs, of so many women and children, who were persuaded captain morgan designed to transport them all, and carry them into his own country for slaves. besides that, among all those miserable prisoners, there was extreme hunger and thirst endured at that time. which hardship and misery captain morgan designedly caused them to sustain, with intent to excite them more earnestly to seek for money wherewith to ransom themselves, according to the tax he had set upon every one. many of the women begged of captain morgan upon their knees, with infinite sighs and tears, he would permit them to return unto panama, there to live in company of their dear husbands and children, in little huts of straw which they would erect, seeing they had no houses until the rebuilding of the city. but his answer was: he came not thither to hear lamentations and cries, but rather to seek money. therefore, they ought to seek out for that in the first place, wherever it were to be had, and bring it to him, otherwise he would assuredly transport them all to such places whither they cared not to go.... "as soon as captain morgan arrived, upon his march, at the town called cruz, seated on the banks of the river chagre, as was mentioned before, he commanded an order to be published among the prisoners, that within the space of three days every one of them should bring in their ransom, under the penalty aforementioned, of being transported unto jamaica. in the meanwhile he gave orders for so much rice and maize to be collected thereabouts as was necessary for the victualling all his ships. at this place some of the prisoners were ransomed, but many others could not bring in their moneys in so short a time. hereupon he continued his voyage ... carrying with him all the spoil that ever he could transport. from this village he likewise led away some new prisoners, who were inhabitants of the said place. so that these prisoners were added to those of panama who had not as yet paid their ransoms, and all transported.... about the middle of the way unto the castle of chagre, captain morgan commanded them to be placed in due order, according to their custom, and caused every one to be sworn, that they had reserved nor concealed nothing privately to themselves, even not so much as the value of sixpence. this being done, captain morgan having had some experience that those lewd fellows would not much stickle to swear falsely in points of interest, he commanded them every one to be searched very strictly, both in their clothes and satchels and everywhere it might be presumed they had reserved anything. yea, to the intent this order might not be ill taken by his companions, he permitted himself to be searched, even to the very soles of his shoes. to this effect by common consent, there was assigned one out of every company to be the searchers of all the rest. the french pirates that went on this expedition with captain morgan were not well satisfied with this new custom of searching. yet their number being less than that of the english, they were forced to submit unto it, as well as the others had done before them. the search being over, they re-embarked in their canoes and boats, which attended them on the river, and arrived at the castle of chagre.[ ] ... here they found all things in good order, excepting the wounded men, whom they had left there at the time of their departure. for of these the greatest number were dead, through the wounds they had received. "from chagre, captain morgan sent presently after his arrival, a great boat unto porto bello, wherein were all the prisoners he had taken at the isle of st. catherine, demanding by them a considerable ransom for the castle of chagre, where he then was, threatening otherwise to ruin and demolish it even to the ground. to this message those of porto bello made answer: they would not give one farthing towards the ransom of the said castle, and that the english might do with it as they pleased. this answer being come, the dividend was made of all the spoil they had purchased in that voyage. thus every company and every particular person therein included received their portion of what was gotten; or rather what part thereof captain morgan was pleased to give them. for so it was, that the rest of his companions, even of his own nation, complained of his proceedings in this particular, and feared not to tell him openly to his face, that he had reserved the best jewels to himself. for they judged it impossible that no greater share should belong unto them than two hundred pieces of eight per capita, of so many valuable purchases and robberies as they had obtained. which small sum they thought too little reward for so much labour and such huge and manifest dangers as they had so often exposed their lives unto. but captain morgan was deaf to all these and many other complaints of this kind, having designed in his mind to cheat them of as much as he could."[ ] on th march , morgan, after demolishing the fort and other edifices at chagre and spiking all the guns, got secretly on board his own ship, if we are to believe exquemelin, and followed by only three or four vessels of the fleet, returned to port royal. the rest of the fleet scattered, most of the ships having "much ado to find sufficient victuals and provisions for their voyage to jamaica." at the end of august not more than ten vessels of the original thirty-six had made their way back to the english colony. morgan, with very inadequate means, accomplished a feat which had been the dream of drake and other english sailors for a century or more, and which admiral vernon in with a much greater armament feared even to attempt. for display of remarkable leadership and reckless bravery the expedition against panama has never been surpassed. its brilliance was only clouded by the cruelty and rapacity of the victors--a force levied without pay and little discipline, and unrestrained, if not encouraged, in brutality by morgan himself. exquemelin's accusation against morgan, of avarice and dishonesty in the division of the spoil amongst his followers, is, unfortunately for the admiral's reputation, too well substantiated. richard browne, the surgeon-general of the fleet, estimated the plunder at over £ , "besides other rich goods," of which the soldiers were miserably cheated, each man receiving but £ as his share. at chagre, he writes, the leaders gave what they pleased "for which ... we must be content or else be clapped in irons." the wronged seamen were loud in their complaints against morgan, collier and the other captains for starving, cheating and deserting them; but so long as modyford was governor they could obtain no redress. the commanders "dared but seldom appear," writes browne, "the widows, orphans and injured inhabitants who had so freely advanced upon the hopes of a glorious design, being now ruined through fitting out the privateers."[ ] the spaniards reckoned their whole loss at , , crowns.[ ] on st may , the council of jamaica extended a vote of thanks to morgan for the execution of his late commission, and formally expressed their approval of the manner in which he had conducted himself.[ ] there can be no question but that the governor had full knowledge of morgan's intentions before the fleet sailed from cape tiburon. after the decision of the council of officers on nd december to attack panama, a boat was dispatched to jamaica to inform modyford, and in a letter written to morgan ten days after the arrival of the vessel the governor gave no countermand to the decision.[ ] doubtless the defence made, that the governor and council were trying to forestall an impending invasion of jamaica by the spaniards, was sincere. but it is also very probable that they were in part deceived into this belief by morgan and his followers, who made it their first object to get prisoners, and obtain from them by force a confession that at cartagena, porto bello or some other spanish maritime port the spaniards were mustering men and fitting a fleet to invade the island. by a strange irony of fate, on th- th july a treaty was concluded at madrid by sir william godolphin for "composing differences, restraining depredations and establishing peace" in america. no trading privileges in the west indies were granted by either crown, but the king of spain acknowledged the sovereignty of the king of england over all islands, colonies, etc., in america then in possession of the english, and the ships of either nation, in case of distress, were to have entertainment and aid in the ports of the other. the treaty was to be published in the west indies simultaneously by english and spanish governors within eight months after its ratification.[ ] in may of the following year, a messenger from san domingo arrived in port royal with a copy of the articles of peace, to propose that a day be fixed for their publication, and to offer an exchange of prisoners,[ ] modyford had as yet received no official notice from england of the treaty, and might with justice complain to the authorities at home of their neglect.[ ] shortly after, however, a new governor came to relieve him of further responsibility. charles ii. had probably placated the spanish ambassador in by promising the removal of modyford and the dispatch of another governor well-disposed to the spaniards.[ ] at any rate, a commission was issued in september , appointing colonel thomas lynch lieutenant-governor of jamaica, to command there in the "want, absence or disability" of the governor;[ ] and on th january following, in spite of a petition of the officers, freeholders and inhabitants of jamaica in favour of modyford,[ ] the commission of the governor was revoked.[ ] lynch arrived in jamaica on th june with instructions, as soon as he had possession of the government and forts, to arrest sir thomas modyford and send him home under guard to answer charges laid against him.[ ] fearing to exasperate the friends of the old governor, lynch hesitated to carry out his instructions until th august, when he invited modyford on board the frigate "assistance," with several members of the council, and produced the royal orders for his arrest. lynch assured him, however, that his life and fortune were not in danger, the proceeding being merely a sop to the indignant spaniards.[ ] modyford arrived in england in november, and on the th of the month was committed to the tower.[ ] the indignation of the spaniards, when the news of the sack of panama reached spain, rose to a white heat. "it is impossible for me to paint to your lordship," wrote godolphin to lord arlington, "the face of madrid upon the news of this action ... nor to what degree of indignation the queen and ministers of state, the particular councils and all sorts of people here, have taken it to heart."[ ] it seems that the ambassador or the spanish consul in london had written to madrid that this last expedition was made by private intimation, if not orders, from london, and that godolphin had been commanded to provide in the treaty for a long term before publication, so as to give time for the execution of the design. against these falsehoods the english ambassador found it difficult to make headway, although he assured the queen of the immediate punishment of the perpetrators, and the arrest and recall of the governor of jamaica. only by the greatest tact and prudence was he able to stave off, until an official disavowal of the expedition came from england, an immediate embargo on all the goods of english merchants in spain. the spanish government decided to send a fleet of , men with all speed to the indies; and the dukes of albuquerque and medina coeli vied with each other in offering to raise the men at their own charge from among their own vassals. after godolphin had presented his official assurance to the queen, however, nothing more was heard of this armament. "god grant," wrote the english ambassador, "that sir thomas modyford's way of defending jamaica (as he used to call it) by sending out the forces thereof to pillage, prove an infallible one; for my own part, i do not think it hath been our interest to awaken the spaniards so much as this last action hath done."[ ] footnotes: [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. and . dated th and th february respectively.] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. and .] [footnote : ibid., nos. and .] [footnote : ibid., no. ; beeston's journal.] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. ; c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; _cf._ also no. , and lyttleton's report, no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , ; beeston's journal. for disputes over the cargo of the spanish prize captured by williams, _cf._ c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : add. mss., , , pp. - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; _cf._ also add. mss., , , f. :--"mr. worseley's discourse of the privateers of jamaica."] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. vii. pp. - .] [footnote : for the biography of jean-david nau, surnamed l'olonnais, _cf._ nouvelle biographie générale, t. xxxviii. p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , pp. , , .] [footnote : ibid., pp. , , .] [footnote : ibid., p. ; egerton mss., , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; _cf._ also nos. , , . from orders contained in the mss. of the marquis of ormonde issued on petitions of convicted prisoners, we find that reprieves were often granted on condition of their making arrangements for their own transportation for life to the west indies, without expense to the government. the condemned were permitted to leave the gaols in which they were confined and embark immediately, on showing that they had agreed with a sea-captain to act as his servant, both during the voyage and after their arrival. the captains were obliged to give bond for the safe transportation of the criminals, and the latter were also to find security that they would not return to the british isles without license, on pain of receiving the punishment from which they had been originally reprieved. (hist. mss. comm. rept. x., pt. , pp. , , , ). _cf._ also c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , - , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. . there were really nine ships and men. cf. _ibid._, no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. , i. lieutenant-colonel thomas morgan (not to be confused with colonel edward morgan), who was left in command of st. eustatius and saba, went in april with a company of buccaneers to the assistance of governor watts of st. kitts against the french. in the rather shameful defence of the english part of the island morgan's buccaneers were the only english who displayed any courage or discipline, and most of them were killed or wounded, colonel morgan himself being shot in both legs. (ibid., nos. , , , , .) st. eustatius was reconquered by a french force from st. kitts in the early part of . (ibid., no. .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. . stedman was later in the year, after the outbreak of war with france, captured by a french frigate off guadeloupe. with a small vessel and only men he found himself becalmed and unable to escape, so he boldly boarded the frenchman in buccaneer fashion and fought for two hours, but was finally overcome. (ibid., no. .)] [footnote : ibid., no. ; beeston's journal. mansfield was the buccaneer whom exquemelin disguises under the name of "mansvelt."] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. , slightly condensed from the original.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , . the governor of havana wrote concerning this same exploit, that on christmas eve of the english entered and sacked the town of cayo in the jurisdiction of havana, and meeting with a vessel having on board twenty-two spaniards who were inhabitants of the town, put them all to the sword, cutting them to pieces with hangers. afterwards they sailed to the town of bayamo with thirteen vessels and men, but altering their plans, went to sancti spiritus, landed , plundered the town, cruelly treated both men and women, burnt the best houses, and wrecked and desecrated the church in which they had made their quarters. (s.p. spain, vol. , f. .) col. beeston says that mansfield conducted the raid; but according to the spanish account to which duro had access, the leader was pierre legrand. (duro, _op. cit._, v. p. ).] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; beeston's journal. beeston reports that after a six weeks' search for mansfield and his men he failed to find them and returned to jamaica.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : exquemelin, however, says that he had men. if he attacked providence island with only he must have received reinforcements later.] [footnote : duro, _op. cit._, v. p. ; s.p. spain, vol. , f. . the accounts that have come down to us of this expedition are obscure and contradictory. modyford writes of the exploit merely that "they landed men at cape blanco, in the kingdom of veragua, and marched miles into that country to surprise its chief city, cartago; but understanding that the inhabitants had carried away their wealth, returned to their ships without being challenged." (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .) according to exquemelin the original goal of the buccaneers was the town of nata, north of panama. the spanish accounts make the numbers of the invaders much greater, from to .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , . the capture of providence island was mansfield's last exploit. according to a deposition found among the colonial papers, he and his ship were later captured by the spaniards and carried to havana where the old buccaneer was put in irons and soon after executed. (ibid., no. .) exquemelin says that mansfield, having been refused sufficient aid by modyford for the defence of providence, went to seek assistance at tortuga, when "death suddenly surprised him and put a period to his wicked life."] [footnote : exquemelin refers to a voyage of henry morgan to campeache at about this time, and says that he afterwards accompanied mansfield as his "vice-admiral." there were at least three morgans then in the west indies, but colonel edward and lieutenant-colonel thomas were at this time doubtless busy preparing the armament against curaçao.] [footnote : "villa de mosa is a small town standing on the starboard side of the river ... inhabited chiefly by indians, with some spaniards.... thus far ships come to bring goods, especially european commodities.... they arrive here in november or december, and stay till june or july, selling their commodities, and then load chiefly with cacao and some sylvester. all the merchants and petty traders of the country towns come thither about christmas to traffick, which makes this town the chiefest in all these parts, campeache excepted."--dampier, _ed._ , ii. p. . the town was twelve leagues from the river's mouth.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; beeston's journal, th august . the viceroy of new spain, in a letter of th march , reports the coming, in february, of english in three ships to tabasco, but gives the name of the plundered town as santa marta de la vitoria. according to his story, the buccaneers seized royal treasure amounting to , pieces of eight, besides ammunition and slaves. (s.p. spain, vol. , f. .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , ; exquemelin, _ed._ , part ii. pp. - .] [footnote : s.p. spain, vols. - . correspondence of sir richard fanshaw.] [footnote : ibid., vol. , f. .] [footnote : ibid., vol. , f. .] [footnote : ibid., vol. , f. ; record office, treaties, etc., .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. . there was probably some disagreement in the council in england over the policy to be pursued toward the buccaneers. on st august modyford wrote to albemarle: "sir james modyford will present his grace with a copy of some orders made at oxford, in behalf of some spaniards, with lord arlington's letter thereon; in which are such strong inculcations of continuing friendship with the spaniards here, that he doubts he shall be highly discanted on by some persons for granting commissions against them; must beg his grace to bring him off, or at least that the necessity of this proceeding may be taken into serious debate and then doubts not but true english judges will confirm what he has done." on the other hand he writes to arlington on th july : "had my abilities suited so well with my wishes as the latter did with your lordship's, the privateers' attempts had been only practised on the dutch and french, and the spaniards free of them, but i had no money to pay them nor frigates to force them; the former they could not get from our declared enemies, nothing could they expect but blows from them, and (as they have often repeated to me) will that pay for new sails and rigging?... (but) will, suitable to your lordship's directions, as far as i am able, restrain them from further acts of violence towards the spaniards, unless provoked by new insolences." yet in the following december the governor tells albemarle that he has not altered his posture, nor does he intend until further orders. it seems clear that arlington and albemarle represented two opposite sets of opinion in the council.] [footnote : on st december , morgan in a deposition before the council of jamaica gave his age as thirty-six years. (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; exquemelin, _ed._ , part ii., pp. - . according to exquemelin the first design of the freebooters had been to cross the island of cuba in its narrowest part and fall upon havana. but on receiving advice that the governor had taken measures to defend and provision the city, they changed their minds and marched to puerto principe.] [footnote : the city of porto bello with its large commodious harbour afforded a good anchorage and shelter for the annual treasure galleons. the narrow entrance was secured by the two forts mentioned in the narrative, the st. jago on the left entering the harbour, and the san felipe on the right; and within the port was a third called the san miguel. the town lay at the bottom of the harbour bending round the shore like a half-moon. it was built on low swampy ground and had no walls or defences on the land side. (_cf._ the descriptions of wafer and gage.) the garrison at this time probably did not exceed men.] [footnote : this statement is confirmed by one of the captains serving under morgan, who in his account of the expedition says: "after remaining some days ... sickness broke out among the troops, of which we lost half by sickness and fighting." (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .) and in "the present state of jamaica, ," we read that morgan brought to the island the plague "that killed my lady modyford and others."] [footnote : morgan reported, however, that the ransom was offered and paid by the president of panama. (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .)] [footnote : exquemelin, _ed._ , part ii. pp. - . the cruelties of the buccaneers at porto bello are confirmed by a letter from john style to the secretary of state, complaining of the disorder and injustice reigning in jamaica. he writes: "it is a common thing among the privateers, besides burning with matches and such like slight torments, to cut a man in pieces, first some flesh, then a hand, an arm, a leg, sometimes tying a cord about his head and with a stick twisting it till the eyes shot out, which is called 'woolding.' before taking puerto bello, thus some were used, because they refused to discover a way into the town which was not, and many in the town because they would not discover wealth they knew not of. a woman there was by some set bare upon a baking stone and roasted because she did not confess of money which she had only in their conceit; this he heard some declare with boasting, and one that was sick confess with sorrow." (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .) modyford writes concerning the booty got at porto bello, that the business cleared each privateer £ , and "to himself they gave only £ for their commission, which never exceeded £ ." (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .) but it is very probable that the buccaneers did not return a full account of the booty to the governor, for it was a common complaint that they plundered their prizes and hid the spoil in holes and creeks along the coast so as to cheat the government of its tenths and fifteenths levied on all condemned prize-goods.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. ; beeston's journal, th october .] [footnote : ibid., c.s.p. colon., - , addenda, no. .] [footnote : exquemelin gives a french version of the episode, according to which the commander of the "cour volant" had given bills of exchange upon jamaica and tortuga for the provisions he had taken out of the english ship; but morgan, because he could not prevail on the french captain to join his proposed expedition, used this merely as a pretext to seize the ship for piracy. the "cour volant," turned into a privateer and called the "satisfaction," was used by morgan as his flagship in the expedition against panama.] [footnote : according to exquemelin the booty amounted to , crowns in money and jewels, besides merchandise and slaves. modyford, however, wrote that the buccaneers received only £ per man.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; s.p. spain, vol. , f. ; vol. , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. . in the consejo de almirantazgo of flanders had offered the government to send its frigates to the indies to pursue and punish the buccaneers, and protect the coasts of spanish america; and in similar proposals were made by the "armadores" or owners of corsairing vessels in the seaport towns of biscay. both offers were refused, however, because the government feared that such privileges would lead to commercial abuses infringing on the monopoly of the seville merchants. duro, _op. cit._, v. p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , - , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - ; nos. , , ; exquemelin, _ed._ , pt. iii. pp. - ; add. mss., , , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , ff. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , ; add. mss., , , f. . the spaniards estimated their loss at , pieces of eight. (add. mss. , , f. .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , . in a report sent by governor modyford to england (_ibid._, no. , i.) we find a list of the vessels under command of henry morgan, with the name, captain, tonnage, guns and crew of each ship. there were twenty-eight english vessels of from to tons and from zero to guns, carrying from to men; the french vessels were eight in number, of from to tons, with from to guns, and carrying from to men.] [footnote : ibid., no. . according to exquemelin, before the fleet sailed all the officers signed articles regulating the disposal of the booty. it was stipulated that admiral morgan should have the hundredth part of all the plunder, "that every captain should draw the shares of eight men, for the expenses of his ship, besides his own; that the surgeon besides his ordinary pay should have two hundred pieces of eight, for his chest of medicaments; and every carpenter above his ordinary salary, should draw one hundred pieces of eight. as to recompenses and rewards they were regulated in this voyage much higher than was expressed in the first part of this book. for the loss of both legs they assigned one thousand five hundred pieces of eight or fifteen slaves, the choice being left to the election of the party; for the loss of both hands, one thousand eight hundred pieces of eight or eighteen slaves; for one leg, whether the right or left, six hundred pieces of eight or six slaves; for a hand as much as for a leg, and for the loss of an eye, one hundred pieces of eight or one slave. lastly, unto him that in any battle should signalize himself, either by entering the first any castle, or taking down the spanish colours and setting up the english, they constituted fifty pieces of eight for a reward. in the head of these articles it was stipulated that all these extraordinary salaries, recompenses and rewards should be paid out of the first spoil or purchase they should take, according as every one should then occur to be either rewarded or paid."] [footnote : sir james modyford, who, after the capture of providence by mansfield in , had been commissioned by the king as lieutenant-governor of the island, now bestirred himself, and in may appointed colonel blodre morgan (who commanded the rear-guard at the battle of panama) to go as deputy-governor and take possession. modyford himself intended to follow with some settlers shortly after, but the attempt at colonization seems to have failed. (c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .)] [footnote : add. mss., , , f. _ff._; _ibid._, , , f. - .] [footnote : ibid., , , f. _ff._; s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : exquemelin, _ed._ , part iii. pp. - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. . exquemelin says that there were men, five boats with artillery and thirty-two canoes.] [footnote : morgan's report makes it men. (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .)] [footnote : morgan says: "the enemy had basely quitted the first entrenchment and set all on fire, as they did all the rest, without striking a stroke." the president of panama also writes that the garrisons up the river, on receiving news of the fall of chagre, were in a panic, the commanders forsaking their posts and retiring in all haste to venta cruz. (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .)] [footnote : exquemelin makes the buccaneers arrive at venta cruz on the seventh day. according to morgan they reached the village on the sixth day, and according to frogge on the fifth. morgan reports that two miles from venta cruz there was "a very narrow and dangerous passage where the enemy thought to put a stop to our further proceeding but were presently routed by the forlorn commanded by capt. thomas rogers."] [footnote : frogge says that after leaving venta cruz they came upon an ambuscade of indians, but put them to flight with the loss of only one killed and two wounded, the indians losing their chief and about thirty men. (s.p. spain, vol. , f. .) morgan reports three killed and six or seven wounded.] [footnote : "next morning drew up his men in the form of a tertia, the vanguard led by lieutenant-colonel lawrence prince and major john morris, in number , the main body , the right wing led by himself, the left by colonel edw. collyer, the rearguard of commanded by colonel bledry morgan."--morgan's report. (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .)] [footnote : the close agreement between the accounts of the battle given by morgan and exquemelin is remarkable, and leads us to give much greater credence to those details in exquemelin's narrative of the expedition which were omitted from the official report. morgan says of the battle that as the spaniards had the advantage of position and refused to move, the buccaneers made a flanking movement to the left and secured a hill protected on one side by a bog. thereupon "one francesco de harro charged with the horse upon the vanguard so furiously that he could not be stopped till he lost his life; upon which the horse wheeled off, and the foot advanced, but met with such a warm welcome and were pursued so close that the enemies' retreat came to plain running, though they did work such a stratagem as has been seldom heard of, viz.:--attempting to drive two droves of cattle into their rear." (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .)] [footnote : morgan gives the number of spaniards at foot and horse, and frogge reports substantially the same figures. the president of panama, however, in his letter to the queen, writes that he had but men, mostly negroes, mulattos and indians, besides slaves of the assiento. his followers, he continues, were armed only with arquebuses and fowling-pieces, and his artillery consisted of three wooden guns bound with hide.] [footnote : according to frogge the spaniards lost men in the battle, the buccaneers but one frenchman. morgan says that the whole day's work only cost him five men killed and ten wounded, and that the loss of the enemy was about .] [footnote : "in the city they had fresh men, two forts, all the streets barricaded and great guns in every street, which in all amounted to thirty-two brass guns, but instead of fighting commanded it to be fired, and blew up the chief fort, which was done in such haste that forty of their own soldiers were blown up. in the market-place some resistance was made, but at three o'clock they had quiet possession of the city...."--morgan's report.] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : after the destruction of panama in , the old city was deserted by the spaniards, and the present town raised on a site several miles to the westward, where there was a better anchorage and landing facilities.] [footnote : the incident of morgan and the spanish lady i have omitted because it is so contrary to the testimony of richard browne (who if anything was prejudiced against morgan) that "as to their women, i know or ever heard of anything offered beyond their wills; something i know was cruelly executed by captain collier in killing a friar in the field after quarter given; but for the admiral he was noble enough to the vanquished enemy." (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .)] [footnote : the president had retired north to nata de los santos, and thence sent couriers with an account of what had happened over darien to cartagena, whence the news was forwarded by express boat to spain. (s.p. spain, vol. , f. ). that the president made efforts to raise men to oppose the retreat of the buccaneers, but received no support from the inhabitants, is proved by spanish documents in add. mss., , , ff. , , etc.] [footnote : the president of panama in his account contained in add. mss. , , gives the date as th february. morgan, however, says that they began the march for venta cruz on th february; but this discrepancy may be due to a confusion of the old and new style of dating.] [footnote : the buccaneers arrived at chagre on th february.--morgan's account.] [footnote : exquemelin, _ed._ , part iii. pp. - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. . wm. frogge, too, says that the share of each man was only £ .] [footnote : add. mss., , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. , i.] [footnote : ibid., no. , ii.] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. ; vol. , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , ; beeston's journal.] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : _cf._ memorial of the conde de molina complaining that a new governor had not been sent to jamaica, as promised, nor the old governor recalled, th feb. (s.p. spain, vol. , f. ).] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] chapter vi the government suppresses the buccaneers the new lieutenant-governor of jamaica, sir thomas lynch, brought with him instructions to publish and carefully observe the articles of with spain, and at the same time to revoke all commissions issued by his predecessor "to the prejudice of the king of spain or any of his subjects." when he proclaimed the peace he was likewise to publish a general pardon to privateers who came in and submitted within a reasonable time, of all offences committed since june , assuring to them the possession of their prize-goods (except the tenths and the fifteenths which were always reserved to the crown as a condition of granting commissions), and offering them inducements to take up planting, trade, or service in the royal navy. but he was not to insist positively on the payment of the tenths and fifteenths if it discouraged their submission; and if this course failed to bring in the rovers, he was to use every means in his power "by force or persuasion" to make them submit.[ ] lynch immediately set about to secure the good-will of his spanish neighbours and to win back the privateers to more peaceful pursuits. major beeston was sent to cartagena with the articles of peace, where he was given every satisfaction and secured the release of thirty-two english prisoners.[ ] on the th august the proclamation of pardon to privateers was issued at port royal;[ ] and those who had railed against their commanders for cheating them at panama, were given an opportunity of resorting to the law-courts.[ ] similar proclamations were sent by the governor "to all their haunts," intimating that he had written to bermuda, the caribbees, new england, new york and virginia for their apprehension, had sent notices to all spanish ports declaring them pirates, and intended to send to tortuga to prevent their reception there.[ ] however, although the governor wrote home in the latter part of the month that the privateers were entirely suppressed, he soon found that the task was by no means a simple one. two buccaneers with a commission from modyford, an englishman named thurston and a mulatto named diego, flouted his offer of pardon, continued to prey upon spanish shipping, and carried their prizes to tortuga.[ ] a dutchman named captain yallahs (or yellowes) fled to campeache, sold his frigate for pieces of eight to the spanish governor, and entered into spanish service to cruise against the english logwood-cutters. the governor of jamaica sent captain wilgress in pursuit, but wilgress devoted his time to chasing a spanish vessel ashore, stealing logwood and burning spanish houses on the coast.[ ] a party of buccaneers, english and french, landed upon the north side of cuba and burnt two towns, carrying away women and inflicting many cruelties on the inhabitants; and when the governors of havana and st. jago complained to lynch, the latter could only disavow the english in the marauding party as rebels and pirates, and bid the spanish governors hang all who fell into their power.[ ] the governor, in fact, was having his hands full, and wrote in january that "this cursed trade has been so long followed, and there is so many of it, that like weeds or hydras, they spring up as fast as we can cut them down."[ ] some of the recalcitrant freebooters, however, were captured and brought to justice. major beeston, sent by the governor in january , with a frigate and four smaller vessels, to seize and burn some pirate ships careening on the south cays of cuba, fell in instead with two other vessels, one english and one french, which had taken part in the raids upon cuba, and carried them to jamaica. the french captain was offered to the governor of st. jago, but the latter refused to punish him for fear of his comrades in tortuga and hispaniola. both captains were therefore tried and condemned to death at port royal. as the spaniards, however, had refused to punish them, and as there was no reason why the jamaicans should be the executioners, the captains of the port and some of the council begged for a reprieve, and the english prisoner, francis witherborn, was sent to england.[ ] captain johnson, one of the pirates after whom beeston had originally been sent, was later in the year shipwrecked by a hurricane upon the coast of jamaica. johnson, immediately after the publication of the peace by sir thomas lynch, had fled from port royal with about ten followers, and falling in with a spanish ship of eighteen guns, had seized it and killed the captain and twelve or fourteen of the crew. then gathering about him a party of a hundred or more, english and french, he had robbed spanish vessels round havana and the cuban coast. finally, however, he grew weary of his french companions, and sailed for jamaica to make terms with the governor, when on coming to anchor in morant bay he was blown ashore by the hurricane. the governor had him arrested, and gave a commission to colonel modyford, the son of sir thomas, to assemble the justices and proceed to trial and immediate execution. he adjured him, moreover, to see to it that the pirate was not acquitted. colonel modyford, nevertheless, sharing perhaps his father's sympathy with the sea-rovers, deferred the trial, acquainted none of the justices with his orders, and although johnson and two of his men "confessed enough to hang a hundred honester persons," told the jury they could not find against the prisoner. half an hour after the dismissal of the court, johnson "came to drink with his judges." the baffled governor thereupon placed johnson a second time under arrest, called a meeting of the council, from which he dismissed colonel modyford, and "finding material errors," reversed the judgment. the pirate was again tried--lynch himself this time presiding over the court--and upon making a full confession, was condemned and executed, though "as much regretted," writes lynch, "as if he had been as pious and as innocent as one of the primitive martyrs." the second trial was contrary to the fundamental principles of english law, howsoever guilty the culprit may have been, and the king sent a letter to lynch reproving him for his rashness. he commanded the governor to try all pirates thereafter by maritime law, and if a disagreement arose to remit the case to the king for re-judgment. nevertheless he ordered lynch to suspend from all public employments in the island, whether civil or military, both colonel modyford and all others guilty with him of designedly acquitting johnson.[ ] the spaniards in the west indies, notwithstanding the endeavours of sir thomas lynch to clear their coasts of pirates, made little effort to co-operate with him. the governors of cartagena and st. jago de cuba, pretending that they feared being punished for allowing trade, had forbidden english frigates to come into their ports, and refused them provisions and water; and the governor of campeache had detained money, plate and negroes taken out of an english trading-vessel, to the value of , pieces of eight. when lynch sent to demand satisfaction, the governor referred him to madrid for justice, "which to me that have been there," writes lynch, "seems worse than the taking it away."[ ] the news also of the imposing armament, which the spanish grandees made signs of preparing to send to the indies on learning of the capture of panama, was in november just beginning to filter into jamaica; and the governor and council, fearing that the fleet was directed against them, made vigorous efforts, by repairing the forts, collecting stores and marshalling the militia, to put the island in a state of defence. the spanish fleet never appeared, however, and life on the island soon subsided into its customary channels.[ ] sir thomas lynch, meanwhile, was all the more careful to observe the peace with spain and yet refrain from alienating the more troublesome elements of the population. it had been decided in england that morgan, too, like modyford, was to be sacrificed, formally at least, to the remonstrances of the spanish government; yet lynch, because morgan himself was ill, and fearing perhaps that two such arrests might create a disturbance among the friends of the culprits, or at least deter the buccaneers from coming in under the declaration of amnesty, did not send the admiral to england until the following spring. on th april morgan sailed from jamaica a prisoner in the frigate "welcome."[ ] he sailed, however, with the universal respect and sympathy of all parties in the colony. lynch himself calls him "an honest, brave fellow," and major james banister in a letter to the secretary of state recommends him to the esteem of arlington as "a very well deserving person, and one of great courage and conduct, who may, with his majesty's pleasure, perform good service at home, and be very advantageous to the island if war should break forth with the spaniard."[ ] indeed morgan, the buccaneer, was soon in high favour at the dissolute court of charles ii., and when in january the earl of carlisle was chosen governor of jamaica, morgan was selected as his deputy[ ]--an act which must have entirely neutralized in spanish councils the effect of his arrest a year and a half earlier. lord carlisle, however, did not go out to jamaica until , and meanwhile in april a commission to be governor was issued to lord vaughan,[ ] and several months later another to morgan as lieutenant-governor.[ ] vaughan arrived in jamaica in the middle of march ; but morgan, whom the king in the meantime had knighted, sailed ahead of vaughan, apparently in defiance of the governor's orders, and although shipwrecked on the isle la vache, reached jamaica a week before his superior.[ ] it seems that sir thomas modyford sailed for jamaica with morgan, and the return of these two arch-offenders to the west indies filled the spanish court with new alarms. the spanish ambassador in london presented a memorial of protest to the english king,[ ] and in spain the council of war blossomed into fresh activity to secure the defence of the west indies and the coasts of the south sea.[ ] ever since , indeed, the spaniards moved by some strange infatuation, had persisted in a course of active hostility to the english in the west indies. could the spanish government have realized the inherent weakness of its american possessions, could it have been informed of the scantiness of the population in proportion to the large extent of territory and coast-line to be defended, could it have known how in the midst of such rich, unpeopled countries abounding with cattle, hogs and other provisions, the buccaneers could be extirpated only by co-operation with its english and french neighbours, it would have soon fallen back upon a policy of peace and good understanding with england. but the news of the sack of panama, following so close upon the conclusion of the treaty of , and the continued depredations of the buccaneers of tortuga and the declared pirates of jamaica, had shattered irrevocably the reliance of the spaniards upon the good faith of the english government. and when morgan was knighted and sent back to jamaica as lieutenant-governor, their suspicions seemed to be confirmed. a ketch, sent to cartagena in by sir thomas lynch to trade in negroes, was seized by the general of the galleons, the goods burnt in the market-place, and the negroes sold for the spanish king's account.[ ] an irish papist, named philip fitzgerald, commanding a spanish man-of-war of twelve guns belonging to havana, and a spaniard called don francisco with a commission from the governor of campeache, roamed the west indian seas and captured english vessels sailing from jamaica to london, virginia and the windward islands, barbarously ill-treating and sometimes massacring the english mariners who fell into their hands.[ ] the spanish governors, in spite of the treaty and doubtless in conformity with orders from home,[ ] did nothing to restrain the cruelties of these privateers. at one time eight english sailors who had been captured in a barque off port royal and carried to havana, on attempting to escape from the city were pursued by a party of soldiers, and all of them murdered, the head of the master being set on a pole before the governor's door.[ ] at another time fitzgerald sailed into the harbour of havana with five englishmen tied ready to hang, two at the main-yard arms, two at the fore-yard arms, and one at the mizzen peak, and as he approached the castle he had the wretches swung off, while he and his men shot at the dangling corpses from the decks of the vessel.[ ] the repeated complaints and demands for reparation made to the spanish ambassador in london, and by sir william godolphin to the spanish court, were answered by counter-complaints of outrages committed by buccaneers who, though long ago disavowed and declared pirates by the governor of jamaica, were still charged by the spaniards to the account of the english.[ ] each return of the fleet from porto bello or vera cruz brought with it english prisoners from cartagena and other spanish fortresses, who were lodged in the dungeons of seville and often condemned to the galleys or to the quicksilver mines. the english ambassador sometimes secured their release, but his efforts to obtain redress for the loss of ships and goods received no satisfaction. the spanish government, believing that parliament was solicitous of spanish trade and would not supply charles ii. with the necessary funds for a war,[ ] would disburse nothing in damages. it merely granted to the injured parties despatches directed to the governor of havana, which ordered him to restore the property in dispute unless it was contraband goods. godolphin realized that these delays and excuses were only the prelude to an ultimate denial of any reparation whatever, and wrote home to the secretary of state that "england ought rather to provide against future injuries than to depend on satisfaction here, till they have taught the spaniards their own interest in the west indies by more efficient means than friendship."[ ] the aggrieved merchants and shipowners, often only too well acquainted with the dilatory spanish forms of procedure, saw that redress at havana was hopeless, and petitioned charles ii. for letters of reprisal.[ ] sir leoline jenkins, judge of the admiralty, however, in a report to the king gave his opinion that although he saw little hope of real reparation, the granting of reprisals was not justified by law until the cases had been prosecuted at havana according to the queen-regent's orders.[ ] this apparently was never done, and some of the cases dragged on for years without the petitioners ever receiving satisfaction. the excuse of the spaniards for most of these seizures was that the vessels contained logwood, a dyewood found upon the coasts of campeache, honduras and yucatan, the cutting and removal of which was forbidden to any but spanish subjects. the occupation of cutting logwood had sprung up among the english about ten years after the seizure of jamaica. in modyford writes that a dozen vessels belonging to port royal were concerned in this trade alone, and six months later he furnished a list of thirty-two ships employed in logwood cutting, equipped with seventy-four guns and men.[ ] the men engaged in the business had most of them been privateers, and as the regions in which they sought the precious wood were entirely uninhabited by spaniards, modyford suggested that the trade be encouraged as an outlet for the energies of the buccaneers. by such means, he thought, these "soldiery men" might be kept within peaceable bounds, and yet be always ready to serve his majesty in event of any new rupture. when sir thomas lynch replaced modyford, he realized that this logwood-cutting would be resented by the spaniards and might neutralize all his efforts to effect a peace. he begged repeatedly for directions from the council in england. "for god's sake," he writes, "give your commands about the logwood."[ ] in the meantime, after consulting with modyford, he decided to connive at the business, but he compelled all who brought the wood into port royal to swear that they had not stolen it or done any violence to the spaniards.[ ] secretary arlington wrote to the governor, in november , to hold the matter over until he obtained the opinion of the english ambassador at madrid, especially as some colour was lent to the pretensions of the logwood cutters by the article of the peace of which confirmed the english king in the possession and sovereignty of all territory in america occupied by his subjects at that date.[ ] in may ambassador godolphin returned his answer. "the wood," he writes, "is brought from yucatan, a large province of new spain, about leagues in length, sufficiently peopled, having several great towns, as merida, valladolid, san francisco de campeache, etc., and the government one of the most considerable next to peru and mexico.... so that spain has as well too much right as advantage not to assert the propriety of these woods, for though not all inhabited, these people may as justly pretend to make use of our rivers, mountains and commons, as we can to enjoy any benefit to those woods." so much for the strict justice of the matter. but when the ambassador came to give his own opinion on the trade, he advised that if the english confined themselves to cutting wood alone, and in places remote from spanish settlements, the king might connive at, although not authorize, their so doing.[ ] here was the kernel of the whole matter. spain was too weak and impotent to take any serious revenge. so let us rob her quietly but decently, keeping the theft out of her sight and so sparing her feelings as much as possible. it was the same piratical motive which animated drake and hawkins, which impelled morgan to sack maracaibo and panama, and which, transferred to the dignified council chambers of england, took on a more humane but less romantic guise. on th october , the council for the plantations dispatched to governor lynch their approval of his connivance at the business, but they urged him to observe every care and prudence, to countenance the cutting only in desolate and uninhabited places, and to use every endeavour to prevent any just complaints by the spaniards of violence and depredation.[ ] the spaniards nevertheless did, as we have seen, engage in active reprisal, especially as they knew the cutting of logwood to be but the preliminary step to the growth of english settlements upon the coasts of yucatan and honduras, settlements, indeed, which later crystallized into a british colony. the queen-regent of spain sent orders and instructions to her governors in the west indies to encourage privateers to take and punish as pirates all english and french who robbed and carried away wood within their jurisdictions; and three small frigates from biscay were sent to clear out the intruders.[ ] the buccaneer yallahs, we have seen, was employed by the governor of campeache to seize the logwood-cutters; and although he surprised twelve or more vessels, the governor of jamaica, not daring openly to avow the business, could enter no complaint. on rd november , however, he was compelled to issue a proclamation ordering all vessels sailing from port royal for the purpose of cutting dye-wood to go in fleets of at least four as security against surprise and capture. under the governorship of lord vaughan, and after him of lord carlisle, matters continued in this same uncertain course, the english settlements in honduras gradually increasing in numbers and vitality, and the spaniards maintaining their right to take all ships they found at sea laden with logwood, and indeed, all english and french ships found upon their coasts. each of the english governors in turn had urged that some equitable adjustment of the trade be made with the spanish crown, if peace was to be preserved in the indies and the buccaneers finally suppressed; but the spaniards would agree to no accommodation, and in march the king wrote to lord carlisle bidding him discourage, as far as possible, the logwood-cutting in campeache or any other of the spanish dominions, and to try and induce the buccaneers to apply themselves to planting instead.[ ] the reprisals of the spaniards on the score of logwood-cutting were not the only difficulties with which lord vaughan as governor had to contend. from the day of his landing in jamaica he seems to have conceived a violent dislike of his lieutenant, sir henry morgan, and this antagonism was embittered by morgan's open or secret sympathy with the privateers, a race with whom vaughan had nothing in common. the ship on which morgan had sailed from england, and which was cast away upon the isle la vache, had contained the military stores for jamaica, most of which were lost in the wreck. morgan, contrary to lord vaughan's positive and written orders, had sailed before him, and assumed the authority in jamaica a week before the arrival of the governor at port royal. this the governor seems to have been unable to forgive. he openly blamed morgan for the wreck and the loss of the stores; and only two months after his coming to jamaica, in may , he wrote to england that for the good of his majesty's service he thought morgan ought to be removed, and the charge of so useless an officer saved.[ ] in september he wrote that he was "every day more convinced of (morgan's) imprudence and unfitness to have anything to do in the civil government, and of what hazards the island may run by so dangerous a succession." sir henry, he continued, had made himself and his authority so cheap at the port, drinking and gaming in the taverns, that the governor intended to remove thither speedily himself for the reputation of the island and the security of the place.[ ] he recommended that his predecessor, sir thomas lynch, whom he praises for "his prudent government and conduct of affairs," be appointed his deputy instead of morgan in the event of the governor's death or absence.[ ] lord vaughan's chief grievance, however, was the lieutenant-governor's secret encouragement of the buccaneers. "what i most resent," he writes again, "is ... that i find sir henry, contrary to his duty and trust, endeavours to set up privateering, and has obstructed all my designs and purposes for the reducing of those that do use this course of life."[ ] when he had issued proclamations, the governor continued, declaring as pirates all the buccaneers who refused to submit, sir henry had encouraged the english freebooters to take french commissions, had himself fitted them out for sea, and had received authority from the french governor of tortuga to collect the tenths on prize goods brought into jamaica under cover of these commissions. the quarrel came to a head over the arrest and trial of a buccaneer named john deane, commander of the ship "st. david." deane was accused of having stopped a ship called the "john adventure," taken out several pipes of wine and a cable worth £ , and forcibly carried the vessel to jamaica. he was also reported to be wearing dutch, french and spanish colours without commission.[ ] when the "john adventure" entered port royal it was seized by the governor for landing goods without entry, contrary to the acts of navigation, and on complaint of the master of the vessel that he had been robbed by deane and other privateers, sir henry morgan was ordered to imprison the offenders. the lieutenant-governor, however, seems rather to have encouraged them to escape,[ ] until deane made so bold as to accuse the governor of illegal seizure. deane was in consequence arrested by the governor, and on th april , in a court of admiralty presided over by lord vaughan as vice-admiral, was tried and condemned to suffer death as a pirate.[ ] the proceedings, however, were not warranted by legal practice, for according to statutes of the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth years of henry viii., pirates might not be tried in an admiralty court, but only under the common law of england by a commission of oyer and terminer under the great seal.[ ] after obtaining an opinion to this effect from the judge of the admiralty, the english council wrote to lord vaughan staying the execution of deane, and ordering a new trial to be held under a proper commission about to be forwarded to him.[ ] the governor of jamaica, however, upon receiving a confession from deane and frequent petitions for pardon, had reprieved the pirate a month before the letter from the council reached him.[ ] the incident had good effect in persuading the freebooters to come in, and that result assured, the governor could afford to bend to popular clamour in favour of the culprit. in the latter part of a standing commission of oyer and terminer for the trial of pirates in jamaica was prepared by the attorney-general and sent to the colony.[ ] after the trial of deane, the lieutenant-governor, according to lord vaughan, had openly expressed himself, both in the taverns and in his own house, in vindication of the condemned man and in disparagement of vaughan himself.[ ] the quarrel hung fire, however, until on th july when the governor, in obedience to orders from england,[ ] cited morgan and his brother-in-law, colonel byndloss, to appear before the council. against morgan he brought formal charges of using the governor's name and authority without his orders in letters written to the captains of the privateers, and byndloss he accused of unlawfully holding a commission from a foreign governor to collect the tenths on condemned prize goods.[ ] morgan in his defence to secretary coventry flatly denied the charges, and denounced the letters written to the privateers as forgeries; and byndloss declared his readiness "to go in this frigate with a tender of six or eight guns and so to deal with the privateers at sea, and in their holes (_sic_) bring in the chief of them to his majesty's obedience or bring in their heads and destroy their ships."[ ] there seems to be little doubt that letters were written by morgan to certain privateers soon after his arrival in jamaica, offering them, in the name of the governor, favour and protection in port royal. copies of these letters, indeed, still exist;[ ] but whether they were actually used is not so certain. charles barre, secretary to sir henry morgan, confessed that such letters had been written, but with the understanding that the governor lent them his approval, and that when this was denied sir henry refused to send them.[ ] it is natural to suppose that morgan should feel a bond of sympathy with his old companions in the buccaneer trade, and it is probable that in , in the first enthusiasm of his return to jamaica, having behind him the openly-expressed approbation of the english court for what he had done in the past, and feeling uncertain, perhaps, as to lord vaughan's real attitude toward the sea-rovers, morgan should have done some things inconsistent with the policy of stern suppression pursued by the government. it is even likely that he was indiscreet in some of his expressions regarding the governor and his actions. his bluff, unconventional, easygoing manners, natural to men brought up in new countries and intensified by his early association with the buccaneers, may have been distasteful to a courtier accustomed to the urbanities of whitehall. it is also clear, however, that lord vaughan from the first conceived a violent prejudice against his lieutenant, and allowed this prejudice to colour the interpretation he put upon all of sir henry's actions. and it is rather significant that although the particulars of the dispute and of the examination before the council of jamaica were sent to the privy council in england, the latter body did not see fit to remove morgan from his post until six years later. as in the case of modyford and lynch, so with lord vaughan, the thorn in his side was the french colony on hispaniola and tortuga. the english buccaneers who would not come in under the proclamation of pardon published at port royal, still continued to range the seas with french commissions, and carried their prizes into french ports. the governor protested to m. d'ogeron and to his successor, m. de pouançay, declaring that any english vessels or subjects caught with commissions against the spaniards would be treated as pirates and rebels; and in december , in compliance with the king's orders of the previous august, he issued a public proclamation to that effect.[ ] in april an act was passed by the assembly, declaring it felony for any english subject belonging to the island to serve under a foreign prince or state without licence under the hand and seal of the governor;[ ] and in the following july the council ordered another proclamation to be issued, offering ample pardon to all men in foreign service who should come in within twelve months to claim the benefit of the act.[ ] these measures seem to have been fairly successful, for on st august peter beckford, clerk of the council in jamaica, wrote to secretary williamson that since the passing of the law at least privateers had come in and submitted, and that few men would now venture their lives to serve the french.[ ] even with the success of this act, however, the path of the governor was not all roses. buccaneering had always been so much a part of the life of the colony that it was difficult to stamp it out entirely. runaway servants and others from the island frequently recruited the ranks of the freebooters; members of the assembly, and even of the council, were interested in privateering ventures; and as the governor was without a sufficient naval force to deal with the offenders independently of the council and assembly, he often found his efforts fruitless. in the early part of a scotchman, named james browne, with a commission from m. d'ogeron and a mixed crew of english, dutch and french, seized a dutch ship trading in negroes off the coast of cartagena, killed the dutch captain and several of his men, and landed the negroes, about in number, in a remote bay of jamaica. lord vaughan sent a frigate which seized about of the negroes, and when browne and his crew fell into the governor's hands he had them all tried and condemned for piracy. browne was ordered to be executed, but his men, eight in number, were pardoned. the captain petitioned the assembly to have the benefit of the act of privateers, and the house twice sent a committee to the governor to endeavour to obtain a reprieve. lord vaughan, however, refused to listen and gave orders for immediate execution. half an hour after the hanging, the provost-marshal appeared with an order signed by the speaker to observe the chief-justice's writ of habeas corpus, whereupon vaughan, resenting the action, immediately dissolved the assembly.[ ] the french colony on hispaniola was an object of concern to the jamaicans, not only because it served as a refuge for privateers from port royal, but also because it threatened soon to overwhelm the old spanish colony and absorb the whole island. under the conciliatory, opportunist regime of m. d'ogeron, the french settlements in the west of the island had grown steadily in number and size;[ ] while the old spanish towns seemed every year to become weaker and more open to attack. d'ogeron, who died in france in , had kept always before him the project of capturing the spanish capital, san domingo; but he was too weak to accomplish so great a design without aid from home, and this was never vouchsafed him. his policy, however, was continued by his nephew and successor, m. de pouançay, and every defection from jamaica seemed so much assistance to the french to accomplish their ambition. yet it was manifestly to the english interest in the west indies not to permit the french to obtain a pre-eminence there. the spanish colonies were large in area, thinly populated, and ill-supported by the home government, so that they were not likely to be a serious menace to the english islands. with their great wealth and resources, moreover, they had few manufactures and offered a tempting field for exploitation by english merchants. the french colonies, on the other hand, were easily supplied with merchandise from france, and in event of a war would prove more dangerous as neighbours than the spaniards. to allow the french to become lords of san domingo would have been to give them an undisputed predominance in the west indies and make them masters of the neighbouring seas. in the second war of conquest waged by louis xiv. against holland, the french in the west indies found the buccaneers to be useful allies, but as usually happened at such times, the spaniards paid the bill. in the spring of five or six english privateers surprised the town of santa marta on the spanish main. according to the reports brought to jamaica, the governor and the bishop, in order to save the town from being burnt, agreed with the marauders for a ransom; but the governor of cartagena, instead of contributing with pieces of eight, despatched a force of men by land and three vessels by sea to drive out the invaders. the spanish troops, however, were easily defeated, and the ships, seeing the french colours waving over the fort and the town, sailed back to cartagena. the privateers carried away the governor and the bishop and came to jamaica in july. the plunder amounted to only £ per man. the english in the party, about in number and led by captains barnes and coxon, submitted at port royal under the terms of the act against privateers, and delivered up the bishop of santa marta to lord vaughan. vaughan took care to lodge the bishop well, and hired a vessel to send him to cartagena, at which "the good old man was exceedingly pleased." he also endeavoured to obtain the custody of the spanish governor and other prisoners, but without success, "the french being obstinate and damnably enraged the english had left them" and submitted to lord vaughan.[ ] in the beginning of the following year, , count d'estrées, vice-admiral of the french fleet in the west indies, was preparing a powerful armament to go against the dutch on curaçao, and sent two frigates to hispaniola with an order from the king to m. de pouançay to join him with buccaneers. de pouançay assembled the men at cap françois, and embarking on the frigates and on some filibustering ships in the road, sailed for st. kitts. there he was joined by a squadron of fifteen or more men-of-war from martinique under command of count d'estrées. the united fleet of over thirty vessels sailed for curaçao on th may, but on the fourth day following, at about eight o'clock in the evening, was wrecked upon some coral reefs near the isle d'aves.[ ] as the french pilots had been at odds among themselves as to the exact position of the fleet, the admiral had taken the precaution to send a fire-ship and three buccaneering vessels several miles in advance of the rest of the squadron. unfortunately these scouts drew too little water and passed over the reefs without touching them. a buccaneer was the first to strike and fired three shots to warn the admiral, who at once lighted fires and discharged cannon to keep off the rest of the ships. the latter, however, mistaking the signals, crowded on sail, and soon most of the fleet were on the reefs. those of the left wing, warned in time by a shallop from the flag-ship, succeeded in veering off. the rescue of the crews was slow, for the seas were heavy and the boats approached the doomed ships with difficulty. many sailors and marines were drowned, and seven men-of-war, besides several buccaneering ships, were lost on the rocks. count d'estrées himself escaped, and sailed with the remnant of his squadron to petit goave and cap françois in hispaniola, whence on th june he departed for france.[ ] the buccaneers were accused in the reports which reached barbadoes of deserting the admiral after the accident, and thus preventing the reduction of curaçao, which d'estrées would have undertaken in spite of the shipwreck.[ ] however this may be, one of the principal buccaneer leaders, named de grammont, was left by de pouançay at the isle d'aves to recover what he could from the wreck, and to repair some of the privateering vessels.[ ] when he had accomplished this, finding himself short of provisions, he sailed with about men to make a descent on maracaibo; and after spending six months in the lake, seizing the shipping and plundering all the settlements in that region, he re-embarked in the middle of december. the booty is said to have been very small.[ ] early in the same year the marquis de maintenon, commanding the frigate "la sorcière," and aided by some french filibusters from tortuga, was on the coast of caracas, where he ravaged the islands of margarita and trinidad. he had arrived in the west indies from france in the latter part of , and when he sailed from tortuga was at the head of or men. his squadron met with little success, however, and soon scattered.[ ] other bands of filibusters pillaged campeache, puerto principe in cuba, santo tomas on the orinoco, and truxillo in the province of honduras; and de pouançay, to console the buccaneers for their losses at the isle d'aves, sent men under the sieur de franquesnay to make a descent upon st. jago de cuba, but the expedition seems to have been a failure.[ ] on st march a commission was again issued to the earl of carlisle, appointing him governor of jamaica.[ ] carlisle arrived in his new government on th july,[ ] but lord vaughan, apparently because of ill-health, had already sailed for england at the end of march, leaving sir henry morgan, who retained his place under the new governor, deputy in his absence.[ ] lord carlisle, immediately upon his arrival, invited the privateers to come in and encouraged them to stay, hoping, according to his own account, to be able to wean them from their familiar courses, and perhaps to use them in the threatened war with france, for the island then had "not above whites able to bear arms, a secret not fit to be made public."[ ] if the governor was sincere in his intentions, the results must have been a bitter disappointment. some of the buccaneers came in, others persevered in the old trade, and even those who returned abused the pardon they had received. in the autumn of , several privateering vessels under command of captains coxon, sharp and others who had come back to jamaica, made a raid in the gulf of honduras, plundered the royal storehouses there, carried off chests of indigo,[ ] besides cocoa, cochineal, tortoiseshell, money and plate, and returned with their plunder to jamaica. not knowing what their reception might be, one of the vessels landed her cargo of indigo in an unfrequented spot on the coast, and the rest sent word that unless they were allowed to bring their booty to port royal and pay the customs duty, they would sail to rhode island or to one of the dutch plantations. the governor had taken security for good behaviour from some of the captains before they sailed from jamaica; yet in spite of this they were permitted to enter the indigo at the custom house and divide it in broad daylight; and the frigate "success" was ordered to coast round jamaica in search of other privateers who failed to come in and pay duty on their plunder at port royal. the glut of indigo in jamaica disturbed trade considerably, and for a time the imported product took the place of native sugar and indigo as a medium of exchange. manufacture on the island was hindered, prices were lowered, and only the king's customs received any actual benefit.[ ] these same privateers, however, were soon out upon a much larger design. six captains, sharp, coxon, essex, allison, row, and maggott, in four barques and two sloops, met at point morant in december , and on th january set sail for porto bello. they were scattered by a terrible storm, but all eventually reached their rendezvous in safety. there they picked up another barque commanded by captain cooke, who had sailed from jamaica on the same design, and likewise a french privateering vessel commanded by captain lessone. they set out for porto bello in canoes with over men, and landing twenty leagues from the town, marched for four days along the seaside toward the city. coming to an indian village about three miles from porto bello, they were discovered by the natives, and one of the indians ran to the city, crying, "ladrones! ladrones!" the buccaneers, although "many of them were weak, being three days without any food, and their feet cut with the rocks for want of shoes," made all speed for the town, which they entered without difficulty on th february . most of the inhabitants sought refuge in the castle, whence they made a counter-attack without success upon the invaders. on the evening of the following day, the buccaneers retreated with their prisoners and booty down to a cay or small island about three and a half leagues from porto bello, where they were joined by their ships. they had just left in time to avoid a force of some spanish troops who were sent from panama and arrived the day after the buccaneers departed. after capturing two spanish vessels bound for porto bello with provisions from cartagena, they divided the plunder, of which each man received pieces of eight, and departed for boca del toro some fifty leagues to the north. there they careened and provisioned, and being joined by two other jamaican privateers commanded by sawkins and harris, sailed for golden island, whence on th april , with men, they began their march across the isthmus of darien to the coasts of panama and the south seas.[ ] lord carlisle cannot escape the charge of culpable negligence for having permitted these vessels in the first place to leave jamaica. all the leaders in the expedition were notorious privateers, men who had repeatedly been concerned in piratical outrages against the dutch and spaniards. coxon and harris had both come in after taking part in the expedition against santa marta; sawkins had been caught with his vessel by the frigate "success" and sent to port royal, where on st december he seems to have been in prison awaiting trial;[ ] while essex had been brought in by another frigate, the "hunter," in november, and tried with twenty of his crew for plundering on the jamaican coast, two of his men being sentenced to death.[ ] the buccaneers themselves declared that they had sailed with permission from lord carlisle to cut logwood.[ ] this was very likely true; yet after the exactly similar ruse of these men when they went to honduras, the governor could not have failed to suspect their real intentions. at the end of may lord carlisle suddenly departed for england in the frigate "hunter," leaving morgan again in charge as lieutenant-governor.[ ] on his passage home the governor met with captain coxon, who, having quarrelled with his companions in the pacific, had returned across darien to the west indies and was again hanging about the shores of jamaica. the "hunter" gave chase for twenty-four hours, but being outsailed was content to take two small vessels in the company of coxon which had been deserted by their crews.[ ] in england samuel long, whom the governor had suspended from the council and dismissed from his post as chief justice of the colony for his opposition to the new constitution, accused the governor before the privy council of collusion with pirates and encouraging them to bring their plunder to jamaica. the charges were doubtless conceived in a spirit of revenge; nevertheless the two years during which carlisle was in jamaica were marked by an increased activity among the freebooters, and by a lukewarmness and negligence on the part of the government, for which carlisle alone must be held responsible. to accuse him of deliberately supporting and encouraging the buccaneers, however, may be going too far. sir henry morgan, during his tenure of the chief command of the island, showed himself very zealous in the pursuit of the pirates, and sincerely anxious to bring them to justice; and as carlisle and morgan always worked together in perfect harmony, we may be justified in believing that carlisle's mistakes were those of negligence rather than of connivance. the freebooters who brought goods into jamaica increased the revenues of the island, and a governor whose income was small and tastes extravagant, was not apt to be too inquisitive about the source of the articles which entered through the customs. there is evidence, moreover, that french privateers, being unable to obtain from the merchants on the coast of san domingo the cables, anchors, tar and other naval stores necessary for their armaments, were compelled to resort to other islands to buy them, and that jamaica came in for a share of this trade. provisions, too, were more plentiful at port royal than in the _cul-de-sac_ of hispaniola, and the french governors complained to the king that the filibusters carried most of their money to foreign plantations to exchange for these commodities. such french vessels if they came to jamaica were not strictly within the scope of the laws against piracy which had been passed by the assembly, and their visits were the more welcome as they paid for their goods promptly and liberally in good spanish doubloons.[ ] a general warrant for the apprehension of coxon, sharp and the other men who had plundered porto bello had been issued by lord carlisle in may , just before his departure for england. on st july a similar warrant was issued by morgan, and five days later a proclamation was published against all persons who should hold any correspondence whatever with the outlawed crews.[ ] three men who had taken part in the expedition were captured and clapped into prison until the next meeting of the court. the friends of coxon, however, including, it seems, almost all the members of the council, offered to give £ security, if he was allowed to come to port royal, that he would never take another commission except from the king of england; and morgan wrote to carlisle seeking his approbation.[ ] at the end of the following january morgan received word that a notorious dutch privateer, named jacob everson, commanding an armed sloop, was anchored on the coast with a brigantine which he had lately captured. the lieutenant-governor manned a small vessel with fifty picked men and sent it secretly at midnight to seize the pirate. everson's sloop was boarded and captured with twenty-six prisoners, but everson himself and several others escaped by jumping overboard and swimming to the shore. the prisoners, most of whom were english, were tried six weeks later, convicted of piracy and sentenced to death; but the lieutenant-governor suspended the execution and wrote to the king for instructions. on th june , the king in council ordered the execution of the condemned men.[ ] the buccaneers who, after plundering porto bello, crossed the isthmus of darien to the south seas, had a remarkable history. for eighteen months they cruised up and down the pacific coast of south america, burning and plundering spanish towns, giving and taking hard blows with equal courage, keeping the spanish provinces of equador, peru and chili in a fever of apprehension, finally sailing the difficult passage round cape horn, and returning to the windward islands in january of . touching at the island of barbadoes, they learned that the english frigate "richmond" was lying in the road, and fearing seizure they sailed on to antigua. there the governor, colonel codrington, refused to give them leave to enter the harbour. so the party, impatient of their dangerous situation, determined to separate, some landing on antigua, and sharp and sixteen others going to nevis where they obtained passage to england. on their arrival in england several, including sharp, were arrested at the instance of the spanish ambassador, and tried for committing piracy in the south seas; but from the defectiveness of the evidence produced they escaped conviction.[ ] four of the party came to jamaica, where they were apprehended, tried and condemned. one of the four, who had given himself up voluntarily, turned state's evidence; two were represented by the judges as fit objects of the king's mercy; and the other, "a bloody and notorious villein," was recommended to be executed as an example to the rest.[ ] the recrudescence of piratical activity between the years and had, through its evil effects, been strongly felt in jamaica; and public opinion was now gradually changing from one of encouragement and welcome to the privateers and of secret or open opposition to the efforts of the governors who tried to suppress them, to one of distinct hostility to the old freebooters. the inhabitants were beginning to realize that in the encouragement of planting, and not of buccaneering, lay the permanent welfare of the island. planting and buccaneering, side by side, were inconsistent and incompatible, and the colonists chose the better course of the two. in spite of the frequent trials and executions at port royal, the marauders seemed to be as numerous as ever, and even more troublesome. private trade with the spaniards was hindered; runaway servants, debtors and other men of unfortunate or desperate condition were still, by every new success of the buccaneers, drawn from the island to swell their ranks; and most of all, men who were now outlawed in jamaica, driven to desperation turned pirate altogether, and began to wage war indiscriminately on the ships of all nationalities, including those of the english. morgan repeatedly wrote home urging the dispatch of small frigates of light draught to coast round the island and surprise the freebooters, and he begged for orders for himself to go on board and command them, for "then i shall not much question," he concludes, "to reduce them or in some time to leave them shipless."[ ] "the governor," wrote the council of jamaica to the lords of trade and plantations in may , "can do little from want of ships to reduce the privateers, and of plain laws to punish them"; and they urged the ratification of the act passed by the assembly two years before, making it felony for any british subject in the west indies to serve under a foreign prince without leave from the governor.[ ] this act, and another for the more effectual punishment of pirates, had been under consideration in the privy council in february , and both were returned to jamaica with certain slight amendments. they were again passed by the assembly as one act in , and were finally incorporated into the jamaica act of "for the restraining and punishing of privateers and pirates."[ ] footnotes: [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , ; beeston's journal.] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , . this may be the diego grillo to whom duro (_op. cit._, v. p. ) refers--a native of havana commanding a vessel of fifteen guns. he defeated successively in the bahama channel three armed ships sent out to take him, and in all of them he massacred without exception the spaniards of european birth. he was captured in and suffered the fate he had meted out to his victims.] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , . seventeen months later, after the outbreak of the dutch war, the jamaicans had a similar scare over an expected invasion of the dutch and spaniards, but this, too, was dissolved by time into thin air. (c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , ). in this connection, _cf._ egerton mss., , f. :--letter written by the governor of cumana to the duke of veragua, , seeking his influence with the council of the indies to have the governor of margarita send against jamaica or indians, "guay quies," as they are valient bowmen, seamen and divers.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , ; beeston's journal.] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , - .] [footnote : ibid., no. , _cf._ also , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , , , , , .] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; _ibid._ - , no. ; add. mss., , , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , ; _ibid._, - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., - , no. ; _ibid._, - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid.] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , , ; s.p. spain, vols. , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. - .] [footnote : ibid., nos. - , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , iv. it was a very profitable business for the wood then sold at £ or £ a ton. for a description of the life of the logwood-cutters _cf._ dampier, voyages, _ed._ , ii. pp. - . - , _ff._] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - . no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , . fernandez duro (t.v., p. ) mentions a spanish ordinance of nd february , which authorized spanish corsairs to go out in the pursuit and punishment of pirates. periaguas, or large flat-bottomed canoes, were to be constructed for use in shoal waters. they were to be feet long and from to feet wide, with a draught of only or feet, and were to be provided with a long gun in the bow and four smaller pieces in the stern. they were to be propelled by both oars and sails, and were to carry men.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , ; beeston's journal, aug. .] [footnote : ibid., - , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. . in significant contrast to lord vaughan's praise of lynch, sir henry morgan, who could have little love for the man who had shipped him and modyford as prisoners to england, filled the ears of secretary williamson with veiled accusations against lynch of having tampered with the revenues and neglected the defences of the island. (ibid., no. .)] [footnote : ibid., no. . in testimony of lord vaughan's straightforward policy toward buccaneering, _cf._ beeston's journal, june .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : leeds mss. (hist. mss. comm., xi. pt. , p. )--depositions in which sir henry morgan is represented as endeavouring to hush up the matter, saying "the privateers were poore, honest fellows," to which the plundered captain replied "that he had not found them soe."] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - ; nos. , .] [footnote : statutes at large, vol. ii. (lond. ), pp. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - ; nos. - , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. (vii., viii.); _cf._ also no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. (xiv., xvii.).] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., - , no. ; _cf._ also nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. . a similar proclamation was issued in may ; _cf._ ibid., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , ; egerton mss., , f. .] [footnote : in a memoir to mme. de montespan, dated th july , the population of french san domingo is given as between four and five thousand, white and black. the colony embraced a strip of coast leagues in length and or miles wide, and it produced , , lbs. of tobacco annually. (bibl. nat., nouv. acq., , f. ).] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , ; s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : a small island east of curaçao, in latitude ° north, longitude ° ' west.] [footnote : saint yves, g. les campagnes de jean d'estrées dans la mer des antilles, - ; _cf._ also c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , - , , (xiv., xv.), - . according to one story, the dutch governor of curaçao sent out three privateers with orders to attend the french fleet, but to run no risk of capture. the french, discovering them, gave chase, but being unacquainted with those waters were decoyed among the reefs.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. - .] [footnote : dampier says of this occasion: "the privateers ... told me that if they had gone to jamaica with £ a man in their pockets, they could not have enjoyed themselves more. for they kept in a gang by themselves, and watched when the ships broke, to get the goods that came from them; and though much was staved against the rocks, yet abundance of wine and brandy floated over the riff, where the privateers waited to take it up. they lived here about three weeks, waiting an opportunity to transport themselves back again to hispaniola; in all which time they were never without two or three hogsheads of wine and brandy in their tents, and barrels of beef and pork."--dampier, _ed._ , i. p. .] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. viii. p. .] [footnote : bibl. nat., nouv. acq., , f. ; charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. viii. p. .] [footnote : ibid., p. ; c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , ; beeston's journal, th october .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , : beeston's journal, th october .] [footnote : the spanish ambassador, don pedro ronquillo, in his complaint to charles ii. in september , placed the number at . (c.s.p. colon., - , no. .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , ; beeston's journal, th september and th october . lord carlisle, in answer to the complaints of the spanish ambassador, pretended ignorance of the source of the indigo thus admitted through the customs, and maintained that it was brought into port royal "in lawful ships by lawful men."] [footnote : sloane mss., , f. ; s.p. spain, vol. , f. . according to the latter account, which seems to be derived from a spanish source, the loss suffered by the city amounted to about , pieces of eight, over half of which was plunder carried away by the freebooters. thirteen of the inhabitants were killed and four wounded, and of the buccaneers thirty were killed. dampier writes concerning this first irruption of the buccaneers into the pacific:--"before my first going over into the south seas with captain sharp ... i being then on board captain coxon, in company with or more privateers, about leagues to the east of portobel, we took the pacquets bound thither from cartagena. we open'd a great quantity of the merchants letters, and found ... the merchants of several parts of old spain thereby informing their correspondents of panama and elsewhere of a certain prophecy that went about spain that year, the tenour of which was, that there would be english privateers that year in the west indies, who would ... open a door into the south seas; which they supposed was fastest shut: and the letters were accordingly full of cautions to their friends to be very watchful and careful of their coasts. "this door they spake of we all concluded must be the passage over land through the country of the indians of darien, who were a little before this become our friends, and had lately fallen out with the spaniards, ... and upon calling to mind the frequent invitations we had from these indians a little before this time, to pass through their country, and fall upon the spaniards in the south seas, we from henceforward began to entertain such thoughts in earnest, and soon came to a resolution to make those attempts which we afterwards did, ... so that the taking these letters gave the first life to those bold undertakings: and we took the advantage of the fears the spaniards were in from that prophecy ... for we sealed up most of the letters again, and sent them ashore to portobel."--_ed._ , i. pp. - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : sloane mss., , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : _cf._ archives coloniales--correspondance générale de st domingue, vol. i.; martinique, vol. iv.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , ; sloane mss., , f. .] [footnote : sloane mss., , f. . coxon probably did not submit, for dampier tells us that at the end of may , coxon was lying with seven or eight other privateers at the samballas, islands on the coast of darien, with a ship of ten guns and men.--_ed._ , i. p. .] [footnote : ibid., f. ; c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , . everson was not shot and killed in the water, as morgan's account implies, for he flourished for many years afterwards as one of the most notorious of the buccaneer captains.] [footnote : ringrose's journal. _cf._ also s.p. spain, vol. , f. ; c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , ; hist. mss. commiss., vii., b.] [footnote : c.s.p colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , ; _ibid._, - , no. ; add. mss., , ; acts of privy council, colonial series i. no. .] chapter vii the buccaneers turn pirate on th may , sir thomas lynch returned to jamaica as governor of the colony.[ ] of the four acting governors since , lynch stood apart as the one who had endeavoured with singleness and tenacity of purpose to clear away the evils of buccaneering. lord vaughan had displayed little sympathy for the corsairs, but he was hampered by an irascible temper, and according to some reports by an avarice which dimmed the lustre of his name. the earl of carlisle, if he did not directly encourage the freebooters, had been grossly negligent in the performance of his duty of suppressing them; while morgan, although in the years and he showed himself very zealous in punishing his old associates, cannot escape the suspicion of having secretly aided them under the governorship of lord vaughan. the task of sir thomas lynch in had been a very difficult one. buccaneering was then at flood-tide; three wealthy spanish cities on the mainland had in turn been plundered, and the stolen riches carried to jamaica; the air was alive with the exploits of these irregular warriors, and the pockets of the merchants and tavern-keepers of port royal were filled with spanish doubloons, with emeralds and pearls from new granada and the coasts of rio de la hacha, and with gold and silver plate from the spanish churches and cathedrals of porto bello and panama. the old governor, sir thomas modyford, had been popular in his person, and his policy had been more popular still. yet lynch, by a combination of tact and firmness, and by an untiring activity with the small means at his disposal, had inaugurated a new and revolutionary policy in the island, which it was the duty of his successors merely to continue. in the problem before him, although difficult, was much simpler. buccaneering was now rapidly being transformed into pure piracy. by laws and repeated proclamations, the freebooters had been offered an opportunity of returning to civilized pursuits, or of remaining ever thereafter outlawed. many had come in, some to remain, others to take the first opportunity of escaping again. but many entirely refused to obey the summons, trusting to the protection of the french in hispaniola, or so hardened to their cruel, remorseless mode of livelihood that they preferred the dangerous risks of outlawry. the temper of the inhabitants of the island, too, had changed. the planters saw more clearly the social and economic evils which the buccaneers had brought upon the island. the presence of these freebooters, they now began to realize, had discouraged planting, frightened away capital, reduced the number of labourers, and increased drunkenness, debauchery and every sort of moral disorder. the assembly and council were now at one with the governor as to the necessity of curing this running sore, and lynch could act with the assurance which came of the knowledge that he was backed by the conscience of his people. one of the earliest and most remarkable cases of buccaneer turning pirate was that of "la trompeuse." in june , before governor lynch's arrival in jamaica, a french captain named peter paine (or le pain), commander of a merchant ship called "la trompeuse" belonging to the french king, came to port royal from cayenne in guiana. he told sir henry morgan and the council that, having heard of the inhuman treatment of his fellow protestants in france, he had resolved to send back his ship and pay what was due under his contract; and he petitioned for leave to reside with the english and have english protection. the council, without much inquiry as to the petitioner's antecedents, allowed him to take the oath of allegiance and settle at st. jago, while his cargo was unloaded and entered customs-free. the ship was then hired by two jamaican merchants and sent to honduras to load logwood, with orders to sail eventually for hamburg and be delivered to the french agent.[ ] the action of the council had been very hasty and ill-considered, and as it turned out, led to endless trouble. it soon transpired that paine did not own the cargo, but had run away with it from cayenne, and had disposed of both ship and goods in his own interest. the french ambassador in london made complaints to the english king, and letters were sent out to sir thomas lynch and to governor stapleton of the leeward isles to arrest paine and endeavour to have the vessel lade only for her right owners.[ ] meanwhile a french pirate named jean hamlin, with desperadoes at his back, set out in a sloop in pursuit of "la trompeuse," and coming up with her invited the master and mate aboard his own vessel, and then seized the ship. carrying the prize to some creek or bay to careen her and fit her up as a man-of-war, he then started out on a mad piratical cruise, took sixteen or eighteen jamaican vessels, barbarously ill-treated the crews, and demoralized the whole trade of the island.[ ] captain johnson was dispatched by lynch in a frigate in october to find and destroy the pirate; but after a fruitless search of two months round porto rico and hispaniola, he returned to port royal. in december lynch learned that "la trompeuse" was careening in the neighbourhood of the isle la vache, and sent out another frigate, the "guernsey," to seize her; but the wary pirate had in the meantime sailed away. on th february the "guernsey" was again dispatched with positive orders not to stir from the coast of hispaniola until the pirate was gone or destroyed; and coxon, who seems to have been in good odour at port royal, was sent to offer to a privateer named "yankey," men, victuals, pardon and naturalization, besides £ in money for himself and coxon, if he would go after "la trompeuse."[ ] the next news of hamlin was from the virgin islands, where he was received and entertained by the governor of st. thomas, a small island belonging to the king of denmark.[ ] making st. thomas his headquarters, he robbed several english vessels that came into his way, and after first obtaining from the danish governor a promise that he would find shelter at st. thomas on his return, stood across for the gulf of guinea. in may hamlin arrived on the west side of africa disguised as an english man-of-war, and sailing up and down the coast of sierra leone captured or destroyed within several weeks seventeen ships, dutch and english, robbing them of gold-dust and negroes.[ ] the pirates then quarrelled over the division of their plunder and separated into two companies, most of the english following a captain morgan in one of the prizes, and the rest returning in "la trompeuse" to the west indies. the latter arrived at dominica in july, where forty of the crew deserted the ship, leaving but sixteen white men and twenty-two negroes on board. finally on the th the pirates dropped anchor at st. thomas. they were admitted and kindly received by the governor, and allowed to bring their plunder ashore.[ ] three days later captain carlile of h.m.s. "francis," who had been sent out by governor stapleton to hunt for pirates, sailed into the harbour, and on being assured by the pilot and by an english sloop lying at anchor there that the ship before him was the pirate "la trompeuse," in the night of the following day he set her on fire and blew her up. hamlin and some of the crew were on board, but after firing a few shots, escaped to the shore. the pirate ship carried thirty-two guns, and if she had not been under-manned carlile might have encountered a formidable resistance. the governor of st. thomas sent a note of protest to carlile for having, as he said, secretly set fire to a frigate which had been confiscated to the king of denmark.[ ] nevertheless he sent hamlin and his men for safety in a boat to another part of the island, and later selling him a sloop, let him sail away to join the french buccaneers in hispaniola.[ ] the danish governor of st. thomas, whose name was adolf esmit, had formerly been himself a privateer, and had used his popularity on the island to eject from authority his brother nicholas esmit, the lawful governor. by protecting and encouraging pirates--for a consideration, of course--he proved a bad neighbour to the surrounding english islands. although he had but or people on st. thomas, and most of these british subjects, he laid claim to all the virgin islands, harboured runaway servants, seamen and debtors, fitted out pirate vessels with arms and provisions, and refused to restore captured ships and crews which the pirates brought into his port.[ ] the king of denmark had sent out a new governor, named everson, to dispossess esmit, but he did not arrive in the west indies until october , when with the assistance of an armed sloop which sir william stapleton had been ordered by the english council to lend him, he took possession of st. thomas and its pirate governor.[ ] a second difficulty encountered by sir thomas lynch, in the first year of his return, was the privateering activity of robert clarke, governor of new providence, one of the bahama islands. governor clarke, on the plea of retaliating spanish outrages, gave letters of marque to several privateers, including coxon, the same famous chief who in had led the buccaneers into the south seas. coxon carried his commission to jamaica and showed it to governor lynch, who was greatly incensed and wrote to clarke a vigorous note of reproof.[ ] to grant such letters of marque was, of course, contrary to the treaty of madrid, and by giving the pirates only another excuse for their actions, greatly complicated the task of the governor of jamaica. lynch forwarded coxon's commission to england, where in august the proprietors of the bahama islands were ordered to attend the council and answer for the misdeeds of their governor.[ ] the proprietors, however, had already acted on their own initiative, for on th july they issued instructions to a new governor, robert lilburne, to arrest clarke and keep him in custody till he should give security to answer accusations in england, and to recall all commissions against the spaniards.[ ] the whole trouble, it seems, had arisen over the wreck of a spanish galleon in the bahamas, to which spaniards from st. augustine and havana were accustomed to resort to fish for ingots of silver, and from which they had been driven away by the governor and inhabitants of new providence. the spaniards had retaliated by robbing vessels sailing to and from the bahamas, whereupon clarke, without considering the illegality of his action, had issued commissions of war to privateers. the bahamas, however, were a favourite resort for pirates and other men of desperate character, and lilburne soon discovered that his place was no sinecure. he found it difficult moreover to refrain from hostilities against a neighbour who used every opportunity to harm and plunder his colony. in march , a former privateer named thomas pain[ ] had entered into a conspiracy with four other captains, who were then fishing for silver at the wreck, to seize st. augustine in florida. they landed before the city under french colours, but finding the spaniards prepared for them, gave up the project and looted some small neighbouring settlements. on the return of pain and two others to new providence, governor lilburne tried to apprehend them, but he failed for lack of means to enforce his authority. the spaniards, however, were not slow to take their revenge. in the following january they sent men from havana, who in the early morning surprised and plundered the town and shipping at new providence, killed three men, and carried away money and provisions to the value of £ , .[ ] when lilburne in february sent to ask the governor of havana whether the plunderers had acted under his orders, the spaniard not only acknowledged it but threatened further hostilities against the english settlement. indeed, later in the same year the spaniards returned, this time, it seems, without a commission, and according to report burnt all the houses, murdered the governor in cold blood, and carried many of the women, children and negroes to havana.[ ] about of the inhabitants made their way to jamaica, and a number of the men, thirsting for vengeance, joined the english pirates in the carolinas.[ ] in french hispaniola corsairing had been forbidden for several years, yet the french governor found the problem of suppressing the evil even more difficult than it was in jamaica. m. de pouançay, the successor of d'ogeron, died toward the end of or the beginning of , and in spite of his efforts to establish order in the colony he left it in a deplorable condition. the old fraternity of hunters or cow-killers had almost disappeared; but the corsairs and the planters were strongly united, and galled by the oppression of the west india company, displayed their strength in a spirit of indocility which caused great embarrassment to the governor. although in time of peace the freebooters kept the french settlements in continual danger of ruin by reprisal, in time of war they were the mainstay of the colony. as the governor, therefore, was dependent upon them for protection against the english, spanish and dutch, although he withdrew their commissions he dared not punish them for their crimes. the french buccaneers, indeed, occupied a curious and anomalous position. they were not ordinary privateers, for they waged war without authority; and they were still less pirates, for they had never been declared outlaws, and they confined their attentions to the spaniards. they served under conditions which they themselves imposed, or which they deigned to accept, and were always ready to turn against the representatives of authority if they believed they had aught of which to complain.[ ] the buccaneers almost invariably carried commissions from the governors of french hispaniola, but they did not scruple to alter the wording of their papers, so that a permission to privateer for three months was easily transformed into a licence to plunder for three years. these papers, moreover, were passed about from one corsair to another, until long after the occasion for their issue had ceased to exist. thus in may or june of , de grammont, on the strength of an old commission granted him by de pouançay before the treaty of nimuegen, had made a brilliant night assault upon la guayra, the seaport of caracas. of his followers only forty-seven took part in the actual seizure of the town, which was amply protected by two forts and by cannon upon the walls. on the following day, however, he received word that men were approaching from caracas, and as the enemy were also rallying in force in the vicinity of the town he was compelled to retire to the ships. this movement was executed with difficulty, and for two hours de grammont with a handful of his bravest companions covered the embarkation from the assaults of the spaniards. although he himself was dangerously wounded in the throat, he lost only eight or nine men in the whole action. he carried away with him the governor of la guayra and many other prisoners, but the booty was small. de grammont retired to the isle d'aves to nurse his wound, and after a long convalescence returned to petit goave.[ ] in , however, these filibusters of hispaniola carried out a much larger design upon the coasts of new spain. in april of that year eight buccaneer captains made a rendezvous in the gulf of honduras for the purpose of attacking vera cruz. the leaders of the party were two dutchmen named vanhorn and laurens de graff. of the other six captains, three were dutch, one was french, and two were english. vanhorn himself had sailed from england in the autumn of in command of a merchant ship called the "mary and martha," _alias_ the "st. nicholas." he soon, however, revealed the rogue he was by turning two of his merchants ashore at cadiz and stealing four spanish guns. he then sailed to the canaries and to the coast of guinea, plundering ships and stealing negroes, and finally, in november , arrived at the city of san domingo, where he tried to dispose of his black cargo. from san domingo he made for petit goave picked up men, and sailed to join laurens in the gulf of honduras.[ ] laurens, too, had distinguished himself but a short time before by capturing a spanish ship bound from havana for san domingo and porto rico with about , pieces of eight to pay off the soldiers. the freebooters had shared pieces of eight per man, and carrying their prize to petit goave had compounded with the french governor for a part of the booty.[ ] the buccaneers assembled near cape catoche to the number of about men, and sailed in the middle of may for vera cruz. learning from some prisoners that the spaniards on shore were expecting two ships from caracas, they crowded the landing party of about upon two of their vessels, displayed the spanish colours, and stood in for the city. the unfortunate inhabitants mistook them for their own people, and even lighted fires to pilot them in. the pirates landed at midnight on th may about two miles from the town, and by daybreak had possession of the city and its forts. they found the soldiers and sentinels asleep, and "all the people in the houses as quiet and still as if in their graves." for four days they held the place, plundering the churches, houses and convents; and not finding enough plate and jewels to meet their expectations, they threatened to burn the cathedral and all the prisoners within it, unless a ransom was brought in from the surrounding country. the governor, don luis de cordova, was on the third day discovered by an englishman hidden in the hay in a stable, and was ransomed for , pieces of eight. meanwhile the spanish flota of twelve or fourteen ships from cadiz had for two days been lying outside the harbour and within sight of the city; yet it did not venture to land or to attack the empty buccaneer vessels. the proximity of such an armament, however, made the freebooters uneasy, especially as the spanish viceroy was approaching with an army from the direction of mexico. on the fourth day, therefore, they sailed away in the very face of the flota to a neighbouring cay, where they divided the pillage into a thousand or more shares of pieces of eight each. vanhorn alone is said to have received thirty shares for himself and his two ships. he and laurens, who had never been on good terms, quarrelled and fought over the division, and vanhorn was wounded in the wrist. the wound seemed very slight, however, and he proposed to return and attack the spanish fleet, offering to board the "admiral" himself; but laurens refused, and the buccaneers sailed away, carrying with them over slaves. the invaders, according to report, had lost but four men in the action. about a fortnight later vanhorn died of gangrene in his wound, and de grammont, who was then acting as his lieutenant, carried his ship back to petit goave, where laurens and most of the other captains had already arrived.[ ] the mexican fleet, which returned to cadiz on th december, was only half its usual size because of the lack of a market after the visit of the corsairs; and the governor of vera cruz was sentenced to lose his head for his remissness in defending the city.[ ] the spanish ambassador in london, ronquillo, requested charles ii. to command sir thomas lynch to co-operate with a commissioner whom the spanish government was sending to the west indies to inquire into this latest outrage of the buccaneers, and such orders were dispatched to lynch in april .[ ] m. de cussy, who had been appointed by the french king to succeed his former colleague, de pouançay, arrived at petit goave in april , and found the buccaneers on the point of open revolt because of the efforts of de franquesnay, the temporary governor, to enforce the strict orders from france for their suppression.[ ] de cussy visited all parts of the colony, and by tact, patience and politic concessions succeeded in restoring order. he knew that in spite of the instructions from france, so long as he was surrounded by jealous neighbours, and so long as the peace in europe remained precarious, the safety of french hispaniola depended on his retaining the presence and good-will of the sea-rovers; and when de grammont and several other captains demanded commissions against the spaniards, the governor finally consented on condition that they persuade all the freebooters driven away by de franquesnay to return to the colony. two commissioners, named begon and st. laurent, arrived in august to aid him in reforming this dissolute society, but they soon came to the same conclusions as the governor, and sent a memoir to the french king advising less severe measures. the king did not agree with their suggestion of compromise, and de cussy, compelled to deal harshly with the buccaneers, found his task by no means an easy one.[ ] meanwhile, however, many of the freebooters, seeing the determined attitude of the established authorities, decided to transfer their activities to the pacific coasts of america, where they would be safe from interference on the part of the english or french governments. the expedition of harris, coxon, sharp and their associates across the isthmus in had kindled the imaginations of the buccaneers with the possibilities of greater plunder and adventure in these more distant regions. other parties, both english and french, speedily followed in their tracks, and after it became the prevailing practice for buccaneers to make an excursion into the south seas. the darien indians and their fiercer neighbours, the natives of the mosquito coast, who were usually at enmity with the spaniards, allied themselves with the freebooters, and the latter, in their painful marches through the dense tropical wilderness of these regions, often owed it to the timely aid and friendly offices of the natives that they finally succeeded in reaching their goal. in the summer of , a year after the arrival of de cussy in hispaniola, de grammont and laurens de graff united their forces again at the isle la vache, and in spite of the efforts of the governor to persuade them to renounce their project, sailed with men for the coasts of campeache. an attempt on merida was frustrated by the spaniards, but campeache itself was occupied after a feeble resistance, and remained in possession of the french for six weeks. after reducing the city to ashes and blowing up the fortress, the invaders retired to hispaniola.[ ] according to charlevoix, before the buccaneers sailed away they celebrated the festival of st. louis by a huge bonfire in honour of the king, in which they burnt logwood to the value of , crowns, representing the greater part of their booty. the spaniards of hispaniola, who kept up a constant desultory warfare with their french neighbours, were incited by the ravages of the buccaneers in the south seas, and by the sack of vera cruz and campeache, to renewed hostilities; and de cussy, anxious to attach to himself so enterprising and daring a leader as de grammont, obtained for him, in september , the commission of "lieutenant de roi" of the coast of san domingo. grammont, however, on learning of his new honour, wished to have a last fling at the spaniards before he settled down to respectability. he armed a ship, sailed away with men, and was never heard of again.[ ] at the same time laurens de graff was given the title of "major," and he lived to take an active part in the war against the english between and .[ ] these semi-pirates, whom the french governor dared not openly support yet feared to disavow, were a constant source of trouble to the governor of jamaica. they did not scruple to attack english traders and fishing sloops, and when pursued took refuge in petit goave, the port in the _cul-de-sac_ at the west end of hispaniola which had long been a sanctuary of the freebooters, and which paid little respect to the authority of the royal governor.[ ] in jamaica they believed that the corsairs acted under regular commissions from the french authorities, and sir thomas lynch sent repeated complaints to de pouançay and to his successor. he also wrote to england begging the council to ascertain from the french ambassador whether these governors had authority to issue commissions of war, so that his frigates might be able to distinguish between the pirate and the lawful privateer.[ ] except at petit goave, however, the french were really desirous of preserving peace with jamaica, and did what they could to satisfy the demands of the english without unduly irritating the buccaneers. they were in the same position as lynch in , who, while anxious to do justice to the spaniards, dared not immediately alienate the freebooters who plundered them, and who might, if driven away, turn their arms against jamaica. vanhorn himself, it seems, when he left hispaniola to join laurens in the gulf of honduras, had been sent out by de pouançay really to pursue "la trompeuse" and other pirates, and his lieutenant, de grammont, delivered letters to governor lynch to that effect; but once out of sight he steered directly for central america, where he anticipated a more profitable game than pirate-hunting.[ ] on the th of august sir thomas lynch died in jamaica, and colonel hender molesworth, by virtue of his commission as lieutenant-governor, assumed the authority.[ ] sir henry morgan, who had remained lieutenant-governor when lynch returned to jamaica, had afterwards been suspended from the council and from all other public employments on charges of drunkenness, disorder, and encouraging disloyalty to the government. his brother-in-law, byndloss, was dismissed for similar reasons, and roger elletson, who belonged to the same faction, was removed from his office as attorney-general of the island. lynch had had the support of both the assembly and the council, and his actions were at once confirmed in england.[ ] the governor, however, although he had enjoyed the confidence of most of the inhabitants, who looked upon him as the saviour of the island, left behind in the persons of morgan, elletson and their roystering companions, a group of implacable enemies, who did all in their power to vilify his memory to the authorities in england. several of these men, with elletson at their head, accused the dead governor of embezzling piratical goods which had been confiscated to the use of the king; but when inquiry was made by lieutenant-governor molesworth, the charges fell to the ground. elletson's information was found to be second-hand and defective, and lynch's name was more than vindicated. indeed, the governor at his death had so little ready means that his widow was compelled to borrow £ to pay for his funeral.[ ] the last years of sir thomas lynch's life had been troublous ones. not only had the peace of the island been disturbed by "la trompeuse" and other french corsairs which hovered about hispaniola; not only had his days been embittered by strife with a small, drunken, insolent faction which tried to belittle his attempts to introduce order and sobriety into the colony; but the hostility of the spanish governors in the west indies still continued to neutralize his efforts to root out buccaneering. lynch had in reality been the best friend of the spaniards in america. he had strictly forbidden the cutting of logwood in campeache and honduras, when the spaniards were outraging and enslaving every englishman they found upon those coasts;[ ] he had sent word to the spanish governors of the intended sack of vera cruz;[ ] he had protected spanish merchant ships with his own men-of-war and hospitably received them in jamaican ports. yet spanish corsairs continued to rob english vessels, and spanish governors refused to surrender english ships and goods which were carried into their ports.[ ] on the plea of punishing interlopers they armed small galleys and ordered them to take all ships which had on board any products of the indies.[ ] letters to the governors at havana and st. jago de cuba were of no avail. english trade routes were interrupted and dangerous, the turtling, trading and fishing sloops, which supplied a great part of the food of jamaica, were robbed and seized, and lynch was compelled to construct a galley of fifty oars for their protection.[ ] pirates, it is true, were frequently brought into port royal by the small frigates employed by the governor, and there were numerous executions;[ ] yet the outlaws seemed to increase daily. some black vessel was generally found hovering about the island ready to pick up any who wished to join it, and when the runaways were prevented from returning by the statute against piracy, they retired to the carolinas or to new england to dispose of their loot and refit their ships.[ ] when such retreats were available the laws against piracy did not reduce buccaneering so much as they depopulated jamaica of its white inhabitants. after , indeed, the north american colonies became more and more the resort of the pirates who were being driven from west indian waters by the stern measures of the english governors. michel landresson, _alias_ breha, who had accompanied pain in his expedition against st. augustine in , and who had been a constant source of worriment to the jamaicans because of his attacks on the fishing sloops, sailed to boston and disposed of his booty of gold, silver, jewels and cocoa to the godly new england merchants, who were only too ready to take advantage of so profitable a trade and gladly fitted him out for another cruise.[ ] pain himself appeared in rhode island, displayed the old commission to hunt for pirates given him by sir thomas lynch, and was protected by the governor against the deputy-collector of customs, who endeavoured to seize him and his ship.[ ] the chief resort of the pirates, however, was the colony of carolina. indented by numerous harbours and inlets, the shores of carolina had always afforded a safe refuge for refitting and repairing after a cruise, and from onwards, when the region began to be settled by colonists from england, the pirates found in the new communities a second jamaica, where they could sell their cargoes and often recruit their forces. in the latter part of sir thomas lynch complained to the lords of the committee for trade and plantations;[ ] and in february of the following year the king, at the suggestion of the committee, ordered that a draft of the jamaican law against pirates be sent to all the plantations in america, to be passed and enforced in each as a statute of the province.[ ] on th march a general proclamation was issued by the king against pirates in america, and a copy forwarded to all the colonial governors for publication and execution.[ ] nevertheless in massachusetts, in spite of these measures and of a letter from the king warning the governors to give no succour or aid to any of the outlaws, michel had been received with open arms, the proclamation of th march was torn down in the streets, and the jamaica act, though passed, was never enforced.[ ] in the carolinas, although the lords proprietors wrote urging the governors to take every care that no pirates were entertained in the colony, the act was not passed until november .[ ] there were few, if any, convictions, and the freebooters plied their trade with the same security as before. toward the end of three galleys from st. augustine landed about men, spaniards, indians and mulattos, a few leagues below charleston, and laid waste several plantations, including that of governor moreton. the enemy pushed on to port royal, completely destroyed the scotch colony there, and retired before a force could be raised to oppose them. to avenge this inroad the inhabitants immediately began preparations for a descent upon st. augustine; and an expedition consisting of two french privateering vessels and about men was organized and about to sail, when a new governor, james colleton, arrived and ordered it to disband.[ ] colleton was instructed to arrest governor moreton on the charge of encouraging piracy, and to punish those who entertained and abetted the freebooters;[ ] and on th february he had a new and more explicit law to suppress the evil enacted by the assembly.[ ] on nd may of the same year james ii. renewed the proclamation for the suppression of pirates, and offered pardon to all who surrendered within a limited time and gave security for future good behaviour.[ ] the situation was so serious, however, that in august the king commissioned sir robert holmes to proceed with a squadron to the west indies and make short work of the outlaws;[ ] and in october he issued a circular to all the governors in the colonies, directing the most stringent enforcement of the laws, "a practice having grown up of bringing pirates to trial before the evidence was ready, and of using other evasions to insure their acquittal."[ ] on the following th january another proclamation was issued by james to insure the co-operation of the governors with sir robert holmes and his agents.[ ] the problem, however, was more difficult than the king had anticipated. the presence of the fleet upon the coast stopped the evil for a time, but a few years later, especially in the carolinas under the administration of governor ludwell ( - ), the pirates again increased in numbers and in boldness, and charleston was completely overrun with the freebooters, who, with the connivance of the merchants and a free display of gold, set the law at defiance. in jamaica lieutenant-governor molesworth continued in the policy and spirit of his predecessor. he sent a frigate to the bay of darien to visit golden isle and the isle of pines (where the buccaneers were accustomed to make their rendezvous when they crossed over to the south seas), with orders to destroy any piratical craft in that vicinity, and he made every exertion to prevent recruits from leaving jamaica.[ ] the stragglers who returned from the south seas he arrested and executed, and he dealt severely with those who received and entertained them.[ ] by virtue of the king's proclamation of , he had the property in port royal belonging to men then in the south seas forfeited to the crown.[ ] a captain bannister, who in june had run away from port royal on a privateering venture with a ship of thirty guns, had been caught and brought back by the frigate "ruby," but when put on trial for piracy was released by the grand jury on a technicality. six months later bannister managed to elude the forts a second time, and for two years kept dodging the frigates which molesworth sent in pursuit of him. finally, in january , captain spragge sailed into port royal with the buccaneer and three of his companions hanging at the yard-arms, "a spectacle of great satisfaction to all good people, and of terror to the favourers of pirates."[ ] it was during the government of molesworth that the "biscayners" began to appear in american waters. these privateers from the bay of biscay seem to have been taken into the king of spain's service to hunt pirates, but they interrupted english trade more than the pirates did. they captured and plundered english merchantmen right and left, and carried them to cartagena, vera cruz, san domingo and other spanish ports, where the governors took charge of their prisoners and allowed them to dispose of their captured goods. they held their commissions, it seems, directly from the crown, and so pretended to be outside the pale of the authority of the spanish governors. the latter, at any rate, declared that they could give no redress, and themselves complained to the authorities in jamaica of the independence of these marauders.[ ] in december the king issued a warrant to the governor of jamaica authorizing him to suppress the biscayans with the royal frigates.[ ] on th october the governorship of the island was assigned to sir philip howard,[ ] but howard died shortly after, and the duke of albemarle was appointed in his stead.[ ] albemarle, who arrived at port royal in december ,[ ] completely reversed the policy of his predecessors, lynch and molesworth. even before he left england he had undermined his health by his intemperate habits, and when he came to jamaica he leagued himself with the most unruly and debauched men in the colony. he seems to have had no object but to increase his fortune at the expense of the island. before he sailed he had boldly petitioned for powers to dispose of money without the advice and consent of his council, and, if he saw fit, to reinstate into office sir henry morgan and robert byndloss. the king, however, decided that the suspension of morgan and byndloss should remain until albemarle had reported on their case from jamaica.[ ] when the duke entered upon his new government, he immediately appointed roger elletson to be chief justice of the island in the place of samuel bernard. three assistant-judges of the supreme court thereupon resigned their positions on the bench, and one was, in revenge, dismissed by the governor from the council. several other councillors were also suspended, contrary to the governor's instructions against arbitrary dismissal of such officers, and on th january sir henry morgan, upon the king's approval of the duke's recommendation, was re-admitted to the council-chamber.[ ] the old buccaneer, however, did not long enjoy his restored dignity. about a month later he succumbed to a sharp illness, and on th august was buried in st. catherine's church in port royal.[ ] in november a petition was presented to the king by the planters and merchants trading to jamaica protesting against the new régime introduced by lord albemarle:--"the once flourishing island of jamaica is likely to be utterly undone by the irregularities of some needy persons lately set in power. many of the most considerable inhabitants are deserting it, others are under severe fines and imprisonments from little or no cause.... the provost-marshal has been dismissed and an indebted person put in his place; and all the most substantial officers, civil and military, have been turned out and necessitous persons set up in their room. the like has been done in the judicial offices, whereby the benefit of appeals and prohibitions is rendered useless. councillors are suspended without royal order and without a hearing. several persons have been forced to give security not to leave the island lest they should seek redress; others have been brought before the council for trifling offences and innumerable fees taken from them; money has been raised twenty per cent. over its value to defend creditors. lastly, the elections have been tampered with by the indebted provost-marshal, and since the duke of albemarle's death are continued without your royal authority."[ ] the death of albemarle, indeed, at this opportune time was the greatest service he rendered to the colony. molesworth was immediately commanded to return to jamaica and resume authority. the duke's system was entirely reversed, and the government restored as it had been under the administration of sir thomas lynch. elletson was removed from the council and from his position as chief justice, and bernard returned in his former place. all of the rest of albemarle's creatures were dismissed from their posts, and the supporters of lynch's régime again put in control of a majority in the council.[ ] this measure of plain justice was one of the last acts of james ii. as king of england. on th november william of orange landed in england at torbay, and on nd december james escaped to france to live as a pensioner of louis xiv. the new king almost immediately wrote to jamaica confirming the reappointment of molesworth, and a commission to the latter was issued on th july .[ ] molesworth, unfortunately for the colony, died within a few days,[ ] and the earl of inchiquin was appointed on th september to succeed him.[ ] sir francis watson, president of the council in jamaica, obeyed the instructions of william iii., although he was a partizan of albemarle; yet so high was the feeling between the two factions that the greatest confusion reigned in the government of the island until the arrival of inchiquin in may .[ ] the revolution of , by placing william of orange on the english throne, added a powerful kingdom to the european coalition which in attacked louis xiv. over the question of the succession of the palatinate. that james ii. should accept the hospitality of the french monarch and use france as a basis for attack on england and ireland was, quite apart from william's sympathy with the protestants on the continent, sufficient cause for hostilities against france. war broke out in may , and was soon reflected in the english and french colonies in the west indies. de cussy, in hispaniola, led an expedition of men, many of them filibusters, against st. jago de los cavalleros in the interior of the island, and took and burnt the town. in revenge the spaniards, supported by an english fleet which had just driven the french from st. kitts, appeared in january before cap françois, defeated and killed de cussy in an engagement near the town, and burned and sacked the settlement. three hundred french filibusters were killed in the battle. the english fleet visited leogane and petit goave in the _cul-de-sac_ of hispaniola, and then sailed to jamaica. de cussy before his death had seized the opportunity to provide the freebooters with new commissions for privateering, and english shipping suffered severely.[ ] laurens with men touched at montego bay on the north coast in october, and threatened to return and plunder the whole north side of the island. the people were so frightened that they sent their wives and children to port royal; and the council armed several vessels to go in pursuit of the frenchmen.[ ] it was a new experience to feel the danger of invasion by a foreign foe. the jamaicans had an insight into the terror which their spanish neighbours felt for the buccaneers, whom the english islanders had always been so ready to fit out, or to shield from the arm of the law. laurens in the meantime was as good as his word. he returned to jamaica in the beginning of december with several vessels, seized eight or ten english trading sloops, landed on the north shore and plundered a plantation.[ ] war with france was formally proclaimed in jamaica on the th of january .[ ] two years later, in january , lord inchiquin also succumbed to disease in jamaica, and in the following june colonel william beeston was chosen by the queen to act as lieutenant-governor.[ ] inchiquin before he left england had solicited for the power to call in and pardon pirates, so as to strengthen the island during the war by adding to its forces men who would make good fighters on both land and sea. the committee on trade and plantations reported favourably on the proposal, but the power seems never to have been granted.[ ] in january , however, the president of the council of jamaica began to issue commissions to privateers, and in a few months the surrounding seas were full of armed jamaican sloops.[ ] on th june of the same year the colony suffered a disaster which almost proved its destruction. a terrible earthquake overwhelmed port royal and "in ten minutes threw down all the churches, dwelling-houses and sugar-works in the island. two-thirds of port royal were swallowed up by the sea, all the forts and fortifications demolished and great part of its inhabitants miserably knocked on the head or drowned."[ ] the french in hispaniola took advantage of the distress caused by the earthquake to invade the island, and nearly every week hostile bands landed and plundered the coast of negroes and other property.[ ] in december a party of swooped down in the night upon st. davids, only seven leagues from port royal, plundered the whole parish, and got away again with slaves.[ ] in the following april ducasse, the new french governor of hispaniola, sent buccaneers in six small vessels to repeat the exploit, but the marauders met an english man-of-war guarding the coast, and concluding "that they would only get broken bones and spoil their men for any other design," they retired whence they had come.[ ] two months later, however, a much more serious incursion was made. an expedition of twenty-two vessels and men, recruited in france and instigated, it is said, by irish and jacobite refugees, set sail under ducasse on th june with the intention of conquering the whole of jamaica. the french landed at point morant and cow bay, and for a month cruelly desolated the whole south-eastern portion of the island. then coasting along the southern shore they made a feint on port royal, and landed in carlisle bay to the west of the capital. after driving from their breastworks the english force of men, they again fell to ravaging and burning, but finding they could make no headway against the jamaican militia, who were now increased to men, in the latter part of july they set sail with their plunder for hispaniola.[ ] jamaica had been denuded of men by the earthquake and by sickness, and lieutenant-governor beeston had wisely abandoned the forts in the east of the island and concentrated all his strength at port royal.[ ] it was this expedient which doubtless saved the island from capture, for ducasse feared to attack the united jamaican forces behind strong intrenchments. the harm done to jamaica by the invasion, however, was very great. the french wholly destroyed fifty sugar works and many plantations, burnt and plundered about houses, and killed every living thing they found. thirteen hundred negroes were carried off besides other spoil. in fighting the jamaicans lost about killed and wounded, but the loss of the french seems to have been several times that number. after the french returned home ducasse reserved all the negroes for himself, and many of the freebooters who had taken part in the expedition, exasperated by such a division of the spoil, deserted the governor and resorted to buccaneering on their own account.[ ] colonel, now become sir william, beeston, from his first arrival in jamaica as lieutenant-governor, had fixed his hopes upon a joint expedition with the spaniards against the french at petit goave; but the inertia of the spaniards, and the loss of men and money caused by the earthquake, had prevented his plans from being realized.[ ] in the early part of , however, an army of soldiers on a fleet of twenty-three ships sailed from england under command of commodore wilmot for the west indies. uniting with spaniards from san domingo and the barlovento fleet of three sail, they captured and sacked cap françois and port de paix in the french end of the island. it had been the intention of the allies to proceed to the _cul-de-sac_ and destroy petit goave and leogane, but they had lost many men by sickness and bad management, and the spaniards, satisfied with the booty already obtained, were anxious to return home. so the english fleet sailed away to port royal.[ ] these hostilities so exhausted both the french in hispaniola and the english in jamaica that for a time the combatants lay back to recover their strength. the last great expedition of this war in the west indies serves as a fitting close to the history of the buccaneers. on th september ducasse received from the french minister of marine, pontchartrain, a letter informing him that the king had agreed to the project of a large armament which the sieur de pointis, aided by private capital, was preparing for an enterprise in the mexican gulf.[ ] ducasse, although six years earlier he had written home urging just such an enterprise against vera cruz or cartagena, now expressed his strong disapproval of the project, and dwelt rather on the advantages to be gained by the capture of spanish hispaniola, a conquest which would give the french the key to the indies. a second letter from pontchartrain in january , however, ordered him to aid de pointis by uniting all the freebooters and keeping them in the colony till th february. it was a difficult task to maintain the buccaneers in idleness for two months and prohibit all cruising, especially as de pointis, who sailed from brest in the beginning of january, did not reach petit goave till about st march.[ ] the buccaneers murmured and threatened to disband, and it required all the personal ascendancy of ducasse to hold them together. the sieur de pointis, although a man of experience and resource, capable of forming a large design and sparing nothing to its success, suffered from two very common faults--vanity and avarice. he sometimes allowed the sense of his own merits to blind him to the merits of others, and considerations of self-interest to dim the brilliance of his achievements. of ducasse he was insanely jealous, and during the whole expedition he tried in every way to humiliate him. unable to bring himself to conciliate the unruly spirit of the buccaneers, he told them plainly that he would lead them not as a companion in fortune but as a military superior, and that they must submit themselves to the same rules as the men on the king's ships. the freebooters rebelled under the haughtiness of their commander, and only ducasse's influence was able to bring them to obedience.[ ] on th march the ships were all gathered at the rendezvous at cape tiburon, and on the th of the following month anchored two leagues to the east of cartagena.[ ] de pointis had under his command about men, half of them seamen, the rest soldiers. the reinforcements he had received from ducasse numbered , and of these were buccaneers commanded by ducasse himself. he had nine frigates, besides seven vessels belonging to the buccaneers, and numerous smaller boats.[ ] the appearance of so formidable an armament in the west indies caused a great deal of concern both in england and in jamaica. martial law was proclaimed in the colony and every means taken to put port royal in a state of defence.[ ] governor beeston, at the first news of de pointis' fleet, sent advice to the governors of porto bello and havana, against whom he suspected that the expedition was intended.[ ] a squadron of thirteen vessels was sent out from england under command of admiral nevill to protect the british islands and the spanish treasure fleets, for both the galleons and the flota were then in the indies.[ ] nevill touched at barbadoes on th april,[ ] and then sailed up through the leeward islands towards hispaniola in search of de pointis. the frenchman, however, had eluded him and was already before cartagena. cartagena, situated at the eastward end of a large double lagoon, was perhaps the strongest fortress in the indies, and the spaniards within opposed a courageous defence.[ ] after a fortnight of fighting and bombardment, however, on the last day of april the outworks were carried by a brilliant assault, and on th may the small spanish garrison, followed by the _cabildo_ or municipal corporation, and by many of the citizens of the town, in all about persons, marched out with the honours of war. although the spaniards had been warned of the coming of the french, and before their arrival had succeeded in withdrawing the women and some of their riches to mompos in the interior, the treasure which fell into the hands of the invaders was enormous, and has been variously estimated at from six million crowns to twenty millions sterling. trouble soon broke out between de pointis and the buccaneers, for the latter wanted the whole of the plunder to be divided equally among the men, as had always been their custom, and they expected, according to this arrangement, says de pointis in his narrative, about a quarter of all the booty. de pointis, however, insisted upon the order which he had published before the expedition sailed from petit goave, that the buccaneers should be subject to the same rule in the division of the spoil as the sailors in the fleet, i.e., they should receive one-tenth of the first million and one-thirtieth of the rest. moreover, fearing that the buccaneers would take matters into their own hands, he had excluded them from the city while his officers gathered the plunder and carried it to the ships. on the repeated remonstrances of ducasse, de pointis finally announced that the share allotted to the men from hispaniola was , crowns. the buccaneers, finding themselves so miserably cheated, broke out into open mutiny, but were restrained by the influence of their leader and the presence of the king's frigates. de pointis, meanwhile, seeing his own men decimated by sickness, put all the captured guns on board the fleet and made haste to get under sail for france. south of jamaica he fell in with the squadron of admiral nevill, to which in the meantime had been joined some eight dutch men-of-war; but de pointis, although inferior in numbers, outsailed the english ships and lost but one or two of his smaller vessels. he then man[oe]uvred past cape s. antonio, round the north of cuba and through the bahama channel to newfoundland, where he stopped for fresh wood and water, and after a brush with a small english squadron under commodore norris, sailed into the harbour of brest on th august .[ ] the buccaneers, even before de pointis sailed for france, had turned their ships back toward cartagena to reimburse themselves by again plundering the city. de pointis, indeed, was then very ill, and his officers were in no condition to oppose them. after the fleet had departed the freebooters re-entered cartagena, and for four days put it to the sack, extorting from the unfortunate citizens, and from the churches and monasteries, several million more in gold and silver. embarking for the isle la vache, they had covered but thirty leagues when they met with the same allied fleet which had pursued de pointis. of the nine buccaneer vessels, the two which carried most of the booty were captured, two more were driven ashore, and the rest succeeded in escaping to hispaniola. ducasse, who had returned to petit goave when de pointis sailed for france, sent one of his lieutenants on a mission to the french court to complain of the ill-treatment he had received from de pointis, and to demand his own recall; but the king pacified him by making him a chevalier of st. louis, and allotting , , francs to the french colonists who had aided in the expedition. the money, however, was slow in reaching the hands of those to whom it was due, and much was lost through the malversations of the men charged with its distribution.[ ] * * * * * with the capture of cartagena in the history of the buccaneers may be said to end. more and more during the previous twenty years they had degenerated into mere pirates, or had left their libertine life for more civilised pursuits. since the english government had been consistent in its policy of suppressing the freebooters, and with few exceptions the governors sent to jamaica had done their best to uphold and enforce the will of the councils at home. ten years or more had to elapse before the french court saw the situation in a similar light, and even then the exigencies of war and defence in french hispaniola prevented the governors from taking any effective measures toward suppression. the problem, indeed, had not been an easy one. the buccaneers, whatever their origin, were intrepid men, not without a sense of honour among themselves, wedded to a life of constant danger which they met and overcame with surprising hardiness. when an expedition was projected against their traditional foes, the spaniards, they calculated the chances of profit, and taking little account of the perils to be run, or indeed of the flag under which they sailed, english, french and dutch alike became brothers under a chief whose courage they perfectly recognised and whom they servilely obeyed. they lived at a time when they were in no danger of being overhauled by ubiquitous cruisers with rifled guns, and so long as they confined themselves to his catholic majesty's ships and settlements, they had trusted in the immunity arising from the traditional hostility existing between the english and the spaniards of that era. and for the spaniards the record of the buccaneers had been a terrible one. between the years and alone, the corsairs had sacked eighteen cities, four towns and more than thirty-five villages--cumana once, cumanagote twice, maracaibo and gibraltar twice, rio de la hacha five times, santa marta three times, tolu eight times, porto bello once, chagre twice, panama once, santa catalina twice, granada in nicaragua twice, campeache three times, st. jago de cuba once, and other towns and villages in cuba and hispaniola for thirty leagues inland innumerable times. and this fearful tale of robbery and outrage does not embrace the various expeditions against porto bello, campeache, cartagena and other spanish ports made after . the marquis de barinas in estimated the losses of the spaniards at the hands of the buccaneers since the accession of charles ii. to be sixty million crowns; and these figures covered merely the destruction of towns and treasure, without including the loss of more than merchant ships and frigates.[ ] if the losses and suffering of the spaniards had been terrible, the advantages accruing to the invaders, or to the colonies which received and supported them, scarcely compensated for the effort it cost them. buccaneering had denuded jamaica of its bravest men, lowered the moral tone of the island, and retarded the development of its natural resources. it was estimated that there were lost to the island between and , in the designs against tobago, curaçao, porto bello, granada and panama, about men,[ ] which was a large number for a new and very weak colony surrounded by powerful foes. says the same writer later on: "people have not married, built or settled as they would in time of peace--some for fear of being destroyed, others have got much suddenly by privateers bargains and are gone. war carries away all freemen, labourers and planters of provisions, which makes work and victuals dear and scarce. privateering encourages all manner of disorder and dissoluteness; and if it succeed, does but enrich the worst sort of people and provoke and alarm the spaniards."[ ] the privateers, moreover, really injured english trade as much as they injured spanish navigation; and if the english in the second half of the seventeenth century had given the spaniards as little cause for enmity in the west indies as the dutch had done, they perhaps rather than the dutch would have been the convoys and sharers in the rich flotas. the spaniards, moreover, if not in the court at home, at least in the colonies, would have readily lent themselves to a trade, illicit though it be, with the english islands, a trade, moreover, which it was the constant aim of english diplomacy to encourage and maintain, had they been able to assure themselves that their english neighbours were their friends. but when outrage succeeded upon outrage, and the english governors seemed, in spite of their protestations of innocence, to make no progress toward stopping them, the spaniards naturally concluded that the english government was the best of liars and the worst of friends. from another point of view, too, the activity of the buccaneers was directly opposed to the commercial interests of great britain. of all the nations of europe the spaniards were those who profited least from their american possessions. it was the english, the french and the dutch who carried their merchandize to cadiz and freighted the spanish-american fleets, and who at the return of these fleets from porto bello and vera cruz appropriated the greater part of the gold, silver and precious stuffs which composed their cargoes. and when the buccaneers cut off a spanish galleon, or wrecked the spanish cities on the main, it was not so much the spaniards who suffered as the foreign merchants interested in the trade between spain and her colonies. if the policy of the english and french governments toward the buccaneers gradually changed from one of connivance or encouragement to one of hostility and suppression, it was because they came to realise that it was easier and more profitable to absorb the trade and riches of spanish america through the peaceful agencies of treaty and concession, than by endeavouring to enforce a trade in the old-fashioned way inaugurated by drake and his elizabethan contemporaries. the pirate successors of the buccaneers were distinguished from their predecessors mainly by the fact that they preyed on the commerce of all flags indiscriminately, and were outlawed and hunted down by all nations alike. they, moreover, widely extended their field of operations. no longer content with the west indies and the shores of the caribbean sea, they sailed east to the coast of guinea and around africa to the indian ocean. they haunted the shores of madagascar, the red sea and the persian gulf, and ventured even as far as the malabar coast, intercepting the rich trade with the east, the great ships from bengal and the islands of spice. and not only did the outlaws of all nations from america and the west indies flock to these regions, but sailors from england were fired by reports of the rich spoils obtained to imitate their example. one of the most remarkable instances was that of captain henry avery, _alias_ bridgman. in may avery was on an english merchantman, the "charles ii.," lying near corunna. he persuaded the crew to mutiny, set the captain on shore, re-christened the ship the "fancy," and sailed to the east indies. among other prizes he captured, in september , a large vessel called the "gunsway," belonging to the great mogul--an exploit which led to reprisals and the seizure of the english factories in india. on application of the east india company, proclamations were issued on th july, th and st august , by the lords justices of england, declaring avery and his crew pirates and offering a reward for their apprehension.[ ] five of the crew were seized on their return to england in the autumn of the same year, were tried at the old bailey and hanged, and several of their companions were arrested later.[ ] in the north american colonies these new pirates still continued to find encouragement and protection. carolina had long had an evil reputation as a hot-bed of piracy, and deservedly so. the proprietors had removed one governor after another for harbouring the freebooters, but with little result. in the bahamas, which belonged to the same proprietors, the evil was even more flagrant. governor markham of the quaker colony of pennsylvania allowed the pirates to dispose of their goods and to refit upon the banks of the delaware, and william penn, the proprietor, showed little disposition to reprimand or remove him. governor fletcher of new york was in open alliance with the outlaws, accepted their gifts and allowed them to parade the streets in broad daylight. the merchants of new york, as well as those of rhode island and massachusetts, who were prevented by the navigation laws from engaging in legitimate trade with other nations, welcomed the appearance of the pirate ships laden with goods from the east, provided a ready market for their cargoes, and encouraged them to repeat their voyages. in an act was passed through parliament of such severity as to drive many of the outlaws from american waters. it was largely a revival of the act of , henry viii., was in force for seven years, and was twice renewed. the war of the spanish succession, moreover, gave many men of piratical inclinations an opportunity of sailing under lawful commissions as privateers against the french and spaniards. in this long war, too, the french filibusters were especially numerous and active. in there were or who made their headquarters in martinique alone.[ ] while keeping the french islands supplied with provisions and merchandise captured in their prizes, they were a serious discouragement to english commerce in those regions, especially to the trade with the north american colonies. occasionally they threatened the coasts of virginia and new england, and some combined with their west indian cruises a foray along the coasts of guinea and into the red sea. these corsairs were not all commissioned privateers, however, for some of them seized french shipping with as little compunction as english or dutch. especially after the treaty of utrecht there was a recrudescence of piracy both in the west indies and in the east, and it was ten years or more thereafter before the freebooters were finally suppressed. footnotes: [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , . _cf._ also nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. - , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , . paine was sent from jamaica under arrest to governor de cussy in , and thence was shipped on a frigate to france. (bibl. nat., nouv. acq., , f. .)] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , ; _cf._ also nos. , , . in june we learn that "hamlin, captain of la trompeuse, got into a ship of thirty-six guns on the coast of the main last month, with sixty of his old crew and as many new men. they call themselves pirates, and their ship la nouvelle trompeuse, and talk of their old station at isle de vaches." (ibid., no. .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , - , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , , ; _cf._ also nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , . coxon continued to vacillate between submission to the governor of jamaica and open rebellion. in october he was sent by sir thos. lynch with three vessels to the gulf of honduras to fetch away the english logwood-cutters. "his men plotted to take the ship and go privateering, but he valiently resisted, killed one or two with his own hand, forced eleven overboard, and brought three here (port royal) who were condemned last friday." (ibid., no. . letter of sir thos. lynch, th nov. .) a year later, in november , he had again reverted to piracy (_ibid._, no. ), but in january surrendered to lieut.-governor molesworth and was ordered to be arrested and tried at st. jago de la vega (_ibid._, - , no. ). he probably in the meantime succeeded in escaping from the island, for in the following november he was reported to be cutting logwood in the gulf of campeache, and molesworth was issuing a proclamation declaring him an outlaw (_ibid._, no. ). he remained abroad until september when he again surrendered to the governor of jamaica (_ibid._, no. ), and again by some hook or crook obtained his freedom.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : he is not to be confused with the peter paine who brought "la trompeuse" to port royal. thomas pain, a few months before he arrived in the bahamas, had come in and submitted to sir thomas lynch, and had been sent out again by the governor to cruise after pirates. (c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. viii. p. . in there were between and filibusters who made their headquarters in french hispaniola. they had seventeen vessels at sea with batteries ranging from four to fifty guns. (c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; bibl. nat., nouv. acq., , f. .)] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. viii. pp. - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; charlevoix, liv. viii. p. ; narrative contained in "the voyages and adventures of captain barth, sharpe and others in the south sea." lon. . governor lynch wrote in july : "all the governors in america have known of this very design for four or five months." duro, quoting from a spanish ms. in the coleccion navarrete, t. x. no. , says that the booty at vera cruz amounted to more than three million reales de plata in jewels and merchandise, for which the invaders demanded a ransom of , pieces of eight. they also carried away, according to the account, slaves. (_op. cit._, v. p. .) a real de plata was one-eighth of a peso or piece of eight.] [footnote : s.p. spain, vol. , f. .] [footnote : ibid., vol. , f. ; c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : during de franquesnay's short tenure of authority, laurens, driven from hispaniola by the stern measures of the governor against privateers, made it understood that he desired to enter the service of the governor of jamaica. the privy council empowered lynch to treat with him, offering pardon and permission to settle on the island on giving security for his future good behaviour. but de cussy arrived in the meantime, reversed the policy of de franquesnay, received laurens with all the honour due to a military hero, and endeavoured to engage him in the services of the government (charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. viii. pp. , ; c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , and ).] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. viii. pp. - ; c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. ix. pp. - ; duro., _op. cit._, v. pp. - ; c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , .] [footnote : according to charlevoix, de grammont was a native of paris, entered the royal marine, and distinguished himself in several naval engagements. finally he appeared in the west indies as the commander of a frigate armed for privateering, and captured near martinique a dutch vessel worth , livres. he carried his prize to hispaniola, where he lost at the gaming table and consumed in debauchery the whole value of his capture; and not daring to return to france he joined the buccaneers.] [footnote : "laurens-cornille baldran, sieur de graff, lieutenant du roi en l'isle de saint domingue, capitaine de frégate légère, chevalier de saint louis"--so he was styled after entering the service of the french king (vaissière, _op cit._, p. , note). according to charlevoix he was a native of holland, became a gunner in the spanish navy, and for his skill and bravery was advanced to the post of commander of a vessel. he was sent to american waters, captured by the buccaneers, and joined their ranks. such was the terror inspired by his name throughout all the spanish coasts that in the public prayers in the churches heaven was invoked to shield the inhabitants from his fury. divorced from his first wife, whom he had married at teneriffe in , he was married again in march to a norman or breton woman named marie-anne dieu-le-veult, the widow of one of the first inhabitants of tortuga (_ibid._). the story goes that marie-anne, thinking one day that she had been grievously insulted by laurens, went in search of the buccaneer, pistol in hand, to demand an apology for the outrage. de graff, judging this amazon to be worthy of him, turned about and married her (ducéré, _op. cit._, p. , note). in october laurens de graff, in company with iberville, sailed from rochefort with two ships, and in mobile and at the mouths of the mississippi laid the foundations of louisiana (duro, _op. cit._, v. p. ). de graff died in may . _cf._ also bibl. nat., nouv. acq., f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , . dampier writes ( ) that "it hath been usual for many years past for the governor of petit guaves to send blank commissions to sea by many of his captains, with orders to dispose of them to whom they saw convenient.... i never read any of these french commissions ... but i have learnt since that the tenor of them is to give a liberty to fish, fowl and hunt. the occasion of this is, that ... in time of peace these commissions are given as a warrant to those of each side (i.e., french and spanish in hispaniola) to protect them from the adverse party: but in effect the french do not restrain them to hispaniola, but make them a pretence for a general ravage in any part of america, by sea or land."--edition , i. pp. - .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , , ; _ibid._, - , no. . in a memoir of mm. de st. laurent and begon to the french king in february , they report that in the previous year some french filibusters discovered in a patache captured from the spaniards a letter from the governor of jamaica exhorting the spaniards to make war on the french in hispaniola, and promising them vessels and other means for entirely destroying the colony. this letter caused a furious outburst of resentment among the french settlers against the english (_cf._ also c.s.p. colon., - , no. ). shortly after, according to the memoir, an english ship of guns appeared for several days cruising in the channel between tortuga and port de paix. the sieur de franquesnay, on sending to ask for an explanation of this conduct, received a curt reply to the effect that the sea was free to everyone. the french governor thereupon sent a barque with filibusters to attack the englishman, but the filibusters returned well beaten. in despair de franquesnay asked captain de grammont, who had just returned from a cruise in a ship of guns, to go out against the intruder. with of the corsairs at his back de grammont attacked the english frigate. the reception accorded by the latter was as vigorous as before, but the result was different, for de grammont at once grappled with his antagonist, boarded her and put all the english except the captain to the sword.--bibl. nat., nouv. acq., f. . no reference to this incident is found in the english colonial records.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. ; _ibid._, - , nos. , , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , ; _ibid._, - , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , ; bibl. nat., nouv. acq., , f. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , ; _ibid._, - , nos. , , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , . his ship is called in these letters "la trompeuse." unless this is a confusion with hamlin's vessel, there must have been more than one "la trompeuse" in the west indies. very likely the fame or ill-fame of the original "la trompeuse" led other pirate captains to flatter themselves by adopting the same name. breha was captured in by the armada de barlovento and hung with nine or ten of his companions (charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. ix. p. ).] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , .] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , ; hughson: carolina pirates, p. .] [footnote : ibid., - , no. .] [footnote : hughson, _op. cit._, p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. ; _cf._ also _ibid._, - , no. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , , ; _ibid._, - , no. and _cf._ index. for the careers of john williams (_alias_ yankey) and jacob everson (_alias_ jacobs) during these years _cf._ c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , - , , , ; hist. mss. comm., xi. pt. , p. (earl of dartmouth's mss.).] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , ; _ibid._, - , nos. , ; hist. mss. commiss., xi. pt. , p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , , , , .] [footnote : dict. of nat. biog.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. ; _cf._ also .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , , , - , , - , , , , , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , ; ibid., - , nos. , vii., .] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , .] [footnote : ibid., no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. - , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , .] [footnote : ibid., - , nos. , , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , ; archives coloniales, corresp. gen. de st. dom. iii. letter of ducasse, march .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , (i.).] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , , , , , , , ; charlevoix, i. x. p. _ff._; stowe mss., f., b; ducéré: les corsaires sous l'ancien regime, p. .] [footnote : the number of white men on the island at this time was variously estimated from to men. (c.s.p. colon., - , nos. and .)] [footnote : c.s.p. colon, - , no. .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , , , , , . according to charlevoix, it was the dalliance and cowardice of laurens de graff, who was in command at cap françois, and feared falling into the hands of his old enemies the english and spaniards, which had much to do with the success of the invasion. after the departure of the allies laurens was deprived of his post and made captain of a light corvette. (charlevoix, i. x. p. _ff._)] [footnote : ducéré, _op. cit._ p. .] [footnote : narrative of de pointis.] [footnote : narrative of de pointis; c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : narrative of de pointis; c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : narrative of de pointis.] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. - , , , .] [footnote : ibid., nos. , .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , nos. , .] [footnote : ibid., . .] [footnote : the mouth of the harbour, called boca chica, was defended by a fort with bastions and guns; but the guns were badly mounted on flimsy carriages of cedar, and were manned by only soldiers. inside the harbour was another fort called santa cruz, well-built with bastions and a moat, but provided with only a few iron guns and without a garrison. two other forts formed part of the exterior works of the town, but they had neither garrison nor guns. the city itself was surrounded by solid walls of stone, with bastions and brass cannon, to man which there was a company of soldiers. such was the war footing on which the spanish government maintained the "key of the indies." (duro, _op. cit._, v. p. .)] [footnote : narrative of de pointis. _cf._ charlevoix, _op cit._, liv. xi., for the best account of the whole expedition.] [footnote : charlevoix, _op. cit._, liv. xi. p. . in one of the articles of capitulation which the governor of cartagena obtained from de pointis, the latter promised to leave untouched the plate, jewels and other treasure of the churches and convents. this article was not observed by the french. on the return of the expedition to france, however, louis xiv. ordered the ecclesiastical plate to be sequestered, and after the conclusion of the peace of ryswick sent it back to san domingo to be delivered to the governor and clergy of the spanish part of the island. (duro, _op. cit._, v. pp. , - ).] [footnote : duro, _op. cit._, v. p. .] [footnote : c.s.p. colon., - , no. .] [footnote : ibid.; _cf._ c.s.p. colon., - , no. : "the number of tippling houses is now doubly increased, so that there is not now resident upon the place ten men to every house that selleth strong liquors. there are more than licensed houses, besides sugar and rum works that sell without licence."] [footnote : crawford: bibliotheca lindesiana. handlist of proclamations.] [footnote : firth: naval songs and ballads, pp. l.-lii.; _cf._ also archives coloniales, corresp. gén. de st dom., vols. iii.-ix.; ibid., martinique, vols. viii.-xix.] [footnote : archives coloniales, corresp. gén. de martinique, vol. xvi.] appendix i an account of the english buccaneers belonging to jamaica and tortuga in , found among the rawlinson mss., makes the number of privateering ships fifteen, and the men engaged in the business nearly a thousand. the list is as follows:-- _captain ship men guns_ sir thomas whetstone a spanish prize captain smart griffon, frigate captain guy james, frigate captain james american, frigate captain cooper his frigate captain morris a brigantine captain brenningham his frigate captain mansfield a brigantine captain goodly a pink captain blewfield, belonging to cape gratia de dios, living among the indians a barque captain herdue a frigate there were four more belonging to jamaica, of which no account was available. the crews were mixed of english, french and dutch. appendix ii list of filibusters and their vessels on the coasts of french san domingo in :-- _captain ship men guns_ le sieur grammont le hardy " capitaine laurens de graff " neptune " " michel la mutine " " janquais " dauphine " " le sage le tigre " " dedran " chasseur " sieur du mesnil la trompeuse " capitaine jocard l'irondelle " " brea la fortune la prise du cap^ne. laurens -- le sieur de bernanos la schitie " capitaine cachemarée le st joseph " " blot la quagone " " vigeron " louse (barque) " " petit le ruzé (bateau) " " lagarde la subtille " " verpre le postilion (paris, archives coloniales, corresp. gén. de st. dom., vol. i.--mémoire sur l'estat de saint domingue à m. de seignelay par m. de cussy.) sources and bibliography manuscript sources in england _public record office:_ state papers. foreign. spain. vols. - . (abbreviated in the footnotes as s.p. spain.) _british museum:_ additional mss. vols. , ; , - ; , ; , ; , - ; , ; , ; , ; , ; , ; , ; , - . egerton mss. vol. . sloane mss. vols. or ; ; ; . stowe mss. vols. f; b. _bodleian library:_ rawlinson mss. vols. a. , , , , . tanner mss. vols. xlvii.; li. manuscript sources in france _archives du ministère des colonies:_ correspondance générale de saint-domingue. vols. i.-ix. historique de saint-domingue. vols. i.-iii. correspondance générale de martinique. vols. i.-xix. _archives du ministère des affaires étrangères:_ mémoires et documents. fonds divers. amérique. vols. v., xiii., xlix., li. correspondance politique. angleterre. _bibliothèque nationale:_ manuscrits, nouvelles acquisitions. vols. ; . renaudat mss. printed sources calendar of state papers. colonial series. america and the west indies. - . (abbreviated in the footnotes as c.s.p. colon.) calendar of state papers. venetian. - . (abbreviated in the footnotes as c.s.p. ven.) dampier, william: voyages. edited by j. masefield. vols. london, . gage, thomas: the english american ... or a new survey of the west indies, etc. london, . historical manuscripts commission: reports. london, (in progress). margry, pierre: relations et mémoires inédits pour servir à l'histoire de la france dans les pays d'outremer. paris, . pacheco, cardenas, y torres de mendoza: coleccion de documentos relativos al describrimiento, conquista y colonizacion de las posesiones españoles en américa y oceania. vols. madrid, - ; _continued as_ coleccion de documentos ineditos ... de ultramar. vols. madrid, - . pointis, jean bernard desjeans, sieur de: relation de l'expedition de carthagène faite par les françois en . amsterdam, . present state of jamaica ... to which is added an exact account of sir henry morgan's voyage to ... panama, etc. london, . recopilacion de leyes de los reynos de las indias, mandadas imprimir y publicar por rey carlos ii. vols. madrid, . sharp, bartholomew: the voyages and adventures of captain b. sharp ... in the south sea ... also captain van horn with his buccanieres surprising of la vera cruz, etc. london, . thurloe, john. a collection of the state papers of, etc. edited by thomas birch. vols. london, . venables, general. the narrative of, etc. edited by c.h. firth. london, . wafer, lionel: a new voyage and description of the isthmus of america, etc. london, . winwood, sir ralph. memorials of affairs of state ... collected from the original papers of, etc. edited by edmund sawyer. london, . * * * * * among the printed sources one of the earliest and most important is the well-known history of the buccaneers written by alexander olivier exquemelin (corrupted by the english into esquemeling, by the french into oexmelin). of the author himself very little is known. though sometimes claimed as a native of france, he was probably a fleming or a hollander, for the first edition of his works was written in the dutch language. he came to tortuga in as an _engagé_ of the french west india company, and after serving three years under a cruel master was rescued by the governor, m. d'ogeron, joined the filibusters, and remained with them till , taking part in most of their exploits. he seems to have exercised among them the profession of barber-surgeon. returning to europe in , he published a narrative of the exploits in which he had taken part, or of which he at least had a first-hand knowledge. this "history" is the oldest and most elaborate chronicle we possess of the extraordinary deeds and customs of these freebooters who played so large a part in the history of the west indies in the seventeenth century, and it forms the basis of all the popular modern accounts of morgan and other buccaneer captains. exquemelin, although he sadly confuses his dates, seems to be a perfectly honest witness, and his accounts of such transactions as fell within his own experience are closely corroborated by the official narratives. (biographies of exquemelin are contained in the "biographie universelle" of michaud, vol. xxxi. p. , and in the "nouvelle biographie générale" of hoefer, vol. xxxviii. p. . but both are very unsatisfactory and display a lamentable ignorance of the bibliography of his history of the buccaneers. according to the preface of a french edition of the work published at lyons in and cited in the "nouvelle biographie," exquemelin was born about and died after .) the first edition of the book, now very rare, is entitled: de americaensche zee-roovers. behelsende eene pertinente en waerachtige beschrijving van alle de voornaemste roveryen en onmenschliycke wreend heden die englese en france rovers tegens de spanjaerden in america gepleeght hebben; verdeelt in drie deelen ... beschreven door a. o. exquemelin ... t'amsterdam, by jan ten hoorn, anno , in º. (brit. mus., . _cf._ ( ). the date, , of the first dutch edition cited by dampierre ("essai sur les sources de l'histoire des antilles françaises," p. ) is doubtless a misprint.) (both dampierre (_op. cit._, p. ) and sabin ("dict. of books relating to america," vi. p. ) cite, as the earliest separate account of the buccaneers, claes g. campaen's "zee-roover," amsterdam, . this little volume, however, does not deal with the buccaneers in the west indies, but with privateering along the coasts of europe and africa.) this book was reprinted several times and numerous translations were made, one on the top of the other. what appears to be a german translation of exquemelin appeared in with the title: americanische seeräuber. beschreibung der grössesten durch die französische und englische meer-beuter wider die spanier in amerika verübten raubery grausamheit ... durch a. o. nürnberg, . º. ("historie der boecaniers of vrybuyters van america ... met figuuren, deel. t'amsterdam, ," º.--brit. mus., . c. .) this was followed two years later by a spanish edition, also taken from the dutch original: piratas de la america y luz a la defensa de las costas de indias occidentales. dedicado a don bernadino antonio de pardinas villar de francos ... por el zelo y cuidado de don antonio freyre ... traducido de la lingua flamenca en espanola por el dor. de buena-maison ... colonia agrippina, en casa de lorenzo struickman. ano de . º. (brit. mus., g. . the appended description of the spanish government in america was omitted and a few spanish verses were added in one or two places, but otherwise the translation seems to be trustworthy. the portraits and the map of the isthmus of panama are the same as in the dutch edition, but the other plates are different and better. in the bibl. nat. there is another spanish edition of in quarto.) this spanish text, which seems to be a faithful rendering of the dutch, was reprinted with a different dedication in and in , and again in madrid in . it is the version on which the first english edition was based. the english translation is entitled: bucaniers of america; or a true account of the ... assaults committed ... upon the coasts of the west indies, by the bucaniers of jamaica and tortuga ... especially the ... exploits of sir henry morgan ... written originally in dutch by j. esquemeling ... now ... rendered into english. w. crooke; london, . º. (brit. mus., , a. (or) , h. .; g. .) the first english edition of exquemelin was so well received that within three months a second was published, to which was added the account of a voyage by captain cook and a brief chapter on the exploits of barth. sharp in the pacific ocean. in the same year, moreover, there appeared an entirely different english version, with the object of vindicating the character of morgan from the charges of brutality and lust which had appeared in the first translation and in the dutch original. it was entitled: the history of the bucaniers; being an impartial relation of all the battels, sieges, and other most eminent assaults committed for several years upon the coasts of the west indies by the pirates of jamaica and tortuga. more especially the unparalleled achievements of sir henry morgan ... very much corrected from the errors of the original, by the relations of some english gentlemen, that then resided in those parts. _den engelseman is een duyvil voor een mensch._ london, printed for thomas malthus at the sun in the poultry. . (brit. mus., g. , .) the first edition of was reprinted with a new title-page in , and again in . the latter included, in addition to the text of exquemelin, the journals of basil ringrose and raveneau de lussan, both describing voyages in the south seas, and the voyage of the sieur de montauban to guinea in . this was the earliest of the composite histories of the buccaneers and became the model for the dutch edition of and the french editions published at trevoux in and . the first french translation of exquemelin appeared two years after the english edition of . it is entitled: histoire des aventuriers qui se sont signalez dans les indes contenant ce qu'ils ont fait de plus remarquable depuis vingt années. avec la vie, les moeurs, les coutumes des habitans de saint domingue et de la tortuë et une description exacte de ces lieux; ... le tout enrichi de cartes geographiques et de figures en taille-douce. par alexandre olivier oexmelin. a paris, chez jacques le febre. mdclxxxvi., vols. º. (brit. mus., , aa. .) this version may have been based on the dutch original; although the only indication we have of this is the fact that the work includes at the end a description of the government and revenues of the spanish indies, a description which is found in none of the earlier editions of exquemelin, except in the dutch original of . the french text, however, while following the outline of exquemelin's narrative, is greatly altered and enlarged. the history of tortuga and french hispaniola is elaborated with details from another source, as are also the descriptions of the manners and customs of the cattle-hunters and the freebooters. accounts of two other buccaneers, montbars and alexandre bras-le-fer, are inserted, but d'ogeron's shipwreck on porto rico and the achievements of admiral d'estrees against the dutch are omitted. in general the french editor, the sieur de frontignières, has re-cast the whole story. a similar french edition appeared in paris in , (brit. mus., , a. , .) and in a facsimile of this last was published at brussels by serstevens (dampierre, p. ). sabin (_op. cit._, vi. ) mentions an edition of in three volumes which included the journal of raveneau de lussan. in , and again in , another french edition was published in four volumes at trevoux, to which was added the voyage of montauban to the guinea coast, and the expeditions against vera cruz in , campeache in , and cartagena in . the third volume contained the journal of r. de lussan, and the fourth a translation of johnson's "history of the pirates." (brit. mus., , aa. .) a similar edition appeared at lyons in , but i have had no opportunity of examining a copy. (nouvelle biographie générale, tom. xxxviii. . the best bibliography of exquemelin is in sabin, _op. cit._, vi. .) secondary works of the secondary works concerned with the history of the buccaneers, the oldest are the writings of the french jesuit historians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. dutertre (histoire générale des antilles. paris, - ), a chronicler of events within his own experience as well as a reliable historian, unfortunately brings his narrative to a close in , but up to that year he is the safest guide to the history of the french antilles. labat, in his "nouveau voyage aux isles de l'amerique" (paris, ), gives an account of eleven years, between and , spent in martinique and guadeloupe, and although of little value as an historian, he supplies us with a fund of the most picturesque and curious details about the life and manners of the people in the west indies at the end of the seventeenth century. a much more important and accurate work is charlevoix's "histoire de l'isle espagnole ou de s. domingue" (paris, ), and this i have used as a general introduction to the history of the french buccaneers. raynal's "histoire philosophique et politique des établissements et du commerce européen dans les deux indes" (amsterdam, ) is based for the origin of the french antilles upon dutertre and labat and is therefore negligible for the period of the buccaneers. adrien dessalles, who in published his "histoire générale des antilles," preferred, like labat and raynal, to depend on the historians who had preceded him rather than endeavour to gain an intimate knowledge of the sources. in the english histories of jamaica written by long, bridges, and gardner, whatever notice is taken of the buccaneers is meagre and superficial, and the same is true of bryan edwards' "history, civil and commercial, of the british colonies in the west indies." thomas southey, in his "chronological history of the west indies" (lond. ), devotes considerable space to their achievements, but depends entirely upon the traditional sources. in j.w. von archenholz published "die geschichte der flibustier," a superficial, diffuse and even puerile narrative, giving no references whatever to authorities. (it was translated into french (paris, ), and into english by geo. mason (london, ).) in a "history of the buccaneers in america" was published by james burney as the fourth volume of "a chronological history of the discoveries in the south seas or pacific ocean." burney casts but a rapid glance over the west indies, devoting most of the volume to an account of the voyages of the freebooters along the coast of south america and in the east indies. walter thornbury in wrote "the buccaneers, or the monarchs of the main," a hasty compilation, florid and overdrawn, and without historical judgment or accuracy. in m. henri lorin presented a latin thesis to the faculty of history in paris, entitled:--"de praedonibus insulam santi dominici celebrantibus saeculo septimo decimo," but he seems to have confined himself to exquemelin, le pers, labat, dutertre and a few documents drawn from the french colonial archives. the best summary account in english of the history and significance of the buccaneers in the west indies is contained in hubert h. bancroft's "history of central america" (ii. chs. , - ). within the past year there has appeared an excellent volume by m. pierre de vaissière describing creole life and manners in the french colony of san domingo in the century and a half preceding the revolution. (vaissière, pierre de: saint dominigue. ( - ). paris, .) it is a reliable monograph, and like his earlier volume, "gentilshommes campagnards de l'ancienne france," is written in a most entertaining style. de vaissière contributes much valuable information, especially in the first chapter, about the origins and customs of the french "flibustiers." i have been able to find only two spanish works which refer at all to the buccaneers. one is entitled: piraterias y agresiones de los ingleses y de otros pueblos de europa en la america espanola desde el siglo xvi. al xviii., deducidas de las obras de d. dionisio de alcedo y herrera. madrid, . º. except for a long introduction by don justo zaragoza based upon exquemelin and alcedo, it consists of a collection of extracts referring to freebooters on the coasts of peru and chili, and deals chiefly with the eighteenth century. the other spanish work is an elaborate history of the spanish navy lately published in nine volumes by cesareo fernandez duro, and entitled:-- armada espanola desde la union de los reinos de castilla y de aragon. madrid, . there are numerous chapters dealing with the outrages of the french and english freebooters in the west indies, some of them based upon spanish sources to which i have had no access. but upon comparison of duro's narrative, which in so far as it relates to the buccaneers is often meagre, with the sources available to me, i find that he adds little to what may be learned on the subject here in england. one of the best english descriptions of the spanish colonial administration and commercial system is still that contained in book viii. of robertson's "history of america" (lond. ). the latest and best summary account, however, is in french, in the introduction to vol. i. of "la traite négrière aux indes de castille" (paris, ), by georges scelle. weiss, in vol. ii. of his history of "l'espagne depuis philippe ii. jusqu'aux bourbons" (paris, ), treats of the causes of the economic decadence of spain, and gives an account of the contraband trade in spanish america, drawn largely from labat. on this general subject leroy-beaulieu, "de la colonization chez les peuples modernes" (paris, ), has been especially consulted. the best account of the french privateers of the sixteenth century in america is in an essay entitled: "les corsairs français au xvi^e siècle dans les antilles" (paris, ), by gabriel marcel. it is a short monograph based on the collections of spanish documents brought together by pacheco and navarrete. the volume by e. ducéré entitled, "les corsairs sous l'ancien regîme" (bayonne, ), is also valuable for the history of privateering. for the history of the elizabethan mariners i have made use of the two works by j. s. corbett: "drake and the tudor navy" (lond. ), and "the successors of drake" (lond. ). other works consulted were: arias de miranda, josé: examen critico-historico del influyo que tuvo en el comercio, industria y poblacion de espana su dominacion en america. madrid, . blok, pieter johan: history of the people of the netherlands. translated by c. a. bierstadt and ruth putnam. vols. new york, . brown, alex.: the genesis of the united states. vols. lond., . crawford, james ludovic lindsay, th earl of: bibliotheca lindesiana. handlist of proclamations. vols. aberdeen, - . dumont, jean: corps universel diplomatique. vols. hague, - . froude, james anthony: history of england from the fall of wolsey to the defeat of the spanish armada. vols. - . english seamen in the sixteenth century. lond., . gardiner, samuel rawson: history of the commonwealth and protectorate, - . vols. lond., - . geographical and historical description of ... cartagena, porto bello, la vera cruz, the havana and san augustin. lond., . gibbs, archibald r.: british honduras ... from ... . lond., . hakluyt, richard: the principal navigations ... of the english nation, etc. vols. lond., - . herrera y tordesillas, antonio: historia general de las indias. vols. madrid, - . hughson, shirley c.: the carolina pirates and colonial commerce. baltimore, . lucas, c. p.: a historical geography of the british colonies. vols. oxford, . vol. ii. the west indies. monson, sir william: the naval tracts of ... edited ... by m. oppenheim. vols. i. and ii. lond., --(in progress). oviedo y valdes, gonzalo fernandez de: historia general de las indias. salamanca, . peytraud, lucien: l'esclavage aux antilles françaises avant , etc. paris, . saint-yves, g.: les compagnes de jean d'estrées dans la mer des antilles, - . paris, . strong, frank: causes of cromwell's west indian expedition. (amer. hist. review. jan. ). veitia linaje, josef de: norte de la contratacion de las indias occidentales. sevilla, . vignols, leon: la piraterie sur l'atlantique au xviii^e siècle. rennes, . index acapulco, aix-la-chapelle, peace of, _ajoupa_, , albemarle, first duke of, _see_ monck, george " second duke of, _see_ monck, christopher albuquerque, duke of, , alexander vi., bull of pope, , allison, captain (buccaneer), antigua, , , araya salt-mine, - archenholz, j.w. von, arlington, earl of, _see_ bennett, sir henry arundell, james, , assiento of negroes, , - , , _n._ association, island, _see_ tortuga aston, lord of forfar, avery, captain henry, - aves, isle d', _see_ isle d'aves aylett, captain (buccaneer), _azogues_, , azores, , , , , , bahama islands, , , and _n._, bahia, bancroft, hubert h., banister, major james, bannister, captain (buccaneer) _barbacoa_, barbadoes, , , , , and _n._, , , , , , etc. barbuda, barinas, marques de, barker, andrew, barlovento, armada de, , _n._, barnard, captain (buccaneer), barnes, captain ( " ), barre, charles, barry, colonel samuel, and _n._ beckford, peter, beeston, captain (afterwards sir), william, _n._, _n._, , and _n._, , , , , , , etc. begon, m. michel (intendant of the french islands), , _n._ benavides, don juan de, bennett, sir henry (afterwards earl of arlington), , , , , , , _n._, , , , etc. berkeley, sir thomas, bermuda, , , , bernanos, captain (buccaneer), bernard, samuel, , bigford, captain (buccaneer), "biscayners," - blake, captain, r.n., blewfield, captain (buccaneer), blot, captain (buccaneer), boston (mass.), bradley, lieutenant-colonel joseph (buccaneer), - brayne, lieutenant-general william, , , brazil, , , , , and _n._, breda, treaties of, breha, captain, _see_ landresson, michel brenningham, captain (buccaneer), brest, corsairs of, , , bridges, george w., browne, captain james (buccaneer), - browne, richard (buccaneer), , _n._, , buccaneers, cruelties of, - , _n._, _ff._ " customs of, - , _n._ " derivation of the word, buccaneers, laws against, _see_ laws against privateers and pirates " numbers of, , _n._, " origins of, , , - , - " suppression of, _ff._ " vessels of, buenos ayres, , bull of pope alexander vi., _see_ alexander vi. burney, james, burough, cornelius, butler, gregory (commissioner of jamaica), _n._ byndloss, colonel robert, , , cabral, pedro alvarez, cachemarée, captain (buccaneer), cadiz, _n._, and _n._, and _n._, , , , _n._, , , _n._, etc. campeache, city of, _n._, , - , , , , , " province of, , , _n._, , , , , , , , etc. campo y espinosa, don alonso del, , canary islands, , , , cap françois, , , , , _n._ caracas, , _n._, , , , , , , , cardenas, alonso de, , carey, colonel theod., , carleill, general christopher, carleton, sir dudley, viscount dorchester, carlile, captain charles, r.n., carlisle, earl of, _see_ howard, charles carolinas, , , , , , , , cartagena (new granada), _n._, , and _n._, , , , , , , , etc. cartago (costa rica), and _n._ _casa de contratacion_, , , _n._, , and _n._, catherine of braganza, cattle-hunters, - , , , - cavallos (honduras), cayenne (guiana), , cecil, robert, viscount cranborne and earl of salisbury, _n._, "centurion," , , and _n._ chagre, port of, , , " river, _n._, , , , chaloner, captain, charles i., king of england, , , " ii., king of england, , , , , , , , , , , etc. " ii., king of spain, " v., emperor, , _n._, , charleston (carolina), , charlevoix, pierre-françois-xavier, , , , , , , _n._, _n._, , _n._ _chasse-partie_, chili, , , , , _cinquantaines_, clandestine trade, and _n._, - , - , - clarke, robert (governor of the bahamas), - clifford, george, earl of cumberland, , , codrington, christopher (deputy-governor of nevis), colbert, jean-baptiste, marquis de seignelay, _n._, _n._ coligny, admiral gaspard de, colleton, james (governor of carolina), collier, edward (buccaneer), , , , _n._, _n._, colombia, u.s. of, _see_ new granada columbus, christopher, , _consulado_, , contraband trade, _see_ clandestine trade cooke, captain (buccaneer), cooper, captain (buccaneer), , corbett, julian s., cordova, don luis de, cornwallis, sir charles, , coro (venezuela), cortez, hernando, , costa rico, and _n._ cottington, francis, lord, - council of the indies, and _n._, , , _n._, "cour volant," - , and _n._ coventry, sir henry (secretary of state), coxon, captain john (buccaneer), , , , _n._, , - and _n._, , and _n._, , , etc. cranborne, viscount, _see_ cecil, robert criminals transported to the colonies, , , - cromwell, oliver, , - , , cuba, , , , , , , , , , , etc. cumana (venezuela), , , , cumanagote (venezuela), cumberland, earl of, _see_ clifford, george curaçao, , , , , , , , , , , etc. cussy, sieur tarin de (governor of french hispaniola), - and _n._, , , dalyson, captain william, _n._ dampier, william, _n._, _n._, _n._, _n._, _n._, _n._ daniel, captain (buccaneer), darien, isthmus of, , , , , , , , _n._, and _n._, , etc. deane, john (buccaneer), - dedran, captain (buccaneer), dempster, captain (buccaneer), deschamps, jérémie, seigneur de rausset (governor of tortuga), and _n._, , deseada, , , desjeans, jean-bernard, sieur de pointis, _ff._ dessalles, adrien, diaz pimienta, don francisco, , _n._ diego grillo (buccaneer), and _n._ dieppe, corsairs of, , dominica, , , , "don francisco," "don juan morf," and _n._, dorchester, viscount _see_ carleton, sir dudley doyley, colonel edward (governor of jamaica), , - , , and _n._, , , , , , , etc. drake, sir francis, , , , , , , , and _n._, , , etc. ducasse, jean-baptiste (governor of french hispaniola), - , , , , ducéré, eduard, - duro, cesario fernandez, _n._, _n._, _n._, dutch wars, _see_ war " west india company, , dutertre, jean-baptiste, , , _n._, _n._, , east indies, _see_ indies, east edmondes, sir thomas, edwards, bryan, elizabeth, queen, , , , , , , , , elletson, robert, , , , _engagés_, , - , equador, , esmit, adolf (governor of st. thomas), - " nicholas (governor of st. thomas), esnambuc, mons. d', essex, captain cornelius (buccaneer), , estrées, jean, comte d', _n._, - everson, captain jacob (buccaneer), and _n._, _n._ everson, jory (governor of st. thomas), exquemelin, alexander olivier, , , , , , _n._, _n._, _n._, _n._, - fanshaw, sir richard, , , , , , ferdinand and isabella, kings of spain, , fitzgerald, philip, - fletcher, benjamin (governor of new york), _flibustiers_, derivation of the word, ; _see_ buccaneers fload, captain (governor of tortuga), _n._ flores, _see_ azores. florida, , , . flota, , - , , , , and _n._, , , ; _cf. also_ treasure fleets fontenay, chevalier de (governor of tortuga), - , , fortescue, major-general richard, , , franquesnay, sieur de (governor of french hispaniola), , and _n._, _n._ french wars, _see_ war french west india company, , , , frobisher, martin, frogge, william, _n._, _n._, _n._, , _n._ fuemayor, rui fernandez de, and _n._ gage, thomas, _n._, , , _n._, galicia, company of, _n._ galleons, - , , , , _n._, , _n._, , ; _cf. also_ treasure fleets. galleons' passage, gardner, william j., gautemala, , , _n._, , gaves, don gabriel de, "gens de la côte," gibraltar (venezuela), , godolphin, sir william, , , , , , , , , - "golden hind," golden island, , goodly, captain (buccaneer), goodson, vice-admiral william, - , _n._, , graff, laurens-cornille baldran, sieur de, - , _n._, , and _n._, , - , _n._, grammont, sieur de (buccaneer), , - , - , , , , and _n._, and _n._ granada (nicaragua), _n._, , - , , , granjeria de las perlas (new granada), grenville, sir richard, guadaloupe, , , , , , "guanahani," guiana, , , , guinea, coast of, , , , , , , guipuzcoa, company of, _n._ "gunsway," guy, captain (buccaneer), guzman, gonzalo de, " don juan perez de, _see_ perez de guzman. hamlin, captain jean (buccaneer), - and _n._, _n._ hampton, thomas, - haro, don francisco de, _n._ " don luis de, harris, captain peter (buccaneer), , , harrison, captain, (buccaneer), hattsell, captain, ( " ), havana, , , , , , , , , , , etc. havre, corsairs, of, hawkins, sir john, , , , , , , , . " william, heath, attorney-general sir robert, henrietta island, , _n._ henry ii., king of france, " iv., " _n._, " viii. king of england, and _n._ herdue, captain (buccaneer), heyn, admiral piet, , hilton, captain (governor of tortuga), , hispaniola, , and _n._ , , , , , , , , etc. holland, earl of, _see_ rich, henry holmes, admiral sir robert, honduras, , , , , , , , hopton, sir arthur, howard, charles, earl of carlisle (governor of jamaica), , , , - , " sir philip, humanes, conde de, ibarra, don carlos, _n._ inchiquin, earl of, _see_ o'brien, william indian ocean, pirates in, _see_ pirates indians, _see_ spain, cruelties to indians indies, council of the, _see_ council " exclusion of foreigners from, _see_ spain indies, east, pirates in, _see_ pirates " west, colonisation of, - " " first english ship in, - "indults," interlopers, _see_ clandestine trade isabella, queen, _see_ ferdinand and isabella isle d'aves, and _n._, , , " la vache, , , , , , , , , _n._, , etc. jackman, captain (buccaneer), , jackson, captain william, , , jacobs, captain (buccaneer), _see_ everson jamaica, , , , , , , , , , , etc. " assembly of, , , , , , , , " council of, , , , , , , , , , , etc. james, captain (buccaneer), " ("president of tortuga"), _n._ james i., king of england, , , , _n._ " ii., king of england, , , , jamestown (virginia), jenkins, sir leoline, jiménez, don josé sánchez, jocard, captain (buccaneer), johnson, captain (buccaneer), - " " r.n., "judith," _juzgado de indias_, _n._ kingston (jamaica), , knollys, francis, , labat, jean-baptiste, , - , , , lagarde, captain (buccaneer), la guayra (venezuela), - lancers, _see cinquantaines_ landresson, captain michel, _alias_ breha (buccaneer), and _n._, , langford, captain abraham, - las casas, bartolomé de, bishop of chiapa, laurens de graff, _see_ graff. la vivon, mons., - and _n._ laws against privateers and pirates, , , , , , - , - , le clerc, captain françois, legane (hispaniola), , , legrand, pierre (buccaneer), _n._ "le pain," _see_ paine, peter le pers (jesuit writer), and _n._ lerma, duque de, _n._ leroy-beaulieu, pierre-paul, , le sage, captain (buccaneer), lessone, " ( " ), levasseur, mons., - , , - , ley, james, earl of marlborough, , lilburne, robert (governor of bahamas), - lima (peru), , , linhares, conde de, logwood, , - , , , long, edward, , " samuel, lonvilliers, mons. de, lorin, henri, louis xiv., king of france, _n._, , , , , _n._ ludbury, captain (buccaneer), ludwell, philip (governor of carolina), lynch, sir thomas (governor of jamaica), , , , , - , , , , - , , and _n._, etc. lyttleton, sir charles (lieutenant-governor of jamaica), , , , , , , madeira, maggott, captain (buccaneer), maintenon, marquis de, maldonado de aldana, mansfield, captain edward (buccaneer), , , and _n._, - , , , _n._, , "mansvelt," _see_ mansfield maracaibo (venezuela), , , , - , , , , , marcel, gabriel, margarita island, , , , , " patache, , , and _n._ margot, port (hispaniola), , , , , marie-anne of austria, queen regent of spain, , , _n._, , , , markham, william (governor of pennsylvania), marlborough, earl of, _see_ ley, james "marston moor," , , and _n._, marteen, captain david (buccaneer), martin, - , _n._ martinique, , , , , , , _n._, , "mary of guildford," _n._ mary, queen of england, massachusetts, , _matelotage_, medina coeli, duque de, " de los torres, duque de, merida (yucatan), , mesnil, captain (buccaneer), mexico, _see_ new spain michel, captain (buccaneer), " le basque (buccaneer), , milton, john (latin secretary of state), _n._ mitchell, captain (buccaneer), _n._ modyford, colonel charles, " sir james, , , _n._, _n._ " sir thomas (governor of jamaica), - , , , - , _n._, and _n._, , , _n._, , etc. moledi, don patricio, molesworth, hender (lieutenant-governor of jamaica), _n._, , , - , , molina, conde de, , _n._ mompos (new granada), mona, island of, , monck, christopher, second duke of albemarle (governor of jamaica), - " george, first duke of albemarle, , , , _n._, , montagu, edward, earl of sandwich, , , montemayor, don juan francisco de, montespan, marquise de, _n._ montserrat, , moralis, don pedro de, moreton, joseph (governor of carolina), morgan, captain (buccaneer), " colonel blodre (buccaneer), _n._, _n._ " colonel edward, , , , , , _n._, " sir henry (buccaneer and lieutenant-governor of jamaica), , and _n._, - , - , , - , , , , , etc. " lieutenant-colonel thomas, _n._, _n._ morris, captain john (buccaneer), , , , _n._, mosquito coast, , , , , munden, captain robert, myngs, captain christopher, r.n., and _n._, and _n._, , , , and _n._, , nata de los santos (darien), _n._, _n._ nau, jean-david (buccaneer), and _n._, , navigation laws, , _n._, , , "navio del oro," negro slave-trade, - ; _cf. also_ clandestine trade negroes, assiento of, _see_ assiento netherlands, truce of , " wars of, _see_ war nevill, vice-admiral john, , nevis, , , , , new england, , , , , , , newfoundland, , new granada, , , , new providence island (bahamas), - new spain, , , , , , , , , , , etc. new york, , , nicaragua, , , , " lake, , nimuegen, peace of, nombre de dios (darien), _n._, _n._, norris, commodore sir john, o'brien, william, earl of inchiquin (governor of jamaica), , ogeron, bertrand d' (governor of french hispaniola), , - , , , , olivares, conde de, _n._ olonnais (buccaneer), _see_ nau, jean-david orinoco river, , _n._, , _n._, oxenham, john, "oxford," pain, captain thomas (buccaneer), and _n._, , paine, peter, - and _n._, _n._ panama, city of, , , and _n._, , , , , _n._, , , etc. " isthmus of, _see_ darien " president of, _see_ perez de guzman payta (peru), , penalva, conde de, penn, admiral william, and _n._, , , , " william (proprietor of penns.), pennsylvania, perez de guzman, don juan (president of panama), , , _n._, _n._, , and _n._, _n._ " diego, pernambuco, perry, mr. _n._ peru, , , , , , , , , , , etc. petit, captain (buccaneer), petit-goave (hispaniola), , , , , , , , , and _n._, , etc. philip ii., king of spain, , , , , , , , , philip iii., king of spain, " iv., king of spain, _n._, , philippine islands, , "piece of eight," value of, _n._ "pie de palo," _see_ heyn, admiral piet _and_ le clerc, françois pirates, depredations in the east, , " laws against, _see_ laws " trials of, , , - , , , , pizarro, francisco, , place, sieur de la (deputy-governor of tortuga), , plenneville, clement de, poincy, mons. de (governor of the french west indies), , , , pointis, sieur de, _see_ desjeans pontchartrain, louis phelypeaux, comte de, port de paix (hispaniola), , _n._, porto bello, , , , , and _n._, , , , , - , etc. porto rico, , and _n._, , _n._, , , , , , , etc. port royal (carolina), , " (jamaica), , and _n._, , , and _n._, , , , , , etc. pouançay, mons. de (governor of french hispaniola), , , , , , , , , , , etc. prince, captain lawrence (buccaneer), , _n._ privateers, laws against, _see_ laws providence company, , and _n._, , _n._, , _n._ providence island, and _n._, _n._, , , , - , - , , and _n._, etc. puerta de plata (hispaniola), puerto cabello (venezuela), " principe (cuba), , and _n._, , queen regent of spain, _see_ marie-anne of austria quito, province of, _see_ equador raleigh, sir walter, , , , , rancherias (new granada), , rausset, sieur de, _see_ deschamps raynal, guillaume, thomas-françois, red sea, pirates in, _see_ pirates rhode island, , , rich, henry, earl of holland, " robert, earl of warwick, and _n._, rio garta, rio de la hacha (new granada), , , , , _n._, , , rio nuevo (jamaica), riskinner, captain nicholas (governor of tortuga), rivero pardal, manuel, , roanoke island (carolina), roatan island, , robertson, william, rogers, captain thomas (buccaneer), _n._ ronquillo, don pedro, _n._, row, captain (buccaneer), roxas de valle-figueroa, don gabriel, - ruyter, admiral michel-adriaanszoon van, ryswick, treaty of, _n._ saba, , and _n._ st. augustine (florida), , , st. christopher, _see_ st. kitts st. eustatius, , , , and _n._, , st. jago de cuba, , , , , , - , _n._, , , , etc. " de la vega (jamaica), , , , , _n._ " de los cavalleros (hispaniola), - , st. kitts, , , , , , , , , , , etc. st. laurent, mons. de, , _n._ st. malo, corsairs of, st. martins, st. thomas, - salisbury, earl of, _see_ cecil, robert samana, _n._ samballas islands, _n._ "samson," _n._ sancti spiritus (cuba), , and _n._ san domingo, city of, _n._, , , , , , , , , , , etc. " french, _see_ hispaniola sandwich, earl of, _see_ montagu, edward san juan de porto rico, , , , " d'ulloa, _see_ vera cruz " river (nicaragua), , , , san lorenzo, castle of (chagre), - , _n._, , and _n._ san lucar, , , , santa catalina, _see_ providence island santa cruz, , , , santa marta (new granada), , , , , , , - , , santa marta de la vitoria (tabasco), _n._ " tomas (orinoco), , sasi arnoldo, don christopher, , "satisfaction," _n._ sawkins, captain (buccaneer), , scaliger, joseph-juste, scelle, georges, , searle, daniel (governor of barbadoes), _n._ searles, captain robert (buccaneer), , sedgwick, major-general robert, , seignelay, marquis de, _see_ colbert seville, , , , , , , , _n._, , etc. sharp, captain bartholomew (buccaneer), , , _n._, , , shirley, sir anthony, "sloop-trade," smart, captain (buccaneer), smith, major samuel, , , sore, jacques, , southey, thomas, spain, colonial laws, , , , , " colonial system, _ff._ " commercial system, - " cruelties to english mariners, , - , , _n._, " cruelties to indians, , , , , , _n._ " decline of, _ff._, " discovery and exploration in south america, - " exclusion of foreigners from spanish indies, " privateers of, , and _n._ " trade relations with england, - " treaty of with england, " " with england, - , , " truce of with the netherlands, _see_ netherlands " venality of spanish colonial governors, _n._ " weakness of spanish ships, spragge, captain, r.n., stanley, captain (buccaneer), stapleton, sir william (governor of leeward islands), , , stedman, captain (buccaneer), and _n._ style, john, _n._ tabasco river, , _n._ tavoga island, , tavogilla island, , taylor, john, terrier, jean, thibault, - , _n._ thomas, dalby, thornbury, walter, thurloe, john (secretary of state), thurston, captain (buccaneer), tobago, , , , , toledo, don federico de, , tolu (new granada), , tortola, tortuga, , , - , , , , , , , , etc. trade, clandestine, _see_ clandestine trade treasure fleets, - , , ; _cf. also_ flota _and_ galleons treval, mons. de, trinidad, , , _n._, , , "trompense, la," - , _n._, , , _n._ " la nouvelle," _n_. truxillo (honduras), , , , , , turrialva (costa rica), utrecht, treaty of, vache, isle la, _see_ isle la vache _vaisseaux de registre_, , and _n._ vaissière, pierre de, valladolid (yucatan), valle-figueroa, don gabriel roxas de, _see_ roxas de valle-figueroa van horn, captain nicholas (buccaneer), - , vaughan, john, lord (governor of jamaica), , , - , venables, general robert, and _n._, , , , , , venezuela, , , venta cruz (darien), _n._, , _n._, and _n._, _n._, _n._, vera cruz (new spain), , _n._, , , , , , , , , etc., veragua, and _n._ vernon, admiral edward, verpre, captain (buccaneer), vervins, treaty of, _viande boucannée_, vigneron, captain (buccaneer), villa de mosa (tabasco), and _n._ villalba y toledo, don francisco de, villars, marquis de, _n._ virgin islands, , , virginia, , , , , , , , war between england and france, - , , war between england and netherlands, - , - war between france and netherlands, - , _ff._ war of the spanish succession, - " succession of the palatinate, _ff._ watson, sir francis, watts, elias (governor of tortuga), , and _n._, watts, colonel william (governor of st. kitts), _n._ weiss, charles, west indies, _see_ indies, west whitstone, sir thomas (buccaneer), , wilgress, captain, william iii., king of england, , williams, captain john, _alias_ yankey (buccaneer), , _n._, " captain morris (buccaneer), and _n._ williamson, sir joseph (secretary of state), _n._, willoughby, william, lord (governor of barbadoes), wilmot, commodore robert, windebank, sir francis (secretary of state), windsor, thomas, lord (governor of jamaica), , and _n._, , , - , , , , winslow, edward (commissioner of jamaica), _n._ winter, sir william, witherborn, captain francis (buccaneer), wormeley, captain christopher (governor of tortuga), , and _n._ yallahs, captain (buccaneer) , "yankey," _see_ williams, captain john yucatan, , , _n._, , , zuniga, don pedro de,